Synthesis of copolymer from lactic acid-polyethylene terephthalate (LA-PET) copolymerization

Bio-plastic has been a need of the hour for the past few decades and the usage of lactic acid (LA) in the production of bio plastic opens a new window to the field. Polyethylene terephthalate (PET) thermoplastic polyester with excellent tensile and impact strength, chemical resistance, clarity, process ability, and transparency has become a bane to the society. The co polymerization increases the mechanical strength of LA. In this study, the production and optimization of the copolymer of LA –PET was done. The blend of sugarcane bagasse and corn stover was used for the production of LA by incubating with Lactobacillus sp. for 24 h. Lactobacillus sp. is a potent producer of lactic acid and crude curd was used as the source. The optimization in lignin breakdown by 10% NH4OH and 2% NaOH and acid hydrolysis by 10% H2SO4 of the blend was done. The process parameters in the copolymerization LA-PET using p-toluene sulfonic acid, ethylene glycol and stannous chloride were also analyzed. The products formed were confirmed by the FTIR analysis at various transmittance peaks at 1681, 3008 and 3610 cm-1. The process of production of the copolymer proves to be a green technology by decreasing the PET contamination of the environment and also helping in the production of bio-degradable plastics in the run.  Key words: Lactic acid, copolymer, bioplastic, polyethylene terephthalate

CABG Patients Develop Global DNA Hypermethylation, That Negatively Affect the Mitochondrial Function and Promote Post-Surgical Cognitive Decline: A Proof of Concept in Small Cohort

Global DNA hypermethylation and mitochondrial dysfunction are reported to be associated with the development of mild cognitive decline (MCI). The present study aims to generate preliminary data that connect the above association with post-surgical coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) cognitive decline in patients. Data were collected from 70 CABG patients and 25 age-matched controls. Cognitive function was assessed using the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MOCA) test on day 1 (before surgery) and on the day of discharge. Similarly, blood was collected before and one day after the CABG procedure for mitochondrial functional analysis and expression of DNA methylation genes. Test analysis score suggested 31 (44%) patients had MCI before discharge. These patients showed a significant decrease in complex I activity and an increase in malondialdehyde levels (p p p < 0.047), with an insignificant increase in TET1 and TET3 gene expression. Correlation analysis showed a significant positive relation between cognitive decline and elevated blood DNMT1 and declined blood complex I activity, signifying that cognitive decline experienced by post-surgical CABG patients is associated with increased DNMT1 expression and declined complex I activity. Based on the data, we conclude that both DNA hypermethylation and mitochondrial dysfunction are associated with post-CABG MCI, where the former is negatively correlated, and the latter is positively correlated with post-surgical MCI in CABG cases. Additionally, a multimarker approach that comprises MOCA, DNA methylation, DNMT, and NQR activities can be utilized to stratify the population that is sensitive to developing post-CABG MCI

Towards Internet Scale Quality-of-Experience Measurement with Twitter

Part 3: Evaluation and Experimental Study of Rich Network ServicesInternational audienceAt present, Quality of Experience (QoE) measurements are accomplished by interrogating users for the perceived quality of a service they just have used. Influenced by many factors and often limited by domain or geographical region, this technique has several drawbacks when a general state of QoE for the internet as a whole is prospected. To achieve such a general metric, we leverage user complaints that we observe in real-time in social media. Such approaches have been successfully applied for the monitoring of specific and single services. We aim to extend existing methods in order to create an overall metric, define an internet wide QoE baseline, monitor changes and hence, provide a context for assessing smaller scale findings against a ground truth. The contribution of this work is to demonstrate the feasibility of using social media analysis for generating a meaningful value for quantifying the actual QoE of the internet