A novel flexible radio frequency (RF) sensor is designed to facilitate the accurate testing of various samples used in the biomedical industry at the industrial, scientific and medical (ISM) frequency band. The proposed RF biosensor comprises a liquid channel-loaded interdigitated capacitor, which is integrated on a coplanar waveguide structure. The prototype of the sensor is fabricated on a 0.13 mm thin biodegradable polyethylene terephthalate polyester film to perform the testing of various bio-graded samples by recording the corresponding resonant frequency. It is observed that there is a noticeable change between the measured resonant frequencies of these samples, which primarily occurs due to the difference in their dielectric properties. The designed sensor was used to monitor and investigate the quality of glycerol, which is the most commonly used raw ingredient in the biomedical and food industry. The determination of glucose concentration in base fluids is considered to ease the challenges faced by doctors and biochemists regarding the monitoring of glucose concentration. It is found that the proposed sensor can quantify the glycerol purity up to the minimum specified adulteration level of 2 and 1% corresponding to toxic contaminants diethylene glycol and ethylene glycol, respectively, and the glucose concentration of 0.5 mg/ml.

The poultry industry is mainly scared by affected by infections due to microorganisms which reduce the growth rate and cause economic losses. Currently, vaccines and antibiotics are utilised to combat these infectious microorganisms, but irresponsible use of antibiotics may pose health risks to consumers, and there is a need for drug-free alternatives. Nanotechnology could reduce such risks and can improve the wholesomeness of poultry meat. This review discusses the current status of nanotechnology as it relates to improving poultry health by using various nano-particles (NPs). Silver-NPs at a dose rate of 900 ppm have been used in poultry to improve their growth performance in terms of body weight, feed intake and feed conversion ratio. NPs are thought to boost immunity in birds against numerous diseases. Gold-NPs improved the growth performance of poultry birds as well as detecting avian influenza virus with a detection limit of 2.2 pg/ml. Similarly, Copper-loaded chitosan-NPs supplementation at dose rate of 100 mg/kg feed improved growth performance, immunity, protein synthesis and caecal microbiota in broilers. Zinc oxide-NPs improved growth performance and showed anti-oxidative properties in broilers at the dose rate of 20 mg/kg. While, montmorillonite nano-composites at a level of 3 g/kg feed decreased the toxicity of aflatoxins in poultry birds. In conclusion, nanotechnology has the potential to reduce microbial load without resulting drug residues in poultry products, thus improving performance and immune status of poultry birds.

Mixing of phosphate fertilizer with farmyard manure (FYM) is a simple technique for optimizing phosphorus (P) availability and then improving the productivity of wheat (Triticum aestivum) grown in alkaline calcareous soils. Diammonium phosphate (DAP) and phosphoric acid (PA) were applied to soil at 36 mg P kg−1, either as sole or after amending 1-g P fertilizer with 2-g FYM (1:2, w/w basis). After 45-day incubation, concentration of P ions in the soil solution (Cp) and exchangeable P present in soil solid (E-value) were determined to evaluate the amount of total plant-available pool. The FYM-amended fertilizers, i.e., PA+FYM and DAP+FYM, showed higher E-values, i.e., 114 and 97 mg kg−1 soil, respectively. Similarly, PA+FYM exhibited the highest proportion of P derived from fertilizer (Pdff = 51.5%) and induced the highest P uptake by wheat seedlings (L-value = 72.1 mg kg−1). Consequently, PA+FYM and DAP+FYM treatments caused higher grain yield and P-use efficiency. The regression analysis revealed strong and positive correlation between L-value and grain yield (r = 0.86), biomass production (r = 0.84) and P-use efficiency (r = 0.87) by wheat crop. Results suggested that FYM-amended inorganic P fertilizer can be a promising technique to optimize supply of P from soil, improve efficiency of inorganic P fertilizers, and improve wheat yield in alkaline calcareous soils.

Laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy has been exploited to investigate the laser-produced lead plasma with and without external magnetic field. Plasma on the lead surface was generated by focusing a beam of a Nd:YAG laser (532 nm). An external magnetic field was applied across the laser-produced plasma; its value was varied from 0.3 to 0.7 T and the time-integrated spectra were captured at different time delays. Maximum enhancement in the neutral and ionic line intensities have been observed at 130 mJ laser energy. The neutral line of Pb at 368.34 nm reveals an enhancement factor of nearly 1.3, 1.6, and 2.3 at 0.3, 0.5, and 0.7 T, whereas the Pb ionic line at 424.49 nm shows enhancement factor of approximately 2.8 and 4.2 at 0.3 and 0.7 T. The magnetic field effects on various plasma parameters such as plasma temperature, electron number density, and emission line intensities have also been investigated. The plasma parameter “β” is found to be <1 in all the experimental conditions which signifies that the enhancement in the signal intensity is due to the plasma confinement. The increase in the emission signal intensity, number density as well as plasma temperature is observed with increasing laser energy and magnetic field. The spatial and temporal behavior reveals that the plasma temperature and electron number density decrease slowly in the applied magnetic field due to the deceleration of the plasma plume. The optimized conditions for the maximum plasma confinement and the emission intensity enhancement are observed at 130 mJ laser energy at 0.7 T magnetic field.

In this paper, a single-feed dual-frequency dual-linearly-polarized dielectric resonator antenna is proposed which finds application in two- way internet satellite system and modern radar system. In order to achieve dual linear polarization at distinct frequencies, two rectangular dielectric resonators of same dimensions are excited in ${\rm TE}^{x}_{\delta 11}$ and ${\rm TE}^{y}_{1\delta 1}$ modes by a narrow longitudinal and transverse slot, respectively, etched on the top wall of the substrate integrated waveguide. The −10 dB impedance bandwidth of the proposed antenna is 6.76% for both the frequency bands. The antenna radiates along the broadside direction and the gain of the antenna varies from 5.37 to 6.24 dBi and 5.62–7.96 dBi across 8.14–8.71 GHz and 10.29–11.01 GHz, respectively.

Pakistan is prone to floods. In 2010, floods in North-Western Pakistan caused devastation in wide areas. Electro-medical equipment is very expensive and without proper equipment adequate surgery is not possible. We retrospectively analyzed how expensive electro-medical equipment got damaged during floods of 2010 at a district-level hospital in North-Western Pakistan and how we could have saved this equipment or reduced the damage to the minimum. The article provides the lessons learned and recommendations aimed to prevent or minimize damage to the valuable and expensive equipment in the areas prone to floods. (Disaster Med Public Health Preparedness. 2018;12:803-805)

Synthesis of Ni and Zn substituted nano-greigite, Fe3S4, is achieved from single source diethyldithiocarbamato precursor compounds, producing particles typically 50–100 nm in diameter with plate-like pseudohexagonal morphologies. Up to 12 wt.% Ni is incorporated into the greigite structure, and there is evidence that Zn is also incorporated but Co is not substituted into the lattice. The Fe L 3 X-ray absorption spectra for these materials have a narrow single peak at 707.7 eV and the resulting main X-ray magnetic circular dichroism (XMCD) has the same sign at 708.75 eV. All XMCD spectra also have a broad positive feature at 711 eV, a characteristic of covalent mixing. The greigite XMCD spectra contrast with the three clearly defined XMCD site specific peaks found in the ferrite spinel, magnetite. The Fe L 2,3X-ray absorption spectra and XMCD spectra of the greigite reflect and reveal the high conductivity of greigite and the very strong covalency of the Fe–S bonding. The electron hopping between Fe3+ and Fe2+ on octahedral sites results in an intermediate oxidation state of the Fe in the Oh site of Fe2.5+ producing an effective formula of [Fe3+ ↑]A-site[2Fe2.5+ ↓]B-siteS4 2–]. The Ni L 2,3 X-ray absorption spectra and XMCD reveal substitution on the Oh site with a strongly covalent character and an oxidation state <Ni1.5+ in a representative formula [Fe3+ ↑]A[[(2 – x)Fe2.5+ ↓][Nix 1.5+]]BS4 2–.

The emergence of microbial challenges in commercial poultry farming causes significant economic losses. Vaccination is effective in preventing diseases of single aetiology while antibiotics have an advantage over vaccination in controlling diseases of multiple aetiologies. As the occurrence of antibiotic resistance is a serious problem, there is increased pressure on producers to reduce antibiotic use in poultry production. Therefore, it is essential to use alternative substances to cope with microbial challenges in commercial poultry farming. This review will focus on the role of β-glucans originating from yeast cell wall (YCW) as a growth promoter and antibiotic alternative. β-glucans have the ability to modulate the intestinal morphology by increasing the number of goblet cells, mucin expression and cells expressing secretory IgA (sIgA) with increased sIgA in the intestinal lumen and decreased bacterial translocation to different organs. β-glucans also increase the gene expression of tight junction (TJ) proteins which maintain the integrity of the intestinal wall in broiler chickens. However, further studies are required to optimise the dosage and source of β-glucans to determine effects on growth performance and mechanisms against enteric pathogens.

