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No abstract available. Article truncated after 150 words. A 32-year-old nonsmoking woman presented with complaints of recurrent hemoptysis for 5 months and dyspnea on exertion for 1 month. She denied any history of fever, cough, or COVID infection. She has hypothyroidism controlled on thyroxine 25mcg. During the evaluation, she was found to have an enhancing solitary pulmonary nodule (11 x 10 x 9mm) in the anterior segment of the left upper lobe (Figure 1). The patient was given a course of oral antibiotics (amoxicillin /clavulanic acid) and supportive treatment for hemoptysis. Sputum for Ziehl–Neelsen stain and cartridge based nucleic acid amplification test (CBNAAT) was negative. CT- guided biopsy of the nodule was performed. Histopathology showed fungal organisms which were thin, septate with acute angle branching and focal necrotic areas, morphologically consistent with Aspergillus (Figure 2). Serum-specific IgG against aspergillus antigen was normal. The patient was started on oral itraconazole 200mg BID. Follow-up after 1 month showed both …

Massive haemoptysis, which can result in abrupt respiratory failure, is a potentially fatal consequence of pulmonary tuberculosis. Radiologically, it can present as a complete collapse of one lung due to endobronchial clot formation. Here, the authors report two cases, one of whom was a female who was pregnant and near term, who presented with massive haemoptysis followed by severe respiratory distress. Fibre optic bronchoscopy was performed in both cases, and clots were retrieved. One of the patients required intubation and invasive mechanical ventilation. The procedure was technically difficult because of the acute hypoxaemia, necessitating a team of pulmonologists and anaesthetists. Bronchoalveolar lavage enabled the authors to clinch the diagnosis. Post-procedure, both patients showed rapid clinical and radiological improvement. In resource-limited settings where rigid bronchoscopy is not available, fibre optic bronchoscopy can be performed for clot retrieval, as it can be a life-saving procedure for the patient.

This study aims to analyse the spatio-temporal trends in water quality, trophic state, and organic contamination of an alpine lake in the Darjeeling Himalaya through field investigations and to portray a comprehensive picture using multivariate analysis. Analysed water parameters have shown notable seasonal variations and were within the acceptable range for inland surface water. Water quality index (WQI) and organic pollution index (OPI) values have displayed ‘poor’ to ‘heavily polluted’ status in the pre-monsoon season, with marginally better conditions during the post-monsoon studies. Trophic state indices (TSIs) values revealed ‘eutrophic to highly eutrophic’ conditions during the investigation period. The results of the PCA have depicted three major determining factors (i.e., anthropogenic contribution, geogenic or weathering, and seasonal/climatic factors) that control the overall pollution level in the lake water system. The current study can potentially be a benchmark for assessing and undertaking management and restoration measures for this nascent alpine ecosystem. HIGHLIGHTS Assessment of water quality and trophic state of the lake on a spatio-temporal scale.; Geospatial appraisal of lake health using indexing approach, i.e., WQI, OPI, and NI.; Application of multivariate statistics to delineate influencing factors and pollution sources.; The findings will assist in the sustainable management of the lake water system.;

Background/Aims The purpose of this study was to compare the results of endoscopic ultrasound guided fine-needle aspiration (EUS-FNA) and fine-needle biopsy (FNB) performed at the same site in a single session in the same patient. Methods Consecutive patients with solid gastrointestinal lesions referred for EUS evaluation underwent EUS-FNA and FNB using 22G needles with three and two passes, respectively, in the same session. Patients were randomized to one group having EUS-FNA first followed by EUS-FNB, while other group had EUS-FNB first followed by EUS-FNA. Results Total 50 patients (31 male) of mean age 56.58 ± 14.2 years and mean lesion size of 2.6 (±2) cm were included. The Kappa agreement for final diagnosis for FNA and FNB was 0.841 and 0.61, respectively. The sensitivity and specificity of FNA versus FNB were 85.19 versus 62.96% and 100 versus 100%, respectively, in comparison with final diagnosis. Conclusion Both EUS-FNA and FNB are equally safe when compared between the two techniques simultaneously in same lesion. EUS-FNA is better than FNB in terms of sensitivity, diagnostic accuracy, and tissue yield for solid GI lesion. However, the specificity and positive predictive value were equally good for both the modalities.

A semi supervised image classification method for satellite images is proposed in this paper. The satellite images contain enormous data that can be used in various applications. The analysis of the data is a tedious task due to the amount of data and the heterogeneity of the data. Thus, in this paper, a Radial Basis Function Neural Network (RBFNN) trained using Manta Ray Foraging Optimization algorithm (MRFO) is proposed. RBFNN is a three-layer network comprising of input, output, and hidden layers that can process large amounts. The trained network can discover hidden data patterns in unseen data. The learning algorithm and seed selection play a vital role in the performance of the network. The seed selection is done using the spectral indices to further improve the performance of the network. The manta ray foraging optimization algorithm is inspired by the intelligent behaviour of manta rays. It emulates three unique foraging behaviours namelys chain, cyclone, and somersault foraging. The satellite images contain enormous amount of data and thus require exploration in large search space. The spiral movement of the MRFO algorithm enables it to explore large search spaces effectively. The proposed method is applied on pre and post flooding Landsat 8 Operational Land Imager (OLI) images of New Brunswick area. The method was applied to identify and classify the land cover changes in the area induced by flooding. The images are classified using the proposed method and a change map is developed using post classification comparison. The change map shows that a large amount of agricultural area was washed away due to flooding. The measurement of the affected area in square kilometres is also performed for mitigation activities. The results show that post flooding the area covered by water is increased whereas the vegetated area is decreased. The performance of the proposed method is done with existing state-of-the-art methods.

