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The Cucurbita genus, often called as cucurbits, include several economically important fruits and vegetable crops like cucumber, gourds, squash, watermelon, pumpkin, and melon. Several of the species including Cucurbita pepo and C. maxima have nutritional value and are utilized in folk medicine for treating gastrointestinal diseases and intestinal parasites. Such an activity is attributed to the presence of fatty acids, glycosides, resins, sterols, carotenoids, phenols, tocopherols, saponins, steroids, and terpenoids such as cucurbitacins. Squash and pumpkin are the major members of Cucurbitaceae family used as food and animal feed. The two major pumpkin varieties C. pepo and C. maxima are considered as highly polymorphic with manifold nutritional, including food preservative abilities and medicinal activities. Development of transgenic pepo for tolerance to various biotic and abiotic stresses coupled with nutritional value is the need of the hour. Very few reports are available on transgenic production of pepo. The present review summarizes the regeneration and transformation protocols for developing transgenic C. pepo and C. maxima and future prospects.

Finger millet [Eleusine coracana (L.) Gaertn.] is a nutritionally enriched member of the Poaceae family and sixth most important cereal crop. The crop is mostly cultivated throughout Asia, Africa, and South America. Finger millet is a rich source of minerals, vitamins, dietary fibers, and proteins as compared to other millets. The crop has a diverse gene pool with distinct features and genetic variations. It has several advantages of nutritional quality and quantity, health benefits, and abiotic and biotic stress adaptation over other cereals. Sustainable crop improvement is one of the critical tasks in the present-day plant breeding programs. Conventional methods of plant breeding have improved the crop yields, but have their limitations. In such a scenario, targeted and less time-consuming molecular marker-assisted breeding and genetic engineering-based tools and techniques are encouraged. In this chapter, we have discussed some of the transgenics developed in finger millet for crop improvement.

Tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill.) is the second most important vegetable crop of the world. It is rich in nutrition with zero cholesterol, but highly sensitive to abiotic stresses, especially salt, drought, and high temperatures. Development of transgenic tomatoes that are climate resilient coupled with high nutritional value and improved shelf-life of fruit is the need of the hour. Utilization of conventional plant breeding methods and genetic engineering technologies must therefore be vital to achieve these goals. Tomatoes overexpressing transgenes and transcription factors conferred tolerance against different abiotic stresses with increased fruit production in comparison with wild-type (WT) plants. Similarly, delayed fruit ripening and nutritional quality of the fruit have been achieved in tomato. The present review describes the current status of the development of transgenic tomatoes that are tolerant to diverse abiotic stresses alongside delayed fruit ripening and other quality attributes and projects the potential areas for future research.

Background: Anterior cervical discectomy and fusion (ACDF) is the most commonly performed surgical procedure for symptomatic cervical disc disease. In this study, we analysed the upper and lower limb motor functions after ACDF for disc prolapse in patients with degenerative cervical disc disease. Methods: One hundred consecutive adult patients who underwent ACDF for single or two-level cervical disc prolapse during the study period (October 2015 to October 2017) were included in the study. Results: Preoperative motor deficits in limbs were noted in 73% (73/100) of the patients. Enhance recovery of motor deficits was noted in 72.6% (53/73) of these patients and persisting motor deficits in the remaining patients (20/73- 27.4%). Five patients (5/27- 18.5%) without any preoperative motor deficits developed motor deficits after ACDF. Detailed pre and postoperative (at the time of discharge) motor power (graded by MRC grade) in all 4 limbs (Shoulder abduction/adduction/flexion/extension, elbow flexion/extension, wrist flexion/extension, hip abduction/adduction/flexion/extension, knee flexion/extension, ankle flexion/extension) was recorded. Statistically significant improvement in motor power (as recorded at the time of discharge) was noted in all the tested muscle groups after ACDF. Conclusion: Early improvement in preoperative motor deficits can be expected in the majority of the patients with cervical PIVD following ACDF.

Soil is a highly complex system which is influenced by several factors in its existence. Soil health refers to the capacity of a soil in sustaining biological productivity by promoting plant growth while maintaining or improving environmental quality. Soil health is a prerequisite for agricultural production and thus it becomes highly essential to support crop production and in delivering ecosystem services. With increasing concerns on food security, maintenance of soil health is the foremost challenge we are posed with. It becomes difficult to understand and manage the processes occurring in soil independently as all these are interrelated and are in a unique balance. The physical, chemical and biological properties together with their interactions need to strike that perfect balance in a healthy soil, which is actually determined by several abiotic and biotic factors. When the balance between these is lost, the equilibrium is disturbed indicating the deterioration in soil quality which is defined using soil degradation. The different threats to soil by means of nutrient depletion, decline in organic matter, soil contamination, addition of toxic materials to soil and lack of proper management of soil and land use would lead to a degraded soil. In this chapter, a discussion is made on the aspects of soil health and abiotic and biotic factors that influence soil health and soil degradation.

