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Abstract COVID-19 is a respiratory disease that causes infection in both lungs and the upper respiratory tract. The World Health Organization (WHO) has declared it a global pandemic because of its rapid spread across the globe. The most common way for COVID-19 diagnosis is real-time reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) which takes a significant amount of time to get the result. Computer based medical image analysis is more beneficial for the diagnosis of such disease as it can give better results in less time. Computed Tomography (CT) scans are used to monitor lung diseases including COVID-19. In this work, a hybrid model for COVID-19 detection has developed which has two key stages. In the first stage, we have fine-tuned the parameters of the pre-trained convolutional neural networks (CNNs) to extract some features from the COVID-19 affected lungs. As pre-trained CNNs, we have used two standard CNNs namely, GoogleNet and ResNet18. Then, we have proposed a hybrid meta-heuristic feature selection (FS) algorithm, named as Manta Ray Foraging based Golden Ratio Optimizer (MRFGRO) to select the most significant feature subset. The proposed model is implemented over three publicly available datasets, namely, COVID-CT dataset, SARS-COV-2 dataset, and MOSMED dataset, and attains state-of-the-art classification accuracies of 99.15%, 99.42% and 95.57% respectively. Obtained results confirm that the proposed approach is quite efficient when compared to the local texture descriptors used for COVID-19 detection from chest CT-scan images.

Abstract Buerger's disease or thromboangiitis obliterans is a type of obstructive vascular diseases categorized as vasculitis and usually present in 95% of young smoker men. The main pathogenetic mechanism is interplay between immune system and inflammation. Earlier our phase II study has shown that Stempeucel is safe when injected at 2 million cells/kg body weight by virtue of its anti‐inflammatory, immunomodulatory, and angiogenetic properties. The present study was conducted to further assess the safety and efficacy of Stempeucel in critical limb ischemia due to Buerger's disease after obtaining approval from Indian FDA based on the data generated in the phase II study. This is an open label, multicenteric phase IV PMS study conducted across India with experienced vascular surgeons. Fifty patients of critical limb ischemia due to Buerger's disease with Rutherford III‐5 or III‐6 were included in the study and each individual received a dose of 2 million cells/kg body weight of Stempeucel in the calf muscles and around the ulcer. These patients were evaluated over 12 months from drug administration. The present study showed the continued long term efficacy over a period of 12 months follow up in these patients corroborating the result obtained in the previous phase II studies. There was significant improvement in rest pain, ankle systolic pressure, and ankle brachial pressure index with accelerated ulcer healing. In conclusion, the present study shows that the intramuscular administration of Stempeucel continues to be safe, tolerable, and effective alternative treatment in patients with Buerger's disease.

Recent advancements in high-entropy alloys (HEAs) and high-entropy materials (HEMs) show promising potential for different fields of applications. The emergence of HEAs and HEMs has gained significant interest for their exciting nature and properties. As they consist of five or more elements in considerable amounts, properties vary depending on the synergistic effect of combinations of elements. By selecting proper elements and manufacturing methods, better properties can be tuned. Although many unique behaviors of HEAs and HEMs are reported due to their mixing entropy, sluggish diffusion, severe lattice distortion, and multi-metallic cocktail effects, it is necessary to summarize the data to map their feasibility and potential. For example, the combined properties of high thermal stability, thermal fatigue, creep resistance, higher stiffness, and better corrosion resistance for elevated-temperature environments in aerospace applications are pursued. Moreover, gaining the environmental compatibility and longevity of service-life-oxidation behavior of these materials is one of the crucial aspects and, hence, has been recently explored. Therefore, this Research Update aims at summarizing the recent developments and findings in oxidation behavior and highlighting the challenges and controversies for future research perspectives, particularly, on the sustainability for different applications. Moreover, besides the bulk structure, the performance of the HEAs/HEMs coatings is also reviewed.

This report investigates the effect of substrate and nitrogen (16 keV N+) ion implantation on the structural, morphological, compositional, and electrical properties of V2O5 thin films which are grown by thermal evaporation on various substrates, including glass, Si, and sapphire (termed V2O5:Gl, V2O5:Si, and V2O5:Sp, respectively). Structural analysis showed the formation of the mixed (α, and β-V2O5) phases on all substrates; however, the β-V2O5 phase is highly dominant in the V2O5:G and V2O5:Si samples. A deformation in the β-phase of V2O5 thin film under ion implantation-induced strain results in a change of crystallite size. Irradiation suppresses XRD peaks in relative intensities, indicating partial amorphization of the film with defect formation. Microstructural analysis confirmed the formation of uniform-sized nanorods for V2O5:Si, whereas isolated crystallites were formed for other types of substrates. Thermal conductivity may influence the size and shapes of V2O5 crystallite forms on different surfaces. Silicon absorbs heat more effectively than sapphire or glass, resulting in nanorod formation. A decrease in optical bandgap and electrical conduction has been observed due to increased oxygen vacancies, induced electron scattering, and trapping centres on N+ implantation. The present study thus offers the unique advantage of simultaneous reduction in optical band-gap and conductance of V2O5 thin films, which is important for optoelectronic applications.

Visceral leishmaniasis (VL) is the most lethal of all leishmaniasis diseasesand the second most common parasiticdisease after malaria and,still, categorized as a neglected tropical disease (NTD). According to the latest WHO study, >20 Leishmania species spread 0.7–1.0 million new cases of leishmaniasis each year. VL is caused by the genus, Leishmania donovani (LD), which affects between 50,000 and 90,000 people worldwide each year. Lack of new drug development, increasing drug resistance, toxicity and high cost even with the first line of treatmentof Amphotericin B (AmB), demands new formulation for treatment of VLFurther the lack of a vaccine, allowedthe researchers to develop nanofomulation-based AmB for improved delivery. The limitation of AmB is its kidney and liver toxicity which forced the development of costly liposomal AmB (AmBisome) nanoformulation. Success of AmBisome have inspired and attracted a wide range of AmB nanoformulations ranging from polymeric, solid lipid, liposomal/micellar, metallic, macrophage receptor-targetednanoparticles (NP) and even with sophisticated carbon/quantum dot-based AmBnano delivery systems. Notably, NP-based AmB delivery has shown increased efficacy due to increased uptake, on-target delivery and synergistic impact of NP and AmB. In this review, we have discussed the different forms of leishmaniasis disease and their current treatment options with limitations. The discovery, mechanism of action of AmB, clinical status of AmB and improvement with AmBisome over fungizone (AmB-deoxycholate)for VL treatment was further discussed. At last, the development of various AmB nanoformulation was discussed along with its adavantages over traditional chemotherapy-based delivery.