The planar cell polarity (PCP) system is essential for positioning cells in 3D networks to establish the proper morphogenesis, structure, and function of organs during embryonic development. The PCP system uses inter- and intracellular feedback interactions between components of the core PCP, characterized by coordinated planar polarization and asymmetric distribution of cell populations inside the cells. PCP signaling connects the anterior–posterior to left–right embryonic plane polarity through the polarization of cilia in the Kupffer’s vesicle/node in vertebrates. Experimental investigations on various genetic ablation-based models demonstrated the functions of PCP in planar polarization and associated genetic disorders. This review paper aims to provide a comprehensive overview of PCP signaling history, core components of the PCP signaling pathway, molecular mechanisms underlying PCP signaling, interactions with other signaling pathways, and the role of PCP in organ and embryonic development. Moreover, we will delve into the negative feedback regulation of PCP to maintain polarity, human genetic disorders associated with PCP defects, as well as challenges associated with PCP.

This work presents anodically electrodeposited copper (Cu)/chitosan gel as a novel precursor for synthesizing a Cu/carbon nanocomposite through laser-induced carbonization. Metal/carbon nanocomposites offering advantageous properties compared to their individual counterparts stand out in various applications, particularly in those involving electrochemical phenomena. However, their synthesis often suffers from complicated and time-consuming synthesis procedures. Here, we integrate anodic electrodeposition and laser-induced carbonization to yield a rapid, simple, and inexpensive procedure for synthesizing metal/carbon nanocomposite. A precursor composite involving Cu-coordinated chitosan film is achieved through anodic electrodeposition on a copper anode. Irradiation by an infrared laser with optimized parameters results in the thermochemical decomposition of the Cu/chitosan composite, rapidly forming a nanocomposite material featuring highly graphitized and porous carbon materials. Elemental mapping confirms the formation of the nanocomposite, although no crystalline phases of copper are observed during X-ray diffraction. This can be attributed to the rapid nature of the laser-carbonization process. The nanocomposite material is further demonstrated for electrochemical sensing of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), exhibiting a sensitivity of 2.65 mM−1 for concentrations ranging from 0.01 mM to 0.1 mM H2O2, and 0.01 ± 0.01 mM−1 for concentrations from 0.1 to 10 mM H2O2. These sensitivities are comparable to other non-enzymatic H2O2 biosensors. The finding of this work signifies a rapid and facile method for synthesizing metal/carbon nanocomposites with strong implications for the field of biosensors.

Small nucleolar RNAs (snoRNAs) constitute a class of intron-derived non-coding RNAs ranging from 60 to 300 nucleotides. Canonically localized in the nucleolus, snoRNAs play a pivotal role in RNA modifications and pre-ribosomal RNA processing. Based on the types of modifications they involve, such as methylation and pseudouridylation, they are classified into two main families—box C/D and H/ACA snoRNAs. Recent investigations have revealed the unconventional synthesis and biogenesis strategies of snoRNAs, indicating their more profound roles in pathogenesis than previously envisioned. This review consolidates recent discoveries surrounding snoRNAs and provides insights into their mechanistic roles in cancer. It explores the intricate interactions of snoRNAs within signaling pathways and speculates on potential therapeutic solutions emerging from snoRNA research. In addition, it presents recent findings on the long non-coding small nucleolar RNA host gene (lncSNHG), a subset of long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs), which are the transcripts of parental SNHGs that generate snoRNA. The nucleolus, the functional epicenter of snoRNAs, is also discussed. Through a deconstruction of the pathways driving snoRNA-induced oncogenesis, this review aims to serve as a roadmap to guide future research in the nuanced field of snoRNA–cancer interactions and inspire potential snoRNA-related cancer therapies.

The space radiation (IR) environment contains high charge and energy (HZE) nuclei emitted from galactic cosmic rays with the ability to overcome current shielding strategies, posing increased IR-induced cardiovascular disease risks for astronauts on prolonged space missions. Little is known about the effect of 5-ion simplified galactic cosmic ray simulation (simGCRsim) exposure on left ventricular (LV) function. Three-month-old, age-matched male Apolipoprotein E (ApoE) null mice were irradiated with 137Cs gamma (γ; 100, 200, and 400 cGy) and simGCRsim (50, 100, 150 cGy all at 500 MeV/nucleon (n)). LV function was assessed using transthoracic echocardiography at early/acute (14 and 28 days) and late/degenerative (365, 440, and 660 days) times post-irradiation. As early as 14 and 28-days post IR, LV systolic function was reduced in both IR groups across all doses. At 14 days post-IR, 150 cGy simGCRsim-IR mice had decreased diastolic wall strain (DWS), suggesting increased myocardial stiffness. This was also observed later in 100 cGy γ-IR mice at 28 days. At later stages, a significant decrease in LV systolic function was observed in the 400 cGy γ-IR mice. Otherwise, there was no difference in the LV systolic function or structure at the remaining time points across the IR groups. We evaluated the expression of genes involved in hemodynamic stress, cardiac remodeling, inflammation, and calcium handling in LVs harvested 28 days post-IR. At 28 days post-IR, there is increased expression of Bnp and Ncx in both IR groups at the lowest doses, suggesting impaired function contributes to hemodynamic stress and altered calcium handling. The expression of Gals3 and β-Mhc were increased in simGCRsim and γ-IR mice respectively, suggesting there may be IR-specific cardiac remodeling. IR groups were modeled to calculate the Relative Biological Effectiveness (RBE) and Radiation Effects Ratio (RER). No lower threshold was determined using the observed dose-response curves. These findings do not exclude the possibility of the existence of a lower IR threshold or the presence of IR-induced cardiovascular disease (CVD) when combined with additional space travel stressors, e.g., microgravity.

