AIM The study aimed to evaluate the clinical utility of the chemiluminescent HCV core Ag test compared to viral load assessment in the management of patients with chronic hepatitis C. METHODS A retrospective study was performed at a tertiary-care infectious diseases hospital on samples collected from anti-HCV positive patients. Seventy-six samples were tested with the Architect HCV core Antig...

We quantified leaching and mass fractions of trace elements in melted acidified ice core samples measured by Inductively Coupled Plasma Sector Field Mass Spectrometry (ICP-SFMS). This assessment was conducted using nine ice core sections retrieved from various high-altitude drilling sites in South America, Africa, Asia and Europe. Twenty trace elements (Ag, Al, As, Bi, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, Mn, M...

Functional properties tunability prospect of multi-layered and multi-metallic nanoparticles with respect to their emerging applications has always been the area of attraction. Magnetoplasmonic nanoparticles (MPNPs) present the possibility to exhibit their tuneable magnetic and optical properties with broad applications in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), cancer therapy, photovoltaic solar cell...

The results of X-ray photoelectron spectra (XPS) characterization the surface Ag-Au colloidal nanoparticles (Ag-Au NPs), prepared by laser ablation in water before and after interaction with linear carbon chains (LCC), are presented. No additional features appear high-energy resolved XPS core level NPs which indicates that is not oxidized. measurements Ag 3d-spectrum (Ag-Au)@LCC manifests low-e...

Ag/ZnO and Cu/ZnO coaxial nanocables were fabricated using AgNO3 or copper foil as source materials by the vapor-liquid-solid process. The coaxial nanocables consist of a crystalline metallic Ag or Cu core and a semiconductor ZnO shell. The evolution of the Ag/ZnO products having different morphologies was investigated by stopping the heating at different temperatures. The diameters of the Ag/Z...

In this cross sectional anonymous study, blood samples of 285 dentists and Physicians were tested for hepatitis B surface antigen (HBs Ag), hepatitis B envelope Ag (HBe Ag), antibodies to: hepatitis B suface (anti-HBs), hepatitis B core Ag (anti-HBc) and hepatitis B envelope Ag (anti-HBe) by ELISA-3 and antibody to hepatitis C virus (anti-HCV) by ELISA-3 and immunoblotting tests. The results su...

We report herewith a simple and versatile route for the preparation of anisotropic Ag(AgCl)-Pt core-shell nanocubes and Pt nanoboxes. The core-shell nanocubes were first synthesized through the simultaneous reduction method and then treated with bis-(p-sulfonatophenyl)-phenylphosphine (BSPP) to remove the core materials. The changes in morphology, structure and composition during these synthese...

A facile method was used to prepare uniform Au NR/TiO2 and Au/Ag NR/TiO2 core-shell composite nanoparticles. Au/Ag NR/TiO2 nanoparticles were found to display significantly enhanced visible light photo-catalytic activity compared to Au NR/TiO2 and the commercially available TiO2 nanoparticles. The enhancement mechanism was ascribed to injection of hot electrons of photo-excited Au/Ag NRs to TiO...