Curvuluria lunata is a melanized fungus pathogenic to both plants and animals including humans, causing from mild, febrile to life-threatening illness if not well treated. In humans, it is an etiological agent of keratomycosis, sinusitis, and onychomycosis in immunocompromised and immunocompetent patients. The development of multiple-drug-resistant strains poses a critical treatment issue as well as public health problem. Natural products are attractive prototypes for drug discovery due to their broad-spectrum efficacy and lower side effects. The present study explores possible targets of natural antifungal compounds (α-pinene, eugenol, berberine, and curcumin) against C. lunata via gene expression analysis, molecular docking interaction, and molecular dynamics (MD) studies. Curcumin, berberine, eugenol, and α-pinene exhibited in vitro antifungal activity at 78 μg/ml, 156 μg/ml, 156 μg/ml, and 1250 μg/ml, respectively. In addition, treatment by these compounds led to the complete inhibition of conidial germination and hindered the adherence when observed on onion epidermis. Several pathogenic factors of fungi are crucial for their survival inside the host including those involved in melanin biosynthesis, hyphal growth, sporulation, and mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) signalling. Relative gene expression of velB, brn1, clm1, and pks18 responsible for conidiation, melanin, and cell wall integrity was down-regulated significantly. Results of molecular docking possessed good binding affinity of compounds and have confirmed their potential targets as THR and VelB proteins. The docked structures, having good binding affinity among all, were further refined, and rescored from their docked poses through 100-ns long MD simulations. The MDS study revealed that curcumin formed a stable and energetically stabilized complex with the target protein. Therefore, the study concludes that the antifungal compounds possess significant efficacy to inhibit C. lunata growth targeting virulence proteins/genes involved in spore formation and melanin biosynthesis.

Abstract Recurring floods have devastating consequences on the East Rapti Watershed (ERW), but effective mitigation/adaptation measures are lacking. This article aims at establishing a rainfall‐runoff (RR) relationship; estimating depth and extent of inundation under climate change scenarios; assessing impacts on the socio‐economy; and identifying and evaluating adaptation strategies in the ERW. Artificial Neural Network (ANN) was used to generate peak flows which were then entered into a hydraulic model to simulate inundation. Results were validated with field survey. The calibrated and validated RR and hydraulic models were fed with projected future climate (2021–2050) derived from multiple regional‐climate‐models to assess the changes in inundation. Results showed the peak discharge likely exceeds 10,500 m3/s at the ERW outlet in the extreme future flood scenario with corresponding inundation of 80 km2 and up to a depth of 11 m sweeping away over 1000 houses and 19 km2 of agricultural land in the critical areas. Constructing a 17 km long embankment in the critical areas along the right bank of the East Rapti River could reduce the flood spread by 35%, safeguarding 78% of the houses and saving 51% agricultural land compared with the scenarios without the embankment.

To fill the gap in health research capacity-building efforts, we created the ‘Virtual Library’ (VL) – a web-based repository of context-relevant resources for health researchers in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). This paper describes the participatory process used to systematically develop the VL, and describes how our interprofessional team – representing both an LMIC (Nepal) and a high-income country (HIC) (USA, US) – engaged in shared meaning-making. A team of researchers and clinicians representing a range of subdisciplines from Nepal and the US created a replicable search strategy and standardized Resource Screening Guide (RSG) to systematically assess resources to be included within the VL. Descriptive methods were used to summarize findings from the RSG and lessons learned from the collaborative process. Collectively, 14 team members reviewed 564 potential resources (mean = 40, SD = 22.7). Mean RSG score was 7.02/10 (SD = 2). More than 76% of resources met each of the four quality criteria (relevant; reputable, accessible; understandable). Within the published VL, 298 resources were included, organized by 15 topics and 45 sub-topics. Of these, 223 resources were evaluated by the RSG; 75 were identified by team member expertise. The collaborative process involved regular meetings, iterative document revisions, and peer review. Resource quality was better than expected, perhaps because best practices/principles related to health research are universally relevant, regardless of context. While the RSG was essential to systematize our search and ensure reproducibility, team member expertise was valuable. Pairing team members during peer-review led to bi-directional knowledge sharing and was particularly successful. This work reflects a highly collaborative global partnership and offers a model for future health research capacity-building efforts. We invite engagement with the Virtual Library as one supportive pillar of infrastructure to develop individual and institutional research capacity.

Brown planthopper (BPH, Nilaparvata lugens Stål) is the most devastating pest of rice in Asia and causes significant yield loss annually. Around 37 BPH resistance genes have been identified so far in indica, African rice varieties along with wild germplasms such as Oryza officinalis, O. minuta, O. nivara, O. punctata, O. rufipogon and O. latifolia. Genes/QTLs involved in BPH resistance, including Bph1, bph2/BPH26, Bph3, Bph6, bph7, BPH9, Bph12, Bph14, Bph15, Bph17, BPH18, bph19, Bph20, Bph21(t), Bph27, Bph27(t), Bph28(t), BPH29, QBph3, QBph4, QBph4.2, Bph30, Bph32, Bph33, Bph35 and Bph36, have been fine-mapped by different researchers across the globe. The majority of genes/QTLs are located on rice chromosomes 1, 3, 4, 6, 11 and 12. Rice plants respond to BPH attack by releasing various endogenous metabolites like proteinase inhibitors, callose, secondary metabolites (terpenes, alkaloids, flavonoid, etc.) and volatile compounds. Besides that, hormonal signal pathways mediating (antagonistic/synergistic) resistance responses in rice have been well studied. Marker-assisted breeding and genome editing techniques can also be adopted for improving resistance to novel BPH biotypes.

Abstract Background Depression among the elderly is well-documented and associated with socio-economic factors, physical and mental health conditions. Few studies have focused on older adults’ physical limitations and depressive symptoms. However, very little is known about marital status’ role in such associations, especially in India. The present study examines the association between physical limitations and self-reported depressive symptoms and moderating role of marital status in such association separately for men and women. Methods The present study used data from the Longitudinal Ageing Study in India (LASI) wave 1, 2017–2018, a nationally and state representative longitudinal large-scale survey of ageing and health. For the present research, a total sample of 20,806 older adults aged 60+ years was selected after excluding missing values. Along with descriptive statistics, binary logistic regression analysis and interaction effect of marital status were applied to examine the association between physical limitations (functional limitations and mobility difficulty) with the depressive symptoms separately for men and women. Results About 58, 50, and 45% elderly reported having depressive symptoms and had difficulty in 2+ ADLs, 2+ IADLs, and 2+ mobility difficulties, respectively. By the marital status, the prevalence of depressive symptoms was higher among currently unmarried than currently married, irrespective of type and number of physical limitations. The unadjusted, marital and multivariate-adjusted association suggested that elderly with more than two ADLs, IADLs, and mobility difficulty had higher odds of depressive symptoms. The gender stratified interaction effect of marital status and physical limitations on depressive symptoms indicated that currently unmarried elderly, particularly unmarried older women with 2+ ADLs (OR = 2.85; CI 95% = 1.88–3.09), 2+ IADLs (OR = 2.01; CI 95% = 1.74–2.31) and 2+ mobility difficulty (OR = 2.20; CI 95% = 1.86–2.60) had higher odds of depressive symptoms. However, such association was only valid for unmarried men having mobility difficulty. Conclusion The study highlights that the elderly with physical limitations such as ADLs, IADLs, and mobility difficulty require attention and care. Although married elderly are less likely to have depressive symptoms even with all the mentioned physical limitations, unmarried women are more vulnerable to have depressive symptoms with physical limitations.

