Tunable Optical and Multiferroic Properties of Zirconium and Dysprosium Substituted Bismuth Ferrite Thin Films.

This work presents optical and multiferroic properties of bismuth ferrite thin films that are affected by zirconium and dysprosium substitution. Non-centrosymmetric BiFeO3,Bi0.95Zr0.05FeO3, and Bi0.95Dy0.05FeO3 thin films were coated on Pt/TiO2/SiO2/Si substrates using the spin coating method. The crystal structure, optical properties, microstructural, ferromagnetic, and ferroelectric properties of doped bismuth ferrite thin films were systematically investigated. From the XRD patterns, all the prepared thin films matched well with the rhombohedral structure with R3c space group with no observed impurity phases. The average crystallite size of the bismuth ferrite thin films were between 35 and 47 nm, and the size depended on the type of dopant. The determined energy band gap values of BiFeO3, Bi0.95Dy0.05FeO3, and Bi0.95Zr0.05FeO3 thin films were 2.32 eV, 2.3 eV, and 2 eV, respectively. Doping of Dy and Zr at the Bi site led to reduced surface roughness. The prepared thin films exhibited enhanced ferromagnetic and ferroelectric properties. The remnant magnetization of Zr-doped BiFeO3 was greater than that of the BiFeO3 and Dy-doped BiFeO3 thin films. From the obtained results, it was concluded that Zr-doped BiFeO3 thin films are suitable for solar cell fabrication.

Effectiveness of structured teaching programme on knowledge and practice regarding care of children with leukemia among mothers.

OBJECTIVE: Since, it is essential to create awareness about chemotherapy among parents, this study assesses the effectiveness of structured teaching programme for mothers on knowledge and practice relating to care of child with leukemia. Pretest was conducted using structured questionnaire on knowledge about care of Leukemia. Teaching was administered to mothers on different aspects of cancer diagnosis and follow up. There was a statistically significant difference in knowledge and practice in post test and a significant correlation of knowledge and practice in post test, but not during pre test. Considering different aspects of care, mothers had only around 50 % knowledge which was close to 100 % post test. The study revealed that there was a significant association between knowledge with age of the child and number of the children, and in practice, association was found in gender of the child and the educational status of the mother. The current study results proved that willingness of parents to receive educational intervention on care of children with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia would definitely result in improvement of the quality of life of childhood survivors.

Renal transplantation in anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic antibody vasculitis.

INTRODUCTION: Anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic antibody-associated vasculitis (AAV) has the propensity to acquire a devastating disease course. Despite the advances in therapeutics, a significant proportion of patients progress to end-stage renal disease (ESRD). Renal transplantation is being increasingly employed in this population, with gradual improvement in outcomes over the years, however, recurrence of disease requires constant surveillance and is associated with graft failure. Areas covered: A structured literature search in PubMed and Medline and abstracts of international conferences was performed to identify cases and cohorts of AAV patients who had undergone renal transplantation for ESRD. The primary objective was to describe the long-term allograft and patient survival and to reflect on current trends in transplantation in AAV and provide recommendations for the phases of pre- and post-transplantation. Expert commentary: Renal transplantation is the treatment of choice for AAV patients with ESRD. The risk of relapse is low with modern immunosuppressive regimes employing mycophenolate mofetil and tacrolimus. It is recommended that the vasculitis be in clinical remission for 12 months prior to transplantation. Although ANCA positivity is not a contraindication for renal transplantation, these patients should be monitored closely for vasculitis relapse post-transplant.

Prevalence and Correlates of Psychological Distress in Adolescent Students from India.

OBJECTIVE: There are limited data on the prevalence and correlates of psychological distress among adolescents in India. This study assessed psychological distress among adolescents who attended school in Kerala, India. METHODS: A total of 7560 students from 73 schools, aged 12 to 19 years completed a self-administered questionnaire that included Kessler Psychological Distress Scale and other standardised instruments to assess various domains. RESULTS: Mild psychological distress was reported by 10.5%, moderate distress by 5.4%, and severe distress by 4.9% of students. Older age, not living with both parents, and urban residence were significantly associated with psychological distress (p < 0.05). Students who experienced psychological distress had a higher risk of reporting academic failure, alcohol and tobacco use, suicidality, and sexual abuse. Increasing severity of psychological distress was associated with higher odds of these correlates. CONCLUSIONS: Psychological distress is common among adolescents and its correlates with negative outcomes suggest the need for early recognition and treatment.

