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Sharing traffic information on the vehicular network can help in the implementation of intelligent traffic management, such as car accident warnings, road construction notices, and driver route changes to reduce traffic congestion earlier. If the exposed traffic incident is incorrect, the driving route will be misleading, and the driving response may be in danger. The blockchain ensures the correctness of data and tampers resistance in the consensus mechanism, which can solve such similar problems. The traffic data are collected through the roadside units, and the passing vehicles will verify the correctness when receiving the event notification. We employ data collection, preprocessing, sentiment analysis, geospatial analysis, and machine learning techniques to automatically identify and categorize traffic events, such as accidents, congestion, or road closures, based on information shared by users on various social media platforms. The framework aims to provide accurate and timely insights into traffic conditions, enabling better urban planning and incident response.

Sandeep Yerra1 Pradeep Yarra2 1Anesthesiology, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA, USA; 2Internal Medicine, Wake Forest Baptist Health, Winston Salem, NC, USA Abstract: This is a case of strongyloidiasis showing colon enhancement on a computerized tomography (CT) scan. The patient presented with chief complaints of diarrhea and abdominal pain. She gave a history of recent travel to El Salvador and her stool was positive for Strongyloides stercoralis. A CT scan revealed a circumferential enhancement of the sigmoid colon. This CT sign was unusual in strongyloidiasis and when combined with the symptoms, caused us to rule out inflammatory bowel disease and shock bowel. Stool examination revealed ova and parasites of Strongyloides stercoralis. She was then treated with ivermectin which resulted in resolution of her symptoms. Keywords: strongyloidiasis of colon, inflammatory bowel disease, parasitic infections, ulcerative colitis

Roads are becoming increasingly congested due to urbanization and the increased use of private vehicles. As a result, emergency vehicles like ambulances, police cars, and fire trucks get stuck in traffic and take longer to get where they're going, which may cause risk, damage to property, and losing valuable lives. The acoustic-based pre-emption technology uses the EV's siren to alert oncoming cars. Therefore, acoustic reflection from a building or other large container vehicle might cause a fall. This paper implements a vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I) communication system that anticipates traffic signals using Global Positioning System (GPS) and Dedicated Short Range Communication (DSRC). Line of sight (LOS) is not required when choosing the desired range of DSRC communication, and the traffic signal unit receives pre-emption messages anytime an emergency vehicle is nearby. Thus, these messages cause the traffic light to turn green for the emergency vehicle instead of operating normally. As a result, this type of system necessitates two hardware modules, one at each vehicle On-Board-Unit (OBU) and one at each intersection Road-Side-Unit (RSU), as well as the Decision Support System i.e., Traffic Management Controller (TMC). In the hardware OBU and RSU, the IMX-6 Processor, GPS Module, and DSRC transmitter and receivers are used. The Emergency Vehicle (EV) equipped with the OBU transmits requests to the intersection unit, which is fully autonomous and can be employed as a component of the Intelligent Transportation System (ITS), negating the need for a driver in this method.

