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The present study was carried out during 2019–20 and 2020–21 at Govind Ballabh Pant University of Agriculture and Technology, Pantnagar, Uttarakhand to assess the combined effects of deficit irrigation and mulching on a 5-year- old VNR Bihi guava (Psidium guajava L.) orchard. The experiment consisted of three irrigation regimes, viz. deficit irrigation at 50% ETc (DI50); deficit irrigation at 75% ETc (DI75); and full irrigation at 100% ETc (FI100); and four mulching treatments, viz. silver-black mulch (MSB); black mulch (MB); organic mulch (MOM); and without mulch (MWM) laid out in a factorial randomised block design (F-RBD) with three replications. Results showed that fruit number and yield/tree were recorded highest in trees irrigated with DI75 and mulched with silver-black mulch. Under treatment DI50 fruit had the highest concentration of soluble solids, with Brix levels of 12.35°B and 12.78 °B during the years 2019–20 and 2020–21, respectively. Total sugars content was significantly increased under DI50 by 7.73 and 7.36%, respectively as compared to FI100 during both the years of experimentation. The biochemical properties such as total phenolics, total flavonoids and antioxidant (DPPH) activity also increased as irrigation regimes decreased from FI100 to DI50. The total phenolic and flavonoids content were improved by 19.19 and 33.44%, respectively under DI50 when compared to FI100. Significant differences among different mulch treatments with respect to quality parameters were also observed except DPPH activity. Silver-black mulch followed by black mulch resulted in higher soluble solids content, total sugars, ascorbic acid, total phenolic content, total flavonoids and DPPH activity. These findings demonstrate the positive effect of water deficit practice on bioactive compounds and the appropriateness of deficit irrigation and mulching as irrigation management strategies in the fruit orchards that improve fruit commercial value and conserve water.

Asynchronous interconnection is essential for integrating AC networks operating at different frequencies, typically 50 Hz and 60 Hz. This need arises from distributed power generation methods, including offshore renewable sources and diverse regional grid configurations. Advanced strategies are required to overcome these frequency differences and ensure uninterrupted power transfer.High-Voltage Direct Current (HVDC) transmission systems facilitate efficient power exchange, enhancing grid reliability and stability. This study focuses on optimizing the Proportional-plus-Integral (PI) controller parameters within a 20 MVA Voltage Source Converters (VSC)-based HVDC system to enable asynchronous interconnection between offshore and onshore AC networks. The offshore VSC regulates active and reactive power, while the onshore VSC controls DC voltage and reactive power. A vector control approach with symmetric optimum PI tuning is proposed for a comprehensive performance assessment of the VSC-based HVDC transmission system.The effectiveness of the tuned PI controller parameters is evaluated through four test cases using MATLAB/Simulink for offline simulation and Typhoon HIL604 for real-time validation. These cases involve abrupt changes in reference active and reactive power for the offshore VSC; and in reference reactive power and DC voltage for the onshore VSC. Results demonstrate rapid and satisfactory dynamic performance across all test cases, as evidenced by offline simulations and real-time validation.The validation highlights the effectiveness of the proposed control design with symmetric optimum PI tuning, confirming its ability to enhance the overall performance of the HVDC transmission system for efficient asynchronous interconnection.

