Protective role of vitamin C against lindane toxicity on the histo-architecture of the epididymis and vas deferens of male mice (Mus musculus)

We studied the protective effects of vitamin C against the toxic effects of lindane on the epididymis and vas deferens of male mice. There were four treatments: controls (untreated), lindane (20 mg/kg), lindane plus vitamin C (10 mg/kg) and vitamin C only. Lindane induced histopathological alterations in the epididymis and vas deferens characterized by a reduced epithelium with degenerative changes in the muscular layers and connective tissues, and a lack of spermatozoa in the lumen of both epididymis and vas deferens. These changes were restored towards normalcy by vitamin C. These results suggest that vitamin C has some protective role against lindane toxicity in epididymis and vas deferens of male mice

Feasibility analysis of design for remanufacturing in bearing using hybrid fuzzy-topsis and taguchi optimization

The tremendous advancement in technology, productivity and improved standard of living has come at the cost of environmental deterioration, increased energy and raw material consumption. In this regard, remanufacturing is viable option to reduce energy usage, carbon footprint and raw material usage. In this manuscript, using computational intelligence techniques we try to determine the feasibility of remanufacturing in case of roller bearings. We collected used N308 bearings from 5 different Indian cities. Using Fuzzy-TOPSIS, we found that the roundness, surface roughness and weight play a vital role in design for remanufacturing of roller bearings. Change in diameter, change in thickness and change in width showed minimal influence.  We also used Taguchi analysis to reassess the problem. The roundness of inner and outer race was found to be the most influential parameters in deciding the selection of bearing for remanufacturing. The results suggest the bearing designer to design the bearing in such a way that roundness of both races will be taken cared while manufacturing a bearing. However, using Taguchi the weight of the rollers was found to be of least influence. Overall, the predictions of Taguchi analysis were found to be similar to Fuzzy-TOPSIS analysis

Biosynthesis of silver nanoparticles by plants crude extracts and their characterization using UV, XRD, TEM and EDX

Plant extracts are very cost effective and eco-friendly, thus, can be an economic and efficient alternative for the large-scale synthesis of nanoparticles. The preparation of stable, uniform silver nanoparticles by reduction of silver ions with Emblica officinalis, Terminalia catappa and Eucalyptus hybrida extract is reported in the present paper. It is a simple process of global research interest for obtaining silver nanoparticles in least amount of time. These nanoparticles were  characterized with UV-Vis spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and energy diffraction X- ray (EDX analysis which revealed that the silver nanoparticles are polydisperse and of different morphologies ranging from 20 to 80 nm in size. XRD results reveal that these nanostructures exhibit a face-centered cubic crystal structure. The UV/Vis spectra absorption peak confirms their production. Pioneering of reliable and eco-friendly process for synthesis of metallic nanoparticles biologically is an important step in the field of application of nanobiotechnology. Thus, these silver nanoparticles (Ag- NPs) may prove as a better candidate for drugs and can potentially eliminate the problem of chemical agents because of their biogenic nature. The indiscriminate use of antibiotics has fuelled the development of drug resistance at an alarming rate. To overpower this burning problem, the Ag-NPs may prove to be a universal solution.Key words: Nanobiotechnology, silver nanoparticles (Ag-NPs), Emblica officinalis, Terminalia catappa and Eucalyptus hybrida

Organisational synergies, dissonance and spinoffs

Spinoff firms are a distinct class of new entrants across industries. The causes for their emergence have been widely investigated in the literature. However, the role of team environments has received little attention. On the one hand, talented individuals may find it necessary to team up with others to utilise complementary knowledge and generate synergies. On the other hand, some types of team production environments may exhibit dissonance and motivate individuals to leave them. This study introduces environments of synergy and dissonance utilising team production functions and utilises them to analyse how team environments vary in their propensity to generate spinoffs. We show that the teams exhibiting synergy are not likely to spawn spinoffs but a new idea from a team member gets implemented only if it is of exceptional quality. The concepts of synergy and dissonance can also be utilised to analyse other phenomena such as mergers and alliances

