From the near-Earth solar wind to the intracluster medium of galaxy clusters, collisionless, high-beta, magnetized plasmas pervade our universe. Energy and momentum transport from large-scale fields and flows to small-scale motions of plasma particles is ubiquitous in these systems, but a full picture of the underlying physical mechanisms remains elusive. The transfer is often mediated by a turbulent cascade of Alfvénic fluctuations as well as a variety of kinetic instabilities; these processes tend to be multi-scale and/or multi-dimensional, which makes them difficult to study using spacecraft missions and numerical simulations alone. Meanwhile, existing laboratory devices struggle to produce the collisionless, high ion beta ($\beta _i \gtrsim 1$), magnetized plasmas across the range of scales necessary to address these problems. As envisioned in recent community planning documents, it is therefore important to build a next generation laboratory facility to create a $\beta _i \gtrsim 1$, collisionless, magnetized plasma in the laboratory for the first time. A working group has been formed and is actively defining the necessary technical requirements to move the facility towards a construction-ready state. Recent progress includes the development of target parameters and diagnostic requirements as well as the identification of a need for source-target device geometry. As the working group is already leading to new synergies across the community, we anticipate a broad community of users funded by a variety of federal agencies (including National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Department of Energy and National Science Foundation) to make copious use of the future facility.

Holistic frameworks of mental health outline that a focus on psychopathology does not represent an optimal approach to defining, measuring and treating mental health. Rather, theoretical, empirical, and applied psychological efforts should incorporate psychological well-being (PWB). Studies of PWB have overwhelmingly focused on adult populations, rendering a translation down to adolescence difficult. The current study explores the between-person, as well as within-person short-term, prospective relations between psychopathology and wellbeing within a community sample of adolescents (i.e., 553 youth aged 12 – 18, mean age: 14.97 years, 51.2% Male, 40.7% of participants identified as Hispanic (225 individuals), 38.5% identified as White (213 individuals), and 35.6% identified as Black (197 individuals), 3-wave, 1-year survey). Results demonstrated significant, negative between-person relations between psychopathology and PWB (bPHQ = −0.25, SE = 0.11, p = 0.021, bVDS = −0.39, SE = 0.15, p = 0.011). At the within-person level, consistent positive prospective relations were identified for violent-delinquent behaviors and PWB, such that increases in individual levels of violent-delinquent behaviors tended to forecast higher levels of PWB at the next follow-up (bPWBW2 = 0.21, SEPWBW2 = 0.076, p < 0.01; bPWBW3 = 0.14, SEPWBW3 = 0.051, p < 0.01). At the within-person level, prospective relations between depressive and PWB were not identified. Gender and racial/ethnic identities did not moderate findings.

Oenopia sauzeti (Mulsant) (Coccinellidae: Coleoptera) is a highly efficient predator of sap-sucking insect pests due to its high feeding capacity and broad prey range. The present investigation was carried out to find out the feeding potential and functional response of O. sauzeti fed on different densities of Macrosiphum euphorbiae (Thomas) (Aphididae: Hemiptera) nymphs in the in vitro condition with the overarching objective of appraising the ladybird beetle’s potential as a distinguished biological control agent. The newly emerged coccinellid grubs of a particular stage were reared individually on Petri plates with a known number of M. euphorbiae nymphs of a particular stage. The single individual of O. sauzeti consumed 1104.53, 936.53, 634.07, and 473.20 aphids in one generation when reared on the first, second, third, and fourth instars of M. euphorbiae, respectively. The female adult of predator recorded as a more voracious feeder compared to the male adult. O. sauzeti exhibits a type II functional response against potato aphid, and a significantly negative linear coefficient was obtained after logistic regression analysis for the proportion of prey consumed (Na/N) as a function of initial prey density (N). The functional response parameters, i.e. attack rate and handling time, were estimated by applying Roger’s random predator equation. The attack rate increased, and handling time decreased with the advancement of the development stage of the predator. The voracious nature of both adults and grubs of the ladybird beetle makes this effective biocontrol agent to be used in the Integrated Pest Management Programme against the potato aphid.

The election of Kevin Rudd as Australian Prime Minister in a Labor Party sweep has led many to anticipate a major shift in Australia's international relations and environmental policies, and possible realignments in Asia. We offer four brief assessments of the significance of the election for the region at a time when long-entrenched governments in England, Poland, and many parts of Latin America point to possible sea changes in international affairs.

