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In this study, the sol–gel method was used to prepare well-monodispersed ZnS nanopowders with a powder size of approximately 0.5 μm. The starting materials used were Zn(NO3)2 · 6H2O and C2H5NS. However, the agglomeration problem of the powders was addressed by adding an appropriate amount of (C6H9NO)n. The sol–gel method successfully produced submicron-sized ZnS powders. To further reduce the powder particle size, a rapid co-phase precipitation method was employed. This method involved using ZnCl2 and C2H5NS, which yielded ZnS nanopowders with a particle size of approximately 50 nm. The key focus of this method was on selecting the precipitating agent and emulsion to control the precipitation of ZnS nanoparticles. Both methods resulted in finer powder particle sizes and higher powder purity compared to commercial ZnS powders. These improvements in the optical and mechanical properties of ZnS IR-transmitting ceramics are significant. Overall, this study demonstrates the effectiveness of using these methods for synthesizing high-quality ZnS nanopowders.

A new foliar disease was observed on a perennial weed Rumex crispus which grows extensively in orchards, pastures, hay crops, lawns and home gardens in Kashmir valley. Repeated Isolation of the pathogen from the infected leaves of Rumex crispus yielded the fungus which on the basis of Cultural and morphological characteristics showed a resemblance to Didymella sp. Pathogenicity was confirmed by the detached leaf technique as well as inoculating whole plants in pots. Precise confirmation of the identity of the pathogen was done by sequencing the reference genes using ITS1 and ITS4 markers and sequenced data was subjected to BLAST which showed 99.80 per cent similarity with Didymella rumicicola which was previously only reported in New Zealand on Rumex obtusifolius prior to this study. Host range, as well as bioherbicidal potential of this pathogen on hosts of five different families of cultivated crops along with Rumex plants, revealed that no disease incidence was found on host plant species of other families of cultivated crops, whereas,100% disease incidence and 80% severity were observed on Rumex crispus at 15 and 25 days after inoculation respectively. Physiological studies showed the newly isolated pathogen Didymella rumicicola showed the best radial growth on Potato dextrose agar at pH 6.5 and at a temperature of 25oC.

Prefabricated MAX (Ti3SiC2, Ti3AlC2) phase coating materials with coefficient of thermal expansion Si and SiC as transition layers and excellent high-temperature antioxidant properties were used for ultra-high-speed laser melting on the surface of carbon/carbon composites, so that the produced coatings have good interfacial bonding and high-temperature antioxidant properties. In this study, we characterised and analysed the microscopic morphology and composition of the sample coatings using X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy, investigated their interfacial bonding properties by scratch tests and studied the high temperature oxidation resistance of the samples at 1773 K for 1 h. The results show that the bonding strength between the coating and the substrate is good, the surface is flat without flaking, the coating thickness can be controlled below 60 μm, the microstructure is dense, and there is no obvious deformation or failure of the substrate, and the dense coating formed by laser melting has strong oxidation resistance, so that the substrate carbon/carbon composite is well protected at high temperature.

Bi-allelic mutations in FBXO7 are classically associated with a complex phenotype, known as parkinsonian-pyramidal syndrome. We describe two brothers affected by typical early onset Parkinson's disease (EOPD), who carry novel compound heterozygous variants in FBXO7. Our report highlights that typical EOPD can be part of an expanding FBXO7-related phenotype.

