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Very high uranium concentrations of ⁓3000 μgL−1 or more have been found in groundwater held in the granitic aquifers of four villages in eastern Karnataka, India. The highest uranium concentration was 8649 μgL−1 (calculated 218.7 BqL−1) and a maximum radon activity of 101.4 BqL−1. The ingestion doses of uranium for males and females of all age groups are very much higher compared to the corresponding dose calculated for World Health Organization and Atomic Energy Regulatory Board recommended concentrations of 30 and 60 μgL−1for drinking water. It is therefore recommended that alternative sources for drinking water need to be made to meet United Nations Sustainable Development Goals 3 and 6 to ensure good health from safe drinking water. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We hypothesize that firework events involving the combustion of charcoal fuel, organic binders, metal salts, and cellulose-based wrapping material could be significant transient sources of aerosol brown carbon (BrC). To test this, we couple high time-resolution (1 min) measurements of black carbon (BC) and BrC absorption from a 7-wavelength aethalometer with time-integrated (12–24 h) measurements of filter extracts, i.e., UV–visible, fluorescence, and Fourier-transformed infrared (FT-IR) signatures of BrC, total and water-soluble organic carbon (OC and WSOC), ionic species, and firework tracer metals during a sampling campaign covering the Diwali fireworks episode in India. In sharp contrast to BC, BrC absorption shows a distinct and considerable rise of 2–4 times during the Diwali period, especially during the hours of peak firework activity, as compared to the background. Fluorescence profiles suggest enrichment of humic-like substances (HULIS) in the firework plume, while the enhancement of BrC absorption in the 400–500 nm range suggests the presence of nitroaromatic compounds (NACs). Considerable contributions of WSOC and secondary organics to OC (44.1% and 31.2%, respectively) and of the water-soluble fraction of BrC to total BrC absorption (71.0%) during the Diwali period point toward an atmospherically processed, polar signature of firework-related BrC, which is further confirmed by FT-IR profiles. This aqueous BrC exerts a short-lived but strong effect on atmospheric forcing (12.0% vis-à-vis BC in the UV spectrum), which could affect tropospheric chemistry via UV attenuation and lead to a stabilization of the post-Diwali atmosphere, resulting in enhanced pollutant build-up and exposure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One neutron stripping cross sections ( σ - 1 n ) are measured in 9 Be+ 159 Tb system in the energy range E cm /V B ∼ 0.79–1.24 using offline gamma counting technique. The CRC model calculations including the ground state and the 2 + resonance state of 8 Be, carried out using the FRESCO code, give a reasonable description of the measured data. In addition, comparisons of reduced 1n-stripping cross sections- σ red with 9 Be for different target nuclei (A ∼ 150–200), and σ red for 9 Be, 6 Li with 159 Tb target are presented. While no strong target dependence is observed with 9 Be projectile, σ red ( 9 Be) is significantly larger than that for 6 Li, which is consistent with the Q-value for transfer reactions and breakup threshold energy of projectiles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The document titled "Prof. B. Krishna Rao (1941¿2023)" is an obituary published in the Journal of the Geological Society of India. It announces the passing of Prof. B. Krishna Rao, a retired Professor of Geology at Mysore University. Krishna Rao was born in Kakinada, Andhra Pradesh, and had a distinguished career in the field of economic geology. He made significant contributions to the understanding of the genesis of gold, copper, manganese, and magnesite deposits in Karnataka. Krishna Rao was also involved in collaborative research programs with international scientists and had a deep interest in the geochemistry of groundwater and seawater intrusion. He is remembered as a highly respected teacher and researcher in the geological community. [Extracted from the article]

An appropriate threshold selection scheme is one of the main components to adjudicate the performance of energy detection spectrum sensing (EDSS) technique for cognitive radio network. In this paper, we have employed two different threshold selection approaches namely, the constant false-alarm rate (CFAR) and minimized error probability (MEP) and analyzed the threshold selection effects on the performance of cognitive user (CU) communication systems particularly, the total spectrum sensing error probability and throughput. We have derived the expressions and analyzed these performance parameters by considering an imperfect spectrum sensing and reporting channels in the cooperative spectrum sensing scenarios for additive white Gaussian noise (AWGN), Rayleigh and Nakagami-m fading environments. In addition, the censoring concept has been applied to the proposed system and compared its effect with that of the non-censoring based cognitive radio network (CRN) system under the perfect reporting (PR) and imperfect reporting (IR) channel. With the help of simulation, we have illustrated that the role of threshold selection approach is crucial to maximize the throughput and minimize the spectrum sensing error while considering the amount of error in the reporting channel. Further, from the results, the existence of trade-off between the spectrum sensing error probability and throughput is presented with threshold selection