► NaCl crystals has been used as space holder. ► Variation of NaCl:Ti ratio varies porosity (65–80%). ► NaCl is cubic but the cells are spherical. ► Two types of pores: micro and macro pores are ...obtained. ► Foams are suitable for bones scaffolds and engineering applications.
Open cell Titanium-foam (Ti-foam) with varying porosities (65–80%) was prepared using sodium chloride (NaCl) particles as space holder through powder metallurgy route. In order to ensure sufficient handling strength in cold compacted pallets, 2wt.% polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) solutions (5wt.% PVA in water) was mixed with the mixture of Ti and NaCl powders prior to cold compaction. After sintering, NaCl salt was removed by dissolving it in hot water. Detailed Energy dispersive X-ray (EDX) analysis and X-ray diffraction studies of the prepared Ti-foams were conducted to examine any physical and chemical changes in the phase constituents. The micro-architectural characteristics, density vis-a-vis porosity, and compressive deformation behavior of the synthesized foams were evaluated to examine their suitability as biomaterial and engineering applications.
High-fat diets (HFDs) induce systemic inflammation, gut microbial derangements and disturb metabolic homeostasis, resulting in weight gain, insulin resistance and nonalcoholic fatty liver (NAFL). ...Numerous antioxidants and prebiotic/probiotics per se may prevent HFD-associated comorbidities, but there are no reports related to their combination.
In the present study, we aim to evaluate a cobiotic combination of lycopene (antioxidant) and isomalto-oligosaccharides (IMOs, a prebiotic) for prevention of HFD-induced alterations.
Male Swiss albino mice were fed either normal pellet diet (NPD) or HFD and lycopene (5 and 10 mg kg(-1)), IMOs (0.5 and 1 g kg(-1)) or their combination for 12 weeks. Systemic adiposity, glucose tolerance, insulin sensitivity, feeding regulators in hypothalamus, hepatosteatosis and liver inflammation, cecal short chain fatty acids (SCFAs), serum inflammatory cytokines, gut morphology and alterations in selected gut microbes were studied.
Lycopene, IMOs and their combination prevented weight gain, adiposity, improved adipose tissue fat mobilization and reduced insulin resistance. Hypothalamic orexigenic and anorectic genes have also been modulated by these treatments. Dietary interventions prevented NAFL-like symptoms and improved glucose homeostasis. Improvement in selected gut microbial abundance and SCFA concentration along with reduced systemic inflammation, metabolic endotoxemia and improved ileal and colonic health were observed in mice supplemented with lycopene, IMOs and their combination. Interestingly, cobiotic combination synergistically improved many of the HFD-induced alterations.
The present work provide evidence that new approach based on cobiotic combination (antioxidant plus prebiotic) can be employed to develop novel class of functional foods for their application against HFD-associated pathological complications.
A series of barium magnesium silicate (BMS) - based phosphors doped with different concentrations of Dy3+ is synthesized by using conventional solid-state reaction technique (SSRT). The prepared ...phosphors are characterized using X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive X-ray (EDX) analysis, fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectra, photoluminescence (PL) and thermoluminescence (TL). X-ray diffraction analysis confirms the formation of BaMgSiO4 with hexagonal structure. The excitation spectrum signifies strong 4f–4f transition in the wavelength range from 300 nm to 400 nm. The emission spectra indicate the possibility of excitation of samples by UV light (384 nm) and show strong emission band centered at 577 nm. Analysis of the emission spectra with different Dy3+ concentrations leads to the conclusion that the optimum dopant concentration for prepared BMS phosphors is 0.01 of Dy3+. TL kinetic parameters of the prepared phosphors are estimated using peak shape method. The CIE chromatic coordinates indicate the suitability of BMS phosphor for solid state lighting.
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•BaMgSiO4: Dy3+ Phosphors are synthesized by conventional solid-state reaction technique (SSRT).•Phosphor exhibited strong emission peaks at 577 nm assigned to 4F9/2 → 6H13/2 transition.•The optimum concentration of Dyx3+ for Ba(1-x)MgSiO4 host is determined as x = 0.01.•The trap depth energy of phosphor is found to lie between 0.47 eV and 0.97 eV at lower and higher temperatures, respectively.
