Persistence of foliar applied and pre-storage seed-treated insecticides in rice and its processed products.

A field study was conducted to investigate the persistence of foliar-applied thiamethoxam 25% WG at a rate of 25 g ai ha-1 and chlorantraniliprole 18.5% SC at 30 g ai ha-1 in various parts of rice plants, including whole grain rice, brown rice, bran, husk, straw, and cooked rice. Liquid Chromatography-Mass spectrometry/Mass spectrometry was used for sample analysis. Chlorantraniliprole residues were found to persist in whole grains, bran, husk, and straw at the time of harvest, while thiamethoxam residue was not detected in harvested grains, processed products, or straw. The study concluded that foliar-applied chlorantraniliprole and thiamethoxam did not pose any dietary risk in cooked rice. In a pre-storage seed treatment study, thiamethoxam 30% FS at 3 mL kg-1 was evaluated against Angoumois grain moth infestation during storage. The seeds remained unharmed for nine months and exhibited significantly less moth damage (2.0%) even after twelve months of storage. Thiamethoxam residues persisted for more than one year in whole rice grain, brown rice, bran, and husk with seed treatment, with higher residue levels observed in bran and husk. Parboiling and cooking led to the degradation of thiamethoxam residues.

NUCLEAR MEDICINE PROCEDURE VOLUME AND ESTIMATION OF COLLECTIVE EFFECTIVE DOSE IN TAMIL NADU TOWARDS THE ESTABLISHMENT OF DIAGNOSTIC REFERENCE LEVEL.

With an objective to establish adult diagnostic reference levels in the practice of nuclear medicine (NM) in the state of Tamil Nadu (TN), data on the predominant NM procedures carried out in the state are analyzed. In this study, data on total NM diagnostic procedures during the years 2015-19 along with patient-specific diagnostic NM procedure data for the period April-June 2021 from all centers in Tamil Nadu are collected and analyzed using SPSS statistical software. Nine predominant types of NM scans are analyzed. Collective effective dose from NM scans and per capita dose for the TN population are estimated. The 75th percentile of the distribution and average administered activity (AAA) has been derived and local reference levels are reported. Based on the statistical analysis, it is observed that the whole-body positron emission tomography (PET), renal diethylenetriamine pentaacetate (DTPA) scan, bone methylene diphosphonate (MDP) scan, iodine-131 whole body scan, thyroid studies using Technetium per technetate, renal dimercaptosuccinic acid (DMSA), myocardial perfusion methoxyisobutyl isonitrile sestamibi (MIBI), mebrofenin, Galium-68 prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA) are the most common procedure covering >90% of the practices carried out. The collective effective dose is 410 man-Sv in the year 2019, leading to a mean effective dose of 0.006 mSv per capita of the TN state population. The 75th percentile of the distribution of AA is slightly higher than diagnostic reference level (DRL) as compared with Australian DRL (310 MBq). It is also observed that F-18 PET procedures are primarily responsible for most of the collective effective dose, local DRL is 316 MBq and it is important to establish national DRLs for NM diagnostic scans to optimize the NM examinations.

Evaluation of orbital volume in unilateral orbital fracture using computed tomography.

Aim and Objective: Our study was an observational and evolutional to analyze the significance of orbital volume calculation in predicting the probability or tendency of developing late enopthalmous on patients with unilateral orbital fracture with or without associated midface injury reported to our hospital. Materials and Methods: The subjects in our study included fifteen patients between18 and 60years. They were treated surgically and conservatively. Patients were exposed to series of examination from the day of injury or reporting for a consecutive period of up to six months following injury. CT was taken prior to treatment following management to evaluate the volume change in orbit. Its correlation and significance to treatment outcome were analyzed using MIMICS software by Materialise by comparing injured orbit to opposite side normal eye. Result: Conclusive of clinical examination and summary of statistical analysis patients were categorized into three groups: Low (with volume change of less than 2%), Medium (volume change between 2 to 20%) and High (volume change more than 20%) by comparing fractured orbit to uninjured orbit and a statistically significant mean value of 27.7 ± 2.6 cu. mm for fractures eye and 25.9 ± 2.6 cu. mm for normal eye was found (P ≤ 0.05). Conclusion: Orbital volume can be considered as useful criteria in evaluation of patients with orbital fracture. Evaluation and follow up in correlation with resultant volume assessment provide a better indicator for assessment of prognosis and enopthalmous. Unlike other methods for volume assessment MIMICS software by Materialise provide a better method and it can be incorporated to working station in hospital. Every CT assessment in orbital trauma should include orbital volume as a parameter and this software is easy and user-friendly software that does not require its technical knowledge for application.

