Study of the superconducting properties of the Bi-Ca-Sr-Cu-O system

High Temperature Superconductivity in the Bi-Ca-Sr-Cu-O System has been observed and has attracted considerable attention in 1988. The 80 K superconductivity phase has been identified to have a composition of Bi2CaSr2Cu2Ox, while the 110 K phase as reported in the literature has a possible composition of Bi2Ca2Sr2Cu3Ox. Researchers present here a study of the electrical properties of bulk samples of the slowly cooled and rapidly quenched 2:1:2:2 system. The samples used in this study were prepared from appropriate amounts of Bi2O3, CuO, SrCO3, CaCO3

Effect of electrolyte (NaCl) and temperature on the mechanism of cetyl trimethylammonium bromide micelles

In the last few decades, surfactants and electrolyte interaction has gained considerable attention of researchers due to their industrial and domestic applications. In this work, the effects of electrolyte (NaCl) on the critical micelle concentration (CMC) of the cationic surfactant cetyltrymethyl ammonium bromide (CTAB) at different temperatures were investigated through different techniques such as conductometry, surface tensiometer and viscosimeter. The results showed that the values of CMC of CTAB decreased with the increase in temperature as well as with the addition of NaCl. The value of CMC for pure CTAB was calculated 0.98M at 303K, which was observed to decrease as temperature increased and got value of 0.95M at 318K. Moreover the addition of electrolyte NaCl into the surfactant lead to lowering of the CMC and obtained value of 0.90M at 3M of NaCl, indicating significant electrostatic interactions between surfactant and electrolyte. Moreover the degree of ionization(α) calculated for pure cationic surfactant CTAB was 0.219, which tends to increase with the addition of electrolyte, while that of counter ion binding values (β) was observed to decrease from 0.780 to 0.201. Furthermore, the conductivity of charged micelle of surfactant and free ions of electrolyte contributed to electric conductivity of aqueous micellar solution of surfactant. The results can be helpful to develop better understanding about interaction between electrolyte and surfactant

Does the inflow of remittances cause environmental degradation? Empirical evidence from China

Remittances inflow plays a significant role in promoting the economic welfare of a country; it has a multidimensional effect on the economy and links with the carbon emissions. This study examines the possible asymmetric transmissions from remittances to carbon dioxide emissions (CO2) in China using time series data from 1980 to 2014. The Non-linear NARDL method is employed to check the longrun asymmetric relationship between remittances inflow and carbon emissions. The findings show that a positive shock in remittances causes an increase in CO2 emissions, while a negative shock in remittances causes a decrease in CO2 emissions. The results support the existence of an asymmetric cointegrating relationship between remittances and CO2 emissions in both short run and the long run. The NARDL dynamic multiplier graph assumes that positive remittances shocks are highe compared to the negative remittances shocks. It suggests that policymakers in China should consider remittances as a policy instrument especially designing strategies and policies related to sustainable environmental quality in the long run

Complications Following Posterior Fossa Tumour Surgery in Children: Experience from a Tertiary Care Neurosurgical Facility in a Developing Country

Background: Posterior fossa tumours are the commonest childhood brain tumours with diverse clinical presentations, treatment modalities and postoperative outcomes. The literature has limited description of postoperative complications following surgery for these tumours. Objective: The aim of this study is to analyse the postoperative complications, which occur after PFT surgery in children. A brief overview of the in-hospital mortality and management of these complications presented. Materials and Methods: This is a retrospective chart review of children who were operated for PFTs. The occurrence of complications during the postoperative period was noted. Complications management, in-hospital mortality and overall survival was also recorded until the time of discharge. The complications are divided according to the modified Clavien-Dindo classification and outcome was stratified accordingly. Results: 79 (60.3%) males and 52 (39.7%) females with a mean age of 8.15 ± 3.3 years. The mean duration between symptoms onset and diagnosis was 35.3 ± 16.6 days. Overall, there were 53 (40.5%) cases of medulloblastoma, 40 (30.5%) cases of ependymoma, 34 (26.0%) cases of pilocytic astrocytoma and only 4 (3.1%) cases of atypical teratoid/rhabdoid tumours. Twenty-five (19.1%) patients developed hydrocephalous postoperatively. The most common complication was postoperative incisional CSF leak, which occurred in 17 (13.0%) patients. Wound infection was noted in 8 (6.1%) patients, eight (6.1%) of patients presented with cerebellar mutism, five (3.8%) patients had bleed in tumour bed, five (3.8%) patients had aspiration pneumonia and 7 (5.3%) patients developed hospital acquired pneumonia. The overall mean length of stay (LOS) was 5.4 ± 2.2 days (range: 3 – 12 days). The overall mortality rate was 9.9% (n = 13). Conclusion: The most common complication is the development of hydrocephalous, followed by cerebrospinal fluid leaks, cerebellar mutism, peri-tumour oedema, tumour bed haematoma and systemic complications such as meningitis, sepsis and postoperative pneumonia.&nbsp

