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Al-Jarrah et al. defined a new topological operator, namely, δ ω -closure operator, and proved that it lies between the δ -closure operator and the usual closure operator. Al-Ghour et al. defined θ ω -closure operator and discussed its properties. In this paper, it is proved that the δ ω -closure operator lies between the θ ω -closure operator and the usual closure operator. Also, sufficient conditions are given for the equivalence between the δ ω -closure operator and the θ ω -closure operator. Moreover, we define three new types of continuity, namely, δ ω -continuity, ω - δ -continuity, and almost δ ω -continuity, and discuss their properties. It is proved that the concepts of usual continuity and δ ω -continuity are independent of each other. In addition, the relationships between different types of continuity have been investigated. Further, some examples and counter examples are given.

Understanding the mechanism of ligands binding to their protein targets and the influence of various factors governing the binding thermodynamics is essential for rational drug design. The solution pH is one of the critical factors that can influence ligand binding to a protein cavity, especially in enzymes whose function is sensitive to the pH. Using computer simulations, we studied the pH effect on the binding of a guanidinium ion (Gdm

To assess associations between co-occurring preoperative smoking and risky alcohol use on the likelihood of adverse surgical outcomes.Risky alcohol use and smoking are known surgical risk factors with a high co-occurrence and additive adverse effects on multiple organ systems that impact surgical health, yet no research has evaluated the impact of co-occurrence on surgical outcomes.This investigation analyzed 200,816 patients from the Michigan Surgical Quality Collaborative database between 7/1/2012 to 12/31/2018. Patients were classified based on past year risky alcohol use (2 drink/day) and cigarette smoking into four groups: 1) risky alcohol and smoking, 2) risky alcohol only, 3) smoking only, and 4) no risky alcohol/smoking. We fitted logistic regression models, applying propensity score weights incorporating demographic, clinical, and surgical factors to assess associations between alcohol and smoking and 30-day postoperative outcomes; surgical complications, readmission, reoperation, and emergency department (ED) visits.Risky alcohol and smoking, risky alcohol only, and smoking only were reported by 2,852 (1.4%), 2,840 (1.4%), and 44,042 (22%) patients, respectively. Relative to all other groups, the alcohol and smoking group had greater odds of surgical complications, readmission, and reoperation. Relative to the no alcohol and smoking group, the alcohol only group higher odds of reoperation and smoking only group had higher odds of ED visits.The combination of smoking and risky drinking conferred the highest likelihood of complications, readmission, and reoperation before surgery. Co-occurring alcohol and smoking at the time of surgery warrants special attention as a patient risk factor and deserves additional research.

Understanding the mechanism of ligands binding to their protein targets and the influence of various factors governing the binding thermodynamics is essential for rational drug design. The solution pH is one of the critical factors that can influence ligand binding to a protein cavity, especially in enzymes whose function is sensitive to the pH. Using computer simulations, we studied the pH effect on the binding of a guanidinium ion (Gdm+) to the active site of hen-egg white lysozyme (HEWL). HEWL serves as a model system for enzymes with two acidic residues in the active site and ligands with Gdm+ moieties, which can bind to the active sites of such enzymes and are present in several approved drugs treating various disorders. The computed free energy surface (FES) shows that Gdm+ binds to the HEWL active site using two dominant binding pathways populating multiple intermediates. We show that the residues close to the active site that can anchor the ligand could play a critical role in ligand binding. Using a Markov state model, we quantified the lifetimes and kinetic pathways connecting the different states in the FES. The protonation and deprotonation of the acidic residues in the active site in response to the pH change strongly influence the Gdm+ binding. There is a sharp jump in the ligand-binding rate constant when the pH approaches the largest pKa of the acidic residue present in the active site. The simulations reveal that, at most, three Gdm+ can bind at the active site, with the Gdm+ bound in the cavity of the active site acting as a scaffold for the other two Gdm+ ions binding. This result implies the possibility of designing single large molecules containing multiple Gdm+ moieties that can have high binding affinities to inhibit the function of enzymes with two acidic residues in their active site.

