The structural, stability, electronic, optical and thermodynamic properties of MoX2 (X= S, Se, and Te) under hydrostatic pressures: a plasmon approach and first-principle study

CONTEXT

The new equations have been developed for the structural and electronic properties using the plasmon calculations for the first time for 2-D MoX2 structures. Literature shows still an extensive study is required on the stability and optical properties of MoX2 under different hydrostatic pressures and thermal properties under different temperatures using the first principles, for electronic industrial applications. The stability is analyzed using binding energy and phonon calculations. The phase transition of metallization of MoX2 is discussed using band structure calculations under different hydrostatic pressures. The calculated work function shows the photoemission starts from the threshold frequency of 4.189×104 cm-1, 3.184×104 cm-1, and 3.651×104 cm-1, respectively, for MoS2, MoSe2, and MoTe2 materials. The optical properties such as refractive index n(0), and static dielectric permittivity ε(0) for three successive materials are calculated under different hydrostatic pressures, applicable for optoelectronic applications. The calculated theoretical and computational values agree well with each other and also agree with reported and experimental values. Some of the values are calculated for the first time.

METHODS

The theoretical equations are derived using the molecular weight, effective valence electrons, and density of molecule of MoX2 structures. The simulation work is performed using GGA-PBE approximation in the CASTEP simulation package with DFT+D semi-empirical dispersion correction. An ultra-soft pseudopotential representation calculates the electronic and optical properties with a finite basis set kinetic energy cut-off of 381.0 eV. Each geometry has been optimized using Broyden, Fletcher, Goldfarb, and Shanno's (BFGS) algorithm for 100 iterations with a fixed basis quality variable cell method and finite electronic minimization parameters. The phonon calculations were performed using TDFT with a kinetic energy cut of 460 eV in a norm-conserving linear response method. The interpolation with a finite dispersion quality and q-vector grid spacing is performed.

Transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion with placement of steerable banana cage: A single-center retrospective analysis of radiographic parameters of success

INTRODUCTION

The transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion (TLIF) is among the most utilized methods for the surgical treatment of lumbar degenerative disc disease. The TLIF has advanced significantly with several iterative changes since its inception in the early 1980s, with the advent of several generations of interbody types, shapes, and materials. Steerable curvilinear interbodies are among the most recent innovations in this space and may offer biomechanical advantages, namely in preservation of lumbar and segmental lordosis. While radiographic parameters have been investigated for other cage shapes and lumbar interbody fusion techniques, no study has investigated postoperative radiographic outcomes specific to TLIFs done with curvilinear interbodies.

METHODS

This study is a retrospective review of TLIFs performed with curvilinear interbodies between 2019 and 2022 at a single institution. Upright radiographs were obtained preoperatively and at several timepoints postoperatively. Radiographic variables including interspace height and segmental lordosis were collected.

RESULTS

26 surgeries with 32 curvilinear interbodies were performed across 3 years. There was significant increase in segmental lordosis at the L4-L5 (p = 0.0183) and L5-S1 levels (p = 0.004) as well as interspace height postoperatively at levels L3-L4 (p = 0.011) and L4-L5 (p = 0.002). Pain as measured with the numeric rating scale significantly improved in the overall cohort postoperatively (p<0.001).

CONCLUSIONS

TLIF with curvilinear interbody placement increases segmental lordosis and interspace height at the L4-L5 and L5-S1 levels, and increased interspace height at the L3-L4 and L4-L5 levels. Further investigation into additional radiographic parameters is warranted and expanded cohort size would benefit deeper analysis of other spinal levels.

IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE

As an increasing number of cage designs and materials are brought to market, studies such as this allow for better understanding of cage specific outcomes allowing for better informed device selection.

High prevalence of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) antibodies among unvaccinated children of Chandigarh, Northwest India, in a household-based paediatric serosurvey post-second wave of pandemic (June to July 2021)

OBJECTIVE

Current national severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) vaccination policy covers children aged >12 years. Unvaccinated, uninfected children remain susceptible to SARS-CoV-2 and play a role in community transmission, as paediatric infection is mostly mild or asymptomatic. To estimate the proportion of susceptible children in a community for public health measures, there is a need to assess the extent of natural infection.

STUDY DESIGN

We performed a cross-sectional household serosurvey of SARS-CoV-2 antibodies in unvaccinated children aged between 6 and 18 years after the second COVID-19 wave.

METHODS

Anti-SARS-CoV-2 immunoglobin G (IgG) testing in serum was done using chemiluminescence immunoassay. We used a logistic regression model to investigate predicted factors of seropositivity.

RESULTS

We observed a high prevalence (weighted average: 68.3%) of anti-SARS-CoV-2 IgG in 2700 enrolled children. Logistic regression for predictors of IgG seropositivity showed lower odds in households with completely vaccinated adults (adjusted odds ratio [OR]: 0.43, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.26-0.71, P = 0.0011) compared with households with unvaccinated adults. Other factors for low seropositivity included frontline workers as family members (adjusted OR: 0.69, 95% CI: 0.52-0.91, P = 0.0091) and non-crowded households (adjusted OR: 0.74, 95% CI: 0.61-0.89, P = 0.0019).

CONCLUSION

A high SARS-CoV-2 IgG prevalence in unvaccinated children was indicative of previous exposure to potentially infected contacts. This implies in-person academic activities for children can be continued during future community transmission. Comparatively lower seropositivity in children of completely vaccinated households or frontline workers suggests decreased transmission due to vaccination-induced immunity of family members. Vaccination will still be required in these children to maintain protective IgG levels, particularly in low seroprevalence groups.

SEVERITY OF MITRAL REGURGITATION AND ITS ASSOCIATION WITH LEFT VENTRICULAR DYSFUNCTION AND BRAIN-NATRIURETIC PEPTIDE LEVELS IN PATIENTS WITH ACUTE DECOMPENSATED HEART FAILURE

Acute decompensated heart failure (ADHF) is greatly influenced by levels of brain-natriuretic peptides (BNP) and thereby may have strong correlation with severity of mitral regurgitation (MR) and left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF). The available data on its association is limited which sought us to investigate correlations between type of ADHF, BNP levels and severity of MR. A single-center, cross-sectional, observational study was conducted at Sri Ramachandra Institute of Higher Education and Research, Chennai, India. Adults aged >18 years, either gender, diagnosed as ADHF requiring hospital admission within 24 hours were incorporated into the research.Between June 2019 to June 2020, we included 79 patients of ADHF. The mean age was 64.9±11 years and 60.8% were males. The mean LVEF was 40.2±10.2%. The severity of MR was severe, moderate, and mild in 3.8%, 21.5% and 74.7% of patients, respectively. The proportion of patients with moderate to severe MR was significantly higher in ADHF patients with reduced EF compared to mid-range or preserved EF. The median levels of BNP significantly increased from 520.0 pg/ml in mild MR to 1020.0 pg/ml in moderate and 1410.0 pg/ml in severe MR. In patients with ADHF, MR is a common finding. The severity of MR is associated with greater reduction in ejection fraction. Determination of MR severity is essential in all ADHF cases. Further, stratification of patients using BNP levels may help in identifying those at higher risk of adverse outcomes in ADHF.

