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Thermal modeling of the lithosphere is essential to understand the geodynamics, seismogenesis, and crustal evolution of any region. Surface heat flow, radiogenic heat production, and thermal conductivity variations with temperature are the primary parameters that influence thermal modeling. The Western Himalaya is devoid of all these parameters, which hindered accurate thermal modeling of the region. In the present study, we have measured the above thermophysical properties in the laboratory for the major rock formations of the Western Himalaya along three NW-SE profiles. The major rock formations include sandstone, limestone, dolomitic limestone, slate, phyllite, quartzite, schist, gneiss, and granitoid. Thermal conductivity and heat production of these rocks vary from 2.6 to 5.4 Wm-1K-1 and 1.7 to 2.6 µWm-3. The crustal structure along one of the profiles, i.e., Tanakpur-Pangla profile (150 km length), is made using available geological and geophysical (seismological and gravity) information, along with new data on rock thermal conductivity and its variation with temperature and radiogenic heat production to obtain 2D conductive thermal structure beneath the region by finite element method. The 2D temperature-depth distribution along this profile covering Siwalik, Lesser Himalaya, and Higher Himalaya formations reveals that the temperature at Moho varies from 450 °C to 750 °C. At a few locations, subsurface temperatures estimated from the 1D conductivity models are in good agreement with that of the 2D results within the uncertainty limits. The results of 2D thermal modeling provide significant progress in understanding of the first-order characteristics of the conductive thermal field in the Western Himalaya., The 28th IUGG General Assembly (IUGG2023) (Berlin 2023)

Heat flow plays a vital role in estimating the lithospheric temperature distribution, which is an essential parameter in understanding the evolution and stabilization of the cratons. Heat flow is determined in the Mesoarchean Singhbhum Craton, one of the oldest cratons in the Indian shield, for the first time from seven locations. This enabled us to construct plausible 1-D crustal thermal models and to estimate mantle heat flow by considering a few crustal heat production/thermal conductivity models based on crustal structures from the geological/geophysical studies of the study region. In the present study, detailed radioelemental abundances (Th, U, K) and heat production are measured for the Paleoarchaean gneiss (OMTG) and Singhbhum Granites (SBG) of the craton. The result shows that both OMTG and SBG, which cover most of the craton, have, in general, low radioelemental abundances and heat production with an average of 1.3 ± 0.2 mWm-3. Heat flow ranges from 27-34 mWm-2, with an average of 30 ± 3 mWm-2, which is lowest than most of the cratons. Interestingly, the value is also half that observed in the Singhbhum Shear Zone (61 ± 2 mWm-2), situated in its north. The 1-D thermal models indicate that mantle heat flow and Moho temperature range from 14-16 mWm-2 and 330-370 °C, respectively. These fall within the range observed for the Archaean cratons despite their lowest surface heat flow. It is mainly due to the distinct crustal heat production scenarios and upper crustal thermal conductivity profiles, which provide clues to understanding the craton formation., The 28th IUGG General Assembly (IUGG2023) (Berlin 2023)

Knowledge of the downward variation of thermal conductivity within Earth's interior is an essential parameter for accurately estimating the sub-surface temperature distribution. The variation is dominantly controlled by temperature and, to a very less extent, by pressure. The temperature dependence is distinct for various rocks and higher for upper crustal rocks than the lower crustal rocks, implying the utmost necessity of detailed study for upper crustal rocks. In thermal modeling, two temperature coefficients are commonly considered for the upper and lower crust. But the upper crust generally consists of a wide variety of rocks.In the present study, thermal conductivity variation with temperature has been studied in the laboratory by a steady-state method in the temperature range of 25-300 °C on different types of upper crustal rocks, e.g., granitoids and rhyolites. Results show that the temperature dependence of thermal conductivity for different varieties of granitoids, i.e., alkali feldspar granite to monzogranite and granodiorite to tonalite to quartz diorite, indicate two distinct ranges and rhyolites lie between these two varieties. The study also depicts that a single temperature coefficient for the upper crustal rocks needs to be modified, and appropriate values should be considered, depending upon the variations in rock formation of the upper crust. The observed wide variations in the temperature dependence of thermal conductivity for different varieties of upper crustal rocks will be useful for precise sub-surface thermal modeling. The study also investigated how the difference in temperature coefficient for the upper crust can produce a difference in thermal structure.&nbsp, The 28th IUGG General Assembly (IUGG2023) (Berlin 2023)

