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The present article aims to understand the somatotype characteristics and its association with cognitive impairment (CI) and depression among 768 Jat men and women aged 30–80 years from an Mendelian population of north India. The somatotypes are evaluated using the Heath–Carter protocol. Cognition status is assessed through Mini-Mental State Examination scale, while the depression status is determined using Beck’s depression inventory questionnaire. Overall, the Jat population is found to be mesomorphic endomorph. A slight decrease in endomorphy and an increase in ectomorphy is observed with advancing age. Endomorphy is found to be more prevalent among individuals having CI and depression. In conclusion, as compared to other populations of India, the Jats of Haryana are more endomorphic and less mesomorphic. As the association of somatotypes with mental disabilities is still unclear, this issue needs further investigation. So, more population studies are necessary to elucidate their association.

BACKGROUND The ECG (Electrocardiogram) lead aVR gives reciprocal data for the aVL, II, V5, and V6 leads. It is frequently ignored, even while reviewing complicated ECGs. The purpose of the study was to evaluate the associations of ECG changes in Lead aVR and Lead V6 with acute coronary syndrome (ACS) and coronary complexity as measured by CAG (coronary angiography) in patients with the ACS. METHODS This was a prospective Hospital-based observational study. A sample size of 80 patients was being used and a study was done on patients admitted to Mahatma Gandhi Medical College & Hospital, Jaipur with ACS, for 18 months, as well as on those who met the inclusion criteria. RESULTS Of 80 patients enrolled with ACS, the mean age was 60.3500 ± 14.8717 (Mean ± SD). The proportion of patients (72.5 percent) had a history of hypertension, and the prevalence of diabetes in the population was found to be significant. The mean ST elevation in lead aVR of patients was 1.4500 ± 0.6779. The mean ST depression in Lead V6 (Mean ± SD) of patients was 2.1519 ± 0.6063. The mean ST depression in corresponding leads (Mean ± SD) was 2.0375± 0.6303 in patients of ACS. In CAG, 27 (33.8 %) patients had TVD (triple vessel disease), 20 (25.0 %) had DVD (double vessel disease) and 22 (27.5 %) patients had SVD (single-vessel disease). The majority of patients, 46 (57.5 %) had angioplasty, and the distribution of coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) outcomes in the overall population was determined to be significant. ECG changes in leads aVR and V6 correlate with age, lead V1, corresponding leads, troponin levels, and Timi Score (Thrombolysis in Myocardial Infarction). There is a positive association in both leads aVR and V6, and the changes occur concurrently in terms of many parameters, indicating the necessity for additional investigation. The outcomes of our investigation were consistent with the findings of ST-T changes in lead aVR and lead V6. CONCLUSIONS ECG changes in leads aVR and V6 are associated with poorer prognosis in ACS. Widespread ST-segment depression and ST-segment elevation in lead aVR during episodes of chest pain may represent diffuse subendocardial ischemia caused by severe coronary artery disease (CAD). Further, when interpreting the 12-lead ECG in clinical practice, physicians should give due consideration to the tracing of lead aVR and lead V6 as it can help in identifying the patients who need more aggressive management.

Clustering extends energy resources, improves scalability and preserves communication bandwidth of the network. Clustering is either categorized as static and dynamic or as equal and unequal. Hot-spots issue needs a high overhead and is prone to connectivity problems in the wireless sensor network and this can be only possible because of unequal clustering. In this paper a zone divisional method based on fuzzy logic has been proposed. This method uses a fuzzy logic to form clusters and allot nodes to them for the reduction of energy consumption, and extends the age of the sensor network. The simulation and results section shows that the outperformance of the proposed algorithm, where the (EAUCF) energy-aware unequal clustering fuzzy, (LEACH) lowenergy adaptive clustering hierarchy, (EAMMH) energy-aware multi-hop multi-path hierarchical, and (TTDFP) two-tier distributed fuzzy logic-based protocol for efficient data aggregation in multi-hop wireless sensor networks algorithms. The proposed algorithm has better results in terms of energy consumption minimization, load balancing, and prolongation of the network lifetime.

