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Simple Summary: A new class of therapy named cyclin-dependent kinase 4/6 inhibitors (CDK4/6is) is the recommended preferred treatment for patients with metastatic breast cancer (MBC) who have the HR+/HER2− subtype; however, several barriers may still exist that prevent or delay the initiation of this treatment. In this observational study, we examined how the social determinants of health (SDOH) (e.g., income status, insurance coverage) and other patient characteristics are associated with the initiation of CDK4/6i for HR+/HER2− MBC in a Medicare population of patients aged 65 years or older. Our analysis showed that Medicare patients residing in areas with high vs. low median household income and those living in areas with a high vs. low proportion of Medicare-only coverage had higher rates of initiating treatment with CDK4/6i. Our study findings highlight the influence of SDOH on access to novel and effective cancer therapies and a need for strategies to improve equity in cancer care. In hormone receptor-positive/human epidermal growth factor receptor 2-negative (HR+/HER2−) metastatic breast cancer (MBC), cyclin-dependent kinase 4/6 inhibitors (CDK4/6is) have replaced endocrine therapy alone as the standard of care; however, several barriers to treatment initiation still exist. We assessed social determinants of health (SDOH) and other factors associated with the initiation of CDK4/6i for HR+/HER2− MBC in the Medicare population. Using a retrospective cohort design, patients aged ≥65 years and diagnosed during 2015–2017 were selected from the SEER-Medicare database. Time from MBC diagnosis to first CDK4/6i initiation was the study outcome. The effect of SDOH measures and other predictors on the outcome was assessed using the multivariable Fine and Gray hazard modeling. Of 752 eligible women, 352 (46.8%) initiated CDK4/6i after MBC diagnosis (median time to initiation: 27.9 months). In adjusted analysis, SDOH factors significantly associated with CDK4/6i initiation included high versus low median household income (HHI) (hazard ratio [HR] = 1.70; 95% CI = 1.03–2.81) and the percentage of population with high versus low Medicare-only coverage (HR = 1.54; 95% CI = 1.04–2.27). In summary, older Medicare patients with HR+/HER2− MBC residing in areas with high median HHI and a high proportion of Medicare-only coverage had higher rates of initiating CDK4/6i, suggesting inequitable access to these novel, effective treatments and a need for policy intervention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The rapid fluctuations in heat transfer rates make it challenging to determine the surface temperature history and the estimation of accurate heat generation in research applications such as IC engines, gas turbines, and high-speed space vehicles. Therefore, thin-film heat flux sensors (TFHFS) are generally used to measure the heat flux in such applications due to their high sensitivity and quick response time. The present study demonstrates that increasing the annealing heat treatment temperature will enhance the adhesion of the thin film and the capabilities of these hand-made TFHFS for transient measurements at low temperatures and for short periods. In the present work, TFHFS is fabricated in-house using platinum as a sensing element and Macor as an insulating substrate. The sensitivity (S) and temperature coefficient of resistance (TCR) are estimated using an oil batch calibration technique. At the same time, the performance of TFHFS is tested in a dynamic convective environment. The TFHFS is exposed to the convective environment using a designed calibration set-up, and their transient heat fluxes are computed by conducting several trials. Additionally, the numerical solution has been accomplished using various experimental parameters. In comparison to the outcomes of the experimental method, it is observed that the average fluctuating temperature and mean surface heat flux have an inaccuracy of 0.33% and 4.17% respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Calcium-dependent protein kinase (CDPK) is member of one of the most important signalling cascades operating inside the plant system due to its peculiar role as thermo-sensor. Here, we identified 28 full length putative CDPKs from wheat designated as TaCDPK (1-28). Based on digital gene expression, we cloned full length TaCPK-1 gene of 1691 nucleotides with open reading frame (ORF) of 548 amino acids (accession number OP125853). The expression of TaCPK-1 was observed maximum (3.1-fold) in leaf of wheat cv. HD2985 (thermotolerant) under T2 (38 ± 3 °C, 2 h), as compared to control. A positive correlation was observed between the expression of TaCPK-1 and other stress-associated genes (MAPK6, CDPK4, HSFA6e, HSF3, HSP17, HSP70, SOD and CAT) involved in thermotolerance. Global protein kinase assay showed maximum activity in leaves, as compared to root, stem and spike under heat stress. Immunoblot analysis showed abundance of CDPK protein in wheat cv. HD2985 (thermotolerant) in response to T2 (38 ± 3 °C, 2 h), as compared to HD2329 (thermosusceptible). Calcium ion (Ca2+), being inducer of CDPK, showed strong Ca-signature in the leaf tissue (Ca—622 ppm) of thermotolerant wheat cv. under heat stress, whereas it was minimum (Ca—201 ppm) in spike tissue. We observed significant variations in the ionome of wheat under HS. To conclude, TaCPK-1 plays important role in triggering signaling network and in modulation of HS-tolerance in wheat. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study primarily focused on forming pure single-phase FeSb and explored its thermoelectric, mechanical, and electrochemical properties since no reports are available. The FeSb binary alloy has been synthesized through the vacuum melting method, and the phase formation has been confirmed through powder X-ray diffraction (PXRD). The PXRD results show that the synthesized FeSb binary alloy belongs to the hexagonal crystal structure with space group P63/mmc, which coincides with ICSD no. 53971. The pure single phase has been formed by creating a deficiency of 10 % in antimony. The High-Resolution Scanning Electron Microscopy (HR-SEM) and Energy Dispersive X-ray (EDX) analysis have been used to identify the pure single-phase and various elemental components of the hot-pressed pellet of FeSb 0.9. The atomic wt.% of iron (Fe) and antimony (Sb) have been identified through EDX spectral analysis. The highest Seebeck coefficient value of −5.4 μV/K is achieved at 497 K, and the lowest electrical conductivity value of 24049 S/m is achieved at 447 K. The hardness of the material is found to be 6.076 GPa, which is much more sufficient for thermoelectric material during industrial handling. The magnetic characteristics of the prepared pure phase FeSb compound have also been measured by Vibrating Scanning Magnetometer (VSM) analysis, which has a weak ferromagnetic nature. Furthermore, three electrodes were employed to study the electrochemical properties, and the alloy has attained the appreciable specific capacitance of 169.5 F/g at 2 A/g. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Monocytes are associated with human cardiovascular disease progression. Monocytes are segregated into three major subsets: classical (cMo), intermediate (iMo), and nonclassical (nMo). Recent studies have identified heterogeneity within each of these main monocyte classes, yet the extent to which these subsets contribute to heart disease progression is not known. Peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) were obtained from 61 human subjects within the Coronary Assessment of Virginia (CAVA) Cohort. Coronary atherosclerosis severity was quantified using the Gensini Score (GS). We employed high-dimensional single-cell transcriptome and protein methods to define how human monocytes differ in subjects with low to severe coronary artery disease. We analyzed 487 immune-related genes and 49 surface proteins at the single-cell level using Antibody-Seq (Ab-Seq). We identified six subsets of myeloid cells (cMo, iMo, nMo, plasmacytoid DC, classical DC, and DC3) at the single-cell level based on surface proteins, and we associated these subsets with coronary artery disease (CAD) incidence based on Gensini score (GS) in each subject. Only frequencies of iMo were associated with high CAD (GS > 32), adj.p = 0.024. Spearman correlation analysis with GS from each subject revealed a positive correlation with iMo frequencies (r = 0.314, p = 0.014) and further showed a robust sex-dependent positive correlation in female subjects (r = 0.663, p = 0.004). cMo frequencies did not correlate with CAD severity. Key gene pathways differed in iMo among low and high CAD subjects and between males and females. Further single-cell analysis of iMo revealed three iMo subsets in human PBMC, distinguished by the expression of HLA-DR, CXCR3, and CD206. We found that the frequency of immunoregulatory iMo_HLA-DR+CXCR3+CD206+ was associated with CAD severity (adj.p = 0.006). The immunoregulatory iMo subset positively correlated with GS in both females (r = 0.660, p = 0.004) and males (r = 0.315, p = 0.037). Cell interaction analyses identified strong interactions of iMo with CD4+ effector/memory T cells and Tregs from the same subjects. This study shows the importance of iMo in CAD progression and suggests that iMo may have important functional roles in modulating CAD risk, particularly among females. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This document is a summary of a special issue in the journal "Social Sciences" that examines the concept of relational wellbeing among young refugees. The papers in the issue explore various dimensions of relational wellbeing and highlight the challenges and resilience of young refugees. The authors emphasize the importance of relationships and call for a relational approach in policy and resource distribution to better support the needs of young refugees. The document provides a culturally sensitive and respectful perspective on the lives of young refugees and aims to inform library patrons conducting research on this topic. [Extracted from the article]

