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The World Health Organization identifies tuberculosis (TB), caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis, as a leading infectious killer. Although conventional treatments for TB exist, they come with challenges such as a heavy pill regimen, prolonged treatment duration, and a strict schedule, leading to multidrug-resistant (MDR) and extensively drug-resistant (XDR) strains. The rise of MDR strains endangers future TB control. Despite these concerns, the hunt for an efficient treatment continues. One breakthrough has been the use of nanotechnology in medicines, presenting a novel approach for TB treatment. Nanocarriers, such as lipid nanoparticles, nanosuspensions, liposomes, and polymeric micelles, facilitate targeted delivery of anti-TB drugs. The benefits of nanocarriers include reduced drug doses, fewer side effects, improved drug solubility, better bioavailability, and improved patient compliance, speeding up recovery. Additionally, nanocarriers can be made even more targeted by linking them with ligands such as mannose or hyaluronic acid. This review explores these innovative TB treatments, including studies on nanocarriers containing anti-TB drugs and related patents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, we investigate a new relativistic anisotropic Einstein field equations solution for compact stars under embedding class 1 conditions. In order to do this, we apply the Karmarkar condition and the embedding class one technique. By taking Buchdahl type metric potential g rr into consideration, the precise analytical solution has been investigated. We have studied physical characteristics of various compact star using this analytical solution. Central singularities are absent from the solution. We have explored thermodynamic observables inside the stellar models, such as radial and tangential pressures, matter density, anisotropic factor, energy conditions, TOV, red-shift, and the speed of sound, etc., after establishing this space-time geometry for the stellar models. From the graphical representation of various physical characteristics, it is demonstrated that our model meets all the specification for ultra-high density compact bodies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fingerprint based human identification is one of the authentic biometric recognition systems due to the permanence and uniqueness of the finger impressions. There is the extensive usage of fingerprint recognition in personalized electronic devices, security systems, banking, forensic labs, and especially in law enforcement agencies. Although the existing systems can recognize fingerprints, they lack in case of poor quality and latent fingerprints. The latent fingerprints are captured by law enforcement agencies during the crime scene to find the criminal. Consequently, it is essential to develop a novel system that can efficiently recognize both complete and latent fingerprints. The current work proposes an efficient Gravitational Search Decision Forest (GSDF) method, which is a combination of the gravitational search algorithm (GSA) and the random forest (RF) method. In the proposed GSDF approach, the mass agent of GSA determines the solution by constructing decision trees in accordance with the random forest hypothesis. The recognition of the fingerprints is accomplished by mass agents in the form of a final generated decision forest from the set of hypothesis space as the mass agents can create multiple hypotheses using random proportional rules. The experiments for fingerprint recognition are conducted for both the latent fingerprints (NIST SD27 dataset) and the complete fingerprints (FVC2004 dataset). The effectiveness of the proposed GSDF approach is analyzed by evaluating the results with machine learning classifiers (random forest, decision tree, back propagation neural networks, and k-nearest neighbor) as well. The comparative analysis of the proposed approach and incorporated machine learning classifiers indicates the outperformed performance of the proposed approach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Our study aims to evaluate the effectiveness of intravenous erythropoietin (EPO) in patients with indirect traumatic optic neuropathy (TON), assess the side effects, and compare the visual function results among three groups of patients who had received different treatment options – EPO, steroids, and observation. Methods: Patients with indirect TON presenting to the neuro-ophthalmology clinic from August 2019 to March 2020, were assigned to three groups, with six patients in each group. In group 1, patients were recruited prospectively and received recombinant human erythropoietin, whereas, in groups 2 and 3, patients were recruited retrospectively and received intravenous methylprednisolone followed by oral steroids and multivitamins, respectively. Groups 1 and 2 included patients presenting within 2 weeks of trauma, whereas group 3 included those presenting beyond that. Best-corrected visual acuity, pupillary reaction, color vision, and visual fields following treatment were measured. Results: Initial visual acuity in the EPO group ranged from 20/80 to no perception of light (No PL). The mean initial BCVA (1.82 logMAR, standard deviation [SD] = 0.847) improved to 1.32, SD = 0.93 logMAR after treatment recorded at the third month (P = 0.0375), with no significant adverse effects. The initial BCVA of group 2 ranged from 20/120 to No PL. The mean initial BCVA (1.95, SD = 0.77 logMAR) improved to 1.45 logMAR, SD = 0.97 after treatment (P = 0.0435) but three patients had side effects of steroids. Initial visual acuity in Group 3 ranged from 20/40 to no PL. The mean initial BCVA (1.09 logMAR, SD = 1.10) worsened to 1.19 logMAR, SD = 1.06 after treatment after treatment (P = 0.0193). The improvement in BCVA when compared between the three groups was not significant. Conclusion: Both erythropoietin and steroids are effective in the management of traumatic optic neuropathy. However, erythropoietin shows lesser or no side effects when compared to steroids. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: In recent decades, though India has experienced progress in ensuring the survival of its youngest members of society, the newborns; today, deaths within the first month of life represent three-quarters of all infant deaths. Objective: to study the newborn care practices among pregnant of periurban area of Aligarh. Material and Methods: This community based study was conducted in the Department of Community Medicine, Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College, Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh. Results: 83% pregnant women were in the age group of 15-30 years 17% in the age group of 31-45 years. There was a poor newborn care practices i.e majority (91.5%) of pregnant women delivered at home by untrained dais, unhygienic delivery practices, low level of breastfeeding practices and practices to prevent hypothermia and knowledge of danger signs in newborns requiring medical consultation, among pregnant women in periurban area of Aligarh, Utter Pradesh India. Conclusion: Neonatal survival is influenced much by care provided by the family before, during and after delivery, which in turn is influenced not only by mother's beliefs, but also perceptions of her immediate family. