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AbstractClozapine (CLZ), a tricyclic dibenzodiazepine antipsychotic drug employed for the treatment of Schizophrenia. However, CLZ's significant first-pass effect, poor water solubility, and low oral bioavailability (27%) limit its potential for therapeutic use. The present investigation aimed to prepare CLZ-loaded nanostructured lipid carriers (NLCs) to improve its solubility, bioavailability, and therapeutic efficacy. The NLCs were prepared using an ultrasonic probe sonication technique using selected solid lipids (Gelucire 44/14), liquid lipids (Labrafil M 1944), and surfactants (Monoemul 80). A central composite design approach was adopted to optimize the NLCs. The optimized CLZ-loaded NLCs were evaluated in terms of particle size, zeta potential, surface morphology, crystallinity, drug loading, and in-vitroCLZ release studies. The optimized CLZ-loaded NLCs showed a particle size, zeta potential, and entrapment efficiency of 115.1 ± 2.48 nm, −17 mV and 96.74 ±1.82%, respectively. The morphology revealed the coarsely spherical shape of NLCs. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy indicated the physical interaction between the CLZ and lipids rather than chemical interaction. The results of powder X-ray diffraction and differential scanning calorimetry showed the conversion of crystalline to amorphous form of CLZ and distributed molecular level in lipid matrix. In the in-vitrorelease study, pure CLZ showed 14±1.86% release, whereas CLZ-loaded NLC showed initial burst release (20.0±0.56%) followed by sustained release (69.0±1.03%) up to 24 hours. Collectively, results revealed that the developed novel CLZ-loaded NLCs could be a potential formulation to improve efficacy by increasing solubility and prolonging CLZ release and bioavailability with enhanced patient compliance and reduced side effects.

The aim of the paper is to perform an energy-efficient routing for moving nodes in Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs) by using an ontological-based dolphin swarm optimization (DSO) approach. It makes use of echolocation and ontology to locate and represent cluster nodes close to the sink thereby maintaining optimal energy consumption during simulation. A comparative analysis for 20 samples (N = 10 each) is performed between OntoDSO, Ad-hoc On-demand Distance Vector (AODV) algorithm and existing literature review studies by taking several parameters namely mean delay, mean packet delivery ratio and mean energy consumption into consideration. The simulation of results is performed using MATLAB Simulink with implementation parameters such as number of nodes (n) and initial battery life. As a result, it is found that the OntoDSO approach identifies a set of optimized routes that can satisfy delay constraints and consume less energy, thereby achieving higher performance than AODV and existing studies in the context of WSNs.

Background: Head and neck infections (HNI) associated with multidrug resistance (MDR) offer several health issues on a global scale due to inaccurate diagnosis.Objectives: This study aimed to identify the bacteria and Candidal isolates and implement the silver nanoparticles green synthesized with leaf extract of Coccinia grandis (Cg-AgNPs) as a therapeutic approach against HNI pathogens.Methods: The Cg-AgNPs were characterized by the UV-visible spectrophotometer, FT-IR analysis, Zeta particle size, Zeta potential, and field emission scanning electron microscope (FESEM) analysis to validate the synthesis of nanoparticles. Additionally, the antimicrobial activity of Cg-AgNPs was presented by the zone of inhibition (ZOI), minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC), minimum bactericidal/fungicidal concentration (MBC/MFC), and antibiofilm assay. Moreover, the cell wall rupture assay was visualized on SEM for the morphological study of antimicrobial activities, and the in-vivo toxicity was performed in a swiss mice model to evaluate the impact of Cg-AgNPs on various biological parameters.Results: Different bacterial strains (Staphylococcus aureus, Acinetobacter baumannii, Klebsiella pneumoniae, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa) and Candida sp. (Candida albicans, Candida tropicalis, Candida orthopsilosis, and Candida glabrata) were identified. The MIC, MBC, and antibiofilm potential of Cg-AgNPs were found to be highest against A. baumannii: 1.25 µg/ml, 5 µg/ml, and 85.01±5.19% respectively. However, C. albicans and C. orthopsilosis revealed 23 mm and 21 mm of ZOI. Subsequently, the micromorphology of the cell wall rupture assay confirmed the efficacy of Cg-AgNPs, and no significant alterations were seen in biochemical and hematological parameters on the swiss mice model in both acute and subacute toxicity studies.Conclusion: The green synthesized Cg-AgNPs have multifunctional activities like antibacterial, anticandidal, and antibiofilm activity with no toxicity and can be introduced against the HNI pathogens.

Mechanism of laser beat wave mixing is revisited with an approach of usage of mixed profile lasers namely cosh-Gaussian (CHG) and dark hollow Gaussian (DHG) lasers altogether in under-dense ripple density plasma. Under-dense plasma is more realistic laboratory plasma which is weakly ionized and exhibit electron neutral collision to good extent. Plasma density ripple helps to achieve tunable resonance by matching of beat wavenumber with ripple wavenumber for maximum energy transfer to ensure maximized yield of emitted terahertz (THz) radiation. It is reported that the combination of mixed laser helps achieving larger amplitude THz radiation with greater efficiency as compared to the mixing of two Gaussian lasers. Besides, bifocal THz radiations with varied peak intensities are observed with mixing of CHG and DHG laser, those have extensive utility in medical applications for diagnostics and treatment procedures in cancer disease.

