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Quantum computers hold immense potential in the field of chemistry, ushering new frontiers to solve complex many-body problems that are beyond the reach of classical computers. However, noise in the current quantum hardware limits their applicability to large chemical systems. This work encompasses the development of a projective formalism that aims to compute ground-state energies of molecular systems accurately using noisy intermediate scale quantum (NISQ) hardware in a resource-efficient manner. Our approach is reliant upon the formulation of a bipartitely decoupled parameterized ansatz within the disentangled unitary coupled cluster framework based on the principles of nonlinear dynamics and synergetics. Such decoupling emulates total parameter optimization in a lower dimensional manifold, while a mutual synergistic relationship among the parameters is exploited to ensure characteristic accuracy via a non-iterative energy correction. Without any pre-circuit measurements, our method leads to a highly compact fixed-depth ansatz with shallower circuits and fewer expectation value evaluations. Through analytical and numerical demonstrations, we establish the method's superior performance under noise while concurrently ensuring requisite accuracy in future fault-tolerant systems. This approach enables rapid exploration of emerging chemical spaces by the efficient utilization of near-term quantum hardware resources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent advances in quantum information and quantum science have inspired the development of various compact, dynamically structured ansätze that are expected to be realizable in Noisy Intermediate-Scale Quantum (NISQ) devices. However, such ansätze construction strategies hitherto developed involve considerable measurements, and thus, they deviate significantly in the NISQ platform from their ideal structures. Therefore, it is imperative that the usage of quantum resources be minimized while retaining the expressivity and dynamical structure of the ansatz that can adapt itself depending on the degree of correlation. We propose a novel ansatz construction strategy based on the ab initio many-body perturbation theory that requires no pre-circuit measurement and, thus, remains structurally unaffected by any hardware noise. The accuracy and quantum complexity associated with the ansatz are solely dictated by a pre-defined perturbative order, as desired, and, hence, are tunable. Furthermore, the underlying perturbative structure of the ansatz construction pipeline enables us to decompose any high-rank excitation that appears in higher perturbative orders into the product of various low-rank operators, and it thus keeps the execution gate-depth to its minimum. With a number of challenging applications on strongly correlated systems, we demonstrate that our ansatz performs significantly better, both in terms of accuracy, parameter count, and circuit depth, in comparison to the allied unitary coupled cluster based ansätze. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent advancements in quantum information and quantum technology have stimulated a good deal of interest in the development of quantum algorithms toward the determination of the energetics and properties of many-fermionic systems. While the variational quantum eigensolver is the most optimal algorithm in the noisy intermediate scale quantum era, it is imperative to develop compact Ansätze with low-depth quantum circuits that are physically realizable in quantum devices. Within the unitary coupled cluster framework, we develop a disentangled Ansatz construction protocol that can dynamically tailor an optimal Ansatz using the one- and two-body cluster operators and a selection of rank-two scatterers. The construction of the Ansatz may potentially be performed in parallel over multiple quantum processors through energy sorting and operator commutativity prescreening. With a significant reduction in the circuit depth toward the simulation of molecular strong correlation, our dynamic Ansatz construction protocol is shown to be highly accurate and resilient to the noisy circumstances of the near-term quantum hardware. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We investigate the effect of pectin on the structure and ion transport properties of the room-temperature ionic liquid electrolyte 1-n-butyl-3-methylimidazolium hexafluorophosphate ([BMIM][PF6]) using molecular dynamics simulations. We find that pectin induces intriguing structural changes in the electrolyte that disrupt large ionic aggregates and promote the formation of smaller ionic clusters, which is a promising finding for ionic conductivity. Due to pectin in [BMIM][PF6] electrolytes, the diffusion coefficient of cations and anions is observed to decrease by a factor of four for a loading of 25 wt. % of pectin in [BMIM][PF6] electrolyte. A strong correlation between the ionic diffusivities (D) and ion-pair relaxation timescales (τc) is observed such that D ∼ τc−0.75 for cations and D ∼ τc−0.82 for anions. The relaxation timescale exponents indicate that the ion transport mechanisms in pectin-[BMIM][PF6] electrolytes are slightly distinct from those found in neat [BMIM][PF6] electrolytes (D ∼ τ c − 1 ). Since pectin marginally affects ionic diffusivities at the gain of smaller ionic aggregates and viscosity, our results suggest that pectin-ionic liquid electrolytes offer improved properties for battery applications, including ionic conductivity, mechanical stability, and biodegradability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The recently developed Projective Quantum Eigensolver (PQE) offers an elegant procedure to evaluate the ground state energies of molecular systems in quantum computers. However, the noise in available quantum hardware can result in significant errors in computed outcomes, limiting the realization of quantum advantage. Although PQE comes equipped with some degree of inherent noise resilience, any practical implementation with apposite accuracy would require additional routines to eliminate or mitigate the errors further. In this work, we propose a way to enhance the efficiency of PQE by developing an optimal framework for introducing Zero Noise Extrapolation (ZNE) in the nonlinear iterative procedure that outlines the PQE, leading to the formulation of ZNE-PQE. Moreover, we perform a detailed analysis of how various components involved in it affect the accuracy and efficiency of the reciprocated energy convergence trajectory. Additionally, we investigate the underlying mechanism that leads to the improvements observed in ZNE-PQE over conventional PQE by performing a comparative analysis of their residue norm landscape. This approach is expected to facilitate practical applications of quantum computing in fields related to molecular sciences, where it is essential to determine molecular energies accurately. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The reaction of Schiff base ligand N,N′-bis(salicylidene)ethylenediamine (H2L) with [CoII2(μ-OH2)(O2CCMe3)4(HO2CCMe3)4] (CoII2-Piv) (Piv = pivalate) and Ln(NO3)3·xH2O (for 1, 3, 4x = 5; for 2, x = 6) salts in the presence of triethylamine afforded [CoIIILnIII(L)(μ-Piv)2(η1-Piv)2(η1-OHMe)2] [where Ln = Dy, for 1; Tb, for 2; Ho, for 3; and Er, for 4] complexes. The heterometallic dinuclear ensemble is built via the bridging coordination action of [L]2− and four [Piv]− ligands. Further, the Ln(III) center is coordinated by two η1-OHMe ligands. Shape analysis of all the Ln(III) centers in 1–4 reveals the existence of a distorted triangular dodecahedron geometry. Magnetic studies revealed that compound 1 shows slow magnetic relaxation under zero-field at low temperatures whereas compound 4 displays field-induced slow magnetic relaxation. This phenomenon is in agreement with the results of theoretical studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

AbstractGraft rejection and Graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) are some of the significant factors resulting in morbidity and mortality following allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation. Prophylaxis for GVHD using T-cell depleting agents is helpful in reducing the transplant-related mortality and graft rejection. Both tATG and fATG exhibit varied amounts of antibody specificities and perform distinct immunomodulatory effects, regardless of their capacity to deplete T-lymphocytes. We conducted this single-center, retrospective study at our center to compare both formulations. Twenty-six patients were included in the study, 13 in each cohort. The median age at diagnosis of β-thalassemia was 5 months (range, 3–12 months) in the tATG group and 6 months (range, 3–9 months) in the f-ATG group, respectively. Acute GVHD was observed in 1 (7.7) and 2(15.4) in the tATG and fATG group, respectively. No cases of chronic GVHD were observed in either group. There was no difference in the mixed chimerism observed at 6 months in both groups, tATG (n = 5, 38.5%) and fATG (n = 6, 46.15). There was 1 (7.6) rejection at day +72 observed in the tATG group, whereas no rejection was observed in the fATG group. At a mean follow-up duration of 288 days since transplant, there were no deaths in either of the groups. In conclusion, both ATG preparations showed equivalent effectiveness in preventing rejections and GVHD. However, further larger studies are required to establish the long-term efficacy and safety of both formulations in ASCT. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

