Multiple Triple-Point Fermions in Heusler Compounds

Using the density functional theoretical calculations, we report a new set of topological semimetals X$_{2}$YZ (X = \{Cu, Rh, Pd, Ag, Au, Hg\}, Y = \{Li, Na, Sc, Zn, Y, Zr, Hf, La, Pr, Pm, Sm, Tb, Dy, Ho, Tm\} and Z =\{Mg, Al, Zn, Ga, Y, Ag, Cd, In, Sn, Ta, Sm\}), which show the existence of multiple topological triple point fermions along four independent $C_{3}$ axes. These fermionic quasiparticles have no analogues elementary particle in the standard model. The angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy is simulated to obtain the exotic topological surface states and the characteristic Fermi arcs. The inclusion of spin-orbit coupling splits the triple-point into two Dirac points. The triple-point fermions are exhibited on the easily cleavable (111) surface and are well separated from the surface $\bar{\Gamma}$ point, allowing them to be resolved in the surface spectroscopic techniques. This intermediate linearly dispersive degeneracy between Weyl and Dirac points may offer prospective candidates for quantum transport applications

Učinak vrućice uzrokovane endotoksinom bakterije E. coli na farmakokinetiku i doziranje ceftriaksona u ovaca (Ovis aries).

The effect of fever was studied on the pharmacokinetics of ceftriaxone (CTRX) following intravenous administration at the rate of 50 mg/kg b.m. in Chhotanagpuri sheep. Fever was induced by intravenous administration of E. coli serovar O126:B8 lipopolysaccharide, and plasma CTRX concentration was estimated by HPLC. The plasma drug concentration versus time curve best fitted a two compartment open model. The maximum plasma drug concentration was 16.33 per cent lower in febrile sheep (FS) in comparison to normal sheep (NS). In FS, t1/2α was lower, while t1/2β was higher than in NS. Vdarea and P: C ratio was higher in FS, but ClB and AUC did not differ significantly between the two groups. The results of the present study indicate that CTRX has greater distribution in the peripheral compartment during pyrexia. High values of K12/K /K21 ratio also indicated rapid drug distribution in various body fluids and compartments. The suitable dosage regimen of CTRX in FS by the intravenous route was calculated to be 15 mg/kg b.m. at a 5 h interval.Istraživan je učinak vrućice na farmakokinetiku ceftriaksona (CTRX) nakon njegove intravenske primjene u dozi od 50 mg/kg tjelesne mase u ovaca pasmine Chhotanagpuri. Vrućica je bila uzrokovana intravenskom primjenom lipopolisaharida serovara O126:B8 bakterije E. coli. Koncentracija cefriaksona u plazmi bila je određivana visokotlačnom tekućinskom kromatografijom. Koncentracija lijeka u plazmi u odnosu na vremensku krivulju bila je najsličnija modelu dvaju odjeljaka. Najveća koncentracija lijeka bila je 16,33% manja u febrilnih ovaca u odnosu na nefebrilne. U febrilnih je ovaca t1/2α bio manji, a t1/2β veći nego u nefebrilnih. Prividni volumen raspodjele (Vdarea) i omjer P:C bili su veći u febrilnih ovaca dok se ClB (ukupni klirens lijeka iz organizma) i AUC (površina ispod koncentracijske krivulje lijeka u plazmi) nisu značajno razlikovali između dviju skupina. Rezultati ovog istraživanja naznačuju da ceftriakson ima bolju raspodjelu u perifernom odjeljku za vrijeme vrućice. Velike vrijednosti odnosa K12/K21 također upućuju na brzu raspodjelu lijeka u različitim tjelesnim tekućinama i odjeljcima. Izračunato je da je ceftriakson u febrilnih ovaca najbolje davati intravenski u dozi od 15 mg/kg tjelesne mase u razmaku od pet sati

Automated Classification of 2000 Bright IRAS Sources

An Artificial Neural Network (ANN) has been employed using a supervised back-propagation scheme to classify 2000 bright sources from the Calgary database of IRAS (Infrared Astronomy Satellite) spectra in the wavelength region of 8-23 microns. The data base has been classified into 17 pre-determined classes based on spectral morphology. We have been able to classify more than 80 percent of the 2000 sources correctly at the first instance. The speed and robustness of the scheme will allow us to classify the whole of LRS database, containing more than 50,000 sources in the future.Comment: 26 pages, To appear in ApJS after July 200

Controlling the size distribution of nanoparticles through the use of physical boundaries during laser ablation in liquids

A simple, yet effective method of controlling the size and size distributions of nanoparticles produced as a result of laser ablation of target material is presented. The method employs the presence of physical boundaries on either sides of the ablation site. In order to demonstrate the potential of the method, experiments have been conducted with copper and titanium as the target materials that are placed in two different liquid media (water and isopropyl alcohol). The ablation of the target material immersed in the liquid medium has been carried out using an Nd:YAG laser. Significant differences in the size and size distributions are observed in the cases of nanoparticles produced with and without confining boundaries. It is seen that for any given liquid medium and the target material, the mean size of the nanoparticles obtained with the boundary-fitted target surface is consistently higher than that achieved in the case of open (flat) targets. The observed trend has been attributed to the plausible role(s) of the confining boundaries in prolonging the thermalisation time of the plasma plume. In order to ascertain that the observed differences in sizes of the nanoparticles produced with and without the presence of the physical barriers are predominantly because of the prolonged thermalisation of the plasma plume and not due to the possible formation of oxide layer, select experiments with gold as the target material in water have also been performed. The experiments also show that, irrespective of the liquid medium, the increase in the mean size of the copper-based nanoparticles due to the presence of physical boundaries is relatively higher than that observed in the case of titanium target material under similar experimental conditions.Comment: 24 pages, 9 figures, a part of this work has been published in Photonics Prague 2017, (Proc. SPIE 10603, Photonics, Devices, and Systems VII, 1060304) titled "A novel method for fabrication of size-controlled metallic nanoparticles

