Preparation of Adrenochrome Hydrogel Patch, Gel, Ointment, and the Comparison of Their Blood Coagulating and Wound Healing Capability

The aim of this study is to make an effective blood coagulant and wound healing agent, which on its topical application on ruptured skin would help in instant coagulation of blood and ongoing healing of wound. The hydrogel has been prepared by mixing 28% w/v gelatin and 21% w/v PVA in distilled water, and heated to 40°C followed by addition of a blood coagulant at a lower temperature. Beeswax, alcohol, liquid paraffin, and adrenochrome were mixed, triturated, and heated accordingly to prepare adrenochrome ointment. Polyvinyl alcohol and glycerin were mixed and heated and the drug was added at a lower temperature, and stored at 4-5°C to form adrenochrome gel. Gelatin alone has cell adhesion property. Adrenochrome is a blood coagulant. Therefore, gelatin with adrenochrome in hydrogel has a synergistic effect in wound healing. To evaluate the efficacy of these three different formulations, incisions were made on the backs of three mice and simultaneously adrenochrome containing hydrogel patch, gel, and ointment were applied on the wound and observed at regular intervals for half an hour to examine the rate of blood coagulation and kept under observation for 2 days to study the rate of wound healing. The efficacy of all these three formulations was compared to appraise the most effective blood coagulating and wound healing agent.     

An electrochemical technique to deposit thin films of PbTe

PbTe thin films were deposited electrochemically on transparent conducting oxide coated (TCO) glass substrates from a solution of lead acetate and TeO₂ at low pH. A lead (Pb) strip was used as a sacrificing anode and the TCO glass acted as the cathode, which were short-circuited externally. Depositions were carried out at different temperatures of the bath to study the growth kinetics and grain growth. X-ray diffraction technique, scanning electron microscopy, infrared spectroscopy and resistivity measurements were carried out to characterize the deposited films. The films were polycrystalline in nature with a cubic phase.     

Towards the Development of a New Iron Age

Steel in its various forms is the most widely utilized metallic alloy and comprises over 80 % by weight of all metallic alloys in industrial use.^[1] The development of steel microstructures is based on manipulation of a very specific solid/solid state transformation called an eutectoid transformation (i.e. γ_austenite → α_ferrite+ Fe₃C_cementite). The control of this transformation is the primary factor resulting in wide variety of microstructures and resulting properties found in commercial steel alloys. However, the full benefit of its main constituent, iron has never been realized. Based on the metallic bonding in iron, the theoretical tensile strength has been calculated to be 13.2 GPa but ultra high strength steels, even today, only achieve maximum tensile strength levels from 1 to 1.5 GPa. Thus, our modern technological society has been established utilizing approximately only ～ 10 % strength level of iron. Here we demonstrate that a high level of strength (6.2 GPa) and strength to weight ratio of 8.3 × 10⁴/m³ may be obtained in iron‐based alloys by their solidification into metallic glasses, as well as, by employing another solid state transformation called glass devitrification.     

Catalytic oxidation of carbon monoxide over radiolytically prepared Pt nanoparticles supported on glass

Platinum nanoparticles have been prepared by radiolytic and chemical methods in the presence of stabilizer gelatin and SiO₂ nanoparticles. The formation of Pt nanoparticles was confirmed using UV-vis absorption spectroscopy and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The prepared particles were coated on the inner walls of the tubular pyrex reactor and tested for their catalytic activity for oxidation of CO. It was observed that Pt nanoparticles prepared in the presence of a stabilizer (gelatin) showed a higher tendency to adhere to the inner walls of the pyrex reactor as compared to that prepared in the presence of silica nanoparticles. The catalyst was found to be active at ≥150 °C giving CO₂. Chemically reduced Pt nanoparticles stabilized on silica nanoparticles gave ∼7% CO conversion per hour. However, radiolytically prepared Pt nanoparticles stabilized by gelatin gave ∼10% conversion per hour. Catalytic activity of radiolytically prepared platinum catalyst, coated on the inner walls of the reactor, was evaluated as a function of CO concentration and reaction temperature. The rate of reaction increased with increase in reaction temperature and the activation energy for the reaction was found to be ∼108.8 kJ mol⁻¹. The rate of CO₂ formation was almost constant (∼1.5 × 10⁻⁴ mol dm⁻³ h⁻¹) at constant O₂ concentration (6.5 × 10⁻³ mol dm⁻³) with increase in CO concentration from 2 × 10⁻⁴ mol dm⁻³ to 3.25 × 10⁻³ mol dm⁻³. The data indicate that catalytic oxidation of CO takes place by Eley-Rideal mechanism.     

