Government of India

About: Government of India is a government organization based out in New Delhi, India. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Government. The organization has 2945 authors who have published 2999 publications receiving 44942 citations. The organization is also known as: Union Government & Central Government.

Developing Hydrophobic Graphene Foam for Oil Spill Cleanup

Abstract: Oil spills have been responsible for a number of environmental problems such as water pollution, subsequent danger to aquatic life, along with massive oil losses Such disasters have stimulated the need for development of novel materials with improved sorption capacity for oil-spill cleanup Among various available methods, the use of adsorbents holds great promises to remove and recover oil from minor or major spills In the present work, we report the development of hydrothermally reduced graphene oxide foam (RGO) functionalized with Fe3O4 magnetic nanoparticles (MNP) for sorption of oil MNP were used to produce RGO-MNP hybrid foams which could be separated by a magnetic field The synthesized RGO and RGO-MNP hybrid foams were characterized by using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and thermogravimetric analysis Motor oil was used as the adsorbate to determine the sorption capacity of the pro

A gastric resident drug delivery system for prolonged gram-level dosing of tuberculosis treatment

Abstract: Multigram drug depot systems for extended drug release could transform our capacity to effectively treat patients across a myriad of diseases. For example, tuberculosis (TB) requires multimonth courses of daily multigram doses for treatment. To address the challenge of prolonged dosing for regimens requiring multigram drug dosing, we developed a gastric resident system delivered through the nasogastric route that was capable of safely encapsulating and releasing grams of antibiotics over a period of weeks. Initial preclinical safety and drug release were demonstrated in a swine model with a panel of TB antibiotics. We anticipate multiple applications in the field of infectious diseases, as well as for other indications where multigram depots could impart meaningful benefits to patients, helping maximize adherence to their medication.

Measuring daytime CO2 fluxes from the inter-tidal mangrove soils of Indian Sundarbans

Abstract: The aim of this research was to measure the rate of carbon dioxide (CO2) exchange between the soil and atmosphere in the inter-tidal forest floor of the Indian Sundarbans mangrove ecosystem and to study its response with soil temperature and soil water content. Soil CO2 effluxes were monitored every month at two stations (between April, 2011 and March, 2012); one situated at the land–ocean boundary of the Bay of Bengal (outer part of the mangrove forest) and the other lying 55 km inshore from the coast line (inner part of the mangrove forest). The static closed chamber technique was implemented at three inter-tidal positions (landward, seaward and bare mudflats) in each station. Fluxes were measured in the daytime every half an hour by circulating chamber headspace air through a sampling manifold assembly and a closed-path non-dispersive infrared gas analyser. The fluxes ranged between 0.15 and 2.34 μmol m−2 s−1 during the annual course of sampling. Effluxes of higher magnitude were measured during summer; however, it abruptly decreased during the monsoon. CO2 flux from the forest floor was strongly related to soil temperature, with the highest correlation found with temperature at 2 cm depth. No such significant relationship between soil water content and CO2 efflux could be properly ascertained; however, excessively high soil water content was found to be the only reason which hampered the rate of effluxes during the monsoon. On the whole, landward (LW) sites of the mangrove forest emitted more than the seaward (SW) sites. Q 10 values (obtained from simple exponential model) which denote the multiplicative factor by which the efflux rate increases for a 10 °C rise in temperature ranged between 2.07 and 4.05.

Relationship between sputum smear grading and smear conversion rate and treatment outcome in the patients of pulmonary tuberculosis undergoing dots--a prospective cohort study.

Abstract: BACKGROUND: The Smear Conversion Rate (SCR) is an operational indicator for the Directly Observed Treatment Short-course (DOTS) strategy of Revised National Tuberculosis Control Programme (RNTCP) in India. The present study was undertaken to determine the relationship between sputum smear grading and smear conversion rate among the Category I smear positive pulmonary tuberculosis patients undergoing DOTS. METHODS: A prospective cohort study was conducted among the Category I smear positive pulmonary tuberculosis patients registered under DOTS at GTB, Karawal Nagar and Shahdara Chest Clinics of Delhi. Sample size for the present study was calculated on the basis of a similar study of a retrospective design conducted at LRS Institute of Tuberculosis and Respiratory diseases New Delhi, India using statistical software Epi Info version 6. Accordingly, a total of 338 sputum smear positive patients with 169 each in the High Positive Cohort (pre-treatment sputum grading 3+) and Low Positive Cohort (pre-treatment sputum grading 2+, 1+ and Scanty) were followed periodically at two months (end of Intensive Phase), at three months (after one month extension of Intensive Phase), at two months of Continuation Phase and then at the end of the treatment to record the sputum AFB result and treatment outcome as per the RNTCP guidelines. Data was analyzed using SPSS Version -15. RESULTS: After two months (end of the intensive phase), SCR was 57.9% (98 of 169) among the High Positive and 71.6% (121 of 169) in the Low positive cohort ( p -0.008). After three months (one month's extension of intensive phase), cumulative SCR was 85.2%( 144 of 169)) in the High Positive and 92.3% (156 of 169) in the Low Positive cohort (p-0.03). Cure rate was 82.8% (140 of 169) in the High Positive and 84.6% (143 of 169) in the Low Positive cohort. Default rate was 3% (five of 169) in the High Positive and 5.3% (nine of 169) in the Low Positive cohort. Failure rate was 11.2% (19 of 169) in the High positive and 6.5% in the Low positive Cohort (11 of 169). Only one patient (0.6%) in each High and Low Positive cohort died during course of treatment (p -0.631). Treatment outcome was further compared among the patients according to their sputum status achieved at two and three months of the treatment after ignoring their initial sputum status. The cure rates for the patients who converted at two months was 90.9% (199 of 219) and for those who did not convert at two months, was 74.3% (84 Of 113) (p -0.000). Similarly, the cure rate for the patients who converted at three months was 84% (68 of 81) and for those who did not convert at three months was 55.2% (16 of 29) (p-0.01). INTERPRETATION: Patients with higher grades of sputum positivity at the beginning of the treatment have significantly lower SCR at the end of intensive phase and even after extending the intensive phase for one month. Hence, they are likely to remain infectious for a longer duration and continue to transmit infection in the community. Therefore, these patients demand to have more stringent self-precautionary measures to break the chain of infection in the community. The SCR at two months and three months as an operational indicator should be given more importance rather than being practised only as a documentation and academic exercise. The patient should be investigated for the possible co-morbid conditions and drug resistance which could be a cause for the persistent sputum smear positivity at two and three months and hence poor treatment outcome.