Showing papers by "Gaurav Sharma published in 2016"

Adsorption kinetics, isotherms, and thermodynamic studies for Hg2+ adsorption from aqueous medium using alizarin red-S-loaded amberlite IRA-400 resin

Abstract: Alizarin red-S-modified amberlite IRA-400 resin (ARSA) was applied for Hg2+ removal from the aqueous medium which is a highly toxic metal ion. The adsorption process which was pH dependent, showed maximum adsorption of Hg2+ in the pH range 6–8. ARSA exhibited good monolayer adsorption capacity for Hg2+ (303.03 mg g−1) at 25°C and the isotherm was well fitted by the Langmuir model. Moreover, the adsorption was evaluated thermodynamically and the negative values of Gibbs free energy revealed the spontaneity of adsorption process. The practical applicability of ARSA was explored for the adsorption of Hg2+ metal ion from a real water sample. The values of ΔH and ΔS were found to be 79.87 kJ mol−1 and 0.26 J mol−1 K−1, respectively.

Fabrication of MWCNTs/ThO2 nanocomposite and its adsorption behavior for the removal of Pb(II) metal from aqueous medium

Abstract: Multiwall carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) were chemically modified to form nanocomposite with thorium oxide. The MWCNTs/ThO2 nanocomposite was characterized using different modern techniques including Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, X-ray powdered diffraction, scanning electron microscope, and transmission electron microscope. The average size of MWCNTs/ThO2 nanocomposite was in the range from 5 to 10 nm. The nanocomposite material was investigated for its adsorption behavior for Pb(II) ions removal from its aqueous system. For the adsorption of Pb(II) by MWCNTs/ThO2, the equilibrium was achieved within 50 min. The temperature and pH have also found to play important role in the adsorption process and maximum adsorption was found at 45°C and pH 5.5.

Photocatalytic degradation of highly toxic dyes using chitosan-g-poly(acrylamide)/ZnS in presence of solar irradiation

Abstract: The photocatalytic degradation of methyl orange (MO) and congo red (CR) dyes from aqueous solution have been attempted using chitosan-g-poly(acrylamide)/ZnS (ChPA/ZS) nanocomposite materials. Nanocomposites were successfully prepared in the aqueous solution through microwave radiations. Band gap property of composite was studied using UV–vis spectrophotometer. The ChPA/ZS nanocomposite was characterized by various techniques. The photocatalytic activity of ChPA/ZS was evaluated for methyl orange and congo red dyes degradation in aqueous solution under simulated solar irradiation. The degradation of dyes was recorded higher for ChPA/ZS nanocomposite. After 2 h of irradiation, 75% of congo red dye was degraded and 69% of methyl orange was degraded after 4 h of simulated solar irradiation. ChPA/ZS composite showed a higher rate of dye degradation owing to outstanding adsorbing properties of cross linked polyacrylamide.

Magnetically recoverable ZrO2/Fe3O4/chitosan nanomaterials for enhanced sunlight driven photoreduction of carcinogenic Cr(VI) and dechlorination & mineralization of 4-chlorophenol from simulated waste water

Abstract: In this laboratory-scale experiment we report the treatment of carcinogenic Cr(VI) and 4-chlorophenol by ferromagnetic ZrO2/Fe3O4 nano-heterojunctions supported on chitosan. A combination of different semiconductors with different photo-activities has proven to be a tested and effective technique for harnessing solar light in waste water treatment. The prepared heterojunction and its composite with chitosan has been characterized by X-Ray Diffraction (XRD), Fourier Transform Infra Red spectroscopy (FTIR), High Resolution Transmission Electron Microscopy (HRTEM), Small Area Electron Diffraction (SAED), Vibrating Sample Magnetometry (VSM), Energy Dispersive X-ray analysis (EDX), UV-visible spectrophotometry and Brunauer–Emmet–Teller surface area analysis (BET). Treatment of chlorophenols is challenging because of their hydrophobicity and stability. In our study we have reported excellent results for the dechlorination of 4-chlorophenol and the results were analyzed in terms of Liquid Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (LC-MS), Chemical Oxygen Demand analysis (COD) and emission. 88.6% of 4-CP degradation was achieved in the presence of ZrO2/Fe3O4/chitosan in 3 h under sunlight and a reduction of 90.2% for Cr(VI) was obtained. The heterojunction formation leads to charge separation and decreased recombination of charge carriers. The synergistic effects of charge separation in the heterojunction, alcohols, peroxide, magnetism and adsorption with essential explanation of mechanisms make this study important and promising.

