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Objective: Parkinson’s disease (PD) leads to involuntary and uncontrolled muscle reactions. Berberine (BBR) is a quaternary ammonium compound of herbal origin. As it prevents dopaminergic neuronal loss and brain damage, especially related hippocampus, it can be explored in the treatment of PD. This study aimed to assess how BBR aff ected the behavior of rats with a PD model. Method: A 2 μg/mL solution of 6- hydroxydopamine-Hbr (6-OHDA) prepared with ascorbic acid 0.2 mg/mL added to put off auto-oxidation. It was kept on ice until it was injected. Rats were grouped into six groups of six rats, each at random. Animals in group 1 were given double-distilled water. (i. e.); group 2, received 6-OHDA, group–3, received BBR (50 mg/kg, oral), group 4 received BBR (50 mg/kg ) and 1% piperine (PIP); group 5 received BBR (50 mg/kg ) and 2% PIP and group 6 received BBR (50 mg/kg) and 3% PIP for 14 days. Result: BBR therapy has been shown to protect rats from numerous behavioral and metabolic changes caused by 6-Hydroxydopamine and to improve Parkinson’s symptoms. The results show a signifi cant improvement in the behaviour of rats with Parkinsonism caused by 6-OHDA when treated with BBR and PIP. The results indicate that PIP’s co-administration improves BBR’s therapeutic activity in treating PD markedly. The incorporation of 2% PIP shows the best results, as there is not much diff erence between the 2 and 3% doses, though the activity increases signifi cantly when compared with that of 1% PIP. Conclusion: According to reports, BBR has a strong anti-eff ect against Parkinson’s, but due to its low bioavailability, it is challenging to use it clinically. The presence study suggests that adding a bio enhancer like PIP may improve the bioavailability of BBR and thus improve its effi cacy. The results show that co-administration of piprine greatly enhances the eff ect of BBR in treating Parkinson’s.

This paper addresses the synthesis of safety-critical controllers using estimate feedback. We propose an observer-controller interconnection to ensure that the nonlinear system remains safe despite bounded disturbances on the system dynamics and measurements that correspond to partial state information. The co-design of observers and controllers is critical, since even in undisturbed cases, observers and controllers designed independently may not render the system safe. We propose two approaches to synthesize observer-controller interconnections. The first approach utilizes Input-to-State Stable observers, and the second uses Bounded Error observers. Using these stability and boundedness properties of the observation error, we construct novel Control Barrier Functions that impose inequality constraints on the control inputs which, when satisfied, certifies safety. We propose quadratic program-based controllers to satisfy these constraints, and prove Lipschitz continuity of the derived controllers. Simulations and experiments on a quadrotor demonstrate the efficacy of the proposed methods., 6 pages, 4 figures. Accepted at LCSS, CDC 2023

A series of azulene-BODIPY triads with an acetylene spacer have been synthesized to study the influence of connectivity variation.

Cement stabilized blocks can be made from waste sludge generated from Activated Alumina and MgO-CaO-MgCl2-HCl based defluoridation filters. The waste sludge is mixed with sand, cement and water are shaped in form of blocks using a mud block making machine. This requires semi-skilled and unskilled labourers and thus can be used for employment generation in places which are affected by fluoride in rural India. The paper discusses the process and manpower requirement for this venture.

This paper critically surveys the growing literature on the policy choices of local governments. First, we identify various reasons for local government policy interactions, including fiscal competition, bidding for firms, yardstick competition, expenditure spillovers, and Tiebout sorting. We discuss theoretically what parameters should be estimated to determine the reason for competition among local governments. We emphasize how the policy outcomes emerging from this competition are affected by the presence of constraints imposed by higher-level governments. Second, we integrate theoretical and empirical analyses on the effects of fiscal decentralization on mobility, spillovers, fiscal externalities, economic outcomes, and distributional issues. Third, we identify key issues that arise in the empirical estimation of strategic interactions among local governments and highlight recent quasi-experimental evidence that has attempted to identify the mechanism at work. Finally, a synthesis model, containing multiple mechanisms and fiscal instruments, resolves some puzzles and provides guidance for future research. (JEL D72,H20, H71, H72, H73, H77, R51)

