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Neoantigen presentation arises as a result of tumor-specific mutations and is a critical component of immune surveillance that can be abrogated by somatic LOH of the human leukocyte antigen class I (HLA-I) locus. To understand the role of HLA-I LOH in oncogenesis and treatment, we utilized a pan-cancer genomic dataset of 83,644 patient samples, a small subset of which had treatment outcomes with immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICI). HLA-I LOH was common (17%) and unexpectedly had a nonlinear relationship with tumor mutational burden (TMB). HLA-I LOH was frequent at intermediate TMB, yet prevalence decreased above 30 mutations/megabase, suggesting highly mutated tumors require alternate immune evasion mechanisms. In ICI-treated patients with nonsquamous non–small cell lung cancer, HLA-I LOH was a significant negative predictor of overall survival. Survival prediction improved when combined with TMB, suggesting TMB with HLA-I LOH may better identify patients likely to benefit from ICIs. Significance: This work shows the pan-cancer landscape of HLA-I LOH, revealing an unexpected “Goldilocks” relationship between HLA-I LOH and TMB, and demonstrates HLA-I LOH as a significant negative predictor of outcomes after ICI treatment. These data informed a combined predictor of outcomes after ICI and have implications for tumor vaccine development. This article is highlighted in the In This Issue feature, p. 211

The common presentation of tuberculosis is common but uncommon presentation of tuberculosis is not so uncommon. Mycobacterium tuberculosis can affect any part of the body, at any age and in any form. Tuberculous meningitis (TBM) is a serious form of tuberculosis that affects meninges (coverings of brain and spinal cord) which are responsible for many deaths (1). It is associated with high mortality and morbidity. The steroids appear to reduce mortality in the patients of tuberculous meningitis, regardless of the MRC stage at presentation. Corticosteroids have been used as an adjunct to anti-tuberculous drugs to treat patients with tuberculous meningitis (3,4,5,6). The present study has been undertaken to evaluate the effects of short course, high dose of intravenous methylprednisolone (pulse therapy) versus intravenous dexamethasone (in conventional dose) as an adjunct to anti-tuberculous treatment, on the clinical, biochemical and radiological outcome in patients with tuberculous meningitis. A total of 94 TBM patients were enrolled for this study. 49 TBM patients as a case were given IV infusion of high dose methylprednisolone (1g/day for 5 days) and forty five TBM patients as control were given IV dexamethasone in conventional dose (0.4mg/kg/day divided in 3-4 doses) along with antituberculous therapy. Detailed clinical, biochemical, microbiological and radiological evaluation were performed and findings were evaluated. TBM is considered as a serious extrapulmonary form of TB (Tuberculosis) and should arise suspicion in mind of clinicians based on clinical findings for prompt diagnosis and treatments. In various studies it has been shown that corticosteroids used for longer periods in TBM patients along with antituberculous drugs, were associated with reduced mortality and morbidity but increased adverse effects. In the present study, methylpredisolone used as a pulse therapy showed significant improvement in clinical profile, laboratory findings and radiological outcome.

Ground water samples collected from 40 villages of Sahlawas Block of District Jhajjar, Haryana were analysed for the fluoride and other chemical characteristics. A total number of 160 samples were collected from hand pumps, tube well, well and Govt. supply water of different villages. It is observed that 32. 67% samples of ground water contain fluoride upto 1.0 mg/L, 26% are within 1.5 mg/L and 41.33% are above 1.5 mg/L. Consumption of excessive fluoride in drinking water causes dental fluorosis and physiological deformities. An attempt was also made to survey the school children for dental fluorosis. Both prevalence and severity of dental fluorosis were found to be increased with increasing of fluoride concentration. A systematic calculation of the correlation coefficients has also been carried out between different physico-chemical parameters.

Diabetes Mellitus (DM) is a condition of hyperglycemia due to defects of insulin secretion and/or insulin action. Toxic metals such as lead, nickel, cadmium, arsenic and mercury have been identified which accumulate in various biological samples from T2D (type 2 diabetes) patients through environmental pollution and food chain. Present study will elucidate the toxicological effects of mercury (II) chloride in the pancreatic islets and liver tissues of rat which leads to dysfunction and degeneration of pancreatic islets and liver. Photomicrograph of histology of treated pancreas exhibited the disruption of islets, disorientation of cells and disruption of connective tissue septa. In mercury (II) chloride treated group pancreatic cells were found to be pyknotic and cellular death was confirmed by membrane rupture and necrosis. Alteration of blood glucose levels were observed by glucose tolerance test. The liver sections of rats treated with mercury (II) chloride showed modification in the structure of this organ. Treated liver showed lower periodic acid/Schiff response. In this study, changes in the architecture of pancreatic islets as well as liver may be the reason behind diabetes.

Very few studies have examined the interaction between various environmental and life style factors on elevated serum GGT concentration. Such studies especially in tribal dominated Jharkhand is further rare. Whereas the present study has been done to elucidate the interaction between overweight/obesity and alcohol intake on liver enzyme concentrations and results of instant study have been found to be very useful for better clinical practice. In the instant study, it has been found that higher Body Mass Index (BMI) of patients were associated with elevated Serum GGT level, which in turn associated with hypertension, incident diabetes, metabolic syndrome, cardiovascular disease etc., which increases the morbidity and mortality. Aims & Objectives- The aim of this study is to examine the association between various environmental and lifestyle factors on elevated serum GGT level in a community based indigenous population in Eastern part of India and its clinical relevance. Material and Methods The present study enrolled a total of 404 patients either through outdoor or indoor patients coming to Department of Medicine, RIMS, Ranchi, Jharkhand. Patients with serum GGT concentrations > 38 IU/L and aged 18 years or above from all different communities were included for the study. Additionally, we excluded patients with Serum GGT level ˂ 38 IU/L, yielding a final sample of 193 patients (75 women) for the present study. All patients provided written consent, and the study protocol was approved by the Institution Review Board of the Rajendra Institute of Medical Sciences, Ranchi, Jharkhand. Participants’ age, gender, religion followed by community, occupation with annual per capita income, BMI were recorded. Retrospectively participants’ dietary habits were also recorded. Strengths and Limitations The present study has several strengths including the community based sample of men and women, their religion, occupation, income which indirectly affect their life style like physical activity. However, there are several limitations that must be noted like small sample size, localized population of Eastern India, which limits the generalizability of our result to other ethnic groups.