Automatic assessment of damage and repair costs in vehicles

Abstract: A system and method are provided for automatically estimating a repair cost for a vehicle. A method includes: receiving, at a server computing device over an electronic network, one or more images of a damaged vehicle from a client computing device; performing image processing operations on each of the one or more images to detect external damage to a first set of parts of the vehicle; inferring internal damage to a second set of parts of the vehicle based on the detected external damage; and, calculating an estimated repair cost for the vehicle based on the detected external damage and inferred internal damage based on accessing a parts database that includes repair and labor costs for each part in the first and second sets of parts.

Halitosis: Current concepts on etiology, diagnosis and management.

Abstract: Halitosis or oral malodor is an offensive odor originating from the oral cavity, leading to anxiety and psychosocial embarrassment. A patient with halitosis is most likely to contact primary care practitioner for the diagnosis and management. With proper diagnosis, identification of the etiology and timely referrals certain steps are taken to create a successful individualized therapeutic approach for each patient seeking assistance. It is significant to highlight the necessity of an interdisciplinary method for the treatment of halitosis to prevent misdiagnosis or unnecessary treatment. The literature on halitosis, especially with randomized clinical trials, is scarce and additional studies are required. This article succinctly focuses on the development of a systematic flow of events to come to the best management of the halitosis from the primary care practitioner's point of view.

A multifunctional nanocomposite pectin thorium(IV) tungstomolybdate for heavy metal separation and photoremediation of malachite green

Abstract: The nanocomposite pectin thorium(IV) tungstomolybdate (Pc/TWM) has been prepared by incorporating pectin biopolymer within thorium(IV) tungstomolybdate, precipitated at 80°C. The synthesized nanocomposite material was characterized using scanning transmission electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction analysis, and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. The binary mixture separations of heavy metal ions have been performed proficiently on the columns of Pc/TWM. The synthesized nanocomposite was exploited for removal of malachite green from the aqueous system under two set of conditions. The synergistic/adsorptional photocatalysis conditions were found to be more efficient than equilibrium adsorption followed by photocatalysis in the dark. The Pc/TWM also showed promising antibacterial activity against the bacteria, Staphylococcus aureus. Thus, the nanocomposite material can be used as an adsorbent for the remediation of harmful metals a...

UR-SolarCap: An Open Source Intelligent Auto-Wakeup Solar Energy Harvesting System for Supercapacitor-Based Energy Buffering

Abstract: Energy harvesting systems that couple solar panels with supercapacitor buffers offer an attractive option for powering computational systems deployed in field settings, where power infrastructure is inaccessible. Supercapacitors offer a particularly compelling advantage over electrochemical batteries for such settings because of their ability to survive many more charge–discharge cycles. We share UR-SolarCap—a versatile open source design for such a harvesting system that targets embedded system applications requiring power in the 1–10 W range. Our system is designed for high efficiency and controllability and, importantly, supports auto-wakeup from a state of complete energy depletion. This paper summarizes our design methodology, and the rationale behind our design and configuration decisions. Results from the operation and testing of a system realized with our design demonstrate: 1) an achievable harvester efficiency of 85%; 2) the ability to maintain sustained operation over a two week period when the solar panel and buffer are sized appropriately; and 3) a robust auto-wakeup functionality that resumes system operation upon the availability of harvestable energy after a period in which the system has been forced into a dormant state because of a lack of usable energy. To facilitate the use of the system by researchers exploring embedded system applications in environments that lack a power infrastructure, our designs are available for download as an archive containing design schematics, Printed Circuit Board (PCB) files, firmware code, and a component list for assembly of the system. In addition, a limited number of pre-assembled kits are available upon request.