Introduction: Osteoporosis is a skeletal disease characterized by loss of bone mass, reduced bone strength and increased bone fragility predisposing to fractures. This study was planned to evaluate the efficacy, safety and relative bioavailability of Microcore NESC®(Natural Egg Shell Calcium) in osteopenia and osteoporotic patients. Methods: This was a randomized, open label, parallel group interventional clinical trial which included 60 study participants with osteopenia and osteoporosis who were randomized into three groups (20 each). Group 1—Microcore NESC®, Group 2—Shelcal and Group 3—CCM with 12 weeks treatment period. The participants were evaluated for relative oral bioavailability, bone mineral density (BMD), serum osteocalcin, change in VAS pain scale and quality of life—Questionnaires. Results: There was significant improvement in the BMD T scores—post-treatment with MICROCORE NESC®and Shelcal. Higher percentage of improvement in calcium absorption as depicted by an increase in serum calcium levels (10.23%) in the MICROCORE NESC®-treated group when compared to Shelcal (7.7%) and CCM (7.2%). The relative bioavailability of MICROCORE NESC®with respect to Shelcal was 93%. Discussion: MICROCORE NESC®, has shown a better oral relative bio availability of calcium (93%), better improvement of BMD T score compared to Shelcal and CCM. The general health status has improved to very good/excellent in 83% of patients in MICROCORE NESC®-treated group. Thus, MICROCORE NESC®can be considered a better and safe calcium supplement, as there are very few side effects observed without any clinically significant abnormalities in lab parameters.

Devasthal observatory, established over a period of ~ 5 decades, is located in the central Himalayan region of Devabhumi in Nainital district of Uttarakhand state, India. Operated and maintained by the Aryabhatta Research Institute of Observational Science (ARIES), its location was selected after an extensive site survey. The first measurements of atmospheric seeing and extinctions at Devasthal were carried out from 1997 to 2001. Since 2010, three optical telescopes with apertures of 1.3, 3.6, and 4 m have been successfully installed at Devasthal. Optical and near-infrared observations taken with these telescopes testify to the global competitiveness of Devasthal observatory for astronomical observations. The article chronicles the collaboration with the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, beginning around 1996, for the purpose of establishing the observatory. A brief overview of the main science results obtained using these facilities is also presented.

Perovskite solar cells (PSCs) are emerging photovoltaic technologies with an efficiency of over 25%. PEDOT:PSS is the most commonly used hole transport material in the p-i-n type perovskite solar cell because the PEDOT:PSS dispersion is typically water-based material. Water-free PEDOT:PSS composites are used in the n-i-p architecture. The inverted PEDOT:PSS-based PSCs show 200 mV less open circuit voltage (VOC) as compared to conventional PSCs. Herein, the n-i-p type perovskite solar cell containing PEDOT:PSS as a hole transport layer is adopted to overcome the problem of open circuit voltage loss in an inverted solar cell. The design and analysis of n-i-p based perovskite solar cell is carried out using the 1D-Solar Cell Capacitance Simulator. The solar cell performance is improved by optimising the different parameters of perovskite solar cell. The optimised n-i-p structure solar cell has achieved the best power conversion efficiency of over 18% with 1.27 V open-circuit voltage for 350 nm thickness of the absorber layer. Therefore, the results provide a pathway to overcoming the voltage loss in PEDOT:PSS-based inverted PSCs by adopting a conventional device structure.

The empirical evidence on the association between labour market flexibility and research & development (R&D) activities of firms is limited only to developed economies. In this research note, we examine the relationship between labour market flexibility and the R&D decisions of firms in India's organised manufacturing. Using a cross-section of manufacturing firms from the Annual Survey of Industries (ASI) 2015–16 unit-level data, we model the R&D decision of firms as a two-step process. We use Cragg's Double-hurdle model that examines the probability of undertaking R&D in the first stage and the extent of R&D expenditure Amongst the R&D-performing firms in the second stage. Controlling for the firm-specific determinants of R&D expenditure, we find that the spatial variation in labour market flexibility is negatively and significantly associated with the extent of R&D expenditure of R&D-performing Indian firms. We extend the analysis by proxying R&D investment with the factories' net investment in plant and machinery. We found a similar negative correlation between labour market flexibility and the net value of plant and machinery of factories.

Autonomous vehicles (AVs) are rapidly proliferating. However, their future adoption is dependent on guarantees of their safety and security. Studies have shown that AVs are vulnerable to malicious cyberattacks with potentially lethal consequences. It is, therefore, imperative to deploy defensive techniques to enhance their cybersecurity. The method of dynamic watermarking (DW) has been proposed as an active technique for cyber-physical systems to detect cyberattacks. In this study, DW is implemented on an actual AV. It is shown that the DW technique is effective for timely detection of different types of attacks on the yaw rate measurement under autonomous operation, and thereby, allows recourse to measures such as stopping or pulling off to the side to prevent collisions.

