Sol-gel derived ceramic nanoparticles as an alternative material for microstrip patch antenna in WLAN applications.

In the fast-evolving realm of communication technology, microstrip patch antennas (MPAs) are in high demand owing to their compact size, lightweight, inexpensive, ease of integration, and compatibility with modern electronic devices. This research focuses on the synthesis of ZnAl2O4Ca (ZAC) ceramic nanoparticles using an economical sol-gel method suitable for microstrip patch antenna applications. The structural analysis study of ZAC nanoparticles confirmed the polycrystalline nature with 8.1 nm of crystallite size whereas an investigation of functional groups showed the corresponding vibration modes. Morphological investigation revealed the spherical grains having their mean diameter of 12.32 nm. The dielectric property's examination, revealed the dielectric permittivity of 13, loss tangent of 0.02, and conductivity of 67 µΩ-1 cm-1. Furthermore, a prototype patch antenna fabricated using ZAC ceramics demonstrated a dual-band performance at frequencies 2.8 GHz and 4.8 GHz, with return losses of - 25.78 dB and - 28.5 dB, respectively. This work suggests the suitability of ZAC ceramic nanoparticles for use in WLAN applications.

Nucleic Acid Nanotechnology: Trends, Opportunities and Challenges.

Nucleic acids (DNA and RNA) hold great potential for the advancement of future medicine but suffer from unsatisfactory clinical success due to the challenges accompanied with their delivery. Nucleic acid-mediated nanomaterials have riveted the researchers from the past two decades and exhilarating tasks have prevailed. Nucleic acid nanotechnology offers unique control over the shape, size, time, mechanics and anisotropy. It can transfect numerous types of tissues and cells without any toxic effect, minimize the induced immune response, and penetrate most of the biological barriers and hence it reveals itself as a versatile tool for multidisciplinary research field and for various therapeutic purposes. Nucleic acid combines with other nanoscale objects also by altering the chemical functional groups and reproducing the varied array of nanomaterials. Interestingly, nucleic acidderived nanomaterials are characterized easily at atomic level accuracy. However, this advent of nanoscience has vital issues which must be addressed, such as the high cost of nucleic acids, their self-assembly nature, etc. Hence, the aim of this review is to highlight the systematic advances and methodology of nucleic acid-mediated synthesis of nanomaterials and their therapeutic applications.

Antioxidant potential and molecular docking of bioactive compound of Camellia sinensis and Camellia assamica with cytochrome P450.

Camellia sinensis and Camellia assamica are well known for their medicinal and therapeutic potential. The purpose of this work is to assess the flavonoid content and antioxidant potential of methanol extracts of C. sinensis (MES) and acetone extract of C. assamica (AEA) experimentally and computationally. Qualitative analysis was done to assess the presence of flavonoids. Further, the antioxidant potential of MES and AEA was done by ABTS (2,2'-azino-bis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulphonic acid)) and superoxide free radical-scavenging activity. The profiling of functional groups was analyzed by FT-IR analysis. The bioactive compounds n-heptadecanol-1 of MES and 2',6'-dihydroxyacetophenone, bis(trimethylsilyl) ether of AEA were procured from our previous study to analyze their antioxidant potential computationally (Auto-dock Vina). Both the extracts showed their potential to neutralize free radicals with variable potency. The study of the molecular interactions revealed that both the extracts MES and AEA interacted to the active site with higher binding energy. This work deduced that n-heptadecanol-1 and 2',6'-dihydroxyacetophenone, bis(trimethylsilyl) ether have good potential to inhibit and scavenge the free radicals.

Synthesis and investigation of dielectric ceramic nanoparticles for microstrip patch antenna applications.

