Formation of partially embedded Au nanostructures: Ion beam irradiation on thin film.

The Au partially embedded nanostructure (PEN) is synthesized by ion irradiation on an Au thin film deposited on a glass substrate using a 50 keV Ar ion. Scanning electron microscopy results show ion beam-induced restructuring from irregularly shaped nanostructures (NSs) to spherical Au NSs, and further ion irradiation leads to the formation of well-separated spherical nanoparticles. Higuchi's algorithm of surface analysis is utilized to find the evolution of surface morphology with ion irradiation in terms of the Hurst exponent and fractal dimension. The Au PEN is evidenced by Rutherford backscattering spectrometry and optical studies. Also, the depth of the mechanism behind synthesized PEN is explained on the basis of theoretical simulations, namely, a unified thermal spike and a Monte Carlo simulation consisting of dynamic compositional changes (TRIDYN). Another set of plasmonic NSs was formed on the surface by thermal annealing of the Au film on the substrate. Glucose sensing has been studied on the two types of plasmonic layers: nanoparticles on the surface and PEN. The results reveal the sensing responses of both types of plasmonic layers. However, PEN retains its plasmonic behavior as the NSs are still present after washing with water, which demonstrates the potential for reusability. RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTS: Synthesis of PENs by ion irradiation Utilization of Higuchi's algorithm to explore the surface morphology. Unified thermal spike and TRIDYN simulations being used to explain the results. Glucose is only used as a test case for reusability of substrate.

Association between lung function and dyspnoea and its variation in the multinational Burden of Obstructive Lung Disease (BOLD) study.

BACKGROUND: Dyspnoea is a common symptom of respiratory disease. However, data on its prevalence in general populations and its association with lung function are limited and are mainly from high-income countries. The aims of this study were to estimate the prevalence of dyspnoea across several world regions, and to investigate the association of dyspnoea with lung function. METHODS: Dyspnoea was assessed, and lung function measured in 25,806 adult participants of the multinational Burden of Obstructive Lung Disease study. Dyspnoea was defined as ≥2 on the modified Medical Research Council (mMRC) dyspnoea scale. The prevalence of dyspnoea was estimated for each of the study sites and compared across countries and world regions. Multivariable logistic regression was used to assess the association of dyspnoea with lung function in each site. Results were then pooled using random-effects meta-analysis. RESULTS: The prevalence of dyspnoea varied widely across sites without a clear geographical pattern. The mean prevalence of dyspnoea was 13.7 % (SD=8.2 %), ranging from 0 % in Mysore (India) to 28.8 % in Nampicuan-Talugtug (Philippines). Dyspnoea was strongly associated with both spirometry restriction (FVC

Significant enhancement in the cold emission characteristics of chemically synthesized super-hydrophobic zinc oxide rods by nickel doping.

The current article presents a huge enhancement in the field emission characteristics of zinc oxide (ZnO) micro/nanorods by nickel doping. The synthesis of pure and nickel-doped zinc oxide (ZnO) micro/nanorods was done by a simple low-temperature chemical method. Both the as-prepared pure and doped samples were analyzed by X-ray diffraction and electron microscopy to confirm the proper phase formation and the developed microstructure. UV-vis transmittance spectra helped in determining the band gap of the samples. Fourier-Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) spectra showed the different bonds present in the sample, whereas X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS) confirmed the presence of nickel in the doped sample. Photoluminescence (PL) spectra showed that after doping, the band-to-band transition was affected, whereas defect-induced transition had increased significantly. After the nickel doping, contact angle measurement revealed a significant decrease in the sample's surface energy, leading to a remarkably high water contact angle (within the superhydrophobic region). Simulation through ANSYS suggested that the doped sample has the potential to function as an efficient cold emitter, which was also verified experimentally. The cold emission characteristics of the doped sample showed a significant improvement, with the turn-on field (corresponding to J = 1 µA cm-2) reduced from 5.34 to 2.84 V µm-1. The enhancement factor for the doped sample reached 3426, approximately 1.5 times higher compared to pure ZnO. Efforts have been made to explain the results, given the favorable band bending as well as the increased number of effective emission sites.