Due to various architectural requirements the structures are subjected to large shear stresses and hence the study of shear performance of structural materials is essential. Push-off test is a simple test which can be performed to determine the in-plane shear strength (IPSS) of materials effectively. Geopolymer concrete is a recent construction material which is a suitable alternative cement concretes especially in precast construction due to the non-requirement of cement, the manufacture of which is energy intensive and involves the liberation of CO2 which is a known pollutant and leads to global warming. Concrete has good performance under compressive loads and fails generally due to crack propagation, bridging of these cracks can improve the load carrying capacity of the concrete, addition of fibre is one such method available where the fibres act as crack arrestors. The present experimental investigation has made an effort to understand the influence of fibres over shear strength of Geo Polymer Concrete (GPC) adopting push-off specimen. From the experimental studies it was observed that shear strength and resistance against cracking increased with increase in fibre volume and the effectiveness of GPC reinforced by fibres were higher than that of NSC specimen.Due to various architectural requirements the structures are subjected to large shear stresses and hence the study of shear performance of structural materials is essential. Push-off test is a simple test which can be performed to determine the in-plane shear strength (IPSS) of materials effectively. Geopolymer concrete is a recent construction material which is a suitable alternative cement concretes especially in precast construction due to the non-requirement of cement, the manufacture of which is energy intensive and involves the liberation of CO2 which is a known pollutant and leads to global warming. Concrete has good performance under compressive loads and fails generally due to crack propagation, bridging of these cracks can improve the load carrying capacity of the concrete, addition of fibre is one such method available where the fibres act as crack arrestors. The present experimental investigation has made an effort to understand the influence of fibres over shear strength of Geo Polymer Concre...

In order to restore the declining trend of qualities of different soils of India, there has been an emerging need for soil as well as land evaluation and land use planning. In fact, land evaluation is a prerequisite for land use planning. This chapter is aimed at correlation of soil survey information, climate, vegetation and other aspects of land with the specific use for which land is evaluated. In this process, the suitability of the land is assessed and classified. Data set requirements for land evaluation are described in relation to Indian context. Updates of different land evaluation approaches like quantitative and qualitative approaches as adopted and practiced in India are briefly described with case studies. For the Second Green Revolution, India wants successful adoption of land evaluation and land use planning under strong vision, mission and overall goal. Being the foundation base of production functions, the mode for soil evaluation needs to be shifted in accordance with a wide range of objectives. Scientific approaches in quantifying the land evaluation would ensure targeted production of the best suitable crop in a well-defined land use planning system. There is further scope to link the land use planning system with supply chain process integrating the farming activities from point of origin i.e. soil and land to the point of consumption, i.e. market. India wants prime land and needs soil-based efforts to alleviate poverty through profitable production on sustainable frameworks. Profitable production with sustainable management could be enhanced considerably to ensure even more than double of the farmer’s economic growth merely by improving the correctable limitations with a given land.

Optimal power flow problem (OPF) with continuous, non-smooth function solved with various optimization methods in the literature. OPF can be solved easily by using evolutionary algorithms such as genetic algorithm. Genetic algorithms are widely used in practice. In the current work, IEEE 30-bus system with several objective functions is solved using genetic algorithm with a new multi-parent crossover (GA-MPC) and this was identified to be better than the other algorithms reported in the paper.

The chapter is an effort to understand soil types of India and further classifying them since time immemorial from the start of civilization itself. Derived from a wide range of rocks and minerals, a large variety of soils exist in the Indian subcontinent. Soil-forming factors like climate, vegetation and topography acting for varying periods on a range of geological formations and parent materials have given rise to different kinds of soil. The National Bureau of Soil Survey and Land Use Planning, Nagpur, as a premier soil survey institute, has been consistently using benchmark soil series to understand the rationale of the soil taxonomy, keeping in view the soil genesis from different rock systems under various physiographic locations in tropical India. The NBSS & LUP has developed a database on soils with field and laboratory studies over the last 50 years. This has generated maps and soil information at different scales, showing area and distribution of various soil groups in different climatic zones or agro-ecological sub-regions. The 1:250,000 scale map shows a threshold soil variation index of 4–5 and 10–25 soil families per m ha for alluvial plains and black soil regions, respectively. Progress in basic and fundamental research in Indian soils has been reviewed in terms of soils and their formation related to various soil-forming processes. More than 50 years ago, the US soil taxonomy was adopted in India. However, India should have its own system of soil classification at least for the purpose of correlation with international and universal systems.

Polycrystalline Bi1-xHoxFe1-yZryO3 series has been synthesized by sol-gel method. The effect of Ho, Zr co- substitution on structure and magnetic properties were investigated. The results of the XRD patterns suggest that all the samples have a rhombohedral structure (space group R3c). The lattice parameters increase as the Ho, Zr concentration increases. Raman spectroscopy show vibration modes for all the samples associated with R3c phase accompanying a shift in the modes due to co-substitution of Ho and Zr. As Ho, Zr doping level increases, the weak ferromagnetism becomes more obvious with the effect that the saturation magnetization and coercivity gradually increases and attain maxima at x = y = 0.2.

