MAKING OF PAVER BLOCKS FROM WASTE PLASTIC

The aim of this project is to replace cement with plastic waste in paver block and to reduce the cost of paver blockcompared to that of conventionalconcrete paver blocks. At present nearly 56 lakhtones of plastic waste is produced in India per year. The degradation of plastic waste is also a very slow process. Hence the project is helpful in reducing plastic waste in a useful way. In this project we have used plastic waste in different proportions with quarry dust, coarse aggregate and ceramic waste. Plasticare rapidly growing segment of the municipal solid waste. Disposal of waste materials including waste plastic bags has become a serious problem

HUMAN IDENTIFICATION USING FINGER VEIN IMAGES

Finger vein is a unique physiological biometric which is used for identification of individuals based on the physical characteristics and parameters of the vein patterns in the human body. This technology is at present in use or development for a wide range of applications, which includes credit card authentication, security in automobile, employee time and tracking attendance, computer and network authentication, security at end points and automated teller machines. The basic principle, different feature extraction techniques and performance measuring are analyzed. Mostly the existing work is functionally described and compared in three parts (i.e. Finger vein acquired image, pre-processing and feature extraction)

Making Of Paver Blocks From Waste Plastic

The aim of this project is to replace cement with plastic waste in paver block and to reduce the cost of paver blockcompared to that of conventionalconcrete paver blocks. At present nearly 56 lakhtones of plastic waste is produced in India per year. The degradation of plastic waste is also a very slow process. Hence the project is helpful in reducing plastic waste in a useful way. In this project we have used plastic waste in different proportions with quarry dust, coarse aggregate and ceramic waste. Plasticare rapidly growing segment of the municipal solid waste. Disposal of waste materials including waste plastic bags has become a serious problem

The Main Relaxant Constituents of Nigella Sativa Methanolic Fraction on Guinea Pig Tracheal Chains

Our  previous  studies demonstrated  the  preventive effect  of  Nigella  sativa  extract  on asthma and water-soluble substances of this extract, especially its methanol fraction were responsible for this relaxation on contracted tracheal chains of guinea pigs. For the first time, the present study has been conducted to determine the main constituents of its methanolic extract. Four constituents of 20%-methanolic fraction, consisting of two flavonoids (20-20% and 21-20% fractions) and two polysaccharides (1-20% and 2-20% fractions), were purified by analytical and  preparative  HPLC.  The  relaxant  effects  of  four  cumulative  concentrations  of  each constituent (50, 100, 150 and 200 mg/lit) in comparison with saline (1 ml) as negative control and four cumulative concentrations of theophylline (0.2, 0.4, 0.6 and 0.8 mM) as positive control were examined on methacholine-precontracted guinea pig tracheal chains (n=6). All concentrations  of theophylline and most concentrations  of 20-20, 21-20 fractions showed significant relaxant effects compared to  that  of saline. 20-20 fraction (Comferol diglucoside) was the most potent bronchodilator. Their relaxant effects were lower than that of theophylline. Polysaccharides (1-20, 2-20 fractions) did not  have any relaxant effects compared to that of saline. These results revealed that two flavonoids of 20%-methanolic fraction of Nigella  sativa were its main relaxant constituents

Is the undergraduate microbiology curriculum preparing students for careers in their field?: an assessment of biology majors’ conceptions of growth and control of microorganisms

Abstract Background We present an analysis of students’ responses to application-based questions on the topic of growth and control of microorganisms, from a questionnaire administered to 348 second and third year students of an Indian university who were enrolled in its undergraduate programs in Biotechnology or Microbiology. We examined aspects of the laboratory practice as reported by teachers and of the university assessment patterns that may explain our findings. Reports by teachers also included their views on the impact of the laboratory curriculum on building student capabilities. Studies such as this play an important role in informing the ongoing discourse in the country about much-needed reforms in undergraduate education. Results Our analysis revealed several lacunae in students’ understanding. Students’ performance on the questionnaire was also found to be poorly correlated with their academic achievement in the university examinations. Teachers’ reports revealed that there was a minimal student involvement in planning and designing of the experiments in their laboratory course; rather, cookbook protocols were commonly used by the students. There was a striking disparity between students’ stated career aspirations and their preparedness for them. Conclusions Our analysis points to underlying issues in the teaching-learning and assessment process; we discuss these issues and possible alternatives to the current practices. This study, to the best of our knowledge, is the first in the country that has explored students’ conceptions for an elementary topic in biology education at the tertiary level. We believe that the results of the study will be useful in shaping the ongoing educational reforms in higher education and will also be useful in developing a concept inventory on this topic

