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Transition metal mediated thiolato compounds are highly vulnerable for S-centered oxidation due to its high nucleophilicity and which is immensely important in the point of its bio-activity. It is generally noticeable that a range of chemical changes occurred with molecular O2 and ruthenium thiolato metalloligands in varying conditions. These oxygenations are facile under strictly oxygen environment and produce mono and di sulfenato and/or sulfinato depending on the substrate thiolato. The numerous heteroatomic substituents of thiolato-S ligand have performed a vital task during the course of oxygenation producing oxygenated products as sulfenates, sulfinates and sulfones. There appear to be numerous mechanisms that are involved in the oxygenation process are considerably more complex. Some bizarre photo-induced S-center oxygenation of metal-thiolato to the sulfonated compound is also mentioned. The ruthenium sulfur compounds jointly with the S-oxygenates show remarkable bioactivity as well as enzymatic catalytic activity and interaction with the bio-molecules like DNA that opens a new theme for the researcher for design novel Ru-sulfur-oxygenates compounds as metallodrugs.

Platinum group metals mediated thiolato compounds are highly susceptible for S-centered reactivity owing to high nucleophilicity and which is enormously significant in the point of its bioactivity and photoactivity. A series of oxygenation reactions of thiolate sulfur attached with platinum metals occurred with molecular O2 in varying conditions. A variety of sulfenates and sulfinates are produced depending on nature of starting substrate thiolato and the oxygenations are facile under harshly oxygen environment. There are numerous mechanistic paths for the oxygenation of platinum metals bonded thiolate S-center unlike the oxygenation reaction of organic sulphides. It is assumed that S-oxygenation occurs via the intramolecular and intermolecular dioxygen addition pathways. A number of mysterious photo-induced sulphur oxygenation and self-sensitization reactions of metal-thiolato to analogous oxygenate are also mentioned. These compounds show enzymatic catalytic activity and remarkable bioactivity also interaction with the biomolecules like DNA, which opens a new area for the researchers for designing novel heavier metals-sulfur-oxygenates compounds as metallodrugs.

In last five decades, organophosphorus compounds have become significant because of the widespread uses as pesticides abutting a clear threat to people from the potential use of chemical weapon as nerve agents in the cold wars and terrorist activities. Sarin, tabun, soman, cyclosarin belong to organophosphorus compounds called nerve agents due to their biological interaction as powerful inhibitor of enzyme acetylcholinesterase (AChE) and rendered its neurological function, the underlying mechanism is discussed. The identification and detection of such toxic nerve agents using spectrometry, sensors including enzymatic assays is the prime target of recent researchers. Typically some antidotes like oxime derivatives are most common and are the light of hope for nerve gas exposure. The modern techniques applied for the discovery of new antidote and their way of action by reactivating the blocked nerve enzyme and the hidden mechanism of reactivation of AchE are explained.

We consider partially observed binary matched-pair data. We assume that the incomplete subjects are missing at random. Within this missing framework, we propose an EM-algorithm based approach to construct an interval estimator of the proportion difference incorporating all the subjects. In conjunction with our proposed method, we also present two improvements to the interval estimator through some correction factors. The performances of the three competing methods are then evaluated through extensive simulation. Recommendation for the method is given based on the ability to preserve type-I error for various sample sizes. Finally, the methods are illustrated in two real-world data sets. An R-function is developed to implement the three proposed methods.

Workplace bullying is a pervasive problem that has been found to have negative consequences for employees' psychological health and well-being. This literature review examines the prevalence and impact of workplace bullying, as well as prevention and intervention strategies and legal and ethical considerations. A comprehensive search of the literature was conducted using various databases, resulting in a total of 40 articles included in this review. The prevalence of workplace bullying was found to be high, with estimates ranging from 10% to 50% of employees experiencing bullying in the workplace. Workplace bullying was found to have a detrimental impact on employees' mental health, with increased risk of depression, anxiety, and stress-related disorders. It also has negative effects on the organization, including decreased productivity, increased absenteeism, and turnover. Various prevention and intervention strategies were identified, including promoting a positive work culture, training managers and employees on how to identify and respond to bullying, and offering support and resources to victims. Legal and ethical considerations must also be taken into account when dealing with workplace bullying. Overall, it is crucial for organizations to recognize the importance of addressing workplace bullying and to take proactive steps to prevent and intervene in such situations. workplace

