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Rapid industrialization and urbanization have increased air pollution, which poses a serious threat to human life. In megacities, the number of patients suffering from cardiovascular and respiratory diseases have increased rapidly. Face mask can be used for protection from outdoor air pollution, but indoor air quality can only be maintained through expensive, energy-inefficient air filtration devices. In the present study, nanofibrous polyacrylonitrile (PAN) filters encapsulated with titanium dioxide (TiO2) nanoparticles were developed using the electrospinning technique. The filters are porous and nearly transparent and therefore do not resist sunlight and airflow. Field testing of the PAN : TiO2 filters was done against the real aerosol particles and laboratory testing was done against ammonium sulphate particles. The field test results showed efficiency of about ~81% against total suspended aerosol particles (TSPM) and ~75% against laboratory generated particles. The TiO2 nanoparticles have been reported to kill the influenza virus and may help minimize an individual’s exposure to many harmful microbes due to their antimicrobial properties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An Aadhaar is a unique number issued to every citizen in India. Aadhar's current identity authentication relies on the central identities data repository (CDIR) of the unique identification authority of India (UIDAI), which is at risk of a single-point fault attack. Perhaps worse, internal attacks can tamper with the sensitive data of authenticated devices without being detected. In this paper, the proposed system utilizes emerging technology: blockchain for solving the issue of centralized authentication. The proposed system provides a distributed, secure, and tamper-proof ledger platform for Aadhar in that Aadhar is implemented using blockchain ethereum technology. The proposed system considers the unique Aadhar identification (ID) for each citizen of India and registered it on the smart contract of ethereum so that this unique ID may be authenticated by each other in a peer-to-peer network without a central authority. For securing the data, the proposed framework uses hashing technique for significant data (i.e. firmware). Blockchain stores hashed data and instantly any change in the state of the data may be possible to detect. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aethalometer model (AM) is widely used for source apportionment (SA) of black carbon (BC) in regions with mixed BC sources despite being initially developed for a relatively simplistic and low-pollution environments. The present study interrogates the applicability of AM in highly polluted metropolitan environments by comparing its results with the more nuanced Positive Matrix Factorization (PMF) model. The measurements were conducted in Delhi during the winter and summer season. PMF apportions the BC into diverse sources by taking help from complementary trace elemental measurements, thereby acknowledging the complex pollution landscape of the Delhi region. The AM estimates BC bb (BC from biomass burning) and BC ff (BC from fossil fuel combustion) contributions as 48.3% and 51.7% during the winter and 16.6% and 83.4% during the summer, respectively. In contrast, the PMF model-derived biomass burning factor is the dominant source of BC during both winter and summer seasons, contributing 53.9% and 44% of the total BC, respectively. The decrease in light absorption at UV wavelengths of biomass-burning aerosols owing to escalated ambient aging is posited to be the reason for BC bb underprediction by the AM model during summers. Furthermore, while the AM model identifies fossil fuel combustion as the only other BC source apart from biomass burning, the PMF model apportions BC to five additional sources during winter, including vehicle emissions (22.9%), Pb-rich factor (10%), power plant (5.7%), waste incineration (4%) and industrial emission (3.6%). The contribution of these BC sources during summer is vehicular emission (16.5%), power plant (14.5%), waste incineration (11.5%), Pb-rich factor (9.5%), and industrial emission (4%). Additionally, the spectral variation of the light absorption properties of black carbon (b BCabs) and brown carbon (b BrCabs), delta-C effect, and sensitivity of the AM are reported for the study period. The present study cautions that BC source apportionment can be complex in highly polluted metropolitan environments, and complementary tracer measurements are recommended for reliable results. [Display omitted] • SA results from AM and PMF differed during the summer and winter seasons. • AM estimated BC bb and BC ff contributions as 48.3% and 51.7% in winter, and 16.6% and 83.4% in summer, respectively. • Biomass burning factor obtained from the PMF model is the primary BC source, contributing 53.9% in winter and 44% in summer. • Rabi crop residual burning in