Salinity or salt stress has deleterious effects on plant growth and development. It imposes osmotic, ionic, and secondary stresses, including oxidative stress on the plants and is responsible for the reduction of overall crop productivity and therefore challenges global food security. Plants respond to salinity, by triggering homoeostatic mechanisms that counter salt-triggered disturbances in the physiology and biochemistry of plants. This involves the activation of many signaling components such as SOS pathway, ABA pathway, and ROS and osmotic stress signaling. These biochemical responses are accompanied by transcriptional modulation of stress-responsive genes, which is mostly mediated by salt-induced transcription factor (TF) activity. Among the TFs, the multifaceted significance of WRKY proteins has been realized in many diverse avenues of plants’ life including regulation of plant stress response. Therefore, in this review, we aimed to highlight the significance of salinity in a global perspective, the mechanism of salt sensing in plants, and the contribution of WRKYs in the modulation of plants’ response to salinity stress. This review will be a substantial tool to investigate this problem in different perspectives, targeting WRKY and offering directions to better manage salinity stress in the field to ensure food security.

The paradoxical reaction (PR) is a transient worsening following tuberculosis treatment and it is not uncommon in lymph node tuberculosis (LNTB). PR in LNTB maybe wrongly considered as treatment failure or relapse. This review was undertaken to address various aspects of PR associated with lymph node tuberculosis prevalence, underlying mechanism, clinical pattern, predictors, and possible treatment in an immunocompetent individual. A literature review was performed using various databases (PubMed, Scopus, Science Direct, and Google Scholar) to identify relevant articles for review. The prevalence of paradoxical reactions associated with LNTB varies from as low as 13.3% to as high as 35.3% PR may occur during antitubercular treatment or be reported even after completion of treatment called post-therapy PR. An onset of PR may occur within a month of therapy to even 12 months from the initiation of an anti-tubercular drug. Delayed hypersensitivity reaction and reduction in immune suppression is believed to be possible mechanism leading to a paradoxical reaction. PR in LNTB is characterized by either progression of pre-existing nodal enlargement or formation of abscess, sinus formation, or appearance of new nodal enlargement or rarely extra-nodal involvement. PR is a diagnosis of exclusion and may show granuloma, positive AFB smear, or positive GeneXpert but AFB culture is always negative. Younger age, lymph node size of equal to or more than 3 cm, female gender, unilateral lymphadenopathy, and those with positive AFB on initial examination are predictors for PR in peripheral LNTB. The majority of PR in LNTB have a mild course and are generally self-limited.

There is colossal research scope in achieving greater functionality and durability in microelectronic devices as conventional air cooling systems cannot handle these devices' cooling requirements which may be due to their low heat transfer performance. In such instances, phase change heat transfer mechanisms are appropriate for heat extraction since they utilise both sensible and latent heat. The ability to remove huge amount of heat at low wall superheats and the lack of moving parts make pool boiling appealing. This experimental study emphasises the analysis of bubble behaviour and critical heat flux (CHF) on electrodeposited tubes developed via in-house built set-up. Copper has been deposited over SS 304 tubes of a length of 100 mm and diameter of 2.5–4.5 mm. Their surface morphologies have been investigated using various characterization techniques such as SEM, EDS, AFM, and XRD. The surface roughness measurement confirms that electrodeposition increases the roughness of the tube. The contact angle analysis confirms that the coated surfaces are hydrophobic in nature. The CHF visualization is carried out under uniform heat flux conditions. It is observed that with an increase in diameter, the magnitude of CHF reduces irrespective of the coated and uncoated surface. The hydrophobic surface exhibits a lesser CHF magnitude than the uncoated surface. The reduction in CHF magnitude is within a range of 4.27%–8.93%. At lower heat flux magnitude, the bubble nucleation is rigorous in coated tubes, making it efficient for phase change heat transfer applications.

Purpose: The mortality rate of fetuses due to heart defects is a major concern for clinicians. The fetus's heart is monitored non-invasively using the abdominal Electrocardiogram (ECG) of the mother. Most of the methods in literature diagnose fetal arrhythmia based on fetal heart rate. However, there are various challenges in fetal heart rate monitoring and arrhythmia detection. Therefore, very few methods are explored for fetal arrhythmia classification and have not achieved promising results. Materials and Methods: In this article, a fetal arrhythmia classification method is investigated. The method has exploited the transfer learning principle where DenseNet architecture is utilized to learn fetal ECG patterns. Fetal ECG (fECG) signal extracted from the mothers abdominal has been processed for denoising and heartbeats are segmented using signal processing techniques. The extracted heartbeats have transformed into 2D fECG images to re-train the pre-trained DenseNet architecture. Results: The proposed method has been evaluated on the publicly available Non-Invasive Fetal Arrhythmia Database (NIFADB) of Physionet and achieved 98.56% classification accuracy, thus outperforming other existing methods. Conclusion: The arrhythmia in a fetus can be detected using a non-invasive fetal ECG. Due to the faster convergence of the learning algorithm, the proposed method offers better fetal diagnosis in real-time.

Abstract The manipulation of carbon nitride (CN) structures is one main avenue to enhance the activity of CN‐based photocatalysts. Increasing the efficiency of photocatalytic heterogeneous materials is a critical step toward the realistic implementation of sustainable schemes for organic synthesis. However, limited knowledge of the structure/activity relationship in relation to subtle structural variations prevents a fully rational design of new photocatalytic materials, limiting practical applications. Here, the CN structure is engineered by means of a microwave treatment, and the structure of the material is shaped around its suitable functionality for Ni dual photocatalysis, with a resulting boosting of the reaction efficiency toward many CX (X = N, S, O) couplings. The combination of advanced characterization techniques and first‐principle simulations reveals that this enhanced reactivity is due to the formation of carbon vacancies that evolve into triazole and imine N species able to suitably bind Ni complexes and harness highly efficient dual catalysis. The cost‐effective microwave treatment proposed here appears as a versatile and sustainable approach to the design of CN‐based photocatalysts for a wide range of industrially relevant organic synthetic reactions.

