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Objective: To assess the impact of sleep quality and quantity on the academic performance of medical and non-medical students. Study Design: Comparative cross-sectional study. Place and Duration of Study: Various universities in Rawalpindi and Islamabad from Jun to Aug 2022. Methodology: The study included medical and non-medical students of either gender, aged 18-24 years. A structured, validated questionnaire, comprising two sections, was used. The first part consisted of demographic information. The second part comprised the Pitsburgh Sleep Quality Index, a measure of the quality and patern of sleep. Results: A total of 356 participants were divided into two groups: medical and non-medical. Out of 192 medical students, 98(50.5%) reported excelent sleep, 60(30.9%) reported good sleep, and 36(18.6%) reported poor sleep. Out of 194 medical students, 88(45.4%) were excelent in academics, 60(30.9%) were good, and 46(23.7%) had poor performance. Out of 164 nonmedical students, 62(37.2%) reported excelent sleep, 70(42.7%) reported good sleep, and 32(19.5%) reported poor sleep. Among these 164 non-medical students, 84(51.2%) had excelent, 41(25.0%) had good, and 39(23.8%) had poor academic performance. A significant association (p<0.05) was found between the Pitsburgh Sleep Quality Index score and academic performance. Conclusion: The majority of medical and non-medical students slept for less than 7 hours each night. Students who got excelent sleep performed wel in both groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we have examined eight new first‐row transition metal complexes (1–8). Mutli‐donor ligands based on barbituric and thiobarbituric acids were used in complexation reactions. The synthesized complexes were analyzed using FT‐IR and UV–vis spectroscopy, elemental (CHN) analysis, and single‐crystal X‐ray diffraction analysis. These complexes exhibited significant urease enzyme inhibition with IC50 values in the range of 13.73 ± 1.08–43.21 ± 1.50 μM. We observed excellent binding orientation of these complexes in the active site of Urease. The molecular docking results correlate well with in vitro observations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The current research reports the synthesis of a library of thiosemicarbazones (3-16) through a two-step chemical transformation. All the synthesized derivatives were purified and fully characterized through mass spectrometry, NMR spectroscopy (1H-, and 13C-NMR), and IR spectroscopy. All the members of the synthesized library were found to be new except compound 8. The synthesized library was screened for its inhibition potential against the urease enzyme. Almost all the compounds exhibited potent activity with the IC50 = 5.3 ± 0.8 − 15.5 ± 0.6 µM in comparison to the thiourea and acetohydroxamic acid used as standard (IC50 = 21.1 ± 0.2, 20.5 ± 0.4 µM). While significant activity was exhibited by compounds 14 and 15 with the IC50 = 23.6 ± 0.6 and 27.3 ± 1.2 µM. Furthermore, kinetic studies were carried out to determine the inhibition mode and molecular docking was employed to recognize the ligand-enzyme interactions. Thereby, the docking results are well in the direction of the in vitro results. Compounds ((E)-N-(2,5-dichlorophenyl)-2-(4-fluorobenzylidene)hydrazine-1-carbothioamide (3) and (E)-2-(2-chlorobenzylidene)-N-(2-fluorophenyl) hydrazinecarbothioamide (5) were identified as the most potent inhibitors of urease by both the in vitro and in silico studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present a study concerning the ionospheric annual variations (IAV) using the global ionospheric maps (GIMs). In this regard, the corresponding regional electron content (REC) is computed in four longitudinal sectors, namely Asia, Africa, America and Pacific. The features of day- and night-time IAV are investigated using (i) band-pass filters and (ii) summer to winter (SW) ratio of REC. The results indicate that IAV are stronger in the southern hemisphere as compared to its northern counterpart. The asymmetry in the amplitude of IAV is maximum for the Pacific region, followed by America, Africa and Asia. The IAV in southern hemisphere are regular ionospheric variations (RIAV) with positive and negative peaks occurring in the months of December and June, respectively. The northern hemisphere and latitudinal regions exhibit a day-time anomalous ionospheric annual variations (AIAV), during the peak years of the considered solar cycles, in which maxima (minima) occurs in local winter (summer). In this regard, the phase of AIAV is found to vary with solar activity. The night-time IAV show anomalous behavior in the northern hemisphere during the solar minimum. The SW ratio of day-time REC is less than unity at northern hemisphere during the peak of a solar cycle. However, the said ratio is always greater than one in southern counterpart. The fitting curve for day-time SW ratio has a strong negative slope in the northern hemisphere. The threshold of SSN (sunspot number) indicating the presence of the daytime winter anomaly at low- latitudes is found to be 25, 80, and 115 in the Africa, Asia-Pacific, and American regions, respectively. Additionally, this anomaly becomes observable in the mid-latitudes region of America and the Pacific region for SSN values exceeding 100 and 150, respectively. On the other hand, the correlation and fitting analysis demonstrate that night-time SW ratio enhances with increase in the solar activity. This result predicts that night- time winter anomaly can only be present during the periods of minimum and low solar activity. However, our analysis revealed that the night-time winter anomaly is observable only in the African low-latitude region for SSN < 85. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present a study of dust acoustic shock waves in a non-Maxwellian plasma with dust charge fluctuations, which are seen to cause a dissipation term in fluid model, and consequently shocks are generated. In particular, we focus on dust acoustic waves as affected by various dust size distributions. Two distinct dust size distributions—the polynomial and the power law distributions—have been used. For analytical investigation of nonlinear wave propagation in complex plasmas, a reductive perturbation approach is used to obtain the Burgers equation. A dusty plasma system with non-Maxwellian Kappa distribution is considered and it is shown that the amplitude of a shock wave, for the dust size distribution is larger than that for the mono-sized counterpart, while the shock width manifests an opposite trend. Furthermore, the shock wave speed is also affected by the dust size distributions as well as by the nature of velocity distribution function. To benchmark our findings, we apply the proper limit on the spectral index, i.e., κ → ∞ , and retrieve the Maxwellian results. The current findings are crucial for comprehending respective shock distributions for a plasma system exhibiting non-thermal characteristics and having dust size distributions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In mathematical analysis, the q-analogue of a function refers to a modified version of the function that is derived from q-series expansions. This paper is focused on the q-analogue of the exponential function and investigates a class of convex functions associated with it. The main objective is to derive precise inequalities that bound the coefficients of these convex functions. In this research, the initial coefficient bounds, Fekete–Szegő problem, second and third Hankel determinant have been determined. These coefficient bounds provide valuable information about the behavior and properties of the functions within the considered class. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The design and development of secure nonlinear cryptographic Boolean function plays an unavoidable measure for modern information confidentiality schemes. This ensure the importance and applicability of nonlinear cryptographic Boolean functions. The current communication is about to suggest an innovative and energy efficient lightweight nonlinear multivalued cryptographic Boolean function of modern block ciphers. The proposed nonlinear confusion element is used in image encryption of secret images and information hiding techniques. We have suggested a robust LSB steganography structure for the secret hiding in the cover image. The suggested approach provides an effective and efficient storage security mechanism for digital image protection. The technique is evaluated against various cryptographic analyses which authenticated our proposed mechanism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The precise position measurement of atoms using reflection and transmission beams of light is studied in this manuscript. It is reported that the transmission and reflection of probe light can be used to detect the localized position of atoms in one dimension which exhibit high resolution and varying number of peaks. Notably, sharp peaks of localization are reported in the transmission and reflection spectra, within the half-wavelength domain. Remarkably, the localized peaks undergo a shift from one half-wavelength domain to another when the sign of the phase in the standing wave field is altered. The theoretical results obtained for atom microscopy in the reflection and transmission spectra hold promising applications in advanced laser cooling technology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An experimental investigation of a small-scale air-heated humidification-dehumidification (HDH) desalination system with bubble-column humidification and dehumidification units was conducted. The study addressed the performance of the multistage air-heated bubble-column HDH system, which has limited coverage in the literature, by operating two bubble-column humidifiers in series for the air humidification process with air reheating. The effect of operating parameters such as airflow rate, air temperature, and saline water levels in both humidifiers on the performance metrics of the system were investigated. The product distillate rate, energy consumption, gain output ratio (GOR), and specific energy consumption (SEC) are the main indicators of performance for the proposed desalination system. Response surface methodology (RSM) was applied to the current system using the design of experiment (DoE) for the prediction of variables that greatly affect productivity and energy input. The airflow rate, air temperature, and water level of the second humidifier have a favourable effect on the distillate rate and GOR of the system. In contrast, the effect of the water level inside the first humidifier is insignificant. Furthermore, the RSM optimization approach was used to obtain the optimum distillate productivity. An optimized distillate rate of 0.45 L/h and a GOR of 0.4 are achieved at 1.5 SCFM (standard cubic feet per minute) of airflow rate, and 6.5 cm of water level in the second humidifier with 140°C air inlet temperature. The numerical optimization reveals the optimal operating parameters, that correspond to maximum distillate production of 0.3 L/h with minimum input energy of 0.71 kW, to be 139°C air temperature, 1.13 SCFM of airflow rate, 6.5 cm and 3 cm water levels of second and first humidifier, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This manuscript aims to provide a platform that merges different aggregation operators into a concise and computationally trackable single aggregation operator. This generalization can produce numerous aggregation operators while the complex framework can be streamlined and analyzed more efficiently. Generalized aggregation operators have become increasingly important in decision-making (DM) theory due to the growing complexity and diversity of DM problems. These unified aggregation operators are furnished upon numerical examples from MEMADM and MADM problems as applications. Finally, a comparative analysis with some existing methods is conducted to examine the properties and behavior of the proposed aggregation operator. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many heterocycles have been developed as drugs due to their capacity to interact productively with biological systems. The present study aimed to synthesize cocrystals of the heterocyclic antitubercular agent pyrazinamide (PYZ, 1, BCS III) and the commercially available anticonvulsant drug carbamazepine (CBZ, 2, BCS class II) to study the effect of cocrystallization on the stability and biological activities of these drugs. Two new cocrystals, namely, pyrazinamide–homophthalic acid (1/1) (PYZ:HMA, 3) and carbamazepine–5‐chlorosalicylic acid (1/1) (CBZ:5‐SA, 4), were synthesized. The single‐crystal X‐ray diffraction‐based structure of carbamazepine–trans‐cinnamic acid (1/1) (CBZ:TCA, 5) was also studied for the first time, along with the known cocrystal carbamazepine–nicotinamide (1/1) (CBZ:NA, 6). From a combination drug perspective, these are interesting pharmaceutical cocrystals to overcome the known side effects of PYZ (1) therapy, and the poor biopharmaceutical properties of CBZ (2). The purity and homogeneity of all the synthesized cocrystals were confirmed by single‐crystal X‐ray diffraction, powder X‐ray diffraction and FT–IR analysis, followed by thermal stability studies based on differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). Detailed intermolecular interactions and the role of hydrogen bonding towards crystal stability were evaluated quantitatively via Hirshfeld surface analysis. The solubility of CBZ at pH 6.8 and 7.4 in 0.1 N HCl and H2O were compared with the values of cocrystal CBZ:5‐SA (4). The solubility of CBZ:5‐SA was found to be significantly improved at pH 6.8 and 7.4 in H2O. All the synthesized cocrystals 3–6 exhibited a potent urease inhibition (IC50 values range from 17.32 ± 0.89 to 12.3 ± 0.8 µM), several times more potent than standard acetohydroxamic acid (IC50 = 20.34 ± 0.43 µM). PYZ:HMA (3) also exhibited potent larvicidal activity against Aedes aegypti. Among the synthesized cocrystals, PYZ:HMA (3) and CBZ:TCA (5) were found to possess antileishmanial activity against the miltefosine‐induced resistant strain of Leishmania major, with IC50 values of 111.98 ± 0.99 and 111.90 ± 1.44 µM, respectively, in comparison with miltefosine (IC50 = 169.55 ± 0.20 µM).The current study demonstrates the cocrystallization of pyrazinamide with homophthalic acid employing the reflux method, and the cocrystallization of the commercially available heterocyclic drug carbamazepine with 5‐chlorosalicylic acid, trans‐cinnamic acid and nicotinamide. The synthesized cocrystals were characterized by FT–IR, PXRD and SC‐XRD techniques, followed by thermal stability studies based on DSC and TGA analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nonconforming events rarely occur in high‐quality processes, and the time between events (TBE$TBE$) is likely to be followed by a skewed distribution, such as an exponential distribution. This paper proposes the upper and lower‐sided improved adaptive exponentially weighted moving control charts for monitoring TBE$TBE$ data modeled by the exponential distribution. The proposed control charts are labeled as IAEWMATBE$IAEWM{A_{TBE}}$ control charts, that is, the IAEWMATBEU$IAEWMA_{TBE}^U$ and IAEWMATBEL$IAEWMA_{TBE}^L$ control chart, respectively. The IAEWMATBEU$IAEWMA_{TBE}^U$ control chart detects the upward shifts, while the IAEWMATBEL$IAEWMA_{TBE}^L$ control chart identifies the downward shifts in the process. The Monte Carlo simulations are used to approximate the run length distribution of the proposed control charts. Numerical results associated with various performance measures, such as average run length (ARL$ARL$), standard run length (SDRL$SDRL$), median run length (MRL$MRL$), extra quadratic loss (EQL$EQL$), relative average run length (RARL$RARL$), and performance comparison index (PCI$PCI$) are computed. The proposed control charts compared to the respective existing control charts, such as AEWMATBE$AEWM{A_{TBE}}$, IEWMATBE$IEWM{A_{TBE}}$, REWMATBE$REWM{A_{TBE}}$, and ShewhartTBE${\rm{Shewhar}}{{\rm{t}}_{TBE}}$ control charts, at a single shift, as well as over a specified range of shifts. The comparison reveals that the proposed control charts outperform the existing control charts for both single specified shifts and over a certain range of shifts. Finally, real‐life data of hospital stay time for male patients with traumatic brain injury are analyzed for the applicability of the IAEWMATBEU$IAEWMA_{TBE}^U$ control chart in the health sector. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A thorough excavation of the deep ultra-thick mines is highly challenging in rock engineering, which mainly depends on the rheological properties of coal-rock mass, high-stress concentrations, and complex geological conditions. Under heterogeneous settings, a detailed understanding of microseismic (MS) spatio-temporal response to rock mechanical behavior is essential for the efficient and safe-yield of deep ultra-thick mines. This paper utilizes real-time passive seismological data of 36 months in an ultra-thick coal mine through LLTCC mining to quantify the coal-rock mass mechanical behavior. In the post-processing of geophysical data, Power Spectral Density (PSD) was performed and the MS source parameters were computed containing over 18,000 events. The events were classified into different energy-levels to evaluate the increased-pressure rock mass. The Gaussian results reveal that the distribution of MS events coincides with the increased rock pressure. The high energy events (≥ 50,000 J) accounted for 57.93% of the microseismic-induced earthquakes. Moreover, the cloud energy density maps were obtained to identify the zones of high-stress concentration and enhanced seismicity. It is inferred that the overburden pressure and intense fracturing developed the high-stress concentration zones during excavation. Furthermore, the temporal parameters computed from MS data show that sharp-rise and sharp-drop variation can be regarded as early warning indicators for increased rock pressure. High deviation in energy and frequency also evidenced the increased rock pressure and micro-fractures to macro-fracture development. Based on these precursory parameters, a comprehensive early warning method was proposed. Besides, 3D visualization of the fracturing process and identification of new faults assisted in the accurate evaluation of the ultra-thick mine. Several risk zones were identified based on the seismic energy and fractures correlation. Finally, with the help of a deep learning LSTM approach, a prominent peak in time-series data is predicted that defines the increased rock pressure and further characterizes the coal-rock mechanical response. Compared with the existing studies, our integrated geophysical and mine engineering workflow can provide accurate insights to depict the rock mass mechanical behavior of the deep mines as an aid for disaster prediction and early warning. Highlights: A detailed understanding of microseismic Spatio-temporal response to rock mechanical behavior is presented. Field recorded microseismicity is quantitatively correlated with regions of increased-rock pressure and stress concentration. Temporal trends in the microseismic source parameters evidenced increased-rock pressure and a comprehensive early warning model is proposed. A novel microseismological approach is presented to model the mining-induced fracturing process and correlated with seismic energy to identify risk zones. Machine learning based LSTM approach pioneered and resulted in the prediction of rock mass response on time-series data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Homogeneously weighted moving average (H W M A) charts have recently achieved popularity for monitoring small changes in process parameters (location and/or dispersion). Furthermore, the D H W M A (double H W M A) and T H W M A (triple H W M A) are the advanced versions of the H W M A charts. The H W M A chart for the process dispersion is designed to detect only the upward (one-sided) shift (i.e., process deterioration). Employing a two-sided chart for concurrently detecting both process improvement and process deterioration is an important aspect of statistical process monitoring. By taking this point as motivation, one and two-sided T H W M A charts (symbolized as the T H W M A V) are proposed for monitoring the process dispersion. The Monte Carlo simulations are performed to investigate the performance behavior of the T H W M A V charts in terms of certain performance indicators, including A R L , S D R L , E Q L , R A R L , and P C I. The comparison among the T H W M A V versus existing charts (D H W M A V , H W M A V , T E W M A V , D E W M A V , and E W M A V) indicates that the T H W M A V charts outperform the existing charts. Finally, a dataset is also analyzed to illustrate the implementation of the T H W M A V charts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The reduction of constrained mathematical structures leads us to generalize any abstract structures. Using minimum conditions to construct a secure and robust component of the modern encryption algorithm is one crucial problem in multimedia security. With this understanding, we have proposed a new algebraic structure, namely monogenic semigroup, to construct a digital information authentication scheme. Authentication is always completed at the beginning of the application, before any throttling or approval checks are performed, and before any other code is allowed to begin running in the background. Many authentication schemes offer a complex structure for implementation in cryptosystems and applications. The anticipated mechanism uses a simple mathematical structure having the least conditions as compared to other mathematical structures. The suggested scheme provides structures for the authentication of text messages and images. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Solitary waves in a symmetric pair-ion plasma are studied as affected by various plasma parameters, e.g., electron density, collision frequency, ion temperatures, (r, q)-distributed electrons. In this regard, plasma fluid equations have been used to simulate the plasma system for which a reductive perturbation technique is applied to derive the relevant damped Korteweg–de Vries equation. The effects of spectral indices, collision frequency, ion-electron temperature ratios, and density on the time evolution of perturbed potential profile have been illustrated and benchmarked with Boltzmann distributed electrons. It is observed that the nonthermal population significantly affects the soliton amplitude, which increases with r and q. Furthermore, it also grows with electron density and ion temperature; however, there is a in the slowing down rate in the case of the latter. An increase in the collision frequency leads to faster damping in both the amplitude and speed of the solitary potential profiles. This work will be useful in the determination of plasma dynamics for pair-ion plasma systems containing nonthermal electrons, especially with flat-topped distribution functions, e.g., as found in Earth's magnetosheath and magnetotail, as well as in laboratory experiments with the fullerene plasma. To the best of our knowledge, a general description for pair ion plasmas using (r, q) distribution has never been reported. This study can explore a huge variety of velocity distribution functions—via the two index nonthermal parameters, in contrast to single index counterparts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The use of national research databases has become more prevalent for studying various neurosurgical diseases. Despite the advantages of using large databases to glean clinical insight, variation remains in the methodology and reporting among studies. Using STROBE and RECORD guidelines, we evaluated the quality of reporting of the database literature investigating surgical management of benign pituitary adenomas. In this systematic review of the PubMed/MEDLINE database, we identified studies employing large national research databases of patients who underwent surgery for benign pituitary adenoma. We evaluated each of these studies using the STROBE-RECORD reporting guideline criteria to assess their quality. A total of 42 studies from 2003 to 2020 were identified for inclusion. The two raters demonstrated a κ = 0.228 with 84% overall agreement. Commonly underreported criteria included bias (discussed in 56% of studies), main result reporting (70%), subgroup analysis (69%), generalizability (68%), and funding (57%). These factors, in addition to the data sources/measurement criteria, also had the largest discrepancies between reviewers. About 20% of administrative database reviews did not accurately address bias or control for confounding variables. We found frequent underreporting of crucial information and criteria that can be challenging to identify may limit large database studies of pituitary adenomas. Improved reporting of certain criteria is critical to optimize reader understanding of large database studies. This would allow better dissemination and implementation of study findings, especially as the use of these research tools increases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: Here, we report the eco-friendly synthesis and antitumor potential of the imidazole hybrids of pyrimidine. The results showed that all the compounds possess excellent inhibition of tumors, promoting enzymes hCA-IX and hCA-II. Furthermore, the selectivity index showed that compounds 7, 10, and 11 are selective inhibitors of hCA-IX, while compound 2 is a selective inhibitor of hCA-IX. More importantly, all the active inhibitors are toxic to the breast cancer cell line and non-cytotoxic for the normal breast cell line. These compounds would be a suitable choice to investigate in the in vivo models to check their efficacy against these particular targets. These newly identified human carbonic anhydrase inhibitors have potential to be considered as therapeutic leads for the treatment of CA-related diseases, especially for breast and lung tumors and glaucoma. Furthermore, lead optimization and preclinical and clinical investigations of these compounds are necessary to develop potential drug entities for the treatment of cancer. Imidazole-based pyrimidine hybrids are considered a remarkable class of compounds in pharmaceutical chemistry. Here, we report the anticancer bioactivities of eleven imidazole-based