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Automatic text recognition system might serve as an important factor in creating a paperless environment through digitizing and processing the existing paper documents in the upcoming days. Handwritten recognition using deep learning methods has been widely explored by many researchers. The existence of large quantity of data and a variety of algorithmic innovations enable the ease of training deep neural networks. Different techniques have been initiated in the literature for recognizing text from handwritten documents. This paper proposes a hybrid handwritten text recognition (H2TR) model using deep neural networks that use the sequence-to-sequence (Seq2Seq) approach. This hybrid model makes use of the salient features of convolution neural network (CNN) and recurrent neural network (RNN) with long–short-term memory network (LSTM). It uses CNN to extract the features from the handwritten image. The features that are extracted are later modelled with a sequence-to-sequence approach and fed to RNN–LSTM for encoding the visual features and decoding the sequence of letters that are available in the handwritten image. The proposed model is tested with IAM and RIMES handwritten databases, which shows competitive letter accuracy and word accuracy results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cryptography is one of the most accepted and successful data security methods used at present by most of the organizations. Encrypting the message using natural languages reduces the encryption time and improves the performance. Tamil is a most ancient Dravidian language spoken in the southern part of India. Here we use Tamil language for encrypting the text named as Tamilian Cryptography. Since Tamil language has 247 characters it is very difficult to crack the message. The message to be encrypted is translated to Tamil language, this translated text is then mapped to a randomly generated 2-bit combination of English alphabets. The result of this process is called intermediate cipher (inter cipher). This is an hybrid algorithm since the inter cipher is encrypted using Advanced Encryption Standard algorithm to enhance the confidentiality of the text. Since the Tamilian Cryptography makes use of three phases namely Translation, Mapping and Encryption, it makes the data much more secure than the existing algorithms like blowfish and Data Encryption Standard (DES) and also the person who tries to decrypt must have the knowledge of Tamil language as well the mapping details to see the original data and This algorithm exhibits stronger avalanche effect of 95% which is greater than blowfish and DES. The evaluation of the proposed algorithm shows that it executes faster and has comparatively lesser encryption time, less memory overhead. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A Study on the diuretic effect of ethanolic extract of crataeva religiosa in albino rats was performed to evaluate the diuretic effect of Crataeva religiosa (a native plant) in albino rats. 18 adult, male, wistar rats, fasted for 24 hours were divided into3 groups. Group I received normal feed and water, Group II Hydrochlorothiazide (2.5mg/kg) and Group III - Ethanolic extract of Crataeva religiosa (EECR) 200mg/kg orally. Group I served as normal control, group II - standard, Group III as test group. Urinary volume, sodium and potassium concentrations were determined with a Perkino - Elmer model 303 atomic absorption spectrophotometer. Chloride concentrations were measured with a Buchlercotlovc chloridometer. Data were evaluated using student's 't'-test. Probability values less than 0.05 were considered significant. It was observed that the total volume of urine and urinary sodium, potassium, and chloride excretion were significantly increased in experimental groups (GII and GIII) compared to control (GI). The increased urinary volume in the HCT (GII) and EECR (GIII) are due to the diuretic effect of the drug and extract. The natriuretic and kaliuretic effects were observed in the animals belonged to GII and III. Hence it is likely that the natriuretic effect exerted by the plant extract must be similar to that of HCT. Since sodium excretion is always associated with water excretion, natriuretic effect might have contributed for diuretic effect. These observations indicate that the plant extract have got significant d iuretic effect. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To evaluate the anti-lithiatic effect of Crataeva religiosa (a native plant) in wistar rats. 4 adult, male, wistar rats, fasted for 24 hours were divided into3 groups. Group I (Ia+Ib) received normal feed and water, Group II Hydrochlorothiazide (2.5mg/kg) and Group III received Ethanolic extract of Crataeva religiosa (EECR) 200mg/kg orally. Antilithiatic activity was studied by standard means, with addition of 0.75% ethylene glycol in drinking water daily for 28days in group Ib, II & III. Group Ia served as normal control, Group Ib served as lithiatic control. 