Researchers at Northwell Health in New York are testing the effects on Famotidine (used in high intravenous doses) on Covid-19 patients as a potential treatment. After the hospital announced its clinical trials, it led to a drug shortage in the US. Back home, however, there has not been any surge in the demand for Famotidine yet.

The Covid-19 count of Haryana on Saturday reached 675 as 28 new cases, which includes 25 from the national capital region (NCR) were reported. A 22-year-old TB patient also succumbed to Covid-19 in Panipat taking death toll to 9 in the state.

Amid prevalent chaos and uncertainty over access to the essential services and commodities during the lockdown, we bring you the latest updates from your city.

'Despite expanded testing the incidence remains low.'

Mineral inclusions in natural diamond are widely studied for the insight that they provide into the geochemistry and dynamics of the Earth's interior. A major challenge in achieving thorough yet high rates of analysis of mineral inclusions in diamond derives from the micrometre-scale of most inclusions, often requiring synchrotron radiation sources for diffraction. Centering microinclusions for diffraction with a highly focused synchrotron beam cannot be achieved optically because of the very high index of refraction of diamond. A fast, high-throughput method for identification of micromineral inclusions in diamond has been developed at the GeoSoilEnviro Center for Advanced Radiation Sources (GSECARS), Advanced Photon Source, Argonne National Laboratory, USA. Diamonds and their inclusions are imaged using synchrotron 3D computed X-ray microtomography on beamline 13-BM-D of GSECARS. The location of every inclusion is then pinpointed onto the coordinate system of the six-circle goniometer of the single-crystal diffractometer on beamline 13-BM-C. Because the bending magnet branch 13-BM is divided and delivered into 13-BM-C and 13-BM-D stations simultaneously, numerous diamonds can be examined during coordinated runs. The fast, high-throughput capability of the methodology is demonstrated by collecting 3D diffraction data on 53 diamond inclusions from Juína, Brazil, within a total of about 72 h of beam time.

A fabrication method comprising near-field holography (NFH) with an electron beam lithography (EBL)-written phase mask was developed to fabricate soft X-ray varied-line-spacing gratings (VLSGs). An EBL-written phase mask with an area of 52 mm × 30 mm and a central line density greater than 3000 lines mm−1 was used. The introduction of the EBL-written phase mask substantially simplified the NFH optics for pattern transfer. The characterization of the groove density distribution and diffraction efficiency of the fabricated VLSGs indicates that the EBL–NFH method is feasible and promising for achieving high-accuracy groove density distributions with corresponding image properties. Vertical stray light is suppressed in the soft X-ray spectral range.

A multi-color light source is a significant tool for nonlinear optics experiments, pump–dump/repump–probe experiments and in other fields. Here, a novel method is proposed to create three-color pulses based on a high-gain harmonic-generation (HGHG) free-electron laser with a tilted electron bunch. In this method, the initial bunch tilt is created by transverse wakefields after the bunch passes through a corrugated structure with an off-axis orbit, and is further enlarged in a following drift section. Then the tilted bunch experiences the off-axis field of a quadrupole magnet to cool down the large transverse velocity induced before. After that, it enters an HGHG configuration adopting a transverse gradient undulator (TGU) as the radiator, where only three separated fractions of the tilted bunch will resonate at three adjacent harmonics of the seed wavelength and are enabled to emit three-color pulses simultaneously. In addition, the use of the natural transverse gradient of a normal planar undulator instead of the TGU radiator to emit three-color pulses is also studied in detail. Numerical simulations including the generation of the tilted bunch and the free-electron laser radiation confirm the validity and feasibility of this scheme both for the TGU radiator and the natural gradient in the extreme-ultraviolet waveband.

A portable IR fiber laser-heating system, optimized for X-ray emission spectroscopy (XES) and nuclear inelastic scattering (NIS) spectroscopy with signal collection through the radial opening of diamond anvil cells near 90°with respect to the incident X-ray beam, is presented. The system offers double-sided on-axis heating by a single laser source and zero attenuation of incoming X-rays other than by the high-pressure environment. A description of the system, which has been tested for pressures above 100 GPa and temperatures up to 3000 K, is given. The XES spectra of laser-heated Mg0.67Fe0.33O demonstrate the potential to map the iron spin state in the pressure–temperature range of the Earth's lower mantle, and the NIS spectra of laser-heated FeSi give access to the sound velocity of this candidate of a phase inside the Earth's core. This portable system represents one of the few bridges across the gap between laser heating and high-resolution X-ray spectroscopies with signal collection near 90°.

