Search

Improving the efficiency and stability of heterogeneous catalysts is essential for effectively utilizing peroxymonosulfate activation in industrial wastewater treatment. Perovskite ABO3catalysts with high structural flexibility have gained considerable attention in the peroxymonosulfate activation for the removal of hazardous organic compounds from wastewater. However, there is still considerable potential for catalytic enhancement due to the ease of tailoring its composition and structure. Herein, we introduce a scalable method to synthesize LaCo0.2Mn0.8O3with the aim of improving the catalytic performance. Interestingly, LaCo0.2Mn0.8O3with abundant oxygen vacancies and improved dispersion stability exhibited enhanced catalytic degradation of carbamazepine compared to the LaMnO3and LaCoO3catalysts in the peroxymonosulfate activation system. The partial substitution of manganese by cobalt in LaMnO3leading to the LaCo0.2Mn0.8O3+peroxymonosulfate system maintains a relatively high performance over repeated usage. Furthermore, the LaCo0.2Mn0.8O3catalyst exhibited excellent catalytic performance and stability across a broad pH range (3–9). Electron paramagnetic resonance and radical quenching experiment tests demonstrated singlet oxygen (1O2) as the primary active species for carbamazepine degradation in the LaCo0.2Mn0.8O3+ peroxymonosulfate system, while free radicals, such as sulfate radicals (⁠SO4•–), hydroxyl radicals (•OH), and superoxide radicals (O2•–), played a minor role in the carbamazepine removal. Taken together, this research provides significant insight into the effect of B-site substitution on the catalytic performance of perovskite catalysts.

To identify the trends of the top 100 cited articles on economic evaluation in preventive oral health programs.

ABSTRACTBackgroundThe Mediterranean diet has been linked to brain neuroprotection. Evidence from meta-analyses showed reduced risk of dementia with greater intake of vegetables and fruits, fish, and the Mediterranean diet. The current study raises important questions about the association between low risk dementia and Mediterranean diet.ObjectiveThe objective was to evaluate the association between levels of adherence to the Mediterranean diet and dementia and cognitive status in subjects 50 years of age and older.MethodThe Mediterranean Diet Adherence Screener (MEDAS), the modified 30-item ‘Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders Third Edition (DSM-III) risk of dementia, and the Standard Mini-Mental Status Examination (SMMSE) cognitive status scores were used to assess the levels of adherence to the Mediterranean diet’.ResultsA total of 150 subjects were enrolled in the study. Forty-one (27.3%) had ‘suspected or confirmed dementia, while 48 individuals (32%) were categorized as having moderate to severe cognitive decline. Subjects who reported moderate to high adherence to the Mediterranean diet (55, 36.7%) had significantly lower dementia scores (7.0 3.8 versus 17.6 5.1) and higher cognitive (25.4 3.8 versus 8.6 7.2) scores compared to those (38, 25.3%) who reported low adherence to the Mediterranean diet.ConclusionSubjects who were highly or moderately adherent to the Mediterranean diet had significantly lower dementia scores and better cognitive status than those with low adherence.

Orthopedic implant-related bacterial infections and resultant antibiotic-resistant biofilms hinder implant–tissue integration and failure. Biofilm quorum sensing (QS) communication determines the pathogen colonization success. However, it remains unclear how implant modifications and host cells are influenced by, or influence, QS. High aspect ratio nanotopographies have shown to reduce biofilm formation of Pseudomonas aeruginosa, a sepsis causing pathogen with well-defined QS molecules. Producing such nanotopographies in relevant orthopedic materials (i.e., titanium) allows for probing QS using mass spectrometry-based metabolomics. However, nanotopographies can reduce host cell adhesion and regeneration. Therefore, we developed a polymer (poly(ethyl acrylate), PEA) coating that organizes extracellular matrix proteins, promoting bioactivity to host cells such as human mesenchymal stromal cells (hMSCs), maintaining biofilm reduction. This allowed us to investigate how hMSCs, after winning the race for the surface against pathogenic cells, interact with the biofilm. Our approach revealed that nanotopographies reduced major virulence pathways, such as LasR. The enhanced hMSCs support provided by the coated nanotopographies was shown to suppress virulence pathways and biofilm formation. Finally, we selected bioactive metabolites and demonstrated that these could be used as adjuncts to the nanostructured surfaces to reduce biofilm formation and enhance hMSC activity. These surfaces make excellent models to study hMSC–pathogen interactions and could be envisaged for use in novel orthopedic implants.

