Lazies, Adding purse feet is a simple way to add a professional finish to your next bag creation. I recently made this gorgeous bag using the Nancy Zieman Hobo Tote templates. And I used purse feet on my Mom's Margo Handbag here. Here's a view of the bottom of the bag during construction.
Here's the finished bag. Purse feet help keep the bottom of the bag off the ground when you set it down. The metal feet also make a clinking noise when you set the bag down. So be aware that feet could add noise to your everyday bag experience.
Purse feet should be located away from the corners and edges of the bag. Use a utility knife or other straight bladed tool to cut a small straight slit through all layers just big enough for the prongs and insert the prongs of the foot. Next, I use the tip of my Clover stiletto to separate the prongs. Slide the tip in between the two prongs until they are wide enough to match the holes in the washer piece.
This project includes a sew-in layer of support for the bottom of the bag. See my tutorial on how to measure your bag and install a Sew-In Support For Your Bag.
Leave the stiletto in place and put the washer on the prongs.
Remove the stiletto and push all the washer down the prongs. Continue to bend the prongs with your thumb and press them flat against your project.
All four feet are in place. Here you can see that with the prongs folded down, the feet need to be away from the edge to give the prongs room without rubbing against the edges of the finished bag. This particular project calls for four feet, but you could add more to support the middle of a bag this length. All of the prongs and washers will be concealed by the bag lining.
Here's the outside bottom of the bag, showing all four feet in place. They look great and putting them in was a breeze.
This bag has a squared and flat bottom. This is achieved by using a technique to 'box' the bottom corners. For more info see my post about how to box the bottom corners of a bag.
There are a lot of purse feet products on the market. I used Nancy Zieman's 9/16″ size purse feet from Clover. They come four to a pack in two sizes and two finishes. Choose a finish that matches any other hardware on your bag. Let me also mention that as an option you could make your own using sturdy buttons.
Pin this post on Pinterest! Consider adding this finishing touch to your next bag to give it that little extra something that sets it apart.
Thank you so much for the detailed tutorial. I've had some purse feet in a drawer for years, tried several time to install them and failed each time. Fail no more!
Joan, I have almost every pattern you have created! I love your work and your sweet spirit.
Thank you for all your work. Jean Zeiler, in Maryland.
I enjoy your tutorials Now I can use feet on my purses.
Great instructions! Here's something you may want to try also… I always add an extra piece of fabric 'reinforcer' to further stabilize in between the item, prongs and the washer. As an example, I tend to save little pieces of pre-quilted fabric scraps, or scraps from fabric with stablizer sewn or ironed on to it. Then, when adding these type of feet, or even the magnetic closures, I cut a piece of the scrap, in a somewhat round shape, a bit larger than the metal washer. I cut two little slits in this piece, and slip it down over the prongs, then add the metal washer, then bend the prongs down nice and tight. You want the diameter of the scrap piece to be larger than the area taken up when the prongs are folded down. I find this extra piece helps to keep the prongs from eventually 'poking through' the fabric on the good side, and adds a bit more re-inforcement to the installation of these types of things!
The feet are such a good idea, very professional looking and and very practical in keeping the bottom of the purse clean, thank you!
Question: How would I put feet on the Summer Tote. I am about to make one for a gift for a friend and would like to add this feature.


This is very exciting news since I've always used Roll20, and I am the D&D Adventurers League Local Coordinator for Roll20.
The first D&D module available on Roll20 will be Lost Mine of Phandelver, the same module that launched the fifth edition of D&D with the most recent Starter Set. For $19.99 it will include all of the content needed to run the game, including pre-generated character sheets, maps and player tokens. Roll20 says that other licensed content will follow, including the latest D&D adventure module Storm King's Thunder in September.


