Sovereign Immunity and Arbitration - State as a Party to Arbitration: What does the immunity Shield Cloak?

Master'sMASTER OF LAW

Cytoprotective effect of Smilax zeylanica Linn. leaves against Benzo[a]pyrene induced lung cancer with reference to lipid peroxidation and antioxidant system in Swiss albino mice

Abstract The cytoprotective effect of methanol extract of Smilax zeylanica leaves on benzo(a)pyrene induced experimental lung cancer was investigated in swiss albino mice. Lung cancer was induced by 50 mg/kg body weight of benzo(a)pyrene, given orally twice a week for four successive weeks to male swiss albino mice. Benzo(a)pyrene induced mice were treated with methanol extract of Smilax zeylanica leaves once daily orally started 1 week before benzo(a)pyrene induction and continued for 16 weeks. At the end of the experiment various parameters were analyzed. It was observed that, the treatment with 200 mg/kg and 400 mg/kg methanol extract of Smilax zeylanica leaves effectively suppressed the lung cancer as revealed by significant decrease in number of nodules in lung with a significant weight gain during experimental period. Moreover, with reference to lipid peroxidation and antioxidant system, Smilax zeylanica leaf extract decreased the extent of lipid peroxidation with concomitant increase in the activities of enzymatic antioxidants (superoxide dismutase, catalase, glutathione peroxidase, glutathione reductase and glutathione-S-transferase) and non-enzymatic antioxidants (reduced glutathione, vitamin C and vitamin E) levels compared to lung cancer bearing untreated animals. Histopathological examination of lung tissue too correlated with morphological and biochemical observations. Furthermore, the extract did not produce any deleterious effects in extract alone treated groups. Our data suggest that, the potential chemoprevention of methanol extract of Smilax zeylanica leaves might be due to stabilization and increase in all the components of antioxidant system attributed to antioxidant and free radical scavenging activity

Role of dew points and Fe pre-coats on the galvanizing and galvannealing of dual phase steel

In this study, the galvanizing and galvannealing ability of dual phase steel sheet (DP 590), with and without Fe pre-coatings, is investigated with varying dew points using a hot dip process simulator (HDPS). Good quality defect free adherent galvanized coating on the substrate surface is obtained by appropriate selection of the intercritical annealing atmosphere consists of N-2-5%H-2 gas mixture with +10 degrees C dew point without substrate pre-coating. However, the production of defect-free coating on DP 590 substrates is highly challenging when the substrates are without any pre-coating. It is observed that the selective oxidation of manganese on the substrate surface during intercritical annealing is primarily responsible for the appearance of bare spots on the galvanized surface in case of the coated specimen produced without pre-coating. A significant improvement in the reactive wetting behaviour between the liquid zinc alloy and pure Fe results in defect free adherent coatings (both galvanized and galvannealed) with electrodeposited Fe pre-coating on the substrate surface irrespective of dew points. Both the galvannealed specimens prepared with and without iron pre-coatings, exhibit partial passive-active metal characteristics in potentiodynamic polarization corrosion test. Iron pre-coating on the substrate surface is observed to improve the quality of galvannealed coatings by reducing defects and enhancing the formation of more compact and dense delta (delta) phase compared to galvannealed coatings produced without pre-coating under identical conditions. This leads to the improvement in corrosion resistance of galvannealed coating produced with pre-coating by lowering the corrosion potential and corrosion current density compared to that of galvannealed specimens produced without iron pre-coating

NiFe Layered Double Hydroxide Electrocatalyst Prepared via an Electrochemical Deposition Method for the Oxygen Evolution Reaction

Herein, we aimed to obtain NiFe layered double hydroxide (LDH) with a controlled phase and surface morphology as a highly active and stable oxygen evolution catalyst via the electrochemical deposition method, which was thermodynamically stable for the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) in an alkaline medium. The NiFe-LDH sample was analyzed by sophisticated instruments and tested as an electrocatalyst on Toray carbon (TC). The NiFe-LDH electrocatalyst showed an excellent performance with lower overpotential of 0.27 V at 35 mA cm−2 and higher density of 125 mA cm−2 for OER in the 1 M KOH electrolyte solution. Moreover, the prepared catalyst exhibited unpredictable long-time stability for 700 h. From our knowledge, NiFe-LDH is a robust highly stable electrocatalyst compared to the recent reports

Automated analysis of pen-on-paper spirals for tremor detection, quantification, and differentiation

Objective: To develop an automated algorithm to detect, quantify, and differentiate between tremor using pen-on-paper spirals. Methods: Patients with essential tremor (n = 25), dystonic tremor (n = 25), Parkinson’s disease (n = 25), and healthy volunteers (HV, n = 25) drew free-hand spirals. The algorithm derived the mean deviation (MD) and tremor variability from scanned images. MD and tremor variability were compared with 1) the Bain and Findley scale, 2) the Fahn–Tolosa–Marin tremor rating scale (FTM–TRS), and 3) the peak power and total power of the accelerometer spectra. Inter and intra loop widths were computed to differentiate between the tremor. Results: MD was higher in the tremor group (48.9 ± 26.3) than in HV (26.4 ± 5.3; p < 0.001). The cut-off value of 30.3 had 80.9% sensitivity and 76.0% specificity for the detection of the tremor [area under the curve: 0.83; 95% confidence index (CI): 0.75, 0.91, p < 0.001]. MD correlated with the Bain and Findley ratings (rho = 0.491, p = 0 < 0.001), FTM–TRS part B (rho = 0.260, p = 0.032) and accelerometric measures of postural tremor (total power, rho = 0.366, p < 0.001; peak power, rho = 0.402, p < 0.001). Minimum Detectable Change was 19.9%. Inter loop width distinguished Parkinson’s disease spirals from dystonic tremor (p < 0.001, 95% CI: 54.6, 211.1), essential tremor (p = 0.003, 95% CI: 28.5, 184.9), or HV (p = 0.036, 95% CI: -160.4, -3.9). Conclusion: The automated analysis of pen-on-paper spirals generated robust variables to quantify the tremor and putative variables to distinguish them from each other. Significance: This technique maybe useful for epidemiological surveys and follow-up studies on tremor

Mucormycosis in COVID-19 Patients: A Case-Control Study

(1) Background: During the second wave of COVID-19, India faced a rapid and sudden surge of not only COVID19-delta variant cases but also mucormycosis, making the infection even more fatal. We conducted a study to determine factors associated with the occurrence of mucormycosis in patients with COVID-19. (2) Methods: This case&ndash;control study comprised 121 patients; 61 cases (mucormycosis with COVID-19) and 60 controls. Patients were included from April 10, 2021 onwards. Follow-up was conducted after about 90 days and health status was recorded based on the modified Rankin Scale (mRS). (3) Results: Mucormycosis with COVID-19 cases had a median (IQR) age of 49 (43&ndash;59) years with 65.6% males and were older (95% CI 1.015&ndash;1.075; p = 0.002) than in the control group with median (IQR) 38 (29&ndash;55.5) years and 66.6% males. Baseline raised serum creatinine (OR = 4.963; 95% CI 1.456&ndash;16.911; p = 0.010) and D-dimer (OR = 1.000; 95% CI 1.000&ndash;1.001; p = 0.028) were independently associated with the occurrence of mucormycosis in COVID-19 patients. Additionally, diabetes mellitus (OR = 26.919; 95% CI 1.666&ndash;434.892; p = 0.020) was associated with poor outcomes and increased mortality in patients with mucormycosis with COVID-19 as per the multivariable analysis. A total of 30/61 mucormycosis patients had intracranial involvement. (4) Conclusions: The study observed elevated levels of baseline raised creatinine and D-dimer in mucormycosis pa-tients with COVID-19 as compared to the control group. However, future studies may be conducted to establish this cause&ndash;effect relationship