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Recent evidence indicates that ionizing radiation can enhance immune responses to tumors. Advances in radiation delivery techniques allow hypofractionated delivery of conformal radiotherapy. Hypofractionation or other modifications of standard fractionation may improve radiation's ability to promote immune responses to tumors. Other novel delivery options may also affect immune responses, including T-cell activation and tumor-antigen presentation changes. However, there is limited understanding of the immunological impact of hypofractionated and unique multifractionated radiotherapy regimens, as these observations are relatively recent. Hence, these differences in radiotherapy fractionation result in distinct immune-modulatory effects. Radiation oncologists and immunologists convened a virtual consensus discussion to identify current deficiencies, challenges, pitfalls and critical gaps when combining radiotherapy with immunotherapy and making recommendations to the field and advise National Cancer Institute on new directions and initiatives that will help further development of these two fields.This commentary aims to raise the awareness of this complexity so that the need to study radiation dose, fractionation, type and volume is understood and valued by the immuno-oncology research community. Divergence of approaches and findings between preclinical studies and clinical trials highlights the need for evaluating the design of future clinical studies with particular emphasis on radiation dose and fractionation, immune biomarkers and selecting appropriate end points for combination radiation/immune modulator trials, recognizing that direct effect on the tumor and potential abscopal effect may well be different. Similarly, preclinical studies should be designed as much as possible to model the intended clinical setting. This article describes a conceptual framework for testing different radiation therapy regimens as separate models of how radiation itself functions as an immunomodulatory 'drug' to provide alternatives to the widely adopted 'one-size-fits-all' strategy of frequently used 8 Gy×3 regimens immunomodulation.

Byline: Saurabh. Trivedi, Srishti. Gupta, Hemendra. Bhardwaj, Tapan. Sahoo, Seema. Gupta, Gaurav. Trivedi Background and Aims: The incidence of ulnar nerve sparing has declined with the corner-pocket approach of the [...]

Myeloid cells are recruited to damaged tissues where they can resolve infections and tumor growth or stimulate wound healing and tumor progression. Recruitment of these cells is regulated by integrins, a family of adhesion receptors that includes integrin CD11b. Here we report that, unexpectedly, integrin CD11b does not regulate myeloid cell recruitment to tumors but instead controls myeloid cell polarization and tumor growth. CD11b activation promotes pro-inflammatory macrophage polarization by stimulating expression of microRNA Let7a. In contrast, inhibition of CD11b prevents Let7a expression and induces cMyc expression, leading to immune suppressive macrophage polarization, vascular maturation, and accelerated tumor growth. Pharmacological activation of CD11b with a small molecule agonist, Leukadherin 1 (LA1), promotes pro-inflammatory macrophage polarization and suppresses tumor growth in animal models of murine and human cancer. These studies identify CD11b as negative regulator of immune suppression and a target for cancer immune therapy.

