Search

Background: Anthropometric foot data is important in designing and manufacturing shoes. Wearing inappropriate shoes increases the likelihood of problems like ankle injuries, corns, chronic pain, and foot blisters. As yet there is no accurate database on Indian feet till today for the Indian Footwear Industry to develop more comfortable footwear. Objectives: This study aimed to measure the dimensions of the feet of Indian adults to analyze the anthropometric variations between the Right and Left feet within and between genders. Method: This cross-sectional study was carried out with 117 participants (69 male and 48 female) aged 18 to 50 years. Different anthropometric foot parameters were measured by using a 3D foot scanner. Result: Results showed significant gender differences in most parameters but no significant differences between the left and right foot of each gender. Conclusion: This investigation emphasizes the importance of using size data for designing comfortable and well-fitting footwear. The obtained foot anthropometric data can serve as a reference for designing footwear 'Last' for Indian adults, ensuring better comfort and fit. The findings are intended to assist the Indian footwear industry fill the current data gap for the Indian population during the ‘Last’ preparation. This could lead to the prevention of foot problems caused by ill-fitting footwear, as well as improved general foot health.

This paper deals with a detailed analytical approach to design the turnout and guidance mechanism of the Hyperloop based on magnetic forces through a combination of existing railway and magnetic levitation (Maglev) transport technologies. This work also compares the best possible methodology between the movable track Beam (MTB) technique and the magnetic-based switching system, emphasizing the turnout design calculation for the guideway based on the radius of curvature, unbalanced lateral acceleration, deceleration and the centrifugal force acting on the pod during turnout. Ultimately, some conclusions were reached, and hypothetical work plans were drafted. The overall safety of Hyperloop transport technology generally refers to the overarching systems, materials, and processes that need to be considered for switching, turnout, etc. This paper aims to introduce a new vision for turnout Hyperloop systems to enhance safety by identifying the braking distance, improving the cost-effectiveness by profiting from recoverable energy and increasing the capacity. Moreover, adding switches to primary and secondary lines that share a standard geometric connection is studied through turnouts, and safety is increased by identifying the braking distances between the pods and improving the passenger’s comfortability by identifying the Superelevation. Turnouts, or switches and crossings (S&C systems), are particularly interesting in this category, as these components carry significant economic and safety implications for any transportation network. As a result, the Hyperloop’s switching (linear length) area will be $17.4~km$ long, which is exceptionally long compared to the Maglev, high-speed trains and conventional railway systems. The turnout length will depend on the deflection angle of 10°, maintaining a curve radius of $100~km$ . The comparison between Hyperloop and TGV systems reveals significant operational speed, radius, and design parameter differences. While the TGV demonstrates notable efficiency at $500~km/h$ speeds, the Hyperloop’s revolutionary design allows for unprecedented $900~km/h$ speeds. However, the Hyperloop’s immense radius of curvature and Superelevation to maintain significant passenger comfort and extensive switch length present unique challenges, impacting safety and infrastructure requirements. Despite TGV’s lower operational speed, its efficient braking distance and higher recoverable energy make it a competitive option. Furthermore, the nonlinear controller has been designed for maintain the air gap at desire values while track the momentum and magnetic flux to their respective references. Lyapunov stability theory has been used to ensure the globally asymptotic stability of the system. ODE-45 solver and MATLAB/Simulink environment have been used for the result and performance analysis of the nonlinear controller.

Wireless Body Area Networks (WBANs) have significantly transformed human life, particularly in sectors such as healthcare, fitness, entertainment, and sports. The strategic placement of sink nodes in WBANs plays a pivotal role in influencing network connectivity, power efficiency, and overall network performance. In the context of designing WBAN sink placement, the primary challenges revolve around ensuring energy efficiency and robust connectivity. For monitoring a patient’s vital signs, sensor nodes are implanted at various locations within the patient’s body, which transmit physiological data to a central hub known as a sink node. The selection of the optimal position for the sink node is crucial in minimizing node energy consumption during data transmission. Addressing the complexity of the problem, this paper introduces four approaches; (i) Weighted geometric-based sequential least square programming (WG-SLSQP). WG-SLSQP incorporates three key approaches: a) Geometric median b) Weighted average technique and c)Sequential least square programming technique, (ii) Humpback Whale Optimization Algorithm (HWOA), (iii) Distance-based random mean shift (D-RMS), and (iv) Voronoi-based Positioning (VP) for sink node placement. WG-SLSQP demonstrates greater stability and lower localization errors as compared to D-RMS, HWOA and VP. The residual energy of WG-SLSQP is 93.6%, D-RMS is measured at 92%, while VP and HWOA exhibit values of 90.4% and 90% respectively. Moreover, the Average Localization Error (ALE) for WG-SLSQP is 0.500 m, D-RMS is 0.568 m, whereas VP and HWOA have ALE values of 0.60 m and 0.619 m, respectively. The results indicate that the suggested WG-SLSQP approach outperforms its predecessors.

Wireless Body Area Networks (WBANs) have significantly enhanced various aspects of human life, particularly in healthcare, fitness, entertainment, sports, and etc. In WBANs, the sensor nodes are placed in and around the body along with the sink node, which collects the physiological data from these sensors and forwards it for further processing. The placement of the sink node is one of the critical aspects in the design of WABNs as it affects both the energy efficiency and connectivity. To this end, this paper introduces a hybrid method called Distance and Angulation based AGglomerative Clustering (DAAG). DAAG, initially clusters the WBAN sensors using Distance and Angulation based k-Mean clustering. Afterward, Agglomerative Clustering is applied to determine the optimal placement of the sink node. The results of DAAG are compared with various machine learning and optimization approaches, including D-RMS (Distance based Random mean shift clustering), Reinforcement Q-Learning Approach (QL), Humpback Whale optimization (HWOA), Multi-Angulation (MA) and Closeness Centrality (CC). Given an initial energy, the results show that the DAAG exhibits superior performance in terms of latency, packet error rate (PER), and energy consumption. DAAG shows an energy consumption of only 1.51% outperforming QL, HWOA, MA, CC, and D-RMS along with an improved localization accuracy of 0.36 m.

The Internet of Things (IoT) is an essential part of 5G, Beyond-5G (B5G), and 6G systems; it has several applications in two of the principal 5G use cases, namely ultra-reliable low-latency communications (URLLC) and massive machine-type communications (mMTC), and in their successors within B5G and 6G: extreme ultra-reliable low-latency communication (eURLLC) and ultra-massive machine-type communication (umMTC). IoT systems, which are characterized by narrow bandwidths, have stringent requirements owing to the specific nature of their applications and use cases. The purpose of this study is to investigate and jointly optimize the energy efficiency (EE) and latency through resource allocation for IoT cellular systems. With regard to the contributions, in this study we investigated the optimization of EE in narrowband IoT systems, compared resource unit configurations (RUCs), jointly formulated the optimization of EE and latency, and introduced a suboptimal but efficient algorithm. More precisely, as the EE performance of various resource unit configurations has not been exhaustively investigated in the current state of the art, we analyzed and compared the EE of RUCs. The results show vast differences in performance between RUCs. For example, in terms of EE, the best RUC has an EE more than 80 times higher than the worst, which illustrates the importance of this investigation. We then proposed a scheduler based on the shortest job first (SJF) for minimum latency allocation, and another scheduler based on a joint evaluation of EE and latency. With respect to conventional techniques, these schedulers achieve a better trade-off between latency reduction and gain in terms of EE for a wider range of parameter configurations in multi-cellular layouts. The study demonstrates that in the presence of repetitions, algorithms that achieve high EE will mostly achieve low latency.