Posterior mesh inguinal hernia repairs: a propensity score matched analysis of laparoscopic and robotic versus open approaches.

PURPOSE: International guidelines suggest the use of lapro-endoscopic technique for primary unilateral inguinal hernia (IHR) because of lower postoperative pain and reduction in chronic pain. It is unclear if the primary benefit is due to the minimally invasive approach, the posterior mesh position or both. Further research evaluating posterior mesh placement using open preperitoneal techniques is recommended. A potential benefit of open preperitoneal repair is the avoidance of general anesthesia, as these repairs can be performed under local anesthesia. This study compares clinical and patient-reported outcomes after unilateral laparo-endoscopic, robotic, and open posterior mesh IHRs. METHODS: We performed a propensity score matched analysis of patients undergoing IHR between 2012 and 2021 in the Abdominal Core Health Quality Collaborative registry. 10,409 patients underwent a unilateral IHR via a posterior approach. Hernia repairs were performed via minimally invasive surgery (MIS) which includes laparoscopic and robotic transabdominal preperitoneal (TAPP), laparoscopic totally extraperitoneal (TEP), or open transrectus preperitoneal/open preperitoneal (TREPP/OPP) approaches. Propensity score matching (PSM) utilizing nearest neighbor matching accounted for differences in baseline characteristics and possible confounding variables between groups. We matched 816 patients in the MIS cohort with 816 patients in the TREPP/OPP group. Outcomes included patient reported quality of life, hernia recurrence, and postoperative opioid use. RESULTS: Improvement was seen after TREPP/OPP as compared to MIS IHR in EuraHS at 30 days (Median(IQR) 7.0 (2.0-16.64) vs 10 (2.0-24.0); OR 0.69 [0.55-0.85]; p = 0.001) and 6 months (1.0 (0.0-4.0) vs 2.0 (0.0-4.0); OR 0.63 [0.46-85]; p = 0.002), patient-reported opioid use at 30-day follow-up (18% vs 45% OR 0.26 [0.19-0.35]; p < 0.001), and rates of surgical site occurrences (0.8% vs 4.9% OR 0.16 [0.06-0.35]; p < 0.001). There were no differences in EuraHS scores and recurrences at 1 year. CONCLUSIONS: This study demonstrates a potential benefit of open posterior mesh placement over MIS repair in short-term quality of life and seroma formation with equivalent rates of hernia recurrence. Further study is needed to better understand these differences and determine the reproducibility of these findings outside of high-volume specialty centers.

Search for Subsolar-Mass Binaries in the First Half of Advanced LIGO's and Advanced Virgo's Third Observing Run.

We report on a search for compact binary coalescences where at least one binary component has a mass between 0.2 M_{⊙} and 1.0 M_{⊙} in Advanced LIGO and Advanced Virgo data collected between 1 April 2019 1500 UTC and 1 October 2019 1500 UTC. We extend our previous analyses in two main ways: we include data from the Virgo detector and we allow for more unequal mass systems, with mass ratio q≥0.1. We do not report any gravitational-wave candidates. The most significant trigger has a false alarm rate of 0.14 yr^{-1}. This implies an upper limit on the merger rate of subsolar binaries in the range [220-24200] Gpc^{-3} yr^{-1}, depending on the chirp mass of the binary. We use this upper limit to derive astrophysical constraints on two phenomenological models that could produce subsolar-mass compact objects. One is an isotropic distribution of equal-mass primordial black holes. Using this model, we find that the fraction of dark matter in primordial black holes in the mass range 0.2 M_{⊙}

Deceased Donor Renal Transplantation: 6 Year Experience from a Tertiary Care Center in North India.

