Defining criteria for disease activity states in systemic juvenile idiopathic arthritis based on the systemic Juvenile Arthritis Disease Activity Score

Objective To develop and validate cutoff values in the systemic Juvenile Arthritis Disease Activity Score 10 (sJADAS10) that distinguish the states of inactive disease (ID), minimal disease activity (MiDA), moderate disease activity (MoDA), and high disease activity (HDA) in children with systemic juvenile idiopathic arthritis (sJIA), based on subjective disease state assessment by the treating pediatric rheumatologist. Methods The cutoffs definition cohort was composed of 400 patients enrolled at 30 pediatric rheumatology centers in 11 countries. Using the subjective physician rating as an external criterion, 6 methods were applied to identify the cutoffs: mapping, calculation of percentiles of cumulative score distribution, Youden index, 90% specificity, maximum agreement, and ROC curve analysis. Sixty percent of the patients were assigned to the definition cohort and 40% to the validation cohort. Cutoff validation was conducted by assessing discriminative ability. Results The sJADAS10 cutoffs that separated ID from MiDA, MiDA from MoDA, and MoDA from HDA were ≤ 2.9, ≤ 10, and > 20.6. The cutoffs discriminated strongly among different levels of pain, between patients with or without morning stiffness, and between patients whose parents judged their disease status as remission or persistent activity/flare or were satisfied or not satisfied with current illness outcome. Conclusion The sJADAS cutoffs revealed good metrologic properties in both definition and validation cohorts, and are therefore suitable for use in clinical trials and routine practice

The optical and electrical transport studies of ZnxCo1-xS thin films

In an attempt to design and fabricate a suitable II–VI group material of variable optical gap, we have synthesized a series of ZnxCo1−xS (0 ≤ x ≤ 0.4) thin films via a facile chemical solution growth technique. To gain insight of the materials properties we have opted for different characterization techniques and are reporting our observations pertaining to the elemental analysis, magneto-topography, optical and electrical transport studies. Excellent agreement of binding energy values for Co2p, Zn2p and S2p levels in elemental analysis concluded the oxidation states as Co2+, Zn2+ and S2−. Magnetic force microscopy confirmed the existence of randomly distributed magnetic domains mimicking the surface topography. The optical studies determined the high absorption coefficient (α ≈ 104 to 105 cm−1) in the as-grown thin films. The optical band gap is found to be increased non-linearly from 1.59 to 2.50 eV as the composition parameter (x) is increased. The D.C. electrical conductivity measurements showed decrease in conductivity with increased composition parameter (x). The thermoelectric studies confirmed degenerative nature of the as-deposited thin films with n-type conduction

Aromatic Polyesters Containing Ether and a Kinked Aromatic Amide Structure in the Main Chain: Synthesis and Characterisation

A novel bisphenol containing preformed multiple ether and amide linkages, N, N′-Bis (4-hydroxyphenoxyphenylene) isophthalamide (IPCD), was prepared and analysed by spectroscopic methods. New aromatic polyesters were prepared by polycondensation of IPCD with 1, 3-benzene diacidchloride and/or 1, 4-benzene diacidchloride. These obtained polyesters were structurally analysed by infra-red spectroscopy, measurements of inherent viscosity, wide-angle X-ray diffraction patterns, and thermal techniques such as differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), and solubility tests in organic solvents. The synthesised polyesters had high molecular weights, as indicated by their inherent viscosities from 0.67 to 0.78 dL/g in N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone. The incorporation of ether and kinked aromatic amide moieties in the main polyester chains greatly affected the properties of these aromatic polyesters. The prepared polyesters readily dissolved in amide-type polar aprotic solvents and pyridine, indicating their solution processability. The DSC curves above the polyesters showed glass transition temperatures of 194 to 269 °C. TGA indicated that these newly obtained polyesters were stable up to 301 °C and retained a 39 to 48% weight at 900 °C. W-XRD analyses showed that the newly synthesised polyesters were amorphous, which is reflected in their solubility behaviour

Influence of Tin Doped TiO2 Nanorods on Dye Sensitized Solar Cells

The one-step hydrothermal method was used to synthesize Sn-doped TiO2 (Sn-TiO2) thin films, in which the variation in Sn content ranged from 0 to 7-wt % and, further, its influence on the performance of a dye-sensitized solar cell (DSSC) photoanode was studied. The deposited samples were analyzed by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Raman spectroscopy, which confirmed the existence of the rutile phase of the synthesized samples with crystallite size ranges in between 20.1 to 22.3 nm. In addition, the bare and Sn-TiO2 thin films showed nanorod morphology. A reduction in the optical band gap from 2.78 to 2.62 eV was observed with increasing Sn content. The X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) analysis confirmed Sn4+ was successfully replaced at the Ti4+ site. The 3-wt % Sn-TiO2 based DSSC showed the optimum efficiency of 4.01%, which was superior to 0.87% of bare and other doping concentrations of Sn-TiO2 based DSSCs. The present work reflects Sn-TiO2 as an advancing material with excellent capabilities, which can be used in photovoltaic energy conversion devices

Waning of antibody response among vaccinees who received two doses of covishield vaccine

Introduction: There are limited data available on the long-term presence of SARS-CoV-2-specific binding antibodies and neutralizing antibodies in circulation among the elderly population. This study aims to examine levels of anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies in vaccines who have completed at least 6 months since the second vaccine dose. A cross-sectional study was conducted from November 2021 to January 2022 among 199 vaccines aged 60 years and above residing in Belagavi city, who received two doses of the Covishield vaccine. Methods: Antibody response to SARS-COV-2 virus whole cell antigen was measured by a kit COVID KAWACH IgG Micro LISA (J Mitra and Company, India) in 199 participants who had completed at least 6 months after receiving the second dose of Covishield vaccine. The antibody response was measured as a ratio of optical density (OD) in the participant's sample to the mean OD in negative control test by normal (T/N). Independent Kruskal–Wallis test was applied to test the difference between the T/N ratio by months of vaccination since the second dose and by the age group strata. Results: The median T/N values among participants who completed 6, 7, 8, and 9 months since the second vaccine dose were 14.17, 10.46, 7.93, and 5.11, respectively, and this decline in T/N values was statistically significant. Antibody response values showed a decline with increasing age for participants in the age strata 60–69, 70–79, and 80 and above, respectively. Conclusions: A significant decline was observed in antibody response over 9 months supporting the administration of booster dose of vaccine

Mimics of microstructures of Ni substituted Mn1−xNixCo2O4 for high energy density asymmetric capacitors

The preparation of nanostructured hierarchical MnNiCoO metal oxides as efficient supercapacitors of different structures and configurations especially for the miniaturized electronics is still a challenge. In this context, we report template free facile hydrothermal synthesis of hierarchical nanostructured MnNiCoO with excellent supercapacitive performance. Significantly, the morphology of pure MnCoO transformed from 3D microcubes to 1D nanowires with incorporation of Ni. The electrochemical study shows highest specific capacitance i.e. 1762 F/g for MnNiCoO with high cycling stability of 89.2% which is much higher than pristine MnCoO and NiCoO. Later, asymmetric capacitor has been fabricated successfully using MnNiCoO nanowires as positive electrode and activated carbon (AC) as negative electrode in a KOH aqueous electrolyte. An asymmetric cell could be cycled reversibly in the high-voltage range of 0-1.5 V and displays intriguing performances with a specific capacitance of 112.8 F/g (6.87 F/cm) and high energy density of 35.2 Wh/kg (2.1 mWh/cm). Importantly, this asymmetric capacitor device exhibits an excellent long cycle life along with 83.2% specific capacitance retained after 2000 cycles