<p>Shiv Nadar University is a comprehensive, multidisciplinary, research-focused, and student-centric University offering a full range of academic programs at the undergraduate, postgraduate and doctoral level. With state-of-the-art infrastructure, the University comprises of academic wings, sophisticated labs, international standard sports facilities, amphitheaters, auditorium, conference rooms and smart classrooms. The University&rsquo;s goal is to become internationally recognized for the quality of its research and creative endeavors and their applicability to improving quality of life, generating new insights and expanding the boundaries of human knowledge creativity. Committed to excellence in teaching, research and service, the University aims to serve the higher education needs of India and the world beyond.</p>

Shiv Nadar University

(SoNS) School of Natural Sciences

Amber Habib describes the hierarchical structure of mathematical knowledge and comments upon its reliability and validity. He invites the reader to a consideration of mathematics’ fundamental components: axioms, proofs, and theorems. Habib asserts that all mathematicians work with a common choice of axioms and rules of logic; and the degree of agreement amongst them is not found in any other discipline. He scrutinises the common view of mathematical activity and knowledge-making as offering certainty and increased rigour. The chapter is then centred around three fundamental issues: problems of ahistoricity, the subject matter proper of mathematics, and its relevance or importance. © 2023 selection and editorial matter, Gita Chadha and Renny Thomas.

Mathematics

Mapping Scientific Method: Disciplinary Narrations

THE METHODS OF MATHEMATICS

We present photoabsorption (PA) response and resistive switching (RS) behavior of ZnO thin films that were ion implanted, at many fluences, with 50 keV Ti ions. Photoluminescence (PL), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), UV–Visible spectroscopy and conductive- Atomic Force Microscopy (c-AFM) have been utilized to study the role of oxygen vacancies (OV ) in the evolution of the PA and RS properties. Grazing incidence X-ray diffraction (GIXRD) and Raman Scattering results suggest an improvement in the crystallinity of the films with ion fluence. Enhancement in oxygen vacancy, with fluence, appears to be responsible for higher photo response in the UV–Vis range. Additionally, engineering of bandgap, exhibiting systematic reduction in bandgap- energy with fluence, introduces enhanced absorption in visible regime. For the films implanted at the highest fluence, an asymmetric RS behavior is observed. A Switching behavior, from a high resistance state to a low resistance state, is demonstrated under positive bias conditions. However, for negative bias conditions a rectifying nature is seen. Oxygen vacancies play a crucial role in the modulation of PA response as well as in RS mechanism. Migration of these oxygen vacancies contribute to the formation of conducting filament which may be crucial for the observation of RS phenomenon at the highest fluence. © 2021 Elsevier Ltd and Techna Group S.r.l.

World University root node

Physics

Ceramics International

Resistive switching properties and photoabsorption behavior of Ti ion implanted ZnO thin films

Selenium (Se), an essential trace element present in several antioxidant enzymes, is responsible for protecting cells from oxidative damage. In the recent past, a large number of naturally inspired Se-containing biomimetic molecular oxidation catalysts have been developed. In this report, a selenium-doped graphitic material (Se-DG) was synthesized using glucose and benzeneseleninic acid (BSA) via a simple hydrothermal method. Se-DG has shown glutathione peroxidase (GPx)-like activity and carried out epoxidation of various aromatic and aliphatic alkenes using H2O2, a green oxidant. In most cases, ∼90% conversion with ∼75% yield of epoxide was achieved in acetonitrile medium. The adduct of 5,5-dimethyl-1-pyrroline N-oxide (DMPO) with hydroperoxyl radical ( OOH) was observed in HRMS which confirmed that the Se-DG produced OOH from H2O2via hydrogen atom abstraction (HAA). A mechanistic insight of the olefin epoxidation was described in the presence of hydrocarbons and it was observed that the hydroxyl radical ( OH) generated during the epoxidation facilitated C-H activation successfully. The plausible reaction mechanism of epoxidation was established with density functional theory (DFT) using Gaussian code. © 2022 The Royal Society of Chemistry

Chemistry

Catalysis Science and Technology

Peroxide activation by selenium-doped graphite

An expression for the subdifferential set of the joint numerical radius of a tuple of matrices is obtained. Its applications to the Birkhoff-James orthogonality in the space consisting of tuples of matrices equipped with the joint numerical radius norm are discussed. © 2022 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.

