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Author(s): Gupta Aviral (corresponding author) [1]; C Mishra Sarvesh [2]; Jaiswal Sushila [1]; M S Ansari [3] INTRODUCTION Clear cell sarcoma of the kidney (CCSK) is an uncommon renal sarcoma [...], The differential diagnosis for an abdominal mass in a 2-year-old child is broad and includes lesions of renal, hepatic, gastrointestinal, adrenal, and lymphatic origins. Of these, Wilms' tumor and neuroblastoma are the most common tumors, where Wilms' tumor represents about 92 of renal masses in children. Non-Wilms' renal tumors, rhabdoid tumors, and clear cell sarcoma of the kidney (CCSK) are uncommon. CCSK constitutes approximately 3 of all malignant renal tumors in childhood. In this report, we present a child presenting with a huge renal mass consistent with Wilms' tumor on computed tomography and initial biopsy. However, the final pathologic diagnosis after resection revealed CCSK. Keywords: KEY WORDS:, Clear cell sarcoma of the kidney, pediatric tumors, Wilms' tumor more...

Toddler safety is paramount, particularly in situations such as a toddler falling into a borewell, which can be extremely perilous. This study introduces a novel IoT-based approach to ensure prompt and successful child rescue in such emergencies. By automating the process, it reduces hazards associated with traditional rescue methods and eliminates the need for physical intervention. This IoT-driven borewell child rescue system integrates early detection, intelligent response, and preventative measures, significantly enhancing the chances of a successful rescue operation and safeguarding children in dangerous circumstances. more...

After sporadic reports of post-treatment control of HIV in children who initiated combination anti-retroviral therapy (cART) early, we prospectively studied 284 very-early-cART-treated children from KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, after vertical HIV transmission to assess control of viremia. Eighty-four percent of the children achieved aviremia on cART, but aviremia persisting to 36 or more months was observed in only 32%. We observed that male infants have lower baseline plasma viral loads (P= 0.01). Unexpectedly, a subset (n= 5) of males maintained aviremia despite unscheduled complete discontinuation of cART lasting 3–10 months (n= 4) or intermittent cART adherence during 17-month loss to follow-up (n= 1). We further observed, in vertically transmitted viruses, a negative correlation between type I interferon (IFN-I) resistance and viral replication capacity (VRC) (P< 0.0001) that was markedly stronger for males than for females (r= −0.51 versus r= −0.07 for IFN-α). Although viruses transmitted to male fetuses were more IFN-I sensitive and of higher VRC than those transmitted to females in the full cohort (P< 0.0001 and P= 0.0003, respectively), the viruses transmitted to the five males maintaining cART-free aviremia had significantly lower replication capacity (P< 0.0001). These data suggest that viremic control can occur in some infants with in utero–acquired HIV infection after early cART initiation and may be associated with innate immune sex differences. more...

The main objective of this study is to fabricate a control (a standard single-junction solar cell grown straight on bare GaAs substrate) and flexible freestanding GaAs-based single-junction solar cells (grown on a graphene layer deposited on GaAs substrate). Besides, the research work aims to characterise and mathematically simulate the PV cell behaviour using COMSOL Multiphysics (version 6). The control PV cell, as a baseline for comparison, was epitaxially grown by metal–organic chemical vapour deposition (MOCVD). Whilst remote epitaxy technique in addition to the ‘MOCVD’ method was used to fabricate the flexible freestanding GaAs solar cells. Remote epitaxy technique was employed to reduce the cost of the expensive monocrystalline GaAs substrate and produce flexible solar cells. The electrical properties of the membranes, including the current–voltage (I–V) curve, dark current, and quantum efficiency, were measured experimentally to evaluate how new flexible membranes perform relative to the control (traditional PV cell). The results showed that the power conversion efficiency of the fabricated single-junction GaAs membranes was about 9% at air mass condition AM1.5 (1000 W/m2insolation and 25 °C). Therefore, a mathematical simulation by COMSOL and a design of experiment by Minitab were proposed to improve their efficiency. The efficiency of the fabricated GaAs solar cells was enhanced to 19.62% by optimising the layer thickness and doping. Furthermore, the (I–V) curve, dark current, and quantum efficiency of the control solar cell as a benchmark for the flexible membrane were analysed by COMSOL Multiphysics/Semiconductor physics to compare with the experimental measurements. more...