Biosynthesis of AgNPs using Carica Papaya peel extract and evaluation of its antioxidant and antimicrobial activities.

Waste fruit peel mediated synthesis of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) is a green chemistry approach that links nanotechnology and biotechnology. Using biological medium such as peel extract for the biosynthesis of nanoparticles is an ecofriendly and emerging scientific trend. With this back drop the present study focused on the biosynthesis of AgNPs using Carica Papaya peel extract (CPPE) and evaluation of its antimicrobial potentials of the nanoparticles against different human pathogens and to investigate the free radical scavenging activity. Water soluble antioxidant constituents present in Carica Papaya peel extract were mainly responsible for the reduction of silver ions to nanosized Ag particles. UV-vis spectral analysis shows surface plasmon resonance band at 430nm. The presence of active proteins and phenolic groups present in the biomass before and after reduction was identified by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. X-ray diffraction study shows the average size of the silver nanoparticles is in the range of 28nm, as well as revealed their face centered cubic structure. Atomic force microscope image gives the 3D topological characteristic of silver nanoparticles and the particle size ranges from 10 to 30nm. The average particle size distribution of silver nanoparticles is 161nm (Dynamic light scattering) and the corresponding average zeta potential value is -20.5mV, suggesting higher stability of silver nanoparticles. Biologically synthesized nanoparticles efficiently inhibited pathogenic organisms both gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria. The biosynthesized nanoparticles might serve as a potent antioxidant as revealed by DPPH and ABTS+assay.

Antioxidant activity of chemically synthesized AgNPs and biosynthesized Pongamia pinnata leaf extract mediated AgNPs - A comparative study.

Biosynthesis of metal nanoparticles is the present research in the limb of nanotechnology which reduces the toxicity of metal nanoparticles. Green chemistry approach emphasizes that the usage of plant material has offered a reliable, simple, nontoxic and eco-friendly that links Nanotechnology and Biotechnology. Increasing environmental concerns over chemical synthesis routes have resulted in attempts to develop bio-mimetic approaches. The current study deals with novel method for biosynthesis of AgNPs using Pongamia pinnata leaf extract as reducing agent. These biosynthesized nanoparticles were characterized with the help of UV-vis Spectroscopy, Photoluminescence (PL) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), Atomic force microscopy (AFM), Dynamic light scattering (DLS) and Zeta Potential (ZP). Free radical scavenging potential of P. pinnata synthesized silver nanoparticles was evaluated in vitro by using five different assays viz., DPPH, ABT+S, Hydroxyl, Superoxide anion and Nitric oxide scavenging assays are also adopted. Capping of AgNPs by various polyphenolic compounds present in P. pinnata leaf extract appears to be a major contributor to lower toxicity compared to chemically synthesized AgNPs. The surface plasmon resonance shows 425nm and grain size of the AgNPs was measured from XRD and FTIR revealed the bioconjucation of AgNPs. The in vitro antioxidant activity of AgNPs showed a significant effect on scavenging of free radicals. The results suggest that the silver nanoparticles from P. pinnata can be potent natural antioxidants and can be essential for health preservation against oxidative stress related degenerative diseases, such as cancer. The vitality of this study lies in the formation of silver nanoparticles by utilizing the wealth of global ecological resources, eliminating obnoxious and toxic reagents which are hazardous to be handled as well as to be applied.

A novel bio-degradable polymer stabilized Ag/TiO2 nanocomposites and their catalytic activity on reduction of methylene blue under natural sun light.

In the present work we defined a novel method of TiO2 doped silver nanocomposite synthesis and stabilization using bio-degradable polymers viz., chitosan (Cts) and polyethylene glycol (PEG). These polymers are used as reducing agents. The instant formation of AgNPs was analyzed by visual observation and UV-visible spectrophotometer. TiO2 nanoparticles doped at different concentrations viz., 0.03, 0.06 and 0.09mM on PEG/Cts stabilized silver (0.04wt%) were successfully synthesized. This study presents a simple route for the in situ synthesis of both metal and polymer confined within the nanomaterial, producing ternary hybrid inorganic-organic nanomaterials. The results reveal that they have higher photocatalytic efficiencies under natural sun light. The synthesized TiO2 doped Ag nanocomposites (NCs) were characterized by SEM/EDS, TEM, XRD, FTIR and DLS with zeta potential. The stability of Ag/TiO2 nanocomposite is due to the high negative values of zeta potential and capping of constituents present in the biodegradable polymer which is evident from zeta potential and FT-IR studies. The XRD and EDS pattern of synthesized Ag/TiO2 NCs showed their crystalline structure, with face centered cubic geometry oriented in (111) plane. AFM and DLS studies revealed that the diameter of stable Ag/TiO2 NCs was approximately 35nm. Moreover the catalytic activity of synthesize Ag/TiO2 NCs in the reduction of methylene blue was studied by UV-visible spectrophotometer. The synthesized Ag/TiO2 NCs are observed to have a good catalytic activity on the reduction of methylene blue by bio-degradable which is confirmed by the decrease in absorbance maximum value of methylene blue with respect to time using UV-vis spectrophotometer. The significant enhancement in the photocatalytic activity of Ag/TiO2 nanocomposites under sun light irradiation can be ascribed to the effect of noble metal Ag by acting as electron traps in TiO2 band gap.

