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Bioactive glasses (BGs) are promising for bone tissue regeneration. BG composition can be tailored, according to the application of interest, and/or functionalized with organic molecules/biomolecules to improve their performances. However, despite the wide knowledge concerning BGs, their interaction with proteins, fundamental for controlling the fate of the implant, has not been deeply investigated yet. Controlling or predicting protein adsorption requires a full understanding of the materials surface physico-chemical properties. In this work, four different BGs (S53P4, B25, SCNB, PhGlass) were surface-modified by four different treatments: 72 h-soaking in TRIS, 72 h soaking in simulated body fluid, APTES grafting and quaternized APTES grafting. The surfaces were then characterized both untreated and after each treatment by contact angle, zeta potential analysis, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, Fourier Transform InfraRed–Attenuated Total Reflectance spectroscopy and Scanning Electron Microscopy and Energy Dispersive Spectroscopy. Inductively Coupled Plasma – Optical Emission Spectrometry was then performed to investigate the ion leaching. The aim of this study (Part I) is the physico-chemical characterization of BGs as a function of the implemented treatments, aiming to better understand how the superficial properties are successively affecting protein adsorption. Protein adsorption on untreated and treated BGs will be discussed in a following manuscript (Part II). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

HgCdTe based infrared focal plane array (IRFPA) continues to be the best performing sensor for imaging infrared seeker systems. A detailed study on the flip chip bonding is described for an improvement in the performance and reliability of FPA under stringent thermal and mechanical cycling load. HgCdTe material has a limitation in the bonding temperature and pressure to preserve the detector performance. Process of thermo-compression bonding is developed here for a large format HgCdTe detector array with ultra-fine pitch. Flip-chip bonding under ultra-low force of 4.6 × 10−4 N/bump is achieved with minimum residual stress and it protects the HgCdTe photo-diodes from dislocation circuit multiplication after hybridization. This thermo-compression process is directly usable for other materials such as InSb, T2SL and InGaAs etc. with due consideration of the material's properties like Young's modulus, coefficient of thermal expansion, Poisson ratio and mechanical strength. HgCdTe FPAs with the optimum bonding parameters are packed in detector-dewar-cooler-assembly (DDCA) and tested for stringent thermal shock, mechanical shock and random vibration process. The fatigue life of 104 thermal cycles is achieved to make suitable for fail safe operation. HgCdTe FPA will have a life span of 13 years (if it is cooled down twice on each day) which is more than the vacuum integrity shelf life of a sealed DDCA. • Issues and their solution of thermo-compression bonding for HgCdTe based FPA with small pitch size. • Optimum bonding parameters provides interconnection of > 99.5 % in FPA. • Fatigue life of 104 thermal cycles achieved for fail safe operation of IRFPA. • HgCdTe based 2 K × 2K FPA (pitch size of 5 μm) is feasible with tolerable misalignment and stress using optimum bonding parameters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The growing environmental concern of plastic packaging disposal has led to the innovation of biodegradable biopolymers. Consumer demand and health concern further necessitate the emergence of active and intelligent packaging system to monitor the quality of packed food. Whereas, the use of chemical dyes as an indicator in smart packaging is not suitable for food packaging because of their high toxicity and harmful effects on human health and the environment. Hence, the researchers are focused on natural pigments derived from plants and food waste as indicating substance in biodegradable packaging and also for the valorization of food waste. This paper summarizes the research on the utilization of naturally derived food- and food waste-based pigments (anthocyanins, curcumin, betalains, carotenoids, chlorophyll, brazilin, quercetin, etc.) with biopolymeric matrices (starch, cellulose, chitin, gums, agar, etc.) to fabricate "smart biodegradable films", for effective monitoring of spoilage and quality of meat products, seafood, milk, and others. The results show that the smart packaging material developed by the biopolymers with plant-based pigment has the potential to replace the traditional plastic packaging materials. The extracted from food and food waste act as an indicator in smart packaging and promotes the valorization of food waste. The biodegradable packaging is economical, safe, non-toxic, sensitive, and natural pigments act as a quality indicator in packaging systems. Further, these packaging films can be optimized and commercialized and to be employed as active and intelligent packaging for visual quality evaluation of fresh food products. Image 1 • Smart packaging with naturally derived pigments facilitate real-time fresh food monitoring. • Utilization of food waste in biodegradable packaging helps in valorization of food waste. • Easy to fabricate, safe and cost-effective solution for continuous visual monitoring. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• 50% inorganic fertilizers + 50% farm yard/50% green manure was best soil erosion control method. • Significant negative relationships were recorded between carbon management index (CMI) and soil loss. • Positive relationships were found between CMI and maize, wheat yield. The impacts of the resource conservation practices can be evaluated in short-term through carbon management index (CMI) that conceptualizes the carbon lability and soil aggregation. To test this hypothesis, we investigated the labile organic carbon (LOC) pool and CMI in relation to runoff, soil loss and maize-wheat system productivity on 2% sloping crop lands of Indian Himalayan region in a study (2009–2014) where different nutrient management practices were adopted. Results showed that all integrated nutrient management (INM) practices (mineral fertilizers with different organic sources like farmyard manure (FYM), vermi-compost (VC), green manure (GM) and poultry manure (PM) enhanced soil aggregation compared with only mineral fertilization (NPK). Among all the treatments, the highest water-stable macroaggregates (+25%) in the 0–5 cm soil layer were recorded in 50% NPK + 50% FYM (7.5 t ha−1) treatment. Aggregate size of >2000, 250–2000, 53–250 and <53 µm had ∼18, 26, 34 and 18% higher soil aggregate-associated organic C in topsoil than 5–15 cm soil layer, respectively. Decreasing trend of soil aggregate-associated C was observed with decrease in size fraction from >2000 to <53 µm. Plots with fertilization of 50% NPK + 50% GM (1.8 t ha−1) had significantly higher Walkley-Black carbon (WBC), total soil organic C (TOC), LOC, macroaggregate-associated C concentrations, and soil aggregation than other treatments. In the NPK + FYM treatment, LOC was ∼16% significantly higher in topsoil than the sub-surface soil. CMI varied from ∼17–48% to 15–41% among the nutrient management practices in the 0–5 and 5–15 cm soil layers, respectively. Significant positive correlation was found between CMI with maize yield (r = 0.944; n = 28; p = 0.008), wheat yield (r = 0.942; n = 28; p = 0.005), and negative correlation with runoff (r = −0.818; n = 28; p = 0.042) and soil loss (r = −0.847; n = 28; p = 0.045). FYM, GM, VC and PM with mineral fertilization decreased soil degradation compared to only mineral fertilization and unfertilized control plots, and FYM and GM sources were the best among all the organic sources. The highest wheat equivalent yield (WEY) was recorded with 50% NPK + 50% FYM (∼6.0 t ha−1) while similar WEY was recorded in rest of 50% organic sources. Relationships revealed that the single value CMI can be used for the assessment of soil degradation in the sloping crop lands. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The four-layer anti-reflection coating (ARC) film stacks (consisting of four layers of zinc sulphide (ZnS) and yttrium fluoride (YF 3) materials with an optimized thickness of 699 ± 2.6 nm) were grown on the backside of the HgCdTe (mercury cadmium telluride)-CdZnTe (cadmium zinc telluride) assembly (i.e., CdZnTe substrate) using the thermal-evaporation deposition technique. Successively, the characterization tools like atomic force microscope, X-ray diffractometer, energy dispersive X-ray spectrometer, and scanning electron microscope were utilized to realize the optimized ARC film stacks. ARC stacks (ZnS/YF 3 /ZnS/YF 3) with cubic zinc blende phase and preferred orientation (111) were confirmed. The desired surface morphology (dense and low roughness), elemental composition (purity), and micro-structural features (reasonable grain size and material continuity) of ARC films were achieved. The optimized films were further examined through their utilization in the fabrication of two similar ARC stacks/structures with a configuration of YF 3 /ZnS/YF 3 /ZnS/CdZnTe–HgCdTe and Fourier Transform infrared spectrometer was used to measure their reflectance. ARC film stacks (with remarkably thin film thickness and good repeatability) have reduced the reflection of HgCdTe–CdZnTe assembly to a minimum value from 22% to < 1.0% within the mid-wave infrared spectral region, which further validates theoretically. Thus, the four-layer ARC film stacks are the effective reflection agent that could be used to fabricate high-performance HgCdTe infrared detectors. [Display omitted] • Four-layer anti-reflection coating (ARC) film stacks were grown on a CdZnTe substrate. • Thermal evaporation technique was used to develop ARC film stack (ZnS/YF 3 /ZnS/YF 3). • Optimized ARC film has low roughness, high purity and reasonable grain size. • ARC stack/structure (based on the optimized film) was found with minimum reflectance. • ARC stack can be an effective reflection agent for high-performance IR detectors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Brief interventions (BIs) delivered in primary care have shown potential to increase physical activity levels and may be cost-effective, at least in the short-term, when compared with usual care. Nevertheless, there is limited evidence on their longer term costs and health benefits.Objectives: To estimate the cost-effectiveness of BIs to promote physical