On-site generation microgrids may be a viable option for powering remote areas without grids. These microgrids differ from electricity grid-connected ones. Microgrids without main grid connections employ the same energy management technologies as those connected, including economic dispatch and unit commitment modules. Dynamic economic load dispatch (DELD) in isolated microgrids is the study's goal. These microgrids use load shedding as a last resort to balance supply and demand, allowing responsive loads and renewable electricity to be curtailed. The quantity of electricity made by dispatchable distributed generators (DGs), power cut by renewable DGs, power shed, and demand cut are determined for each time period. The well-known modified red deer optimisation (MRDO) approach is utilised to solve the DELD problem. In a microgrid with two renewable DGs and four dispatchable DGs, MRDO beats PSO, and demand response considerably lowers microgrid maintenance costs. more...

Wind energy is an abundant and naturally occurring source of energy that is being widely researched and implemented in recent times on a global scale. Quality of power generated from these renewable energy systems greatly determines the efficiency of such implementations. This research paper investigates and proposes a hybrid control scheme for reducing the total harmonic distortion which severely degrades the quality of power from energy conversion systems. The proposed hybrid space vector modulation scheme is a variant and improvement of the conventional PWM schemes. The produce more fundamental components with least harmonics by combining the merits of sinusoidal PWM and triangular carrier signal. The proposed modulation scheme is implemented in a closed loop PI controller scheme and results have been compared against three variants of PWM techniques namely sinusoidal, random and space vector PWM techniques and a drastic reduction in THD and power spectral density is observed justifying the superior performance of the proposed hybrid control scheme. more...

Background: Breast cancer, a genetically intricate disease with diverse subtypes, exhibits heightened incidence globally. In this study, we aimed to investigate blood-based microRNAs (miRNAs) as potential biomarkers for breast cancer. The primary objectives were to explore the role of miRNAs in cancer-related processes, assess their differential expression between breast cancer patients and healthy individuals, and contribute to a deeper understanding of the molecular underpinnings of breast cancer. Methods: MiRNA extraction was performed on 40 breast cancer patients and adjacent normal tissues using a commercial RNA isolation kit. Total RNA quantification and quality assessment were conducted with advanced technologies. MiRNA profiling involved reverse transcription, labeling, and hybridization on Agilent human miRNA arrays (V2). Bioinformatics analysis utilized the DIANA system for target gene prediction and the DIANA-mirPath tool for pathway enrichment analysis. Selected miRNAs underwent validation through quantitative real-time PCR. Results: Principal component analysis revealed overlapping miRNA expression patterns in primary and malignant breast tumors, underscoring the genetic complexity involved. Statistical analysis identified 54 downregulated miRNAs in malignant tumors and 38 in primary tumors compared to controls. Bioinformatics analysis implicated several pathways, including Wnt, TGF-b, ErbB, and MAPK signaling. Validation through qRT-PCR confirmed altered expression of hsa-miR-130a, hsa-miR-21, hsa-miR-223, and hsa-let-7c key miRNAs, highlighting their significance in breast cancer. The results from microarray were further validated by qPCR and the expression of which are downregulated in breast cancer was detected. Conclusion: This study provides significant insights into distinct miRNA expression patterns in normal and malignant breast tissues. The overlapping miRNA profiles in primary and malignant tumors underscore the complexity of genetic regulation in breast cancer. The identification of deregulated miRNAs and affected pathways contributes to our understanding of breast cancer pathogenesis. The validated miRNAs hold potential as diagnostic and prognostic markers, offering avenues for further clinical exploration in breast cancer research. more...

ABSTRACT The ever increasing population and urbanization has led to construction of high rise structures and demolishing existing old low rise ones. This has become not only the cause of [...]

In sustainable technologies, the application of supercapacitors (SC) for energy conversion and storage systems is rapidly increasing. Supercapacitors are widely employed in applications that require fast charge and discharge phases, such as in the automobile industry, where they are utilized in energy storage. Chitosan (CS) is a natural polymer material utilized in supercapacitor fabrication. Interest in supercapacitors is due to their high-energy capacity, storage for a shorter period, and longer lifetime. In this research, the fabrication of symmetric supercapacitors with activated carbon (AC) electrodes has been investigated in order to analyze their performance characteristics. AC is derived from CS biomass, which has remarkable biodegradability. It has been chemically activated using ZnCl2 as the activating agent. CS has been activated inside a furnace at 500, 600, and 700 °C in an inert N2 atmosphere. A 1M aqueous potassium hydroxide (KOH) solution is used as the electrolyte. The test using electrolytes (KOH) revealed that the electrode's specific capacitance was 74.7 Fg−1, the highest value discovered. However, using organic electrolytes would have produced better results that can be used as a guide for future advancements. The influence of activation temperature on the porous characteristics of prepared AC was investigated utilizing surface area and pore size analyses. The morphological characteristics of synthesized AC were analyzed through scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and Energy Dispersive X-Ray Analysis (EDX). Symmetric SC electrodes fabricated is analyzed in a two-electrode system applying standard electrochemical characterization methods using the potentiostat. Symmetric SC electrodes fabricated are analyzed in a two-electrode system applying standard electrochemical characterization methods using the potentiostat. more...

