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Abstract A study was conducted at Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, Punjab, with the aim of monitoring soil loss and infiltration rate in loamy sand soil. The study focused on the effects of applying polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) and mulch under simulated rainfall conditions. The experimental setup involved testing three levels of PVA (0.5%, 0.75%, and 1.0%), one level of wheat-straw mulch (600 g/m2), and a Control treatment (untreated soil). Each of these treatments was replicated four times. The lowest soil loss (20.9 g/m2) was recorded under the 1.0% PVA treatment, while the highest (120.1 g/m2) was seen under the 0.5% PVA treatment. The 1.0% PVA treatment showed a significant reduction in soil loss compared to the 0.5% PVA, 0.75% PVA, mulch, and Control treatments, with reductions of approximately 82.6%, 45.1%, 81.2%, and 89.6%, respectively. Regarding infiltration rates, the Control treatment exhibited the lowest rate (2.4 cm/h), while the 1.0% PVA treatment displayed the highest rate (9.6 cm/h). Additionally, the use of mulch led to a 44.7% reduction in soil loss compared to the treatment without mulch, likely due to the mitigated impact of raindrops. The infiltration rate was significantly higher (4.8 cm/h) under the mulched treatment compared to the unmulched treatment (2.4 cm/h). Overall, the application of PVA and mulch resulted in a drastic reduction in soil loss, likely attributable to the enhanced stability of soil aggregates, improved infiltration rate, and reduced runoff.

Purpose: Optical surface monitoring systems (OSMSs) have gained substantial attention in modern radiation therapy, specifically in the context of surface guided radiation therapy, which offers real-time patient surface monitoring, ensuring accurate and effective radiation therapy treatments. The aim of this article is to evaluate the OSMS camera sensitivity toward different skin tones, categorized according to the Fitzpatrick scale, a universal classification of human skin tones, using a phantom. Methods and Materials: This study used Catalyst and Sentinel OSMSs (C-RAD). The Alderson RANDO female pelvis phantom, located at the isocenter in computed tomography simulation and treatment rooms, served as an experimental subject. Eighteen skin tone–matching cotton cloths, selected on the basis of Von Luschan chromatic and Fitzpatrick scales, were wrapped around the phantom for sensitivity evaluation. Camera sensitivity was optimized by adjusting threshold/gain (100%-600%) and integration time during individual scans in both rooms. Temporal response analysis spanned 2 months, with 16 measurements for each OSMS taken in varying light conditions. Results: The OSMSs successfully detected the surface of cloth-covered phantoms with varying mean (SD) integration times: 550 (34) to 950 (43) μs for the Sentinel system and 2300 (71) to 12,000 (400) μs for the Catalyst system. The sensitivity parameters differed for each skin tone, with lighter skin requiring shorter integration times and gain/threshold values. Darker skin tones necessitated higher parameters for optimal surface images. The reliability of the systems declined with excessive parameters, leading to noise and compromised accuracy in patient positioning. Conclusions: Optimized sensitivity parameters tailored to individual skin tones are crucial for effective real-time patient surface monitoring in radiation therapy, as variations in skin color can affect the accuracy of measurements. The precision of skin color measurements in OSMSs relies on carefully adjusting camera sensitivity parameters. However, careful consideration is essential, as larger values are required for darker skin tones, compromising reliability. This suggests the need for exploring alternative image guidance methods for patients with darker skin tones.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to develop a predictive model to evaluate pretreatment patient-specific quality assurance (QA) based on treatment planning parameters for stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT) for liver carcinoma. Materials and Methods: We retrospectively selected 180 cases of liver SBRT treated using the volumetric modulated arc therapy technique. Numerous parameters defining the plan complexity were calculated from the DICOM-RP (Radiotherapy Plan) file using an in-house program developed in MATLAB. Patient-specific QA was performed with global gamma evaluation criteria of 2%/2 mm and 3%/3 mm in a relative mode using the Octavius two-dimensional detector array. Various statistical tests and multivariate predictive models were evaluated. Results: The leaf speed (MILS) and planning target volume size showed the highest correlation with the gamma criteria of 2%/2 mm and 3%/3 mm (P < 0.05). Degree of modulation (DoM), MCSSPORT, leaf speed (MILS), and gantry speed (MIGS) were predictors of global gamma pass rate (GPR) for 2%/2 mm (G22), whereas DoM, MCSSPORT, leaf speed (MILS) and robust decision making were predictors of the global GPR criterion of 3%/3 mm (G33). The variance inflation factor values of all predictors were

