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This study presents a comprehensive investigation on the synthesis and characterization of surfactant-assisted graphene oxide non-covalent functionalized silver nanocomposites (rGS-AgNPs) for achieving remarkable photocatalytic and anti-biofilm properties. The approach involves using an anionic surfactant (sodium lauryl sulfate (SLS)), silver nitrate (AgNO3), and reduced graphene oxide (rGO) as stabilizing/reducing agents, metal precursors, and supporting materials, respectively. Different composites were prepared by varying the concentration of AgNO3, resulting in rGS-AgNPs composites with concentrations of 0.9 × 10−3 mM, 1.8 × 10−3 mM, and 2.7 × 10−3 mM. Characterization techniques including XRD, FTIR, SEM, and TEM/EDS analysis confirmed the formation of face-centered cubic AgNPs and amorphous rGO structures. The composites exhibited a firm binding of the surfactant and AgNPs on the surface of rGO nanosheets, resulting in efficient anti-biofilm and photocatalytic activity. The size of the supported AgNPs on rGO/SL was found to be 8–10 nm. The rGS-AgNPs composites displayed significantly improved anti-biofilm and photocatalytic performance, attributed to the increased surface area of AgNPs. Moreover, the photocatalytic efficiency of the rGS-AgNPs composites reached 96.48 % within 60 min, outperforming pure AgNPs. The synthetic procedure and practical applications will be utilized for biosensors, food packing technology, biomedical and pharmaceutically valuable reactions.

In this study, silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) were synthesized in an environmentally friendly manner using plant extracts from Luisia tristis. The formation of the nanoparticles was confirmed by a reddish-brown colour change and further characterized using ultraviolet–visible (UV–Vis), Fourier transform infrared spectrometer (FTIR), scanning electron microscope (SEM), and transmission electron microscope (TEM) techniques. The average size of the particles was found to be 16–48 nm. The antimicrobial activity of the AgNPs was evaluated against harmful bacteria and compared to the commonly used antibiotic ciprofloxacin. The AgNPs were found to be highly effective, with a 24 mm zone of inhibition against Escherichia coli, and more effective than ciprofloxacin. Additionally, a minimum inhibitory concentration assay was performed with a concentration of 100 mg/mL of AgNPs, which were found to effectively inhibit the growth of selected pathogens. Overall, the study demonstrates the potential for using plant-derived AgNPs as a natural and eco-friendly alternative for antimicrobial and antioxidant applications. This method is a fast, cost-effective way to generate silver nanoparticles at room temperature and may be useful in creating environmentally friendly antibacterial solutions for biomedical applications.

This study focused on the isolation of laccase enzyme from the fungus Pleurotus ostreatus and its application in the biodegradation of various pollutants present in textile industrial effluent, including chemicals, ions, salts, heavy metals, brittle metals, total suspended solids, total dissolved solids, chemical oxygen demand, biological oxygen demand, minerals, total hardness, total alkalinity, turbidity, electrical conductivity, and dyes. Textile industrial effluent poses a significant threat to the environment, contaminating water bodies and posing risks to human, animal, and plant life. This study employed an economical and ecofriendly biological approach for wastewater treatment, distinguishing it from traditional physical and chemical methods. The optimum temperature of laccase is found to be 30 degree Celsius and pH is 3. Enzyme activity of laccase is 7.25 U/ml. This fugal laccase decolorizes textile Industrial dye effluent containing various dyes, such as Turquoise VG, Black B, Yellow R, Methyl red, Trypan blue, and Acid Orange 7. Laccase depicts maximum decolorization efficacy on Black B dye. Similarly, Laccase from P.ostreatus shows higher decolorization efficacy when compared to other fungal laccase. Additionally, the study assessed the biodegradation of various wastewater quality parameters, including physical and chemical parameters like toxic heavy metals and ions. This research of isolation, characterization, and utilizing laccase from P. ostreatus for the bioremediation of textile industrial effluent wastewater containing dyes, toxic chemicals, ions and metals is effective, economical and ecofriendly.

