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Understanding species richness and diversity patterns and their governing factors in less-to-unexplored regions across Himalaya provide invaluable insights into exploring drivers which shape as well as influence plant community structures. The present investigation explores plant species richness and diversity patterns across different growth forms and its association with environmental parameters along altitudinal gradient (3200 m-4800 m) in alpine regions of west Himalaya, India. A total of 265 plant taxa were documented from study area with higher proportion of herbs (212), followed by shrubs (44) and trees (9). Species richness, diversity, and density patterns were estimated for each growth form along altitude gradients using polynomial regression and an apparent monotonically decreasing trend (p < 0.05) was seen across transects, with highest values for herbs. Beta diversity, estimated for each transect, was low in Darma for herbs exhibiting high species packaging and homogenous composition, and high in Mana showing more scope for occurrence of rare/occasional herbs. Four major distinct altitudinal zones were identified for Uttarakhand alpines using cluster dendrogram, i.e., 3200 to 3500 m, 3600 to 3900 m, 4000 to 4500 m and 4600 to 4800 m with respect to their vegetation composition. NMDS of combined dataset along altitude gradient across transects also exhibited proximity among lower altitudesof transects with similar species composition (like Anaphalis, Danthonia, Geranium, Pedicularis, Potentilla), while high-altitude plots were scattered towards both ends of axesinhabiting specialized plant species (like Gentiana, Nardostachys, Saussurea, Sedum, Swertia). The relationship between vegetation variables (richness, diversity and density) and climate variables was modelled using Pearson's correlation (P < 0.001) and temperature, precipitation, and solar radiation exhibited positive correlation, while windspeed showed negative correlation. Relative effect of climatic parameters on species composition, analysed by CCA, showed strongest influence of precipitation in vegetation zones with high axes correlation, followed by temperature, isothermality and wind speed, while influence solar radiation was lowest. Thus, under the current climate change scenario, any change in these factors may alter the composition of these high-altitude area and threaten the unique flora as well as the fauna dependent on it. Hence, any effort made towards conservation would eventually benefit a significant proportion of Himalayan biodiversity. The alpine regions of Himalaya have rich plant diversity and vary along with elevational gradient. Environmental parameters have played significant role on plant distribution and diversity. Studies on relation between the plant diversity and environmental factors are limited. Keeping in view the study has been conducted to analyse the plant diversity with possible environmental parameters. The observed variation in temperature and precipitation patterns along altitude gradient significantly correlates with the species richness and diversity patterns. The linear correlation states altitude as the variable which best explains the variations in richness and diversity patterns.

In the Himalayan hills, woody plant species form a major source of fuelwood. This practice often leads to degradation of forests and raises several management issues. However, lack of adequate information about use patterns and species-level trends of utilization results in gaps in management planning and interventions. Realizing this, a detailed species-level quantification of annual extraction of fuelwood was conducted in Hat-Kalika watershed that represents west Himalayan conditions in India. Across nine surveyed villages, a total of 30 plants (26 trees, 4 shrubs) were being collected for fuel purpose by the inhabitants. Mean fuelwood collection by households ranged from 2916.4 (kg hh−1 year−1) in high-altitude villages to 1256.6 (kg hh−1 year−1) in low altitude. Among used species, probability of use was maximum for Pinus roxburghii (0.79 high-altitude, 0.89 mid-altitude and 0.82 low-altitude zone). Broadly, the tree species contributed 93.3% (low altitude) to 97.3% (high altitude) of annual fuelwood requirement of households. The quantum of collection was considerably higher from the native species compared to the non-natives. Study brings out the possible management implications of present trends of fuelwood collection in the study watershed in particular and mid-Himalaya watersheds of west Himalaya in general.

With an ever-increasing demand for energy, there is a proportionate increase in energy storage devices, among which batteries hold the key to the energy transition. Globally, batteries constitute the fastest-growing energy storage technology that is playing a key role in the transport sector electrification leading to rising demand for LIBs. However, there is a substantial need for innovation that will help mitigate the environmental effects of the production and use of LIBs—such as energy use, mineral extraction, and chemical processing. The battery value chain can be seen as an exceptional sustainable value creation opportunity wherein sustainability depends in part on the ability to reuse and recycle batteries. A typical LIB battery serves in electric vehicles (EVs) for about 5–10 years and needs to be replaced when they reach ~ 20% capacity loss. At this stage, the fate of the battery follows one of the routes—disposal, reuse/repurpose/remanufacture (3R) or recycle. However, a major obstacle for car and battery manufacturers to invest in second life, or to otherwise take advantage of the reuse market, is that they in many cases do not have control over the batteries. On the other hand, recycling LIBs holds tremendous potential owing to the recirculation of materials i.e., closed-loop recycling needed for battery manufacturing promoting sustainability. This review will enable readers to devise processes that contribute to closing the loop of the EV LIBs value chain from an industrial perspective as well as critically understand the current state and future of battery recycling. Graphical Abstract

The study attempts quantitative assessment of the use value of traditionally used woody species in a representative mid-Himalayan watershed of west Himalaya. Ethnobotanical surveys were conducted in the fringe villages of altitudinally diverse forested area of the watershed covering different age group respondents. A total of 34 woody species (27 trees and 7 shrubs) belonging to 25 families were identified as useful in the watershed, and their availability varied considerably across the altitudes. The relative frequency citation and use value for each identified species were analysed. Further, vegetation surveys were conducted in nearby forests to assess the availability of identified useful species. Outcomes of this study can be used to develop an effective augmentation plan for the community forests within the watershed and other Himalayan forests.

