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This work develops a continuous sign language (SL) recognition framework with deep neural networks, which directly transcribes videos of SL sentences to sequences of ordered gloss labels. Previous methods dealing with continuous SL recognition usually employ hidden Markov models with limited capacity to capture the temporal information. In contrast, our proposed architecture adopts deep convolutional neural networks with stacked temporal fusion layers as the feature extraction module, and bi-directional recurrent neural networks as the sequence learning module. We propose an iterative optimization process for our architecture to fully exploit the representation capability of deep neural networks with limited data. Our proposed neural model consists of two modules for spatiotemporal feature extraction and sequence learning, respectively. Due to the limited scale of the datasets, we find an end-to-end training cannot fully exploit the deep neural network of high complexity. To address this problem, this work investigates an iterative optimization process to train our convolutional neural network based bidirectional long-short-term-memory (CNN-BILSTM) architecture effectively. We use gloss-level gestural supervision given by forced alignment from end-to-end system to directly guide the training process of the feature extractor. Afterwards, this work fine-tunes the BILSTM system with the improved feature extractor, and the system can provide further refined alignment for the feature extraction module. Through this iterative training strategy, the proposed CNN-BILSTM can keep learning and benefiting from the refined gestural alignments. To implement this project, 'SignumDataset' dataset is used, which contains 24 different signs or signatures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pneumonia is a serious respiratory infection that can lead to severe complications if not diagnosed and treated promptly. Chest X-rays are a widely used diagnostic tool to identify pneumonia, but the accurate and timely interpretation of these images is often challenging for healthcare professionals. This research presents a novel approach to automate pneumonia detection from chest X-rays using Convolutional Neural Networks (CNN). The proposed model leverages the power of CNN, a deep learning architecture specifically designed for image analysis, to automatically learn and extract relevant features from the chest X-ray images. The dataset consists of a large number of annotated chest X-rays collected from diverse patient populations, including both pneumonia-positive and pneumonia-negative cases. Preprocessing techniques are applied to standardize the images and reduce noise, ensuring the CNN's robustness to variations in image quality and positioning. The CNN model is trained using a transfer learning strategy, utilizing a pre-trained model with weights learned from a large-scale dataset. During the training process, the CNN learns to differentiate between normal and pneumonia-infected lung patterns, thereby enabling accurate classification of pneumonia cases in unseen chest X-rays. The performance of the model is evaluated using various metrics, such as sensitivity, specificity, accuracy, and area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC-ROC). Experimental results demonstrate the effectiveness of the CNN-based approach in accurately identifying pneumonia cases from chest X-rays, achieving high sensitivity and specificity rates. The proposed model shows promising potential as a reliable and efficient tool for aiding radiologists and healthcare practitioners in pneumonia diagnosis. Furthermore, this research contributes to the ongoing efforts in developing AI-based medical systems that can assist healthcare professionals in making accurate and timely diagnoses, ultimately improving patient outcomes and reducing healthcare costs. Nonetheless, further validation on larger and more diverse datasets is essential to establish the generalization and scalability of the CNN-based model for pneumonia detection in real-world clinical settings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Breast cancer is the most frequent cancer among women across the world. By 2030, the global burden of breast cancer will have risen to nearly 2 million new cases each year. The incidence of breast cancer is rising in India (22.9%) and is the most commonly diagnosed cancer in women. Material and Methods: A retrospective observational study from 2019 to 2021 at a tertiary care centre in south India, to compare the ER, PR and Her-2/Neu receptor status in pre and post-menopausal women. The study was approved by the institutional ethics committee. All patients presenting to the department of surgery with FNAC/TRUCUT biopsy-proven breast carcinoma were incorporated in the study population. Results: A total of 370 participants were included in the final analysis with 185 participants in each pre-menopausal and post-menopausal group. The mean age of participants was 62.51 ± 7.15 years in post-menopausal group and 35.95 ± 3.01 years in the pre-menopausal group. Conclusion: In summary, hormonal receptor status was positive in higher proportion of premenopausal women, which is dissimilar to the literature available internationally. This finding highlights the role for preoperative biopsy in patients with suspicious lesions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Laparoscopic cholecystectomy has received nearly universal acceptance and is currently considered the criterion standard for the treatment of symptomatic cholelithiasis. It is also the platform of training for surgeons. Problems like difficulty in allotment of the cases for training surgeons and junior residents, risks of possible difficulties intra op that can be encountered that needs to be explained to patient and attenders beforehand and failure of daycare surgery, can be lessened by prediction scores by helping to plan in advance. The aim of this study is to validate the Randhawa and Pujahari prediction scoring system for difficult laparoscopic cholecystectomy. The Primary objective is to estimate the sensitivity and specificity of this prediction score for Difficult laparoscopic cholecystectomy. Material and Methods: This is a retrospective cross-sectional study, conducted from 1st jan 2012 till 1st june 2018 in our institution. All patients undergoing laparoscopic cholecystectomy from 15 to 90 years of age, done by a single surgeon were included. Emergency surgeries, and those with gallbladder malignancies were excluded. 112 patients were selected based on universal sampling. The Randhawa and Pujahari prediction score of 5 and less denoted easy laparoscopic cholecystectomy. A score of 6 till 10 was difficult, and a score of 11 till 15 was very difficult respectively. Results: The original randhawa and pujahari study predicted sensitivity and specificity of 75.00% and 90.24%, respectively. The sample size in that study however was only 30. As per this study, the positive predictive value and specificity is highest in very difficult scores and the least in easy scores. The sensitivity and negative predictive value is highest in easy and least in very difficult. The overall accuracy is only 26.8%. Conclusion: While the predictive scores are useful to estimate to an extent the difficulty of the operative procedure pre operatively in a lot of cases, in our studies as well as other similar studies with sufficient sample size the test characteristics do vary in sensitivity and specificity in each study. Hence these predictive scores can be used to help anticipate difficulties but never determine the outcome with adequate certainty. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rice is an important nutritive crop and primary staple food throughout the world. To reach the increasing global grain demand and food security, rice production needs to be monitored and increased. However, abiotic and biotic stresses have impeded rice cultivation both in tropical and sub-tropical regions. Among biotic stressors, false smut of rice incited by fungus Ustilaginoidea virens (Cooke, 1878) is one of the most common and serious disease throughout the rice cultivation areas and cause up to 40% loss in its yield. The disease is hard to stop, because fungus infect the crop during flowering stage and symptoms of the disease are evident after emergence of rice panicle. The fungus completely destroys the grains and converts them into spore balls, which are toxic and unfit for seed production. Further, control of false smut of rice through fungicide application is feasible; however, high usage of fungicides has led to the resistance development in causal agent besides environmental pollution. In this review, we update the most recent progress regarding the pathogen, its distribution, taxonomy, disease cycle and integrated disease management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hyperpigmentation refers to the skin darkening which is mainly due to the increased production of melanin. Many synthetic drugs are available in the market to cure hyperpigmentation but produce various side effects. Medicinal plants are the way forward to curing hyperpigmentation with less side effects and beneficial to the consumers. Acalypha indica is one of the traditional medicinal plants that is used for treating various skin disorders but has not been explored for hyperpigmentation and other aesthetic treatments. Therefore, the present study is aimed at isolation of active compounds from Acalypha indica for antimelanogenic and anticancer activity on human melanoma cell line A375. The ethyl acetate fraction of A. indica was chosen from the sequential fraction since it has flavonoids and polyphenols in high quantity when compared with other fractions. The compound was isolated using column chromatography technique and further characterized by various analytical techniques including mass spectra, FT-IR spectra, and 13C-NMR and 1H-NMR. Cytotoxicity study on A375 melanoma cell line was studied using MTT assay and the IC50 value was calculated. The mode of cell death was studied by acridine orange and ethidium bromide staining. Melanin and Tyrosinase activity was studied using the cell line. Western blotting was performed using various pro-apoptotic and apoptotic genes. Results revealed that the compound isolated was Isorhamnetin and the compound showed significant antiproliferative activity with the IC50 value of 8.26 µg/ml. The cell cycle analysis revealed that the compound arrested the cells at sub G0/G1 phase with the depletion of cells in S and G2-M phase. The anti-apoptotic genes such as Caspase 3, Caspase 9 and BCL-2 were down regulated and Bax protein was upregulated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cassava (Manihot esculenta) leaves, containing 20–30 % protein and essential amino acids (EAAs), present a promising source of sustainable plant-based protein alternatives. Deep eutectic solvent (DES) offers an eco-friendly, emerging solution for qualitative protein with great functionality, superior to the alkaline extraction-isoelectric precipitation (AE-IP). In this study, the protein extraction from detoxified cassava leaves using eight DESs composed of various HBAs and HBDs. Their physical properties, strong hydrogen bonds, and hydroxyl interactions were most effective for protein extraction. DES-8 (lactic acid: glycerol), emerged as optimal, providing higher protein content and recovery yield 22.16 ± 0.36 mg/g dm and 73.77 ± 1.05 %, respectively while slight reduction in extraction yield (16.85 ± 0.41 %) In addition, the extracted protein (DCPI-D 8) exhibited superior EAAs (40.36 %) leading hydrophilic amino acids (60.16 %). Lactic acid's mild acidity and glycerol's stabilizing properties preserved DCPI-D 8 's nutritional properties, significantly reducing antinutrients while maintaining protein integrity and enhancing its structural and functional qualities compared to AE-IP. Graphical illustration of possible mechanism of DAE of protein from cassava leaves. [Display omitted] • DES (Lactic acid: glycerol) emerged as efficient extractant for protein. • Lactic acid and glycerol synergistically enhanced protein stability successfully. • DES maintained protein integrity by reducing denaturation, enhancing functionality. • Higher essential amino acids in DCPI-D 8 supports enhanced nutritional quality. • DES offered a superior alternative to AE-IP, preserving native protein integrity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] The relatively coarse spatial resolution of hyperspectral images causes the mixing of disparate materials' spectral responses in the sensor's instantaneous field of view (IFOV), resulting in mixed pixels. The current study proposes a capsule-based generative encoding model, called a denoising unmixing encoder network (DUENet), to formulate an end-to-end trainable spectral unmixing model. The reconstruction and cross-entropy losses and input prior-based constraints achieve joint optimization of denoising, data imputation, and spectral unmixing. Unlike earlier approaches, interpolation-based convolution and dynamic time wrapping (DTW)-based convolutional units facilitate DUENet to even unmix noisy spectra. In addition to embedding label information to improve the physical significance of the latent space, DUENet dynamically learns the parameters of the interpolation kernels. Benchmark airborne hyperspectral datasets (the Nabesna and Cuprite datasets) and simulated datasets were employed to evaluate the performance of the proposed approach. It was observed that the proposed joint optimization of spectral unmixing and denoising significantly improves the results. The adopted feature characterization using capsules improves the generalizability and gives good results, even with a limited number of training samples. This study shows the need for interpretability-based evaluation measures to analyze the unmixing frameworks based on the concepts learned for each endmember. The experiments confirm that the proposed strategy significantly reduces the models' sensitivity to network parameters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background:Right ventricular infarction leads to hemodynamic instability, atrio-ventricular conduction blocks, and in-hospital mortality in patients with inferior wall myocardial infarction. The present study was conducted to assess risk factors and outcome for right ventricular infarction. Materials & Methods:60 cases of inferior wall MI admitted to the Medicine or Coronary Care ICU G. R. Medical College, Gwalior (M.P.) were studied. All Subjects were subjected to anthropometric measurements and routine biochemical tests – Hemogram, Urea, Serum Creatinine, LFT, Lipid Profile. All patients were subjected to ECG and 2d Echocardiography. Results: 14 patients with IWMI with RVMI gives a history of hypertension and 6 patients of IWMI associated with RVMI gives a history of diabetes, 21 patients give history of smoking, 8 family history and 1 hypotension. There is a significant association between CHB and IWMI with RVMI. Conclusion: There is significant association between smoking, hypotension, diabetes, CHB patients with IWMI with RVMI compared to patients without RVMI. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Determining nearshore bathymetry by traditional surveying methods is a challenging task as it involves huge costs and efforts. Most of the coastal shallowwater zones worldwide either remain unmapped or not updated. Bathymetry estimations from optical satellite imageries have been increasingly implemented as an alternative tool for traditional bathymetry surveys. In this study, we examine the usefulness of freely available, five-day revisit and relatively highresolution Multi Spectral Instruments (MSI) on-board Sentinel-2A and 2B twin satellites. A process workflow has been developed which automatically incorporates a robust atmospheric correction through ACOLITE software and multi-scene compositing of several scenes to improve the reliability and no data gaps. Two study sites in India are explored owing to their variability in submarine morphology. High-resolution bathymetry maps are generated through a log-ratio transform model calibrated with minimal in situ data from the jet ski soundings. The satellite-derived bathymetry obtained has an overall bias of -0.01 and 0.02 m, and root mean square error of 1.09 and 0.93 m respectively, at two study sites up to 15 m depth. The consistency in bathymetry retrieval indicates a potential for automated application for the benefit of operational and scientific studies. These high-resolution maps capture small-scale nearshore features like sandbars and rip channels, which are of prime importance for coastal and beach managers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We report a rare case of co-existence of dominant dystrophic epidermolysis bullosa (EB) and juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) in an 18-year-old male patient, who is born out of consanguineous marriage. He presented with blistering skin lesions all over the body since the 2nd day after his birth, anonychia of all the toes from childhood and symmetric polyarticular inflammatory arthritis for 4 years. Erythrocyte sedimentation rate and C-reactive protein were elevated. Skin biopsy of induced vesicle was done, and histopathology showed epidermis with basket-weave hyperkeratosis, basal pigmented layer and sub-epidermal free bulla, while dermis revealed a few thin-walled proliferating capillaries with sparse lymphocytes surrounding them. Immunofluorescence showed immunoglobulin G along the basement membrane confirming the diagnosis of EB. He was diagnosed to have polyarticular rheumatoid factor-negative JIA. Treatment with oral methylprednisolone, disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs and intra-articular triamcinolone injections resulted in symptomatic relief of the joint pains. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lagrangian drifters are analogues of particles that are relevant to flow-field characterization and therefore they represent realistic surface currents compared to Eulerian techniques. The use of global navigation satellite system (GNSS) in such drifters with Differential Global Positioning System mode at high frequency (5-10 Hz) sampling and post-processing kinematic results in position estimates with centimeter-level accuracy. In the complex nearshore zone, deploying expensive instruments is a risk due to greater chances of loss. To avoid this, two drifters have been designed and developed using a low-cost Emlid Reach® GNSS receivers, antennae and 'off-the-shelf' PVC components to measure the surface currents. The dimensions of the drifters were optimally chosen to minimize the wind and wave impacts and to increase the subsurface current drag. An analysis of relative position and velocity errors from stationary observations indicates that the drifter can resolve motion accurately with minimal errors of ±1 cm and ±2 cm/s respectively. These drifters were used to measure surf zone currents at the RK Beach, Visakhapatnam during May 2018 and to successfully identify dangerous rip current zones. This study presents the design, development aspects, error analysis and testing of GNSS drifters. Although these drifters are primarily developed to measure the rip current velocities and trajectories in the nearshore zone, they can also be operated in any marine environment like rivers, lakes, estuaries, etc. without change in the design. An extensive study using a fleet of such drifters is required to understand the complex physical processes in the marine environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aquaculture of Etroplus suratensis is being practised at various water salinities. In this investigation, morphological responses of gill tissue of E. suratensis to various osmotic changes induced by freshwater (0%) and sea water (36%) were studied. Ultra-structural studies revealed significant decrease in the density of type I Mitochondrial rich cells in the apical surface of gills at 18% and complete disappearance of these cells at 36%. Type III subtype density increased consistently from 0% to 36%. Variations in type II cells density were comparatively less in any of the experimental groups. Light microscopic changes included reduction in mucous cell number with increasing salinity. Haemorrhages, lamellar fusion, lamellar curling, lifting of epithelium & hyperplasia are major histological responses to salinity shock. Observable clinical signs in fish exposed to increased salinity changes included agitated behaviour and respiratory distress. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Transfusion-related acute lung injury (TRALI), an important non-infectious risk of blood transfusion is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality. Activation of polymorphonuclear (PMN) leucocytes by the mediators released due to the interaction of donor antibodies against the recipient monocytes is thought to trigger TRALI. Major histocompatibility complex Class II antibodies have been implicated in the direct causation of TRALI by direct activation of PMN leucocytes. TRALI has been reported in patients receiving all blood components that contain plasma. Awareness regarding TRALI among clinicians and a high index of suspicion will facilitate early diagnosis of the condition. TRALI is a clinical diagnosis that is suspected when new acute lung injury (ALI) develops within six hours of a transfusion. Diagnostic work-up should focus on ruling out other risk factors for ALI like sepsis, aspiration, among others. TRALI mitigation strategies are helpful to ensure blood safety and facilitate lessening of other transfusion reactions transfusion associated circulatory overload as well. The treatment for TRALI is symptomatic and supportive and is similar to that administered for ALI. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

These days the need for reconfigurable antenna is widely increased in the field of multi band wireless communication. The proposed new design of N-shaped antenna structure consists of two PIN diodes for switching purpose. They are switched automatically by a pre-programmed Arduino microcontroller unit to attain the reconfiguration of four-different bands without changing the physical dimension of the antenna. The four switching bands are 3.5 GHz (WiMAX), 2.46 GHz (WLAN), 1.2 GHz (GPS) and 2.1 GHz (UMTS). It has a center stub with two N-shaped stub carrying PIN diodes. The stubs are connected with a 50ohm microstrip feed line. The measured return loss closely follows the simulation results. Also it exhibits a good impedance matching during the four switching states. The simulation has been done through Ansoft HFSS and measured results are obtained from a Vector Network Analyzer (VNA). The obtained VSWR value lies beneath 2 for all obtained bands. The radiation pattern of the antenna is bidirectional for all the four-switching states. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nonequilibrium molecular dynamics (MD) simulations have been performed to understand the evaporation of a liquid droplet in the presence of a solid nanoparticle. The influence of solid--liquid interaction strength (εsl) on the evaporation properties was addressed. The system consists of a solid nanoparticle (platinum) engulfed in a droplet (argon) in Argon vapor environment. After the equilibration of this nanoparticle embedded droplet with its vapor, the boundary of this system is heated continuously to evaporate the droplet. It is observed that the addition of a nanoparticle to the droplet resulted in a slower evaporation rate when compared to that of a pure droplet. It was found that the evaporation rate of the droplet is decreased with increasing solid--liquid interaction strength (εsl) and those liquid atoms around the solid nanoparticle with higher εsl are able to delay evaporation even at higher temperature owing to its decreased interfacial resistance. In order to analyze further on the vibrational coupling of the solid and liquid atoms, the vibrational density of states (VDOS) of the solid atoms is studied. It is observed that the DOS of the solid atoms exhibited a higher population in the lower frequency range with the highest peak observed for a lower value of εsl. For low values of εsl, we observe a decrease in the overlap between the VDOS of the solid atom and the interfacial liquid atoms. It is observed that for higher values of εsl, the particle is able to retain a structured layer of liquid even at high temperature and also a higher heat input is necessitated to break the interaction strength of the liquid molecules around the solid nanoparticle, which makes it possible in delaying the complete evaporation of the droplet. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An algorithm has been developed to retrieve ocean surface wind speed from Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) on-board Radar Imaging Satellite-1 (RISAT-1). The retrieved wind speed is subsequently validated using observations from Advanced Scatterometers (on-board Metop-A, Metop-B) for the period from July 2012 to September 2016. The quality of the retrieved wind speed was assessed using observations from offshore moored buoys in the Bay of Bengal and Arabian Sea. It has been observed that the RISAT-1 derived wind speed, retrieved using three Geophysical Model Functions (GMFs) viz., CMOD5.N, CMOD5 and CMOD_IFR2 are negatively biased relative to ASCAT as well as Buoy. The biases with ASCAT are 0.38 (0.98) ms−1, 0.96 (1.24) ms−1 and 1.31 (1.55) ms−1 respectively for the coastal (offshore) region. The Root Mean Square Difference (RMSD) between RISAT-1 and ASCAT are 1.58 (1.78), 1.8 (1.85) and 1.96 (1.99) in m s−1 respectively for coastal (offshore) waters, which is well within the acceptable limits. Thus it is found that the quality of the wind speed retrieved using CMOD5.N GMF is better than other GMFs. The high resolution wind data available from RISAT-1 SAR opens new pathways for assessing wind energy potential along the Indian coast. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Transfusion-related acute lung injury (TRALI), an important non-infectious risk of blood transfusion is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality. Activation of polymorphonuclear (PMN) leucocytes by the mediators released due to the interaction of donor antibodies against the recipient monocytes is thought to trigger TRALI. Major histocompatibility complex Class II antibodies have been implicated in the direct causation of TRALI by direct activation of PMN leucocytes. TRALI has been reported in patients receiving all blood components that contain plasma. Awareness regarding TRALI among clinicians and a high index of suspicion will facilitate early diagnosis of the condition. TRALI is a clinical diagnosis that is suspected when new acute lung injury (ALI) develops within six hours of a transfusion. Diagnostic work-up should focus on ruling out other risk factors for ALI like sepsis, aspiration, among others. TRALI mitigation strategies are helpful to ensure blood safety and facilitate lessening of other transfusion reactions transfusion associated circulatory overload as well. The treatment for TRALI is symptomatic and supportive and is similar to that administered for ALI. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The use of crude leaf preparations from Carica papaya for increasing platelet count in patients with dengue fever is a popular self-treatment that is increasingly being observed recently. We report the case of a 62-year-old male who presented to our outpatient department for the evaluation of 4-day fever. In hospital diagnostic testing revealed dengue NS1 antigen enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay was positive, thrombocytopenia (platelet count 66,000/mm3), normal serum creatinine (0.96 mg/dl). Thereafter, since he was told that he was diagnosed to have dengue fever with thrombocytopenia, as per the advice given by a neighbour, he had consumed juice extracted from papaya leaves to 'increase the platelet count.' Six hours after ingestion, he had developed severe mucositis of oral cavity and severe gastritis, vomiting and loose stools. He became drowsy and irritable. Arterial blood gas analysis revealed mild metabolic acidosis, serum creatinine increased to 3.69 mg/dL. He was treated symptomatically with intravenous fluids and was carefully monitored in-hospital. Over the next 2 days, fever subsided, serum creatinine and platelet count became normal and he was discharged in a stable condition. The present case highlights the life-threatening complications that can result with the use of papaya leaf extract in the self-treatment of dengue fever. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We report the case of a 39‑year‑old female who presented with breathlessness on exertion, cough, myalgias for the past 6 months and fever for 1 month. Chest X‑ray revealed bilateral multilobar consolidation. High‑resolution computed tomography (HRCT) of the chest revealed bilateral interstitial thickening, traction bronchiectasis and consolidation in the posterior segment of the left upper lobe. Laboratory investigations showed mild normocytic, normochromic anaemia (haemoglobin 10.4 g/dL), thrombocytosis (platelet count 6.03 lakhs/mm³), peripheral blood eosinophilia (11%) and raised erythrocyte sedimentation rate (100 mm at the end of the first hour). Serum creatine kinase (178 IU/L) was normal. Anti‑nuclear antibody (ANA) tested positive and ANA profile revealed anti‑Jo‑1 antibodies. She was diagnosed to have anti‑synthetase syndrome based on the above clinical features and positive autoantibodies. The present case highlights the importance of obtaining HRCT chest and ANA profile in confirming the diagnosis in patients with clinically suspected inflammatory muscle diseases and associated interstitial lung diseases. This case also brings to light the uncommon occurrence of anti‑synthetase syndrome among idiopathic inflammatory muscle diseases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The well-being of young cancer survivors is hampered due to the toxic effects of chemotherapy on the ovaries, resulting in infertility. We report a case of a 42-year-old woman with a history of bilateral ductal carcinoma of the breast who underwent radical mastectomy with chemotherapy and radiotherapy was anxious to conceive. In vitro fertilization was performed with donor oocyte; the patient became pregnant and delivered a full term baby with no congenital anomalies. As very few have a background for providing guidance and treatment in this setting, this report highlights the possibility of improving the quality of reproductive life of young survivors by various assisted reproductive techniques, the importance of fertility preservation and a multidisciplinary team approach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Context: Intra-abdominal sepsis following laparotomy for acute abdomen remains still a challenging condition. The understanding of various perioperative risk factors by anesthesiologists are crucial in optimum management these patients. Aims: The objective of this study is to assess the perioperative risk factors, which predicts the outcome of treatment. Settings and Design: This retrospective observational study of 603 patients who underwent Laparotomies between March 2012 and March 2015 at our University Medical College. Of 603 patients, 52 consecutive patients with intra-abdomen sepsis who underwent surgical procedures and admitted in Intensive Care Unit (ICU) were selected and analyzed for prognostic risk factors in relation to severity of the disease. Subjects and Methods: 52 consecutive patients who developed intra-abdominal sepsis following laparotomy was allocated one of two groups; Group Sepsis, patients with peritonitis without systemic hypotension (mean arterial pressure [MAP] >60 mm of Hg); and Group septic shock, patients with peritonitis with systemic hypotension (mean arterial pressure [MAP] <60 mm of Hg) and patients were analyzed for prognostic risk factors. Statistical Analysis Used: Categorical variables were analyzed by using Fisher's exact (two-tail) test and continuous variable were analyzed by using Mann-Whitney (two-tail) U-test. Results: Out of 603 patients who underwent laparotomy 52 patients developed an intra-abdominal septic complication. Of these 52 cases studied 28 patients developed septic shock and required a longer duration of