IN VITRO CYTOTOXICITY OF BIOSYNTHESIZED GOLD NANOPARTICLES FROM SHELLS OF PISTACIA VERA L

Objective: To synthesize the gold nanoparticles by a biological method using the extract obtained from the shells of Pistacia vera (P. vera) and to study its effective role in the anticancer activity.Methods: The synthesis of gold nanoparticles using the extract obtained from the shells of Pistacia vera was confirmed by the color change and substantiating the same using ultraviolet (UV) visible spectroscopy. The size and the shape of the particles were studied using field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM). The stability of the nanoparticles was assessed by using the UV visible spectroscopy and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). The anticancer activity of the gold nanoparticles on the cancer cell lines was studied on PA1 ovarian cancer cell lines using 3-(4,5-Dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay. Nature of cell death was analyzed using the fluorescence microscopy.Results: The ruby red color confirmed the formation of gold nanoparticles and it was substantiated by the absorption peak at 543.2 nm in the UV visible spectroscopy. The gold nanoparticles synthesized from the Pistacia vera shell showed the spherical shape and were in the size of around 10-40 nm when analyzed with FESEM. The different functional groups were indicated in the FTIR spectra which were consisting of phenol, alcohol, alkenes and aromatics.Conclusion: The synthesis of the gold nanoparticle using the extract obtained from the shells of Pistacia vera has effective anticancer activity

Optimisation of alkali treatment of banana fibres on lignin removal

Alkali treatment of banana fibres has been used for lignin removal. The effects of various experimental parameters, such as alkali concentration, time and temperature, on lignin removal of banana fibres have been ascertained by response surface methodology using Box-Behnken design. The optimum conditions for lignin decomposition are identified as alkali concentration 11g/L, treatment time 150 min and temperature 90 ºC. The fibres treated under the optimum conditions are characterized based on chemical composition, diameter, density, moisture regain, strength, crystallinity and colour

PW 2374 prevalence and predictors of proper usage of child safety motorcycle helmet among Tamil primary school students in Hulu Langat district

According to Royal Malaysia Police (2013) the number of road traffic crashes increased 31. 5% from 2004–2013. In 2003 the total road traffic crashes was 3 26 815 out of 13,764,837 registered vehicles. While in 2013, total road traffic crashes was 4 77 204 out of 23,434,640 total registered vehicles. The number of total road traffic crashes increased simultaneously with the total number of registered vehicles. Total motorcycle that involve in road traffic crashes increases from 2004 until 2013 with 22. 6%. Out of 1 21 700 motorcycles that involve in road traffic crashes in 2013, 11 260 riders and 1435 pillions experienced death and casualties. Motorcycle riders and pillion riders often suffer from multiple injuries after road traffic collision with head injury being the most common. Among the riders and the pillions, pillions were the one who always get injured on their head compare to the riders. The fact that everyone knows is, wearing motorcycle helmet can reduce head injury during collisions, if it’s worn properly. Both the rider and pillion rider were observed on the proper motorcycle helmet usage (wearing a motorcycle helmet, wearing a standard motorcycle helmet, and buckling up the chinstrap properly). They were observed when they are travelling to and from school. Self administrative questionnaire was given to parents to be filled up. The respondents were aged from seven to eleven years old. Response rate for this study was 80.2%. Out of 203 respondents, only 2. 5% children observed to use proper standard child safety motorcycle helmet. Meanwhile, 67. 5% of the riders used proper standard motorcycle helmet. Prevalence of helmet usage among riders with only one pillion rider is 1.5% compare to with more than one pillion rider is 1.0%. Majority of the parents are lack of knowledge on the existence of standard child safety motorcycle helmet in market

Hemangiomatous Ameloblastoma: A Rare Variant

Ameloblastoma is a true neoplasm of enamel organ type tissue. It is the most common odontogenic neoplasm with more frequency in the mandible. A 20 years old male patient presented with a swelling in the right side of the mandible of 10 months duration. Orthopantomograph revealed multilocular radiolucency extending from the region of 46 to the condyle. Incision biopsy revealed features of plexiform ameloblastoma. Numerous vascular spaces of varying size were seen throughout the stroma. Excision biopsy also revealed similar findings. Based on these findings, a diagnosis of hemangiomatous plexiform ameloblastoma was made. Hemangiomatous ameloblastoma (HA) is still a controversial entity, with some pathologists ruling it out as a  separate lesion. This paper discusses the possibility that HA might be an aggressive variant of ameloblastoma and reviews relevant literature.&nbsp