Protein materials are versatile tools in diverse biomedical fields. Among them, artificial secretory granules (SGs), mimicking those from the endocrine system, act as mechanically stable reservoirs for the sustained release of proteins as oligomeric functional nanoparticles. Only validated in oncology, the physicochemical properties of SGs, along with their combined drug-releasing and scaffolding abilities, make them suitable as smart topographies in regenerative medicine for the prolonged delivery of growth factors (GFs). Thus, considering the need for novel, safe, and cost-effective materials to present GFs, in this study, we aimed to biofabricate a protein platform combining both endocrine-like and extracellular matrix fibronectin-derived (ECM-FN) systems. This approach is based on the sustained delivery of a nanostructured histidine-tagged version of human fibroblast growth factor 2. The GF is presented onto polymeric surfaces, interacting with FN to spontaneously generate nanonetworks that absorb and present the GF in the solid state, to modulate mesenchymal stromal cell (MSC) behavior. The results show that SGs-based topographies trigger high rates of MSCs proliferation while preventing differentiation. While this could be useful in cell therapy manufacture demanding large numbers of unspecialized MSCs, it fully validates the hybrid platform as a convenient setup for the design of biologically active hybrid surfaces and in tissue engineering for the controlled manipulation of mammalian cell growth.

AbstractThe aim of this research was to eventually come up with the simultaneous estimation of Phenylephrine HCl, Chlorpheniramine maleate and Dextromethorphan hydrobromide and its degradant products by Reverse Phase High Performance Liquid Chromatography [RP-HPLC] with green analytical chemistry principles. An Agilent Inertsil ODS 3 (250 mm x 4.6 mm, 5 μm) was used to achieve separation. A 0.45 μm membrane filter was used to filter the solutions. Phosphate buffer and ethanol were employed as the mobile phase. The injection volume was set to 10 μL, the flow rate was set to 1 mL/min and the detection wavelength was set to 220 nm. The gradient elution was used. Phenylephrine HCl had a retention time of 6.8 minutes, chlorpheniramine maleate of 3.5 minutes and dextromethorphan hydrobromide of 12.2 minutes. Phenylephrine HCl, chlorpheniramine maleate and dextromethorphan hydrobromide had linear concentration ranges of 1-6 μg/ml, 1-6 μg/ml, and 2-12 μg/ml, respectively. Phenylephrine HCl, chlorpheniramine maleate and dextromethorphan hydrobromide had correlation coefficients of R2of 0.999, 0.998, and 0.998, respectively. The method that was developed was environmentally friendly, according to the results of the greenness evaluation tools. Optimized using Central composite design and greenness of the method evaluated using green evaluation techniques.

To explore the barriers governing dental appointment keeping among patients reporting to a tertiary care setting. To assess the prevalence of missed dental appointments in a tertiary care center.

There exists a high burden of oral diseases. Yet, the utilization of oral health care remains low. Understanding how, when, and why/why not individuals utilize dental healthcare resources is essential for planning health services and developing policies as it reflects the population's oral health needs, helps allocate resources efficiently, and formulate policies that are tailored to address their needs.

In the competitive landscape of globalised markets, businesses must prioritise cost reduction for sustained competitiveness. This study delves into the dynamic facility layout problem (DFLP) within a cable production company in Kerala, emphasising adaptability to changing production demands. Addressing material handling costs and rearrangement expenses, the research evaluates the efficacy of the current static layout and explores the benefits of transitioning to a dynamic layout. The case study reveals potential cost savings through the strategic restructuring of machine arrangements. The innovative machine learning-based genetic algorithm (ML-GA) integrates machine learning algorithms, genetic algorithms, and a local search method, offering a cutting-edge solution to dynamic facility layout challenges. By considering demand variability and relocation costs, the study provides insights for informed decision-making, emphasising the significance of material flow patterns. This research contributes to enhancing efficiency and profitability, providing practical implications for businesses navigating the complexities of modern manufacturing.