Zinc aluminate (ZnAl2O4) is a well-recognized ceramic demanded in several microwave applications. Further, the addition of dielectric materials in ZnAl2O4 improved its dielectric properties, which is promising for the realization of a microstrip patch antenna. This article reports the investigation of ZnAl2O4TiO2 (ZAT) dielectric ceramic nanoparticles synthesized by the sol-gel process. The X-ray diffraction analysis revealed the crystalline nature of the prepared nanoparticles, with a tetragonal structure of anatase-, and rutile-TiO2 phases coexisting with the cubic phase of ZnAl2O4. The estimated crystallite size of the dielectric ceramic is 13.3 nm. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) micrographs demonstrated the spherical grains with their mean diameter of 14.75 nm, whereas the selected-area electron diffraction (SAED) pattern endorsed the crystallinity of the sample. Raman measurement revealed the vibrational modes in accordance with the TiO2 and ZnAl2O4 compounds. The dielectric properties of the ZAT sample showed the dielectric permittivity in the range of 22.12-21.63, with its minimum loss from 0.056 to 0.041. Finally, a prototype microstrip antenna was fabricated using the prepared nanoparticles, which demonstrated a return loss of - 30.72 dB at the resonant frequency of 4.85 GHz with its bandwidth of 830 MHz.

Applications of Molecular Markers for Developing Abiotic-Stress-Resilient Oilseed Crops.

Globally, abiotic stresses, such as temperature (heat or cold), water (drought and flooding), and salinity, cause significant losses in crop production and have adverse effects on plant growth and development. A variety of DNA-based molecular markers, such as SSRs, RFLPs, AFLPs, SNPs, etc., have been used to screen germplasms for stress tolerance and the QTL mapping of stress-related genes. Such molecular-marker-assisted selection strategies can quicken the development of tolerant/resistant cultivars to withstand abiotic stresses. Oilseeds such as rapeseed, mustard, peanuts, soybeans, sunflower, safflower, sesame, flaxseed, and castor are the most important source of edible oil worldwide. Although oilseed crops are known for their capacity to withstand abiotic challenges, there is a significant difference between actual and potential yields due to the adaptation and tolerance to severe abiotic pressures. This review summarizes the applications of molecular markers to date to achieve abiotic stress tolerance in major oilseed crops. The molecular markers that have been reported for genetic diversity studies and the mapping and tagging of genes/QTLs for drought, heavy metal stress, salinity, flooding, cold and heat stress, and their application in the MAS are presented.

Multi-objective Genetic Algorithm Based Deep Learning Model for Automated COVID-19 Detection Using Medical Image Data.

Purpose: In early 2020, the world is amid a significant pandemic due to the novel coronavirus disease outbreak, commonly called the COVID-19. Coronavirus is a lung infection disease caused by the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 virus (SARS-CoV-2). Because of its high transmission rate, it is crucial to detect cases as soon as possible to effectively control the spread of this pandemic and treat patients in the early stages. RT-PCR-based kits are the current standard kits used for COVID-19 diagnosis, but these tests take much time despite their high precision. A faster automated diagnostic tool is required for the effective screening of COVID-19. Methods: In this study, a new semi-supervised feature learning technique is proposed to screen COVID-19 patients using chest CT scans. The model proposed in this study uses a three-step architecture, consisting of a convolutional autoencoder based unsupervised feature extractor, a multi-objective genetic algorithm (MOGA) based feature selector, and a Bagging Ensemble of support vector machines based binary classifier. The proposed architecture has been designed to provide precise and robust diagnostics for binary classification (COVID vs.nonCOVID). A dataset of 1252 COVID-19 CT scan images, collected from 60 patients, has been used to train and evaluate the model. Results: The best performing classifier within 127 ms per image achieved an accuracy of 98.79%, the precision of 98.47%, area under curve of 0.998, and an F1 score of 98.85% on 497 test images. The proposed model outperforms the current state of the art COVID-19 diagnostic techniques in terms of speed and accuracy. Conclusion: The experimental results prove the superiority of the proposed methodology in comparison to existing methods.The study also comprehensively compares various feature selection techniques and highlights the importance of feature selection in medical image data problems.

FT-IR and GC-MS analyses of potential bioactive compounds of cow urine and its antibacterial activity.