Introduction: Ectopic Pregnancy (EP) is defined as a pregnancy that occurs in ectopic location, that is, outside the cavity of uterus. It is one of the leading causes of mortality in the first trimester of pregnancy and one of indication for emergency laparotomy. Timely diagnosis is extremely crucial as delay in diagnosis can lead to mortality. Diagnosing ectopic pregnancy is quiet challenging as there are many conditions which have similar presentation and may not require surgical management. Histopathology is required for confirmation of ectopic pregnancy by identifying trophoblastic tissue in ectopic location, since there are other conditions like haematosalpinx, ruptured haemorrhagic corpus luteum which can have similar presentation clinically. Aim: To analyse the clinicopathological features of cases clinically diagnosed as ectopic pregnancy and estimate the percentage of cases which were confirmed on histopathology and assess the percentage of cases which were negative on histopathology. Materials and Methods: This was a retrospective observational study conducted on three years data collected retrospectively between July 2017 to June 2020. Clinical details like age of the patient, parity, gestational age, previous history of any associated risk factors for ectopic pregnancy, were obtained from patient requisition forms and pathology records. Haematoxylin and Eosin (H&E) stained sections were reviewed. Descriptive analysis was done. Data entry was made in Microsoft (MS) excel sheet. Frequencies and percentages were calculated. Results: Total of 128 cases (mean age 25.8±4.87 years) data was analysed in this study, most women were between 21-30 years 97 (75.7%), with mean age of 25.8 years and presented in 2nd pregnancy 40 (46.5%) out of 86 cases where details were known and in 6th week of gestation 28 (35.8%) out of 78 cases where details were known with mean gestational age of 7.2 weeks. Most common risk factors were previous abortions and previous caesarean section 36 (43.9%) out of 82 cases where details were known. Fallopian tube was the most common site 112 (99.1%) out of 113 cases. On histopathological examination, trophoblastic tissue was identified in 116 (90.6%) cases out of 128 cases. Total 12 (11.7%) cases showed no evidence of trophoblastic tissues, of these 3 (25%) cases showed ruptured corpus luteum, 7 (58.3%) showed haematosalpinx, and 2 (16.66%) cases showed chronic salpingitis changes. Conclusion: Ectopic pregnancy was most frequent in women between 21-30 years, in 2nd pregnancy and in 6th week of gestation. Most common risk factors were previous abortions and previous caesarean section. Fallopian tube was the most common site. Ectopic pregnancy was confirmed on histopathological examination, 90.6% cases. A total of 11.7% cases which showed no evidence of trophoblastic tissues, were cases of haematosalpinx, ruptured haemorrhagic corpus luteum and chronic salpingitis and they presented clinically as ectopic pregnancy

The SPL (SQUAMOSA-promoter binding protein-like) gene family is one of the largest plant transcription factors and is known to be involved in the regulation of plant growth, development, and stress responses. The genome-wide analysis of SPL gene members in a diverse range of crops has been elucidated. However, none of the genome-wide studies on the SPL gene family have been carried out for oil palm, an important oil-yielding plant. In this research, a total of 24 EgSPL genes were identified via a genome-wide approach. Phylogenetic analysis revealed that most of the EgSPLs are closely related to the Arabidopsis and rice SPL gene members. EgSPL genes were mapped onto the only nine chromosomes of the oil palm genome. Motif analysis revealed conservation of the SBP domain and the occurrence of 1–10 motifs in EgSPL gene members. Gene duplication analysis demonstrated the tandem duplication of SPL members in the oil palm genome. Heatmap analysis indicated the significant expression of SPL genes in shoot and flower organs of oil palm plants. Among the identified EgSPL genes, a total 14 EgSPLs were shown to be targets of miR156. Real-time PCR analysis of 14 SPL genes showed that most of the EgSPL genes were more highly expressed in female and male inflorescences of oil palm plants than in vegetative tissues. Altogether, the present study revealed the significant role of EgSPL genes in inflorescence development.

Introduction: Genital Herpes Simplex Virus (HSV) infection is the most common infection in Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS) patients, occurring in 60-90% according to World Health Organisation (WHO) reports. Early detection of HSV-2 infection, the introduction of chemotherapy, and prophylaxis improve the lifespan of AIDS patients. Aim: To detect the HSV-2 seroprevalence that is Immunoglobulin G (IgG) and Immunoglobulin M (IgM) antibodies in Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) positive serum and molecular detection of HSV-2 Deoxyribonucleic Acid (DNA) in symptomatic HSV-2 Patients. Materials and Methods: The descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted in the Guntur Government Hospital with the help of the Antiretroviral Therapy (ART) Centre and Department of Dermatology, Venereology and Leprosy (DVL) in GGH, Guntur, Andhra Pradesh, India. A total of 100 blood samples from HIV positive individuals were collected and for those with symptoms on the external genitalia, a biopsy specimen from the ulcer and fluid from vesicles were taken. All the cases in the study group are on ART and without any antiviral treatment. A blood sample was collected for IgG (Calbiotech kit), IgM detection (Merilisa kit), and biopsy from genital ulcer for gene detection by real-time Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) (HELINI Biomolecules, Chennai). Statistical analysis was done by mean and percentages with p-value by calculating Chi-square test, Fisher’s-Exact test to know significance of association between HSV-2 and HIV. Results: Among the total 100 HIV positive patients, it was observed that IgG seroprevalence of HSV-2 in HIV positive individuals is 78%, while it is 19% for IgM. In the present study, 19 symptomatic cases showed DNA of HSV-2 in PCR, out of which, 17 were from genital ulcers and two from vesicle fluid. Conclusion: As HSV-2 is a lifelong infection, serological testing provides the best method, to estimate its prevalence even in asymptomatic individuals.