pyrimidine hybrids (1–11) that specifically target cytosolic carbonic anhydrase (CAs) isoenzymes, including human CA-II and human CA-IX (hCA-II, and hCA-IX). A highly eco-friendly aqueous approach was used for the formation of a carbon–carbon bond by reacting aromatic nitro group substitution of nitroimidazoles with carbon nucleophiles. The in vitro results indicate that this new class of compounds (1–11) includes significant inhibitors of hCA IX with IC50 values in the range of 9.6 ± 0.2–32.2 ± 1.0 µM, while hCA II showed IC50 values in range of 11.6 ± 0.2–31.1 ± 1.3 µM. Compound 2 (IC50 = 12.3 ± 0.1 µM) showed selective inhibition for hCA-II while 7, 8, and 10 (IC50 = 9.6–32.2 µM) were selective for hCA-IX. The mechanism of action was investigated through in vitro kinetics studies that revealed that compounds 7, 3, 11, 10, 4, and 9 for CA-IX and 1, 2, and 11 for CA-II are competitive inhibitors with dissociation constant (Ki) in the range of 7.32–17.02 µM. Furthermore, the in situ cytotoxicity of these compounds was investigated in the human breast cancer cell line MDA-MB-231 and compared with the normal human breast cell line, MCF-10A. Compound 5 showed excellent anticancer/cytotoxic activity in MDA-MB-231 with no toxicity to the normal breast cells. In addition, in silico molecular docking was employed to predict the binding mechanism of active compounds with their targets. This in silico observation aligned with our experimental results. Our findings signify that imidazole-based hybrids could be a useful choice to design anticancer agents for breast and lung tumors, or antiglaucoma compounds, by specific inhibition of carbonic anhydrases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Designing of nonlinear confusion component of block cipher is one of the most important and inevitable research problem. Nowadays mostly heuristic search schemes were utilized for the construction of these confusion component. To construct, a cryptographically secure confusion component several algebraic structures were utilized. The thirst for new algebraic structure for the construction of these nonlinear confusion component has always been a point of interest. In this communication, we have utilized a maximal cyclic subgroup of unit of Galois ring. The offered algorithm is more general as compared to Galois field. The class of Boolean functions over Galois ring fall in mixed category which are not completely balanced. Boolean functions having higher nonlinearity and others cryptographic aspects added an inevitable significance in the construction of modern block ciphers. The primary idea of this article is to structure non-balanced Boolean functions on n variables, where n is an even integer, sustaining strict avalanche criterion (SAC) and bit independent criterion (BIC). By comparing SAC with available cryptographic Boolean functions, the constructed multivalued Boolean function acquire highest nonlinearity which does not follow the existing nonlinearity bound of Boolean functions. These newly proposed S-boxes consists of n basic Boolean functions which satisfy the balancedness and non-balancedness criterion. Therefore, these S-box structure lies within a less balanced and more bent Boolean function categories. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The nonlinear characteristics of dust‐ion‐acoustic shock waves (DIASHWs) in a plasma consisting of charge‐fluctuating dust, inertial ions, and non‐Maxwellian electrons is examined. In particular, the electron velocity distribution function (VDF) is assumed to follow Kappa and Cairns distributions. In this regard, a reductive perturbation (RP) approach (in a weakly nonlinear limit) is used to derive the corresponding Burger's equation, and, from its solution, the effects of various physical parameters, for example, non‐thermal indices, number density, and temperature ratios, on the properties of shock waves are investigated. It is observed that the magnitude of the shock reduces as ion‐electron temperature ratio increases and vice versa. Furthermore, when the ion to electron (equilibrium) density ratio increases, the shock profile gets steepened. The resultant potential amplitude as well as the shock width is also shown to be strongly related to the spectral indices, namely κ and α in the case of Kappa‐ and Cairns‐distributed electrons, respectively. Hence, the potential distribution is strongly affected by the non‐thermal nature of the electron VDF. The relevant Maxwellian results are recovered in the limiting cases, namely κ → ∞ and α → 0. The present study will be useful in understanding the nonlinear propagation of DIASHWs in non‐thermal (space and laboratory) plasmas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This document is a retraction note for an article titled "A novel image encryption technique based on Hénon chaotic map and S8 symmetric group." The article has been retracted by the editor-in-chief and the publisher due to concerns raised during an investigation. These concerns include citations that do not support the claims made in the text, non-standard phrasing, and image irregularities. The author, Majid Khan, disagrees with the retraction. The original article can still be found online. [Extracted from the article]

This document is a retraction note for an article titled "A copyright protection using watermarking scheme based on nonlinear permutation and its quality metrics." The article has been retracted by the editor-in-chief and the publisher due to concerns found during an investigation, including unsupported citations, non-standard phrasing, and image irregularities. The author Majid Khan disagrees with the retraction, and the publisher has been unable to contact the other author, Tariq Shah. Springer Nature, the publisher, remains neutral regarding jurisdictional claims and institutional affiliations. The original article can still be found online. [Extracted from the article]

This document is a retraction note for an article titled "An efficient chaotic image encryption scheme." The article has been retracted by the editor-in-chief and the publisher due to concerns raised during an investigation. These concerns include citations that do not support the claims made in the text, non-standard phrasing, and image irregularities. The editor-in-chief no longer has confidence in the results and conclusions of the article. The author Majid Khan disagrees with the retraction, and the publisher has been unable to contact the other author, Tariq Shah. Springer Nature, the publisher, remains neutral regarding jurisdictional claims and institutional affiliations. [Extracted from the article]

This document is a retraction note for an article titled "Construction of S-box based on chaotic Boolean functions and its application in image encryption." The article has been retracted by the editor-in-chief and the publisher due to concerns found during an investigation, including unsupported citations, non-standard phrasing, and image irregularities. The author Majid Khan disagrees with the retraction, and the publisher has been unable to contact the other authors. The original article can still be found online. [Extracted from the article]

There is no reason to deny the fact that no other civilization of the world could boast so vast a store of literary historical sources as the Islamic civilization. The striking thing in the colossal growth of historical works is the rapidity of its development. In every era incredible and important work on life of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) is done. Some of the ancient and well-known biography on the life of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) written by Muslim scholars. The aim of conducting the work is that the rarest work vanish with the passage of time and current generation is unaware of these tresise. Apart from it, these manuscripts are available in some of the world well known libraries but they are locked in restricted collection. It is need of the day that the rare manuscripts on Life of the Prophet (PBUH) translated to local languages, reprinted and available in print and online languages and part of curriculum. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The generalized (r, q) velocity distribution function (VDF) is used to describe the quasineutral region of the basic bounded plasma as presented by Tonks and Langmuir. In this regard, the electrons are assumed to follow the (r, q) VDF, and the ions are assumed to be produced as a result of electron-impact ionization of cold neutrals. The plasma approximation is used to calculate the corresponding ion VDF, as well as the ion density, temperature and polytropic coefficient, as affected by the nonthermal indices r and q. The obtained results correspond to the Maxwellian counterparts in proper limits. The present work will be useful in fusion devices where non-Maxwellian electrons may exist due to various physical phenomena. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The power function distribution is a flexible waiting time model that may provide better fit for some failure data. This paper presents the Bayes estimates of two-parameter power function distribution under progressive censoring. Different progressive censoring schemes have been used for the analysis. The Bayes estimates are obtained, using conjugate priors, under five loss functions including square error, precautionary, weighted, LINEX, and DeGroot loss function. The Gibbs sampling algorithm and Tierney and Kadane's Approximation are used for the Bayes estimates of model parameters, reliability function, and stress-strength reliability. The comparison of the Bayes estimates is considered through the root mean squared errors. One real-life dataset is analyzed to illustrate the applications of proposed estimates. The results from the simulation study and real data analysis suggest that the Bayes estimation was more efficient for the progressive censoring schemes with all the withdrawals at the time of first failure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The statistical performance of parametric control charts is questionable when the underlying process does not follow any specified probability distribution. Nonparametric control charts are the best substitute for this situation. On the other hand, the ranked set sampling technique is preferred over the simple random sampling technique because it reduces the variability of process parameters and improves the control chart's performance. This study aims to offer a nonparametric double homogeneously weighted moving average control chart under Wilcoxon signed-rank test considering the ranked set sampling technique (regarded as NPDHWMA RSS ), to further enhance the process location monitoring. The proposed chart's run-length performance is compared with competing control charts, such as DEWMA- X ¯ , NPDEWMA-SR, NPRDEWMA-SR, DHWMA, and NPHWMA RSS control charts. The comparison revealed that the proposed NPDHWMA RSS control chart outperformed the other competing control charts, particularly for small to moderate shifts in process location. Finally, a real-life application is also offered for quality practitioners to show the strength of the proposed control chart. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Experimental and numerical approaches have their own advantages and limitations, in particular, when dealing with complex phenomena such as snow particles falling at moderate Reynolds numbers (Re). Time-resolved, three-dimensional particle tracking velocimetry (4D-PTV) experiments of free-falling, three-dimensional (3D)-printed snowflakes' analogs shed light on the elaborate falling dynamics of irregular snow particles but present a lower resolution (tracer seeding density) and a limited field of view (domain size) to fully capture the wake flow. Delayed-detached eddy simulations of fixed snow particles do not realistically represent all the physics of a falling ice particle, especially for cases with unsteady falling attitudes, but accurately predict the drag coefficient and capture the wake characteristics for steadily falling snowflakes. In this work, we compare both approaches on time- and space-averaged flow quantities in the snowflake wake. First, we cross validate the two approaches for low Re cases, where close agreement of the wake features is expected, and second, we assess how strongly the unsteady falling motion perturbs the average wake pattern as compared to a fixed particle at higher Re. For steadily falling snowflakes, the fixed-particle model can properly represent the wake flow with errors within the experimental uncertainty (±15%). At moderate/high Re (unsteady falling motion), larger differences are present. Applying a co-moving frame to the experimental data to account for the particle movement or filtering the numerical data on larger grids reduces these differences only to some extent, implying that an unsteady fall significantly alters the average wake structure as compared to a fixed particle model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In high‐quality processes, non‐conforming events rarely occur, and the time between events (TBE) is more likely to follow a skewed distribution, such as gamma distribution. This paper proposes a gamma distribution‐based one‐sided homogeneously weighted moving average control chart for monitoring the TBE. The proposed control chart is known as the HWMA_TBE control chart. The HWMA_TBE control chart monitors the downward shifts in the process, that is, a decrease in inter‐arrival time that can lead to the process deterioration. The Monte Carlo simulation approach is used to compute specific performance indicators, such as average run length (ARL${\rm{ARL}}$), standard deviation run length (SDRL)$({{\rm{SDRL}}})$, extra quadratic loss (EQL${\rm{EQL}}$), relative average run length (RARL${\rm{RARL}}$), and performance comparison index (PCI${\rm{PCI}}$). Based on these performance indicators, the HWMA_TBE control chart is compared to some competing control charts. The comparison suggests that the HWMA_TBE control chart is more efficient than the competing control charts. Moreover, this paper also investigates the robustness of the HWMA_TBE control chart, which indicates that the HWMA_TBE control chart is more robust than the competing control charts. In the end, two examples are provided, one with boring machine failure data and the other with breast cancer survival data, to evaluate the implementation of the HWMA_TBE control chart for practical situations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Monitoring time between events (TBE${\rm{TBE}}$) is an essential aspect of the high‐yield processes where the events of interest rarely occur. This study proposes a one‐sided scheme of a hybrid exponentially weighted moving average (HEWMA) chart for monitoring TBE${\rm{TBE}}$, where it is assumed that the TBE${\rm{TBE}}$ observations follow a gamma distribution. This chart is symbolized as the HEWMATBE${\rm{HEWM}}{{\rm{A}}_{{\rm{TBE}}}}$ chart. The HEWMATBE${\rm{HEWM}}{{\rm{A}}_{{\rm{TBE}}}}$ chart detects the downward shift, that is, a decrease in the interarrival times that can lead to a deterioration of the process. A simulation study is carried out for the numerical results, and one‐sided HEWMATBE${\rm{HEWM}}{{\rm{A}}_{{\rm{TBE}}}}$ chart is evaluated along with one‐sided triple EWMA${\rm{EWMA}}$ (TEWMATBE)${\rm{TEWM}}{{\rm{A}}_{{\rm{TBE}}}})$, double EWMA${\rm{EWMA}}$(DEWMATBE)${\rm{(DEWM}}{{\rm{A}}_{{\rm{TBE}}}})$, EWMA${\rm{EWMA}}$(EWMATBE)${\rm{(EWM}}{{\rm{A}}_{{\rm{TBE}}}})$, double GWMA${\rm{GWMA}}$(DGWMATBE)${\rm{(DGWM}}{{\rm{A}}_{{\rm{TBE}}}})$, and GWMA${\rm{GWMA}}$(GWMATBE)${\rm{(GWM}}{{\rm{A}}_{{\rm{TBE}}}})$ charts. The results show that the one‐sided HEWMATBE${\rm{HEWM}}{{\rm{A}}_{{\rm{TBE}}}}$ chart outperforms its rivals, particularly in the case of small‐to‐moderate downward shifts. Moreover, this study also investigated the robustness of the HEWMATBE${\rm{HEWM}}{{\rm{A}}_{{\rm{TBE}}}}$ chart, where the true distribution of the TBE${\rm{TBE}}$ observations is assumed to be Weibull or lognormal, and it is found that the HEWMATBE${\rm{HEWM}}{{\rm{A}}_{{\rm{TBE}}}}$ chart is reasonably robust. Finally, two examples are given to demonstrate how to use the HEWMATBE${\rm{HEWM}}{{\rm{A}}_{{\rm{TBE}}}}$ chart in real‐world situations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The complex interplay between thrust wedge deformation, tectonically-induced fluid overpressures, and the complex phases of wedge-top sedimentary depositional systems in active plate convergent margins presents a formidable challenge. The offshore Makran accretionary wedge (MAW) is the world's largest, formed by the convergence of Arabian plate underneath Eurasian plate in the Early Cretaceous, followed by Middle Miocene renewed subduction. In this research, geological and geophysical constraints derived from seismic and borehole stratigraphy, seismic attributes, depth structural maps, isopach maps and 3D structural geological models reveal that Middle Miocene renewed subduction controls thrust wedge deformation. Additionally, it influences deep fluid overpressure and the deformational pattern of wedge-top sedimentary depositional systems. The seismic data analysis suggested that the basement pre-kinematic Himalayan turbidities depositional system (HTDs) have been tectonically incorporated into the accretionary wedge by Middle Miocene renewed subduction, which gave rise to complex folding and N-dipping imbricate thrusting features. These N-dipping imbricate thrust faults initiated sediment underplating and served as major structural pathways for deep fluid overpressure migration, resulting in the formation of fluid escape pipes. The