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This article centers its attention on the phenomenon of electrostatics, linearity, analogue, and RF performance of a 0.5 μm × (2 × 100) μm double heterojunction AlGaAs/InGaAs/GaAs pHEMT using on‐wafer DC and RF measurements up to 50 GHz. With a high ION/IOFF ratio (1.21 × 107) and low subthreshold slope (72.7 mV/dec), a flat and high transconductance over a wide range of Vgs has been achieved for the tested device. Furthermore, the input intercept and higher‐order voltage intercept point both attained large values with low intermodulation and harmonic distortion. Regarding RF parameters, the intrinsic gain has been achieved up to 28 dB. The GBW up to 750 GHz was attained, with the highest fT and fmax values being 24.5 GHz and 99.3 GHz, respectively. Since the device has very low intrinsic capacitance, parameters like TFP, GFP, and GTFP also showed excellent results. The high intrinsic gain and TGF indicate ample potential of the device for use as an amplifier. Investigating the parameters reveals the device to have very good linearity and amplifying capability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: This paper provides an overview of the key issues concerning the role of edible insects in sustainable feed production and environmentally friendly agriculture. The use of insect-derived feeds for animal production is presented in detail and discussed for the major terrestrial livestock and aquaculture groups. The growing demand for animal protein, the efficient use of land and water, and the limitations of non-renewable energy sources highlight the global importance of edible insects. This paper provides an overview of the key issues regarding the role of edible insects in sustainable feed production and environmentally friendly agriculture. The indispensable ecological services provided by insects are discussed, as well as the farming, products, and nutritional value of edible insects. A representative selection of the literature reviewing major insect species' chemical compositions and nutritional value is also presented. The use of insect-derived feeds for animal production is presented in detail and discussed for the major terrestrial livestock and aquaculture groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Intermodulation distortion tests using the two‐tone technique with an extensive bias range were used to demonstrate the nonlinearity in terms of frequency for active devices like nano pHEMT based on gallium arsenide semiconductor material. It is demonstrated that the intermodulation distortion components are directly connected to the RF transconductance derivatives calculated using the two‐tone test. Furthermore, it was discovered that the third‐order intermodulation distortion power is lowest when the second derivative of the transconductance Gm3 is zero. To emphasize the influence of RF transconductance, a two‐tone approach has been presented as an empirical, analytical explanation for this device's nonlinearity. The modeled data is demonstrated to agree with the results of the measurements, making it a helpful tool for analyzing these devices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The double differential cross-section for the 58Ni(p,d) 57Ni reaction has been studied with 68 MeV protons for the 25°, 30°, 35°, 45°, and 60° laboratory angles. The spectra have been calculated using DWBA-based cross-sections including an asymmetric form of the Lorentzian strength function containing energy-dependent spreading widths. The comparison between the measured spectra and the theoretical predictions is accomplished in the direct reaction region. The values of the calculated double differential cross- sections agree with those of the measured cross-sections as far as ~17 MeV deuteron excitation energies; the ejectile deuterons-energy for direct reactions at 68 MeV proton energy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The 209Bi(p,d)208Bi reaction has been studied with 42 MeV protons. The laboratory angles are 25°, 30°, and 35°. Energy spectra have been calculated theoretically as an incoherent sum of many shell-orbits constituents based on the Distorted-Wave Born Approximation (DWBA). An asymmetric Lorentzian form strength response function having energy-dependent spreading width is adopted in this analysis. The calculated deuteron energy spectrum is reasonably well reproduced in the direct reaction region. The agreement between the experiment and the calculated double differentials cross-sections up to all experimental points is reasonable and satisfactory, thereby yielding confidence in the theoretical models used. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

