Gonadal status of male recipient mice influences germ cell development in immature buffalo testis tissue xenograft

Growth and development of immature testis xenograft from various domestic mammals has been shown in mouse recipients; however, buffalo testis xenografts have not been reported to date. In this study, small fragments of testis tissue from 8-week-old buffalo calves were implanted subcutaneously onto the back of immunodeficient male mouse recipients, which were either castrated or left intact (non-castrated). The xenografts were retrieved and analyzed 12 and 24 weeks later. The grafted tissue survived and grew in both types of recipient with a significant increase in weight and seminiferous tubule diameter. Recovery of grafts from intact recipients 24 weeks post-grafting was significantly lower than that from the castrated recipients. Seminal vesicle indices and serum testosterone levels were lower in castrated recipients at both collection time points in comparison to the intact recipients and non-grafted intact mouse controls. Pachytene spermatocytes were the most advanced germ cells observed in grafts recovered from castrated recipients 24 weeks post-grafting. Complete spermatogenesis, as indicated by the presence of elongated spermatids, was present only in grafts from intact recipients collected 24 weeks post-grafting. However, significant number of germ cells with DNA damage was also detected in these grafts as indicated by TUNEL assay. The complete germ cell differentiation in xenografts from intact recipients may be attributed to efficient Sertoli cell maturation. These results suggest that germ cell differentiation in buffalo testis xenograft can be completed by altering the recipient gonadal status.     

Mesua ferrea L. seed oil based amido‐amine modified nanoclay/epoxy nanocomposites

Hydrophilic bentonite and organo‐montmorillonite (OMMT) have been modified by using a vegetable oil based amido‐amine compound. The modified nanoclays were characterized by using X‐ray diffraction (XRD) and FTIR techniques. Increase in the basal spacing after the modification was observed in both the cases. Further, Mesua ferrea L. seed oil based sulfonated epoxy resin nanocomposites have been prepared by using these modified nanoclays [3 (w/w) of clay in each case]. The XRD, TEM, SEM, FTIR, and rheological studies confirmed the formation of partially exfoliated nanocomposites. The study also confirmed that hydrophilic bentonite is not suitable nanofiller for the system, though modified bentonite slightly improves the performance characteristics of the pristine polymer. Modified OMMT based nanocomposite shows significant improvement in tensile strength (～ 1.7 times), scratch hardness (～ 2 times), gloss (14 units), and thermal stability (18°C) compared to the pristine system. This nanocomposite also exhibit better performance than OMMT based analogous nanocomposite. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2012     

Jute‐fiber‐reinforced polyurethane green composites based on Mesua ferrea L. seed oil

Two types of environmentally friendly jute‐fiber‐reinforced green composites based on Mesua ferrea L. were prepared with poly(urethane ester) and poly(urethane amide) resin blends with commercially available partially butylated melamine–formaldehyde and epoxy resins through solution impregnation and hot‐curing methods. The composites were cured at a temperature of about 130–140°C under a pressure of 35 ± 5 kg/cm² for about 2 h. The mechanical properties, such as tensile strength, flexural strength, elongation at break, hardness, and density, of all of the composites were measured and compared. The mode of interaction between the filler and the matrix were studied by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy of the fractured composite samples. The water uptake in different chemical media was observed, and we found that all of the composites possessed excellent hydrolytic stability against almost all of the media except the alkali. Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) were used to analyze the thermal behavior of the composites. TGA of the composites showed degradation much above that of the virgin blends, which indicated their high thermostability. The glass‐transition temperatures, as shown by DSC analysis, were found to be much higher. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2010     

Prediction of short‐duration transient surface heat flux using various analytical techniques

Transient surface heat flux prediction, from temperature signals using one‐dimensional heat conduction modeling, is the major objective of present investigation. The techniques reported in the literature based on spline ?tting (linear and cubic) and least square polynomial ?tting of temperature data are evaluated for prediction of surface heat flux through various analytical modeling. In addition, a Laplace‐based technique is also incorporated here to predict surface heat flux where the least square polynomial ?tting technique is used to discretize the temperature data. The temperature time histories obtained from an in‐house built, one‐dimensional ?nite volume computation solver, and experiments (i.e., shock tunnel testing and flight data) are considered for the performance assessment of these methods. Heat flux recovery from all the methods for smooth temperature signals is seen to be in good agreement with a reasonable accuracy of ±5%. However, it has been noticed that the spline based ?tting techniques supersede the polynomial‐based ?tting techniques for prediction of heat flux from discontinuous or noisy temperature signals. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Heat Trans Asian Res; Published online in Wiley Online Library (wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/htj). DOI 10.1002/htj.21050     

Design of tone-dependent color-error diffusion halftoning systems.