The main objective of this study is the in-season forecasting of soybean crop yield using the integration of satellite remote sensing and weather observations. The study was carried out in the Paran´a state of Brazil. The soybean crop in the study region is sown during Oct.–Nov. month and harvested between Feb.–Mar. of the next year. Municipality-level soybean yield data for 15 municipalities was obtained from the AGROLINK portal of Brazil, from the 2005–06 season to the 2020–21 season. The crop yield data constituted yearly municipality-wise yield in kg/ha. Remote sensing-based indicators such as the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI) and Land Surface Temperature (LST), and Rainfall data from CHIRPS was considered in the study. Regression modelling was carried out between municipality-level yield as the dependent variable and features generated from remote sensing and weather observations as independent variables. Performance evaluation of tuned random forest regression (RFR) and tuned support vector regression (SVR) were performed against multiple linear regression (MLR). A comparison of results in terms of algorithms shows that RFR performed better than SVR and MLR. Further, a rootmean- square-error (RMSE) of 414 kg/ha and an R2 value of 0.748 were achieved by the best RFR model. Validation of developed RFR model was performed on the data from the new soybean season, i.e., 2020–21. We have achieved an R2 value of 0.693 with a RMSE of 585 kg/ha. Although the model performance on the data of 2020-21 season is slightly reduced, R2 and RMSE are in good agreement with test results. This study showed that, integration of remote sensing and weather observations would be useful for in-season yield forecasting of soybean at municipality level.

The Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) is a useful index for vegetation monitoring. However, due to cloud cover the observations of NDVI are discrete and vary in the intensity. Therefore, there is a need to estimate the NDVI during cloud cover using alternative sources of satellite observations. The main objective of this study is to estimate NDVI during cloudy conditions using moderate resolution multi-spectral and synthetic aperture radar (SAR) observations. Two approaches were identified: 1) pixel replacement and 2) machine learning based regression analysis to estimate cloud free NDVI. Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) 8-day NDVI composite, Sentinel-1 SAR and cloud masked Sentinel-2 multi-spectral observations were collected for entire cropping season. The satellite observations were selected only for agricultural areas by applying the agriculture, non-agriculture land use land cover mask. Machine learning algorithms such as Linear Regression (LR), Random Forest Regression (RFR), and Support Vector Regression (SVR) were used for NDVI estimation. Regression analysis was performed using Sentinel-2 NDVI as an independent variable and VV, VH, Cross Ratio (i.e., VV/VH), and MODIS NDVI as dependent variables. NDVI of the cloudy pixel was estimated using the trained regression models over the agriculture areas. A regression model was trained and applied to each Sentinel-2 tile that covers an area of 100 km × 100 km. The RFR and SVR showed the highest R2 of 0.73 and a RMSE of 0.12. A visual comparison of time series graphs showed good alignment between actual (Sentinel-2) and predicted NDVI and usual crop growth trend.

Remote sensing satellites allow users to acquire detailed information about the Earth's surface on a temporal basis. Widen time-series analysis at a large geographical scale involves a huge amount (in Terabytes) of satellite data downloading and processing operations. Such processes need good computational power, large storage, and sophisticated tools. Maintaining such infrastructure can cost heavily to the research/commercial enterprises. To overcome such issues, Amazon Web Service (AWS) offers a sophisticated cloud computing environment. We developed an in-house automated satellite data downloading and processing (ADDPro) pipeline on the AWS platform. The ADDPro pipeline employed Sentinel-2 satellite data to offer current and relative vegetation health information of the agriculture region on a temporal basis at the pan-India scale. Image compositing and multi-sensor data fusion technique have been incorporated into the ADDPro pipeline to produce cloud-free raster (GeoTIFF) outputs. ADDPro pipeline also facilitates lossless raster data compression, which reduces AWS data transfer costs between regions. Data compression also aids in reducing raster publishing time on GeoServer. Operationally, AWS allows users to download only the bands required to generate a certain index (e.g. NDVI) rather than the entire Sentinel-2 data package. The entire ADDPro pipeline is extremely cost-effective, efficient, and scalable.

Background Obesity is becoming serious global public health issue due to sedentary lifestyle and bad eating habits. Dietary and lifestyle practices are directly related to obesity, which can cause serious health problems like cardiac ailments, diabetes, and hypertension etc. Vast varieties of options are available for weight reduction including physical exercises, various diet plans and also the pharmacological agents. Physical activity improves the fitness of the individual and helps in reducing the ill effects of the obesity. Objective To compare the effects of Yoga and Aerobic Exercise on weight circumference, waist-hip ratio (WHR) and body mass index (BMI) in overweight and obese individuals. Method An experimental study was started with purposive sampling. Sixty overweight and obese individuals from the community were divided equally into two groups, one group was given supervised yoga asana and the other group was given supervised aerobic exercise for 6 weeks. Waist circumference, waist hip ratio and body mass index were taken pre and post intervention. Result Statistically significant difference was seen in pre and post intervention value of waist circumference, waist hip ratio and body mass index in both the groups with the p value < 0.05. However there was no statistical significant difference noted in waist hip ratio in individuals performing aerobic exercises as p value was > 0.05. Conclusion Both the interventions showed significant reduction in waist circumference, waist hip ratio and body mass index, while better results were noted in the individuals performing yoga asanas.

