A compact inertial nanopositioner operating at cryogenic temperatures.

Nano-positioning plays a very important role in applications such as scanning probe microscopy and optics. We report the development of a compact inertial nanopositioner along with fully computer interfaced electronics operating down to 2 K and its use in our fully automated needle-anvil type Point Contact Andreev Reflection (PCAR) apparatus. We also present the fully automated operational procedures using the LabVIEW interface with our home-built electronics.

Harnessing the power of native biocontrol agents against wilt disease of Pigeonpea incited by Fusarium udum.

Fusarium wilt, caused by (Fusarium udum Butler), is a significant threat to pigeonpea crops worldwide, leading to substantial yield losses. Traditional approaches like fungicides and resistant cultivars are not practical due to the persistent and evolving nature of the pathogen. Therefore, native biocontrol agents are considered to be more sustainable solution, as they adapt well to local soil and climatic conditions.

Regional Variation in the Prevalence of Undernutrition and its Correlates Among Under Five-Year Children in North India.

Background: Undernutrition is an important public health problem affecting one-third of under five-year-old children in India.

Objectives: To assess the nutritional status of under five-year-old children along with child feeding practices.

Materials And Methods: We adopted a systematic sampling procedure to carry out this community-based, cross-sectional study in all the districts of Haryana.

CBCT Evaluation of Lingual Foramen and its Anatomic Variations in Northeast Indian Population.

Background: The identification of nearby neurovascular structures is a vital part of dental implant treatment planning. Commonly two implants are placed in the mandibular inter foraminal region to support the overdenture. Placing dental implants in this region is considered relatively safe.

Space and time-resolved probing of heterogeneous catalysis reactions using lab-on-a-chip.

Probing catalytic reactions on a catalyst surface in real time is a major challenge. Herein, we demonstrate the utility of a continuous flow millifluidic chip reactor coated with a nanostructured gold catalyst as an effective platform for in situ investigation of the kinetics of catalytic reactions by taking 5-(hydroxymethyl)furfural (HMF) to 2,5-furandicarboxylic acid (FDCA) conversion as a model reaction. The idea conceptualized in this paper can not only dramatically change the ability to probe the time-resolved kinetics of heterogeneous catalysis reactions but also used for investigating other chemical and biological catalytic processes, thereby making this a broad platform for probing reactions as they occur within continuous flow reactors.

No More HF: Teflon-Assisted Ultrafast Removal of Silica to Generate High-Surface-Area Mesostructured Carbon for Enhanced CO2 Capture and Supercapacitor Performance.

An innovative technique to obtain high-surface-area mesostructured carbon (2545 m(2)  g(-1)) with significant microporosity uses Teflon as the silica template removal agent. This method not only shortens synthesis time by combining silica removal and carbonization in a single step, but also assists in ultrafast removal of the template (in 10 min) with complete elimination of toxic HF usage. The obtained carbon material (JNC-1) displays excellent CO2 capture ability (ca.

Diet & nutrition profile of Chenchu population - A vulnerable tribe in Telangana & Andhra Pradesh, India.

Background & Objectives: Earlier studies have documented high prevalence of undernutrition, morbidity and mortality among Chenchus, a tribal population in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, India. The present study was carried out to assess diet and nutritional status of Chenchus and cause of death.

Methods: A total of 42 Chenchu villages (gudems) were covered using systematic random sampling procedure.

Gold-silica quantum rattles for multimodal imaging and therapy.

Gold quantum dots exhibit distinctive optical and magnetic behaviors compared with larger gold nanoparticles. However, their unfavorable interaction with living systems and lack of stability in aqueous solvents has so far prevented their adoption in biology and medicine. Here, a simple synthetic pathway integrates gold quantum dots within a mesoporous silica shell, alongside larger gold nanoparticles within the shell's central cavity.

Millifluidics for chemical synthesis and time-resolved mechanistic studies.

Procedures utilizing millifluidic devices for chemical synthesis and time-resolved mechanistic studies are described by taking three examples. In the first, synthesis of ultra-small copper nanoclusters is described. The second example provides their utility for investigating time resolved kinetics of chemical reactions by analyzing gold nanoparticle formation using in situ X-ray absorption spectroscopy.

Chemically induced magnetism in atomically precise gold clusters.

Comparative theoretical and experimental investigations are reported into chemically induced magnetism in atomically-precise, ligand-stabilized gold clusters Au25 , Au38 and Au55 . The results indicate that [Au25 (PPh3 )10 (SC12 H25 )5 Cl2 ](2+) and Au38 (SC12 H25 )24 are diamagnetic, Au25 (SC2 H4 Ph)18 is paramagnetic, and Au55 (PPh3 )12 Cl6 , is ferromagnetic at room temperature. Understanding the magnetic properties resulting from quantum size effects in such atomically precise gold clusters could lead to new fundamental discoveries and applications.

X-ray absorption near-edge structure (XANES) spectroscopy study of the interaction of silver ions with Staphylococcus aureus, Listeria monocytogenes, and Escherichia coli.

Silver ions are widely used as antibacterial agents, but the basic molecular mechanism of this effect is still poorly understood. X-ray absorption near-edge structure (XANES) spectroscopy at the Ag LIII, S K, and P K edges reveals the chemical forms of silver in Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli (Ag(+) treated). The Ag LIII-edge XANES spectra of the bacteria are all slightly different and very different from the spectra of silver ions (silver nitrate and silver acetate), which confirms that a reaction occurs.

