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Systemic and topical antimicrobials are effective in the treatment of inflammatory acne vulgaris; however, widespread use of these agents is becoming increasingly associated with the emergence of resistant pathogens raising concerns about microorganism resistance and highlighting the need for alternative non-antimicrobial agents for the treatment of acne. Several multinational companies like Lakme Cosmetics Ltd., Lotus Ltd., Ayur Healthcare Ltd., Patanjali Ayurveda, etc. have started developing anti-acne products which contain multiple extracts of common Indian plants. The study aims to develop herbal gel formulations containing Bougainvillea glabra extract (aqueous, methanol, ethyl acetate, and petroleum ether) for the treatment of acne. The formulations were comprehensively evaluated for Physical evaluation, Washability, Skin irritation test, Spreadability, pH, Viscosity, Extrudability, Swelling index, and Accelerated stability studies as per the standard methods. Amongst all the formulations studied, batch F2 was found optimum for all the parameters. The extraction yield was found to be 11.21%. Bougainvillea glabra aqueous extract showed low anti-bacterial activity whereas both Bougainvillea glabra methanol extract and Bougainvillea glabra ethyl acetate extract expressed moderate anti-bacterial activity with average MIC value against E. coli and B. subtilis. In contrast to them, the petroleum ether extract of Bougainvillea glabra presented highest anti-bacterial activity, however, the activity was less pronounced than the standard drug Clindamycin. The formulations (F1-F4) represented alike results with that of the extracts and expressed lesser activity as compared to the marketed herbal product.

The primary goal of this work is to use CFD assessment simulating framework is to anticipate the impact of injecting air flowing mal-distribution on heat exchanger architecture and thermal flow characteristics. Using CFD (computational fluid dynamics) simulation-studies, determine the impact of air intake flow unequal distribution or mal-distribution on the complete redesign as well as high - temperature hydraulic performing ability of HEX (heat exchangers). The findings demonstrate that a plate as well as tube fin heating element consisting of an elongated tubular setup slanted by 30 degrees can achieve the highest temperature transmission, having a heat transfer ability of 23.22 percent greater than a (SPHEX) spherical pipe heat exchanger.

Fin-and-tube heat exchanging systems are the another very commonly utilised heat exchangers for thermal energy transformation, with implementations in air conditioners, cooling systems, the automotive sector, electrical gadgets, and other areas. The market for more effective refrigeration via smaller heat exchangers has resulted in extensive investigation on the subject. The thermal efficiency exploration methodologies and comprehensive flow and heat transfer analysing outcomes of fin-and-tube HEs are summarised in this review. This study also examined the massive heat transfer boosters, as well as their arrangement and shape. In addition, an overview of both theoretical and empirical research on the effectiveness of HEs is provided

The molecular regulation of sleep in avian migrants is still obscure. We thus investigated this in migratory redheaded buntings, where four life-history states (LHS; i.e. non-migratory, pre-migratory, migratory and refractory states) were induced. There was increased night-time activity (i.e. Zugunruhe ) during the migratory state with reduced daytime activity. The recordings of the sleep–wake cycle in buntings showed increased night-time active wakefulness coupled with drastically reduced front and back sleep during migratory phase. Interestingly, we found the buntings to feed and drink even after lights-off during migration. Gene expression studies revealed increased hypothalamic expression of glucocorticoid receptor ( nr3c1 ), and pro-inflammatory cytokines ( il1b and il6 ) in pre-migratory and migratory states, respectively, whereas in brainstem Ca 2+ /calmodulin-dependent protein kinase 2 ( camk2 ) was upregulated during the migratory state. This suggested a heightened pro-inflammatory state during migration which is a feature of chronic sleep loss, and a possible role of Ca 2+ signalling in promoting wakefulness. In both the hypothalamus and brainstem, the expression of melatonin receptors ( mel1a and mel1b ) was increased in the pre-migratory state, and growth hormone-releasing hormone ( ghrh , known to induce sleep) was reduced during the migratory state. The current results demonstrate key molecules involved in the regulation of sleep–wake cycle across LHS in migratory songbirds.

Background: Meconium is the rst faeces of a newborn. The incidence of meconium stained liquor is 10- 15% of deliveries; out of which 5% develop meconium syndrome. It is regarded as a sign of fetal compromise. Objectives: To study the frequency and risk factors of Meconium Aspiration Syndrome in newborn Method: It is a hospital based, prospective, cohort study comprising of neonates. Setting Neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) of the Department of Paediatrics and Post Natal ward. Sample size - 4pq/e2 = 81. Inclusion criteria: In born neonates born to mothers with meconium stained amniotic uid. Out born neonates who present in the NICU within one hour of birth with history of MSAF along with staining of skin, nails and umbilical cord. Results: There were 847 deliveries during the study period. Frequency of babies born with meconium stained amniotic uid (MSAF) was 9.6%. The frequency of meconium aspiration syndrome (MAS) out of total MSAF deliveries was (7.4%). Conclusion: Meconium aspiration syndrome is one of the most common problems in the newborn and contributes signicantly to the neonatal morbidity and mortality.MAS was signicantly associated with maternal risk factors like preeclampsia, oligohydroamnios and birth factors like prolonged duration of labour, low Apgar score of 1 and 5 min

