Electric Elegance: Enhancing Cotton Fabric with Conducting Polypyrrole for Gas Sensing Applications

 This work is carried out to study the indigenously developed conducting polymer-based gas sensor for NO2 detection. The gas sensor is fabricated using conducting polymer such as Polypyrrole (PPy) as the active layer on the cotton fabric surface. The effects of washing on the composition and structure of samples were investigated through the application of XRD and FTIR spectroscopy. XRD analysis revealed notable changes in crystal structure. FTIR analysis provided insights into the molecular bonds present, highlighting variations in the functional groups before and after washing. We evaluated the electrical conductivities of samples before and after washing. The key findings shed light on the effects of washing on the chemical structure of gas-sensing materials, which is critical for maintaining sensor performance. This paper discusses the gas sensing mechanism and configuration of the sensor with a threshold limit value (TLV)  of 25 ppm, enabling detection at low ppm concentrations

Efficacy of different oils used for the extraction of annatto colour from the seeds of Bixa orellana L.

Annatto, a naturally obtained colour is a potential and valuable Non Wood Forest Product (NWFP). It is obtained from the seeds of plant species Bixa orellana L. The present experiment was carried out to find the efficacy of different oils used for annatto colour extraction. Experiment was started with the pretreatment of seeds of B. orellana with soaking in water at 0%, 50%, 100% and 150% (v/w) for 24 hrs at room temperature and colour extraction with castor oil at 100°C showed that maximum bixin (%) was found from the pretreated seeds with 50% (v/w) water soaking i.e., 0.46% bixin. Similarly for oil soluble annatto extraction method, the maximum extraction of bixin (0.99 %) was found with castor oil at 120°C for 1 hr and least bixin (0.03 %) was recorded with mustard oil at 60oC temperature for 1 hr. Sesame oil and ground nut oil were also showed better extractability. Out of different treatments, castor oil at 120°C for 1 hr gave better result with respect to bixin extraction as compared to others

Direct Maxillary Sinus Lift for Single Tooth Implant: A Clinical Study

Purpose: The aim of the study is to evaluate clinically and radiographically the long-term success of one-stage direct (lateral) sinus lift procedure using alloplastic bone graft material and bio-absorbable membrane in conjunction with two stage implant placement in atrophic partially edentulous posterior maxilla. Materials and methods: One stage direct maxillary sinus lift in conjunction with two stage implant placement was carried out in 10 patients at 11 sites. All the patients were partially edentulous with posterior maxillary alveolar ridge height of > 5 mm and were in the age group of 20 to 50 years. Bioactive glass putty, bio-absorbable collagen membrane and 3.75 × 11.5 mm implants were used. Patients were evaluated clinically and radio-graphically for 18 months after placement of implants at intervals of 6 months to assess increase in residual ridge height, peri-implant condition (marginal bone loss, plaque and gingival index) and implant stability. Results: Maxillary first molar was the most common site (72.72%) for sinus lift and implant placement. Caries was the most common cause (90.90%) for loss of tooth. Increase in residual ridge height ranged from (71.43-133.33%) as measured by Denta-Scan. Implant survival rate was 100%. Marginal bone loss ranged from (0.6-1.2 mm). Implant stability was measured by periotest (–2 to –6). Only one patient had perforation of sinus membrane, but it was sealed satisfactorily by bio-absorable membrane. Conclusion: One stage lateral sinus lift procedure with alloplastic bone graft material in combination with 2 stage implant placement has a predictable outcome in patients with severe resorption of posterior maxilla

First record of Bull shark, Carcharhinus leucas (Valenciennes, 1839) in commercial landings from New Ferry Wharf, Mumbai, Maharashtra

A female specimen of big eye hound sharkIago omanensis measuring 66 cm was landed at Mangrol fishing harbor on 17th September 2013. The specimen was collected along with 13 others of the same species. I. omanensis was not recorded earlier from Gujarat