Internet voting has been used in the countries like UK, Estonia, Switzerland, etc. In the i-voting protocol used in Estonia, the full security of the vote cast relies only on the PIN stored in the national ID card. In the i-voting protocol used in Estonia, the vote cast is encrypted by the public key of the vote storage server and digitally signed by using the PIN2 of the voter. The attacker can easily re-vote by using Re-voting Malware and can cast vote of any voter by using Self-voting Malware. To overcome the attack, we modified the voting protocol by including an OTP which should be sent to the voter’s phone number. The voter should enter the OTP to cast the vote so the attacker cannot bluff the voter. The vote modification malware changes the vote cast by the voter according to the preference of attacker, and the vote change should not be reflected in the vote verification application. To overcome the attack, the vote verification protocol is modified by digitally signed the vote by using the private key of the server. We analyse the major client-side attacks on the proposed i-voting system and found that it is more secure than the i-voting system used in Estonia.

The benchmark soils in twenty agro-ecological regions of the country are briefly explained in this chapter using the established soil series to interpret soils, their physical, chemical characteristics, problems and potentials. This would be helpful in identifying the use of soil resource inventory and classification in optimal land use and production system. In fact, a benchmark soil is widely extensive, holds a key position in the soil classification system and is of special significance to farming, engineering or other uses and focuses on its agronomic concepts for wider acceptability of interpretations and for extrapolation of research data. It is representative of the most extensive soils in major land resource area or agro-ecological zone. This chapter highlights the benchmark soils in conducting soil correlation, standardization of legends, prediction of soil behaviour, agro-technology transfer and planning for further research in soil science and allied disciplines. However, further refinement in its applications using GIS tools is of priority.

Elongated holes are found in many aerospace structural components and are prone to fatigue failure due to the stress concentration effect at the edge of the hole. Different approaches like shape reworking, shape optimization, and cold expansion combined with interference fitting are currently used as a repair/life extension option, to overcome fatigue cracking problems around elongated holes. In practice, these approaches lead to either addition of material or modification of geometry. A novel and economical method derived from renowned hole cold expansion process is proposed in the literature to enhance the fatigue life of elongated hole without adding material and modifying hole geometries. Benefit of implementing proposed novel cold expansion method for elongated hole is investigated in this work through a simplified three-dimensional nonlinear Finite Element simulation. Distributions of induced beneficial residual stress around and along the thickness direction of elongated hole are predicted from the FE simulation. The results indicate introduction of significant beneficial residual stresses throughout the thickness surface of elongated hole. These beneficial residual stresses are responsible for fatigue life extension and can be further used to quantify the achieved fatigue life enhancement.

Parent material is a critical component in any pedogenic system. In order to interpret the soil data for specific land uses, all geological, sedimentological and geomorphological observations are of prime importance. Indian geology is diverse and contains rocks belonging to different geologic periods with reference to Deccan Traps, Gondwana and Vindhyayan. Plate tectonics, tectonic evolution, and proterozoic orogen with archaean era marking the drift of the Gondwana supercontinent and Mesozoic period, with greatest volcanic eruptions on peninsular India over Archaean gneiss and schists. This chapter also highlights the Cambrian formations being occurred in the salt range in Punjab and central Himalayas. Mesozoic, with the Deccan lava flows occurring in Peninsular India, consists of archean gneisses and schists, which are the oldest rocks. Cambrian Period is found in the salt range in Punjab and the Spiti area in central Himalayas. The Indian sub-continent comprises of three major geomorphological components, namely the Himalayas, the Great Plains and the Peninsular India. The Indian shield consists of archean gneisses and schists and Assam-Burma geological province which was a part of Tethys sea. Central Uplands comprise of the Malwa Plateau, Aravalli ranges, Madhya Bharat Pathar, east Rajasthan uplands, the Vindhyayan, the Bundelkhand uplands and the Narmada valley. The Deccan Plateau consists of Satpura range and Maharashtra plateau in the north and Karnataka and Telangana plateaus in the south Eastern plateau and is represented by Baghelkhand plateau, Chotanagpur plateau, Garhjat hills, Mahanadi basin and Dandakaranya upland. The Western Hills consist of North Sahyadri, Central Sahyadri, Nilgiris and South Sahyadri, running parallel to the west coast. The highly dissected Eastern Hills running in semi-circular fashion border the east coast of India and consist of Eastern Ghats and the Tamil Nadu Upland. There are two coastal plains, one along the Arabian Sea (west coast) and the other along the Bay of Bengal. There are two groups of Islands namely the Arabian Sea Islands and the Bay of Bengal Islands.

Solving a problem can have multiple methods, each having its own merits and demerits. The ultimate level of complexity of solution models is highly subjective in nature because a method easy for one person may be much difficult for others. Moreover, methods friendly for humans need not be suitable for automated systems like computers. Similar is the case among various automated systems too. All depend on the nature of the problem and the solver, availability of resources, optimization requirements and the like. For example, loops in source code reduce the complexity while programming but give additional overhead during execution. So, optimization of programs by reducing the number of loops can make considerable improvement in performance at runtime. There are several techniques for optimizing the loops. This study is based on the popular loop optimization technique known as Loop unrolling which is having own advantages and disadvantages, but able to open up the additional scope for enhanced parallelism and automated code generation.

