Physiological, blood-biochemical and behavioural changes of Ghoongroo pigs in seasonal heat stress of a hot-humid tropical environment.

The present study investigated the effect of seasonal heat stress on the physiological, behavioural and blood bio-chemical profile of adult Ghoongroo pigs (1.5-2 years of age) of different physiological groups. Thirty Ghoongroo pigs (10 boars, 10 non-pregnant sows and 10 pregnant sows) were allotted to individual pens. The study continued for 1 year covering three main seasons, i.e. summer (March-June), rainy (July-October) and winter (November-February) season. Temperature humidity index was significantly (P < 0.05) higher in summer (83.2 ± 0.47) followed by rainy (68.5 ± 1.13) and winter (66.8 ± 0.67) seasons, which indicated that pigs were exposed to heat stress during summer. Rectal temperature and pulse rate were not affected by group × season interaction but were affected by group (P = 0.002) and season (P < 0.001), which were usually greater during summer than during winter and in boars than in pregnant sows. Respiration rate was affected by group × season interaction (P = 0.002), which was greater in boars than in non-pregnant and pregnant sows during summer and rainy season but was similar in winter among the groups. Total erythrocytes, leucocytes counts, and cortisol levels were influenced by group (P < 0.001), season (P < 0.001) and group × season interaction (P < 0.001), which increased in summer compared with winter. Sodium and potassium concentrations in serum were not affected by group and group × season interaction but were affected by season (P < 0.001), which were lower in summer than in winter. All behaviour activities (standing, resting and roaming time, urination, fighting and drinking frequency) were affected by group (P < 0.001), season (P < 0.001) and group × season interaction (P < 0.001), except eating time that was only influenced by season. The present study suggested that Ghoongroo pigs experienced heat stress during summer, which was reflected in physiological, blood-biochemical and behavioural alterations.

Effects of Pb assisted cation chemistry on the superconductivity of BSCCO thin films.

Thin films of Bi-based superconductors, highly c-axis oriented, were deposited on single crystalline substrates of SrTiO3, LaAlO3, and MgO using a pulsed laser deposition technique with a Bi-2223 target of nominal composition Bi1.75Pb0.25Sr2Ca2Cu3O10±Î´ prepared by the solid state reaction method. The effect of different deposition parameters on the evolution of the requisite properties in the thin films has been studied. These films have been characterized by X-ray diffraction to investigate their structural properties, scanning electron microscopy to understand the effect of ex situ annealing on the grain growth, and DC resistivity measurements to quantify their superconducting critical temperature. Furthermore, the chemical states of the constituent elements Bi, Pb, Sr, Ca, Cu and O were confirmed using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. This information has helped in deciphering the empirical stoichiometry of the films on each of the chosen substrates. We have also been able to comment on the influence made by the choice of the substrates on the mechanism of evolution of superconductivity based on the interplay of the cation chemistry between the substituent and the constituent elements. Thin films with superior superconducting properties were obtained on SrTiO3 substrates with 58% of Bi-2223 phase fraction yielding a superconducting transition temperature (TC,offset) of 107 K. Magnetotransport studies were performed on these films to quantify their superconducting upper critical field and to comprehend the pinning mechanism.

Biometric identification of Black Bengal goat: unique iris pattern matching system vs deep learning approach.

OBJECTIVE: Iris pattern recognition system is well developed and practiced in human, however, there is a scarcity of information on application of iris recognition system in animals at the field conditions where the major challenge is to capture a high-quality iris image from a constantly moving non-cooperative animal even when restrained properly. The aim of the study was to validate and identify Black Bengal goat biometrically to improve animal management in its traceability system. METHODS: Forty-nine healthy, disease free, 3 months±6 days old female Black Bengal goats were randomly selected at the farmer's field. Eye images were captured from the left eye of an individual goat at 3, 6, 9, and 12 months of age using a specialized camera made for human iris scanning. iGoat software was used for matching the same individual goats at 3, 6, 9, and 12 months of ages. Resnet152V2 deep learning algorithm was further applied on same image sets to predict matching percentages using only captured eye images without extracting their iris features. RESULTS: The matching threshold computed within and between goats was 55%. The accuracies of template matching of goats at 3, 6, 9, and 12 months of ages were recorded as 81.63%, 90.24%, 44.44%, and 16.66%, respectively. As the accuracies of matching the goats at 9 and 12 months of ages were low and below the minimum threshold matching percentage, this process of iris pattern matching was not acceptable. The validation accuracies of resnet152V2 deep learning model were found 82.49%, 92.68%, 77.17%, and 87.76% for identification of goat at 3, 6, 9, and 12 months of ages, respectively after training the model. CONCLUSION: This study strongly supported that deep learning method using eye images could be used as a signature for biometric identification of an individual goat.