Financial well-being (FWB) is critical to subjective well-being—a crucial component in measuring social progress. This study explores the simultaneous influence of five psychological traits of financial self-efficacy, risk tolerance, a propensity to plan, materialism and the tendency for social comparison on FWB. The study is a cross-sectional causal investigation using a web-based survey. The survey was administered to individuals who were active in financial decision-making activities and selected using a combination of judgmental and snowball sampling. Structural equation modelling revealed a positive influence on financial self-efficacy and propensity to plan and the negative impact of risk-tolerance, materialism and a tendency for social comparison on subjective FWB. Financial institutions and educators may utilize the study results for improving characteristics that help their clients make better financial decisions and enjoy higher levels of financial and subjective well-being. The study makes two contributions to the existing literature on the subject. First, the study simultaneously investigates the effect of the five psychological traits on subjective FWB—not attempted hitherto. Additionally, the study provides an Indian perspective on the subject, an emerging country covering one-sixth of the world population.

This qualitative study explored the perception of financial well-being among 30 professional women belonging to the middle to upper class in India through a series of in-depth one-to-one interviews. The major dimensions of financial well-being revealed from the narratives were financial adequacy, financial security, having control over one’s finances, being independent, and having a balance in life. The findings were explained based on psychological theories on human motivation. This study improves the present state of knowledge about the financial well-being of women by providing fresh insights into their perspectives, its key driving factors, and the key issues that are critical to their financial futures. The information can be used to develop effective financial intervention strategies and policies to improve financial well-being that target the specific needs of women in an emerging country context.

In this letter, we propose a novel low-complexity delay Doppler (DD) channel estimation scheme suited for discrete Zak transform based orthogonal time frequency space (DZT-OTFS) systems with embedded pilot frame and fractional delays and Dopplers. Key novelties in the proposed scheme include $i$ ) decoupling the estimation of channel gains, delays, and Dopplers using a decoupled representation of the channel matrix that leads to low complexity, $ii$ ) use of the knowledge of the adjacent bin levels in the matched filter response of the transmit-receive pulses for delay estimation, and $iii$ ) de-rotating the phase introduced by channel delays/Dopplers to estimate channel gains. Simulation results show that the proposed estimation scheme achieves better normalized mean squared error and bit error performance at a lesser complexity compared to sparse Bayesian learning based estimation scheme in the literature.

A revolutionary concept for achieving long-term medication release is the gastroretentive in situgelling system. The goal of this research was to formulate and test a gastroretentive in situgel for ketoprofen delivery to targeted site to increase the residence and delivery time. Ketoprofen gastroretentive in situgels were synthesized using a cation-driven gelation approach using various combinations and concentrations of polymers such as gellan gum, sodium alginate, and hydroxypropyl methylcellulose (HPMC) K100M. Visual appearance, pH, viscosity, in vitrogelation, in vitrobuoyancy, drug content, density measurement, gel strength measurement, water uptake, and in vitrodrug release were all evaluated. The total floating time was more than 12 h, with a floating lag time of less than 2 min. The formulations showed pH ranging from 6.89 to 7.61 and drug content ranging from 82.01% to 95.53%. For 11 h, the percent cumulative drug release of formulations F5 and F14, which contained a greater concentration of polymer sodium alginate (1.5%) and a combination of gellan gum and HPMC K100M (0.175% and 0.2%), was 84.10% and 85.49%, respectively. In vitrodissolution experiments and stability investigations both revealed no significant changes in drug content. The findings revealed that the formulated in situgels aided in extending gastric residence duration, allowing the drug to be released in the stomach.

The concept of reliability is widely recognized across various academic disciplines. However, the conventional understanding of reliability varies by discipline, does not adequately address the intricate and ever-changing environments, and fails to account for the dynamic interactions between humans and artificial intelligence (AI) systems. To address these gaps, a new framework is proposed for considering reliability that accounts for performance on both supraordinate and subordinate objectives. By framing reliability in such a manner, the evaluation of systems can become more precise and research involving human-machine interactions can gain greater clarity. This is crucial for product designers and evaluators working to develop systems that meet end-use goals and comply with regulations. Researchers and practitioners alike need to rethink reliability in the context of AI systems, and this article proposes a new framework for understanding reliability.

Trust in automation is a multidimensional process in predicting the proper use of automated systems. Trust can be generalized across components in multi-component systems, leading to contagion effects. However, no research has considered how blame attributions influence the size of contagion effects. We conducted an experiment to address how attributions of blame and responsibility influenced the magnitude of contagion effects for trust. Participants were presented with a hypothetical scenario depicting an airplane environment consisting of six human and six automation components. Participants rated their trust in each component before and after an oxygen mask failure. The findings indicate that the percentage of blame attributed to a component predicted the degree to that trust decreased following an error. Thus, more research should focus on how users assign blame across systems.

