Atmospheric black carbon aerosol: Long-term characteristics, source apportionment, and trends

Black carbon (BC) aerosols play a very significant role in influencing air quality, climate, and human health. Large uncertainties still exist in BC emissions due to limited observations on the relative source contributions of fossil fuel (ff) combustion and biomass (wood fuel, wf) burning. Our understanding of long-term changes in BC emissions, especially their source apportionment, is sparse and limited. For the first time, BC characteristics, its source apportionment into ff and wf components, and their trends measured using a multi-wavelength aethalometer over an urban location (Ahmedabad) in India covering a 14 year period (2006-2019) are comprehensively investigated. The average contributions of eBCff and eBCwf concentrations to total eBC are 80 % and 20 %, respectively, which highlights the dominance of emissions from fossil fuel combustion processes. A statistically significant increasing trend in eBC and eBCff mass concentrations at the rate of 11 % and 29%yr-1, respectively, and a decreasing trend in eBCwf concentration at the rate of 36%yr-1 are detected. The study reveals a significant decrease in biomass (wood fuel) burning emissions over the past decade and an increase in emissions from fossil fuel combustion. However, the rates of increase and decrease in eBCff and eBCwf are different, which indicate that rapid urbanization led to an increase in anthropogenic emissions, whereas an increase in usage of non-polluting fuel led to a decreasing trend in wood burning contribution. During weekdays and weekends, eBC and eBCff mass concentrations did not exhibit any statistically significant trends. However, eBCwf concentration shows a statistically significant decreasing trend during weekdays 34%yr-1 and weekends 38%yr-1. Globally, several countries are adopting various strategies and mitigation policies to improve air quality; however, significant gaps exist in their implementation towards achieving cleaner air and less polluted environment. This comprehensive study is relevant for understanding the impact of urbanization and devising better BC emission control policies.

The Extra-Islet Pancreas Supports Autoimmunity in Human Type 1 Diabetes

In autoimmune Type 1 diabetes (T1D), immune cells infiltrate and destroy the islets of Langerhans - islands of endocrine tissue dispersed throughout the pancreas. However, the contribution of cellular programs outside islets to insulitis is unclear. Here, using CO-Detection by indEXing (CODEX) tissue imaging and cadaveric pancreas samples, we simultaneously examine islet and extra-islet inflammation in human T1D. We identify four sub-states of inflamed islets characterized by the activation profiles of CD8 + T cells enriched in islets relative to the surrounding tissue. We further find that the extra-islet space of lobules with extensive islet-infiltration differs from the extra-islet space of less infiltrated areas within the same tissue section. Finally, we identify lymphoid structures away from islets enriched in CD45RA + T cells - a population also enriched in one of the inflamed islet sub-states. Together, these data help define the coordination between islets and the extra-islet pancreas in the pathogenesis of human T1D.

Improved antioxidant and anti-tubercular potential of liquiritigenin grafted on low molecular weight chitosan from gladius of Sepioteuthis lessoniana

Chitosan (CH) is natural abundant biopolymer present on earth after cellulose. CH can be functionalized by numerous functional groups such as amino and carboxyl groups, potential biologically active compounds. The functionalization of CH with polyphenols had a greater biological than non-grafted CH. In the present study, the polyphenolic compound liquiritigenin (LTG) is chemically functionalized on the low molecular weight chitosan (LMW-CH) (693.09 Da). This was extracted and irradiated with gamma radiation from the gladius of Sepioteuthis lessoniana. The grafted compound was to in vitro anti-oxidant employing physicochemical methods and characterization was made by spectroscopic methods. The degree of deacetylation (DDA) of the LMW-CH was detected in 74 % of the samples, and at higher concentrations (100 g/mL). LMW-CH grafted with LTG had improved water solubility (5 mg/mL), and was thermally stable upto 143.58 °C. Its molecular weight was 855.1 Da. In conclusion the in vitro antioxidant and the anti-tuberculosis (anti-TB) properties of the grafted samples were significantly (P < 0.001) increased compared to the unconjugated LMW-CH and LTG. Overall, functionalization of LTG with LMW-CH improved the anti-tuberculosis activity. Further studies are needed to explore the possibilities of its use in vivo models.