Introduction: Central venous line placement is one of the essential procedures in the treatment of critically ill patients admitted in the intensive care unit. Central venous catheterization is required not only for providing a route for delivery of the caustic or critical medications but it also allows for the measurement of central venous pressure. Being an invasive procedure it has a learning curve and is associated with many complications. Hence, we conducted the study comparing catheterization of internal jugular vein by ultrasound guided versus landmark approach, with respect to the ease of insertion and related complications in Intensive Care Unit (I.C.U.) patients. Materials and Methods: 150 patients admitted in the I.C.U, fulfilling the inclusion criteria were divided into two groups based on computer generated randomization table namely: group A (landmark technique) and group B (USG technique) comprising of 75 patients in each group. In landmark approach, the internal jugular vein was located at the apex of triangle formed by the sterna and clavicular heads of sternocleidomastoid muscle and needle was directed towards the ipsilateral nipple when advanced through skin, lateral to the carotid artery pulsations with artery being pushed medially. In USG guided approach, the linear USG probe of 7 MHz connected to a real-time Kontron Medical ultrasound unit, was used with standard two-dimensional (2D) ultrasound imaging to identify the IJV. Catheterization was performed real-time by placing the transducer of the ultrasound parallel and superior to clavicle, over the groove between the two heads of the sternocleidomastoid muscle (SAX view). A post-procedure x-ray of chest was done as early as possible to assess the placement of CVC and rule out any complication. Results: The two groups were comparable in age, sex and body mass index. There was no statistically significant difference in the mean number of attempts taken for catheterization of IJV between the two g

The world is currently witnessing a pandemic crisis caused by SARS CoV-2 having its origin in Wuhan, China Transformation from epidemic to pandemic within a very short time-gap resulting in massive global mortality has created a sudden global deadlock affecting both human health and wealth Clinical symptoms expressed by affected patients include dry cough, dyspnea, fever, bilateral lung infiltration and ultimately severe acute respiratory distress in advanced stages The disease is spread over 150 countries and termed as COVID-19 by the World Health Organization (W H O) As per W H O report on 2nd May 2020 there are over 3000000 infected cases distributed throughout the globe claiming more than 200000 lives Mortality rate is accelerating at high speed and presently crossing 6% The entire global healthcare system is exposed and found to be inadequate to mitigate the deadly virus At present there is no medicine or vaccine available or clinically proven for COVID-19 management However, the global research spotlight is now focused on development of drugs or vaccine against the virus This has created a long pipeline of such agents which are now under preclinical or clinical evaluation stage Some existing drugs are also under efficacy evaluations against COVID-19 whereas some are allowed to be used as a prophylactic measure WHO has framed clear guidelines for all countries to manage the spread of the virus and these are being implemented through existing government & regulatory bodies of specific countries The present work will give detailed outline on the pandemic spread, transmission mode, therapeutic strategies and its impact on day to day human life

Multi-objective optimization of industrial natural gas sweetening process using elitist non-dominated sorting genetic algorithm is carried out for methyl di-ethanol amine absorbent to tune the process parameters to improve absorption as well as regeneration performance. This study includes several operating parameters such as lean amine temperature and pressure, feed gas temperature and pressure, regenerator feed temperature and pressure, feed flow rate, etc. Environmental and economic optimization criteria are considered using four cases comprising of several conflicting objectives like net profit, global warming potential, and acidification potential under two-objective and three-objective optimization scenarios. Constraints are imposed on H2S content and CO2 content as per the maximum permissible limit. Pareto optimal fronts are found for different cases and trade-offs between different objectives are illustrated. Simultaneous effects of different variables together on the conflicting objectives are considered to analyze the sweetening process to get a more economical and environmentally friendly process.

Organophosphorus compounds are absorbed by any route including intramuscular injection. Pyrethroid compounds are less toxic for human but in combination with organophosphates, its toxic effect potentiates due to inhibition of its metabolism. In this case report, a 40-year-old female patient presented with acute onset of pain abdomen, recurrent vomiting, and excessive salivation followed by altered mental status, on evaluation her clinical findings were suggestive of organophosphorus poisoning. Her treatment was started with injection atropine, anti-emetics, and adequate parenteral rehydration. After regaining consciousness, the patient confessed that she had taken herself intramuscular injection of pesticide which contained 3% cypermethrine plus 20% quinolphos. It was further confirmed by a very low level of plasma cholinesterase level. Intramuscular injection acted as a depot that leads to prolong intoxication and in the due course of illness, she also developed delayed onset intermediate syndrome that was managed appropriately.

Cerebral venous sinus thrombosis (CVT) is notoriously known for its varied presentations and extremely high risk of mortality, if remains undetected and untreated. On the other hand, life can be saved with full functional recovery if CVT can be identified with high index of clinical suspicion with supportive imaging and treatment with appropriate anticoagulation. It is important for clinicians to be meticulous to screen for both the potential reversible and heritable causes of CVT so that appropriate measures can be taken to prevent such catastrophe. Here we report a case of CVT involving right sigmoid and transverse sinuses presenting with acute onset left sided hemiplegic without antecedent headache or seizures. Patient was successfully treated with anticoagulants with nearly full functional recovery. Multiple predisposing factors were identified. As per our knowledge, this is the first case of CVT with underlying conglomeration of multiple acquired (lactation, folate deficiency, hyperhomocysteinemia, depot medroxyprogesterone acetate injection) and hereditary risk factors (deficiency of protein C, protein S and antithrombin-III) in a single patient.

Introduction Tibial nerve is a larger component of the sciatic nerve. It arises from ventral branches (Anterior Division) - L4, L5, S1-S3. Then it travels along the distal border of the popliteus muscle, deep to gastrocnemius and soleus. In the leg, it is accompanied by the posterior tibial vessels and lies in the tarsal tunnel. It divides into the medial calcaneal nerve at the ankle, medial, and lateral plantar nerves under the flexor retinaculum. It carries sensory information. It can adapt to repeated forces and undergo stretch especially in ankle joint dorsiflexion and inversion of the foot. Compression of the tibial nerve in the tarsal tunnel can cause tarsal tunnel syndrome. Many surgical procedures need tibial nerve block which demands detailed knowledge of its variation. Materials and methods The study was cross-sectional and included lower limbs of five embalmed cadavers and 10 separate cadaveric lower limbs and was performed in the Department of Anatomy of Regional Institute of Medical Sciences, Imphal, India. The reference line (1 cm width) joining two landmarks medial malleolus and medial tubercle of calcaneus called the mideo-malleolar-calcaneal axis was determined and bifurcation of the tibial nerve was classified with respect to the axis. Results The tibial nerve in all the cases also crossed the posterior tibial vessels. In 11 cases (55%), the bifurcation of the tibial nerve was proximal to the mideo-malleolar-calcaneal axis with a mean distance of 1.86 cm above the axis, and thus comprising the maximum Type I category. Type II category, having bifurcation at the level of the axis, was found in six (30%) cases. Type III category, having three (15%) cases, was recorded to have bifurcation at a mean distance of 1.16 cm. Conclusion Proper anatomical knowledge of tibial nerve branching is required to prevent surgical complications, effective nerve block, procurement of tibial nerve graft.

