Investigation of sulfur poisoning of CNx oxygen reduction catalysts for PEM fuel cells

The role of the transition metal used during the growth of non-noble metal electrochemical oxygen reduction CN_x catalysts was investigated through sulfur treatment, a well-known poison for transition metal-based catalysts. The intent of sulfur poisoning was to show the existence of an electrocatalytic active site in CN_x that did not depend on iron. The sulfur treatment was shown to be effective on a platinum catalyst, as seen by the decreasing onset potential. The same treatment, however, not only showed no negative effect on the CN_x catalyst, but enhanced its performance, as seen by the increase in the onset potential. This suggests that, if there are iron-based active sites in these catalysts, they are either sulfur tolerant or they do not participate in the electrocatalytic oxygen reduction. The deposition of sulfur onto CN_x catalyst was verified by temperature-programmed oxidation and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. Iron K-edge X-ray absorption near edge structural analysis of the CN_x catalyst suggested that the iron phase, which was primarily composed of nanometer-sized metallic particles, was unchanged by sulfur poisoning, suggesting that the residual iron left in these materials is not catalytically accessible.     

Biodegradation and swelling studies of gelatin‐grafted polyethylene

In this article, we report on biodegradation studies and the swelling/solubility behavior of gelatin‐grafted polyethylene (PE). The successful synthesis of graft copolymers of PE with gelatin was carried out with benzoyl peroxide as the radical initiator. Biodegradation studies of the grafted PE were carried out via a soil burial test (with and without the addition of urea). Percentage weight loss was studied as a function of time, and we observed that the percentage weight loss increased with time and was higher for urea‐enriched soil samples. Microanalysis of the soil containing the samples was carried out after a specified number of days. An increase in the colonies of microorganisms with increasing number of days was observed. This revealed that the microorganisms fed upon the grafted material, which led to an increase in the percentage weight loss. Hydrolysis of the samples, taken out from the soil after a specified number of days, revealed a continuous loss of weight with increasing number of days. The effect of the degradation of the grafted samples buried in soil and urea‐enriched soil on the growth of plants was studied, and we found that the plants grew normally in the soil containing the grafted material. Swelling studies were made in binary and ternary solvent systems comprising water–ethanol and water–ethanol–dimethyl sulfoxide, respectively, to study the maximum swelling and solubility of the grafted PE. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 2008     

Synthesis and characterization of polyethylene modified through phase‐transfer‐catalyzed graft copolymerization

In an effort to impart biodegradability, polyethylene (PE) was modified through the graft copolymerization of vinyl monomers such as acrylamide (AAm) and acrylic acid (AAc) by a phase‐transfer‐catalyst method. The grafting percentage of AAm and AAc for PE was found to be dependent on the dibenzoyl peroxide concentration, monomer concentration, time, temperature, and concentration of the phase‐transfer catalyst. Some AAm‐ and AAc‐grafted PE samples were prepared by chemical, UV, and γ‐radiation methods. The biodegradation of samples of PE, polyethylene‐g‐polyacrylamide, and polyethylene‐g‐poly(acrylic acid) prepared by all these methods was studied. The weight loss of the samples over a period of time was observed with soil‐burial tests. The grafted samples prepared by the phase‐transfer‐catalyst method showed better biodegradation results than those prepared by other methods of grafting. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2008     

Effect of packaging on quality attributes of functional cookies during storage

Bamboo shoot is a functional food due to the presence of biochemical components. Therefore, there exists a great opportunity especially, for the preparation of bamboo shoot powder and its utilization in food products as a therapeutic agent. The bamboo shoot powder and extracted bamboo dietary fiber were incorporated in cookies at 0% (Cookies with 100% refined wheat flour), 2%, 4%, 6%, 8%, and 10% level by supplementing refined wheat flour. The prepared cookies with different treatments were evaluated for sensory attributes. The treatment with the highest sensory scores was packed in low-density polyethylene (LDPE) pouches and polyethylene terephthalate (PET) jars. Changes in chemical (moisture, water activity, ash, crude fat, crude protein, total carbohydrate, and total dietary fiber) and sensory scores (appearance, texture, aroma, taste, and overall acceptability) of cookies were monitored during storage (17°C and 54% relative humidity for 90 days). Although, the cookies supplemented with 6% and 8% bamboo shoot powder and dietary fiber, respectively, can be stored in LDPE pouches and PET jars up to 90 days under ambient conditions, the quality retention was better in PET jars with minimal changes in quality.     

