Preliminary mercury emission estimates from non–ferrous metal smelting in India

AbstractMercury (Hg), a potential contaminant to the environment is of global concern because of its toxic nature, trans–boundary movement and its ability to bio–accumulate and bio–magnify. Previous research showed that Hg based chlor–alkali production, coal fired thermal power plants, traditional gold mining, healthcare equipments, waste incineration, and some industrial processes are the major sources of mercury release into environment. Primary non– ferrous metal smelting is considered to be an important anthropogenic Hg emission source in India, but data availability in this regard is a limiting factor. The study thus attempts a preliminary estimation of Hg emission range and creates an emission inventory from non–ferrous metal smelting operations in India. The emission estimates are for the time period 2003 to 2007. Emission in the year 2003 has declined from 5.5 – 7.6 ton where it has increased to 15.5 – 22 ton in year 2007. Zn and Cu smelting contributed maximum (80%) to the total emissions and the rest (20%) was from lead (Pb) smelting. The range of Hg–emission per unit area (g/km2) in the year 2007 was between 2.3 to 6.6 whereas the per capita emission was found between 7 and 19mg from non–ferrous metal smelting industry in India. About 6 to 17 ton of elemental Hg (Hg0), went into the global circulation in the year 2007 whereas mercuric (Hg2+) emissions were in the range of 1.1 to 3.2 ton and the rest (3.8 to 10 tons) was in particulate–form (Hgp). Share of Hg2+ and Hgp in the total Hg–emissions is very small and has impacts on regional to local level

Chemical Modification on Gold Slides to Gain Better Control of Patterning Techniques

Nanolithography is a rapidly evolving field that requires new combinations of techniques to improve patterning and to assist in fabricating electromechanical devices. An increasing number of applications require surfaces with defined regions of different chemical functionality. In our previous project optimum conditions for lithographic patterning were determined and potential blockers were identified to reduce force on the tip. This work is focused on identifying good chemical modifications that will allow better control of basic patterning and to investigate the minimum force of patterning required while using each chemical system. The primary aim is to gain better control of basic pattern techniques in order to create more intricate patterns such as interdigitated arrays, which can subsequently be used in sensors. An atomic force microscope (AFM) is used to pattern the prepared colloid-coated glass slides. Several compounds were used in the investigation, including sodium sulphate, potassium sulphate, magnesium sulphate, sodium fluoride, sodium chloride, sodium bromide, and sodium iodide, potassium chloride, potassium bromide, potassium iodide, potassium dihydrogen phosphate, and potassium hydrogen phosphate. In Summary, the following were found as a result of this work: The groups of sulphates were determined to require minimum patterning forces as indicated. Sodium sulphate took a force of 49 n Potassium sulphate took a force of 45 nN Magnesium sulphate took a force of 744.4 nN The group of sodium and potassium halides were determined the minimum patterning forces as indicated. Sodium fluoride took a force of 8.42 nN Sodium chloride and potassium chloride took a force of 20.19 and 61.9nN Sodium bromide and potassium bromide took a force of 601.4 nN and 37.2 nN, respectively Sodium iodide and potassium iodide took a force of 953.7 nN and 47.2 nN, respectively The phosphates were determined to require the minimum patterning forces as indicated. Potassium hydrogen phosphate took a force of 25nN Potassium dihydrogen phosphate took a force of 43 n

Regulation and Function of Vault RNAs

The function of vault RNAs remains unclear. The human genome encodes four vault RNAs: vtRNA1-1, 1-2, 1-3 and 2-1. Previous literature suggests that vault RNAs protect cells from apoptosis, regulate autophagy, and stimulate the immune response during viral infection. However, studies have shown that at least some of these functions are contingent on the presence of a 5’ triphosphate moiety. DUSP11 (dual specificity phosphatase 11) is an RNA triphosphatase that removes the gamma and beta phosphates from the 5’ end of RNAs. Regulation of phosphorylation status is not fully characterized and may impact downstream pathways that vault RNAs are involved in. Here, I hypothesize that DUSP11 plays a key role in regulating vault RNA levels and consequently, impacts the function of vault RNAs. I demonstrate that DUSP11 knockout results in an increased abundance of vault RNAs. Moreover, results indicate that DUSP11 mediated removal of the triphosphate on vault RNAs results in their degradation over time. Preliminary data suggests that DUSP11 is an important regulator of vault RNAs.Molecular Bioscience