Temporary redundant transmission mechanism for SCTP multihomed hosts.

In SCTP's Concurrent Multipath Transfer, if data is sent to the destined IP(s) without knowledge of the paths condition, packets may be lost or delayed. This is because of the bursty nature of IP traffic and physical damage to the network. To offset these problems, network path status is examined using our new mechanism Multipath State Aware Concurrent Multipath Transfer using redundant transmission (MSACMT-RTv2). Here the status of multiple paths is analyzed, initially and periodically thereafter transmitted. After examination, paths priority is assigned before transmission. One path is temporarily employed as redundant path for the failure-expected path (FEP); this redundant path is used for transmitting redundant data. At the end of predefined period, reliability of the FEP is confirmed. If FEP is ensured to be reliable, temporary path is transformed into normal CMT path. MSACMT-RTv2 algorithm is simulated using the Delaware University ns-2 SCTP/CMT module (ns-2; V2.29). We present and discuss MSACMT-RTv2 performance in asymmetric path delay and with finite receiver buffer (rbuf) size. We extended our experiment to test robustness of this algorithm and inferred exhaustive result. It is inferred that our algorithm outperforms better in terms of increasing the throughput and reducing the latency than existing system.

Plant mediated green synthesis and antibacterial activity of silver nanoparticles using Emblica officinalis fruit extract.

A green straight forward method of synthesizing silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) in an aqueous medium was designed using Emblica officinalis (EO) fruit extract as stabilizer and reducer. The formation of AgNPs depends on the effect of extract concentration and pH were studied. The AgNPs was synthesized using E.officinalis (fruit extract) and nanoparticles were characterized using UV-Vis spectrophotometer, the presence of biomolecules of E.officinalis capped in AgNPs was found by FT-IR analysis, shape and size were examined by SEM and XRD. The XRD analysis respects the Bragg's law and confirmed the crystalline nature of silver nanoparticles. From XRD the average size of AgNPs was found to be around 15nm. AFM has proved to be very helpful in the determination and verification of various morphological features and parameters. EO fruit extract mediated AgNPs was synthesized and confirmed through kinetic behavior of nanoparticles. The shape of the bio-synthesized AgNPs was spherical. Potent biomolecules of E.officinalis such as polyphenols, glucose, and fructose was capped with AgNPs which reduces the toxicity. The synthesized AgNPs were tested for its antibacterial activity against the isolates by disc diffusion method. The obtained results confirmed that the E.officinalis fruit extract is a very good bioreductant for the synthesis of AgNPs. It was investigated that the synthesized AgNPs showed inhibition and had significant antibacterial against both gram-positive and gram-negative bacterial strains.

Spectral, morphological and antibacterial studies of ß-cyclodextrin stabilized silver - Chitosan nanocomposites.

The aim of the study is to investigate the antibacterial properties and characterization of ß-cyclodextrin (ß-CD) stabilized silver - chitosan nanocomposite (Ag-Cts NCs). An effective and eco-friendly technique for the synthesis of Ag-Cts NCs in the presence of a strong stabilizing agent ß-CD is described. The well formed nanocomposites were characterized by the Ultraviolet Visible spectroscopy (UV-Vis), X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FT-IR), Photoluminescence spectroscopy (PL), Scanning electron microscope (SEM/EDS), Atomic force microscope (AFM), High resolution transmission electron microscope (HR-TEM) and Zeta potential measurement (ZP). The results confirmed that the poly dispersed Ag-Cts NCs are less than 15nm in size with spherical shape and show good stability. The antibacterial activity was also investigated and ß-CD coated Ag-Cts NCs showed a promising bacterial activity against gram negative Escherichia coli (E. coli) and gram positive Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) micro-organism.