In recent years, researchers have explored component-based synthesis, which aims to automatically construct programs that operate by composing calls to existing APIs. However, prior work has not considered efficient synthesis of methods with side effects, e.g., web app methods that update a database. In this paper, we introduce RbSyn, a novel type- and effect-guided synthesis tool for Ruby. An RbSyn synthesis goal is specified as the type for the target method and a series of test cases it must pass. RbSyn works by recursively generating well-typed candidate method bodies whose write effects match the read effects of the test case assertions. After finding a set of candidates that separately satisfy each test, RbSyn synthesizes a solution that branches to execute the correct candidate code under the appropriate conditions. We formalize RbSyn on a core, object-oriented language $\lambda_{syn}$ and describe how the key ideas of the model are scaled-up in our implementation for Ruby. We evaluated RbSyn on 19 benchmarks, 12 of which come from popular, open-source Ruby apps. We found that RbSyn synthesizes correct solutions for all benchmarks, with 15 benchmarks synthesizing in under 9 seconds, while the slowest benchmark takes 83 seconds. Using observed reads to guide synthesize is effective: using type-guidance alone times out on 10 of 12 app benchmarks. We also found that using less precise effect annotations leads to worse synthesis performance. In summary, we believe type- and effect-guided synthesis is an important step forward in synthesis of effectful methods from test cases., Comment: 17 pages, 13 figures, this is a technical report (with appendix) of a paper to appear in Programming Language Design and Implementation (PLDI) 2021

IoT and cloud computing are the novel fields that are rapidly progressing in the world of internet technology. A huge and massive amount of data are communicating via IoT and cloud devices. Along with the highly configured devices, IoT and cloud also empowered many resource-constrained devices to communicate and compute information through network. But the major problem that they face is how to provide data security through conventional cryptographic algorithms in such resource-constrained devices having smaller size, limited memory spaces, low computation capabilities, and limited power. In this scenario, the biggest driver towards the problem is lightweight cryptography (LWC). This chapter discusses thoroughly the LWC, different schemes of LWC, and cryptanalysis of different LWC schemes.

Introduction: In an unanticipated difficult airway or in an emergency situation of cannot-intubate-cannot-ventilate scenario, Supraglottic Airway Devices (SGD) are recommended as rescue devices for establishing airway quickly to prevent hypoxia. Aim: To compare efficacy of i-gel airway and Laryngeal Mask Airway supreme (LMA supreme) as ventilatory devices and the time taken for their insertion in anaesthetised and paralysed patients with simulated difficult airway. Materials and Methods: One hundred and eighty adult patients with simulated difficult airway were randomly allocated to two groups of 90 patients each. In group I: i-gel and in group S: LMA supreme was inserted. Primary outcome studied was time taken for insertion of SGD. Secondary outcomes were the number of attempts taken for insertion of device, oropharyngeal leak pressure, ease of gastric catheter insertion, fibreoptic bronchoscopic view of anatomical alignment of device with glottic opening. Quantitative variables were compared using unpaired t-test/Mann-Whitney Test, between the two groups. Qualitative variable were compared using Chi-Square test/Fisher’s-exact test. Results: Total time taken for successful insertion was significantly shorter with group i-gel as compared to group LMA supreme {median (IQR) {19 (18.25-21)} versus {24 (23-24)} with p-value ≤0.0001. Overall success rate of insertion (96.67% vs 97.78%, p=1.000) and oropharyngeal leak pressure (p-value=0.555) of i-gel and LMA-S were comparable. i-gel has better anatomic alignment with glottic opening as compared to LMA-S (p-value ≤0.0001). Gastric tube insertion was easy in all patients in both the groups. Conclusion: Shorter time for the insertion of i-gel was observed due to absence of inflatable cuff, although both LMA-S and i-gel are equally efficacious as ventilatory devices in patients with simulated difficult airway under general anaesthesia with controlled ventilation.

ObjectiveAlcoholic cardiomyopathy (ACM) is a leading cause of non-ischaemic dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) in tribal and non-tribal population. However, no study has been done depicting the correlation between clinical profile and prognosis of ACM in tribal and non-tribal population. This study also defines the long-term outcome and prognostic markers of ACM.MethodsWe studied 290 patients with ACM who were evaluated in our institute between January 2013 and December 2016. The primary endpoint of the study was all-cause mortality. Statistical analysis was done by using Kaplan-Meier survival curves for the assessment of all-cause mortality and Cox regression for the assessment of risk factors.ResultsAfter a median follow-up period of 3.75 years (IQR: 3–4 years), 50 patients with ACM (37.3%) died among tribal population while 14 patients (9%) died among non-tribal population. Independent predictors of all-cause mortality in ACM identified by Cox regression were left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) (HR: 0.883; 95% CI 0.783 to 0.996; p=0.043), QRS duration (HR: 1.010; 95% CI 1.007 to 1.017; p=0.005) and Child-Turcotte-Pugh (CTP) Scoring (HR: 12.332; 95% CI 6.999 to 21.728; p120 ms, LVEF ≤35%, CTP Grade B/C than patients with QRS≤120 ms, LVEF >35% and CTP Score A, respectively (log-rank χ²=55.088, pConclusionOur study indicated increased morbidity and mortality in tribal population. LVEF, QRS duration and CTP Scoring at the time of presentation were found to be the independent prognostic markers of patients with ACM.

Natural gas is one of the leading source of energy. Raw natural gas mainly contains methane along with trace amount of other hydrocarbons and some impurities like H2S and CO2, which are very toxic and hazardous gas for leaving being. This gas is being treated in industry to remove the impurities before it is sent to the various industrial and domestic users. Due to instability of crude oil price in the global market and for the sustainable development, it is now important to optimize the existing gas sweetening plant with respect to economic and environmental criteria. A model of gas sweetening process is developed in Aspen Hysis V10 process simulation software and validated by plant data. Multi-objective optimization study is carried out by using I-MODE algorithm. Excel-based VBA codes are used to interlink Hysys model and I-MODE code. In this paper the effects of different independent variables such as lean amine temperature, feed gas temperature, regenerator feed temperature, and pressure are considered with their respective bounds and optimization study is carried out for two different conflicting objectives like damage index and CO2 removal, and so forth. The results are discussed and analyzed with their Pareto optimal set of solutions.