Ultrasound measurement for abdominal aortic aneurysm screening: a direct comparison of the three leading methods

Objectives: Ultrasound (US) is non-invasive and cost-effective for screening abdominal aortic aneurysms (AAAs) but there is no universally accepted method to measure the aortic diameter. This study evaluates the accuracy, reproducibility, and repeatability of three methods: inner-to-inner (ITI), leading-to-leading edge (LTL), and outer-to-outer (OTO). The secondary objective of this study was to determine whether aneurysm size or grade of operator had any effect on either intra- or inter-observer variability. Methods: Fifty static US images were measured by six assessors (2 vascular radiologists, 2 interventional radiology trainees, and 2 sonographers) on two separate occasions 6 weeks apart. Repeatability and reproducibility were calculated and compared with computed tomography (CT) as the gold standard. Results: All three methods have high repeatability and reproducibility when static images are used. The inter-observer reproducibility coefficients between assessors were 0.48 cm, 0.35 cm, and 0.34 cm for ITI, LTL and OTO, respectively. The intra-observer repeatability coefficients between assessors were 0.30 cm, 0.20 cm, and 0.19 cm for ITI, LTL and OTO, respectively. The mean difference between CT and OTO, LTL, and ITI was 1 mm, 3 mm, and 5 mm, respectively (all underestimations) (p < .0001). Conclusions: US consistently underestimates aortic size when compared with CT, with ITI demonstrating the greatest underestimation (on average 5 mm). In the UK, this underestimation by the NHS Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm screening programme reduces the sensitivity of the screening test and may impact on the way in which vascular specialists interpret the findings of the screening programme. © 2014 European Society for Vascular Surgery. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.published_or_final_versio

Security scheme for wireless sensor network

A Wireless Sensor Network (WSN) could be a network created of tiny autonomous sensors (nodes). Its purpose is to watch environmental variable like temperature, pressure, humidity, motion, brightness, etc. These nodes use a radiofrequency system to deliver the knowledge gathered by the sensors to a central process unit (CPU) or base station. The communication between a node and therefore the base station may happen either directly or step by step through completely different nodes among the network. Some WSN can even be controlled from the base station. Each device node typically consists of the subsequent main components: a microcontroller, completely different sensors, a radio transceiver and electric battery or another supply of power. The scheme relies on LOCK scheme and staff ID-based secure cluster key management. The scheme has many blessings over the prevailing LOCK theme. This scheme improves the wireless device network system security. It minimizes the amount of key storage demand and therefore the number of the communication messages for rekeying. Additionally, one distinctive advantage is that it doesn't have an effect on the other nodes once evicting compromised node or moving the node from one location to a different. The goal of this thesis is to style and build a WSN node and to program its microcontroller thus it covers a basic practicality, implement the science security and to send the collected knowledge to different network nodes

Supplementation of Vitamin C Reduces Blood Glucose and Improves Glycosylated Hemoglobin in Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus: A Randomized, Double-Blind Study

No study has ever examined the effect of vitamin C with metformin on fasting (FBS) and postmeal blood glucose (PMBG) as well as glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c) in the treatment of type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM). The goal was to examine the effect of oral vitamin C with metformin on FBS, PMBG, HbA1c, and plasma ascorbic acid level (PAA) with type 2 DM. Seventy patients with type 2 DM participated in a prospective, double-blind, placebo-controlled, 12-week study. The patients with type 2 DM were divided randomly into placebo and vitamin C group of 35 each. Both groups received the treatment for twelve weeks. Decreased PAA levels were found in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus. This level was reversed significantly after treatment with vitamin C along with metformin compared to placebo with metformin. FBS, PMBG, and HbA1c levels showed significant improvement after 12 weeks of treatment with vitamin C. In conclusion, oral supplementation of vitamin C with metformin reverses ascorbic acid levels, reduces FBS, PMBG, and improves HbA1c. Hence, both the drugs in combination may be used in the treatment of type 2 DM to maintain good glycemic control