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Abstract-: Partial shading deteriorates the overall performance of photovoltaic (PV) arrays by reducing the power output. Various shading mitigation strategies have been proposed in the literature with vulnerabilities of limited applications, switches, sensor counts, design, cost, and complexities. In this paper, a multi-string differential power processing (MS-DPP) based voltage equalizer is proposed for power output improvement in the PV arrays during shading. The equalizer is utilized for the series-parallel array which is equipped with a shading detection system achieved from the optimal placement of minimum sensor counts. The technique uses the concept of a switching capacitor that balances the voltage ratio between the modules of individual strings to ensure higher power generation and convex power curves during shading. The system is simulated and validated in MATLAB simulation and further verified on the OPAL-RT 4510 hardware-in-loop FPGA-based real-time platform. The technique is executed on three array sizes and compared with existing techniques under static and dynamic partial shading cases. The analysis shows that MS-DPP enhances the array power output with a conversion efficiency higher than 99 % during shading with lower system size and 98.38 % and 95.05 % reduced counts of switches and sensors than dynamic reconfigurations.

With majority of the medical journals having a rejection rate of more than 80% of submitted manuscripts, it does come as a shock and grief to the author who had a lot of expectations before submission. Though most of the literature available does mention how to overcome the lacunae in the manuscript before considering resubmission in another journal, none addresses the mental agony and setback the author faces and the way to overcome this setback. Every author should develop immunity and be adequately mentally prepared to overcome this misery. A question- answer session between an eager enthusiastic author, a highly experienced reviewer, and the final authority Editor is presented for guidance.

Solar photovoltaic (PV) power plants’ performance is severely impacted by multi-level irradiances or partial shading, leading to power losses and voltage instability. Also, partial shading adds further complexity to the maximum power point tracking algorithms by introducing numerous peaks in the power curves, resulting in additional losses. Numerous solutions are presented to deal with shading losses, and dynamic reconfiguration is the most effective; however, higher switch count and complex architecture make it impractical in real-world implementation. Hence, this study proposes a low-complexity architecture based on the grouped string voltage balancing approach. This approach utilizes a voltage balancing converter connected to groups of strings to enhance the power output of the array of PV plants, maintain overall system voltage stability, and eliminate the possibility of multiple peaks formation in the power curves. The effectiveness of the proposed approach is tested under numerous static and dynamic partial shadings and analyzed using power curves, power output, losses, efficiencies, and voltage stability. The validation is done by comparing the proposed approach with conventional and advanced architectures for a 32.5 kW system. The results show that the proposed method requires a 50 % reduced switch count than existing techniques, achieves 99.54 % efficiency, and maintains an average voltage stability of 0.01.

This paper analyzes the effect of different types of dust on the reduction of PV systems' performance. The PV system installed on the field gives maximum output. However, in a real-time scheme, the PV system fails to generate the desired power output due to various realistic and unavoidable factors like soiling. Different dust particles accumulating on photovoltaic (PV) modules result in shadowing and reduced irradiance, impacting power production. The study investigates eight dust samples (ash, dirt, cement, brick powder, putty, wood dust, sand, and salt) in indoor and outdoor environments. It evaluates the decrease in power at solar irradiance levels of 500, 700, and 1000 W/m². The soiling experiments conducted indoors show that the maximum% reduction in power is 39.21 % in the case of Ash, while a minimum of 8.32 % in the case of red soil. The outdoor experiments suggest that red soil, sand, and brick dust can create huge power losses in the PV system, followed by ash powder, wood dust, putty dust, salt, and cement powder. The advantages of this research lie in its thorough analysis of several forms of dust and their impact on photovoltaic (PV) systems under different circumstances. Furthermore, the study emphasizes the crucial need for implementing dust control measures to maximize system performance, thereby providing insightful information for system design and maintenance procedures. The novelty of this study is to investigate the performance impact of various kinds of dust on PV systems, offering significant insights for improving system efficiency in real-world circumstances. The research enhances the reliability and applicability of its results by thoroughly assessing outdoor and indoor conditions, bridging the gap between laboratory results and practical applications.

Background: The thyroid hormone’s significant impact on the treatment of depressive and other mood disorders is well documented. Even minor hypothyroidism can modify the progression and treatment results of major depressive disorder. This research aims to explore the correlation between initial thyroid levels and the treatment outcome in bipolar mood disorder using lithium, a well-established treatment method. Methodology: The study involved 45 bipolar mood disorder patients diagnosed according to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual 5 criteria and admitted to a tertiary care teaching institute in Northeast India. The patients received lithium treatment, with injectable lorazepam used for immediate agitation control when necessary. On the 1st day, a semi-structured questionnaire and Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (BPRS) 24-item scale were used to evaluate symptoms, and samples were collected for a thyroid profile, including T3, T4, FT3, FT4, and thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH). The BPRS scale was used again on the 30th day to assess treatment response. Results: The BPRS subscale showed the highest treatment response for grandiosity and the lowest for depression. Factors such as age, illness duration, substance use, and family history of mood disorder were inversely correlated with the BPRS score’s decrease. Initial thyroid levels were identified as a predictor of treatment response, with baseline T4 levels showing a significant positive correlation with treatment response, while baseline TSH levels showed a negative correlation. Conclusion: Lithium proved to be an effective treatment for bipolar mood disorder, particularly for the manic subtype. Initial T4 and TSH levels were found to significantly predict treatment response, with T4 showing a positive correlation and TSH showing a negative correlation.

Asthma is a chronic inflammatory disorder characterized by hyperresponsiveness and inflammation of conducting airways. It is a heterogeneous disease with different phenotypes based on clinical, functional or inflammatory parameters [1]. The disease presents with recurrent episodes of wheezing, tightness of chest and shortness of breath, with cough particularly in early morning.[2] Prevalence of the disease varies between 1-18 % of population in different countries with 300 million people affected worldwide [3,4]. It occurs at all ages and its prevalence has been increasing in developing countries. The disease increases health burden in the population, decreases productivity and causes considerable morbidity and mortality [5]. The clinical severity of asthma ranges from mild to severe. The common symptoms are usually due to variable bronchoconstriction causing limitation of airflow [6]. The disease is episodic in nature with increase in frequency and intensity over time. It can be triggered by viral infections, allergens, tobacco smoke, exercise, stress and drugs like aspirin, beta blockers and NSAIDS. Asthma is now hypothesized to be a T helper type 2 (Th2) inflammatory disorder with increase in the number of Immunoglobulin E (IgE) producing cells. The Th2-type cytokines, such as interleukin 4 (IL-4) and interleukin 5 (IL-5) are responsible for numerous effects important in bronchial asthma. IL4 has been implicated as the main cytokine involved and causes stimulation of mucus producing cells and fibroblasts, leading to airway remodeling [7-10]. Eosinophil is the main effector cell in allergic inflammation. IL-5 is the primary cytokine involved in in-vivo production, differentiation, maturation and activation of the eosinophils. Expression of IL-5 mRNA correlates with clinical indices of disease severity in asthma and the expression of IL 5 receptor in bronchial biopsies is more than 90% restricted to eosinophils.[11] Short-term treatment mainly consists of oral or inhaled corticosteroids (ICS). Long term medications include Anti-IgE and anticholinergic drugs which are useful in patients with severe asthma. Anti-IL5 (mepolizumab) and anti IL5R (benralizumab) medications are being offered to patients with severe uncontrolled eosinophilic asthma on high dose ICS. Anti-IL4R (Dupilumab) is also an option for these patients.

