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Recently, Abdullah and Najib (International Journal of Sustainable Energy 35(4): 360-377, 2016) proposed an intuitionistic fuzzy analytic hierarchy process to deal with uncertainty in decision-making and applied it to establish preference in the sustainable energy planning decision-making of Malaysia. This work may attract the researchers of other countries to choose energy technology for their countries. However, after a deep study of the published paper (International Journal of Sustainable Energy 35(4): 362-377, 2016), it is noticed that the expression used by Abdullah and Najib in Step 6 of their proposed method for evaluating the intuitionistic fuzzy entropy of each aggregate of each row of intuitionistic fuzzy matrix is not valid. Therefore, it is not genuine to use the method proposed by Abdullah and Najib for solving real-life problems. The aim of this paper was to suggest the required necessary modifications for resolving the flaws of the Abdullah and Najib method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Frequency stability is one of the major challenges in renewable energy source-based microgrids. This issue can be resolved by employing virtual inertia control that helps in improving damping properties and stability. In applying this control method, a phase-locked loop (PLL) is used to acquire the assessment of the frequency data of the microgrid. Nonetheless, the application of PLL in microgrids produces larger frequency oscillation due to its system dynamics. To solve such issues, we propose a robust Interval Type-2 Fuzzy Logic PID Controller (IT2FPID) for the virtual inertia control to limit the unwanted frequency measurement impacts while simultaneously improving the microgrid system stability. Further, a novel improved parasitism predation algorithm (IPPA) algorithm is proposed to tune the controller parameters. The performance of our proposed solutions is studied by comparing the simulation results with a few standard techniques considering the change in system parameters and different paces of renewable energy source penetration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Verbenone is a natural monoterpene present as an essential component in rosemary oil from Rosmarinus officinalis, Verbena triphylla and Eucalyptus globule. Microbial biotransformation of monoterpenoids to value-added products has immense industrial potential. This study involves the biotransformation of (-)-verbenone to (-)-10-hydroxyverbenone by a fungus i.e. Talaromyces purpurogenus strain MRS-F13 in fermentation broth during the exponential phase. Biotransformation reaction has been successfully demonstrated at 15 L scale in the bioreactor with 70% conversion within 96 h. The anti-inflammatory activity investigations revealed that (-)-verbenone and its biotransformed product exhibited moderate inhibition of TNF-α and nitric oxide, whereas (-)-10-hydroxyverbenone presented an improved anti-oxidant activity. Talaromyces purpurogenus catalysed biotransformation of (-)-verbenone to (-)-10-hydroxyverbenone has been demonstrated. Approximately 70% bioconversion was obtained in 96 h in submerged culture at 15L bioreactor scale. Biotransformed product (-)-10-hydroxyverbenone has shown improved anti-inflammatory activity without cytotoxicity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, the applicability of dual material stacked gate-oxide-Pocket doped-hetero-junction tunnel field effect transistor (DMSGO-PD-HTFET) for low power switching and radio frequency (RF) applications is investigated. In this context, gate workfunction engineering, the stacked-gate-oxide ($$Si{O_2}$$ Si O 2 + $$Hf{O_2}$$ Hf O 2 ) approach, and asymmetrical doping at the P+ source ($$S{i_{1 - X}}G{e_X}$$ S i 1 − X G e X ) and N+ drain regions are considered. N+ pocket at source-channel interface implements DMSGO-PD-HTFET and improves interband tunnelling rate. This research aims to improve the device's switching ratio ($${I_{ON}}$$ I ON / $${I_{OFF}}$$ I OFF ), average subthreshold swing ($$S{S_{Avg}}$$ S S Avg ), and radio frequency (RF) performance. For this, the control gate work function, mole fraction (X), pocket thickness, and doping concentration are optimised. Next, the DC, analog/RF and linearity figure of merits of the proposed device is analysed and the performance is compared with conventional all-silicon dual-material stack gate oxide tunnel field effect transistor (DMSGO-TFET) and dual-material stacked gate oxide-hetero-junction tunnel field effect transistor (DMSGO-HTFET) with $$S{i_{1 - X}}G{e_X}$$ S i 1 − X G e X source using technology computer-aided design (TCAD) device simulator. Based on the comparative analysis, the optimised design with $$S{i_{0.6}}G{e_{0.4}}$$ S i 0.6 G e 0.4 exhibits an average subthreshold swing ($$S{S_{Avg}}$$ S S Avg ) of 28.8 mV/decade, switching ratio ($${I_{ON}}$$ I ON / $${I_{OFF}}$$ I OFF ) of 2 × 1012, cut-off frequency ($${f_T}$$ f T ) of 216 (GHz), and other significant improvements in analog/RF and linearity performance parameters. The proposed device is therefore suitable for switching and RF applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a neurodegenerative disorder. Prognostication remains sub-optimally defined. We aimed to assess clinical determinants of disease progression rates in Indian patients with ALS and to assess the role of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) in disease progression. In this cross-sectional study, consecutive patients with clinically definite/probable ALS according to the revised El Escorial criteria and controls were included. Patients were classified into fast or slow progressors based on disease progression rate (DPR). Serum and CSF VEGF level was assessed for patients and controls. Of 142 patients recruited, 93 (65.5%) were male. Mean age at enrollment was 49.37 ± 12.65 years. Mean duration of symptoms was 20.53 ± 20.88 months. Mean DPR was 1.14 ± 0.94. Based on DPR, 81 (57%) patients were slow progressors and 61 (43%) were fast progressors. Univariate analysis demonstrated a statistically significant association of DPR with age at onset, symptom duration, time to spread, wasting of small muscles of the hand, frontal release signs, and neurophysiologic bulbar abnormalities. On multivariate analysis, age at onset and symptom duration had a significant association with disease progression. The CSF VEGF levels of ALS patients (46.18 ± 27.8) were significantly elevated compared to controls (25.95 ± 25.64 pg/ml) (p = 0.001), but not serum VEGF. Age at symptom onset and duration of disease had a significant impact on disease progression in Indian patients with ALS. CSF VEGF levels were significantly elevated in ALS compared to controls, indicating the role of CSF VEGF as a potential biomarker. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

