Ceria-Graphene Oxide Nanocomposite for Electro-oxidation of Urea: An Experimental and Theoretical Investigation.

This study explores the potential of ceria-graphene oxide (CeO2-GO) nanocomposites as efficient electrocatalysts for urea electro-oxidation (UOR). This work combines experimental and theoretical investigations and characterization techniques confirm the successful formation of the CeO2 embedded on graphene oxide sheets. UOR activity was found to be dependent on both OH- and urea concentrations. The optimal UOR performance was achieved in a 0.1 M urea and 1.0 M KOH solution, as evidenced by the low Tafel slope of 60 mV/dec and high turnover frequency (TOF) of 1.690 s-1. DFT calculations revealed that the CeO2-GO nanocomposite exhibited strong urea adsorption due to its favorable bond lengths (Ce-O: 2.58 Å, O-H: 1.77 Å) and high adsorption energy (-1.05 eV). These findings revealed that the CeO2-GO nanocomposites are promising as efficient and durable electrocatalysts for urea conversion to valuable products like nitrogen and hydrogen gas, with potential applications in clean energy generation and ammonia synthesis.

Tuning the Surface Electronic Structure of Amorphous NiWO4 by Doping Fe as an Electrocatalyst for OER.

Water electrolysis is considered as one of the alternative potential approaches for producing renewable energy. Due to the sluggish kinetic nature of oxygen evolution reaction (OER), it encounters a significant overpotential to achieve water electrolysis. Hence, the advancement of cost-effective transition metal-based catalysts toward water splitting has gained global attention in recent years. In this work, the doping of Fe over amorphous NiWO4 increased the OER activity effectively and achieved stable oxygen evolution in the alkaline medium, which show better electrocatalytic activity as compared to crystalline tungstate. As NiWO4 has poor activity toward OER in the alkaline medium, the doping of Fe3+ will tune the electronic structure of Ni in NiWO4 and boost the OER activity. The as-synthesized Fe-doped amorphous NiWO4 exhibits a low overpotential of 230 mV to achieve a current density of 10 mA cm-2 and a lower Tafel slope value of 48 mV dec-1 toward OER in 1.0 M KOH solution. The catalyst also exhibits long-term static stability of 30 h during chronoamperometric study. The doping of Fe improves the electronic conductivity of Ni-3d states in NiWO4 which play a dominant role for better catalytic activity via synergistic interaction between Fe and active Ni sites. In future, these results offer an alternative route for precious metal-free catalysts in alkaline medium and can be explicitly used in various tungstate-based materials to increase the synergism between the doped atom and metal ions in tungstate-based materials for further improvement in the electrocatalytic performance.

Characterization of Enterocytozoon hepatopenaei causing hepatopancreatic microsporidiosis in L. vannamei and a new molecular method for its detection in shrimps, and other environmental samples.

Hepatopancreatic microsporidiosis (HPM) caused by Enterocytozoon hepatopenaei (EHP) is a disease of utmost concern in almost all shrimp growing countries. The pathogen was characterized by ultramicrography, histopathology and phylogenetic analysis of 18srDNA. A total of 183 biological samples were collected from all major shrimp growing states of the country.The histology technique could be used very well in identifying the site of infection and can aid in diagnosis of EHP. Wet mount and Ultramicrography were employed to observe the structure of spores. A single step PCR based method was developed for detecting the pathogen from variety of DNA samples including shrimp and non-shrimp sources.The developed PCR assay proved to be a robust and reliable technique to detect EHP in shrimps and environmental samples and for assessing the distribution of pathogen within geographical zones, thus aid in mitigating the disease. The PCR primers was also used to generate DIG labelled probe which was successful in binding to the EHP infected cells in HP of shrimp. The presence of pathogen was confirmed from many non-shrimp environmental samples suggests that they could act as reservoirs for recurrent infection in shrimp ponds. Proper control of these reservoirs will be the first step in recovering an EHP affected pond back to normal.

Access to eye care during the COVID-19 pandemic, India.