Synthesis of structural and optical characterization of surfactant capped ZnO nanocrystalline.

The presence of surfactant (CTAB) at three different concentrations viz., (0.5, 1 and 1.5 M) on zinc oxide (ZnO) nanocrystalline at 550°C was synthesized. The optical properties of each surfactant capped zinc oxide nanocrystalline were investigated using UV-Visible absorption. The characterization of these nanocrystalline was performed by X-ray diffractometer Spectrum (XRD), Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) with energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS), and Atomic force microscopy (AFM) and Fourier transformer infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy. The effect of CTAB on the morphology of the ZnO was studied by SEM/EDS which revealed that the diameter of the product is in the range of 42-70 nm. Out of the three surfactant concentrations CTAB (0.5 M) capped zinc oxide nanoparticle has smallest crystalline size of 19.4 nm. Thus, the presence of surfactant on the surface of zinc oxide plays a significant role in reducing defect. The excitonic UV emission has been observed at 275 nm.

Rituximab for the treatment of relapses in antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibody-associated vasculitis.

OBJECTIVE: Disease relapses are frequent in antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibody-associated vasculitis (AAV). This study was undertaken to evaluate outcomes in patients with AAV who are re-treated with rituximab (RTX) and prednisone for severe disease relapses. METHODS: The Rituximab in AAV trial was a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial comparing the rates of remission induction among patients treated with RTX (n = 99) and patients treated with cyclophosphamide (CYC) followed by azathioprine (AZA) (n = 98). Prednisone was tapered to discontinuation after 5.5 months. After remission was achieved, patients who experienced a severe disease relapse between months 6 and 18 were eligible to receive RTX and prednisone on an open-label basis according to a prespecified protocol. Investigators remained blinded with regard to the original treatment assignment. RESULTS: Twenty-six patients received RTX for disease relapse after remission had initially been achieved with their originally assigned treatment. Fifteen of these patients were initially randomized to receive RTX and 11 to receive CYC/AZA. Thirteen (87%) of the patients originally assigned to receive RTX and 10 (91%) originally assigned to receive CYC/AZA achieved remission again with open-label RTX (an overall percentage of 88%). In half of the patients treated with open-label RTX, prednisone could be discontinued entirely. Patients in this cohort experienced fewer adverse events compared to the overall study population (4.7 adverse events per patient-year versus 11.8 adverse events per patient-year). CONCLUSION: Re-treatment of AAV relapses with RTX and glucocorticoids appears to be a safe and effective strategy, regardless of previous treatment.

Structural, FTIR and photoluminescence studies of Fe doped ZnO nanopowder by co-precipitation method.

An investigation on Fe-doped ZnO (Zn1-xFexO, x=0, 0.03, 0.06 and 0.09mM) nanopowder have been synthesized by co-precipitated method annealed at 550°C were reported. The structural, morphological and optical properties of the samples were studied by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) with energy dispersive spectra (EDS) analysis, Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM), UV-Visible spectroscopy, and photoluminescence (PL) techniques, Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy. The XRD spectrum shows all the samples are hexagonal wurtzite structure. The presence of functional groups and chemical bonding are confirmed by FT-IR. The PL spectra of the Zn1-xFexxO systems show that the shift in near band edge (NBE) UV emission from 344.54 to 364.21nm and a shift in green band (GB) emission from 484 to 540nm which conforms the substitution of Fe into the ZnO lattice. UV-Visible measurement showed a decrease in the energy gap with increasing Fe content, probably due to an increase in the lattice parameters. It is also found that these results are in good agreement with other calculated and experimental results.

BK virus replication in patients with anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic antibody-associated vasculitis.