We report ultrastructural features and transmission electron tomography of the dhub lizard (Uromastyx aegyptia) cornea and its adaptation to hot and dry environments. Six corneas of dhub lizards were fixed in 2.5% glutaraldehyde and processed for electron microscopy and tomography. The ultrathin sections were observed with a JEOL 1400 transmission electron microscope. The cornea of the dhub lizard is very thin (~28–30 µm). The epithelium constitutes ~14% of the cornea, whereas the stroma constitutes 80% of the cornea. The middle stromal lamellae are significantly thicker than anterior and posterior stromal lamellae. Collagen fibril (CF) diameters in the anterior stroma are variable in size (25–75 nm). Proteoglycans (PGs) are very large in the middle and posterior stroma, whereas they are small in the anterior stroma. Three-dimensional electron tomography was carried out to understand the structure and arrangement of the PG and CFs. The presence of large PGs in the posterior and middle stroma might help the animal retain a large amount of water to protect it from dryness. The dhub corneal structure is equipped to adapt to the dry and hot desert environment.

The poultry industry is affected by economically important problems such as Newcastle disease (ND). Newcastle disease virus (NDV) belongs to the Paramyxoviridae family and manifests as different strains; lentogenic, mesogenic and velogenic. ND affects the quality of eggs and impairs growth performance of birds. Various efforts have been made to control economic losses due to this disease, including using live and killed vaccines, which do not confer 100% immunity in all cases. Due to mutations within viral strains, NDV can become resistant and difficult to control, and there is a need to search for alternative measures. Medicinal plants are considered as a complementary means to control this virus, especially in developing countries, because they have been implicated in treatments for a variety of infectious and non-infectious diseases. Alkaloids, flavonoids, saponins and tannins found in plants have been regarded as novel antiviral agents. The following paper encompasses the studies related to plants having in vitro antiviral activity against ND such as Momordica balamina, Adansonia digitata, Artemisia annua, Azadirachta indica, Psidium guajava, Moringa oleifera and plants having good in vivo antiviral activity such as Aloe secundiflora, Cucumis metuliferus and Anthocleista nobilis as well. It discusses plants with the potential to improve the immunity of infected birds, such as Mangrove halophytes, Nigella sativa, Polysavone, Melissa officinalis, Momordica cochinchinensis, Echinacea purpurea, Withania somnifera and Aspargus Racemosus.

In previous work by Coates, Galkin and the authors, the notion of mutation between lattice polytopes was introduced. Such mutations give rise to a deformation between the corresponding toric varieties. In this paper we study one-step mutations that correspond to deformations between weighted projective planes, giving a complete characterization of such mutations in terms of T-singularities. We also show that the weights involved satisfy Diophantine equations, generalizing results of Hacking and Prokhorov.

We report the ultrastructure and 3D transmission electron tomography of collagen fibrils (CFs), proteoglycans (PGs), and microfibrils within the CF of corneas of patients with macular corneal dystrophy (MCD). Three normal corneas and three MCD corneas from three Saudi patients (aged 25, 31, and 49 years, respectively) were used for this study. The corneas were processed for light and electron microscopy studies. 3D images were composed from a set of 120 ultrastructural images using the program “Composer” and visualized using the program “Visuliser Kai”. 3D image analysis of MCD cornea showed a clear organization of PGs around the CF at very high magnification and degeneration of the microfibrils within the CF. Within the MCD cornea, the PG area in the anterior stroma was significantly larger than in the middle and posterior stroma. The PG area in the MCD cornea was significantly larger compared with the PG area in the normal cornea. The CF diameter and inter-fibrillar spacing of the MCD cornea were significantly smaller compared with those of the normal cornea. Ultrastructural 3D imaging showed that the production of unsulfated keratin sulfate (KS) may lead to the degeneration of micro-CFs within the CFs. The effect of the unsulfated KS was higher in the anterior stroma compared with the posterior stroma.

