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In the digital age, images are widely used to document events, provide evidence, and communicate information. Ensuring the authenticity of digital images is crucial to maintaining trust and integrity in various domains, including journalism, forensics, legal proceedings, and historical documentation. In this research, a PeCA-DCNN model for digital image detection is proposed, employing a hybrid approach. Initially, the data from image forgery databases is collected and preprocessed to eliminate noise and artefacts. Subsequently, the Viola–Jones algorithm detects frontal faces, and feature extraction is performed using pre-trained models VGG-16 and Resnet-101. To reduce the computational overhead, feature extraction is performed and generates a feature vector. The PeCA algorithm, combined with an adaptive self-boosted DCNN, is used to classify fake and genuine images. The PeCA algorithm enhances model performance by adjusting classifier parameters’ weights and biases. When evaluating the PeCA-DCNN, significant improvements in accuracy, sensitivity, and specificity are obtained with enhancement rates of 1.48, 3.06, and 0.05 in an 80% training scenario, and 3.92, 3.24, and 2.22 in k-fold cross-validation. These results demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed approach compared to existing techniques. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Renal stone formation inside the kidney is one of the major causes of renal failure all over the world. To create preventative measures, it is crucial to examine renal stone's composition and identify the minerals that are responsible for their pathogenesis. Various concerns regarding the pathophysiology of renal stones remain unresolved and have been put forward. However, till date, the complete information is still unclear. In recent years, spectroscopic studies have gained much attention in identifying the chemical compositions that lead to the formation and growth of renal stones. This work employed wavelength‐dispersive X‐ray fluorescence (WDXRF) and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy to study renal stones. WDXRF results of renal stone samples give the presence of numerous heavy and trace elements. Different elemental constituents like zinc (Zn), copper (Cu), iron (Fe), molybdenum (Mo), nickel (Ni), strontium (Sr), chromium (Cr), zirconium (Zr), palladium (Pd), bromine (Br), ruthenium (Ru), lead (Pb), and arsenic (As) were detected and quantified in the renal stones. Vibrational spectroscopic studies were carried out to know the chemical compositions of renal stones such as calcium oxalate monohydrate (COM), uric acid (UA), and carbonate apatite (CA). Quantitative results of WDXRF have been compared with the results from atomic absorption spectroscopy (AAS) of these stone samples. The available clinical details of the patients were correlated with the spectroscopic results obtained using WDXRF and FTIR spectroscopy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, we provide the synthesis and analysis of the structure, microstructure, and spectroscopic properties of V‐doped SrTiO3. The monophasic samples were made using the usual ceramic method, which involved calcination at temperatures of 1000°C and 1300°C. The X‐ray diffraction analysis, combined with the Rietveld refinement, conclusively demonstrates that they have crystallized in a cubic structure, namely under the space group Pm3¯m$Pm\bar{3}m$. The inclusion of vanadium (V) at the titanium (Ti) site has been investigated by evaluating the size of the crystallite and grain. The investigation of dielectric and dissipation factors at different frequencies indicates the existence of interfacial and orientational polarization. Two distinct conduction and relaxation processes were identified within the temperature range examined based on the spectroscopic plot. The presence of a paramagnetic phase in the samples, caused by the presence of V and its magnetic interaction with oxygen vacancies, indicates that it can be classified as a soft magnetic material. The electrode's consistent dielectric constant and dissipation factor make it well‐suited for use in supercapacitor dielectric capacitors. Additionally, its mixed‐type conduction, involving both ionic and electronic conduction, makes it excellent for use as electrode materials in intermediate‐temperature solid oxide fuel cells' applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Here, we report a comparison study on the synthesis and characterization of perovskite SrSnO3 (SSO) and Sr2SnO4 (S2SO). Rietveld refinement studies were performed on both prepared samples and suggest that they crystallized in cubic (SSO) and tetragonal (S2SO) structures. Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) and Raman spectroscopy studies supported the XRD observations. Improved dielectric parameters were observed for S2SO over SSO due to differences in dislocation density, larger crystallite size, and denser microstructure. The electrical conduction and relaxation processes followed the Arrhenius type in both samples through the migration of oxygen vacancies via the Sn-site and the transfer of electrons between the Sn sites in two different temperature regions. These processes in the samples occurred via correlated barrier hopping (CBH) in SSO and the non-overlapping of small-polaron tunnelling (NSPT) in S2SO. The conduction and relaxation processes had similar sources of charge carriers but differed in the concentration and mobility of charge carriers. The presented materials can be utilized for dielectric capacitors, sensors, and mixed ionic and electronic conductor-based electrodes in IT-SOFC applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Now a days, secure data communication over computer network system is a major issue in which impact of feature reduction plays a vital role to secure network by early detection of intrusion. It not only keeps a deep impact on the performance of existing Intrusion Detection System (IDS) algorithms but also affects the computational complexity. Although lots of techniques have been offered for feature reduction by researchers and they have their own perks and quirks, but still they are several flows. To manipulate the same dataset for different classifiers and to select different number of features for the detection of attacks are not only having too much computational cost but also time consuming. The experiments have been carried out using "Python" programming language based library "Scikit‐Learn" software on "Kddcup99" dataset from UCI machine learning repository as a test bed. In this article a classification and regression trees (CART) based feature selection algorithm has been proposed which offers optimum set of features. Further optimum set of features has been offered by our proposed work passed over various classifiers for training and testing to establish network intrusion detection system (NIDS). We have compared the performance accuracy of various existing machine learning (ML) based classification algorithms and obtained higher performance accuracy with lower computational cost. The proposed algorithm having optimum time complexity and accuracy in designing of IDS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The samples with A‐site cation ordering Ba1−x/2Ti1−xNbxO3 (BTN) with 0 ≤ x ≤ 0.010 were synthesized via the conventional ceramic route by calcining at 1200°C and sintered at 1350°C. The preliminary study of the phase of prepared samples was determined through X‐ray diffraction (XRD) analysis. The Rietveld refinement analysis indicates the tetragonal phase in BTN0 sample, whereas the doped samples exhibit a combination of tetragonal and cubic phases. Presence of Raman band at 308 cm−1 suggests the presence of tetragonal in all samples. The dielectric constant was observed to be 1500 (BTN0), 3000 (BTN5) and 1680 (BTN10) while tangent loss found 0.6 (BTN0), 0.04 (BTN5) and 0.07 (BTN10). All the sample shows same Curie temperature (120°C) due to Ba‐site cation ordering in the sample. Ferroelectric nature in all samples was also confirmed by modified Curie‐Weis law. Based on the current studies, the present materials can be explored as a potential candidate for ferroelectric‐memory devices, dielectric capacitor and energy harvesting applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) have garnered significant attention in the scientific community for more than two decades due to their cost-effectiveness, convenient manufacturability, little toxicity, and straightforward preparation methodology. In this study, we present a cost-effective alternative to the platinum electrode for DSSCs, which serves as the counter electrode. The utilization of vanadium oxide nanoparticles as counter electrodes (CEs) in DSSCs has been the subject of research due to its enhanced stability, cost-effectiveness, and favorable photovoltaic characteristics. The device has been fabricated in configuration of fluorine-doped tin oxide (FTO)||TiO2||ruthenium (II) dye (N719)||iodide—triiodide electrolyte||VO2 (counter electrode)||FTO and investigate their photovoltaic performance. The utilization of X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis has provided insights into the crystalline properties of VO2, indicating that it exists in a crystalline phase with a crystalline size measuring 43.19 nm and a lattice strain of 1.68 × 10−3. The utilization of a field emission scanning electron microscope (FESEM) that is equipped with an energy dispersive X-ray spectrum reveals a dense microstructure characterized by a uniform distribution of vanadium (V) and oxygen (O) across the whole surface. The Raman spectroscopic examination of VO2 reveals the existence of many Raman bands, thereby confirming the presence of the monoclinic phase. Cyclic voltammetry measurements were employed to investigate the catalytic activity of the CE toward the electrolyte. The photovoltaic performance of the manufactured device was examined by I–V measurement, revealing a notable open circuit voltage (Voc) and efficient power conversion efficiency when compared to the other materials that were evaluated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Chickpea is prone to many abiotic stresses such as heat, drought, salinity, etc. which cause severe loss in yield. Tolerance towards these stresses is quantitative in nature and many studies have been done to map the loci influencing these traits in different populations using different markers. This study is an attempt to meta-analyse those reported loci projected over a high-density consensus map to provide a more accurate information on the regions influencing heat, drought, cold and salinity tolerance in chickpea., Results: A meta-analysis of QTL reported to be