According to traditional portfolio theories constraints, restrictions, and screens applied in portfolio selection reduces the diversification opportunities which can impact financial performance. Is this true in the case of socially responsible investment (SRI)? To answer this, present study analyzes the performance of Socially Responsible (SR) indices in comparison to conventional indices in an emerging economy. The uniqueness of the study is that it analyses the performance of Shariah, ESG, and thematic indices in a single study. Further, the study measures the impact of Covid‐19 on them. Comparative performance evaluation was conducted by using absolute return analysis and risk‐adjusted measures namely, Sharpe ratio, Treynor ratio, tracking error, information ratio, capital asset pricing model (CAPM), Fama–French three‐factor, and Carhart's four‐factor models. The Structural break was identified, hence analysis was conducted for the total period (January 2017–March 2023) and two sub‐periods, that is, pre and post‐Covid‐19 period. No significant difference was found between the returns of SR indices and conventional indices as against the benchmark index on the basis of absolute return analysis. Sharpe ratio and Treynor ratio both were having negative values for all the SR and conventional indices. Tracking error for all the SR and Conventional indices were very low. The CAPM and both multi‐factor models univocally pointed toward the underperformance of all the SR (except S&P BSE 100 ESG index which had equal performance) and both conventional indices against the benchmark index. Noteworthy point is that only Shariah indices gave the highest returns during post‐Covid period. This research will help in deepening the SRI in the capital market. Companies should increase their ESG scores and make efforts to be listed on the SR indices. Policymakers should announce some kind of rebates, or recognition for star‐performing companies in the field of sustainability to encourage other companies to adopt SR practices in their business operations. The novelty of the current study is that it adds to the socially responsible literature by analyzing the performance of Shariah, ESG, and Thematic indices and conventional indices in a single study in the fastest‐growing economy of India and analyses the impact of Covid‐19 on this performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Examining the diverse roles played by various kinds of investors in the stock market is crucial, because of their differing behaviours while making investment decisions. This study reviewed the academic literature on investor behaviour to acquire insights into the current status, developments and significant gaps with the help of bibliometric analysis. The research methodology involved selecting articles from the Scopus database and conducting performance analysis using VOSviewer software for science mapping. The study retrieved 313 research articles using the PRISMA protocol. It identified influential articles, journals, authors and five major themes (inefficiency and bubbles in the stock market, technological advancement in the financial market, behavioural aspect in investment decisions, prospect theory and cognitive bias and stock trading behaviour), adding to the body of knowledge on investor behaviour. The findings also revealed that there has been a consistent rise in research in this area. In addition, scientific mapping techniques, such as bibliographic coupling, showed that the majority of the literature is focused on the connection between asset price models, behavioural biases, investor sentiment and portfolio choices. Finally, the research directions identified in this study could serve as a guide for future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Failure of sub-arachnoid block (SAB), due to resistance to bupivacaine after a recent scorpion sting can lead to multiple block attempts and subsequent conversion to general anaesthesia. We report this case series of 10 patients with successful SAB with newly launched 0.75% hyperbaric ropivacaine, in patients with recent scorpion sting. Thus, intrathecal hyperbaric ropivacaine may be considered as the local anaesthetic agent of choice in patients with scorpion sting to prevent failure of SAB. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Context and Aim: The purpose of antenatal ultrasonography (USG) is to identify women at risk of complications due to various medical conditions such as pregnancy-induced hypertension (PIH) and preeclampsia. Our aim was to describe the practical application of Doppler indices of the uterine, umbilical, and fetal middle cerebral artery (MCA) in patients with PIH by comparing them with perinatal outcome. Materials and Method: A prospective longitudinal study of 50 pregnant women with a clinical diagnosis of PIH referred for USG and color Doppler and followed for any adverse perinatal outcome till 7 days after delivery was done. Patients were examined using the convex probe of 1–5 MHz frequency on the IU22 (Philips) machine. Results: In this study, 46% of patients were in the age group of 26–30 years and 64% were multiparous. Out of 50 patients, 43 were live births and 7 stillbirths. Out of live births, 35 required neonatal intensive care unit admission and five had neonatal mortality. Umbilical artery Doppler indices were altered in 42, uterine artery in 26, and fetal MCA in nine patients. Absent and reversed end‑diastolic flow in the umbilical artery, the persistence of diastolic notch in the uterine artery, and the brain‑sparing effect in fetal MCA represented the most ominous signs. Doppler indices were abnormal in more than one artery in stillbirths and neonatal deaths. Conclusion: The knowledge of the uterine, umbilical, and fetal cerebral artery waveforms helps to assess compromised uteroplacental and fetoplacental circulation in patients with PIH at the earliest. Hence, the detection of altered indices should be an alerting signal for intensive fetal monitoring and prompt intervention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The unsatisfactory performance of public sector made the Government introduce Memorandum of understanding and disinvestment. This study has been undertaken to analyze the performance of memorandum of understanding signed firms over the years. In addition, the performance of MoU-signed disinvested and MoU-signed non-disinvested firms have also been examined. Performance has been analysed using different ratios; return on equity, return on assets, net income productivity per employee and sales productivity per employee. In-line to analyze the effectiveness of data, random effect panel regression has been used to study the performance of sixty MoU signed PSEs for 15 years (2004-2018). The results indicate that the profitability of MoU signed non-disinvested firms is better than MoU signed disinvested firms. This could be possibly due to the more substantial managerial autonomy impact on the performance. Assets turnover ratio, leverage, and age have a significant effect on the performance of firms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Youth nowadays can be considered as a wonderful reservoir of potential and innovation which is mostly untapped. Their new perspectives, vigour, curiosity, professionalism, and aspiration for a secured and better future are already revolutionising methods and igniting initiatives for innovation and change. Today's youth is demonstrating the ability to mobilise and spark support for change because they grew up in the internet era. Many people are devoting their energy as well as time in creating cutting-edge technologies and novelties to address the major problems of recent time, such as global warming, education, food security, access to healthcare, unemployment, and other issues. The youth can, however, overcome the challenge of creating a viable firm by knowing how to look after their intellectual property (IP) assets. (i.e., their creations and discoveries), harnessing their value, and increasing influence. The National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 focuses on the educational sector's vision for a contemporary India and aspires to meet the quality education target outlined in the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals for Education by 2030. Major changes to higher education have been made as a result of the NEP 2020, which are in line with the need to offer "inclusive and equitable quality education and promoting lifelong learning opportunities for all" (SDG 4), crucial to manage the demands of employment and bringing about a collective systemic change. It is crucial that the next generation understand how integral intellectual property is to their vision as they get ready to enter the workforce. In this regard, this paper examines how NEP affects higher education institutions (HEIs), how IPR fits into NEP, and how the New Education Policy and IPR policy together might cause a paradigmatic change in the current higher education system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mustard and canola oils are commonly used cooking oils in Asian countries such as India, Nepal, and Bangladesh, making them prone to adulteration. Argemone is a well-known adulterant of mustard oil, and its alkaloid sanguinarine has been linked with health conditions such as glaucoma and dropsy. Utilising a non-destructive spectroscopic method coupled with a chemometric approach can serve better for the detection of adulterants. This work aimed to evaluate the performance of various regression algorithms for the detection of argemone in mustard and canola oils. The spectral dataset was acquired from fluorescence spectrometer analysis of pure as well as adulterated mustard and canola oils with some local and commercial samples also. The prediction performance of the eight regression algorithms for the detection of adulterants was evaluated. Extreme gradient boosting regressor (XGBR), Category gradient boosting regressor (CBR), and Random Forest (RF) demonstrate potential for predicting adulteration levels in both oils with high R2 values. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]