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cattle being non-seasonal breeding species, effects of photoperiods on sperm traits and morphology had been reported inadequately in breeding bulls. To elucidate the plausible existence of effects of photoperiods and seasons, seminal traits of Holstein Friesian × Sahiwal crossbred dairy bulls (N = 557) were analysed using different statistical models. A present study revealed that the biological rhythm of reproduction oscillated almost in parallel to the annual changes of natural photoperiods even in non-seasonal breeding species like cattle bulls. Semen traits diminished to the lowest in winter solstice (WS ± 45 days), progressively increased with the rising day length of spring (vernal equinox ± 45 days), reached a peak in summer solstice (SS ± 45 days), and then gradually reduced with decreasing photoperiod of the autumn equinox (AE ± 45 days). From summer solstice to winter solstice, sperm concentration reduced by 90.53 million/ml (8.85%), total sperm count/ejaculate decreased by 785 million (13.87%), total motile sperm count/ejaculate reduced by 17.59%, and total post-thaw motile sperm counts/ejaculates diminished by 38.64%. In short-duration photoperiods (≤ 12 h), bulls had a significantly (P < 0.01) higher incidence of major, minor, tail abnormality and total aberrant sperm% compared to that of long-duration photoperiods (> 12 h). Solstice equinox–based seasonal classification provided better insight into photoperiodicity on bulls' semen quality and sperm traits as compared to conventional meteorological classification of seasons. It was concluded that photoperiods affect sperm productivity, semen quality, and sperm morphology in non-seasonal breeding species like dairy bulls, maintained at transitional latitude (29° N) tropical climate. Bulls' reproductive ability was more influenced by the phases of increasing/decreasing day length duly primed by climax/trough of photoperiods, compared to mere long/short duration of photoperiods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reviews the optimization strategies for the optimal simultaneous allocation of distributed generation (DG) and shunts capacitor banks (SCBs) in electrical distribution networks. These optimization strategies aim to determine the optimal size, location, and combination of DGs and SCBs to constitute a techno-economic system while satisfying the constraints and energy demand of the load. The optimization strategies explicitly reviewed include the problem formulations, optimization techniques, restrictions posed for optimization problems, decision variables, and network operating modes typically assumed while allocating the DGs and SCBs. In addition, there is an attempt to highlight the limitations of the existing literature and future research directions. This study undertakes a comprehensive review of the literature that systematically considers the simultaneous application of DGs and SCBs to advance the existing literature, which lacks such a review. Expectedly, this review will serve as a principle platform for researchers intending to explore the subject area for further improvement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For over a decade, distributed generations (DGs) have sufficiently convinced the researchers that they are the economic and environment-friendly solution that can be integrated with the centralized generations. The optimal planning of distributed generations requires the appropriate location and sizing and their corresponding control with various power network types to obtain the best of the technical, economical, commercial, and regulatory objectives. Most of these objectives are conflicting in nature and require multi-objective solutions. Therefore, this paper brings a comprehensive literature review and a critical analysis of the state of the art of the optimal multi-objective planning of DG installation in the power network with different objective functions and their constraints. The paper considers the adoption of optimization techniques for distributed generation planning in radial distribution systems from different power system performance viewpoints; it considers the use of different DG types, distribution models, DG variables, and mathematical formulations; and it considers the participation of different countries in the stated DG placement and sizing problem. Moreover, the summary of the literature review and critical analysis of this article helps the researchers and engineers to explore the research gap and to find the future recommendations for the robust optimal planning of the DGs working with various objectives and algorithms. The paper considers the adoption of uncertainties on the load and generation side, the introduction of DGs with energy storage backups, and the testing of DG placement and sizing on large and complex distribution networks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Skin disorders are common in paediatric age group and are associated with significant morbidity and stress. These differ from adults in clinical presentation, treatment and prognosis. Data on pattern of paediatric dermatoses can be used in planning healthcare programs. Aim: To study the clinical pattern and prevalence of various skin conditions in paediatric age group in tertiary care centre of rural Haryana, India. Materials and Methods: The present cross-sectional observational study was conducted in Bhagat Phool Singh Government Medical College (W) Khanpur Kalan, Sonepat, Haryana, India. A total of 1,003 consecutive Outpatient Department (OPD) patients upto age of 14 years presenting with skin conditions were included in study from a period May 2021 to January 2022. Various parameters like age, gender, pattern of distribution and type of skin lesions were assessed. Results were entered in excel sheet and frequency, percentages were calculated. Results: Out of 1,003 patients 56.53% were males and 43.47% were females. Maximum number (33.20%) of patients were in the age group of 1-5 years. Scabies (24.12%) was the most reported dermatological condition. Majority of dermatoses belonged to infections (32.40%) and infestations (24.83%) followed by eczemas (17.34%). Bacterial infections (15.25%) were most common infections followed by fungal (10.37%) and viral (6.78%) infections. Conclusion: In the present study, infections and infestations were most common dermatological conditions. This study provides insight about the pattern of various dermatoses among children in rural setting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Assessing the use of a radiation therapy (RT) planning MRI performed in the treatment position (pMRI) on target volume delineation and effect on organ at risk dose for oropharyngeal cancer patients planned with diagnostic MRI (dMRI) and CT scan. Methods: Diagnostic MRI scans were acquired for 26 patients in a neutral patient position using a 3T scanner (dMRI). Subsequent pMRI scans were acquired on the same scanner with a flat couch top and the patient in their immobilisation mask. Each series was rigidly registered to the patients planning CT scan and volumes were first completed with the CT/dMRI. The pMRI was then made available for volume modification. For the group with revised volumes, two IMRT plans were developed to demonstrate the impact of the modification. Image and registration quality was also evaluated. Results: The pMRI registration led to the modification of target volumes for 19 of 26 participants. The pMRI target volumes were larger in absolute volume resulting in reduced capacity for organ sparing. Predominantly, modifications occurred for the primary gross tumour volume (GTVp) with a mean Dice Similarity Coefficient (DSC) of 0.7 and the resulting high risk planning target volume, a mean DSC of 0.89. Both MRIs scored similarly for image quality, with the pMRI demonstrating improved registration quality and efficiency. Conclusions: A pMRI provides improvement in registration efficiency, quality and a higher degree of oncologist confidence in target delineation. These results have led to a practice change within our department, where a pMRI is acquired for all eligible oropharyngeal cancer patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The geometric and color features of agricultural material along with related physical properties are critical to characterize and express its physical quality. The experiments were conducted to classify the physical characteristics like size, shape, color and texture and then workout the relationship between manual observations and using image processing techniques for weight and volume of the four wheat refractions i.e. sound, damaged, shriveled and broken grains of wheat variety PBW 725. A flatbed scanner was used to acquire the images and digital image processing method was used to process the images and output of image analysis was compared with the actual measurements data using digital vernier caliper. A linear relationship was observed between the axial dimensions of refractions between manual measurement and image processing method with R2 in the range of 0.798–0.947. The individual kernel weight and thousand grain weight of the