Nonstoichiometric FePt Nanoclusters for Heated Dot Magnetic Recording Media

Heated dot magnetic recording (HDMR) provides a path to increase the areal density of magnetic recording media beyond 4 Tb/in2. HDMR-based recording media requires ultrasmall, noninteracting, and thermally stable magnetic dots with high perpendicular anisotropy. We have synthesized nonstoichiometric Fe60Pt40 nanoclusters with and without a Pt buffer layer on silicon substrates, which shows a reduction in chemical ordering temperatures. The Fe60Pt40 nanoclusters retain the hard magnetic phase up to 1023 K with the coercive field of 1.3 Tesla due to the Pt element compensation from the buffer layer. This compensation of Pt was confirmed through X-ray diffraction (XRD) investigations where two distinct phases of Fe3Pt and FePt3 are observed at elevated annealing temperatures. Micromagnetic simulations were performed to understand the effect of magnetic anisotropy, dipolar interaction, and exchange coupling between the soft magnetic Fe3Pt and hard magnetic FePt. The results imply that nonstoichiometric Fe60Pt40 with the Pt buffer layer facilitates low chemical ordering temperatures retaining the high perpendicular anisotropy with minimal noninteracting behavior, suitable for HDMR

Global burden of 369 diseases and injuries in 204 countries and territories, 1990–2019: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2019

Background: In an era of shifting global agendas and expanded emphasis on non-communicable diseases and injuries along with communicable diseases, sound evidence on trends by cause at the national level is essential. The Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study (GBD) provides a systematic scientific assessment of published, publicly available, and contributed data on incidence, prevalence, and mortality for a mutually exclusive and collectively exhaustive list of diseases and injuries. Methods: GBD estimates incidence, prevalence, mortality, years of life lost (YLLs), years lived with disability (YLDs), and disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs) due to 369 diseases and injuries, for two sexes, and for 204 countries and territories. Input data were extracted from censuses, household surveys, civil registration and vital statistics, disease registries, health service use, air pollution monitors, satellite imaging, disease notifications, and other sources. Cause-specific death rates and cause fractions were calculated using the Cause of Death Ensemble model and spatiotemporal Gaussian process regression. Cause-specific deaths were adjusted to match the total all-cause deaths calculated as part of the GBD population, fertility, and mortality estimates. Deaths were multiplied by standard life expectancy at each age to calculate YLLs. A Bayesian meta-regression modelling tool, DisMod-MR 2.1, was used to ensure consistency between incidence, prevalence, remission, excess mortality, and cause-specific mortality for most causes. Prevalence estimates were multiplied by disability weights for mutually exclusive sequelae of diseases and injuries to calculate YLDs. We considered results in the context of the Socio-demographic Index (SDI), a composite indicator of income per capita, years of schooling, and fertility rate in females younger than 25 years. Uncertainty intervals (UIs) were generated for every metric using the 25th and 975th ordered 1000 draw values of the posterior distribution. Findings: Global health has steadily improved over the past 30 years as measured by age-standardised DALY rates. After taking into account population growth and ageing, the absolute number of DALYs has remained stable. Since 2010, the pace of decline in global age-standardised DALY rates has accelerated in age groups younger than 50 years compared with the 1990–2010 time period, with the greatest annualised rate of decline occurring in the 0–9-year age group. Six infectious diseases were among the top ten causes of DALYs in children younger than 10 years in 2019: lower respiratory infections (ranked second), diarrhoeal diseases (third), malaria (fifth), meningitis (sixth), whooping cough (ninth), and sexually transmitted infections (which, in this age group, is fully accounted for by congenital syphilis; ranked tenth). In adolescents aged 10–24 years, three injury causes were among the top causes of DALYs: road injuries (ranked first), self-harm (third), and interpersonal violence (fifth). Five of the causes that were in the top ten for ages 10–24 years were also in the top ten in the 25–49-year age group: road injuries (ranked first), HIV/AIDS (second), low back pain (fourth), headache disorders (fifth), and depressive disorders (sixth). In 2019, ischaemic heart disease and stroke were the top-ranked causes of DALYs in both the 50–74-year and 75-years-and-older age groups. Since 1990, there has been a marked shift towards a greater proportion of burden due to YLDs from non-communicable diseases and injuries. In 2019, there were 11 countries where non-communicable disease and injury YLDs constituted more than half of all disease burden. Decreases in age-standardised DALY rates have accelerated over the past decade in countries at the lower end of the SDI range, while improvements have started to stagnate or even reverse in countries with higher SDI. Interpretation: As disability becomes an increasingly large component of disease burden and a larger component of health expenditure, greater research and developm nt investment is needed to identify new, more effective intervention strategies. With a rapidly ageing global population, the demands on health services to deal with disabling outcomes, which increase with age, will require policy makers to anticipate these changes. The mix of universal and more geographically specific influences on health reinforces the need for regular reporting on population health in detail and by underlying cause to help decision makers to identify success stories of disease control to emulate, as well as opportunities to improve. Funding: Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. © 2020 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an Open Access article under the CC BY 4.0 licens

