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CeO2/PMMA NCTF was successfully fabricated by a facile, room-temperature, inexpensive, and simple solution casting method. Ultra-violet, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy techniques have been used to scrutinize the structure and properties of CeO2/PMMA NCTF. It has been found that the CeO2 nanocubes are constantly dispersed into the PMMA matrix thus forming a thin film. Due to its unique structure, the CeO2/PMMA NCTF has enhanced activity and selectivity towards the visible light-driven degradation of various organic pollutants. The photocatalytic degradation efficiency of the catalyst was tested against Congo red and methyl orange, selected as model organic contaminants. The synergistic effect of the catalyst reduces the electron–hole recombination rate and thus enhances the photocatalytic activity. Hydroxyl radical and super oxide radical ion species induce the photocatalysis which can be determined by trapping experiments. The synthesized CeO2/PMMA NCTF can be reused several times without loss of activity, and a plausible mechanism was also proposed. It is hoped that our present effort may inspire further studies in new, efficient, recyclable photocatalysts and the degradation of organic contaminants driven by visible light.

Synthesis of novel CeO 2 nanocubes via simple wet chemical method has described in this manuscript. Since the CeO 2 nanoparticles have been admired for their properties and extensive applications in the recent years, the structural properties and morphology of the obtained materials were investigated in detail. The results indicated that formation of CeO 2 nanocubes and it act as very dynamic photocatalyst in visible region. When applied to the photocatalytic degradation of Congo red (CR) and methyl orange (MO) dyes, the best results were obtained when using this catalyst which is due to the formation of more reactive oxygen species owing to the presence of Ce 4+ /Ce 3+ . The photodegradation efficiency of CeO 2 nanocubes was 95% within 100 & 90 min for CR and MO respectively. Furthermore, the catalyst can be easily recovered and reused until fifth cycles without significant loss of activity.

Understanding the machining process in the microscopic level has been a challenge over the years. Machining process as such is very complex due to various factors, which is involved like friction, plastic deformation, material failure etc. The present works aims at developing a 2D FE model to predict the residual stresses induced after machining operation. Over the years’ lot of development has taken place particularly with the advent of high-end computers and FEM software packages. This works aims at incorporating the developments that has taken place in the field of Finite Element Analysis of machining processes and try to give an improvised model to understand the machining process in a better way. The work also aims at determining the residual stresses that are induced in the material after machining, its nature and magnitude. The influence of machining parameters on the machining induced residual stresses was studied with the help of commercially available software. Present work has been conducted on AISI 1045 steel. Simulations results are in good agreement with the experimental results.

The rational design of heterostructured praseodymium molybdate@polymeric graphitic carbon nitride (Pr6MoO12@g-C3N4) was effectively designed by a new chemical strategy in a hydrothermal environment and followed by an ultrasound-assisted route. The features of the as-fabricated Pr6MoO12@g-C3N4 nanocomposite was broadly investigated by various standard characterization techniques like p-XRD,SEM, TEM, XPS, BET, PL,UV-DRS. The fabricated photocatalyst was demonstrated that high crystallinity and crystalline size was 46.7 nm. Furthermore, the 50 mg catalyst and 5 ppm (mg/L) of pollutant concentration were optimized conditions for the highest photocatalytic decomposition results. Interestingly, the Pr6MoO12@g-C3N4 composite synergistic photocatalytic abilities via excellent reusable stability towards the degradation of ciprofloxacin (CIP) and methyl parathion (MPT) as removal of aquatic pollutants. More distinctively, the Pr6MoO12@g-C3N4 nanocomposite was deliberate in the decolouration rate of CIP and MPT under visible light radiation: 98 % CIP and 97 % of MPT degradation in just 70 and 40 min respectively. A plausible charge separation/transfer pathway where redox species experiments implicate •OH is the most essential role while h + and O2•−contributed to a lesser extent in the catalytic process. This research work presented a versatile nature of the Pr6MoO12@g-C3N4 heterostructured material for energy harvesting and application in environmental crises.

Several literature studies have defined the doping technique of ZnO with a Cd (transition metal) for photocatalysis applications. Despite this, the properties and the mechanism behind it have never been completely explained. The present work outlines the effect of Cadmium ion doping on structural, optical, electrochemical impedance and photocatalytic properties of ZnO and Cd-ZnO nanoparticles prepared via simple precipitation method. The prepared Cd-ZnO was characterized using advanced techniques such as powder X-ray diffraction, field-emission scanning electron microscope fitted with energy dispersive X-ray diffraction, UV-visible absorbance spectroscopy and electrochemical impedance were performed on modification of glassy carbon electrode (GCE) with multi-walled carbon nanotubes decorated with ZnO and Cd-ZnO. Moreover, Cd-ZnO NPs displayed superior electrochemical performance than undoped ZnO NPs. Experiments revealed that, as compared to ZnO and higher dopant concentration, the photodegradation of crystal violet was enhanced by the use of 0.5 mol% Cd-ZnO catalyst. The implantation of Cd is assisted by faster carrier separation and transfer efficiency. Tauc's plots illustrate that the incorporation of Cd ion has decreased the optical band-gap of ZnO samples. After Cd doping, the valence and conduction band of ZnO were modified, contributing to the development of O2‐, resulting in a significant improvement in photodegradation. Mulliken atomic charges and molecular properties computed at B3LYP/6-31G level of theory. The HOMO-LUMO band gap of alleged photocatalysts was calculated using density function theory (DFT). Further to support our hypothesis on degradation of the dye using Cd-ZnO was confirmed by the IR and Mass spectral studies. Computational prediction of toxicity of degraded organic molecules was estimated by Toxicity Estimation Software Tool (TEST) by United States Environmental Protection Agency. FTIR and Mass spectroscopy confirm the 100% degradation of CV-dye under UV chamber (6 W) after 30 min at basic medium. The enhanced electrochemical and photocatalytic efficiency of Cd doped ZnO nanoparticles suggest that they have dual activity in energy and water treatment applications.