Due to the increase in the digitalization on board ships, the potential consequences of a cyber-induced incident can threaten the safety of the ships. A known challenge in the maritime industry is communication between ship owner management onshore and the crew on board a ship, especially during incident handling. To mitigate this issue and enhance cooperation in the digital age, crew and ship owner management need to meet, train for, and discuss cyber risks and their challenges. One way to enhance cohesive teams and effective communication is through the application of a human-centred design (HCD) approach to holistic team training. This paper proposes how simulator instructors should utilise HCD for the development of maritime cyber resilience training, tailored to a variety of maritime stakeholders including ship’s crew and onshore support personnel. To do this, this paper will explore relevant learning theories and current maritime and cyber-related training methods. The paper will then demonstrate, through a practical application, the effectiveness of adopting HCD when designing maritime cyber resilience training. This application will argue that maritime simulators present an effective training solution for new cyber-related incidents. The authors demonstrate the application of HCD by showcasing a ballast water handling system cyber incident designed for the simulator. The development of such a training resource allows all participants to experience the consequences of a cyber-attack in a safe environment whilst enhancing their ability to respond (i.e. communicate with each other) effectively.

ABSTRACTAn SLP-preferred symbol set may not always be accepted by the AAC user which makes it essential to investigate how preferences for symbols vary in different population. The primary purpose of the current study was to investigate the preferences between two AAC symbol sets of different cultural origins among neurotypical adults who were natives of Kerala, India. The study also aimed to explore the trend in preferences among adults with aphasia. A total of 240 neurotypical adults and ten adults with aphasia participated in the study. The neurotypical adults encompassed 120 lay-persons from four age groups (i.e., 18–35, 36–50, 51–65, and 66–80), and 120 professionals from three professional categories (i.e., medical and allied health professionals, speech-language pathologists, and special educators). A preference task using IPSC and PCS for the same set of 30 target referents inclusive of nouns, verbs, adjectives, and prepositions was utilized. Both groups of neurotypical adults showed a significant preference for IPSC over PCS for most of the stimuli included in the study. A similar trend was found in adults with aphasia. IPSC was preferred for target referents representing verbs, adjectives, and prepositions, and PCS was preferred for nouns. Analysis of preferences within participant groups revealed that age and profession did not influence symbol preferences in neurotypical adults. The study emphasizes the need to explore preferences among different AAC stakeholders. It also points out that the symbols considered universally iconic may be perceived differently in different cultures and can influence their preferences.

Background and Aims: India is one of the advancing ageing societies of the world; with this, the country’s demographic structure also changes. The incidence of lower limb fractures is high in this population, and it threatens their health both physically and mentally. Therefore, an effective anaesthesia and analgesia regimen is crucial for smooth and stable surgery and perioperative care.Methods: In this retrospective study, we aimed to describe the use of lumbar plexus block with an indwelling catheter as a sole anaesthetic technique intra-operatively and for providing peri-operative pain relief for 54 patients with intertrochanteric fracture posted for proximal femoral nailing or dynamic hip screw fixation from October 2020 to October 2023.Results: It was found that pain scores remained less than 1 for the majority of the study duration. Most patients underwent surgery within the first day of admission in our hospital and surgery lasted for one to two hours. All patients were discharged within five days of hospitalisation. There were no failures of the blocks before and during the surgical procedures. There were no records of any complications related to the technique. No supplement opioid was used during the procedure.Conclusion: With adequate monitoring, expertise, knowledge and familiarity with the procedure, lumbar plexus block with continuous infusion via a perineural catheter supplemented with periprocedural sedation can be used as a safe and effective anaesthetic technique for hip and proximal femur fracture reduction surgeries.

ABSTRACTIn the context of urbanisation in the Global South and increasing climate-induced disaster events, fostering resilience in infrastructure systems is critical to delivering on goals of economic development, poverty reduction, and climate action. Adaptive pathways, given its inherent consideration of uncertainty and an embedded feedback mechanism, becomes a necessary conceptual underpinning to deliver on the resilient infrastructure challenge. We argue that knowledge and iterative learning are key components that enable the flexibility of adaptive pathways. Higher education (HE) plays a critical role in influencing knowledge that is adaptive and dynamic to respond to this challenge. This study adopts a qualitative approach with a case study design to identify gaps in how urban resilient infrastructure is conceptualised and taught in HE institutions. . The study finds that interdisciplinarity, when reflected in the elements of content, pedagogy, and delivery would foster substantial critical thinking and reflexivity required to address the resilient infrastructure challenge.

