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We describe a female infant with X-linked chondrodysplasia punctata (CDPX1) as a result of maternal isodisomy of the X chromosome. Targeted Sanger sequencing and targeted next-generation sequencing of ARSL were used to test for the familial variant. This patient was homozygous for ARSL NM_000047.2: c.1227_1228delinsAT p.(Ser410Cys) familial variant, consistent with a diagnosis of CDPX1. Uniparental disomy is a type of chromosomal variation. Although not necessarily pathogenic, it can cause imprinting disorders and X-linked recessive disorders in females, and be a cause of autosomal recessive conditions when only one parent is a carrier. The patient described highlights that uniparental disomy can be a rare cause of X-linked recessive conditions. This mode of inheritance has not been previously described in this condition.

Cr-doped zinc-lanthanum nanoferrites Zn1-xCrxLa0.1Fe1.9O4 (x = 0.09, 0.18, 0.27, and 0.36) were successfully synthesized using sonochemical reactors. Effect of powder production parameters were extensively studied and powder characterization was performed. Existence of cubic spinel structures in the prepared nanoferrites with the average crystallite size ranging from 35 to 51 nm was confirmed by X-ray diffraction studies. An electrochemical impedance analyzer was used to measure the dielectric constant (e′), loss tangent (tan δ), and complex dielectric constant (e") with respect to frequency and composition ratio. Maxwell–Wagner polarization and hopping mechanism were calculated to distinguish the variations in e′, tan δ, and e". The Nyquist impedance plots for nanoferrites revealed the pseudocapacitance as well as resistive behavior. Vibrating sample magnetometer studies reveled the ferromagnetic behavior of nanoferrites. Substantially increased saturation magnetization and decreased coercivity were noted with respect to increased Cr2+ ions in the prepared nanoferrites. It was found that the addition of chromium in Zn1-xCrxLa0.1Fe1.9O4 nanoferrites enhances the optical, electrical, and magnetic properties of the nanoferrites.

Item does not contain fulltext The study aimed at widening the clinical and genetic spectrum of ASXL3-related syndrome, a neurodevelopmental disorder, caused by truncating variants in the ASXL3 gene. In this international collaborative study, we have undertaken a detailed clinical and molecular analysis of 45 previously unpublished individuals with ASXL3-related syndrome, as well as a review of all previously published individuals. We have reviewed the rather limited functional characterization of pathogenic variants in ASXL3 and discuss current understanding of the consequences of the different ASXL3 variants. In this comprehensive analysis of ASXL3-related syndrome, we define its natural history and clinical evolution occurring with age. We report familial ASXL3 pathogenic variants, characterize the phenotype in mildly affected individuals and discuss nonpenetrance. We also discuss the role of missense variants in ASXL3. We delineate a variable but consistent phenotype. The most characteristic features are neurodevelopmental delay with consistently limited speech, significant neuro-behavioral issues, hypotonia, and feeding difficulties. Distinctive features include downslanting palpebral fissures, hypertelorism, tubular nose with a prominent nasal bridge, and low-hanging columella. The presented data will inform clinical management of individuals with ASXL3-related syndrome and improve interpretation of new ASXL3 sequence variants.

The major threat that our nation faces today is the lack of soil fertility. Usage of chemical fertilizer directly into agricultural lands may enhance the production rate once but it cannot sustain the natural nutritious value of the soil forever. Controlled release formulations of fertilizers using biopolymers are the technically advanced approach of supplying nutrients to the plants. The controlled release fertilizers offers great potential in enhancing fertilizer efficiency, minimizing leaching and reducing environmental pollution. In this work, efforts have been made to prepare and characterize controlled release fertilizer (urea) with an aim to minimize leaching and to reduce the environmental pollution.

The major threat that our nation faces today is the lack of soil fertility. Usage of chemical fertilizer directly into agricultural lands may enhance the production rate once but it cannot sustain the natural nutritious value of the soil forever. Controlled release formulations of fertilizers using biopolymers are the technically advanced approach of supplying nutrients to the plants. The controlled release fertilizers offers great potential in enhancing fertilizer efficiency, minimizing leaching and reducing environmental pollution. In this work, efforts have been made to prepare and characterize controlled release fertilizer (urea) with an aim to minimize leaching and to reduce the environmental pollution.