The main emphasis of this study was to identify the bioactive compounds responsible for antibacterial activity of Badri cow urine isolated by thin layer chromatography. The most effective bioactive fraction was analysed by FT-IR and GC-MS analyses. Among the four major fractions (EW1, EW2, CA1 and CA2) obtained by TLC profiling, EW1 was found most active against bacterial strains viz., Listeria monocytogenes (MTCC657), Staphylococcus aureus (MTCC7443), Pseudomonas aeruginosa (MTCC424), Klebsiella pneumoniae (MTCC432) and Salmonella typhi (MTCC733). However, Escherichia coli (MTCC118), was found resistant to all the fractions. In FT-IR spectroscopy, functional groups like alcohol, amide, alkene, alkyl halide, polysulfide and phosphate ions were identified. The GC-MS analysis of EW1 fraction exhibited the presence of 12 compounds, of which 1-heneicosanol was found as the major compound. These compounds might be responsible synergistically or individually for antibacterial activity of cow urine. Nine elements namely sodium (Na), calcium (Ca), chromium (Cr), iron (Fe), magnesium (Mg), aluminium (Al), potassium (K) and zinc (Zn), Gold (Au) were measured by ICP-MS analysis.

Development of a time of flight spectrometer based on position sensitive multi-wire proportional counters for fission fragment mass distribution studies.

Characteristics and performance of a time of flight (TOF) spectrometer developed for performing fission mass distribution studies are presented. The spectrometer contains two TOF arms based on multi-wire proportional counters (MWPCs). Each arm has two MWPCs to form a start-stop detection system for TOF measurements. The start detector has an active area of 4 × 4 cm2. The stop detector is a two-dimensional position sensitive MWPC with an active area of 16 × 11 cm2. Salient features of the MWPCs are the use of reduced sub-millimeter wire pitches of 0.635 and 0.317 mm in the electrodes along with the use of gold plated tungsten wires of diameters 10 and 20 µm. A delay line for position electrodes is prepared using chip inductors and capacitors. Ten different configurations of MWPC were investigated for the start detector, which involved the use of three and four electrode geometries, use of different wire pitches, and use of aluminized mylar for timing electrodes. Performance results close to micro-channel plate detectors have been observed with some designs of MWPC, displaying rise times better than 2 ns with an estimated inherent time resolution of ∼100 ps FWHM. A position resolution of ∼1 mm (FWHM) has been observed. Design features of the MWPCs and their test performance results are described in this article.

ACC deaminase-producing Ensifer adhaerens KS23 enhances proximate nutrient of Pisum sativum L. cultivated in high altitude.

A phytohormone producing, N2-fixing and 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylate (ACC) deaminase synthesizing bacterium Ensifer adhaerens KS23 effectively increased the yield and nutritional contents of Pisum sativum var. Arkel. The isolate KS23 showed positive ACC deaminase activity with 174.2 (nmol of α-ketobutyrate/g-1 biomass½ h-1) a 9.7-fold increase in glutathione S-transferase activity. The proximate analysis exhibited an increased yield of protein (21.45%), carbohydrate (38.90%), sulphur (29.94%) starch (27.52%), total ash (35.57%), fat content (27.5%), nitrogen (24.06%) and hydrogen (17.91%) in treated seeds of P. sativum as compared to untreated crop seeds in field trials at Srikot village, Srinagar-246,174 (Garhwal) India. The most desirable essential and non-essential amino-acids content was also enhanced simultaneously by E. adhaerens KS23 as compared to non-treated crop seeds. This study revealed the enhancement of various nutritional contents resulting in quality improvement and an increase in growth productivity of pea. This study provides an encouraging result that may benefit the marginal income of farmers belonging mainly to hilly regions who are dependent on traditional methods of farming and thus improving their economy.

GC-MS analysis and molecular docking of bioactive compounds of Camellia sinensis and Camellia assamica.