OPERATIONAL RESEARCH TOOLS IN IRRIGATION - A REVIEW

Operational research optimization is an old method for allocating scarce resources with maximum benefits and efficiency. With increasing global water scarcity, earliness and tiredness in demand base water supply, economical issues, maximizing crop per drop of water, OR is getting popular in irrigation and agriculture sector as well. This paper is intended to review different optimization techniques used so far in the field of irrigation.Key Words: Operation research, optimization, irrigation, water delivery, genetic algorithm, simulated annealing, fuzzy sets, swarm optimization

Mobile Health Augmented Cardiac Rehabilitation (MCard) in Post-Acute Coronary Syndrome Patients : A randomised controlled trial protocol

Objectives: To determine the effectiveness of mobile health augmented cardiac rehabilitation (MCard) on health-related quality of life (HRQoL), clinical and behavioural outcomes in post-ACS. Methods: A single-centre, single-blinded, two-arm randomised controlled trial is planned at Armed Forces Institute of Cardiology (AFIC), Pakistan. The duration was two years, that is from January 2019 till December 2020. A total of 160 participants were recruited and randomly allocated to the control group or the intervention group. Intervention is a mobile health augmented cardiac rehabilitation (MCard), a medically supervised cardiac rehabilitation program for 23-24 weeks. The phase one includes individual counselling during the hospital stay and in phase two includes communication of standardised messages related to healthy lifestyle modification through a specifically designed software. Results: This clinical trial results will give insight into the impact of MCard in improving the health outcomes (HRQoL, clinical and behavioural) of participants. If proven to be effective, this technology can be scaled up and implemented in other cardiac centres in the country. It utilises fewer human resources and can be delivered at a lower cost. Conclusion: The study protocol will be giving evidence either MCard can contribute to improving the HRQoL, clinical and behavioural outcomes of post-ACS patients following hospital discharge. Considering the COVID-9 situation, this is the perfect time to implement and evaluate the effectiveness of MCard on health outcomes among post-ACS patients

Patients' and healthcare professionals' perspectives on a community-based intervention for schizophrenia in Pakistan: A focus group study.

To explore the perceptions and experiences of schizophrenia from patients, their care givers, health care providers, spiritual and traditional healers to develop a community-based intervention for improving treatment adherence for people with schizophrenia in Pakistan. This qualitative study involved four focus group discussions (FGD) with a total of 26 participants: patients and carers (n = 5), primary care staff (n = 7), medical technicians (n = 8) and traditional and spiritual healers (n = 6). The participants were selected using purposive sampling method. FGDs were audio-recorded and transcribed. A thematic analysis was applied to the data set. The themes identified were (i) Schizophrenia is not merely a biomedical problem: participants believed that poverty and an inferiority complex resulting from social disparity caused schizophrenia and contributed to non-adherence to medications; (ii) Spiritual healing goes hand in hand with the medical treatment: participants regarded spiritual and traditional treatment methods as an inherent part of schizophrenia patients' well-being and rehabilitation; (iii) Services for mental illness: mental health is not covered under primary health in a basic health unit: participants believed that the lack of services, training and necessary medication in primary care are major issues for treating schizophrenia in community; (iv) Barriers to community-based interventions: primary care staff believed that multiple pressures on staff, lack of incentives, non-availability of medication and lack of formal referral pathways resulted in disintegration of dealing with schizophrenia patients in primary care facilities. The study has identified a number of barriers and facilitators to developing and delivering a psychosocial intervention to support people living with schizophrenia in Pakistan. In particular, the importance of involving spiritual and traditional healers was highlighted by our diverse group of stakeholders