The present study was aimed to study the morphologic, morphometric, production and reproductive traits of the unexplored native goats from Vindhyan region of Eastern Uttar Pradesh. The data of 308 male and 590 female goats were collected from 45 villages and 449 farmers. The goats are managed under an extensive zero input production system by the poor and marginal farmers for their livelihood security since the time immemorial. These are small sized, black or brown coloured, and primarily raised for meat production. Head is straight to slightly convex, ears are flat, leafy and pendulous, and tail is bunchy and curved upward. Muzzle, eyelids and hooves are predominantly black and the horns are flat, curved and spiral with upward-backward-outward orientation. The average adult body weight was 31.34±0.38 kg in males and 28.78±0.12 kg in females. The means (cm) for body length, height at withers and chest girth were 66.41±0.34, 72.65±0.42 and 77.77±0.58, respectively, in adult males and 65.08±0.14, 69.22±0.24 and 74.35±0.16, respectively, in adult females. These goats are seasonal breeder with major breeding season from May to July and bred through natural service. Age at first estrus was ~9 months and age at first kidding was ~15 months. Twinning was common from second parity onwards. Milk production was found to be very low. The morphological appearance and morphometric measurement indicate that these indigenous goats are phenotypically distinct from the other goats of the adjoining area and can be registered as unique breed for better genetic management.

The power loss in the arrays due to non-uniform irradiances in the site is the most common scenario observed in a PV system. The irradiance non-uniformity occurs due to obstacles between actual irradiance and modules caused by dust and shadow of clouds, trees, and buildings in some portions of the array. This results in complications like mismatch, power reduction, deformed characteristics curves, failure of power tracking algorithms, and sometimes physical damage to the PV modules. Numerous solutions are present for mitigating the above complications among which the array reconfiguration gained a huge audience for ease of implementation, lower cost, and higher reliability but, each technique exhibits certain drawbacks. In this paper, a harmony search reconfiguration (HSR) algorithm for dynamic reconfiguration is proposed that has advantages in terms of simplicity, adaptability, convergence speed, reduced switch count, and arbitrary array application. The modeling and validation are done in the MATLAB platform using $5 \times 5$ , $9 \times 9$ , $9 \times 5$ , and $3 \times 3$ arrays under various shading cases and compared with the 22 existing conventional, static, and dynamic techniques. The depth investigation shows the higher performance of the HSR with 24.64% and 12.28% higher performance than conventional and static techniques with lowest actual power deviation of −1.10% and equivalent performance to that of existing techniques with reduced complexities.

Background: Evidence suggests that hypothyroidism may be associated with an increased risk of acute coronary syndrome (ACS).The data regarding the influence of hypothyroidism on cardiovascular disease in the Asian population is conflicting. Therefore, we undertook this study to assess the overall prevalence of hypothyroidism in Acute Coronary Syndrome (ACS) patients and determine if there is a relationship between hypothyroidism, both sub-clinical and overt and other significant risk factors of ACS in an Indian population. Methods: We studied 487 hospitalized patients between March 2018 and February 2021 with a diagnosis of ACS to determine the prevalence of hypothyroidism, both clinical and sub-clinical and their relationship with other known coronary risk factors. Thyroid function Tests - free T3, free T4 and TSH were collected from all the patients within 24 h of their admission to the coronary care unit (CCU) of 2 major hospitals in New Delhi and Imphal (Manipur). Results: Subclinical hypothyroidism was prevalent in 44 (9 %), followed by overt hypothyroidism in 25 (5.2 %).Subclinical hypothyroidism was more common in females, whereas overt hypothyroidism was more common in males. ST Elevation Myocardial Infarction (STEMI) (52 %), followed by Non-ST-Elevation Myocardial Infarction (NSTEMI) (25 %), was the commonest diagnosis at presentation. Patients with overt hypothyroidism showed a higher proportion of increased triglyceride levels.Patients with hypothyroidism had no differences in the prevalence of concomitant diabetes hypertension and other coronary risk factors. Conclusions: Patients with ACS without known thyroid disorders should be screened for hypothyroidism since it is found frequently. There might be a case to treat their thyroid dysfunction appropriately.

This study investigates a novel methodology to intricately craft a HAMMC and thoroughly examine its multifaceted mechanical and tribological characteristics. By combining silicon carbide (SiC) and fly ash as reinforcements, a unique identity is bestowed upon this hybrid composite, enhancing its structural integrity and functional attributes. Stir casting is the chosen methodology for fabricating this composite, favored for its economic viability and suitability for large-scale manufacturing. In this research, the emphasis is on developing a cost-effective composite that not only meets stringent economic considerations but also exhibits improved material properties. Within the realm of hybrid metal matrix composites, the well-regarded Al6061 takes on the role of the matrix material, while the synergistic inclusion of fly ash and SiC serves as reinforcing constituents. Three specimens with compostion 90% Al6061 + 5% SiC +5% Fly ash, 90% Al6061 + 10% SiC +6% Fly ash and 90% Al6061 + 15% SiC +7% Fly ash were fabricated. To unravel the intricacies of the fabricated Al6061 metal matrix composite, comprehensive tests are employed. These tests, including the Pin-on Disc test, Scratch test, Rockwell Hardness test, and Charpy Impact test, collectively work to unveil the nuanced tribological and mechanical behaviors encapsulated within this innovative alloy. The results indicated significant improvement in wear resistance in specimen comprising 78% Al6061 + 15% SiC +7% Fly Ash and volumetric loss found to have 0.96 g. Superior hardness characteristics and enhanced abrasion resistance found in 78% Al6061 + 15% SiC +7% Fly Ash than other two specimens. The highest impact strength exhibited in 90% Al 6,061 + 5% SiC +5% Fly ash specimen.

In seismic exploration, it is a critical task to image and interpret different seismic signatures over complex geology due to strong lateral velocity contrast, steep reflectors, overburden strata and dipping flanks. To understand the behavior of these seismic signatures, nowadays Reverse Time Migration (RTM) technique is used extensively by the oil & gas industries. During the extrapolation phase of RTM, the source wavefield needs to be saved, which needs high storage memory and large computing time. These two are the main obstacles of RTM for production use. In order to overcome these disadvantages, in this study, a second-generation improved RTM technique is proposed. In this improved form, a shift operator is introduced at the time of imaging condition of RTM algorithm which is performed automatically both in space and time domain. This effort is made to produce a better-quality image by minimizing the computational time as well as numerical artefacts. The proposed method is applied over various benchmark models and validated by implementing over one field data set from the Jaisalmer Basin, India. From the analysis, it is observed that the method consumes a minimum of 45% less storage space and reduce the execution time by 20%, as compared to conventional RTM. The proposed RTM is found to work efficiently in comparison to the conventional RTM both in terms of imaging quality and minimization of numerical artefacts for all the benchmark models as well as field data.

