Right to Repair: A Reflective Facet of Consumer Justice

In recent years, consumer electronics marked momentum in consumer durables, but unfortunately repair activities of products suffered setbacks as it relatively involved higher costs due to a lack of repair infrastructure. The study focused on the freedom and rights of consumers to fix their own faulty devices as per the repair manual or to select the service provider of their choice without being mandated by manufacturer’s whims. The research undertaken is methodological in nature and aims to empower consumers through synchronizing trade between manufacturers and third-party sellers and buyers while ensuring sustainability in consumption of products by reducing e-waste with implications for policy-makers, researchers, public in framing strategies sustainable economic development. The survey of 112 respondents identifies the scope and need for the right, which has significant benefits to consumers whereby a plurality of respondents expressed a pragmatic unequivocal perspective towards recognition of a right to repair. The statistical representations reflect the original response collected on a pan-India basis through a survey-based structured questionnaire method. This ensures free and fair trade in prioritizing consumer protection while sketching the need for a discrete piece of legislation on the Right to Repair. The aim of the article is an attempt to identify digital reality along with digital maturity to embrace the consumer’s decision-making process. It intends to prevent unfair trade while promoting free trade and proposing discrete legislation on the Right to Repair so that it may be efficacious for the policy-makers in encompassing the provisions of the right to repair spelled with recognizing and reclaiming consumer protection as well

Sulfhydryls of tubulin

The 20 cysteine residues of tubulin are heterogeneously distributed throughout its three-dimensional structure. In the present work, we have used the reactivity of these cysteine residues with 5,5'-dithiobis(2-nitrobenzoic acid) (DTNB) as a probe to detect the global conformational changes of tubulin under different experimental conditions. The 20 sulfhydryl groups can be classified into two categories: fast and slow reacting. Colchicine binding causes a dramatic decrease in the reactivity of the cysteine residues and causes complete protection of 1.4 cysteine residues. Similarly, other colchicine analogs that bind reversibly initially decrease the rate of reaction; but unlike colchicine they do not cause complete protection of any sulfhydryl groups. Interestingly, in all cases we find that all the slow reacting sulfhydryl groups are affected to the same extent, that is, have a single rate constant. Glycerol has a major inhibitory effect on all these slow reacting sulfhydryls, suggesting that the reaction of slow reacting cysteines takes place from an open state at equilibrium with the native. Ageing of tubulin at 37 ° C leads to loss of self-assembly and colchicine binding activity. Using DTNB kinetics, we have shown that ageing leads to complete protection of some of the sulfhydryl groups and increased reaction rate for other slow reacting sulfhydryl groups. Ageing at 37 ° C also causes aggregation of tubulin as indicated by HPLC analysis. The protection of some sulfhydryl groups may be a consequence of aggregation, whereas the increased rate of reaction of other slow reacting sulfhydryls may be a result of changes in global dynamics. CD spectra and acrylamide quenching support such a notion. Binding of 8-anilino-1-naphthalenesulfonate (ANS) and bis-ANS by tubulin cause complete protection of some cysteine residues as indicated by the DTNB reaction, but has little effect on the other slow reacting cysteines, suggesting local effects

Effect of community based intervention on childhood pneumonia and its risk factors in slums of Dibrugarh, Assam

Background: Pneumonia, one leading cause of mortality in children. Preventing pneumonia related deaths is an urgent priority to meet sustainable development goals. Settings and Design: Community based cross sectional study in two registered slums Chandmarighat and Graham bazar in Dibrugarh, Assam. Methods and Material:  2 out of 10 registered slums were chosen and a baseline cross sectional study was done to list out the risk factors. Based on the risk factors, community based intervention was done by capacity building of frontline workers and monitoring and suportive supervision in one while only monitoring was done in non intervention slum. Taking 95% confidence interval for two tail distribution, the sample size in each of the slums was 300. Statistical analysis: done by using SPSS 20, rates, ratios, proportions, univariate and multivariate analysis. Results: Prevalence of pneumonia was significantly low (9.33% vs 16.33%) in intervention and non-intervention area (p<0.001). Univariate analysis reported that initiation of complementary feeding before 6 months and indoor air pollution were associated with pneumonia in intervened area(p<0.001). Multivariate analysis was done and type of family, complementary feeding before 6 months and indoor air pollution were associated with pneumonia in intervened area. Conclusions: Community based interventions targeting the established risk factors found effective in reducing the childhood pneumonia

PVP-based Hydrogels: Synthesis, Properties and Applications

Hydrogels are three dimensionally crosslinked polymeric network which can retain a huge amount of water but do not dissolve in water. Polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) is a synthetic polymer with good biocompatibility and transparency and with the action of different stimuli (radiation, heat, pressure, chemicals, etc.) undergoes crosslinking, and can form hydrogels. Due to their tissue compatibility and tissue like consistency, PVP hydrogels are very promising for different biomedical applications. However, because of inferior swelling capacity and poor mechanical property, the use of pure PVP hydrogels is limited. To overcome this problem, PVP is blended with different polysaccharides or other polymers according to requirement and from the standpoint of applications. This review article mainly focuses on different kinds of PVP based hydrogels; their modes of synthesis, properties and a range of applications of these blend hydrogels.P(ED2.1.00/03.0111