Kent earthquake 'causes homes to shake'  BBC News

Earth's north magnetic pole is heading for Russia  The Independent Barents Observer

UK government's fracking 'ban' has a convenient loophole  The Conversation UK

The day Folkestone was rocked by one of Kent's worst ever earthquakes  Kent Live

Mum feels the 'earth move' beneath her at Plymouth car park  Plymouth Live

Holderness coast: Major cliff landslides 'every six years'  BBC News

UK's only active fracking site near Blackpool records largest ever earth tremor as homeowners complain of windows shaking  iNews

Interview: Michael Stephenson, British Geological Survey head of science & technology  The Engineer

Northampton's first ever earthquake...but did anyone even notice?  Northampton Chronicle and Echo

'Surrey swarm' quakes 'not caused by oil extraction'  BBC News

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

There was an earthquake in Gwynedd yesterday - but you probably didn't feel the earth move  Daily Post

Houses 'rattled' as minor earthquakes shake Shropshire  BBC News

Earth's North Magnetic Pole Keeps Drifting towards Siberia, Latest World Magnetic Model Shows | Geophysics, Geoscience  Sci-News.com

Dr Tim Gregory Works with a Meteorite That's Older Than The Earth  LeftLion

'Surrey swarm' earthquakes not caused by nearby oil extraction, study suggests  Science Daily

Earth scientists plan to meld massive databases into a 'geological Google'  Science Magazine

Oil workers in North Sea feel effects of earthquake, with platform 'shaking'  Evening Telegraph

'Several people' feel shaking as 4.2 magnitude earthquake strikes 190 miles from Dundee  The Courier

'Rumbling' felt during Ardnamurchan earthquake  BBC News

Fracking: UK shale gas reserves 'significantly lower than previous estimates'  Energy Live News - Energy Made Easy

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

Researchers Describe Why Earth's Magnetic North Pole Is Straying Away From Canada Towards Siberia  The Digital Wise

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Climate change and urbanisation 'threaten groundwater', say scientists  ENDS Report

European lockdown a boon to seismologists checking Earth's vibrations  E&T Magazine

Did the earth move for you? British Geological Survey has asked if Cumbrians felt an earth tremor last week  News & Star

The title compound [systematic name: 4-(2,3-Dichlorophenyl)benzene-1,2-diol], C12H8Cl2O2, is a putative di­hydroxy­lated metabolite of 2,3-di­chloro­biphenyl (PCB 5). The title structure displays intra­molecular O—H⋯O hydrogen bonding, and the π–π stacking distance between inversion-related chlorinated benzene rings of the title compound is 3.371 (3) Å. The dihedral angle between two benzene rings is 59.39 (8)°.

The structure of the title compound, C24H26S2, an example of a pincer ligand with an SCS-chelation motif, illustrates the steric effects of the methyl groups in the thio­phenyl rings at the 2- and 6-positions, forcing a dissimilar spatial orientation of the thio­phenyl rings relative to the central aryl group [dihedral angles = 33.58 (7) and 40.49 (7)°]. In the crystal, weak S⋯S contacts [3.4009 (7) Å] link the mol­ecules into inversion dimers.

The title compound, C4H9N5O2+·SO42−·H2O, is the monohydrate of the commercially available compound `C4H7N5O·H2SO4·xH2O'. It is obtained by reprecipitation of C4H7N5O·H2SO4·xH2O from dilute sodium hydroxide solution with dilute sulfuric acid. The crystal structure of anhydrous 2,4,5-tri­amino-1,6-di­hydro­pyrimidin-6-one sulfate is known, although called by the authors 5-amminium-6-amino-isocytosinium sulfate [Bieri et al. (1993). Private communication (refcode HACDEU). CCDC, Cambridge, England]. In the structure, the sulfate group is deprotonated, whereas one of the amino groups is protonated (R2C—NH3+) and one is rearranged to a protonated imine group (R2C=NH2+). This arrangement is very similar to the known crystal structure of the anhydrate. Several tautomeric forms of the investigated mol­ecule are possible, which leads to questionable proton attributions. The measured data allowed the location of all hydrogen atoms from the residual electron density. In the crystal, ions and water mol­ecules are linked into a three-dimensional network by N—H⋯O and O—H⋯O hydrogen bonds.

