Smart Waste Management System using IoT

With rapid increase in population, the issues related to sanitation with respect to garbage management are degrading immensely. It creates unhygienic conditions for the citizens in the nearby surrounding, leading to the spread of infectious diseases and illness. To avoid this problem, IoT based “Smart Waste Management” is the best and trending solution. In the proposed system, public dustbins will be provided with embedded device which helps in real time monitoring of level of garbage in garbage bins. The data regarding the garbage levels will be used to provide optimized route for garbage collecting vans, which will reduce cost associated with fuel. The load sensors will increase efficiency of data related to garbage level and moisture sensors will be used to provide data of waste segregation in a dust bin. The analysis of ceaseless data gathered will help municipality and government authorities to improve plans related to smart waste management with the help of various system generated reports

UV-Visible Spectrophotometric Method Development and Validation of Itraconazole in Bulk and Capsule Formulation

A simple, rapid, accurate and precise UV method was developed and validated for the estimation of Itraconazole in pharmaceutical dosage form. Spectroscopic method was carried out by using acidic ethanol as solvent. Itraconazole detection wavelength was set at 262nm for validation purpose linearity, accuracy, repeatability, precision, LOD, LOQ, and ruggedness parameters were studied. The linearity was found to be in the range of 2-12 g/ml

Study of serum sodium and potassium concentration in cataract patients

Background: The present study was aimed to study alterations in levels of sodium and potassium in age-related cataract patients.Methods: 50 senile cataract patients in age group of 50 to 80 years and 50 control group were included for the study. Serum sodium and potassium levels were determined by flame photometry.Results: Significant (<0.0001)  increased levels of plasma Na+ in cataract patients (145.06 ± 5.84mEq/lit) were found as compared with controls (141.18 ± 2.67mEq/lit). While Plasma K+ the conc. in cataract patients (4.18 ± 0.34mEq/lit) was not significantly (P = 0.002) increased when compared with controls (4.13 ± 0.32mEq/lit).Conclusion: Na, K-ATPase is responsible for maintaining the correct concentrations of sodium and potassium in lens cells. In ageing, lens fibers undergoes oxidation, and glycation may decrease Na, K-ATPase activity. The asymmetrical distribution of Na, K-ATPase activity in the epithelium and fibers may contribute to ionic currents that flow in and around the lens. So, abnormal elevation of lens sodium can be used as a marker in the opacification of the lens cortex in age-related human cataract

Oxidative stress versus inflammation, a better predictor of cardiovascular disease risk in polycystic ovary syndrome

Background: Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is also known as hyperandrogenic anovulation (HA) or Stein-Leventhal syndrome. PCOS has a diverse range of causes that are not entirely understood, but there is evidence that it is largely a genetic disease. Aim of the study was to evaluate better predictor of cardiovascular disease risk in women with polycystic ovary syndrome.Methods: 50 diagnosed patients of PCOS and 50 age matched healthy females were included in this study. Cases were diagnosed based on new Rotterdam criteria formulated by the American Society for Reproductive Medicine (ASRM). Fasting Blood samples were collected. Serum High sensitivity-C reactive protein (hs-CRP) and Malondialdehyde (MDA) were estimated.Results: Results were analyzed using unpaired t-test and p-value was calculated. Statistically non-significant increased levels of serum hs-CRP in PCOS cases as compared with controls were observed. MDA was found to be significantly increased in cases as compared to controls. ROC curve analysis shows MDA as a more specific predictor of cardiovascular disease risk in PCOS compared to hs-CRP.Conclusions: Increase in the serum MDA level indicates increased formation of reactive oxygen species and lipid peroxidation which leads to increased oxidative stress and this may increase cardiovascular disease risk in PCOS. hs-CRP a marker of chronic inflammation was not significantly increased in PCOS

Itraconazole Self-Nano Emusifying Drug Delivery System for Enhancement of Solubility

The main objective of formulation is to enhance the bioavailability of the drug within the body. Some of the challenging subjects associated with poorly water-soluble drugs concern solubility and bioavailability factors. To overcome these problems, new technologies, such as lipid-based drug delivery systems including micro or nano emulsifying drug delivery system, have obtained importance in recent years, due to their enhanced solubility and bioavailability in the gastrointestinal tract. Such systems are solubilized within the lipid excipients or mixed with oils or surfactants/co-solvents to facilitate the solubility and absorption rate, which can enhance the bioavailability of the targeted drug. The research was targeted to develop a self-Nano Emulsifying drug delivery system (SNEDDS) for oral bioavailability enhancement of BCS II antifungal drug Itraconazole. Nano Emulsions are consignment methods that improve the solubility and distribution of lipid medicines to the intended areas. SNEDDS of Itraconazole were developed using Castor oil, Tween 20 as surfactant and PEG 200 as co-surfactant. SNEDDS formulation can be obtained through phase diagram approach. Pseudo Ternary phase diagrams were constructed, using Chemix software, to optimize the concentrations of excipients. Thermodynamic stability studies were satisfactory. Robustness to dilution did not exhibit phase separation and drug precipitation. The Among 4 formulations, B1F3 formulation showed more than 95% of drug content and were considered superior and subjected to droplet size analysis and zeta potential measurement. Droplet size ranged from 120 nm to 505 nm. The Nano size was obtained for formulation. The zeta-potential results indicated the range -35 mV. Based on all evaluation tests, formulation B2F3 was chosen as the best. Thus, this self-Nano Emulsifying drug delivery system should be an effective oral dosage form for improving oral bioavailability of lipophilic drug Itraconazole

