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Present study reports a facile synthesis of surface-active antimicrobial hyperbranched polyurethane coatings using oleo-ethers of boric acid (BA) as branching and biocidal moiety (BHPU). The antimicrobial branching center was synthesized via polycondensation reaction of BA and vegetable oil-based diol. The structural characterization of synthesized BHPU and its linear counterpart was investigated using Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) and nuclear magnetic resonance (1H, 13C, and 11B NMR) spectroscopy techniques. The cured coatings were examined by physico-mechanical, thermogravimetric (TG) analysis and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). The antimicrobial behavior of these polymers against Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria was carried out by well diffusion technique. The appearance of zone of inhibition (ZOI) in case of BHPU confirmed its antimicrobial activity, which arisen due to the presence of cationic moiety in its structure. These investigations showed that the utilization of oleo-ethers of BA as branching agent in synthesis of BHPU coatings induced prominent effect on its physico-mechanical, thermal, and biocidal properties. In addition, soil burial study for 210 days was conducted on BHPU film to confirm its contact-killing mechanism against soil-borne bacteria. These results suggest the potential scope of BHPU in various applications such as long-term antimicrobial surface-active coatings for medical devices, packaging industry, paints, etc. Keywords: Boric acid, Hyperbranched, Polyurethane, Antimicrobial coating, Sustainable polymers

The enormous demand of energy and depletion of fossil fuels has attracted an ample interest of scientist and researchers to develop materials with excellent electrochemical properties. Among these materials carbon based materials like carbon nanotubes (CNTs), graphene (GO and rGO), activated carbon (AC), and conducting polymers (CPs) have gained wide attention due to their remarkable thermal, electrical and mechanical properties. On this account, the present review article summarizes the history of ESDs and the basic function of various types of ESDs. Further, the various nanomaterials used in energy storage devices for the past few years have also been discussed in detail. In addition, the future trend in the development of highly efficient, cost-effective and renewable energy storage materials have also been highlighted. Keywords: Batteries, Capacitor, Conducting polymer, Graphene, Energy devices

Polymer blends have replaced a variety of pristine polymers in different sectors due to their desired synergetic properties such as durability, heat resistance, reduced wear & tear, flexibility, chemical resistance and longer shelf life that can be achieved by making minor alterations in their compositions. The modification of polymer blends by using sustainable resource based polymers can not only fulfil our ecological but also our economic and social needs. The present work reports the compatibility studies of oil derived epoxy and polyesteramide blends with polymethacrylic acid (PMA). The aim is to highlight the role of rheology in predicting the compatibility of these blends in the solution and solid phases which is a crucial parameter that decides the processibility and viability of these materials for commercialization.

Vegetable oils (VO) constitute the single, largest, easily available, low cost, non-toxic, non-depletable, biodegradable family yielding materials that are capable of competing with fossil fuel derived petro-based products. The outstanding feature of VO is their unique chemical structure with to unsaturation sites, epoxies, hydroxyls, esters and other functional groups along with inherent fluidity characteristics. These enable them to undergo various chemical transformations producing low molecular weight polymeric materials with versatile applications, particularly as chief ingredients in paints and coatings. In this manuscript, we have briefly described important VO derived materials such as alkyds, polyesteramides, polyetheramides, polyurethanes, epoxies, polyols, along with their preparation and applications as protective coatings. A small portion of the review is also dedicated to the future perspectives in the field. Inspite of their extensive utilization in the world of coatings, literature survey revealed that in the past (from 1990s to date) no review has come up describing the chemistry and applications of VO polymer based coating materials.

This research work deployed free radical polymerization for the development of pH-responsive hybrid nanocomposite hydrogels (NCHs) with the formation of improved interpenetrating networks (IPN). The crosslinked biopolymeric system was composed of (chitosan (CH)/guar gum (GG)/polyol) and a nanofiller (Cloisite 30B). The study was aimed to investigate the role of Cloisite 30B as a nanofiller and linseed oil-derived polyol to induce stable interpenetrating networks in chitosan‒guar gum-based hydrogels. FT-IR analysis confirmed the formation of crosslinked networks with the formation of hydrogen bonds in the synthesized NCHs. Thermogravimetric analysis and differential scanning calorimetry revealed high thermal stability of the NCHs. The hydrolytic and soil burial degradation tests confirmed the biodegradability of the synthesized NCHs. An extraordinarily high swelling capacity in a buffer solution of pH 4.0 and 7.4 demonstrated their pH-responsive behavior. It has been demonstrated that even the minimal addition of polyol to the guar gum-based hydrogels has influenced the stability and characteristic features such as high swelling capacity owing to the formation of interpenetrating networks and the biodegradability of the hydrogels.

