19 research outputs found
Redox-Responsive Nanocapsules for the Spatiotemporal Release of Miltefosine in Lysosome: Protection against Leishmania
No full textLeishmaniasis, a vector-borne disease, is caused by intracellular parasite Leishmania donovani. Unlike most intracellular pathogens, Leishmania donovani are lodged in parasitophorous vacuoles and replicate within the phagolysosomes in macrophages. Effective vaccines against this disease are still under development, while the efficacy of the available drugs is being questioned owing to the toxicity for nonspecific distribution in human physiology and the reported drug-resistance developed by Leishmania donovani. Thus, a stimuli-responsive nanocarrier that allows specific localization and release of the drug in the lysosome has been highly sought after for addressing two crucial issues, lower drug toxicity and a higher drug efficacy. We report here a unique lysosome targeting polymeric nanocapsules, formed via inverse mini-emulsion technique, for stimuli-responsive release of the drug miltefosine in the lysosome of macrophage RAW 264.7 cell line. A benign polymeric backbone, with a disulfide bonding susceptible to an oxidative cleavage, is utilized for the organelle-specific release of miltefosine. Oxidative rupture of the disulfide bond is induced by intracellular glutathione (GSH) as an endogenous stimulus. Such a stimuli-responsive release of the drug miltefosine in the lysosome of macrophage RAW 264.7 cell line over a few hours helped in achieving an improved drug efficacy by 200 times as compared to pure miltefosine. Such a drug formulation could contribute to a new line of treatment for leishmaniasis.A. Das acknowledges SERB (India) Grants (CRG/2020/000492 and JCB/2017/000004) and DBT Grant (BT/PR22251/NNT/28/1274/2017) for supporting this research. N. Mukherjee acknowledges SERB (India) Grant PDF/2016/001437 and K. Das acknowledges the grant EMR/2015/001674 for supporting this research. Financial support from DST (DST/INSPIRE/03/2017/002477) is acknowledged by R.T. This manuscript bears CSMCRI registration no 7/2021.Pramanik, SK (corresponding author), CSIR Cent Salt & Marine Chem Res Inst, Bhavnagar 364002, Gujarat, India.
Mukherjee, N (corresponding author), CSIR Indian Inst Chem Biol, Canc Biol & Inflammatory Disorder Div, Kolkata 700032, India.
Chattopadhy, S (corresponding author), BITS Pilani, Pilani 403726, Goa, India.
Das, A (corresponding author), Indian Inst Sci Educ & Res Kolkata, Mohanpur 741246, W Bengal, India.
[email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]
Understanding Global Street Food Consumer Behavior and Experience: A Narrative Review of Literature and Development of Framework
Full text linkThis paper explores global street food consumer behavior and consumption experience. The aim of this paper is to gain a holistic comprehension of street food consumption decision making and experience through exploring nature and sources of perceptions, attitude and expectations surrounding street food, the characteristics of the product offering and the domain within which it is served and consumed. To achieve this aim the author engages in a narrative review of academic research on consumer behavior of street food, provides a holistic picture of consumption experience of street food through consolidating and interpreting research findings, and extends the theoretical understanding of street food consumption experience through development of a global consumer decision making framework. The review indicates that there is a growing interest in street food consumer behavior research. Studies have been done across many countries and published across a diverse set of multidisciplinary journals. Research findings from the selected articles collectively indicate that street food experience is multifaceted, includes cognitive and affective components, and happens at the meeting point of consumer psychology surrounding street food and the multi touch point dimensions of the experiencescape of street food. Tourists and domestic consumers seem to be cautiously enthusiastic about consuming street food, seeing benefits in an affordable, convenient, cultural, authentic, traditional and out of the routine experience but also risks about food safety. Consumers think vendors provide ample smell, taste, texture, appearance, flavor and fresh food at a value price and proficient service which is a big draw. At the same time, they have shown concerns about safe handling of food and desire several improvements in the areas of interaction, engagement and an enjoyable physical environment. Practical implications for street food businesses and street food destination tourism administrators are discussed and future research areas for academia recommended
On the characteristic polynomial of the Gross regulator matrix
No full textDasgupta S, Spieß M. ON THE CHARACTERISTIC POLYNOMIAL OF THE GROSS REGULATOR MATRIX. TRANSACTIONS OF THE AMERICAN MATHEMATICAL SOCIETY. 2019;372(2):803-827.We present a conjectural formula for the principal minors and the characteristic polynomial of Gross's regulator matrix associated to a totally odd character of a totally real field. The formula is given in terms of the Eisenstein cocycle, which was defined and studied earlier by the authors and collaborators. For the determinant of the regulator matrix, our conjecture follows from recent work of Kakde, Ventullo, and the first author. For the diagonal entries, our conjecture overlaps with the conjectural formula presented in our prior work. The intermediate cases are new and provide a refinement of the Gross-Stark conjecture
Addressing the Needs of F-2 Wives in the United States
No full textThe author analyzes the impact of current university regulations and policies on the everyday lives of wives of international students. The research process involved interviews with twenty-six women, located at two educational institutions, who came to the US on an F-2 visa (student dependent visa). It also included analysis of documents related to immigration policies and university regulations that had a direct impact on the experiences of wives of international students. The findings show that F-2 wives' adjustment experiences are strongly influenced by the level of institutional support provided by the university. The chapter concludes with recommendations for federal and university policies that create a welcoming environment for international students and their families.</jats:p