Photoacoustic spectral response (PASR) technique is a pump-probe technique that provides acoustic spectral information of any biological tissue. This extracted information acts as a signature of the biological tissue. The experimental setups can be bulky, expensive, and involve complex operation due to the requirement of costly $Q$ -switched lasers, complex optics, and limited wavelength. On the other side, setup requires high-frequency signal conditioning, a high-speed oscilloscope, and a computing device to process, analyze, and monitor the acquired signal. This article presents a compact, cost-effective measurement instrument to measure and display the time-domain and frequency spectral information for biomedical applications. The developed electronic hardware is used to perform real-time signal conditioning; subsequently, conditioned photoacoustic (PA) data were acquired with a speed of 30 MSPS, and the results were sent to a monitor to display. Developed hardware contains a high-frequency preamplifier, low-pass filter, electrically isolated trigger circuit, and a 12-bit high-speed analog-to-digital converter to generate digital data, which is further analyzed by a high-speed microcontroller. After calibration of the proposed experimental setup, the developed PA tool is applied to distinguishing lung and liver tissues, and the statistical results corroborate the consistency of the proposed PA-based data acquisition system. more...

ObjectiveThe transcriptional response in the liver during HCV infection is critical for determining clinical outcomes. This issue remains relatively unexplored as tissue access to address this at scale is usually limited. We aimed to profile the transcriptomics of HCV-infected livers to describe the expression networks involved and assess the effect on them of major predictors of clinical outcome such as IFNL4 (interferon lambda 4) host genotype and sex.DesignWe took advantage of a large clinical study of HCV therapy accompanied by baseline liver biopsy to examine the drivers of transcription in tissue samples in 195 patients also genotyped genome-wide for host and viral single nucleotide polymorphisms. We addressed the role of host factors (disease status, sex, genotype, age) and viral factors (load, mutation) on transcriptional responses.ResultsWe observe key modules of transcription which can be impacted differentially by host and viral factors. Underlying cirrhotic state had the most substantial impact, even in a stable, compensated population. Notably, sex had a major impact on antiviral responses in concert with IL28B (interleukin 28B)/IFNL4 genotype, with stronger interferon and humoral responses in females. Males tended towards a dominant cellular immune response. In both sexes, there was a strong influence of the underlying host disease status and of specific viral mutations, and sex-specific expression quantitative trait loci were also observed.ConclusionThese features help define the major influences on tissue responses in HCV infection, impacting on the response to treatment and with broader implications for responses in other sex-biased infections. more...

A detailed characterization of RF–plasma discharge in the multi-cusp plasma device (MPD) having a multi-dipole line cusp magnetic field (MMF: $B_{0}$ ) has been experimentally demonstrated using the externally employed four turns high power spiral antenna. The experimentally measured input impedance ( $\sim $ 0.37 + $\text{j}80\,\Omega$ ) of the complete antenna system along with the MPD is found to be in good validation with the CST–MWS simulated result ( $\sim $ 0.3 + $\text{j}88\,\Omega$ ). The cusp magnetic field ( $B_{0}$ ) along the MPD chamber is also validated and has a good agreement with the simulated results for the magnet current of $\sim $ 150 A. The antenna is then made to resonate at 13.56 MHz using an external L-type matching network (MN) along with an RF source. It is found that the plasma density shifts to a maximum ( $n_{e} \sim 3.2 \times 10^{17}/\text{m}^{3})$ value at the argon-filled pressure of $2\times 10^{-3}$ mbar for large $B_{0}$ and RF power of 1 kW. Further, the input resistances of the antenna with a vacuum ( $R_{v} \sim 0.27\,\Omega$ ) and plasma ( $R_{p} \sim 0.55\,\Omega$ ) inside the MPD under the matched condition are also measured experimentally using the Rogowski coil. This concluded that the RF power coupling efficiency ( $\eta$ ) with the Argon plasma is $\sim $ 68%. A plasma with nearly a uniform density of $\sim 2.7\,\times \, 10 ^{17}/\text{m}^{3}$ is obtained up to a radial distance of $\sim $ 5 cm from the MPD center at the constant RF power of 800 W for the Argon-filled pressure and magnet current of $4\times 10^{-3}$ mbar and 100 A respectively. more...

ObjectiveHepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) often develops in patients with alcohol-related cirrhosis at an annual risk of up to 2.5%. Some host genetic risk factors have been identified but do not account for the majority of the variance in occurrence. This study aimed to identify novel susceptibility loci for the development of HCC in people with alcohol related cirrhosis.DesignPatients with alcohol-related cirrhosis and HCC (cases: n=1214) and controls without HCC (n=1866), recruited from Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Italy and the UK, were included in a two-stage genome-wide association study using a case–control design. A validation cohort of 1520 people misusing alcohol but with no evidence of liver disease was included to control for possible association effects with alcohol misuse. Genotyping was performed using the InfiniumGlobal Screening Array (V.24v2, Illumina) and the OmniExpress Array (V.24v1-0a, Illumina).ResultsAssociations with variants rs738409 in PNPLA3and rs58542926 in TM6SF2previously associated with an increased risk of HCC in patients with alcohol-related cirrhosis were confirmed at genome-wide significance. A novel locus rs2242652(A) in TERT(telomerase reverse transcriptase) was also associated with a decreased risk of HCC, in the combined meta-analysis, at genome-wide significance (p=6.41×10−9, OR=0.61 (95% CI 0.52 to 0.70). This protective association remained significant after correction for sex, age, body mass index and type 2 diabetes (p=7.94×10−5, OR=0.63 (95% CI 0.50 to 0.79). Carriage of rs2242652(A) in TERTwas associated with an increased leucocyte telomere length (p=2.12×10−44).ConclusionThis study identifies rs2242652 in TERTas a novel protective factor for HCC in patients with alcohol-related cirrhosis. more...

Bridges are important structures for urban civilization. The catastrophic damage to bridges during an earthquakes cause sudden disruption to human livelihood. For making bridges resilient to earthquakes proper damage assessment technique is inevitable. The present study has been carried out to evaluate damage of reinforced concrete bridge under the seismic loadings using a probabilistic approach. Nine earthquakes were considered for seismic vulnerability assessment. From the obtained results, different damage states were discussed based on intensity measures using Incremental Dynamic Analysis (IDA) and Fragility Analysis. This study may be used as a viable tool for health monitoring, vulnerability assessment and formulating retrofit strategies of the reinforced concrete bridges under the seismic loadings. more...

Direct evaluation of vascular inflammation in patients with COVID-19 would facilitate more efficient trials of new treatments and identify patients at risk of long-term complications who might respond to treatment. We aimed to develop a novel artificial intelligence (AI)-assisted image analysis platform that quantifies cytokine-driven vascular inflammation from routine CT angiograms, and sought to validate its prognostic value in COVID-19. more...

Work camps, have to be established quickly, are a transient nature and located in environmentally sensitive areas. Wastewater treatment systems located in the work camps often perform poorly. In response to these deficiencies and the need to provide for reliable, cost effective, high efficiency wastewater treatment, the research team designed a sequence batch reactor (SBR)/ sand filter system that is simple, compact, robust, easy to operate and produces a high quality effluent. The SBR/sand filter system is operated with varying organic loading rates and process performance is assessed by monitoring COD, [BOD.sub.5], pH, volatile suspended solids, suspended solids and nitrate during the cycle operation. The process described, is a flexible, biologic, suspended growth system that can be operated in the conventional activated sludge or extended aeration mode. Key words: Wastewater treatment, sequencing batch reactor, nutrient removal, work camp, sand filter, INTRODUCTION The design and operation of small wastewater treatment plants are a challenge to wastewater engineers. Conventional suspended growth activated sludge processes, which have been used successfully and widely to [...] more...

