In-house contamination of potable water in urban slum of Kolkata, India: a possible transmission route of diarrhea

We have investigated and determined the potentiality of different water sources, both for drinking and domestic purposes, in diarrheal disease transmission in diarrhea endemic foci of urban slums in Kolkata, India in a one and half year prospective study. Out of 517 water samples, collected from different sources, stored water (washing) showed higher prevalence of fecal coliforms (58%) (p < 0.0001) in comparison with stored (drinking) samples (28%) and tap/tubewell water (8%) respectively. Among different sources, stored water (washing) samples had the highest non-permissible range of physico-chemical parameters. Fecal coliform levels in household water containers (washing) were comparatively high and almost 2/3 of these samples failed to reach the satisfactory level of residual chlorine. Interestingly, 7% stored water (washing) samples were found to be harboring Vibrio cholerae Improper usage of stored water and unsafe/poor sanitation practices such as hand washing etc. are highlighted as contributory factors for sustained diarrheal episodes. Vulnerability of stored water for domestic usage, a hitherto unexplored source, at domiciliary level in an urban slum where enteric infections are endemic, is reported for the first time. This attempt highlights the impact of quality of stored water at domiciliary level for fecal-oral contamination vis-à-vis disease transmission.     

Synchrophasor communication

Synchronized phasor measurements provide the basis for fine-grained wide area power quality monitoring in electric grids. Time-synchronized phasor measurement units (PMUs) are deployed at different locations in the grid and report 10–60 measurements/second to energy management systems or other applications. For control applications it is crucial to receive measurement data as soon as possible after a state change in order to trigger corrective actions in time to prevent incidents in the grid. In this paper we analyze characteristics of synchrophasor M2M communication for different network technologies, including VDSL, HSPA and LTE networks. We briefly review synchrophasor communication approaches and real-time demands. We then emulate PMU traffic and perform measurements on different networks. We show how the underlying technology influences one-way delay patterns for synchrophasor communication, which has direct implication on the achievable real-time properties.     

Structural and electrical properties of donor-doped NBT system synthesized by microwave-assisted solid-state reaction route

Journal of Materials Science: Materials in Electronics - A-site donor-doped NBT systems (Na0.5Bi0.5)1-xMxTi(1-x/4)O3 (M?=?La and Sm) were synthesized by microwave-assisted solid-state...     

Hormone anchored metal complexes. 1. Synthesis, structure, spectroscopy and in vitro antitumor activity of testosterone acetate thiosemicarbazone and its metal complexes

Testosterone acetate thiosemicarbazone (TATSC, 17-beta-hydroxyandrost-4-one acetate thiosemicarbazone) was synthesized and characterized by single crystal X-ray structure determination. The copper and platinum complexes of this steroid derivative were synthesized and characterized by spectroscopy and electrochemiatry. The in vitro activity of these compounds against human breast cancer cell line MCF-7 was tested. The highest activity was found for the [Pt(TATSC)Cl(1)] followed by [Cu(TATSC)Cl(2)] and the ligand in compariosn with cisplatin.     

Understanding the Role of Grain Boundaries on Charge-Carrier and Ion Transport in Cs2AgBiBr6 Thin Films

Halide double perovskites have gained significant attention, owing to their composition of low-toxicity elements, stability in air, and recent demonstrations of long charge-carrier lifetimes that can exceed 1 µs. In particular, Cs₂AgBiBr₆ is the subject of many investigations in photovoltaic devices. However, the efficiencies of solar cells based on this double perovskite are still far from the theoretical efficiency limit of the material. Here, the role of grain size on the optoelectronic properties of Cs₂AgBiBr₆ thin films is investigated. It is shown through cathodoluminescence measurements that grain boundaries are the dominant nonradiative recombination sites. It also demonstrates through field-effect transistor and temperature-dependent transient current measurements that grain boundaries act as the main channels for ion transport. Interestingly, a positive correlation between carrier mobility and temperature is found, which resembles the hopping mechanism often seen in organic semiconductors. These findings explain the discrepancy between the long diffusion lengths >1 µm found in Cs₂AgBiBr₆ single crystals versus the limited performance achieved in their thin film counterparts. This work shows that mitigating the impact of grain boundaries will be critical for these double perovskite thin films to reach the performance achievable based on their intrinsic single-crystal properties.     