Introduction: Leprosy is a slowly progressive chronic granulomatous disease caused by Mycobacterium Leprae (M. leprae) and predominantly affects skin and peripheral nerves. Leprosy is a leading cause of physical disability in India and poses a major public health challenge for the country. Histopathological evaluation and demonstration of Lepra bacilli by special stain is gold standard for definitive diagnosis and subtyping of leprosy. Aim: To study the common histological subtypes of leprosy on the basis of microscopic features and bacteriological index. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted in the Department of Pathology at Dr. S.N. Medical College, Jodhpur, Rajasthan, India. The duration of the study was two years and 11 months, from January 2019 to December 2021. A total of 55 skin biopsies which were histologically diagnosed as different types of leprosy were included. Patients data of age, gender, skin examination and other investigations were collected from the requisition forms and analysed. After proper fixation and processing of biopsy samples, Haematoxylin and Eosin (H&E) stained sections were examined for epidermal atrophy, presence of grenz zone, granulomas, infiltrates of lymphocytes, histiocytes, foam cells, infiltration of nerves and adnexa. The sections stained with Fite-Faraco stain were studied for the assessment of bacteriological index. On the basis of microscopic features, cases were categorised into tuberculoid leprosy, borderline tuberculoid leprosy, indeterminate leprosy, borderline leprosy, lepromatous leprosy and histoid leprosy as per Ridley-Jopling classification and percentage is calculated for each category. Data was entered and analysed by using Microsoft Excel version 2008 and Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 23.0. Results: The mean age of the study participants was 39.6 years. Male to female ratio was 2.92:1. There were 33 (60%) cases with erythematous lesions followed by 15 (27.27%) hypopigmented lesions and 7 (12.73%) nodules. Out of 55 there were 21 (38.18%) cases of tuberculoid leprosy followed by 11 (20%) cases of borderline tuberculoid leprosy, 8 (14.55%) cases of indeterminate leprosy, 6 (10.91%) cases of borderline leprosy, 5 (9.09%) cases of lepromatous leprosy and 4 (7.27%) cases of histoid leprosy. Bacteriological index was negative in 35 (63.64%) cases followed by 2+ in 6 (10.91%) cases, 5 (9.09%) had index of 4+, 4 (7.27%) cases had index of 3+, 3 (5.45%) had index of 1+, and 1 (1.82%) case had index of 5+ and 6+ each. Conclusion: Skin biopsy is easy, simple, inexpensive and outpatient procedure which provides adequate material for confirmation of the clinical diagnosis and further management. Histopathological examination including microscopic features of H&E stained sections, along with assessment of bacteriological index on Fite-Faraco stained sections remain the gold standard for diagnosis and subtyping of leprosy cases.

Introduction: Oral diseases are considered a public health problem due to their high prevalence. It is the primary concern of oral health educators to impart positive oral health knowledge and behavior in the society. Health workers' knowledge, attitude, and practices (KAP) toward oral health to a great extent influence the community as they can extend health education at the first contact in the community. Thus, the aim of the study was to assess the knowledge, attitude, and practices of health care workers. Material and Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional survey was designed to assess the knowledge, attitude, and practices towards oral health among health care workers. The study was conducted among health care workers aged between 20 and 60 years working in Primary Healthcare Centres and Community Healthcare Centres of Lucknow district. Informed consent was obtained from health care workers before the start of the study. The data were collected via a predesigned and pretested questionnaire. The data were analyzed using IBM SPSS Statistics-version 21. Results: The results of the study showed that 70.2% of the respondents ever visited the dentist due to somereason of which 19.2% visited once in a year. In addition, 38.9% of the respondents were daily smokers of which the majority belonged to the age group 20–40 years. A total of 63.9% of the respondents were daily chewable tobacco users, and 12.4% were routine users of alcohol. Conclusion: The present study gives a brief insight into the oral health knowledge, attitude, and practices of health care workers which were of fair degree.

Background: Internet addiction is defined as any online-related, compulsive behavior which interferes with normal living and causes severe stress on family, friends, loved ones, and one's work environment. The adolescents are most vulnerable to the numerous addictive temptations offered by the Internet during the transition phase. The present study aims to evaluate the prevalence of Internet addiction in adolescents of urban areas of Kanpur district and assess the association of Internet addiction with stress, anxiety, and depression. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among students of higher secondary schools/colleges in the urban areas of Kanpur district in Uttar Pradesh. Out of 105 colleges, 10%, i.e., 10 colleges, were selected randomly and a total of 900 students were enrolled in the study. A pretested, predesigned questionnaire, Young's Internet Addiction Scale, and Depression Anxiety Stress Scales 21 were used in the study. Data distribution was assessed for normality using the Shapiro–Wilk test. Categorical data were compared using the Chi-square test. All values were considered statistically significant for a value of P ≤ 0.05. Results: Majority (61.1%) of the respondents were females, and the mean age was 17.20 years. The prevalence of Internet addiction was 89.78%. The main purpose of using Internet was social networking (54.89%), followed by online gaming/gambling (19.67%) and study (12.89%). About 60.44% of the respondents used Internet for 3–6 h/day and 28.67% of the respondents used Internet for

