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In winter, the paddy residues become wet during morning and late evening due to dew, which restricts the operation of sowing machines (Happy Seeder and Super Seeder) into paddy residues, as wet residues do not slide on furrow openers/tines. A PAU Smart Seeder (PSS) was developed and evaluated for a four-wheel tractor that can sow wheat with optimum crop establishment in combined harvested rice fields. The PSS were evaluated for its performance under varying straw load, forward speed, and rotor speed in terms of fuel consumption, field capacity, seed emergence, and grain yield. The crop establishment and wheat yield of PSS was also compared with the existing straw management machines Happy Seeder (HS) and Super Seeder (SS) under heavy paddy residue conditions. The effect of the straw load was more pronounced on dependent variables than the effect of the speed index. PSS performance was best at a forward speed of 2.6 km h−1, rotor speed of 127.5 rpm, and a straw load of 6 t ha−1. Average fuel consumption using PSS was lower than SS but higher than HS. Wheat emergence was higher by 15.6 and 25.7% on the PSS plots compared to HS and SS, respectively. Average wheat grain yield in PSS plots was significantly higher by 12.7 and 18.9% than SS and HS, respectively in one experiment, while the grain yield was similar for both PSS and HS in other experiments. PSS has a novel mechanism to manage paddy straw and simultaneously sow wheat into a heavy straw load (> 8 t ha−1) mixture of anchored and loose straw. In conclusion, PSS showed promise for in-situ management of rice straw as it eliminates most of the operational problems encountered by the existing seeders (HS and SS). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this work, the practical implementation of magnetic end effector is presented using magnetic levitation (Maglev) system as a working prototype, due to their similar functionality. Maglev refers to a method by which an object can be suspended with the aid of a magnetic field. The motive of this research is to propose a novel fractional-order enhanced model reference adaptive controller (FOEMRAC)-based approach for controlling the stability of the levitating magnetic objects. FOEMRAC uses modified MIT rule as the adaptation mechanism in this system. The stability analysis of Maglev system has been conducted using Matignon theorem. The simulation is carried out using Quanser Maglev system, and a comparative study is conducted with other existing state-of-the-art approaches. The integral error criterion including integral absolute error, integral square error, and integral time absolute error, and other performance metrics such as rise time, settling time, overshoot, and undershoot have been used to compare the robustness of the controllers under nominal, load disturbance, and parametric uncertain environments. Further, the results are verified on the hardware in real time which reveal that FOEMRAC shows efficient results than other controllers and thus can be used to enhance the performance of the magnetic end effector in real-time environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Crime is the intentional commission of an act usually suspected as socially detrimental and specifically defined, forbidden, and punishable under criminal law. Developing a society that is less susceptible to criminal acts makes crime prediction and pattern analysis (CPPA) a paramount topic for academic research interest. With the innovation in technology and rapid expansion of Artificial Intelligence (AI), the research in the field of CPPA has evolved radically to predict crime efficiently. While the number of publications is expanding substantially, we believe there is a dearth of thorough scientometric analysis for this topic. This work intends to analyze research conducted in the last decade using Scopus data and a scientometric technique, emphasizing citation trends and intriguing journals, nations, institutions, their collaborations, authors, and co-authorship networks in CPPA research. Furthermore, three field plots have been staged to visualize numerous associations between country, journal, keyword, and author. Besides, a comprehensive keyword analysis is carried out to visualize the CPPA research carried out with AI amalgamation. A total of five clusters have been identified depicting several AI methods used by the researchers in CPPA and the evolution of research trends over time from various perspectives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A new area of biotechnology is nanotechnology. Nanotechnology is an emerging field that aims to develope various substances with nano-dimensions that have utilization in the various sectors of pharmaceuticals, bio prospecting, human activities and biomedical applications. An essential stage in the development of nanotechnology is the creation of nanoparticles. To increase their biological uses, eco-friendly material synthesis processes are becoming increasingly important. Recent years have shown a lot of interest in nanostructured materials due to their beneficial and unique characteristics compared to their polycrystalline counterparts. The fascinating performance of nanomaterials in electronics, optics, and photonics has generated a lot of interest. An eco-friendly approach of creating nanoparticles has emerged in order to get around the drawbacks of conventional techniques. Today, a wide range of nanoparticles have been created by employing various microbes, and their potential in numerous cutting-edge technological fields have been investigated. These particles have well-defined chemical compositions, sizes, and morphologies. The green production of nanoparticles mostly uses plants and microbes. Hence, the use of microbial nanotechnology in agriculture and plant science is the main emphasis of this review. The present review highlights the methods of biological synthesis of nanoparticles available with a major focus on microbially synthesized nanoparticles, parameters and biochemistry involved. Further, it takes into account the genetic engineering and synthetic biology involved in microbial nanobiosynthesis to the construction of microbial nanofactories. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Machine learning algorithms generally assume that the data are balanced in nature. However, medical datasets suffer from the curse of dimensionality and class imbalance problems. The medical datasets are obtained from the patient information which creates an imbalance in class distribution as the number of normal persons is more than the number of patients and contains a large number of features to represent a sample. It tends to the machine learning algorithms biased toward the majority class which degrades their classification performance for minority class samples and increases the computation overhead. Therefore, oversampling, feature selection and feature weighting-based four strategies are proposed to deal with the problems of class imbalance and high dimensionality. The key idea behind the proposed strategies is to generate a balanced sample space along with the optimal weighted feature space of the most relevant and discriminative features. The Synthetic Minority Oversampling Technique is utilized to generate the synthetic minority class samples and reduce the bias toward the majority class. An Improved Elephant Herding Optimization algorithm is applied to select the optimal features and weights for reducing the computation overhead and improving the interpretation ability of the learning algorithms by providing weights to relevant features. In addition, thirteen methods are developed from the proposed strategies to deal with the problems of high-dimensionality and imbalanced data. The optimized k -Nearest Neighbor (k -NN) learning algorithm is utilized to perform classification. The performance of the proposed methods is evaluated and compared for sixteen high-dimensional imbalanced medical datasets. Further, Freidman's mean rank test is applied to show the statistical difference between the proposed methods. Experimental and statistical results show that the proposed Feature Weighting followed by the Feature Selection (FW–FS) method performed significantly better than the other proposed methods for classification accuracy, g-mean, f-score, and AUC metrics. In addition, the performance of the proposed FW–FS method is compared with eleven state-of-the-art algorithms. The results express the effectiveness of the proposed FW–FS method in dealing with high-dimensional imbalanced medical datasets than other state-of-the-art algorithms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