In the present study, we defined the outcomes and effects of pregnancy in a cohort of women of childbearing age with acute aortic dissection (AAD).We reviewed our database of AAD to identify all eligible female patients. Women aged 45 years were included. Data on pregnancy timing with respect to the occurrence of dissection, the demographic data, dissection extent, dissection treatment, dissection-related outcomes, overall maternal and fetal mortality, and genetic testing results were analyzed.A total of 62 women aged 45 years had presented to us with AAD from 1999 to 2017. Of the 62 women, 37 (60%) had had a history of pregnancy at AAD. Of these 37 patients, 10 (27%) had had a peripartum aortic dissection, defined as dissection during pregnancy or within 12 months postpartum. Of the 10 AADs, 5 were type A and 5 were type B. Three patients had presented with AAD during pregnancy (one in the second and two in the third trimester). Five patients (50%) had developed AAD in the immediate postpartum period (within 3 months) and two (20%) in the late postpartum period. For the immediate postpartum AADs (3 months), four of the five patients delivered via cesarean section. Of these 10 peripartum AADs, 3 (30%) had occurred in patients with known Marfan syndrome. In-hospital mortality for those with peripartum AAD was 10% (1 of 10). Fetal mortality was 20% (2 of 10).The frequency of aortic dissection in women of childbearing age at our institution was low. However, pregnancy might increase the risk of those young women genetically predisposed to dissection events. From these data, this risk appears to be greatest in the immediate postpartum period, even for those who undergo cesarean section. Close clinical and radiographic surveillance is required for all women with suspected aortopathy, especially in the third trimester and early postpartum period.

Numerous genetic studies have established a role for rare genomic variants in Congenital Heart Disease (CHD) at the copy number variation (CNV) and de novo variant (DNV) level. To identify novel haploinsufficient CHD disease genes, we performed an integrative analysis of CNVs and DNVs identified in probands with CHD including cases with sporadic thoracic aortic aneurysm. We assembled CNV data from 7,958 cases and 14,082 controls and performed a gene-wise analysis of the burden of rare genomic deletions in cases versus controls. In addition, we performed variation rate testing for DNVs identified in 2,489 parent-offspring trios. Our analysis revealed 21 genes which were significantly affected by rare CNVs and/or DNVs in probands. Fourteen of these genes have previously been associated with CHD while the remaining genes (FEZ1, MYO16, ARID1B, NALCN, WAC, KDM5B and WHSC1) have only been associated in small cases series or show new associations with CHD. In addition, a systems level analysis revealed affected protein-protein interaction networks involved in Notch signaling pathway, heart morphogenesis, DNA repair and cilia/centrosome function. Taken together, this approach highlights the importance of re-analyzing existing datasets to strengthen disease association and identify novel disease genes and pathways., Author summary Congenital heart disease (CHD) is the most common congenital anomaly and represents a major global health burden. Multiple studies have identified a key genetic component contributing to the aetiology of CHD. However, despite the advances in the field of CHD within the last three decades, the genetic causes underlying CHD are still not fully understood. Herein we have assembled a large patient CHD cohort and performed a data-driven meta-analysis of genomic variants in CHD. This analysis has allowed us to strengthen the disease association of known CHD genes, as well as identifying novel haploinsufficient CHD candidate genes.

In the last decade, there have been significant developments in the field of intelligent energy management systems (IEMSs), with various methods and new solutions proposed for managing the energy resources intelligently. An important issue related to finding the desired outcomes remains unexplored, i.e., how to determine key insights from the sparse academic literature in the age of digital publishing. To mitigate the issue, this study proposes a novel strategy to systematically survey the relevant studies by converting the sparse literature into visual presentations. We first apply a systematic approach called a PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-analyses) statement to provide the insights from the published literature of the past decade (2010–2020). Then, VOSviewer experiments are conducted to transform these sparse scholarly data into visual representations. In total, eighty-one papers published in high-impact journals are identified based on their scientific soundness and relevance, and a VOSviewer analysis is applied. The analysis revealed the existence of three research clusters focused on the following main thematic areas: the energy management in smart homes and smart grids (35 journal papers); the emerging concept of context-awareness (26 journal papers); and the role of privacy preservation in IEMSs (20 journal papers). This analysis uncovers the current state of IEMSs and explores existing issues, methods, findings, and gaps. Thus, future research directions have been recommended to fill the existing gaps. This systematic literature review is to assist both researchers and industry practitioners to understand the research gaps of previous studies.

