Absorption Spectroscopic Studies of Chip-scale Rubidium Atomic Vapour Cells in a Compact 3D Printed Magneto-Optic Package

This paper describes the design, development and spectroscopic studies of chip-scale Rb atomic vapour cell developed in the authors’ laboratory. A compact magneto-optic package for the chip-scale Rb cell comprising of TEC integrated VCSEL source, silicon p-i-n photo detector and a hemispherical lens for light collimation is reported. The package is manufactured using commercial 3D printing technology. A PC based data acquisition system has been developed to provide real time analysis of the captured spectral data of the Rb chip by laser interrogation of the D1 hyperfine transition. Doppler broadened absorption resonance lines of technological importance have been recorded for transitions 85Rb(2S1/2 F=2→2P1/2 F′ =2,3) having absorption amplitude 1.24 V and FWHM 850 MHz and 87Rb(2S1/2 F=2 →2P1/2 F′ =1,2) has absorption amplitude 0.47 V and FWHM 567 MHz at cell temperature of 70 oC . Further, the chip-scale Rb atomic cell in the magneto-optical package will be explored to develop atomic sensors for space applications

On-Orbit Performance of Pd/4H-SiC Schottky UV Detectors in a Low-Earth Orbit

The monitoring of solar ultraviolet radiation from a space platform is now considered essential for a wide range of fieldsincluding solar physics, atmospheric science and astrobiology. 4H-Silicon Carbide (4H-SiC) is a superior alternative toconventional materials like silicon for the fabrication of UV detectors for adverse space conditions due to its inherentradiation hardness and visible-blind nature. This paper describes the space qualification and deployment of indigenouslydeveloped Pd/4H-SiC Schottky UV detectors in a low-earth orbit (LEO) and their on-board performance. Two SiC UVdetectors were flown as a rad-hard sun detection sensor in the nanosatellite INS-2TD. The sensor has carried out solar UVflux observations continuously since its launch in February 2022 and the data gathered during the first seven months offlight is discussed in this paper

Genotyping faecal samples of Bengal tiger Panthera tigris tigris for population estimation: A pilot study

BACKGROUND: Bengal tiger Panthera tigris tigris the National Animal of India, is an endangered species. Estimating populations for such species is the main objective for designing conservation measures and for evaluating those that are already in place. Due to the tiger's cryptic and secretive behaviour, it is not possible to enumerate and monitor its populations through direct observations; instead indirect methods have always been used for studying tigers in the wild. DNA methods based on non-invasive sampling have not been attempted so far for tiger population studies in India. We describe here a pilot study using DNA extracted from faecal samples of tigers for the purpose of population estimation. RESULTS: In this study, PCR primers were developed based on tiger-specific variations in the mitochondrial cytochrome b for reliably identifying tiger faecal samples from those of sympatric carnivores. Microsatellite markers were developed for the identification of individual tigers with a sibling Probability of Identity of 0.005 that can distinguish even closely related individuals with 99.9% certainty. The effectiveness of using field-collected tiger faecal samples for DNA analysis was evaluated by sampling, identification and subsequently genotyping samples from two protected areas in southern India. CONCLUSION: Our results demonstrate the feasibility of using tiger faecal matter as a potential source of DNA for population estimation of tigers in protected areas in India in addition to the methods currently in use

Advanced Hodgkin lymphoma in the East of England: a 10-year comparative analysis of outcomes for real-world patients treated with ABVD or escalated-BEACOPP, aged less than 60 years, compared with 5-year extended follow-up from the RATHL trial