Inferring the diurnal variability of OH radical concentrations over the Amazon from BVOC measurements

The atmospheric oxidation of biogenic volatile organic compounds (BVOC) by OH radicals over tropical rainforests impacts local particle production and the lifetime of globally distributed chemically and radiatively active gases. For the pristine Amazon rainforest during the dry season, we empirically determined the diurnal OH radical variability at the forest-atmosphere interface region between 80 and 325 m from 07:00 to 15:00 LT using BVOC measurements. A dynamic time warping approach was applied showing that median averaged mixing times between 80 to 325 m decrease from 105 to 15 min over this time period. The inferred OH concentrations show evidence for an early morning OH peak (07:00-08:00 LT) and an OH maximum (14:00 LT) reaching 2.2 (0.2, 3.8) × 106 molecules cm-3 controlled by the coupling between BVOC emission fluxes, nocturnal NOx accumulation, convective turbulence, air chemistry and photolysis rates. The results were evaluated with a turbulence resolving transport (DALES), a regional scale (WRF-Chem) and a global (EMAC) atmospheric chemistry model.

Measurements of jet multiplicity and jet transverse momentum in multijet events in proton-proton collisions at s=13TeV

Multijet events at large transverse momentum (p T ) are measured at s = 13 Te V using data recorded with the CMS detector at the LHC, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 36.3 fb - 1 . The multiplicity of jets with p T > 50 Ge V that are produced in association with a high-p T dijet system is measured in various ranges of the p T of the jet with the highest transverse momentum and as a function of the azimuthal angle difference Δ ϕ 1 , 2 between the two highest p T jets in the dijet system. The differential production cross sections are measured as a function of the transverse momenta of the four highest p T jets. The measurements are compared with leading and next-to-leading order matrix element calculations supplemented with simulations of parton shower, hadronization, and multiparton interactions. In addition, the measurements are compared with next-to-leading order matrix element calculations combined with transverse-momentum dependent parton densities and transverse-momentum dependent parton shower.

Azimuthal Correlations within Exclusive Dijets with Large Momentum Transfer in Photon-Lead Collisions

The structure of nucleons is multidimensional and depends on the transverse momenta, spatial geometry, and polarization of the constituent partons. Such a structure can be studied using high-energy photons produced in ultraperipheral heavy-ion collisions. The first measurement of the azimuthal angular correlations of exclusively produced events with two jets in photon-lead interactions at large momentum transfer is presented, a process that is considered to be sensitive to the underlying nuclear gluon polarization. This study uses a data sample of ultraperipheral lead-lead collisions at sqrt[s_{NN}]=5.02  TeV, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 0.38  nb^{-1}, collected with the CMS experiment at the LHC. The measured second harmonic of the correlation between the sum and difference of the two jet transverse momentum vectors is found to be positive, and rising, as the dijet transverse momentum increases. A well-tuned model that has been successful at describing a wide range of proton scattering data from the HERA experiments fails to describe the observed correlations, suggesting the presence of gluon polarization effects.

Measurement of the mass dependence of the transverse momentum of lepton pairs in Drell-Yan production in proton-proton collisions at s=13TeV

The double differential cross sections of the Drell-Yan lepton pair (ℓ + ℓ - , dielectron or dimuon) production are measured as functions of the invariant mass m ℓ ℓ , transverse momentum p T ( ℓ ℓ ) , and φ η ∗ . The φ η ∗ observable, derived from angular measurements of the leptons and highly correlated with p T ( ℓ ℓ ) , is used to probe the low-p T ( ℓ ℓ ) region in a complementary way. Dilepton masses up to 1Te V are investigated. Additionally, a measurement is performed requiring at least one jet in the final state. To benefit from partial cancellation of the systematic uncertainty, the ratios of the differential cross sections for various m ℓ ℓ ranges to those in the Z mass peak interval are presented. The collected data correspond to an integrated luminosity of 36.3fb - 1 of proton-proton collisions recorded with the CMS detector at the LHC at a centre-of-mass energy of 13Te V . Measurements are compared with predictions based on perturbative quantum chromodynamics, including soft-gluon resummation.

THE MICROBIOME AND METABOLIC DISORDERS: THE LINK BETWEEN THE GUT MICROBIOTA AND METABOLIC SYNDROME

The diverse population of microbes that live in our digestive system, known as the gut microbiota, remains essential for many physiological processes. It plays a role in obtaining energy from food and controls both regional and overall immunity. In addition, changes in the microbiota of the digestive tract are connected to the emergence of an extensive variety of illnesses, such as cancer, gastrointestinal problems, and metabolic disorders. From a metabolic perspective, the gut microbiota can affect processes like lipid accumulation, lipopolysaccharide satisfied, and short-chain fatty acid synthesis, all of which have an effect on food intake, inflammatory reactions, and insulin signaling. Prebiotics, probiotics, specialized anti-diabetic medications, and faecalmicrobiota implantation are a few of the ways that have been discovered to alter the gut microbiota; each has a different influence the human body's metabolism and the emergence of metabolic disorders. These therapies have been reported to be therapeutic strategies for enhancing general wellness and reestablishing a balanced gut flora.