When a firm announces a product recall it typically incurs a market penalty in the form of a decline in its stock price. But a specific recall announcement often happens among recalls by other firms in the industry. Could recent recalls by other firms in the industry impact the market penalty for a new recall announcement? To capture and test this effect, the authors conceptualize recall environment intensity. Using salience theory, they identify the dimensions of the recall environment intensity construct, confirm these dimensions using interviews and a survey, and develop a measure for the construct. The authors then develop hypotheses for the effect of recall environment intensity on the stock penalty for a new recall announcement and propose boundary conditions for the effect. The hypotheses are tested using data from the automobile industry to show that a firm that announces a recall in a high intensity recall environment will have a smaller decline in stock price, though the effect varies with the reliability reputation of the brand and the age of the recalled products. The study provides a nuanced understanding of the stock market response to recall announcements and offers guidance on how to conceptualize and measure recall environment intensity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Enormous fresh agricultural produce is wasted annually due to rots caused by pathogenic microorganisms. Most pathogenic fungi attack the harvested produce by penetrating the fruit at the field and remaining quiescent or latent until the fruit ripens or senescence. In this work, a recently developed simple, cost-effective, and high-throughput 96-well plate-based assay was applied to determine the presence of pathogenic fungi in their latent stage. The surface strands immobilized on the 96-well plate, only with the presence of the complementary RNA marker (enoyl-CoA hydratase (ECH)) of the latent fungal-pathogen Colletotrichum gloeosporioides will create a complex with the target and reporter (labeled with the horseradish peroxidase (HRP) enzyme) strands for positive signal generation. The developed assay demonstrated 3.1-fold higher specificity for the latent marker (ECH) of C. gloeosporioides compared to latent markers of other pathogenic fungi. A 2 nM detection limit of target strands was demonstrated, showing a high plate sensitivity, and was further validated with biological samples extracted from latent infection in tomato fruit. The developed assay provides a new economical tool for detecting the presence of latent RNA markers of pathogenic fungi in agricultural produce, ultimately improving postharvest decision-making and reducing postharvest losses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this work, two numerical techniques are compared for solving one and two-dimensional convection-diffusion equations. First technique is referred as "MCUAT tension B-spline," and the second technique is labeled as "MCUAH tension B-spline." Various aspects are examined to validate the compatibility of results, including comparisons between numerical and exact solutions and evaluation of different error norms. Present errors are compared with existing literature, presenting a remarkable improvisation. Statistical validation of work is tested via a correlation matrix heatmap generated in Python. The order of convergence of the proposed work is also included. Via an observation of comparison of results, it is claimed that UAT results are slightly better than UAH results. Different aspects of correlation, such as strongly negative correlation and perfect positive correlation, are notified. The present work will introduce new dimensions to the field of numerical techniques. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A novel heterogeneous catalyst Fe3O4@SB@Cu that contains a copper(II) Schiff base complex covalently immobilised on Fe3O4 nanoparticles was synthesised. The prepared catalyst is well characterised by FTIR spectroscopy, UV–Visible spectroscopy, FE-SEM, TEM, VSM analysis, EDX, XRD analysis, TGA, CV technique, XPS and PL studies to confirm its structural and morphological features. The high BET surface area (117.34 m2/g) was achieved for particles with size 25–30 nm and saturation magnetisation of 43.4 emu/g. The catalytic potential of the synthesised catalyst Fe3O4@SB@Cu was investigated by employing H2O2 as an oxidant for the oxidation of anthracene to anthraquinone. Various parameters like catalytic loading, temperature and solvents were varied to determine the optimal catalytic conditions, and 96% yield of the product is obtained within 36 min when the reaction was performed in the acetonitrile solvent with 1.8% loading of the catalyst. The catalytic reaction was monitored by UV–Visible spectroscopy. Using an external magnet, the modified nanoparticles were easily retrieved from the reaction mixture and can be utilised for five more reaction cycles without the significant loss of activity or copper leaching. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recently, we have shown that guggulsterone is the principal constituent responsible for protective effects of Commiphora wightii against elastase-induced chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)-linked inflammation/emphysema. Given that cigarette smoke (CS) exposure is a primary risk factor for COPD and beneficial effects of guggulsterone have not been investigated in CS-induced COPD-linked lung inflammation. The present work was designed to validate the potential of guggulsterone in amelioration of COPD-linked lung inflammation by using a CS-based mouse model of the condition. Male BALB/c mice were exposed to 9 cigarettes/day with 1 h interval for 4 days daily. Guggulsterone was administered daily at a dose of 10 mg/kg orally for 4 consecutive days, 1 h before initiation of CS exposure. Mice were subjected to measurement of lung function followed by procurement of bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF)/lung tissue. BALF was analyzed for inflammatory cells and pro-inflammatory cytokines. Lung tissue was subjected to RT-PCR for gene expression analysis. Data showed that CS exposure resulted in a significant increase in total BALF cells, predominantly neutrophils, and macrophages. Interestingly, guggulsterone administration significantly blunted CS-induced inflammation as reflected by reduced neutrophil and macrophage count. Further, the compound inhibited CS-induced gene expression of pro-inflammatory mediators TNF-α/ IL-1β/ G-CSF/and KC in lungs along with the production of pro-inflammatory mediators TNF-α/ IL-1β/ IL-6/ G-CSF/ KC/and MCP-1 in BALF. Further, guggulsterone improved the lung function parameters upon CS exposure. Analysis of mRNA expression of matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-9 and tissue inhibitor of matrix metalloproteinase (TIMP)-1 suggests that guggulsterone may restore the fine balance between matrix-degrading proteases and its inhibitor in lung tissue upon CS exposure, which may contribute in the development of emphysema at later stages. Overall, our data show that guggulsterone protects against CS-induced COPD-linked lung inflammation by modulating relevant molecular players. Based on the potential effects of guggulsterone in the amelioration of CS-induced lung inflammation, we speculate that guggulsterone might alter chronic CS-induced emphysema. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study's purpose is to examine the effect of herding, loss aversion, overconfidence, and fear of missing out (FOMO) biases on crypto investors' investment decisions. The study also looks at how FOMO plays a mediating role between herding, loss aversion, overconfidence, and crypto investment decisions. To acquire data from crypto retail investors, the study used a questionnaire survey. A total of 473 responses were gathered and analyzed with SmartPLS. To achieve the study's aims, factor analysis and partial least square structural equation modelling were used. The study's findings found that FOMO, herding, loss aversion, and overconfidence biases have a substantial effect on the investment decisions of crypto investors, in respective order. In addition, FOMO bias establishes a complementary partial mediation on the relationship between herding, loss aversion, and crypto investors' decision-making behavior. Ergo, the present study assisted individual and institutional cryptocurrency investors, crypto portfolio managers, policymakers, researchers, and market regulators in broadening their knowledge base about cryptocurrency and forecasting investors' behavior. Hence, this study contributes to the field of behavioral finance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The field of nanotechnology has the mysterious capacity to reform every subject it touches. Nanotechnology advancements have already altered a variety of scientific and industrial fields. Nanoparticles (NPs) with sizes ranging from 1 to 100 nm (nm) are of great scientific and commercial interest. Their functions and characteristics differ significantly from those of bulk metal. Commercial quantities of NPs are synthesized using chemical or physical methods. The use of the physical and chemical approaches remained popular for many years; however, the recognition of their hazardous effects on human well-being and conditions influenced serious world perspectives for the researchers. There is a growing need in this field for simple, non-toxic, clean, and environmentally safe nanoparticle production methods to reduce environmental impact and waste and increase energy productivity. Microbial nanotechnology is relatively a new field. Using various microorganisms, a wide range of nanoparticles with well-defined chemical composition, morphology, and size have been synthesized, and their applications in a wide range of cutting-edge technological areas have been investigated. Green synthesis of the nanoparticles is cost-efficient and requires low maintenance. The present review highlights the synthesis of the nanoparticles by different microbes, their characterization, and their biotechnological potential. It further deals with the applications in biomedical, food, and textile industries as well as its role in biosensing, waste recycling, and biofuel production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper proposes a bit-level cryptographic model for encrypting medical signals, patient information, clinical data, and images of various modalities. The model has utilized chaotic maps due to properties like non-periodicity, nonlinearity, ergodicity, deterministic, unpredictable, and sensitive to the initial conditions. Three chaotic maps are employed in a chained sequence at different levels of the model to elevate the randomness and provide uniform key distribution with larger key space. Also, the self-adaptive bald eagle search optimization algorithm has been employed to enhance the properties of chaotic maps by optimizing the initialization and control parameters. The cyclic redundancy check approach is involved to detect any change in the data during the transmission at the receiver side along with circular shift to make encrypted data resilient of differential attack. Therefore, the encryption model boosts the unpredictability, security, and protection against a wide range of threats. The encryption model performance efficiency is demonstrated using different types of security analysis to show resistance against statistical, entropy, differential, cropping, and brute-force attacks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A low cost imine-decorated linker, 4,4'-(hydrazine-1,2-diylidenedimethylylidene)dibenzoic acid was utilized for the preparation of copper-based metal–organic framework (MOF) denoted as Cu-L via a solvothermal technique. The synthesized MOF material has been fully characterized by different analytical techniques such as Fourier-transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy, powder X-Ray diffraction (PXRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive X-Ray spectroscopy (EDX), nitrogen adsorption–desorption isotherm analysis, and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). It has been found that the coordination of Cu2+ with L considerably reduced the band gap of the L of nearly about 1 eV, which is approximately 26% decline in total. Notably, a narrow band gap of the photocatalyst is an essential requirement for the proficient photodegradation of organic contaminants. An excellent optical properties and narrow band gap of (2.8 eV) of Cu-L ensure their suitability as a photocatalyst for the degradation of methylene blue (MB) dye. In the presence of Cu-L photocatalyst, 84.22% degradation of MB dye was observed after 150 min under sunlight exposure. It is the first time that imine-functionalized MOF was utilized for the degradation of MB dye under sunlight irradiation. For understanding the photodegradation of MB dye by the Cu-L photocatalyst, all the plausible mechanistic studies have been carried out in detail. Both theoretical (with the help of density functional theory (DFT) calculations) as well as experimental studies have been conducted to justify the possible mechanisms for the photodegradation of MB dye by Cu-L. The current work may open a new opportunity to construct a cheap MOF-based photocatalysts for fast degradation of dye contaminants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A fluorescent sensor, 5-((2-hydroxynaphthalen-1-yl)methyleneamino)benzene-1,3-dicarboxylic acid (coded as SB), containing both π-π interacting sites (such as π-electron-rich moieties) and hydrogen bonding (H-bonding) interacting sites (such as highly acidic protons) has been developed via high yield reflux method. It was characterized by the various analytical techniques such as Fourier transform-infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), proton nuclear magnetic resonance (1 H-NMR), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), field emission scanning electron microscope (Fe-SEM), elemental mapping, and UV − visible spectroscopy etc. The spectral response of the as-synthesized SB sensor has been investigated for various nitro explosives (NEs). It has been found that the SB sensor selectively and sensitive sense highly toxic 2,4,6-trinitrophenol (TNP) via the "turn-off" quenching response. Its limit of detection for TNP was calculated to be 30 ppb. Spectral overlap, detailed mechanistic studies for their mode of action, and density functional theory (DFT) calculations reveals that photo-induced electron transfer process (PET), fluorescence energy transfers process (FRET), and electrostatic interactions (i.e. H-bonding) are the key factors for the turn-off response of SB towards TNP. Notably, the synthesis of the sensor is cost-effective, energy efficient, and economic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the present article, we have explored the nuclear structure of 9 three quasiparticle (3qp) quadruplets arising from the coupling of like particles (nnn/ppp) observed in odd-A 179Hf, 175,181Ta, 177,179,183W, 183Re, and 185Os nuclides and also confirmed the configuration assignment to 3qp quadruplets observed in 175,177Ta and 179W nuclides. To accomplish these objectives, we adopted a revised version of semi-empirical model formulation that includes all the necessary physical interactions namely the pairing among nucleons, rotation of even-even core, rotor-particle, particle–particle coupling, irrotational contributions arising from valence nucleons, and residual interactions. These interactions can affect the magnitude of bandhead energies as well as the ordering among different members of given 3qp quadruplet. We obtained an excellent agreement among calculated bandhead energies and corresponding experimental data for all the nine 3qp quadruplets which indicates the versatility and applicability of the present model formulation. Notably, the average deviation in the present model calculations is 110.2 keV, a substantial improvement (> 50%) as compared to the earlier model, which yielded a deviation of 230.3 keV. Inspired from the success of present model calculations, we predicted the bandhead energies of 27 unobserved members of these quadruplets. The validity and reliability of present model calculations are also supported by the fact that the energy ordering among different members of a given 3qp quadruplet satisfies the generalized GM rules except 