admission in ICU and more inotropic support. Preoperative albumin and hematocrit level were significantly low in septic shock patients as compared to the patients with sepsis without systemic hypotension. PaCOO2: FiOO2 was also significantly low in these patients. Conclusions: Preoperative low hematocrit, low albumin level, and delay in laparotomy more than 72 h were also associated with adverse outcome in the patients with intra-abdominal sepsis. Clinicians should maintain equipoise on this topic pending prospective randomized clinical trials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Blends of sorghum and soybean flours were processed in a co-rotating twin screw extruder to prepare expanded product. Response surface methodology (RSM) was used to study the effect of soya level (SL), feed moisture (FM), barrel temperature (BT) and screw speed (SS) on extruder system parameters and physical properties of the extrudate. Response variables were product temperature (PT), motor torque (MT), specific mechanical energy (SME), expansion ratio (ER), bulk density (BD), hardness (H), crispness (C), water absorption index (WAI), and water solubility index (WSI). Second order polynomial models were developed to determine the responses as a function of process variables. FM, BT, and SS had a significant effect on all the responses except BT on WAI, while SL considerably affected ER, BD, H, C, and WAI. All the models were found to be statistically significant (R2> 0.85; insignificant lack of fit). Sorghum-soya extruded product was found to be feasible and the optimum values of processing variables were: SL: 14 per cent; FM: 14 per cent wb; BT: 129°C; and SS: 422 rpm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • Vacuum frying is a novel method for giving unique textured fried products compared to deep fat frying. • The reduced oil absorption, improved vaporization and less frying time are the main factors for texture enhancement. • Different process parameters during vacuum frying significantly affect the textural characteristics. • Several pre/ post frying treatments provide better textural development than vacuum frying alone. • Emerging techniques are adopted for the best textural changes along with vacuum frying. Vacuum frying (VF) is known as the most popular food processing method for the production of ready-to-eat snacks. It includes simultaneous mass and heat transfer in very low temperature and frying period to provide higher qualitative products. The quantity of oil used for frying is less in the vacuum frying method as compared to other frying methods. Numbers of physical, chemical, and structural changes occur during the frying process by evaporation of moisture, obstruction of oil movement, gelatinization of starch, denaturation of protein structure, and solubilization of pectin cells. These changes lead to textural modification of fried products and VF successfully enhances the textural properties at optimum process parameters which are according to the consumers' acceptance. In this context, this review is an update of the VF, showing the effect of different process parameters on the improvement of the texture of the fried snacks. Additionally, the mechanism behind the development of texture due to VF has been described in detail along with proper figures. Also, a comparative study of VF and atmospheric conventional frying on the increment of textural characteristics in various food materials starting from fruits and vegetables to fish and meat products have been highlighted. Moreover, to enhance the food texture during VF, several pre/post frying treatments are carried out which have been taken into discussion. Further, some novel techniques adopted along with VF, which influence highly on texture development of food materials, have been mentioned. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Plasma activated water (PAW) is an advanced technology that has gained intensive attention being protecting the food products from physical, chemical, and biological contaminations. The generated reactive oxygen species (ROS) and reactive nitrogen species (RNS) during process are the main reasons for preservation of food products. By applying PAW, the unprocessed and processed food products are kept safe from microbes during storage periods, however the quality is affected. The reaction between ROS/RNS with constituents of food materials leads to changes in texture, structure, physiochemical and nutritional properties. Although the various application of PAW in the food industry such as decontamination of microbes, thawing of food, curing of meat products, and combined effect with other technologies have been extensively evaluated, but a complete analysis of the effect of PAW on the quality of food is somehow lacking. In this context, the present review focuses on the impact of PAW application on chemical, nutritional, and textural changes in food. Further, the effect of processing parameters of PAW on the modification of food constituents and sensory attributes are described in detail. In addition, the physicochemical properties of PAW after being produced by several modes are also reviewed. Finally, this review also highlights several limitations of PAW treatment and suggests further research directions of the technology. [Display omitted] •Plasma activated water (PAW) is considered as GRAS for food decontamination. • Generated reactive species from PAW could be the superior preservatives than CP. •Physicochemical properties and parameters of PAW effect on the food quality. •The reactive species interact with food constituents during or after treatment. •The nutritional, functional, structural and sensory changes are seen in food products. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Malaria afflicts 300 million people worldwide, with over a million deaths every year. With no immediate prospect of a vaccine against the disease, drugs are the only choice to treat it. Unfortunately, the parasite has become resistant to most antimalarials, restricting the option to use artemisinins (ARTs) for effective cure. With the use of ARTs as the front-line antimalarials, reports are already available on the possible resistance development to these drugs as well. Therefore, it has become necessary to use ART-based combination therapies to delay emergence of resistance. It is also necessary to discover new pharmacophores to eventually replace ART. Studies in our laboratory have shown that curcumin not only synergizes with ART as an antimalarial to kill the parasite, but is also uniquely able to prime the immune system to protect against parasite recrudescence in the animal model. The results indicate a potential for the use of ART- curcumin combination against recrudescence/relapse in falciparum and vivax malaria. In addition, studies have also suggested the use of curcumin as an adjunct therapy against cerebral malaria. In this review we have attempted to highlight these aspects as well as the studies directed to discover new pharmacophores as potential replacements for ART. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The development of resistance by the parasite against first line and second line antimalarial drugs, has underscored the importance to develop new drug targets and pharmacophores to treat the disease. The absence of a vaccine for protection and the availability of artemisinin and its derivatives as the only option has made the situation rather serious. With the availability of increased support for malaria research, a variety of drug targets and candidate molecules are now available for further development. However, the success rate of a candidate molecule to become a drug is very low and it does become necessary to start with a large basket, identified on a rational basis. This review focuses on the present efforts to identify a variety of drug targets in the malaria parasite and to develop candidate drug molecules. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • Deep learning based piece-wise encoding (PKNet) for effective smoothing of index curves. • Transformation of pixel-level index curves to get field-level representation (DPGNet) • Dynamic time wrapping based capsule networks (DTCapsNet) to model curve features. • Illustration of performance of proposed approaches for crop phenological analysis. The high spatial, spectral, and temporal resolutions of the Vegetation and Environment monitoring New Micro-Satellite (VENµS) satellite data facilitate field-level phenological analysis of crops. This study proposes deep learning (DL) based approaches to resolve the issues prevalent in crop phenology-based fingerprint estimation at field-level using VENµS satellite data. An encoder-decoder-based framework, called piece-wise kernel encoding network (PKNet), is proposed for missing data imputation of the vegetation index (VI) curves derived from time-series image data. PKNet adopts interpolation-based convolution, dynamic time wrapping (DTW) based layer formulation, and imputation-specific constraints for optimal smoothing of the irregularly sampled VI curves. Besides, PKNet learns kernel parameters dynamically. A variational encoding framework called a dynamic-projection-based generalization network (DPGNet), is proposed to generalize the pixel-level VI curves to synthesize a representative VI curve for a given field. DPGNet is more effective than the use of multiple moments as it is resilient to outliers and learns normally distributed latent space with a small number of samples. The current research also proposes a classifier, called dynamic time wrapping based capsule network (DTCapsNet), which learns a discriminative latent space and accurately models the VI curve features. The DTCapsNet considers the time-series nature of the input using DTW-based convolution layers. The feature characterization improves generalizability and gives good results, even with a limited number of training samples. Experiments using the ground truth information and satellite images, acquired over two farms in Israel, illustrate that the proposed frameworks give better results than the commonly-used existing approaches. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Numerous spontaneous pregnancies have been reported in renal transplant recipients; however, only a few pregnancies after the use of assisted reproductive techniques. The authors report a case of renal transplant recipient with secondary infertility who delivered a healthy baby without any complications. The report highlights the importance of minimal stimulation protocol during ovarian stimulation, single embryo transfer, and the need for multispecialty care for these patients. To the best of the authors' knowledge, the present report is the first such case from India and also the second in the world to report a blastocyst transfer among renal transplant recipients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ozone is an eco-friendly and cost-effective non-thermal food processing technology utilized in place of thermal treatment. It is also termed green technology as it causes the least adverse effects on the environment. It is widely applied for microbial decontamination and mycotoxin degradation in cereals and enhances seed germination rate. The current article provides an overview of the efficacy of ozone on cereals processing for microbial decontamination, mycotoxin degradation, insect control, starch modification, functional quality changes, and germination ability. Furthermore, the limitations and economic aspects of ozone compared with other thermal and non-thermal techniques are summarized. Future research directions of ozone are briefly discussed. Several factors that influence the ozone treatment process, such as concentration, temperature, pH of the medium, and moisture content, and bed thickness of the grain, are discussed. The oxidation principle involved in ozone treatment ensures that the final product is the microbiologically safe and shelf-stable product. Seed treatment by ozone also enhances the germination ability of seeds. Thus, ozone proves to be a promising technology in maintaining the quality of cereal and cereal-based products. [Display omitted] • Ozone (O 3) is a strong oxidant used for mycotoxin degradation in cereals. • O 3 enhances dough strength and substitute for chemical bleaching agents in cereal flour. • Growing energy was increased in seeds with limited O 3 concentration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] Molecular Dynamic simulations and experiments have been performed to investigate the evaporative behavior of a liquid droplet in the presence of nanoparticles on a smooth, heated flat plate. Nanofluids of different volume fractions with CuO and Al 2 O 3 nanoparticles were prepared to obtain liquid droplets. Experiments were conducted for droplets of both nanofluids and base fluid (DI water). The results showed that in the pinned region of evaporation, droplets of nanofluids with higher volume fractions of dense nanoparticles evaporated by keeping their base pinned at the triple point contact line. It is also observed that the evaporation rate of nanofluid droplets with nanoparticles having higher density is slower and promoted a typical pattern formation. Molecular Dynamic simulations were further performed to analyse the influence of various nanoparticle-liquid interaction strengths (ε np − l) on evaporative behavior. The simulation results suggest that in the pinned evaporation stage, for higher values of ε np − l , the droplet undergoes a delay on evaporation while subjected to higher heat flux on the substrate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Energy security and the quality of power supply are the key issues being faced with rising demand for electricity. The scarcity of fossil fuels and rising environmental concerns have put the focus on renewable sources of energy. However, obtaining firm power from them is a challenge. Even the complementary nature of energy delivery by different sources like solar and wind power systems may not entirely serve the purpose, as in multi-generation energy systems. Energy storage is set to play a key role in hybrid energy systems by smoothening the variations in intermittent generation and arresting the net load variations. However arriving at the optimal capacity and designing the optimal operating strategy for a battery storage system is the real challenge. A generalized model for techno-economic optimization has been developed and presented. This paper attempts to find the optimal sizes for a battery bank, solar PV system, Biomass and Diesel generator, integrated with a distribution system, in a microgrid configuration. Economic benefits of operating the battery system alongside the different distributed generators, in different regimes compared to existing tariff (of utility pricing like flat tariff, time of use, DG pricing etc.) has been shown. The developed model is solved using mixed integer linear programming (MILP) for four different microgrids healthcare, educational and industrial facilities. The proposed optimal model has been rigorously tested for all cases to evaluate robustness of the self-sustained asset configuration. The techno-economic analysis result (LCOE and NPV) shows that the obtained optimal asset configuration with renewable energy (RE) combination gives cost effective optimal solution with minimal carbon footprint. • A novel generic optimal asset configuration MILP model for multi-generation hybrid microgrids. • Generation Expansion Planning (GEP) based on the load forecast. • Budget constraint to enhance the practicality and optimal asset configuration. • A detailed economic analysis for ascertaining viability of the proposed solution. • Rigorously tested on four different types of actual microgrids. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Organic bistable memory devices were fabricated by embedding a thin layer of molybdenum trioxide (MoO3) between two tris-(8-hydroxyquinoline)aluminum (Alq3) layers. The device exhibited excellent switching characteristics with an ON/OFF current ratio of 1.15 × 103 at a read voltage of 1 V. The device showed repeatable write–erase capability and good stability in both the conductance states. These conductance states are non-volatile in nature and can be obtained by applying appropriate voltage pulses. The effect of MoO3 layer thickness and its location in the Alq3 matrix on characteristics of the memory device was investigated. The field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM) images of the MoO3 layer revealed the presence of isolated nanoparticles. Based on the experimental results, a mechanism has been proposed for explaining the conductance switching of fabricated devices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Protein hydrolysates prepared from food sources are known to contain potent biologically active peptides. Bioactive peptides are highly used to treat a number of health related diseases. Antihypertensive activity is the most studied till date, with bioactive peptides derived from food protein reported to have an edge over synthetic drugs. Food protein-derived peptides with specific sequences inhibit the angiotensin-converting enzyme-I (ACE-I), the major target for controlling elevated blood pressure levels. Mostly, the peptides with competitive inhibitor mode would inhibit the ACE-I effectively than noncompetitive and uncompetitive modes. The emerging technologies in drug discovery studies, facilitates the drug development process easier, even though the technologies provide a better platform for drug discovery, the more precise clinical and control measures are needed for effective release, and functioning at target sites of food-derived bioactive peptides in the human gastrointestinal system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Many patients consider removal of caries to be a very unpleasant experience. Removal of caries with conventional drill is considered traumatic mainly due to fear and anxiety of children and their parents. Minimally invasive dentistry adopts a philosophy that integrates prevention, remineralization, and minimal intervention for the placement and replacement of restorations, thus reaching the treatment objective using the least invasive surgical approach, with the removal of the minimal amount of healthy tissues. Chemomechanical caries removal (CMCR) is a method for minimally invasive, gentle dentin caries removal based on biological principles which is an effective alternative to the traditional method. The present study was done to compare the microhardness of sound dentin before and after carious removal using a chemomechanical method and a conventional method. Materials and Methods: The present in vitro study was done on 28 proximal surfaces of fourteen extracted primary molars (with active caries on one proximal surface and sound side as control). The study was done to assess the Knoop microhardness of remaining dentinal surface after caries removal using a slow speed conventional bur and a chemomechanical method (Carie-Care™). Results and Conclusion: The rotary instrument group showed a consistent microhardness value with not much difference according to depth. The chemomechanical group showed a lesser microhardness value closer to the cavity floor than away from it. The microhardness values at all depths were significantly different for each treatment group with an increased value seen in the rotary group. The mean microhardness values of residual dentin in treated side were found to be insignificant when compared among each interval in each group. The microhardness of sound dentin had high significant difference from that of residual dentin in both the rotary group and the chemomechanical group. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Cluster frontline demonstration (CFLD) with improved technology plays a vital role in enhancing the production potential of pulses as well as socio-economic level of farmers and it also proved that it improves soil heath through crop diversification by optimizing diversified microhabitats that benefit soil microbial community. Methods: KVK, ICAR-NDRI, Karnal (Haryana) conducted 220 demonstrations on chickpea variety HC-1 and HC-5 over an area of 80 ha during Rabi season 2017-18 to 2020-21. The demonstrated technology was improved variety HC-1 and HC-5, optimum seed rate and spacing, seed and soil treatment with bio-fungicide and application of Integrated Pest Management (IPM) module for the management of diseases and insects. Result: The result of the CFLDs showed that on an average yield of chickpea seed under improved technology, ranged from 11.41 q/ha to 20 q/ha which was 25.06 per cent more as compared to farmer practices. The study depicted, the mean technology gap of 9.01 q/ha, the mean extension gap of 3.70 q/ha and the mean technology index of 36.7 per cent. The study concluded that from one hectare a net income of Rs. 47565/- can be obtained, additional return of Rs. 10404/, effective gain of Rs. 8289 and B:C ratio obtained were 2.63 under incorporation of improved technology as compared to local check. By conducting CFLD of proven technologies, yield of crop could be enhanced to a great extent with ultimately increment in the income level of small and marginal farmers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study analyses the combined offshore wind and wave resource potential along the Indian coast. The state-of-the-art ERA5 reanalysis datasets that provide wind fields at 100 m height have been used for the first time to assess wind resources along the Indian Coast. Further, wave parameters were generated using the WAVEWATCH III (WWIII) model. Long-term spatial air density was considered to find accurate wind power potential. The results reveal that the southern coast of India exhibits higher wind power density and moderate wave energy flux (up to 0.65 kW/m2 and 10 kW/m), respectively. This region has the lowest variability (coefficient of variation <1, skewness <1.5, and kurtosis <4) and less correlation (<0.4). A suitable hotspot is identified based on the collocation feasibility index and depth constraint after excluding conflicted regions. A comprehensive investigation of local wind and wave characteristics was performed at the hotspot. Further, the yearly and monthly cross-correlations between wind and wave at different time lags were analysed. Actual estimation of power generation is carried out with various combinations of wind turbine (SG8.0-167 DD) and wave energy converter (Oceantec). The outcome of the present study will help to initiate the development of joint offshore wind and wave energy farms in India. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A disturbed eruption process creates a clinical situation that is challenging to diagnose and treat. The clinical arena of tooth eruption disorders includes both syndromic and nonsyndromic problems varying from delayed eruption to a complete failure of eruption or sometimes retained primary teeth. This paper reports a rare case of retained bilateral primary incisors on mandibular arch in a systemically healthy patient with eruption of the permanent central and lateral incisors bilaterally. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The number of food frauds in coconut-based products is increasing due to higher consumer demands for these products. Rising health consciousness, public awareness and increased concerns about food safety and quality have made authorities and various other certifying agencies focus more on the authentication of coconut products. As the conventional techniques for determining the quality attributes of coconut are destructive and time-consuming, non-destructive testing methods which are accurate, rapid, and easy to perform with no detrimental sampling methods are currently gaining importance. Spectroscopic methods such as nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), infrared (IR)spectroscopy, mid-infrared (MIR)spectroscopy, near-infrared (NIR) spectroscopy, ultraviolet-visible (UV-VIS) spectroscopy, fluorescence spectroscopy, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), and Raman spectroscopy (RS) are gaining in importance for determining the oxidative stability of coconut oil, the adulteration of oils, and the detection of harmful additives, pathogens, and toxins in coconut products and are also employed in deducing the interactions in food