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World is facing lot of health issues due to industrial wastewater pollution. Increasing population and industrialization are one of the main causes of water pollution. In general, industrial wastewater contains suspended, colloidal and dissolved impurities. Industrial effluent may be either excessively acidic or alkaline and may contain high concentration of coloured matter. In this study, coagulationflocculation method has been used for minimization of contaminants from sugar industry effluent. Lime has been used in conjunction with poly diallyl dimethyl ammonium chloride (PDADMAC) for reduction of chemical oxygen demand (COD), total dissolved solids (TDS), total suspended solids (TSS) and turbidity. It could remove 97% turbidity, 92.8% TSS, 95.5% TDS and 90.5% COD from sugar industry wastewater. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) studies were also performed to support the formation of flocs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

High-quality training and networking are pivotal for enhancing the research capacity of early- to mid-career researchers in the prevention and control of non-communicable diseases. Beyond building research skills, these professionals gain valuable insights from interdisciplinary mentorship, networking opportunities, and exposure to diverse cultures and health systems. Despite the significance of such initiatives, their implementation remains underexplored. Here, we describe the implementation and evaluation of the Excellence in Non-COommunicable disease REsearch (ENCORE) program, a collaborative initiative between Australia and India that was launched in 2016 and spanned a duration of 3 years. Led by a consortium that included the University of Melbourne and leading Indian research and medical institutions, ENCORE involved 15 faculty members and 20 early-mid career researchers. The program comprised various elements, including face-to-face forums, masterclasses, webinars, a health-technology conference, and roundtable events. ENCORE successfully trained the early-career researchers, resulting in over 30 peer-reviewed articles, 36 conference presentations, and the submission of seven grant applications, three of which received funding. Beyond individual achievements, ENCORE fostered robust research collaboration between Australian and Indian institutions, showcasing its broader impact on strengthening research capacities across borders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Human visual memory capacity has a rapid developmental progression. Here we examine whether image semantics modulate this progression. We assessed the performance of children (6–14 years) and young adults (19–36 years) on a visual memory task using real‐world (or meaningful) as well as abstract image sets, which were matched in low‐level image attributes. For real images, we find comparable performance across the two age groups, consistent with previously reported results. However, for abstract images, we find a clear age‐related difference indicating greater reliance of children's memory processes on semantics, suggesting that strategies for encoding abstract patterns keep improving even into late childhood. We complemented these studies with computational experiments designed to examine the role of increasing experience with real‐world images on real and abstract image encoding, to examine whether the observed age‐related differences, as well as the general privilege of real over abstract images, can emerge directly through experience with meaningful images. Our results provide support for this possibility and set the stage for a finer‐grained investigation of the timeline along which children's memory capacity for abstract images reaches adult levels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Age alters the host's susceptibility to immune induction. Humoral immunity with circulating antibodies, particularly immunoglobulin G (IgG), plays an essential role in immune response. IgG glycosylation in the fragment crystallizable (Fc) region, including sialylation, is important in regulating the effector function by interacting with Fc gamma receptors (FcγRs). Glycosylation is fundamentally changed with age and inflammatory responses. We aimed to explore the regulation of humoral immunity by comparing responses to antigen-induced immune challenges in young and adult mice using a local antigen-induced arthritis mouse model. This study examines the differences in immune response between healthy and immune-challenged states across these groups. Our initial assessment of the arthritis model indicated that adult mice presented more severe knee swelling than their younger counterparts. In contrast, we found that neither histological assessment, bone mineral density, nor the number of osteoclasts differs. Our data revealed an age-associated but not immune challenge increase in total IgG; the only subtype affected by immune challenge was IgG1 and partially IgG3. Interestingly, the sialylation of IgG2b and IgG3 is affected by age and immune challenges but not stimulated further by immune challenges in adult mice. This suggests a shift in IgG towards a pro-inflammatory and potentially pathogenic state with age and inflammation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: The glycosylation of immunoglobulin (Ig) G regulates IgG interaction capability with Fc gamma receptors found in all immune cells. In pathogenic conditions, estrogen can impact IgG levels and glycosylation. Following menopause, when estrogen levels decline affecting the immune system and potentially leading to a heightened susceptibility of immune activation. Purpose: In this study, we aim to determine if estrogen levels can regulate IgG glycosylation in postmenopausal healthy situations. Methods: Mice were ovariectomized to simulate an estrogen-deficient postmenopausal status and then treated with 17-beta-estradiol (E2) at different doses and different administration strategies. Results: Using a highly sensitive liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS) glycoproteomic method, we demonstrated that E2 treatment increased the degree of glycosylation on IgG-Fc with both galactosylation and sialylation in the position required for interaction with Fc gamma receptors. We also observed that only long-term estrogen