Treatment with ABVD (doxorubicin, bleomycin, vinblastine, and dacarbazine) or escalated(e)-BEACOPP (bleomycin, etoposide, doxorubicin, cyclophosphamide, vincristine, procarbazine, and prednisolone) remains the international standard of care for advanced-stage classical Hodgkin lymphoma (HL). We performed a retrospective, multicentre analysis of 221 non-trial (“real-world”) patients, aged 16–59 years, diagnosed with advanced-stage HL in the Anglia Cancer Network between 2004 and 2014, treated with ABVD or eBEACOPP, and compared outcomes with 1088 patients in the Response-Adjusted Therapy for Advanced Hodgkin Lymphoma (RATHL) trial, aged 18–59 years, with median follow-up of 87.0 and 69.5 months, respectively. Real-world ABVD patients (n=177) had highly similar 5-year progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) compared with RATHL (PFS 79.2% vs 81.4%; OS 92.9% vs 95.2%), despite interim positron-emission tomography-computed tomography (PET/CT)-guided dose-escalation being predominantly restricted to trial patients. Real-world eBEACOPP patients (n=44) had superior PFS (95.5%) compared with real-world ABVD (HR 0.20, p=0.027) and RATHL (HR 0.21, p=0.015), and superior OS for higher-risk (international prognostic score ≥3 [IPS 3+]) patients compared with real-world IPS 3+ ABVD (100% vs 84.5%, p=0.045), but not IPS 3+ RATHL patients. Our data support a PFS, but not OS, advantage for patients with advanced-stage HL treated with eBEACOPP compared with ABVD and suggest higher-risk patients may benefit disproportionately from more intensive therapy. However, increased access to effective salvage therapies might minimise any OS benefit from reduced relapse rates after frontline therapy

A tablet computer-assisted motor and language skills training programme to promote communication development in children with autism: development and pilot study

Autism is a heterogenous condition, encompassing many different subtypes and presentations. Of those people with autism who lack communicative speech, some are more skilled at receptive language than their expressive difficulty might suggest. This disparity between what can be spoken and what can be understood correlates with motor and especially oral motor abilities, and thus may be a consequence of limits to oral motor skill. Point OutWords, tablet-based software targeted for this subgroup, builds on autistic perceptual and cognitive strengths to develop manual motor and oral motor skills prerequisite to communication by pointing or speaking. Although typical implementations of user-centred design rely on communicative speech, Point OutWords users were involved as co-creators both directly via their own nonverbal behavioural choices and indirectly via their communication therapists’ reports; resulting features include vectorised, high-contrast graphics, exogenous cues to help capture and maintain attention, customisable reinforcement prompts, and accommodation of open-loop visuomotor control

Oldest known pantherine skull and evolution of the tiger

The tiger is one of the most iconic extant animals, and its origin and evolution have been intensely debated. Fossils attributable to extant pantherine species-lineages are less than 2 MYA and the earliest tiger fossils are from the Calabrian, Lower Pleistocene. Molecular studies predict a much younger age for the divergence of modern tiger subspecies at <100 KYA, although their cranial morphology is readily distinguishable, indicating that early Pleistocene tigers would likely have differed markedly anatomically from extant tigers. Such inferences are hampered by the fact that well-known fossil tiger material is middle to late Pleistocene in age. Here we describe a new species of pantherine cat from Longdan, Gansu Province, China, Panthera zdanskyi sp. nov. With an estimated age of 2.55–2.16 MYA it represents the oldest complete skull of a pantherine cat hitherto found. Although smaller, it appears morphologically to be surprisingly similar to modern tigers considering its age. Morphological, morphometric, and cladistic analyses are congruent in confirming its very close affinity to the tiger, and it may be regarded as the most primitive species of the tiger lineage, demonstrating the first unequivocal presence of a modern pantherine species-lineage in the basal stage of the Pleistocene (Gelasian; traditionally considered to be Late Pliocene). This find supports a north-central Chinese origin of the tiger lineage, and demonstrates that various parts of the cranium, mandible, and dentition evolved at different rates. An increase in size and a reduction in the relative size of parts of the dentition appear to have been prominent features of tiger evolution, whereas the distinctive cranial morphology of modern tigers was established very early in their evolutionary history. The evolutionary trend of increasing size in the tiger lineage is likely coupled to the evolution of its primary prey species

Relational approaches to poverty in rural India: social, ecological and technical dynamics

