Synthesis of enamines and their bromination

Enamines represent an important class of reactive intermediates in organic synthesis. They are frequently used as a potential building block to access several types of heterocyclic ring systems and biologically active analogues. Realizing the wide spectrum of usage of enamines, there is a quest for the development of simple and high yielding process. The aim of the present work is to synthesize various enamines from the azeotropic removal of water by refluxing an amine with 1, 3-diketone in ethanol. Bromination of these enamines is also carried out in presence of NBS/MeOH in solid support K-10 at α –positio

Project Priyadarshini: Empowering Students and Teachers to be Agents of Social Change

Colleges and universities were regarded as ―Ivory Towers‖ kept aloof from the society and its life. But gradually it is being realised that teachers of higher education cannot do justice to their roles and responsibilities if they do not contribute their might to the realization of national goals, fulfilment of their social commitments and be the agents of social change. In our B Ed College, the students are provided opportunities to work with the community in collaboration with NGOs. In addition to this, last year, a concentrated effort was made to empower both the teachers and the student teachers by enabling them to work with differently abled students through the Project Priyadarshini. Priyadarshini means one with pleasant appearance. We, at K. J. Somaiya College of Education, had the privilege of kindling the spark in the young minds of many visually impaired college going girls by training them in etiquette, communication skills, self managing skills and life skills, thus inculcating in them a winning attitude. The college also acquainted them with role models in order to raise their levels of aspiration and set for themselves higher goals. The project truly saw the transformation of the young participants into a more confident, determined to successfully combat the challenges of life. The project also left both the teachers and the students more enlightened and more confident about playing their role as agents of social change by making us understand the complex realities that lie behind the word ‗differently abled‘. This paper is an attempt to share our unique experiences about student staff partnership towards leadership and empowerment in order to play effectively our role as agents of social change

Bioethical Issues in Frankenstein and Mutation

In this research paper we focus on bioethical issues in Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein and Robin Cook’s Mutation. Mary Shelley wrote her famous novel against technology and medical treatments that harm more than good. Mary Shelley’s work is an eye opener to our society. The issue she raises that how scientific progress harm our society. The main theme of his work is how technology turns into distraction which now-a-days is related to fear of terrorism and bioterrorism and so other disastrous things. Robin Cook who is the master of medical thriller has written Mutation on the same theme. His strategies are similar with Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein

The Road Beyond \u3cem\u3eKiobel\u3c/em\u3e: The Fifth Circuit\u27s Decision in \u3cem\u3e Adhikari v. Kellogg Brown & Root, Inc.\u3c/em\u3e and its Implications for the Alien Tort Statute

On January 3, 2017, in Adhikari v. Kellogg Brown & Root, Inc., the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit held that the Alien Tort Statute (“ATS”) did not provide jurisdiction for claims brought against a U.S. military contractor for torts committed in Iraq. In foreclosing plaintiffs’ claims, the Fifth Circuit held that the presumption against the ATS’s extraterritorial application barred claims for injuries occurring outside the United States’ territory. In so ruling, the court created a circuit split with the Fourth Circuit, which in Al Shimari v. CACI Premier Technology, Inc. held that the ATS provided jurisdiction for claims brought against a U.S. government contractor for torts committed in Iraq. This Comment argues that the Fifth Circuit adopted a restrictive approach to the meaning of the Supreme Court’s “touch and concern” language in Kiobel v. Royal Dutch Petroleum Co. and engaged in a rigid application of the Supreme Court’s “focus” test from Morrison v. National Australia Bank Ltd. The Fifth Circuit’s holding betrays the purpose of the ATS and is inconsistent with the Supreme Court’s ATS jurisprudence

Study to investigate factors influencing adoption of mobile devices in the healthcare environment

