Appraisement of the Pernicious Status of Drinking Water Exposed to Precambrian Rocks of Chenab Nagar Area, Punjab, Pakistan

Natural and anthropogenic indulgence in the form of industrialization, urban sprawl, and population increase deplete the water resources that entails immediate consideration. So, contemplating this need for eco-rehabilitation, drinking water quality predicted in contemporary research for surface and groundwater in proximity of Precambrian rocks (Chenab Nagar, Punjab) revealed poor water quality status. Physical parameters (EC, TDS, and temperature), chemical (pH, carbonates, bicarbonates, chlorides, and heavy metals) and microbiological (total coliforms, fecal coliforms, and the absence or occurrence of E. coli) distinctiveness of water were determined in forty-two samples, collected from study area. The mean values of pH, EC, TDS, carbonates, bicarbonates, chlorides, and temperature for water samples fluctuated discretely in all months. Likewise, heavy metals depicted an increasing trend as the concentration of cadmium and lead was high among all analyzed metals. Microbiological study shows that large number of the samples had elevated concentration of fecal coliforms and E. coli bacteria thus making water harmful for human consumption

STUDY ON PREVALENCE OF ADVERSE DRUG REACTIONS IN PATIENTS SUFFERING FROM TUBERCULOSIS IN A TERTIARY CARE HOSPITAL

Objective: To study the prevalence of ADRs associated with the use of anti-tubercular drugs in patients with tuberculosis in a tertiary care hospital.Methods: A prospective observational and active surveillance study was conducted in the department of pulmonology and DOTS Centre in Owaisi Hospital and Research Centre over a period of 6 mo after the study was approved by IRB. The patients who gave informed consent were included in the study and their information was analysed after being recorded in a data collection form.Results: Descriptive statistical analysis was carried out to generate results, the continuous measurement being presented as mean standard deviation (min-max) and categorical measurement presented in number (%). The results showed the prevalence of ADRs to be 69%. The prevalence of ADRs was more in females (55%) than in males (45%) and 75.9% of them reporting more than 1 ADR. ADR's affecting the skin and appendages were high (23.56%) while ADR's affecting gastrointestinal system (19.28%), the hepatic system (4.28%), the musculoskeletal system (15.7%), Central and peripheral nervous system (7.85%), Vision (0.7%) were comparatively less.Conclusion: The study highlighted the importance of developing strategies to ameliorate ADRs both to improve the quality of patient care and to control TB safely.Â

Effect of different dielectrics on material removal rate, electrode wear rate and microstructures in EDM

Diesinker electric discharge machining is widely used non-conventional technique for making high precision and complex shaped parts. Dielectrics and electrical parameters were considered as the main factors for EDM performance. In this paper, the effects of pulse-on-time (μs) and current (ampere) were evaluated for performance measures using kerosene and water as dielectrics. A comparison was performed for both dielectrics in terms of material removal rate (mm3/min), electrode wear rate (mm3/min), and microstructures. Aluminum 6061 T6 alloy was used as material for this research due to its extensive use in aerospace and automotive industries. Experiments were designed using Taguchi L9 orthogonal array (OA). Time series graphs were plotted to compare material removal rate and electrode wear rate. Microstructures were taken by scanning electron microscope to analyze the surface produced in terms of cracks, globules and micro-holes. Higher material removal rate and lower electrode wear were achieved with kerosene dielectric. The novelty of this research work, apart from its practical application, is that Aluminum 6061 T6 alloy is used as work material to compare the performance of dielectrics (kerosene and distilled water). Paper presented at: Complex Systems Engineering and Development Proceedings of the 27th CIRP Design Conference Cranfield University, UK 10th – 12th May 2017

Frequency of Raised Intraocular Pressure and its Correlations to the energy used following Neodymium YAG Laser Posterior Capsulotomy in Pseudophakes

Objective: To determine the frequency of raised intraocular pressure in pseudophakic undergoing Nd YAG laser posterior capsulotomy. To compare the frequency of raised intraocular pressure in pseudophakic undergoing high and low energy Nd YAG laser posterior capsulotomy Methods: This Descriptive case series included 140 patients with pseudophakic posterior capsular opacity. After dilating the pupils with tropicamide Nd YAG laser posterior capsulotomy was performed and the total amount of energy used was noted. The frequency of raised IOP in post-laser patients and comparison of frequencies of raised IOP undergoing high and low energy Nd YAG laser posterior capsulotomies (≤ 50 MJ labeled as low energy and > 50 MJ labeled as high energy) were calculated Results: The mean age was 57.37 ±8.74. Mean pre laser IOP was 15.15 and post-laser IOP was 17.50. The rise in IOP was normal in 82.9% and raised in 17.1%. In lower energy group normal IOP was found in 35.7% and raised in 2.9%. In a higher energy group, normal IOP was found in 47.1%, and raised IOP was found to be 14.3%. Conclusion: Higher the energy used during the Nd YAG laser posterior capsulotomy procedure, more is the chance of a rise in post-laser intraocular pressure as compared to those in which lesser energy was being used

Rare earth ions (La3+, Nd3+) substituted cobalt–strontium spinel ferrites for photocatalytic degradation of textile dyes