Postoperative infections are a common entity following elective gastrointestinal surgery among which intra-abdominal infection is notorious and life threatening. Early detection could reduce postoperative morbidity and permit safe and early discharge. This study was aimed to establish the usefulness of procalcitonin (PCT) and C-reactive protein (CRP) on postoperative day 3 as reliable markers for early detection of intra-abdominal infection and other postoperative infections following elective gastrointestinal cancer surgery. A total of 125 patients following elective gastrointestinal cancer surgery were prospectively observed until discharge from January 2018 to December 2019. The incidence of intra-abdominal infections and other postoperative infections was recorded. Serum PCT and CRP were estimated on postoperative day 3 for all the patients. ROC analysis of PCT and CRP was performed to establish their predictability in detecting these infections. Risk factors for postoperative infections were also studied. The incidence of intra-abdominal infection (IAI) was 24%. The difference in PCT between the infected and non-infected patients was statistically significant (p = 0.001) but not in CRP (p = 0.223). On ROC analysis of CRP and PCT in detecting IAI, the areas under the curve were 0.494 and 0.615 respectively. Raised serum PCT values on postoperative day 3 indicate the presence of infections and should prompt the surgeon to consider other investigations to confirm the presence of IAI and other postoperative infections and plan early intervention thus expediting the postoperative recovery. CTRI/2018/12/016695

Careful control of the laser patterning for the fabrication of an interdigitated back contact heterojunction (IBC-HJ) solar cell is needed to avoid laser-induced defects and heat-induced crystallization, which can produce higher carrier recombination and lower power conversion efficiency. The results of nanosecond laser patterning of an IBC-HJ test structure are reported, and it was shown that optimized laser ablation conditions using a sacrificial layer eliminates laser-induced damage of the underlying passivation layer. A rigorous set of characterizations, comprising of minority carrier lifetime, spatially resolved μ-photoluminescence, optical microscopy, ellipsometry, Essential Macleod program simulations, scanning electron microscopy, line-mapping energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and Raman spectroscopy, were undertaken to provide a deeper understanding of the nanosecond laser processing under a wide range of laser fluence. The evolving changes in surface morphologies of top sacrificial a-Si and SiNx and the use of color chart simulation for ablation-depth analysis were investigated. The μ-photoluminescence, carrier lifetime, and crystallinity in the passivation layer were evaluated. The trend in the change in the surface chemical constituency was determined in terms of Si/N ratio. Finally, the minimum laser fluence for the IBC-HJ test structure was determined and a negligible change in the implied open-circuit voltage was demonstrated.

Electroluminescence (EL) characterization technique is used to quantify recombination properties in back junction silicon (Si) heterojunction (HJ) solar cell test structures with interdigitated back contact (IBC) emitters and metal contacts. These test structures are three terminal devices that allow the selective biasing and injection of minority carriers into spatially isolated emitter strips having different widths. This allows the study of minority carriers’ current transport, flow, and recombination in these regions, which can, then, be applied to full IBC cells. EL is used to verify that emission is proportional to the minority carriers’ concentration in the corresponding regions of the device, thus providing information relevant to minority carriers’ collection when compared with laser beam induced current technique in considerably less time and with a higher spatial resolution. Current transport through the inversion layer that occurs due to the band bending at the n crystalline Si and p amorphous Si interface is discussed relying on the distance that minority carriers travel in different configurations and on their diffusion length. Laser defect spots (LDS) were, then, introduced in the emitter regions to analyze the spatial profile of minority carriers as they recombine at the LDS due to their high surface recombination velocity. Ideality factors in different configurations are spatially mapped from EL before and after introducing LDS and are used to show the effect of the inversion layer on the different recombination mechanisms. Current transport through the inversion layer is studied at different biasing conditions and correlated with current transport after LDS.

