Association of serum nitric oxide, free beta human chorionic gonadotropin and body mass index in first trimester pregnancy

Background: Pregnancy is a state of oxidative stress which arises from increased placental mitochondrial activity and production of reactive nitrogen species mainly nitric oxide (NO). NO is a potent vasodilator, which have pronounced effects on placental function which includes proliferation and differentiation of trophoblast. Human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) is secreted by the syncytiotrophoblas. During pregnancy, free βhCG level can be first detected in maternal blood from 11th day after conception. Increased in NO synthesis acts as endocrine modulator of the placenta which promote secretion of free β hCG. The objective of this study was to estimate and compare the levels of βhCG and NO with different groups of BMI of pregnant women in first trimester.Methods: The study group comprises of 85 pregnant women within the age of 20-40 years with singleton pregnancy (11th-13th week + 6 days of gestation) who came for routine first trimester screening. Serum levels of free β hCG was analyzed by electrochemiluminiscense. NO was measured by kinetic cadmium reduction method. Statistical analysis used: data was expressed as mean±SD and median. Comparisons between different groups of BMI were done using Kruskal Wallis test.Results: There was significantly increased level serum NO with the increase in BMI and significantly decrease in serum levels of (p>0.05) free βhCG. We found significant positive correlation between NO and βhCG (p>0.05, r value 0.01).Conclusions: Early placental formation requires high amounts of angiogenesis and vasculogenesis. Its initiation, maturation, and maintenance are of critical importance. Failure to placental formation can lead to preeclampsia and/or intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR)

Producing hierarchical porous carbon monoliths from hydrometallurgical recycling of spent lead acid battery for application in lithium ion batteries

An environmentally clean process to recycle the paste from a spent lead acid battery (LAB) is further developed to produce a porous carbon anode material for a lithium ion battery (LIB) which is under increasing focus as the solution for future energy storage and distribution networks.X.P. and C.D acknowledge funding from the ERC, under grant number 259619 PHOTO EM.This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from RSC via http://dx.doi.org/10.1039/C5GC01203

In-Vitro Screening Of Malaysian Honey From Different Floral Sources For Antibacterial Activity On Human Pathogenic Bacteria

Background: Different researches on therapeutic effects of honey have been conducted in different regions; however the study on the potential antibacterial activity of Malaysian honey is still limited. In this study, antibacterial activities of different monofloral honey samples were tested against several common human pathogenic bacteria.Materials and Methods: The well-diffusion method, minimum inhibitory concentrations (MIC) and minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC) techniques were employed to investigate the putative antibacterial activity of Malaysian monofloral honey from Koompassia excelsa (Becc.) Taub X(Tualang), Melaleuca cajuputi Powell (Gelam) and Durio zibethinus Murr. (Durian). Honey samples were tested against Staphylococcus aureus ATCC6518 and ATCC25923, Staphylococcus epidermidis ATCC12228, Enterococcus faecium LMG16192, Enterococcus faecalis LMG16216 and ATCC29212, Escherichia coli ATCC25922, Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium ATCC14028 and Klebsiella pneumoniae ATCC13883.Results: Marked variations were observed in the antibacterial activity of these honey samples. Durian honey failed to produce substantial antibacterial activity, whereas Tualang and Gelam honey showed a spectrum of antibacterial activity with their growth inhibitory effects against all of the tested bacterial species including vancomycin-resistant enterococci (VRE).Conclusion: Present findings suggested Gelam honey possesses highest antibacterial effect among the tested Malaysian honey samples.Keywords: Honey; monofloral; antibacterial; well-diffusion method; VREIntroductio

Preparation and evaluation of ciprofloxacin loaded chitosan-gelatin composite films for wound healing activity

Natural polymers are used as lead compounds for design of drugs in treatment of different ailments. Chitosan and gelatin have proven wound healing properties individually. As both have wound healing property, the combination of these two polymers and incorporation of drugs into the composite films may show improvement in wound healing activity. Thus, the composite films and drug loaded films were evaluated for various in vitro evaluation tests to ascertain the applicability of prepared combination for wound healing activity. The composite films were prepared with increase in gelatin concentration and the drug loaded films were prepared with increased concentrations of drug in optimized composite film. These films were evaluated for thickness, folding endurance, water absorption capacity, antibacterial activity, tensile strength, drug load, content uniformity, in vitro drug release by diffusion studies and in vivo wound healing studies by excision wound model using albino rats. The drug loaded films shown significant difference in folding endurance, water absorption capacity, antibacterial activity when compared to optimized blank composite film. There was no significant difference in thickness and tensile strength of drug loaded films when compared to blank composite films. Percentage of wound contraction was more for wounds treated with ciprofloxacin loaded composite film than blank composite film. With the above results, it was concluded that ciprofloxacin loaded chitosan-gelatin composite films had shown more wound healing property than chitosan-gelatin blank composite film and blank chitosan film without interfering in strength of film.Keywords: Ciprofloxacin; Chitosan; Gelatin; Drug loaded films; Wound healing; Tensile strength