A potent investigative instrument in the fight against highly sophisticated criminal schemes camouflaged by layers of secrecy is the sting operation. However, its application provokes crucial questions of legality and admissibility. Additionally, lack of legal provisions governing sting operations in India has resulted in conflicting judicial stances, calling for clarity on this issue. Hence, this paper examines the intricate legal and ethical challenges surrounding sting operations, which, on one hand, aid in uncovering serious offences and foster public interest but, on the other hand, threaten to infringe privacy rights and fairness of trials. The paper analyses international practices in Canada and the United States of America, alongside judicial precedents and scholarly opinions in India, and recommends statutory inclusion of sting operations in the Indian legal system. The paper proposes stringent judicial control, elaborate ethical guidelines to avoid staging crimes, and regulations on media reporting to maintain the delicate balance of public interest versus personal rights. The paper concludes with a model draft for legislative reform that seeks to strengthen the idea of justice without weakening fundamental rights.

Distinctness, uniformity and stability (DUS) studies are essential components of assessment and registration processes for plant varieties, including those within the Morus alba species, commonly known as white mulberry. M. alba L. holds a unique place in agriculture sciences due to its historical significance in silk production and its cultivation for its edible fruits. This study provides an overview of DUS studies in M. alba carried out in the Department of Tree Improvement and Genetic Resources, Dr Yashwant Singh Parmar University of Horticulture and Forestry, Nauni, Solan (Himachal Pradesh) India, highlighting the critical features and characteristics evaluated to distinguish between different cultivars. It explores the factors contributing to uniformity and the stability of these characteristics over time, emphasizing the importance of these studies in guiding breeding programmes, supporting agricultural practices and preserving the diversity within this species. The study includes DUS characterization of M. alba germplasm based on 3 qualitative, 11 pseudo-qualitative and 11 quantitative characteristics. DUS studies play a pivotal role in ensuring the accuracy of cultivar identification, thus facilitating the sustainable cultivation and conservation of M. alba, a species with deep-rooted cultural and economic significance. It is concluded that many varieties with distinct and distinguishable characteristics and better economic and genetic values can be registered for their protection under the PPV&FR Act, 2001 and can be used in breeding programmes.

This article analyzes the impact of the coronavirus epidemic in India after first situating it in the wider international context. It begins with a global perspective on the spread of the pandemic that correlates more with geography, demography and seasonality than lockdown stringency and sequencing. The responses of governments have damaged economies, lost livelihoods, worsened healthcare-access and learning-outcomes, while curbing rights and freedoms of citizens. In India, the draconian lockdown dealt a crippling blow to the economy which has hurt the poor badly but could not ‘flatten the curve’. The inadequate and inappropriate policy response has made the task of economic recovery even more difficult. Yet, the crisis also opens possible opportunities for India to enhance its global role and profile.

MagNetUS is a network of scientists and research groups that coordinates and advocates for fundamental magnetized plasma research in the USA. Its primary goal is to bring together a broad community of researchers and the experimental and numerical tools they use in order to facilitate the sharing of ideas, resources and common tasks. Discussed here are the motivation and goals for this network and details of its formation, history and structure. An overview of associated experimental facilities and numerical projects is provided, along with examples of scientific topics investigated therein. Finally, a vision for the future of the organization is given.

We present the first experimental observations of the dust acoustic wave where the wave was observed to propagate in the directions of gravity and magnetic field when these directions were not aligned. The experiments were conducted in the Magnetized Dusty Plasma eXperiment facility using a novel electrode system that allows for the angle between gravity and the magnetic field to be varied in a controlled way. This letter reports on measurements in an rf glow discharge argon plasma environment where the angle between direction of gravity and the magnetic field is 45$^{\circ }$. When there was no applied magnetic field, the wave was observed to propagate in the direction of gravity. However, as the magnetic field increased and the ions transitioned from flowing in the direction of gravity to the direction of the magnetic field, a second wave emerged and two distinct waves were observed to simultaneously propagate, one in the direction of gravity and one in the direction of the magnetic field. As the magnetic field was further increased, the wave that propagated in the direction of gravity was suppressed and the wave was only observed to propagate in the direction of the applied magnetic field. We also observe that the speed and the kinetic temperature of the dust for the mode that propagated in the direction of gravity decreased with increasing magnetic field while the speed and the kinetic temperature of the dust for the mode that propagated in the direction of the magnetic field increased with increasing magnetic field. These measurements suggest that an ion-dust streaming instability is at least partially responsible for the high temperatures that have previously been observed in dusty plasmas when the dust acoustic wave is present.

Experimental research into the control of particle charge in dusty plasmas conducted at Auburn University indicates that photocurrents generated by exposing dust to intense, near-ultraviolet light can provide a reliable and novel method of independently controlling dust charge without radically altering the background plasma; the experiment also showed that some particles may respond differently to this photo-discharge, with some exhibiting highly periodic responses to the discharge and others exhibiting chaotic behaviour. Since the dust particles in the experiment were a polydisperse sample of different sizes and shapes, particle geometry may play a role in explaining this difference. Simulations of particle discharge and dynamics are used in an attempt to reproduce experimental results and investigate a possible correlation between particle symmetry and dynamic periodicity.

