Understanding Nuclei in the upper sd - shell

Nuclei in the upper-$sd$ shell usually exhibit characteristics of spherical single particle excitations. In the recent years, employment of sophisticated techniques of gamma spectroscopy has led to observation of high spin states of several nuclei near A$\simeq$ 40. In a few of them multiparticle, multihole rotational states coexist with states of single particle nature. We have studied a few nuclei in this mass region experimentally, using various campaigns of the Indian National Gamma Array setup. We have compared and combined our empirical observations with the large-scale shell model results to interpret the structure of these nuclei. Indication of population of states of large deformation has been found in our data. This gives us an opportunity to investigate the interplay of single particle and collective degrees of freedom in this mass region.Comment: 8 pages, 13 figures, submitted for publication in the Proceedings of "Frontiers in Gamma-Ray Spectroscopy 2012 (FIG12), held at New Delhi, March 5th - 7th, 2012, Organized by Inter University Accelerator Center, New Delhi, Indi

Breeding of Climbing Perch (Anabas testudineus Bloch, 1792) Induced with Ovatide

Climbing perch (Anabas testudineus) is a much demanded fish in the northeastern part of India, yet the absence of a standardized method to induce breeding remains a major constraint in the development of aquaculture of this species. In this study, breeding was induced using 0.1, 0.2, or 0.3 ml/kg body weight of the synthetic hormone Ovatide and compared with fish injected with 30 mg carp pituitary extract (CPE) per kg body weight or 0.5 ml saline (control). Male and female brooders were injected once with an identical dose and left to spawn in tubs at a ratio of 2:1. No breeding occurred in the saline-injected control fish. There was partial spawning in the 0.1 and 0.2 Ovatide treatments and complete spawning in fish injected with 0.3 Ovatide. Spawning and number of eggs in fish injected with 0.3 Ovatide did not statistically differ from results in fish injected with CPE (p≥0.05). The present experiment suggests that Ovatide at 0.3 ml/kg body weight is optimal for seed production of climbing perch held in captivity and can be used for species restoration

Breast Cancer Treatment Relying on Herbal Bioactive Components

Use of herbs and plants in cooking and medicinal dates back thousands of years. In this overview, we look at the many plant species that still have immune-boosting and cancer-fighting properties. Carotenoids, flavonoids, ligands, polyphenolics, terpenoids, sulphides, lignans, and plant sterols are only some of the many active phytochemicals found in different types of herbs. There are a number of mechanisms through which these phytochemicals exert their effects. They either prevent cell division or stimulate the synthesis of a protective enzyme such as glutathione transferase. The cancer-fighting and cholesterol-lowering effects of mevalonate are counteracted by the volatile oils and plant extracts from various herbs and plants

Fusion cross sections for 6,7Li + 24Mg reactions at energies below and above the barrier

Measurement of fusion cross sections for the 6,7Li + 24Mg reactions by the characteristic gamma-ray method has been done at energies from below to well above the respective Coulomb barriers. The fusion cross sections obtained from these gamma-ray cross sections for the two systems are found to agree well with the total reaction cross sections at low energies. The decrease of fusion cross sections with increase of energy is consistent with the fact that other channels, in particular breakup open up with increase of bombarding energy. This shows that there is neither inhibition nor enhancement of fusion cross sections for these systems at above or below the barrier. The critical angular momenta (lcr) deduced from the fusion cross sections are found to have an energy dependence similar to other Li - induced reactions.Comment: 1 .pdf fil

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