Pyrroloindolines and related systems are present in a large number of complex natural products. These core structures have generated considerable synthetic interest, as many of the compounds possess challenging, elaborate structures and interesting biological properties. Recently we have focused on using trichloroacetimidates for the synthesis of these fascinating molecules. Trichloroacetimidates can be used an electrophilic source of an alkyl group to form the pyrroloindoline directly from tryptamine derivatives. In this manner trichloroacetimidates provide a flexible solution to accessing highly functionalized pyrroloindoline core structures, needing only a catalytic amount of a Lewis acid to effect the requisite transformations.Isatin (1H-indol-2,3-dione) based structures are commonly found in molecules of medicinal interest. These molecules are usually synthesized in multiple steps, with their N-alkylation typically requiring the use of stoichiometric strong base which limits the type of electrophile that can be used and generates stoichiometric waste byproducts. Utilizing trichloroacetimidate electrophiles we have initiated an investigation into the N-alkylation of isatin based molecules with catalytic amounts of Lewis acids, which produce fewer side products and therefore are more environmentally friendly. The method provides a single-step N-alkylation of isatins and is also applicable to hindered electrophiles that do not give high yields under the base mediated conditions.Similar alkylations with trichloroacetimidates and benzotriazole substrates are also under investigation. Base promoted benzotriazole alkylation yields predominantly the N1-alkylation product, maintaining the aromaticity of the fused ring moiety. The N2-alkylation of benzotriazole which results in their de-aromatization has been explored here. This method can be applied for the synthesis of dearomatized benzotriazoles decorated with bulky functionalities yielding three-dimensional benzotriazole containing scaffolds.Ghrelin is a peptide hormone that plays a key role in the regulation of appetite and energy within the body. In order to exert its appetite stimulating effects, ghrelin must be post-translationally octanoylated by ghrelin O-acyltransferase (GOAT). Inhibition of GOAT offers an enzymatic target to control appetite, presenting a potential method for the development of small-molecule therapeutics to treat obesity and diabetes. A heterocyclic lead compound has been identified that shows significant inhibition of ghrelin acylation by GOAT. Synthesis of the lead compound and similar molecules to explore structure activity relationships are reported.

The gerbils were exposed to daily I min aggressive encounters for 30 days, to study the effect of social stress on reproduction. The encounters were induced by introduction of an adult male or female gerbil into the cage of a male retired breeder living in isolation. In the male gerbils the encounters decreased (P < 0.001) gonadal weight and sperm counts. The accessory sex organs responded variedly to the encounters. The surface areas of abdominal scent glands decreased (P < 0.001). The results suggest that exposure to aggressive encounters had a negative influence on male reproduction in the gerbil. Contrary to the results in male gerbils, encounters with males had a positive influence on reproduction in females. This was evidenced by data on ovarian and uterine weights, follicular kinetics and the estrous cycle. The ovarian and uterine weights increased (P < 0.001) in gerbils exposed to the encounters. The number of estruses increased (P < 0.001) whereas the diestruses decreased. Study of follicular kinetics revealed an increase in the number of growing follicles and a decrease in the number of regressive follicles. The mechanism(s) by which the encounters influence reproduction is not known. Adrenal gland weights increased (P < 0.001) in both male and female gerbils exposed to the encounters. The pinealocyte cell and nuclear diameters decreased (P < 0.01) in males and increased (P < 0.001) in female gerbils after the encounters. Presumably the adrenal and pineal glands may play an important role mediating the effects of the encounters.[PUBLICATION ABSTRACT]

Source Code Authorship Attribution (SCAA) is crucial for software classification because it provides insights into the origin and behavior of software. By accurately identifying the author or group behind a piece of code, experts can better understand the motivations and techniques of developers. In the cybersecurity era, this attribution helps trace the source of malicious software, identify patterns in the code that may indicate specific threat actors or groups, and ultimately enhance threat intelligence and mitigation strategies. This paper presents AuthAttLyzer-V2, a new source code feature extractor for SCAA, focusing on lexical, semantic, syntactic, and N-gram features. Our research explores author identification in C++ by examining 24,000 source code samples from 3,000 authors. Our methodology integrates Random Forest, Gradient Boosting, and XGBoost models, enhanced with SHAP for interpretability. The study demonstrates how ensemble models can effectively discern individual coding styles, offering insights into the unique attributes of code authorship. This approach is pivotal in understanding and interpreting complex patterns in authorship attribution, especially for malware classification.