28 research outputs found
Buddhism and economic growth with special reference to Ceylon
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Electronic and magnetic properties of carbon-based and boron-based nano materials, 2017
No full textThe structural and electronic properties of covalently and non-covalently functionalized graphene are investigated by means of first-principles density-functional-theory. The electronic characteristics of non-covalently functionalized graphene by a planar covalent organic framework (COF) are investigated. The aromatic central molecule of the COF acts as an electron donor while the linker of the COF acts as an electron acceptor. The concerted interaction of donor acceptor promotes the formation of planar COF networks on graphene. The distinctive electronic properties of covalently functionalized fluorinated epitaxial graphene are attributed to the polar covalent CF bond. The partial ionic character of the CF bond results in the hyperconjugation of CF ?-bonds with an sp2 network of graphene. The implications of resonant-orbital-induced doping for the electronic and magnetic properties of fluorinated epitaxial graphene are discussed. Isolation of single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) with specific chirality and diameters is critical. Water-soluble poly [(m- phenyleneethynylene)- alt- (p- phenyleneethynylene)], 3, is found to exhibit high selectivity in dispersing SWNT (6,5). The polymers ability to sort out SWNT (6,5) appears to be related to the carboncarbon triple bond, whose free rotation allows a unique assembly. We have also demonstrated the important role of dispersion forces on the structural and electronic stability of parallel displaced and Y-shaped benzene dimer conformations. Long-range dispersive forces play a significant role in determining the relative stability of benzene dimer. The effective dispersion of SWNT depends on the helical pitch length associated with the conformations of linkages as well as ?-? stacking configurations. We have revisited the constructing schemes for a large family of stable hollow boron fullerenes with 80 + 8n (n = 0,2,3,...) atoms. In contrast to the hollow pentagon boron fullerenes the stable structures constitute 12 filled pentagons and 12 additional hollow hexagons. Based on results from density-functional calculations, an empirical rule for filled pentagons is proposed along with a revised electron counting scheme. We have also studied the relative stability of various boron fullerene structures and structural and electronic properties of B80 bucky ball and boron nanotubes. Our results reveal that the energy order of fullerenes strongly depends on the exchange-correlation functional employed in the calculation. A systematic study elucidates the importance of incorporating dispersion forces to account for the intricate interplay of two and three centered bonding in boron nanostructures. KEY TERMS: Density Functional Theory, Dispersion-Correction, Nano Materials, Condensed Matter Physics, Materials Chemistry, Organic Chemistry, Physical Chemistr
Structural and electronic properties of boron nano structures: A dispersion-corrected density functional study, 2012
No full textWe have revisited the general constructing schemes for a large family of stable hollowboron fullerenes with 80 + 8n (n = 0,2,3,...) atoms. In contrast to the hollow pentagon boron fullerenes with 12 hollow pentagons, the stable boron fullerenes constitute 12 filled pentagons and 12 additional hollow hexagons, which are more stable than the empty pentagon boron fullerenes including the magic B80 buckyball. Based on results from first-principles density-functional calculations, an empirical rule for filled pentagons is proposed along with a revised electron counting scheme to account for the improved stability and the associated electronic bonding feature. We have also studied the relative stability of various boron fullerene structures and structural and electronic properties of B80 bucky ball and boron nanotubes via dispersion-corrected density-functional calculations. Our results reveal that the energy order of fullerenes strongly depends on the exchange-correlation functional employed in the calculation and the vibrational stability for the icosahedral B80 with the inclusion of dispersion corrections, in contrast to the instability to a tetrahedral B80 with puckered capping atoms from preceding density functional theory calculations. Similarly, the dispersion-corrected density-functional calculations yield non-puckered boron nanotube conformations and an associated metallic state for zigzag tubes. A systematic study elucidates the importance of incorporating dispersion forces to account for the intricate interplay of two and three centered bonding in boron nanostructures
Comparison of different sequencing techniques for identification of SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern with multiplex real-time PCR.