River Ganga, one of the largest perennial rivers, conserves the cultural heritage of the Indian sub-continent, supporting as the nectar of life to millions residing on the banks of the river basin. With unlimited use, the river also receives a large amount of untreated wastewater discharged from different industrial, commercial and residential complexes, unbalancing the nutrient concentration at many points along the stretch. The current study assesses water samples collected from 20 monitoring locations and the Ganga River System in the Himalayan region, evaluating the potential risk of heavy metal pollution. The concentration of Zn, Pb, Mn, Fe, Cu, Al, Ni, Cd, Mg and Co is determined by atomic absorption spectrophotometer (AAS). Fe, Cd and Mg's observed values exceeded various standards (WHO, BIS and USEPA) for drinking water. The pollution assessment index (heavy metal pollution index: HPI) and multivariate analysis (principal component analysis: PCA and cluster analysis: CA) were implemented to identify the intensity of pollution and its sources. The seasonal values of HPI were found 88.69, 90.32, 88.53 and 84.96 in winter, summer, monsoon and post-monsoon seasons. The index value on all monitoring locations varied between the range of PCA outcomes for three factors and explained 72.1% of the variance, indicating natural and man-made activities as responsible metal abundance factors in the river system. The hazard quotient (HQ) and hazard index (HI) are used to assess non-cancer health risks to humans. The seasonal evaluation recorded HQ < 1 for all the metals and HI > 1 was found for the entire study period. This study contributes to various conservation initiatives for the River Ganga System with factual datasets and characterization of various sampling locations using heavy metal indexing while sharing common masses' findings for people participation at the regional level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The very high anomalous precipitation (more than 500 mm) and release of water from reservoirs located in an upper catchment resulted in severe flood inundation situation in downslope regions of Kerala State in August 2018. In the present study, the satellite-based precipitation was analyzed on a daily to weekly basis during the flood duration in Kerala. The Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) based precipitation pattern indicated very high rainfall (more than 60 mm day–1) in the central parts of Kerala on 14 and 15August 2018. The climate research unit (CRU) based long-term mean cumulative precipitation (1901-2017) indicated high (300-400 mm) to very high (more than 500 mm) anomalous precipitation in parts of Kerala during August 2018 leading to severe flood inundation in major parts of the state. The Sentinel-1A Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) based inundation mapping exhibited flooding of 1100.4 km2 area (5.80% of total area) during August 2018, which severely affected Alappuzha, Thrissur, and Kottayam districts. Cropland (218.69 km2), settlement (115.23 km2) and shrubland (79.46 km2) were the most affected land-use/land-cover in the region. The study warrants the restoration of ecological stability and augmentation of resilience to flooding hazard primarily in the upper catchments (the Western Ghats). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Timely access and continuum of care in older adults with Alzheimer's Disease and Related Dementia (ADRD) is critical. This is a retrospective study on Medicare fee-for-service beneficiaries with ADRD diagnosis discharged to home with home health care following an episode of acute hospitalization. Our sample included 262,525 patients. White patients in rural areas have significantly higher odds of delay (odds ratio [OR], 1.03; 95% CI, 1.01–1.06). Black patients in urban areas (OR, 1.15; 95% CI, 1.12–1.19) and Hispanic patients in urban areas also were more likely to have a delay (OR, 1.07; 95% CI, 1.03–1.11). Black and Hispanic patients residing in urban areas had a higher likelihood of delay in home healthcare initiation following hospitalization compared to Whites residing in urban areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The photoactive film morphology of ternary molecules blend bulk heterojunction organic solar cell was investigated using various solvent additives. Two donor polymers namely poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT) and thieno[3,4-b]thiophene/benzodithiophene (PTB7) at (1:1) stoichiometric ratio were employed together with (PCBM) fullerene molecule in the preparation of the solar cells. The photoactive films were treated with either uni- or binary solvent additives to improve film morphology and the miscibility of the molecules in the medium. The significant improvement on the performances of the devices were recorded using binary solvent additives (∼1% vol.) with power conversion efficiency improvement as high as 4.1% compared to 2.9% measured from the films treated with single additive solvent. The correlation between solar cell performance and film morphology have been discussed in terms of optical, electrical and surface morphology of the active layers of solution processed organic solar cells. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

