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Varicella vaccine was first licensed in Japan and South Korea in 1989 for use in healthy children and was introduced in US in 1995. So far, 29 countries have adopted varicella vaccine in their universal immunization program (UIP). No Asian country, India included, has adopted the varicella vaccine as part of their UIP. The extra-cutaneous sites for VZV diseases are central nervous system and gastrointestinal tract, the expanded disease spectrum includes vasculopathy, myelitis, inflammatory bowel disease, perforated ulcers, and gastritis. The actual disease burden of varicella is not known as most of the infected individuals may not visit the physician. The amplifiable VZV DNA will not always be detectable in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) samples in protracted illnesses such as vasculopathies, but demonstrable anti-VZV IgG in CSF has diagnostic value. The World Health Organization (WHO) position paper 2014 recommends two doses of varicella and zoster vaccines in targeted population. In India, varicella vaccine is not included in the UIP due to the cost and the belief that lifelong immunity occurs following primary infection. The expanded spectrum of VZV disease and the mounting body of evidence, however, suggest the need for both varicella and zoster vaccines in routine immunization schedule.

The additional record of Hypselobarbus kushavali is reported from Thunga River, Karnataka, India and a new species of Hypselobarbus from Bhadra River, Karnataka is described herein. Hypselobarbus arunachalami sp. nov. is diagnosed from all its congeners in the genus by having fewer lateral-line scales and fewer circumferential scale rows [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Medicinal plants provide a significant supply of natural compounds that can be used to develop new therapeutic medicines for treating severe illnesses including microbial infections. The genus Bambusa, which belongs to the Poaceae family, encompasses a vast and widely distributed collection of plants that possess a wide range of traditional uses in the treatment of various diseases. This study examined the ethanolic extracts of Bambusa tulda, along with its fractions such as ethyl acetate, petroleum ether, n-butanol, and water, to investigate their qualitative and quantitative phytochemical, antioxidant, and antibacterial properties. FTIR analysis of ethanolic powdered shoot extracts shows, presence of different functional groups including C-H, C-O, O-H and aromatic groups by showing stretching’s in different wavelengths. The extracts underwent testing to evaluate their antimicrobial activity against various strains of bacteria by using agar disc diffusion method and micro-dilution techniques to determine the minimum inhibitory and bactericidal concentrations. Additionally, the antioxidant activity of the extracts was assessed using the scavenging activity of DPPH radical methods. The extracts exhibited a robust positive connection between their antioxidant activity and the combined amounts of phenolics and flavonoids. The IC50 values of n-butanol, ethanol, water, petroleum ether, and ethyl acetate fraction show in ascending order 10.77+0.24 μg/ml, 11.35+0.13 μg/ml, 13.36+0.11 μg/ml,13.93+0.71 μg/ml and14.25+ 0.27 μg/ml respectively. The extracts have been shown effective efficacy against Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus bacteria. However, it did not show any responses against Klebsiella pneumoniae and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Escherichia coli exhibited greater susceptibility to the extracts compared to S. aureus, with the n-butanol fraction being the most potent extract. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fresh vegetables are prone to foodborne pathogen infection due to improper cultivation methods and poor post-harvest handling practices. This paper describes the prevalence of foodborne pathogens in three vegetables (tomato, brinjal, and lablab) cultivated by small-scale producers (SSP) of India. We assessed the possible entry of pathogens into the vegetable production chain. Samples from soil, manure, irrigation water, harvesting bins, and workers' hands were assessed as sources of possible pathogen entry. In addition, further sampling was done to determine prevalence of these pathogens in the produce from the agricultural fields and markets. Total plate counts, yeast and mold count, total coliforms like general microbial indices, and possible foodborne pathogens like Salmonella , Escherichia coli O157, Staphylococcus aureus , Pseudomonas aeruginosa , and norovirus were assessed in all the samples by standard microbiological, biochemical, and molecular methods. The results revealed that among the three vegetables we studied, brinjal had the highest load of general microbial indicators. Moreover, the total coliforms count of market vegetables was higher than that of on-farm vegetables, indicating poor hygiene in post-harvest operations. The pathogen Pseudomonas aeruginosa was found in the market tomatoes (0.35 log 10 cfu/g), and E. coli was detected in the market samples of brinjal (2.98–3.89 log 10 cfu/g) and lablab (0.59–2.21 log 10 cfu/g), thereby revealing fecal cross-contamination during pre or post-harvest operations. None of the vegetable samples were contaminated with E. coli O157:H7, Staphylococcus aureus , Salmonella sp., and norovirus. However, the microbiological source tracking of primary production farms showed that E. coli O157:H7 was present in manure (9/27), soil (6/27), harvest bins (6/27), and irrigation water samples (3/27) of SSP farms. In addition, soil (33%), manure (11%), and harvest bins (11%) had Pseudomonas aeruginosa. In conclusion, our study suggests that adequate knowledge of good agricultural practices for small-scale producers to cultivate microbiologically safe vegetable production and proper handling strategies for vegetable vendors is crucial to mitigate foodborne pathogen outbreaks through fresh vegetables. • The work delineates food safety issues of fresh vegetables of small-scale producers. • Field and market samples of tomato, brinjal and lablab had high microbial indices. • Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Escherichia coli found in fresh produces. • Manure, soil, irrigation water, and harvest bin are sources of contamination. • Good agricultural practices for microbial safe vegetable production identified. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a novel approach to designing and optimizing a Solar-Wind Hybrid Energy System (SWHS) for an Electric Vehicle Charging Station (EVCS) and a university shopping complex in India. Objectives include addressing sustainable energy challenges, ensuring reliability, and minimizing the Levelized Power Supply Price (LPSP). Key contributions encompass a two-stage framework for optimal SWHS configuration, consideration of uncertainties in renewable energy generation, and the use of the Ebola Optimization Search Algorithm (ESOA). The first stage models SWHS components, formulates an objective function, and addresses reliability to minimize LPSP. The second stage employs ESOA, inspired by Ebola spread, exploring both local and global search spaces. Simulation results and a load profile analysis validate the proposed framework and ESOA's performance, observing a significant improvement of 15% in LPSP and a 10% increase in system reliability. The study provides insights into optimal Distributed Generation (DG) sizing in SWHS, ensuring reliable and cost-effective power supply for EVCS and commercial applications, contributing to the renewable energy system design and optimization field. The analysis indicates an enhanced system reliability by 10 % and a notable reduction in LPSP by 15 %. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lightweight Small Arms Technologies (LSAT) program is a funded program by the U.S. Joint Service Small Arms Program. The program aims at reducing the weight of small arms and their ammunition. Tactical concepts and the research activities on previous arms have delivered lighter arms and resulted in decrease of soldier lethality. The program developed Light machine gun and its ammunition. This took extensive simulation work before a prototype was developed. Further to that work on previous technologies was on High Ignition Temperature Propellant (HITP). The designers have put relentless efforts for projectile improvements the technology. This has resulted out lighter ammunition like bullets with higher lethal calibre. A demand for Use of electronics in rounds counter, Laser for sighting and Target acquisition has proved a future to have a much smaller but powerful weapons. Make in India program has germinated a concept of developing such automated arms, ammunition which facilitates a vast reduction in soldiers carrying loads. This reduces strain associated to weapon logistics and increasing mobility. A notable demand is to have development of electronics and information technology in arms and ammunition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Young generation of every country is the future of the country. The country with the highest GER in higher education will be more successful in all the terms (Keller, K.R.I., 2021). India's GER in higher education in 2018-19 was 26.3, and in 2019-20 is 27.1.It is observed from statistics that it is which is increased. Students are enrolling for higher education but many fails to complete it (Ministry of Education, Government of India, AISHE Report 2019-20). This leads to the need of identification of reasons of students' academic success or failure. If we predict students' academic success or failure at the initial stages of their graduation period will help to take preventive measures and increase passing percentage. Student academic success is one of the criteria for accessing quality of the educational institutions, and it is one of the crucial components. There are different aspects of students' academic success, such as exam-oriented, employment-oriented, and higher study-oriented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Conflict between Russia and Ukraine have exposed the vulnerabilities in the financial system. The war between Russia and Ukraine is a blow to the global economy begetting rapid inflation and sluggish growth. The ongoing conflict has affected the trade routes and have disrupted supply chains globally. Western nations have unitedly condemned Russian Federation and have placed several sanctions as well as bans on Russia. These sanctions have led to an increase in prices of commodities which will negatively affect the recovery of Global and domestic economy affected by the gruelling pandemic. Russia and Ukraine make up only 2% of global economy but they make majority of many essential products. One of the countries deeply affected by the war is India. The article briefly explores the history of conflict, the global impact of the war and the impact of war on India. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Educational system is significantly changing in today's world. Recently, the New Education Policy (NEP)-2020 isstarted implementing in India. Students can have various options for getting education according to their choices and requirements. NEP-2020 is more student-centric rather than making them compulsory to get the degree with prescribed syllabus. AI has a major role in NEP-2020. Data mining technology plays a vital role in this new higher education system. As the Higher Education Institutions are growing rapidly, it is necessary for them to impart quality education for enrollment of students. Institutions can maintain educational quality by improving their results. This can be achieved by predicting student academic performance with the help of data mining algorithms. Classification, clustering, regression and association rule mining are the data mining techniques which can be implemented on student dataset to predict the final grade. This study focuses on prediction of student performance using classification and regression data mining techniques. The aim of this literature review is to study various data mining tools, algorithms and the important attributes that affect the student academic performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The beauty products and cosmetics sector in India has grown rapidly due to shifting customer preferences and a greater focus on personal grooming. With the continued growth in sales of beauty products, it is critical for firms looking to succeed in this cutthroat industry to comprehend the dynamics of customer ratings and how they affect the quality of their products. Firstly, this study identifies major trends, obstacles, and possibilities influencing the nexus between artificial intelligence and the Indian beauty goods market by utilizing the body of current literature and empirical data. Secondary data is used in this research, two Kaggle datasets--Amazon Beauty Product Sales Rating and Amazon Beauty Product Recommendation--are analyzed in this study. We seek to provide insight on the complex relationship between customer ratings and product quality and how these aspects affect the success of beauty goods in the Indian market by contrasting these datasets. The objective of this study is to stimulate advancements in the domain of beauty product sales in India by establishing a connection between theoretical research and operational implementations. In the conclusion, our summary of the literature seeks to guide future initiatives focused at leveraging AI to promote innovation, growth, and sustainability in the ever-changing Indian beauty goods sector. The research's conclusions have ramifications for Indian consumers and producers of cosmetic products. This study has results for Indian consumers as well as cosmetic product manufacturers. Customer feedback may provide manufacturers with strategic insights to improve the quality of their products, and customers can use it to make well-informed decisions that suit their tastes. In the end, this research adds to the larger conversation on the dynamics of consumer happiness and product quality in India's thriving beauty and cosmetics industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]