PVP-based hydrogels: Synthesis, properties and applications

Hydrogels are three dimensionally crosslinked polymeric network which can retain a huge amount of water but do not dissolve in water. Polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) is a synthetic polymer with good biocompatibility and transparency and with the action of different stimuli (radiation, heat, pressure, chemicals, etc.) undergoes crosslinking, and can form hydrogels. Due to their tissue compatibility and tissue like consistency, PVP hydrogels are very promising for different biomedical applications. However, because of inferior swelling capacity and poor mechanical property, the use of pure PVP hydrogels is limited. To overcome this problem, PVP is blended with different polysaccharides or other polymers according to requirement and from the standpoint of applications. This review article mainly focuses on different kinds of PVP based hydrogels; their modes of synthesis, properties and a range of applications of these blend hydrogels. © 2012 Nova Science Publishers, Inc. All rights reserved

Hydrogel for covering wounds and process for preparing thereof

Hydrogel pro krytí ran obsahuje 0,2 až 0,8 % hmotn. polyvinylpyrrolidonu o molekulové hmotnosti 30 až 50 000 Dalton, 0,8 až 0,2 % hmotn. karboxymetylcelulózy nebo kolagenu, 1,5 až 2,5 % hmotn. agaru, 0,5 až 1,5 % hmotn. polyetylenglykolu o molekulové hmotnosti 200 až 20 000 Dalton, 0,5 až 1,5 % hmotn. glycerínu a případně obsahuje nejméně jedno antibakteriální a/nebo antiseptické činidlo, s výhodou kyselinu boritou, v množství 1 až 5 % hmotn., přičemž všechny uvedené složky dohromady tvoří 6 až 10 % hmotn. hydrogelu a zbývající část do 100 % hmotnosti tvoří voda. Způsob přípravy tohoto hydrogelu zahrnuje krok přípravy výchozího polymerního vodného roztoku obsahujícího všechny uvedené složky včetně vody v jejich koncentračních rozmezích a navíc 10 až 30 hmotnostních dílů přidané vody, dále zahřátí takto získaného polymerního roztoku ve skleněné nádobě v autoklávu při teplotě 115 až 125 °C za působení páry pod tlakem 15 až 20 psi (103,5 až 138 kPa) po dobu 35 až 15 min, dále umístění sterilizovaného polymerního roztoku za aseptických podmínek do ploché nádoby, kde želatinuje po dobu 5 až 10 min, dále zrání získaného hydrogelu při pokračujícím spontánním síťování za pokojové teploty po dobu 10 až 30 min, přičemž během zrání a síťování dojde ke ztrátě 10 až 30 % hmotn. vody

Stability study of novel medicated hydrogel wound dressings

PVP-CMC and PVP-CMC-BA hydrogels were prepared for biomedical applications. These hydrogels were stored under 5°C ± 2°C, 22°C ± 3°C, and 40°C for 180 days to identify their suitable storage condition. At 5°C ± 2°C, hydrogels showed minimum alteration in physical properties. No microbial colonies appeared on PVP-CMC stored at 5°C ± 2°C, but they slowly appeared at 22°C ± 3°C and 40°C after 45 days. FTIR and antibacterial assay demonstrated that boric acid (BA) in hydrogel remained stable for 180 days. PVP-CMC-BA is more bio-stable than PVP-CMC because of BA, an antibacterial agent. Finally, 5°C ± 2°C was recommended as the best storage condition for both PVP-CMC and PVP-CMC-BA hydrogels. © 2013 Copyright Taylor and Francis Group, LLC

Wettability of ZnO and curcumin decorated Graphene oxide nanocomposite for heavy metal ion removal from water

Hydrophilic nature of nanocomposite is essential for its efficient performance in water purification. The present work focusses on a) synthesis and characterization of graphene oxide- zinc oxide-curcumin (GO-Zn(cur)O) of varying concentration b) enhancing the hydrophilic nature by enhancing the number of functional groups embedded in graphene oxide and c) enhancing the antimicrobial properties by addition of curcumin. The composition of the nanocomposites has been systematically varied and the wettability has been studied. Characterization of the structure of the nanocomposites was done using X ray diffraction, Raman spectroscopy and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. The hydrophilicity of GO-Zn(cur)O has been enhanced to 27.06° which would be beneficial for water purification. © 2022 IEEE

Biodegradable hydrogel film for food packaging

Disposal of waste plastic packaging materials has raised a serious problem worldwide leading to environmental pollution due to the fact that most of the plastic packaging materials are generally non-biodegradable. In this article we have reported about a novel synthetic and biopolymer based biodegradable hydrogel film as a food packaging material. The water vapour transmission (WVT) test proves that oxygen can pass through the hydrogel film, i.e. the film is breathable. Biodegradability study of the hydrogel film was carried out by soil burial-test in a composting environment up to 5 weeks. SEM analysis shows structural deformation of the hydrogel film with time. The hydrogel film shows sharp weight loss until 4 weeks, and after that no significant residues of the hydrogel films were found in the compost bed