Purification, structural characterization, and neuroprotective effect of 3,6-diisobutyl-2,5-piperazinedione from Halomonas pacifica CARE-V15 against okadaic acid-induced neurotoxicity in zebrafish model

Halomonas pacifica CARE-V15 was isolated from the southeastern coast of India to determine its genome sequence. Secondary metabolite gene clusters were identified using an anti-SMASH server. The concentrated crude ethyl acetate extract was evaluated by GC-MS. The bioactive compound from the crude ethyl acetate extract was fractionated by gel column chromatography. HPLC was used to purify the 3,6-diisobutyl-2,5-piperazinedione (DIP), and the structure was determined using FTIR and NMR spectroscopy. Purified DIP was used in an in silico molecular docking analysis. Purified DIP exhibits a stronger affinity for antioxidant genes like glutathione peroxidase (GPx), glutathione-S-transferase (GST), and glutathione reductase (GSR). Using in silco molecular docking analysis, the protein-ligand binding affinities of GSR (-4.70 kcal/mol), GST (-5.27 kcal/mol), and GPx (-5.37 kcal/mol) were measured. The expression of antioxidant genes were investigated by qRT-PCR. The in vivo reactive oxygen species production, lipid peroxidation, and cell death levels were significantly (p ≤ 0.05) increased in OA-induced group, but all these levels were significantly (p ≤ 0.05) decreased in the purified DIP pretreated group. Purified DIP from halophilic bacteria could thus be a useful treatment for neurological disorders associated with oxidative stress.

Measurement of the Positive Muon Anomalous Magnetic Moment to 0.20 ppm

We present a new measurement of the positive muon magnetic anomaly, a_{μ}≡(g_{μ}-2)/2, from the Fermilab Muon g-2 Experiment using data collected in 2019 and 2020. We have analyzed more than 4 times the number of positrons from muon decay than in our previous result from 2018 data. The systematic error is reduced by more than a factor of 2 due to better running conditions, a more stable beam, and improved knowledge of the magnetic field weighted by the muon distribution, ω[over ˜]_{p}^{'}, and of the anomalous precession frequency corrected for beam dynamics effects, ω_{a}. From the ratio ω_{a}/ω[over ˜]_{p}^{'}, together with precisely determined external parameters, we determine a_{μ}=116 592 057(25)×10^{-11} (0.21 ppm). Combining this result with our previous result from the 2018 data, we obtain a_{μ}(FNAL)=116 592 055(24)×10^{-11} (0.20 ppm). The new experimental world average is a_{μ}(exp)=116 592 059(22)×10^{-11} (0.19 ppm), which represents a factor of 2 improvement in precision.

Aerosols heat up the Himalayan climate

The impact of aerosols, especially the absorbing aerosols, in the Himalayan region is important for climate. We closely examine ground-based high-quality observations of aerosol characteristics including radiative forcing from several locations in the Indo-Gangetic Plain (IGP), the Himalayan foothills and the Tibetan Plateau, relatively poorly studied regions with several sensitive ecosystems of global importance, as well as highly vulnerable large populations. This paper presents a state-of-the-art treatment of the warming that arises from these particles, using a combination of new measurements and modeling techniques. This is a first-time analysis of its kind, including ground-based observations, satellite data, and model simulations, which reveals that the aerosol radiative forcing efficiency (ARFE) in the atmosphere is clearly high over the IGP and the Himalayan foothills (80-135 Wm-2 per unit aerosol optical depth (AOD)), with values being greater at higher elevations. AOD is >0.30 and single scattering albedo (SSA) is ∼0.90 throughout the year over this region. The mean ARFE is 2-4 times higher here than over other polluted sites in South and East Asia, owing to higher AOD and aerosol absorption (i.e., lower SSA). Further, the observed annual mean aerosol-induced atmospheric heating rates (0.5-0.8 Kelvin/day), which are significantly higher than previously reported values for the region, imply that the aerosols alone could account for >50 % of the total warming (aerosols + greenhouse gases) of the lower atmosphere and surface over this region. We demonstrate that the current state-of-the-art models used in climate assessments significantly underestimate aerosol-induced heating, efficiency and warming over the Hindu Kush - Himalaya - Tibetan Plateau (HKHTP) region, indicating a need for a more realistic representation of aerosol properties, especially of black carbon and other aerosols. The significant, regionally coherent aerosol-induced warming that we observe in the high altitudes of the region, is a significant factor contributing to increasing air temperature, observed accelerated retreat of the glaciers, and changes in the hydrological cycle and precipitation patterns over this region. Thus, aerosols are heating up the Himalayan climate, and will remain a key factor driving climate change over the region.