The evergreen shrub Buchholzia coriacea (Wonderful cola), which belongs to the Capparidaceae family, is found in Cameroon, Central African Republic, Gabon, Congo, Angola, Nigeria, and Ghana, among other places. Diarrhea, malaria, rheumatism, ulcers, worm infestation, asthma and cough, diabetes, hypertension, mental problems, and impotence were among the conditions for which traditional medicine believed it to be a useful alternative treatment. Some of its ethnomedicinal knowledge had been ethnopharmacologically verified and published in scientific publications. As a result, the emphasis of this study is on a current evaluation of its verified ethnomedicinal activities, which will serve as a research horizon for current and future academics.

Background:Musa acuminata(Musaceae) is a perennial tree-like plant that is grown in many tropical and subtropical areas throughout the globe. Bananas, which may be consumed as a fruit or a vegetable, is one of the most significant crops in many nations owing to their nutrient-dense diet and diverse therapeutic properties. Introduction:Apigenin glycosides, myricetin glycoside, myricetin-3-O-rutinoside, delphinidin, pelargonidin, peonidin, malvidin, naringenin glycosides, kaempferol-3-O-rutinoside, dopamine,N-acetyl serotonin, rutin, polyphenols, flavonoids, total dietary fiber, insoluble dietary fiber, lignin, hemicellulose, cellulose, lipids, proteins, and minerals are found in bananas. Objective:The primary goal of this research is to confirm and emphasize the therapeutic and nutritional value ofM. acuminata. Methods:Fever, cough, bronchitis, dysentery, allergy infections, sexually transmitted infections, and certain non-communicable illnesses have all been linked toM. acuminata, according to a literature review. Result:M. acuminatahas been reported to have anti-oxidant, anti-diabetic, immunomodulatory, hypolipidemic, anti-cancer, and anti-microbial properties. Pharmacological studies back up the medicinal plant's traditional significance and suggest that indigenous peoples usedM. acuminatato cure and heal a variety of illnesses and ailments. Individual bioactive constituent(s) from different sections of this plant, on the other hand, need to be studied further to validate various pharmacological claims and to investigate the potential ofM. acuminatain drug development and usage in functional foods. Conclusion:A thorough examination ofM. acuminata's biological activity is provided, as well as potential processes and phytochemicals involved, in order to develop effective disease prevention and management methods.

Food is one of the key environmental factors affecting an organism’s behavior and physiology on daily and seasonal basis. Over the years, studies regarding human food habits and its subsequent impact on their behavior and physiology have been explored a lot but studies on same line are missing with reference to different animal taxa. Thus, in the present study, we investigated the impact of varied food availability over a monotonous food schedule on birds. We were interested in knowing how this treatment affects the birds’ behavior and physiology? The experiment was performed on migratory passerine finch; redheaded bunting ( Emberiza bruniceps), wherein two groups of bird ( N = 10 each) were taken. Group I (Kakuni group; KG) birds were fed only with seeds of Setaria italica (Kakuni) whereas group II (Mixed Diet group; MG) was provided with seeds of kakuni along with sesame seeds ( Sesamum indicum) and egg white, all three separately in different bowls. Results reveal that behaviorally, MG birds were more active with higher gross food intake when compared with KG. MG birds also had significant gain in body mass and testicular volume during the course of experiment, although, the accumulation of fat remained unchanged between the two groups. Thus, the study clearly demonstrates the motivation to eat and stay active besides being reproductively proficient in presence of varied food availability.

This study tested the hypothesis whether hypothalamic cocaine-and amphetamine-regulated transcript (CART)-containing systems were involved in photoperiod-induced responses associated with spring migration (hyperphagia and weight gain) and reproduction (gonadal maturation) in migratory songbirds. We specifically chose CART to examine neural mechanism(s) underlying photoperiod-induced responses, since it is a potent anorectic neuropeptide and involved in the regulation of changes in the body mass and reproduction in mammals. We first studied the distribution of CART-immunoreactivity in the hypothalamus of migratory redheaded buntings (Emberiza bruniceps). CART-immunoreactive neurons were found extensively distributed in the preoptic, lateral hypothalamic (LHN), anterior hypothalamic (AN), suprachiasmatic (SCN), paraventricular (PVN), dorsomedialis hypothalami (DMN), inferior hypothalamic (IH), and infundibular (IN) nuclei. Then, we correlated hypothalamic CART-immunoreactivity in buntings with photostimulated seasonal states, particularly winter non-migratory/non-breeding (NMB) state under short days, and spring premigratory/pre-breeding (PMB) and migratory/breeding (MB) states under long days. There were significantly increased CART-immunoreactive cells, and percent fluorescent area of CART-immunoreactivity was significantly increased in all mapped hypothalamic areas, except the SCN, PVN, AN, and DMN in photostimulated PMB and MB states, as compared to the non-stimulated NMB state. In particular, CART was richly expressed in the medial preoptic nucleus, LHN, IH and IN during MB state in which buntings showed reduced food intake and increased night-time activity. These results suggest that changes in the activity of the CART-containing system in different brain regions were associated with heightened energy needs of the photoperiod-induced seasonal responses during spring migration and reproduction in migratory songbirds.