The study attempts to verify the role of agricultural diversification as a mechanism of coping with income risk. For this purpose, the study estimates the level of agricultural diversification across the eastern Indian states sourcing secondary data on value of output for the period spanning from 1999-00 to 2013-14. Further, income risk at state level also measured through a comprehensive and comparable risk index. It was observed that in eastern Indian states, Chhattisgarh had highest level of risk and Bihar had lowest risk level. Further, factors which can positively influence level of agricultural diversification were segregated and it was observed that, fertilizer usage, percentage of irrigated area, cropping intensity, market access and farm sizes had direct impact on level of diversification for overall agriculture and in cereals, pulses and oilseeds sub-sectors, though in varying degrees. The study also established that level of agricultural diversification reduces risk level while land fragmentation increases risk level.

High-rate cathode materials for Li-ion batteries require fast Li transport kinetics, which typically rely on topotactic Li intercalation/de-intercalation because it minimally disrupts Li transport pathways. In contrast to this conventional view, here we demonstrate that the rate capability in a Li-rich cation-disordered rocksalt cathode can be significantly improved when the topotactic reaction is replaced by a non-topotactic reaction. The fast non-topotactic lithiation reaction is enabled by facile and reversible transition metal octahedral-to-tetrahedral migration, which improves rather than impedes Li transport. Using this concept, we show that high-rate performance can be achieved in Mn- and Ni-based cation-disordered rocksalt materials when some of the transition metal content can reversibly switch between octahedral and tetrahedral sites. This study provides a new perspective on the design of high-performance cathode materials by demonstrating how the interplay between Li and transition metal migration in materials can be conducive to fast non-topotactic Li intercalation/de-intercalations.

The onion crop is widely seen as the poor man's vegetable, has the power to change electoral results (Anonymous 2019). In India Onion (Allium cepa) is cultivated in an area of 12.7 lakh ha and produces 215.64 lakh ton. In Uttar Pradesh it is cultivated in an area of 0.25 lakh ha producing 4.23 lakh ton. The study was done during 2020 at IARI, New Delhi. Development of appropriate price forecasting mechanism and dissemination among the farmers would help alleviate problems faced by the farmers and consumers alike. The average price of onion throughout the year, during the study period of 2015-2020, has been fluctuating between ₹ 900-2200/quintal. The ARIMA (0,1,2)(1,0,0) [52] and ARFIMA(3,0,0)-sGARCH (1,1) model were found to be best fit model. However, on the basis of MAPE, MSE, RMSE and Theil's U statistics it was observed that the ARMA-GARCH model outperformed the ARIMA model.

Ca-ion electrochemical systems have been pushed to the forefront of recent multivalent energy storage advances due to their use of earth-abundant redox materials and their high theoretical specific densities in relation to monovalent or even other more widely explored multivalent-charge carriers. However, significant pitfalls in metal plating and stripping arise from electrolyte decomposition and can be related to the coordination environment around Ca2+ with both the negatively charged anion and the organic-aprotic solvent. In this study, we apply multiple spectroscopic techniques in conjunction with density functional theory to evaluate the coordination environment of Ca2+ across a class of ethereal solvents. Through the combination of X-ray absorption fine structure and time-dependent density functional theory, descriptive measures of the local geometry, coordination, and electronic structure of Ca-ethereal complexes provide distinct structural trends depending on the extent of the Ca2+-solvent interaction. Finally, we correlate these findings with electrochemical measurements of calcium tetrakis(hexafluoroisopropoxy)borate (CaBHFIP2) salts dissolved within this class of solvents to provide insight into the preferred structural configuration of Ca2+ electrolytic solutions for optimized electrochemical plating and stripping.

