Exploration expeditions were conducted for 2 consecutive years in the subtropical region of North India to collect the untapped genetic diversity of Bael. A total of 15 accessions having unique traits of horticultural importance were collected and conserved in the field gene bank. Conserved germplasm was characterized for 3 consecutive years. Considerable variability was found in the morphological characters and biochemical traits. Fruit length ranged from 10.15 to 17. 68 cm, fruit circumference varied from 33.45 to 56.32 cm and fruit weight varied from 0.71 to 2.48 kg. Shell thickness was found to vary from 2.11 to 3.62 mm, whereas shell weight varied from 230 to 580 g/fruit. Number of seed sacs per fruit was found to vary from 11.17 to 15.72 and number of seeds per fruit varied from 68.00 to 113.17. Minimum seed weight was 7.04 g/fruit, whereas maximum 14.55 g/fruit. Ample variability was found in fruit yield of collected germplasm which ranged from 18.85 to 39.26 kg per plant at 16–18 years of age. Distinctive variability in biochemical traits was also found. Total soluble solids in fruit pulp were 34.92–41.13% Brix, total sugars 11.49–22.16%, acidity 0.36–0.53%, vitamin ‘C’ 9.89–17.20 mg/100 g, total carotenoids 1.43–2.40 mg/100 g and total tannins 2.50–3.58%. Available genetic diversity may be utilized for crop improvement programme.

In this work, we present a detailed assessment of fusion-born alpha-particle confinement, their wall loads and stability of Alfvén eigenmodes driven by these energetic particles in the Infinity Two Fusion Pilot Plant baseline plasma design, a four-field-period quasi-isodynamic stellarator to operate in deuterium–tritium fusion conditions. Using the Monte Carlo codes, SIMPLE, ASCOT5 and KORC-T, we study the collisionless and collisional dynamics of guiding-centre and full-orbit alpha-particles in the core plasma. We find that core energy losses to the wall are less than 4 %. Our simulations shows that peak power loads on the wall of this configuration are approximately 2.5 MW m-$^2$ and are spatially localised, toroidally and poloidaly, in the vicinity of x-points of the magnetic island chain $n/m = 4/5$ outside the plasma volume. Also, an exploratory analysis using various simplified walls shows that shaping and distance of the wall from the plasma volume can help reduce peak power loads. Our stability assessment of Alfvén eigenmodes using the STELLGAP and FAR3d codes shows the absence of unstable modes driven by alpha-particles in Infinity Two due to the relatively low alpha-particle beta at the envisioned 800 MW operating scenario.

Each day a venous catheter is retained poses unnecessary safety risks. In a retrospective evaluation of central/peripheral lines in nursing home residents receiving antibiotics, 80% were retained beyond antibiotic treatment end and nearly one third were retained longer than a week. Interventions for timely catheter removal are urgently needed.

Redweed is a tropical, erect branched herb, and one of the predominant broadleaf weeds affecting upland crops in the Onattukara Sandy Plains of Kerala, India. Experiments were conducted in a screenhouse in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, India, to determine the effects of seed burial depth and seed scarification on emergence indices and growth attributes of redweed. Scarification stimulated emergence and resulted in greater values for emergence indices and seedling parameters. The seedling emergence of redweed was influenced by seed burial depth. Shallow seed burial (2 cm) of scarified and non-scarified seeds resulted in greater seedling length (70 cm and 58 cm, respectively), seedling biomass (0.72 g and 0.48 g, respectively), emergence percentage (60% and 32%, respectively), and greater values for other emergence indices. As the depth of seed burial increased from 2 cm, emergence and seedling biomass decreased, exhibiting lower values for the emergence indices. Correlation and regression studies revealed that seed burial depth of scarified and non-scarified seeds greater than 2 cm had a negative effect on seedling emergence and biomass of redweed. Weed biology studies indicated that redweed displayed notable consistency in its phenological traits, regardless of the location where the seeds were collected, as little ecotype variability was observed. Emergence occurred in 6 d, 50% flowering in 44 d, capsule formation in 56 d, and maturity in 76 d. On average, a single plant produced 277 seeds and had a 100-seed weight of 0.31 g. A stale seedbed with shallow tillage or deep plowing to a depth of 10 cm before sowing can be adopted to reduce the infestation of redweed.