From experimental studies, clinical studies and epidemiological studies it is proved beyond doubt that camel milk has potential role in prevention and treatment of diabetes. The main purpose of the study to isolate camel milk protein and compare its similarity with human insulin so that camel milk can be used as an adjunct therapy for diabetes. Raw camel milk (30 ml) was used for isolation of protein and peptides. The complete process included trypsin digestion, peptide fractionation and LC-MS technique. Digested and fractionized peptide sample was processed further for liquid chromatography and mass spectra/ tandem mass spectra were recorded in positive-ion and high sensitivity mode. MS/MS spectra were automatically calibrated during dynamic LC-MS. Raw data files were converted to Mascot Generic Format (MGF) and these MGF files were searched against UniPort, NCBI and common MS contaminant database. In our study 13 proteins and 22 peptide sequences were found similar to insulin/ insulin like growth factor and isoform. In our study some very large peptide sequence were identified which were seen similar to NUAK family SNF1-like kinase and this peptide sequence gives evidence of role of camel milk in cancer treatment. Observing so many similar peptides in camel milk sample with human insulin, isoform of insulin, receptors and others give strong evidence that camel milk have proteins/ peptides of such proteins similar to human insulin and give support to finding that camel milk contains insulin like molecule that mimics insulin interaction with its receptors.

Aims: The original phytochemical, UV-Visible, and FTIR Spectral estimation of Tephrosia purpuria root was the subject of this study. Natural phytoconstituents were all found in methanolic extracts from the root of Tephrosia purpuria. Study Design: Experimental research work. Methodology: Furthermore, using UV Visible spectrophotometer equipment, the extract was scanned in the range of 380 to 900 nm, and the characteristic peaks were identified. Results: The UV-VIS data indicated peaks at 382.70, 413.68, 536.18, 610.37, and 664.61 nm, with absorption values of 2.7930, 2.5932, 0.3114, 0.4185, and 1.5966 respectively. The presence of Natural phytoconstituents is confirmed by FTIR spectra. The findings confirm that this plant has key bioactive elements that are beneficial to our health, indicating that more research is needed. Conclusion: Natural phytoconstituents were all found in methanolic extracts from the root of Tephrosia purpuria.

A new series of novel synthesis of bis(2-(substituted(methyl)amino)-4-phenylthiazol-5-yl)methanone (PVS 1-9) is reported. The carbonyl isothiocyanate (3) was synthesized by a para-cleavage of C–Cl bond of benzoyl chloride (1) with ammonium thiocyanate (2). The presence of carbonyl group in acyl isothiocyanates enhance the reactivity of acyl isothiocyanates upon reaction with substituted secondary amine (4) give n-alkylated adduct (5), which upon the reaction with dichloro acetone give target compound 7. Substituted derivatives as inhibitors against lungs, breast and EJFR assist cancer based on virtual screening cellular evaluations with NSCLC H1975 harboring EGFR L858R/T790M double mutations indicated that the most active compound PVS-7 could inhibit the proliferation of two cell lines in one digital micromolar scale. The enzymatically results indicated that compounds PVS-2, PVS-4 and PVS-9 were the most active inhibitor against EGFR T790M and above cancer activity with a ~82%. All compounds were well characterized by spectroscopic techniques and their purity was confirmed by UV-HPLC.

