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Lead is considered one of the most prevalent environmental and biologically hazardous toxicants among metallic elements. It severely affects human health and especially the male reproductive system by causing reproductive organ dysfunction leading to infertility. Natural dietary antioxidants are studied for their ability to ameliorate the cells' miscellaneous damage. The current study was designed to explore the effect of Vitis vinifera (Linn.) (grape) seed extract (GSE) on lead acetate (LA)‐induced oxidative damage on testis and sperm quality in rats. Twenty‐four male Wistar rats were allocated into four equal groups. Group I received distilled water; Group II received LA 50 mg/kg body weight (Bw); Group III received LA 50 mg/kg + GSE 200 mg/kg Bw; and Group IV received LA 50 mg/kg + GSE 400 mg/kg Bw (orally once a day for 28 days). After 28 days, levels of malondialdehyde (MDA), superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), glutathione peroxidase (GPx), and reduced glutathione (GSH) were estimated in the testicular tissue. The cauda of the epididymis was used to study the characteristics of the sperm, such as sperm count, motility, viability, tail‐coiled sperm, and morphology. The hematoxylin and eosin staining method was used to study histomorphology. Results revealed that LA induction significantly increased MDA concentration and decreased the levels of SOD, CAT, GPx, and GSH. It also reduced the weight of the testis and testosterone hormone levels, declined the quality of sperm, and increased morphologically abnormal sperm. Moreover, LA severely altered the histomorphology of the testis, such as atrophy of the seminiferous tubule, degeneration of germinal epithelium, and increased interstitial space, compared with the control group. In Groups III and IV, coadministration of LA with GSE reduced the MDA concentration, preserved the antioxidant enzyme system and testosterone hormonal levels, restored the sperm characteristics, reduced the abnormal sperm, and improved histomorphological alterations in the testis compared with the LA‐induced group. In conclusion, GSE has a potent natural antioxidant that provides promising protection against LA‐induced testicular oxidative damage on testis and sperm quality in rats. Research highlights: Phytoscreening analysis of GSE revealed that the antioxidants present, including proanthocyanidins, phenols, flavonoids, saponins, tannins, glycosides, and triterpenoids, were identified as having the most effect on LA‐induced testicular toxicity and were thus considered as further ameliorating agents for lead acetate‐induced testicular alterations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: In this article, a novel and compact multiband quad port asymmetric coplanar strip‐fed triangular lamp post shaped printed multiple‐input and multiple‐output (MIMO) antenna has been presented. The proposed MIMO antenna is designed and developed on a FR‐4 (εr = 4.4) dielectric (40 × 40 × 1.6) mm3. The proposed MIMO antenna utilizes the pattern diversity technique to obtain the desired isolation among closely spaced radiators. Simulated and measured results indicate that |S11| of proposed lamp post shaped MIMO antenna array < −10 dB, that assures the operation in three frequency bands, namely, (2.27–2.42), (3.38–3.62), and (4.5–6.23) GHz, which are the operating bands of WiBro, Bluetooth, WiMAX, and WLAN/WiMAX, respectively. A peak radiation gain of 5.1 dBi is observed alongside with a maximal radiation efficiency close to 92% in operating band for the proposed MIMO antenna. A minimal isolation of −18 dB between the antenna elements has been observed in all three operating bands, which is necessary for improved performance to achieve high data transfer rates. Performance critical diversity characteristics such as diversity gain (DG), envelope correlation coefficient (ECC), total active reflection coefficient (TARC), mean effective gain (MEG), and channel capacity (CC) of the compact proposed lamp post shaped MIMO antenna have been calculated and found that the correlation coefficient was <0.001 with higher diversity gain > 9.95 dB and achieved better CCL < 0.4 bits/s/Hz in the respective operating bands. With these results, the proposed triangular lamp post shaped MIMO array is suitable for high data rate applications, which is one of the main concerns of 5G and beyond networks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a new hybrid passive control device, consisting of a viscoelastic and a friction damper connected in parallel, to mitigate the effects of wind and seismic events. The two components are synergized with the aid of a novel locking mechanism, which enables the action of one or both the components depending upon the device deformation. This provides an innovative two-phase energy dissipation capacity, and exploiting the individual strengths of the two