24hours urinary calcium, magnesium, oxalate, phosphate, uric acid and protein were analysed on day 0, 14 and 28. Data were evaluated using student's 't'-test. Probability values less than 0.05 were considered significant. The animals of GII and III had significant reduction in urinary phosphate and urate, compared to animals exposed to ethylene glycol alone (G Ib). It is likely that HCT and EECR might have protected these animals, from the effects of ethylene glycol. Excessive urinary phosphate and urate excretion are the contributory factor for calcium phosphate and / or urate stones, as calcium excretion was also statistically higher in animal receiving ethylene glycol alone. These observations indicate that the plant extract have got significant antilithiatic effect. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Anticonvulsant property of melatonin in maximal electroshock (MES)- induced and pentylenetetrazole (PTZ)-induced convulsions in rats were evaluated. 36, adult, male, albino rats, were utilised for this study. The effect of melatonin was studied in MES and PTZ induced convulsions in these rats. In MES induced rats, abolition of hindlimb tonic extension was taken as the measure of efficacy. In PTZ induced rats, suppression of clonic spasms was taken as the measure of efficacy. Percentage protection offered was calculated and analysed statistically. Melatonin offered significant protection (p value < 0.01) in both MES (66%) and PTZ (66%) induced seizures in rats. This study suggests that melatonin has got significant anti-epileptic property. Since the currently available antiepileptic drugs are with some limitations, melatonin, which is considered to be an endogenous antiepileptic substance, could be of particular value in the treatment of epilepsy, which needs futher exploration by clinical studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Adverse drug reactions (ADR) are among the most frequent problems encountered clinically and represent a common cause for hospitalization. Fixed drug eruptions are common cutaneous ADR. The aim of this study is to evaluate the drugs and the clinical pattern of drug induced Fixed Drug Eruptions (FDE), in a tertiary care hospital, in the southern region of Tamil Nadu. Sixty cases with established FDE were evaluated clinically. The drugs commonly reported were Cotrimoxazole (25%), Non Steroidal AntiinflammatoryDrugs (NSAID) (21.7%), Tetracyclines (11.7%), Ciprofloxacin (6.7%), Amoxycillin (5%) and Metronidazole (3.3%). Cotrimoxazole was the leading etiological agent in our population. The lesions were found to be distributed on the oro-genital mucosa, trunk and the acral regions. The clinical pattern and drugs causing FDE were almost similar to those observed in other countries except for some minor variations, which may be due to the differences in the individual's health care seeking behavior. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: A resurgence of pertussis has been reported in numerous countries. This study aimed to determine the incidence, clinical characteristics, and outcome of pertussis among infants in Sarawak, Malaysia., Methodology: We conducted a descriptive retrospective study of infants aged < 12 months with laboratory-confirmed pertussis admitted to Bintulu Hospital in Sarawak, Malaysian Borneo, from 2015 until 2021. Pertussis was confirmed in all patients using a polymerase chain reaction of nasopharyngeal aspirates., Results: Of 588 infants who had a nasopharyngeal aspirate, 108 (18%) had laboratory-confirmed pertussis. The average annual incidence was 482 per 100,000 infants aged < 12 months between 2015 and 2019, with a marked decline in 2020 and 2021. Eighty-two (76%) were < 3 months of age. Seventy-eight (72%) were unvaccinated for pertussis, including 75 (96%) who were too young to receive the first dose. A third of the cases had atypical presentations. Severe disease characterized by hypoxemia, pulmonary hypertension, recurrent apnea, encephalopathy, or cardiovascular dysfunction occurred in 32%. Forty-eight percent required humidified high-flow nasal cannula oxygen therapy and 22% required invasive ventilation. Twenty-four percent overall needed intensive care. One (1%) infant had a fatal outcome. Nearly all cases of severe disease or those that required invasive ventilation or intensive care had received ≤ 1 dose of pertussis vaccination., Conclusions: A high incidence of pertussis with a high rate of severe disease was observed in Sarawak, Malaysia, predominantly among infants too young to be vaccinated. Additional vaccination strategies such as maternal vaccination or cocooning should be considered., Competing Interests: No Conflict of Interest is declared, (Copyright (c) 2024 Anand Mohan, Yee-Yen Tan, Rohaidah Hashim, David Chun-Ern Ng, Veronica Huey-Shin Wong, Da-Wei Liew, Su-Lin Chien, Lee-See Tan, Peter Sie-Teck Lau, Thilagam Rajandran, Yuwana Podin, Mong-How Ooi.)