Harmonic contamination, non-linear loads, voltage sag-swell and other issues can all have an impact on the quality of electricity. The fluctuation of load side voltage has made it extremely difficult to maintain power quality in recent years. The load side voltage variation solved by optimization technique is suitable for attain good result. The work consist of additional solar system provided with Maximum Power Point Tracking controlled by a Particle Swarm Optimization Technique and fuzzy, Artificial Neural Network based Proportional Integral control technique, which is used in the Unified Power Quality Conditioner, in order to balance and increase to maintain the load side power. Total harmonic distortion has decreased from an average of 2.77 percent for voltage to 1.16 percent, and from an average of 4.48 percent to 2.02 percent for current. Results of the simulation run using MATLAB software.

Context: The perception of generic drugs may vary significantly between government and private doctors because physicians in the private sector have more prescribing choices and flexibility. Hence, this study was undertaken to analyse the knowledge, attitude and perception (KAP) of government and private physicians on generic drugs. Materials and Methods: This was a questionnaire-based cross-sectional study conducted among physicians working in public and private health sectors. The questionnaire had 25 closed-ended questions related to the KAP of generic medicine. The overall scores were categorised using Bloom's cut-off point. The Chi-square or Mann–Whitney U-test was used to compare the differences between the two groups. Results: About 80% of the participants in both groups agreed that generic medicines contain the same active ingredients as brand-name drugs, are less expensive and are available in the Indian market. Nearly 84% of government physicians and only 64% of private physicians believed that generic medicines are just as effective and secure as branded medicines (P - 0.003). The majority of physicians from both groups concurred that there is a lack of quality check in generic drug manufacturing, and they require more information about bioequivalence studies. In both categories, about 75% of participants preferred generic medications for their patients. However, in both groups, more than 50% of physicians were concerned about therapeutic failure and expressed reluctance to prescribe generic medications in life-threatening situations. Conclusions: Knowledge and acceptance of generic drugs regarding efficacy, safety, bioequivalence and therapeutic failure are low among both government and private physicians.

People's subjective response to any thermal environment is commonly investigated by using rating scales describing the degree of thermal sensation, comfort, and acceptability. Subsequent analyses of results collected in this way rely on the assumption that specific distances between verbal anchors placed on the scale exist and that relationships between verbal anchors from different dimensions that are assessed (e.g. thermal sensation and comfort) do not change. Another inherent assumption is that such scales are independent of the context in which they are used (climate zone, season, etc.). Despite their use worldwide, there is indication that contextual differences influence the way the scales are perceived and therefore question the reliability of the scales’ interpretation. To address this issue, a large international collaborative questionnaire study was conducted in 26 countries, using 21 different languages, which led to a dataset of 8225 questionnaires. Results, analysed by means of robust statistical techniques, revealed that only a subset of the responses are in accordance with the mentioned assumptions. Significant differences appeared between groups of participants in their perception of the scales, both in relation to distances of the anchors and relationships between scales. It was also found that respondents’ interpretations of scales changed with contextual factors, such as climate, season, and language. These findings highlight the need to carefully consider context-dependent factors in interpreting and reporting results from thermal comfort studies or post-occupancy evaluations, as well as to revisit the use of rating scales and the analysis methods used in thermal comfort studies to improve their reliability.

An amendment to this paper has been published and can be accessed via a link at the top of the paper.

Thermal discomfort is one of the main triggers for occupants' interactions with components of the built environment such as adjustments of thermostats and/or opening windows and strongly related to the energy use in buildings. Understanding causes for thermal (dis-)comfort is crucial for design and operation of any type of building. The assessment of human thermal perception through rating scales, for example in post-occupancy studies, has been applied for several decades; however, long-existing assumptions related to these rating scales had been questioned by several researchers. The aim of this study was to gain deeper knowledge on contextual influences on the interpretation of thermal perception scales and their verbal anchors by survey participants. A questionnaire was designed and consequently applied in 21 language versions. These surveys were conducted in 57 cities in 30 countries resulting in a dataset containing responses from 8225 participants. The database offers potential for further analysis in the areas of building design and operation, psycho-physical relationships between human perception and the built environment, and linguistic analyses.