Aim: To assess the oral health status and inflammatory markers in end stage chronic kidney disease (CKD) patients. Objectives: To study and compare oral health status of end stage CKD patients with the control group (matched health individuals) and to study and compare inflammatory biomarkers in study and control groups. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 50 patients of end stage CKD and 50 matched healthy individual, who were taken as control in the study. Convenience sampling technique was used. Oral health status was recorded by using WHO proforma (2013). Erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) and C-reactive protein (CRP ) were also measured in the both groups. These are inflammatory markers which show systemic inflammation. Statistical analysis was done by using IBM SPSS Statistics-version 21 (IBM Corp. Released 2012. IBM SPSS Statistics for Windows, Version 21.0. Armonk, NY: IBM Corp.) Results: The study revealed that patients on dialysis going for transplantation have evidence of increased inflammation as indicated by raised CRP values. Conclusion: The present study concludes that the oral hygiene of the patients is deteriorated who are having chronic kidney disease. Good oral and dental care in CKD patients can improve the transplant outcomes.

Background: The habit of smoking and chewing tobacco is associated with various types of oral mucosal lesions and conditions, many of which pose a potential threat to cancer growth. The present study aims to evaluate the prevalence of potentially malignant lesions (PML) and oral cancer in North India and to identify the associated risk factors. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study was carried out in the Department of Oral Medicine and Radiology Rama Dental College Hospital and research center Kanpur over a period of 5 years with1,10,625 patients. Participants were divided into study group with a positive history of the chewing habit as well as oral lesions and control group who had a positive history of habits with no oral lesions. Detailed case history and clinical examination were carried out under visible light by trained professionals to assess any oral mucosal changes. Results: The study group consisted of 76.31% males and 23.69% females. In total, 84.34% participants in the study group were literate. However, 57.56% subjects were having oral submucous fibrosis, 23.7% were having leukoplakia, 13.12% were having Lichen planus, and 5.62% were having oral cancer. Conclusion: Results from the present study indicate that tobacco smoking, chewing of betel quid with and/or without tobacco chewing are the major risk factors for PML and oral cancer.

Background: The Swachh Bharat Abhiyan (SBA) is the most significant cleanliness campaign by the Government of India. Youth are the strong pillars of the development of any country. There is a need to bring a big change to the youth about the cleanliness drive. This study aims to assess the perception of SBA and attitude towards cleanliness among dental students of Kanpur city. Materials and Methods: This study is a descriptive, cross-sectional survey, which comprised of 390 undergraduate and postgraduate students. A pretested, self-administered, close-ended questionnaire consisting of 11 questions were included to evaluate the perceptions and attitudes regarding SBA among the dental students. Data were analyzed using IBM Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) version 21 (IBM Corp. Released 2012. IBM SPSS Statistics for Windows, Version 21.0. Armonk, NY: IBM Corp.). Categorical data were compared using the Chi-square test. All values were considered statistically significant for a value of P ≤ 0.05. Results: The results of the study revealed that there is a positive attitude among study participants towards cleanliness, but efforts are still required to emphasize the importance of cleanliness among the many inhabitants. To implement SBA effectively, it is important to highlight the urgent need for public awareness. Conclusion: This study found that the majority of the participants was having positive attitude and perception towards SBA, yet initiatives and approaches are still needed to help bring positive actions among those who are reluctant to follow proper cleanliness, sanitation, and hygiene practices.

