Development of Nano SiO2 Particles Dispersed Shape Memory Epoxy Composites

Thermo responsive shape memory epoxy based composites are being investigated for their excellent mechanical and thermal properties. In present study the thermosetting epoxy containing different composition of SiO2 nano particles ranging from 1 to 4 wt. % have been prepared through solvent casting route. Developed composites have been studied for grain analysis, FTIR, shape recovery, impact strength and hardness. Addition of 3 wt. % SiO2 improves hardness and impact strength significantly. Average grain size of SiO2 particles increase at higher wt. % of SiO2 in polymer matrix due to agglomeration of nanoparticles

Advanced surface chemical analysis of continuously manufactured drug loaded composite pellets

The aim of the present study was to develop and characterise polymeric composite pellets by means of continuous melt extrusion techniques. Powder blends of a steroid hormone (SH) as a model drug and either ethyl cellulose (EC N10 and EC P7 grades) or hydroxypropyl methylcellulose (HPMC AS grade) as polymeric carrier were extruded using a Pharma 11 mm twin screw extruder in a continuous mode of operation to manufacture extruded composite pellets of 1 mm length. Molecular modelling study using commercial Gaussian 09 software outlined a possible drug-polymer interaction in the molecular level to develop solid dispersions of the drug in the pellets. Solid-state analysis conducted via a differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), hot stage microscopy (HSM) and X-ray powder diffraction (XRPD) analyses revealed the amorphous state of the drug in the polymer matrices. Surface analysis using SEM/energy dispersive X-ray (EDX) of the produced pellets arguably showed a homogenous distribution of the C and O atoms in the pellet matrices. Moreover, advanced chemical surface analysis conducted via atomic force microscopy (AFM) showed a homogenous phase system having the drug molecule dispersed onto the amorphous matrices while Raman mapping confirmed the homogenous single-phase drug distribution in the manufactured composite pellets. Such composite pellets are expected to deliver multidisciplinary applications in drug delivery and medical sciences by e.g. modifying drug solubility/dissolutions or stabilizing the unstable drug (e.g. hormone, protein) in the composite network

Global burden of 288 causes of death and life expectancy decomposition in 204 countries and territories and 811 subnational locations, 1990–2021: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2021

