Tuning of photonic bandgap in lithium niobate photonic crystal slab structures for wavelength filtering

923-927In this paper, photonic bandgap of Lithium Niobate (LiNbO3) based photonic crystal slab with triangular lattice is presented and the tuning of bandgap is discussed as a function of slab’s temperature. A micro-heater with plates parallel to the structure has been assumed for creating localized uniform heating and the corresponding refractive indices and dielectric constants were calculated using thermo-optic effect. MIT photonic bands software is used for the simulations. Tuning of band gap is performed at two wavelengths 632 nm and 1550 nm. It has been observed that the band gap is changing with temperature. The proposed structures can have the applications in wavelength filters, optical interconnectors and optical routers

Tuning of photonic bandgap in lithium niobate photonic crystal slab structures for wavelength filtering

In this paper, photonic bandgap of Lithium Niobate (LiNbO3) based photonic crystal slab with triangular lattice is presented and the tuning of bandgap is discussed as a function of slab’s temperature. A micro-heater with plates parallel to the structure has been assumed for creating localized uniform heating and the corresponding refractive indices and dielectric constants were calculated using thermo-optic effect. MIT photonic bands software is used for the simulations. Tuning of band gap is performed at two wavelengths 632 nm and 1550 nm. It has been observed that the band gap is changing with temperature. The proposed structures can have the applications in wavelength filters, optical interconnectors and optical routers

Effective harmonic oscillator description of anharmonic molecular vibrations

The validity of an effective harmonic oscillator approximation for anharmonic molecular vibrations is tested and compared with vibrational self consistent field and vibrational configurational interaction results. The effective harmonic oscillator is constructed variationally, by taking the trial wave function as a harmonic oscillator eigenfunction with the centroid and width parameter as variational paraeters. It is found that the effective harmonic oscillator approximation provides a description of the anharmonic eigenstates very similar to the vibrational self consistent field results. Coriolis coupling is also included in these studies

Pharmacologic Management of Aggression in Adults with Intellectual Disability

Introduction: Aggression is a common behavioral problem seen in patients with intellectual disabilities (ID). The safety and efficacy of second generation antipsychotics (SGAs), mood stabilizers and antidepressants in the management of aggression in these individuals have minimally been studied. This review aims to 1) summarize the studies conducted using second generation antipsychotics, mood stabilizers and antidepressants in treating aggressive behaviors in patient with ID and 2) determine based on the existing literature, which medications have been examined in the most rigorous study design that might suggest the most efficacy for use in clinical practice.Methods: Literature searches using PUBMED Central, CINAHL Plus, PsychINFO, and Embase databases were conducted using the following terms: intellectual disability/disabilities, mental retardation, developmental disability/disabilities, aggression, agitation, behavior disorder, adult, treatment, management. Studies predominantly including children with ID, and autism/pervasive developmental disabilities spectrum disorders were excluded. Analyses were done by class of medication: SGAs, mood stabilizers and antidepressants. The primary outcome measure was reduction in aggressive or self injurious behaviors as measured by each individual study.Results: The most rigorous study designs found using these agents were randomized controlled trials (RCT). A total of 10 RCTs were found, the majority being with risperidone (3) and lithium (2). Treatment with risperidone showed reduction in aggression when compared to placebo in most RCTs with the exception of one study in which risperidone was not better than placebo. Both lithium studies showed reduction in aggression when compared to placebo. The most abundant literature exists in retrospective chart reviews. The most commonly studied agent was risperidone which showed reduction in aggression in majority of the studies.Conclusions: Limited data exists for treatment of aggression in adults with ID. There are very few studies examining pharmacologic agents using RCTs. Given that risperidone and lithium were the most commonly studied agents in the most rigorous experimental design, it is suggested that these two agents prove efficacious for treatment of aggression in patients with ID. Limitations to most of these studies included concomitant psychotropic administration with variations in types and dosing, severity of ID, and the idea that a wide variety of aggression scales were used to assess outcome. Further research with more scientific rigor is required in this field

Reaching the one billion mark: accomplishing the success story of COVID vaccination through public interrogation