Cell survival and death are intricately governed by apoptosis, a meticulously controlled programmed cell death. Apoptosis is vital in facilitating embryonic development and maintaining tissue homeostasis and immunological functioning. It is a complex interplay of intrinsic and extrinsic signaling pathways that ultimately converges on executing the apoptotic program. The extrinsic pathway is initiated by the binding of death ligands such as TNF-α and Fas to their respective receptors on the cell surface. In contrast, the intrinsic pathway leads to increased permeability of the outer mitochondrial membrane and the release of apoptogenic factors like cytochrome c, which is regulated by the Bcl-2 family of proteins. Once activated, these pathways lead to a cascade of biochemical events, including caspase activation, DNA fragmentation, and the dismantling of cellular components. Dysregulation of apoptosis is implicated in various disorders, such as cancer, autoimmune diseases, neurodegenerative disorders, and cardiovascular diseases. This article focuses on elucidating the molecular mechanisms underlying apoptosis regulation, to develop targeted therapeutic strategies. Modulating apoptotic pathways holds immense potential in cancer treatment, where promoting apoptosis in malignant cells could lead to tumor regression. This article demonstrates the therapeutic potential of targeting apoptosis, providing options for treating cancer and neurological illnesses. The safety and effectiveness of apoptosis-targeting drugs are being assessed in ongoing preclinical and clinical trials (phase I–III), opening the door for more effective therapeutic approaches and better patient outcomes.

Abstract Diabetes mellitus is a common metabolic disorder characterized by chronic hyperglycemia and disturbance of carbohydrate, fats, and protein metabolism. Type 2 diabetes mellitus results from reduced insulin secretion, decreased glucose utilization, and increased glucose production, which results in hyperglycemia. Hypertension further increases the risk of cardiovascular diseases, including coronary heart disease (CHD), congestive heart failure (CHF), ischemic and hemorrhagic stroke, renal failure, and peripheral arterial disease (PAD). Angiotensin receptor blockers (ARBs) are very effective antihypertensive drugs. This study was done to find the effects of two different angiotensin receptor blockers on various biochemical markers in type-2 diabetes mellitus patients. Methods This was a prospective interventional study, comparing two ARBs Azilsartan and telmisartan, involving 76 patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus and hypertension. Results Both drugs controlled blood pressure equally. The study showed that improvement in fasting plasma glucose was more with Azilsartan as compared to Telmisartan but their mean difference is not statistically significant (p > 0.05). The improvement in post-prandial plasma glucose and HbA1C was more with Telmisartan as compared to Azilsartan but only mean HbA1C was statistically significant (p

The Trichilia emetica plant is traditionally used for medicinal and food purposes. However, there are limited studies on the bioactivity and cytotoxicity of its seed butter and aril oil. This study aimed to assess the antidiabetic activity and cytotoxicity of seed butter and aril oil, obtained via two different extraction methods, and compare their lipid profiles. The plant samples were collected from the Faifa mountains and extracted using a Soxhlet apparatus for hot extraction and a magnetic stirrer for cold maceration. The antidiabetic activity and cytotoxicity were evaluated using the α-amylase and MTT assays, respectively. The fatty acids were quantified utilizing gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. This study proves the impact of the extraction method on the yield, cytotoxicity, antidiabetic activity and lipid profile. The highest cytotoxicity was observed with the seed butter obtained via Soxhlet extraction. The α-amylase inhibition was observed at the highest levels with the seed butter and aril oil obtained via cold maceration. The palmitic acid (PA) and oleic acid (OA) were detected at their maximal concentrations in the seed butter obtained via Soxhlet extraction and aril oil obtained via cold maceration, respectively. This study represents an essential basis for understanding the importance of T. emetica as a valuable tree for food, cosmetic and medicinal purposes. Further experiments can lead to the development of green extraction techniques and isolation of the cytotoxic and antidiabetic molecules that can be developed into new pharmaceutical products or serve as lead molecules for new drugs.

Abstract Impaired autophagy promotes Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD). Claudin-2 is upregulated in IBD however its role in the pathobiology remains uncertain due to its complex regulation, including by autophagy. Irrespective, claudin-2 expression protects mice from DSS colitis. This study was undertaken to examine if an interplay between autophagy and claudin-2 protects from colitis and associated epithelial injury. Crypt culture and intestinal epithelial cells (IECs) are subjected to stress, including starvation or DSS, the chemical that induces colitis in-vivo. Autophagy flux, cell survival, co-immunoprecipitation, proximity ligation assay, and gene mutational studies are performed. These studies reveal that under colitis/stress conditions, claudin-2 undergoes polyubiquitination and P62/SQSTM1-assisted degradation through autophagy. Inhibiting autophagy-mediated claudin-2 degradation promotes cell death and thus suggest that claudin-2 degradation promotes autophagy flux to promote cell survival. Overall, these data inform for the previously undescribed role for claudin-2 in facilitating IECs survival under stress conditions, which can be harnessed for therapeutic advantages.

Complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) has attracted much interest, and its prevalence in both developed and developing countries has increased. During the Hajj season, millions of Muslims from many different countries travel to Makkah for the pilgrimage. In dealing with health issues during the holy season, many pilgrims prefer to self-medicate with traditional remedies instead of visiting medical practitioners, which could affect the efforts of state healthcare organizations to maintain overall public health during this mass gathering. This study aims to gauge the prevalence of CAM use during Hajj, and to assess pilgrims’ beliefs and knowledge of CAM therapies, with particular reference to products available in Makkah. A cross-sectional survey was conducted in several camps and hotels occupied by Hajj pilgrims in Makkah, during Hajj 2023. CAM modalities were used by 68.8 % of the study participants during the Hajj season. There were almost equal numbers of men (53.7 %) and women (46.3 %) participants, with 88 % of the CAM users being non-Saudi and only 12 % Saudi. The majority of the CAM users belonged to two age groups, the 31–40 year group (29.9 %) and the 41–50 year group (34.5 %). The most frequent self-practice therapies were religious prayer/rituals (30.2 %), and the most popular practitioner therapies was herbal treatments (12.3 %). The most common source of CAM-related information was family/friends (29.2 %), for improving well-being reason (25.8 %). More than half of the participants (56.8 %) strongly believed that CAM therapies have the potential to cure disease, although they were unaware of possible interactions between CAM and conventional drugs (76.7 %). More than half of the participants (57.8 %) did not disclose their CAM usage to healthcare practitioners. Half of the sample said they used CAMs during Hajj because of the common belief that therapeutic products from the holy city of Makkah, such as Zamzam water, are more effective. In conclusion, CAM therapies are commonly used by Hajj pilgrims as they are presumed to be natural and therefore safe, raising concerns about the potential risks of relying on CAM without adequate consultation with healthcare providers or awareness of potential interactions between prescription drugs and CAM treatments.