Ligand-stabilized and atomically precise gold nanocluster catalysis: a case study for correlating fundamental electronic properties with catalysis.

We present results from our investigations into correlating the styrene-oxidation catalysis of atomically precise mixed-ligand biicosahedral-structure [Au25(PPh3)10(SC12H25)5Cl2](2+) (Au25-bi) and thiol-stabilized icosahedral core-shell-structure [Au25(SCH2CH2Ph)18](-) (Au25-i) clusters with their electronic and atomic structure by using a combination of synchrotron radiation-based X-ray absorption fine-structure spectroscopy (XAFS) and ultraviolet photoemission spectroscopy (UPS). Compared to bulk Au, XAFS revealed low Au-Au coordination, Au-Au bond contraction and higher d-band vacancies in both the ligand-stabilized Au clusters. The ligands were found not only to act as colloidal stabilizers, but also as d-band electron acceptor for Au atoms.

Carbon spheres assisted synthesis of porous oxides with foam-like architecture.

Herein, we report a facile route for the synthesis of foam-like porous oxides using carbon spheres and polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) as sacrificial templates. The as-prepared porous structures were characterized by XRD, FESEM, TEM and BET methods. These foam-like macroporous oxides are formed through the fusion of oxide nanoparticles around the gas bubbles liberated during the combustion of composites and show good BET surface areas.

Lab-on-a-chip synthesis of inorganic nanomaterials and quantum dots for biomedical applications.

The past two decades have seen a dramatic raise in the number of investigations leading to the development of Lab-on-a-Chip (LOC) devices for synthesis of nanomaterials. A majority of these investigations were focused on inorganic nanomaterials comprising of metals, metal oxides, nanocomposites and quantum dots. Herein, we provide an analysis of these findings, especially, considering the more recent developments in this new decade.

Shape assisted fabrication of fluorescent cages of squarate based metal-organic coordination frameworks.

Micronic cage structures of squarate based metal-organic coordination frameworks (MOCFs) have been fabricated for the first time by specific anion selective etching of metal squarate cubes. Time and stoichiometry dependent synthesis and the corresponding microscopic studies have provided mechanistic insight into the cage formation. Furthermore, a non-covalent post-synthetic strategy has been adopted to functionalize the micronic cubes or cages with chromophores rendering the resulting hybrids green fluorescent.

A review on the therapeutic potential of embryonic and induced pluripotent stem cells in hepatic repair.

Despite the liver being proliferatively quiescent, it maintains balance between cell gain and cell loss, invokes a rapid regenerative response following hepatocyte loss, and restores liver mass. Human liver has immense regenerative capacity. Liver comprises many cell types with specialized functions.

Myocardial infarction and stem cells.

Permanent loss of cardiomyocytes and scar tissue formation after myocardial infarction (MI) results in an irreversible damage to the cardiac function. Cardiac repair (replacement, restoration, and regeneration) is, therefore, essential to restore function of the heart following MI. Existing therapies lower early mortality rates, prevent additional damage to the heart muscle, and reduce the risk of further heart attacks.

Mixing does the magic: a rapid synthesis of high surface area noble metal nanosponges showing broadband nonlinear optical response.

Here we report an instantaneous formation of high surface area metal nanosponges through a one-step inexpensive method in a completely green solvent, water. Merely by optimizing the concentration of the precursors and the reducing agent, we were able to generate a three-dimensional porous structure made up of nanowire networks. This is a general process, involves a simple, room temperature reduction of metal salts with sodium borohydride, and is therefore scalable to any amount.

ZnO: a versatile template to obtain unusual morphologies of silica, gold and carbon nanostructures.

Unusual morphologies of silica, gold and carbon were obtained by using ZnO nanostructures as templates. Microdrums and pencil-shaped ZnO nanostructures are successfully replicated into silica, gold and carbon analogues which are otherwise difficult to make.

Graded-index profiles produced by ion exchange in an interacting system.

We numerically solve a diffusion-type equation for the accumulated interdiffusion coefficient in an interacting system (nonideal ion-exchange reaction) by using a modified Crank-Nicolson algorithm. We obtain exact and approximate index profiles in such a way that bump effects found in experimental ionic concentrations in glass are explained as a result of cation-cation interactions.

Low-power gradient-index microscope objective: design.

We demonstrate use of the gradient-index (GRIN) spectral model to design an achromatic low-power GRIN microscope objective. This new GRIN microscope objective, using simpler lens configurations, exhibits a performance that is superior to the commercially available conventional objectives. We provide various design considerations and useful guidelines to suggest how the GRIN spectral model is useful in arriving at improved designs in performance and configurations for modern optical systems.

Chromatic aberrations of radial gradient-index lenses. II. Selfoc lenses.

Simple equations used for analyzing chromatic aberrations of Selfoc lenses were derived in terms of Buchdahl chromatic coordinates and Buchdahl dispersion constants. The equations that employ gradient-index chromatic constants Ψ(1) and Ψ(2) are used for selecting suitable ion-exchange pairs to design an achromatic Selfoc lens.

Chromatic aberrations of radial gradient-index lenses. I. Theory.

Chromatic effects of radial gradient-index materials have been analyzed, and several important conclusions have been derived in terms of material dispersion data. The use of Buchdahl dispersion data, both for base glass materials and ion-exchange pairs, provides some simple relationships for chromatic aberration and helps in selecting suitable materials for producing achromatic radial gradient-index lenses.