BACKGROUND: BK virus (BKV) is an important cause of renal dysfunction in kidney transplant (KTX) recipients. Immunosuppression intensity is a major risk factor for BKV replication in these patients. The prevalence of BKV replication in immunosuppressed patients with granulomatosis with polyangiitis (GPA) and microscopic polyangiitis (MPA) without transplant is not known. METHODS: Consecutive patients (n = 37) with a diagnosis of GPA (n = 25) or MPA (n = 12) without history of KTX were evaluated for plasma BKV replication by quantitative PCR (group A). Descriptive data were collected. BKV replication in this nontransplant immunosuppressed vasculitis cohort was compared with a historical cohort of vasculitis KTX recipients (group B). RESULTS: Group A patients had mean disease duration of 75 months. Mean age was 57 years and 54% were female. Mean time from vasculitis onset to BKV testing was 36 months, and 19/37 patients were tested within 24 months of induction therapy. At the time of BKV testing, 73% were on prednisone (P) with azathioprine, mycophenolate mofetil (MMF), methotrexate or leflunomide. None of the nontransplanted vasculitis patients had detectable plasma BKV. Among 35 patients in group B, 16 were tested for BKV; 5/16 (31%) had detectable virus in plasma at a mean of 6 months after TX (p = 0.002). Most (94%) were on maintenance therapy with MMF, P and tacrolimus. CONCLUSION: Immunosuppressed patients with GPA/MPA without KTX had no evidence of plasma BKV. However, BKV was common in GPA/MPA patients after KTX, suggesting that replication may be related to differences in immunosuppression, alloimmune activation or differences in host defense mechanisms.

Synthesis, structural and optical properties of ZnO and Ni-doped ZnO hexagonal nanorods by Co-precipitation method.

Ni doped ZnO (Zn1-xNixO, x=0.0, 0.03, 0.06 and 0.09) nanorods have been synthesized by Co-precipitation method. Zinc acetate dehydrate [Zn(CH3COO)2⋅2H2O], nickel nitrate [Ni(NO3)3⋅6H2O], sodium hydroxide and poly (vinyl pyrrolidone) (PVP) were mixed together. The morphology, optical and microstructure were determined by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Energy dispersive spectrum (EDS), atomic force microscopy (AFM), UV-DRS spectrum, photoluminescence spectra (PL) and Fourier transformer infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR). The presence of functional groups and chemical bonding is confirmed by FTIR. PL spectra of the Zn1-xNixO systems shows that the shift in near band edge (NBE) UV emission from 321 to 322 nm and a shift in red band (RB) emission from 620 to 631 nm which conforms the substitution of Ni into the ZnO lattice. The investigation conformed that the products were of the wurtzite structure of ZnO. The hexagonal nanorods have edge length 31 nm and thickness of 39 nm. EDS result showed that the amount of Ni in the product is about 9%, these Ni doped hexagonal nanorods exhibits a blue shifts and weak (UV) emission peak, compared with pure ZnO, which may be induced by the Ni-doping different concentrations 0.0, 0.3, 0.6 and 0.9 M. The growth mechanism of the doped hexagonal nanorods was also discussed.

Chemical profiling of Elaeocarpus serratus L. by GC-MS.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the possible bioactive components of the ethanolic extract of leaves of Elaeocarpus serratus (E. serratus). METHODS: The present research was carried out by using GC-MS analysis, while mass spectra of the compounds found in the extract was matched with the National Institute of Standards and Technology and Wiley library. RESULTS: Thirty components from leaves of the above said plant were identified. The active principles with their retention time, molecular formula, molecular weight and concentration (%) in the ethanol extracts of leaf of E. serratus are obtained. CONCLUSIONS: This is the first report of documentation of active constituents from leaves of E. serratus. The research reveals the potential of E. serratus leaves as a good source of bioactive compounds such as fatty acid esters, alcohols, hydrocarbons, aldehydes, alkenes, fatty acids and amides that justify the use of this plant for its various ailments by traditional practitioners.