Migration is a seasonal phenomenon, wherein the birds swap between their breeding and overwintering grounds to avoid harsh climatic conditions and maximally utilize the geographical resources available. The annual cycle of a migratory bird broadly comprises non-breeding and breeding phases. The non-breeding phase corresponds to non-migratory life history state (LHS), whereas the breeding phase can be bifurcated into migratory (spring/autumn migration) and reproductive stages. Since most of the migratory birds are nocturnal migrants, this results either in shift or compromised sleep in these organisms for the sake of their reproduction and survival. Thus, an obvious question arises regarding the prevalence and distribution of sleep in these night migrants. Therefore, the present study focuses on the life history state-dependent as well as daily (with reference to night) differences in sleep behavior with special mention of different sleep postures in a migratory bunting, Emberiza bruniceps. For this purpose, male redheaded buntings were procured from the wild, and after acclimation in laboratory condition, were subjected to short (8L:16D) and long (13L:11D) photoperiodic schedules. Short photoperiod corresponds to non-migratory, whereas long photoperiod leads to pre-migratory and migratory LHSs. The results reveal that sleep behavior varied with different life history states of the bird. Non-migratory and pre-migratory states were dominated by front and back sleep postures, whereas migratory phase was dominated by active wakefulness. Not only life history state, even the night itself showed gradation in occurrence of different sleep behaviors. As the study was conducted in different phases of night, phasic distribution of different sleep behaviors was also observed. Thus, the bird under study, redheaded bunting, clearly demonstrated life history state, as well as daily differences in distribution of different sleep behaviors.

SummaryHundreds of different protein complexes that perform important functions across all cellular processes, collectively comprising the “complexome” of an organism, have been identified1. However, less is known about the fraction of the interactome that exists outside the complexome, in the “outer-complexome”. To investigate features of “inner”- versus outer-complexome organisation in yeast, we generated a high-quality atlas of binary protein-protein interactions (PPIs), combining three previous maps2–4 and a new reference all-by-all binary interactome map. A greater proportion of interactions in our map are in the outer-complexome, in comparison to those found by affinity purification followed by mass spectrometry5–7 or in literature curated datasets8–11. In addition, recent advances in deep learning predictions of PPI structures12 mirror the existing experimentally resolved structures in being largely focused on the inner complexome and missing most interactions in the outer-complexome. Our new PPI network suggests that the outer-complexome contains considerably more PPIs than the inner-complexome, and integration with functional similarity networks13–15 reveals that interactions in the inner-complexome are highly detectable and correspond to pairs of proteins with high functional similarity, while proteins connected by more transient, harder-to-detect interactions in the outer-complexome, exhibit higher functional heterogeneity.

Biodegradable stretchable electronics have demonstrated great potential for future applications in stretchable electronics and can be resorbed, dissolved, and disintegrated in the environment. Most biodegradable electronic devices have used flexible biodegradable materials, which have limited conformality in wearable and implantable devices. Here, we report a biodegradable, biocompatible, and stretchable composite microfiber of poly(glycerol sebacate) (PGS) and polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) for transient stretchable device applications. Compositing high-strength PVA with stretchable and biodegradable PGS with poor processability, formability, and mechanical strength overcomes the limits of pure PGS. As an application, the stretchable microfiber-based strain sensor developed by the incorporation of Au nanoparticles (AuNPs) into a composite microfiber showed stable current response under cyclic and dynamic stretching at 30% strain. The sensor also showed the ability to monitor the strain produced by tapping, bending, and stretching of the finger, knee, and esophagus. The biodegradable and stretchable composite materials of PGS with additive PVA have great potential for use in transient and environmentally friendly stretchable electronics with reduced environmental footprint.

