Charge distribution studies in the epi-cadmium neutron induced fission of 238Pu.

Studies on charge distribution have been carried out in the epi-cadmium neutron induced fission of 238Pu for the first time. Experimentally fractional cumulative yields (FCY) and independent yields (IY) of various fission products have been measured by using an off-line γ-ray spectrometric technique. From the FCY values, the charge distribution parameters such as the isobaric width parameter (σZ), most probable charge (ZP) and the charge polarization (ΔΖEXPT) as a function of fragment mass were obtained. On the other hand, from the measured IY values, isotopic width parameter (σA), the most probable mass (AP) and the elemental yields (YZ) of Sn, Sb, Te, I, Xe, Cs, Ba, La, Ce and Pr were determined by using a non-linear fit. From the YZ values, the proton even-odd effect (δp) was obtained for the first time. The isobaric and isotopic charge distribution parameters in the 238Pu(nf, f) reaction were compared with the similar data in the thermal neutron induced fission of 238Pu and other actinides to examine the role of excitation energy.

Worldwide forest surveys reveal forty-three new species in Phytophthora major Clade 2 with fundamental implications for the evolution and biogeography of the genus and global plant biosecurity.

During 25 surveys of global Phytophthora diversity, conducted between 1998 and 2020, 43 new species were detected in natural ecosystems and, occasionally, in nurseries and outplantings in Europe, Southeast and East Asia and the Americas. Based on a multigene phylogeny of nine nuclear and four mitochondrial gene regions they were assigned to five of the six known subclades, 2a-c, e and f, of Phytophthora major Clade 2 and the new subclade 2g. The evolutionary history of the Clade appears to have involved the pre-Gondwanan divergence of three extant subclades, 2c, 2e and 2f, all having disjunct natural distributions on separate continents and comprising species with a soilborne and aquatic lifestyle and, in addition, a few partially aerial species in Clade 2c; and the post-Gondwanan evolution of subclades 2a and 2g in Southeast/East Asia and 2b in South America, respectively, from their common ancestor. Species in Clade 2g are soilborne whereas Clade 2b comprises both soil-inhabiting and aerial species. Clade 2a has evolved further towards an aerial lifestyle comprising only species which are predominantly or partially airborne. Based on high nuclear heterozygosity levels ca. 38 % of the taxa in Clades 2a and 2b could be some form of hybrid, and the hybridity may be favoured by an A1/A2 breeding system and an aerial life style. Circumstantial evidence suggests the now 93 described species and informally designated taxa in Clade 2 result from both allopatric non-adaptive and sympatric adaptive radiations. They represent most morphological and physiological characters, breeding systems, lifestyles and forms of host specialism found across the Phytophthora clades as a whole, demonstrating the strong biological cohesiveness of the genus. The finding of 43 previously unknown species from a single Phytophthora clade highlight a critical lack of information on the scale of the unknown pathogen threats to forests and natural ecosystems, underlining the risk of basing plant biosecurity protocols mainly on lists of named organisms. More surveys in natural ecosystems of yet unsurveyed regions in Africa, Asia, Central and South America are needed to unveil the full diversity of the clade and the factors driving diversity, speciation and adaptation in Phytophthora. Taxonomic novelties: New species: Phytophthora amamensis T. Jung, K. Kageyama, H. Masuya & S. Uematsu, Phytophthora angustata T. Jung, L. Garcia, B. Mendieta-Araica, & Y. Balci, Phytophthora balkanensis I. Milenkovic, Z. Tomic, T. Jung & M. Horta Jung, Phytophthora borneensis T. Jung, A. Durán, M. Tarigan & M. Horta Jung, Phytophthora calidophila T. Jung, Y. Balci, L. Garcia & B. Mendieta-Araica, Phytophthora catenulata T. Jung, T.