Background: Sepsis is one of the most common causes of neonatal deaths globally. Most sepsis-related deaths occur in low-income and middle-income countries, where the epidemiology of neonatal sepsis remains poorly understood. Most of these countries lack proper surveillance networks, hampering accurate assessment of the burden of sepsis, implementation of preventive measures, and investment in research. We report results of neonates born in hospital from a multicentre collaboration on neonatal sepsis. Methods: In this cohort study, dedicated research teams prospectively followed up neonates born in one of three tertiary care centres in Delhi, India (Vardhaman Mahavir Medical College, Maulana Azad Medical College, and All India Institute of Medical Sciences [coordinating centre]) and subsequently admitted to the intensive care unit. Neonates were followed up daily until discharge or death. On clinical suspicion, neonates underwent sepsis work-up including blood cultures. The isolated organisms were identified and tested for antimicrobial susceptibility. We defined Gram-negative isolates resistant to any three of five antibiotic classes (extended-spectrum cephalosporins, carbapenems, aminoglycosides, fluoroquinolones, and piperacillin-tazobactam) as multidrug resistant. Findings: 13 530 neonates of 88 636 livebirths were enrolled between July 18, 2011, and Feb 28, 2014. The incidence of total sepsis was 14·3% (95% CI 13·8–14·9) and of culture-positive sepsis was 6·2% (5·8–6·6). Nearly two-thirds of total episodes occurred at or before 72 h of life (defined as early onset; 1351 [83%] of 1980). Two-thirds (645 [64%]) of 1005 isolates were Gram-negative including, Acinetobacter spp (22%), Klebsiella spp (17%), and Escherichia coli (14%). The pathogen mix in early-onset sepsis did not differ from that of late-onset sepsis (ie, after 72 h). High rates of multidrug resistance were observed in Acinetobacter spp (181/222, 82%), Klebsiella spp (91/169, 54%), and Escherichia coli (52/137, 38%) isolates. Meticillin resistance prevailed in 61% (85/140) of coagulase-negative staphylococci and 38% (43/114) of Staphylococcus aureus isolates. Nearly a quarter of the deaths were attributable to sepsis. The population-attributable risks of mortality were 8·6% in culture-negative sepsis, 15·7% in culture-positive sepsis by multidrug-resistant organisms, and 12·0% in culture-positive sepsis by non-multidrug-resistant organisms. Interpretation: The high incidence of sepsis and alarming degree of antimicrobial resistance among pathogens in neonates born in tertiary hospitals underscore the need to understand the pathogenesis of early-onset sepsis and to devise measures to prevent it in low-income and middle-income countries. Funding: Indian Council of Medical Research

Fiji is facing the second wave of COVID-19 and has been recording increased number of COVID-19 cases. The response of Fijian Government is mainly directed towards obtaining international assistance in terms of expertise and vaccinations. While international support is necessary for the country, the Fijian Government also needs to consider the basic needs of the affected Fijians. In response, this article will provide an overview of the current COVID-19 crisis in Fiji to justify the need for reshaping the current approach of the Fijian Government.

Universal vaccination on an urgent basis is a way of controlling COVID-19 infections and deaths. Vaccine shortage and practical deployment rates on the field necessitate prioritization. The global strategy has been to prioritize those with high personal risk due to their age or comorbidities, and those who constitute the essential workforce of the society. Rather than a systematic age-based rolldown, assigning the next priority requires a local strategy based on vaccine availability, effectiveness of the specific vaccines, population size as well as its age demographics and the scenario of how the pandemic is likely to develop. The adult (20-60 yrs) - senior (over 60 yrs) duo from a multigenerational home presents a high-risk demographic. The estimated 'effective age' of an adult living with a grandparent who is not vaccinated may be up to 40 years higher. The proposed model suggests that strategically vaccinating the adults from multigenerational homes in India may be effective in saving the lives of around 70,000 to 200,000 seniors, under the different epidemiological scenarios possible with or without strict lockdowns. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] Copyright of Current Science (00113891) is the property of Indian Academy of Sciences and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

In this present study, an effort has been made to novel CeO 2 /alumina nanocomposite photocatalyst was fabricated through mixing-calcination method. The XRD, IR, SEM, TEM, EDX and XPS results designated that these synthesized materials are formed effectively. The photocatalytic results for the degradation of dye solution indicate that the most dynamic ratio is CeO 2 :Al 2 O 3 (2.5:1) under visible light irradiation. The photocatalytic degradation was made under dark and in the presence of light to establish the photocatalytic efficiency of the synthesized photocatalyst. The improved performance of CeO 2 /alumina nanocomposite is attributed to the separation efficiency of photo-induced charge carriers and it inhibit charge recombination. The major active species are determined by radical scavengers trapping experiments were revealed that superoxide radical ( O 2 − ) and hydroxyl radical ( OH) are playing a vital role in the degradation of dye solution. The stability of catalyst was confirmed by consecutive runs of CeO 2 /alumina nanocomposite.

