Towards Deposition of Iron & Nickel Onto Cadmium Selenide/Cadmium Sulfide Nanorods

Metal-semiconductor hybrids have been studied extensively as photocatalysts for the watersplitting reaction to generate hydrogen gas and oxygen gas to use as a renewable energy source. The semiconductor component converts light into electrochemical energy, while the metal component provides a site for chemical reactions with water. Here, the choice of metal can have a significant impact on the efficiency of the catalyst. Platinum efficiently catalyzes the watersplitting reaction and is therefore commonly used in metal-semiconductor hybrids to generate hydrogen. Platinum is very expensive, which motivates research into improving less costly metals like iron or nickel that do not have nearly the catalytic performance of platinum. Recent results have shown that iron and nickel can be combined into structures with oxygen that behave similarly to platinum as catalysts for water-splitting on electrodes, but these materials have not been tested as replacements for platinum in metal-semiconductor photocatalysts. This thesis will describe our work toward synthesizing metal-semiconductor hybrids using iron and nickel to replace platinum

Electric field driven destabilization of the insulating state in nominally pure LaMnO3

We report an electric field driven destabilization of the insulating state in nominally pure LaMnO3 single crystal with a moderate field which leads to a resistive state transition below 300 K. The transition is between the insulating state in LaMnO3 and a high resistance bad metallic state that has a temperature independent resistivity. The transition occurs at a threshold field (Eth) which shows a steep enhancement on cooling. While at lower temperatures the transition is sharp and involves large change in resistance but it softens on heating and eventually absent above 280K. When the Mn4+ content is increased by Sr substitution up to x=0.1, the observed transition though observable in certain temperature range, softens considerably. The observation has been explained as bias driven percolation type transition between two coexisting phases, where the majority phase is a charge and orbitally ordered polaronic insulating phase and the minority phase is a bad metallic phase. The mobile fraction f of the bad metallic phase deduced from the experimental data follows an activated kinetics with the activation energy nearly equal to 200 meV and the prefactor fo is a strong function of the field that leads to a rapid enhancement of f on application of field leading to the resistive state transition. We suggest likely scenarios for such co-existing phases in nominally pure LaMnO3 that can lead to the bias driven percolation type transition.Comment: Accepted in JPC

A comparison of two approaches to brachial plexus anaesthesia

Background: A prospective, double blind study was performed to compare the clinical effect of vertical infraclavicular and supraclavicular brachial plexus block using a nerve stimulation technique for upper limb surgery.Methods: Eighty patients undergoing upper limb surgery under infraclavicular or supraclavicular brachial plexus block were enrolled into this study. The infraclavicular brachial plexus block was performed using the vertical technique (group I; N=40). The supraclavicular brachial plexus block was performed using the Kulenkampf technique (group S; N=40). In both the groups 30 ml of 0.5% ropivacaine was used as the local anaesthetic. The block performance time, the duration of onset of sensory and motor block was evaluated in both the groups S & I. The quality of the block & associated complications were also assessed.Results: A significant difference in the block performance time with comparable duration of onset of sensory was noted between the two groups S & I. Greater incidence of Horner’s syndrome was noted in group S.Conclusions: Supraclavicular brachial plexus block may be easier to perform than infraclavicular brachial plexus block. The infraclavicular approach may be preferred to the supraclavicular approach when considering the complications

Large scale synthesis of 2D graphene oxide by mechanical milling of 3D carbon nanoparticles in air

Graphene oxide (GO) is one of the important functional materials. Large-scale synthesis of it is very challenging. Following a simple cost-effective route, large-scale GO was produced by mechanical (ball) milling, in air, of carbon nanoparticles (CNPs) present in carbon soot in the present study. The thickness of the GO layer was seen to decrease with an increase in milling time. Ball milling provided the required energy to acquire the in-plane graphitic order in the CNPs reducing the disorders in it. As the surface area of the layered structure became more and more with the increase in milling time, more and more oxygen of air got attached to the carbon in graphene leading to the formation of GO. An increase in the time of the ball mill up to 5 hours leads to a significant increase in the content of GO. Thus ball milling can be useful to produce large-scale two-dimensional GO for a short time.Comment: 23 pages, 10 figure

