Improvement of Atmospheric Pollution in the Capital Cities of US during COVID-19

The spread of COVID-19 during 2020 impacted the whole world and still affecting the lives of people living in some parts of the world. The spread of this epidemic started in the US in late March 2020 and became a major issue in April due to an outburst of COVID-19 cases. Most of the countries in the world imposed complete to partial lockdown, but in the US, few states imposed lockdowns. Even after the advisory of the various Government department, the mobility data suggest that there was an enhancement (10–15%) in mobility during March 2020. Later sudden drop in mobility was observed during April 2020. The fall in aerosols optical depth (AOD), particulate matter concentration, NO2, and Ozone are observed along with the positive shifts in the SO2. In some of the states, AOD shows pronounced decline during May and June (5–40.90%), in the month of May more than 80% decline was observed compared to the month of June 2020. In the month of April 2020, up to 73.64% decline was observed in NO2, and 70–99% in the months of May and June 2020. We found a good relationship between the mobility data and improvement in the air quality of the US. The changes were not significant compared to other countries in the world due to scattered lockdown policy, but in the US a pronounced change is observed during April month compared to March and May

Alpha1 -adrenergic stimulation selectively enhances endothelium-mediated vasodilation in rat cremaster arteries.

We have systematically investigated how vascular smooth muscle α1 -adrenoceptor activation impacts endothelium-mediated vasodilation in isolated, myogenically active, rat cremaster muscle 1A arteries. Cannulated cremaster arteries were pressurized intraluminally to 70 mmHg to induce myogenic tone, and exposed to vasoactive agents via bath superfusion at 34°C. Smooth muscle membrane potential was measured via sharp microelectrode recordings in pressurized, myogenic arteries. The α1 -adrenergic agonist phenylephrine (25-100 nmol/L) produced further constriction of myogenic arteries, but did not alter the vasorelaxant responses to acetylcholine (0.3 μmol/L), SKA-31 (an activator of endothelial Ca2+ -dependent K+ channels) (3 μmol/L) or sodium nitroprusside (10 μmol/L). Exposure to 0.25-1 μmol/L phenylephrine or 1 μmol/L norepinephrine generated more robust constrictions, and also enhanced the vasodilations evoked by acetylcholine and SKA-31, but not by sodium nitroprusside. In contrast, the thromboxane receptor agonist U46619 (250 nmol/L) dampened responses to all three vasodilators. Phenylephrine exposure depolarized myogenic arteries, and mimicking this effect with 4-aminopyridine (1 mmol/L) was sufficient to augment the SKA-31-evoked vasodilation. Inhibition of L-type Ca2+ channels by 1 μmol/L nifedipine decreased myogenic tone, phenylephrine-induced constriction and prevented α1 -adrenergic enhancement of endothelium-evoked vasodilation; these latter deficits were overcome by exposure to 3 and 10 μmol/L phenylephrine. Mechanistically, augmentation of ACh-evoked dilation by phenylephrine was dampened by eNOS inhibition and abolished by blockade of endothelial KCa channels. Collectively, these data suggest that increasing α1 -adrenoceptor activation beyond a threshold level augments endothelium-evoked vasodilation, likely by triggering transcellular signaling between smooth muscle and the endothelium. Physiologically, this negative feedback process may serve as a "brake" to limit the extent of vasoconstriction in the skeletal microcirculation evoked by the elevated sympathetic tone

Geocentric Gestures as a Research Tool

This study1 is part of a large-scale cross-cultural research project on the development of spatial language and cognition, in India, Indonesia and Nepal, that focuses on a culturally particular way of organizing small-scale, table space, using a large-scale geocentric spatial orientation system (Dasen & Mishra, in preparation). One of the main questions is at what age this geocentric frame of reference starts to be effective. The study of language development does not provide a clear answer, because young children (ages 4 to 7) use ambiguous “deictic” descriptions, i.e., they just say “this way” accompanied by a gesture. Can these gestures be used to clarify the meaning of language? To answer this question, 234 video recordings of Nepalese children performing the “Perspectives” task (in which they have to describe the location of three objects placed on a table in front of them, under three different conditions) were analyzed separately for both language and gestures. The results show a good correspondence between language and gestures in 9 to 12 year olds. This allows us to interpret further the frame of reference used by the younger children. Out of 367 items on which young children (4 to 9 years) give an ambiguous deictic answer, only 17% are accompanied with an egocentric gesture, and 83% with a geocentric one (combining 48% large gestures linked to the use of cardinal directions, and 35% medium-large gestures linked to the use of situational local landmarks). This shows that a geocentric frame is at play as early as age 4, even when the child cannot express it clearly in the language

Environmentally sound system for E-waste: Biotechnological perspectives

The rapid e-waste volume is generating globally. At the same time, different recycling technologies, mainly the mechanical and chemical methods well studied, while the biological method is the most promising approach. Therefore, this article provides a comprehensive information about extracting valuable metals from e-waste. In addition, this article outlines the process and key opportunity for extraction of metals, identifies some of the most critical challenges for e-waste environmentally sound management practices, and opinions on possible solutions for exiting challenges, and emphasis on importance of advanced recycling technologies that can be utilized, in order to minimize the environmental impact causes due to improper recycling of e-waste

Intelligent computing in electrical utility industry 4.0 : concept, key technologies, applications and future directions

Industry 4.0 (I-4.0) is referred to as ‘fourth industrial revolution’ towards incorporation of artificial intelligence and digitalization of industrial systems. It is meticulously associated with the development and advancement of evolving technologies such as: Internet of Things, Cyber-Physical System, Information and Communications Technology, Enterprise Architecture, and Enterprise Integration. Power systems of today face several challenges that need to be addressed and application of these technologies can make the modern power systems become more effective, reliable, secure, and cost-effective. Therefore, a widespread analysis of I- 4.0 is performed in this paper and a summary of the outcomes, future scope, and real-world application of I- 4.0 on the electrical utility industry (EUI) is reported by reviewing the existing literature. This report will be helpful to the investigators interested in the area of I- 4.0 and for application in EUI.Analytical Center for Government of the Russian Federation.https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/xpl/RecentIssue.jsp?punumber=6287639Electrical, Electronic and Computer Engineerin