Frustration and glassiness in spin models with cavity-mediated interactions

We show that the effective spin-spin interaction between three-level atoms confined in a multimode optical cavity is long-ranged and sign-changing, like the RKKY interaction; therefore, ensembles of such atoms subject to frozen-in positional randomness can realize spin systems having disordered and frustrated interactions. We argue that, whenever the atoms couple to sufficiently many cavity modes, the cavity-mediated interactions give rise to a spin glass. In addition, we show that the quantum dynamics of cavity-confined spin systems is that of a Bose-Hubbard model with strongly disordered hopping but no on-site disorder; this model exhibits a random-singlet glass phase, absent in conventional optical-lattice realizations. We briefly discuss experimental signatures of the realizable phases.Comment: 5 pages, 2 figure

Use of Cone-Beam Computed Tomography in the Diagnosis and Treatment of an Unusual Canine Abnormality

Diagnosis and treatment planning are important for successful endodontic treatment. We report a 24-year old male who presented to the Government Dental College in Kozhikode, Kerala, India, in 2015 with pain in his right upper canine. A digital periapical radiograph indicated the presence of a supernumerary tooth superimposing the root of the canine. However, cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) confirmed that the supernumerary tooth was an illusion and that the canine root had a sharp invagination involving the labial and pulpal dentin surfaces, with evidence of periapical bone destruction. A blunt resection was performed at the level of the invagination and the resected end was filled with a dentin substitute. At a one-year follow-up, the patient was asymptomatic and the periapical region appeared to be healing well. This report highlights the importance of CBCT in visualising abnormal canine morphology, thus allowing appropriate endodontic treatment

Identification of Random Amplified Polymorphic DNA (RAPD) Markers in Endemic Yellow Catfish, Horabagrus brachysoma (Gunther 1864)

Random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) analysis was applied to individuals of Horabagrus brachysoma sampled from three geographic locations of Western Ghat river systems in India. Of the thirty-two 10-mer RAPD primers screened initially, ten were chosen and used in a comparative analysis of H. brachysoma collected from Chalakkudy, Meenachil and Nethravathi river systems. A total of 124 RAPD fragments were amplified, out of which 49 (39.51%) were found to be shared by individuals of all three river systems. The remaining 75 fragments were found to be polymorphic (60.48%). This confirms the suitability of RAPD markers for the study of population genetic structure in yellow catfish stocks

Plant Growth-Promoting Microbes for Sustainable Agriculture

Microbes are an integral part of living soil not only in transforming nutrients in the soil but also with multiple functions in influencing soil health. There are specific microbes which help the plant to grow well in their presence by various mechanisms. The direct mechanism may include fixation of atmospheric nitrogen, synthesis of various phytohormones and enzymes, and solubilization of minerals in the soil, while the indirect mechanism includes inhibiting phytopathogens. Hence, such plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) need to be harnessed and exploited for sustainable agriculture. Some of the representative PGPR group includes Azotobacter, Azospirillum, Acinetobacter, Agrobacterium, Arthrobacter, Bacillus, Burkholderia, Pseudomonas, Serratia, Streptomyces, Rhizobium, Bradyrhizobium, Mesorhizobium, Frankia, and Thiobacillus. Demonstrations of these PGPR and their beneficial traits under glasshouse and field conditions are documented for a range of crops including cereals, legumes, fruits, vegetables, herbs, and ornamentals. Several industries are commercializing the potential PGPR strains as biofertilizers and as biocontrol agents. However, successful commercialization of PGPR in many developing countries is a distant dream largely due to the lack of well-developed technology, quality carrier material, quality control legislation, training programs, and on-farm demonstrations. The development of quality PGPR inoculum and its application will definitely lead to an ideal sustainable agricultural system. Further, PGPR is known for not only reducing the emission of greenhouse gases (GHGs) and carbon footprint but also increasing nutrient-use efficiency

Vibrio alginolytigus causing shell disease in the mud crab Scylla serrata (Forskal 1775)

1359-1363Scylla serrata is one of the most cultured mud crab species in the aquaculture which is also susceptible to shell disease. In the present study, Vibrio alginolyticus MF680287.1 caused by shell disease and isolated from infected mud crab S. serrata grow out pond located at Mahendrapalli, Nagapattinam District, Tamil Nadu, India. Further, gross observation of infected mud crab showed shell lesion on the dorsal carapace. The histological examination of normal and diseased mud crab S. serrata carapace and gills was conducted. The shell lesion affected in the S. serrata carapace layers showed loss of membrenous layer and epithilium. The bacterial colonies were abundant in the cuticle. The gill lamellae showed cuticlar damage in the formation of haemocyte nodules and eosinophilic granular cells