Count data are observed by practitioners across various fields. Often, a substantially large proportion of one or some values causes extra variation and may lead to a particular case of mixed structured data. In these cases, a standard count model may lead to poor inference of the parameters involved because of its inability to account for extra variation. Furthermore, we hypothesize a possible nonlinear relationship of a continuous covariate with the logarithm of the mean count and with the probability of belonging to an inflated category. We propose a semiparametric multiple inflation Poisson (MIP) model that considers the two nonlinear link functions. We develop a sieve maximum likelihood estimator (sMLE) for the regression parameters of interest. We establish the asymptotic behavior of the sMLE. Simulations are conducted to evaluate the performance of the proposed sieve MIP (sMIP). Then, we illustrate the methodology on data from a smoking cessation study. Finally, some remarks and opportunities for future research conclude the article.

The present paper examines the childhood mortality differential among urban poor and rural India using data from two rounds of National Family Health Survey Conducted in 2005-06 and 2015-16. Concentration index (CI), and cox regression were applied to address the research problem. Furthermore predicted probability was used to identify the potential predictors of infant and child mortality after adjusting the predictor variables. The findings suggest a decreasing trend in in infant mortality and child mortality both urban poor and rural India during this period. The economic inequalities respect to child mortality is higher in urban poor than in rural India. Hazard regression suggested that higher risk of child mortality in urban areas, due to poverty, low female literacy, low coverage antenatal care and safe delivery in the community. Even after controlling the possible bio-demographic variables, the study reveals that percentage declined mortality in rural areas higher than the urban poor but inequality is more widened in urban poor in India. The health program should be initiatives a major role to reducing infant and child mortality rates for both urban poor and rural India.

BackgroundThe rapid pace of industrialization, the unprecedented growth of migration from rural to urban area for a better opportunity and unequal distribution of wealth explain paradox situation of the country, still, a significant proportion of the world's poor live in India, as do a significant proportion of the world's malnourished children. This paper examines the variation of child malnutrition in urban areas of India segregated by the poor and non-poor population over the two time periods 2005-06 and 2015-16. Cross-sectional data from the third and fourth round of the National Family Health Survey conducted during 2005-06 and 2015-16 have been used for the analysis. MethodsFocusing on urban health and regional development we have used poor-non poor ratio, concentration index, and binary logistic regression among the selected child health variables namely stunting, underweight, fever and diarrhea in India. ResultsThe findings indicate that young children, especially those under the age of five, from economically poor states like Bihar, Odisha and Madhya Pradesh are more vulnerable to higher levels of undernutrition and morbidity in urban areas, due in part to poor residential, poor health care services, poor health of mothers, and poor educational status of their parents in the community. ConclusionBased on the findings the study suggests that improving the public services such as basic health care and the education level of the mothers among urban poor can ameliorate the negative impact of poverty on childhood undernutrition.

Vapor deposition processes have shown promise for high-quality perovskite solar cells with potential pathways for scale-up to large area manufacturing. Here, we present a sequential close space vapor transport process to deposit CH3NH3PbI3 (MAPI) perovskite thin films by depositing a layer of PbI2 then reacting it with CH3NH3I (MAI) vapor. We find that, at T = 100 °C and pressure = 9 torr, a ∼225 nm-thick PbI2 film requires ≥125 minutes in MAI vapor to form a fully-reacted MAPI film. Raising the temperature to 160 °C increases the rate of reaction, such that MAPI forms within 15 minutes, but with reduced surface coverage. The reaction kinetics can be approximated as roughly first-order with respect to PbI2, though there is evidence for a more complicated functional relation. Perovskite films reacted at 100 °C for 150 minutes were fabricated into solar cells with an SLG/ITO/CdS/MAPI/Spiro-OMeTAD/Au structure, and a device efficiency of 12.1% was achieved. These results validate the close space vapor transport process and serve as an advance toward scaled-up, vapor-phase perovskite manufacturing through continuous vapor transport deposition.

