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Background: Dengue virus causes illnesses with or without warning indicators for severe complications. There are no clear prognostic signs linked to the disease outcomes. Methods: Clinical and laboratory parameters among 102 adult including 17 severe dengue (SD), 33 with warning and 52 without warning signs during early and critical phases were analysed by statistical and machine learning (ML) models. Results: In classical statistics, abnormal ultrasound findings, platelet count and low lymphocytes were significantly linked with SD during the febrile phase, while low creatinine, high sodium and elevated AST/ALT during the critical phase. ML models highlighted AST/ALT and lymphocytes as key markers for distinguishing SD from non-severe dengue, aiding clinical decisions. Conclusion: Parameters like liver enzymes, platelet counts and USG findings were linked with SD.USG testing at an earlier phase of dengue and a point-of-care system for the quantification of AST/ALT levels may lead to an early prediction of SD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The country's energy demand is experiencing rapid growth, and fossil fuels remain the primary resources to meet this increasing need. However, global warming poses a significant challenge for governments and industries worldwide. To address this issue, utilizing methane as a fossil fuel and implementing CO2 capture and sequestration can prove to be effective mitigation strategies. This paper presents an innovative idea to utilize unmineable coal seams in the Singrauli coal field for CO2 sequestration while extracting associated CBM to offset the cost of the sequestration process. The findings reveal that the field has great potential for CO2 sequestration. The estimated average maximum sorption capacities of CO2 and CH4 in the coal seams under in situ conditions of the basin are 39.50 m3/t and 11.15 m3/t, respectively. The total maximum sorption capacities of CO2 and CH4 in the potential coal seams are estimated to be 10,758.00 Mm3 and 3,215.00 Mm3, respectively. These results indicate that the unmineable coal seams in the Singrauli coalfield hold potential for CO2 sequestration and the extraction of available CBM from the coal seams. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study is to find the influence of volumetric percentage of High Entropy Alloys (HEA) on Mechanical Behaviour of 6061 T6 Al alloy surface composite processed by Friction Stir Processing (FSP). Al-6061-T6 alloy was considered as the base material and Al-Fe-Cu-Ni-Zn as HEA with relevant weight proportion. HEA were reinforced on plate by making a slot on them using shaper and varying the volumetric percentage of slot. Friction stir processing was carried out on the samples with optimal working parameters. Study of the properties such as microstructure of joint and strength will directly affect the parameters such as corrosion of joint which will decide the service and life of the joint in different environments. Radiography was carried out for the samples after FSP to check for any defects or cracks. The microstructures for all the samples are studied based on grain size refinement and uniform Distribution of HEA around the travel pattern of tool. It is observed that micro hardness of samples increased with increase in percentage of HEA which is more than the hardness value of base material (Al alloy). It is evident that 4% sample exhibits better tensile properties than other. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this work, we have described an efficient one-pot three-component preparation of 2-amino-4H-chromene by the reaction of aromatic aldehyde (1), malononitrile, or ethylcyanoacetate (2), and α or ꞵ-naphthol or resorcinol (3) in the presence of catalyst Water Extract of Orange Fruit Peel Ash agro-waste extracted solvent medium (4 mL) with few drops of ethanol as co-solvent accelerated by microwave irradiation. The reaction is optimized by various methods such as magnetic stirring, mechanochemical, ultrasound, and microwave irradiation, but the microwave irradiation in 180 W power gave excelled yield and faster rate product isolation (4–5 min). The method developed found eco-friendly, metal-free, chemical-less, and solvent-less, inexpensive, and facile approach for the synthesis of 2-amino-4H-chromene derivatives. The final product isolated recrystallized in ethanol, and characterized by FT-IR, 1H-, and 13C-NMR and LC-MS spectrometry techniques. Some of the selected chromene derivatives are subjected to antioxidant activity with concentration range 200–1,000 µg/µL by 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl method. The derivatives 4a, 4 g, 4h, 6a, 6b, 6c, 8a, and 8f showed antioxidant activities and were comparable to standard ascorbic acid used. Further, studies on electrochemical behavior of selected chromene derivatives (4e, 4f, 4 g, 4i, 6c, 6f, 8d, and 8f) by cyclic voltammetry technique with 50 mVs−1, and revealed that, some of these molecules are good oxidation and reduction potential. