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The Software‐Defined Networking (SDN) paradigm represents a fundamental shift in networking by decoupling the control plane from the data plane in network devices. This architectural change offers numerous advantages, including network programmability and centralized management capabilities, which improve scalability and efficiency compared to conventional network architectures. However, the dynamic nature of network traffic presents overload challenges, both temporally and spatially, especially in multi‐controller SDN settings. To address these challenges, this paper presents an approach leveraging network traffic patterns for dynamic load balancing. The proposed framework optimizes migration strategies to reduce costs and enhance in‐packet request‐response rates. By exploiting load ratio variance across controllers, the architecture identifies optimal migration triplets, encompassing migration‐in and migration‐out domains by selecting a subset of switches. The architecture utilizes online Q‐learning technology to achieve optimal controller load balancing while minimizing associated expenses. The proposed approach ensures stability and scalability by imposing limits to maintain maximum efficiency and reduce migration conflicts. It iteratively converges to an optimal policy through a comprehensive set of simulations performed on switches under a wide range of load distribution situations. These results highlight the effectiveness and adaptability of the proposed methodology in addressing the intricacies present in dynamic network settings, encouraging further progress in the field of SDN technologies and their real‐world applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The sulfane sulfur pool, comprised of persulfide (RS‐SH) and polysulfide (RS‐SnH) derived from hydrogen sulfide (H2S), has emerged as a major player in redox biochemistry. Mitochondria, besides energy generation, serve as significant cellular redox hubs, mediate stress response and cellular health. However, the effects of endogenous mitochondrial sulfane sulfur (MSS) remain largely uncharacterized as compared with their cytosolic counterparts, cytosolic sulfane sulfur (CSS). To investigate this, we designed a novel artificial substrate for mitochondrial 3‐mercaptopyruvate sulfurtransferase (3‐MST), a key enzyme involved in MSS biosynthesis. Using cells expressing a mitochondrion‐localized persulfide biosensor, we demonstrate this tool's ability to selectively enhance MSS. While H2S was previously known to suppress human immunodeficiency virus (HIV‐1), we found that MSS profoundly affected the HIV‐1 life cycle, mediating viral reactivation from latency. Additionally, we provide evidence for the role of the host's mitochondrial redox state, membrane potential, apoptosis, and respiration rates in managing HIV‐1 latency and reactivation. Together, dynamic fluctuations in the MSS pool have a significant and possibly conflicting effect on HIV‐1 viral latency. The precision tools developed herein allow for orthogonal generation of persulfide within both mitochondria and the cytosol and will be useful in interrogating disease biology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, a redox reaction is employed to synthesize manganese oxide (Mn3O4) nanoparticles using potassium permanganate as a precursor in the presence of diethyl amine. The structural characterization reveals the formation of the tetragonal phase of Mn3O4 nanoparticles with a space group of I41/amd. A free‐standing Mn3O4‐based paper electrode is fabricated and its electrochemical performances are investigated. The electrode exhibits a maximum specific capacitance value of ~353 F g−1 and an areal capacitance of ~530 mF cm−2 at a current density of 0.2 A g−1. A symmetric supercapacitor‐based device is also designed using Mn3O4 nanoparticles as an active material in a gel electrolyte configuration. The Mn3O4 device achieves specific and areal capacity values of ~208 mAh g−1 and 260 mA cm−2, respectively, at a current density of 0.3 A g−1. The device delivers maximum energy and power density values of ~104 Wh kg−1 and ~220 W kg−1, respectively, with ~92 % specific capacity retention at 0.3 A g−1 after 5000 cycles. The above results suggest that the Mn3O4‐based device has the potential for energy storage applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Insect pollinators and flowering plants have a long‐standing, coevolutionary, mutualistic relationship. One such example is the litchi tree (Litchi chinensis Sonn.), a fruit crop that relies on insect pollination. Litchi flowers are hermaphroditic, but they cannot