MHC gene is highly polymorphic and plays central molecule in immune system in recognition of pathogens and parasites. The present study examined the variability of MHC class II DRB exon 2 gene using microsatellite analysis, and its association with Haemonchus contortus infestation in Salem Black goat population. Animals were naturally exposed to mixed infestation of endoparasites, predominantly Haemonchus contortus. Pooled fecal coproculture and larval identification showed predominant presence of haemonchus (L3) larva. Fecal egg count (FEC) and packed cell volume (PCV) were used as indicator traits. All the three studied loci, OarCP73, DYA, and ODRB1.2, were polymorphic having three, four, and four alleles and four, eight, and nine genotypes, respectively. The loci showed low to moderate values of polymorphic information content. The mean fecal egg count estimates were 477.12 ± 34.14 eggs per gram of feces and the mean PCV values were within the normal range; however, they showed negative correlation with FEC values. All the three microsatellite loci and the effect of genotypes on indicator traits were found to be statistically significant (p ≤ 0.05). The present study will be helpful in selection and breeding of goats for Haemonchosis resistance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Viscosity and rheology modeling of heavy crude oil were studied at different shear rate and temperature with and without naturally extracted surfactantMahua. Drag reduction analysis was done in 2”-ID, 2.5 m horizontal pipeline at different temperatures and flow rates. Viscosity was reduced by 60.4% after addition of 1000 ppmMahuaat 50°C. Modeling analysis showed that crude oil-surfactant samples followed Power law model with high regression coefficients. Maximum drag reduction of 94.8% occurred after adding 2000 ppm Mahua to 85% heavy oil+15% water at 40°C and at a flow rate of 50 LPM. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In conjunction with the optimality of single-stage reverse osmosis (SRO) system, this work addresses the economic competence of prominent seawater desalination reverse osmosis systems with permeate reprocessing and recycle using differential evolution as global optimization tool. The optimization approach refers to nonlinear programming formulation consisting of mass balances and design specifications as equality constraints and other design specifications as inequality constraints. Further, MATLAB optimization toolbox-based analysis was conducted to compare the obtained solutions with deterministic optimization methods. Among all considered alternatives such as two stages reverse osmosis (TRO) series arrangement with retentate reprocessing and permeate recycle (TRO-TSRR-PR), SRO, TRO series arrangement with permeate bypass and permeate reprocessing and TRO with permeate reprocessing series arrangement processes, TRO-TSRR-RP process configuration has been evaluated to competitive with the SRO process with an optimal cost of 0.9527$/m3obtained with DE-SQP. While the SRO remains the simplest cost-effective system in terms of topological complexity, the TRO-TSRR-PR process has been evaluated to be 5.75% better than the optimal freshwater production cost of SRO process reported in the literature with an optimal decision variable set values [68.51 bar, 7688, 5881.7 m3/h, 259.8 ppm, 2422, 322.9 m3/h and 1764.9 ppm] for [P1F, NM1, WRORF, C1RP, NM2, W2RP, C2RP]. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

In the present study, polymorphisms at two single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs)  and one microsatellite locus of SLC11A1 gene were investigated for finding their association with susceptibility to bovine tuberculosis trait (tuberculin reaction) in Indian cattle. A total of 245 animals were tested with single intradermal tuberculin test for screening positive animals for tuberculin reaction. At rs109915208 locus very low polymorphism information content of 0.0454 was observed, whereas it was moderate (0.352) at rs109453173 locus of SLC11A1. At rs109915208 locus the genotypic as well as allelic frequencies were differing significantly (p-value < .05) in case–control animals where the odds ratio (OR) of ‘CC’verses‘CT’ genotype and the OR of ‘C’verses ‘T’ allele were approaching towards infinity, suggesting that animals having ‘CT’ genotype and ‘T’ allele were less susceptible for tuberculin reaction as compared to their contemporary genotype/allele. The significantly associated SNP was non-synonymous causing an amino acid change. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Casein constitutes approximately 80% of the total protein in bovine milk and is regarded as a high-quality dietary protein embracing all the nine essential amino acids. However, the contested physiological effect of a bioactive peptide released upon digestion of a β-casein milk protein variant originating from a cow of a particular genetic makeup has evoked wide interest in research and industry. Present investigations were carried out to genotype the polymorphism in milk β-casein gene, delineate the seasonal, periodic, and parity variations in production and reproduction traits, and examine the genetic association between β-casein genotypes and production, and reproduction traits in Vrindavani crossbred cows. The study revealed that all three types of genotypes viz. A1A1, A2A2 and A1A2 were present in the Vrindavani crossbred population with genotypic frequencies of 12.3%, 39.6% and 48.1% respectively. The least-squares analysis revealed that the season of calving, period of calving, and parity affected several production and reproduction traits of Vrindavani cows significantly. It was found that β–Casein A1/A2 genotype had a significant effect on economic traits viz. LL (p ≤ 0.05), MY/LL (p ≤ 0.05), and Fat% (p ≤ 0.05) in Vrindavani crossbreds. The findings uncover the genetic constitution of the crossbreds for β-casein locus and emphasize its relationship with important economic traits that can aid in devising selection goals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) based remote sensing is one of the modern techniques for crop management, which has been used in this study for biomass and Nitrogen (N) level estimations for Stevia rebaudiana, a medicinal crop used as an alternative to sugar as a natural sweetener. Different levels of nitrogen treatments were given to S. rebaudiana and the crops were harvested for biomass estimation. Mica sense Altum multispectral sensor on board was used for acquiring the image data of the crop. The linear regression model was used to examine the best vegetation index using K-fold cross validation approach. Excess Green Index (ExG) was identified as best vegetation index for biomass estimation (R2 = 0.7; RMSE = 23.77 g/m2; nRMSE = 29.14%), whereas Enhanced Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (ENDVI) was found as best predictor for Nitrogen (N) level estimation (R2 = 0.9; RMSE = 1.75 g/m2; nRMSE = 14.59%). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Class IA phosphoinositide 3-kinases (PI3Ks) are heterodimeric enzymes composed of a p85 regulatory and a p110 catalytic subunit that induce the formation of 3-polyphosphoinositides, which mediate cell survival, division, and migration. There are two ubiquitous PI3K isoforms p110α and p110β that have nonredundant functions in embryonic development and cell division. However, whereas p110α concentrates in the cytoplasm, p110β localizes to the nucleus and modulates nuclear processes such as DNA replication and repair. At present, the structural features that determine p110β nuclear localization remain unknown. We describe here that association with the p85β regulatory subunit controls p110β nuclear localization. We identified a nuclear localization signal (NLS) in p110β C2 domain that mediates its nuclear entry, as well as a nuclear export sequence (NES) in p85β. Deletion of p110β induced apoptosis, and complementation with the cytoplasmic C2-NLS p110β mutant was unable to restore cell survival. These studies show that p110β NLS and p85β NES regulate p85β/p110β nuclear localization, supporting the idea that nuclear, but not cytoplasmic, p110β controls cell survival. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K) is an early signaling molecule that regulates cell growth and cell cycle entry. PI3K is activated immediately after growth factor receptor stimulation (at the G0/G1 transition) and again in late G1. The two ubiquitous PI3K isoforms (p110α and p110β) are essential during embryonic development and are thought to control cell division. Nonetheless, it is presently unknown at which point each is activated during the cell cycle and whether or not they both control S-phase entry. We found that p110α was activated first in G0/G1, followed by a minor p110β activity peak. In late G1, p110α activation preceded that of p110β, which showed the maximum activity at this time. p110β activation required Ras activity, whereas p110α was first activated by tyrosine kinases and then further induced by active Ras. Interference with p110α and -β activity diminished the activation of downstream effectors with different kinetics, with a selective action of p110α in blocking early G1 events. We show that inhibition of either p110α or p110β reduced cell cycle entry. These results reveal that PI3Kα and -β present distinct activation requirements and kinetics in G1 phase, with a selective action of PI3Kα at the G0/G1 phase transition. Nevertheless, PI3Kα and -β both regulate S-phase entry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K) is one of the early-signaling molecules induced by growth factor (GF) receptor stimulation that are necessary for cell growth and cell cycle entry. PI3K activation occurs at two distinct time points during G1 phase. The first peak is observed immediately following GF addition and the second in late G1, before S phase entry. This second activity peak is essential for transition from G1 to S phase; nonetheless, the mechanism by which this peak is induced and regulates S phase entry is poorly understood. Here, we show that activation of Ras and Tyr kinases is required for late-G1 PI3K activation. Inhibition of late-G1 PI3K activity results in low c-Myc and cyclin A expression, impaired Cdk2 activity, and reduced loading of MCM2 (minichromosome maintenance protein) onto chromatin. The primary consequence of inhibiting late-G1 PI3K was c-Myc destabilization, as conditional activation of c-Myc in advanced G1 as well as expression of a stable c-Myc mutant rescued all of these defects, restoring S phase entry. These results show that Tyr kinases and Ras cooperate to induce the second PI3K activity peak in G1, which mediates initiation of DNA synthesis by inducing c-Myc stabilization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

CYP2E1 plays a crucial role in the bio-activation of toxic substances leading to liver damage. In this context, CYP2E1 converts paracetamol (PCM) to N-acetyl-p-benzoquinone imine (NAPQI), which is prone to cause hepatotoxicity. Hence, we aimed to explore the protective effect of glabridin on widely used PCM-induced liver injury model in the present study and, after that, correlated with the role of CYP2E1 toward its efficacy. Glabridin was isolated from Glycyrrhiza glabra and characterized before the investigation in an in-vivo mice model of PCM-induced liver injury. Glabridin after oral treatment at 5–20 mg/kg showed a considerable improvement in serum biochemical parameters (ALT and AST) and oxidative stress markers (MDA, GSH, SOD, and catalase) in comparison to only PCM-treatment. Histopathological examination of the liver depicted that glabridin exhibited substantial protection from PCM-induced liver injury compared to the disease control group. Significant down-regulation of CYP2E1 protein and its mRNA expression levels were observed in the glabridin-treated groups compared to PCM-induced respective elevation of CYP2E1. Moreover, activation of NF-κB was significantly inhibited by glabridin. Therefore, glabridin has the potential to protect PCM-induced liver injury through CYP2E1 inhibition-mediated normalization of oxidative stress. Further research is warranted to establish glabridin as a phytotherapeutics for liver protection for which no effective and safe oral drug is available to date. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Flooding is the most widespread and frequent natural disaster in developing countries. Until recent years, determining flood extent and inundation depth were undertaken using hydrodynamic models but have pertinence constraints in data-scarce regions. This has given the new potential to characterize floods (e.g., inundation, depth, duration) at a large-scale using a geomorphic approach. The SAR data was employed to derive flood extent and the 12.5 m resolution DEM-based geomorphic method was applied to determine inundation depth in flooded domains of Kosi River Basin (KRB) in North Bihar (India) to characterize 2017 floods. The total inundated area in flooded domains over KRB was estimated at 4,108.2 km2 (20.88%). Most of the area (2,750 km2, 14%) of flooded domains over land had a water depth of 0.1 to 1 m. The geomorphic approach is appropriate for characterizing floods over large-scale and data-sparse basins like KRB and afforded a new horizon for flood risk assessment on flood vulnerable areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aimed to explore the association of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in CD209 gene with the occurrence of bovine paratuberculosis (PTB) disease caused by Mycobacterium avium subspecies paratuberculosis (MAP) in Indian cattle. A total of 213 animals were preliminarily selected