Filariasis is one of the major public health concerns in India. Approximately 600 million people spread across 250 districts of India are at risk of filariasis. To predict this disease, a pilot scale study was carried out in 30 villages of Karimnagar district of Telangana from 2004 to 2007 to collect epidemiological and socio-economic data. The collected data are analysed by employing various machine learning techniques such as Naïve Bayes (NB), logistic model tree, probabilistic neural network, J48 (C4.5), classification and regression tree, JRip and gradient boosting machine. The performances of these algorithms are reported using sensitivity, specificity, accuracy and area under ROC curve (AUC). Among all employed classification methods, NB yielded the best AUC of 64% and was equally statistically significant with the rest of the classifiers. Similarly, the J48 algorithm generated 23 decision rules that help in developing an early warning system to implement better prevention and control efforts in the management of filariasis.

OBJECTIVES/SPECIFIC AIMS: Objectives and goals of this study are to (i) determine whether IBS-D patients randomized to either rifaximin or low FODMAP diet show improvement in IBS-related symptoms; and (2) identify using longitudinal analyses how SIBO status and fecal microbiota features associate with response to either rifaximin or low FODMAP dietary intervention. METHODS/STUDY POPULATION: 42 patients ≥ 18 years of age who meet Rome IV criteria for IBS-D will be randomized to receive either rifaximin or low FODMAP diet intervention. The primary outcome will be the proportion of responders to intervention which is defined as ≥ 30% reduction in mean daily abdominal pain or bloating by visual analog scale compared with baseline. Exclusion criteria will include: (a) history of microscopic colitis, inflammatory bowel disease, celiac disease, or other organic disease that could explain symptoms, (b) prior gastrointestinal surgery, other than appendectomy or cholecystectomy > 6 months prior to study initiation, (c) prior use of rifaximin or formal dietary interventions for IBS-D, (d) use of antibiotics within the past 3 months, or (e) use of probiotics within 1 month of study entry. Glucose hydrogen breath tests will be performed at the beginning and end of the trial to evaluate for SIBO. Fecal samples will be collected at 0, 2, and 6 weeks to determine changes in fecal microbial composition and structure. RESULTS/ANTICIPATED RESULTS: This study seeks to examine whether longitudinal analyses of small intestinal and colonic microbiota can subtype IBS-D subjects into clinically relevant phenotypes. A total of 18 subjects have been enrolled into the study. Clinical variables, hydrogen breath test results, and fecal microbiota data are being collected for ongoing analysis. DISCUSSION/SIGNIFICANCE OF IMPACT: Results from this study may help move treatment of IBS from a purely symptom based approach to a more individualized approach by stratifying IBS-D patients into distinct clinical phenotypes which are amenable to targeted therapeutic approaches.

Cobalt ferrite nanoparticles were prepared by co-precipitation method and were heat treated at 100 o C, 200 o C, 400 o C and 600 o C for 2 h to increase the particle size. Phase purity of samples was confirmed by X-ray diffraction. Scherrer formula calculations showed crystallite size varied from 12 to 24 nm when heated from 100 o C to 600 o C. Transmission electron microscopy reveals a uniform and narrow particle size distribution about 12 nm for as-prepared cobalt ferrite particles. Room temperature saturation magnetization was found to vary from 40.8 to 67.0 emu/g as the particle size increased from12 nm to 24 nm. Increase in saturation magnetization with increase in particle size was attributed to the presence of magnetic inert layer on the surface of nanoparticles. Inert layer thickness calculated at 10 K and 300 K was 6 Å and 11 Å respectively. The dielectric properties ε’, tanδ, Z and θ have been studied as a function of frequency and particles size. For the 12 nm grain size, the dielectric constant is one order higher than that of bulk cobalt ferrite. Increase in the grain size showed an increase in the dielectric constant. The increase in the conductivity with grain size is mainly due to the grain size effects. The present study shows that the dielectric properties can be tailor-made to suit the requirement of a particular application by controlling the grain size.

The change in dielectric constant relaxation time over temperature (35–590 °C) and frequency (45 Hz–5 MHz) in ceramics of Pb0.77K0.115Gd0.115Nb2O6 (PKGN, Tc = 340 °c) has been studied. Powder X-ray diffraction revealed the single-phase formation with orthorhombic crystal structure. The P-E hysteresis loop parameters are Ps = 21.77 μC/cm2, Pr = 17.09 μC/cm2, Ec = 11.86 kV/cm; the piezoelectric constants, Kp = 31.7%, Kt = 47%, d33 = 115 × 10−12 C/N, d31 = −41 × 10−12 C/N, are determined in the material and some transducer applications are discussed. Cole-Cole (Zll vs. Zl) plots showed a non-Debye type relaxation. Conductivity obeyed Jonscher’s universal power law, σ = σ0 + Aωn. The theoretical values of εl and σ are computed using the parameters ‘A(T)’ and ‘n(T)’ (0 < n < 1) and are well fitted with the experimental data. The hopping ion frequency (ωp) and charge carrier concentration (Kl) have been analyzed using Almond-West formalism. The dielectric relaxation processes are associated with localized oxygen vacancies conduction at high frequency region. A long-range conductivity by Gd3+ ions is found to be predominant at low frequency region. The activation energies from impedance and modulus formalisms revealed the ionic type conduction in PKGN.

