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Background: Topical delivery of therapeutic agents is considered beneficial due to various advantages like ease of administration, avoidance of the first-pass effect, and improved patient compliance. Therefore, scientists around the globe are exploring this route for the delivery of drugs nowadays. Objective:: The present investigation aimed to prepare, optimize, and characterize the urea-loaded microsponges for efficient topical delivery in vitro. Methods: Urea-loaded ethylcellulose microsponges were prepared using quasi emulsion solvent diffusion technique and optimized using Box–Behnken design (BBD). Furthermore, they were characterized in-vitro using various techniques like scanning electron microscopy (SEM), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), and X-ray diffraction analysis (XRD). In-vitro drug release and release kinetics analysis was also performed. Results: Urea-loaded microsponges were spherical and porous. Optimized urea loaded microsponges showed a minimum size (39.78 ± 1.98 μm), high entrapment (74.56 ± 2.8%), acceptable polydispersity index (PDI) (0.224 ± 0.081) and zeta potential (-21.9 ± 2.9 mV). These microsponges were capable of sustaining the release of urea for 24 h (91.21 ± 5.20%), and the mechanism of release was the combination of diffusion and erosion. Conclusion: The developed microsponge system could be beneficial for topical delivery of urea as it could reduce the dosing frequency of urea and increase patient compliance through its sustained release.

Background: Diabetes is leading cause of renal failure in entire world. Approximately 20-40 percent of patients with diabetes develop diabetic nephropathy. Newer drugs like SGLT-2 inhibitors and DPP-4 inhibitors are valuable option for Diabetic Nephropathy. Remogliflozin etabonate (RE) is the latest addition to the SGLT2 inhibitor class of drugs that have been recently approved in India for the management of T2DM.This study was conducted to elaborate effect of SGLT2 inhibitor (remogliflozin) plus DPP4 inhibitor (vildagliptin) on diabetic nephropathy in patients of Type 2 DM. Methods: This hospital based, comparative, open label, randomized controlled trial has been carried out in our department during January 2020 to October 2022 on 60 patients. Group 1 was given metformin 500 mg BD and glimepiride 1 mg BD and group 2 was given FDC of remogliflozin 100 mg and vildagliptin 50 mg BD with 32 patients in group 1 and 28 patients in group 2. The study was approved by ethical committee of our institute. Results: Mean (SD) of urine ACR in metformin and glimepiride group at screening, 12 weeks, 24 weeks, and at 36 weeks were 93.64 (53.92), 95.56 (52.76), 89.96 (50.22) and 90.9 (53.56) respectively mean (SD) of urine ACR in remogliflozin and vildagliptin group at screening, 12 weeks, 24 weeks, and at 36 weeks were 108.28 (68.5), 100.73 (55.5), 99.35 (55.71) and 75.1 (38.7) respectively. Mean (SD) of eGFR in metformin and glimepiride group at screening, 12 weeks, 24 weeks, and at 36 weeks were 59.62 (18.57), 61.2 (11.1), 60.06 (14.37) and 60.8 (13.3) respectively. Mean (SD) of eGFR in remogliflozin and vildagliptin group at screening, 12 weeks, 24 weeks, and at 36 weeks were 68.03 (16.35), 65.8 (7.96), 66.28 (15.13) and 68.4 (11.6) respectively. Conclusions: Remogliflozin and vildagliptin combination has significant reduction of proteinuria and eGFR improvement when compared to metformin plus glimepiride.

Most bridge failures occur due to the development of scour holes around the abutment and pier. Therefore, accurate prediction of abutment scour depth is critical for designing and maintaining bridges to ensure their safety and longevity. Traditional methods for predicting abutment scour depth, such as empirical formulas and physical models, have accuracy, applicability, and cost limitations. Machine learning (ML), on the other hand, has the potential to overcome these limitations by leveraging large amounts of data and identifying complex patterns and relationships that are difficult to detect using traditional methods. ML models can be trained on various data sources, including field measurements, laboratory experiments, and numerical simulations, to predict abutment scour depth accurately. Therefore, the present study aims to develop a novel-tuned Custom ensemble ML model for predicting abutment scour depth in clear-water conditions. The proposed Custom ensemble model outperforms the ML models used to predict non-dimensional scour depth at abutments with an accuracy of 95.93%.