In practice, economic load dispatch (ELD) problems have non-smooth and non-convex cost functions which are subjected to numerous nonlinear equality and inequality constraints involving multiple decision variables. It makes the problem computationally labyrinthine to solve via any analytic method. This study proposes a novel and improved version of the conventional grey wolf optimisation (GWO) technique to solve the ELD problem. In the improved GWO, the leadership hierarchy of the grey wolf is ameliorated by taking the random walking behaviour of the grey wolfs into consideration. The algorithm aims to modify the existing leaders with the best leaders to overcome the drawbacks of the conventional GWO. The improved GWO guarantees better exploration and exploitation of the search space. The nonlinear constraints of generating units like ramp rate constraints, influence of valve-point loading and prohibited operating zones (POZs) are taken into account for both lines with and without losses. The obtained results are compared to that of other contemporary algorithms for demonstrating the superiority of the suggested one. This technique provides the optimum dispatch with a faster convergence rate in comparison to the conventional GWO and some other existing methods.

In this note, we assess the newly introduced Industrial Relations Code (IRC) 2020. First, we compare the provisions in IRC 2020 with its predecessor, Industrial Disputes Act (IDA) 1947, and the amendments to IDA 1947 in 1976 and 1982 regarding the employment protection provisions against layoffs, retrenchments, and closures. We find that IRC 2020 merely restored the factory-size threshold to the initial IDA amendment 1976 level of 300 or more workers to which IDA 1947 originally applied from 100 or more workers as notified in the 1982 IDA amendment. We calculate the effect of the threshold-size change on the workers and factories on the firms registered under the Factories Act 1948 2(m). We find from the ASI 2017–2018 data that an estimated 7.07% of the factories and 15.97% of the workers will be affected due to the change in the threshold size introduced through IRC, 2020. Finally, we conclude by discussing the current relevance of the employment protection legislation during the pandemic time and the need for discretionary usage and temporary expansion of coverage of employment protection provisions under the IRC if warranted.

ABSTRACTRadio Frequency IDentification (RFID) is one of the prominent wireless technologies for implementing a complete smart environment and is preferred over magnetic tapes, bar codes and smart cards due to its low cost and high speed. RFID networks provide identification, location tracking and record management and consist of tags, readers and backend storage devices. In these networks, it is very common to see tag-to-tag or reader-to-reader collisions. For avoiding these collisions and hence to improve the overall system performance many probabilistic and deterministic anti-collision protocols have been proposed, but the majority of these protocols were found to be inefficient in channel distribution. In this work, based on simulation annealing, a novel and efficient reader-to-reader and tag-to-tag anti-collision protocol is proposed by uniformly distributing the available channels among different readers, which reduces reader-to-reader collisions to zero. For a better performance tag state parameters have been preferred over fixed scheduling. Improvement of tag identification ratio from 1% to 12.5%, successful interrogation cycles by up to 25% for a maximum of 1000 readers and reduction in the number of cycles required for interrogation by a minimum of 13.3% and a maximum of 25.5% and reader-to-reader collisions up to 24% for 100 K tags make the proposed protocol much suited to a heavily loaded network. Compared to other contemporary protocols performance gain in the range of 2% to 30% has been observed for the total number of sent/received packets, delay, number of collisions, idle cycles and time cycles.

Background: Bleeding pseudoaneurysm (PSA) is a rare but potentially lethal complication of chronic pancreatitis (CP). It requires expeditious management by a multidisciplinary team. The study aims to report our experience with PSA in the background of CP. Methods: All the patients, who underwent intervention for CP-related PSA between August 2007 and December 2020 in the Department of Surgical gastroenterology, Institute of Postgraduate Medical Education and Research, Kolkata, India were retrospectively reviewed. Results: Of the total 26 patients, 25 (96%) were men with a median age of 38 (11–63) years. The most commonly involved vessel was the splenic artery (n= 18, 69%). The interval between onset of GI bleed and intervention was 7 (0–120) days. Embolization was attempted in 11(42%) patients and was successful in six patients. Surgery was performed in 20 (77%) patients including five patients after failed embolization. The most commonly performed operation was distal pancreatectomy with splenectomy. The median operating time was 216 (115–313) minutes. The median intraoperative blood loss was 325 (100–1000) ml. Seventeen (85%) patients' required intraoperative blood transfusion. Four patients in the embolization group and five patients in the surgical group developed procedure-related complications. The most common postoperative complication was wound infection followed by pancreatic fistula. There was no procedure-related death. Over a median follow-up of 24 (6–122) months, no patient developed recurrent hemorrhage. Conclusions: Both embolization and surgery play an important role in the management of PSA. The choice of procedure depends upon the local availability and feasibility of a particular technique.

