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Synchrotron X-ray-based in situ metrology is advantageous for monitoring the synthesis of battery materials, offering high throughput, high spatial and temporal resolution, and chemical sensitivity. However, the rapid generation of massive data poses a challenge to on-site, on-the-fly analysis needed for real-time process monitoring. Here, a weighted lagged cross-correlation (WLCC) similarity approach is presented for automated data analysis, which merges with in situ synchrotron X-ray diffraction metrology to monitor the calcination process of the archetypal nickel-based cathode, LiNiO 2 . The WLCC approach, incorporating variables that account for peak shifts and width changes associated with structural transformations, enables rapid extraction of phase progression within 10 seconds from tens of diffraction patterns. Details are captured, from initial precursors to intermediates and the final layered LiNiO 2 , providing information for agile on-site adjustments during experiments and complementing post hoc diffraction analysis by offering insights into early-stage phase nucleation and growth. Expanding this data-powered platform paves the way for real time calcination process monitoring and control, which is pivotal to quality control in battery cathode manufacturing., (© 2024 The Author(s). Small Methods published by Wiley‐VCH GmbH.)

Background: The government of India has developed Guidelines for "Tobacco Free Educational Institutions" (TOFEI), which must be followed by schools across the country., Materials and Methods: This study utilized an ecological design to identify an association between "compliance to TOFEI guidelines" and the "current tobacco use" among 13-15 years school students in urban India. Aggregate data related to "current tobacco users" and "percentage of schools that followed tobacco-free guidelines" were taken from the Global Youth Tobacco Survey (GYTS) India- 4 (2019). We performed a simple linear regression model, and Pearson Correlation was used to see the said association., Results: The results showed that as compliance with TOFEI Guidelines increases in Urban India, Current Tobacco Use decreases among school students in the 13-15 years age group., Conclusion: Thus, it is essential to address enablers and barriers to adherence to the TOFEI guidelines, as it will help reduce the prevalence of tobacco use among adolescents in urban India., Competing Interests: There are no conflicts of interest., (Copyright: © 2023 Indian Journal of Community Medicine.)

Introduction: The Global Adult Tobacco Survey (GATS) India 2016-17 has shown that increased regulations over time impacted tobacco use culture, which opened the doors for further regulation, making it an iterative process. But do the 'tobacco control policies' reach till most deprived sections of society? This paper tries to answer this question., Methods: In this paper, the relative reduction in tobacco use prevalence is seen (from 2009 to 10 to 2016-17) across different levels of material deprivation and educational attainment. The relative reduction in prevalence/ use of various forms of smoking and smokeless tobacco products was also studied.Material Deprivation as a new index was computed, where the weightage was given to various variables related to household ownership of various material things as available in data sets of GATS Survey. The recoded variables were then added and further categorised into six levels of material deprivation where Level 1 corresponds to least deprived and Level 6 corresponds to most deprived.The relative reduction in the prevalence of tobacco use was calculated with the formula [(P1-P2)/P1]*100, where P1 is the prevalence of tobacco use (smoking or smokeless) during GATS1 (2009-10), and P2 is the prevalence of tobacco use (smoking or smokeless) during GATS2 (2016-17)., Results: It has been shown that the higher the level of material deprivation, the lesser the relative reduction in the prevalence of tobacco use. The relative reduction in tobacco use was more for higher levels of educational attainment. It has been found that relative reduction is more for smoking products as compared to smokeless tobacco (SLT) products. Khaini and Bidis are emerging as popular products, which are least regulated by existing tobacco control policies., Conclusion: The reduction in the prevalence of tobacco use from GATS1 to GATS2 is inequitous across levels of material deprivation and levels of educational attainment by individuals. Also, there is a tendency for product substitution among tobacco users., Competing Interests: The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (© 2021 The Author.)