Scientific advancement in exploration and exploitation of microbial community structure is fundamentally driven by discoveries and development of new technologies. This review summarizes the techno-scientific advancement based exploitation of the bacterial diversity of saline and soda lakes. Advancement in DNA based technologies have become a paradigm shift in microbiome community mapping of extreme environment. Further, we focused on alternative modern techniques that can be used as for the identification of bacteria and classification of bacterial diversity, as well as highlighted general description of hypersaline and soda lakes as microbial habitats based on molecular techniques. However molecular methods are detailed briefly as are the standard techniques for assessing genome content for taxonomic classification of bacterial diversity. This review provides advance microbial techniques insight for exploitation of microbial community landscape from extreme water bodies.

Hot-spots are a problem that comes in the cluster-based routing protocol that employs multi-hop communication due to this problem the energy among the sensor nodes is not balanced. The hot-spots issue requires high overhead and is prone to connectivity issues in the sensor network this can be only possible because of unequal clustering. In this method, we have to act on all the nodes of the sensor network for communication. This process consumes high system energy if the numbers of nodes are very high. To offer guaranteed connectivity, decrease high usage and complexity, a fuzzy logic-based zone divisional method has been proposed in this paper. Use fuzzy logic to create clusters and assign nodes to them to decrease the consumption of energy and the age of the network prolongation. The simulation and results section shows the outperformance of the proposed protocol, where the (LEACH) low-energy adaptive clustering hierarchy, (EAUCF) energy-aware unequal clustering fuzzy,(EAMMH) energy-aware multi-hop multi-path hierarchical, and (TTDFP) two-tier distributed fuzzy logic-based protocol for efficient data aggregation in multi-hop wireless sensor networks algorithms. The proposed algorithm has better results in terms of energy consumption minimization, and prolongation of the network lifetime.

Cancer patients often suffer from pain related problems such as under-treatment of pain, ineffective and persistent opioid administration as well as adverse opioid use outcomes. There is a growing need for non-opioid analgesic alternatives for patients undergoing treatment for obstinate pain. Ketamine is a fast-acting N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor antagonist that has been emerging as an effective medication for pain alleviation. While protocols have been established for the use of Low-Dose Ketamine (LDK) for post-operative pain, there is growing evidence for using LDK as a clinical alternative to opioids in a palliative care setting. This case study involves monitoring the efficacy of LDK treatment in combination with opioid analgesics in a cancer patient in a hospital setting. This is a very selected case of a patient with Metastatic Prostate Cancer (Gleason 9 Adenocarcinoma) where LDK was shown to be efficacious at reducing pain when opioids and standard pain medications were not satisfactory. While the study involved using a relatively novel pharmacological protocol and close patient monitoring, the patient reported a sustained reduction in pain level based on the Numerical Rating Scale for months after the termination of LDK infusions. Moreover, the treatment also resulted in a reduction of total opioid usage after the addition of LDK. Although additional research is needed to ascertain optimal dosing schedules and route of Ketamine, given these promising findings, Ketamine may be a useful option for improving the treatment of refractory pain in patients with cancer and a good tool in palliative medicine for treating neoplastic pain.

Sharp one-dimensional (1D) and two-dimensional (2D) structures are required for stable and efficient field emission. 1D metal oxide and 1D carbonaceous nanostructure material have been used widely for exciting field emission applications. On the other hand, planar, continuous 2D nanostructures have been less explored, as most often, they offer inefficient field emitters, having high turn-on field and low emission current density. A combination of 1D and 2D nanostructures is expected to improve field emission properties. In the present study, nickel oxide nanostructures were considered as 1D nanostructures, which were synthesized on cleaned, polished, nickel foil substrate by wet chemical treatment through the nano-seed mechanism. Pyramidal shape nanostructures of NiO were found onto nickel substrate. 1D nanostructure, NiO nanostructure, does not show any field emission response. Further, graphene oxide (GO) was used as the 2D nanostructure.) While nickel oxide nanostructure and graphene oxide individually demonstrated very low emission properties, hybrid of these materials show modified surface topography and enhanced field emission properties. The field emission response of graphene oxide on Ni foil shows 6.7 V/μm turn-on field and maximum current density of 28 µA/cm2, whereas graphene oxide on NiO nanostructure has enhanced field emission response. In the case of NiO–GO, the turn-on field and maximum current are 5 V/μm and 173 µA/cm2, respectively. Field emission properties are enhanced further with the reduction of the NiO–GO hybrid and depositing CNT of NiO. The maximum current density of 3.7 mA/cm2was observed for the NiO–CNT hybrid.