on the basis of physical body condition score, which was then screened by a panel of diagnostic tests viz. Johnin, ELISA, fecal microscopy, and fecal culture, for the establishment of a case–control resource population. A total of four SNPs viz. rs208222804, rs211654540, rs208814257, and rs210748127 in CD209 gene were genotyped by PCR-RFLP. All SNPs, except rs210748127, were polymorphic in our population. Genotypic–phenotypic associations were assessed by the PROCLOGISTIC procedure of SAS 9.3. The SNP rs208814257 yielded three genotypes viz. CC, CG, and GG, which were significantly (p < 0.05) different in case as compared to the control population. The odds of CC and CG in comparison to GG genotype were 1.21 and 0.40, respectively. The CG genotype was significantly higher in control population, indicating that this genotype may provide resistance against PTB in our resource population. Upon validation in an independent, larger test population and following biological characterization, SNP rs208814257 can be incorporated in marker panel for selection of animals with greater resistance to MAP infection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study aims to evaluate the potential of near-infrared reflectance (NIR) spectroscopy to determine the carbon and nitrogen content in soils and also to assess the effectiveness of NIR spectroscopy to predict carbon and nitrogen content in freshly collected soil samples. Soil samples (n = 179) were collected from different locations in India. Soil carbon and nitrogen contents were successfully predicted (R2 = 0.90 for carbon andR2 = 0.85 for nitrogen) by NIR spectroscopy. The root mean square error (RMSE) and ratio performance deviation (RPD) for the validation of predicted equations for carbon and nitrogen were 0.83 and 2.83 and 0.01 and 6.98, respectively. The efficacy of NIR spectroscopy on the prediction of carbon and nitrogen content in Indian soils is highly reliable. Water content in soil samples could affect the NIR absorbance spectra and in turn affect the quantification of carbon and nitrogen. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Separation of oil from oil-in-water emulsion is a major challenge in petroleum industries during the producing and refining process. The authors investigated characterization of oil-in-water emulsion and subsequently separation of oil from emulsion using different chemical dimulsifiers. The effect of settling time, pH, temperature, and demulsifier dosage on oil separation efficiency has been studied. It was observed that as time, temperature, and chemical dosage increased oil separation efficiency increased. Droplet size distribution of emulsions illustrated that the demulsifier could lead to the breakup of crude oil-in-water emulsions by flocculation and coalescence. More than 98% oil separations were observed with some demulsifiers under optimum operating conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mentha longifolia is one of the important aromatic crop cultivated for its essential oil. The experiment was conducted to determine the effects of intermittent drought on the essential oil yield, composition, and nutrient status in M. longifolia. Initially, experimental plants were divided into two group: 'irrigated' and 'drought'. The 'irrigated group was watered normally, while the 'drought' group was not watered for seven days. Subsequently, both the groups were irrigated during the recovery period. Further, both groups were divided into two subgroups with non-irrigated and irrigated plants for seven days. In each cycle, samples were taken on 0, 7, 14, 21 days (first, second, and third cycle). Results indicated that the essential oil yield (ml/100- gram plant material) was increased under drought stress from 0.6 to a maximum of 0.9, while it showed a reduction in limonene, d-carvone percentage and percentage of nutrients (nitrogen and potassium) in the plants with non-significant change in phosphorous concentration. Also, the highest values of neodihydrocarveol (26.4%) and c-dihydrocarvone (11.43%) were determined by Gas Chromatography/Mass Spectrometry (GC/ MS) under third cycle. Our findings provide critical insights and directions for appropriate irrigation schedule so as to maximize the essential oil yield. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A polyaniline Zr(IV) selenotungstophosphate nanocomposite was prepared via sol-gel method and characterized by thermogravimetric analysis, scanning electron microscopy, energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, and transmission electron microscopy. The combined sorptional–photocatalytic activity of the nanocomposite for degradation of methylene blue and malachite green was investigated and was found to be more efficient than separate adsorption in the dark followed by photocatalysis. The dyes were degraded in 3 h by 96% and 89% by the combined process, as compared to 86% and 72% by the two-step process in 5 h. The nanocomposite material showed antimicrobial activity againstStaphylococcus aureusandEscherichia coli. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K)/PTEN (phosphatase and tensin homolog) pathway is one of the central routes that enhances cell survival, division, and migration, and it is frequently deregulated in cancer. PI3K catalyzes formation of phosphatidylinositol 3,4,5-triphosphate [PI(3,4,5)P3] after cell activation; PTEN subsequently reduces these lipids to basal levels. Activation of the ubiquitous p110β isoform precedes that of p110β at several points during the cell cycle. We studied the potential connections between p110β and p110β activation, and we show that cell stimulation promotes p110β and p110β association, demonstrating oligomerization of PI3K catalytic subunits within cells. Cell stimulation also promoted PTEN incorporation into this complex, which was necessary for PTEN activation. Our results show that PI3Ks dimerize in vivo and that PI3K and PTEN activities modulate each other in a complex that controls cell PI(3,4,5)P3 levels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article reports on the study that investigates the structural and magnetic correlations in the layered compound YBaCo4O7 by neutron diffraction. It found a hexagonal crystal structure with alternating tetrahedral layers of Kagomé and triangular types along the c axis. The study successfully fitted the observed magnetic Bragg intensity, indexed with only two Miller indices, using the Warren function.

