Biogas is acknowledged as one of the foremost bioenergy to address the current environmental and energy challenges being faced by the world. Commonly, biogas is used for applications like cooking, ...lighting, heat and power production. To widen the scope of biogas application, like transportation, natural gas grid injection and substrate for the production of chemicals and fuel cells, mainly CO
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S and other impurities need to be removed by various upgrading technologies. It is an important process to produce biomethane with above 90% methane. There are various physico-chemical (adsorption, absorption, cryogenic and membrane separations) and biological (in situ and ex situ) processes for biogas upgradation, and each process is site and case specific. The aim of the present paper is to thoroughly evaluate the existing and emerging biogas upgrading technologies. Analysis of each technology with respect to basis of operations, energy requirement, methane purity and recovery and cost economics has been carried out. A thorough analysis has been done on the major hurdles and the research gaps in this sector. For a wider and successful implementation of the biogas upgradation technology, the trends in research and development (R&D) such as development of efficient biogas upgrading technologies, adsorbents, reduction in cost and methane loss have been thoroughly evaluated.
The objective of the current study is to synthesize a library consisting of four sets of phenothiazine incorporated 1,2,3-triazole compounds using molecular hybridization approach. In total, 36 new ...hybrid molecules were synthesized and screened for in vitro growth inhibition activity against Mycobacterium tuberculosis H37Rv strain (ATCC-27294). Among the tested compounds, nineteen compounds exhibited significant activity with MIC value 1.6 μg/mL, which is twofold higher than the MIC value of standard first-line TB drug Pyrazinamide. In addition, all these compounds are proved to be non-toxic (with selective index > 40) against VERO cell lines. However, these compounds did not inhibit significantly the growth of Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa strains: the activity profile is similar to that observed for standard anti-TB drugs (isoniazid and pyrazinamide), indicating the specificity of these compounds towards the Mycobacterium tuberculosis strain. Also, we report the molecular docking studies against two target enzymes (Inh A and CYP121) to further validate the antitubercular potency of these molecules. Furthermore, prediction of in silico-ADME and pharmacokinetic parameters indicated that these compounds have good oral bioavailability. The results suggest that these phenothiazine incorporated 1,2,3-triazole compounds are a promising class of molecular entities for the development of new antitubercular leads.
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•36 New Phenothiazine incorporated 1,2,3-triazole hybrids are synthesized.•Click chemistry protocol is followed for the synthesis.•19 Compounds exhibit potent antiTB activity (MIC = 1.6 μg/mL).•Compounds are non-toxic to normal cells.•Compounds exhibit strong binding interactions with target enzymes, InhA and CYP121.
The demand for sustainable energy storage and production is vital and continues to grow with increasing human population. Energy utilization and environmental protection demand urgent attention in ...the development of energy devices, including the expansion and assessment of earth abundant and inexpensive materails. Recently, two-dimensional (2D) structured graphene has emerged as an outstanding energy material due to its excellent physicochemical properties, for example, high thermal and electrical conductivity, high surface area, strong mechanical strength, and an excellent chemical stability. However, pure graphene has a band gap of zero significantly limiting its application as a material. Among the various approaches used to alter the properties of graphene is doping with a heteroatom, which has been shown to be an efficient process in tailoring the properties of 2D-graphene. Heteroatom-doped graphene has several improved physicochemical properties, making graphene a favorable material for application in various fields. In this review, we report the usage and advancement of heteroatom-doped graphene materials in various energy conversion and storage technologies, including supercapacitors, batteries, dye-sensitized solar cells, and hydrogen production from electrocatalytic water splitting. Furthermore, we have also highlighted the recent developments made to date and systematically discuss physicochemical mechanisms, and the precise advantages obtained by the doping of heteroatoms. Finally, the challenges and future perspectives for heteroatom-doped graphene materials are outlined. The information provided in this review should be useful to any researchers involved in the field of graphene research for wide-ranging applications, and structural-oriented (morphology, structure, size and composition) research.
•Progression of heteroatom-doped graphene materials in energy fields is overviewed.•Synergistic effects of heteroatoms with graphene are highlighted in energy application.•Developments on synthetic strategies for the fabrication of materials are described.•Challenges for heteroatom-doped graphene in energy fields are mentioned.•Effective electrochemical properties and future perspectives are discussed.
