Rehabilitation of open-cast coal mines is a critical intervention for bringing back productive surface soil and sustaining ecosystem functioning. Mining activities not only disturb the key soil ...properties, but also cause heavy metal contamination. Significantly, 32,000 acres of land in Odisha have been affected by coal mine. In this study, two representative mine areas, Talcher and Jharsuguda in Odisha were selected for our study. The soil physiochemical, available soil nutrient, microbial biomass carbon, soil enzymatic activities and heavy metal contents were estimated in the three sites (rehabilitated, non-rehabilitated and paddy fields) and two soil depth (0–15 and 15–30 cm) of both Talcher and Jharsuguda. The soil pH was higher in rehabilitated sites (5.55 to 8.42) as compared to the paddy fields (5.38 to 5.85) and non-rehabilitated sites (4.16 to 4.57). The average available nitrogen and phosphorus contents were lower in non-rehabilitated sites than the rehabilitated sites and paddy fields. Labile carbon pools (readily mineralizable carbon and microbial biomass carbon), soil enzymatic activities (dehydrogenase and fluorescein di-acetate) were negatively affected by mining activities and it was higher in paddy soil than the rehabilitated and non-rehabilitated sites. Further, the heavy metals (cobalt, copper, iron, and lead) were relatively higher at non-rehabilitated and rehabilitated sites. Heavy metal-based geo-accumulation, integrated pollution and pollution load indices were indicated the possible pollution risk in the rehabilitated study site also. Therefore, we recommend a better technical effort should be made in the top-soil management of coal mine spoil areas during rehabilitation to sustain the productive ecosystem functioning.
Several attempts have been made to mask the bitter taste of oral formulations, but none have been made for injectable formulations. This study aims to mask the bitter taste of dental lidocaine HCl ...(LID) injection using hydroxypropyl-β-cyclodextrin (HP-β-CD) and sodium saccharin. Inclusion complexes of LID and HP-β-CD were prepared by the solution method in 1:1 and 1:2 M ratios. Inclusion complexes in solution were studied using phase solubility in phosphate buffer solutions (pH 8, 9, and 10). Freeze-dried inclusion complexes were characterized using differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), X-ray, Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR), nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and
in vitro
release. Injectable formulations were prepared using inclusion complexes and characterized for stability and for taste using an Alpha MOS ASTREE electronic tongue (ETongue). The association constants of HP-β-CD with lidocaine-free base and its ionized form were found to be 26.23 ± 0.00025 and 0.8694 ± 0.00045 M
−1
, respectively. Characterization studies confirmed the formation of stable inclusion complexes of LID and HP-β-CD. Injectable formulations were found to be stable for up to 6 months at 4°C, 25°C, and 40°C. The taste evaluation study indicated that HP-β-CD (1:1 and 1:2 M ratios) significantly improved the bitter taste of LID injectable formulation. In conclusion, inclusion complex in the 1:1 M ratio with 0.09% sodium saccharin was considered to be optimum in masking the bitter taste of LID.
Abstract
Background
Acute kidney injury (AKI) in pregnancy (Pr-AKI) is associated with substantial maternal morbidity and mortality. E-alerts are routinely used for detection of AKI in non-pregnant ...patients but their role in maternity care has not been explored.
Methods
All pregnant or postpartum women with AKI e-alerts for AKI Stages 1–3 (Kidney Disease Improving Global Outcomes (KDIGO) criteria) were identified at a tertiary centre >2 years. Two women matched by delivery date for each case were selected as controls. AKI stage, recognition of AKI, pregnancy outcomes, renal recovery, AKI aetiology and risk factors were extracted from electronic patient records.
Results
288 of 11 922 (2.4%) women had AKI e-alerts, of which only 118 (41%) were recognized by the obstetric team. Common Pr-AKI causes included infection (48%), pre-eclampsia (26%) and haemorrhage (25%), but no cause was identified in 15% of women. Renal function recovered in 213 (74%) women, but in 47 (17%) repeat testing was not undertaken and 28 (10%) did not recover function. Hypertensive disorders of pregnancy and Caesarean section were associated with increased incidence of Pr-AKI compared with controls.