BACKGROUND Echocardiography is considered as a traditional approach to clinically study dilated cardiomyopathy. Because of poor apical visibility, however, volumetric calculations are difficult to ascertain. In calculating left ventricle volumes and ejection fractions, magnetic resonance (MR) imaging has shown to be more accurate than echocardiography. Due to conflicting literature, the present study was conducted to diagnose dilated cardiomyopathy using 2 D - echocardiography and correlate these echocardiographic findings with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). METHODS This observational cross-sectional study was conducted in the Department of Radio-diagnosis and Imaging, Sri Sathya Sai Institute of Higher Medical sciences, Puttaparthi, Andhra Pradesh, Pin 515134. The study group consisted of consecutive patients who had clinical suspicion of dilated cardiomyopathy. A total of 40 patients underwent both 2 D - echo and cardiac MRI on the same day. All patients underwent 2 - D echo which was performed at the frame rate of 40 - 80 frames per second in the left lateral decubitus position to obtain standard 2, 3, and 4 chambers as well as short axis views (GE Vingmed Vivid 7 Dimensions, Horton, Norway: 2.5 MHz transducer). MRI was performed on a 1.5 T scanner (Mangnetom Aera, Siemens, Erlangen, Germany). For patient monitoring and cardiac synchronization, 3 - lead electrocardiography was used. RESULTS In the present study, in comparison to reference standard (cardiac MRI), 2 D - echocardiography showed significant and systematic underestimation of enddiastolic volume (EDV), end-systolic volume (ESV) and stroke volume (SV). Good correlation between 2 D - echo and cardiac MRI was noted for end-diastolic volume (r = 0.89), stroke volume (r = 0.60) and ejection fraction (r = 0.75). CONCLUSIONS In summary, magnetic resonance imaging is an accurate, non-invasive, safe and advanced modality for evaluation of global left ventricular function and myocardial scarring. 2 D - echocardiography can be used for screening of the patients with clinically suspected dilated cardiac myopathy (DCM) and their follow up. KEYWORDS Echocardiography, MRI, Cardiomyopathy

BACKGROUND: The first national severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) serosurvey in India, done in May-June, 2020, among adults aged 18 years or older from 21 states, found a SARS-CoV-2 IgG antibody seroprevalence of 0·73% (95% CI 0·34-1·13). We aimed to assess the more recent nationwide seroprevalence in the general population in India. METHODS: We did a second household serosurvey among individuals aged 10 years or older in the same 700 villages or wards within 70 districts in India that were included in the first serosurvey. Individuals aged younger than 10 years and households that did not respond at the time of survey were excluded. Participants were interviewed to collect information on sociodemographics, symptoms suggestive of COVID-19, exposure history to laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 cases, and history of COVID-19 illness. 3-5 mL of venous blood was collected from each participant and blood samples were tested using the Abbott SARS-CoV-2 IgG assay. Seroprevalence was estimated after applying the sampling weights and adjusting for clustering and assay characteristics. We randomly selected one adult serum sample from each household to compare the seroprevalence among adults between the two serosurveys. FINDINGS: Between Aug 18 and Sept 20, 2020, we enrolled and collected serum samples from 29 082 individuals from 15 613 households. The weighted and adjusted seroprevalence of SARS-CoV-2 IgG antibodies in individuals aged 10 years or older was 6·6% (95% CI 5·8-7·4). Among 15 084 randomly selected adults (one per household), the weighted and adjusted seroprevalence was 7·1% (6·2-8·2). Seroprevalence was similar across age groups, sexes, and occupations. Seroprevalence was highest in urban slum areas followed by urban non-slum and rural areas. We estimated a cumulative 74·3 million infections in the country by Aug 18, 2020, with 26-32 infections for every reported COVID-19 case. INTERPRETATION: Approximately one in 15 individuals aged 10 years or older in India had SARS-CoV-2 infection by Aug 18, 2020. The adult seroprevalence increased approximately tenfold between May and August, 2020. Lower infection-to-case ratio in August than in May reflects a substantial increase in testing across the country. FUNDING: Indian Council of Medical Research.

The (1 − x)CoFe2O4 + xBaTiO3 (x = 0.2, 0.5, 0.8) magnetoelectric (ME) composites were prepared by solid state method. The structural feature of as-prepared ceramics were characterized and studied systematically by using XRD, and Raman. The dielectric properties were measured by LCR Meter Bridge. Variation of dielectric properties (dielectric constant and dielectric loss) with frequency range of 1000 Hz–1 MHz were studied. The AC conductivity were calculated from dielectric constant (e’) and loss tangent (tanδ). The conduction phenomenon was explained on the basis of small polaron hopping model. The composites show excellent ferroelectric properties. The morphological feature of the selected composites; fractured as well as thermally etched has been studied by scanning electron microscopy. The relationship between such properties, chemical composition and sintering temperatures are thoroughly discussed.