The methanol extract of Camellia sinensis (MES) and acetone extract of Camellia assamica (AEA) were subjected to the thin layer chromatography to separate the bioactive compounds. The antimicrobial activity of all the fractions was carried out against pathogenic microorganisms by the agar-well diffusion method. The most effective bioactive fraction of each plant species was analysed by GC-MS. Fraction L of methanol extract of C. sinensis (MES) and fraction 5 of acetone extract of C. assamica (AEA) were found very effective against selected pathogenic strains. GC-MS analysis of this fraction showed the presence of n-heptadecanol-1 (68.63%) in MES and 2',6'dihydroxyacetophenone, bis(trimethylsilyl) (17.58%) in AEA with the highest area. The compounds n-heptadecanol-1 and 2',6'dihydroxyacetophenone, bis(trimethylsilyl) ether were used for docking to analyse its therapeutic potential. The ligand compound n-heptadecanol-1 (HEP) from MES of C. sinensis and 2',6'dihydroxyacetophenone, bis(trimethylsilyl) ether from AEA of C. assamica were docked with the target protein dihydropteoate synthase (DHPS) active sites of Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus active sites via Auto Dock Vina, thereby forecasting the finest binding position of ligands. AutoDock Vina docked results revealed the involvement of binding energy for the establishment of the protein-ligand structure complex, besides generating an interpretation of all apparent molecular interactions accountable for its activity. Further, the protein-ligand complex of MES, EcDHPS + HEP and SaDHPS + HEP exhibiting the best binding affinity were - 4.8 kcal/mol and - 3.6 kcal/mol. The protein-ligand complex of AEA, i.e., EcDHPS + DHA and SaDHPS + DHA exhibited the best binding affinity of - 4.8 kcal/mol and - 4.8 kcal/mol.

Increased tracheostomy rates in head and neck cancer surgery during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Surgical practice during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has changed significantly, without supporting data. With increasing experience, a dichotomy of practice is emerging, challenging existing consensus guidelines. One such practice is elective tracheostomy. Here, we share our initial experience of head and neck cancer surgery in a COVID-19 tertiary care centre, emphasizing the evolved protocol of perioperative care when compared to pre-COVID-19 times. This was a prospective study of 21 patients with head and neck cancers undergoing surgery during the COVID-19 pandemic, compared to 193 historical controls. Changes in anaesthesia, surgery, and operating room practices were evaluated. A strict protocol was followed. One patient tested positive for COVID-19 preoperatively. There was a significant increase in pre-induction tracheostomies (28.6% vs 6.7%, P=0.005), median hospital stay (10 vs 7 days, P=0.001), and postponements of surgery (57.1% vs 27.5%, P=0.01), along with a significant decrease in flap reconstructions (33.3% vs 59.6%, P=0.03). There was no mortality and no difference in postoperative morbidity. No healthcare personnel became symptomatic for COVID-19 during this period. Tracheostomy is safe during the COVID-19 pandemic and rates have increased. Despite increased rescheduling of surgeries and longer hospital stays, definitive cancer care surgery has not been deferred and maximum patient and healthcare worker safety has been ensured.

Manganese-induced oxidative stress, ultrastructural changes, and proteomics studies in rice plants.

Manganese (Mn) is an essential element for plant growth but it becomes phytotoxic at higher concentrations. The effect of Mn-excess in hydroponics medium was examined on growth, oxidative stress, and ultrastructural changes in chloroplasts and mitochondria as well proteomic alterations in rice (Oryza sativa L.) seedlings. Seedlings grown with 1 mM and 2 mM Mn in nutrient medium for 8 days showed decline in length and fresh biomass, and decline in net photosynthetic rate, transpiration rate, and stomatal conductance. Shoots of the seedlings had higher Mn content than roots. Mn-treated seedlings showed increased production of O2·-, H2O2, and .OH, increased lipid peroxidation, increased carbonylation of proteins, and increased proteolytic activity compared to untreated seedlings. Mn-treated seedlings showed disorganization and swelling of chloroplasts with appearance of plastoglobuli in TEM images and deformity in shape of mitochondria. Using confocal microscopy depolarization of mitochondrial membrane was observed marked by green fluorescence of JC-1 dye monomers in Mn-treated roots. Proteomics studies from leaves of Mn-treated seedlings involving 2DE and PDQuest analysis showed differential expression of 23 proteins, among which MALDI-TOF/TOF mass spectrometry analysis revealed Mn-led downregulation of photosynthesis-related proteins, namely oxygen-evolving complex protein associated with PSII, PAP-3, enzyme involved in protein folding peptidyl-prolyl cis-trans isomerase (PPIase) and carbohydrate metabolizing enzymes hydrolase, fructose-bisphosphate aldolase, transketolase, and isocitrate dehydrogenase, whereas ATP-dependent Clp protease, peroxidase, and nucleic acid-binding proteins were downregulated due to Mn treatment. Results indicate that Mn-excess inhibits growth of rice plants with induction of oxidative stress, causing structural alterations in chloroplasts, mitochondria, inhibiting photosynthesis, and downregulating many photosynthesis and carbohydrate metabolism-related proteins.