The relationship between ABO blood group and severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2 – coronavirus disease 19 [COVID-19]) infection has been investigated, and several studies have reported discordant findings. This systematic review and meta-analysis study were conducted to investigate the relationship between ABO blood group and COVID-19 infection. The international databases Institute for Scientific Information (ISI)/Web of Science, PubMed, and Scopus were systematically searched from 1 January 2020 through 14 June 2021. Twenty-seven studies met the inclusion criteria for meta-analysis including 23,285 COVID-19 case subjects and 590,593 control subjects. The odds of having each blood group among COVID-19 patients compared with control subjects were calculated. The random effects model was used to obtain the overall pooled odds ratio (OR). Publication bias and subgroup and sensitivity analyses were performed to explore the source of heterogeneity. According to the random effects model, the results indicated that the pooled estimates of OR (95% confidence interval) for blood groups A, O, B, and AB were 1.26 (1.13–1.40), 0.77 (0.71–0.82), 1.05 (0.99–1.12), and 1.11 (0.99–1.25), respectively. Therefore, individuals infected with COVID-19 have higher odds of having blood group A and lower odds of having blood group O. In conclusion, this study indicated that individuals with blood group A are more susceptible to COVID-19 infection, whereas those with blood group O are less susceptible to COVID-19 infection. However, further studies are warranted to support these findings. more...

Acute Graft versus Host Disease (aGvHD) grades 2–4 occurs in 15–60% of pediatric patients undergoing allogeneic haematopoietic stem-cell transplantation (allo-HSCT). The collateral damage to normal tissue by conditioning regimens administered prior to allo-HSCT serve as an initial trigger for aGvHD. DNA-repair mechanisms may play an important role in mitigating this initial damage, and so the variants in corresponding DNA-repair protein-coding genes via affecting their quantity and/or function. We explored 51 variants within 17 DNA-repair genes for their association with aGvHD grades 2–4 in 60 pediatric patients. The cumulative incidence of aGvHD 2–4 was 12% (n= 7) in the exploratory cohort. MGMTrs10764881 (G>A) and EXOrs9350 (c.2270C>T) variants were associated with aGvHD 2–4 [Odds ratios = 14.8 (0 events out of 40 in rs10764881 GG group) and 11.5 (95% CI: 2.3–191.8), respectively, multiple testing corrected p≤ 0.001]. Upon evaluation in an extended cohort (n= 182) with an incidence of aGvHD 2–4 of 22% (n= 40), only MGMTrs10764881 (G>A) remained significant (adjusted HR = 2.05 [95% CI: 1.06–3.94]; p= 0.03) in the presence of other clinical risk factors. Higher MGMTexpression was seen in GG carriers for rs10764881 and was associated with higher IC50 of Busulfan in lymphoblastoid cells. MGMTrs10764881 carrier status could predict aGvHD occurrence in pediatric patients undergoing allo-HSCT. more...

This work provides a revolutionary strategy for creating high-performance supercapacitors by designing and fabricating a unique nanostructured bimetallic oxide electrode. The proposed electrode leveraged the synergistic effects of metal oxides to enhance both energy density and charge-discharge kinetics. Ni-doped CuCo2O4nanostructures (Cu1-xNixCo2O4) were synthesized in incremental order (x = 0.0, 0.05, 0.10, and 0.15) by facile sol-gel auto-combustion route. The nanostructures analyzed through x-ray diffraction, FTIR spectroscopy, Micro-Raman spectroscopy, x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and Scanning electron microscopy revealed the single phase and polycrystalline nature of CuCo2O4, with some impurity phases of CuO. The surface morphology studies showed numerous pores among the grains of Cu1-xNixCo2O4. Cyclic voltammetry, galvanostatic charge-discharge, and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) were used to investigate the electrochemical performance of synthesized Cu1-xNixCo2O4samples. In a 3 M KOH electrolyte solution, the Cu1-xNixCo2O4electrodes with x = 0.05 exhibited 2340 Fg−1specific capacitance at 5 mVs−1, demonstrating superior electrochemical performance with excellent rate capability. Furthermore, it exhibited 35.88 Whkg−1energy density, an exceptional 2484.74 Wkg−1power density, and retained 99.9 % capacitance after 5000 cycles, demonstrating good stability. The results suggest that porous bimetallic oxide nanostructures can be promising candidates for the development of high-performance, environmentally friendly supercapacitors. more...

Objective: The authors examined gender differences in d-amphetamine-induced displacements of [sup.18]F]fallypride in the striatal and extrastriatal brain regions and the correlations of these displacements with cognition and sensation seeking. Method: Six women and seven men underwent positron emission tomography (PET) with [[18.sup]F]fallypride before and after an oral dose of d-amphetamine. Percent displacements were calculated using regions of interest and parametric images of dopamine 2 ([D.sub.2]) receptor binding potential. Results: Parametric images of dopamine release suggest that the female subjects had greater dopamine release than the male subjects in the right globus pallidus and right inferior frontal gyrus. Gender differences were observed in correlations of changes in cognition and sensation seeking with regional dopamine release. Conclusion: Findings revealed a greater dopamine release in women as well as gender differences in the relationship between regional dopamine release and sensation seeking and cognition. more...