5/2[402]π ⊗ 7/2[404]π ⊗ 9/2[514]π 3qp configuration observed in 175Ta and 181Ta nuclides. The observed violation of generalized GM rules in 5/2[402]π ⊗ 7/2[404]π ⊗ 9/2[514]π configuration in both nuclides (175Ta and 181Ta) is attributed to the rotational perturbation that especially affects the locations of high-K members of a given 3qp quadruplets and in the present case above said rotational perturbation reverse the energy ordering of Kπ = 11/2− and Kπ = 21/2− bandheads. We also demonstrated the application of the present semi-empirical model calculations in the configuration assignment to 3qp states observed in odd-A nuclei. We confirmed the configuration assignments of energy states at 1551.7 keV, 1522.9 keV, and 1632.0 keV observed in 175Ta, 177Ta, and 179W nuclides, respectively, as Kπ = 17/2+: 7/2[404]π ⊗ 9/2[514]π ⊗ 1/2[541]π, Kπ = 17/2+:9/2[514]π ⊗ 1/2[521]ν ⊗ 7/2[633]ν and Kπ = 21/2+: 9/2[624]ν ⊗ 7/2[514]ν ⊗ 5/2[512]ν 3qp configurations from various probable configurations suggested in literature due to lack of experimental evidence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the demanding need for next-generation wireless networks and the emergence of real-time applications in wireless communication, data rate performance over these systems is being researched for different fading channels. This study looked into the effective throughput analysis of the shadowed Beaulieu-Xie composite fading channel. The probability density function based approach is used to derive the expressions of the effective capacity (EC) for the aforementioned system. To get the simplified relationship between the performance parameter and channel parameters, the low signal-to-noise-ratio (SNR) and the high-SNR approximations of the effective rate are also provided. The derived expressions are evaluated for different values of fading and shadowing parameters to study its effect on the EC. Also, the impact of the delay parameter on the EC is investigated. The accuracy of the inferred theoretical expressions is confirmed by the results of the Monte-Carlo simulation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The diastereoselective synthesis of novel pyrazole and dihydrofuranone-based molecular hybrids has been unfolded through the development of a straightforward tandem strategy. The indium-mediated Barbier-type allylation reaction was followed by an in situ lactonization approach. No additives were required for this transformation, and high yields of dihydrofuranone derivatives were obtained with syn-stereochemistry. The current protocol provides a number of benefits, including a one-pot procedure, high diastereoselectivity, a broad substrate scope, and high yields of the desired products. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Breast cancer–related lymphedema (BCRL) represents a dreaded complication of breast cancer treatment that can lead to morbidity, diminished quality of life, and psychosocial harm and is associated with increased costs of care. Increasingly, data has supported the concept of prospective BCRL surveillance coupled with early intervention to mitigate these effects. Methods: We performed a systematic review of the literature searching for published randomized and prospective data evaluating prospective BCRL surveillance with early intervention. Results: We identified 12 studies (2907 patients) including 4 randomized trials (1203 patients) and 8 prospective studies (1704 patients). Randomized data consistently demonstrate that early intervention reduces rates of progression to chronic BCRL with multiple paradigms and diagnostic modalities utilized; the strongest data comes from the randomized PREVENT trial, which demonstrated early detection with bioimpedance spectroscopy (BIS), coupled with early intervention with a compression garment applied for 12 h a day over 4 weeks, significantly reduced the rate of chronic BCRL compared to tape measurement coupled with early intervention. Conclusions: Current data support the role of prospective BCRL surveillance with early detection and intervention to reduce rates of chronic BCRL. Breast cancer patients at risk for BCRL should undergo prospective surveillance as part of survivorship. Because level 1 data demonstrate that BIS is superior to conventional tape measure, it should be included as the standard BCRL diagnostic modality unless an equally effective modality is employed. Implications for Cancer Survivors: Breast cancer survivor should undergo prospective BCRL screening with BIS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The term ‘blue economy’, first introduced in 2010, is the sustainable use of ocean resources for economic growth, jobs, ocean health, and to improve livelihoods. However, a sustainable blue economy faces various challenges in the form of global warming, ocean acidification, and lack of knowledge about the ocean; for example, 95% of the sea is still unexplored, making it more important to understand the blue economy and implement it on a global scale. Other challenges include harmful algal blooms (HABs), invasive species, coral bleaching, and thermohaline circulation. This review discusses various aspects of the blue economy like food, value-added products, offshore energy, oxygen source, mining, fisheries, carbon sequestration, and cloud seeding. The future aspects of blue economy, like sustainability, effective policies, and reducing carbon footprints and microplastics are also explored here. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this work, Coyote optimization algorithm (COA) is used for inverse kinematics optimization of a 7 degrees-of-freedom Kuka robot. The Denavit–Hartenberg (D–H) Convention approach is used to compute the forward kinematics of the robotic arm. The fitness functions based on sum of squares of distance and torque are employed to compute the optimized inverse kinematics solution using the COA. A comparative analysis has been conducted with other optimization algorithms including genetic algorithm (GA), particle swarm optimization (PSO) and Grey wolf optimization (GWO), artificial bee colony (ABC) optimization, and whale optimization algorithm (WOA) to evaluate the performance of the proposed approach. The experimental results show that the COA leads to least computation error of 3.59 × 10 - 7 and computation time of 1.405 s as compared to GA, PSO, GWO, ABC, and WOA algorithms. Further, jerk being control input has a major impact on the efficiency of robotic arm. COA is employed to obtain the optimal joint parameters, such as joint velocity, joint acceleration, and joint jerk, respectively. This leads to a minimum jerk trajectory which contributes to the smooth movement of Kuka arm. The simulation of Kuka robotic arm for pick and place operations is performed in CoppeliaSim, which further justifies its usage for real-time applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Resection and whole brain radiotherapy (WBRT) are standard treatments for brain metastases (BM) but are associated with cognitive side effects. Stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) uses a targeted approach with less side effects than WBRT. SRS requires precise identification and delineation of BM. While artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms have been developed for this, their clinical adoption is limited due to poor model performance in the clinical setting. The limitations of algorithms are often due to the quality of datasets used for training the AI network. The purpose of this study was to create a large, heterogenous, annotated BM dataset for training and validation of AI models. We present a BM dataset of 200 patients with pretreatment T1, T1 post-contrast, T2, and FLAIR MR images. The dataset includes contrast-enhancing and necrotic 3D segmentations on T1 post-contrast and peritumoral edema 3D segmentations on FLAIR. Our dataset contains 975 contrast-enhancing lesions, many of which are sub centimeter, along with clinical and imaging information. We used a streamlined approach to database-building through a PACS-integrated segmentation workflow. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many Chinese adolescents suffer from academic burnout, and parenting stress may be a risk factor. The mediating mechanisms underlying this relationship are less known. This study examines the association between parenting stress and adolescent academic burnout, and tests whether adolescent mental health symptoms such as depression and anxiety symptoms, positive psychological traits such as self-efficacy and resilience mediate this association. A total of 1805 students aged 11 to 14 years and their parents were recruited from three schools in Shanghai, China, using multi-stage convenient cluster sampling. Parenting Stress Index-Short Form, Elementary School Student Burnout Scale, Multidimensional Anxiety Scale for Children-Chinese, Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale, Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale, and General Self-Efficacy Scale were completed by 98.52% of participants. Multivariable regression analysis and structural equation modeling were applied using SAS 9.4 and Mplus 8.3. Parenting stress was positively associated with adolescent academic burnout (β = 0.086, p < 0.001). Adolescent anxiety and depression symptoms (β = 0.046, p < 0.01), self-efficacy and resilience (β = 0.080, p < 0.001) significantly mediated this association with a chain mediating effect of 0.043 (p < 0.001). Adolescent mental health symptoms and positive psychological traits mediated the association between parenting stress and academic burnout. They can be targets for future interventions aiming at reducing academic burnout. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A transparent polarisation-sensitive phase pattern changes the phase of transmitted light without absorption, whereas this change of phase depends on the polarisation of incident light. A position-localised polarisation-dependent phase pattern is imprinted onto the phase-space of atoms by using atomic state dependent velocity-selective hole burning. A phase-space localised pattern is a higher dimensional generalisation of patterns localised in the position-space. Such a pattern cannot be imaged with a lens. The imprinted pattern is localised in a unique three-dimensional subspace of the six-dimensional phase-space of atoms. The phase-space localised pattern transforms the polarisation of light transmitting through it. This pattern is tomographically imaged at room temperature by measuring the intensity of the transmitted imaging laser beam of variable frequency with a camera after its polarisation analysis. Two sub-tomographs of the imprinted phase-space localised pattern are constructed. This paper presents a concept and experiment of imprinting and imaging of a polarisation-sensitive phase pattern localised in the phase-space. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigated the association between household characteristics, perceived family support (PFS), and the developmental outcomes (resilience, academic performance, and prosociality) among at-risk students. Our large sample included 1564 primary and secondary school students from poor rural China (M = 11.55 years old). Having a caregiver whose resilience score was in the top 50% of the sample was associated with a 0.48-point increase (or 0.31 d effect size), while having a migrant mother was correlated with a 0.26-point decrease (or 0.17 d effect size). PFS was a significant (p < 0.0001) mediator between household characteristics and developmental outcomes. Our study highlights the link between caregiver resilience and PFS, and the healthy functioning of disadvantaged students in a developing context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hyperspectral images collect information across the electromagnetic spectrum and are widely used to recognize signals, identify materials, and find objects. However, the information in a hyperspectral image may be sensitive and must be protected. Therefore, this paper proposes a new information confidentiality model for hyperspectral images. In this model, Self Adaptive Bald Eagle Search (SABES) optimization algorithm is proposed to select the initial and control parameters of the chaos maps to improve the encryption process. A multi-level chaotic system is implemented to enhance the security of the hyperspectral images by increasing the randomness. A circular shift is utilized to secure the proposed model from differential attack. The proposed encryption model is authenticated with various security analyses. The experimental results show that the proposed cryptographic model is secure from different attacks (statistical, differential, noise, and cropping). The performance of the proposed model is validated by comparing the results of the proposed model with the state-of-the-art methods. The results prove that the proposed model is more secure and requires less computational time for image encryption and decryption in comparison to the existing methods. In addition, the proposed encryption model is applied to secure the hyperspectral medical images, demonstrating its utility in the medical field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) requires treatment with fluoroquinolone (FLQ) drugs, however, the excessive use of FLQ has led to the rise of extensively drug-resistant TB. In 2019, ~ 20% of total MDR-TB cases were estimated to be resistant to FLQ drugs. In the present study, we developed and evaluated the utility of high-resolution melt curve analysis (HRM) for the rapid detection of FLQ-resistant Mycobacterium tuberculosis for the first time directly from sputum samples. A reference plasmid library was generated for the most frequently observed mutations of gyrA gene and was used to discriminate between mutant and wild-type samples in the FLQ-HRM assay. The developed assay was evaluated on n = 25 MDR M. tuberculosis clinical isolates followed by validation on archived sputum DNA (n = 88) using DNA sequencing as a gold standard. The FLQ-HRM assay showed a 100% sensitivity [95% Confidence Interval (CI): 71.5 to 100] and specificity (95% CI: 39.7 to 100) in smear-positive category, and a sensitivity of 88.9% (95% CI: 77.3 to 95.8) with 84.2% (95% CI: 60.4 to 96.6) specificity in smear-negative category. The assay showed a high level of concordance of ~ 90% (κ = 0.74) with DNA sequencing, however, we were limited by the absence of phenotypic drug susceptibility testing data. In conclusion, HRM is a rapid, cost-effective (INR 150/USD 1.83) and closed-tube method for direct detection of FLQ resistance in sputum samples including direct smear-negative samples. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Luminescent antimony doped tin oxide nanoparticles have drawn tremendous attention from researchers due to its low cost, chemical inertness and stability. Herein, a quick, facile and economic hydrothermal/solvothermal method was utilized for the preparation of antimony doped (1%, 3%, 5%, 7% and 10%) tin oxide nanoparticles. The antimony doping in a reasonable range can change the properties of SnO2. As such, a lattice distortion increases with increase in doping, which is evidenced through crystallographic studies. It was found that the highest photocatalytic degradation efficiency of malachite green (MG) dye of about 80.86% was achieved with 10% Sb-doped SnO2 in aqueous media due to small particle size. Moreover, 10% Sb-doped SnO2 also showed the highest fluorescence quenching efficiency of about 27% for Cd2+ of concentration 0.11 µg/ml in the drinking water. The limit of detection (LOD) comes out as 0.0152 µg/ml. This sample selectively detected the cadmium ion even in the presence of other heavy metal ions. Notably, 10% Sb-doped SnO2 could appeared as a promising sensor for fast analysis of Cd2+ ions in real samples. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Graphene is an excellent material for transparent conductive electrodes due to its high electrical conductivity, transparency, flexibility, and mechanical strength. On the other hand silver nanowires (AgNWs) have also been considered as an excellent material for transparent conductive electrodes due to their high electrical conductivity, high aspect ratio, good transparency and other properties suitable for transparent electronics. Herein, we have presented a simple approach to combine the properties of graphene and silver nanowires to develop a good transparent and flexible conductive electrode on polyethylene terephthalate (PET) sheet. The transmittance of the as-prepared graphene/AgNWs electrode was found to be 82.6% at 550 nm, which is comparable to the transmittance of commercial transparent conductive electrodes. The sheet resistance of the electrode was determined to be 212.59 kΩ/sq (measured by four point-probe method). The low sheet resistance of the graphene/AgNW electrode makes it suitable for use in a variety of electronic devices, including solar cells, supercapacitors, flexible displays, and touch sensitive screens. The proposed approach is highly scalable and can boost the fabrication of low cost and highly transparent electrodes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Prevention and control of water pollution for maintaining and restoring the wholesomeness of rivers are unavoidable. The current water quality approach of designated best use has some limitations such as it is non-integrative and inflexible with regard to the consideration of variables and does not provide a separate rating scale for a given designated use. We thus used water quality index approach proposed by the Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment (CCME WQI) to evaluate and develop a separate rating system for drinking and irrigation purposes of rivers Beas, Satluj and their confluence water of the Indian Punjab using information collected over 4 years (2016 to 2019). River Beas exhibited better water quality compared to river Satluj for irrigation as well as for drinking. The overall drinking water quality index (DWQI) for Beas was marginal (45.5), whereas it was poor for Satluj (37.7) and confluence waters (40.1). The spatial variation in DWQI was greater for Satluj compared to Beas and confluence waters reflecting the effect of dumping of untreated industrial and domestic waste waters. Variables such as Total coliform (T. coli), dissolved oxygen (DO), turbidity and biological oxygen demand (BOD) contributed to the deterioration of DWQI. The irrigation water quality index (IWQI) was good for Beas (86), marginal for Satluj (60.1) and fair for confluence waters (71.2). Faecal coliform (F. coli), Kelly ratio (KR) and %Na contributed to the deterioration of IWQI. Calcium-magnesium-bicarbonate (Ca-Mg-HCO3) was the dominant water type in Beas and confluence waters, whereas for Satluj, in addition to Ca-Mg-HCO3, sodium-potassium-chloride-sulphate and mixed water types were also prevalent. The river waters witnessed salinity hazard but did not pose sodicity hazard except at a few locations of Satluj. The study indicates the need to take location specific measures for improving river water quality for drinking as well as irrigation purposes. The current status of water quality calls for an urgent need to formulate stringent policy regulations to maintain the surface water quality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Previously it was discovered that silicon (Si) is beneficial for animal health but there is inadequate information regarding Si concentration in animal diets. The present study quantifies the level of the total as well as bioaccessible Si present in popular animal feeds used in India's tropical feeding systems. Since grass and animal feed contain a lot of silica, the concept of a dietary or functional insufficiency initially seems absurd. However, the cultivation, preparation, and storage of fodder, as well as inadequate absorption, may result in the loss of this abundance of Si. The solubility of the molecule containing Si affects the bioavailability of it for intestinal absorption. On the other hand, there are still few and insufficient data about its bioavailability. The purpose of the current study is to acquire information on the Si content of regularly used animal feedstuffs in Indian livestock systems in order to evaluate their supplemental usefulness. The present research study was conducted at Mineral Nutrition Laboratory, Animal Nutrition Division, National Dairy Research Institute, Karnal, India. Samples of several types of commonly used feed and fodder for animal feeding systems were obtained from various locations across the country. The samples were digested in AID (Autoclaved Induced Digestion) and Inductively Coupled Plasma Optical Emission Spectroscopy (ICPOES) was used to evaluate the Si content of feed samples. Bioaccessibility of Si from different feedstuffs was estimated using a three-stage in vitro study to assess Si release from the rumen, abomasum and intestine. Silicon levels in fibrous feeds were greater than in concentrate feeds, while those in unconventional feeds were comparable. The feed samples that were evaluated for their Si concentration ranged widely, from milk to paddy straw. It is clear from the current investigation that substantial quantities of Si have been found in all of the main groups of feedstuffs which had higher values than other trace elements present in feedstuffs. Critical pertaining of data revealed that dry roughages (paddy straw and wheat straw) which contained high Si levels showed very low availability. The Graminaceae family fodders largely were found to be low bioavailable and contain high levels of silicon. The highest percentage of bioaccessibility was seen in grains and grain by-products followed by unconventional feed and fodders varies ranges of 2.71 to 7.13%. An exponential inverse connection was found when the bioaccessibility data was plotted against the total elemental Si content of the feedstuffs. These findings might help in determining the additional value of tropical feedstuffs for Si. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Current CMOS (Complementary metal–oxide–semiconductor) technology is no longer constrained in scaling by short channel effects. The semiconductor industry has developed a number of substitute technologies, including quantum-dot cellular automata, to get around these restrictions (QCA). In this study, a novel technique for developing digital differentiators and integrators is presented, employing QCA Technology as a key component. In order to design the digital differentiator focus has been given on no recursive simple tapped delay line differentiator called first difference differentiator and central difference differentiator. Further work has been done on design side of digital integrator. For this, time domain rectangular rule integrator has been realized with the support of QCA. By implementing the QCA, area of integrator circuit is obtained as 0.16 µm2 and 0.14 µm2 for 2 Bit and 4 Bit integrator circuit, respectively. Area occupied by central Difference differentiator is 0.52 µm2, 4 Bit F-D Differentiator occupied 0.53 µm2. Power calculation shows that power consumption is less than 6 nW in QCA-based integrator in comparison with CMOS technology. Further, it is observed that QCA-based digital differentiator and integrator have much reduced area compare to CMOS-based differentiator and integrator. These simple circuits can be further used in DSP filters like Cascaded Integrator-Comb (CIC). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Carbonated drinks are popular due to their thirst-quenching and refreshing properties; however, they are deficient in nutritional components. An attempt has been made to develop a fruit-juice-based carbonated beverage by utilizing kinnow juice concentrate at different levels (2.5, 5.0, and 7.5%) along with sugar syrup and chilled carbonated water. Kinnow juice extracted with screw-type extractor had best quality with minimum bitterness (limonin 28 ppm) and maximum (56.50%) yield, which was concentrated from 11 to 70 ºB using rotary vacuum evaporator. Based on preliminary organoleptic trials, 5.0% juice concentrate was standardized for the formulation of carbonated beverage and shelf-life studies. Storage studies (at 30 ± 1ºC) revealed that physicochemical parameters remained unaltered, while a slight but significant (p < 0.05) decrease was observed in phytochemical parameters. Approximately 97% ascorbic acid and 95% of other bioactive compounds were found retained with high overall acceptability at the end of 4 months of storage. Also, significant decrease in CO2 content and CO2:volume was observed during storage. It can be concluded that the utilization of kinnow mandarins in carbonated beverage can provide dual benefits of providing convenient and natural flavoured carbonated drinks to the consumers and can boom the growth of the fruit-based carbonated beverage industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Metabolic and bariatric surgery (MBS) has been shown to be safe and effective in the elderly population. Unfortunately, utilization