Transformative Effect of Oxygen Plasma to Upshot the Structural and Electrical Properties of Pr0.5Sr0.5MnO3 Manganites

A methodical inquiry of the outcome of oxygen plasma exposure in low bandwidth compounds belonging to the perovskite family Pr1-xSrxMnO3 manganites where x = 0.5, has been presented in this communication by comparing the structural and transport properties of the untreated and plasma treated samples. It is witnessed that the high-temperature transmission is carried out by small polarons while the low-temperature transmission is attributed to variable range polarons. The changes in the transport properties may be attributed to the structural modification due to plasma exposure as revealed by the Rietveld analysis of the X-ray diffraction pattern. Further, oxygen plasma exposure boosts the conductivity due to the integration of oxygen ions in the plasma-exposed samples, thereby rendering them oxygen-rich.Comment: 21 pages, 9 Figures, 3 Table

Awareness about the concept of Green Corridor among medical student and doctors in a Rural Medical College of Maharashtra, India

Background: India's traffic problem over the years has been the root cause of many deaths. During an medical emergency like organ transplantation over long distances, the unsuitability of roads and highways hamper in the worst way possible. In a developing unplanned country like India, where lane discipline is an alien concept, emergency lanes won't sustain as of now. Thus, for provision of better health services, a temporary emergency lane has been implemented in organ transplantation cases known as a Green Corridor. It is a special route with manual operation of street signals and traffic to avoid any hindrances that could come in the way of an ambulance. Aims and Objectives: To learn about the awareness, strategies and possibilities of Green Corridor in India. Material and Method: This was an interventional study by the undergraduate students of Rural Medical College, Pravara Institute of Medical Sciences, Loni, Maharashtra. The study also included 350 Students and 150 Faculty members of Pravara Institute of Medical Sciences (Deemed University) and Practicing Doctors of Central Maharashtra were included in the survey. The survey conducted was in a pre and post-test format. Results: The study involved 500 participants out of which 135 were medical faculty and practicing doctor and 350 were students of Rural Medical College. The awareness among medical students about green corridor increased from 14% to 61%, while it went up to 71% from 26% in medical faculty after intervention. Willingness to donate organs increased from 57% to 66% and 78% to 85% among medical students and medical faculty, respectively. The participants gave suggestions to make available air ambulance & emergency roads and increase awareness regarding green corridor. Conclusion: From the survey conducted, it can be perceived that there is a massive lack of awareness about Green Corridor as well as reluctance for organ donation. Therefore, awareness should be created on a large scale so that no person is left oblivious. Even on a smaller scale, an implementation of the suggested strategies could make a massive difference in the present scenario regarding medical emergencies

Awareness about the concept of Green Corridor among medical student and doctors in a Rural Medical College of Maharashtra, India

Background: India\u27s traffic problem over the years has been the root cause of many deaths. During an medical emergency like organ transplantation over long distances, the unsuitability of roads and highways hamper in the worst way possible. In a developing unplanned country like India, where lane discipline is an alien concept, emergency lanes won\u27t sustain as of now. Thus, for provision of better health services, a temporary emergency lane has been implemented in organ transplantation cases known as a Green Corridor. It is a special route with manual operation of street signals and traffic to avoid any hindrances that could come in the way of an ambulance. Aims and Objectives: To learn about the awareness, strategies and possibilities of Green Corridor in India. Material and Method: This was an interventional study by the undergraduate students of Rural Medical College, Pravara Institute of Medical Sciences, Loni, Maharashtra. The study also included 350 Students and 150 Faculty members of Pravara Institute of Medical Sciences (Deemed University) and Practicing Doctors of Central Maharashtra were included in the survey. The survey conducted was in a pre and post-test format. Results: The study involved 500 participants out of which 135 were medical faculty and practicing doctor and 350 were students of Rural Medical College. The awareness among medical students about green corridor increased from 14% to 61%, while it went up to 71% from 26% in medical faculty after intervention. Willingness to donate organs increased from 57% to 66% and 78% to 85% among medical students and medical faculty, respectively. The participants gave suggestions to make available air ambulance & emergency roads and increase awareness regarding green corridor. Conclusion: From the survey conducted, it can be perceived that there is a massive lack of awareness about Green Corridor as well as reluctance for organ donation. Therefore, awareness should be created on a large scale so that no person is left oblivious. Even on a smaller scale, an implementation of the suggested strategies could make a massive difference in the present scenario regarding medical emergencies