nearby states elevates BC BB levels over Delhi during the summer. • Ambient aging is the likely reason for BC bb underprediction by the AM model during summers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Secondary aerosols constitute a significant fraction of atmospheric aerosols, yet our understanding of their formation mechanism and fate is very limited. In this work, the secondary organic aerosol (SOA) formation and aging of ambient air of Delhi are studied using a potential aerosol mass (PAM) reactor, an oxidation flow reactor (OFR), coupled with aerosol chemical speciation monitor (ACSM), proton transfer reaction time of flight mass spectrometer (PTR-ToF-MS), and scanning mobility particle sizer with counter (SMPS + C). The setup mimics atmospheric aging of up to several days with the generation of OH radicals. Variations in primary volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and oxygenated volatile organic compounds (OVOCs) as a function of photochemical age were investigated. Primary VOCs such as benzene, toluene, xylene, trimethyl benzene, etc. decrease and OVOCs like formic acid, formaldehyde, acetone, ethanol, etc. increase substantially upon oxidation in OFR. The highest organic aerosol (OA) enhancement was observed for the 4.2 equivalent photochemical days of aging i.e., 1.84 times the ambient concentration, and net OA loss was observed at very high OH exposure, typically after 8.4 days of photochemical aging due to heterogeneous oxidation followed by fragmentation/evaporation. In ambient air, OA enhancement is highest during nighttime due to the high concentrations of precursor VOCs in the atmosphere. SMPS + C results demonstrated substantial new particle formation upon aging and decrement in preexisting aerosol mass. This is the first experimental study conducting an in-situ evaluation of potential SOA mass generated from the ambient aerosols in India. [Display omitted] • The OA concentration first increases and then decreases at high OH exposure. • Concentration of Primary VOCs decreases and OVOCs increases upon aging. • Elevated O:C ratios highlights the formation of more oxidized compounds during aging. • Aging increases the new particle formation and decreased the mass of pre-existing aerosols. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Aerosols affect the Earth's radiation budget by interacting with the incoming solar radiation. The physico-chemical properties, particularly morphological parameters (Aspect Ratio, AR and Circulatory Factor, CIR) and composition at individual particle level are important inputs to the optical model for assessing the optical sensitivity towards said properties. The observation of these properties is limited over Antarctica which has been studied in detail in the present work. The PM 5 particles (particulate matter with aerodynamic diameter less than 5 μm) over Antarctica were collected at Indian Antarctic station, Maitri (70.77°S, 11.73°E) from Dec 2013–Feb 2014. The individual particle analysis revealed that particles were mainly composed of Si, Fe, Al, Ca and Mg. Most of the particles were observed in layered, flattened, aggregated and glass-like shapes. The frequency distributions of the morphological parameters, AR and CIR were observed to be bimodal with respective mode peaks 1.3 and 1.9 for AR; 0.4 and 0.7 for CIR. The spectral refractive indices of individual particles were estimated. The imaginary part of the refractive indices was observed to be maximum for chromium (Cr) and iron (Fe) rich particle and nearly negligible for aluminum (Al) rich particle. At 0.58 μm wavelength, the difference in SSA with respect to Al rich particle was found to be maximum for Ca rich particles (i.e. 43%) followed with Cr and Fe rich particle (i.e. 42.08%) and Cr rich particle (i.e. 39.32%). Graphical abstract Image 1 Highlights • Morphological parameters and particle composition are important for numerical estimation of optical properties. • The individual particle analysis revealed that particles were mainly composed of Si, Fe, Al, Ca and Mg. • The frequency distributions of the morphological parameters were observed to be bimodal. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Information indexing is an extremely useful solution for wireless broadcast channels, because of its energy efficiency. Full text search on the wireless broadcast stream is another popular type of information dissemination access. This research paper discusses indexing schemes for full text search information, using two levels of structure B+ tree and inverted list. The partial replication in the B+ tree indexing scheme is proposed to extend the existing full text search indexing scheme. In the proposed work, the index information of B+ tree has been cut to reduce access time and tuning time: metrics for evaluating indexing schemes. The replication in B+ tree may be done up to a certain level of the indexed informat+ion (Data). Evaluation and analysis of the