A Novel Sensing Method for VOCs Using Nanoparticle-Coated Nanoporous Silicon

Structural aspects, such as grain size, pore size, and crack-free film morphology, of porous silicon (PS), etc., play a vital role in the sensing of volatile organic compounds (VOCs). This chapter discusses a novel method for sensing of VOCs using porous silicon coated with a layer of ZnO (PS-ZnO). It was noted that the sensing ability of the PS sensor has increased due to the transconductance mechanism, as a result of the coating of ZnO over PS. Initially, porous silicon is formed by electrochemical wet etching of silicon and by electrophoretic deposition (EPD), ZnO is coated over porous silicon. An increase in the selectivity is due to the increase in surface-to-volume ratio and uniformity in the pore structures. The thickness of ZnO layer can be tuned up to 25 nm by applying a DC voltage between the copper electrode and the conductive silicon substrate immersed in a suspension of ZnO quantum dots. The influence of quantum dot concentration on the final layer thickness was studied by X-ray diffraction (XRD). The change in resistance for ethanol was found to be 12.8–16 MΩ and 8–16 MΩ for methanol

Oxidant-Antioxidant disturbance in men classified as obese according to the preliminary WHO guidelines for Asians

Background: Though there are experimental and clinical evidences regarding oxidant-antioxidant disturbance in obese subjects, clinical data supporting the same in Indian male subjects is lacking. The objective of the present study was to verify the oxidative stress status of male subjects classified as obese according to the WHO guidelines for Asians.Methods: Thirty six obese men with BMI between 25-30 Kg/m2 and 30 non-obese men with BMI < 25 Kg/m2 were enrolled in the study. Malondialdehyde, reduced glutathione, glutathione peroxidase, catalase, fasting glucose and body mass index were assessed in both the groups.Results: Plasma MDA and erythrocyte activity of glutathione peroxidase were significantly increased in the obese subjects when compared with controls. The levels of reduced glutathione were significantly reduced in the obese group when compared with controls. Among the obese group, BMI was significantly associated with MDA and glutathione peroxidase. Further among the obese subjects, glutathione peroxidase correlated significantly with MDA. A significant negative correlation was obtained between MDA and GSH in obese subjects.Conclusion: The data from the present study indicates a significant perturbation of the oxidant – antioxidant status in Indian males considered as obese according to the preliminary WHO guidelines for Asians. The increase in oxidative stress and glutathione peroxidase activity in obesity may contribute towards its pathological complications

An Efficient DenseNet for Diabetic Retinopathy Screening

This study aims to propose a novel deep learning framework, i.e., efficient DenseNet, for identifying diabetic retinopathy severity levels in retinal images. Diabetic retinopathy is an eye condition that damages blood vessels in the retina. Detecting diabetic retinopathy at the early stage can avoid retinal detachment and effects leading to blindness in diabetic adults. A thin-layered efficient DenseNet model has been proposed with fewer training learnable parameters, leading to higher classification accuracy than the other deep learning models. The proposed deep learning framework for diabetic retinopathy severity level detection has an inbuilt automatic pre-processing module. Afterward, the efficient DenseNet model and classifier will provide data augmentation and higher-level feature extraction. The proposed efficient DenseNet framework is trained and tested using 13000 retinal fundus images within the diabetic retinopathy database and combined with the k-nearest neighbor classifier demonstrating the best classification accuracy of 98.40%