Mandibular incisors show variations in their root canal anatomy from regular pattern in some cases. Magnification plays a vital role to identify those unusual canal morphologies. A certain modification in access cavity preparation is required to locate those extra canals. Not only the functional restoration but also aesthetic harmony should be restored while treating anterior teeth. In these cases, post space preparation should be done with extra care to prevent vertical root fracture. This case report illustrates the importance of proper radiograph and magnification in the successful identification and management of complex canal systems in mandibular incisors.

An acoustic study of the processes of coagulation and fibrinolysis in intense blood flows under the influence of several drugs was carried out. The processes of blood coagulation and fibrinolysis have been observed in vitro in real time using optical and acoustical tools. When fibrin microclots formed in the flow, an automatic injector provided an input of a fibrinolytic drug. The experiments have shown that the method allows the monitoring of fibrinolysis in blood plasma as well as in whole blood and could be applied for the effective control of the injection of fibrinolytics. Acoustic registration was shown to be sufficient to estimate the efficiency of the fibrinolysis. The developed software-hardware complex allows one to test fibrinolytic drugs and could be used to develop protocols for their administration. The prospects for creating new classes of portable devices for hemostasis correction have been opened up.

In this study, multi-objective optimization of the methyl di-ethanolamine-based industrial natural gas sweetening process is carried out using the improved multi-objective differential evolutionary algorithm for the enhancement of the plant performance by tuning the critical process parameters. Due to the involvement of conflicting objectives, i.e., minimizing the environmental, and process safety objective, and maximizing economic objective, the natural gas sweetening process is a perfect contender for multi-objective optimization. Several multi-objective optimization cases are studied and solved in MS Excel-visual basic application interfaced with natural gas sweetening process simulator (i.e., Aspen-Hysys). The acidification potential for environmental objective, damage index for process safety, and profit before tax is successfully optimized together with the enhanced removal of acid gas for the industrial natural gas sweetening process. Pareto-optimal solutions are obtained for all multi-objective optimization problems studied. The temperature and pressure of the feed gas, the flow rate of the feed gas, and the temperature of the regenerator are the most influencing operating variables among the seven decision variables used in this study. Energy-saving potential and profitability analysis of the operating plant has also been established under normal and deteriorating feed conditions to meet the desired sweet gas purity and process safety, which has resulted in improvement of damage index (DI), profit before tax (PBT) and energy savings under normal feed quality approximately by 2%, 16% and 4.5 × 105 kJ/h, respectively. An identical H2S removal (i.e., 98.8%) with ~9% energy conservation can be achieved in the same plant for deteriorating feed quality by compromising ~ 6% DI and ~6.5% PBT.

Background: Medicolegal cases accounts for an important and crucial bulk in any hospital. It involves meticulous handling in both examination and paper-work. Categorization of MLC cases under certain groups is vital for understanding the trending pattern. These parameters help the concerned authorities to formulate policies and norms accordingly. Methods:Aretrospective study was carried out in the Clinical Forensic Medicine Unit of a tertiary care hospital in Raipur, Chhattisgarh, India. All cases during the period from 1st January 2019 to 31st December 2019 were considered and evaluated. Non MLC and MLC cases with incomplete records were excluded. Both percentage and numbers of the evaluated data are mentioned. Results: st st A total number of 1488 cases were reported during 1 January to 31 December 2019. Among the 1488 cases reported, 33.06% were among the age group 21-30 years followed by 20.56 % and 15.66 % in the age groups 31-40 years and 11-20 years respectively. Most of the medico legal cases registered were of are males (77.15 %). Highest number of MLC cases were recorded (37.70 %) during the time period of 06:00 pm to 12:00 Midnight. Road Trafc accidents accounted for 59.07% of the cases followed by brought dead cases (8.40 Percent). Conclusion: Study of the Medicolegal Cases pattern requires keen and exhaustive observation skills. Proper training of Registered Medical Practitioners is vital in today's practice so that the fallacies and mistakes can be reduced, thus aiding the Law of the country and its legal implications.

In the present study, we investigated the capabilities of a novel ultrasonic approach for real-time control of fibrinolysis under flow conditions. Ultrasonic monitoring was performed in a specially designed experimental in vitro system. Fibrinolytic agents were automatically injected at ultrasonically determined stages of the blood clotting. The following clots dissolution in the system was investigated by means of ultrasonic monitoring. It was shown, that clots resistance to fibrinolysis significantly increases during the first 5 minutes since the formation of primary micro-clots. The efficiency of clot lysis strongly depends on the concentration of the fibrinolytic agent as well as the delay of its injection moment. The ultrasonic method was able to detect the coagulation at early stages, when timely pharmacological intervention can still prevent the formation of macroscopic clots in the experimental system. This result serves as evidence that ultrasonic methods may provide new opportunities for real-time monitoring and the early pharmacological correction of thrombotic complications in clinical practice.

Natural gas is one of the main sources of energy. Due to the abrupt change of oil and gas price in the global market, it is important to improve the production process and make it profitable in a sustainable manner. The purpose of the current study was to further enhance the performance of the methyl diethanolamine (MDEA) process plant by retrofitting the NG sweetening plant and subsequent multi-criteria optimization studies. Most of the literature studies focused on modeling and sensitivity analysis with little attention to the retrofitting aspects of the gas sweetening unit. Therefore, process retrofitting and simultaneous multi-objective optimization of the natural gas cleaning process using an elitist nondominated sorting genetic algorithm was carried out for the methyl diethanolamine solvent to improve the performance of the absorption well as regeneration column. Seven operating parameters and four conflicting objective functions were considered to formulate two-objective, three-objective, and four-objective optimization problems. Two separate models, i.e., (1) base case and (2) improved retrofitting case, were developed in ProMax process simulator software, and these were validated with actual plant data. All the optimization problems were solved with the base model and improved retrofitting model, and the Pareto optimal fronts were obtained. Up to 17.5% reduction on process safety indicator damage index (DI) was obtained for the lean-vapor compression (LVC) plant configuration considering the same actual plant return on investment (ROI) of 97.44% without affecting H2S removal efficiency. The retrofitted process with LVC can achieve a 42% reduction of acidification potential (AP) and 29% reduction of global warming potential (GWP) compare to the normal process. Therefore, the LVC process can give enhanced plant performance with H2S removal of 99.38%, which leads to the improved cleaner production of natural gas. However, the retrofitted process provides a comparative economic benefit than the existing process.