Artificial light at night is constantly minimizing the span of dark nights from the natural light-dark cycle of earth. Over the past century, the "lightscape" of earth has completely changed owing to technological advancements which subsequently changed the lifestyle of human as well as the nearby animal species. This motivated the present study, wherein we investigated the impact of light at night (LAN) on behavior and physiology of a diurnal passerine finch, baya weaver (Ploceus philippinus). A group of bird (N=10) exposed to 12L:12D photoperiod was initially subjected to dark nights (0 lux) for a period of 1.5 weeks followed by 5 lux, night light for a span of 4 weeks. The first week in LAN served as acute treatment with respect to the fourth week (chronic). The results reveal significant increase in nighttime activity and sleep loss with respect to acute LAN, while significant inclusion of drowsiness behavior during the day in response to chronic LAN. Besides these behavioral alterations, changes in physiological parameters such as reduction in body mass, loss of gradient between pre- and post- prandial blood glucose levels, and elevation in plasma corticosterone levels were more prominent during acute exposure of LAN. Plasma metabolites such as triglycerides, total protein, serum glutamic-oxaloacetic transaminase (SGOT), and creatinine concentrations also hiked in response to acute LAN treatment. Thus, acute exposure of LAN seems to serve as a novel environment for the bird leading to more pronounced impacts on behavioral and physiological observations during the experiment. In chronic exposure, the birds sort of adapted themselves to the prevailing circumstances as evident by decreased nighttime activity, rebound of sleep and corticosterone levels, etc. Thus, the study clearly demonstrates the differential impact of acute and chronic exposure of LAN on behavior and physiology of birds.

Background: Puberty menorrohagia is real trouble among adolescent girls mostly due to problem in hypothalamic-pituitary-ovarian axis. The objective of the study was to evaluation of causes of puberty menorrhagia in tertiary care hospital.Methods: Present study evaluates 60 adolescent girls of age group 11-19 years attending Gynaecology OPD/IPD with excessive Menstrual bleeding who conform to the Inclusion criteria were recruited for the study in the department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology of Deen Dayal Hospital Hari Nagar New Delhi over a period of 1 year (August 2018 to June 2019).Results: Out of 60 patients with puberty menorrohagia 47 had anovulatory DUB, 6 had bleeding disorders, 4 had hypothyroidism and 3 had PCOD.Conclusions: Anovulation caused by immaturity of hypothalamic-pituitary-ovarian axis is the most common cause of puberty menorrhagia.

Data mining can be defined as a technology using which valuable information can be extracted from the massive volume of data. The big patterns can be explored and analyzed using statistical and artificial intelligence in big databases. The goal of this research work is to predict the diabetes disease accurately with machine learning algorithms such as PCA, K-means, random forest, multilayer perceptron (MLP), and naive Bayes. The diabetes prediction model has various steps like data preprocessing, feature extraction with the help of PCA, and classification with voting classifier. The fundamental focus of this research is to improve the prediction accuracy. To improve the accuracy for diabetes prediction, voting classifier is introduced for the diabetes prediction.

International audience; Optical composite fibers based on active transition metal (TM)-doped semiconductor crystals are being investigated for use in mid-infrared (mid-IR) fiber laser systems. This study evaluates a candidate glass matrix system assessing its key physical properties and suitability for optical fiber drawing and examines the stability of TM-doped ZnSe crystals during processing. Results indicate that despite excellent refractive index matching between crystal and glass matrix and good fiber draw attributes, the stability of the crystalline dopant within the glass melt is severely impacted by melt conditions. The time and temperature dependence of this stability is mapped by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and second-harmonic generation (SHG) microscopy, illustrating how these tools can be used to track the phase stability and robustness throughout the melting process. Results show that in a range of sulfo-selenide based matrices, dissolution and re-precipitation of Zn-containing crystalline phases is a dominant mechanism.

Background: In all organisms, the ribosome performs the unique and essential function of translating mRNA into protein. Since deletion of any ribosomal protein (RP) is embryonic lethal in complex eukaryotes, the ribosome is believed to be structurally uniform throughout the organism, with all RPs essential for cell viability. Results: We tested the structural homogeneity of RP use in ribosomes for normal and cancer tissues and cell lines using RP mRNA, ribosome profiling, and protein data. Analysis of RP mRNA data from 11,688 normal samples for 53 human tissues from 714 subjects and 10,363 tumor samples for 33 human cancers, normalized by total RP mRNA level per sample, showed that both normal (non-diseased) and tumor samples cluster by tissue type in humans. Matrix factorization showed that at least 3 RP mRNA signatures are necessary to describe normal blood and brain tissues, and a minimum of 16 RP mRNA signatures are necessary to describe data from 53 different normal tissues. A pan-cancer analysis of copy number variation (CNV) in 10,845 tumor samples for 33 human cancers showed that loss of one or both copies of RP genes was prevalent in every cancer type. Furthermore, there was no association between the number of double-deleted RP genes in tumors and patient survival, showing that RP loss does not reduce tumor fitness. CRISPR-Cas9 deletion of RP genes shows that many RPs are not essential in many cell lines. In several cancers, multiple RP-subtypes exist, with significant survival and genomic differences among them. These RP-subtypes often map to known molecular subtypes, and various RP genes are often deleted in one or both subtypes. This suggests that when genomic landscapes are modified in tumors, genes coding RPs are often lost, but these losses do not affect tumor viability. Analysis of mRNA data and ribosome profiling data of RP genes for cells and tissues from human, mouse and rat showed that these are highly correlated, showing that transcripts encoding ribosomal proteins are being translated into ribosomal proteins at rates proportional to their mRNA levels. Consistently, both mRNA data and ribosome profiling data of RP genes, normalized by total level per sample, showed tissue specific and development-stage specific clusters. Finally, analysis of RP protein levels in human adult and fetal tissues, standardized per sample, showed both development-stage and tissue specificity, showing that there is both tissue and development-stage specific heterogeneity of RP protein usage. Conclusions: These results suggest that there are multiple ribosome types in complex eukaryotes, with different RP composition which are regulated in a tissue and development-stage specific manner by some novel, yet unknown mechanism. Citation Format: Anshuman Panda, Anupama Yadav, Huwate Yeerna, Amartya Singh, Michael Biehl, Markus Lux, Alexander Schulz, Tyler Klecha, Sebastian Doniach, Hossein Khiabanian, Shridar Ganesan, Pablo Tamayo, Gyan Bhanot. The composition of the human ribosome varies significantly in different normal and malignant tissues [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research 2020; 2020 Apr 27-28 and Jun 22-24. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2020;80(16 Suppl):Abstract nr 5865.

