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We report the effect of thickness and width on the spin wave transport and dispersion characteristics of permalloy (Py) microstripes using analytical calculations and experiments. Py waveguides with widths ranging from 2 to 4 μm were fabricated for two different thicknesses: 5 and 20 nm. Our results show a notable increase in the group velocity of spin waves with greater thickness, showing a fourfold rise as the thickness increases. Additionally, the accessible frequency range expands from 0.6 to 2.5 GHz as the thickness increases. We find that the spin wave mode frequency is affected by both thickness and width, with a frequency shift of approximately 0.2 GHz observed when the width increases from 2 to 4 μm. Moreover, spin waves decay more rapidly in thinner films, with the decay length of 20 nm-thick waveguides being four times longer than that of 5 nm-thick waveguides. Thicker and wider waveguides provide a longer decay length, facilitating the transmission of information over longer distances without significant energy loss. Our study offers an understanding of the spin wave propagation in microstrip waveguides and its potential in the development of future magnonic devices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

High density polyethylene (HDPE) waste accumulation in the environment is one among the major threats faced globally for the last quarter of century. The current study deals with isolation, characterization and mycodegradation analysis of the HDPE strips by a potential fungus isolated from garbage dump yard. Based on morphological characterization, the isolated strain was identified and designated as Talaromyces liani strain JA2HS. Until now, there have been no reports of HDPE degradation using T. liani. The HDPE strips were subjected to degradation by the fungal isolate JA2HS for 90 days after optimization of growth and environmental parameters. The extent of degradation was confirmed by measuring the weight of the residual strip and the amount of CO2 evolution by Sturm test. A partial 72.7% degradation of the HDPE strip was observed, followed by the evolution of 18.5 g/L CO2. Enzyme studies were conducted to test the presence of ligninolytic enzymes (laccase, manganese peroxidase and lignin peroxidase) responsible for the biodegradation of the plastic strip. The fungal biomass estimation and hydrophobicity test were also performed. Mycodegradation analysis of the HDPE strip was further confirmed using analytical techniques such as FTIR, SEM, and AFM. This is the first study revealing the HDPE degradation using T. liani mediated by ligninolytic enzymes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: Forkhead-box M1 (FOXM1) is a proliferation-associated transcription factor, overexpressed in almost all the cancers, making its regulation worth investigating. FOXM1 is known to bind to the promoters of certain microRNAs, a class of biomolecules involved in post-transcriptional gene regulation. Database mining followed by Venn analysis led us to the shortlisting of seven microRNAs, among which microRNA-532-3p showed the strongest interaction with FOXM1 3'UTR. The ectopic overexpression of miR-532-3p in colorectal cancer (CRC) cells led to decreased FOXM1 levels which resulted in the alteration of CRC functionalities. These altered phenotypes were supported by a change in the expression of proliferation and EMT markers. In conclusion, the present study suggested that the regulation of FOXM1 by microRNA-532-3p via its interaction with FOXM1 3'UTR inhibited CRC proliferation, migration, and invasion. Colorectal cancer (CRC) is a heterogeneous disease and classified into various subtypes, among which transcriptional alterations result in CRC progression, metastasis, and drug resistance. Forkhead-box M1 (FOXM1) is a proliferation-associated transcription factor which is overexpressed in CRC and the mechanisms of FOXM1 regulation have been under investigation. Previously, we showed that FOXM1 binds to promoters of certain microRNAs. Database mining led to several microRNAs that might interact with FOXM1 3'UTR. The interactions between shortlisted microRNAs and FOXM1 3'UTR were quantitated by a dual-luciferase reporter assay. MicroRNA-532-3p interacted with the 3'UTR of the FOXM1 mRNA transcript most efficiently. MicroRNA-532-3p was ectopically overexpressed in colorectal cancer (CRC) cell lines, leading to reduced transcript and protein levels of FOXM1 and cyclin B1, a direct transcriptional target of FOXM1. Further, a clonogenic assay was conducted in overexpressed miR-532-3p CRC cells that revealed a decline in the ability of cells to form colonies and a reduction in migratory and invading potential. These alterations were reinforced at molecular levels by the altered transcript and protein levels of the conventional EMT markers E-cadherin and vimentin. Overall, this study identifies the regulation of FOXM1 by microRNA-532-3p via its interaction with FOXM1 3'UTR, resulting in the suppression of proliferation, migration, and invasion, suggesting its role as a tumor suppressor in CRC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Brain–Computer Interface is tested as a successful method in improving human cognitive functions such as attention and memory. Attention plays a significant role in areas ranging from a person's day-to-day life to educational domain and professional activities. When attention is evaluated using camera-based techniques, the users may suffer privacy issues. Using Brain–Computer Interface (BCI) to obtain a measure of attention will be useful in this regard. The paper proposes a Human Attention Recognition System (HARS) in which EEG signal acquisition is used to obtain the attention of the individual, Renyi's entropy-based mutual information method is used for feature selection and a deep learning-based classifier is used to classify the signals. HADS is not camera-based: therefore, faces of the subjects are not revealed. EEG signals were collected using the Ultracortex Mark III dry electrodes and were visualised using OpenBCI GUI (Graphical User Interface). The experiment is validated using the publicly available Confused Student EEG dataset from Kaggle, giving an accuracy of 99.21%. The results indicate that the proposed method can identify attention levels accurately and can be effectively used in educational systems, biofeedback and medical research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We introduce an automated wavefunction-identification program to generate large-scale datasets for active-region (AR) design of quantum cascade lasers (QCLs) by using machine learning. Conventional QCL design methods rely on expert knowledge and extensive iterative testing; thus, they are inefficient AR design approaches. Our automated approach identifies crucial wavefunctions within a QCL band diagram rapidly and with high accuracy. Key wavefunctions in the optical-transition, injector-, and extractor-regions, which include, upper- and lower-laser levels, injecting levels, extractor levels, and high-energy leakage-path levels, are identified by using a