Rapid and economic fabrication approach of dielectric reflectors for energy harvesting applications.

Dielectric reflectors are the passive components that have their potential demands for various purposes, such as back-end reflector in solar cells, the band pass filters in optical instruments, thermal reflector and so on. Though well-established techniques for manufacturing such reflectors are available, the demand for their low-cost production with a minimum number of coatings has attracted the attention of the scientific community. In this framework, this paper addresses the process optimization for the low-cost and rapid fabrication of dielectric TiO2/SiO2 reflectors with 100% reflectance. Numerous studies are carried out to explore the structural, morphological, and optical characteristics of reflectors. We summarize that the desired reflection band of a selective-wavelength range can be realized by varying the precursor and catalyst concentrations, annealing cycle, and the spin rate. With this, we noticed the shifting of reflection window from the visible (Vis) to near-infrared (NIR) wavelength region using reflectors of merely 2.5 stacks of TiO2/SiO2 films. We also performed the thermal response of the reflector by radiating an infrared light source and observed an exceptional performance indicating its thermal shielding application.

Measuring quality of antenatal care: a secondary analysis of national survey data from India.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the coverage and adequacy of antenatal care services (ANC) available to women and examine the socio-economic determinants affecting service utilisation. DESIGN: Secondary data analysis of a population-based national survey. SETTING: India, 2015/16. SAMPLE: In all, 190 898 women between 15 and 49 years of age who had a live birth during the 5 years preceding the survey. METHODS: Ordinal logistic regression. MAIN OUTCOME VARIABLE: Adequacy of ANC services received was measured under four categories - delivery of services by skilled personnel, timely provision of services, sufficiency and appropriateness of content. Quality of care was categorised as adequate ANC, inadequate ANC and no ANC. RESULTS: Only 23.5% (95% CI 23.1-23.9%) of all women received adequate ANC, while 58.8% (95% CI 58.4-59.2%) received inadequate and 17.7% (95% CI 17.4-18.0%) received no ANC services. Regression analysis revealed that women belonging to the adolescent age group, illiterate women, and those in the poorest wealth quintile and in rural areas were less likely to receive any ANC. CONCLUSION: There is a need to improve the quality of ANC services. Currently, <25% of women of all ages receive adequate ANC. Socio-economic conditions play a vital part in determining the quality of care that women receive. TWEETABLE ABSTRACT: Nearly one out of four women in India received adequate ANC, nearly three in every five women received inadequate ANC and 18% lacked ANC for their recent live birth.

Evaluation of Probiotic Potential and Safety Assessment of Lactobacillus pentosus MMP4 Isolated From Mare's Lactation.

Lactic acid bacteria isolated from indigenous milk of different animals were investigated for their efficacy, safety, and probiotic potential. The most potential isolate MMP4 was screened from mare's milk, which was further identified as Lactobacillus pentosus by using 16S rRNA gene sequencing and phylogeny. The probiotic potential of strain MMP4 was assessed by its ability to survive under acidic environment and in presence of bile salts along with the ability to inhibit food-borne as well as clinical pathogenic microorganisms such as Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae, and Salmonella typhi. The phenol tolerance with cogent hydrophobicity to different hydrocarbons was demonstrated. Bile salt hydrolase activity of L. pentosus MMP4 was confirmed by detecting the Bsh gene by using colony PCR. The presence of Mub, Map, and EF-Tu genes involved in adhesion conferred the behavior of passage and adherence to gastrointestinal tract. Scanning electron microscopy of intestinal autopsy from albino mice revealed the attachment of bacterial cells on the mucus-lined intestinal walls against pathogens and further proved in vivo adhesion ability. The presence of intrinsic antibiotic resistance and lack of DNase, gelatinase, and hemolytic activity in MMP4 support its safety as probiotic traits. Thus, MMP4 bears an excellent and pragmatic properties for being used as probiotic and may be exploited in dairy industry.

Prevalence of Canine Monocytic Ehrlichiosis in Canine Population Across India.