Background: Disabled population accounts for 2.86 Crore of total Indian population. Among these 27.4% of population consists of children within age group of age 0 to 19 years. Studies have shown oral ...health status of children with special needs is lower than children without special needs. Though there are various attributing factors, access to dental care delivery and difficulties faced during dental treatment delivery are of major concern. Therefore the aim of this systematic review was set to assess the barriers faced by children with special needs during utilization of dental services; through caregiver's perception. Materials and Methods: For this review MEDLINE, EBSCO, COCHRANE, EMBASE and Google Scholar were the electronic data bases searched based on the PICO. PRISMA guidelines were followed for final inclusion of articles. Results: The search generated a total of 259 articles from five different electronic bases: PUBMED, EMBASE, EBSCO, COCHRANE and GOOGLE SCHOLAR. Based on inclusion criteria, 7 articles made it to final analysis. All the 7 studies reported that dentist were unwilling to treat children with special needs as a major barrier followed by fear towards dentist by the children with special needs. Conclusion: The cross sectional studies of this review were assessed for quality using a modified Newcastle Ottawa Scale, proposed by Egger et al. in 2003. Even though the available literature forms a lower standard of evidence, further evaluation of barriers are recommended using better designed studies to substantiate the in equal access to healthcare facilities by these marginalized population.
Purpose: The negligence of oral health combined with barriers in accessing adequate oral care is more commonly encountered in children with sensory deficits. In a developing country like India, there ...is a severe lacuna in data regarding the oral health status and treatment needs in this group of population. The purpose of this study is to assess the oral health status and treatment needs of children with sensory deficits, using WHO criteria of Basic Oral Health Survey Methods, 1997. Materials and Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted using the WHO criteria (Basic Oral Health Survey, 1997); questionnaire data regarding the demographic profile, oral hygiene status, degree of sensory impairment were recorded and tabulated. The Chi-square test was used to determine whether there existed a significant difference in the oral health status. The confidence interval was set at 95% and alpha error was assumed at 0.05. Results: Among the 742 sensory deficit children examined, 371 children are visually impaired and 371 are hearing impaired. Gingival bleeding and poor oral hygiene is diagnosed in more than 70% of the visually impaired children. The prevalence of trauma is estimated to be 8% in children, who are visually impaired. In the hearing impairment group, gingival bleeding because of inadequate oral hygiene is seen in 58% of the population examined. There is no statistically significant difference in the dental caries status between visually impaired and hearing impaired children (P > 0.05). There is also no statistically significant difference in the restorative treatment need and trauma status between visually impaired and hearing impaired children (P > 0.05). Conclusion: The present study shows a high prevalence of gingival diseases and dental caries in the special health care group children. The study signifies a wide spread presence of unmet treatment needs among children in this study population.
Background: Human saliva has got many important functions like lubrication of the oral tissues, making oral functions like speech, mastication and deglutition possible and also protecting teeth and ...oral mucosal surfaces in different ways. Dental Caries is one of the common complications in patients undergoing orthodontic treatment. Subjects with impaired saliva flow rate often show high caries incidence. A low flow rate combined with a low or moderate buffer effect clearly indicates poor salivary resistance against microbial attack. Aim: To investigate the changes in stimulated and unstimulated salivary flow rate, pH and buffer capacity in patients undergoing therapy with fixed orthodontic appliances. Materials and Methods: Salivary flow rate, pH and buffering capacity of 20 patients who underwent fixed orthodontic treatment at Department of Orthodontics, Ragas Dental College and Hospital, Chennai were examined using GC saliva check buffer kit. The procedure was carried out during the initiation of orthodontic treatment and subsequently, one month and six months after the placement of appliance. Results: Results showed there was a significant increase in the salivary flow rate one month and six months after placement of fixed appliance while pH and buffering capacity showed no significant changes. Conclusion: Salivary flow rate increases significantly during fixed orthodontic treatment. Salivary pH and buffering capacity showed no significant changes suggesting that they are not sole factors for demineralization in orthodontic patients.
