Green synthesis of nickel-doped magnesium ferrite nanoparticles via combustion for facile microwave-assisted optical and photocatalytic applications.

NixMg1-xFe2O4(x = 0, 0.2, 0.4, 0.6) nanoparticles were symphonized via combustion with microwave assistance in the presence of Tamarindus indica seeds extract as fuel. Nanoparticles nature, size, morphology, oxidation state, elemental composition, and optical and luminescence properties were analysed using PXRD, FTIR, SEM, EDX, and HRTEM with SAED, XPS, UV-Visible and photoluminescence spectroscopy. PXRD analysis confirms that synthesized nanoparticles are spinel cubic and have a 17-18 nm average crystalline size. Tetrahedral and octahedral sites regarding stretching vibrations were confirmed by FTIR analysis. SEM and HRTEM data it is disclosed that the morphology of synthesized nanoparticles has nano flakes-like structure with sponge-like agglomeration. Elemental compositions of prepared nanoparticles were confirmed through EDX spectroscopy. XPS Spectroscopy confirmed and revealed transition, oxidation states, and elemental composition. The band gap and absorption phenomenon were disclosed using UV-visible spectroscopy, where the band gap declines (2.1, 2, 1.6, 1.8 eV), with increase in nickel NixMg1-xFe2O4(x = 0, 0.2, 0.4, 0.6) doping. Photoluminescence intensity reduces with an incline in nickel doping, was confirmed and disclosed using photoluminescence spectroscopy. Dyes (Methylene blue and Rhodamine B) degradation activity was performed in the presence of NDMF nanoparticles as a photocatalyst, which disclosed that 98.1% of MB dye and 97.9% of RB dye were degraded in 0-120 min. Regarding initial dye concentration and catalyst load, 5 ppm was initiated as the ideal initial concentration for both RB and MB dyes. 50 mg catalyst dosage was found to be most effective for the degradation of MB and RB dyes. In comparison, pH studies revealed that photodegradation efficiency was higher in neutral (MB-98.1%, RB-97.9%) and basic (MB-99.6%, RB-99.3%) conditions than in acidic (MB-61.8%, RB-60.4%) conditions.

Erythropoietic protoporphyria: time to prodrome, the warning signal to exit sun exposure without pain-a patient-reported outcome efficacy measure.

PURPOSE: Patients with erythropoietic protoporphyria (EPP), a severe painful photodermatosis, experience prodromal sensations when exposed to sunlight, which are the "warning signals" to exit the sun, as prolonged exposure causes an excruciatingly painful phototoxic attack. The unique prodromal cutaneous sensations are reversible and differ from the severe burning pain attack lasting 2-7 days. Previously, afamelanotide treatment was studied using time to pain or time outside as primary outcome measures. Since patients have an ingrained fear of sunlight, these measures did not capture the full treatment effect. We retrospectively characterized and evaluated time to prodrome (TTP) as a safer, patient-reported outcome (PRO) measure in afamelanotide-treated patients. METHODS: Structured interviews recorded TTP before and during afamelanotide treatment in retrospective US and Dutch cohort studies. RESULTS: Thirty-one US and 58 Dutch EPP patients participated. Before afamelanotide treatment, 54.8% US and 39.7% Dutch patients reported TTP onset <10 minutes in direct sunlight. In both studies, patients' TTP's were significantly longer during afamelanotide treatment (p < 0.0001). All US patients' TTP increased; no TTP was <10 minutes. Among Dutch patients 81% improved; only 10.3% reported TTPs < 10 minutes. CONCLUSION: EPP patients reported substantial improvements in TTP during afamelanotide treatment. TTP could provide a safer, PRO-based efficacy endpoint for assessing future EPP treatments.

Health utility scores from EQ-5D and health-related quality of life in patients with esophageal cancer: a real-world cross-sectional study.