We give results from a detailed analysis of human Ribosomal Protein (RP) levels in normal and cancer samples and cell lines from large mRNA, copy number variation and ribosome profiling datasets. After normalizing total RP mRNA levels per sample, we find highly consistent tissue specific RP mRNA signatures in normal and tumor samples. Multiple RP mRNA-subtypes exist in several cancers, with significant survival and genomic differences. Some RP mRNA variations among subtypes correlate with copy number loss of RP genes. In kidney cancer, RP subtypes map to molecular subtypes related to cell-of-origin. Pan-cancer analysis of TCGA data showed widespread single/double copy loss of RP genes, without significantly affecting survival. In several cancer cell lines, CRISPR-Cas9 knockout of RP genes did not affect cell viability. Matched RP ribosome profiling and mRNA data in humans and rodents stratified by tissue and development stage and were strongly correlated, showing that RP translation rates were proportional to mRNA levels. In a small dataset of human adult and fetal tissues, RP protein levels showed development stage and tissue specific heterogeneity of RP levels. Our results suggest that heterogeneous RP levels play a significant functional role in cellular physiology, in both normal and disease states. © The Author(s) 2020. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Nucleic Acids Research.

et al., Global insights into cellular organization and genome function require comprehensive understanding of the interactome networks that mediate genotype–phenotype relationships1,2. Here we present a human ‘all-by-all’ reference interactome map of human binary protein interactions, or ‘HuRI’. With approximately 53,000 protein–protein interactions, HuRI has approximately four times as many such interactions as there are high-quality curated interactions from small-scale studies. The integration of HuRI with genome3, transcriptome4 and proteome5 data enables cellular function to be studied within most physiological or pathological cellular contexts. We demonstrate the utility of HuRI in identifying the specific subcellular roles of protein–protein interactions. Inferred tissue-specific networks reveal general principles for the formation of cellular context-specific functions and elucidate potential molecular mechanisms that might underlie tissue-specific phenotypes of Mendelian diseases. HuRI is a systematic proteome-wide reference that links genomic variation to phenotypic outcomes., This work was primarily supported by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI) grant U41HG001715 (M.V., F.P.R., D.E.H., M.A.C., G.D.B. and J.T.) with additional support from NIH grants P50HG004233 (M.V. and F.P.R.), U01HL098166 (M.V.), U01HG007690 (M.V.), R01GM109199 (M.A.C.), Canadian Institute for Health Research (CIHR) Foundation Grants (F.P.R. and J. Rak), the Canada Excellence Research Chairs Program (F.P.R.) and an American Heart Association grant 15CVGPS23430000 (M.V.). D.-K.K. was supported by a Banting Postdoctoral Fellowship through the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC) of Canada and by the Basic Science Research Program through the National Research Foundation (NRF) of Korea funded by the Ministry of Education (2017R1A6A3A03004385). C. Pons was supported by a Ramon Cajal fellowship (RYC-2017-22959). G.M.S. was supported by NIH Training Grant T32CA009361. M.V. is a Chercheurv Qualifié Honoraire from the Fonds de la Recherche Scientifique (FRS-FNRS, Wallonia-Brussels Federation, Belgium).

One of the fundamental questions in biology is how the genotype regulates the phenotype. An increasing number of studies indicate that, in most cases, the effect of a genetic locus on the phenotype is context-dependent, i.e. it is influenced by the genetic background and the environment in which the phenotype is measured. Still, the majority of the studies, in both model organisms and humans, that map the genetic regulation of phenotypic variation in complex traits primarily identify additive loci with independent effects. This does not reflect an absence of the contribution of genetic interactions to phenotypic variation, but instead is a consequence of the technical limitations in mapping gene-gene interactions (GGI) and gene-environment interactions (GEI). Yeast, with its detailed molecular understanding, diverse population genomics and ease of genetic manipulation, is a unique and powerful resource to study the contributions of GGI and GEI in the regulation of phenotypic variation. Here we review studies in yeast that have identified GGI and GEI that regulate phenotypic variation, and discuss the contribution of these findings in explaining missing heritability of complex traits, and how observations from these GGI and GEI studies enhance our understanding of the mechanisms underlying genetic robustness and adaptability that shape the architecture of the genotype-phenotype map.

