Eco-Friendly NiO/Polydopamine Nanocomposite for Efficient Removal of Dyes from Wastewater.

The rapid development of industries discharges huge amounts of wastewater that contain surface water. For this reason, we used NiO/polydopamine (NiO/PDA) nanocomposite as an efficient material for the removal of Methyl violet 2B from water. It was synthesized and then characterized by Fourier Transform Infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy, X-ray Diffraction (XRD), Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), Energy Dispersive X-ray (EDX) analysis, Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM), and Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET). The EDX analysis confirmed the presence of O, Ni, N, and C. The composite has an average particle size of 18 nm. Its surface area is 110.591 m2/g. It was found that the efficiency of dye removal by adsorption on NiO/PDA exceeded that of bare NiO. The adsorption capacity of NiO and NiO/PDA are 126 and 284 mg/g, respectively. The effects of adsorbent dose, dye concentration, and pH on the removal efficiency were examined. The efficiency increased with increasing the adsorbent dose and pH, but dropped from 85 to 73% within 30 min as the initial dye concentration was increased from 0.984 to 4.92 mg/L. Such a drop in the removal efficiency is due to the blocking of the surface-active sites of NiO/PDA, with the high population of dye molecules derived from the continuous increase in dye concentration. The adsorption results of the dye fitted well with the pseudo-second-order kinetics and Langmuir isotherm. The reusability data showed that NiO/PDA was stable across three adsorption-regeneration cycles, thus it can be considered a good recyclable and efficient adsorbent. Because of these results, it can be considered that this method can be applied for the treatment of wastewater.

Surface Preconditioning Influences the Antifouling Capabilities of Zwitterionic and Nonionic Polymer Brushes.

Polymer brushes not only represent emerging surface platforms for numerous bioanalytical and biological applications but also create advanced surface-tethered systems to mimic real-life biological processes. In particular, zwitterionic and nonionic polymer brushes have been intensively studied because of their extraordinary resistance to nonspecific adsorption of biomolecules (antifouling characteristics) as well as the ability to be functionalized with bioactive molecules. However, the relation between antifouling behavior in real-world biological media and structural changes of polymer brushes induced by surface preconditioning in different environments remains unexplored. In this work, we use multiple methods to study the structural properties of numerous brushes under variable ionic concentrations and determine the impact of these changes on resistance to fouling from undiluted blood plasma. We describe different mechanisms of swelling, depending on both the polymer brush coating properties and the environmental conditions that affect changes in both hydration levels and thickness. Using both fluorescent and surface plasmon resonance methods, we found that the antifouling behavior of these brushes is strongly dependent on the aforementioned structural changes. Moreover, preconditioning of the brush coatings (incubation at a variable salt concentration or drying) prior to biomolecule interaction may significantly improve the antifouling performance. These results suggest a new simple approach to improve the antifouling behavior of polymer brushes. In addition, the results herein enhance the understanding for improved design of antifouling and bioresponsive brushes employed in biosensor and biomimetic applications.

Controlling the Transverse Magneto-Optical Kerr Effect in Cr/NiFe Bilayer Thin Films by Changing the Thicknesses of the Cr Layer.

Here, we demonstrate the impact of ferromagnetic layer coating on controlling the magneto-optical response. We found that the transverse magneto-optical Kerr effect (TMOKE) signal and TMOKE hysteresis loops of Ni80Fe20 thin layers coated with a Cr layer show a strong dependence on the thickness of the Cr layer and the incidence angle of the light. The transmission and reflection spectra were measured over a range of incidence angles and with different wavelengths so as to determine the layers' optical parameters and to explain the TMOKE behavior. The generalized magneto-optical and ellipsometry (GMOE) model based on modified Abeles characteristic matrices was used to examine the agreement between the experimental and theoretical results. A comprehensive theoretical and experimental analysis reveals the possibility to create a TMOKE suppression/enhancement coating at specific controllable incidence angles. This has potential for applications in optical microscopy and sensors.

