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The application of nanoparticle coating in a collector could resolve the issues of lesser heat transfer rate and lower thermal efficiency associated with the flat plate collector (FPC). In this study, carbon nanodots (CNDs) synthesized from fish scales wwere coated over the black paint coating to enhance the thermal efficiency of FPC. The effect of various concentrations (0, 0.1, 0.2, and 0.5%w/v) of CND coatings and mass flow rates of air (0.011 kg/s (natural convection) and 0.015, 0.029, and 0.044 kg/s (forced convection)) on the collector outlet air temperature and efficiency of the FPC were evaluated with a control (black paint). Solar radiation ranged from 382 to 913 W/m2 on the experimental days, and the atmospheric temperature and relative humidity values varied from 26.2 to 34.8°C and 50–72%, respectively. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopic studies of absorber plate coating revealed that the CNDs interacted with the black paint surface through phenolic OH, C=O, and NH mainly by hydrogen bonding. It was observed that the exit air temperature of the collector varied from 55 to 65°C. The thermal efficiency of 59.97%, 62.72%, 71.87%, and 67.75% was obtained for control (black-paint), 0.1%, 0.2%, and 0.5% CNDs coating, respectively, at the airflow rate of 0.044 kg/s. The coating of 0.2% CNDs recorded a maximum thermal efficiency of 71.87% at 0.044 kg/s. Overall, the CNDs coating on the absorber surface enhanced the thermal efficiency of the collector by 19.84% over the black paint-coated surface (control). It can be concluded from the study that CNDs coating resulted in enhanced outlet air temperature and improved thermal efficiency, which can be utilized for low-temperature applications like the drying of food materials.

Heritage tourism is a significant area in the tourism industry that has been growing for more than 10 years, with India being no exception. The demand for heritage tourism has been increasing on all scales from small trip advisor articles to major advertising campaigns on television. As Tourism is a global process of change and development, the progress in Tourism must be analyzed, with a focus on understanding the causes and effects of change. The author examines these changes through examining how the tourism experience is created. Heritage tourism is an industry worth billions. But how do you promote this when there are so many destinations to choose from? This article explores the marketing strategies that will get you started. The sample size is 100 and total responses collected were 99 , Non-parametric test Chi-Square was used to test the data collected Heritage Tourism facilities, Sensitization of Heritage Tourism, Grievance Redressal Mechanism, General Awareness of Heritage Tourism. Heritage Tourism Infrastructure, Pricing of Tourism Packages, Rate the local Amenities while in tour! People on the other hand were trained on how to handle the tourists and most significantly the socio-cultural etiquette were given importance to handle both domestic & foreign tourists. The respondents also stated that there are variety of environmental factor, technology which has direct impact on heritage tourism, People from different walks of life, educational background, age, students, graduates, visits these places as study tour, educational purposes, research etc. The major factors influencing travel for domestic & foreign tourists are vacation, season, climate and events.

North Eastern states of India are blessed with extensive ecoclimatic conditions and much of India’s endemic flora and fauna. This region is rich in fish diversity with plenty of species of ornamental importance, including model species zebrafish. Among the potential ornamental fishes, Ctenops nobilis is designated as Near Threatened and Danio dangila is included in the Least Concern list by IUCN. Cytogenetic profiling was undertaken here to provide complementary data for precise species identification and to study genetic inheritance, genome organization and evolution of the species. The cytogenetic analyses revealed diploid chromosome numbers 44 and 50 with karyotype formula 8m+20sm+10st+6t (FN=72) and 20m+24sm+6st (FN=94), respectively, in C. nobilis and D. dangila. The staining of nucleolar organizer regions revealed the presence of Ag-NORs, CMA3 sites and 18S rDNA probe signals on one pair sub-telocentric chromosome and one pair sub-metacentric chromosome in C. nobilis and D. dangila, respectively. These biomarkers are an important resource for molecular taxonomy, evolutionary/phylogenetic studies and conservation genetics of C. nobilis and D. dangila.