Conclusions
Pr-AKI e-alerts were identified in ∼1 in 40 pregnancies. However, a cause for Pr-AKI was not identified in many cases and e-alerts may have been triggered by gestational change in serum creatinine. Pregnancy-specific e-alert algorithms may be required. However, 1 in 10 women with Pr-AKI had not recovered kidney function on repeat testing. Better understanding of long-term impacts of Pr-AKI on pregnancy and renal outcomes is needed to inform relevant Pr-AKI e-alert thresholds.
The Himalayan region of Uttarakhand, India, has witnessed floods and landslides, and more extremes are likely in the future. This study examined the projected changes in precipitation extremes by ...using state-of-the-art, high-resolution (0.25° × 0.25°) statistically downscaled NASA Earth Exchange Global Daily Downscaled Projections (NEX-GDDP) during southwest monsoon season (June to September) under the RCP 4.5 and RCP 8.5 scenarios. The spatial variations of mean precipitation, as well as the extremes obtained from the multi-model mean (MMM) from NEX-GDDP simulations, were compared with Asian Precipitation-Highly-Resolved Observational Data Integration Towards Evaluation of Water Resources (APHRODITE) observational data for the baseline period (1976–2005). For the future climate, the monsoon precipitation over the Uttarakhand region may increase by ~ 13% and ~ 16% under the RCP 4.5 and RCP 8.5 emission scenarios, respectively, in the near future (2021–2050) and may further increase by 23% and 36% in the far future (2070–2099). The different extreme precipitation indices analyzed show an increase with the exception of consecutive dry days (CDDs) over Uttarakhand, both in the near future and in the far future, under both scenarios. The RCP 4.5 and RCP 8.5 scenarios exhibited a noticeable increase in the highest 1-day rainfall (by 1.4 mm decade
−1
and 3.3 mm decade
−1
) and in the highest 5-day rainfall (by 2.7 mm decade
−1
and 7 mm decade
−1
), along with the extreme R95P precipitation days (by 11% and 22%), and consecutive wet days become more frequent during monsoon season, respectively. The study findings highlight the need for considering more extreme rains in base Himalayan climate resiliency planning.
A muon detection system (MUCH) based on a novel concept using a segmented and instrumented absorber has been designed for high-energy heavy-ion collision experiments. The system consists of 6 hadron ...absorber blocks and 6 tracking detector triplets. Behind each absorber block a detector triplet is located which measures the tracks of charged particles traversing the absorber. The performance of such a system has been simulated for the CBM experiment at FAIR (Germany) that is scheduled to start taking data in heavy ion collisions in the beam energy range of 6–45AGeV from 2019. The muon detection system is mounted downstream to a Silicon Tracking System (STS) that is located in a large aperture dipole magnet which provides momentum information of the charged particle tracks. The reconstructed tracks from the STS are to be matched to the hits measured by the muon detector triplets behind the absorber segments. This method allows the identification of muon tracks over a broad range of momenta including tracks of soft muons which do not pass through all the absorber layers. Pairs of oppositely charged muons identified by MUCH could therefore be combined to measure the invariant masses in a wide range starting from low mass vector mesons (LMVM) up to charmonia. The properties of the absorber (material, thickness, position) and of the tracking chambers (granularity, geometry) have been varied in simulations of heavy-ion collision events generated with the UrQMD generator and propagated through the setup using the GEANT3, the particle transport code. The tracks are reconstructed by a Cellular Automaton algorithm followed by a Kalman Filter. The simulations demonstrate that low mass vector mesons and charmonia can be clearly identified in central Au+Au collisions at beam energies provided by the international Facility for Antiproton and Ion Research (FAIR).
