Nanoscale transport phenomena at the interface of hard and soft matter

Hard and soft matter can be distinguished by the energy of chemical bonds in comparison with kBT. At the interface of hard and soft matter, there exists a region of transition between strong (covalent/ionic/metallic) bonds in solids and weak (van der Waals/hydrogen/electrostatic) interactions in liquids and polymers. Transport of energy and mass at such interfaces is yet to be fully explored, but seems both rich in science and of technological importance. This paper discusses some fundamental issues as well as some technological implications

Research Opportunities for Negative Emissions and CO2 Utilization at the Gigatonne Scale

This talk will present key ideas from a recent report of the US Secretary of Energy Advisory Board (SEAB) on this topic. Looking at the global energy system, it is increasingly clear that there are viable options to reduce emissions in the electricity sector, although their implementation would require serious combination of policy measures and technological advancements. However, given the distributed nature of the emissions, lack of viable alternatives at scale and a variety of other factors, it is more difficult to do the same for the transportation and the industrial sectors. Hence, negative emissions and CO2 utilization are worth considering as a counteractive measure as long as there is a net decrease in emissions. Furthermore, if the atmospheric CO2 concentration rose above any dangerous threshold with zero net emission rate, technologies for negative emissions could play an important role to reduce the atmospheric concentration from increasing beyond that threshold. While the portfolio of pathways to manage carbon is rather large and complex, it is compounded by the fact that each pathway requires numerous questions about rates, locations, amounts, costs, infrastructures, chemical form, use, re-use, and fate of carbon, all of which need to be addressed systematically. In addition, the criterion for 1 GtCO2/yr scale leads to some important considerations about finance, markets, regulations, and consequences on our biosphere that need attention. With this background, the research opportunities fall in five categories, namely: (a) systems modeling; (b) harnessing the natural biological carbon cycle; (c) synthetic transformations of CO2; (d) CO2 sequestration in geological formations through advanced enhanced oil recovery; (e) CO2 capture and separation technologies. Details in each of these areas and their scientific justifications will be offered in this talk

Dexmedetomidine versus dexamethasone as adjunct to ropivacaine in erector spinae plane block for patients undergoing breast surgery: a randomized, prospective, double blinded study

Background: Loco-regional anaesthesia (GA) has been extensively applied in the clinical field for achieving post-operative analgesia. Erector spinae plane block (ESPB) which is a novel inter-fascial plane block has been widely used for breast surgery. Dexmedetomidine and dexamethasone as an adjunct to local anaesthesia have been widely reported to reduce postoperative pain and analgesic consumption but there are no studies comparing both these drugs in ESPB for breast surgery.Methods: Sixty ASA I-II patients scheduled for breast surgery were randomly allocated into two groups-Group DX and group DM. Group DX received 20 ml ropivacaine 0.2% with dexmedetomidine 0.5 mcg/kg while group DM received 20 ml ropivacaine 0.2 % with 8 mg dexamethasone in ESPB preemptively. All the patients were induced with standard GA and extubated at the end of surgery. In the post-operative period visual analogue scale (VAS) pain score, total tramadol consumption, time for first rescue analgesia and side effects were noted for 24 hours.Results: The demographical parameters were comparable between both the groups. The VAS score, total tramadol consumption and time for first rescue analgesia were both similar in both the groups without any significant difference. No side effects were noted in any patients in both the groups.Conclusions: Dexmedetomidine (0.5 mcg/kg) and dexamethasone (8 mg) as an adjunct to ropivacaine reduces postoperative pain and analgesic consumption with no significant difference when used in ESPB for patients undergoing breast surgery without any side effects

Factors affecting lean, wet-season water quality of Tilaiya reservoir in Koderma District, India during 2013–2017

The reservoir at the Tilaiya Dam constructed on the Barakar river is one of the most important freshwater resources in the Koderma District in the state of Jharkhand in India. Its water is used primarily in agriculture, pisiculture, industry, regional thermal power plant, and various domestic errands viz. cooking, washing, and drinking. The reservoir also supports a wide variety of flora, fauna, and birds. This work reports the variation in seasonal water quality (pH, turbidity, DO, TDS, electrical conductivity, total hardness, iron, chloride, calcium, magnesium, alkalinity, phosphate, sulfate, fluoride, total bacterial count, and fecal coliform count) trends over a 4-year long period (July 2013–July 2017). Conspicuous dilution effect on water quality was observed during and just after the monsoon season while concentrations of TDS, electrical conductivity, iron, chloride, calcium, magnesium, phosphate, sulfate, and fluoride increased during summer. Principal Component Analysis/Factor Analysis (PCA/FA) identified three factors in the data structure, explaining about 71.5–77.9% of total variance in dataset. Run-off from catchment areas was one of the major factors that influenced water quality during the monsoon seasons. The t test indicated that except between summer and post-monsoon in 2013 and 2014, seasonal DO values had statistically significant difference. Also, turbidity in summer, postmonsoon and winter seasons had statistically significant differences while total hardness (TH) was statistically different in summer over winter but not in summer over post-monsoon. On the other hand, TDS did not have statistically significant seasonal shifts. Water quality index (WQI), pollution index (PI), comprehensive pollution index (CPI), computed over the study years revealed that water quality of the reservoir could be categorized as ‘Good’ but is gradually deteriorating. This calls for greater attention and proper management of the Tilaiya reservoir in the interest of environmental and regional sustainability of Koderma

