Women’s Experiences in Religious Tourism: An Investigation into Women’s Involvement in Sabarimala Pilgrimage, Kerala

Preparations for the Sabarimala pilgrimage involves devotees observing a 41 day period of austerity (vrata) during which they practice an ascetic life. Women between the age of 10 and 50 do not visit the shrine at Sabarimala due to long-established customs. However, women do play an important role during the 41-day austerity observed by family members preparing for the pilgrimage, which could be described as a non-participant involvement in the pilgrimage. While there have been many studies on the spiritual and secular experiences of pilgrims, research on this unique form of non-participant involvement in pilgrimages is not found especially in the Indian context. This study explores the religious experience of female family members, who do not join the pilgrimage but participate by assisting family members going on the Sabarimala pilgrimage. The study aims to identify their unique experience from multiple perspectives such as personal, interpersonal, and societal through a constructivist approach. Adopting qualitative research methods, interviews were carried out among female members of Sabarimala pilgrims’ families in the states of Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh to get insight into their experiences and their involvement in the pilgrimage process. The findings of the study propose Sabarimala pilgrimage as a very important social process which cements and strengthens family relationships and togetherness

Evaluation of Hemocompatibility of Dental Implants with Two Different Surface Treatments: An Invitro study

BACKGROUND: Dental implants have the surface modifications that alter the surface topography and the chemistry to improve osseointegration and thereby increase the treatment predictability. surface contact-induced blood coagulation is associated with the onset of osseointegration. PURPOSE: To evaluate the hemocompatibility of dental implants with two different surface treatments through invitro studies. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Two commercially available dental implants with calcium phosphate blasted surfaces and alumina oxide blasted with acid-etched surfaces were evaluated for hemocompatibility. The hemocompatibility was assessed by exposing the implants to blood followed by platelet quantification and microscopic evaluation of platelet attached to the implant surfaces. RESULTS: Hemocompatibility was significantly higher (p< 0.51) on the calcium phosphate blasted implant surfaces compared with the (P < 0.41) alumina oxide blasted with acid-etched surfaces for the percentage hemolysis, platelet activity. Mean Platelet adhesion and activation for the calcium phosphate blasted surface treated (409.94±884.62) were significantly higher compared to the alumina oxide blasted with acid-etched surface treatment with the mean of (352.79±723.63) when viewed microscopically followed the similar pattern. CONCLUSION: The results of the study showed that osseofix surface treated dental implants are more hemocompatible than the alumina oxide blasted with acid etched surface treated dental implants. Taken together, osseofix surface treatment of dental implants is more beneficial for coagulation. Because the higher coagulation ability is associated with the faster implant osseointegration, these findings are consistent with the low failure rates and higher predictability for immediate loading protocols observed with the osseofix surface-treated dental implants

Chitosan Nanocomposite-Based Triboelectric Nanogenerators with Enhanced Electrical Performance: An Opportunity for Bioelectronics

Triboelectric nanogenerators (TENG) based on natural biomaterials are essential for energy-harvesting applications. In this work, an efficient approach was proposed to enhance the electrical performance of chitosan (CS), which is a naturally occurring biopolymer with the incorporation of polyethylenimine-grafted graphene oxide (PEI-GO) nanoparticles. Triboelectric properties of the different weight combinations of PEI-GO in CS were tested against polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE). An improvement in the mechanical and electrical properties of the nanocomposites was observed in comparison to pure chitosan. Thus, the composite with 10 wt % PEI-GO was used as the positive layer in the TENG device, and an open-circuit voltage (Voc) of ∼222 V, short circuit current (Isc) of ∼6.6 μA, and transfer charge (Qsc) of ∼149.6 nC were observed. Almost a 5.5 fold increase of the output power (∼1465.2 μW) and its power density (∼407 mW/m2) were seen for the nanocomposite in comparison to that of pure CS. The TENG was able to power calculators and wristwatches and light up 126 blue light-emitting diodes (LEDs). Further, a TENG was fabricated with the same polymer (CS and CS nanocomposite) as tribo-layers, where the pure CS polymer acts as the tribo-negative layer and PEI-GO-incorporated CS acts as the tribo-positive layer in the CS polymer-based TENG. The device was found to light up 14 white LEDs with the human hand tapping. This study thus presents opportunities for utilizing biomechanical energy found in everyday life to power bioelectronics with bioderived materials

Chitosan Nanocomposite-Based Triboelectric Nanogenerators with Enhanced Electrical Performance: An Opportunity for Bioelectronics