Objective: Microlumbar discectomy (MLD) has been a gold standard surgical treatment of lumbar disc herniation (LDH); we have compared its results with full transforaminal endoscopic discectomy (FTED), which is a recent trend performed under local anesthesia. FTED and MLD are currently prevalent techniques for the surgical treatment of LDH. Materials and Methods: Patients were randomly assigned to the FTED or MLD groups in this single center study if they had clinical LDH with low back ache with radiculopathy confirmed with magnetic resonance imaging findings. The Oswestry disability index score was the primary outcome. 36-Item Short-Form Health Survey, Macnab, and visual analog scales for back pain and leg pain were used as secondary outcomes. Results: Over a follow-up of 2 years, both primary and secondary outcomes differed significantly according to the location of the discs; FTED was very successful in foraminal and extraforaminal herniated discs with many other benefits whereas MLD was better in central discs. Conclusion: FTED is superior in cosmesis, returning to work in 2 weeks, less surgical trauma, minimal bleeding, infection, hospital stay, and surgical scar compared with MLD. FTED was found to be less effective for median disc herniation, whereas MLD did not appear to be the best alternative for foraminal/extraforaminal disc herniation.

This study explored the use of lucuma fruit powder in an ice cream formulation for the US market. Six ice cream prototypes were developed using five different lucuma fruit powder variants. A central location test was conducted with frequent ice cream consumers (n = 106) to assess acceptance, attribute intensity rating, ideal intensity levels, and purchase intent against a control sample with caramel flavor. The mean overall liking score for all lucuma ice creams was moderate. The overall, aroma, and flavor liking scores were significantly higher (p < 0.05) for lucuma ice cream samples, whereas the control sample was liked significantly more for texture. The Terrasoul variant of lucuma ice cream was the most liked among all samples, and the control was liked the least. Only the Terrasoul ice cream sample was successful in delivering significantly strong caramel, fruit, and sweet flavor levels; the other lucuma ice cream samples were more comparable to the control. The inclusion of lucuma powder increased powdery mouthfeel perception, negatively impacting texture liking. Consumers perceived all ice cream samples to be weak in flavor and fell short of delivering ideal levels. The US consumers had low–moderate food neophobia scores for lucuma fruit, with 57% showing interest in buying lucuma ice creams.

Abstract Current study signifies the use of nanoparticles as alternative in plant disease management to avoid harmful effect of pesticide and fungicide residue. Synthesis of nanoparticles (Ni0.5Al0.5Fe2O4) by hydrothermal method and studied their X-ray diffraction analysis (XRD), Raman spectra, and UV spectra and further successfully evaluated for antifungal activity against a soil and seed borne pathogenic fungus (Fusarium oxysporum).Among various pests, fungal pathogens are the main cause of crop destruction and we developed nanoparticles (Ni0.5Al0.5Fe2O4) which is successfully evaluated for antimycotic activity against dry rot (F. oxysporum) of ginger which causes 50–70% losses in the ginger plant. In vitro and in vivo analysis designated that the nanoparticles (Ni0.5Al0.5Fe2O4) has shown an excellent antifungal activity against F. oxysporum at 0.5 mg/ml concentration. Similarly, no disease incidence was recorded when Ni0.5Al0.5Fe2O4 nanoparticles used at 0.5 mg/ml concentration under in vivo conditions. In plants various environmental stresses (biotic and abiotic) leads to excessive production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) causing progressive oxidative damage and ultimately leads to cell death. The role of ROS in nanoparticles (Ni0.5Al0.5Fe2O4) represents by reduction in the growth inhibition of F. oxysporum. We speculated in light of these results that the cytotoxic effect of Ni0.5Al0.5Fe2O4 nanoparticles on F. oxysporum may be mediated through ROS. We can suggest the role of nanoparticles (Ni0.5Al0.5Fe2O4) gives a promising result as a fungicidal activity and could be a novel family of future new generation fungicide.