AC conductivity and dielectric relaxation of MoO3 doped V2O5–ZnO–CuO glass-nanocomposites have been studied in a wide temperature and frequency ranges. Electron microscopic studies reveal that Cu3O8V2 and Cu3Mo2O9 nanophases (for higher MoO3 content) have been developed, which are expected to form various defect states. Owing to formation of such nanophases, different values of maximum barrier height have been developed, which are supposed to play vital roles in the conduction process. Electric modulus formalism has been conceived as it can exclude the electrode polarization effect at low frequency regime and suggest the transition from long-range mobility to short-range mobility assembly of polarons. Correlated barrier hopping model and its modified version have been found to be most appropriate theoretical models to explore the conduction process. It is also noteworthy that relaxation times are found to increase with higher MoO3 content, which may indicate about the slow movement of charge carriers. The nature of variation of Kohlraush Williams Watts parameters can be considered as a tool to reveal the reason for shifting of relaxation process from Debye to Non-Debye type up to a limit with more and more incorporation of MoO3 content into the previous materials. By crossing the limiting value of composition (0.08 mol% of MoO3), it becomes non-Debye type at a very slow rate. Lower values of dielectric constant at high frequencies are expected to be important for their applications in photonics and opto-electronics. Scaling method of electric modulus spectra indicates that the dielectric relaxation process in the present system leads to a common relaxation process at various temperatures, but it is strongly dependent on compositions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Multidrug resistance is a paramount impediment to successful treatment of most hospital acquired bacterial infections. A plethora of bacterial genera exhibit differential levels of resistance to the existing antibiotics. Prevalent Uropathogenic Escherichia coli or UPEC conduce high mortality among them. Multi-Drug Resistant bacterial strains utilize precise mechanisms to bypass effects of antibiotics. This is probably due to their familiar genomic origin. In this article drug repositioning method have been utilised to target 23 enzymes of UPEC strains viz. CFT073, 536 and UTI89. 3-D drug binding motifs have been predicted using SPRITE and ASSAM servers that compare amino acid side chain similarities. From the hit results anti-viral drugs have been considered for their uniqueness and specificity. Out of 14 anti-viral drugs 3 anti-HIV drugs viz. Amprenavir, Darunavir and Saquinavir have selected for maximum binding score or drug targetability. Finally, active sites of the enzymes were analyzed using GASS-WEB for eloquent drug interference. Further analyses with the active sites of all the enzymes showed that the three selected anti-HIV drugs were very much potent to inhibit their active sites. Combination or sole application of Amprenavir, Darunavir and Saquinavir to MDR-UPEC infections may leads to cure and inhibition of mortality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Cavernous hemangioma of the small intestine is rarein adults. Obscure Overt Gastrointestinal bleeding (OOGIB) caused by smallbowel hemangioma is extremely rare. According to the size of the affected vessels, hemangiomas are histologically classified into cavernous, capillary, and mixed-type tumors, with the cavernous type being the most common and racemose being very rare in the clinic.Owing to the rarity of gastrointestinal hemangiomas and the lack of specific manifestations and diagnostic methodsthe source of GI bleeding could not be initially identified despite the use of numerous diagnostic modalities. Case Summary: We report the case of a 40-year-old female presenting with painless melena and postprandial bloating. Laboratory investigations revealed recurrent and prominent anemia. DBE (Double-balloon endoscopy) revealed subepithelial lesion in the distal jejunum. Segmental resection of the lesion in the jejunum was performed, and cavernous hemangioma was diagnosed based on histopathological analysis. Segmental resection of the ileal lesion was performed surgically, and the final pathologicalresults revealed a diagnosis of cavernous hemangioma. At present the patient is symptom free and doing fine. Conclusion: The current report will increase our understanding of the diagnosis and treatment of gastrointestinal hemangiomas and provide a review of the related literature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • Composite polymer electrolytes were successfully prepared using solution casting and electrospinning method. • LaFeO 3 increases the amorphous regions of poly(vinylidene fluoride hexafluoropropylene) enhancing the ionic conduction. • Solution casted electrolyte with 5 wt% LaFeO 3 shows very low polarization voltage and excellent electrochemical compatibility against lithium metal. • Solid-state battery using solution casted electrolyte with 5 wt% LaFeO 3 shows superior cycling stability and electrospun electrolyte with 5 wt% LaFeO 3 exhibits better rate performance. Composite polymer electrolytes (CPEs) are a promising alternative to flammable conventional liquid electrolytes for high-safety lithium-ion batteries. Establishing low-cost filler that enhances the amorphous nature of polymer in the CPEs and exhibits efficient Lewis acid-base interaction between fillers and anions of lithium salt, leading to improved dissociation of salts for enhanced conduction, is indispensable. In this work, for the first time, we construct a solid composite polymer electrolyte of poly(vinylidene fluoride hexafluoropropylene) embedded LaFeO 3 (LFO) particles prepared by solution casting and electrospinning methods and study their performances. The 5 wt% LFO filler embedded CPE made by means of solution casting and electrospinning methods exhibited the highest ionic conductivity of 5.9 × 10-4 and 1.49 × 10-3 S cm−1 at room temperature and electrochemical stability window up to 4.6 and 4.45 V, respectively. Further, as-assembled solid-state lithium-ion batteries using electrospun CPE showed an initial discharge capacity of 166 mAh/g at 0.1C-rate and solution-casted CPE showed excellent cycling stability with 98.6 % capacity retention at 0.3C-rate even at 50th cycle. Such excellent performance originated from the introduction of the LFO particles as filler into the polymer matrix to enhance the ionic conductivity, mechanical strength and lithium metal compatibility of the resulting CPEs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aneurysms of the distal anterior cerebral artery (DACA) are rare but surgically challenging. Despite a known therapeutic implication of the aneurysm location on the DACA territory, the literature is unclear about its clinical and prognostic significance. Our surgical experience over the last 5 years was reviewed to compare the clinical, operative, and outcome characteristics between aneurysms located below the mid portion of the genu of the corpus callosum (called proximal aneurysms) to those distal to this point (called distal aneurysms). A prognostic factor analysis was done using uni and multivariable analysis. A total of 34 patients were treated (M: F = 1:2.3). The distal group had a higher frequency of poor clinical grade at presentation (n = 9, 47.4%) in contrast to (n = 2, 13.3%) proximal aneurysms (p = 0.039). Despite an overall tendency for a delayed functional improvement in these patients, the results were mainly due to favorable outcomes in the proximal group (favourable functional outcomes at discharge and at last follow-up being 80% and 86.7% respectively). On the multivariable analysis, only WFNS grade (> 2) at presentation (OR = 13.75; 95CI = 1.2–157.7) (p = 0.035) and application of temporary clips (AOR = 34.32; 95CI = 2.59–454.1) (p = 0.007), both of which were more in the distal group, independently predicted a poor long term functional outcome. Thus, the aneurysm location impacts the preoperative clinical grade, the intraoperative aneurysm rupture risk rate as well as the temporary clipping requirement. A combination of these factors leads to worse short and long-term functional outcomes in the distal DACA aneurysms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article, we investigate the existence and uniqueness of solutions to a generalized nonlinear functional integral equation (G‐NLFIE) associated with certain epidemic models of infectious diseases, defined within the Banach space C[0,1]$$ C\left[0,1\right] $$. Our existence results include several specific cases of nonlinear functional integral equations that commonly occur in nonlinear sciences. We then introduce an iterative algorithm that combines Adomian's decomposition method (ADM) with the modified homotopy perturbation method (mHPM) to approximate solutions to the G‐NLFIE. The paper addresses the convergence properties and error analysis of this method. Finally, we present numerical examples to demonstrate the effectiveness and efficiency of our proposed approach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, higher-order numerical schemes to the McKendrick–Von Foerster equation are presented when the death rate has singularity at the maximum age. The third, fourth-order schemes that are proposed here are based on the characteristics which are non-intersecting lines in this case, and are multi-step methods with appropriate corrections at each step. In fact, the convergence analysis of these schemes is discussed in detail. Moreover, numerical experiments are provided to validate the orders of convergence of the proposed third-order and fourth-order schemes. • McKendrick-Von Foerster equation with singular mortality is considered. • Designed a higher order scheme. • Convergence of the proposed schemes is established. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is characterized by underlying obsessions and yielding/nonyielding compulsions, which often leads to significant levels of distress for the individual. Recently, obsessive-compulsive symptoms have been grouped into various symptom dimensions. The Dimensional Yale-Brown Obsessive-Compulsive Scale (DY-BOCS) gives a comprehensive picture regarding symptom severity in each individual dimension of OCD, while also providing a global severity score. Aims and Objectives: The psychometric properties of the Bengali adaptation of DY-BOCS have been assessed in this study. Material and Methods: A cross-sectional study was performed on 80 individuals suffering from OCD as per the ICD-10 DCR criteria. The Bengali version of the DY-BOCS and other scales for OCD, anxiety, and depression were administered to all of them. Inter-rater reliability was assessed for 34 individuals, and agreement between self and clinician-rated version of DY-BOCS was studied for 60 individuals. Internal consistency for items in a particular dimension of DY-BOCS, convergent validity, and divergent validity were also assessed. Results: Internal consistency was found to be excellent (Cronbach's α > 0.90 in all domains), and inter-rater reliability was found to be good to excellent for all the six dimensions of the DY-BOCS (intraclass correlation values >0.80 for aggressive and miscellaneous domains and >0.90 in all other domains). High correlation was found between self and clinician-rated versions of DY-BOCS for the age group 18-35 years, the highest correlations being found for the Contamination (r = 0.82) and Aggressive domains (r = 0.75), while it was found to decrease in the older age group. Convergent validity and divergent validity were found to be satisfactory. Conclusion: The psychometric attributes of the Bengali version of DY-BOCS appear to be satisfactory and thus can be reasonably administered to the population having Bengali as their mother tongue. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Esophageal motility disorders can be diagnosed by either high‐resolution manometry (HRM) or the functional lumen imaging probe (FLIP) but there is no systematic approach to synergize the measurements of these modalities or to improve the diagnostic metrics that have been developed to analyze them. This work aimed to devise a formal approach to bridge the gap between diagnoses inferred from HRM and FLIP measurements using deep learning and mechanics. Methods: The "mechanical health" of the esophagus was analyzed in 740 subjects including a spectrum of motility disorder patients and normal subjects. The mechanical health was quantified through a set of parameters including wall stiffness, active relaxation, and contraction pattern. These parameters were used by a variational autoencoder to generate a parameter space called virtual disease landscape (VDL). Finally, probabilities were assigned to each point (subject) on the VDL through linear discriminant analysis (LDA), which in turn was used to compare with FLIP and HRM diagnoses. Results: Subjects clustered into different regions of the VDL with their location relative to each other (and normal) defined by the type and severity of dysfunction. The two major categories that separated best on the VDL were subjects with normal esophagogastric junction (EGJ) opening and those with EGJ obstruction. Both HRM and FLIP diagnoses correlated well within these two groups. Conclusion: Mechanics‐based parameters effectively estimated esophageal health using FLIP measurements to position subjects in a 3‐D VDL that segregated subjects in good alignment with motility diagnoses gleaned from HRM and FLIP studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study introduces a novel approach to enhance the thermal performance of a confined slot jet impingement system over a heated plate using multiple pulsating jets. By analyzing the complex fluid flow structure and transport phenomena, resulting from the interaction of the twin jets with the target surface, this research highlights three crucial factors: jet pulsation frequency, phase difference, and intermittent motion of the impingement plate. These factors disrupt the boundary layer, create favorable temperature and velocity gradients, and improve heat transfer rates. The velocity vector field analysis reveals the generation of vortices in multiple regions due to the coherent pulsatile jet. The study concludes that increasing the jet pulsation frequency beyond the critical value corresponding to a Strouhal number = 0.26 improves heat removal rate from the isothermal plate. Interestingly, the phase difference promotes heat transport only when the plate is stationary but loses its beneficial effect during intermittent motion. Phase difference results in a 6.7% improvement in average Nusselt number at a jet pulsation frequency of 40 Hz with a stationary plate, particularly benefiting lower frequency pulsating flows. Non-uniform plate motion exhibits the strongest influence on the heat transfer process among the investigated factors. Optimal thermal energy exchange requires careful adjustment of these factors. For instance, when both jet pulsation and intermittent plate motion frequencies are set to 100 Hz, convective heat transfer improves by up to 48% compared to the steady-state scenario, regardless of the phase difference. These findings may benefit the design and optimization of jet impingement-based thermal management systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

AbstractThe construction industry has been slow to adopt advanced technologies like Cyber-Physical Systems (CPS), underscoring the necessity for a human-centered approach to their development. This study aims to understand the significance and impact of human-CPS interaction modalities on human perceptions of CPS, specifically in the use case of construction progress monitoring. A mixed-method approach comprising quantitative observations and qualitative interviews was employed to evaluate the system’s usability and performance with different human-CPS interaction modalities. The findings reveal variable levels of usability and performance across different human-CPS interaction modalities. Users expressed a preference for the three-dimensional immersive environment compared to a two-dimensional setting due to a better sense of presence. However, they experienced heightened cognitive load when utilizing novel interaction methods such as hand gestures and voice commands. Interestingly, despite this increased cognitive demand, users exhibited comparable performance in the assigned task, irrespective of their familiarity with the interaction modality. The results underscore the importance of human-centered design in CPS development. It contributes empirical evidence crucial for understanding and improving human-CPS interactions, thereby advancing the implementation of CPS in construction progress monitoring. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Women in the fisher communities in coastal regions of Bangladesh are engaged in a wide range of fishery activities. However, there is limited evidence available on the occupational hazards and risks experienced by them. Method: The study was conducted among fishing colonies in Cox's Bazar and Chattogram districts in Bangladesh. This was a cross-sectional study blending qualitative and quantitative approaches. The qualitative component comprised five focus group discussions to understand the occupational context, hazards, and risks faced by the fisherwomen, informing the questionnaire design for the subsequent survey. The quantitative survey involved a sample of 207 women from fisher communities, gathering socio-demographic information, occupational hazards, risks, and health and safety practices. Findings: The study found a high occurrence of occupational hazards, health risks and limited availability of preventive measures among the women in fisher communities. Occupational hazards include physical safety hazards such as slippery surfaces and fish cutting instruments, and physical hazards like prolonged sun exposure and noise. Chemical hazards like pesticides and saltwater, ergonomic hazards such as prolonged uncomfortable posture and heavy lifting, and biological hazards including inadequate sanitation facilities were prevalent. The study also identified the potential occupational risks, and the outcomes resulting from the hazards, including injuries (87.44%), musculoskeletal conditions (69.08%), skin diseases/conditions (56.52%), eye complaints (33.82%), severe respiratory distress (24.15%) and high incidence of self-reported communicable diseases. Most women (78.26%) did not use personal protective equipment, and the majority (93.72%) lacked a workplace first aid kit. Conclusion: The study revealed a high prevalence of occupational hazards and health risks, including injuries and diseases, among Bangladeshi women in fisher communities with insufficient safety measures. Collaboration among government, NGOs, development partners, fisheries stakeholders, and the community is imperative for targeted training, innovative procedures, ergonomic solutions, provision of protective equipment, and advocacy to enhance the well-being of these women. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are a group of fluorinated synthetic chemicals that are highly recalcitrant, toxic, and bio-accumulative and have been detected in biosolids worldwide, posing potential risks to humans and the environment. Recent studies suggest that the organic C-F bond in PFAS can be destructed and potentially mineralised into inorganic fluorides during thermal treatment. This study focuses on thermodynamic equilibrium investigations and the fate of fluorine compounds post-PFAS destruction during biosolid thermal treatment. The results indicate that gas-phase fluorine compounds are mainly hydrogen fluoride (HF) and alkali fluorides, whereas solid-phase fluorine compounds include alkaline earth fluorides and their spinels. High moisture and oxygen content in the volatiles increased the concentration of HF in the gas phase. However, adding minerals reduced the emission of HF in the gas phase significantly and enhanced the capture of fluorine as CaF2 spinel in the solid phase. This study also investigates the effect of feedstock composition on the fate of fluorine. High ash content and low volatile matter in the feedstock reduced HF gas emissions and increased fluorine capture in the solid product. The findings of this work are useful in designing thermal systems with optimised operating conditions for minimising the release of fluorinated species during the thermal treatment of PFAS-containing biosolids. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Materials and Methods Results Conclusion Endless loop tachycardia (ELT) is the commonest pacemaker mediated tachycardia (PMT) encountered among patients with cardiac implantable electronic devices (CIEDs). Despite being enabled with various preventive algorithms, we encountered several cases having recurrent, long, and symptomatic ELT.We retrospectively analyzed consecutive device checkups at device clinic at a single center of eastern India between January 2019 to March 2023.There were 20 cases of confirmed and sustained ELT among 4520 device checks. Although mostly benign, in two cases ELT led to clinical worsening in patients having left ventricular (LV) systolic dysfunction. Even with good ventricular function, ELT resulted in improper atrioventricular (AV) synchrony leading to disabling symptom in one case. The differentiation of ELT from sinus tachycardia and atrial tachycardia (AT) was not always easy. Magnet application is certainly useful to differentiate. The situations that provoked ELT in this study were—long AV delays, VIP (ventricular intrinsic preferences)/MVP (managed ventricular pacing), atrial non‐capture, atrial under/over sensing, premature ventricular contractions (PVCs)/couplets, premature atrial contractions (PAC) and slower ventriculo‐atrial (VA) conduction. Rate responsive shortening of post‐ventricular atrial refractory period (PVARP) also promoted its occurrence and hindered troubleshooting. When ELT occurred despite post‐PVC extension of PVARP, lowering the atrial sensitivity, switching to bipolar sensing and manual setting of longer PVARP after measuring VA conduction time were useful. “Rate responsive PVARP” had to be turned off in a few cases to prevent ELT. On the contrary, an over aggressive prolongation of PVARP led to repetitive non‐reentrant ventriculo‐atrial synchrony (RNRVAS) in two cases. Checking VA conduction during implantation and noninvasive program stimulation (NIPS) during follow up were useful to check the tendency for ELT.Clinically significant ELT is rare but not uncommon among devices having in‐built preventive algorithms. Manual adjustments are often useful to troubleshoot the same. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Laser hot wire directed energy deposition (LHW-DED) is a layer-by-layer additive manufacturing technique that permits the fabrication of large-scale Ti-6Al-4V (Ti64) components with a high deposition rate and has gained traction in the aerospace sector in recent years. However, one of the major challenges in LHW-DED Ti64 is heat accumulation, which affects the part quality, microstructure, and properties of as-built specimens. These issues require a comprehensive understanding of the layerwise heat-accumulation-driven process–structure–property relationship in as-deposited samples. In this study, a systematic investigation was performed by fabricating three Ti-6Al-4V single-wall specimens with distinct interlayer delays, i.e., 0, 120, and 300 s. The real-time acquisition of high-fidelity thermal data and high-resolution melt pool images were utilized to demonstrate a direct correlation between layerwise heat accumulation and melt pool dimensions. The results revealed that the maximum heat buildup temperature of the topmost layer decreased from 660 ° C to 263 ° C with an increase to a 300 s interlayer delay, allowing for better control of the melt pool dimensions, which then resulted in improved part accuracy. Furthermore, the investigation of the location-specific composition, microstructure, and mechanical properties demonstrated that heat buildup resulted in the coarsening of microstructures and, consequently, the reduction of micro-hardness with increasing height. Extending the delay by 120 s resulted in a 5% improvement in the mechanical properties, including an increase in the yield strength from 817 MPa to 859 MPa and the ultimate tensile strength from 914 MPa to 959 MPa. Cooling rates estimated at 900 ° C using a one-dimensional thermal model based on a numerical method allowed us to establish the process–structure–property relationship for the wall specimens. The study provides deeper insight into the effect of heat buildup in LHW-DED and serves as a guide for tailoring the properties of as-deposited specimens by regulating interlayer delay. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Various biophysical techniques have been extensively employed to study protein aggregation due to its significance. Traditionally, these methods detect aggregation at micrometer length scales and micromolar concentrations. However, unlike in vitro, protein aggregation typically occurs at nanomolar concentrations in vivo. Here, using fluorescence correlation spectroscopy (FCS), we captured bromelain aggregation at concentrations as low as ~20 nM, surpassing the detection limit of traditional methods like thioflavin T fluorescence, scattering, and fluorescence microscopy by more than one order of magnitude. Moreover, using thioflavin T fluorescence‐based FCS, we have detected larger aggregates at higher bromelain concentrations, which is undetectable in FCS otherwise. Importantly, our study reveals inherent heterogeneity in bromelain aggregation, inaccessible to ensemble‐averaged techniques. The presented report may provide a platform for the characterization of premature aggregates at very low protein concentrations, which are thought to be functionally significant species in protein aggregation‐induced diseases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Changes in cognitive functioning with the progression of age have been suggested as indicator of potential degenerative disorders in older adults. With growing age, deterioration in executive functions happens and is noticeable from the difficulties in day-to-day planning, problem-solving, decision-making, and inhibition or fluency in the elderly. However, in the early stages, it might be tricky to clinically identify if the decline in the cognitive functions is clinically significant or not. Verbal fluency is a valuable executive function and posited as one of the indicators of cognitive impairment. Within this construct, categorical and semantic fluency are inclined to indicate the verbal stimulus recognition and association. It is suggested that the capability to distinguish and associate verbal stimulus could be at different levels of decline with aging with a possible pattern of decline from the early stage of old age and later and distinct among males and females. This progressive decline and changes in verbal fluency could indicate the probable occurrence of cognitive impairment in the aging population. The study aimed to explore the verbal and semantic fluency as an indicator of the progression of cognitive decline with aging and to explore the sex differences in verbal fluency of the studied sample if any. Methodology: Hundred individuals of both sexes in the age range of 50-70 years were selected for the study. The Controlled Oral Word Association Test (COWA) and animal naming test were administered to measure the semantic and categorical verbal fluency of the participants. Results: Results suggest significant changes in verbal fluency with aging in the participants. However, the sex difference in verbal fluency was marginal, as males performed slightly better on the naming task but not in the word association task. Conclusions: Changes in verbal fluency are evident and prominent among the aging population and could be a valuable tool for early identification and intervention, decreasing the risks of degeneration and improving the quality of life of the elderly. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The use of deep learning has become increasingly popular in reduced-order models (ROMs) to obtain low-dimensional representations of full-order models. Convolutional autoencoders (CAEs) are often used to this end as they are adept at handling data that are spatially distributed, including solutions to partial differential equations. When applied to unsteady physics problems, ROMs also require a model for time-series prediction of the low-dimensional latent variables. Long short-term memory (LSTM) networks, a type of recurrent neural network useful for modeling sequential data, are frequently employed in data-driven ROMs for autoregressive time-series prediction. When making predictions at unseen design points over long time horizons, error propagation is a frequently encountered issue, where errors made early on can compound over time and lead to large inaccuracies. In this work, we propose using bagging, a commonly used ensemble learning technique, to develop a fully data-driven ROM framework referred to as the CAE-eLSTM ROM that uses CAEs for spatial reconstruction of the full-order model and LSTM ensembles for time-series prediction. When applied to two unsteady fluid dynamics problems, our results show that the presented framework effectively reduces error propagation and leads to more accurate time-series prediction of latent variables at unseen points. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study aimed to see the efficacy of an integrative neurocognitive psychotherapy customized for five elderly participants (three males and two females), ages varying from 65 years to 75 years, clinically diagnosed with Mild Cognitive impairment (MCI) in an outpatient-based clinic. The participants were assigned a customized neurocognitive psychotherapy package totaling 12 sessions for six months. The intervention programme primarily comprised cognitive training focusing on attention, memory, language, and executive function, along with psycho-education, supportive counseling, and behavioural management. Participants were assessed pre and post-training programmes, as well as a follow-up. The analysis of findings revealed better scores in cognitive functioning and low scores on the depression scale after the intervention. Improvement was found in the cognitive and behavioural functioning of the individuals. Based on the present findings, it may be concluded that a comprehensive neurocognitive psychotherapy intervention, including psycho-education, supportive counseling, cognitive training, and behavioural management, improves cognitive deficits, mood symptoms, and social functioning in MCI clients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent times, a variety of hybrid quantum–classical algorithms have been developed that aim to calculate the ground state energies of molecular systems on Noisy Intermediate-Scale Quantum (NISQ) devices. Albeit the utilization of shallow depth circuits in these algorithms, the optimization of ansatz parameters necessitates a substantial number of quantum measurements, leading to prolonged runtimes on the scantly available quantum hardware. Through our work, we lay the general foundation for an interdisciplinary approach that can be used to drastically reduce the dependency of these algorithms on quantum infrastructure. We showcase these pertinent concepts within the framework of the recently developed Projective Quantum Eigensolver (PQE) that involves iterative optimization of the nonlinearly coupled parameters through repeated residue measurements on quantum hardware. We demonstrate that one may perceive such a nonlinear optimization problem as a collective dynamic interplay of fast and slow relaxing modes. As such, the synergy among the parameters is exploited using an on-the-fly supervised machine learning protocol that dynamically casts the PQE optimization into a smaller subspace by reducing the effective degrees of freedom. We demonstrate analytically and numerically that our proposed methodology ensures a drastic reduction in the number of quantum measurements necessary for the parameter updates without compromising the characteristic accuracy. Furthermore, the machine learning model may be tuned to capture the noisy data of NISQ devices, and thus the predicted energy is shown to be resilient under a given noise model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to handle second order lead processes with time delay, this paper provides a unique dominant pole placement based filtered PID controller design approach. This method does not require any finite term approximation like Pade to obtain the quasi-polynomial characteristic polynomial, arising due to the presence of the time delay term. The continuous time second order plus time delay systems with zero (SOPTDZ) are discretized using a pole-zero matching method with specified sampling time, where the transcendental exponential delay terms are converted into a finite number of poles. The pole-zero matching discretization approach with a predetermined sampling period is also used to discretize the continuous time filtered PID controller. As a result, it is not necessary to use any approximate discretization technique, such as Euler or Tustin, to derive the corresponding discrete time PID controller from its continuous time counterpart. The analytical expressions for discrete time dominant pole placement based filtered PID controllers are obtained using the coefficient matching approach, while two distinct kinds of non-dominant poles, namely all real and all complex conjugate, have been taken into consideration. The stabilizable region in the controller and design parameter space for the chosen class of linear second order time delay systems with lead is numerically approximated using the particle swarm optimization (PSO) based random search technique. The efficacy of the proposed method has been validated on a class of SOPTDZ systems including stable, integrating, unstable processes with minimum as well as non-minimum phase zeros. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nanoclay is considered to be one of the best fillers for reinforcement in structural polymer composites because of its low cost, easy availability, and ability to improve mechanical, thermal, corrosion resistance, barrier properties and nonflammability in corresponding nanocomposites. Pristine nanoclay is hydrophilic and therefore needs surface modification to make it compatible for uniform dispersion with polymer matrix. In the present work, montmorillonite nanoclay was protonated for generating more hydroxyl groups to facilitate silane functionalization and is reinforced to prepare epoxy nanocomposites with a varying content of 0.5 to 20 wt%. Studies are also conducted to investigate the effect of silanization of unprotonated nanoclay on epoxy nanocomposites. Interestingly, uniform highly exfoliated reduced‐size nanoclay platelets are obtained for functionalized protonated nanoclay. This behavior is attributed to the increase in the d‐spacing between the interlayers of the nanoclay during protonation and silanization. Tensile performances are found best with 0.5 wt% of silanized clay with an improvement of ~50%, ~84% and ~177% in strength, modulus and absorbed failure energy compared to neat epoxy. Although flexural and fracture performance are found highest with 2 wt% of silanized protonated clay with an improvement of ~57.5% in flexural strength and a remarkable ~241% and ~964% enhancement in fracture toughness and fracture energy compared to neat epoxy. The toughening mechanism investigation endorses the improvement in interfacial adhesion of the protonated silanized nanoclay that enhances the properties of the interfacial region, which significantly enhances the resistance for in‐panne crack propagation in epoxy nanocomposites. Highlights: Synthesized silanized and silanized protonated montmorillonite clay.Protonation facilitated silane moiety attachment onto nanoclay.Maximum improvement of flexural strength by ~57.5% for ESPrC2.KIC and GIC were highest showing ~1.74 MPam1/2 and ~830.28 J/m2 for ESPrC2.Enhanced interfacial adhesion due to SPrC with the epoxy matrix. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Infections are common complications in patients following liver transplantation (LTX). The early diagnosis and prognosis of these infections is an unmet medical need even when using routine biomarkers such as C-reactive protein (CRP) and procalcitonin (PCT). Therefore, new approaches are necessary. Methods: In a prospective, observational pilot study, we monitored 30 consecutive patients daily between days 0 and 13 following LTX using the 29-mRNA host classifier IMX-BVN-3b that determine the likelihood of bacterial infections and viral infections. True infection status was determined using clinical adjudication. Results were compared to the accuracy of CRP and PCT for patients with and without bacterial infection due to clinical adjudication. Results: Clinical adjudication confirmed bacterial infections in 10 and fungal infections in 2 patients. 