POSTCHOLECYSTECTOMY SYNDROME: UNDERSTANDING THE CAUSES AND DEVELOPING TREATMENT STRATEGIES FOR PERSISTENT BILIARY SYMPTOMS AFTER GALLBLADDER REMOVAL

Persistent biliary symptoms following gallbladder removal, known as postcholecystectomy (PCS), can significantly impact patients' quality of life. The term PCS describes biliary symptoms that emerge or continue after the surgical removal of the gallbladder. Cholecystectomy is generally a safe procedure; however, some individuals may still experience symptoms of the biliary system thereafter. Biliary stones are more likely to be retained in patients who arrive later. Many of those people won't have a known reason for their condition. Therefore, this group will have fewer therapy alternatives. After a cholecystectomy, up to 10% of individuals may develop PCS. Patients with cholecystectomy procedures can appear with extra-biliary and associated biological illnesses. A wide range of therapeutic options are available for PCS, each having a different chance of being the cause of the condition. The purpose of this study is to present an overview of the many causes of PCS, as well as the effectiveness and prevalence of various treatments. PCS has a variety of etiologies, many of which may be related to extra-biliary reasons that may exist before the operation. From the beginning, an endoscopy of the upper gastrointestinal tract may be necessary when symptoms first appear. Biliary rocks are more likely to be retained in patient presentations that are postponed. PCS has various causes, including extra-biliary conditions that could have existed before operations. Initial symptoms might involve higher digestive problems. As a result, this group will only have a few therapeutic alternatives.

CARDIAC REHABILITATION: IMPROVING OUTCOMES FOR PATIENTS WITH HEART DISEASE

To evaluate the extent to that blood pressure management objectives are fulfilled in patients with Diabetes Mellitus (DM) and hypertension (HT), as well as the impact of the Cardiac Rehabilitation plan on the patient's useful ability, mental health, and pathological risk factors. The Cardiac Rehabilitation (CR) participants' anthropometric measurements, medications, lipid profiles, and medical and social backgrounds were all the subjects of the 19-month data collection. The parameters of the topics' minute walk test and Patient Health Questionnaire(PHQ) were further investigated. The Calvary Public Hospital in Canberra's CR program sessions required participants to show up for at least 10 of the sessions to be qualified. Seventy-nine people took part in the research. Significant reductions in low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol levels in the blood of participants, as well as gains in a patient health questionnaire and 6 min walk test (6MWT) scores, were seen. Additionally, people increased drug management. Results showed considerable improvements in diastolic blood pressure, physical capacity, depression, and anxiety in DM patients. A cardiac rehabilitation program may lower cardiovascular disease risk factors while enhancing participants' physical and emotional well-being. Results shown the cardiac rehabilitation program lowers the risk factors linked with DM patients' cardiovascular and renal disease via increased physical fitness and decreased levels of anxiety and despair.

MicroLED/LED electro-optical integration techniques for non-display applications

MicroLEDs offer an extraordinary combination of high luminance, high energy efficiency, low cost, and long lifetime. These characteristics are highly desirable in various applications, but their usage has, to date, been primarily focused toward next-generation display technologies. Applications of microLEDs in other technologies, such as projector systems, computational imaging, communication systems, or neural stimulation, have been limited. In non-display applications which use microLEDs as light sources, modifications in key electrical and optical characteristics such as external efficiency, output beam shape, modulation bandwidth, light output power, and emission wavelengths are often needed for optimum performance. A number of advanced fabrication and processing techniques have been used to achieve these electro-optical characteristics in microLEDs. In this article, we review the non-display application areas of the microLEDs, the distinct opto-electrical characteristics required for these applications, and techniques that integrate the optical and electrical components on the microLEDs to improve system-level efficacy and performance.

Clinical and ultrasonographic assessment of airway indices among non-pregnant, normotensive pregnant and pre-eclamptic patients: a prospective observational study

BACKGROUND

Prediction of a difficult airway is of paramount importance for an anaesthesiologist. Various anatomical and physiological factors contribute to a difficult airway in pregnant females, especially those with pre-eclampsia. The aim of the study was to assess airway indices using both routinely used clinical methods and ultrasound.

METHODS

Fifty-five non-pregnant females, 55 normotensive pregnant females and 55 females with pre-eclampsia were included in this prospective study. Clinical airway assessment was the modified Mallampati score, thyromental distance, hyomental distance, hyomental distance ratio, chest circumference, neck circumference and chest-to-neck circumference ratio. Sonographic assessment included tongue width, tongue volume, anterior neck soft tissue thickness at the level of hyoid, epiglottis and vocal cords, subglottic diameter, ratio of pre-epiglottic space to anterior, posterior and midpoint of anterior and posterior vocal folds.

RESULTS

Several significant differences were observed between pregnant and non-pregnant females, with additional changes in pre-eclamptic females. These included clinical parameters such as the modified Mallampati score and sonographic measurements of tongue width, tongue volume, subglottic diameter, anterior neck soft tissue thickness at the level of hyoid, epiglottis and vocal cords, and the ratio of pre-epiglottic space to anterior, posterior and midpoint of anterior and posterior vocal folds.

CONCLUSION

Routinely used clinical methods of airway assessment lack sensitivity and specificity. Ultrasound can visualise anatomical structures in the supraglottic and subglottic views and is encouraging as an airway assessment tool.

Beneficial effects of Naringin against lopinavir/ ritonavir-induced hyperlipidemia and reproductive toxicity in male albino rats

OBJECTIVE

This research work was planned to determine whether Naringin (NG) had any protective effects against lopinavir/ritonavir (LR)-induced alterations in blood lipid levels, hepatotoxicity, and testicular toxicity.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Four groups of six rats each were used for the study: Control (1% ethanol), naringin (80 mg/kg), lopinavir (80 mg/kg)/ritonavir (20 mg/kg), and lopinavir (80 mg/kg)/ritonavir (20 mg/kg) + naringin (80 mg/kg). The drug treatment was continued for 30 days. On the last day, the serum lipid fractions, liver biochemical parameters, testicular antioxidants (enzymatic and non-enzymatic), and the histopathology of the liver and testis tissue were assessed for all rats.

RESULTS

Treatment with NG decreased significantly (p<0.05), the baseline serum levels of triglycerides (TG), total cholesterol (TC), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (VLDL-C), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), and increased high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C). But these parameters were significantly (p<0.05) increased in LR-treated animals. Naringin, co-administered with LR, restored the liver and testicular biochemical, morphological, and histological balance.

CONCLUSIONS

This study shows that NG can be used as a treatment for LR-induced biochemical and histological changes in the liver and testes and changes in serum lipid levels.