This study evaluated the effects of active and static sitting chairs on short-duration computer task performance, postural risks and perceived pain, comfort and fatigue. A repeated-measures, within-subjects study was conducted, in which 16 participants performed 40 trials of a computer-based homing task in four seating conditions. Computer task performance was operationalized using mousing and typing speed as the measures, postural risk was evaluated using the Rapid Upper Limb Assessment (RULA). Perceived scores for pain, comfort and fatigue were reported through a survey administered at baseline and after each seated task condition. Results suggest that for short-duration computer tasks, active seating does not reduce mousing and typing speed; postural risks for musculoskeletal disorders do not significantly differ in comparison to static seating. Additionally, while there is reduction in perceived levels of comfort for active seating, the perception of pain and fatigue do not change significantly.

Mn2+ ions doped in high-energy absorbing semiconductor host nanocrystals take away the exciton energy and result in spin-polarized d–d emission. For the last three decades this has been widely studied on group II–VI semiconductors. Recently, the doping has been extended to CsPbX3 perovskite nanocrystals. Although the optical transition follows a similar principle, in which the exciton energy is transferred to dopant Mn d-state, doping in perovskite also revealed several new fundamental aspects of doping and dopant-induced new optical properties. Here, anions which mostly tune the band gap controlled the fate of the appearance of Mn emission. Also, the doping process was observed to be different than traditional growth doping. Hence, in perovskite host nanocrystals, while some aspects of Mn doping are found to be in agreement with previous findings, some new facts also surfaced. Combining all these facts, this Perspective focuses on the journey of Mn doping from group II–VI semiconductors to lead halide pe...

The term Rhupus is coded for the individuals who have rheumatoid like arthritis with erosions and fulfil the criteria for both rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). Abnormal Th2 cell plays a central role in SLE while Th1 participate in RA. Thus the overlap of SLE and RA has a very low incidence (0.01%-0.2%) in patient with arthritis. This 40-year-old male patient presented with complains of severe multiple joint pain with progressive deformities, diminished vision from last 2 months, redness on back, headache and swelling over scalp. As this patient had history of severe trauma that was considered as a precipitating factor for ongoing chronic inflammatory disorder. Posterior subcapsular cataract was explained by prolong use of systemic steroid and rashes on the lower back due to sulfasalazine. Radioimaging study revealed arachnoid cyst and calcified projection arising from outer table of skull, which was kept under observation.

OBJECTIVE: Securing the tracheal tube (TT) at a fixed recommended depth of 21/23 cm in female and male patients, respectively, may result in inappropriate placement of the TT in some patients. The aim of the present study was to determine the vocal cord-carina distance (VCD) and tracheal length (TL) to ascertain the optimal depth of TT placement during orotracheal intubation in the adult Indian population. METHODS: A total of 92 adults undergoing elective surgery under general anaesthesia with orotracheal intubation were studied. Surface anatomy airway measurements were noted. A cuffed TT (female size 7 mm ID and male size 8 mm ID) was inserted with the intubation guide mark at level with the vocal cords (VCs). Fiberoptic bronchoscopy-guided measurements were obtained for VCD, TL, TT tip-carina distance, VC-cricoid distance and lip-carina (L-C) distance. RESULTS: The mean±SD VCD was 12.82±2.05 and 12.02±1.44 cm, and TL was 10.14±2.04 and 9.37±1.28 cm in male and female patients, respectively. Statistically significant differences were observed between male and female patients in VCD (p=0.033), TL (p=0.032), L-C distance (p

Many researchers have explored ways to bring static typing to dynamic languages. However, to date, such systems are not precise enough when types depend on values, which often arises when using certain Ruby libraries. For example, the type safety of a database query in Ruby on Rails depends on the table and column names used in the query. To address this issue, we introduce CompRDL, a type system for Ruby that allows library method type signatures to include type-level computations (or comp types for short). Combined with singleton types for table and column names, comp types let us give database query methods type signatures that compute a table's schema to yield very precise type information. Comp types for hash, array, and string libraries can also increase precision and thereby reduce the need for type casts. We formalize CompRDL and prove its type system sound. Rather than type check the bodies of library methods with comp types---those methods may include native code or be complex---CompRDL inserts run-time checks to ensure library methods abide by their computed types. We evaluated CompRDL by writing annotations with type-level computations for several Ruby core libraries and database query APIs. We then used those annotations to type check two popular Ruby libraries and four Ruby on Rails web apps. We found the annotations were relatively compact and could successfully type check 132 methods across our subject programs. Moreover, the use of type-level computations allowed us to check more expressive properties, with fewer manually inserted casts, than was possible without type-level computations. In the process, we found two type errors and a documentation error that were confirmed by the developers. Thus, we believe CompRDL is an important step forward in bringing precise static type checking to dynamic languages., Comment: 22 pages, this is a technical report (with appendix) of a paper to appear in Programming Language Design and Implementation (PLDI 2019)

Aim: To Compare and evaluate the microleakge of newly introduced Glass Hybrid restorative system(Equia Forte) with alkasite based restorative material(Cention N). Materials and Methods: 30 premolars free of caries or any other defects and extracted for orthodontic reasons were chosen for the study. Subsequently class I cavities were prepared and teeth were randomly assigned into two experimental groups (n = 15) and restored using EQUIA FORTE and CENTION N respectively. All the specimens were subjected to thermocycling. Specimens were stained with 0.6% RhodamineB dye and evaluated for dye penetration under stereomicroscope. Results: Equia Forte showed lesser leakage than compared to Cention N. Conclusion: The study therefore concluded that EQUIA FORTE to have lesser microleakage compared to CENTION N, thereby having better sealing ability.

Fertilizer based culture medium is formulated for the cultivation of Nannochloropsis sp. by selecting appropriate environmental parameters and nutrients. The influences of light intensity, temperature, NaCl, NaHCO3 and fertilizer are investigated on biomass, lipid and eicosapentaenoic acid productivity. Five-level-five-factor central composite design assisted response surface method is used for optimal cultivation of microalgae and results are compared with the genetic algorithm. A significant improvement in biomass, lipid and eicosapentaenoic acid productivity is obtained from the optimally formulated fertilizer medium using genetic algorithm over response surface method based fertilizer medium and standard culture medium. Using simple genetic algorithm, following optimal parameters, i.e., light intensity (μmol m−2 s−1), temperature (°C), NaCl (M), NaHCO3, (g L−1) and fertilizer (g L−1) are obtained for the maximum productivity of biomass (0.77 g L−1), lipid (47.91% of biomass) and eicosapentaenoic acid (26.67% of lipid): (125, 24.28, 0.55, 1.09, 1.07), (118, 21.79, 0.50, 1.13, 1.04) and (87.5, 17, 0.25, 1.09, 1.07), respectively. Two different multi-objective optimization problems are formulated and solved using elitist non-dominated sorting genetic algorithm to find the optimum operating variables resulting characteristic Pareto optimal solutions. Effects of the variables and their interactions on Nannochloropsis sp. cultivation, lipid and eicosapentaenoic acid productivity are successfully revealed.