Effect of surface modification and laser repetition rate on growth, structural, electronic and optical properties of GaN nanorods on flexible Ti metal foil.

The effect of flexible Ti metal foil surface modification and laser repetition rate in laser molecular beam epitaxy growth process on the evolution of GaN nanorods and their structural, electronic and optical properties has been investigated. The GaN nanostructures were grown on bare- and pre-nitridated Ti foil substrates at 700 °C for different laser repetition rates (10-30 Hz). It is found that the low repetition rate (10 Hz) promotes sparse growth of three-dimensional inverted-cone like GaN nanostructures on pre-nitridated Ti surface whereas the entire Ti foil substrate is nearly covered with film-like GaN consisting of large-sized grains for 30 Hz growth. In case of the GaN growth at 20 Hz, uniformly-aligned, dense (∼8 × 109 cm-2) GaN nanorods are successfully grown on pre-nitridated Ti foil whereas sparse vertical GaN nanorods have been obtained on bare Ti foil under similar growth conditions for both 20 and 30 Hz. X-ray photoemission spectroscopy (XPS) has been utilized to elucidate the electronic structure of GaN nanorods grown under various experimental conditions on Ti foil. It confirms Ga-N bonding in the grown structures, and the calculated chemical composition turns out to be Ga rich for the GaN nanorods grown on pre-nitridated Ti foil. For bare Ti substrates, a preferred reaction between Ti and N is noticed as compared to Ga and N leading to sparse growth of GaN nanorods. Hence, the nitridation of Ti foil is a prerequisite to achieve the growth of dense and aligned GaN nanorod arrays. The X-ray diffraction, high resolution transmission electron microscopy and Raman studies revealed the c-axis growth of wurtzite GaN nanorods on Ti metal foil with good crystallinity and structural quality. The photoluminescence spectroscopy showed that the dense GaN nanorod possesses a near band edge emission at 3.42 eV with a full width at half maximum of 98 meV at room temperature. The density-controlled growth of GaN nanorods on a flexible substrate with high structural and optical quality holds promise for potential applications in futuristic flexible GaN based optoelectronics and sensor devices.

Structural and Optical Properties of Self-Assembled Epitaxially Grown GaN Nanorods and Nanoporous Film on Sapphire (0001) Using Laser Molecular Beam Epitaxy.

The GaN nanoporous-film (NPF) and nanorods (NRs) were grown on sapphire (0001) using laserassisted molecular beam epitaxy (LMBE) technique by laser ablating solid GaN target at different laser energy density. The interconnected GaN NPF was grown at low laser energy density of ˜4 J/cm² whereas vertically aligned GaN NRs was obtained at high laser energy density of ˜7 J/cm². The pore size of the GaN NPF structure is in range of 40-120 nm. The GaN NRs possess hexagonal shape with six sidewall facets and truncated top facet. The length, width and density of GaN NRs are 600-900 nm, 150-250 nm and ˜2.5×107 cm-2, respectively. The X-ray rocking curve full width at half maximum values along GaN (0002) and (1012) planes for GaN NRs obtained to be 0.41 and 0.53°, respectively. The biaxial stress in hetero-epitaxially grown GaN was investigated with Raman spectroscopy and it was found that GaN NRs possesses a very low in-plane compressive biaxial stress of 0.09 GPa. The photoluminescence study exhibits a sharp band-to-band emission at 3.4 eV with a peak line width of 140 meV, signifying the good optical quality of the LMBE grown GaN NRs on sapphire (0001).

Excitation Density Dependent Photoluminescence Studies on Homo-Epitaxial GaN Nanowall Networks Grown by Laser Assisted Molecular Beam Epitaxy.

The optical properties of laser-assisted molecular beam epitaxy grown homo-epitaxialGaN nanowall networks (NWNs) were investigated using power dependent photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopy and compared with homo-epitaxial GaN thin film. The pore size and tip width of GaN NWN sample is ˜120-180 nm and 10-15 nm, respectively. The ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy study shows that the GaN NWNs have low optical light reflection and minimum Fabry-Perot cavity effect than GaN film. The room temperature PL spectroscopy reveals that the GaN NWNs possesses enhanced band gap of 3.51 eV with blue shift of 90 meV than the GaN film (3.42 eV). The excitation density dependent PL spectroscopy measurements reveal that the GaN NWNs nanowall and near band emission (NBE) peak position and its linewidth invariant. The intensity of NBE peak for GaN film and nanowalls varies linearly whereas NBE to defect related yellow luminescence peak intensity ratio shows a non-linear variation on the excitation density. The excitation density in PL measurements plays a key role when the sample quality compared on the basis of PL data.

Self-Induced Growth of GaN Nanowall Structure on Si (111) by Laser Molecular Beam Epitaxy.