The rapid market growth of rechargeable batteries requires electrode materials that combine high power and energy and are made from earth-abundant elements. Here we show that combining a partial spinel-like cation order and substantial lithium excess enables both dense and fast energy storage. Cation overstoichiometry and the resulting partial order is used to eliminate the phase transitions typical of ordered spinels and enable a larger practical capacity, while lithium excess is synergistically used with fluorine substitution to create a high lithium mobility. With this strategy, we achieved specific energies greater than 1,100 Wh kg–1 and discharge rates up to 20 A g–1. Remarkably, the cathode materials thus obtained from inexpensive manganese present a rare case wherein an excellent rate capability coexists with a reversible oxygen redox activity. Our work shows the potential for designing cathode materials in the vast space between fully ordered and disordered compounds.

Mn-based Li-excess cation-disordered rocksalt (DRX) oxyfluorides are promising candidates for next-generation rechargeable battery cathodes owing to their large energy densities, the earth abundance, and low cost of Mn. In this work, we synthesized and electrochemically tested four representative compositions in the Li-Mn-O-F DRX chemical space with various Li and F content. While all compositions achieve higher than 200 mAh g−1 initial capacity and good cyclability, we show that the Li-site distribution plays a more important role than the metal-redox capacity in determining the initial capacity, whereas the metal-redox capacity is more closely related to the cyclability of the materials. We apply these insights and generate a capacity map of the Li-Mn-O-F chemical space, LixMn2-xO2-yFy (1.167 ≤ x ≤ 1.333, 0 ≤ y ≤ 0.667), which predicts both accessible Li capacity and Mn-redox capacity. This map allows the design of compounds that balance high capacity with good cyclability.

Perovskite photovoltaic ABX$_3$ systems are being studied due to their high energy-conversion efficiencies with current emphasis placed on pure inorganic systems. In this work, synchrotron single-crystal diffraction measurements combined with second harmonic generation measurements reveal the absence of inversion symmetry below room temperature in CsPbBr$_3$. Local structural analysis by pair distribution function and X-ray absorption fine structure methods are performed to ascertain the local ordering, atomic pair correlations, and phase evolution in a broad range of temperatures. The currently accepted space group assignments for CsPbBr$_3$ are found to be incorrect in a manner that profoundly impacts physical properties. New assignments are obtained for the bulk structure: $Im$$\bar{3}$ (above $\sim$ 410 K), $P$2$_1$/$m$ (between $\sim$ 300 K and $\sim$ 410 K), and the polar group $Pm$ (below $\sim$ 300 K), respectively. The newly observed structural distortions exist in the bulk structure consistent with the expectation of previous photoluminescence and Raman measurements. High-pressure measurements reveal multiple low-pressure phases, one of which exists as a metastable phase at ambient pressure. This work should help guide research in the perovskite photovoltaic community to better control the structure under operational conditions and further improve transport and optical properties., Comment: 7 Figures in main text (20 pages), 18 Figure groups and 10 Table groups in supplementary documentation (42 pages)

BACKGROUND Pseudoexfoliation is one of the common cause of secondary open-angle glaucoma worldwide with a mean progression rate higher than primary open-angle glaucoma. In India, prevalence rate of pseudoexfoliation is around 2% (Hiller et al). In South India, the prevalence rate is 6% in >40 years of age as per Krishnadas et al in 2003. The aim of the study is to study the demographic aspects of pseudoexfoliation, the frequency of glaucoma in patients with pseudoexfoliation syndrome and to assess the treatment response in pseudoexfoliation syndrome. MATERIALS AND METHODS The study was conducted among 96 patients with pseudoexfoliation who attended OP Department of Ophthalmology, Government Tiruvannamalai Medical College and Hospital, Tiruvannamalai, from January 2017 to June 2017. Complete ocular examination with visual acuity, anterior segment examination, intraocular pressure, gonioscopy, fundus examination, central corneal thickness, visual field, ultrasound B scan and ultrasound biomicroscopy was done. RESULTS Incidence of glaucoma is more common in pseudoexfoliation and most of them have open angles. All patients with pseudoexfoliation should undergo complete glaucoma evaluation for early detection. Further ophthalmologist should focus on detection of pseudoexfoliation, since it is related to high risk of operative complication. CONCLUSION Incidence of glaucoma is more in pseudoexfoliation with most common bilateral presentation with open angles with recalcitrant intraocular pressure. Severity of optic nerve damage and with progression of field defects appeared to be more compared to primary open-angle glaucoma. Better response to combination drug therapy and surgical therapy than primary open-angle glaucoma.