We show that torsion resonators can experience massive dissipation dilution due to nanoscale strain, and draw a connection to a century-old theory from the torsion balance community which suggests that a simple torsion ribbon is naturally soft-clamped. By disrupting a commonly held belief in the nanomechanics community, our findings invite a rethinking of strategies towards quantum experiments and precision measurement with nanomechanical resonators. For example, we revisit the optical lever technique for monitoring displacement, and find that the rotation of a strained nanobeam can be resolved with an imprecision smaller than the zero-point motion of its fundamental torsional mode, without the use of a cavity or interferometric stability. We also find that a strained torsion ribbon can be mass-loaded without changing its $Q$ factor. We use this strategy to engineer a chip-scale torsion balance whose resonance frequency is sensitive to micro-$g$ fluctuations of the local gravitational field. Enabling both these advances is the fabrication of high-stress Si$_3$N$_4$ nanobeams with width-to-thickness ratios of $10^4$ and the recognition that their torsional modes have $Q$ factors scaling as their width-to-thickness ratio squared, yielding $Q$ factors as high as $10^8$ and $Q$-frequency products as high as $10^{13}$ Hz., 20 pages, 23 figures

Optomechanical accelerometers promise quantum-limited readout, high detection bandwidth, self-calibration, and radiation pressure stabilization. We present a simple, scalable platform that enables these benefits with nano-$g$ sensitivity at acoustic frequencies, based on a pair of vertically integrated Si$_3$N$_4$ membranes with different stiffnesses, forming an optical cavity. As a demonstration, we integrate an ultrahigh-Q ($>10^7$), millimeter-scale Si$_3$N$_4$ trampoline membrane above an unpatterned membrane on the same Si chip, forming a finesse $\mathcal{F}\approx2$ cavity. Using direct photodetection in transmission, we resolve the relative displacement of the membranes with a shot-noise-limited imprecision of 7 fm/$\sqrt{\text{Hz}}$, yielding a thermal-noise-limited acceleration sensitivity of 562 n$g/\sqrt{\text{Hz}}$ over a 1 kHz bandwidth centered on the fundamental trampoline resonance (40 kHz). To illustrate the advantage of radiation pressure stabilization, we cold damp the trampoline to an effective temperature of 4 mK and leverage the reduced energy variance to resolve an applied stochastic acceleration of 50 n$g/\sqrt{\text{Hz}}$ in an integration time of minutes. In the future, we envision a small-scale array of these devices operating in a cryostat to search for fundamental weak forces such as dark matter.

Funding Acknowledgements Type of funding sources: None. Background The association between non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) with cardiovascular and cerebrovascular outcomes, as well as their clinical impact, has yet to be established in the literature. Objective We aim to evaluate the association between NAFLD patients and the risk of atrial fibrillation (AF), heart failure (HF),stroke, cardiovascular mortality (CVM), and peripheral revascularization. Method We performed a systematic literature search using the PubMed, Embase, Scopus, and Cochrane libraries for relevant articles from inception until July 20th, 2022. Odds ratios (OR) were pooled using a random-effect model, and a p-value of Results A total of 10 studies with 17886340 patients (2887214 NAFLD vs 14999126 non-NAFLD) were included in our analysis. The average age and percentage of males were comparable between groups, with a mean age of 55 years and 72.5% of males in the NAFLD group, whereas 52 years and 47.4% of males in the non-NAFLD group. The most common comorbidities among the NAFLD group included: hypertension (38% vs 24%), diabetes mellitus (14% vs 8%). The mean follow-up duration was 6.26 years. The likelihood of atrial fibrillation [OR, 1.42(95%CI: 1.18-1.70), P Conclusion Patients with NAFLD demonstrated increased incidence of cardiovascular and/or cerebrovascular outcomes; heart failure, stroke, and arrhythmia. Patients with associated comorbidities were at higher risk of cardiovascular disease, implying a greater need for screening and adoption of cardio-protective measures amongst NAFLD patients.

This paper analyses challenges and opportunities for improving energy efficiency in small and medium enterprises (SMEs) by reviewing research design and results out of seven European projects: SPEEDIER, SMEmPower Efficiency, E2Driver, Innoveas, Triple-A, DEESME and ICCEE. These projects aim to improve SMEs’ awareness of energy efficiency and support an effective decision-making-oriented approach to it. Drivers and barriers to energy efficiency improvements in European SMEs of various industrial sectors have been investigated by means of surveys, focused group discussions and interviews. A meta-analysis of the results of the seven EU projects was carried out to discover trends related to energy efficiency in European SMEs; this was supported by the use of a unifying analytic framework that enabled merging and cross-validation of the findings of the seven projects. The analysis indicated, by means of new data collected by the seven projects, that staff training, facilitation of energy audits, development of corporate policy measures and collaboration between SMEs involved in the same supply chain are key mechanisms to improve the uptake of energy efficiency measures in SMEs which has significant potential to achieve higher energy savings and energy cost reductions.