Development of novel and efficient nanostructured materials for the waste water treatment is a great challenge for the researchers. In this regard, we report a novel SiO2/g-C3N4 nanocomposites were tailored via simple solvothermal route and characterized by various spectroscopic and microscopic techniques such as XRD, FT-IR, UV–Vis DRS, SEM, TEM and XPS. The photocatalytic performances of the as-prepared SiO2/g-C3N4 nanocomposites were evaluated for the removal of hazardous rhodamine B (RhB) and crystal violet (CV) organic dyes in aqueous solution under visible light irradiation. Interestingly, the UV–Visible spectroscopy results revealed that the as-synthesized SiO2/g-C3N4 nanocomposite showed superior photocatalytic activity for the degradation of RhB and CV dyes could degrade 99 and 98% under visible-light irradiation respectively. The enhanced photocatalytic activity of SiO2/g-C3N4 nanocomposites could be mainly attributed to the proficient separation of photo-induced charge carriers. A plausible degradation mechanism for the controlled visible-light photocatalytic activity of SiO2/g-C3N4 nanocomposites was strongly evidenced by the trapping experiment by employing different scavengers. The present research findings may open up a new platform for the g-C3N4 based photocatalyst for the degradation of organic pollutants. Proposed degradation mechanism of the SiO2/g-C3N4 photocatalyst.

Physical and chemical characteristics of leaf dust (LD) samples, collected between 2011 and 2013, of a severely winter fog affected and polluted urban environment (Allahabad, India) of Indo-Gangetic plain are presented in this study. The weather changes in the study area are grouped into three effective annual seasonal periods – winter fog, pre-monsoon and post-monsoon. The pronounced impact of seasonal variations is observed in LD characteristics, as ~46% of the winter fog period samples ranges in size between 2.5 and 20 µm with high magnetic susceptibility (up to 938.22 × 10−8 m3 kg−1). In comparison, 35% of the LD from pre-monsoon period occurs in the size range of 100–300 µm with low magnetic susceptibility (up to 43.29 × 10−8 m3 kg−1). The fractal analysis involving submicroscopic clast dimension of LD also reveals a seasonal influence. The toxic metals (Pb, Zn, Cd, Cr and Ni) in LD belonging to winter fog and post-monsoon periods increase in comparison to samples from pre-monsoon time. Multi...

In this study, we report a series of novel palladium nanoparticles (Pd) supported cerium oxide (CeO2)/graphitic carbon nitride (g-C3N4) nanocomposites, fabricated via the simple strategy, which were used for the detoxification of toxic hexavalent chromium to benign trivalent chromium under visible light irradiation. The synthesized Pd/CeO2/g-C3N4 nanocomposites were characterized by various tools including powder X-ray diffraction (PXRD), fourier transform infrared (FTIR), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), UV-vis diffuse reflectance spectra (DRS/UV-vis), high resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM), and energy dispersive X-ray spectra (EDS). The wrapping with surface of graphitic carbon nitride nanosheets can efficiently promote the interface charge separation and transmission over the ternary photocatalyst, which was studied by photoluminescence spectra (PL) analysis and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) spectra. The obtained 3% Pd/CeO2/g-C3N4 nanocomposite photocatalyst exhibit an excellent photocatalytic performance when compared to other single and composite counter parts. The 3% Pd/CeO2/g-C3N4 exhibits a strong synergistic effect which arises due to the interactions between palladium nanoparticles, CeO2 and graphitic carbon nitride resulting in the lower recombination of photo-induced charge carriers with enhanced photocatalytic activity. This work implies that the synergistic Pd/CeO2/g-C3N4 nanocomposites would be a new kind of high-efficiency visible-light-driven photocatalysts materials for the detoxification of public safety and security.

This study analyzed the impact of sex, hemodynamic profile, and valve fusion pattern on aortopathy associated with bicuspid aortic valve (BAV). The National Heart Lung and Blood Institute-sponsored National Registry of Genetically Triggered Thoracic Aortic Aneurysms and Cardiovascular Conditions (GenTAC) provided comprehensive information on a large population of well-characterized patients with BAV. Of 969 enrolled patients with BAV, 551 (57%, 77% male) had already undergone valvular and/or aortic surgery. Echocardiographic imaging data were available on 339 unoperated or preoperative participants who formed the basis of this study. BAV function was normal in 45 (14%), with a predominant aortic regurgitation (AR) in 127 (41%) and a predominant aortic stenosis (AS) in 76 (22%). Moderate-severe AR was associated with larger sinus of Valsalva (SOV) diameters compared with normal function and AS (all p

In the present study strontium oxide/graphitic carbon nitride (SrO 2 /g-C 3 N 4 ) nanohybrids was successfully synthesized by a facile simple dry synthesis and used for the photocatalytic degradation of organic contaminants for the very first time. The SrO 2 /g-C 3 N 4 nanohybridsare having a superior crystallinity and crystallite size was ∼7.1 nm. The photodegradation efficiency of nanohybrids was tested on the degradation of RhB dye solution under visible light irradiation. The SrO 2 /g-C 3 N 4 nanohybrids exhibited excellent photocatalytic activity, which may be attributed to the improved charge separation and complete degradation of the dye solution is achieved within 60 min. Moreover, the synthesized nanohybrids exhibited a good stability towards the photodegradation of RhB dye. Finally, the possible mechanism for the charge separation in thephoto degradationprocess wasexplored. Therefore, the nanohybrids are possessing potential interest in waste water treatment and environmental remediation under visible light irradiation.