Background: Dengue is the arboviral febrile illness, which affects the vascular, muscular, and hematological systems. One of the standards used by WHO recommendations as a possible predictor of the clinical severity of infection is thrombocytopenia. A well-known aspect of dengue illness that is accompanied by hepatomegaly and elevated serum transaminase levels is hepatic dysfunction. This study's objective was to determine the liver's con Objective: tribution to dengue infection during the severity of dengue infection by comparing platelet counts and liver transaminase enzyme levels in a tertiary care facility. Admitted cases of Dengue fever (dengue serology positive –IgM) Method: were divided into 3 groups: DF, DHF, DSS based on the clinical and laboratory finding and relation of aminotransferases level were analyzed. Elevation in LFTs were co-related with DF, DHF, DSS. Result: In DF there was 7% patients having mild platelets and 93% patients having moderate platelets. In DHF, 7.4% patients had mild platelets, 70.4% having moderate and 22.2% had severe platelets. In DSS 79.3% patients had moderate platelets and 20.7% had severe platelets. The association was found significant. Transaminase levels rise in nearly all dengue cases, according t Conclusion: o our study's findings. Since AST and ALT levels are negatively correlated, an increase in dengue severity is accompanied by an increase in AST and ALT levels, and decrease in platelet count.

Indian cities are complex and interdependent system, extremely vulnerable to threats from both natural risks and manmade disasters caused by the growing urban population, migration, depleting resources and terrorism. There are abundant evidences on resource consumption and emissions, biodiversity and land use change to show that Indian cities are responsible for a large part of unsustainable trends which push the planet beyond its ecological boundaries. With expedited urbanization, it becomes imperative to prioritise vulnerability assessment in order to increase resilience and thus attain sustainability. Recent studies indicate that the resilience framework is not consistent; they have either been applied in a natural resource context or focused on a single factor such as socio- economic vulnerability or structural weakness of physical components. Secondly, there is lack of resilience framework for developing nations or local contexts as the applicability of results from developed countries are problematic to instrument technically or theoretically at native scale. Given the diversity of interpretations and application of the resilience assessment in complex urban systems, this paper looks at factors and parameters that influence the Indian cities with major focus on Gurugram.(the third wealthiest city in India, by per-capital income with a massive population but such phenomena growth has overwhelmed city planning even with the availability of funds).The paper further explores the resilience assessment framework based on the five defined and measurable domains including social (education equity, transportation access, health coverage, communication capacity), economic (employment, income, housing capital), institution (migration plan, flood coverage, political fragmentation by Indian institutions such as National Institute of Urban Affairs (NIUA), physical (e.g. water, sanitation, housing and land use), spatial (elevation, spatial and temporal indicators), human (e.g. literacy rate, health insurance) and Environment (e.g. ecosystem services, environmental policies).Various case examples are used to suggest that urban resilience can be conceived as a multidisciplinary framework to analyse the reactive, adaptive and transformative capacities of (and within) the complex urban system of Indian cities.

Concrete is one of the thing that comes into mind whenever we think about construction of anything, be it buildings, dams, airports, ports, roads etc. It is the most produced and used construction material in world and demand for it will increase day by day. Quality Control during production of concrete therefore becomes an important tool for achieving the highest quality concrete and at a lower cost. The compressive strength is considered to be the most important property and it is used as an indicator to check the quality of concrete and to judge compliance with the specifications. Variability in compressive strength of concrete produced in batches is inevitable in practice. Numerous studies have been carried out and statistical approaches have been devised in the field of quality control to analyse the statistics of strength results in order to draw conclusions about quality level in concrete plants and ways to improve it. In the present research the quality of concrete is examined using well established quality control tools and techniques. The main objective of the study is to assess the compressive strength of M60A20 grade concrete produced at site and evaluate the variance for strength deviation and evaluate opportunities for improvement in concrete production processes and in pouring methods of concrete.

Woodworkers commonly perform operations like sawing, chipping, planning, shaping, nailing and drilling in daily work environment. This study focused the consequences of exposure to hand arm vibration among woodworkers working with handheld drill machine. Subjects’ hand grip strength was measured by a digital hand grip dynamometer. The vibration generated by a handheld drill machine was the main concern and hence the same handheld drill machine was used during this study. The results showed that workers exposed to hand arm vibration had higher prevalence of musculoskeletal disorders. Future studies should include other contributing factors also like ergonomic interventions and workers’ postures.