proposed indexing scheme show an excellent improvement over existing indexing schemes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: The immune response to pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDA) may play a role in defining its uniquely aggressive biology; therefore, we sought to clearly define the adaptive immune infiltrate in PDA. Design: We used immunohistochemistry and flow cytometry to characterize the immune infiltrate in human PDA and compared our findings to the patients’ peripheral blood. Results: In contrast to the myeloid cell predominant infiltrate seen in murine models, T cells comprised the majority of the hematopoietic cell component of the tumor stroma in human PDA. Most intratumoral CD8+ T cells exhibited an antigen-experienced effector memory cell phenotype and were capable of producing IFN-γ. CD4+ regulatory T cells (Treg) and IL-17 producing T helper cells were significantly more prevalent in tumor than in blood. Consistent with the association with reduced survival in previous studies, we observed higher frequencies of both myeloid cells and Treg in poorly differentiated tumors. The majority of intratumoral T cells expressed the co-inhibitory receptor programmed death-1 (PD-1), suggesting one potential mechanism through which PDA may evade antitumor immunity. Successful multimodal neoadjuvant therapy altered the immunoregulatory balance and was associated with reduced infiltration of both myeloid cells and Treg. Conclusion: Our data show that human PDA contains a complex mixture of inflammatory and regulatory immune cells, and that neoadjuvant therapy attenuates the infiltration of intratumoral cells associated with immunosuppression and worsened survival. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We address a class of problems where decisions have to be optimized over a time horizon given that the future is uncertain and that the optimization decisions influence the time of information discovery for a subset of the uncertain parameters. The standard approach to formulate stochastic programs is based on the assumption that the stochastic process is independent of the optimization decisions, which is not true for the class of problems under consideration. We present a hybrid mixed-integer disjunctive programming formulation for the stochastic program corresponding to this class of problems and hence extend the stochastic programming framework. A set of theoretical properties that lead to reduction in the size of the model is identified. A Lagrangean duality based branch and bound algorithm is also presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: We consider the problem of optimal investment and operational planning for development of gas fields under uncertainty in gas reserves. Assuming uncertainties in the size and initial deliverabilities of the gas fields, the problem has been formulated as a multistage stochastic program by Goel and Grossmann (2004). In this paper, we present a set of theoretical properties satisfied by any feasible solution of this model. We also present a Lagrangean duality based branch and bound algorithm that is guaranteed to give the optimal solution of this model. It is shown that the properties presented here achieve significant reduction in the size of the model. In addition, the proposed algorithm generates significantly superior solutions than the deterministic approach and the heuristic proposed by Goel and Grossmann (2004). The optimality gaps are also much tighter. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Frequent somatic mutation of v-raf murine sarcoma viral oncogene homolog B (BRAF), a downstream effector of the rat sarcoma oncogene (RAS) signaling pathway, is described in melanoma and other tumors. Our analysis of melanoma cell lines suggests that activating mutations in BRAF can occur simultaneously with inactivation of phosphatase and tensin homolog (PTEN), but neuroblastoma RAS (NRAS) mutations are not coincident. We determined the concurrent prevalence of mutations in BRAF and NRAS, and alteration of PTEN expression in 69 primary cutaneous melanomas. BRAF mutations were seen in 57% of cases. NRAS was mutated in 17% of samples, exclusively in exon 2. Two cases showed concurrent BRAF and NRAS mutations. Using immunohistochemistry, PTEN protein expression was lost or greatly reduced in 19% of tumors. Seven tumors with reduced PTEN yielded DNA amenable to sequencing, and three also showed mutation in BRAF but none in NRAS. In all, 11 (85%) of 13 tumors showing reduced PTEN expression were greater than 3.5 mm thick, and the association of increasing Breslow thickness and loss or reduction of PTEN expression was statistically significant (P<0.0001). Mutations in NRAS were not coincident with reduced PTEN expression, and the concurrent mutation of NRAS and BRAF was rare. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this work we consider the optimal investment and operational planning of gas field developments under uncertainty in gas reserves. The resolution of uncertainty in gas reserves, and hence the shape of the scenario tree associated with the problem depends on the investment decisions. A novel stochastic programming model that incorporates the decision-dependence of the scenario tree is presented. A decomposition based approximation algorithm for the solution of this model is also proposed. We show that the proposed approach yields solutions with significantly higher expected net present value (ENPV) than that of solutions obtained using a deterministic approach. For a small sized example, the proposed approximation algorithm is shown to yield the optimal solution with more than one order of magnitude reduction in solution time, as compared to the full space method. “Good” solutions to larger problems, that require up to 165,000 binary variables in full space, are obtained in a few hours using the proposed approach. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Extant evidence implicates growth factor signaling in the pathogenesis of many tumor types, including cutaneous melanoma. Recently, reciprocal activating mutations of NRAS and BRAF were found in benign melanocytic nevi and cutaneous melanomas. We had previously reported a similar epistatic relationship between activating NRAS mutations and inactivating PTEN/ MMAC1 alterations. We thus hypothesized that BRAF and PTEN/ MMAC1 mutations may cooperate to promote melanoma tumorigenesis. Overall, 40 of 47 (85%) melanoma cell lines and 11 of 16 (69%) uncultured melanoma metastases had mutations in NRAS, BRAF, or PTEN/ MMAC1. NRAS was exclusively mutated in nine of 47 (19%) cell lines and two of 16 (13%) metastases, whereas BRAF was solely mutated in 28 of 47 (60%) cell lines and nine of 16 (56%) metastases. In the 12 of 15 melanoma cell lines (80%) and two of two melanoma metastases with PTEN alterations, BRAF was also mutated. These findings suggest the existence of possible cooperation between BRAF activation and PTEN loss in melanoma development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Phosphatase and tensin homolog deleted in from chromosome ten (PTEN), initially also known as mutated in multiple advanced cancers or TGF-?-regulated and epithelia cell-enriched phosphatase, is a tumor suppressor gene that is mutated in a large fraction of human melanomas. A broad variety of human cancers carry PTEN alterations, including glioblastomas, endometrial, breast, thyroid and prostate cancers. The PTEN protein has at least two biochemical functions: it has both lipid phosphatase and protein phosphatase activity. The lipid phosphatase activity of PTEN decreases intracellular PtdIns(3,4,5)P3 level and downstream Akt activity. Cell-cycle progression is arrested at G1/S, mediated at least partially through the upregulation of the cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor p27. In addition, agonist-induced apoptosis is mediated by PTEN, through the upregulation of proapoptotic machinery involving caspases and BID, and the downregulation of antiapoptotic proteins such as Bcl2. The protein phosphatase activity of PTEN is apparently less central to its involvement in tumorigenesis. It is involved in the inhibition of focal adhesion formation, cell spreading and migration, as well as the inhibition of growth factor-stimulated MAPK signaling. Therefore, the combined effects of the loss of PTEN lipid and protein phosphatase activity may result in aberrant cell growth and escape from apoptosis, as well as abnormal cell spreading and migration. In melanoma, PTEN loss has been mostly observed as a late event, although a dose-dependent loss of PTEN protein and function has been implicated in early stages of tumorigenesis as well. In addition, loss of PTEN and oncogenic activation of RAS seem to occur in a reciprocal fashion, both of which could cooperate with CDKN2A loss in contribution to melanoma tumorigenesis.Oncogene (2003) 22, 3113-3122. doi:10.1038/sj.onc.1206451 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We report the molecular identification of a sialic acid-independent host-parasite interaction in the Plasmodium falciparum malaria parasite invasion of RBCs. Two nonglycosylated exofacial regions of human band 3 in the RBC membrane were identified as a crucial host receptor binding the C-terminal processing products of merozoite surface protein 1 (MSP1). Peptides derived from the receptor region of band 3 inhibited the invasion of RBCs by P. falciparum. A major segment of the band 3 receptor (5ABC) bound to native MSP1[sub 42] and blocked the interaction of native MSP1[sub 42] with intact RBCs in vitro. Recombinant MSP1[sub 19] (the C-terminal domain of MSP1[sub 42]) bound to 5ABC as well as RBCs. The binding of both native MSP1[sub 42] and recombinant MSP1[sub 19] was not affected by the neuraminidase treatment of RBCs, but sensitive to chymotrypsin treatment. In addition, recombinant MSP1[sub 