Attractive attributes of carbon nanotubes (CNTs),, which include high aspect ratio, excellent electrical and thermal conductivity, high melting point, and longer lifetime, have made this one-dimensional material a promising candidate for next-generation field emitters. In the present work, CNTs were grown directly on copper foil, copper foam, nickel foil and nickel foam through chemical vapor deposition. A comparison between CNT-based two-dimensional emitters, i.e. CNTs synthesized on copper and nickel foils, CNT-based three-dimensional (3D) emitters, i.e. CNTs developed on foams of copper and nickel, have been demonstrated. We observed that CNTs on foams exhibited better field emission compared to CNTs synthesized on foils. This is due to the multistage structure of the 3D foams which provides high surface area for CNT growth and hence enhanced field emission response. In the present work, a CNT sample prepared on nickel foam was observed to exhibit better field emission response compared to the other samples synthesized in the present study. This particular sample demonstrateda very low turn-on field of 0.93 V/µm, excellent field enhancement factor of 13,343 and good stability of electron emission.

Reversible data hiding (RDH) plays a significant role in the field of information security which allows safe transmission of secret data inside a cover media. Additionally, RDH allows extraction of secret data and lossless recovery of the cover media at the decoding end which makes it applicable for the applications like medical imaging and military services. In recent years, variety of RDH techniques such as lossless compression, histogram shifting, difference expansion, prediction error expansion and pixel value ordering (PVO) have been proposed. Among all of them, PVO is one of the most researched RDH techniques as it provides high-fidelity images with decent data hiding capacity. So, to thoroughly understand the evolution of PVO based RDH schemes along with their advantages and disadvantages, this paper presents a comprehensive study of all the existing PVO based RDH schemes with an aim to provide research guidance to the researchers who are interested to work in the field of PVO based reversible data hiding. For this, the working of PVO based schemes is discussed and explained by using suitable examples. Additionally, the challenges being faced by reversible data hiding technique for increasing the data hiding capacity along with image quality, are comprehensively presented. Furthermore, comparative analysis of different PVO-based RDH scheme (after categorizing them based on their working style) using two key parameters—embedding capacity and marked image quality, is presented.

The present investigation is aimed to find a thread between various surface textures of polycrystalline Cu–Ni alloys, in cold-rolled and annealed conditions, and the nature of graphene, grown by th...

CuO nanostructures were reported for a myriad of applications in diverse areas such as high Tc superconductors, field emitters, catalysts, gas sensors, magnetic storage, biosensors, superhydrophobic surfaces, energy materials etc. In all these applications, structural stability of the nanostructures is very important for efficient functioning of devices with a longer lifetime. Hence, it is necessary to understand the adhesion energy of these nanostructures with their substrates. In this research work, a variety of CuO nanostructures were synthesized directly on Cu foil substrate by varying only the concentration of the reagents. CuO nanostructures, thus grown, were subjected to a nano-scratch test to quantify their adhesion strength with Cu substrate. The adhesion energy was observed to be highest for nanorods and lowest for nanoribbons among all the CuO nanostructures synthesized in this work. Results of this research will be useful in predicting the service life and in improving the efficiency of CuO nanostructure-based devices.