20 patients stayed non-infected until day 13 post-LTX. IMX-BVN-3b bacterial scores were increased directly following LTX and decreased until day four in all patients. Bacterial IMX-BVN-3b scores detected bacterial infections in 9 out of 10 patients. PCT concentrations did not differ between patients with or without bacterial, whereas CRP was elevated in all patients with significantly higher levels in patients with bacterial infections. Conclusion: The 29-mRNA host classifier IMX-BVN-3b identified bacterial infections in post-LTX patients and did so earlier than routine biomarkers. While our pilot study holds promise future studies will determine whether these classifiers may help to identify post-LTX infections earlier and improve patient management. Clinical trial notation: German Clinical Trials Register: DRKS00023236, Registered 07 October 2020, https://drks.de/search/en/trial/DRKS00023236 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Withania somnifera (L.) Dunal is an important indigenous medicinal plant with extensive pharmaceutical potential. The root is the main source of major bioactive compounds of this plant species including withanolides, withanine, phenolic acids, etc. Hairy root culture (HRC) is a crucial method for low-cost production of active compounds on a large scale. Four different Agrobacterium rhizogenes strains have been used for the hairy root induction. Maximum transformation efficiency (87.34 ± 2.13%) was achieved with A4 bacterial strain-mediated transformed culture. The genetic transformation was confirmed by using specific primers of seven different genes. Seven HR (Hairy root) lines were selected after screening 29 HR lines based on their fast growth rate and high accumulation of withanolides and phenolic acids content. Two biotic and three abiotic elicitors were applied to the elite root line to trigger more accumulation of withanolides and phenolic acids. While all the elicitors effectively increased withanolides and phenolic acids production, among the five different elicitors, salicylic acid (4.14 mg l–1) induced 11.49 -fold increase in withanolides (89.07 ± 2.75 mg g–1 DW) and 5.34- fold increase in phenolic acids (83.69 ± 3.11 mg g− 1 DW) after 5 days of elicitation compared to the non-elicited culture (7.75 ± 0.63 mg g–1 DW of withanolides and 15.66 ± 0.92 mg g–1 DW of phenolic acids). These results suggest that elicitors can tremendously increase the biosynthesis of active compounds in this system; thus, the HRC of W. somnifera is cost-effective and can be efficiently used for the industrial production of withanolides and phenolic acids. • Establish Agrobacterium rhizogenes mediated hairy root culture in Withania somnifera. • Selection of elite hairy root clone for elicitor treatment. • Exogenous application of biotic and abiotic elicitors in hairy root culture. • Enhance production of withanolides and phenolic acids. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article discusses a study that used an omics-based drug repurposing approach to identify a potential treatment for high-grade meningiomas, a type of brain tumor that is difficult to treat with chemotherapy. The researchers performed meta-omics analysis to identify key targets involved in meningioma tumorigenesis and used drug docking to identify an FDA-approved drug called Belumosudil. In vitro treatment of Belumosudil on a high-grade meningioma cell line showed promising results, including an apoptotic effect and inhibition of cell proliferation. Further studies on patient-derived cell lines and animal-based studies are needed to confirm these findings. [Extracted from the article]

Several studies have been published comparing deep learning (DL)/machine learning (ML) to radiologists in differentiating PCNSLs from GBMs with equivocal results. We aimed to perform this meta-analysis to evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of ML/DL versus radiologists in classifying PCNSL versus GBM using MRI. The study was performed in accordance with PRISMA guidelines. Data was extracted and interpreted by two researchers with 12 and 23 years' experience, respectively, and QUADAS-2 tool was used for quality and risk-bias assessment. We constructed contingency tables to derive sensitivity, specificity accuracy, summary receiver operating characteristic (SROC) curve, and the area under the curve (AUC). Our search identified 11 studies, of which 8 satisfied our inclusion criteria and restricted the analysis in each study to reporting the model showing highest accuracy, with a total sample size of 1159 patients. The random effects model showed a pooled sensitivity of 0.89 [95% CI:0.84–0.92] for ML and 0.82 [95% CI:0.76–0.87] for radiologists. Pooled specificity was 0.88 [95% CI: 0.84–0.91] for ML and 0.90 [95% CI: 0.81–0.95] for radiologists. Pooled accuracy was 0.88 [95% CI: 0.86–0.90] for ML and 0.86 [95% CI: 0.78–0.91] for radiologists. Pooled AUC of ML was 0.94 [95% CI:0.92–0.96]and for radiologists, it was 0.90 [95% CI: 0.84–0.93]. MRI-based ML/DL techniques can complement radiologists to improve the accuracy of classifying GBMs from PCNSL, possibly reduce the need for a biopsy, and avoid any unwanted neurosurgical resection of a PCNSL. • DL/ML tools can complement radiologists in classifying PCNSL from GBM. • The role of radiologists cannot be undermined since AI is prone to over fitting. • DL/ML performed better than radiologists with superior sensitivity and accuracy. • Radiologists showed better specificity, this could be attributed to their experience. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The footballing rivalry between East Bengal and Mohun Bagan in Kolkata, India, explicates important facets of the politics of nation-building and identity formation through sport. The sporting nationalism of the colonial era gave way to narrow parochialism in post-independent India where the cultural differences of Bangals (original Hindu residents of East Bengal in colonial India and Hindu migrants from East Bengal/East Pakistan in postcolonial India) and Ghotis (original residents of western parts of Bengal in colonial India and of West Bengal in postcolonial India) emerged as the key linchpin of expressing allegiance to their respective club football teams particularly in the aftermath of immigration of refugees which took place as a result of the partition of 1947 and the 1971 Bangladesh liberation war. However, the legislations pertaining to Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019 and National Register of Citizens (NRC) have propelled fans of these clubs to forego their sub-cultural differences and act in unison to express their grievances against the new regulations of the Indian state. The anti-NRC protest by the fans hinges on the link between football and the debates pertaining to the idea of citizenship in contemporary Indian politics. The displaying of Tifos by the fans that exhibited significant social messages bears semblance with the Ultras of European football. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rainwater harvesting and artificial recharge are substitute procedures to enhance groundwater and surface water for providing an unceasing water supply to a demand area. This analysis recommends the methodology to demarcate harvesting of rainwater and artificial recharge sites as recognizing constructive artificial recharge sites applying multi-criteria decision analysis (MCDA), integrated with remote sensing (RS), and GIS, procedures for supplementing groundwater properties in the Upper Shilabati catchment of West Bengal state, India. The Upper Shilabati catchment is a drought-prone area with high water demand to fulfill sustainable livelihood. The categorized regions like very low 5% (83.05 km2), low 32% (523.44 km2), moderate 26% (425.93 km2), high 37% (604.70 km2), and very high 0.002% (0.04 km2) while harvesting of rainwater regions are very low 6% (97.49 km2), low 25% (404.43 km2), moderate 53% (866.53 km2), high 13% (212.09 km2), and very high 4% (64.420 km2). The examining outcome indicates that the projected and previously current artificial recharge construction, like Percolation Tanks (PT), Check Dams (CD), Nala Bund (NB), Farm Ponds (FP), and Bore Wells (BW) with the entire numbers of 5, 2, 2, 2, and 1 similarly. The zones delineated for generating numerous artificial recharge structures with 112 artificial recharge constructions are notified, and 60 artificial recharge locations fall in the high recharge region. This artificial recharge is located in 28 (moderate recharge) and 24 sites (low recharge). Study outcomes could be applied to communicate an effectual groundwater management plan for domestic and agricultural determinations with confirm sustainable water supply for this basin. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study compared the effectiveness of two indices, the remote sensing ecological index (RSEI) and the comprehensive ecological evaluation index (CEEI), for assessing the ecological condition of 12 urban centers (UCs). RSEI primarily focused on vegetation cover using the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI), while CEEI provided a more comprehensive evaluation by incorporating the vegetation health index (VHI) as an additional measure. The results indicated that Baruipur and Chandannagar exhibited relatively good ecological conditions based on both RSEI and CEEI, while Kolkata showed the poorest ecological condition among the analyzed UCs. CEEI displayed a wider range of values, reflecting a more comprehensive assessment of ecological conditions compared to RSEI. Spatially, Chandannagar consistently showed better ecological conditions, while Kolkata had the highest proportion of areas categorized as below average and declining in both indices. The study emphasized the importance of considering ecological conditions in urban planning processes and suggested incorporating RSEI and CEEI into such practices to ensure the conservation and enhancement of ecological health. However, it was noted that CEEI performed comparatively better than RSEI due to its ability to incorporate the vegetation health index, providing a more holistic assessment of ecological conditions. The study recommended refining and expanding the indices used in RSEI and CEEI by incorporating more relevant factors of urban ecology and utilizing advanced remote sensing techniques and high-resolution imagery. Overall, this study underscored the superiority of CEEI over RSEI in assessing urban ecology, enabling informed decisions for sustainable development and preservation of ecological health in urban areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

When the probability distributions for the stress (X) and strength (Y) are different members of the power series family, the expressions of the stress-strength reliability function, R = P(X ≤ Y), are derived. Apart from stress-strength reliability, it has applications in statistical tolerancing, measurement of demand-supply system performance, genetic trait hereditary measure, bio-equivalence study, etc. The Bayes' estimates of R under squared error and Precautionary losses are derived for various combinations of distributions of X and Y like binomial, Poisson, negative binomial, and geometric. As in practice, the availability of prior parameters is difficult; the empirical Bayes estimation procedure has been adopted to get their estimates from observed data. Simulation results have been reported, and estimates of posterior risks are compared. In the context of real Soccer games, the Bayes estimates are enumerated and compared with their classical counterparts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article introduces a novel strategy for devising an optimal Static Synchronous Compensator (STATCOM) controller via Hamiltonian function method in mitigating the transient stability of a multimachine power system. The STATCOM, a second generation shunt type FACTS device, is popularly employed for power system control. To test the applicability of the Hamiltonian function approach, an IEEE Type WSCC 9-bus system is taken under study. An appropriate Hamiltonian functional has been framed using the parameters of the test system, which is applied to optimize the preferred performance index. The performance of the proposed nonlinear controller is judged against a regular state feedback based STATCOM controller. The parameters of this traditional controller are computed via dynamical Games of the Nash Equilibrium method. The proposed method is beneficial in terms of mathematical complexity as needed in estimating relative degree and coordinate transformation in the feedback linearization method. A detailed investigation of the results reveals that the proposed controller is effective and efficient to a greater degree than the traditional STATCOM controller in a multimachine system, even at some point in serve eventualities like earth fault scenarios. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This review explores the role of 2-(2′-Pyridyl)imidazole (PyimH) as a coordinating ligand and also its role as a supramolecular agent through hydrogen bonding and π⋯π interaction. Two N coordination sites make 2-(2′-Pyridyl)imidazole an analogous ligand to 2,2′-bipyridine. The syn orientation of imidazole and pyridine sp2 nitrogen makes it a bidentate chelating ligand. PyimH mainly produces discrete coordination complexes (0D), but in a few cases, 1D coordination polymers are observed due to bridging co-ligands like oxalate, dicyanamide, tricyanomethanide, croconate, thiocyanate, and iso-thiocyanate. These discrete coordination units and co-ligand bridged 1D coordination polymers are further augmented to higher dimensional supramolecular systems having linear, zig-zag, ladder-shaped, ribbon-like, and helical geometry. These supramolecular structures are stabilized by intermolecular hydrogen bonding interaction (N–H⋯N, N–H⋯O, O–H⋯N, O–H⋯O, and C–H⋯O) and π⋯π interaction capability of PyimH ligand. PyimH generally acts as an excellent chelating ligand for a range of metal ions and is also a capable supramolecular glueing agent due to hydrogen bonding and π-stacking ability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Spatial process models are widely used for modeling point-referenced variables arising from diverse scientific domains. Analyzing the resulting random surface provides deeper insights into the nature of latent dependence within the studied response. We develop Bayesian modeling and inference for rapid changes on the response surface to assess directional curvature along a given trajectory. Such trajectories or curves of rapid change, often referred to as wombling boundaries, occur in geographic space in the form of rivers in a flood plain, roads, mountains or plateaus or other topographic features leading to high gradients on the response surface. We demonstrate fully model based Bayesian inference on directional curvature processes to analyze differential behavior in responses along wombling boundaries. We illustrate our methodology with a number of simulated experiments followed by multiple applications featuring the Boston Housing data; Meuse river data; and temperature data from the Northeastern United States. Supplementary materials for this article are available online. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A systematic study has been carried out to obtain the fundamental units of triad interaction in Hall magnetohydrodynamic turbulence. Instead of finding the elementary building blocks of nonunique mode-to-mode (M2M) transfer rates, we have investigated the fundamental units for uniquely defined combined transfers and convincingly showed that the mode-to-mode transfers can act as a practical base element for the same. In addition to the conventional field-specific mode-to-mode transfers, here we have introduced the idea of mode-specific transfers, which is found to be important for the turbulent cascade and the turbulent relaxed states. Whereas the Hall transfer is found to associate mode-to-mode transfers for mode-specific interactions (with a three-member basis), it presents a mixture of typical mode-to-mode (also with a three-member basis) and non-mode-to-mode (with a five-member basis) transfers for the field-specific interactions. The non-mode-to-mode transfers are shown to satisfy the triad conservation differently from the mode-to-mode transfers. However, they also possess an inherent non-uniqueness and hence cannot be determined unambiguously unlike the combined transfer rates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper we have studied generalized Sasakian space form admitting almost quasi-Yamabe soliton and gradient almost quasi-Yamabe soliton. It is shown that if a generalized Sasakian space form admits a closed almost quasi-Yamabe soliton, then either soliton vector field is pointwise collinear with ζ or the structure functions are connected by a relation and the manifold becomes Ricci semi-symmetric generalized Sasakian space form. Next, it is proven that, if the metric of a generalized Sasakian space form is a gradient almost quasi-Yamabe soliton, then either the gradient of ψ is pointwise collinear with ζ or the structure functions are connected by a relation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, the growth spurt of medical imaging data has led to the development of various machine learning algorithms for various healthcare applications. The MedMNISTv2 dataset, a comprehensive benchmark for 2D biomedical image classification, encompasses diverse medical imaging modalities such as Fundus Camera, Breast Ultrasound, Colon Pathology, Blood Cell Microscope etc. Highly accurate classifications performed on these datasets is crucial for identification of various diseases and determining the course of treatment. This research paper presents a comprehensive analysis of four subsets within the MedMNISTv2 dataset: BloodMNIST, BreastMNIST, PathMNIST and RetinaMNIST. Each of these selected datasets is of diverse data modalities and comes with various sample sizes, and have been selected to analyze the efficiency of the model against diverse data modalities. The study explores the idea of assessing the Vision Transformer Model's ability to capture intricate patterns and features crucial for these medical image classification and thereby transcend the benchmark metrics substantially. The methodology includes pre-processing the input images which is followed by training the ViT-base-patch16-224 model on the mentioned datasets. The performance of the model is assessed using key metrices and by comparing the classification accuracies achieved with the benchmark accuracies. With the assistance of ViT, the new benchmarks achieved for BloodMNIST, BreastMNIST, PathMNIST and RetinaMNIST are 97.90%, 90.38%, 94.62% and 57%, respectively. The study highlights the promise of Vision transformer models in medical image analysis, preparing the way for their adoption and further exploration in healthcare applications, aiming to enhance diagnostic accuracy and assist medical professionals in clinical decision-making. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aims to improve the biopharmaceutical, mechanical, and tableting properties of a poorly soluble drug, ibuprofen (IBP), by preparing amorphous solid dispersion (ASD) followed by a sustained-release tablet formulation. A suitable polymer to develop an ASD system was chosen by utilizing the apparent solubility of IBP in various polymer solutions. ASDs containing various ratios of IBP and selected polymer were prepared by the melt fusion (MF) method. ASD containing optimized drug-polymer ratio prepared by freeze-drying (FD) method was characterized and compared physicochemically. The solubility of IBP in water increased 28-fold and 35-fold when formulated as ASD by MF and FD, respectively. Precise formulations showed amorphization of IBP and increased surface area, improving solubility. The dissolution pattern of optimized ASD-IBP in pH 6.8 phosphate buffer after 60 min in MF and FD was enhanced 3-fold. In addition, direct compression tablets comprising optimized ASD granules from MF and FD were made and assessed using compendial and noncompendial methods. ASD-IBP/MF and ASD-IBP/FD formulations showed a similar drug release profile. In addition, 12 h of sustained IBP release from the ASD-IBP-containing tablets was obtained in a phosphate buffer with a pH of 6.8. From the dissolution kinetics analysis, the Weibull model fitted well. The drug release pattern indicated minimal variations between tablets formed using ASD-IBP prepared by both procedures; however, pre- and postcompression assessment parameters differed. From these findings, the application of ASD and sustained-release polymers in matrix formation might be beneficial in improving the solubility and absorption of poorly soluble drugs such as IBP. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ruthenium(II) complexes [RuL(CO)Cl(PPh3)2], 1a–4a, have been synthesized using ligands PhN＝NC(Ar)NOH, HL 1–4, respectively, by varying the pendant aryl (Ar) groups. The single crystal X-ray diffraction studies of complexes reveal that there are certain changes in Ru–Nazo and Ru–Noxime bond lengths that may be explained primarily on the basis of electronic effects of pendant aryl groups. In 4a, all Ru–N bond lengths are longer and this is attributed to oximato–O⋯O (hydroxyphenyl) interactions. Furthermore, there are weak intramolecular F⋯π interactions in 3a. The complexes display multiple reductive responses ascribable to electron acceptance within the azo-oxime framework of the coordinated ligand and the corresponding one-electron reduced metastable anion radical complexes of type [Ru(L˙−)(CO)Cl(PPh3)2]−[1]˙− have been generated. This property of the complexes has been exploited in electron transfer catalysis via trapping of electrons in the azo-oxime skeleton in two types of reactions: (1) α-alkylation of ketones with primary alcohols and (ii) synthesis of 2-substituted quinoline derivatives from 2-aminobenzyl alcohols and substituted acetophenones/alkyl methyl ketones. The scope of catalysis has been studied and the probable catalytic pathway has been established from experimental results. The catalytic pathway is ligand-centric and redox-driven for the dehydrogenation process and the initial step involves formation of a coordinated anion radical. This leads to conversion of the starting 1° alcohol to the corresponding carbonyl via the HAT pathway, with the ruthenium(II) centre practically behaving as a template and remaining redox inactive. The catalytic reactions have been proven to be affected by the nature of pendant aryl (Ar) groups within the coordinated ligand. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We conjecture a two-dimensional conformal field theory built out of a linear dilaton and a compact βγ system deformed by winding condensates on each of the compact cycles. In particular, explicit expressions of the residues of the correlation functions are provided. As a worldsheet theory, it describes a stringy black hole in AdS3 (supported by the Kalb-Ramond flux) at the Hawking-Page temperature. It is expected to be connected to the Horowitz-Polchinski-like solution near the Hagedorn temperature of thermal AdS3 and Euclidean BTZ blackhole as we vary the temperature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We define and compute the leading sphere diagram contribution to the entropy of the BTZ black hole supported by Kalb-Ramond flux in bosonic string theory. In a winding condensate description, integrating exactly over the constant mode for the radial direction of AdS3 reduces the problem to one of the correlation functions of winding operators in the free theory. The volume of the residual PSL(2,ℂ) gauge group of the sphere is canceled by the action of conformal transformations on the winding interaction insertions. We formulate a precise version of the replica trick in terms of (infinitesimally) non-integer winding condensates to produce the entropy of the BTZ black hole. The resulting entropy can be calculated from the one-point function of a non-local operator on the worldsheet. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Automatic detection of foot lift is one of the most important events of Functional Electrical Stimulation (FES). The FES system is used for the correction of Foot Drop (FD). FD is a condition where a person is unable to lift their foot from the ground due to complications that may arise after a stroke or spinal cord injury. It is crucial to accurately detect the patient’s foot lift event when correcting FD through FES as the pulse should only be applied when the person lifts their foot. The FES system applies the electrical pulse based on the input of the foot-lift detection sensor. A conventional FES system employs a sensor that is affixed on the heel to detect the lifting of the foot, but the connecting cables make the patient uncomfortable. To address this problem, IMU (Inertial Measurement Unit)-based sensors have been used, but they have some disadvantages, such as false triggering, low accuracy, and calibration. In this paper, we have presented an algorithm for detecting foot-lift events with high accuracy using a single IMU sensor through the application of deep learning techniques. We have recorded data from 10 healthy people and 10 foot drop patients. We have implemented Artificial Neural Network (ANN), K-Nearest Neighbour (KNN), and Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) models on these data and compared the results of these three models. The proposed algorithm aims to improve the precision of stimulation in the FES system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigated spatial temporal variations in the ecological condition of the Kolkata Metropolitan Area (KMA) from 1990 to 2020 using the Comprehensive Ecological Evaluation Index (CEEI). The analysis focused on parameters such as vegetation cover (VC), land surface moisture (LSM), normalised difference built-up and bare soil index (NDBSI), and land surface temperature (LST). The study evaluates the spatio-temporal changes in the ecological condition of KMA (location) from 1990 to 2020 using the Comprehensive Ecological and Environmental Index (CEEI). The methodology involves analysing correlations among CEEI parameters, generating CEEI maps, assessing ecological change from 1990 to 2020, applying spatial autocorrelation for pattern analysis, and predicting the ecological condition for 2030 using linear regression. The findings revealed a decreasing trend in vegetation cover over the studied period, indicating a potential decline in the extent of greenery in the KMA. In 1990, around 3% of the KMA area experienced poor ecological conditions. By 2020, this figure had risen to approximately 13%, and projections indicate that by 2030, around 30% of the area will be characterized by poor ecological conditions. The correlation matrix analysis highlighted varying relationships between the parameters, with significant changes observed in their associations. The CEEI maps demonstrated a notable deterioration in the ecological condition of the KMA over time, characterised by reductions in the excellent and good categories and expansions in the moderate, fair, and poor categories. The analysis of spatial autocorrelation indicated a strengthening of spatial clustering or dispersion of the CEEI values, emphasizing the need for effective management practices. The study concludes that urgent measures should be implemented to address the underlying factors contributing to the ecological degradation and promote restoration efforts for a sustainable future of the KMA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]