This paper presents power management of an educational institution which is located in Bhimavaram, India. The institution is assumed as commercial load which is fed from an 11KV line the load deviations are mainly considered throughout the day time merely because of the institution’s working hours. This optimization comes with a bidirectional power flow from institution to the grid and grid to the institution. With a renewable power generation of solar plant with 100 kW generation the optimal power utilization is proposed such that the effective usage of renewable energy increases and the usage of fossil fuel-based generators decrease. In homer software the optimization of the given projected system is accomplished through simulation. more...

Herein, we reported a facile, cost efficient, synthesis of Gr@NiCu NCs nanocomposite and explored their application in supercapacitor and antibacterial applications. The Graphene sheets in the NiCu based electrode showed a high specific surface area and supports conductive networks decorated with oxygen groups, which synergistically improve charge storage capability. Furthermore, Gr@NiCu NCs contain hydrophilic oxygen groups of chemically reduced graphene oxide, which allows easy access of the electrolyte to the electrode’s pores. An electrochemical study demonstrated the highest specific capacitance of 977 Fg−1 at 10 Ag-1and remarkable cyclic retentiveness ∼90% even after 1000 cycles. A noteworthy energy density of the Gr@NiCu NCs achieves approximately 542 KWh kg−1and a power density of 21 kW kg−1acquired through the CD description utilizing a current density of 10 Ag-1. The antimicrobial activity of synthesized Gr@NiCu NCs was performed against S. Aureus, E. coli, and MRSA ATCC BAA 1708, P.Aeroginosa (ATCC 27853), S.Mutans (MTCC SM 497)strains compared with ampicillin antibiotic drug. This potent antibacterial activity is attributable to the synergistic apoptosis from Cu2+and bacteriostatic effect Ni2+ions with graphene sheet (enhance ROS production), released from Gr@NiCu NCs. more...

The development of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) vaccines and therapeutics will depend on understanding viral immunity. We studied T cell memory in 42 patients following recovery from COVID-19 (28 with mild disease and 14 with severe disease) and 16 unexposed donors, using interferon-γ-based assays with peptides spanning SARS-CoV-2 except ORF1. The breadth and magnitude of T cell responses were significantly higher in severe as compared with mild cases. Total and spike-specific T cell responses correlated with spike-specific antibody responses. We identified 41 peptides containing CD4+and/or CD8+epitopes, including six immunodominant regions. Six optimized CD8+epitopes were defined, with peptide–MHC pentamer-positive cells displaying the central and effector memory phenotype. In mild cases, higher proportions of SARS-CoV-2-specific CD8+T cells were observed. The identification of T cell responses associated with milder disease will support an understanding of protective immunity and highlights the potential of including non-spike proteins within future COVID-19 vaccine design. more...

AbstractA Tumor infected brain is well thought-out as a fearsome disease. It is a spot that surfaces in the human brain from some irregular growth of the cell. The recognition and categorization of such an infected brain part through the MR imaging technique is a wearisome and stretched job. However, with a variety of techniques of Imaging, the sundry structure of the human brain can be visualized. Nevertheless, it is intricate to sense strange brain compositions with usual image processing techniques. MRI distinguishes and clarifies the neural design of the human brain. This paper put forward an analytical course of action for the recognition of brain tumors (BT). It focuses on the eradication of noise, features extraction based on gray-level co-occurrence matrix (GLCM) and BT segmentation based on Discrete Wavelet Transform (DWT) in order to augment the performance and shrivel the complexity. Morphological operation is performed to eradicate the noise that emerged due to segmentation. Support Vector Machine (SVM) based classifier is used to access the accuracy of BT detection. Experimental results exhibit a classification accuracy of 98.91% that shows the proposed system efficacy. more...

AbstractThe MRI brain image detection and classification is very crucial for medical science. From last few years, various methods are being presented. Here in this paper, we proposed a novel approach to classify a given MRI brain image as normal or abnormal i.e. affected through tumor. The performed method firstly taken the wavelet transform for feature extraction from the images then applied principle component analysis to decrease the dimensions of features. Then the decreased features are being employed to kernel –support vector machine (k-SVM). Here the data has been taken for seven general brain diseases viz. glioma, Alzheimer’s disease, Sarcoma, coma, LINN, IPOL, HPOL. We collected the data of 20 normal and 140 abnormal patients from Harvard Medical Laboratory website. Here four methods of SVM are performed such as L-Kernel, RBF, Poly, and NN. The comparative analysis is also being performed by the existing literatures which illustrates the result by DWT+PCA+KSVM by applying with GRB Kernel. Our classification gives fast and accurate results and assist doctors to distinguish between normal or abnormal to certain precision values. more...

