Search

N,N‐Dimethylaniline.borane (DMAB) is a stable, multifaceted electrophilic boron agent that displays hydroboration of C = C as well as selective reduction of functional groups under reflux, microwave, and ultrasound conditions. Natural products contain a plethora of functional groups that govern the specific bioactivity. It will be interesting to correlate the change in a functional group with the concern for change in bioactivity. Current research emphasizes the influence of microwave irradiation on moderately reactive DMAB reagent towards the functional group modification of selected limonoid‐phytochemicals of Meliaceae family viz. cedrelone, azadirone, nimbin, and azadiradione. DMAB conveniently reduces the ketone, epoxide group into alcohol, and does a hydroboration reaction on the C = C bond. It does not show interest to reduce the ester group irrespective of 30 min of MW irradiation. Except for these reducing properties, the reagent DMAB unveils chemo‐selective nature in respect of different functional groups and utilizes in an asymmetric synthesis. The coalescence of amine.borane with microwave irradiation brings forth a commodious and prompt method for the selective reduction of functional groups. The bioactive efficacy of modified phytochemicals is further taken for the antimicrobial studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: AURORA 2 evaluated the long‐term safety, tolerability, and efficacy of voclosporin compared to placebo in patients with lupus nephritis (LN) receiving an additional two years of treatment following completion of the one‐year AURORA 1 study. Methods: Enrolled patients continued their double‐blinded treatment of voclosporin or placebo randomly assigned in AURORA 1, in combination with mycophenolate mofetil and low‐dose glucocorticoids. The primary objective was safety assessed with adverse events (AEs) and biochemical and hematological assessments. Efficacy was measured by renal response. Results: A total of 216 patients enrolled in AURORA 2. Treatment was well tolerated with 86.1% completing the study and no unexpected safety signals. AEs occurred in 86% and 80% of patients in the voclosporin and control groups, respectively, with an AE profile similar to that seen in AURORA 1, albeit with reduced frequency. Investigator reported AEs of both glomerular filtration rate (GFR) decrease and hypertension occurred more frequently in the voclosporin than the control group (10.3% vs 5.0%, and 8.6% vs 7.0%, respectively). Mean corrected estimated GFR (eGFR) was within the normal range and stable in both treatment groups. eGFR slope over the two‐year period was −0.2 mL/min/1.73 m2 (95% confidence interval [CI] −3.0 to 2.7) in the voclosporin group and −5.4 mL/min/1.73 m2 (95% CI −8.4 to −2.3) in the control group. Improved proteinuria persisted across three years of treatment, leading to more frequent complete renal responses in patients treated with voclosporin (50.9% vs 39.0%; odds ratio 1.74; 95% CI 1.00–3.03). Conclusion: Data demonstrate the safety and efficacy of long‐term voclosporin treatment over three years of follow‐up in patients with LN. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Small-signal model of the MOSFET is an equivalent circuit of its electric components, which defines the electrical characteristics of a MOSFET. The non-quasi-static (NQS) model is one of the most accurate small-signal models used for designing analog/RF circuits. Electronic circuits designed for advanced high-frequency analog/RF applications like (Long-Term Evolution) LTE and (Internet-of-Things) IoT applications, the proper selection of MOSFET is essential. The MOSFETs with lower static power dissipation and high linearity are best suitable for low-power high-frequency analog/digital circuit applications. In this paper, a cylindrical silicon-on-insulator (SOI) Schottky Barrier (SB) MOSFET is investigated, and analog/RF parameters such as transconductance (gm), intrinsic-voltage gain (AV), ION/IOFF ratio, cutoff-frequency (fT), maximum oscillation frequency (fmax), transconductance-generation factor (TGF), gain-frequency product (GFP), transconductance-frequency product (TFP), gain-bandwidth product (GBWP) and gain-transconductance frequency product (GTFP) are extracted. Also, the NQS small-signal model parameters of SOI-SB MOSFET are extracted for the analog circuit application for the frequency range up to 500 GHz. The analog/RF parameters and NQS small-signal parameters of cylindrical SOI-SB MOSFET are compared with cylindrical SB-MOSFET and cylindrical dielectric-pocket (DP) SB-MOSFET. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A facile synthesis of rGO–CuO nanocomposite was carried out using hydrothermal method. rGO–CuO nanocomposite was incorporated in aerosol forming composite (AFC) for the first time in order to develop the fast fire extinguishant materials. Synthesized nanocomposites were characterized using X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), Raman spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive Xray spectroscopy (EDX) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Catalytic activity of rGO–CuO was analysed considering the parameters such as combustion temperature, activation energy, burn rate, combustion efficiency, minimum fire extinguishing concentration (MEC) and fire extinguishing time. Addition of rGO–CuO to base AFC remarkably enhanced the performance of AFC by increasing the combustion efficiency (11.36%) and decreasing the combustion temperature (16.14%) and MEC (19.78%). A tremendous increase in burn rate (47.1%) boosted the fast extinguishment of fire by reducing the fire extinguishment time 78.2%. Developed AFC found promising to meet the faster fire extinguishment requirement of futuristic fire suppression systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hematite nanoparticles (α‐Fe2O3) were successfully synthesised using facile and eco‐friendly hydrothermal