Rapid thermal anneal (R.T.A.) by halogen lamps has been carried out to activate Si29 implants in semi-insulating InP substrates with the aim of realizing good contact areas at low depth (0.1 μm). To better understand the electrical behaviour of Si observed in these conditions, and to try to increase the electrical activity we performed dual implantations (As + Si or P + Si). The crystallographic disorder remaining after anneal and its influence on the electrical properties are discussed. The uniformity of activation has been evaluated by Hall effect and specific contact resistivity cartographies both for mono-implantations and for dual implantations.

Low field (∿5 Oe)Magneto-Thermo-Gravimetric technique has been used to study the effects of substitution of Nd with Y, Gd, and Dy in melt-spun Fe77Nd15B8 alloys, and also to monitor the changes in the magnetic properties on heat treatment to achieve optimum magnetic hardening in these alloys. From VSM-measurements preliminary studies of the effect of substitution for Nd on the hysteretic loops are presented.

Thin films of Ceria, Titania and Ziroonia have been prepared using Ion Assisted Deposition(IAD). The energy of ions was varied between 0 and 1 keV and current densities up to 220 μA/cm were used. It was found that the stress behaviour is dependent on ion species, i.e. Argon or Oxygen, ion energy and current density and substrate temperature apart from the material. While oeria files showed tensile stresses under the influence of argon ion bombardment at ambient temperature, they showed a sharp transition from tensile to compressive stress with increase in substrate temperature. When bombarded with oxygen ions they showed a transition from tensile to compressive stress with increase in energy. The titania films deposited with oxygen ions, on the other hand showed purely tensile stresses. Zirconia films deposited with oxygen ions, however, showed a transition from tensile to compressive stress.

It has been shown recently that the short channel performance worsens for high-K dielectric MOSFETs as the physical thickness to the channel length ratio increases, even when the effective oxide thickness (EOT) is kept identical to that of SiO2. In this work we have systematically evaluated the effective dielectric thickness for different Kgate to achieve targeted threshold voltage (Vt), drain-induced barrier lowering (DIBL) and Ion/Ioff ratio for different technology generations down to 50 nm using 2-Dimensional process and device simulations. Our results clearly show that the oxide thickness scaling for high-K gate dielectrics and SiO2 follow different trends and the fringing field effects must be taken into account for estimation of effective dielectric thickness when SiO2 is replaced by a high-K dielectric.

The relationship between chromosome pairing and chromosome fragmentation has been studied in a gene controlled mutant of pearl millet (2n = 14). Premeiotic mitosis, premeiotic cell development and early prophase I are normal without any fragments, which first appear at pachytene. The extent of fragmentation varies from zero to very extreme with two discrete classes of plants, namely those with partial fragmentation and those with multiple fragmentation. A quantitative analysis of bivalent distribution and the distribution of AI bridges in desynaptic and fragmented cells show all of them to be nonrandom events. We suggest that in cells showing partial fragmentation the bridges and fragments result from U-type exchanges at pachytene. The reduced frequency of AII bridges indicates relatively low sister chromatid reunion at pachytene. In multiple fragmented plants numerous minute fragments were seen from pachytene. Despite these anomalies most PMCs complete meiosis but subsequently abort at the pollen grain stage. The mutant gene also causes disturbances in the sequence of meiotic development in the ear and in the synchronous development of PMCs within an anther. It has no effect on the tapetum or on the physiological development of the anther.

Orthorhombic tungsten bronze Pb $_{1-x}$ K $_{2x-3y}$ Sm y Nb2O6 (where x = 0.29 and y = 0.145) ceramic has been synthesized by the conventional sintering technique. Preliminary X-ray diffractogram analysis of crystal structure showed that a single phase compound has been formed with orthorhombic system. Frequency and temperature dependences of impedance, modulus, conductivity and dielectric permittivity have been performed in the frequency and temperature range 45 Hz–5 MHz and 35–595 °C respectively. Impedance spectroscopy study showed the presence of both bulk and grain boundary effects in the materials. The complex impedance spectra above 440 °C have been fitted by the superposition of two Cole-Cole types of relaxations. The ac conductivity spectrum obeyed the Jonscher's power law. Modulus analysis indicated the possibility of hopping mechanism for electrical process in the system.