A Shintani-type formula for Gross--Stark units over function fields
No full textLet F be a totally real number field of degree n, and let H be a finite abelian extension of F. Let p denote a prime ideal of F that splits completely in H. Following Brumer and Stark, Tate conjectured the existence of a p-unit u in H whose p-adic absolute values are related in a precise way to the partial zeta-functions of the extension H/F. Gross later refined this conjecture by proposing a formula for the p-adic norm of the element u. Recently, using methods of Shintani, the first author refined the conjecture further by proposing an exact formula for u in the p-adic completion of H. In this article we state and prove a function field analogue of this Shintani-type formula. The role of the totally real field F is played by the function field of a curve over a finite field in which n places have been removed. These places represent the “real places” of F. Our method of proof follows that of Hayes, who proved Gross’s conjecture for function fields using the theory of Drinfeld modules and their associated exponential functions
Evolution of local structure and stress development during thermal treatment of sol-gel-derived PZT-based thin layers
No full textSignificant progress has been made in recent years on the deposition of ferroelectric thin layers by sol-gel processing. However, to sustain further improvements in the technique necessary for widespread applications, a systematic approach to the study of physical, chemical and structural changes that occur during transformation from the as-deposited state to the desired perovskite phase must be undertaken. In view of the need for a fundamental understanding of structure-processing relationships in these systems, this thesis investigates variations in local structure and network development for sol-gel derived precursors in the lead zirconate titanate (PZT) system as a function of heat treatment conditions.Structural studies were based on extended x-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS) analysis of gels and thin layers. Consolidation of the thin layer network was monitored by in situ ellipsometry and thermal analysis techniques. The resulting constrained shrinkage for the deposited layers produced large stresses (up to 180 MPa), which were determined by wafer bending measurements.EXAFS measurements for partially heat-treated PZT gels are reported. After gels were dried and pyrolyzed, the amorphous structure was determined from results obtained from the titanium and zirconium K-edges and the lead L\rm\sb{III}-edge. For lead titanate (PT) and PZT53/47 gels, the results indicated the formation of separate TiO\sb6 and ZrO\sb6 units linked via corner-sharing oxygen atoms, with Pb in random positions. For lead zirconate (PZ) gels, both Zr-O-Pb and Zr-O-Zr linkages were possible. These findings indicate heterogeneity at the molecular level and nanoscale.Partially heat-treated thin layers of lead titanate deposited on polycrystalline alumina substrates were heat treated under various conditions to examine the evolution of the crystalline phase. Structural ordering was initiated by a progressive enhancement in the Pb-O coordination number and increased occupancy of Pb in the second shell of Ti, with a corresponding breakdown in the Ti-Ti second neighbor ordering. However, crystallization preceded complete development of the short-range order characteristic of the tetragonal perovskite unit.Densification of PZT thin layers spin-coated on silicon was monitored by shrinkage and optical measurements. With increasing Zr content, the net consolidation was greater and occurred over a wider temperature range. These differences were related to differences in the structure of the as-hydrolyzed precursors. Most of the total shrinkage (e.g., 40-45% linear shrinkage) on heating to 500\sp\circC occurred during drying and pyrolysis, which resulted in large tensile stress (150MPa). Subsequent stress behavior was primarily governed by the thermal expansion mismatch between the substrate and the coating.Stress development for multideposited PT coatings was determined by the structure of the layer on which the coating was being deposited and heat treated. Progressive crystallization of the layer induced a change in the thermal expansion coefficient, thereby initiating a change in the stress state from tensile to compressive. The observed behavior is discussed in terms of nucleation mechanisms at the multilayer interfaces and within the coating as a whole.This study has demonstrated the importance of identifying structural pathways and developing a basic understanding of the densification behavior in sol-gel derived materials as a function of thermal processing conditions. The findings of this research work should aid in developing suitable experimental procedures for future processing of gel-derived thin layers.Made available in DSpace on 2011-05-07T13:23:41Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 2
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Brumer-Stark Units and Explicit Class Field Theory
Full text linkLet be a totally real field of degree and an odd prime. We prove
the -part of the integral Gross--Stark conjecture for the Brumer--Stark
-units living in CM abelian extensions of . In previous work, the first
author showed that such a result implies an exact -adic analytic formula for
these Brumer--Stark units up to a bounded root of unity error, including a
``real multiplication'' analogue of Shimura's celebrated reciprocity law from
the theory of Complex Multiplication. In this paper we show that the
Brumer--Stark units, along with other easily described elements (these
are simply square roots of certain elements of ) generate the maximal
abelian extension of . We therefore obtain an unconditional construction of
the maximal abelian extension of any totally real field, albeit one that
involves -adic integration for infinitely many primes .
