Recent evidence suggests that environmental chemicals and toxicants interfere with energy homeostasis and can promote adiposity, ultimately leading to body weight gain. Phthalates, esters of phthalic acid, have been suggested to be potential metabolic disruptors. Phthalates are extensively used in consumer utility items and health care products, and thus have multiple exposure routes that can lead to phthalate toxicity, thereby disrupting energy metabolism. The present study tested a broad range of doses of an environmentally relevant mixture of phthalates and evaluated its impact on obesity and metabolic outcomes. Male C57BL/6 mice were randomly divided into six groups and were orally administered either with vehicle (corn oil) or a mixture of phthalates ranging from 50 µg, 500 µg, 5 mg, 50 mg and 500 mg/kg/day for 41 days. Our results showed that exposure to low doses (50 µg/kg/day) and higher doses (50 mg/kg/day and 500 mg/kg/day) resulted in pronounced hypertrophy of inguinal and perigonadal white and brown adipocytes and led to increased serum triglycerides and cholesterol levels. Exposure to phthalate mixture resulted in impaired glucose tolerance as evidenced by the oral glucose tolerance test. Exposure to phthalate mixture resulted in increased hepatosomatic index and hepatic triglyceride content, producing a hepatic phenotype similar to fatty liver disease, with fat vacuoles seen in liver histology. Additionally, we noted that mice exposed to a mixture of phthalates showed altered expression of genes associated with adipogenesis, lipogenesis, and lipolysis. We further noted that higher doses (50 mg/kg/day and 500 mg/kg/day) and lower doses (50 µg/kg/day) of phthalate mixture resulted in significant weight gain, hypertrophy of adipocytes, and dysregulated fat metabolism, thereby potentially resulting in obesity and other associated metabolic conditions. Our findings suggest that phthalate mixture exerts a non-monotonous physiological dose response, potentially resulting in body weight gain and obesity.
Sandwich panels have been extensively used in engineering applications due to their light weight along with enhanced mechanical properties. Use of lattice metamaterial as core further enhances the specific mechanical properties and expands the design space in terms of the microstructural lattice core architecture. An emerging class of lattice metamaterials with curved microscale cell-wall geometry is proposed here as core for sandwich plates which would tailor the specific bending stiffness and expand the design space further with cell-wall curvature as added microstructural parameter. A finite element method based computational framework is developed within ANSYS workbench® for estimating the bending deformation and specific bending stiffness of the proposed novel class sandwich plates by modelling the curved lattice core as homogenized orthotropic material. The homogenized orthotropic properties of the curved lattice metamaterial are computed through an established unit cell based multi-scale mechanics framework which are fed into the finite element model. Influences of the expanded microstructural design space, together with macrostructural parameters including span-to-thickness ratio and boundary conditions, are systematically investigated on flexural deformation and specific bending stiffness. An auxetic curved lattice core consistently improves the dimensional bending stiffness over its straight counterpart, while all the proposed curved-core sandwich plates exhibit intermediate specific bending stiffness between solid monolithic and straight lattice-core plates, offering a balanced combination of lightweight characteristics, stiffness, and vibration absorption. The proposed novel sandwich plates with tailored bending stiffness along with the developed computational framework and the parametric investigations provides quantitative design guidelines for advanced multi-functional structures.
Loose smut is an important disease of wheat that can cause substantial yield losses in the absence of suitable management practices. Developing resistant cultivars remains the most economical and environmentally sound strategy for disease management. Therefore, the present study aimed to develop and characterize loose smut-resistant near-isogenic lines (NILs) in the background of PBW 343 and identify superior genotypes combining disease resistance with desirable agronomic performance. Nine NIL populations were developed using loose smut-resistant donors (W 2531, W 2139, W 1616, W 59, W 5915, W 5450, W 4985, WL 2951 and WL 1786) through backcrossing with PBW 343 and simultaneous screening. Twenty selected NILs (LSRL21-LSRL40) were evaluated at two locations viz., Punjab Agricultural University (PAU), Ludhiana and Indian Institute of Wheat and Barley Research (IIWBR), Karnal for resistance against six prevalent Ustilago segetum tritici races (T1, T11, T34, T57, T59 and T60). Out of 20 NILs, eleven (LSRL25, LSRL26, LSRL27, LSRL28, LSRL29, LSRL30, LSRL35, LSRL36, LSRL37, LSRL38 and LSRL39) showed resistance to all six Ust races. Agronomic evaluation revealed significant variation among the NILs, with LSRL26 recording the highest grain yield (2.47 kg) and thousand-grain weight (43.70 g). Multi-trait assessment using the Multi-trait genotype–ideotype distance index (MGIDI) identified LSRL30 as the most desirable genotype with lowest MGIDI values at both Karnal (2.23) and Ludhiana (2.75) indicating stable and balanced performance across traits. The study identified NILs exhibiting broad-spectrum loose smut resistance with favorable agronomic performance through MGIDI as an effective approach for multi-trait selection in wheat breeding programs.