The demand for water, energy, and food resources increased in tandem with the world's population, industrialization, and urbanization. Anthropogenic sources of environmental pollutants degrade the water resources while population expansion contributes to rising demand for non-renewable energy resources which further enhances the greenhouse gas emissions. Also, maintaining the food security/-safety is another challenge which needs to be addressed for securing ‘planetary public health’. The sustainability programs, pragmatic studies, and strategies from regulatory/scientific institutions attempt to reduce the depletion of these resources and mitigate environmental challenges however, the individualistic approaches proves to be inadequate. Therefore, the present review emphasizes the use of Water-Energy-Food (WEF) Nexus as a tool to combat environmental degradation, address climate action, and achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). In this article, we investigate methodological paradigm and application of WEF Nexus in an inter-related framework through case studies on water resources, energy efficiency, urban food production, food waste reduction, cross-sectoral perspectives, and the circular economy. It has been widely observed that excessive exploitation of these resources influences the global food supply and demand, water availability, resilience in energy and socio-economic sector. Also, such perturbations in water, energy, and food sectors were found to be inextricably linked with climate change. The results further revealed that WEF nexus approach stimulates multilevel and inter-sectoral governance, thereby aiding to address the complexities and inefficiencies in achieving the SDGs. The prioritization of WEF Nexus strategy, especially under the event of COVID-19 can be a holistic approach to sustainably utilise natural resources to help achieve the environmental sustainability.

Background and Objectives: Chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) initiation and progression is regulated by epigenetic and genetic alterations. Imatinib therapy resistance in CML patients is important clinical issue. To understand association of kinase domain mutation and promoter hypermethylation of genes with imatinib therapy resistance hold significance in CML patients of North-East India. This study is a hospital based cross sectional study. Methods: A total of Sixty three (n=63) CML patients undergone imatinib mesylate were enrolled for the study. ABL kinase domain T315I mutation was analyzed by Allele specific- PCR (AS-PCR) and confirmed by sequencing. Promoter hypermethylation was analyzed by Methylation specific PCR (MS-PCR). The Chi square test and Fisher exact test used in SPSS ver19. Results: Tyrosine Kinase domain mutation T315I was found in 30.1% (19/63). The promoter hypermethylation of Calcitonin, ATG16L2, TFAP2A, EBF2 gene was detected in 42.9% (n=27), 28.6% (n=18), 38.1% (n=24), 27% (n= 17) CML patients respectively. Median relapse free survival was 21 months and statistically significant for CML patients without T315I mutation compared to patients with T315I mutation who has 12 months median relapse free survival (p=0.005). Median survival was 19 months for patients without EBF2 promoter hypermethylation and also statistically significant compared to CML patients with promoter hypermethylation (12 months) (p=0.026). Interpretation and Conclusions: We conclude that among imatinib resistant CML patients of North- East India harbouring T315I mutation of ABL1 Kinase domain and promoter hypermethylation of EBF2 gene have significantly lower median relapse free survival.

Pastures may act as carbon sources and sinks depending on grazing pressure and management practices. Soil organic carbon (SOC) stock and its fractions were quantified under 3 different grazing intensities using 5, 10 and 15 sheep/ha under sown, improved and natural pastures in the semi-arid tropics of India. Results revealed that after 3 years, improved pasture had significantly higher particulate organic carbon (POC ~4.5 g/kg), SOC (~0.53 %), total organic carbon (TOC~7 g/kg) and SOC stock (~15 mg/ha) as compared with sown and natural pastures. Labile carbon (LC ~185 mg/kg) and soil microbial biomass carbon (SMBC ~378 µg/g soil) were higher under natural pasture. A moderate grazing intensity of 10 sheep/ha resulted in significantly greater carbon fractions, TOC and SOC stock. SOC stock and its fractions were significantly higher in the topsoil layers as compared with the subsoil layers. These results indicate that improved pasture management practices with moderate grazing intensity can be recommended for improving SOC stock and its fractions in semi-arid tropical pastures.

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is a complex disease that is asymptomatic in its early stages. Its delayed recognition may predispose patients to adverse outcomes. Early detection and management of kidney disease through screening programs is widely recommended. In the present study, we conducted a screening program at a hospital set up on World Kidney Day for 10 years to detect patients with CKD. The current study constituted 1324 apparently healthy adults, aged >18 years. Information on age, sex, height, weight, history of diabetes mellitus (DM) and hypertension (HTN), and familial history of kidney disease was recorded. Systolic and diastolic blood pressure, random blood sugar; urinalysis, and serum creatinine (Cr) levels were measured. The study outcome was the presence of CKD. Binary logistic regression analysis was applied to find the predictors of CKD. The median age of the study subjects was 40 years. CKD was found in 35.6% of subjects. Age, DM, HTN, and abnormal Cr levels were associated with increasing risk of CKD. The main objective of the present study was to identify the extent of risk relative to the co-factors of CKD and thereby target those who are potentially modifiable, like DM, to intervene at the earliest possible stage to treat the current disease condition and prevent the future health impairment.