Saffron is one of the most expensive spices of the world. Since this spice is triploid and meiosis is unusual, it cannot reproduce sexually like other plants; rather, it is propagated vegetatively via an underground corm, which can withstand a long dry dormant period before sprouting. Thus, corms are indispensable to saffron propagation. To identify and analyse signature metabolites associated with the ‘dormancy-sprouting’ process, non-targeted GC-MS was performed at different stages of corm development. Comparative metabolite profiling reflected dissimilar profiles among the stages as portrayed by differential cluster patterns of metabolites in the PCA and PLS-DA analysis. Correlation analysis revealed the interdependencies of individual metabolites and metabolic pathway. At the onset of stage 2, characterized by the initiation and differentiation of leaf primordia, a shift from dormancy to active metabolism occurred as derived from the increased abundance of sugars and other metabolites involved in the tricarboxylic acid cycle, glycolytic, amino acid and fatty acid pathways. These changes contribute to sprouting and vegetative growth of the corm. The present study provides new insights into saffron corm composition and metabolite changes associated with various stages of corm development and may pave the way for achieving agronomical improvements in this economically important spice.

Sleep is highly organized activity which is associated with decreased muscular activity and reduced response to environmental stimuli. The sleep is regulated by both, circadian and homeostatic mechanisms. Sleep patterns can be studied by behavioral assays by observing different sleep behaviors or by neuronal activity such as EEG (electroencephalogram), EOG (electro-oculogram), and EMG (electromyogram). Sleep is organized into non-rapid eye movement (NREM) and rapid eye movement. The sleep pattern in birds are similar to that in mammals, however, few differences such as existence of unihemispheric sleep (UHS) in almost all birds compared to few marine mammals do exist. The UHS results in asymmetry of the brain function measured as slow wave activity (SWA). Several migrants exhibit sleeplessness and they compensate it by NREM. They employ UHS during their migratory flight to remain alert while sleeping and maintain the balance while flying which is advantageous for these birds. Thus, sleep is of fun...

The impact of internal irradiation with secondary Compton electrons, generated by gamma-photons, on the characteristics of III-N/GaN-based devices was explored. N-channel AlGaN/GaN high-electron-mobility transistors (HEMTs) were exposed to gamma-radiation from a 60Co source for doses up to 600 Gy. Temperature-dependent electron beam-induced current (EBIC) was employed to measure minority carrier transport properties. For low doses below ∼250 Gy, the minority carrier diffusion length in AlGaN/GaN HEMTs is shown to increase by about 40%. This increase is likely due to longer minority carrier lifetime induced by internal Compton electron irradiation. An associated decrease in activation energy, extracted from temperature-dependent EBIC, was also found. The obtained increase in transconductance and decrease in gate leakage current indicate an improvement in performance of the devices after low doses of irradiation. For high doses of gamma-irradiation, above ∼300 Gy, the performance of HEMTs showed a d...

Glass is in general brittle and therefore usually cannot sustain large deformation. Recent advances in glass material development as well as micro-mechanical designs, however, are set to defy the conventional wisdom through the demonstration of flexible integrated photonics that can be bent, twisted, and even stretched without compromising its structural integrity and optical performance. In this paper, we review the latest progress in this emerging field, and discuss the rational material and mechanical engineering principles underlying the extraordinary flexibility of these photonic structures. Leveraging these design strategies, we demonstrated bendable chalcogenide glass waveguide circuits, flexible glass waveguide-integrated nanomembrane photodetectors, and stretchable glass photonics., National Science Foundation (U.S.) (Award 1453218), National Science Foundation (U.S.) (Award 1506605), United States. Department of Energy (Grant DE-NA0002509)

Optical phase change materials (O-PCMs), a unique group of materials featuring drastic optical property contrast upon solid-state phase transition, have found widespread adoption in photonic switches and routers, reconfigurable meta-optics, reflective display, and optical neuromorphic computers. Current phase change materials, such as Ge-Sb-Te (GST), exhibit large contrast of both refractive index (delta n) and optical loss (delta k), simultaneously. The coupling of both optical properties fundamentally limits the function and performance of many potential applications. In this article, we introduce a new class of O-PCMs, Ge-Sb-Se-Te (GSST) which breaks this traditional coupling, as demonstrated with an optical figure of merit improvement of more than two orders of magnitude. The first-principle computationally optimized alloy, Ge2Sb2Se4Te1, combines broadband low optical loss (1-18.5 micron), large optical contrast (delta n = 2.0), and significantly improved glass forming ability, enabling an entirely new field of infrared and thermal photonic devices. We further leverage the material to demonstrate nonvolatile integrated optical switches with record low loss and large contrast ratio, as well as an electrically addressed, microsecond switched pixel level spatial light modulator, thereby validating its promise as a platform material for scalable nonvolatile photonics., Comment: 16 pages, 6 figures

