The epidemiological and neurological risk factors of Japanese encephalitis virus in the population of Assam, Northeast India

Japanese encephalitis is one of the world's most common public health issues, particularly it is prevalent in the north-eastern Indian states of Assam. This study aimed to find out the risk factors linked to clinical and epidemiological characteristics. A total of 245 cases were found as PCR-positive in Assam. The most common clinical symptoms were fever (87%), seizure (65%), altered sensorium (60%), cold with shivering (74%), vomiting (68%), throat irritation (31%), cough (67%), chest pain (10%), joint pain (18%), mouth ulcer (18%), diarrhea (29%), pain in the abdomen (42.9%), runny nose (64%), redness in eyes (78%), jaundice (25%), and blood in the sputum (25%).   Further, the neurological symptoms included vision problems (66.5%), hearing difficulties (55 %), neck stiffness (62%), limb numbness (65%), dizziness (77%), headaches (75.5%), speaking difficulties (63%), hydrophobia (47%), and abnormal behavior (66%). The epidemiological risk factors included contact with pigs (57%), bats (21%), cattle (32%), and rates (66%). In addition, 24.5% of patients observed the death of animals/birds. The protection measure included window screening, sleeping under a mosquito net, and use of insect repellent while sleeping in open compounds (29%) and floods (63%) are considered important risk factors. JE-positive cases include daily habits like working in agriculture fields (28%), in standing water (16%), swimming in nearby lakes (24%), traveling outside their village (40%), and wearing shirts while working in the field (20%), storing water in open containers in or outside the house (62%). These were the epidemiological factors that affected the abundance of the potential mosquito vectors of the JE infection

Self-Assembled p–n Homojunction in SnS₂ Nanosheets for Electrocatalytic Hydrogen Evolution: The Role of Sulfur Defects

In this study, we demonstrate the impressive electrocatalytic hydrogen evolution (HER) capabilities of a self-assembled p–n homojunction in SnS2 nanosheets enriched with sulfur vacancies (VS) and tin vacancies (VSn). Our experiments demonstrate that after aqueous washing, SnS2 nanosheets washed ten times (S10) contain more VS and VSn than those washed three times (S3). As a result, S10 exhibits a significantly better HER performance than S3, with an overpotential of 119 mV at 10 mA/cm2, a Tafel slope of 140 mV/dec, a turnover frequency of 10.9 m/s, and faster H+ mass transport. S10 exhibits improved HER performance with an overpotential of 116 mV at 10 mA/cm2 and a Tafel slope of 96 mV/dec in the visible spectrum due to VS and better interfacial carrier separation from the p–n homojunction. Our partial density of states and Gibbs free energy calculation for H adsorption (ΔGH) reveal that undercoordinated Sn atoms near VS contribute to H adsorption in both S3 and S10. However, as S10 contains more VS than S3, its HER activity is superior. Our findings suggest that defect engineering through a simple and effective chemical synthesis approach can optimize the electro- and photoelectrochemical HER activity of layered two-dimensional SnS2 nanosheets