Creating A Multi-track Classical Musical Performance Dataset for Multimodal Music Analysis: Challenges, Insights, and Applications

Abstract: We introduce a dataset for facilitating audio-visual analysis of music performances. The dataset comprises 44 simple multi-instrument classical music pieces assembled from coordinated but separately recorded performances of individual tracks. For each piece, we provide the musical score in MIDI format, the audio recordings of the individual tracks, the audio and video recording of the assembled mixture, and ground-truth annotation files including frame-level and note-level transcriptions. We describe our methodology for the creation of the dataset, particularly highlighting our approaches for addressing the challenges involved in maintaining synchronization and expressiveness. We demonstrate the high quality of synchronization achieved with our proposed approach by comparing the dataset with existing widely-used music audio datasets. We anticipate that the dataset will be useful for the development and evaluation of existing music information retrieval (MIR) tasks, as well as for novel multi-modal tasks. We benchmark two existing MIR tasks (multi-pitch analysis and score-informed source separation) on the dataset and compare with other existing music audio datasets. Additionally, we consider two novel multi-modal MIR tasks (visually informed multi-pitch analysis and polyphonic vibrato analysis) enabled by the dataset and provide evaluation measures and baseline systems for future comparisons (from our recent work). Finally, we propose several emerging research directions that the dataset enables.

Complete Genome of the Starch-Degrading Myxobacteria Sandaracinus amylolyticus DSM 53668T.

Abstract: Myxobacteria are members of δ-proteobacteria and are typified by large genomes, well-coordinated social behavior, gliding motility, and starvation-induced fruiting body formation. Here, we report the 10.33 Mb whole genome of a starch-degrading myxobacterium Sandaracinus amylolyticus DSM 53668(T) that encodes 8,962 proteins, 56 tRNA, and two rRNA operons. Phylogenetic analysis, in silico DNA-DNA hybridization and average nucleotide identity reveal its divergence from other myxobacterial species and support its taxonomic characterization into a separate family Sandaracinaceae, within the suborder Sorangiineae. Sequence similarity searches using the Carbohydrate-active enzymes (CAZyme) database help identify the enzyme repertoire of S. amylolyticus involved in starch, agar, chitin, and cellulose degradation. We identified 16 α-amylases and two γ-amylases in the S. amylolyticus genome that likely play a role in starch degradation. While many of the amylases are seen conserved in other δ-proteobacteria, we notice several novel amylases acquired via horizontal transfer from members belonging to phylum Deinococcus-Thermus, Acidobacteria, and Cyanobacteria. No agar degrading enzyme(s) were identified in the S. amylolyticus genome. Interestingly, several putative β-glucosidases and endoglucanases proteins involved in cellulose degradation were identified. However, the absence of cellobiohydrolases/exoglucanases corroborates with the lack of cellulose degradation by this bacteria.

A study of position based VANET routing protocols

Abstract: In VANETs, vehicles communicate with each other or with the road side units (RSU) to avoid accidents and traffics. For this communication, VANETs need a routing protocol which helps vehicles to exchange information in the network. Due to dynamic nature of VANET, routing the packets in the vehicular network is one of the challenging tasks. VANETs have many routing protocols but position based routing protocol is more promising one, as it supports geographical position information of vehicles to provide efficient routing in vehicular networks. In this paper, different position based routing protocols are presented. The purpose of this survey is to present the effective position based routing protocols with their sound parameters for the concerned readers.

