An Unusual Transmission Spectrum for the Sub-Saturn KELT-11b Suggestive of a Sub-Solar Water Abundance

We present an optical-to-infrared transmission spectrum of the inflated sub-Saturn KELT-11b measured with the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS), the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) Wide Field Camera 3 G141 spectroscopic grism, and the Spitzer Space Telescope (Spitzer) at 3.6 $\mu$m, in addition to a Spitzer 4.5 $\mu$m secondary eclipse. The precise HST transmission spectrum notably reveals a low-amplitude water feature with an unusual shape. Based on free retrieval analyses with varying molecular abundances, we find strong evidence for water absorption. Depending on model assumptions, we also find tentative evidence for other absorbers (HCN, TiO, and AlO). The retrieved water abundance is generally $\lesssim 0.1\times$ solar (0.001--0.7$\times$ solar over a range of model assumptions), several orders of magnitude lower than expected from planet formation models based on the solar system metallicity trend. We also consider chemical equilibrium and self-consistent 1D radiative-convective equilibrium model fits and find they too prefer low metallicities ($[M/H] \lesssim -2$, consistent with the free retrieval results). However, all the retrievals should be interpreted with some caution since they either require additional absorbers that are far out of chemical equilibrium to explain the shape of the spectrum or are simply poor fits to the data. Finally, we find the Spitzer secondary eclipse is indicative of full heat redistribution from KELT-11b's dayside to nightside, assuming a clear dayside. These potentially unusual results for KELT-11b's composition are suggestive of new challenges on the horizon for atmosphere and formation models in the face of increasingly precise measurements of exoplanet spectra.Comment: Accepted to The Astronomical Journal. 31 pages, 20 figures, 7 table

Study of B -> \rho \pi decays at Belle

This paper describes a study of B meson decays to the pseudoscalar-vector final state \rho\pi using 31.9\times 10^6 B\bar{B} events collected with the Belle detector at KEKB. The branching fractions B(B^+ \to \rho^0\pi^+) = (8.0^{+2.3+0.7}_{-2.0-0.7}) \times 10^{-6} and B(B^0 -> \rho^{+-} \pi^{-+}) = (20.8^{+6.0+2.8}_{-6.3-3.1}) \times 10^{-6} are obtained. In addition, a 90% confidence level upper limit of B(B^0 \to \rho^0\pi^0) < 5.3 \times 10^{-6}is reported.Comment: 14 pages, 3 figures, to be submitted to Phys. Lett.

A prospective survey study on premenstrual syndrome in young and middle aged women with an emphasis on its management

Premenstrual syndrome (PMS) is defined as the recurrence of psychological and physical symptoms in the luteal phase, which remit in the follicular phase of the menstrual cycle. Symptoms of which fall in three domains: emotional, physical and behavioural e.g. irritability, anger, headache, fatigue, food cravings etc. The survey study of was conducted among 50 young & 50 middle aged women of S.B.K.S Medical Institute and Research Centre to find the prevalence of premenstrual syndrome with an emphasis on its management. Responses to a feedback questionnaire covering various aspects related PMS were obtained from 50 participants belonging to each group. The participants belonged to different range of literacy. It was found that 42% faced PMS regularly, while 58% occasionally. Of the 100 participants 68% suffered with backache, 64% leg cramps, 62% fatigue, breast tenderness and anger whereas 58% suffered with anxiety and generalized body ache. Of all the sufferers only 34% had received the treatment for PMS. Irrespective of the age PMS is common problem faced by women. With our study we observed that literacy has not mattered in the management of this health problem. Since there are reports stating that the severity of PMS can hamper the daily routine and even lead to suicidal tendency, it is essential that awareness programs need to be conducted to address the importance of managing the issue by pharmacological and non-pharmacological methods

A prospective study on the use of magnesium sulfate in prevention and management of eclampsia with emphasis on adverse drug reactions

Introduction: The hypertensive disorders in pregnancy are the leading causes of maternal and perinatal mortality. Management of preeclampsia and eclampsia remains controversial even today. Several drugs with different regimens are available at present. As a consequence; women are treated in various ways by different regimens.Aim: Our work aimed to study the use of various magnesium sulfate regimens used in management of eclampsia in a tertiary care teaching rural hospital.Methods: A prospective, observational, non-interventional study was carried out among the eclamptic patients admitted to obstetrics ward. After explaining the purpose and method of study, through the patient information sheet, patients willing to sign the informed consent form were enrolled for the study. Relevant data was gathered from their case files and by direct interview with the patients that were recorded in the case record form.Results: Of the 35 cases of eclampsia recorded during the study period, we observed that all the patients were treated with Pritchard’s regimen of Magnesium Sulfate. It was noticed that there was improvement in all the patients with no adverse drug reactions recorded during the time of management.Conclusion: Maternal and perinatal mortality can be reduced to major extent by prevention of eclampsia. Prompt diagnosis and institution of therapy by selecting an ideal anticonvulsant is essential as the maternal and perinatal mortality progressively rises with increase no of convulsions. Magnesium Sulfate is a potent anticonvulsant with mild antihypertensive activity with less adverse effects.