Introduction: Competency-based Medical Education (CBME) emphasizes small group teaching; henceforth, more innovative educational strategies are needed to stimulate student learning. Team-based Learning (TBL) is structured small-group teaching featuring student preparation out of class to acquire critical concepts. In the current study, TBL was carried out on a virtual platform using commonly available web applications. Aim: To evaluate the impact and perception of virtual TBL compared to online lectures in Pharmacology. Materials and Methods: The randomised crossover study was conducted from September 2021 to January 2022, in the Pharmacology department of Tirunelveli Medical College, Tirunelveli, Tamil Nadu, India. The students were assigned into two groups in the ratio of 1:1 by simple random sampling. Students in group A attended TBL sessions, whereas group B attended lectures on the same topic via Google classroom for the first session. A crossover of groups was done for the second session. At the end of both sessions, a questionnaire with Multiple Choice Questions (MCQs) to assess knowledge recall and Short Answer Questions (SAQs) to assess critical analysis was sent to both groups in Google forms, and responses were collected and evaluated. A validated 33 item TBL Student Assessment Instrument (TBL-SAI) was used to determine the student perceptions. An unpaired t-test was used to compare the scores of both groups to assess performance. Mann-Whitney U test was used to compare the student accountability, preference, and satisfaction scales of TBL-SAI. Results: Out of 130 students, 125 were taken up for analysis as five failed to attend the sessions or complete the questionnaire. TBL group scored significantly better than the lecture group in MCQs {(15.8±2.2 vs 12±2.6) and (12.7±3.5 vs 6.4±2.2)} and SAQs {(5.4±2.1 vs 2.3±1.4) and (6.1±2.0 vs 3.3±1.9)} in sessions 1 and 2, respectively. TBL-SAI subscale and total scores were higher than neutral scores in both groups, indicating a positive attitude toward virtual TBL. Conclusion: Implementation of virtual TBL in synchronous setting in Pharmacology course established proof of high student accountability and satisfaction. Students preferred online TBL to online lectures. Virtual TBL sessions were more effective than online lectures.

Diabetes mellitus has become the most predominant disease in most of the developing and developed countries. Diabetes could occur at any stage of life for which a change in sedentary life style is the possible solution. Despite the introduction of several medications, to curtail the side effects associated with diabetes mellitus, there is no medication or treatment for complete cure. Existing medications and treatments are targeted to mitigate the intensity of the disease which abruptly could result in organ failure. Rather than the available types of treatments, natural medication is reported to produce commendable results. Extracts of many medicinal plants and seaweeds have been documented to possess anti-diabetic properties. A brown alga, S. tenerrimum, found on the west coast of India, is chosen in this study to analyse the anti-diabetic property of its methanolic extract. This extract was used to treat streptozotocin-induced diabetic mice. An experimental design was framed based on acute toxicity studies to determine the change in blood glucose level, body weight, lipid profile, liver enzymes (SGPT and SGOT) and the renal function markers (urea and creatinine). After 15 days of treatment, an increase in body weight and HDL cholesterol was observed while the total cholesterol, VLDL, LDL, serum triglyceride, SGOT, SGPT, creatinine and urea decreased with 250 mg/Kg.bw of S. tenerrimum methanolic extract in Streptozotocin-induced diabetic mice group. This difference is significant (p

Plastics can be considered as the world’s largest pollution that is accumulating in the environment. The degradation of these plastics is difficult because they are accumulated over years and also they are dumped in an area which causes more environmental problems. To reduce the environmental pollution under the waste management with the help of microorganism was taken into account. In those bacteria plays a major role in controlling those problems. Polyurethane can be considered as one of the most used synthetic polymers in the world. Hence, degradation of polyurethane was taken into account in the study with the help of bacteria. In this experiment, we isolated and identified the bacteria that can degrade the polyurethane from the polyurethane buried soil sample. The isolated organism was sequenced and identified at the species level. Enzyme activities of those organisms were also identified along with the degradation process. With the help of this study, we identified a novel bacterium that can degrade polyurethane.