Sugarcane is a crop of economic importance providing sugar and bioenergy resource which has a substantial contribution to the national GDP of India as well as other countries. Genomes of the several grasses have co-evolved which share large-scale synteny and genome collinearity; hence it is possible to employ EST-SSR markers of one grass species for genetic study of other related species. A set of sixty potentially informative EST-derived microsatellite (SSR) markers were employed to examine their cross-taxa transferability across the limit of taxonomic boundaries of different grass genomes. The high (96.6%) rate of SSRs cross-transferability observed in genus Saccharum followed by Erianthus (93.3%), Narenga (88.3%), Sclerostachya (86.3%), and Miscanthus (83.3%). Relatively lower rates of cross amplification were observed in other cereal crops including Sorghum bicolor, Pennisetum glaucum, Zea mays, Triticum aestivum, Oryza sativa, and Avena sativa. Cross-transferable EST-SSR markers were utilized to evaluate phylogenetic relationships among genus Saccharum, closely related genera of Saccharum complex, and other allied cereal grasses. The polymorphic information content values ranged from 0.35 to 0.95, with an average of 0.71. Such a high rates of cross-taxa transferability of the EST-SSRs make them a potent tool for genetic studies and comparative genomics across wide evolutionary distances within and across genera along with technologically simplicity and cost effectiveness. EST-SSRs will facilitate to devise potent tools for genetic improvement through advance molecular breeding of such crops for high grain productivity and better quality. They will especially be useful for the orphan grass species, which contribute a major part of the global food security.

Faceted nanocrystals involving Ce1−xZrxO2 (CZ) system bound by (101) and (l10) facets were synthesized via co-precipitation route. The novelty of this process relies on the fact that the synthesis did not involve any surfactant/ligand for morphology control (for all the CZ compositions) and the nanocrystals retained their shapes at high temperatures (> 800 °C). Catalytic and photocatalytic degradation properties were suitably examined for the CZ nanocrystals; substantial (∼90%) degradation of the methylene blue dye was observed only in 60 min of visible light irradiation. Ce1−xZrxO2 ceramics with near-theoretical density (>98%) obtained at 1580 °C (for 2 h) confirmed excellent sinterability for the synthesized CZ nanocrystalline powders. The ionic conductivities of the doped-ceria ceramics increased with temperature and frequency. A maximum conductivity of ∼2 × 10−3 S/cm was measured at 600 °C at 1 MHz for Ce0.4Zr0.6O2 ceramic; previous works obtained similar data at 900 °C or beyond for the same composition.

Sugarcane expressed sequence tags (ESTs) database (db) offers a great opportunity for developing functional molecular markers associated with the desirable agronomic traits. The aim of the present study was to develop informative simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers in sugarcane using sugarcane expressed sequence tags (ESTs), characterization with respect to their abundance, distribution, variability, and to test their competence in genetic diversity. A total of 361 EST-SSR markers were developed and screened for their ability to detect polymorphism across the wide range of sugarcane germplasm. Among the developed SSRs, TNRs containing motifs were predominant with a frequency of 55%, which followed by TtNRs (22%), PNRs (11%), DNRs (7%), and HNRs (5%). Gene Ontology and homology search was conducted to establish the relevancy of SSRs in functional genomics. Resulting, ∼39% SSRs were found to be functional and confirmed homology with different proteins and transcription factors involved in gene expression. A set of 96 polymorphic primer pairs was used to evaluate genetic diversity among Saccharum species, related genera and cross amplification in other cereal grasses. A total of 710 alleles were generated which ranged from 2 to 15 with an average of 7.40 alleles per locus and showed 100% polymorphism. Polymorphism information content (PIC) value was ranged from 0.35 to 0.91 with an average of 0.71. Majority of the markers developed in current study were related to sucrose metabolism, stress physiology, plant immune responses, signal transduction, biosynthesis of secondary metabolites, ATP generation, growth and other biochemical process. The high degree of polymorphism, cross-species amplification and genetic diversity assessed with these SSR markers suggested their utility for genome mapping, QTL analysis, comparative genomics, gene-based association studies, and marker-assisted selection in sugarcane. Moreover, these informative EST-SSRs described here would enrich existing repertoire of genetic resources for sugarcane and also other related taxa constitute the important secondary genepool for sugarcane genetic improvement.