text:
Clinton Campaign's Complacency Doomed Hillary's Chances
Updated on November 25, 2016
Robert Carbery
Hillary Went Low and Donald Went High
Complacency crushed Hillary Clinton once again. In believing the mainstream media-hyped narrative about her rock solid lead in the battleground states, she took for granted some significant Midwestern states that ended up deciding the election in Donald Trump's favor.
How did we get here? Hillary went low and Donald went high.
Instead of focusing on how she was a better prepared candidate for the office, Clinton hammered on about how her opponent was a mean man who does not have the temperament to handle the duties of the presidency. In an anti-establishment year, Clinton discussed her 25 year-plus tenure in and around federal government. Meanwhile, Donald kept his priority on the American people and made the case as to how he can help make their lives better.
Not following her own strategy, Hillary went low and played dirty against the Donald, who went high in the final weeks of the campaign. Donald gave people reason to vote for him. Hillary rattled off reasons why you should vote against the Donald as opposed to for her. However, it's hard to make a moral argument against your opponent when you are under investigation multiple times by the FBI during the campaign.
This election was historic in more than one fashion.
Do you think the electoral college should be scrapped so we can become a direct democracy?
Yes, Clinton should be president. Won by 2 million votes!
No, the rest of the country needs to be represented as equally as the coastal cities.
But What Went Wrong?
A string of significant mistakes doomed the Clinton campaign in 2016, possibly closing the history books on the Clinton machine for good. The most damaging of these errors was to continue attacking Trump's character as opposed to his positions. By poisoning the discourse and doubling down on this classic political strategy, she helped feed Trump's rise by fitting perfectly into the crooked Hillary career politician personality he crafted for her.
Clinton could not see that her party's base was thirsty for some real political and economic change. Something that would have come with an insurgent Bernie Sanders nomination. Good thing for Trump, the Democratic National Committee was rigged for an establishment character like Clinton, as proven by the wonderfully transparent WikiLeaks. Despite former DNC chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz's insistence that she and her colleagues were "neutral in the Presidential Democratic primary." A laughable assertion. At the end of the day, Clinton could not drum up enough excitement for her even though her party handed her the nomination to the dismay of millions of socialism-loving Sanders supporters. Therefore, Clinton suffered from a notably smaller turnout on November 8th. Trump did not.
"What you can't do is you can't manufacture enthusiasm," said David Axelrod, Chief Strategist of Obama's two successful presidential campaigns. "There was an assumption that antipathy toward Trump would be enough to mobilize the base . . . a certain lethargy that sets in when you've had the White House for eight years. Your troops are just not as hungry." In addition to not being hungry, the Democrats banked on their coastal influence and control of the mainstream media being enough to get them to 270 electoral votes, ignoring the many states and counties in between Washington DC and San Francisco. As Axelrod added, "too much was assumed in the industrial Midwest."
Clinton did not make a single stop in Wisconsin during the general election. Trump eked out a win by one percent, voting in a Republican for president for the first time since 1984. Clinton assumed she would win Michigan. Trump won by just over 10,000 votes. She took Pennsylvania for granted. Trump won the state. Ohio somehow always seemed to be going Trump, a state no Republican has ever lost and still won the White House.
The Blue Wall Cracks
Clinton struggled to put together an overarching message for her campaign. While Trump had a message for those who have seen their jobs disappear and their incomes remain flat. His advocacy for "fair rather than free trade," was one reason why Trump won, according to Victor Davis Hanson. The others were "his insistence on enforcement of federal immigration law, and promises to bring back jobs to the United States" which indeed "brought back formerly disaffected Reagan Democrats, white working-class union members, and blue-dog Democrats—the 'missing Romney voters'—into the party." Trump's scattered messaging throughout the general election campaign was enough to keep enthusiasm up and to bring the big blue wall down in vital swing states from Florida to Wisconsin. And he was able to expand the Republican base by reaching out to alienated Democrat voters while Clinton seemed to rely on her existing liberal base.
Perhaps the Democratic party's voters and Americans overall are tired of being talked to based on what skin color they are. The identity politics of pandering to the Latino vote, the black vote, the women vote, or what have you, was in fact not what most minority Americans were looking for. Still, Hispanics and African Americans continue to vote overwhelmingly for the Democratic party.
When an old rich white woman is attempting to lead the party, that kind of pandering rhetoric just does not have the same sway as it does from someone like Obama. Clinton still won the African American vote by 80 percent. But Obama won them by 87 percent in 2012. Trump won 2 percent more blacks than Romney did four years ago. Trump also won whites by about the exact same margin as Romney did. Even more insightful is the fact that Trump cut into the lead for Hispanics as well. Romney lost Hispanics by 44 percent to Obama in 2012. Trump, on the other hand, lost Hispanics to Clinton by just 36 percent this year.
Time to build that wall!
The Places that Made Trump President
It is important to take a look at some of the places that made Donald Trump president. One of those was Luzerne County in Pennsylvania, near Scranton, Joe Biden's hometown, and north of Philadelphia by about 100 miles.
Luzerne County accounted for approximately 40 percent of Trump's roughly 65,000 winning vote margin in the state. Pennsylvania resembles many other formerly industrial states in the Midwest that shifted over to Trump. These states all suffered from a significant decline in manufacturing, smaller populations, a fraying of social cohesion, and a rise in immigration. All of which made fertile ground for Trump's simple and concise message of making America great again. These voters suffering in Midwest states do believe that America has seen better days. And they believe Trump could help us get back there.
One of these Trump voters was Tamika Shupp. Tamika works at Mom & Pop's Pierogis in Wilkes-Barre, PA. She told The Wall Street Journal that she had voted for President Obama not once, but twice. And yet, she pulled the level for Mr. Trump this year. That still makes her a racist, right?
Luzerne County suffers from an unemployment rate well over six percent, generally exceeding the national unemployment average since 2000. Additionally, manufacturing employment is down by about one-third over that same time period. Due to this bleak economic reality, many young people are leaving the region in search of jobs elsewhere. This left a much older and more conservative group in its wake.
A weaker economy has leaked into the social dimensions of the community as well. Over the decades, church attendance has been down, addiction to opioids is at all-time highs, and participation in civic organizations like the Rotary Club and others have had trouble recruiting younger members.
The same story of disappearing jobs and complacency on the part of the Clinton campaign played out in the nearby state of Michigan. In the closest race for president in Michigan's history, Donald Trump hung on to a 10,704 vote lead over Hillary Clinton. The counties of Michigan recounted the votes this past week, which gave Trump a less substantial win, but a win nonetheless.
Trump's win speaks to the power of his persona as well as the declining significance of old media such as television and radio. As Holman Jenkins wrote recently in The Wall Street Journal, Trump simply went over the heads of the media and spoke directly to voters, especially through social media. "He figured out early that his voters didn't need any more explanation or justification. His argument was completely embodied in 'Make America great again' plus his outsize public persona. He only needed to keep his fans jollied up, and fired up, for the long wait 'til election day." And wait they did. And come out to vote they also did. Unlike unenthused Clinton supporters, Trump voters had a reason to vote for their candidate and were excited to do so.
Happy Days Are Here Again
The Trump supporters have been told by a Clinton-supporting mainstream media for the past year and a half that they are supporting a racist and bigoted homophobe, with little to no evidence supporting this assertion. Therefore, voters were scared to admit to say they were voting for him. They were ashamed to tell the truth.
"People were scared to say they were voting for him," said Audrey Kaatz, a 27 year-old from Scottsdale, Arizona, as she worked away in an upscale salon.
Even now when people hear she supported Trump, said the 28-year-old Ashley Wright, who also works at the same salon, "They think, 'Oh, so you must be a racist,' and that isn't fair or true." This extension of calling Trump voters racists and bigots like the candidate they claimed he was, is illogical yet continues to bring liberals to tears across the country. Over two weeks past election day and liberals continue to call the President-elect and his supporters racists. The left sees Trump as a clown who cannot be trusted with the most powerful office on the planet. And that's fine. What is not okay is calling everyone who voted for him a racist. It's just not true.
Americans seem to either love or hate President-elect Trump. His supporters "see an outsider unbeholden to a corrupt and rotten political system and brave enough to stake bold positions," as Mark Barabak and Nigel Duara wrote in The Week recently. They consider him fearless enough to defy the confines of political correctness. They view him as a vastly successful businessman, but possessing a common touch: a workingman's billionaire." To Trump supporters and conservatives nationwide, his victory brought a relief like none other.
Joyce Riley, 65, was one of these people who felt a sense of joy following November 8th. Riley, who sells real estate in Florida's Panhandle, did not realize how bad she felt about where America was going until she finally felt that things were getting better. "This is the first time I've been optimistic about the country in many years," she said. "I've been walking around singing 'Happy Days Are Here Again.'"
Some recent data reveals that Joyce is not alone in her optimism. A recent University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment Index report revealed that consumer confidence is rising across the U.S. The lift shows that Americans were heartened by Trump's victory, or at least happy that it's all finally over. Broad gains in confidence were seen across all incomes, ages, and regions, according to the report.
The report concludes that Americans are more than optimistic, they are hopeful. In some cases, Americans are the most hopeful they have been in more than a decade. For the first time since 2006, 37 percent of households said they expect their personal finances to improve in 2017.
This wave of optimism is sweeping the country. This is further proven by polls showing that America is waking up to the fact that Trump will make a fine president. According to a survey conducted by POLITICO/Morning Consult from November 16-18, 45 percent of voters now have either a very favorable or somewhat favorable opinion of Trump. This is a dramatic uptick since November 8 when Trump's favorability was 9 points less in a similar poll. To compare, his unfavorability rating dropped 15 points, from 61 to 46 percent.
Wall Street is liking the prospects of a Trump presidency as well. Just last Friday, the DOW Jones Industrial Average rose another 69 points to close at a record high of 19,152. Similarly, the S&P gained almost 9 points to an all-time high of 2,213.
America Will Be Great Again
Misunderstood by an arrogant and extremely biased mainstream media, Trump's supporters have been just as misunderstood as their candidate. Maligned by a country with liberal elites attempting to run the country from the West and East Coast, the deep red middle had other plans for the future of our great country.
Americans care about liberty and freedom. Trump unites all kinds of Americans. He brings people together by focusing on how we are all Americans. Not whatever is best for a miniscule section of the country. As Saturday Night Live put it so eloquently recently, "The dating app Tinder announced a new feature this week which gives users 37 different gender identity options. It's called Why Democrats lost the election."
It is amazing to see how bitterly divided our country really is in the aftermath of this historic election. Also, our political discourse has never been so rotten as we continue to talk over each other. Thankfully, our founding fathers foresaw this complex situation working itself out eventually, giving us the electoral college for protection so that all fifty states can be represented equally in Washington DC and a handful of major cities do not rule the country.
Trump won an astounding 7.5 million more votes than Clinton in 3,084 of the country's 3,141 counties or county equivalents in the heartland of America. This edge translates to a resounding 7 point victory in those counties over Clinton, 51 percent to 44 percent.
Clinton, on the other hand, enjoyed an incredible 8.2 million vote margin on the coastal cities and five "county equivalent" cities stretching from San Diego to Seattle on the West Coast and Northern Virginia to Boston on the East Coast. Included in these liberal enclaves are 52 counties. In these counties, Clinton received 70 percent of the 18.4 million votes cast in these elite cities on the coast. To contrast, Trump only received 25 percent of the vote in these same counties. In the socialist capital of the U.S., Seattle, Washington, only 8 percent of the city voted for the Republican nominee.
In areas littered with more federal workers and contractors than others, mostly the counties in and around Washington DC, Clinton won by margins ranging from four to one to two to one. However, votes in the elite coastal counties where Clinton dominated only accounted for 14.4 percent of the almost 128 million total votes cast in the country.
America is a big country with lots of people.
Trump supporters know America has seen better days. Trump supporters realize that Obama's uber-liberalism at home and flailing foreign policy abroad were not right for our country. Trump supporters know all too well that political correctness is eroding our society. Trump voters are confident that President-Elect Trump will in fact make America great again.
Aren't you already feeling a little greater?
I'm Not Thrilled With Hillary Clinton - Here's 22 Reasons Why I'm Voting for Her
A Divided America, The Reasons Donald Trump is Unfit to lead: A Xenophobic Nightmare
by Andrea Lawrence19
The Politics of Personal Profit
by Robert Carbery2
Both the Republican and Democratic Party Are Tone Deaf
by Mae Merriweather aka Boss Lady Mae12
14 Facts About Obama's Presidency Most People Don't Know
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Presidents' Daughters - Then and Now, After the White House
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Hxprof
2 years ago from Clearwater, Florida
Enjoyed the read.
Shahnawaz
2 years ago from Bangalore
Nice Article..
2 years ago from Seattle, WA
Thank you both for your comments. But let's please keep the discourse dialed in on the issues and analysis presented in this hub. Thanks!
Banned cause of PISSANTS Promisem and Dean Traylor
So what's your goal here, to hijack Bobby's hub page to satisfy your personal vendetta? I've debunked so many of your loony comments, after which you always disappear without reply, you just can't stand to be shown wrong, over and over again so you attack me.
Kathleen Cochran
2 years ago from Atlanta, Georgia
Someone with more than 150 hubs. Your comment here is proof enough of what you are contributing.
Aha, who is it that is trolling this hub page not even commenting on the content but attacking a legitimate comment totally factual with false accusations and demeaning the commenter. I think it is obvious who doesn't belong here and it's not me.
You should try actually learning something, when hub pages are even open to comments by non members of hub pages you have a lot of nerve criticizing anyone for commenting! Why can't you contribute something other than a personal attack?
I know, it's because you know nothing you can even say without being called out for it's inaccuracy or being a blatant lie.
DTMB: Are you ever going to write any hubs? Or are you just hear to spew your venom. Contribute or go some place else, please.
Well done on your analysis.
I have to say Hillary had no choice but to go low. She had virtually no accomplishments despite a lifetime in office (if you count first lady), a laundry list of scandals and advocacy of policies which were no better than another 4 years of Obama's and arguably the most palatable of which was killing babies as they are being born (yuck). Her only chance was to invent and/or dwell on the weaknesses of Donald Trump's persona since he had no political record of failure like she was burdened with.
Ok, that's Hillary, we all know her and what a crime family the Clinton's are. It's no surprised she handled Trump just like she handled the Bimbo eruptions she was in charge of squelching for her "husband" (that's if you really believe their arrangement is a marriage, were she not married to Bill we wouldn't even know her name).
But what about her party? They were fed up enough with the Clintons to dump her in 2008, how in the world did anyone in that camp think it would be a good idea to run a candidate who destroyed subpoenaed emails and compromised national security with an unauthorized email server and lied about it and Benghazi? That just doesn't add up which leads me to believe the Clintons blackmailed leadership (Obama the leader of the party) of the Democrat Party into running her or suffer the revelation of secrets Bill and Hillary have about the Democrats, all of them. It's the only thing that makes any sense and we know that is how the Clintons operate.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Microsoft founder continues annual tradition of sharing reading list on his blog.
Microsoft founder and philanthropist Bill Gates recently added another chapter to what has become an annual tradition—releasing his five-book summer reading list on his blog Gates Notes.
"The books on this year's summer reading list pushed me out of my own experiences, and I learned some things that shed new light on how our experiences shape us and where humanity might be headed," Gates writes.