Climate change has altered the frequency and intensity of temperature and precipitation extremes, posing significant challenges to agriculture and water resources in eastern India. This study assessed the spatial and temporal variability of climate extremes across Bihar during 1981–2025 using 24 ETCCDI climate extreme indices derived from gridded climate data. Long-term trends were evaluated using the Modified Mann–Kendall test and Sen’s slope estimator to identify the magnitude and significance of climatic changes. The results revealed a pronounced asymmetric warming pattern, with annual minimum temperature increasing at 0.02–0.05 °C year⁻1, whereas maximum temperature increased only marginally (0.00–0.02 °C year⁻1). Consequently, the diurnal temperature range declined significantly across all grid cells (0.02 to 0.05 °C year⁻1). Warm-night indices exhibited the strongest warming signal, with statistically significant increases in tropical nights, warm nights (TN90p) and minimum temperature (Tmin) across 100
MahaKumbh is a spiritual congregation anchored in Hindu mythology and is considered as the world’s largest public gathering. The present study is an event-based assessment that analyses Land Use Land Cover (LULC) change in Prayagraj for the Pre-Kumbh (March 01-May 31, 2023) and during MahaKumbh period (January 01-February 28, 2025). This study aims to quantify the short-term landscape changes associated with preparations for and the conduct of the Mahakumbh event. Freely available Harmonized Sentinel 2-MSI data was utilized for the LULC classification. Supervised LULC classification was carried out in Google Earth Engine (GEE) platform using Random Forest (RF) machine learning algorithm to ensure better accuracy in classification. The results revealed a significant event-associated landscape transformation with an increase in Vegetation (61.2
The use of digital technology is an integral part of student’s academic and personal lives and influences their lifestyle, behaviors and wellbeing. This cross-sectional study examined the relationship of digital habits with physical activity, mental health and nutrition in undergraduate students of Delhi, India. Of the 500 students who responded to the online survey, 262 met the inclusion criteria (undergraduate student and completed all questions in the survey) and were included in the analysis. Demographic information, a 19-item Internet Addiction Test (IAT), and self-rating scales for physical activity, diet, and psychological well-being were all included in the questionnaire. The scores for the IATs were aligned with the original 20 items using prorated scores. This study found that students who consumed more screen time and late evening screen time had significantly lower levels of physical activity and diets. A moderate positive correlation was found between the IAT scores and stress indicators. Women participants expressed higher levels of concern about diet compared to male participants and digital stress as well. Results overall suggest that increased digital engagement was linked to decreased physical and mental wellness for undergraduate students. Healthy digital habits, using screens mindfully and maintaining a well-balanced daily routine can support student well-being.
The advent of hot melt extrusion (HME) and fused deposition modeling (FDM) based three-dimensional (3D) printing revolutionized the field of pharmaceutical manufacturing due to unprecedented accuracy, efficiency, and flexibility in drug delivery. HME is a robust and solventless technique which enables not only improving the solubility and bioavailability of poorly water-soluble drugs but also optimizes the process of pharmaceutical manufacturing. In combination with FDM 3D printing, HME makes it possible to manufacture drug-loaded filaments, which can be tailored into customized dosage forms with controlled release profiles. Thus, the synergistic effect between the two techniques provides the possibility of manufacturing customized polypills, multilayer systems and other complex geometrical structures, which will increase the effectiveness of therapies. HME-FDM not only works in the area of oral drug delivery systems but also reaches its potential in implantable drug delivery devices, bioresorbable scaffolds, and other medical devices, becoming an important part of precision and regenerative medicine. This paper analyzes the use of Hot Melt Extrusion (HME) and 3D Printing (FDM) techniques in the manufacturing process of pharmaceuticals.