Efficient production of a polyhydroxyalkanoate by Azotobacter vinelandii OP using apple residues as promising feedstock

Fruit residues are attractive substrates for the production of bacterial polyhydroxyalkanoates due to the high contents of fermentable sugars and the fast, simple, and efficient pretreatment methods required. In this study, apple residues, mainly apple peel, were used as the sole carbon source in cultures of the bacterium Azotobacter vinelandii OP to produce poly-3-hydroxybutyrate (P3HB). Conversion from the residue to total sugars was highly effective, achieving conversions of up to 65.4 % w w^-1 when using 1 % v v^-1 sulfuric acid and 58.3 % w w^-1 in the absence of acid (only water). The cultures were evaluated at the shake-flask scale and in 3-L bioreactors using a defined medium under nitrogen starvation conditions. The results showed the production of up to 3.94 g L^-1 P3HB in a bioreactor, reaching an accumulation of 67.3 % w w^-1 when using apple residues. For the PHB obtained from the cultures with apple residues, a melting point of 179.99 °C and a maximum degradation temperature of 274.64 °C were calculated. A P3HB production strategy is shown using easily hydrolysable fruit residues to achieve production yields comparable to those obtained with pure sugars under similar cultivation conditions.

Alloreactivity and autoreactivity converge to support B cell epitope targeting in transplant rejection

Antibody (Ab) responses against human leukocyte antigen (HLA) proteins mismatched between donor and recipient are leading cause of allograft loss in kidney transplantation. However, therapies targeting alloreactive B cell and Ab-secreting cell (ASC) are lacking, motivating the need to understand how to prevent and abrogate these alloresponses. Using molecular, structural, and proteomic techniques, we profiled the B cell response in a kidney transplant recipient with antibody-mediated rejection and graft loss. We found that this response spanned the rejected organ and peripheral blood, stimulated the differentiation of multiple B cell subsets, and produced a high-affinity, donor-specific, anti-HLA response. We found epitopic immunodominance that relied on highly exposed, solvent-accessible mismatched HLA residues as well as structural and biomolecular evidence of autoreactivity against the recipient's self-HLA allele. These alloreactive and autoreactive signatures converged in the recipient's circulating donor-specific Ab repertoire, suggesting that rejection requires both the recognition of non-self and breaches of tolerance to lead to alloinjury and graft loss.

Global survival trends for brain tumors, by histology: analysis of individual records for 556,237 adults diagnosed in 59 countries during 2000-2014 (CONCORD-3)

BACKGROUND

Survival is a key metric of the effectiveness of a health system in managing cancer. We set out to provide a comprehensive examination of worldwide variation and trends in survival from brain tumors in adults, by histology.

METHODS

We analyzed individual data for adults (15-99 years) diagnosed with a brain tumor (ICD-O-3 topography code C71) during 2000-2014, regardless of tumor behavior. Data underwent a 3-phase quality control as part of CONCORD-3. We estimated net survival for 11 histology groups, using the unbiased nonparametric Pohar Perme estimator.

RESULTS

The study included 556,237 adults. In 2010-2014, the global range in age-standardized 5-year net survival for the most common sub-types was broad: in the range 20%-38% for diffuse and anaplastic astrocytoma, from 4% to 17% for glioblastoma, and between 32% and 69% for oligodendroglioma. For patients with glioblastoma, the largest gains in survival occurred between 2000-2004 and 2005-2009. These improvements were more noticeable among adults diagnosed aged 40-70 years than among younger adults.

CONCLUSIONS

To the best of our knowledge, this study provides the largest account to date of global trends in population-based survival for brain tumors by histology in adults. We have highlighted remarkable gains in 5-year survival from glioblastoma since 2005, providing large-scale empirical evidence on the uptake of chemoradiation at population level. Worldwide, survival improvements have been extensive, but some countries still lag behind. Our findings may help clinicians involved in national and international tumor pathway boards to promote initiatives aimed at more extensive implementation of clinical guidelines.

Personalized transcranial alternating current stimulation improves sleep quality: Initial findings

Insufficient sleep is a major health issue. Inadequate sleep is associated with an array of poor health outcomes, including cardiovascular disease, diabetes, obesity, certain forms of cancer, Alzheimer's disease, depression, anxiety, and suicidality. Given concerns with typical sedative hypnotic drugs for treating sleep difficulties, there is a compelling need for alternative interventions. Here, we report results of a non-invasive electrical brain stimulation approach to optimizing sleep involving transcranial alternating current stimulation (tACS). A total of 25 participants (mean age: 46.3, S.D. ± 12.4, 15 females) were recruited for a null-stimulation controlled (Control condition), within subjects, randomized crossed design, that included two variants of an active condition involving 15 min pre-sleep tACS stimulation. To evaluate the impact on sleep quality, the two active tACS stimulation conditions were designed to modulate sleep-dependent neural activity in the theta/alpha frequency bands, with both stimulation types applied to all subjects in separate sessions. The first tACS condition used a fixed stimulation pattern across all participants, a pattern composed of stimulation at 5 and 10 Hz. The second tACS condition used a personalized stimulation approach with the stimulation frequencies determined by each individual's peak EEG frequencies in the 4-6 Hz and 9-11 Hz bands. Personalized tACS stimulation increased sleep quantity (duration) by 22 min compared to a Control condition (p = 0.04), and 19 min compared to Fixed tACS stimulation (p = 0.03). Fixed stimulation did not significantly increase sleep duration compared to Control (mean: 3 min; p = 0.75). For sleep onset, the Personalized tACS stimulation resulted in reducing the onset by 28% compared to the Fixed tACS stimulation (6 min faster, p = 0.02). For a Poor Sleep sub-group (n = 13) categorized with Clinical Insomnia and a high insomnia severity, Personalized tACS stimulation improved sleep duration by 33 min compared to Fixed stimulation (p = 0.02), and 30 min compared to Control condition (p < 0.1). Together, these results suggest that Personalized stimulation improves sleep quantity and time taken to fall asleep relative to Control and Fixed stimulation providing motivation for larger-scale trials for Personalized tACS as a sleep therapeutic, including for those with insomnia.

Moving the stakeholder journey forward

Though the customer journey (CJ) is gaining traction, its limited customer focus overlooks the dynamics characterizing other stakeholders' (e.g., employees'/suppliers') journeys, thus calling for an extension to the stakeholder journey (SJ). Addressing this gap, we advance the SJ, which covers any stakeholder's journey with the firm. We argue that firms' consideration of the SJ, defined as a stakeholder's trajectory of role-related touchpoints and activities, enacted through stakeholder engagement, that collectively shape the stakeholder experience with the firm, enhances their stakeholder relationship management and performance outcomes. We also view the SJ in a network of intersecting journeys that are characterized by interdependence theory's structural tenets of stakeholder control, covariation of interest, mutuality of dependence, information availability, and temporal journey structure, which we view to impact stakeholders' journey-based engagement and experience, as formalized in a set of Propositions. We conclude with theoretical (e.g., further research) and practical (e.g., SJ design/management) implications.