Decay modes of 250No

The Fragment Mass Analyzer at the ATLAS facility has been used to unambiguously identify the mass number associated with different decay modes of the nobelium isotopes produced via 204Pb(48Ca,xn)(252-x)No reactions. Isotopically pure (>99.7%) 204Pb targets were used to reduce background from more favored reactions on heavier lead isotopes. Two spontaneous fission half-lives (t_1/2 = 3.7+1.1-0.8 us and 43+22-15 us) were deduced from a total of 158 fission events. Both decays originate from 250No rather than from neighboring isotopes as previously suggested. The longer activity most likely corresponds to a K-isomer in this nucleus. No conclusive evidence for an alpha branch was observed, resulting in upper limits of 2.1% for the shorter lifetime and 3.4% for the longer activity.Comment: RevTex4, 10 pages, 5 figures, submitted to PR

Effect of partial replacement of fishmeal with Eichhornia crassipes on growth and survival of Labeo rohita (Hamilton, 1822) juveniles

The objective of the study was to find out the effect of partial replacement of fish meal in the diet of Labeo rohita juveniles. In this experiment, the data pertaining to growth, survival rate, feed conversion ratio, protein efficiency ratio of L. rohita at partial replacement of fishmeal with E. crassipes were evaluated. For that purpose fry of approximately equal weight (57.97mg ± 1.25) were distributed in groups of 15 to each four aquaria at 0% (T1), 10% (T2), 20% (T3), 30% (T4) and 40% (T5) inclusion levels of aquatic macrophyte, Eichhornia crassipes. Maximum mean weight gain (235.25 ± 11.04 mg) was observed in T1 and minimum (165.06 ± 10.93 mg) was observed in T5 at the end of the experiment. Among the treatments tested, the highest survival (89.99% ± 1.93) was recorded in treatment T1 and minimum was found in T4 (79.99% ± 2.72). Lowest FCR was recorded in treatment T3 (2.02 ± 0.39) and highest was found in T5 (3.08 ± 0.59). Higher SGR was observed in treatment T1 (297.15 ± 18.78%) and minimum was observed in T5 (182.74 ± 18.45%). The study revealed a decrease in the growth performance indices as the percentage of water hyacinth increases. In present study also there was not much difference in growth rate upto 20% incorporation of E. crassipes in the diet. Also, significant difference was observed among treatments with respect to feed utilization (P<0.05)

A review on a deep learning perspective in brain cancer classification

AWorld Health Organization (WHO) Feb 2018 report has recently shown that mortality rate due to brain or central nervous system (CNS) cancer is the highest in the Asian continent. It is of critical importance that cancer be detected earlier so that many of these lives can be saved. Cancer grading is an important aspect for targeted therapy. As cancer diagnosis is highly invasive, time consuming and expensive, there is an immediate requirement to develop a non-invasive, cost-effective and efficient tools for brain cancer characterization and grade estimation. Brain scans using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), computed tomography (CT), as well as other imaging modalities, are fast and safer methods for tumor detection. In this paper, we tried to summarize the pathophysiology of brain cancer, imaging modalities of brain cancer and automatic computer assisted methods for brain cancer characterization in a machine and deep learning paradigm. Another objective of this paper is to find the current issues in existing engineering methods and also project a future paradigm. Further, we have highlighted the relationship between brain cancer and other brain disorders like stroke, Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, andWilson’s disease, leukoriaosis, and other neurological disorders in the context of machine learning and the deep learning paradigm

Results of rocket measurements of D-region ionization over Thumba in MAP

Under MAP, two rockets were launched from Thumba (8.5 N, 76.8 E) around 1030 hrs Lt with identical payloads on 7 and 10 March 1986 for D region studies. Positive ion densities were measured by spherical probe and Gerdien condenser and electron densities were measured by Langmuir probe and propagation experiments. In both flights a valley in ionization height profile was noticed around 83 km. The density of ionization at this altitude was about 4 x 10(2) cu cm. A detailed positive ion-chemical scheme was used to reproduce the measured ionization height profiles. The density of NO needed to reproduce the valley in ionization at 83 km came around 5 x 10(5) cu cm. A photochemical treatment without diffusion process was found inadequate to explain this value of NO. Calculations showed that the value of vertical eddy diffusion needed to reproduce the value of NO was around 10(6)sq cm/s. Interestingly, the same value of eddy diffusion coefficient was obtained when derived in the manner described by Thrane and his coworkers using only the positive ion current data of spherical probes