Introduction: To assess the association of blood biomarkers such as C-reactive protein (CRP), serum ferritin, lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio, and D-dimer at admission with in-hospital mortality in COVID-19 and to determine best predictive cut-offs for them. Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study included 984 confirmed cases of COVID-19 admitted in months of July and August 2020. The optimal biomarker cut-off points for mortality were defined by a receiver operating characteristic curve. Survival probabilities were estimated by the Kaplan–Meier method and compared with the log-rank test. Results: The overall mortality rate among the hospitalized cases was 254 (25.81%). All the markers were found to be significantly higher (P < 0.001) in nonsurvivor group as compared to the survivors at the time of admission. Serum CRP, ferritin, D-dimer and LDH were found to be elevated, i.e., higher than the upper limit of normal range in 426 (83%), 469 (68.37%), 449 (67.9%), and 380 (93.1%) respectively overall. However, these markers were significantly more elevated in nonsurvivor compared to survivors. A significant increasing trend of elevated level of all biomarkers was observed with increase of severity level (P < 0.0001). It was found that CRP ≥82 mg/L had sensitivity of 63.58% and specificity of 68.38% for predicting the mortality. Similarly, serum ferritin ≥475.6 mg/ml had sensitivity of 68.09% and specificity of 65.26%, D-dimer ≥0.65 had sensitivity of 90.71% and specificity of 55.45%, and LDH ≥915 U/L had sensitivity of 69.34% and specificity of 73.8% to predict the mortality. Furthermore, neutrophil and lymphocyte count ratio (NLR) ≥8.86 had sensitivity of 65.61% and specificity of 79.7% to predict the mortality. Conclusion: Levels of the blood biomarker such as CRP, serum ferritin, LDH, NLR, and D-dimer at admission can predict mortality in COVID-19 infection.

Background: Totally extra-peritoneal (TEP) and transabdominal preperitoneal (TAPP) repair are two established minimal access techniques of groin hernia surgery. TEP offers the advantage of avoiding violation of the peritoneal cavity. Aim: This study aims to describe the decade-long experience of TEP in groin hernia repair in a tertiary care teaching institute and the feasibility of the same in difficult scenarios. Materials and Methods: Retrospective analysis of the database of patients undergoing TEP repair for inguinal hernia in a single surgical unit at a tertiary teaching hospital between January 2008 and December 2019 was performed. Detailed pre-operative clinical details, operative duration, intraoperative and post-operative complications, including pain, length of post-operative hospital stay and hernia recurrence data were analysed. Results: Over 12 years' duration, 511 patients underwent endoscopic TEP mesh repair and the total number of hernias repaired was 614. Majority (97.45%) of patients were male. The mean age of the patient population was 51.3 years. Primary hernia was seen in 490 patients. The mean operating time for unilateral inguinal hernia repair was 56.8 ± 16 min and for bilateral repair 80.9 ± 25.2 min. TEP in previous lower abdominal/suprapubic surgical scars was attempted in 17 (3.3%) patients, with only one requiring conversion. The intraoperative peritoneal breach was the most common documented complication (34.8%). Seroma was seen in 9.4% of patients. Seventeen patients required conversion (14 TAPP and 3 open). Recurrence was seen in 4 (0.7) patients. Conclusion: TEP repair is an effective method of groin hernia repair and can be attempted in the majority of patients groin hernia, including patients with previous lower abdominal incisions.

Purpose: The current study intended to provide a comparison of biomechanical behaviors of two different treatment concepts for full-mouth rehabilitation with dental implants placed according to the “All-on-four” concept and “All-on-six” concept with analysis of the stress patterns of the implant support system using three-dimensional finite element analysis (FEA). Materials and Methods: The edentulous mandible was treated with two different implant designs. “All-on-Four” implant placement concept was used in Model 1 with two central axial implants and two distally tilted implants at 17° and in Model 2, “All-on-Six” concept was applied with six vertically placed implants. Individual vertical and horizontal load of 100 N and oblique load of 141 N at 45° was applied to all implants. To evaluate and compare the results in terms of maximum principal stress, we used FEA. Results: All-on-six showed smaller maximum principal stress values on the cortical bone and implants. However, maximum principal stress values obtained on trabecular bone was smaller in the All-on-four design for vertical and horizontal loading conditions. Conclusions: The All-on-six approach showed more favorable biomechanical behavior.

Laser-induced Breakdown Spectroscopy (LIBS) is primarily an atomic emission spectroscopic method based on analyzing the spectral lines of elements in the laser-induced plasma. However, when the plasma cools down after its ignition, i.e., when one collects the emissions from the plasma after a certain interval of time/gate delay (~1 micro-second), the signature of the electronic bands of diatomic molecules is also observed along with ionic/atomic emission lines. The present manuscript reports the evaluation of toxicity/pollutants in green crackers based on the intensity of the electronic bands of the Aluminum Oxide (AlO), calcium oxide (CaO), and strontium oxide (SrO) molecules observed in the laser-induced plasma of the firecrackers. LIBS spectra of the green crackers show the presence of spectral lines of the heavy/toxic elements such as Al, Ca, Sr, Cr, Cu, and Ba, along with the electronic bands of the AlO, CaO, and SrO. Fourier Transform Infra-Red Spectroscopy (FTIR) has been used to validate the LIBS results and confirm the molecules in these crackers. The concentration of toxic elements in green crackers such as Aluminum (Al), Copper (Cu), and Chromium (Cr) has also been estimated using the Partial Least Square Regression method (PLSR) to evaluate and compare the extent of the toxicity of green crackers.

This study proposes a novel method for identifying the primary conspirators involved in terrorist activities. To map the information related to terrorist activities, we gathered information from different sources of real cases involving terrorist attacks. We extracted useful information from available sources and then mapped them in the form of terrorist networks, and this mapping provided us with insights in these networks. Furthermore, we came up with a novel centrality measure for identifying the primary conspirators of a terrorist attack. Because the leaders of terrorist attacks usually direct conspirators to conduct terrorist activities, we designed a novel algorithm that can identify such leaders. This algorithm can identify terrorist attack leaders even if they have less connectivity in networks. We tested the effectiveness of the proposed algorithms on four real-world datasets and conducted an experimental evaluation, and the proposed algorithms could correctly identify the primary conspirators and leaders of the attacks in the four cases. To summarize, this work may provide information support for security agencies and can be helpful during the trials of the cases related to terrorist attacks.