fluid escape pipes exhibit conical and bifurcating geometries with inclination angles of approximately 73°, 90°, and 100°, signifying the upward migration of deep overpressured fluids. Furthermore, the Middle Miocene to Pliocene syn-kinematic piggyback and growth depositional system (PGDs) show progressive thickening (Max ∼3600 m) towards onshore MAW. It lies unconformable above the pre-kinematic HTDs and carries valuable sedimentation records, growth stratal patterns, onlap terminations, and truncations against growing structures, revealed the timing and spatial deformation of thrust faults in 3D space. In contrast, the Pleistocene to Recent post-kinematic progradational depositional system (PDs) exhibits clinoforms marked by top-lapping, on-lapping, and down-lapping reflection, which are primarily controlled by sediment recycling dynamics and sea level change since Pleistocene. It shows progressive thickening (Max ∼1800m) towards the Makran subduction zone and lies unconformably above the syn-kinematic PGDs. Abridging the analyses, the tectonic reconstruction and deformation mechanisms model shows four phases, e.g. (1) initiation of subduction and accretionary wedge formation in Eocene, (2) N-dipping imbricate thrust faults and deep fluid overpressure triggered by Middle Miocene renewed subduction, (3) development of piggyback basins and growth stratal geometries in Middle Miocene to Pliocene, (4) thrust deformation ceases and development of progradational depositional system. • Pioneer findings on Middle Miocene renewed Arabian-Eurasian plates subduction. • Tectonically induced fluid overpressures, and thick wedge-top sedimentary depositional systems identified.. • Syn-kinematic PGDs preserve valuable sedimentation records, growth stratal patterns, and onlap terminations against developing structures. • Stratigraphic architecture of post-kinematic PDs controlled by sediment recycling and sea-level changes. • Deep fluid overpressure sourced from rapid underplated sediments and high sedimentation rate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Postoperative bowel complications after non-shunt-related neurosurgical procedures are relatively rare. In an effort to identify the primary risk factors, we evaluated postoperative bowel complications in cranial, endovascular, and spinal procedures in neurosurgery patients using our own institutional case series along with a literature review. We identified severe postoperative bowel complications that occurred at our institution after non-shunt-related neurosurgical procedures between July 2016 and December 2018. We also completed a systematic review of PubMed/MEDLINE using search terms related to bowel complications. At our institution, 7 patients (average age 49.7 ± 9.5 years, range 34–60; no apparent sex predilection) had severe postoperative bowel complications after undergoing a total of 10 neurosurgical procedures. Diagnosis was on average 1 week postoperatively (range 5–13 days), and the time between radiographic/clinical diagnosis and either surgery or death was 1.3 ± 1.4 days (range 0–4 days). Bowel perforation occurred in 4 patients. Five of the patients died, 3 as a direct result of the bowel complication. In the literature review, we identified 6487 spine and 66 cranial and/or endovascular bowel complications after neurosurgical procedures. Our case series and literature review demonstrate that severe postoperative bowel complications after non-shunt-related neurosurgical procedures, while rare, carry significant morbidity/mortality despite prompt and aggressive management. These can also happen without direct injury to bowel tissue, instead occurring as sequelae of inflammatory processes, as well as from delayed mobility, extended use of opiate narcotics, and lack of standardized protocols to ensure early bowel movements that likely stems from unfamiliarity with this potentially devastating complication. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Hepatitis B Virus (HBV) is one of the most common human infectious agents, and the mutations in its genome may cause chronic hepatitis (CH), liver cirrhosis (LC), and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). This study was designed to characterize the enhancer-II (Enh-II) region of X gene in HBV positive patients to assess the association of such mutations with CH, LC, and HCC. Methods: HBV positive samples (N = 200) with patients' demographic and clinical data were collected from different regions of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), Pakistan. The Enh-II region of the HBx gene was sequenced and zanalyzed for polymorphism associated with advanced liver disease. Univariate and logistic regression analyses were performed to evaluate potent mutations associated with a risk for LC and HCC. Results: HBV Enh-II region sequences analysis revealed 25 different mutations. The highest frequency of mutations S101F (62.2%), A102V/R/G/I (56.25%), M103L/A (68.75%)were found in HCC, followed in LC and CH patients as 57.1%, 42.8%, 28.52% 16%, 15.2% and 18.4% respectively. H94 deletion in the α-box of the Enh-II region, associated with a high risk of HCC was found in half of the HCC patients. This deletion was present in 28.5% of LC and 6.5% of CH patients. Importantly, the high frequency of some notable mutations such as E109A/Y, A110S/K, Y111D/E, and F112L was first time reported in the entire study population. The frequencies of these mutations were high in HCC (43.75%, 37.5%, 50% and 43.75% respectively) as compared to LC (14.28%, 14.28%, 28.2% and 42.8%) and CH patients (12.8%, 15.2%, 16.8% and 16% respectively). Conclusion: Mutations associated with LC and HCC are prevalent in the Enh-II region in Pakistani HBV isolates. The mutations found are alarming in CH patients as these may progress to LC and HCC in a large number of patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We have investigated the global hemispheric differences in thermospheric ∑O/N 2 and its impact on the ionospheric total electron content (TEC) at mid- and low-latitudes. Four intense storms of solar cycle 24 (SC-24) have been considered, three of them occurred in Spring equinox and one in Summer solstice season. It is found that the mid-latitudes region has exhibited a large decrease in ∑O/N 2 during all the phases of the storms under consideration, which corresponds well to the observed negative storm effects. This decrease is directly related with the storm intensity. The maximum reduction in the ∑O/N 2 is observed for the St. Patrick day storm of 2015 (which was the most intense geomagnetic storm of SC-24), whereas the respective minimum decrease is found for the storm of April 2012. Strong hemispheric asymmetries, in ∑O/N 2 variation, have been observed at the mid-latitudes sector, and can be associated with the asymmetric energy input as indicated by polar cap (PC) indices. The high speed solar winds streams (HSSWs) during the recovery phases of March 2013 and 2015 storms have caused a significant reduction in ∑O/N 2 at mid-latitudes, which could not be reproduced by the coupled thermosphere-ionosphere-plasmasphere electrodynamics (CTIPe) model. On the other hand the low-latitudes region depicts an enhancement in ∑O/N 2 during all the storms except for the early recovery phases. The positive storm effect at low-latitudes agrees well with this ∑O/N 2 increase, thus indicating that the composition change is one of the major drivers of TEC enhancement at low-latitudes. The CTIPe model showed discrepancies in reproducing the satellite data for all the considered storms, especially during the recovery phases. Furthermore, the model is failed to replicate the hemispheric asymmetries at low and mid-latitudes during the main and early recovery phases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Regional seismic data with deep wells information has been used to interpret the depositional setting of Miocene sediments in the Offshore Indus Basin, Pakistan. The current study has implications for understanding the complex subsurface geology of the Offshore Indus Basin, Pakistan. Two seismic profiles were selected to interpret the sedimentary packages within the Miocene sediments. The interpreted seismic data showed four different recognizable system tracts in the Miocene sediments. These include Lowstand, Highstand and Falling Stage System Tracts. The sedimentary packages differ in regional setup depending on the location within the offshore basin. The eastern part (as highlighted by seismic Profile-2 and Profile-3) exhibits more complex sedimentary geometries in comparison to western part (as highlighted by seismic Profile-1). The earlier deposition is controlled by lowstand settings when the sea-level dropped below the shelf margin leading to incision over the shelf. This led to the deposition of Lowstand fan systems. This was followed by a rise in sea-level leading the way for the carbonate deposition over the shelf. An intermittent unconformity is identified by another set of lowstand fans and truncation patterns. This unconformity halted the carbonate deposition over the shelf and transported the sediments to the basin floor. Later, rise in sea-level resumed the carbonate deposition over the shelf. Another sea-level drop is noticed and sediments are interpreted to be moving towards the basin leading to a Falling Stage System Tract and easily identified by regressive onlaps. This unconformity is more pronounced towards east where it eroded the carbonates. Downlaps seen above this unconformity confirm the deepening conditions leading the way for the deposition of finer sediments. Further drop in sea-level is seen leading the way for coarse sediment deposition. We believe that this study would provide strong support for researching global passive margins from economic perspective as well as understanding complex depositional framework. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Privacy of information is one of the most important and unavoidable issues in our digitally advance era. A huge amount of information transmitted over different servers and networking protocols. The sphere of digitally advanced world is tied with information in different forms of facilitations, which includes online banking systems, ecommerce and many more. Providing the ease of access, anything online makes our confidential information open to different threats. Therefore, to enjoy ease of access and at the same time secure our digital information from theft, we need a robust information security system. In this article, we have designed a novel and an efficient security system, which provides secrecy to our digital information. The designed encryption scheme is fundamentally a combination of chaos and nonlinear confusion components. We have developed a new mechanism of adding confusion, namely S 8 permutation of double affine transformation to construct 40320 new substitution boxes (S-boxes) having nonlinearity 112 from a single S-box. Moreover, nonlinear Lorenz dynamical system is utilized to select any three S-boxes from 40320 newly generated nonlinear components. To add diffusion in our proposed algorithm, we have utilized Chirikov discrete iterative map. The excellence of an offered digital image encryption has been examined and evaluated with standard benchmarks. The simulation results reveal that the quality of the image encryption passes all these tests and is comparable to current benchmarks. • Privacy of information is one of the most important and unavoidable issues in our digitally advance era. • A huge amount of information transmitted over different servers and networking protocols. • The sphere of digitally advanced world is tied with information in different forms of facilitations, which includes online banking systems, ecommerce and many more. • In this article, we have designed a novel and an efficient security system, which provides secrecy to our digital information. • We have developed a new mechanism of adding confusion, namely S8 permutation of double affine transformation to construct 40320 new substitution boxes (S-boxes) having nonlinearity 112 from a single S-box. • To add diffusion in our proposed algorithm, we have utilized Chirikov discrete dynamical system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The strength of any block cipher depends on the key size, total number of rounds and the strength of confusion component against differential cryptanalysis. Data encryption standard (DES) as a block cipher has enjoyed a worldwide acceptance for more than three decades. It is a symmetric block cipher and considered to be very strong against all known attacks at that time. It uses 64-bit key size and block size, but the advancement in technology results in increasing the speed of the computers and thus makes DES not secure any more. The shorter key size is the weak area of DES. In this article, we have increased the block size as well as the key size from 64 to 128 bits. The internal structure of our proposed mechanism ultimately changed all other components of DES accordingly. By this improvement, our anticipated scheme is more secure due to its robust due to its confusion and diffusion components. The algorithm is applied on the plain text and on images. We have performed the standard benchmarks statistical analyses on our suggested encryption scheme in order to authenticate the anticipated mechanism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The use of digital contents has increased tremendously in this modern era. In fact, people spend more time on internet than ever which urged the computer scientists and mathematicians to develop new techniques for data security during transmission and when data is at rest. To cover a digital content is not a one-size-fits all type solution, in fact it requires multiple techniques. In this article we have used elliptic curves, finite state machines, Pauli spin half matrices for image encryption. Elliptic curve discrete log problem makes it difficult for the adversary to extract any information about the key. To authenticate the robustness of the system against cryptographic attacks several statistical analyses are performed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

No established standard of care currently exists for the postoperative management of patients with surgically resected pituitary adenomas. Our objective was to quantify the efficacy of a postoperative stepdown unit protocol for reducing patient cost. In 2018–2020, consecutive patients undergoing transsphenoidal microsurgical resection of sellar lesions were managed postoperatively in the full intensive care unit (ICU) or an ICU-based surgical stepdown unit based on preset criteria. Demographic variables, surgical outcomes, and patient costs were evaluated. Fifty-four patients (27 stepdown, 27 full ICU; no difference in age or sex) were identified. Stepdown patients were also compared with 634 historical control patients. The total hospital length of stay was no different among stepdown, ICU, and historical patients (4.8 ± 1.0 vs. 5.9 ± 2.8 vs. 4.4 ± 4.3 days, respectively, P = 0.1). Overall costs were 12.5% less for stepdown patients (P = 0.01), a difference mainly driven by reduced facility utilization costs of –8.9% (P = 0.02). The morbidity and complication rates were similar in the stepdown and full ICU groups. Extrapolation of findings to historical patients suggested that ∼$225,000 could have been saved from 2011 to 2016. These results suggest that use of a postoperative stepdown unit could result in a 12.5% savings for eligible patients undergoing treatment of pituitary tumors by shifting patients to a less acute unit without worsened surgical outcomes. Historical controls indicate that over half of all pituitary patients would be eligible. Further refinement of patient selection for less costly perioperative management may reduce cost burden for the health care system and patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recently many substitution box based encryption algorithms ensuring privacy have been proposed. Many, chaotic map based S-boxes have been generated posing high nonlinearity and strong cryptographic properties. Encryption schemes depending on the substitution box (S-box) only are weak and easily breakable with the help of chosen plaintext and ciphertext attacks. In this work, we have completely cryptanalyzed S-box based encryption scheme successfully by two types of attacks. Cryptanalysis in both types of attacks is performed by only one selected image. Moreover, we have suggested some improvements in the algorithm to defeat attacks. • Recently many substitution box-based encryption algorithms ensuring privacy have been proposed. • Many, chaotic map-based substitution boxes (S-boxes) have been generated posing high nonlinearity and strong cryptographic properties. • Encryption schemes depending on the substitution box (S-box) only are weak and easily breakable with the help of chosen plaintext and ciphertext attacks. • In this work, we have completely cryptanalyzed S-box based encryption scheme successfully by two types of attacks. • Cryptanalysis in both types of attacks is performed by only one selected image. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article, we have designed a new scheme for the construction of the nonlinear confusion component. Our mechanism uses the notion of a semigroup, Inverse LA-semigroup, and various other loops. With the help of these mathematical structures, we can easily build our confusion component namely substitution boxes (S-boxes) without having specialized structures. We authenticate our proposed methodology by incorporating the available cryptographic benchmarks. Moreover, we have utilized the technique for order of preference by similarity to ideal solution (TOPSIS) to select the best nonlinear confusion component. With the aid of this multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM), one can easily select the best possible confusion component while selecting among various available nonlinear confusion components. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Boris numerical scheme due to its long-time stability, accuracy and conservative properties has been widely applied in many studies of magnetized plasmas. Such algorithms conserve the phase space volume and hence provide accurate charge particle orbits. However, this algorithm does not conserve the energy in some special electromagnetic configurations, particularly for long simulation times. Here, we empirically analyze the energy behavior of Boris algorithm by applying it to a 2D autonomous Hamiltonian. The energy behavior of the Boris method is found to be strongly related to the integrability of our Hamiltonian system. We find that if the invariant tori is preserved under Boris discretization, the energy error can be bounded for an exponentially long time, otherwise the said error will show a linear growth. On the contrary, for a non-integrable Hamiltonian system, a random walk pattern has been observed in the energy error. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Developments in sensors and communication technology lead to the emergence of smart communities where diverse collaborative applications can be enabled. One such application is the Smart Market Place (SMP), where participants of the smart community can trade resources, such as energy, internet bandwidth, water, etc., using a virtual currency (such as ether). However, most of the existing SMP trading models are proposed to trade a single resource and also restrict a participant to perform only a single transaction at a time. Restriction on multiple parallel transactions is imposed to protect the participants against the double-spending attack in the SMP. This work proposes a secure multi-resource trading (SMRT) model that is based on public Ethereum blockchain. SMRT allows participant of a SMP to trade multiple resources and initiate parallel transactions. Moreover, detailed security analysis and adversary model are presented to test the effectiveness and to assess the resilience of the proposed model against the double-spending attack. The adversary model is based on partial progress towards block production which is influenced by time advantage and average computing power. Furthermore, simulation based analysis and comparison of SMRT is also presented in terms of security, performance, cost and latency of transactions. It is observed that SMRT not only provides protection against the double spending attack, but it also reduces the computational overhead of the proposed model up to 50% as compared to existing trading models. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nyctanthes arbor-tristis Linn. has been used by Ayruvedic physicians for the cure of different diseases including ulcers, gastric and inflammatory diseases. To isolate and identify compounds from this source and investigate their therapeutic potential for the treatment of gastric ulcer and related disorders. The ethanol extract of fresh aerial parts of N. arbor-tristis was used in the present studies which was subjected to a bio-assay guided fractionation followed by chromatographic separations. The structures of pure compounds were elucidated using various spectroscopic techniques. The inhibition of urease enzyme was evaluated by weatherburn indophenol method. Molecular docking studies were determined by using Molecular Operating Environment (MOE) version 2020.0901 version. The intracellular ROS production from phagocytes was determined by chemiluminescence assay and NO generation was detected by Griess method. The proinflammatory cytokine TNF-α was quantified by ELISA. Cytotoxic activity was assessed by MTT assay. One previously undescribed iridoid glycoside arborside F (1) and four known iridoid glycosides arborside A (2), arborside C (3), loganin (4) and 7- O-trans -cinnamoyl-6 β -hydroxyloganin (5) were isolated and characterized in the present studies and their urease inhibitory activity was determined. Among these, 2 and 5 showed strong urease inhibition (IC 50 = 12.1 ± 1.74 and 14.1 ± 0.59 μM respectively) (standard acetohydroxamic acid IC 50 = 20.3 ± 0.42 μM), whereas rest of compounds showed moderate to low inhibition. Kinetic studies revealed that compounds 2 and 5 possess competitive type of inhibition. Molecular docking showed polar and non-polar interactions of compounds 2 and 5 with urease enzyme residues. Compounds 2 and 3 showed inhibition of ROS from whole blood (IC 50 = 1.6 ± 0.3 and 2.5 ± 0.09 μg/mL respectively) and PMNs (IC 50 = 1.5 ± 0.03 and 1.4 ± 0.0 μg/mL respectively). Compound 2 significantly inhibited nitric oxide and proinflammatory cytokine TNF-α (IC 50 = 18.2 ± 3.0 and 73.8 ± 6.6 μg/mL respectively). Compounds 1 , 4 and 5 were inactive on ROS. All isolated compounds were non-toxic on normal mouse fibroblasts (NIH-3T3) cells. The ethno pharmacological repute of N. arbor-tristis in treating gastric and anti-inflammatory ailments is supported by present studies which resulted in isolation of a potent urease inhibitory and anti-inflammatory agent arborside A (2) a potential anti-ulcer and anti-inflammatory drug lead. [Display omitted] • Bioguided fractionation, isolation and structure elucidation of urease inhibitory and anti-inflammatory compounds from Nyctanthes arbor-tristis Linn. • Urease inhibitory and anti-inflammatory potential of iridoid glycosides. • Compounds arborside A and arborside C modulate urease enzyme, oxidative species and inflammatory cytokines. • Arborside A showed anti-inflammatory effect by inhibiting ROS, PMNs, NO and TNF-α. • Arborside C showed anti-inflammatory effect by inhibiting ROS, PMNs and NO. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Determination of new engineering parameter as prediction indicator. • Regional minefield geological response and deformation mechanism are revealed. • A robust and cost-effective workflow for dynamic disaster identification. • Integration of traditional and new rockburst prediction indicators. Due to seismic load, complex geological and geo-mechanical conditions of rock mass in Steeply Inclined and Extremely Thick Coal Seam (SIETCS) mines, the prediction and prevention of dynamic disasters remain quite challenging. Traditionally, physical models and numerical simulations are widely practiced for disaster prediction at shallow depths which becomes difficult in SIETCS mines. The drilling tests and above models are generally time-consuming and uneconomic providing miniature coverage. Whilst, rockburst driven disasters require detailed regional geological understanding and mechanical behavior of rock mass. For this purpose, a non-invasive and cost-effective geophysical workflow covering regional-scale geology is introduced for accurate identification and prediction of rockburst in a SIETCS mine of northwestern China. Passive seismological in-situ observations were made for a period of twenty-four months to compute the seismic source parameters, map fracturing process, identify regional lineaments and calculate important rockburst prediction indicators. The spatiotemporal distribution of induced-microseismicity, three-states stress theory, and mapped fractures helped in the identification of three rockbursts, several high-energy tremors, and the prediction of two new rockburst-prone regions. The mapped fractures through the novel 'Seismo-Frac model' showed that for the simultaneous excavation in B3 + 6 and B2 + 1 coal seams subjected to repetitive episodes of seismic deformation, the shear-displacement accumulation, prying effects of rock pillar and roof coupled with dynamic stress are the primary mode of deformation. The mapped fractures and lineaments are unevenly distributed in the minefield with a maximum density of the fractures concentrated in the B3 + 6 coal seam and rock pillar. Furthermore, through conditional probability analysis, the prediction efficiency of source parameter averages (E and N), seismological parameters (b-value and Δb), and maximum potential magnitude (M m) was compared. A sharp-increase in source parameter averages while a sharp-decrease in the seismological parameters proved to be effective rockburst prediction indicators. This study also introduces decreasing occurrence frequency of fractures and lineaments as the new prediction indicators. This method, while a panacea for imaging the entire fracturing phenomenon, provides insights with widespread implications for academic researchers and industry practitioners to mitigate dynamic disasters in global underground engineering excavation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]