COVID-19 IS DEADLY! LONG LIVE THE KING, CORPORATE CASH HOLDINGS!

Covid-19 has adversely affected the human race. With human race confined to their houses, the level of consumption has gone down and it has significant negative impact on the cash flows of the existing businesses. In this study, using different scenarios and stress level, we try to predict the impact on businesses cash flows and establish the role of corporate cash holdings in avoiding illiquidity of businesses

Impact Assessment of Varied Agroclimatic Conditions on Phosphate Solubilization Potential of Fungi in Fermentation and Soil-Plant System

In this work, two phosphate solubilizing fungi viz., Aspergillus tubingensis S33 and A. niger S36 were studied under different physiochemical and nutritional parameters in the lab, and in vitro under soil-plant experiments at two very distinct agro-climatic conditions viz., Banasthali, Tonk (Rajasthan), and Dwarahat, Almora (Uttarakhand), India. Phosphate-solubilizing capability was checked with different carbon and nitrogen sources. Maltose, glucose, and fructose were optimal carbon source in A. tubingensis S33 while fructose in the case of A. awamori S33. Amongst nitrogen sources, S33 showed maximum phosphate solubilization with ammonium sulfate while, S36 with ammonium sulfate and sodium nitrate. Ammonium was more stimulating than nitrate as the chief nitrogen source. In vivo experiments revealed that solubilization was noticeable at all the temperatures, but optimal temperature was 25–35℃. The optimal initial pH for Tricalcium Phosphate (TCP) solubilization was 8.0. The ideal concentration of TCP for solubilization was 7.5 g∙l−1. The application of both strains in two different geographical sites exhibited a significant (p<0.05) rise in wheat growth, grain yield, and available Phosphorus (P). Fungal inoculation with TCP amendment exhibited a more notable effect on growth, yield, and soil fertility than control. This study support that these isolates will be able to work efficiently in varied climatic conditions and will show consistent efficiency on field application

Natural Killer Cell Degranulation Defect: A Cause for Impaired NK-Cell Cytotoxicity and Hyperinflammation in Fanconi Anemia Patients

Fanconi anemia (FA) is a rare inherited syndrome characterized by progressive bone marrow failure (BMF), abnormal skin pigmentation, short stature, and increased cancer risk. BMF in FA is multifactorial and largely results from the death of hematopoietic stem cells due to genomic instability. Also, inflammatory pathology in FA has been previously reported, however the mechanism is still not clear. In literature, decreased NK-cell count and/or impaired NK-cell activity, along with other immunological abnormalities have been described in FA-patients (1). However, to the best of our knowledge, this is the first report showing a defective degranulation mechanism leading to abnormal NK-cell cytotoxicity in FA-patients, which may explain the development of a hyperinflammatory response in these patients. This may predispose some patients to develop Hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis (HLH) which manifests with prolonged fever, progressive cytopenias and organomegaly. Early diagnosis and initiation of immunosuppressive therapy in these patients will help to better manage these patients. We also propose FA genes to be listed as a cause of familial HLH

Stability of convergence theorems of the Noor iteration method for an enumerable class of continuous hemi contractive mapping in Banach spaces

The purpose of this is to study the Noor iteration process for the sequence  converges to a common fix point for enumerable class of continuous hemi contractive mapping in Banach spaces. Key words: Stability, Noor iterations, Hemicontractive mapping, Convergence theorem Continuous pseudocontractive mapping. 2000 Mathematics Subject Classification: 47J25, 47H10, 54H2

Safe Passage or Hunting Ground? A Test of the Prey-Trap Hypothesis at Wildlife Crossing Structures on NH 44, Pench Tiger Reserve, Maharashtra, India