This article develops empirical likelihood methodology for a class of long range dependent processes driven by a stationary Gaussian process. We consider population parameters that are defined by estimating equations in the time domain. It is shown that the standard block empirical likelihood (BEL) method, with a suitable scaling, has a non‐standard limit distribution based on a multiple Wiener–Ito integral. Unlike the short memory time series case, the scaling constant involves unknown population quantities that may be difficult to estimate. Alternative versions of the empirical likelihood method, involving the expansive BEL (EBEL) methods are considered. It is shown that the EBEL renditions do not require an explicit scaling and, therefore, remove this undesirable feature of the standard BEL. However, the limit law involves the long memory parameter, which may be estimated from the data. Results from a moderately large simulation study on finite sample properties of tests and confidence intervals based on different empirical likelihood methods are also reported.

Passivation of the interface defect states is crucial to mitigate the recombination losses in silicon solar cells. In this work, we have investigated the role of hydrogen plasma treatment (HPT) to passivate the interfacial defects between crystalline (c-Si) and hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) in silicon heterojunction (SHJ) solar cells. For the first time, we have found a correlation between the dynamic properties of hydrogen plasma and passivation quality of the films by using in situ optical emission spectroscopy and quasi-steady state photoconductance measurement. The optimum condition for saturation of the dangling bonds by HPT has been studied in detail by tuning the excited hydrogen (H) species and ion bombardment energies by controlling physical parameters like plasma current and chamber pressure. We have investigated the role of annealing after HPT to redistribute the H in the post-treated a-Si:H film and have obtained an i Voc of 755 mV, minority carrier lifetime (τeff) of 4.6 ms, and SRV of 1.5 cm/s on test structures having only an 10 nm intrinsic a-Si:H layer on textured silicon wafers. The H bond configuration at the interface of a-Si:H and c-Si has been investigated by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, which demonstrates improved monohydride bonding in the films after HPT derived from the analysis of microstructure parameter and H concentration values. Raman spectroscopy shows the absence of the nanocrystalline fraction after HPT and verifies reduced coordination defects due to annealing after HPT. The proof of concept has been validated by fabricated SHJ solar cells having a Voc of 729 mV and efficiency of 18.7% after HPT, with the best cell efficiency reaching 20.2% after doped layer optimization. The decrease in reverse saturation current and ideality factor after HPT verifies that the improvement in performance is from reduced recombination losses at the interface due to passivation of defects in midgap states.

BackgroundPancreaticoduodenectomy is a complex high risk surgical procedure usually done for malignant disease carrying significant postoperative morbidity and mortality. An audit and analysis of rate of postoperative morbidity and mortality and the impact of case volume can provide information about the lacunas in patient care and methods to improve it for safe and early discharge of patients. This study was conducted to find out demographic profile, the rate of perioperative morbidities, mortality and impact of case volume on patients undergoing pancreaticoduodenectomy for malignant disease which may serve as a guide to uplift the patient care in our center.MethodsRetrospective analysis of prospectively collected data of patients undergoing pancreaticoduodenectomy from 2015 to 2019 was performed. A total of 62 patients were included in the study. Patients clinic-demographic details, intraoperative and postoperative events were recorded. Rate of various postoperative morbidities and mortality and year wise trend of these factors were analyzed.ResultsMost of the patients were in sixth decade of life (38.7%) with male preponderance (61.3%). Pancreatic cancer was most commonly seen followed by cholangiocarcinoma (46.8%). SSI (32.3%), intraabdominal collection (25.8%), anastomotic leak (14.5%), pancreatic fistula (22.6%), postpancreatectomy hemorrhage (8.1% ) were the major postoperative events. Mortality was found in 12.9% patients. ConclusionThere has been a decrease in rate of all these postoperative adverse events and improvement in the intraoperative blood loss and surgical duration with advancing years and increasing number of cases.

Interactions between temperature, pressure, and deposition rate are explored for the deposition of PbI 2 in a close space vapor transport (CSVT) geometry. The data presented here confirm that PbI 2 deposition occurs through diffusive mass transport based on strong correlations between the deposition rate and PbI 2 concentration gradient from the source and to the substrate. The calculated deposition rates from a one-dimensional diffusive mass transport model are found to be in good agreement with the experimentally-measured values. Additionally, the deposition temperature and pressure are found to strongly affect the morphology of equally-thick PbI 2 films, where higher temperature produces a rougher morphology and higher pressure leads to a more open grain structure.