Despite the availability and dedicated studies on a variety of carbon nanostructures, amorphous carbon is still a preferred support for a wide range of commercially available metal catalysts. In order to shed some light on this, we carried out electroless deposition of metal nanoparticles on various carbon nanostructures such as amorphous carbon (a-C), carbon nanotubes (CNTs), and nitrogen-doped CNTs (NCNTs) under similar experimental conditions. The main objective is to elucidate the preferable deposition on a particular carbon nanostructure, if any, and understand the underlying mechanism. Experimental results unveil preferred electroless deposition of metal nanoparticles on a-C over CNTs and NCNTs. Notably, the deposition is nicely correlated with the position of the Fermi level (EF) with respect to the Mn+↔ M0redox level (E0). Remarkably, EFis found to be in the following order NCNT > CNT > a-C and the smaller gap (E0–EF) favors the faster electron transfer, resulting in the preferential reduction of Mn+, yielding finer nanoparticles on a-C. We believe that this approach can pave the way for designing noble metal-based carbon nanocomposites for a variety of applications, ranging from environmental redemption to electrochemical energy harvesting. As case studies, we have explored the nanocomposites for various catalytic activities and found them to be very competent with recently reported various state-of-the-art electrocatalysts and their commercial counterparts.

This paper delves into the debates concerning labour market flexibility in India and suggests an improved measure of labour market flexibility to overcome the shortcomings of the existing measures. A state-wise time-variant composite index considering both de jure and de facto indicators of flexibility is constructed to account for the stringency of regulation of hiring and firing practices that affect labour adjustment mechanism of organised manufacturing sector firms in India. The newly built index reaffirms the criticism and limitations of the existing measures which solely rely on de jure indicators by pointing out that de jure measures alone are highly misleading and insufficient to identify a state’s labour market flexibility status. The index has been put to application in examining the role of spatial variation in labour market flexibility in explaining the difference in employment growth in India’s organised manufacturing sector. The paper finds no evidence in support of a statistically significant effect of spatial variation in flexibility in explaining the variation in employment growth. Interestingly, the paper demonstrates that employment elasticity of growth was lower in “flexible” states as compared to the “rigid” states, indicating that greater flexibility is associated with a weaker employment performance.

Laser beat wave-induced mid-infrared (MIR) radiations are investigated in semiconductor plasmas under the application of transverse magnetic field. Beat envelope of two collinear laser beams interacts with the semiconductor plasma having density modulation in laser propagation direction. Nonlinear current generates at beat frequency (ω=ω1-ω2)from the coupling of nonlinear velocity of charge carriers and modulated charge carrier density; it acts as source of MIR radiation. Here, Gaussian and flat-Gaussian field envelopes are created in extraordinary (X-mode) under the application of static magnetic field in the direction of laser magnetic field (B→s‖B→l). Charge carrier density modulation is considered in the range of 10 to 30% of uniform carrier density and external magnetic field in the range of 0 to 0.5 T in present numerical calculations. X-mode laser generates significantly enhanced MIR field in comparison to the ordinary laser mode. Also, flat-Gaussian pulses produce intense MIR radiations with twofold enhancement in the conversion efficiency.

We address the issue of assisting a human driver in maintaining safety for a highwaylike scenario. To that end, we consider a human-driven vehicle following a lead vehicle on a straight road. We model the response of the human driver using a recently-proposed non-linear time-delayed car-following model called the Modified Optimal Velocity Model (MOVM). Our study is motivated by the MOVM’s loss of local stability via a Hopf bifurcation for increased reaction delays of the driver, which may manifest as collisions. For analytical tractability, we first approximate the MOVM by applying a semi-discretization method on the driver’s reaction delay. Next, using this approximation, we propose a stabilizing output-feedback controller that does not require specifics of (i)the system non-linearity that models driver behavior, and (ii) the driver’s reaction delay. Lastly, we numerically verify the stabilizing effect of the proposed controller on the MOVM. The proposed controller is shown to ensure system stability for increased reaction delays. Thus, such a controller may prove useful in aiding a human driver ensure safety.

The present work deals with the preparation of the aluminium matrix composite using a ceramic and metallic combination as reinforcements and using liquid metallurgy route of solidification process. The desired properties of composites have been influenced by the solidification behaviour of the cast metal matrix composites, which has been imposed to study the solidification behaviour of metal matrix at different weight fraction of reinforcement particulates. Al7075 was used as matrix and tungsten carbide, and cobalt particulates were used as reinforcements. During the preparation, an addition of magnesium was used to increase the wettability of the particulates during the mixing. XRD/EDX/SEM characterizations of the prepared composites were conducted, where a fairly uniform distribution of the reinforced particulates was found over the matrix.