Background: The COVID vaccination drive in India has recently crossed the one billion mark which is certainly a tremendous feat. Although women were initially hesitant, public propaganda and behaviour change communications encouraged them to come forward. The aim of the study was to assess the vaccination status of female population of the country through interrogation in obstetrics and gynaecology out patient departments (OBG OPD).Methods: Through this cross-sectional study, all women visiting OBG OPD were asked about type and number of vaccine doses received, dates of administration of first and second doses and whether they had any significant side effects following immunization.Results: A total of 1456 women were recruited in the study. Mean age of participants was 33.24±4.65 years. 36.26% participants were pregnant. 89.97% women had received at least one dose of vaccine and 48.76% participants were fully vaccinated. Majority received Covishield vaccine. Majority of the participants received first shot during the months of July, August and September. No women suffered from any adverse effect following immunization. Most women got motivated for vaccination from television (76.91%) and alert messages in mobile phones (61.59%). The results of our study reflects the success story of vaccination campaign as almost 90% of the participants had received at least one dose of vaccine.Conclusions: The proactive participation and untiring efforts of the frontline workers has been instrumental in achieving this remarkable landmark. India's successful vaccination campaign is a lesson to the world at large

Novel UV Spectrophotometer Methods for Quantitative Estimation of Concensi (Amlodipine 10mg and Celecoxib 200mg) Using Hydrotropic Solubilizing Agents

Two simple, accurate, novel, safe and precise methods were developed for the simultaneous estimation of poorly water-soluble drugs Amlodipine besylate (AMD) and Celecoxib (CLX) in a in-house formulation using 2M sodium benzoate as a hydrotropic solution. AMD and CLX show maximum absorbances at 243 and 255 nm, respectively. Sodium benzoate did not show any absorbance above 225 nm and thus no interference in the estimation of drugs was seen. AMD and CLX follow Beer’s law in the concentration range of 2-10mg/ml and 10-50mg/ml (r2 = 0.9992 and 0.9995). Method-A employs the simultaneous equation method using 243 and 255 nm as two analytical wavelengths; method-B employs the absorption ratio method, which uses 243 and 250nm as two analytical wavelengths for estimation of AMD and CLX. The mean percent label claims of in-house formulation were found to be 98.74± 0.912and 99.22± 1.012in method-1, 97.89± 0.872and 99.49± 0.903 in method 2 for AMD and CLX, respectively. The developed methods were validated according to ICH guidelines and values of accuracy, precision and other statistical analysis were found to be in good accordance with the prescribed values therefore both methods can be used for routine monitoring of AMD and CLX in industry in the assay of bulk drug and pharmaceutical formulation. Keywords: Amlodipine besylate, Celecoxib, Simultaneous equation method; Absorption ratio method, Hydrotropic solubilizing agent

The State of Remote Sensing Capabilities of Cascading Hazards Over High Mountain Asia

Cascading hazard processes refer to a primary trigger such as heavy rainfall, seismic activity, or snow melt, followed by a chain or web of consequences that can cause subsequent hazards influenced by a complex array of preconditions and vulnerabilities. These interact in multiple ways and can have tremendous impacts on populations proximate to or downstream of these initial triggers. High Mountain Asia (HMA) is extremely vulnerable to cascading hazard processes given the tectonic, geomorphologic, and climatic setting of the region, particularly as it relates to glacial lakes. Given the limitations of in situ surveys in steep and often inaccessible terrain, remote sensing data are a valuable resource for better understanding and quantifying these processes. The present work provides a survey of cascading hazard processes impacting HMA and how these can be characterized using remote sensing sources. We discuss how remote sensing products can be used to address these process chains, citing several examples of cascading hazard scenarios across HMA. This work also provides a perspective on the current gaps and challenges, community needs, and view forward toward improved characterization of evolving hazards and risk across HMA

Alcohol use and burden for 195 countries and territories, 1990-2016 : a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2016