approaches. Moreover, it is also shown that there is need to switch among CFAR and MEP threshold selection approaches in the censoring scenario, to enhance the throughput and decrease the spectrum sensing error probability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, the hybrid spectrum access and prediction techniques are exploited simultaneously in the high-traffic cognitive radio communication system, in order to enhance the throughput and overcome the problem of waiting states. The hybrid spectrum access is responsible for throughput enhancement by escaping the waiting states whereas the spectrum prediction alleviates the sensing errors in the high-traffic communication environment. The closed-form expression for the throughput of cognitive user (CU) communication is derived and validated the proposed approach with the reported literature. Moreover, a new framework is proposed to conquer the sharing issues of conventional and proposed approaches. In addition to this, the performance metrics of proposed framework such as the data-loss, energy-loss of the CU and interference at the PU have been analyzed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on study based on surveillance of rotavirus diarrhea among underfive children in hospital of Chandigarh, India. Topics discussed include under-five children presenting with acute gastroenteritis requiring hospitalization for rehydration; burden of rotavirus diarrheal disease similar to previous studies from Chandigarh; and virological characteristics as challenging for prevention of rotavirus disease.

Background/objectives: Multi-nutrient insufficiencies as a consequence of nutritional and economic factors are common in India and other developing countries. We have examined the impact of multi-nutrient insufficiency on markers of one carbon (1C) metabolism in the blood, and response to a methionine load in clinically healthy young women.Subjects/methods: Young women from Pune, India (n=10) and Cleveland, USA (n=13) were studied. Blood samples were obtained in the basal state and following an oral methionine load (50 mg/kg of body weight in orange juice). Plasma concentrations of vitamin B12, folate and B6 were measured in the basal state. The effect of methionine load on the levels of methionine, total homocysteine, cysteine, glutathione and amino acids was examined.Results: Indian women were significantly shorter and lighter compared with the American women and had lower plasma concentration of vitamins B12, folate and B6, essential amino acids and glutathione, but higher concentration of total homocysteine. The homocysteine response to methionine load was higher in Indian women. The plasma concentrations of glycine and serine increased in the Indian women after methionine (in juice) load. A significant negative correlation between plasma B6 and homocysteine (r= -0.70), and plasma folate and glycine and serine levels were observed in the Indian group (P<0.05) but not in the American group.Conclusions: Multi-nutrient insufficiency in the Indian women caused unique changes in markers of whole body protein and 1C metabolism. These data would be useful in developing nutrient intervention strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Uranium mineralization in Madyalabodu area, Cuddapah district, Andhra Pradesh, is spatially related to chloritized and brecciated quartzite of the Gulcheru Formation in the immediate vicinity of E-W to ESE-WNW trending basic dyke. Chloritization transgresses the lithological boundaries. Whole-rock geochemical data indicate enrichment of MgO and AlO coupled with depletion of SiO, NaO, KO, CaO and TiO in the chlorite-rich zone. FeO and FeO do not vary significantly in the altered and the unaltered zones. Electron Probe Microanalysis (EPMA) data reveal that the chlorites in contact with uranium minerals are enriched in MgO and depleted in FeO than in the others. Considering the petrological evidence, geochemical signature and structural constraints, it appears that chlorite acted more as an adsorbent rather than as a reductant in facilitating uranium mineralization. Uraninite crystallized later from the uranium originally adsorbed on chlorites. Chloritization might also have facilitated mineralization through the generation of nascent hydrogen, HS and lowering pH of uranium-bearing solution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Species-area relationships (SARs) represent a ubiquitous and useful empirical regularity characterizing biodiversity. The rate of species accumulation, captured by the value of the exponent, z, varies substantially and for many reasons. We hypothesized that one of the major contributors to this variation is heterogeneity and its change with scale. To test this hypothesis, we used an array of natural microcosms for which we had invertebrate species composition and physical properties of habitat. Using GIS and cluster analysis, we organized the species data into four sets: communities grouped by spatial proximity in the field, randomly, by similarity of their physical habitat and by dissimilarity of their physical habitat. These groupings produced varying levels of heterogeneity at different scales. We fitted species-area and species-volume relationships to the four groups of communities, and obtained z-values for each group or a portion of the group if the slope of the relationship varied. As predicted, we recovered a number of properties reported by others. More interestingly, we found that small- and large-scale habitat heterogeneity produced scale-dependent z-values while the random grouping of pool habitats produced z-values more robust