Advancement in Analytical and Bioanalytical Techniques as a Boon to Medical Sciences

The most important objectives frequently found in analytical and bioanalytical chemistry involve advancement of analytical techniques and its application to relevant medical/clinical problems. Keeping in view to these aspects, the present chapter is primarily focused on the development of advanced analytical techniques applied in the medical field. For example, N-acetyl-beta-D-glucosaminidase (NAG) enzyme is a specific biomarker of acute kidney injury. A biomarker is an entity that is purposely measured and estimated as an indicator of normal biological process, pathogenic process, or pharmacological responses to a therapeutic intervention. Hence, successive measurements of urinary NAG may enhance its clinical use as an indicator of ongoing tubular injury. Hence, in order to obtain information for selective monitoring of biomarker, the development of a practical and valid analytical method is important. Experimentation is driven by the need to know more about the medical effects and safety features of the biologically active analyte. It is therefore more important to evaluate the information that is already available for that particular analyte and to quantify the level of uncertainty for the proposed technique

Terrestrial Heat Flow in New Zealand

In this regional heat flow study of New Zealand temperatures have been measured in available boreholes using a specially constructed thermistor probe, and existing temperature information has been incorporated from various sources including oil prospecting boreholes. Thermal conductivity has been measured in the laboratory on 581 samples. Newly determined values of heat flow are given for 105 locations; values for the South Island are here presented for the first time. Most of the heat flow values have been grouped in eight regions based on the level of heat flow. This classification can be related to the occurrence of certain surface manifestations and geophysical anomalies, and to regional plate tectonics. High heat flow in three regions is consistent with melting conditions being reached at depths between 35km and 45km. These are the Taranaki Region, the West Coast Region and the Great South Basin. The average regional heat flow for these regions varies from 86.4 mW/m2 to 110.7 mW/m2. Much lower heat flow is obtained in the Hikurangi and Marlborough-Canterbury Regions; these may possibly be interconnected. Elsewhere the heat flow is low to normal with isolated highs. The broad distribution of heat flow in the North Island is typical for an active subduction region. Radioactive heat generation has been measured on rock types from various localities, and large variations have been found. The heat flow - heat generation relationship has been studied for 42 sites. A linear relationship is found only in the Taranaki and Hikurangi Regions. Temperature calculations show large differences in the deep-seated temperature distribution beneath New Zealand, and this has also been reflected in the distribution of "reduced heat flow". Temperature and heat flow can be correlated with upper mantle inhomogeneity. The inferred variation of radioactive heat generation with depth has been studied for areas beneath the Western Canterbury Region. A mean heat generation of 1.56 plus-minus .07 muW/m3 has been found in a sequence which has been inferred to occur between 17km and 30km in depth under the region; this is very much higher than the usually adopted values for the lower crust. Normal heat flow observed in the Western Cook Strait Region, and the existence of good seismic wave transmission beneath the same region, can be attributed to crustal and lithospheric thickening. The relevance of present study to petroleum occurrences has been examined and it is found that in areas of proven hydrocarbon potential the heat flow is high

A New Hand Based Biometric Modality & An Automated Authentication System

With increased adoption of smartphones, security has become important like never before. Smartphones store confidential information and carry out sensitive financial transactions. Biometric sensors such as fingerprint scanners are built in to smartphones to cater to security concerns. However, due to limited size of smartphone, miniaturised sensors are used to capture the biometric data from the user. Other hand based biometric modalities like hand veins and finger veins need specialised thermal/IR sensors which add to the overall cost of the system. In this paper, we introduce a new hand based biometric modality called Fistprint.  Fistprints can be captured using digital camera available in any smartphone. In this work, our contributions are: i) we propose a new non-touch and non-invasive hand based biometric modality called fistprint. Fistprint contains many distinctive elements such as fist shape, fist size, fingers shape and size, knuckles, finger nails, palm crease/wrinkle lines etc. ii) Prepare fistprint DB for the first time. We collected fistprint information of twenty individuals - both males and females aged from 23 years to 45 years of age. Four images of each hand fist (total 160 images) were taken for this purpose. iii) Propose Fistprint Automatic Authentication SysTem (FAAST). iv) Implement FAAST system on Samsung Galaxy smartphone running Android and server side on a windows machine and validate the effectiveness of the proposed modality. The experimental results show the effectiveness of fistprint as a biometric with GAR of 97.5 % at 1.0% FAR

Effect of neutron-irradiation on optical properties of SiO2-Na2O-MgO-Al2O3 glasses

Silica based glasses are used as nuclear shielding materials. The effect of radiation on these glasses varies as per the constituents used in these glasses. Glasses of different composition of SiO2-Na2OMgO- Al2O3 were made by melt casting techniques. These glasses were irradiated with neutrons of different fluences. Optical absorption measurements of neutron-irradiated silica based glasses were performed at room temperature (RT) to detect and characterize the induced radiation damage in these materials. The absorption band found for neutron-irradiated glasses are induced by hole type color centers related to non-bridging oxygen ions (NBO) located in different surroundings of glass matrix. Decrease in the transmittance indicates the formation of color-center defects. Values for band gap energy and the width of the energy tail above the mobility gap have been measured before and after irradiation. The band gap energy has been found to decrease with increasing fluence while the Urbach energy shows an increase. The effects of the composition of the glasses on these parameters have been discussed in detail in this paper.Amanpreet Kaur Sandhu1, Surinder Singh1* and Om Prakash Pandey2 1Department of Physics, Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar-143 005, Punjab, India 2School of Physics and Materials Science, Thapar University, Patiala-147 004, Punjab, India E-mail : [email protected] of Physics, Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar-143 005, Punjab, India School of Physics and Materials Science, Thapar University, Patiala-147 004, Punjab, Indi