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An attempt was made to develop low-temperature curing aniline-based benzoxazines (BA-a/BF-a) using various transition metal salts, such as FeCl3, CoCl2, NiBr2, CuCl2, ZnCl2, Zn(OAc)2, CdCl2 and Alkali–Alkaline earth metal salts, such as LiCl, KI and CaCl2 and main group metal salt AlCl3 as an efficient catalyst. The findings of the DSC analysis revealed that the main group and transition metal salts had outstanding catalytic activity and were able to reduce the curing temperature of benzoxazines (BA-a/BF-a). Among the various metal salts, FeCl3, AlCl3, ZnCl2 and Zn(OAc)2 exposed excellent catalytic behavior in lowering the curing temperature of benzoxazines to 145 °C (BA-a) and 150 °C (BF-a) from 217 to 218 °C, respectively. The thermal stability and flame retardant characteristics of the resultant polybenzoxazines (PBz's), are also studied and included in this work. In the presence of catalysts, the initial degradation temperature almost same, residual char yield increased from 27 to 55%, and the flame retardant properties increased to 39.5 from 28.5 for the resultant PBz's. Low-temperature cure benzoxazines using metal salt as catalyst. Metal salt decreased curing temperature drastically. Metal salt-loaded polybenzoxazine revealed better thermal and flame resistant properties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this work, a highly flexible bio-silica reinforced poly (benzoxazine-co-epoxy) hybrid composites have been developed using renewable cardanol based benzoxazine (C-aee), commercially available bisphenol-F epoxy (EP) and functionalized bio-silica (BS). Sustainable C-aee was synthesized with cardanol (C), aminoethoxyethanol (aee), and paraformaldehyde through Mannich condensation reaction. The structure of C-aee monomer was characterized with FT-IR and 1HNMR techniques. Bio-silica (BS) was synthesized from rice husk and functionalized with 3-mercaptopropyl trimethoxysilane (3-MPTMS). Later, the hybrid PC-aee-co-EP/BS composites was prepared with various weight percentages (0, 1, 3, and 5%) of BS reinforced into PC-aee-co-EP. The curing performance of C-aee, C-aee + EP and thermal properties of PC-aee-co-EP/BS composites was characterized using DSC and TGA. Data acquired from thermal studies confirmed that the bio-silica reinforced hybrid composite show improved thermal properties and flame-resistance properties with good flexibility. Hence, the developed PC-aee-co-EP/BS composites are potential material for various applications including marine coating, aerospace, and microelectronics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ectoparasites in livestock and pets are associated with the transmission of diseases of veterinary and public health importance. The paucity of data on the ectoparasite diversity of pet and domestic animals in Puducherry is the basis for our study. Ectoparasites in animals brought to the veterinary dispensaries in Puducherry were retrieved and identified morphologically. Molecular confirmation of the ectoparasites was done by amplifying and sequencing the genes cytochrome oxidase I (COI), 16s rRNA and 18s rRNA. A total of 792 animals were screened and 2625 ectoparasites were retrieved. The most common ectoparasite retrieved was ticks (n = 2140) followed by fleas (n = 326) and lice (n = 180). Eight tick species belonging to two genera were collected: Rhipicephalus sanguineus, Rh. simus, Rh. bursa, Rh. (Boophilus) annulatus, R. (Boophilus) microplus, Rh. haemaphysaloides, Haemaphysalis intermedia and Ha. bispinosa. Three sucking lice, Haematopinus quadripertusus, H. tuberculatus, Linognathus africanus, and two chewing lice, Heterodoxus spiniger and Trichodectes canis were found infesting the animals. Ctenocephalides felis felis was the only flea species observed to infest the animals. Common grazing areas and stray animals contributed to wide dispersal of the ectoparasites on different hosts. A longitudinal study might uncover the influence of season on ectoparasite prevalence and diversity in Puducherry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Peroxynitrite is known to react with biomolecules leading to their structural and function