Indian medicinal plants as an effective antimicrobial agent

Abstract: India is a great country that is recognized for its rich culture and medicinal plants. Most of the people in India is reliant on the herbal plant for their therapeutic needs. The present review will focus on Therapeutic plants from India along with its medicinal use. Various medicinal plants have already proved their significance with curing diseases including bacteriological infections and some life threating serious diseases. Medicinal plants are rich in antioxidant and proved best as antimicrobial agents. Herbal drugs are achieving popularity as compared to allopathic drugs the reasons includes adverse effects of man-made antibiotics, the prompt surge in contagious diseases, the resistance of drug in microbes. Herbal plants show slow recovery; still a great population is using it because it showed no side effects and low resistance in microbes. Antimicrobial status of various herbal plants has been reported. Therapeutic plants work as a potent antimicrobial. Herbal plants are used for its medicinal purpose throughout the world as an herbal plant provides a base material for various effective drugs. A great number of herbal plants has been used as a drug in the form of crude extracts and extensively used for their therapeutic possessions. A huge number of plants have been examined for antimicrobial possessions, but still the majority of plants have not been examined adequately. So, the present review will focus on some of the selected medicinal plants along with its antimicrobial status. Keywords : Medicinal plants, Antimicrobial agent, Infections, Herbal drugs, Antifungal

Bidirectional cross talk between patient-derived melanoma and cancer-associated fibroblasts promotes invasion and proliferation.

Abstract: Tumor-stroma interactions are critical for epithelial-derived tumors, and among the stromal cell types, cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) exhibit multiple functions that fuel growth, dissemination, and drug resistance. However, these interactions remain insufficiently characterized in non-epithelial tumors such as malignant melanoma. We generated monocultures of melanoma cells and matching CAFs from patients' metastatic lesions, distinguished by oncogenic drivers and immunoblotting of characteristic markers. RNA sequencing of CAFs revealed a homogenous epigenetic program that strongly resembled the signatures from epithelial cancers, including enrichment for an epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT). Melanoma CAFs in monoculture displayed robust invasive behavior while patient-derived melanoma monocultures showed very little invasiveness. Instead, melanoma cells showed increased invasion when co-cultured with CAFs. In turn, CAFs showed increased proliferation when exposed to melanoma conditioned media (CM), mediated in part by melanoma-secreted transforming growth factor-alpha that acted on CAFs via the epidermal growth factor receptor. This study provides evidence that bidirectional interactions between melanoma and CAFs regulate progression of metastatic melanoma.

Complete Genome Sequence and Comparative Genomics of a Novel Myxobacterium Myxococcus hansupus

Abstract: Myxobacteria, a group of Gram-negative aerobes, belong to the class δ-proteobacteria and order Myxococcales. Unlike anaerobic δ-proteobacteria, they exhibit several unusual physiogenomic properties like gliding motility, desiccation-resistant myxospores and large genomes with high coding density. Here we report a 9.5 Mbp complete genome of Myxococcus hansupus that encodes 7,753 proteins. Phylogenomic and genome-genome distance based analysis suggest that Myxococcus hansupus is a novel member of the genus Myxococcus. Comparative genome analysis with other members of the genus Myxococcus was performed to explore their genome diversity. The variation in number of unique proteins observed across different species is suggestive of diversity at the genus level while the overrepresentation of several Pfam families indicates the extent and mode of genome expansion as compared to non-Myxococcales δ-proteobacteria.

PF-ID-2PAKA: Pairing Free Identity-Based Two-Party Authenticated Key Agreement Protocol for Wireless Sensor Networks

Abstract: To ensure secure communication between any two entities, authenticated key agreement protocol is the primary step and current research has a lot of contribution in this direction. In this paper, we propose a Pairing Free Identity-based Two-Party Authenticated Key Agreement protocol and gather the implementation results for Wireless Sensor Networks on MICAz mote by using Relic-toolkit cryptographic library. The proposed protocol is efficient as it does not use any pairing operation and only uses three scalar point multiplications. The security of the protocol has been proved secure using strongest security model for identity-based key agreement protocol presented by Liang et al.