Phosphorus (n+) and boron (p+) diffused n-type textured Cz Si wafers are passivated by two different methods: gas phase H 2 S reaction and quinhydrone-methanol (QH-MeOH) solution. The dopant diffused surface passivation quality, quantified by saturation current density (J 0 ), strongly depends on the diffusion type and the passivation method. H 2 S reaction at 550°C passivates n+ diffused surface as good as state-of-the-art Si oxide/silicon nitride stack (SiO 2 /SiN X ), while QH-MeOH passivates p+ diffused surface to the same level as state-of-the-art atomic layer deposited aluminum oxide/silicon nitride stack (Al 2 O 3 /SiN X ).

Methylammonium lead iodide perovskite solar cells were made using an all-vapor process, including two-step close space vapor transport-processed MAPI and evaporated copper phthalocyanine (CuPC). Solar cells fabricated entirely in a nitrogen glovebox had poor performance due to s-shaped J-V curves and fill factors (FF) 2 was flowed into the evaporator during CuPC deposition, had significantly improved performance with reduced or eliminated s-shaped behavior and improved FF up to 71%. Parallel contact conductivity measurements show that exposure to dry air, deposition with oxygen, and MoO x capping layers all increase the conductivity of the CuPC. SCAPS simulations show that increasing hole concentration consistent with oxygen doping effects can explain the J-V behavior of the solar cells.

Skilled birth attendance and institutional delivery have been advocated for reducing maternal, neonatal mortality and infant mortality (NMR and IMR). This paper examines the role of place of delivery with respect to neo-natal and infant mortality in India using four rounds of the Indian National Family Health Survey conducted in 2015–2016. The place of birth has been categorized as “at home” or “public and private institution.” The role of place of delivery on neo-natal and infant mortality was examined by using multivariate hazard regression models adjusted for clus-tering and relevant maternal, socio-economic, pregnancy and new-born characteristics. There were 141,028 deliveries recorded in public institutions and 54,338 in private institutions. The esti-mated neonatal mortality rate in public and private institutions during this period was 27 and 26 per 1000 live births respectively. The study shows that when the mother delivers child at home, the chances of neonatal mortality risks are higher than the mortality among children born at the health facility centers. Regression analysis also indicates that a professionally qualified provider′s antenatal treatment and assistance greatly decreases the risks of neonatal mortality. The results of the study illustrate the importance of the provision of institutional facilities and proper pregnancy in the prevention of neonatal and infant deaths. To improve the quality of care during and imme-diately after delivery in health facilities, particularly in public hospitals and in rural areas, accel-erated strengthening is required.

Introduction: Till date, no drug has shown definite benefit in non-severe COVID-19. Ivermectin is an antiparasitic drug which has in-vitro efficacy in reducing coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) load in severe disease. Objectives: To determine if a single oral administration of Ivermectin to patients with mild and moderate COVID-19 is effective in converting SARS-CoV-2 RT-PCR to negative result and in reducing viral load.Methods: In this double-blind trial, patients were randomized to elixir formulation of Ivermectin in 24 mg, 12 mg or placebo in 1:1:1 ratio. The co-primary outcomes were conversion of RT-PCR to negative result and the decline of viral load at day 5 of enrolment and were assessed in patients with positive RT-PCR at enrolment (modified intention-to-treat population). Safety outcomes included total and serious adverse events and were assessed in all patients who received the trial drug (intention-to-treat population). Results: Among 157 patients randomized, 125 patients were included in mITT analysis. Forty patients each were assigned to Ivermectin 24 mg and 12 mg, and 45 patients to placebo. The RT-PCR negativity at day 5 was higher in the two Ivermectin arms but failed to attain statistical significance (Ivermectin 24 mg, 47.5%; 12 mg, 35.0%; and placebo, 31.1%; p= 0.30). The decline of viral load at day 5 was similar in the three arms. No serious adverse events were encountered.Conclusion: In patients with mild and moderate COVID-19, a single administration of Ivermectin elixir (either 24 mg or 12 mg) demonstrated a trend towards higher proportion of RT-PCR negativity at day 5 of enrolment. The protocol was registered in the Clinical Trial Registry – India (CTRI) vide ref No CTRI/2020/06/026001.