Endophytic bacteria, that naturally inhabit the healthy tissues of plants hold significant potential in producing various plant growth promoting (PGP) substances. Although, endophytic bacteria have been explored in many plant species, limited work has been carried out in finger millet (Eleusine coracana L.), a nutrient-dense crop notable for its high protein, calcium and polyphenol content. Therefore, the present study aimed at isolating and identifying potent endophytic bacterial strains exhibiting diverse in vitro PGP traits from different parts of finger millet. 35 endophytic bacterial isolates were acquired from different plant parts and screened for multiple PGP attributes, viz., ammonia, indole−3-acetic acid (IAA), phosphate solubilization, siderophores production and enzymatic activities such as catalase, protease, and cellulase. Quantitative assessments revealed that 60
The Indian Vedic practice of yajña involves the combustion of a mixture of medicinal herbs (samagri) accompanied by Vedic chanting. Traditionally revered for its psychological and environmental benefits, yajña has increasingly gained scientific interest for its potential biomedical and ecological impacts. This study presents a comprehensive and critical review of modern scientific literature exploring the environmental cleansing effects and antimicrobial properties of yajña fumes and by-products. Recent findings suggest that yajña fumes contain bioactive compounds which include phenols, terpenoids, and flavonoids, produced during the controlled combustion of pharmacologically significant herbs such as Cinnamomum camphora, Syzygium aromaticum, Santalum album, Sesamum indicum, Commiphora wightii, etc. These compounds have been shown to reduce airborne pathogens, selectively eliminating harmful bacteria while allowing beneficial strains such as the Bacillus genus to persist. The volatile organic compounds released during yajña are further noted for their natural abilities to purify air, degrade pollutants, and enhance soil microbial activity through nutrient-rich ashes. Despite a growing number of individual studies pointing to yajña’s effects on air quality and ecosystem health, there remains a lack of consolidated, holistic research using standardised scientific methodologies. This paper addresses these gaps, synthesises available evidence across disciplines, and proposes a framework for future research to better understand how yajña could be integrated into modern eco-health and sustainable environmental practices.
Human carbonic anhydrase XII (hCA-XII) is a promising medicinal target for designing selective inhibitors. In the present work, three acetazolamide derivatives (D1-D3) were analyzed by DFT method, molecular docking, QTAIM analysis, MESP calculation, molecular dynamics (MD) simulation, MM/PBSA binding free energy estimation and ADMET predictions. DFT study found D2 derivative to be most reactive, whereas D3 derivative was the most electrostatically polar. The results of molecular docking have shown higher binding affinities of both D2 and D3 in comparison with acetazolamide, but D2 derivative exhibited the best binding interactions. QTAIM and MESP analyses have confirmed the formation of non-covalent interactions, which are responsible for stabilization of the hCA-XII active site. MD simulation and MM/PBSA approach have proven that D2 forms the most stable protein-ligand complex with the strongest binding free energy, although D3 showed higher structural flexibility, despite of the good docking interaction.
The global rise in obesity has emerged as a major health concern and is closely associated with various metabolic disorders. During obesity, adipocytes undergo hypertrophy and hyperplasia and secrete various adipocytokines, including visfatin, which affect energy metabolism. The crosstalk between adipokines and pancreatic β-cells, commonly described as the adipo-insular axis, regulates metabolic homeostasis. Visfatin has emerged as a key regulator linking obesity to pancreatic β-cell survival and function; however, the mechanism underlying this association remains controversial. In the present study, we have investigated this question in vitro using mouse β-TC-6 cells exposed to visfatin and further validated in a high-fat high-fructose diet (HFHF) fed obese mice model. We observed that at lower concentrations, visfatin promotes β-TC-6 cell survival and proliferation, whereas at higher concentrations it induces β-cell dysfunction and apoptosis, and activates signaling pathways for cell survival and apoptosis, respectively. Furthermore, differentiated adipocytes showed increased lipid accumulation and visfatin expression. HFHF diet fed obese mice showed increased levels of insulin and visfatin in the pancreatic islets and adipose tissues, respectively. This study identifies visfatin as a dose-dependent regulator of pancreatic β-cell homeostasis and function, and suggests that visfatin-mediated pathways may be a novel target for diabesity treatment.