In several regions throughout the globe, caesarean sections constitute the most common nonobstetric surgery, followed by hysterectomy, which is the surgical excision of the uterus. While it is not the only solution for reproductive organ issues, it is the most effective technique to treat many illnesses over the long term. The uterus is a very critical reproductive organ for all age groups as this is not only essential for giving birth but also for hormonal-related physiology in women's life. The quality of life is impacted by a number of hysterectomy-related effects on females. Physical, psychological, environmental, and social relations are some of these impacts. All EuroQol five-dimensions (EQ5D) subscales significantly improved, as per the research 's findings. Preoperative psychosocial status, perioperative pain, indication of hysterectomy, complications occur during surgery, and mode of hysterectomy postoperative infection had been discovered as determinants of quality of life outcome following hysterectomy. In most of the subjects we noticed small, however, noticable improvements in all component of EQ5D Scale. The strengths of EQ5D questionnaire lie in its simplicity and moreover it is available in several languages.

Background: Periodontal disease constitutes a group of diseases involving inflammatory aspects of the host caused by several microbial agents that affect periodontal tissues and could have systemic implications. Objective: The present study was conducted to assess the correlation of COVID-19 infection and severity of periodontitis in subjects who has mild form of the disease as compared to subjects having moderate form of the disease. Materials and Methods: The study included 116 subjects suffering from COVID-19 that were equally divided into two groups, each based on a convenient sampling methodology. Group I had a moderate form of COVID that required hospitalization and Group II had a mild form of COVID and were treated at home. The stage of periodontal disease was assessed in both groups. Also, laboratory parameters such as level of C-reactive protein (CRP), white blood cell (WBC), D-dimer, vitamin D, and lymphocytes were also assessed. Statistical analysis was done using Chi-square and multiple logistic regression analysis. Results: More than 75% of subjects in both groups were non-smokers. Subjects having more than one comorbid condition were more in number in Group I (51.7%) as compared to Group II (24%). Severe periodontitis (stages 2–4) was found in 81% of subjects in Group I and 46.2% of subjects in Group II [Figure 1]. The odds of getting severe periodontal disease were 6.32 times more in subjects belonging to Group I as compared to Group II. Subjects having more than one comorbid condition were 4.43 times at risk of severe periodontitis as compared to subjects with no co-morbidity Conclusion: Severe form of periodontal disease was associated with moderate-to-severe COVID-19 infection and levels of lymphocytes, WBCs, and CRP were elevated in subjects belonging to Group I.

This research work aims to study small field characteristics of the 60Co source-based teletherapy machine by varying the detector size and source size. Further, the feasibility of clinical use of small fields on 60Co source-based teletherapy unit has been studied. In this study, square fields size varying from 1 × 1 cm2 to 10 × 10 cm2 were used. Two different ionization chambers (SNC125c and Pinpoint) having different sensitive volumes were used for experimental measurements, and the tool for particle simulation (TOPAS) version 3.5 toolkit was used for Monte Carlo (MC) simulations. All the data was measured as per the recommendation of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) technical report series-483 (TRS-483). Firstly, MC simulated beam data (beam profiles and percentage depth dose) was validated against the experimentally measured beam data and found to be agreed within 2%/2 mm gamma criteria. The SNC125c underestimate the output factors (OFs) by 7% and 5% when compared to MC calculated OFs for small beams of 1 × 1 cm2 and 1.5 × 1.5 cm2, respectively. The full-width half-maxima (FWHM) of all field sizes agreed with the set geometric field size other than 1 × 1 cm2 and 1.5 × 1.5 cm2, for which it was found most deviated, and it shows significant dependency on the size of the source. The present study showed that chamber size significantly impacts the measurement of small fields characteristics, mainly OFs. Further, source size is another parameter that significantly affects the beam profiles that limits the use of 60Co teletherapy machine for field sizes smaller than 3 × 3 cm2.