In recent research, the composite of Fe3O4 and metal-organic frameworks have shown great potential in removing potentially toxic metals from water. We conducted the adsorption studies of potentially toxic metal ions (Cu2+, Co2+ and Cd2+) using the composite of Fe3O4 and zeolitic imidazole framework-8 (Fe3O4@ZIF-8) for the first time. The solvothermal technique was used to synthesize the Fe3O4. The magnetic ZIF-8 offers high thermal stability, greater adsorption surface, good removability, and high chemical and thermal stability. Characterization techniques such as X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) were used to characterize the synthesized samples. The SEM and XRD results revealed the high purity and structural integrity of ZIF-8 crystallites. To remove potentially toxic metals (Cu2+, Co2+ and Cd2+), the influence of adsorbent dosage, contact time, pH, and adsorbate concentration on the adsorption performance of Fe3O4@ZIF-8 was investigated. The Langmuir isotherm accurately represented the adsorption processes, with absorption magnitudes of Fe3O4@ZIF-8 determined to be 46.82 mg g−1, 71.29 mg g−1 and 54.49 mg g−1 for Cu2+, Co2+ and Cd2+, respectively. According to the adsorption mechanism analysis, the primary Cu2+, Co2+ and Cd2+ removal methods of Fe3O4@ZIF-8 were ion exchange and coordination bonds. The uptake capacity of Cu2+, Co2+ and Cd2+ solution by Fe3O4@ZIF-8 were not significantly affected by the presence of counter ions. The material exhibited superior regenerative properties for Cu2+, Co2+ and Cd2+ ions from water for up to three cycles. This study concluded that the Fe3O4@ZIF-8 could be a viable candidate for eliminating potentially toxic metals (Cu2+, Co2+ and Cd2+). HIGHLIGHTS Adsorption study of Cu2+, Co2+, and Cd2+ on composite of Fe3O4 and ZIF-8.; The effect of adsorbent dose, contact time, pH and concentration influence on the adsorption performance of Fe3O4@ZIF-8 was studied.; The primary Cu2+, Co2+, and Cd2+ removal methods of Fe3O4@ZIF-8 were ion exchange and coordination bonds.; Fe3O4@ZIF-8 could be a viable candidate for eliminating Cu2+, Co2+, and Cd2+ from wastewater.;

This study was carried out to evaluate the eutrophication risk associated with the nutrient flux from the Ghaghara river by using nutrient molar ratios and indicators for coastal eutrophication potential values. The concentration of ammonium (3–8 times), nitrate (3–10 times), and phosphate (3–4.5 times) in the Ghaghara river were higher than the reported value for the unpolluted rivers, indicating the contribution from the anthropogenic sources. The dissolved nutrients concentration showed significant seasonal variations in the Ghaghara river system. The specific yield of nitrate-N, phosphate-P, and dissolved silica-Si from the Ghaghara river were 0.49, 0.03 and 0.96 tons km−2 yr−1 respectively. The average molar ratio for dissolved inorganic nitrogen (DIN)/Dissolved inorganic Phosphate (DIP) was above 16:1, which indicated phosphate limitation in biological productivity. In contrast, an average molar ratio of Dissolved inorganic Silica (DSi)/DIN of 4.6 ± 4.4 favored the diatom growth in the Ghaghara river. The negative value of P-ICEP (-2.93 kg C. km−2day−1) indicated phosphate limitation in the Ghaghara river. The positive value of N-ICEP (1.71 kg C·km−2day−1) indicates an excess of nitrogen over silica transport from the Ghaghara river to the Ganga river, which can create an eutrophication problem in the Ganga river. HIGHLIGHTS Nutrient concentration is contributed by allochthonous and autochthonous sources.; Nitrate is a major species constituting the DIN load in the Ghaghara river.; Significant seasonal variation was observed in nutrients concentration.; Phosphate limits the primary productivity in the Ghaghara river.; A positive value of N-ICEP indicates the potential of eutrophication condition in the receiving Ganga water.;

The microbiological profile, associated risk factors and demographic characteristics of patients with IE has changed in the recent times. In the present study, the antibiotic susceptibility profile of 66 isolates (40 from IDU and 26 from non IDU) recovered over a period of three years from the patients with definitive diagnosis of IE along with their absolute minimum inhibitory concentrations (MIC-μg/ml) was determined as per CLSI, 2017 guidelines. Staphylococcus aureus was found to be the predominant pathogen associated with IE out of which 90.2% isolates were MRSA, although none of the isolates were found resistant to vancomycin, teicoplanin, daptomycin and linezolid. Pseudomonas aeruginosa isolates were 100% susceptible to carbapenams, however variable resistance was observed against other antimicrobials. All Enterococci were found to be 100% susceptible to linezolid and daptomycin, whereas vancomycin resistant enterococci phenotype was observed in 25% of the Enterococcal isolates. A noticeable difference in the antimicrobial susceptibility profile and their MICs were observed in the present study, as compared to published literature across the globe and within the country. However, no statistically significant difference (λ 2 test, p > 0.01)in the AST pattern of isolates from IDU vs. Non IDU was observed. After reviewing the local antibiogram it seems that we need to have our own regional guidelines, which may partially replace the currently prevailing AHA/ESC guidelines.

Abstract Background Quantifying excess deaths and their impact on life expectancy at birth (e0) provide a more comprehensive understanding of the burden of coronavirus disease of 2019 (COVID-19) on mortality. The study aims to comprehend the repercussions of the burden of COVID-19 disease on the life expectancy at birth and inequality in age at death in India. Methods The mortality schedule of COVID-19 disease in the pandemic year 2020 was considered one of the causes of death in the category of other infectious diseases in addition to other 21 causes of death in the non-pandemic year 2019 in the Global Burden of Disease (GBD) data. The measures e0 and Gini coefficient at age zero (G0) and then sex differences in e0 and G0 over time were analysed by assessing the age-specific contributions based on the application of decomposition analyses in the entire period of 2010–2020. Results The e0 for men and women decline from 69.5 and 72.0 years in 2019 to 67.5 and 69.8 years, respectively, in 2020. The e0 shows a drop of approximately 2.0 years in 2020 when compared to 2019. The sex differences in e0 and G0 are negatively skewed towards men. The trends in e0 and G0 value reveal that its value in 2020 is comparable to that in the early 2010s. The age group of 35–79 years showed a remarkable negative contribution to Δe0 and ΔG0. By causes of death, the COVID-19 disease has contributed − 1.5 and − 9.5%, respectively, whereas cardiovascular diseases contributed the largest value of was 44.6 and 45.9%, respectively, to sex differences in e0 and G0 in 2020. The outcomes reveal a significant impact of excess deaths caused by the COVID-19 disease on mortality patterns. Conclusions The COVID-19 pandemic has negative repercussions on e0 and G0 in the pandemic year 2020. It has severely affected the distribution of age at death in India, resulting in widening the sex differences in e0 and G0. The COVID-19 disease demonstrates its potential to cancel the gains of six to eight years in e0 and five years in G0 and has slowed the mortality transition in India.