refined k-means clustering algorithm and tailored probability formulas. We find that an accuracy of > 95 % can be achieved using this identification program. Leveraging our automated wavefunction identification program, we generated approximately 430 000 QCL structures, identified wavefunctions, and computed basic metrics such as energy differences between various levels. A nominally 8 μm-emitting QCL structure, with each stage comprising 24 layers and a fixed applied electric field of 40 kV/cm, which is expected to be close to that corresponding to the laser threshold, was used in the analysis. The compositions of InGaAs wells and AlInAs barriers were lattice-matched to InP, and only layer thicknesses were varied within empirically derived ranges. Using this dataset, we trained neural networks to map QCL structures to energy level differences and tested the performance. The promising results, with a coefficient of determination, R2, values around 90%, validate both the efficacy of our automated program for generating substantial, usable training data and the capability of our network for QCL-AR design. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses a rare case of a vesicant-type reaction following intravenous docetaxel infusion in a 47-year-old female patient with breast cancer. The patient developed blisters and linear vesicles along the course of the left cephalic vein after the infusion. Blood investigations revealed anemia, leukocytosis, and high ESR, while skin biopsy showed subepidermal split and dyskeratotic cells. The patient was successfully managed with topical creams, and subsequent infusions were administered with precautions to prevent extravasation. The article highlights the importance of health workers being aware of potential vesicant properties of docetaxel to prevent complications related to extravasation. [Extracted from the article]

The process of domestication of the seaweed Kappaphycus alvarezii (Doty) L.M. Liao (Rhodophyta) has been taking place since 1995 and 1996 with the introduction of a brown tetrasporophyte and a pale brown gametophyte (originated from tetraspore progeny cultivated in laboratory) in the Experimental Marine Farm of the Fisheries Institute, Ubatuba Bay, São Paulo State, Brazil. From both original strains, 12 new color strains were generated, but only 8 strains have survived. However, new strains with brown color were not observed during the monitoring period. From 2013 to 2022, the occurrence of spontaneous color strains and data of temperature, salinity and water transparency were recorded on the cultivation site. For data analysis, a binary logistic regression model was used to identify the significant association between the presence of generation of the new strains of K. alvarezii (outcome variable) and abiotic data (predictors), and Receiver Operating Characteristic Curve (ROC curve) was used to investigate the probability of giving rise to new strains. Results showed that temperature was significant (p-value = 0.025) for generation of new color strains of K. alvarezii. According to the temperature range (18.3 to 31.8 ºC) used in the model, the probabilities to originate a new strain was 7.6% in temperature of 15 °C and 0.01% at 33 ºC. The occurrence of new strains of K. alvarezii may contribute to the selection of new cultivars for local mariculture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The use of seaweed extracts as biostimulants is increasing worldwide to improve agricultural production, since they are natural and environmentally friendly compounds. Seaweeds biosynthesize plant hormones, including cytokinins which play an important role in plant growth and development. Cytokinin-like (CK) activity was analysed in eight species of Rhodophyta, including agarophytes (Gracilaria spp., Gelidium), and carrageenophytes (Chondracanthus, Hypnea). Comparison of CK-activity of different samples of the same species (e.g., field and cultured samples, different color and morphological variants, and reproductive phases) is described. Dried samples were extracted for 24 h at 10ºC in 100 mL 80% ethanol, filtered and rinsed with 80% ethanol. The extracts were purified using C18 Sep-Pak cartridges and Oasis MCX columns and separated into fractions by descending paper chromatography. CK-like activity was determined using the soybean callus bioassay with activity compared to kinetin standards (1, 5, 10 and 50 µg L−1). The green strain of Hypnea psedomusciformis was more active than the brown strain with most activity co-chromatographing with zeatin. Tetrasporophytes and female gametophytes of Gracilaria birdiae had CK-like activity that co-chromatographed with zeatin, and female gametophytes had an additional peak that co-chromatographed with riboside-5'-monophosphate. The highest CK-like activity (equivalent to 50 µg L−1 kinetin) occurred in G. cervicornis which co-chromatographed with isopentenyladenosine. Morphological variants of Hypnea had similar CK-like activity but the "nigrescens" variant had higher activity (equivalent to 10 µg L−1 kinetin) than the "musciformis" variant. These results indicate that Gracilaria cervicornis and Hypnea pseudomusciformis ("nigrescens" variant) have potential as biostimulants in agriculture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: South Asian individuals have high risk of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD). Some investigators suggest smaller coronary artery size may be partially responsible. Methods: We compared the left anterior descending (LAD) artery cross-sectional area (CSA) (lumen and arterial wall) among South Asians in the Mediators of Atherosclerosis in South Asians Living in America (MASALA) study with White and Black participants in the Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults (CARDIA) study, adjusting for BMI, height, and other ASCVD risk factors. We used thin-slice non-contrast cardiac computed tomography to measure LAD CSA. We used linear regression models to determine whether race/ethnicity was associated with LAD CSA after adjusting for demographic factors, BMI, height, coronary artery calcium (CAC), and traditional cardiovascular risk factors. Results: Our sample included 3,353 participants: 513 self-identified as South Asian (44.4% women), 1286 as Black (59.6% women), and 1554 as White (53.5% women). After adjusting for age, BMI, height, there was no difference in LAD CSA between South Asian men and women compared to White men and women, respectively. After full adjustment for CVD risk factors, LAD CSA values were: South Asian women (19.9 mm2, 95% CI [18.8 – 20.9]) and men (22.3 mm2, 95% CI [21.4 – 23.2]; White women (20.0 mm2, 95% CI [19.4—20.5]) and men (23.6 mm2, 95% CI [23.0—24.2]); and Black women (21.6 mm2, 95% CI [21.0 – 22.2]) and men (26.0 mm2, 95% CI [25.3 – 26.7]). Height, BMI, hypertension, CAC, and age were positively associated with LAD CSA; current and former cigarette use were inversely associated. Conclusions: South Asian men and women have similar LAD CSA to White men and women, and smaller LAD CSA compared to Black men and women, respectively, after accounting for differences in body size. Future studies should determine whether LAD CSA is associated with future ASCVD events. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Gum arabic/acacia (GA), derived from Acacia trees, is a versatile natural product offering a broad spectrum of applications. Its rich content of soluble dietary fibers, coupled with a low caloric profile, renders GA a valuable dietary component associated with numerous health benefits. Furthermore, its fermentation by gut microbiota yields short‐chain fatty acids, renowned for their positive impact on health. Immunomodulation, a crucially regulated mechanism in the body, serves to fend off pathogenic infections by releasing pro‐inflammatory cytokines. However, prolonged synthesis of these cytokines can lead to chronic inflammation, tissue damage, and potentially contribute to the development of autoimmune diseases and cancer. Hence, there is an urgent need to identify plant‐based biomolecules that can effectively reduce inflammation and inhibit inflammation‐induced complications or disorders. In this context, edible biomolecules like GA are gaining prominence for their noteworthy immunomodulatory properties. Therefore, in the present review we have explored the role of GA in immunomodulation, inflammation, and inflammation‐associated metabolic diseases, and cancer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Pterospermum rubiginosum has been traditionally used by the tribal inhabitants of Southern India for treating bone fractures and as a local anti-inflammatory agent; however, experimental evidence to support this traditional usage is lacking. The present study aimed to investigate the phytochemical characterization, in silico and in vitro anti-inflammatory evaluation, followed by in vivo toxicological screening of P. rubiginosum methanolic bark extract (PRME). Results: The LCMS evaluation revealed the presence of 80 significant peaks; nearly 50 molecules were identified using the LCMS database. In silico analysis showed notable interactions with inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) and interleukin-6 (IL-6). In vitro gene expression study supported the docking results with significant down-regulation of iNOS, IL-6, and IL-10. PRME was administered orally to the SD rats and was found to be non-toxic up to 1000 mg/kg body weight for 14 days. The antioxidant enzymes catalase and sodium dismutase exhibited an increased value in PRME-administered groups, possibly due to the diverse phytochemical combinations in bark extract. Conclusions: PRME administration significantly downregulated the gene expression of inflammatory markers, such as iNOS, IL-6, and IL-10. The molecular docking analysis of iNOS and IL-6 supports the in vitro study. In vivo toxicological study of PRME in SD rats was found to be non-toxic up to a concentration of 1000 mg/kg body weight for 14 days. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fowl adenovirus affects birds, mainly chicken, duck, geese, turkey, and pheasant. Fowl adenovirus comprises of 5 species and 12 serotypes, which causes a multitude of disease syndromes. The most economically significant diseases caused by Fowl adenovirus include inclusion body hepatitis and hepatitis-hydropericardium syndrome. In the present study, a total of 56 post-mortem samples were collected from broiler birds brought to the Department of Veterinary Microbiology, Department of Veterinary Pathology and some organised farms in Kerala. Postmortem samples of liver, heart, lungs, kidney, bursa of Fabricius and spleen were collected for molecular detection. DNA was extracted from the pooled tissue samples using phenol chloroform method and subjected to polymerase chain reaction, employing primers targeting the hexon gene. Seven out of 56 samples turned out to be positive in PCR (12 per cent). The study revealed the increasing prevalence of Fowl adenovirus among the broiler population of Kerala. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background There may be differential impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on mental health and burnout rates of healthcare professionals (HCPs) performing different roles. Aims To examine mental health and burnout rates, and possible drivers for any disparities between professional roles. Methods In this cohort study, online surveys were distributed to HCPs in July–September 2020 (baseline) and re-sent 4 months later (follow-up; December 2020) assessing for probable major depressive disorder (MDD), generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), insomnia, mental well-being and burnout (emotional exhaustion and depersonalization). Separate logistic regression models (at both phases) compared the risk of outcomes between roles: healthcare assistants (HCAs), nurses and midwives (nurses), allied health professionals (AHPs) and doctors (reference group). Separate linear regression models were also developed relating the change in scores to professional role. Results At baseline (n = 1537), nurses had a 1.9-fold and 2.5-fold increased risk of MDD and insomnia, respectively. AHPs had a 1.7-fold and 1.4-fold increased risk of MDD and emotional exhaustion, respectively. At follow-up (n = 736), the disproportionate risk between doctors and others worsened: nurses and HCAs were at 3.7-fold and 3.6-fold increased risk of insomnia, respectively. Nurses also had a significantly increased risk of MDD, GAD, poor mental well-being and burnout. Nurses also had significantly worsened anxiety, mental well-being and burnout scores over time, relative to doctors. Conclusions Nurses and AHPs had excess risk of adverse mental health and burnout during the pandemic, and this difference worsened over time (in nurses especially). Our findings support adoption of targeted strategies accounting for different HCP roles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Diplomatic press releases play a significant role in presenting a nation's position about global issues to the local and global communities. A nation's stance and decisions communicated via press releases need to be mitigated and expressed tactfully and cautiously to avoid distress leading to confrontations. As a mitigating device, hedging has been identified as an effective pragmatic strategy in reducing potentially damaging reactions, therefore encouraging effective diplomatic communication. This paper presents a content analysis of 27 press releases on world crises by the Malaysian Ministry of Foreign Affairs between May 2020 and May 2022. The identification and coding of hedging items were completed manually by considering context and co-text using a framework of Identification Criteria of Hedging Devices. The identified hedges were analysed pragmatically to determine their functions in diplomatic communication. The analysis reveals that hedges in diplomatic press releases by the Ministry of foreign affairs serve several functions which highlight the influence of culture on diplomatic stance-taking. It should be noted that the absence of hedges in some of the press releases confirms various writing guidelines that the genre values factual, direct, and accurate information. These findings are beneficial for successful intercultural diplomatic communication and accordingly global peace. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aza-BODIPY biotin-based nano-self-assembly has been designed with a biotin receptor for selective NIR turn-on fluorescence activity against cancer cells. The nanostructured aza-BODIPY assemblies exhibit distinctive fluorescence characteristics via an avidin-induced partial disintegration process. The in vitro studies for nanoprobes NSA-DPR1a and NSA-DPR1b showed effective recognition and can discriminate biotin receptor-positive cancer cells (MDA-MB-231 and MCF7) compared to non-cancerous cells (MCF10A). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examined the usage of thermally conductive angled fins within an annular conduit through numerical simulation. Despite the thermally conductive nature of the fins increasing heat transfer surface area, this investigation found that using an optimal fin angle can promote the generation of vortical structures which aid heat transfer. Using ANSYS-Fluent with the SIMPLEC algorithm and the SST κ − ω turbulence model, this research found that heat transfer performance improved considerably when the generated vortices were sufficiently large and robust. However, the type of generated vortex had a profound impact when optimising for higher performance evaluation criterion (PEC) values. Longitudinal vortices improved heat transfer performance with a low impact on pressure drop increase, unlike transverse vortices, which increased pressure drop significantly. The fin angles of 50° and 60° yielded high heat transfer performance without much increase in pressure drop, thus resulting in higher PEC values. Additionally, using fin heights that correlate to 20% to 60% of the gap between the concentric walls was ideal when designing heat exchangers to achieve higher PEC values. The results of this numerical investigation have been validated both theoretically and experimentally to ensure accurate reporting of the findings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Canada has made a commitment in the Paris Agreement to reduce its total greenhouse gas emissions by 40–45% from 2005 levels by year 2030 and achieving net-zero emissions by year 2050. An enhanced target has been established for the electricity sector, aiming to achieve a reduction of 88% from 2005 levels by 2030. Achieving these ambitious targets requires the implementation of new CO2 reduction measures and policies. In this work, carbon emissions pinch analysis (CEPA) is used for planning energy resources in the electricity sector while aiming to achieve both country and regional targets. Different scenarios are proposed for years 2030 and 2050 based on current policies and extension of some realistic assumptions, including the use of carbon capture and storage (CCS) facilities, negative emissions technologies (NETs), and increased capacity for renewable energy sources. In year 2030, the proposed solution indicates that the reduction of CO2 emissions of 3.1 Mt CO2-eq. is achievable, which is lower than the country target of 14 Mt CO2-eq. This solution can serve as the benchmark for each stakeholders at provincial level to reach their regional target. Results also show that electricity and CO2 trading are required to meet the energy requirement and to achieve the year 2030 CO2 emissions reduction goal at the provincial level which is the novelty of this paper. Although none of the cases has met net-zero emissions in year 2050, they do demonstrate that net zero is not far from materialisation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Current intensification of aquaculture where the organic loads with toxic compounds like NH3 and H2S shoot up beyond the level where naturally occurring bacteria cannot decompose the wastes has necessitated the use of probiotics. Objective. The objective was to use five different probiotics to treat ammonia and analyze the effects on water quality and changes in it in fishponds. Methods. Five different probiotic compositions were used, and the water quality was measured, mainly for ammonia concentration. Results. 5 different ponds located in the village of Agortha, Volta Region, Ghana, were treated with 5 different products simultaneously for 3 months. The concentration of ammonia has come to zero in 2 ponds with pH equal to 8. Conclusions. The results revealed that probiotics addition was efficient in decreasing the ammonia concentration in fishponds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A 66-year-old unemployed unmarried male with known men sex men activity since the age of 20 years presented with an erythematous well-defined ulcer on the lower lip and multiple discrete papulo-squamous lesions on the palms, soles, and scrotum. The patient was also in dysphoric mood with grandiose ideas with normal higher function. Knee and ankle jerk reflexes were absent and there was impaired tandem walking. Venereal Disease Research Laboratory (VDRL) and treponema pallidum hemagglutination assay were positive. Cerebrospinal fluid-VDRL was positive with grossly elevated proteins and glucose. HIV test was negative. Magnetic resonance imaging scan of the brain was normal. We made a diagnosis of neurosphilis – General paralysis of insane (GPI) with co-existing early syphilis. The patient was started on crystalline penicillin for 14 days after which there was significant improvement in behavior. We are reporting a rare case of GPI with early syphilis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Here we report a unique plant‐insect interaction between the leafhopper Aloka depressa (tribe Phlogisini) and the host liana, Diploclisia glaucescens, from a Botanic Garden located at the southern edge of Western Ghats in India.Field observations and SEM micrographs were employed to derive evidences on this rare plant‐insect interaction. 20‐Hydroxyecdysone (20E), insect moulting hormone, was detected and quantified in the host plant D. glaucescens using HPTLC‐densitometry. 20E was isolated and characterized from D. glaucescens using column chromatography, 1H‐, 13C‐NMR and HR‐MS. 20E was also detected in A. depressa excrement using HPTLC‐densitometry.The leafhopper A. depressa is functioning as a 'sharpshooter' drawing nutrients from the host liana, D. glaucescens, and flinging the waste fluid as droplets through their tail ends. SEM micrographs of A. depressa revealed its external morphological features, characteristic of a sharpshooter. We quantified 20E (0.44–1.44%, dry wt.) in various parts of D. glaucescens. 