Background. The second wave of Novel Coronavirus disease (COVID-19, SARS-CoV-2) is proving more disastrous than the first because of the new mutant stains. Under these circumstances, vaccination is the only effective solution that can save millions of lives across the globe. Objectives. The present study was conducted to assess the attitude and acceptance/willingness of health care professionals (medical and dental) towards COVID-19 vaccine. Materials and Methods. An online questionnaire survey was conducted among medical and dental professionals working in different hospitals of two states of India. A total of 520 subjects constituted the final sample size. A self-constructed questionnaire (divided into 2 parts) containing 12 questions was administered to obtain information from the subjects regarding their attitude and willingness towards COVID 19 vaccine. Statistical analysis was done using chi-square test and multiple liner regression analysis. Odds ratio with 95% CI were also generated. Statistical significance was set at p≤0.05. Results. Majority of the subjects (67% of dental and 73% of medical) had full confidence on the effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccine. Willingness to get vaccinated was shown by 63% of subjects and 65% had positive attitude towards vaccine. Some subjects (45.5% dental and 48.4% medical) showed concern regarding unforeseen effects of the vaccine. Willingness to get vaccinated was 3.45 higher in subjects who were involved in COVID duties. Subjects giving less preference to natural immunity over vaccine showed more willingness (OR: 2.98) towards getting the vaccine. Conclusion. The findings of the study showed that acceptance and attitude of subjects regarding COVID 19 vaccine was suboptimal as there were various factors which contributed towards subjects’ hesitancy to get vaccinated. There is an utmost need to address various issues regarding vaccine safety to promote high uptake.

The production of row crops in the Midwestern (Indiana) region of the US has been facing environmental and economic sustainability issues. There has been an increase in trend for the application of fertilizers (nitrogen & phosphorus), farm machinery fuel costs and decreasing labor productivity leading to non-optimized usage of farm inputs. Literature describes how sustainable practices such as profitability (return on investments), operational cost reduction, hazardous waste reduction, delivery performance and overall productivity might be adopted in the context of precision agriculture technologies (variable rate irrigation, variable rate fertilization, cloud-based analytics, and telematics for farm machinery navigation). The literature review describes low adoption of Internet of Things (IoT)-based precision agriculture technologies, such as variable rate fertilizer (39%), variable rate pesticide (8%), variable rate irrigation (4%), cloud-based data analytics (21%) and telematics (10%) amongst Midwestern row crop producers. Barriers to the adoption of IoT-based precision agriculture technologies cited in the literature include cost effectiveness, power requirements, wireless communication range, data latency, data scalability, data storage, data processing and data interoperability. Therefore, this study focused on exploring and understanding decision-making variables related to barriers through three focus group interview sessions conducted with eighteen (n = 18) subject matter experts (SME) in IoT- based precision agriculture practices. Dependency relationships described between cost, data latency, data scalability, power consumption, communication range, type of wireless communication and precision agriculture application is one of the main findings. The results might inform precision agriculture practitioners, producers and other stakeholders about variables related to technical and operational barriers for the adoption of IoT-based precision agriculture practices.

Manned-Unmanned Teaming (MUM-T) can be defined as the teaming of aerial robots (artificial agents) along with a human pilot (natural agent), in which the human agent is not an authoritative controller but rather a cooperative team player. To our knowledge, no study has yet evaluated the impact of MUM-T scenarios on operators' mental workload (MW) using a neuroergonomic approach (i.e., using physiological measures), nor provided a MW estimation through classification applied on those measures. Moreover, the impact of the non-stationarity of the physiological signal is seldom taken into account in classification pipelines, particularly regarding the validation design. Therefore this study was designed with two goals: (i) to characterize and estimate MW in a MUM-T setting based on physiological signals; (ii) to assess the impact of the validation procedure on classification accuracy. In this context, a search and rescue (S&R) scenario was developed in which 14 participants played the role of a pilot cooperating with three UAVs (Unmanned Aerial Vehicles). Missions were designed to induce high and low MW levels, which were evaluated using self-reported, behavioral and physiological measures (i.e., cerebral, cardiac, and oculomotor features). Supervised classification pipelines based on various combinations of these physiological features were benchmarked, and two validation procedures were compared (i.e., a traditional one that does not take time into account vs. an ecological one that does). The main results are: (i) a significant impact of MW on all measures, (ii) a higher intra-subject classification accuracy (75%) reached using ECG features alone or in combination with EEG and ET ones with the Adaboost, Linear Discriminant Analysis or the Support Vector Machine classifiers. However this was only true with the traditional validation. There was a significant drop in classification accuracy using the ecological one. Interestingly, inter-subject classification with ecological validation (59.8%) surpassed both intra-subject with ecological and inter-subject with traditional validation. These results highlight the need for further developments to perform MW monitoring in such operational contexts.

