Environmental Pursuits In Nanomaterial Systems Science With Indian Exemplars

The behavior and pattern of NPs of minerals in the evolutionary history of the earth vis – a –vis the environmental context are inquired into, with a riverine system as a model. The study of fractal dimensions of NPs of interest serves as an aid to obtain a comprehensive view of natural NPs in the model system. The present study combines inputs from work done on nanoparticles, derived from the Subanarekha River System and products of base metal mine effluents that are rich in NPs of minerals. The authors believe this study would help to establish certain universalities about NPs and provide an updated framework for understanding the current state of nanomineral science

Predicting Blood–Brain Partitioning of Small Molecules Using a Novel Minimalistic Descriptor-Based Approach via the 3D-RISM-KH Molecular Solvation Theory

Compartmentalization of drug molecules between plasma and brain is important for desired activities. The difficulty in obtaining the blood–brain permeability of drug (like) substances experimentally resulted in the development of several theoretical quantitative structure–activity relationships toward predicting the capability of a given substrate to pass across a tight junction, known as the blood–brain barrier, both qualitatively and quantitatively. Here, we report a novel method based on the molecular solvation theory for predicting blood–brain barrier permeability coefficients of molecules of diverse structures using a minimum set of descriptors derived from solvation energetics. Our finding points to the importance of solvation free energy based descriptors in modeling blood–brain barrier permeability quantitatively

Out-of-time-ordered correlator in the one-dimensional Kuramoto-Sivashinsky and Kardar-Parisi-Zhang equations

The out-of-time-ordered correlator (OTOC) has emerged as an interesting object in both classical and quantum systems for probing the spatial spread and temporal growth of initially local perturbations in spatially extended chaotic systems. Here, we study the (classical) OTOC and its ``light-cone'' in the nonlinear Kuramoto-Sivashinsky (KS) equation, using extensive numerical simulations. We also show that the linearized KS equation exhibits a qualitatively similar OTOC and light-cone, which can be understood via a saddle-point analysis of the linearly unstable modes. Given the deep connection between the KS (deterministic) and the Kardar-Parisi-Zhang (stochastic) equations, we also explore the OTOC in the KPZ equation. More broadly, our work unravels the intrinsic interplay between noise/instability, nonlinearity and dissipation in partial differential equations (deterministic or stochastic) through the lens of OTOC.Comment: 7 pages, 5 figure

Universality in coupled stochastic Burgers systems with degenerate flux Jacobian

In our contribution we study stochastic models in one space dimension with two conservation laws. One model is the coupled continuum stochastic Burgers equation, for which each current is a sum of quadratic non-linearities, linear diffusion, and spacetime white noise. The second model is a two-lane stochastic lattice gas. As distinct from previous studies, the two conserved densities are tuned such that the flux Jacobian, a $2 \times 2$ matrix, has coinciding eigenvalues. In the steady state, investigated are spacetime correlations of the conserved fields and the time-integrated currents at the origin. For a particular choice of couplings the dynamical exponent 3/2 is confirmed. Furthermore, at these couplings, continuum stochastic Burgers equation and lattice gas are demonstrated to be in the same universality class.Comment: 34 pages, 9 figure

Measles delay in India: the role of parents’ behaviour

Background: Objectives were to identify the factors influencing the timeliness of measles immunisation in India, as well as to explore whether parental behaviour in health care seeking facilities varies depending on the gender of child.Methods: A cross-sectional study was undertaken in India using secondary data from the fourth phase of the district level household and facility survey (DLHS 4). To estimate the age-specific coverage rates scientifically and thoroughly Kaplan-Meier survival analysis was applied. The risk factors for delayed measles immunisation were identified by using cox proportional hazard regression model.Results: Individual factors, social factors, awareness, and facilitatory factors all have a significant impact on the timeliness of measles immunisation in India. Additionally, it can also be concluded that in the case of a male child, institutional delivery significantly improves health-seeking behaviour among the parents compared to a female child. Conclusions: Numerous elements like the place of residence, economic position, and caste limit the timeliness of measles immunisation in India. Parents' health-seeking behaviour is also significant in the list of influential factors, like mother’s antenatal visit during pregnancy, the child's place of delivery, and motivation for child immunisation. In India child's gender and birth order discovered to have an impact on measles immunisation timeliness. Furthermore, we discovered that parents' health-seeking behaviour is not gender-neutral, but rather favours male child more.

Allergenicity Assessment of Allium sativum Leaf Agglutinin, a Potential Candidate Protein for Developing Sap Sucking Insect Resistant Food Crops

Background: Mannose-binding Allium sativum leaf agglutinin (ASAL) is highly antinutritional and toxic to various phloem-feeding hemipteran insects. ASAL has been expressed in a number of agriculturally important crops to develop resistance against those insects. Awareness of the safety aspect of ASAL is absolutely essential for developing ASAL transgenic plants. Methodology/Principal Findings: Following the guidelines framed by the Food and Agriculture Organization/World Health Organization, the source of the gene, its sequence homology with potent allergens, clinical tests on mammalian systems, and the pepsin resistance and thermostability of the protein were considered to address the issue. No significant homology to the ASAL sequence was detected when compared to known allergenic proteins. The ELISA of blood sera collected from known allergy patients also failed to show significant evidence of cross-reactivity. In vitro and in vivo assays both indicated the digestibility of ASAL in the presence of pepsin in a minimum time period. Conclusions/Significance: With these experiments, we concluded that ASAL does not possess any apparent features of an allergen. This is the first report regarding the monitoring of the allergenicity of any mannose-binding monocot lectin having insecticidal efficacy against hemipteran insects