Abstract Background Several methodological tests are available to detect SARS-CoV-2 antibody. Tests are mostly used in the aid of diagnosis or for serological assessment. No tests are fully confirmatory and have variable level of diagnostic ability. We aimed at assessing agreement with three serological tests: quantitative anti receptor binding domain ELISA (Q-RBD), qualitative ELISA (WANTAI SARS-CoV-2 Ab) and qualitative chemiluminescence assay (CLIA). Methods This study was a part of a large population based sero-epidemiological cohort study. Participants aged 1 year or older were included from 25 randomly selected clusters each in Delhi urban (urban resettlement colony of South Delhi district) and Delhi rural (villages in Faridabad district, Haryana). Three type of tests were applied to all the baseline blood samples. Result of the three tests were evaluated by estimating the total agreement and kappa value. Results Total 3491 blood samples collected from March to September, 2021, out of which 1700 (48.7%) from urban and 1791 (51.3%) from rural. Overall 44.1% of participants were male. The proportion of sero-positivity were 78.1%, 75.2% and 31.8% by Wantai, QRBD and CLIA tests respectively. The total agreement between Wantai and QRBD was 94.5%, 53.1% between Wantai and CLIA, and 56.8% between QRBD and CLIA. The kappa value between these three tests were 0.84 (95% CI 0.80–0.87), 0.22 (95% CI 0.19–0.24) and 0.26 (95% CI 0.23–0.28). Conclusions There was strong concordance between Wantai and QRBD test. Agreement between CLIA with other two tests was low. Wantai and QRBD tests measuring the antibody to same S protein can be used with high agreement based on the relevant scenario.

IntroductionThe perennial grass–legume cropping system benefits soil because of its high biomass turnover, cover cropping nature, and different foraging behaviors. We investigated the response of soil organic carbon (SOC) pools and their stock to organic and inorganic nutrient management in the Guinea grass and legume (cowpea-Egyptian clover) cropping system.MethodsDepth-wise soil samples were collected after harvesting the Egyptian clover. Based on the ease of oxidation with chromic acid, different pools of SOC oxidizable using the Walkley–Black C method, very labile, labile, less labile, non-labile; and dissolved organic C (DOC), microbial biomass C (MBC), and total organic C (TOC) in soils were analyzed for computing several indices of SOC.Result and discussionAfter 10 years of crop cycles, FYM and NPKF nutrient management recorded greater DOC, MBC, SOC stocks, and C sequestration than the NPK. Stocks of all SOC pools and carbon management index (CMI) decreased with soil depth. A significant improvement in CMI, stratification ratio, sensitivity indices, and sustainable yield index was observed under FYM and NPKF. This grass–legume intercropping system maintained a positive carbon balance sequestered at about 0.8Mg C ha−1 after 10 years without any external input. Approximately 44–51% of the applied carbon through manure was stabilized with SOC under this cropping system. The DOC, MBC, and SOC in passive pools were identified for predicting dry fodder yield. This study concludes that the application of organics in the perennial grass–legume inter cropping system can maintain long-term sustainability, enhance the C sequestration, and offset the carbon footprint of the farm enterprises.

Introduction: SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) affects respiratory airways as well as the kidneys, hearts etc. This study aims to demonstrate the impact of COVID-19 infection on biochemical and hematological parameters in cancer patients of North-East India. Methods: The study includes biochemical parameters for 907 and hematological parameters for 1103 cancer patients who were tested for COVID-19 between 1st June 2020 and 1st June 2021. All the data were analyzed by the statistical software SPSS (ver20). Results: AST (p = 0.023), GGT (p = 0.026) and Urea (p = 0.004) significantly increased in COVID-19 positive cancer patients compared to negative cancer patients. Eosinophils (p=0.01), eosinophils absolute (p=0.01), monocyte (p=0.04) and MCHC (p=0.01) were significantly decreased in COVID-19 positive cancer patients compared to negative. Various biochemical and haematological parameters analysed in our study were found to be altered between the COVID-19 positive and negative group but their association was not found to be statistically significant. Conclusion: We conclude that in cancer patients of North-East India, significant alterations of biochemical and hematological parameters AST, GGT, Urea, Eosinophils, eosinophils absolute, monocyte and MCHC were found in COVID-19 positive cancer patients compared to negative cancer patients.

Abstract. Background: Although the recent past has witnessed a surge in the study of forgiveness, little is known about unforgiveness. This study aims to understand the nature and attributes of unforgiveness. Methods: We used a qualitative design. The sample consisted of 14 participants (22–32 years). We collected data using a semistructured interview protocol. The interview content was tape-recorded, transcribed verbatim, and analyzed using the thematic analysis method. Results: We identified five themes: a complex process, multiple causes, benefits, negative consequences, and strategies to reduce unforgiveness. Challenges to trust, unforgiveness-generated behaviors, and mixed emotionality of transgressions made it a complex process. Transgressors’ misconduct, challenges to regard and relationship, and negative feelings associated with transgressions were identified as the main causes. Unforgiveness benefits victims by increasing their adaptability, self-worth, productivity, well-being, and relationship outcomes. Some negative consequences of relationships, emotionality, self-worth, etc., have also been described. Positive changes in transgressors’ behaviors and poor conditions and the likelihood of revictimization were described as mechanisms to reduce unforgiveness. Discussion: Contrary to previous views, which assumed unforgiveness represents only cold emotion and rumination, our findings reveal that unforgiveness is a complex process. Aside from certain negative consequences, it also serves some adaptive functions.