Background Alcohol use is a leading risk factor for death and disability, but its overall association with health remains complex given the possible protective effects of moderate alcohol consumption on some conditions. With our comprehensive approach to health accounting within the Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study 2016, we generated improved estimates of alcohol use and alcohol-attributable deaths and disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs) for 195 locations from 1990 to 2016, for both sexes and for 5-year age groups between the ages of 15 years and 95 years and older. Methods Using 694 data sources of individual and population-level alcohol consumption, along with 592 prospective and retrospective studies on the risk of alcohol use, we produced estimates of the prevalence of current drinking, abstention, the distribution of alcohol consumption among current drinkers in standard drinks daily (defined as 10 g of pure ethyl alcohol), and alcohol-attributable deaths and DALYs. We made several methodological improvements compared with previous estimates: first, we adjusted alcohol sales estimates to take into account tourist and unrecorded consumption; second, we did a new meta-analysis of relative risks for 23 health outcomes associated with alcohol use; and third, we developed a new method to quantify the level of alcohol consumption that minimises the overall risk to individual health. Findings Globally, alcohol use was the seventh leading risk factor for both deaths and DALYs in 2016, accounting for 2.2% (95% uncertainty interval [UI] 1.5-3.0) of age-standardised female deaths and 6.8% (5.8-8.0) of age-standardised male deaths. Among the population aged 15-49 years, alcohol use was the leading risk factor globally in 2016, with 3.8% (95% UI 3.2-4-3) of female deaths and 12.2% (10.8-13-6) of male deaths attributable to alcohol use. For the population aged 15-49 years, female attributable DALYs were 2.3% (95% UI 2.0-2.6) and male attributable DALYs were 8.9% (7.8-9.9). The three leading causes of attributable deaths in this age group were tuberculosis (1.4% [95% UI 1. 0-1. 7] of total deaths), road injuries (1.2% [0.7-1.9]), and self-harm (1.1% [0.6-1.5]). For populations aged 50 years and older, cancers accounted for a large proportion of total alcohol-attributable deaths in 2016, constituting 27.1% (95% UI 21.2-33.3) of total alcohol-attributable female deaths and 18.9% (15.3-22.6) of male deaths. The level of alcohol consumption that minimised harm across health outcomes was zero (95% UI 0.0-0.8) standard drinks per week. Interpretation Alcohol use is a leading risk factor for global disease burden and causes substantial health loss. We found that the risk of all-cause mortality, and of cancers specifically, rises with increasing levels of consumption, and the level of consumption that minimises health loss is zero. These results suggest that alcohol control policies might need to be revised worldwide, refocusing on efforts to lower overall population-level consumption.Peer reviewe

Whole-genome sequencing reveals host factors underlying critical COVID-19

Critical COVID-19 is caused by immune-mediated inflammatory lung injury. Host genetic variation influences the development of illness requiring critical care1 or hospitalization2–4 after infection with SARS-CoV-2. The GenOMICC (Genetics of Mortality in Critical Care) study enables the comparison of genomes from individuals who are critically ill with those of population controls to find underlying disease mechanisms. Here we use whole-genome sequencing in 7,491 critically ill individuals compared with 48,400 controls to discover and replicate 23 independent variants that significantly predispose to critical COVID-19. We identify 16 new independent associations, including variants within genes that are involved in interferon signalling (IL10RB and PLSCR1), leucocyte differentiation (BCL11A) and blood-type antigen secretor status (FUT2). Using transcriptome-wide association and colocalization to infer the effect of gene expression on disease severity, we find evidence that implicates multiple genes—including reduced expression of a membrane flippase (ATP11A), and increased expression of a mucin (MUC1)—in critical disease. Mendelian randomization provides evidence in support of causal roles for myeloid cell adhesion molecules (SELE, ICAM5 and CD209) and the coagulation factor F8, all of which are potentially druggable targets. Our results are broadly consistent with a multi-component model of COVID-19 pathophysiology, in which at least two distinct mechanisms can predispose to life-threatening disease: failure to control viral replication; or an enhanced tendency towards pulmonary inflammation and intravascular coagulation. We show that comparison between cases of critical illness and population controls is highly efficient for the detection of therapeutically relevant mechanisms of disease