Development of brightness on handmade woolen carpets

A process for the achievement of brightness on handmade carpet made from coarse wool fibre considering chlorine based oxidation of wool has been developed. Box-Behnken design of experiment is adopted for three factors (sulphuric acid, sodium hypochlorite and sodium hydroxide concentrations) at three levels for computation of responses like whiteness index, brightness index, and wear and abrasion loss. The optimized conditions are determined by multiple regression analysis aided by computer generated ANOVA analysis of raw data and contour graphs corresponding to various response surface models. The optimum conditions for process parameters are found to be 10 g/L sulphuric acid, 4.5g/L sodium hypochlorite and 10g/L sodium hydroxide. The handle, softness, whiteness, lustre and the anti-shrinkage properties of treated wool fibre improve in comparison to those of original fibre

Recovery of metal values from copper converter and smelter slags by ferric chloride leaching

A study of the recovery of copper, nickel and cobalt from copper converter and smelter slags by leaching with ferric chloride is reported. The converter slag from Ghatsila, India contained 4.03% copper, 1.99% nickel and 0.48% cobalt and the smelter slag contained 1.76% copper, 0.23% nickel and 0.19% cobalt. Various parameters including the effect of stirring, leaching time, leaching temperature, concentration of ferric chloride, solid-liquid ratio and particle size, on the extraction of copper, nickel and cobalt have been studied. 92% copper, 28% nickel and 24% cobalt could be extracted from converter slag under optimum conditions, whereas 54% copper, 71% nickel and 44% cobalt could be extracted from smelter slag

Seroprevalence of canine dirofilariosis, granulocytic anaplasmosis and lyme borreliosis of public health importance in dogs from India’s North East

Aim: Vector-borne infections namely dirofilariosis, ehrlichiosis, anaplasmosis and lyme borreliosis are being recognized as emerging and/or re-emerging problems in dogs and man due to rapid extension of zoogeographical ranges of many causative agents through international tourism and increase mobility of dogs at national and international level towards meeting the demand for companion animals in the present day society. Anticipating such situation, a serological study was conducted in dogs from North East India to estimate the prevalence of zoonotically important Dirofilaria immitis, Anaplasma phagocytophilum and Borrelia burgdorferi along with Ehrlichia canis. Materials and Methods: Serological study was carried out using enzyme immunoassay in commercial SNAP 4DX® test kit (Idexx Laboratories, USA). The study was conducted in 191 dogs comprising 82 pets, 57 stray and 52 working dogs owned by defence organizations. Results: The study revealed seroprevalence of mosquito-borne D. immitis (17.80%), tick-borne E. canis (22.51%) and A. phagocytophilum (4.71%) with an overall 41.88% prevalence of pathogens in single or co-infection. Serological evidence of tick-borne lyme borreliosis due to B. burgdorferi could not be established in dogs in the present study. Of the zoonotic species, highest prevalence of D. immitis was found in the stray dogs (22.80%) and that of A. phagocytophilum in pet dogs (6.09%). Conclusion: The results of the present serological study serve as baseline information on the prevalence of A. phagocytophilum in dogs reported for the first time in India and reaffirmation on the high prevalence of D. immitis and E. canis in the North East India

Serological and molecular approaches for leptospirosis at a tertiary care centre in northern India

Background: Aims and objectives of the study was to determine prevalence rate of leptospirosis and recognition of common epidemiological situation and clinical manifestations of leptospirosis in patients with pyrexia of unknown origin at a tertiary care centre.Methods: This was a hospital based prospective observational study. The duration of study was from August 2015 to July 2016. Patients with clinical symptoms of pyrexia of unknown origin attending Gandhi Memorial and Associated Hospital, King George’s Medical University Lucknow during the study period were enrolled in this study. We performed the IgM ELISA and PCR for the leptospirosis at our centre and for the Micro Agglutination Test (MAT), we sent the serum samples to regional medical research centre Department of Health Research Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Govt. of India Port Blair.Results: A Total of 104 symptomatic patients were recruited. Of total, IgM ELISA for leptospirosis were positive in 25 patients, PCR in 20 patients and MAT shows significant titres in 3 samples. The ROC curve analysis revealed significant diagnostic accuracy of IgM ELISA with 100.00% sensitivity and 78.22% specificity however showed less positive predictive value (12.0%) but high negative predictive value (100.0%). Most common presentation were fever, jaundice and rashes (40.4%) followed by fever and jaundice (29.8%).Conclusions: Leptospirosis IgM ELISA and PCR showed good detection accuracy. Age, sex, occupation is not significantly associated to the leptospirosis

Bridging the Gap of Skilled Surgeons in Low and Middle Income Countries Using ICT Based Tools : A Case Study in Super-Speciality Training

