An Analysis of Benefits Sought within the Smart Clothing Market: A Case Study of Smart Sportswear

As our lives become more busy and complex, information technology has emerged to make life easier. Smart clothing, defined as clothing which can provide interactive reactions by sending signals, processing information and actuating the responses’’ (Suh, 2010, p.1

Low doses of the quaternary ammonium salt Cetyltrimethylammonium bromide can be used as a pesticide to control grazers in microalgal cultures

© 2019 Elsevier B.V. Contamination of large-scale microalgal cultures by grazers can cause huge losses in biomass productivity. Here we propose the use of a quaternary ammonium salt cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) to eradicate three types of commonly occurring grazers in microalgal cultures: the rotifer Brachionus, the ciliate Sterkiella and the flagellate Paraphysomonas. Low, premicellar doses (≤3 μM) of CTAB rapidly eradicated (within 1–2 d) all three tested grazers from microalgal cultures without significant losses (p < 0.05) in microalgal productivity. However, doses exceeding 5 μM also negatively affected microalgal growth. The optimal dose of CTAB that resulted in complete eradication of the grazers with minimum impact on microalgal productivity was 3 μM for Brachionus, 2 μM for Sterkiella and 3 μM for Paraphysomonas. Thus, being a readily available chemical, CTAB has the potential to be used as a fast-acting, low-cost control agent against a range of frequently occurring grazer types in large-scale microalgal cultures.status: publishe

Management of Ocular Siderosis: Visual Outcome and Electroretinographic Changes

Purpose. Ocular siderosis (OS) is a sight threatening complication of retained iron-containing Intraocular Foreign Body (IOFB). Successful localization of the IOFB and timely removal are crucial to its management. The purpose of this study was to review the presentation, management, and outcome of OS at our institution. Methods. A retrospective case series of eyes with OS that underwent IOFB removal from January 2009 to March 2015 at our institution. Results. OS was seen in 9 eyes of 9 patients during the study period. There were 8 males and 1 female with an age range of 31.6 years. An IOFB was in all the eyes. The most common features of siderosis were cataract and pigmentary retinopathy seen in 6 (67%) and 4 (44%) eyes, respectively. Electroretinogram (ERG) readings were reduced in the 9 eyes. The IOFB was removed by pars plana vitrectomy in all the cases with improvement in ERG amplitudes occurring postoperatively in 7 (78%) eyes. Conclusion. A retained iron-containing IOFB can manifest itself after several years with features of OS. A careful clinical and radiologic evaluation is imperative in patients with history suggestive of penetrating ocular injury to rule out retained or occult IOFB and thus prevent this catastrophic condition

Photodegradation of dyes by a novel TiO2/u-RuO2/GNS nanocatalyst derived from Ru/GNS after its use as catalyst in aerial oxidation of primary alcohols (GNS = Graphene NanoSheets)

Ruthenium nanoparticles (RuNPs) supported on graphene nanosheets (GNS), a composite (Ru/GNS), were prepared by a dry synthesis method and were used as nanocatalysts for the aerial oxidation of various primary alcohols. Ru/GNS was highly efficient, selective, stable and heterogeneous in nature. Owing to the high stability of the used catalyst (u-Ru/GNS), it was further applied in a different catalytic system viz photocatalytic degradation, after suitable modifications. We have obtained a novel TiO2/u-RuO2/GNS catalyst from u-Ru/GNS by the sol-gel method. The catalytic activity of TiO2/u-RuO2/GNS toward the photodegradation of methyl orange (MO) and acridine orange (AO) was found to be excellent. Overall, the sustainable use of these recyclable materials (Ru/GNS and TiO2/u-RuO2/GNS) could lead to economic and environmental benefits.Reaction Kinetics, Mechanisms and Catalysis. 115(2):759-772 (2015)journal articl

Catalytic N-oxidation of tertiary amines on RuO(2)NPs anchored graphene nanoplatelets