Poverty is now widely recognised as multidimensional, with indicators including healthcare, housing and sanitation. Yet, relational approaches that foreground political-cultural processes remain marginalised in policy discourses. Focusing on India, we review a wide range of relational approaches to rural poverty. Beginning with early approaches that focus on structural reproduction of class, caste and to a lesser extent gender inequality, we examine new relational approaches developed in the last two decades. The new approaches examine diverse ways in which poverty is experienced and shapes mobilisations against deprivation. They draw attention to poor people’s own articulations of deprivation and alternate conceptions of well-being. They also show how intersecting inequalities of class, caste and gender shape governance practices and political movements. Despite these important contributions, the new relational approaches pay limited attention to technologies and ecologies in shaping the experience of poverty. Reviewing studies on the Green Revolution and wider agrarian transformations in India, we then sketch the outlines of a hybrid relational approach to poverty that combines socio-technical and -ecological dynamics. We argue that such an approach is crucial to challenge narrow economising discourses on poverty and to bridge the policy silos of poverty alleviation and (environmentally) sustainable development

STROCSS 2021: Strengthening the reporting of cohort, cross-sectional and case-control studies in surgery

Introduction: Strengthening The Reporting Of Cohort Studies in Surgery (STROCSS) guidelines were developed in 2017 in order to improve the reporting quality of observational studies in surgery and updated in 2019. In order to maintain relevance and continue upholding good reporting quality among observational studies in surgery, we aimed to update STROCSS 2019 guidelines. / Methods: A STROCSS 2021 steering group was formed to come up with proposals to update STROCSS 2019 guidelines. An expert panel of researchers assessed these proposals and judged whether they should become part of STROCSS 2021 guidelines or not, through a Delphi consensus exercise. / Results: 42 people (89%) completed the DELPHI survey and hence participated in the development of STROCSS 2021 guidelines. All items received a score between 7 and 9 by greater than 70% of the participants, indicating a high level of agreement among the DELPHI group members with the proposed changes to all the items. / Conclusion: We present updated STROCSS 2021 guidelines to ensure ongoing good reporting quality among observational studies in surgery

The Development of Three Long Universal Nuclear Protein-Coding Locus Markers and Their Application to Osteichthyan Phylogenetics with Nested PCR

BACKGROUND: Universal nuclear protein-coding locus (NPCL) markers that are applicable across diverse taxa and show good phylogenetic discrimination have broad applications in molecular phylogenetic studies. For example, RAG1, a representative NPCL marker, has been successfully used to make phylogenetic inferences within all major osteichthyan groups. However, such markers with broad working range and high phylogenetic performance are still scarce. It is necessary to develop more universal NPCL markers comparable to RAG1 for osteichthyan phylogenetics. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: We developed three long universal NPCL markers (>1.6 kb each) based on single-copy nuclear genes (KIAA1239, SACS and TTN) that possess large exons and exhibit the appropriate evolutionary rates. We then compared their phylogenetic utilities with that of the reference marker RAG1 in 47 jawed vertebrate species. In comparison with RAG1, each of the three long universal markers yielded similar topologies and branch supports, all in congruence with the currently accepted osteichthyan phylogeny. To compare their phylogenetic performance visually, we also estimated the phylogenetic informativeness (PI) profile for each of the four long universal NPCL markers. The PI curves indicated that SACS performed best over the whole timescale, while RAG1, KIAA1239 and TTN exhibited similar phylogenetic performances. In addition, we compared the success of nested PCR and standard PCR when amplifying NPCL marker fragments. The amplification success rate and efficiency of the nested PCR were overwhelmingly higher than those of standard PCR. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: Our work clearly demonstrates the superiority of nested PCR over the conventional PCR in phylogenetic studies and develops three long universal NPCL markers (KIAA1239, SACS and TTN) with the nested PCR strategy. The three markers exhibit high phylogenetic utilities in osteichthyan phylogenetics and can be widely used as pilot genes for phylogenetic questions of osteichthyans at different taxonomic levels