BACKGROUND: Millions of people lost their loved ones due to the COVID-19 pandemic; this dire situation had an impact on almost every aspect of the daily life of every person. However, most of the individuals adapted to their losses nearly 2-10% of the population experienced dysfunctional grief in which adolescents were also affected. Aims and Objectives: Prime objective of the study was to assess dysfunctional grief due to loss from COVID-19 Pandemic among adolescents and to find out the coping strategies used by them to overcome this grief. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The study was conducted among school-going adolescents of District Dehradun. A pre-designed, pre-tested, self-administered, semi-structured questionnaire including socio-demographic details, COVID-19-related questions and Pandemic Grief Scale (Cronbach alpha-0.77) was used in the offline survey. RESULTS: Out of 690 study participants, a total of 151 (21.8%) adolescents lost their loved ones due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Of these, 9.93% were facing dysfunctional grief due to their loss. To overcome this grief, coping strategies used by study participants were mainly phone and internet usage (78%) followed by watching TV (73.8%) and sleeping (68.1%). CONCLUSION: Adolescents who experienced loss and were grieved are more at high risk of developing psychological disorders, particularly depression, anxiety, and physical illness, that might affect their education and overall development. Though to tackle the mental health crisis in the country Tele-Mental Health Assistance and Networking Across States (Tele-MANAS) has been initiated, still there is a lack of clarity regarding the structure and range of services provided by Tele-MANAS centers set up under the National Tele-Mental Health Program (NTMHP). Timely intervention and research to take solid steps to diminish the potential adverse effects of bereavement on adolescents’ mental health is necessary.

Introduction: Benign Hyperplasia of the Prostate (BHP) and prostate cancer comprise about 90% of all diseases of the prostate gland. An increase in serum Prostate Specific Antigen (PSA) is an indicator of underlying hyperplasia, inflammation, or cancer. Mast cells are found in both inflamed and tumour tissue. Aim: To find the correlation of mast cell count with age, weight of prostate, and serum PSA level, and thereby distinguishing between the benign or inflammatory prostatic enlargement against prostatic carcinoma. Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional observational study was conducted over a period of 18 months from November 2013 to April 2015 in a tertiary care hospital in West Bengal, India. Patients coming for treatment of enlarged prostate were included in this study as a convenience sample. Their age in years, weight of the gland by ultrasonography, serum PSA level, and mast cell count were recorded for analysis. The data between benign and malignant lesions were compared by the Mann-Whitney U test and the Spearman correlation coefficient was calculated to find correlation among the continuous variables. Chi-square test was done to compare categorical data. Microsoft Excel 2010 (Microsoft Inc, USA) and International Business Machines (IBM) Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) Statistics 20.0 (IBM, New York, USA) software were used for conducting the statistical tests. Results: A total of 48 males with a median age of 63.5 years were studied. The weight of the prostate gland, serum PSA, and mast cell count were significantly higher in carcinoma of the gland. The weight of prostate gland (rs = 0.34, p-value= 0.02) and serum PSA (rs = 0.61, p-value

Sustainable agriculture faces major challenges under abiotic stress conditions owing to extensive application of chemical fertilizers which pollute water, soil and atmosphere. Biostimulants (BSs), comprising of naturally derived complex mixtures of uncharacterized biomolecules, pure biochemicals and nanomaterials, enhance nutrient use efficiency (NUE) and trigger crop’s natural defense mechanisms. While it is difficult to specify the metabolic effects of uncharacterized natural mixtures (seaweed extract, protein hydrolyzates, etc.), exogenous application of pure biochemicals and nanomaterials offers an edge as BSs since their physiological roles and mechanisms of action are decipherable. Foliar application or seed treatment of some amino acids, polyamines and biopolymers (chitosan, lipochitin oligosaccharides and thuricin 17) enable plants to overcome drought and salinity stress via activation of mechanisms for reactive oxygen species (ROS) scavenging, osmolyte regulation and chlorophyll accumulation. Interaction of nitric oxide (NO) with some vitamins and melatonin exhibits potential significance as BSs for mitigating stress by ROS scavenging and maintenance of intracellular ionic balance and membrane integrity. Near future is likely to see wide applications of nanoparticles (NPs) and nanomaterials (NMs) as BSs in view of their biphasic mode of action (bio-physical activation of membrane receptors followed by gradual release of BS into the plant cells).

Abstract Photovoltaic (PV) roof‐top systems in real‐time environments are highly susceptible to the commonly occurring scenario of partial shading that occurs due to unavoidable conditions such as the shadow of buildings and trees. The occurrence of partial shading creates a serious mismatch among the modules of PV arrays that results in severe unexpected power losses in PV arrays. The conventional and hybrid configurations used for loss mitigation in PV arrays are sometimes unreliable and incapable of generating higher power during partial shading. Hence, this paper focuses on the development of a simple and effective technique for the reliable operation of PV arrays and loss reduction during the occurrence of partial shading. The technique is applicable to arbitrary array sizes having no dynamic parts and requires no switches and sensors for implementation to enhance the performance and operation of the system. The performance and reliability of the technique have been investigated under MATLAB simulation and real‐time scenarios by comparing it with various configurations under shading. The investigation reveals a higher power output by the proposed technique with an average conversion efficiency of higher than 90% and power enhancement of 19.07% than other configurations.

Innovation in technology has changed the way we interact, collaborate and conduct business. In the next 10 years, there will be a lot of changes in how we, as patients, clients and healthcare workers, experience healthcare. As they consider how to adapt medical and clinical specialists who focus on devices, such as prosthetists and orthotists, are presented with both an opportunity and a challenge. Less focus is placed on engineering and business abilities in the current prosthetic and orthotic education and practice, and more emphasis is placed on clinical skills. However, each of the three is important for a prosthetics and orthotics business to be successful and last for a long time. Furthermore, the latter two will have a significant impact on how prosthetics and orthotics look in the future. It is unclear how contemporary prosthetic and orthotic professionals can respond most effectively. In this editorial, one option is to rebalance their professional character so that the three most important parts are given equal weight. As a result, a Clinical Prosthetic Orthotic Technology Management Professional would practice their profession in a way that is client-centred, functionally grounded and incorporates eight professional traits: professional, advocate, scholar, leader, communicator, collaborator, assistive technology expert and business justification specialist.

Background: Drug abuse is a complex phenomenon, which has various social, cultural, and biological aspects. Knowledge and attitude toward substances of abuse among users are of vital importance for their prevention and treatment, especially in adolescents, as it is the age when the majority of drug users start the use of various substances. Methods: One hundred patients of opioid dependence admitted to a psychiatry ward were assessed using a semi-structured pro forma, which assessed the knowledge, reasons for initiating, and attitude toward substances on a Likert scale. The age of the first intake of substances, frequency of drug use, and physical and psychological changes after intake of substances were also evaluated. Results: Joy-seeking (91%), lack of knowledge about complications/hazards of drugs (89%), friends offer/peer pressure (87%) followed by low self-confidence (86%), and to eliminate shyness (85%) were found as major reasons for initiating the opioid use. Social factors such as family disputes (23%) and parents' divorce (20%) were considered the least unlikely excuse for substance abuse. Young respondents (ages of 20–29 years) reported a decrease in shyness and improved self-esteem as reasons for intake. Conclusions: Different regions and different age groups seem to have different factors as psychosocial etiologies of substance abuse. Policymakers and other agencies need to look into this before making strategies for controlling this menace.

Gossypiboma is a term used to describe retained surgical sponge after surgery. This is an avoidable clinical condition causing significant morbidity and mortality. The clinical presentation is variable and often a diagnostic enigma. The consequences of gossypiboma are undesirable, disappointing, and have medicolegal implications for the surgical team. We report three cases of gossypiboma with varying clinical spectrums. The first case had gastric outlet obstruction due to retained surgical sponge after open cholecystectomy. It had eroded both into the first part of the duodenum and transverse colon. Endoscopic and radiological evaluation helped to establish the diagnosis of duodenocolic fistula with gastric outlet obstruction. The second patient was treated for penetrating abdominal wound and presented with persistent fever with discharging sinus at the wound site. The third patient had undergone exploratory laparotomy for recurrent hydatid cyst of the liver and, in addition to recurrent hydatid cyst, a surgical sponge was also found. All these patients had retained surgical sponges but different clinical presentations. These patients underwent exploratory laparotomy and surgical removal of the retained surgical item (RSI) followed by a successful recovery. Gossypiboma should be considered as a differential diagnosis in all unexplained postoperative sepsis, intestinal obstruction, and intra-abdominal mass. Standard surgical safety measures in the operative room help to prevent the incidence of RSIs.