OBJECTIVE: To study the impact of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic on outpatient visits to eye care facilities in south India. METHODS: We used data on 7.69 million outpatient visits to primary (i.e. vision centres), secondary and tertiary Aravind Eye Care System's centres between January 2019 and June 2021. We compared outpatient numbers and outpatients' age and sex between the pandemic period and the pre-pandemic period in 2019 for all centres, whereas vision and ophthalmic assessments were compared for vision centres only. FINDINGS: During the first wave, the number of outpatient visits at tertiary, secondary and vison centres was 39% (647 968/1 656 296), 60% (170 934/283 176) and 73% (180 502/246 282) respectively, of 2019 levels. During the second wave, outpatient visits at tertiary, secondary and vision centres were 54% (385 092/710 949), 73% (88 383/121 739) and 79% (121 993/154 007), respectively, of 2019 levels. The proportion of outpatients who were female or younger than 20 years or older than 60 years was significantly lower during the first and second waves than in 2019 (P < 0.0001 for all). The proportion of outpatients whose worse eye vision was poorer than 5/60 or who required referral was significantly higher (P < 0.0001 for both). CONCLUSION: Restrictive measurements led to declines in outpatient visits, however the decline was less at secondary and vision centres than at tertiary centres. Easy access to specialized ophthalmic care via telemedicine and the relative proximity of these centres to communities helped reduce barriers to access.

Modulating the Surface Electronic Structure of Active Ni Sites by Engineering Hierarchical NiFe-LDH/CuS over Cu Foam as an Efficient Electrocatalyst for Water Splitting.

Water electrolysis encounters a challenging problem in designing a highly efficient, long durable, non-noble metal-free electrocatalyst for both oxygen evolution reaction (OER) and hydrogen evolution reaction (HER). Here, in our work, a two-step hydrothermal reaction was performed to construct a hierarchal NiFe-layer double hydroxide (LDH)/CuS over copper foam for the overall water splitting reaction. While employed the same as an anode material, the designed heterostructure electrode NiFe-LDH/CuS/Cu exhibits excellent OER performance and it demands 249 mV overpotential to reach a current density of 50 mA cm-2 with a lower Tafel slope value of 81.84 mV dec-1. While as a cathode material, the NiFe-LDH/CuS/Cu shows superior HER performance and it demands just 28 mV of overpotential value to reach a current density of 10 mA cm-2 and a lower Tafel slope value of 95.98 mV dec-1. Hence, the NiFe-LDH/CuS/Cu outperforms the commercial Pt/C and RuO2 in terms of activity in HER and OER, respectively. Moreover, when serving as both the cathode and anode catalysts in an electrolyzer for total water splitting, the synthesized electrode only needs a cell potential of 1.55 V versus RHE to reach a current density of 20 mA cm-2 and long-term durability for 25 h in alkaline media. To study the interfacial electron transfer, Mott-Schottky experiments were performed, representing that the electron is transferred from n-type NiFe-LDH to p-type CuS as a result of creating the p-n junction in NiFe-LDH/CuS/Cu. The formation of this p-n junction allows the LDH layer to be more active toward the OH- adsorption and thereby could allow the OER or HER with a less energy input. This work affords another route to a cost effective, highly efficient catalyst toward producing clean energy across the globe.

Novel synthesis of fluorescent carbon dots from bio-based Carica Papaya Leaves: Optical and structural properties with antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities.

Fluorescent carbon dots (CDs) are prepared from a natural resource Carica Papaya Leaves, by sand bath method. The as-synthesized CDs optical and structural properties were characterized by UltraViolet-Visible, FT- IR, and fluorescence spectroscopy. Also the size, shape, and particle size distribution was studied using Transmission electron microscopy technique. These CDs were examined for biomedical applications like free radical scavenging activity using DPPH assay, antioxidant activity using phosphomolybdate assay, and in vitro anti-inflammatory activity using membrane stabilization protocol. The CDs exhibited excellent biological activities at lower concentrations and showed notable half-maximal effective concentration (EC50). The EC50 of free radical scavenging activity (27.6 µg/mL), antioxidant activity (23.00 µg/mL), and in vitro anti-inflammatory activity (15.52 µg/mL) signifies that CDs can be potential therapeutic agents.

Genome wide association study (GWAS) and identification of candidate genes for yield and oil yield related traits in oil palm (Eleaeis guineensis) using SNPs by genotyping-based sequencing.

