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The present investigation breaks new ground by examining the Raniganj sediments in the Kendudihi section of the Ib‐River Coalfield, Odisha, India. The study identifies a megaflora consisting of 25 species of Glossopteris, Vertebraria indica, stem casts and equisetaceous stems. The microflora is predominantly composed of Striatopodocarpites spp., with a secondary presence of Densipollenites spp. The lithological signatures, including off‐white fine‐grained sandstone with thin bands of silty shale and grey shale, indicate that these sediments belong to the Late Permian succession of the Lower Gondwana sequence, specifically the Raniganj Formation. The macrofloral assemblage found in the lowermost grey shale can be attributed to the Wordian–Capitanian age, while the microfloral assemblage in the upper silty shale resembles that of the Wuchiapingian‐Changhsingian age. Well‐preserved palynomorphs and megafossils, along with the abundant occurrence of lath‐shaped translucent phytoclasts in the grey and silty shale of the Raniganj sediments exposed in the Kendudihi section, explicitly suggest that the sediments were deposited in proximal, low‐energy swampy settings. Additionally, the moderate occurrence of charcoal (20%), along with the existence of degraded organic matter (DOM: 7.6%) and amorphous organic matter (AOM: 16.4%), indicates that the sediments might have been deposited in oxic–dysoxic conditions. The palynological and megafloral studies reveal a warm‐temperate climate with low humidity and intermittent spells of hot and cold seasons, associated with abundant rainfall. The occurrence of phosphorite in the form of nodules and thin lenses, as well as biogenic structures at the juncture of the Raniganj and Barren Measures formations, suggests a marine incursion in the area during the deposition of the late Barren Measures and early Raniganj sediments. X‐ray diffraction (XRD) analysis identified fluorapatite (Ca5(PO4)3F) as the predominant phosphatic mineral phase in the phosphatic nodule, siltstone and claystone. The Post‐Archean Australian Shale composition, normalized rare earth element (REE) patterns of samples from this area, reveals slight positive La (average La anomaly: 1.02) and Gd (average Gd anomaly: 1.05) anomalies and heavy REE enrichment compared to light REE, explicitly indicating a marine environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: Granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF) is a monomeric glycoprotein most commonly associated with myeloid cell differentiation and the stimulation of inflammatory processes. Several studies have shown that cancer cells express GM-CSF; however, the mechanism and effect of this expression has not been fully resolved. Some studies suggest the levels of GM-CSF expression and secretion determine its role in tumor suppression or growth. We believe and begin to outline in the current study, that breast cancer cell expression and secretion of GM-CSF is an operative pro-survival tool utilized to induce fibroblasts, macrophages, and other myeloid-derived cells to produce pro-inflammatory cytokines and growth factors such as interleukins 6 and 8. These pro-survival factors drive tumor progression. Understanding these paracrine signaling networks in the tumor microenvironment will facilitate the development of targeted and efficient therapies to halt tumor progression. This study evaluated the paracrine signaling between breast carcinoma-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) and breast cancer (BCa) cells. Resolving cell–cell communication in the BCa tumor microenvironment (TME) will aid the development of new therapeutics. Here, we utilized our patented TAME (tissue architecture and microenvironment engineering) 3D culture microphysiological system, which is a suitable pathomimetic avatar for the study of the BCa TME. We cultured in 3D BCa cells and CAFs either alone or together in cocultures and found that when cocultured, CAFs enhanced the invasive characteristics of tumor cells, as shown by increased proliferation and spread of tumor cells into the surrounding matrix. Secretome analysis from 3D cultures revealed a relatively high secretion of IL-6 by CAFs. A marked increase in the secretion of granulocyte macrophage-colony stimulating factor (GM-CSF) when carcinoma cells and CAFs were in coculture was also observed. We theorized that the CAF-secreted IL-6 functions in a paracrine manner to induce GM-CSF expression and secretion from