Enhanced ionic conductivity in nano-composite solid polymer electrolyte: (PEG)x LiBr: y(SiO2)

In this paper, we report an enhancement in ionic conductivity in a new nano-composite solid polymer electrolyte namely, (PEG)x LiBr: y(SiO2). The samples were prepared, characterized, and investigated by XRD, IR, NMR, and impedance spectroscopy. Conductivity as a function of salt concentration shows a double peak. Five weight percent addition of silica nanoparticles increases the ionic conductivity by two orders of magnitude. Conductivity exhibits an Arrhenius type dependence on temperature. IR study has shown that the existence of nanoparticles in the vicinity of terminal O―H group results in a shift in IR absorption frequency and increase in amplitude of vibration of the terminal O―H group. This might lead to an enhancement in conductivity due to increased segmental motion of the polymer. 7Li NMR spectroscopic studies also seem to support this. Thus addition of nanoparticle inert fillers still seems to be a promising technique to enhance the ionic conductivity in solid polymer electrolytes

Long term Ultra-Violet Variability of Seyfert galaxies

Flux variability is one of the defining characteristics of Seyfert galaxies, a class of active galactic nuclei (AGN). Though these variations are observed over a wide range of wavelengths, results on their flux variability characteristics in the ultra-violet (UV) band are very limited. We present here the long term UV flux variability characteristics of a sample of fourteen Seyfert galaxies using data from the International Ultraviolet Explorer acquired between 1978 and 1995. We found that all the sources showed flux variations with no statistically significant difference in the amplitude of UV flux variation between shorter and longer wavelengths. Also, the flux variations between different near-UV (NUV, 1850 - 3300 A) and far-UV (FUV, 1150 - 2000 A) passbands in the rest frames of the objects are correlated with no time lag. The data show indications of (i) a mild negative correlation of UV variability with bolometric luminosity and (ii) weak positive correlation between UV variability and black hole mass. At FUV, about 50% of the sources show a strong correlation between spectral indices and flux variations with a hardening when brightening behaviour, while for the remaining sources the correlation is moderate. In NUV, the sources do show a harder when brighter trend, however, the correlation is either weak or moderate.Comment: Accepted by Journal of Astrophysics and Astronom

Effect of Bovine Serum Albumin on Red Blood Cell Optical Anisotropy Probed Through the Optomechanical Response in an Optical Trap

The dynamics of trapped entities in an Optical Trap (OT) can yield information with regards to their viscoelastic response as well as optical anisotropy, if any. Detailed analysis of such dynamics correlated with parameters which affect the response can yield additional clues to the exact effect of these on the trapped entities. In this work, we illustrate this point by showing how the altered behavior of Red Blood Cells (RBC) treated with Bovine Serum Albumin (BSA) yields information about the nature of action of BSA, on which there is no current consensus in literature. We conclude from our studies that BSA treatment leads to a change in the birefringence of the RBCs, a conclusion arrived at from the altered optomechanical response of such cells in a linearly polarized Gaussian beam OT. Furthermore, we argue that the observed changes in cellular optical anisotropy may be thought of as due to changes in the curvature of the RBC membrane. We also note that BSA action could help mimic pathological conditions that result in an altered cell shape. © 2017 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinhei

Polymorphisms in ARMS2/HTRA1 and complement genes and age-related macular degeneration in India: findings from the INDEYE study.

PURPOSE: Association between genetic variants in complement factor H (CFH), factor B (CFB), component 2 (C2), and in the ARMS2/HTRA1 region with age-related macular degeneration (AMD) comes mainly from studies of European ancestry and case-control studies of late-stage disease. We investigated associations of both early and late AMD with these variants in a population-based study of people aged 60 years and older in India. METHODS: Fundus images were graded using the Wisconsin Age-Related Maculopathy Grading System and participants assigned to one of four mutually exclusive stages based on the worse affected eye (0 = no AMD, 1-3 = early AMD, 4 = late AMD). Multinomial logistic regression was used to derive risk ratios (RR) accounting for sampling method and adjusting for age, sex, and study center. RESULTS: Of 3569 participants, 53.2% had no signs of amd, 45.6% had features of early amd, and 1.2% had late amd. CFH (RS1061170), C2 (RS547154), OR CFB (RS438999) was not associated with early or late AMD. In the ARMS2 locus, RS10490924 was associated with both early (adjusted RR 1.22, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.13-1.33, P < 0.0001) and late AMD (adjusted RR 1.81, 95% CI: 1.15-2.86; P = 0.01); rs2672598 was associated only with early AMD (adjusted RR 1.12, 95% CI: 1.02-1.23; P = 0.02); rs10490923 was not associated with early or late AMD. CONCLUSIONS: Two variants in ARMS2/HTRA1 were associated with increased risk of early AMD, and for one of these, the increased risk was also evident for late AMD. The study provides new insights into the role of these variants in early stages of AMD in India

Development and Application of a Functional Human Esophageal Mucosa Explant Platform to Eosinophilic Esophagitis.