Abstract Background Bempedoic acid and Ezetimibe acid are used in combination for treatment of hypercholesterolemia. The current work was undertaken to develop a simple and rapid stability-indicating RP-UPLC method for the simultaneous estimation of Bempedoic acid and Ezetimibe in tablets as no such method was available. The chromatographic separation was performed with Waters Acquity C18 [50 × 2.1 mm, 1.7 μ] column using methanol: acetonitrile: water [50: 30: 20, by volume] as mobile phase pumped at a flow rate 0.5 mL/min. The separated analytes were detected at 260 nm using UV detector. Results The separation of Bempedoic acid (BA) and Ezetimibe (EZ) was done at a retention time of 1.827 min. and 3.577 min. respectively. The validation and stability studies of the present method were carried out according to the ICH guidelines. The linearity of the proposed method was in the range of 30–130 μg/mL and 5–50 μg/mL for Bempedoic acid and Ezetimibe respectively. Limit of detection (LOD) and limit of quantification (LOQ) were found to be 0.1216 μg/mL and 0.3685 μg/mL for Bempedoic acid and 0.1189 μg/mL and 0.3602 μg/mL for Ezetimibe respectively. The recovery of the method was found to be in the range of 99.89—100.31% for Bempedoic acid and 98.14—99.94% for Ezetimibe while the % RSD for both drugs in the precision and robustness study was less than 2.0. The drugs did not show any major degradants in the exposed conditions. Conclusion The developed method was found to be simple, sensitive, accurate, precise, robust, rapid and yet stability indicating. The method can be adopted for simultaneous estimation of Bempedoic acid and Ezetimibe in the pharmaceutical formulation.

Abstract Background Biomineralization by molluscs involves regulated deposition of calcium carbonate crystals within a protein framework to produce complex biocomposite structures. Effective biomineralization is a key trait for aquaculture, and animal resilience under future climate change. While many enzymes and structural proteins have been identified from the shell and in mantle tissue, understanding biomieralization is impeded by a lack of fundamental knowledge of the genes and pathways involved. In adult bivalves, shells are secreted by the mantle tissue during growth, maintenance and repair, with the repair process, in particular, amenable to experimental dissection at the transcriptomic level in individual animals. Results Gene expression dynamics were explored in the adult blue mussel, Mytilus edulis, during experimentally induced shell repair, using the two valves of each animal as a matched treatment-control pair. Gene expression was assessed using high-resolution RNA-Seq against a de novo assembled database of functionally annotated transcripts. A large number of differentially expressed transcripts were identified in the repair process. Analysis focused on genes encoding proteins and domains identified in shell biology, using a new database of proteins and domains previously implicated in biomineralization in mussels and other molluscs. The genes implicated in repair included many otherwise novel transcripts that encoded proteins with domains found in other shell matrix proteins, as well as genes previously associated with primary shell formation in larvae. Genes with roles in intracellular signalling and maintenance of membrane resting potential were among the loci implicated in the repair process. While haemocytes have been proposed to be actively involved in repair, no evidence was found for this in the M. edulis data. Conclusions The shell repair experimental model and a newly developed shell protein domain database efficiently identified transcripts involved in M. edulis shell production. In particular, the matched pair analysis allowed factoring out of much of the inherent high level of variability between individual mussels. This snapshot of the damage repair process identified a large number of genes putatively involved in biomineralization from initial signalling, through calcium mobilization to shell construction, providing many novel transcripts for future in-depth functional analyses.