HYPOMAGNESAEMIA AND HYPOCALCAEMIA THE MAJOR MISSED OUT CLINICAL CONDITION IN THE MANAGEMENT OF DIABETES

Magnesium (Mg) and Calcium (Ca) is one of the essential factors for the insulin to get released from the pancreatic cell. To evaluate the relation of hypomagnesemia and hypocalcaemia in the glycaemic control and to analyse the importance of both Mg and Ca in the insulin secretion mechanism. The study was conducted in the laboratory department, Billroth hospitals. A total of 239 individuals were selected for this study, HbA1c level, serum magnesium and calcium were assessed for all the individuals and in addition to this serum electrolytes were also checked. Out of 239 individuals, 79 were found out as uncontrolled diabetic by calculating HbA1c as a gold standard, males are higher in ratio compared to female. By studying serum magnesium and calcium level, hypocalcaemia is present in more individuals and females (31%) are much prone to both than males (20%). The different correlation was also analysed for hypomagnesemia and hypocalcaemia. The electrolytes like sodium (Na) and potassium (K) was analysed, females are highly affected by electrolyte imbalance but in hypomagnesemia diabetic individuals the males are high in electrolyte imbalance. Since Mg and Ca plays a vital role in insulin synthesis, secretion, repair, and the alteration, along with the hypoglycaemic agents the supplementation of magnesium or calcium could be suggested via, dietary or drug supplements. In addition to this, regular monitoring of electrolytes is essential to maintain fluid balance

HYPOMAGNESAEMIA AND HYPOCALCAEMIA THE MAJOR MISSED OUT CLINICAL CONDITION IN THE MANAGEMENT OF DIABETES

Magnesium (Mg) and Calcium (Ca) is one of the essential factors for the insulin to get released from the pancreatic cell. To evaluate the relation of hypomagnesemia and hypocalcaemia in the glycaemic control and to analyse the importance of both Mg and Ca in the insulin secretion mechanism. The study was conducted in the laboratory department, Billroth hospitals. A total of 239 individuals were selected for this study, HbA1c level, serum magnesium and calcium were assessed for all the individuals and in addition to this serum electrolytes were also checked. Out of 239 individuals, 79 were found out as uncontrolled diabetic by calculating HbA1c as a gold standard, males are higher in ratio compared to female. By studying serum magnesium and calcium level, hypocalcaemia is present in more individuals and females (31%) are much prone to both than males (20%). The different correlation was also analysed for hypomagnesemia and hypocalcaemia. The electrolytes like sodium (Na) and potassium (K) was analysed, females are highly affected by electrolyte imbalance but in hypomagnesemia diabetic individuals the males are high in electrolyte imbalance. Since Mg and Ca plays a vital role in insulin synthesis, secretion, repair, and the alteration, along with the hypoglycaemic agents the supplementation of magnesium or calcium could be suggested via, dietary or drug supplements. In addition to this, regular monitoring of electrolytes is essential to maintain fluid balance

Investigation of Ser315 Substitutions within katG Gene in Isoniazid-Resistant Clinical Isolates of Mycobacterium tuberculosis from South India

Mutation at codon 315 of katG gene is the major cause for isoniazid (INH) resistance in Mycobacterium tuberculosis (M. tuberculosis). Substitution at codon 315 of katG gene was analyzed in 85 phenotypically resistant isolates collected from various parts of southern India by direct sequencing method. The obtained results were interpreted in the context of minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of INH. Of the 85 phenotypically resistant isolates, 56 (66%) were also correlated by the presence of resistance mutations in the katG gene; 47 of these isolates had ACC, 6 had AAC, 2 had ATC, and one had CGC codon. The frequency of Ser315 substitution in katG gene was found to be higher (70%) amongst multidrug-resistant (MDR) strains than among non-MDR (61%) INH-resistant isolates. Further, the frequency of mutations was found to be greater (74%) in isolates with higher MIC values in contrast to those isolates with low MIC values (58%). Therefore, the study identified high prevalence of Ser315Thr substitution in katG gene of INH-resistant isolates from south India. Also, isolates harboring this substitution were found to be associated with multidrug and high level INH resistance

Binding interaction of a piperazinylquinoline derivative with β-cyclodextrin and Cd²⁺ ions

163-167Cd2+ ion sensing by 3-methyl-2-(piper-azin-l-yl)quinoline using fluorescence spectroscopy is reported. The host-guest complex formation of the compound with β-cyclodextrin is studied using UV-visible absorption, fluorescence, and 2-dimensional ROESY spectroscopic methods. The stoichiometry and the mode of binding of the compound with the host molecule are reported. The 1:1 Cd2+ complexation of the compound is effected on encapsulation by β-cyclodextrin