The influence of radiation on the electrical characteristics of MOSFET and its revival by different annealing techniques

Defects originate in N-channel MOSFETs by exposing them to high-energy ions and 60Co gamma radiation separately to different radiation doses. The electrical variations in MOSFETs are characterized systematically before and after the influence of radiation on MOSFETs. The impact of 60Co gamma radiation on threshold voltage (VTH) and mobility (µ) characteristics of MOSFETs is more than the impact of high energy ions on MOSFETs. The annealing of electrical characteristics in the irradiated MOSFETs is studied systematically by isothermal and isochronal annealing techniques. The isochronal annealing technique is more preferable due to its high recovery rate than the isothermal annealing technique

Optical, structural and thermal properties of hybrid PVA/CaAl2ZrO6 nanocomposite films

This report focuses on fabrication, characterization, and fundamental optical, structural and thermal properties of PVA/calcium aluminum doped zirconate (CaAl2ZrO6) nanocomposites (NCs) films. The PVA-NCs with different amounts viz., 2, 4, 6 and 8 wt% of calcium aluminum zirconate (CaAl2ZrO6) have been fabricated using solvent casting technique. The NC films structural and morphology have been investigated by X-ray diffraction, FTIR and scanning electron microscopy. TEM result indicates that the size of nanoparticles (NPs) lies in the range 10-23nm.. Thermal studies have been evaluated by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). The optical properties of NCs has been investigated by UV-vis spectroscopy, where the optical study reveals an increased refractive index from 1.22 to 2.23 at a wave length of 300 nm, where as the band gap energy (E-g) is reduced from 5.01 to 3.32 eV for PVA to PVA/8wt% CaAl2ZrO6, respectively. The dielectric studies, optical conductivity measurements and Urbach energy analysis also supports the dopant dependent optical property, tuning of PVA/CaAl2ZrO6 NC films to enable effective material property engineering to suit specified application requirements

Global, regional, and national burden of disorders affecting the nervous system, 1990–2021: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2021

BackgroundDisorders affecting the nervous system are diverse and include neurodevelopmental disorders, late-life neurodegeneration, and newly emergent conditions, such as cognitive impairment following COVID-19. Previous publications from the Global Burden of Disease, Injuries, and Risk Factor Study estimated the burden of 15 neurological conditions in 2015 and 2016, but these analyses did not include neurodevelopmental disorders, as defined by the International Classification of Diseases (ICD)-11, or a subset of cases of congenital, neonatal, and infectious conditions that cause neurological damage. Here, we estimate nervous system health loss caused by 37 unique conditions and their associated risk factors globally, regionally, and nationally from 1990 to 2021.MethodsWe estimated mortality, prevalence, years lived with disability (YLDs), years of life lost (YLLs), and disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs), with corresponding 95% uncertainty intervals (UIs), by age and sex in 204 countries and territories, from 1990 to 2021. We included morbidity and deaths due to neurological conditions, for which health loss is directly due to damage to the CNS or peripheral nervous system. We also isolated neurological health loss from conditions for which nervous system morbidity is a consequence, but not the primary feature, including a subset of congenital conditions (ie, chromosomal anomalies and congenital birth defects), neonatal conditions (ie, jaundice, preterm birth, and sepsis), infectious diseases (ie, COVID-19, cystic echinococcosis, malaria, syphilis, and Zika virus disease), and diabetic neuropathy. By conducting a sequela-level analysis of the health outcomes for these conditions, only cases where nervous system damage occurred were included, and YLDs were recalculated to isolate the non-fatal burden directly attributable to nervous system health loss. A comorbidity correction was used to calculate total prevalence of all conditions that affect the nervous system combined.FindingsGlobally, the 37 conditions affecting the nervous system were collectively ranked as the leading group cause of DALYs in 2021 (443 million, 95% UI 378–521), affecting 3·40 billion (3·20–3·62) individuals (43·1%, 40·5–45·9 of the global population); global DALY counts attributed to these conditions increased by 18·2% (8·7–26·7) between 1990 and 2021. Age-standardised rates of deaths per 100 000 people attributed to these conditions decreased from 1990 to 2021 by 33·6% (27·6–38·8), and age-standardised rates of DALYs attributed to these conditions decreased by 27·0% (21·5–32·4). Age-standardised prevalence was almost stable, with a change of 1·5% (0·7–2·4). The ten conditions with the highest age-standardised DALYs in 2021 were stroke, neonatal encephalopathy, migraine, Alzheimer's disease and other dementias, diabetic neuropathy, meningitis, epilepsy, neurological complications due to preterm birth, autism spectrum disorder, and nervous system cancer.InterpretationAs the leading cause of overall disease burden in the world, with increasing global DALY counts, effective prevention, treatment, and rehabilitation strategies for disorders affecting the nervous system are needed