of MBS in patients aged 70 years or older remains low, as MBS was just recently endorsed by the American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery (ASMBS) and the International Federation for the Surgery of Obesity (IFSO) for septuagenarians. Materials and Methods: We performed a single-center retrospective cohort study of 103 patients aged ≥ 70 years who underwent sleeve gastrectomy (SG) or Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (RYGB) from January 2008 until March 2023. The data analyzed included patient demographics, post-operative complications, resolution of obesity-related comorbidities, and weight loss. Results: A total of 103 patients (71% female; age 72.1 ± 2.5 years; BMI 43.7 ± 6.8 kg/m2) were included. Sixty-two patients (60.2%) underwent RYGB while the remaining 41 underwent SG (39.8%), with a mean follow-up of 4.7 ± 3.7 years. There was no MBS-related mortality. All-cause mortality rates were 7.3% for the SG group after a mean period of 4.5 ± 3.9 years compared to 8.1% for the RYGB cohort after 7.7 ± 3.5 years (p = 0.601). RYGB was reported to have a higher rate of early and late complications when compared to LSG (p = 0.083 and p = 0.274). T2DM (p = 0.011) and OSA (p = 0.019) resolved significantly after RYGB. Conclusion: Our study demonstrates that bariatric surgery is safe and effective in patients aged 70 years and older. Bariatric surgery should not be denied to this group of patients based on chronological age alone. Further studies are required to support these findings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD) deficiency is a common X-linked disorder with well-established clinical and allelic heterogeneity and ethnic disparity. With ~390,000 annual births with G6PD deficiency in India, it emerges as the most predictable and preventable inborn metabolic error. Disease prevalence and mutation spectrum have been reasonably reported from central, western and southern parts of India and are mostly retrospective studies. Although prevalence data from north India is available, there is paucity of data on the mutation spectrum and genotype–phenotype correlation (G×P). Thus, we aimed at establishing the clinical and mutation profiles for G6PD, as a part of a large prospective newborn screening study conducted between 2014 and 2016 across hospitals in Delhi, India. G6PD activity levels were measured at 24–48 h of life for ~200,000 neonates using Victor 2D and/or Genomic Screening Processor followed by confirmatory spectrophotometric analysis using RBC lysates of the respective neonates based on clinical symptoms. A subset of 570 enzyme deficient neonates were screened for mutations by polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism and/or Sanger sequencing. Mediterranean was the most common mutation (n=318; 55.8%) with the lowest enzyme activity and most severe phenotype, followed by G6PD Orissa (n=187;32.8%); Kerala-Kalyan (n=25); Jammu (n=24); Mahidol (n=14); Chattam (n=1) and Nilgiri/Coimbra (n=1). Of the 163 intramural neonates followed up, 68 developed clinical jaundice. However, no correlation was observed between jaundice and enzyme level. Notable outcome of this first ever prospective screening approach for G6PD deficiency in neonates may help in prediction of disease severity and appropriate timely management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Removal of contaminants via adsorption and catalysis have received a significant interest as energy and money-saving solutions for treating the world's wastewater. Metal–organic frameworks (MOFs), a newly discovered class of porous crystalline materials, have demonstrated tremendous promise in the removal and destruction of contaminants for water purification. In order to improve the interactions of MOFs with the target pollutants for their selective removal and degradation, the Schiff base functionalities emerged as promising active sites. Through pre- and post-synthetic alterations, Schiff base functionalities are integrated into the pore cages of MOF adsorbent materials. To understand the adsorptive/catalytic mechanism, potential interactions between the Schiff base sites and the target pollutants are discussed. Based on cutting-edge techniques for their synthesis, this paper examines current developments in the creation of Schiff base–functionalized MOFs as innovative materials for adsorptive removal and catalytic degradation of contaminants for water remediation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Food packaging reinforced with Zn-doped TiO2 nanoparticles with enhanced prerequisite film-forming and biodegradable traits was prepared to augment fresh food storage. Pure and tailored metal (Zinc, Copper, and Selenium) doped TiO2 nanoparticles were synthesized and analyzed through multiple characterization techniques (optical spectra, XRD patterns (X-Ray Diffraction), Dynamic Light Scattering, and Scanning Electron Microscopy). The synthesized nanoparticles were tested for their Minimum Inhibitory Concentrations, antimicrobial potential against common lethal food pathogens, and cytotoxicity. Compared to Cu- and Se-doped nanoparticles, Zn-doped TiO2 nanoparticles displayed the most potent antimicrobial activity with insignificant cytotoxicity and were incorporated into the food packaging materials. The developed nano-reinforced food packaging efficaciously augmented the freshness of plums (Oemleria cerasiformis) for 16 days (42 ± 2 °C). The physicomechanical characterization of the nano-reinforced packaging establishes its utility in food packaging applications. The developed biodegradable packaging undergoes complete decomposition within 12 days of storage in natural soil. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study reports that most patients with NSCLC had a significant increase in the nAb response to the currently circulating Omicron variants after bivalent booster vaccination and had Ab titers comparable to healthy participants. Interestingly, though the durability of the nAb response persisted in most of the healthy participants, patients with NSCLC had significantly reduced nAb titers after 4–6 months of vaccination. Our data highlight the importance of COVID-19 bivalent booster vaccination as the standard of care for patients with NSCLC given the evolution of new variants of concern. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Modification of proteins with a broad range of chemical functionalities enables the investigation of protein structure and activity by manipulating polypeptides at single amino acid resolution. Indeed, various functional groups including bulky non-canonical amino acids like strained cyclooctenes could be introduced by the unique features of the binding pocket of the double mutant pyrrolysyl-tRNA synthetase (Y306A, Y384F), but the instable nature of the enzyme limits its application in vivo. Here, we constructed a cell-free protein production system, which increased the overall enzyme stability by combining different reaction compartments. Moreover, a co-expression approach in a one-pot reaction allowed straightforward site-specific fluorescent labeling of the functional complex membrane protein cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator. Our work provides a versatile platform for introducing various non-canonical amino acids into difficult-to-express proteins for structural and fluorescence based investigation of proteins activity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: There is limited data in term low birth weight neonates from urban poor settings on the incidence of and recovery from undernutrition and co-existence of its different forms, under conditions of appropriate health and nutrition care counselling. Objectives: To determine the longitudinal growth and undernutrition burden among term low birth weight newborns reared in adverse conditions, but with appropriate counselling. Methods: The study reports follow-up data from DIVIDS trial. 2079 term low birth weight (1800–2499 grams) newborns from an urban poor setting were followed-up for growth from 0 to 26 weeks (n=1282) and at 2.8–6.8 years (n=912). Using Cole LMS approach, age- and sex-specific internal z scores were computed and subsequently adjusted for the effect of a vitamin D intervention and potential bias due to attrition. Back-transformed measurements were then used to compute WHO z scores for height for age (HAZ), weight for age (WAZ), and BMI for age (BMIZ). Results: HAZ remained fairly stable: mean changes from birth till 6 weeks, 26 weeks and 3–7 years were 0.07, 0.04 and 0.2 SD, respectively. BMIZ and WAZ showed considerable catch-up; 0.69 SD, 1.84 SD and 1.38 SD for BMIZ, and 0.25 SD, 0.89 SD and 0.60 SD for WAZ, respectively. 