Chemical composition and antioxidant potential of Acacia leucophloea Roxb.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the compositional and nutritional potential of methanolic extracts of various parts of Acacia leucophloea Roxb. concerning the chemical composition and antioxidant potential of which limited information is available. Compositional studies indicated carbohydrates as major components in both seed and pods. Despite differences in mineral content among the leaves, pods and seeds, calcium was found in the highest amount and zinc in the lowest. The amino acid profile indicated aspartic acid as the major amino acid and proline as the minor. Among protein fractions, globulin was present in higher amounts than other fractions. Linoleic acid was the major fatty acid detected in the oil from both pods and seeds, while g-tocopherol was the major component of the tocopherol observed from same oil. Moreover, significant antioxidant potential was observed from the extracts of all three parts investigated. The results obtained in this study clearly indicate that A. leucophloea has a sufficient potential for use as a natural antioxidant agent. Further phytochemical studies will be performed for specification of the biologically active principles

A bibliometric analysis of end-of-life vehicles related research:exploring a path to environmental sustainability

Considering rapid economic development and continuously increasing environmental concerns, end-of-life vehicles (ELVs) have significant socioeconomic value as a crucial waste stream. The research relating to ELVs has rapidly evolved over the last few years. However, existing review studies focus on specific research themes, and thus, fail to present a complete picture. Hence, this research intends to explain the current research scenario relating to ELVs by reviewing the critical published studies of the last 22 years. A total of 1405 research publications were extracted from the Scopus database covering the period from 2000 to 2021. Mainly employing bibliometric analysis techniques, this research analyzes the quantity of literature, researchers, institutions, countries, and research themes to understand the current status and future trends in ELV recycling and management. The results revealed a considerable rise in the number of articles published in the last five years. The key producers of influential ELV research are listed as the United States, China, and the United Kingdom. Globally, Chinese universities have the most ELV-related articles published. Similarly, Serbian researcher Vladimir Simic authored the most ELV-related articles during the research period. This article also identifies various research themes: management and recycling, resource recovery and components, life cycle evaluation, and socioeconomic effects. The results also reveal a strong association between distinct ELV research clusters

Efficient removal of norfloxacin using nano zerovalent cerium composite biochar-catalyzed peroxydisulfate

Norfloxacin (NOR), an important antibiotic used for the treatment of different infections which is reportedly causing huge quantity of water pollution and severe environmental issues. In this study, biochar prepared from Phoenix dactylifera roots biomass (PB) and composited with mesoporous nano-zerovalent cerium (nZVCe) was used for treatment of NOR solutions. The various characterization and treatment studies showed successful formation of the nZVCe and PB composite. The nZVCe was found to improve physiological characteristics and catalytic efficiency of PB. The nZVCe/PB composite caused 52% removal of NOR as compared to 23% by the individual PB. The use of peroxydisulfate (PDS) with PB and nZVCe/PB showed further improvement in the removal of NOR and caused 58 and 84% removal efficiencies of NOR by PB/PDS and nZVCe/PB/PDS, respectively. The use of PDS with PB and nZVCe/PB was found to yield ●OH and SO4 ●– which improved degradation of NOR, however, addition of ●OH and SO4 ●– scavengers impeded NOR degradation. The PB was found to have several oxygen functional groups which decomposed PDS into ●OH and SO4 ●–. The nZVCe/PB showed high recovery, reusability, and stability and caused high removal of NOR even at fifth cycle of treatment both in the absence and presence of PDS. The treatment of NOR by nZVCe/PB-catalyzed PDS showed encouraging results under different pH, and varying concentrations of PDS, nZVCe/PB, and NOR as well as in real water samples which suggest potential practical applications of NOR contaminated water. Degradation of NOR resulted into several products and the resulting final product proved to be non-toxic