Scanning acoustic microscopy (SAM), when applied to biological samples has the potential to resolve the longitudinal acoustic wave speed and hence stiffness of discrete tissue components. The heterogeneity of biological materials combined with the action of cryosectioning and rehydrating can, however, create variations in section topography. Here, we set out to determine how variations in specimen thickness influence apparent acoustic wave speed measurements

Cryosections (5μm nominal thickness) of human skin biopsies were adhered to glass slides before washing and rehydrating in water. Multiple regions (200x200 μm; n = 3) were imaged by SAM to generate acoustic wave speed maps. Subsequently co-localised 30x30 μm sub-regions were imaged by atomic force microscopy (AFM) in fluid. The images were then registered using Image J. Each pixel was allocated both a height and wave speed value before their relationship was then plotted on a scattergram. The mean section thickness measured by AFM was 3.48 ± 1.12 (SD) μm. Regional height variations influenced apparent wave speed measurements. A 3.5 μm height difference was associated with a 400 ms-1 increase in wave speed. In the present study we show that local variations in specimen thickness influence apparent wave speed. We also show that a true measure of wave speed can be calculated if the thickness of the specimen is known at each sampling point.

A Monte Carlo model has been developed to describe the gas phase formation and sintering of nanoclusters. Sintering was incorporated into the model by modifying Kadanoff's algorithm [1] for random particle walks on the surface of the cluster. The effect of restructuring and sintering on cluster-cluster aggregation have been investigated via 2d simulations. In the initial stages the sintering process results in clusters which are compact on small length scales. As time progresses and the clusters become larger, the sintering process slows down and the fractal dimension of the clusters is decreased. The model shows the effect of time and temperature on the specific surface area and size distribution of clusters.

Vapor phase synthesis of titania particles by oxidation of titanium tetrachloride (TiCI4) was studied in an aerosol reactor between 1200 K and 1723 K. The effect of process variables (reactor residence time, temperature, reactant concentration) on powder size and phase characteristics was investigated using the differential mobility particle sizer, scanning electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction. The morphology of the particles remained unchanged under the process conditions investigated; titania particles were primarily anatase though the rutile weight fraction increased with increase in reactor temperature. The geometric number average diameter of the particles was between 0.13 µm and 0.35 [m and the geometric standard deviation of the particle size distribution was about 1.4. The average particle size increased with increasing temperature, TiCI4 concentration and residence time. The observed changes in the particle size distribution were compared with those predicted by solving the aerosol dynamic equation by a sectional method and accounting for coagulation and first order chemical reaction.

Gas phase synthesis of titania from titanium tetrachloride (Ticl4) oxidation in the presence of dopants (SiCl4 and POCl3) was systematically investigated in an aerosol reactor as a function of temperature (1300–1700 K) and dopant concentration (0–15 mole % of TiCl4). The particle morphology was dramatically altered in the presence of dopants from polyhedral to spherical. Energy dispersive analysis indicated that the powders were homogeneous and that the dopants were not segregated at the surface or at the grain boundaries. Lattice parameter measurements from X-ray diffraction indicated that the dopant oxide was present in solid solution in titania. While titania synthesized in the absence of dopants was ∼80% anatase, the introduction of Si4+ and P5+ resulted in greater than 98 % anatase. The effects of foreign ions on titania phase composition, aggregate size and gas phase coalescence are explained by the creation of oxygen vacancies and reduction/enhancement of the titania sintering rates.

The micro-mechanical properties of 5 μm thick histological sections of ferret aorta and vena cava were mapped as a function of distance from the outer adventitial layer using nanoindentation. In order to decouple the effect of the glass substrate on the elastic modulus of these thin sections, the nanoindentation data were analyzed using the extended Oliver and Pharr method which is readily accessible for coatings and layered materials with the software package, FilmDoctor®. In the aorta, the elastic modulus was found to decrease progressively from 35 MPa at the adventitia (outermost layer) to 8 MPa at the intima (innermost layer). This decrease in modulus was inversely correlated with elastic fibre density. In contrast, in the vena cava, the stiffest regions were found to be the adventitial (outer) and intimal (innermost) sections of the vessel cross-section. Both these regions were enriched in ECM components. The central region, thought to be largely cellular, had a relatively constant modulus of around 20 MPa. This study demonstrates that with this methodology it is possible to distinguish micro-mechanically between large arteries and veins, and therefore the same approach should allow age or disease related changes in the mechanical properties within a tissue to be quantified.