responsible for tolerance to drought, heat, cold and salinity stress tolerance in chickpeas was done. A total of 1512 QTL responsible for the concerned abiotic stress tolerance were collected from literature, of which 1189 were projected on a chickpea consensus genetic map. The QTL meta-analysis predicted 59 MQTL spread over all 8 chromosomes, responsible for these 4 kinds of abiotic stress tolerance in chickpea. The physical locations of 23 MQTL were validated by various marker-trait associations and genome-wide association studies. Out of these reported MQTL, CaMQAST1.1, CaMQAST4.1, CaMQAST4.4, CaMQAST7.8, and CaMQAST8.2 were suggested to be useful for different breeding approaches as they were responsible for high per cent variance explained (PVE), had small intervals and encompassed a large number of originally reported QTL. Many putative candidate genes that might be responsible for directly or indirectly conferring abiotic stress tolerance were identified in the region covered by 4 major MQTL- CaMQAST1.1, CaMQAST4.4, CaMQAST7.7, and CaMQAST6.4, such as heat shock proteins, auxin and gibberellin response factors, etc. CONCLUSION: The results of this study should be useful for the breeders and researchers to develop new chickpea varieties which are tolerant to drought, heat, cold, and salinity stresses., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Dynamic interactions within the tumor micro-environment drive patient response to immune checkpoint inhibitors. Existing preclinical models lack true representation of this complexity. Using a Head and Neck cancer patient derived TruTumor histoculture platform, the response spectrum of 70 patients to anti-PD1 treatment is investigated in this study. With a subset of 55 patient samples, multiple assays to characterize T-cell reinvigoration and tumor cytotoxicity are performed. Based on levels of these two response parameters, patients are stratified into five sub-cohorts, with the best responder and non-responder sub-cohorts falling at extreme ends of the spectrum. The responder sub-cohort exhibits high T-cell reinvigoration, high tumor cytotoxicity with T-cells homing into the tumor upon treatment whereas immune suppression and tumor progression pathways are pre-dominant in the non-responders. Some moderate responders benefit from combination of anti-CTLA4 with anti-PD1, which is evident from better cytotoxic T-cell: T-regulatory cell ratio and enhancement of tumor cytotoxicity. Baseline and on-treatment gene expression signatures from this study stratify responders and non-responders in unrelated clinical datasets., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Here, we report a comparison study on the synthesis and characterization of perovskite SrSnO 3 (SSO) and Sr 2 SnO 4 (S2SO). Rietveld refinement studies were performed on both prepared samples and suggest that they crystallized in cubic (SSO) and tetragonal (S2SO) structures. Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) and Raman spectroscopy studies supported the XRD observations. Improved dielectric parameters were observed for S2SO over SSO due to differences in dislocation density, larger crystallite size, and denser microstructure. The electrical conduction and relaxation processes followed the Arrhenius type in both samples through the migration of oxygen vacancies via the Sn-site and the transfer of electrons between the Sn sites in two different temperature regions. These processes in the samples occurred via correlated barrier hopping (CBH) in SSO and the non-overlapping of small-polaron tunnelling (NSPT) in S2SO. The conduction and relaxation processes had similar sources of charge carriers but differed in the concentration and mobility of charge carriers. The presented materials can be utilized for dielectric capacitors, sensors, and mixed ionic and electronic conductor-based electrodes in IT-SOFC applications.

Among the deadliest diseases, cancer is characterized by tumors or an increased number of a specific type of cell because of uncontrolled divisions during mitosis. Researchers in the current era concentrated on the development of highly selective anticancer medications due to the substantial toxicities of conventional cytotoxic drugs. Several marketed drug molecules have provided resistance against cancer through interaction with certain targets/growth factors/enzymes, such as Telomerase, Histone Deacetylase (HDAC), Methionine Aminopeptidase (MetAP II), Thymidylate Synthase (TS), Glycogen Synthase Kinase-3 (GSK), Epidermal Growth Factor (EGF), Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor (VEGF), Focal Adhesion Kinase (FAK), STAT3, Thymidine phosphorylase, and Alkaline phosphatase. The molecular structure of these drug molecules contains various heterocyclic moieties that act as pharmacophores. Recently, 1,3,4- oxadiazole (five-membered heterocyclic moiety) and its derivatives attracted researchers as these have been reported with a wide range of pharmacological activities, including anti-cancer. 1,3,4- oxadiazoles have exhibited anti-cancer potential via acting on any of the above targets. The presented study highlights the synthesis of anti-cancer 1,3,4-oxadiazoles, their mechanism of interactions with targets, along with structure-activity relationship concerning anti-cancer potential., (Copyright© Bentham Science Publishers; For any queries, please email at epub@benthamscience.net.)