Mapping inequalities in exclusive breastfeeding in low- and middle-income countries, 2000–2018

Exclusive breastfeeding (EBF)—giving infants only breast-milk for the first 6 months of life—is a component of optimal breastfeeding practices effective in preventing child morbidity and mortality. EBF practices are known to vary by population and comparable subnational estimates of prevalence and progress across low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) are required for planning policy and interventions. Here we present a geospatial analysis of EBF prevalence estimates from 2000 to 2018 across 94 LMICs mapped to policy-relevant administrative units (for example, districts), quantify subnational inequalities and their changes over time, and estimate probabilities of meeting the World Health Organization’s Global Nutrition Target (WHO GNT) of ≥70% EBF prevalence by 2030. While six LMICs are projected to meet the WHO GNT of ≥70% EBF prevalence at a national scale, only three are predicted to meet the target in all their district-level units by 2030

PPIUCD in private sector: Prospective study to assess acceptability, safety and expulsion rate of Cu T 380 A in immediate postpartum period

PPIUCD is preferably inserted within 10 minutes of placenta delivery, intracaesarean, or 48 hours of delivery. In India, 65 percent of women have unmet family planning needs. The goal of this prospective study was to assess the acceptability, safety, and expulsion rate of Cu T 380 after 6 weeks of insertion. The research was conducted at St. Stephen's Hospital in Delhi, a tertiary care facility, in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology. For a year, 150 patients of various ages were implanted with PPIUCD. Patients were monitored for 6 weeks to assess- 1) Expulsion rate 2) Safety within Within 6 weeks of insertion, there was no evidence of abdominal pain, foul-smelling vaginal discharge, bleeding, or perforation. 3). Removal reasons In our study, we found that the overall complication rate was 9.29 percent, with infection rate 0.7 percent, prolonged lochia rate 2.1 percent, persistent bleeding rate 3.6 percent, and pain abdomen 1.4 percent. The study's removal rate was 5.0 percent. The rate of expulsion was 2.86 percent. The satisfaction rate was 80%. Based on the findings of this study, we believe that postpartum IUCD should be widely used as a contraceptive

Determination of Kinetic Parameters for the Thermal Decomposition of Parthenium hysterophorus

A kinetic study of pyrolysis process of Parthenium hysterophorous is carried out by using thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) equipment. The present study investigates the thermal degradation and determination of the kinetic parameters such as activation E and the frequency factor A using model-free methods given by Flynn Wall and Ozawa (FWO), Kissinger-Akahira-Sonuse (KAS) and Kissinger, and model-fitting (Coats Redfern). The results derived from thermal decomposition process demarcate decomposition of Parthenium hysterophorous among the three main stages, such as dehydration, active and passive pyrolysis. It is shown through DTG thermograms that the increase in the heating rate caused temperature peaks at maximum weight loss rate to shift towards higher temperature regime. The results are compared with Coats Redfern (Integral method) and experimental results have shown that values of kinetic parameters obtained from model-free methods are in good agreement. Whereas the results obtained through Coats Redfern model at different heating rates are not promising, however, the diffusion models provided the good fitting with the experimental data

STATUS AND IMPACT OF INVASIVE AND ALIEN SPECIES ON ENVIRONMENT, AND HUMAN WELFARE: AN OVERVIEW

An invasive species can be any kind of living organisms such as amphibian, plant, insect, fish, fungus, bacteria, or even an organism’s seeds or eggs—that is not native to an ecosystem and causes harm. We conducted a systematic literature review of the existing research on the status and impact of invasive species on the Environment, Socio-Economic and Humans, with the aim of providing guidance on various levels and group decisions. In order to detect patterns of publication trends and factors determining research perceptions of invasive species, qualitative as well as quantitative data were used. The majority of research papers dealing with the impact of invasive plant species have addressed the autecology of invasive species, factors facilitating the spread of these species, change in social structure and economic losses. Soil processes that adapt quickly to the invasion of plants and, in turn, affect the recruitment and growth of both native and invasive species are often ignored. The author's reviews the existing literature on the impact of invasive plant species show that several soil properties and processes are substantially altered. These changes support feedback mechanisms, which could reverberate up to the landscape-level and affect ecosystem structure and biogeochemical cycles. Evidently, studies need to focus on soil processes for a better understanding of the invasion. In India total of 169 invasive alien species have documented in different ecosystems across the country. It is documented by the National biodiversity authority of India on the basis of specific criteria. In this review, an attempt has been made to understand the status of IAS in India and their impact on biodiversity, ecosystem services and human welfare. This review will helpful for the researchers to know the status of IAS in India