This study is based on the biosynthesis of laccase enzyme from fungi Trichoderma viride and its exploitation in biodegradation of polyethylene using Laccase mediator system (LMS -Laccase + 1-HBT) in Low Density Polyethylene (LDPE) and in biodegradation of textile industrial effluent dyes. In different parts of our lifespan we have seen the numerous types of plastics are getting degraded by various methods, still the average time to completely degrade a plastic bottle is at least 450 years.Similarly industry produces over 3.6 thousand individual textile dyes today and utilizes more than 8000 toxic chemicals in numerous methods for textile manufacture comprising dyeing and printing. As polyethylene and textile industrial effluent dyes are causing severe hazardous effect on environment and health issues in all kind of living organisms, it is necessary to degrade plastics and textile industrial effluent dyes in rapid way. Recently researchers have come up with an idea of degrading plastic and textile industrial effluent dyes with the help of microorganisms and enzymes much faster than normal rate. The Laccase enzyme extracted was tested for its optimum temperature and pH. Lowry’s method is used for protein estimation. A control and sample LDPE was subjected to LMS. The tensile strength and elongation of the sample was less than that of the control after 5 days of treatment. This study showed that laccase together with 1-HBT helps to biodegrade polyethylene. The purified laccase enzyme was used for the pretreatment assay and post treatment assay. The Laccase degrades certain reactive dyes like Congo red, Acid Red, Methylene Blue, Brilliant Blue, Metallic Blue and Black. Thus recommends the application of laccase in textile dye colour removal (bioremediation).

We report a 39-year-old man who presented with skin-colored plaque over the glabella and root of the nose. Histopathology revealed the diagnosis of trichoblastoma. This case is reported to emphasize the rare presentation of trichoblastoma as it usually presents as an isolated nodule.

Introduction: Congenital absence of uterus, inability of the ovary to produce the eggs and any malformations of ovary, fallopian tube, uterus and adnexal tissue may lead to Primary Amenorrhea (PA). The genetic and chromosomal abnormalities are the main cause of PA. Endocrine causes like abnormal function of pituitary gland and hypothalamus also lead to PA. Other causes like stress, extreme physical activity and psychological causes or a combination of these causes may lead to delayed onset of menarche. Aim: To study the frequency and type of chromosomal abnormalities in PA patients. Materials and Methods: In the present descriptive study, subjects included patients referred with PA for chromosomal analysis to Sri Siddhartha Medical College Genetic Laboratory. Pedigrees with details were drawn and in-depth clinical evaluation and clinical information were obtained from all subjects. Results: Of the 77 females with amenorrhea, 65 (84.4%) had a normal karyotype (46, XX) while 12(15.58%) had abnormal karyotype. The age group of the patients with PA ranged from 16-27 years. Mean age of PA was 21 years. In the present study, among 12 abnormal karyotyping patients 7 (58,3%) patients showed XY, sex reversal. This study also identified a X chromosome homogeneous monosomy, (Turner’s) 45 X in one (8.3%) case. Turner’s mosaic 45, X /46, XX in three cases (25%), and one case (8.3%) showed inversion 46, XX, inv (11), (P15q11). Conclusion: A significant number of patients had sex chromosomal abnormalities; thus, early cytogenetic investigation is prudent to guide further management. Genetic counselling should include the risk of premature menopause for patients with Turner’s syndrome and the use of hormonal replacement therapy, the risk of gonadal malignancy for patients with XY gonadal dysgenesis and the possibility of infertility in the future children of patients with mosaic Turner.

Although belong to the same genus, Aspergillus fumigatus is primarily involved in invasive pulmonary infection, whereas Aspergillus flavus is a common cause of superficial infection. In this study, we compared conidia (the infective propagules) of these two Aspergillus species. In immunocompetent mice, intranasal inoculation with conidia of A. flavus resulted in significantly higher inflammatory responses in the lungs compared to mice inoculated with A. fumigatus conidia. In vitro assays revealed that the dormant conidia of A. flavus, unlike A. fumigatus dormant conidia, are immunostimulatory. The conidial surface of A. fumigatus was covered by a rodlet-layer, while that of A. flavus were presented with exposed polysaccharides. A. flavus harbored significantly higher number of proteins in its conidial cell wall compared to A. fumigatus conidia. Notably, β-1,3-glucan in the A. flavus conidial cell-wall showed significantly higher percentage of branching compared to that of A. fumigatus. The polysaccharides ensemble of A. flavus conidial cell wall stimulated the secretion of proinflammatory cytokines, and conidial cell wall associated proteins specifically stimulated IL-8 secretion from the host immune cells. Furthermore, the two species exhibited different sensitivities to antifungal drugs targeting cell wall polysaccharides, proposing the efficacy of species-specific treatment strategies. Overall, the species-specific organization of the conidial cell wall could be important in establishing infection by the two Aspergillus species.