Fashion today is about an obsession with outward image and appearance. Though the door delivery of goods is very useful for modern consumers, it has given rise to some serious environmental challenges due to excessive usage of plastics. To pack the clothes ordered online needs a whole leap of plastic wrap, bubble sheet, thermocol sheet and the list of packaging waste is endless. From polybag to collar band, plastic has a wide range of use in the packaging segment, though recycling and reusing these materials are difficult. Products like corrugated bubble sheet, green wrap, indented kraft paper can be intensive as eco-friendly alternatives for this ecological damage. Though there is room for sustainable modules in the fashion industry, there must be companies and people willing to take up the new ideals. This paper reviews plastic consumption in packaging and its environmental annoyance and the alternatives identified by some fashion brands..

Microorganisms can do physical and chemical transformations in the media during their growth in an organic-rich favorable environment. Adequate infiltration of organic-rich water into the porous media such as aquifers may cause intensive microbial activity and clog the pores by microorganisms. A sandbox laboratory experiment has been conducted for understanding impact assessment of bioclogging on the hydraulic properties of the porous media caused by aerobic and anaerobic microbial activities. A tank packed with medium-grained sand was saturated with growth medium prepared by dissolving source of organic matter, nitrate, sulfate, and iron in a tap water. To grow the complex microbial species in the tank, a 10 ml bacterial seed taken from the Winogradsky column was injected in the middle of the tank at a depth of 10 cm. To achieve the preset objective, bacterial population density and hydraulic measurements both in aerobic and anaerobic zones were conducted every 15 days and 30 days, respectively. This study reveals that hydraulic conductivity is initially increased in the aerobic zone and subsequently begins decreasing, whereas, in the anaerobic region, it reduces during the entire period of experimentation. It is also found that the conductivity in the anaerobic zone decreases with an increase in bacterial populations of nitrate, iron, and sulfate reducers. However, in the aerobic zone, hydraulic conductivity increases with an increase in population E.coli due to the dissolution of sand grains induced by aerobic and facultative microorganisms.

Structure–property correlations were investigated for LaxCe1−xO2−δ (x = 0.05, 0.15) system (for both nanoparticles and ceramic). The nanoparticles were synthesized by the co-precipitation route and characterized for their structural, catalytic and visible light driven photocatalytic properties. Synthesised LaxCe1−xO2−δ nanopowders depicted phase purity with excellent compositional control as confirmed by various structural characterisation tools. The 15% La3+-doped ceria nanoparticles portrayed superior photocatalytic properties; complete degradation (99%) of the methylene blue dye was observed within 60 min of visible light irradiation under an alkaline medium. High density (> 96%) of the ceramics (sintered at 1580 °C for 2 h) confirmed promising sinterability of the synthesised powders. The ionic conductivities of the LaxCe1−xO2−δ ceramics increased with temperature and frequency owing to enhanced oxygen vacancies in the ceria matrix as a result of doping (of La3+-ions); a maximum conductivity of ~ 8.4 × 10−2 S cm−1 was obtained at 900 °C for the 15% La3+-doped ceria ceramics at 1 MHz frequency.

In this work, we report the structural and catalytic properties of Lanthanum doped Ceria nanostructures. The La-doped Ceria nanoparticles (Ce0.8La0.2O2-x) were prepared by co-precipitating lanthanum nitrate hexahydrate and cerium (III) nitrate hexahydrate at pH 8. The differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) in conjunction with X-ray diffraction results depicted low temperature crystallization as early as 300 °C. This is the lowest reported temperature data for the La-doped Ceria system synthesized without any complexing agent/ligand, till date. The lattice parameter was calculated to be 5.492 ± 0.004 A; the crystallite size was obtained as ∼ 8 nm by Scherrer method. The structural and redox properties have been investigated by various characterization techniques, e.g., X-ray diffraction (XRD), Transmission electron microscopy (TEM), Temperature programmed reduction (TPR),Temperature programmed desorption (TPD). The catalytic properties of the Ce0.8La0.2O2-x nanostructures proved them to be useful for future energy related applications.

The nanoparticles involving La x Ce 1− x O 2– δ system ( x = 0.1, 0.2 and 0.5) with various rare earth La 3+ -doping levels were successfully synthesized and characterized for their structural, catalytic and photocatalytic properties. The structural characterizations (via X-ray diffraction, high-resolution transmission electron microscopy, Raman spectroscopy) confirmed the presence of phase-pure catalyst nanoparticles with desired target stoichiometry; induced lattice strains were correlated with various doping amounts. Raman spectroscopy results illustrated the effect of progressively higher La-doping with increasing peak asymmetry, broadening and shifting of the key peaks to lower energies. The 10% La-doped ceria catalysts depicted superior catalytic reduction and visible light photocatalytic (for the degradation of methylene blue) properties along with promising oxygen storage capacity values. Our results suggest that low (≤ 20%) doping of the rare-earth metal is sufficient for maintaining a balance between catalytic properties and overall deformation (strain, vacancy etc) in the fluorite CeO 2 lattice.