38] showed similar interactions with the band 3 receptor and RBCs, although the interaction was relatively weak. These findings suggest that the chymotrypsinsensitive MSP1-band 3 interaction plays a role in a sialic acidindependent invasion pathway and reveal the function of MSP1 in the Plasmodium invasion of RBCs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Iron is an important nutrient required by all forms of life. In the case of human hosts,the free iron availability is 10-18M, which is far less than what is needed for the survival of the invading bacterial pathogen. To survive in such conditions, bacteria express new proteins in their outer membrane and also secrete iron chelators called siderophores. Results/ Discussion: Acinetobacter baumannii ATCC 19606, a nosocomial pathogen which grows under iron restricted conditions, expresses four new outer membrane proteins, with molecular weight ranging from 77 kDa to 88 kDa, that are called Iron Regulated Outer Membrane Proteins (IROMPs). We studied the functional and immunological properties of IROMPs expressed by A. baumanii ATCC 19606. The bands corresponding to IROMPs were eluted from SDS-PAGE and were used to immunize BALB/c mice for the production of monoclonal antibodies. Hybridomas secreting specific antibodies against these IROMPs were selected after screening by ELISA and their reactivity was confirmed by Western Blot. The antibodies then generated belonged to IgM isotype and showed bactericidical and opsonising activities against A. baumanii in vitro. These antibodies also blocked siderophore mediated iron uptake via IROMPs in bacteria. Conclusion: This proves that iron uptake via IROMPs, which is mediated through siderophores, may have an important role in the survival of A. baumanii inside the host, and helps establishing the infection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A nationwide lockdown was imposed in India due to COVID-19 pandemic in five phases from 25th March to May 31, 2020. The lockdown restricted major anthropogenic activities, primarily vehicular and industrial, thereby reducing the particulate matter concentration. This work investigates the variation in Black Carbon (BC) concentration and its sources (primarily Fossil Fuel (ff) burning and Biomass Burning (bb)) over Delhi from 18th February to July 31, 2020, covering one month of pre-lockdown phase, all the lockdown phases, and two months of successive lockdown relaxations. The daily average BC concentration varied from 0.22 to 16.92 μg/m3, with a mean value of 3.62 ± 2.93 μg/m3. During Pre-Lockdown (PL, 18th Feb-24th March 2020), Lockdown-1 (L1, 25th March-14th April 2020), Lockdown-2 (L2, 15th April-3rd May 2020), Lockdown-3 (L3, 4th-17th May 2020), Lockdown-4 (L4, 18th-31st May 2020), Unlock-1 (UN1, June 2020), and Unlock-2 (UN2, July 2020) the average BC concentrations were 7.93, 1.73, 2.59, 3.76, 3.26, 2.07, and 2.70 μg/m3, respectively. During the lockdown and unlock phases, BC decreased up to 78% compared to the PL period. The BC source apportionment studies show that fossil fuel burning was the dominant BC source during the entire sampling period. From L1 to UN2 an increasing trend in BC ff contribution was observed (except L3) due to the successive relaxations given to anthropogenic activities. BC ff contribution dipped briefly during L3 due to the intensive crop residue burning events in neighboring states. CWT analysis showed that local emission sources were the dominant contributors to BC concentration over Delhi. Image 1 • Concentration of BC varied from 0.22 to 16.92 μg/m3 throughout the entire study period. • BC concentration decreased up to 78% during lockdown as compared to pre-lockdown phase. • Fossil fuel (BC ff) emissions dominated over those from biomass burning (BC bb). • Trajectory and CWT analyses indicated maximum contribution from local sources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aerosol particles scatter and absorb solar radiation and affect the Earth's radiation budget. The aerosol particles are usually non-spherical in shape and inhomogeneous in chemical composition. For simplicity, these particles are approximated as homogeneous spheres/spheroids in radiative models and in retrieval algorithms of the ground and spaceborne observations. The lack of information on particle morphology (especially shape), chemical composition (that govern their spectral refractive indices) and most importantly internal structure (three dimensional spatial distribution of chemical species) lead to uncertainty in the numerical estimation of their optical and radiative properties. Here, we present a comprehensive assessment of the particles' volumetric composition. The particles were collected from Jaisalmer (arid environment) and Delhi (urban environment) of India and subjected to Focused Ion-Beam (FIB) coupled with Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and Energy Dispersive X-ray Spectroscope (EDS). Based on analysis of #2 particles from Jaisalmer, particles were observed to be composed of Fe, Ca, C, Al, Cu and Mg rich shell with Si and O rich core as opposed to those of Delhi particles (no #3) which were observed to be with Cu and S rich core and Hg, Ag, C, S and N rich shell. Based on the homogeneous sphere/spheroid assumption, conventional SEM-EDS and FIB-SEM-EDS results, different particle model shapes [single species homogeneous sphere (SP1) and spheroid (SPH1); multiple species homogeneously mixed sphere (SP2) and spheroid (SPH2); and core-shell (CS)] were considered for simulating their respective optical properties; SSA (Single Scattering Albedo) and g (Asymmetry parameter). The effect of internal structure on SSA was found to be prominent in particles having low value of the imaginary part of refractive index (k). While the same was observed to be low (nearly negligible) for the particle with the high value of k. The particles rich in copper are found to have high light absorbing property which causes positive radiative forcing. Image 1 • Aerosol particles were collected from urban (New Delhi) and arid (Jaisalmer) environment. • Three-Dimensional characterisation was done using FIB-SEM-EDS. • Particles were observed in core-shell mixing configuration with embedded pores. • Particle model shapes were generated using FIB-SEM-EDS Results. • Optical properties (SSA, and g) were simulated using T-matrix and core-shell code. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: Wireless broadcasting is the new emerging standard for disseminating the information. It also exploits the feature of mobile computing environment, i.e., an asymmetric environment where the bandwidth of downloading is much higher than the bandwidth of uploading. Due to the small devices, created to hold the feature of portability, various difficulties are imposed on the system. The mobile client follows some energy restricted traits to be efficient. Those traits are access time and tuning time. Access time basically tells the efficiency of the system by specifying how fast a user may get data. But tuning time measures the battery life of the device. In this paper, we have proposed (1, Xm) method to deal with these. Here, Xm basically implies the XML data passing on to the multiple channels. In this technique, we have sent data by indexing onto two different channels: index and data channel. We have analyzed the performance of the proposed indexing technique. To prove its validity, the improved results are compared with the former indexing techniques analytically and experimentally. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As liquefied natural gas (LNG) steadily grows to be a common mode for commercializing natural gas, LNG supply chain optimization is becoming a key technology for gas companies to maintain competitiveness. This paper develops methods for improving the solutions for a previously stated form of an LNG inventory routing problem (LNG-IRP). Motivated by the poor performance of a Dantzig-Wolfe-based decomposition approach for exact solutions, we develop a suite of advanced heuristic techniques and propose a hybrid heuristic strategy aiming to achieve improved solutions in shorter computational time. The heuristics include two phases: the advanced construction phase is based on a rolling time algorithm and a greedy randomized adaptive search procedure (GRASP); and the solution improvement phase is a series of novel MIP-based neighborhood search techniques. The proposed algorithms are evaluated based on a set of realistic large-scale instances seen in recent literature. Extensive computational results indicate that the hybrid heuristic strategy is able to obtain optimal or near optimal feasible solutions substantially faster than commercial optimization software and also the previously proposed heuristic methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The airborne transmission of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has been identified as a potential pandemic challenge, especially in poorly ventilated indoor environments, such as certain hospitals, schools, public buildings, and transports. The impacts of meteorological parameters (temperature and humidity) and physical property (droplet size) on the airborne transmission of coronavirus in indoor settings have been previously investigated. However, the impacts of chemical properties of viral droplets and aerosol particles (i.e., chemical composition and acidity (pH)) on viability and indoor transmission of coronavirus remain largely unknown. Recent studies suggest high organic content (proteins) in viral droplets and aerosol particles supports prolonged survival of the virus by forming a glassy gel-type structure that restricts the virus inactivation process under low relative humidity (RH). In addition, the virus survival was found at neutral pH, and inactivation was observed to be best at low (<5) and high pH (>10) values (enveloped bacteriophage