Measurements of the associated production of a W boson and a charm quark in proton-proton collisions at s = 8 TeV

Measurements of the associated production of a W boson and a charm ( c ) quark in proton-proton collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of 8 TeV are reported. The analysis uses a data sample corresponding to a total integrated luminosity of 19.7 fb - 1 collected by the CMS detector at the LHC. The W bosons are identified through their leptonic decays to an electron or a muon, and a neutrino. Charm quark jets are selected using distinctive signatures of charm hadron decays. The product of the cross section and branching fraction σ ( pp → W + c + X ) B ( W → ℓ ν ) , where ℓ = e or μ , and the cross section ratio σ ( pp → W + + c ¯ + X ) / σ ( pp → W - + c + X ) are measured in a fiducial volume and differentially as functions of the pseudorapidity and of the transverse momentum of the lepton from the W boson decay. The results are compared with theoretical predictions. The impact of these measurements on the determination of the strange quark distribution is assessed.

Influence of information source regarding COVID-19 knowledge among the undergraduate dental students during the early lockdown: a multi-national study

OBJECTIVE

To assess the influence of information sources on the knowledge regarding COVID-19 among undergraduate dental students in India, Saudi Arabia, Malaysia, and Turkey.

SUBJECTS AND METHODS

An online questionnaire in a Google form link was circulated among the target population via various online platforms. It consisted of 14 close-ended questions assessing these students' knowledge and source of COVID-19-related information. SPSS software version 21.0 (IBM Corp., Armonk, NY, USA) was used to compute descriptive statistics, Chi-square test, independent t-test, and ANOVA tests for comparing various variables, and a p-value<0.05 was considered statistically significant.

RESULTS

The study yielded 809 responses from dental undergraduate students from India, Saudi Arabia, Malaysia, and Turkey. Dental students from Turkey reported a higher mean knowledge score of 7.91±1.34 and 7.88±0.58 for Malaysian dental students. In contrast, the lower scores were achieved by Saudi Arabia (7.36±1.22) and India (7.37±1.21) dental students, and the findings were statistically significant (p<0.05). The study population used various sources to attain information regarding COVID-19. Most respondents (63.1%) utilized information regarding COVID-19 from multiple sources rather than single sources (36.9%).

CONCLUSIONS

Reliable and validated information sources resulted in higher knowledge scores. Turkey and Malaysia dental students reported a higher mean knowledge score and the lowest for Saudi Arabia and India dental students. There is increased popularity of social media platforms as information sources.

Measured proton electromagnetic structure deviates from theoretical predictions

The visible world is founded on the proton, the only composite building block of matter that is stable in nature. Consequently, understanding the formation of matter relies on explaining the dynamics and the properties of the proton's bound state. A fundamental property of the proton involves the response of the system to an external electromagnetic field. It is characterized by the electromagnetic polarizabilities¹ that describe how easily the charge and magnetization distributions inside the system are distorted by the electromagnetic field. Moreover, the generalized polarizabilities² map out the resulting deformation of the densities in a proton subject to an electromagnetic field. They disclose essential information about the underlying system dynamics and provide a key for decoding the proton structure in terms of the theory of the strong interaction that binds its elementary quark and gluon constituents. Of particular interest is a puzzle in the electric generalized polarizability of the proton that remains unresolved for two decades². Here we report measurements of the proton's electromagnetic generalized polarizabilities at low four-momentum transfer squared. We show evidence of an anomaly to the behaviour of the proton's electric generalized polarizability that contradicts the predictions of nuclear theory and derive its signature in the spatial distribution of the induced polarization in the proton. The reported measurements suggest the presence of a new, not-yet-understood dynamical mechanism in the proton and present notable challenges to the nuclear theory.

Outbreak of Ichthyophthirius multifiliis associated with Aeromonas hydrophila in Pangasianodon hypophthalmus: The role of turmeric oil in enhancing immunity and inducing resistance against co-infection

Ichthyophthirius multifiliis, a ciliated parasite causing ichthyophthiriasis (white spot disease) in freshwater fishes, results in significant economic loss to the aquaculture sector. One of the important predisposing factors for ichthyophthiriasis is low water temperature (i.e., below 20°C), which affects the health and makes freshwater fishes more susceptible to parasitic infections. During ichthyophthiriasis, fishes are stressed and acute immune reactions are compromised, which enables the aquatic bacterial pathogens to simultaneously infect the host and increase the severity of disease. In the present work, we aimed to understand the parasite–bacteria co-infection mechanism in fish. Later, Curcuma longa (turmeric) essential oil was used as a promising management strategy to improve immunity and control co-infections in fish. A natural outbreak of I. multifiliis was reported (validated by 16S rRNA PCR and sequencing method) in Pangasianodon hypophthalmus from a culture facility of ICAR-CIFRI, India. The fish showed clinical signs including hemorrhage, ulcer, discoloration, and redness in the body surface. Further microbiological analysis revealed that Aeromonas hydrophila was associated (validated by 16S rRNA PCR and sequencing method) with the infection and mortality of P. hypophthalmus, confirmed by hemolysin and survival assay. This created a scenario of co-infections, where both infectious agents are active together, causing ichthyophthiriasis and motile Aeromonas septicemia (MAS) in P. hypophthalmus. Interestingly, turmeric oil supplementation induced protective immunity in P. hypophthalmus against the co-infection condition. The study showed that P. hypophthalmus fingerlings supplemented with turmeric oil, at an optimum concentration (10 ppm), exhibited significantly increased survival against co-infection. The optimum concentration induced anti-stress and antioxidative response in fingerlings, marked by a significant decrease in cortisol and elevated levels of superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase (CAT) in treated animals as compared with the controls. Furthermore, the study indicated that supplementation of turmeric oil increases both non-specific and specific immune response, and significantly higher values of immune genes (interleukin-1β, transferrin, and C3), HSP70, HSP90, and IgM were observed in P. hypophthalmus treatment groups. Our findings suggest that C. longa (turmeric) oil modulates stress, antioxidant, and immunological responses, probably contributing to enhanced protection in P. hypophthalmus. Hence, the application of turmeric oil treatment in aquaculture might become a management strategy to control co-infections in fishes. However, this hypothesis needs further validation.