60–92% had at least one form of undernutrition and co-existence was frequent. Half the children remained stunted till 5 years, while underweight and wasting declined considerably from 0–6 months. Conclusion: With appropriate counselling of parents, term low birth weight infants reared under adverse socioeconomic conditions show substantial catch-up growth in BMIZ and WAZ but not in HAZ. The long-term consequences of this excess weight over length gain need focused evaluation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A novel SnO2@Cu3(BTC)2 composite was synthesized using a quick and affordable bottom-up approach via impregnation of SnO2 nanoparticles into the porous Cu3(BTC)2 metal-organic framework (MOF). This composite material is characterized by Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, powder X-ray diffraction (PXRD) spectra, scanning electron microscope (SEM) analysis, and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) analysis. SnO2@Cu3(BTC)2 degraded the methylene blue (MB) dye within 80 min under sunlight with a maximum degradation efficiency of 85.12%. This composite easily recyclable up to five cycles with the retention of its MB degradation efficiency. Moreover, SnO2@Cu3(BTC)2 can be also used efficiently for fast sensing of 2,4,6-trinitrophenol (TNP) in water with noticeable turn-off quenching response. Its limits of detection (LOD) for TNP was 2.82 µM with enhanced selectivity toward TNP (over other NACs) as verified by competitive nitro explosive tests. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations and spectral overlap were used to assess the sensing mechanism. This composite fluorescent sensing system for TNP are demonstrated to have high selectivity and sensitivity. Our findings imply that the prepared low cost SnO2@Cu3(BTC)2 composite can be used as a superior fluorescence sensor and photo catalyst for large scale industrial applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chronic granulomatous disease (CGD) is a phagocytic defect characterized by recurrent bacterial and fungal infections. We report clinical profile of patients with CGD and mycobacterial infections in a cohort from North India. A review of clinical and laboratory records was carried out for patients with CGD registered at our center between 1990 and 2021. Of the 99 patients with CGD, 22 had mycobacterial infections—Mycobacterium tuberculosis and M. bovis-BCG in 11 each. Among the children with M. bovis-BCG infection, 6 had localized and 5 had disseminated BCG disease. Median age at onset of symptoms and diagnosis of BCG disease was 5 months and 15 months, respectively. While disseminated forms of BCG were noted only in CYBB defect, none of the patients with NCF1 defect developed complications due to BCG vaccine. A recurring radiological feature was left axillary lymph node calcification, which was present in around 50% of CGD patients with BCG infections. Of 11 patients with tuberculosis, pulmonary, pleuro-pulmonary, abdominal, and disseminated forms were present in 6, 1, 2, and 2, respectively. Median age at onset of symptoms and diagnosis of tuberculosis was 129 months and 130 months, respectively. Molecular defects were identified in CYBB (5), NCF1 (4), and CYBA (1). Incidence of tuberculosis and BCG-related complications in patients with CGD is higher than the normal population. Screening for CGD is warranted in any patient with adverse reactions to BCG vaccination, calcification of left axillary lymph node, and persistent, recurrent or disseminated forms of tuberculosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Carbon dioxide, or CO2, is responsible for most global greenhouse gas emissions. Sequestering CO2 in concrete can potentially reduce carbon emissions while simultaneously improving concrete's characteristics. This study's main objective is to use carbon dioxide in the Ready-Mix Concrete (RMC) during the mixing phase. This study also investigates the effects of carbon dioxide incorporation on the properties of concrete at different dosages (0% to 0.20% by weight of the binder) and binder types such as Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC) and Portland Pozzolana Cement (PPC). Through a detailed experimental study, the paper seeks to understand the changes in the various mixes' fresh, hardened, and microstructural properties. The results indicate that carbon dioxide had no adverse effect on fresh concrete properties, with minor changes leading to improved performance in concrete samples at precise dosages. The microstructural results reveal that the concrete tends to densify by utilizing the optimum dosage of carbon dioxide and thus achieve the best performance. Concrete mixtures treated with CO2 showed increased compressive strength; 0.10% CO2 in OPC-based mixes gave up to 30% benefit, and 0.05% in PPC-based mixes gave up to 25%. PPC-based had the highest compressive strengths at later ages, OPC-based at early ages. The time of set was reduced by 18% in OPC mixes and 28% in PPC mixes. Furthermore, the addition of CO2 during mixing had a positive impact on the concrete's durability. Therefore, it can be concluded that utilizing CO2 in concrete can help produce sustainable RMC with enhanced properties and reduced emissions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The cooperative role of vital components of the antioxidative defense pathway in addition to redox couples was studied in a growth-phase dependent manner at 20, 30, and 40 days after subculturing (DAS) in five different euryhaline microalgal strains (EMS) Scenedesmus MKB (B-S), Spirulina subsalsa (B-6), Anabaena sp. (B-7), Chlorella sp. (B-8), and Chlorosarcinopsis eremi (B-18) collected from waterlogged areas of Punjab, India and in two freshwater microalgal strains (FMS). EMS surpasses to maintain a high redox couple's ratio ascorbic acid/dehydroascorbate (AsA/DHA), and reduced glutathione/oxidized glutathione (GSH/GSSG) through a close-knit pattern of antioxidative enzymes including high specific activities of ascorbate peroxidase (APX), monodehydroascorbate reductase (MDHAR), glutathione reductase (GR), dehydroascorbate reductase (DHAR) and less specific activity of glutathione peroxidase (GPX). While FMS struggled for the same irrespective of near similar total glutathione and higher specific activity of GPX might be answerable for the lesser redox ratio than EMS. However, high specific activity of catalase (CAT) might be sought to compensate for the less increase of APX in FMS. The fact significantly less H2O2, and malondialdehyde (MDA) with DAS in EMS than in FMS and higher redox ratios exquisitely elevate their tolerance ability making EMS a captivating prospect for cultivation in waterlogged areas. Additionally, their abundance of potent antioxidants further highlights the potential of EMS as an excellent source of these beneficial compounds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Generalized frequency division multiplexing (GFDM) is a block-based multicarrier modulation scheme that is a potential candidate for the fifth generation (5G) and beyond wireless communication systems. A critical factor in enhancing the performance of GFDM is achieving precise synchronization. To that end, a new timing synchronization algorithm that utilizes cross-correlation and the sliding window algorithm is presented in this article. The algorithm uses a training symbol based on a chirp sequence. The simulation results of the proposed estimator and conventional CP based approach are analyzed under indoor office scenarios and urban macro cells scenarios for orthogonal frequency division multiplexing and GFDM. The performance of the proposed method is better for GFDM in terms of the three parameters: mean of the timing offset, mean square error of the timing offset, and probability of timing failure. For the proposed algorithm, the results show that the probability of timing failure decreases with increasing signal to noise ratio in the case of the GFDM system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]