Annual influenza vaccination is an effective way to reduce the burden of disease throughout the year. A cross-sectional study was conducted in primary healthcare centres in Qatar to determine vaccination coverage among physicians, motivators, and barriers. The vaccination rate was higher among physicians aged 45 years and above (p-value

Background: Solanum pseudocapsicum (PC) and Capsicum annum (CA) belongs to the family of Solanaceae. CA have been reported a rich source of phenolics whereas, the phenolics content of GA (gallic acid), SC (scopoletin), RA (rosmarinic acid), and RV (resveratrol) are yet to be reported for the PC-fruit. This study comparatively evaluates the phenolics profile for different parts (seeds and skin) and colors (green and red) of the PC- and CA-fruits using the green solvents of ethanol (ET), acetone (AC), water (H2O), and different combinations of these solvents. Methodology: Ultrasonics extraction (US) and UHPLC analysis were employed for phenolics evaluation. Results: The USMD (method development) revealed the highest extract yield of 62 mg/100 mg for the PC-skin in ET:AC (70:30) solvent whereas, more phenolics (ppm) were observed for PC-seeds in ET:AC (50:50) solvent, particularly the SC (29.46) and GA (16.92). The UHPLCMDMV exhibited significant accuracies (100.70–114.14 %) with r2-values (0.9993–0.9997) in the linearity range of 1–200 ppm. The USMV (method validation) in PC- and CA-fruit parts and colors revealed more extract yields for the red skin part of the PC- (180.5 mg) and CA-fruit (126.2 mg). The phenolics were seen more in the green seeds of the PC-fruit (ppm); SC (276), GA (147.36), RV (28.54), and RA (23.87) followed by the green PC-skin, and red/green CA-seeds. The statistical models of mean differences, ANOVA, and Pearson’s correlation showed significant differences for the PC-fruit parts (seeds and skin) and colors (red and green) vs extract yield and phenolics content (P = 0.05). Conclusion: PC-and CA-fruits were successfully evaluated where the seeds for the green fruits exhibited more phenolics amount.

Abstract The quality of olive fruit (OF) is widely affected due to geographical variation, affecting OF's chemical composition and biological properties. It is a novel and first-time study to evaluate the quality variation of 42 olive samples from different geographical origins based on phytochemical profile and their biological activities. The study reports the presence of unique chemical markers responsible for the difference in quality and biological activity of the olive samples. Biological activity (cytotoxic and antimicrobial) with GCMS phytochemical profile was evaluated. GCMS analysis confirmed the presence of 111 volatile compounds from various chemical classes with range (%) and average (%): esters (21.61–60.49) and 44.62, alcohols (20.73–49.2) and 38.06, hydrocarbons (3–38.88) and 15.39, ketones (0.16–3.87) and 0.75, acids (0.07–2.62) and 0.27, and aldehydes (0.12–1.47) and 0.45. The predominant ester was 13-methyl-pentadecanoic acid methyl ester, a differentiation marker between these samples. Cytotoxicity assay showed a significant inhibitory effect against MCF7 (8–64%) and HCT116 (0.11–44%) cell lines, whereas the extracts with the highest cytotoxicity observed were O17 (52.00 ± 2.00) and O25 (64.00 ± 4.88). The antimicrobial activity exhibited a range of zones of inhibition (mm) against P. aeruginosa (0.00–17.00), E. coli (0.00–15.00), S. aureus (0.00–13), and resistant S. aureus, i.e., MRSA (0.00–12.00). The extracts with the highest antimicrobial activity, i.e., O8 and O39 had identical MIC and MBC of 12.5 and 25 µg/ml against P. aeruginosa. In contrast, an MIC (50 and 25) and MBC (100 and 50) against E. coli were determined for O39 and O8. The statistical PCA and K-mean cluster analysis (P

Momordica charantia, commonly known as bitter melon, is a fruiting plant that has been used for several diseases including infectious diseases. In this study, we report the antibacterial, antifungal, and antiviral activity of different bitter melon fruit parts originating from India and Saudi Arabia. The in vitro experiments are supported by the molecular docking of karavilosides to verify their role in the bioactivity. The antimicrobial assays revealed activity against Candida albicans, Escherichia coli, and Staphylococcus aureus. The extracts exhibited the potent inhibition of HIV-I reverse transcriptase, with an IC50 of 0.125 mg/mL observed for the pith extract originating from Saudi Arabia and the standard drug doxorubicin. The molecular docking of karavilosides exhibited a significant affinity to reverse transcriptase comparable to Rilpivirine and higher than that of doxorubicin. These outcomes encourage the precious bioactive components of the seed and pith of the Saudi bitter melon fruits to be further studied for isolation and structure elucidation.

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is a chronic gut disorder that also elevates the risk of colorectal cancer (CRC). The global incidence and severity of IBD are rising, yet existing therapies often lead to severe side effects. Curcumin offers potent anti-inflammatory and chemotherapeutic properties. However, its clinical translation is hindered by rapid metabolism, as well as poor water solubility and stability, which limits its bioavailability. To address these challenges, we developed OC-S, a water-soluble and colon-targeted curcumin formulation that protects against colitis in mice. The current study advances OC-S as a dietary supplement by establishing its stability and compatibility with various commercial dietary products. Further, OC-S exhibited specific binding to inflamed colon tissue, potentially aiding in targeted drug retention at the inflammation site in colitis with diarrhea symptoms. We further investigated its efficacy in vivo and in vitro using a murine model of colitis and tumoroids from APCmin mice. OC-S significantly reduced colitis severity and pro-inflammatory cytokine expression compared with curcumin, even at very low doses (5 mg/kg/day). It also demonstrated higher anti-proliferative activity in CRC cells and colon cancer tumoroids vs. curcumin. Overall, this study demonstrated that OC-S effectively targets and retains water-soluble curcumin at the inflamed colon sites, while showing promise in addressing both colitis and colorectal cancer, which potentially paves the way for OC-S to advance into clinical development as a dietary product for both IBD and CRC.

ABSTRACTDysregulation of both the gut barrier and microbiota (dysbiosis) promotes susceptibility to and severity of Inflammatory Bowel Diseases (IBD). Leaky gut and dysbiosis often coexist; however, potential interdependence and molecular regulation are not well understood. Robust expression of claudin-3 (CLDN3) characterizes the gut epithelium, and studies have demonstrated a positive association between CLDN3 expression and gut barrier maturity and integrity, including in response to probiotics. However, the exact status and causal role of CLDN3 in IBD and regulation of gut dysbiosis remain unknown. Analysis of mouse and human IBD cohorts helped examine CLDN3 expression in IBD. The causal role was determined by modeling CLDN3 loss of expression during experimental colitis. 16S sequencing and in silico analysis helped examine gut microbiota diversity between Cldn3KO and WT mice and potential host metabolic responses. Fecal microbiota transplant (FMT) studies were performed to assess the role of gut dysbiosis in the increased susceptibility of Cldn3KO mice to colitis. A significant decrease in CLDN3 expression characterized IBD and CLDN3 loss of expression promoted colitis. 16S sequencing analysis suggested gut microbiota changes in Cldn3KO mice that were capable of modulating fatty acid metabolism and oxidative stress response. FMT from naïve Cldn3KO mice promoted colitis susceptibility in recipient germ-free mice (GFM) compared with GFM-receiving microbiota from WT mice. Our data demonstrate a critical role of CLDN3 in maintaining normal gut microbiota and inflammatory responses, which can be harnessed to develop novel therapeutic opportunities for patients with IBD.