dampers together. The response of a single degree of freedom (SDOF) hybrid damped system is represented in terms of a linear system using equivalent linearization technique, which includes all associated parameters such as the added stiffness, the added damping and the locking mechanism. In order to ascertain the influence of various parameters of the hybrid device, normalized force and normalized displacement are defined in terms of linear SDOF hybrid damped system and further used to obtain force reduction factor for multi degree freedom (MDOF) system with hybrid device. The proposed design methodology of controlling the structural response using the hybrid device is then applied on a six-story reinforced concrete (RC) building. The response of the conventional moment resisting frame (MRF) system and moment resisting frame system with hybrid device (MRHDF) are compared using the nonlinear time history analysis. The performance of the MRHDF system is found to be superior than the MRF system. The hybrid device can effectively reduce the dynamic response of the building, especially in terms of inter story drift, residual drift, base shear and floor acceleration. In addition the proposed design methodology is very simple as compared to the response modification factor approach. This configuration of hybrid device shows improved performance for meeting multiple objectives under wind/seismic events of real-life structures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article presents, an ACS-fed compact Trophy shaped four-port multiband MIMO antenna system for various wireless applications namely 2.3 GHz WiBro, WiMAX, and WLAN respectively. The proposed MIMO antenna structure has been etched on a cost affordable FR-4 substrate (εr = 4.4 and loss tangent = 0.02) with dimensions of 50 × 50 × 1.6 mm3. Mutual coupling reduction between the radiators has been achieved by placing the elements orthogonal to each other. With all these arrangements the ACS MIMO system operates with a peak gain of 4 dB with minimum isolation below − 17 dB. The proposed antenna operates in the frequency bands of (2.25–2.42, 3.36–3.72, 5.0–6.5) GHz with an ECC < 0.001 and channel capacity loss < 0.4 bps/Hz. Various parameters like DG, TARC, MEG, which are used to check diversity performance have been calculated and presented in the article. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To evaluate the sleep habits of school-going children before and during school closure in the national lockdown period (called 'Circuit Breaker' or CB in Singapore) due to the COVID-19 pandemic.Methods: Cross-sectional, anonymous, online, population-based survey questionnaire was administered to parents aged 21 years and above with children aged between 3 and 16 years attending pre-school, primary or secondary school (equivalent to kindergarten, middle and-high school) and residing in Singapore. Sleep duration in relation to various daily activities including academic activities, physical exercise, and screen time was evaluated pre-CB and during CB.Results: Data from 593 participants were analyzed. Pre-CB, the overall mean (SD) sleep duration of the study population was 9.01 (1.18) hours on weekdays and 9.99 (0.94) hours on weekends. During CB, mean (SD) sleep duration overall was 9.63 (1.18) hours. Although children generally went to bed later (mean 0.65 h later), they woke up even later during CB (mean 1.27 h later), resulting in longer sleep duration (mean increase of 0.35 h). This was most evident in secondary school children (mean increase of 0.70 h). Children attending private schools (which had later start times) had increased sleep duration (mean 10.01 (SD 0.89) hours pre-CB and 10.05 (SD 0.93) hours during CB) compared to public schools (mean 9.05 (SD 0.91) pre-CB and 9.49 (SD 1.22) hours during CB).Conclusions: School closure from the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in longer sleep duration in school-going children. Early school/academic activity start times had a significant impact on limiting children's sleep duration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Primary pulmonary lymphoma (PPL) is a rare clonal proliferation of lymphoid tissue involving one or both lungs. It is of two types, B-cell and T-cell lymphomas among which T-cell lymphoma is a rare entity and it is sparsely considered as a differential diagnosis in neoplastic lesions of the lung. Here, we are reporting a case of primary pulmonary T-cell lymphoma. PPL is a rare disease and can present with nonspecific symptoms. Radiologically, it can easily be confused with more common malignancies such as bronchogenic carcinoma with or without metastases. PPL carries different therapeutic and prognostic implications. Therefore, physicians should make every effort to achieve histopathological diagnosis before prognosticating a patient presenting with lung cancer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Melioidosis