Triboelectric nanogenerators (TENG) based on natural biomaterials are essential for energy-harvesting applications. In this work, an efficient approach was proposed to enhance the electrical performance of chitosan (CS), which is a naturally occurring biopolymer with the incorporation of polyethylenimine-grafted graphene oxide (PEI-GO) nanoparticles. Triboelectric properties of the different weight combinations of PEI-GO in CS were tested against polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE). An improvement in the mechanical and electrical properties of the nanocomposites was observed in comparison to pure chitosan. Thus, the composite with 10 wt % PEI-GO was used as the positive layer in the TENG device, and an open-circuit voltage (Voc) of ∼222 V, short circuit current (Isc) of ∼6.6 μA, and transfer charge (Qsc) of ∼149.6 nC were observed. Almost a 5.5 fold increase of the output power (∼1465.2 μW) and its power density (∼407 mW/m2) were seen for the nanocomposite in comparison to that of pure CS. The TENG was able to power calculators and wristwatches and light up 126 blue light-emitting diodes (LEDs). Further, a TENG was fabricated with the same polymer (CS and CS nanocomposite) as tribo-layers, where the pure CS polymer acts as the tribo-negative layer and PEI-GO-incorporated CS acts as the tribo-positive layer in the CS polymer-based TENG. The device was found to light up 14 white LEDs with the human hand tapping. This study thus presents opportunities for utilizing biomechanical energy found in everyday life to power bioelectronics with bioderived materials

Chitosan Nanocomposite-Based Triboelectric Nanogenerators with Enhanced Electrical Performance: An Opportunity for Bioelectronics

Triboelectric nanogenerators (TENG) based on natural biomaterials are essential for energy-harvesting applications. In this work, an efficient approach was proposed to enhance the electrical performance of chitosan (CS), which is a naturally occurring biopolymer with the incorporation of polyethylenimine-grafted graphene oxide (PEI-GO) nanoparticles. Triboelectric properties of the different weight combinations of PEI-GO in CS were tested against polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE). An improvement in the mechanical and electrical properties of the nanocomposites was observed in comparison to pure chitosan. Thus, the composite with 10 wt % PEI-GO was used as the positive layer in the TENG device, and an open-circuit voltage (Voc) of ∼222 V, short circuit current (Isc) of ∼6.6 μA, and transfer charge (Qsc) of ∼149.6 nC were observed. Almost a 5.5 fold increase of the output power (∼1465.2 μW) and its power density (∼407 mW/m2) were seen for the nanocomposite in comparison to that of pure CS. The TENG was able to power calculators and wristwatches and light up 126 blue light-emitting diodes (LEDs). Further, a TENG was fabricated with the same polymer (CS and CS nanocomposite) as tribo-layers, where the pure CS polymer acts as the tribo-negative layer and PEI-GO-incorporated CS acts as the tribo-positive layer in the CS polymer-based TENG. The device was found to light up 14 white LEDs with the human hand tapping. This study thus presents opportunities for utilizing biomechanical energy found in everyday life to power bioelectronics with bioderived materials

Chitosan Nanocomposite-Based Triboelectric Nanogenerators with Enhanced Electrical Performance: An Opportunity for Bioelectronics

Triboelectric nanogenerators (TENG) based on natural biomaterials are essential for energy-harvesting applications. In this work, an efficient approach was proposed to enhance the electrical performance of chitosan (CS), which is a naturally occurring biopolymer with the incorporation of polyethylenimine-grafted graphene oxide (PEI-GO) nanoparticles. Triboelectric properties of the different weight combinations of PEI-GO in CS were tested against polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE). An improvement in the mechanical and electrical properties of the nanocomposites was observed in comparison to pure chitosan. Thus, the composite with 10 wt % PEI-GO was used as the positive layer in the TENG device, and an open-circuit voltage (Voc) of ∼222 V, short circuit current (Isc) of ∼6.6 μA, and transfer charge (Qsc) of ∼149.6 nC were observed. Almost a 5.5 fold increase of the output power (∼1465.2 μW) and its power density (∼407 mW/m2) were seen for the nanocomposite in comparison to that of pure CS. The TENG was able to power calculators and wristwatches and light up 126 blue light-emitting diodes (LEDs). Further, a TENG was fabricated with the same polymer (CS and CS nanocomposite) as tribo-layers, where the pure CS polymer acts as the tribo-negative layer and PEI-GO-incorporated CS acts as the tribo-positive layer in the CS polymer-based TENG. The device was found to light up 14 white LEDs with the human hand tapping. This study thus presents opportunities for utilizing biomechanical energy found in everyday life to power bioelectronics with bioderived materials