The current article approaches the issue of the persuasiveness of metaphors in The Prophet Muhammad's Tradition. The main concern of the article is to show that the Prophetic metaphors are discursively practiced by the Prophet for the function of persuading his audience to accept Islamic laws, and introduce rites and rituals, and to prohibit the unlawful. Through a survey of instances of metaphoric scenarios and images, and in reference to the contemporary cognitive theory of metaphor (Lakoff and Johnson, 1980), the article demonstrates that the persuasiveness of the prophetic metaphors is primarily evoked by disambiguation, arousing the emotions, and implicit threat.

In this present study, we reduce the fractional reaction-diffusion equation to a traditional differential equation using the fractional complex transformation and consider the Landau Lifshitz (LLG) equation. Moreover, by using the generalized exponential rational function method and Kudryashov's method respectively we extract new exact and solitary wave solutions for these equations. Some plots of some presented new solutions are represented to exhibit wave characteristics. All results in this paper are essential to understand the physical meaning and behavior of the investigated equation that sheds light on the importance of investigating various nonlinear wave phenomena in mathematical physics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article makes a literary review to the linguistic research in the use of metaphor in didactic discourse; especially the religious one. Acknowledging Conceptual Metaphor Theory as the primary theory in the field, the researcher embarks upon how metaphor is perceived and analysed in discourse in order to pertain its persuasive function. The article presents different approaches to metaphor analysis and their interconnection. The implications of these approaches are later deduced and interpreted within the scope of Islamic religious discourse as an example of didactic discourses.

In this paper, I discuss the themes of personification and de-personification in the Prophet Muhammad's Tradition from a cognitive linguistic viewpoint. Instances of personification and de- personification in Prophet Muhammad's Tradition are analysed following approaches of conceptual metaphor theory and critical metaphor analysis. The analysis reveals that the two linguistic phenomena are eminent in the language of the Prophet Muhammad. Personification, for instance, is frequently used for ontological purposes to portray and conceptualise non-human entities such as abstract concepts, body parts, and human deeds. De-personification, on the other hand, is used to evoke more prevalent ideological implication whereby people are classified into a hierarchical scale according to the degree of their faith and the nature of their deeds and behaviours.

The role of desmoglein-3 (DSG3) in oncogenesis is unclear. This study aimed to uncover molecular mechanisms through comparative transcriptome analysis in oral cancer cells, defining potential key genes and associated biological processes related to DSG3 expression. Four mRNA libraries of oral squamous carcinoma H413 cell lines were sequenced, and 599 candidate genes exhibited differential expression between DSG3-overexpressing and matched control lines, with 12 genes highly significantly differentially expressed, including 9 upregulated and 3 downregulated. Genes with known implications in cancer, such as MMP-13, KRT84, OLFM4, GJA1, AMOT and ADAMTS1, were strongly linked to DSG3 overexpression. Gene ontology analysis indicated that the DSG3-associated candidate gene products participate in crucial cellular processes such as junction assembly, focal adhesion, extracellular matrix formation, intermediate filament organisation and keratinocyte differentiation. Validation of RNA-Seq was performed through RT-qPCR, Western blotting and immunofluorescence analyses. Furthermore, using transmission electron microscopy, we meticulously examined desmosome morphology and revealed a slightly immature desmosome structure in DSG3-overexpressing cells compared to controls. No changes in desmosome frequency and diameter were observed between the two conditions. This study underscores intricate and multifaceted alterations associated with DSG3 in oral squamous carcinoma cells, implying a potential oncogenic role of this gene in biological processes that enable cell communication, motility and survival.

In this study, the efficiency of the exponential rational function method for the new Hamiltonian amplitude equation has been investigated and the results have been graphically tested and analyzed using Mathematica software techniques. What is important is the high efficiency and accuracy of this method and the variety of answers that provide us with a wide range of answers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Hippo-YAP pathway serves as a central signalling hub in epithelial tissue generation and homeostasis. Yes-associated protein (YAP) is an essential downstream transcription cofactor of this pathway, with its activity being negatively regulated by Hippo kinase-mediated phosphorylation, leading to its cytoplasmic translocation or degradation. Our recent study showed phospho-YAP complexes with Desmoglein-3 (Dsg3), the desmosomal cadherin known to be required for junction assembly and cell–cell adhesion. In this study, we show that YAP inhibition by Verteporfin (VP) caused a significant downregulation of desmosomal genes and a remarkable reduction in desmosomal proteins, including the Dsg3/phospho-YAP complex, resulting in attenuation of cell cohesion. We also found the desmosomal genes, along with E-cadherin, were the YAP-TEAD transcriptional targets and Dsg3 regulated key Hippo components, including WWTR1/TAZ, LATS2 and the key desmosomal molecules. Furthermore, Dsg3 and phospho-YAP exhibited coordinated regulation in response to varied cell densities and culture durations. Overexpression of Dsg3 could compensate for VP mediated loss of adhesion components and proper architecture of cell junctions. Thus, our findings suggest that Dsg3 plays a crucial role in the Hippo network and regulates junction configuration via complexing with phospho-YAP.