In the industrial sector, productive and effective treatment of toxic dye-based color pollutants is a key issue. Lanthanum and neodymium substituted cobalt–strontium (Co–Sr) spinel ferrite (Co0.5Sr0.5RExFe2-xO4, x = 0.00 and 0.06) catalysts were synthesized and used to degrade Congo red and rhodamine B dyes from an aqueous solution mixture in this study. For this specific purpose, RE3+ ions substituted Co–Sr spinel ferrite nanoparticles with photocatalytic degradation ability were prepared through sol–gel method. The degradation of CR and RhB in recently synthesized nanoferrites was also examined. SEM and XRD were used to characterize the prepared samples. The optical band gap values of synthesized spinel ferrites were examined with the help of Tauc plots by using UV-visible absorption. It was determined that the energy bandgap ranged from 2.91 to 2.52 eV. For Co0.5Sr0.5Fe2O4, Co0.5Sr0.5La0.06Fe1.94O4, and Co0.5Sr0.5Nd0.06Fe1.94O4 nanoferrites, the rates of CR and RhB dye degradation were 73–90% and 45–85%, respectively, at pH 5–7. The kinetics models successfully described the degradation reaction as pseudo-first-order kinetics. It was, therefore, concluded that the prepared samples can be used as effective photocatalysts in order to eliminate hazardous pollutants present in wastewater. HIGHLIGHTS Rare-earth ion substitution spinel ferrite.; Ferrite for degradation of dyes.; Suitable band gap for photocatalytic purpose.

Crystal Shape Engineering of Topological Crystalline Insulator SnTe Microcrystals and Nanowires with Huge Thermal Activation Energy Gap

Since different high-symmetrical crystal planes of topological crystalline insulator possess their own topological electronic structure, manipulating crystal shapes with distinct facets of SnTe nanostructures is crucial for the realization of desired topological surface properties. Here, we developed crystal shapes engineering for the controllable synthesis of SnTe microcrystals and nanowires with specific exposed surfaces by optimizing experimental parameters in the chemical vapor deposition process. Crystal shapes of SnTe microcrystals are tailored from {100} surface-covered cubes, {100} and {111} surface-coated truncated octahedron, to a {111} surface-terminated octahedron. Significantly, with gold nanoparticles as the catalyst, two novel SnTe nanowires, octahedron-attached SnTe nanowires, and truncated octahedron-assisted SnTe nanowires, are achieved. The requirement of minimizing the overall surface energy drives the formation of various crystal shapes of SnTe microcrystals and nanowires. In addition, SnTe nanowires possess a huge thermal activation energy gap (350 ± 17 meV), 14 times larger than the energy scale of room temperature. This huge thermal activation energy gap can protect topological surface states of SnTe nanowires against the disturbance of thermal excitation. Our work provides the building block for the realization of unique topological surface effects on specific facets and novel spintronic devices

Van der Waals Epitaxy and Photoresponse of Hexagonal Tellurium Nanoplates on Flexible Mica Sheets

Van der Waals epitaxy (vdWE) is of great interest due to its extensive applications in the synthesis of ultrathin two-dimensional (2D) layered materials. However, vdWE of nonlayered functional materials is still not very well documented. Here, although tellurium has a strong tendency to grow into one-dimensional nanoarchitecture due to its chain-like structure, we successfully realize 2D hexagonal tellurium nanoplates on flexible mica sheets <i>via</i> vdWE. Chemically inert mica surface is found to be crucial for the lateral growth of hexagonal tellurium nanoplates since it (1) facilitates the migration of tellurium adatoms along mica surface and (2) allows a large lattice mismatch. Furthermore, 2D tellurium hexagonal nanoplates-based photodetectors are <i>in situ</i> fabricated on flexible mica sheets. Efficient photoresponse is obtained even after bending the device for 100 times, indicating 2D tellurium hexagonal nanoplates-based photodetectors on mica sheets have a great application potential in flexible and wearable optoelectronic devices. We believe the fundamental understanding of vdWE effect on the growth of 2D tellurium hexagonal nanoplate can pave the way toward leveraging vdWE as a useful channel to realize the 2D geometry of other nonlayered materials

Novel Top-Contact Monolayer Pentacene-Based Thin-Film Transistor for Ammonia Gas Detection

We report on the fabrication of an organic field-effect transistor (OFET) of a monolayer pentacene thin film with top-contact electrodes for the aim of ammonia (NH₃) gas detection by monitoring changes in its drain current. A top-contact configuration, in which source and drain electrodes on a flexible stamp [poly­(dimethylsiloxane)] were directly contacted with the monolayer pentacene film, was applied to maintain pentacene arrangement ordering and enhance the monolayer OFET detection performance. After exposure to NH₃ gas, the carrier mobility at the monolayer OFET channel decreased down to one-third of its original value, leading to a several orders of magnitude decrease in the drain current, which tremendously enhanced the gas detection sensitivity. This sensitivity enhancement to a limit of the 10 ppm level was attributed to an increase of charge trapping in the carrier channel, and the amount of trapped states was experimentally evaluated by the threshold voltage shift induced by the absorbed NH₃ molecular analyte. In contrast, a conventional device with a 50-nm-thick pentacene layer displayed much higher mobility but lower response to NH₃ gas, arising from the impediment of analyte penetrating into the conductive channel, owing to the thick pentacene film

Topological Surface Transport Properties of Single-Crystalline SnTe Nanowire

SnTe has attracted worldwide interest since its theoretical predication as topological crystalline insulator. Because of promising applications of one-dimensional topological insulator in nanoscale electronics and spintronics device, it is very important to realize the observation of topological surface states in one-dimensional SnTe. In this work, for the first time we successfully synthesized high-quality single crystalline SnTe nanowire via gold-catalyst chemical vapor deposition method. Systematical investigation of Aharonov-Bohm and Shubnikov-de Haas oscillations in single SnTe nanowire prove the existence of Dirac electrons. Further analysis of temperature-dependent Shubnikov-de Haas oscillations gives valuable information of cyclotron mass, mean-free path, and mobility of Dirac electrons in SnTe nanowire. Our study provides the experimental groundwork for research in low-dimensional topological crystalline insulator materials and paves the way for the application of SnTe nanowire in nanoelectronics and spintronics device