When an advertising professional starts to tell the India Story, expect an interesting take. Chief strategy officer at Bates 141 India, Dheeraj Sinha, says in the introduction to "Consumer India" that his account is "from the playing field, not the sidelines."

The civic administration on Saturday initiated steps to close all internal streets, bylanes and smaller approaches to main roads to restrict the movement of people within the containment areas, a day after district guardian minister Ajit Pawar underlined stricter execution of the lockdown measures till May 17.

An under-wraps production-ready version of the upcoming 2020 new generation of the SUV has been spotted which reveals many design and utility details.

Post the lockdown, Doordarshan re-aired mythological shows Ramayan and Mahabharat on popular demand. Ever since then, the shows are making a lot of noise. The viewers have been following the shows very closely. Recently, netizens spotted a cooler behind Bhishma Pitamah

The new Maruti Suzuki Dzire has been spotted at a dealer's yard for the first time since it was launched in the Indian market. The images of the new Dzire by Gaadiwaadi have surfaced indicating deliveries will begin soon.

The Hero Maestro Electric Proto concept electric scooter has been spotted ahead of its India launch. The eMaestro electric scooter will be the brand's first product offering to the EV segment in India.

Recently, the Ministry of AYUSH has released certain guidelines on how to improve immunity and strengthen our body in the wake of global pandemic. The guidelines revealed that a mixture of turmeric and milk is very effective in boosting immunity. As

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How Lucknow's City Montessori Schools managed to offer comprehensive online education to its 57,000 students during the Covid-19 crisis

In a rare finding, an Indian grey wolf (Canis lupus pallipes) was documented for the first time in Cauvery Wildlife Sanctuary in Chamarajanagara district. The wild animal was documented by Sanjay Gubbi of Nature Conservation Foundation, and his team, while camera trapping for studying leopards.

With economic activities coming to a halt for several weeks due to the nationwide lockdown, there is a thought within the govt to zero in on areas with Covid-19 cases for restrictions rather than putting a blanket ban across a district, sources said. TOI has learnt that discussions are on to push economic activities in a big way outside containment zones.

With economic activities coming to a halt for several weeks due to the nationwide lockdown, there is a thought within the govt to zero in on areas with Covid-19 cases for restrictions rather than putting a blanket ban across a district, sources said. TOI has learnt that discussions are on to push economic activities in a big way outside containment zones.

Traps laid at Thannithode to capture animal

The Aarogya Setu has helped the government with its twin objective -- "whom to test" and "where to test more" in its battle against Covid-19.

'Revive Mao potato farm'

Screening booths to be set up in government-run facilities; contact tracing measures strengthened

Prabhas films bag top spots in BARC ratings

Focus on Covid spots, not broad lockdowns

Why has Koyambedu been so badly affected in all stages of the pandemic response?

Scottish researchers win £12m CCUS funding from European pot - News for the Oil and Gas Sector  Energy Voice

Surrey named as one of the UK's earthquake hotspots  Surrey Live

Key structural biology experiments that have sought to elucidate how potassium ions permeate and pass through the selectivity filter of potassium ion channels are reviewed.

