A NOVEL D-ALANINE SENSOR USING SURFACE PLASMON RESONANCE PROPERTY OF SILVER NANO PARTICLES FOR MICRO DETECTION IN SIMULATED BODY FLUID

High D-alanine concentration is implicated in Alzheimer’s disease and blood plasma of patients with renal disorders. A novel, simple D-alanine sensor was developed using the localized surface plasmon resonance property of silver nanoparticles (SNP). The amount of decrease in surface plasmon resonance band of SNP due to H2O2 produced during the D-amino acid oxidase reaction corresponded to the concentration of D-alanine which could be directly monitored using the spectrophotpmetric methods. The sensor was used for the detection of D-alanine in human blood plasma mimicking fluid i.e. simulated body fluid which showed linear detection in the range of 0.1mM to 5mM D-alanine concentration

Light Curve Parameters of Cepheid and RR Lyrae Variables at Multiple Wavelengths −- Models vs. Observations

We present results from a comparative study of light curves of Cepheid and RR Lyrae stars in the Galaxy and the Magellanic Clouds with their theoretical models generated from the stellar pulsation codes. Fourier decomposition method is used to analyse the theoretical and the observed light curves at multiple wavelengths. In case of RR Lyrae stars, the amplitude and Fourier parameters from the models are consistent with observations in most period bins except for low metal-abundances ($Z<0.004$). In case of Cepheid variables, we observe a greater offset between models and observations for both the amplitude and Fourier parameters. The theoretical amplitude parameters are typically larger than those from observations, except close to the period of $10$ days. We find that these discrepancies between models and observations can be reduced if a higher convective efficiency is adopted in the pulsation codes. Our results suggest that a quantitative comparison of light curve structure is very useful to provide constraints for the input physics to the stellar pulsation models.Comment: 8 pages, 6 figures. To appear in "Proceedings of the 2nd Belgo-Indian Network for Astronomy & Astrophysics (BINA) workshop, held in Brussels (Belgium), 9-12 October 2018

Central Giant Cell Granuloma Of Maxilla: A Case Report And Literature Review

Central giant cell granuloma (CGCG) is a benign reactive lesion rather than benign neoplastic lesion. In 70% of cases, it is seen in mandible and the remaining 30% occurs in maxilla. Females are affected more than males and commonly seen in children and young adults. The etiology is still completely unknown but thought to be of a reactive process to some unknown stimuli. However, it has radiographic features similar to some neoplastic lesions. The incidence in the general population is very low.&nbsp; Central giant cell granuloma is characterized by the presence of multinucleated giant cells of varying shapes and sizes, fibrous tissue, vascular channels and macrophages. We report a case of central giant cell granuloma in the right anterior maxillary region of a 12 year old boy, who develop a painless swelling on the right side of the face since three months and gave a history of trauma at the same time. The patient was treated surgically and one year follow up did not show any sign of recurrence

Phonon Dynamics in the Generalized Kitaev Spin Liquid

Candidate materials for the Kitaev spin liquid generically have residual interactions beyond the Kitaev coupling. It therefore becomes necessary to understand how signatures of the quantum spin liquid, e.g., fractionalization of the spin excitations, are affected by the presence of these interactions. Recently it was shown that phonon dynamics is an indirect but effective probe to study fractionalized excitations in the Kitaev spin liquid. Ultrasound experiments can measure sound attenuation, which should show characteristic temperature and angular dependence of the sound attenuation coefficient if the scattering of phonons happens predominantly on Majorana fermions. So far the computation of the sound attenuation was only done in the pure spin-phonon coupled Kitaev model, without taking into account residual interactions. In order to understand experimental signatures, here we present a mean-field study of the sound attenuation in the generalized $J$-$K$-$\Gamma$ model, which is relevant to candidate materials. Our findings show that as long as the system is in the spin liquid phase, characteristic features of the sound attenuation remain observable even in the presence of residual interactions.Comment: 15 pages, 7 figure

Hypopnea definitions, determinants and dilemmas: a focused review

Abstract Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is defined by the presence of repetitive obstructive apneas and hypopneas during sleep. While apneas are clearly defined as cessation of flow, controversy has plagued the many definitions of hypopneas, which have used variable criteria for reductions in flow, with or without the presence of electroencephalographic (EEG) arousal, and with varying degrees of oxygen desaturation. While the prevalence of OSA is estimated to vary using the different definitions of hypopneas, the impact of these variable definitions on clinical outcomes is not clear. This focused review examines the controversies and limitations surrounding the different definitions of hypopnea, evaluates the impact of hypopneas and different hypopnea definitions on clinical outcomes, identifies gaps in research surrounding hypopneas, and makes suggestions for future research.https://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/144503/1/41606_2018_Article_23.pd

Universal precaution: practice among doctors in a tertiary care hospital in Manipur