Erratum: Global Polarization of Ξ and Ω Hyperons in Au+Au Collisions at sqrt[s_{NN}]=200 GeV [Phys. Rev. Lett. 126, 162301 (2021)]

This corrects the article DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.126.162301.

Insights into Changing Dermatophyte Spectrum in India Through Analysis of Cumulative 161,245 Cases Between 1939 and 2021

Dermatophytosis is one of the most common superficial infections of the skin affecting nearly one-fifth of the world population at any given time. With nearly 30% of worldwide terbinafine-resistance cases in Trichophyton mentagrophytes/Trichophyton interdigitale and Trichophyton rubrum reported from India in recent years, there is a significant burden of the emerging drug resistance epidemic on India. Here, we carry out a comprehensive retrospective analysis of dermatophytosis in India using 1038 research articles pertaining to 161,245 cases reported from 1939 to 2021. We find that dermatophytosis is prevalent in all parts of the country despite variable climatic conditions in different regions. Our results show T. rubrum as the most prevalent until 2015, with a sudden change in dermatophyte spectrum towards T. mentagrophytes/T. interdigitale complex since then. We also carried out an 18S rRNA-based phylogenetics and an average nucleotide identity-and single nucleotide polymorphism-based analysis of available whole genomes and find very high relatedness among the prevalent dermatophytes, suggesting geographic specificity. The comprehensive epidemiological and phylogenomics analysis of dermatophytosis in India over the last 80 years, presented here, would help in region-specific prevention, control and treatment of dermatophyte infections, especially considering the large number of emerging resistance cases.

Radiative effects of absorbing aerosol types over South Asia

A comprehensive study on classifying the aerosol types and absorbing aerosol types, and quantifying the effect of absorbing aerosols on aerosol optical and radiative properties using four years (2015-2016, 2018-2019) of high-quality Aerosol Robotic Network (AERONET) datasets over Kanpur (urban) and Gandhi College (rural) in the Indo-Gangetic Plain (IGP) region is conducted on a seasonal scale, for the first time. Biomass burning (BB), urban-industrial, and mixed aerosol types are always present, whereas dust aerosol and mostly dust absorbing aerosol types are only present in pre-monsoon and monsoon seasons. During winter and post-monsoon seasons, BB aerosols and mostly black carbon (MBC) absorbing aerosols dominate, and the contribution of aerosol optical depth (AOD) and single scattering albedo (SSA) corresponding to MBC to total AOD and SSA are higher. SSA for MBC varies over a broader range due to mixing of BC with water-soluble aerosols. During pre-monsoon and monsoon seasons, mixing of dust with anthropogenic aerosols increases the amount of mixed aerosol type. Surface cooling and atmospheric heating efficiency for mixed aerosols are higher than MBC and dust aerosols due to enhancement in aerosol absorption over both locations. Seasonal analysis of aerosol radiative properties showed that during winter and post-monsoon, MBC absorbing aerosols are the major contributor in controlling/influencing the total aerosol radiative forcing (ARF) and heating rate (HR). During the other seasons, each absorbing aerosol type significantly influences ARF depending on their AOD and SSA values. In addition to Kanpur and Gandhi College, data from seven other AERONET sites located at Karachi, Lahore, Jaipur, Lumbini, Pokhara, Bhola, and Dhaka in South Asia are analysed to conduct a regional-scale examination of aerosol optical parameters and radiative effects due to different absorbing aerosol types. As the aerosol characteristics and trends are similar over these sites, the findings from such a regional-scale analysis can be an appropriate representative for the South Asian region. The regional analysis revealed that the annual mean atmospheric ARF (ARF_ATM) and ARF efficiency (ARFE_ATM), and HR are higher for MBC, followed by mixed and MD aerosols over South Asia due to higher AOD, and higher absorbing efficiency of MBC aerosols. In comparison, mixed aerosols exhibit higher ARF_ATM over East Asia. This quantification of absorbing aerosol types over a global aerosol hotspot will be useful for an accurate quantification of climate impacts of aerosols.