WTe2, a type-II Weyl semimetal, has recently attracted much attention due to its unique band structure leading to extremely large magnetoresistance and exceedingly high mobility. In this report, we discuss the signature of Lifshitz transition in WTe2.08 nanosheets through electrical transport measurements. We observed a resistivity anomaly (at T = T*) in the resistivity ( ρxx) vs temperature (T) curve, which shows significant thickness dependence. The Hall resistance evolves from non-linear to linear with a decrease in thickness. Combining both zero-field resistivity and Hall measurements, we provide evidence substantiating the resistivity anomaly as a direct manifestation of Lifshitz transition.

We report the stoichiometric epitaxial growth of the Eu2Ir2O7 (111) thin film on YSZ substrate by a two-step solid phase epitaxy (SPE) method. An optimized post-annealing environment of the SPE was superior over the conventional air annealing procedure to get rid of the typical impurity phase, Eu2O3. The thickness-dependent structural study on Eu2Ir2O7 (111) thin films suggests a systematic control of Ir/Eu stoichiometry in our films, which is otherwise difficult to achieve. In addition, the low-temperature electrical resistivity studies strongly support the claim. The power-law dependence analysis of the resistivity data exhibits a power exponent of 0.52 in 50 nm sample suggesting possible disorder-driven semimetallic charge transport in the 3D Weyl semimetallic (WSM) candidate Eu2Ir2O7. In addition, the all-in-all-out/all-out-all-in antiferromagnetic domains of Ir4+ sublattice is verified using the field cooled magnetoresistance measurements at 2 K. Hall resistivity analysis indicate semimetallic hole carrier type dominance near the Fermi level up to the measured temperature range of 2–120 K. Altogether, our study reveals the ground state of stoichiometric Eu2Ir2O7 (111) thin film, with an indirect tuning of the off-stoichiometry using thickness of the samples, which is of interest in the search of the predicted 3D WSM phase.

Peanut (Arachis hypogaea L.) is an important oil-yielding cash crop as well as an exportable agricultural commodity. It is a rich source of proteins, fats, and plays a crucial role in oilseed economy of India and many other countries. Peanut frequently encounters water-deficit and soil salinity conditions that affect its growth and productivity. Traditional breeding methods were not successful in generating lines tolerant to abiotic stress conditions. On the other hand, introduction of genes through genetic engineering methods conferred tolerance against both biotic and abiotic stresses. In all, the transgenics that were developed so far, stable inheritance of transgenes was noticed. Transgenics displayed higher biomass, yield and better resistance to abiotic stresses when compared with wild-type plants inferring that this method has potential for improving the crop with desired traits. Genetically engineered stress tolerant peanut plants could provide an avenue to the restoration of farmlands lost due to severe drought or salinity conditions and highlight the potential of this technology for developing climate resilient crop.

ErFe0.55Mn0.45O3 single crystal shows canted antiferromagnetic ordering below 365 K with weak ferromagnetic moment along c axis. On cooling, the magnetic moment is completely suppressed at a certain temperature due to Er and Fe/Mn sublattice compensation, below which negative magnetization is observed. The compensation and negative magnetization temperatures are much higher than those in other orthoferrite systems. There is a spin reorientation transition from Γ 4 ( G x , A y , F z ) to Γ 1 ( A x , G y , C z ) structure at 255 K along c axis which is not seen along a and b axes. The spin reorientation is tunable with applied magnetic field and is completely suppressed at sufficiently high magnetic field. The behavior is explained by spin configuration and net magnetization orientation of individual Er and Fe/Mn sublattices. The proposed model is further validated by measurements using ’training’ protocol.

A series of nine molecules of coumarin hydrazone derivatives have been synthesized. The purpose of this study was to investigate the anti-diabetic activity of synthesized coumarin derivatives by inhibition of α-amylase enzyme isolated from Aspergillus niger microbial strain. The experiment was conducted by taking 5, 10, 50, and 100 μg/mL of each compound and acarbose as a positive control. The tests showed that compounds 3f (IC50 = 49.70 μg/mL), 3g (IC50 = 79.20 μg/mL), and 3i (IC50 = 48.80 μg/mL) as well as reference drug (IC50 = 81.70 μg/mL) exhibited inhibition activity against the enzyme. The synthesized compounds may be helpful in controlling the glucose level as α-amylase is one of the causes of increased sugar level in human body.

Plants overcome the effect of Na+ toxicity either by excluding Na+ at the plasma membrane or by sequestering them into the vacuoles. Influx of Na+ ions into the plant vacuoles is usually driven by H+ generated by vacuolar-type H+-ATPase as well as vacuolar proton pyrophosphatse (VPPase). In the present study, we have developed Bacopa monnieri transgenics via Agrobacterium tumefaciens containing the recombinant vector pCAMBIA2300-SbVPPase gene. Transformants were produced using nodal explants. Transformants were confirmed by PCR and DNA blot analysis. qPCR analysis showed higher transcript levels of SbVPPase compared to untransformed control (UC). Higher VPPase activity was recorded in transgenics compared to UC. Under 150 mM salt stress, transgenic shoots showed enhanced Na+ accumulation with better biomass production, increased glycine betaine content, and total soluble sugar levels than UC. Transgenic shoots showed 2.9–3.8-folds lower levels of malondialdehyde content indicating lesser membrane damage. Increase in antioxidant enzyme activities (1.4–3.2-folds) was observed in transgenics compared to UC. Transgenics also displayed 7.3–9.0-folds enhanced accumulation of the medicinally important compound bacoside A. Increased biomass production, accumulation of Na+, osmolytes (glycine betaine, sugars etc.), and elevated antioxidant enzyme activities indicate better osmotic adjustment in transgenics by compartmentalization of Na+ into the vacuoles under salt stress conditions. Thus, overexpression of SbVPPase in Bacopa alleviated salt stress by sequestering Na+.