Phi6). Due to limited available information, this article illustrates an urgent need to research the impact of chemical properties of exhaled viral particles on virus viability. This will improve our fundamental understanding of indoor viral airborne transmission mechanisms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cloud technology is a business strategy that aims to provide the necessary material to customers depending on their needs. Individuals and cloud businesses alike have embraced the cloud storage service, which has become the most widely used service. The industries outsource their data to cloud storage space to relieve themselves of the load of dealing with redundant data contents. This must be protected to prevent the theft of personal belongings, and privacy must be improved as well. Different research projects have been suggested to ensure the safe management of the information included within the data content. The security of current research projects, on the contrary, still needs improvement. As a result, this method has been suggested to address the security concerns associated with cloud computing. The primary goal of this study effort is to offer a safe environment for cloud users while also increasing the profit of cloud resource providers by managing and securely delivering data contents to the cloud users. The bulk of sectors, including business, finance, military, and healthcare industry, do not store data in cloud-based storage systems. This technique is used to attract these kinds of customers. Increasing public acceptance, medical researchers are drawn to cloud computing because it allows them to store their study material in a centralized location and distribute and access it in a more flexible manner. They were collected from numerous individuals who were being evaluated for medical care at the time. Scalable and enhanced key aggregate cryptosystem is a protected data protection method that provides highly effective security in the healthcare industry. When parties interested in a dispute disagree on the outflow of sensitive information, this technique manages the disputes and ensures the data security deployment of a cloud-based intelligent health monitoring system for the parties involved. The encrypted data structure of medical and healthcare prescriptions is recorded as they move through the hands of patients and healthcare facilities, according to the technique recommended. The double encryption approach is used in order to raise the overall degree of security. An encryption class is created by referring to the Ciphertext ID during the encryption procedure. The keyholder is a master secret key that facilitates in the recovery of the secret keys of various monsters and creatures by acting as a conduit between them. It is transferred and stored as a single aggregate for the benefit of the patient or customer in order to make decryption more convenient and efficient. A safe connection between cloud-based intelligent health monitoring systems and healthcare organizations and their patients may be established via the use of a key aggregation cryptosystem and a double encryption approach, according to the researchers. Because of this, when compared to earlier techniques, the findings reveal that the research methodology provides high levels of security in terms of confidentiality and integrity, in addition to excellent scalability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In many planning problems under uncertainty the uncertainties are decision-dependent and resolve gradually depending on the decisions made. In this paper, we address a generic non-convex MINLP model for such planning problems where the uncertain parameters are assumed to follow discrete distributions and the decisions are made on a discrete time horizon. In order to account for the decision-dependent uncertainties and gradual uncertainty resolution, we propose a multistage stochastic programming model in which the non-anticipativity constraints in the model are not prespecified but change as a function of the decisions made. Furthermore, planning problems consist of several scenario subproblems where each subproblem is modeled as a nonconvex mixed-integer nonlinear program. We propose a solution strategy that combines global optimization and outer-approximation in order to optimize the planning decisions. We apply this generic problem structure and the proposed solution algorithm to several planning problems to illustrate the efficiency of the proposed method with respect to the method that uses only global optimization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dysregulated translation of mRNA plays a major role in tumorigenesis. Mitogen-activated protein kinase interacting kinases (MNK)1/2 are key regulators of mRNA translation integrating signals from oncogenic and immune signaling pathways through phosphorylation of eIF4E and other mRNA binding proteins. Modulation of these