Personality type of consumers and their engagement with brands on Instagram

Social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc., help create an additional channel of communication with consumers, each offering unique value to the brand and consumers. To use the potential of these sites, brands must understand consumer psychology and behavior related to various social media sites and then devise their strategy. Although there is a rise in the number of users across social media platforms, the surge of Instagram users is substantially high, making it imperative for brands to be active on Instagram. Thus, our study aims to understand the factors affecting the positive behaviors of consumers for a brand and whether these behaviors are a result of personality types. Three personality types were, namely (i) Openness to Experience, (ii) Neuroticism, and (iii) Extroversion were considered along with two modes of interaction -(i) Broadcasting and (ii) Communicating. Also, the two relevant behaviors for customer engagement on Instagram were (i) Liking and (ii). Data for the study was collected through structured questionnaires from respondents between 18 and 28 years through convenience sampling. Exploratory Factor Analysis and Regression analysis were used to analyze the data. The study revealed that extroversion and openness to experience personality type engage through the broadcasting mode of interaction and neuroticism personality type engage through communicating mode. In addition, those who engage through broadcasting mode tend to like and comment on the brand post. On the other hand, those who use communicating mode just like on the brand post on Instagram. This study is important to understand factors affecting consumers’ Instagram behavior, which will help the brand manager, formulate a better Instagram strategy for consumer engagement.

1015 Reducing Waiting Time to Surgery for Patients with Femoral Peri-Prosthetic Fractures (FPP#s): A Quality Improvement Project

Introduction

Research has shown that early fixation and return to mobility in femoral fragility fractures improves post-operative outcomes. Based on this, in patients with neck of femur fractures (NOF#), NICE guidelines advise fixation ‘on the day of or the day after admission’. However, no guidelines exist in the case of femoral periprosthetic fractures (FPP#) despite emerging evidence showing improved outcomes in this cohort of patients also.

Method

We retrospectively analysed the waiting times from admission to surgery for NOF#s and FPP#s admitted between 1/9/20 to 1/4/21 at St. Richard's and Worthing Hospitals that required surgery. 30 FPP# and 503 NOF# patients were admitted during this period. Data was collected on all FPP# patients and a randomly selected cohort of 30 patients from the NOF# group.

Results

There was an average waiting time of 1.3 days for NOF#s and 3.7 days for FPP#s from admission to surgery.

Conclusions

This initial data demonstrates the longer waiting times for FPP# patients. We identified key areas where improvements could be sought decreasing time until CT scanning for evaluation of fracture pattern and decreasing time until a specialist opinion from a hip surgeon to decide between operative fixation or conservative management. By addressing these and educating team members about the positive outcomes by reducing delays to surgery in FPP# patients we hope to decrease their waiting times. We are currently re-auditing to identify any improvements and any further facets for advances in the future.

Search for Higgs Boson Pair Production in the Four b Quark Final State in Proton-Proton Collisions at sqrt[s]=13 TeV

A search for pairs of Higgs bosons produced via gluon and vector boson fusion is presented, focusing on the four b quark final state. The data sample consists of proton-proton collisions at a center-of-mass energy of 13 TeV, collected with the CMS detector at the LHC, and corresponds to an integrated luminosity of 138  fb^{-1}. No deviation from the background-only hypothesis is observed. A 95% confidence level upper limit on the Higgs boson pair production cross section is observed at 3.9 times the standard model prediction for an expected value of 7.8. Constraints are also set on the modifiers of the Higgs field self-coupling, κ_{λ}, and of the coupling of two Higgs bosons to two vector bosons, κ_{2 V}. The observed (expected) allowed intervals at the 95% confidence level are -2.3<κ_{λ}<9.4 (-5.0<κ_{λ}<12.0) and -0.1<κ_{2 V}<2.2 (-0.4<κ_{2 V}<2.5). These are the most stringent observed constraints to date on the HH production cross section and on the κ_{2 V } coupling.

An attention mechanism-based LSTM network for cancer kinase activity prediction

Despite the endeavours and achievements made in treating cancers during the past decades, resistance to available kinase drugs continues to be a major problem in cancer therapies. Thus, it is highly desirable to develop computational models that can predict the bioactivity of a compound against cancer kinases. Here, we present a Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM) framework for predicting the activities of lead molecules against seven different kinases. A total of 14,907 compounds from the ChEMBL database were selected for model building. Two different molecular representations, namely, 2D descriptors and MACCS fingerprints were subjected to the LSTM method for the training process. We also successfully integrated an attention mechanism into our model, which helped us to interpret the contribution of chemical features on kinase activity. The attention mechanism extracted the significant chemical moieties more effectively by taking them into consideration during the activity prediction. The recorded accuracies in the test sets for both 2D descriptors and MACCS fingerprints-based models were 0.81 and 0.78, respectively. The receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC)-area under the curve (AUC) score for both models was in the range of 0.8-0.99. The proposed framework can be a good starting point for the development of new cancer kinase drugs.

Search for Flavor-Changing Neutral Current Interactions of the Top Quark and Higgs Boson in Final States with Two Photons in Proton-Proton Collisions at sqrt[s]=13 TeV

Proton-proton interactions resulting in final states with two photons are studied in a search for the signature of flavor-changing neutral current interactions of top quarks (t) and Higgs bosons (H). The analysis is based on data collected at a center-of-mass energy of 13 TeV with the CMS detector at the LHC, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 137  fb^{-1}. No significant excess above the background prediction is observed. Upper limits on the branching fractions (B) of the top quark decaying to a Higgs boson and an up (u) or charm (c) quark are derived through a binned fit to the diphoton invariant mass spectrum. The observed (expected) 95% confidence level upper limits are found to be 0.019% (0.031%) for B(t→Hu) and 0.073% (0.051%) for B(t→Hc). These are the strictest upper limits yet determined.

Search for Resonances Decaying to Three W Bosons in Proton-Proton Collisions at sqrt[s]=13 TeV

A search for resonances decaying into a W boson and a radion, where the radion decays into two W bosons, is presented. The data analyzed correspond to an integrated luminosity of 138  fb^{-1} recorded in proton-proton collisions with the CMS detector at sqrt[s]=13  TeV. One isolated charged lepton is required, together with missing transverse momentum and one or two massive large-radius jets, containing the decay products of either two or one W bosons, respectively. No excess over the background estimation is observed. The results are combined with those from a complementary channel with an all-hadronic final state, described in an accompanying paper. Limits are set on parameters of an extended warped extra-dimensional model. These searches are the first of their kind at the LHC.

