Study of Bacterial and Fungal profile in Bronchoalveolar Lavage from Chronic Respiratory Diseases patients attending a tertiary care centre in Thanjavur and Molecular characterisation for the commonest organism isolated

OBJECTIVE: Chronic respiratory diseases are a major public health problem in India as well as worldwide. Pulmonary infections are attributed as the most cause of exacerbations in this group of diseases. Broncho alveolar lavage as a diagnostic technique has improved the sensitivity and specificity of diagnosing pulmonary infections. Institutional antibiogram plays as vital tool for antimicrobial resistance detection and monitoring. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Prospectively BAL fluid for Chronic respiratory diseases cases was analyzed for bacterial and fungal isolates. Antimicrobial susceptibility testing was done for bacterial isolates. Molecular characterization was done for the commonest isolated organism. RESULTS: From 100 BAL samples processed for culture of bacterial and fungal, 35 samples showed positive growth. Out of which 25 were bacterial isolates and 10 were fungal isolates. Kelbsiella pneumoniae 20% was the commonest bacterial pathogen. Candida albicans 14% was the commonest fungus isolated. High antimicrobial resistant was noted in Acinetobacter baumanii. Gram negative bacterias exhibited more antimicrobial resistance than Gram positive organisms. 100% sensitivity was observed to lineolid and vancomycin. Pulmonary infections was more prevalent in COPD among chronic respiratory diseases. CONCLUSION: Bronchoalveolar lavage an invasive quantitative diagnostic procedures as has increased the sensitivity and specificity of pulmonary infection diagnosis. Gram negative bacterias are emerging as primary pathogens and exhibits high antibiotic resistance. Every health set up needs an updated antibiogram based on bacterial patterns and antibiotic resistant pattern for the judicious use of antibiotics

Medicinal Potentials Of Orthosiphon Stamineus Benth Medicinal Potentials Of Orthosiphon Stamineus Benth

Abstract Orthosiphon stamineus Benth. is a medicinal herb belonging to the family Lamiaceae, grown in Southeast Asia. Leaves of this plant are used commonly in Southeast Asia and European countries for herbal tea, well known as "Java tea". Traditionally leaves of this plant have been used as diuretic, and to treat rheumatism, abdominal pain, kidney and bladder inflammation, edema and gout. Studies have shown that the O. stamineus leaves exhibit a range of pharmacological properties such as, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, anti-bacterial, antiangiogenetic properties. Above all, the plant has synergistic bio-enhancing ability for tamoxifen against human breast cancer. The herb has been shown to be exceptionally safe with no toxicity in vitro and in vivo. This review emphasizes the systematic investigation in pharmacological properties of O. stamineus, which could be the potent source of novel herbal curative medicine for critical human diseases

Hydrotermální syntéza nanoprášku ZnWO4 – MnO2 plněného uhlíkovými nanočásticemi pro vysoce výkonné aplikace superkondenzátorů

K syntéze nanoprášku ZnWO4 – MnO2 s vysokým stupněm krystalinity, jak bylo prokázáno rentgenovými difrakčními studiemi, byla použita dvoustupňová hydrotermální metoda. Syntetizovaný nanoprášek vykazuje strukturu typu nanorodů, jak bylo odhaleno transmisní mikroskopií s vysokým rozlišením s vybraným plošným elektronovým difraktogramem, což potvrzuje krystalické chování. Elektrochemické chování symetricky vyrobených elektrod za použití ZnWO4 – MnO2 jako aktivních materiálů spolu s dopovanými sazemi bylo zkoumáno pomocí cyklické voltametrie (CV), galvanostatického profilování náboje / výboje a elektrochemické impedanční spektroskopie v potenciálním okně 0–1 V. Elektrochemická analýza byla provedena za použití 2 M KOH elektrolytu. Vyrobené elektrody vykazovaly lepší elektrochemické chování při maximální měrné kapacitě 714 Fg-1 při skenovací rychlosti 5 mV s − 1, jak ukazují CV křivky. Kapacitance získaná z měření CV zobrazuje dominantní elektrostatické chování ve dvou vrstvách. Maximální měrná kapacita 690,6 F g-1 při proudové hustotě 1 A g-1 byla dosažena profilováním náboje / vybití. Kromě toho elektrody vykazovaly hustotu energie 289,17 Wh kg-1 při hustotě výkonu 547,90 W kg-1 při stejné proudové hustotě. Kromě toho si zpracované elektrody po absolvování 5000 nabíjecích / vybíjecích cyklů udržely 94,5% své počáteční kapacity, čímž dosáhly Coulombické účinnosti 81,7%.A two-step hydrothermal method was employed to synthesize ZnWO4–MnO2 nanopowder with a high degree of crystallinity as revealed by X-ray diffraction studies. The synthesized nanopowder exhibits nanorod-type structure as revealed by high-resolution transmission microscopy with selected area electron diffraction pattern, confirming the crystalline behaviour. The electrochemical behaviour of the symmetrically fabricated electrodes using ZnWO4–MnO2 as active materials along with doped carbon black was investigated by means of cyclic voltammetry (CV), galvanostatic charge/discharge profiling and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy in the potential window of 0–1 V. The electrochemical analysis was carried out using 2 M KOH electrolyte. The fabricated electrodes showed better electrochemical behaviour with maximum specific capacitance of 714 F g−1 at a scan rate of 5 mV s−1 as demonstrated by CV curves. The capacitance obtained from CV measurements depicts dominant electrostatic double layer behaviour. The maximum specific capacitance of 690.6 F g−1 at a current density of 1 A g−1 was attained from charge/discharge profiling. In addition, the electrodes showed an energy density of 289.17 Wh kg−1 at a power density of 547.90 W kg−1 at the same current density. Furthermore, after undergoing 5000 charging/discharging cycles, the fabricated electrodes retained 94.5% of its initial capacity, thereby yielding Coulombic efficiency of 81.7%