key effector proteins regulates mRNA, which controls tumor/stromal cell signaling. Compound 23 (eFT508), an exquisitely selective, potent dual MNK1/2 inhibitor, was designed to assess the potential for control of oncogene signaling at the level of mRNA translation. The crystal structure-guided design leverages stereoelectronic interactions unique to MNK culminating in a novel pyridone–aminal structure described for the first time in the kinase literature. Compound 23 has potent in vivo antitumor activity in models of diffuse large cell B-cell lymphoma and solid tumors, suggesting that controlling dysregulated translation has real therapeutic potential. Compound 23 is currently being evaluated in Phase 2 clinical trials in solid tumors and lymphoma. Compound 23 is the first highly selective dual MNK inhibitor targeting dysregulated translation being assessed clinically. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinomas (PDAs) are characterized by a robust fibroinflammatory response. We show here that this desmoplastic reaction generates inordinately high interstitial fluid pressures (IFPs), exceeding those previously measured or theorized for solid tumors, and induces vascular collapse, while presenting substantial barriers to perfusion, diffusion, and convection of small molecule therapeutics. We identify hyaluronan, or hyaluronic acid (HA), as the primary matrix determinant of these barriers and show that systemic administration of an enzymatic agent can ablate stromal HA from autochthonous murine PDA, normalize IFP, and re-expand the microvasculature. In combination with the standard chemotherapeutic, gemcitabine, the treatment permanently remodels the tumor microenvironment and consistently achieves objective tumor responses, resulting in a near doubling of overall survival. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • Quantified impact of the COVID lockdown on sources contributing to ambient PM 2.5. • Source apportionment of highly time-resolved elemental & organic fractions of PM 2.5. • Secondary chloride & dust-related sources remain unaffected by the lockdown. • Vehicular emissions & coal combustion severely dropped during the lockdown. • Oxygenated organic aerosols (OA) peaked due to oxidation of primary OA by O 3. The Government of India (GOI) announced a nationwide lockdown starting 25th March 2020 to contain the spread of COVID-19, leading to an unprecedented decline in anthropogenic activities and, in turn, improvements in ambient air quality. This is the first study to focus on highly time-resolved chemical speciation and source apportionment of PM 2.5 to assess the impact of the lockdown and subsequent relaxations on the sources of ambient PM 2.5 in Delhi, India. The elemental, organic, and black carbon fractions of PM 2.5 were measured at the IIT Delhi campus from February 2020 to May 2020. We report source apportionment results using positive matrix factorization (PMF) of organic and elemental fractions of PM 2.5 during the different phases of the lockdown. The resolved sources such as vehicular emissions, domestic coal combustion, and semi-volatile oxygenated organic aerosol (SVOOA) were found to decrease by 96%, 95%, and 86%, respectively, during lockdown phase-1 as compared to pre-lockdown. An unforeseen rise in O 3 concentrations with declining NO x levels was observed, similar to other parts of the globe, leading to the low-volatility oxygenated organic aerosols (LVOOA) increasing to almost double the pre-lockdown concentrations during the last phase of the lockdown. The effect of the lockdown was found to be less pronounced on other resolved sources like secondary chloride, power plants, dust-related, hydrocarbon-like organic aerosols (HOA), and biomass burning related emissions, which were also swayed by the changing meteorological conditions during the four lockdown phases. The results presented in this study provide a basis for future emission control strategies, quantifying the extent to which constraining certain anthropogenic activities can ameliorate the ambient air. These results have direct relevance to not only Delhi but the entire Indo-Gangetic plain (IGP), citing similar geographical and meteorological conditions common to the region along with overlapping regional emission sources. We identify sources like vehicular emissions, domestic coal combustion, and semi-volatile oxygenated organic aerosol (SVOOA) to be severely impacted by the lockdown, whereas ozone levels and, in turn, low-volatility oxygenated organic aerosols (LVOOA) rise by more than 95% compared to the pre-lockdown concentrations during the last phase of the lockdown. However, other sources resolved in this study, like secondary chloride, power plants, dust-related, hydrocarbon-like organic aerosols (HOA), and biomass burning related emissions, were mainly driven by the changes in the meteorological conditions rather than the lockdown. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]