Sasthamkotta Lake is the drinking water resource to Kollam city and suburban areas.The lake is designatedas Ramsar site since November 2002. The present study aims to assess the sediment quality and proportionof sediment-dwelling organisms in the lake. The physicochemical characteristics of sediment were withinthe desirable limit. Sediment particle size distribution showed that they have higher percentage of clay(clay > silt > sand). Order Diptera is dominant group in Sasthamkotta Lake. Phaenopsectra sp. is the abundantorganism accounting to about 97.927% in the total of benthic invertebrates. The study revealed that thelakebed is suitable for the survival of benthic organisms and maintains a healthy aquatic ecosystem.

Objective: Objective of the study was to evaluate the predictors of poor disease outcome at discharge and at 1 month in patients with acute encephalopathy. Methods: This prospective, observational, single center study included adult patients meeting the diagnostic criteria for acute confusion state and admitted in the intensive care unit of a tertiary care hospital. A modified Rankin Scale (mRS) score of

Automatic identification of salient features in large medical datasets, particularly in chest x-ray (CXR) images, is a crucial research area. Accurately detecting critical findings such as emphysema, pneumothorax, and chronic bronchitis can aid radiologists in prioritizing time-sensitive cases and screening for abnormalities. However, traditional deep neural network approaches often require bounding box annotations, which can be time-consuming and challenging to obtain. This study proposes an explainable ensemble learning approach, CX-Net, for lung segmentation and diagnosing lung disorders using CXR images. We compare four state-of-the-art convolutional neural network models, including feature pyramid network, U-Net, LinkNet, and a customized U-Net model with ImageNet feature extraction, data augmentation, and dropout regularizations. All models are trained on the Montgomery and VinDR-CXR datasets with and without segmented ground-truth masks. To achieve model explainability, we integrate SHapley Additive exPlanations (SHAP) and gradient-weighted class activation mapping (Grad-CAM) techniques, which enable a better understanding of the decision-making process and provide visual explanations of critical regions within the CXR images. By employing ensembling, our outlier-resistant CX-Net achieves superior performance in lung segmentation, with Jaccard overlap similarity of 0.992, Dice coefficients of 0.994, precision of 0.993, recall of 0.980, and accuracy of 0.976. The proposed approach demonstrates strong generalization capabilities on the VinDr-CXR dataset and is the first study to use these datasets for semantic lung segmentation with semi-supervised localization. In conclusion, this paper presents an explainable ensemble learning approach for lung segmentation and diagnosing lung disorders using CXR images. Extensive experimental results show that our method efficiently and accurately extracts regions of interest in CXR images from publicly available datasets, indicating its potential for integration into clinical decision support systems. Furthermore, incorporating SHAP and Grad-CAM techniques further enhances the interpretability and trustworthiness of the AI-driven diagnostic system.

Wild-type transthyretin amyloidosis (ATTRwt amyloidosis) is a progressive disease resulting from the accumulation of wild-type transthyretin (TTR) amyloid fibrils, and is diagnosed primarily in males. This analysis examined sex differences in patients with ATTRwt amyloidosis from the Transthyretin Amyloidosis Outcomes Survey (THAOS).THAOS is an ongoing, global, longitudinal, observational survey of patients with transthyretin amyloidosis, including both inherited and wild-type disease, and asymptomatic carriers of TTR mutations. THAOS data were analyzed to identify potential differences in demographic and clinical characteristics between males and females with ATTRwt amyloidosis (data cutoff: August 1, 2021).Of 1386 patients with ATTRwt amyloidosis, 84 (6%) were female and 1302 (94%) were male. Females had a higher median age at enrollment (80 vs. 78 years; p = 0.002) and symptom onset (75 vs. 73 years; p = 0.045) than males. Mean left ventricular (LV) ejection fraction was higher (53% vs. 48%; p = 0.001) and mean LV diastolic diameter lower (42 vs. 46 mm; p 0.001) in females versus males, but sex was not identified as a predictor of LV mean wall thickness adjusted for height (beta coefficient - 0.22; p = 0.460) or a predominantly cardiac phenotype (odds ratio 1.60; p = 0.191). Modified polyneuropathy disability scores differed between groups (p 0.001), with a larger proportion of scores ≥ IIIa among females (23% vs. 7%).Females with ATTRwt amyloidosis in THAOS tended to present at a later age and showed signs of less severe cardiac impairment and more severe walking impairment.ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT00628745.