Over a period of last thirty years, use of ethanol has been historically reported for obtaining nanopowders with low agglomeration for various oxide systems. In addition to these benefits, we show for the first time that treatments in ethanol medium coupled with an ultrasonication step can impart crucial additional advantages in controlling the phase purity and stoichiometry/composition for such systems. This is an important issue especially for any complex multicationic oxide nanoparticles system and hence we selected one of the most popular catalyst systems of doped-ceria (CeO2) nanoparticles with very high (50%) level of rare-earth (lanthanum) doping for this case study. The effect of an ultrasonication combined ethanol treatment was compared with the other solvent media (pure water and ethanol) without ultrasonication. The underlying mechanism for this process involves lowering the deprotonation rate in ethanol medium which eventually reduces the condensation of the individual metal oxides while the ultrasonication ensures the reproducibility of the synthesis by providing a homogeneous colloidal solution for each washing stages. This novel modification in synthesis of nanoparticles aims to provide meaningful solutions in optimising the phase, composition and morphology of multicationic complex system of nanocrystals.

Sugarcane is one among the most important commercial crops used to produce sugar, ethanol, and other byproducts, which significantly contributes in the GDP of India and many other countries around the world. Genetic diversity is a platform for any breeding program of a plant species. Estimation of the genetic variability and population structure play a vital role for conservation planning and management of plant genetic resources. Genetic variability serves as a source of noble alleles responsible for key agronomic and quality traits, which ultimately form basis for identification and selection of promising parents for breeding programs. In the present study genetic diversity and population structure of 139 accessions of the genus Saccharum, allied genera of family Poaceae and cultivars were assessed using informative microsatellite (SSR) markers. A sum of 427 alleles was produced using 61 polymorphic primers and number of alleles generated was ranged from 2 to 13 with an average of 7 alleles per locus. PIC values were ranged from 0.35 to 0.90, with a mean value of 0.66 for all the markers evaluated. Cluster analysis based on UPGMA method revealed three major clusters which were further subdivided into nine subclusters. Population structure analysis also established three subpopulations of used accession set, however there were no correlation of sub-groupings with that of place of origin. AMOVA analysis also confirmed that 83% and 17% of total variations were attributed to the within- and between-populations, correspondingly, demonstrating greater exchange of gene pool across places of origin. The principal component analysis (PCA) demonstrated the distribution of accessions in the scatter-plot was substantially dispersed, revealing rich genetic diversity among accessions of different species. The findings from this study will be useful in breeding programs for introgression of noble alleles into modern cultivars by exploiting natural genetic variation existing in sugarcane genetic resources.

The fixtures required in manufacturing must correctly locate workpiece in a given orientation with respect to cutting tool. The present work aims at design of fixture for trimming of a component called shim which is made of composite material. The trimming is done by abrasive water jet machine. Machining by conventional methods compromise the strength of the composite materials and/or cause delamination, making it less suitable for aerospace applications, thus Abrasive Water Jet (AWJ) technology is used for machining composite materials. In present work, the shim made of composite material is required to be cut at specified orientation at given location in a circular path. Since the shim is a thin-walled structure, excess clamping force may deform it and it may not get cut at required positions, although sufficient support and clamping is required to hold the component during trimming operation by water jet machining. The fixture needs to be designed for an abrasive water jet machine in which the water jet nozzle head is stationary and automation, e.g., rotary table is not available for maintaining circular cut at specified location and orientation. A fixture is designed to meet the above requirements. The suitable rotational speed to cut the shim is found experimentally and the shim is cut in circular path at desired location on the fixture.