Global burden of 288 causes of death and life expectancy decomposition in 204 countries and territories and 811 subnational locations, 1990–2021: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2021

BACKGROUND Regular, detailed reporting on population health by underlying cause of death is fundamental for public health decision making. Cause-specific estimates of mortality and the subsequent effects on life expectancy worldwide are valuable metrics to gauge progress in reducing mortality rates. These estimates are particularly important following large-scale mortality spikes, such as the COVID-19 pandemic. When systematically analysed, mortality rates and life expectancy allow comparisons of the consequences of causes of death globally and over time, providing a nuanced understanding of the effect of these causes on global populations. METHODS The Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study (GBD) 2021 cause-of-death analysis estimated mortality and years of life lost (YLLs) from 288 causes of death by age-sex-location-year in 204 countries and territories and 811 subnational locations for each year from 1990 until 2021. The analysis used 56 604 data sources, including data from vital registration and verbal autopsy as well as surveys, censuses, surveillance systems, and cancer registries, among others. As with previous GBD rounds, cause-specific death rates for most causes were estimated using the Cause of Death Ensemble model-a modelling tool developed for GBD to assess the out-of-sample predictive validity of different statistical models and covariate permutations and combine those results to produce cause-specific mortality estimates-with alternative strategies adapted to model causes with insufficient data, substantial changes in reporting over the study period, or unusual epidemiology. YLLs were computed as the product of the number of deaths for each cause-age-sex-location-year and the standard life expectancy at each age. As part of the modelling process, uncertainty intervals (UIs) were generated using the 2·5th and 97·5th percentiles from a 1000-draw distribution for each metric. We decomposed life expectancy by cause of death, location, and year to show cause-specific effects on life expectancy from 1990 to 2021. We also used the coefficient of variation and the fraction of population affected by 90% of deaths to highlight concentrations of mortality. Findings are reported in counts and age-standardised rates. Methodological improvements for cause-of-death estimates in GBD 2021 include the expansion of under-5-years age group to include four new age groups, enhanced methods to account for stochastic variation of sparse data, and the inclusion of COVID-19 and other pandemic-related mortality-which includes excess mortality associated with the pandemic, excluding COVID-19, lower respiratory infections, measles, malaria, and pertussis. For this analysis, 199 new country-years of vital registration cause-of-death data, 5 country-years of surveillance data, 21 country-years of verbal autopsy data, and 94 country-years of other data types were added to those used in previous GBD rounds. FINDINGS The leading causes of age-standardised deaths globally were the same in 2019 as they were in 1990; in descending order, these were, ischaemic heart disease, stroke, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and lower respiratory infections. In 2021, however, COVID-19 replaced stroke as the second-leading age-standardised cause of death, with 94·0 deaths (95% UI 89·2-100·0) per 100 000 population. The COVID-19 pandemic shifted the rankings of the leading five causes, lowering stroke to the third-leading and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease to the fourth-leading position. In 2021, the highest age-standardised death rates from COVID-19 occurred in sub-Saharan Africa (271·0 deaths [250·1-290·7] per 100 000 population) and Latin America and the Caribbean (195·4 deaths [182·1-211·4] per 100 000 population). The lowest age-standardised death rates from COVID-19 were in the high-income super-region (48·1 deaths [47·4-48·8] per 100 000 population) and southeast Asia, east Asia, and Oceania (23·2 deaths [16·3-37·2] per 100 000 population). Globally, life expectancy steadily improved between 1990 and 2019 for 18 of the 22 investigated causes. Decomposition of global and regional life expectancy showed the positive effect that reductions in deaths from enteric infections, lower respiratory infections, stroke, and neonatal deaths, among others have contributed to improved survival over the study period. However, a net reduction of 1·6 years occurred in global life expectancy between 2019 and 2021, primarily due to increased death rates from COVID-19 and other pandemic-related mortality. Life expectancy was highly variable between super-regions over the study period, with southeast Asia, east Asia, and Oceania gaining 8·3 years (6·7-9·9) overall, while having the smallest reduction in life expectancy due to COVID-19 (0·4 years). The largest reduction in life expectancy due to COVID-19 occurred in Latin America and the Caribbean (3·6 years). Additionally, 53 of the 288 causes of death were highly concentrated in locations with less than 50% of the global population as of 2021, and these causes of death became progressively more concentrated since 1990, when only 44 causes showed this pattern. The concentration phenomenon is discussed heuristically with respect to enteric and lower respiratory infections, malaria, HIV/AIDS, neonatal disorders, tuberculosis, and measles. INTERPRETATION Long-standing gains in life expectancy and reductions in many of the leading causes of death have been disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic, the adverse effects of which were spread unevenly among populations. Despite the pandemic, there has been continued progress in combatting several notable causes of death, leading to improved global life expectancy over the study period. Each of the seven GBD super-regions showed an overall improvement from 1990 and 2021, obscuring the negative effect in the years of the pandemic. Additionally, our findings regarding regional variation in causes of death driving increases in life expectancy hold clear policy utility. Analyses of shifting mortality trends reveal that several causes, once widespread globally, are now increasingly concentrated geographically. These changes in mortality concentration, alongside further investigation of changing risks, interventions, and relevant policy, present an important opportunity to deepen our understanding of mortality-reduction strategies. Examining patterns in mortality concentration might reveal areas where successful public health interventions have been implemented. Translating these successes to locations where certain causes of death remain entrenched can inform policies that work to improve life expectancy for people everywhere. FUNDING Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