Mesothelin (MSLN), a tumor-associated antigen, is upregulated in various malignancies, including gastric cancer (GC). In addition, MSLN is found in the blood-stream of affected individuals, where it is referred to as soluble MSLN-related protein (SMRP). This study aims to investigate the role of MSLN in GC and evaluate its potential as a plasma biomarker for diagnosis and prognosis. Toward that end, GC tissues were obtained, upon signed consent, from affected individuals undergoing surgery or endoscopy (n = 82). Quantitative RT-PCR and immunohistochemistry were performed to determine MSLN expression. Simultaneously, The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database was mined to evaluate global status of MSLN gene expression in gastric cancer. Next, in vitro cell-culture studies were conducted to evaluate MSLN-driven proliferation properties. Using ELISA, sera from 55 GC-affected individuals were tested for MSLN level. Additionally, plasma mesothelin levels were compared in 6 cases before and after surgery. Upregulated MSLN expression was found in GC tissues, compared to adjacent normal tissues (p < 0.001). Cell culture studies with a MSLN-overexpressing stable GC line showed increased cell proliferation and invasion with ectopic MSLN. Additionally, gene-set-enrichment-analysis (GSEA) revealed an association of MSLN with the genes involved in the epithelial-mesenchymal transition and G2/M checkpoint. GC-affected cases showed higher serum MSLN levels, compared to healthy controls, with rapid decrease post-surgery. We found that MSLN upregulation correlates with poor clinical outcome and promotes growth advantage to GC cells in vitro. With further experimental evidences, we propose that MSLN could potentially be used as a plasma biomarker for diagnosis of GC.

Two important characteristics of a connected vehicle system are string stability (i.e., disturbance in state variables should not propagate along the platoon) and robustness to parametric uncertainties. In this paper, we study these properties for a platoon of vehicles driving on a single-lane straight road. Specifically, we model individual vehicle’s dynamics by the Classical Car-Following Model (CCFM) and the Modified Optimal Velocity Model (MOVM). These models capture the reaction delays inherent in such a setting. First, we focus on string stability. For both models, we derive a sufficient condition for string stability. We then concentrate on the robustness to uncertainties in the parameters of the said models. For both models, we derive bounds on the reaction delay to ensure (a) pairwise robust stability, and (b) platoon robust stability, when the remaining model parameters lie in an interval. Finally, we compare our results with conditions for these models to be locally asymptotically stable. This brings forth the additional constraints imposed on the reaction delay to achieve string and robust stability. Our results may provide design guidelines for futuristic connected vehicle systems. Additionally, from a technological perspective, our results suggest the sufficiency of using only on-board sensors for all forms of local stability except platoon robust stability.

Reaction delays are important in determining the qualitative dynamical properties of a platoon of vehicles traveling on a straight road. In this paper, we investigate the impact of delayed feedback on the dynamics of the Modified Optimal Velocity Model (MOVM). Specifically, we analyze the MOVM in three regimes – no delay, small delay and arbitrary delay. In the absence of reaction delays, we show that the MOVM is locally stable. For small delays, we then derive a sufficient condition for the MOVM to be locally stable. Next, for an arbitrary delay, we derive the necessary and sufficient condition for the local stability of the MOVM. We show that the traffic flow transits from the locally stable to the locally unstable regime via a Hopf bifurcation. We also derive the necessary and sufficient condition for non-oscillatory convergence and characterize the rate of convergence of the MOVM. These conditions help ensure smooth traffic flow, good ride quality and quick equilibration to the uniform flow. Further, since a Hopf bifurcation results in the emergence of limit cycles, we provide an analytical framework to characterize the type of the Hopf bifurcation and the asymptotic orbital stability of the resulting non-linear oscillations. Finally, we corroborate our analyses using stability charts, bifurcation diagrams, numerical computations and simulations conducted using MATLAB.

A mobile ad-hoc network (MANET) is a group of low power computing mobile and wireless devices which cooperatively form an infrastructure-less and decentralised network. Scarcity of resources in MANET devices requires secure, efficient and lightweight mechanisms for network construction, its management and administration. Teo and Tan (2005) proposed efficient key management approach for hierarchical MANET. In this work, Teo and Tan's circular hierarchical model is extended for dynamic group construction. In proposed mechanism lightweight primitives and protocols are integrated for security and results show that it provides strong authentication, confidentiality, forward and backward secrecies. The comparative analysis shows that the proposed mechanism is having lesser cost in terms of number of messages exchange and there is an improvement of 6.6% for gate equivalents (GEs) as compared to Teo and Tan's protocol. Further, the proposed mechanism provides higher throughput and minimum delay compared to Teo and Tan's protocol.

•Constructed Wetland in the application of Industrial wastewater.•Constructed Wetlands treats and manages the wastewater in smart cities.•Medicinal Culture in constructed wetlands.•Medicinal knotweed plant for the treatment and degradation of dye and heavy metals.•Sustainability of constructed wetlands.