activity in primary care and to guide future research priorities using value of information analysis.Methods: A decision model was used to compare the cost-effectiveness of three classes of BIs that have been used, or could be used, to promote physical activity in primary care: 1) pedometer interventions, 2) advice/counseling on physical activity, and (3) action planning interventions. Published risk equations and data from the available literature or routine data sources were used to inform model parameters. Uncertainty was investigated with probabilistic sensitivity analysis, and value of information analysis was conducted to estimate the value of undertaking further research.Results: In the base-case, pedometer interventions yielded the highest expected net benefit at a willingness to pay of £20,000 per quality-adjusted life-year. There was, however, a great deal of decision uncertainty: the expected value of perfect information surrounding the decision problem for the National Health Service Health Check population was estimated at £1.85 billion.Conclusions: Our analysis suggests that the use of pedometer BIs is the most cost-effective strategy to promote physical activity in primary care, and that there is potential value in further research into the cost-effectiveness of brief (i.e., <30 minutes) and very brief (i.e., <5 minutes) pedometer interventions in this setting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is increasing interest in the use of beneficial microbes as alternatives to chemical fertilizers and plant growth promoters in agricultural production. Judicious application of Trichoderma sp. with chemical nitrogenous (N) fertilization to seeds will be an efficient mechanism for placement into varied soil type (alluvial, red and black) where they enhance the colonize seedling roots and establishment of the plant. Significantly higher leaf area was recorded with T 2 (RDF of NPK @ 120-60-60 kg ha −1 ) in both growth stage of wheat as compared to rest of the treatments. Data at 30 days after sowing (DAS) revealed that leaf area range significantly varied between ~ 59 to 86, 15 to 26 and 26 to 55 cm 2 plant −1 under alluvial, red and black soils, respectively. Results clearly indicated that the root infection was significantly varied at 30 DAS from 5% to 18%, 6% to 23% and 5% to 14% for alluvial, red and black soils, respectively under different treatment combinations. It was significantly higher with T 1 (Control NPK @ 0-0-0 kg ha −1 ) and the values were respectively for ~ 18%, 23% and 14% in alluvial, red and black soils. However, the combined application of N and seed bio-priming resulted in highest root infection incidence in the red (14.87%) followed by alluvial (12.40%) and black (8.73%) soils. Significantly higher grain yield was recorded with T 2 (RDF of NPK @ 120-60-60 kg ha −1 ) followed by T 3 , T 4 , T 5 and T 1 treatments. It was varied significantly between 0.56 to 6.35, 0.20 to 2.65 and 0.36 to 5.12 g pot −1 under alluvial, red and black soils, respectively. The combined application of T. harzianum with chemical N fertilization will be one of the sustainable solutions for improving the ability of seed bio-priming to establish and function consistently in the field for sustainable crop production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A major challenge in crop production is to achieve the goal of increasing both yield and resource use efficiency. Irrigation water and nitrogen (N) are scarce and expensive resources constraining wheat production in arid regions. There is limited information on how irrigation and N supply can be simultaneously manipulated to achieve higher yield, water productivity (WP), and nitrogen use efficiency (NUE) of wheat in arid regions. A two-year field experiment was conducted to investigate the effects of irrigation and N rates on yield, WP and NUE of wheat in a hot, arid environment at Bikaner, India. The experimental treatments comprised of six irrigation [100% (ETm; full evapotranspiration), 90% (ETd1), 80% (ETd2), 70% (ETd3), 60% (ETd4), and 50% (ETd5) of ETc (crop evapotranspiration)] levels, and four N [0 (N0), 40 (N40), 80 (N80), and 120 (N120) kg ha −1 ] rates. Moderate deficit irrigation (ETd2) had greatest WP and caused a 17% reduction in water consumption with only a 5% reduction in yield compared to full irrigation (ETm). The N application improved yield and WP. The NUE declined with a reduction in water application and an increase in N rates. The yield and WP response to N rates modified with irrigation levels.The significant increase in grain yield was recorded with N120 at ETm and ETd1, with N80 at ETd2 and ETd3, and with N40 at ETd4 and ETd5 irrigation levels. The significant increase in WP was recorded with N80 at ETm, ETd1, ETd2 and ETd3, and with N40 at ETd4 and ETd5 irrigation levels. The results suggested that moderate deficit irrigation (ETd2) along with 120 kg N ha −1 could ensure satisfactory grain yield and WP of wheat in arid regions. The study also indicated that the adoption of an appropriate deficit irrigation and N rate combination can be an effective means to reduce non-beneficial water consumption, achieve higher yield, and improve WP and NUE for wheat in an arid environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]