Superficial Brachial Artery Terminating as Radial and Superficial Ulnar Arteries: A Case Report

A CAJM article on anatomy research.Striking variations in the origin and course of the principal arteries of the upper limb have received the attention of anatomists and surgeons for a long time.1'5 Departures from this anatomical norm, with respect to origin and course of arteries of the upper extremities occurred in 18.54% of cases.6 Anatomy textbooks only make reference to vascular aberrations in the main brachio-antebrachial arterial patterns.7 Accurate knowledge of the relationships and course of these major arterial conduits, particularly of their variational patterns, is of considerable practical importance in the conduct of reparative surgery in the arm, forearm and hand. We report a case of superficial brachial artery, its course and distribution-in-a: male Caucasian cadaver. Its presence is discussed in relation to the development of vascular structures in the upper limb and clinical implications

Optical Limiting in Single-walled Carbon Nanotube Suspensions

Optical limiting behaviour of suspensions of single-walled carbon nanotubes in water, ethanol and ethylene glycol is reported. Experiments with 532 nm, 15 nsec duration laser pulses show that optical limiting occurs mainly due to nonlinear scattering. The observed host liquid dependence of optical limiting in different suspensions suggests that the scattering originates from microbubbles formed due to absorption-induced heating.Comment: 10 pages, 5 eps figures, to appear in Chem. Phys. Let

Structural, EPR, optical and Raman studies of Nd 2O 3:Cu 2+ nanophosphors

Nanocrystalline Nd2O3:Cu2+ (2 mol %) phosphors have been prepared by a low temperature solution combustion technique. Powder X-ray diffraction (PXRD) results confirm that hexagonal A-type Nd2O3 (900 °C, 3 h) and the lattice parameters have been evaluated by Rietveld refinement. Surface morphology of as-formed and Cu2+ doped Nd2O3 phosphors show that the particles are irregular in shape and porous in nature. TEM results also confirm the nature and size of the particles. The EPR spectrum exhibits two resonance signals with effective g values at gǀǀ ≈ 2.12 and g⊥ ≈ 2.04. The g values indicate that the site symmetry of Cu2+ ions is octahedral symmetry with elongated tetragonal distortion. Raman studies show major peaks, which are assigned, to Fg and combination of Ag + Eg modes. It is observed that the Raman peaks and intensity have been reduced in Cu2+ doped samples. UV–Visible absorption spectra exhibit a strong and broad absorption band at ∼240 nm. Further, the absorption peak shifts to ∼14 nm in Cu2+ doped samples. The optical band gap is estimated to be 5.28 eV for Cu doped Nd2O3 nanoparticles which are higher than the bulk Nd2O3 (4.7 eV). This can be attributed to the quantum confinement effect of the nanoparticles

Nd2O3:Gd3+ nanocrystalline phosphor: gamma-Induced thermoluminescence, EPR and structural properties

Preparation of nanocrystalline Nd2O3:Gd3+ (2 mol%) phosphor was prepared by propellant combustion route at low temperature. Powder X-ray diffraction (PXRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) techniques were used to study the structural and morphological features. A and C type hexagonal phase of Nd2O3 was obtained in as-formed and calcined product at 900 degrees C for 3 h. SEM images show the product was highly porous, agglomerated and irregular shaped particles. The average crystallite size estimated from Scherrer's and W-H plots were found to be in the range similar to 20-50 nm. Combination of F-g and (F-g + E-g) modes were observed from Raman studies. A single TL glow peak at 409 K was recorded at a warming rate 5 degrees C s (1). TL response as a function of gamma-irradiation showed linear response up to 1.6 kGy and later it followed exponential growth. The phosphor show simple glow curve structure with less fading over a period of 30 days. Trap parameters were estimated from Chen's peak shape method. The activation energy (E) and frequency factor (s) was found to in the range 1.377-2.934 eV and 2.01 x 10(11)-8.70 x 10(22) Hz respectively. (C) 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved

Structural, EPR, photo and thermoluminescence properties of ZnO:Fe nanoparticles

Zn (1-x)Fe (x)O (1+0.5x) (x = 0.5-5 mol) nanoparticles were synthesized by a low temperature solution combustion route. The structural characterization of these nanoparticles by PXRD, SEM and TEM confirmed the phase purity of the samples and indicated a reduction in the particle size with increase in Fe content. A small increase in micro strain in the Fe doped nanocrystals is observed from W-H plots. EPR spectrum exhibits an intense resonance signal with effective g values at g â 2.0 with a sextet hyperfine structure (hfs) besides a weak signal at g â 4.13. The signal at g â 2.0 with a sextet hyperfine structure might be due to manganese impurity where as the resonance signal at g â 4.13 is due to iron. The optical band gap E g was found to decrease with increase of Fe content. Raman spectra exhibit two non-polar optical phonon (E 2) modes at low and high frequencies at 100 and 435 cm -1 in Fe doped samples. These modes broaden and disappear with increase of Fe dopant concentration. TL measurements of γ-irradiated (1-5 kGy) samples show a main glow peak at 368°C at a warming rate of 6.7°Cs -1. The thermal activation parameters were estimated from Glow peak shape method. The average activation energy was found to be in the range 0.34-2.81 eV. © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved

NIP/DuoxA is essential for Drosophila embryonic development and regulates oxidative stress response