In this paper, we consider how young refugees in the Drawing Together project experience integration in Scotland. We critically examine the term 'refugee integration' and emphasise its multiple dimensions. Specifically, we analyse Scotland's role as a country committed to the protection and care of young refugees by mapping some key Scottish legal, political, social and cultural policies and strategies that provide the contexts for refugee integration as a mutual endeavour based on hospitality and reciprocity. Finally, we show the ways young refugees talk of rebuilding a life in Scotland that feels coherent in relation to their past and present circumstances, and their future plans despite the challenges that they encounter in their everyday lives. We suggest that a 'relational wellbeing' approach to integration in Scotland is tangible. It confirms the importance of the practical and social opportunities available to young refugees as they resettle. This approach extends the meaning of integration beyond its political and social categories, to include young refugees' attachment to their faith of origin as well as the natural environment of Scotland. In all, we suggest that young refugees face the challenges and use the opportunities for integration in Scotland in ways that are of sustained benefit, for them as well as Scotland as their new country. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We develop a framework for self-consistently extracting cosmological information from the clustering of tracers in redshift space, without relying on model-dependent templates to describe the baryon acoustic oscillation (BAO) feature. Our approach uses the recently proposed Laguerre reconstruction technique for the BAO feature and its linear point r LP, and substantially extends it to simultaneously model the multipoles ℓ = 0, 2, 4 of the anisotropic galaxy 2-point correlation function (2pcf). The approach is 'model-agnostic': it assumes that the nonlinear growth of structure smears the BAO feature by an approximately Gaussian kernel with a smearing scale σv, but does not assume any fiducial cosmology for describing the shape of the feature itself. Using mock observations for two realistic survey configurations assuming Λ cold dark matter (ΛCDM), combined with Bayesian parameter inference, we show that the linear point r LP and smearing scale σv can be accurately recovered by our method in both existing and upcoming surveys. The precision of the recovery of r LP is always better than |$1{{\ \rm per\ cent}}$|⁠ , while σv can be recovered with |$\lesssim 10{{\ \rm per\ cent}}$| uncertainty provided the linear galaxy bias b is separately constrained, e.g. using weak lensing observations. Our method is also sensitive to the linear growth rate f , albeit with larger uncertainties and systematic errors, especially for upcoming surveys such as DESI. We discuss how our model can be modified to improve the recovery of f , such that the resulting constraints on { f , σv, r LP} can potentially be used as a test of cosmological models including and beyond ΛCDM. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A rapid microwave (180 s, 100 W) green approach has been demonstrated for the synthesis of TiO2 tripods (TITPs) using Mangifera indica leaf extracts. In this process, mangiferin acts as an efficient reducing agent while microwave radiations control the nucleation and growth of anisotropic TiO2 nanostructure. Surface morphological analyses reveal that synthesized TiO2 nanomaterial has a unique resilient shape of tripods with porosity. The photocatalytic ability of synthesized TITPs has been examined using Methylene blue (MB) as the target contaminant, and ∼75% (under visible light in 75 min) and 96% (under UV in 9 min) dye degradation has been achieved. The TITPs show recyclability for up to three cycles. Moreover, TITPs exhibit good adsorbent property that varies with the change of temperature and pH. The adsorption of the MB by TITPs follows the pseudo-first-order kinetic model and the Langmuir isotherm model. The maximum adsorption capacity of TITPs is found to be 17.54 mg/g based on the Langmuir model. The present multi-facet TITPs prepared via a simple and quick (180 s) microwave method has the potential for application in photocatalytic/adsorption for aqueous contaminant remediation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Diphtheria is considered a serious infection occurred due to Corynebacterium diphtheriae which can able to produce toxins. This disease cause difficulty in breathing, paralysis, heart failure, and even death. The Centre for disease control suggested vaccines for adults and children for preventing the disease. The production of such vaccinesdepends on meatbased media that possess several complications. This study was motivated by the fact that the usage of semisynthetic media will prevent the side effects of meat-based media. Further few parameters like calcium chloride, iron, and iron-free L-Cystine were not deeply investigated in previous studies. In this research, diphtheria toxin has been synthesized by growing Corynebacterium diphtheriae ATCC strain in a semisynthetic medium during the shake flask stage fermentation. Hence the study attempted to optimize the parameters by measuring the optical density value through a UV spectrophotometer thereby determining the toxin expression by the Limes flocculation (Lf/mL) test. The semisynthetic medium is found to be free from animal-derived products and includes carbohydrates, water, nitrogen source, free amino acids, and iron source in initial concentration. Iron plays a vital role in affecting the production of toxins during C.diphtheria cultivation in the medium. The study obtained a high yield of diphtheria toxin with a Fe2+ concentration of 0.1g/L and a calcium chloride concentration of 11.1 g/L. Under these optimized parameters, this research could obtain effective production of diphtheria toxin. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: This study aimed to provide an up-to-date account of the frequency of "the absence of interthalamic adhesion (AITA) as a risk factor or association" in healthy subjects and neuropsychiatric patients. Owing to the increased interest in the contribution of ITA to neurological function in previous literature, a meta-analysis of its frequency and sex dependency is required. Aim: This study aimed to study whether the AITA is associated with neuropsychiatric disorders. Settings and Design: This study is a meta-analysis and systemic review. Methods and Material: Literature searches were conducted in PubMed, Web of Science, and Google Scholar using the keywords "interthalamic adhesion," "massa intermedia," "adhesio interthalamica," and "adhesion" along with the Boolean operators (OR, AND, and NOT). Three reviewers independently assessed the abstracts and full texts for validation based on the inclusion criteria. The meta-analysis was performed using Microsoft Excel 2019 for descriptive studies and RevMan 5.2 for comparative studies. Results: The incidence of absent ITA was 15.3% in healthy subjects and 28.76% in neuropsychiatric subjects. The relative probability of AITA was 2.30 [95% confidence interval (CI), 1.96-2.70] in neuropsychiatric illness. Healthy men were 1.91 times more likely, and men with neuropsychiatric disorders were 1.82 times more likely to have absent ITA than women. Conclusions and Relevance: In this study, a consistent association of AITA with psychiatric disorders was observed, rendering the condition to be treated as an associated risk factor affecting the function of the habenula nuclear complex via the stria medullaris thalami. A cohort or longitudinal study is needed to compare the incidence of psychiatric disorders in individuals with or without ITA and to calculate the attributed risk. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We review the nonlinear statistics of Primordial Black Holes that form from the collapse of over-densities in a radiation-dominated Universe. We focus on the scenario in which large over-densities are generated by rare and Gaussian curvature perturbations during inflation. As new results, we show that the mass spectrum follows a power law determined by the critical exponent of the self-similar collapse up to a power spectrum dependent cutoff, and that the abundance related to very narrow power spectra is exponentially suppressed. Related to this, we discuss and explicitly show that both the Press–Schechter approximation and the statistics of mean profiles lead to wrong conclusions for the abundance and mass spectrum. Finally, we clarify that the transfer function in the statistics of initial conditions for Primordial Black Holes formation (the abundance) does not play a significant role. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In analytical models of structure formation, protohaloes are routinely assumed to be peaks of the smoothed initial density field, with the smoothing filter being spherically symmetric. This works reasonably well to identify a protohalo's centre of mass, but not its shape. To provide a more realistic description of protohalo boundaries, one must go beyond the spherical picture. We suggest that this can be done by looking for regions of fixed volume, but arbitrary shape, that minimize the enclosed energy. Such regions are delimited by surfaces over which (a slightly modified version of) the gravitational potential is constant. We show that these equipotential surfaces provide an excellent description of protohalo shapes, orientations, and associated torques. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nine novel susceptibility loci for prostate cancer were identified in men of African ancestry. A multiancestry polygenic risk score was validated as an effective tool for prostate cancer risk stratification and shown to differentiate the aggressive and nonaggressive prostate cancer in men of African ancestry. Genetic factors play an important role in prostate cancer (PCa) susceptibility. To discover common genetic variants contributing to the risk of PCa in men of African ancestry. We conducted a meta-analysis of ten genome-wide association studies consisting of 19 378 cases and 61 620 controls of African ancestry. Common genotyped and imputed variants were tested for their association with PCa risk. Novel susceptibility loci were identified and incorporated into a multiancestry polygenic risk score (PRS). The PRS was evaluated for associations with PCa risk and disease aggressiveness. Nine novel susceptibility loci for PCa were identified, of which seven were only found or substantially more common in men of African ancestry, including an African-specific stop-gain variant in the prostate-specific gene anoctamin 7 (ANO7). A multiancestry PRS of 278 risk variants conferred strong associations with PCa risk in African ancestry studies (odds ratios [ORs] >3 and >5 for men in the top PRS decile and percentile, respectively). More importantly, compared with men in the 40–60% PRS category, men in the top PRS decile had a significantly higher risk of aggressive PCa (OR = 1.23, 95% confidence interval = 1.10–1.38, p = 4.4 × 10–4). This study demonstrates the importance of large-scale genetic studies in men of African ancestry for a better understanding of PCa susceptibility in this high-risk population and suggests a potential clinical utility of PRS in differentiating between the risks of developing aggressive and nonaggressive disease in men of African ancestry. In this large genetic study in men of African ancestry, we discovered nine novel prostate cancer (PCa) risk variants. We also showed that a multiancestry polygenic risk score was effective in stratifying PCa risk, and was able to differentiate risk of aggressive and nonaggressive disease. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bortezomib has been successful for treatment of multiple myeloma, but not against solid tumors, and toxicities of neuropathy, thrombocytopenia and the emergence of resistance have triggered efforts to find alternative proteasome inhibitors. Bis-benzylidine piperidones such as RA190 covalently bind ADRM1/RPN13, a ubiquitin receptor that supports recognition of polyubiquitinated substrates of the proteasome and their subsequent deububiqutination and degradation. While these candidate RPN13 inhibitors (iRPN13) show promising anticancer activity in mouse models of cancer, they have suboptimal drug-like properties. Here we describe Up284, a novel candidate iRPN13 possessing a central spiro-carbon ring in place of RA190's problematic piperidone core. Cell lines derived from diverse cancer types (ovarian, triple negative breast, colon, cervical and prostate cancers, multiple myeloma and glioblastoma) were sensitive to Up284, including several lines resistant to bortezomib or cisplatin. Up284 and cisplatin showed synergistic cytotoxicity in vitro. Up284-induced cytotoxicity was associated with mitochondrial dysfunction, elevated levels of reactive oxygen species, accumulation of very high molecular weight polyubiquitinated protein aggregates, an unfolded protein response and the early onset of apoptosis. Up284 and RA190, but not bortezomib, enhanced antigen presentation in vitro. Up284 cleared from plasma in a few hours and accumulated in major organs by 24 h. A single dose of Up284, when administered to mice intra peritoneally or orally, inhibited proteasome function in both muscle and tumor for >48 h. Up284 was well tolerated by mice in repeat dose studies. Up284 demonstrated therapeutic activity in xenograft, syngeneic and genetically-engineered murine models of ovarian cancer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The water oxidation reaction is one of the crucial process involves 4e- and 4H+ transfer, which causes a high energy barrier and makes the water-splitting process a slow kinetic reaction. Herein, we have systematically observed the water oxidation activity of La 1-x Ca x MnO 3 (0≤ x ≤ 1) solid solutions by tuning the valence of Mn ion through selective substitution of La3+ with Ca2+. With increasing Ca concentration in La 1-x Ca x MnO 3 solid solutions, the water oxidation activity increases up to x = 0.5 and then decreases. Mixed-valence of Mn generated due to substitution of La3+ with Ca2+, which leads to the double exchange mechanism. This could results in high electrical conduction and a faster electron transfer rate because of the rapid charge exchange between Mn3+ and Mn4+ ions, which pinpoints the reason behind the enhanced oxygen evolution activity. Our findings will be a promising way to relate the Mn mixed-valence with its catalytic activity to design and development of efficient water oxidation catalysts. [Display omitted] • La 1-x Ca x MnO 3 (0 ≤ x ≤ 1) solid solutions were synthesized by citrate-gel method. • Oxidation state of Mn has been tuned between +3 and + 4 in the solid solutions. • Ratio between Mn3+ and Mn4+ plays a crucial role on the water oxidation activity. • La 0.5 Ca 0.5 MnO 3 shows lowest overpotential (570 mV), Tafel slope (173 mV/dec). • La 0.5 Ca 0.5 MnO 3 shows highest photochemical water oxidation TOF (3.57 × 10-3 s−1). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: There are different types of arthritis seen in elderly patients, of which Osteoarthritis (OA) is the most common. Platelet Rich Plasma (PRP), which is derived from blood, contains many growth factors. Platelet count and indices in PRP has association with pain score of OA, further study will prove its significance. Aim: To find the correlation of platelet parameters like platelet count, Mean Platelet Volume (MPV) and Plateletcrit (PCT) with clinical OA improvement score in PRP-treated patients of OA. Materials and Methods: The longitudinal study was done in the Department of Pathology, PDU Civil Hospital, Rajkot, Gujarat, India, from January 2021 to October 2021. Study was conducted on 40 patients, who were administered intra-articular injection of PRP prepared using double spin method. It was injected at the site of maximum pain in the knee joint. Platelet count, MPV and PCT were noted in the pre and post intervention. Patients were followed-up at two months and six months. The data was analysed using Friedman Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) and Pearson's correlation test. Results: The mean age of patients was 58.57±4.95 years and there were 26 (65%) females and 14 (35%) males. Increase in platelet count, MPV, PCT in PRP prepared by double spin method and improvement in Visual Analog Scale (VAS) (Before-8.38±0.63; After-4.28±0.85), Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index (WOMAC) (Before-63.30±4.99; After-43.67±5.22) and International Knee Documentation Committee (IKDC) (Before-45.04±6.06; After-66.14±5.78) score were found to be statistically significant. Correlation of platelet parameters WOMAC with Platelet count (p-value=0.052, R-value=-0.310), VAS with MPV (p-value=0.005, R-value=0.436) and IKDC with PCT (p-value=0.032, R-value=0.339) were also statistically significant at six months follow-up. Conclusion: Single dose intra-articular injection PRP in OA knee with KL Grade 1 and 2 is valuable, efficient and costeffective treatment to reduce or delay in knee replacement. The study showed the significant correlation of platelet parameters with OA improvement scores. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This work reports the correlation of changes in structural and optical properties of a-SiNx:H thin films irradiated with 100 MeV Au8+ at various fluences. Cross-sectional TEM studies show the evolution of discontinuous ion tracks with a radius of 3 nm as the nanoscale structural changes in films. Spectroscopic ellipsometry was used for the extraction of different optical parameters, viz., refractive index, extinction coefficient, Urbach tail energy, and bandgap along with thickness and roughness by fitting the experimental data and modeling the dielectric function with the Cody–Lorentz model. An increase in the Si-N phase was evident, with an increase in the bandgap. Change in the Urbach energy and broadening of oscillator parameters suggest an increased disorder and introduction of defect states upon irradiation. The Wemple–Dedomenico dispersion model was used to deduce dispersion energy to establish a change in thin films' density upon irradiation. The change in the density of thin films is further correlated to the increase in the refractive index. The evolution of various parameters reveals the correlation between changes in optical properties with structural properties down to nanoscale upon swift heavy ion irradiation on a-SiNx:H thin films. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The need for sustainable technological solutions for wastewater management at different scales has led to the emergence of several promising integrated bioelectrochemical technologies in the past decade. A thorough assessment of these technologies is imperative to understand their practical implementation feasibility and to identify the key challenges to prioritise the research and development work. Our multicriteria-based assessment reveals that the integrated technologies are efficient for wastewater treatment in terms of normalised land footprint [(0.31–1.39 m2/population equivalent (PE))] – and energy consumption (0.18–1.49 kWH/m3) as compared to the conventional biotechnologies, and suggests that they have potential for real-world application. Specifying the boundaries according to their treatment capabilities and scale-up potential besides niche application sites or geographical locations is required to expedite their transition to the real-world wastewater management sector. The key issues associated with the conventional and emerging wastewater treatment technologies, such as the energy-intensive operation of aerobic processes, slow-rate treatment or large land footprint of processes based on ecological principals and high capital expenditure and scalability concerns of microbial electrochemical technologies have led to the emergence of an integrated bioelectrochemical technology concept. The advancements in this area focus mainly on minimising the consumption of resources such as energy and land and enhancing resource recovery capabilities, as well as achieving low-cost and energy-efficient wastewater treatment on different scales. A thorough assessment of rapidly progressing integrated bioelectrochemical technologies is imperative to understand their practical implementation feasibility in the frame of sustainable wastewater management infrastructure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Evidence on overall survival (OS) with cyclin‐dependent kinase 4 and 6 (CDK4/6) inhibitors is generally limited to data from clinical trials or a few observational studies with limited generalizability to Medicare population. The aim of this study was to determine OS benefits associated with CDK4/6 inhibitors in older Medicare patients with hormone receptor (HR)–positive and human epidermal growth factor receptor‐2 overexpressing (HER2–) metastatic breast cancer (MBC). Methods: In a retrospective cohort design, female patients aged ≥65 years with diagnosis of HR+/HER2– MBC from 2015 to 2017 who initiated first‐line systemic therapy within 12 months of MBC diagnosis were selected from the Survey Epidemiology and End Results‐Medicare database. The effect of treatment type (endocrine therapy [ET]+CDK4/6 inhibitor vs. ET alone) on OS was analyzed using Kaplan–Meier methods and multivariable Cox regression models. Adjusted hazard ratio (aHR) and 95% CIs were estimated. Results: A total of 630 eligible patients were identified (169 patients treated with ET+CDK4/6 inhibitor and 461 patients treated with ET alone). In the Kaplan–Meier analysis, OS rate at 3 years after first‐line treatment initiation was 73.0% for ET+CDK4/6 inhibitor versus 49.1% for ET alone (log‐rank p <.0001). In Cox regression analysis, first‐line ET+CDK4/6 inhibitor therapy was associated with 41% lower rate of mortality versus ET alone (aHR, 0.590; 95% CI, 0.423–0.823). Conclusions: The findings of this real‐world study demonstrate significant OS benefit associated with ET+CDK4/6 inhibitor therapy over ET alone in an older Medicare population of patients with HR+/HER2– MBC, largely consistent with the evidence from clinical trials. In patients with metastatic breast cancer (MBC) receiving treatment with cyclin‐dependent kinase 4 and 6 (CDK4/6) inhibitors, evidence on overall survival is generally limited to data from clinical trials or observational studies not generalizable to patients in the Medicare population. The findings of this real‐world analysis demonstrate that the addition of CDK4/6 inhibitors to endocrine therapy (ET) significantly improved survival among older Medicare beneficiaries, suggesting that treatment with ET alone should have a limited role in early lines of therapy for Medicare patients with HR+/HER2– MBC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The challenge for neuroscience in patients with stroke is to provide an accurate prediction of functional impairment poststroke, to aid therapy and help early recovery. The sensitivity of diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) metrics to predict the clinical outcome using the modified Rankin Scale and Barthel score in early stroke was the objective of the study. Materials and Methods: A prospective observational study was conducted between October 2019 and October 2021 involving 86 patients with stroke. DTI sequences were taken on day 2-day 10 after the stroke. The National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) was obtained at the time of the scan. The modified Rankin Score (MRS) and Barthel index scoring were used to do the clinical assessment and were done on day 7, day 30, and day 90. Results: There was a weak positive correlation between the NIHSS and Fractional Anisotropy (FA) and the NIHSS and axial diffusivity curve. There was a strong positive correlation between the NIHSS and voxels (infarct), and this correlation was statistically significant (rho = 0.75 and P ≤ 0.001. There was a weak positive correlation between the relative Average Diffusion Coefficient (rADC) and MRS of day 7, day 30, and day 90. There was a strong positive correlation between the voxels and NIHSS, and this correlation was statistically significant (rho = 0.75 and P ≤ 0.001). Conclusions: The NIHSS is a well-known clinical indicator to classify the severity of stroke. DTI metrics - FA and relative Fractional Anisotropy (rFA) are surrogate markers to predict the long-term motor outcome in stroke patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The re-ignition of memory reconsolidation research sparked by Karim Nader in the early 2000s led to great excitement that 'reconsolidation-based' interventions might be developed for mental health disorders such as post-traumatic stress disorder and substance use disorder. Two decades on, it is clear that reconsolidation-based interventions have been more challenging to translate to the clinic than initially thought. We argue that this challenge could be addressed with a better understanding of how prior expectations interact with information presented in a putative memory reactivation / cue reminder session, and through the identification of non-invasive biomarkers for memory destabilisation that would allow reminder sessions to be 'tuned' to enhance memory lability in an ad hoc manner. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Water oxidation produces electrons, protons, and oxygen, essential components in fuel production processes like CO 2 reduction and hydrogen generation. To date, less cost and more-abundant catalysts showed low activity for the water oxidation reaction. Herein, we developed a simple and effective way to selectively exchange Na+ with H+ in NaCoO 2 and created high surface area layered materials for efficient water oxidation. The photochemical water oxidation reaction activity improved from 0.9 × 10−3 s−1 (pristine NCO) to 2.90 × 10−3 s−1 (AT-NCO-2M). The electrochemical overpotential decreased from 600 to 370 mV, and the Tafel slope dropped from 93 to 47 mV/dec. Enhanced water oxidation activity is owing to delamination of stacked layered structure into few layer structure, increased surface area, super hydrophilic nature, and coexistence of Co4+ and Co3+ species. Our findings show the importance of the exchange of Na+ with H+ in Na-based metal oxides for efficient water oxidation. [Display omitted] • Simple, non-hazardous method is developed for selective cation exchange in NaCoO 2. • Surface area and surface wettability has been improved. • Photochemical water oxidation TOF is improved from 0.9 × 10−3 to 2.9 × 10−3 s−1. • A 12 fold improvement has been observed in TOF of electrochemical water oxidation. • Decreases the overpotential from 600 to 370 mV, Tafel slope from 93 to 47 mV/dec. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Of all complications from central venous catheters (CVC) in end-stage renal disease (ESRD) patients, catheter-related bloodstream infection (CRBSI) is one of the most devastating consequences. The option of catheter salvage is not an effective measure with metastatic infections. However, in patients with severe vasculopathy and/or near end-stage vascular disease, preservation of the venous access should be given utmost importance as the luxury of utilizing another vascular site is markedly limited. Providing adequate renal replacement therapy in this group of patients can be remarkably challenging for nephrologists. We are presenting an ESRD patient with advanced vascular disease who developed metastatic CRBSI with worsening uremia who was successfully converted from intermittent hemodialysis (IHD) to peritoneal dialysis (PD). Our rationale was to minimize repeated intravascular procedures coupled with the presence of another intravascular device. This has led to a complete resolution of persistent bacteremia, with a steady improvement in the uremic state. Conversion from IHD to PD for persistent bacteremia with metastatic complications was seldom addressed in literature. In the absence of a significant contraindication to PD, it can be considered as a valid alternative possibility in order to interrupt this viscous cycle, especially in vasculopathic patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Constraints on cosmological parameters are often distilled from sky surveys by fitting templates to summary statistics of the data that are motivated by a fiducial cosmological model. However, recent work has shown how to estimate the distance scale using templates that are more generic: the basis functions used are not explicitly tied to any one cosmological model. We describe a Bayesian framework for (i) determining how many basis functions to use and (ii) comparing one basis set with another. Our formulation provides intuition into how (a) one's degree of belief in different basis sets, (b) the fact that the choice of priors depends on basis set, and (c) the data set itself, together determine the derived constraints. We illustrate our framework using measurements in simulated data sets before applying it to real data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bioengineered structures, such as landfill cover, vegetated slopes or embankments, green roof and turf are comprised of soil and vegetation where vegetation imparts stability and protection through root reinforcement and hydrologic action. Soil in bioengineered structures often compacted and subjected to prolong drying due to irregular irrigation which necessitates the investigation of soil properties and vegetation growth in biochar-amended soil (BAS) under large suction range and it is scarce in the literature. In the present study, the effect of different biochar types on soil properties, and the vegetation growth in compacted soil and under large suction range was investigated for application in bioengineered structures. The results revealed that the biochar amendment decreased the dry density (5–32%) and increased the water retention capacity (θs by 15–104%, θ1500 by 82–445% and plant available water content (PAWC) by 22–55%), pH (28–77%) and cation exchange capacity (CEC, 16–723%) of the soil. Further, the vegetation growth i.e., vegetation density, dry root mass and shoot mass increased by 8–13%, 33–108% and 4–157% respectively after biochar amendment. The vegetation wilting was started at a higher suction (~ 900 kPa) relative to bare soil (800 kPa), the permanent wilting point (PWP) increased (by 3–35%) and the complete photosynthetic activity remained unchanged at a higher suction (1600 kPa) relative to bare soil (1050 kPa) after biochar amendment. Among the biochar types i.e., Sugarcane Bagasse biochar (SBB), Mesquite biochar (MB) and Water Hyacinth biochar (WHB) tested, the MB showed the best performance i.e., the suitable vegetation growth and health status. The improved water retention due to increased porosity, specific surface area (SSA) and presence of hydrophilic functional groups, and the higher pH, CEC and lower dry density in BAS attributed to the higher vegetation growth. The findings of the present study suggest the application of BAS in bioengineered structures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Search for carbon free and carbon neutral fuels to tackle GHG emission and global warming has envisioned interest on ammonia, biodiesels, and technologies for their effective combustion. The RCCI mode of combustion, a LTC technology presents an alternate to conventional CI combustion. The low reactive Ammonia at 20%, 30%, 40% and 50% by energy is injected in the manifold along with direct injection of high reactive algal biodiesel for achieving RCCI. Using RSM approach, considering the effects of various factors and their impact on performance and emission an Ammonia Energy Faction (AEF) of 44% was optimized for RCCI mode of operation. This was validated by experimental findings. BTE of 35.13% and BSEC of 10.84 MJ/kWh were realized. HC, CO, CO 2 , NOx and smoke emissions were significantly reduced by 44%, 32%, 48%, 55%, and 66%, when compared to conventional neat biodiesel combustion. [Display omitted] • Carbon free ammonia and carbon neutral algal biodiesel in RCCI reduces CO 2 by 48%. • RCCI implemented with minimal fuel and engine modification. • RSM suggest diverse ammonia biodiesel concoctions for various loads. • RSM enables different weightage for each of the performance and emission output. • Significant advance in performance and reduction in emissions observed in RCCI. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In general relativity (GR), the internal dynamics of a self-gravitating system under free-fall in an external gravitational field should not depend on the external field strength. Recent work has claimed a statistical detection of an 'external field effect' (EFE) using galaxy rotation curve data. We show that large uncertainties in rotation curve analyses and inaccuracies in published simulation-based external field estimates compromise the significance of the claimed EFE detection. We further show analytically that a qualitatively similar statistical signal is, in fact, expected in a Λ-cold dark matter (ΛCDM) universe without any violation of the strong equivalence principle. Rather, such a signal arises simply because of the inherent correlations between galaxy clustering strength and intrinsic galaxy properties. We explicitly demonstrate the effect in a baryonified mock catalogue of a ΛCDM universe. Although the detection of an EFE-like signal is not, by itself, evidence for physics beyond GR, our work shows that the sign of the EFE-like correlation between the external field strength and the shape of the radial acceleration relation can be used to probe new physics: e.g. in MOND, the predicted sign is opposite to that in our ΛCDM mocks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The COVID‐19 pandemic caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS‐CoV‐2) presents a great threat to human health. The interplay between the virus and host plays a crucial role in successful virus replication and transmission. Understanding host–virus interactions are essential for the development of new COVID‐19 treatment strategies. Here, we show that SARS‐CoV‐2 infection triggers redistribution of cyclin D1 and cyclin D3 from the nucleus to the cytoplasm, followed by proteasomal degradation. No changes to other cyclins or cyclin‐dependent kinases were observed. Further, cyclin D depletion was independent of SARS‐CoV‐2‐mediated cell cycle arrest in the early S phase or S/G2/M phase. Cyclin D3 knockdown by small‐interfering RNA specifically enhanced progeny virus titres in supernatants. Finally, cyclin D3 co‐immunoprecipitated with SARS‐CoV‐2 envelope (E) and membrane (M) proteins. We propose that cyclin D3 impairs the efficient incorporation of envelope protein into virions during assembly and is depleted during SARS‐CoV‐2 infection to restore efficient assembly and release of newly produced virions. Synopsis: Many viruses, including coronaviruses, manipulate cell cycle progression through cyclin‐CDKs complexes. Surprisingly, cyclin D3 degradation induced by SARS‐CoV‐2 promotes infection not via cell cycle arrest but by relieving cyclin interference with virion assembly. Productive SARS‐CoV‐2 infection induces cell cycle arrest and depletes cyclin D from infected cells.Cell cycle arrest induced by SARS‐CoV‐2 is not dependent on cyclin D degradation.Cyclin D3 knockdown enhances SARS‐CoV‐2 infection.Cyclin D3 associates with envelope (E) and membrane (M) proteins of SARS‐CoV‐2 and impairs efficient envelope protein incorporation into virions.Efficient assembly and release of newly produced SARS‐CoV‐2 virions depends on virus‐induced redistribution and degradation of host cell D‐type cyclins. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study was conducted in order to understand the effects of land use and soil types on microbial activity and community structure. Soil samples were collected from four different soil types (Solonetz, Solonchak, Chernozem and Gleysol) being used under different land use practices (arable, pasture and meadow). The soil chemical properties, moisture content, microbiological activity and community size were investigated. The principal component analysis results showed that different land uses and soil types are clearly separated based on the chemical properties of the soil. The canonical correspondence analysis results revealed that more than 78% of variation in the microbiological properties of the samples could be explained by environmental factors. Significant biological differences were observed among the different land use practices and soil types, and also soil cultivation affected the different groups of soil microbes. Sampling sites were separated into two main clusters (BrayCurtis) based on certain microbiological properties, salt-affected and non-salt-affected soils. The soil types were the main driving factor, with high soil taxonomic distances, however, low taxonomic distances indicated that land use had more pronounced effects on soil microbiological properties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

External (in-air) Particle Induced Gamma-ray Emission (PIGE) setup of FOlded Tandem Ion Accelerator (FOTIA), Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) was utilized for determining concentrations of low Z elements (Si, Na, Al and F) in geological samples by a simple and novel sample preparation method using thin Mylar films to pack direct solid samples. Low energy proton beam was utilized and the current-normalized count rates of analytes were obtained using the count rate of tantalum, the beam exit window material. Meticulousness of the method was ascertained by analysing different CRMs and compared with conventional pelletisation method. Proposed method was adopted for elemental analysis in uranium ore samples for possible nuclear forensic applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The genome packaging motor of bacteriophages and herpesviruses is built by two terminase subunits, known as large (TerL) and small (TerS), both essential for viral genome packaging. TerL structure, composition, and assembly to an empty capsid, as well as the mechanisms of ATP-dependent DNA packaging, have been studied in depth, shedding light on the chemo-mechanical coupling between ATP hydrolysis and DNA translocation. Instead, significantly less is known about the small terminase subunit, TerS, which is dispensable or even inhibitory in vitro, but essential in vivo. By taking advantage of the recent revolution in cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM) and building upon a wealth of crystallographic structures of phage TerSs, in this review, we take an inventory of known TerSs studied to date. Our analysis suggests that TerS evolved and diversified into a flexible molecular framework that can conserve biological function with minimal sequence and quaternary structure conservation to fit different packaging strategies and environmental conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Binge eating is increasingly prevalent among adolescents and young adults and can have a lasting harmful impact on mental and physical health. Mechanistic insights suggest that aberrant reward-learning and biased cognitive processing may be involved in the aetiology of binge eating. We therefore investigated whether recently developed approaches to catalyse brief interventions by putatively updating maladaptive memory could also boost the effects of cognitive bias modification training on binge eating behaviour. A non-treatment-seeking sample of 90 binge eating young adults were evenly randomised to undergo either selective food response inhibition training, or sham training following binge memory reactivation. A third group received training without binge memory reactivation. Laboratory measures of reactivity and biased responses to food cues were assessed pre-post intervention and bingeing behaviour and disordered eating assessed up to 9 months post-intervention. The protocol was pre-registered at https://osf.io/82c4r/. We found limited evidence of premorbid biased processing in lab-assessed measures of cognitive biases to self-selected images of typical binge foods. Accordingly, there was little evidence of CBM reducing these biases and this was not boosted by prior 'reactivation' of binge food reward memories. No group differences were observed on long-term bingeing behaviour, caloric consumption or disordered eating symptomatology. These findings align with recent studies showing limited impact of selective inhibition training on binge eating and do not permit conclusions regarding the utility of retrieval-dependent memory 'update' mechanisms as a treatment catalyst for response inhibition training. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction  Combined soft tissue and vascular injuries of the upper extremity pose several challenges at once to the plastic surgeon. Many decisions have to be taken urgently that will influence the salvage or amputation of the affected extremity. The aim of this article was to provide an evidence-based outline for the management of such injuries. Learning objectives of this article are as follows: (1) approach to a patient with upper extremity composite tissue and vascular injury presenting to the emergency, (2) decision-making as to when to salvage and when to go for amputation of the traumatized upper extremity, (3) role of imaging in emergency situation, (4) role of fasciotomy, (5) intraoperative sequencing of steps, and (6) options for vascular reconstruction and the flaps used for coverage. After reading this article, the reader should have a clear understanding of the management of vascular injury in a patient with composite defects of upper extremity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Acid Mine Drainage (AMD) is one of the persistent water pollution problems in many coal mines of U.S.A. and Canada. Only few mines in India face this problem. The treatment of acid mine water has become a statutory requirement in almost all mines of the world. Metal removal and alkalinity generation is essential feature of any AMD treatment system but sulphate removal from acid mine drainage is still given the secondary importance. In the present study, four AMDs were treated in laboratory Successive Alkalinity Producing System (SAPS) for five different hydraulic retention times (HRT). The total iron removal and corresponding sulphate removal along with net alkalinity generation were studied during AMD treatment process by SAPS. A complete removal of total iron and sulphate removal of over 59% have been achieved. The study revealed that the total iron removal and sulphate removal increases with increase in HRT and its removal exhibited linear relationship. A substantial increase in alkalinity was also found after SAPS treatment. The findings of the study can be utilized in design of SAPS for removal of iron and sulphate during treatment of AMD in mining areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article considers memories, mementos, and memorialization in stories by unaccompanied young people and their journeys within Europe. It looks at their 'navigation' of remembering and forgetting and how this intertwines with movement and stillness. It is based on a study about Afghan males aged 15–24 years in Norway and Greece. Participants differed in terms of their backgrounds, migration projects, and their legal status. In their various circumstances, their narratives point to how memories unfold, are shared, must be negotiated, and sometimes, forgotten as they