-T. Chang, N.M. Chi & M. Horta Jung, Phytophthora celeris T. Jung, L. Oliveira, M. Tarigan & I. Milenkovic, Phytophthora curvata T. Jung, A. Hieno, H. Masuya & M. Horta Jung, Phytophthora distorta T. Jung, A. Durán, E. Sanfuentes von Stowasser & M. Horta Jung, Phytophthora excentrica T. Jung, S. Uematsu, K. Kageyama & C.M. Brasier, Phytophthora falcata T. Jung, K. Kageyama, S. Uematsu & M. Horta Jung, Phytophthora fansipanensis T. Jung, N.M. Chi, T. Corcobado & C.M. Brasier, Phytophthora frigidophila T. Jung, Y. Balci, K. Broders & I. Milenkovic, Phytophthora furcata T. Jung, N.M. Chi, I. Milenkovic & M. Horta Jung, Phytophthora inclinata N.M. Chi, T. Jung, M. Horta Jung & I. Milenkovic, Phytophthora indonesiensis T. Jung, M. Tarigan, L. Oliveira & I. Milenkovic, Phytophthora japonensis T. Jung, A. Hieno, H. Masuya & J.F. Webber, Phytophthora limosa T. Corcobado, T. Majek, M. Ferreira & T. Jung, Phytophthora macroglobulosa H.-C. Zeng, H.-H. Ho, F.-C. Zheng & T. Jung, Phytophthora montana T. Jung, Y. Balci, K. Broders & M. Horta Jung, Phytophthora multipapillata T. Jung, M. Tarigan, I. Milenkovic & M. Horta Jung, Phytophthora multiplex T. Jung, Y. Balci, K. Broders & M. Horta Jung, Phytophthora nimia T. Jung, H. Masuya, A. Hieno & C.M. Brasier, Phytophthora oblonga T. Jung, S. Uematsu, K. Kageyama & C.M. Brasier, Phytophthora obovoidea T. Jung, Y. Balci, L. Garcia & B. Mendieta-Araica, Phytophthora obturata T. Jung, N.M. Chi, I. Milenkovic & M. Horta Jung, Phytophthora penetrans T. Jung, Y. Balci, K. Broders & I. Milenkovic, Phytophthora platani T. Jung, A. Pérez-Sierra, S.O. Cacciola & M. Horta Jung, Phytophthora proliferata T. Jung, N.M. Chi, I. Milenkovic & M. Horta Jung, Phytophthora pseudocapensis T. Jung, T.-T. Chang, I. Milenkovic & M. Horta Jung, Phytophthora pseudocitrophthora T. Jung, S.O. Cacciola, J. Bakonyi & M. Horta Jung, Phytophthora pseudofrigida T. Jung, A. Durán, M. Tarigan & M. Horta Jung, Phytophthora pseudoccultans T. Jung, T.-T. Chang, I. Milenkovic & M. Horta Jung, Phytophthora pyriformis T. Jung, Y. Balci, K.D. Boders & M. Horta Jung, Phytophthora sumatera T. Jung, M. Tarigan, M. Junaid & A. Durán, Phytophthora transposita T. Jung, K. Kageyama, C.M. Brasier & H. Masuya, Phytophthora vacuola T. Jung, H. Masuya, K. Kageyama & J.F. Webber, Phytophthora valdiviana T. Jung, E. Sanfuentes von Stowasser, A. Durán & M. Horta Jung, Phytophthora variepedicellata T. Jung, Y. Balci, K. Broders & I. Milenkovic, Phytophthora vietnamensis T. Jung, N.M. Chi, I. Milenkovic & M. Horta Jung, Phytophthora ×australasiatica T. Jung, N.M. Chi, M. Tarigan & M. Horta Jung, Phytophthora ×lusitanica T. Jung, M. Horta Jung, C. Maia & I. Milenkovic, Phytophthora ×taiwanensis T. Jung, T.-T. Chang, H.-S. Fu & M. Horta Jung. Citation: Jung T, Milenkovic I, Balci Y, Janousek J, Kudlácek T, Nagy ZÁ, Baharuddin B, Bakonyi J, Broders KD, Cacciola SO, Chang T-T, Chi NM, Corcobado T, Cravador A, Dordevic B, Durán A, Ferreira M, Fu C-H, Garcia L, Hieno A, Ho H-H, Hong C, Junaid M, Kageyama K, Kuswinanti T, Maia C, Májek T, Masuya H, Magnano di San Lio G, Mendieta-Araica B, Nasri N, Oliveira LSS, Pane A, Pérez-Sierra A, Rosmana A, Sanfuentes von Stowasser E, Scanu B, Singh R, Stanivukovic Z, Tarigan M, Thu PQ, Tomic Z, Tomsovský M, Uematsu S, Webber JF, Zeng H-C, Zheng F-C, Brasier CM, Horta Jung M (2024). Worldwide forest surveys reveal forty-three new species in Phytophthora major Clade 2 with fundamental implications for the evolution and biogeography of the genus and global plant biosecurity. Studies in Mycology 107: 251-388. doi: 10.3114/sim.2024.107.04.