Microplastics are pollutants of emerging concern and the aquatic biota consumes microplastics (MPs), which has a range of toxicological and environmental effects on aquatic organisms that are not the intended targets. The current study looked into how weathered polyethylene (wPE) MPs affected Danio albolineatus immunological and haematological markers. In this experiment, fish of both sexes were placed in control and exposure groups, and they were exposed for 40 d at the sublethal level (1 μg L -1 ) of fragmented wPE, which contained 1074 ± 52 MPs per litre. Similarly, fish exposed to wPE MPs showed significant modifications in lysozyme, antimicrobial, and antiprotease activity, as well as differential counts. Results of the present study show that the male fish were more susceptible than female fish after 40 d of chronic exposure. Further studies are needed to ascertain how the innate and humoral immune systems of the fish respond to MPs exposure., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Presence of surgical face masks in the environment are more than ever before after the COVID-19 pandemic, and it poses a newer threat to aquatic habitats around the world due to microfibers (MFs) and other contaminants that get discharged when these masks deteriorate. The mechanism behind the developmental toxicity of MFs, especially released from surgical masks, on the early life stages of aquatic organisms are not well understood. Toxicity test were developed to examine the effects of MFs released from surgical facemask upon deterioration using the early gametes and early life stages of marine sedentary polychaete Hydroides elegans. For MFs release, cut pieces of face masks were allowed to degrade in seawater for different time points (1 day, 30 days and 120 days) after which the fibers were obtained for further toxicity studies. The gametes of H. elegans were exposed to the MFs (length < 20 μm) separately for 20 min at a concentration of 50 MFs/ml before fertilization. In addition, we also analyzed the experimental samples for heavy metals and organic substances released from face masks. Our findings demonstrated that gametes exposed to MFs affected the percentage of successful development, considerably slowed down the mitotic cell division and significantly postponed the time of larval hatching and also produced an adverse effect during embryogenesis. When the sperm were exposed fertilization rate was decreased drastically, whereas when the eggs were exposed to MFs fertilization was not inhibited but a delay in early embryonic development observed. In addition the release of heavy metals and other volatile organics from the degrading face masks could also contribute to overall toxicity of these materials in environment. Our study thus shows that inappropriately discarded face masks and MFs and other pollutants released from such face masks could pose long-term hazard to coastal ecosystems., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2023 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Due to its potential impact on food safety and human health, commercial species that have been contaminated with microplastics (MPs) are drawing more attention on a global scale. This study investigated the possibility of MPs contamination in different marine fish species with substantial commercial value that was captured off the south coast of India, from Adyar and Ennore regions. Over the course of six months, from October 2019 to March 2020, 220 fish were examined. It was discovered that the gills and guts had accumulated more numbers of MPs (1115 MPs) of which 68% were fibres and fragments. The commercial fish samples contained an average of 3.2-7.6 MPs per fish. Greater MPs pollution is seen in the Ennore regions. The prevalence of MPs was observed in carnivorous and planktivorous fish collected from both the sites. Fish guts contained the most MPs, according to the data. Pelagic fish accounted for the least amount of MPs, followed by mid- and demersal fish. Four different types of polymers were also identified in the present study: polyethylene, polypropylene, polystyrene, and polyamide. These results clearly showed the degree of microplastic contamination in fish tissues from the south Indian coastal regions of Adyar and Ennore. These results we hope will create a baseline data for MPs contamination in commercial fish species. The presence of MPs in the fish could have detrimental effects both on the environment and human health and thus comprehensive steps are required to prevent plastic pollution of the environment in south India's coastal region., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2022 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Proper burn wound management considers patient's compliance and provides an environment to accelerate wound closure. Sticky hydrogels are conducive to wound management. They can act as a preventive infection patch with controlled drug delivery and diverse surface adherence. A hypothesis-driven investigation explores a bioinspired polydopamine property in a gelatin-based hydrogel (GbH) where polyvinyl alcohol and starch function as hydrogel backbone. The GbH displayed promising physical properties with O-H group rich surface. The GbH was sticky onto dry surfaces (glass, plastic and aluminium) and wet surfaces (pork and chicken). The GbH demonstrated mathematical kinetics for a transdermal formulation, and the in vitro and in vivo toxicity of the GbH on test models confirmed the models' healthy growth and biocompatibility. The quercetin-loaded GbH showed 45-50% wound contraction on day 4 for second-degree burn wounds in rat models that were equivalent to the silver sulfadiazine treatment group. The estimates for tensile strength, biochemicals, connective tissue markers and NF-κB were restored on day 21 in the GbH treated healed wounds to imitate the normal level of the skin. The bioinspired GbH promotes efficient wound healing of second-degree burn wounds in rat models, indicating its pre-clinical applicability., (© 2022. The Author(s).)