Key Points Question What is the prevalence of and what clinical and demographic characteristics are associated with smoking in a large population of patients undergoing surgery? Findings In this cross-sectional study of 328 578 patients undergoing general and vascular surgical procedures from 2012 to 2019 in Michigan, nearly 1 in 4 patients smoked cigarettes at the time of surgery. Despite decreasing over the study period, in 2019 the adjusted prevalence of smoking was 22.3% among all patients, 43.0% among patients with Medicaid, and 36.3% among patients without insurance. Meaning These findings indicate that smoking cessation interventions may be particularly important for patients undergoing surgery, especially for patients who lack health insurance or have Medicaid., This cross-sectional study describes the prevalence of smoking in a population of patients undergoing common surgical procedures and identifies any clinical or demographic characteristics associated with smoking., Importance Surgery is a teachable moment, and smoking cessation interventions that coincide with an episode of surgical care are especially effective. Implementing these interventions at a large scale requires understanding the prevalence and characteristics of smoking among surgical patients. Objectives To describe the prevalence of smoking in a population of patients undergoing common surgical procedures and to identify any clinical or demographic characteristics associated with smoking. Design, Setting, and Participants This cross-sectional study included all adult patients (aged ≥18 years) in a statewide registry who underwent general and vascular surgical procedures from 2012 to 2019 at 70 hospitals in Michigan. Data analysis was conducted from August to October 2020. Exposures Undergoing a surgical procedure in any of the following categories: appendectomy, cholecystectomy, colon procedures, gastric or esophageal procedures, hepatopancreatobiliary procedures, hernia repair, small-bowel procedures, hysterectomy, vascular procedures, thyroidectomy, and other unspecific abdominal procedures. Main Outcomes and Measures The prevalence of smoking prior to surgery, defined as cigarette use in the year prior to surgery, obtained from medical record review. Multivariable logistic regression was performed to analyze smoking prevalence based on insurance type and year of surgery while adjusting for demographic and clinical factors, including age, sex, race/ethnicity (determined from the medical record), insurance type, geographic region, comorbidities (ie, hypertension, diabetes, congestive heart failure, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, chronic steroid use, and obstructive sleep apnea), American Society of Anesthesiologists classification, admission status, surgical priority, procedure type, and year of surgery. Results From 2012 to 2019, 328 578 patients underwent surgery and were included in analysis. Mean (SD) age was 54.0 (17.0) years, and 197 501 patients (60.1%) were women. The overall prevalence of smoking was 24.1% (79 152 patients). Prevalence varied regionally from 21.5% (95% CI, 21.0%-21.9%; 6686 of 31 172 patients) in southeast Michigan to 28.0% (95% CI, 27.1%-28.9%; 2696 of 9614 patients) in northeast Michigan. When adjusting for clinical and demographic factors, there were greater odds of smoking among patients with Medicaid (odds ratio [OR], 2.75; 95% CI, 2.69-2.82) and patients without insurance (OR, 2.21; 95% CI, 2.10-2.33) compared with patients with private insurance. Among procedure categories, patients undergoing vascular surgery had greater odds of smoking (OR, 3.24; 95% CI, 3.11-3.38) than those undergoing cholecystectomy. Compared with 2012, the adjusted odds of smoking decreased significantly each year (eg, 2019: OR, 0.78; 95% CI, 0.74-0.81). In 2019, the adjusted prevalence of smoking was 22.3% (95% CI, 22.0%-22.7%) among all patients, 43.0% (95% CI, 42.4%-43.6%) among patients with Medicaid, and 36.3% (95% CI, 35.2%-37.4%) among patients without insurance. Conclusions and Relevance In a statewide population of surgical patients, nearly one-quarter of patients smoked cigarettes, which is higher than the national average. The prevalence of smoking was especially high among patients without insurance and among those receiving Medicaid. Given the established association between undergoing a major surgical procedure and health behavior change, targeted smoking cessation interventions at the time of surgery may be an effective strategy to improve population health, especially among at-risk patient groups.

Structural and functional applications involving La2Zr2O7 exploit the data on fluorite to pyrochlore phase transition, because of the strong dependence on the physical properties of the system with its phase stability. Though studied for decades, the origin of fluorite to pyrochlore phase transition in La2Zr2O7 is still not well understood. In this article, we confirm the presence of a fluorite to pyrochlore phase transition in La2Zr2O7 system in the temperature range 1000–1450 °C. The phase transition along with the associated structural properties is investigated with the help La2Zr2O7 samples calcined at different temperatures.

Phase-pure Lanthanum zirconate nanopowders (La 2 Zr 2 O 7 , LZ) were synthesized by co-precipitation method and subjected to densification studies. No additive/sintering aid was used, neither was any slurry processing performed to improve the quality of the powders. LZ ceramic with near-theoretical density (> 98%) was obtained at 1150 °C by spark plasma sintering; the lowest sintering temperature reported till date. The LZ ceramic comprised of small equiaxed grains (~ 300 nm) and recorded a significant improvement in hardness (~ 14 GPa) and scratch resistance measured by nanoindentation. The study clarifies that all previous reports involving poor sinterability of LZ system was related to inferior quality precursors.