Crossing structures are widely accepted mitigation measures used to offset the impacts of roads in ecologically sensitive areas that serve as important animal corridors. However, altered interspecies interactions at crossing structures may reduce the potency of these structures for some species and groups. Anecdotes of predation events at crossing structures have necessitated the assessment of predator–prey interactions at crossing structures. We investigated the ‘prey-trap’ hypothesis at nine crossing structures on a highway in central India adjacent to a tiger reserve by comparing the geometric mean latencies between successive prey, predator and free-ranging dog camera trap capture events at the crossing structures. Among all interactions, prey–predator latencies were the shortest, and significantly lower than prey–dog and predator–prey latencies. Prey–predator sequences involving wild dogs had the shortest average latencies (65.6 ± 9.7 min). Prey–predator latencies decreased with increasing crossing structure width; however, these crossing structures are also the sites that are most frequently used by wildlife. Results indicate that the crossing structures presently do not act as ‘prey-traps’ from wild predators or free-ranging dogs. However, measures used to alleviate such prospects, such as heterogeneity in structure design and increase in vegetation cover near crossing structures, are recommended

Safe Passage or Hunting Ground? A Test of the Prey-Trap Hypothesis at Wildlife Crossing Structures on NH 44, Pench Tiger Reserve, Maharashtra, India

Crossing structures are widely accepted mitigation measures used to offset the impacts of roads in ecologically sensitive areas that serve as important animal corridors. However, altered interspecies interactions at crossing structures may reduce the potency of these structures for some species and groups. Anecdotes of predation events at crossing structures have necessitated the assessment of predator–prey interactions at crossing structures. We investigated the ‘prey-trap’ hypothesis at nine crossing structures on a highway in central India adjacent to a tiger reserve by comparing the geometric mean latencies between successive prey, predator and free-ranging dog camera trap capture events at the crossing structures. Among all interactions, prey–predator latencies were the shortest, and significantly lower than prey–dog and predator–prey latencies. Prey–predator sequences involving wild dogs had the shortest average latencies (65.6 ± 9.7 min). Prey–predator latencies decreased with increasing crossing structure width; however, these crossing structures are also the sites that are most frequently used by wildlife. Results indicate that the crossing structures presently do not act as ‘prey-traps’ from wild predators or free-ranging dogs. However, measures used to alleviate such prospects, such as heterogeneity in structure design and increase in vegetation cover near crossing structures, are recommended

Biodegradable sodium alginate and lignosulphonic acid blends: characterization and swelling studies

In this article, Sodium alginate and Lignosulphonic acid blends were prepared in different weight ratios by solution casting method. Swelling experiments were conducted for Sodium alginate and its blends by adding calcium chloride for various intervals in a pH 7.4 medium. The strength of the films increases after their treatment with CaCl2 at higher intervals forming an alginate network. The SA/LS blend (80/20) is subjected for sorption studies at variable pH 1.2 & 7.4, in order to test the suitability of the blends for controlled drug delivery. Further, experiments were conducted for de-crosslinking using 0.1M HCl. The solvent uptake for the blends decreased with increasing LS content in the blends. Blends were investigated by X-ray diffraction and Fourier Transform Infra-Red spectroscopy in order to study the crystallinity and molecular interactions. XRD confirms the reduction in cluster space in blends leading to lower uptake of solvent

Emotion regulation difficulties in alexithymia and mental health

Alexithymia, characterized by difficulty in identifying and describing feelings and a deficit in the cognitive modulation of emotions, has been linked with health related problems. Indirect empirical evidences suggest the possibility that alexithymia may potentially also relate with emotion regulation difficulties. However, the exact nature of the relationship between the two constructs has not been fully explored. The relationship between the two constructs may reflect the overlap of the content domains or dependence of one (e.g., emotion regulation difficulties) on the other (e.g., alexithymia). Given the link between the two constructs, it is also likely that alexithymics’ health related difficulties may result from their impaired ability to regulate emotions. The present study tested the above theoretical propositions on 27 alexithymic and 26 non-alexithymic participants who were assessed on self-report measures of emotion regulation difficulties and general mental health. The findings revealed that compared to non-alexithymics, the alexithymics showed greater emotion regulation difficulties and such affective difficulties differentiated the two groups with a very high accuracy. Further, the observation of two orthogonal components (emotion regulation difficulties and alexithymia) with a minimum overlap suggests that these constructs represent two independent domains of behavior. Findings also revealed that alexithymics reported more health related problems as compared to non-alexithymics and the health problems of alexithymics are likely to be an outcome of their emotion regulation difficulties (indicated by a non-significant health difference after controlling for emotion regulation difficulties). The findings imply that alexithymia is associated with emotion regulation difficulties and such difficulties largely contribute to health related problems