Background Effect of anaesthesia and surgery on cell-free DNA (cfDNA) is not known. Given that surgical stress augments inflammation and injury, we hypothesized that levels of cfDNA will fluctuate during perioperative period. Therefore, in this study serial perioperative cfDNA concentration was measured in donors and recipients undergoing living donor liver transplantation (LDLT). Methods Baseline, post-induction, intraoperative and post-operative plasma cfDNA levels were evaluated in 21 donors and recipients each, by Sytox green method. In addition, qPCR was performed in a subset of samples. Results Baseline cfDNA levels were higher in recipients (37.62 ng/ml) than in donors (25.49 ng/ml). A decrease in cfDNA was observed following anaesthesia induction in both recipients (11.90 ng/ml) and donors (10.75 ng/ml). When the kinetics of the cfDNA was monitored further, an increase was noted intraoperatively in donors (46.18 ng/ml) and recipients (anhepatic phase: 56.25 ng/ml, reperfusion phase: 54.36 ng/ml). cfDNA levels remained high post-operatively. One recipient who developed post-operative sepsis had the highest cfDNA level (94.72 ng/ml). Conclusion Plasma cfDNA levels are high in recipients indicative of liver injury. Lower cfDNA levels following induction may be attributed to the subduing effect of anaesthetic agents on cell death. High cfDNA levels seen in intra- and post-operative phases reflect cellular trauma and inflammation. This similar pattern of fluctuation of cfDNA level in donors and recipients is suggestive of its possible utility as a surgical stress marker. In addition, comparable cfDNA levels in anhepatic and reperfusion phase reflect less ischemia reperfusion injury during LDLT.

Many experimental and numerical works have been done on different configurations of solar stills to optimize the design by investigative the effect of climatic, operational and design parameters on its performance. One of the most important of the operational parameters that has received a considerable attention in the literature is the brine depth. A study was subsequently conducted to verify this trend by an experimental investigation on three types of solar still that was fabricated with an area of 1 m2 and tested in the composite climate of Coimbatore, Tamilnadu, India, (Latitude: 11°N; Longitude; 77°E and an altitude of 409 m above sea level) with five different brine depths, namely 1, 4, 6, 8 and 10 cm. The present study clearly validated that the decreasing trend in productivity with the increase of brine depth.

The Gomati river is draining through the interfluves areas between Ganga and Ghaghra river, which is northern part of Indo-Gangetic foreland basin. The Gomati river basin passes through many stages of degradation and aggradations influenced by subsurface tectonic (neo) activities, base-level changes and climatic variability over time and space. The Gomati river basin covers an area of about 30,843 sq km in the middle Ganga plain. The quantitative approach of basin prioritization of the Gomati river and its four fifth-order sub-basin (SUB1–SUB4) was carried out by the morphometric parameters using LANDSAT and SRTM data. Drainage patterns are mainly in sub-dendritic to dendritic type which indicates that the Gomati river follows the natural gradient of the terrain. It is also observed that the low drainage density values of sub-basins indicate that the basins have highly permeable subsoil and thick vegetative cover. The circularity ratio value reveals that the basin is strongly elongated. The asymmetric factor, transverse topography asymmetry and profile section analysis reflect the tilt and upliftment of Gomati basin, signifying the tectonic control on the Gomati basin especially towards the confluence part. This study would help to utilize the water resources and prioritization for sustainable development of the Gomati basin area.

Renewable energy, particularly solar and wind energies are associated with high degree of uncertainty due to climatic conditions. A proper modelling and analytical treatment of these uncertainties play a key role in taking operational and financial decisions by the microgrid operator. A number of models are proposed and tested successfully in literature to model these energy uncertainties. This article presents a survey of some of the latest analytical and approximation techniques reported in literature to model the uncertainties in microgrid environment. The article mainly focuses on the methods which are applied in particular to the study of uncertainties in Renewable energy availability, heat demand and load demand. Different models, their main features, relative merits and demerits, application in literature, etc are reviewed and presented in form of a table for a quick view. The review shows the inadequacy of uncertainty modelling methods applicable to Renewable sources, both in terms of number and accuracy. It also envisages the scope and need for more flexible models for specific applications.

A distribution network is one of the main parts of a power system as it is connected directly to the load center and can act as a microgrid during an islanding operation. The concept of integrating both renewable and distributed energy sources at the distribution level is currently of great interest for power system engineers. Further research by power companies and engineers on applying better techniques to improve the power quality and stability of dynamic devices in a distribution network is ongoing. This paper presents a review of fundamental distribution network architectures, including radial, ring, and mesh ones, which considers their types of operation, control and management, growth model, and advantages and disadvantages. The existing networks suffer from various technical and quality issues while they are also vulnerable to the natural disaster and any type of fault in the system. To overcome the problems associated with present networks, a novel architecture of aromatic structure is proposed. Simulations carried out show that this new network can perform better than existing ones in terms of load flow, power quality, reliability, and islanding operations. It is also a perfect choice for both a distribution network and microgrid in a cyclone-prone area as it has both overhead and underground network facilities.