Histology of Thrombectomy Specimen Reveals Cardiac Tumor Embolus in Cryptogenic Young Stroke.

A 25-year-old woman presented with acute onset of right hemiplegia and global aphasia with National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale score of 19. Computed tomography angiography demonstrated occlusion of the left proximal middle cerebral artery. She was thrombolysed with intravenous recombinant tissue plasminogen activator (0.6 mg/kg) within 3 hours of onset of symptoms and was taken up for mechanical thrombectomy. The retrieved specimen appeared pale white and soft; histopathologic examination revealed a papillary neoplasm composed of papillae with hyalinized cores lined by endothelium, consistent with papillary fibroelastoma of cardiac origin. Transesophageal echocardiography showed no abnormalities, which can be explained by complete embolization of the mass into the cerebral circulation. On follow-up after 5 months, the patient recovered with only minimal aphasia and no cardiac symptoms. Our experience with this case highlights the importance of histopathologic examination of the mechanical thrombectomy specimen, as it provided the only clue to the etiology of stroke.

Married Men's Involvement in Family Planning - A Study from Coastal Southern India.

BACKGROUND: Over the years, India has emerged as one of the most populous countries in the world, next only to China. Unregulated fertility can compromise the economic development and political stability of a country. Family planning was always thought to be a woman's prerogative, especially in a male dominant society like India. Consequently, most of the studies on family planning focused on women as the subject of interest. PURPOSE: To assess the knowledge, attitude and practices of family planning amongst men who have been married for at least five years. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A cross-sectional study was carried out in the teaching hospitals of Kasturba Medical College (Manipal University), Mangalore; India among 156 men who had been married for at least five years. They were selected using non-random sampling method and were interviewed using a pretested semi structured validated questionnaire. Chi-square test was used for statistical analyses. RESULTS: Overall, 75.6% were aged between 26 and 34 years, 41.7% had one child, 92.3% subjects from upper and 86.9% from lower socio-economic status were aware about the male family planning services available in the market. Most husbands preferred that their spouse should be sterilized (53.8%). Family planning methods were actively practiced by 71.2 %. CONCLUSION: Most of the studies on family planning have focused mainly on females. This study throws light on the male perspective of family planning. Our study subjects were well aware about various family planning services and their attitude towards family planning was favorable, but the number of men practicing family planning was not high.

Retroperitoneal laparoscopic nephrectomy in children: at last the gold standard?

PURPOSE: We analyzed our experience with retroperitoneal laparoscopic nephrectomy giving special attention to the learning curve, morbidity, and feasibility in a teaching institution. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Between 1996 and 2004, we performed 104 laparoscopic nephrectomies in 88 children. Only four were performed via the transperitoneal approach, the others being via the retroperitoneal approach; the files of the latter were analyzed. Mean age was 5 years (20 days-15 years). Main indications were pretransplant nephrectomy for arterial hypertension, nephrotic syndrome or uremic hemolytic syndrome (51%), non-functioning kidney secondary to obstruction, reflux or ectopic ureter (38%), and multicystic dysplastic kidney (11%). Bilateral nephrectomy was performed in 13 children. RESULTS: The lateral retroperitoneal approach was feasible in all cases even for those who had previous renal surgery. Conversion was not needed in any patient. No significant blood loss was observed. Mean operative time was 97 min (range 44-240) for unilateral nephrectomy; 46 nephrectomies were done in less than 90 min. In bilateral cases the mean operative time was 260 min (range 160-390). The operative time was less than 4 h in seven bilateral cases. Postoperative course was uneventful. Hospital stay was 1.9 days (range 1-3) for urological indications and 5 days (range 3-7) for patients with terminal renal disease. The procedure was initially performed by one surgeon, but was then expanded to other surgeons of the team, and safely taught to residents and fellows. CONCLUSIONS: The procedure is safe, the learning curve is reasonable, teaching is feasible, operating time becomes with experience closer to open surgery without morbidity, and cosmetic results are excellent. This procedure may be considered as the gold standard for nephrectomy in children.