State-of-the-art review on hydrogen's production, storage, and potential as a future transportation fuel.

Global energy consumption is expected to reach 911 BTU by the end of 2050 as a result of rapid urbanization and industrialization. Hydrogen is increasingly recognized as a clean and reliable energy vector for decarbonization and defossilization across various sectors. Projections indicate a significant rise in global demand for hydrogen, underscoring the need for sustainable production, efficient storage, and utilization. In this state-of-the-art review, we explore hydrogen production methods, compare their environmental impacts through life cycle analysis, delve into geological storage options, and discuss hydrogen's potential as a future transportation fuel. Combining electrolysis to make hydrogen and storing it in porous underground materials like salt caverns and geological reservoirs looks like a good way to balance out the variable supply of renewable energy and meet the demand at peak times. Hydrogen is a key component of our sustainable economy, and this article gives a broad overview of the process from production to consumption, touching on technical, economic, and environmental concerns along the way. We have made an attempt in this paper to compile different methods for the production of hydrogen and its storage, the challenges faced by current methods in the manufacturing of hydrogen gas, and the role of hydrogen in the future. This review paper will serve as a very good reference for hydrogen system engineering applications. The paper concludes with some suggestions for future research to help improve the technological efficiency of certain production methods, all with the goal of scaling up the hydrogen economy.

Assessment of higher demand of household energy consumption in different households in India: an inter-comparative study and solar savings valuation.

The present work focuses on a detailed inter-comparative assessment of household energy consumption (HEC) patterns for different Indian households including their living style and pattern of using clean energy fuels. This assessment has been done for cooking, heating, cooling, and transportation patterns in different households. It has been observed that the monthly income, family size, and house location have a significant effect on the monthly HEC of a specific household. Besides the complete assessment of HEC, results of the present study also show the potential of solar energy applications through which rural poor households and lower-income households can save approximately $10.77 to $14.36 monthly while urban households can save $17.95 to $29.92 monthly. Rural side medium-income households can save about $10.77 to $14.36 in cooking and about $11.97 to $16.76 monthly in space heating, cooling, and lighting, while urban medium-income households can save about $17.95 to $29.92 monthly. Likely, rural high-income households or rich households can save about $11.97 to $16.76 in cooking, and about $17.95 to $29.92 monthly in space heating, cooling, and lighting while urban high-income households can save about $29.92 to $53.86 monthly. Rich households can save up to $23.94 in cooking, and up to $95.75 monthly in space heating, cooling, and lighting. A complete formulization of the theoretical assessment of HEC has been discussed in this study.

Decision-making under risk and its correlates in schizophrenia.

Schizophrenia spectrum disorders (SSD) are associated with pervasive cognitive impairments, including deficits in decision-making under risk. However, there is inconclusive evidence regarding specific mechanisms underlying altered decision-making patterns. In this study, participants (33 SSD and 28 non-SSD) completed the Columbia Card Task, an explicit risk-taking task, to better understand risk preference and adjustment in dynamic decision-making. We found that while there is no group difference in overall risk-taking, risk preference, or optimal decision-making, risk adjustment to contextual factors (e.g., loss probability) is blunted in SSD. We also found associations between risk-taking/suboptimal decision-making and disorganized symptoms, excited symptoms, and role functioning, but no associations between decision-making and working memory. These results suggest that during a complex, dynamic risk-taking task, individuals with SSD exhibit less adaption to changing information about risk, which may reflect risk imperception.

Role of calcium nutrition in plant Physiology: Advances in research and insights into acidic soil conditions - A comprehensive review.