Morphological and morphotectonic analyses have been used to obtain information that influence hydrographic basins, predominantly these are modifications of tectonic elements and the quantitative description of landforms. Discrimination of morphotectonic indices of active tectonics of the Jamini river basin consists the analyses of asymmetry factor, ruggedness number, basin relief, gradient, basin elongation ratio, drainage density analysis, and drainage pattern analysis, which have been completed for each drainage basin using remote sensing and GIS techniques. The Jamini river is one of the major tributaries of the Betwa river in central India. The Jamini river basin is divided into five subwatersheds viz. Jamrar, Onri, Sainam, Shahzad and Baragl subwatershed. The quantitative approach of watershed development of the Jamini river basin, and its four sixth (SW1-SW4) and one fifth (SW5) order subwatersheds, was carried out using Survey of India toposheets (parts of 54I, 54K, 54L, 54O, and 54P), Landsat 7 ETM+, ASTER (GDEM) data, and field data. The Jamini river has low bifurcation index which is a positive marker of tectonic imprint on the hydrographic network. The analyses show that the geomorphological progression of the study area was robustly influenced by tectonics. The analysis demonstrates to extensional tectonics system with the following alignments: NE–SW, NW–SE, NNE–SSW, ENE–WSW, E–W, and N–S. Three major trends are followed by lower order streams viz. NE–SW, NW–SE, and E–W directions which advocate that these tectonic trends were active at least up to the Late Pleistocene. The assessment of morphotectonic indices may be used to evaluate the control of active faults on the hydrographic system. The analysis points out westward tilting of the drainage basins with strong asymmetry in some reaches, marked elongation ratio of subwatersheds, and lower order streams having close alignment with lineaments (active faults). The study facilitated to considerate the function of active tectonism in the advancement of the basin.

Advances in microgrid enabling technologies and utilization of Renewable Energy Sources are prompting more and more number of smaller investors to invest in Renewable energy generation and distribution at microgrid level. The increased competition requires the energy producers to offer energy at minimum possible cost to gain the confidence of consumers, which needs efficient methods to schedule the energy generation among the available Renewable Energy Sources. Optimal scheduling of generation is one of the methods used to reduce the cost of generation. Out of many types of algorithms used effectively to solve the problem, evolutionary program techniques are proven and time tested to be one of the best solutions. A stochastic based search algorithm, called Artificial Fish Swarm Algorithm is used in this article to solve the problem of optimal scheduling of energy generation among the available Renewable Energy Sources. The effectiveness of the algorithm is validated by implementing to schedule generation in a microgrid scenario. The results are validated by comparing to an already tested Additive Increase Multiplicative Decrease algorithm.

A two stage algorithm is proposed in this paper to optimize cost of generation with application to a virtual power plant. First stage of the algorithm presents a methodology to draw a hierarchy for the choice of distributed generators based on the cost of generation. Second stage of the algorithm optimizes generation to minimize cost. An Additive Increase and Multiplicative Decrease algorithm, which is already used for optimization in microgrids is improved further and is presented as Modified Additive Increase Multiplicative Decrease algorithm and is applied in the second stage of the algorithm for optimization. The Modified Additive Increase Multiplicative Decrease algorithm is validated by implementing to schedule generation of distributed generators with intermittent power availability in a Virtual Power Plant in grid connected mode to optimize the cost of generation. The Modified AIMD algorithm is proved to be much more effective than the original AIMD algorithm.

Biological sex and gender exert profound effects on all aspects of cardiovascular disease, from susceptibility to disease to therapeutic outcomes to access to care. Women typically develop coronary heart disease when they are older than men but experience disproportionate harm from risk factors, such as smoking and diabetes mellitus, and have a higher mortality after myocardial infarction.1,2 Similar sex differences are observed for both thoracic and abdominal aortic aneurysms (AAAs). Male sex is the most potent nonmodifiable risk factor for AAAs, with estimates ranging from a 4- to 10-fold higher incidence in men than in women.3,4 See accompanying article on page 143 Thoracic aortic aneurysms and acute aortic dissections also primarily affect men but to a lesser extent than AAA. Individuals presenting for surgical repair of either a thoracic aneurysm or acute dissection are 65% men.5 Similarly, the International Registry of Acute Aortic Dissection reported a male predominance of 65% among individuals presenting with an acute aortic dissection.6 Furthermore, individuals with a single autosomal gene mutation predisposing them to thoracic aortic aneurysms are predominantly men. Recent data on the largest cohort to date of patients with Marfan syndrome in the National Registry of Genetically Triggered Thoracic Aortic Aneurysms and Cardiovascular Conditions demonstrate that male sex is associated with more severe and earlier symptoms.7–9 The age of onset of aortic events was even more dramatically different based on sex in patients with TGFBR1 (TGF-β [transforming growth factor-β] receptor type 1) mutations, with 90% of men having an event by age of 60 years compared with only half the women.10 The proportion of men presenting with aortic dissections is also higher than women. In contrast, there is no dramatic difference based …

This paper presents the design, simulation and control of a Hybrid Electric Vehicle (HEV) based on renewable energy sources. The proposed HEV design utilizes solar energy, wind energy, Fuel Cell (FC) which generates energy from Proton Exchange Membrane (PEM) and a Super Capacitor (SC) to meet the strong torque requirements. The vehicle incorporates a battery pack in conjunction with a SC for the power demands and FC as the backup energy supply. An alternator connected to turbine blades will rotate using wind energy when the car is moving forward and will produce electricity to charge the battery. The aerodynamics force and all the respective resistive forces due to the wind turbine have been considered in the simulation. The design aims to ensure zero carbon emission, energy efficiency and light weight that will incorporate the use of in-wheel motors to eliminate the mechanical transmissions. To meet the vehicles power demands, the selection of energy sources are controlled by a rule based supervisory controller which follows a logical sequences that prioritize energy sources with the SC as a source in vehicle stop-and-go situations while battery will act as the primary source, FC as a backup supply and wind and solar power to recharge the battery. The controller also controls the energy flow from the alternator and monitors regenerative braking while switching to solar charging when the vehicle is parked.