refractions were observed to be in the range of 0.021–0.045 and 12.56–46.32 g respectively. Another linear relationship was found between individual kernel weight and projected area estimated using image processing methodology with R2 in the range of 0.841–0.920. The sphericity of the refractions varied in the range of 0.52–0.71. Analyses of the captured images suggest ellipsoid shape with convex geometry while the same observation was recorded by physical measurements also. A linear relationship was observed between the volume of refractions derived from measured dimensions and calculated from image with R2 in the range of 0.845–0.945. Various color and grey level co-variance matrix texture features were extracted from acquired images using the open-source Python programming language and OpenCV library which can exploit different machine and deep learning algorithms to properly classify these refractions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In continuation of our search for pharmacologically potent benzofuran compounds, we undertook the synthesis of 5- chloro-2-hydroxy benzonitrile (2) from 5-chloroslicylaldehyde (1) by treating with acetic anhydride and sodium ethoxide. We get biologically active benzofurans and their derivatives. When compound 2 was treated with chloroacetone, yielded compound 3. Then the compounds 4 and chalcones 5a-e were prepared by treating compound 3 with aqueous sodium hydroxide and substituted aldehyde, respectively. Compound 5a was converted into compound 6a by treating with acetic anhydride. All newly synthesized compounds have been characterized by IR, ¹HNMR, and Mass spectral data. All the extracts were screened for antimicrobial activities against various pathogenic microorganisms and exhibited appreciable activities compared with standard drugs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small single-stranded non-coding RNAs that act as the master regulator of animal growth and development. RNA-RNA interaction is an important mechanism of gene regulation during biotic and abiotic stress. Heat stress (HS) is one of the most important abiotic factors which affect the growth, milk yield and reproductive health of the dairy animals. In the present investigation, we identified 387 known and 77 novel miRNAs from Tharparkar (TH) and Karan Fries (KF) cattle under HS condition. Family distribution analysis showed the identified miRNAs belong to more than 15 different families in which miR-2284 was the most abundant. We identified 42,350 targets for the known miRNAs reported in cattle. Pathway analysis of the identified targets showed most of the target genes were involved in cancer, mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) signaling, calcium signaling, Ras signaling, and cAMP signaling pathways. Differential gene expression showed more than 344 miRNAs changed their expression significantly between control and HS condition. Heat map was generated for the top 20 most up and downregulated miRNAs. Ten miRNAs were validated using qRT-PCR to be heat responsive, based on read count value and differential gene expression. These novel miRNAs are new addition to the miRNA database of cattle. This study provides an overview of miRNA profile and their interaction with the target genes which leads to further understanding in deciphering the thermotolerance mechanism in cattle. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Proposed architectures of the roof-top solar PV system, and the cluster of four PVs on different buildings based microgrid. • The centralized controller is used in the proposed microgrid system. The control techniques of the bidirectional VSCs, used of interfacing the PV, BESS, load, and microgrid, have been developed for managing power balance in the proposed system. • Developed control technique of the bidirectional single-phase VSC, using feed-back and feed-forward control signals, is suggested into rotating dq SRF, with dual controllers for controlling ac current/voltage. • Control technique of the BDC for BESS are proposed using two voltage controllers and one current controller, for controlling the charging and discharging operation of the BESS to fulfil the power mismatch in its own building as well as in other building(s) integrated to the microgrid. •. Power control algorithms are also proposed for balancing the power in the roof-top PV system as well as cluster of four roof-top PVs. This paper presents the control techniques for the operation of roof-top solar photovoltaics based single-phase ac microgrid in islanded mode. The proposed microgrid consists of four roof-top photovoltaics on various buildings, battery energy storage system in each building, and loads. In each building, the roof-top photovoltaic system is connected to the single-phase ac loads and proposed single-phase ac microgrid through the two-stage converter, which consists of dc-dc boost converter and bidirectional single-phase voltage source converter. A bidirectional dc-dc converter is used to connect the battery energy storage system to the photovoltaic system. The control technique of the bidirectional single-phase voltage source converter, using the feed-forward and feed-back control signals, has been suggested into a rotating d-q synchronous reference frame, with the dual controllers, for controlling the power mismatch and rated sinusoidal ac voltage of the microgrid. The control technique of the bidirectional dc-dc converter, used for the battery energy storage system, is implemented with two voltage controllers and one current controller for managing of the power mismatch in the proposed microgrid system. In this work, the power control algorithms have also been developed, which are aimed to manage the power balance in the single roof-top PV based building as well as in the proposed microgrid, under islanded mode, for various operating scenarios including fault condition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The groundnuts were dried inside an even span roof type free convection greenhouse dryer with a useful floor area of 1.2x0.8m² in the environmental conditions of Rohtak, India (28° 54'-N 76° 34'E). Wire mesh sieves of sizes 0.15x0.25 m², 0.25x0.4 m², and 0.35x0.6 m² were used to accommodate thin layer samples of groundnuts. The groundnuts were dried till the optimum safe moisture storage level (8%-10%) was attained. Based on experimental (hourly) observations the values of constants (C and n) in the equation of Nusselt number were evaluated. The values of convective and evaporative heat transfer coefficients were calculated which were observed to decrease with the increase in the sieve size. The overall average greenhouse thermal, energy, and exergy efficiencies were evaluated as 8.83%, 22.67%, and 2.75% respectively. The overall average experimental error in terms of % uncertainty for groundnuts drying was evaluated as 37.94%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigates entropy generation for the unsteady flow of a second-grade fluid over a uniformly heated vertical cylinder. The fluid viscosity is assumed to vary with temperature. The mathematical model of this problem is given by highly time-reliant nonlinear coupled equations and resolved by an efficient unconditionally stable implicit scheme. The time histories of average values of momentum and heat-transport coefficients, entropy-generation and Bejan number, and steady-state flow variables are discussed for several values of non-dimensional parameters arising in the flow equations. The results indicate that entropy-generation parameter and Bejan number increase with rising values of group parameter and Grashof number. The results also show that entropy-generation number declines with increasing viscoelastic parameter. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Neurocysticercosis (NCC) is thought to be the most common helminthic infection of central nervous system in India. In children, it has pleomorphic clinical and radiological presentations depending on location and stage of lesion. Solitary cystic granuloma appearing as a single ring enhancing lesion is the most frequently encountered neuroimaging finding in patients with neurocysticercosis or tuberculoma in India. This series reports unusual clinico-radiological aspects of pediatric neurocysticercosis patients of Asian ethnicity. Case presentation: In the present case series, we have described socio-demographic and clinico-radiological profile of eight cases of neurocysticercosis with parenchymal lesions in varying stages of development. Among these two had single discrete ring enhancing lesion (SDREL), two had single conglomerated ring enhancing lesion (SCREL), and five cases reported to have multiple ring enhancing lesions (MREL). Two cases with recurrent neurocysticercosis have been reported which is quite rare. Magnetic resonance spectroscopy helps to differentiate between neurocysticercosis and tuberculoma and may avoid brain biopsies or unnecessary anti-tubercular treatment. Magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) was done in three cases with findings of absence of lipid peak and choline/creatinine ratio less than 1.2. Conclusion: Despite the advances in neuroimaging, accurate diagnosis of NCC is still sometimes difficult, which is related to the pleomorphic nature of disease and significant overlapping features with tuberculoma. A combination of proper diagnostic criteria and neuroimaging findings are helpful in making the diagnosis without invasive and potentially harmful investigations in paediatric patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Global routing performance and saving energy are critical for Internet applications. Internet service providers use the internal Border Gateway Protocol for the distribution of external routes within the autonomous system. The balance between the trade-off relationship of energy efficiency and quality-of-service is necessary for autonomous systems in green networking. Past studies have shown that energy saving schemes exacerbate quality-of-service. However, the optimum use of resources balances the trade-off between energy efficiency and quality-of-service. Therefore, we propose a Green BGP model that balances the trade-off between energy efficiency and quality-of-service by optimizing the internal Border Gateway Protocol path selection policy. Border Gateway Protocol routers select a path considering the quality-of-service attributes and energy efficiency of the path within the autonomous system. The proposed model is compared with related techniques, and the results confirm the advantages of the Green BGP model that improves energy efficiency and maintains quality-of-service. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present work aims to examine the entropy heat generation analysis for unsteady MHD couple stress fluid flow over a uniformly heated vertical flat plate. The mathematical model of this problem is given by highly time reliant non-linear coupled equations and resolved by an efficient unconditionally stable implicit scheme. The time histories of average values of momentum and heat transport coefficients, entropy and Bejan lines, as well as the steady-state flow variables, discussed for several values of non-dimensional parameters arising in the flow equations. Results specify that time required to attain the time independent flow with respect to the flow field variables get amplified with the augmented values of couple stress parameter. The outcomes also indicate that entropy generation parameter upsurges with rising values of group parameter and Grashof number while the reverse trend is observed for couple stress parameter and magnetic parameter. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Indian traditional system of medicine uses Pithecellobium dulce for the treatment of diabetes mellitus. Objectives: This study aims to develop an extract rich in saponins derived from seeds of the plant and to evaluate its antihyperglycemic potential in vitro and in vivo. Materials and Methods: Defatted seeds were extracted with methanol and processed to afford saponin-enriched fraction (Pithecellobium dulce saponin-enriched fraction [PDSEF]). This fraction was evaluated for its potential to inhibit enzymes such as α-glucosidase and α-amylase, in vitro. The fraction was subjected to oral toxicity study followed by in vivo sucrose tolerance test. An analytical high-performance liquid chromatography method was developed for fingerprinting of the fraction. Results: The method adopted for enrichment of saponins was robust enough to enrich saponin content to 96.37% ±1.21% w/w. PDSEF displayed superior inhibition of enzymes (α-glucosidase and α-amylase with IC50 of 5.12 ± 0.15 μg/ml and 17.28 ± 0.23 μg/ml, respectively) compared to acarbose. It was found to be safe in mice up to 2000 mg/kg and significantly prevented blood glucose level in sucrose tolerance test by inhibiting enzymes responsible for hydrolysis of sucrose. Conclusion: PDSEF displayed excellent antihyperglycemic activity in vitro and in vivo and should be evaluated further to develop it as a promising drug for the management of diabetes mellitus. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The thin layer drying behaviour of groundnut was investigated under open sun drying (OSD) and indoor forced convection drying (IFCD) modes. The groundnut samples were dried from initial moisture content of 38% (w.b.) to the safe storage moisture content of 8%-10% (w.b.). Four mathematical models were compared for describing the groundnut drying process. The performance of thin layer drying models was investigated by comparing the statistical parameters such as coefficient of correlation (R), reduced chi-square (Χ²), root mean square error (RMSE), and mean bias error (MBE) between experimental and predicted moisture ratios. Henderson and Pabis model was observed to give the highest value of R and lowest values of Χ², RMSE and MBE for the groundnut drying under both OSD and IFCD modes. The values of statistical parameters under Lewis model were also found to be very close to Henderson and Pabis model. Therefore, Henderson and Pabis and Lewis models were found to be the best for describing the drying behaviour of groundnut under both given conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, convective and evaporative heat transfer coefficients of the Indian groundnut were computed under indoor forced convection drying (IFCD) mode. The groundnuts were dried as a single thin layer with the help of a laboratory dryer till the optimum safe moisture storage level of 8 - 10%. The experimental data were used to determine the values of experimental constants C and n in the Nusselt number expression by a simple linear regression analysis and consequently, the convective heat transfer coefficient (CHTC) was determined. The values of CHTC were used to calculate the evaporative heat transfer coefficient (EHTC). The average values of CHTC and EHTC were found to be 2.48 W/m2 oC and 35.08 W/m2 oC, respectively. The experimental error in terms of percent uncertainty was also estimated. The experimental error in terms of percent uncertainty was found to be 42.55%. The error bars for convective and evaporative heat transfer coefficients are also shown for the groundnut drying under IFCD condition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, renewable types of distributed generation in the distribution system have been much appreciated due to their enormous technical and environmental advantages. This paper proposes a methodology for optimal placement and sizing of renewable distributed generation(s) (i.e., wind, solar and biomass) and capacitor banks into a radial distribution system. The intermittency of wind speed and solar irradiance are handled with multi-state modeling using suitable probability distribution functions. The three objective functions, i.e., power loss reduction, voltage stability improvement, and voltage deviation minimization are optimized using advanced Pareto-front non-dominated sorting multi-objective particle swarm optimization method. First a set of non-dominated Pareto-front data are called from the algorithm. Later, a fuzzy decision technique is applied to extract the trade-off solution set. The effectiveness of the proposed methodology is tested on the standard IEEE 33 test system. The overall results reveal that combination of renewable distributed generations and capacitor banks are dominant in power loss reduction, voltage stability and voltage profile improvement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Concurrent