The genotyping-based sequencing (GBS) method used for GWAS of four yield and seven oil yield related traits on highly diverse African oil palm germplasm. GBS generated 325 million-reads covering 50.78Gb of sequence data, with an average of 3.4 million-reads per sample. Finally, 4031 fully informative SNPs with a range between 157 on chromosome 15 to 455 on chromosome 1 were used for GWAS. Association mapping resulted in identification of 40 highly significant loci, where more genetic loci were found to be associated with oil to bunch (OB), followed by average bunch weight (ABW). The loci, SGI|593,593|linked to QTNOB3 explained high amount of phenotypic variance (25.3%). The nucleotide sequences of linked genetic loci for OB were found to be similar to mitogen activated protein kinase-5 (MAPK-5) protein which is an early flowering protein. The significant loci identified can be used to select desirable palms at early stage through marker assisted selection.

Influence of chitosan thioglycolic acid conjugate in improving bioavailability of an antiparkinson drug; Rasagiline Mesylate from transdermal patch.

OBJECTIVE: Parkinson disease (PD) is a chronic disorder of central nervous system mainly affecting the motor systems. The drug of choice to treat PD is Rasagiline Mesylate (RM) and it belongs to BCS class III drug. The objective of the present study was the preparation of transdermal drug delivery system for RM. Several permeation enhancers were screened to be included in the formulation. To achieve desired flux a new strategy was developed by including in-house prepared CTC to enhance the permeation of RM. METHODS: The CTC was prepared by reaction between chitosan and thioglycolicacid, characterized by determining physical properties and applying analytical tools. Seven permeation enhancers with different mechanisms were screened. The transdermal patches were prepared with chitosan along with permeation enhancer IPM, various proportions of CTC and evaluated for physical and permeation studies. The optimized transdermal patch was obtained by two factors and three responses to obtain the design space and further evaluated for pharmacokinetic studies. RESULTS: The results of the present study confirmed the formation of CTC, IPM was best permeation enhancer among all. The presence of CTC in the formulations significantly improved the permeation of RM to achieve desired steady-state flux. The relative bioavailability of optimized transdermal patch was determined and it was observed that improved bioavailability as compared to marketed conventional tablets. CONCLUSION: The study was concluded that CTC has significant influence on permeation enhancing ability of IPM.

Phenomics, genomics of oil palm (Elaeis guineensis Jacq.): way forward for making sustainable and high yielding quality oil palm.

Oil palm (Elaeis guineensis Jacq.) is a heterogeneous, perennial crop having long breeding cycle with a genome size of 1.8 Gb. The demand for vegetable oil is steadily increasing, and expected that nearly 240-250 million tons of vegetable oil may be required by 2050. Genomics and next generation technologies plays crucial role in achieving the sustainable availability of oil palm with good yield and high quality. A successful breeding programme in oil palm depends on the availability of diverse gene pool, ex-situ conservation and their proper utilization for generating elite planting material. The major breeding methods adopted in oil palm are either modified recurrent selection or the modified reciprocal recurrent selection method. The QTLs of yield and related traits are chiefly located on chromosome 4, 10, 12 and 15 which is discussed in the current review. The probable chromosomal regions influencing the less height increment is observed to be on chromosomes 4, 10, 14 and 15. Advanced genomic approaches together with bioinformatics tools were discussed thoroughly for achieving sustainable oil palm where more efforts are needed. Major emphasis is given on oil palm crop improvement using holistic approaches of various genomic tools. Also a road map given on the milestones in the genomics and way forward for making oil palm to high yielding quality oil palm.

A systematic approach for stability-indicating HPLC method optimization for Nilotinib bulk through design of experiments: Application towards characterization of base degradation products by mass spectrometry.

A novel and reliable stability-indicating high-performance liquid chromatography method was developed using design of experiments. Under forced degradation conditions (hydrolysis, oxidative, photolytic and thermal) Nilotinib produced five major degradation products utilizing sodium hydroxide in base hydrolysis. The degradation products were separated by Hypersil ODS column (150×4.6mm i.d., 5µ) utilizing methanol and 10mM ammonium acetate (pH 3.0, adjusted with acetic acid) as mobile phase in gradient elusion mode at a flow rate of 1.2mL/min column temperature set at 35°C and UV detection at 263nm. Tandem mass spectrometry method was used to characterize the base degradation products by accurate mass measurements. The developed method was found to be linear, accurate, precise and selective for the separation of Nilotinib from its degradation products as per the International Conference on Harmonisation guidelines. The structures of the degradation products have been elucidated, of which three degradation products were reported for the first time.

A sensitive liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry method for quantitative bioanalysis of fingolimod in human blood: Application to pharmacokinetic study.