The incident of End stage renal disease (ESRD) is rising rapidly worldwide. Renal transplant is the best modality of treatment, offering a better quality of life and mortality benefit, as compared with long-term dialysis. Very few patients have a live renal transplant donor, for rest, a decreased donor renal transplant is the only alternative. Deceased donor renal transplantation (DDRT) programs are only available at few government centers of India, constituting less than 5% of the total renal transplants. MATERIAL: The patients who had undergone DDRT at our center from February 2015 to February 2021 were registered in the study. The following data were recorded for all patients; age, sex, duration of ESRD, cold ischemia time, type of induction, nadir and follow -up creatinine, hemoglobin, urinary protein and complications. All recipients were followed up and investigated in the outpatient department on a regular basis as per the standard guidelines till death or graft loss, whichever is earlier. Post transplant renal allograft function was measured using serum creatinine and other parameters. OBSERVATION: During the study period 51 DDRTs were done. There were 40 male and 11 female patients. The mean age was 39.9 ± 9.8 years. The most common cause of ESRD in recipients was chronic glomerulonephritis (CGN) in 92.1 % (47). Amongst the patients, 41 (80.3%) survived, while 10 (19.6%) died post-transplant. Out of ten, 6 recipients died due to early sepsis (<3 months) and 4 died due to late sepsis (>3 months). Acute rejection was present in 17.6 % of patients. Mean post- transplant creatinine in recipients with functioning graft at discharge was 1.54 mg/dl. Graft failure was present in 7 patients out of which 2 were alive at the time of writing this paper and were on maintenance dialysis. Two patients died with a functioning graft. Delayed graft function (DGF) was seen in 13.7% (n=7) of recipients. The causes of DGF in our study included transplant renal artery thrombosis (n=2), Antibody-Mediated Rejection (n=3), mixed rejection (n=1) and Acute cellular rejection (n=1). Among those who had DGF, graft loss was seen in 57.2% (n=4). CONCLUSION: In our study, the patient survival and graft survival have been better as compared to previous studies and also the number of recipients with delayed graft function have been low. Deceased donor renal transplantation is a practical treatment modality which can drastically improve longevity and quality of life.

Knowledge assessment and outcomes of otolaryngology practice amidst the COVID-19 pandemic in a busy ENT department.

INTRODUCTION: Otolaryngology health personnel are at high risk of acquiring COVID-19 disease and, hence, are likely to have high stress levels. This study was designed to evaluate the feedback of otolaryngology healthcare workers in ENT departments who are managing patients in the coronavirus pandemic. METHODS: A questionnaire focused on all aspects of healthcare delivery was completed by otolaryngology healthcare workers. RESULTS: The findings, based on statistical analyses, included high stress levels and inadequate disease-related information in these workers. CONCLUSIONS: Healthcare authorities need to take care of issues related to mental health in healthcare professionals in addition to spreading awareness about safe practices. Further studies are needed to continuously monitor feedback from personnel as the coronavirus pandemic unravels in the future.

Constraints on Cosmic Strings Using Data from the Third Advanced LIGO-Virgo Observing Run.

We search for gravitational-wave signals produced by cosmic strings in the Advanced LIGO and Virgo full O3 dataset. Search results are presented for gravitational waves produced by cosmic string loop features such as cusps, kinks, and, for the first time, kink-kink collisions. A template-based search for short-duration transient signals does not yield a detection. We also use the stochastic gravitational-wave background energy density upper limits derived from the O3 data to constrain the cosmic string tension Gµ as a function of the number of kinks, or the number of cusps, for two cosmic string loop distribution models. Additionally, we develop and test a third model that interpolates between these two models. Our results improve upon the previous LIGO-Virgo constraints on Gµ by 1 to 2 orders of magnitude depending on the model that is tested. In particular, for the one-loop distribution model, we set the most competitive constraints to date: Gµâ‰²4×10^{-15}. In the case of cosmic strings formed at the end of inflation in the context of grand unified theories, these results challenge simple inflationary models.

Surgical innovation revisited: A historical narrative of the minimally invasive "Agarwal sliding-clip renorrhaphy" technique for partial nephrectomy and its application to an Australian cohort.