ABSTRACTThere are numerous substrates that are electroplated in electronic industry to use in electronic devices. Nickel–Cobalt (Ni–Co) is one of the substrates that is used in the integrated circuits for telecommunication. The substrate is needed to prepare before electroplating of which pre-cleaning is of paramount importance. The substrate must be cleaned to remove grease, oil, etc. from the surface. Moreover, the gold contaminant on the surface of Ni–Co substrate is transformed to gold oxide during heat treatment, which is a prerequisite step before electroplating. It was observed that standard pre-cleaning procedure practiced in the electronic industry cannot remove the oxide contaminant. Fairly controlled uniform thickness can be achieved by proper control of electroplating parameters. However, the defects generated on plated substrate cannot be eliminated by controlling electroplating parameters. It was found that pre-cleaning of substrate played an important role to eliminate the contaminants. Poor adhesion of plating materials, blistering, skip plating, plate flakes, pitting are a few common plating defects which result in poor solderability. In this review, electroplating and its defects and minimisation of defects are discussed. Surface preparation before plating is crucial in this respect. Defect-free substrate results in efficient solderability, consequently reducing rejection rate of substrate and increasing the yield, thereby, making the process cost effective. more...

Byline: M. SALEEM ANSARI - Karachi SYLLABUS is the yardstick of measuring the standard of education being practised in any educational institution. Institutions in the advance world try to excel [...] more...

AbstractIndustrial automation system and control need to increase the flexibilities and to decrease the complexities in the automation system. Due to the large panels and multitasks in the production lines and the demons of the quantities and qualities of the products the errors of the automation and control system must be decreased to reasonable level that will protect from the financial losses for the industries. The focus of this survey is on the improvements and developments to the IEC6113, IEC60484, IEC61499, PLC, PAC, DCS and UML which shows the scope and directions of the research which aims to fill up the gaps in the modeling of the industrial automation and control system. more...

AbstractControlling schemes for microturbine plays an important role on its performance. To control the various parameters of microturbine, the mathematical modeling of the system has been done. Permanent magnet synchronous generator is used for microturbine and modelled is done in d-q reference frame. An efficient power electronics interface has been used to change the high frequency into useful frequency range. The speed of the turbine is increased and decreased according to the load variation. The turbine is running on 100%, 90% and 80% of its rated speed. The turbine is connected to the different loads for analyzing its overall performance and controller. MATLAB/Simulation based microturbine system with PMSG has been developed to the analysis for the controlling of parameters. The system is tested on different loading conditions of 3 kW, 6.5 kW and 13 kW to obtained the optimize working of microturbine. more...

AbstractThe medical image compression plays an important role in digital image compression. Compression reduces the redundancy and encodes the data. To use different techniques and algorithms we can get the desired result. But it will depend on the used algorithm, which algorithm we have used in which circumstances. In this paper we have used SPIHT method with wavelet bior4.4 on brain surface medical image with different type of image parameters. And observe the result of this method with different types of image parameters at different level of iterations. more...

Mechanisms underlying the ability of hepatitis C virus (HCV) to establish persistent infections and induce progressive liver disease remain poorly understood. HCV is one of several positive-stranded RNA viruses capable of establishing persistence in their immunocompetent vertebrate hosts, an attribute previously associated with formation of large-scale RNA structure in their genomic RNA. We developed novel methods to analyze and visualize genome-scale ordered RNA structure (GORS) predicted from the increasingly large data sets of complete genome sequences of HCV. Structurally conserved RNA secondary structure in coding regions of HCV localized exclusively to polyprotein ends (core, NS5B). Coding regions elsewhere were also intensely structured based on elevated minimum folding energy difference (MFED) values, but the actual stem–loop elements involved in genome folding were structurally poorly conserved, even between subtypes 1a and 1b. Dynamic remodeling was further evident from comparison of HCV strains in different host genetic backgrounds. Significantly higher MFED values, greater suppression of UpA dinucleotide frequencies, and restricted diversification were found in subjects with the TT genotype of the rs12979860 SNP in the IFNL4gene compared to the CC (nonexpressing) allele. These structural and compositional associations with expression of interferon-λ4 were recapitulated on a larger scale by higher MFED values and greater UpA suppression of genotype 1 compared to genotype 3a, associated with previously reported HCV genotype-associated differences in hepatic interferon-stimulated gene induction. Associations between innate cellular responses with HCV structure and further evolutionary constraints represent an important new element in RNA virus evolution and the adaptive interplay between virus and host. more...