SUBESCO is an audio-only emotional speech corpus for Bangla language. The total duration of the corpus is in excess of 7 hours containing 7000 utterances, and it is the largest emotional speech corpus available for this language. Twenty native speakers participated in the gender-balanced set, each recording of 10 sentences simulating seven targeted emotions. Fifty university students participated in the evaluation of this corpus. Each audio clip of this corpus, except those of Disgust emotion, was validated four times by male and female raters. Raw hit rates and unbiased rates were calculated producing scores above chance level of responses. Overall recognition rate was reported to be above 70% for human perception tests. Kappa statistics and intra-class correlation coefficient scores indicated high-level of inter-rater reliability and consistency of this corpus evaluation. SUBESCO is an Open Access database, licensed under Creative Common Attribution 4.0 International, and can be downloaded free of charge from the web link: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.4526477. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

TPO (Thyroid Peroxidase) is known to be one of the major genes involved in congenital hypothyroid patients with thyroid dyshormonogenesis. The present study aims to validate high-resolution melting (HRM) curve analysis as a substitute method for Sanger sequencing, focusing on the frequently observed non-synonymous mutations c.1117G>T, c.1193G>C, and c.2173A>C in the TPO gene in patients from Bangladesh. We enrolled 36 confirmed cases of congenital hypothyroid patients with dyshormonogenesis to establish the HRM method. Blood specimens were collected, and DNA was extracted followed by PCR and Sanger sequencing. Among the 36 specimens, 20 were pre-sequenced, and variants were characterized through Sanger sequencing. Following pre-sequencing, the 20 pre-sequenced specimens underwent real-time PCR-HRM curve analysis to determine the proper HRM condition for separating the three variations from the wild-type state into heterozygous and homozygous states. Furthermore, 16 unknown specimens were subjected to HRM analysis to validate the method. This method demonstrated a sensitivity and specificity of 100 percent in accurately discerning wild-type alleles from both homozygous and heterozygous states of c.1117G>T (23/36; 63.8%), c.1193G>C (30/36; 83.3%), and c.2173A>C (23/36; 63.8%) variants frequently encountered among 36 Bangladeshi patients. The HRM data was found to be similar to the sequencing result, thus confirming the validity of the HRM approach for TPO gene variant detection. In conclusion, HRM-based molecular technique targeting variants c.1117G>T, c.1193G>C, and c.2173A>C could be used as a high throughput, rapid, reliable, and cost-effective screening approach for the detection of all common mutations in TPO gene in Bangladeshi patients with dyshormonogenesis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Globally, hepatitis B infection (HBI) poses a substantial public health concern and healthcare workers, including nursing students, are at a higher risk of contracting this disease. Thus, the study aimed to assess how knowledge, attitudes, and sociodemographic factors are associated with HBI prevention among a sample of Bangladeshi nursing students. Methods: A cross-sectional survey was performed among 737 nursing students from the nursing institutes of Khulna and Barishal divisions in Bangladesh from January to April 2023. The data were collected by providing questionnaires (structured questionnaire) in the classroom, following a stratified random sampling process. A model of multinomial logistic regression was used to evaluate the factors linked to HBI prevention practices. Result: The mean (SD) scores were 11.42 (± 2.88) for knowledge, 4.33 (± 1.91) for attitude and 4.27 (± 2.056) for practice respectively. Participants' low knowledge (adjusted odds ratio, aOR = 2.562, 95% CI: 1.29–5.07) and poor attitude (aOR = 5.730, 95% CI: 3.19–10.28) regarding HBI were significantly associated with higher likelihood of poor practice towards HBI prevention. Moreover, being 2nd year of nursing students (aOR = 2.147, 95% CI: 1.19–3.86), being aged 19–20 years (aOR = 3.038, 95% CI: 1.30–7.09), being married (aOR = 0.320, 95%CI: 0.13–0.82) and having a family history of HBI (aOR = 0.134, 95%CI: 0.05–0.36) were significantly associated with poor practices of HBI prevention among study participants. Conclusion: The knowledge, attitude and practice scores of the nursing students on HBI prevention were suboptimal. We advocate for implementing regular HBI prevention education and policies, free or subsidized services, skill development, proper HBI prevention enforcement and strict professional ethics within nursing colleges. Such efforts should predominantly focus on second-year, aged 19–20 and unmarried nursing students. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Due to their small size, nanoparticles have brought a new era for researchers. They are utilized in different areas, including the food industry, pharmaceuticals, and medicals, for their outstanding properties. Many medicines are also used to treat patients with various diseases. Many researchers are continuing their research to find more applications of these materials. This paper reviews how nanoparticles synthesized from plants can help the immune response. Different nanoparticles have been initially studied with their source of origin, properties, and applications in the immune response. Then, how various nanoparticles work on the immune response has been briefly discussed. Different applications of nanoparticles on immune response with different perceptions have also been considered. The results of the applications of these particles have been debated as well. In the end, these particles' potential challenges and future opportunities for immune response have been reviewed. This review paper will work as a guide for nanoparticle researchers in immunity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ventilator-Associated Pneumonia (VAP) is common hospital-acquired pneumonia in ICU patients. Patients with pneumonia after 48 hours of mechanical ventilation are VAP affected. INICC found that VAP rates between 2012 to 2017 are 14.1 per 1000 episodes.The most common pathogens include Acinetobacter baumannii, Pseudomonas Aeruginosa and Klebsiella pneumoniae. Developing countries seem to have a higher mortality rate compared to developed countries. Treatment protocol involves antibiotic therapy. For the early onset of VAP, cephalosporin (cefotaxime or ceftriaxone), fluoroquinolone, or piperacillin-tazobactam are found to be effective while for late-onset, ceftazidime, ciprofloxacin, meropenem, and piperacillin-tazobactam seems to have positive results.Apart from antibiotics, other options like bacteriophage therapy can offer a good alternative to fight the rapid emergence of MDR pathogens. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the face of climate change and a greater likelihood of extreme weather events, selecting appropriate varieties of Yardlong bean (Vigna unguiculata) can help ensure proper yield even under stressful conditions, particularly in saline conditions. However, choosing the right variety is a challenge. In 2019, a field trial was conducted at Nobogram Farm in Noakhali, Bangladesh to evaluate the performance of local and exotic varieties of Yardlong bean under saline conditions. The experiment involved seven traits, including germination percentage, days to first flowering, fruit weight, fruits per plant, fruit length, seeds per plant, and yield. The study compared local hybrids (Saba, Lalbeni, Tokii, and 1070) and exotic hybrid (White Beauty, imported from Thailand) using a Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD). The results revealed that exotic hybrid varieties had a positive significant difference (p<0.001) in the number of seeds per fruit compared to other local hybrids. Local hybrids showed positive significant differences (p<0.05) in the number of fruits per plant than exotic hybrid variety. However, germination percentage and first flowering were disproportionate, with exotic V3 (White Beauty) showing moderate germination and fast first flowering, while local hybrids showed high germination percentage and late first flowering. In terms of weight per fruit and yield, varieties showed high weight per fruit and the highest yield, except for V4 (Tokii), which showed the lowest weight per fruit but moderate yield. Overall, the study suggests that locally developed hybrids are more promising for the study site. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This document is a correction notice for an article titled "Scope of Biological Property Activated Plant Extracted Nanoparticles for Human Immune Response — A Review" published in Nano Life. The correction notice states that the affiliation of one of the authors, Mohamed Kchaou, was incorrect and should be listed as the Department of Mechanical Engineering, College of Engineering, University of Bisha, Saudi Arabia. The authors also added an acknowledgement section thanking the deanship of scientific research at the University of Bisha for supporting their work. [Extracted from the article]