Heterocyclic systems are now considered to be an integral part of material chemistry. Thiophene, selenophene, furan, pyrrole, carbazole, triazine and others are some such examples worth mentioning. 2,4,6-Tri(thiophen-2-yl)-1,3,5-triazine is a C

Background: Psychotic disorders severely affect the quality of life of many patients. Mortality is very high in such patients. Suicide risk is 12 times more in patients with psychoses than in the general population. First episode psychosis has no agreed-upon definition, but the initial years are crucial for a better prognosis of the illness. Early intervention and timely management prove beneficial in improving quality of life and reducing mortality, mainly due to suicide. Suicide risk is about 1.5 times higher in the first year of treatment. Aims and Objectives: We aim to find out the presence of suicidal ideas and attempts in FEP and find out risk factors for suicidal ideas and attempts in FEP. The study also assesses the nature of clinical manifestations, depression, and insight with suicidal ideas, suicidal attempts, and non-suicidal self-harm in FEP. Methods: It is a cross-sectional observational study. Seventy-five indoor or outdoor patients aged 18 to 50yrs will be assessed. Tools used are sociodemographic proforma, PANSS, Addington Depression scale, Suicidality Module of MINI, and Birchwood Insight Scale. Results and Discussion: This study’s result will help ascertain suicidal behaviors in first-episode psychosis. The study will also help identify risk factors and their role in suicide in these patients.

After its starting point in Wuhan, China, Corona Virus related respiratory disease has been spread worldwide and pronounced by WHO in 2020. Since it's obtained through respiratory beads, local area spread is obligated for the new worldwide emergency. RT-PCR and a few serology tests, including but not limited to the recently affirmed five-minute serology assays, are examples of demonstrative techniques. The infection influences lower respiratory tract illness. Recounted encounters have shown that imaging qualities are essential to the conclusion as radiological proof of infection shows up preceding clinical indications, which can be valuable in anticipating the phase of the illness. According to the exam, a CT scan is much more sensitive than a chest X-Ray in identifying these lung progressions.

Tuberculosis TB one of the major health problem in developed countries, with extremely high prevalence in Asian countries, mainly caused by "Mycobacterium Tuberculosis". Although pulmonary tuberculosis is the most common form of the disease, it also can occur in other organ systems such as lymph nodes, central nervous system, skeletal system, hepatic system, and gastrointestinal system, including the oral cavity. Extrapulmonary tuberculosis is an uncommon form of chronic infection that does not present typical signs and symptoms of pulmonary tuberculosis. Oral tuberculosis is an uncommon form and is often overlooked as it shows no path gnomic signs. This article presents our experience of unusual atypical tuberculosis in the Head and Neck region.

If online transactions are tax free, increased online shopping may lower tax rates as jurisdictions seek to reduce tax avoidance; but, if online firms remit taxes, online sales may put upward pressure on tax rates because internet sales help enforce destination-based taxes. I find that higher internet penetration generally results in lower municipal tax rates but raises tax rates in some jurisdictions. The latter effect emerges in states where many online vendors remit taxes. A 1 standard deviation increase in internet penetration lowers local sales taxes in large municipalities by 0.15 percentage points, or 16 percent of the average rate. (JEL H25, H26, H71, L81, R51)

CONTEXT The social determinants of health impact the health outcomes of local public health agency clients. This report shows how the Florida Department of Health in Hillsborough County (DOH) sought to address this for its clients. PROGRAM This midstream intervention identified individual DOH client needs and navigated clients to community resources to address these social needs. IMPLEMENTATION During the 2019 program, 768 DOH clients were screened, with 77% reporting having 1 or more social needs. EVALUATION Staff and clients identified various challenges clients faced navigating resources on their own, and the value in having resource navigators within the local public health agency. DISCUSSION Program findings demonstrated alignment with priorities in the Community Health Assessment, leading to engagement of specific partners and planning for population-level policy interventions. Social needs screenings present a unique opportunity for local public health agencies to improve the circumstances of clients and implement health equity approaches in their communities.