self‐pollinate due to self‐sterility, unlike self‐pollinating plants. Therefore, insect pollinators are crucial to successful fruit development. To understand the pollinator's foraging behaviour and diversity associated with litchi under hot and subhumid conditions, the present study was conducted on the Shahi variety of litchi at the ICAR‐Research Complex for Eastern Region, Farming System Research Centre for Hill and Plateau, Ranchi (Jharkhand), India. During the flowering period, a total of 19 species of insect pollinators from the orders Hymenoptera, Diptera, Lepidoptera, and Coleoptera were observed visiting litchi inflorescences. Apis mellifera and Apis dorsata were the most dominant pollinator species. Each species displayed distinct characteristics in terms of abundance and diversity. Varied foraging speeds (stay times) were also noted, with A. dorsata (6.94 s) being the fastest and Musca domestica (2.88 s) being the slowest. Pollinator activity was highest in the eastern direction, between 8:00 a.m. and 10:00 a.m. Apis florea had the highest foraging rate (visitation rate) (14.02 flowers visited per minute), followed by Apis mellifera, while Episyrphus taeniops​ had the lowest. Apis species were identified as the most abundant and frequent visitors in litchi orchards. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fungal communities colonizing Ophiocordyceps spp. plays a crucial ecological role in their natural habitat, contributing to infect the host larvae, and influencing their occurrence. Although associated fungi with the newly described Ophiocordyceps indica, from the Indian Western Himalaya remains unclear. Therefore, we untangled the culturable fungal communities associated with O. indica and soil adhered to it, collected from low‐height areas of Himachal Pradesh, India. The study resulted in the identification of 111 fungal isolates representing 17 families, with maximum fungal isolates (36.03%) within Cordycipitaceae. Interestingly, a total of 24 genera were found associated with O. indica and adhered soil, of which 12 were common, 8 were exclusive to O. indica and 4 were only limited to soil. Additionally, the influence of soil physicochemical parameters on fungal diversity indices revealed a positive correlation with humidity and available nitrogen and a negative correlation with pH and available phosphorus. These findings provide insights into the culturable fungal diversity of O. indica and the soil adhering to it, thus can contribute to the understanding of host‐microbial interactions. Furthermore, these associations can be explored as a source of bioactive metabolites to combat the unending industrial demands. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article, an enhanced arithmetic optimization algorithm (EAOA) is utilized to resolve the optimal reactive power dispatch problem (ORPD) of power plants, which is a non‐linear, non‐smooth, complex optimization problem. Typically, it is formulated as a constrained optimal power flow problem. This paper utilizes the gamma distribution to generate initial random solutions, which improves the accuracy of the arithmetic optimization algorithm (AOA). The original mode of deviation of math optimizer accelerated (MOA) is replaced with the improved pattern of change in the prey's energy in Harris Hawk Optimization (HHO), which creates a superior balance between the exploration and exploitation of AOA. This paper implements logarithmic and exponential operators in place of division and multiplication operators, which improves the exploration ability of AOA and also utilizes the gamma distribution in the generation of random numbers, which are essential for the selection of operators in both search phase which enlarges the search area and improves the global optimum solution. A parametric analysis is performed on 10 benchmark functions for nine possible values before selecting the algorithm's initial parameters. A comparative statistical analysis along with Friedman's test is carried out on 23 benchmark functions to test the overall performance as compared to Sine‐Cosine Algorithm (SCA), Swarm‐Salp Algorithm, Grey Wolf Optimization (GWO), and basic Arithmetic Optimization Algorithm (AOA). EAOA is applied to the IEEE 57 bus system for optimal reactive power control. EAOA reports a significant reduction in a power loss of 23.2 MW, which is 18.596% smaller than the system's base case power loss of 28.5 MW as compared to Artificial Bee Colony (ABC), Firefly Algorithm (FA), Bat‐inspired Algorithm (BAT), Cuckoo Search Algorithm (CSA), and Modified Ant Lion Algorithm (MALO) which reports a reduction in a power loss of 14.73%, 15.43%, 15.43%, 16.14%, and 16.14% respectively. EAOA reduces the TVD to 0.76 pu, compared to ABC, FA, BAT, CSA, and MALO, which minimizes the TVD to 0.84, 0.82, 0.88, 0.82, and 0.79, respectively. This proves that EAOA performs better in resolving ORCP problems regarding the quality of solutions and convergence. A detailed comparative statistical analysis of EAOA with CSA, BAT, and WOA (Whale Optimization Algorithm) is conducted in terms of Probability Distribution Functions (PDF) and Cumulative Distribution Functions (CDF), along with the Wilcoxson sign rank test, which proves that EAOA gives the solution with a higher degree of precision. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Demand for low carbon energy storage has highlighted the importance of imaging techniques for the characterization of electrode microstructures to determine key parameters associated with battery manufacture, operation, degradation, and failure both for next generation lithium and other novel battery systems. Here, recent progress and literature highlights from magnetic resonance, neutron, X‐ray, focused ion beam, scanning and transmission electron microscopy are summarized. Two major trends are identified: First, the use of multi‐modal microscopy in a correlative fashion, providing contrast modes spanning length‐ and time‐scales, and second, the application of machine learning to guide data collection and analysis, recognizing the role of these tools in evaluating large data streams from increasingly sophisticated imaging experiments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Temperature has a profound impact on the performance of lithium‐ion batteries. The temperature distribution in the cylindrical cell during charging and discharging cycles is governed by physical features of materials such as thermal conductivity and specific heat capacity. The cells must operate at their optimal temperature. The eight thermal models were build by finite element analysis on the COMSOL Multiphysics 5.6 software. With inputs and average characteristics such as open‐circuit voltage (OCV), state of charge (SOC), thermal conductivities, specific heat capacities, and density of the materials employed, the software develops a two‐dimensional thermal model. The thermal model is designed to work with a cylindrical 18 650 lithium‐ion battery. The cell's initial temperature is 298.15 K. After the simulation, the results are interpolated to the 1500s. The thermal distribution in the axial and radial directions is investigated, with the conclusion that certain elements have a greater impact on the cell temperature distribution. The results show that the temperature distributions of the cell are greatly influenced by the steel case around the cylindrical structure, steel needle, electrolyte filled in between the cavities, and relief valve. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Barberry is a spinous shrub native to the Northern areas of the Himalayas and is widely distributed in the tropical regions of Asia, South America, Africa, and some parts of Europe. The berries of this shrub are eaten as a dessert and are a good source of minerals, total phenols, and total flavonoids. The major minerals are zinc (11.2 mg 100 g−1), iron (180.8 mg 100 g‒1), magnesium (5.8 mg 100 g−1), and potassium (526.4 mg 100 g−1). The concentration of total phenols and total flavonoids is reported to be 50.44 mg GAE/100 g and 6.08 CE/100 g, respectively. The root and bark are rich in alkaloids. The major alkaloids are berberine, berbamine, palmatine, and jatrorrhizine, etc. These alkaloids along with phenolics and flavonoids possess antidiabetic, hepatoprotective, immunomodulatory, anticancerous, antimicrobial, anti‐inflammatory, antioxidant, antidiarrhoeal, anxiolytic, and hypolipidemic properties. The higher doses of its major alkaloid "berberine" can cause many health implications. So, precautions must be taken before its consumption. This manuscript discusses in detail the various nutritional and phytochemical properties of the plant to have its commercial application in food and nutraceutical products development. Practical applications: Barberry fruits are eaten as dessert and are also used for the preparation of wine. Roots of this plant are used in the preparation of some traditional alcoholic beverages and medicines. A very valuable Ayurvedic preparation "Rasaut" is made from the roots and is used in the treatment of skin diseases, menorrhagia, diarrhea, jaundice, and ophthalmic infections. The other parts of this plant are also rich in alkaloids and flavonoids that possess antidiabetic, hepatoprotective, immunomodulatory, anticancerous, antimicrobial, anti‐inflammatory, antioxidant, antidiarrhoeal, anxiolytic, and