Multipath Transfer (CMT) is a transport layer protocol which provides concurrent data transfer over the multiple paths. CMT improves the available bandwidth utilization, fault tolerance, robustness and reliability of the network. However, in multipath data transfer, destination receives out-of-order data chunk due to dissimilar delay and bandwidth of each path. It causes the serious problem of receiver buffer blocking, unwanted congestion window ( cwnd ) reduction and unnecessary retransmission, which significantly degrades the performance of CMT. Thus, this paper proposes an adaptive data chunk scheduling for CMT (A-CMT). The proposed method uses path delay and bandwidth as a factor of data chunk scheduling to adapt path conditions. The simulation results show that proposed method achieves better performance in terms of throughput; file transfer time and congestion window growth. The proposed method improves average throughput up to 13%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Grain yield of wheat is primarily determined by both grain number and grain weight, which often influence each other in response to environmental stimuli. Some of the genotypes are capable of maintaining high single grain weight (SGW) across the environments. Understanding mechanisms and factors associated with the superiority of such genotypes over others is necessary to enhance productivity of wheat. Results: Experiments were conducted to elucidate the physiological basis of high SGW of LOK-1, a wheat cultivar grown in dry and hot environments in the central and peninsular zones of India. SGW of LOK-1 was least affected by removal of spikelets indicating little competition between the grains within the spike for assimilates. Reduction in SGW due to defoliation was less and the contribution of stem reserves to the grain development was high in LOK-1 relative to other cultivars. It seems that high level of expression of genes such as expansin (TaExpA6) contributes to the high SGW of LOK-1. Conclusions: Source was not a limiting factor for grain growth of LOK-1 in contrast to other cultivars, whereas sink appeared to be a limiting factor in recently released/identified cultivars. Differences in the amounts of water soluble stem carbohydrate reserves translocated to grain could be one of the factors contributing to higher grain weight in LOK-1. High level expression of TaExpA6, one of the genes contributing to the elongation of endosperm, seems to be crucial for grain growth in wheat. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: This study was conducted to know the status of bovine herpesvirus-1 (BHV-1) antibodies in the bovines of the selected area of Uttarakhand. Materials and Methods: A total of 489 serum samples, 392 of cattle and 97 of buffaloes were randomly collected from the unvaccinated bovine population of five districts viz., Dehradun, Haridwar, Nainital, Pithoragarh, and Udham Singh Nagar and were tested by avidin biotin enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay for BHV-1 antibodies. Results: The overall prevalence was observed to be 29.03%. At district level, the highest prevalence was recorded in Pithoragarh district (40.00%) while it was lowest in district Udham Singh Nagar (16.00%). The prevalence of BHV-1 antibodies was found to be higher in unorganized dairy units (31.02%) compared to organized farms (26.51%) in Uttarakhand. Buffaloes were found to have greater prevalence (38.14%) than cattle (26.78%) while on sex-wise basis; it was found that more females (30.08%) were harboring antibodies to the virus than males (16.21%). Conclusion: The study revealed that the population in the area under study has been exposed to BHV-1 and hence prevention and control strategies must be implemented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: Aim of this work was to design and identify some S-adenosyl-L-homocysteine (SAH) analogs as inhibitors of S-adenosyl-L-methionine-dependent methyltransferase (MTase) protein using computational approaches. Introduction: According to the current scenario the dengue has been a global burden. The people are being killed by dengue virus in an abundant number. Despite of lot of research being going on dengue worldwide, there is no single drug which can kill its virus. This creates an urge for new drug target identification and designing. MTase has been reported as an effective target against dengue virus as it catalyzes an essential step in methylation and capping of viral RNA for viral replication. Materials and Methods: The crystal structure of MTase in complex with SAH was used for designing new analogs of SAH. SAH analogs designed were analyzed on the basis of docking, ADMET, and toxicity analysis done using Discovery Studio 3.5. Results: Seventeen analogs found noncarcinogenic, nonmutagenic, as well as good ADMET properties and good drug-like profile. Conclusion: These SAH analogs, inhibitors of MTase may act as drugs against dengue virus. Further synthesis and biological testing against dengue virus is under observation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Limited sources and rising cost of fossil fuels has instigated researchers to look towards renewable energy resources. Among renewable energy resources, solar energy is required to become indispensable in the future, as it is inexpensive, abundant, inexhaustible, environmental friendly and non-pollutant. Most of the people living in developing countries are dependent on agriculture. Agricultural products are dried to increase the storage life, minimize the packaging requirement and reduce the transportation weight. Solar drying for drying agricultural products is being practiced since long back throughout the world. Because of its drawbacks, advance technique, i.e. greenhouse drying, is being adopted for drying crops to reduce the drying time and increase the quality of the food products. Some new methods have also been attempted to increase the drying efficiency of greenhouse. In this paper, a comprehensive review of greenhouse drying of various commodities is presented. Different parameters such as thermal analysis, drying characteristics of crops, energy and exergy analysis, and greenhouse drying performance were discussed. In addition, the economical aspects of greenhouse dryers were also highlighted. This review paper will be helpful to the new researchers to know about the various technical aspects of the greenhouse dryer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this research paper, the convective and the evaporative heat transfer coefficients of ginger (zingiber officinale) drying in an indirect solar cabinet dryer under the induced forced convection mode is presented. Experiments were conducted during the month of March 2015 under the climatic conditions of Hisar, India (29°5'5"N latitude and 75°45'55"E longitude). The experimental data obtained for solar drying of a constant ginger mass of 150 g has been used to determine constants 'C' and 'n' in the Nusselt number expression using linear regression analysis; consequently, the convective and the evaporative heat transfer coefficients have been evaluated. The average value of constants 'C' and 'n' were evaluated as 0.999 and 0.318, respectively. The average values of the convective and the evaporative heat transfer coefficients were found to be 3.95 W/m2 °C and 160.47 W/m2 °C, respectively, for the given mass samples of ginger. The average collector efficiency was observed to be 14.5%. The experimental error in terms of percentage uncertainty was found to be 20.87%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Peanut or groundnut is one of the major oilseed crops in the world. It is rich in oil and proteins. Developing countries account for about 95% of the world peanut production. Asia alone accounts for 70% of this amount where the major producers India and China together represent over two-third of global output. Traditionally, groundnuts are dried in open sun to its safe moisture level for storage. Natural and artificial (hot air drying) drying methods of groundnuts are being used throughout the world. Artificial peanuts drying devices consume very large amount of energy. In this paper, present status of peanut and a comprehensive review of its drying methods are