The aim of this study was to understand the distribution of various somatotype components and determine the age- and sex-related variations of the somatotype among Sunni Muslim population of Uttar Pradesh, India. The study population consisted of 214 individuals (100 males and 114 females), belonging to the age group of 18–73 years. All somatometric measurements were taken according to the protocol of the International Society for the Advancement of Kinanthropometry (ISAK). Anthropometric somatotyping was done using Heath and Carter method. Somatotype dispersion distances (SDD), mean somatotype dispersion (SDM), and standard deviation of somatotype dispersion distance (DSD) were calculated. Somatochart was also plotted for the body physique of the studied population. The results showed that mean somatotype of males is balanced endomorph (4.2–3.2–3.1), while that of females is mesomorphic endomorph (6.6–3.7–1.2). Endomorphy and mesomorphy increased with age up to 55 years and then decreased thereafter; however, ectomorphy showed the opposite trend in both the sexes. The findings of the study indicate that males and females of Sunni Muslim population are predominantly endomorphic.

CuO nanorods were synthesized on copper foil substrate through wet chemical approach. The effect of growth time on the field electron emission properties of CuO nanorods was studied. The field electron emission tests were performed under AC bias on the CuO nanorod (CuO NR) samples. The growth reaction time was varied between 1, 3, 7 and 11 h. It was observed that CuO NR sample which was processed for 11 h demonstrates the optimum properties such as lowest turn on field (0.56 V/µm), high current density (1.52 mA/cm2) at low electrical field (9 V/µm), good field enhancement factor and excellent stability of emitters for extended working hours which makes it suitable for applications field emission devices.

Graphene and its derivatives such as graphene oxide (GO) and reduced graphene oxide (rGO) are the potential candidates for high-performance field emission devices owing to their unique geometry and electrical properties. However, flat surface of GO and rGO results in lower field emission efficiency due to emission of electrons only from sharp edges of GO and rGO sheets. In the present study, GO and rGO layers were deposited on both CuO and Cu nanorods (NRs) to enable maximum field emission current density at low applied field via geometrical field enhancement. CuO NRs were synthesized on Cu foil using wet chemical method and Cu NRs were produced through chemical and thermal reduction of CuO NRs. GO layers were deposited on CuO and Cu NRs through dip coating method. GO was converted to rGO through thermal reduction. A comparative study of the field emission properties of CuO, GO@CuO, rGO@CuO, Cu_H 2, GO@Cu_H2, rGO@Cu_H2, Cu_NaBH4, GO@Cu_NaBH4, rGO@Cu_NaBH4 samples was performed. The basic idea behind deposition of GO and rGO sheets on CuO and Cu NRs was to create sharp protrusions in GO and rGO sheets to achieve enhanced field emission properties. Local field enhancement at the apex of sharp protrusions allows tunneling and hence emission of electrons from tips at considerable lower voltage. Highest current density and highest field enhancement factor were obtained in thermally reduced GO@CuO (i.e rGO@CuO) sample.

The Government of India initiated the Beti Bachao Beti Padhao (B3P) programme in 2015 as a flagship initiative to reduce gender imbalance in sex ratio at birth (SRB) and to ensure social protection of girls. The present study was conducted to evaluate the medium-term impact of B3P implementation in Haryana state, from 2015 to 2019, on SRB. Monthly data on SRB were collected for the entire state of Haryana through a civil registration system. Segmented time series regression analysis was used to estimate the variations in SRB after the B3P programme with the help of Winter’s additive interrupted time series model. The SRB in Haryana increased from 876 girls per 1000 boys in 2015 to 923 in 2019. The results of the model demonstrated that before the inception of intervention (pre-slope), there was a significant monthly change in SRB of 0.217 (95% confidence interval: 0.144–0.290). Following the B3P programme, SRB was found to increase by 0.835 per month, which implied that an increase of 0.618 (confidence interval: 0.338, 0.898) every month in SRB can be attributed to the B3P programme. This indicated that SRB for the state of Haryana increased at the rate of 7.42 units per year as a result of the B3P programme. B3P has led to a significant improvement in SRB in Haryana state. The continuity of efforts in the same direction with a sustained focus on behaviour change will further help achieve the goal of gender parity in births and child survival.

