Developing silica based Nanocomposites for dental applications using bombyx mori silk

A significant amount of research is being carried out on natural Bombyx mori (BM) silk which has gained remarkable popularity for biomedical applications in recent years. The main objective of this thesis is concerned with the development of a new silk based material with improved properties for dental tissue repair and dentin regeneration. In the first phase, research was carried out to study the chemistry and kinetics of silica formation and to assess the effects of silk proteins on the mechanical and functional properties of nanocomposite materials. A novel method was developed to separate different silk fractions (heavy chain fibroin and light chain fibroin) from natural silk using formic acid. Silk and its fractions were regenerated for use in gelation studies and fabricating nanocomposites by adding silica. The silica was added using, hydrolysed tetraethoxy silane (TEOS) to condense into gelling silk solutions or by adding pre-condensed silica nanoparticles (14-350 nm), prepared using a modified Stbber method. Silk solutions were characterised using viscometery, dynamic light scattering (DLS) and electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE)

Maximizing Expected Achievable Rates for Block-Fading Buffer-Aided Relay Channels

© 2002-2012 IEEE. In this paper, the long-term average achievable rate over block-fading buffer-aided relay channels is maximized using a hybrid scheme that combines three essential transmission strategies, which are decode-and-forward, compress-and-forward, and direct transmission. The proposed hybrid scheme is dynamically adapted based on the channel state information. The integration and optimization of these three strategies provide a more generic and fundamental solution and give better achievable rates than the known schemes in the literature. Despite the large number of optimization variables, the proposed hybrid scheme can be optimized using simple closed-form formulas that are easy to apply in practical relay systems. This includes adjusting the transmission rate and compression when compress-and-forward is the selected strategy based on the channel conditions. Furthermore, in this paper, the hybrid scheme is applied to three different models of the Gaussian block-fading buffer-aided relay channels, depending on whether the relay is half or full duplex and whether the source and the relay have orthogonal or non-orthogonal channel access. Several numerical examples are provided to demonstrate the achievable rate results and compare them to the upper bounds of the ergodic capacity for each one of the three channel models under consideration

Resource allocation for two source-destination pairs sharing a single relay with a buffer

In this paper, we obtain the optimal resource allocation scheme in order to maximize the achievable rate region in a dual-hop system that consists of two independent source-destination pairs sharing a single half-duplex relay. The relay decodes the received information and possesses buffers to enable storing the information temporarily before forwarding it to the respective destination. We consider both non-orthogonal transmission with successive interference cancellation at the receivers and orthogonal transmission. Also, we consider Gaussian block-fading channels and we assume that the channel state information is known and that no delay constraints are required. We show that, with the aid of buffering at the relay, joint user-and-hop scheduling is optimal and can enhance the achievable rate significantly. This is due to the joint exploitation of multiuser diversity and multihop diversity in the system. We provide closed-form expressions to characterize the average achievable rates in a generic form as functions of the statistical model of the channels. Furthermore, we consider sub-optimal schemes that exploit the diversity in the system partially and we provide numerical results to compare the different schemes and demonstrate the gains of the optimal one. © 2014 IEEE

New Development of Anodic Electro-catalyst for Chlor-alkali Industry

Anodic electro catalysts are developed by using a titanium substrate coated with different compositions of mixed oxides, as it follows: ruthenium-titanium mixed oxides; ruthenium-titanium-tin mixed oxides; and ruthenium-titanium-iridium mixed oxides. The performance of electro catalysts was further evaluated by measuring coating thickness, studying coating morphology with microscope, identifying the presence of RuO2, TiO2, IrO2 and SnO2 in coating film, analyzing shape of individual crystal by XRD, performing accelerated life test and current efficiency test of the selected anode. The coating composition of 15% RuO2, 15% IrO2 and 70% TiO2 exhibited premium properties among the studied anodes

Effect of Iron Deficiency Anemia on Intellectual Performance of Primary School Children in Islamabad, Pakistan

Purpose: To assess the differences, if any, in the intellectual performance scores of children who have iron deficiency anemia and those who are neither anemic nor iron-deficient in New Kashmir Model School, Islamabad, Pakistan.Methods: A total of 108 primary New Kashmir Model School children of Islamabad, Pakistan between the ages of 7 to 9 years were included in the study. They were divided into two groups based on Iron deficiency anemia and Non-anemia children’s. A brief clinical history and physical examination was performed. All the 5 mandatory subjects of WISC-R were administered to the children of both groups. Electronic cell counter was used for the evaluation of hemoglobin, packed cell volume (PVC), mean cell volume (MCV), Mean cell hemoglobin (MCH) while serum parameters were determined after first separating serum from blood. Giemsa stain was used to evaluate red cell morphology.Results: Seventy six of these children had iron deficiency anemia based on their hemoglobin, packed cell volume, serum iron, total iron binding capacity and serum ferritin levels. The remaining 32 children were neither anemic nor iron-deficient based on their profiles. Intellectual performance scores which comprised of central nervous system (CNS) impact, as well as hemoglobin, packed cell volume, serum iron, total iron binding capacity and serum ferritin levels and also clinical parameters for the iron deficiency anemia group, were significantly lower than those of the non-anemia group.Conclusion: Iron deficiency anemia appears to be associated with lower intellectual performance scores in school children. These results support previous findings that iron depletion leads to psychological and developmental effects in children.Keywords: Intellectual performance, Anemia, Children, Psychological and developmental effect

Clinicopathological Profile and Surgical Treatment of Abdominal Tuberculosis: A Single Centre Experience in Northwestern Tanzania.