Most genes associated with neurodevelopmental disorders (NDDs) were identified with an excess of de novo mutations (DNMs) but the significance in case–control mutation burden analysis is unestablished. Here, we sequence 63 genes in 16,294 NDD cases and an additional 62 genes in 6,211 NDD cases. By combining these with published data, we assess a total of 125 genes in over 16,000 NDD cases and compare the mutation burden to nonpsychiatric controls from ExAC. We identify 48 genes (25 newly reported) showing significant burden of ultra-rare (MAF, For many neurodevelopmental disorder (NDD) risk genes, the significance for mutational burden is unestablished. Here, the authors sequence 125 candidate NDD genes in over 16,000 NDD cases; case-control mutational burden analysis identifies 48 genes with a significant burden of severe ultra-rare mutations.

The transcription factor RUNX2 is a key regulator of chondrocyte phenotype during development, making it an ideal target for prevention of undesirable chondrocyte maturation in cartilage tissue engineering strategies. Here, we engineered an autoregulatory gene circuit (cisCXp-shRunx2) that negatively controls RUNX2 activity in chondrogenic cells via RNA interference initiated by a tunable syntheticCol10a1-like promoter (cisCXp). ThecisCXp-shRunx2gene circuit is designed based on the observation that induced RUNX2 silencing after early chondrogenesis enhances the accumulation of cartilaginous matrix in ATDC5 cells. We show that thecisCXp-shRunx2initiates RNAi of RUNX2 in maturing chondrocytes in response to the increasing intracellular RUNX2 activity without interfering with early chondrogenesis. The induced loss of RUNX2 activity in turn negatively regulates the gene circuit itself. Moreover, the efficacy of RUNX2 suppression fromcisCXp-shRunx2can be controlled by modifying the sensitivity ofcisCXp promoter. Finally, we show the efficacy of inhibiting RUNX2 in preventing matrix loss in human MSC-derived cartilage under conditions that induce chondrocyte hypertrophic differentiation, including inflammation. Overall, our results demonstrated that the negative modulation of RUNX2 activity with our autoregulatory gene circuit enhanced matrix synthesis and resists ECM degradation by reprogrammed MSC-derived chondrocytes in response to the microenvironment of the degenerative joint.

Knowledge on fish biology is essential for improving aquaculture. The present study was focused on the biology of Puntiusamphibius. The fishes were collected from a freshwater body in parlance known as “Arappa”, located in Thalikulam at Thrissur district in Kerala. This water body is in the vicinity of the sea anddebouches into the marine during monsoon season. In the present investigation 106 fishes were collected during March to August 2006. The study revealed that there was no significant difference observed among the length weight relationship of males and females. Composition of gut content showed that it is a selectivefeeder of Bacillariophyceae and a pronounced omnivore. The gastro-somatic index of female and male was high during May indicating the active feeding during breeding.The sex ratio between males and females was variable and female dominated over males. The fecundity of fish was proportional to the weight of the ovary. Gonado-somatic index was comparatively high during spawning seasons. This is a preliminary lesson on the reproductive biology and certain distinctive characters such as length-weight and food and feeding habits of Puntius amphibius.

Polachira wetland in Southern Kerala is a famousdestination of itinerant birds.Thebird aggregation in wetlands is always correlated to the abiotic and biotic factors of the ecosystem. The present investigation reveals the hydrology of the Polachirawetland during February to July 2014. The air and water temperatureagreed with the climatic factors prevailed. The pH showed slight acidity and alkalinity. The total solids fluctuation was renderedby the Total Suspended Solid and Total Dissolved Solid which was indicated by organic discharge, high chloride content and salinity in water. Salinity in water was elevated due to the incursion of saline water from Paravur estuary to Polachira wetland through a canal. The free carbondioxide concentration did not show much variation but dissolved oxygen showed variation. The total hardness which was related to the calcium and magnesium hardness in water was determined.Alkalinity was balance in theecosystem. Nutrients such as nitrite, nitrate, phosphate and silicate were in equilibrium concentration.Correlations of physicochemical parameters among six months were statistically significant.