Pigeonpea is a major source of dietary protein to the vegetarian population of the Indian sub-continent. Crop improvement to mitigate biotic and abiotic stresses for realization of its potential yield and bridging yield gap is the need of the hour. Availability of limited genomic resources in the cultivated germplasm, however, is a serious bottleneck towards successful molecular breeding for the development of superior genotypes in pigeonpea. In view of this, improvement of pigeonpea can be attempted through transgenesis or by exploiting genetic resources from its wild relatives. Pigeonpea wild relatives are known to be bestowed with agronomic traits of importance; discovery and deployment of genes from them can provide a lucrative option for crop improvement. Understanding molecular signatures of wild relatives would not only provide information about the mechanism behind desired traits but also enable us to extrapolate the information to cultivated pigeonpea. The present study deals with the characterization of leaf transcriptomes of Cajanus cajan and one of its wild relatives, Cajanus platycarpus. Illumina sequencing revealed 0.11 million transcripts in both the species with an annotation of 0.09 million (82%) transcripts using BLASTX. Comparative transcriptome analyses on the whole, divulged cues about the wild relative being vigilant and agile. Gene ontology and Mapman analysis depicted higher number of transcripts in the wild relative pertaining to signaling, transcription factors and stress responsive genes. Further, networking between the differentially expressed MapMan bins demonstrated conspicuous interactions between different bins through 535 nodes (512 Genes and 23 Pathways) and 1857 edges. The authenticity of RNA-seq analysis was confirmed by qRT-PCR. The information emanating from this study can provide valuable information and resource for future translational research including genome editing to alleviate varied stresses. Further, this learning can be a platform for in-depth investigations to decipher molecular mechanisms for mitigation of various stresses in the wild relative.

Introduction: The routine antenatal sonographic investigations of the umbilical cord are limited for assessment of number of umbilical vessels and doppler evaluation of umbilical blood flow. With the advancements of the sonographic techniques it is now possible to have more detailed evaluation of umbilical cord. There exist only few literatures on assessment of umbilical cord cross-sectional area during pregnancy to provide a baseline reference value. Aim: To establish the reference intervals of cross-sectional area of the umbilical cord during gestation and to find the correlation of umbilical cord cross-sectional area with the foetal anthropometric measurements. Materials and Methods: This study was conducted among 214 normal pregnant women who underwent a routine antenatal sonogram during gestational age ranging from 24-39 weeks in the Department of Radiodiagnosis. The umbilical cord crosssectional area was calculated at a plane immediately close to the umbilical cord insertion to the foetal abdomen. The following foetal parameters were studied: Biparietal Diameters (BPD), Head Circumference (HC), Abdominal Circumference (AC), Femur Length (FL), and Estimated Foetal weight (EFW). The relationship between foetal anthropometric measurements and umbilical cord cross sectional area was assessed using spearman rank correlation. The 5th, 10th, 50th, 90th and 95th percentiles of umbilical cord cross-sectional area were calculated for each gestational groups using polynomial regression analysis. Results: A statistically significant correlation was observed between cross-sectional area of umbilical cord with both gestational age and foetal anthropometric parameters. The mean age of study population was 25.08±3.5 years and the mean gestational age was 34.42±2.5 weeks. We observed a strong correlation between head circumference and umbilical cord cross-sectional area. Conclusion: The mean umbilical cord cross-section area increases steadily with gestational age for up to 34 weeks and then it declines. Umbilical cord cross-sectional area can be easily measured and hence it can be included in routine antenatal sonographic evaluations to predict the perinatal outcome. Careful monitoring of the pregnancy is needed in case of abnormal cross-sectional area measurements.

Background: Sural nerve is formed by communication of medial sural cutaneous nerve, that arise from tibial nerve in popliteal fossa and peroneal communicating nerve, a branch directly from common peroneal nerve or from lateral sural cutaneous nerve. The sural nerve is universally recognized by surgeons as a site for harvesting an autologous nerve graft and for nerve biopsies in case of neuropathies. Setting and Design: Anatomy department and an observational study. Statistical Analysis: The Mean, Standard Deviation, relevant percentages and p value was calculated by Chi–square test. Material and Methods: The study consists of 50 lower limb specimens in 25 cadavers. All the male and female complete cadavers were included in the study. The data was collected by dissection method by using dissection instruments and parameters (measurements) were obtained by using measuring tape. Results: The sural nerve complex was dissected and observed in 50 formalin fixed lower limb specimens. Study was done in 16 male and 9 female cadavers. Three types of formation of sural nerve were observed were - Type A was seen in 36 specimens (72%) of cases. Type B was seen in 14 specimens (28%) of cases. Type C sural nerve was not found in present study. Site of union of components of SN was seen in the upper 3rd of leg in 5.6%, in middle 3rd it was in 33.3% and in lower 3rd it was in 58.3% of cases. The length of the sural nerve shows a wide range from 2 cm to 32 cm. The symmetrical distribution was seen in 62.5% in males and 55.6% in female. Conclusion: The normal anatomy and variations may help to guide during surgeries in the region.