We report the case of a patient with recurrent fever of unknown origin (FUO) with prominent back pain, hepatosplenomegaly, and abdominal/pelvic adenopathy suggesting lymphoma. A bone biopsy showed histiocytic infiltration. Studies for lymphoma were negative, but immunohistochemical stains were diagnostic of Erdheim-Chester disease (ECD). ECD should be included as a rare cause of recurrent FUO with bone involvement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this work a numerical study has been carried out to gain physical insight into the phenomena of opposed flow flame spread over an array of thin solid fuel sheets in a microgravity environment. The two-dimensional (2D) simulations show that the flame spread rates for the multiple-fuel configuration are higher than those for the flame spreading over a single fuel sheet. This is due to reduced radiation losses from the flame and increased heat feedback to the solid fuel. The flame spread rate exhibits a non-monotonic variation with decrease in the interspace distance between the fuel sheets. Higher radiation heat feedback primarily as gas/flame radiation was found to be responsible for the increase in the flame spread rate with the reduction of the interspace distance. It was noted that as the interspace distance between the fuel sheets was reduced below a certain value, no steady solution could be obtained. However, at very small interspace distances, steady state spread rates were obtained. Here, due to oxygen starvation the flame spread rate decreased and eventually at some interspace distance the flame extinguished. With fuel emittance (equal to absorptance) reduced to ‘0’ the flame spread rate was nearly independent of the interspace distance, except at very small distances where the flame spread rate dropped due to oxygen starvation. A flame extinction plot with the extinction oxygen level was constructed for the multiple-fuel configuration at various interspace distances. The default fuel with an emittance of 0.92 was found to be more flammable in the multiple-fuel configuration than in a single fuel sheet configuration. For a fuel emittance equal to zero, the extinction oxygen limit decreases for both the single and the multiple fuel sheet configurations. However, the two flammability curves cross over at a certain fuel separation distance. The multiple-fuel configurations become less flammable compared to the single fuel sheet configuration below a certain separation distance. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Washingtonia filifera seeds have revealed to possess antioxidant properties, butyrylcholinesterase and xanthine oxidase inhibition activities. The literature has indicated a relationship between Alzheimer's disease (AD) and type-2 diabetes (T2D). Keeping this in mind, we have now evaluated the inhibitory properties of W. filifera seed extracts on α-amylase, α-glucosidase enzyme activity and the Islet Amyloid Polypeptide (IAPP) fibrils formation. Three extracts from seeds of W. filifera were evaluated for their enzyme inhibitory effect and IC50 values were calculated for all the extracts. The inhibition mode was investigated by Lineweaver-Burk plot analysis and the inhibition of IAPP aggregate formation was monitored. W. filifera methanol seed extract appears as the most potent inhibitor of α-amylase, α-glucosidase, and for the IAPP fibril formation. Current findings indicate new potential of this extract that could be used for the identification or development of novel potential agents for T2D and AD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recently published gorilla genome has offered an opportunity to study human evolution through variety of approaches. Mobile genetic elements (MGEs) insert non randomly in genome through mechanisms such as retrotransposition and may cause gene inactivation, transduction, regulation of gene expression and genome expansion. Here we report that majority of gorilla genome is occupied with MGEs (> 36%) with presence of LTRs and Non-LTRs such as Alus and L1s. Other types of MGEs such as MIRs, retrovirus like elements ERVs and DNA transposons are also found using repeatmasker and ELAN pipeline. The distribution is similar to Humans and Macaca genome. Using DNA Scanner we also scanned preinsertion loci for number of different properties such as DNA denaturation, energy measures, potential for protein interactions and sequence based features. We also predicted preinsertion loci with > 70% accuracy using a machine learning tool called insertion site finder (ISF) based upon support vector machines. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The crosslinked chloromethylated polystyrene (PSCH2-Cl) reacts with the Schiff base, derived from condensation of PSCH2-Cl with 3-formylsalicylic acid and salicylhydrazide to form a polystyrene-anchored Schiff base, PSCH2-LH3 (1). Compound 1 reacts with a number of metal ions to form polystyrene-anchored coordination compounds, PSCH2-LHM · DMF (where M = Cu, Zn, Cd, UO2, and MoO2), PSCH2-LHM' · 3DMF (where M' = Mn, Co, and Ni), PSCH2-LHFeCl · 2DMF, and PSCH2-LHZr(OH)2 · 2DMF. The polystyrene-anchored coordination compounds have been characterized by elemental analyses, spectra (infrared, reflectance, and electron spin resonance) and magnetic susceptibility measurements. The polystyrene-anchored compounds are magnetically dilute. Shifts in band positions of the groups involved in coordination have been utilized to find tridentate ONO donor behavior of 1. The polystyrene-anchored Zn(II), Cd(II), Zr(IV), MoO2(VI), and UO2(VI) compounds are diamagnetic, while Mn(II), Co(II), Ni(II), Cu(II), and Fe(III) compounds are paramagnetic. The polystyrene-anchored Cu(II) compound is square planar; Zn(II) and Cd(II) compounds are tetrahedral; Co(II), Ni(II), Mn(II), Fe(III), MoO2(VI), and UO2(VI) compounds are octahedral; and Zr(IV) compound is pentagonal bipyramidal. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In April 2005, the University of Maryland Libraries launched ArchivesUM (http://www.lib.umd.edu/archivesum), an online database of finding aids for manuscript and archival collections using Encoded Archival Description (EAD). ArchivesUM, however, is only the publicly available end-product of a much larger project—an integrated system that ties together the basic archival functions of accessioning, inventory control, and description with a public interface for searching and browsing collection descriptions. In this article, the authors explore the challenges and solutions encountered while developing the system, addressing the theoretical, practical, and programming decisions that contributed to the design of this archival management system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The epithelial cells of the mammary gland secrete extracellular nanovesicles known as exosomes that carry and protect microRNAs and other various signaling biomolecules. Milk exosomes are stable during processing and remain protected from digestion in the gastrointestinal tract in order to reach specific target cells including peripheral tissues by crossing biological barriers. Milk exosomal microRNAs have their role as growth-promoting factor, in immunological programming, improving allergy tolerance and epigenetic controller of other mRNAs. However, in contrast, many translational evidence indicated that excessive consumption of bovine milk and continuous exposure of