Introduction: Over the last two decades, advancement of super specialised surgical disciplines has shown improved health outcome, in particular quality and safety. Although medical technology has developed to meet diagnostics and therapeutic needs, there is a scarcity of trained human resources in advanced specialities in low and middle income countries (LMICs). Innovative methods are needed to educate and train people at their workplaces using collaborative technologies and networks. Methods: Over the last 15 years, two general surgeons in Cuttack have been telementored from Lucknow 1,163 km away, using collaborative technologies to develop Endocrine Surgery. This study reviews the last 11 years of the service which includes a clinical decision support system and treatment planning advice using real time videoconferencing. Results: Over the last 11 years, 199 endocrine surgeries per annum were performed with most being thyroid cases as compared with 119 surgeries per annum during the previous five years. Parathyroid and adrenal cases increased significantly during this period (p <0.001). Rates of temporary and permanent vocal cord palsy (1.7% and 0%), hypocalcaemia (5.9% and 1.1%) were comparable with high volume centres. Based on the quantum, safety and quality outcome of endocrine surgery the provincial government has approved creation of a super-speciality department of endocrine surgery in Cuttack. Conclusion: Sustained engagement using telementoring can transfer surgical skills to needy surgeons and enable them to match the expertise of mentors. This model can be replicated in other specialities in a cost effective way to develop specialised human resources for healthcare, in particular in LMICs

Corrosion behavior of ultrafine-grained AA2024 aluminum alloy produced by cryorolling.

The objectives of this study were to produce ultrafine-grained (UFG) AA2024 aluminum alloy by cryorolling followed by aging and to evaluate its corrosion behavior. Solutionized samples were cryorolled to ~85% reduction in thickness. Subsequent aging resulted in a UFG structure with finer precipitates of Al2CuMg in the cryorolled alloy. The (1) solutionized and (2) solutionized and cryorolled samples were uniformly aged at 160°C/24 h and were designated as CGPA and CRPA, respectively; these samples were subsequently subjected to corrosion studies. Potentiodynamic polarization studies in 3.5wt% NaCl solution indicated an increase in corrosion potential and a decrease in corrosion current density for CRPA compared to CGPA. In the case of CRPA, electrochemical impedance spectroscopic studies indicated the presence of two complex passive oxide layers with a higher charge transfer resistance and lower mass loss during intergranular corrosion tests. The improved corrosion resistance of CRPA was mainly attributed to its UFG structure, uniform distribution of fine precipitates, and absence of coarse grain-boundary precipitation and associated precipitate-free zones as compared with the CGPA alloy

Antagonistic activity of cellular components of Pseudomonas species against Aeromonas hydrophila

Antagonistic effects of Pseudomonas fluorescens, P. aeruginosa and P. putida were studied against 12 strains of Aeromonas hydrophila (Ah1–Ah12). Four different fractions of cellular component (i.e. whole cell product, heat killed whole cell product, intra cellular product and extra cellular product) of all Pseudomonas species were equally effective in reducing growth of A. hydrophila strains, as measured by the zone of inhibition in an in vitro sensitivity test and have potential action against A. hydrophila infection in fishes

Vesicular stomatitis virus vectors expressing avian influenza H5 HA induce cross-neutralizing antibodies and long-term protection

AbstractGiven the lethality of H5N1 avian influenza viruses (AIV) and the recurring spread from poultry to humans, an effective vaccine against H5N1 viruses may be needed to prevent a pandemic. We generated experimental vaccine vectors based on recombinant vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV) expressing the H5 hemagglutinin (HA) from an H5N1 virus isolated in 1997. The HA gene was expressed either from an attenuated wild-type VSV vector or from a single-cycle vector containing a deletion of the VSV G gene. We found that all of the vectors induced potent neutralizing antibody titers against the homologous and antigenically heterologous H5N1 viruses isolated in 2004 and 2005. Vaccination of mice with any combination of prime or prime/boost vectors provided long-lasting protection (>7 months) against challenge with AIV, even in animals receiving a single dose of single-cycle vaccine. Our data indicate that these recombinants are promising vaccine candidates for pandemic influenza

Surface energy engineering of graphene

Contact angle goniometry is conducted for epitaxial graphene on SiC. Although only a single layer of epitaxial graphene exists on SiC, the contact angle drastically changes from 69{\deg} on SiC substrates to 92{\deg} with graphene. It is found that there is no thickness dependence of the contact angle from the measurements of single, bi, and multi layer graphene and highly ordered pyrolytic graphite (HOPG). After graphene is treated with oxygen plasma, the level of damage is investigated by Raman spectroscopy and correlation between the level of disorder and wettability is reported. By using low power oxygen plasma treatment, the wettability of graphene is improved without additional damage, which can solve the adhesion issues involved in the fabrication of graphene devices