Nitrogen is indispensable for aggrandizing productivity of crop but the losses associated due to swift transformation and release pattern are subjected to various losses leading to pitiful amount left for crop uptake, pollution and resource wastage. Present study was conducted to evaluate the efficacy of coated urea and nitrogen rates on baby corn growth, yield and NUE. The experiment comprised varieties PHM-1 and HM-4, coated urea (NCU, ZCU, SCU and PU) and nitrogen levels @180, 150, 120 kg N/ha along with the control. The study revealed that PHM-1 obtained significantly higher plant height, no. of cobs and weight of dehusked cob that led to significant increase of 18.47 and 19.67 % higher husked and dehusked cob yields over HM-4 which attained 12.6% higher fodder yield over latter. The baby corn cob yield and fodder yield were significantly higher in coated urea over prilled urea. The husked and dehusked yield of baby corn was higher in neem-coated urea over prilled urea by 14.81 and 14.37% respectively. H o w e v e r , a reduction of 59.9% in total fodder yield was recorded in control when compared to 180 kg N ha. Also, NPK uptake was higher then PHM-1 and uptake by coated urea was higher then prilled urea along with high uptake for 180 kg N/ha, further the AE and higher PE of baby corn cob was found highest in variety PHM-1 although for fodder, the higher AE was recorded in HM-4, whereas ANR was higher in PHM-1.

The SARS-Cov-2 pandemic significantly impacted on oncology practice across the globe. There is uncertainty as to the contribution of patients' demographics and oncological features on severity and mortality from Covid-19 and little guidance as to the role of anti-cancer and anti-Covid-19 therapy in this population. In a multi-center study of 890 cancer patients with confirmed Covid-19 we demonstrated a worsening gradient of mortality from breast cancer to haematological malignancies and showed that male gender, older age, and number of co-morbidities identifies a subset of patients with significantly worse mortality rates from Covid-19. Provision of chemotherapy, targeted therapy and immunotherapy did not worsen mortality. Exposure to antimalarials was associated with improved mortality rates independent of baseline prognostic factors. This study highlights the clinical utility of demographic factors for individualized risk-stratification of patients and support further research into emerging anti-Covid-19 therapeutics in SARS-Cov-2 infected cancer patients.

Preclinical studies have demonstrated synergy between poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) and phosphatidylinositol-3-kinase (PI3K)/AKT pathway inhibitors in BRCA1 and BRCA2 (BRCA1/2)-deficient and BRCA1/2-proficient tumors. We conducted an investigator-initiated phase I trial utilizing a prospective intrapatient dose-escalation design to assess two schedules of capivasertib (AKT inhibitor) with olaparib (PARP inhibitor) in 64 patients with advanced solid tumors. Dose expansions enrolled germline BRCA1/2-mutant tumors, or BRCA1/2-wildtype cancers harboring somatic DNA damage response (DDR) or PI3K/AKT pathway alterations. The combination was well-tolerated. Recommended phase 2 doses for the two schedules were: olaparib 300mg BID with either capivasertib 400mg BID 4-days-on, 3-days-off, or capivasertib 640mg BID 2-days-on, 5-days-off. Pharmacokinetics were dose-proportional. Pharmacodynamic studies confirmed pGSK3beta suppression, increased pERK and decreased BRCA1 expression. 25 (44.6%) of 56 evaluable patients achieved clinical benefit (RECIST CR/PR or stable disease =4 months), including patients with tumors harboring germline BRCA1/2-mutations and BRCA1/2-wildtype cancers with or without DDR and PI3K/AKT pathway alterations. Copyright ©2020, American Association for Cancer Research.