BACKGROUND Regular, detailed reporting on population health by underlying cause of death is fundamental for public health decision making. Cause-specific estimates of mortality and the subsequent effects on life expectancy worldwide are valuable metrics to gauge progress in reducing mortality rates. These estimates are particularly important following large-scale mortality spikes, such as the COVID-19 pandemic. When systematically analysed, mortality rates and life expectancy allow comparisons of the consequences of causes of death globally and over time, providing a nuanced understanding of the effect of these causes on global populations. METHODS The Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study (GBD) 2021 cause-of-death analysis estimated mortality and years of life lost (YLLs) from 288 causes of death by age-sex-location-year in 204 countries and territories and 811 subnational locations for each year from 1990 until 2021. The analysis used 56 604 data sources, including data from vital registration and verbal autopsy as well as surveys, censuses, surveillance systems, and cancer registries, among others. As with previous GBD rounds, cause-specific death rates for most causes were estimated using the Cause of Death Ensemble model-a modelling tool developed for GBD to assess the out-of-sample predictive validity of different statistical models and covariate permutations and combine those results to produce cause-specific mortality estimates-with alternative strategies adapted to model causes with insufficient data, substantial changes in reporting over the study period, or unusual epidemiology. YLLs were computed as the product of the number of deaths for each cause-age-sex-location-year and the standard life expectancy at each age. As part of the modelling process, uncertainty intervals (UIs) were generated using the 2·5th and 97·5th percentiles from a 1000-draw distribution for each metric. We decomposed life expectancy by cause of death, location, and year to show cause-specific effects on life expectancy from 1990 to 2021. We also used the coefficient of variation and the fraction of population affected by 90% of deaths to highlight concentrations of mortality. Findings are reported in counts and age-standardised rates. Methodological improvements for cause-of-death estimates in GBD 2021 include the expansion of under-5-years age group to include four new age groups, enhanced methods to account for stochastic variation of sparse data, and the inclusion of COVID-19 and other pandemic-related mortality-which includes excess mortality associated with the pandemic, excluding COVID-19, lower respiratory infections, measles, malaria, and pertussis. For this analysis, 199 new country-years of vital registration cause-of-death data, 5 country-years of surveillance data, 21 country-years of verbal autopsy data, and 94 country-years of other data types were added to those used in previous GBD rounds. FINDINGS The leading causes of age-standardised deaths globally were the same in 2019 as they were in 1990; in descending order, these were, ischaemic heart disease, stroke, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and lower respiratory infections. In 2021, however, COVID-19 replaced stroke as the second-leading age-standardised cause of death, with 94·0 deaths (95% UI 89·2-100·0) per 100 000 population. The COVID-19 pandemic shifted the rankings of the leading five causes, lowering stroke to the third-leading and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease to the fourth-leading position. In 2021, the highest age-standardised death rates from COVID-19 occurred in sub-Saharan Africa (271·0 deaths [250·1-290·7] per 100 000 population) and Latin America and the Caribbean (195·4 deaths [182·1-211·4] per 100 000 population). The lowest age-standardised death rates from COVID-19 were in the high-income super-region (48·1 deaths [47·4-48·8] per 100 000 population) and southeast Asia, east Asia, and Oceania (23·2 deaths [16·3-37·2] per 100 000 population). Globally, life expectancy steadily improved between 1990 and 2019 for 18 of the 22 investigated causes. Decomposition of global and regional life expectancy showed the positive effect that reductions in deaths from enteric infections, lower respiratory infections, stroke, and neonatal deaths, among others have contributed to improved survival over the study period. However, a net reduction of 1·6 years occurred in global life expectancy between 2019 and 2021, primarily due to increased death rates from COVID-19 and other pandemic-related mortality. Life expectancy was highly variable between super-regions over the study period, with southeast Asia, east Asia, and Oceania gaining 8·3 years (6·7-9·9) overall, while having the smallest reduction in life expectancy due to COVID-19 (0·4 years). The largest reduction in life expectancy due to COVID-19 occurred in Latin America and the Caribbean (3·6 years). Additionally, 53 of the 288 causes of death were highly concentrated in locations with less than 50% of the global population as of 2021, and these causes of death became progressively more concentrated since 1990, when only 44 causes showed this pattern. The concentration phenomenon is discussed heuristically with respect to enteric and lower respiratory infections, malaria, HIV/AIDS, neonatal disorders, tuberculosis, and measles. INTERPRETATION Long-standing gains in life expectancy and reductions in many of the leading causes of death have been disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic, the adverse effects of which were spread unevenly among populations. Despite the pandemic, there has been continued progress in combatting several notable causes of death, leading to improved global life expectancy over the study period. Each of the seven GBD super-regions showed an overall improvement from 1990 and 2021, obscuring the negative effect in the years of the pandemic. Additionally, our findings regarding regional variation in causes of death driving increases in life expectancy hold clear policy utility. Analyses of shifting mortality trends reveal that several causes, once widespread globally, are now increasingly concentrated geographically. These changes in mortality concentration, alongside further investigation of changing risks, interventions, and relevant policy, present an important opportunity to deepen our understanding of mortality-reduction strategies. Examining patterns in mortality concentration might reveal areas where successful public health interventions have been implemented. Translating these successes to locations where certain causes of death remain entrenched can inform policies that work to improve life expectancy for people everywhere. FUNDING Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

Effect of angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor and angiotensin receptor blocker initiation on organ support-free days in patients hospitalized with COVID-19