Evaluation of CD9 Expression of Tumour Cells and Stromal Immune Cells in Breast Carcinoma by Immunohistochemistry

Introduction: Cluster of Differentiation 9 (CD9), known as Motility Related Protein (MRP-1) regulates cell adhesion, motility, migration and proliferation. Many studies have stated conflicting results on prognostic significance of invasive breast carcinomas with CD9 expression that had performed on tumour tissues. Aim: To assess the inter-relationship of CD9 expression of tumour cells and stromal immune cells in breast carcinoma with clinicopathological parameters which include age, tumour size, grade, histological type, lymph nodes, tumour staging and molecular classification. Materials and Methods: An observational prospective (July 2020 to June 2021) and retrospective (October 2019 to June 2020) study was done in 71 cases of resected primary invasive breast carcinoma over a period of one and half year at Sri Devaraj Urs Medical College, Karnataka, India. Immunohistochemistry (IHC) staining was done using CD9 antibody. Tumour cells (T-CD9) expression was evaluated by Immunoreactivity scoring (IS= Intensity score×Extent of staining). The stromal cells (S-CD9) expression was evaluated by percentage (%) of stromal area occupied by CD9 stained immune cells. Chi-square test was used as test of significance for qualitative data. The p-value of <0.05 was considered as statistically significant. Results: Out of 71 cases, T-CD9 expression was noticed in 40 (56.34%) cases and IS <4 considered as negative was observed in 31 (43.66%) cases. However there was no association with age, tumour size, grade and molecular markers for the expression of both T-CD9 and S-CD9. Human Epidermal growth factor receptor 2 neu (HER2neu) negative was associated with T-CD9 expression (p-value=0.05). Hence, CD9 can be used as prognostic marker for Her2neu negative cases. Conclusion: The CD9 expression was not significantly associated with tumour cells (T-CD9) and stromal cells (S-CD9) in breast carcinoma cases. However, it was significantly associated with Her2neu negative tumour cells. T-CD9 showed more positivity in Luminal A followed by triple negative, whereas S-CD9 showed more positivity in Luminal B. CD9 did not show association with any parameters except Her2neu negative

Comparison of vitamin D levels in obese and non obese patients with polycystic ovarian syndrome in a South Indian population

Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is the most common metabolic abnormality occurring in young women of reproductive age. Low vitamin D levels were found to be associated with the development of obesity and insulin resistance in young women with PCOS. The study was conducted as a prospective observational study involving 121 women with PCOS. The diagnosis of PCOS cases were based on the revised Rotterdam consensus criteria. Vitamin D levels were compared in the obese and non obese PCOS groups and also with the controls. In the PCOS group, sixty subjects were obese with BMI of ≥25 kg/m2 and forty seven subjects were found to be non obese. In the control group, sixteen subjects were obese and sixty five subjects were non obese. The mean vitamin D level in the PCOS group was 15.45±7.88 ng/ml and in the control group was 12.83±5.76ng/ml. The mean vitamin D levels in the obese and non obese group with PCOS were 16.11±8.9ng/ml and 14.61±6.1ng/ml respectively. Majority of the patients and controls had vitamin D deficiency and there was no difference in the vitamin D levels in PCOS group and controls as well as obese and non obese groups

Dislocations as channels for the fabrication of sub-surface porous GaN by electrochemical etching

Porosification of nitride semiconductors provides a new paradigm for advanced engineering of the properties of optoelectronic materials. Electrochemical etching creates porosity in doped layers whilst leaving undoped layers undamaged, allowing the realisation of complex three-dimensional porous nanostructures, potentially offering a wide range of functionalities, such as in distributed Bragg reflectors. Porous/non-porous multilayers can be formed by etching whole, as-grown wafers uniformly in one simple process, without any additional processing steps. The etch penetrates from the top down, through the undoped layers, leaving them almost untouched. Here, atomic-resolution electron microscopy is used to show that the etchant accesses the doped layers via nanometre-scale channels that form at dislocation cores and transport the etchant and etch products to and from the doped layer respectively. Results on AlGaN and non-polar GaN multilayers indicate the same mechanism is operating, suggesting this approach may be applicable in a range of materials

