Mechanical and Tribological Properties of Epoxy Nano Composites for High Voltage Applications

The tribological and mechanical properties of organomodified montmorillonite (oMMT)-incorporated Epoxy (Epoxy-oMMT), vinyl ester (vinyl ester-oMMT) and titanium dioxide (TiO2)-filled Epoxy (Epoxy-TiO2) nanocomposites are discussed below. Implications of introducing oMMT and TiO2 nanoparticles on mechanical and dry sliding wear properties are presented using micrographs of cast samples and through observations of wear affected surface of nanocomposites. Distribution of nanoparticles and their influence on properties are being emphasized for understanding the wear properties. The data on mechanical and tribological properties determined experimentally are compared with published literature. The main focus is to highlight the importance of nanofillers in the design of wear-resistant thermoset polymer composites. A detailed study of strength and moduli of Epoxy-oMMT, Epoxy-TiO2 and vinyl ester-oMMT nanocomposites was taken up as a part of the investigation. A discussion on density, hardness, tensile, flexural test data, and friction and wear of nanocomposites and analysis of results by comparison with prevalent theoretical models and published results of experiments are presented

Improved Dielectric Properties of Epoxy Nano Composites

Epoxy-based nanodielectrics with 2, 5 and 7 wt.% of organically modified montmorillonite clay (oMMT) were prepared using high shear melt mixing technique. The interface of oMMT and epoxy of the nanodielectrics play a very important role in improving electrical, mechanical, thermal and wear properties. Therefore detailed study on the interfacial effects of filler-matrix has been investigated for understanding the chemical bonding using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and the cross linking between polymer and filler was studied using glass transition temperature (Tg) through differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). Further, positron annihilation lifetime spectroscopy (PALS) was used to determine precise and accurate value of free volume of the nanodielectrics. The interaction between the nanoparticles and polymer chains has a direct bearing on dielectric strength characteristics of the epoxy-oMMT nanocomposite system and accordingly, the ac dielectric strength of the nanodielectrics increases with the addition of oMMT into epoxy up to 5 wt.% and further increase in filler loading (7 wt.%) causes decrease in ac dielectric strength

Utility of chemoport in paediatric oncological patients, a surgical perspective.

INTRODUCTION : A totally implantable access device or ‘chemoport’ is a small medical appliance that is installed beneath the skin. A catheter connects the port to a central vein with a large inflow of blood. Under the skin, the port has a septum through which drugs can be injected and blood samples can be drawn repeatedly, usually with far less discomfort for the patient than a more typical "needle stick". Ports are used mostly to treat oncology and hematology patients, but recently ports have been adapted also for hemodialysis patients. But, in our institute we use it for various paediatric oncological diseases. In this retrospective study, we try to study the number of patients who underwent chemoport insertions, the duration for which the chemoport was in situ and the number of patients who successfully completed chemotherapy. We have also tried to study the chemoport related complications and reasons for removal of the chemoports. AIM/OBJECTIVES : To assess the utilization, indications for insertion, removal and risk factors responsible for the premature removal of the chemoports. MATERIALS AND METHODS : All children who underwent chemoport insertion between January 2007 and December 2013 were included in this study. This was a retrospective study. The details of eligible patient were obtained from the clinical work station and centenary block operation register. Data were analysed using 2*2 tables for odd’s ratio and chi square test was employed to know the significance of the risk factors with the use of SPSS software version 1.6. RESULTS : 239 children were studied for the period between January 2007- December 2013. 69 of the children had completed treatment, 97 were still undergoing chemotherapy, 32 had complications like infection, thrombosis, extravasation, broken catheter and hematoma, deaths were seen in 17 children with chemoport in situ and 24 were lost to follow up. The median duration for which chemoport remained in situ including those with complications was 273 days. Amongst the risk factors leading to premature removal of the chemoport studied namely; pre insertion chemotherapy, duration of surgery, seniority of the surgeon, serum albumin, prothrombin time, INR, Platelet count, total count and absolute neutrophil count at insertion. Absolute neutrophil count was the sole factor that reached statistical significance with a P value of 0.03. CONCLUSION : Chemoport is a good tool for vascular access in paediatric cancer patients requiring long term chemotherapy Chemoports are not without complications. The most common complications are infectious complications amounting to 10.87% of our study population. Absolute neutrophil count <500 cells/microlitre is a strong predictor of complications with chemoport at any stage of chemotherapy