Independent isomeric yield ratios of fission products in the epi-cadmium neutron induced fission of 233U.

The independent isomeric yield ratios (IR) of 128,130,132Sb, 131,133Te, 132,134,136I, 135Xe and 138Cs have been measured in the epi-cadmium neutron induced fission of 233U by using an off-line gamma-ray spectrometric technique. The average neutron energy of the epi-cadmium reactor neutron spectrum is 1.9 MeV. The root mean square fragment angular momenta (JRMS) were deduced from the IR values by using spin dependent statistical model analysis. The IR and JRMS values of considered fission products in the epi-cadmium neutron induced fission of 233U were compared with the literature data in the thermal neutron induced fission of 233U to examine the influence of excitation energy on nuclear structure effect.

Structural and physical properties of Ni1-xVxalloys around and away from quantum critical point.

We investigate the room temperature structure (global and local), temperature dependent magnetic and transport behaviour of Ni1-xVx(0⩽x⩽0.13) alloys. Our Energy Dispersive Analysis of x-rays results show that the prepared compositions are stoichiometric. With increase in V doping, the compounds exhibit a quantum phase transition aroundxc= 0.12, where the ferromagnetic phase is suppressed. Our results show that all the compounds stabilize in face centred cubic structure at RT and the lattice parameter shows unusual behaviour close toxc. The magnetic and heat capacity studies show signature of Griffiths phase on either side ofxc. From 25 K to the lowest collected temperature, we observe a linear T dependence of resistivity atx = 0.1 and aroundxc, which is separated by a Fermi-liquid region aroundx = 0.106. This suggests that the origin of the transport behaviour is different around the quantum critical point and away from it. Our Ni K-edge x-ray Absorption Spectroscopy results show that there is a significant reduction in the first coordination number around Ni central atom on doping. Further, with doping, there is distortion in the first coordination shell around Ni. This suggests, with V doping, the local structure around Ni is different from the global structure as obtained from the x-ray Diffraction results. Interestingly, with doping, we observe a direct connection between the extent of distortion at RT and the magnetic disorder obtained at 2 K. We believe our results will motivate the scientific community to further study the interplay between the structural disorder and quantum fluctuations with temperature at the local level.

Unraveling the Mystery of Multi-Oocyte Follicles: An Observational Study.

Introduction: Significant progress has been made in understanding oocyte fertilization and early developmental stages through in vitro fertilization (IVF) techniques. However, irregularities such as conjoined oocytes and binucleate giant oocytes, which are exceptions to the normal rule of one diploid female gamete per follicle, can potentially lead to chromosomal disorders in embryos and are recommended to be excluded from IVF attempts. The formation of primordial follicles during ovarian development, known as follicle assembly, is a critical process that establishes the ovarian follicle reserve. Multi-oocyte follicles (MOFs) containing two or more oocytes have been observed in various species, including humans, and their clinical significance on fertility and reproductive health remains unclear. Genetic and environmental factors, such as gene knockout and exposure to endocrine disruptors, have been implicated in MOF formation, but the mechanisms are not fully understood and require further investigation. Material & Method: In this Observational study, 350 slides of ovarian tissues were scanned using an AI-based automated microscope, Grundium Ocus 20, and the TIFF images were stored in cloud storage. The slides were examined using third-party software, Pathcore Seeden Viewer, for morphometry of binovular follicles. Results: In our observational study, we examined 350 ovarian tissue slides in detail by using an AI-based microscope, uncovering 22 slides from seven different tissues with binovular and multinovular oocytes. These rare multi-oocyte follicles (MOFs) challenge the conventional one-oocyte-per-follicle paradigm. MOFs are likely formed when oocytes fail to separate during cortical sex cord proliferation, regulated by factors several molecular factorsas well as environmental factors. Discussion: Multiple Ovarian Follicles (MOFs) are rare phenomena where two or more oocytes exist in one follicle. They arise when oocytes fail to separate during ovarian development, which is governed by hormones such as follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH), inhibin, BMP-15, GDF-9, and GCNF. MOFs can be caused by dysregulation and exposure to chemicals such as diethylstilbestrol (DES) and isoflavones. Binovular oocytes, which occur when two oocytes are released during ovulation and are fertilised by different sperm, can result in non-identical twins, which are influenced by genetic and environmen-tal factors such as maternal age, heredity, hormonal imbalances, and assisted reproductive techniques such as in vitro fertilisation (IVF). Polynuclear oocytes with many nuclei can develop as a result of meiotic spindle defects and environmental influences. Identifying these oocyte types may aid in improving ART results by improving knowledge of the reasons of infertility and devising appropriate interventions.