The present study aimed to enhance the transdermal delivery of lacidipine by niosomal vesicles. Lacidipine niosomes were generated using the ultrasonic method, and Span 60 was used as a nonionic surfactant. Formulations were prepared containing Span 60 and cholesterol in 1:1 and 2:1 ratios, respectively, with essential oils added at increasing concentrations. The formulated niosomes had nano-vesicles with entrapment efficiency ranging from 75.81% to 91.25% and in-vitro drug release ranging from 80.61% to 89.81%. The optimal formulation was selected based on particle size, entrapment efficiency and in-vitro drug release. Optical microscopy and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy studies revealed a spherical shape of the niosomal vesicles. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, differential scanning calorimetry and X-ray diffraction studies confirmed complete encapsulation of the drug in the niosomal vesicles. The optimized formulation was also incorporated into a gel base, which was then evaluated for appearance, pH, viscosity, spreadability, in vitro drug release and stability. Overall, the results indicated that the developed niosomal lacidipine vesicles may provide an alternative to existing delivery systems for this drug.

Himalayan tahr is a group-living animal of high-altitude Himalaya, distributed all across the subalpine range that also formed an important prey base for large carnivores in Himalaya. The species is threatened due to habitat fragmentation, illegal poaching, and anthropogenic activities. We undertook population genetic assessment of Himalayan tahr from Western Himalaya and observed comparable genetic diversity at both mitochondrial and nuclear microsatellite loci. Bayesian skyline plots showed stable demography in the past several thousand years. We identified 27 unique individuals with a select panel of seven loci and the Bayesian structure analysis inferred two genetic clusters. The present study is the first report on the population genetic make-up of Himalayan tahr and can be used for long-term genetic monitoring of the species.

The present systematic review was undertaken to obtain a detailed understanding of how climate change perceptions and adaptation differ globally by gender and different intersections among the farmers. Findings from 41 studies selected following Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) protocol, mostly from Africa and Asia, suggest that climate change perceptions and adaptation are highly contextual and considerably varied by gender and different intersections. Existing gender role, farmers’ age, education, knowledge, marital status, intra-household power structure, religion, social status and ethnicity were intersecting with gender and climate change perception and adaptation. Apart from gender and intersectionality, access to resources, social network and local institutions are found to be important correlates of adaptation strategies by farmers. While agriculture being feminized, mere technological changes are not conclusive to climate change adaptation rather socio-cultural, structural and political changes in inevitable. Female farmers were tend to be more concerned and fatalistic about climate change which reminds us the urgency of culturally appropriate climate change communication to obtain informed decision regarding climate change. Future climate change research could be more gender transformative by exploring the existing inequalities lying in different intersections of gender rather than highlighting binary gender differences only.

Indian Association of Dermatologists, Venereologists and Leprologists is actively involved in providing its members diverse opportunities for academic growth. The residents during post graduation can avail post graduate thesis grants and scholarships. IADVL observerships and trainings are more suitable immediately after completing post graduation. Many awards including the PG thesis based award paper session is an excellent opportunity to present the research work conducted during residency. Apart from this the IADVL digital academy platform is an excellent learning resource.

Quality by design (QbD) has recently fascinated researchers for utilizing it in various arenas of pharma trends. By overcoming the conventional process, QbD prevents the risk of errors caused by the 'guess and by god approach'. This framework fosters profound knowledge of product and process quality by implying sound science and risk assessment strategies. The virtue of QbD leads to the collaborative contribution to pharmaceutical industrialists and satisfies the regulatory bodies. Additionally, leading to rapid production, saves time and expenditure, tremendous versatility, provides immense knowledge, improves robustness, higher consistency, reduces user's dilemma, decreases certainty of failure, declining inter-batch variation in pharmaceutical development. In this ever-increasing continuous production world, regulatory organizations such as the U.S. Food & Drug Administration and the International Conference on Harmonization recommend Q8 to Q14 guidelines in order to obtain the desired quality product. This review extensively discusses on various approaches of QbD for the pharmaceutical development of nano-carrier drug delivery systems. Additionally, QbD's applications in process and analytical method development techniques are documented.

The field experiment was conducted at Horticulture Research Farm-I, Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar University, Lucknow (U.P.) during rabi season of 2020-21 and 2021-22 to study the effect of varieties and spacing on growth and yield of cabbage (Brassica oleracea var. Capitata L.). Four varieties and four spacings with three replications were evaluated in Factorial Randomized Block Design. The results revealed that the maximum plant height (36.75 cm), number of leaves (19.91), leaf length (33.09 cm), leaf width (27.21 cm), plant spread N-S (49.42 cm), plant spread E-W (49.12 cm) and stem diameter (8.15 cm) were noted in variety Golden Acre. The minimum values (51.67) of head initiation, maximum weight of head (1.430 kg) and yield (595.67 q ha-1) is observed in Golden Acre. The maximum plant height (37.63 cm), number of leaves (20.26), leaf length (33.05cm), leaf width (26.93 cm), plant spread N-S (50.43 cm)plant spread E-W (50.12 cm) and stem diameter (8.33 cm) was observed in 60 cm x 60 cm. While the maximum weight of head (1.560 kg) and the maximum yield (695.53 q ha-1) were recorded in 45 cm x 45 cm spacing