Esophageal cancer and its treatment can cause serious morbidity/toxicity. These effects on health-related quality of life (HRQOL) can be measured using disease-specific scales such as FACT-E, generic scales such as EQ-5D-3L, or through symptoms. In a two-year cross-sectional study, we compared HRQOL across esophageal cancer patients treated in an ambulatory clinic and across multiple disease states, among patients with all stages of esophageal cancer. Consenting patients completed FACT-E, EQ-5D, a visual analog scale, and patient reported (PR)-ECOG. Symptom complexes were constructed from FACT-E domains. Responses were categorized by disease state: pre-, during, and post-treatment, surveillance, progression, and palliative chemotherapy. Spearman correlation and multivariable linear regression characterized these associations. In total, 199 patients completed 317 questionnaires. Mean FACT-E and subscale scores dropped from baseline through treatment and recovered during post-treatment surveillance (P < 0.001); EQ-5D health utility scores (HUS) displayed a similar pattern but with smaller differences (P = 0.07), and with evidence of ceiling effect. Among patients with stage II/III esophageal cancer, mean EQ-5D HUS varied across disease states (P < 0.001), along with FACT-E and subscales (P < 0.001). Among patients with advanced disease, there was no significant difference between baseline and on-treatment total scores, but improved esophageal cancer-specific scales were noted (P = 0.003). Strong correlation was observed between EQ-5D and FACT-E (R = 0.73), along with physical and functional subscales. In addition, the association between FACT-E and EQ-5D HUS was maintained in a multivariable model (P < 0.001). We interpret these results to suggest that in a real-world clinic setting, FACT-E, EQ-5D HUS, and symptoms were strongly correlated. Most HRQOL and symptom parameters suggested that patients had worse HRQOL and symptoms during curative therapy, but recovered well afterwards. In contrast, palliative chemotherapy had a neutral to positive impact on HRQOL/symptoms when compared to their baseline pre-treatment state.

Design and development of technology for walnut cracking.

The aim of the present study was to design, develop and evaluate hand operated and power driven crackers for walnuts. Kaghazi (thin shelled) and medium shelled walnuts after subjecting to pre-optimized soaking conditions were cracked by developed crackers. Different parameters were evaluated to check the performance of the power operated cracker and hand operated cracker in comparison to manual cracking. 100% shelling coefficient and cracking coefficient value of 1 were recorded in manual and hand operated cracking methods in both Kaghazi and medium shelled walnuts. The coefficient of wholeness was recorded highest in hand operated cracking method in both Kaghazi and medium shelled walnuts. The throughput capacity and effective throughput capacity was highest and labour requirement was least in power operated walnut cracking method followed by manual cracking and hand operated cracking methods in both Kaghazi and medium shelled walnuts. In both Kaghazi and medium shelled walnuts, the butter ball + kernel halve recovery and cracking efficiency was recorded maximum in hand operated cracking method. The economic analysis reveals that both hand operated and power operated crackers can be useful for small to medium scale walnut growers and processing industries.

Tuneable luminescence properties of EDTA-assisted ZnS:Mn nanocrystals from a yellow-orange to a red emission band.

Luminescence technology has been improved with the help of semiconductor nanoparticles that possess novel optical and electrical properties compared with their bulk counterpart. The aim of this study was to design semiconductor nanocrystals in their pure (ZnS) or doped form (ZnS:Mn) with different concentrations of Mn2+ ions by a wet chemical route stabilized by ethylenediamine tetra-acetic acid (EDTA) and to evaluate their luminescence properties. The nanocrystals were characterized by physicochemical techniques such as X-ray diffraction (XRD), High-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM), selected area electron diffraction (SEAD), EDS, and ultraviolet (UV)-visible light and photoluminescence (PL) studies. These results showed the presence of cubic phase and spherically shaped nanocrystals. A blue shift with respect to their bulk counterpart was observed. PL emission spectra were observed with a fixed blue peak and the yellow-orange bands were red shifted towards the red region under the same excitation wavelength. The orange-red bands were attributed to the radiation transition of electrons in 3d5 unfilled shells of Mn2+ ions [4 T1 (4 G)-6 A1 (6 S)]; the ZnS matrix varied with Mn2+ concentration. Shift and increase in the intensity of the PL and absorption bands were observed with increase in Mn content. The study showed that Mn2+ -doped ZnS nanocrystal emission bands can be tuned from the yellow-orange to the red regions under a controlled synthesis process and could be used as promising luminescent emitters in the biology field upon functionalization with suitable materials. Further studies on construction with various other materials will be useful for practical applications.

X-chromosomal inactivation directly influences the phenotypic manifestation of X-linked protoporphyria.

