Doppler weather radars as a game changer in desert locust swarm tracking.

Desert locusts, notorious for their ruinous impact on agriculture, threaten over 20% of Earth's landmass, prompting billions in losses and global food scarcity concerns. With billions of these locusts invading agrarian lands, this is no longer a thing of the past. Recent invasions, such as those in India, where losses reached US$ 3 billion in 2019-20 alone, underscore the urgency of action.

What Outcomes Are Associated with Learning About Colonialism and Its Impacts on Indigenous Peoples in Health Professional Programs? A Critical Integrative Review.

Background: The Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada called upon health professional programs to teach about historical and on-going colonalism. Since these calls to action, there has been an increase in educational opportunities on the topic. Although it is generally assumed that learning about colonialism will reduce racism and improve allyship towards Indigenous Peoples, an evaluation of this assumption is needed.

Revealing exchange bias in spin compensated systems for spintronics applications.

Antiferromagnetic materials offer potential for spintronic applications due to their resilience to magnetic field perturbations and lack of stray fields. Achieving exchange bias in these materials is crucial for certain applications; however, discovering such materials remains challenging due to their compensated spin structure. The quest for antiferromagnetic materials with exchange bias became a reality through our experimental study and theoretical simulation on and .

Impact of regulatory policy instruments on plastic waste generation in India: A system dynamics approach.

Monitoring plastic consumption in emerging economies such as India is crucial because in these countries more than half of the consumption gets converted into waste within a year. In 2022, the Government of India enforced the Plastic Waste Management Rules to manage plastic waste. This article aims to find the potential impact of these rules on plastic waste generation from now until 2050.

Dr Pranjivandas Manekchand Mehta MD, MS, FCPS 1889-1981 and (1949).

Pranjivandas Manekchand Mehta (1889-1981), MD, MS, FCPS, also known as Dr P M Mehta, was an Indian physician and surgeon in Bombay, who then became the personal physician of the Maharajah Jamsaheb of the former Princely State of Nawanagar, Gujarat, British India. The Jamsaheb appointed Mehta as the Chief Medical Officer of Nawanagar, and with the guidance of the French radiologist, Jean Saidman, oversaw the construction of the first solarium in India. Mehta persuaded the Jamsaheb to fund an institution dedicated to Ayurvedic studies, named the Shri Gulabkunverba Ayurvedic Society, the precursor to the first Ayurveda college in India, and he became the Director of the Central Institute of Research on Indigenous Systems, which later came under the umbrella of the Institute of Teaching and Research in Ayurveda, Jamnagar.

pH-responsive supramolecular switch of a rationally designed dipyrroethene-based chromophore.

Herein, we present a strategy to access a novel class of pH-responsive, dual-state emissive (DSE), highly fluorescent pyrrole-based chromophores diformylation of dipyrroethenes (DPE) followed by condensation with various aniline derivatives. The DPE-based chromophores exhibit a large Stokes shift and maintain good fluorescence quantum yields. Remarkably, these chromophores demonstrate reversible colourimetric changes and a fluorometric 'on-off-on' switch in response to pH variations.

Design and development of Vaginal wall mimicking Poly (ε-caprolactone) based nanofibrous prosthetic mesh for pelvic organ prolapse: Evaluation of biocompatibility and antibacterial ability.

Mechanical non-conformance of conventionally used transvaginal non-degradable meshes has led to complications like organ perforation, dyspareunia caused by mesh stiffness, and stress shielding. In this study, we have solved the dire need of mimicking the mechanical properties of vaginal wall by designing and developing a soft and elastic mesh made of polycaprolactone (PCL), citric acid modified polyethylene glycol (PEGC) and zinc oxide (ZnO) prepared through electrospinning and is tested in-vitro and in-vivo. Mesh containing 90:10:0.

Triazine-Functionalized Nitrogen-Rich Covalent Organic Framework as an Electrode Material for Aqueous Symmetric Supercapacitor.

Covalent triazine frameworks, with their ordered pores and crystalline structure that exhibit heteroatom impacts, demonstrate outstanding chemical stability, making them designable for charge storage applications. In this study, the triazine-based covalent organic frameworks (TPT@BDA-COF) was synthesized using 4',4''',4'''''-(1,3,5-Triazine-2,4,6-triyl) tris (([1,1'-biphenyl]-4-amine)) (TPT) and 4,4'-Oxydibenzaldehyde (BDA) following polycondensation process. Interestingly, these resulted in the fabrication of a well-connected, orderly porous crystalline structure, redox-active moiety, and significantly high doping atomic percentages of N (~13.