A two-step, low-temperature thermal chemical vapor deposition (CVD) process, which uses camphor for synthesizing continuous graphene layer on Cu substrate is reported. The growth process was performed at lower temperature (800 °C) using camphor as the source of carbon. A threezone CVD system was used for controlled heating of precursor, in order to obtain uniform graphene layer. As-grown samples were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Raman spectroscopy and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The results show the presence of 4–5 layers of graphene. As-grown graphene transferred onto a glass substrate through a polymer-free wet-etching process, demonstrated transmittance ~91% in visible spectra. This process of synthesizing large area, 4–5 layer graphene at reduced temperature represents an energy-efficient method of producing graphene for possible applications in opto-electronic industry.

Depression is multi-factorial in origin and results from intricate mechanisms with no single identifiable risk factor. The present study is a cross-sectional study, conducted among 808 participants aged 30–70 years from a single mendelian, largely vegetarian population from North India. Socio- demographic and depression status were assessed through standard interview schedule among recruited individuals. Chemi- luminescence Immunoassay technique by Immulite®1000 is used to analyse homocysteine, folate and vitamin B12 levels. Of the total studied subjects, 31.1% were found to be having depression with higher rate among females (35.7%) compared to males (24.6%) (p = 0.002). Hyperhomocysteinemia and folate deficiency were found to pose an increased risk for moderate/ severe depression, though not significant. Folate repletion was playing a compensatory role for vitamin B12 deficiency among depressed individuals. MTHFR C677T gene polymorphism was not associated with depression in the present study.

Ever since the more-than-decade-old discovery of application of mechanical exfoliation to obtain graphene, this 2-dimensional material was known for its soaring promise in various applications, owi...

A variety of CuO nanostructures have been synthesized directly on copper foils by room temperature oxidation of copper through wet chemical method. Alkaline condition necessary for the growth process was maintained by the application of NaOH and NH3 precursors. pH of the solution and reaction time were selected as the process variables. Formation of CuO was confirmed by X-ray diffraction pattern analysis. Evolution of morphologies of the phases formed was characterized by field emission scanning electron microscopy, leading to elucidation of the growth mechanism. Different types of CuO nanostructures were observed to be formed at different process parameters, selected for the present study. Field emission characteristics of CuO nanorods and CuO nanoflakes were also investigated. Emission current density of CuO nanorods and CuO nanoflakes were determined to be 0.90 mA/cm2 and 0.48 mA/cm2, respectively. Huge difference in the emission current density indicates that field emission properties of CuO nanostructures are strongly affected by their morphology.

Data hiding is a branch of information security that is popularly used for digital watermarking and steganography. Traditional data hiding methods are not suitable for some information sensitive domains such as medical imaging, biometric data protection, military etc. because they can permanently damage the cover image. These fields do not tolerate the cover image to be modified even slightly. There is a need of reversible data hiding in such domains that allows to completely recover the cover-image after the retrieval of secret message. Pixel Value Ordering (PVO) for hiding data reversibly has gained much popularity because it maintains high quality of the resultant stego image. Improved Pixel Value Ordering (IPVO), an extension of PVO, is a high-fidelity method that uses sorting and Prediction Error Expansion(PEE) for hiding data. In IPVO, the cover-image is segregated to form segments of fixed size. These segments, called blocks, are sorted in increasing order of pixel intensities. Then, the prediction error for the largest and the smallest pixels are computed using the second-maximal and the second-minimal pixels, respectively. Thus, the largest-valued and the minimumvalued pixels are utilized to embed data. Each block can embed at most two bits. The data carrying capacity is constrained by the number of blocks. In IPVO, the blocks that are already sorted may produce prediction error of -1 that is not utilized for data embedding. IPVO only makes use of prediction errors 0 and 1, and the error -1 is ignored. In this paper, an improvement of the existing IPVO method is proposed. The proposed method makes use of a novel block partitioning scheme in such a way that a block consists of three pixels. Moreover, the proposed method utilizes a modified IPVO strategy to utilize the prediction error of −1 to hide the data. Hence, the proposed method achieves a high data carrying capacity when compared to the other unconventional methods that use PVO.