Melamine Polyimide Composite Fire Resistant Intumescent Coatings

Components of intumescent coatings acid source, carbon source and blowing agent like melamine linked together by a binder provide cumulative fire retardant properties. When temperature of the coating surface reaches a critical temperature under the heat of flame, the surface begins to melt and is converted into highly viscous liquid. Simultaneously, reactions are initiated that result in the release of inert gases with low thermal conductivity. These gases are trapped inside the viscous fluid forming insulating char. The special composite of melamine polyimide, a C source and melamine a blowing agent showed high performance heat resistance in the present study. Polyimides have excellent heat and chemical resistance, excellent adhesion to a number of substrates and superior mechanical properties, such as high flexural modulus and compressive strength. Polyimides are also known to possess outstanding dimensional stability under loads, which allows their use in high temperature environments. Effect of the monomer on chemical reactivity between the binder and the intumescent additives has been studied by thermo-gravimetric analysis, differential scanning calorimeter and FTIR analysis. Thermal insulation studies by various intumescent composite coatings, applied on aluminium plates provided useful time temperature profiles.Defence Science Journal, 2013, 63(4), pp.442-446, DOI:http://dx.doi.org/10.14429/dsj.63.487

Production of adventitious embryoids in vitro from stem callus of Foeniculum vulgare

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Pseudomonas aeruginosa meningitis in an elderly - A case report

Community-acquired meningitis caused by Pseudomonas aeruginosa is rare and has a very high mortality rate. We describe the case of a 74-year-old well-controlled diabetic female who spontaneously developed Pseudomonas meningitis causing altered sensorium, confusion, and irritability. Cerebrospinal fluid grew P. aeruginosa sensitive only to meropenem. Blood cultures were sterile. Noncontrast computed tomography of the brain showed age-related cortical atrophy. The patient responded well to 15 days of broad-spectrum antimicrobial therapy with intravenous meropenem and levofloxacin. This is the first reported case of spontaneous community-acquired P. aeruginosa meningitis in a patient with no history of head trauma, neurosurgery, or lumbar spinal puncture

A Modified Implementation of Tristate Inverter Based Static Master-Slave Flip-Flop with Improved Power-Delay-Area Product

The paper introduces novel architectures for implementation of fully static master-slave flip-flops for low power, high performance, and high density. Based on the proposed structure, traditional C2MOS latch (tristate inverter/clocked inverter) based flip-flop is implemented with fewer transistors. The modified C2MOS based flip-flop designs mC2MOSff1 and mC2MOSff2 are realized using only sixteen transistors each while the number of clocked transistors is also reduced in case of mC2MOSff1. Postlayout simulations indicate that mC2MOSff1 flip-flop shows 12.4% improvement in PDAP (power-delay-area product) when compared with transmission gate flip-flop (TGFF) at 16X capacitive load which is considered to be the best design alternative among the conventional master-slave flip-flops. To validate the correct behaviour of the proposed design, an eight bit asynchronous counter is designed to layout level. LVS and parasitic extraction were carried out on Calibre, whereas layouts were implemented using IC station (Mentor Graphics). HSPICE simulations were used to characterize the transient response of the flip-flop designs in a 180 nm/1.8 V CMOS technology. Simulations were also performed at 130 nm, 90 nm, and 65 nm to reveal the scalability of both the designs at modern process nodes

Ethyl 3-oxo-2-(2-phenyl­hydrazinyl­idene)butano­ate: a re-determination

The previous crystallographic studies [Wang et al. (2005 ▶). Huaxue Yanjiu 16, 29–32; Wang et al. (2007 ▶). Youji Huaxue, 27, 524] of the title compound, C12H14N2O3, gave only the unit-cell dimensions and an R factor with no other details available: the full structure is presented here. The eth­oxy group is disordered over two orientations with refined occupancies of 0.642 (15):0.358 (15). The nine C atoms and two N atoms of the 1-phenyl-2-(propan-2-yl­idene)hydrazine segment of the mol­ecule are close to being coplanar, with a maximum deviation of 0.0779 (14) Å for the phenyl­amino N atom and an intra­molecular N—H⋯O hydrogen bond generates an S(6) ring. In the crystal, pairs of C—H⋯O hydrogen bonds link mol­ecules into inverson dimers, generating R 2 2(16) loops

Array Diagnosis using Compressed Sensing in Near Field

This paper will present a technique for array diagnosis using a small number of measured data acquired by a near-field system by making use of the concepts of compressed sensing technique in image processing. Here, the high cost of large array diagnosis in near-field facilities is mainly caused by the time required for the data acquisition. So there is a need to decrease the measurement time and at the same time the reconstruction of an array must be satisfactory. The proposed technique uses less number of measurement points compared to other proposed techniques like back-propagation method and standard matrix inversion method. Keywords: Arrays, Compressed sensing, near fiel

Status of Plasmodium Falciparum and Vivax in Jharkhand: A Five Year (2004-08) Retrospective Study at Rajendra Institute of Medical Sciences, Ranchi