Ten pathogenic fungi of Deuteromycetes were isolated from seven angiospermic hosts such as pointed gourd, tomato, rice, wheat, maize, chickpea and jute. Morphological characterization and molecular analyses were performed for accurate identification of the isolated pathogenic fungi. The sequence results obtained using the ITS1 and ITS4 primers were compared with NCBI GenBank and BOL database using BLAST analysis. Fusarium chlamydosporum and Penicillium pinophilum are recorded first time from Bangladesh. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although thyroid dyshormonogenesis (TDH) accounts for 10-20% of congenital hypothyroidism (CH), the molecular etiology of TDH is unknown in Bangladesh. Thyroid peroxidase (TPO) is most frequently associated with TDH and the present study investigated the spectrum of TPO mutations in Bangladeshi patients and analyzed the effects of mutations on TPO protein structure through in silico approach. Sequencing-based analysis of TPO gene revealed four mutations in 36 diagnosed patients with TDH including three nonsynonymous mutations, namely, p.Ala373Ser, p.Ser398Thr, and p.Thr725Pro, and one synonymous mutation p.Pro715Pro. Homology modelling-based analysis of predicted structures of MPO-like domain (TPO142-738) and the full-length TPO protein (TPO1-933) revealed differences between mutant and wild type structures. Molecular docking studies were performed between predicted structures and heme. TPO1-933 predicted structure showed more reliable results in terms of interactions with the heme prosthetic group as the binding energies were -11.5 kcal/mol, -3.2 kcal/mol, -11.5 kcal/mol, and -7.9 kcal/mol for WT, p.Ala373Ser, p.Ser398Thr, and p.Thr725Pro, respectively, implying that p.Ala373Ser and p.Thr725Pro mutations were more damaging than p.Ser398Thr. However, for the TPO142-738 predicted structures, the binding energies were -11.9 kcal/mol, -10.8 kcal/mol, -2.5 kcal/mol, and -5.3 kcal/mol for the wild type protein, mutant proteins with p.Ala373Ser, p.Ser398Thr, and p.Thr725Pro substitutions, respectively. However, when the interactions between the crucial residues including residues His239, Arg396, Glu399, and His494 of TPO protein and heme were taken into consideration using both TPO1-933 and TPO142-738 predicted structures, it appeared that p.Ala373Ser and p.Thr725Pro could affect the interactions more severely than the p.Ser398Thr. Validation of the molecular docking results was performed by computer simulation in terms of quantum mechanics/molecular mechanics (QM/MM) and molecular dynamics (MD) simulation. In conclusion, the substitutions mutations, namely, p.Ala373Ser, p.Ser398Thr, and p.Thr725Pro, had been involved in Bangladeshi patients with TDH and molecular docking-based study revealed that these mutations had damaging effect on the TPO protein activity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To eradicate bacterial pathogens, neutrophils are recruited to the sites of infection, where they engulf and kill microbes through the production of reactive oxygen and chlorine species (ROS/RCS). The most prominent RCS is the antimicrobial oxidant hypochlorous acid (HOCl), which rapidly reacts with various amino acid side chains, including those containing sulfur and primary/tertiary amines, causing significant macromolecular damage. Pathogens like uropathogenic Escherichia coli (UPEC), the primary causative agent of urinary tract infections, have developed sophisticated defense systems to protect themselves from HOCl. We recently identified the RcrR regulon as a novel HOCl defense strategy in UPEC. Expression of the rcrARB operon is controlled by the HOCl-sensing transcriptional repressor RcrR, which is oxidatively inactivated by HOCl resulting in the expression of its target genes, including rcrB. The rcrB gene encodes a hypothetical membrane protein, deletion of which substantially increases UPEC's susceptibility to HOCl. However, the mechanism behind protection by RcrB is unclear. In this study, we investigated whether (i) its mode of action requires additional help, (ii) rcrARB expression is induced by physiologically relevant oxidants other than HOCl, and (iii) expression of this defense system is limited to specific media and/or cultivation conditions. We provide evidence that RcrB expression is sufficient to protect E. coli from HOCl. Furthermore, RcrB expression is induced by and protects from several RCS but not from ROS. RcrB plays a protective role for RCS-stressed planktonic cells under various growth and cultivation conditions but appears