these exosomal microRNAs may be responsible for chronic inflammatory diseases of contemporary societies. Milk exosomes have potential preventive impact on necrotizing enterocolitis, ulcerative colitis, and inflammatory bowel diseases and may be targeted as preventive medicine or in therapeutic diets and also have potential as a nano-vehicle for drug delivery for chemotherapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Neonatal diarrhoea is among one of the most common causes of morbidity and mortality in piglets of India. E. coli are the major pathogens contributing more than half of the incidence and about a quarter of mortality from diarrhoea worldwide. The present study was designed with the objective to explore the effect of sex, season and age on E. coli intestinal adhesion patterns in Indian Ghurrah pigs. In this investigation, 80 animals were screened for adhesion pattern of the porcine brush border epithelial cells with Indian isolate of diarrhoeagenic E. coli through in vitro microscopic adhesion assay and classification of animals for adhesion pattern was performed following six different criteria described by several group of researchers worldwide. About one-third of the samples under the present investigation had shown non-adhesive and weakly adhesive phenotype according to the different reported classification of adhesion patterns. This indicates the indigenous Ghurrah pigs are comparatively less susceptible to E. coli mediated diarrhoea. The Wald Chi-square analysis revealed that season had a significant effect (P ≤ 0.05) on adhesion patterns in all the classification of adhesion patterns. However, sex of the animal had a significant effect (P ≤ 0.05) on adhesive patterns only in one of the reported classification method. Winter season was found to have more weakly and non-adhesive patterns (lesser susceptible animals) rather than adhesive patterns (susceptible animals) as compared to the summer season. So, better managemental practices along with preventive measures should be followed in summer season to reduce thermal stress in the animals which may help in lowering the incidence of piglet diarrhoea. Non-significant effect of age also indicates presence of the specific bacterial adhesin receptors even in adult age. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Development of acaricidal resistance and environmental pollution has driven need for eco-friendly pesticides and herbal acaricides. Rhizome extracts of Curcuma longa in three different solvents (acetone, chloroform and ethanol) were used in the range of 0.625–10.0% for larval immersion test against unfed larvae of Rhipicephalus microplus ticks. HPLC-PDA chromatogram showed peak of Bis demethoxy curcumin, Demethoxy curcumin and Curcumin at 430 nm with the retention time of 14.502, 15.840 and 17.33 min, respectively, in a standard marker preparation and in the sample. Ethanolic extract showed much higher yield of Demethoxy curcumin and Curcumin in comparison to acetone and chloroform extracts. Mortality rates of larval ticks were in dose-dependent manner and 100% mortality of tick larvae was achieved at 10% concentration for acetone and chloroform extracts whereas ethanolic extract showed 100% mortality of tick larvae from 7.5% concentration onwards. Among the three extracts, the highest acaricidal activity was shown by ethanolic extract with 2.43%, 9.12%, 13.26% and 26.77% values of LC50, LC90, LC95 and LC99, respectively. Significant larvicidal activity of C. longa rhizome extracts against unfed larvae of R. microplus qualifies them as green pesticides which could be combined with other tools for integrated pest management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Valeriana jatamansi Jones is an aromatic herb well known for its essential oil contents, and its high medicinal and commercial values. The amount of essential oils present in it increases with maturity (age) of the plant. In this study, Hyperspectral remote sensing data recorded in the field using Analytical Spectral Devices (ASD) handheld spectroradiometer was used to discriminate the age (6, 12, 24 and 36 months) of V. jatamansi. Principal Component Analysis (PCA) was used for feature selection and 06 machine learning classifiers were used to classify the plant based on their ages, i.e., Artificial Neural Network (ANN), Support Vector Machine (SVM), Random Forest (RF), Boosting Decision Tree (BDT), Decision Tree (DT) and k-Nearest Neighbourhood (kNN). For comparison, these classifiers were applied on full range of spectral reflectance data without feature selection and on feature-selected data using PCA. It was found that the accuracies of ANN, RF, BDT, SVM, DT and kNN were 91, 85, 57, 78, 35 and 42%, respectively for non-feature selected datasets. The accuracies of ANN and DT classifiers were, respectively, increased by 100% and 75% after applying PCA. The ANN classifiers resulted in 100% overall accuracy with a Kappa coefficient (K) of 1. The wavelength regions 860, 870 to 874, 876 to 885 nm in near-infrared (NIR), and 747 to 756 nm (red-edge) were identified as regions suitable for discriminate the age groups of V. jatamansi. The final trained model thus prepared was again validated on 60 plants (with different age group) grown in its natural habitat and the obtained accuracy was 88% (K = 0.84). Thus, the present study have provided a rapid technology for onsite identification of age of V. jatamansi in the field itself. The developed technology thus provides a scientific way for harvesting of this plant at its optimum age avoiding its wastage. The results of this study can also be applied to other endangered and valuable plants by way of finding its optimum growth stages for its harvesting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Milk β-casein has attracted extensive research interest in the dairy industry and animal breeding as a source of high-quality protein for human diet; however, adverse health effects have been ascribed to A1 β-casein variant consumption. A study was conducted to genotype the polymorphism in milk β-casein gene and examines the potential association between β-casein genotypes and milk production and reproduction traits in population of Frieswal cows. β-Casein A1/A2 genotype had significant effect (P ≤ 0.05) on several production traits including Total Milk Yield (TMY) (P ≤ 0.05), Milk Milk yield 300 days (MY300) (P ≤ 0.05), Lactation Length (LL) (P ≤ 0.01) and Peak Yield (PY) (P ≤ 0.01). β-Casein A1A1 genotype cows had significantly lower TMY, MY300, PY and DP as compared to A1A2 and A2A2 genotypes. A1A2 genotype had highest TMY, MY300, PY and DP; however, A2A2 and A1A2 genotypes were not significantly different from each other. The results pointed towards the superiority of A2 β-casein variant for several production traits in crossbreds. Further, with higher price of A2 milk, the inclusion of β-casein A1/A2 genotype in the selection of crossbreds offers higher profitability from dairy enterprise as well as provides a nutritional wellness product for consumers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Information on phosphorus (P) dynamics in soil is crucial for careful management of phosphorus fertilization in respect to the sustainable development of agriculture in IGP regions. The sorption and desorption of phosphate, different fractions of phosphate, dehydrogenase activity, acid and alkaline phosphatase activity were