The objective of this research was to analyze the role of media information in addressing the challenges of climate change in the rice-wheat cropping zone in the Punjab province, Pakistan. The study specifically analyzed the relationship between information sources and the impact of climate change. The study was conducted in the central region of the Punjab province, Pakistan. Data collection was done by multi-stage sampling from the rice-wheat crop zone of Punjab. In the 1st stage, three districts i.e., Narowal, Gujranwala, and Sialkot were selected randomly from the central Punjab region. One tehsil was randomly selected at the 2nd stage from each district. Six union councils (UCs) at the 3rd stage were picked at random; two from each tehsil. In the 4th stage, four villages from each UC were selected by systematic random sampling. At the 5th stage, 17 farmers were selected randomly from each village (480 farmers in total). Data were collected by the face-to-face administration of a structured questionnaire and were analysed by SPSS version 21. The outcome of the present investigation has revealed that the fellow farmers (x̅=2.24 ± 0.54), private companies (dealers of fertilizer pesticides) (x̅ =1.70 ± 0.74), burji /wall chalking (x̅ =1.53±0.66), TV (x̅=1.47±0.72), field assistant/Agri. officer of the dept. of Agriculture (x̅=1.43 ± 0.52) and mobile phone (x̅=1.42 ± 0.64) was ranked 1st to 6th, respectively, as sources of information concerning climate change. Moreover, the results of the logistic regression model showed that the sources of information, i.e., TV, mobile, Zarai digest, fellow farmers, and private companies, had a positive and significant role (P0.05) in adopting the coping strategies to cope with the climate changes while radio had a non-significant influence. The study concludes that credible and need-based information sources are the core priority of climate-affected areas. It is a dire need to address these challenges through rapid implementation of cost-effective resources to minimize the loss of climate change

The current paper shows the different effects of the incorporation of sulfur (S)–antimony (Sb) on both the structural and physical properties of nanocomposite (S3Sb2) x (S2Ge)100−x chalcogenide glass for x = 15, 30, 45 and 60. Different physical parameters such as lone-pair electrons, average coordination number, interatomic spacing and field of strength increase with the addition of antimony–sulfur, while other parameters such as heat of atomization and polaron radius show the reverse behavior. The stoichiometry (R > 1) shows that the studied compounds are rich in chalcogen atoms, and an increase in lone-pair electrons indicates the good glass-forming ability of the studied compound.

The present study proposes three new Kretschmann-configuration-based heterostructure surface plasmon resonance (SPR) sensors for biomolecule detection. The thicknesses of silver (Ag), silicon (Si) and heterostructure blue phosphorus (BlueP)/molybdenum disulfide (MoS2) layers were optimized under the consideration of less reflectivity, full width at half maximum and enhanced sensitivity. After thickness optimization, the performance parameters of the proposed SPR sensor were also calculated in terms of sensitivity, quality factor and detection accuracy. The effect of increasing the number of heterostructure BlueP/molybdenum disulfide layers on the performance was also analyzed. It was also observed that the silicon layer played an important role in enhancing all performance parameters when it was deposited between the silver and heterostructure BlueP/molybdenum disulfide layers. The optimized sensitivity at a wavelength of 633 nm of the heterostructure BlueP/molybdenum disulfide monolayer and silicon layer was 282°/refractive index unit (RIU). The highest optimized sensitivity of 328°/RIU was achieved with two layers of heterostructure BlueP/molybdenum disulfide with a silicon layer thickness of 5 nm. It was found that the sensitivity increased by 16% when the number of heterostructure layers was changed. Other important parameters such as detection accuracy, quality factor and full width at half maximum were also calculated for the proposed SPR sensor. Moreover, a transverse magnetic field plot was created and a penetration depth of 138.25 nm for the proposed SPR sensor was calculated.

In this work, vanadium and lanthanum co-doped ZnO/CNTs (VL-ZnO/CNTs) composites of large surface area and enhanced light assimilation range were produced for boosted hydrogen evolution from water. The photocatalysts were investigated for their morphological, structural, optical and photocatalytical properties. The photocatalytic activity of the composites was evaluated in pure water and in a mixture of water and methanol under simulated sunlight and visible light illumination. Under simulated sunlight irradiation, the maximum hydrogen generation rate of 925 μmolh−1g−1 from a combination of water and methanol was attained, which is almost 7 times higher than hydrogen generation rate achieved with pure ZnO. The VL-ZnO/CNTs photocatalyst resulted in hydrogen production rate of 267 μmolh−1g−1 from the water-methanol medium when exposed to visible light. This rate was about 3.5 folds lower than that achieved under simulated sunlight illumination. This improvement in hydrogen production rate is attributed to large surface area, high photo-response, better separation/transportation of the charge carriers and synergistic impact of V, La and CNTs in the designed photocatalyst.