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The bird flu is a nation-wide epidemic and spreading over 27 states and counting.
Government agencies are seizing and culling back-yard chickens for 'suspicion' of the flu leaving the owners helpless (Read more here) and left without a flock.
Ultimately, we all want to keep our chickens healthy and happy at the same time, protect our family.
Regrettably, life happens and things are out of our control.
For instance, an airborne disease that spreads from foul to humans.
However, there are preventative measures we can take to build a healthy flock in order to resist disease.
What is Bird Flu- Chicken Flu ?
Although it's no laughing matter, my husband fondly recalls his mentor claiming that everyone who was sick as having the bird flu.
Of course, we had no idea this was a real thing back then.
The Avian Influenza is a highly contagious virus and can spread through airborne contamination.
Incidentally there have been no reported cases in the United States of spreading to humans so far.
Even so, there have been cases in the countries of associated deaths and illness in humans so we shouldn't let our guard down.
The media is funny about what news it decides to share with you.
Back when the first cases were discovered- mass hysteria. Now? Crickets. Not a peep (no pun intended).
Does this mean it is no longer a problem? Heck no.
Still, it is our job and part of our animal husbandry to investigate what is going on in the world and what we need to be aware of.
Actually, Bird Flu hasn't gone away. In fact, as recently as spring of 2017, Bird Flu has been reported in three states in the United States: Tennessee, Kentucky & Alabama.
What should you do if you come in contact with a sick bird/chicken?
People who have had direct contact with infected bird(s) should be watched to see if they become ill.
They may be given influenza antiviral drugs to prevent illness.
What Can You Do? Sit Back and Wait?
When the CDC comes knocking on your door to cull your flock- the bell has rung.
In fact, they don't even have to prove your chickens have the flu- just suspect it.
First and foremost, prevention is your best line of defense.
You can start protecting your flock by building their immune system and resistance to viruses and bacteria.
Bird Flu Symptoms and Transmission, Plus 5 Important Strategies to Help Keep Your Backyard Flock Healthy and more Resistant to Avian Influenza Infection.
In addition to protecting your flock and building their resistance, it is a good idea to keep up with recent reports.
So check the database regularly to view reported cases in your area.
In conclusion, keep your flock healthy, be on the lookout for sick birds and report any suspicion.
No doubt your chickens will be fine if you follow our tips and keep them healthy.


China is one of the world's oldest continuous civilisations and the history and scenery is fascinating! The capital Beijing with the Forbidden City, Tiananmen Square and the Great Wall. Visit ancient fortified city walls, the Wild Goose Pagoda and Terracotta Warriors in Xi'an as well as the collision of old and new in Shanghai. Add to this the breathtaking scenery of the Li River (near Guilin), as you cruise past mist covered mountains, quaint villages that dot the riverbanks, drift past humped limestone peaks, fishermen aboard bamboo rafts and grazing water Buffalo. There's also the mighty Yangtze River, the small town of Suzhou, often referred to as the Oriental Venice and the Rice terraces in Longsheng where you can visit the Red Yao & Zhuang ethnic minorities.
The best time to visit China is in their Spring (mid March to the end of May) or in Autumn (September to November). Summers (especially July and August) can be very hot and the winters (Dec to early March) can be bitterly cold.
I was lucky enough to first visit China in the late 1970's and have been back many times since. The changes I have seen in the last 30 years are almost indescribable. It is a vast country and 1 in 5 people live here. There are many different Chinas and so many highlights. Riding the Maglev train from Shanghai Airport to town at 430km per hour is fun, and it deposits you close to the Bund, lined with Victorian era buildings and across the river is Pudong, the modernistic China of tomorrow. The museum in Shanghai is in my opinion the best in all of China. Dont miss it, even if you are not normally into museums. Not far from Shanghai are delightful medieval water villages with little stone bridgesacross the canals. An ideal time to visit is May, not too hot and the spring flowers are beautiful. Xian, the home of the buried army of Terracotta warriors, is an impressive walled city. It is fun to walk the 14km circumference of these walls looking into the old town on one side and the modern city on the other. You just cannot escape the contrasts of old and new wherever you go. The buried army here are even more impressive that you can imagine. Beijing and the wonderous Forbidden City and nearby Great Wall are on everyones itinerary, but a visit to one of the private homes in the Hutongs(the old inner suburbs of Beijing) is also great fun.
The Yangtze River and passing through the locks at the Three Gorges Dam on my comfortable riverboat is a memory that will remain always. Another terrific river experience is a cruise on the Li River near Guilin, the limestone formations in the mountains here are straight out of classic Chinese paintings. When in Guilin dont miss the evening cruise through the lakes and canals,it is a delight. In the far west lie Kashgar and Urumqi. These cities were important stops on the Old Silk Road that ran from Xian all the way to Rome and Istanbul and were settled by people from the eastern Mediterranean region in ancient times, they look very different to the Han Chinese found elsewhere. The Silk Road was the original information superhighways and along it came trade, religion and ideas. Without doubt the most interesting market I have ever been to worldwide is in Kashgar. Here they sell everything from a camel to a needle,it is fabulous.
The tourist infrastructure in China has vastly improved over the years and local guides speak excellent English. It is now very reasonable to have your own car and guide show you about. Trains are fast, reliable and these days very comfortable, offering a great way to get around and see some of the countryside. Hotels are also generally excellent but it pays to stay in at least 4 stars as this level is still very affordable and guarantees good quality. The food is also fantastic, changing in flavor and style from one part of the country to another; expect beer of soft drinks to be provided as part of the meal. As is the case throughout the world, it is the people who help make a country. They are gracious and polite and will invite you to join in with them as they perform Tai Chi in the park early in the morning. Dont be surprised if you are approached by young people wanting to practice their English and interacting with them is one of the best things about a visit to China. 200 years ago Napoleon described China as the sleeping giant. Well she is now wide awake and without doubt one of the most incredible countries it is possible to visit.
Currency The unit of currency is the Yuan and this may be exchanged for major currencies through the hotel desk (in many countries around the world you are penalized by changing at a hotel. In China they offer almost exactly the same rate as the banks).
Language Mandarin is the official language of China. Different languages from many areas of the country may be heard (e.g. Cantonese is spoken in Hong Kong). English is spoken in better hotels and by the young but is not widely understood.
Why we love it A large and diverse country, China has a rich heritage. Marvellous early civilizations are featured in the many excellent museums (don't miss the one in Shanghai) and must see sights such as the Terracotta (buried) Army at Xian. While in Xian, why not walk atop the amazing city wall and look down on the town from a totally different perspective. Cruise in a comfortable riverboat for several days on the mighty Yangtze River and sit in awe of the Three Gorges. Beijing is the modern capital and along with Shanghai the most 'western influenced' of Chinese cities. Just outside you may climb on the Great Wall of China itself and wonder at the human endeavour required to build it. The almost overwhelming Forbidden City sits adjacent to Tiananmen Square in the heart of Beijing and you will enjoy the crowds performing Tai Chi and other exercises in the park outside them beautiful Temple of Heaven. The gardens in the canal city of Suzhou are wonderful and only a couple of hours from bustling Shanghai. In that special town you can walk the streets in the French Concession and dine at a cafe that will make you think of Paris. A must see are the wonderful acrobats and after the performance go down to the historic Bund and enjoy the light show at night across the river in the futuristic area of Pudong. Nearly 200 years ago Napoleon said China is the sleeping giant ?! Well the giant is certainly waking from its slumber and a visit to China today offers you not only wonderful sights, colourful cultures, amazing history but also fantastic shopping bargains. Don't try and do China on your own – it is still too hard with all the language difficulties and rapidly increasing numbers of Chinese travelling within their own country. World Journeys have excellent agents all over China waiting to assist you.
Weather Probably the best time to visit China is in their Spring (mid March to end of May) or Autumn (September to November). Summers (especially July and August) can be very hot and winters bitterly cold.
Social customs & quirks It is essential that when shopping in all but the better stores you bargain. This is certainly a MUST if buying through the colourful street markets. Generally they will start with a high figure (4 to 8 times its actual worth) and you offer a very low price. Language difficulties usually mean this is done by punching numbers into a calculator the sales person will produce. In warmer weather it is quite OK to wear shorts even though the Chinese don't! You will often find people may approach you in parks or on the street and engage you in English. They are attempting to practice their English on you and if you have time, this can often become a wonderful cultural interaction. Photography is great and many wonderful opportunities. It is courtesy to ask those you plan to photograph if they mind, most will not be bothered but sometimes older people are a little sensitive. In general you will find the modern Chinese quite polite and reasonably happy. Many are in fact very proud of their country's progress.
Festivals & events China has a rich heritage and many festivals take place throughout the year. The largest is undoubtedly Chinese New Year that usually takes place in February and is marked with much feasting and plenty of loud fireworks! The Lantern Festival follows soon after and then comes the Dragon Boat Festival (in May) which usually coincides with Golden Week (an enormous national holiday when all of China takes a seven day break from 01 May). Later in the year is the Moon Festival in August. There are also many other local festivals such as the beautiful Peony Festival in spring and other minority groups around the country will also have local festivities.
Health* There are currently no health requirements entering China. It is wise to take with you from New Zealand any medication you may need whilst in the country. When there, try a foot massage, these are cheap and wonderfully therapeutic. Before leaving for China please contact your health practitioner for full and current details on the health situation.
The Essential China journey combines some of China's most famous sights; the capital Beijing with the Forbidden City, Tiananmen Square and the Great Wall.
Our trip to China was absolutely fantastic. Thank you for all the organising you did - and also for helping us when we were over there, when we discovered a change to the time of our train to Xi'an. We had the most brilliant time and the guides we had in Beijing and Xi'an were really good. We would definitely recommend these tour companies to others. Wanting to see lots in such a short amount of time meant the guides were essential. If we'd had more time, we could probably have figured out some of the things ourselves, but it was definitely a good move to have the guides - plus being driven around in an air-conditioned vehicle was GREAT! The Great Wall in Beijing and the Terracotta Warriors in Xi'an are quite a way out of the city, so I don't think we could have got there so easily if we weren't with the tour company. The hotels were very good too. The buffet breakfasts were AMAZING. Thank you for all you did for us. It was a brilliant trip away.
Just to let you know we had a brilliant time in China - exhausting! Your operator was faultless - on time, wonderful guides and drivers - everything like clockwork, which was a huge relief. We had lots of fun! Thanks for organising this for me.
We have just 2 days to go of our China trip and I wanted to let you know what an amazing experience it has been on many levels. The accommodation, guides, drivers and transport arrangements have all been excellent and reliable. Travelling with guides and drivers is quite common for those people who are not in a tour group. We have been very well looked after everywhere. The weather has been very kind as we have had no rain until this evening as the typhoon approaches Taiwan and affects Shanghai. Temperatures have been in the high 20s and low 30s throughout our journey which hasn't been too bad. We have seen everything we wanted to and of course more. China blows your mind and Bill feels he is on another planet. The whole country is a construction site of new cities, highways, tunnels, train stations, airports, bullet trains, shopping malls, industry. Your customers who travel here next year will have a different experience to us as they will travel on new routes and transport modes, see larger cities and greater development everywhere. Highlights have been the Great Wall at Mutiyanu where crowds are manageable, the Terracotta Warriors, the Pandas as Chengdu, the three Gorges of the Yangste River, Zhangjiajie National Park, Li River and Longji Rice Terraces of Guilin, the parks and memorials in Nanjing and now Shanghai-the show piece city of China.


