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In the pursuit of utilizing renewable energy sources for green hydrogen (H2) production, alkaline water electrolysis has emerged as a key technology. To improve the reaction rates of overall water electrolysis and simplify electrode manufacturing, development of bifunctional electrocatalysts is of great relevance. Herein, CoPBO/Co3O4 is reported as a binary composite catalyst comprising amorphous (CoPBO) and crystalline (Co3O4) phases as a high‐performing bifunctional electrocatalyst for alkaline water electrolysis. Owing to the peculiar properties of CoPBO and Co3O4, such as complementing Gibbs free energy values for H‐adsorption (ΔGH) and relatively smaller difference in their work functions (ΔΦ), the composite exhibits H2 spillover (HS) mechanism to facilitate the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER). The outcome is manifested in the form of a low HER overpotential of 65 mV (at 10 mA cm−2). Moreover, an abundant amount of surface oxygen vacancies (Ov) are observed in the same CoPBO/Co3O4 composite that facilitates oxygen evolution reaction (OER) as well, leading to a mere 270 mV OER overpotential (at 10 mA cm−2). The present work showcases the possibilities to strategically design non‐noble composite catalysts that combine the advantages of HS phenomenon as well as Ov to achieve new record performances in alkaline water electrolysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hydrogen production by direct seawater electrolysis is an alternative technology to conventional freshwater electrolysis, mainly owing to the vast abundance of seawater reserves on earth. However, the lack of robust, active, and selective electrocatalysts that can withstand the harsh and corrosive saline conditions of seawater greatly hinders its industrial viability. Herein, a series of amorphous transition‐metal phospho‐borides, namely Co‐P‐B, Ni‐P‐B, and Fe‐P‐B are prepared by simple chemical reduction method and screened for overall alkaline seawater electrolysis. Co‐P‐B is found to be the best of the lot, requiring low overpotentials of ≈270 mV for hydrogen evolution reaction (HER), ≈410 mV for oxygen evolution reaction (OER), and an overall voltage of 2.50 V to reach a current density of 2 A cm−2 in highly alkaline natural seawater. Furthermore, the optimized electrocatalyst shows formidable stability after 10,000 cycles and 30 h of chronoamperometric measurements in alkaline natural seawater without any chlorine evolution, even at higher current densities. A detailed understanding of not only HER and OER but also chlorine evolution reaction (ClER) on the Co‐P‐B surface is obtained by computational analysis, which also sheds light on the selectivity and stability of the catalyst at high current densities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The education system in India is undergoing various changes to improve it. The Choice-Based Credit System (CBCS) has been introduced in higher education, allowing students to select elective courses based on their interests. This system offers advanced learning opportunities, the flexibility to transfer between institutions, and improvements in academic quality. The CBCS is designed to meet the evolving socio-economic environment and the educational needs of future generations. However, its implementation has posed challenges for students, faculty, and institutions. Thus, the goal of this research is to analyze the challenges of implementing CBCS and researchers also surveyed the opinion of faculty members on CBCS. A study conducted on 140 faculty members of CSJM University, Kanpur, revealed that there is no significant difference in opinions on CBCS between Arts and Science faculty members. It also showed that there is a significant difference in opinions on CBCS between male and female faculty members. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Amorphous transition-metal-phospho-borides (TMPBs) are emerging as a new class of hybrid bifunctional catalysts for water-splitting. The present work reports the discovery of CoWPB as a new promising material that adds to the smaller family of TMPBs. The optimized compositions, namely Co4WPB5 and Co2WPB1 could achieve 10 mA/cm2 at just 72 mV and 262 mV of overpotentials for hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) and oxygen evolution reaction (OER), respectively, in 1 M KOH. Furthermore, the catalyst showed good performance in a 2-electrode assembly (1.59 V for 10 mA/cm2) with considerable stability (70 h stability, 10,000 operating cycles). Detailed morphological and electrochemical characterizations unveiled insights into the role of all elements in catalyst's improved performance. The presence of W was found to be crucial in improving the electronic conductivity and charge redistribution, making CoWPB suitable for both HER and OER. In computational simulation analysis, two configurations with different atomic environments, namely, CoWPB H and CoWPB O were found to have the lowest calculated overpotentials for HER and OER, respectively. It was found that the surface P-sites in CoWPB H were HER-active while the Co-sites in CoWPB O were OER-active sites. The study presents new knowledge about active sites in such multi-component catalysts that will foster more advancement in the area of water electrolysis. [Display omitted] • Synthesis and optimization of CoWPB electrocatalyst using reduction method. • The electrocatalyst exhibited excellent bifunctional activity. • 10 mA/cm2 of current was achieved at 1.59 V cell potential. • Electrocatalyst displayed better charge transfer, surface area, and robustness. • Computational simulation studies revealed active sites for Her and OER. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite being one of the most widely studied metal-free semiconductors, graphitic carbon-nitride (gC 3 N 4) shows meaningful photocatalytic activities only when loaded with noble-metal co-catalysts. The present work reports an alternative to noble metals in the form of cobalt boride (CoB) co-catalyst that can be easily integrated within the gC 3 N 4 framework with facile fabrication strategies. The optimized CoB-gC 3 N 4 composite showed ∼60 times higher hydrogen generation rate compared to bare gC 3 N 4 nanosheets, with good stability. Detailed morphological, structural, chemical, electrochemical and spectroscopic investigations revealed the key aspects of CoB-gC 3 N 4 composite that unanimously led to higher photocatalytic activity. Computational investigations not only corroborated the experimental results but also established that the surface Co and B sites in CoB provided the most energetically favoured sites for hydrogen evolution reaction. Based on the experimental and computational investigations, a generic reaction mechanism was formulated that will prove as a guiding light for future studies on similar photocatalytic systems. Non-noble cobalt boride nanoparticles are presented as alternative co-catalysts to noble-metals for improving photocatalytic hydrogen evolution rates in gC3N4 nanosheets. [Display omitted] • Non-noble CoB-gC 3 N 4 composite improves the photocatalytic H 2 generation rates. • CoB co-catalyst nanoparticles assist in reducing excitonic recombination in gC 3 N 4. • DFT data indicates chemical bonding between CoB and gC 3 N 4 for charge transfer. • Surface Co and B sites in CoB show H-adsorption energies close to that of platinum. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Targeting pro‐inflammatory cytokines and their production is found to be of therapeutic benefit for the regulation of inflammation in various chronic autoimmune diseases. Our continued efforts to discover small molecular‐weight pro‐inflammatory cytokine inhibitors resulted in identifying a novel natural lignan molecule named polonilignan, isolated from the culture broth extract of an endophytic fungus Penicillium polonicum. An in silico study (molecular docking, ADME predictions, binding free energy calculation and molecular dynamics simulation) of the polonilignan over the pro‐inflammatory cytokines proteins TNF‐α, IL‐6 and IL‐1β was performed using Schrodinger LLC software to understand the binding interactions, drug‐like properties, and stability of the ligand‐protein complex. Further, in‐vitro testing of inhibition of TNF‐α, IL‐6 and IL‐1β by polonilignan was carried out using ELISA and RT‐PCR on LPS‐induced RAW 264.7 cell lines along with the testing of nitrite production effect (Griess assay) and cytotoxicity (MTT) analysis. Under the computational study, polonilignan revealed good docking scores, binding interactions, and stability under MDS and desirable in silico ADME results over the proteins TNF‐α, IL‐1β and IL‐6. Poloniligan showed significant inhibition of IL‐1β, IL‐6 and TNF‐α with IC50 values of 2.01 μM, 6.59 μM and 42.10 μM, respectively. Also, it reduced the translocation of the NF‐κB subunit p65 to the nucleus (confocal microscopy). The mRNA expression levels of pro‐inflammatory markers IL‐1β, TNF‐α and IL‐6 levels were lowered significantly (p <.001) by the compound, and the diminution was higher with IL‐1β. Further, the lignan was non‐cytotoxic and effective in attenuating nitrite release (IC50 48.56 μM). Thus, polonilignan has been identified as a new pan‐cytokine and NO inhibitor, it is recommended to optimise a method for the synthesis of this small molecular weight lignan and explore its pharmacokinetic characteristics, toxicity and therapeutic effect under various chronic inflammatory disease models. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Antibiotic resistance is of crucial interest to both human and animal medicine. It has been recognized that increased environmental monitoring of antibiotic resistance is needed. Metagenomic DNA sequencing is becoming an attractive method to profile antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs), including a special focus on pathogens. A number of computational pipelines are available and under development to support environmental ARG monitoring; the pipeline we present here is promising for general adoption for the purpose of harmonized global monitoring. Specifically, ARGem is a user-friendly pipeline that provides full-service analysis, from the initial DNA short reads to the final visualization of results. The capture of extensive metadata is also facilitated to support comparability across projects and broader monitoring goals. The ARGem pipeline offers efficient analysis of a modest number of samples along with affordable computational components, though the throughput could be increased through cloud