Dielectric, impedance, modulus and conductivity studies were performed over temperature 35 °C–600 °C and frequency 45 Hz–5 MHz range on the Lead Potassium Lithium Niobate (Pb4.0K1.0Li1.0Nb10O30, PKLN) ceramics. These studies established the conduction ion motion and polarization mechanism in the material. The dispersive dielectric loss at high temperature reveals the ionic conductivity. From frequency variation of ε l response the pre-factor A(T) and critical exponent n(T) are evaluated, and are used in Jonscher's dielectric dispersion relation for ε' to fit with the experimental data. Complex impedance plots showed a non – Debye type relaxation, are used to evaluate the grain and grain boundary conduction and relaxation activation energies. DC and ac conduction activation energies are estimated from Arrhenius plots. Occupancy of Li+ for C-sites gave a completely filled structure and enhanced the phase transition temperature to 520 °C compared to PKN. This is supported by the conduction activation energy in ferro region is more than the para region. Also, the dc conductivity characterized from bulk resistance and Mll peak frequency. Polaron hoping mechanism at room temperature has been confirmed via the linear variation of the plot log (σ ac – σ dc ) as a function of log ω 2. Stretched exponential parameter, β (0 < β $\leqslant$ 1) has been evaluated from impedance plots, interpreted as a result of correlated motions between the Li+ ions and distribution of dielectric relaxation. Compared the results from different techniques, and discussed the conduction mechanism in the material.

PbO-P2O5-As2O3 glasses containing different concentrations of Al2O3 ranging from 0 to 5 mol% were prepared. Dielectric properties (viz., dielectric constant $\varepsilon{'}$ , loss tan $\delta $ and a.c. conductivity $\sigma_{ac}$ over a moderately wide range of frequency and temperature and dielectric breakdown strength in air medium), optical properties (optical absorption, IR spectra and thermoluminescence) and differential thermal analysis have been studied. The interesting changes observed in these studies have been explained in the light of different structural groups of aluminium ions.

The main objective of this work is to examine the feasibility of depositing aluminum nitride (AlN) powders, synthesized using self-propagating high-temperature synthesis, on a mild steel substrate using the detonation spray coating technique. Thick coatings produced by utilizing the AlN powder were obtained at four different oxygen–acetylene ratios and analyzed for microstructure, microhardness, porosity, indentation fracture toughness, and phase distribution. The AlN powder particles were found to be undergoing oxidation during the deposition process. The interrelationship between the spray parameters and the extent of oxidation of AlN during the coating process was investigated. Tribological performance of the coatings was evaluated using a dry sand abrasion test and a pin-on-disc sliding wear test. The mechanical and tribological properties of the above four coatings were compared with pure alumina (Al2O3) coatings. The correlation between the structure of the coatings and their tribological performance was also established.

Greenhouse studies were conducted to evaluate potential interactions among glyphosate mixtures with five acetolactate synthase (ALS)-inhibiting herbicides (chlorimuron, imazamox, imazaquin, MON 12,000, or pyrithiobac) for the control of purple nutsedge and sicklepod at two growth stages. Herbicides were tested alone at 0.5X and 1X rates (1X being suggested use rate for these herbicides) and in combination with glyphosate at 560 (0.5X) and 1,120 (1X) g ai/ha on 3-wk-old plants and at 1,120 g/ha on 6-wk-old plants. Glyphosate alone at 1,120 g/ha gave complete control of purple nutsedge and at least 78% control of sicklepod regardless of growth stage. In 3-wk-old purple nutsedge plants, three of the 20 herbicide combinations were antagonistic and 17 combinations were additive, whereas all five combinations were additive in 6-wk-old plants. In sicklepod, eight combinations were antagonistic and 12 combinations were additive in 3-wk-old plants, and all five combinations were antagonistic in 6-wk-old plants. In 3-wk-old plants, the glyphosate (0.5X) plus imazaquin (0.5X) combination resulted in highest antagonism in purple nutsedge control (79%), and the combination of glyphosate (0.5X) plus imazamox (0.5X) resulted in highest antagonism in sicklepod control (54%). These results indicate that mixing chlorimuron, imazamox, imazaquin, MON 12,000, or pyrithiobac with glyphosate does not increase glyphosate efficacy on purple nutsedge or sicklepod.

Aluminum oxide films have been prepared by ion assisted deposition using argon ions with energy in the range 300 to 1000 eV and current density in the range 50 to 220 μA/cm2. The influence of ion energy and current density on the optical and structural properties has been investigated. The refractive index, packing density, and extinction coefficient are found to be very sensitive to the ion beam parameters and substrate temperatures. The as-deposited films were found to be amorphous and could be transformed into crystalline phase on annealing. However, the crystalline phases were different in films prepared at ambient and elevated substrate temperatures.

Distribution patterns of the critical stages of the major pod borer, Adisura atkinsoni (Moore) of field bean were studied at Bangalore, India. Eggs of A. atkinsoni and the pods damaged by its caterpillar followed negative binomial distribution. Eggs were distributed mostly on tender pods and those on tender pods (<0.5 cm wide) were highly correlated with total number of eggs laid on the inflorescence. Flat bored pods of 0.6–1.5 cm width were highly correlated with total number of bored pods per inflorescence. Compared with matured bored pods, flat pods also had more borers inside. 69.23% of the matured bored pods were without borers. Hence it is suggested that the eggs on tender pods and borer damage on flat pods, should both be observed before control measures are initiated.