Solar photovoltaic (PV) power system consists of numerous modules connected in series and parallel to generate a certain range of voltage and current outputs. However, the modules are highly vulnerable to the frequently occurring scenario of partial shading that results in severe losses of power, hotspot, system performance reduction, and permanent damage to the modules. These problems are mainly diminished through reconfiguration strategies that disperse the intensity of shading among the modules to reduce current mismatch and increase the power output of the system. But the pre-existing reconfiguration techniques exhibit one major demerit toward the limited application in symmetrical or square arrays that are quite uncommon in the real-time scenario. Hence, this paper presents a Dimension-Independent Array Relocation (DIAR) approach for the modules connected to asymmetrical arrays that enhance the output power of the system during all patterns of partial shading scenarios. The methodology is simple, easy to implement, cost-effective, and a one-time arrangement for the modules of the system that ensures lower power losses and higher reliability during partial shading. The methodology has been tested for $6\times 3$ , $5\times 7$ , $20\times 4$ , and $4\times 3$ (experimental analysis) asymmetrical arrays and compared with conventional connections under numerous partial shading cases in the MATLAB/Simulink environment. Additionally, the application of the proposed methodology to symmetrical arrays has been validated under partial shading and compared to three pre-existing reconfiguration strategies. From the depth investigation, the average efficiency of power conversion has been noted as 98.04% with an average power enhancement of 18.34% than conventional techniques.

Abstract The development of an accurate velocity model is the significant target in the Full Waveform Inversion (FWI) process where the data fitting process is carried out based on an ill-posed technique. In the FWI technique optimization process plays a crucial role through which objective function minimizes, which is related to the misfit function between observed and modelled data. However, the influence of external factors such as data fitting errors (local minima) and the presence of noise in data are involved in the success of this processing technique. The artefacts that arise during gradient computation also affect this processing technique. This study presents a strategy to mitigate the influence of these local minima and other artefacts based on the velocity variation coefficient where an angle-dependent gradient conditioning approach has been proposed. It is an auto-controlled process in which the primary mechanism updates the velocity model from a large angle scale to a smaller angle scale when iteration begins. At each iteration, it preserves the previous result whereby it does not scatter or overlap with the previous one. It covers all the angles smoothly which helps in minimizing the data misfit and providing a high-resolution velocity model. The proposed conditioning approach is demonstrated by implementing the Marmousi model, and the result proves that the method provides a much-improved velocity inversion result which is attained with reasonable iterations. This study represents of a suitable procedure for the FWI processing technique where less sensitive artefacts are identified with negligible time consumption. Furthermore, it also helps to reduce the cycle skips and improve convergence in any complex scenario.

Background: Presence of cervical lymphadenopathy may indicate serious systemic disease process. Proper evaluation of cervical lymphadenopathy is of extreme clinical importance. Aims and Objective: The study objective was to evaluate clinical and demographic profile of cervical lymphadenopathy, to find the etiology, and to study the role of fine-needle aspiration cytology (FNAC) in it’s etiological diagnosis. Materials and Methods: Prospective observational study was carried out in a rural based teaching hospital in India for 1 year. One hundred and twenty-one patients of more than 12 years of age from both genders were included in the study. Detailed history, clinical, blood examination, radiological, microbiological evaluation, and FNAC from lymph node were done for all patients. Excision biopsy was done for selective cases. Results: It was a male predominant study with male: female ratio of 1.12:1 and mean age of the patient was 34.54 years. Cervical lymphadenopathy was mostly unilateral (77.69%) and it was more common in the right side (43.80%). Tuberculosis (TB) (36.37%) was the most common cause of cervical lymphadenopathy in our study followed by reactive hyperplasia of lymph node (23.14%) and metastatic deposit (19%). Among metastatic deposit, 9 (39.13%) had squamous cell carcinoma, 5 (21.74%) had adenocarcinoma, and 1 (4.35%) had small cell carcinoma. Conclusion: TB is the most common cause of cervical lymphadenopathy followed by reactive hyperplasia and metastatic secondary deposit. FNAC is a simple inexpensive relatively painless rapid and reliable method for diagnosis which can be considered as a frontline investigation and can guide requirement for further investigation in the management of cervical lymphadenopathy.

Metabolite genome-wide association studies (mGWASs) are increasingly used to discover the genetic basis of target phenotypes in plants such as Populus trichocarpa, a biofuel feedstock and model woody plant species. Despite their growing importance in plant genetics and metabolomics, few mGWASs are experimentally validated. Here, we present a functional genomics workflow for validating mGWAS-predicted enzyme–substrate relationships. We focus on uridine diphosphate–glycosyltransferases (UGTs), a large family of enzymes that catalyze sugar transfer to a variety of plant secondary metabolites involved in defense, signaling, and lignification. Glycosylation influences physiological roles, localization within cells and tissues, and metabolic fates of these metabolites. UGTs have substantially expanded in P. trichocarpa, presenting a challenge for large-scale characterization. Using a high-throughput assay, we produced substrate acceptance profiles for 40 previously uncharacterized candidate enzymes. Assays confirmed 10 of 13 leaf mGWAS associations, and a focused metabolite screen demonstrated varying levels of substrate specificity among UGTs. A substrate binding model case study of UGT-23 rationalized observed enzyme activities and mGWAS associations, including glycosylation of trichocarpinene to produce trichocarpin, a major higher-order salicylate in P. trichocarpa. We identified UGTs putatively involved in lignan, flavonoid, salicylate, and phytohormone metabolism, with potential implications for cell wall biosynthesis, nitrogen uptake, and biotic and abiotic stress response that determine sustainable biomass crop production. Our results provide new support for in silico analyses and evidence-based guidance for in vivo functional characterization.

Carcinoma gallbladder is a common hepatobiliary malignancy with aggressive biological behavior. Most common histopathological variant is adenocarcinoma (>90%). Squamous cell carcinoma is an uncommon variant of carcinoma gallbladder. Its clinical presentation is similar to those with adenocarcinoma. They grow very rapidly and has diffuse hepatic and local organ infiltrations. Early detection and radical surgical resection remain the cornerstone of the definitive management. We report a case of locally advanced carcinoma gallbladder of squamous cell variant. Patient presented with features of acute cholecystitis and had palpable gallbladder mass. Clinically and radiologically, she was diagnosed as a case of carcinoma gallbladder and underwent exploratory laparotomy, radical cholecystectomy with right hemicolectomy. Post operative histopathological examination confirmed squamous cell carcinoma of gallbladder.

India, being a developing country with a fast-growing economy, experiences ever increasing electrical energy demand. Industrial and economic development in rural India is impeded by inadequate, erratic and unreliable grid supply. This has resulted in underperformance of small-scale manufacturing and service industries. Dependency on fossil fuel-based sources as an alternative increases the operation costs and carbon emissions. Migration to cleaner energy ensures sustainable solution and addresses the issues of depleting fossil fuels, global warming and environmental hazards. In this regard, hybrid renewable energy systems have gained wide acceptance as optimum solution. Hence, authors have optimally designed hybrid energy system for power deprived rural Indian villages. Authors have heeded to the vital element of incremental load growth over years while designing the microgrid to sustain the increasing load demand of emerging economy of developing country. HOMER Pro Software is utilized to accomplish system size optimization and authors have gained comprehensive insights into techno-financial feasibility for different dispatch strategies of the proposed energy system. The levelized cost of electricity of the optimal off-grid system catering to multiyear incremental load growth is 0.14$/kWh indicating that proposed system is promising in terms of commercial efficacy. The study performs a detailed analysis of the results obtained during different phases of the project to ensure robustness and supply continuity of the proposed system. The paper also includes comparison of the carbon footprint in the proposed system with that of existing system.