Experience with NESTROFT for screening for thalassemia trait/ minor: evaluation against CBC and HPLC in a high prevalence region in Saurashtra, Gujarat, India

Background: Hemoglobinopathies pose a significant health burden in India. Prevention programmes can significantly reduce this burden. Although sophisticated methods of screening for β thalassemia trait are available, a cheap and simple method is beneficial for population screening. Although the Naked Eye Single Tube Red Cell Osmotic Fragility Test (NESTROFT) has been evaluated in many studies, sample sizes were small in some and many earlier studies have not done complete blood count (CBC) and High-Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) in all the cases. We evaluate the suitability of NESTROFT for detection of β-thalassemia trait in a high prevalence region in Saurashtra, Gujarat.Methods: Here, 1000 unrelated individuals were studied. NESTROFT, CBC and estimation of HbA2 and HbF or other hemoglobin variants were done by HPLC.Results: Prevalence of β thalassemia trait was 7.8% in this population. NESTROFT showed an overall sensitivity and specificity of 94.87 and 85.38 respectively for the detection of β thalassaemia trait. Using red cell indices (MCH <27 pg and MCV <80 fl), One β thalassemia trait with normal indices would have been missed. Among twelve individuals with other hemoglobinopathies (HbS, HbD, HbE, δβ thalassemia trait or HPFH), seven had a positive NESTROFT while three had normal MCV & MCH values.Conclusions: NESTROFT is a cost-effective sensitive test which does not require any equipment and can be done in remote areas. It remains a useful first line screening test when large populations have to be screened.

AMPK protects endothelial cells against HSV-1 replication via inhibition of mTORC1 and ACC1

Herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) is a widespread contagious pathogen, mostly causing mild symptoms on the mucosal entry side. However, systemic distribution, in particular upon reactivation of the virus in immunocompromised patients, may trigger an innate immune response and induce damage of organs. In these conditions, HSV-1 may infect vascular endothelial cells, but little is known about the regulation of HSV-1 replication and possible defense mechanisms in these cells. The current study addresses the question of whether the host cell protein AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK), an important metabolic sensor, can control HSV-1 replication in endothelial cells. We show that downregulation of the catalytic subunits AMPKα1 and/or AMPKα2 increased HSV-1 replication as monitored by TCID50 titrations, while a potent AMPK agonist, MK-8722, strongly inhibited it. MK-8722 induced a persistent phosphorylation of the AMPK downstream targets acetyl-CoA carboxylase (ACC) and the rapamycin-sensitive adaptor protein of mTOR (Raptor) and, related to this, impairment of ACC1-mediated lipid synthesis and the mechanistic target of the rapamycin complex-1 (mTORC1) pathway. Since blockade of mTOR by Torin-2 as well as downregulation of ACC1 by siRNA also decreased HSV-1 replication, MK-8722 is likely to exert its anti-viral effect via mTORC1 and ACC1 inhibition. Importantly, MK-8722 was able to reduce virus replication even when added after HSV-1. Together, our data highlight the importance of endothelial cells as host cells for HSV-1 replication upon systemic infection and identify AMPK, a metabolic host cell protein, as a potential target for antiviral strategies against HSV-1 infection and its severe consequences

Differentiating iron deficiency anaemia and β thalassemia trait based on red cell indices- an economic way to health care in a resource limited setup

Background: In a developing country like India, anaemia is a significant health burden. Specific cost-effective methods for screening of β-thalassemia trait (BTT) should be adopted to differentiate from iron deficiency anemia (IDA) with the use of various indexes derived from red blood cell (RBC) indices. Methods: A total of 845 adults were screened for carrier detection of β thalassemia during May to July, 2024. A complete hemogram and HPLC analysis for thalassemia was done on all the samples. Serum ferritin was estimated in samples with MCV&lt;78 fl and MCH&lt;27 pg. Different discriminant functions like Mentzer index (MI), Shine and Lal (S and L) index, red cell distribution width index (RDWI) and red cell distribution width (RDW) were used. Results: Of the 135 individuals, 80 individuals had iron deficiency anaemia (IDA). 17 individuals had β-thalassemia trait (BTT), 19 had coexistent IDA and BTT, 8 individuals had other haemoglobinopathies; 11 individuals had normal ferritin with normal HbA2 levels. RBC count was higher in BTT as compared to IDA cases (p value &lt;0.001). MI and S and L index showed 97.20% and 83.78% sensitivity (p value &lt;0.01); RDWI and MI showed 96.15% and 92.4% specificity value (p value &lt;0.01) while RDWI and MI had 91.23% and 89.66% (p value &lt;0.01) accuracy for detection of BTT. Conclusions: Combination of these two indices, MI and RDWI with final confirmation by HPLC would help to reduce the overall cost of screening in situations where the ideal screening approach of doing CBC and HPLC analysis of all individuals as a first step itself is not possible due to cost constraints

SATELLITE TRACKING SYSTEM

Satellites in nominally geostationary orbits possess diurnal motion which reasons the plain function of the spacecraft .The motion of the satellite tv for pc consequently must be tracked through the earth station antenna. This mission simulates the overall performance of satellite via measuring the parameters including Azimuth perspective, Elevation attitude, apogee, perigee inclination of orbital plane to equatorial plane, argument of ascending node, argument of periapsis, etc. Satellite revolving in the earth produces a beacon signal which is taken by the antenna, by this beacon signal the antenna understands where the satellite is residing in earth’s atmosphere. This is called as tracking of satellite by antenna of base station. In addition the project is working in step tracking mode means similar to the operation of the manual tracking scheme except that a small computer is used to perform the functions of the operator