The present work explores the possible issues involving the synthesis of La-doped ceria-based nanoparticles by co-precipitation; moreover demonstrates the consequence of such issues in the final system. The stoichiometric anomaly as revealed by the X-ray diffraction (XRD) peak shift studies confirmed a massive departure from the final target composition; indicating lanthanum depletion (~30 %) from the resultant oxide. This also revealed that a fraction of this unreacted lanthanum precursor stayed in the system alone. Transmission electron microscopy results revealed the presence of nanocrystalline La-oxycarbonate phase as a fine dispersion co-existing with the lanthanum cerate nanocrystals; XRD could not detect the presence of such a phase at 550 °C. Through Raman and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy analyses, a possible pathway of this complex thermal transition for the free La-precursor was outlined (100–1200 °C). The Raman data unambiguously pointed out the transition zone for the decomposition sequence for its conversion from La-nitrate to oxycarbonate in the temperature range 400–550 °C. The overall study emphasises the need of special attention for synthesising La-based solid solution systems via colloidal routes; especially considering the solubility and mixing issues for the lanthanum precursor.

Atg9 is a conserved multipass transmembrane protein with an essential role in autophagy. In Saccharomyces cerevisiae, it travels through the secretory pathway to a unique compartment, the Atg9 peripheral structures. These structures are then targeted to the phagophore assembly site (PAS), where they are proposed to help deliver membrane to the forming autophagosome. We used 'in vivo reconstitution' of this process in a multiple-knockout strain to define four proteins, Atg11, Atg19, Atg23 and Atg27, as the core minimal machinery necessary and sufficient for the trafficking of Atg9 to the PAS. Atg23 and Atg27 function in the formation of the Atg9 peripheral structures. Overexpression of Atg9 can bypass the need for Atg23, suggesting that the amount of Atg9 in each peripheral structure is a critical factor in their targeting to the PAS. In contrast, overexpression of Atg23 or Atg27 interferes with Atg9 trafficking, suggesting that these proteins must be present in the appropriate stoichiometry in order to function properly. These data allow us to resolve existing controversies regarding the role of Atg23 and Atg27, and propose a model that ties together previous observations regarding the role of Atg9 in autophagosome formation.

Plants of Nephrolepis exaltata (L.) schott cv. BOSTONIENSIS were grown under three different shade levels i.e. under open field conditions as well as under 50 per cent and 75 per cent shade. Basal dose of 25 tones of FYM/ha was given at the time of planting, whereas, nitrogen was applied at 250 kg/ha in four equal splits at quarterly intervals. Under open field conditions, growth of the plants was severely affected during both the extremes. The best growth was obtained under 75 per cent shade and the plants exhibited most vigorous growth and produced the highest numbers of fronds during both the growing years. Under 50 per cent shade, average frond length and mean lamina length were higher than the other two treatments. This however, was compensated for by higher number of fronds produced under 75 per cent shade.

Statement of Problem: Implant overdentures become thinner and weaker after direct transfer of implant attachment housings. The introduction of a metal housing changes the character of the repair as denture has to be relieved to provide space for the housings; therefore, a strong method of repair is desirable to avoid prosthesis fracture. Purpose: The purpose of this study was to compare flexural strength of two different chairside repair materials with and without modification of implant attachment housings. Materials and Methods: Eighty 13 mm × 10 mm × 41 mm heat-polymerized acrylic resin blocks were processed, assessed for porosities, and polished. An 8.5-mm diameter hole was created to a depth of 5 mm in the center of each block. Two different attachment housings sandblasted and nonsandblasted were placed into the blocks with two different repair materials: autopolymerized acrylic resin (APAR) and light-polymerized acrylic resin. Later blocks were immersed in water for 7 days in an incubator. A three-point bend test was done in a universal testing machine, and load to fracture was recorded (MPa). Results were compared with one-way analysis of variance (α = 0.05). Results: The mean maximum strength of APAR groups was significantly higher than light-polymerized acrylic resin groups. Groups with sandblasted attachment housings showed significantly higher strength compared to nonsandblasted groups. Conclusions: The flexural strength of self-cured acrylic resin with and without sandblasting of attachment was significantly higher than light-cured acrylic resin with and without sandblasting of attachment housings. Sandblasting produced higher flexural strength in denture blocks repaired with self-cured acrylic.