Background Obesity is becoming serious global public health issue due to sedentary lifestyle and bad eating habits. Dietary and lifestyle practices are directly related to obesity, which can cause serious health problems like cardiac ailments, diabetes, and hypertension etc. Vast varieties of options are available for weight reduction including physical exercises, various diet plans and also the pharmacological agents. Physical activity improves the fitness of the individual and helps in reducing the ill effects of the obesity. Objective To compare the effects of Yoga and Aerobic Exercise on weight circumference, waisthip ratio (WHR) and body mass index (BMI) in overweight and obese individuals. Method An experimental study was started with purposive sampling. Sixty overweight and obese individuals from the community were divided equally into two groups, one group was given supervised yoga asana and the other group was given supervised aerobic exercise for 6 weeks. Waist circumference, waist hip ratio and body mass index were taken pre and post intervention. Result Statistically significant difference was seen in pre and post intervention value of waist circumference, waist hip ratio and body mass index in both the groups with the p value0.05. However there was no statistical significant difference noted in waist hip ratio in individuals performing aerobic exercises as p value was0.05. Conclusion Both the interventions showed significant reduction in waist circumference, waist hip ratio and body mass index, while better results were noted in the individuals performing yoga asanas.

Arene-fused selenophenes were synthesized by a redox neutral process from arylethynyl substituted polycyclic arenes using selenium powder in refluxing N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone (NMP) with the assistance of the residual water in NMP as a catalytic proton source. The site-selective nature of this selenocyclization produces trans-alkenes as a competitive product, which is dependent on the π-electron donation ability of polycyclic arenes and the kind of arylethynyl group attached to it. DFT calculations were performed to understand the site selectivity in the selenophene formation reaction. The HOMO coefficient on the carbon adjacent to carbon having arylalkyne substituent of the polycyclic arene correlates with the selenocyclization tendency of the substrate. The wavelength of absorption and emission and quantum yield of emission increase with increasing the number of fused benzene rings in the polycyclic unit (from naphthalene to pyrene).

Background: Cryptosporidiosis is the disease of zoonotic importance and is considered to be third major cause of diarrhoeal disease of calves worldwide causing significant economic losses. The present study aimed to link Cryptosporidium spp. infections in dairy calves with the management practices as a major risk factor. Methods: Total 401 faecal samples from dairy calves were collected from eight large (100-1000 animals) and eight medium size (30-100 animals) dairy farms located in Jabalpur (Madhya Pradesh, India). Cryptosporidium oocysts were identified in faeces by modified Ziehl-Neelsen staining (mZN) and formal ether concentration techniques. Result: The prevalence of Cryptosporidium spp. was 28.7% in dairy calves. A higher prevalence and risk of cryptosporidiosis was associated with large farms (24.9% vs. 3.74%, OR=1.96), intensive farming system (27.7% vs. 0.99%, OR=1.86), drinking ground water (27.7% vs. 0.99%, OR=1.86), dirty farms (16.7% vs. 11.6%, OR=1.90), presence of other animals at farm (15.9% vs. 12.7%, OR=1.36), absence of deworming (14.7% vs.13.9%, OR=5.09) and diarrhoea treatment practice (16.2% vs. 12.5%, OR=1.07). Multi-animal calving area, dirty calving pen and cemented floor were also identified as risk factors. Practices like feeding colostrum within one hour of birth, @ 10% b.wt./day, weaning the calves within 24 hrs and using detergent to wash feeding utensils decreased the risk of infection from 1.4 to 2 times. Calves kept confined with their dam had greater prevalence and risk of infection (17.2% vs. 11.5%, OR=5.20). The findings highlight that proactive managemental practices are beneficial for decreasing the environmental contamination and improving calf health.

Deep eutectic solvents (DESs) are a class of ionic liquids (ILs) successfully implemented for many organic transformations.1,2 Several reports have shown the immense potential of using ILs with ult...

Increasing urbanization and industrialization demands advanced infrastructure over the existing structure, especially in a developing country (like India) where the population is very large and keeps on increasing. To deal with this complex situation there is an essential need for structures that have higher strength along with sustainability in design. The current project deals with the development of high performance concrete using ultrafine flyash. The project aims to develop high strength concrete of M-60 grade with binary blending of cement with ultrafine flyash and ternary blending of cement with ultrafine flyash and silica fume to produce precast concrete of M-50 grade. Further, the desirable percentage of ultrafine flyash in the development of high-strength concrete of M-60 grade and desirable percentages of both ultrafine flyash and silica fume in precast concrete of M-50 grade was found out to achieve the desired target strength according to the Indian standard criteria. Workability and compressive strength tests were performed on all the mixes. Results reveal that 5% replacement of cement by ultrafine flyash is the most desirable amount which can satisfy the criteria according to various Indian standard codes. Further, other strengths and durability tests were performed on desired concrete. The results show that desired concrete satisfies all the criteria and used in the development of the metro structure.