A Bioresponsive and Multifunctional Polymer Based Nanodevice for Cancer Nanotheranostics

The main objective of this project is to develop a polymer based near infrared (NIR) particle that can serve as both, diagnostic and therapeutic agents, for fighting cancer. Specifically these particles will be designed to have high-contrast, high signal to noise ratios, long in vivo circulation lifetimes, and facilitate easy attachment of functional and target components. Cancer is a disease where the growth of abnormal cells is uncontrollable and is one of the leading causes of death worldwide. Malignant cancer cells are more effectively treated when identified early in the disease. Identification of tumors using fluorophores, small molecules that emit visible light when excited, is gaining clinical interest. Specific interest is in near-infrared emission due to the lack of absorption of this radiation in human tissue, which facilitates deep tissue imaging. During imaging with small molecule fluorophores, the fluorophores clear from the body quickly reducing imaging effectiveness. The effectiveness of imaging can be enhanced by attaching the fluorophores to a particle. Nanometer sized particles do not clear from the body rapidly and allows the material designer to attach other ”payloads” to the particle. This multifunctional ”nano-device” can be used to deliver diagnostic (fluorophores) and therapeutic (drugs) agents to the afflicted tissue. In this current project sub-100 nm poly(propargyl acrylate) (PA) particles are surface-functionalized with fluorophores or targeting molecules through a copper(I) catalyzed azide-alkyne Huisgen 1,3-Dipolar cycloaddition, and used for the following applications: (1) Switching fluorescence of surface modified colloids with near-infrared emitters via pro-tein interaction for contrast-enhanced imaging: The colloidal particles surface-functionalized with fluorophores exhibit a protein triggered activation/deactivation of the emission. Dispersing the par-ticles into an aqueous solution, such as phosphate buffered saline (PBS), results in an aggregation of the hydrophobic fluorophores and a cessation of emission. The emission can be reinstated, or activated, by the conversion of the surface-attached fluorophores from an aggregate to a monomeric species with the addition of an albumin. This activated probe can be deactivated and returned to a quenched state by a simple tryptic digestion of the albumin. The methodology for emission switching offers a path to maximize the signal from the typically weak quantum yield inherent in NIR fluo-rophores. Preliminary fluorescence imaging studies indicate that the brightness of the functionalized polymer based nanoparticles improved considerably. (2) Surface modified colloids with targeting molecules to disrupt Survivin activity and en-hance apoptosis in cancer cells: Survivin belongs to the family of inhibitor of apoptosis proteins (IAP) and is present in most cancers while being below detection limits in most terminally differentiated adult tissues, making it an attractive protein to target for diagnostic and, potentially, therapeutic roles. Sub-100 nm poly(propargyl acrylate) (PA) particles which are surface-functionalized with an azide terminated Survivin ligand derivative (azTM), originally proposed by Abbott Labs and speculated to bind directly to Survivin (protein) at its dimer interface. Using affinity pull-down studies, it was determined that the PA/azTM nanoparticles selectively bind Survivin and the parti-cles can enhance apoptotic cell death in glioblastomas and other Survivin over-expressing cell lines such as A549 and MCF7 relative to cells incubated with the original Abbott-derived small molecule inhibitor. (3) A bioresponsive and versatile particle-protein-dye system for small molecule delivery and FRET based imaging: Colloidal particles are surface-functionalized with small molecules such as fluorophores and ligands through an environmentally-sensitive linker. The linker used is an azide modified bovine serum albumin (azBSA) which prevents opsonization and releases the small molecule upon digestion. Attachment of the fluorophore to the particle through the azide modified bovine serum albumin (BSA) quenches the emission and is specifically activated upon the denature or digestion of the azBSA. This resulted in an enhanced tumor to background signal ratio. A fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) pair of dyes can be attached to the particle and the azBSA, and the FRET efficiency can be increased by unfolding the protein. These dye modified particles gave promising results in photodynamic therapy studies performed in human head and neck squamous carcinoma cells (UMSCC22A). Further, a targeting ligand can also be attached to the particles using the same strategy to achieve higher accumulations of the desired small molecule inside the tumor. In addition, preliminary imaging and toxicity studies were carried out in human lung carcinoma cells (A549) using a Survivin targeting ligand attached to PA-azBSA particles and an enhanced cell death relative to free molecule treatment was observed

