Studies on interstitial carbon doping from a Ti precursor in a hierarchical TiO2 nanostructured photoanode by a single step hydrothermal route

Carbon doping from a Ti precursor in TiO₂ synthesized by a hydrothermal method was studied. The structural, optical and morphological study of the deposited material was carried out using X-ray diffraction, UV-vis spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy characterization techniques. The elemental composition of the TiO₂ deposited with different precursor concentrations was studied using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and electron dispersive X-ray spectroscopy. The amount of elemental carbon in the TiO₂ matrix is found to be increased as the Ti precursor concentration is increased, which strengthens the proposed idea of carbon doping via a Ti precursor.

Interstitial carbon doping is possible directly from a Ti precursor (titanium(iv) isopropoxide) without using any other carbon source.     

UPLC-QTOF-MS fingerprinting combined with chemometrics to assess the solvent extraction efficiency,phytochemical variation,and antioxidant activities of Beta vulgaris L.

Accurate assays of plant antioxidants and other phytochemicals require efficient extraction conditions and enable rigorous assessments of crop varieties and production systems. This study assessed the extraction of phytochemicals and antioxidants from conventionally or organically grown red and golden beets (Beta vulgaris L.), using twenty solvent (S1–S20) mixtures containing water, methanol, and ethanol alone or with acids (ascorbic, formic, acetic). Red beetroot extracted with methanol with or without acid had the highest betanin content (2791.0 μg/g and 8222.3 μg/g of fresh weight [FW], respectively) and golden beetroot extracted with methanol/ascorbic acid/water had the highest vulgaxanthin I (193.7 μg/g and 15.0 μg/g of FW, respectively). The radical-scavenging activity and total phenolics in beetroot extracts reflected the different extraction efficiency of each solvent. UHPLC-QTOF-MS was used to identify twenty-seven phytochemicals, including 23 betalains, 2 amino acids, and 2 phenolic acids. Chemometric approaches discriminated the beet varieties and different extracts within one variety based on the composition and abundance of the key phytochemicals. The red beetroot extracted with aqueous ethanol with or without acid (S5, S7, S8, S9), and golden beetroot extracted with methanol-containing solvents (S15 for conventionally and S20 for organically) had the highest levels of phytochemicals, suggesting that these conditions efficiently extract key phytochemicals.     

Congenital urethrocutaneous fistula in an adolescent male

A urethrocutaneous fistula is a common complication after hypospadias repair, but congenital fistula is a rare anomaly. We present a 16-year-old boy with this unusual anomaly. Its etiology, embryology, and management are discussed in brief.KEY WORDS: Adolescent, congenital fistula of penile urethra, urethroplasty     

Hepaticoduodenostomy for Biliary Reconstruction After Surgical Resection of Choledochal Cyst: a 25-Year Experience

We reviewed our experience of hepaticoduodenostomy done for choledochal cyst from 1982 to 2007 at our center. The aim of the study was to evaluate the efficacy of hepaticoduodenostomy as a mode of biliary reconstruction after surgical resection of choledochal cyst, to look for any complications associated with hepaticoduodenostomy, with review of the literature. A total of 56 patients underwent hepaticoduodenostomy after surgical resection of choledochal cyst, of which 54 patients underwent primary cyst excision with hepaticoduodenostomy and 2 patients underwent redo surgery (hepaticoduodenostomy). Most of the patients had an uneventful postoperative recovery. Early complications were biliary leak in three patients which subsided on conservative treatment. Long-term complication was seen in only one patient who developed anastomotic stricture 18 years after primary resection of choledochal cyst and hepaticoduodenostomy. Hepaticoduodenostomy is a relatively safe procedure with very low complication rates. It requires a single anastomosis and is simple to perform.     

What works? Interventions for maternal and child undernutrition and survival

We reviewed interventions that affect maternal and child undernutrition and nutrition-related outcomes. These interventions included promotion of breastfeeding; strategies to promote complementary feeding, with or without provision of food supplements; micronutrient interventions; general supportive strategies to improve family and community nutrition; and reduction of disease burden (promotion of handwashing and strategies to reduce the burden of malaria in pregnancy). We showed that although strategies for breastfeeding promotion have a large effect on survival, their effect on stunting is small. In populations with sufficient food, education about complementary feeding increased height-for-age Z score by 0.25 (95% CI 0.01-0.49), whereas provision of food supplements (with or without education) in populations with insufficient food increased the height-for-age Z score by 0.41 (0.05-0.76). Management of severe acute malnutrition according to WHO guidelines reduced the case-fatality rate by 55% (risk ratio 0.45, 0.32-0.62), and recent studies suggest that newer commodities, such as ready-to-use therapeutic foods, can be used to manage severe acute malnutrition in community settings. Effective micronutrient interventions for pregnant women included supplementation with iron folate (which increased haemoglobin at term by 12 g/L, 2.93-21.07) and micronutrients (which reduced the risk of low birthweight at term by 16% (relative risk 0.84, 0.74-0.95). Recommended micronutrient interventions for children included strategies for supplementation of vitamin A (in the neonatal period and late infancy), preventive zinc supplements, iron supplements for children in areas where malaria is not endemic, and universal promotion of iodised salt. We used a cohort model to assess the potential effect of these interventions on mothers and children in the 36 countries that have 90% of children with stunted linear growth. The model showed that existing interventions that were designed to improve nutrition and prevent related disease could reduce stunting at 36 months by 36%; mortality between birth and 36 months by about 25%; and disability-adjusted life-years associated with stunting, severe wasting, intrauterine growth restriction, and micronutrient deficiencies by about 25%. To eliminate stunting in the longer term, these interventions should be supplemented by improvements in the underlying determinants of undernutrition, such as poverty, poor education, disease burden, and lack of women's empowerment.     

Release and distribution of [3H]norepinephrine in nonpigmented and pigmented rabbit iris.

Unequal accumulation of drugs in pigmented and nonpigmented iris has been known for some time. However, at low concentrations of the sympathetic neurotransmitter norepinephrine, the accumulation is equal in both types of irides. The spontaneous and potassium-induced release of 3H was studied in isolated rabbit irides labeled with 0.1 micron [3H]norepinephrine ([3H]NE). The spontaneous outflow and the tissue 3H content were similar in both types of irides, but the potassium-induced release was significantly higher in nonpigmented iris. When irides were labeled with [3H]NE in the presence of 1 micron desmethylimipramine, the potassium-induced release was still significantly higher in nonpigmented than in pigmented iris, although the tissue 3H content was higher in the latter. Subcellular distribution of [3H]NE in both types of irides is presented. The data indicate that [3H]NE is distributed unequally in both types of irides in spite of equal tissue accumulation. The binding of NE by the pigment cell suggests an additional site of loss, or site of uptake, of the transmitter in melanin-containing tissues. The physiological significance of such an unequal release in relation to the evolutionary adaptation of the eye to light is discussed.