To study the effect of multi-interventional package (MIP) on self-efficacy and perceived quality of life (QOL) of mothers of children with cerebral palsy (CP) and to identify the association between their self-efficacy and perceived QOL with selected socio-demographic variables. A pre experimental one group pre-test post-test study was conducted over a period of six weeks among 30 mothers of children with CP attending Child Development Services. The study tools were a semi structured interview schedule, self-efficacy assessment scale and WHOQOL-BREF scale. The critical study variables were measured prior to the administration of MIP. After the pre-test, MIP was administered to all subjects. The critical study variables were reassessed six weeks after the intervention. The mean scores for self-efficacy and QOL before MIP were 29.4 ± 6.43 and 43.2 ± 6.8, respectively, whereas after MIP, they were 62 ± 9.5 and 85.9 ± 11.8. (t = 13.2, p= .001; t = 9.99, p= .001). The estimated pvalue for the association of perceived QOL with selected socio-demographic characteristics of mothers of children with CP was less than 0.05 for type of family, education, economic status, degree of disability of child, frequency of hospitalization and co-morbidity. The results showed a significant improvement in the subject in terms of self-efficacy and perceived QOL after MIP. Significant association was identified for various socio-demographic variables with perceived QOL of mothers of children with CP.

To conduct a comprehensive synthesis of evidence derived from systematic reviews and meta-analyses, evaluating the effectiveness of school-based oral health education interventions on oral health status and oral hygiene behaviours among schoolchildren.

ABSTRACTObjectivesIntraoral scanners have contributed to significant advancement in orthodontic diagnosis, treatment planning and appliance fabrication. The intraoral scanners used for full-arch digital impressions have been reported to vary in their accuracy, precision and clinical application when compared to the conventional impressions. The systematic review examined the literature for accuracy, precision and patient perception to application of intraoral scanners in acquisition of full-arch digital impression.Materials and methodsThe review utilized PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses checklist for systematic reviews). The bibliographic search of databases PubMed, Scopus and EMBASE was performed. Studies reporting on the accuracy, precision and trueness of direct intraoral scanner for orthodontic purposes were included for analysis. The risk of Bias of the included studies was assessed using the ROBINS I tool.ResultsAmong the 612 studies screened, 15 studies reported on intraoral full-arch scans. Twelve studies reported data on accuracy, precision and trueness of digital measurements, and their samples were limited to subjects in complete permanent dentition. Deviations in accuracy of scanned images were reported in palate gingival aspects of first molars. Upper anterior regions showed higher accuracy when compared to posterior regions.ConclusionThe intraoral scanner systems reported in the selected studies demonstrated equal accuracy; no preference for one system over another can be expressed. The studies reviewed provided no evidence on the intra-arch and inter-arch accuracy in comparison with plaster models. Direct scanners created precise representation of tissue when compared to indirect scanners.

The neuropeptide relaxin-3/RXFP3 system is involved in many important physiological processes such as stress responses, appetite control, and motivation for reward. To date, pharmacological studies of RXFP3 have been limited to peptide ligands. In this study, we report the discovery of the first small-molecule antagonists of RXFP3 through a high-throughput screening campaign. Focused structure–activity relationship studies of the hit compound resulted in RLX-33 (33) that was able to inhibit relaxin-3 activity in a battery of functional assays. RLX-33 is selective for RXFP3 over RXFP1 and RXFP4, two related members in the relaxin/insulin superfamily, and has favorable pharmacokinetic properties for behavioral assessment. When administered to rats intraperitoneally, RLX-33 blocked food intake induced by the RXFP3-selective agonist R3/I5. Collectively, our findings demonstrated that RLX-33 represents a promising antagonist scaffold for the development of drugs targeting the relaxin-3/RXFP3 system.