Surface Structure and Its Effect on Reducing Drag

A miniature subsonic open return wind tunnel was designed and fabricated to measure drag on small test models at low Reynolds numbers. The wind tunnel featured a sensitive strain gauge type load cell. The average drag coefficient of sphere and cube test models were used to validate the miniature wind tunnel, and the values obtained were consistent with published results over the range of Reynolds numbers tested. These initial results gave confidence that the tunnel could be used to study the effects of surface finish on the drag of various models. Several fabrics with differing ribbed surface structures, including a Fastskin FSI swimsuit fabric, were adhered to NACA 0012 wing models to access their effectiveness in reducing drag at zero incidence. A similar wing model with an aircraft aluminum alloy skin with boundary layer trip strip served as a baseline for drag comparisons. The Fastskin FSI swimsuit fabric and those with similar rib patterns tended to reduce drag below that of the baseline and the trend was maintained with increasing Reynolds number. Possible future research and drag reduction applications are also discussed

Decolonizing Yoga in Academia: Narratives of Young Adults using Yoga to Manage Stress

This inquiry explores the experiences of thirteen Canadian yoga-exemplars, ages 25-40, who use traditional Yoga knowledge and practices to handle lifes stresses and strains. The young adults describe Yoga as a holistic and spiritual practice as a way of life, a philosophy, and not merely a physical exercise. Their stories about how they cope with the challenges of life such as school, relationships or existential angst, demonstrate how Yoga has helped them effectively cope with stress. Their discussion of Yoga is important because of concerns that unmanaged stress leads to negative impacts, such as anxiety, depression and drug and alcohol abuse. Researchers have concluded that, due to the heterogeneity of Yoga, it is difficult to compare Yoga programs to know their quality or content. Also, these programs are usually limited to practice of asanas, or physical postures, along with some mindfulness. Yet, as the Patanjali Yoga Sutras explain, Yoga teaches the complete psychology of the mind and provides a holistic, spirituality-based, embodied and experiential approach to wellness and increased-self-awareness. Using the Art of Living programs as a case study, this inquiry provides an example of a program that teaches all eight limbs of Yoga which is a Yoga-based theoretical framework researchers can use to study programs that are based on Yoga. Purva paksh, or critical review, of western scholarship on Yoga has led Indigenous scholar-practitioners to conclude that Yoga has been, and continues to be, studied through colonial lenses. This study proposes and demonstrates how Yoga may be better understood and analysed using Yogas own theories and Sanskrit terminology. This study uses decolonizing methodologies to theorize Yoga as indigenous knowledge, similar to other indigenous knowledges of the world which are based on the oral tradition. Indigenous scholars have asserted that the authority to speak for or teach the knowledge belongs to its own knowledge keepers and scholars, and not to outsiders. The study further decolonizes western studies on Yoga to show that the significant contributions made by Yoga to western psychology, mind sciences, and philosophy remain mostly unacknowledged. A review of the many threats faced by Yoga from western Indology provides the backdrop to the yoga-exemplars' narratives