Turner syndrome is recognized now as a syndrome familiar not only to pediatricians and pediatric specialists, medical geneticists, adult endocrinologists, and cardiologists, but also increasingly to primary care providers, internal medicine specialists, obstetricians, and reproductive medicine specialists. In addition, the care of women with Turner syndrome may involve social services, and various educational and neuropsychologic therapies. This article focuses on the recognition and management of Turner syndrome from adolescents in transition, through adulthood, and into another transition as older women. It can be viewed as an interpretation of recent international guidelines, complementary to those recommendations, and in some instances, an update. An attempt was made to provide an international perspective. Finally, the women and families who live with Turner syndrome and who inspired several sections, are themselves part of the broad readership that may benefit from this review.

Antibiotic resistance is a compound effect of several factors in the infection to healing cycle, from molecular factors such as mutation rate of bacteria to habitual behaviors such as adherence to a prescribed drug. Usually each of these factors is modeled separately from biochemistry, evolutionary biology or population health perspectives. To develop an understanding for the drug resistance at a population level, which is of high global significance, it is important to weigh all these factors in an integrated model. We develop RASAID, a model for resistance considering bacterial adaptation, infection spread, population adherence, immunity, and drug dosage. We apply the model to antibiotic resistance in the spread of resistant strains of Streptococcus Pneumoniae (Sp) in a finite community. We analyze the contributions from several factors to resistance, with a goal towards asking how important is the pursuit of newer drug developments relative to improving the awareness about the good practices in drug usage.

β-glucosidase hydrolyzes the β-1,4 linkage of cellobiose, a product generated from the action of endoglucanase and cellobiohydrolase on cellulose, and generates glucose. Accumulated glucose during saccharification leads to product inhibition of β-glucosidase, which in turn cause an accumulation of cellobiose and inhibition of other cellulolytic enzymes. Thus, glucose tolerant and active β-glucosidase is required for the efficient saccharification of biomass. O08324 is a glucose tolerant β-glucosidase isolated from archaeon Thermococcus sp. which shows no loss in enzyme specific activity in the presence of up to 4 M glucose and is active at 78 °C. Since O08324 has such high glucose tolerance, knowing the rationale for glucose tolerance will be helpful in engineering glucose tolerant β-glucosidase. In the present study, we designed mutations at eleven sites across the gatekeeper, aglycone, and glycone region. Based on the kinetic studies of O08324 mutants, the gatekeeper residues at positions 160, 166, 167, 168, and the aglycone binding residue 156 were identified to play a role in glucose inhibition. However, only residues at the tunnel entrance, and not all gatekeeper residues contribute to glucose tolerance. This study sheds some light on the unusual glucose tolerance of O08321 archaeal GH1 β-glucosidase.

This paper defines the performance enhancement of multilevel converter based hybrid filter. The utilization of hybrid DSTATCOM in distribution system reduces the reactive power conjunction, harmonic mitigation and –ve sequence component reduction. The hybrid DSTATCOM can injects load current harmonics in –ve direction and it was injects –ve sequence component in opposition with currents flowing in neutral line. The proposed system introduces multilevel converter in hybrid DSTATCOM will reduces filtering requirement and enhances its rating of compensation by distributing stress on power electronic devices.

The magnetic susceptibility (MS) measurements are used for rapid and cost-effective soil surveys and for accessing heavy metal contamination worldwide. In the sub-Himalayan plains of India, nearly 6.05 × 104 km2 area of most the fertile land occurs as interfluve of Late Quaternary age between the two major glacier-fed rivers (Ganga and Yamuna). The vast areal expanse of interfluve terminates at the rivers' confluence in Sangam (25°25'13″N-81°53'22″E), Allahabad. This is the first study of MS soil survey of the interfluve region at the confluence comprising 490 samples from 49 locations. The MS values are between 8.84 and 261.25 × 10-8 m3 kg-1 and the change is more pronounced (8.84-312.65 × 10-8 m3 kg-1) with increasing depth. A sudden increase in the MS between 12- (11.28-303.32 × 10-8 m3 kg-1) and 14-cm (11.21-238.45 × 10-8 m3 kg-1) depth is observed similar to observations worldwide. The high MS hotspots are aligned parallel to major traffic networks of the city suggesting a major contribution emanating from the anthropogenic load. A significant difference has been noted in the MS values of present-day mid-channel bar sediments of Ganga (25.24 × 10-8 m3 kg-1) and Yamuna (116.47 × 10-8 m3 kg-1) Rivers. The laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) data showed the presence of heavy (Fe, Ti, Cr, Cu, Cd, Zn, and Pb) and light (H, C, N, and O) elements supporting MS data. The concentration of toxic elements predicted by partial least squares regression (PLSR) approach concurs with magnetic measurements. The topsoil MS values increase up to a depth of ~ 6.25 cm suggesting the dominant role of anthropogenic source for the increased heavy metal concentration compared with basement contributions.