No full textAs different SARS-CoV-2 variants emerge and with the continuous evolvement of sub lineages of the delta variant, it is crucial that all countries carry out sequencing of at least >1% of their infections, in order to detect emergence of variants with higher transmissibility and with ability to evade immunity. However, due to limited resources as many resource poor countries are unable to sequence adequate number of viruses, we compared to usefulness of a two-step commercially available multiplex real-time PCR assay to detect important single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) associated with the variants and compared the sensitivity, accuracy and cost effectiveness of the Illumina sequencing platform and the Oxford Nanopore Technologies' (ONT) platform. 138/143 (96.5%) identified as the alpha and 36/39 (92.3%) samples identified as the delta variants due to the presence of lineage defining SNPs by the multiplex real time PCR, were assigned to the same lineage by either of the two sequencing platforms. 34/37 of the samples sequenced by ONT had <5% ambiguous bases, while 21/37 samples sequenced using Illumina generated <5%. However, the mean PHRED scores averaged at 32.35 by Illumina reads but 10.78 in ONT. This difference results in a base error probability of 1 in 10 by the ONT and 1 in 1000 for Illumina sequencing platform. Sub-consensus single nucleotide variations (SNV) are highly correlated between both platforms (R2 = 0.79) while indels appear to have a weaker correlation (R2 = 0.13). Although the ONT had a slightly higher error rate compared to the Illumina technology, it achieved higher coverage with a lower number or reads, generated less ambiguous bases and was significantly less expensive than Illumina sequencing technology
Efficacy of rupatadine in reducing the incidence of dengue haemorrhagic fever in patients with acute dengue: A randomised, double blind, placebo-controlled trial
No full textBACKGROUND: Rupatadine was previously shown to reduce endothelial dysfunction in vitro, reduced vascular leak in dengue mouse models and to reduce the extent of pleural effusions and thrombocytopenia in patients with acute dengue. Therefore, we sought to determine the efficacy of rupatadine in reducing the incidence of dengue haemorrhagic fever (DHF) in patients with acute dengue. METHODS AND FINDINGS: A phase 2, randomised, double blind, placebo controlled clinical trial was carried out in patients with acute dengue in Sri Lanka in an outpatient setting. Patients with ≤3 days since the onset of illness were either recruited to the treatment arm of oral rupatadine 40mg for 5 days (n = 123) or the placebo arm (n = 126). Clinical and laboratory features were measured daily to assess development of DHF and other complications. 12 (9.7%) patients developed DHF in the treatment arm compared to 22 (17.5%) who were on the placebo although this was not significant (p = 0.09, relative risk 0.68, 95% CI 0.41 to 1.08). Rupatadine also significantly reduced (p = 0.01) the proportion of patients with platelet counts <50,000 cells/mm(3) and significantly reduced (p = 0.04) persisting vomiting, headache and hepatic tenderness (p<0.0001) in patients. There was a significant difference in the duration of illness (p = 0.0002) although the proportion of individuals who required hospital admission in both treatment arms. Only 2 patients on rupatadine and 3 patients on the placebo developed shock, while bleeding manifestations were seen in 6 patients on rupatadine and 7 patients on the placebo. CONCLUSIONS: Rupatadine appeared to be safe and well tolerated and showed a trend towards a reducing proportion of patients with acute dengue who developed DHF. Its usefulness when used in combination with other treatment modalities should be explored. TRIAL REGISTRATION: International Clinical Trials Registration Platform: SLCTR/2017/024
Comparison of amino acid changes detected in SARS-CoV-2 genomes by both sequencing technologies.
No full textAnnotated amino acid substitutions and deletions detected in each sample (n = 37). Mutations colored in green indicates they are synonymously detected by both sequencing technologies, whereas yellow and red indicate mutations detected exclusively by only one technology. The X axis indicates each amino acid, which is denoted by the original amino acid, its position in the protein and the substitution/deletion. Amino acid deletions are denoted by “del”.</p
Combined maximum likelihood phylogenetic tree created using sequence pairs of 37 the samples.
No full textThe ML tree was generated using the consensus sequences of each sequencing technology with 1000 bootstrap replicates using TIM2+F+R2 model. Tree is rooted on SARS-CoV-2 reference MN908947.3 and with samples sequences by Illumina coloured red and those sequenced by ONT coloured blue. Bootstrap support values are shown on each branch. 21/37 samples coupled together with 90% genome coverage from both Illumina and ONT datasets while 7/37 samples coupled together with less than 98% bootstrap support. 9/37 of the samples which failed to couple with their counterpart from ONT or Illumina had moderate to high (3% - 31%) ambiguous bases in either sequences.</p
Basic sequencing matrices for Illumina and Oxford Nanopore (ONT) outputs of 37.
No full textBasic sequencing matrices for Illumina and Oxford Nanopore (ONT) outputs of 37.</p
PHRED base call quality score distribution of samples sequenced by Illumina and ONT.
No full textDistribution plot of PHRED (probability of error per base call in a log scale) quality score (x axis) and error probability (secondary x axis) derived from the PHRED score for the data set sequenced from Illumina (n = 37) and ONT (n = 37). The scores of ONT are shown in blue and Illumina in red. The mean PHRED scores/error probability are shown with the dashed line for each technology. The mean PHRED scores averaged at 32.35 in Illumina reads and 10.78 in ONT.</p
Correlation of sub-consensus allele frequencies observed for SNV and Indels between two sequencing technologies.
No full texta) Correlation between sub-consensus single nucleotide substitution frequencies observed for Illumina and ONT. Nucleotide substitutions detected exclusively by one technology are indicated in green and blue whereas the substitutions detected by both technologies are colored red. Even though more nucleotide substitutions exclusive to ONT were observed, there is a clear positive correlation (R2 = 0.79) between two sequencing technologies. b) Correlation between sub-consensus indel frequencies observed for Illumina and ONT. More indels exclusive to ONT can be seen with a weak correlation (R2 = 0.13) between the indel frequencies between two technologies suggesting ONT tend to result in more false-positive indels.</p