Purpose: COVID-19-associated rhino-orbital-cerebral mucormycosis (ROCM) has reached epidemic proportion during India's second wave of COVID-19 pandemic, with several risk factors being implicated in its pathogenesis. This study aimed to determine the patient demographics, risk factors including comorbidities, and medications used to treat COVID-19, presenting symptoms and signs, and the outcome of management. Methods: This was a retrospective, observational study of patients with COVID-19-associated ROCM managed or co-managed by ophthalmologists in India from January 1, 2020 to May 26, 2021. Results: Of the 2826 patients, the states of Gujarat (22%) and Maharashtra (21%) reported the highest number of ROCM. The mean age of patients was 51.9 years with a male preponderance (71%). While 57% of the patients needed oxygen support for COVID-19 infection, 87% of the patients were treated with corticosteroids, (21% for > 10 days). Diabetes mellitus (DM) was present in 78% of all patients. Most of the cases showed onset of symptoms of ROCM between day 10 and day 15 from the diagnosis of COVID-19, 56% developed within 14 days after COVID-19 diagnosis, while 44% had delayed onset beyond 14 days. Orbit was involved in 72% of patients, with stage 3c forming the bulk (27%). Overall treatment included intravenous amphotericin B in 73%, functional endoscopic sinus surgery (FESS)/paranasal sinus (PNS) debridement in 56%, orbital exenteration in 15%, and both FESS/PNS debridement and orbital exenteration in 17%. Intraorbital injection of amphotericin B was administered in 22%. At final follow-up, mortality was 14%. Disease stage >3b had poorer prognosis. Paranasal sinus debridement and orbital exenteration reduced the mortality rate from 52% to 39% in patients with stage 4 disease with intracranial extension (p < 0.05). Conclusion: Corticosteroids and DM are the most important predisposing factors in the development of COVID-19-associated ROCM. COVID-19 patients must be followed up beyond recovery. Awareness of red flag symptoms and signs, high index of clinical suspicion, prompt diagnosis, and early initiation of treatment with amphotericin B, aggressive surgical debridement of the PNS, and orbital exenteration, where indicated, are essential for successful outcome.

With the recent explosion in high-resolution protein structures, one of the next frontiers in biology is elucidating the mechanisms by which conformational rearrangements in proteins are regulated to meet the needs of cells under changing conditions. Rigorously measuring protein energetics and dynamics requires the development of new methods that can resolve structural heterogeneity and conformational distributions. We have previously developed steady-state transition metal ion fluorescence resonance energy transfer (tmFRET) approaches using a fluorescent noncanonical amino acid donor (Anap) and transition metal ion acceptor to probe conformational rearrangements in soluble and membrane proteins. Here, we show that the fluorescent noncanonical amino acid Acd has superior photophysical properties that extend its utility as a donor for tmFRET. Using maltose-binding protein (MBP) expressed in mammalian cells as a model system, we show that Acd is comparable to Anap in steady-state tmFRET experiments and that its long, single-exponential lifetime is better suited for probing conformational distributions using time-resolved FRET. These experiments reveal differences in heterogeneity in the apo and holo conformational states of MBP and produce accurate quantification of the distributions among apo and holo conformational states at subsaturating maltose concentrations. Our new approach using Acd for time-resolved tmFRET sets the stage for measuring the energetics of conformational rearrangements in soluble and membrane proteins in near-native conditions.

