Role of ambient air on photoluminescence and electrical conductivity of assembly of ZnO Nanoparticles

Effect of ambient gases on photoluminescence (PL) and electrical conductivity of films prepared using ZnO nanoparticles (NPs) have been investigated. It is observed that NPs of size below 20 nm kept inside a chamber exhibit complete reduction in their visible PL when oxygen partial pressure of the surrounding gases is decreased by evacuation. However the visible PL from ZnO NPs is insensitive to other major gases present in the ambient air. The rate of change of PL intensity with pressure is inversely proportional to the ambient air pressure and increases when particle size decreases due to the enhanced surface to volume ratio. On the other hand an assembly of ZnO NPs behaves as a complete insulator in the presence of dry air and its major components like N2, O2 and CO2. Electrical conduction having resistivity ~102 - 103 {\Omega}m is observed in the presence of humid air. The depletion layer formed at the NP surface after acquiring donor electrons of ZnO by the adsorbed oxygen, has been found to control the visible PL and increases the contact potential barrier between the NPs which in turn enhances the resistance of the film.Comment: arXiv admin note: significant text overlap with arXiv:1008.249

Microfilaria in malignant pleural effusion: an unusual incidental finding or causative association?

Lymphatic filariasis is common in tropical countries and is endemic in India. Filaria has a wide spectrum of presentation. Filarial lung involvement is usually in the form of tropical pulmonary eosinophilia with pulmonary infiltrates and peripheral eosinophilia. Filariasis presenting with pleural effusion is an unusual presentation. Malignancy in association with filarial pleural effusion is extremely rare and its role in tumorigenesis is controversial. In this context, we hereby report a case of 60 year old male, chronic smoker, who presented with left sided chest pain, cough, breathlessness, generalized weakness and swelling over left infrascapular region. Pleural fluid cytology repeated thrice due to degenerative changes, finally revealed malignant cells along with microfilaria. FNAC from left infrascapular swelling showed cytological features suggestive of metastatic deposits of Adenocarcinoma

Epidemiology of atopic dermatitis in adults: Results from an international survey.

Background:There are gaps in our knowledge of the prevalence of adult atopicdermatitis (AD).Objective:To estimate the prevalence of AD in adults and by disease severity.Methods:This international, cross-sectional, web-based survey was performed inthe United States, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, United Kingdom, andJapan. Adult members of online respondent panels were sent a questionnaire forAD identification and severity assessment; demographic quotas ensured populationrepresentativeness for each country. A diagnosis of AD required subjects to be posi-tive on the modified UK Working Party/ISAAC criteriaandself-report of ever hav-ing an AD diagnosis by a physician. The proportion of subjects with AD whoreported being treated for their condition was determined and also used to estimateprevalence. Severity scales were Patient-Oriented SCORAD, Patient-OrientatedEczema Measure, and Patient Global Assessment.Results:Among participants by region, the point prevalence of adult AD in the over-all/treated populations was 4.9%/3.9% in the US, 3.5%/2.6% in Canada, 4.4%/3.5% inthe EU, and 2.1%/1.5% in Japan. The prevalence was generally lower for males vsfemales, and decreased with age. Regional variability was observed within countries.Severity varied by scale and region; however, regardless of the scale or region, propor-tion of subjects reporting severe disease was lower than mild or moderate disease.Conclusions:Prevalence of adult AD ranged from 2.1% to 4.9% across countries.Severe AD represented a small proportion of the overall AD population regardlessof measure or region

A long-glumed mutation in rice

This article does not have an abstract

Hybrid plasma-catalytic steam reforming of toluene as a biomass tar model compound over Ni/Al₂O₃ catalysts

In this study, plasma-catalytic steam reforming of toluene as a biomass tar model compound was carried out in a coaxial dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) plasma reactor. The effect of Ni/Al2O3 catalysts with different nickel loadings (5–20 wt%) on the plasma-catalytic gas cleaning process was evaluated in terms of toluene conversion, gas yield, by-products formation and energy efficiency of the plasma-catalytic process. Compared to the plasma reaction without a catalyst, the combination of DBD with the Ni/Al2O3 catalysts significantly enhanced the toluene conversion, hydrogen yield and energy efficiency of the hybrid plasma process, while significantly reduced the production of organic by-products. Increasing Ni loading of the catalyst improved the performance of the plasma-catalytic processing of toluene, with the highest toluene conversion of 52% and energy efficiency of 2.6 g/kWh when placing the 20 wt% Ni/Al2O3 catalyst in the plasma. The possible reaction pathways in the hybrid plasma-catalytic process were proposed through the combined analysis of both gas and liquid products