Ultrasound guided erector Spinae plane block versus modified pectoral plane block in modified radical mastectomy: a prospective, randomized, single blinded study

Background: Modified radical mastectomy (MRM) is the most common surgery for cancer breast that is associated with marked postoperative pain. Effective control of this pain suppresses the surgical stress response and decreases the need for opioids and general anesthetics. This study was aimed to compare ultrasound guided erector spinae block (US-ESP) with modified pectoralis nerve block (US-PECS) in terms of post-operative pain scores as the primary objective, in patients undergoing MRM. The secondary objectives of our study were to compare the time of first rescue analgesic, total analgesic consumption and side-effects between the two groups.Methods: Group E comprised of patients receiving 20 mL of 0.2% ropivacaine plus 0.5 µ/kg dexmedetomidine and it was injected in‑between erector spinae muscle and transverse process. Group P comprised of patients receiving 30 mL of 0.2% ropivacaine plus 0.5 µg/kg dexmedetomidine divided into 10 mL that was injected between the two pectoralis muscles in the inter-fascial plane and the remaining 20 mL was injected between the serratus anterior and the pectoralis minor muscle.Results: Demographic profile was comparable between both groups. Both groups offered good analgesia, but PECS group took an upper hand up to the 6th post-operative hour (p<0.05). Beyond the 6th post-operative hour, analgesic efficacy of both groups was comparableConclusions: Modified pectoralis nerve block offered better analgesia over the erector spinae block technique up to 6th post-operative hour and it is more effective in terms of total rescue analgesic consumption and the time for request of first rescue analgesic, in patients posted for MRM

Chemical patterning for the highly specific and programmed assembly of nanostructures

We have developed a new chemical patterning technique based on standard lithography-based processes to assemble nanostructures on surfaces with extraordinarily high selectivity. This patterning process is used to create patterns of aminosilane molecular layers surrounded by highly inert poly (ethylene glycol) (PEG) molecules. While the aminosilane regions facilitate nanostructure assembly, the PEG coating prevents adsorption of molecules and nanostructures, thereby priming the semiconductor substrate for the highly localized and programmed assembly of nanostructures. We demonstrate the power and versatility of this manufacturing process by building multilayered structures of gold nanoparticles attached to molecules of DNA onto the aminosilane patterns, with zero nanocrystal adsorption onto the surrounding PEG regions. The highly specific surface chemistry developed here can be used in conjunction with standard microfabrication and emerging nanofabrication technology to seamlessly integrate various nanostructures with semiconductor electronics

SiGeC/Si superlattice microcoolers

Monolithically integrated active cooling is an attractive way for thermal management and temperature stabilization of microelectronic and optoelectronic devices. SiGeC can be lattice matched to Si and is a promising material for integrated coolers. SiGeC/Si superlattice structures were grown on Si substrates by molecular beam epitaxy. Thermal conductivity was measured by the 3omega method. SiGeC/Si superlattice microcoolers with dimensions as small as 40×40 µm^2 were fabricated and characterized. Cooling by as much as 2.8 and 6.9 K was measured at 25 °C and 100 °C, respectively, corresponding to maximum spot cooling power densities on the order of 1000 W/cm^2

Measurement incompatibility and quantum advantage in communication

Measurement incompatibility stipulates the existence of quantum measurements that cannot be carried out simultaneously on single systems. We show that the set of input-output probabilities obtained from d -dimensional classical systems assisted with shared randomness is the same as the set obtained from d -dimensional quantum strategies restricted to compatible measurements with shared randomness in any communication scenario. Thus, measurement incompatibility is necessary for quantum advantage in communication, and any quantum advantage (with or without shared randomness) in communication acts as a witness to the incompatibility of the measurements at the receiver's end in a semi-device-independent way. We introduce a class of communication tasks—a general version of random access codes—to witness incompatibility of an arbitrary number of quantum measurements with arbitrary outcomes acting on d -dimensional systems and provide generic upper bounds on the success metric of these tasks for compatible measurements. We identify all sets of three incompatible rank-one projective qubit measurements that random access codes can witness. Finally, we present the generic relationship between different sets of probability distributions—classical, quantum with or without shared randomness, and quantum restricted to compatible measurements with or without shared randomness—produced in communication scenarios