Road Traffic Accidents (RTAs) are one the leading causes of morbidity and mortality in the world. Accident in general is a sudden, unplanned, unfortunate mishap or unexpected, unintentional event resulting from carelessness, unawareness, ignorance or a combination of factors and causing injury or loss, a decrease in value of the resources, or an increase in disabilities. It is estimated that 10 millions motor vehicle crashes occur annually in the world. 16 persons die every hour from RTAs in our country. In India, road accidents have been proved to be 1892 times more dangerous than the terrorism. Very few studies have been carried out in Ranchi region. Therefore, the present was undertaken to study the pattern of Road Traffic Accidents (RTAs), to draw public attention, awareness towards road safety and prevention of mortality from accidents .

Aims: The aim of this study was to find & compare the pyloric Canal Length (CL), Pyloric muscle thickness (MT) by using the High Resolution Ultrasonography (HRUS) in Preoperative & postoperative period (after Ramstedt Pyloromyotomy) for Infantile Hypertrophic Pyloric Stenosis (IHPS). Methods: From January 2018 to June 2019, we have performed HRUS for 40 patients of clinically diagnosed cases of IHPS. & Ultrasonography machine: Phillips HD 7 machine & Alpinion E-CUBE with 3-12MHz linear probe, 3.5-5 MHz curvilinear probe and 5-7.5 MHz sector probe were used. The sonographic criteria for positive IHPS are Pyloric muscle thickness (MT) > 3 mm, pyloric Canal length (CL) >14 mm. Postoperative MT & CL at 2 month, 4 month & 6 month were determined and results were analysed with the preoperative pyloric parameters. Statistical analysis used: Mean and standard deviation of values were obtained by using Microsoft excel and statistical significance was analysed by regression study of grouped variables showing p – value by Microsoft excel. Results: Pyloric parameters (MT & CL ) gradually attain normal values over months and 80 % of patients showed resolution of pyloric MT & CL values by 6 months. MT assessment shows statistical significance at six months scan ( p- value

Background: In view of recent publications of conflicting evidence on the safety and efficacy of hydroxychloroquine as prophylaxis and as a treatment for COVID-19 patients, we need to assess the effect of hydroxychloroquine in COVID-19 patients of authors own local population.Methods: In this retrospective chart review study, categorization of confirmed COVID-19 cases nasopharyngeal swab of RT-PCR was done into a group of patients who received hydroxychloroquine standard dose and another control group who did not receive hydroxychloroquine. The main comparing parameter was to see virus clearance days across both groups.Results: A total of 112 patients were included for the study, and grouped of 72 patient who received HCQS and remaining 40 patients as control. The virus clearance time in days was found to be 9.01±3.08 for HCQS group and for control group it was 8.64±2.34 days (Man Whitney U test value = 2.13, p=0.756).Conclusions: There is no significant difference found in attaining virus negative status with use of HCQS administration in this study.

Background: This was a prospective observational study done to observe the effects of telmisartan on cognitive function in hypertensive dementia patients.Methods: The study included new diagnosed hypertensive and normotensive dementia patients. Patients comprised of four groups; hypertensive dementia patients taking telmisartan (group 1), hypertensive dementia patients taking donepezil and telmisartan (group 2), normotensive dementia patients taking donepezil (group 3) and normotensive dementia patients taking drugs which does not affect memory (group 4).Cognitive function of four groups were compared to each other at 4, 8 and 12 weeks.Results: In group 1, 2 and 3 mini-mental state examination (MMSE) scores has increased by 1.69, 16.81, and 13.28 percent and in group 4 there is decrease in MMSE score by 6.03 percent in 12 weeks.Conclusions: In this study we can conclude that telmisartan has dementia preventing propensity which is better than placebo but not as good as donepezil.

Mobile manipulation robots have high potential to support rescue forces in disaster-response missions. Despite the difficulties imposed by real-world scenarios, robots are promising to perform mission tasks from a safe distance. In the CENTAURO project, we developed a disaster-response system which consists of the highly flexible Centauro robot and suitable control interfaces including an immersive tele-presence suit and support-operator controls on different levels of autonomy. In this article, we give an overview of the final CENTAURO system. In particular, we explain several high-level design decisions and how those were derived from requirements and extensive experience of Kerntechnische Hilfsdienst GmbH, Karlsruhe, Germany (KHG). We focus on components which were recently integrated and report about a systematic evaluation which demonstrated system capabilities and revealed valuable insights., Comment: Accepted for IEEE Robotics and Automation Magazine (RAM), to appear December 2019

Single coronary artery anomaly (SCAA) is a very rare disorder with an incidence of about 0.024%-0.066% which presents with the diverse feature but is mostly asymptomatic. It has found to be one of the pathological states to cause sudden death. We report a case of R-III type of SCAA as classified by Lipton et al. which is only about 15% of all the cases of SCAA which makes it even rarer. Hypoxic environment is thought to be an important cause for the development of such anomalies which gives us clues to determine the predisposing factors to be ruled out in patient's history. Coronary angiography is the key toward definitive diagnosis which can be later supported by computed tomography scan and determination of its subtypes. Depending on the findings and physical state of the patient, medical or surgical treatment can be defined but only after correct diagnosis by comprehensive investigations.

Considering the chemistry of the formation and physics at interfaces, we report on the heterostructure of a promising new energy material, Au–Cu2ZnSnS4 (Au-CZTS), and investigate the impact of coupling on Au on improving both the photostability and the photoresponse behavior. We focus primarily on the fundamental issues involved in bringing together two dissimilar materials having different chemical and physical properties in a single building block where one is a multinary semiconductor nanomaterial and the other is a plasmonic noble metal. The formation of heteroepitaxy at the junction of Au and CZTS was investigated for two different phases of CZTS. Considering epitaxy formation along the {111} planes of Au, it was observed that the wurtzite and tetragonal phases of CZTS exhibit coincident site epitaxy with different periodic intervals. A detailed study of this epitaxy formation with Au in both phases of CZTS has been carried out and reported. Because Au-CZTS is a promising new material, we have furthe...