Spasticity Outcome Tools in Traumatic Complete Spinal Cord Injury

Objective: To evaluate spasticity in patients of complete motor complete spinal cord injury using M.A.S ,SCATS and PSFS tools of spasticity and assessing their correlation. Design:  Observational cross-sectional study. Setting:  In-patient rehabilitation ward. Participants: 50 individuals of chronic (≥ 1 year trauma) motor complete SCI were classified into mild (n=16), moderate (n=11), and severe (n=23) spastic groups; based on their lower limb extensor muscle group spasticity score using a Modified Ashworth Scale (M.A.S), Spinal cord assessment tool for spastic reflexes(SCATS) and Penn spasm frequency scale (PSFS).  Main Outcome Measures: The proportion of cases in mild, moderate, severe spastic groups, mean MAS score, mean SCATS Score and PSFS Score were evaluated and were compared between the groups with different grades of spasticity. Results:  The mean M.A.S score among the study group was 3.71±1.60. The mean SCAT ankle clonus score, flexor spasm score and extensor spasm score were 1.55±1.05, 1.36±0.81 and 1.22±0.76 respectively (P<0.001S).The mean PSFS (frequency) score and mean PSFS (severity) score was 1.78±0.84 and 1.56±0.70 respectively( P<0.001S). All the three spasticity  outcome tools were found to be significantly associated with the type of spasticity (P≤0.001).A significant positive correlation was observed between M.A.S score and the mean PSFS (FREQ; r = 0.856) score and PSFS (SEV; r = 0.818) score and the mean SCAT score(r=0.913).  Conclusion: All three spasticity outcome tools M.A.S, PSFS and SCATS are acceptable as well as feasible, inherit good clinical utility and correlate significantly with the severity of spasticity. Significant correlations were observed between SCATS score and PSFS score with the M.A.S score. No single outcome measure can reflect the multidimensional nature of spasticity; hence a battery of tests should be applied to measure spasticity to plan antispasmodic treatment in such patients. Keywords: Spinal cord injury, Spasticity, Modified Ashworth score, Spinal cord assessment tool for spastic reflexes, Penn spasm frequency scale

Biochemical and Health Properties of Truffles

Truffles are the most expensive edible mushrooms refer to genus tuber which grows symbiotically in plant roots such as oaks and hazels. Truffles are underground mushrooms also known for their characteristic earthy flavor which is the major reason for their special place in the culinary. Their characteristic intense aroma helps them in reproduction by attracting small animals. Truffles can survive in a wide range of environments such as deep forests as well as deserts. The most expensive varieties of truffles include Tuber melanosporum (Black truffle), Tuber magnatum (White truffle), Tuber aestivum (Burgundy truffle), Tirmania nivea, and Terfezia chlaveryi (Dessert truffles). Truffles vary in their composition and flavor profile from species to species. The major volatile components which are responsible for truffle aroma are aldehydes, ketones, sulfur compounds, alcohols, and esters. Truffles are highly nutritious, rich in antioxidants, and have therapeutic properties such as antimicrobial activity, antiviral activity, antimutagenic activity, anti-inflammatory activity, hepatoprotective activity, etc. The major active components present in truffle are tuberoside, phenolics, anandamide, and ergosterol

Research needs in environmental and waste management in iron & steel industries

A large number of processing steps from ore handling to steel finishing involved in the manufacture of steel, consume substantial resources and lead to complex problems of environmental pollution with local as well as global impacts. Paper identifies various global and local environmental issues that steel industry presents before the mankind. Among the global issues, the large emissions of carbon dioxide from steel industry is a major cause of concern to environmentalists. The quantity of this green house gas constitutes a significantly large proportion of the global CO2 load and hence it contributes significantly in the global warming phenomenon. Some of the important methods have been briefly discussed to reduce these emissions through major energy conservation programmes and implementation of energy efficient processes. Among local issues are the problems of air, water and noise pollution along with the generation of large quantity of solid wastes. Under each area some of the programmes have been identified which could provide major research directions towards making the steel industry increasingly more environment friendly

Radiation induced osteogenic sarcoma of the maxilla

BACKGROUND: Radiation induced sarcoma arise as a long term complication of radiation treatment for other benign or malignant conditions. They are of very rare occurrence in jaw bones and are even rarer in maxilla. CASE PRESENTATION: Here we report a case of radiation induced sarcoma in a patient treated for squamous cell carcinoma of buccal mucosa with radiation who developed osteosarcoma of maxillary bone after six years. The patient was treated successfully with surgery. CONCLUSION: What should be the best treatment of radiation induced sarcoma is still debatable; however, surgery offers the best chance of cure. Role of reradiation and adjuvant chemotherapy needs to be further evaluated

Synthesis, Spectroscopic, and Antimicrobial Studies of Binuclear Metallocene (M = Ti, Zr, or Hf) Derivatives of Bis(mercaptoazoles)

The reactions of (η5 − C5H5)2MCl2 (M = Ti, Zr, or Hf) with mercaptoazoles (LH2), namely, bis(mercaptotriazoles), bis(mercap- tooxadiazoles), and bis(mercaptothiadiazoles) in 2 : 1 molar ratio, respectively, have been studied in dry tetrahydrofuran in the presence of n-butylamine and the binuclear complexes of the type [{(η − C5H5)2 M}2(L)] (M = Ti/Zr/Hf) are obtained. Tentative structural conclusions are drawn for the reaction products based upon elemental analysis, electrical conductance, magnetic moment, and spectral data (UV-Vis, IR, 1H NMR, and 13C NMR). FAB-mass spectra of few complexes of each series were also carried out to confirm the binuclear structures. Studies were conducted to assess the growth-inhibiting potential of the complexes synthesized, and the ligands against various fungal and bacterial strains