Linear and Multilinear Algebra

Subdifferential set of the joint numerical radius of a tuple of matrices

Wildlife corridors in a landscape include local vegetation, topography, prey base, water and are associated with isolated wildlife habitat patches. They facilitate maintenance of ecological structure and function as well as provide connectivity to faunal populations supporting genetic transfers, and are elements critical to wildlife management. In this work, habitat patches for tiger, both inside as well as outside of Protected Areas have been identified by developing a Habitat Suitability Index model utilizing Remote Sensing and Geographical Information System datasets for the Terai Arc landscape, India. By using a computational approach based on the framework of theory of complex networks, for exclusively pairwise interactions between the habitat patches, a potential tiger corridor network has been structurally identified and studied in this landscape. The interactions between these habitat patches on a spatial scale has been analyzed as a clique of the corridor network. Further, the Clique Percolation Method has been applied to detect overlapping communities of habitat patches in the landscape. The Cliques required for maintaining contiguity between the habitat patches in order to support tiger movement are validated using field observations of tiger communities within the landscape matrix. The model developed for identification of tiger corridors in this study could potentially be of a vital importance for wildlife stakeholders to better understand and manage tiger populations both within and outside of protected areas. The study also highlights Critical Habitat Patches and their importance in maintaining landscape connectivity for tiger dispersal in the landscape. Using a report published by the Government of India as a benchmark, the model presented in the work is found to have an accuracy of 90.73% in predicting tiger carrying patches and the corridor network in the focal landscape. © 2022 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.

Geocarto International

Geospatial modelling of overlapping habitats for identification of tiger corridor networks in the Terai Arc landscape of India

The matrix M of a linear complementarity problem can be viewed as a payoff matrix of a two-person zero-sum game. Lemke's algorithm can be successfully applied to reach a complementary solution or infeasibility when the game satisfies the following conditions: (i) Value of M is equal to zero. (ii) For all principal minors of MT (transpose of M) value is non-negative. (iii) For any optimal mixed strategy y of the maximizer either yi > 0 or (My)i > 0 for each coordinate i. © 2022 World Scientific Publishing Company.

International Game Theory Review

A Note on Linear Complementarity via Two-Person Zero-Sum Games

Owing to the inherent complications in membrane distillation (MD) operations, it has become a challenge to acknowledge swiftly and appropriately to safeguard the quality of effluent, particularly when the processing cost is a prominent concern. Membrane wetting in MD operations is a major concern during long-term performance. In this study, machine learning (ML) methodologies were utilized to overcome the limitations of conventional mechanistic modeling. ML applications have never been explored to investigate how operational factors, such as water flux and salt flux, are affected during long-term MD performance. Furthermore, time-dependent factors were neglected, making it difficult to analyze the relationship between effluent quality and operational factors. Therefore, this study demonstrates a novel ML-based framework designed to enhance the performance of MD. The ML-based framework consists of an autoregressive integrated moving average (ARIMA) and utilizes a unique pathway to explain the impact of time series among operational factors. The accuracy of forecasting has been explored by utilizing 180 h (180 datasets), that was further used and divided into training (165 datasets) and test datasets (15 datasets). Eventually, the ARIMA model demonstrated a highly precise relationship order between the model and experimental data, which can be further used to forecast membrane performance in terms of wetting and fouling. The selected ARIMA model (3,2,1) appears to be an adequate model for water and salt flux data which has been effectively used to capture the course of permeate water and salt flux by producing the smallest forecast RMSE. The RMSE values were observed to be 0.22 and 0.05 for water and salt flux respectively, which can better predict long time series with high frequency. These frameworks can be applied for the early prediction of membrane wetting if ample high-resolution data are available. © 2022 The Institution of Chemical Engineers

