Sero-prevalence of SARS CoV-2 specific antibody among general population of Tripura, India: A baseline observation

Background: Spectrum of COVID-19 disease ranges from asymptomatic or mild symptomatic to life threatening cases. Population based sero-epidemiological studies are useful for assessing the magnitude of COVID-19 infection in a geographic area and it is helpful for planning control measures. Objectives: To estimate the sero-prevalence of SARS CoV-2 antibody in the general population of Tripura and to study the factors associated with it. Methodology: This community based cross-sectional study was conducted from 15th October to 14th November 2020 among 4800 subjects selected from the whole state of Tripura, India by probability proportionate to size sampling technique using 30 clusters. Electrochemiluminescence (eCLIA) based assay was used to test the serum samples for SARS-CoV-2 specific antibody. Data entry and analysis was performed using SPSS-25 for windows and sero-prevalence was expressed in percentages. Binary logistic regression model was used for predicting sero-positivity by including the significant factors associated with SARS-CoV-2 infection as found out by univariate analysis. Result: Sero-prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 antibody was found to be 34% among the general population of Tripura and it varied from 42.4% to 19.7% across different districts. Logistic regression model has identified, urban residency (OR: 1.21, 95% CI: 1.03-1.42), ethnic community (OR: 0.55, 95% CI: 0.48-0.64) and literacy (OR: 1.41, 95% CI: 1.13-1.77) as the independent risk factors for SARS-CoV-2 sero-positivity (p<0.05). Conclusion: Approximately one out of three residents of Tripura has already acquired the novel SARS CoV-2 infection. As the threshold required for achieving herd immunity against COVID-19 is not yet known, control measures need to be continued for preventing further spread of disease in the community

Ultrafast Green Single Photon Emission from an InGaN Quantum Dot-in-a-GaN Nanowire at Room Temperature

In recent years, there has been a growing demand for room-temperature visible single-photon emission from InGaN nanowire-quantum-dots (NWQDs) due to its potential in developing quantum computing, sensing, and communication technologies. Despite various approaches explored for growing InGaN quantum dots on top of nanowires (NWs), achieving the emission of a single photon at room temperature with sensible efficiency remains a challenge. This challenge is primarily attributed to difficulties in accomplishing the radial confinement limit and the inherent giant built-in potential of the NWQD. In this report, we have employed a novel Plasma Assisted Molecular Beam Epitaxy (PAMBE) growth approach to reduce the diameter of the QD to the excitonic Bohr radius of InGaN, thereby achieving strong lateral confinement. Additionally, we have successfully suppressed the strong built-in potential by reducing the QD diameter. Toward the end of the report, we have demonstrated single-photon emission (${\lambda}$ = 561 nm) at room-temperature from the NWQD and measured the second-order correlation function $g^{2}(0)$ as 0.11, which is notably low compared to other reported findings. Furthermore, the lifetime of carriers in the QD is determined to be 775 ps, inferring a high operational speed of the devices

Investigation of Magnesium Silicate as an Effective Gate Dielectric for AlGaN/GaN Metal Oxide High Electron Mobility Transistors (MOSHEMT)

In this study, a 6 nm layer of Magnesium Silicate (Mg-Silicate) was deposited on AlGaN/GaN heterostructure by sputtering of multiple stacks of MgO and SiO$_{2}$, followed by rapid thermal annealing in a nitrogen (N$_{2}$) environment. The X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) analysis confirmed the stoichiometric Mg-Silicate (MgSiO$_{3}$) after being annealed at a temperature of 850 $^\circ$C for 70 seconds. Atomic force microscopy (AFM) was employed to measure the root mean square (RMS) roughness (2.20 nm) of the Mg-Silicate. A significant reduction in reverse leakage current, by a factor of three orders of magnitude, was noted for the Mg-Silicate/AlGaN/GaN metal-oxide-semiconductor (MOS) diode in comparison to the Schottky diode. The dielectric constant of Mg-Silicate($\mathcal{E}_{Mg-Silicate}$) and the interface density of states (D$_{it}$) with AlGaN were approximated at $\sim$ 6.6 and 2.0 $\times$ 10$^{13}$ cm$^{-2}$eV$^{-1}$ respectively, utilizing capacitance-voltage (CV) characteristics

Online) An Open Access

ABSTRACT Chronic toxic effects of non-permitted food colour Metanil Yellow was carried out on the tongue papillae of albino rat (Rattus norvegicus) for exposure periods of 30 and 45 days at a dose of 3.0 g/kg body weight. Topological study displayed the toxic effects of Metanil Yellow on the tongue papillae especially on the filiform and fungiform papillae. The degenerative changes were found in both the filiform and fungiform papillae. Taste buds became necrosed after treatment. All these changes marked the toxicosis of Metanil Yellow on albino rat

Comparison Among the Qualities of Patties Prepared from Chicken Broiler, Spent Hen and Duck Meats

A study was being conducted to compare and assess the quality of chicken and duck patties prepared from broiler, spent hen and duck. The meat emulsions were analyzed for pH, moisture, protein, fat, total plate count (TPC), total psychrophilic count (TPSC) and emulsion stability and the cooked patties were analyzed for pH, moisture, protein, fat, cooking yield, total plate count (TPC), total psychrophilic count (TPSC), thiobarbituric acid (TBA) value and sensory qualities such as, appearance, flavour, tenderness, juiciness and overall acceptability. The patties prepared from broiler meat showed significantly highest moisture content, emulsion stability and cooking yield and on the other hand, the fat content was significantly highest in duck patties. The TPC, TPSC, TBA values and sensory qualities of all the patties were within the acceptable level up to 14thday of refrigerated storage. There were no major drawbacks of the patties prepared from spent hen and duck in comparison to those of broilers. Therefore, as the values of the major parameters studied are within the range of standard values, the spent hen and duck meat can also be encouraged for preparing nutritionally sound and acceptable patties