IMPORTANCE Overactivation of the renin-angiotensin system (RAS) may contribute to poor clinical outcomes in patients with COVID-19. Objective To determine whether angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitor or angiotensin receptor blocker (ARB) initiation improves outcomes in patients hospitalized for COVID-19. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS In an ongoing, adaptive platform randomized clinical trial, 721 critically ill and 58 non–critically ill hospitalized adults were randomized to receive an RAS inhibitor or control between March 16, 2021, and February 25, 2022, at 69 sites in 7 countries (final follow-up on June 1, 2022). INTERVENTIONS Patients were randomized to receive open-label initiation of an ACE inhibitor (n = 257), ARB (n = 248), ARB in combination with DMX-200 (a chemokine receptor-2 inhibitor; n = 10), or no RAS inhibitor (control; n = 264) for up to 10 days. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES The primary outcome was organ support–free days, a composite of hospital survival and days alive without cardiovascular or respiratory organ support through 21 days. The primary analysis was a bayesian cumulative logistic model. Odds ratios (ORs) greater than 1 represent improved outcomes. RESULTS On February 25, 2022, enrollment was discontinued due to safety concerns. Among 679 critically ill patients with available primary outcome data, the median age was 56 years and 239 participants (35.2%) were women. Median (IQR) organ support–free days among critically ill patients was 10 (–1 to 16) in the ACE inhibitor group (n = 231), 8 (–1 to 17) in the ARB group (n = 217), and 12 (0 to 17) in the control group (n = 231) (median adjusted odds ratios of 0.77 [95% bayesian credible interval, 0.58-1.06] for improvement for ACE inhibitor and 0.76 [95% credible interval, 0.56-1.05] for ARB compared with control). The posterior probabilities that ACE inhibitors and ARBs worsened organ support–free days compared with control were 94.9% and 95.4%, respectively. Hospital survival occurred in 166 of 231 critically ill participants (71.9%) in the ACE inhibitor group, 152 of 217 (70.0%) in the ARB group, and 182 of 231 (78.8%) in the control group (posterior probabilities that ACE inhibitor and ARB worsened hospital survival compared with control were 95.3% and 98.1%, respectively). CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE In this trial, among critically ill adults with COVID-19, initiation of an ACE inhibitor or ARB did not improve, and likely worsened, clinical outcomes. TRIAL REGISTRATION ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT0273570

Integration of multi-sensor remote sensing, geological and geochemical data for delineation of Pb–Zn bearing carbonates of Middle Aravalli group in Zawar–Dungarpur Belt, NW India

The rocks of the Aravalli Protocontinent of NW India are enriched in lead–zinc bearing deposits amongst which the Zawar mineralized belt is one of the famous for base metal deposits and was mined since ancient times. In the present study, an attempt has been made to identify and map the extension of the mineralized belt and base metal prognostic zones using the integration of multi-sensor remote sensing, geological and geochemical data. Remote Sensing studies were carried out using ASTER, AVIRIS-NG, and ASAR datasets to understand the extension and associated structural features of host rocks (dolomite in the present case) of lead–zinc mineralization from the Middle Aravalli Group. Relative band depth (B6 + B9/B8) was used to delineate the dolomite of the region using the ASTER imagery. Mineral map was derived using the AVIRIS-NG dataset with the help of the MTMF algorithm. Multifrequency and multipolarization ASAR datasets demarcated the structural features in the complexly deformed rocks of the extended belt. The obtained results from remote sensing were validated with the help of geological and geochemical studies. Geological studies (field surveys and petrographic studies) confirmed the presence of dolomites and associative mafics. Mineralogical, major oxides and trace elements data further substantiated the presence of dolomite, associated sulfides such as galena, sphalerite, pyrite, and chalcopyrite, and lead, zinc and copper in the Zawar–Dungarpur Belt. Presence of chromium and nickel were observed through the trace element studies of dolomite belt. The trace elements interpolated maps were superimposed by traced structural maps using ASAR datasets. The densely populated E-W lineaments are considered the suitable zones for base metal accumulation. These lineaments carried the base metal bearing fluid along with a low concentration of Chromium and Nickel. Under the finding of this study, the northern head of Hati Magra and near Keekawat are the suitable zones for Pb–Zn sulfide mineralization