Evolution of GaN nanostructure grown on Si (111) substrate has been studied systematically using laser molecular beam epitaxial process. The in-situ reflection high energy electron diffraction and ex-situ high resolution X-ray diffraction studies reveal that the GaN nanostructures have a hexagonal-wurtzite phase and grow along c-axis. The GaN morphology changes from compact granular layer to faceted pyramids to nanowall structure as a function of laser ablation frequency of the KrF excimer laser and radio frequency nitrogen plasma condition. It is observed that GaN nanowall structure is formed on Si (111) when grown under strong nitrogen-rich flux at a higher growth rate and growth temperature. The crystalline and optical quality of the GaN nanostructures significantly improved with increase of laser ablation frequency. The nanowall structure shows good optical emission properties with an intense, sharp near-band edge emission and a negligible deep band luminescence.

Structural and Optical Properties of GaN Film on Copper and Graphene/Copper Metal Foils Grown by Laser Molecular Beam Epitaxy.

We report the direct growth of crystalline GaN on bare copper (Cu) and monolayer-graphene/Cu metal foils using laser molecular beam epitaxy technique at growth temperature of 700 °C. The surface morphology investigated with field emission scanning electron microscopy revealed that the size of GaN grains for film grown on bare Cu falls in range of 90 to 160 nm whereas large grains with size of ˜200 to 600 nm was obtained for GaN grown on graphene/Cu foil under similar growth condition. The transverse optical mode of cubic GaN and E2 (high) phonon mode for wurtzite GaN phases were obtained on the GaN film grown on Cu and graphene/Cu metal foils as deduced by Raman spectroscopy. The photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopy studies showed that the near band edge emission peaks for GaN on Cu and graphene/Cu consist two major peaks at 3.26 and 3.4 eV, corresponding to cubic and wurtzite GaN, respectively. The Raman and PL studies disclosed that the mixed phase growth of GaN occurs on these foils and better structural and optical quality for GaN on graphene/Cu foil. The direct growth of GaN on two dimensional graphene on polycrystalline metal foils is beneficial various transferrable and flexible opto-electronics device applications.

Iterative method of baffle design for modified Ritchey-Chretien telescope.

We developed a baffle design method based on a combination of the results of optical design software and analytical relations formulated herein. The method finds the exact solution for baffle parameters of a modified Ritchey-Chretien telescope by iteratively solving the analytical relations using the actual ray coordinates of the telescope computed with the aid of optical design software. The baffle system so designed not only blocks the direct rays of stray light reaching the image plane but also provides minimum obscuration to imaging light. Based on the iterative method, we proposed a baffle design approach for a rectangular-image-format telescope.

Klatskin-like lesions.

Hilar cholangiocarcinoma, also known as Klatskin tumour, is the commonest type of cholangiocarcinoma. It poses unique problems in the diagnosis and management because of its anatomical location. Curative surgery in the form of major hepatic resection entails significant morbidity. About 5-15% of specimens resected for presumed Klatskin tumour prove not to be cholangiocarcinomas. There are a number of inflammatory, infective, vascular, and other pathologies, which have overlapping clinical and radiological features with a Klatskin tumour, leading to misinterpretation. This paper aims to summarise the features of such Klatskin-like lesions that have been reported in surgical literature.

A review of metallothionein isoforms and their role in pathophysiology.

The Metallothionein (MT) is a protein which has several interesting biological effects and has been demonstrated increase focus on the role of MT in various biological systems in the past three decades. The studies on the role of MT were limited with few areas like apoptosis and antioxidants in selected organs even fifty years after its discovery. Now acknowledge the exploration of various isoforms of MT such as MT-I, MT-II, MT-III and MT-IV and other isoforms in various biological systems.Strong evidence exists that MT modulates complex diseases and the immune system in the body but the primary function of MT still remains unknown. This review's main objective is to explore the capability to specifically manipulate MT levels in cells and in animals to provide answers regarding how MT could impact those complex disease scenarios.The experimental result mentioned in this review related among MT, zinc, cadmium, diabetic, heart disease, bone retardation, neuro toxicity, kidney dysfunction, cancer, and brain suggest novel method for exploration and contribute significantly to the growing scientist to research further in this field.

Is hyperaldosteronism a pathognomonic feature of conn's syndrome?

A 10-year-old female child presented with resistant hypertension and hypokalaemia. There was no muscle weakness or periodic paralysis. The ratio of plasma aldosterone concentration to plasma renin activity was increased. MRI of the abdomen showed the right adrenal mass. The child underwent open right adrenalectomy. she had natriuresis in the postoperative period. She was normotensive without antihypertensive drugs at discharge and 2 months after surgery.