Unexpected and delayed fragmentation dynamics of the organometallic ferrocene induced by ion-collision.

We have investigated the fragmentation dynamics of the organometallic ferrocene molecule after interaction with multiply charged ions using multicoincidence mass spectrometry and quantum chemistry calculations. We observed unexpected fragmentation dynamics of the two-body breakup channels from ferrocene dications revealing a charge screening effect from the iron atom and delayed fragmentation dynamics. These observations are rationalized through the population of a specific long-lived excited state, where one positive charge is located on each cyclopentadienyl ring.

Determining hotspots of gaseous criteria air pollutants in Delhi airshed and its association with stubble burning.

Transboundary pollutant transport is considered as one of the primary factors causing the seasonal air quality deterioration in Delhi, India's capital. The highest standard deviations exceeding days in winter for NO2 (7.14-9.63%) and SO2 (4.04-7.42%) in 2019-2022 underscore the role of meteorological conditions in Delhi's pollution. In contrast, the post-monsoon season shows the highest pollutant exceedance days (4.52-8.00%) for CO due to stubble burning (SB) in Punjab (68,902 fires/year). Despite the government's assertions of decreasing SB events (14.68%), the city's CO exceedance days persistently rose by 6.36%. CAMS data is used for assessing contribution hotspots through back-trajectory analysis at multiple heights. An overlap hotspot of 111 sq. km area is identified in the Southeast parts of Punjab that have a higher contribution to the CO levels in Delhi during the post-monsoon season of 2019. Similarly, hotspots are also observed for SO2 over industrial areas of Punjab during the post-monsoon and pre-monsoon seasons. The same seasons show similar contributing patterns for NO2 highlighting the influence of consistent emission patterns and meteorological conditions. The clear delineation of hotspots using the receptor model at multiple heights coupled with source apportionment studies will assist decision-makers in addressing the pollution sources outside Delhi.

Animal movement on the hoof and on the cart and its implications for understanding exchange within the Indus Civilisation.

Movement of resources was essential to the survival and success of early complex societies. The sources and destinations of goods and the means of transportation - be it by boats, carts and/or foot - can often be inferred, but the logistics of these movements are inherently more difficult to ascertain. Here, we use strontium isotopic analysis to test hypotheses about the role of animal and animal-powered transport in medium and long-distance movement and exchange, using the Indus Civilization as a case study. Across the wide geographical spread of the Indus Civilisation, there is strong evidence for long-distance exchange of raw materials and finished objects and this process is presumed to involve boats and animal-driven transport, although there is little evidence as to the relative importance of each mode of movement. Strontium isotopic analysis of animal remains from four sites analysed for this study combined with results from nine other sites indicates limited long-distance animal movement between different geological zones within the Indus Civilisation. These findings suggest that individual animals primarily moved short- or medium-distances, though there are several significant exceptions seen in some pigs and cattle found at two large urban sites. We infer that long-distance transport of goods, be it raw materials, finished objects, other goods, or the animals themselves, could have occurred through the use of boats and waterways, by traction animals moving over long distances that did not end up in the archaeological record, and/or by different animals participating in many short to medium-distance movements.