discussed. Recent developments in preservation and storage of groundnuts are also highlighted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study numerically explores the thermally radiative incompressible flow of hybrid nanofluid due to the stretchable rotational disk with the consideration of externally applied magnetic field and examines the underlying transport of heat both qualitatively as well as quantitatively. Pertaining to this study, the traditional von Karman approach is applied to convert partial derivative form of governing nonlinear transport equations into ordinary derivative form and is then evaluated by using an efficient boundary value problem (BVP4c) solver. The simulated results of flow-field variables such as velocity, temperature, friction-factor coefficients for various physical factors have been discussed both apparently in graphical form as well as numerically in the tabular form. In addition, we aptly discussed the influence of entropy heat generation and Bejan number obtained for different physical parametric values on the underlying thermohydrodynamics. The results indicate that the radial and tangential velocities across the rotating disk decrease for greater values the magnetic parameter (M) and slip factor (γ). As shown in this study, the effect of augmented fractional volume (ϕ 2) leads to a decrease of the fluid velocity owing to the accumulation of the nanoparticles in the working fluid. An increasing the value of magnetic and radiation parameters results in thickening the thermal boundary layer, which in turn induce an enhancement in the fluid temperature. Finally, it is seen that for an intense effect of the thermal radiation and viscous dissipation, the thermodynamic irreversibility in the present system becomes higher. We believe that the developed modelling frame-work has the potential to effectively analyze the underlying fluid flow and heat transfer in turbomachinery, high-end heat transfer process applications. [Display omitted] • Effect of Magnetic field and radiation on the Hybrid-nanofluid flow in a rotating disk. • Increase in radiation and magnetic parameters invite higher thermodynamic Irreversibility. • The von Karman approach is employed in the solution method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Epilepsy is the commonest childhood neurological disorder mostly affecting children in the first decade of life. Globally, school teachers have many false beliefs and misinformation about epilepsy. The knowledge and attitude of teachers towards students with epilepsy have a huge impact on their future life. Aim: To evaluate the knowledge, attitude and self-efficacy of school teachers towards students with epilepsy. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted from 20 August 2022 to 31 October 2022 at BPS GMC for women, Khanpur Kalan, Sonepat, Haryana, India, using self-administered questionnaire including randomly selected 427 school teachers from 15 schools of Haryana (India). The questionnaire included the scale of Attitude Towards Persons with Epilepsy (ATPE), a summated rating scale for measuring knowledge and attitude. Several additional knowledge and attitude items were also evaluated. Effect of socio-demographic characteristics of participants were also evaluated as a predictor of knowledge and attitude. Data was collected and statistics were applied using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) software and p-value <0.05 was considered as statistically significant. Results: The mean age of teachers in the present study was 37.7±8.8 years (range=23-58 years). Among the total participants, 79.4% were female teachers. They had approximately two times higher probability of getting a good knowledge and attitude score. Age group 30 to 50 years had higher chances of getting a good knowledge score. Teaching experience has a positive effect on the knowledge score. Awareness about epilepsy was quite high (85%). Only 14% teachers had previous or current contact with persons with epilepsy. A total of 10.7% teachers had performed first aid management of seizures and 9% of teachers thought that epilepsy is contiguous. The median score for knowledge and attitude were 6 (range= -21 to +26) and 25 (range=-19 to +62), respectively showing overall good knowledge and attitude score. But there were deficits in individual items score and first aid management of seizures. Conclusion: The overall result of study indicated a good knowledge and attitude towards students with epilepsy, among the participant teachers. Although there were some deficient areas which need to be improved regarding knowledge and attitude and first aid management of seizure episodes. There is a pressing need for integration of educational training courses about epilepsy in the teachers training curriculum. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and Objectives: Thyroid gland because of its superficial location is amenable to direct physical examination. Clinical assessment of thyroid lesions by means of physical examination, thyroid scans and ultrasonography is not completely reliable. Fine needle aspiration cytology (FNAC) is the most cost-effective, safe and an initial diagnostic test in the pre-operative evaluation of thyroid lesions. Many surgeons use intraoperative frozen section biopsies to confirm the diagnosis of FNAC and guide the extent of thyroidectomy. Therefore, the objective of the present study was to assess the diagnostic accuracy of frozen section in comparison with fine needle aspiration cytology and histopathology in thyroid lesions. Materials & Methods: Fine needle aspiration cytology and frozen section (FS) were evaluated in 59 patients. FNAC was classified as benign, malignant and suspicious, and FS was classified as benign, deferred and malignant. Sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, negative predictive value and accuracy were calculated for both FS and FNAC.Results: Out of 59 patients, 3 were positive for malignancy, 51 were benign, and five were suspicious on FNAC. Over all accuracy of fine needle aspiration cytology was 93%. Five were positive for malignancy, 50 were benign and 4 were "deferred" in frozen section. Over all accuracy of frozen section was 96%.Discussion: Fine needle aspiration cytology can be used primarily to select patient for surgery and frozen section can be employed to plan the extent of surgery. Frozen section had a good accuracy, sensitivity and negative predictive value compared to fine needle aspiration cytology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: In the internet environment, the Diversity-path-aware Border Gateway Protocol (D-BGP) increases path diversity by advertising multiple paths. In case of a route failure, D-BGP, selects the most disjoint alternative path, but does not consider its quality moreover because update messages are propagated both for the best path and for alternate paths, D-BGP has messaging. To overcome these limitations, we propose a robust BGP protocol that increases fault tolerance and reduces update message overhead. After establishing shortest paths using D-BGP, our protocol selects an alternate path based on link availability of the link and bandwidth. It utilizes Path Exploration Damping (PED) to delay update messages of alternate paths with worst-case scenario. Simulation results justify that our proposed BGP is failure free and performs better than D-BGP. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: In the present work, we report the growth of wurtzite InN epilayers on GaN/Si (111) substrate by plasma-assisted molecular beam epitaxy (PAMBE). The growth parameters such as indium flux, substrate temperature and RF power affect the crystallographic and morphological properties of InN layers, which were evaluated using high resolution X-ray diffraction (HRXRD) analysis and atomic force microscopy (AFM). It is found that excess indium (In) concentrations and surface roughness were increased with increase in In flux and growth temperature. The intensity of HRXRD (0002) peak, corresponding to c-axis orientation has been increased and full width at half maxima (FWHM) has decreased with increase in RF power. It was found that highly c-axis oriented InN epilayers can be grown at 450°C growth temperature, 450W RF power and 1.30×10−7 mbar In beam equivalent pressure (BEP). The energy gap of InN layers grown by optimizing growth conditions was determined by photoluminescence and optical absorption measurement. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Biological important ternary complexes of the type [NiCl(L-L) (A-A)(H2O)] and [Ni(L-L')(A-A)(H2O)2], where A-A = Glycine (Gly), Alanine (Ala), L-L = 2-(2'-aminophenyl)benzothiazole (APBT) and L-L' = 2-(2'- hydroxyphenyl)benzothiazole (HPBT), 2-(2'-mercaptophenyl)benzothiazole (MPBT) have been synthesized. These complexes have been characterized by elemental analysis, molecular weight determination, conductivity, magnetic measurements, infrared, electronic spectral and TGA studies. On the basis of above described studies an octahedral geometry has been suggested for these complexes. All these complexes are coloured, thermally stable, monomeric and non-electrolytic in nature. The ligands and their metal complexes were tested against pathogenic fungi Aspergillus niger and Fusarium oxysporum to assess their fungicidal properties, the antifungal activity data reveals that these metal complexes are found more fungitoxic than the parent ligands. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the advent of GaN photonic devices, there is renewed interest in looking at the growth of nanostructures of III-Nitrides that can yield novel properties. To grow a high density of self-assembled GaN nanostructures on a large scale, there is a need to use templates with well-defined nanometer scale features. The Si(5 5 12)-2 × 1 surface is a naturally faceted stable surface that has several nanotrenches of (225) and (337) with a large unit cell of 5.35 × 0.77 nm2. In this work we present here, the first report on the X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy study of the adsorption kinetics of Ga on Si(5 5 12)-2 × 1 reconstructed surface. The uptake curve which is the plot of the ratio of Ga(2p) to Si(2p) intensity with deposition time, shows that Ga grows in a Stranski-Krastnov growth mode on Si(5 5 12) surface. The core level spectra of Si(2p) and Ga(2p) have been deconvoluted to see the evolution of the interface during the adsorption process of Ga. The valence-band spectra show the modification of the electronic structure and the secondary electron emission spectra yield the change in work function during Ga adsorption. Correlating the electronic and structural aspects of the interface formation results the study demonstrates the possibility of integrating Si and group III-nitride technologies while exploiting the novel properties due to reduced dimensions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The electrical transport behavior of n-n indium nitride nanodot-silicon (InN ND-Si) heterostructure Schottky diodes is reported here, which have been fabricated by plasma-assisted molecular beam epitaxy. InN ND structures were grown on a 20 nmInN buffer layer on Si substrates. These dots were found to be single crystalline and grown along [0 0 0 1] direction. Temperature-dependent current density-voltage plots (J-V-T) reveal that the ideality factor (η) and Schottky barrier height (SBH) (ΦB) are temperature dependent. The incorrect values of the Richardson constant (A**) produced suggest an inhomogeneous barrier. Descriptions of the experimental results were explained by using two models. First one is barrier height inhomogeneities (BHIs) model, in which considering an effective area of the inhomogeneous contact provided a procedure for a correct determination of A**. The Richardson constant is extracted ~110 A cm-2 K-2 using the BHI model and that is in very good agreement with the theoretical value of 112 A cm-2 K-2. The second model uses Gaussian statistics and by this, mean barrier height Φ0 and A** were found to be 0.69 eV and 113 A cm-2 K-2, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND: Scalp reconstruction after ablative surgery can be challenging. A useful Reconstructive algorithm is lacking. The purpose of this study was to evaluate our experience and to identify an appropriate reconstructive strategy. METHODOLOGY: This was a prospective observational study was conducted in the Department of Plastic & Burn Surgery during over a period of four years. Etiology of scalp defects, reconstructive methods, independent factors and outcomes were evaluated. A total of 7 procedures were performed in 38 patients. Techniques for reconstruction included primary closure, grafts, and Local flaps. CONCLUSION: Important tenets for successful management of scalp defects are durable coverage, adequate debridement, preservation of blood supply, and proper wound drainage. Local scalp flaps with skin grafts remain the mainstay of reconstruction in most instances. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nanosized hexagonal InN flower-like structures were fabricated by droplet epitaxy on GaN/Si(111) and GaN flower-like nanostructure fabricated directly on Si(111) substrate using radio frequency plasma-assisted molecular beam epitaxy. Powder X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) were used to study the crystallinity and morphology of the nanostructures. Moreover, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and photoluminescence (PL) were used to investigate the chemical compositions and optical properties of nano-flowers, respectively. Activation energy of free exciton transitions in GaN nano-flowers was derived to be ∼28.5 meV from the temperature dependent PL studies. The formation process of nano-flowers is investigated and a qualitative mechanism is proposed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the present work, we report the deposition of high resistivity c-axis oriented ZnO films by RF magnetron sputtering. The deposition parameters such as RF power, target-to-substrate spacing, substrate temperature, and sputtering gas composition affect the crystallographic properties of ZnO films, which were evaluated using XRD analysis. The self-heating of the substrate in plasma during film deposition was investigated and we report that highly “c-axis oriented” ZnO thin films can be prepared on different substrates without any external heating under optimized deposition parameters. The post-deposition annealing of the film at 900 °C for 1 h in air ambient increases the intensity of (002) peak corresponding to c-axis orientation in addition with the decrease in full width at half maxima (FWHM). Bond formation of ZnO was confirmed by FTIR analysis. Grains distribution and surface roughness have been analyzed using SEM and AFM. The DC resistivity of the films prepared under different deposition conditions was measured using MIS/MIM structures and was found to be in the range of 1011–1012 Ω cm at low electric field of 104 V/cm. The ZnO film of 1 μm thickness has transmittance of over 85% in the visible region. Applications of these films in MEMS devices are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: This paper presents the effect of offset (i.e. inlet and outlet are in two different planes) on S-shaped diffuser of 90°/90°turn with rectangular inlet () and semicircular outlet (). A computer program based on finite volume technique, using standard turbulence model, has been adopted and modified to predict the flow. The obtained results from this research show reduced outlet pressure recovery accompanied with increase in non-uniformity at the exit due to offset. This paper also shows that increase in Reynolds number has marginal effect on the outlet pressure recovery for zero offset and 0.3125D cases and similar results have been found for other offset cases which have not been presented in the paper to avoid repeatability. The present S-duct geometry fulfills only pressure recovery requirement, and hence needed modification to improve the uniformity at the exit. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Purpose: To assess the diagnostic accuracy of forced eyelid closure test (FECT), ice pack test (IPT), repetitive nerve stimulation test (RNS), and acetylcholine receptor (AchR) antibody test in patients with suspected ocular myasthenia. To assess the clinical utility of AchR antibody test in predicting disease progression.Methods: Retrospective cohort study of patients diagnosed with ocular myasthenia at a South-Indian neuro-ophthalmology tertiary eye clinic. Baseline characteristics; ocular myasthenia symptoms; results of FECT, IPT, RNS, and AchR antibody test; and progression time to generalized myasthenia (GM) over 36 months from the time of diagnosis were recorded and analyzed using receiver operator curve analysis, multiple logistic regression, and Kaplan-Meier survival analysis.Results: FECT had a sensitivity of 96.7% (95% CI: 88.5-99.6) and a specificity of 75% (95% CI: 34.9-96.8). Combination of FECT and IPT, using the positivity of at least one test, increased the sensitivity to 98.3% (95% CI: 91-100), reducing the specificity to 50% (95% CI: 15.7-84.3), whereas using the positivity of both tests, we obtained a sensitivity of 71.7% (95% CI: 58.6-82.5) and a specificity of 100% (95% CI: 63.1-100). In the subset of patients with double negative RNS and AchR antibodies, the positive predictive value of combined FECT and IPT (double positive) was 100%. Patients who developed GM were more likely to have a positive AchR antibody test result (P = 0.001).Conclusion: Combined FECT and IPT (double positive) has high diagnostic accuracy even among patients with normal RNS and negative AchR antibodies. Despite low sensitivity, AchR-antibody test has a significant predictive value in disease progression. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND: Reconstruction of soft tissue defect distal 3rd of leg is challenging to both plastic and orthopedic surgeons, especially in a setup where microvascular free flap facilities are not available to due to cost constraints. Lower extremity is prone to trauma and is vulnerable due to its location and low vascularity. In this study we evaluate the role of sural artery flap in management of lower extremity trauma. METHODOLOGY: This prospective interventional study was conducted from March 2007- February 2009 at the Department of Plastic & Reconstructive Surgery and Burns Unit, Liaquat University of Medical & Health Sciences, Jamshoro. Sample was collected by non probability convenience sampling. A predesigned proforma was used to collect the data. SPSS 17 was used for data analysis. RESULTS: Age of 35 inducted patients' ranged from 13-57 years with Mean±SD age of 31±7.7 years. There were 29 males (82.85%) and 6 females (17.14%). All flaps were survived; partial tip necrosis was seen in 3 patients (8.57%). Mode of injury was road traffic accident in 30 patients (85.71%). Two young males (5.71%) were with spoke wheel injury. Two patients (5.71%) had pressure sore wounds. One patient (2.85%) has exposed calcanium due to burn injury. CONCLUSION: Sural artery flap is an outstanding choice for management of soft tissue defects of lower extremity, specially exposed calcanium and malleolus due to its excellent blood supply and ease of performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Radiative–convective flow studies find wide range of applications in furnace design, solar fans, photochemical reactors, turbid water bodies, etc. The present article focusses on unsteady radiative–convective hydromagnetic couple stress fluid (CSF) flow from a vertical cylinder using the thermodynamic concept. The obtained governing equations of the present model are resolved by a well-organised numerical scheme. The unsteady nature of friction, entropy, coefficients of heat and mass transfer (HMT) along with the time-independent state pattern of flow-field profiles, are shown graphically for distinct values of governing radiation parameter, magnetic parameter, concentration parameter, and constant parameter to display important aspects of the solution. To analyse the HMT process in a 2D domain, Bejans flow visualisation is considered along with isotherms, streamlines, and isoconcentration lines. The Bejans HMT flow visualisation shows that the heat and mass function contours are denser in the foremost verge of the hot surface of the cylinder compared to other contours. The result indicates that the entropy generation (EG) parameter increases with decreasing values of radiation and magnetic parameters. Also, the entropy parameter increases for increasing values of concentration parameter or constant parameter. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Efficient manipulation of micro biological cells has always been a very important task in healthcare sector for which a Micro Electro Mechanical System (MEMS) based impedance flow cytometry has been proven to be a promising technique. This technique utilise the advantage of dielectrophoresis (DEP) force which is generated by non-uniform electric field in a microfluidic channel using an appropriate external AC supply at certain frequency range. The DEP forces generated in micro-channel depend upon various biological and physical parameters of cell and suspending medium. Apart from that design parameters of microfluidic channel and dimension of electrodes used for generating DEP action also plays major role in micro cell/bead manipulation. This article give remarks on the operating parameters which affects the cell manipulation and interrogates the currently accepted various electrode orientations in microfluidic MEMS flow cytometer technologies for effective manipulation of micro entities like healthy human cells (T-lymphocytes, B- lymphocytes, Monocytes, Leukocytes erythrocytes and human kidney cells HEK293), animal cells (neuroblastoma N115 and sheep red blood cells), cancer cells (MCF-7, MDA-435 and CD34+), yeast cells (saccharomyces cerevisiae, listeria innocua and E. coli) and micro particles (polystyrene beads) based on their dielectric properties using DEP action. Article focuses on the key electrode orientations for generation of non-uniform electric field in microfluidic flow cytometer like tapered electrodes, trapezoidal electrode arrays, Interdigitated electrodes, curved microelectrode and 3D electrode orientations and give remarks on their advantages and limitations. The cell manipulation with current MEMS impedance flow cytometry orientations targeting possibilities of implementation of the lab-on-chip devices has been discussed. • Efficient biological cells/micro particle manipulation by impedance flow cytometry is discussed for healthcare applications. • Operating parameters affecting the cell manipulation in a microchannel of impedance flow cytometry has been described. • Electrode orientations with operating parameters like electric field & field frequency for cell manipulation is interrogated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Gastric adenocarcinoma in Indian patients’ is on the rise. A high level of plasma von Willebrand factor (vWF) is associated not only with the development of cancer-associated thrombosis but also with the degree of malignancy, the rate of metastasis, and cancer prognosis. Aims and Objectives: The aim of this study was to study the association of vWF with tumor location, TNM staging, and grades of tumor differentiation in gastric adenocarcinoma and to assess the usefulness of circulating vWF levels as a potential biomarker for gastric adenocarcinoma. Materials and Methods: This study is a prospective observational study done in the Department of Surgical Gastroenterology, Madurai Medical College, Madurai, over a period of 2 years between September 2020 and August 2022. Fifty cases of gastric cancer and 50 controls were recruited and vWF levels were analyzed. Results: Among the 50 gastric cancer patients, 8% belonged to Stage II, 62% belonged to Stage III, and 30% belonged to Stage IV. vWF was elevated in Gastric Cancer patients compared to control group. Mean value of vWF in Cases and Control population was 3.68 ng/ml and 0.58 ng/ml respectively (p value 0.0005). Pertaining to Stage, the vWF value was, Stage II – 4.7, Stage III – 3.3, and Stage IV – 4.1 ng/mL. With respect to tumor differentiation, the vWF values were, poorly differentiated – 4.7, moderately differentiated – 3.0, and well differentiated – 3.9 ng/mL. Conclusion: vWF values were significantly elevated in gastric cancer patients. Based on the results, vWF can be used as a surrogate marker to predict the tumor differentiation in patients, thereby prognosticating the disease. Stage-wise, there was no significant difference in the vWF values. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]