BackgroundNumerous reviews of the epidemiology and risk factors for breast cancer have been published previously which heighted different directions of breast cancer.AimThe present review examined the likelihood that incidence, prevalence, and particular risk factors might vary by geographic region and possibly by food and cultural practices as well.MethodsA systematic review (2017-2022) was conducted following Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analyses (PRISMA) guidelines, reporting on epidemiological and risk factor reports from different world regions. Medical Subject Heading (MeSH) terms: “Breast neoplasm” “AND” country terms such as “Pakistan/epidemiology”, “India/epidemiology”, “North America/epidemiology”, “South Africa/epidemiology” were used to retrieve 2068 articles from PubMed. After applying inclusion and exclusion terms, 49 papers were selected for systematic review.ResultsResults of selected articles were summarized based on risk factors, world regions and study type. Risk factors were classified into five categories: demographic, genetic and lifestyle risk factors varied among countries. This review article covers a variety of topics, including regions, main findings, and associated risk factors such as genetic factors, and lifestyle. Several studies revealed that lifestyle choices including diet and exercise could affect a person’s chance of developing breast cancer. Breast cancer risk has also been linked to genetic variables, including DNA repair gene polymorphisms and mutations in the breast cancer gene (BRCA). It has been found that most of the genetic variability links to the population of Asia while the cause of breast cancer due to lifestyle modifications has been found in American and British people, indicating that demographic, genetic, and, lifestyle risk factors varied among countries.ConclusionThere are many risk factors for breast cancer, which vary in their importance depending on the world region. However, further investigation is required to better comprehend the particular causes of breast cancer in these areas as well as to create efficient prevention and treatment plans that cater to the local population.

Advances in Unmanned Air Vehicle (UAV) technology have paved a way for numerous configurations and applications in communication systems. However, UAV dynamics play an important role in determining its effective use. In this article, while considering UAV dynamics, we evaluate the performance of a UAV equipped with a Mobile-Edge Computing (MEC) server that provides services to End-user Devices (EuDs). The EuDs due to their limited energy resources offload a portion of their computational task to nearby MEC-based UAV. To this end, we jointly optimize the computational cost and 3D UAV placement along with resource allocation subject to the network, communication, and environment constraints. A Deep Reinforcement Learning (DRL) technique based on a continuous action space approach, namely Deep Deterministic Policy Gradient (DDPG) is utilized. By exploiting DDPG, we propose an optimization strategy to obtain an optimal offloading policy in the presence of UAV dynamics, which is not considered in earlier studies. The proposed strategy can be classified into three cases namely; training through an ideal scenario, training through error dynamics, and training through extreme values. We compared the performance of these individual cases based on cost percentage and concluded that case II (training through error dynamics) achieves minimum cost i.e., 37.75 %, whereas case I and case III settles at 67.25% and 67.50% respectively. Numerical simulations are performed, and extensive results are obtained which shows that the advanced DDPG based algorithm along with error dynamic protocol is able to converge to near optimum. To validate the efficacy of the proposed algorithm, a comparison with state-of-the-art Deep Q-Network (DQN) is carried out, which shows that our algorithm has significant improvements.

Context Since the outbreak of SARS-CoV-2, researchers have been working on finding ways to prevent viral entry and pathogenesis. Drug development from naturally-sourced pharmacological constituents may be a fruitful approach to COVID-19 therapy.Objective Most of the published literature has focussed on medicinal plants, while less attention has been given to biodiverse sources such as animal, marine, and microbial products. This review focuses on highlighting natural products and their derivatives that have been evaluated for antiviral, anti-inflammatory, and immunomodulatory properties.Methods We searched electronic databases such as PubMed, Scopus, Science Direct and Springer Link to gather raw data from publications up to March 2021, using terms such as ‘natural products’, marine, micro-organism, and animal, COVID-19. We extracted a number of documented clinical trials of products that were tested in silico, in vitro, and in vivo which paid specific attention to chemical profiles and mechanisms of action.Results Various classes of flavonoids, 2 polyphenols, peptides and tannins were found, which exhibit inhibitory properties against viral and host proteins, including 3CLpro, PLpro, S, hACE2, and NF-κB, many of which are in different phases of clinical trials.Discussion and conclusions The synergistic effects of logical combinations with different mechanisms of action emphasizes their value in COVID19 management, such as iota carrageenan nasal spray, ermectin oral drops, omega-3 supplementation, and a quadruple treatment of zinc, quercetin, bromelain, and vitamin C. Though in vivo efficacy of these compounds has yet to be established, these bioproducts are potentially useful in counteracting the effects of SARS-CoV-2.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to ascertain the correlation between COVID-19 infection and jaw osteonecrosis, along with the identification of risk factors that could be associated with the development of the condition. Another aim of our study is to establish whether maxillofacial osteonecrosis is an early or late complication seen in COVID-19 patients. Material and method: This was a retrospective study conducted over a period of two years. Case records of patients with a history of severe COVID and steroid treatment who later developed jaw osteonecrosis were evaluated. Result: 13 patients with an age range from 8 years to 70 years were identified. Osteonecrosis was seen as late as 21 months after COVID-19. The majority of the cases involved maxilla, one case was of bi-jaw involvement, and one case presented with isolated mandibular involvement. 6 patients were diabetic and 11 patients gave a history of provocative dental treatment like extraction. Conclusion: A triad of post-COVID coagulopathy, steroid administration, and a provocative dental treatment may contribute to jaw osteonecrosis which may be seen in patients without pre-existing systemic illness and may present as late as 21 months after COVID-19.

S-allyl-L-cysteine (SAC) is a sulfur-containing substance found in aged garlic extract (AGE), which has been observed to have numerous biological activities, including antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. Compared to intact garlic, SAC has fewer odors and decreased toxicity, making it a more appealing option for individuals looking to gain the health benefits of garlic without experiencing unpleasant side effects such as indigestion and bad breath. SAC has been found to have potent antioxidant effects, protecting the body against oxidative stress and damage caused by free radicals. This may be particularly beneficial for those with chronic diseases such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and cancer, where oxidative stress plays a key role in disease progression. Additionally, SAC has anti-inflammatory effects, which may help prevent or manage conditions associated with chronic inflammation, such as arthritis, asthma, and Alzheimer's disease. SAC is a chemically and physiologically fascinating substance with multiple pharmacological qualities, and as research continues into its potential health benefits, it may become an increasingly popular dietary supplement. The main aim of this work is to provide a comprehensive overview on physicochemical nature, mechanism, pharmacokinetics, and physiological functions of SAC.

The use of photovoltaic (PV) panels in interior spaces is expected to increase due to the proliferation of low-power sensor devices in the IoT domain. PV models are critical for estimating the I–V curves that define their performance at various light intensities. These models and the extraction of their parameters have been extensively studied under outdoor conditions, but their indoor illumination performance is less studied. With respect to the latter, several studies have used the parameter-scaling technique. However, the model’s accuracy degrades when the light level decreases. In this study, we propose a simple PV modeling technique that can be applied at various illuminance levels by only using characteristic points (short-circuit current, open-circuit voltage, and maximum-power voltage points) at a reference illumination level. The model uses the characteristic point translation technique to translate the reference characteristic points to other operating conditions. Then, parameter extraction technique is used to extract the model’s parameters. The proposed model’s accuracy is verified using two commercial PV panels and different indoor lighting technologies. The results indicate that the proposed model outperforms the other examined works in terms of accuracy, with an average improvement of 15.75%.