Morphology, Dielectric and EMI Shielding Characteristics of Graphene Nanoplatelets, Montmorillonite Nanoclay and Titanium Dioxide Nanoparticles Reinforced Polyvinylidenefluoride Nanocomposites

Herein, flexible polyvinylidenefluoride (PVDF) nanocomposite films reinforced with different concentrations of graphene nanoplatelets (GNPs), montmorillonite (MMT) nanoclay and titanium dioxide ( TiO2) nanoparticles (NPs) were prepared using a simple and low-cost solution casting method. The surface morphology of PVDF/GNPs/TiO2/MMT nanocomposites and the interaction between PVDF, GNPs, TiO2 NPs and MMT nanofillers was examined using Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction (XRD) and field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) techniques. The dielectric properties of the prepared nanocomposite films were evaluated using a frequency response impedance analyzer in the frequency range from 50 Hz to 20 MHz at various temperatures. The electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding effectiveness (SE) of PVDF/GNPs/TiO2/MMT nanocomposites was measured in the Ku-band region (12–18 GHz) and the maximum SE of 12.6 dB was obtained for nanocomposites with GNPs-2.5%, MMT-1% and TiO2- 11.5%. Considering the excellent EMI shielding performance, these nanocomposites can have promising applications in smart electronics and flexible devices

Growth and characterization of urea-oxalic acid crystals by solution growth technique

Single crystals of urea-oxalic acid (UOA) have been grown from aqueous solution by slow evaporation technique. Single crystal X-ray diffraction analysis confirmed that the grown crystals belong to monoclinic system having space group P21/C. The presence of functional groups was confirmed by using Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy. Optical absorption studies show very low absorption in entire visible region and the UV cut-off is found to be around 240 nm. Thermal analysis studies were carried out using TG/DTA analysis and the grown crystal is thermally stable up to 180 °C. Dielectric constant studies confirm the ferroelectric property of the materials and very low dielectric loss reveals very high purity of the crystal

Correction to: Polymer Nanocomposites in Biomedical Engineering

In the original version of the book, the following belated corrections have been incorporated: The co-editor names ''Basheer Ahmed'' has been changed to ''M. Basheer Ahamed'' and ''Al-Maadeed Mariam Ali S A'' has been changed to ''Mariam Ali S A Al-Maadeed''. In chapter ''Silver Nanoparticles and Its Polymer Nanocomposites Synthesis, Optimization, Biomedical Usage, and Its Various Applications'', the author name ''Snehal Kargirwar Bramhe'' has been changed to ''Snehal Kargirwar Brahme'' and the affiliations of authors ''Snehal Kargirwar Brahme'' and ''Subhash Kondawar'' were swapped. The correction book has been updated with the changes.Scopu

National conference on Nanomaterials for Environmental [NCNER-2015] Facile Synthesis of Nickel Oxide Nanoparticles using Solvothermal Method and Their implementation in Sensor Applications

Abstract : In the present study, NiO nanoparticles with average particle size of 35 nm were successfully prepared by solvothermal method. Thecrystal microstructure,composition, morphologyand particle size distribution of product was analyzed by using X-ray diffraction (XRD),Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and EDAX. A sensor for detection of vapors of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) such as ethanol, isopropyl alcohol and acetone is tested using NiO nanoparticles. One of the key features of the sensor is the use of nanostructured NiO material which has been synthesized using a novel low cost process. Considerable reduction in the operating temperature of the sensor has been achieved by using nanostructured NiO material. The maximum sensitivity of sensor was observed for Ethanol