20E (1.47%, dry wt.) was also detected in the excrement of A. depressa.This plant (D. glaucescens)‐insect (A. depressa) association crucially is not damaging the host liana. Considering the diseases caused by sharpshooting leafhoppers in the Americas, this association and the survival of the host plant (D. glaucescens) is illustrating a unique plant‐insect interaction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There can be numerous electronic components on a given PCB, making the task of visual inspection to detect defects very time‐consuming and prone to error, especially at scale. There has thus been significant interest in automatic PCB component detection, particularly leveraging deep learning. While deep neural networks are able to perform such detection with greater accuracy, these networks typically require high computational resources, limiting their feasibility in real‐world use cases, which often involve high‐volume and high‐throughput detection with constrained edge computing resource availability. To bridge this gap between performance and resource requirements, PCBDet, an attention condenser network design that provides state‐of‐the‐art inference throughput while achieving superior PCB component detection performance compared to other state‐of‐the‐art efficient architecture designs, is introduced. Experimental results show that PCBDet can achieve up to 2× inference speed‐up on an ARM Cortex A72 processor when compared to an EfficientNet‐based design while achieving ∼2–4% higher mAP on the FICS‐PCB benchmark dataset. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ANUeg:aPtilveeaseemcoisnsfiiromntshatetaclhlhneoalodginieglsev(NelEsaTrser)ewpirllebseennteedecdorerdectotlyr:each net-zero emissions by mid-century. However, NETs can have wide-ranging effects on land and water availability, food production, and biodiversity. The deployment of NETs will also depend on regional and national circumstances, technology availability, and decarbonization strategies. Process integration (PI) can be the basis for decision support models for the selection, planning, and optimization of the large-scale implementation of NETs. This paper reviews the literature and maps the role of PI in NETs deployment. Techniques such as mathematical programming, pinch analysis (PA), process graphs (P-graphs), are powerful methods for planning NET systems under resource or footprint constraints. Other methods such as multi-criteria decision analysis (MCDA), marginal abatement cost curves, causality maps, and machine learning (ML) are also discussed. Current literature focuses mainly on bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS) and afforestation/reforestation (AR), but other NETs need to be integrated into future models for large-scale decarbonization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Anemia schimperiana C.Presl subsp. wightiana (Gardener) Fraser-Jenkins is a rhizomatous fern endemic to south India. Its rhizome and frond (leaf) essential oils (EOs) were isolated and characterized by gas chromatographic techniques. Thirty compounds (99.1%) of the rhizome EO were characterized, with myrtenyl acetate (50.6%), α-pinene (26.0%), myrtenol (7.3%) and trans-pinocarveol (5.6%) as its major constituents. Twenty-four compounds (97.8%), with trans-pinocarveol (43.0%), pinocarvone (17.3%) and myrtenyl acetate (15.8%), were identified in the frond EO. In MTT assay, rhizome EO showed prominent cytotoxicity against C6 (CD50 86.0 µg/mL) and DLA (CD50 6.1 µg/mL) cells. Fluorescent microscopic and caspase-3 activity assays demonstrated apoptotic cell death induced by the rhizome EO in DLA cells. MTT assay of myrtenyl acetate, α-pinene and myrtenol against DLA cells displayed CD50s of 7.4, 0.9 and 20.5 µg/mL, respectively, revealing α-pinene as the prominent constituent causing antiproliferative activity of the rhizome EO. This is the first report on the chemistry and antiproliferative activity of this rare aromatic fern endemic to south India. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A retrospective study was conducted in a tertiary care teaching hospital to evaluate the drug utilization pattern in pregnant women. A total of 876 pregnant women were enrolled in the study. Parameters such as demography, gravidity, comorbid illness, neonatal outcome, drugs prescribed and their utilization details were collected. The mean age of the study population was found to be 29.4±4.4 y (mean±standard deviation). Majority of them underwent caesarean section (68.2 %) compared to normal vaginal delivery (31.8 %). Most of the neonates were healthy (94.3 %) whereas 0.8 % of the neonates expired during the postnatal period. Diabetes mellitus (33.6 %) was the most common comorbidity, followed by hypertension (28.3 %) and thyroid disorders (18.3 %). Folic acid (15.7 %) and calcium (15.2 %) were the most prescribed drugs, followed by ferrous fumarate (7.1 %), vitamin B12 (5.3 %) and vitamin B6 (3.4 %). In terms of defined daily dose/100 bed d, levothyroxine (369.3) was the most frequently utilized drug, followed by digoxin (53.6), dydrogesterone (27.4) and salbutamol (20.5). Estradiol was only the food and drug administration pregnancy category X drug prescribed, as estradiol supplement as this was required to improve pregnancy rates after in vitro fertilization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The primarily benthic, shallow-water, reef-associated Indian frogfish, Antennarius indicus Schultz 1964, belongs to the family Antennariidae (order Lophiiformes) and may be found in nearly all of the world's tropical and subtropical oceans and seas. Comprehensive morphological parameters of the Indian frogfish found in the Hooghly and Matlah estuary systems of India are provided by the current study. A single specimen with a length 97.87 mm and weight 33.48 g was collected from the winter migratory bagnet catch at Fraserganj fish landing site. Till now, there are no records of the occurrence of frogfishes in the Hooghly-Matlah estuarine system. The morphological features such as dorsal-fin spines - 3, dorsal-fin rays - 12, anal fin rays - 7, pectoral-fin rays - 10, and pelvic fin rays - 5, confirmed the first record of Indian frogfish A. indicus from the Hooghly-Matlah estuarine system. The estuary's current condition was revealed by the examination of the water quality at the collection site. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sialendoscopy is gaining popularity in treating obstructive sialolithiasis as a gland preserving procedure. The study aimed to determine if the salivary glands recovered apart from symptomatic improvement after interventional sialendoscopy for calculus removal. A prospective comparative study was conducted in a tertiary care center on 24 patients diagnosed with sialolithiasis. The eligibility criterion was patients who underwent calculus removal through interventional sialendoscopy. All patients underwent objective and subjective methods of assessments of function of the salivary glands with the help of salivary Technetium (Tc) 99 Scintigraphy, measurement of salivary flow rate, Chronic obstructive sialadenitis symptoms (COSS), and xerostomia index (XI) questionnaires. Assessments were done before the procedure and repeated after 3 months. Categorical variables were expressed using frequency and percentage. Numerical variables were represented using mean and standard deviation. To test the statistical significance of the difference in the mean of the four parameters Wilcoxen sign ranked test was used. According to our study improvement in functionality was noted in all of the subjective and objective parameters assessed namely Tc scintigraphy, salivary flow rate, COSS questionnaire, and XI questionnaire, with a statistically significant p value (< 0.001). Functionality of salivary gland showed improvement within 3 months of calculus removal through sialendoscopy. There was a marked improvement in the symptoms after sialendoscopy. This study demonstrates that removal of obstructing calculus results in rapid recovery of glandular function thereby emphasizing the need for salivary gland preservation. Level of evidence: Level III. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The deployment of CO2 capture and storage (CCS) and negative emissions technologies (NETs) are crucial to meeting the net-zero emissions target by the year 2050, as emphasised by the Glasgow Climate Pact. Over the years, several energy planning models have been developed to address the temporal aspects of carbon management. However, limited works have incorporated CCS and NETs for bottom-up energy planning at the individual plant scale, which is considered in this work. The novel formulation is implemented in an open-source energy system software that has been developed in this work for optimal decarbonisation planning. The DECarbonation Options Optimisation (DECO2) software considers multiperiod energy planning with a superstructural model and was developed in Python with an integrated user interface in Microsoft Excel. The software application is demonstrated with two scenarios that differ in terms of the availabilities of mitigation technologies. For the more conservative Scenario 1, in which CCS is only available in later years, and other NETs are assumed not to be available, all coal plants were replaced with biomass. Meanwhile, only 38% of natural gas plants are CCS retrofitted. The remaining natural gas plants are replaced with biogas. For the more aggressive Scenario 2, which includes all mitigation technologies, once again, all coal plants undergo fuel substitution. However, close to half of the natural gas plants are CCS retrofitted. The results demonstrated the potential of fuel substitutions for low-carbon alternatives in existing coal and natural gas power plants. Additionally, once NETs are mature and are available for commercial deployment, their deployment is crucial in aiding CO2 removal in minimal investment costs scenarios. However, the results indicate that the deployment of energy-producing NETs (EP-NETs), e.g., biochar and biomass with CCS, are far more beneficial in CO2 removal versus energy-consuming NETs (EC-NETs), e.g., enhanced weathering. The newly developed open-source software demonstrates the importance of determining the optimal deployment of mitigation technologies in meeting climate change targets for each period, as well as driving the achievement of net-zero emissions by mid-century. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study was conducted for clinical evaluation of a multimodal anaesthetic protocol using butorphanol-dexmedetomidine-midazolam-ketamine-isoflurane and lignocaine continuous rate infusion (CRI) in six cross-bred female cattle. Preanaesthetics used were butorphanol and dexmedetomidine which were administered intravenously at dose rates of 0.05 mg/kg and 1 μg/kg body weight, respectively. Ketamine and midazolam were intravenously administered at dose rates of 4.0 and 0.2 mg/kg body weight respectively, to induce anaesthesia. Isoflurane was used to maintain anaesthesia after endotracheal intubation, at a concentration of 1.05 ± 0.97 per cent concentration in 100 per cent oxygen using a large animal anaesthesia machine. Simultaneously, intravenous lignocaine was administered at a bolus dose of 2 mg/kg body weight followed by a CRI of 3 mg/kg body weight/hour using a volumetric infusion pump. Isoflurane sparing effect of intravenous lignocaine reduced the required concentration of isoflurane for maintenance. The third plane of surgical anaesthesia was maintained and various surgical procedures were done. Recovery was smooth. Other than the mild regurgitation of ruminal fluid in an animal, no anaesthetic complications were noticed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Platelet rich plasma (PRP) therapy is an integral part of regenerative medicine as the platelets possess a good healing capacity owing to the presence of a wide variety of growth factors in the platelet granules found in the cytoplasm of the platelet. Autologous PRP was prepared from the blood of the patient itself, without any preservatives. Storage of PRP was one of the main hurdles of the treatment modality. During storage, the platelet counts may get reduced, undergo activation or get contaminated with bacteria as no preservatives are used in the preparation of autologous PRP. Cytological changes and microbial quality of the PRP during storage at 4oC and -20oC for seven days were analysed in this study. Reduction in platelet count and the chance of microbial contamination were less when autologous PRP was stored at -20°C compared to 4°C. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper investigated the benefits of having fins that induce swirling flow within an annular passage. The importance of the vortical structures produced using different fin angles and flow velocities in heat transfer was studied. The combination of swirling fluid with recirculation on heat transfer within an annular domain was not fully understood, and this paper aims to address that gap. The 10°, 20°, 30° and 40° angled fins were investigated to understand the changes in heat transfer performance as fluid recirculation becomes more dominant as angles become steeper. The usage of CGNP colloidal suspension was investigated for its potential benefits in heat transfer in a domain with angled fins. The CGNP concentrations of 0.025, 0.075 and 0.1 mass % were used as part of this investigation. Higher concentrations of CGNP increased the overall heat transfer coefficient. A more compact fin spacing improved heat transfer performance at the expense of increased pressure drop. Fin angles of 20° and 30° yielded poor heat transfer performance in the transitional flow regime (2000 < Re < 3000) due to the smaller swirling longitudinal vortices being insufficient in promoting fluid mixing from the thermal boundary layer into the freestream. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Marginal abatement cost curves are widely used as an effective means of visualizing trade-offs between emissions reduction and cost. They involve plotting multiple mitigation options on rectangular coordinates, with cumulative abatement as the horizontal axis and specific abatement cost as the vertical axis. The options are arranged in order of ascending specific cost such that, for any given marginal cost threshold, the corresponding cumulative abatement can be readily determined and easily communicated to decision-makers. This approach is very effective for decision support and can potentially be applied to constraints other than cost. In this paper, an extension of this technique is developed for decarbonization measures while considering secondary environmental footprints instead of cost. A case study on six terrestrial Negative Emissions Technologies (NETs) using global sequestration potentials is used to show how trade-offs between climate change mitigation and land or water footprints can be visualized using these Marginal Abatement Footprint (MAF) curves. The results show that targeting an annual negative emission of 8.8 Gt CO2/y requires a MAF of at least 58 Mha/Gt CO2 for land, and at least 1.3 × 10-5 Gt/Gt CO2 for water. Based on the MAF thresholds applied in the study, water is more limiting than land. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A total of ten different marine/brackish water fish species was recorded at Tribeni, a completely freshwater region located 212 km upstream from the sea in Hooghly estuary just after tidal bore, a natural high wave and high flow regime created during the spring tide around full moon/new moon days. A range of 85 - 179 km upstream shift of recorded marine fish species from their normal distribution range may be attributed to high turbulence, flow, and wave associated with bore tide as there is no sign of saltwater ingress in the Tribeni area as revealed through the analysis of associated environmental parameters. In addition to salinity, such extreme climatic events like tidal bore should also be considered to explain the fish species distribution in a tidal estuary. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Actinomycetes play a significant role in producing bioactive pigments. The present study was performed to screen for pigmented Streptomyces strains from marine environment followed by its extraction and characterization. Strains AJ6 and AJ7 were found to produce yellow color pigment (12.9 and 13.8 g/L, respectively) when subjected to submerged fermentation in optimized ISP2 medium at 28 ± 2°C for 3–7 days. Lambda max for extracellular and intracellular yellow colored pigment was read at 430 and 410 nm, respectively. Biological and chemical characterization of the extracted pigment confirmed the presence of bioactive compounds. Furthermore, the potential strains were identified and designated as Streptomyces maritimus AJ6 and Streptomyces fenghuangensis AJ7 using conventional and molecular techniques. Until now, there are no reports of colored bioactive metabolite extraction, purification and characterization from S. maritimus and S. fenghuangensis from marine ecosystem. The colored pigment showed high bioactivity such as antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, antiproteinase and antifouling activity against various clinical pathogenic strains, thereby proving its therapeutic importance which has not been reported previously. These strains can be employed in a variety of pharmaceutical and biotechnological applications as an environmentally safe alternative to synthetic hues. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Humboldtia vahliana Wight. is an endangered species belonging to the family Leguminosae (subfamily Caesalpinioideae). Though the plant propagates through seeds, low seed setting, seed infestation, poor viability of seed, reduction in natural regeneration of seedlings as well as anthropogenic activities like overexploitation, habitat destruction and fragmented distribution in localities are the major factors hindering the survival of the species. Hence, strategies must be devised urgently for the conservation of this species as these recalcitrant seeds do not contribute significantly to the seed bank. The present attempt was to understand the seed physiology and biochemistry during embryogenesis and embryo desiccation. H. vahliana seeds took 120 days after anthesis to acquire full maturity. Immature seeds had higher moisture content (87.40%) which gradually reduced during maturity and reached 55.42% at the time of seed shed a true recalcitrant behavior of the seeds. Freshly fallen mature seeds showed an optimal germination percentage of 82.32% which was severely affected by the decrease in seed moisture content and the critical moisture content was found to be 33.63% in which the percentage of germination was only 30%. Cell membrane damage of seed was found to cause quick loss of seed viability. The LC-MS/MS analysis showed insignificant amounts of ribose, arabinose and trehalose but a significant accumulation of fructose in the mature embryos rather than glucose and sucrose. Embryo drying significantly reduced the level of these sugars including the stress related trehalose indicating the lack of biosynthetic machinery to counter desiccation stress in these recalcitrant seeds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Computer-aided decision-making, predictive analytics, and recommendations are the buzz in this era. Concerning this, machine learning and artificial intelligence systems have found as vital and critical concepts. One of the critical domains of human life is farming, which indeed requires precision in decision making in diversified phases of farming. One among them is notifying the germination ability of seeds to cultivate with optimal results in both formats of quantity and quality of the crop. The role of computer-aided methods in farming has significantly increased in the past decade, which often termed as precision farming. The contribution of this manuscript endeavored to define a supervised learning model that includes the method of optimal feature selection and performing binary classification to determine the germination ability of seed samples, which precisely termed as "Supervised Learning-based Seed Germination Ability Prediction for Precision Farming." The diversified features of the microscopic images of both qualified and unqualified seeds shall consider as input corpus to perform the supervised learning in the proposed model. The significance of the model has scaled by performing experiments on the microscopic images of the paddy seeds, which considerably evincing the accuracy of the proposed approach with minimal false alarming. The contribution serves as a decision support tool to identify the quality seeds towards germination. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article describes the case of a 35-year-old pregnant woman, G2P1L1, who delivered a male neonate at 30 weeks of gestation with a birth weight of 1300 gram by cesarean section lower segment cesarean section (LSCS). Topics include a diagnosis of misplacement of the epicutaneo-caval catheter (ECC) tip and recommendation by the Infusion Therapy Standards of Practice Guidelines 2021 on the use of intraprocedural methods to identify a catheter's tip during the insertion procedure.