Plant mineral nutrition has immense significance for crop productivity and human well-being. Soil acidity plays a major role in determining the nutrient availability that influences plant growth. The importance of calcium (Ca) in biological processes, such as signaling, metabolism, and cell growth, underlines its critical role in plant growth and development. This review focuses on soil acidification, a gradual process resulting from cation leaching, fertilizer utilization, and drainage issues. Soil acidification significantly hampers global crop production by modifying nutrient accessibility. In acidic soils, essential nutrients, such as nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), potassium (K), magnesium (Mg), and Ca become less accessible, establishing a correlation between soil pH and plant nutrition. Cutting-edge Ca nutrition technologies, including nanotechnology, genetic engineering, and genome sequencing, offer the potential to deliver Ca and reduce the reliance on conventional soluble fertilizers. These fertilizers not only contribute to environmental contamination but also impose economic burdens on farmers. Nanotechnology can enhance nutrient uptake, and Ca nanoparticles improve nutrient absorption and release. Genetic engineering enables the cultivation of acid-tolerant crop varieties by manipulating Ca-related genes. High-throughput technologies such as next-generation sequencing and microarrays aid in identifying the microbial structures, functions, and biosynthetic pathways involved in managing plant nutritional stress. The ultimate goal is to shed light on the importance of Ca, problems associated with soil acidity, and potential of emerging technologies to enhance crop production while minimizing the environmental impact and economic burden on farmers.

Social victimization, default mode network connectivity, and psychotic-like experiences in adolescents.

Social victimization (SV) and altered neural connectivity have been associated with each other and psychotic-like experiences (PLE). However, research has not directly examined the associations between these variables, which may speak to mechanisms of psychosis-risk. Here, we utilized two-year follow-up data from the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development study to test whether SV increases PLE through two neural networks mediating socio-affective processes: the default mode (DMN) and salience networks (SAN). We find that a latent SV factor was significantly associated with PLE outcomes. Simultaneous mediation analyses indicated that the DMN partially mediated the SV-PLE association while the SAN did not. Further, multigroup testing found that while Black and Hispanic adolescents experienced SV differently than their White peers, the DMN similarly partially mediated the effect of SV on PLE for these racial groups. These cross-sectional results highlight the importance of SV and its potential impact on social cognitive neural networks for psychosis risk.

Exergo-enviro-economic and yearly productivity analyses of conical passive solar still for sustainable solar distillation.

This paper focuses on exergo-enviro-economic and yearly productivity analyses for conical passive solar still having the potential to fulfil the sustainable development goal of the United Nations. A new approach for thermal modelling of conical passive solar still has been carried out with experimental validation in the present work, wherein different weather conditions have been considered for the analysis of the proposed system. The carried out work has been done for each month of the year. In further methodology, the computational code in MATLAB has been used for the computation of hourly freshwater production, exergy, and energy followed by the estimation of their annual values. Thereafter, exergo-enviro-economic parameters, yearly productivity, payback period, and freshwater cost have been estimated, and the obtained results have been compared with the earlier published research. Concludingly, the exergo-economic parameter, enviro-economic parameter, and yearly productivity for the proposed system have been found higher by 44.25%, 25.68%, and 44.07%, respectively, than the conventional solar still. The comparative freshwater cost is 13.56% less than the conventional solar still for 0.025 m water depth. Additionally, the payback period for the proposed system will remain at 2.75 years, which is 13.82% less in comparison to the conventional solar still considering a 2% interest rate.

The sources, leaching, remediation, and environmental concerns associated with groundwater salinity.

Water resources management and sustainable development depend on the quality of groundwater as a major source of fresh water. As a result of rising water demand in emerging nations and overexploitation, groundwater quality has declined globally in many aquifers. One of the most significant elements that lower the quality of the groundwater is salinization. This review is to provide an overview of various materials that are used in the design and development of innovative chitosan-based nanocomposite polymeric membranes for desalination. Biodegradable, non-toxic, affordable, and easily available, with film-forming ability and poly-functionality, chitosan is an ideal material for a sustainable future. Membrane preparation for desalination using chitosan helps to provide antibacterial and antioxidant activities, great chelating capabilities, and strong adsorption capacity. In this research, we discuss a variety of concepts concerning the different sources of elevated salinity and available desalination methods. A comprehensive framework was also developed to understand the leaching and percolation of salt in groundwater, an essential component of managing risks and ensuring safety. Additionally, we explain the various remediation strategies for reducing groundwater's salt concentration and explore the best method for desalination specifically focused on chitosan.

Secretory leucocyte protease inhibitor (SLPI) as an adjunct prognostic biomarker for canine pyometra.