Background: Energy consumption is a major issue in Cloud Computing environments. Its efficient use can benefit in many ways such as cost saving, efficient utilization of resources and also saving the environment, as energy consumption, cost and time are important and decision making factors for both user as well as cloud service providers. QoS conscious scheduling of jobs along with energy awareness is very important, especially in cloud environment, where large datacenters are to be maintained and at the same time huge computations are involved. Optimal resource usage and price reduction are the direct and operational benefits for both users as well as the service providers. A substantial amount of energy is consumed by the underlying system resources. Hence, energy aware computations and scheduling is a big future concern that may heavily contribute to maintain the nature's environmental systems, ecological balances and may avoid direct and indirect health hazards to all living beings. Omnidirectional benefits are the outcome of using energy aware scheduling techniques for Cloud environments and that too without compromising the Quality of Service. Methods: Software based scheduling and testing is done with DVFS (Dynamic Voltage and Frequency Scaling) based experiments for minimizing the processing cost, makespan time in Energy Aware environment so that in addition to energy saving, the Quality of Service is not compromised. Simulations are done using CloudSim with combinations of various Quality of Service (QoS) parameters along with the combinations of energy aware VM allocation policies. A comparison of these algorithms is shown with the normally used existing algorithms based on the Processing Cost, MakespanTime and Energy Utilization parameters. Results: A combination of Max-Min scheduling algorithm for cloudlet or task scheduling with Minimum Used Host scheduling algorithm for virtual machine allocation gives the most efficient environment in terms of Processing Cost, Makespan Time and Energy Consumption maintain the QoS. Conclusion: It is observed that adoption of modified, conscious and logical scheduling policy in Cloud environments may drastically improve the QoS and save the energy usage as well, which is extremely important for huge Data Centers used in Cloud Environments, as described in various patents.

Diabetes is one of the most common chronic disease in the world and its prevalence in India is rising day by day. Diabetic patients often suffer from depression and anxiety which has a negative impact on patients resulting in non-adherence to medication, rapid disease progression and overall poor prognosis. India is the land of diversity and so are the causes of depression and anxiety in the people from different parts of the country. The study done in the current population has revealed certain indicators of both depression and anxiety that were not significant in previous studies. These new findings point towards the changing scenario and the need for more precise steps for improving the quality of life of diabetics.

We report a sensitive search for meter-wavelength emission at 244 and 614 MHz from HD 189733 b, the nearest known extrasolar transiting planet of “hot-Jupiter” type. To discriminate any planetary emission from possible stellar or background contributions, we observed the system for 7.7 h encompassing the planet's eclipse behind the host star. These GMRT observations provide very low (3σ) upper limits of 2 mJy at 244 MHz and 160 μJy at 614 MHz. These limits are, respectively, about 40 and 500 times deeper than those reported recently at a nearby frequency of 340 MHz. Possible explanations of our non-detection include: (1) the Earth being outside the planet's emission beam; (2) its highly variable emission with more rapid flaring than the temporal sampling in our observations; (3) the planetary emission being intrinsically too weak; or more likely; (4) the emission being predominantly at lower frequencies because of a weak planetary magnetic field. We briefly discuss these possibilities and the constraints on this exo-planetary system environment.

We present new results from HI observations of previously undetected 69 blue compact dwarf galaxies (BCDGs) of which 35 BCDGs have been detected (detection rate 51%). Optical data (e.g., from NED) and other literature search are used to estimate the likelihood of confusion from other galaxies within the Effelsberg beam. We have combined 24 BCDG galaxies from this study and from Paper I (Huchtmeier et al. 2005) that are unlikely to suffer from confusion effects in combination with 19 other similar BCDGs taken from the literature to infer several characteristic properties of the BCDG population. 
The parameters which were used for the statistical analysis include linear diameter, axial ratio, blue luminosity, HI and total masses, HI and total mass-to-blue luminosity ratios, HI to total mass ratio, HI gas velocity dispersion, oxygen abundance, equivalent width of Hβemission line and $B-V$color. The analysis has revealed that: BCDGs with higher HI mass tend to have lower abundances of heavy elements and are more compact; BCDGs with lower blue luminosity have larger equivalent width of Hβemission line and bluer $B-V$colors, as well as a tendency towards lower abundances of heavy elements; BCDGs with larger linear size, with higher total mass and those with higher total and HI mass per unit blue luminosity, tend to have broader HI emission line (larger velocity dispersion); there is no obvious dependence of the star formation parameters on the total mass; almost 10% of the BCDGs emit milli-Jansky level radio continuum near 1 GHz.

Using a large set of optically detected hotspots in powerful extragalactic double radio sources, we examine the basic question of whether the detection of optical synchrotron radiation requires in situ acceleration of relativistic electrons within the hotspots/lobes. For this, we take into account the jet's bulk relativistic motion, as well as its likely misalignment from the plane of the sky. Together, both these factors can drastically reduce the apparent range of the ultra-relativistic electrons ejected from the nucleus in the form of a jet. The conventionally adopted parameter space for the fundamental variables, namely, the hotspot magnetic field, radio source orientation angle relative to the line-of-sight and the bulk speed of the jet plasma, is considered. We find that the observed optical/near-IR synchrotron emission of the hotspots can be explained even if the radiating relativistic electrons were accelerated exclusively within the nuclear region, provided the energy losses incurred by the electrons during their transport down the jet are dominated by inverse Compton upscatterings of the cosmic microwave background photons. Under this circumstance, in situ acceleration of relativistic electrons inside the hotspots or lobes is not found to be mandated by their reported optical/near-infrared detections.