Abstract India produces around 19.0 million tonnes of tomatoes annually, which is insufficient to meet the ever-increasing demand. A big gap of tomato productivity (72.14 t ha–1) between India (24.66 t ha–1) and the USA (96.8 t ha–1) exist, which can be bridged by integrating trellis system of shoot training, shoot pruning, liquid fertilizers, farmyard manure, and mulching technologies. Therefore, the present experiment was conducted on tomato (cv. Himsona) during 2019–2020 at farmers' fields to improve tomato productivity and quality. There were five treatments laid in a randomized block design (RBD) with three replications; T1 [Farmer practice on the flatbed with RDF @ N120:P60:K60 + FYM @6.0 t ha−1 without mulch], T2 [T1 + Polythene mulch (50 microns)], T3 [Tomato plants grown on the raised bed with polythene mulch + FYM @ 8.0 t ha−1 + Single shoot trellis system + Side shoot pruning + Liquid Fertilizer (LF1—N19:P19:K19) @ 2.0 g l–1 for vegetative growth + Liquid Fertilizer (LF2—N0: P52: K34) @ 1.5 g l–1 for improving fruit quality], T4 [Tomato plants grown on the raised bed with polythene mulch + FYM @ 8.0 t ha−1 + Single shoot trellis system + Side shoot pruning + LF1 @ 4.0 g l–1 + LF2 @ 3.0 g l–1], and T5 [Tomato plants grown on the raised bed with polythene mulch + FYM @ 10.0 t ha−1 + Single shoot trellis system + Side shoot pruning + LF1 @ 6.0 g l–1 + LF2 @ 4.5 g l–1]. The results revealed that tomato plant grown on the raised beds with polythene mulch, shoot pruning, trellising, liquid fertilizers, and farmyard manure (i.e., T5) recorded higher shoot length, dry matter content, and tomato productivity by 20.75–141.21, 18.79–169.4, and 18.89–160.87% as compared to T4–T1 treatments, respectively. The T5 treatment also recorded the highest water productivity (28.39 kg m–3), improved fruit qualities, net return (10,751 USD ha–1), benefit–cost ratio (3.08), microbial population, and enzymatic activities as compared to other treatments. The ranking and hierarchical clustering of treatments confirmed the superiority of the T5 treatment over all other treatments.

Plant encounters various biotic and abiotic stresses, that affect agricultural productivity and reduce farmer's income especially under changing global climate. These environmental stresses can advance plant senescence by inducing osmotic stress, nutrient stress, hormonal imbalance, production of oxygen radicals, and ion toxicity, etc. Additionally, these stresses are not limited to plant health but also deteriorate soil health by affecting the microbial diversity of soil. To tackle this global delinquent of agriculture, several methods are suggested to ameliorate the negative effect of different types of stresses, the application of beneficial microorganisms or bioinoculants is one of them. Beneficial microorganisms that are used as bioinoculants not only facilitate plant growth by fulfilling the nutrient requirements but also assist the plant to withstand these stresses. These microorganisms produce certain chemicals such as 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylate (ACC) deaminase, phytohormones, antioxidants, extracellular polysaccharide (EPS), siderophores, antibiotics, and volatile organic compounds (VOCs), etc. which help the plants to mitigate various stresses. Besides, these microbes also activate plant defence responses. Thus, these bioinoculants can effectively replace chemical inputs to supplement nutrient requirements and mitigation of multiple stresses in plants.

Climate change has been regarded as a threat to the human species on the earth. Greenhouse gasses are leading to increased temperatures on Earth besides impacting the humanity. These atmospheric conditions have shown to alter the release pattern of pollens and can change the timing and magnitude of pollen release with flowering plants. As pollen is responsible for respiratory allergies in humans, so climate change can adversely affect human health in susceptible individuals. In this review, we highlight the association between climate change, increased prevalence and severity of asthma, and related allergic diseases. Increased air pollution can alter the production of local and regional pollen. This altered pattern depends on bioclimatic parameters. As simulated with a pollen-release model and future bioclimatic data, warmer temperatures lead to an increased pollen count in some specific locations and for longer periods. Thus, anticipation of a future allergic disease burden can help public health agencies in planning to develop strategies in mitigating the unprecedented health challenges expected in future years.

Fusarium head blight (FHB) is an economically important disease affecting wheat and thus poses a major threat to wheat production. Several studies have evaluated the effectiveness of image analysis methods to predict FHB using disease-infected grains; however, few have looked at the final application, considering the relationship between cost and benefit, resolution, and accuracy. The conventional screening of FHB resistance of large-scale samples is still dependent on low-throughput visual inspections. This study aims to compare the performance of two cost–benefit seed image analysis methods, the free software “SmartGrain” and the fully automated commercially available instrument “Cgrain Value™” by assessing 16 seed morphological traits of winter wheat to predict FHB. The analysis was carried out on a seed set of FHB which was visually assessed as to the severity. The dataset is composed of 432 winter wheat genotypes that were greenhouse-inoculated. The predictions from each method, in addition to the predictions combined from the results of both methods, were compared with the disease visual scores. The results showed that Cgrain Value™ had a higher prediction accuracy of R2 = 0.52 compared with SmartGrain for which R2 = 0.30 for all morphological traits. However, the results combined from both methods showed the greatest prediction performance of R2 = 0.58. Additionally, a subpart of the morphological traits, namely, width, length, thickness, and color features, showed a higher correlation with the visual scores compared with the other traits. Overall, both methods were related to the visual scores. This study shows that these affordable imaging methods could be effective to predict FHB in seeds and enable us to distinguish minor differences in seed morphology, which could lead to a precise performance selection of disease-free seeds/grains.

Before the discovery of the proteasome complex, the lysosomes with acidic proteases and caspases in apoptotic pathways were thought to be the only pathways for the degradation of damaged, unfolded, and aged proteins. However, the discovery of 26S and 20S proteasome complexes in eukaryotes and microbes, respectively, established that the degradation of most proteins is a highly regulated ATP-dependent pathway that is significantly conserved across each domain of life. The proteasome is part of the ubiquitin-proteasome system (UPS), where the covalent tagging of a small molecule called ubiquitin (Ub) on the proteins marks its proteasomal degradation. The type and chain length of ubiquitination further determine whether a protein is designated for further roles in multi-cellular processes like DNA repair, trafficking, signal transduction, etc., or whether it will be degraded by the proteasome to recycle the peptides and amino acids. Deubiquitination, on the contrary, is the removal of ubiquitin from its substrate molecule or the conversion of polyubiquitin chains into monoubiquitin as a precursor to ubiquitin. Therefore, deubiquitylating enzymes (DUBs) can maintain the dynamic state of cellular ubiquitination by releasing conjugated ubiquitin from proteins and controlling many cellular pathways that are essential for their survival. Many DUBs are well characterized in the human system with potential drug targets in different cancers. Although, proteasome complex and UPS of parasites, like plasmodium and leishmania, were recently coined as multi-stage drug targets the role of DUBs is completely unexplored even though structural domains and functions of many of these parasite DUBs are conserved having high similarity even with its eukaryotic counterpart. This review summarizes the identification & characterization of different parasite DUBs based on in silico and a few functional studies among different phylogenetic classes of parasites including Metazoan (Schistosoma, Trichinella), Apicomplexan protozoans (Plasmodium, Toxoplasma, Eimeria, Cryptosporidium), Kinetoplastidie (Leishmania, Trypanosoma) and Microsporidia (Nosema). The identification of different homologs of parasite DUBs with structurally similar domains with eukaryotes, and the role of these DUBs alone or in combination with the 20S proteosome complex in regulating the parasite survival/death is further elaborated. We propose that small molecules/inhibitors of human DUBs can be potential antiparasitic agents due to their significant structural conservation.