Abdominal tuberculosis continues to be a major public health problem worldwide and poses diagnostic and therapeutic challenges to general surgeons practicing in resource-limited countries. This study was conducted to describe the clinicopathological profile and outcome of surgical treatment of abdominal tuberculosis in our setting and compare with what is described in literature. A prospective descriptive study of patients who presented with abdominal tuberculosis was conducted at Bugando Medical Centre (BMC) in northwestern Tanzania from January 2006 to February 2012. Ethical approval to conduct the study was obtained from relevant authorities. Statistical data analysis was performed using SPSS version 17.0. Out of 256 patients enrolled in the study, males outnumbered females. The median age was 28 years (range = 16-68 years). The majority of patients (77.3%) had primary abdominal tuberculosis. A total of 127 (49.6%) patients presented with intestinal obstruction, 106 (41.4%) with peritonitis, 17 (6.6%) with abdominal masses and 6 (2.3%) patients with multiple fistulae in ano. Forty-eight (18.8%) patients were HIV positive. A total of 212 (82.8%) patients underwent surgical treatment for abdominal tuberculosis. Bands /adhesions (58.5%) were the most common operative findings. Ileo-caecal region was the most common bowel involved in 122 (57.5%) patients. Release of adhesions and bands was the most frequent surgical procedure performed in 58.5% of cases. Complication and mortality rates were 29.7% and 18.8% respectively. The overall median length of hospital stay was 32 days and was significantly longer in patients with complications (p < 0.001). Advanced age (age ≥ 65 years), co-morbid illness, late presentation, HIV positivity and CD4+ count < 200 cells/μl were statistically significantly associated with mortality (p < 0.0001). The follow up of patients were generally poor as only 37.5% of patients were available for follow up at twelve months after discharge. Abdominal tuberculosis constitutes a major public health problem in our environment and presents a diagnostic challenge requiring a high index of clinical suspicion. Early diagnosis, early anti-tuberculous therapy and surgical treatment of the associated complications are essential for survival

Edoxaban: an update on the new oral direct factor Xa inhibitor.

Edoxaban is a once-daily oral anticoagulant that rapidly and selectively inhibits factor Xa in a concentration-dependent manner. This review describes the extensive clinical development program of edoxaban, including phase III studies in patients with non-valvular atrial fibrillation (NVAF) and symptomatic venous thromboembolism (VTE). The ENGAGE AF-TIMI 48 study (N = 21,105; mean CHADS2 score 2.8) compared edoxaban 60 mg once daily (high-dose regimen) and edoxaban 30 mg once daily (low-dose regimen) with dose-adjusted warfarin [international normalized ratio (INR) 2.0-3.0] and found that both regimens were non-inferior to warfarin in the prevention of stroke and systemic embolism in patients with NVAF. Both edoxaban regimens also provided significant reductions in the risk of hemorrhagic stroke, cardiovascular mortality, major bleeding and intracranial bleeding. The Hokusai-VTE study (N = 8,292) in patients with symptomatic VTE had a flexible treatment duration of 3-12 months and found that following initial heparin, edoxaban 60 mg once daily was non-inferior to dose-adjusted warfarin (INR 2.0-3.0) for the prevention of recurrent VTE, and also had a significantly lower risk of bleeding events. Both studies randomized patients at moderate-to-high risk of thromboembolic events and were further designed to simulate routine clinical practice as much as possible, with edoxaban dose reduction (halving dose) at randomisation or during the study if required, a frequently monitored and well-controlled warfarin group, a well-monitored transition period at study end and a flexible treatment duration in Hokusai-VTE. Given the phase III results obtained, once-daily edoxaban may soon be a key addition to the range of antithrombotic treatment options

Effect of Kohl-Chikni Dawa – a compound ophthalmic formulation of Unani medicine on naphthalene-induced cataracts in rats

BACKGROUND: Cataracts are the leading cause of blindness worldwide, accounting for 13-27% of cases. Kohl-Chikni Dawa (KCD) is reputed for its beneficial effects in the treatment of premature cataracts. However, its efficacy is yet to be tested. To investigate the rationality of the therapeutic use of Kohl-Chikni Dawa (KCD) in Unani medicine. METHODS: The effect of Kohl-Chikni Dawa eye drops on naphthalene-induced cataracts in rats was investigated by slit-lamp biomicroscopic analysis. The normal group of experimental animals was administered with mineral oil (orally), while other groups were given naphthalene (orally) along with local application of KCD eye drops (once and twice daily), placebo and distilled water (twice daily). Initial morphological changes of the lenses were observed twice a week for two weeks, and thereafter once a week for four weeks. RESULTS: Local application of KCD (twice daily) caused significant reduction in the lens opacification after 2 to 4 weeks of naphthalene administration. CONCLUSION: KCD eye drops may have the potential to delay progression of naphthalene-induced cataracts in rats