Background: Health workers especially doctors are always at higher risk of exposure to blood borne pathogens in day to day practice. Universal precaution is the only strategy so that all these infections could be prevented. The objective of the study was to assess the practice of Universal Precautions among doctors & factors influencing its use in a tertiary health centre of Manipur.Methods: Cross-sectional study was conducted among the doctors in a tertiary health care centre of Manipur during October 2011 to September 2013. Structured questionnaire was used to collect data. Descriptive statistics like percentage was used to describe the findings using SPSS 20.Results: Total respondents were 366 doctors. Response rate was 98%. Total of 125 (34.2%) respondents always used glove as a measure of universal precaution. Hand-washing after removal of gloves was practiced by more than half of the respondents. Around 2 in 10 participants never used personal protective equipments like gown & mask. Around 7 in 10 participants always practiced recapping after use. Total of 150 respondents (41%) used to dispose sharps in sharp and liquid proof container with removing syringe.74.3% mentioned the reasoning of not practicing universal precaution was lack of supply of personal protective equipment. A total of 50 respondents told that emergency situation was also responsible for not adhering to the practice. Work stress (1.6%), time constraint (5.7%), lack of display of guidelines (3.8%) were the reasons mentioned by few of them.Conclusions: Universal precaution practice was poor. Training of the health care workers, proper equipment supply, posters displaying guidelines and proper hospital policy of patient load management would help in improving the implementation of universal precaution thus restoring occupational safety of health care workers

Efficacy of different doses of NPK on growth and yield of rice bean (Vigna umbellata) in Khadbari, Sankhuwasabha, Nepal

An essential cultural technique for ensuring correct development and maximizing output is administering fertilizer sources for the crops. The experiment was carried out from February 2022 to May 2022 at Khadbari-3, Maruwa, Sankhuwasabha, to determine the efficacy of various dosages of NPK on the growth performance of the rice bean variety (Sunehri). The trial used a Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) with seven treatments replicated three times. The treatments were listed and named as T1 (0:0:0 kg NPK/ha); T2 (20:30:10 kg NPK/ha) (Recommended dose); T3 (10:20:15 kg NPK/ha); T4 (40:80:40 kg NPK/ha); T5 (20:20:20 kg NPK/ha); T6 (80:100:60 kg NPK/ha); and T7 (20:0:30 kg NPK/ha), respectively. The experimental results revealed that the highest yield/plant (39g) was obtained from the plot treated with T4 (40:80:40 kg NPK/ha), followed by 24.93 g and 24.13 g from the plot receiving T2 (20:30:10 kg NPK/ha) and T6 (80:100:60 kg NPK/ha), respectively. The lowest yield of 14.07 g was obtained from the control plot, followed by 15.27 g and 21.20 g from the plot receiving T7 (20:0:30 kg NPK/ha) and T3 (10:20:15 kg NPK/ha), respectively. Vegetative parameters such as plant height, branch numbers, and leaves numbers were recorded as a maximum of 19.72 cm, 6.88, and 18.97 in plots treated with T5 (20:20:20 kg NPK/ha), T7 (20:0:30 kg NPK/ha), and T1 (0:0:0 kg NPK/ha), consecutively, and corresponding minimum values were found 18.12 cm, 5.36 and 15.63 in T3 (10:20:15 kg NPK/ha), T1 (0:0:0 kg NPK/ha), and T7 (20:0:30 kg NPK/ha), respectively. Conclusively, the study's findings suggest that the rice bean crop responds to fertilizers and applying T4 (40:80:40 kg NPK/ha) enhances crop production considerably

On the variation of light curve parameters of RR Lyrae variables at multiple wavelengths

We present a detailed light curve analysis of RR Lyrae variables at multiple wavelengths using Fourier decomposition method. The time-series data for RR Lyrae variables in the Galactic bulge and the Magellanic Clouds are taken from the Optical Gravitational Lensing Experiment survey while the infrared light curves are compiled from the literature. We also analyse the multiband theoretical light curves that are generated from the stellar pulsation models of RR Lyrae stars for a wide range of metal-abundances. We find that the theoretical light curve parameters with different metal abundances are consistent with observed parameters in most period bins at both optical and infrared wavelengths. The theoretical and observed Fourier amplitude parameters decrease with increase in wavelength while the Fourier phase parameters increase with wavelength at a given period. We use absolute magnitudes for a subset of theoretical models that fit the observed optical RR Lyrae light curves in the Large Magellanic Cloud to estimate a distance modulus, $\mu_\textrm{LMC}=18.51\pm0.07$, independent of the metallicity. We also use Fourier analysis to study the period-color and amplitude-color relations for RR Lyrae stars in the Magellanic Clouds using optical data and find that the slope of period-color relation at minimum light is very shallow or flat and becomes increasingly significant at the maximum light for RRab stars. We also find that the metallicity dependence of the period-color relations increases as we go from minimum to maximum light, suggesting that the mean light results are indeed an average of the various pulsational phases. We summarize that the average variation in these relations is consistent between theory and observations and supports the theory of the interaction of the stellar photosphere and the hydrogen ionization front.Comment: 19 pages, 12 figures. Accepted for publication in MNRA