Our method of proof of the integral Gross--Stark conjecture is a
generalization of our previous work on the Brumer--Stark conjecture. We apply
Ribet's method in the context of group ring valued Hilbert modular forms. A key
new construction here is the definition of a Galois module \nabla_{\!\sL}
that incorporates an integral version of the Greenberg--Stevens \sL-invariant
into the theory of Ritter--Weiss modules. This allows for the reinterpretation
of Gross's conjecture as the vanishing of the Fitting ideal of
\nabla_{\!\sL}. This vanishing is obtained by constructing a quotient of
\nabla_{\!\sL} whose Fitting ideal vanishes using the Galois representations
associated to cuspidal Hilbert modular forms..Comment: 70 pages (to appear in Duke Math. J.
Avabodhaka: A System to Analyse and Facilitate Interactive Learning in an ICT Based System for Large Classroom
No full textAbstractThis paper proposes an ICT based system for enhancing teaching and learning in a large classroom and increasing the interactivity to improve learning. Typically, such a classroom suffers from difficulties in audibility of lectures, seamless teacher-student interaction, monitoring attention of students, collecting attendance and conducting examinations. BYOD (Bring Your Own Device)1 paradigm has been assumed for this system. The paper focuses on a method for improving interaction in the classroom by monitoring students’ activities. A report for non-interaction with the system is sent to the teacher after regular intervals, which will assist the teacher in identifying students with low interest in the class lecture. All the activities and interaction of the students in the class are stored as activity records in the system through which the level of interaction of the student can be made. The proposed system solves both the problems associated with teaching and learning in a large classroom as well as helps in prevention of frequent use of smartphones for non-learning purposes. An empirical study was conducted to test the acceptability of the system. The results obtained from the experiences of the participants were found to be encouraging and positive
Evolution of local structure and stress development during thermal treatment of sol-gel-derived PZT-based thin layers
No full textSignificant progress has been made in recent years on the deposition of ferroelectric thin layers by sol-gel processing. However, to sustain further improvements in the technique necessary for widespread applications, a systematic approach to the study of physical, chemical and structural changes that occur during transformation from the as-deposited state to the desired perovskite phase must be undertaken. In view of the need for a fundamental understanding of structure-processing relationships in these systems, this thesis investigates variations in local structure and network development for sol-gel derived precursors in the lead zirconate titanate (PZT) system as a function of heat treatment conditions.Structural studies were based on extended x-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS) analysis of gels and thin layers. Consolidation of the thin layer network was monitored by in situ ellipsometry and thermal analysis techniques. The resulting constrained shrinkage for the deposited layers produced large stresses (up to 180 MPa), which were determined by wafer bending measurements.EXAFS measurements for partially heat-treated PZT gels are reported. After gels were dried and pyrolyzed, the amorphous structure was determined from results obtained from the titanium and zirconium K-edges and the lead L\rm\sb{III}-edge. For lead titanate (PT) and PZT53/47 gels, the results indicated the formation of separate TiO\sb6 and ZrO\sb6 units linked via corner-sharing oxygen atoms, with Pb in random positions. For lead zirconate (PZ) gels, both Zr-O-Pb and Zr-O-Zr linkages were possible. These findings indicate heterogeneity at the molecular level and nanoscale.Partially heat-treated thin layers of lead titanate deposited on polycrystalline alumina substrates were heat treated under various conditions to examine the evolution of the crystalline phase. Structural ordering was initiated by a progressive enhancement in the Pb-O coordination number and increased occupancy of Pb in the second shell of Ti, with a corresponding breakdown in the Ti-Ti second neighbor ordering. However, crystallization preceded complete development of the short-range order characteristic of the tetragonal perovskite unit.Densification of PZT thin layers spin-coated on silicon was monitored by shrinkage and optical measurements. With increasing Zr content, the net consolidation was greater and occurred over a wider temperature range. These differences were related to differences in the structure of the as-hydrolyzed precursors. Most of the total shrinkage (e.g., 40-45% linear shrinkage) on heating to 500\sp\circC occurred during drying and pyrolysis, which resulted in large tensile stress (150MPa). Subsequent stress behavior was primarily governed by the thermal expansion mismatch between the substrate and the coating.Stress development for multideposited PT coatings was determined by the structure of the layer on which the coating was being deposited and heat treated. Progressive crystallization of the layer induced a change in the thermal expansion coefficient, thereby initiating a change in the stress state from tensile to compressive. The observed behavior is discussed in terms of nucleation mechanisms at the multilayer interfaces and within the coating as a whole.This study has demonstrated the importance of identifying structural pathways and developing a basic understanding of the densification behavior in sol-gel derived materials as a function of thermal processing conditions. The findings of this research work should aid in developing suitable experimental procedures for future processing of gel-derived thin layers.U of I OnlyETDs are only available to UIUC Users without author permissio
Sodium-Glucose Cotransporter-2 Inhibitors (SGLT-2i) Reduce Hospitalization for Heart Failure Only and Have No Effect on Atherosclerotic Cardiovascular Events - A Meta-Analysis
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