Nanostructured RuO2 on MWCNTs: Efficient catalyst for transfer hydrogenation of carbonyl compounds and aerial oxidation of alcohols

Multiwall carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs)/ruthenium dioxide nanoparticles (RuO2NPs) composite was prepared by a straightforward ‘dry synthesis’ method. After being well characterized, the prepared composite was used as a nanocatalyst (RuO2/MWCNT) for the transfer hydrogenation of carbonyl compounds. The excellent adhesion of RuO2NPs on the anchoring sites of MWCNTs was confirmed by TEM and Raman analyses. The weight percentage (7.97 wt%) and the chemical state (+4) of Ru in RuO2/MWCNT was confirmed by EDS and XPS analyses, respectively. It was found that the RuO2/MWCNT has a higher specific surface area of 189.3 m2 g?1. Initially the reaction conditions were optimized and then the scope of the catalytic system was extended with a wide range of carbonyl compounds. The influence of the size of RuO2NPs on the transfer hydrogenation of carbonyl compounds was also studied. The RuO2/MWCNT is highly chemoselective, heterogeneous in nature, reusable and highly stable. Owing to the high stability of the used catalyst (u-RuO2/MWCNT), it was further calcinated at high temperature to obtain RuO2 nanorods (NRs) hybrid MWCNTs. Then the hybrid material was used as a catalyst (r-RuO2/MWCNT) for the aerial oxidation of alcohols and the result was found to be good.ArticleApplied Catalysis A. 484(22):84-96 (2014)journal articl

Photon polarization with anomalous right-handed top couplings in B→KresγB\to K_{res}\gamma

The effect of anomalous right-handed top couplings on the photon polarization in $B\to K_{\rm res}\gamma$ is investigated. It is recently reported that the photon polarization can be measured through the up-down asymmetry of the photon direction relative to the subsequent $K_{\rm res}$ decay plane. We find that the anomalous couplings can severely affect the photon polarization without spoiling the well measured branching ratio of $B\to X_s\gamma$. Different features from other scenarios are also discussed.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figure

Measurement of D0-D0 mixing and search for CP violation in D0→K+K-,π+π- decays with the full Belle data set

We report an improved measurement of D0 – D‾0 mixing and a search for CP violation in D0 decays to CP -even final states K+K− and π+π− . The measurement is based on the final Belle data sample of 976 fb −1 . The results are yCP=(1.11±0.22±0.09)% and AΓ=(−0.03±0.20±0.07)% , where the first uncertainty is statistical and the second is systematic

Rising rural body-mass index is the main driver of the global obesity epidemic in adults

Body-mass index (BMI) has increased steadily in most countries in parallel with a rise in the proportion of the population who live in cities 1,2 . This has led to a widely reported view that urbanization is one of the most important drivers of the global rise in obesity 3�6 . Here we use 2,009 population-based studies, with measurements of height and weight in more than 112 million adults, to report national, regional and global trends in mean BMI segregated by place of residence (a rural or urban area) from 1985 to 2017. We show that, contrary to the dominant paradigm, more than 55 of the global rise in mean BMI from 1985 to 2017�and more than 80 in some low- and middle-income regions�was due to increases in BMI in rural areas. This large contribution stems from the fact that, with the exception of women in sub-Saharan Africa, BMI is increasing at the same rate or faster in rural areas than in cities in low- and middle-income regions. These trends have in turn resulted in a closing�and in some countries reversal�of the gap in BMI between urban and rural areas in low- and middle-income countries, especially for women. In high-income and industrialized countries, we noted a persistently higher rural BMI, especially for women. There is an urgent need for an integrated approach to rural nutrition that enhances financial and physical access to healthy foods, to avoid replacing the rural undernutrition disadvantage in poor countries with a more general malnutrition disadvantage that entails excessive consumption of low-quality calories. © 2019, The Author(s)

A century of trends in adult human height

Being taller is associated with enhanced longevity, and higher education and earnings. We reanalysed 1472 population-based studies, with measurement of height on more than 18.6 million participants to estimate mean height for people born between 1896 and 1996 in 200 countries. The largest gain in adult height over the past century has occurred in South Korean women and Iranian men, who became 20.2 cm (95% credible interval 17.5-22.7) and 16.5 cm (13.3-19.7) taller, respectively. In contrast, there was little change in adult height in some sub-Saharan African countries and in South Asia over the century of analysis. The tallest people over these 100 years are men born in the Netherlands in the last quarter of 20th century, whose average heights surpassed 182.5 cm, and the shortest were women born in Guatemala in 1896 (140.3 cm; 135.8-144.8). The height differential between the tallest and shortest populations was 19-20 cm a century ago, and has remained the same for women and increased for men a century later despite substantial changes in the ranking of countries

Para-Bombay phenotype: report of a rare blood group

The blood sample of a 54-year-old male patient who presented with signs and symptoms suggestive of anaemia was submitted to the Blood Bank for blood grouping and cross-matching. In forward grouping, no agglutination was observed with A, B and AB antisera, but agglutination was noticed with D antiserum (Group O). In reverse grouping, there was agglutination in tube labelled A and no agglutination in tubes B and O (Group B) resulting in discrepancy between forward and reverse grouping. Further testing confirmed that the individual's blood group was Para-Bombay B (Para-BH), which is a rare entity. The Para-Bombay phenotype is very rare. Only a few cases of Para-Bombay were reported in India till now and none from Andhra Pradesh. This entity is characterized by the absence of H, A and B antigens on the red cells but their presence in saliva and secretions of gastrointestinal and genitourinary tracts. Proper identification of this phenotype is very important; otherwise this particular blood group may be mislabelled as group O

Oversight and Ethical Regulation of Conflicts of Interest in Neurosurgery in the United States

Scientific Assessment and Innovation in Neurosurgical Treatment Strategie