Green nanotechnology involves the synthesis of nanoparticles without the involvement of toxic chemicals. The present study reports the green synthesis of silver nanoparticles from Annona squamosa leaf extract rapidly within 20 min. High throughput characterization such as UV-vis spectroscopy, Fourier Transform-Infrared Spectroscopy (FT-IR), Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM), Field Emission-Scanning Electron Microscopy (FE-SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Zeta potential measurements disclose the existence of silver nanoparticles. The phenolic compounds present in the aqueous leaves extract paves way for the possible reduction of silver to nano-silver. Electron microscopic studies revealed the average size of nanoparticles were 52 nm. The nanoparticles are highly stable by reaching a zeta potential value of −33.6 mV. Comparative antibacterial efficacy of silver nanoparticles was investigated by disk diffusion and microtitre broth dilution method against Escherichia coli. The result showed that silver nanoparticles are toxic to E. coli cells at higher concentration. Overall, we suggest microtitre broth dilution method is more reliable to determine the antimicrobial activity of silver nanoparticles than disk diffusion method.

Synthesis of nanomaterials by biological approach is innovative, cheaper and environmental friendly and requires less-labor. In this regard, the present study focused on the synthesis of silver nanoparticles from the extract of Sargassum tenerrimum. Synthesized silver nanoparticles were well-characterized by UV-Visible Spectroscopy (UV-Vis), Fourier-Transform Infra-red Spectroscopy (FT-IR), Transmission Electron Microscopy analysis (TEM) and Dynamic Light Scattering (DLS). It was found that spherical shaped nanoparticles of size 20 nm were found in TEM analysis and showed effective anti-bacterial activity against standard reference strains. Altogether, extracts from seaweed were screened for phytochemicals followed by FT-IR prediction to reveal chemical functional groups present. The results showed that the anti-bacterial activity of silver nanoparticles was comparably higher than the phytochemicals present. Therefore, the present study elucidates silver nanoparticles can play a vital role in nano-based therapy in future.

Zirconium dioxide is a prospective high-κ material that can replace silicon dioxide. Zirconium dioxide nanoparticle has been synthesized using sol-gel process at room temperature. The structural and morphological characterization of the nanoscaled zirconium dioxide is done using FTIR, SEM, X-ray diffraction, and TEM. The particle size of the synthesized ZrO2 is observed in the range of 50–80 nm with an average crystallite size of 2–10 nm. The results are compared with commercial coarse zirconia which showed a particle size in the range of 900 nm–2.13 µm and crystallite size of 5.3 nm–20 nm. It is expected that both nanoscaling and the high dielectric constant of ZrO2 would be useful in replacing the low-κ SiO2 dielectric with high-κ ZrO2 for CMOS fabrication technology. The synthesized ZrO2 is subjected to impedance analysis and it exhibited a dielectric constant of 25 to find its application in short channel devices like multiple gate FinFETS and as a suitable alternative for the conventional gate oxide dielectric SiO2 with dielectric value of 3.9, which cannot survive the challenge of an end of oxide thickness ≤ 1 nm.

During routine dissection which was carried out for the medical students, a circumaortic left renal vein draining into inferior vena cava was observed. There were 2 renal veins through which the left kidney drained into the inferior vena cava, of which the larger one ran ventral to aorta and the other smaller one ran posterior to aorta and received lumbar veins before opening into inferior vena cava. This is a relatively rare condition which can result in left renal hypertension (LRVH) syndrome which is otherwise called as anterior and posterior nutcracker syndromes. This venous anomaly results from the errors of embryological development. It is of clinical significance, mainly during retroperitoneal surgeries and intra caval interventions. It is also important in conditions which warrant extensive venous dissections, venous reconstructions as in transplantations and invasion of veins by cancerous tissue, resulting in life threatening haemorrhage.