<SUP>13</SUP>C enrichment in the Palaeoproterozoic carbonate rocks of the Aravalli Supergroup, Northwest India: influence of depositional environment

The dolomitic carbonates from the Jhamarkotra Formation of the Palaeoproterozoic Aravalli Supergroup are characterized by widely variable carbon isotope ratios (&#948;13C) ranging from near zero to as high as + 12‰ V-PDB. The estimated maximum age (ca. 2150 Ma) of the Aravalli carbonates help bracketing these with the coeval carbonate bodies of the world that show high positive carbon isotope values. The intriguing existence of normal marine &#948;13C values in some pockets suggest influence of local scale depositional conditions prevailing in different sub-basins. Amongst these two sub-basins which showed high &#948;13C values, a hypersaline evaporative condition is considered responsible for the necessary enrichment in one, while methanogenesis (possibly in conjunction with sulphate reduction processes) might have caused such enrichment in the other. From the empirical association of the sub-basins with profuse stromatolitic phosphorite we infer that the depositional setting that favoured cyanobacterial growth (leading to formation of stromatolites) prevented growth of methanogenetic archaea in such anoxic environments. Our study therefore highlights the fact that the early Palaeoproterozoic 13C excursion in the Aravalli Supergroup is not essentially a time-specific event but is greatly dependent on the variation in the depositional palaeoenvironment prevailing in different sub-basins

Development of Nano SiO2 Particles Dispersed Shape Memory Epoxy Composites

21-24Thermo responsive shape memory epoxy based composites are being investigated for their excellent mechanical and thermal properties. In present study the thermosetting epoxy containing different composition of SiO2 nano particles ranging from 1 to 4 wt. % have been prepared through solvent casting route. Developed composites have been studied for grain analysis, FTIR, shape recovery, impact strength and hardness. Addition of 3 wt. % SiO2 improves hardness and impact strength significantly. Average grain size of SiO2 particles increase at higher wt. % of SiO2 in polymer matrix due to agglomeration of nanoparticles

Polychronous (Early Cretaceous to Palaeogene) emplacement of the Mundwara alkaline complex, Rajasthan, India: 40Ar/39Ar geochronology, petrochemistry and geodynamics

The Mundwara alkaline plutonic complex (Rajasthan, north-western India) is considered a part of the Late Cretaceous–Palaeogene Deccan Traps flood basalt province, based on geochronological data (mainly 40Ar/39Ar, on whole rocks, biotite and hornblende). We have studied the petrology and mineral chemistry of some Mundwara mafic rocks containing mica and amphibole. Geothermobarometry indicates emplacement of the complex at middle to upper crustal levels. We have obtained new 40Ar/39Ar ages of 80–84 Ma on biotite separates from mafic rocks and 102–110 Ma on whole-rock nepheline syenites. There is no evidence for excess 40Ar. The combined results show that some of the constituent intrusions of the Mundwara complex are of Deccan age, but others are older and unrelated to the Deccan Traps. The Mundwara alkaline complex is thus polychronous and similar to many alkaline complexes around the world that show recurrent magmatism, sometimes over hundreds of millions of years. The primary biotite and amphibole in Mundwara mafic rocks indicate hydrous parental magmas, derived from hydrated mantle peridotite at relatively low temperatures, thus ruling out a mantle plume. This hydration and metasomatism of the Rajasthan lithospheric mantle may have occurred during Jurassic subduction under Gondwanaland, or Precambrian subduction events. Low-degree decompression melting of this old, enriched lithospheric mantle, due to periodic diffuse lithospheric extension, gradually built the Mundwara complex from the Early Cretaceous to Palaeogene time