Black carbon flux in terrestrial and aquatic environments of Kodaikanal in the Western Ghats, South India: Estimation, source identification, and implication

Evolving Anthropocene epoch wields significant influence in altering atmospheric carbon, which affects the carbon cycle, leading to climate change. Understanding the carbon stock, fate, and transport across ecosystems are essential in determining India's carbon budget, hitherto, unavailable. In this study, we have analysed the stock, source, distribution, flux, and the relationship between terrestrial and aquatic black carbon over a high-altitude mountainous area in the Western Ghats region using the data collected from September 2019 to February 2021. Soil Organic Carbon (SOC) and Black Carbon (BC) are the highest in the forest region (SOC:23 ± 3 g of C/kg (dry weight (dw)), BC:6 ± 3 g/kg) and are the lowest in the urban region (SOC: 13 ± 2 g of C/kg (dw), BC:2 ± 1 g/kg). SOC is labile, whereas BC is non-labile. The BC/SOC ratio represents soil carbon lability. Topsoil BC/SOC ratios vary by land use and land cover, with urban areas having greater labile carbon pools than the forests. Dissolved BC (DBC) concentrations were most strongly correlated with bulk Dissolved Organic Carbon (DOC) concentrations in midstream (R = 0.6, p < 0.05), headwater streams (R = 0.3, p < 0.05) and to the soil bulk DBC (R = 0.3, p < 0.05), indicating the presence of transfer mechanism of soil to streams. The molecular associations revealed the presence of biolabile autochthonous compounds suggesting the crucial role land use and land cover play on watersheds. A positive relationship between DOC with seasonal hydrology and gradient significantly influences the DBC flux across regional streams. Intercomparison of observed terrestrial and aquatic carbon stocks with globally modelled data indicates an overestimation of regional-scale stock. These new findings have repercussions to policy framework on regional climate change. Further, the results suggest that a consistent quantification of BC and integration of regional, and global source-to-sink process are needed in order to understand and better quantify biogeochemical process cycles and associated climatic impacts.

Quantification of organic carbon and black carbon emissions, distribution, and carbon variation in diverse vegetative ecosystems across India

Black Carbon (BC) and Organic Carbon (OC) are the principal chemical aerosol components generated during combustion, both of which play a key role in air pollution, human health and climate change. Several studies of OC and BC have been conducted over India to assess the contribution from household and fossil fuel-based sources; however, studies on their emissions and their contribution from forest and cropland fires are quite limited. To address this issue, as part of this research, we derived a vegetation burning-based inventory of BC and OC aerosols over India at a resolution of 250 m × 250 m. Using a consumed biomass technique, we estimated emissions based on updated emission factor estimates. During the fire season in India (March-June), the mean OC and BC emissions were 2.1 ± 5.2 × 10¹³ kg per year and 1.8 ± 4.4 × 10¹² kg per year, respectively. Andhra Pradesh had the highest total carbonaceous aerosol emissions during the study period. Forest fires were prevalent in the northeastern states, while agricultural fires were prevalent in Gujarat, Chhattisgarh, Odisha, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, Tripura, Uttar Pradesh, and Andhra Pradesh. The previous inventory, conducted at a coarser resolution (25 km × 25 km), overestimated open burning by 5 Mt. Our results were highly correlated with global bottom-up model values, especially the Fire Inventory (FINN). Our analysis showed that vegetative burning contributed 80.32% of the total carbon stock, with agricultural burning being the largest source of vegetative burning. Based on these findings, measures and strategies to control agricultural burning which would reduce significantly the total emissions of BC and OC with implications to improvement in air quality, human health and climate should be planned.