Partial shading is the most unexpected scenario encountered by the arrays that degrade the performance causing power reduction, non-convex characteristics curves, losses, hotspot, module damage, and system failure. The adoption of various reconfiguration techniques has recently provided relief to the PV array to reduce power losses during partial shading. However, these techniques exhibit vulnerabilities such as reliable operation, ease of implementation and, higher cost and complexity due to the requirement of abundant manpower, labour, complex algorithms, dynamic operation, switches and sensors that cause additional power losses. Hence, this paper presents a low cost and less complex reconfiguration technique for PV arrays to effectively increase the power generation during partial shading scenarios. The proposed reconfiguration does not require any manpower, labour, algorithms or additional devices to reduce the losses in arrays during shading. The efficacy of the technique is tested using two array sizes under various shading scenarios using MATLAB modelling and real-time field experiments. Also, for better analysis, the performance of the proposed technique is compared with conventional configurations and Sudoku reconfiguration. The investigation proclaimed that the proposed reconfiguration technique has an average power enhancement of 20% higher than any other conventional configurations.

Context: Ulcerative colitis (UC) initially thought to be a disease of developed world is equally common in India. Surprisingly, there are very scant data from India. The study was undertaken to find the frequency of relapse and to determine factors predictor of relapse in Indian population. Subjects and Methods: This study was conducted at a tertiary care center of New Delhi for a period of 1 year. Patients were included if they had a diagnosis of UC based on accepted historical, endoscopic, histological, and/or radiologic criteria. Detailed past/present history, baseline clinical examination, dietary details, and psychological analysis using shortened Depression Anxiety Stress Scale score, biochemical tests, inflammatory markers, endoscopic, and histopathological analysis were done at baseline and regular intervals. The outcome was clinical relapse or continued remission. Results: Out of 86 patients screened, 50 patients were included in the study according to inclusion criteria and were followed up. The frequency of relapse was 32%. Univariate analysis showed higher relapse frequency, frequency of steroid received in past, patients on immunomodulator therapy, presence of acute or chronic inflammatory cells on histology, and disease activity at baseline as predictors of relapse. There was no significant difference between anxiety, stress, and depression relapsers and those who maintained remission. On multivariate analysis, disease activity at baseline was the only independent predictor of relapse. Conclusions: Stringent control of disease activity with mucosal healing should be the aim, as mucosal healing is the only predictor for prolonged remission.

Exosomal microRNA (ExomiRs) serves as potential cargo molecules responsible for post-translation of gene expression and intracellular communication playing a vital role in acting as clinically relevant prognostic biomarkers for identifying pregnancy-associated complications in patients. ExomiRs are associated with Gestational Diabetes Mellitus (GDM) as potential targets for understanding the pathophysiology of beta-cell dysfunction. ExomiRs (ExomiR 122, ExomiR 16-5p, ExomiR 215-5p, ExomiR 450b-3p, ExomiR 122-5p) aid to act as biomarkers and regulate the progression of diabetes and its related complication. These ExomiRshave been reported to interfere with the regulation of various genes such as ZEB2, IRS1, IRS2, GLUT1, GLUT4, etc. and inhibition of several pathways like PI3K/AKT, Wnt, and mTOR signaling pathways leading to the modulation in the development of GDM affecting the clinical and pathological features of women. These ExomiRs have also been associated with other pregnancy-associated complications, including preeclampsia, hypothyroidism, pregnancy loss, and ectopic pregnancies. On the other hand, overexpression of certain ExomiRs such as Exomir-515-5p, ExomiR-221, and ExomiR-96 serve a regulatory role in overcoming insulin resistance. Taken together, the current review focuses on the prospective capabilities of ExomiRs for diagnosis and clinical prognosis of GDM women with respect to pregnancy outcomes.

Covid 19 pandemic has severe implications on health and life of people. Asia being the most populous region has higher fatalities burden. Health infrastructure, stringent preventive measures by the government and public participation through adhering to social distancing have influence to check on fatalities' burden. The level of Social capital as well as voters' participation in a particular country can have influence on containment of COVID cases and fatalities. In this context, the main objectives of this study are to analyse pattern and trend of death burden for 45 Asian countries and impact of stringency measures by government, and voters’ turnout ratio on death burden. However, for regression analysis only 32 countries are taken into account considering the availability of data for all variables. Multiple linear regression analysis is employed in a cross-sectional framework and Ordinary least square estimation technique with heteroscedastic adjusted standard errors have been used for estimation of coefficients. The results show that southern Asia contributes the highest share of fatality cases in total fatality cases of Asia with 71.43% share. It also has the highest share of confirmed cases in total confirmed cases of Asia with 71.72%. However, when we take the population into account, Western Asia leads in the share of confirmed COVID-19 cases and its associated fatality cases per million populations in Asia as compared to other Asian regions.The factors like health infrastructure and voters’ turnover ratio are found to be significant and potential in reducing the new deaths per million populations. Though the coefficient of Stringency index has been negative and it did not emerge to be significant in Asian countries. The COVID related fatalities in Asian region are urban centric and urbanization proxy is found to be positive and significant. Diabetes prevalence rate has some heterogeneous result and in the present study its coefficient is not in the hypothesized direction. .The Countries should ramp up health infrastructure and necessary preparedness to deal with the subsequent waves and COVID related fatalities. Importance need to be given people's participation and their shared responsibilities in dealing with COVID cases and checking on fatalities. The realisation of social responsibility among the masses can lead to community participation and adhering to the protocols imposed by the government and helps in checking on spread of virus and associated death.

Zinc-finger nucleases (ZFNs), transcription activator-like endonucleases (TALENs), and CRISPR-associated Cas9 endonucleases are three major generations of genome editing tools. However, no parallel comparison about the efficiencies and off-target activity of the three nucleases has been reported, which is critical for the final clinical decision. We for the first time developed the genome-wide unbiased identification of double-stranded breaks enabled by sequencing (GUIDE-seq) method in ZFNs and TALENs with novel bioinformatics algorithms to evaluate the off-targets. By targeting human papillomavirus 16 (HPV16), we compared the performance of ZFNs, TALENs, and SpCas9 in vivo. Our data showed that ZFNs with similar targets could generate distinct massive off-targets (287–1,856), and the specificity could be reversely correlated with the counts of middle “G” in zinc finger proteins (ZFPs). We also compared the TALENs with different N-terminal domains (wild-type [WT]/αN/βN) and G recognition modules (NN/NH) and found the design (αN or NN) to improve the efficiency of TALEN inevitably increased off-targets. Finally, our results showed that SpCas9 was more efficient and specific than ZFNs and TALENs. Specifically, SpCas9 had fewer off-target counts in URR (SpCas9, n = 0; TALEN, n = 1; ZFN, n = 287), E6 (SpCas9, n = 0; TALEN, n = 7), and E7 (SpCas9, n = 4; TALEN, n = 36). Taken together, we suggest that for HPV gene therapies, SpCas9 is a more efficient and safer genome editing tool. Our off-target data could be used to improve the design of ZFNs and TALENs, and the universal in vivo off-target detection pipeline for three generations of artificial nucleases provided useful tools for genome engineering-based gene therapy.