In this research project, modified graphene was employed as filler to enhance the electrical conductivity and to reinforce mechanical properties of natural rubber (NR). The defect sites in the graphene sheets were investigated for further modification. The latex mixing and mechanical mixing methods to load functional graphene sheets into the NR matrix, improved the mechanical and electrical properties of the composite material. Graphene was prepared by a chemical oxidation-reduction approach to fill the NR matrix. The oxidation approaches were employed in progress, which will induce various defects in the final product. It is known that these defects decrease the properties of the graphene and graphene/natural rubber composites, which are prepared by traditional method as well. However, these defects could cause improvements in performance of the graphene composites with re-designed methods, the main focus of this thesis. Before loading into NR matrix, the defect information of graphene oxide (GO) prepared using Hummers method was examined through positron testing, which is known to be highly effective in the study of the defects in graphite and its derivatives. The different types of defects were detectable, which revealed that the vacancy clusters and vacancy-oxygen group complexes were present on the GO sheets. No large open-volume hole was detected in GO. The reduction of GO by potassium carbonate (K2CO3) as a green noble preparation approach was developed, and the oxygen groups dispersion status in the GO sheet was further investigated. K2CO3 was used as a reusable reduction agent to convert GO to reduced graphene oxide (RGO) in two steps, based on the conversion of the different types of oxygen groups detected. Carbon dioxide was the only by-product of this process, which was absorbed by K2CO3. In addition, the study further elucidates the structure of GO sheets. The oxygen groups on the GO sheets not only aligned but also randomly dispersed in different areas. Antistatic NR nanocomposites with partly interconnected graphene architectures offer significant enhancement in various properties. RGO/NR composites were prepared using latex mixing and in-situ reduction process. The oxygen groups on the GO played a key role in attaching GO sheets to the surface of NR particles. Segregated current transfer routes were partly constructed in an NR matrix with an electrical conductivity of 0.1 S/m and reinforcing the tensile strength and elongation-at-break as well. Silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) were used to decorate GO, which further increased the electrical conductivity of NR nanocomposites. Electrically conductive AgNPs/RGO filled NR with well-organized three-dimensional (3D) microstructures were prepared through electrostatic self-assembly integrated latex mixing. The oxygen groups in GO acted as an anchor for AgNPs growth, resulting in the electrical conductivity of 31000 S/m for the AgNPs/RGO. A honeycomb-like AgNPs/RGO 3D network was constructed in the NR matrix after freeze-drying and hot compression moulding. The AgNPs/RGO/NR nanocomposites show a percolation threshold of 0.63 vol.% and electrical conductivity of 196 S/m at AgNPs/RGO content of 4.03 vol.%. The oxygen groups can not only be used to improve the electrical conductivity of NR but also used to reinforce mechanical properties. The effect of functionalized GO on the mechanical properties of NR was investigated through two strategies. In the first strategy, one layer of silica particles were attached to the GO surface through hydrogen bonds. The strength were reinforced because of well-dispersed SiO2/GO in the NR matrix. GO acted as a surfactant dispersed by silica into the NR matrix to reinforce the mechanical properties using latex mixing. Oxygen groups on the graphene sheets banded with silica to achieve the target. In the second strategy, the strength reinforcement of NR nanocomposites was achieved by construction of an interpenetrating network between the NR molecules and porous graphene. In this project, porous graphene loaded NR nanocomposites were prepared through an ultrasonically assisted latex mixing and in-situ reduction process. The oxygen groups showed chemo-selectivity etched by potassium permanganate (KMnO4), forming pores possessing suitable dimensions in graphene sheets. Porous graphene/NR nanocomposites show strong interactions between the NR molecules and porous graphene than RGO/NR, which contributed to an increase in tensile strength compared to the RGO/NR nanocomposites. Furthermore, the scorch time compared to RGO/NR was decreased, and density of cross-linking was increased, which demonstrate the pores on the graphene sheets formed a mass transfer route, indicating an interpenetrating network was constructed

Counteracting Bloom Filter Encoding Techniques for Private Record Linkage

Record Linkage is a process of combining records representing same entity spread across multiple and different data sources, primarily for data analytics. Traditionally, this could be performed with comparing personal identifiers present in data (e.g., given name, surname, social security number etc.). However, sharing information across databases maintained by disparate organizations leads to exchange of personal information pertaining to an individual. In practice, various statutory regulations and policies prohibit the disclosure of such identifiers. Private record linkage (PRL) techniques have been implemented to execute record linkage without disclosing any information about other dissimilar records. Various techniques have been proposed to implement PRL, including cryptographically secure multi-party computational protocols. However, these protocols have been debated over the scalability factors as they are computationally extensive by nature. Bloom filter encoding (BFE) for private record linkage has become a topic of recent interest in the medical informatics community due to their versatility and ability to match records approximately in a manner that is (ostensibly) privacy-preserving. It also has the advantage of computing matches directly in plaintext space making them much faster than their secure mutli-party computation counterparts. The trouble with BFEs lies in their security guarantees: by their very nature BFEs leak information to assist in the matching process. Despite this known shortcoming, BFEs continue to be studied in the context of new heuristically designed countermeasures to address known attacks. A new class of set-intersection attack is proposed in this thesis which re-examines the security of BFEs by conducting experiments, demonstrating an inverse relationship between security and accuracy. With real-world deployment of BFEs in the health information sector approaching, the results from this work will generate renewed discussion around the security of BFEs as well as motivate research into new, more efficient multi-party protocols for private approximate matching

If Anyone Is Listening, #MeToo: Breaking the Culture of Silence Around Sexual Abuse Through Regulating Non-Disclosure Agreements and Secret Settlements

Secrecy is an ally of sexual violence. For decades, victims of sexual abuse have remained silent about their experiences. The recent emergence of the #MeToo movement in the aftermath of the scandals surrounding movie mogul Harvey Weinstein and television personalities Roger Ailes and Bill O’Reilly raises larger questions about whether employers are partly to blame because of the widespread use of non-disclosure agreements in settlements. The movement, while exposing the magnitude of the problem, also makes it clear that silencing victims’ speech means that sexual violence will never truly be settled. This Note argues that non-disclosure agreements in cases of sexual assault and sexual harassment should be heavily regulated, both by using content-neutral checks on the enforcement of these pernicious contracts and through legislative action that holds the abusers and their lawyers accountable

The importance of palliative care in Duchenne muscular dystrophy: a reflection

Duchenne muscular dystrophy is a progressive disease involving early morbidity and mortality of children. Hence, it becomes essential to address the evolving issues comprehensively according to palliative care principles. Apart from physical issues, psychological, ethical and spiritual concerns affect the quality of life throughout the symptomatic period including the end of life. This case depicts the incomplete management of progressive physical issues as well as psychological, ethical and spiritual concerns of a ten-year-old child and his family. Lack of proper communication and inadequate knowledge about end-of-life care adversely impacts the quality of life of such patients. Understanding of Palliative Care principles helped to gain insight about the lacuna in clinical care of such patients. Knowledge and incorporation of Palliative Care principles is extremely important for any clinician dealing with progressive diseases like Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy and many more. Application of these principles has the potential to enhance the quality of life of patients and their caregivers significantly throughout the course of the disease