Primary or metastatic cancers involving the intra-abdominal organ systems frequently result in abdominal pain, of both abdominal visceral and somatic types. This pain can be extremely severe and distressing to patients, and very often requires the use of opioid-based medications for modification of pain to tolerable levels. Adjunctive therapies have also been described, including interventional procedures such as celiac plexus blockade. Both treatment modalities have obvious benefit, but also substantial risk. We present a case of significant and intractable abdominal cancer pain, and describe successful management of this pain with the relatively safe and simply performed ultrasound guided transverse abdominal plane (TAP) block.

Background: Fibromyalgia (FM) is a chronic medical condition characterized by widespread pain, sleep disturbance, and cognitive dysfunction. Sleep disorders are thought to play a prominent role in the etiology and symptomatic management of FM, specifically obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). In order to provide collaborative care, we need a better understanding of any overlapping presentation of FM and OSA. We conducted a site-wide review of patients from 2012–2016 to identify FM patients diagnosed with OSA. Methods: Charts were reviewed in patients aged 18 and above from 2012–2016 using ICD codes from a clinical data repository. Intersection of patients with a diagnosis of FM and OSA in clinics of psychiatry, sleep, rheumatology, and other outpatient clinics was compared. Polysomnography order patterns for FM patients were investigated. Results: Co-morbidity was highest in the sleep clinic (85.8%) compared to psychiatry (42.0%), rheumatology (18.7%), and other outpatient clinics (3.6%) (p, Video abstract Point your SmartPhone at the code above. If you have a QR code reader the video abstract will appear. Or use: https://youtu.be/-Q2K0c-_jZQ

Background: Having conquered water surfaces worldwide, the semi-aquatic bugs occupy ponds, streams, lakes,mangroves, and even open oceans. The diversity of this group has inspired a range of scientific studies fromecology and evolution to developmental genetics and hydrodynamics of fluid locomotion. However, the lack of arepresentative water strider genome hinders our ability to more thoroughly investigate the molecular mechanismsunderlying the processes of adaptation and diversification within this group.

Rabbit anti-thymocyte globulin (Thymoglobulin®, Sanofi-Aventis, Quebec, Canada) a purified gamma immune globulin obtained from the serum of rabbits immunised against human thymocytes, is widely used as an immunosuppressant agent to prevent acute rejection during solid organ transplantation. Anaphylaxis after first-time exposure to the drug is rare, but may be associated with devastating consequences. We present the case of a patient undergoing renal transplantation who developed intraoperative cardiac arrest due to severe allergic reaction immediately after initiation of Thymoglobulin® intravenous infusion. The patient was successfully resuscitated, but developed chronic chest pain from left-sided rib fractures sustained during chest compressions, and was evaluated by the same senior staff anaesthesiologist as an outpatient in the pain clinic. A high level of suspicion from anaesthesia providers is paramount in the diagnosis and management of intraoperative drug-induced severe allergic reactions, furthermore there is an opportunity for continued care of these patients by anaesthesia providers beyond the return of spontaneous circulation.

OBJECTIVE: 1. Comparing Cord Serum Albumin level (CSA) with Cord Serum Bilirubin (CSB) in predicting neonatal hyperbilirubinemia. 2. To know the sensitivity, specificity, Positive predictive value and negative predictive value of CSA and CSB in predicting neonatal jaundice in term neonates. METHOD: Prospective study was performed on 174 healthy term neonates. Relevant maternal history is collected. Cord blood was collected from the healthy term neonates at birth, CSA and CSB measured. Neonate was assessed clinically every day. Total Serum Bilirubin (TSB) and blood group were assessed in neonate during 72-96 hours of life. TSB value ≥17mg/dl is considered Neonatal Hyperbilirubinemia (NH) which requires intervention like phototherapy (PT) or Exchange transfusion (ExT). RESULT: Study cohort is grouped in Group 1, Group 2 and Group 3 based on Cord Serum Albumin level ≤2.8g/dl, 2.9-3.3g/dl and ≥3.4g/dl, respectively. Based on CSB, study cohort divided into neonates with CSB ≤ 2mg/dl and CSB ≥ 2.1mg/dl. Statistical analysis done for correlation of CSA and CSB with NH. Statistical significance is seen for both CSA and CSB. CONCLUSION: Both CSA and CSB are equally effective in predicting NH at birth. These study variables can be considered as neonatal screening tool for NH for term neonates.