Trends in the types and absorption characteristics of ambient aerosols over the Indo-Gangetic Plain and North China Plain in last two decades

The sixth assessment report released by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) in 2021 states that our inadequate understanding of magnitudes and trends of atmospheric aerosols, particularly over Asia, is a major source of uncertainty in climate change. In this study, the climatology and trends in different types of aerosols with focus on absorbing aerosols over Kanpur located in the Indo-Gangetic Plain (IGP) in South Asia and Beijing in the North China Plain (NCP) in East Asia are derived for the first time. We perform a first analysis of high-quality time series of columnar aerosols observations over a period of nearly two-decades, along with satellite observations to provide a broader regional perspective. The satellite retrieved aerosol Ångström exponent (AE) values have increased (10-20%) suggesting an increasing contribution of fine aerosols to aerosol optical depth (AOD) over Asia in last 2-decades. Among the three aerosol types [urban-industrial (UI), biomass burning (BB), and dust (DU)], only UI and BB aerosols are present over Kanpur throughout the year, while DU is present along with UI and BB aerosols only during pre-monsoon and monsoon. Overall, there is a positive trend in BB aerosols over both Kanpur and Beijing, a positive (negative) trend in UI aerosols over Kanpur (Beijing), and positive (negative) trend in dust over Beijing (Kanpur). However, only the positive trend in BB aerosol type over Kanpur is statistically significant. Further, among the three absorbing aerosol types [mostly black carbon (MBC), mostly dust (MDU), and mixed (MIX) containing BC and dust], only MBC and MIX are present in post-monsoon and winter over IGP, and MDU is present along with MBC and MIX only during pre-monsoon and monsoon, which is in agreement with aerosol types found. Trends in MBC, MIX and MDU over Kanpur in IGP and in MIX over Beijing are statistically significant. These trends are attributed mainly to the changes in anthropogenic aerosol emissions, and not to natural and climatic factors as their changes are relatively small. These findings on hitherto unavailable climatology and trends in aerosols and absorbing aerosols over two global aerosol hotspots and identified contrasts will be crucial in model simulations to better decipher the aerosol-climate interactions over Asia.

New Constraint on the Local Relic Neutrino Background Overdensity with the First KATRIN Data Runs

We report on the direct search for cosmic relic neutrinos using data acquired during the first two science campaigns of the KATRIN experiment in 2019. Beta-decay electrons from a high-purity molecular tritium gas source are analyzed by a high-resolution MAC-E filter around the end point at 18.57 keV. The analysis is sensitive to a local relic neutrino overdensity ratio of η<9.7×10^{10}/α (1.1×10^{11}/α) at a 90% (95%) confidence level with α=1 (0.5) for Majorana (Dirac) neutrinos. A fit of the integrated electron spectrum over a narrow interval around the end point accounting for relic neutrino captures in the tritium source reveals no significant overdensity. This work improves the results obtained by the previous neutrino mass experiments at Los Alamos and Troitsk. We furthermore update the projected final sensitivity of the KATRIN experiment to η<1×10^{10}/α at 90% confidence level, by relying on updated operational conditions.