In hybrid improper ferroelectric systems, polarization arises from the onset of successive nonpolar lattice modes. In this work, measurements and modeling were performed to determine the spatial symmetries of the phases involved in the transitions to these modes. Structural and optical measurements reveal that the tilt and rotation distortions of the MnO6 or TiO6 polyhedra relative to the high symmetry phases driving ferroelectricity in the hybrid improper Ca3X2O7 system (X=Mn and Ti) condense at different temperatures. The tilt angle vanishes abruptly at T$_T$ ~ 400 K for Ca3Mn2O7 (and continuously for X=Ti) and the rotation mode amplitude is suppressed at much higher temperatures T$_R$ ~1060 K. Moreover, Raman measurements in Ca3Mn2O7 under isotropic pressure reveal that the polyhedral tilts can be suppressed by very low pressures (between 1.4 and2.3 GPa) indicating their softness. These results indicate that the Ca3Mn2O7 system provides a new platform for strain engineering of ferroelectric properties in film based systems with substrate induced strain., Comment: Eight figures and one table in main text. Twenty-two figures and eleven tables in supplementary document

© 2018 The Royal Society of Chemistry. The discovery of facile Li transport in disordered, Li-excess rocksalt materials has opened a vast new chemical space for the development of high energy density, low cost Li-ion cathodes. We develop a strategy for obtaining optimized compositions within this class of materials, exhibiting high capacity and energy density as well as good reversibility, by using a combination of low-valence transition metal redox and a high-valence redox active charge compensator, as well as fluorine substitution for oxygen. Furthermore, we identify a new constraint on high-performance compositions by demonstrating the necessity of excess Li capacity as a means of counteracting high-voltage tetrahedral Li formation, Li-binding by fluorine and the associated irreversibility. Specifically, we demonstrate that 10-12% of Li capacity is lost due to tetrahedral Li formation, and 0.4-0.8 Li per F dopant is made inaccessible at moderate voltages due to Li-F binding. We demonstrate the success of this strategy by realizing a series of high-performance disordered oxyfluoride cathode materials based on Mn2+/4+and V4+/5+redox.

The lithium-excess LixNi2-4x/3Sbx/3O2 (LNSO) materials were previously shown to demonstrate higher capacities and improved cyclability with increasing lithium content. While the performance trend is promising, observed capacities are much lower than theoretical capacities, pointing to a need for further understanding of active redox processes in these materials. In this work, we study the electrochemical behavior of the LNSO materials as a function of lithium content and at slow and fast rates. Surprisingly, Li1.15Ni0.47Sb0.38O2 (LNSO-15) exhibits higher discharge capacities at faster rates and traverses distinct voltage curves at slow and fast rates. To understand these two peculiarities, we characterize the redox activity of nickel, antimony, and oxygen at different rates. While experiments confirm some nickel redox activity and oxygen loss, these two mechanisms cannot account for all observed capacity. We propose that the balance of the observed capacity may be due to reversible oxygen redox and that the rate-dependent voltage curve features may derive from irreversible nickel migration occurring on slow charge. As future high energy density cathodes are likely to contain both lithium excess and high nickel content, both of these findings have important implications for the development of novel high capacity cathode materials.