Ultrafine ruthenium oxide nanoparticles (RuO2NPs) with an average diameter of 1.3 nm were anchored on graphene nanoplatelets (GNPs) using a Ru(acac)3 precursor by a very simple dry synthesis method. The resultant material (GNPs–RuO2NPs) was used as a heterogeneous catalyst for the N-oxidation of tertiary amines for the first time. The transmission electron microscopy (TEM) images of the GNPs–RuO2NPs showed the excellent attachment of RuO2NPs on GNPs. The loading of Ru in GNPs–RuO2NPs was 2.68 wt%, as confirmed by scanning electron microscope-energy dispersive spectroscopy (SEM-EDS). The X-ray photoelectron spectrum (XPS) and the X-ray diffraction pattern (XRD) of GNPs–RuO2NPs revealed that the chemical state of Ru on GNPs was +4. After the optimization of reaction conditions for N-oxidation of triethylamine, the scope of the reaction was extended to various aliphatic, alicyclic and aromatic tertiary amines. The GNPs–RuO2NPs showed excellent catalytic activity in terms of yields even at a very low amount of Ru catalyst (0.13 mol%). The GNPs–RuO2NPs was heterogeneous in nature, chemically as well as physically, very stable and could be reused up to 5 times.ArticleCATALYSIS SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY. 4(7):2099-2106 (2014)journal articl

Polyelectrolyte complex micelles by self-assembly of polypeptide-based triblock copolymer for doxorubicin delivery

AbstractPolyelectrolyte complex micelles were prepared by self-assembly of polypeptide-based triblock copolymer as a new drug carrier for cancer chemotherapy. The triblock copolymer, poly(l-aspartic acid)-b-poly(ethylene glycol)-b-poly(l-aspartic acid) (PLD-b-PEG-b-PLD), spontaneously self-assembled with doxorubicin (DOX) via electrostatic interactions to form spherical micelles with a particle size of 60–80 nm (triblock ionomer complexes micelles, TBIC micelles). These micelles exhibited a high loading capacity of 70% (w/w) at a drug/polymer ratio of 0.5 at pH 7.0. They showed pH-responsive release patterns, with higher release at acidic pH than at physiological pH. Furthermore, DOX-loaded TBIC micelles exerted less cytotoxicity than free DOX in the A-549 human lung cancer cell line. Confocal microscopy in A-549 cells indicated that DOX-loaded TBIC micelles were transported into lysosomes via endocytosis. These micelles possessed favorable pharmacokinetic characteristics and showed sustained DOX release in rats. Overall, these findings indicate that PLD-b-PEG-b-PLD polypeptide micelles are a promising approach for anti-cancer drug delivery

Association analysis of nine candidate gene polymorphisms in Indian patients with type 2 diabetic retinopathy

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Diabetic retinopathy (DR) is classically defined as a microvasculopathy that primarily affects the small blood vessels of the inner retina as a complication of diabetes mellitus (DM).It is a multifactorial disease with a strong genetic component. The aim of this study is to investigate the association of a set of nine candidate genes with the development of diabetic retinopathy in a South Indian cohort who have type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM).</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Seven candidate genes (<it>RAGE, PEDF, AKR1B1, EPO, HTRA1, ICAM </it>and <it>HFE</it>) were chosen based on reported association with DR in the literature. Two more, <it>CFH </it>and ARMS2, were chosen based on their roles in biological pathways previously implicated in DR. Fourteen single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and one dinucleotide repeat polymorphism, previously reported to show association with DR or other related diseases, were genotyped in 345 DR and 356 diabetic patients without retinopathy (DNR). The genes which showed positive association in this screening set were tested further in additional sets of 100 DR and 90 DNR additional patients from the Aravind Eye Hospital. Those which showed association in the secondary screen were subjected to a combined analysis with the 100 DR and 100 DNR subjects previously recruited and genotyped through the Sankara Nethralaya Hospital, India. Genotypes were evaluated using a combination of direct sequencing, TaqMan SNP genotyping, RFLP analysis, and SNaPshot PCR assays. Chi-square and Fisher exact tests were used to analyze the genotype and allele frequencies.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Among the nine loci (15 polymorphisms) screened, SNP rs2070600 (G82S) in the <it>RAGE </it>gene, showed significant association with DR (allelic P = 0.016, dominant model P = 0.012), compared to DNR. SNP rs2070600 further showed significant association with DR in the confirmation cohort (P = 0.035, dominant model P = 0.032). Combining the two cohorts gave an allelic P < 0.003 and dominant P = 0.0013). Combined analysis with the Sankara Nethralaya cohort gave an allelic P = 0.0003 and dominant P = 0.00011 with an OR = 0.49 (0.34 - 0.70) for the minor allele. In <it>HTRA1</it>, rs11200638 (G>A), showed marginal significance with DR (P = 0.055) while rs10490924 in LOC387715 gave a P = 0.07. No statistical significance was observed for SNPs in the other 7 genes studied.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>This study confirms significant association of one polymorphism only (rs2070600 in <it>RAGE</it>) with DR in an Indian population which had T2DM.</p