Novel topological beam-splitting in photonic crystals

We create a passive wave splitter, created purely by geometry, to engineer three-way beam splitting in electromagnetism in transverse electric polarisation. We do so by considering arrangements of Indium Phosphide dielectric pillars in air, in particular we place several inclusions within a cell that is then extended periodically upon a square lattice. Hexagonal lattice structures more commonly used in topological valleytronics but, as we discuss, three-way splitting is only possible using a square, or rectangular, lattice. To achieve splitting and transport around a sharp bend we use accidental, and not symmetry-induced, Dirac cones. Within each cell pillars are either arranged around a triangle or square; we demonstrate the mechanism of splitting and why it does not occur for one of the cases. The theory is developed and full scattering simulations demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed designs

Comparative analysis of safety and efficacy of cefotaxime/sulbactam verses piperacillin/tazobactam combinations in the treatment of complicated urinary tract infections

Background: Complicated UTIs (cUTIs) are leading causes of the gram negative bacteraemia. The objective of this study was to compare efficacy and safety Cefotaxime/ Sulbactam (CTS) and Piperacillin/ Tazobactam (PT) combinations in complicated Urinary Tract Infections.Methods: Total 80 patients admitted in the hospital due to cUTI were enrolled. 31 patients were given CTS while 49 patients were given PT. Clinical symptoms were registered and scored as mild (1) moderate (2) or severe (3). The follow-up of were done daily till the patient is discharged. Thereafter, one follow up visit was done within 4 to 9 days of after discharge, termed as test of cure (TOC), and, one late follow up visit after 6 to 8 weeks was done, known as late follow up visit (LFU). Clinical assessments and microbiological analysis were done at the time of TOC and LFU.Results: At TOC visit, in CTS and PT groups, clinical scores were 1.25±3.47 and 0.86±2.35, respectively (p<0.005). Rate of clinical improvement at TOC visit was 92.00% and 92.68% while microbiological clearance was 84.00% and 87.80% with CTS and PT groups respectively. At LFU visit, clinical scores CTS and PT in groups were 1.30±3.56 and 1.32±3.37, respectively, suggesting significant improvement from baseline (p<0.005). Clinical cure rate at LFU visit was 88.00% and 87.80% while microbiological cure rate at LFU visit was 76.00% and 82.91% in CTS and PT groups respectively.Conclusions: Results suggest that both regimens have no significant difference for the treatment of cUTI. CTS and PT both are equally efficacious in treatment of cUTI

Rough triggerfish, Canthidermis maculata from Gujarat coast

A specimen of the Rough triggerfish, Canthidermis maculata (Bloch, 1786) was landed by a multiday trawler on 25th November 2015 at Mangrol Fisheries Harbour, Gujarat. The specimen was brownish grey in colour with characteristic white spots all over the body including the head. It measured 309 mm and 256 mm in Total length and Standard length respectively with a weight of 580 g (Fig. 1). The fish is usually found in areas having sandy, muddy or rocky bottoms at a depth range of 50-100 m and is reported from the Western Indian Ocean

High-Throughput Synthesis, Screening, and Scale-Up of Optimized Conducting Indium Tin Oxides

A high-throughput optimization and subsequent scale-up methodology has been used for the synthesis of conductive tin-doped indium oxide (known as ITO) nanoparticles. ITO nanoparticles with up to 12 at % Sn were synthesized using a laboratory scale (15 g/hour by dry mass) continuous hydrothermal synthesis process, and the as-synthesized powders were characterized by powder X-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy, energy-dispersive X-ray analysis, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. Under standard synthetic conditions, either the cubic In2O3 phase, or a mixture of InO(OH) and In2O3 phases were observed in the as-synthesized materials. These materials were pressed into compacts and heat-treated in an inert atmosphere, and their electrical resistivities were then measured using the Van der Pauw method. Sn doping yielded resistivities of ∼10(-2) Ω cm for most samples with the lowest resistivity of 6.0 × 10(-3) Ω cm (exceptionally conductive for such pressed nanopowders) at a Sn concentration of 10 at %. Thereafter, the optimized lab-scale composition was scaled-up using a pilot-scale continuous hydrothermal synthesis process (at a rate of 100 g/hour by dry mass), and a comparable resistivity of 9.4 × 10(-3) Ω cm was obtained. The use of the synthesized TCO nanomaterials for thin film fabrication was finally demonstrated by deposition of a transparent, conductive film using a simple spin-coating process