In an Indian oncology setting, between August and December 2021, 56 patients, developed Burkholderia cenocepacia bacteremia. An investigation revealed a contaminated batch of the antiemetic drug palonosetron. The outbreak was terminated by withdrawing the culprit batch and the findings were reported promptly to regulatory authorities.

Through the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Promoting Interoperability Program, more hospitals will be reporting to the National Healthcare Safety Network Antimicrobial Use (AU) Option. We highlight the next steps and opportunities for measurement of AU to optimize prescribing.

We conducted CO J=1→0 emission line observations for nearby AGB stars using the Nobeyama 45 m telescope. Comparing our results with those from CO J=3→2 observations with JCMT, the circumstellar envelopes observed in CO J=1→0 look more extended than J=3→2. Thus, we could trace the outer, cold parts of the envelopes. We also found four stars in which the CO/13CO ratio changes dramatically outward, but the change implies the effect of selective photodissociation by interstellar ultraviolet radiation, not the third dredge up in the stellar interior. We moreover found two unique stars with aspherical envelope morphology.

Investment in family planning (FP) provides returns through a lifetime. Global evidence shows that FP is the second-best buy in terms of return on investment after liberalizing trade. In this study, we estimate the cumulative benefits of FP investments for India from 1991 to 2016 and project them up to 2061 with four scenarios of fertility levels. The findings suggest that India will have greater elasticity of FP investments to lifetime economic returns compared to the world average (cost–revenue ratio of 1:120). We have taken four scenarios for the goalpost, viz., 2.1, 1.8, 1.6, and 1.4. Although different scenarios of total fertility rate (TFR) levels at the goalpost (i.e., the year 2061) offer varied lifetime returns from FP, scenario TFR < 1.8 will be counterproductive and will reduce the potential benefits. With a comprehensive approach, if the country focuses more on improving the quality of FP services and on reducing the unmet need for FP to enhance reproductive health care and expand maximum opportunities for education and employment for both women and men, it can improve its potential to reap more benefits.

In this paper, an analytical study of the kinematics and dynamics of Stewart platform-based machine tool structures is presented. The kinematic study includes the derivation of closed form expressions for the inverse Jacobian matrix of the mechanism and its time derivative. An evaluation of a numerical iterative scheme for an on-line solution of the forward kinematic problem is also presented. Effects of different configurations of the unpowered joints on the angular velocities and accelerations of the links are considered. The Newton-Euler formulation is used to derive the rigid body dynamic equations. Inclusion of models for actuator dynamics and joint friction is discussed.

Antimicrobial resistance is a global and pressing problem that requires large-scale, federal coordination of efforts and tailored local interventions and surveillance. Given the urgency of the threat, many countries now have national policies to reduce inappropriate antimicrobial use. However, few countries have followed this with resources at the institutional level to support the implementation of practices to achieve this goal. In the United States, accreditation bodies such as Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and The Joint Commission have added antimicrobial stewardship standards to encourage uptake of antimicrobial stewardship programs (ASPs).

This article extends the research focusing on the early origins of psychopathology into the prenatal period, by exploring the association between maternal prenatal depression and offspring (fetal and infant) neurobehavior. The sample is recruited from a rural population in South India where women in the third trimester of pregnancy were assessed for depression and the heart rate responses of their fetuses to extrinsically applied vibroacoustic stimuli were studied. At 2 months postbirth, infant temperament and cortisol responsivity to immunization were assessed. The association between maternal prenatal depression and fetal responsivity to vibroacoustic stimulation, and infant responsivity to immunization, was U shaped with higher levels of responsivity noted in the offspring of mothers with very high and very low depression scores, and lower levels noted in the offspring of mothers with moderate depression scores. Maternal prenatal depression was not associated with infant temperament. The findings highlight the importance of environmental influences in the developmental origins of neurobehavior, suggesting that such differences, not evident at baseline, may emerge upon exposure to stressors. The study also emphasizes the need for further investigation in low- and middle-income contexts by providing preliminary evidence of the differing patterns of association observed between high- and low-income populations.

In order to investigate the effect of dust production on the molecular absorption, we model the dust continuum and the 7.5 and 13.7 μm acetylene absorption features in the Spitzer IRS spectra of 148 carbon stars in the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC). Our preliminary investigation does not find a strong correlation between the dust-production rate and the column density of acetylene for the LMC sample. However, we will construct more models at high optical depths and probe a larger range of dust properties for more robust results.

GLP-1 (abnormal germline proliferation) is a Notch-like receptor protein that plays an essential role in pharyngeal development. In this study, an orthologue of Caenorhabditis elegans glp-1 was identified in Meloidogyne incognita. A computational analysis revealed that the orthologue contained almost all the domains present in the C. elegans gene: specifically, the LIN-12/Notch repeat, the ankyrin repeat, a transmembrane domain and different ligand-binding motifs were present in orthologue, but the epidermal growth factor-like motif was not observed. An expression analysis showed differential expression of glp-1 throughout the life cycle of M. incognita, with relatively higher expression in the egg stage. To evaluate the silencing efficacy of Mi-glp-1, transgenic Arabidopsis plants carrying double-stranded RNA constructs of glp-1 were generated, and infection of these plants with M. incognita resulted in a 47–50% reduction in the numbers of galls, females and egg masses. Females obtained from the transgenic RNAi lines exhibited 40–60% reductions in the transcript levels of the targeted glp-1 gene compared with females isolated from the control plants. Second-generation juveniles (J2s), which were descendants of the infected females from the transgenic lines, showed aberrant phenotypes. These J2s exhibited a significant decrease in the overall distance from the stylet to the metacorpus region, and this effect was accompanied by disruption around the metacorporeal bulb of the pharynx. The present study suggests a role for this gene in organ (pharynx) development during embryogenesis in M. incognita and its potential use as a target in the management of nematode infestations in plants.