alteration. Structural alteration in DNA induced by peroxynitrite is not clearly known. The current study was carried out to decipher the changes induced by peroxynitrite using UV-Vis spectra, circular dichrometry, molecular dynamics simulation followed by restriction digestion. Apoptotic markers Bax, Bcl-2 and caspase genes were also studied by FACS in peroxynitrite induced PC12 cells. The results obtained showed that PXN binds to DNA leading to hyperchromicity of DNA in the presence of PXN over a period of time and the same was established by In silico studies where PXN modifies the DNA to accommodate itself into the stacking and brings about the significant structural alterations. Further, FACS studies reveal that Bcl-2 gene expression was down regulated whereas BAXand caspase genes were up regulated compared to control concluding that PXN induces apoptotic cell death in PC12 cells [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The flame-retardant behavior of organic polymers is considered as very important criteria to utilize them in the form of coatings, encapsulants, sealants, and matrices for high performance industrial applications. A new type of poly (benzoxazine-co-urethane) (PBZ-co-PU) matrices have been developed using dimethylol benzoxazine monomers (BZM and BZE) and tris(p-isocyanatophenyl)thiophosphate (Desmodur) through A2 + B3 approach followed by thermal curing. The molecular structure of developed PBZ-co-PU was confirmed by FT-IR spectra and their thermal stability and flame retardant behavior were studied by standard methods. Data obtained from TGA and DSC, indicate that the PBZ-co-PU possesses higher Tg, better thermal stability and LOI than those of neat PBZ. Further, it was also observed that among the two matrix systems (PBZ-co-PU-1 and PBZ-co-PU-2) studied, the PBZ-co-PU-1 based system exhibited higher Tg, thermal stability and flame retardant behavior than those of PBZ-co-PU-2. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A new approach to the preparation of hexakis(4-aminophenoxy)cyclotriphosphazene (HACTP) based polyimide (PI) matrices is proposed, for improved thermal and flame retardant properties. HACTP was synthesized with good yield. The structure of HACTP was confirmed by various characterization techniques, such as FTIR, NMR, and mass Spectroscopy. Polyimide matrices were prepared by thermal imidization process using HACTP and dianhydrides usingN-methyl pyrrolidone as a solvent. The successful formation of HACTP-based polyimide matrices was confirmed by the FTIR. Thermal properties of the PI were analyzed using DSC and TGA techniques. Data obtained from the thermal studies indicate that the HACTP-based PI possesses better thermal and flame retardant properties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The incidence ofHelicobacter pylori(H. pylori) infection and gastric cancer is on the rise in India, and the genetic factors influencing the increased susceptibility in Indian population remain obscure. Toll-like receptors (TLRs) play a major role in innate immune system and genetic polymorphisms affecting their function were reported to enhance the risk forH. pyloriinfection. Seventy-seven patients (n= 77) diagnosed withH. pyloriinfection and 230 healthy subjects were recruited in this study. The rs2072493, rs5744174, and rs5744168 polymorphisms within TLR5 gene were genotyped using polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) and Tetra-ARMS PCR genotyping techniques. Present study revealed that these studied polymorphisms are less frequent in south Indian Tamils and thus failed to confer a significant risk to develop chronicH. pyloriinfections. The distribution of ancestral allele of rs2072493 polymorphism conferred resistance to develop chronicH. pyloriinfection in our population (p= 0.024; OR  =  0.53; 95% CI: 0.3–0.91). The lesser incidence of polymorphic alleles suggests that the TLR5 gene is under genetic selection pressure to withstand the prevailing endemic infections among south Indian Tamils. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fungal endosymbionts are currently driving the therapeutic use of antimicrobial drugs to combat multi drug resistant infections. An endosymbiotic strain CLB12 was isolated from the root tissue ofCombretum latifoliumBlume (Combretaceae) collected from the Western Ghats of Southern India. Strain CLB12 was then identified asAlternaria arborescensby its characteristic cultural morphology with ITS rDNA and intervening 5.8S rRNA gene sequence. Antimicrobial profiling of ethyl acetate fraction of CLB12 was performed by disc diffusion method. Secondary metabolites produced were effectively inhibited a panel of test human pathogens includingPseudomonas aeruginosa(12.66 ± 0.33 mm), methicillin-resistantStaphylococcus aureus(12.33 ± 0.33 mm),Bacillus subtilis(16.66 ± 0.33 mm) andCandida albicans(12.00 ± 0.57 mm). TLC-bioautography assay confirmed the presence of antimicrobial compound as depicted by zone of inhibition on the intensive band. Effective inhibition of both bacterial and fungal pathogens suggests that metabolites have a broad spectrum of antimicrobial activity. The present research highlights the utility ofA. arborescensCLB12 as prolific source for the biodiscovery of new antimicrobials to combat multidrug-resistant pathogens. The study also emphasizes the inter-habitat cycling of fungal endosymbiont and their possible benefits ofA. arborescensto the host. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Casein and soybean are superior quality proteins; however, these are known to inhibit mineral absorption. These investigations were aimed at enzymatic modification of these proteins and to study their effect on mineral bioaccessibility. Casein and soybean proteins were hydrolyzed with alcalase and trypsin individually under optimum conditions. The protein hydrolysates, prepared with different degrees of hydrolysis, were freeze dried, fortified with either iron or zinc and analyzed for bioaccessible mineralsin vitro. Proteolytic hydrolysis enhanced the bioaccessibility of iron and zinc in proportion to the degree of hydrolysis. Tryptic hydrolysis enhanced the bioaccessible iron from 1–4% in casein and from 1.3–3.3% in soybean. Alcalase hydrolysis showed a comparatively higher enhancement with both the proteins. Tryptic hydrolysis enhanced zinc bioaccessibity by 3-fold in casein and alcalase hydrolysis enhanced by 2- to 2.5-fold. In soybean, dephytinization showed a synergistic effect. In conclusion, enzymatic hydrolysis of proteins looks promising for enhancing bioaccessibility of minerals in protein matrices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Intrusion detection system (IDS) plays a vital role in network infrastructure. Organizations have to protect the data from various attacks which are frequently affecting the networks. In this paper, we propose Association rule mining algorithm (ARMA) for detecting various network attacks such as smurf, neptune, mailbomb, back, apache2, processtable, guess_passwd, snmpguess, ipsweep, and nmap. KDD dataset contains three components, namely, “corrected dataset”, “10% dataset”, and “full dataset”, are employed for experimentation. Performances of the proposed ARMA are evaluated using the corrected dataset for training and other two datasets for testing. Java Development Kit (JDK) is used to conduct experiments and the results show significant improvement in the detection rate and also reduction of the false positive rate. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The present study envisions screening of endophytic actinomycetes inhabiting the medicinal plantEuphorbia hirtaL. for antimicrobial activity against human pathogens. Surface sterilization of plants segments resulted in isolation of 46 endophytic actinomycetes. Recovery of endophytic actinomycetes was higher in root, followed by steam and leaves. Primary screening for antimicrobial activity resulted in five isolates expressing antimicrobial potentials against tested human pathogens during screeningviadual culture and cross streaking methods. The strain displaying significant activity was selected as subject of interest and subjected to large scale fermentation. The cell free supernatant was used for solvent extraction with ethyl acetate to obtain organic phase which was reduced to obtain crude ethyl acetate. The crude extract was evaluated to determine antimicrobial activity using disc diffusion assay. The active fraction was partially purified with TLC and HPLC. The results obtained in present investigation displayed significant activity against all the test pathogens. Further partial purification of crude metabolites resulted in separation of active band bearing activity at Rf0.8 displaying clear zone of inhibition against MRSA strainviabioautography. The HPLC chromatogram revealed elution of active fraction between 4.5 to 5 retention times displaying major peak. The result of present investigation is a preliminary finding which is promising enough for further characterization to reveal novel antimicrobial agent responsible for activity. The study also attributes towards biosynthetic potential of endophytic actinomycetes inhabitingEuphorbia hirtaL. as repertoire of antimicrobial metabolites. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fungal endophytes as a source of bioactive metabolites have led to the development of pharmaceutical products finding new applications. In a survey of endophytic fungal biodiversity, an antimicrobial endophytic strain CLB32 was isolated from the leaf ofCombretum latifoliumBlume (Combretaceae) from the Western Ghats of Southern India. CLB32 was then identified asGliomastix polychroma(KR704576) by morphological and phylogenetic analysis based on internal transcribed spacer (ITS) nuclear rDNA and intervening 5.8S rRNA gene. CLB32 here constituted the first report on incidence of endophytic fungi fromC. latifoliumBlume. Ethyl acetate fraction of strain CLB32 was evaluated for antimicrobial activity by disc diffusion assay. Secondary metabolites produced effectively inhibited methicillin-resistantStaphylococcus aureus(18.33 ± 0.33 mm),Pseudomonas aeruginosa(14.66 ± 0.33 mm) andCandida albicans(14.00 ± 0.57 mm). Biosynthesis of these antimicrobial compounds was detected by analytical TLC-bioautography method as depicted by zone of inhibition on intensive the band. These findings suggest thatG. polychromaCLB32, as a producer of natural antimicrobial drugs, could help to combat against multidrug-resistant infections and also provide baseline information for industrial applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Sensor Web provides wider access to sensors and their observationsviathe Web. A key challenge is to infer information about geographic events from these observations. A systematic approach to the representation of domain knowledge is vital when reasoning about events due to heterogeneous observational sources. This article delivers a formal model capturing the relations between observations and events. The model is exploited with a rule-based mechanism to infer information about events fromin-situobservations. The article also describes how the model’s vocabularies are used to formulate spatiotemporal queries. A use case for reasoning about blizzard events based on real time series illustrates the formal model. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Biosorption is the process of removal of any chemical molecules by the treatment of biological material. Industrialization resulted in the discharge of various toxic heavy metals into water bodies, which poses serious health hazards to humans and animals. In the present study, liveSpirulina platensiswas used as a biosorbent for the removal of the heavy metals chromium (Cr(VI)) and lead (Pb(II)) from the aqueous samples.S. platensiswere cultured in the presence of different concentrations of heavy metals. The growth of the algal cells was found to be decreased by 59% and 36% in media containing 50 ppm Cr(VI) and Pb(II), respectively. To assess the biosorption of heavy metals, at different time intervals, the spent culture media were used to detect Cr(VI) by atomic absorption spectroscopy method and Pb(II) by 4-(2-pyridylazo)resorcinol indicator method. Results suggested that there was a significant uptake of Cr(VI) and Pb(II) from the medium byS. platensis, with corresponding decrease of metals in the medium. When metal salt solutions or industrial effluent samples were passed through the column containing immobilized liveS. platensisin calcium alginate beads, the concentration of Cr(VI) was found to be reduced drastically. The present study indicates the application ofS. platensisfor the bioremediation of heavy metals from the samples obtained from industrial effluents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A vinyl ester monomer (VEM), namely cyclohexyl-1,1′-bis[4-(γ-2-methylphenoxy)-α-hydroxypropylacrylate], was synthesized from 1, 1-bis (3-methyl-4-glycidyloxyphenyl) cyclohexane, and acrylic acid via nucleophilic addition. The structure of VEM was confirmed by FTIR,1H,13C NMR, and electron impact-mass spectroscopy. Diglycidyl ethers of bisphenol-A (DGEBA) epoxy resin were toughened with varying percentages of 5, 10, and 15% (by wt) VEM using 4, 4′-diaminodiphenylmethane (DDM). VEM-modified epoxy systems were further modified with organophilic montmorillonite (OMMT) clay. OMMT clay-filled hybrid VEM-epoxy resin systems, developed in the form of casting, were characterized for their mechanical, thermomechanical, dielectric, and morphological properties. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Binuclear ruthenium(III) complexes [RuX3L]2 · nH2O (X = Cl, L = L1, L2, L3; n = 1, L4 and L5, X = Br; L = L3), [RuX3L1.5]2 · nH2O (X = Br, L = L1; n = 0, L4; n = 6 and L5; n = 10), and [RuX3L2]2 (X = Br, L = L2) have been isolated by treatment of hydrated RuX3 (X = Cl/Br) in acetone with 2-(2′-aminophenylbenzimidazole) (L1), 2-(3′-aminophenylbenzimidazole) (L2), 2-[(3′-N-salicylidinephenyl)benzimidazole] (L3), 2-(3′-pyridylbenzimidazole) (L4), and 2-(4′-pyridylbenzimidazole) (L5) in acetone. The complexes were characterized by elemental analysis, conductivity and magnetic susceptibility measurements, IR, electronic, EPR, and mass spectral studies. The complexes were dimeric; based on analytical and spectral studies, an octahedral geometry was proposed for the complexes. The synthesized complexes were screened against Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria and fungi. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Two virus isolates (OY77 and OY81B) from okra plants showing yellow vein mosaic, downward curling and vein twisting symptoms were collected from different farmer's fields in Karnal, Haryana state, India. The genomes of the two isolates were amplified, cloned, sequenced and analysed. The analysis indicated that the isolates are similar with 89.2% nucleotide sequence identity. Based on the current threshold cut-off value for taxonomy distinguishing the genus begomoviruses species from strains, the two isolates are designated as strains of Cotton leaf curl Alabad virus (CLCuAV) which shared nucleotide sequence identity of >90% with CLCuAV infecting cotton in Pakistan. Phylogenetic and recombination analyses of the major genome component of OY77 and OY81B is derived from different begomviruses (CLCuAV, BYVMV, CLCuMuV) as the foremost parents for evolution of these new recombinant strains. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

We report here the synthesis of hexagonal GaN nanocrystals on p-silicon substrates by Radio-Frequency (RF) magnetron sputtering without substrate heating or by post-deposition annealing treatment. GaN nanocrystals are synthesized and tailored as a function of RF power at constant Ar and N2 flow rates (working pressure). The observed reduction in grain sizes as a function of RF power has been correlated with an increase in compressive strain. The effect of RF power on crystallite orientation has been determined by diffraction intensities using the degree of c-axis orientation. Atomic force microscopy shows uniform lateral nanocrystal sizes with spherical in shape by insignificant difference in Root-Mean-Square (RMS) roughness values for all the deposited thin films. Transmission electron microscope and field emission-scanning electron microscope studies have been performed to understand the surface morphologies and grain sizes. Thus, tailoring the size of the nanocrystals has been discussed by correlating RF powers, working pressures and cathode voltages on lattice vibrations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ion beams are extensively used for the modification and analysis of a wide range of materials. However, basic mechanisms of defect propagation with the effect of different electronic energy losses are not understood yet and are essential to improve device performance. In the present study, AlGaN/GaN multi-quantum wells (MQWs), which were grown on sapphire by metal organic chemical vapor deposition, have been subjected to swift heavy ion irradiation at a fixed fluence as a function of type of projectile and its energy to understand the defect formation. Irradiated materials have been compared with the as-deposited ones to see the effects on composition, periodicity and strain. The composition gradient as a function of S e has been investigated with analytical and high-angle annular dark field scanning transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and the results have been further confirmed by high-resolution X-ray diffraction. The interface quality has been analyzed with aberration-corrected high-resolution TEM images. Effects of electronic energy loss on Raman modes have been investigated. Finally, the effects of ion beams on MQWs interfaces are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) have attracted extensive attention globally due to their applications in modern nanotechnology. It is very important to study the effects on these MWCNTs under swift heavy ion (SHI) irradiation since ion irradiation has been recognized as one of the best tools for nanostructuring of materials, in general. Here, we present the effects of 80 MeV Ni ions with a fluence ranging from 3×1012 to 3×1013 ions/cm2 on functionalized MWCNT mats. The properties of pristine and irradiated samples were studied using X-ray diffraction, Raman spectroscopy and transmission electron microscopy. The effects of SHI irradiation on these samples are discussed in detail. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ion beam-induced intermixing is of great interest and has been observed in various systems such as metal–semiconductor interfaces. However, similar effects in III-nitrides have not been studied in any detail, yet. In the present study, swift heavy ion-induced intermixing of nearly lattice-matched Al(1−x) In x N/GaN heterostructures have been investigated using Rutherford backscattering spectrometry and high-resolution X-ray diffraction techniques. Inter-diffusion of Ga and In elements across the Al(1−x) In x N/GaN interface and the consequent formation of a new mixed quaternary alloy (AlGaInN) layer have been observed. The influence of electronic energy loss of SHI on intermixing effects has been studied. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The wide band gap semiconductor, GaN, has emerged as an important host for rare earth-electroluminescence. The annealing behaviour and lattice site location of Er implanted into GaN were studied with the Rutherford Backscattering Spectrometry (RBS)/channelling and photoluminescence (PL) techniques. Also Er site dependence on the annealing temperature and implantation dose has been studied in detail. The optical properties of the Er-doped GaN system, evidencing their dependence on the parameters adopted during the synthesis procedure (Er implantation dose, annealing temperature) have been discussed. RBS/channelling measurements suggested that mostly Er occupy substitutional site and depends on the Er concentration. The main result is the activation of a typical Er giving rise to PL emission in the 1450–1650 nm range, related to radiative 4 I 13/2→4 I 15/2 transitions. Depending on the Er dose, we observe a specific behaviour linked to variation of the annealing temperature that strongly determines PL emission band. We observed a PL spectral shape with the main peak located at 1542 nm and shoulder peak at 1558 nm (and full width at half maximum (FWHM) of 33 nm) with a series of weaker PL structures at 1519, 1572 and 1591 nm, due to the Stark sub-level splitting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mashing is a process of converting the grain starch into fermentable sugar by activating the malt enzymes using a hot-water steeping process. A microcontroller-based nine-profile, nine-segment temperature programmer and four-channel temperature and rpm (rotations per minute) display system for the mashing apparatus has been designed and implemented using a PIC 16F887 microcontroller. In this apparatus, a pulse width modulation (PWM)-based programmable AC voltage controller has been designed to vary mash tub temperature at required rate, and the resistance temperature detector (RTD) PT100 has been used to measure the temperature of the mash tub and sample. The software for the microcontroller has been developed using C language to set the end temperature and time of the nine segments of nine temperature profiles through the keypad and also to implement the proportional integral and derivative (PID) controller to control the temperature of the mash tub as per user settings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Examines the relationship between the Luria-Nebraska Neuropsychological Battery-Third Edition (LNNB-III) and the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-Third Edition (WAIS-III) in an adult neuropsychological population. Effectiveness as a screening instrument for intelligence; Ability of the LNNB-III scales to predict IQ scores on the WAIS-III; Correlation of the Intelligence scale of the LNNB-III with the verbal IQ.

The current-voltage (I-V) characteristics and electrical switching behaviours of As[sub 40]Te[sub 60-x]In[sub x] (5 ≤ x ⩽ 16.5), As[sub 35]Te[sub 65-x]In[sub x] (10 ≤ x ≤ 19) and As[sub 30]Te[sub 70-x]Inx (12.5 ≤ x ≤ 21.5) have been studied over wide ranges of indium concentrations x and average coordination numbers . All the glasses studied show a threshold switching behaviour. Further, the composition dependence of the switching field is found to exhibit a distinct change in slope at = 2.65 and a local minimum at around = 2.69. These results indicate the possibility that rigidity percolation occurs at around = 2.65 and chemical threshold around = 2.69. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Examines the performance on the Wisconsin Card Sort Test (WCST) for each quarter of the test. Suggestion that multiple regression equations can reliably predict WCST whole test scores from a 64 or a 96-item version of the test, but not a 32-item version; Use of the 64-item version as a clinically sound substitute for the entire test.