is caused by an environmental Gram‐negative bacilli Burkholderia pseudomallei. Diabetes mellitus, occupational exposure to soil and water, pre‐existing renal diseases and thalassemia are significant independent risk factors for melioidosis. A 30‐year‐old male carpenter and smoker had a history of accidental aspiration of foreign body 2 months prior. On presentation, he had cough with expectoration and low‐grade intermittent fever for 1 month. His chest x‐ray displayed left lower zone consolidation with cavitation and presence of foreign body in the left lower lobe bronchus. Bronchoalveolar lavage inoculated onto 5% sheep blood agar and MacConkey agar grew B. pseudomallei. Melioidosis due to foreign body aspiration is rare. To the best of our knowledge, there have not been reports of melioidosis infection associated with foreign body inhalation. Hence, pulmonary melioidosis can be considered as a differential diagnosis in cases of foreign body with secondary infection even in immunocompetent host. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To analyse the postoperative hearing results of patients undergoing type III tympanoplasty using sculptured homologous spur cartilage. This prospective study included 156 patients of chronic otitis media (COM), between the ages 10–60 years. All cases underwent type III tympanoplasty with ossiculoplasty using homologous spur cartilage. The study sample of 156 patients contained 107 cases of mucosal type and 49 cases of squamosal type COM. Type III A tympanoplasty was done for 71 cases and type III B tympanoplasty was done for 85. Pure tone audiometry (PTA) was done pre and postoperatively, in all the cases. The patients were followed up for 6 months postoperatively. The average preoperative mean air–bone–gap (ABG) was 43.64 dB, whereas in type III A cases it was 39.7 dB and in type III B it was 46.9 dB. The mean ABG at 6th month follow up was 18.9 dB in the study group. In type III A cases, mean ABG was 15.2 dB and in type III B cases it was 22.11 dB. Homogenous spur cartilage graft can be used for ossicular chain reconstruction with the advantage of very low extrusion rate, technically easy to perform with less risk of residual disease. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Following the line of approach enumerated in the tsunami toolkit of Chagué-Goff et al. (2011), 'Expanding the proxy toolkit to help identify past events - Lessons from the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami and the 2009 South Pacific Tsunami, Earth Sci. Rev. 107 (1–2), 107–122', measurements of elemental and mineral magnetic properties coupled with textural parameters have been used to evaluate the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami (IOT) induced sediments on the Muttukadu backwaters, East Coast of India. To investigate the sediment provenance, specific Fe, Mn and Pb elemental concentrations were measured in surface sediments and compared with the previously published pre-tsunami database of backwater/inner continental shelf sediments. We found the enrichment of Fe and Pb, against depletion of Mn concentration in present tsunami sediments as compared with pre-tsunami Muttukadu sediments, reflecting the variation of the sediment source area. However, the present data of Fe and Pb enrichment and Mn depletion correlates well with continental shelf sediments hinting at sedimentary routes, processes of erosion and wave propagation. The studied tsunami deposits are characterized by dominant ∼40–85% coarse sand fractions and higher proportion of detrital low and high coercivity Fe-Ti oxides, such as magnetite, titanomagnetite and hematite, reflected by magnetic concentration (magnetic susceptibility (χ), anhysteretic remanent magnetization (ARM)) and coercivity-dependent parameters (soft isothermal remanent magnetization (Soft IRM), Hard IRM, magnetomineralogical S-Ratio and saturation IRM (SIRM)). So, it can be shown that the random spatial variability and the inverse relationship between magnetic concentration χ, ARM and SIRM parameters and grain-size ARM/χ, SIRM/χ and ARM/SIRM ratios as diagnostic criteria for the tsunami impacted the distribution of magnetic parameters in coastal backwater environments. Contrasting mineral magnetic and geochemical properties together with more sand (mean 65%) when compared with silt (mean 25%) content in tsunami sediments indicates that the area was affected by high-energy tsunami waves. The study validates environmental magnetism as a proxy, which is fast and robust for identifying the tsunami or palaeotsunami deposits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Posterior reversible encephalopathy syndrome (PRES) is a clinico-radiological syndrome characterized by a headache, seizures, altered mental status and visual loss and characterized by white matter vasogenic edema affecting the posterior occipital and parietal lobes of the brain predominantly. This