Purification and characterization of glucoamylase produced by Aspergillus niger in solid state fermentation

Electrocardiographic changes, left ventricular wall motion abnormalities, myocardial ischemia, myocytolysis and arrhythmias have been well documented in patients with cerebral bleed. These complications may be related to stimulation of autonomic nervous system and central nervous system. We report a case of a 38-year-old back woman without previous heart disease, taken to emergency unit with headache and subarachnoid Haemorrhage. One day after, she complained of retroesternal pain. An electrocardiographic tracing showed significant and diffuse ST-T wave abnormalities. The patient remained stable with no neurologic or cardiac deficits. She was treated with bed rest, nimodipine, isossorbide propranolol and is symptomless six months of follow-up.     

Miscibility of polymethylmethacrylate and polyethyleneglycol blends in tetrahydrofuran

The miscibility of polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) and polyethyleneglycol (PEG) blends in tetrahydrofuran (THF) has been investigated by viscosity, density, refractive index, and ultrasonic velocity studies. Various interaction parameters such as polymer–solvent and blend–solvent interaction parameters and heat of mixing have been calculated using the viscosity, density, and ultrasonic velocity data. The results indicated the existence of positive interactions in the blend polymer solutions and that they are miscible in THF in the entire composition range. The study also revealed that variation in the temperature does not affect the miscibility of PMMA and PEG blends in THF significantly. The presence of hydrogen bonding in the blends in the solid state has also been indicated by FTIR studies. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2009     

High Performance Reversible Direct Data Synthesizer for Radio Frequency Applications

Mobile Networks and Applications - Design of Reversible logic gate enabled Reconfigurable Direct digital synthesizer is evaluated here. The need for Direct Digital Synthesizers (DDS) inherently...     

Copolymer/Clay Nanocomposites for Biomedical Applications

Nanoclays still hold a great strength in biomedical nanotechnology applications due to their exceptional properties despite the development of several new nanostructured materials. This article reviews the recent advances in copolymer/clay nanocomposites with a focus on health care applications. In general, the structure of clay comprises aluminosilicate layers separated by a few nanometers. Recently, nanoclay‐incorporated copolymers have attracted the interest of both researchers and industry due to their phenomenal properties such as barrier function, stiffness, thermal/flame resistance, superhydrophobicity, biocompatibility, stimuli responsiveness, sustained drug release, resistance to hydrolysis, outstanding dynamic mechanical properties including resilience and low temperature flexibility, excellent hydrolytic stability, and antimicrobial properties. Surface modification of nanoclays provides additional properties due to improved adhesion between the polymer matrix and the nanoclay, high surface free energy, a high degree of intercalation, or exfoliated morphology. The architecture of the copolymer/clay nanocomposites has great impact on biomedical applications, too, by providing various cues especially in drug delivery systems and regenerative medicine.     

A Novel Location Pinpointed Anti-Jammer with Knowledged Estimated Localizer for secured Data Transmission in Mobile Wireless Sensor Network

Wireless Personal Communications - Nowadays mobile/cellular phones are considered as the most common and the key medium for establishing communication amid the sensor nodes in Wireless Sensor...     

Prediction of Effluent Quality from Retention Ponds and Constructed Wetlands for Managing Bacterial Stressors in Storm-Water Runoff

Microbial indicator organisms make up the greatest number of reported receiving water impairments, resulting in many questions on the fate of indicator bacteria passing through storm-water best management practices (BMPs). Storm-water BMPs are often considered effective tools to mitigate the effects of urbanization on receiving waters. The USEPA’s, Office of Research and Development investigated the processes occurring within two commonly used BMPs, constructed wetlands and retention ponds. This research focused on creating pilot-scale systems to determine the environmental mechanisms that affect effluent indicator bacteria concentrations and to provide better information for the prediction of bacterial indicators for models when developing and meeting total maximum daily loads. Research results indicate water temperature, light, and a combination of other environmental factors influence bacteria indicator concentrations. Results from this research suggest that both constructed wetlands and retention ponds lower microbial concentrations in urban storm-water runoff. Bacteria inactivation generally followed the first-order, KC* model, which includes irreducible or background concentrations of a stressor. Sediment analyses indicate bacteria accumulated in sediments which may maintain background concentrations could be reintroduced into the effluent of these BMPs by turbulent flow causing resuspension or by accumulation through lack of maintenance. First-order models that do not consider irreducible concentrations may underestimate actual bacterial concentrations. The relationship between turbidity and bacteria suggests storm-water management practices that substantially reduce turbidity may also provide the greatest improvement in reducing concentrations of bacteria in storm-water runoff.     

