Group Decision Making by Using Incomplete Fuzzy Preference Relations Based on T‐Consistency and the Order Consistency

The existing group decision making techniques may not satisfy the order consistency for aggregation in some cases. The algorithm proposed in this paper overcomes the weaknesses of the existing techniques. The method determines the unknown preferences for group decision making in such a manner that the resulting matrix is T‐consistent and order consistent simultaneously.     

Photo‐induced Leishmania DNA degradation by silver‐doped zinc oxide nanoparticle: an in‐vitro approach

Recently, the authors reported newly synthesised polyethylene glycol (PEG)ylated silver (9%)‐doped zinc oxide nanoparticle (doped semiconductor nanoparticle (DSN)) which has high potency for killing Leishmania tropica by producing reactive oxygen species on exposure to sunlight. The current report is focused on Leishmania DNA interaction and damage caused by the DSN. Here, we showed that the damage to Leishmania DNA was indirect, as the DSN was unable to interact with the DNA in intact Leishmania cell, indicating the incapability of PEGylated DSN to cross the nucleus barrier. The DNA damage was the result of high production of singlet oxygen on exposure to sunlight. The DNA damage was successfully prevented by singlet oxygen scavenger (sodium azide) confirming involvement of the highly energetic singlet oxygen in the DNA degradation process.Inspec keywords: silver, zinc compounds, nanoparticles, nanomedicine, DNA, microorganisms, cellular biophysics, biomedical engineeringOther keywords: photo‐induced Leishmania DNA degradation, PEGylated silver‐doped zinc oxide nanoparticle, Leishmania tropica, reactive oxygen species, sunlight, Leishmania DNA interaction, Leishmania cell, DNA damage, singlet oxygen scavenger, sodium azide, DNA degradation process, ZnO:Ag     

Continuous microwave assisted flow synthesis and characterization of calcium deficient hydroxyapatite nanorods

Synthetic calcium deficient hydroxyapatite (CDHA) nanorods (<100?nm) were rapidly prepared with the help of a new continuous microwave assisted flow synthesis (CMFS) reactor in 5?min only from aqueous solution of calcium hydroxide and orthophosphoric acid at pH 8.5. The effect of various reaction parameters like, pH, concentration, temperature, residence time, degree of crystallinity and particle surface area were studied in detail. The phase purity, particle size and morphology of the powder samples were characterised by techniques such as X-ray diffraction analysis, transmission electron microscopy, scanning electron microscopy and FTIR and Raman spectroscopy. With the help of X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, the chemical analysis was completed. Measurements were taken into account to estimate the particle size following the dynamic light scattering. The results showed that the employed synthesis procedure offered an efficient and economical route to achieve high quality nano-sized products with suitable size and low level of impurities.     

Automated diagnosis system for age‐related macular degeneration using hybrid features set from fundus images

Impairment to macula can cause loss of central vision. There are various macular disorders that can affect macular region and if not treated at an early stage can cause irreversible central vision loss. Age‐related macular degeneration (AMD) disorder is one of the most threading macular disorder. Bright lesion, drusens presence in macular region is known as the hallmark of AMD disorder. This bright lesion differentiation from other bright lesion like exudates is important for accurate diagnosis of AMD. Focus of this article is automated diagnosis of affected macular region by applying a hybrid features set containing textural, color, and structural/shape features for more accurate detection of AMD at an early stage using fundus images. These features also help to distinguish drusens from exudates. The proposed algorithm at first stage, detect macular region from input fundus image and then perform features extraction based on textural pattern, edge, and structural properties of macular region to classify abnormal macula from normal macula. For classification, we have used support vector machine (SVM), K‐nearest neighbor and neural networks but SVM classifier achieves high accuracy. The proposed algorithm is tested on publicly available STARE and locally available AFIO datasets. Attained sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy of our proposed system are 97.5%, 95% and 95.45%, respectively, when applied on STARE dataset. When we have applied our proposed system on AFIO dataset, we have attained sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy of 93.3%, 92% and 92.34%, respectively.     