miR-96 and its versatile role in cancer

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are single-stranded RNA molecules of 18-27 nucleotides that regulate gene expression after transcription. The great stability of detectable miRNAs in tissue, blood, and other body fluids provides a rich supply of miRNA-based biomarkers in human malignancies. miRNA dysregulation has been linked to cancer often, especially since they are commonly involved in mechanisms such as transcriptional control, epigenetic regulation and genomic instabilities. Despite the fact that a growing number of potential miRNA biomarkers have been identified, the translation of miRNA-based biomarkers from bench to bedside still faces a number of obstacles. miR-96 is encoded by conserved & paralogous miR-183/-96/-182 cluster that is widely studied in cancer. miR-96 is one of the most important miRNAs that is fast emerging as a novel biomarker with great potential as a diagnostic and therapeutic target in all types of cancers of the body. miR-96 plays a direct or indirect role as an oncogene in various cancers. miR-96 was believed to suppress Epithelial-mesenchymal transition, Osteosarcoma, Gastric adenocarcinoma and Bladder cancer. The miR-96 is also considered to have the function to promote malignancy as well as chemoresistance in Breast cancer. We present the most recent research findings on miR-96's clinicopathological relevance, development, and progress in this review, highlighting its oncogenic and tumor suppressive capabilities and an intermediate role in progressing the development of cancer, being a part of some cancer promoting pathways

Human Identification Using Finger Vein Images

Finger vein is a unique physiological biometric which is used for identification of individuals based on the physical characteristics and parameters of the vein patterns in the human body. This technology is at present in use or development for a wide range of applications, which includes credit card authentication, security in automobile, employee time and tracking attendance, computer and network authentication, security at end points and automated teller machines. The basic principle, different feature extraction techniques and performance measuring are analyzed. Mostly the existing work is functionally described and compared in three parts (i.e. Finger vein acquired image, pre-processing and feature extraction)

Formation, characterization, and analysis of curcumin nanoformulation for evaluating its <i>in vitro</i> cytotoxicity

Nanotechnology holds significance in all fields of research, and the formation and surface alterations of nanomaterials are particularly important in this discipline. Nanoformulations synthesized with bioactive plant components play a crucial role in the improvement of several therapeutics and diagnostics. In the present study, we reported the synthesis of a curcumin nanoformulation (CN) by using curcumin and D-α-tocopheryl polyethylene glycol 1000 succinate (TPGS). The synthesized CN was characterized using dynamic light scattering, UV-Visible spectrophotometry, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, field-emission scanning electron microscopy, and X-ray diffraction. Furthermore, it was evaluated for solubility, drug loading, encapsulation efficiency, stability, in vitro release, and anticancer potentials. The role of TPGS in the synthesis of CN was validated. The synthesized CN exhibited a size of 6.2 ± 1.9 nm, needle-shaped morphology, a polydispersity index of 0.164, and zeta potential of -10.1 ± 3.21 mV, as determined by characterization techniques. Its water solubility was 2.5 × 104 times higher than that of pure curcumin. The encapsulation efficiency and curcumin loading efficiency of the synthesized CN were found to be 80 and 10%, respectively, with storage stability exceeding 30 days. Moreover, the synthesized CN demonstrated significant in vitro anticancer activity against the colorectal cancer cell line HCT-116, with an IC50 value of 12.74 ± 0.54 μM at 24 h