carcinoma cells. This was confirmed by evaluating the activation of STAT3 and gene expression of GM-CSF in carcinoma cells exposed to CAF-conditioned media (CAF-CM). In addition, the treatment of CAFs with BCa cell-CM yielded a brief upregulation of GM-CSF followed by a marked decrease, indicating a tightly regulated control of GM-CSF in CAFs. Secretion of IL-6 from CAFs drives the activation of STAT3 in BCa cells, which in turn drives the expression and secretion of GM-CSF. As a result, CAFs exposed to BCa cell-secreted GM-CSF upregulate inflammation-associated genes such as IL-6, IL-6R and IL-8, thereby forming a positive feedback loop. We propose that the tight regulation of GM-CSF in CAFs may be a novel regulatory pathway to target for disrupting the CAF:BCa cell symbiotic relationship. These data provide yet another piece of the cell–cell communication network governing the BCa TME. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Core samples from four boreholes (SAV-1, SAV-117, SAV-124, SAV-125) within the Vaddugudem block of the Godavari Valley Coalfield, Southern India have been palynologically investigated to understand the stratigraphic setting of that area. Only 60 out of the 172 samples yielded identifiable palynoassemblages. From the observed palynofloral composition, five distinct palynoassemblages (Scheuringipollenites Assemblage: PA-I, Striatopodocarpites + Faunipollenites Assemblage: PA-II, Striates + Striasulcites Assemblage: PA-III, Striates + Guttulapollenites Assemblage: PA-IV, Lundbladispora + Verrucosisporites Assemblage: PA-V) were identified. Furthermore, five distinct palynozones (Scheuringipollenites barakarensis Zone = PZ-1, Striatopodocarpites + Faunipollenites Zone = PZ-2, Gondisporites raniganjensis Zone = PZ-3, Guttulapollenites gondwanensis-Striatopodocatpites tiwarii Zone = PZ-4 and Playfordiaspora cancellosa Zone = PZ-5) were identified. These correspond to the Artinskian (PZ-1), Wordian–Capitanian (PZ-2 and PZ-3), Wuchiapingian–Changhsingian (PZ-4) and Induan–Olenekian (PZ-5), respectively. The study site is situated within a geologically active region within the basin, primarily attributed to the exposure of elevated basement rocks on the eastern side of the borehole locations. Notably, the palynozones appear as relatively narrow layers in the boreholes investigated within this tectonically disturbed basin. The repetition of palynoassemblages and palynozones at small intervals suggests that the boreholes are located in a fault zone with multiple fault planes and that palynomorphs were reworked along these fault planes. Fault slices of different lithological units containing palynoassemblages may have intersected the boreholes. Specifically, the recurrence of thin marker palynoassemblages and palynozones, which show similarities in age to the Barakar and Lower Kamthi/Raniganj formations, is likely attributable to tectonic disturbances, such as faulting. This disturbance may have induced the reworking or migration of palynomorphs along the fault plane. As a result, it is concluded that variations in the stratigraphic abundance of these reworked palynomorphs can serve as indicators of tectonic settings, even when these settings are not readily discernible in the geological record. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We investigate theoretically an optomechanical system composed of an optical mode and a mechanical mode interacting through first-order coupling and second-order coupling in the presence of a Kerr nonlinear medium. We study how the nonlinearities (second-order optomechanical coupling and Kerr nonlinearity) alter the optical output spectrum, optical quadrature squeezing and optomechanical entanglement. It is shown that the intensity of the output optical spectrum decreases drastically with an increase in second-order optomechanical coupling while it increases significantly with an increase in Kerr nonlinear parameter. More interestingly, by choosing suitable second-order optomechanical coupling and detuning of the optical cavity field, one can achieve strong squeezing of the cavity light field. Further, these nonlinearities play an important role in creating robust optomechanical entanglement between optical and mechanical modes. Hence, the presence of various nonlinearities in the system can be a good platform for achieving the squeezing of light and robust optomechanical entanglement which can be used in realizing better quantum optomechanical devices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]