The crystal structure of Ba5(IO6)2, pentabarium bis(orthoperiodate), has been re-investigated at room temperature based on single-crystal X-ray diffraction data. In comparison with a previous crystal structure determination by the Rietveld method, an improved precision of the structural parameters was achieved. Additionally, low-temperature measurements allowed the crystal structure evolution to be studied down to 80 K. No evidence of structural transition was found even at the lowest temperature. Upon cooling, the lattice contraction is more pronounced along the b axis. This contraction is found to be inhomogeneous along different crystallographic axes. The interatomic distances between different Ba atoms reduce drastically with lowering temperature, resulting in a closer packing around the IO6 octahedra, which remain largely unaffected.

Plumbago zeylanica has been used in the traditional system of medicine from thousands of years owing to its potential therapeutic properties, however the anticancer and anti-metastatic effects are largely unknown against cervical cancer cells. In this study we demonstrated the cytotoxicity activity, inhibition of cell migration, induction of S-phase cell cycle arrest and the down regulation of expression level of epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) by ethanol extract of the root of P. zeylanica (ERPZ). The cytotoxicity effects were analyzed by MTT assay the IC50 was determined to be 10.49 ​μg/ml after 72 ​h of incubation. Besides, strong inhibition of wound healing activity was observed at 20 ​μg/ml concentration, where the wound size was reduced to 33%. The ethanol root extract of P. zeylanica also showed significant S-phase cell cycle arrest of 68.9% at 20 ​μg/ml concentration in HeLa cells which was accompanied by the down regulation of EGFR. Ethanol extracts of the root of P. zeylanica (ERPZ) treatment inhibited the growth of cervical cancer cells. The ERPZ arrested cells at the S-phase of the cell cycle. Besides the HRLC-MS analysis of ERPZ identified 15 compounds and among which the five major compounds such as 7,8-dihydroxy-4-methylcoumarin, neodiosmin, diosmetin, hispidulin, and formononetin were reported to possess antioxidant and anticancer activities, could plausibly induce cell death in HeLa cells.

Exosomes are extracellular vesicles produced by various cell types and extensively distributed in physiological fluids. Because of their significant role in cancer progression, they have been a focal point for the novel cancer therapy approach. Exosomes are highly efficient at transporting proteins, RNAs, and small drugs into cancer cells for therapeutic purposes. In addition to their prominent role as potential biomarkers for transporting targeted information from their progenitor cells, exosomes have also emerged as a new avenue for developing more effective clinical diagnostics and therapeutic techniques, also known as exosome theranostics. Lipids, proteins, and nucleic acids transported by exosomes were investigated as potential biomarkers for cancer diagnosis, prognosis, and future cancer treatment targets. The unique mechanism of exosomes and their therapeutic as well as diagnostic uses, also known as theranostic applications of exosomes in malignancies, are discussed in this review.

There is considerable association of thyroid function and the cardiovascular system during various acute systemic illnesses. It is well established that the normal thyroid homeostasis is known to alter in disease states including the acute coronary syndromes (ACS). Abnormal thyroid hormonal status has been shown to be related to worse outcomes and prognosis. This review focuses on the relationship of alterations in thyroid function and its influence on the pathophysiological mechanisms and cardiovascular hemodynamics in ACS and based upon the literature, summarises all the existing evidence to this date on this subject. The data largely points out that low levels of triiodothyronine (T3) levels seen in ACS might be useful in prognosticating the outcomes of ACS.

This proposed work demonstrates the illustration of dynamic performance intensification of a Permanent Magnet Synchronous Motor (PMSM) employed by a PWM controlled inverter which synchronizes with the rotor movement intimation. PMSM are widely hired in electric vehicles since it possesses better dynamic response, improved torque-speed property, and reduced noise, energy-efficient and power factor in comparison with traditional motors. In the present work, it is observed that by few modifications of the position control strategy as good as sinusoidal stator currents response generates less torque ripples. The mathematical model for PMSM is derived from park’s transformation. Further, a maiden attempt is taken to introduce the performance indicator ’sensor angle’ to estimate the rotor position in this strategy. From the established model, the various dynamic behavior of the drive system is determined analytically without and under various load disturbances. Additionally, a particle swarm optimization (PSO) technique is adopted to optimize the performance of the proposed dynamic strategy. An efficient speed control strategy by the variation of DC bus voltage is achieved which is equivalent to the armature voltage control of the conventional dc machine. Further, efficient and simple control circuitry of the voltage source inverter (VSI) is obtained in this strategy. To verify the efficacy of the proposed algorithm, necessary tests are carried out in a real-time setup. Therefore, an improved control strategy obtained from the simulation and an experimental approach meets the dynamic behavior employed in light weight electric vehicles.

Background: Personnel deployed at an altitude ranging from 9000 ft to 23,000 ft are exposed to sub-zero temperatures up to −40°C. These conditions lead to the development of various cold injuries which presents in varying grades and severity. Aim: The aim of this study is to study the epidemiological trends and assess risk factors/conditions those are contributing to the development of cold weather injuries (CWI) at extreme cold climate in high altitude areas. Methodology: This is a retrospective, observational study on cold injury cases evacuated from the northern glaciers of India. The data were collected and tabulated in MS-Excel sheets, and analysis was done using percentage, mean, median, linear regression, and P value calculation. SPSS statistical analysis software version 23 was employed for generating the results. P < 0.05 was considered for statistically significant. Results: The annual incidence of cold injuries calculated for troops deployed at high altitude (>9000 feet) with extreme cold climate is 6.4/1000/year. The average duration of exposure for the development of CWI was found to be 4.85 h with a standard deviation = 2.88 h. Statistically significant association was found between the median temperatures and number of cold injury cases evacuated monthly with a strong negative coefficient of correlation (Pearson's) value r = −0.8214, and P = 0.001063. No correlation was found between the severity of frostbites and duration of exposure as the coefficient of correlation r (Pearson's) was weakly positive with a value of 0.19 and statistically not significant with P = 0.127. Conclusion: This study highlights the magnitude of problem, high risk zones, and predisposing activities. Statistical association has been drawn between altitude, temperature and duration of exposure with burden of cold injury. This study provides an insight with respect to associations and risk factors for the development of CWI, in Indian perspective and may be beneficial for better planning and preventive measures to reduce burden of CWI.

Partial shading is the commonly encountered scenario of building roof-top based PV arrays that mainly occur due to the shadow of the neighbouring buildings and clouds resulting in unexpected losses and deteriorated system performance. The arrays are connected in various configurations to enhance the system performance during shading. In this paper, various conventional and hybrid interconnection configurations based on series-parallel (SP), bridge-linked (BL), and total cross tied (TCT) topologies of the roof-top PV arrays are examined under various partial shading scenarios caused by the neighbouring building and clouds. The investigation is done for a $9\times 9$ roof-top array in MATLAB/Simulink environment considering various comparison parameters. It has been found that during 1.23%, 7.40%, 11.11%, 17.75%, 18.51%%, 22.22%, and 24.69% of total array shading, SP generated the maximum power whereas, during 30.86%, 61.72% shading, TCT has the generated only a slightly higher power as compared to SP. Hence, the study concludes that the configurations have a puny effect on the power generation of the arrays during uneven shading patterns caused by buildings and clouds.