Abstract Faba bean (Vicia faba L.), a nutritious leguminous cool tolerant crop, is widely cultivated throughout the world. China, Ethiopia, the United Kingdom, Australia, and France are the main producers of faba beans. In recent years, interest has been growing in health and nutritional benefits of faba beans and developments of different foods enriched with biomolecules with improved functionality, nutrition value, and health benefits. Faba beans are rich source of lysine rich proteins, carbohydrate, minerals, vitamins, and numerous bioactive compounds. It is also a good source of l‐3,4‐dihydroxyphenylalanine (L‐DOPA), which is a precursor of dopamine and can be potentially utilized for Parkinson's disease treatment. The seeds of faba beans can be consumed dry, roasted, soaked, cooked, frozen, or canned. However, a number of antinutritional factors such as phytic acid, trypsin inhibitors, saponins, vicin and convicine (favism‐inducing compounds), lectins, and condensed tannins negatively affect the biological value of faba beans resulting in its underutilization. For expanding the utilization of faba beans in human nutrition, the removal of these antinutrients is necessary. A number of methods including dehulling, soaking, germination, fermentation, and heat processing (cooking, boiling, extrusion, and autocalving) have been used individually or in combination to eliminate or destroy the antinutritional factors in faba beans. This comprehensive review covers global production, nutritional profile, and processing of faba beans and its utilization in various product developments.

Hepatitis C Virus (HCV) co-infection and its genotypic distribution in people living with Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) show global inconsistency. Therefore, the present study aimed to investigate the prevalence and genotypic distribution patterns of HCV, along with viral load, in people living with HIV. This cross-sectional study was conducted at SRL Diagnostics Nepal, Pvt. Ltd. in 203 HIV-seropositive patients attending the Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital (TUTH), Maharajgunj, Kathmandu, Nepal from October 2021 to May 2022. The viral load and HCV genotypes were estimated from RNA extracted from the blood sample (plasma) of PLHIV by using a standard Q-PCR protocol. HCV infection was considered as a core variable, whereas covariates used for this study were duration of HIV infection, age, sex, and ART regimen. Out of total 203 PLHIV, the estimated prevalence of HCV co-infection was 115 (56.6%). Male gender was a unique characteristic associated with a high prevalence of HCV co-infection compared to females. The HCV viral load among PLHIV ranged from 34 to 3,000,000 IU/mL. Among HCV co-infected PLHIV, 56 (48.69%) had a low level of HCV viral load. Interestingly, only 3 (2.6%) patients had an HCV viral load higher than 3,000,000 IU/mL. Diverse HCV genotypes were found in the population, including genotypes 1, 1a, 3a, 5a, and 6. However, genotype 3 was the most prevalent HCV variant among HCV-co-infected PLHIV, with a distribution of 36 (61.1%) and viral load ranging from 34 to 3000 IU/mL. HCV co-infection is frequent in the Nepalese population of people living with HIV, particularly due to HCV genotypic variant 3. The findings of this study could be useful for the management and clearance of the HCV co-infection in PLHIV, aiming to provide a good quality of life.

Background: Health Care Workers (HCW) are among the primary stakeholders and front liners in the fight against COVID-19. They are in direct contact with the patients as primary caregivers and, therefore, are at a higher risk of infection. This Pandemic offers a unique opportunity to explore the level of knowledge among ground-level HCWs during this global health crisis. Objective: We conducted this study to assess the knowledge and awareness among HCW regarding the COVID-19 Pandemic in a tertiary care hospital. Methods: It was a cross-sectional study done on HCW comprising faculty, senior residents, junior residents, demonstrators, and nursing staff of various specialties directly involved in the care of suspected/confirmed COVID-19 patients. A pretested questionnaire consisting of 20 questions was used as a study tool and was circulated through the digital platform. Results: There were a total of 437 respondents. In the subgroup analysis, the respondents in the age group of 55–64 years had a higher mean knowledge score, followed by the respondents in the age group of 18–24 years. For years of experience, the mean knowledge score varied from 13.89 (10–20 years of experience) to 13.83 (5–10 years of experience). The mean knowledge score was the highest for consultants (14.10), followed by Resident Doctors (13.96). Conclusions: This study has shed some critical clues for further research and interventions. Firstly, as health care workers are probably learning about COVID-19 from their practical exposure rather than formal teaching, it is pertinent to address this issue through well-planned formal sessions of training workshops and lectures.

Background: Incidence of Esophageal cancer (EC) is increasing now a days and it has became a sixth leading cause of cancer related death in world. EC is associated with multiple risk factors. Despite various advances in the treatment of EC, it remains one of the least responsive tumors to cancer therapy, thereby overall prognosis remains poor. The current status of EC in North West India in relation to the demographics, diagnosis, staging, multimodality treatment, and the future perspectives are discussed. Methods and Materials: This is a retrospective analysis of medical records of the EC patients registered in the Department of Radiation Oncology SMS Medical and Attached Hospitals Jaipur from January 2015 to December 2019. Results: Out of 10,464 patients with various malignancies registered in SMS hospital for radiotherapy via Co-60 technique in the previous 5 years from 2015-2019; 449 were having EC. 40.25% patients were in 6th decade and male to female ratio was 1.49:1. EC was most common in farmers (51.79%) and 76.16% patients were the resident of rural areas addicted with smoking (41.4%) and tobacco chewing (24.7%) habit. Dysphagia was the presenting feature in almost all the patients. Most common type and site of involvement were squamous type (75.72%) and middle third (45.43%) part of the esophagus respectively. 39.19% patients presented in stage III and 24.70% patients in stage IVA. The patients were planned with treatment according to their age, performance status, extent of disease and other co-morbidities. Conclusions: At our centre most of the patients landed up in advanced stage poverty, illiteracy, ignorance, late diagnosis. Majority of the EC patient were addicted with smoking and tobacco chewing habit, hence screening of high risk population and lifestyle modifications limiting the use of tobacco, may help in the early detection and can decrease the mortality related to EC. Careful selection of patients for radical treatment is very important for providing relatively longer disease free interval.

Composite Electrolytes (1-x)CsH2PO4/xTiO2(0≤x≤0.4) were prepared and analyzed the structural, thermal, and transport properties. We have investigated the ionic conductivity of composite electrolytes highly pressurized pellets and found that the conductivity of pure CsH2PO4 (CDP) increased three orders of magnitude at the transition temperature. The conductivity value of the composites is greater than pure CDP after 250°C. Arrhenius plots have confirmed the conductive nature of ionic conduction. The dehydration behavior and thermal stability of the materials were observed in terms of differential scanning calorimetry, thermogravimetric analysis, and differential thermal analysis, and found that the minimum weight loss for the composite 0.6CDP/0.4TiO2. The electrodes were prepared with the technique of vapor deposition.

Abstract COVID-19 has crippled the world’s healthcare systems, setting back the economy and taking the lives of several people. Although potential vaccines are being tested and supplied around the world, it will take a long time to reach every human being, more so with new variants of the virus emerging, enforcing a lockdown-like situation on parts of the world. Thus, there is a dire need for early and accurate detection of COVID-19 to prevent the spread of the disease, even more. The current gold-standard RT-PCR test is only 71% sensitive and is a laborious test to perform, leading to the incapability of conducting the population-wide screening. To this end, in this paper, we propose an automated COVID-19 detection system that uses CT-scan images of the lungs for classifying the same into COVID and Non-COVID cases. The proposed method applies an ensemble strategy that generates fuzzy ranks of the base classification models using the Gompertz function and fuses the decision scores of the base models adaptively to make the final predictions on the test cases. Three transfer learning-based convolutional neural network models are used, namely VGG-11, Wide ResNet-50-2, and Inception v3, to generate the decision scores to be fused by the proposed ensemble model. The framework has been evaluated on two publicly available chest CT scan datasets achieving state-of-the-art performance, justifying the reliability of the model. The relevant source codes related to the present work is available in: GitHub.