Probing Charm Quark Dynamics via Multiparticle Correlations in Pb-Pb Collisions at sqrt[s_{NN}]=5.02 TeV

Multiparticle azimuthal correlations of prompt D^{0} mesons are measured in Pb-Pb collisions at a nucleon-nucleon center-of-mass energy of sqrt[s_{NN}]=5.02  TeV. For the first time, a four-particle cumulant method is used to extract the second Fourier coefficient of the azimuthal distribution (v_{2}) of D^{0} mesons as a function of event centrality and the D^{0} transverse momentum. The ratios of the four-particle v_{2} values to previously measured two-particle cumulant results provide direct experimental access to event-by-event fluctuations of charm quark azimuthal anisotropies. These ratios are also found to be comparable to those of inclusive charged particles in the event. However, hints of deviations are seen in the most central and peripheral collisions. To investigate the origin of flow fluctuations in the charm sector, these measurements are compared to a model implementing fluctuations of charm quark energy loss via collisional or radiative processes in the quark-gluon plasma. These models cannot quantitatively describe the data over the full transverse momentum and centrality ranges, although the calculations with collisional energy loss provide a better description of the data.

First Search for Exclusive Diphoton Production at High Mass with Tagged Protons in Proton-Proton Collisions at sqrt[s]=13 TeV

A search for exclusive two-photon production via photon exchange in proton-proton collisions, pp→pγγp with intact protons, is presented. The data correspond to an integrated luminosity of 9.4  fb^{-1} collected in 2016 using the CMS and TOTEM detectors at a center-of-mass energy of 13 TeV at the LHC. Events are selected with a diphoton invariant mass above 350 GeV and with both protons intact in the final state, to reduce backgrounds from strong interactions. The events of interest are those where the invariant mass and rapidity calculated from the momentum losses of the forward-moving protons match the mass and rapidity of the central, two-photon system. No events are found that satisfy this condition. Interpreting this result in an effective dimension-8 extension of the standard model, the first limits are set on the two anomalous four-photon coupling parameters. If the other parameter is constrained to its standard model value, the limits at 95% confidence level are |ζ_{1}|<2.9×10^{-13}  GeV^{-4} and |ζ_{2}|<6.0×10^{-13}  GeV^{-4}.

O-261 In-vitro supplementation of vitamin B12 to improve post-thaw viability and DNA integrity

Study question

Does the supplementation of vitamin B12 protect the spermatozoa against damage caused by the freeze-thaw process further improving the overall post-thaw survival and DNA integrity?

Summary answer

The antioxidant property of vitamin B12 protects the spermatozoa and improves the post thaw motility, vitality, and reduces DNA damage caused by freeze-thaw process.

What is known already

Cryopreservation of spermatozoa is an effective way of fertility preservation in humans, often used in Assisted Reproductive Technology(ART). Despite the refinement in cryopreservation, the salvage of post-thaw sperms remains poor. The reactive oxygen species(ROS), that is formed as a result of freeze-thaw process is known to decrease the motility, plasma membrane integrity and increase the DNA fragmentation. Most vitamins have antioxidant properties, that protect the mammalian cells from oxidative stress one such vitamin is cyanocobalamin(vitamin B12). Vitamin B12 modulates oxidative stress through methionine synthase activity and also acts as a scavenger of ROS. Thus protecting the DNA against free radicals.

Study design, size, duration

This prospective observational study was performed for a period of 6 months in 111 men, who attended the fertility clinic. The study population included all semen samples except men with azoospermia, surgically retrieved samples and men on vitamin supplements. The study population contained men ageing between 21-40 years.

Participants/materials, setting, methods

Semen samples were analysed according to WHO 5th edition and were assessed for DNA fragmentation index (DFI) using sperm chromatin dispersion assay (SCD). The ejaculates were split into two as group A: semen samples with equal amount of cryoprotectant and group B: semen samples with equal amount of cryoprotectant supplemented with Vitamin B12 (2mg/ml). They were frozen for a minimum of 24 hrs. Post-thaw motility, vitality and DFI were assessed and compared.

Main results and the role of chance

The mean age of patients in our study was 34.26±4.7yrs. 58.5% of the study population had primary infertility. 37.8% of the study population had male factor infertility, 32.4% had oligoasthenoteratozoospermia(OAT), 31.1% had normozoospermia 16.2% had asthenoteratozoospermia, 13.5% had teratozoospermia, 3.6% had oligozoospermia and rest 2.7% had asthenozoospermia.

There was an overall increase in post thaw motility (41.59±18.09 vs 32.3±18.8,p=0.0005), progressive motility (21.54±13.02 vs 15.91±11.80,p=0.0005), vitality (57.14±15.09 vs 46.76±16.45,p=0.0005) and a significant decrease in DFI (26.69±10.03 vs 32.09±10.00,p=0.0005) in group B compared to group A.

Our study also demonstrated that, Normozoospermia patients had a significant increase in vitality (67.17±13.8 vs 58.51±12.0, p = 0.007) and lower DFI (22.68±9.3 vs 27.6±8.9, p = 0.02) in group B than in group A.

OAT patients had a significant increase in total motility (26.25±12.15 vs 15.7±11.4,p=0.0003), progressive motility (11.69±8.8 vs 6.14±5.8,p=0.0028), vitality (46.06±11.34 vs 34.31±12.99,p=0.0001) and significantly lower DFI (30.22±9.87 vs 36.08±9.7,p=0.012) in group B.

Teratozoospermia patients showed significant increase in progressive motility in group B (27.87±8.81 vs 19.33±10.69,p=0.02) and

Asthenoteratozoospermia patients showed significant increase in total motility (40.72± 13.14 vs 30.89±13.06,p=0.02) and vitality (54.39±12.28 vs 43.78±14.14,p=0.02) in group B.

However, in asthenozoospermic patients the parameters were comparable in both the groups.

Limitations, reasons for caution

Due to ethical reasons the samples were not used for in vitro procedures such as intrauterine insemination(IUI), in vitro fertilization (IVF) and intracytoplasmic sperm injection(ICSI). Hence, no inference was obtained regarding the fertilization rates/ pregnancy rates.

Wider implications of the findings

Our study demonstrated that with supplementation of vitamin B12 the recovery rate significantly increased and also preserved the DNA content. Among the various categories, supplementation of vitamin B12 to OAT samples was more beneficial as it improved the overall viability of the sperms.