Malrotation of gut is an intestinal gestational disorder which not only affects the positioning of the midgut, but also its vascular supply. It usually presents with the syndrome of bouts of colic and vomiting with little distention of abdomen and diarrhea. Though midgut malrotation is a common cause of intestinal obstruction in newborn, scant attention is given to this developmental anomaly as a cause of symptoms in adults. The development of midgut portion of alimentary canal suffers a large variety of variations. The surgical importance of abdominal situation of the portions of intestine derived from the midgut loop requires little attention. Sub–hepatic anatomical location of the appendix makes it more difficult to diagnose acute appendicitis at any age, including in older adults. Failure to recognize the nature and characteristic features of these misplacements may lead to grave errors in procedure, or to injurious prolongation of the operation. Here in we found a rare abnormality of caecum, which was present in the sub hepatic region with the absence of ascending colon during routine dissection classes for undergraduate students.

With the emergent exercise of biometric authentication systems, fake and real fingerprint classification has become an attractive research area in the last decade. A number of research works have been carried out to classify fake and real fingerprints. But, most of the existing techniques did not utilize swarm intelligence techniques in their fingerprint classification system. Swarm intelligence has been widely used in various applications due to its robustness and potential in solving a complex optimization problem. The main aim of this paper is to develop a new and efficient fingerprint classification approach based on swarm intelligence with fuzzy based neural network techniques to overcome the limitations of the these classification approaches. The proposed classification methodology comprises of four steps, image preprocessing, feature extraction, feature selection and classification. This work uses efficient min-max normalization and median filtering for preprocessing, and multiple static features are extracted from Gabor filtering. Then, from the multiple static features obtained from 2D Gabor filtering, best features are selected using Artificial Bee Colony (ABC) optimization based on its searching capability. This optimization based feature selection selects only the optimal set of features which is used for classification. This would lessen the complexity and the time taken by the classifier. This approach uses Fuzzy Feed Forward Neural Network (FFFNN) for classification and its performance is compared with the SVM classifier. The performance and evaluations are performed using fingerprint images collected from FVC2000 and synthetically generated database using SFinGE. It shows that proposed work provides better results in terms of sensitivity, precision, specificity and classification accuracy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Some of the industries that discharge highly colored effluents are paper and pulp mills, textiles and dye-making industries, alcohol distilleries and leather industries. Terrestrial white-rot basidiomycetous fungi and their lignindegrading enzymes laccase, manganese-peroxidase and lignin peroxidases are useful in the treatment of colored industrial effluents and other xenobiotics.In the present study different 13 species of fungi were isolated from the effluent. Among the isolated fungi Aspergillus was the dominant genus in the effluent.Except dissolved oxygen, all other parameters showed decreased level when compare to control.The BOD and COD level were reduced significantly. Immobilized Aspergillus showed better removal of pollutants than free cells of Aspergillus. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Marine debris is a global issue with adverse impacts on marine organisms, ecological processes, aesthetics, and economies of nations. Several studies have been conducted to quantify the plastic debris along Indian beaches. This baseline study describes the results of a survey conducted on the types of plastic litters and their quantification during January to March 2020 along Mandvi beach in Gujarat. A quadrate having 10 × 10 m size was used for sampling the plastic litter on the shoreline. A total of 10 quadrates along the shore was considered for quantification of the plastic materials based on their density, color, and weight. The plastic material observed includes gutkha pouches, food wrappers, and fragments, along with plastic straws, cutleries, and fragments of various dimensions and thickness. The major contributing factors for the debris abundance in Mandvi beach are land-based sources and recreational activities. The results suggest that similar long-term projects covering extensive areas should be undertaken for accurate quantification of available debris and their impacts on coastal habitats of Gujarat. • A total of 1140 plastic items belongs 18 categories were collected along the Mandvi beach, Gujarat coast. • An average of number and weight of 63.4 items/100 m and 94.5 g/100 m to be recorded along the beach. • The gutkha pouches are contributed the highest debris found in the study location during the survey period. • The main sources of beach debris were shoreline/recreational and tourism activities based on ICC method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]