In the title compound, [CuCl2(C9H18N4)]·CH3OH, the central CuII ion is coordinated by three N atoms from the pyrazole derivative ligand and two chloride co-ligands. The coordination geometry around the CuII ion is distorted trigonal–bipyramidal. In the crystal, the mol­ecules are linked by C—H⋯O, C—H⋯Cl and O—H⋯Cl hydrogen bonds, forming a three-dimensional framework with the lattice solvent mol­ecule.

In the complex cation of title compound, [Fe(C56H52N4)(C5H8N2)2]ClO4·1.5C6H5Cl, the ironIII atom is coordinated in a distorted octa­hedral manner by four pyrrole N atoms of the porphyrin ring system in the equatorial plane, and by two N atoms of the 1-ethyl­imidazole ligands in the axial sites. A disordered perchlorate anion and one and a half chloro­benzene solvent mol­ecules are also present. The cationic complex exhibits a highly ruffled porphyrin core. The average Fe—Np (Np is a porphyrin N atom) bond length is 1.988 (5), and the axial Fe—NIm (NIm is an imidazole N atom) bond lengths are 1.962 (3) and 1.976 (3) Å. The two 1-ethyl­imidazole ligands are inclined to each other by a dihedral angle of 68.62 (16)°. The dihedral angles between the 1-ethyl­imidazole planes and the planes of the closest Fe—Np vector are 28.52 (18) and 43.57 (13)°. Inter­molecular C—H⋯Cl inter­actions are observed.

In the title 1:1 co-crystal [systematic name: 6-chloro­pyridin-2-amine–penta­nedioic acid (1/1)], C5H5ClN2·C5H8O4, the pyridine ring is essentially planar, with a maximum deviation of 0.003 (1) Å. The base and acid mol­ecules are linked via N—H⋯O and O—H⋯N hydrogen bonds, while inversion-related acid mol­ecules are linked via pairs of O—H⋯O hydrogen bonds. These inter­actions together with a C—H⋯O hydrogen bond connect the two components, forming (001) sheets.

In the crystal structure of the title compound, [Sn(C42H26N6)(C7H5O2)2], the SnIV ion is located on a crystallographic inversion centre and is octa­hedrally coordinated with an N4O2 set. Four N atoms of the porphyrin ring form the equatorial plane while the axial positions are occupied by two O atoms from benzoate anions. The molecular packing of the title complex involves non-classical hydrogen bonds of the types C—H⋯O and C—H⋯N, leading to a three-dimensional network structure.

The title compound, C13H10INO, is not planar as the dihedral angle between the planes of the two aryl rings is 44.5 (9)°. The configuration about the central C=N bond is E, and there is an intra­molecular O—H⋯N hydrogen bond which generates an S(6) ring. The mol­ecular packing is stabilized by weak C—H⋯π inter­actions. The structure was refined as a two-component inversion twin.

The title compound, [Co(NCS)2(C15H22N2O2)2] or C32H44CoN6O4S2, was prepared from cobalt(II) nitrate, benzyl carbazate and ammonium thio­cyanate in the presence of 4-hepta­none. The compound crystallizes with two centrosymmetric complexes in which the cobalt(II) atoms have a trans-CoO2N4 octa­hedral coordination geometry. In the crystal, N—H⋯S, C—H⋯S and C—H⋯.π contacts stack the complex mol­ecules along the b-axis direction.

6-Methyluracil, C5H6N2O2, exists in two crystalline phases: form (I), monoclinic, space group P21/c [Reck et al. (1988). Acta Cryst. A44, 417–421] and form (II), monoclinic, space group C2/c [Leonidov et al. (1993). Russ. J. Phys. Chem. 67, 2220–2223]. The structure of polymorph (II) has been redetermined providing a significant increase in the precision of the derived geometric parameters. In the crystal, mol­ecules form ribbons approximately running parallel to the c-axis direction through N—H⋯O hydrogen bonds. The radical differences observed between the crystal packing of the two polymorphs may be responsible in form (II) for an increase in the contribution of the polar canonical forms C—(O−)=N—H+ relative to the neutral canonical form C(=O)—N—H induced by hydrogen-bonding inter­actions.