Factors affecting quality of life in rectal cancer survivors who have undergone laparoscopic surgery: patient-reported outcomes over 10 years at a single institution.

INTRODUCTION: Colorectal cancer survivors have many problems affecting their quality of life (QOL). Traditional follow-up focuses on the detection of recurrence rather than QOL. Efforts are being made to assess patient-reported outcomes (PROMS) more formally. Such changes may enable patients to consider QOL factors when deciding on treatment. METHODS: Patients who underwent laparoscopic surgery for rectal cancer between 2005 and 2015 at a single institution were identified and sent European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) QLQ-C30 and QLQ-CR29 QOL questionnaires. QOL and the impact of radiotherapy, chemotherapy and formation of end colostomy were assessed. RESULTS: Some 141 patients were identified: 12 died and 118 (83.7%) responded, of whom 101 completed the questionnaires and 17 declined to participate; 11 were lost to follow-up. Mean age was 67 years, median follow-up was 58 months. Median QOL score was 6 (maximum 7) and 4.5% of patients reported a poor QOL score (<4). Significant rectal/perianal pain, sexual dysfunction and urinary symptoms were reported in 3.6%, 10.9% and 2.7% of respondents, respectively. Significant differences between treatment groups were uncommon. All cohorts reported similar QOL, functional and symptom scores. CONCLUSIONS: These results compare favourably with the published data. Future studies may benefit from baseline assessment to better assess treatment impact, prescient in an increasingly elderly and comorbid population. This paper establishes that good PROMs are achievable with laparoscopic surgery for rectal cancer. It identifies limited differences in QOL between treatment modalities. Restoration of intestinal continuity and end colostomy result in similar QOL. This may address common concerns regarding stomata, sexual function and low anterior resection syndrome in this cohort.

The importance of public participation in framing air pollution policy: outcome of a judicial review in New Delhi, India.

SETTING: Air pollution, including particulate matter, causes health problems for residents of major cities around the world, including New Delhi, India. Public participation is important in framing policies related to such public health issues. OBJECTIVE: To study how the public's comments on air pollution, which had been collected on the orders of the Indian Supreme Court, influenced air pollution policy in New Delhi. DESIGN: We filed a Right to Information Act, 2005 application with the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) to obtain a copy of the comments. These were compiled and compared with key major areas identified in the policy released by the regulatory authority. RESULTS: There were a wide range of comments from experts, residents and resident associations. In total, 115 comments were compiled and studied, and several recurring themes were found to have been incorporated into the policy. This included the need to switch to green public transport and cycling, the use of alternative fuels and reduced agricultural crop residue burning. CONCLUSION: Our study revealed that the public and experts have indeed influenced the CAQM air pollution policy. This is important, as it highlights a democratic, inclusive and stakeholder-based approach. Nonetheless, a future concern lies in how this policy is translated into actionable regulations with effective implementation in the field.

Bernoulli trial under restarts: A comparative study of resetting transitions.

A Bernoulli trial describing the escape behavior of a lamb to a safe haven in pursuit by a lion is studied under restarts. The process ends in two ways: either the lamb makes it to the safe haven (success) or is captured by the lion (failure). We study the first passage properties of this Bernoulli trial and find that only mean first passage time exists. Considering Poisson and sharp resetting, we find that the success probability is a monotonically decreasing function of the restart rate. The mean time, however, exhibits a nonmonotonic dependence on the restart rate taking a minimal value at an optimal restart rate. Furthermore, for sharp restart, the mean time possesses a local and a global minima. As a result, the optimal restart rate exhibits a continuous transition for Poisson resetting while it exhibits a discontinuous transition for sharp resetting as a function of the relative separation of the lion and the lamb. We also find that the distribution of first passage times under sharp resetting exhibits a periodic behavior.

Universal to nonuniversal transition of the statistics of rare events during the spread of random walks.