High density (95–97%) La x () ceramics were tested for structural and dielectric properties. Dense microstructure and controlled phase-purity were obtained for all the -doped samples. A surprising three-fold increase was noticed in the frequency dependent dielectric permittivity behavior for the ceramic, associated with the space-charge polarization at grain boundaries or inhomogeneous microstructure of the ceramic. High resistivity (~108 Ωm) at room temperature was noticed for the ceramics (at 100 Hz). Hopping of electrons within the oxygen vacancies were noted as the main transport mechanism; strong localization of charge carriers were noticed at high frequencies. The temperature dependent ac-resistivity analysis (T) provides strong evidence for Mott's variable range hopping process of charge carriers, between the localized states with an average hopping length of RH of 3 nm and hopping energy of WH of 0.67 eV. Moreover, the effect of grains and grain boundaries on the correlation between ac-conductivity and angular-frequency ω has been discussed in detail.

Atg9 is a conserved multipass transmembrane protein with an essential role in autophagy. In Saccharomyces cerevisiae, it travels through the secretory pathway to a unique compartment, the Atg9 peripheral structures. These structures are then targeted to the phagophore assembly site (PAS), where they are proposed to help deliver membrane to the forming autophagosome. We used 'in vivo reconstitution' of this process in a multiple-knockout strain to define four proteins, Atg11, Atg19, Atg23 and Atg27, as the core minimal machinery necessary and sufficient for the trafficking of Atg9 to the PAS. Atg23 and Atg27 function in the formation of the Atg9 peripheral structures. Overexpression of Atg9 can bypass the need for Atg23, suggesting that the amount of Atg9 in each peripheral structure is a critical factor in their targeting to the PAS. In contrast, overexpression of Atg23 or Atg27 interferes with Atg9 trafficking, suggesting that these proteins must be present in the appropriate stoichiometry in order to function properly. These data allow us to resolve existing controversies regarding the role of Atg23 and Atg27, and propose a model that ties together previous observations regarding the role of Atg9 in autophagosome formation.

We present a systematic characterization of multi-wavelength emission from blazar PKS 1510-089 using well-sampled data at infrared(IR)-optical, X-ray and $\gamma$-ray energies. The resulting flux distributions, except at X-rays, show two distinct lognormal profiles corresponding to a high and a low flux level. The dispersions exhibit energy dependent behavior except for the LAT $\gamma$-ray and optical B-band. During the low level flux states, it is higher towards the peak of the spectral energy distribution, with $\gamma$-ray being intrinsically more variable followed by IR and then optical, consistent with mainly being a result of varying bulk Lorentz factor. On the other hand, the dispersions during the high state are similar in all bands expect optical B-band, where thermal emission still dominates. The centers of distributions are a factor of $\sim 4$ apart, consistent with anticipation from studies of extragalactic $\gamma$-ray background with the high state showing a relatively harder mean spectral index compared to the low state., Comment: accepted for publication in the ApJL (13 pages, 2 Figures and 3 Tables)

Studies were conducted on the effect of photoperiodic treatments on regulation of flower production in two standard varieties of chrysanthemum viz. Thai Ching queen and Purnima. The plants raised through rooting of terminal cuttings were maintained under long day (LD) condition from 15 August to 15 February by interrupting the night period daily for two hours from 10 pm to 12 am by placing the pots under CFL lamps (23 Watt). These plants were periodically shifted to natural day length (ND) condition from September to February. Time of flower production in both the varieties was significantly affected by photoperiod treatments. Transferring plants from ND to natural short day length (SD) condition in September and October decreased number of days to produce flowers as compared to those maintained continuously under ND condition w.e.f. August. The plants transferred from LD to ND condition in the month of November and December took longer to reach commercial flower harvesting stage where as those transferred to ND condition in the months of January and February produced flowers in minimum number of days, respectively. Flower production in two varieties under study could be extended to end of April but the post harvest quality of flowers produced decreased due to rise in temperature in March and April.

The stems of nine cultivars of chrysanthemum viz. Reagan Emperor, Sadbhavna, Flirt, Shyamal, Bravo, Winter Queen, Ravi Kiran, Jaya and Mauve Sarah were harvested when the flowers were half open and subjected to wet refrigerated storage for 0, 3, 6, 9 and 12 days. Cultivars Mauve Sarah, Reagan Emperor and Bravo took longer where as cultivar Winter Queen took the minimum number of days for initiation as well as complete senescence of florets. Increase in the storage duration also hastened post-storage yellowing of leavers. Cultivars Mauve Sarah, Bravo and Reagan Emperor took longer for the initiation as well as 50 per cent of yellowing of leaves. Absorption of water by the stems exhibited decrease with increase in the duration of storage. Cultivar Mauve Sarah showed the maximum water absorption followed by cultivars Flirt, Reagan Emperor, Shyamal, Ravi Kiran and Bravo.