Feasibility Evaluation of Pressurized Irrigation in Canal Commands

India has one of the largest and most ambitious irrigation programme in the world with net irrigated area exceeding 47 million hectares. However, the overall project efficiency from the headwork to the farmer’s field has been quite low which leads to not only poor utilization of irrigation potential created at huge cost, but also aggravates the degradation of soil and water resources and thereby endangers the sustainability of agricultural production system. As the cost of creating additional irrigation potential in terms of financial, human and environmental aspects has increased tremendously, need of the hour is to increase the irrigation efficiency of existing projects and use saved water for irrigating new areas or meeting the demand of non-agricultural sector. The contribution of application efficiency to poor irrigation efficiency is quite high and therefore increasing application efficiency by a shift in application method from surface to pressurized system has potential of vastly improving irrigation efficiency. To evaluate feasibility of this concept, a pilot study was initiated at Water Technology Centre for Eastern Region, Bhubaneswar, on one outlet of a minor irrigation command. The system has been designed in such a way that it provides pipe conveyance and surface irrigation for rice cultivation during monsoon season and pressurized irrigation during post monsoon period through a hybrid system of sprinkler and drip with four outlets for sprinkler irrigating 2.8 ha area and two outlets for drip irrigating 1.9 ha area. The system is also capable of providing irrigation through drip to part of a command during summer for third crop using water stored in service reservoir after the canal is closed in first week of April. To take care of sediment in the canal water, there are three stages of filtration: first by hydrocyclone filter which filters heavy suspended materials viz. sand, silt, etc., then by the sand filter and finally by the screen filter. The filtration at three stages reduces the turbidity to the desired level. It has been found that three-stage filtration reduced the turbidity to two NTU which is within permissible limit. Considering the cost of water saved, a benefit-cost ratio of the system was found out to be 1.126. This B: C ratio can be further increased by increasing the productivity of the fish and papaya in service reservoir area and better crop management during summer season.     

Kidney-Specific CAP1/Prss8-Deficient Mice Maintain ENaC-Mediated Sodium Balance through an Aldosterone Independent Pathway

The serine protease prostasin (CAP1/Prss8, channel-activating protease-1) is a confirmed in vitro and in vivo activator of the epithelial sodium channel ENaC. To test whether proteolytic activity or CAP1/Prss8 abundance itself are required for ENaC activation in the kidney, we studied animals either hetero- or homozygous mutant at serine 238 (S238A; Prss8^cat/+ and Prss8^cat/cat), and renal tubule-specific CAP1/Prss8 knockout (Prss8^PaxLC1) mice. When exposed to varying Na⁺-containing diets, no changes in Na⁺ and K⁺ handling and only minor changes in the expression of Na⁺ and K⁺ transporting protein were found in both models. Similarly, the α- or γENaC subunit cleavage pattern did not differ from control mice. On standard and low Na⁺ diet, Prss8^cat/+ and Prss8^cat/cat mice exhibited standard plasma aldosterone levels and unchanged amiloride-sensitive rectal potential difference indicating adapted ENaC activity. Upon Na⁺ deprivation, mice lacking the renal CAP1/Prss8 expression (Prss8^PaxLC1) exhibit significantly decreased plasma aldosterone and lower K⁺ levels but compensate by showing significantly higher plasma renin activity. Our data clearly demonstrated that the catalytic activity of CAP1/Prss8 is dispensable for proteolytic ENaC activation. CAP1/Prss8-deficiency uncoupled ENaC activation from its aldosterone dependence, but Na⁺ homeostasis is maintained through alternative pathways.     

Characterization of Adrenal miRNA-Based Dysregulations in Cushing’s Syndrome

MiRNAs are important epigenetic players with tissue- and disease-specific effects. In this study, our aim was to investigate the putative differential expression of miRNAs in adrenal tissues from different forms of Cushing’s syndrome (CS). For this, miRNA-based next-generation sequencing was performed in adrenal tissues taken from patients with ACTH-independent cortisol-producing adrenocortical adenomas (CPA), from patients with ACTH-dependent pituitary Cushing’s disease (CD) after bilateral adrenalectomy, and from control subjects. A confirmatory QPCR was also performed in adrenals from patients with other CS subtypes, such as primary bilateral macronodular hyperplasia and ectopic CS. Sequencing revealed significant differences in the miRNA profiles of CD and CPA. QPCR revealed the upregulated expression of miR-1247-5p in CPA and PBMAH (log2 fold change > 2.5, p < 0.05). MiR-379-5p was found to be upregulated in PBMAH and CD (log2 fold change > 1.8, p < 0.05). Analyses of miR-1247-5p and miR-379-5p expression in the adrenals of mice which had been exposed to short-term ACTH stimulation showed no influence on the adrenal miRNA expression profiles. For miRNA-specific target prediction, RNA-seq data from the adrenals of CPA, PBMAH, and control samples were analyzed with different bioinformatic platforms. The analyses revealed that both miR-1247-5p and miR-379-5p target specific genes in the WNT signaling pathway. In conclusion, this study identified distinct adrenal miRNAs as being associated with CS subtypes.     

Early Skin Disease Identification Using eep Neural Network

Skin lesions detection and classification is a prominent issue and difficult even for extremely skilled dermatologists and pathologists. Skin disease is the most common disorder triggered by fungus, viruses, bacteria, allergies, etc. Skin diseases are most dangerous and may be the cause of serious damage. Therefore, it requires to diagnose it at an earlier stage, but the diagnosis therapy itself is complex and needs advanced laser and photonic therapy. This advance therapy involves financial burden and some other ill effects. Therefore, it must use artificial intelligence techniques to detect and diagnose it accurately at an earlier stage. Several techniques have been proposed to detect skin disease at an earlier stage but fail to get accuracy. Therefore, the primary goal of this paper is to classify, detect and provide accurate information about skin diseases. This paper deals with the same issue by proposing a high-performance Convolution neural network (CNN) to classify and detect skin disease at an earlier stage. The complete methodology is explained in different folds: firstly, the skin diseases images are pre-processed with processing techniques, and secondly, the important feature of the skin images are extracted. Thirdly, the pre-processed images are analyzed at different stages using a Deep Convolution Neural Network (DCNN). The approach proposed in this paper is simple, fast, and shows accurate results up to 98% and used to detect six different disease types.