BACKGROUND: Ofatumumab is a humanized type 1 anti-CD20 monoclonal antibody. Preclinical studies show improved complement-mediated cytotoxicity (CMC) compared to rituximab in mantle cell lymphoma (MCL). We evaluated the safety and efficacy of combining ofatumumab with HyperCVAD/MA (O-HyperCVAD) in newly diagnosed MCL. STUDY DESIGN: In this single-arm phase II study, 37 patients were treated with the combination of O-HyperCVAD for 4 or 6 cycles, followed by high dose chemotherapy and autologous stem cell transplant (HDC-ASCT). Primary objectives were overall response rate (ORR) and complete response (CR) rate at the end of therapy. Secondary objectives included minimal residual disease (MRD) negativity, progression free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS). RESULTS: Median age was 60 years; ORR was 86% and 73% achieved a CR by modified Cheson criteria. The MRD negativity rate was 78% after 2 cycles of therapy, increasing to 96% at the end of induction; median PFS and OS were 45.5 months and 56 months respectively. Achieving a post-induction CR by both imaging and flow cytometry was associated with improved PFS and OS. Early MRD negativity (post-2 cycles) was also associated with an improved PFS but not OS. There were 3 deaths while on therapy, and grade 3 and 4 adverse events (AEs) were observed in 22% and 68% of the patients. CONCLUSION: The addition of ofatumumab to HyperCVAD/HD-MA led to high rates of MRD negativity by flow cytometry in patients with newly diagnosed MCL. Achieving a CR post-induction by both imaging and flow cytometry is associated with improved overall survival.

Purpose:Venetoclax-based therapy is a standard-of-care option in first-line and relapsed/refractory chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL). Patient management following venetoclax discontinuation remains nonstandard and poorly understood.Experimental Design:To address this, we conducted a large international study to identify a cohort of 326 patients who discontinued venetoclax and have been subsequently treated. Coprimary endpoints were overall response rate (ORR) and progression-free survival for the post-venetoclax treatments stratified by treatment type [Bruton's tyrosine kinase inhibitor (BTKi), PI3K inhibitor (PI3Ki), and cellular therapies].Results:We identified patients with CLL who discontinued venetoclax in the first-line (4%) and relapsed/refractory settings (96%). Patients received a median of three therapies prior to venetoclax; 40% were BTKi naïve (n = 130), and 81% were idelalisib naïve (n = 263). ORR to BTKi was 84% (n = 44) in BTKi-naïve patients versus 54% (n = 30) in BTKi-exposed patients. We demonstrate therapy selection following venetoclax requires prior novel agent exposure consideration and discontinuation reasons.Conclusions:For BTKi-naïve patients, selection of covalently binding BTKis results in high ORR and durable remissions. For BTKi-exposed patients, covalent BTK inhibition is not effective in the setting of BTKi resistance. PI3Kis following venetoclax do not appear to result in durable remissions. We conclude that BTKi in naïve or previously responsive patients and cellular therapies following venetoclax may be the most effective strategies.See related commentary by Rogers, p. 3501

Supplemental Figure 2: Progression free survival of patients without prior BTKi exposure who had progressed on venetoclax and were then treated with BTKi.

Supplemental Figure 1: Overall survival of entire cohort from initiation of venetoclax.