Pyometra is a potentially life-threatening condition that affects intact female dogs in their middle to advance age. Timely diagnosis and appropriate treatment are critical for the survival of patients, especially when pyometra advances to sepsis. This study aimed to investigate the prognostic potential of certain haematology, serum biochemical and inflammatory biomarker, secretory leucocyte protease inhibitor (SLPI) for pyometra in bitches (n = 41). Blood samples were collected after clinical diagnosis of pyometra for haematology and serum biochemistry. Based on the prognosis following medical/surgical treatment, animals were retrospectively categorized into survivor (n = 29) and dead (n = 12). Endometrial tissue sections were obtained from the bitches undergoing ovariohysterectomy (n = 21). Serum concentration of SLPI was quantified using sandwich ELISA and its expression in the endometrium was investigated using RT-qPCR. A marked increase in the total leucocyte count (TLC), neutrophils, blood urea nitrogen (BUN) and serum creatinine was observed in the female dogs that did not survive. Significant elevation in the serum SLPI concentration (3.49 ± 0.44 vs. 2.38 ± 0.13 ng/mL) was observed in the bitches those died after the treatment, in comparison to those survived (p < .01). Additionally, there was a notable upregulation of SLPI in the endometrium in the bitches those died due to pyometra. Based on the ROC analysis results, it was observed that a cut-off concentration of 2.93 ng/mL for SLPI, 27.77 mg/dL for BUN and 16.3 × 103 /µL for TLC could effectively distinguish the prognosis of pyometra-affected dogs. From this study, it can be concluded that upregulation of SLPI in the endometrium and its elevated concentration in peripheral circulation along with TLC and BUN concentration could serve as valuable indicators for predicting the prognosis of pyometra in bitches.

Training volitional control of the theory of mind network with real-time fMRI neurofeedback.

Is there a way improve our ability to understand the minds of others? Towards addressing this question, here, we conducted a single-arm, proof-of-concept study to evaluate whether real-time fMRI neurofeedback (rtfMRI-NF) from the temporo-parietal junction (TPJ) leads to volitional control of the neural network subserving theory of mind (ToM; the process by which we attribute and reason about the mental states of others). As additional aims, we evaluated the strategies used to self-regulate the network and whether volitional control of the ToM network was moderated by participant characteristics and associated with improved performance on behavioral measures. Sixteen participants underwent fMRI while completing a task designed to individually-localize the TPJ, and then three separate rtfMRI-NF scans during which they completed multiple runs of a training task while receiving intermittent, activation-based feedback from the TPJ, and one run of a transfer task in which no neurofeedback was provided. Region-of-interest analyses demonstrated volitional control in most regions during the training tasks and during the transfer task, although the effects were smaller in magnitude and not observed in one of the neurofeedback targets for the transfer task. Text analysis demonstrated that volitional control was most strongly associated with thinking about prior social experiences when up-regulating the neural signal. Analysis of behavioral performance and brain-behavior associations largely did not reveal behavior changes except for a positive association between volitional control in RTPJ and changes in performance on one ToM task. Exploratory analysis suggested neurofeedback-related learning occurred, although some degree of volitional control appeared to be conferred with the initial self-regulation strategy provided to participants (i.e., without the neurofeedback signal). Critical study limitations include the lack of a control group and pre-rtfMRI transfer scan, which prevents a more direct assessment of neurofeedback-induced volitional control, and a small sample size, which may have led to an overestimate and/or unreliable estimate of study effects. Nonetheless, together, this study demonstrates the feasibility of training volitional control of a social cognitive brain network, which may have important clinical applications. Given the study's limitations, findings from this study should be replicated with more robust experimental designs.

Performance analysis of a serrated absorber plate solar air heater with paraffin wax storage.

The study aims to examine the thermal performance of solar air heaters employing two different absorber plates under two different configurations. The experiments have been conducted in the summer climatic conditions of Moradabad City, India. A total of about 04 models of solar air heaters have been developed. The experimental investigation has been done using a flat-plate absorber and a serrated geometric absorber (with and without using the tested phase change material) to estimate the thermal performance. Notably, 03 different mass flow rates (i.e., 0.01 kg/s, 0.02 kg/s, and 0.03 kg/s) have been used to investigate the heat transfer coefficient, instantaneous efficiency, and daily efficiencies. Results of the study showed that Model-4 is the best among all the tested models that provide an average exhaust temperature of about 46 °C after sunset. The optimum daily average efficiency has been obtained at about 63% at 0.03 kg/s. The efficiency of a serrated plate-type SAH without using phase change material is about 23% higher than that of a conventional system, while it is about 19% higher than that of a conventional SAH using phase change material. Overall, the modified system is suitable for moderate-temperature applications, like agricultural drying and space heating.