Background: Intervention to reduce intracranial pressure using External Ventricular Drain (EVD) is a common life saving measure in a neurosurgery intensive care unit(ICU). Objective: The present study was undertaken to assess the outcome of patients who underwent external ventricular drainage for intraventricular hemorrhage(IVH). Methods: The available data of the patients who underwent placement of external ventricular drain from February 2012 to May 2016 for intraventricular hemorrhage (IVH) at Narayana Medical College and Hospital, Nellore, was retrieved from the hospital case records and analyzed. Results: Total of 69 patients were included in this study. Mean age was 53.7 ±11.6 years. Clinical presentation included altered sensorium in 66 patients (96%), hemiparesis in 62 patients (90%) , vomiting in 40 patients (58%) and seizures in 9 patients (13%). Fifty two patients (75%) were known hypertensives and 10 patients (15%) were diabetic. Past history of smoking was recorded in 16(23%) patients and alcohol intake in 17 patients (25%). GCS at the time of admission was 3-8 (low) in 39 patients (57%), 9-12 in 23 patients(33%) and 13-15 in 7 patients (10%). At the time of admission, 60 patients ( 87%) had diastolic blood pressure more than 90 mmHg, 63 patients (91%) had systolic blood pressure more than 140 mmHg. Major site of hemorrhage was basal ganglia in 24 (35%), thalamus in 13 (19%), cerebellum in 5 (7%), brain stem in 3, frontal/temporal in 2 patients. SAH with IVH was noted in 12 patients (17%) and only IVH was noted in 10 patients (14%). Mean duration of external ventricular drainage was 4.6+1.7 days (Range 1-9 days). Mean hospital stay was 11.3±7.5 days and mean ICU stay was 8+5.4 days. Thirty eight patients (55%) died during hospital stay. At the time of discharge, poor out come (Glagow out come score 1-3) was noted in 52 patients (75%) and good out come (Glagow out come score-4,5) was noted in 17 patients. Among various parameters analyzed , poor GCS (3-8) at admission, history of smoking and alcohol intake were found to correlate significantly with poor outcome. None of the other factors like old age, site of bleed, pupillary asymmetry at admission, high blood pressure at admission, past history of hypertension and diabetes were found to correlate with poor outcome. Conclusions: Majority of the patients with intracranial hematomas with intraventricular extension presented in poor neurological condition (GCS= 3-8). Poor neurological condition at the time of admission, past history of smoking and alcohol intake were associated with poor outcome.

SrIrO3 (SIO) is one of the materials known to exhibit a high spin-orbit coupling with correlated semi-metallic ground state, along with the topological states, as proven in recent times. In this regard, the SIO thin films grown by us on SrTiO3 (001) at certain deposition conditions, exhibit a low temperature magneto-transport behavior which is analogous to the materials with topological states. Further, we have explored various deposition conditions of SIO such as partial pressure of O2 and different temperatures of growth for different thickness of SIO. In addition, from the electrical transport properties, SIO thin films found to exhibit semi-metallic nature with either insulating-like or a crossover from metal-like to insulating-like behavior based on the conditions chosen for the growth. Moreover, the magneto-transport data of various SIO thin films are found to be obeying the usual B2 (Lorentzian) behavior in majority of the cases. At the same time, we have also observed the weak-localization and weak-antilocalization effects; along with a linear magneto-resistance at low temperature ranges. Thus, from our extensive measurements, it becomes clear that SIO thin films can exhibit wide varieties of magneto-transport properties based on the deposition conditions. Plethora of interesting properties exhibited by the highly spin-orbit coupled SIO epitaxial thin films at lower temperatures in the presence of magnetic field makes the material to be promising for the future applications in the field of spintronics.