The reactions of N-heterocyclic carbene CuI and AgI halides with potassium thio- or seleno­cyanate gave unexpected products. The attempted substitution reaction of bromido­(1,3-dibenzyl-4,5-di­phenyl­imidazol-2-yl­idene)silver (NHC*—Ag—Br) with KSCN yielded bis­[bis­(1,3-dibenzyl-4,5-di­phenyl­imidazol-2-yl­idene)silver(I)] tris­(thio­cyanato)­argentate(I) diethyl ether disolvate, [Ag(C29H24N2)2][Ag(NCS)3]·2C4H10O or [NHC*2Ag]2[Ag(SCN)3]·2Et2O, (1), while reaction with KSeCN led to bis­(μ-1,3-dibenzyl-4,5-diphenyl-2-seleno­imidazole-κ2Se:Se)bis­[bromido­(1,3-dibenzyl-4,5-diphenyl-2-seleno­imid­azole-κSe)silver(I)] di­chloro­methane hexa­solvate, [Ag2Br2(C29H24N2Se)4]·6CH2Cl2 or (NHC*Se)4Ag2Br2·6CH2Cl2, (2), via oxidation of the NHC* fragment to 2-seleno­imidazole. This oxidation was observed again in the reaction of NHC*—Cu—Br with KSeCN, yielding catena-poly[[[(1,3-dibenzyl-4,5-diphenyl-2-seleno­imidazole-κSe)copper(I)]-μ-cyanido-κ2C:N] aceto­nitrile monosolvate], {[Cu(CN)(C29H24N2Se)]·C2H3N}n or NHC*Se—CuCN·CH3CN, (3). Compound (1) represents an organic/inorganic salt with AgI in a linear coordination in each of the two cations and in a trigonal coordination in the anion, accompanied by diethyl ether solvent mol­ecules. The tri-blade boomerang-shaped complex anion [Ag(SCN)3]2− present in (1) is characterized by X-ray diffraction for the first time. Compound (2) comprises an isolated centrosymmetric mol­ecule with AgI in a distorted tetra­hedral BrSe3 coordination, together with di­chloro­methane solvent mol­ecules. Compound (3) exhibits a linear polymeric 1∞[Cu—C≡N—Cu—] chain structure with a seleno­imidazole moiety additionally coordinating to each CuI atom, and completed by aceto­nitrile solvent mol­ecules. Electron densities associated with an additional ether solvent mol­ecule in (1) and two additional di­chloro­methane solvent mol­ecules in (2) were removed with the SQUEEZE procedure [Spek (2015). Acta Cryst. C71, 9–18] in PLATON.

A reaction of copper(II) carbonate and potassium 4-sulfo­benzoic acid in water acidified with hydro­chloric acid yielded two crystalline products. Tetra­aqua­bis­(4-carb­oxy­benzene­sulfonato)­copper(II) dihydrate, [Cu(O3SC6H4CO2H)2(H2O)4]·2H2O, (I), crystallizes in the triclinic space group Poverline{1} with the Cu2+ ions located on centers of inversion. Each copper ion is coordinated to four water mol­ecules in a square plane with two sulfonate O atoms in the apical positions of a Jahn–Teller-distorted octa­hedron. The carboxyl­ate group is protonated and not involved in coordination to the metal ions. The complexes pack so as to create a layered structure with alternating inorganic and organic domains. The packing is reinforced by several O—H⋯O hydrogen bonds involving coordinated and non-coordinated water mol­ecules, the carb­oxy­lic acid group and the sulfonate group. Hexa­aqua­copper(II) 4-carb­oxy­benzene­sulfonate, [Cu(H2O)6](O3SC6H4CO2H)2, (II), also crystallizes in the triclinic space group Poverline{1} with Jahn–Teller-distorted octa­hedral copper(II) aqua complexes on the centers of inversion. As in (I), the carboxyl­ate group on the anion is protonated and the structure consists of alternating layers of inorganic cations and organic anions linked by O—H⋯O hydrogen bonds. A reaction of silver nitrate and potassium 4-sulfo­benzoic acid in water also resulted in two distinct products that have been structurally characterized. An anhydrous silver potassium 4-carb­oxy­benzene­sulfonate salt, [Ag0.69K0.31](O3SC6H4CO2H), (III), crystallizes in the monoclinic space group C2/c. There are two independent metal sites, one fully occupied by silver ions and the other showing a 62% K+/38% Ag+ (fixed) ratio, refined in two slightly different positions. The coordination environments of the metal ions are composed primarily of sulfonate O atoms, with some participation by the non-protonated carboxyl­ate O atoms in the disordered site. As in the copper compounds, the cations and anions cleanly segregate into alternating layers. A hydrated mixed silver potassium 4-carb­oxy­benzene­sulfonate salt dihydrate, [Ag0.20K0.80](O3SC6H4CO2H)·2H2O, (IV), crystallizes in the monoclinic space group P21/c with the Ag+ and K+ ions sharing one unique metal site coordinated by two water mol­ecules and six sulfonate O atoms. The packing in (IV) follows the dominant motif of alternating inorganic and organic layers. The protonated carboxyl­ate groups do not inter­act with the cations directly, but do participate in hydrogen bonds with the coordinated water mol­ecules. (IV) is isostructural with pure potassium 4-sulfo­benzoic acid dihydrate.