Global insights into cellular organization and function require comprehensive understanding of interactome networks. Similar to how a reference genome sequence revolutionized human genetics, a reference map of the human interactome network is critical to fully understand genotype-phenotype relationships. Here we present the first human “all-by-all” binary reference interactome map, or “HuRI”. With ~53,000 high-quality protein-protein interactions (PPIs), HuRI is approximately four times larger than the information curated from small-scale studies available in the literature. Integrating HuRI with genome, transcriptome and proteome data enables the study of cellular function within essentially any physiological or pathological cellular context. We demonstrate the use of HuRI in identifying specific subcellular roles of PPIs and protein function modulation via splicing during brain development. Inferred tissue-specific networks reveal general principles for the formation of cellular context-specific functions and elucidate potential molecular mechanisms underlying tissue-specific phenotypes of Mendelian diseases. HuRI thus represents an unprecedented, systematic reference linking genomic variation to phenotypic outcomes.

We present recent development on integrated flexible and stretchable photonic devices. Conventional photonic devices are fabricated on rigid semiconductor or dielectric substrates and are therefore inherently incompatible with soft biological tissues. Recently, we have developed a suite of active and passive photonic devices and systems integrated on plastic substrates which can be bent, twisted, and stretched without compromising their optical performance. Key innovations are monolithic multi-material integration and advanced micro-mechanical structures co-designed with photonic devices, which enables devices with extreme mechanical flexibility and excellent optical performance.

Cryptic genetic variation (CGV) refers to genetic variants whose effects are buffered in most conditions but manifest phenotypically upon specific genetic and environmental perturbations. Despite having a central role in adaptation, contribution of CGV to regulation of quantitative traits is unclear. Instead, a relatively simplistic architecture of additive genetic loci is known to regulate phenotypic variation in most traits. In this paper, we investigate the regulation of CGV and its implication on the genetic architecture of quantitative traits at a genome-wide level. We use a previously published dataset of biparental recombinant population of Saccharomyces cerevisiae phenotyped in 34 diverse environments to perform single locus, two-locus, and covariance mapping. We identify loci that have independent additive effects as well as those which regulate the phenotypic manifestation of other genetic variants (variance QTL). We find that whereas additive genetic variance is predominant, a higher order genetic interaction network regulates variation in certain environments. Despite containing pleiotropic loci, with effects across environments, these genetic networks are highly environment specific. CGV is buffered under most allelic combinations of these networks and perturbed only in rare combinations resulting in high phenotypic variance. The presence of such environment specific genetic networks is the underlying cause of abundant gene–environment interactions. We demonstrate that overlaying identified molecular networks on such genetic networks can identify potential candidate genes and underlying mechanisms regulating phenotypic variation. Such an integrated approach applied to human disease datasets has the potential to improve the ability to predict disease predisposition and identify specific therapeutic targets.

The impact of 60Co gamma-irradiation on n-channel AlGaN/GaN high-electron-mobility transistors was studied by means of temperature-dependent electron beam-induced current (EBIC) and cathodoluminescence (CL) techniques. For the doses up to ∼250 Gy, an enhancement of minority carrier transport was observed as evident from the EBIC measurements. This enhancement is associated with internal electron irradiation induced by the primary gamma photons. For the doses above ∼250 Gy, deterioration in minority carrier transport was explained by carrier scattering on radiation-induced defects. It is shown that calculated activation energy from the EBIC and CL measurements follows exactly the same trend, which implies that the same underlying phenomenon is responsible for observed findings.

The manufacturing of low loss chalcogenide glasses (ChGs) for optoelectronic applications is ultimately defined by the concentration of impurities present in starting materials or imparted via processing. We describe a rapid method for purifying metallic starting materials in As2Se3 glass where oxide reduction is correlated to optical and physical properties. Specifically, As-O reduction enhances the glass’ dual-band optical transparency proportional to the extent (13-fold reduction) of oxide reduction, and is accompanied by a change in density and hardness associated with changes in matrix bonding. A significant modification of the glass’ index and LWIR Abbe number is reported highlighting the significant impact purification has on material dispersion control required in optical designs.

Optical materials capable of advanced functionality in the infrared will enable optical designs that can offer lightweight or small footprint solutions in both planar and bulk optical systems. The University of Central Florida’s Glass Processing and Characterization Laboratory, together with our collaborators, have been evaluating compositional design and processing protocols for both bulk and film strategies employing multicomponent chalcogenide glasses (ChGs). These materials can be processed with broad compositional flexibility that allows tailoring of their transmission window, physical and optical properties, which allows them to be engineered for compatibility with other homogeneous amorphous or crystalline optical components. We review progress in forming ChG-based gradient refractive index (GRIN) materials from diverse processing methodologies, including solution-derived ChG layers, poled ChGs with gradient compositional and surface reactivity behavior, nanocomposite bulk ChGs and glass ceramics, and metalens structures realized through multiphoton lithography. We discussed current design and metrology tools that lend critical information to material design efforts to realize next-generation IR GRIN media for bulk or film applications.