In response to compelling demands worldwide for sources of renewable and eco-friendly energy feedstock, research and development in microalgae as a sustainable alternative has garnered interest. In order to make microalgae-derived fuel more competitive than fossil fuels in terms of cost, bottlenecks like scalability, better biomass production and enhanced lipid production without nutritional stress need to be resolved. In this chapter, the various computational modelling methods applied to microalgae growth in various environmental conditions have been reviewed. The possibility and potential of employing these models for better lipid production have also been highlighted, as better predictability of models can lead to better transgenic algal platform. Moreover, the upcoming models integrating omics data with flux analysis have also been discussed that has resulted in updated simulation due to the incorporation of data about novel genes. Lastly, the need for close collaboration between biochemical engineers, molecular biologists and modellers have been emphasised to validate the models on natural environment apart from laboratory conditions.

For a country which is developing and is looking to achieve sustainable development, it is important that every individual understands the aspects of savings and investment. Financial Literacy integrated with investor awareness is one aspect which helps individuals to manage their finances and the improve standard of living which results in the growth of the country's economy. In the present scenario investing money has become a complex task because of the presence of a large number of savings and investment options. Most of the citizens, particularly from rural locations are found unaware about investment avenues, rules and regulations. As a result of this, in spite of remarkable growth in Indian economy and increase in income level, the saving per capita is found to be lower. Technology is one of the key aspects through which a large number of people especially from rural India could be connected and made aware.Common Service Centers (CSCs) functions are delivery points for government and public services for the rural population at their doorstep. To make the rural citizens aware about the concept of investment, Financial Literacy, and Investor Awareness Programs were initiated through CSCs in collaboration with Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA).This paper presents best practices and operations plan for a pan-India rural approach to deliver Financial Literacy and Investor Awareness Programs for masses through innovative technology. The paper also analyses state wise behavior pattern on investments in financial literacy. The paper ends with outcomes of impact analysis and conclusion.

Financial literacy integrated with Investor awareness is one aspect which helps individuals to manage their finances and improve the standard of living which results in the growth of the country's economy. Most of the citizens, particularly from rural India are found unaware about investment avenues, rules, and regulations. As a result of this, in spite of remarkable growth in Indian economy and increase in income level, the saving per capita is found to be lower. Technology is one of the key aspects through which a large number of people especially from rural India could be connected and made aware. Common Services Centers (CSCs) functions are delivery points for government and public service for the rural population available at their doorstep. In order to make the rural citizens aware about the concept of investment, Financial Literacy, and Investor Awareness Programs were initiated through CSCs in collaboration with Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA). This paper presents best practices and operations to deliver Financial Literacy and Investor Awareness Programs for masses through innovative technology. The paper also analyses state wise behavior pattern on investments in financial literacy. The paper ends with outcomes of impact analysis and conclusion.

In nanoscale, with size variation, Au shows different optical behaviors. For the small size clusters (sub-5 nm), it behaves more like semiconductors having sp and d band electronic energy levels splitting and also do not show the characteristic plasmon. However, for larger size particles (>5 nm), it shows the plasmonic absorption. Considering these two structures of Au0, we report here their coupling with a low bandgap semiconductor SnS and study the difference in their formation chemistry and materials’ properties. Following a common synthetic approach in which a smaller size SnS cube and tetrahedron shapes result in Au cluster decorated Au-SnS heterostructures, larger size SnS cubes form coupled Au-SnS nanostructures. Contrastingly, the nonplasmonic Au0 cluster-SnS hinders the photocatalytic activity, whereas the plasmonic coupled Au-SnS enhances the catalytic activity toward reduction of organic dye methylene blue. However, both types of heterostructures show enhanced photocurrent as well as photorespo...

The blood coagulation system (BCS) is a complex biological system playing a principal role in the maintenance of haemostasis. Insufficient activity of the BCS may lead to bleeding and blood loss (e.g. in the case of haemophilia). On the other hand, excessive activity may cause intravascular blood coagulation, thromboses and embolization. Most of the methods currently used for BCS monitoring suffer from the major disadvantage of being invasive. The purpose of the present work is to demonstrate the feasibility of using ultrasonic methods for non-invasive registration of the early stages of blood coagulation processes in intensive flows. With this purpose, a special experimental set-up was designed, facilitating the simultaneous detection of optical and acoustic signals during the clotting process. It was shown that (i) as microemboli appear in the flow during the early stage of blood coagulation, the intensity of the Doppler signal increases twofold, and (ii) microemboli formation in the early stages of blood clotting always reveals itself through an acoustic contrast. Both of these effects are well defined, so we hope that they may be used for non-invasive BCS monitoring in clinical practice.

Importance Data sets linking comprehensive genomic profiling (CGP) to clinical outcomes may accelerate precision medicine. Objective To assess whether a database that combines EHR-derived clinical data with CGP can identify and extend associations in non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Design, Setting, and Participants Clinical data from EHRs were linked with CGP results for 28 998 patients from 275 US oncology practices. Among 4064 patients with NSCLC, exploratory associations between tumor genomics and patient characteristics with clinical outcomes were conducted, with data obtained between January 1, 2011, and January 1, 2018. Exposures Tumor CGP, including presence of a driver alteration (a pathogenic or likely pathogenic alteration in a gene shown to drive tumor growth); tumor mutation burden (TMB), defined as the number of mutations per megabase; and clinical characteristics gathered from EHRs. Main Outcomes and Measures Overall survival (OS), time receiving therapy, maximal therapy response (as documented by the treating physician in the EHR), and clinical benefit rate (fraction of patients with stable disease, partial response, or complete response) to therapy. Results Among 4064 patients with NSCLC (median age, 66.0 years; 51.9% female), 3183 (78.3%) had a history of smoking, 3153 (77.6%) had nonsquamous cancer, and 871 (21.4%) had an alteration inEGFR,ALK, orROS1(701 [17.2%] withEGFR, 128 [3.1%] withALK, and 42 [1.0%] withROS1 alterations). There were 1946 deaths in 7 years. For patients with a driver alteration, improved OS was observed among those treated with (n = 575) vs not treated with (n = 560) targeted therapies (median, 18.6 months [95% CI, 15.2-21.7] vs 11.4 months [95% CI, 9.7-12.5] from advanced diagnosis;P Conclusions and Relevance Among patients with NSCLC included in a longitudinal database of clinical data linked to CGP results from routine care, exploratory analyses replicated previously described associations between clinical and genomic characteristics, between driver mutations and response to targeted therapy, and between TMB and response to immunotherapy. These findings demonstrate the feasibility of creating a clinicogenomic database derived from routine clinical experience and provide support for further research and discovery evaluating this approach in oncology.

