Shear-strain-induced Spatially Varying Super-lattice Structures on Graphite studied by STM

We report on the Scanning Tunneling Microscope (STM) observation of linear fringes together with spatially varying super-lattice structures on (0001) graphite (HOPG) surface. The structure, present in a region of a layer bounded by two straight carbon fibers, varies from a hexagonal lattice of 6nm periodicity to nearly a square lattice of 13nm periodicity. It then changes into a one-dimensional (1-D) fringe-like pattern before relaxing into a pattern-free region. We attribute this surface structure to a shear strain giving rise to a spatially varying rotation of the affected graphite layer relative to the bulk substrate. We propose a simple method to understand these moire patterns by looking at the fixed and rotated lattices in the Fourier transformed k-space. Using this approach we can reproduce the spatially varying 2-D lattice as well as the 1-D fringes by simulation. The 1-D fringes are found to result from a particular spatial dependence of the rotation angle.Comment: 14 pages, 6 figure

Tunneling Study of the Charge-Ordering Gap on the Surface of La0.350_{0.350}Pr0.275_{0.275}Ca0.375_{0.375}MnO3_3 Thin Films

Variable temperature scanning tunneling microscopy/spectroscopy studies on (110) oriented epitaxial thin films of La$_{0.350}$Pr$_{0.275}$Ca$_{0.375}$MnO$_3$ are reported in the temperature range of 77 to 340 K. The films, grown on lattice matched NdGaO$_3$ substrates, show a hysteretic metal-insulator transition in resistivity at 170 K. The topographic STM images show step-terrace morphology while the conductance images display a nearly homogeneous surface. The normalized conductance spectra at low temperatures (T$<$150 K) show an energy gap of 0.5 eV while for T$\geq$180 K a gap of 0.16 eV is found from the activated behavior of the zero bias conductance. The presence of energy gap and the absence of phase separation on the surface over more than 2 $\mu$m$\times$2 $\mu$m area contradicts the metallic behavior seen in resistivity measurements at low temperatures. We discuss the measured energy gap in terms of the stabilization of the insulating CO phase at the film surface.Comment: 5 pages, 5 figures To appear in Phys. Rev.

Clinical profile and management of pyogenic liver abscesses in a tertiary care hospital

Background: Pyogenic Liver abscesses are potentially life threatening if left untreated. They pose a major Diagnostic and therapeutic challenge to modern world. Interventional radiology is becoming standard of care for liver Abscesses.Methods: All patients of pyogenic liver abscess admitted to Government Medical College and hospital Jammu, J and K, India from October 2018 to November 2019 were prospectively studied. Demographics, presentation, lab reports and management strategies were evaluated.Results: Total of 60 patients of pyogenic liver abscesses were studied with 81.7% males. Alcohol was found to be most common risk factor with 55% of patients being alcoholic. Right lobe of liver was involved in 66.7% of patients. Segment VI and VII were involved in 50% of patients. The most common clinical symptom was right upper quadrant pain (98.3%), followed by fever (91.7%). The most common clinical sign was right upper quadrant tenderness (91.7%). Percutaneous drainage with catheter placement was the most common and successful modality of management associated with least hospital stay.Conclusions: Pyogenic liver abscess is a rare but serious problem. Early diagnosis and treatment are necessary to avoid mortality. Percutaneous drainage along with I.V antibiotics is the best form of management

Development of Some Larval Nematodes in Experimental and Natural Animal Hosts: An Insight into Development of Pathological Lesions vis-a-vis Host-Parasite Interactions

Infective third-stage larvae of three spiruroid nematodes, Ascarops strongylina and Physocephalus sexalatus of pigs and Spirocerca lupi of dogs, were recovered from 14 species of coprophagous beetles belonging to 4 different genera. These larvae were fed to rabbits and/or guinea pigs to study their development in these experimental hosts. Larvae of A. strongylina reached the adult stage in all rabbits and one guinea pig. The adult worms recovered in these hosts were 40% and 4%, respectively, and became diminutive in comparison to their natural hosts. The larvae of P. sexalatus became reencysted in the gastric wall of rabbits inducing marked pathological changes. The infective larvae of S. lupi became reencapsulated in the stomach wall of the rabbit and also showed development in the aortic wall. Adults of Toxocara canis of dog, collected from 5 different regions of the Indian subcontinent, varied significantly in size. The mouse passage of infective larvae of one of these types led to the recovery of the adults from the experimental dogs that were smaller in size and caused severe pathology in natural experimental hosts. Developmental effects shown in experimental hosts and host specificity are of value in understanding the evolution of nematode parasitism

Machine Learning Based Classification Model for Network Traffic Anomaly Detection

