A first principles investigation of cubic BaRuO3_3: A Hund's metal

A first-principles investigation of cubic-BaRuO$_3$, by combining density functional theory with dynamical mean-field theory and a hybridization expansion continuous time quantum Monte-Carlo solver, has been carried out. Non-magnetic calculations with appropriately chosen on-site Coulomb repulsion, $U$ and Hund's exchange, $J$, for single-particle dynamics and static susceptibility show that cubic-BaRuO$_3$ is in a spin-frozen state at temperatures above the ferromagnetic transition point. A strong red shift with increasing $J$ of the peak in the real frequency dynamical susceptibility indicates a dramatic suppression of the Fermi liquid coherence scale as compared to the bare parameters in cubic-BaRuO$_3$. The self-energy also shows clear deviation from Fermi liquid behaviour that manifests in the single-particle spectrum. Such a clean separation of energy scales in this system provides scope for an incoherent spin-frozen (SF) phase, that extends over a wide temperature range, to manifest in non-Fermi liquid behaviour and to be the precursor for the magnetically ordered ground state.Comment: 10 pages, 12 figures, 1 tabl

Recent Progress of Electrocatalysts and Photocatalysts Bearing First Row Transition Metal for Hydrogen Evolution Reaction (HER)

The design and modification of metal–organic complexes for hydrogen (H2) gas production by water splitting have been intensively investigated over the recent decades. In most reported mechanistic pathways, metal hydride species are considered as crucial intermediates for H2 formation where the metal present at the active site plays an imperative role in the transfer of electron and proton. In the last few decades, much consideration has been done on the development of non-precious metal–organic catalysts that use solar energy to split water into hydrogen (H2) and oxygen (O2) as alternative fossil fuels. This review discussed the design, fabrication, and evaluation of the catalysts for electrocatalytic and photocatalytic hydrogen production. Mechanistic approach is addressed here in order to understand the fundamental design principle and structural properties relationship of electrocatalysts and photocatalysts. Finally, we discuss some challenges and opportunities of research in the near future in this promising area

Acute Kidney Injury in Inflammatory Bowel Disease Patients: A Nationwide Comparative Analysis

Rationale & Objective: About 25%-40% of patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) may have extraintestinal manifestations, mainly involving the liver, skin, and joints. Kidney involvement in patients with IBD has been reported, but there are no estimates of its prevalence in population-based studies in the United States. We compared the frequency of acute kidney injury (AKI) among hospitalizations with IBD with that among hospitalizations with collagen vascular diseases and hospitalizations with neither condition. Study Design: Retrospective, population-based cohort study.Setting & Participants: Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project-Nationwide Inpatient Sample database. Outcomes: AKI and AKI requiring dialysis. Analytical Approach: Regression models were used to compare the occurrence of AKI among groups. Inverse probability of treatment weighting was applied to balance groups on covariates. Results: The final sample comprised 5,735,804 hospitalizations, including 57,121 with IBD, 159,930 with collagen vascular diseases, and 5,518,753 with neither IBD nor collagen vascular diseases. AKI was observed in 13%, 15%, and 12.2% of hospitalizations with IBD, collagen vascular diseases, and the general population, respectively. When adjusting for demographic, hospital, and clinical characteristics using inverse probability of treatment weighting, hospitalizations with IBD had higher odds of being diagnosed with AKI than both those with collagen vascular diseases (odds ratio [OR], 1.32; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.27-1.38) and the general population (OR, 1.27; 95% CI, 1.23-1.31) and also had higher odds of being diagnosed with AKI requiring dialysis than those with collagen vascular diseases (OR, 1.59; 95% CI, 1.31-1.94) or than the general population (OR, 1.45; 95% CI, 1.25-1.68). Limitations: Cross-sectional analysis, underreporting of International Classification of Diseases codes, and analyses relevant to in-hospital stays only. Conclusions: The prevalence and risk of AKI among hospitalizations with IBD is greater than that of hospitalizations with collagen vascular diseases and the general population. Coexisting kidney disease should be considered among patients with a known diagnosis of IBD

Clinical Characteristics and Treatment Patterns of Children and Adults With IgA Nephropathy or IgA Vasculitis: Findings From the CureGN Study

Introduction: The Cure Glomerulonephropathy Network (CureGN) is a 66-center longitudinal observational study of patients with biopsy-confirmed minimal change disease, focal segmental glomerulosclerosis, membranous nephropathy, or IgA nephropathy (IgAN), including IgA vasculitis (IgAV). This study describes the clinical characteristics and treatment patterns in the IgA cohort, including comparisons between IgAN versus IgAV and adult versus pediatric patients. Methods: Patients with a diagnostic kidney biopsy within 5 years of screening were eligible to join CureGN. This is a descriptive analysis of clinical and treatment data collected at the time of enrollment. Results: A total of 667 patients (506 IgAN, 161 IgAV) constitute the IgAN/IgAV cohort (382 adults, 285 children). At biopsy, those with IgAV were younger (13.0 years vs. 29.6 years, P < 0.001), more frequently white (89.7% vs. 78.9%, P = 0.003), had a higher estimated glomerular filtration rate (103.5 vs. 70.6 ml/min per 1.73 m2, P < 0.001), and lower serum albumin (3.4 vs. 3.8 g/dl, P < 0.001) than those with IgAN. Adult and pediatric individuals with IgAV were more likely than those with IgAN to have been treated with immunosuppressive therapy at or prior to enrollment (79.5% vs. 54.0%, P < 0.001). Conclusion: This report highlights clinical differences between IgAV and IgAN and between children and adults with these diagnoses. We identified differences in treatment with immunosuppressive therapies by disease type. This description of baseline characteristics will serve as a foundation for future CureGN studies