Development of a CrN/Cu nanocomposite coating on titanium-modified stainless steel for antibacterial activity against Pseudomonas aeruginosa.

A relatively simple method was developed to fabricate CrN/Cu nanocomposite coatings using pulsed DC magnetron sputtering for application in antibacterial activity. These nanocomposite coatings were applied on titanium (Ti)-modified stainless steel substrata (D-9 alloy) and the antibacterial activity of these coating with respect to the Gram-negative bacterium Pseudomonas aeruginosa was investigated qualitatively and quantitatively. Scanning electron microscopy, epifluorescence microscope analyses, and total viable counts confirmed that inclusion of copper in the CrN/Cu nanocomposite coatings provided antibacterial activity against P. aeruginosa. The quantitative examination of the bacterial activity of P. aeruginosa was estimated by the survival ratio as calculated from the number of viable cells which formed colonies on nutrient agar plates.

Understanding the Mechanism of Cs Accumulation on Stainless Steel Suspended in Nuclear High-Level Liquid Waste.

In a nuclear facility, the surface of stainless steels (SS) was found to be contaminated during the processing of radioactive liquid waste. Their safe and secure disposal is highly challenging to the nuclear industry. If the fundamental property of steel corrosion could be evaluated, successful decontamination and effective decommissioning strategies could be planned. Although individual radionuclide contamination behavior on SS metal was studied, till date, SS contamination behavior under the exposure of high-level liquid waste (HLLW) was unexplored. In view of this, investigations were carried out to understand the nature of contamination in SS 304L alloy under the exposure of simulated HLLW (SHLLW). For understanding of radionuclide adsorption behavior on structural materials, scanning electron microscopy/energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy have been utilized for SS 304L. The solutions were analyzed using inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectroscopy to calculate the changes in the elemental composition of the solution and corrosion behavior of SS. The passivation of SS coupons was observed in the presence of HNO3 due to enrichment of Cr at the surface. The deposition of Cs and Mo was noticed, while SS coupons were exposed to SHLLW. At 3 M HNO3 and room temperature, the SS surface is mildly passivated by Cr enrichment by formation of a Cr oxide layer on the SS surface. However, the passive layer was not thick enough to attenuate the signal from the substrate below the passivated layer. Hence, Fe0 and Cr0 were also found along with Cr3+ and Fe3+ (in small quantity). When temperature was elevated to 70 °C, the SS surface was completely covered with the Cr oxide layer, and hence no Cr0 signal was observed. The small signal of Fe0 indicated that the signal from the substrate surface is present below the passive layer. During the passivation process, Cr diffused toward the passive layer, thereby producing a Cr-depleted layer below the passive layer (Cr0 signal was not seen). In the case of SHLLW at 70 °C, the surface was fully covered by Cr3+, Mo6+, and Cs+. Fe and Ni were not observed at all. This finding will help to design an effective corrosion inhibitor and suitable decontamination agent. In addition to that, this information was found to be useful in designing high-performance novel and modern age reactor materials with improved characteristics.

SPR responsive xylenol orange functionalized gold nanoparticles- optical sensor for estimation of Al3+ in water.

