"Inside Out of Mind": Alternative Realities, Dementia and Graphic Medicine.

Graphic medicine, an interdisciplinary field situated at the crossroads of comics and healthcare, operates as a medium through which the intricate nature of experiences with illness can be articulated, challenging orthodox medical dogmatism in an engaging and accessible way. Combining the affordances of comics and the narrative power of storytelling, graphic medicine elucidates the socio-cultural stigmatization of dementia influenced by a multitude of discourses. Diverging from existing discourses that depict individuals with Alzheimer's disease (AD) as zombies, brain-dead, or empty shells, graphic memoirs reconstruct these reductive notions and represent them as imaginative, productive, and perceptive. Taking these cues, the present paper close reads some sections of Dana Walrath's (2016) Aliceheimer's: Alzheimer's Through the Looking Glass in order to demonstrate how graphic medicine reconceptualizes the preeminent hallucinatory experiences of her AD-afflicted mother, Alice, as visions. Walrath deploys collage art to epitomize Alice's ordeal with AD. In particular, Walrath deploys thought-provoking fragments from Lewis Caroll's Alice in Wonderland, strategically to proximate Alice's experiences with AD and tackle the problem of dementia and sociality. Additionally, the paper explores how the text fosters interdependence, respect, and trust to recognize and restore Alice's personhood. The paper concludes by discussing how Aliceheimer's operates as an alternative paradigm beyond the confines of biomedical and cultural models of dementia through the use of lexical puissance.

Person-centered care, dementia and graphic medicine.

Dementia is currently promoted as an 'epidemic.' Such a figuration not only impacts the afflicted person but also affects caregiving practices. While the medical model solely delves into the histopathological study of dementia, recent research observes that person-centered care practices provide new ways of paying attention to the dementia-afflicted individuals. Graphic medicine is one such site which intervenes and rewrites the dominant narratives of dementia which treat dementia in terms of loss and care burden. Taking these cues, through a close reading of Valérie Villieu and Raphaël Sarfati's graphic narrative Little Josephine: Memory in Pieces (2020), the present article attempts to investigate cultural alternatives to the demonising figurations of dementia and dementia-related care practices. In so doing, the article not only establishes the increasing role of graphic medicine as a revisionary tool/as a movement but also, through close reading Little Josephine: Memory in Pieces (2020), humanises and reverses dementia care as a 'burden'.

Direct Observation of Solvated Electrons in Deep Eutectic Solvents: Efficient Capture of Presolvated Electrons by DNA Base.

The solvated electron being the simplest form of an extremely reactive intermediate is of great fundamental interest in chemistry, physics, and biology since its discovery. Recently, deep eutectic solvents (DESs) have been in focus as biodegradable and cost-effective alternative to ionic liquids (ILs) for different applications. These include areas where electron transport and transfer processes are involved. Herein, we present the first report on the existence, yield, and properties of solvated electrons in three deep eutectic solvents, reline, ethaline, and glyceline, composed of choline chloride as a hydrogen bond acceptor and urea, ethylene glycol, and glycerol (Gly) as hydrogen bond donors, respectively, at a molar ratio of 1:2. The varied transient absorption spectra of solvated electrons in these DESs have been explained on the basis of polarity, hydrogen-bonding effect, and the moieties responsible for creating the environment for solvation. The yield and average lifetime follow the trends in viscosity as well as the reactivity of electrons with the components. The C37 value, a measure of the efficiency of scavenging presolvated electrons, is the highest in ethaline in the case of nitrate ions, which indicates the slowest solvation process in this DES. The presolvated electron capture by a DNA base, an aspect considered to be important in cancer radiotherapy, could be monitored conveniently in these liquids at a much longer time scale compared to that reported in aqueous solutions. Bimolecular rate constants for the reaction of solvated electrons with nitrate and the DNA base have been calculated and compared in the three DESs. Unlike in ILs, these experimentally obtained values are comparable to the diffusion-controlled rate constants in DESs.

Au nanoparticles functionalized 3D-MoS2 nanoflower: An efficient SERS matrix for biomolecule sensing.

Fabrication of Molybdenum disulfide (MoS2) nanostructures and surface functionalization with noble metal nano particles is an emerging field of research as it has potential applications in electronic devices and chemical sensing. Here we report application of gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) decorated MoS2 nanoflowers (Au-MoS2 NFs) as an efficient bio-sensor. MoS2 NFs, synthesized using green synthesis process, are further functionalized with AuNPs to tune their physical properties and make them more appropriate for biological applications. The abundant 'hot-spots' created by AuNPs through localization of electromagnetic field endows the Au-MoS2 hybrid structure as an excellent substrate for biochemical sensing through surface enhanced Raman scattering (SERS). The sensing efficiency of the SERS substrate is examined using Rh6G as probe molecule with concentration as low as 10-12 M. Main emphasis is given in detecting free bilirubin, an important component of human blood, using SERS technique. Au-MoS2 NF SERS substrate exhibits high sensitivity, stability and excellent reproducibility in sensing bilirubin from high level (10-3 M) to picomolar level. The concentration (C) dependent SERS intensity (I) is found to follow the general relationship I = Cα, with α ranging from 0.09 to 0.12. The substrate shows excellent selectivity and reliability while sensing of free bilirubin performed in human serum in the presence of crucial interferences such as dextrose, cholesterol and phosphate. In the present study, this Au-MoS2 hybrid offers a new potential biosensing technology for free bilirubin detection and is anticipated to be applied for clinic diagnosis.