across scales but also susceptible to initial values of habitat richness. Habitat area affected rate at which species accumulated much less than the mean degree of inter-habitat differences: increasing area that is heterogeneous at broader scales produces higher z-values than increasing an area that shows heterogeneity at small scale only. Our results, while from a microcosm system, rely on logic transferable to larger scale data sets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A novel graft copolymer of acrylic acid onto poly(vinyl alcohol) has been synthesized and it is cross-linked by glutaraldehyde for the investigation of its efficiency in removing lead ion from aqueous solution. The chemical nature of the ion exchange resin has been elucidated with the help of chemical, spectral, and thermal analysis. Particle size, surface area, ion exchange capacity, optimum pH, time, and temperature for Pb(II) adsorption were determined. Metal ion adsorption kinetics, isotherms, and thermodynamics have been studied. A plausible mechanism for lead ion exchange has been suggested. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Several radioactive quartz-pebble conglomerate (QPC) occurrences at the western margin of Archaean Bonai granite and overlying Iron Ore Group (IOG) rocks have recently been located over a total strike length of 8–10 km intermittently in a NE-SW to E-W trend with steep dips due north-west to north in parts of Sundargarh district of Orissa. The QPC samples have analysed up to 0.039% U3O8 and 0.035% ThO2 with high concentration of Y (74 to 518 ppm), La(<100 to 880 ppm), Cr ( 126 to 633 ppm), Zr (137 to 1250 ppm) and Pb (31 to 581 ppm). Cellulose Nitrate (CN) film studies of few QPC samples indicated adsorbed uranium over goethite and infiltrated ferruginous material (limonite), secondary uranium as encrustation and fracture filling and discrete sub-rounded grains of monazite, zircon, allanite and rare xenotime in the matrix of QPC as radioactive phases. Higher content of Th over U, elevated concentration of Y and La in QPC eliminates the possibility of its low temperature product by epigenetic processes. Poor correlation of U with elements like Pb, Y, Zr, La and Cr can be explained due to surficial leaching of uranium from QPC after its deposition as reflected by adsorbed U over iron-oxides and low U/Th ratio in QPC in the area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a simple, rapid and sensitive radiometric method for the determination of uranium in Thorex Process stream containing large amount of thorium. This method involves the extraction of uranium into 0.05M tri-n-octyl phosphine oxide (TOPO) in xylene at 2M HNO3. The extraction of thorium is prevented by masking them with suitable quantity of fluoride ions. The optimum experimental parameters for extraction of 233U were evaluated and using the most suitable experimental conditions the extracted uranium is radiometrically determined by α-counting in proportional counter with a prior knowledge of specific activity of uranium. Simultaneously in the same sample uranium was determined by spectrophotometric method using 2-(5bromo-2 pyridylazo)-5-diethylaminophenol (Bromo-PADAP) as chromogenic reagents. Simulated as well as actual samples of dissolver, conditioner and raffinate tank of Thorex stream have been analyzed by both these methods. The method was tested for as low as 0.15 μg of uranium and the results of these analyses were found to be satisfactory within the experimental limits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A retrospective study of 11 cases of choledochal cyst over a period of 10 years is presented. There were 8 females and 3 males in a ratio of 2.67:1. The classical triad of jaundice, mass and abdominal pain was seen in none of our patients. Ultrasonography was diagnostic in 9 out of 11 (80%) patients. Surgical procedures performed were, complete excision of the cyst with Roux en Y hepaticojejunostomy (nine cases), internal drainage of the cyst (one case) and excision of the extrahepatic cyst with Roux en Y hepaticojejunostomy in one case of Type IV choledochal cyst. One patient died in the immediate postoperative period. Others have remained well upto 10 years follow-up. We recommend total cyst excision with hepaticojejunostomy as the treatment of choice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A 10 year retrospective study of 45 cases of cystic lymphangioma (CL) in children is presented. There were 25 females and 20 males. Age ranged from 6 months to 8 years. Common sites were involved in 38 and rare sites in 7 patients. Rare sites were--gluteal region (1), pelvis (1), retroperitoneum (1), mesentery (2), inguinal region (1) and inguinoscrotal region (1). The clinical presentation included sudden increase in size (25), lump abdomen (3), gluteal abscess (1), abdominal distension (1) and inguinal swelling (2). Diagnosis was established preoperatively in 38 cases, and after surgery and histopathology in 7 cases. Near total or subtotal excision was carried out in all cases. Facial nerve palsy (1) and recurrence (2) were the complications of surgery. The study is presented to highlight the occurrence of the cystic lymphangioma at rare sites to avoid diagnostic errors and unnecessary mutilating surgery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The treatment of relapsed multiple myeloma remains a challenge for clinicians. Most salvage therapies result in transient responses, with median survival from relapse ranging from 6 to 18 months. No randomized trials comparing salvage therapies have been performed. In the absence of a "gold