There are a large number of pharmaceutical products in the market containing heterocyclic compounds. Heterocyclic compounds are explored in the field of therapeutics due to their unique physicochemical and pharmacological properties. A large number of heterocyclic compounds existing in the pharmaceutical market have marked anticancer activity and many of them are under research investigations to treat different types of cancers. Anticancer heterocyclic compounds show many shortcomings such as other anticancer agents in bioavailability and site-specific drug delivery resulting in toxicity and decreased patient compliance. These shortcomings can be eliminated by applying the principles of nanotechnology. The present review discloses the biochemical mechanism of action, different biological targets, intrinsic shortcomings, and structure-activity relationships of anticancer heterocyclic compounds. Furthermore, the role of different nanocarrier systems in selective biological targeting and alteration of pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic characteristics of anticancer heterocyclic compounds will be discussed in detail.

The field experiment entitled was “Influence of Phosphorus and Potassium levels on growth and yield of chickpea” conducted during Rabi 2022 at Crop Research Farm, Department of Agronomy, SHUATS, Prayagraj (U.P). The soil of experimental plot was sandy loam in texture, nearly neutral in soil reaction (pH 7.1), low in organic carbon (0.36%), available N (171.48 kg/ha), available P (15.2 kg/ha) and available K (232.5 kg/ha). The experiment was laid out on Randomized Block Design with nine treatments each replicated thrice on the basis of one year experimentation. The treatments which are T1 : 20 kg/ha Phosphorus +10 kg/ha Potassium, T2 : 20kg/ha Phosphorus+20kg/ha Potassium, T3 :20kg/ha Phosphorus +30 kg/ha Potassium, T4 : 30 kg/ha Phosphorus +10 kg /ha Potassium, T5 : 30 kg/ha Phosphorus +20 kg /ha Potassium, T6 : 30 kg/ha Phosphorus +30 kg /ha Potassium, T7 : 40 kg/ha Phosphorus +10 kg /ha Potassium, T8 : 40 kg/ ha Phosphorus +20 kg /ha Potassium, T9 : 40 kg/ha Phosphorus +30 kg /ha Potassium are used. The results shown that the steady increase in growth attributes of Chickpea at 100 DAS viz., plant height (42.66 cm), Number of nodules per plant (6.33), Dry weight (29.17 g) were significantly higher in treatment 9 (40kg/ haphosphorus+30 kg/ha potassium). Also, treatment 9 with 40kg/ha phosphorus +30 kg/ha potassium recorded maximum number of Pods per plant (43.60), seeds per pod (1.93), Test weight (210.50 g), maximum Seed yield (2.49 t/ha), Stover yield (4.60 t/ha) and Harvest Index (34.99 %) compared to other treatments.

This review enlightens future research and scientific approach of Ayurveda in the context of Dhatu Poshna Nyaya (metabolic transformation and movement of substances through cell membrane). The things that truly support a living body are called dhatus.Dhatu denotes physical sustenance and food from the sole Sara component of the Ahara Rasa. A dietary substance's metabolism refers to a set of particular biochemical reactions that take place inside a living thing from the time it is incorporated into a cell or tissue until it is excreted, some of which are associated with tissue synthesis and other metabolic processes. Those who break down tissue are said to be catabolic or anabolic, respectively. Numerous explanations have also been put out in the case of Dhatu Poshan. Numerous ideas have been developed regarding the process by which different nutrients are ingested by the body. One should consider all of these Nyayascomparable to one another.

Recent research has characterized the behavioral defense against disease. In particular the detection of sickness cues, the adaptive reactions (e.g. avoidance) to these cues and the mediating role of disgust have been the focus. A presumably important but less investigated part of a behavioral defense is the immune system response of the observer of sickness cues. Odors are intimately connected to disease and disgust, and research has shown how olfaction conveys sickness cues in both animals and humans. This study aims to test whether odorous sickness cues (i.e. disgusting odors) can trigger a preparatory immune response in humans. We show that subjective and objective disgust measures, as well as TNFα levels in saliva increased immediately after exposure to disgusting odors in a sample of 36 individuals. Altogether, these results suggest a collaboration between behavioral mechanisms of pathogen avoidance in olfaction, mediated by the emotion of disgust, and mechanisms of pathogen elimination facilitated by inflammatory mediators. Disgusting stimuli are associated with an increased risk of infection. We here test whether disgusting odors, can trigger an immune response in the oral cavity. The results indicate an increase level of TNFα in the saliva. This supports that disease cues can trigger a preparatory response in the oral cavity.