Trial registration number

CSP/21/JUL/96/389

Observation of the B_{c}^{+} Meson in Pb-Pb and pp Collisions at sqrt[s_{NN}]=5.02 TeV and Measurement of its Nuclear Modification Factor

The B_{c}^{+} meson is observed for the first time in heavy ion collisions. Data from the CMS detector are used to study the production of the B_{c}^{+} meson in lead-lead (Pb-Pb) and proton-proton (pp) collisions at a center-of-mass energy per nucleon pair of sqrt[s_{NN}]=5.02  TeV, via the B_{c}^{+}→(J/ψ→μ^{+}μ^{-})μ^{+}ν_{μ} decay. The B_{c}^{+} nuclear modification factor, derived from the Pb-Pb-to-pp ratio of production cross sections, is measured in two bins of the trimuon transverse momentum and of the Pb-Pb collision centrality. The B_{c}^{+} meson is shown to be less suppressed than quarkonia and most of the open heavy-flavor mesons, suggesting that effects of the hot and dense nuclear matter created in heavy ion collisions contribute to its production. This measurement sets forth a promising new probe of the interplay of suppression and enhancement mechanisms in the production of heavy-flavor mesons in the quark-gluon plasma.

Urban modelling and forecasting of landuse using SLEUTH model

The present study performs landcover modelling using the SLEUTH model. The urban land use changing factors are calibrated to predict the Land Use Land Cover (LULC) for a densely populated and developing smart city, Prayagraj, India. This research aims to use the SLEUTH model for simulating the future urban growth with the help of historical LULC (1990-2020), road network and elevation data. The influence of road gravity and slope resistant coefficients is very significant in this study's outcome. The built-up area of the region increased from 40.22 km² (5.10% of total area) in 1990 to 85.89 km² (10.89%) in 2020. According to prediction results, in the next 20 years, the built-up growth rate would be 1.9% and approximated built-up area would be 118.66 km² (14.98%) in the year 2040. The quality of the result has been quantified in terms of best fit value of Optimal SLEUTH Metric (OSM) and validated against the existing LULC. The study utilises a spatially explicit urban growth model with 30 m resolution remote sensing data and provides future landuse of Prayagraj city.

Harnessing the power of hydrogen sulphide (H2 S) for improving fruit quality traits

Hydrogen sulphide (H₂ S) is a gaseous molecule and originates endogenously in plants. It is considered a potential signalling agent in various physiological processes of plants. Numerous reports have examined the role of H₂ S in fruit ripening and in enhancing fruit quality traits. H₂ S coordinates the fruit antioxidant system, fruit ripening phytohormones, such as ethylene and abscisic acid, together with other ripening-related signalling molecules, including nitric oxide and hydrogen peroxide. Although many studies have increased understanding of various aspects of this complex network, there is a gap in understanding crosstalk of H₂ S with key players of fruit ripening, postharvest senescence and fruit metabolism. This review focused on deciphering fruit H₂ S metabolism, signalling and its interaction with other ripening-related signalling molecules during fruit ripening and postharvest storage. Moreover, we also discuss how H₂ S can be used as a tool for improving fruit quality and productivity and reducing postharvest loss of perishable fruits.

Neuropsychiatric Disturbance in Huntington’s Disease: Approach to Management

Introduction

Huntington’s Disease (HD) is an autosomal dominant, neurodegenerative condition with a prevalence of 10.6-13.7 per 100,000, caused by the trinucleotide CAG (cytosine, adenine, guanine) repeat expansion in the HTT gene. HD is characterized by a range of motor, cognitive, and psychiatric symptoms, the latter of which usually manifest prior to the onset of motor or cognitive disturbances. Amongst psychiatric symptoms, changes in personality are most common, followed by depression. Psychosis has a higher prevalence in those with early-onset HD.

Objectives

This case report aims to demonstrate an apporach to the management of neuropsychiatric disturbances in HD as well as expose the need for development of an evidence-based apprach to treatment.

Methods

PubMed was searched for the criteria Huntington’s Disease AND Psychosis, with a secondary search for Management of Psychosis in Huntington’s Disease.

Results

The patient is a 54-year-old male with no psychiatric history and reported past medical history of Huntington’s Disease, diagnosed one month ago. He was brought to the Psychiatric ED due to agitation and disorganized behavior at home. On admission, he demonstrated disorganized behavior, grandiose delusions, neurocognitive deficits, and reported auditory hallucinations. With the initiation of tetrabenazine and risperidone his psychiatric symptoms improved and he was able to be discharged to a long-term care facility.

Conclusions

Literature is scarce regarding treatment of psychiatric manifestations of HD. We catered our approach towards safe and effective symptoms management in a multidisciplinary manner. Further research is required to reach an evidence-based consensus as well as develop specific guidelines for managing psychiatric conditions related to HD.

Disclosure

No significant relationships.

Hydrogeochemical characteristics of surface and groundwater: suitability for human consumption and irrigated agriculture purposes in Suruliyar sub basin, South India

The Suruliyar sub basin in Tamil Nadu, India, was monitored for the assessment of water and soil quality. Surface water, groundwater, and soil samples were collected during the pre-monsoon (June 2016) and post-monsoon (December 2016) seasons within the sub basin area and analyzed for various physical, chemical, and biological properties, namely, pH, electrical conductivity, total dissolved solids (TDS), calcium, magnesium, sodium, nitrate, sulfate, fluoride, chloride, biological oxygen demand, chemical oxygen demand, and total and fecal coliform. All the values were compared with Indian and global standards, and the values for each parameter were within the permissible limits. However, some samples were edging toward the upward limit. Fecal coliforms (14 to 36 counts per 100 ml) were present in the river water, thus indicating anthropogenic contamination. Correlation analysis confirmed that TDS was significantly positively correlated with most of the cations and anions. Groundwater was assessed using several indices, such as the Piper diagram, United States Salinity Laboratory diagram, sodium adsorption ratio, and sodium percentage. Results showed that all the groundwater samples could be used for irrigation purposes; however, the chloride contents exceeded the permissible limit. Soil analysis results showed that all nutrients were within the permissible limits. Drought assessment showed the existence of both dry and wet years occurring most frequently, which might have a strong influence on the quality of water and soil parameters. This study suggests that the monitoring of surface, groundwater, and soil parameters is essential to maintain the sub basin area for ensuring sustainable development in the future.