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Human rights are the rights of every person in any civilized society. Social development is mainly based on social freedom and to enjoy humanity. We are living in a very diverse society where people have different values, religions, colors, and beliefs, but one thing is common, and that is human value. In this paper, the researchers try to understand the level of respect for human rights among the people of a metropolitan city like Delhi. The research mainly focused on working professionals in the Delhi region. The analysis was based on certain criteria to understand the level of understanding of human rights. The study also pointed out that human rights education is very important for social development and must be seriously included in the academic curriculum. The methodology applied in this study for data collection is primary.

An analytical study on the propagation characteristics of shear wave in a spherical layered structure comprising of an isotropic sandy material medium covered by a concentric spherical transversely isotropic sandy material layer of finite thickness has been carried out in the present work. The source of excitation for wave propagation is considered in the outer layer and the analytical treatment with contour integration and Fourier-Legendre Expansion theorem is utilized to accomplish closed form of dispersion relation. Further, Debye Asymptotic Expansion analysis is used to deal the complication caused by the inclusion of Bessel's function, Hankel's function and their derivatives in the solution procedure. With help of Debye Asymptotic Expansion analysis, the obtained dispersion relation converts in the form of elementary functions and found to be in well-agreement with pre-established and classical results through the particular cases. Numerical computations are done to illustrate the influence of the affecting parameters (anisotropy, sandiness and radii ratio) on dispersion curves graphically. Moreover, to expose the impact of anisotropy, numerical data of three distinct transversely isotropic materials (Magnesium, Zinc and Beryl) are taken into the account to establish the comparative study with isotropic material which serves the major highlights of the present study.

Proteins and water couple dynamically over a wide range of time scales. Motivated by their central role in protein function, protein-water dynamics and thermodynamics have been extensively studied for structured proteins, where correspondence to structural features has been made. However, properties controlling intrinsically disordered protein (IDP)-water dynamics are not yet known. We report results of megahertz-to-terahertz dielectric spectroscopy and molecular dynamics simulations of a group of IDPs with varying charge content along with structured proteins of similar size. Hydration water around IDPs is found to exhibit more heterogeneous rotational and translational dynamics compared with water around structured proteins of similar size, yielding on average more restricted dynamics around individual residues of IDPs, charged or neutral, compared with structured proteins. The on-average slower water dynamics is found to arise from excess tightly bound water in the first hydration layer, which is related to greater exposure to charged groups. The more tightly bound water to IDPs correlates with the smaller hydration shell found experimentally, and affects entropy associated with protein-water interactions, the contribution of which we estimate based on the dielectric measurements and simulations. Water-IDP dynamic coupling at terahertz frequencies is characterized by the dielectric measurements and simulations.

The present paper investigates the scattering phenomenon of horizontally polarized Shear wave on an irregular surface of the piezomagnetic stratum lying over a piezomagnetic substrate. The expressions of frequency relation and group velocity of scattered Shear wave on the considered piezomagnetic stratum-substrate structure are deduced for magnetically open and magnetically short cases by inducing appropriate boundary conditions. A closed form expressions of reflected mechanical displacement and reflected magnetic potential function related to stratum and substrate are also determined for three different shaped irregularities (rectangular shaped, parabolic shaped and triangular shaped) by employing perturbation technique and residue theorem for both magnetically open and short cases. The efficacy of piezomagnetic coupling parameter, vertical irregular parameter due to presence of surface irregularities is portrayed on the phase velocity, group velocity, reflected mechanical displacement and reflected magnetic potential function related to the stratum for both magnetically open and short conditions graphically. A comparative study is also made to examine the impact of different shaped irregularities on the reflected mechanical displacement and reflected magnetic potential function of the stratum.

Hydrazine electrooxidation is an important reaction as it assists in decreasing the OER overvoltage. Herein, we report the utilization of high entropy nano-catalyst alloy for the electrooxidation of hydrazine. High entropy nano-catalyst comprising five elements (Ag, Au, Pt, Pd, Cu) shows profound activity towards this molecule at low overvoltage. An intriguingly high entropy nano-catalyst prepared by the casting-cum-cryomilling method is endowed with unique catalytic activity for HzOR. Detailed analysis of gaseous product points to the formation of nitrogen as well as oxygen as the oxidation product, a sign of accompanying oxygen evolution reaction (OER). Interestingly, significant oxygen is detected at 1.13 V (RHE) in a neutral buffered medium, confirming that OER is functional at a voltage near to the thermodynamic voltage of 1.23V (RHE). The quantitative contribution of each hydrazine and OER reaction is ascertained which explains a vital insight into this reaction. Density functional theory calculations showed that both HzOR and OER assist each other where the electron-donating effect of H2O to the surface can reduce the endothermicity of the HzOR. Whereas, the electron acceptance of *NHNH2 helps in the favorable overlap of the HEA Fermi level and vacant states with the HOMO of H2O.