Peptide-Based Supramolecular Systems Chemistry

Peptide-based supramolecular systems chemistry seeks to mimic the ability of life forms to use conserved sets of building blocks and chemical reactions to achieve a bewildering array of functions. Building on the design principles for short peptide-based nanomaterials with properties, such as self-assembly, recognition, catalysis, and actuation, are increasingly available. Peptide-based supramolecular systems chemistry is starting to address the far greater challenge of systems-level design to access complex functions that emerge when multiple reactions and interactions are coordinated and integrated. We discuss key features relevant to systems-level design, including regulating supramolecular order and disorder, development of active and adaptive systems by considering kinetic and thermodynamic design aspects and combinatorial dynamic covalent and noncovalent interactions. Finally, we discuss how structural and dynamic design concepts, including preorganization and induced fit, are critical to the ability to develop adaptive materials with adaptive and tunable photonic, electronic, and catalytic properties. Finally, we highlight examples where multiple features are combined, resulting in chemical systems and materials that display adaptive properties that cannot be achieved without this level of integration

Soluble polysulphide sorption using carbon nanotube forest for enhancing cycle performance in a lithium-sulphur battery

The rapid capacity decay of lithium–sulphur batteries has been a significant obstacle for practical application, which is generally considered to arise from dissolution of lithium polysulphide in the electrolyte and diffusion away from the cathode. As the lithium content in the polysuphide increases with further discharge, capacity decay occurs also from the passivating effects by the formation of insoluble sulphides, further amplified by volume increase. More recently, weakening of sulphur adhesion to carbon with progress in discharge is also an important factor in the sulphur cathode degradation. In order to overcome capacity decay caused by all the above mechanisms, we have prepared a composite cathode made of sulphur and high density carbon nanotube (HD-CNT) forest scaffold that is able to interfacially adsorb and volumetrically confine the polysulphide species and accommodate the expansion of sulphur discharge products effectively. This cathode demonstrates very high electrochemical stability and high discharge capacity up to 200 full discharge/charge cycles even with the use of the basic organic ether electrolyte where polysulphide shows high solubility, thus providing evidence for confinement and interfacial contact. Retention and surface adsorption favoured by minimizing the wall-to-wall distance between the aligned CNTs arise from a decrease in the reaction energy of the adsorption. Computational simulation of the interface between polysulphide species and carbon nanotube surface provides first-principle confirmation of improved binding between C and S in the polysulphides as wall-to-wall distance is decreased. The HD-CNT scaffold is self-binding and highly-conducting thus the conventional additives of binder and carbon black are also fully eliminated. A high discharge capacity of 812 mA h g⁻¹ of sulphur (corresponding to 503 mA h g⁻¹ of the whole cathode material mass) is stably retained after 200 cycles at 400 mA g⁻¹ with a small average capacity decay of only 0.054% per cycle on average These encouraging results provide novel approaches to designing and fabricating long cycle life cathode in a lithium–sulphur battery.Financial support from EC project Technotubes is greatly appreciated. Kai Xi wishes to thank the Cambridge Overseas Trust.This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from Elsevier via http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.nanoen.2014.12.02

Automated analysis of carbon in powdered geological and environmental samples by Raman spectroscopy.

Raman spectroscopy can be used to assess the structure of naturally occurring carbonaceous materials (CM), which exist in a wide range of crystal structures. The sources of these geological and environmental materials include rocks, soils, river sediments, and marine sediment cores, all of which can contain carbonaceous material ranging from highly crystalline graphite to amorphous-like organic compounds. In order to fully characterize a geological sample and its intrinsic heterogeneity, several spectra must be collected and analyzed in a precise and repeatable manner. Here, we describe a suitable processing and analysis technique. We show that short-period ball-mill grinding does not introduce structural changes to semi-graphitized material and allows for easy collection of Raman spectra from the resulting powder. Two automated peak-fitting procedures are defined that allow for rapid processing of large datasets. For very disordered CM, Lorentzian profiles are fitted to five characteristic peaks, for highly graphitized material, three Voigt profiles are fitted. Peak area ratios and peak width measurements are used to classify each spectrum and allow easy comparison between samples. By applying this technique to samples collected in Taiwan after Typhoon Morakot, sources of carbon to offshore sediments have been identified. Carbon eroded from different areas of Taiwan can be seen mixed and deposited in the offshore flood sediments, and both graphite and amorphous-like carbon have been recycled from terrestrial to marine deposits. The practicality of this application illustrates the potential for this technique to be deployed to sediment-sourcing problems in a wide range of geological settings