FM 3-97.6 describes the tactics, techniques, and procedures that the United States (US) Army uses to fight in mountainous regions. It is directly linked to doctrinal principles found in FM 3-0 and FM 3-100.40 and should be used in conjunction with them. It provides key information and considerations for commanders and staffs regarding how mountains affect personnel, equipment, and operations. It also assists them in planning, preparing, and executing operations, battles, and engagements in a mountainous environment.
Army units do not routinely train for operations in a mountainous environment. Therefore, commanders and trainers at all levels should use this manual in conjunction with TC 90-6-1, Army Training and Evaluation Program (ARTEP) mission training plans, and the training principles in FM 7-0 and FM 7-10 when preparing to conduct operations in mountainous terrain.


1) Agates from Agate Creek North Queensland are world wide known amongst agate collectors as the most colourfull agates,with the most spectacular patterns .
2) Agate Creek agates are more and more difficult to find, let alone good ones!
3) Only about 30 % of those agates dug up, cut and polished are collectors items!
4) Agate Creek is only accessible by 4-wheel drive and is far away from any form of civilization and is situated about 500 km south west of Cairns, North Queensland.
From 1965 till 1969 René and Nelleke Boissevain went back and forward from The Atherton Tablelands to Agate Creek, to dig up agate nodules in the unforgiven heat of a barren country , using only pick and shovel and being pestered by millions of flies!
to cut agate nodules in half.
sintered blades to do the job.
The next step is the grinding down of the saw marks ..
This is done by using a slow turning steel plate.
than 600 and the final polish with tin oxide..
The method with vibratory flat laps is also used.
Of course cutting agates is exciting ..
You never know when you cut that museum piece !
Once in a while that happens and it makes up for so many missers.!
but sadly enough they're rare.
Collecting agates of a good quality is an interesting and also profitable hobby!
sweating, cutting, polishing and marketing.
the world has best owed upon us.
depends on where the agate is found.
at a place in Queensland - Australia called Agate Creek.
some of the most beautiful in the world.
The agates we sell here on this site were mined during the mid '60's, in the unforgiving heat of the North Queensland Australian outback, René and Nelleke Boissevain used only pick and shovel to gather these agates. They are among the most rare and beautiful in the world.
They were first noted by early gold prospectors in the Gilberton area south of Georgetown.
Agates can be collected in many areas along the coast of Oregon. The areas around Newport are among the finest agate hunting areas in the world. Each year the supply of stone is uncovered by the tides. The years 1998 - 2000 were the best collecting years of probably the last 25 years. You can still find nice pieces of agate from small 1" pieces to ones that may weigh 1-3 pounds or even an occasional trophy of 5 pounds.
rugged terrain, well decorated with cactus, weeds, and cedar trees (Zeitner, 1964).
Lake Superior agates can be found on many Lake Superior beaches throughout the states of Michigan, Wisconsin, and Minnesota. Like all agates though, cutting and polishing them required some special equipment and skill.
The Brazillian agate agates comes from the province of Minas Gerias which is located in the South American country of Brazil. Like all agates they have a hardness of 7 and are full of those beautiful coloured bands.
Turritella agates were formed 40-60 Million years ago in a salt water sea that covered what is now Wyoming in the Western United States. A snail of the Turritella specie lived in the shallow waters of the sea. The shell of this snail had a small, long, tapering spire with many whorls. The shell material has been completely replaced by agate and chalcedony while retaining the dramatic whorl pattern.
Laguna Agate is generally considered to be the most colorful banded agate in the world. It is found in a north-south winding mountain range due south of El Paso, Texas and east of Mexican Highway 45 in the state of Chihuahua, Mexico.
Unlike many of the other Mexcian agate deposits which can be small, the Laguna agate can be found in lots of sites on the mountain for a distance of 4 miles or more.
Most of these areas are in the top third of the mountain. Many of the claims do not have roads to them and have been worked by hand.


Mercedes-AMG has extended its range of four-cylinder performance models with the introduction of the CLA 35 4Matic four-door coupé.
The recently revealed CLA is the third of Mercedes-Benz's latest generation of compact models to receive the AMG treatment, following the A35 4Matic hatchback and the recently announced A35 4Matic Saloon.
Pricing has yet to be announced, though the CLA 35 is planned to be positioned beneath the six-cylinder C43 and has been conceived to compete against the 2020 BMW M230i Gran Coupé and the Audi S3 Saloon. UK deliveries are expected to get underway in August.
Despite being close in conception to the four-door A35 Saloon, AMG is banking on the more expressive design of the CLA 35 to find favour among particular customers.
The new AMG model receives the same transversely mounted turbocharged 2.0-litre four-cylinder as the A35 variants. Based around the M254-designated unit used by the CLA 250, it produces 302bhp at 5800rpm and 295lb ft of torque at 3000rpm.
Drive is sent to all four wheels through a seven-speed dual-clutch automatic gearbox and multi-plate-clutch four-wheel drive system – a combination Mercedes-AMG says can vary the drive split from 100% to the front wheels to 50:50 front and rear depending on prevailing traction.
The German car maker quotes an official 0-62mph time of 4.9sec, or 0.1sec slower than the A35 4Matic Saloon, as well as an electronically limited top speed of 155mph. By comparison, the Audi S3 Saloon runs a turbocharged 2.0-litre four-cylinder petrol engine with 306bhp and 280lb ft. It's claimed to accelerate from 0-62mph in 5.2sec and reach the same 155mph top speed.
Combined fuel consumption and average CO2 emissions for the CLA 35 are put at 39.2mpg and 164g/km respectively – slightly better than the A35 hatchback.
Underpinning the CLA 35 4Matic is a retuned version of the CLA 250's MacPherson strut (front) and multi-link (rear) suspension, which can be optioned with adaptive dampers offering three levels of stiffness. It also uses a variable-ratio steering system and features a strengthened body shell with an additional aluminium member incorporated beneath the engine to increase torsional rigidity.
Mirroring the visual changes already incorporated on the A35 Saloon, the CLA 35 receives a heavily restyled front bumper featuring a front splitter element, larger air ducts and a revised grille. Further back, there are AMG door mirrors and more prominent sills beneath the doors. At the rear, it adopts a similarly sporting treatment with a new rear bumper with a multi-channel diffuser and twin chromed tailpipes as well as a small lip spoiler atop its short boot lid. The car gets 18in alloy wheels as standard, and 19in rims will be available as an option.
Inside, AMG's latest model comes equipped with Mercedes-Benz's MBUX operating system, which works in combination with standard digital instruments and an infotainment display within a common panel atop the dashboard. The instruments can be customised with different modes, including a so-called Supersport mode that introduces AMG-specific data. Further upgrades over the CLA 250 include front sport seats and AMG-specific trim applications.
As with the original CLA, AMG plans an even more potent version of its new style led four-door compact model in the form of a new 400-bhp plus CLA 45 4Matic. This is planned for launch in early 2020.


text:
#include "QmitkMutualInformationMetricView.h"
#include "mitkImageAccessByItk.h"
#include <itkMutualInformationImageToImageMetric.h>

QmitkMutualInformationMetricView::QmitkMutualInformationMetricView(QWidget *parent, Qt::WindowFlags f)
  : QmitkRigidRegistrationMetricsGUIBase(parent, f)
{
}

QmitkMutualInformationMetricView::~QmitkMutualInformationMetricView()
{
}

mitk::MetricParameters::MetricType QmitkMutualInformationMetricView::GetMetricType()
{
  return mitk::MetricParameters::MUTUALINFORMATIONIMAGETOIMAGEMETRIC;
}

itk::Object::Pointer QmitkMutualInformationMetricView::GetMetric()
{
  if (m_MovingImage.IsNotNull())
  {
    AccessByItk(m_MovingImage, GetMetric2);
    return m_MetricObject;
  }
  return nullptr;
}

template <class TPixelType, unsigned int VImageDimension>
itk::Object::Pointer QmitkMutualInformationMetricView::GetMetric2(
  itk::Image<TPixelType, VImageDimension> * /*itkImage1*/)
{
  typedef typename itk::Image<TPixelType, VImageDimension> FixedImageType;
  typedef typename itk::Image<TPixelType, VImageDimension> MovingImageType;
  typename itk::MutualInformationImageToImageMetric<FixedImageType, MovingImageType>::Pointer MetricPointer =
    itk::MutualInformationImageToImageMetric<FixedImageType, MovingImageType>::New();
  MetricPointer->SetNumberOfSpatialSamples(m_Controls.m_NumberOfSpatialSamplesMutualInformation->text().toInt());
  MetricPointer->SetFixedImageStandardDeviation(
    m_Controls.m_FixedImageStandardDeviationMutualInformation->text().toFloat());
  MetricPointer->SetMovingImageStandardDeviation(
    m_Controls.m_MovingImageStandardDeviationMutualInformation->text().toFloat());
  MetricPointer->SetComputeGradient(m_Controls.m_ComputeGradient->isChecked());
  m_MetricObject = MetricPointer.GetPointer();
  return MetricPointer.GetPointer();
}

itk::Array<double> QmitkMutualInformationMetricView::GetMetricParameters()
{
  itk::Array<double> metricValues;
  metricValues.SetSize(4);
  metricValues.fill(0);
  metricValues[0] = m_Controls.m_ComputeGradient->isChecked();
  metricValues[1] = m_Controls.m_NumberOfSpatialSamplesMutualInformation->text().toInt();
  metricValues[2] = m_Controls.m_FixedImageStandardDeviationMutualInformation->text().toFloat();
  metricValues[3] = m_Controls.m_MovingImageStandardDeviationMutualInformation->text().toFloat();
  return metricValues;
}

void QmitkMutualInformationMetricView::SetMetricParameters(itk::Array<double> metricValues)
{
  m_Controls.m_ComputeGradient->setChecked(metricValues[0]);
  m_Controls.m_NumberOfSpatialSamplesMutualInformation->setText(QString::number(metricValues[1]));
  m_Controls.m_FixedImageStandardDeviationMutualInformation->setText(QString::number(metricValues[2]));
  m_Controls.m_MovingImageStandardDeviationMutualInformation->setText(QString::number(metricValues[3]));
}