The paper develops a novel hybrid space vector pulse width modulation (HSVPWM) for improving the quality of power transfer from a permanent magnet synchronous generator (PMSG) based wind energy conversion system (WECS) to a three phase induction motor load. It includes a Vienna rectifier (VR) based ac-dc converter in the front end and a voltage source inverter (VSI) for providing the variable frequency, variable voltage requirements of the induction motor load. The Vienna rectifier attempts to offer almost a unity power factor and early sinusoidal input as the input to the VSI as part of resurrecting the shape of the supply side waveform to the motor. The formulation involves a three-phase three-level HSVPWM along with a novel hysteresis current control technique for generating the firing pulses to the power switches in the VSI. The simulation results reveal a higher fundamental component a lower total harmonic distortion (THD) and harmonic spread factor (HSF) for the inverter output voltage over the similar other pulse width modulation (PWM) schemes and allow it claim a space for its use in real world utilities. more...

ObjectiveThis study was conducted to determine the spectrum of laboratory practices in antinuclear antibody (ANA) test target, performance, and result reporting.MethodsA questionnaire on ANA testing was distributed by the Diagnostic Immunology and Flow Cytometry Committee of the College of American Pathologists (CAP) to laboratories participating in the 2016 CAP ANA proficiency survey.ResultsOf 5847 survey kits distributed, 1206 (21%) responded. ANA screening method varied: 55% indirect immunofluorescence assay, 21% ELISA, 12% multibead immunoassay, and 18% other methods. The name of the test indicated the method used in only 32% of laboratories; only 39% stated the method used on the report. Of 644 laboratories, 80% used HEp-2 cell substrate, 18% HEp-2000 (HEp-2 cell line engineered to overexpress SSA antigen, Ro60), and 2% other. Slides were prepared manually (67%) or on an automated platform (33%) and examined by direct microscopy (84%) or images captured by an automated platform (16%). Only 50% reported a positive result at the customary 1:40 dilution. Titer was reported to endpoint routinely by 43%, only upon request by 23%, or never by 35%. Of the laboratories, 8% did not report dual patterns. Of those reporting multiple patterns, 23% did not report a titer with each pattern.ConclusionANA methodology and practice, and test naming and reporting varies significantly between laboratories. Lack of uniformity in testing and reporting practice and lack of transparency in communicating the testing method may misdirect clinicians in their management of patients. more...

Diverse chilli genetic resources of North East India occupy a unique niche in the Nation’s chilli gene pool. Widely cultivated chilli landraces (King chilli: Capsicum chinense, bird eye chilli: Capsicum frutescensand Capsicum annuum) of North East India in general and Manipur in particular suffer from decline complex due to high incidence of viral diseases. With this background and the known prominent distribution of Chilli veinal mottle virus(ChiVMV) in Asian region, we studied its prevalence and association with diverse symptoms of chilli landraces. Molecular indexing of samples from 40 chilli plantation groves of Manipur using reverse transcription (RT)-PCR targeting the coat protein (CP) region of ChiVMV genome revealed a high incidence and wide prevalence. Out of a total of 127 chilli samples collected from different groves of Manipur, 81 chilli samples (63.78%) were positive for ChiVMV. Interestingly, ChiVMV infection rate was comparatively higher in the hilly groves (69.23% samples positive) compared to the valley groves (60% samples positive). Present study through the extensive surveys and molecular indexing work, conclusively reported the association of ChiVMV with diverse symptoms like cupping of leaf lamina with mottling, vein banding and puckering in different chilli landraces. Further, five representative ChiVMV isolates sampled from different groves of Manipur upon mechanical inoculation showed significant variation in symptom expression, indicating wide pathogenic diversity among them. Partial coat protein (CP) sequence analysis of five ChiVMV isolates from Manipur although indicated genetic homogeneity among them, but distinctiveness from ChiVMV isolates reported from the other parts of India. Phylogenetic clustering of ChiVMV isolates from Manipur near Chinese isolates rather than other Indian isolates suggested the possibility of transboundary movement. more...