Abstract Malnutrition affects growth and development in humans and causes socio-economic losses. Normal maize is deficient in essential amino acids, lysine and tryptophan; and vitamin-A. Crop biofortification is a sustainable and economical approach to alleviate micronutrient malnutrition. We combined favorable alleles of crtRB1 and lcyE genes into opaque2 (o2)-based four inbreds viz. QLM11, QLM12, QLM13, and QLM14 using marker-assisted backcross breeding. These are parents of quality protein maize versions of two elite hybrids viz. Buland and PMH1, grown in India. Gene-based SSRs for o2 and InDel markers for crtRB1 and lcyE were successfully employed for foreground selection in BC1F1, BC2F1, and BC2F2 generations. The recurrent parent genome recovery ranged from 88.9 to 96.0% among introgressed progenies. Kernels of pyramided lines possessed a high concentration of proA (7.14–9.63 ppm), compared to 1.05 to 1.41 ppm in the recurrent parents, while lysine and tryptophan ranged from 0.28–0.44% and 0.07–0.09%, respectively. The reconstituted hybrids (RBuland and RPMH1) showed significant enhancement of endosperm proA (6.97–9.82 ppm), tryptophan (0.07–0.09%), and lysine (0.29–0.43%), while grain yield was at par with their original versions. The dissemination of reconstituted hybrids holds significant promise to alleviate vitamin-A deficiency and protein-energy malnutrition in developing countries.

Background: The toxicity of Lantana camara weed is common in grazing livestock throughout the world. Specific treatment for the toxicity is lacking. However, herbal plants could be investigated for their effectiveness in inhibiting hepatic damage caused by lantadenes of L. camara. Therefore, the extracts Berberis lycium and Picrorhiza kurroa, which are known to exhibit multiple useful effects were assessed for their hepatoprotective action in sub-chronic lantadene toxicity. Purpose: The focus of the study was to investigate the molecular pathogenesis of sub-chronic lantadene toxicity and, the mechanism of hepatoprotection by freeze-dried methanolic extracts of the Berberis lycium root bark and Picrorhiza kurroa rhizome in lantadenes-induced sub-chronic hepatopathy in guinea pig laboratory animal model. Methods: Isolation of lantadenes from L. camara leaves, followed by its characterization and quantification by UPLC-MS method was done. The methanolic extracts of ameliorating plant parts (root bark of B. lycium, rhizome of P. kurroa) were prepared and quantification of berberine and picroside was carried out. The in vivo sub-chronic toxicity and amelioration experiment in guinea pigs was conducted for 90 days by distributing them into 7 groups with 6 animals in each group. At the end of the experiment, serum biochemical analysis, oxidation stress levels in the liver and kidneys were determined. Gross pathology and microscopic observations in different organs, Masson’s trichome staining for fibrous collagenous tissue deposition assessment, and immunohistochemical expression of the TGF-β antigen in the liver of animals were done. The effect of lantadenes on pro-inflammatory cytokines and the level of α-smooth muscle actin in the liver was estimated by real-time RT-PCR and ELISA, respectively. Results: Sub-chronic lantadene intoxication increased serum ALT, AST, ALP, bilirubin, creatinine, total proteins and lipid peroxidation in liver tissue; decreased catalase, superoxide dismutase and reduced glutathione activity in liver tissue; caused hepatic necrosis with bile duct proliferation and TGF-β antigen expression in the periportal regions; upregulated the IL-1β, IL-6, TGF-β, and COX-2 pro-inflammatory cytokine gene expression and increased the titre of α-SMA in the liver. The P. kurroa extract at 200 mg/kg bw and B. lycium extract at 200 mg/kg bw produced favourable effects against lantadenes-induced hepatic toxicity and significantly reversed these changes to near normal. Conclusions: P. kurroa and B. lycium extracts at 200 mg/kg bw can be used to ameliorate the hepatotoxicity produced by sub-chronic exposure to lantadenes. The findings of the molecular pathogenesis of sub-chronic lantadene toxicity and its amelioration in guinea pig laboratory animal model are novel. Further investigations are needed to study the in-depth mechanism of hepatoprotection of P. kurroa and B. lycium in lantana intoxicated grazing (host) animals.

This paper describes the bending and deflection analysis of the three-layered functionally graded porous piezoelectric plates resting on the elastic foundation subjected to thermal and electrical loading with boundary constraints. The porous plate's thermomechanical properties vary modified power law in bi-directional, i.e. axially and transversely. The plate formulation is deduced using the modified first-order shear deformation theory with Hamilton's principle and solved through nine nodes higher nodes finite element methods with modified iterative methods. Comparison and convergence of the present model are validated with the existing literature. The effects of the parameters such as thickness ratio, porous exponents, bidirectional volume fraction exponents, thermal loading, voltage, elastic foundations and boundary conditions on the static response have been discussed in detail. The results are more useful for designing the porous smart structures application and show a higher capability in bidirectional behavior than unidirectional behaviors.

A new biosorbent for Cr(VI) sequestration was investigated from betel nut waste (BNW), Areca catechu, by H2SO4 charring. Aqueous insolubility and Cr(VI) uptake capacity of native BNW were potentially improved after H2SO4 modification due to cross-linking reaction of betel nut cellulose, thereby creating suitable complexation sites for Cr(VI) ion removal. Langmuir isotherm and pseudo second order (PSO) kinetic models described well with the experimental data. A trace amount of Cr(VI) was effectively removed below the safe drinking water standard (WHO, 0.05 mg/L) using charred BNW (CBNW). The negative value of ΔG° evaluated for all the temperatures suggested the spontaneous nature of Cr(VI) sequestration and positive value of ΔH° (42.43±0.13 kJ/mol) confirmed an endothermic reaction. Co-existing NO3−, Cl−, Na+ and Zn2+ ions showed negligible interferences, whereas SO42− and PO43− notably reduced Cr(VI) uptake capacity of CBNW. More than 98% of adsorbed Cr(VI) was desorbed using 1M NaOH solution. A light yellow precipitate of BaCrO4 was recovered from the desorbed solution after precipitation with BaCl2 solution. Therefore, the CBNW biosorbent investigated in this work is expected to be a promising material for Cr(VI) sequestration and its recovery from polluted water.

BackgroundDuring the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in India, the Ministry of Ayush conducted a community study to provide therapeutic care to patients with asymptomatic, mild, and moderate COVID-19 in home isolation based on the empirical evidence generated on the efficacy of AYUSH-64 in COVID-19.ObjectiveTo document disease characteristics, care-seeking behavior, and outcomes in patients with asymptomatic, mild, or moderate COVID-19 in home isolation who used AYUSH-64 for COVID-19.MethodsCross-sectional analysis of the data generated through a community study conducted in India from 08 May to 31 August 2021 was performed to study the disease characteristics, care-seeking behavior during home isolation, clinical outcomes, adverse events, and the association between various risk factors and clinical recovery during the study period. The data were collected through semi-structured questionnaires, available in electronic data collection format at the baseline, 7, 14, and 21 days. A logistic regression was performed to explore the relationship between relevant variables and clinical recovery.ResultsData from 64,642 participants were analyzed for baseline assessment, and final analysis was done for 49,770 participants. The mean age of the enrolled participants was 38.8 ± 11.7 years, and 8.4% had co-morbidities. AYUSH-64 was utilized as an add-on to the standard care by 58.3% of participants. Comparable clinical outcomes were observed in participants utilizing AYUSH-64 either as a standalone or as an add-on to standard care, in terms of clinical recovery, disease progression, the requirement for oxygen supplementation, hospitalization, ICU admission, and need for ventilator support. Younger age, having no co-morbidities or substance abuse, and having been vaccinated were associated with early clinical recovery than those who were older and not vaccinated.ConclusionsThe study findings suggest that AYUSH-64 use, either standalone or as an adjunct to standard care, in asymptomatic, mild, or moderate COVID-19 is associated with good clinical outcomes. Ayush services and interventions can be effectively integrated into the mainstream public health architecture to serve public health goals.