A multi-objective optimization of oil well drilling has been carried out using a binary coded elitist non-dominated sorting genetic algorithm. A Louisiana offshore field with abnormal formation pressure is considered for optimization. Several multi-objective optimization problems involving two-and three-objective functions were formulated and solved to fix optimal drilling variables. The important objectives are: (i) maximizing drilling depth, (ii) minimizing drilling time and (iii) minimizing drilling cost with fractional drill bit tooth wear as a constraint. Important time dependent decision variables are: (i) equivalent circulation mud density, (ii) drill bit rotation, (iii) weight on bit and (iv) Reynolds number function of circulating mud through drill bit nozzles. A set of non-dominated optimal Pareto frontier is obtained for the two-objective optimization problem whereas a non-dominated optimal Pareto surface is obtained for the three-objective optimization problem. Depending on the trade-offs involved, decision makers may select any point from the optimal Pareto frontier or optimal Pareto surface and hence corresponding values of the decision variables that may be selected for optimal drilling operation. For minimizing drilling time and drilling cost, the optimum values of the decision variables are needed to be kept at the higher values whereas the optimum values of decision variables are at the lower values for the maximization of drilling depth.

In this paper we examine the prospect of using localized flow control for biomimetic fluid trapping. The problem is of interest for applications that call for guided transport of fluid volumes. The study shows that trapping can be achieved with the help of two partially shrouded rotating cylinders in a side-by-side arrangement. Secondary flows that manifest successful trapping resemble recirculation zones forming under the crests of peristaltic deformation waves, in particular with respect to their response to increasing incident flow velocity. Varying the rotation speed of the cylinders provides means to control the amount of trapped fluid. Numerical calculations to support these conclusions are presented in the paper for 0≤Re≤100 and h ≈2, where Re and h are, respectively, the Reynolds number and the center-to-center distance between two cylinders divided by the cylinder diameter. Experimental validation of numerical results is performed for 0≤Re≤4.

INTRODUCTION: Stroke entails a high socioeconomic burden due to increased mortality and morbidity. Early identification of individual at risk could be of helpful in designing primary prevention strategies1. The role of serum uric acid (SUA) level as an independent risk factor for stroke has been questioned for many years2. Evidence from epidemiological studies suggest that elevated SUA levels may predict an increased risk for stroke and cardiovascular events2,3. AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: 1. study the clinical profile of stroke patient with normal and elevated uric acid. 2. To study the incidence of stroke with normal and elevated uric acid and its correlation with other risk factors (i.e. hypertension, diabetes, alcohol, hyperlipidemia). MATERIAL AND METHODS: The present study was carried out on 100 patients of acute ischaemic stroke. In each case, the diagnosis of recent ischaemic stroke was confirmed by CT scan of brain. Patients having disease known to increase serum uric acid or taking drugs which can cause hyperuricemia were excluded from study. Detailed clinical and physical examination with relevant investigation was done in all cases and statistical analysis with Chi square and student ‘t’ test were applied wherever appropriate and p value < 0.05 was considered significant. RESULTS: In present study total 100 cases out of them 54% Patients ware male and 46% patients ware female, majority of patients (62%) were in the age group of 50 to 80 years. Mean age (±SD) of stroke patients was 58.73±13.97 years, Mean serum uric acid (±SD) of hyperuricemic patients 9.52± 2.56 mg/dl, in patient below 60 years 6.01±2.93 mg/dl, in patient above 60 years 6.59±2.40 mg/dl, amongst hypertensive 6.30±2.64mg/dl, amongst diabetic 6.90±3.02mg/dl, Mean SSS Score in patient with elevated serum uric acid was 38.31±11.31 vs. 31.35±12.64 in patient with normal serum uric acid p value equals 0.0116. CONCLUSION: The prevalence of hyperuricemia in acute ischaemic stroke patients in present study was 29%. Alcoholism amongst male showed statistically significant positive correlation with hyperuricemia in patient with acute ischaemic stroke. Patient with hyperuricemia were having poor neurological status as compared to patients without hyperuricemia when assessed at the time of admission showing statistically significant relation. Outcome was also poor with rising level of serum uric acid but no statistically significant relationship was found in between outcome of patient and hyperuricemia in patient with acute ischaemic stroke.

a b s t r a c t Home injuries are a substantial health burden worldwide, with the home setting being at least as important as the road for injury. Focusing on common injury hazards presented by the home environment, we sought to examine the justification for significant expenditure on safety-related repairs to the housing stock. Trained inspectors assessed 961 New Zealand houses for injury hazards. Using administrative data from the Accident Compensation Corporation (the national injury insurance agency), 1328 home injuries were identified amongst the 1612 occu- pants of these houses over the 2006-2009 period. Telephone interviews gathered data on the location and nature of these injuries, and the attitudes of those injured to potential injury hazards in their homes. Commonly occurring injury hazards that could be repaired at modest cost were identified based on their prevalence estimated by the housing inspection, and their location with respect to the areas of the home where the injuries occurred (identified during the telephone interviews). About 38% of the home injuries studied were potentially related to a structural aspect of the home environment. Common safety hazards included the lack of working smoke detectors (65% of the sample), inadequately fenced driveways (55%), hot water temperatures measured at over 60 ◦ (49%) and poorly lit access to the house (34%). A protocol for identifying and repairing important common hazards was designed. The actual safety effects of this protocol are in the process of being examined in a randomised controlled trial.

Photo-oxidation of semiconductor quantum dots is the prime concern during their processability, as it often induces nonradiative states and quenches the band edge excitonic emission. Nevertheless, similar effects have been observed for light emitting doped semiconductor nanocrystals, and the dopant emissions are also quenched due to the surface oxidation. This is more pronounced for selenide-based host semiconductors. To overcome this, we study the interface chemistry of Cu-doped and Mn-doped ZnSe nanocrystals and report here the retrieving and brightening of the emission from completely quenched months old doped nanocrystals. This has been obtained by treating the doped nanocrystals with appropriate organic thiol ligands which remove the surface oxidative states as well as resist further oxidation of the nanocrystals. Here, we investigate details of the redox chemistry at the interface and study related photophysics in retrieving the dopant emission.

Pesticides are widely used in agricultural production to control pest infestation, reduce potential yield losses and ensure high produce quality. However, the poisonous nature of pesticides can entail a high risk to human health. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in US conducts risk assessments to determine the mitigation required to protect the health of applicators handling pesticides. Appropriate personal protective gear (PPG) is a basic tool for risk mitigation that can provide an effective barrier between pesticides and human body. Generally, PPG is made of thick, stiff and highly impermeable material causing heat stress, bulkiness and impaired mobility. This impacts the efficiency of the applicators along with acceptability of the protective gear, and improper use, resulting in risks of contamination. This study aimed to identify possible channels of contamination and concerns related to heat stress, fit and mobility of the existing PPG and provide suggestions for improved PPG design.