Through numerous experiments that analyzed rare event statistics in heterogeneous media, it was discovered that in many cases the probability density function for particle position, P(X,t), exhibits a slower decay rate than the Gaussian function. Typically, the decay behavior is exponential, referred to as Laplace tails. However, many systems exhibit an even slower decay rate, such as power-law, log-normal, or stretched exponential. In this study, we utilize the continuous-time random walk method to investigate the rare events in particle hopping dynamics and find that the properties of the hop size distribution induce a critical transition between the Laplace universality of rare events and a more specific, slower decay of P(X,t). Specifically, when the hop size distribution decays slower than exponential, such as e^{-|x|^{ß}} (ß>1), the Laplace universality no longer applies, and the decay is specific, influenced by a few large events, rather than by the accumulation of many smaller events that give rise to Laplace tails.

High prevalence of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) antibodies among unvaccinated children of Chandigarh, Northwest India, in a household-based paediatric serosurvey post-second wave of pandemic (June to July 2021).

OBJECTIVE: Current national severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) vaccination policy covers children aged >12 years. Unvaccinated, uninfected children remain susceptible to SARS-CoV-2 and play a role in community transmission, as paediatric infection is mostly mild or asymptomatic. To estimate the proportion of susceptible children in a community for public health measures, there is a need to assess the extent of natural infection. STUDY DESIGN: We performed a cross-sectional household serosurvey of SARS-CoV-2 antibodies in unvaccinated children aged between 6 and 18 years after the second COVID-19 wave. METHODS: Anti-SARS-CoV-2 immunoglobin G (IgG) testing in serum was done using chemiluminescence immunoassay. We used a logistic regression model to investigate predicted factors of seropositivity. RESULTS: We observed a high prevalence (weighted average: 68.3%) of anti-SARS-CoV-2 IgG in 2700 enrolled children. Logistic regression for predictors of IgG seropositivity showed lower odds in households with completely vaccinated adults (adjusted odds ratio [OR]: 0.43, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.26-0.71, P = 0.0011) compared with households with unvaccinated adults. Other factors for low seropositivity included frontline workers as family members (adjusted OR: 0.69, 95% CI: 0.52-0.91, P = 0.0091) and non-crowded households (adjusted OR: 0.74, 95% CI: 0.61-0.89, P = 0.0019). CONCLUSION: A high SARS-CoV-2 IgG prevalence in unvaccinated children was indicative of previous exposure to potentially infected contacts. This implies in-person academic activities for children can be continued during future community transmission. Comparatively lower seropositivity in children of completely vaccinated households or frontline workers suggests decreased transmission due to vaccination-induced immunity of family members. Vaccination will still be required in these children to maintain protective IgG levels, particularly in low seroprevalence groups.

Combining biophysical parameters with thermal and RGB indices using machine learning models for predicting yield in yellow rust affected wheat crop.

Evaluating crop health and forecasting yields in the early stages are crucial for effective crop and market management during periods of biotic stress for both farmers and policymakers. Field experiments were conducted during 2017-18 and 2018-19 with objective to evaluate the effect of yellow rust on various biophysical parameters of 24 wheat cultivars, with varying levels of resistance to yellow rust and to develop machine learning (ML) models with improved accuracy for predicting yield by integrating thermal and RGB indices with crucial plant biophysical parameters. Results revealed that as the level of rust increased, so did the canopy temperature and there was a significant decrease in crop photosynthesis, transpiration, stomatal conductance, leaf area index, membrane stability index, relative leaf water content, and normalized difference vegetation index due to rust, and the reductions were directly correlated with levels of rust severity. The yield reduction in moderate resistant, low resistant and susceptible cultivars as compared to resistant cultivars, varied from 15.9-16.9%, 28.6-34.4% and 59-61.1%, respectively. The ML models were able to provide relatively accurate early yield estimates, with the accuracy increasing as the harvest approached. The yield prediction performance of the different ML models varied with the stage of the crop growth. Based on the validation output of different ML models, Cubist, PLS, and SpikeSlab models were found to be effective in predicting the wheat yield at an early stage (55-60 days after sowing) of crop growth. The KNN, Cubist, SLR, RF, SpikeSlab, XGB, GPR and PLS models were proved to be more useful in predicting the crop yield at the middle stage (70 days after sowing) of the crop, while RF, SpikeSlab, KNN, Cubist, ELNET, GPR, SLR, XGB and MARS models were found good to predict the crop yield at late stage (80 days after sowing). The study quantified the impact of different levels of rust severity on crop biophysical parameters and demonstrated the usefulness of remote sensing and biophysical parameters data integration using machine-learning models for early yield prediction under biotically stressed conditions.