A simple and sensitive liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) method has been developed and validated for the determination of fingolimod in human blood. The analyte and internal standard fingolimod-d4 were extracted from 300 µl of human blood using protein precipitation coupled with solid-phase extraction method. The chromatographic separation was achieved with a Kinetex biphenyl column (100 × 4.6 mm, 2.6 µm) under isocratic conditions at the flow rate of 0.8 ml/min and column temperature was maintained at 45°C. The detection of analyte and internal standard was carried out by tandem mass spectrometry, operated in positive ion and multiple reaction monitoring acquisition mode. The method was fully validated for its selectivity, precision, accuracy, linearity, stability, detection and quantification limit. The extraction recovery of fingolimod in human blood ranged from 98.39 to 99.54%. The developed method was linear over the concentration range of 5-2500 pg/ml with a detection limit of 1 pg/ml. The developed method was validated and successfully applied for pharmacokinetic study after oral administration of fingolimod capsules.

Role of sodium l-cysteine alginate conjugate and isopropyl myristate to enhance the permeation enhancing activity of BCS class III drug from TDDS; optimization by central composite design and in vivo pharmacokinetics study.

OBJECTIVE: The objective of the present research was to study the effect and optimization of sodium alginate l-cysteine conjugate and permeation enhancer on permeation of high soluble low permeable ropinirole hydrochloride from the transdermal formulation. METHODS: Sodium alginate l-cysteine conjugate was prepared and characterized and the same was added into a transdermal formulation along with IPM as a permeation enhancer. Twelve primary formulations were prepared by solvent casting method and evaluated. The results were fed into Design Expert® Software to obtain optimized formulation. The optimized formulation was evaluated for physicochemical, ex vivo permeation, stability, skin irritation, and pharmacokinetic studies. RESULTS: The results of the characterization of prepared sodium alginate l-cysteine conjugate confirmed the thiolation process. Stability studies suggested that the drug was compatible with all the excipients. SEM images of the transdermal patch revealed that the amorphous drug was uniformly distributed. From the design space, the optimized formulation from the polymer's ratio (SA: SACC; 4:6) and IPM 9.5%w/w of polymers weight showed target steady state flux 9.004 µg/cm2/h with maximum drug permeation. The increased target flux and maximum drug permeation from an optimized patch suggested that there was an effect of SACC on ropinirole hydrochloride permeation in the presence of IPM as a permeation enhancer. Pharmacokinetic studies in rabbits showed that the optimized patch improved bioavailability as compared to marketed oral tablets. CONCLUSIONS: The study was concluded that there was a positive effect of sodium alginate l-cysteine conjugate and IPM on ropinirole hydrochloride permeation from the transdermal formulation.

Visual Acuity Outcomes after Cataract Surgery: High-Volume versus Low-Volume Surgeons.

PURPOSE: The primary objective was to assess associations between annual surgeon case volume and visual acuity outcomes after cataract surgery. Secondary objectives included (1) assessing associations between other case and patient characteristics and visual acuity outcomes and (2) assessing associations between annual surgeon case volume and complication rates. DESIGN: Database study. PARTICIPANTS: All adult eyes that underwent small-incision cataract surgery (SICS) or phacoemulsification cataract extraction (PECE) with intraocular lens placement at the Aravind Eye Hospital, Madurai, India, during 2015. METHODS: Descriptive statistics were used to characterize the study population. Uncorrected visual acuity (UCVA) at follow-up was assessed relative to annual surgeon case volume and other case and demographic factors using bivariate linear regression with random effects modeling. Factors with P values of less than 0.20 on bivariate regression were included in multivariate linear regression with random effects modeling. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Postoperative UCVA after cataract surgery. RESULTS: Of 91 084 surgeries, 35 880 eyes were included in this study. Cases were performed by 69 surgeons, who varied in annual case volume from 76 to 2900 cases during the study period. Increasing annual surgeon case volume was independently associated with a statistically significant but clinically modest improvement in UCVA in PECE but not in SICS. This association was most pronounced when comparing surgeons with case volumes of 350 PECE/year or fewer; surgeons with more than 350 PECE/year had similar results to one another. Similarly, increased annual case volume was associated with significantly lower complication rates, both in PECE and SICS. Younger patient age was independently associated with improved visual acuity outcomes and lower complication rates in both PECE and SICS. Greater surgeon experience was associated with lower complication rates in PECE, but not SICS, and there was no significant association with visual acuity outcomes. CONCLUSIONS: High-volume cataract surgeons showed improved visual acuity outcomes in PECE and lower complication rates in PECE and SICS. These findings further support the benefit of high-output ophthalmology clinics wherein individual surgeons perform a high number of cataract extractions annually, particularly in developing nations where there is a large backlog of untreated cataracts and the cataract patient-to-surgeon ratio is high.