Abstract Autoantibodies and inflammation are the hallmarks of autoimmune diseases (ADs). Organ‐specific and nonorgan‐specific ADs are divided according to whether the autoimmune reaction is directed against a specific tissue (e.g., thyroid in Hashimoto's thyroiditis) or widely expressed antigens (e.g., cell nuclei in systemic lupus erythematosus [SLE]). SLE is distinguished by the presence of circulating autoantibodies and immune complex deposition, both of which can induce inflammatory damage to many organs. Rheumatoid arthritis (RA), sometimes called inflammatory arthritis, is a systemic AD that affects the joints and causes synovitis. Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a central nervous system inflammatory disease with various neurological and autoimmune symptoms. Links have been reported between RA and SLE as well as between Type 1 diabetes mellitus and MS. Identification of shared genes and biological processes could aid in the discovery of possible treatment targets in these dual ADs. This review article explores the molecular nature and familial inheritance of dual ADs.

Background: This study, for the first time, reports a simultaneous determination of flavonoids; rutin (RT), quercetin (QT), luteolin (LT), and kaempferol (KF) in different origins of fenugreek seeds samples (N = 45) using a green UHPLC-DAD analysis Methodology: Ultrasound-assisted extraction (UAE) was employed to extract fenugreek flavonoids using different polarity solvents of n-hexane (n-hex), dichloromethane (DCM), and methanol (MeOH) Results: The extract yield on an individual basis was observed in the range of 1.03–17.29 mg, with the highest yield (mg/sample) for the Egyptian sample (17.29 mg). The highest total extract yield (mg/origin) was observed for the Iranian sample (82.28 ± 5.38). The solvent with the highest extract yield (mg) was n-hex 169.35 ± 13.47, followed by MeOH 114.39 ± 12.27. The validated green UHPLC-DAD method resulted in a short runtime (9 min) with an accuracy of 97.86(±12.32)-101.37(±5.91), r2-values = 0.993–0.999, LOD = 2.09–4.48 ppm, and LOQ = 6.33–13.57 ppm for flavonoids analysis within the linearity range of 1–500 ppm. The general yield for flavonoids exhibited a descending order (ppm): RT (2924.55 ± 143.84) > QT (457.05 ± 34.07) > LT (82.37 ± 3.27) > KF (4.54 ± 0.00). The yield (ppm) for the flavonoids was more in MeOH solvent (3424.81 ± 235.44) constructing a descending order of MeOH > n-hex > DCM. For an individual flavonoid yield; MeOH was seen with an order of RT > QT > LT, n-hex (LT > QT), and DCM (RT > LT > QT). The statistical analysis of PCA (principle component analysis) revealed a widespread distribution of flavonoids in fenugreek seeds with a variance of 35.93% (PC1). Moreover, flavonoids extraction was prone to the nature and specificity of the solvent used (PC2: 33.34%) rather than the amount of the extract yield (P = 0.00). The K-mean cluster analysis showed the origins with higher flavonoids yield in appropriate solvent as I3M (Indian accession # 3 MeOH extract) with more QT amount, IR2M (Iranian accession # 2 MeOH extract) with more LT amount along with I2M (Indian accession # 2 MeOH extract) and Q2M (Qassim Saudi Arabia accession # 2 MeOH extract) containing high amount of RT. The outcomes are supported by KMO (Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin) and Bartlett’s test value of 0.56 with X2-value of 191.87 (P = 0.00) Conclusion: The samples were effectively evaluated and standardized in terms of flavonoid amount suggesting a significant variation in fenugreek quality.

Metal contamination of lip care products can cause potential adverse effects for consumers, hence assessment of human health risks associated with the consumption of these products is inevitable to ensure the consumers’ safety. In the presented study, the profiles of 18 elements in 37 of the most popular lip cosmetic products, of various types and brands, sold in the Saudi Arabian markets, were investigated and their associated potential carcinogenic and non-carcinogenic human health risks were assessed. The metal concentrations were determined using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry preceded by microwave digestion for sample preparation. In general, the concentrations of the investigated metals were lower than the safe permissible limits with the exception of Cd, Pb and Hg. The results found that Cd was regarded as the primary metal contaminant present in the analyzed lip products contributing to 66.3% of the total determined carcinogenic health risk. Overall, however it was observed that there was no significant non-carcinogenic (hazard index

Excessive use of chemical fertilizers causing a serious threat to the agro-ecological system, developing resistance to pest and declining food safety. Under current scenario, the application of bio-organic nutrients sources become imperative to sustain the productivity of arable farming. Thus to study the possible use of bio-organic sources of nutrients in soil fertility, crop quality and saving the application cost of chemical fertilizer, a pot experiment was conducted in green-house at Land Resources Research Institute, NARC Islamabad. Integrated effects of bio-organic fertilizers such as phosphate solubilizing bacteria (PSB), vermicompost (VC) along with chemical fertilizer was investigated on soil-plant nutrients contents, growth and yield of tomato. Post-harvest results showed that the integrated use of bio-organic fertilizers with chemical fertilizer significantly increased the agronomic yield (Plant height and chlorophyll content) and fruit yield (Number of fruits, fruit weight, fruit diameter and yield) in tomato. The maximum plant height (161.24cm), chlorophyll contents (61.2), number of fruits (19), fruit weight (55g), fruit diameter (45.6a) and fruit yield (1.39 Kg/plant) were recorded in the treatment T5 where VC+PSB+75%RD were applied and minimum in treatment T1 (control). Treatment T5 has increased 117% fruit yield over control. The highest N (2.05% and 2.89%), P (0.33% and 0.50%) and K (2.32% and 6.67%) concentration in shoot and fruit of tomato respectively were found in treatment T5 (VC+PSB+75%RD). Similarly, in soil the highest N (4 mg Kg-1), P (0.66mg Kg-1) and K (3.53mg Kg-1) was recorded in treatment T6 (VC+PSB+100RD). Thus, study results recommend that the integrated use of bio-organic sources with appropriate proportion of chemical/synthetic fertilizers is best option of fertilizer savings and to achieve maximum benefits regarding quality and yield.