navigate towards a sense of safety and a sustainable future. They also point to how mementos may take different forms while on the move, as traces along the migration trail that have the potential to become part of the memories of others who come across them. Finally, their narratives point to practices of memorialization, and how they too are intimately connected to remembering and forgetting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Humid tropical forest soils experience frequent rainfall, which limits oxygen diffusion and creates redox heterogeneity in upland soils. In this study we gauged the effect of short‐term anoxic conditions on Fe mineralogy of relatively Fe‐ and C‐rich surface soils (C/Fe mole ratio ∼5) from a humid tropical forest in Puerto Rico. Soils subjected to 4‐d oxic/anoxic oscillation were characterized by selective chemical extractions, Mössbauer spectroscopy (MBS), and X‐ray diffraction. Chemical extraction data suggested that rapidly switching redox conditions had subtle effects on bulk Fe mineralogy. Mössbauer, on the other hand, indicated that (a) the soil Fe is a mixture of goethites of varying characteristics with minor contributions from ferrihydrite (<5%) and Fe(III)‐organic matter (OM) phases (∼10%), and (b) anoxic conditions rapidly transformed all forms of goethite to relatively stable Fe oxides. Such fast changes in goethite features could be due to rapid depletion and sorption of bio‐released structural Al or sorbed OM onto residual soil components. The rapid temporal changes in MBS parameters and corresponding pore water nominal oxidation state of C values suggest that Fe‐C transformations in these upland tropical soils are complex and intricately coupled. A comprehensive understanding of the fate of Fe, Al, and OM (Fe‐organic moieties) during redox switches and concurrent changes in pore water chemistry is critical for development of robust transport models in humid tropical soils, which are subject to episodic low‐redox events. Core Ideas: Iron oxide crystallinity increases during rapid reduction events in humid tropical soils.Depletion of Al and redistribution of organic C on Fe‐oxide surfaces lead to increased crystallinity of goethites.Mossbauer spectroscopy at 225 K is critical to identify molecular scale changes in mineralogy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper deals with the methodlogy to solve the scheduling problems in modified algorithm under the intuitionistic trapezoid fuzzy linguistic and intuitionitic linguistic environment. In many real life decision making analysis the application of Intuitionistic Linguistic Variables is used to get the appropriate answers quickly. A numerical example is given to illustrate the solution of scheduling problems under Intuitionistic Trapezoid Fuzzy Linguistic and Intuitionistic Linguistic environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • The COVID-19 infection has a detrimental impact on hippocampal neurogenesis in adults. • In contrast, the existing literature supports an enhancing effect of COVID-19 vaccination on hippocampal neurogenesis. • The COVID vaccine-induced hippocampal neurogenesis may protect against age-related cognitive decline and mental disorders. Emerging evidence suggests a detrimental impact of COVID-19 illness on the continued hippocampal neurogenesis in adults. In contrast, the existing literature supports an enhancing effect of COVID-19 vaccination on adult hippocampal neurogenesis. Vaccines against respiratory infections, including influenza, have been shown to enhance hippocampal neurogenesis in adult-age animals. We propose that a similar benefit may happen in COVID-19 vaccinated adults. The vaccine-induced enhancement of the hippocampal neurogenesis in adults thus may protect against age-related cognitive decline and mental disorders. It also hints at an added mental health benefit of the COVID-19 vaccination programs in adults. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fabrication and optoelectronic applications of graphene based hybrid 2D-1D semiconductor nanostructures have gained tremendous research interest in recent times. Herein, we present a systematic study on the origin and evolution of strong broad band visible and near infrared (NIR) photoluminescence (PL) from vertical ZnO nanorods (NRs) and nanowires (NWs) grown on single layer graphene using both above band gap and sub-band gap optical excitations. High resolution field emission scanning electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction studies are carried out to reveal the morphology and crystalline quality of as-grown and annealed ZnO NRs/NWs on graphene. Room temperature PL studies reveal that besides the UV and visible PL bands, a new near-infrared (NIR) PL emission band appears in the range between 815 nm and 886 nm (1.40–1.52 eV). X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy studies revealed excess oxygen content and unreacted metallic Zn in the as-grown ZnO nanostructures, owing to the low temperature growth by a physical vapor deposition method. Post-growth annealing at 700 °C in the Ar gas ambient results in the enhanced intensity of both visible and NIR PL bands. On the other hand, subsequent high vacuum annealing at 700 °C results in a drastic reduction in the visible PL band and complete suppression of the NIR PL band. PL decay dynamics of green emission in Ar annealed samples show tri-exponential decay on the nanosecond timescale including a very slow decay component (time constant ∼604.5 ns). Based on these results, the NIR PL band comprising two peaks centered at ∼820 nm and ∼860 nm is tentatively assigned to neutral and negatively charged oxygen interstitial (Oi) defects in ZnO, detected experimentally for the first time. The evidence for oxygen induced trap states on the ZnO NW surface is further substantiated by the slow photocurrent response of graphene-ZnO NRs/NWs. These results are important for tunable light emission, photodetection, and other cutting edge applications of graphene-ZnO based 2D-1D hybrid nanostructures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this manuscript, we explore diisopropylammonium iodide (DPI) for its ferroelectric properties and phase transitions. DPI showed two phase transitions which were identified by differential scanning calorimetry and dielectric and nonlinear optical measurements. From detailed structural studies it was found that the first transition at 369K is from orthorhombic P212121 to monoclinic P21. The polar P21 phase is ferroelectric as evidenced by the pyroelectric data and has a very high value of spontaneous polarization (Ps=33 µC cm-2), which is probably the highest among other reported bulk organic ferroelectrics. The second transition at 415K is identified as polar monoclinic P21 space group to non-polar monoclinic P21/m. Thus, DPI has a high Curie temperature of 415 K. The large spontaneous polarization and high Curie temperature make DPI technologically important. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We aimed to search for common features in the autoreactive T cell receptor (TCR) repertoire in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), focusing on the newly identified candidate antigen citrullinated Tenascin C (cit-TNC). Mononuclear cells from peripheral blood or synovial fluid of eight RA-patients positive for the RA-associated HLA-DRB1*04:01 allele were in-vitro cultured with recently identified citrullinated peptides from Tenascin C. Antigen-specific T cells were isolated using peptide-HLA tetramer staining and subsequently single-cell sequenced for paired alpha/beta TCR analyses by bioinformatic tools. TCRs were re-expressed for further studies of antigen-specificity and T cell responses. Autoreactive T cell lines could be grown out from both peripheral blood and synovial fluid. We demonstrate the feasibility of retrieving true autoreactive TCR sequences by validating antigen-specificity in T cell lines with re-expressed TCRs. One of the Tenascin C peptides, cit-TNC22, gave the most robust T cell responses including biased TCR gene usage patterns. The shared TCR-beta chain signature among the cit-TNC22-specific TCRs was evident in blood and synovial fluid of different patients. The identification of common elements in the autoreactive TCR repertoire gives promise to the possibility of both immune monitoring of the autoimmune components in RA and of future antigen- or TCR-targeted specific intervention in subsets of patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The simplest models of dark matter halo formation rely on the heuristic assumption, motivated by spherical collapse, that virialized haloes originate from initial regions that are maxima of the smoothed matter density field. Here, we replace this notion with the dynamical requirement that protohaloes be regions where the local gravitational flow converges to a point. For this purpose, we look for spheres whose acceleration at the boundary – relative to their centre of mass – points towards their geometric centre: that is, spheres with null dipole moment. We show that these configurations are minima of the energy, corresponding to the most energetically bound spheres. Therefore, we study peaks of the smoothed energy overdensity field. This significant conceptual change is technically trivial to implement: to change from density to energy one need only modify the standard top-hat smoothing filter. However, this comes with the important benefit that, for power spectra of cosmological interest, the model is no longer plagued by divergences: improving the physics mends the mathematics. In addition, the 'excursion set' requirement that the smoothed matter density crosses a critical value can be naturally replaced by a threshold in energy. Measurements in simulations of haloes more massive than 1013 h −1M⊙ show very good agreement with a number of generic predictions of our model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We are presenting the non-aqueous emulsions comprising of liquid crystal 8CB (4′-Octyl-4-biphenylcarbonitrile) and silicone oil in varying ratios (5:95, 10:90, 25:75 and 50:50 wt./wt.