Stress-induced optical waveguides written by an ultrafast laser in Nd3+, Y3+ co-doped SrF2 crystals.

In this paper, we report on the ultrafast laser-induced birefringence, refractive index changes, and enhanced photoluminescence properties in the volume of neodymium (Nd), yttrium (Y) co-doped strontium fluoride (SrF2) and Nd, Y co-doped calcium fluoride (CaF2) crystals. The optical waveguides written with 500 kHz repetition rate provided lowest propagation loss of 1.63±0.21 dB cm-1 for transverse magnetic (TM) polarization at 632.8 nm in Nd,Y:SrF2 crystal. The measured retardance can be interpreted by stress-induced birefringence related to the permanent volume expansion, photo induced by a non-spherical irradiated zone. The absorption, steady-state, and time-resolved photoluminescence properties are also carried out in and out of the laser irradiated zone, enabling the local changes of the Nd and Y network in Nd,Y:SrF2, as well as well-preserved Nd fluorescence in the written optical waveguides.

Access to childhood immunisation services and its determinants among recent and settled migrants in Delhi, India.

OBJECTIVES: Childhood immunisation is one of the important public health interventions, and poor migrants are vulnerable to forego these services. The objective of the study is to understand the access of childhood immunisation services to the socio-economically disadvantaged migrants and the determinants of full immunisation uptake up to the age of 1 year. METHODS: In a cross-sectional survey, 458 migrant households with a child aged up to 2 years were identified. Data on sociodemographics, migration history, receipt of various vaccines and maternal healthcare services were collected through interviewer-administered pretested questionnaires. Multiple logistic regression analysis was performed to identify the determinants of full immunisation status. RESULTS: Childhood immunisation coverage rates were low as only 31% of recent-migrant children and 53% of settled-migrant children were fully immunised against seven vaccine-preventable diseases (VPDs) by 12 months of age. Lack of awareness of the immunisation schedule and location of health facilities, mobility, illness of the child, fear of vaccines and side-effects were the main reasons for incomplete or no immunisation. Mother's educational attainment, TV viewership, hospital birth and receipt of information on childhood immunisation from the health workers during postnatal visits increased chances of getting the child fully immunised against seven VPDs by 1 year of age. CONCLUSION: The migrants, particularly the recent migrants, are at the risk of foregoing immunisation services because of livelihood insecurity, mobility and non-familiarity of services in the new urban environment. There is a need to deliver services with a focus on recent migrants. Investing in education and socio-economic development and providing secured livelihoods and equitable services are important to improve and sustain access to healthcare services in the long run.

Molecular Epidemiology of Pseudomonas syringae pv. syringae Causing Bacterial Leaf Spot of Watermelon and Squash in Florida.

From 2013 to 2014, bacterial leaf spot epidemics incited by Pseudomonas syringae pv. syringae affected an estimated 3,000 ha of watermelon and squash in Florida, and caused foliar blighting and transplant losses in severely affected fields. To investigate the diversity of the causal agent, we isolated 28 P. syringae strains from diseased plants grown in 10 Florida and Georgia counties over the course of 2 years. Strains were confirmed as P. syringae through sequence analysis of the 16S ribosomal RNA, phenotypic, and biochemical profiling; however, 20 displayed an atypical phenotype by exhibiting nonfluorescent activity on King's medium B agar and being negative for ice-nucleating activity. Multilocus sequence analysis and BOX polymerase chain reaction revealed the presence of two haplotypes among the collected strains that grouped into two distinct clades within P. syringae phylogroup 2. Pathogenicity testing showed that watermelon, cantaloupe, and squash seedlings were susceptible to a majority of these strains. Although both haplotypes were equally virulent on cantaloupe, they differed in virulence on watermelon and squash. The distribution of one haplotype in 9 of 10 Florida and Georgia counties sampled indicated that these epidemics were associated with the recent introduction of a novel clonal P. syringae lineage throughout major watermelon production areas in Florida.

Dengue scenario: Chennai perspective-a six-year study (2009-2014).