In current days, cloud environments are facing a huge challenge from the attackers in terms of various attacks thrown to the cloud service providers. In both industry and academics, the problem of detection and mitigation of DDoS attacks is now a challenging issue. Detecting Distributed Denial of Service (DDos) threats is mainly a classification problem that can be addressed using data mining, machine learning and deep learning techniques. DDoS attacks can occur in any of the seven-layer OSI model's network. Hence, detecting the DDoS attacks is an important task for cloud service providers to overcome dangerous attacks and loss incurred to stake holders and also the provider

Leishmania donovani triose phosphate isomerase: a potential vaccine target against visceral leishmaniasis

Visceral leishmaniasis (VL) is one of the most important parasitic diseases with approximately 350 million people at risk. Due to the non availability of an ideal drug, development of a safe, effective, and affordable vaccine could be a solution for control and prevention of this disease. In this study, a potential Th1 stimulatory protein- Triose phosphate isomerase (TPI), a glycolytic enzyme, identified through proteomics from a fraction of Leishmania donovani soluble antigen ranging from 89.9–97.1 kDa, was assessed for its potential as a suitable vaccine candidate. The protein- L. donovani TPI (LdTPI) was cloned, expressed and purified which exhibited the homology of 99% with L. infantum TPI. The rLdTPI was further evaluated for its immunogenicity by lymphoproliferative response (LTT), nitric oxide (NO) production and estimation of cytokines in cured Leishmania patients/hamster. It elicited strong LTT response in cured patients as well as NO production in cured hamsters and stimulated remarkable Th1-type cellular responses including IFN-ã and IL-12 with extremely lower level of IL-10 in Leishmania-infected cured/exposed patients PBMCs in vitro. Vaccination with LdTPI-DNA construct protected naive golden hamsters from virulent L. donovani challenge unambiguously (∼90%). The vaccinated hamsters demonstrated a surge in IFN-ã, TNF-á and IL-12 levels but extreme down-regulation of IL-10 and IL-4 along with profound delayed type hypersensitivity and increased levels of Leishmania-specific IgG2 antibody. Thus, the results are suggestive of the protein having the potential of a strong candidate vaccine

Pearl Millet Technology Adoption and Impact Study in Maharashtra, Research Report No 71

The area under pearl millet cultivation in Maharashtra is concentrated in nine districts, and together they have more than 90% share in area and production of pearl millet. The coverage of pearl millet area in Maharashtra by improved cultivars was near total. In this background, the present study was taken up to assess the adoption of hybrids and improved varieties and their impact on the incomes and living standards of farmers through a detailed survey of 360 sample households drawn from 60 villages belonging to 20 tehsils from nine districts. The sample for the field survey was concentrated in Nashik, Ahmednagar and Beed districts, with lower allocations to Aurangabad, Pune, Dhule, Jalgaon, Sangli and Satara districts. Three-fourths of the sample farmers belonged to Western Maharashtra (WMH) region and the remaining one-fourth to the Marathwada (MTW) region. The field survey was carried out during 2013 and the household data pertained to the cropping year 2012-13..

Cyberknife fractionated radiotherapy for adrenal metastases: Preliminary report from a multispecialty Indian cancer care center

Purpose: Metastasis to adrenal gland from lung, breast, and kidney malignancies are quite common. Historically radiotherapy was intended for pain palliation. Recent studies with stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT) including Cyberknife robotic radiosurgery aiming at disease control brings about encouraging results. Here we represent the early clinical experience with Cyberknife stereotactic system from an Indian cancer care center. The main purpose of this retrospective review is to serve as a stepping stone for future prospective studies with non- invasive yet effective technique compared to surgery. Methods: We retrospectively reviewed four cases of adrenal metastases (three: lung and one: renal cell carcinoma) treated with Cyberknife SBRT. X sight spine tracking was employed for planning and treatment delivery. Patients were evaluated for local response clinically as well as with PETCT based response criteria.Results: With a median gross tumor volume of 20.5 cc and median dose per fraction of 10 Gy, two patients had complete response (CR) and two had partial response (PR) when assessed 8-12 weeks post treatment as per RECIST. There was no RTOG grade 2 or more acute adverse events and organs at risk dosage were acceptable. Till last follow up all the patients were locally controlled and alive. Conclusion: Cyberknife SBRT with its unique advantages like non- invasive, short duration outpatient treatment technique culminating in similar local control rates in comparison to surgery is an attractive option. World literature of linear accelerator based SBRT and our data with Cyberknife SBRT with small sample size and early follow up are similar in terms of local control in adrenal metastases. Future prospective data would reveal more information on the management of adrenal metastases