Net-zero emission targets are being set by countries and companies globally. To meet net-zero targets, negative emission technologies (NETs) such as bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS) and biochar (BC) can be implemented alongside replacing traditional energy sources with renewables. Various high-level tools for energy planning are available but rarely consider NETs and net-zero emissions planning. In this work, a graphical procedure was developed using marginal abatement cost (MAC) curves for net-zero emissions planning. Carbon dioxide (CO2)-emitting energy sources are arranged in increasing order of specific costs, on a specific cost vs cumulative CO2 emissions diagram. NETs are then plotted to counterbalance the emissions in order to determine the negative emission targets. The methodology is illustrated with a case study in the power generation sector. In this case, coal and natural gas (500 MW each) are used to generate power for users. In order to reach net-zero emission for this sector, a BECCS plant (500 MW) and a reduction in the power rating of coal by around 200 MW is necessary. Besides, an additional 1.59 Mt/y of CO2 sequestration is to be carried out through BC. The proposed technique provides a simple and clear method for net-zero emissions planning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction/Aims: Studies conducted during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID 19) pandemic have reported varied data regarding the incidence of Guillain--Barre syndrome (GBS). The present study investigated demographic and clinical features, management, and outcomes of patients with GBS during a specified period of the COVID 19 pandemic, and compared these features to those of GBS in the previous year. Methods: A multicenter, ambispective cohort study including 26 centers across India was conducted. Data from a pre COVID 19 period (March 1 to August 31, 2019) were collected retrospectively and collected ambispectively for a specified COVID 19 period (March 1 to August 31, 2020). The study was registered with the Clinical Trial Registry India (CTRI/2020/11/029143). Results: Data from 555 patients were included for analysis: pre COVID 19 (n = 334) and COVID 19 (n = 221). Males were more commonly affected during both periods (male:female, 2:1). Gastroenteritis was the most frequent antecedent event in 2019 (17.4%), whereas fever was the most common event in 2020 (10.7%). Paraparesis (21.3% versus [vs.] 9.3%, P = 0.001) and sensory involvement (51.1% vs. 41.3%; P = 0.023) were more common during COVID 19 in 2020, whereas back pain (26.3% vs. 18.4%; P = 0.032) and bowel symptoms (20.7% vs. 13.7%; P = 0.024) were more frequent in the pre COVID period. There was no difference in clinical outcomes between the two groups in terms of GBS disability score at discharge and 3 months after discharge. Independent predictors of disability in the pre COVID period included areflexia/hyporeflexia, the requirementfor intubation, and time to bulbar weakness; in the COVID 19 period, independent predictors included time from onset to admission, intubation, and intubation requirement. The mortality rate was 2.3% during the entire study period (13/555 cases). Discussion: Results of this study revealed an overall reduction in the frequency of GBS during the pandemic. The lockdown likely reduced the risk for antecedent infections due to social distancing and improved hygiene, which may have resulted in the reduction of the frequency of GBS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The global drive to achieve the climate change mitigation targets set during the Paris Agreement and COP26 necessitates sustainable electricity generation from renewable energy sources. However, renewable energy systems face economic challenges due to unattractive feed‐in‐tariffs (FiT). This paper presents a mathematical programming model to optimise the participation and electricity generation by biomass power plants in a FiT programme. A disjunctive fuzzy optimisation approach is adopted in this work due to the presence of several biomass power plants, thus resulting in a multi‐objective optimisation. The newly developed mixed‐integer linear programming (MILP) model maximises the overall satisfaction extent of biomass power plants in power generation. The optimisation model ensures the satisfaction of all biomass power plants' technical and economic constraints. A base case study of seven power plants utilising various palm biomass is used to demonstrate the disjunctive fuzzy optimisation approach for the MILP model. This is followed by a scenario investigating the impact of demand variation. The optimisation of the case studies favours the utilisation of empty fruit bunch (EFB), palm oil mill effluent (POME), and palm mesocarp fibre (PMF) for sustainable electricity generation. Palm kernel shell (PKS) is the least preferred palm biomass due to its lowest net availability of useful energy from biomass combustion. This work provides a decision tool for the selection of biomass type during electricity generation. The MILP model in this work may be readily extended for any number of power plants, handling a variety of biomass feedstocks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To combat severe climate change, several governments around the world have set ambitious targets to reach net-zero emissions in the coming decades. To this end, policymakers will need decarbonisation planning tools, such that a decarbonisation pathway optimised to local constraints is selected and implemented. There are several policymaking planning tools available for macro-scale planning and operations at region-wide level, however tools and research on smaller, enterprise-level scale remain limited, despite commitments being made by several large companies to become net-zero carbon emitters. This work presents an optimisation-based decarbonisation planning tool for use by industrial companies to plan for carbon emission reduction by implementing a variety of different technologies. The model can consider feedstock changes and alternative energy sources and, given a set of demands and constraints, can suggest the optimal technology selection of carbon, capture and storage (CCS), low emission energy and feedstocks, and negative emissions technologies to achieve emissions targets. Unlike previous models, the model accounts for price changes across decades and provides a plan on how companies can invest in the right technologies, either constrained by a budget or given an emissions target, while still delivering products to satisfy demands. The model is demonstrated on a case study based on ExxonMobil's Baytown refinery complex which consists of an oil refinery, a plastics plant, an olefins plant and a chemical plant, where a net-zero emission limit is set within six 5-year periods. The pathway created by the model is able to suggest a full reduction of emissions in the chemical, plastics and olefins plant respectively within a 10-year implementation of biogas and negative emissions technologies and is able to reduce the oil refinery from 44 Mt/y of CO2 emissions to 4.5 Mt/y after 25 years by phasing out oil in favour of renewable biogas refining. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Raine syndrome is an autosomal recessive condition, characterized by distinctive facial and skeletal features along with intracranial calcification[1]. Raine syndrome: Prenatal diagnosis based on recognizable fetal facial features and characteristic intracranial calcification. The characteristic facies of Raine syndrome comprises exophthalmos, hypertelorism, midfacial hypoplasia, a depressed nasal bridge, micrognathia and low-set ears[[4]]. [Extracted from the article]