Life Sciences

Process Safety and Environmental Protection

Exploration of time series model for predictive evaluation of long-term performance of membrane distillation desalination

Constant emergence of drug-resistant Plasmodium falciparum warrants urgent need for effective and inexpensive drugs. Herein, phthalimide (Pht) analogs possessing the bioactive scaffolds, benzimidazole and 1,2,3-triazole, were evaluated for in vitro and in vivo anti-plasmodial activity without any apparent hemolysis, or cytotoxicity. Analogs 4(a-e) inhibited the growth of 3D7 and RKL-9 strains at submicromolar concentrations. Defects were observed during parasite egress from or invasion of the red blood cells. Mitochondrial membrane depolarization was measured as one of the causes of cell death. Phts 4(a-e) in combination with artemisinin exhibited two-to three-fold increased efficacy. Biophysical and biochemical analysis suggest that Pht analogs mediate plasmodial growth inhibition by interacting with tubulin protein of the parasite. Lastly, Phts 4(a-e) significantly decreased parasitemia and extended host survival in murine model Plasmodium berghei ANKA infection. Combined, the data indicate that Pht analogs should be further explored, which could offer novel value to the antimalarial drug development pipeline. © 2022

European Journal of Medicinal Chemistry

Designing and development of phthalimides as potent anti-tubulin hybrid molecules against malaria

Ornamental aquaculture is an economically important industry with many enthusiasts worldwide. Much of the supply for the industry is provided by individuals and businesses in tropical countries because many ornamental species originated in the tropics. But Czechia, a temperate region in Central Europe, is an exception. Czech suppliers have significantly influenced the global freshwater ornamental aquaculture market for decades. Here we present and discuss the history of ornamental aquaculture in Czechia considering its geopolitical background, social status and history, pet-trade trends, overlapping to research activities, public education, and related risks and threads. We list the most traded and exported species, and list species that rarely reproduce in captivity, but that are successfully bred for commercial purposes by Czech producers globally, we introduce the term “Czech aquarium phenomenon” to describe the substantial economic and scientific importance of Czechia in ornamental aquaculture. Given that the diversity and volume of species traded are vast, we suggest the importance of this phenomenon for consideration to key stakeholders who design aquaculture policies, including the management of invasive alien species and ex-situ conservation programs for endangered species. © 2022

Aquaculture

Ornamental aquaculture significantly affected by the “Czech aquarium phenomenon”

The increased resistance of human malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum (Pf) to currently used drugs necessities the development of novel anti-malarials. Here, we examine the potential of erythritol, a sugar substitute for therapeutic intervention. Erythritol is a permeant of Plasmodium falciparum aquaglyceroporin (PfAQP) which is a multifunctional channel responsible for maintaining hydro-homeostasis. We show that erythritol effectively inhibited growth and progression of asexual blood stage malaria parasite, and effect invasion and egress processes. It also inhibited the liver stage (sporozoites) and transmission stage parasite (gametocytes) development. Interestingly, erythritol inhibited in vivo growth of malaria parasite in mouse experimental model. It was more effective in inhibiting parasite growth both in vivo and in vitro when tested together with a known anti-malarial ‘artesunate’. Additionally, erythritol showed cytokine-modulating effect which suggests its direct effect on the host immune system. Ammonia detection assay demonstrated that erythritol uptake effects the amount of ammonia release across the parasite. Our functional complementation assays suggest that PfAQP expression in yeast mutant restores its growth in hyperosmotic conditions but showed reduced growth in the presence of erythritol. Osmotic lysis assay suggests that erythritol creates osmotic stress for killing the parasite. Overall, our data bestow erythritol as a promising lead compound with an attractive antimalarial profile and could possibly be combined with known drugs without losing its efficacy. We propose the use of erythritol based sweet candies for protection against malaria specially in children living in the endemic area. © 2022 Elsevier Inc.

Biochemical Pharmacology

‘Erythritol’, a safe natural sweetener exhibits multi-stage anti-malarial activity by permeating into Plasmodium falciparum through aquaglyceroporin channel