Study of the deposition and resuspension phase of aerosol particles in a straight test pipe

The study of the transport and deposition characteristics of aerosol particles in test sections is a component of the probabilistic safety assessment of nuclear reactors under severe accident scenarios. The deposited particles may become resuspended under favorable conditions, thus affecting the source term estimates. The objective of the present study was to perform experiments on a straight test pipe section 4 m long under deposition and resuspension phases. Zinc oxide metal particles generated from a plasma torch aerosol generator (PTAG) were used as the test aerosols. Deposition phase experiments were performed at a total carrier gas flow rate of 180 Lmin-1, whereas the flow was increased to 1265 Lmin-1 for the resuspension phase. Thermophoresis as an effect of PTAG enthalpy-governed temperature gradients was seen to dominate the deposition phase. The effects of varying Reynold numbers in different volume sections were reflected in a higher resuspended-to-deposited-mass-ratio in the downstream direction. A profile of deposited and resuspended masses was interpreted for the resuspension time of 20 min. Experimentally obtained characteristics were also compared with numerical results from simulations performed with the SOPHAEROS module of the Accidental Source Term Evaluation Code (ASTEC). This study, performed at the National Aerosol Facility (NAF), Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur, India, indicates the need of more research on aerosol resuspension effects as this impacts the estimation accuracy of the source term

Microclimatic conditions under different shade trees and their effect on tea leaf growth rate

Micrometeorological variations within the tea canopy influence the tea yield to a considerable extent. An experiment was conducted at the Experimental Garden of Assam Agricultural University Jorhat, Assam during 2022 - 2024 to examine the effects of five shade tree species viz., Sao koroi (Albiziachinensis), Xil koroi (Albizia  odoratissima), Neem (Azadirachta indica), Amla (Phyllanthus emblica), and Areca nut (Areca catechu) on  micrometeorological parameters such as air temperature (AT), canopy temperature (CT), relative humidity (RH), photosynthetically active radiation (PAR), soil moisture (SM), soil temperature (ST), and rainfall (RF) affecting leaf growth and yield. The highest green leaf growth rate (GLGR) occurred during the monsoon season (41.7 ± 12.1 kgha-1day-1), with the highest GLGR (41.8 ± 13.1 kgha-1day-1) achieved under Neem shade. GLGR has a significant positive correlation with most of the parameters except rainfall which showed no significant influence on GLGR. Regression analysis revealed that rainfall negatively impacted GLGR. This study highlights the role of shade trees in mitigating stress and optimizing growth conditions, providing insights into sustainable tea cultivation practices

ANCA Vasculitis Induction Management During the COVID-19 Pandemic

As the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 pandemic evolved and became a global health threat, the safety of immunosuppression in antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibody-associated vasculitis (AAV) became of utmost important for clinicians and patients. Although timely initiation of immunosuppressive therapy is critical to quell the acute inflammation and prevent AAV-associated mortality and morbidity, concerns for increased susceptibility to Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19), delayed viral clearance, and decreased humoral response to infection led to speculation about modification in induction therapy practices may be deployed by physicians caring for patients with AAV. This international retrospective cohort study investigated the influence of the COVID-19 pandemic on AAV induction therapy and patient outcomes in different parts of the world by studying differences in treatment regimens in the United States, United Kingdom, and Europe

Genomics-assisted breeding in four major pulse crops of developing countries: present status and prospects

The global population is continuously increasing and is expected to reach nine billion by 2050. This huge population pressure will lead to severe shortage of food, natural resources and arable land. Such an alarming situation is most likely to arise in developing countries due to increase in the proportion of people suffering from protein and micronutrient malnutrition. Pulses being a primary and affordable source of proteins and minerals play a key role in alleviating the protein calorie malnutrition, micronutrient deficiencies and other undernourishment-related issues. Additionally, pulses are a vital source of livelihood generation for millions of resource-poor farmers practising agriculture in the semi-arid and sub-tropical regions. Limited success achieved through conventional breeding so far in most of the pulse crops will not be enough to feed the ever increasing population. In this context, genomics-assisted breeding (GAB) holds promise in enhancing the genetic gains. Though pulses have long been considered as orphan crops, recent advances in the area of pulse genomics are noteworthy, e.g. discovery of genome-wide genetic markers, high-throughput genotyping and sequencing platforms, high-density genetic linkage/QTL maps and, more importantly, the availability of whole-genome sequence. With genome sequence in hand, there is a great scope to apply genome-wide methods for trait mapping using association studies and to choose desirable genotypes via genomic selection. It is anticipated that GAB will speed up the progress of genetic improvement of pulses, leading to the rapid development of cultivars with higher yield, enhanced stress tolerance and wider adaptability