Foreign body granulamatous reaction to endoluminal gas in pneumatosis intestinalis - a case report.

Pneumatosis intestinalis is a rare condition occurs in a wide variety of patients, some of whom require urgent surgery, while others can be observed with resolution of symptoms and radiographic findings. Most often the need for surgery is intestinal obstruction. We report a case of pneumatosis intestinalis with an abdominal mass causing obstruction. The histological surprise and the rarity of the obstruction is highlighted in this case report.

A systematic study to determine the extent of gene silencing in Nicotiana benthamiana and other Solanaceae species when heterologous gene sequences are used for virus-induced gene silencing.

Virus-induced gene silencing (VIGS) is a rapid and robust method for determining and studying the function of plant genes or expressed sequence tags (ESTs). However, only a few plant species are amenable to VIGS. There is a need for a systematic study to identify VIGS-efficient plant species and to determine the extent of homology required between the heterologous genes and their endogenous orthologs for silencing. Two approaches were used. First, the extent of phytoene desaturase (PDS) gene silencing was studied in various Solanaceous plant species using Nicotiana benthamiana NbPDS sequences. In the second approach, PDS sequences from a wide range of plant species were used to silence the PDS gene in N. benthamiana. The results showed that tobacco rattle virus (TRV)-mediated VIGS can be performed in a wide range of Solanaceous plant species and that heterologous gene sequences from far-related plant species can be used to silence their respective orthologs in the VIGS-efficient plant N. benthamiana. A correlation was not always found between gene silencing efficiency and percentage homology of the heterologous gene sequence with the endogenous gene sequence. It was concluded that a 21-nucleotide stretch of 100% identity between the heterologous and endogenous gene sequences is not absolutely required for gene silencing.

Chlamydomonas reinhardtii, a model system for functional validation of abiotic stress responsive genes.

Stress tolerance is a multigenic character and there are many stress responsive genes, which are stress specific. Although many of these have been cloned, their functional significance remains fragmentary. Hence it is important to identify the relevant stress genes involved in altering the metabolism for adaptation. Overexpression is one of the several approaches and Chlamydomonas is a suitable system to study the functional relevance of stress genes. Stress responses can only be assessed on prior exposure to sublethal induction stress. In this study the acclimation response of Chlamydomonas was assessed for different abiotic stresses using physiological screens like chlorophyll stability, membrane damage, cell viability, accumulation of free radicals, survival and recovery growth. We demonstrate that Chlamydomonas responds to diverse stresses and is a potential system to study the relevance of stress genes. The relevance of choline oxidase A (codA), a key enzyme in glycinebetaine biosynthesis, was examined by developing transformants expressing codA gene from Arthrobacter globiformis. Southern positive transformants showed enhanced accumulation of glycinebetaine. The transformants also showed enhanced growth under salinity, high light coupled with methylviologen-induced oxidative stress, high temperature and cold stress. However the transgenics were not tolerant to PEG-mediated simulated osmotic stress, LiCl, menadione and UV stress. Increased cell survival and decreased chlorophyll degradation in transformants under acclimated conditions further confirmed the relevance of codA in imparting stress tolerance. Our results indicated that the relevance of stress responsive genes can be efficiently validated for diverse abiotic stresses using Chlamydomonas system.

Functional characterization of Nicotiana benthamiana homologs of peanut water deficit-induced genes by virus-induced gene silencing.

Determining the functional role of genes that are differentially regulated during a stress response is challenging. In this study, few water deficit-induced genes from peanut were characterized in Nicotiana benthamiana using virus-induced gene silencing (VIGS) and their relevance for stress adaptation was validated. Twenty-five cDNA clones from peanut water deficit stress-induced cDNA library that had more than 50% nucleotide similarity with N. benthamiana or tomato homologs were selected. VIGS in peanut is not yet feasible and therefore we characterized these 25 genes in N. benthamiana. Increased membrane damage was seen under water deficit stress in most of the silenced plants signifying that many of these stress-induced genes are important to confer drought tolerance. Among the genes tested, silencing by homolog of flavonol 3-O-glucosyltransferase (F3OGT), homolog of alcohol dehydrogenase, homologous to salt inducible protein, and homolog of heat shock protein 70 showed more visible wilting symptoms compared with the control plants during water deficit stress. Interestingly, down-regulation of two genes, homologous to aspartic proteinase 2, and homolog of Jumonji class of transcription factor showed relative drought tolerant phenotypes. F3OGT silenced plants showed more wilting symptoms, membrane damage and chlorophyll degradation than any other silenced plants during water deficit. Our results demonstrate that VIGS approach can be used to characterize and assess the functional relevance of water deficit stress-induced cDNAs in a heterologous species.