Abstract We consider a fermionic dark matter (DM) in the left–right symmetric framework by introducing a pair of vector-like (VL) doublets in the particle spectrum. The stability of the DM is ensured through an unbroken $$\mathcal {Z}_2$$ Z 2 symmetry. We explore the parameter space of the model compatible with the observed relic density and direct and indirect detection cross sections. The presence of charged dark fermions opens up an interesting possibility for the doubly charged Higgs signal at LHC and ILC. The signal for the doubly charged scalar decaying into the dark sector is analyzed in multilepton final states for a few representative parameter choices consistent with DM observations.

Abstract Optimum use of antenatal care (ANC) and delivery care services could reduce morbidity and mortality among prospective mothers and their children. However, the role of ANC and delivery services in prevention of both maternal and child mortality is poorly understood, primarily because of dearth of prospective cohort data. Using a ten-years population-based prospective cohort data, this study examined the use of ANC and delivery services and their association with maternal and infant mortality in rural India. Descriptive statistics were estimated, and multivariable logistic regression modelling was used to attain the study objective. Findings revealed that consumption of ≥ 100 iron-and-folic acid (IFA) tablet/equivalent syrup during pregnancy had a protective association with maternal and infant mortality. Lack of maternal blood group checks during pregnancy was associated with increased odds of the death of infants. Caesarean/forceps delivery and delivery conducted by untrained personnel were associated with increased odds of maternal mortality. Findings from this study reemphasizes on increasing coverage and consumption of IFA tablets/equivalent syrup. Improved ANC and delivery services and increased uptake of all types of ANC and delivery care services are equally important for improvement in maternal and child survival in rural India.

Abstract Introduction Methicillin resistance, inducible clindamycin resistance (ICR), biofilm production, and increased minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of vancomycin in Staphylococcus aureus are major causes of antibiotic treatment failure and increased morbidity and mortality. The surveillance of such isolates and the study of their antimicrobial pattern are essential in managing the infections caused by these isolates. This study aimed to determine methicillin resistance, biofilm production, and ICR in S. aureus isolates from a tertiary care hospital in Kathmandu, Nepal. Materials and methods A total of 217 S. aureus isolated from different samples were processed following standard laboratory procedures. Antibiotic susceptibility testing was performed by the Kirby–Bauer disk diffusion technique. Methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) were identified by the cefoxitin disk diffusion test, and biofilm producers were examined using the microtiter plate technique. D-test and E-test were performed to determine inducible clindamycin resistance and minimum inhibitory concentration of vancomycin, respectively. Results Among the 217 S. aureus isolates, 78.3% were multidrug-resistant (MDR), 47.0% were MRSA, 62.2% were biofilm producers, and 50.7% showed ICR. All MRSA isolates exhibited MIC levels of vancomycin within the susceptible range. Biofilm producers and MRSA isolates showed elevated antimicrobial resistance. MRSA was significantly associated with MDR. Biofilm-producing and multidrug-resistant MRSA isolates showed significantly higher MIC levels of vancomycin (p = 0.0013 and

Abstract Inspired by the lower statistical information in the bottom sector, in this paper, we calculate the masses and the strong decays of excited B and $$B_s$$ B s mesons in the framework of heavy quark effective theory (HQET). Using an effective chiral Lagrangian approach based on heavy quark spin-flavor and light quark chiral symmetry, we explore the flavor independent parameters $$\varDelta _F^{(c)} = \varDelta _F^{(b)}$$ Δ F ( c ) = Δ F ( b ) and $$\lambda _F^{(c)} = \lambda _F^{(b)}$$ λ F ( c ) = λ F ( b ) to calculate the masses of experimentally unknown bottom mesons. Our predictions are consistent with the available experimental results and other theoretical studies. Their strong decay to the ground state bottom mesons plus light pseudoscalar mesons is calculated in terms of the square of the couplings $$g_H$$ g H , $$g_S$$ g S , $$g_T$$ g T , $$g_X$$ g X , $$g_Y$$ g Y , and $$g_R$$ g R . The weighted average value of the couplings $$g_H$$ g H , $$g_S$$ g S and $$g_T$$ g T is obtained in the charm sector (Phys. Rev. D 86: 054024, 2012) by fitting the calculated decay widths with experimental measurements, which will be used in the present study to analyze the strong decays of excited open bottom mesons. Moreover, the ratio of the decay rates is also predicted, which can be countered with future experimental data.

Abstract Aerosol‐cloud interactions, also known as aerosol indirect effect (AIE), substantially impact rainfall frequency and intensity. Here, we analyze NEX‐GDDP, a multimodel ensemble of high‐resolution (0.25°) historical simulations and future projections statistically downscaled from 21 CMIP5 models, to quantify the importance of AIE on extreme climate indices, specifically consecutive dry days (CDD), consecutive wet days (CWD), and simple daily intensity index (SDII). The 21 NEX‐GDDP CMIP5 models are classified into models with reliable (REM) and unreliable (UREM) monsoon climate simulated over India based on their simulations of the climate indices. The REM group is further decomposed based on whether the models represent only the direct (REMADE) or the direct and indirect (REMALL) aerosol effects. Compared to REMADE, including all aerosol effects significantly improves the model skills in simulating the observed historical trends of all three climate indices over India. Specifically, AIE enhances dry days and reduces wet days in India in the historical period, consistent with the observed changes. However, by the middle and end of the 21st century, there is a relative decrease in dry days and an increase in wet days and precipitation intensity. Moreover, the REMALL simulated future CWD and CDD changes are mostly opposite to those in REMADE, indicating the substantial role of AIE in the future projection of dry and wet climates. These findings underscore the crucial role of AIE in future projections of the Indian hydroclimate and motivate efforts to accurately represent AIE in climate models.