The dramatic optical property change of optical phase change materials (O-PCMs) between their amorphous and crystalline states potentially allows the realization of reconfigurable photonic devices with enhanced optical functionalities and low power consumption, such as reconfigurable optical components, optical switches and routers, and photonic memories. Conventional O-PCMs exhibit considerable optical losses, limiting their optical performance as well as application space. In this talk, we present the development of a new group of O-PCMs and their implementations in novel meta-optic devices. Ge-Sb-Se-Te (GSST), obtained by partially substituting Te with Se in traditional GST alloys, feature unprecedented broadband optical transparency covering the telecommunication bands to the LWIR. A drastic refractive index change between the amorphous and crystalline states of GSST is realized and the transition is non-volatile and reversible. Optical metasurfaces consist of optically-thin, subwavelength meta-atom arrays which allow arbitrary manipulation of the wavefront of light. Capitalizing on the dramatically-enhanced optical performance of GSST, transparent and ultra-thin reconfigurable meta-optics in mid-infrared are demonstrated. In one example, GSST-based all-dielectric nano-antennae are used as the fundamental building blocks for meta-optic components. Tunable and switchable metasurface devices are developed, taking advantage of the materials phase changing properties.

The dramatic optical property change of optical phase change materials (O-PCMs) between their amorphous and crystalline states potentially allows the realization of reconfigurable photonics devices with low power consumption, such as optical switches and routers, reconfigurable meta-optics, displays, and photonic memories. However, conventional O-PCMs, such as VO2 and Ge2Sb2Te5, are inherently plagued by their excessive optical losses even in dielectric states, limiting their optical performance and hence application space. In this talk, we present the development of a new group of O-PCMs and their implementations in novel photonic devices. Ge-Sb-Se-Te (GSST), obtained by partially substituting Te with Se in traditional GST alloys, feature unprecedented broadband optical transparency covering the telecommunication bands to LWIR. Capitalizing on the dramatically-enhanced optical performance, novel non-volatile, reconfigurable on-chip photonics devices and architectures are demonstrated. GSST-integrated Si photonics based on the material innovation and novel “non-perturbative” designs exhibit significantly improved switching performance over state-of-the-art GST-based approaches. The technology is further scalable to realize non-blocking matrix switches with arbitrary network complexity, paving the path towards high performance reconfigurable photonics chips.

Novel optical materials capable of advanced functionality in the infrared will enable optical designs that can offer lightweight or small footprint solutions in both planar and bulk optical systems. UCF’s Glass Processing and Characterization Laboratory (GPCL) with our collaborators have been evaluating compositional design and processing protocols for both bulk and film strategies employing multi-component chalcogenide glasses (ChGs). These materials can be processed with broad compositional flexibility that allows tailoring of their transmission window, physical and optical properties, which allows them to be engineered for compatibility with other homogeneous amorphous or crystalline optical components. This paper reviews progress in forming ChG-based GRIN materials from diverse processing methodologies, including solution-derived ChG layers, poled ChGs with gradient compositional and surface reactivity behavior, nanocomposite bulk ChGs and glass ceramics, and meta-lens structures realized through multiphoton lithography (MPL).

Optical phase change materials (O-PCMs) are a unique class of materials which exhibit extraordinarily large optical property change (e.g. refractive index change > 1) when undergoing a solid-state phase transition. These materials, exemplified by Mott insulators such as VO2 and chalcogenide compounds, have been exploited for a plethora of emerging applications including optical switching, photonic memories, reconfigurable metasurfaces, and non-volatile display. These traditional phase change materials, however, generally suffer from large optical losses even in their dielectric states, which fundamentally limits the performance of optical devices based on traditional O-PCMs. In this talk, we will discuss our progress in developing O-PCMs with unprecedented broadband low optical loss and their applications in novel photonic systems, such as high-contrast switches and routers towards a reconfigurable optical chip.

Two-dimensional (2-D) materials are of tremendous interest to silicon photonics given their singular optical characteristics spanning light emission, modulation, saturable absorption, and nonlinear optics. To harness their optical properties, these atomically thin materials are usually attached onto prefabricated devices via a transfer process. Here we present a new route for 2-D material integration with silicon photonics. Central to this approach is the use of chalcogenide glass, a multifunctional material which can be directly deposited and patterned on a wide variety of 2-D materials and can simultaneously function as the light guiding medium, a gate dielectric, and a passivation layer for 2-D materials. Besides achieving improved fabrication yield and throughput compared to the traditional transfer process, our technique also enables unconventional multilayer device geometries optimally designed for enhancing light-matter interactions in the 2-D layers. Capitalizing on this facile integration method, we demonstrate a series of high-performance glass-on-graphene devices including ultra-broadband on-chip polarizers, energy-efficient thermo-optic switches, as well as mid-infrared (mid-IR) waveguide-integrated photodetectors and modulators based on graphene and black phosphorus.