%). Emulsions are self-stabilised via dipolar interactions, alignment and anchoring without the use of any surfactant. The formation of distinct defects geometries over the studied concentration range of silicone oil in the liquid crystal matrix has been discussed. The dielectric dynamics of the non-aqueous emulsions have been studied in the smectic (30°C) and nematic (38°C) phases over the continuous broadband of frequency 50Hz–1MHz. In both cases (smectic and nematic regions), dielectric permittivity decreases with a rise in the content of the silicone oil in the emulsion systems. The proposed mechanism for such dielectric behaviour has been discussed considering charge/defects boundary interactions and decrement of resultant dipole moment. A relaxation mode in the lower frequency range has been observed for all the emulsion systems. In addition, the emulsion systems have shown significant optical transmission behaviour. A significant enhancement in optical transmission about 82% has been noticed for 25 wt% comparing to 5 wt% emulsion system. Such self-stabilised systems could pave a way to develop dual-frequency LCs systems for progressive technological applications, tunable polarisation filters, and adaptive optics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We study the radial acceleration relation (RAR) between the total (a tot) and baryonic (a bary) centripetal acceleration profiles of central galaxies in the cold dark matter (CDM) paradigm. We analytically show that the RAR is intimately connected with the physics of the quasi-adiabatic relaxation of dark matter in the presence of baryons in deep potential wells. This cleanly demonstrates how the mean RAR and its scatter emerge in the low-acceleration regime (⁠|$10^{-12}{\rm \, m\, s}^{-2}\lesssim a_{\rm bary}\lesssim 10^{-10}{\rm \, m\, s}^{-2}$|⁠) from an interplay between baryonic feedback processes and the distribution of CDM in dark haloes. Our framework allows us to go further and study both higher and lower accelerations in detail, using analytical approximations and a realistic mock catalogue of |${\sim}342\, 000$| low-redshift central galaxies with Mr ≤ −19. We show that, while the RAR in the baryon-dominated high-acceleration regime (⁠|$a_{\rm bary}\gtrsim 10^{-10}{\rm \, m\, s}^{-2}$|⁠) is very sensitive to details of the relaxation physics, a simple 'baryonification' prescription matching the relaxation results of hydrodynamical CDM simulations is remarkably successful in reproducing the observed RAR without any tuning. And in the (currently unobserved) ultra-low-acceleration regime (⁠|$a_{\rm bary}\lesssim 10^{-12}{\rm \, m\, s}^{-2}$|⁠), the RAR is sensitive to the abundance of diffuse gas in the halo outskirts, with our default model predicting a distinctive break from a simple power-law-like relation for H  i -deficient, diffuse gas-rich centrals. Our mocks also show that the RAR provides more robust, testable predictions of the ΛCDM paradigm at galactic scales, with implications for alternative gravity theories than the baryonic Tully–Fisher relation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The age hardenability of 22 karat gold (Au-5.8wt.%Cu-2.5wt.%Ag) alloyed with Ti at various concentrations (0.5, 0.75, and 1 wt.%) was studied. The addition level of Ti is compensated with Ag to maintain the purity of gold in 22 karat, i.e., 91.75 wt.%. The Ti containing 22 karat gold was prepared by melting Au, Cu, and Ag and adding Ti via Au-6wt.%Ti master alloy. The castings obtained were cold-rolled into thin sheet (90% reduction). Both the cast and cold-rolled sheets were subjected to age hardening treatment (solutionizing and artificial aging). Artificial aging was performed as a function of time at 550 °C to identify the peak aging. At all addition level of Ti, the 22 karat gold responded well to the age hardening treatment. The cold-worked sheet samples showed faster peak aging within 30 min. and higher peak hardness than their cast counterpart. Increasing the Ti concentration increases the peak hardness of both cold-rolled sheet and casting samples. Transmission electron microscopic analysis of the peak aged cold-rolled sheet samples shows uniformly distributed coherent Au4Ti precipitates in Au matrix which contribute to the higher hardness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bortezomib and the other licensed 20S proteasome inhibitors show robust activity against liquid tumors like multiple myeloma, but have disappointed against solid tumors including ovarian cancer. Consequently, interest is mounting in alternative non-peptide based drugs targeting the proteasome's 19S regulatory particle subunit, including its ubiquitin receptor RPN13. RA183 and RA375 are more potent analogs of the prototypic inhibitor of RPN13 (iRPN13) called RA190, and they show promise for the treatment of ovarian cancer. Here we demonstrate that rendering these candidate RPN13 inhibitors chiral and asymmetric through the addition of a single methyl to the core piperidone moiety increases their potency against cancer cell lines, with the S-isomer being more active than the R-isomer. The enhanced cancer cell cytotoxicities of these compounds are associated with improved binding to RPN13 in cell lysates, ATP depletion by inhibition of glycolysis and mitochondrial electron chain transport, mitochondrial depolarization and perinuclear clustering, oxidative stress and glutathione depletion, and rapid accumulation of high molecular weight polyubiquitinated proteins with a consequent unresolved ubiquitin proteasome system (UPS) stress response. Cytotoxicity was associated with an early biomarker of apoptosis, increased surface annexin V binding. As for cisplatin, BRCA2 and ATM deficiency conferred increased sensitivity to these iRPN13s. Ubiquitination plays an important role in coordinating DNA damage repair and the iRPN13s may compromise this process by depletion of monomeric ubiquitin following its sequestration in high molecular weight polyubiquitinated protein aggregates. Indeed, a synergistic cytotoxic response was evident upon treatment of several ovarian cancer cell lines with either cisplatin or doxorubicin and our new candidate iRPN13s, suggesting that such a combination approach warrants further exploration for the treatment of ovarian cancer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Riverbank erosion is a global problem with significant socio-economic impacts. Microbially induced calcite precipitation (MICP) has recently emerged as a promising technology for improving the mechanical properties of soils. The present study investigates the potential of selectively enriched native calcifying bacterial community and its supplementation into the riverbank soil of the Brahmaputra river for reducing the erodibility of the soil. The ureolytic and calcium carbonate cementation abilities of the enriched cultures were investigated with reference to the standard calcifying culture of Sporosarcina pasteurii (ATCC 11859). 16S rRNA analysis revealed Firmicutes to be the most predominant calcifying class with Sporosarcina pasteurii and Pseudogracilibacillus auburnensis as the prevalent strains. The morphological and mineralogical characterization of carbonate crystals confirmed the calcite precipitation potential of these communities. The erodibility of soil treated with native calcifying communities was examined via needle penetration and lab-scale hydraulic flume test. We found a substantial reduction in soil erosion in the biocemented sample with a calcite content of 7.3% and needle penetration index of 16 N/mm. We report the cementation potential of biostimulated ureolytic cultures for minimum intervention to riparian biodiversity for an environmentally conscious alternative to current erosion mitigation practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]