Population explosions, environmental deprivation, and industrial expansion led to an imbalanced agricultural system. Non-judicial uses of agrochemicals have decreased agrodiversity, degraded agroecosystems, and increased the cost of farming. In this scenario, a sustainable agriculture system could play a crucial role; however, it needs rigorous study to understand the biological interfaces within agroecosystems. Among the various biological components with respect to agriculture, mycorrhizae could be a potential candidate. Most agricultural crops are symbiotic with arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF). In this study, beetroot has been chose to study the effect of different AMFs on various parameters such as morphological traits, biochemical attributes, and gene expression analysis (ALDH7B4 and ALDH3I1). The AMF Gm-Funneliformis mosseae (Glomus mosseae), Acaulospora laevis, and GG-Gigaspora gigantean were taken as treatments to study the effect on the above-mentioned parameters in beetroot. We observed that among all the possible combinations of mycorrhizae, Gm+Al+GG performed best, and the Al-alone treatment was found to be a poor performer with respect to all the studied parameters. This study concluded that the more the combinations of mycorrhizae, the better the results will be. However, the phenomenon depends on the receptivity, infectivity, and past nutrient profile of the soil.

COVID-19 represents a severe, novel, and harmful disease that posed worldwide new challenges to the well-being of people and culminated in negative life outcomes. The current study explored the perceived psychological distress and consequent health outcomes caused by COVID-19. The Narrative Thematic Analysis design was employed. Eighteen participants comprising 12 males and 6 females responded about their experiences of the recent outbreak of COVID-19. The data were collected through a telephonic semi-structured interview which was analyzed through the Thematic Analysis Method. Four themes were generated: maladaptive psychological outcomes of COVID-19, perceived poor social support, increased religious practices, and the development of physical health symptoms. Extreme anxiety, panic experiences, insecurity, helplessness, hyper-vigilance, and negative attributions represented the psychological distress, while decreased social interactions and imposed social distancing characterized the perceived social support. Increased reliance on myths, divine interpretations, and faith in God showed religious practices. Decreased hunger, insomnia, headache, breathing problems, and palpitation were some ill-health outcomes. The pandemic shaped the nature and extent of perceived psychological distress, social support, and religious practices. The first two may have caused negative health and well-being outcomes while the religious practicesmaintained equilibrium among the rest three. Immediate trans-disciplinary efforts for the effective prevention, treatment, and promotion of the affected people are recommended. Positive health practices embedded in different socio-cultural systems may also be explored to help people facing the negative consequences of the recent and future pandemics. The implications and limitations of the study have been discussed.

Introduction: Dengue, caused by the dengue virus, has a wide range of clinical features, including fever, body ache, lethargy, nausea, and vomiting. Blood-based biomarkers in patients with dengue virus infection reflect a variety of clinical spectrums, from bleeding manifestations to liver abnormalities, and can serve as an essential tool for clinicians. This study aimed to determine the prevalence of dengue among patients visiting the Outpatient Department in a secondary care centre. Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted among patients visiting the Outpatient Department from 16 May 2022 to 15 November 2022. Ethical approval was obtained from the Institutional Review Committee (Reference number: 20790202). The socio-demographic details and biochemical and haematological findings of dengue virus-infected patients diagnosed with rapid diagnostic tests were collected. Convenience sampling was done. Point estimate and 95% Confidence Interval were calculated. Results: Out of 706 individuals, the prevalence of dengue was 83 (11.76%) (9.38-14.14, 95% Confidence Interval). The median age of dengue virus-infected patients was 40 years, and the majority were males 54 (65.06%). Conclusions: The prevalence of dengue was found to be lower than in other studies done in similar settings.

Automotive radars allow for perception of the environment in adverse visibility and weather conditions. New high-resolution sensors have demonstrated potential for tasks beyond obstacle detection and velocity adjustment, such as mapping or target tracking. This paper proposes an end-to-end method for ego-velocity estimation based on radar scan registration. Our architecture includes a 3D convolution over all three channels of the heatmap, capturing features associated with motion, and an attention mechanism for selecting significant features for regression. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first work utilizing the full 3D radar heatmap for ego-velocity estimation. We verify the efficacy of our approach using the publicly available ColoRadar dataset and study the effect of architectural choices and distributional shifts on performance.

IntroductionThe mechanisms leading to chronic kidney disease (CKD) in patients with idiopathic inflammatory myopathies (IIMs) are poorly understood. We assessed the prevalence of subclinical renal injury in patients with IIMs, through elevation in biomarker levels of tubular injury and fibrosis (NGAL, KIM1, Activin A, CD163, and Cys-c), and assessed differences between subtypes of IIMs, and the effect of disease activity and duration.Materials and methodsClinical data, core set measures, sera and urine were prospectively collected from all patients enrolled in the MyoCite cohort from 2017 to 2021. Twenty healthy subjects (HC) and 16 patients with acute kidney injury (AKI) were included as controls. Baseline and follow up data for IIMs were included. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was used to measure urine NGAL (Human Lipocalin-2/NGAL Duoset ELISA, Cat no: DY1757), KIM1 (Human TIM-1/KIM 1/HAVCR Duoset ELISA, Cat.no: DY1750B), Activin A (Human Activin A Duoset ELISA, Cat no: DY338), CD163 (Human CD163 Duoset ELISA,Cat no: DY1607-05), and Cys-c (Human Cystatin C Duoset ELISA, Cat. no.: DY1196) levels, while eGFR (unit mL/min/1.73 m2) was calculated by the Cockcroft-Gault formula and CKD-EPI formula.ResultsAnalysis of 201 visits of 110 adult patients with IIMs indicated higher normalized biomarker levels compared to HCs, and comparable to patients with AKI, with the exception of NGAL, which was higher in the AKI group. Notably 72 (49%) patients with IIMs had eGFR