Study of compliance and impact of infant and young child feeding counseling in Patna district, Bihar

Background: The infant and young child feeding (IYCF) practices have crucial role for physical and mental development of the child. Objective: To study the compliance to IYCF practices and impact of IYCF counseling in and around Patna district. Methods: Cross-sectional study was done in a hospital-based survey to find out compliance, and impact of IYCF practice counseling among infants and children attending a tertiary level hospital, Patna. Children in the age group, 6-24 months in and around Patna, were studied. Results: About 24% of the mothers initiated breastfeeding within an hour after birth. Exclusive breastfeeding for 6 months was practiced only by 36% of the mothers. Nearly, 43% of the mothers started complementary feeding at 6 months, and 45% of the infants were breastfed for 2 years. In the present study, 26% of mothers were using as age-appropriate complementary feeding and 35% of the mothers were feeding actively their child both during and after illness. Conclusion: Despite 3 years of counseling, compliance to IYCF practice in our area is low, and thus, the impact of IYCF counseling is poor in our area. Low knowledge score of mothers, lesser number of antenatal care visit is found to be an important factor responsible for low compliance

Dietary Incorporation of Ractopamine Hydrochloride Improves Body Composition and Metabolic Enzyme Activity in Calbasu, Labeo calbasu Fingerlings, despite High- and Low-Protein-Supplemented Diet

A 60-day feeding trial was conducted to examine the effect and interaction of dietary ractopamine hydrochloride (Rac) supplementation in diets with varied levels of protein and lipid for L. calbasu fingerlings. To attain this, the fish body compositions, digestive and metabolic enzyme activity were assessed. In total, nine diets were fed in triplicates to four hundred and five healthy Calbasu, Labeo calbasu fingerlings, based on ractopamine supplementation, viz., control (0 mg/kg), T1 (10 mg/kg), and T2 (20 mg/kg). The diets were further assigned in different levels of protein and lipid, viz., 35% protein and 6% lipid, 30% protein and 9% lipid, and 25% protein and 12% lipid. At the end of the trial, it has been observed that the inclusion of ractopamine hydrochloride at 20 mg/kg(-1) of basal diet significantly (p 0.05) digestive enzyme activity, viz., amylase, lipase, and protease activity in the fed fish. Conclusively, it implies that adding ractopamine hydrochloride at 20 mg/kg of basal diet (high and low protein content) enhances the whole-body protein content and improves the metabolic enzyme activity in L. calbasu fingerlings. Hence, ractopamine hydrochloride has a beneficial effect in L. calbasu fingerlings and would be a desirable feed supplement for this new species culture system

Measuring patient experience with patient care coordinators during decongestion of outpatient department of an apex tertiary care referral public hospital in India

Background: Specialized hospitals are faced with overcrowding in OPDs, improper behaviour of staff and navigation difficulties. In an apex tertiary care referral public hospital of India, Patient care coordinators (PCCs) were introduced to help patients navigate as a part of an OPD decongestion project. A novel concept involving patient interaction, called for measuring patient experience, to provide a baseline measurement, further improvements needed and benchmarking. For this, the model for decongestion also needed to be studied.Methods: A descriptive and cross-sectional study was conducted. Direct observations were conducted to study decongestion model and expectations from PCCs. Patient experience was measured from 400 patients using a 27-item questionnaire designed by researcher. A 5-point Likert’s scale was used for their availability, politeness, promptness, guidance, information accuracy, emotional support, etc. Dichotomous scale was also used to measure competence of PCCs.Results: A patient reception centre with three different zones was created based on status of appointments, unique hospital identification number (UHID) and new or re-visit patients. Waiting areas were created and crowd distributed based on handling capacities of sub-waiting areas dynamically adjusting to service time of doctors. PCCs facilitated navigation to right destinations. Patients had positive experience irrespective of age, gender and educational status. It related positively with a confident next visit.Conclusions: Introduction of PCCs is an effective way for assisting patient navigation. The study contributes by providing a measure of experience and benchmarking. It succinctly describes a model for decongesting OPD that may be adopted in similar settings

Publication Trend in Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal) : A Scientometric Approach

Scientometrics is an effective method to quantitatively analyse the productivity and progress of all forms of written communication. This study aims to examine the scientific research productivity on Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal) during 1998-2019. Required data was collected from Scopus database. The year wise distribution of articles, relative growth rate, doubling time, collaboration coefficient, country and affiliation wise distribution, citation patterns etc., were analysed. Findings revealed that the highest numbers of articles were published in the year 2019 and lowest in 1998. In 2013, there was no single article. The highest contribution was countrywise Nigeria and institution wise University of Ibadan. Study also revealed the average citation per paper was 1.51. The paper 'Using Google Analytics for improving library website content and design: A case study' by Fang W. received a citation of 67 and ranked as the highly cited paper