The aims of the study were to evaluate the services of emergency medicine pharmacists in patient care and to assess the need to implement clinical pharmacy practice in emergency department. This study analyzed English language articles, which were identified and studied according to the inclusion criteria. The articles were identified from different databases from 1982 to 2020. Two hundred fifty articles were primarily searched for inclusion criteria and a preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses diagram was created to describe qualitative analysis. Quality assessment of the studies was done using the strengthening the reporting of observational studies in epidemiology checklist. A total of 9 studies were quality assessed and included for evidence synthesis. Four studies showed a significant reduction in readmission rate P< 0.0001 with an odds ratio (OR) of 1.6341 for the patients with the pharmacist care group. Patient's in-hospital mortality and appropriateness of medications had an OR of 3.2196 (P= 0.0353) and 0.1444 (P= 0.0001), respectively. The pooled OR (n = 1026) in 4 studies was 1.4534 (95% confidence interval = 0.2844–0.7292) in antibiotic guidelines for pharmacist interventions. In addition, evidence showed a statistically significant reduction in hospital revisits (P< 0.00001, OR = 2.05, 95% confidence interval = 1.76–2.39) with the pharmacist in the emergency department compared with no pharmacist. The meta-analysis concluded that clinical pharmacy interventions in the ambulatory setting had a positive impact on clinical outcomes related to disease management, medication optimization, ensuring patient safety, and providing quality of care. Studies identified did not evaluate the impact of pharmacists on cost-effectiveness, which is a useful direction for future study.

Background:Although high rates of injury occur in youth ice hockey, disagreements exist about the risks and benefits of permitting bodychecking. We sought to evaluate associations between experience with bodychecking and rates of injury and concussion among ice hockey players aged 15–17 years.Methods:We obtained data from a prospective cohort study of ice hockey players aged 15–17 years in Alberta who played in leagues that permitted bodychecking. We collected data over 3 seasons of play (2015/16–2017/18). We compared players based on experience with bodychecking (≤ 2 v. ≥ 3 yr), estimated using local and national bodychecking policy and region of play. We used validated methodology of ice hockey injury surveillance to identify all injuries related to ice hockey games and defined concussions according to the Consensus Statement on Concussion in Sport.Results:We included 941 players who contributed to 1168 player-seasons, with 205 players participating in more than 1 season. Compared with players with 2 years or less of bodychecking experience, those with 3 or more years of experience had higher rates of all injury (adjusted incidence rate ratio [IRR] 2.55, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.57–4.14), injury with more than 7 days of time loss (adjusted IRR 2.65, 95% CI 1.50–4.68) and concussion (adjusted IRR 2.69, 95% CI 1.34–5.42).Interpretation:Among ice hockey players aged 15–17 years who participated in leagues permitting bodychecking, more experience with bodychecking did not protect against injury. This provides further support for removing bodychecking from youth ice hockey.

ObjectivesThe objective of this study is to evaluate the effect of policy change disallowing body checking in adolescent ice hockey leagues (ages 15–17) on reducing rates of injury and concussion.MethodsThis is a prospective cohort study. Players 15–17 years-old were recruited from teams in non-elite divisions of play (lower 40%–70% by division of play depending on year and city of play in leagues where policy permits or prohibit body checking in Alberta and British Columbia, Canada (2015–18). A validated injury surveillance methodology supported baseline, exposure-hours and injury data collection. Any player with a suspected concussion was referred to a study physician. Primary outcomes include game-related injuries, game-related injuries (>7 days time loss), game-related concussions and game-related concussions (>10 days time loss).Results44 teams (453 player-seasons) from non-body checking and 52 teams (674 player-seasons) from body checking leagues participated. In body checking leagues there were 213 injuries (69 concussions) and in non-body checking leagues 40 injuries (18 concussions) during games. Based on multiple multilevel mixed-effects Poisson regression analyses, policy prohibiting body checking was associated with a lower rate of injury (incidence rate ratio (IRR): 0.38 (95% CI 0.24 to 0.6)) and concussion (IRR: 0.49; 95% CI 0.26 to 0.89). This translates to an absolute rate reduction of 7.82 injuries/1000 game-hours (95% CI 2.74 to 12.9) and the prevention of 7326 injuries (95% CI 2570 to 12083) in Canada annually.ConclusionsThe rate of injury was 62% lower (concussion 51% lower) in leagues not permitting body checking in non-elite 15–17 years old leagues highlighting the potential public health impact of policy prohibiting body checking in older adolescent ice hockey players.