© 2015 The Royal Society of Chemistry. Recent successes with disordered Li-excess materials and applications of percolation theory have highlighted cation-disordered oxides as high capacity and energy density cathode materials. In this work, we present a new class of high capacity cation-disordered oxides, lithium-excess nickel titanium molybdenum oxides, which deliver capacities up to 250 mA h g-1. These materials were designed from percolation theory which predicts lithium diffusion to become facile in cation-disordered oxides as the lithium-excess level increases (x > 1.09 in LixTM2-xO2). The reversible capacity and rate capability in these compounds are shown to considerably improve with lithium excess. In particular, Li1.2Ni1/3Ti1/3Mo2/15O2 delivers up to 250 mA h g-1 and 750 W h kg-1 (∼3080 W h l-1) at 10 mA g-1. Combining in situ X-ray diffraction, X-ray absorption near edge spectroscopy, electron energy loss spectroscopy, and electrochemistry, we propose that first charging Li1.2Ni1/3Ti1/3Mo2/15O2 to 4.8 V occurs with Ni2+/Ni∼3+ oxidation, oxygen loss, and oxygen oxidation in this sequence, after which Mo6+ and Ti4+ can be reduced upon discharge. Furthermore, we discuss how oxygen loss with lattice densification can affect lithium diffusion in the material by decreasing the Li-excess level. From this understanding, strategies for further improvements are proposed, setting new guidelines for the design of high performance cation-disordered oxides for rechargeable lithium batteries.

This article 'Fungal Pathogens of Nephotettix virescens Dist. and Nilaparvata lugens Stal' appeared in the International Rice Research Newsletter series, created by the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI). The primary objective of this publication was to expedite communication among scientists concerned with the development of improved technology for rice and for rice based cropping systems. This publication will report what scientists are doing to increase the production of rice in as much as this crop feeds the most densely populated and land scarce nations in the world.

This article 'Control of Helminthosporium Leaf Spot By Foliar Sprays' appeared in the International Rice Research Newsletter series, created by the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI). The primary objective of this publication was to expedite communication among scientists concerned with the development of improved technology for rice and for rice based cropping systems. This publication will report what scientists are doing to increase the production of rice in as much as this crop feeds the most densely populated and land scarce nations in the world.

This article 'Leaf Folder Control Through Interference in Chitin Biosynthesis' appeared in the International Rice Research Newsletter series, created by the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI). The primary objective of this publication was to expedite communication among scientists concerned with the development of improved technology for rice and for rice based cropping systems. This publication will report what scientists are doing to increase the production of rice in as much as this crop feeds the most densely populated and land scarce nations in the world.

This article 'Rice Ragged Stunt Disease in India' appeared in the International Rice Research Newsletter series, created by the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI). The primary objective of this publication was to expedite communication among scientists concerned with the development of improved technology for rice and for rice based cropping systems. This publication will report what scientists are doing to increase the production of rice in as much as this crop feeds the most densely populated and land scarce nations in the world.

This article 'Insecticidal Control of the Brown Planthopper in the Field' appeared in the International Rice Research Newsletter series, created by the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI). The primary objective of this publication was to expedite communication among scientists concerned with the development of improved technology for rice and for rice based cropping systems. This publication will report what scientists are doing to increase the production of rice in as much as this crop feeds the most densely populated and land scarce nations in the world.

This article 'Rice Varieties and the White-Tip Nematode' appeared in the International Rice Research Newsletter series, created by the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI). The primary objective of this publication was to expedite communication among scientists concerned with the development of improved technology for rice and for rice based cropping systems. This publication will report what scientists are doing to increase the production of rice in as much as this crop feeds the most densely populated and land scarce nations in the world.

Alumina-zirconia fibres (Al 2O 3-10 wt.% ZrO 2) were prepared by the sol-gel method with organic additives viz. hydroxy ethyl cellulose (HEC) and polyvinyl alcohol (PVA). As the organic content is increased, the phase transition to ?-Al 2O 3 is retarded in the presence of hydroxy ethyl cellulose and enhanced in the presence of polyvinyl alcohol. The phases present in the sintered fibres are ?-Al 2O 3, t-ZrO 2 and m-ZrO 2. Infra red spectra of the sintered fibres show bands corresponding to ?-Al 2O 3. The surface morphology of fibres prepared with higher amount of organics shows equiaxed grains with relatively dense microstructure for fibre prepared with hydroxy ethyl cellulose, whereas the structure is porous with polyvinyl alcohol. Tensile strength decreases with the increase in organic content.