This paper introduces the use of topological data analysis (TDA) as an unsupervised machine learning tool to uncover classification criteria in complex inorganic crystal chemistries. Using the apatite chemistry as a template, we track through the use of persistent homology the topological connectivity of input crystal chemistry descriptors on defining similarity between different stoichiometries of apatites. It is shown that TDA automatically identifies a hierarchical classification scheme within apatites based on the commonality of the number of discrete coordination polyhedra that constitute the structural building units common among the compounds. This information is presented in the form of a visualization scheme of a barcode of homology classifications, where the persistence of similarity between compounds is tracked. Unlike traditional perspectives of structure maps, this new "Materials Barcode" schema serves as an automated exploratory machine learning tool that can uncover structural associations from crystal chemistry databases, as well as to achieve a more nuanced insight into what defines similarity among homologous compounds.

India is the second-largest consumer of tobacco in the world, second only to China. The World Health Organization's Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO FCTC) is an evidence-based treaty which consists of demand reduction and supply reduction measures. Article 6 of the WHO FCTC requires the Parties to implement tax policies and where appropriate, price policies, on tobacco products so as to contribute to the health objectives aimed at reducing tobacco consumption. The article aimed to analyze the association between taxation structures of smokeless tobacco (SLT) and the prevalence of SLT use at the country level. The article concluded that just as cigarettes, SLT taxes, and prices are also key factors in controlling the demand for SLT products. It calls for uniform taxation across all types of tobacco products for effective and sustained impact and also to prevent product substitution., Competing Interests: None

Background and Aim: Channa striatus extract, a freshwater snakehead fish known as Haruan, is popular in Southeast Asia for consumption and as a traditional therapeutic remedy for wound healing. C. striatus is also used in osteoarthritic for its anti-inflammatory. The aim of this study was to determine the presence of antibacterial properties of C. striatus extract against oral bacteria and to investigate the cytotoxic activity against Vero cells., Materials and Methods: The authors prepared C. striatus extract in chloroform-methanol solvents. Next, the authors took subgingival microbiological samples from 16 cats that had periodontal disease. The authors determined the antibacterial properties of C. striatus extract against the isolated bacteria using the disk diffusion method and a broth microdilution-based resazurin microtiter assay. Finally, the authors used the Vero cell line to evaluate the cytotoxic activity, and they assessed the cell availability using the 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay., Results: The results showed weak antibacterial activity of C. striatus extract against Pseudomonas spp. and Escherichia coli . In addition, the authors found that minimum inhibition concentration values ranged between 400 and 500 mg/mL, and minimum bactericidal concentration values ranged between 650 and 550 mg/mL. However, the cytotoxic results were promising, showing that C. striatus extract increased the cell viability and growth when it was at a higher concentration. The extract also promotes growth and cell proliferation., Conclusion: These findings suggest that C. striatus extract promoted cell proliferation in vitro and could be a plausible therapeutic wound healing alternative for periodontal disease in cats., (Copyright: © Zawawi, et al.)

Introduction: Till 2016, India was the second largest consumer of tobacco in the world, second only to China. However, in June 2017, the factsheet release of Global Adult Tobacco Survey-2 showed a 6% point decline in the prevalence of tobacco use among adults (>15 years) in the country., Materials and Methods: This is a form of ecological study where trends in aggregate prevalence of tobacco use at country level (using secondary data) were studied in relation to corresponding policy actions over a period of two decades., Results: The results have shown that initial policy actions since the cigarettes act of 1975 till prevention of food adulteration Amendment act of 1995 were largely targeting cigarettes, and so smoking prevalence among men was constantly declining. On the other hand, smokeless tobacco use was increasing among both men and women and reached a peak in 2009-2010. After that, the government took strict policy actions including Food Safety and Standards Authority of India Gutka ban in 2011. There were other persistent efforts, which are discussed in this paper. As a result, a transition has occurred in relation to tobacco epidemic in India., Conclusion: The paper has been concluded with a note that there is no room for complacence and we have a noncommunicable disease action goal to further decline the prevalence of tobacco use in the country to <24.22% by the year 2025., Competing Interests: There are no conflicts of interest.