Canine ehrlichiosis is a very important emerging disease in India. This study is the first attempt screening a large number of canines in India for the detection of canine monocytic ehrlichiosis. In the present study, 510 blood samples of dogs were screened for the presence of Ehrlichia canis and other variants of Anaplasmataceae family by serological and molecular methods.Out of the 510 serum samples, 293 (57.5%) cases were found positive for the presence of E. canis antibodies through enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Furthermore, and 45 (8.8%) and 1 (0.2%) specimens were positive for E. canis and A. platys, respectively, based on the polymerase chain reaction (PCR). In the clinical samples of E. canis, the minimum detection limit for PCR was9 ng. In the immunofluorescence assay (IFA), the positive blood samples showed comparable results with those obtained from the commercially available dot ELISA kit (giving equivalent IFA titer). The results of sequencing were compared with other reported isolates in various regions of the world, and a phylogenetic relationship was established. The 16S rRNA region that was amplified and sequenced for E. canis and A. platys was highly conserved and so was another Vir B9 region.

Pure Tethered Cervical Cord and Review of Literature.

Tethering of the spinal cord in the lumbosacral region with myelomeningocele is a well-known phenomenon. Only sporadic cases of tethering along the rest of the neuraxis, including the hindbrain, cervical, and thoracic spinal cord have been documented, always along with some associated congenital malformations (hydrocephalus, Chiari malformation, myelomeningocele, meningocele, hamartomatous stalk, spina bifida occulta, intramedullary lipoma, intradural fibrous adhesions, the fusion of the sixth and seventh cervical vertebrae, split cord malformation, or low-lying cord). In this report, 14-year-old male developed symptoms related to tethering of the cervical spinal cord, but without any associated congenital malformations, that is the pure tethered cervical cord. This causes his moribund status and makes the manuscript unique and contributes to the hitherto literature. The authors discuss the diagnosis, treatment, and postoperative course of this entity. The uniqueness in treatment is that we have operated the case without the help of intraoperative somatosensory evoked potentials and motor evoked potential from posterolateral approach under local anesthesia.

Microsatellite analysis of genetic diversity and population structure of hermaphrodite ridge gourd (Luffa hermaphrodita).

Out of 103 microsatellite markers used for studying the genetic diversity among local landraces of Luffa species, 56 were found polymorphic, including 38 gSSR and 18 eSSR, respectively. A total of 197 amplification products were obtained. The mean number of alleles per locus was 3.52. The PIC ranged from 0.037 to 0.986, while size of amplified product ranged from 105 to 500 bp. Cucumber-derived SSRs were amplified within L. acutangula (68%), L. aegyptiaca (61.16%), and L. hermaphrodita (60.2%), with an average of 63.12% cross-transferability. The Jaccard's coefficient ranged from 0.66 to 0.97, with an average of 0.81. High genetic variability was observed for node of 1st hermaphrodite flower (6.4-17), days to 1st hermaphrodite flower (38-52.1), days to 1st fruit harvest (43-65), number of fruit per cluster (1-5.9), fruit length (3.9-25 cm), fruit weight (18.4-175 g), number of fruit per plant (20-147.5), and yield per plant (2.2-4.7 kg). Two sub-populations were identified including 21 genotypes (sub-population I) and 06 genotypes (sub-population II), these two sub-populations showed 0.608-0.395% of the ancestral relationship to each other. This study provides information for future exploration, collection, and utilization of Luffa genotypes, as well as the polymorphic markers identified could be available for the study of landmarks in linkages, genomic structures, evolutionary ecology, and marker-assisted selection (MAS) in Luffa species.

Experimental demonstration of critical coupling of whispering gallery mode cavities on a Bloch surface wave platform.

We experimentally demonstrate critical coupling of whispering gallery mode (WGM) disk resonators implemented on a Bloch surface wave platform using scanning near-field optical microscopy. The studied structure is a 60 nm thick TiO2 WGM disk cavity (radius of 100 µm) operating within the C-band telecommunication wavelength. An extinction ratio of 26 dB and a quality factor of 2200 are measured. Such a high extinction ratio verifies the critical coupling of the WGM resonator. This result paves the way to planar optical signal processing devices based on the proposed geometry, for which a critical coupling condition is a guarantee of optimum performance.