Searching for new active molecules against M. Bovis BCG and Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB) H37Ra, a focused of 1,2,3-triazoles-incorporated 2,4 thiazolidinedione conjugates have been efficiently prepared via a click chemistry approach cyclocondensation of 4-amino-N-(5-methylisoxazol-3-yl)benzenesulfonamide (4), aryl aldehyde (5a–l), and mercapto acetic acid (6) with good to promising yields. The newly synthesized compounds were tested against drug-sensitive MTB and BCG. In particular, compounds 8g, 8h, 8j and 8l are highly potent against both the strains with IC90 values in the range of 1.20–2.70 and 1.24–2.65 µg/mL, respectively. Based on the results from the antitubercular activity, SAR for the synthesized series has been developed. Most of the active compounds were non-cytotoxic against MCF-7, HCT 116 and A549 cell lines. Most active compounds were having a higher selectively index, which suggested that these compounds were highly potent.

Bent-shaped thienoacenes show promise as next-generation organic semiconductors. Here we present the synthesis of an air-stable, pure and easily scalable thiophene precursor, 2,5-distannylated-3,4-dialkyne thiophene, starting from 3,4-dialkyne thiophene in quantitative yields. This precursor has been used for the synthesis of a versatile class of syn-thienoacenes comprising up to 13 fused rings, helical acenes and donor–acceptor acenes.

A series of four thiophene and triazine containing conjugated porous polymers (CPPs) comprising the same building block, tris(thienyl)triazine, is synthesized using the alkyne cyclotrimerization reaction for TT-CPP1, Sonogashira coupling reaction for TT-CPP2, Glaser coupling reaction for TT-CPP3 and Stille coupling reaction for TT-CPP4. By varying the spacer between tris(thienyl)triazine units, the porosity (3.6, 4.8 and 5.3 nm, respectively) and the band gap value (2.43, 2.11 and 2.03 eV, respectively) of TT-CPP1, TT-CPP2 and TT-CPP3 have been efficiently tuned. All the TT-CPPs display significant thermal stability up to 450 °C. Nitrogen and sulfur of triazine and thiophene moieties, respectively, act as electron-donating centers in these porous polymer frameworks, resulting in excellent adsorption of the Lewis acidic CO2 molecule. A maximum CO2 uptake of 11.4 wt% (2.6 mmol g−1) at 263 K under 100 kPa pressure has been observed for TT-CPP1 compared to the other two CPPs due to the small pore size and strong adsorbate–adsorbent interactions. Configurational bias Monte Carlo (CBMC) molecular simulations have shed light on the selective capture, position and binding energy of CO2 for TT-CPP1/2/3.

A new series of 5-(5-aryl-1-phenyl-1H-pyrazol-3-yl)-3-aryl-1,2,4-oxadiazole (6a-o) have been synthesized by a cyclocondensation reaction of ethyl 5-(4-chlorophenyl)-1-phenyl-1H-pyrazole-3- carboxylate (3a-c) with aryl imidoxime (5a-e). The newly synthesized pyrazolyl-1,2,4-oxadiazole (6a-o) derivatives were characterized by spectroscopic techniques and screened for in vitro antibacterial activity against Bacillus subtilis (NCIM 2063), Staphylococcus albus (NCIM 2178), Escherichia coli (NCIM 2574), Proteus mirabilis (NCIM 2388) and in vitro antifungal activity against Aspergillus niger (ATCC 504) Candida albicans (NCIM 3100).

Light energy can be considered as an ideal eco-friendly source of energy for green chemistry. This perspective was used to synthesize 5-aryl-1,2,4-thiazolidine-3-thiones derivative as a quick, efficient and highly improved protocol. The present method developed an energy competent and integrated technique by one-pot condensations of aromatic aldehyde and thiosemicarbazide under the catalyst-free condition in aqueous-alcoholic media. The impact of light on reaction along with mechanical stirring provided a prominent yield of the product. The mild reaction conditions, short reaction time and easy workup procedure, avoidance of heavy metal catalyst and harsh reaction conditions make this protocol greener.

Imidazoles are a major class of five-membered, nitrogen-containing heterocyclic compounds possessing a wide spectrum of biological and physical activities. 1–5 Because of its importance, numerous m...

A series of newer derivatives 10a–n containing a 2,4-thiazolidinedione and 2-aryl-4-thiazolidinone moieties of pharmacological significance have been synthesized. The compounds were screened for th...