Xylenol orange functionalized gold nanoparticles (XO-AuNPs), prepared by reducing HAuCl4 in presence of xylenol orange were found to be selective and sensitive for optical sensing of Al3+ in water. XO-AuNPs nanoparticles were characterized by transmission electron microscopy (TEM), x-ray diffraction (XRD) and x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS); the nanoparticles formed were of spherical shape and of uniform size of 3-12 nm. The interaction between Al3+ and XO-AuNPs at pH ~3 was studied by XPS analysis. XPS and TEM studies revealed that aggregation of XO-AuNPs in the presence of Al3+ takes place through analyte induced cross-linkage mechanism. Al3+ induced selective aggregation of the XO-AuNPs lead to a visual change in color of the colloidal solution from deep red to blue. The changes in characteristic absorption peak of XO-AuNPs were monitored; the ratio of A550nm/A515nm was used to quantify the concentration of Al3+ in water samples. The method gave a linear response from 50-300 ppb (R2 = 0.985) of Al3+ in drinking water with a detection limit of 12 ppb. The proposed method did not suffer any major interference from concomitant transition metal ions and anions. The developed method was simple, rapid and useful for determination of Al3+ in drinking water samples.

Probing phase transition in VO2 with the novel observation of low-frequency collective spin excitation.

VO2 is well known for its first order, reversible, metal-to-insulator transition (MIT) along with a simultaneous structural phase transition (SPT) from a high-temperature metallic rutile tetragonal (R) to an insulating low-temperature monoclinic (M1) phase via two other insulating metastable phases of monoclinic M2 and triclinic T. At the same time, VO2 gains tremendous attention because of the half-a-century-old controversy over its origin, whether electron-electron correlation or electron-phonon coupling trigger the phase transition. In this regard, V1-xMgxO2 samples were grown in stable phases of VO2 (M1, M2, and T) by controlled doping of Mg. We have observed a new collective mode in the low-frequency Raman spectra of all three insulating M1, M2 and T phases. We identify this mode with the breather (singlet spin excitation) mode about a spin-Pierls dimerized one dimensional spin ½ Heisenberg chain. The measured frequencies of these collective modes are phenomenologically consistent with the superexchange coupling strength between V spin ½ moments in all three phases. The significant deviation of Stokes to anti-Stokes intensity ratio of this low-frequency Raman mode from the usual thermal factor exp(hʋ/KBT) for phonons, and the orthogonal dependency of the phonon and spinon vibration in the polarized Raman study confirm its origin as spin excitations. The shift in the frequency of spin-wave and simultaneous increase in the transition temperature in the absence of any structural change confirms that SPT does not prompt MIT in VO2. On the other hand, the presence of spin-wave confirms the perturbation due to spin-Peierls dimerization leading to SPT. Thus, the observation of spin-excitations resulting from 1-D Heisenberg spin-½ chain can finally resolve the years-long debate in VO2 and can be extended to oxide-based multiferroics, which are useful for various potential device applications.

Synthesis and characterization of L-asparagine stabilised gold nanoparticles: Catalyst for degradation of organic dyes.

L-asparagine functionalized gold nanoparticles (Asp-AuNPs), have been synthesized by reducing HAuCl4 in presence of L-asparagine at 70 °C for 8 h. Asp-AuNPs were characterized by transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS); the nanoparticles formed were spherical in shape with average size of 13.5 ± 3.7 nm. Synthesized Asp-AuNPs were found to exhibit excellent catalytic properties for the degradation of different organic dyes viz. Rhodamine B (RB), methyl orange (MO), acid red 27 (amaranth) and xylenol orange (XO) in the presence of sodium borohydride (NaBH4). Asp-AuNPs acts as electron relay system and serve as effective catalyst for complete degradation of all the tested dyes. Rate kinetic investigations suggested that catalysed degradation reactions follow pseudo-first order reaction kinetics with rate constant of 0.904 min-1, 0.314 min-1, 0.228 min-1 and 0.1 min-1 for RB, MO, amaranth and XO respectively.

Phase-pure VO2 nanoporous structure for binder-free supercapacitor performances.

Vanadium oxides are anticipated as a high-performance energy storage electrode due to their coupled double layer and pseudo-capacitative charge storage mechanism. In the present work, we investigated the influence of different structural phases of as-grown VO2 nanoporous structure and corresponding oxidation states on the supercapacitor performance. This nanoporous structure facilitates fast ion diffusion and transport. It is shown that stoichiometric monoclinic VO2, with V oxidation state of +4, provides superior charge storage capacity with a capacitance value of 33 mF/cm2, capacitance retention of 93.7% and Coulombic efficiency of 98.2%, to those for VO2 structures with mixed oxidation states of V5+ and V4+. A comparable high energy density is also recorded for the sample with all V4+. Scanning Kelvin probe microscopy results clarify further the formation of space charge region between VO2 and carbon paper. These key findings indicate the potentiality of binder-free single phase monoclinic VO2 porous structure towards the next-generation micro-supercapacitor application.