Ischemic stroke represents a significant societal burden across the globe. Rare high penetrant monogenic variants and less pathogenic common single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) have been described as being associated with risk of diseases. Genetic studies in Saudi Arabian patients offer a greater opportunity to detect rare high penetrant mutations enriched in these consanguineous populations. We performed whole exome sequencing on 387 ischemic stroke subjects from Saudi Arabian hospital networks with up to 20,230 controls from the Saudi Human Genome Project and performed gene burden analyses of variants in 177 a priori loci derived from knowledge-driven curation of monogenic and genome-wide association studies of stroke. Using gene-burden analyses, we observed significant associations in numerous loci under autosomal dominant and/or recessive modelling. Stroke subjects with modified Rankin Scale (mRSs) above 3 were found to carry greater cumulative polygenic risk score (PRS) from rare variants in stroke genes (standardized PRS mean > 0) compared to the population average (standardized PRS mean = 0). However, patients with mRS of 3 or lower had lower cumulative genetic risk from rare variants in stroke genes (OR (95%CI) = 1.79 (1.29–2.49), p = 0.0005), with the means of standardized PRS at or lower than 0. In conclusion, gene burden testing in Saudi stroke populations reveals a number of statistically significant signals under different disease inheritance models. However, interestingly, stroke subjects with mRS of 3 or lower had lower cumulative genetic risk from rare variants in stroke genes and therefore, determining the potential mRS cutoffs to use for clinical significance may allow risk stratification of this population.

To report the activity of venetoclax in patients with relapsed mantle cell lymphoma (MCL), we identified 81 patients treated with venetoclax monotherapy (n=50, 62%) or in combination with a BTK inhibitor (n=16, 20%), an anti-CD20 monoclonal antibody (n=11, 14%), or others at 12 US academic medical centers. Patients had high-risk disease features including Ki67 >30% (61%), blastoid/pleomorphic histology (29%), complex karyotype (34%), and TP53 alterations (49%), and received a median of 3 prior treatments including BTK inhibitors in 91%. Venetoclax alone or in combination resulted in an overall response rate (ORR) of 40% and median progression-free (PFS) and overall survival (OS) of 3.7 and 12.5 months, respectively. The receipt of ≤ 3 prior treatments was associated with higher odds of response to venetoclax in a univariable analysis. In a multivariable analysis, having a high-risk MIPI score prior to venetoclax and disease relapse or progression within 24 months of diagnosis were associated with inferior OS whereas the use of venetoclax in combination was associated with superior OS. Although most patients (61%) had low risk for tumor lysis syndrome (TLS), 12.3% of patients developed TLS despite the implementation of several mitigation strategies. In conclusion, venetoclax resulted in good ORR but short PFS in high-risk patients with MCL and may have a better role in earlier lines of treatment and/or in combination with other active agents. TLS remains an important risk in patients with MCL who initiate treatment with venetoclax.

The transition from hedonic to compulsive use in Substance Use Disorders (SUD) is a critical point in SUD progression and hence relevant for assessment and treatment. To measure the habitual patterns of substance consumption, the Craving Automated Scales (CAS) for alcohol (CAS-A), substances (CAS-S) and cigarette smoking (CAS-CS) were developed and introduced to different countries. In this study, we aimed to investigate the structural stability of CAS across substances and cultures.This study analyzed the CAS-scores of a sample of 370 participants in Germany, China and the UK, including 262 opioid-users, 65 smokers and 43 alcohol-users. We performed stability analyses to check the stability (i. e. factorial invariance) of factor solutions. Based on confirmed stability of the general factor (gfactor) solution and the calculations rule obtained in the previous validation of CAS-alcohol (CAS-A), the factor structures of CAS-A, CAS-S and CAS-CS were compared.The gfactor solutions based on calculations rule shows good stability, with the mean stability coefficients of 0.990 and 0.977 for CAS-S and CAS-CS respectively. The gfactor patterns were similar for CAS-A, CAS-S and CAS-CS, as well as across samples (Germany, China and the UK), with most factor-loadings larger than 0.7. Based on these findings, CAS-S and CAS-CS were also associated with established clinical measures of SUD.Our findings suggest the two-gfactor solution based on a proposed calculation rule has a high stability across substances and cultures. This could be in line with common neurobiological mechanisms underlying habitual substance use. Moreover, comparing CAS with established clinical tools suggests that CAS might assess the automated behavior in substance consumption in a more sophisticated way.• The two-gfactor solution of the Craving Automated Scale has a good stability.• The Craving Automated Scale can be used across substances.• The Craving Automated Scale is associated with established SUD measures.