ObjectivesTo compare rates of injury and concussion among U-15 (ages 13–14 years) ice hockey players playing in leagues allowing body checking, but who have a varying number of years of body checking experience.MethodsThis 5-year longitudinal cohort included U-15 ice hockey players playing in leagues where policy allowed body checking. Years of body checking experience were classified based on national/local body checking policy. All ice hockey game-related injuries were identified using a validated injury surveillance methodology. Players with a suspected concussion were referred to a study sport medicine physician. Multiple multilevel Poisson regression analysis was performed, adjusting for important covariates and a random effect at a team level (offset by game exposure hours), to estimate injury and concussion incidence rate ratios (IRRs).ResultsIn total, 1647 players participated, contributing 1842 player-seasons (195 players participating in two seasons). Relative to no body checking experience, no significant differences were found in the adjusted IRRs for game-related injury for players with 1 year (IRR=1.06; 95% CI: 0.77 to 1.45) or 2+ years (IRR=1.16; 95% CI: 0.74 to 1.84) body checking experience. Similarly, no differences were found in the rates of concussion for players with 1 year (IRR=0.92; 95% CI: 0.59 to 1.42) or 2+ years (IRR=0.69; 95% CI: 0.38 to 1.25) body checking experience.ConclusionsAmong ice hockey players aged 13–14 years participating in leagues permitting body checking, the adjusted rates of all injury and concussion were not significantly different between those that had body checking experience and those that did not. Based on these findings, no association was found between body checking experience and rates of injury or concussion specifically in adolescent ice hockey.

The central relaxin-3/RXFP3 system plays important roles in stress responses, feeding, and motivation for reward. However, exploration of its therapeutic applications has been hampered by the lack of small molecule ligands and the cross-activation of RXFP1 in the brain and RXFP4 in the periphery. Herein, we report the first structure–activity relationship studies of a series of novel nonpeptide amidinohydrazone-based agonists, which were characterized by RXFP3 functional and radioligand binding assays. Several potent and efficacious RXFP3 agonists (e.g., 10d) were identified with EC50values <10 nM. These compounds also had high potency at RXFP4 but no agonist activity at RXFP1, demonstrating > 100-fold selectivity for RXFP3/4 over RXFP1. In vitroADME and pharmacokinetic assessments revealed that the amidinohydrazone derivatives may have limited brain permeability. Collectively, our findings provide the basis for further optimization of lead compounds to develop a suitable agonist to probe RXFP3 functions in the brain.

Over a decade, single‐junction perovskite solar cells (PSCs) have achieved a remarkable power conversion efficiency of 26.4%. However, the pressing challenge remains to address their long‐term stability for large‐scale industrial production. A significant factor contributing to this instability is the use of doped hole‐transporting materials (HTMs), which often introduce moisture into contact with the perovskite film, leading to its degradation. To address this issue, research has focused on developing novel and stable “dopant‐free” HTMs. These materials possess inherent conductivity and can function without the need for additional dopants. These HTMs, constructed with donors and acceptors, have properties like film‐forming abilities, tunable molecular weights, unique stacking, and high hole mobility. Among the classic donor units, benzodithiophene (BDT) has emerged as a widely utilized component for the synthesis of molecules and polymers for photovoltaic applications. To stimulate further research and optimization of these materials, this overview presents a comprehensive examination of various BDT‐based dopant‐free polymeric HTMs with different acceptor units within the field of PSCs. It provides a concise historical overview, followed by an in‐depth classification and examination of polymeric structures. The exploration delves into their constituent building blocks, aiming to uncover the relationships between structure and activity wherever feasible. A concise and comprehensive overview on benzodithiophene (BDT)‐based dopant‐free polymeric hole‐transporting materials (HTMs), incorporating various acceptor units like thienothiophene, benzodithiophene‐dione, benzothiadiazole, benzotriazole, and thieno pyrrole‐dione in perovskite solar cells, is described. This includes the classification and analysis of polymeric architectures, scrutinizing their constituent components to unveil structure–activity correlations in various BDT‐based dopant‐free polymeric HTMs.

The last three decades have seen waves of coastal development paradigms, the most recent being that of ‘blue economy’ and ‘blue growth’ — terms used in conjunction with sustainable development. The blue economy paradigm has its share of discontents across Indian Ocean nations who resist further commodification of coastal spaces and its perverse outcomes in the garb of sustainability. Community-based conservation, citizen mapping of traditional tenure arrangements over coastal commons are emerging counter-strategies in India, to prevent land alienation, and coastal and oceanic ‘grab’. The paper does a reflexive assessment of a case of citizen mapping of coastal commons as a legal pluralistic conservation engagement from India. It examines the effectiveness of such localised collaborative civil society exercises against systemic shifts in coastal protection regimes. It details beneficial practices and knowledge generated by such citizen mapping exercises with reflexive insights for civil society actors. It also critically examines the limitations of such civil society efforts constrained by fixed coastal governance frameworks. The paper argues that Indian coastal regulation law’s built-in iniquities motivate as well as limit civil society efforts to democratise coastal governance. Local actors’ capabilities and social positions themselves further cramp the utility of legal options, making the alienation of the commons all too commonplace under neoliberal environmental governance.