This study evaluated the pharmacokinetics (PK), efficacy, safety, and tolerability of bleselumab - a fully-human anti-CD40 monoclonal recombinant IgG4. Patients with moderate-to-severe psoriasis were randomized on day 1 to receive bleselumab or placebo on days 1, 15 and 29 in a dose-escalation of bleselumab at 0.1, 0.3, 1.0 or 3.0 mg/kg. The safety-analysis set (SAF) and full-analysis set (FAS) included all patients who received bleselumab or placebo, and the PK-analysis set (PKAS) included patients in the SAF with ≥1 quantifiable serum bleselumab concentration. Serial blood samples were collected after each dose, and the bleselumab serum concentration was measured. After each dose, the area-under-the-concentration-time curve over 336 hours (AUC336 ) and the maximum serum concentration (Cmax ), and dose proportionality of AUC336 and Cmax were determined. The psoriasis area and severity index (PASI) score, the physician static global assessment (PSGA) score, the percentage body surface area (%BSA) affected with psoriasis, adverse events and laboratory parameters were assessed. Sixty patients were randomized and included in the SAF/FAS (bleselumab, n = 49; placebo, n = 11); 48 formed the PKAS. Bleselumab Cmax and AUC336 were more than dose proportional in the range 0.1-3.0 mg/kg, suggesting nonlinear PK after single/multiple doses. No clinically significant infusion reactions, cytokine-release syndrome, or thromboembolic events were reported. Bleselumab did not improve the PASI scores, PSGA scores, or %BSA versus placebo. Transient elevation of alanine aminotransferase and aspartate aminotransferase levels by >3 × upper limit of normal were observed in four (8.2%) and two (4.1%) patients, respectively, in the 1.0 or 3.0 mg/kg groups. Patients with liver function test increases had no concurrent changes in bilirubin. Bleselumab demonstrated nonlinear PK after single and multiple doses, with few adverse reactions.

Dehydrins (DHNs) are highly hydrophilic, thermo stable, calcium dependent chaperons involved in plant developmental processes as well as in diverse abiotic stresses. A systematic survey resulted in the identification of 7 dehydrins (DHNs) in Setaria italica and Zea mays, but 6 in Sorghum bicolor. They are classified into 5 sub-groups, namely YnSKn, SKn, KnS, S, and YnS. DHNs of Sorghum exhibit 1 ortholog with Oryza sativa and Z. mays and 3 with S. italica. Unlike other DHNs, SbDHN5 has been found as an ordered protein with many phosphorylation sites. Network analyses of novel YnS subgroup showed interaction with HSP70 and FKBP genes. In silico promoter analysis revealed the presence of abscisic acid (ABA), drought, salt, low temperature stress-responsive elements. The miRNA target analysis revealed DHNs are targeted by 51 miRNAs responsive to abiotic stresses. High transcript expressions of DHNs were observed in root, stem and leaf compared to inflorescence in S. bicolor. All DHN genes exhibited high levels of expression in stem under cold, heat, salt, and drought stresses. In contrast to other DHNs, the SbDHN2 of YnS subgroup, exhibited the highest expression, under multiple stresses in all the tissues indicating its involvement against a wide array of abiotic stresses.

Parabolic solar collector collects the radiant energy emitted from the sun and focuses it at a point. Parabolic trough collectors are the low cost implementation of concentrated solar power technology that focuses incident sun light on to a tube filled with a heat transfer fluid. However, the basic problem with the cylindrical parabolic collector without tracking was the solar collector does not move with the orientation of sun. Development of automatic tracking system for cylindrical parabolic collectors will increase solar collection as well as efficiency of devices. The main aim of this paper is to design, fabricate and analyze the performance of parabolic collector with automated tracking system. The automated tracking mechanism is used to receive the maximum possible energy of solar radiation as it tracks the path of sun. The performance of the parabolic trough collector is experimentally investigated with the water circulated as heat transfer fluid. The collector efficiency will be noted.

The magnetic interaction between BiFeO 3 and SrRuO 3 layers in a heterostructure grown on (0 0 1) oriented SrTiO 3 substrate is investigated. A two-step magnetization reversal was observed in M−H hysteresis loop measurement of the heterostructure at 10 K. The first step in the hysteresis loop is associated with the switching of the free SrRuO 3 moments whereas the second step arises from the switching of the pinned moments. The total amount of the pinned SrRuO 3 moment was observed to decrease with increasing thickness of the BiFeO 3 layer. The presence of exchange bias effect in the heterostructure was confirmed by the field cooled M−H measurements where only the second step of hysteresis loop was observed to shift along the field axis. The coercivity of the second step of hysteresis loop decreases with increasing temperature and merges with that of the first step above 100 K which infers the desertion of the pinned magnetic moments. Temperature dependent capacitance measurement shows a kink at the ferromagnetic transition temperature of SrRuO 3 and a pronounced dip was observed in the second derivative of capacitance with respect to temperature, indicating a strong magneto-electric coupling between the two layers.

Single phase polycrystalline LuFe 1− x Ni x O 3 ( x = 0 − 0.3) (LFNO) nanoparticles are synthesized using the sol-gel method. X-ray diffraction measurements revealed that the crystal structure of Ni-doped samples is isomorphic to hexagonal LuFeO 3 (LFO). The phase pure hexagonal P6 3 cm symmetry exists for 0 ≤ x ≤ 0.3, and the secondary phases appear for x ≥ 0.4. Raman spectra show a shift in the mode frequency corresponding to the changes in Lu-O and Fe-O bond lengths with Ni doping. An enhancement in the magnetization is observed for LFNO throughout the temperature range (400–5 K) compared to LFO. The antiferromagnetic state of LFO becomes ferrimagnetic at low temperatures, and a net magnetization is observed at room temperature with Ni doping. As Ni concentration increases, a systematic increment in the ferroelectric polarization is observed. This enhancement in polarization is believed to be due to the distortion in FeO 5 cage, while the improvement in magnetic properties is due to the induced magnetic interactions, caused by the Fe-Ni interactions on the triangular lattice with Ni doping in LuFeO 3 .