Among the third-generation solar cells, quantum dot solar cell is attracting the researchers and the widespread research has been increasing day by day. It has appropriate electrical and optical properties for a photovoltaic response. Quantum dot has a tunable band gap and its size is less than the Bohr exciton radius. In this work, copper iodide (CuI) is the hole transport layer (HTL), the absorber layer is tetrabutylammonium iodide treated lead sulphide (PbS-TBAI), and titanium dioxide (TiO2) is the electron transport layer (ETL). The device has been rectified to obtain maximum efficiency followed by device optimization. The variation of thickness of the ETL, HTL and absorber layer has been done to optimize the performance of the proposed device. Further, variation of doping density of HTL and interface defect density (IDD) of HTL/PbS-TBAI and PbS-TBAI/ETL has been done to overall optimize the device performance. The interface defect density at both the interfaces (HTL/PbS-TBAI and PbS-TBAI/ETL) has been varied from 1×1010 cm−2 to 1×1017 cm−2 without changing the rest of the device parameters. The result shows notable, diminution in the photo-voltaic performance of the solar cell at higher interface defect density. Quantum efficiency (Q.E) and J-V curve have been investigated. From this study, we have observed that the simulated device structure could be used as an efficient solar cell.

Cost-efficient and dynamic electrode materials are required for high-performance renewable energy storage devices. A cost-effective and simple hydrothermal method was employed to prepare NiCo2O4(NCO) nanoflowers (NFs) as an electrode material for high-energy storage electrochemical supercapacitors. The as-prepared nanoflowers were characterized by XRD, BET, SEM, and TEM. NCO-NFs were first coated on nickel foam and then used as a binder-free electrode in a supercapacitor device. The fabricated asymmetric supercapacitor device showed excellent electrochemical properties. The highly conductive NCO-NFs material not only shows a high specific capacitance of 410F g−1 at a scan rate of 5 mV s−1 but also exhibits good cycling stability of 91% capacitive retention after 5000 cycles. The device also delivers a high energy density of 30 Wh kg−1 at a power density of 165 W kg−1. Our method provides a simple and promising strategy for high-performance supercapacitor electrode application.

The effect of dietary β-glucan on seminal plasma composition, sperm characteristics, expression of aquaporins, and antioxidative defence genes of golden mahseer was evaluated. For that, four experimental diets containing 0 (control), 0.5, 1, and 1.5% β-glucan were fed to male golden mahseer brooders for 130 days. Feeding of 0.5% β-glucan was found to improve sperm characteristics, viz. sperm count, motility, viability, and morphology with no effect on gonadosomatic index and seminal plasma energy resources. The marked down-regulation in the transcript abundance of testicular aqp3a noticed in 1.5% β-glucan fed brooders corresponds to their poor sperm quality. Further, the mRNA expression of genes encoding antioxidant enzymes, namely gst and sod1, was lowest in 0.5% β-glucan fed brooders. In contrast, control and higher β-glucan (1 and 1.5%) groups displayed relatively higher expression levels of testicular gst and sod1. On the other hand, the higher seminal plasma total antioxidant capacity observed in 0.5 and 1% β-glucan fed brooders indicated increased scavenging ability of reactive oxygen species. Overall, supplementation of 0.5% β-glucan improved sperm quality and antioxidative potential, but the higher inclusion (1.5%) negatively affected sperm characteristics. Collectively, dietary β-glucan (0.5%) can be a practical approach to developing quality broodstock of golden mahseer.