Deuterated potassium orthophosphate hepta­hydrate, K3PO4·7D2O, crystallizes in the Sohnke space group P21, and its absolute structure was determined from 2017 Friedel pairs [Flack parameter 0.004 (16)]. Each of the three crystallographically unique K+ cations is surrounded by six water mol­ecules and one oxygen atom from the orthophosphate group, using a threshold for K—O bonds of 3.10 Å. The highly irregular coordination polyhedra are linked by corner- and edge-sharing into a three-dimensional network that is consolidated by an intricate network of O—D⋯O hydrogen bonds of medium strength.

In the past three years, Dirac half-metals (DHMs) have attracted considerable attention and become a high-profile topic in spintronics becuase of their excellent physical properties such as 100% spin polarization and massless Dirac fermions. Two-dimensional DHMs proposed recently have not yet been experimentally synthesized and thus remain theoretical. As a result, their characteristics cannot be experimentally confirmed. In addition, many theoretically predicted Dirac materials have only a single cone, resulting in a nonlinear electromagnetic response with insufficient intensity and inadequate transport carrier efficiency near the Fermi level. Therefore, after several attempts, we have focused on a novel class of DHMs with multiple Dirac crossings to address the above limitations. In particular, we direct our attention to three-dimensional bulk materials. In this study, the discovery via first principles of an experimentally synthesized DHM LaNiO3 with many Dirac cones and complete spin polarization near the Fermi level is reported. It is also shown that the crystal structures of these materials are strongly correlated with their physical properties. The results indicate that many rhombohedral materials with the general formula LnNiO3 (Ln = La, Ce, Nd, Pm, Gd, Tb, Dy, Ho, Er, Lu) in the space group R3c are potential DHMs with multiple Dirac cones.

Estimates of heat-transfer rates during plunge-cooling and the patterns of ice observed in cryo-EM samples indicate that the grid bars cool much more slowly than do the support foil and sample near the middle of the grid openings. The resulting transient temperature differences generate transient tensile stresses in the support foil. Most of this foil stress develops while the sample is liquid and cooling toward its glass transition Tg, and so does not generate tensile sample stress. As the grid bars continue cooling towards the cryogen temperature and contracting, the tensile stress in the foil is released, placing the sample in compressive stress. Radiation-induced creep in the presence of this compressive stress should generate a doming of the sample in the foil openings, as is observed experimentally. Crude estimates of the magnitude of the doming that may be generated by this mechanism are consistent with observation. Several approaches to reducing beam-induced motion are discussed.

Two commonly encountered bottlenecks in the structure determination of a protein by X-ray crystallography are screening for conditions that give high-quality crystals and, in the case of novel structures, finding derivatization conditions for experimental phasing. In this study, the phasing molecule 5-amino-2,4,6-triiodoisophthalic acid (I3C) was added to a random microseed matrix screen to generate high-quality crystals derivatized with I3C in a single optimization experiment. I3C, often referred to as the magic triangle, contains an aromatic ring scaffold with three bound I atoms. This approach was applied to efficiently phase the structures of hen egg-white lysozyme and the N-terminal domain of the Orf11 protein from Staphylococcus phage P68 (Orf11 NTD) using SAD phasing. The structure of Orf11 NTD suggests that it may play a role as a virion-associated lysin or endolysin.