Grayscale error diffusion introduces nonlinear distortion (directional artifacts and false textures), linear distortion (sharpening), and additive noise. Tone-dependent error diffusion (TDED) reduces these artifacts by controlling the diffusion of quantization errors based on the input graylevel. We present an extension of TDED to color. In color-error diffusion, which color to render becomes a major concern in addition to finding optimal dot patterns. We propose a visually meaningful scheme to train input-level (or tone-) dependent color-error filters. Our design approach employs a Neugebauer printer model and a color human visual system model that takes into account spatial considerations in color reproduction. The resulting halftones overcome several traditional error-diffusion artifacts and achieve significantly greater accuracy in color rendition.     

Direct fabrication of deep x-ray lithography masks by micromechanical milling

Micromechanical milling has been shown to be a rapid and direct method for fabricating masks for deep x-ray lithography with lateral absorber features down to 10 micrometers. Conventional x-ray mask fabrication requires complex processes and equipment, and a faster and simpler method using micromechanical milling was investigated for larger microstructures for mesoscale applications. Micromilled x-ray masks consisting of a layered architecture of gold and titanium films on graphite yielded exposures in PMMA with accuracy and repeatability suitable for prototype purposes. A method for compensating milling tool radial runout was adapted, and the average accuracy of mask absorber features was 0.65 micrometers, with an average standard deviation of 0.55 micrometers. The milling process leaves some absorber burrs, and the absorber wall is tapered, which introduces an additional process bias. Mask fabrication by micromilling is fast and, therefore, less costly than conventional mask fabrication processes.     

Effect of the NCO/OH ratio on the properties of Mesua Ferrea L. seed oil‐modified polyurethane resins

A series of polyurethane resins with varying NCO/OH ratios (0.8–2.0) has been synthesized from the monoglyceride of Mesua Ferrea L. seed oil, poly(ethylene glycol) (M_n, 200 g mol^?1) and 2,4‐toluene diisocyanate in the presence of dibutyl tin dilaurate as the catalyst. The effects of the NCO/OH ratios of the synthesized resins on the physical properties, such as hydroxy values, acid values, saponification values, iodine values, specific gravities and isocyanate values have been studied. The formation of the polyurethane resins was confirmed by viscosity measurements, and FTIR, UV and ¹H NMR spectroscopic studies. Performance characteristics, such as impact resistance, flexibility, gloss, hardness, adhesive strength and chemical resistance, of the cured resins were investigated as a function of the varying NCO/OH ratios, with an influence of these ratios being observed for most of the above properties. Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) demonstrated that the thermal stabilities of the cured resins increased with an increase in the NCO/OH ratios. The amounts of char residues at 550 °C were also found to be greater for higher NCO/OH ratios of the oil‐modified polyurethane resins. Copyright © 2005 Society of Chemical Industry     

Selective H2S detection by CuO functionalized ZnO nanotetrapods at room temperature

ZnO nanotetrapods have been synthesized by carbothermal method. The structure, phase, morphology of the synthesized sample were investigated by X-ray diffraction and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, Scanning electron microscopy, Transmission electron microscopy and Selected area electron diffraction. The gas-sensing characteristics of thick films of pure and CuO-functionalized ZnO Nanotetrapods have been compared. Pure ZnO nanotetrapod films were found to be sensitive to both H₂S and NO with similar sensitivities, at a temperature of 250–300 °C. It is demonstrated that functionalization of ZnO nanotetrapods with CuO, results in selectivity towards H₂S at a lower temperature of 50 °C.     

One-step approach to prepare magnetic iron oxide/reduced graphene oxide nanohybrid for efficient organic and inorganic pollutants removal

An environmentally friendly effective technique was demonstrated to prepare iron oxide/reduced graphene oxide nanohybrid (IO/RGO) at room temperature by using banana peel ash aqueous extract as the base source and Colocasia esculenta leaves aqueous extract as the reducing agent. The nanohybrid was characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, X-ray diffractometry, transmission electron microscopy, vibrating sample magnetometry, Raman spectroscopy and thermal studies. The results indicated the decoration of superparamagnetic IO nanoparticles on the surface of the RGO. Both organic and inorganic pollutants were effectively removed from the contaminated water (for Pb²⁺ and Cd²⁺ within 10 min, whereas for tetrabromobisphenol A within 30 min) by IO/RGO. The study revealed that adsorption followed pseudo-second order kinetics and isotherms were well described by the Langmuir model in all the cases. The thermodynamics parameters (ΔG°, ΔS° and ΔH°) were calculated from the temperature dependent isotherms and indicated that the adsorptions were endothermic and spontaneous.