Study on drug utilization pattern in conservative management of patients with pancreatitis in a tertiary care teaching hospital

Background: Drug utilization plays a key role in helping the healthcare system to understand, interpret and improve the prescribing, administration and use of medications. The objective of the study was to assess the drug utilization pattern of drugs prescribed in conservative management of pancreatitis patients in a tertiary care teaching hospital.Methods: This prospective observational study was conducted in department of surgery, Rajah Muthiah Medical College and Hospital, Annamalai University. The study period was six months from November 2019 to April 2020. A total of 115 patients were selected based on inclusion and exclusion criteria.Results: The study population containing of 90% (n=104) males and 10% (n=11) females were included in the study. Most of the patients between age group of 25-44 years (48%). The most common etiology was alcoholic 68% (n=78). 7% of population with comorbidities (5% hypertension, 2% diabetes mellitus). In analgesics, tramadol (28%) and in antibiotics cefotaxime 21% was most prescribed. Lactated ringer solution (36%) was prescribed most as intravenous hydration. 7% (n=8) and 3% (n=4) of patients receiving enteral nutrition and parenteral nutrition. The average number of drugs per prescription was 8.5. Out of 1205 drugs, 61% of drugs prescribed in generic form, 39% were prescribed in brand name. The study analyzed that 69% of drugs were prescribed from essential drugs list (EDL) 2019 and 84% drugs prescribed from national list of essential medicines (NLEM) 2015. Number of prescriptions with injection were 79.07%. The overall antibiotic encounter rate 15%. Prescribed daily dose/defined daily dose (PDD/DDD) ratio of folic acid was 5.Conclusions: Drug utilization study can help in evaluating the quality of care given to the pancreatitis patients and promote rational use of medicines

Strong clustering of non-interacting, passive sliders driven by a Kardar-Parisi-Zhang surface

We study the clustering of passive, non-interacting particles moving under the influence of a fluctuating field and random noise, in one dimension. The fluctuating field in our case is provided by a surface governed by the Kardar-Parisi-Zhang (KPZ) equation and the sliding particles follow the local surface slope. As the KPZ equation can be mapped to the noisy Burgers equation, the problem translates to that of passive scalars in a Burgers fluid. We study the case of particles moving in the same direction as the surface, equivalent to advection in fluid language. Monte-Carlo simulations on a discrete lattice model reveal extreme clustering of the passive particles. The resulting Strong Clustering State is defined using the scaling properties of the two point density-density correlation function. Our simulations show that the state is robust against changing the ratio of update speeds of the surface and particles. In the equilibrium limit of a stationary surface and finite noise, one obtains the Sinai model for random walkers on a random landscape. In this limit, we obtain analytic results which allow closed form expressions to be found for the quantities of interest. Surprisingly, these results for the equilibrium problem show good agreement with the results in the non-equilibrium regime.Comment: 14 pages, 9 figure

Mitochondrial DNA (Cytochrome c oxidase I) sequencing of Indian marine mussels

Two species of marine mussels, the green mussel Perna viridis (Linnaeus, 1758) and the brown mussel Perna indica (Kuriakose and Nair, 1976) are found along the Indian coast. It had been suggested that P. indica, which occurs only along the Indian coast, is a synonym of the globally distributed Perna perna. Along the south-west coast of India, where both P. viridis and P. indica co-exist, a third type referred to as parrot mussel, which has shell shape of brown mussel and color of green mussel (suspected to be their hybrid/morphotype) also occurs. The present investigation is a preliminary attempt for resolving the taxonomic ambiguity among Indian marine mussel species using the mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase I (COI) gene. P. indica revealed 95% sequence similarity to P. perna. The sequence divergence between P. indica and parrot mussel was negligibly low (< 2%). Green mussel P. viridis showed 20.87% of sequence divergence with brown mussel P. indica as well as with the parrot mussel

Identification of female specific protein in seabass, Lates calcarifer (Bloch)

Electrophoretic serum protein profile of female Lates calcarifer reveals appearance of female specific protein during gonadotropic dependent stages of ovarian growth. The protein is conspicuously absent in the serum of maturing males. The protein stains positively for carbohydrate, lipids and calcium indicating it to be vitellogenin. The vitellogenin band first appears in fish with maturing ovaries (stage 3) and stain intense and sharp till stage 4. At stage 5 (ripe) the band appears diffused. The protein is lacking in the serum profile of immature (stage 1), resting preparatory (stage 2) and spent (stage 6) as well as in maturing male fish. The correlative pattern of vitellogenin band with ovarian maturation stages provides evidence of single spawning in L. calcarifer