Ionic to electronic conductivity studies of lithium-​borate ruby-​glass-​ceramics containing gold nano particles

Glass-​ceramics contg. Au nanoparticles have been synthesized in the glass compn. 30Li2O-​70B2O3 with HAuCl4.3H2O as dopant. The characteristic ruby color has been obsd. which is attributed to the surface plasmon resonance of the Au nanoparticles, uniformly embedded in the glass matrix. The imparted red color due to the presence of gold nanoparticles has been confirmed by studying the optical absorption spectra using UV-​VIS spectrometer in the visible range (400-​1000 nm) which show a characteristic absorption peak at ∼560 nm. In order to check the crystn.​/amorphous nature, the samples were powd. and characterized using X-​ray diffraction (XRD)​. The microstructural modifications in the samples due to the addn. of Au have been recorded using SEM (SEM)​. Further, the ESR (ESR) studies reveal that the electronic state of gold is either Au0 or Au+. AC cond. studies have been performed at room temp. over a frequency range 100 to 10 MHz. The ac cond. data is fitted by Almond-​West law with power exponent "s". The dc cond. is found to be increasing with the increase of temp. for a typical ruby glass, but almost const. with dopant concn

Structure of ethyl 2-​(2-​amino-​3-​ethoxycarbonyl-​4H-​chromen-​4-​yl)​-​2-​cyanoacetate

The title compd. is monoclinic, space group P21/n, with a 21.335(2)​, b 8.516(1)​, c 9.273(1) Å, and β 93.645(1)​°, Z = 4, dm = 1.330, dc = 1.305, T = 300 K, final R = 0.059 for 3184 reflections. At. coordinates are given. The dihydropyran ring makes a dihedral angle of 14.6(3)​° with the benzene ring and is puckered. The ethoxycarbonyl group attached to C(3) makes a dihedral angle of 13.9(3)​° with the chromene ring but the 4-​(1-​ethoxycarbonyl) group is rotated about C(4) by 81.1(4)​°. The C-​C≡N chain is almost linear and makes a dihedral angle of 48.4(3)​° with the C(4) ethoxycarbonyl group. The mol. exhibits intramol. H bonding between the amino group at C(2) and the carbonyl O atom of the C(3) ethoxycarbonyl group. Intermol. N-​H...O bonds link the mols. across the center of symmetry

Mid-esophageal diverticulum mimicking an aortic aneurysm on chest radiography

BACKGROUND: Mid-esophageal region is an uncommon location of esophageal diverticula, a condition usually diagnosed in elderly individuals. CASE REPORT: We report a case of an elderly male with incidental finding of mediastinal lesion, which was initially thought to be an aortic aneurysm. Further evaluation demonstrated a mid-esophageal diverticulum at the level of the carina. We present patient's medical history and imaging, followed by a discussion on symptoms and management. CONCLUSIONS: Knowledge of benign conditions that might mimic a mediastinal vascular pathology is important for therapeutic and prognostic reasons, as they are often managed conservatively

Do Ecological Niche Model Predictions Reflect the Adaptive Landscape of Species?: A Test Using Myristica malabarica Lam., an Endemic Tree in the Western Ghats, India

Ecological niche models (ENM) have become a popular tool to define and predict the “ecological niche” of a species. An implicit assumption of the ENMs is that the predicted ecological niche of a species actually reflects the adaptive landscape of the species. Thus in sites predicted to be highly suitable, species would have maximum fitness compared to in sites predicted to be poorly suitable. As yet there are very few attempts to address this assumption. Here we evaluate this assumption. We used Bioclim (DIVA GIS version 7.3) and Maxent (version 3.3.2) to predict the habitat suitability of Myristica malabarica Lam., an economically important tree occurring in the Western Ghats, India. We located populations of the trees naturally occurring in different habitat suitability regimes (from highly suitable to poorly suitable) and evaluated them for their regeneration ability and genetic diversity. We also evaluated them for two plant functional traits, fluctuating asymmetry – an index of genetic homeostasis, and specific leaf weight – an index of primary productivity, often assumed to be good surrogates of fitness. We show a significant positive correlation between the predicted habitat quality and plant functional traits, regeneration index and genetic diversity of populations. Populations at sites predicted to be highly suitable had a higher regeneration and gene diversity compared to populations in sites predicted to be poor or unsuitable. Further, individuals in the highly suitable sites exhibited significantly less fluctuating asymmetry and significantly higher specific leaf weight compared to individuals in the poorly suitable habitats. These results for the first time provide an explicit test of the ENM with respect to the plant functional traits, regeneration ability and genetic diversity of populations along a habitat suitability gradient. We discuss the implication of these resultsfor designing viable species conservation and restoration programs