The effect of 100 MeV oxygen ion on electrical and optical properties of nonlinear optical l-alanine sodium nitrate single crystals

Single crystals of nonlinear optical (NLO) L-alanine Sodium Nitrate (LASN) were grown by slow evaporation method. The grown crystals were irradiated by 100 MeV oxygen ions with the cumulative doses of 1Mrad, 6 Mrad and 10 Mrad. The dielectric properties, differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and second harmonic generation (SHG) of the crystals were studied before and after irradiation. The dielectric constant was found to increase after irradiation. The DSC reveals that the melting point remains unaffected due to irradiation. The SHG efficiency of LASN was found to decrease with increase in radiation dose

Studies on the optical, thermal, electrical and dielectric properties of 5-chloro-2(3H)benzoxazolone Picrate: a new nonlinear optical crystal

An organic single crystals of 5-chloro-2(3H)benzoxazolone Picrate (5C2BP) were grown by slow evaporation of solvent technique at ambient temperature using water and ethanol as mixed solvent. The grown 5C2BP crystals were subjected to single crystal XRD and powder XRD to know the unit cell parameters and crystallinity of the sample. Fourier transform infrared spectrum of the grown crystal confirmed the presence of various functional groups in the material. UV–vis–NIR spectrum was used to investigate the optical transparency of the grown crystal. Thermal behaviour was studied by thermogravimetric and differential thermal analysis and melting point was determined by differential scanning calorimetry. The frequency dependence of dielectric properties with different temperature and the DC electrical conductivity with different temperature was performed on the grown crystal. The nonlinear optical property was confirmed by second harmonic generation test using Nd:YAG laser of fundamental wavelength 1064 nm

MeMLO: Mobility-Enabled Multi-level Optimization Sensor Network

The paper presents a technique called as Mobility-Enabled Multi Level Optimization (MeMLO) that addressing the existing problem of clustering in wireless sensor net-work (WSN). The technique enables selection of aggregator node based on multiple optimization attribute which gives better decision capability to the clustering mechanism by choosing the best aggregator node. The outcome of the study shows MeMLO is highly capable of minimizing the halt time of mobile node that significantly lowers the transmit power of aggregator node. The simulation outcome shows negligible computational complexity, faster response time, and highly energy efficient for large scale WSN for longer simulation rounds as compared to conventional LEACH algorithm

Enhanced solar light driven photocatalytic degradation of organic dye using solution combustion synthesized CeO2-ZnO nanocomposites

CeO2 and CeO2-ZnO nanocomposites were synthesized by the solution combustion method. Cerium/Zinc nitrates and sucrose were used as an oxidizer and fuel, respectively. Structural, morphological and optical properties were studied using x-ray diffraction (XRD), a field emission scanning electron microscope (FESEM) and ultra violet–visible absorption spectroscopy. XRD results show that the prepared CeO2 has cubic structure, whereas the CeO2-ZnO composite has both cubic and hexagonal structure. The particle size was found to decrease from 11 nm to 7 nm on increasing the fraction of ZnO in CeO2-ZnO nanocomposites. Optical characterisation showed that the band gap of pristine CeO2 and CeO2-ZnO nanocomposites red shifted from 3.02 eV to 2.91 eV. FESEM analysis revealed porous-like morphology of CeO2-ZnO nanocomposites. Pristine CeO2 and CeO2-ZnO nanocomposites with ratios of 1:0.33, 1:0.5 and 1:1 were evaluated for their photocatalytic activity against the degradation of methylene blue (MB) under solar light for 90 min. The degradation efficiency was 51.1% for pristine CeO2 and CeO2-ZnO (1:1) shows more degradation efficiency (99.9%), when compared to other ratios. Photocatalytic degradation efficiency was increased with increase in ZnO concentration in nanocomposites. This is due to reduced bandgap and less recombination of photo-generated charge carriers