QString QmitkMutualInformationMetricView::GetName()
{
  return "MutualInformation";
}

void QmitkMutualInformationMetricView::SetupUI(QWidget *parent)
{
  m_Controls.setupUi(parent);
  QValidator *validatorLineEditInput = new QIntValidator(0, 20000000, this);
  m_Controls.m_NumberOfSpatialSamplesMutualInformation->setValidator(validatorLineEditInput);
  QValidator *validatorLineEditInputFloat = new QDoubleValidator(0, 20000000, 8, this);
  m_Controls.m_FixedImageStandardDeviationMutualInformation->setValidator(validatorLineEditInputFloat);
  m_Controls.m_MovingImageStandardDeviationMutualInformation->setValidator(validatorLineEditInputFloat);
}

bool QmitkMutualInformationMetricView::Maximize()
{
  return true;
}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


text:
Q: Parse.com query and application design issue: A long-running operation is being executed on the main thread In my iOS app I need to retrieve some values by using PFObject queries. And when these are all loaded, the app should continue doing some more stuff.
func processTransaction(){

   .. some code to prepare my 2 queries

   var balance1 = balance1Query.getFirstObject() as PFObject;
   var balance2 = balance2Query.getFirstObject() as PFObject;

   .. after these are loaded i have to update them, and 'release' the screen to the user.
}

Now, when using this .getFirstObject() method, I get a warning in my Xcode debug window saying:

A long-running operation is being executed on the main thread.

Of course I did some research, and every answer I read talks about using
getObjectInBackgroundWithId, which then moves the execution of these queries to the background (I guess doing so it puts them on a new thread.)
But my question is, how should I structure my code / design, to make sure that both objects are loaded, before the code continues to work with these objects?
I tried some things, and create some code like below, but to me it feels like this isn't the right approach. Can't think of what a mess this will become when I have to load and make sure that 4 or 5 objects are loaded.
balanceQuery1.getFirstObjectInBackgroundWithBlock{
    (balance1: PFObject!, error1: NSError!) -> Void in
    if error1 == nil {
        balanceQuery2.getFirstObjectInBackgroundWithBlock{
            (balance2: PFObject!, error2: NSError!) -> Void in
            if error2 == nil {
                ... processing here..
            }
    }
}

A: My suggestion that your approach was correct was based on the requirement to execute two queries - In this case you can dispatch the first query into the background and then execute the subsequent query in the completion block.
If you are looking for a more general asynchronous dispatch model then I would suggest using dispatch groups to synchronise the activities.  To use this technique effectively it is best to have your queries in an array or similar data structure. (Apologies, I haven't converted this to Swift, but it is essentially the same)
dispatch_queue_t queue = dispatch_get_global_queue(DISPATCH_QUEUE_PRIORITY_DEFAULT, 0);
dispatch_group_t group = dispatch_group_create();

// Add a task to the group

for (int i=0;i<self.queries.count;i++) {

    dispatch_group_async(group, queue, ^{
       self.queries[i].getFirstObject ...
    });
}

// When you cannot make any more forward progress,
// wait on the group to block the current thread.
dispatch_group_wait(group, DISPATCH_TIME_FOREVER);

// Release the group when it is no longer needed.
dispatch_release(group);

A: If you want to avoid nesting, there is a second approach that can be useful, especially if you have a LOT of queries to run. Three steps:

*

*Set an int completedQueries variable to 0 that will be incremented when a query finishes

*Set an int totalQueries variable that represents the total number of queries to finish

*For each query's completion block, increment completedQueries and run a function to check if the number of completions is equal to the total:
balanceQuery1.getFirstObjectInBackgroundWithBlock{
    (balance1: PFObject!, error1: NSError!) -> Void in
    if error1 == nil {
        completedQueries++
        checkQueriesCompleted()
    }
}
//balanceQuery2, 3 and so on below...

Finally, have a checkCompletedQueries function that waits until your total and completed are equal:
func checkQueriesCompleted() {
    if (completedQueries == totalQueries) {
        //... processing here ....
    }
}

This structure is especially powerful if you have 3+ functions, or you have an arbitrary number of calls. I use it a lot when I want to get around the 1000 item return limit on Parse (get a total number of objects, make as many calls as I need with a .skip parameter, wait for all returns before processing) - you get the idea.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