The interplay between the central nervous system (CNS) and the enteric nervous system (ENS) constitutes the gut-brain axis. This represents a dynamic and bidirectional network of signaling pathways involving the vagus nerve, the immune system, and the molecules released by various microorganisms thriving in our gut. Since humans and bacteria have evolved together and learned to live together in a symbiotic relationship, which is decisive for physio/immune homeostasis of the body. Disruption in this (also known as dysbiosis) is associated with various pathological consequences including several neurological disorders. Out of several pathways that are associated with neurological manifestation, the inflammasome pathway is associated with the progression of multiple sclerosis, Alzheimer’s, and Parkinson’s disease, depression, schizophrenia, and autism. A growing body of evidence now suggests a reciprocal influence of microbiota and inflammasome activation in the brain. In this chapter, we discuss the cross talk between human gut microbiota and the key immunological signaling processes and their role in CNS development and neurological diseases.

PurposeThe work presents a novel implementation of the generalized minimum residual (GMRES) solver in conjunction with the interpolating meshless local Petrov–Galerkin (MLPG) method to solve steady-state heat conduction in 2-D as well as in 3-D domains.Design/methodology/approachThe restarted version of the GMRES solver (with and without preconditioner) is applied to solve an asymmetric system of equations, arising due to the interpolating MLPG formulation. Its performance is compared with the biconjugate gradient stabilized (BiCGSTAB) solver on the basis of computation time and convergence behaviour. Jacobi and successive over-relaxation (SOR) methods are used as the preconditioners in both the solvers.FindingsThe results show that the GMRES solver outperforms the BiCGSTAB solver in terms of smoothness of convergence behaviour, while performs slightly better than the BiCGSTAB method in terms of Central processing Unit (CPU) time.Originality/valueMLPG formulation leads to a non-symmetric system of algebraic equations. Iterative methods such as GMRES and BiCGSTAB methods are required for its solution for large-scale problems. This work presents the use of GMRES solver with the MLPG method for the very first time.

Tantalum oxynitride (I²-TaON) is a potential photoanode because of its suitable band gap and band-edge positions for water-splitting. However, low carrier mobility restricts the solar-to-hydrogen conversion efficiency from the theoretical limit. Here, using the DFT + U formalism, we find that the excess electron tends to form a localized small polaron at the Ta-site (Ta+4 species) over delocalized electrons. The polarization potential created by lattice distortion around Ta+5(d0) generates a driving force to construct Ta+4(d1) by electron capture. The donated electron from n-type single donor defects becomes self-trapped and forms a weakly bound state with the defect. The thermally activated polaronic charge transfer via nearest-neighbor hopping is non-adiabatic using the DFT + U method. However, O substitution at bridging the N site increases the Ta-Ta hopping distance and changes the polaron hopping toward an adiabatic regime. The calculated polaron mobility because of the high migration barrier for both in pristine (0.31 eV) and in the presence of the ON defect (0.36 eV) supports the experimentally observed low mobility and high carrier lifetime in a I²-TaON photoanode. This study provides a mechanistic understanding of the factors controlling the formation and transport of electron polarons, which can guide in designing a I²-TaON photoanode with better efficiency. © copy; 2021 American Chemical Society.