Machine learning (ML) is at the forefront of the rising popularity of data-driven software applications. The resulting rapid proliferation of ML technology, explosive data growth, and shortage of data science expertise have caused the industry to face increasingly challenging demands to keep up with fast-paced develop-and-deploy model lifecycles. Recent academic and industrial research efforts have started to address this problem through automated machine learning (AutoML) pipelines and have focused on model performance as the first-order design objective. We present Oracle AutoML, a novel iteration-free AutoML pipeline designed to not only provide accurate models, but also in a shorter runtime. We are able to achieve these objectives by eliminating the need to continuously iterate over various pipeline configurations. In our feed-forward approach, each pipeline stage makes decisions based on metalearned proxy models that can predict candidate pipeline configuration performances before building the full final model. Our approach, which builds and tunes only the best candidate pipeline, achieves better scores at a fraction of the time compared to state-of-the-art open source AutoML tools, such as H2O and Auto-sklearn. This makes Oracle AutoML a prime candidate for addressing current industry challenges.

The nucleophilic substitution on 3-substituted 2-methoxytropones to form azulenes is dependent on the nucleophile and base employed. With bulkier nucleophiles (ethyl/methyl cyanoacetate), the reaction proceeds with the abnormal nucleophilic substitution irrespective of the base and with smaller nucleophiles (malononitrile), the reaction follows base-dependent normal and abnormal nucleophilic substitution. Thus, the methodologies are developed to selectively obtain 4- and 5-substituted azulenes based on the nature of bases and nucleophiles employed.

Wormlike micelles (WLMs) are polymer-like chains formed by surfactant self-assembly in water. Recently, we have shown that WLMs can also be self-assembled in polar organic liquids like glycerol using a cationic surfactant and an aromatic salt. In this work, we focus on the dynamic rheology of the WLMs in glycerol and demonstrate that their rheology is very different from that of WLMs in water. Aqueous WLMs that are entangled into transient networks exhibit the rheology of a perfect Maxwell fluid having a single relaxation time tR-thereby, their elastic modulus G' and viscous modulus G″ intersect at a crossover frequency ωc = 1/tR. WLMs in glycerol also form entangled networks, but they are not Maxwell fluids; instead, they exhibit a double-crossover of G' and G″ (at ωc1 and ωc2) within the ω-window accessible by rheometry (10-2 to 102 rad/s). The first crossover at ωc1 (∼1 rad/s) corresponds to the terminal relaxation time (i.e., the timescale for chains to disentangle from the transient network and relax by reptation). At the other extreme, at frequencies above ωc2 (which is ∼10 rad/s), the rheology is dominated by the segmental motion of the chains. This "breathing regime" has rarely been accessed via experiments for aqueous WLMs because it falls around 105 rad/s. We believe that glycerol, a solvent that is much more viscous than water, exerts a crucial influence in pushing ωc2 to 1000-fold lower frequencies. On the basis of the rheology, we also hypothesize that WLMs in glycerol are shorter and weakly entangled compared to WLMs in water. Moreover, we suggest that WLMs in glycerol are "unbreakable" chains-i.e., the chains remain mostly intact instead of breaking and re-forming frequently-and this polymer-like behavior explains why the samples are quite unlike Maxwell fluids.

Background: In spite of improvement and modification for intertrochanteric fracture in the conservative line of treatment the ideal anatomical and functional result could not be achieved.Until now mentioned factors posteromedial support communition has been considered to bea major prognostic factor in the determination of the functional outcome. Current literature almost neglects other important potential prognostic factor i.e. lateral trochanteric wall fracture.The current study has aimed at studying Assessment of functional outcomes of Dynamic Hip screw fixation in intertrochanteric fracture Evans 3 and 4 types. Method: 126 cases were registered in the study out of which 64 cases of Trochanteric fractures which were admitted in the Orthopaedic wards and treated by internal fixation using standard Dynamic Hip Screw (DHS) were included in the study. Preoperative assessment of fracture geometry was done using Evan’s classification. Result: Age of patients ranged from 22 years to 88 years, with the average being 55 yrs. the anatomical reduction was achieved in 82.5% of group A with intact lateral trochanteric wall whereas it was achieved in only 33% of the other group. Average impaction in group A was found to be 5.5mm and average impaction in group B was 14mm. 85% of group A had functional outcome excellent to good whereas in 66% of group B it was fair to poor. Conclusion: Intact lateral trochanteric wall helps in achieving anatomical reduction, imparts inherent stability and prevents excessive collapse, limb shortening and sliding of the screw. Thus it helps in achieving good functional outcome making lateral trochanteric wall fracture good predictor of functional outcome.