Copyright © 2014 Narendra Kulkarni and Uday Muddapur. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
The synthesis of nanostructured materials, especially metallic nanoparticles, has accrued utmost interest over the past decade owing to their unique properties that make them applicable in different fields of science and technology. The limitation to the use of these nanoparticles is the paucity of an effective method of synthesis that will produce homogeneous size and shape nanoparticles as well as particles with limited or no toxicity to the human health and the environment. The biological method of nanoparticle synthesis is a relatively simple, cheap, and environmentally friendly method than the conventional chemical method of synthesis and thus gains an upper hand. The biomineralization of nanoparticles in protein cages is one of such biological approaches used in the generation of nanoparticles. This method of synthesis apart from being a safer method in the production of nanoparticles is also able to control particle morphology.
The way we see, feel, and touch things is about to change. In fact, the change has already begun and though it has not touched our lives in any significant manner, the day when that happens is around the corner. From self-cleaning windows to super energy efficient lighting, nanotechnology is revolutionizing the way we live. Lighting has been an important aspect of our lives, of our existence. There is hardly any doubt that nanotechnology is very beneficial to man. With all the applications this new frontier of knowledge has been seen from the human body to industries and chemicals; thus far, nanotechnology has lived up to its name in enhancing the wealth of knowledge possessed by man.
Li et al., in 2011 , highlighted the recent developments of the biosynthesis of inorganic nanoparticles including metallic nanoparticles, oxide nanoparticles, sulfide nanoparticles, and other typical nanoparticles. Different formation mechanisms of these nanoparticles will be discussed with the conditions to control the size/shape and stability of particles. The applications of these biosynthesized nanoparticles in a wide spectrum of potential areas are presented including targeted drug delivery, cancer treatment, gene therapy and DNA analysis, antibacterial agents, biosensors, enhancing reaction rates, separation science, and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).
Iron oxide nanoparticles (Fe3O4-NPs) were synthesized using a rapid, single-step and completely green biosynthetic method by reduction of ferric chloride solution with brown seaweed water extract containing sulfated polysaccharides as a main factor which acts as reducing agent and efficient stabilizer. The structural and properties of the Fe3O4-NPs were investigated by X-ray diffraction, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), energy-dispersive X-ray fluorescence spectrometry (EDXRF), vibrating sample magnetometry (VSM), and transmission electron microscopy. The average particle diameter as determined by TEM was found to be 18 ± 4 nm. X-ray diffraction showed that the nanoparticles are crystalline in nature, with a cubic shape. The nanoparticles synthesized through this biosynthesis method can potentially be useful in various applications. A critical need in the field of nanotechnology is the development of reliable and ecofriendly processes for synthesis of metal oxide nanoparticles. Fe3O4-NPs with an average size of 18 ± 4 nm and cubic shapes were synthesized by bioreduction of ferric chloride solution with a green method using brown seaweed (Sargassum muticum) aqueous extract containing sulfated polysaccharides as the reducing agent and efficient stabilizer. The hydroxyl, sulphate, and aldehyde group present in the BS extract are apparently involved in the bioreduction and stabilization of Fe3O4-NPs. The involvement of these groups in biosynthesis is revealed by FTIR analysis. The characteristics of the obtained Fe3O4-NPs were studied using FTIR, XRD, UV-visible, FESEM, EDXRF, TEM, and VSM techniques. Biosynthesis of Fe3O4-NPs using green resources is a simple, environmentally friendly, pollutant-free, and low-cost approach. Functional bioactivity of Fe3O4-NPs (antimicrobial) is comparably higher than particles which were synthesized by chemical method. This green method of synthesizing Fe3O4-NPs could also be extended to fabricate other, industrially important metal oxides .
Gautama and van Veggel in 2013  reviewed an overview of two classes of nanoparticles, namely iron oxide and NaLnF4, and synthesis methods, characterization techniques, study of biocompatibility, toxicity behavior, and applications of iron oxide nanoparticles and NaLnF4 nanoparticles as contrast agents in magnetic resonance imaging. Their optical properties will only briefly be mentioned. Iron oxide nanoparticles show a saturation of magnetization at low field; therefore, the focus will be MLnF4 (Ln = Dy3+, Ho3+, and Gd3+) paramagnetic nanoparticles as alternative contrast agents which can sustain their magnetization at high field. The reason is that more potent contrast agents are needed at magnetic fields higher than 7 T, where most animal MRI is being done these days. Furthermore we observe that the extent of cytotoxicity is not fully understood at present, in part because it is dependent on the size, capping materials, dose of nanoparticles, and surface chemistry, and thus it needs optimization of the multidimensional phenomenon. Therefore, it needs further careful investigation before being used in clinical applications .
Silver has always been an excellent antimicrobial and has been used for this purpose for ages. The unique physical and chemical properties of silver nanoparticles only increase the efficacy of silver. Though there are many mechanisms attributed to the antimicrobial activity shown by silver nanoparticles, the actual and most reliable mechanism is not fully understood or cannot be generalized as the nanoparticles are found to act on different organisms in different ways. Chemical and physical methods of silver nanoparticle synthesis were being followed over the decades, but they are found to be expensive and the use of various toxic chemicals for their synthesis makes the biological synthesis the more preferred option. Though bacterial, fungal, and plant extract sources can be used for nanosilver synthesis, the easy availability, the nontoxic nature, the various options available, and the advantage of quicker synthesis make plant extracts the best and an excellent choice for nanosilver synthesis. The uses of silver nanoparticles are varied and many, but the most exploited and desired aspect is their antimicrobial capacity and anti-inflammatory capacity. This has been utilized in various processes in the medical field and has hence been exploited well. However, the downside of silver nanoparticles is that they can induce toxicity at various degrees. It is suggested that higher concentrations of silver nanoparticles are toxic and can cause various health problems. There are also studies that prove that nanoparticles of silver can induce various ecological problems and disturb the ecosystem if released into the environment. Hence, care has to be taken to utilize this marvel well and in a good, effective, and efficient way, understanding its limitations and taking extreme care that it does not cause any harm to an individual or to the environment. It can be believed that if utilized properly, silver nanoparticles can be a good friend, but if used haphazardly, they can become a mighty foe (Sukumaran Prabhu et al., 2012 ).
The biosynthesis of metal nanoparticles by marine resources is thought to be clean, nontoxic, and environmentally acceptable "green procedures." Marine ecosystems are very important for the overall health of both marine and terrestrial environments. The use of natural sources like Marine biological resources essential for nanotechnology. Seaweeds constitute one of the commercially important marine living renewable resources. Seaweeds such as green Caulerpa peltata, red Hypnea valentiae, and brown Sargassum myriocystum were used for synthesis of zinc oxide nanoparticles. The preliminary screening of physicochemical parameters such as concentration of metals, concentration of seaweed extract, temperature, pH, and reaction time revealed that one seaweed S. myriocystum was able to synthesize zinc oxide nanoparticles. It was confirmed through the initial colour change of the reaction mixture and UV-visible spectrophotometer. The extracellular biosynthesized clear zinc oxide nanoparticles size of 36 nm through characterization technique such as DLS, AFM, SEM-EDX, TEM, XRD, and FTIR. The biosynthesized ZnO nanoparticles are more effective antibacterial agents against gram-positive than the gram-negative bacteria. Based on the FTIR results, fucoidan water soluble pigments present in S. myriocystum leaf extract are responsible for reduction and stabilization of zinc oxide nanoparticles. This approach is quiet stable and no visible changes were observed even after 6 months. These soluble elements could have acted as both reducing and stabilizing agents preventing the aggregation of nanoparticles in solution and extracellular biological synthesis of zinc oxide nanoparticles of size 36 nm .
Mittal et al., in 2013 , reviewed that biomolecules present in plant extracts can be used to reduce metal ions to nanoparticles in a single-step green synthesis process. This biogenic reduction of metal ion to base metal is quite rapid, readily conducted at room temperature and pressure, and easily scaled up. Synthesis mediated by plant extracts is environmentally benign. The reducing agents involved include the various water soluble plant metabolites (e.g., alkaloids, phenolic compounds, and terpenoids) and coenzymes. Silver (Ag) and gold (Au) nanoparticles have been the particular focus of plant-based syntheses. Extracts of a diverse range of plant species have been successfully used in making nanoparticles. In addition to plant extracts, live plants can be used for the synthesis. The use of plant extracts for making metallic nanoparticles is inexpensive, easily scaled up, and environmentally benign. It is especially suited for making nanoparticles that must be free of toxic contaminants as required in therapeutic applications. The plant extract based synthesis can provide nanoparticles of a controlled size and morphology. In medicine, nanoparticles are being used as antimicrobial agents, for example, in bandages. Applications in targeted drug delivery and clinical diagnostics are developing.
Biological synthesis of silver nanoparticles using Murraya koenigii leaf extract was investigated and the effect of broth concentration in reduction mechanism and particle size is reported. The rapid reduction of silver (Ag+) ions was monitored using UV-visible spectrophotometry and showed formation of silver nanoparticles within 15 minutes. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and atomic force microscopy (AFM) analysis showed that the synthesized silver nanoparticles are varied from 10 to 25 nm and have the spherical shape. Further the XRD analysis confirms the nanocrystalline phase of silver with FCC crystal structure. It was found that increasing broth concentration increases the rate of reduction and decreases the particle size. The biological synthesis of silver nanoparticles using Murraya koenigii extract was shown to be rapid and to produce particles of fairly uniform size and shape. Following the addition of curry leaf broth to the silver nitrate solution, silver nanoparticles began to form within 15 minutes and the reaction neared completion at 2 h, as shown by the UV-visible spectrophotometry. It was found that increasing broth concentration increases the rate of reduction and reduces the particle size as well as their agglomeration. The reduction of silver ions to silver nanoparticles was found to be optimized at a ratio of 1 : 20 of leaf broth to 10‒3 M silver nitrate solution. The synthesized particles ranged in size from 10 to 25 nm and were spherical in shape, as shown by the TEM and AFM analysis. The particles also tended to aggregate which suggests they may be useful in applications requiring the coating of materials .
Correa-Llantén et al., 2013 , mentioned that the use of microorganisms in the synthesis of nanoparticles emerges as an ecofriendly and exciting approach, for production of nanoparticles due to its low energy requirement, environmental compatibility, reduced costs of manufacture, scalability, and nanoparticle stabilization compared with the chemical synthesis. The production of gold nanoparticles by the thermophilic bacterium Geobacillus sp. strain ID17 is reported. Cells exposed to Au3+ turned from colourless into an intense purple colour. This change of colour indicates the accumulation of intracellular gold nanoparticles. Elemental analysis of particles composition was verified using TEM and EDX analysis. The intracellular localization and particles size were verified by TEM showing two different types of particles of predominant quasihexagonal shape with size ranging from 5 to 50 nm. The majority of them were between 10 and 20 nm in size. FT-IR was utilized to characterize the chemical surface of gold nanoparticles. This assay supports the idea of a protein type of compound on the surface of biosynthesized gold nanoparticles. Reductase activity involved in the synthesis of gold nanoparticles has been previously reported to be present in other microorganisms. This reduction using NADH as substrate was tested in ID17. Crude extracts of the microorganism could catalyze the NADH-dependent Au3+ reduction. Results strongly suggest that the biosynthesis of gold nanoparticles by ID17 is mediated by enzymes and suggest NADH as a cofactor for this biological transformation.
The use of biologically derived metal nanoparticles for various proposes is going to be an issue of considerable importance; thus, appropriate methods should be developed and tested for the biological synthesis and recovery of these nanoparticles from bacterial cells. In this research study, a strain of Klebsiella pneumoniae was tested for its ability to synthesize elemental selenium nanoparticles from selenium chloride. A broth of Klebsiella pneumoniae culture containing selenium nanoparticles was subjected to sterilization at 121°C and 17 psi for 20 minutes. Released selenium nanoparticles ranged in size from 100 to 550 nm, with an average size of 245 nm. Our study also showed that no chemical changes occurred in selenium nanoparticles during the wet heat sterilization process. Therefore, the wet heat sterilization process can be used successfully to recover elemental selenium from bacterial cells. Selenium possesses several applications in medicine, chemistry, and electronics. In recent years, there has been an increasing interest in synthesizing metal particles using chemical and biological methods. The use of "green" synthesis of metal nanoparticles is going to be of considerable importance; thus, appropriate methods should be developed and tested, especially for the recovery of these nanoparticles from natural resources such as bacterial cells. In the present research, an oxidation-reduction titrimetric assay involving KMnO4 was first used for determination of the reduction properties of different culture supernatants of K. pneumoniae. The highest reduction ability was observed for the culture supernatant of K. pneumoniae grown in TSB. Therefore, this culture medium was chosen for the biological synthesis of selenium nanoparticles. The biorecovery of selenium nanoparticles from a selenium chloride supplemented TSB was further investigated by K. pneumoniae. A wet heat sterilization process was used for disrupting the bacterial cells containing the selenium particles. The released nanoparticles showed nanoparticles in the range of 100–550 nm, with an average size of 245 nm. These nanoparticles were chemically stable during the sterilization process, suggesting a possible utilization of this process (wet heat sterilization) for recovering selenium nanoparticles from the cell mass of bacteria or for recovering other intracellular metal nanoparticles generated by microorganisms. On the other hand, the strong EDS signals from the atoms in the nanoparticles confirmed the reduction of selenium ions to elemental selenium and its chemical stability during cell disruption using the sterilization process .
Saklani et al., in 2012 , reviewed that interesting facts about silver nanoparticles synthesis can be very well understood when the real mechanism involved in the antimicrobial activity of silver ions is known. Silver ions are very reactive and are known to bind to the vital cell components, inducing cell death. However, generation of silver nanoparticles through chemical method is very tedious, whereas, through microbes such as E. coli, it is a fast and an eco-friendly approach. These can further be useful in various industrial and many biomedical applications. The nanoparticles can be artificially synthesized in vitro using chemical method via ethanol. But, here the synthesis was done through E. coli at room temperature. The supernatant was taken from the nutrient broth, incubated overnight, and inoculated with E. coli. Then 1 mM of AgNO3 (1% v/v) was added to the supernatant. The formation of silver nanoparticles was observed within 10 minutes. The color change was noticed from fine yellow color to reddish brown with time. After keeping for a long time, there was a transition of color change, from fine yellow to deep reddish brown. They are four different series of color change, namely, "fine yellow" as delta (δ), "light brown" as gamma (γ), "light reddish brown" as beta (β), and "deep reddish brown" as alpha (α). Alpha consisted of maximum nanoparticles concentration. Beta consisted of lesser number of nanoparticles as compared to alpha. Gamma consisted of less nanoparticles concentration than beta. Delta consisted of the least nanoparticle concentration of all. Therefore, one can conclude that with time nanoparticles production from E. coli increases and hence their antibacterial property varies accordingly. The intensity of color is directly proportional to nanoparticles production. To prove their efficacy, their zone of inhibition (MIC) was tested against E. coli. And for these, wells were created in a petri plate spread with microdiluted culture (25 μL). The created wells were filled with α, β, γ, and δ samples, 50 μL each. Alpha (α), reddish brown color, showed the maximum inhibition, with no growth in its zone. Delta (δ), fine yellow color, showed the minimum inhibition of growth. Alpha and beta show the maximum inhibition.
Silver nanoparticles are increasingly used in various fields of biotechnology and applications in medicine. Korbekandi et al. in 2013 studied the optimization of production of silver nanoparticles using biotransformations by Fusarium oxysporum, and a further study on the location of nanoparticles synthesis in this microorganism. The reaction mixture contained the following ingredients (final concentrations): AgNO3 (1–10 mM) as the biotransformation substrate, biomass as the biocatalyst, glucose (560 mM) as the electron donor, and phosphate buffer (pH = 7, 100 mM). The samples were taken from the reaction mixtures at different times, and the absorbance (430 nm) of the colloidal suspensions of silver nanoparticles hydrosols was read freshly (without freezing) and immediately after dilution (1 : 40). SEM and TEM analyses were performed on selected samples. The presence of AgNO3 (0.1 mM) in the culture as enzyme inducer and glucose (560 mM) as electron donor had positive effects on nanoparticle production. In SEM micrographs, silver nanoparticles were almost spherical and single (25–50 nm) or aggregates (100 nm), attached to the surface of biomass. The reaction mixture was successfully optimized to increase the yield of silver nanoparticles production. More details of the location of nanoparticles production by this fungus were revealed, which support the hypothesis that silver nanoparticles are synthesized intracellularly and not extracellularly .
Jha et al. in 2010  reported that green, low-cost, and reproducible Lactobacillus-mediated biosynthesis of metal and oxide nanoparticles is reported. Silver and titanium dioxide nanoparticles are synthesized using Lactobacillus sp. procured from yoghurt and probiotic tablets. The synthesis is performed akin to room temperature in the laboratory ambience. X-ray and transmission electron microscopy analyses are performed to ascertain the formation of metallic and oxide nanoparticles. Individual nanoparticles having the dimensions of 10–25 nm (n-Ag) and 10–70 nm (n-TiO(2)) are found.