Reproductive biology of the commercially important Uroteuthis (Photololigo) duvaucelii (d’ Orbigny [in 1835) off Mangalore, south-west coast of India

Uroteuthis (Photololigo) duvaucelii is one of the commercially important inshore squid resources off the south-west coast of India. Length-weight relationship for this species indicated no significant difference between the sexes and hence, the relationship for both the sexes was represented with the common equation W = 0.4624 L2.1158. U. (P.) duvaucelii spawned throughout the year with peak spawning in May. Absolute fecundity ranged from 1,545 to 13,585 eggs with an average of 7,554 eggs. Size at first maturity indicated that females matured earlier at 70 mm DML (dorsal mantle length) whereas males matured little later at 90 mm DML. Males were observed to be dominant during most of the study period with overall male to female ratio of 1:0.93. Seasonal and size dependent variations in sex ratio were distinct

On the role of CD4+ T cells and pathogenic mechanisms in HSV-1-induced ocular disease : herpetic stromal keratitis

Experimental infection of mice by scarification of cornea with HSV exhibits ocular disease pattem similar to the histopathological manifestations seen in man. An experiment in athymic mice that did not succumb to herpetic stromal keratitis (HSK) showed that HSK is an immunopathological manifestation of host T cell mediated immune response. It was confirmed later that following infection of corneas in the murine model with RE strain of HSV-1, the immunopathology is manifested by CD4+T lymphocytes that exhibit the Thl cytokine profile. A prominent cell type present in HSK lesions is the neutrophil (PMN), the infiltration of which is a biphasic event following HSV infection of immunocompetent mice, an initial transient infiltration appeared to be triggered by replicating virus and a second more intense invasion along with other inflammatory cells including CD4+ cells. This secondary PMN invasion episode, seemingly orchestrated by CD4+T cells, is called HSK and is not apparently triggered by replicating virus which remains undetectable at this stage. By taking advantage of cell depletion and adoptive transfer studies, the type of cells involved and sequence of cellular events in initiation and effector phase have been addressed. While some of these approaches could explain one facet of HSK immunopathology, identifying the antigen(s) (viral and/or host) to which T cells respond is another interesting field. Some of the recent observations lend credence to the growing notion that HSK represents an autoreactive inflammatory reaction set off by HSV that unmasks sequestered corneal antigens is normally accessible to the immune system. In this study, experiments were designed to address such issues and hence primarily focussed on elucidating the mechanisms which drive the inflammatory responses in HSV-infected murine cornea. Experiments described in this dissertation are aimed at T cell specificity, role of viral antigens in lesion development and mechanisms that drive the inflammatory response in the infected cornea. The series of experiments described here and their results indicate \u27nonspecific activation of CD4+T cells\u27 as a novel mechanism in herpes-induced stromal keratitis. Following an overview of herpes induced ocular disease in part 1, part 2 in addition to supporting HSK as a T cell-mediated immunoinflammatory disease, the results also show the potential for controlling the disease by coreceptor modulation. In part 3, characterization of a unique mouse model with skewed T cell repertoire (Tg- SCID) has been described which is useful for studying antigen specificity in T cell-mediated immunopathological disorders. Results of experiments described in part 4 propose nonspecific activation of T cells and hence the cytokine milieu by virus replication as a novel mechanism by which CD4+ T cells could orchestrate a virus induced ocular immunopathology. Finally, using adoptive transfer protocols, part 5 examines whether lesion development in Tg-SCID mice is virus replication, persistence and CD4+ T cell dependent. Additionally, in part 5, the differential role of HSV-specific antiserum and CD8+ T cells on virus dissemination was analyzed in the infected cornea

Community Assembly and Habitat Specialization of Tropical Tree Species along Moisture Gradients in the Western Ghats Biodiversity Hotspot in India

