Quantum trapping and rotational self-alignment in triangular Casimir microcavities.

Casimir torque, a rotational motion driven by zero-point energy minimization, is a problem that attracts notable research interest. Recently, it has been realized using liquid crystal phases and natural anisotropic substrates. However, for natural materials, substantial torque occurs only at van der Waals distances of ~10 nm. Here, we use Casimir self-assembly with triangular gold nanostructures for rotational self-alignment at truly Casimir distances (100 to 200 nm separation). The interplay of repulsive electrostatic and attractive Casimir potentials forms a stable quantum trap, giving rise to a tunable Fabry-Pérot microcavity. This cavity self-aligns both laterally and rotationally to maximize area overlap between templated and floating flakes. The rotational self-alignment is sensitive to the equilibrium distance between the two triangles and their area, offering possibilities for active control via electrostatic screening manipulation. Our self-assembled Casimir microcavities present a versatile and tunable platform for nanophotonic, polaritonic, and optomechanical applications.

Strategy and Future Prospects to Develop Room-Temperature-Recoverable NO2 Gas Sensor Based on Two-Dimensional Molybdenum Disulfide.

Nitrogen dioxide (NO2), a hazardous gas with acidic nature, is continuously being liberated in the atmosphere due to human activity. The NO2 sensors based on traditional materials have limitations of high-temperature requirements, slow recovery, and performance degradation under harsh environmental conditions. These limitations of traditional materials are forcing the scientific community to discover future alternative NO2 sensitive materials. Molybdenum disulfide (MoS2) has emerged as a potential candidate for developing next-generation NO2 gas sensors. MoS2 has a large surface area for NO2 molecules adsorption with controllable morphologies, facile integration with other materials and compatibility with internet of things (IoT) devices. The aim of this review is to provide a detailed overview of the fabrication of MoS2 chemiresistance sensors in terms of devices (resistor and transistor), layer thickness, morphology control, defect tailoring, heterostructure, metal nanoparticle doping, and through light illumination. Moreover, the experimental and theoretical aspects used in designing MoS2-based NO2 sensors are also discussed extensively. Finally, the review concludes the challenges and future perspectives to further enhance the gas-sensing performance of MoS2. Understanding and addressing these issues are expected to yield the development of highly reliable and industry standard chemiresistance NO2 gas sensors for environmental monitoring.

Short- to Midterm Results After Posterior Component Separation with Transversus Abdominis Release: Initial Experience from India.

PURPOSE: Posterior component separation with transversus abdominis release is a new procedure and is quickly gaining popularity. It has shown promising results in terms of low recurrence rates for large and complex hernias. However, there are very little Indian data available on this to date. The purpose of this study was to assess the outcomes of the technique at three centers in India. METHODS: This was a retrospective analysis of the prospectively collected data. Patients with a minimum follow-up of 3 months who underwent open or minimal access posterior component separation were included. RESULTS: A total of 72 patients (open = 44, minimal access = 25, and hybrid = 3) were included in the analysis. At a follow-up ranging from 3 months to 35 months, there were two recurrences (2.78%). Surgical site occurrences were seen in 23/72 (31.9%), and surgical site infection was seen in 7/72 (9.7%). Surgical site occurrence requiring procedural intervention was 3/72 (4.2%). There were two (2.78%) mortalities in the open group due to myocardial infarction. CONCLUSION: Posterior component separation with transversus abdominis release may have advantages in terms of low recurrence in large hernias in the Indian population and can be used in carefully selected patients.

Trends and progress of bariatric and metabolic surgery in India.

Bariatric and metabolic surgery are being performed in India for 2 decades. Aim of this paper is to evaluate the changing clinical trends over the last 5 years and to present the other aspects helmed by Obesity and Metabolic Surgery Society of India (OSSI) to aid the growth of research, education, data management and registry, quality control, insurance-related issues and policy change. OSSI conducts an annual survey to collect data pertaining to numbers of surgical procedures. With the approval of the executive committee, data collected from 2014 to 2018 were retrieved and analysed. 20,242 surgical procedures were performed in 2018 which is an 86.7% increase from 2014. Laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy continued to remain the most popular procedure, it's percent share saw a steady decline from 68 to 48%. One anastomosis gastric bypass showed an unprecedented growth from 14 to 34%. Numbers of laparoscopic Roux en y gastric bypass remained constant at 15-16%. OSSI has also initiated a COE program along with training fellowships and focus on registry and inclusion in insurance coverage. National trends over the past 5 years in bariatric surgery have shown emergence of newer procedures like OAGB, although LSG continues to be the most popular procedure performed These trends give an insight on how the field is evolving and the implications for any distinctive requirements unique to this region These will lay out important directives for not only ensuring good treatment outcomes but also increasing awareness about the disease on the whole.