In the present investigation, a simple and cost-effective method is described for preparing lightweight open cell aluminum foam by impregnating of aluminum powder into a substrate polyurethane foam ...template. Aluminum powder impregnated polyurethane foam was converted into open cell aluminum foam by several heat treatments inert as well reduce atmospheric pressure. The different concentrations of slurries of aluminum powder in acetone were used in combination with substrate foams to prepare open cell foams of relative density in the range of 0.08–0.22. The open cell aluminum foam prepared by this sacrificial template techniques is found to possess a compressive strength of 6.2 MPa. Electromagnetic interference shielding of aluminum foam was measured in X-band frequency region (8.2–12.4 GHz) using waveguide method. The electromagnetic interference shielding of aluminum foam with relative density of 0.22 is found −44.6 dB. This technique is fast, very economic and highly reproducible which may help the commercialization of such open cell aluminum foam for various applications.
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•Open cell aluminum foams were inventively fabricated by PU foam template.•The obtained aluminum foam demonstrates the compressive strength of 6.2 MPa.•Aluminum foam possess EMI shielding of −44.6 dB with 0.22 relative density only.•This technique is very simple, economical and highly reproducible.•The aluminum foam can use in the fields of civil and military aerospace industry.
Using gamma-ray-induced mutagenesis, we have developed a mutant (named G2) of
Trichoderma virens
that produced two- to three-fold excesses of secondary metabolites, including viridin, viridiol, and ...some yet-to-be identified compounds. Consequently, this mutant had improved antibiosis against the oomycete test pathogen
Pythium aphanidermatum
. A transcriptome analysis of the mutant vis-à-vis the wild-type strain showed upregulation of several secondary-metabolism-related genes. In addition, many genes predicted to be involved in mycoparasitism and plant interactions were also upregulated. We used tamarind seeds as a mass multiplication medium in solid-state fermentation and, using talcum powder as a carrier, developed a novel seed dressing formulation. A comparative evaluation of the wild type and the mutant in greenhouse under high disease pressure (using the test pathogen
Sclerotium rolfsii
) revealed superiority of the mutant over wild type in protecting chickpea (
Cicer arietinum
) seeds and seedlings from infection. We then undertook extensive field evaluation (replicated micro-plot trials, on-farm demonstration trials, and large-scale trials in farmers’ fields) of our mutant-based formulation (named TrichoBARC) for management of collar rot (
S. rolfsii
) in chickpea and lentil (
Lens culinaris
) over multiple locations in India. In certain experiments, other available formulations were included for comparison. This formulation consistently, over multiple locations and years, improved seed germination, reduced seedling mortality, and improved plant growth and yield. We also noticed growth promotion, improved pod bearing, and early flowering (7–10 days) in TrichoBARC-treated chickpea and lentil plants under field conditions. In toxicological studies in animal models, this formulation exhibited no toxicity to mammals, birds, or fish.
Microalga Scenedesmus vacuolatus exhibited maximum growth, protein and carbohydrate contents at 10.0 mM concentration of nitrate, 1.0 mM of glutamate nitrogen and at C/N ratio (12 mM acetate+10 mM ...nitrate). However, these cell constituents showed the highest values in the C+N grown cells, but the lipid content was found to be the highest glutamate grown cells. FTIR analysis of Lipid/Carbohydrate and Lipid/Protein ratio and flow cytometric analysis of neutral lipids revealed higher lipid content in the glutamate grown cells than in the nitrogen starved, nitrate and C+N grown cells. The nitrate reductase activity was the highest in the C+ N grown cells and the lowest activity was found in the glutamate grown cells. A corollary of these results suggested that suppression of nitrogen assimilatory system, whether by glutamate or by nitrogen deprivation, was the most suitable physiological condition for enhanced lipid synthesis and biofuel production in microalgal cells.
•Glutamate may express a better nitrogen source for lipid and biofuel production.•Nitrate and mixotrophic growth utilized for microalgal biomass production.•Favourable growth was observed in S. vacuolatus at a low concentration of nutrition sources.•Accumulation of lipid could be trigger by suppression of the nitrogen assimilatory system.•Lipid accumulation was not dependent on the carbon status of the microalgal cells.
