Preparation and Characterization of Cerium (III) Doped Captopril Nanoparticles and Study of their Photoluminescence Properties

Indexación: Web of Science. DOAJ.In this research Ce3+ doped Captopril nanoparticles (Ce3+ doped CAP-NP) were prepared by a cold welding process and have been studied. Captopril may be applied in the treatment of hypertension and some types of congestive heart failure and for preventing kidney failure due to high blood pressure and diabetes. CAP-NP was synthesized by a cold welding process. The cerium nitrate was added at a ratio of 10% and the optical properties have been studied by photoluminescence (PL). The synthesized compounds were characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. The size of CAP-NP was calculated by X-ray diffraction (XRD). The size of CAP-NP was in the range of 50 nm. Morphology of surface of synthesized nanoparticles was studied by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Finally the luminescence properties of undoped and doped CAP-NP were compared. PL spectra from undoped CAP-NP show a strong pack in the range of 546 nm after doped cerium ion into the captopril appeared two bands at 680 and 357 nm, which is ascribed to the well-known 5d–4f emission band of the cerium.http://www.degruyter.com/view/j/chem.2016.14.issue-1/chem-2016-0008/chem-2016-0008.xm

Analytical and Quantitative Aspects of Surface Moisture Transport and Plastic Shrinkage Cracking

The drying rate of porous materials such as hydrating cement paste during early hydration stages is studied using analytical and experimental procedures. Effects of micro and macro fibers as they change the nature of restrained shrinkage cracking are also documented. A methodology based on vacuum drying experiments is developed to measure the rate of evaporation from the surface of fresh paste and mortar mixtures that leads to restrained shrinkage cracking. Stages of microcrack coalescence due to plastic shrinkage cracking are quantitatively analyzed using digital image correlation. A model for internal moisture transfer simulates initial constant drying rate followed by a vapor diffusion transport phenomena. A fluid mechanics approach for water evaporation from the boundary-layer in terms of mass transfer, diffusion, and convection is used. Effect of temperature, wind speed, and relative humidity are studied. Results of these two experiments are then integrated with an analytical approach for the restrained ring specimen which correlates the moisture diffusion in the specimen with the rate of evaporation and shrinkage strain. The model incorporates key influential parameters of diffusion, evaporation, shrinkage, creep, aging, and microcracking, in the stress analysis of a restrained concrete section. The formulation addresses the effect of geometry of the specimen, the humidity and shrinkage conditions, and the restraint offered by stiffness of the steel ring. Finally the modelling is extended to simulate a slab on ground and predict multiple transverse cracking as well as slab curling using a finite difference model

Molecular detection of Trichostrongylus species through PCR followed by high resolution melt analysis of ITS-2 rDNA sequences

Polymerase chain reaction followed by high resolution melting (PCR-HRM) analysis is a simple, rapid and accurate method for molecular detection of various nematode species. The objective of the present study was, for the first time, to develop a PCR-HRM assay for the detection of various animal Trichostrongylus spp. A pair of primers targeting the ITS-2 rDNA region of the Trichostrongylus spp. was designed for the development of the HRM assay. DNA samples were extracted from 30 adult worms of Trichostrongylus spp., the ITS-2-rDNA region was amplified using PCR, and the resultant products were sequenced and characterized. Afterwards, the PCR-HRM analysis was conducted to detect and discriminate Trichostrongylus spp. Molecular sequence analysis revealed that 24, 4, and 1 of the samples were T. colubriformis, T. vitrinus and T. capricola, respectively. Results from PCR-HRM indicated that complete agreement was relatively found between speciation by HRM analysis and DNA sequencing for the detection of Trichostrongylus species. The PCR-HRM analysis method developed in the present study is fast and low-cost; the method can be comparable with other molecular detection techniques, representing a reliable tool for the identification of various species within the Trichostrongylus genus. © 2020 Elsevier B.V

LATTICE OF WEAK HYPER K-IDEALS OF A HYPER K-ALGEBRA

Abstract. In this note, we study the lattice structure of the class of all weak hyper K-ideals of a hyper K-algebra. We first introduce the notion of (left, right) scalar element in a hyper K-algebra which helps us to characterize the weak hyper K-ideals generated by a subset. In the sequel, using the notion of a closure operator, we study the lattice of all weak hyper K-ideals of a hyper K-algebra and prove that, under suitable conditions, a special subclass of this class forms a Boolean lattice

Development and Validation of the 34-Item Disability Screening Questionnaire (DSQ-34) for Use in Low and Middle Income Countries Epidemiological and Development Surveys