Serum concentrations of secretory leukocyte protease inhibitor and IL6 can predict the onset of sepsis in pyometra bitches.

As onset of sepsis adversely affects the prognosis of canine pyometra, finding biomarkers that would distinguish sepsis status would be useful in the clinical management. Accordingly, we hypothesized that differential expression of endometrial transcripts and circulating concentration of certain inflammatory mediators would discriminate pyometra-led sepsis (P-sepsis+) from those of pyometra without sepsis (P-sepsis-). Bitches with pyometra (n = 52) were classified into P-sepsis+ (n = 28) and P-sepsis- (n = 24) based on vital clinical score and total leukocyte count. A group of non-pyometra bitches (n = 12) served as control. The relative fold changes in the transcripts of IL6, IL8, TNFα, IL10, PTGS2, mPGES1 and PGFS, SLPI, S100A8, S100A12 and eNOS were determined by quantitative polymerase chain reaction. Furthermore, the serum concentrations of IL6, IL8, IL10, SLPI and prostaglandin F2α metabolite (PGFM) were assayed by ELISA. The relative fold changes in S100A12 and SLPI and mean concentrations of IL6 and SLPI were significantly (p < .05) higher in P-sepsis+ than that of P-sepsis- group. Receiver operating characteristic analysis revealed that serum IL6 had a diagnostic sensitivity of 78.6% and a positive likelihood ratio (LR+) of 2.09, at a cut-off value of 15.7 pg/mL to diagnose P-sepsis+ cases. Similarly, serum SLPI had a sensitivity of 84.6% and an LR+ of 2.23, at a cut-off value of 2.0 pg/mL. It was concluded that SLPI and IL6 would serve as putative biomarkers for pyometra-led sepsis in bitches. Monitoring SLPI and IL6 would be a useful adjunct to the established haemato-biochemical parameters in customizing the treatment strategies and arriving at the decision for management of pyometra bitches with critical illness.

Biomass valorization of agriculture wastewater grown freshwater diatom Nitzschia sp. for metabolites, antibacterial activity, and biofertilizer.

The sustainable utilization of agricultural wastewater is a major global challenge. This study evaluated the impact of agricultural fertilizer on the biomass potential of Nitzschia sp. for metabolite production, antibacterial activity, and slow release biofertilizer. Cultivation of Nitzschia sp. in agriculture wastewater (0.5 mg ml-1) exhibited maximum cell density (12×105 cells ml-1), protein content (10.0 mg g-1), and lipid content (14.96%). Carbohydrate and phenol content increases in a dose-dependent manner with 8.27 mg g-1 and 2.05 mg g-1 at a concentration of 2 mg ml-1 respectively. There was a 2.1-fold increment in chrysolaminarin content. Both gram-negative and gram-positive bacteria were susceptible to the antibacterial activity of the biomass. The effects of using diatom biomass as a biofertilizer were evaluated on the growth of periwinkle plants, which showed significant improvements in leaf development, branching at an early stage, flowering, and a marked increase in shoot length. Diatom biorefinery holds immense potential in addressing agriculture wastewater recycling and sustainable generation of high-value compounds.

Cooking performance assessment of a phase change material integrated hot box cooker.

Previous research on solar box cookers focusing on the bulk usage of energy storage materials is a costly technique for performance enhancement. Bulk energy storage materials take much time to charge and, thus, result in a low rate of cooking at the start. Therefore, a hot box solar cooker has been developed and experimentally studied for thermal performance enhancement in a hilly region of Uttarakhand, India. A bed of phase change material (paraffin wax) filled with small capsule-shaped containers was prepared (detachable) and placed over the cooking tray of the tested cooker. These containers were vertically positioned over the bed to enhance the heat transfer rate inside the cooker to attain a fast-cooking response. Notably, the combined effect of extended geometry with PCM is an excellent method to increase the efficiency of a solar cooker. As per the author's knowledge, likely techniques have not been studied for a box cooker to achieve a fast-cooking rate in any hilly region up to date. The results of cooking tests show that the cooking plate attained a maximum temperature of about 150 °C. It is because of the combined effect of extended fins (vertical capsules) and PCM filled inside them. The results of the experimental study show that the thermal efficiency of the cooker was found to be about 45.7%, the cooking power was calculated about 54.71 W, the heat transfer coefficient was estimated about 311 W/m2 °C, and the overall heat loss coefficient was computed about 5.71 W/m2 °C. This modified cooker costs about $48.19, and the payback period is about 03 years and 11 months. Cooking trials also showed that the present SBC could cook almost all the dishes commonly cooked in Uttarakhand.