Lipoma of the gastrointestinal tract: a tertiary care centre experience.

INTRODUCTION: Gastrointestinal (GI) lipomas are rare; however, they are frequent enough to be considered in the differential diagnosis of gut tumours. Here, we present our experience with GI lipomas managed at our institute over the last three years. METHODS: This is a retrospective cohort study of patients with GI lipomas managed between January, 2020 and April, 2023 at a tertiary care centre. Clinical presentation, location, and details of surgical procedure were analysed. RESULTS: Ten patients were included, six of whom had lipoma in the colon, one in the stomach, and one each in the duodenum, jejunum, and ileum. The mean age at the time of presentation was 48.8 years (range, 19-77 years), and strong male preponderance (4:1) was noted. Preoperative diagnosis of lipoma on cross-sectional imaging was possible in all patients. All patients were symptomatic and were managed surgically. CONCLUSIONS: While GI lipomas are generally considered to be indolent and benign tumours, they can potentially lead to severe complications. The utilisation of computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging has brought about a significant transformation in diagnosing this condition, enabling preoperative identification in most cases. The surgery offers a definitive treatment with minimal risk of postoperative complications.

A comprehensive Monte Carlo simulation of the neutron response of multi-element microdosimetric detectors based on THick Gas Electron Multiplier.

We present comprehensive Monte Carlo simulations for the neutron response of the multi-element microdosimetric detector based on THick Gas Electron Multiplier (THGEM). Simulations were carried out using the MCNP6.2 code to calculate the deposited energy spectrum in the gaseous sensitive volumes for three different configurations, 7 × 3, 19 × 5, 37 × 7 that occupy a cylindrical volume of 5-cm diameter by 5-cm length. The energy response was computed from 10 keV to 2 MeV. The response variation was investigated between sensitive volumes as well as between layers. The simulated energy response showed a good agreement against the evaluated fluence-to-kerma conversion coefficients in the energy region 10-100 keV, whereas discrepancies were observed in the region above 250 keV. The angular response simulations showed a variation of less than 10%.

Comparison of four digestion protocols on the physical characteristics of gastric digesta from cooked couscous using the Human Gastric Simulator.

In vitro digestion is widely employed in food, nutraceutical and pharmaceutical research, and numerous in vitro gastric digestion protocols have been proposed, with a wide range of experimental conditions. Differences in the simulated gastric fluids (pH, mineral content, enzyme type and enzyme activity) of different digestion protocols may alter the results for the digestion of the same meal. This study aimed to investigate how variations in the gastric secretion rate and composition in four in vitro digestion protocols (Infogest Riddet, Infogest Semi-dynamic, UC Davis and United States Pharmacopeia) impacted the physical properties of the emptied gastric digesta. Cooked couscous was used as a model meal and subjected to simulated gastric digestion using a dynamic gastric model, the Human Gastric Simulator (HGS). The digesta were collected from the outlet of the HGS after 15, 30, 60, 90, 120, 150, or 180 min. The gastric emptying of dry matter, pH, rheological properties, and particle size were evaluated. The digestion protocol significantly influenced the solid content and moisture content of the digesta (p < 0.001), particles per gram of dry matter (p < 0.0001), gastric emptying of dry matter (p < 0.003), shear stress at 0.45 s-1 and consistency coefficient (p < 0.0001). The presence of NaHCO3 in the Infogest Riddet and Infogest Semi-dynamic gastric secretions provided an additional buffering effect and increased the digesta pH during gastric digestion. Similarly, the inclusion of mucin in the UC Davis protocol resulted in a higher flow and viscoelastic properties of the emptied digesta. The highest dilution of gastric content in the United States Pharmacopeia (USP) protocol resulted in larger particles emptied from the HGS and the longest gastric emptying half-time of all digestion protocols. These findings provide new insights into the impact of digestion protocols on the digesta properties, which can be beneficial for the design and standardization of in vitro digestion models.