Application of radio frequency based digital thermometer for real-time monitoring of dairy cattle rectal temperature.

AIM: Dairy cattle health monitoring program becomes vital for detecting the febrile conditions to prevent the outbreak of the animal diseases as well as ensuring the fitness of the animals that are directly affecting the health of the consumers. The aim of this study was to validate real-time rectal temperature (RT) data of radio frequency based digital (RFD) thermometer with RT data of mercury bulb (MB) thermometer in dairy cattle. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Two experiments were conducted. In experiment I, six female Jersey crossbred cattle with a mean (±standard error of the mean) body weight of 534.83±13.90 kg at the age of 12±0.52 years were used to record RT for 2 h on empty stomach and 2 h after feeding at 0, 30, 60, 90, and 120 min using a RFD thermometer as well as a MB thermometer. In experiment II, six female Jersey crossbred cattle were further used to record RT for 2 h before exercise and 2 h after exercise at 0, 30, 60, 90, and 120 min. Two-way repeated measures analysis of variance with post hoc comparisons by Bonferroni test was done. RESULTS: Real-time RT data recorded by RFD thermometer as well as MB thermometer did not differ (p>0.05) before and after feeding/exercise. An increase (p<0.05) in RT after feeding/exercise in experimental crossbred cattle was recorded by both RFD thermometer and MB thermometer. CONCLUSION: The results obtained in the present study suggest that the body temperature recordings from RFD thermometer would be acceptable and thus RFD thermometer could work well for monitoring real-time RT in cattle.

The role of 1-D finite size Heisenberg chains in increasing the metal to insulator transition temperature in hole rich VO2.

VO2 samples are grown with different oxygen concentrations leading to different monoclinic, M1, and triclinic, T, insulating phases which undergo a first order metal to insulator transition (MIT) followed by a structural phase transition (SPT) to the rutile tetragonal phase. The metal insulator transition temperature (Tc) was found to be increased with increasing native defects. Vanadium vacancy (VV) is envisaged to create local strains in the lattice which prevents twisting of the V-V dimers promoting metastable monoclinic, M2 and T phases at intermediate temperatures. It is argued that MIT is driven by strong electronic correlation. The low temperature insulating phase can be considered as a collection of one-dimensional (1-D) half-filled bands, which undergo a Mott transition to 1-D infinitely long Heisenberg spin ½ chains leading to structural distortion due to spin-phonon coupling. The presence of VV creates localized holes (d0) in the nearest neighbor, thereby fragmenting the spin ½ chains at the nanoscale, which in turn increases the Tc value more than that of an infinitely long one. The Tc value scales inversely with the average size of the fragmented Heisenberg spin ½ chains following a critical exponent of ⅔, which is exactly the same as predicted theoretically for the Heisenberg spin ½ chain at the nanoscale undergoing SPT (spin-Peierls transition). Thus, the observation of MIT and SPT at the same time in VO2 can be explained from our phenomenological model of reduced 1-D Heisenberg spin ½ chains. The reported increase (decrease) in the Tc value of VO2 by doping with metals having valency less (more) than four can also be understood easily with our unified model, for the first time, considering finite size scaling of Heisenberg chains.

Optical absorption and photoluminescence spectroscopy of the growth of silver nanoparticles.

Results obtained from the optical absorption and photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopy experiments have shown the formation of excitons in the silver-exchanged glass samples. These findings are reported here for the first time. Further, we investigate the dramatic changes in the photoemission properties of the silver-exchanged glass samples as a function of postannealing temperature. Observed changes are thought to be due to the structural rearrangements of silver and oxygen bonding during the heat treatments of the glass matrix. In fact, photoelectron spectroscopy does reveal these chemical transformations of silver-exchanged soda glass samples caused by the thermal effects of annealing in a high vacuum atmosphere. An important correlation between temperature-induced changes of the PL intensity and thermal growth of the silver nanoparticles has been established in this Letter through precise spectroscopic studies.