In the past decade, several different classes of two-dimensional (2D) materials beyond graphene such as layered polymorphs of group V elements (phophorene, arsenene), Metalenes (gallenene, stanene etc.), Transition Metal–Dichalcogenides (TMDs), group III monochalcogenides, transition metal carbides as well as nitrides have been thoroughly explored. These atomically thin materials have gathered significant focus due to their unique electronic, optical, and magnetic properties, which are seldom found in their bulk counterparts due to the high surface to volume ratios and quantum confined electronic structure. These properties have led to excitement in the research community due to their potential applications in various fields of optoelectronics, energy harvesting and storage, sensing, electronics, magneto-electronics, and thermo-electronic applications. However, there is another emerging class of layered oxide 2D materials, which has been sporadically explored and lacks a systematic compilation of the made progress, potential benefits and research opportunities that may lie ahead. This specific review provides a thorough and systematic summary of research carried out on layered 2D oxides both from an experimental and theoretical perspective. Due to ultra-thin nature of the 2D metal oxides, a majority of the atoms are accessible to the surfaces, which induces new properties and applications in comparison to traditional bulk oxides. We discuss several different classes of metal oxides in their 2D forms such as MO, MOx, MxOy (where M stands for metals; x and y possible oxidation states) as well as Perovskite type oxides in this review specifically focusing on optoelectronics, sensing and electrochemical storage applications. We further make critical comparisons with bulk metal oxides, and elaborate the specific advantages of 2D metal oxides as compared to their bulk counterparts in respective applications. Finally, we conclude by providing a critical assessment and outlook of technical challenges and research opportunities for future development of layered 2D oxides.

Neem products including conventional preparations and formulations have been used widely for improving the growth, yield, and management of insect pests attacking especially on field crops. Phytochemicals are extracted from distinguish parts of the neem plant vary significantly due to abiotic and biotic factors from collection of the raw material to extract preparation and product formulation. Content of highly active ingredient, insect species and growth stage, type of formulation, and combined of products with another control method. In this manuscript, the direct and indirect actions of neem extract on growth, yield, and insect pests are delineated and realistic implications for future strategies are discussed.

Earth-abundant, nontoxic crystalline compounds with intrinsically low lattice thermal conductivity (Iolat) are centric to the development of thermoelectrics and thermal barrier coatings. Investigation of the fundamental origins of such low Iolat and understanding its relationship with the chemical bonding and structure in solids thus stands paramount in order to furnish such low thermally conductive compounds. Herein, we synthesized earth-abundant, cost-effective, and nontoxic n-type ternary sulfide Cu1.6Bi4.8S8, which exhibits an intrinsically ultralow Iolat of �0.71-0.44 W/m·K in the temperature range of 296-736 K. Structural analysis via atomic refinement unveiled large atomic displacement parameters (ADPs) for interstitial Cu clusters, demonstrating intrinsic rattling-like behavior. Electron localization function (ELF) analysis further shows that these rattling Cu atoms are weakly bonded and thus can generate low-energy Einstein vibrational modes. Low-temperature heat capacity (Cp) and temperature-dependent Raman spectra concord the presence of such low-energy optical modes. Density functional theory (DFT)-based phonon dispersions reveal that these low-lying optical phonons arise primarily due to the presence of chemical bonding hierarchy and simultaneous rattling of weakly bonded interstitial Cu atoms. These low-energy optical modes strongly scatter the heat-carrying acoustic phonons, thereby reducing the phonon lifetime to an ultrashort value (2-4.5 ps) and Iolat to a very low value, which is lower than that of the many state-of-the-art metal sulfides. © 2021 American Chemical Society. All rights reserved.

This study discusses the propagation of a horizontally polarised shear wave in a layered composite structure consisting of couple stress stratum over a functionally graded orthotropic viscoelastic substrate due to point source existing at an imperfect interface of the stratum and substrate. Because of the CS effect in the stratum, the existence of the second kind of dispersive (shear) wave is established along with conventional first kind of a shear wave. The closed-form dispersion equations and damping equations of the first and second kind of a dispersive wave are derived by adopting non-traditional boundary conditions and Green’s function technique. The effect of characteristic length of microstructure, imperfect bonding parameter and functional gradient parameters on velocity profiles and attenuation profiles of the first and second kind of dispersive wave has been computed numerically and delineated graphically. For validation, established results are matched with the classical one.

As a result of technological escalation in sensing applications, piezopolymers like Polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF), very flexible in nature, are preferred over most of the piezoceramics which are s...