Usha et al., in 2010 , demonstrated the synthesis of metal oxide nanoparticles by a Streptomyces sp. isolated from a site Pichavaram mangrove in India. Extracellular production of metal oxide nanoparticles by Streptomyces sp. was carried out. It was found that copper sulphate and zinc nitrate when exposed to Streptomyces sp. are reduced in solution, thereby leading to the formation of metal oxide nanoparticle. The metal oxide nanoparticles were in the range of 100–150 nm. The possibility of the reduction of metal ions may be by reductase enzyme. The antibacterial and antifungal activity of nanoparticle-coated fabric was evaluated according to the procedures of AATCC147 method and AATCC30 method, respectively. A 100% reduction of viable E. coli, S. aureus, and A. niger was observed in the coated fabric materials after 48 h of incubation. Nanoparticle shows promise when applied as a coating to the surface of protective cloth by reducing the risk of transmission of infectious agents.
Antibacterial nanopackaging can create a modified atmosphere in packaging with controlled gaseous exchange, so that the shelf life of vegetables may be increased to weeks. The surface of an ordinary packaging material such as plastic or paper can be adapted to make it suitable for food by coating it with one or more sharply defined layers of tens of nanometers thickness. Developing coated paper with antibacterial properties of zinc nanoparticles could be an alternative to other food preservation methods. Nanocoatings for glass bottles are used for better preserving the quality of fruit and vegetable products by shielding them from light waves and thereby improve their shelf life. The simplicity of the process means it would be easy to be scaled up to meet industry need. It was also noted that its technology could be used as another option to preservation processes .
Dhoondia and Chakraborty, in 2012 , reported the synthesis of silver oxide nanoparticles using Lactobacillus mindensis, isolated using fixer solution from an X-ray photographic laboratory. Nanoparticles obtained were characterized by means of UV-visible spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and X-ray diffraction (XRD). The UV-visible spectrum shows the absorbance maximum at 430 nm, which is a characteristic of surface plasmon resonance of silver. Further, the presence of stable nanoparticles in the range of 2–20 nm was determined using TEM analysis. Silver nanoparticles in the form of silver oxide were confirmed in the XRD study. In conclusion, Lactobacillus mindensis serves as a promising candidate in the quest to synthesize silver oxide nanoparticles through green chemistry.
Pleurotus sp. was allowed for biosynthesis of iron nanoparticles in culture media. The fungus was allowed to grow in 2 × 10−4 M FeSO4 solutions for 72 hours. UV-visible spectra analysis helps us to know about formations of nanoparticles at 226 nm and 276 nm wavelength. Involvement of proteins in culture was determined by spectral analysis of broth culture at different intervals of time at 265 nm. FTIR analysis detects the presence of functional groups in binding of particles with biomass. There was a shift in case of treated cells indicating participations of proteins in more quantity. TEM images reflect depositions of particles both inside and outside indicating the biosynthesis process. However such depositions are absent in case of control sample. XRF of control samples does not show any iron elements but was present in treated mycelium. Some others elements were also detected, it may be due to present in culture media. The transport of iron particles may be due to presence of siderophores. Iron transport molecules like hydroxamates are mainly present in fungi. They bind the complex molecules and transport them inside of cells .
Vidya et al. in 2013  studied that green synthesis of ZnO nanoparticles by zinc nitrate and utilizing the bio components of leaves extract of Calotropis Gigantea. The ZnO nanocrystallites of average size range of 30–35 nm have been synthesized by rapid, simple, and ecofriendly method. Zinc nanoparticles were characterized using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). The particles obtained are spherical in nature and are agglomerates of nanocrystallite. The X-ray patterns show hexagonal crystal type for ZnO. The results coincide with literature XRD pattern for hexagonal wurtzite ZnO. The size of nanocrystallites is calculated by considering XRD data by Debye-Scherrer's formula. The rapid biological synthesis of zinc nanoparticles using leaf extract of Calotropis gigantea provides an environmentally friendly, simple, and efficient route for synthesis of nanoparticles. The use of plant extracts avoids the usage of harmful and toxic reducing and stabilizing agents. The synthesized nanocrystallites of ZnO are in the range of 30–35 nm. Zinc nanoparticles can exist in ions only in the presence of strong oxidizing substances. The environmental conditions will affect the stability of nanoparticle and agglomerates are formed. The synthesis of ZnO nanoparticles is still in its infancy and more research needs to be focused on the mechanism of nanoparticle formation which may lead to fine tuning of the process ultimately leading to the synthesis of nanoparticles with a strict control over the size and shape parameters .
The development of techniques for the controlled synthesis of nanoparticles of well-defined size, shape, and composition, to be used in the biomedical field and areas such as optics and electronics, is a big challenge. The use of the highly structured physical and biosynthetic activities of microbial cells for the synthesis of nanosized materials has recently emerged as a novel approach for the synthesis of metal nanoparticles. A number of different organisms, including bacteria, yeast, and fungi, were screened for their ability to produce gold nanoparticles and examples of results demonstrating the formation of gold nanoparticles of different sizes and shapes are presented. The cellular mechanism leading to the reduction of the gold ions and formation of gold nanoparticles is not well understood and therefore the potential to manipulate key parameters, which control growth and other cellular activities, to achieve controlled size and shape of the nanoparticles, was investigated. The results provided some insight as to which parameters may impact on the cellular mechanism involved in the reduction of gold ions and formation of gold nanoparticles. In their study they demonstrated the intracellular synthesis of gold nanoparticles of various morphologies and sizes in two fungal cultures, V. luteoalbum and isolate 6–3. The rate of particle formation and therefore the size of the nanoparticles could, to an extent, be manipulated by controlling parameters such as pH, temperature, gold concentration, and exposure time to . In chemical nanoparticle synthesis procedures shape control of the particles is still an issue and an ongoing area of research. A biological process with the ability to strictly control the shape of the particles would therefore be a considerable advantage. An immediate objective of further research is therefore to use the highly structured physical and biosynthetic activities of microbial cells to achieve controlled manipulation of the size and shape of the particles. Issues that need to be addressed include development of a fundamental understanding of the process mechanism on a cellular and molecular level, including isolation and identification of the compounds responsible for the reduction of gold ions .
Sagar and Ashok, in 2012 , reported that antibiotic resistance is one of the world's most pressing public healthcare problems. People who become infected with drug-resistant microorganisms usually spend more time in the hospital and require a form of treatment that uses two or three different antibiotics and is less effective, more toxic, and more expensive. Silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) are attractive option because they are nontoxic to the human body at low concentrations and have broad spectrum antibacterial actions. The biosynthesis of nanoparticles has received increasing attention due to the growing need to develop safe, cost-effective, and environmentally friendly technologies for nanomaterials synthesis. Silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) were synthesized using a reduction of aqueous Ag+ ion with the culture supernatants of Aspergillus niger. The reaction occurred at ambient temperature and in a few hours. The bioreduction of AgNPs was monitored by ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy, and the AgNPs obtained were characterized by transmission electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction. The synthesized AgNPs were polydispersed spherical particles ranging in size from 1 to 20 nm and stabilized in the solution. Furthermore, the antimicrobial potential of AgNPs was systematically evaluated. The synthesized AgNPs could efficiently inhibit various pathogenic organisms, including bacteria and fungi.
A low-cost, green, and reproducible probiotic microbe (Lactobacillus sporogenes) mediated biosynthesis of ZnO nanoparticles is reported. The synthesis is performed akin to room temperature in five replicate samples. X-ray and transmission electron microscopy analyses are performed to ascertain the formation of ZnO nanoparticles. Rietveld analysis to the X-ray data indicated that ZnO nanoparticles have hexagonal unit cell structure. Individual nanoparticles having the size of 5–15 nm are found. A possible involved mechanism for the synthesis of ZnO nanoparticles has been proposed. The H2S adsorption characteristic of ZnO nanoparticles has also been assayed .
The biological process with the ability to study the shape of particles produced would therefore be a limelight of modern nanotechnology. The bacterial strain Escherichia coli, used for the biosynthesis of silver nanoparticles, were investigated. These silver nanoparticles were characterized by means of UV-visible spectroscopy and particle size analyzer. The nanoparticles exhibited maximum absorbance at 400 nm in UV-visible spectroscopy corresponding to the plasmon resonance of silver nanoparticles .
Forough and Khalil, in 2010 , investigated the synthesis of stable silver nanoparticles by the bioreduction method aqueous extracts of the manna of Hedysarum plant and the soap-root (Acanthe phylum bracteatum) plants were used as reducing and stabilizing 16 agents, respectively. UV-visible absorption spectroscopy was used to monitor the quantitative formation of silver nanoparticles. The characteristics of the obtained silver nanoparticles were studied using X-ray diffraction analysis (XRD), energy-dispersive spectroscopy (EDX), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The EDX spectrum of the solution containing silver nanoparticles confirmed the presence of an elemental silver signal without any peaks of impurities. The average diameter of the prepared nanoparticles in solution was about 29–68 nm.
Researchers worked on the Biosynthesized antimicrobial potent silver nanoparticles using whole plant aqueous extract of Andrographis paniculata. The synthesized silver nanoparticles were confirmed by color transformation and ultraviolet-visible (UV-visible) spectrophotometery. The size and morphology of the silver nanoparticles were characterized by scanning electron microscope (SEM) and transmission electron microscope (TEM). The stability of silver nanoparticles was detected by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). The effect of silver nanoparticles over bacterial strains such as B. subtilis, E. coli, P. aeruginosa, P. fluorescence, S. aureus, S. typhii, and V. parahaemolyticus and pathogenic fungi such as A. flavus and A. niger was examined. The appearance of dark brown color and UV absorption range at 430 nm confirmed the synthesized silver nanoparticles. The silver nanoparticles showed spherical structure and their sizes were ranging from 14 to 80 nm under SEM and TEM observations. FTIR spectra of silver nanoparticles showed the peaks for functional groups, N–H, C=O, and –C=C, and monosubstituted ring which indicate the stability of synthesized silver nanoparticles. The obtained nanoparticles showed good inhibitory activity on all bacterial species, whereas they showed antifungal activity only on A. niger and had no effect on A. flavus. The synthesis of silver nanoparticles using whole plant aqueous extract of A. paniculata would be helpful for the preparation of pharmaceutically useful drugs to destroy pathogenic microbes .
Copper nanoparticles synthesized in electrolysis method are showing antibacterial activities against both gram (−) and gram (+) bacteria. Changes in surface area to volume ratio of copper are enhancing its antibacterial activities. Copper nanoparticles synthesized in electrolysis method are showing more antibacterial activities (for E. coli bacteria) than copper nanoparticles synthesized in chemical reduction method. Using electrical power while Synthesizing copper nanoparticles using electric power increases its antimicrobial activity. The chemicals involved in the synthesis of nanoparticles are commonly available, cheap, and nontoxic. The technology can be implemented with minimum infrastructure. The experiments suggest the possibility to use this material in water purification, air filtration, air quality management, antibacterial packaging, and so forth .
Malarkodi et al., in 2013 , reported that the microbe-mediated biosynthesis of gold nanoparticles is nontoxic compared to all other reported methods. Also, the method has advantages: the process is easy since it can be scaled and it is also economically possible. Reduction and surface accretion of metals may be processed, by which bacteria keep themselves from the toxic effects of metallic ions. In the present investigation, the gold nanoparticles were synthesized using K. pneumoniae which was isolated from saltpan soil and identified by MTCC. The synthesis of gold nanoparticles was confirmed by colour change of the liquid medium from yellow to intense dark purple, and it exhibited its maximum absorbance at 560 nm which played a prominent role in the reduction of gold chloride to gold nanoparticles. The X-ray diffractometer showed the crystalline nature of nanoparticles. The Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy showed that the functional groups of gold nanoparticles can bind to proteins through free amine groups or carboxylate groups in the protein. The morphology of the gold nanoparticles is found to be spherical in shape and stable in water for 3 months that can be attributed to the surface binding of stabilization materials secreted by the bacteria. Gold colloidal solution is biologically well suited and has the potential to be used in medical and pharmaceutical applications due to their homologous size distribution.
Biological synthesis of silver nanoparticles using microorganisms has received profound interest because of their potential to synthesize nanoparticles of various sizes, shape, and morphology. In the current study, synthesis of silver nanoparticles by a bacterial strain (CS 11) isolated from heavy metal contaminated soil is reported. Molecular identification of the isolate showed it as a strain of Bacillus sp. On treating the bacteria with 1 mM AgNO3, it was found to have the ability to form silver nanoparticles extracellularly at room temperature within 24 h. This was confirmed by the visual observation and UV-visible absorption at 450 nm. Further characterization of nanoparticles by transmission electron microscopy confirmed the size of silver nanoparticles in 42–92 nm range .
Enzymes are extensively used as biocatalysts in numerous industries like food, chemical, pharmaceutical, and fermentation industries. These biocatalysts are known for their selective substrate specificity and catalytic activity in most of the chemical reaction. Hence biosensors advancements in the field of food are expected to yield substantial returns. However, till date, biosensor for medical applications continues to dominate the market; the major reason behind the dormancy of biosensor for other applications is the high fluctuations in operating environment, that is, exposure to temperature and pH farther away from optimum conditions for the enzymes used in these biosensors. The high temperature and pH variability and hence instability of enzyme, leading to low shelf life, are a major concern for commercial viability. The low free energy difference (40 kJ/mol) between the native and denatured structure of enzyme makes it a fragile molecule to deal with and limits its unlimited applications. The appropriate folding of proteins leading to the complex three-dimensional structure allows high catalytic activity of biocatalyst. Thus, any destruction or damage to this three-dimensional structure results in loss of catalytic activity of the biocatalyst. This crucial conformation of the protein is stabilized by a variety of interactions based on hydrophobic effects, electrostatic interactions, coordinative complexes, and at times even covalent disulfide bonds. Different factors are known such as temperature and pH that may disturb the balance of weak noncovalent forces responsible for preserving the native conformation of enzyme. It is well-known fact that thermal denaturation of many enzymes begins at temperatures exceeding 35°C, making the usage of enzyme difficult in any reaction system, where the substrate has a high melting point. The presence of flexible regions in the structure of enzymes results in high kinetic energy of these regions from vibrations even at room temperature. This enhanced kinetic energy of some region in structure of the enzyme molecule can rearrange weak noncovalent interactions and thereby inactivating the enzyme. Moreover, the enzyme is known to be highly unstable in solution. Chemical modifications can also lead to changes in the conformation of the protein. As reported by Manning et al. in 2009 , the solvent water for instance may react with proteins, resulting in deamidation of glutamine and asparagine residues, whereas oxidation modifies thiol groups. Therefore, it is a must to provide an appropriate environment to enzyme in order to sustain their catalytic activity. Research efforts to analyze genetic makeup of thermophilic and hyperthermophilic microorganism in order to elucidate the factors responsible for their thermal stability like codon usage or specific amino acid sequence and so forth are in progress. However, not much success has been achieved in converting a thermally labile enzyme into thermally stable enzyme.
Various available reports claim that different natural or synthetic substances like an amino acid, a polyol, sucrose, and dextran are often added to an enzyme solution for enhancing its thermal stability. However, the enzyme obtained by the conventional methods described above is stable only under very narrow temperature range and thus is relatively unstable over broad temperatures fluctuations on either side of optimum values. Hence, it is imperative to develop methods to enhance the stability of enzymes.
Different desolvating agents were used for the purpose of protein desolvation. Alcohols (ethanol and propanol) and ketones (acetone) were added to the enzyme solution at a constant concentration ranging from 50 to 100% at a constant rate of addition.
Following desolvation, the effect of concentration of crosslinking agent (glutaraldehyde) on the protein was studied. Varying concentration of glutaraldehyde from 0.001% to 0.005% was added to the desolvated protein. The crosslinking process was performed under continuous stirring of the suspension over a time period of 24 hours to ensure complete crosslinking of the particles.
Functionalization of synthesised nanoparticles was performed using different functionalizing agents in order to analyze the effect of functionalizing agents on stability, functionality, and biocompatibility of synthesized enzyme nanoparticles. Functionalizing agents such as L-cysteine and chemical X were added with constant stirring for 5-6 hours to the solution containing enzyme nanoparticles.
U. Rajamanickam, P. Mylsamy, S. Viswanathan, and P. Muthusamy, "Biosynthesis of zinc nanoparticles using actinomycetes for antibacterial food packaging," in Proceedings of the International Conference on Nutrition and Food Sciences (IPCBEE '12), vol. 39, 2012.
P. Rajasekar, S. Priyadharshini, T. Rajarajeshwari, and C. Shivashri, "Bio-inspired synthesis of silver nanoparticles using Andrographis paniculata whole plant extract and their anti-microbial activity over pathogenic microbes," International Journal of Research in Biomedicine and Biotechnology. In press.