Formation of Amorphous Telmisartan Polymeric Microparticles for Improvement of Physicochemical Characteristics

In order to improve solubility and dissolution rate of poorly aqueous soluble telmisartan, its amorphous polymeric microparticles with PVP K30 were prepared with or without aid of adsorbent (Aerosil200/Sylysia350) using spray-drying technique. The pure drug and formulations were evaluated for their morphology, particle size, aqueous solubility, and in vitro drug release. Solid state characterization of pure drug and microparticles was carried out by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), x-ray powder diffraction (XRPD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). FTIR indicated hydrogen bonding interaction with an absence of any other chemical interaction between drug and excipient. The results of DSC and XRPD revealed transformation of crystalline drug to amorphous form which was confirmed by SEM. Significant solubility and dissolution enhancement was observed for all polymeric microparticles over pure drug and spray-dried pure drug. This enhancement was attributed to the wetting effect of polymers, altered surface morphology with micronization and decreased crystallinity of drug particles.     

Efficacy of Tissue Plasminogen Activator for Thrombolysis in Central Venous Dialysis Catheters

Background:  Low blood flow is a frequent complication of central‐vein (CV) dialysis catheters. Since thrombotic occlusion accounts for many cases of reduced blood flow, it is common practice to administer empiric thrombolytic therapy in an attempt to restore catheter patency and improve function.
Methods:  We prepared tissue plasminogen activator (tPA) from 50 mg lyophilized powder, which was diluted (1 mg/mL) in sterile water for injection. A volume of 1 mL was frozen in 3 cc polystyrene syringes at −20 °C and thawed at room temperature when needed. tPA was then administered into the arterial and venous ports of the central venous catheter in a volume equal to the manufacturer's stated luminal volume and was allowed to dwell for 30 minutes.
Results:  tPA was administered 62 times in 25 patients with 30 catheters (11 Tesio, 17 PermCath, 2 Shiley) for treatment of low blood flow (pump speed < 250 mL/min). Complete restoration of patency was achieved in 23 episodes (mean blood flow pre‐tPA 130 mL/min; post‐tPA 320 mL/min); partial restoration of patency was achieved in 20 episodes (mean blood flow pre‐tPA 69 mL/min; post‐tPA 233 mL/min). tPA was just as likely to be effective in patients with complete catheter occlusion (i.e., no blood flow) as it was when some initial blood flow was present. Nineteen episodes failed to respond to tPA. These episodes occurred in 13 catheters, 12 of which ultimately underwent radiologic evaluation; an extraluminal cause for low blood flow was found in all 12 catheters (6 malpositioned, 6 fibrin sheaths).
Conclusions:  tPA at a dose of 1 mg/mL is effective for restoring patency in CV dialysis catheters. Failure to respond to tPA strongly suggests an extraluminal cause of catheter malfunction.     

Field emission of MWCNTs/PANi nanocomposites prepared by ex‐situ and in‐situ polymerization methods

The present work describes the field‐emission properties of multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) coated with conducting polymer polyaniline (PANi). MWCNTs/PANi nanocomposites have been prepared by ex‐ situ polymerization methods and inex‐ situ chemical polymerization and are analyzed by SEM and Raman spectroscopy. It is fairly clear from SEM images that PANi is coated on the surface of MWCNT. SEM image of PANi powder also shows that the powder obtained is PANi nanofibers. It is also observed from SEM images that the shell diameter of MWCNTs depends on PANi content in thenanocomposites. The average outer diameter of MWCNTs increases from 7–15 to 50–80 nm upon PANi coating. Field‐emission study shows that although there is decrease in the value of turnex‐on field E_to and increase in the value field enhancement factor β of the nanocomposites as we go from direct solid‐state mixing method to inex‐ situ chemical polymerization method, the parameters obtained by inex‐ situ polymerization chemical method shows superior field emission. The turn‐on field of the nanocomposites are between 2.5 and 4.5 V/μm and the field enhancement factors are significantly high, between 1.2 × 10³ and 9.2 × 10³ while. PANi nanofibers does not show any field emission. POLYM. COMPOS. 34:1298–1305, 2013. © 2013 Society of Plastics Engineers     

Different properties of aluminum doped zinc oxide nanostructured thin films prepared by radio frequency magnetron sputtering

Aluminium doped zinc oxide (AZO) nanostructured thin films are prepared by radio frequency magnetron sputtering on glass substrate using specifically designed ZnO target containing different amount of Al₂O₃ powder as the Al doping source. The optical properties of the aluminium doped zinc oxide films are investigated. The topography of the deposited films were investigated by Atomic Force Microscopy. Variation of the refractive index by annealing temperature are considered and it is seen that the refractive index increases by increasing the annealing temperature.