Hydrogenation of Zr-Based Quasicrystals

In this chapter, results of our recent investigations on the hydrogenation behavior of Zr-based quasicrystalline alloys and its effect on their structural and microhardness behavior have been discussed. The microstructural changes with respect to the addition of Ti and their correlation with hydrogen storage characteristics of (Zr69.5Al7.5Cu12 Ni11)100−xTix (x = 0, 4 and 12) quasicrystalline alloys have been studied. The substitution of Ti affects the nucleation and growth characteristics of nano-quasicrystals. The grain size of quasicrystals decreases with addition of Ti. The hydrogen uptake capacity of partially quasicrystalline alloys has been improved by the addition of Ti. The alloys with x = 0, 4, and 12 absorbed 1.20 wt.%, 1.38 wt.%, and 1.56 wt.% of hydrogen, respectively. A significant effect on the structure/microstructure and mechanical behavior of (Zr69.5Al7.5Cu12Ni11)100−xTix quasicrystalline alloys due to hydrogenation has been observed. The change in the microhardness behavior has been discussed based on microstructural variation resulting to Ti addition. The study is focused on investigations of these materials to understand the structure (microstructure)-property correlations

Chlorpyrifos induced alterations in levels of thiobarbituric acid reactive substances and glutathione in rat brain

174-177<span style="font-size: 15.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:8.0pt;font-family:" times="" new="" roman","serif""="">Chlorpyrifos, O,O' -diethyl-O-3,5,6-trichloro-2-pyridyl phosphorothionate, exposure in rats caused significant inhibition of acctylcholincsterae activity in different regions of brain and generated oxidative stress as evidenced by increase in the level of thiobarbituric acid reactive substances and decrease in the ratio of reduced to oxidized glutathione in all the three regions of brain. Malondialdchyde level was increased significantly in all regions of brain and the increase was dose dependent. Mid brain showed highest level of lipid peroxidation. </span

Scalable synthesis of aligned carbon nanotubes bundles using green natural precursor: neem oil

Practical application of aligned carbon nanotubes (ACNTs) would have to be determined by a matter of its economical and large-scale preparation. In this study, neem oil (also named Margoaa oil, extracted from the seeds of the neem--Azadirachta indica) was used as carbon source to fabricate the bundles of ACNTs. ACNTs have been synthesized by spray pyrolysis of neem oil and ferrocene mixture at 825°C. The major components of neem oil are hydrocarbon with less amount of oxygen, which provided the precursor species in spray pyrolysis growth of CNTs. The bundles of ACNTs have been grown directly inside the quartz tube. The as-grown ACNTs have been characterized through Raman spectroscopy, scanning and transmission electron microscopic (SEM/TEM) techniques. SEM images reveal that the bundles of ACNTs are densely packed and are of several microns in length. High-resolution TEM analysis reveals these nanotubes to be multi-walled CNTs. These multi-walled CNTs were found to have inner diameter between 15 and 30 nm. It was found that present technique gives high yield with high density of bundles of ACNTs

Prisoner’s rights and prison reform in India: A legal critique

Every person is born with certain human rights and that cannot be curtailed for being a prisoner. These are fundamental and inalienable to all human beings. The Constitution of India grants certain fundamental rights that live with the persons and die with them and violation of which is a grave injustice towards the person. The treatment of prisoners in prison and violation of their rights on a daily basis is the mirror how prisoners are neglected by the higher authorities and the various reports of their inhuman treatment is the hypocrisy of the police officers in the society. The basic idea of rights provided by the government to the prisoners is not to show mercy for their crimes rather not forbidding any person from their basic civil rights or encouraging inhuman treatment. The prison reforms being single of the major parts of criminal justice structure is also the one to which everyone has turned a blind eye. If the very root idea of criminal justice in India is reformative then treating prisoners with so less of humanity will further break the justice system.&nbsp

Synthesis, Structure, and Hydrolytic Activation of Ruthenium (III)-Pyrazole Complex

We report here the synthesis of water-soluble mer-[RuCl3(DMSO-S) (pyz)2] 2 prepared by the reaction of mer-RuCl3(DMSO-S)31 with pyrazole in anhydrous CH2Cl2. Compound 2 was characterized by IR and UV-visible spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, cyclic voltammetry, and DFT calculations. The X-ray diffraction analysis disclosed that compound 2 has two independent molecules present in the asymmetric unit with different conformations for one of the pyrazoles and different hydrogen bonding. The DFT calculations suggest the structure-activity relationship and hydrolytic activity of these complexes

Dendritic cell engineering for selective targeting of female reproductive tract cancers

Female reproductive tract cancers (FRCs) are considered as one of the most frequently occurring malignancies and a foremost cause of death among women. The late-stage diagnosis and limited clinical effectiveness of currently available mainstay therapies, primarily due to the developed drug resistance properties of tumour cells, further increase disease severity. In the past decade, dendritic cell (DC)-based immunotherapy has shown remarkable success and appeared as a feasible therapeutic alternative to treat several malignancies, including FRCs. Importantly, the clinical efficacy of this therapy is shown to be restricted by the established immunosuppressive tumour microenvironment. However, combining nanoengineered approaches can significantly assist DCs to overcome this tumour-induced immune tolerance. The prolonged release of nanoencapsulated tumour antigens helps improve the ability of DC-based therapeutics to selectively target and remove residual tumour cells. Incorporation of surface ligands and co-adjuvants may further aid DC targeting (in vivo) to overcome the issues associated with the short DC lifespan, immunosuppression and imprecise uptake. We herein briefly discuss the necessity and progress of DC-based therapeutics in FRCs. The review also sheds lights on the future challenges to design and develop clinically effective nanoparticles-DC combinations that can induce efficient anti-tumour immune responses and prolong patients' survival