This paper proposes an integration of concentrating solar power (CSP) with a sorption-enhanced steam methane reforming (SE-SMR) process and assesses its overall solar-to-fuel conversion performance. A thermodynamic treatment of the SE-SMR process for H2 production is presented and evaluated in an innovative two reactors system configuration using CSP as a heat input. Four metal carbonate/metal oxide pairs are considered, and the equilibrium thermodynamics reveals that CaCO3/CaO pair is the most suitable candidate for this process. Additionally, a reactor-scale thermodynamic model is developed to determine the optimum operating conditions for the process. For the carbonation step, temperatures between 700 and 900 K and steam-to-methane ratio ≥4 are found to be the most favorable. Furthermore, an advanced process model, which utilizes operating conditions determined from the reactor-scale model, is developed to evaluate the process efficiency. The model predicts that the proposed process can achieve a solar-to-fuel efficiency ∼41% for calcination temperature of 1500 K and carbonation temperature of 800 K, without considering any solid heat recovery. An additional 2.5% increase in the process efficiency is feasible with the consideration of the solid heat recovery. This study shows the thermodynamic feasibility of integrating the SE-SMR process with CSP technologies.

Spinal anesthetic-induced hypotension is the most worrisome complication for patients undergoing cesarean section under spinal anesthesia. The present study compares norepinephrine and phenylephrine bolus for the treatment of hypotension during spinal anesthesia for cesarean section.One hundred twenty- six women aged between 22 and 40 years with singleton pregnancy classified to the American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) physical class I and II posted for elective cesarean section under spinal anesthesia were randomly divided into two groups of 63 each. Group I patients received phenylephrine 50 mcg (microgram) as an intravenous bolus, and Group II received 4 mcg of norepinephrine as an intravenous bolus to treat spinal hypotension.On comparing the demographic data of the patients in terms of age, weight, height, ASA Grade, level of block and surgery time no significant differences were found between the groups. Similarly, the fetal parameters were found to be not significantly different between the groups. However, the number of bolus doses of vasopressors required for the treatment of spinal-induced hypotension was significantly reduced in Group II (p=0.02). The frequency of bradycardia was found to be higher in patients who were given phenylephrine as compared to patients administered noradrenaline boluses (p=0.03). Five (7.93%) patients had shivering in Group I, while similar episodes were observed in 10 (15.87%) patients (p=0.05). Moreover, no significant difference was observed in comparing the heart rate and mean arterial pressure between the groups.Intermittent boluses of norepinephrine are found to be effective in the management of spinal‑induced hypotension during caesarean section.

Stacking two or more two-dimensional materials to form a heterostructure is becoming the most effective way to generate new functionalities for specific applications. Herein, using GW and Bethe-Salpeter equation simulations, we demonstrate the generation of linearly polarized, anisotropic intra- and interlayer excitonic bound states in the transition metal monochalcogenide (TMC) GeSe/SnS van der Waals heterostructure. The puckered structure of TMC results in the directional anisotropy in band structure and in the excitonic bound state. Upon the application of compressive/tensile biaxial strain dramatic variation (∓3%) in excitonic energies, the indirect-to-direct semiconductor transition and the red/blue shift of the optical absorption spectrum are observed. The variations in excitonic energies and optical band gap have been attributed to the change in effective dielectric constant and band dispersion upon the application of biaxial strain. The generation and control over the interlayer excitonic energies can find applications in optoelectronics and optical quantum computers and as a gain medium in lasers.

The stacking order of 2D materials can result in fascinating physical properties. Two different stacking orders (AA and AB) were recently identified in ReS2, a rising star in the transition metal d...

Designing efficient catalysts for major energy conversion devices like fuel cells and metal–air batteries is of prime importance as the commercially used Pt/C catalyst impedes scalable use due to high cost, low stability, and methanol-intolerant behavior. Herein, we report a one-step method to synthesize phase-pure CrN nanoparticles (CrN NPs, ∼4 nm) anchored on N-doped graphitic carbon (CrN@NG) as an excellent Pt-free electrocatalyst to boost the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) in alkaline and acidic media. The as-synthesized CrN@NG-900 competes with 20 wt% Pt/C with an E1/2 that is only 30 and 60 mV negative of Pt/C in alkaline and acidic media, respectively. Furthermore, the low-cost CrN@NG shows better long-term stability (no NP leaching or agglomeration) and methanol immunity that is desirable to replace Pt for applications in a real system. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations reveal a synergistic interaction between CrN and the NG support, which optimizes the free energy of the reaction intermediates and favors the ORR. The robust stability of the catalyst due to the NG support, better electron transfer, and greater electrochemically active sites augment the ORR activity in alkaline and acidic media.