An Improved RSA-based Certificateless Signature Scheme for Wireless Sensor Networks

Abstract: The entire world is looking to fulfill the need of the hour in terms of security. Certificateless cryptography is an efficient approach studied widely due to two reasons: first, it eliminates the need of certificate authority in public key infrastructure and second, it can resolve key escrow problem of ID-based cryptography. Recently, Zhang et al. proposed a novel security scheme based on RSA, applicable to real life applications but could not cope up with the well defined attacks. This paper, presents an RSA-based CertificateLess Signature (RSA-CLS) scheme applicable to wireless sensor networks. The security of RSA-CLS is based on the hardness assumption of Strong RSA. The scheme is proven to be secure against Type I and Type II attack in random oracle model.

Turmeric/polyvinyl alcohol Th(IV) phosphate electrospun fibers: Synthesis, characterization and antimicrobial studies

Abstract: Turmeric/polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) thorium(IV) phosphate hybrid cation exchange nanofibers were prepared for wastewater treatment along with antimicrobial activity. The physicochemical properties of electrospun fibers like thermal stability, surface morphology and composition were evaluated by using thermogravimetric analysis/differential thermal analysis/differential thermogravimetry (TGA/DTA/DTG), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transforms infra red (FTIR), and energy dispersive X-ray (EDX) techniques. The ion exchange capacity determined by volumetric analysis was found to be 1.98 meq dry/g of ion exchanger. Antimicrobial properties of turmeric/PVA Th(IV) phosphate hybrid cation exchange electrospun fibers were validated by agar-well diffusion test (ADT) and microtitre plate assay (MPA) analyses. The presence of turmeric in polyvinyl alcohol Th(IV) phosphate hybrid cation exchange nanofibers is responsible for antimicrobial properties. The maximum zone of inhibition was found to be 22 mm for E. coli at 50 µg/ml and 21 mm for S. aureus at 100 µg/ml.

Implementation of a Comprehensive Post-Discharge Venous Thromboembolism Prophylaxis Program for Abdominal and Pelvic Surgery Patients.

Abstract: Background Prophylactic anticoagulation is routinely used in the inpatient setting; however, the risk of venous thromboembolism (VTE) remains elevated after discharge. Extensive evidence and clinical guidelines suggest post-discharge VTE prophylaxis is critical in at-risk populations, but it remains severely underused in practice. Study Design We performed a single-institution retrospective, nonrandomized, pre- and post-intervention analysis of a systematic post-discharge pharmacologic prophylaxis program against the primary end point, which is post-discharge symptomatic VTE. An institutional American College of Surgeons NSQIP dataset was used to identify patients and outcomes. Patients undergoing major abdominal surgery for malignancy or inflammatory bowel disease were eligible for the post-discharge VTE prevention program. Results Among 1,043 patients who underwent abdominal surgery for malignancy or inflammatory bowel disease, 800 (77%) were in the pre-intervention cohort and 243 (23%) patients were in the post-intervention cohort. Rates of inpatient VTE did not significantly differ between cohorts (0.7%, n = 6 pre-intervention vs 1.7%, n = 4 post-intervention; p = 0.25). However, compared with the pre-intervention cohort, patients in the post-intervention cohort demonstrated a significantly lower post-discharge VTE rate (2.5%, n = 20 pre-intervention vs 0.0%, n = 0 post-intervention; p Conclusions A systematic post-discharge VTE prophylaxis program including provider education, local guideline adaptation, bedside medication delivery, and education for at-risk patients, was associated with significantly fewer post-discharge VTE events.