X-linked protoporphyria (XLP), a rare erythropoietic porphyria, results from terminal exon gain-of-function mutations in the ALAS2 gene causing increased ALAS2 activity and markedly increased erythrocyte protoporphyrin levels. Patients present with severe cutaneous photosensitivity and may develop liver dysfunction. XLP was originally reported as X-linked dominant with 100% penetrance in males and females. We characterized 11 heterozygous females from six unrelated XLP families and show markedly varying phenotypic and biochemical heterogeneity, reflecting the degree of X-chromosomal inactivation of the mutant gene. ALAS2 sequencing identified the specific mutation and confirmed heterozygosity among the females. Clinical history, plasma and erythrocyte protoporphyrin levels were determined. Methylation assays of the androgen receptor and zinc-finger MYM type 3 short tandem repeat polymorphisms estimated each heterozygotes X-chromosomal inactivation pattern. Heterozygotes with equal or increased skewing, favoring expression of the wild-type allele had no clinical symptoms and only slightly increased erythrocyte protoporphyrin concentrations and/or frequency of protoporphyrin-containing peripheral blood fluorocytes. When the wild-type allele was preferentially inactivated, heterozygous females manifested the disease phenotype and had both higher erythrocyte protoporphyrin levels and circulating fluorocytes. These findings confirm that the previous dominant classification of XLP is inappropriate and genetically misleading, as the disorder is more appropriately designated XLP.

Socioeconomic status and lifestyle behaviours in cancer survivors: smoking and physical activity.

PURPOSE: Smoking cessation and increased physical activity (pa) have been linked to better outcomes in cancer survivors. We assessed whether socioeconomic factors influence changes in those behaviours after a cancer diagnosis. METHODS: As part of a cross-sectional study, a diverse group of cancer survivors at the Princess Margaret Cancer Centre (Toronto, ON), completed a questionnaire about past and current lifestyle behaviours and perceptions about the importance of those behaviours with respect to their health. The influence of socioeconomic indicators on smoking status and physical inactivity at 1 year before and after diagnosis were assessed using multivariable logistic regression with adjustment for clinico-demographic factors. RESULTS: Of 1222 participants, 1192 completed the smoking component. Of those respondents, 15% smoked before diagnosis, and 43% of those smokers continued to smoke after. The proportion of survivors who continued to smoke increased with lower education level (p = 0.03). Of the 1106 participants answering pa questions, 39% reported being physically inactive before diagnosis, of whom 82% remained inactive afterward. Survivors with a lower education level were most likely to remain inactive after diagnosis (p = 0.003). Lower education level, household income, and occupation were associated with the perception that pa had no effect or could worsen fatigue and quality of life (p ≤ 0.0001). CONCLUSIONS: In cancer survivors, education level was a major modifier of smoking and pa behaviours. Lower socioeconomic status was associated with incorrect perceptions about pa. Targeting at-risk survivors by education level should be evaluated as a strategy in cancer survivorship programs.

Development of walnut dehulling machine and assessment of its performance using Ethephon and Tween-80 as pre-treatments for hull loosening.

A power- driven walnut dehulling machine was developed and tested. The machine was evaluated for dehulling after applying Ethephon and Tween-80 to green walnuts by dip and spray methods. The results showed that with the increase in dipping time and post dipping/spraying time, the effective throughput capacity, dehulling efficiency and fully dehulled walnut percentage increased, whereas partially dehulled walnut percentage and labour requirement decreased in both manual and mechanical dehulling. Maximum effective throughput capacity, dehulling efficiency and fully dehulled walnut percentage were observed, when green walnuts were subjected to dehulling after 4 days of Ethephon spray treatment (0.3 %). The effective throughput capacity, dehulling efficiency and fully dehulled walnut percentage were found significantly higher in mechanical dehulling than in manual dehulling.

Phosphine resistance in India is characterised by a dihydrolipoamide dehydrogenase variant that is otherwise unobserved in eukaryotes.