deficiency reduces IgG levels and that estrogen status had no impact on total IgG sialylation on both Fab and Fc domains or general glycoprotein sialylation evaluated by ELISA. Furthermore, E2 status did not affect the total sialic acid content of total cells in lymphoid organs and neither B cells nor plasma cells. Conclusion: The study concluded that E2 treatment does not affect total serum glycoprotein sialylation but alters IgG glycosylation, including IgG sialylation, implying that estrogen functions as an intrinsic modulator of IgG sialylation and could thereby be one pathway by which estrogen modulates immunity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) causes a broad range of infections. Toll-like receptor (TLR) 2 senses the S. aureus lipoproteins in S. aureus infections. Aging raises the risk of infection. Our aim was to understand how aging and TLR2 affect the clinical outcomes of S. aureus bacteremia. Four groups of mice (wild type/young, wild type/old, TLR2−/−/young, and TLR2−/−/old) were intravenously infected with S. aureus , and the infection course was followed. Both TLR2 deficiency and aging enhanced the susceptibility to disease. Increased age was the main contributing factor for increased mortality rates and changes in spleen weight, whereas other clinical parameters, such as weight loss and kidney abscess formation, were more TLR2 dependent. Importantly, aging increased mortality rates without relying on TLR2. In vitro, both aging and TLR2 deficiency down-regulated cytokine/chemokine production of immune cells with distinct patterns. In summary, we demonstrate that aging and TLR2 deficiency impair the immune response to S. aureus bacteremia in distinct ways. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: There is a dearth of data on common multimorbidity clusters and the healthcare costs for individuals with mental health disorders. This study aimed to identify clinically meaningful physical-mental multimorbidity clusters, frequently occurring clusters of conditions, and healthcare utilization patterns and expenditure among patients attending a psychiatric outpatient clinic. Materials and Methods: Data were collected in the psychiatric outpatient department among patients aged 18 years and above in February-July 2019 (n = 500); follow-up data on non-communicable disease incidence were collected after 18 months. For analysis, morbidity clusters were defined using two approaches: 1) agglomerative hierarchical clustering method to identify clusters of diseases; and 2) non-hierarchical cluster k mean analysis to identify clusters of patients. Self-reported healthcare costs in these clusters were also calculated. Result: Two disease clusters were identified: using the 1st approach were; 1) hypertension, diabetes, and mood disorder; 2) Neurotic, stress-related, and somatoform disorders, and acid peptic disease. Three clusters of patients identified using the 2nd approach were identified: 1) those with mood disorders and cardiometabolic, musculoskeletal, and thyroid diseases; 2) those with neurotic, substance use, and organic mental disorders, cancer, and epilepsy; and 3) those with Schizophrenia. Patients in Cluster 1 were taking more than six medicines and had more hospital visits. Within 18 months, 41 participants developed either one or two chronic conditions, most commonly diabetes, hypertension, or thyroid disease. Conclusion: Cardiometabolic diseases are most commonly clustered with mood disorders. There is a need for blood pressure and sugar measurement in psychiatric clinics and mood disorder screening in cardiac, endocrinology, and primary care clinics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Estradiol (E2) affects both reproductive and non-reproductive tissues, and the sensitivity to different doses of E2 varies between tissues. Membrane estrogen receptor α (mERα)-initiated signaling plays a tissue-specific role in mediating E2 effects, however, it is unclear if mERα signaling modulates E2 sensitivity. To determine this, we treated ovariectomized C451A females, lacking mERα signaling, and wildtype (WT) littermates with physiological (0.05 μg/mouse/day (low); 0.6 μg/mouse/day (medium)) or supraphysiological (6 μg/mouse/day (high)) doses of E2 (17β-estradiol-3-benzoate) for three weeks. Low-dose treatment increased uterus weight in WT, but not C451A mice, while non-reproductive tissues (gonadal fat, thymus, trabecular and cortical bone) were unaffected in both genotypes. Medium-dose treatment increased uterus weight and bone mass and decreased thymus and gonadal fat weights in WT mice. Uterus weight was also increased in C451A mice, but the response was significantly attenuated (− 85%) compared to WT mice, and no effects were triggered in non-reproductive tissues. High-dose treatment effects in thymus and trabecular bone were significantly blunted (− 34% and − 64%, respectively) in C451A compared to WT mice, and responses in cortical bone and gonadal fat were similar between genotypes. Interestingly, the high dose effect in uterus was enhanced (+ 26%) in C451A compared to WT mice. In conclusion, loss of mERα signaling reduces the sensitivity to physiological E2 treatment in both non-reproductive tissues and uterus. Furthermore, the E2 effect after high-dose treatment in uterus is enhanced in the absence of mERα, suggesting a protective effect of mERα signaling in this tissue against supraphysiological E2 levels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The incidence of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) increases at the same time as menopause when estrogen level decreases. Estrogen treatment is known to reduce the IgG pathogenicity by increasing the sialylation grade on the terminal glycan chain of the Fc domain, inhibiting the binding ability to the Fc gamma receptor. Therefore, treatment with estrogen may be beneficial in pre-RA patients who have autoantibodies and are prone to get an autoimmune disease. However, estrogen treatment is associated with negative side effects, therefore selective estrogen receptor modulators (SERMs) have been developed that have estrogenic protective effects with minimal side effects. In the present study, we investigated the impact of the SERM bazedoxifene on IgG sialylation as well as on total serum protein sialylation. C57BL6 mice were ovariectomized to simulate postmenopausal status, followed by ovalbumin immunization, and then treated with estrogen (estradiol), bazedoxifene, or vehicle. We found that estrogen treatment enhanced IgG levels and had a limited effect on IgG sialylation. Treatment with bazedoxifene increased the sialic acids in plasma cells in a similar manner to E2 but did not reach statistical significance. However, we did not detect any alteration in IgG-sialylation with bazedoxifene treatment. Neither estrogen nor bazedoxifene showed any significant alteration in serum protein sialylation but had a minor effect on mRNA expression of glycosyltransferase in the bone marrow, gonadal fat, and liver. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Immunotherapy has revolutionized cancer treatment and revitalized efforts to harness the power of the immune system to combat a variety of cancer types more effectively. However, low clinical response rates and differences in outcomes due to variations in the immune landscape among patients with cancer continue to be major limitations to immunotherapy. Recent efforts to improve responses to immunotherapy have focused on targeting cellular metabolism, as the metabolic characteristics of cancer cells can directly influence the activity and metabolism of immune cells, particularly T cells. Although the metabolic pathways of various cancer cells and T cells have been extensively reviewed, the intersections among these pathways, and their potential use as targets for improving responses to immune-checkpoint blockade therapies, are not completely understood. This review focuses on the interplay between tumor metabolites and T-cell dysfunction as well as the relationship between several T-cell metabolic patterns and T-cell activity/ function in tumor immunology. Understanding these relationships could offer new avenues for improving responses to immunotherapy on a metabolic basis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The electroluminescence of UVB light-emitting diodes emitting at 310 nm before and after 1000 h of operation is studied in the temperature range from 20 to 340 K. Before operation, the external quantum efficiency (EQE) at 10 mA gradually increases with decreasing temperature from 0.8% at 340 K to 1.8% at 150 K and then levels off. This trend is attributed to a reduction of non-radiative recombination and finally the domination of radiative recombination at low temperatures. After 1000 h of operation, the EQE has dropped to 0.45% at 340 K with a maximum EQE of 1.4% at 80 K, followed by a drop for temperatures below 80 K. These findings suggest a stress-induced reduction of both the radiative recombination efficiency and the carrier injection efficiency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

High-speed PLL is highly demanding with the advancement in the VLSI market. PLL performance gets affected due to bandwidth limitation. This paper presents third-order configurable transconductance capacitance ( G m - C)-based loop filter for high-speed PLL. Operational transconductance amplifier (OTA) serves as a basic cell of the G m - C filter. Quasi-floating gate (QFG) and Bulk-driven qausi-floating gate (BD-QFG) MOS-based differential input folded cascode (FC) OTAs are proposed for low-voltage operation. Here, DC gain of the BD-QFG FC OTA enhanced 5.18% than QFG FC OTA. The proposed OTAs enhanced DC gain, CMRR, UGB and FOM along with reduction in the power consumption in comparison to the state-of-art work. Further, third-order G m - C filters are designed using both QFG and BD-QFG MOS-based OTAs and achieved − 3 dB cut-off frequency of 16.51 MHz and 17.22 MHz, respectively. The proposed QFG and BD-QFG MOS-based filters achieved 22.42% and 21.53% reduction in power than the reported result, respectively. The locking time of integer-N PLL is calculated as 0.33 μ s and 0.32 μ s, respectively, through an analytical approach. The transistor-level simulation has been done in 0.18 μ m CMOS process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Judgments of facial attractiveness invariably accompany our perception of faces. Even neonates appear to be capable of making such judgments in a manner consistent with adults. This suggests that the processes supporting facial attractiveness require little, if any, visual experience to manifest. Here we investigate the resilience of these processes to several years of early‐onset visual deprivation. Specifically, we study whether congenitally blind children treated several years after birth possess the ability to rate facial attractiveness in a manner congruent to normally sighted individuals. The data reveal significant individual variability in the way each newly sighted child perceives attractiveness. This is in marked contrast to data from normally sighted controls who exhibit strong across‐subject agreement in facial attractiveness ratings. This variability may be attributable, in part, to atypical facial encoding strategies used by the newly sighted children. Overall, our results suggest that the development of facial attractiveness perception is likely to be vulnerable to early visual deprivation, pointing to the existence of a possible sensitive period early in the developmental trajectory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fuzzy Analysis of Variance (FANOVA) is a statistical tool to test the homogeneity of several population means under fuzzy observations. There are numerous papers in the literature in which Analysis of Variance is accomplished for fuzzy observations rather than real observations for solving real-life problems but to the best of our insight, till now nobody has executed the Post-Hoc test to track down the significant difference between the pair of means. The purpose of this paper is to implement a Post-Hoc method integrated with one-way FANOVA to analyse the exact difference between the pair of means from multiple population means under fuzzy observation. In this paper, the observations are in form of Trapezoidal Fuzzy Numbers (TFNs) which have been fuzzified through the α-cut interval method into lower-level and upper-level fuzzy intervals. FANOVA for one factor with Post-Hoc test is carried out on fuzzified data and decisions are taken at a certain significance level. The concept of the proposed method has been shown by taking numerical example. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]