Full aperture backscatter diagnostics for characterization of laser plasma instabilities at the extreme light infrastructure (ELI) beamlines.

We report on the commissioning of a full aperture backscatter diagnostics station for the kilojoule, nanosecond high repetition rate L4n laser operating at a wavelength of 527 nm at the Extreme Light Infrastructure (ELI) - Beamlines, Dolni Brezany, Czech Republic. Light scattered back from laser-plasma interaction into the cone of the final focusing lens is captured and split into different channels to measure the signatures of laser plasma instabilities from stimulated Brillouin scattering, stimulated Raman scattering, and two plasmon decay with respect to back scattered energy, its spectrum, and its temporal profile. The performance was confirmed in a commissioning experiment with more than 800 shots at laser intensities ranging from 0.5 × 1013 to 1.1 × 1015 W cm-2. These diagnostics are permanently installed at ELI Beamlines, and can be used to understand the details of laser-plasma interactions in experiments with kJ and 527 nm light. The large number of shots that can be collected in an experimental campaign will allow us to study the details of the laser-plasma interaction with a high level of confidence.

Activation cross section for the (n,2n) and (n,p) reactions on 103Rh, 48Ti and 52Cr from reaction threshold up to 25 MeV energy region.

Activation and off-line γ-ray spectrometric methods were used to measure the ground and isomeric state (n,2n) reaction cross section for 103Rh at two different neutron energies. The standard 27Al (n,α)24Na reference reaction was used to normalise neutron flux. The proton beam from the 14UD BARC-TIFR Pelletron facility in Mumbai, India, was utilised to create high-energy quasi-monoenergetic neutrons via the 7Li (p,n) reaction. Statistical model calculations including the level density, pre-equilibrium and optical potential model were performed using the TALYS (ver. 1.95) and EMPIRE (ver. 3.2.3) reaction codes. In addition, because of considerable discrepancies in measured data, the literature (n,p) reaction cross section of 52Cr and 48Ti targets were examined theoretically in the present work. The measured cross sections are discussed and compared with the latest evaluated data of the FENDL-3.2b, CENDL-3.2, TENDL-2019, JENDL-5.0, and ENDF/B-VIII.0 libraries, and experimental data based on the EXFOR compilation. The theoretical investigation of the (n,2n) reaction cross section was performed for the ground and isomeric state for the first time from reaction threshold to 25 MeV energies. The experimental data corresponding to the ground, isomeric state and isomeric ratio were reproduced consistently by the theoretical calculations. The present experimental results are good with certain literature data and theoretical values.

3D assessment of ear morphology.

Introduction: Auricular reconstruction is a technically challenging and aesthetically demanding procedure as the ear has a complex anatomy. Anthropometry aids in achieving aesthetic ear reconstruction. We considered that implication of stereophotogrammetric technology will lead to a better understanding of human ear morphology. Material and methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted in our institutional OPD in a tertiary health care centre in the Northern part of India.400 people were chosen based on selection criteria. facial scans were done for 3D pictures using Canfield VECTRA® H2 3D imaging device. Study variables were assessed after marking landmarks on the 3D-generated auricular image of an individual. Discussion: This study consisted of 55.5% males and 44.5% females belonging to the age group of 5-25 years (30.3%), 26-40 years (38.8%) and>40 yr (31.0%). Out of 400 cases, the majority had; oval shaped auricle, normally rolled helix, square earlobe; knob shaped tragus. The attached type of earlobe attachment was more in the right auricle (37%) and the partial attachment ear lobe was more in the left side auricle (35.5%). Darwin's tubercle showed more proportion in the case of males. The mean length and width of the auricle & attachment length are higher in males compared to females. Ear Angulation is highest among females. Conclusion: Assessment of ear morphology using technologically sound methods like stereophotogrammetry paves the way for a more quick, reliable and easy-to-use method for understanding ear morphology. Precise assessment of ear morphology using stereophotogrammetry helps in providing more cosmetic and acceptable ear restoration.