Introduction: Gingivitis is codified as the most familiar oral disease in children and teenagers. Several studies reported that most of the children and adolescents have negative impact on quality of life (QoL) due to gingivitis or destructive periodontal disease or poor oral health status. Existing literature in this context on Indian population is sparse. Hence, this study has been shouldered to find out possible coalition between gingivitis and COHRQoL. Objective: This study desires to evaluate the confederation of gingivitis and child oral health-related quality of life (COHRQoL) among school children of Lucknow. Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted in school going children with the age group of 11–14 years, with a representative sample of 400 students in Lucknow city. For data on oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL), a predesigned questionnaire (CPQ11-14) was used for demographic information and questions on oral symptoms, functional limitations, emotional, and social well-being. Gingival status was evaluated by Gingival index (Loe and Silness 1963). Results: QoL was found to be moderately affected in children with severe gingivitis as compared with children with no gingivitis, mild, and moderate gingivitis, but this difference was found to be statistically nonsignificant (P = 0.896). Conclusion: The present findings indicated that the existence of substantial levels of gingivitis might be fatalistically related with how children perceive their oral health and daily life.

Background: Green tea (Camellia sinensis) is one of the most popularly consumed beverages worldwide containing a number of bioactive chemicals, and it is particularly rich in flavonoids which include catechin. It is linked to a lower incidence of some pathological conditions including oral cancer, dental caries, stroke, cardiovascular diseases, and obesity. Aim: The aim of the study was to compare and evaluate the effects of commercially available green tea mouthwash with chlorhexidine mouthwash on gingivitis. Materials and Methods: A 3-week, double-blinded study was conducted on thirty nursing students aged between 18 and 25 years. Plaque status was assessed by plaque index (Silness and Loe 1964) and gingival status was assessed by gingival index (Loe and Silness 1963) at the 14th day and at the 21st day. Statistical analysis was done using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences version 21. The test used was one-way analysis of variance and repeated measures. The level of significance was kept as P < 0.05. Results: There was a reduction in the gingivitis scores of the participants using green tea mouthwash as compared to chlorhexidine mouthwash and distilled water. Statistically significant differences were observed between distilled water and green tea groups (P = 0.04). Conclusion: The present study showed that green tea mouthwash was found to be more effective than the chlorhexidine mouthwash in reducing extensive levels of gingivitis.

The problem of simultaneous tuning of the automatic generation control (AGC) regulator’s gains of multi-area interconnected power system is carried out in this manuscript. Based on the types of area interconnections, a power system model consisting of reheat turbines is investigated by two test cases for the AGC study. In one of the test case AC link is used as area interconnection, whereas the parallel combination of AC/DC links is used as area interconnection in other test case. Each test case control area is consisting of plants with reheat thermal turbines. Genetic algorithm (GA) is used to globally optimize the gains of proportional integral-based AGC regulators with simultaneous optimization of frequency bias coefficient and tie-line power flows. The dynamic response curves are obtained for various system states with the implementation of designed GA-based AGC regulators considering 1% load perturbation in one of the areas. The conventional AGC regulators are also developed using the popularly known Ziegler–Nichols technique. The investigations carried out demonstrate the superiority of proposed regulators over the conventional AGC regulators. The incorporation of DC link in parallel with AC link as an area interconnection has also exhibited favorable effect on dynamic response of the system.

A new intelligent Automatic Generation Control (AGC) scheme based on Evolutionary Algorithms (EAs) and Fuzzy Logic concept is developed for a multi-area power system. EAs i.e. Genetic Algorithm–Simulated Annealing (GA–SA) are used to optimize the gains of Fuzzy Logic Algorithm (FLA)-based AGC regulators for interconnected power systems. The multi-area power system model has three different types of plants i.e. reheat, non-reheat and hydro and are interconnected via Extra High Voltage Alternate Current transmission links. The dynamic model of the system is developed considering one of the most important Governor Dead Band (GDB) non-linearity. The designed AGC regulators are implemented in the wake of 1% load perturbation in one of the control areas and the dynamic response plots are obtained for various system states. The investigations carried out in the study reveal that the system dynamic performance with hybrid GA–SA-tuned Fuzzy technique (GASATF)-based AGC controller is appreciably superior as compared to that of integral and FLA-based AGC controllers. It is also observed that the incorporation of GDB non-linearity in the system dynamic model has resulted in degraded system dynamic performance.