Close space vapor transport is used to investigate PbI2 deposition and the reaction of PbI 2 with CH 3 NH 3 I to form CH 3 NH 3 PbI 3 (MAPI) on nanocrystalline (CdS) or amorphous (SnO 2 ) electron transport layers (ETL). The crystallographic structure and surface morphology of PbI 2 thin films and the resultant MAPI films after reaction have strong dependence on ETL substrates. Smoother morphology, stronger crystallographic orientation - (001) for PbI 2 and (200) for MAPI films - and larger coherency length are observed for films grown on SnO 2 ETL as compared to CdS. Solar cells fabricated on both types of ETL exhibit better cell performance for the MAPI absorbers that contain a small amount of residual PbI 2 . Despite crystallographic differences, solar cells made on both ETLs performed similarly.

Sulfur is demonstrated to be an effective and promising surface passivation element for both n- and p-type Si wafers after reacting in dilute hydrogen sulfide gas (2 - 6% in argon) at 550°C. Effective minority carrier lifetimes of > 2 ms and > 0.25 ms are achieved for n- and p-type Si wafers, respectively, comparable to the industry standard thermal oxide and atomic layer deposited aluminum oxide passivation level. Surface characterization by x-ray photoelectron and emission spectroscopy reveals that sulfur is primarily bonded in a sulfide environment.

The laser processing method for the fabrication of IBC-HJ solar cells has been reported in the past but the issue of laser-induced defects is not well addressed. This study has focused on the effects of nanosecond laser patterning of amorphous silicon-based passivation layers in an IBC-HJ solar cell structure. The effect of laser processing parameters on laser-induced defects was characterized by micro photoluminescence, carrier lifetime measurements and surface morphology by Scanning Electron Microscope. High carrier lifetime and high photoluminescence under optimum nanosecond pulsed laser processing conditions were achieved, indicating the minimum effect on surface passivation.

In logistic regression with nonignorable missing responses, Ibrahim and Lipsitz (1996)) proposed a method for estimating regression parameters. It is known that the regression estimates obtained by using this method are biased when the sample size is small. Also, another complexity arises when the iterative estimation process encounters separation in estimating regression coefficients. In this article we propose a method to improve the estimation of regression coefficients. In our likelihood based method, we penalize the likelihood by multiplying it by a non-informative Jeffreys prior as a penalty term. The proposed method reduces bias and is able to handle the issue of separation. Simulation results show substantial bias reduction for the proposed method as compared to the existing method. Analyses using real world data also support the simulation findings. An R package called brlrmr is developed implementing the proposed method and the Ibrahim and Lipsitz method.

Maximizing the lateral transport and collection of photogenerated carriers near the rear surface of the interdigitated-back-contact silicon heterojunction solar cell (IBC-SHJ) is critical for high efficiency. Specifically, this requires minimizing the recombination over the gap region between the well-passivated emitter and base contacts. In this paper, we investigate the potential of a p-type amorphous silicon and intrinsic hydrogenated amorphous silicon layer stack, which forms an inversion layer for n-type crystalline Si (n.c-Si) surfaces, to provide gap passivation for a scalable low-temperature IBC-SHJ fabrication process. We fabricate novel three terminal rear heterojunction silicon devices to understand the effect of this gap passivation structure in terms of carrier distribution and transport mechanisms when localized high recombination regions are introduced due to the simplified fabrication process. Voltage-modulated laser-beam-induced-current measurements are utilized to characterize the device performance before and after introducing intentional localized laser damage. Interpretation of results is aided by one-dimensional simulation of band alignments and charge distribution at different voltage-modulations under illumination. We confirmed that the gap passivation structure that induces an inversion layer at the surface should be avoided to eliminate any parasitic shunting or inversion-layer-assisted-recombination on n.c-Si IBC-SHJ, and this is applicable to any n-type IBC cells in general.

Correction for ‘Iridium-mediated C–S bond activation and transformation: organoiridium(iii) thioether, thiolato, sulfinato and thiyl radical compounds. Synthesis, mechanistic, spectral, electrochemical and theoretical aspects’ by Ujjwal Das et al., Dalton Trans., 2015, 44, 8625–8639, DOI: 10.1039/C5DT00448A.