Driving Factors Behind the Adoption of Improved Technologies by Lentil Growers in West Bengal

Over the last six decades in India, there has been an unsatisfactory gain in pulse productivity, which is a severe threat to the creation of resilient livelihoods and the overall food and nutritional security of the country. To specifically enhance lentil productivity under rice-based cropping systems in West Bengal, the International Centre for Agriculture Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA) began a multi-disciplinary project in 2012/13 providing improved technologies, including 29 improved lentil varieties, and a package of agronomic practices to farmers

Morphometric Analysis of Hard Palate on Nepalese Population

Background: The hard palate is an important part of the human skull located between the nasal and the oral cavity. Hard palate plays an important role in the production of speech. The present study aimed to measure the morphometry of the hard palate and explore the existence of gender related differences since limited similar studies has been carried out. Methods: This study was conducted to assess the palatal dimensions in a sample of Nepalese individuals aged 18–25 years with class I molar occlusion. The data collection was done from January 2020 to March 2020. The length, breadth and height of the hard palate were measured and palatine indices as well as palatal height indices were calculated. Differences between males and females were tested for the palatal variables. Results: Mean palatal length, breadth and width were 41.58 ± 3.48 mm, 40.63 ± 3.76 mm, and 14.90 ± 2.04 mm respectively. We found significant gender difference in palatal morphometry in the cast we analyzed. The palatine index of majority of dental cast was of brachystaphylin type (84.85%). Calculation of the palatine height index demonstrated predominance of orthostaphyline type (71.21%) of dental casts. Conclusion: The present study provides important palatal morphological data of the Nepalese population which can be helpful for orthodontic treatment as well as for anthropological studies, greater palatine nerve blocks and surgical procedures on the hard palate

Pectin: A Bioactive Food Polysaccharide with Cancer Preventive Potential

Pectin is an acidic heteropolysaccharide found in the cell walls and the primary and middle lamella of land plants. To be authorized as a food additive, industrial pectins must meet strict guidelines set forth by the Food and Agricultural Organization and must contain at least 65% polygalacturonic acid to achieve the E440 level. Fruit pectin derived from oranges or apples is commonly used in the food industry to gel or thicken foods and to stabilize acid-based milk beverages. It is a naturally occurring component and can be ingested by dietary consumption of fruit and vegetables. Preventing long-term chronic diseases like diabetes and heart disease is an important role of dietary carbohydrates. Colon and breast cancer are among the diseases for which data suggest that modified pectin (MP), specifically modified citrus pectin (MCP), has beneficial effects on the development and spread of malignancies, in addition to its benefits as a soluble dietary fiber. Cellular and animal studies and human clinical trials have provided corroborating data. Although pectin has many diverse functional qualities, this review focuses on various modifications used to develop MP and its benefits for cancer prevention, bioavailability, clinical trials, and toxicity studies. This review concludes that pectin has anti-cancer characteristics that have been found to inhibit tumor development and proliferation in a wide variety of cancer cells. Nevertheless, further clinical and basic research is required to confirm the chemopreventive or therapeutic role of specific dietary carbohydrate molecules.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Microbe-Based Strategy for Plant Nutrient Management

The rapid industrialization and urbanization of developing countries such as India have encroached on cultivable lands to meet the demands of an ever-increasing population. The altered land use patterns with increased fertilizer use has increased crop yields with leaching of major portion of the applied nutrients from the soil. Nitrates and phosphates are the agricultural pollutants that are discharged into aquifers due to anthropogenic reasons causing severe environmental and health problems. Production of these nutrients requires energy and finite resources (rock phosphate, which has gradually depleting reserves). An alternative management strategy would be to sequester excess nutrients within a biomass that is reused for agriculture. Two discrete enriched microbial consortia with the potential of simultaneous nitrate and phosphate sequestration upon application as biofertilizer restricted them within the plant root zone, ensuring prevention of eutrophication through leaching while making it available for uptake by plants. The nutrient accumulated biomass enhanced the crop yield by 21.88% during mung bean cultivation with maintained elemental content and other nutritional qualities. The major drawback of conventional biofertilizer application (slow release and action) could be overcome using this formulation leading to environmental protection, crop yield enhancement and soil fertility maintenance post-cultivation