We evaluated whether universal chlorhexidine bathing (decolonization) with or without COVID-19 intensive training impacted COVID-19 rates in 63 nursing homes (NHs) during the 2020–2021 Fall/Winter surge. Decolonization was associated with a 43% lesser rise in staff case-rates (P < .001) and a 52% lesser rise in resident case-rates (P < .001) versus control.

Tight focusing with very small f-numbers is necessary to achieve the highest at-focus irradiances. However, tight focusing imposes strong demands on precise target positioning in-focus to achieve the highest on-target irradiance. We describe several near-infrared, visible, ultraviolet and soft and hard X-ray diagnostics employed in a ∼1022 W/cm2 laser–plasma experiment. We used nearly 10 J total energy femtosecond laser pulses focused into an approximately 1.3-μm focal spot on 5–20 μm thick stainless-steel targets. We discuss the applicability of these diagnostics to determine the best in-focus target position with approximately 5 μm accuracy (i.e., around half of the short Rayleigh length) and show that several diagnostics (in particular, 3$\omega$ reflection and on-axis hard X-rays) can ensure this accuracy. We demonstrated target positioning within several micrometers from the focus, ensuring over 80% of the ideal peak laser intensity on-target. Our approach is relatively fast (it requires 10–20 laser shots) and does not rely on the coincidence of low-power and high-power focal planes.

This paper proposes a lightweight frequency selective surface polarization-insensitive wideband metamaterial absorber in C band and X band that employs only a few resistive elements. The proposed absorber is embodied with four quadrature slotted inner circular patch, which is horizontally and vertically bisected, and outer concentric copper rings of 0.035 mm thickness are attached with four lumped resistors placed at 90° apart. A slotted inner circular patch provides significant inductive and capacitive loading. The absorption bandwidth of 8.02 GHz with more than 90% absorption is observed from 5.69 to 13.71 GHz under normal incidence and maintains almost same absorptivity range under oblique incidence up to 45° in both transverse electric mode and transverse magnetic mode. The designed metamaterial absorber is fabricated and measured using free space measurement technique. The actual experiments and the simulated ones are in good agreement.

Diagnostic stewardship seeks to improve ordering, collection, performance, and reporting of tests. Test results play an important role in reportable HAIs. The inclusion of HAIs in public reporting and pay for performance programs has highlighted the value of diagnostic stewardship as part of infection prevention initiatives. Inappropriate testing should be discouraged, and approaches that seek to alter testing solely to impact a reportable metric should be avoided. HAI definitions should be further adapted to new testing technologies, with focus on actionable and clinically relevant test results that will improve patient care.