Objective: To evaluate local clinical outcomes of sliding clip renorrhaphy, from inception to current utilization for open, laparoscopic, and robotically assisted partial nephrectomy. Methods: We reviewed prospectively maintained databases of three surgeons performing partial nephrectomies with the sliding-clip technique at teaching hospitals between 2005 and 2019. Baseline characteristics, operative parameters, including surgical approach, RENAL Nephrometry Score, and post-operative outcomes, including Clavien-Dindo classification of complications, were recorded for 76 consecutive cases. We compared perioperative and 90-day events with patient and tumor characteristics, stratified by operative approach and case complexity, using Wilcoxon rank-sum test for continuous variables and the Chi-squared or Fisher's exact test, for binary and categorical variables, respectively. Results: Open surgery (n = 15) reduced ischemia time and operative time, but increased hospital admission time. Pre- and post-operative estimated glomerular filtration rates did not change significantly by operative approach. Older patients (P = .007) and open surgery (P = .003) were associated with a higher rate of complications (any-grade). Six grade ≥3 complications occurred: these were associated with higher RENAL Nephrometry Score (P = .016) and higher pathological tumor stage (P = .045). Limits include smaller case volumes which incorporate the learning curve cases; therefore, these data are most applicable to lower volume teaching hospitals. Conclusion: The sliding-clip technique for partial nephrectomy was first described by Agarwal et al and has low complication rates, acceptable operative time, and preserves renal function across open and minimally invasive surgeries. This series encompasses the initial learning curve with developing the technique through to present-day emergence as a routine standard of practice.

Giant solitary fibrous tumour: an uncommon approach for an uncommon tumour.

Complete surgical resection of a giant solitary fibrous tumour of the pleura can be challenging. We describe our technique for dealing with one such tumour. A clamshell incision proved inadequate for visualising the extent of the tumour. An additional lower sternotomy incision was then made, which significantly improved exposure. With the aid of cardiopulmonary bypass, it was then possible to mobilise and completely excise the tumour. Complete resection remains the mainstay of treatment for such pleural-based tumours. Every attempt must be made to achieve this, including any modification of the traditional approach if required.

Localized Surface Plasmon Resonance Studies on Pd/C Nano-Composite System: Effect of Metal Concentration and Annealing Temperature.

The effects of metal concentration and annealing temperature on the localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) properties of the Pd nanoparticles (NP) dispersed in carbon were investigated. The Pd/C nano-composite thin films with 7 to 39 atomic % concentration of metal content were deposited using the atom beam co-sputtering techniques and subjected to annealing at temperature varying from 300 °C to 600 °C. The UV-vis spectroscopy studies on as-prepared films displayed a Mie scattering profile, but not well-defined LSPR bands were observed for all the values of Pd concentration. This is attributed to the smaller size (3-4 nm) of Pd NPs and rough Pd/C interface, as confirmed from TEM studies. When samples were annealed at a temperature of 300 °C, three broad LSPR absorption bands in the visible region, along with a sharp peak at 210 nm, were observed and the effect of Pd concentration variation was insignificant on their position. The multiple LSPR bands were observed due to agglomeration NPs, which is consistent with earlier reports and is also observed in the TEM images. When annealing temperature was subsequently increased to 500 °C, a blue shift in the LSPR peak position with an increase in the Pd concentration was observed, which phenomena is attributed to the formation of bigger NPs with the formation of sharp NPs-interface at high temperature upon annealing. A monotonic increase in the magnitude and decrease in the FWHM with an increase in concentration suggested change in the dielectric function of sample due to the growth of NPs. This is further confirmed from XRD studies, where strain relaxation and grain growth were observed. The intensity of the SPR peak decreased with an increase in the annealing temperature. The LSPR peak disappeared on annealing at a temperature of 600 °C, suggesting the formation of continuous polycrystalline thin films of Pd. In summary, NPs size, metalmatrix interface, and concentration of metal play key roles in the tailoring the LSPR properties of the Pd.

Prevalence of major complications and procedural mortality in 336 dogs undergoing interventional cardiology procedures in a single academic center.