Background: Although 80% of persons with disabilities live in low and middle-income countries, there is still a lack of comprehensive, cross-culturally validated tools to identify persons facing activity limitations and functioning difficulties in these settings. In absence of such a tool, disability estimates vary considerably according to the methodology used, and policies are based on unreliable estimates Methods and Findings: The Disability Screening Questionnaire composed of 27 items (DSQ-27) was initially designed by a group of international experts in survey development and disability in Afghanistan for a national survey. Items were selected based on major domains of activity limitations and functioning difficulties linked to an impairment as defined by the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health. Face, content and construct validity, as well as sensitivity and specificity were examined. Based on the results obtained, the tool was subsequently refined and expanded to 34 items, tested and validated in Darfur, Sudan. Internal consistency for the total DSQ-34 using a raw and standardized Cronbach’s Alpha and within each domain using a standardized Cronbach’s Alpha was examined in the Asian context (India and Nepal). Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) using principal axis factoring (PAF) evaluated the lowest number of factors to account for the common variance among the questions in the screen. Test-retest reliability was determined by calculating intraclass correlation (ICC) and inter-rater reliability by calculating the kappa statistic; results were checked using Bland-Altman plots. The DSQ-34 was further tested for standard error of measurement (SEM) and for the minimum detectable change (MDC). Good internal consistency was indicated by Cronbach’s Alpha of 0.83/0.82 for India and 0.76/0.78 for Nepal. We PLOS ONE | DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.0143610 December 2, 2015 1 / 14 OPEN ACCESS Citation: Trani J-F, Babulal GM, Bakhshi P (2015) Development and Validation of the 34-Item Disability Screening Questionnaire (DSQ-34) for Use in Low and Middle Income Countries Epidemiological and Development Surveys. PLoS ONE 10(12): e0143610. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0143610 Editor: Philip C Hill, University of Otago, NEW ZEALAND Received: May 29, 2015 Accepted: November 6, 2015 Published: December 2, 2015 Copyright: © 2015 Trani et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. Data Availability Statement: All relevant data are within the paper and its Supporting Information files. Funding: The authors received no specific funding for this work. Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist. confirmed our assumption for EFA using the Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin measure of sampling well above the accepted cutoff of 0.40 for India (0.82) and Nepal (0.82). The criteria for Bartlett’s test of sphericity were also met for both India (\u3c .001) and Nepal (\u3c .001). Estimates of reliability from the two countries reached acceptable levels of ICC of 0.75 (p\u3c0.001) for India of 0.77 for Nepal (p\u3c0.001) and good strength of agreement for weighted kappa (respectively0.77 and 0.79). The SEM/MDC was 0.80/2.22 for India and 0.96/2.66 for Nepal indicating a smaller amount of measurement error in the screen. Conclusions: In Nepal and India, the DSQ-34 shows strong psychometric properties that indicate that it effectively discriminates between persons with and without disabilities. This instrument can be used in association with other instruments for the purpose of comparing health outcomes of persons with and without disabilities in LMICs

Education of children with disabilities in New Delhi: When does exclusion occur?

In the new Sustainable Development Goal 4, quality of education defined as equity and inclusion alongside traditional learning outcomes, has replaced the narrow goal of access to primary education stipulated in the Millennium Development Goal 2. Since 2000, considerable progress has been made towards improving access to school for children in India, yet questions remain regarding not just children with disabilities\u27 access and acquisition of basic learning skills, but also completion of learning cycles. Methods and findings Between November, 2, 2011 and June 20th 2012, we interviewed 1294 households about activity limitations and functioning difficulties associated with a health problem among all family members using a validated screening instruments, as well as questions about access, retention and barriers to education. We found that vulnerable children, particularly children with disabilities are less likely to start school and more likely to drop out of school earlier and before completing their high school education than non-disabled children, showing that the learning process is not inclusive in practice. The gap is wider for girls, economically deprived children, or children from households where the head is uneducated. Conclusions Firstly, in order to fill the existing knowledge gap on education of children with disabilities in line with SDG4, not only is there a necessity for relevant data with regards to learning outcomes, but also an urgent requirement for more innovative information pertaining to relational aspects of learning that reflect inclusion. Secondly, a stronger understanding of the implications of early assessment would further promote equity in education. Finally, research should tackle learning as a complex and dynamic phenomenon. Education needs to fulfil its instrumental value, but must also re-claim its intrinsic value that often gets watered down in the journey from policies to implementation