Shillong plateau, located in the northeastern region of India, has experienced several significant earthquakes, including the 1897 Assam earthquake (M = 8.1), and is highly prone to landslides due to its complex tectonic framework. In this study, Fracture-Induced Electromagnetic Radiation (FEMR) technique was employed to investigate the distribution of recent near surface stress orientations along major faults and lineaments across the plateau. FEMR data analysis indicates that the dominant maximum horizontal stress orientation across the plateau falls within the range of 120° to 140°, NNW-SSE. We further examined slip tendency along such faults and lineaments in response to the recent stresses, highlighting the zones of potential neo-tectonic activity. Furthermore, landslide occurrences were analysed concerning the proximity of faults and lineaments categorised as per their slip tendency, to test the susceptibility of local near-surface stresses in slope instability. These findings offer improved constraints on the near-surface stress regime and its role in fault reactivation and geomorphic processes, thereby contributing to the understanding of active tectonics of the Shillong plateau.
Crop diseases present a significant threat to agricultural production, resulting in substantial economic losses, particularly in regions such as India, where agriculture contributes approximately 18 p > 0.05 ) while using only 7.22M parameters (+ 0.26M over DenseNet-121) at identical 2.87 GFLOPs and 554 s throughput on NVIDIA RTX 3060, establishing it as a competitive yet efficient backbone rather than a uniformly superior one. To address poor visibility, we integrate a dehazing front-end and quantitatively compare Dark Channel Prior (DCP) and AOD-Net using PSNR/SSIM. Under synthetic haze, classification balanced accuracy drops by up to 16 points; dehazing recovers nearly all of it (e.g., Potato 0.892 hazy → 0.990 with DCP). Class imbalance is handled with a class-weighted cross-entropy loss, and model decisions are interpreted with confusion-matrix error analysis and Grad-CAM. These findings underscore the potential of early-detection systems to reduce yield losses through timely intervention, even under adverse environmental conditions.
The study presents an analysis of publications of Council of Scientific and Industrial Research-Junior Research Fellowship (CSIR-JRF) funded scholars for the period from 2010 to 2024 as reflected in the Web of Science database i.e. 13,414 articles, aiming to analyse the output of the research activity funded. The focus is on the number of research papers published, author productivity pattern, types of documents, collaboration of authors and research landscape analysis. VOS viewer and bibliometric were used to generate citation analysis, network maps and publication trends. The analysis showed that the number of publications increased over the years with annual growth rate (16.6
Testicular germ cell apoptosis is a fine-tuned physiological program. Chronic consumption of saturated fatty acid (SFA)-rich high fat diet (HFD) impairs male reproduction. Olive oil containing majorly monounsaturated fatty acid-oleic acid is primary fat source in Mediterranean diet. The present study was designed to investigate the ameliorative effect of dietary shift from SFA to olive oil upon murine testicular dysfunction in obesity focusing on insulin resistance, oxidative stress and mitochondrial apoptosis in testicular germ cells, spermatozoa and Leydig cells. Three dietary groups of male mice were used: SD (low-fat standard diet), HFD (SFA-rich diet) and HFD + OD (SFA-rich diet and then shifted to olive oil-based diet). After sacrifice at same time point, histology, hormonal profile and insulin signaling were evaluated along with prooxidant: antioxidant status, germ cell mitochondrial membrane potential and apoptotic markers. Leydig cell line treated with fatty acids- palmitate and oleate were analyzed. HFD intake damaged testicular histoarchitecture, and in germ cells upregulated NADPH oxidase isoforms, downregulated Nrf2-Keap1-NQO1-HO1-catalase axis, induced oxidative stress disrupting mitochondrial membrane potential and thereby activating intrinsic apoptosis. Palmitate stimulated mitochondrial apoptosis in Leydig cells and hampered steroidogenesis. Dietary shift to olive oil and oleate exerted antioxidant and anti-apoptotic effects in testicular germ cells, spermatozoa and Leydig cells improving spermatogenesis and restoring steroidogenesis. The data establish efficacy of olive oil in mitigating obesity-induced mitochondrial dysfunction in the testis. Olive oil intervention could be an effective dietary option in management of male infertility in obesity and diabetes.