The high Himalayan mountains in the north of India are important sources for generating and maintaining the climate over the entire northern belt of the Indian subcontinent. They also influence extreme weather events, such as the western disturbances over the region during winter. The work presented here describes some current trends in weather and climate over the western Himalaya and suggests some possible explanations in the context of climate change. The work also shows how the special features of Indian orography in the western Himalaya affect climate change in the long term, changing the pattern of precipitation over the region. Data analysis of different ranges of the western Himalaya shows significant variations in temperature and snowfall trends in the past few decades. Possible explanations for the changing climate over the western Himalaya are proposed, in terms of variations in cloudiness. The possible effects of climate change on the number of snowfall days and the occurrences of western disturbances over the western Himalaya are also analysed.

In this study, we use MM5 weather-forecast model output and observed surface weather data from 11 stations in the western Himalaya to develop a statistical downscaling model (SDM) to better predict precipitation, 10 m wind speed and 2 m temperature. The analysis covers three consecutive winters: 2004/05, 2005/06 and 2006/07. The performance of the SDM was assessed using an independent dataset from the 2007/08 winter season. This assessment shows that the SDM technique substantially improves the forecast over specific station locations, which is important for avalanche-threat assessment.

The present experimental work highlights the acoustic far field and flow field characteristics of confined co-axial swirling pipe jets. Co-axial confinements with six vanes at angles of 0°, 20° and 40° are considered here. Two pipe lengths of L/D=0.5 and 2 are studied. The Mach numbers studied range from 0.85 to 1.83. An increase in the pipe length causes suppression of the transonic tones in non-swirl pipe jets. Swirl reduces the low frequency noise components and increases the high-frequency components compared to non-swirl jet. The broadband shock associated noise is mitigated by the swirl pipe jets. However, the screech tone is completely eliminated by the swirl pipe jets. Further, swirl pipe jets radiate low levels of noise at all the emission angles compared to non-swirl pipe jets, for both the pipe length cases at supersonic Mach numbers. Increase in the pipe length enhances the shock associated noise and OASPL for the non-swirl pipe jet. Centreline pitot survey and schlieren visualisation show a reduction in core length, reduction in the number of shock cells, weakening/destruction of the shock cells by the swirl pipe jets compared to the non-swirl pipe jets.

Ferromagnetic/Ferroelectric/Ferromagnetic (Ni/PZT/Ni) tri-layer artificial multiferroelectric structures in spin capacitor configuration were fabricated by sputtering ferromagnetic electrodes on PZT. Magnetocapacitance, magnetoimpedance, and phase angle measurements were carried out by a wide range of frequencies and magnetic fields at room temperature. We also compared the magnetodielectric measurements with Ni/PZT/Ag and Ag/PZT/Ag tri-layers structures. Ni/PZT/Ni spin capacitor shows a significantly different behavior compared to conventional PZT capacitor with Ag electrode and mixed electrode capacitor with one ferromagnetic and one conventional electrode.

Pneumonia due to either Streptococcus pneumoniae (Sp) or Staphylococcus aureus (Sa) accounts for most mortality after influenza and acute respiratory illness (ARI). Because carriage precedes infection, we estimated Sp and Sa carriage to examine the co-colonization dynamics between Sp, Sa and respiratory viruses in the presence of ARI in the oropharynx. We tested oropharyngeal specimens of community subjects (aged ⩾2 years) with ARI for the presence of influenza A and B, 11 other common respiratory viruses, Sp and Sa, using real-time PCR. A total of 338 participants reported 519 ARI episodes of which 119 (35%) carried Sp, 52 (13%) carried Sa and 25 (7%) carried both. Thirty-five subjects tested positive for influenza, of which 14 (40%) carried Sp and six (17%) carried Sa, significantly more than in the influenza-negative group (P = 0·03 and P = 0·04, respectively). In subjects infected by any virus compared to those with no virus, Sp carriage (39·2% vs. 27·9%, P = 0·03) but not Sa carriage (11·6% vs. 14%, P = 0·6) was more frequent. For children, when Sa was present, Sp carriage tended to be less frequent than expected given the presence of viral infection, but not significantly [observed relative risk 1·14, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0·4–3·1; with a relative excess risk due to interaction of –0·11]. Independent of age, Sp carriers were more likely to return that season with subsequent ARI (odds ratio 2·14, 95% CI 1·1–4·3, P = 0·03). Both Sp and Sa carriage rates in the oropharynx increase during influenza infection in children. However, no negative interaction between Sp and Sa was observed. Sp carriers are more likely to suffer subsequent ARI episodes than non-carriers.

In recent years a number of authors have analysed the bending of clamped skew plates under uniform pressure. Many of these solutions are very approximate. Favre and Dorman adopted the Ritz method and their expressions for displacement are restrictive. Based on the generalised method postulated by Lardy, Mirsky has presented a solution which involves considerable algebraic and arithmetic work. Komatsu's paper contains a solution using conformal mapping. Quinlan has given a powerful method to solve skew plate problems involving different boundary conditions and various types of loadings, but no numerical work has been done.