Exclusion of Organic Dye Using Neoteric Activated Carbon Prepared from Cornulaca monacantha Stem: Equilibrium and Thermodynamics Studies

Abstract: In this study, Cornulaca monacantha stem (CMS) has been used for the preparation of highly competent, ecofriendly and low-cost activated carbon (CMSAC) biosorbent. It was characterized by some instrumental techniques such as Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and scanning electron microscope (SEM). The biosorbent was evaluated for the eradication of hazardous malachite green (MG) dye from aqueous solution. Batch experiments were conducted to assess the effect of various adsorption parameters such initial dye concentration, sorbent dosage, pH, agitation time and temperature. The results indicated that maximum sorption of MG was occurred at the pH ranged from 10.0 to 12.0. Langmuir, Freundlich and Tempkin isotherms were applied for the interpretation of experimental data and Langmuir model was found to be strongly fitted with higher R2 (0.999). The kinetics studies were examined using pseudo-first-order, pseudo-second-order, Elovich model. The sorption process was described by pseudo-second-order kinetics. The thermodynamic parameters such as energy change (ΔG°), enthalpychange (ΔH°) and entropy change (ΔS°) were found to be-6.21kJ/mol, 46.17 kJ/mol and 172.81 J/mol/K, respectively. The adsorption performance of malachite green dye onto gleaming activated carbon developed from Cornulaca monacantha stem was found to be spontaneous, feasible and endothermic process.

Essential Oil Yield Pattern and Antibacterial and Insecticidal Activities of Trachyspermum ammi and Myristica fragrans.

Abstract: Two Indian spices, Trachyspermum ammi and Myristica fragrans, were studied for their essential oil (EO) yielding pattern, insecticidal activity, antibacterial activity, and composition. The essential oils (EOs) of T. ammi ( mL/100 gm) and M. fragrans ( mL/100 gm) were extracted using hydrodistillation method. In Gas Chromatography analysis, the beta-pinene, alpha-pinene, alpha-p-menth-1-en-4-ol, Limonene, and elemicin were found as major constituents of T. ammi essential oil whereas M. fragrans essential oil mostly contains Gamma-Terpinolene, p-Cymene, Thymol, and beta-pinene. The insecticidal activities of EO were demonstrated using LC50 values against Plodia interpunctella and EO of T. ammi was found comparatively more effective than EO of M. fragrans. Further, individual EO and combination of essential oil were examined for antibacterial activity against three Gram (−) bacterial strains (E. coli-MTCC 443, P. vulgaris-MTCC 1771, and K. pneumoniae-MTCC number 7028) and three Gram (

Signal analysis for detecting motor symptoms in Parkinson's and Huntington's disease using multiple body-affixed sensors: A pilot study

Abstract: We report on a pilot study for signal processing based detection and analysis of motor symptoms associated with Parkinson's and Huntington's diseases. In contrast with prior studies using prototype body-worn sensors, that are typically obtrusive, we use light-weight, low-power sensors that can be affixed to the body like adhesive temporary tattoos, allowing for unobtrusive attachment of multiple sensors for continuous motion measurement over durations of up to 48 hours. Signal analysis of the accelerometer data from the sensors highlights the benefit of the proposed approaches: clear signatures are seen for different clinically observed motor symptoms either in the signals recorded in a specific sensor, or in the interrelations across sensor signals.

APOBEC3H polymorphisms and susceptibility to HIV-1 infection in an Indian population.

Abstract: Human APOBEC3H (A3H) is a member of APOBEC cytidine deaminase family intensively constraining the HIV-1 replication. A3H is known to be polymorphic with different protein stability and anti-HIV-1 activity in vitro. We recently reported that A3H haplotypes composed of two functional polymorphisms, rs139292 (N15del) and rs139297 (G105R), were associated with the susceptibility to HIV-1 infection in Japanese. To confirm the association of A3H and HIV-1 infection in another ethnic group, a total of 241 HIV-1-infected Indian individuals and ethnic-matched 286 healthy controls were analyzed for the A3H polymorphisms. The frequency of 15del allele was high in the HIV-1-infected subjects as compared with the controls (0.477 vs 0.402, odds ratio (OR)=1.36, P=0.014). Haplotype analysis showed that the frequencies of 15del-105R was high (0.475 vs 0.400, OR=1.36, permutation P=0.037) in the HIV-1-infected subjects, confirming the association of A3H polymorphisms with the susceptibility to HIV-1 infection.