Organic and inorganic contaminants can suppress immune function in molluscs and crustaceans. It was postulated that metals could modulate immune function in marine crabs. To test this hypothesis, sublethal effects of mercury (Hg) on cellular immune and biochemical responses of crabs were determined. When crabs were exposed for 14 d to environmentally-relevant concentrations of Hg, changes in immune-associated parameters including, total haemocyte count, lysosomal membrane stability, phenoloxidase, super oxide generation and phagocytosis were observed. Oxidative stress, as measured by lipid peroxidation, antioxidant responses, including superoxide dismutase and catalase activities and glutathione-mediated antioxidant enzymes in serum, haemocyte lysate, gills, hepatopancreas and muscle were assessed in crabs exposed to Hg. Exposure to Hg resulted in significantly lesser immune-associated parameters in haemolymph and antioxidants in all tissues studied. Conversely, GST and phenoloxidase activity, were greater in crabs exposed to Hg. Responses of antioxidant parameters (SOD, CAT and GP(x)) were positively correlated with immune responses, including THC, superoxide and phagocytosis. These results were postulated to be due to an immediate response of antioxidant defense to oxygen radicals generated. Overall, the results suggest that 14 d exposure to environmentally realistic concentrations of Hg causes immunomodulation and potentially harmful lessened antioxidant defenses of crabs., (Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Brachytherapy treatment planning system (TPS) is necessary to estimate the dose to target volume and organ at risk (OAR). TPS is always recommended to account for the effect of tissue, applicator and shielding material heterogeneities exist in applicators. However, most brachytherapy TPS software packages estimate the absorbed dose at a point, taking care of only the contributions of individual sources and the source distribution, neglecting the dose perturbations arising from the applicator design and construction. There are some degrees of uncertainties in dose rate estimations under realistic clinical conditions. In this regard, an attempt is made to explore the suitability of point kernels for brachytherapy dose rate calculations and develop new interactive brachytherapy package, named as BrachyTPS, to suit the clinical conditions. BrachyTPS is an interactive point kernel code package developed to perform independent dose rate calculations by taking into account the effect of these heterogeneities, using two regions build up factors, proposed by Kalos. The primary aim of this study is to validate the developed point kernel code package integrated with treatment planning computational systems against the Monte Carlo (MC) results. In the present work, three brachytherapy applicators commonly used in the treatment of uterine cervical carcinoma, namely (i) Board of Radiation Isotope and Technology (BRIT) low dose rate (LDR) applicator and (ii) Fletcher Green type LDR applicator (iii) Fletcher Williamson high dose rate (HDR) applicator, are studied to test the accuracy of the software. Dose rates computed using the developed code are compared with the relevant results of the MC simulations. Further, attempts are also made to study the dose rate distribution around the commercially available shielded vaginal applicator set (Nucletron). The percentage deviations of BrachyTPS computed dose rate values from the MC results are observed to be within plus/minus 5.5% for BRIT LDR applicator, found to vary from 2.6 to 5.1% for Fletcher green type LDR applicator and are up to -4.7% for Fletcher-Williamson HDR applicator. The isodose distribution plots also show good agreements with the results of previous literatures. The isodose distributions around the shielded vaginal cylinder computed using BrachyTPS code show better agreement (less than two per cent deviation) with MC results in the unshielded region compared to shielded region, where the deviations are observed up to five per cent. The present study implies that the accurate and fast validation of complicated treatment planning calculations is possible with the point kernel code package.