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Not AvailableSolid state fermentation with pea pod waste and Aspergillus niger HN-1 resulted in filter paper cellu-lase (FP) and -glucosidase (BGL) activity of 30 FPU/gds and 270 U/gds, respectively. Validation withthe response surface optimized parameters (moisture content: 65%, pH 6.0, temperature: 33◦C, time:84 h) in a solid-state tray fermentation enhanced FP and BGL activity by about 40 and 28%, respectively.Multi-component enzyme from A. niger HN-1 produced FP, BGL, endoglucanase (EG), cellobiohy-drolase (CBHI), xylanase, -l-arabinofuranosidase, -xylosidase and xylan esterase with activities of41.07 ± 2.11 FPU/gds, 345.69 ± 17.1, 480.3 ± 21.5, 52.1 ± 1.5, 2800.5 ± 88.4, 88.1 ± 9.3, 280.8 ± 11.4 and3321.7 ± 14.8 U/gds, respectively. Enzyme was optimally active at temperature and pH of 55◦C and 5.0,respectively and demonstrated thermostability by retaining >95% activity for 6 h at 55◦C. SDS-PAGEshowed the presence of 11 protein bands with molecular mass ranging between 20 and 200 kDa, whilezymogram revealed the presence of multiple forms of EG, CBH and BGL with varying molecular mass.Hydrolysis of sweet sorghum bagasse at relatively high substrate loading (15%, w/v) with crude enzymeat 20 FPU/gds in thermostatically controlled glass reactor led to conversion of 82–91% of holocellulose tofermentable sugars in just 24 h as evident from HPLC analysis, showing promise for the reported enzymein bioprocessing applications.AMAAS sub-project (NBAIM/AMAAS/2008-09/AMBPH-05/HSO/BG/3/5982) from the Indian Council of Agricul-tural Research (ICAR), Government of India

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Not AvailableThermophilic Aspergillus terreus RWY produced cellulases and xylanases in optimal concentrations at 45 °C in solid state fermentation process, though enzyme production was also observed at 50 and 55 °C. Filter paper cellulase (FP), endoglucanase (EG), b-glucosidase (BGL), cellobiohydrolase (CBH), xylanase, b-xylosidase, a-L-arabinofuranosidase and xylan esterase activities for A. terreus RWY at 45 °C in 72 h were 11.3 0.65, 103 6.4, 122.5 8.7, 10.3 0.66, 872 22.5, 22.1 0.75, 126.4 8.4 and 907 15.5U (g-ds) 1, respectively. Enzyme was optimally active at temperatures and pH ranging between 50–60 °C and 4.0–6.0, respectively. The half life (T1/2) of 270 and 240 min at 70 and 75 °C, respectively for the enzyme indicates its stability at higher temperatures. The addition of MnCl2, CoCl2, and FeCl3 significantly enhanced cellulase activity. Enzyme demonstrated multiplicity by having seven, one and three isoform(s) for EG, CBH and BGL, respectively. Significant production of functionally active consortium of cellulolytic and xylanolytic enzymes from A. terreus RWY makes it a potential candidate in bioprocessing applications.Not Availabl

Generating Fermentable Sugars from Rice Straw Using Functionally Active Cellulolytic Enzymes from <i>Aspergillus niger</i> HO

Among the three <i>Aspergillus</i> spp. (<i>A. niger</i>, <i>A. oryzae</i>, and <i>A. fumigatus</i>) screened for cellulolytic enzyme production potential, <i>A. niger</i> produced cellulolytic enzyme in relatively higher concentrations than the other two isolates. Enzyme produced by all three isolates was optimally active at pH 5.0. Cellulases from <i>A. niger</i> and <i>A. fumigatus</i> were optimally active at 55 °C, while the enzyme from <i>A. oryzae</i> showed optimum activity at 50 °C. Cellulase from <i>A. niger</i> and <i>A. fumigatus</i> retained more than 80 and 70% activity, respectively, while cellulase from <i>A. oryzae</i> could retain only 20% activity at 55 °C after 12 h. Cellulase from <i>A. niger</i> exhibited better stability at higher temperatures than the enzyme from the other two <i>Aspergillus</i> spp., showing half-life (<i>t</i>_1/2) of about 5 and 3 h at 70 and 80 °C, respectively. Zymogram revealed multiple forms of endoglucanase, cellobiohydrolase, and β-glucosidase with molecular mass ranging between 28 and 154 kDa for cellulase from all three isolates. Hydrolysis of rice straw at 12.5% (w/v) with crude cellulase from <i>A. niger</i> HO resulted in fermentable sugar concentration and productivity of 66.2 g L^–1 and 2.75 g L^–1 h^–1, respectively, showing potential for the reported enzyme in biofuel industry