NdxSr1−xMnO3 (0.2 ≤ x ≤ 0.5) systems are widely studied in magnetism, popular for high colossal magnetoresistance and are ferromagnetic oxides with TC ranging from 200 K to 300 K. Recently, many of such compounds are re-visited for exploring the correlation of spin, charge and lattice degrees of freedom. Although, manganite thin films are the ideal candidates for studying the electron-correlation effects, the puzzle of obtaining a high quality epitaxial thin films of NdxSr1−xMnO3 are still unsolved contrary to its sister compound LaxSr1−xMnO3. Hence, in this study, we demonstrate the growth of best quality of Nd0.6Sr0.4MnO3 (NSMO) epitaxial thin films. This is evident from the TC and a sharp insulator-to-metal transition (IMT) coinciding at as high as ∼255 K against the bulk TC (∼270 K). It is the highest reported TC in Nd0.6Sr0.4MnO3 thin films to date. Moreover, as-deposited films with in situ oxygen annealing are not enough to relax the lattice of NSMO films due to the significant Jahn-Teller distortion in the film. With ex situ annealing processes alongside the various deposition and in situ annealing conditions, we have extensively studied the growth of epitaxial NSMO thin films on LaAlO3 (0 0 1) and SrTiO3 (0 0 1) to investigate the evolution of lattice and its one-to-one correspondence with the magnetism and the electrical properties of thin films. Accordingly, the enhanced magnetization, reduced resistivity and the higher TC and IMT of the NSMO films obtained from our extensive growth analysis looks promising for the future applications across the TC and IMT.

We study the evolution of the magnetic field-induced switching between the stable domain configurations of permalloy nanoring structures, when magnetic nano-wires are attached to them. Magnetoresistance measurements were performed on such devices for two configurations of the attached nano-wires: (i) when they are at diametrically opposite ends of the nanoring, and (ii) when the nanowires are at an obtuse angle with respect to each other. During the measurements, the direction of application of the in-plane magnetic field is varied to understand the switching properties of the devices. Micromagnetic simulations were carried out in order to understand the domain configuration and reversal mechanism. We show that due to the nature of domain walls created by the presence of the nano-wires in the obtuse configuration, a vortex state can be stabilized in the nano-ring. We extended our studies to various nanoring devices with different widths while keeping a constant thickness.

Despite numerous attempts of electron doping in different manganites (RMnO3, R = rare earth), successful reports are scarce in the literature till date. In this paper, we have synthesized a series of phase-pure electron doped multiferroic compound Sc1-xZrxMnO3 (x = 0, 0.05, 0.1, and 0.2) and evaluated the effect of doping on structural properties, oxidation states of cations, DC magnetization, heat capacity, resistivity, dielectric behaviour and ferroelectricity in the material. The presence of Zr4+ and mixed valence state of Mn comprising of Mn2+ and Mn3+ ions are confirmed using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. All these samples exhibit antiferromagnetic ordering; as Zr4+ content increases, antiferromagnetic ordering gradually diminishes while shifting to low temperatures. Additionally, ferromagnetic-like interaction develops in doped systems which gives rise to hysteresis in isothermal magnetization loops with greatly enhanced magnetization in comparison to pure antiferromagnetic nature of x = 0 i.e. ScMnO3. Interestingly, even with zero magnetic moment of Sc3+, Schottky-like anomaly is observed at 5 K in heat capacity data of samples with x = 0.1 and 0.2, a result that we attribute to the highly resistive nature of doped samples. Moreover, while measuring ferroelectric hysteresis loops, we observe a significant reduction of leakage current in doped sample (x = 0.2) compared to pure ScMnO3. Additionally, the compound x = 0.2 shows improved dielectric and ferroelectric behaviour. It is proposed that doping of Zr4+ compensates for the cation deficiency and consequently eliminates the inherent oxygen vacancies by charge compensation. (C) 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

The dearth of proper delineation for energy sorghum cultivation has led to a prerequisite for evaluation and identification of test environments for the newly developed lines. This becomes of vital importance as the biomass yield is highly influenced by genotype and environmental (G × E) interactions. Several agronomic traits were considered to assess the biomass yield and the combined analysis of variance for G (genotype), L (location) and interaction effect of G × L. The variations in the yield caused by the interaction of G × L are very essential to acquire knowledge on the specific adaptation of a genotype. Thus, the multi-location trials conducted across locations and years have helped to identify the stable environments with specific adaptation for biomass sorghum. The presence of close association between the test locations suggested that the same information about the genotypes could be obtained from fewer test environments, and hence the potential to reduce evaluation costs. The two genotypes—IS 13762 and ICSV 25333—have shown stable performance for biomass traits across all the locations, in comparison with CSH 22SS (check). The top ten entries with stable and better performance for fresh biomass yield, dry biomass yield, grain yield and theoretical ethanol yield were ICSV 25333, IS 13762, CSH 22SS, IS 25302, IS 25301, IS 27246, IS 16529, DHBM2, ICSSH 28 and IS 17349.