Background: Carissa spinarum Linn has been used as a traditional medicine to treat various ailments, including snakebite. It is found in India, Ceylon and Thailand.Objective: The study was performed to determine the inhibiting potential of Carissa spinarum methanolic leaf extract on the pharmacological effects of Viper venom.Methods: The dose-dependent enzymatic studies, pharmacological and in vivo studies were conducted using standard methods.Results: It neutralized toxic enzymes in a dose-dependent manner with concentrations ranging from 53.3 –1190.4 µg/mL, inhibited lysis of fibrinogen at 1:8 (venom: extract, w/w), and increased the procoagulant activity and lecithin lysis at 1:25 (venom: extract, w/w). The extract neutralized the LD50 of venom in mice and embryos, reduced haemorrhage, myotoxicity and edema induced by the venom in mice.Conclusion: The observed results confirm that the leaf extract possesses adequate phytochemicals that could neutralize the toxic properties of the venom.

Intrabony migration of tooth is a rare phenomenon observed in permanent dentition when the normal eruption of the tooth is disturbed. This unusual pattern of tooth movement, which is away from the usual developmental location, is termed as ectopia. Its occurrence is commonly noted in the mandibular lateral incisors, canine and second premolars. This kind of pre-eruptive tooth movement usually occurs due to associated pathologies like cysts, tumors, or odontomes. Intrabony migration of mandibular molars is a rare occurrence, and bilateral presentation of such migration is even rarer. Here, we report such a unique entity of simultaneous bilateral migration of mandibular second molar in a 22-year old healthy male.

ABSTRACTThe South Asia (India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Bhutan) has a staggering 900 million people (~43% of the population) who face food insecurity or severe food insecurity as per United Nations, Food and Agriculture Organization’s (FAO) the Food Insecurity Experience Scale (FIES). The existing coarse-resolution (≥250-m) cropland maps lack precision in geo-location of individual farms and have low map accuracies. This also results in uncertainties in cropland areas calculated from such products. Thereby, the overarching goal of this study was to develop a high spatial resolution (30-m or better) baseline cropland extent product of South Asia for the year 2015 using Landsat satellite time-series big-data and machine learning algorithms (MLAs) on the Google Earth Engine (GEE) cloud computing platform. To eliminate the impact of clouds, 10 time-composited Landsat bands (blue, green, red, NIR, SWIR1, SWIR2, Thermal, EVI, NDVI, NDWI) were derived for each of the three time-periods over 12 months (monsoon: Days of the Year (DOY) 151–300; winter: DOY 301–365 plus 1–60; and summer: DOY 61–150), taking the every 8-day data from Landsat-8 and 7 for the years 2013–2015, for a total of 30-bands plus global digital elevation model (GDEM) derived slope band. This 31-band mega-file big data-cube was composed for each of the five agro-ecological zones (AEZ’s) of South Asia and formed a baseline data for image classification and analysis. Knowledge-base for the Random Forest (RF) MLAs were developed using spatially well spread-out reference training data (N = 2179) in five AEZs. The classification was performed on GEE for each of the five AEZs using well-established knowledge-base and RF MLAs on the cloud. Map accuracies were measured using independent validation data (N = 1185). The survey showed that the South Asia cropland product had a producer’s accuracy of 89.9% (errors of omissions of 10.1%), user’s accuracy of 95.3% (errors of commission of 4.7%) and an overall accuracy of 88.7%. The National and sub-national (districts) areas computed from this cropland extent product explained 80-96% variability when compared with the National statistics of the South Asian Countries. The full-resolution imagery can be viewed at full-resolution, by zooming-in to any location in South Asia or the world, at www.croplands.organd the cropland products of South Asia downloaded from The Land Processes Distributed Active Archive Center (LP DAAC) of National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and the United States Geological Survey (USGS): https://lpdaac.usgs.gov/products/gfsad30saafgircev001/.