COUPLED FIELD ANALYSIS OF PRESSURE VESSEL FURNACE TUBE REDUCER USING FINITE ELEMENT METHOD 1 2 3 4

Abstract The reducer is a device used in boilers to distribute or collect steam water mixture from connected pipes used in the boilers are hollow cylindrical in shape, the connected reducers are more to suit the connected pipes with different diameters. The reducers in a boiler are subjected to the following loads: Internal steam pressure, Axial tensile load due to dead weight of connecting tubes, wind box, casing, buck stay and refractories, Furnace pressure load, Seismic load and Thermal stress due to uneven temperature distribution across the thickness of the reducer. Of these loads the effect of the internal pressure and axial tensile load due to dead load and thermal load on the reducer are considered in this analysis. Between two tubes of different diameters coactivity is ensured by reducer. The dimensions of the reducer are decided based on manufacturing facilities available and constraints. The reducer is checked to comply with the calculations and other requirements of relevant clause of statutory code, Indian Boiler Regulation (IBR). The aim of the analysis is to estimate exact stress and temperature distribution in reducer under actual working condition using Finite Element Method (FEM)

Installations from Privilege to Survival: Emergence and Evolution of Dalit Voice on Instagram Accounts

Growth of New Media has paved way for abundant possibility to articulate marginal voices. It is the emergence of social networking services that aids all the subaltern expressions to visualize their concerns on divergent virtual platforms. Visibility is the only path through which they can present their own underprivileged problems of discrimination and sense of identity. Ten years have passed since Instagram released its initial operations as a photo and video sharing space, and now the service witnesses a gradual shift of content creations. The proposed research paper traces the evolution of Instagram from a content-based perspective, arguing that the service has become a realm of survival as far as some communities are concerned drastically moving away from the privileged shutterbugs. It has the efficiency to advocate Dalit voice through multiple interactions. The paper attempts to analyse the Instagram accounts of Dalit Desk and The Blue Club foregrounding how the issues of caste atrocities in India are being mediated without the support of conventional media. The intervention of Instagram is perceived of two types in a structural approach; the first type being informative and persuasive for the common users where the second type seems to be academic and intellectual aiming to create potential exchanges on Dalit discourses. The former method makes use of the strategy of posting images directly which are related to segregation meanwhile the latter depends on a series of academic interactions in video format. Though the approaches are structurally different, they thematically intersect at a single point of representation. Considering the advancement of New Media as an alternative stream for the oppressed, the paper interprets distinctive installations in the form of real-life photos, short videos, posters, and long interactive videos as instances of rendering unheard inputs

Evaluation of a novel phantom for the quality assurance of a six-degree-of-freedom couch 3D-printed at multiple centres

This study aimed to validate a bespoke 3D-printed phantom for use in quality assurance (QA) of a 6 degrees-of-freedom (6DoF) treatment couch. A novel phantom design comprising a main body with internal cube structures, was fabricated at five centres using Polylactic Acid (PLA) material, with an additional phantom produced incorporating a PLA-stone hybrid material. Correctional setup shifts were determined using image registration by 3D-3D matching of high HU cube structures between obtained cone-beam computer tomography (CBCT) images to reference CTs, containing cubes with fabricated rotational offsets of 3.5°, 1.5° and −2.5° in rotation, pitch, and roll, respectively. Average rotational setup shifts were obtained for each phantom. The reproducibility of 3D-printing was probed by comparing the internal cube size as well as Hounsfield Units between each of the uniquely produced phantoms. For the five PLA phantoms, the average rot, pitch and roll correctional differences from the fabricated offsets were −0.3 ± 0.2°, −0.2 ± 0.5° and 0.2 ± 0.3° respectively, and for the PLA hybrid these differences were −0.09 ± 0.14°, 0.30 ± 0.00° and 0.03 ± 0.10°. There was found to be no statistically significant difference in average cube size between the five PLA printed phantoms, with the significant difference (P < 0.05) in HU of one phantom compared to the others attributed to setup choice and material density. This work demonstrated the capability producing a novel 3D-printed 6DoF couch QA phantom design, at multiple centres, with each unique model capable of sub-degree couch correction

Leveraging human capital to reduce maternal mortality in India: enhanced public health system or public-private partnership?

Developing countries are currently struggling to achieve the Millennium Development Goal Five of reducing maternal mortality by three quarters between 1990 and 2015. Many health systems are facing acute shortages of health workers needed to provide improved prenatal care, skilled birth attendance and emergency obstetric services – interventions crucial to reducing maternal death. The World Health Organization estimates a current deficit of almost 2.4 million doctors, nurses and midwives. Complicating matters further, health workforces are typically concentrated in large cities, while maternal mortality is generally higher in rural areas. Additionally, health care systems are faced with shortages of specialists such as anaesthesiologists, surgeons and obstetricians; a maldistribution of health care infrastructure; and imbalances between the public and private health care sectors. Increasingly, policy-makers have been turning to human resource strategies to cope with staff shortages. These include enhancement of existing work roles; substitution of one type of worker for another; delegation of functions up or down the traditional role ladder; innovation in designing new jobs;transfer or relocation of particular roles or services from one health care sector to another. Innovations have been funded through state investment, public-private partnerships and collaborations with nongovernmental organizations and quasi-governmental organizations such as the World Bank. This paper focuses on how two large health systems in India – Gujarat and Tamil Nadu – have successfully applied human resources strategies in uniquely different contexts to the challenges of achieving Millennium Development Goal Five