Background: Endometrial cancer is one of the common gynecologic cancer and accounts for nearly 5% of cancer cases and more than 2% of deaths due to cancer in women worldwide.Bcl-2 is an anti-apoptotic gene involved in the regulation of apoptosis and Ki-67 is a recognized indicator of cell mitotic activity. Increased expression of both indicates tumorigenesis. Analyzing the expression of these markers in cyclical endometrium, endometrial hyperplasia and in endometrial carcinoma will help in the development of new treatment modalities specific against these markers. Aim and objectives: To evaluate the expression of Bcl-2 and Ki-67 in endometrial lesions and to compare the pattern of expression of Bcl-2 and Ki-67 in different endometrial lesions and in cyclical endometrium. Methods: Hospital based observational, cross- sectional study was conducted in 57 patient of different cyclical endometrium and endometrium lesions. The selected tissue blocks were processed for hematoxylin and eosin stain and IHC staining for Bcl-2 and Ki-67. Results: In this study, 11 cases of proliferative endometrium and 9 cases of secretory endometrium were studied. Mean Bcl-2 score was 7.6 in proliferative phase and 1.3 in secretory phase whereas mean Ki-67 score was 7.27 in proliferative phase and 2.4 in secretory phase. In this study 10 cases of Disordered proliferative phase showed mean score 11.2 of Bcl-2 that was slightly higher than hyperplasia which has Bcl-2 score of 6.2. Of the total 12 cases of hyperplasia 9 cases were of simple hyperplasia and 3 were of atypical hyperplasia. In simple hyperplasia mean score was 6.2 for Bcl2 and 4.8 for Ki-67. In atypical hyperplasia mean score was 4 for Bcl-2 and 2.6 for Ki- 67. Conclusions: Bcl-2 and Ki-67 have been found to be reliable markers to indicate the progression of the disease and might be a novel indication for treatment and follow-up. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: CD34 antigen is a tool important in differentiating between benign and malignant conditions. This study was aimed to determine the stromal expression of CD34 antigen by immunohistochemical method in proliferative lesions of the breast and to evaluate the specificity of loss of CD34 antigen expression in stromal cells for malignant lesions. Materials and methods: 90 cases of proliferative lesions of the breast were studied from January 2022 to December 2022. Paraffin-embedded blocks were retrieved for all the cases and underwent routine processing followed by Hematoxylin and Eosin staining. 54 cases of the benign lesion and 36 cases of the malignant lesion were studied for CD34 immunohistochemical staining, and semi-quantitative assessment was done. Results: Out of total 35 cases having grade-0 expression, majority are Infiltrating Duct Carcinoma (19 cases) followed by Invasive Breast Carcinoma (13 cases, small biopsies). We had 1 cases of grade-1 expression and it was Complex Fibroadenoma. Out of 14 cases having grade-2 expression, majority were fibroadenoma (6 cases) followed by 2 cases of tubular adenoma, 1 case each of benign phylloides, borderline phyllodes tumor, fibroadenosis, fibroadeomatoid hyperplasia, fibroadenoma with apocrine changes and fibroadenoma with epithelial hyperplasia. Out of 40 cases having grade-3 expression, majority were fibroadenomas (29 cases) followed by 3 cases each of fibroadenoma with fibrocystic disease and fibroadenoma with epithelial hyperplasia, 2 case each of fibrocystic disease and fibroadenoma with apocrine changes and 1 case of epithelial hyperplasia. Conclusion: CD34 antigen expression in stromal cells can be used as an adjuvant tool in differentiating between benign and malignant conditions where the morphology is equivocal. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]