Solar Air Heater is a simple, cheap and most widely used for various applications such as textile industries, agricultural, desalination and space heating. Generally collectors are tilted so as to absorb maximum radiation, so it is necessary to calculate the optimum tilt angle to maximize the solar radiation falling on the collector area to gain maximum useful energy. The maximum solar radiation can be collected by using a tracking mechanism. Tracking systems are expensive and complicated in construction. The working operation of solar integrated tracking system is difficult. This paper presents the mechanism of evaluating the overall heat transfer coefficient of the solar air-heater at variable intensities and inlet velocities. The experimental setup is integrated with blower at inlet to the solar air heater in order to pump air at different velocities. The work focus on comparative study of solar air heating system for different tilt angles ranging from 250 to 600 and determines the overall heat transfer coefficient so as to find the optimum tilt angle of a solar flat plate collector.

Presence of a neighboring hole introduces limits on the level of expansion that can be applied during cold expansion of adjacent holes. Particularly in case of closely spaced holes, it is required to consider the effect of proximity hole in arriving at optimum cold expansion level. The present work is aimed at assessing the effect of neighboring hole on induced residual stresses during cold expansion of adjacent holes through finite element simulation. Four different situations of cold expansion of adjacent holes including a proposed novel approach are considered to obtain detailed insight into the extent of residual stresses induced. The proposed novel approach suggests insertion of a rigid pin into the neighboring hole during cold expansion. This effect has been incorporated during simulation of cold expansion. The simulation results show higher values of residual stresses induced and consequently, larger fatigue life enhancement benefits are expected through the proposed novel approach.

In the present study, we demonstrate a simple and efficient method for ligand formation and covalent anchoring to a heterogeneous support via click reaction. The complex tris(triphenylphosphine)ruthenium(II) dichloride [RuCl2(PPh3)3] anchored over the click modified ligand of SBA-15 forms a new highly efficient heterogeneous SBA-15-Tz-Ru(II)TPP catalyst. Solid state 13C, 29Si, and 31P CP-MAS NMR spectra provide evidence for the formation of the heterogeneous catalyst. SBA-15-Tz-Ru(II)TPP catalyst was screened for the multicomponent click cycloaddition reaction in water medium as a green solvent and it exhibited unusual and excellent selectivity for the formation of 1,4-disubstituted triazole product under mild reaction condition. In addition, SBA-15-Tz-Ru(II)TPP catalyst also catalyzed the hydrogen transfer reaction of various carbonyl compounds with excellent catalytic activity to give the corresponding alcohols. The heterogeneous catalyst can be recycled and reused several times (five) without a loss in reactivity.

Objective: Two simple and sensitive techniques - one spectrophotometric and one titrimetric- have been developed for the determination of 3,3'-(propane-1,3-diyl)bis(7,8-dimethoxy-1,3,4,5-tetrahydro-2H-benzo[d]azepin-2-one) commonly known as ivabradine impurity-9 (IVA-9). Methods: The spectrophotometric method is based on the oxidation of drug impurity by excess cerium (IV) sulphate in acidic medium and the subsequent reaction of the remaining Ce(IV) with a known amount of ferrous ammonium sulphate. The resultant ferric ion is then made to react with thiocyanate in acid medium to form a brown coloured complex which is analyzed spectrophotometrically against the reagent blank. In the volumetric method, the un-reacted Ce(IV) is titrated against standard ferrous ammonium sulphate to estimate the quantity of IVA-9. Results: The colored complex showed an absorption maximum at 479 nm when measured spectrophotometrically. The stated methods are validated statistically using the International Council for Harmonization guidelines-ICH Q2(R1) for precision and accuracy. The method showed a linear response from 0.5 to 100µg/ml with a correlation coefficient of 0.9985 Conclusion : No estimation techniques have been reported to date for the determination of this molecule. The proposed techniques may be used for the routine quantification in its pure form and also in presence of its parent drug molecule Ivabradine.

Recently, a number of studies have recognized the importance of traumatic pericontusional penumbra as a potential target for therapeutic interventions to prevent the secondary brain damage. We report an illustrative case of a 40-year-old female patient who was brought to the emergency room with the alleged history of fall from the bike. Computed tomography scan brain showed left sylvian and left temporoparietal subarachnoid hemorrhage, patchy contusion of the left frontal and temporal lobes, linear fracture of the right temporal bone with edema, mass effect, and mild midline shift. After 6 h of intensive care unit stay, the patient developed pupillary asymmetry and a repeat scan showed significant increase in the size of cerebral contusions with gross pericontusional edema, mass effect, and midline shift. The patient underwent urgent left frontotemporoparietal craniotomy and evacuation of the contused brain and hematoma. Pericontusional penumbra is increasingly recognized and strategies are being suggested to salvage the apparently hypoxic (not yet ischemic) brain to preserve the neurological functions and to improve functional outcome. In future, we need more studies to support the concept of pericontusional penumbra and further characterize the imaging findings for early clinical diagnosis and to plan early appropriate intervention.