Pulse Radiolysis and Computational Studies on a Pyrrolidinium Dicyanamide Ionic Liquid: Detection of the Dimer Radical Anion.

A pulse radiolysis study on pyrrolidinium cation based ionic liquids is presented herein. Time-resolved absorption spectra for 1-methyl-1-propylpyrrolidinium dicyanamide (DCA) at 500 ns after the electron pulse show broad absorption bands at wavelengths below 440 nm and at 640 nm. In pyrrolidinium bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide (NTf2) and tris(perfluoroethyl)trifluorophosphate (FAP) ILs, the transient absorption below 440 nm is much weaker. The absorption at 500 ns, which increases with wavelength from 500 nm to beyond 800 nm, was assigned to the tail of the solvated electron NIR absorption spectrum, since it disappears in the presence of N2O. In the DCA IL, the presence of a reducing species was confirmed by the formation of pyrene radical anion. The difference in the transient species in the case of the DCA IL compared to other two ILs should be due to the anion, with cations being similar. In pseudohalide ILs such as DCA, radicals are formed by direct hole trapping by the anion (X- + h+ → X•), followed by addition to the parent anion. Prediction of the UV/vis absorption spectra of the dimer radical anion by computational calculation supports the experimental results. The oxidizing efficiency of (DCA)2•- and its reduction potential ( E(DCA)2•-/(2DCA-)) have been determined.

Size Selective Green Synthesis of Silver and Gold Nanoparticles: Enhanced Antibacterial Efficacy of Resveratrol Capped Silver Sol.

In view of potential biomedical application of the noble metal nanoparticles, we report a size controlled yet simple and green synthesis of resveratrol stabilized silver and gold nanoparticles having low polydispersity of size. Here, resveratrol plays two simultaneous roles, reducing the metal ions and providing efficient capping of the small nanoparticles. This gives rise to specific size of silver and gold nanoparticles at specific ratios of metal to resveratrol. The particles have been characterized by XRD and transmission electron microscopy. The nanoparticle sols are stable for months. The UV Visible absorption spectra of the silver sol show the plasmon peak of spherical nanoparticles, presence of which is further reflected in the TEM images. Size of the silver particles obtained is in between 11 to 21 nm depending on the ratio of resveratrol to metal ion used. Resveratrol capped silver nanoparticles exhibit high antibacterial activity against Gram negative wild type E coli BW (25113). The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of nano-silver against the bacterium has been estimated to be 6.48 µg/ml, which is significantly lower than that reported in some earlier as well as recent publications. Reaction of gold ions with resveratrol, on the other hand, produces gold nanoparticles of sizes varying from 7 to 29 nm at different ratios of resveratrol to the metal ions. Particles with higher size and aspect ratio are formed at lower concentration of the capping agent whereas particles with very small size and pseudo-spherical morphology are formed at higher capping concentration. Difference in the formation kinetics of silver and gold nanoparticles has been attributed to the different growth mechanisms in the two cases. Possible modes of anchorage of resveratrol to silver nanoparticles have been investigated using surface enhanced resonance Raman spectroscopy (SERS) which shows that the silver nanoparticles are capped by resveratrol molecule primarily through O-Ag linkages of the p-OH aromatic ring. This, in turn, demonstrates the feasibility of using these nanoparticles as SERS templates.

Role of surfactant derived intermediates in the efficacy and mechanism for radiation chemical degradation of a hydrophobic azo dye, 1-phenylazo-2-naphthol.

A combined methodology involving gamma and pulse radiolysis, product analysis and toxicity studies has been adopted to comprehend the degradation process of a model hydrophobic azo dye, 1-phenylazo-2-naphthol, emphasizing the role of the surfactant, which is an integral part of textile waste. Two new and important findings are underlined in this article. The first is the direct attestation of the hydrazyl radical-parent adduct, formed in the reaction of the dye with e(-)aq followed by protonation and subsequent addition to the unreacted dye molecule. This has been confirmed from concentration dependent studies. Secondly, we have clearly shown that in the reaction of hydroxyl radical with the dye in Triton X-100 media, the initially produced TX radicals cause reductive degradation of the dye. Identification and detailed analysis of HPLC and GCMS data reveals that similar products are formed in both the reactions of e(-)aq and OH radicals. Moreover, the cytotoxicity of 10(-4)moldm(-3) dye was found to be reduced significantly after irradiation. Thus, the present study not only depicts new pathways for the degradation of hydrophobic azo dye, but also demonstrates the role of a surfactant in the entire process.