Borehole K-1 is an exploratory well that was drilled in the North Makassar Basin (West Sulawesi) in 2011. Gas chromatography (GC) and gas chromatography-mass chromatography (GC-MS) analyses have been conducted on extracts from well cuttings from the Paleogene to Neogene interval in order to investigate the characteristics of biomarkers present. Although the well was drilled with oil-based mud and gas chromatographic analysis reveals that the alkane fractions are heavily contaminated, detailed investigation of biomarkers in these rock extracts and comparison with biomarkers in the oil-based mud has revealed that, while there are hopane and sterane biomarkers in the mud, there are also a discrete set of biomarkers that are indigenous to the rocks. These include oleanane, bicadinanes, taraxastane and other higher-plant-derived triterpanes. The presence of these compounds in environments that range from bathyal to marginal marine and even to lacustrine, shows the extent of reworking of terrestrial material into aquatic settings in this region during the Paleogene and Neogene and provides further evidence of a predominance of terrestrial material, even in deep-marine settings, with little ‘in-situ’ material noted. These findings have important implications for the use of biomarkers as indicators of palaeoenvironment in both source rocks and oils.

Oil palm, a cross-pollinated crop with long generation time, poses a lot of challenges in achieving sustainable oil palm with high yield and quality. The African oil palm (Elaeis guineensis Jacq.) is the most productive and versatile oil-yielding crop in the world, producing more than any other oil-yielding crop. Despite recent challenges, such as stress tolerance, superior oil quality, disease tolerance, and the need for new market niches, there is a growing need to explore and develop new varieties with high yield potential and the genetic diversity required to maintain oil palm yield stability. Breeding is an indispensable part of producing high-quality planting materials to increase oil palm yield. Biotechnological technologies have transformed conventional plant breeding approaches by introducing novel genotypes for breeding. Innovative pre-breeding and breeding approaches, such as identifying candidate genes in wild or land races using genomics tools, can pave the way for genetic improvement in oil palm. In this review, we highlighted the modern breeding tools, including genomics, marker-assisted breeding, genetic engineering, and genome editing techniques in oil palm crops, and we explored certain concerns connected to the techniques and their applications in practical breeding.

Hyponatremia is the most common electrolyte abnormality encountered both in the inpatient and outpatient clinical settings in the United States. Rapid correction leads to a deranged cerebral osmotic gradient causing osmotic demyelination syndrome. Coexisting azotemia is considered to be protective against osmotic demyelination syndrome owing to its counteractive effect on osmolarity change that occurs with rapid hyponatremia correction. In this article, we report the case of a 37-year-old male who presented with altered mentation, acute azotemia, and severe electrolyte derangements, with serum blood urea nitrogen 160 mg/dL, creatinine 8.4 mg/dL, sodium 107 mEq/L, potassium 6.1 mEq/L, bicarbonate 7 mEq/L, and anion gap of 33. Given refractory hyperkalemia with electrocardiogram changes, emergent dialysis was performed. Despite our efforts to avoid rapid correction, serum sodium was corrected to 124 mEq/L and blood urea nitrogen decreased to 87 mg/dL at the end of the 5-hour dialysis session. Fortunately, hospital course and 4-week post-discharge clinic follow-ups were uncomplicated with no neurological sequela confirmed by neurological examination and magnetic resonance imaging.

DOI: 10.17014/ijog.5.3.211-220A suite of oil seep samples collected from the Lariang and Karama Basins, West Sulawesi, Indonesia, have been analyzed using GC and GCMS techniques. Their biomarker compositions have been used to reveal the likely source rock that produces oil. These oil seep samples contain a range in both the concentration of hydrocarbons present and certain level of biodegradation experienced. All sterane m/z 217 data display a familiar pattern of steranes with carbon numbers from 27 to 29 together with pregnane and homo-pregnanes, including rearranged steranes. Triterpane (m/z 191) data show a moderate content of tricyclic terpanes (Tri/C30H), medium to high ratio of norhopane/hopane (C29/C30), and medium to high abundant land plan marker such as resin bicadinanes(Bic/C30H) and oleananes (Ol/C30H). The presence of high abundant oleananes in these samples has been interpreted as the evidence for a marine influence during early diagenesis that may occur by marine or via re-deposition of peat organics in marine sediments. Hence, these results state that the organic matter facies for their source rock oil seep samples from the West Sulawesi region are detected as mixed between allochthonous macerals from typical terrestrial higher plants transported into the basin from distal swamps and soils and some marine organic matter.