NIP/DuoxA, originally cloned as a protein capable of binding to the cell fate determinant Numb in Drosophila, was recently identified as a modulator of reactive oxygen species (ROS) production in mammalian systems. Despite biochemical and cellular studies that link NIP/DuoxA to the generation of ROS through the dual oxidase (Duox) enzyme, the in vivo function of NIP/DuoxA has not been characterized to date. Here we report a genetic and functional characterization of nip in Drosophila melanogaster. We show that nip is essential for Drosophila development as nip null mutants die at the 1st larval instar. Expression of UAS-nip, but not UAS-Duox, rescued the lethality. To understand the function of nip beyond the early larval stage, we generated GAL4 inducible UAS-RNAi transgenes. daG32-GAL4 driven, ubiquitous RNAi-mediated silencing of nip led to profound abnormality in pre-adult development, crinkled wing and markedly reduced lifespan at 29°C. Compared to wild type flies, da-GAL4 induced nip-RNAi transgenic flies exhibited significantly reduced ability to survive under oxidative stress and displayed impaired mitochondrial aconitase function. Our work provides in vivo evidence for a critical role for nip in the development and oxidative stress response in Drosophila

Anorectal Disorders

This report defines criteria and reviews the epidemiology, pathophysiology, and management of the following common anorectal disorders: fecal incontinence (FI), functional anorectal pain, and functional defecation disorders. FI is defined as the recurrent uncontrolled passage of fecal material for at least 3 months. The clinical features of FI are useful for guiding diagnostic testing and therapy. Anorectal manometry and imaging are useful for evaluating anal and pelvic floor structure and function. Education, antidiarrheals, and biofeedback therapy are the mainstay of management; surgery may be useful in refractory cases. Functional anorectal pain syndromes are defined by clinical features and categorized into 3 subtypes. In proctalgia fugax, the pain is typically fleeting and lasts for seconds to minutes. In levator ani syndrome and unspecified anorectal pain, the pain lasts more than 30 minutes, but in levator ani syndrome there is puborectalis tenderness. Functional defecation disorders are defined by ≥2 symptoms of chronic constipation or irritable bowel syndrome with constipation, and with ≥2 features of impaired evacuation, that is, abnormal evacuation pattern on manometry, abnormal balloon expulsion test, or impaired rectal evacuation by imaging. It includes 2 subtypes: dyssynergic defecation and inadequate defecatory propulsion. Pelvic floor biofeedback therapy is effective for treating levator ani syndrome and defecatory disorders

Structural characterization, thermoluminescence and EPR studies of Nd 2O3:Co2+ nanophosphors

Nd2O3:Co2+ (1–4 mol%) nanophosphors (15–25 nm) have been prepared via low temperature solution combustion method. Scanning electron micrograph (SEM) shows that the product is highly porous in nature. The stokes line in the Raman spectrum at ∼2000 cm−1 is assigned to Fg mode and the anti-stokes lines are assigned to a combination of Ag + Eg modes. With increase of Co2+ concentration, the intensity of Fg mode decreases, whereas the combination of Ag + Fg modes completely disappears. Electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectrum exhibits two resonance signals with effective g values at g = 2.25 and g = 2.03. Thermoluminescence (TL) response of Nd2O3:Co2+ nanopowders with γ dose 0.23–2.05 kGy was studied. The activation energy (E) and frequency factor (s) are estimated using Chen's glow peak shape method and obtained to be in the range 0.45–1.67 eV and 1.8 × 104 to 4.0 × 1012 s−1, respectively. It is observed that the TL glow peak intensity at 430 K increases linearly with γ dose which is suitable for radiation dosimetry

Thermoluminescence and EPR studies of nanocrystalline Nd 2O 3:Ni 2+ phosphor

Nanocrystalline Nd2O3:Ni2+ (2 mol%) phosphor has been prepared by a low temperature (∼400 °C) solution combustion method, in a very short time (<5 min). Powder X-ray diffraction results confirm the single hexagonal phase of nanopowders. Scanning electron micrographs show that nanophosphor has porous nature and the particles are agglomerated. Transmission electron microscopy confirms the nanosize (20–25 nm) of the crystallites. The electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectrum exhibits a symmetric absorption at g ≈ 2.77 which suggests that the site symmetry around Ni2+ ions is predominantly octahedral. The number of spins participating in resonance (N) and the paramagnetic susceptibility (χ) has been evaluated. Raman study show major peaks, which are assigned to Fg and combination of Ag + Eg modes. Thermoluminescence (TL) studies reveal well resolved glow peaks at 169 °C along with shoulder peak at around 236 °C. The activation energy (E in eV), order of kinetics (b) and frequency factor (s) were estimated using glow peak shape method. It is observed that the glow peak intensity at169 °C increases linearly with γ-dose which suggest that Nd2O3:Ni2+ is suitable for radiation dosimetry applications

A thermodynamic framework to develop rate-type models for fluids without instantaneous elasticity

In this paper, we apply the thermodynamic framework recently put into place by Rajagopal and co-workers, to develop rate-type models for viscoelastic fluids which do not possess instantaneous elasticity. To illustrate the capabilities of such models we make a specific choice for the specific Helmholtz potential and the rate of dissipation and consider the creep and stress relaxation response associated with the model. Given specific forms for the Helmholtz potential and the rate of dissipation, the rate of dissipation is maximized with the constraint that the difference between the stress power and the rate of change of Helmholtz potential is equal to the rate of dissipation and any other constraint that may be applicable such as incompressibility. We show that the model that is developed exhibits fluid-like characteristics and is incapable of instantaneous elastic response. It also includes Maxwell-like and Kelvin-Voigt-like viscoelastic materials (when certain material moduli take special values).Comment: 18 pages, 5 figure