Ultrafast optical generation of coherent phonons in CdTe1-xSex quantum dots

We report on the impulsive generation of coherent optical phonons in CdTe0.68Se0.32 nanocrystallites embedded in a glass matrix. Pump probe experiments using femtosecond laser pulses were performed by tuning the laser central energy to resonate with the absorption edge of the nanocrystals. We identify two longitudinal optical phonons, one longitudinal acoustic phonon and a fourth mode of a mixed longitudinal-transverse nature. The amplitude of the optical phonons as a function of the laser central energy exhibits a resonance that is well described by a model based on impulsive stimulated Raman scattering. The phases of the coherent phonons reveal coupling between different modes. At low power density excitations, the frequency of the optical coherent phonons deviates from values obtained from spontaneous Raman scattering. This behavior is ascribed to the presence of electronic impurity states which modify the nanocrystal dielectric function and, thereby, the frequency of the infrared-active phonons

Nanocrystalline Pentaerythritoltetranitrate using Sol-Gel Process

The secondary explosives developed with reduced particle size tend to be more insensitive for mechanical stimuli and may release energy with faster rate and gaining more importance nowadays. Therefore, aiming to reduce the particle size of one of the popular explosives, viz., pentaerythritoltetranitrate (PETN) to the nanometer range, a method for preparation of nanocrystalline PETN in the silica (SiO2) gel matrix using sol-gel process has been demonstrated. The PETN-SiO2 xerogels were prepared containing PETN content ranging from 50 per cent to 90 per cent (w/w) and the xerogels were characterised using different techniques. An exothermic peak at around 185 oC preceded by an endotherm in thermal analysis accompanied with weight loss in the temperature range from 150 oC to 200 oC   for the xerogel confirmed the presence of PETN in xerogel. Infrared spectra of xerogels showed peaks at around 1285 cm-1 and 1700 cm-1 assigned to O-NO2 and C-O bond representing PETN. Small angle x-ray scattering measurements on xerogels indicated that PETN entered in the pores of silica matrix. Transmission electron microscopy revealed that cystalline PETN    with particle size of around 15 nm dispersed in silica xerogel. The specific surface area for the PETN-SiO2 (90:10) xerogels was found to be 75 m2/g.Defence Science Journal, 2011, 61(6), pp.534-539, DOI:http://dx.doi.org/10.14429/dsj.61.59

Swift Heavy Ion Induced Modification Studies of C60 Thin Films

Modification induced by 110 MeV Ni ion irradiated thin film samples of C60 on Si and quartz substrates were studied at various fluences. The pristine and irradiated samples were investigated using Raman spectroscopy, electrical conductivity and optical absorption spectroscopy. The Raman data and band gap measurements indicate that swift ions at low fluences result in formations that involve multiple molecular units like dimer or polymer. High fluence irradiation resulted in sub-molecular formations and amorphous semiconducting carbon, indicating overall damage of the fullerene molecules. These sub-molecular units have been identified with nanocrystalline diamond and nanocrystalline graphite like formations.Comment: 7 pages, 29 references and 9 figures submitted to J. Appl. Phy

Effects of Gestational Housing on Reproductive Performance and Behavior of Sows with Different Backfat Thickness

The present study investigated the effects of back-fat thickness at d 107 of gestation and housing types during gestation on reproductive performance and behavior of sows. A total of 64 crossbred sows (Landrace×Yorkshire) in their 3 to 4 parities were allotted to one of four treatments (n = 16) over two consecutive parities. During each parity, sows were assigned to two gestational housing types (stall or group housing) and two level of back-fat thickness (<20 or ≥20) at d 107 of gestation. Gestating sows were transferred from gestational crates to stalls or pens (group housing) 5 weeks before farrowing. All sows were moved to farrowing crates on d 109 of gestation. At weaning, back-fat thickness changes were lesser (p<0.05) in sows having back-fat thickness <20 mm than that of sows with ≥20 mm back-fat thickness at 107 d of gestation. Group housed sows had greater (p<0.05) feed intake and shorter (p<0.05) weaning-to-estrus interval than that of sows in stalls. At weaning, back-fat thickness changes were lesser (p<0.05) in group housed sows than that of sows in stalls. The number of piglets at weaning, growth rate and average daily gain were greater (p<0.05) in group housed sows than that of sows in stalls. During gestation, walking duration was more (p<0.05) in group housed sows. Group housed sows had lesser (p<0.05) farrowing duration and greater (p<0.05) eating time than that of sows in stalls. Result obtained in present study indicated that sows with ≥20 mm back-fat thickness at 107 days had better reproductive performance. Additionally, group housing of sows during last five week of gestation improved the performance and behavior and reproductive efficiency of sows

Bio-nanotechnology application in wastewater treatment

The nanoparticles have received high interest in the field of medicine and water purification, however, the nanomaterials produced by chemical and physical methods are considered hazardous, expensive, and leave behind harmful substances to the environment. This chapter aimed to focus on green-synthesized nanoparticles and their medical applications. Moreover, the chapter highlighted the applicability of the metallic nanoparticles (MNPs) in the inactivation of microbial cells due to their high surface and small particle size. Modifying nanomaterials produced by green-methods is safe, inexpensive, and easy. Therefore, the control and modification of nanoparticles and their properties were also discussed