BackgroundContemporary advances in low-field magnetic resonance imaging systems can potentially widen access to cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR) imaging. We present our initial experience in building a comprehensive CMR protocol on a commercial 0.55 T system with a gradient performance of 26 mT/m amplitude and 45 T/m/s slew rate. To achieve sufficient image quality, we adapted standard imaging techniques when possible, and implemented compressed-sensing (CS) based techniques when needed in an effort to compensate for the inherently low signal-to-noise ratio at lower field strength.MethodsA prototype CMR exam was built on an 80 cm, ultra-wide bore commercial 0.55 T MR system. Implementation of all components aimed to overcome the inherently lower signal of low-field and the relatively longer echo and repetition times owing to the slower gradients. CS-based breath-held and real-time cine imaging was built utilizing high acceleration rates to meet nominal spatial and temporal resolution recommendations. Similarly, CS 2D phase-contrast cine was implemented for flow. Dark-blood turbo spin echo sequences with deep learning based denoising were implemented for morphology assessment. Magnetization-prepared single-shot myocardial mapping techniques incorporated additional source images. CS-based dynamic contrast-enhanced imaging was implemented for myocardial perfusion and 3D MR angiography. Non-contrast 3D MR angiography was built with electrocardiogram-triggered, navigator-gated magnetization-prepared methods. Late gadolinium enhanced (LGE) tissue characterization methods included breath-held segmented and free-breathing single-shot imaging with motion correction and averaging using an increased number of source images. Proof-of-concept was demonstrated through porcine infarct model, healthy volunteer, and patient scans.ResultsReasonable image quality was demonstrated for cardiovascular structure, function, flow, and LGE assessment. Low-field afforded utilization of higher flip angles for cine and MR angiography. CS-based techniques were able to overcome gradient speed limitations and meet spatial and temporal resolution recommendations with imaging times comparable to higher performance scanners. Tissue mapping and perfusion imaging require further development.ConclusionWe implemented cardiac applications demonstrating the potential for comprehensive CMR on a novel commercial 0.55 T system. Further development and validation studies are needed before this technology can be applied clinically.

Background: This is a first-time report to evaluate the effect of natural antioxidants, pH, and green solvents upon catechins yield and stability during the active process of extraction from green tea leaves. Methodology: Green solvents (model-A) augmented with piperine (PPN) and quercetin (QT) as natural antioxidants (model-B) at different pH 2–6 (model-C) were used to extract catechins from green tea leaves using an ultrasonic extraction process (USE). For quantification of catechins (EC; epicatechins, ECG; epicatechin gallate, and EGCG; epigallocatechin gallate), a green and sensitive UHPLC-MS/MS method was developed and validated. Results: The UHPLC-MS/MS method showed an accuracy of 98.3–102.6 % within the linearity range of 1–500 ppb for EC (m/z) 289 → 245 → 109, ECG (m/z) 441.2 → 169 → 289, and EGCG (m/z) 457.1 → 169 → 125.1. The general yield (ppb) for EC, ECG, and EGCG was observed with the ranges and sum of (N = 180) 0.06–157.80 and 6696.83, 0.04–316.93 and 12632.60 and, 0.12–584.11 and 26144.83, respectively. Model-C revealed the highest yield for catechins at the lowest pH-2 with an individual catechin yield of EGCG (584.11) > ECG (316.93) > EC (157.80) in CW2. In terms of stability, EGCG was the most unstable catechin whereas, catechins extracted in model-B exhibited more stability (%recovery of 14.70 for EC, 10.55 for ECG, and 5.36 for EGCG in BEP). Moreover, model-B showed the minimal degradation for catechins within the range of 11.81–94.64 (BEP); even the most degradable EGCG was seen with the smallest %loss of 11.81–94.64 at time 24–70 h, as compared to the loss of > 95 % in model-A and C. The ANOVA score for catechins yield was; F11,168 = 61.06 (EC), F11,168 = 66.53 (ECG), and F11,168 = 48.92 (EGCG) (P = 0.00) with mean scores of (M = 94.63, SD = 25.46) for EC, (M = 194.87, SD = 51.41) ECG, and (M = 357.57, SD = 96.80) EGCG in CE2. Conclusion: A significant effect on catechins yield and stability was observed with the use of natural antioxidants and lowest pH-2.

Abstract The present study was designed to evaluate the beneficial synergistic effects of S-allyl Cysteine (SAC) and Taurine (TAU) on hyperglycemia, lipid profile and renal damage markers in type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) in rats. Experimental T2DM was developed by administering an intraperitoneal single dose of nicotinamide (NA; 230 mg/kg) and streptozotocin (STZ; 65 mg/ kg) in adult rats. Control and diabetic rats were treated with SAC (150 mg/kg); TAU (200 mg/ kg) or SAC and TAU (75+100 mg/kg) combination for four weeks. Measurements of traditional markers of kidney toxicity in serum, such as blood urea nitrogen (BUN), serum creatinine (Scr), and alkaline phosphatase (ALP), together with serum cholesterol/triglyceride such as serum total cholesterol (TC), triglycerides (TG), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) and very low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (VLDL-C) may yield a snapshot of renal damage and lipid profile in NA/STZ-treated rats. The variation in levels of fasting blood glucose, glycosylated hemoglobin, insulin and lipid profile was significantly augmented in SAC/TAU treatment group. The diabetic group showed elevated renal injury markers in serum, which were decreased significantly by SAC/TAU treatment. Thus the results of the experiment clearly indicate the potential of the SAC/TAU combination in improving diabetic complications.

Hypertensive crises is still a major public health problem, causing end organ damage like myocardial infarction, stroke, and renal failure. Labetalol and nitroglycerine are among the two most commonly used medicine to control the blood pressure, but there is no head to head comparison between these two medicines. This was a prospective randomized non-blinded study which included 50 patients of hypertensive crises, out which 25 patients received intravenous labetalol and 25 patients received intravenous nitroglycerine. We found that labetalol controlled the blood pressure more rapidly in comparison to nitroglycerine, without causing any extra side effect.

This study analyzes how career competencies increase individuals’ career commitment through positive career shocks from the project perspective. Further, this paper discusses the interaction effect of career satisfaction and career shocks to career commitment. Survey data were collected from early-career engineers working on engineering projects, and later analyzed through PROCESS Macro. Findings revealed that positive career shocks increased the career commitment of young engineers who had acceptable career competencies. This study extends the current career debate more precisely in the project context by highlighting the role of positive career shock, a relatively new construct in project management research, in career commitment. This also highlighted policy implications from a project viewpoint, such as how project recruiters may help early-career workers develop and enhance their attitudes toward a certain career, which is advantageous to the organization and project outcomes.

Background: Despite significant progress in clinical management, colorectal cancer (CRC) remains the third most common cause of cancer-related deaths. A positive association between PYCR2 (pyrroline-5-carboxylate reductase-2), a terminal enzyme of proline metabolism, and CRC aggressiveness was recently reported. However, how PYCR2 promotes colon carcinogenesis remains ill understood. Methods: A comprehensive analysis was performed using publicly available cancer databases and CRC patient cohorts. Proteomics and biochemical evaluations were performed along with genetic manipulations and in vivo tumor growth assays to gain a mechanistic understanding. Results: PYCR2 expression was significantly upregulated in CRC and associated with poor patient survival, specifically among PYCR isoforms (PYCR1, 2, and 3). The genetic inhibition of PYCR2 inhibited the tumorigenic abilities of CRC cells and in vivo tumor growth. Coinciding with these observations was a significant decrease in cellular proline content. PYCR2 overexpression promoted the tumorigenic abilities of CRC cells. Proteomics (LC-MS/MS) analysis further demonstrated that PYCR2 loss of expression in CRC cells inhibits survival and cell cycle pathways. A subsequent biochemical analysis supported the causal role of PYCR2 in regulating CRC cell survival and the cell cycle, potentially by regulating the expression of MASTL, a cell-cycle-regulating protein upregulated in CRC. Further studies revealed that PYCR2 regulates Wnt/β-catenin-signaling in manners dependent on the expression of MASTL and the cancer stem cell niche. Conclusions: PYCR2 promotes MASTL/Wnt/β-catenin signaling that, in turn, promotes cancer stem cell populations and, thus, colon carcinogenesis. Taken together, our data highlight the significance of PYCR2 as a novel therapeutic target for effectively treating aggressive colon cancer.