In the present paper, we have investigated partial and total electron ionization cross-sections for CFCl3 molecule from ionization threshold to 5 keV incident electron energy using a modified Jain-Khare semi-empirical approach. The present results of ionization cross-sections show good agreement with available data sets. We also have investigated the ionization rate coefficients for its partial and total ionization cross-sections. The first time we have investigated single differential cross-sections at constant incident energies and double differential cross-sections at different incident energies and different incident angles. No other data of differential cross-sections are available to date for comparison to our results.

The availability of food is the basic entity for the survival of human. The resources that make a nation food secured is guided by multiple factors and can be evaluated using a set of indicators. We present an assessment for ranking food security of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) nations represented by Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal, the Maldives, Pakistan and Sri Lanka using a set of indicators under the prevailing scenarios of climate change. The food security indicators can primarily be grouped into four dimensions represented by the availability of food, access to food, potential utilization and stability of food production. Each of the identified indicators that are independent of each other can be utilised to assign individual values based upon actual statistics and observations available for each country. The projection of these statistical values for evaluating future food security can also be done once the appropriate methodology is available for making projections. We assessed food security under the future scenarios of climate change for the year 2050 by synthesising a food security index using a set of indicators. The climate change scenarios were adopted from the IPCC (2014) assessment represented by RCP2.6, RCP4.5, RCP6.0 and RCP8.5. The score of individual indicators were obtained from country specific statistics provided by Food and Agriculture Organisation, World Bank while the values of few indicators such as the projected availability of agriculture and forest land, estimates of future productivity under climate change scenarios and vulnerability of food production were synthesised by the authors for this study. The assessment shows that under all RCPs, Bangladesh is the most food secured nation followed by Sri Lanka. Whereas, Maldives and Afghanistan were found to fall under least food secured SAARC nation under all four scenarios of climate change. While rest of the nations had varying ranks and represented the middle-ranking of food security under all RCPs. India was consistently at the sixth position under all four scenarios of climate change followed by Afghanistan and Maldives in a consistent manner while Afghanistan maintained the rank of seventh and Maldives was found to fall at last position of eighth rank. The framework of assessment demonstrated by us can be used for ranking individual region while it provides an opportunity to the planners for allocating adequate resources and implement other adequate measures in regions that fall short in terms of food security.

Abstract Background We have previously demonstrated that a pooled population of bone marrow-derived, allogeneic mesenchymal stromal cells (BMMSC), Stempeucel®-1, produced under good manufacturing practices (GMP) conditions, showed clinical efficacy and safety in patients suffering from critical limb ischemia (CLI) due to Buerger’s disease. While Stempeucel®-1 is currently used for CLI and other clinical indications, we wanted to ensure that the product’s continuity is addressed by developing and characterizing a second generation of pooled product (Stempeucel®-1A), manufactured identically from second BM aspirates of the same three donors after a 2-year interval. Methods The two versions of Stempeucel® were manufactured and subjected to gene and protein expression analysis. The nature of various growth factors/cytokines secreted and immunomodulatory activity of these two cell populations were compared directly by various in vitro assays. The preclinical efficacy of these two cell types was compared in an experimental model of hind limb ischemia (HLI) in BALB/c nude mice. The reversal of ischemia, blood flow, and muscle regeneration were determined by functional scoring, laser Doppler imaging, and immunohistochemical analyses. Results Qualitative and quantitative analyses of genes and proteins involved in promoting angiogenic activity and immune regulatory functions revealed high levels of correlation between Stempeucel®-1 and Stempeucel®-1A cell populations. Moreover, intramuscular (i.m) administration of these two cell products in the ischemic limbs of BALB/c nude mice showed significant repair (≥ 70%) of toe and foot necrosis, leading to improved ambulatory function and limb salvage. Furthermore, a biodistribution kinetics study showed that Stempeucel®-1 was mostly localized in the ischemic muscles of mice for a significantly longer time compared to normal muscles, thus playing an essential role in modulating and reversing HLI damage. Conclusions This study shows that with a reproducible manufacturing procedure, it is possible to generate large numbers of pooled mesenchymal stromal cells from human bone marrow samples to establish product equivalence. We conclude from these results that, for the first time, two pooled, allogeneic BMMSC products can be repeatedly manufactured at different time intervals using a two-tier cell banking process with robust and comparable angiogenic properties to treat ischemic diseases.

Background: Cooking smoke is a known risk factor for a number of respiratory diseases. It is essential to delineate the role of these environmental factors in the etiology and epidemiology of Tuberculosis (TB). Aim and Objectives: The present study was conducted with an aim to assess the association of TB among the study subjects using biomass fuels for cooking or exposed to Second Hand Smoke (SHS). Material and Methods: The present case control study was conducted in the Department of Chest and TB for a duration of one-year and included 100 cases (new pulmonary TB) subjects and 300 controls as non-TB subjects who attended outpatient clinic. Data were collected as a structured questionnaire. Categorical data were presented as percentages (%) and bivariable logistic regression analysis was done to find out the strength of association between dependent variable and independent variables and an association was considered significant if the p value was less than 0.05. Results: There was more representation of male participants (53.6%) compared to females and 63.9% of participants were residing in the rural area. On comparative analysis for occurrence of TB among cases and controls, the statistically significant difference was observed for the variables such as age, overcrowding, biomass as cooking fuel, second hand smoke, socioeconomic status, and previous history of TB (p

Abstract COVID-19, a viral infection originated from Wuhan, China has spread across the world and it has currently affected over 115 million people. Although vaccination process has already started, reaching sufficient availability will take time. Considering the impact of this widespread disease, many research attempts have been made by the computer scientists to screen the COVID-19 from Chest X-Rays (CXRs) or Computed Tomography (CT) scans. To this end, we have proposed GraphCovidNet, a Graph Isomorphic Network (GIN) based model which is used to detect COVID-19 from CT-scans and CXRs of the affected patients. Our proposed model only accepts input data in the form of graph as we follow a GIN based architecture. Initially, pre-processing is performed to convert an image data into an undirected graph to consider only the edges instead of the whole image. Our proposed GraphCovidNet model is evaluated on four standard datasets: SARS-COV-2 Ct-Scan dataset, COVID-CT dataset, combination of covid-chestxray-dataset, Chest X-Ray Images (Pneumonia) dataset and CMSC-678-ML-Project dataset. The model shows an impressive accuracy of 99% for all the datasets and its prediction capability becomes 100% accurate for the binary classification problem of detecting COVID-19 scans. Source code of this work can be found at GitHub-link .