Purpose: The objective of the study is to evaluate the effectiveness of the transcaruncular approach of dacryocystorhinostomy (DCR) in the management of the cases of chronic dacryocystitis. Materials and Methods: A prospective study was conducted on 30 patients presenting in the outpatient department with chronic dacryocystitis at a tertiary eye care center. Intraoperative parameters were observed and noted at the time of surgery. Patients were followed up for a minimum period of 6 weeks and interviewed for subjective improvement of symptoms. Outcome measures were anatomical patency, epiphora, esthetic outcome, and presence of any complications. Results: Thirty patients of chronic dacryocystitis with nasolacrimal duct obstruction comprising 22 females and 8 males with a mean age of 43.8 years were operated by transcaruncular modification of external DCR. The surgical success rate of 90% was achieved after a follow-up period of 6 weeks. Postoperative complications included periorbital edema, mild nasal bleeding, and section leak which resolved by day 7 postoperatively. The procedure was associated with minimal intraoperative complications. One patient (3%) had significant intraoperative bleeding, and two patients (7%) had canalicular injury and both the patients were managed with canalicular intubation. Conclusions: Transcaruncular DCR is a cost-effective and esthetic approach not requiring the use of any endoscope or lasers and provides the benefits of external approach without a skin incision. It is associated with minimal intraoperative and postoperative complications. The surgical success rate of the procedure is comparable to the other conventional methods of DCR.

Introduction: Three-dimensional (3D) treatment planning of patient undergoing radiotherapy uses complex and meticulous computational algorithms. These algorithms use 3D voxel data of the patient to calculate the radiation dose distribution and display it over the CT image dataset for treatment plan evaluation. Aims and Objective: The purpose of the present study is the development and implementation of radiobiological evaluation of the radiotherapy treatment plan incorporating the tissue-specific radiobiological parameters. Material and Method: An indigenous program was written in MATLAB® software (version 2011b of Mathworks Inc.) to extract the patient treatment plan data from DICOM-RT files which are exported from the treatment planning system. CT-, Structures- and Dose-Cube matrices are reconstructed from the exported patient plan data. BED and EQD2based dose volume histograms (DVHs), colorwash and iso-effective dose curves were generated from the physical Dose-Cube using the linear-quadratic (LQ) formalism and tissue-specific radiobiological parameters (α/β). Results and Conclusion: BED-and EQD2-colorwash and iso-effective curves along with BED and EQD2dose volume histograms provide superior radiobiological information as compared to those of physical doses. This study provides supplementary recipes of radiobiological doses along with the physical doses which are useful for the evaluation of complex radiotherapy treatment plan of the patients.