We show that a model for radio source dynamics we had earlier proposed can readily reproduce the relationship between the radio power division separating the two Fanaroff-Riley classes of extragalactic radio sources and the optical luminosity of the host galaxy, as found by Owen & Ledlow ([CITE]). In our scenario, when less powerful jets eventually slow down to the point that the advance of the working surface (i.e., hotspot) becomes subsonic with respect to the external gas, the jet's collimation is severely weakened. This criterion distinguishes the powerful and well collimated FR II sources from the weaker sources producing the less collimated FR I type morphologies.

We give for a plasma with a history of several expansion and contraction phases an analytical model of the evolution of a contained relativistic electron population under synchrotron, inverse Compton and adiabatic energy losses or gains. This is applied to different scenarios for evolution of radio plasma inside the cocoons of radio galaxies, after the activity of the central engine has ceased. It is demonstrated that fossil radio plasma with an age of even up to 2 Gyr can be revived by compression in a shock wave of large-scale structure formation, caused during the merging events of galaxy clusters, or by the accretion onto galaxy clusters. We argue, that this is a highly plausible explanation for the observed cluster radio relics, which are the regions of diffuse radio emission found in clusters of galaxies, without any likely parent radio galaxy seen nearby. An implication of this model is the existence of a population of diffuse, ultra-steep spectrum, very low frequency radio sources located inside and possibly outside of clusters of galaxies, tracing the revival of aged fossil radio plasma by the shock waves associated with large-scale structure formation.

Biomedical image segmentation is a mechanism that distinguishes the boundaries of various lesion regions within the image, be it 2D or 3D. In the current scenario, various soft and hard computing approaches have been used for medical image segmentation purposes. This article analyzes deep learning-based U-Net architecture for efficient segmentation by possible variations of its different important hyper-parameters that affect the U-Net performance. This article also investigates U-Net architecture’s performance to generate the segmented output over two diverse biomedical imaging datasets, such as brain MRI scans and serial section Transmission Electron Microscopy (ssTEM) dataset of the drosophila first instar larva VNC, hence making 48 possible combinations of execution of the U-Net model. The performance of the segmentation process has been evaluated using metrics like dice similarity coefficient and accuracy, while cross-entropy is considered the loss function. In doing so, an insight into the overall performance of U-Net on biomedical image segmentation problems has been obtained. The best results for accuracy and dice coefficient values out of all possible combinations made in this study come as 0.9881and 0.9934, respectively. The main motive of this work is to provide an exhaustive and efficient analysis of the U-Net architecture for biomedical image segmentation and subsequent analysis.

Chronic pancreatitis is (CP) is a progressive inflammatory disease of the pancreas associated with disabling abdominal pain and gradual deterioration of exocrine and endocrine function. Up to 50% of patients with CP may require surgery during the course of the disease. The main indication for surgery is intractable abdominal pain not amenable to medical and endoscopic therapy. The type of surgery depends on pancreatic ductal diameter and associated parenchymal pathology like inflammatory head mass. Frey procedure (FP) is an effective method for control of pain in patients with enlarged pancreatic head. FP can be performed with a very low mortality and an acceptable morbidity. Compared with pancreaticoduodenectomy (PD), FP has favourable outcomes in terms of operation time, blood loss, morbidity, post-operative hospital stay, intensive care unit stay, and quality of life. FP has shorter operation time and lower morbidity in comparison to Beger procedure. But, long-term pain control and exocrine and endocrine dysfunctions are comparable between PD, Beger and FP. FP is technically easier than PD and Beger procedure. FP is thus a widely acceptable procedure for CP with enlarged pancreatic head in absence of a neoplasia.

Groove pancreatitis (GP) is a rare form of chronic pancreatitis primarily affecting the pancreatoduodenal groove. Very few studies have been published from India. The aim of the present study is to report our experience with Whipple's procedure for GP.

This paper seeks to test the argument that contractors introduce significant learning and innovation activities comparable more or than integrated multinational clothing producers at least developed host-sites. This follows from recent developments in the theory of multinationals that lead firms are increasingly abandoning peripheral innovation activities that are characterised by low value added operations to focus on branding and associated R&D activities. Any such development will offer opportunities for contract manufacturers, both national and foreign owned, to upgrade and specialise in innovative activities related to manufacturing at distant host-sites as the brand holders at major markets will then specialise on product R&D and design, and branding activities. The results from tobit regressions show that contract firms show higher process technology and innovation capabilities (ICs) than integrated firms in the clothing industry. Hence, there is econometric evidence to support the argument that changes in manufacturing offers tangible opportunities for contract manufacturers in global value chains to upgrade into cutting-edge processes and techniques, and ICs.

AbstractBackground:Effect of life skills on physical activity behavior of adolescents is little explored.Objective:To assess impact of life-skills training on the level of physical activity amongst adolescents.Methods:A nonrandomized interventional study with a control group. All students studying in Class IX and XI of two schools in Delhi were included. Data was collected at baseline, 15 days and 3 months after the life-skills training. Two life-skills training sessions were conducted for each standard following collection of baseline data.Results:There were 180 students in the intervention and 183 students in the control group. A significant increase was noted in the level of light-moderate, vigorous physical activity, and stretching and strengthening exercises (p<0.001) in an intervention group over the period of 3 months following the training. The number of students enrolled in physical education classes also increased.Conclusions:A skills-based approach helped to improve the level of physical activity amongst the school adolescents.