Ly6cLo non-classical monocytes promote resolution of rhesus rotavirus-mediated perinatal hepatic infammation

Perinatal hepatic inflammation can have devastating consequences. Monocytes play an important role in the initiation and resolution of inflammation, and their diverse functions can be attributed to specific cellular subsets: pro-inflammatory or classical monocytes (Ly6c(Hi)) and pro-reparative or non-classical monocytes (Ly6c(Lo)). We hypothesized that inherent differences in Ly6c(Hi) classical monocytes and Ly6c(Lo) non-classical monocytes determine susceptibility to perinatal hepatic inflammation in late gestation fetuses and neonates. We found an anti-inflammatory transcriptional profile expressed by Ly6c(Lo) non-classical monocytes, and a physiologic abundance of these cells in the late gestation fetal liver. Unlike neonatal pups, late gestation fetuses proved to be resistant to rhesus rotavirus (RRV) mediated liver inflammation. Furthermore, neonatal pups were rendered resistant to RRV-mediated liver injury when Ly6c(Lo) non-classical monocytes were expanded. Pharmacologic inhibition of Ly6c(Lo) non-classical monocytes in this setting restored susceptibility to RRV-mediated disease. These data demonstrate that Ly6c(Lo) monocytes promote resolution of perinatal liver inflammation in the late gestation fetus, where there is a physiologic expansion of non-classical monocytes, and in the neonatal liver upon experimental expansion of these cells. Therapeutic strategies directed towards enhancing Ly6c(Lo) non-classical monocyte function may mitigate the detrimental effects of perinatal liver inflammation

Metabolomics guides rational development of a simplified cell culture medium for drug screening against <i>Trypanosoma brucei</i>

n vitro culture methods underpin many experimental approaches to biology and drug discovery. The modification of established cell culture methods to make them more biologically relevant or to optimize growth is traditionally a laborious task. Emerging metabolomic technology enables the rapid evaluation of intra- and extracellular metabolites and can be applied to the rational development of cell culture media. In this study, untargeted semiquantitative and targeted quantitative metabolomic analyses of fresh and spent media revealed the major nutritional requirements for the growth of bloodstream form &lt;i&gt;Trypanosoma brucei&lt;/i&gt;. The standard culture medium (HMI11) contained unnecessarily high concentrations of 32 nutrients that were subsequently removed to make the concentrations more closely resemble those normally found in blood. Our new medium, Creek's minimal medium (CMM), supports in vitro growth equivalent to that in HMI11 and causes no significant perturbation of metabolite levels for 94% of the detected metabolome (&#60;3-fold change; α = 0.05). Importantly, improved sensitivity was observed for drug activity studies in whole-cell phenotypic screenings and in the metabolomic mode of action assays. Four-hundred-fold 50% inhibitory concentration decreases were observed for pentamidine and methotrexate, suggesting inhibition of activity by nutrients present in HMI11. CMM is suitable for routine cell culture and offers important advantages for metabolomic studies and drug activity screening

Which level of risk justifies routine induction of labor for healthy women?

Although induction of labor can be crucial for preventing morbidity and mortality, more and more women (and their offspring) are being exposed to the disadvantages of this intervention while the benefit is at best small or even uncertain. Characteristics such as an advanced maternal age, a non-native ethnicity, a high Body Mass Index, an artificially assisted conception, and even nulliparity are increasingly considered an indication for induction of labor. Because induction of labor has many disadvantages, a debate is urgently needed on which level of risk justifies routine induction of labor for healthy women, only based on characteristics that are associated with statistically significant small absolute risk differences, compared to others without these characteristics. This commentary contributes to this debate by arguing why induction of labour should not routinely be offered to all women where there is a small increase in absolute risk, and no any other medical risks or complications during pregnancy. To underpin our statement, national data from the Netherlands were used reporting stillbirth rates in groups of women based on their characteristics, for each gestational week from 37 weeks of gestation onwards