constituents, and microbial contaminations. The objective of this review is to provide a comprehensive analysis on the various spectroscopic techniques along with different chemometric approaches for the successful authentication and quality determination of coconut products. The manuscript was prepared by analyzing and compiling the articles that were collected from various databases such as PubMed, Google Scholar, Scopus and ScienceDirect. The spectroscopic techniques in combination with chemometrics were shown to be successful in the authentication of coconut products. RS and NMR spectroscopy techniques proved their utility and accuracy in assessing the changes in coconut oil's chemical and viscosity profile. FTIR spectroscopy was successfully utilized to analyze the oxidation levels and determine the authenticity of coconut oils. An FT-NIR-based analysis of various coconut samples confirmed the acceptable levels of accuracy in prediction. These non-destructive methods of spectroscopy offer a broad spectrum of applications in food processing industries to detect adulterants. Moreover, the combined chemometrics and spectroscopy detection method is a versatile and accurate measurement for adulterant identification. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Unsafe foods and water bodies are the leading cause of disease outbreaks in India and Escherichia coli (E. coli) contributes to the majority of food-borne illnesses in human beings. Elimination of food-borne pathogens is of paramount importance in food industries to ensure consumer food safety. Most of the decontamination techniques are thermal in nature and involve the usage of heat that can damage the natural flavor and functionality of foods. Non-thermal oxidation technologies such as cold plasma and ozone can effectively decontaminate E. coli in foods while minimizing quality and nutrient losses. We reviewed recent studies on the application of cold plasma and ozone for the decontamination of food spoilage microbe E. coli. The mechanisms involved and the trending applications are outlined. The effects on microbial activity along with the impact on nutritional, physiochemical and sensorial properties are also discussed. The cold plasma and ozone technology are suitable for the inactivation of E. coli in a wide range of food products and for the surface decontamination. The oxidation principles involved in plasma science and ozone technology could have the potential to replace conventional decontamination techniques in food industries. For maximizing the application, evaluating the treatment parameters with each microorganism and food product can improve the effectiveness and attribute to commercialization of these techniques. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The dynamic coastal environment comprising of near-shore zone and beach continuously undergoes substantial morphological changes due to man-made and natural processes. These processes are always mutually dependent and therefore understanding their physical mechanisms is complicated. In this study, an attempt has been made to understand the physical interactions between the waves, tides and currents in the near-shore regions of four major tourist beaches of Goa using field measurements and numerical modelling. The state-of-the-art instruments were deployed at 6 m water depth, for a fortnight at each beach for two seasons in 2018. In-situ depth data were collected along the 8 km stretch covering Baga to Sinquerim using a mechanised boat equipped with an Echo sounder and a differential global positioning system. A coupled Delft3D model was set up with the model domain created using in-situ bathymetry soundings, beach profiles’ elevation and naval hydrographic chart data. Model simulations were performed for two seasons (Jan–Feb) for calibration and (Oct–Nov) for validation by forcing the FLOW and WAVE models with time-varying water levels obtained from the TOPEX/POSEIDON global tide model, wave parameters from European Centre for Medium-range Weather Forecasting data and the measured wind data. The model results were validated by comparing the significant wave height, current speed and water level with the in-situ data. From these experiments, it has been observed that near-shore parameters change significantly with the season and are mutually interactive. Especially, the near-shore currents are varying according to the wave heights and water level variations (due to tides). The Delft3D model is capable of addressing the near-shore processes with a good level of accuracy. However, fine-tuning the model parameters with more seasonal data would help in addressing several coastal processes for any future datasets and therefore could be utilised for investigating and forecasting near-shore processes. Research highlights: Studied waves, tides and near-shore currents from the field measurements. Study revealed that the near-shore currents are influenced by waves and tides consistently. Coupled Delft3D WAVE and FLOW models were run with European Centre for Medium-range Weather Forecasting (ECMWF) and TOPEX/POSEIDON (TPXO) tides as inputs. Calibration and validation of the models were done using field measurements. Model performed excellently in simulating all the near-shore processes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Conventionally, antipsychotics are used to treat schizophrenia due to predominant dopamine antagonist activity. The use of various types of Benzodiazepines (BZDs) in the treatment of Schizophrenic symptoms like agitation and psychotic excitement in general and control of florid psychotic symptoms such as hallucinations and delusions in particular is well known. However, the use of BZDs, specifically in remission of paranoid schizophrenia, is not reported so far. Here, we are reporting a case of an elderly female patient with chronic paranoid schizophrenia showing short-term remission in paranoid symptoms with injectable lorazepam. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Plants are a source of inspiration for the development of a novel drug compound. It cures many diseases such as skin disease, snake bite, swelling, burns, and diabetes. The free radicals caused by oxidative stress leads to the development of chronic and degenerative diseases such as cancer, autoimmune disorders, aging, cataract, rheumatoid arthritis, and cardiovascular and neurodegenerative diseases. In this regard, bioactive compound analysis of selected plants was carried out. Phytochemical analysis, evaluation of antioxidant and antimicrobial activity of plants, namely Indigofera aspalathoides (Aerial Part), Phyllanthus emblica (Fruit), and Phaseolus vulgaris (Seed) was carried out to deduce the concentration and activity of methanol and aqueous extracts. The screening of plant parts showed the presence of alkaloids, tannins, phenols, saponins, flavonoids, proteins, and quinines. The screened plant extracts were used for the evaluation of the antioxidant and antimicrobial property. The results showed potential antioxidant and antimicrobial activity in P. emblica extracts, I. aspalathoides extracts showed moderate antioxidant and antimicrobial activity. Thus, this research will pave a way to the discovery of potential lead compound as a step toward an alternative cure for cancer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sea cage farming of Asian seabass is a prospective aquaculture activity in India. Reports from India on betanodavirus-induced mortality in marine fish culture are not many. An outbreak of viral encephalopathy and retinopathy associated with red-spotted grouper nervous necrosis virus (RGNNV) genotype of betanodavirus in Asian seabass juveniles reared in indoor tanks and sea cages is described in the present paper. Mortality was less severe in cages when compared to tanks. Sequence analysis of the coat protein gene indicated that the virus belonged to RGNNV genotype but found to be distinct from other reported RGNNV isolates. Virus was able to induce cytopathic effects in fish cell lines. Light microscopic features of the disease are also described. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]