Phosphine (PH3) fumigation is the primary method worldwide for controlling insect pests of stored commodities. Over-reliance on phosphine, however, has led to the emergence of strong resistance. Detailed genetic studies previously identified two loci, rph1 and rph2, that interact synergistically to create a strong resistance phenotype. We compared the genetics of phosphine resistance in strains of Rhyzopertha dominica and Tribolium castaneum from India and Australia, countries having similar pest species but widely differing in pest management practices. Sequencing analysis of the rph2 locus, dihydrolipoamide dehydrogenase (dld), identified two structurally equivalent variants, Proline49>Serine (P49S) in one R. dominica strain and P45S in three strains of T. castaneum from India. These variants of the DLD protein likely affect FAD cofactor interaction with the enzyme. A survey of insects from storage facilities across southern India revealed that the P45/49S variant is distributed throughout the region at very high frequencies, in up to 94% of R. dominica and 97% of T. castaneum in the state of Tamil Nadu. The abundance of the P45/49S variant in insect populations contrasted sharply with the evolutionary record in which the variant was absent from eukaryotic DLD sequences. This suggests that the variant is unlikely to provide a strong selective advantage in the absence of phosphine fumigation.

Effect of processing conditions on the quality characteristics of barley chips.

The aim of the present study was to study the effect of lime concentration, frying temperature and frying time on quality characteristics of barley chips. Effect of salt concentration and packaging material on the quality and stability of the product was also studied during 180 days of storage under ambient conditions. An increase in fat content of chips was observed with the increase in lime concentration, frying temperature and time, whereas a decreasing trend was observed in moisture content of chips. An increase in amylose content of chips was observed during frying. However, it was found that the amylopectin in chips decreased during frying as frying temperature and time was increased. An increase in colour difference (ΔE) and crispness was noted in chips during frying as frying temperature and time increased. With the increase in lime concentration (0.5 and 1.0 %) both ΔE and break force of chips was found decreased. The results further revealed that there was gradual decrease in fat (%) and amylopectin (%) during storage, whereas moisture (%) and amylose (%) increased during storage period. Organoleptic evaluation of the product revealed that scores of colour, texture, flavour and over all acceptability decrease during storage. However the treatment (salt 2 % and aluminium based laminate) recorded better score with respect to colour, flavour, texture and overall acceptability.

Independent isomeric yield ratios of fission products in the epi-cadmium neutron induced fission of 239Pu.

Measurement of independent isomeric yield ratios (IR) of 128,130,132Sb, 131,133Te, 132.134,136I, 135Xe and 138Cs have been carried out for the first time in the epi-cadmium neutron induced fission of 239Pu by using an off-line gamma-ray spectrometric technique. The average neutron energy () of the epi-cadmium reactor neutron spectrum is 1.9 MeV. From the IR values, root mean square fragment angular momenta (JRMS) were deduced by using spin dependent statistical model analysis. Effect of nuclear structure on JRMS values was examined. The present data in the epi-cadmium neutron induced fission of 239Pu were compared with the similar data in the thermal neutron induced fission of 239Pu to examine the role of excitation energy on JRMS values.

Charge distribution studies in the epi-cadmium neutron induced fission of 235U.

For the first time, charge distribution studies have been carried out in the epi-cadmium neutron induced fission of 235U by measuring the fractional cumulative yields (FCY) and independent yields (IY) of various fission products. An off-line γ-ray spectrometric technique was used for the measurements. The average energy of the epi-cadmium neutron spectrum is 1.9 MeV. From the FCY values, the isobaric width parameter (σZ), most probable charge (ZP) and the charge polarization (ΔΖEXPT) as a function of fragment mass were obtained. Similarly, from the IY values, isotopic width parameter (σA), the most probable mass (AP) and the elemental yields (YZ) of Sn, Sb, Te, I, Xe, Cs, Ba, La, Ce and Pr were determined by using a non-linear fit. From the YZ values, the proton even-odd effect (δp) was obtained for the first time. The present data in the 235U(n, f) reaction were compared with the similar data in the 235U(nth, f) and 238U(n, f) reactions as well as of other actinides to examine the role of excitation energy and pairing effect.

Independent isomeric yield ratios of fission products in the epi-cadmium neutron induced fission of 233U.

The independent isomeric yield ratios (IR) of 128,130,132Sb, 131,133Te, 132,134,136I, 135Xe and 138Cs have been measured in the epi-cadmium neutron induced fission of 233U by using an off-line gamma-ray spectrometric technique. The average neutron energy of the epi-cadmium reactor neutron spectrum is 1.9 MeV. The root mean square fragment angular momenta (JRMS) were deduced from the IR values by using spin dependent statistical model analysis. The IR and JRMS values of considered fission products in the epi-cadmium neutron induced fission of 233U were compared with the literature data in the thermal neutron induced fission of 233U to examine the influence of excitation energy on nuclear structure effect.