An eight-week feeding trial was performed to assess the effect of different dietary levels (0, 0.5, 1.0, and 1.5%) of β-glucan (sourced from Saccharomyces cerevisiae) on growth, survival, immunological parameters (immune gene expression, lysozyme, and antiprotease), total antioxidant status, thermal tolerance, and disease resistance of Tor putitora fry. Feeding of moderate doses (0.5 and 1.0%) of β-glucan significantly improved survival but not weight gain percentage as compared to that received unsupplemented control and highest dose (1.5%) of glucan. Supplementation of β-glucan in diets differentially influenced the mRNA expression of cytokine and other immune genes. For instance, transcripts of cytokines such as tnf-α and il-1β were significantly upregulated, while ifn-γ and il-10 were unaffected by β-glucan intake. Also, the relative mRNA expression of tlr-5 and hepcidin1 along with lysozyme and antiprotease activities were remained largely unchanged by dietary glucan administration. In contrast, β-glucan induced mRNA expression of defensin1 and c3 while decreased the transcript level of mhc-1. On the other hand, dietary inclusion of β-glucan markedly improved total antioxidant levels and extended the thermal tolerance limits at both the ends, as shown by increased CTmax and lower CTmin than the control group. After feeding β-glucan for eight weeks, the fish were bath challenged with a bacterial pathogen, Aeromonas salmonicida. The challenge study results revealed that β-glucan intake improved most of the studied immune parameters, resulting in lower mortality. Overall, dietary inclusion of β-glucan (0.5-1.0%) was efficient in improving the immune responses, thermal tolerance, and disease resistance of T. putitora fry.

The present study was undertaken to characterize and analyze the expression of non-specific immune genes to get an insight into the early immune status of endangered golden mahseer. In this study, the full-length mRNA sequence of IFNγ, TNFα, C3, and IL10 was 927, 1409, 5125 and 1177 bp with an ORF of 558, 765, 4938, and 540 bp, encoding a putative protein of 185, 254, 1645, and 179 amino acid residues, respectively. The deduced amino acid sequences of these genes shared highly conserved structures with those from other cyprinids. Ontogenic real-time qPCR results indicated that expression of IFNγ and TNFα was lower until the morula stage and increased from blastula stage and found maximum at the organogenesis stage. Expression of the C3 gene was lower until the gastrula stage, followed by a linear increase from organogenesis to the pre-metamorphosis stage. The expression of IL10 was significantly lower during early developmental stages (till gastrula stage) and reached maximum at organogenesis. The level of IL1β was found maximum in unfertilized eggs and remained elevated till the morula stage. TLR4 expression remained lower during the initial developmental stages and reached the maximum at the organogenesis stage. The expression level of defensin1 was substantially low until the organogenesis stage. In comparison, hepcidin1 was found considerably high until the blastula stage and remained significantly lower during later stages of development. Overall, the data generated improves knowledge on the immune status of endangered golden mahseer during embryonic and larval development, which may help develop effective immunomodulatory interventions during nursery rearing of golden mahseer to produce fry with better fitness.

Calculation of excess quantities in 1-butanol + nitromethane binary mixture (from 303.15 to 323.15) K from experimental shear viscosity and density values were depicted in the previous work. Investigations of these experimental values to test correlation quality of various equations and their corresponding relative functions were also reported. Taking the quasi-equality between the enthalpy of activation of viscous flow ΔH* and the molar activation energy Ea into account, we can define partial activation energy Ea1 and Ea2 for 1-butanol with nitromethane respectively together with their individual contribution separately. Correlation between Arrhenius parameters brings fourth interesting Arrhenius absolute temperature in comparison with the absolute temperature of vaporization in the fluid vapor equilibrium, and the limited corresponding partial molar quantities that can allow us to anticipate the value of the boiling points of the pure constituents. New empirical equations to indicate the boiling absolute temperature are suggested.

Present study demonstrates the fabrication of L-threonine protected nickel nano particles (L-threonine–Ni NPs) and their application for the reduction of toxic imidacloprid pesticides in the presence of NaBH4. The synthesized nano particles were further characterized by atomic force microscopy (AFM), FT-IR, and HR-TEM. A quick and efficient method was developed for the decrease of imidacloprid into presence of synthesized nickel nanoparticles. Reduction was carried out at ambient conditions and catalyst was found to be highly effective incomplete reduction of imidacloprid within 90 s. Results also confirm the successful recovery and reusability of Ni NPs without deterioration in its performance after first application cycle. Kinetic study showed that the reduction of pesticide into presence of nickel nanoparticles initially follows pseudo-second order and then pseudo-first order at higher concentrations.