In India, 600 million people are dependent on the agricultural sector, the majority of them are small farmers with up to 2 hectares of land holding. Rain-fed is two thirds of the net sown area. About 40 million hectares of this land being flood-prone and about two thirds of it is drought-prone. Geographically, the poorest people typically reside in more exposed or marginal areas, such as on nutrient-deficient soils or flood plains. Due to limited human and financial resources, the poor are also less able to respond and have very limited capacity to cope with the effects of climate change and adapt to a changing hazard burden. The great majority of the world's population is feeds through the current food system, which also supports for the livelihoods of over 1 billion people. Since 1961, The amount of food supply per capita has increased by more than 30%, accompanied by greater use of nitrogen fertilizers and water resources for irrigation. However, 821 million people are currently undernourished, 613 million women and girls between the ages of 15 to 49 are suffer from iron-deficiency, 151 million children under the age of five are stunted, and 2 billion adults are overweight or obese. Millets have a lower carbon footprint of 3,218 kg than wheat and rice, with 3,968 and 3,401 kg of carbon dioxide equivalent per hectare, respectively, helping to lessen the consequences of climate change. Because they are less demanding to external inputs, drought-tolerant, and register a comparatively lower carbon footprint than other cereals. Millets have also attracted the attention of growers and policy-makers in the current implications of adverse effects of climate change. After the institutional neglect for a few decades, millets made a comeback because to these beneficial effects. Millets are suitable staples when focusing on the food and nutritional security of the common people. However, the successful millet harvest warrants an integration of proven and climate-smart technologies to meet the future needs of the ever-growing population. In terms of marginal growing conditions and high nutritional value, millets outperform other grains like wheat and rice as climate change complaint crops.

Crack occurs over time in almost all concrete which indicates distress. It varies in depth, width, direction, pattern, location, and cause. Cracks can be either active or dormant (inactive). Active cracks widen, deepen, or migrate through the concrete. Dormant cracks remain unchanged. Some dormant cracks, such as those caused by shrinkage during the curing process, pose no danger, but if left unrepaired, they can provide convenient channels for moisture penetration, which normally causes further damage. Structural cracks can result from temporary or continued overloads, uneven foundation settling, or original design inadequacies. Structural cracks are active if the overload is continued or if settlement is ongoing; they are dormant if the temporary overloads have been removed, or if differential settlement has stabilized. Thermally-induced cracks result from stresses produced by temperature changes. They frequently occur at the ends or corners of older concrete structures built without expansion joints capable of relieving such stresses. Superficial repairs do not eliminate underlying causes. To aggravate problems, professional consultation is recommended in almost every instance where noticeable crack occurs [1].

CD229 has been found to be a useful plasma cell (PC) gating marker in multiple myeloma (MM). This study analyses the expression profile of CD229 on various bone marrow compartments namely, PC, non-PC and hematogones (HGs) using Multiparameter flow cytometry (MFC). Furthermore, it evaluates the ability of CD229 to delineate normal PC (NPC) from aberrant PC (APC) in measurable residual disease assessment (MRD) in MM.Bone marrow aspirates from patients diagnosed with MM (per standard IMWG criteria) were collected in EDTA and processed for MFC using a single tube 14-color antibody panel as per standard operating procedure.A total of 74 patients with a diagnosis of MM (26 treatment naïve and 48 on therapy) were evaluated. The expression of CD229 was homogenous on both the PC and HG compartments as compared to CD138 and CD38. On comparing the expression of individual markers, it was found to be statistically significant between PC, HGs and non-PC for all three markers (p 0.001). APC showed lower median expression of CD38 and higher median expression of CD138 and CD229 as compared to NPC and was found to be statistically significant for all markers (p 0.001). In terms of differential expression on NPC and APC; CD38 was found to be the most aberrantly expressed (70%; 52/74) followed by CD229 (7%; 5/74) and CD138 (5%; 4/74).CD229 can be used for the identification of PC and due to relatively homogenous expression; it can be used as a suitable marker for targeted therapies. However, precise discrimination of NPC from APC cannot be reliably achieved with CD229, limiting its utility as a useful marker of diagnostic relevance and MRD assessment in MM.