This paper is a research output of DMW-Creep project which is part of a national UK programme through the RCUK Energy programme and India's Department of Atomic Energy. The research is focussed on ...understanding the characteristics of welded joints between austenitic stainless steel and ferritic steel that are widely used in many nuclear power generating plants and petrochemical industries as well as conventional coal and gas-fired power systems. The members of the DMW-Creep project have undertaken parallel round robin activities measuring the residual stresses generated by a dissimilar metal weld (DMW) between AISI 316L(N) austenitic stainless steel and P91 ferritic-martensitic steel. Electron beam (EB) welding was employed to produce a single bead weld on a plate specimen and an additional smoothing pass (known cosmetic pass) was then introduced using a defocused beam. The welding residual stresses have been measured by five experimental methods including (I) neutron diffraction (ND), (II) X-Ray diffraction (XRD), (III) contour method (CM), (IV) incremental deep hole drilling (iDHD) and (V) incremental centre hole drilling (iCHD). The round robin measurements of weld residual stresses are compared in order to characterise surface and sub-surface residual stresses comprehensively.
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•A dissimilar metal weld (DMW) manufactured by electron beam welding was studied.•The DMW specimen was made of a P91 and an AISI 316L(N) plate.•Five independent experimental methods were used for residual stress measurement.•All five measurement methods showed different uncertainties and potential errors.•Deployment of independent techniques has strengthened the measurement reliability.
Transient epileptic amnesia (TEA) is a recently recognised form of epilepsy of which the principle manifestation is recurrent, transient episodes of isolated memory loss. In addition to the amnesic ...episodes, many patients describe significant interictal memory difficulties. Performance on standard neuropsychological tests is often normal. However, two unusual forms of memory deficit have recently been demonstrated in TEA: (i) accelerated long-term forgetting (ALF): the excessively rapid loss of newly acquired memories over a period of days or weeks and (ii) remote autobiographical memory loss: a loss of memories for salient, personally experienced events of the past few decades. The neuroanatomical bases of TEA and its associated memory deficits are unknown. In this study, we first assessed the relationship between subjective and objective memory performance in 41 patients with TEA. We then analysed MRI data from these patients and 20 matched healthy controls, using manual volumetry and voxel-based morphometry (VBM) to correlate regional brain volumes with clinical and neuropsychological data. Subjective memory estimates were unrelated to performance on standard neuropsychological tests but were partially predicted by mood, ALF and remote autobiographical memory. Manual volumetry identified subtle hippocampal volume loss in the patient group. Both manual volumetry and VBM revealed correlations between medial temporal lobe atrophy and standard anterograde memory scores, but no relation between atrophy and ALF or remote autobiographical memory. These results add weight to the hypothesis that TEA is a syndrome of mesial temporal lobe epilepsy. Furthermore, they suggest that although standard anterograde memory test performance is related to the degree of mesial temporal lobe damage, this is not true for ALF and autobiographical amnesia. It is possible that these unusual memory deficits have a more diffuse physiological basis rather than being a consequence of discrete structural damage.
India is developing the Lead Lithium Ceramic Breeder Test Blanket Module (LLCB TBM) for in-situ experiments in ITER. India-specific Reduced Activation Ferritic-Martensitic (IN-RAFM) steel is the ...chosen structural material for the fabrication of LLCB TBM. IN-RAFM steel plates with different thickness are being produced from commercial heats. Presently, characterization for mechanical and physical properties is in progress in order to generate material properties database from these commercial heats.
In order to avoid welds on plasma facing surface of TBM First Wall (FW), scaled down mock-ups of FW are being fabricated using Hot Isostatic Pressing (HIP). Electron Beam (EB) welding, Laser/laser-hybrid welding and Narrow Gap-Tungsten Inert Gas (NG-TIG) welding, are being developed for fabrication of other TBM components. These welding processes have distinct advantage over conventional welding processes because of their high depth to width ratio, minimal HAZ, lower weld volume, reduced distortion and lower residual stresses in the weld joints. Mock-ups of LLCB TBM components are being fabricated using Grade 91/IN-RAFM steel to investigate the accessibility for the envisaged welding processes and to identify and develop the non-destructive evaluation (NDE) techniques. In addition, this would also help to establish the assembly sequence of LLCB TBM. Ultrasonic based methodologies are under development to assure integrity of these joints in the fabricated components.
Details of these developments in IN-RAFM steel as structural material, fabrication technologies and mock-ups fabrication towards realization of the LLCB TBM are discussed in this paper.
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