Adsorption-Enhanced Sensitivity for Electrochemical Sensing of Diclofenac by Poly(ether sulfone)-Based Laser-Induced Graphene.

Emerging contaminants are a matter of growing concern for environmental and human health and safety, requiring efficient and affordable sensing platforms. Laser-induced graphene (LIG) is a novel material with a 3D porous graphene structure that can be fabricated in a simple one-step fabrication process. However, most LIG-based works in electrochemical sensors are limited to polyimide (PI)-based platforms, thus limiting the purview of properties of LIG dependent on the substrate-laser interaction.

Cooling Performance of TiO-Based Radiative Cooling Coating in Tropical Conditions.

The cooling power of radiative cooling (RC) coatings depends not only on the radiative properties of the coating but also on environmental variables. In tropical environments, the cooling performance of RC coatings deteriorates due to high humidity and high solar radiation. Previous studies focused on developing high solar-reflective coatings to achieve subambient cooling in tropical environments.

Obesity and Sympathetic Overactivity in Young Individuals With Hypertension: Clinical Perspective of Indian Healthcare Providers.

Introduction: To understand the current clinical practices followed by healthcare professionals (HCPs) among populations with hypertension and obesity with sympathetic overactivity and develop strategies to improve the management of hypertension.

Methods: A standard questionnaire was formulated based on high sympathetic overactivity and/or obesity in young patients with hypertension to gather information on the perception and practices of HCPs toward the management of young patients with hypertension who have high sympathetic overactivity and/or obesity. HCPs throughout India were selected.

Theta-Gamma Decoupling - A neurophysiological marker of impaired reward processing in Parkinson's disease.

Individuals with Parkinson's disease (PD) exhibit altered reward processing, reflected by a decreased amplitude of an event-related potential (ERP) marker called reward positivity (RewP). Most studies have used RewP to investigate reward behavior due to the high temporal resolution of EEG and its high sensitivity. However, traditional single-electrode ERP analyses often overlook the intricate dynamics of non-phase-locked oscillatory activity and the complex interactions within these neural oscillatory patterns.

Response of South Asia PM pollution to ammonia emission changes and associated impacts on human health.

Countries in South Asia are suffering severe PM pollution with rapid economic development, impacting human health and the environment. Whilst much attention has been given to understanding the contribution of primary emissions, the contribution of agriculture to PM concentrations, especially from agricultural ammonia (NH) emissions, remains less explored. Using an advanced regional atmospheric chemistry and transport modelling system (WRF-EMEP) with a new estimate of anthropogenic NH emissions inputs, we estimate the influence of agricultural NH emissions on surface PM in South Asia and evaluate the health impacts and the economic losses attributable to PM in 2018.

Non-essential kinetochore proteins contribute to meiotic chromosome condensation through polo-like kinase.

Chromosome condensation plays a pivotal role during faithful chromosome segregation, hence, understanding the factors that drive condensation is crucial to get mechanistic insight into chromosome segregation. Previously, we showed that in budding yeast, the absence of the non-essential kinetochore proteins affects chromatin-condensin association in meiosis but not in mitosis. A differential organization of the kinetochores, that we and others observed earlier during mitosis and meiosis may contribute to the meiotic-specific role.

Investigating cognitive impairments and hippocampal proteome alterations in aged male rats with TAA-Induced minimal hepatic encephalopathy.

The aging population faces a gradual decline in physical and mental capacities, with an increased risk of liver cirrhosis and chronic liver diseases leading to hepatic encephalopathy (HE). The intertwining of physiological manifestations of aging with the pathophysiology of HE significantly impairs cognitive ability, reduces quality of life, and increases mortality. Hence, effective therapeutic intervention is imperative.

Clinical Experience of Dissolvable Calcium Sulfate (Stimulan) Carrier for Antibiotic Delivery in Orthopedic Surgery: A Study of 143 Patients.

Prosthetic bone and joint infections are difficult to treat with varying levels of success with standard therapy. Synthetic calcium sulfate carrier, to which specific antibiotics can be added, can be utilized as an alternative drug delivery system in these cases. We have reviewed clinical outcomes using commercially available pure synthetic calcium sulfate dissolvable beads (Stimulan) loaded with antibiotics in 143 patients undergoing orthopedic surgery for prevention and treatment of joint infection.