Objective: The aim of this systematic review was to assess the long term remineralizing potential of casein phosphopeptide-amorphous calcium phosphate (CPP-ACP) only in paste form compared with ...fluoride varnish, and or placebo in both naturally occurring and post-orthodontic white spot lesions in vivo. Data Sources: The literature search covered the electronic databases: PubMed and Google scholar from 2005-2016. Only articles published in English were included. Randomized control trials in which CPP-ACP delivered by paste form were included. All studies which met inclusion criteria underwent two independent reviews. Study Selection: Two ninety five articles were identified from the search after excluding duplications. Abstracts of forty one articles were reviewed independently. Twenty nine articles were excluded after reading abstract. Full text articles were retrieved for fifteen relevant studies. After reviewing articles independently, three articles were excluded after full text reading. Finally twelve studies were selected based on the eligibility criteria. The remineralizing effect of CPP-ACP were compared with placebo and fluoridated toothpaste and fluoride varnish in randomized control trial. Conclusion: A high level evidence of remineralizing potential of CPP-ACP on naturally occurring white spot lesion and WSL post orthodontic treatment was found in comparison with placebo/fluoridated toothpaste and fluoride varnish without any statistically significant difference. Well-designed RCTs are, therefore, required to improve the level of evidence in this area.
There is a dearth of relevant books dealing with both theory and application of time series analysis techniques, particularly in the field of water resources engineering. Therefore, many hydrologists ...and hydrogeologists face difficulties in adopting time series analysis as one of the tools for their research. This book fills this gap by providing a proper blend of theoretical and practical aspects of time sereies analysis. It deals with a comprehensive overview of time series characteristics in hydrology/water resources engineering, various tools and techniques for analyzing time series data, theoretical details of 31 available statistical tests along with detailed procedures for applying them to real-world time series data, theory and methodology of stochastic modelling, and current status of time series analysis in hydrological sciences. In adition, it demonstrates the application of most time series tests through a case study as well as presents a comparative performance evaluation of various time series tests, together with four invited case studies from India and abroad.This book will not only serve as a textbook for the students and teachers in water resources engineering but will also serve as the most comprehensive reference to educate researchers/scientists about the theory and practice of time series analysis in hydrological sciences. This book will be very useful to the students, researchers, teachers and professionals involved in water resources, hydrology, ecology, climate change, earth science, and environmental studies.
Angiogenesis, a process involved in neovascularization, has been found to be associated with several metabolic diseases like cancer, retinopathy etc. Thus, currently, the focus on anti-angiogenic ...therapy for treatment and prevention of diseases has gained significant attention. Currently available Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved drugs are targeting either vascular endothelial growth factor or it’s receptor, but in the long term, these approaches were shown to cause several side effects and the chances of developing resistance to these drugs is also high. Therefore, identification of safe and cost-effective anti-angiogenic molecules is highly imperative. Over the past decades, dietary based natural compounds have been studied for their anti-angiogenic potential which provided avenues in improving the angiogenesis based therapy. In this review, major emphasis is given to the molecular mechanism behind anti-angiogenic effect of natural compounds from dietary sources.
Context: Motivation serves to be an integral part of health promotion to children at the learning phase of their life. Aim: Evaluation of the effectiveness of musical toothbrush over regular ...toothbrush in the debris and gingival bleeding scores among children. Settings and Design: This was a single-blinded parallel, randomized controlled trial conducted among 6-10-year-old schoolchildren in Chennai. Methods: One hundred participants with allocation ratio of 1:1 were assigned to musical and regular toothbrush group by simple randomization. After baseline evaluation (T0) of Debris Index-Simplified (DI-S) and Gingival Bleeding Index (GBI), outcome variables were assessed for a period of 3 months (T1, T2, and T3). Statistical Analysis Used: Friedman test and Mann-Whitney statistical test were used to compare the outcome variables within and across the two groups. Results: Thirty-two boys and 68 girls (mean age: 8.53 years) participated in the study. Statistically significant difference was seen in DI-S score among musical toothbrush group (mean: 0.50 T3 and GBI score: 8.18% T3) when compared to regular toothbrush group (mean: 1.59 T3 and GBI score: 23.54 T3) at the end of the 3rd month. Conclusion: Although both the musical and regular toothbrushes effectively reduced the DI-S and GBI scores, former showed effective change among children when compared to the latter.
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