The high incidence of esophageal cancer in Northeast India and the unique ethnic background and dietary habits provide a great opportunity to study the molecular genetics behind esophageal squamous cell carcinoma in this part of the region. We hypothesized that in addition to currently known environmental risk factors for esophageal cancer, genetic and epigenetic factors are also involved in esophageal carcinogenesis in Northeast India. Therefore, in this study, we explored the possible association between the two important G1 cell cycle regulatory genes p16 and p53 and environmental risk factors and risk of esophageal carcinogenesis. A total of 100 newly diagnosed esophageal cancer cases along with equal number of age-, sex-, and ethnicity-matched controls were included in this study. Methylation-specific polymerase chain reaction was used to determine the p16 promoter methylation status. Single-nucleotide polymorphism at codon 72 of p53 gene was assessed by the polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism method. Aberrant methylation of p16 gene was seen in 81% of esophageal cancer cases. Hypermethylation of p16 gene was not found in healthy controls. p53 Pro/Pro genotype was found to be a risk genotype in Northeast India compared with Arg/Pro and Arg/Arg. p53 variant/polymorphism was significantly associated with esophageal cancer risk in the study population under all three genetic models, namely, dominant model (Arg/Pro + Pro/Pro vs Arg/Arg odds ratio = 2.25, confidence interval = 1.19–4.26; p = 0.012), recessive model (Arg/Arg + Arg/Pro vs Pro/Pro odds ratio = 2.35, confidence interval = 1.24–4.44; p = 0.008), and homozygous model (Pro/Pro vs Arg/Arg odds ratio = 3.33, confidence interval = 1.54–7.20; p = 0.002). However, p53 variant/polymorphism was not statistically associated with esophageal cancer risk under the heterozygous model (Pro/Pro vs Arg/Pro). In the case-only analysis based on p16 methylation, the p53 variant/polymorphism (Pro/Pro or Arg/Pro) showed significant association for esophageal cancer risk (odds ratio = 3.33, confidence interval = 1.54–7.20; p = 0.002). Gene–gene and gene–environment interaction using the case-only approach revealed a strong association between p16 methylation, p53 single-nucleotide polymorphism, and environmental factors and esophageal cancer risk. Cases with p16 methylation and p53 variant/polymorphism (Pro/Pro or Arg/Pro) along with both betel quid and tobacco chewing habit (odds ratio = 8.29, confidence interval = 1.14–60.23; p = 0.037) conferred eightfold increased risk toward esophageal cancer development. This study reveals a synergistic interaction between epigenetic, genetic, and environmental factors and risk of esophageal cancer in this high-incidence region of Northeast India. The inactivation of either p16 or p53 in a majority of esophageal cancer cases in this study suggests the possible crosstalk between the important cell cycle genes.

Introduction: Intravenous and peri-articular magnesium has been shown to reduce perioperative analgesic consumption. With this background, subcutaneous infiltration was hypothesized to potentiate the subcutaneous infiltration of local anaesthetic agent. Aim: To comparatively evaluate the efficacy of magnesium sulphate as an adjunct to ropivacaine in local infiltration for postoperative pain following lower segment cesarean section. Materials and Methods: Sixty parturients undergoing cesarean delivery were randomized to either group A or B in a double blinded manner. After uterine and muscle closure but before skin closure, Group A was administered local subcutaneous wound infiltration of Injection (Inj) ropivacaine 0.75% 150 milligram (mg) or 20 millilitres(ml) whereas, group B patients were given a local subcutaneous wound infiltration of Inj magnesium sulphate 750 mg (1.5 ml of Inj 50% Magnesium sulphate) added to Inj ropivacaine 0.75% (18.5 ml) making a total volume of 20 ml. In postoperative period, Heart rate (HR), Mean Arterial Pressure (MAP), Visual Analogue Score (VAS), supplemental analgesic consumption and timing of each subsequent analgesic was noted for the initial 24 hours. Results: There was no difference in the timings for the requirement of first Intravenous (IV) rescue analgesic among both the groups (p=0.279). However, the need for 2nd and 3rd doses of rescue analgesics was significantly later in group B and the difference was statistically significant with p-value of 0.034 and 0.031 respectively. The number of patients who were administered 2nd, 3rd and 4th doses of rescue analgesics was significantly greater in group A as compared to group B. None of the patients in group B needed more than 4 doses of rescue analgesia while in group A, 5 patients were administered a rescue analgesic for 5th time. The cumulative analgesic requirement in the initial 24 hours was also greater in group A as compared to group B and the difference was statistically significant (p =0.01). The incidence of adverse effects was similar in both the groups. Conclusion: Subcutaneous infiltration of magnesium along with local anaesthetic prolongs the analgesic efficacy of local anaesthetic and is not associated with any significant adverse effects.