Role of Stream Restoration on Improving Benthic Macroinvertebrates and In-Stream Water Quality in an Urban Watershed: Case Study

Many stream restoration projects do not include a requirement for long-term monitoring after the project has been completed, resulting in a lack of information about the success or failure of certain restoration techniques. The National Risk Management Research Laboratory, part of the U.S. EPA Office of Research and Development, evaluated the effectiveness of stream bank and channel restoration as a means of improving in-stream water quality and biological habitat in Accotink Creek, Fairfax City, Va., using discrete sampling and continuous monitoring techniques before and after restoration. This project monitored the effects of a 549 m (1,800 linear-ft) restoration of degraded stream channel in the North Fork of Accotink Creek. Restoration, which was intended to restore the stream channel to a stable condition, thereby reducing stream bank erosion and sediment loads in the stream, included installation of native plant materials along the stream and bioengineering structures to stabilize the stream channel and bank. Results of sampling and monitoring for 2 years after restoration indicated a slight improvement in biological quality for macroinvertebrate indices such as Virginia Stream Condition Index, Hilsenhoff Biotic Index, and Ephemeroptera, Plecoptera, Trichoptera taxa; the differences were statistically significant at 90% level of confidence with the power of greater than 0.8. However, indices were all below the impairment level, indicating poor water quality conditions. No statistically significant differences in chemical constituents and bacteriological indicator organisms were found before and after restoration as well as upstream and downstream of the restoration. The results indicated that stream restoration alone had little effect in improving the conditions of in-stream water quality and biological habitat, though it has lessened further degradation of stream banks in critical areas where the properties were at risk. Control of storm-water flows by placing best management practices in the watershed might reduce and delay discharge to the stream and may ultimately improve habitat and water quality conditions.     

Flame‐retardant fabric systems based on electrospun polyamide/boric acid nanocomposite fibers

To examine the feasibility of developing flame‐retardant‐textile coated fabric systems with electrospun polyamide/boric acid nanocomposites, fiber webs coated on cotton substrates were developed to impart‐fire retardant properties. The morphology of the polyamide/boric acid nanocomposite fibers was examined with scanning electron microscopy. The flame‐retardant properties of coated fabric systems with different nanoparticle contents were assessed. The flame retardancy of the boric acid coated fabric systems was evaluated quantitatively with a flammability test apparatus fabricated on the basis of Consumer Product Safety Commission 16 Code of Federal Regulations part 1610 standard and also by thermogravimetric analysis. The 0.05 wt % boric acid nanocomposite fiber web coated on pure cotton fabric exhibited an increment in flame‐spreading time of greater than 80%, and this indicated excellent fire protection. Also, the coated fabric systems with 0.05% boric acid nanocomposite fiber webs exhibited a distinct shift in the peak value in the thermal degradation profile and a 75% increase in char formation in the thermooxidative degradation profile, as indicated by the results of thermogravimetric analysis. The results show the feasibility of successfully imparting flame‐retardant properties to cotton fabrics through the electrospinning of the polymer material with boric acid nanoparticles. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2012     

Relevance of thermodynamic and kinetic parameters of chemical vapor deposition precursors

We have studied various metallorganic and organometallic compounds by simultaneous nonisothermal thermogravimetric and differential thermogravimetric analyses to confirm their volatility and thermal stability. The equilibrium vapor pressures of the metallorganic and organometallic compounds were determined by horizontal dual arm single furnace thermoanalyzer as transpiration apparatus. Antoine coefficients were calculated from the temperature dependence equilibrium vapor pressure data. The model-fitting solid-state kinetic analyses of Al(acac)3, (acac = acetylacetonato), Cr(CO)6, Fe(Cp)2, (Cp-cyclopentadienyl), Ga(acac)3, Mn(tmhd)3, and Y(tmhd)3 (tmhd = 2,2,6,6,-tetramethyl-3,5-heptanedionato) revealed that the processes follow diffusion controlled, contracting area and zero order model sublimation or evaporation kinetics. The activation energy for the sublimation/evaporation processes were calculated by model-free kinetic methods. Thin films of nickel and lanthanum-strontium-manganite (LSM) are grown on silicon substrate at 573 K using selected metallorganic complexes of Ni[(acac)2en], La(tmhd)3, Sr(tmhd)2 and Mn(tmhd)3 as precursors by plasma assisted liquid injection chemical vapor deposition (PA-LICVD). The deposited films were characterized by scanning electron microscopy and energy dispersive X-ray analysis for their composition and morphology.