Cortical Gyrification in Velo-Cardio-Facial (22q11.2 Deletion) Syndrome: A Longitudinal Study

Introduction: Velo-cardio-facial syndrome (VCFS) has been identified as an important risk factor for psychoses, with up to 32% of individuals with VCFS developing a psychotic illness. Individuals with VCFS thus form a unique group to identify and explore early symptoms and biological correlates of psychosis. In this study, we examined if cortical gyrification pattern, i.e. gyrification index (GI) can be a potential neurobiological marker for psychosis. Method: GIs of 91 individuals with VCFS were compared with 29 siblings and 54 controls. Further, 58 participants with VCFS, 21 siblings and 18 normal controls were followed up after 3 years and longitudinal changes in GI were compared. Additionally, we also correlated longitudinal changes in GI in individuals with VCFS with prodromal symptoms of psychosis on the Scale of Prodromal Symptoms (SOPS). Result: Individuals with VCFS had significantly lower GIs as compared to their siblings and normal controls. Longitudinal examination of GI did not reveal any significant group–time interactions between the three groups. Further, longitudinal change in GI scores in the VCFS group was negatively correlated with positive prodromal symptoms, with the left occipital region reaching statistical significance. Conclusion: The study confirms previous reports that individuals with VCFS have reduced cortical folding as compared to normal controls. However over a period of three years, there is no difference in the rate of change of GI among both individuals with VCFS and normal controls. Finally, our results suggest that neuroanatomical alterations in areas underlying visual processing may be an early marker for psychosis

Multi-messenger observations of a binary neutron star merger

On 2017 August 17 a binary neutron star coalescence candidate (later designated GW170817) with merger time 12:41:04 UTC was observed through gravitational waves by the Advanced LIGO and Advanced Virgo detectors. The Fermi Gamma-ray Burst Monitor independently detected a gamma-ray burst (GRB 170817A) with a time delay of ~1.7 s with respect to the merger time. From the gravitational-wave signal, the source was initially localized to a sky region of 31 deg2 at a luminosity distance of 40+8-8 Mpc and with component masses consistent with neutron stars. The component masses were later measured to be in the range 0.86 to 2.26 Mo. An extensive observing campaign was launched across the electromagnetic spectrum leading to the discovery of a bright optical transient (SSS17a, now with the IAU identification of AT 2017gfo) in NGC 4993 (at ~40 Mpc) less than 11 hours after the merger by the One- Meter, Two Hemisphere (1M2H) team using the 1 m Swope Telescope. The optical transient was independently detected by multiple teams within an hour. Subsequent observations targeted the object and its environment. Early ultraviolet observations revealed a blue transient that faded within 48 hours. Optical and infrared observations showed a redward evolution over ~10 days. Following early non-detections, X-ray and radio emission were discovered at the transient’s position ~9 and ~16 days, respectively, after the merger. Both the X-ray and radio emission likely arise from a physical process that is distinct from the one that generates the UV/optical/near-infrared emission. No ultra-high-energy gamma-rays and no neutrino candidates consistent with the source were found in follow-up searches. These observations support the hypothesis that GW170817 was produced by the merger of two neutron stars in NGC4993 followed by a short gamma-ray burst (GRB 170817A) and a kilonova/macronova powered by the radioactive decay of r-process nuclei synthesized in the ejecta