Pervasive computing: a paradigm for the 21st century

Pervasive computing promises to make life simpler via digital environments that sense, adapt, and respond to human needs. Yet we still view computers as machines that run programs in a virtual environment. Pervasive computing presumes a different vision. A device can be a portal into an application-data space, not just a repository of custom software a user must manage. An application is a means by which a user performs a task, not software written to exploit a device's capabilities. And a computing environment is an information-enhanced physical space, not a virtual environment that exists to store and run software. Pervasive computing is close to technical and economic viability.     

A software platform for testing intrusion detection systems

Intrusion detection systems monitor system activities to identify unauthorized use, misuse, or abuse. IDSs offer a defense when your system's vulnerabilities are exploited and do so without requiring you to replace expensive equipment. The steady growth in research on intrusion detection systems has created a demand for tools and methods to test their effectiveness. The authors have developed a software platform that both simulates intrusions and supports their systematic methodology for IDS testing     

Classifying and detecting anomalies in hybrid knowledge-based systems

The increasing need for hybrid Knowledge-Based Systems (KBS) that accommodate more complex applications has led to the need for new verification concerns that are more specific to the hybrid representation using objects and rule-based inference. Traditionally, verification of expert systems has focused solely on rule-based inference systems. Hybrid KBSs present additional verification problems not found in traditional rule-based systems. This paper is an investigation into the anomalies that may be present in a hybrid representation that warrant detection for the verification of the KBS. Many anomalies are due to the interaction of the component parts of the hybrid KBS. For example, subsumption anomalies arise due to an interaction between inheritance of objects and rule-based inference. In this paper, we extend the context of subsumption anomalies and introduce additional types of anomalies that may be present in the KBS. The goal of this research is to make hybrid KBSs more reliable by detecting such anomalies.     

Liquid convection effects on the pushing-engulfment transition of insoluble particles by a solidifying interface: Part I. Analytical calculation of the lift forces

During the solidification of a liquid containing insoluble particles, the particles can be instantaneously engulfed, or continuously pushed, or pushed and subsequently engulfed. A critical velocity for the pushing-engulfment transition is observed experimentally. Most models proposed to date ignore the complications arising from the liquid convection ahead of the solid-liquid interface. They simply solve the balance between the attractive drag force exercised by the liquid on the particle and the repulsive interfacial force. This work is an effort to calculate analytically the lift forces (Saffman and Magnus forces) under certain assumptions regarding the nature of fluid flow ahead of the solid/liquid interface. This makes possible the quantitative evaluation of the three experimentally observed regimes occurring during particle-interface interaction: (1) at low convection—no effect on the critical velocity for the particle engulfment transition; (2) at intermediate convection—increased critical velocity; (3) at high convection—no particle-interface interaction. The model was applied to evaluate the gravity level required for microgravity experimental work on particle pushing where the effect of liquid convection during solidification is negligible. This is necessary to validate existing theoretical models that do not take into account fluid flow parallel to the solidification interface.     

Globally linearized control on diabatic continuous stirred tank reactor: a case study

This paper focuses on the promise of globally linearized control (GLC) structure in the realm of strongly nonlinear reactor system control. The proposed nonlinear control strategy is comprised of: (i) an input-output linearizing state feedback law (transformer), (ii) a state observer, and (iii) an external linear controller. The synthesis of discrete-time GLC controller for single-input single-output diabatic continuous stirred tank reactor (DCSTR) has been studied first, followed by the synthesis of feedforward/feedback controller for the same reactor having dead time in process as well as in disturbance. Subsequently, the multivariable GLC structure has been designed and then applied on multi-input multi-output DCSTR system. The simulation study shows high quality performance of the derived nonlinear controllers. The better-performed GLC in conjunction with reduced-order observer has been compared with the conventional proportional integral controller on the example reactor and superior performance has been achieved by the proposed GLC control scheme.     

Glasslike Transitions in Thin Polymer-Melt Films Due to Thickness Constraint

The shear properties of thin films of star and linear polyisoprene (PIP) melts under high pressure were investigated as a function of sliding velocity (shear rate) using the surface forces apparatus. The results were contrasted with their bulk rheological properties; effects of thickness constraint on the shear behavior were discussed. The melts of PIP in bulk exhibit Newtonian-like constant viscosity at least at low shear rates (frequencies), which suggests that individual molecules flow with lateral sliding motion. However, thin films of PIP melts show tribological features involving apparent shear-thinning behavior, indicative of the correlated motions in confined geometries. The shear-property change from bulk rheological behavior to thin-film tribological behavior along with the thickness decrease reflects the physical states and their transitions in the systems; the thickness constraint induces glasslike transitions. Effects of molecular weights and molecular architecture (star-branched or linear) on the shear properties are also discussed.