Membrane disrupting drugs such as antimicrobial peptides are being considered as a solution to counter the problem of antibiotic resistance. Although it can be intuitively imagined that bacteria will eventually develop resistance to this class of drugs as well, the concern has largely been ignored. Drawing upon the experimental data from the resistance ofStaphylococcus aureusto antimicrobial peptides, we theoretically model the membrane adaptation under drug pressure. Using our model, we simulate the serial passage experiments with and without the drug pressure, and use the comparisons with experiments to estimate the unknown kinetic parameters. While the development of resistance to enzyme or membrane targeting drugs are both driven by spontaneous mutations, an additional lysylation step required in the latter slows the development of resistance. By quantifying the tradeoff between the gain in fitness under drug pressure and a loss in growth due to membrane modification, our model shows a fast reversal of membrane composition in drug free conditions, re-sensitizing the bacterium to the drugs.

The concept of Distribution Market Operator, which is brought in to reduce the uncertainty component with respect to loads experienced by the Independent System Operator, needs a change in optimization being carried out in Microgrids. Optimization in microgrid which is more practiced as price based, needs be changed to be market based. Catering to the need, the problem of optimization of a microgrid under DMO restricted schedule of its power exchange with utility grid is considered in this paper. A new constraint is formulated to see that the microgrid operator sticks to the DMO imposed schedule of power exchange. The optimization is carried subject to this constraint along with others. The result show that the proposed algorithm is effective is scheduling the internal sources of the microgrid without violating the DMO imposed grid power exchange along with optimizing the cost of generation.

There is an urgent need to identify novel antimicrobial drugs in light of the development of resistance by the bacteria for a broad spectrum of antibiotics. Antimicrobial peptides are proving to be an effective remedy to which bacteria have not been able to develop resistance easily. With the goal of progressing towards a rational design of AMPs, we developed a neural network based quantitative model relating their physicochemical properties to their activity. A set of synthetic cationic polypeptides (CAMEL-s) (Mee et al. in J. Peptide Res. 49:89, 1997) which were studied systematically in experiments was used in the development of our model. Intuitive variables derived from short molecular dynamics simulations in octanol were used as descriptors, resulting in a good prediction of activity and underscoring the possibility of a rational design. Synopsis The dynamic properties of peptides calculated from molecular dynamics simulation are used as descriptors for the artificial neural network to predict the biological activity of the antimicrobial peptides.

A day ahead management strategy is proposed in this article to schedule energy generators and storage in presence of Renewable Energy Sources under uncertainty conditions with an objective to optimize the cost of energy generation. Artificial Fish Swarm algorithm is used as optimization tool. The optimization problem is framed considering all the practical constraints of energy generators and storage units. The uncertainty of Renewable Energy Sources is treated with a proven uncertainty model and several scenarios are drawn for energy availability and demand. The proposed energy management algorithm is tested numerically on a grid connected microgrid hosting a group of hybrid energy sources and storage battery for day ahead scheduling under dynamic pricing and demand side management in one of the generated uncertainty scenarios. The obtained results show that the performance of Artificial Fish Swarm algorithm as an optimizing tool is validated and the proposed Energy Management System is found to optimize the cost of energy generation while matching the power generated with power required.

Objective: Bicuspid aortic valve is a common risk factor for thoracic aortic aneurysm and dissection. Guidelines for elective ascending aortic intervention (AAI) in bicuspid aortic valve are derived from limited evidence, and the extent of practice variation due to patient and provider characteristics is unknown. Using data from 2 large cardiovascular registries, we investigated factors that influence decisions for AAI. Methods: All bicuspid aortic valve cases with known aortic diameters and surgical status were included. We used multivariable logistic regression to profile predictors of isolated aortic valve replacement (AVR) or AVR+AAI, stratified by patient characteristics, surgical indications, and institution. Results: We studied 2861 subjects at 18 institutions from 1996 to 2015. The median aortic diameter of patients who underwent AVR+AAI varied widely across institutions (39-52 mm). Aortic diameters were

This paper investigates the wear properties of Natural Fibre reinforced polymer composites. Natural fibre polymer composites are fabricated using banana, coconut sheath and jute fibres as reinforcements in epoxy resin. The composites are fabricated by hand lay-up method. The wear test of these specimens is performed on a pin on disc tribometer. The effect of load and speed on the wear of these materials is identified. The design of experiments is based on Taguchi’s orthogonal array. ANOVA analysis is used to identify the effect of these factors on the wear of the composites.This paper investigates the wear properties of Natural Fibre reinforced polymer composites. Natural fibre polymer composites are fabricated using banana, coconut sheath and jute fibres as reinforcements in epoxy resin. The composites are fabricated by hand lay-up method. The wear test of these specimens is performed on a pin on disc tribometer. The effect of load and speed on the wear of these materials is identified. The design of experiments is based on Taguchi’s orthogonal array. ANOVA analysis is used to identify the effect of these factors on the wear of the composites.