Soon it will be even easier for people to make an appointment with a GP, thanks to a new national 'extended access' initiative, which will improve access to primary care services in the Surrey Downs area.
This means, in addition to being able to book GP appointments at your local practice, you will also have access to additional appointments during the evenings and at weekends at a number of locations across the local area.
The extra appointments will be provided by the three GP federations that bring together GP practices across the local area.
By working together in a new and different way, local GP practices will be improving access to primary care appointments, making it even easier for local people to get the care and advice they need, at a time that's convenient to them.
As these extra appointments are provided from GP surgeries in the area, the GP or clinician will have access to your medical record, with your consent, giving them access to all the information they would need to provide the best possible care.
As one of the early adopters of the extended access programme, GP Health Partners has been offering people living in and around Epsom, Ewell, Ashtead, Leatherhead, Bookham and surrounding areas extra appointments during evenings and at weekends for some time. Anyone registered with one of these practices can contact their surgery or phone GP Health Partners directly on 01372 738 373 to book an appointment.
As part of this new national initiative, extra GP appointments will also be available for people living in the East Elmbridge area from the end of September, delivered by Surrey Medical Network, and for people living in and around Dorking from the beginning of October, where the service will be delivered by the Dorking Healthcare GP federation.
By increasing access to primary care services, it will be even easier for people to get the advice and support they need, at a time that is convenient for them. This additional capacity in primary care will help relieve pressures in other parts of the health and social care system and help ensure more people are seen and treated in the community, closer to home.