INTRODUCTION: Overall complication rates associated with a wide range of diagnostic and therapeutic interventional cardiac procedures in a contemporary academic setting have not been reported. ANIMALS, MATERIALS AND METHODS: Consecutive interventional procedures performed for client-owned dogs were retrospectively analyzed to characterize procedural complications and mortality. RESULTS: Three hundred sixty-four procedures were performed on 336 dogs. Interventions included attempted or completed transvenous pacemaker (PM) implantation (n = 134) with subsequent pacing system revision (n = 8), pulmonic balloon valvuloplasty (BVP) (n = 117) with a subset of patients undergoing an additional BVP (n = 14), transarterial closure of left-to-right shunting patent ductus arteriosus (PDA) (n = 66), diagnostic angiography and/or cardiovascular pressure measurement (n = 9), transvenous temporary pacing (n = 7), septal defect occlusion (n = 5), heartworm extraction (n = 3), and BVP catheter fragment retrieval (n = 1). The prevalence of major perioperative and postoperative complications for all procedures was 5% and 6%, respectively, and the procedural mortality rate was 2%. The overall rate of major complications was 12% for the PM group, 11% for the BVP group, and 2% for the PDA occlusion group. Both PM implantation and BVP have higher rates of major complications overall compared with PDA occlusion (p=0.0151). CONCLUSIONS: The results of this study indicate that the prevalence of major complications and mortality associated with interventional cardiac procedures is low; however, significant differences exist in complication rates between procedures.

Enhanced room temperature ferromagnetism and green photoluminescence in Cu doped ZnO thin film synthesised by neutral beam sputtering.

The Cu (3 to 15 at%) is incorporated into ZnO thin film by atomic beam co-sputtering has been investigated for enhancement in room temperature ferromagnetism and green photo-luminance. These Cu-ZnO thin films examined with Raman spectroscopy, X-Ray Diffraction (XRD), UV-Visible spectroscopy, Hall measurement, magnetic force microscopy (MFM) and magnetic hysteresis. Raman spectroscopy, XRD confirms wurtzite structure and improvement in the crystallinity of ZnO upto 7% Cu. Further increase in Cu concentration results in growth in Cu nanoparticles. On increasing Cu concentration, there is decrement in transparency and increase in band gap with increase in n-type carrier concentration as confirmed from UV-Visible and Hall measurement studies. Magnetic measurement exhibited unique feature of room temperature ferromagnetic ordering in undoped and doped sample upto 3% Cu. The enhancement in magnetic moment as well as green emission in photoluminescence response with increase in Cu doping indicates that generation of large defects in ZnO by Cu doping, which can be attributed to combined effect of the presence of oxygen vacancies and/or structural inhomogeneity as well as formation of bound magnetic polarons. Importantly, synthesised Cu doped ZnO thin films can be used as spin LEDs and switchable spin-laser diodes.

The association of hypotension during non-cardiac surgery, before and after skin incision, with postoperative acute kidney injury: a retrospective cohort analysis.

Intra-operative hypotension is associated with acute postoperative kidney injury. It is unclear how much hypotension occurs before skin incision compared with after, or whether hypotension in these two periods is similarly associated with postoperative kidney injury. We analysed the association of mean arterial pressure < 65 mmHg with postoperative kidney injury in 42,825 patients who were anaesthetised for elective non-cardiac surgery. Intra-operative hypotension occurred in 30,423 (71%) patients: 22,569 (53%) patients before skin incision; and 24,102 (56%) patients after incision. Anaesthetised patients who were hypotensive had mean arterial pressures < 65 mmHg for a median (IQR [range]) of 5.5 (0.0-14.7 [0.0-60.0]) min.h-1 before skin incision, compared with 1.7 [0.3-5.1 [0.0-57.5]) min.h-1 after incision: a median (IQR [range]) of 36% (0%-84% [0%-100%]) of hypotensive readings were before incision. We diagnosed postoperative kidney injury in 2328 (5%) patients. The odds ratio (95%CI) for acute kidney injury was 1.05 (1.02-1.07) for each doubling of the duration of hypotension, p < 0.001. Postoperative kidney injury was associated with the product of hypotension duration and severity, that is, area under the curve, before skin incision and after, odds ratio (95%CI): 1.02 (1.01-1.04), p = 0.004; and 1.02 (1.00-1.04), p = 0.016, respectively. A substantial fraction of all hypotension happened before surgical incision and was thus completely due to anaesthetic management. We recommend that anaesthetists should avoid mean arterial pressure < 65 mmHg during surgery, especially after induction, assuming that its association with postoperative kidney injury is, at least in part, causal.