Stereoselective total synthesis of Aspergillide D.

The total synthesis of the 16-membered Polyhydroxylated macrolide, Aspergillide D has been accomplished utilizing the Grignard reaction, Sharpless asymmetric epoxidation Regioselective ring opening of epoxy alcohol, Wittig olefination and Yamaguchi macrolactonisation as key steps. 3-butene-1-ol has been utilized as the starting material.

Social affective forecasting and social anhedonia in schizophrenia-spectrum disorders: a daily diary study.

Social anhedonia (SA) is a trait-like phenomenon observed across schizophrenia-spectrum disorders (SSDs). While in-the-moment social pleasure experiences are intact in SSDs, anticipatory pleasure experiences may be disrupted. Thus, the prediction of future emotions in social situations, or social affective forecasting (SAF), may play a role in SA. Therefore, we utilized daily diary methods to examine SAF in SSD and the association between SAF and SA in 34 SSD and 43 non-SSD individuals. SAF was calculated as the absolute difference between anticipatory and consummatory ratings of 13 positive and negative emotions for daily social interactions reported across eight days. Results suggest that individuals with SSDs are less accurate in forecasting negative, but not positive emotions, for future social interactions. Further, poorer forecasting accuracy of negative emotions were associated with elevated levels of SA and lower social pleasure. Together, these data suggest that inaccuracies in forecasting negative emotions may be a worthwhile intervention target for reducing SA in SSDs.

Social cognition training improves recognition of distinct facial emotions and decreases misattribution errors in healthy individuals.

Facial emotion recognition is a key component of social cognition. Impaired facial emotion recognition is tied to poor psychological wellbeing and deficient social functioning. While previous research has demonstrated the potential for social cognition training to improve overall facial emotion recognition, questions remain regarding what aspects of emotion recognition improve. We report results from a randomized controlled trial that evaluates whether computerized social cognition training can improve recognition of distinct facial emotions in healthy participants. This investigation was designed to better understand the therapeutic potential of social cognition training for individuals with neuropsychiatric disorders. Fifty-five healthy adult participants were randomly assigned to an internet-based intervention during which they either completed social cognition training (SCT) or played control computer games (CON) for 10.5 h over 2-3 weeks. Facial emotion recognition was measured with the Penn ER-40, which was conducted before and after training. The following variables were collected and analyzed: facial emotion recognition accuracy for each emotion (i.e., anger, fear, happy, neutral (no emotional expression), and sad), reaction times for each emotion, and response error types (i.e., frequency of an emotion being chosen incorrectly, frequency of an emotion being missed, and frequency of an emotion being confused for another particular emotion). ANOVAs and t-tests were used to elucidate intervention effects both within and between groups. Results showed that the SCT group improved their accuracy for angry and neutral faces. They also improved their reaction times for neutral, fearful, and sad faces. Compared to the CON group, the SCT group had significantly faster reaction times to neutral faces after training. Lastly, the SCT group decreased their tendency to confuse angry faces for no emotional expression and to confuse no emotional expression for sad faces. In contrast, the CON group did not significantly improve their accuracy or reaction times on any emotional expression, and they did not improve their response error types. We conclude that social cognition training can improve recognition of distinct emotions in healthy participants and decrease response error patterns, suggesting it has the potential to improve impaired emotion recognition and social functioning in individuals with facial emotion recognition deficits.

Potentially toxic elements (PTEs) in Gomti-Ganga Alluvial Plain, associated human health risks assessment and potential remediation using novel-nanomaterials.