Dengue is a public health problem with an increasing global incidence and geographic distribution in almost all tropical and subtropical countries, with a transition from epidemic to endemic occurrence. In this study, we report a six-year analysis (2009-2014) performed at the Department of Virology, King Institute of Preventive Medicine, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. Our data confirm earlier findings that dengue is highly endemic in Chennai. In the present study, 10,099 serum samples from suspected dengue cases were tested for IgM ELISA (NIV Capture) and IgG Panbio ELISA (Australia). Of these suspected cases 6,798 and 3,301 were pediatric and adult cases, respectively, and 1,927 (19.08 %) were confirmed serologically as dengue. Of these, 1,752 (25.7 %) and 175 (5.3 %) were pediatric and adult cases, respectively. The aim of this study was to highlight the occurrence of DHF and DSS, mainly among the pediatric population, in which the infection causes higher mortality and morbidity. The overall positivity was higher in the pediatric group than in the adults. Detection of both IgM and IgG positivity will be useful for monitoring infection rates, the disease spectrum, and the prevalence of the different serotypes, which will give us insight about the circulating serotypes and pathogenicity. These data will be valuable for providing an early warning to predict an impending epidemic leading to major clinical manifestations of DHF and DSS.

Epidemiology and management of bacterial leaf spot on watermelon caused by Pseudomonas syringae.

Bacterial leaf spot of watermelon caused by Pseudomonas syringae has been an emerging disease in the southeastern United States in recent years. Disease outbreaks in Florida were widespread from 2013 to 2014 and resulted in foliar blighting at the early stages of the crop and transplant losses. We conducted a series of field trials at two locations over the course of two years to examine the chemical control options that may be effective in management of this disease, and to investigate the environmental conditions conducive for bacterial leaf spot development. Weekly applications of acibenzolar-S-methyl (ASM) foliar, ASM drip, or copper hydroxide mixed with ethylene bis-dithiocarbamate were effective in reducing the standardized area under the disease progress curve (P < 0.05). Pearson's correlation test demonstrated a negative relationship between the average weekly temperature and disease severity (-0.77, P = 0.0002). When incorporated into a multiple regression model with the square root transformed average weekly rainfall, these two variables accounted for 71% of the variability observed in the weekly disease severity (P < 0.0001). This information should be considered when choosing the planting date for watermelon seedlings as the cool conditions often encountered early in the spring season are conducive for bacterial leaf spot development.

Effect of denture soft liner on mandibular ridge resorption in complete denture wearers after 6 and 12 months of denture insertion: A prospective randomized clinical study.

PURPOSE: Soft liners act as a cushion between the denture base and the residual ridge. Hence, it is important to study their effect on resorption of mandibular denture bearing area. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to evaluate the influence of soft denture liner on mandibular ridge resorption after 1 year in completely denture wearers. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Twenty-eight completely edentulous patients having age between 45 and 60 years with well-formed ridges in class I jaw relations were selected as per the inclusion and exclusion criterion. Randomization chart was used to enroll participants in experimental and control groups who were given mandibular dentures with and without soft denture liner, respectively. Vertical measurements were made on orthopantomograph and analyzed using Adobe Photoshop 7.0 software at five points, i.e., one at central incisor and two points at right and left first premolars and two in each first molar region. RESULTS: On application of repeated measures analysis of variance, both groups showed a significant change in bone height after denture delivery (P < 0.05). Intergroup comparison (Wilcoxon rank sum test) of bone height in different regions at various time intervals showed statistically significant difference in bone levels (P < 0.05) from baseline to 6 months and baseline to 12months (P < 0.01), while the difference was statistically not significant during 6 and 12 months' period. CONCLUSION: The use of soft denture liner significantly reduces the residual ridge resorption in complete denture wearers as compared to conventional denture wearers (without denture liner) over a period of 1 year.

Femtosecond laser written nanostructures in Ge-doped glasses.

We report on nanostructures induced by femtosecond laser pulses in the bulk of Germanium-doped silica glasses. For studying structural properties of the nanostructure constituents small-angle x-ray scattering and SEM served to map pore size, filling factor and periodicity. Our results show that with increasing the Ge doping concentration, the aspect ratio (transverse to inscribing laser) of nanometric pores rises while they arrange in a smaller period in contrast to nanogratings in pristine fused silica. Consequently, higher optical retardance can be obtained demonstrating the pronounced glass decomposition due to the changing network structure.