Fragment-based molecular-replacement methods can solve a macromolecular structure quasi-ab initio. ARCIMBOLDO, using a common secondary-structure or tertiary-structure template or a library of folds, locates these with Phaser and reveals the rest of the structure by density modification and autotracing in SHELXE. The latter stage is challenging when dealing with diffraction data at lower resolution, low solvent content, high β-sheet composition or situations in which the initial fragments represent a low fraction of the total scattering or where their accuracy is low. SEQUENCE SLIDER aims to overcome these complications by extending the initial polyalanine fragment with side chains in a multisolution framework. Its use is illustrated on test cases and previously unknown structures. The selection and order of fragments to be extended follows the decrease in log-likelihood gain (LLG) calculated with Phaser upon the omission of each single fragment. When the starting substructure is derived from a remote homolog, sequence assignment to fragments is restricted by the original alignment. Otherwise, the secondary-structure prediction is matched to that found in fragments and traces. Sequence hypotheses are trialled in a brute-force approach through side-chain building and refinement. Scoring the refined models through their LLG in Phaser may allow discrimination of the correct sequence or filter the best partial structures for further density modification and autotracing. The default limits for the number of models to pursue are hardware dependent. In its most economic implementation, suitable for a single laptop, the main-chain trace is extended as polyserine rather than trialling models with different sequence assignments, which requires a grid or multicore machine. SEQUENCE SLIDER has been instrumental in solving two novel structures: that of MltC from 2.7 Å resolution data and that of a pneumococcal lipoprotein with 638 residues and 35% solvent content.

The study of ion channels dates back to the 1950s and the groundbreaking electrophysiology work of Hodgin and Huxley, who used giant squid axons to probe how action potentials in neurons were initiated and propagated. More recently, several experiments using different structural biology techniques and approaches have been conducted to try to understand how potassium ions permeate through the selectivity filter of potassium ion channels. Two mechanisms of permeation have been proposed, and each of the two mechanisms is supported by different experiments. The key structural biology experiments conducted so far to try to understand how ion permeation takes place in potassium ion channels are reviewed and discussed. Protein crystallo­graphy has made, and continues to make, key contributions in this field, often through the use of anomalous scattering. Other structural biology techniques used to study the contents of the selectivity filter include solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance and two-dimensional infrared spectroscopy, both of which make clever use of isotopic labeling techniques, while molecular-dynamics simulations of ion flow through the selectivity filter have been enabled by the growing number of potassium ion channel structures deposited in the Protein Data Bank.

New fitting analyses of two-dimensional diffraction-spot shapes are demonstrated to evaluate strain, strain distribution and domain size in a crystalline ultra-thin film. The evaluations are displayed as residual and population maps as a function of strain or domain size.

A putative open reading frame encoding GTP cyclohydrolase I from Listeria monocytogenes was expressed in a recombinant Escherichia coli strain. The recombinant protein was purified and was confirmed to convert GTP to dihydroneopterin triphosphate (Km = 53 µM; vmax = 180 nmol mg−1 min−1). The protein was crystallized from 1.3 M sodium citrate pH 7.3 and the crystal structure was solved at a resolution of 2.4 Å (Rfree = 0.226) by molecular replacement using human GTP cyclohydrolase I as a template. The protein is a D5-symmetric decamer with ten topologically equivalent active sites. Screening a small library of about 9000 compounds afforded several inhibitors with IC50 values in the low-micromolar range. Several inhibitors had significant selectivity with regard to human GTP cyclohydrolase I. Hence, GTP cyclohydrolase I may be a potential target for novel drugs directed at microbial infections, including listeriosis, a rare disease with high mortality.

The Caddo people of Arkansas, Louisiana, Texas and Oklahoma have maintained many of their traditional ways and actively work to preserve their unique tribal cultural today. One example is the pottery of Jeri Redcorn.

The post Clay vessels by Native American potter Jeri Redcorn added to Smithsonian collections appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Now that astronomers are finding rocky worlds orbiting distant stars, they're asking the next logical questions: Do any of those worlds have volcanoes? And if so, could we detect them? Work by theorists at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics suggests that the answer to the latter is a qualified "Yes."

The post Can we spot volcanoes on alien worlds? Astronomers say yes appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

The Panoramic Survey Telescope & Rapid Response System (Pan-STARRS) PS1 telescope has discovered an asteroid about 150 feet in diameter that will come within 4 million miles of Earth in mid-October.

The post Rapid Response telescope system spots first potentially hazardous asteroid appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.