hypolipidemic properties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This review article proposes a comprehensive report of the design strategies engaged in the development of various sulfur‐bearing cytotoxic agents. The outcomes of various studies depict that the sulfur heterocyclic framework is a fundamental structure in diverse synthetic analogs representing a myriad scope of therapeutic activities. A number of five‐, six‐ and seven‐membered sulfur‐containing heterocyclic scaffolds, such as thiazoles, thiadiazoles, thiazolidinediones, thiophenes, thiopyrans, benzothiazoles, benzothiophenes, thienopyrimidines, simple and modified phenothiazines, and thiazepines have been discussed. The subsequent studies of the derivatives unveiled their cytotoxic effects through multiple mechanisms (viz. inhibition of tyrosine kinases, topoisomerase I and II, tubulin, COX, DNA synthesis, and PI3K/Akt and Raf/MEK/ERK signaling pathways), and several others. Thus, our concise illustration explains the design strategy and anticancer potential of these five‐ and six‐membered sulfur‐containing heterocyclic molecules along with a brief outline on seven‐membered sulfur heterocycles. The thorough assessment of antiproliferative activities with the reference drug allows a proficient assessment of the structure–activity relationships (SARs) of the diversely synthesized molecules of the series. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction. Aortic involvement leading to aortitis in eosinophilic granulomatosis polyangiitis (EGPA) is infrequent, and only 2 cases have been reported so far in the literature. Even more so, aortic aneurysm, secondary to EGPA, has never been reported and remains a diagnostic and therapeutic challenge. Case Presentation. We present a 63-year-old Caucasian male patient with a prior diagnosis of EGPA presenting with abdominal pain, nausea, and loose stools to the emergency department. Physical examination showed periumbilical tenderness. He had no peripheral eosinophilia but had high C-reactive protein and procalcitonin levels. CT abdomen revealed a mycotic aneurysm involving the infrarenal abdominal aorta. The patient declined surgical repair initially and was treated with IV antibiotics only. Unfortunately, 24 hours later, the aneurysm ruptured, leading to emergent axillofemoral bypass surgery. Surgical biopsy showed aortitis, periaortitis, and active necrotizing vasculitis. Conclusion. Abdominal aneurysms should be considered a complication of EGPA, and earlier immunosuppressive therapy should be considered to prevent further complications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

RNA recognition motif (RRM) being the most abundant RNA binding domain in eukaryotes, is a major player in cellular regulation. Several variations in the canonical βαββαβ topology have been observed. We have determined the 2.3 Å crystal structure of the human DND1‐RRM2 domain. The structure revealed an interesting non‐canonical RRM fold, which is maintained by the formation of a 3D domain swapped dimer between β1 and β4 strands across protomers. We have delineated the structural basis of the stable domain swapped dimer formation using the residue level dynamics of protein explored by NMR spectroscopy and MD simulations. Our structural and dynamics studies substantiate major determinants and molecular basis for domain swapped dimerization observed in the RRM domain. PDB Code(s): 6LE1; [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic autoimmune inflammatory disease affecting the joints and surrounding tissue. Identification of novel proteins associated with the progression of a disease is a prerequisite for understanding the pathogenesis of RA. The present study was undertaken to identify the potential biomarkers from a less explored biological sample such as synovial fluid (SF) cells which is specific for RA and to analyze their functional aspects using proteomic approach. Two-dimensional gel electrophoresis (2-DE) was performed using synovial fluid cells of RA and osteoarthritis (OA) patients, and 7 differentially expressed proteins were identified using matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS/MS). Αlpha-Taxilin (α-Taxilin) has been found as one of the novel, significantly up regulated protein in RA. It has been validated in the synovium, synovial fluid (SF), SF cells, and plasma samples by Western blot, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), fluorescence-activated cell sorting (FACS), immunohistochemistry (IHC), and real-time PCR. The identification of autoantibody against α-Taxilin and in silico studies has