resources, based on the user's configuration. The pipeline components were carefully assessed and selected to satisfy tradeoffs, balancing efficiency and flexibility. It was essential to provide a step to perform short read assembly in a reasonable time frame to ensure accurate annotation of identified ARGs. Comprehensive ARG and mobile genetic element databases are included in ARGem for annotation support. ARGem further includes an expandable set of analysis tools that include statistical and network analysis and supports various useful visualization techniques, including Cytoscape visualization of co-occurrence and correlation networks. The performance and flexibility of the ARGem pipeline is demonstrated with analysis of aquatic metagenomes. The pipeline is freely available at https://github.com/xlxlxlx/ARGem. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Shotgun metagenomic sequencing of the collective genomic information carried across microbial communities is emerging as a powerful approach for monitoring antibiotic resistance in environmental matrices. Metagenomics is advantageous in that known and putative antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) (i.e., the resistome) can be screened simultaneously without a priori selection of targets. Additionally, as new ARGs are discovered and catalogued, stored sequencing data can be reanalyzed to assess the prevalence of emerging genes or pathogens. However, best practices for metagenomic data generation and processing are needed to support comparability across space and time. To support reproducible downstream analysis, guidance is first needed with respect to sampling design, sample preservation and storage, DNA extraction, library preparation, sequencing depth, and experimental controls. Here we conducted a systematic review to assess current practices for the application of metagenomics for AR profiling of wastewater, recycled water, and surface water and to offer recommendations to support comparability in the collection, production, and analysis of resulting data. Based on integrated analysis of findings and data reported across 95 articles identified, a field to benchtop metagenomic workflow is discussed for optimizing the representativeness and comparability of generated data. Through the reanalysis of 1474 publicly-available metagenomes, appropriate sequencing depths per environment and uniform normalization strategies are provided. Further, there is opportunity to harness the quantitative capacity of metagenomics more overtly through inclusion of sequencing controls. The recommendations will amplify the overall value of the metagenomic data generated to support within and between study comparisons, now and in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The global scarcity of freshwater resources has recently driven the need to explore abundant seawater as an alternative feedstock for hydrogen production by water‐splitting. This route comes with new challenges for the electrocatalyst, which has to withstand harsh saline water conditions with selectivity towards oxygen evolution over other competing reactions. Herein, a series of amorphous metal borides based on the iron triad metals (Co, Ni, and Fe), synthesized by a simple one‐step chemical reduction method, displayed excellent bifunctional activity for overall seawater splitting. Amongst the chosen catalysts, amorphous cobalt boride (Co−B) showed the best overpotential values of 182 mV for HER and 305 mV for OER, to achieve 10 mA/cm2, in alkaline simulated seawater. This superior activity was owed to the enrichment of the metal site with excess electrons (HER) and the in‐situ surface transformation (OER), as confirmed by various means. In alkaline simulated seawater, the overall cell voltage required to achieve 100 mA/cm2 was 1.85 V for the Co−B catalyst when used in a 2‐electrode assembly. The Co−B catalyst showed negligible loss in activity even after 1000 cycles and 50 h potentiostatic tests, thus demonstrating its industrial viability. The selectivity of the catalyst was established with Faradaic efficiency of above 99 % for HER and 96 % for OER, with no detection of chloride products in the spent electrolyte. This study using the mono‐metallic boride catalysts will turn to be a precursor to exploit other complex metal boride systems as potential candidates for seawater electrolysis for large‐scale hydrogen production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Friction stir spot welding (FSSW) is a solid-state spot-joining method used to join aluminum alloys to other materials for fabricating lightweight components. However, the FSSW tool experiences wear and tear during the spot welding of steel-grade sheets. To overcome this problem, in the present work, friction stir spot welding using a consumable sheet (FSSW-C) is proposed, in which the tool does not contact the steel sheet during the entire welding cycle. The main aim of this study is to investigate the application of FSSW-C to dissimilar galvanized steel sheets at various rotational speeds via lap shear tests and examination of the joint macro/microstructures. The lap shear performance was also compared to that of the Self Pierce Rivet (SPR) joint. The results revealed that galvanized steel sheets were successfully spot welded using FSSW-C with a lap shear fracture load of 1.5 kN–2.2 kN, which is approximately 50% of that of SPR joints. The microstructures revealed important features, including microstructural zones such as the stir zone, thermomechanically-affected zone, and heat-affected zone. Intermetallic compound formation was not observed at the joint interface. As the rotational speed increased, the axial force and torque decreased, whereas the temperature increased during FSSW-C. The energy generated increased with an increase in the rotational speed and was significantly different when compared to the data for conventional FSSW. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research paper explores the significance of risk management practice and corporate hedging strategies in achieving financial stability and resilience for organizations. The study emphasizes the need for comprehensive risk identification, assessment, and mitigation to navigate uncertainties and capitalize on opportunities in today's complex business landscape. The paper highlights the multifaceted nature of risks that organizations face, including economic factors, regulatory changes, technological advancements, natural disasters, and cybersecurity threats. It emphasizes the importance of risk management in various sectors, such as individuals, businesses, and governments, to protect interests and ensure long-term success. Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) is discussed as a holistic approach that considers the interdependencies and cumulative effects of risks across functional areas and business units. The research delves into risk identification, assessment, and quantification, as well as the implementation of appropriate risk response measures to mitigate potential impacts. Furthermore, the study explores the concept of corporate hedging as a financial risk management strategy to protect against adverse market fluctuations. It discusses various hedging instruments and their role in offsetting potential losses or gains from currency exchange rates, interest rates, commodity prices, and other market variables. The benefits of effective risk management and corporate hedging are examined, including financial predictability, enhanced competitiveness, and improved access to financing. The research highlights the importance of fostering a risk-aware culture, establishing robust governance frameworks, and continuously monitoring and reporting on risks. Overall, this research paper emphasizes the importance of proactive risk management and corporate hedging strategies in safeguarding organizations' financial stability, ensuring resilience, and facilitating informed decision-making in an ever-changing business environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In‐house prototype model of an active magnetic bearing is built and using its physical parameter values a linearized transfer function of order two, is mathematically obtained for a specific point of operation. In this work, a closed loop active magnetic bearing system is proposed and controller for this closed loop is designed using fuzzy logic control. Two different fuzzy inference systems: Mamdani and Sugeno fuzzy inference system constructed individually with eleven different types of membership functions separately. The considered membership functions are—linear, generalized bell‐shaped, Gaussian distribution based, quadratic, cubic polynomial and sigmoidal curve‐based membership functions. Calculating the transient state and steady state parameter values together with the controller output allows to see how these various membership functions perform on the proposed closed loop active magnetic bearing system. Observed data shows that changing the fuzzy inference system for a specific membership function will result in 67.41% reduction in the overshoot value, 29.70% reduction in settling time value, 10.42% change in rise time value and 2.91% variation is peak time value. Practicality of all membership functions are analysed based on calculated data and their performances with the proposed model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rejecting economic gradualism, Rosenstein-Rodan, back in 1943 advocated huge government-led initial infrastructure investment or 'Big-Push Approach' to achieve big economic growth. Welfare economists like Arthur Lewis and Rugnar Nursk expanded the proposition through their 'Dual Sector Model' and 'Balanced Growth Approach' converting the whole idea as a body of 'Modernisation Theories' for economic growth and development. John Maynard Keynes endorsed the idea too through his 'Mixed Economy Growth Model' prescription. Seaports are India's trade and geo-economic gateways. India meanwhile has launched a very ambitious maritime modernization program called 'Sagarmala 2015–2035' to modernize Indian Seaports and develop port-led industrialization similar to Rodan's Big Push approach. Seaports and their vessel traffic pattern provide critical insight into national maritime geo-economic outreach. In the background of India's Sagarmala maritime modernization experience and similar lessons from the neighborhood, using Seaports vessel traffic as a variable, this article analyzes India's maritime geo-economic comparative outreach and challenges. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]