Background: Tobacco control has two aspects. One involves preventing non-tobacco users from using tobacco and the second involves tobacco cessation (quitting) by existing tobacco users. There are various methods of tobacco cessation. Pharmacotherapy [e.g., nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) and medications such as bupropion] and behavioral counselling are some of the internationally approved methods of tobacco cessation., Objective: This paper intends to study how age, gender, residence (rural/urban), education, and occupation influence the use of various tobacco cessation methods by smokers and smokeless tobacco users., Materials and Methods: The study was a cross-sectional secondary data analysis of the Global Adult Tobacco Survey (GATS) India 2009-2010. There were 3725 smokers and 6354 smokeless tobacco users included in the study who made attempts to quit in the 12 months prior to the survey by use of different cessation methods (NRT, drugs such as bupropion, counselling, and other methods)., Results: A significant association was demonstrated between increasing educational attainment and use of cessation methods for all the methods among smokers. Being employed (Govt. or non-Govt.) was positively associated with the use of NRT as a cessation method by smokers. Students and homemakers had higher odds of using pharmacotherapy methods among smokers. A significant association was demonstrated for the gender and age of tobacco users with the use of counselling as a cessation method among smokeless tobacco users., Conclusion: The findings of this study have important implications for tobacco cessation service providers in view of supporting their decision of choosing a particular tobacco cessation method for tobacco users according to certain kinds of sociodemographic characteristics.

Introduction: World Health Organization and Indian Public Health Standards recommend provision of tobacco use screening and cessation help at primary care settings. Evidence shows that brief advice by healthcare provider helps tobacco user quit. It starts with asking the patient about his tobacco use status. The rate of tobacco use screening done by healthcare providers is very low and also depends on sociodemographic characteristics of patients along with several other factors., Objectives: This paper intends to study how sociodemographic characteristics (age, gender, residence [rural/urban], education, and occupation) of tobacco users influence the tobacco use screening done by healthcare providers., Materials and Methods: The study was a secondary data analysis of the Global Adult Tobacco Survey India 2009-2010. There were 4958 smokers and 7255 smokeless tobacco users included in the study who visited healthcare provider in the past 12 months prior to the survey., Results and Discussion: The results showed that male smokers were more likely to be screened for smoking by healthcare providers as compared to female smokers. Furthermore, tobacco users in younger age groups were less likely to be screened for tobacco use by healthcare providers as compared to tobacco users in older age groups. Urban smokeless tobacco users were more likely to be screened for tobacco use by healthcare provider as compared to rural smokeless tobacco users., Conclusion: Healthcare providers were being biased in tobacco use screening of their patients based on demographic characteristics of patients, i.e., their age, gender, and rural/urban residence. However, the evidence shows that it is very imperative to screen each and every patient for tobacco use habit.

The role of antibodies in chronic injury to organ transplants has been suggested for many years, but recently emphasized by new data. We have observed that when immunosuppressive potency decreases either by intentional weaning of maintenance agents or due to homeostatic repopulation after immune cell depletion, the threshold of B cell activation may be lowered. In human transplant recipients the result may be donor-specific antibody, C4d+ injury, and chronic rejection. This scenario has precise parallels in a rhesus monkey renal allograft model in which T cells are depleted with CD3 immunotoxin, or in a CD52-T cell transgenic mouse model using alemtuzumab to deplete T cells. Such animal models may be useful for the testing of therapeutic strategies to prevent DSA. We agree with others who suggest that weaning of immunosuppression may place transplant recipients at risk of chronic antibody-mediated rejection, and that strategies to prevent this scenario are needed if we are to improve long-term graft and patient outcomes in transplantation. We believe that animal models will play a crucial role in defining the pathophysiology of antibody-mediated rejection and in developing effective therapies to prevent graft injury. Two such animal models are described herein., (Copyright © 2011. Published by Elsevier Ltd.)