The interactions between ecological and evolutionary processes mediated through functional traits that confer habitat specialization have been proposed to explain the spatial assembly of plant communities both across space and in different habitats. However, the scale at which these mechanisms operate and their relative importance in dominance and assembly of tree communities in different habitat types distributed across spatially-varying environmental gradients in tropical forests have been rarely tested. Here, I elucidate patterns of functional trait and phylogenetic variation and evolutionary history of key functional traits conferring habitat specialization to understand community assembly mechanisms operating within in tropical tree communities distributed across spatially varying environmental gradients and in different habitat types in Western Ghats biodiversity hotspot, India. The chapter 2 focuses on patterns of functional trait and phylogenetic co-variation among a community of tropical canopy trees distributed across spatially varying moisture gradient. I find that tree communities in plots that experience lower precipitation and longer duration of dry period show clustering of both functional traits and phylogenetic relationship suggesting environmental filtering play a key role in the assembly of tree communities in these forests. The chapter 3 explores the relationship between key functional traits, phylogenetic relationship and abundance of 210 co-occurring tree species distributed across contrasting extremes of seasonal flooding gradient i.e. flooded forest and terra-firme forest (non-flooded). I found that repeated evolution of key functional traits together with strong environmental filtering play a key role in determining the ecological success (dominance) and assembly of tree communities in flooded habitat. The chapter 4 focuses on climatic niche evolution and evolutionary history of flooded habitat specialization in global and endemic Myristicaceae members in the Western Ghats. I found that, repeated gain of swamp habitat specialization and associated morphological traits in global and Western Ghats Myristicaceae implying seasonal flooding gradient is an important driver of ecological speciation. I also found that local habitat specialization promotes range-wide niche evolution among sister taxa. By elucidating the pattern functional traits and phylogenetic relationship across flooding and spatially varying moisture gradient and analysis of climatic niche evolution and habitat specialization among co-occurring sister taxa, this thesis contributes to our understanding of the determinants of assembly, dominance and diversification of tropical tree communities across diverse habitat types in tropical forest biomes

Ketamine Crisis: Case Report on the Complications of Ketamine Usage and Its Rise in the United States

The recreational use of ketamine poses various health risks, including addiction, cognitive impairments, and physical harm. The patient is a 24-year-old female who presented with 30 lbs. unintentional weight loss, generalized weakness, and urinary incontinence over four months. She endorses right upper quadrant and suprapubic pain with occasional gross hematuria. The patient denied recreational drug use. Urine drug screen was negative. Gynecologic exam and STI testing were without concerns. On exam, she had positive right lower quadrant tenderness, suprapubic tenderness, and costovertebral angle tenderness bilaterally. The patient was admitted to the ICU due to weakness and significant hyponatremia at 115. She was treated symptomatically, started on Zosyn for UTI, normal saline for hyponatremia, calcium bicarbonate and insulin for hyperkalemia. CT abdomen and pelvis showed striated perinephric fat stranding, cholangitis, and pyelonephritis with right sided hydronephrosis. Admission of intranasal ketamine use was documented. The patient was able to tolerate PO intake and lab values returned to normal. Unfortunately, urinary function has delayed recovery after stopping ketamine use. It is unusual to see this collection of symptoms present in one person. The full constellation of symptoms that are associated with ketamine usage in this case are: anxiety, cholangitis, hydronephrosis with pyelonephritis and urinary incontinence, loss of taste, weight loss, euvolemic hyponatremia, hyperkalemia. This case illustrates the importance of appropriate testing in the circumstance of an unreliable narrator in patient care. There are no current established guidelines regarding ketamine toxicity management

Investigating optimal features in log files for anomaly detection using optimization approach

Logs have been frequently utilised in different software system administration activities. The number of logs has risen dramatically due to the vast scope and complexity of current software systems. A lot of research has been done on log-based anomaly identification using machine learning approach. In this paper, we proposed an optimization approach to select the optimal features from the logs. This will provide the higher classification accuracy on reduced log files. In order to predict the anomalies three phases are used: i) log representation ii) feature selection and iii) Performance evaluation. The efficacy of the proposed model is evaluated using benchmark datasets such as BlueGene/L (BGL), Thunderbird, spirit and hadoop distributed file system (HDFS) in terms of accuracy, converging ability, train and test accuracy, receiver operating characteristic (ROC) measures, precision, recall and F1-score. The results shows that the feature selection on log files outperforms in terms all the evaluation measures