Introduction: Snapping hip (coxa saltans) is an audible and sometimes painful disorder of the hip that occurs during activities that require repetitive flexion, extension, and abduction of the hip. Depending upon anatomic location of the offending structure, it may be external, internal, and intra-articular. The most common type is an external type in which structures external to the hip joint are primarily involved. This is usually the iliotibial band as it slides over the greater trochanter during repeated flexion and extension. Conservative therapy is the mainstay of treatment. For those cases who are refractory to conservative means, surgery can be considered. Materials and Methods: Only those patients undergoing operative intervention for symptoms refractory to conservative measures (>6 months) were included. Patients were excluded if they had concomitant diagnosis, prior fractures, childhood hip pathology, or prior surgical procedures. Ober test was performed to determine tightness of the iliotibial band. All patients underwent excision of an ellipsoid-shaped segment of iliotibial band over greater trochanter and removal of trochanteric bursae followed by Ober test. Results: Preoperative examination yielded an average hip flexion of 115.7°, extension of 7.14°, abduction of 43.6°, internal rotation of 16.4°, and external rotation of 34.3°. All seven hips demonstrated a palpable painful snap directly over the greater trochanter with flexion and extension with positive Ober test. Postoperative examination yielded an average flexion of 125.7°, extension of 13.6°, abduction of 52.1°, and internal and external rotation of 25° and 41.4°, respectively. The snap completely resolved and Ober tests were negative in all seven cases. Conclusion: We concluded that excision of an ellipsoid-shaped segment of iliotibial band over greater trochanter and removal of underlying trochanteric bursae as the primary surgical modality for relief in the refractory yet symptomatic snapping hip due to a tight iliotibial band.

Aims: Medial compartment arthritis is very common in the Asian population because of a preponderance of varus knees. High tibial osteotomy and total knee replacement are technically demanding procedures, while proximal fibular osteotomy (PFO) significantly relieves pain and improves joint function in knee osteoarthritis (OA). This retrospective study was conducted at Patna Medical College and Hospital. The objective of this study was to assess functional outcomes after PFO and its correlation with bone mineral density. Settings and Design: The study design was a retrospective study. Subjects and Methods: Twenty patients with unicompartmental OA with varus deformity were included in the study. Inclusion criteria included patients with moderate-to-severe symptomatic medial unicompartmental OA of the knee, who had an indication for a surgical procedure, and who were able to give informed consent for the surgery. Exclusion criteria included patients with posttraumatic knee OA or inflammatory joint disease and patients with a history of previous operations or fractures the primary outcome was measured by calculating the ratio of knee joint space. The secondary outcome measure was pain measured by the visual analog scale (VAS). Statistical Analysis Used: Statistical analysis was performed by measurement of study variable. Results: Immediate postoperative pain relieved was noticed in all twenty patients. While at 1-, 3-, and 6-month follow-up, pain relieved was noticed maximum in osteoporotic group patients (n = 12). At 9-month follow-up, pain relieved was noticed equally in all patients. Radiographs of the weight-bearing lower extremity showed an average increase in the medial knee joint space postoperatively compared with preoperatively. The ratio of the knee joint space (medial/lateral compartment) improved significantly from 0.50 ± 0.30 preoperatively to 0.58 ± 0.28 postoperatively. Conclusions: PFO is a simple, safe, fast, and affordable surgery to relieve pain and improve joint function and the medial joint space in knee osteoarthritis, particularly in osteoporotic individuals.

Introduction: A key feature of the 'One Health' concept pertains to the design of novel point of care systems for largescale screening of health of the population residing in resource-limited areas of low- and middle-income countries with a view to obtaining data at a community level as a rationale to achieve better public health outcomes. The physical properties of blood are different for different samples. Our study involved the development of an innovative system architecture based upon the physical properties of blood using automated classifiers to enable large-scale screening of the health of the population living in resource-limited settings. Methods: The proposed system consisted of a simple, robust and low-cost sensor with capabilities to sense and measure even the minute changes in the physical properties of blood samples. In this system, the viscosity of blood was derived from a power-law model coupled with the Rabinowitsch-Mooney correction for non-Newtonian shear rates developed in a steady laminar Poiseuille flow. Surface tension was measured by solving the Young-Laplace equation for pendant drop shape hanging on a vertical needle. An anticipated outcome of this study would be the development of a novel automated classifier based upon the rheological attributes of blood. This automated classifier would have potential application in evaluating the health status of a population at regional and global levels. Results: The proposed system was used to measure the physical properties of various samples like normal, tuberculous and anemic blood samples. The results showed that the physical properties of these samples were different as compared to normal blood samples. The major advantage of this system was low-cost, as well as its simplicity and portability. Conclusion: In this work, we proposed making a case for the validation of a low-cost version of a microfluidic system capable of scanning large populations for a variety of diseases as per the WHO mandate of "One Health".

This research work deals with fibrous composites obtained by using treated and untreated areca sheath (AS) fibers reinforced in polyvinyl chloride (PVC) by injection molding process. Surface treatments of fibers have been carried out to have a better compatibility with PVC matrix. The tensile and flexural strength have been found to increase at the early stage with the increase in treated areca fiber content till optimum (18 wt% of fiber) fiber loading thereafter declines. At optimum fiber loading, the tensile strength, flexural strength and young’s modulus values are 42.38 MPa, 18.22 MPa and 2.38 GPa, respectively, which give maximum values in comparison to other fiber loadings. Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA), biodegradability tests and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) have been used for analysis. The TGA inferred that the thermal stability of the composites increased as compared to neat PVC matrix. Further, the composites exhibit excellent biodegradability property and their biodegradability increases with the increase of areca fiber content. From the properties obtained at optimum fiber loading (18 wt% of fiber), the composite can be suitable for automotive dashboard and door panel applications.

Background: Metabolic syndrome (MetS) is common among patients who have been exposed to second generation antipsychotics (SGA). Obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA) and sleep quality may also contribute to MetS. Aims: To study the contribution of sleep quality and OSA on the development of MetS in patients taking SGA. Methods: Total 60 patients taking SGA for more than three months were taken for the study. It was an observational, cross-sectional study. The diagnosis of OSA was done using Hindi translation of Berlin questionnaire. Hindi version of the Pittsburg Sleep Quality Index was used to assess the sleep quality. MetS was diagnosed using Adult Treatment Panel III criteria. Results: Forty two subjects did not have MetS, out of which 35 had low risk of OSA and seven had high risk of OSA, while 18 subjects had MetS of which nine each had high and low risk of OSA. The results were highly significant with a p-value of 0.007 (p≤0.05). Subjects without MetS (n=42) comprised four good sleepers and 38 poor sleepers. Subjects with MetS (n=18) comprised of one good sleeper and 17 poor sleepers. The results were non-significant with a p-value of 0.525 (p≥0.05). The high risk of OSA had around seven times higher likelihood of contribution to MetS. Conclusions: Sleep quality did not play a significant role in increasing the likelihood of MetS and OSA increased the likelihood of MetS in subjects exposed to SGA by seven times.