standard" salvage therapy, relapsed patients should be considered for clinical trials. In light of the recent observation that thalidomide alone brings about a 30% to 35% response rate with manageable toxicities, this is the most promising single agent available to treat relapsed disease. The maximum effective dose appears to be 400 mg/d; virtually all responses are evident within 2 months of starting therapy. Combination therapy of thalidomide with pulse dexamethasone or other chemotherapeutic agents has shown promise in pilot trials. Even with thalidomide-responsive disease, the response duration is brief, ranging from 3 to 6 months. Therefore, the authors recommend that patients under the age of 78 years who have acceptable physiologic organ function, chemotherapy-sensitive disease, third-party financial coverage, and adequate hematopoietic stem cells be considered for high-dose therapy with autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplant. High-dose therapy with hematopoietic stem cell transplant provides the highest response rate, response duration, and survival compared with historical controls treated with conventional therapy. Patients under the age of 70 years who have human leukocyte antigen-compatible donors should be considered for immune-based therapy using nonmyeloablative preparative regimens with allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplant. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Travelling Salesman Problem with Precedence Constraints (TSP-PC) is the usual Travelling Salesman Problem with the restrictions that the salesman should start from a prescribed node (i.e., a headquarters) and each admissible tour is to satisfy k precedence relations denoted by i < j; r=1,2,...,k. That is the node j should not be visited unless node i is already visited. This problem is NP-hard and arises in practical transportation and sequencing problems. In this paper, a lexisearch algorithm has been developed for obtaining exact optimal solution. Also, simple and hybrid genetic algorithms have been developed for obtaining heuristically optimal solution to the problem. The efficiency of the genetic algorithms to the TSP-PC as against lexi-search approach has been examined for a variety of randomly generated test problems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Retroperitoneum, pelvis and scrotum are unusual sites of lymphangiomas. Retroperitoneal lymphangiomas presenting as inguino-scrotal masses are extremely rare. An unusual case of retroperitoneal lymphangioma extending into scrotum, presenting as acute scrotum is reported due to its unusual location. Complete surgical excision with careful attention to avoid damaging contiguous structures is the treatment of choice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The process of in situ electro-oxidation of Ce(III) to Ce(IV) followed by its extraction into the organic phase has been investigated for its applicability in the separation of Ce from nitrate medium. Solvent extraction of cerium from nitric acid after its electro-oxidation to fourth valency state was carried out using tributyl phosphate (TBP) and 2-ethylhexyl hydrogen 2-ethylhexyl phosphonate (KSM-17, equivalent to PC-88A). The efficiency of the extractants at different aqueous phase nitric acid concentrations and different electrode potentials were determined. Various reducing agents such as hydroxylamine hydrochloride, sodium nitrite, ferrous sulphate as well as complexing agents like EDTA, oxalic acid etc, were studied as strippants for the back extraction of cerium from the loaded organic phase. The method developed for the extraction of cerium was further extended to the partitioning of cerium from Ce-Am mixture obtained during the KSM-17 based extraction chromatographic elemental fractionation of PUREX High Activity Waste (HAW) solutions. Recovery of Ce obtained in the extraction experiments by batch as well as by continuous flow organic phase was >95% with good radiochemical purity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The oxygen content of liquid Ni-Mn alloy equilibrated with spinel solid solution, (Ni,Mn)O. (1 + x)A1O, and α-AlO has been measured by suction sampling and inert gas fusion analysis. The corresponding oxygen potential of the three-phase system has been determined with a solid state cell incorporating (YO)ThO as the solid electrolyte and Cr + CrO as the reference electrode. The equilibrium composition of the spinel phase formed at the interface of the alloy and alumina crucible was obtained using EPMA. The experimental data are compared with a thermodynamic model based on the free energies of formation of end-member spinels, free energy of solution of oxygen in liquid nickel, interaction parameters, and the activities in liquid Ni-Mn alloy and spinel solid solution. Mixing properties of the spinel solid solution are derived from a cation distribution model. The computational results agree with the experimental data on oxygen concentration, potential, and composition of the spinel phase. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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A new born male child diagnosed for pure esophageal atresia was subsequently found to have blocked tracheo-esophageal fistula. The case is reported in view of its rarity and difficulty in management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A new born male child diagnosed for pure esophageal atresia was subsequently found to have blocked tracheo esophageal fistula. The case is reported in view of its rarity and difficulty in management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A six-year-old female patient presenting with a swelling in the infraumbilical part of the abdomen, bulging out on straining, was diagnosed to have pseudoexstrophy bladder. The urinary tract was normal. The patient had bifid clitoris. There was no other associated malformation. Surgical repair of abdominal wall defect was done successfully. A new classification of exstrophy variants is proposed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A case of ileal atresia consequent to intrauterine intussusception is reported. The baby presented with features of neonatal intestinal obstruction but signs of peritonitis were absent. The intussusception was discovered on gross examination of distal atretic ileal segment. The case was managed successfully by resection and end to back anastomosis. This case is reported to highlight intrauterine intussusception as one of the causes of ileal atresia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An unusual case of omental cyst is described. A 4-year-old child presenting as abdominal distension of short duration, clinically diagnosed as ascites, was subsequently proved to be giant omental cyst. The case is reported because of its unique presentation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Caudal duplication is a rare entity due to incomplete separation of mono-ovular twins. It is usually associated with various congenital malformations involving mainly the genitourinary and gastrointestinal tracts. We report such a case operated upon successfully in which there was no other associated anomaly. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A 4 year old girl with progressive distension of abdomen and previous history of blunt abdominal trauma was found to have bile ascites due to left hepatic duct (LDH) injury. The management with a brief review of literature is discussed below. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The gastric trichobezoars usually occur in young girls, often those with psychiatric disorders. Rarely these are known to extend from the stomach to the small intestine as a tail, when they are termed the Rapunzel syndrome. Until 1997, only 10 such cases have been reported in the literature. We report another case in which we could extract the trichobezoar by gastrotomy and enterotomy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Segmental dilatation of the colon, a rare entity, is reported in a 1.5-year-old male. Its management is discussed in view of the pertinent literature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An extremely rare incomplete duplex system with cystic dilatation of the upper part of the conjoint ureter presenting as hydronephrosis in a 2-year-old infant is reported. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A very rare type of atresia of the lower end of the oesophagus without a tracheo-oesophageal fistula in a neonate is reported [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Agenesis of the bladder, one of the rarest anomalies of the urinary bladder, was for the first time managed successfully by primary ileocecal functional bladder reconstruction at the Children's Hospital, Institute of Medical Sciences, Banaras Hindu University. The salient features along with a review of literature are presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A case of a dog bite of the massively prolapsed rectum in a 2-year-old male is reported due to its rarity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A rare case of transverse testicular ectopia in a 2-year-old child presented as bilateral undescended, nonpalpable testes at the Children's Hospital, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi. Because of its rarity and other interesting features, it is reported with a brief review of the literature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A 10-year-old male with multiple small swellings over the shaft of the penis for 2 years was found to have multiple neurilemmomas on histopathologic examination. The case is reported in view of the extreme rarity of the entity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Accessory scrotum is the rarest anomaly of the scrotum; less than two dozen cases have been reported. A case of accessory scrotum with imperforate anus is reported. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Prostate cancer (PC) is the sixth most common cancer type in the world, which causes approximately 10% of total cancer fatalities. The detection of protein biomarkers in body fluids is the key topic for the diagnosis and prognosis of PC. Highly sensitive screening of PC is the most effective approach for reducing mortality. Thus, there are a growing number of literature that recognizes the importance of new technologies for early diagnosis of PC. Graphene is playing an important role in the biosensor field with remarkable physical, optical, electrochemical and magnetic properties. Many recent studies demonstrated the potential of graphene materials for sensitive detection of protein biomarkers. In this review, the graphene-based biosensors toward PC analysis are mainly discussed in two groups: Firstly, novel biosensor interfaces were constructed through the modification of graphene materials onto sensor surfaces. Secondly, ingenious signal amplification strategies were developed using graphene materials as catalysts or carriers. Graphene-based biosensors have exhibited remarkable performance with high sensitivities, wide detection ranges, and long-term stabilities., Competing Interests: Competing interestsThe authors declare that they have no competing interests.