Clinical outcomes of remission induction therapy for severe antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibody-associated vasculitis.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the reasons that complete remission is not achieved or maintained with original treatment in some patients with antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibody (ANCA)-associated vasculitis (AAV) treated with rituximab (RTX) or with cyclophosphamide/azathioprine (CYC/AZA). METHODS: The Rituximab in AAV trial was a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial comparing the rate of remission induction among patients treated with RTX (n = 99) and patients treated with CYC followed by AZA (n = 98). Glucocorticoids were tapered over a period of 5 months. The primary outcome measure was lack of disease activity without glucocorticoid treatment at 6 months. To determine the most important reason for failure to achieve the primary outcome, 7 hierarchical categories of reasons were defined retrospectively (uncontrolled disease, adverse event leading to therapy discontinuation, severe flare, limited flare, Birmingham Vasculitis Activity Score for Wegener's Granulomatosis >0, prednisone treatment at any dosage, and other). RESULTS: Although remission (lack of disease activity) was achieved in 170 of the 197 patients (86%) in the first 6 months, the primary outcome measure was not achieved in 42%. There were 3 deaths. Twenty-four percent of the patients failed to achieve the primary end point due to active disease: 10 (5%) experienced uncontrolled disease in the first month and 37 (19%) experienced flares after initial improvement. In the majority of such patients, treatment with blinded crossover or according to best medical judgment led to disease control. Ninety-one percent of patients who had uncontrolled disease or experienced a severe flare had proteinase 3 (PR3)-ANCA. When patients with uncontrolled disease were excluded from analysis, those who were PR3-ANCA positive were found to experience fewer flares when treated with RTX compared to CYC/AZA (8 of 59 [14%] versus 20 of 62 [32%]; P = 0.02). Neither ANCA titers nor B cell counts predicted disease flare. CONCLUSION: Current treatment regimens are largely successful in controlling AAV, but in approximately one-fourth of patients, active disease persists or recurs in the first 6 months despite treatment. PR3-ANCA positivity is a risk factor for recurrence or persistence of severe disease. ANCA titers and B cell detectability are poor predictors of both disease relapse and disease quiescence in the first 6 months.

Characteristics and outcome of crescentic glomerulonephritis in patients with both antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibody and anti-glomerular basement membrane antibody.

A subset of patients with crescentic glomerulonephritis (CGN) is characterized serologically by the presence of antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibody (ANCA) and anti-glomerular basement membrane antibody (anti-GBM) called "double positive" disease. The clinical significance of the occurrence of both antibodies is not clear. This study aims to describe the clinical and histologic characteristics and outcomes of CGN in a US cohort of double positive (DP) patients and compare them to patients with anti-GBM disease only or ANCA only (ANCA-associated vasculitis (AAV)). Renal biopsies with a diagnosis of CGN with either pauci-immune or linear immunofluorescence were selected and classified as AAV, anti-GBM disease, or DP based on serologic testing at the time of biopsy. Data on demographics, clinical presentation, treatment, and outcome were obtained by chart review. Six patients with anti-GBM disease, 9 with DP disease, and 18 AAV patients matched for year of diagnosis with DP were identified. Extrarenal disease manifestations were more prominent in the DP patients. The DP patients had severe renal dysfunction at presentation with eight of nine patients requiring dialysis at presentation. Renal biopsy findings of DP patients were similar to anti-GBM disease with majority of glomeruli showing cellular crescents. Eighty-nine percent of patients were treated with immunosuppressive therapy and 78 % with plasmapheresis. At 1 year, all nine DP patients reached end-stage renal disease. We conclude that the DP patients share extrarenal manifestations similar to AAV patients while the renal manifestations resemble anti-GBM patients clinically and histologically. The renal prognosis of DP patients remains poor despite treatment.

Growth, structural, spectral, optical, and thermal studies on amino acid based new NLO single crystal: L-phenylalanine-4-nitrophenol.

A new organic nonlinear optical single crystal, L-phenylalanine-4-nitrophenol (LPAPN) belonging to the amino acid group has been successfully grown by slow evaporation technique. The lattice parameters of the grown crystal have been determined by X-ray diffraction studies. FT-IR spectrum was recorded to identify the presence of functional group and molecular structure was confirmed by NMR spectrum. Thermal strength of the grown crystal has been studied using TG-DTA analyses. The grown crystals were found to be transparent in the entire visible region. The existence of second harmonic generation signals was observed using Nd:YAG laser with fundamental wavelength of 1064 nm.

Synthesis, structural, optical, thermal and dielectric studies on new organic nonlinear optical crystal by solution growth technique.

Single crystals of L-phenylalanine-benzoic acid (LPBA) were successfully grown from aqueous solution by solvent evaporation technique. Purity of the crystals was increased by the method of recrystallization. The XRD analysis confirms that the crystal belongs to the monoclinic system with noncentrosymmetric space group P21. The chemical structure of compound was established by FT-NMR technique. The presence of functional groups was estimated qualitatively by Fourier transform infrared analysis (FT-IR). Ultraviolet-visible spectral analyses showed that the crystal has low UV cut-off at 254 nm combined with very good transparency of 90% in a wide range. The optical band gap was estimated to be 6.91 eV. Thermal behavior has been studied with TGA/DTA analyses. The existence of second harmonic generation (SHG) efficiency was found to be 0.56 times the value of KDP. The dielectric behavior of the sample was also studied for the first time.