Our phase I Hepatic Immunotherapy for Metastases (HITM) trial tested the safety of chimeric antigen receptor-modified T-cell (CAR-T) hepatic artery infusions (HAI) for unresectable carcinoembryonic ...antigen (CEA)+ liver metastases (LM). High neutrophil:lymphocyte ratios (NLR) predict poor outcome in cancer patients and we hypothesized that NLR changes would correlate with early responses to CAR-T HAI. Six patients completed the protocol. Three patients received CAR-T HAI in dose escalation (1 × 10(8), 1 × 10(9) and 1 × 10(10) cells) and the remainder received three doses (1 × 10(10) cells) with interleukin (IL)2 support. Serum cytokines and NLR were measured at multiple time points. The mean NLR for all patients was 13.9 (range 4.8-38.1). NLR increased in four patients following treatment with a mean fold change of 1.9. Serum IL6 levels and NLR fold changes demonstrated a trend towards a positive correlation (r=0.77, P=0.10). Patients with poor CEA responses were significantly more likely to have higher NLR level increases (P=0.048). Increased NLR levels were associated with poor responses following CAR-T HAI. NLR variations and associated cytokine changes may be useful surrogates of response to CAR-T HAI.
We synthesize nanoscale ripple patterns on Si surfaces by ion sputtering and show a systematic variation in the wettability of the surface depending upon its structure and chemical composition. As a ...matter of fact, our experiments reveal a hydrophilic to hydrophobic transition of the Si surface as a function of morphology and composition. Observed variation in the contact angle is found to be consistent with Wenzel's law up to the onset of a sinusoidal ripple pattern formation on the Si surface, although a clear deviation from Wenzel-like behavior is detected after ripple formation. This deviation is attributed to a reduction in the surface free energy of ion implanted Si surfaces due to the formation of ripples. Further, we detect the existence of a top amorphous layer and the presence of Ar atoms near the top surface for all ion implanted Si samples. Thus, to understand our results, we take into account the compositional modification of the implanted surface due to incorporation of Ar atoms and attempt to correlate the observed evolution of contact angle with this compositional heterogeneity following the ripple formation. We have shown that the pinning behavior of a water droplet on the rippled-Si surface, due to the presence of ripple height, can be altered through a change in the surface composition.
Schematic diagram of a water droplet on an isotropic (flat) and anisotropic (rippled) surfaces.
Summary
It is well known that a patient in clinical remission of visceral leishmaniasis (VL) remains immune to reinfection, which provides a rationale for the feasibility of a vaccine against this ...deadly disease. In earlier studies, observation of significant cellular responses in treated Leishmania patients as well as in hamsters against leishmanial antigens from different fractions led to its further proteomic characterization, wherein S‐adenosyl‐L‐homocysteine hydrolase (AdoHcy) was identified as a helper type 1 (Th1) stimulatory protein. The present study includes immunological characterization of this protein, its cellular responses lymphoproliferation, nitric oxide (NO) production and cytokine responses in treated Leishmania‐infected hamsters and patients as well as prophylactic efficacy against Leishmania challenge in hamsters and the immune responses generated thereof. Significantly higher cellular responses were noticed against recombinant L. donovani S‐adenosyl‐L‐homocysteine hydrolase (rLdAdoHcy) compared to soluble L. donovani antigen in treated samples. Moreover, stimulation of peripheral blood mononuclear cells with rLdAdoHcy up‐regulated the levels of interferon (IFN)‐γ, interleukin (IL)−12 and down‐regulated IL‐10. Furthermore, vaccination with rLdAdoHcy generated perceptible delayed‐type hypersensitivity response and exerted considerably good prophylactic efficacy (∼70% inhibition) against L. donovani challenge. The efficacy was confirmed by the increased expression levels of inducible NO synthase and Th1‐type cytokines, IFN‐γ and IL‐12 and down‐regulation of IL‐4, IL‐10 and transforming growth factor (TGF)‐β. The results indicate the potentiality of rLdAdoHcy protein as a suitable vaccine candidate against VL.
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