Human Nipah virus (NiV) infection is an epidemic-prone disease and since the first recognized outbreak in Bangladesh in 2001, human infections have been detected almost every year. Due to its high case fatality rate and public health importance, a hospital-based Nipah sentinel surveillance was established in Bangladesh to promptly detect Nipah cases and respond to outbreaks at the earliest. The surveillance has been ongoing till present. The hospital-based sentinel surveillance was conducted at ten strategically chosen tertiary care hospitals distributed throughout Bangladesh. The surveillance staff ensured that routine screening, enrollment, data, and specimen collection from suspected Nipah cases were conducted daily. The specimens were then processed and transported to the reference laboratory of Institute of Epidemiology, Disease Control and Research (IEDCR) and icddr,b for confirmation of diagnosis through serology and molecular detection. From 2006 to 2021, through this hospital-based surveillance platform, 7,150 individuals were enrolled and tested for Nipah virus. Since 2001, 322 Nipah infections were identified in Bangladesh, 75% of whom were laboratory confirmed cases. Half of the reported cases were primary cases (162/322) having an established history of consuming raw date palm sap (DPS) or tari (fermented date palm sap) and 29% were infected through person-to-person transmission. Since the initiation of surveillance, 68% (218/322) of Nipah cases from Bangladesh have been identified from various parts of the country. Fever, vomiting, headache, fatigue, and increased salivation were the most common symptoms among enrolled Nipah patients. Till 2021, the overall case fatality rate of NiV infection in Bangladesh was 71%. This article emphasizes that the overall epidemiology of Nipah virus infection in Bangladesh has remained consistent throughout the years. This is the only systematic surveillance to detect human NiV infection globally. The findings from this surveillance have contributed to early detection of NiV cases in hospital settings, understanding of Nipah disease epidemiology, and have enabled timely public health interventions for prevention and containment of NiV infection. Although we still have much to learn regarding the transmission dynamics and risk factors of human NiV infection, surveillance has played a significant role in advancing our knowledge in this regard. Author summary: NiV is one of the most fatal emerging bat-borne zoonotic viruses, posing a threat to global health security. Since the first recognized outbreak in Bangladesh in 2001, human infections have been detected almost every year. In 2006, a hospital-based Nipah sentinel surveillance was established in Bangladesh for the early detection of cases and rapid response to outbreaks. Currently, this surveillance is running at ten strategically chosen public hospitals throughout Bangladesh. Till December 2021, a total of 322 Nipah cases have been reported in Bangladesh, 71% of whom has died during the course of infection. Throughout the years, fever, vomiting, headache, fatigue, and increased salivation have remained the most commonly observed symptoms. Half of the reported cases were primary cases (162/322) having an established history of consuming raw date palm sap (DPS) or tari, and 29% were infected through person-to-person transmission. Since the inception of surveillance, there has been a decrease in large outbreaks and a concurrent increase in sporadic Nipah case detection throughout the country. The overall epidemiology of Nipah virus infection in Bangladesh has remained consistent throughout the years. National Nipah surveillance of Bangladesh is the only global, systematic surveillance to detect human NiV infection. The findings from this surveillance have contributed to the early detection of Nipah cases, understanding of disease epidemiology, and implementation of timely public health interventions for the prevention and containment of human NiV infection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Key Clinical Message: The use of endocardial pacing in patients with univentricular hearts and intracardiac shunts is limited, primarily due to the increased risk of thromboembolism. However, when accompanied by proper long‐term anticoagulation therapy, it may be safer than epicardial interventions in selected patients at high risk for surgery. We report transvenous endocardial pacing through the atrial septal defect in a patient with tricuspid atresia, transposition of the great arteries, severe pulmonary hypertension, and complete heart block. This study is among the first reported cases using this pacing method in a patient with a univentricular heart and intracardiac shunt. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since its inauguration in 1977, the Jordanian Martyr's Memorial and Museum (called in Arabic Sarh Al-Shaheed) has gained symbolic status as the national army-museum. Its immense and distinctive architectural design, the arrangement of spaces and exhibits allow it to host large collections of exhibits which illustrate the history of modern Jordan, and show the development of its armed forces, and commemorates the sacrifices of the Jordanian soldiers. It is a major tourist site and considered a national educational and cultural. Using a social semiotic approach to reveal how the structure and its displays all realise an ideology where nation, culture, religion, and history become infused with militarism. Analysis reveals how symbolism, abstraction, and realism combine to document the actions of the Jordanian military. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Museums' structures, spaces, and exhibits are understood as semiotic resources that make spatial texts that communicate a discourse defined by the authorities of the museum or its curators. The current study follows a social-semiotic approach in analyzing the spatial discourse of the Children's Museum in Amman. It demonstrates that interpersonal meanings are semiotically communicated to children visitors in the Museum by firstly establishing a "comfort-zone" and secondly by aligning children visitors into groups with shared qualities, attitudes, and dispositions of affiliation and solidarity, and thirdly by providing abstract and material representations of the real world that encompasses participants, processes, events, and places. These interpersonal meanings produce a pedagogical discourse that semiotically addresses Jordan's energy and water challenges, and that can "charge" the Museum's role as a "Bonding Icon" that stands for shared communal ideals that Jordanians might identify with, or rally around. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study focuses on a discourse practice that metaphorically associates ISIS with an early Islamic sect known as the Kharijites. This practice constructs a discourse that calls back the background knowledge and memory of historical narratives and experiences that create conceptual frames that communicate meanings of war and atrocities. These meanings were used by King Abdullah II of Jordan to justify Jordan's military participation against ISIS (circa 2014–2018). On the basis of the "blending theory" of conceptual metaphor, this study shows how the discourse practice of depicting ISIS as the Kharijites has undergone selective associations with the ideological aim of constructing persuasive and coercive discourses to justify military intervention against ISIS, primarily by foregrounding scripts of threat and victimization. That, in turn, leads to the instigation of illusive and incomplete associations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Employing the Spiral of Silence theory, this study examines the influence of four cultural dimensions (collectivism, resistance to change, commitment to religion, and patriarchy and hierarchy) on gender variations in opinion expression in incongruent offline and online opinion climates about women working in the police force in Kuwait. The response of 534 individuals indicated that a tendency for expressiveness and personal support for women were positive predictors of opinion expression, while fear of isolation and respondents' beliefs about the stance of Islam on the issue were both negative predictors. Both genders were affected by the same variables when they expressed their opinions offline, but they were each affected by different variables when online. The results suggest that women benefit from online discussions more than men. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines the evidential value of corpus and introspective data from the perspective of morphological operations involved in the causative derivation of Urdu change-of-state verbs. By analyzing multi-source data on the transitivity status of causative variants of 112 Urdu verbs, it discovers a crucial relation between the type of evidence and the aspect of linguistic competence it addresses. More specifically, it compares data from lexical translation, Urdu WordNet and Urdu Lughat on the one hand, and data from a judgment task coupled with dialogical introspection on the other hand, and finds that the former can reveal the gradient nature of morphological productivity, but not its dynamic nature; the latter, however, can help explore the dynamic nature of productivity in the causative alternation. Such an observation confirms that both corpus and introspection complement each other, and that a particular source-specific piece of evidence may limit the coverage and generality of analysis. Thus, the study shows the importance of sharpening data by multi-source evidence for examining how various components of a phenomenon interrelate in the context of the overall grammatical organization of a language. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper is aimed at investigating the soliton solutions of the hyperbolic nonlinear Schrödinger equation. Exact analytical solutions of the model are acquired through applying an integration method, namely, the Sine-Gordon method. It is observed that the method is able to efficiently determine the exact solutions for this equation. Graphical simulations corresponding to some of the results obtained in the paper are also drawn. These results can help us better understand the behavior and performance of this model. The procedure implemented in this paper can be recommended in solving other equations in the field. All calculations and graphing are performed using powerful symbolic computational packages in Mathematica software. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study compares the expression of opinion in incongruent offline and online settings regarding the issue of gender desegregation in Kuwait's public schools. Spiral of silence theory provides the theoretical foundation for examining the impact of certain cultural factors and religious influences on the expression of opinion, their relationship to the fundamental tenets of the theory, such as fear of social isolation, and Twitter use variables among respondents to a survey. The results to a questionnaire administered to 534 public and private university students indicate greater overall expression of opinion in the offline than online context. Offline and online, the nonconformist personality variable was a positive predictor of expression of opinion, and fear of social isolation was a negative predictor. The perceived position of Islam on the issue was a predictor of expression of opinion only in the offline context. Finally, daily average use of Twitter was an additional predictor of expression of opinion in the online environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]