Recombinant bivalent chimeric protein was generated comprising of domain 4 of protective antigen (PA4) and carboxy terminal region of extractable antigen 1 (EA1C) by overlap extension PCR. The immunogenicity and protective efficacy of recombinant chimeric protein (PE) and protein mixture (PAEA) along with the individual components, PA4 and EA1C were evaluated in this study. We found that PE and PAEA exhibited higher endpoint titer and elevated IgG1 response. Compared to PA4 and EA1C, the chimeric protein PE and protein mixture PAEA exhibited 1.52 and 1.39 times more proliferative effect on lymphocytes in vitro. The spore uptake by anti-PE and anti-PAEA antibodies was significantly more than the individual components. We further evaluated the effects of antisera on the toxins in vitro and in vivo. Anti-PE and anti-PAEA antibodies displayed nearly 80% protection against crude toxin activity on RAW 264.7 cell lines. We further demonstrated that the anti-PE and anti-PAEA antibodies displayed better protection in controlling the edema induced by crude toxin. Passive immunization with anti-PE and anti-PAEA provided protection against toxin challenge in mice. The present study reveals that the chimeric protein consisting of heterologous regions of PA and EA1 can render better protection than PA4 or EA1C alone against toxins and bacilli.

Cast shadows produce troublesome effects for video surveillance systems, typically for object tracking from a fixed viewpoint. It yields appearance variations of objects depending on whether they are inside or outside the shadows. To eliminate these cast shadows from video sequences, we propose an algorithm based on the knowledge that, cast shadow points are usually adjacent to object points and are merged in a single blob on the edge of the moving objects and also cast shadow occurs only at run time (as objects move in the scene).This paper presents a novel pixel based statistical approach to detect moving cast shadows and consequently eliminates them from segmented motion objects. The approach calculates �� random values (�� ) using color information of segmented object edges to build �� distribution model. �� distribution models are constructed and updated for every input frame. This statistical modeling can deal with scenes with complex and time varying illuminations. Results obtained with different indoor and outdoor sequences show the robustness of the approach.

Grid computing is a way of partitioned computing focused on high-performance orientation and re- source sharing. In day today computing environment, performing analysis of very large data sets is neces- sary in many applications. The data are geographically partitioned and the complexity of the data is increasing and in those cases the grid technologies is used to provide an effective computational support for knowledge discovery. This paper is an introduction to the Grid computing environment.

The Novacor left-ventricular assist system (LVAS) is an implantable, electrically powered device that is presently approved both in Europe and in the United States for temporary use as a bridge to cardiac transplantation in patients with advanced heart failure. The device has undergone significant evolution since its first implantation in 1984. This device provides a safe, and effective "bridge" to transplantation in select candidates. The world-wide experience as well as the experience at the University of Pittsburgh Health System with this device are discussed in this paper. The exciting results provide ample evidence for the potential use of this device as an "alternative" to transplantation, or "alternative" to medical therapy in the near future.