ABSTRACT Malaria is well known for its fatalities worldwide. In India, it is still endemic in many areas where two species of Plasmodium namely Plasmodium vivax and Plasmodium falciparum are reported. P.vivax is widespread, creating lots of morbidities across the country. P. falciparum, on the other hand, though comparatively narrow in its infectious volume, is a serious cause of mortalities in India. A five year survey was conducted from 2004 to 2008 in a high malaria-hit district, Ranchi. Thick and thin blood smears were made at the Department of Clinical Pathology, Rajendra Institute of Medical Sciences (RIMS), where the microscopic examinations were carried out. The overall reported and examined cases at RIMS included 36643 suspected malaria cases, out of which, 21833(59.5%) were found positive. Out of these positive cases, 6842(31.3%) were confirmed as P. falciparum patients and 14991(68.6%) as P. vivax cases respectively. Number of negative cases was 14811 (40.4%). In this study, it was observed that after the year 2005, incidence of malaria suddenly dropped by 50% and remained almost static on the same level in the following years with only some seasonal variations. However, it was observed that P. falciparum steadily became more dangerous. It is therefore highly necessary to take immediate and effective measures to minimize the complications of P. falciparum along with P. vivax to prevent death toll in these areas

Chronic renal insufficiency among Asian Indians with type 2 diabetes: I. Role of RAAS gene polymorphisms

BACKGROUND: Renal failure in diabetes is mediated by multiple pathways. Experimental and clinical evidences suggest that renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system (RAAS) has a crucial role in diabetic kidney disease. A relationship between the RAAS genotypes and chronic renal insufficiency (CRI) among type 2 diabetes subjects has therefore been speculated. We investigated the contribution of selected RAAS gene polymorphisms to CRI among type 2 diabetic Asian Indian subjects. METHODS: Twelve single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) from six genes namely-renin (REN), angiotensinogen (ATG), angiotensin converting enzyme I (ACE), angiotensin II type 1 receptor (AT1) and aldosterone synthase (CYP11B2) gene from the RAAS pathway and one from chymase pathway were genotyped using polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) method and tested for their association with diabetic CRI using a case-control approach. Successive cases presenting to study centres with type 2 diabetes of ≥2 years duration and moderate CRI diagnosed by serum creatinine ≥3 mg/dl after exclusion of non-diabetic causes of CRI (n = 196) were compared with diabetes subjects with no evidence of renal disease (n = 225). Logistic regression analysis was carried out to correlate various clinical parameters with genotypes, and to study pair wise interactions between SNPs of different genes. RESULTS: Of the 12 SNPs genotyped, Glu53Stop in AGT and A>T (-777) in AT1 genes, were monomorphic and not included for further analysis. We observed a highly significant association of Met235Thr SNP in angiotensinogen gene with CRI (O.R. 2.68, 95%CI: 2.01–3.57 for Thr allele, O.R. 2.94, 95%CI: 1.88–4.59 for Thr/Thr genotype and O.R. 2.68, 95%CI: 1.97–3.64 for ACC haplotype). A significant allelic and genotypic association of T>C (-344) SNP in aldosterone synthase gene (O.R. 1.57, 95%CI: 1.16–2.14 and O.R. 1.81, 95%CI: 1.21–2.71 respectively), and genotypic association of GA genotype of G>A (-1903) in chymase gene (O.R. 2.06, 95%CI: 1.34–3.17) were also observed. CONCLUSION: SNPs Met235Thr in angiotensinogen, T>C (-344) in aldosterone synthase, and G>A (-1903) in chymase genes are significantly associated with diabetic chronic renal insufficiency in Indian patients and warrant replication in larger sample sets. Use of such markers for prediction of susceptibility to diabetes specific renal disease in the ethnically Indian population appears promising

Ensuring nutritional security in India through wheat biofortification: A review

Undernourishment of nutrients, also known as hidden hunger, affects over 2 billion populace globally. Even though stunting among children below five years of age has decreased in India in the last ten years, India is home to roughly thirty percent of the world's population of stunted pre-schoolers. A significant improvement has been witnessed in the targeted development and deployment of biofortified crops; approximately 20 million farm households from developing counties benefit from cultivating and consuming biofortified crops. There is ample scope for including biofortified varieties in the seed chain, ensuring nutritional security. Wheat is a dietary staple in India, typically consumed as wholemeal flour in the form of flatbreads such as chapatti and roti. Wheat contributes to nearly one fifth of global energy requirements and can also provide better amounts of iron (Fe) and zinc (Zn). As a result, biofortified wheat can serve as a medium for delivery of essential micronutrients such as Fe and Zn to end users. This review discusses wheat biofortification components such as Fe and Zn dynamics, its uptake and movement in plants, the genetics of their buildup, and the inclusion of biofortified wheat varieties in the seed multiplication chain concerning India

Toxicity of the Herbicide Atrazine: Effects on Lipid Peroxidation and Activities of Antioxidant Enzymes in the Freshwater Fish Channa Punctatus (Bloch)

The present study was undertaken to evaluate the toxicity and effects of a commercial formulation of the herbicide atrazine (Rasayanzine) on lipid peroxidation and antioxidant enzyme system in the freshwater air breathing fish Channa punctatus. The 12, 24, 48, 72 and 96 h LC50 of atrazine, calculated by probit analysis, were determined to be 77.091, 64.053, 49.100, 44.412 and 42.381 mg·L−1, respectively, in a semi static system with significant difference (p < 0.05) in LC10–90 values obtained for different times of exposure. In addition to concentration and time dependent decrease in mortality rate, stress signs in the form of behavioral changes were also observed in response to the test chemical. In fish exposed for 15 days to different sublethal concentrations of the herbicide (1/4 LC50 = ∼10.600 mg·L−1, 1/8 LC50 = ∼5.300 mg·L−1 and 1/10 LC50 = ∼4.238 mg·L−1) induction of oxidative stress in the liver was evidence by increased lipid peroxidation levels. The antioxidants superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT) and glutathione reductase (GR) responded positively in a concentration dependent pattern, thus, suggesting the use of these antioxidants as potential biomarkers of toxicity associated with contaminations exposure in freshwater fishes