studied in soils under organic inorganic and integrated nutrient management practices in four different cropping systems. The P adsorption maxima of long-term organic soil was highest (77.52 µg P g−1) under coarse rice-barley-green gram cropping system. The bonding energy of phosphorus in the soil solution varies from 0.38 to 0.20 ml µ−1. Average across the cropping systems, the bonding energy of adsorb P were 68.54% and 39.05% higher under organic and integrated nutrient-managed plots respectively as compared to the inorganic nutrient management. Maximum buffering capacity of phosphate was observed (29.59 ml g−1 soil) under Coarse rice-barley-green gram cropping systems in organic nutrient management practice. Application of organic nutrient management practice increases 26.04% higher water-soluble phosphorus (WSP) as compared to the inorganic nutrient management practice, average across the cropping systems. All other fractions of phosphorus in the soil were higher under inorganic nutrient management that leads to higher amount of total of phosphorus, average across the cropping systems. Long-term application of organic for 14 years increases the bonding energy and adsorption capacity for P in soil but decreased its desorption potential, increasing P availability to the plant and leading to higher P uptake irrespective of cropping systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Imbalanced and indiscriminate use of chemical fertilizers has been adversely influencing the quality of soil, environment, biodiversity and nutrient status in soil. Conjoint application of bio-inoculants (BI) with organic or inorganic sources of nutrients tweaks nutrient synchrony in soil and improves plant nutrition. With this backdrop an experiment was conducted at Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi during 2016–2018. The objectives were to identify the suitable combinations of BI-mediated nutrient sources for higher productivity and profitability in pigeon pea–wheat cropping system (PWCS). The nine pigeon pea treatments; four sole applications viz., recommended dose of fertilizers (RDF), vermicompost (VC), farm yard manure (FYM), leaf compost (LC) and four conjoint applications viz., RDF + BI, VC + BI, FYM + BI and LC + BI and one control were replicated thrice under randomized block design (RBD). However, in succeeding wheat, each of the treatments applied to pigeon pea was further allocated to two levels (50% and 100%) in factorial RBD. Findings exhibit that FYM + BI could result into higher equivalent-system grain productivity (10.4 and 10.8 t ha−1 during 1st and 2nd year, respectively) of PWCS. However, profitability parameters of PWCS were higher with the RDF + BI. Uptake of nutrients (NPK) was significantly higher with FYM + BI in pigeon pea and RDF + BI in wheat. Nutrient harvest index (NHI) did not vary significantly in both the crops. Conclusively, bio-inoculation is more productive and beneficial in general, while, over the various combinations, recommendation of FYM + BI combination could be more productive and sustainable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the present investigation, groundwater samples (n = 508) collected from northern, central, and southern Punjab were analyzed for the detection of potentially hazardous metals (Pb, Cd, Ni, Cr) and As using atomic absorption spectrometer. Lead was observed as a predominant contaminant with 167 (32.8%) samples exceeding the permissible limit, followed by As, with 19 (3.7%) samples above the limit set by WHO. Spatial variation for the occurrence of metals showed statistically significant levels of Ni and Cr in groundwater from central Punjab, and As from northern Punjab. Assessment of health risks to these pollutants revealed As as a noxious pollutant, with hazard indices and carcinogenic risks significantly higher than the recommended limits in the three regions; and hence, posing a serious threat to the study population. Also, the risk values were higher for children than adults, indicative of their higher susceptibility to the ill-effects of these pollutants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Long-term use of chemical fertilizers has been known to degrade the various soil physico-chemical properties. Incorporation of crop residues (CR) along with biofertilizers (BF) is an important practice from improving the physico-chemical properties of soil. Laboratory analyses were conducted during 2015 on soil samples collected from an on-going long-term experiment "Nutrient management in rice based organic farming systems," in progress since 2003. Over the 12 years of study a significant improvement in bulk density, water-holding capacity, aggregate stability, hydraulic conductivity, and soil pH was observed under conjoint application of organics, CR, and BF in farmyard manure (FYM)+CR+BF and VC+CR+BF treatments. The data further delineated maximum soil organic carbon build-up was recorded in the combined application of organic nutrient sources as compared to manures alone treatment. The data further indicated that DTPA extractable copper, zinc, manganese, and iron in soil recorded a significant increase in all the manures applied treatments under rice-wheat-mungbean and rice-wheat cropping systems over the initial level. The integrated use of organics and crop residues in combination with biofertilizers recorded significant higher rice grain and straw yields over the rest of the treatments. Organic manures in combination with crop residues and biofertilizers supported high rice grain yield and straw biomass and sustainable yield index (SYI), with lower values of coefficient of variance. In conclusion, the conjoint application of organics, crop residues, and biofertilizers can enhance not only rice crop yield but also yield stability and sustainability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study aims to characterize cultivable and uncultivable halophilic bacteria inhabiting Marakkanam saltpan located in south India. In addition, cultured bacteria were screened for enzymes of industrial importance, heavy metal tolerance, and ability to grow in crude oil as well as antagonistic activity against shrimp pathogen Vibrio parahaemolyticus. Uncultivable bacteria using MinION sequencing showed the presence of eight bacterial phyla belonging to fifty-five genera with an abundance of class Betaproteobacteria (59%). A total of eight bacterial strains were isolated, identified and phylogenetically characterized using 16S rRNA gene sequence. Out of eight, five isolates showed resemblance to the genus Chromohalobacter (Gammaproteobacteria), two to the genus Halovibrio (Gammaproteobacteria), and one to the genus Staphylococcus (Firmictues). All of the isolated strains were capable of producing lipase and protease, tolerant to heavy metals like cobalt, lead, arsenic zinc, copper, chromium, and mercury but sensitive to silver. Two strains of Chromohalobacter were capable to grow in crude oil indicating their potential for hydrocarbon degradation. Four strains were detected to have antagonistic activity against V. parahaemolytics. This study indicated presence of wide varieties of halophilic bacteria detected by next generation sequencing method in the previously unexplored saltpan. In addition, all the cultivable bacteria showed great potential as a source for different biotechnological applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]