Aortopulmonary window is a rare CHD, which comprises a communication between the ascending aorta and the pulmonary artery. The standard treatment of aortopulmonary window is surgical; however, few cases are amenable to closure via percutaneous intervention. We present a case of aortopulmonary window closure using Lifetech™ Konar-MF occluder device (Lifetech Scientific Co. Ltd., Shenzhen).

This article contributes to disciplinary histories of International Relations (IR) by revealing a little-known history: how a Nazi diplomat, Curt Max Prüfer, occupied the first chair in IR in India. While the paper documents how Prüfer, a discredited diplomat, landed in Delhi through his connections with peripatetic Indian anti-colonial networks and spent slightly over two years as the first IR chair at Delhi University, it also makes broader claims about how we narrate disciplinary histories. Intellectual genealogies, the predominant way in which disciplinary histories are written, often miss the contingent factors that play a considerable role in the fashioning of the discipline. Contingency-filled narratives also point towards the fact that International Relations/Affairs, at least in its early period of formation, operated as a term of mythical heft – a placeholder to fit anyone with academic or practical expertise in varied fields such as international law, colonial administration, anthropology, diplomacy, history, political economy, and military strategy.

Bilateral teleoperation systems encounter challenges in achieving synchronisation between master and slave robots due to communication time delays. This paper addresses the instability caused by these delays and proposes a solution through advanced control algorithms. Nonlinear optimisation algorithms might only sometimes deliver solutions in the allotted time, particularly when handling complicated, high-dimensional issues or when optimisation iterations are extensive. The study first develops a comprehensive mathematical model encompassing the dynamics and communication intricacies of both master and slave sides in teleoperation. By recognising the limitations of existing proportional-derivative controllers in compensating for communication errors, a sequential quadratic programming-proportional-integral-derivative (SQP-PID) controller is introduced. This controller accumulates and rectifies synchronisation delay errors, ensuring precise control without steady-state deviations. The proposed SQP-PID controller stands out for its ability to handle steady-state errors effectively, offering swift response and maintaining stability. Leveraging the SQP optimisation algorithm, it intelligently tunes the parameters, minimising synchronisation errors. The approach capitalises on the simplicity, performance, and robustness of the SQP-PID controller, providing a promising avenue for enhancing bilateral teleoperation systems’ accuracy and stability, maintaining initial discrepancy with a best fitness value of 0.98 % in varied operating conditions.

Twelve lacustrine sediment samples from a relict lake in the Kalla Glacier valley were co-dated using AMS radiocarbon (14C) and infrared stimulated luminescence (IRSL) dating methods. In general, the radiocarbon ages of bulk organic matter were older by a minimum of 1500 years compared to (age depth) modeled luminescence ages after fading corrections. This is observed for the first time in the lake sediments of High Himalayan Crystalline zone. A combination of lipid n-alkane data, Raman spectra and geochemical proxies suggested that this was due to ancient organic carbon (OCancient) that is a mixture of pre-aged (OCpre-aged) and petrogenic (OCpetro) organic carbon within older glacial moraine debris that served as sediment source to the lake. Raman spectra suggest the presence of moderate to highly graphitized OCpetro in all the profile samples. The OCpetro contributed 0.064 ± 0.032% to the sediment and the lake stored 2.5 ± 0.7 Gg OCpetro at variable rates during the last 16 kyr, with the mean burial flux 160 kg OCpetro yr−1. This study implies (1) employing another independent dating method in addition to radiocarbon method using bulk sediment organic matter, if the carbon content is low, to observe any discrepancy, and (2) a need to investigate on the fate of OCpetro as many such small lakes become relict in this region.

Human gut microbial species are crucial for dietary metabolism and biosynthesis of micronutrients. Digested products are utilised by the host as well as several gut bacterial species. These species are influenced by various factors such as diet, age, geographical location, and ethnicity. India is home to the largest human population in the world. It is spread across diverse ecological and geographical locations. With variable dietary habits and lifestyles, Indians have unique gut microbial composition. This review captures contrasting and common trends of gut bacterial community establishment in infants (born through different modes of delivery), and how that bacterial community manifests itself along infancy, through old age between Indian and global populations. Because dysbiosis of the gut community structure is associated with various diseases, this review also highlights the common and unique bacterial species associated with various communicable as well as noncommunicable diseases such as diarrhoea, amoebiasis, malnutrition, type 2 diabetes, obesity, colorectal cancer, inflammatory bowel disease, and gut inflammation and damage to the brain in the global and Indian population.