Background: Multimodal approaches are often used to prevent transmission of antimicrobial-resistant pathogens among patients in healthcare settings; understanding the effect of individual interventions is challenging. We designed a model to compare the effectiveness of hand hygiene (HH) with or without decolonization in reducing patient colonization with carbapenem-resistant Enterobacterales (CRE). Methods: We developed an agent-based model to represent transmission of CRE in an acute-care hospital comprising 3 general wards and 2 ICUs, each with 20 single-occupancy rooms, located in a community of 85,000 people. The model accounted for the movement of healthcare personnel (HCP), including their visits to patients. CRE dynamics were modeled using a susceptible–infectious–susceptible framework with transmission occurring via HCP–patient contacts. The mean time to clearance of CRE colonization without intervention was 387 days (Zimmerman et al, 2013). Our baseline included a facility-level HH compliance of 30%, with an assumed efficacy of 50%. Contact precautions were employed for patients with CRE-positive cultures with assumed adherence and efficacy of 80% and 50%, respectively. Intervention scenarios included decolonization of culture-positive CRE patients, with a mean time to decolonization of 3 days. We considered 2 hypothetical intervention scenarios: (A) decolonization of patients with the baseline HH compliance and (B) decolonization with a slightly improved HH compliance of 35%. The hospital-level CRE incidence rate was used to compare the results from these intervention scenarios. Results: CRE incidence rates were lower in intervention scenarios than the baseline scenario (Fig. 1). The baseline mean incidence rate was 29.1 per 10,000 patient days. For decolonization with the baseline HH, the mean incidence rate decreased to 14.5 per 10,000 patient days, which is a 50.2% decrease relative to the baseline incidence (Table 1). The decolonization scenario with a slightly improved HH compliance of 35% produced a relative reduction of 71.9% relative to the baseline incidence. Conclusions: Our analysis shows that decolonization, combined with modest improvement in HH compliance, could lead to large decreases in pathogen transmission. In turn, this model implies that efforts to identify and improve decolonization strategies for better patient safety in health care may be needed and are worth exploring.

Disclosures: None

Twenty-nine exotic common bean germplasms and three elite cultivars were examined for phenotypic diversity in two bean-producing environments (Kanpur and Shimla) across three winter seasons and one rainy season. The estimate of genetic variability parameters revealed that the exotic bean germplasm has enough diversity for all the evaluated features. The highest genotypic and phenotypic coefficients of variation were found in seed yield, followed by 100-seed weight, pods per plant and pod length. Furthermore, seed yield was the most heritable and genetically advanced quantitative feature, followed by 100-seed weight, pod length and pods per plant. According to a trait association study, the days to maturity of phenological traits have a strong positive correlation with the days to initial flowering and the days to 50% flowering. Pods per plant and seeds per pod most strongly influence increased grain yield. The first two principal components accounted for 63.3% of the variation and demonstrated significant diversity among exotic bean lines for the traits studied, according to the principal component analysis. According to the hierarchical clustering analysis, 29 accessions and three cultivars were divided into three groups. Cluster I contains early flowering and maturing accessions, while cluster III contains high pods per plant and an increased grain yield of germplasms. The fundamental source of phenological fluctuations in both environmental circumstances is temperature. This study found four genetically divergent and stable performance accessions, including EC932021, EC932189 (earliness), and EC931452, EC931971 (high grain yield), which may aid in the establishment of a bean breeding programme.

An attempt has been made to illustrate the evolution of pelitic granulite from south of the Balaram-Abu road, which lies in the South Delhi Terrane (SDT) of the Aravalli-Delhi Mobile Belt (ADMB), using geochemistry and geochronology. The current work offers a plausible explanation for the protolith of pelitic granulite, nature of the sediments and its provenance. The elemental geochemistry of the pelitic granulites reveals that the protolith is an arkosic to shaley type. The rare earth elements pattern shows that there is a negative Eu anomaly and a small excess of LREE over HREE. This means that the source of sediments probably has the same elements as the upper crust. However, the amounts of Sr, Nd and Pb vary a lot, which shows that the sediments supplied from two different types of sources (felsic and mafic) in different proportions from a Proterozoic terrain. The monazite geochronology indicates that the metamorphic overprint occurred between 797 Ma and 906 Ma. Additionally, the ages correlate to the debris that was formed between the 1188 Ma and 1324 Ma from magmatic/sedimentary sources for pelitic granulite. The present research provides a more in-depth understanding of the evolutionary history of the pelitic granulite that comprises the SDT in the ADMB region during the Proterozoic era.

Persons with Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias (ADRD) are prone to receiving reduced quality of care. We compared the quality of room cleaning of rooms with ADRD residents and rooms with non-ADRD residents in nursing homes using an ultraviolet (UV) marker. ADRD status was associated with greater failure of UV marker removal (odds ratio, 1.68; 95% confidence interval, 1.04–2.71; P = .03).