Competing elastic and viscous gradients determine directional cell migration.

Cell migration regulates central life processes including embryonic development, tissue regeneration, and tumor invasion. To establish the direction of migration, cells follow exogenous cues. Durotaxis, the directed cell migration towards elastic stiffness gradients, is the classical example of mechanical taxis.

Efficacy and safety evaluation of Boswellia serrata and Curcuma longa extract combination in the management of chronic lower back pain: A randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical study.

Background And Aim: Chronic lower back pain (CLBP) is a major condition that leads to disability and reduced quality of life (QoL). This randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical study evaluated the efficacy and safety of a novel Boswellia serrata and Curcuma longa combination (CL20192) for the treatment of CLBP.

Material And Methods: Participants with CLBP were randomised to receive either a 300 mg CL20192 capsule (n = 45) or placebo capsule (n = 45) once daily for 90 days.

Accelerated Continuous Flow Depolymerization of Poly(Methyl Methacrylate).

A continuous flow setup comprising an inline dialysis unit for immediate monomer removal is used for the depolymerization of poly(methyl methacrylate) (pMMA), synthesized via reversible addition-fragmentation chain transfer (RAFT) polymerization. The approach used allows one to carry out solution depolymerizations at much higher polymer content compared to batch processes while maintaining high depolymerization conversions. pMMA is efficiently depolymerized in the flow reactor, yielding up to 68% monomer recovery under catalyst-free reaction conditions at 160 °C, starting from a 1 molar repeat unit concentration, which is a 20-fold improvement compared to previous batch studies.

Effects of adaptation to crowded larval environment on the evolution of sperm competitive ability in males of .

Two of the most important environmental factors that affect the sperm competitive ability in males are the availability of resources and the socio-sexual environment. Numerous studies have investigated the individual effects of these factors, but their combined effect on the evolution of sperm competitive ability remains untested. A crowded larval environment is unique because it simultaneously affects the fitness of the organism through both resource availability and the socio-sexual environment.

A worldwide assessment of the mechanical ventilation in patients with acute exacerbations of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Analysis of the VENTILAGROUP over time. A retrospective, multicenter study.

Background: The trend over time and across different geographical areas of outcomes and management with noninvasive ventilation or invasive mechanical ventilation in patients admitted for acute exacerbations of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and treated with ventilatory support is unknown. The purpose of this study was to describe outcomes and identify variables associated with survival for patients admitted to an intensive care unit (ICU) with acute exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease [aeCOPD] who received noninvasive or invasive mechanical ventilation worldwide.

Methods: Retrospective, multi-national, and multicenter studies, including four observational cohort studies, were carried out in 1998, 2004, 2010, and 2016 for the VENTILAGROUP following the same methodology.

Antibiotic amoxicillin degradation by electrochemical oxidation process: effects of process parameters and degradation pathway at environmentally relevant concentrations.

Amoxicillin (AMX) is a common antibiotic used in both human and veterinary medicine in order to both cure and avoid bacterial infections. Traces of AMX have been found in ground and surface water, urban effluents, water, and wastewater treatment facilities due to its widespread use. The level of hazard and disposal of this class of micropollutants is the reason for concern.

Importin α inhibitors act against the differentiated stages of apicomplexan parasites Plasmodium falciparum and Toxoplasma gondii.

Background: Nuclear import, dependent on the transporter importin α (IMPα), is a drug target for apicomplexan parasites Plasmodium falciparum and Toxoplasma gondii. Indeed, a panel of small molecule inhibit interactions between IMPα and nuclear localization signals (NLSs) in vitro and the growth of rapidly dividing stages (P. falciparum blood stages and T.

Interplay of geometry and mechanics in epithelial wound healing.

Wound healing is a complex biological process critical for maintaining an organism's structural integrity and tissue repair following an infection or injury. Recent studies have unveiled the mechanisms involving the coordination of biochemical and mechanical responses in the tissue in wound healing. In this article, we focus on the healing property of an epithelial tissue as a material while the effects of biological mechanisms such as cell proliferation, tissue intercalation, cellular migration, cell crawling, and filopodia protrusion is minimal.