Design Optimization of EDFA for 16 × 10 Gbps Data Rate DWDM System Using Different Pumping Configurations

Wireless Personal Communications - In this paper, the erbium doped fiber amplifier (EDFA) is used as a booster and a pre amplifier in the dense wavelength division multiplexing system. We optimize...     

Synthesis and Characterization of Coordinatively Unsaturated Copper (II) Complexes of 1,3-Bis(2'-Pyridyl)-1,2-Diaza-2-Butene and Their Antityrosinase Activity

The coordinatively unsaturated copper (II) complexes of 1,3-bis(2'-pyridyl)-1,2-diaza-2- butene with different ancillary anions were synthesized which can bind to copper centers of tyrosinase enzyme. The compounds were found to exhibit inhibitory activities against mushroom tyrosinase and the nature and extent of inhibition is modulated according to the type of ancillary anions.     

A comparative study on the effect of packaging material and storage environment on shelf life of fresh bell-pepper

The effect of packaging materials [low density polyethylene (LDPE), polypropylene (PP)] and storage environment [modified atmospheric packaging (MAP)] on shelf life enhancement of bell pepper in terms of quality attributes such as physiological weight loss, ascorbic acid, texture, surface colour and subjective quality analysis have been studied at ambient and refrigerated condition. Different packaging techniques used for the experiment were MAP with LDPE, MAP with PP, MAP in perforated LDPE films, MAP in perforated PP films, shrink packaging with bi-axially oriented PP (BOPP) film and vacuum packaging with PP film. The in-pack bell pepper created a suitable headspace environment with low O₂ and high CO₂ concentrations, which resulted in a better retention of freshness of the vegetables and its marketability. Shrink packaging with BOPP film could not yield better result under ambient storage because of high water vapor transmission rate of the film and consequently loss of turgidity of the vegetables. Among different packaging techniques and storage conditions, MAP with PP film in refrigerated condition was found to be the best followed by vacuum pack with PP film in refrigerated condition and could be used to store for 20 days for bell pepper with maintenance of texture, colour, ascorbic acid and marketability. It is also inferred that under ambient conditions, bell pepper could be stored for 4 days using ventilated LDPE and PP as MAP storage. Further studies are needed to evaluate the sensory aspects, as well as to microbiological evaluation to characterize the fresh bell pepper during storage.     

Effect of roasting parameters on soy‐butter product quality

Effect of roasting temperature and time on the hardness, moisture content and colour of whole‐kernel of soybean was studied using response surface method (RSM). Colour of reference soy‐butter (RSB) was used to indicate the time and temperature suitable for roasting soybean kernels to prepare soy‐butter (SB). Temperature (160 °C) and time (90 min) for roasting were identified, soybean kernels were roasted, subsequently made into SB and compared with RSB on the basis of nutrient content, particle size, colour and rheology. SB contained 45 g% protein and 34 g% fat on dry matter basis. There was a significant difference (P < 0.05) between RSB and SB on the basis of L* values, D_3,2 and D_4,3. Rheology showed that SB samples behaved like a viscoelastic material. The mean apparent viscosity was significantly different (P < 0.0001) between SB (7.18 Pa.s) and RSB (4.72 Pa.s) which may be due to the significant difference in the particle size distribution (PSD). The Herschel‐Bulkley model could successfully explain the rheological behaviour of SB.     

Synthesis, Spectroscopy and Electrochemistry of Fe(II) and Fe(III) Quinonemonooxime Complexes and Their DNA Cleaving Activities

Iron(II) and iron(III) complexes of 3,5-di-tert-butyl-o-benzoquinonemonooxime were synthesized and characterized by spectroscopic and electrochemical studies. Their ability to cleave DNA has been investigated under aerobic conditions at room temperature and in the presence and absence of H(2) O(2). The plasmid DNA pBR322 was effectively cleaved by these complexes in a concentration dependant manner.