There is an increasing prevalence of esophageal diseases but intact human tissue platforms to study esophageal function, disease mechanisms, and the interactions between cell types in situ are lacking. To address this, we utilized full thickness human donor esophagi to create and validate the ex vivo function of mucosa and smooth muscle (n = 25). Explanted tissue was tested for contractile responses to carbachol and histamine. We then treated ex vivo human esophageal mucosa with a cytokine cocktail to closely mimic the Th2 and inflammatory milieu of eosinophilic esophagitis (EoE) and assessed alterations in smooth muscle and extracellular matrix function and stiffening. We found that full thickness human esophagus as well as the individual layers of circular and longitudinal muscularis propria developed tension in response to carbachol ex vivo and that mucosa demonstrated squamous cell differentiation. Treatment of mucosa with Th2 and fibrotic cytokines recapitulated the majority of the clinical Eosinophilic Esophagitis Diagnostic Profile (EDP) on fluidic transcriptional microarray. Transforming growth factor-beta-1 (TGFβ1) increased gene expression of fibronectin, smooth muscle actin, and phospholamban (p &lt; 0.001). The EoE cocktail also increased stiffness and decreased mucosal compliance, akin to the functional alterations in EoE (p = 0.001). This work establishes a new, transcriptionally intact and physiologically functional human platform to model esophageal tissue responses in EoE

Effect of oil palm sustainability certification on deforestation and fire in Indonesia.

Many major corporations and countries have made commitments to purchase or produce only "sustainable" palm oil, a commodity responsible for substantial tropical forest loss. Sustainability certification is the tool most used to fulfill these procurement policies, and around 20% of global palm oil production was certified by the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) in 2017. However, the effect of certification on deforestation in oil palm plantations remains unclear. Here, we use a comprehensive dataset of RSPO-certified and noncertified oil palm plantations (∼188,000 km2) in Indonesia, the leading producer of palm oil, as well as annual remotely sensed metrics of tree cover loss and fire occurrence, to evaluate the impact of certification on deforestation and fire from 2001 to 2015. While forest loss and fire continued after RSPO certification, certified palm oil was associated with reduced deforestation. Certification lowered deforestation by 33% from a counterfactual of 9.8 to 6.6% y-1 Nevertheless, most plantations contained little residual forest when they received certification. As a result, by 2015, certified areas held less than 1% of forests remaining within Indonesian oil palm plantations. Moreover, certification had no causal impact on forest loss in peatlands or active fire detection rates. Broader adoption of certification in forested regions, strict requirements to avoid all peat, and routine monitoring of clearly defined forest cover loss in certified and RSPO member-held plantations appear necessary if the RSPO is to yield conservation and climate benefits from reductions in tropical deforestation

Antifungal activity of compounds targeting the Hsp90-calcineurin pathway against various mould species

Objectives Invasive mould infections are associated with a high mortality rate and the emergence of MDR moulds is of particular concern. Calcineurin and its chaperone, the heat shock protein 90 (Hsp90), represent an important pathway for fungal virulence that can be targeted at different levels. We investigated the antifungal activity of compounds directly or indirectly targeting the Hsp90-calcineurin axis against different mould species. Methods The in vitro antifungal activity of the anticalcineurin drug FK506 (tacrolimus), the Hsp90 inhibitor geldanamycin, the lysine deacetylase inhibitor trichostatin A and the Hsp70 inhibitor pifithrin-μ was assessed by the standard broth dilution method against 62 clinical isolates of Aspergillus spp. and non-Aspergillus moulds (Mucoromycotina, Fusarium spp., Scedosporium spp., Purpureocillium/Paecilomyces spp. and Scopulariopsis spp.) Results FK506 had variable antifungal activity against different Aspergillus spp. and was particularly active against Mucor spp. Geldanamycin had moderate antifungal activity against Fusarium spp. and Paecilomyces variotii. Importantly, trichostatin A had good activity against the triazole-resistant Aspergillus ustus and the amphotericin B-resistant Aspergillus terreus as well as the MDR Scedosporium prolificans. Moreover, trichostatin A exhibited synergistic interactions with caspofungin against A. ustus and with geldanamycin against Rhizopus spp. for which none of the other agents showed activity. Pifithrin-μ exhibited little antifungal activity. Conclusions Targeting the Hsp90-calcineurin axis at different levels resulted in distinct patterns of susceptibility among different fungal species. Lysine deacetylase inhibition may represent a promising novel antifungal strategy against emerging resistant mould