Assessment of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic imposed lockdown and unlock effects on black carbon aerosol, its source apportionment, and aerosol radiative forcing over an urban city in India

A nationwide lockdown was imposed in India due to the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic which significantly reduced the anthropogenic emissions. We examined the characteristics of equivalent black carbon (eBC) mass concentration and its source apportionment using a multiwavelength aethalometer over an urban site (Ahmedabad) in India during the pandemic induced lockdown period of year 2020. For the first time, we estimate the changes in BC, its contribution from fossil (eBC ff ) and wood (eBC wf ) fuels during lockdown (LD) and unlock (UL) periods in 2020 with respect to 2017 to 2019 (normal period). The eBC mass concentration continuously decreased throughout lockdown periods (LD1 to LD4) due to enforced and stringent restrictions which substantially reduced the anthropogenic emissions. The eBC mass concentration increased gradually during unlock phases (UL1 to UL7) due to the phase wise relaxations after lockdown. During lockdown period eBC mass concentration decreased by 35%, whereas during the unlock period eBC decreased by 30% as compared to normal period. The eBC wf concentrations were higher by 40% during lockdown period than normal period due to significant increase in the biomass burning emissions from the several community kitchens which were operational in the city during the lockdown period. The average contributions of eBC ff and eBC wf to total eBC mass concentrations were 70% and 30% respectively during lockdown (LD1 to LD4) period, whereas these values were 87% and 13% respectively during the normal period. The reductions in BC concentrations were commensurate with the reductions in emissions from transportation and industrial activities. The aerosol radiative forcing reduced significantly due to the reduction in anthropogenic emissions associated with COVID-19 pandemic induced lockdown leading to a cooling of the atmosphere. The findings in the present study on eBC obtained during the unprecedented COVID-19 induced lockdown can provide a comprehensive understanding of the BC sources and current emission control strategies, and thus can serve as baseline anthropogenic emissions scenario for future emission control strategies aimed to improve air quality and climate.

Molecular Docking and Molecular Dynamic Studies, Synthesis, Characterisation of Thiazolidine-4-One Derivatives

Background: Antibacterial, antifungal, anticancer, antitubercular, anti-HIV, analgesic, anti-inflammatory, and ulcerogenic activities have all been documented for thiazolidine derivatives. Molecular docking has become a crucial step in the drug discovery process, with the goal of predicting the binding mechanism and affinity of the protein-ligand complex. AutoDock is a popular non-commercial docking tool that successfully docks ligands to their target proteins (accurate and computationally fast). The Discovery Studio Visualizer is a free viewer that may be used to open data produced by other Discovery Studio tools. Aim: The main aim of this study is: To study the molecular docking and molecular dynamic studies of the different thiazolidine derivatives. To synthesise the compound based on the results produced in the molecular dynamics and molecular studies. To Characterise the synthesised compounds using FTIR, 1H NMR, 13C NMR and Mass Spectral studies. Procedure: In two phases, a new series of Thiazolidine-4-one derivatives was created. The production of Schiff base is the first step, followed by the condensation of Schiff base with Chloro acetyl chloride and subsequent cyclisation steps. FTIR, 1H-NMR, 13C-NMR, and Mass Spectroscopy were used to characterise the chemical structures of the produced compounds. 1BVR protein that was taken from the protein database website The structures were drawn using Chem draw Ultra 8.0 and Biovia draw 2018. Using the Smiles Online Translator, it was stored in Mol format and then converted to PDB format. The Cygwin toolings were used to log all of the files. Conclusion: The conformation was computed using a ranking system. This indicates whether the molecule has strong ligand binding energy, hydrogen bonding, and hydrophobic interaction with the receptor. According to the findings, thiazolidine-4-one derivatives have antitubercular efficacy when used in conjunction with the Enoyl-acyl carrier protein (enoyl-ACP) reductase enzyme. For the docking analysis it indicates if the compound has strong ligand binding energy, hydrogen bonding, and hydrophobic binding with the receptor shows good activity. Using Auto dock 4.2 it was found out that among the above 20 compounds (including the control compound), C2, C5, C6, C8, C11. C13, C15 and C17 directly bind with the functional domain (Casein kinase II phosphorylation site) of the amino acid (252 to 255). The above compounds bind at the 252nd position of the Chain C, where Alanine is present (The target protein, 1BVR () contains ABCDEF chains).