further helped us to understand its involvement in disease mechanism. The present study will therefore provide knowledge towards the etiology of RA that pave the way for suitable prognostic marker identification along with other clinical parameters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The carbon nitride‐supported zinc oxide (CNZO) nanocomposite was synthesized through a high‐temperature synthesis method, resulting in zinc oxide nanoparticles with an average size of ~44 nm, dispersed on a carbon nitride matrix. X‐ray diffraction confirmed the formation of the hexagonal wurtzite phase of zinc oxide, with a space group of P63mc. X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy and Fourier‐transform infrared analysis further verified the presence of both zinc oxide and carbon nitride. The CNZO nanocomposite served as a catalyst for the electrochemical detection of dopamine, achieving limit of detection and sensitivity of 2.66 μM and 6.23 μA μM−1 cm−2 respectively, using square wave voltammetry technique. Cyclic voltammetry experiments demonstrated excellent electroactivity of the CNZO nanocomposite in a neutral pH environment. An electrochemical paper‐based analytical device (EPAD) was designed and successfully employed for the electrochemical analysis of dopamine in pharmaceutical samples using CNZO nanocomposites. Additionally, CNZO was used as an active material in the development of a disposable dopamine sensor based on an extended gate field‐effect transistor (EG‐FET). This sensor exhibited a sensitivity and limit of detection 18.22 μA μM−1 cm−2 and 0.36 μM, respectively, with a correlation coefficient of 0.99. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dental implants have evolved as a standard of care for replacement of missing teeth. Though this treatment modality promises a high level of patient satisfaction and success, it cannot be performed in all cases. Apart from medically compromised patients, implant use is also restricted whenever there is limited available bone volume at the edentulous site. An example includes the mandibular incisor, the maxillary lateral incisor region, and other sites with reduced interdental spacing and atrophic edentulous maxillary and mandibular ridges. Bone volume at some of these sites can be increased by suitable augmentation procedure for placement of a regular diameter implant (3.75 to 4.2 mm). But many a times such procedure cannot be undertaken either due to financial constraint, risk of subjecting the patient to additional surgical procedure, added time factor, or guarded prognosis of the grafted site. In such cases, mini-implants can be used. In this case series, mini-implants (2.5 to 3 mm) were used to replace teeth in all mouth quadrants and to retain a mandibular overdenture in a compromised case. The implants served well at all the sites with minimal bone loss and a high level of patient satisfaction. Mini-implants hold the potential to serve as an alternate to regular diameter implants in certain situations. Preferably they should be used in multiples to retain fixed dental prostheses and might serve as an efficient, low-cost solution for retaining overdentures in selected cases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The electric vehicle (EV) is a crucial innovation with the potential to lower greenhouse gas emissions and help reduce the causes of climate change. Despite their multiple benefits, EVs are selling lower numbers than would be expected, seeming to require more positive intent from their sellers to increase the pace of EV adoption. Hence, this study explores the enablers and inhibitors of EV adoption intention from the sellers' perspective using a dual‐factor model. The extended theory of planned behavior has been used to explore the enablers, whereas the status quo bias theory has been used to explore the inhibitors of EV adoption. The results indicate that attitude, subjective norm, perceived behavioral control, environmental concern, and perceived corporate social responsibility obligation have significant positive impacts on intention to adopt EVs. However, regret avoidance, inertia, perceived threat, and perceived value have significant impacts on the resistance to adopt EVs. This study enriches the literature related to intention and resistance to adopt green technology and also provides several suggestions to marketers for increasing the pace of EV adoption. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A Nazarov-type cyclization of aryldienyl carbinols is used as key-step in the synthesis of racemic taiwaniaquinol F (III) and related products. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]