Factors Affecting Insulin Resistance and Its Relation to Vitamin D Status and Clinical Nutritional Parameters in Dialysis Patients: A Single-center Indian Study.

The aim of this study was to measure insulin resistance (IR) in dialysis patients and its relation to Vitamin D status and nutritional parameters. We included patients on maintenance dialysis, both hemodialysis and peritoneal dialysis (HD and PD). IR was measured by homeostatic model assessment (HOMA)-IR index defined as fasting serum insulin (µU/L) × fasting blood sugar (mmol/L)/22.5. Baseline Vitamin D levels were measured by chemiluminescence immunoassay (CLIA) method. HOMA-IR index correlated with nutritional parameters such as 7-point subjective global assessment (SGA) and anthropometric measures, for example, body fat percentage, lean body weight (LBW), mid-arm circumference (MAC), and mid-arm muscle circumference (MAMC). A total of 55 patients were studied, of them 74.55% were male with mean age of the study population being 37.44 ± 14.96 years. The prevalence values of Vitamin D deficiency <30 ngm/ml, <20 ngm/ml, and <10 ngm/ml levels were 96.36%, 70.91%, and 23.64%, respectively. Mean HOMA-IR index was 3.14 ± 3.86. The correlation of HOMA-IR with Vitamin D was negative (r = -0.140, 95% confidence interval [CI] = -0.397-0.138 and P = 0.309); however, in subgroup analysis, patients with Vitamin D level <20 ng/ml had significantly high IR compared to those with Vitamin D >20 ng/ml, i.e., 3.74 ± 4.37 and 1.67 ± 1.47, respectively (P = 0.018). The other measured parameter which had a significant positive correlation with IR was serum uric acid (r = 0.303, 95% CI = 0.021-0.534, and P = 0.025). In nutritional assessment, body mass index, MAC, and MAMC had statistically significant positive correlation with HOMA-IR index (P ≤ 0.001, 0.004, and 0.004, respectively) unlike SGA (P = 0.480). The mode of dialysis did not have a significant effect on IR (HD vs. PD, P = 0.227). The majority of the patients on maintenance dialysis are Vitamin D deficient. Low Vitamin D level, especially <20 ng/ml, muscle mass, and high serum uric acid level are likely to have more IR in dialysis-dependent patients.

Effect of cryogenic grinding on volatile and fatty oil constituents of cumin (Cuminum cyminum L.) genotypes.

Effect of cryogenic grinding on recovery of volatile oil, fatty oil percentage and their constituents in two cumin (Cuminum cyminum L.) genotypes have been analyzed. Cryogenic grinding not only retains the volatiles but enhanced the recovery by 33.9 % in GC 4 and 43.5 % in RZ 209. A significant increase (29.9 %) over normal grinding in oil percentage was also observed in genotype RZ 209. This increase was, however, less (15.4 %) in genotype GC 4. Nineteen major compounds were identified in the essential oil of both genotypes. The two grinding techniques had significant effects on dependent variables, viz., volatile oil and monoterpenes. Cuminaldehyde was the main constituent in both genotypes, content of which increased from 48.2 to 56.1 % in GC 4 on cryo grinding. Content of terpines were found to decrease in cryo ground samples of GC 4 and either decrease or no change was found in RZ 209. Organoleptic test showed more pleasant aroma in cryo ground seeds of both the genotypes. Significant increase was also reported in fatty oil yield due to cryogenic grinding. Fatty acid methyl ester (FAME) analysis showed oleic acid as major FAME content of which increased from 88.1 to 94.9 % in RZ 209 and from 88.2 to 90.1 % in GC 4 on cryogenic grinding. Other prominent FAME were palmitic, palmitoleic and stearic acid. Results indicated commercial potential of cryogenic grinding technology for cumin in general and spices in particular for better retention of flavour and quality in spices.