Synthesis, Characterisation and Evaluation of Azetidine-2-One Derivative

Antibacterial, antifungal, anticancer, antitubercular, anti-HIV, analgesic, anti-inflammatory, and ulcerogenic activities have all been documented for azetidinone derivatives. The reaction of Schiff base((Z)-N (4-dimethylamino)benzylidene)pyrimidine-2-amine) with chloroacetyl chloride yielded a novel chemical called Azetdine-2-one derivative. Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy and Proton Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy were used to confirm the chemical structures of the produced substances. The antimicrobial activity shows that the compound showed mild Antibacterial activity against Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli.

Low molecular weight sulfated chitosan isolation, characterization and anti-tuberculosis activity derived from Sepioteuthis lessoniana

The research focused on tuberculosis as it is one of the world's most serious health problems. The extracted chitin from the gladius of Sepioteuthis lessoniana converted into Chitosan (CH). The purified and freeze-dried CH was refined as Sulfated Chitosan (SCH). The SCH was converted into low molecular weight of SCH with various doses of Gamma Irradiation (GIR). Fluorescence characteristics of GIR-SCH and elemental analysis were confirmed. The structure and molecular weights of GIR-SCH were determined with FT-IR, NMR and MALDI-TOF/Mass Spectroscopy. 100 Gy of GIR-SCH significantly showed the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) against Mycobacterium smegmatis. The MIC against M. smegmatis was not affected by the varied sulfate levels in the identical molecular weight GIR-SCH. However, the lowest molecular weight GIR-SCH displayed a significantly MIC against M. smegmatis. In docking analysis, the 6ZT3 ligand had the lowest binding energy of -1.57 kcal/Mol indicating a superior binding interaction with GIR-SCH. The effect of molecular weight reduction by GIR on the anti-tuberculosis capacity of GIR SCH was investigated in this study which had antimicrobial implications.

Insights into recent aerosol trends over Asia from observations and CMIP6 simulations

Aerosols continue to contribute the largest uncertainty in climate change. Over Asia, a global aerosol hotspot, spatial patterns of aerosol emissions are changing mainly because of changes in anthropogenic emissions, producing a dipole in atmospheric aerosol loading between East (decrease in emissions) and South Asia (increase in emissions). The resultant aerosol radiative effects are expected to be different as compared to the last decades of the 20^th century because of this emerging Asian aerosol dipole. The projection and assessments of radiative and climate impacts of aerosols rely on simulating accurately the aerosol properties, thus, making it imperative that current climate models involved in climate assessments including the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Assessment Reports, simulate well the magnitude and trends in changing aerosol properties. For the first time, in this study we analyze trends in aerosol properties over Asia from satellite and ground-based observations, and simulations from climate models in Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 6 (CMIP6) experiment with state-of-the-art treatment of aerosol chemistry, physics and meteorology. The results reveal large inter-model differences in model estimates, and discrepancies between model simulations and observations as most models are not able to capture the recent observed magnitudes and trends in aerosol optical depth (AOD) and single scattering albedo (SSA) over Asia. The absolute and the relative (percent) trends (positive and/or negative) in AOD are significantly higher than the trends in SSA. The aerosol-induced effective radiative forcing within the atmosphere simulated with three CMIP6 models show a positive (increasing) trend over Asia. A positive trend in atmospheric heating due to aerosols in model simulations is consistent with model simulated trends in AOD (positive) and SSA (negative). These results on model-observations comparison need to be taken into account while examining the projected/expected future climate impacts due to aerosols, and potential value of various mitigation measures, in particular on regional and decadal climate change in Asia which is largely uncertain. MAIN FINDING: Our analysis of satellite and ground-based observations, and simulations from climate models in CMIP6 experiment with state-of-the-art treatment of aerosol chemistry, physics and meteorology reveal large difference in model calculations, and most models are not able to capture the recent observed trends in aerosol optical depth and single scattering albedo over Asia during 2000-2018.