We report multi-colour optical monitoring of the intra-day variable blazar S5 0716+71 with a dense temporal coverage over a total duration of 4 weeks in February/March 1994. Four filters (BVJohnson and RICousins) were used on a majority of the nights. The light curves of the blazar were derived relative to two comparison stars present on the CCD frames. Intensity variations of ≥0.05 mag from night-to-night were observed in half the cases and a good correlation between the light curves in the different passbands was noticed (as also for the observed intra-night variations). There seems to be no correlation between flux and optical spectral index of the blazar. In all, three prominent events of intra-night variability were detected, each with a rate of ≥0.1 mag per hour, lasting for at least 3 hours. Each of these flaring segments of the blazar light curves can be well fitted with an exponential intensity profile whose rate of variation is essentially the same for all the passbands. No clear event of ultra-rapid fluctuations of the blazar on time scale $\le 1$hour was detected in these multi-colour data. Present observations have been carried out during a low brightness level of the blazar and they have no large amplitude variable events.

Various techniques developed to produce the H2gas, photocatalytic H2generation from water splitting is found to be clean and green technology which is in line with the global environment and energy suitability. It involves separation of charge, migration of charge, and chemical reaction on the surface. Various kinds of photocatalysts are used which are made of metal oxides, metal chalcogenides, and graphene-based nanocomposites. This review describes the development of various photocatalysts, such as TiO2, ZnO, MoS2, and their composites. The three-way nitrogen-doped carbon tube covered MoS2TNCT@MoS2was reported to be a more efficient photocatalyst. SEM images, XRD results, and diffraction patterns of the above composites were described to correlate with the photocatalytic property. The production of hydrogen using TNCT@MoS2was found to be much more productive than usual MoS2. In addition to metal oxide and sulfide, the review also covers the photocatalytic behavior of graphene, and S/Se based metal chalcogenide-based compounds and composites (MCCs) were also discussed. The structural features of all these important photocatalysts using XRD, SEM, EDX, and UV-V is techniques were revealed. Finally, the photocatalytic H2generation efficiency, possible mechanism of all these catalysts, was compared. In summary, we have reviewed the photocatalytic hydrogen production efficiency of metal oxides, metal chalcogenides, and graphene-based nanocomposites.

The users of electronic commerce (e-commerce), otherwise known as internet commerce portals, most commonly depend upon the customer reviews when they make any purchase decisions. But it is observed that one product may have more than hundreds of miscellaneous reviews, which leads to an overload of information on the customer. This information overload tends one to work on the objective of developing a recommender mechanism to recommend a review subset having high content score as well as various aspects of products with associated sentiments. Therefore, these recommendation systems (RSs) have been established parallel to web networks. This contribution delivers an orderly explanation for hybrid RS along with a novel method with slight modification of the contemporary techniques, such as collaborative filtering. It also describes their evolution, progression, and fruitfulness and also identifies various future implementation areas selected for future, present, and past importance.

Hypothyroidism is an endocrine condition. The signs and symptoms of Hypothyroidism match with the descriptions of several conditions like Vataja Shotha, Rasa Pradoshaja Vikara or a disorder Agni. In the current study two different dosage forms i.e., Vardhamana (Increasing & Decreasing pattern) and fixed Dosage to evaluate its efficacy on Primary Hypothyroidism.

A 74-year-old man with peripheral neuropathy due to diabetes presented with deliberate ingestion of 450 mg of pregabalin (PBG) over a period of 8 hours followed by altered mental status. A bedside electroencephalogram was performed to rule out nonconvulsive status epilepticus, which showed continuous triphasic waves (TWs) with slow background activity. He recovered after 48 hours of stopping PBG, and his repeat electroencephalogram after 72 hours did not show any TWs. We present a rare case of PBG-induced TWs thereby highlighting the extent of the etiologic spectrum of TWs and discussing the literature related to this association.

A 9-year-old girl presented with alleged history of deliberate ingestion of 4 g of carbamazepine, following which she became comatose. A bedside electroencephalogram (EEG) was performed to rule out nonconvulsive status epilepticus, which showed presence of spindle coma (SC), not reactive to noxious stimuli. Following hemodialysis, a second EEG showed absence of SC and complete clinical recovery. We present this unique case of carbamazepine-induced SC, thereby highlighting the extent of the etiologic spectrum of SC and discussing the literature related to this association.

An internal pancreatic fistula involves an abnormality in the way that the pancreas communicates with organs and spaces within the body. This is usually due to a disrupted pancreatic duct or psuedocyst leakage (Ascitic or pleural fluid amylase level >1000 S units/dl and fluid protein level >3 g/dl). The study aims to report our experience with surgery for chronic pancreatitis-related pancreatic ascites and pancreatic pleural effusions.