Procedural outcome and follow-up results of balloon angioplasty versus new device interventions for treatment of true bifurcation stenoses

Strategies for dilatation of bifurcation stenoses have continued to evolve over the past several years. However, there is limited experience on the efficacy of various nonballoon interventional devices and their results in comparison with balloon angioplasty. We, therefore, analysed our data in 72 patients of coronary artery disease with true bifurcation stenoses with balloon angioplasty or new device interventions (NDI). All patients underwent dilatation of both the primary vessel and side branch ostial stenosis. Balloon angioplasty using double guidewire with sequential or simultaneous (kissing balloon) balloon inflation in the two vessels was performed in 42 patients. Thirty patients underwent NDI, using directional coronary atherectomy (DCA) in 12, rotablation in 6 and elective coronary stents in 12 patients. There were no significant differences in the baseline clinical and angiographic variables between patients in the two groups. While the preprocedural luminal diameter stenosis was similar, the residual stenosis was significantly less, both in the primary vessel and side branch, after NDI compared to balloon angioplasty. The procedure was successful in 96.6 percent patients treated with NDI and 83.3 percent with balloon angioplasty (p < 0.01) with relief of obstruction in both branches without any major complications. Freedom from subsequent coronary events in the form of angina, myocardial infarction, PTCA, bypass graft surgery of death was significantly more, both at 6 months (92% versus 65.6%, p < 0.001) and 12 months (81.8% versus 53.1%, p < 0.001) in the group of patients treated with NDI compared to balloon angioplasty. It is, therefore, concluded that NDI including DCA, rotablation and elective stenting are associated with higher rate of success, lesser complications and better event-free survival in comparison to balloon angioplasty for treatment of true bifurcation stenoses.     

Radiation induced carbon complexes in gallium arsenide

Gallium arsenide grown by the metallorganic chemical vapour deposition method and n-doped to various silicon concentrations was irradiated with reactor neutrons (1 MeV equivalent damage in silicon) in the fluence range 0 to 3 × 10¹⁵ cm⁻². Native defects, including carbon which is a residual impurity of the growth method, and those introduced by irradiation, were characterized by photoluminescence (PL) and deep level transient spectroscopy (DLTS). In some samples with fixed doping value, the PL intensity of all the transitions, including that to the carbon impurity increases at low fluence levels before decreasing at high fluence. At higher fluences, the transition to the carbon impurity goes through other maxima. The carbon PL intensity versus fluence curve depends on initial doping. DLTS results reveal the removal of a trap EL12 at low fluences, but the introduction of other traps at higher fluences. The defect introduction rates depend on fluence. We attribute the variation in the carbon PL intensity to an interaction between the defects introduced by the irradiation and the carbon impurity.     

Psychophysical estimation of speed discrimination. II. Aging effects

We studied the effects of aging on a speed discrimination task using a pair of first-order drifting luminance gratings. Two reference speeds of 2 and 8 deg/s were presented at stimulus durations of 500 ms and 1000 ms. The choice of stimulus parameters, etc., was determined in preliminary experiments and described in Part I. Thresholds were estimated using a two-alternative-forced-choice staircase methodology. Data were collected from 16 younger subjects (mean age 24 years) and 17 older subjects (mean age 71 years). Results showed that thresholds for speed discrimination were higher for the older age group. This was especially true at stimulus duration of 500 ms for both slower and faster speeds. This could be attributed to differences in temporal integration of speed with age. Visual acuity and contrast sensitivity were not statistically observed to mediate age differences in the speed discrimination thresholds. Gender differences were observed in the older age group, with older women having higher thresholds.     

Multicriterion optimal electric drive vehicle selection based on lifecycle emission and lifecycle cost

This research paper examines the optimal choice among conventional gasoline vehicles, hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs), plug‐in HEVs (PHEV), and full‐battery EVs taking into account the different characteristics of these vehicles, such as cost, emissions per mile, and vehicle miles to be traveled between refueling and acceleration time. The existing challenges for wide‐spread deployment of EVs are availability of charging infrastructure, higher cost, long time for charging, and lower travel millage compared with conventional vehicles. Statistical data are considered for determining the spatially varying average daily vehicle miles traveled (VMT) across the United States, which, together with charging behavior, can influence the optimal choice among EV with different travel ranges. Two alternative cases for charging are examined: (1) home‐only charging and (2) home plus work charging. The motivation of this work is to select the optimal EV among their types when lifecycle cost and lifecycle emission are considered. The optimization model seeks to minimize total lifecycle cost and emissions for each level of VMT per day. It is found that when lifecycle cost is the sole objective, HEV is usually the best choice, especially for higher VMT levels. When lifecycle greenhouse gas emission is the sole objective, PHEV1 (PHEV with 1 charging station) is the optimal solution over a wide range of VMTs. The outcome of this provides a roadmap for the selection of EVs based on their annual VMT to reduce both lifecycle emission and lifecycle cost.     

Surveillance of the quality of turmeric powders from city markets of India on the basis of curcumin content and the presence of extraneous colours

Curcumin, the principal curcuminoid of turmeric, is responsible for its yellow colour and serves as a measure of turmeric quality. The Prevention of Food Adulteration (PFA) Act of India allows only Curcuma longa L. for the production of turmeric powder and prohibits addition of any foreign matter/artificial colour, but it does not specify a minimum curcumin content. The present surveillance was undertaken to study the quality of loose versus branded turmeric powders vis-à-vis curcumin content and the presence of unwarranted extraneous colours from city markets in India using a newly developed two-dimensional high-performance thin-layer chromatography (2D-HPTLC) method. The results show that curcumin content in branded samples ranged from 2.2% to 3.7%, while non-branded samples had from 0.3% to 2.6%. Though none of the branded turmeric powders contained artificial colours, 17% of loose powders showed the presence of extraneous colour metanil yellow, in the range 1.0–8.5 mg g^?1, which may pose health threats. Low curcumin content in the analysed samples may be due to mixing of other curcuma species or their curcumin-depleted matrices and foreign starches as cheaper alternatives. This is supported by the fact that major Indian turmeric trade types are known to possess curcumin contents ranging from 2.1% to 8.6%, with an average of 4.8%. There is thus an urgent need to prescribe realistic curcumin limits for turmeric powder, otherwise there is no obligation on the part of traders to stick to any minimum levels and consumers will keep on getting this nutrient-depleted household spice.     

TiO2 nanoparticle embedded nitrogen doped electrospun helical carbon nanofiber-carbon nanotube hybrid anode for lithium-ion batteries

TiO₂ nanoparticles decorated nitrogen (N) doped helical carbon nanofiber (CNF)-carbon nanotube (CNT) hybrid material is prepared by low-cost electrospinning technique followed by hydrothermal method. Morphological investigations establish helical structure of CNFs with hierarchical growth of CNTs around CNFs. The hybrid material shows a high specific surface area of 295.17 m² g^?1 with nanoporous structure. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopic studies establish Ti–O–C/Ti–C bond mediated charge transfer channel between TiO₂ nanoparticles and carbon structures with the success of N doping in CNFs. The electrospun hybrid material delivered high reversible charge capacities of 316 mAh g^?1 (100th cycle) and 244 mAh g^?1 (100th cycle) at a current density of 75 mA g^?1 and 186 mA g^?1 respectively. The charge capacities obtained for different applied current densities are higher than the conventional graphitic microporous microbeads anode. Results indicate that the hybrid material reported here shows high performance compare to graphite for LIBs.