R, Ramachandran S, Priya C, Yuvarani G, Tharani G, KamatchI K, Muthu Raj G. Prevalence of forward neck posture and influence of smartphones in physiotherapy students

Introduction and Aim: InAsia, the prevalence of forward neck posture is 66%. Forward neck posture is the anterior positioning of cervical spine. This posture is sometimes called as “scholar’s neck. Forward neck posture can lead to musculoskeletal disorders such as injuries in muscles, tendons, and peripheral vessels, vascular vessels caused by repetitive or continuous use of certain body part. In forward neck posture, the sternocleidomastoid muscle and trapezius are largely responsible for turning and nodding the head. When the head moves front, the spine follows, pulling the shoulder blades forward as well.They make contact with the upper ribs and begin to drag it forward with them.Therefore, this study aims to quantify forward neck posture in prolonged smart phone users.   Methodology:An observational study was done in smartphone using student population comparing the control group students with forward neck posture studentsfor the duration of 3weeks. This study has included 100 students with forward neck posturewho were recruited fromDr. MGR Educational & Research Institute. Goniometer, Craniovertebral angle and Plumb line were used as the outcome measure.   Results:The findings of this research exhibit there is a statistically significant changes inforward neck posture studentscompared with control group and the mean difference is 14.97 in two groups students.   Conclusion:The present study concluded that 3 weeks after assessing the students. Forward neck posture students found to have decreased craniovertebral angle and range of motion compared to normal neck posture students and also found that forward neck posture students spent 5-6 hours using smart phones per day.

Observation of D_{s}^{±}/D^{0} Enhancement in Au+Au Collisions at sqrt[s_{NN}]=200 GeV

We report on the first measurement of charm-strange meson D_{s}^{±} production at midrapidity in Au+Au collisions at sqrt[s_{NN}]=200  GeV from the STAR experiment. The yield ratio between strange (D_{s}^{±}) and nonstrange (D^{0}) open-charm mesons is presented and compared to model calculations. A significant enhancement, relative to a pythia simulation of p+p collisions, is observed in the D_{s}^{±}/D^{0} yield ratio in Au+Au collisions over a large range of collision centralities. Model calculations incorporating abundant strange-quark production in the quark-gluon plasma and coalescence hadronization qualitatively reproduce the data. The transverse-momentum integrated yield ratio of D_{s}^{±}/D^{0} at midrapidity is consistent with a prediction from a statistical hadronization model with the parameters constrained by the yields of light and strange hadrons measured at the same collision energy. These results suggest that the coalescence of charm quarks with strange quarks in the quark-gluon plasma plays an important role in D_{s}^{±}-meson production in heavy-ion collisions.

Measurement of e^{+}e^{-} Momentum and Angular Distributions from Linearly Polarized Photon Collisions

The Breit-Wheeler process which produces matter and antimatter from photon collisions is experimentally investigated through the observation of 6085 exclusive electron-positron pairs in ultraperipheral Au+Au collisions at sqrt[s_{NN}]=200  GeV. The measurements reveal a large fourth-order angular modulation of cos4Δϕ=(16.8±2.5)% and smooth invariant mass distribution absent of vector mesons (ϕ, ω, and ρ) at the experimental limit of ≤0.2% of the observed yields. The differential cross section as a function of e^{+}e^{-} pair transverse momentum P_{⊥} peaks at low value with sqrt[⟨P_{⊥}^{2}⟩]=38.1±0.9  MeV and displays a significant centrality dependence. These features are consistent with QED calculations for the collision of linearly polarized photons quantized from the extremely strong electromagnetic fields generated by the highly charged Au nuclei at ultrarelativistic speed. The experimental results have implications for vacuum birefringence and for mapping the magnetic field which is important for emergent QCD phenomena.