Potato tuber skin is a protective corky tissue consisting of suberized phellem cells. Smooth-skinned varieties are characterized by a clean, shiny appearance compared to the darker hue of russeted potatoes. The rough skin of russeted cultivars is a desired, genetically inherited characteristic; however, unwanted russeting of smooth-skinned cultivars often occurs under suboptimal growth conditions. The involvement of epigenetic modifiers in regulating the smooth skin russeting disorder was tested. We used smooth-skin commercial cultivars with and without the russeting disorder and three lines from a breeding population segregating for russeting. Anatomically, the russet skin showed similar characteristics, whether the cause was environmentally triggered or genetically determined. The old outer layers of the corky phellem remain attached to the newly formed phellem layers instead of being sloughed off. Global DNA methylation analysis indicated a significant reduction in the percentage of 5-methylcytosine in mature vs. immature skin and russet vs. smooth skin. This was true for both the smooth-skin commercial cultivars and the russeted lines. The expression level of selected DNA methyltransferases was reduced in accordance. DNA demethylase expression did not change between the skin types and age. Hence, the reduced DNA methylation in mature and russet skin is more likely to be achieved through passive DNA demethylation and loss of methyltransferase activity.

This study aimed to determine the potential of quercetin and Zingiber officinale (ZO) Roscoe extract to alleviate the renal damage induced by dimethoate (DM) and fluoride (F-) alone and by their combined exposure in rats. A total of 54 adult Wistar rats were randomly allocated to nine groups (n = 6). A sub-lethal dose of DM (1/10th of the median lethal dose) was administered by oral gavage alone and along with F- (4.5 ppm, three-fold the permissible limit) in their drinking water continuously for 28 days. Chromatographical analysis revealed the presence of quercetin, curcumin, and other phytochemicals with strong antioxidant properties in ZO-rhizome extract. Severe changes were observed in the levels of the renal biomarkers and histoarchitecture after co-administration of the toxicants, indicating greater kidney damage. The administration of ZO extract (300 mg/kg) along with either or both toxicants led to a significant restoration of the biochemical markers and renal antioxidant profile and histology.

Irradiation temperature (IT) dependence of the elongation efficiency of vanadium nanoparticles (NPs) in SiO2 was evaluated: The samples were irradiated with 120 MeV Ag9+ ions to a fluence of 1.0 × 1014 ions/cm2 each at ITs of 300, 433, 515, and 591 K, while the measurements were performed at room temperature. The vanadium was selected for the NP species because of the highest bulk m.p. of 1910 °C (2183 K) among all the species of the elemental metal NPs in which the shape elongation was observed. The highest m.p. could contribute negligible size changes of NPs against inevitable exposure to high temperatures for the IT dependence measurements. The elongation of V NPs was evaluated qualitatively by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and quantitatively by optical linear dichroism (OLD) spectroscopy. The electron microscopy studies showed a pronounced elongation of NPs with ion irradiation at the elevated temperatures. The OLD signal was almost constant, or even slightly increased with increasing the IT from 300 to 591 K. This IT dependence provides a striking contrast to that of the ion hammering (IH) effect, which predicts a steep decrease with increasing IT. Combined with the other two counterevidence previously reported, the IH-related effect is excluded from the origin of the shape elongation of metal NPs in SiO2.

Solar energy harvesting using semiconductor photocatalysis offers an enticing solution to two of the biggest societal challenges, energy scarcity and environmental pollution. After decades of effort, no photocatalyst exists which can simultaneously meet the demand for excellent absorption, high quantum efficiency and photochemical resilience/durability. While CdS is an excellent photocatalyst for hydrogen evolution, pollutant degradation and organic synthesis, photocorrosion of CdS leads to the deactivation of the catalyst. Surface passivation of CdS with 2D graphitic carbon nitrides (CN) such as g-C3N4 and C3N5 has been shown to mitigate the photocorrosion problem but the poor oxidizing power of photogenerated holes in CN limits the utility of this approach for photooxidation reactions. We report the synthesis of exfoliated 2D nanosheets of a modified carbon nitride constituted of tris-s-triazine (C6N7) linked pyromellitic dianhydride polydiimide (CN:PDI) with a deep oxidative highest occupied molecular orbital (HOMO) position, which ensures sufficient oxidizing power for photogenerated holes in CN. The heterojunction formed by the wrapping of mono-/few layered CN:PDI on CdS nanorods (CdS/CN:PDI) was determined to be an excellent photocatalyst for oxidation reactions including photoelectrochemical water splitting, dye decolorization and the photocatalytic conversion of benzyl alcohol to benzaldehyde. Extensive structural characterization using HR-TEM, Raman, XPS, etc., confirmed wrapping of few-layered CN:PDI on CdS nanorods. The increased photoactivity in CdS/CN:PDI catalyst was ascribed to facile electron transfer from CdS to CN:PDI in comparison to CdS/g-C3N4, leading to an increased electron density on the surface of the photocatalyst to drive chemical reactions.

In micro-grids (MGs), renewable energy resources (RESs) supply a major portion of the consumer demand. The intermittent nature of these RESs and the stochastic characteristics of the loads cause a frequency stabilization issue in MGs. Owing to this, in the present manuscript, the authors try to uncover the frequency stabilization/regulation issue (FRI) in a two-area MG system comprising wind turbines (WTs), an aqua-electrolyzer, a fuel cell, a bio-gas plant, a bio-diesel plant, diesel generation (DG), ship DG, electric vehicles and their energy storage devices, flywheels, and batteries in each control area. With these sources, the assessment of the FRI is carried out using different classical controllers, namely, the integral (I), proportional plus I (PI), and PI plus derivative (PID) controllers. The gain values of these I, PI, and PID controllers are tuned using the recently proposed smell agent optimization (SAO) algorithm. The simulation studies reveal the outstanding performance of the later controller compared with the former ones in view of the minimum settling period and peak amplitude deviations (overshoots and undershoots). The SAO algorithm shows superior convergence behavior when tested against particle swarm optimization and the firefly algorithm. The SAO-PID controller effectively performs in continuously changing and increased demand situations. The SAO-PID controller designed in nominal conditions was found to be insensitive to wide deviations in load demands and WT time constants.

Lithiation of anodes during cycling of lithium-ion batteries generates stresses that reduce operation lifetime. Here, a composite silicon-based anode with a nanoscale vaulted architecture shows high mechanical stability and electrochemical performance in a lithium-ion battery.

Background: Medicinal herbs remain a vital source of new chemical entities, instead of the attempt of pharmaceutical companies using combinatorial and synthetic chemistry techniques for developing new drugs. Objectives: The primary aim of review is to highlight the different phytochemcial ingredients and their therapeutic potential in Cynara scolymus Methods: Cynara scolymus, commonly known as artichoke is a rich source of polyphenolic compounds, mainly caffeoylquinic acids and flavonoids, isolated in the polar extracts of the plant, together with the polysaccharide inulin. The worldwide scientific databases were comprehensively and systematically reviewed and summarized. Results: The beneficial effects of artichoke in experimental studies include antidiabetic, anti-obesity, anti-inflammatory, anti-hypercholesterolemic, hepatoprotective, nephroprotective, gastrointestinal protectant, reproductive, and anticancer properties. Studies with artichoke conducted in experimental animals reported no mortality or significant toxicity. Increasing attention is being paid to developing herbal medicines as a newly emerging treatment for the welfare of the patients in the last few decades. Conclusion: The present review detailed the versatile therapeutic efficiency and diverse application of C. scolymus. This medicinal herb has been appropriately used in conventional medicine for a long and helps cure various ailments.