The conventional orthotopic/xenograft models or genetically engineered murine models of colon cancer (CRC) are limited in their scope for a true understanding of tumor growth, progression and eventual metastasis in its natural microenvironment. In the currently used murine models of CRC metastasis, the metastasis occurs primarily in the liver, though lung metastasis accounts for a significant proportion of CRC metastasis. There is an urgent need for a murine model of CRC, which not only allows tumor progression in the colonic mucosa but also metastasis of the lung. The authors describe a minimally invasive murine model of colon cancer progression that may be ideal for a wide range of applications, including evaluating gene function, microenvironment, cancer metastasis and therapeutic translational research.

Abstract Background Claudin-2 expression is upregulated in multiple cancers and promotes cancer malignancy. Remarkably, the regulation of claudin-2 expression in kidney cell lines contrasts its reported regulation in other organs. However, claudin-2 role in renal clear cell carcinoma (RCC) remains unknown despite its predominant expression in the proximal tubular epithelium (PTE), the site of RCC origin. Methods Publicly available and independent patient databases were examined for claudin-2 association with RCC. The novel protein function was validated in vitro and in vivo by gain or loss of function assays. Mechanistic results were concluded by Mass spectroscopy, immunoprecipitation and mutational studies, and functional evaluations. Results We show that the significant decrease in claudin-2 expression characterized PTE cells and Ex-vivo cultured mouse kidney subjected to dedifferentiation. Inhibition of claudin-2 was enough to induce mesenchymal plasticity and invasive mobility in these models. Further, a progressive loss of claudin-2 expression associated with the RCC progression and poor patient survival. Overexpression of claudin-2 in RCC-derived cancer cells inhibited tumorigenic abilities and xenograft tumor growth. These data supported a novel tumor-suppressive role of claudin-2 in RCC. Mechanistic insights further revealed that claudin-2 associates with YAP-protein and modulates its phosphorylation (S127) and nuclear expression. The tumor suppressive effects of claudin-2 expression were lost upon deletion of its PDZ-binding motif emphasizing the critical role of the PDZ-domain in claudin-2 interaction with YAP in regulating RCC malignancy. Conclusions Our results demonstrate a novel kidney specific tumor suppressive role for claudin-2 protein and further demonstrate that claudin-2 co-operates with the YAP signaling in regulating the RCC malignancy.

Photovoltaic (PV) panels are increasingly used to convert sunlight into electricity, as a source of sustainable energy. It can be used in a wide variety of applications ranging from the well-known power generation to the emerging energy harvesting in Internet of Things (IoT). Hence, an accurate model is required to evaluate and predict the performance of the PV panel. However, the non-linear characteristics of PV panels make the modeling of their electrical response a challenging task. In the literature, most of the previous PV models have been developed for large wattage PVs under high irradiance, or for small wattage PVs under lower irradiance. Those that can model both usually require more information, including the I-V curves data at different irradiances, which is not always provided by the manufacturers. Therefore, this paper presents a simple PV modeling that can be applied for different wattage panels at different operating levels of irradiance, using only the commonly provided datasheet values at standard test condition (STC). The model uses the characteristic points translation technique to translate the short circuit current, open circuit voltage and maximum power voltage points, at STC to other operating conditions. These translated values are then used by the parameter extraction technique to extract the model’s parameters. The proposed model’s techniques can model the losses across the resistors at low irradiance, which reduces the error. The accuracy of the proposed model is validated using two representative commercial PV panels. Results are generated for the proposed model and other comparative works. The results show that the proposed model can improve the accuracy over the other compared works, with a consistent percentage difference of below 5% across all levels of irradiances for both panels.

Device-to-device communication, as provided by the third generation partnership project standardization, can play a vital role in designing a reliable pervasive public safety network, which allows the user equipment (UEs) to communicate directly with each other in emergency situations. In this paper, we analyze the performance of direct discovery, one of the features introduced by proximity services. This is examined in heterogeneous environments using the OpenAirInterface open-source software and USRP hardware platform. The experimental results highlight the suitable values for different gains and frequencies of the UEs for performing reliable baseline direct discovery in out-of-coverage scenarios. We evaluate the performance of direct discovery in terms of reliability and maximum range in outdoor and indoor scenarios. Furthermore, we propose a context-aware energy-efficient heuristic algorithm for direct discovery with the aim of extending the network lifetime in emergency scenarios. This heuristic yields significant improvements in UE lifetime (20-52%) and reduces redundant transmissions of discovery messages compared to the baseline approach.

Massive use of synthetic chemicals exerts deleterious effects on human and environmental health, which calls for the development of novel alternatives to manage agricultural pests. Botanical pesticides have drawn great interest due to their non-toxic and eco-friendly nature. Therefore, under this study, leaf-needles of chir pine (Pinus roxburghii) were extracted by different solvents to obtain effective biochemical. These extracts were evaluated for biocontrol of two weed and an insect-pest species. Pine needles were soaked separately in methanol, ethanol, hot and cold water in the volume to weight ratio of 5:1 (solvent:pine needles) for 7 days. Extraction yield, and contents of organic acids, siloxanes and amides were higher with hot and cold water, while alcohols, ketones, terpenes and phenolic compounds were greater in methanolic and ethanolic extracts. These biochemicals with respective extractants increased quantitatively and progressively but not beyond 7 days. Raw extracts (with variable dilution) were employed topically against two weed species (Melilotus albus and Asphodelus tenuifolius) and an insect-pest (Plutella xylostella L.). Greater weed biocontrol efficacy through soaking of M. albus and A. tenuifolius weed seeds was exhibited by methanolic extract (100% concentration) with the highest germination inhibition (74% and 65%) followed by ethanolic extract (68% and 64%), respectively. The highest mortality (92%) of P. xylostella insects was achieved through methanolic extract bath (20% concentration) after 120 h. These results conclude that alcoholic extracts of pine needle contain more effective biochemicals (e.g., phenols and terpenes) with bio-pesticidal characteristics as compared to that from aqueous extracts. Therefore, the alcoholic extracts bear great potential to develop the bio-pesticides as novel and safe alternatives for weeds as well as insect-pest management.

Успішне оперативне лікування неопущеного яєчка визначається його положенням у калитці без ознак атрофічних змін. Найважливішими факторами, що визначають успішність оперативного лікування, є тип неопущеного яєчка, тобто пальпується / не пальпується, а також час операції. Кінцева мета орхіопексії - зберегти сперматогенний потенціал. Однак, у цьому можна впевнитися тільки у більш пізньому віці пацієнта. Тому на ранньому етапі для оцінки були використані радіологічні дані. Ми провели це дослідження для оцінки параметрів кровотоку.