Multi-messenger Observations of a Binary Neutron Star Merger

On 2017 August 17 a binary neutron star coalescence candidate (later designated GW170817) with merger time 12:41:04 UTC was observed through gravitational waves by the Advanced LIGO and Advanced Virgo detectors. The Fermi Gamma-ray Burst Monitor independently detected a gamma-ray burst (GRB 170817A) with a time delay of ∼ 1.7 {{s}} with respect to the merger time. From the gravitational-wave signal, the source was initially localized to a sky region of 31 deg2 at a luminosity distance of {40}-8+8 Mpc and with component masses consistent with neutron stars. The component masses were later measured to be in the range 0.86 to 2.26 {M}ȯ . An extensive observing campaign was launched across the electromagnetic spectrum leading to the discovery of a bright optical transient (SSS17a, now with the IAU identification of AT 2017gfo) in NGC 4993 (at ∼ 40 {{Mpc}}) less than 11 hours after the merger by the One-Meter, Two Hemisphere (1M2H) team using the 1 m Swope Telescope. The optical transient was independently detected by multiple teams within an hour. Subsequent observations targeted the object and its environment. Early ultraviolet observations revealed a blue transient that faded within 48 hours. Optical and infrared observations showed a redward evolution over ∼10 days. Following early non-detections, X-ray and radio emission were discovered at the transient’s position ∼ 9 and ∼ 16 days, respectively, after the merger. Both the X-ray and radio emission likely arise from a physical process that is distinct from the one that generates the UV/optical/near-infrared emission. No ultra-high-energy gamma-rays and no neutrino candidates consistent with the source were found in follow-up searches. These observations support the hypothesis that GW170817 was produced by the merger of two neutron stars in NGC 4993 followed by a short gamma-ray burst (GRB 170817A) and a kilonova/macronova powered by the radioactive decay of r-process nuclei synthesized in the ejecta.</p

Optimization of phosphate removal from aqueous solution using activated carbon supported zero-valent iron nanoparticles: application of RSM approach

Abstract In this study, activated carbon (AC) prepared from cork powder was used in synthesis of AC stabilized nano-zero-valent iron (AC/NZVI) composite and evaluated phosphate (PO4 3−) removal efficiency from aqueous solution. The as-obtained AC/NZVI was characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis. Response surface methodology based on a three-level, three-factor, Box–Behnken design (B.B.D.) has been employed for determination of optimal combination of three significant process factors or variables such as temperature, solution pH and AC/NZVI dose, for maximum removal of PO4 3− from aqueous solution. Based on B.B.D. experimental design, a limited number of experiments were performed in a cost-effective manner at initial PO4 3− concentration of 211 mg L−1 as a fixed input parameter. A statistically validated quadratic model was developed to predict the responses in the form PO4 3− removal capacity from aqueous solution and adequacy of the model was evaluated using regression analysis and analysis of variance. The model predicted maximum PO4 3− removal capacity of the AC/NZVI was 152.12 mg g−1 under the optimal condition of process variables (temperature 60 °C, pH 3.5, and AC/NZVI dose 0.4 g L−1) which was strictly closer to the experimental value (151.10 mg g−1) obtained in batch experiment under the same optimize condition of process variables. The result of the study inferred that all three factors had a significant impact on removal of PO4 3−

Child and adolescent mental health problems in Nepal: a scoping review

NTRODUCTION: Globally, 10-20% of children and adolescents suffer from mental disorders, with half of all them starting by the age of 14 and three-quarters before the age of 25. In Nepal, 40% of the population is younger than 18 years of age, and as such there is a large proportion of the population that is at risk of developing a mental disorder. There has been a recent recognition of child and adolescent mental health problems in Nepal, although prior to this it had remained almost invisible on the health agenda. In response to growing concern, there is a need to conduct a review on children and adolescent mental health problems in Nepal. OBJECTIVE: To review the existing studies on child and adolescent mental health problems in Nepal. METHODOLOGY: A scoping review approach was used to identify studies on child and adolescent mental problems in Nepal. A search of Medline and PubMed databases for articles published from the database inception to August 2018 was conducted. RESULTS: Ten papers were identified, and they all together included 7876 participants. Two studies reported on Post traumatic Stress Symptoms (PTSS) and described a prevalence of 10.7% to 51% of earthquake-affected children and adolescents in the Kathmandu district of Nepal. Another study reported that 53.2% of former child soldiers met the cut-off score for PTSS. Two school surveys found that the prevalence of emotional and behavioural problems in school children ranged between 12.9 and 17.03%, whereas a study on emotional and behavioural disorders in homeless children reported a prevalence of 28.6%. The prevalence of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) was estimated to be as high as three in every 1000 persons in Nepal by one study. The clinical prevalence of anxiety disorders was reported ranging from 18.8% to 24.4% while that of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) was 10-11.7% in various clinical samples of children and adolescents. CONCLUSION: Only a few studies on the prevalence of child and adolescent mental health in Nepal have been conducted. Clearly, there is a need for better study design and larger studies to understand more fully the prevalence of child and adolescent mental health disorders in Nepal, in order to adequately plan public health services accordingly