Theoretical and experimental performance evaluation of single-slope single-basin solar still with multiple V-shaped floating wicks.

A solar still is used to convert saline water into potable water by means of the distillation process. In order to improve the productivity of conventional solar still, various modifications are implemented by researchers. In the present study, multiple V-shaped floating wicks are used to enhance heat absorption and thereby increase productivity. The experiments are performed during the summer and winter seasons in Rewa, India (Latitude: 24.5373° N; Longitude: 81.3042° E). These multiple floating wicks are made from black jute cloth wrapped in V-shaped pieces of thermocol. Because of their V-shaped profile, the evaporative surface area of modified solar still is 26% larger than that of conventional solar still. The maximum daily productivity in one of the clear days is found to be approximately 6.20 kg/m2 in summer and 3.23 kg/m2 in winter with daily efficiencies of 56.62% and 47.75%, respectively. A theoretical thermal model is formulated by using the energy balance equations of the modified solar still. Reasonable agreement was seen between the theoretical and experimental results of modified solar still. An economic analysis is also performed for the modified solar still and conventional solar still; in a 10-year life cycle, the annual cost of distilled water is estimated at Rs. 1.81/kg for the former and Rs. 2.24/kg for the latter.

Photoactivated Mixed In-Plane and Edge-Enriched p-Type MoS2 Flake-Based NO2 Sensor Working at Room Temperature.

Toxic gases are produced during the burning of fossil fuels. Room temperature (RT) fast detection of toxic gases is still challenging. Recently, MoS2 transition metal dichalcogenides have sparked great attention in the research community due to their performance in gas sensing applications. However, MoS2 based gas sensors still suffer from long response and recovery times, especially at RT. Considering this challenge, here, we report photoactivated highly reversible and fast detection of NO2 sensors at room temperature (RT) by using mixed in-plane and edge-enriched p-MoS2 flakes (mixed MoS2). The sensor showed fast response with good sensitivity of ∼10.36% for 10 ppm of NO2 at RT without complete recovery. However, complete recovery was obtained with better sensor performance under UV light illumination at RT. The UV assisted NO2 sensing showed improved performance in terms of fast response and recovery kinetics with enhanced sensitivity to 10 ppm NO2 concentration. The sensor performance is also investigated under thermal energy, and a better sensor performance with reduced sensitivity and high selectivity toward NO2 was observed. A detailed gas sensing mechanism based on the density functional theory (DFT) calculations for favorable NO2 adsorption sites on in-plane and edge-enriched MoS2 flakes is proposed. This study revealed the role of favorable adsorption sites in MoS2 flakes for the enhanced interaction of target gases and developed a highly sensitive, reversible, and fast gas sensor for next-generation toxic gases at room temperature.

Study of kite string injuries in Western India.

A prospective analysis of 104 patients (outdoor and indoor) with manja (powdered glass coated kite string) injury from January 2011 to January 2015 was carried out at Civil Hospital Ahmedabad. All patients were analysed for mode and severity of injury, site of injury, associated injuries, activity being performed when injury occurred, the clinical diagnosis and treatment required. Analysis of collected data revealed that majority of the injuries occurred while driving or in pedestrians with the neck being the most commonly affected body part. Males were more commonly affected with most of the victims in the age group of 16-45 years. Injuries sustained while driving tended to be more severe. All injuries were recorded in the month of January. No deaths were reported, but potentially fatal injuries did occur. Most of the injuries were superficial and could be prevented or mitigated by either protective clothing or by use of protective devices on vehicles, which should be implemented to reduce the morbidity of such injuries in the future. There were no ethical issues or vested interests associated with the study.