clinical syndrome is increasingly recognized due to improvement and availability of brain imaging specifically magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). A 35-year-old female with the history of unsafe abortion and massive blood transfusion 10 days ago was brought to the emergency room with three episodes of generalized tonic-clonic seizures, urinary incontinence and altered sensorium since 3 hours. MRI brain showed bilateral occipital, parietal, frontal cortex and subcortical white matter T2/Fluid-attenuated inversion recovery hyperintensities, suggestive of PRES. The patient improved after management with intravenous fluids, antibiotics, antiepileptics and monitoring of blood pressure. If recognized and treated early, the clinical syndrome commonly resolves within a week. PRES can be a major problem in rapid and massive blood transfusion. A high index of suspicion and prompt treatment can reduce morbidity, mortality and pave the path for early recovery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dengue fever is a mosquito-borne arthropod-borne viral (arboviral) tropical disease in humans affecting 50-528 million people worldwide. The acute abdominal complications of dengue fever are acute appendicitis, acute pancreatitis, acute acalculous cholecystitis and non-specific peritonitis. Acute pancreatitis with new onset diabetes in dengue shock syndrome (DSS) is very rarely reported. We describe a case of 30-year-old man admitted in intensive care unit and was diagnosed with DSS with RT-PCR, NS1 antigen and dengue IgM antibody being positive. Abdominal ultrasound and computerized tomography confirmed acute pancreatitis. Patient required insulin after recovery. Diabetes mellitus caused by DSS is underreported and lack of awareness may increase mortality and morbidity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The reactions under hydrothermal reaction conditions resulted in a hydrogen-bonding linked polyoxomolybdate [(NH 4 ) 2 M 4 O 13 ] n 1 with three-dimensional (3-D) polymeric structure. The compound 1 is composed of three distinct (MoO 6 ) and one (MoO 5 ) mixed polyhedral connected by edge-sharing within the asymmetric unit displaying a covalent bonding four-step ladder network, and the ladder units linked via corner-sharing between asymmetric units showing an extended covalent bonding 2-D layer structure, and the 2-D networks are further linked by multiple hydrogen bonds to result in a 3-D polyoxomolybdate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Neuromyelitis optica (NMO or Devic's syndrome) is a rare demyelinating disease of the CNS that predominantly affects the spinal cord and optic nerves and sharesmany clinical and radiological featureswithmultiple sclerosis (MS). The association of NMOwith autoimmune thyroiditis has been reported very rarely. Early differentiation between NMO and MS is very important because they have different natural courses and treatment regimens. We report a case regarding a 53-year-oldwomanwhowas admitted initially with hiccups and paraesthesias, but was not evaluated during first two episodes and presented with severe progression of NMO. Patient was found to have autoimmune thyroiditis with lymphocytic infiltration of thyroid which progressed to hypothyroidism. NMO was diagnosed with seropositivity for NMO-IgG and longitudinally extensive spinal cord lesions (three or more spinal segments). Patient poorly responded to treatment due to the lack of early diagnosis and aggressive immunosuppressant therapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study employs mineral magnetic, geochemical, and textural parameters to elucidate the climate and sea level change signatures from Kolleru lake sediments representing the inter-deltaic part of the Krishna–Godavari sedimentary basin (KG basin). For this purpose, four cores were obtained which included significant peat. The conventional radiocarbon dating suggested that the peat formation took place during 9 ka–6 ka with an average sedimentation rate of 0.31 cm/y. Thermomagnetic analysis identifies titanomagnetite, magnetite and hematite as the dominant magnetic mineralogy of the KG basin sediments. The variation in magnetic mineralogy is related to paleoclimatic and paleoenvironmental processes; the transitions between (titano)magnetite and hematite coincide with peat layers of the cores as indicated by SIRM/χ (Saturation Isothermal Remanent Magnetization/Magnetic Susceptibility) and S-ratio defined by IRM −0.3T /SIRM values. The various mineral magnetic parameters, χ and S-ratio along with major elemental concentrations of Ti, Al, Fe and Zr show signatures of an arid event before 10 ka, between 9 ka–8 ka periods and during the last 5.5 ka. The overall climate of warm and humid type was inferred from 10 ka to 9 ka, which correlates with Early Holocene Optima and 6 ka to 5.5 ka of Middle Holocene. The presence of evaporite crystals in the lowermost part of the cores corroborated by mineral magnetic and geochemical proxies indicates sub-aerially weathered facies of the arid Late Pleistocene. Similarly, the peat layers rich in mangrove pollen indicate sea level changes between 10 ka and 6 ka. The sub-surface position of the Pleistocene weathered layer and the Holocene peat layer suggests tectonic subsidence of the area, which is situated over the basement graben, known as Gudiwada sub-basin. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Clay liner functions as an impermeable barrier between leachate and groundwater in landfills. In this work, naturally available black cotton (BC) soil is adopted as a liner material due to its high swelling and low hydraulic conductivity, which helps to eliminate the risk of groundwater pollution by preventing pollutant mobility. The liner's potential is threatened by two issues: shrinkage cracks and chemical attacks. BC soil induces desiccation cracks and high compressibility due to its high shrinkage potential upon drying, which severely impacts its hydraulic conductivity behaviour. In recent years, fibres have been used as reinforcing materials to control compressibility and shrinkage cracks of the liner. In this investigation, waste tire fibres, which were used as a reinforcing material, mixed with BC soil in the proportion of 5, 10 and 15% by their dry weight. Since the essential parameters of liner would change due to the interaction of chemicals in leachate, hence, this study examined the consolidation and hydraulic properties of fibre mixed BC soil in the presence of two inorganic salt permeants (NaCl and CaCl 2) of two concentrations (0.1 and 1N) to mimic the leachate effect. The results revealed that when salt solutions were utilised as saturating pore liquids, the time to achieve the 90% of consolidation (t 90) of fibre-treated BC soil was decreased, thereby increasing the coefficient of consolidation (c v). These changes were more significant at higher concentrations of pore liquids. The t 90 value for 15% fibre-treated soil with DI water is 27.0 min, and it decreased drastically to 0.8 min (97.0% reduction) for 1N NaCl solution and 0.6 min (97.8% reduction) for 1N CaCl 2 solution at the higher consolidation pressure of 784.5 kPa. Compression index (C c) and void ratio (e) were reduced with the salt permeants irrespective of the fibre content. Finally, it was shown that salts substantially impact the hydraulic conductivity values of fibre-treated soil and that up to 10% fibre content is appropriate for landfill liner application. • Waste tire fibre treated Black cotton (BC) soil hydromechanical behaviour was examined under the salt environment. • Coefficient of consolidation values of fibre treated BC soil increased for a higher concentration of salts. • Time for 90% consolidation values of BC soil increased at higher cation valency of salts. • Higher hydraulic conductivity values of fibre treated BC soil were reported at higher concentrations. • Incorporating up to 10% waste tire fibres in BC soil met the liner material criteria, including salts influence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: The aim of this study was to assess the relationship between breastfeeding and sleep patterns in infants from Asia-Pacific region. Methods: Parents of 10 321 infants (0-11 months) from Australia, China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Korea, Japan, Malaysia, New Zealand, the Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam completed an expanded version of the Brief Infant Sleep Questionnaire. Results: Overall, 4714 (45.72%) were currently being breastfed; 61.3% of those between 0 and 5 months and 36.6% of those between 6 and 11 months. Currently breastfed infants, when compared with not currently breastfed infants, had a significant increase in the number and duration of night-time wakings and less consolidated sleep. Interestingly, currently breastfed infants less than 6 months also showed longer duration of daytime sleep and obtained more sleep overall. Of note, of those who were currently breastfed, those infants who were nursed back to sleep during night, woke up more often at night (2.41 vs. 1.67 times) and had shorter continuous night-time sleep period (5.58 vs. 6.88 h; P < 0.001). There was no significant difference between breastfeeding and non-breastfeeding infants in the number of night wakings, when the nursing to sleep variable was controlled for in the analysis of variance. Conclusion: Breastfeeding is associated with reduced sleep consolidation in infants. This relationship, however, may be moderated by parenting practices of nursing to sleep and back to sleep during the night. Thus, parents of infants with night waking problems should be encouraged to limit the association between nursing and falling to sleep, to improve sleep while maintaining breastfeeding. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]