Studies the fatigue behaviour of Al-7Si-0.3 Mg sand cast alloys at varying iron levels and with beryllium and manganese trace additions and when the alloy is stircast and extruded. From the stress (S)-number of cycles to failure (N)-(S-N) curves it is observed that the presence of higher amount of iron (0.76%) in sand cast alloys leads to a shorter fatigue life. Beryllium and manganese additions to a higher iron containing alloy (0.76%) show better fatigue properties than low (0.29%) and high (0.76%) iron containing sand cast alloys, thus countering the detrimental effect of iron. The better fatigue life of beryllium and manganese added high iron alloy is due to the presence of (Be,Mn)-Fe phases only inside α-Al dendrites. The fatigue life of stircast and extruded low iron (0.44%) alloy is superior to sand cast low (0.29%) iron alloys. Observation of fractured surfaces reveals that porosity/inclusions is the high stress concentrating point where the crack originates (stage-I) and then propagates (stage-II) depending on the presence of the second phases. In the case of low iron alloys (sand and extruded stircast) a crack propagates along eutectic silicon, while in the high iron alloys a crack propagates through the brittle β-phase. In beryllium and manganese added alloys, even though a crack nucleates on the (Be,Mn)-Fe phase, it will be arrested as it approaches α-Al dendrites and hence, the crack has to propagate along silicon particles. The fractured surface of the stircast and extruded alloys has revealed fine fatigue fracture with striation as compared to sand cast alloys. This aspect of crack nucleation and propagation is explained schematically.

This paper concerns the optimization of electropolishing techniques which are in use to prepare metallographic specimens for microstructural observation. Process variables such as bath temperature, concentration of electrolyte, electrode distance etc., are discussed. Investigations of the influence of process variables on current density-voltage relationship and limiting current density aimed at obtaining a good polished surface in an easy and systematic way are reviewed.

A major problem in cardiac transplantation is the death of candidates due to the increasing shortage of donors and the consequent longer waiting periods. To determine whether clinical markers for death could be identified in these patients, 168 adult candidates with heart failure (NYHA class III and IV) listed between August 1987 and December 1989 were analyzed. There were 104 patients with ischemic cardiomyopathy (ISCM) and 64 with idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy (IDCM). Transplantation was performed in 93 patients (55%). Actuarial 1 year survival was 61% in the ISCM group and 78% in the IDCM group (P = NS). Freedom from sudden death at one year was significantly lower in the ISCM group (73%) than in the IDCM group (96%) (P0.01). The rate of patients who did not die from terminal myocardial failure was 83% in the ISCM group and 81% in the IDCM group (P = NS). There were no significant differences between the two groups in right atrial, pulmonary artery, and pulmonary wedge pressures, transpulmonic pressure gradient, pulmonary vascular resistance, cardiac index, and ejection fraction. We conclude that candidates for cardiac transplantation with ISCM are at higher risk for sudden death during the first year on the waiting list than patients with IDCM. These results warrant consideration of aggressive arrhythmia control measures, including an automatic implantable defibrillator, to "bridge" these high risk patients to transplantation.

Digital images provide a new way to represent pictures and scenes that only film and a darkroom could supply before. This new way to capture and store images opens a door to malicious individuals wishing to forge or otherwise manipulate original authentic images. Since digital photography is improving and becoming more widely used technology, a need exists to provide countermeasures against mali- cious forgers. The old adage "don't believe everything you hear" is becoming "don't believe everything you see." Photo is considered as evidence in all digital era. Image Forensic area provide right value to authenticated original images. We proposed two algorithm to overcome such challenging problem in the forensic world. Much time and effort has gone into analyzing uncompressed images but current techniques return dismal success in detecting one of the most common digital image formats, JPEG. In this paper we presented here attempts to tailor methods toward the JPEG format as well as incorporate all image formats where possible. The proposed method is analogous to a recursive type process, with the sub-processing resembling a "divide and conquer" approach. Block Based Processing is useful because the calculations performed are influenced by only the information present in that particular block. A JPEG image can either be color or grayscale. For grayscale Images we propose direction filter technique and color images JPEG block analysis technique.

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The secured web-based voting framework is the need of the present time. We propose another secure authentication for the online voting framework by utilizing face recognition and hashing algorithm. A simple verification process is accomplished during the initial registration process via email and phone. The voter is asked to give a unique identification number (UIN) provided by the election authority and face image at the time of main registration. This UIN is converted into a secret key using the SHA algorithm. The face image that is saved in the Amazon web service (AWS) acts as an authentication mechanism which enables people to cast their vote secretly. The voters, who cast numerous votes amid the way toward voting is guaranteed to be counteracted by encrypted UIN. The election organizers can see the election parallelly as the voting is saved in the real-time database. The privacy of the voter is maintained as the details are converted into the key. In this system, an individual can vote from outside of his/her allocated constituency.