Retinoic acid-inducible gene-I (RIG-I) is a cytosolic pathogen sensor that is crucial against a number of viral infections. Many viruses have evolved to inhibit pathogen sensors to suppress host innate immune responses. In the case of influenza, nonstructural protein 1 (NS1) suppresses RIG-I function, leading to viral replication, morbidity, and mortality. We show that silencing NS1 with in-vitro-transcribed 5′-triphosphate containing NS1 short hairpin RNA (shRNA) (5′-PPP-NS1shRNA), designed using the conserved region of a number of influenza viruses, not only prevented NS1 expression but also induced RIG-I activation and type I interferon (IFN) expression, resulting in an antiviral state leading to inhibition of influenza virus replication in vitro. In addition, administration of 5′-PPP-NS1shRNA in prophylactic and therapeutic settings resulted in significant inhibition of viral replication following viral challenge in vivo in mice with corresponding increases of RIG-I, IFN-β, and IFN-λ, as well as a decrease in NS1 expression. Keywords: Influenza, antiviral, NS1, RIG-I, Interferon, 5'PPP-RNA, shRNA

Eudragit, synthesized by radical polymerization, is used for enteric coating, precise temporal release, and targeting the entire gastrointestinal system. Evonik Healthcare Germany offers different grades of Eudragit. The ratio of methacrylic acid to its methacrylate-based monomers used in the polymerization reaction defines the final product’s characteristics and consequently its potential range of applications. Since 1953, these polymers have been made to use in a wide range of healthcare applications around the world. In this review, we reviewed the “known of knowns and known of unknowns” about Eudragit, from molecule to material design, its characterization, and its applications in healthcare.

A better understanding of the genetic and metabolic mechanisms that confer stress resistance and tolerance in plants is key to engineering new crops through advanced breeding technologies. This requires a systems biology approach that builds on a genome-wide understanding of the regulation of gene expression, plant metabolism, physiology and growth. In this study, we examine the response to drought stress in Sorghum, as we leverage the tools for transcriptomics and plant metabolic modeling we have implemented at the U.S. Department of Energy Systems Biology Knowledgebase (KBase). KBase enables researchers worldwide to collaborate and advance research by uploading private or public data into the KBase Narrative Interface, analyzing it using a rich, extensible array of computational and data-analytics tools, and securely sharing scientific workflows and conclusions. We demonstrate how to use the current RNA-seq tools in KBase, applicable to both plants and microbes, to assemble and quantify long transcripts and identify differentially expressed genes effectively. More specifically, we demonstrate the utility of the platform by identifying key genes differentially expressed during drought-stress in Sorghum bicolor, an important sustainable production crop plant. We then show how we can use KBase tools to predict the membership of genes in metabolic pathways and examine expression data in the context of metabolic subsystems. We demonstrate the power of the platform by making the data, analysis and interpretation available to the biologists in the reproducible, re-usable, point-and-click format of a KBase Narrative thus promoting FAIR (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable and Reusable) guiding principles for scientific data management and stewardship.

Reactive oxygen species (ROS) are produced by every aerobic cell during mitochondrial oxidative metabolism as well as in cellular response to xenobiotics, cytokines, and bacterial invasion. Superoxide Dismutases (SOD) are antioxidant proteins that convert superoxide anions (O2•−) to hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) and dioxygen. Using the differential in the level of oxidative stress between normal and cancer cells, SOD mimetics can show an antitumoral effect and prevent oxaliplatin-induced peripheral neuropathy. New Pt(IV) conjugate prodrugs (OxPt-x-Mn1C1A (x = 1, 1-OH, 2)), combining oxaliplatin and a Mn SOD mimic (MnSODm Mn1C1A) with a covalent link, were designed. Their stability in buffer and in the presence of sodium ascorbate was studied. In vitro, their antitumoral activity was assessed by the viability and ROS production of tumor cell lines (CT16, HCT 116, KC) and fibroblasts (primary culture and NIH 3T3). In vivo, a murine model of colorectal cancer was created with subcutaneous injection of CT26 cells in Balb/c mice. Tumor size and volume were measured weekly in four groups: vehicle, oxaliplatin, and oxaliplatin associated with MnSODm Mn1C1A and the bis-conjugate OxPt-2-Mn1C1A. Oxaliplatin-induced peripheral neuropathy (OIPN) was assessed using a Von Frey test reflecting chronic hypoalgesia. Tolerance to treatment was assessed with a clinical score including four items: weight loss, weariness, alopecia, and diarrhea. In vitro, Mn1C1A associated with oxaliplatin and Pt(IV) conjugates treatment induced significantly higher production of H2O2 in all cell lines and showed a significant improvement of the antitumoral efficacy compared to oxaliplatin alone. In vivo, the association of Mn1C1A to oxaliplatin did not decrease its antitumoral activity, while OxPt-2-Mn1C1A had lower antitumoral activity than oxaliplatin alone. Mn1C1A associated with oxaliplatin significantly decreased OIPN and also improved global clinical tolerance of oxaliplatin. A neuroprotective effect was observed, associated with a significantly improved tolerance to oxaliplatin without impairing its antitumoral activity.

Partial shading has a negative impact on photovoltaic systems by forcing the connected modules to generate lower power, creating severe unexpected power losses. To resolve this issue, numerous solutions have been proposed, among which configuration modification has recently attracted a greater audience. The preliminary approach to module reconfiguration was based on the alteration of electrical connections through switches, which introduces lag due to the large number of switches and sensors, complex algorithms, and impractical application. Hence, static techniques are considered to be a cost-effective, low-complexity and easy-to-adopt solution for efficiently reducing the losses due to shading. Hence, this paper proposes a two-step module replacement approach that is validated under multiple partial shading conditions, and the performance is compared with various conventional and hybrid configurations and a static electrical reconfiguration technique using mathematical analysis, comparative parameters and power curves analysis. The validation was performed using the MATLAB platform for two system sizes—6 × 6 and 18 × 3—proving its applicability for arbitrary system sizes. On the basis of the depth investigation, an average power increase of 17.49%, 14.47%, and 14.12% for the two-step approach compared to the conventional, hybrid and electrical reconfiguration was observed in the partial shading cases considered.

In this paper, a novel fault detection and diagnosis technique for a grid-tied photovoltaic (GTPV) with the ability of module-level fault location and differentiation is proposed. The proposed system measures the voltage, current, and temperature of the PV modules using low-cost sensors and critically compares them with the mathematical evaluated data to locate the type and location of the fault in the system. Additionally, a power line communication (PLC)-based low-cost PV monitoring system for tracking the operation of individual modules along with a fault detection algorithm is proposed to detect and locate the fault in the system. An intuitive online web application is also created to make it simple for users to view monitored data online. The suggested method is shown to have reduced computing needs; thus, the transmission of data and fault diagnosis is performed using the same microcontroller without the need for extra hardware or simulation software. The usefulness of the proposed method in identifying different fault occurrences in GTPV systems has been shown via experimental findings.

Abstract Influenza infections cause several million cases of severe respiratory illness, hospitalizations, and hundreds of thousands of deaths globally. Secondary infections are a leading cause of influenza's high morbidity and mortality, and significantly factored into the severity of the 1918, 1968, and 2009 pandemics. Furthermore, there is an increased incidence of other respiratory infections even in vaccinated individuals during influenza season. Putative mechanisms responsible for vaccine failures against influenza as well as other respiratory infections during influenza season are investigated. Peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) are used from influenza vaccinated individuals to assess antigen‐specific responses to influenza, measles, and varicella. The observations made in humans to a mouse model to unravel the mechanism is confirmed and extended. Infection with influenza virus suppresses an ongoing adaptive response to vaccination against influenza as well as other respiratory pathogens, i.e., Adenovirus and Streptococcus pneumoniae by preferentially infecting and killing activated lymphocytes which express elevated levels of sialic acid receptors. These findings propose a new mechanism for the high incidence of secondary respiratory infections due to bacteria and other viruses as well as vaccine failures to influenza and other respiratory pathogens even in immune individuals due to influenza viral infections.