The health risks associated with consumption of water from river Gomti polluted with potentially toxic elements (PTEs), including As, Fe, Pb, Cd, Mn, Cr, Ni, and Hg were investigated at the initiation of unlocking of COVID-19 lockdown and compared with pre-COVID-19 lockdown status. In the current investigation, the total hazard index (THI) values exceeded the acceptable limit of "unity" at all sampling stations. The use of river water for drinking and domestic purposes by millions of people with high THI values has emerged as a matter of huge concern. The individual hazard quotients associated with Cd and Pb were found to be most severe (> 1). A vivid difference between the THI values during the two study phases indicated the positive impact of COVID-19 lockdown signifying the prominent impact of anthropogenic activities on the PTE concentrations. The closure of local manufacturing units (textile, battery, etc.) emerged as a potential reason for decreased health risks associated with PTE levels. The higher susceptibility of children to health risks in comparison with adults through the values of THI and HQs was interpreted across the study area. Potential remedial measures for PTE contamination have also been suggested in the study.

Spatiotemporal assessment of groundwater quality in the Central Ganga Plain, India, using multivariate statistical tools.

In the present study, the water quality status of the Sadar block in Pratapgarh district of Uttar Pradesh, India, was calculated by Water Pollution Index (WPI) using 15 groundwater quality parameters (pH, turbidity, EC (electric conductivity), TDS (total dissolved solids), salinity, total hardness, Ca2+, K+, Mg2+, Na+, Cl-, F-, SO42-, HCO3-, and NO3-) at 40 different study locations. It is found that 10%, 25%, and 65%, of samples, fall under the good, moderately polluted, and highly polluted category, respectively. Irrigation suitability of groundwater has also been evaluated by using irrigation suitability parameters, i.e., Sodium Absorption Ratio (SAR), Residual Sodium Carbonate (RSC), Permeability Index (PI), Kelly Ratio (KR), Percentage Sodium (% Na), and Magnesium Hazards (MH). Based on the analysis, it was determined that most of the samples were suitable for irrigation in the area. Irrigation practices are found to be unsuitable for Kelly's ratio of 37.5%, MH 60%, and RSC 55% samples. WPI and Pearson's correlation matrix (PCA) have suggested a significant linear relationship among the water quality parameters based on the test results. The Gibbs plot indicates that the majority of samples fall under the "evaporation dominance" category while the rest fall under the "rock weathering dominance" suggesting that the complex geochemical mechanisms are active in the study area. This study would be very helpful to government authorities and it would aid them to suggest alternate drinking water resources in affected areas.

Production of lipids and proteins from marine diatoms under changing pH and silica.

Diatom algae are increasingly explored as an alternative sustainable source for functional biomolecules likes fucoxanthin, and eicosapentaenoic acid. But biomolecule quantity and quantity are influenced by growth conditions. So, effect of differential silica concentration (0-120 mg L-1) and medium pH (5.5-9.5) on growth and cellular biochemical composition of commercially important marine diatom species were studied. Growth rate of Thalassiosira sp., Skeletonema sp., and Chaetoceros sp., was higher with 30 mg L-1 Si at a pH of 7.5-8.5. Highest carbohydrate (153.71 mg g-1) and protein (17.34 mg g-1) content was found in Skeletonema sp. Silica concentration positively influenced chlorophyll and carotenoid content in a dose dependent manner. A medium pH of 8.5 and Si concentration between 60 and 120 mg L-1 was ideal for lipid production. The optimum concentration of Si and pH for maximum biomolecule production have been reported with further scope of utilizing these conditions in commercial scale systems.

Solar cooking innovations, their appropriateness, and viability.

The successful use of solar energy for cooking requires the systems adopted not only to have technical attributes that conveniently address specific cooking requirements but also are socially and economically acceptable to its end-users. When displacing cooking fuels used in developing countries, solar cooking can lead to (i) improved health in children and women, (ii) less local forest degradation, (iii) less local pollution, and (iv) lower contributions to global greenhouse gas emissions. The diverse range of thermal and photovoltaic solar cooking systems available, or under development, in different regions of the world is discussed in the present work. Particular attention is given to the social, cultural, and economic factors that have limited adoption of solar cookers. Technical developments that address these limitations are shown to only be effective when they facilitate traditional ways of cooking particular foods in and at desired times in specific climates.