to be irrelevant for UPEC's biofilm formation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: Breastfeeding has been shown to lower the risk of oncogenesis in many pediatric cancers, with longer periods of breastfeeding having the most protective effect. However, an association has not yet been determined for the consequence or benefit of breastfeeding in retinoblastoma (RB), the most common intraocular malignancy of childhood affecting 8000 children worldwide each year. Herein, we aimed to understand the role of breastfeeding in the severity of development of nonhereditary RB, specifically its relationship to age at diagnosis, ocular prognosis, and extraocular involvement. Our analysis of 344 patients indicated that neither breastfeeding nor formula feeding was associated with differences in age at diagnosis, ocular prognosis, or extraocular involvement. More research elucidating the factors affecting the development of RB is warranted both to understand the pathophysiology of tumor development and to develop clinical recommendations for preventive care. The protective effects of breastfeeding on various childhood malignancies have been established but an association has not yet been determined for retinoblastoma (RB). We aimed to further investigate the role of breastfeeding in the severity of nonhereditary RB development, assessing relationship to (1) age at diagnosis, (2) ocular prognosis, measured by International Intraocular RB Classification (IIRC) or Intraocular Classification of RB (ICRB) group and success of eye salvage, and (3) extraocular involvement. Analyses were performed on a global dataset subgroup of 344 RB patients whose legal guardian(s) consented to answer a neonatal questionnaire. Patients with undetermined or mixed feeding history, family history of RB, or sporadic bilateral RB were excluded. There was no statistically significant difference between breastfed and formula-fed groups in (1) age at diagnosis (p = 0.20), (2) ocular prognosis measures of IIRC/ICRB group (p = 0.62) and success of eye salvage (p = 0.16), or (3) extraocular involvement shown by International Retinoblastoma Staging System (IRSS) at presentation (p = 0.74), lymph node involvement (p = 0.20), and distant metastases (p = 0.37). This study suggests that breastfeeding neither impacts the sporadic development nor is associated with a decrease in the severity of nonhereditary RB as measured by age at diagnosis, stage of disease, ocular prognosis, and extraocular spread. A further exploration into the impact of diet on children who develop RB is warranted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: The authors aimed to determine the lag time between onset of symptoms and diagnosis of retinoblastoma in countries based on their national-income and analyse its effect on the outcomes. Based on analysis of 692 retinoblastoma patients from 11 treatment centres in 10 countries, there was a statistically significant difference in the lag time between onset of symptoms and diagnosis of retinoblastoma based on country income level. This difference in the lag time between different countries results in varied outcomes across patients. Shorter lag time results in better chances of eye and patient survival. Background: The relationship between lag time and outcomes in retinoblastoma (RB) is unclear. In this study, we aimed to study the effect of lag time between onset of symptoms and diagnosis of retinoblastoma (RB) in countries based on their national-income and analyse its effect on the outcomes. Methods: We performed a prospective study of 692 patients from 11 RB centres in 10 countries from 1 January 2019 to 31 December 2019. Results: The following factors were significantly different among different countries based on national-income level: age at diagnosis of RB (p = 0.001), distance from home to nearest primary healthcare centre (p = 0.03) and mean lag time between detection of first symptom to visit to RB treatment centre (p = 0.0007). After adjusting for country income, increased lag time between onset of symptoms and diagnosis of RB was associated with higher chances of an advanced tumour at presentation (p < 0.001), higher chances of high-risk histopathology features (p = 0.003), regional lymph node metastasis (p < 0.001), systemic metastasis (p < 0.001) and death (p < 0.001). Conclusions: There is a significant difference in the lag time between onset of signs and symptoms and referral to an RB treatment centre among countries based on national income resulting in significant differences in the presenting features and clinical outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]