This paper reports the results of an experimental study on the high performance concrete made with copper slag as fine aggregate. The percentage of Copper Slag(CS) added by weight in a range viz. 0, 25, 50, 75 and 100% as a replacement of sand used in concrete and cement was replaced with 15% Metakaolin. The properties studied include compressive strength, splitting tensile strength, Sorptivity, Rapid Chloride Permeability Test (RCPT), Accelerated Carbonation test and Microstructural properties. The test results showed that the compressive strength increases up to 50% copper slag as replacement of sand, beyond which decrease in strength was observed. The results of RCPT and sorptivity with different proportions of copper slag at 28, 90, 120 days of curing period showed the lowest value for the mix containing 25% and 50 % copper slag at each curing age. Carbonation results show that concrete mixes with 85% cement and MK 15% with increasing percentage of copper slag, the carbonation depth increases slowly especially for 75% and 100%. The microscopic view from Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) demonstrated more voids, capillary channels, and micro cracks with the increment of copper slag as substitution of sand as compared to the control mix, profoundly visible at 100% replacement of sand which is due to the presence of free water.

In 2010, the UK’s Higher Education Sector set a carbon reduction target of 43%. This study aims to evaluate the performance of this Sector for the period before and after the implementation of its carbon reduction target. Dataset available from the Higher Education Statistics Agency has been extensively used in this study. Significant factors driving the sector’s energy consumption have been identified. Energy performance indicators have been established. The increasing role of green technologies in the sector’s energy mix has been unlocked. The sector’s energy and carbon performance have been additionally analysed by critically analysing the data collected from the display energy certificates. In the end, the impact of Brexit on the sector’s academic and environmental targets has been discussed.

Abstract To formulate a nanoformulation (PLGA-NPs) and to improve brain bioavailability for thymoquinone (THQ) through intranasal (i.n.) drug delivery, using a newly UHPLC-PDA developed the method and validated. Five different THQ-PLGA-NPs (THQ-N1 to THQ-N5) were prepared by emulsion solvent evaporation method. A new UHPLC method developed and validated for biodistribution studies in the rat’s brain, lungs and plasma. Optimized-THQ-N1-NPs showed a particle size of 97.36 ± 2.01 nm with a low PDI value of 0.263 ± 0.004, ZP of − 17.98 ± 1.09, EE of 82.49 ± 2.38% and DL of 5.09 ± 0.13%. THQ-N1-NPs showed sustained release pattern via in vitro release profile. A bioanalytical method was developed by UHPLC-PDA and validated for the evaluation of pharmacokinetics parameters, biodistribution studies, brain drug-targeting potential (89.89 ± 9.38%), and brain-targeting efficiency (8075.00 ± 113.05%) studies through intranasal administration which showed an improved THQ-brain- bioavailability, compared to i.v. Moreover, THQ-PLGA-NPs improved the seizure threshold treatment i.e. epilepsy increasing current electroshock (ICES) rodent models induced seizures in rats. A significant role of THQ-PLGA-NPs with high brain targeting efficiency of the nanoformulations was established. The reported data supports the treatment of epilepsy.

Abstract Background Inflammation is one of the key components in the initiation and progression of hepatic diseases. If not treated, inflammation may cause cell dysplasia, and ultimately cancer. In the current study, we investigated the anti-inflammatory and anti-cancer activities of plant isolated compound Lirioresinol B Dimethyl Ether (LBDE) extracted from the seeds of Magnolia fargesii CHENG (Magnoliaceae) against HepG2 cells as well as in BALB/C male mice. Methods We assessed the antioxidant and anti-proliferative effects of plant compounds using DPPH assay and HepG2 cell lines. Carbon tetrachloride (CCl4) and Diethylnitrosamine (DEN) were used to induce liver cell dysplasia followed by hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in BALB/C male mice for 12 weeks. We investigated the underlying mechanism by using histopathology and immunoblot experiments. Results Intraperitoneal injection of LBDE (50 mg/kg body weight/day) inhibited CCl4-induced HCC. Free radical scavenging assay shows the strong anti-oxidant activity of LBDE. Western blot results show that LBDE down-regulated nuclear factor kappa B (NFκB) and cyclooxygenase (COX-2) by preventing the phosphorylation of I kappa B alpha (IκBα) in CCl4 treated group. LBDE also improved liver function by decreasing Alkaline Phosphatase (ALP), aspartate aminotransferase (AST) and Alanine Aminotransferase (ALT) levels. Histopathology results revealed that LBDE decreased granulomas and express normal morphology of hepatocytes. Conclusions These preliminary results show that LBDE has the potential to inhibit CCl4-induced liver cell dysplasia and prevents cancer development by regulating NFκB/COX-2 activation.

We, the Editors and Publishers of Artificial Cells, Nanomedicine, and Biotechnology have retracted the following article:Niyaz Ahmad, Rizwan Ahmad, Mortaja Zaki Almakhamel, Khalid Ansari, Mohd Amir, Wasim Ahmad, Abuzer Ali & Farhan Jalees Ahmad. (2020). A comparative pulmonary pharmacokinetic study of budesonide using polymeric nanoparticles targeted to the lungs in treatment of asthma. Artificial Cells, Nanomedicine, and Biotechnology, 48:1, 749–762. DOI: 10.1080/21691401.2020.1748640This article is retracted due to concerns raised regarding the integrity of Figures in the article, including Figures 1, 3, and 10.When asked for an explanation, the authors were unable to provide a satisfactory explanation or the raw data that would support the integrity of their research.Because of this, the Editors agreed the findings of the study are no longer valid and advised for the article to be retracted.The authors do not agree with the retraction.We have been informed in our decision-making by our policy on publishing ethics and integrity and the COPE guidelines on retractions.The retracted article will remain online to maintain the scholarly record, but it will be digitally watermarked on each page as “Retracted”.

Gait is the locomotion attained through the movement of limbs and gait analysis examines the patterns (normal/abnormal) depending on the gait cycle. It contributes to the development of various applications in the medical, security, sports, and fitness domains to improve the overall outcome. Among many available technologies, two emerging technologies that play a central role in modern day gait analysis are: A) wearable sensors which provide a convenient, efficient, and inexpensive way to collect data and B) Machine Learning Methods (MLMs) which enable high accuracy gait feature extraction for analysis. Given their prominent roles, this paper presents a review of the latest trends in gait analysis using wearable sensors and Machine Learning (ML). It explores the recent papers along with the publication details and key parameters such as sampling rates, MLMs, wearable sensors, number of sensors, and their locations. Furthermore, the paper provides recommendations for selecting a MLM, wearable sensor and its location for a specific application. Finally, it suggests some future directions for gait analysis and its applications.

In an event of a disaster, the connectivity of on-scene available User Equipment (UE) to the first responders is important because of the unavailability of conventional networks. Therefore, in this paper, considering the deployment of both the Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) and Mobile Command Center (MCC), we investigate end to end connectivity of UEs to the MCC in terms of the outage. Specifically, various disaster aware clustering schemes are proposed that utilize the UAV and MCC position for the association. These schemes include multiple degrees of freedom to manage intra-cluster distances along with the flexibility to restructure the clusters. In addition, we assume the provision of simultaneous wireless information and power transfer (SWIPT) at Cluster Heads (CHs) through the UAV and MCC. The results show that the association of a UE to MCC or UAV prior to clustering can be optimized to achieve better performance. Without SWIPT at CH, the minimum distance metric to the UAV provides less outage. However, with SWIPT a weighted compromise between intra-cluster distance and CH distance to the UAV achieves less outage. We applied our proposed methods on a real man-made disaster scenario layout and determined their efficacy.