Pancreatic Mesenchyme Regulates Epithelial Organogenesis throughout Development

The developing pancreatic epithelium gives rise to all endocrine and exocrine cells of the mature organ. During organogenesis, the epithelial cells receive essential signals from the overlying mesenchyme. Previous studies, focusing on ex vivo tissue explants or complete knockout mice, have identified an important role for the mesenchyme in regulating the expansion of progenitor cells in the early pancreas epithelium. However, due to the lack of genetic tools directing expression specifically to the mesenchyme, the potential roles of this supporting tissue in vivo, especially in guiding later stages of pancreas organogenesis, have not been elucidated. We employed transgenic tools and fetal surgical techniques to ablate mesenchyme via Cre-mediated mesenchymal expression of Diphtheria Toxin (DT) at the onset of pancreas formation, and at later developmental stages via in utero injection of DT into transgenic mice expressing the Diphtheria Toxin receptor (DTR) in this tissue. Our results demonstrate that mesenchymal cells regulate pancreatic growth and branching at both early and late developmental stages by supporting proliferation of precursors and differentiated cells, respectively. Interestingly, while cell differentiation was not affected, the expansion of both the endocrine and exocrine compartments was equally impaired. To further elucidate signals required for mesenchymal cell function, we eliminated β-catenin signaling and determined that it is a critical pathway in regulating mesenchyme survival and growth. Our study presents the first in vivo evidence that the embryonic mesenchyme provides critical signals to the epithelium throughout pancreas organogenesis. The findings are novel and relevant as they indicate a critical role for the mesenchyme during late expansion of endocrine and exocrine compartments. In addition, our results provide a molecular mechanism for mesenchymal expansion and survival by identifying β-catenin signaling as an essential mediator of this process. These results have implications for developing strategies to expand pancreas progenitors and β-cells for clinical transplantation

Integrative omics identifies conserved and pathogen-specific responses of sepsis-causing bacteria

Even in the setting of optimal resuscitation in high-income countries severe sepsis and septic shock have a mortality of 20–40%, with antibiotic resistance dramatically increasing this mortality risk. To develop a reference dataset enabling the identification of common bacterial targets for therapeutic intervention, we applied a standardized genomic, transcriptomic, proteomic and metabolomic technological framework to multiple clinical isolates of four sepsis-causing pathogens: Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae species complex, Staphylococcus aureus and Streptococcus pyogenes. Exposure to human serum generated a sepsis molecular signature containing global increases in fatty acid and lipid biosynthesis and metabolism, consistent with cell envelope remodelling and nutrient adaptation for osmoprotection. In addition, acquisition of cholesterol was identified across the bacterial species. This detailed reference dataset has been established as an open resource to support discovery and translational research

Standard set of patient-reported outcomes for personality disorder

Purpose The purpose of the article is to present standard set of outcomes for people with personality disorder (PD), in order to facilitate patient outcome measurement worldwide. Methods The International Consortium for Health Outcomes Measurement (ICHOM) gathered a multidisciplinary international working group, consisting of 16 experts, including clinicians, nurses, psychologists, methodologists and patient representatives, to develop a standard set of outcome measures for people with PD. The Delphi method was used to reach consensus on the scope of the set, outcome domains, outcome measures, case-mix variables and time points for measuring outcomes in service users. For each phase, a project team prepared materials based on systematic literature reviews and consultations with experts. Results The working group decided to include PD, as defined by International Classification of Diseases 11th revision (ICD-11). Eleven core outcomes and three optional outcomes across four health domains (mental health, behaviour, functioning and recovery) were defined as those relevant for people with PD. Validated measures for the selected outcomes were selected, some covering more than one outcome. Case-mix variables were aligned to other ICHOM mental health standard sets and consisted of demographic factors and those related to the treatment that people received. The group recommended that most outcomes are measured at baseline and annually. Conclusion The international minimum standard set of outcomes has the potential to improve clinical decision making through systematic measurement and comparability. This will be key in improving the standard of health care for people with PD across the world