The growing demand for lightweight and high strength materials attracted the use of aluminium alloy composites for various engineering applications with ceramic reinforcements. Besides, the use of agro-waste materials-based reinforcements enhance the sustainability of the aluminium alloy composites. This study presents the fabrication and characterization of AA 2024-based hybrid metal matrix composites (HMMCs) reinforced with boron carbide (B₄C) and sugarcane bagasse ash (SBA) via two-stage stir casting technique. Four different compositions were developed and evaluated for their mechanical behavior, including tensile, flexural, micro-hardness, and impact performance, as per ASTM standards. Among the samples, the hybrid composite with 4
The quest for sustainable and efficient heterogeneous catalysts for biodiesel production is a critical challenge, especially for low-cost, high free fatty acid (FFA) feedstocks. This study investigates the synthesis of amorphous Fe78Nb14B8 powder by mechanical alloying and its application as a heterogeneous catalyst in biodiesel production from soybean and waste cooking oils. The material was characterized to confirm its amorphous structure, mesoporous texture, and magnetic properties. Results confirmed the formation of an amorphous structure with a mesoporous texture, exhibiting a BET surface area of 4.8 m2/g and soft magnetic behavior. Catalytic tests conducted in a pressurized reactor achieved a biodiesel yield of 68.76
Titanium dioxide (TiO2) nanoparticles were successfully synthesized via an eco-friendly green route using Solanum torvum leaf extract, which is reported here for the first time as a biogenic reducing and stabilizing agent. The synthesized nanoparticles exhibited a nanocrystalline structure with an average crystallite size of 17 nm and a direct optical bandgap of 3.19 eV, indicating their suitability for semiconductor-based applications. Morphological analysis confirmed predominantly spherical nanoparticles with slight agglomeration. The functional involvement of plant-derived biomolecules in nanoparticle formation was evident from spectroscopic analysis. Electrochemical studies demonstrated high specific capacitance, highlighting the potential of the material for energy storage applications such as supercapacitors. In addition, the nanoparticles showed enhanced antibacterial activity against tested bacterial strains compared to standard references, suggesting promising biomedical applicability. Overall, the study demonstrates that Solanum torvum-mediated TiO2 nanoparticles offer a sustainable, cost-effective, and multifunctional material platform for energy and biomedical applications.
High prediction precision is critical in predicting smart class outcomes to boost educational decision-making. A machine learning (ML) algorithm, stacking regression (stacking R), was adopted in research because it can aggregate multiple base regressors, improving prediction precision and stability. The model is effective in capturing complex data relationships by tapping into multiple regression’s strengths, removing bias as well as variability to boost generalizability. To minimize error rates in prediction as much as possible, a Stacking R model was combined with three optimization algorithms: Honey Badger Optimizer Algorithm (HBOA), Slime Mould Optimization Algorithm (SMOA), and Archimedes Optimization Algorithm (AOA). The optimizers were adopted to boost model parameters, leading to improved convergence and prediction precision. Three optimized models, i.e., STHB, STSM, and STAO, were established. The models’ performances were assessed in three phases: training, validation, and testing. The outcomes confirmed that, in validation, the lowest RMSE measure of 1.6921 was achieved by the STHB model, outdoing STAO and STSM, which achieved 2.3827 and 2.4497 as their measures of RMSE, respectively. The outcomes confirmed that the addition of optimization algorithms greatly improves prediction performance, with HBOA-optimized having made the closest predictions. The addition of Stacking Regression with methods of optimization greatly minimizes prediction error, hence improving smart class prediction reliability. The approach gives a sound platform for improving educational data analysis, leading towards enhanced academic decision-making.