method. Synthesised hematite nanoparticles were characterized using X‐ray diffraction, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, surface area analysis and transmission electron microscopy. Nano/micro particles of Hematite (1, 3&5 %, w/w) were incorporated in aerosol forming composite (AFC). For the first time, catalytic effect of nano and micro size hematite on performance of AFC has been creatively investigated with respect to combustion and fire extinguishment parameters. Incorporation of nano hematite (5 %, w/w) in AFC reduced the combustion temperature (by 11 %) and tremendously boosted the burn rate & combustion efficiency by 30&7.5 % respectively. This in turn produced the aerosols in less time and put out the fire quickly (<5 s). Hematite nano counterpart was discovered to be more promising than its micro equivalent. This exploratory study is valuable in the field of development of futuristic ultra‐fast fire extinguishants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

rGO/Fe2O3 nanocomposites were synthesized using facile and inexpensive hydrothermal route. For the first time, these nanocomposites were incorporated in aerosol forming composites (AFCs), characterized and investigated for ultra-fast fire extinguishing applications. The morphological and structural characteristics were examined using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transmission infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), Raman spectroscopy and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX). AFCs were also characterized for burn rate, combustion efficiency, minimum fire extinguishing concentration, fire extinguishing time, combustion temperature and activation energy. Characterization revealed successful synthesis of rGO/Fe2O3 nanocomposites having Fe2O3 nanoparticles (25–50 nm) over and in-between the graphene oxide nanosheets. Increase in combustion efficiency (9%) and burn rate (35%) and reduction in onset temperature (17.16%), combustion temperature (13.46%) and activation energy (37.71%) were observed on addition of 3% rGO/5.0Fe2O3 nanocomposite to base AFC. Increase in burn rate by 35% led to ultra-fast aerosol generation and faster (50% reduction in fire extinguishing time) fire extinguishment. AFCs found promising for incorporation in condensed aerosol-based fire extinguishing systems to comply futuristic quicker fire extinguishment requirements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aerosol forming composite (AFC) is an important component of condensed aerosol-based fire extinguishing system (CAFES). As per literature no attempts have been made so far for the detailed study of AFCs. Therefore, for the insight AFCs were prepared with potassium nitrate as an oxidizer and phenol formaldehyde resin as a combustible binder. Five metal oxides, namely MnO2, Fe2O3, NiO, CuO and CeO2, (3%, w/w) were added as catalysts in AFC. The catalytic effect of these metal oxides was investigated for various parameters such as combustion efficiency, burn rate, minimum fire extinguishing concentration (MEC), decomposition temperature and activation energy. Addition of CuO, 3%, w/w increased the burn rate of AFC by 51.4% and reduced the MEC by 29.4%. Thermogravimetric analysis and differential scanning calorimetry analysis clearly indicated the reduction in decomposition temperature from 445.65 to 396.48 °C while adding CuO. Activation energies of decomposition for base AFC and AFC-CuO calculated using model-free methods of Kissinger, Ozawa–Flynn–Wall and Kissinger–Akahira–Sunose were found to be 181.12, 183.50 and 180.75 kJ/mol and 146.61, 149.98 and 163.18 kJ/mol, respectively. The functions 1−(1−α)2/3 (model F1/3: One-third order) and [1−(1−α)1/2] (model R3, F2/3: power law) were found as the most probable mechanism for the thermal decomposition of base AFC and CuO-AFC, respectively. Aerosol characterization with X-ray diffraction analysis, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy and particle counter indicated mostly 2 µm particles of potassium carbonate/bicarbonate. Total flooding and dispersion characteristics of aerosols were confirmed using pH measurements at various locations. Overall, prepared AFCs were found promising for use within CAFES. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Implementation of Montreal Protocols-1987 enforced phase wise ban on production and application of ozone depleting chemicals (Halons). Since then, condensed aerosol-based fire extinguishing technology as an alternative to Halons has been a subject for numerous investigations for its research and applications worldwide. It has come up as the most efficient halon alternative technology in comparison to other alternatives such as water mist, dry powders, inert gases, hydro fluorocarbons, and carbon dioxide. Even it is three times more efficient than that of Halon 1301 on weight to volume basis. Over other Halon alternatives, it has many advantages, e.g., zero ozone depletion potential -atmospheric lifetime -global warming potential, modular structure, low space requirements, easy & cost-effective installation & maintenance, no requirement of piping & pressurized cylinders, no oxygen depression etc. Condensed aerosol based fire extinguishing systems (CAFES) have found versatile fire safety applications worldwide in many areas such as power generation, transportation, storage rooms, public buildings, heavy industries, battery storage systems, defence etc. This review mainly focuses on applications of CAFES for extinguishment of: class A fires in libraries, archives, storage rooms etc.; class B fires in machinery spaces, gas turbine enclosures, combat vehicles, chemical storage rooms; electrical fires occurring in control rooms, UPS rooms, electrical/power substations & panels. Various reports and case studies demonstrating its testing and implementation methodologies have also been covered. The future prospects of aerosol technology and potential research/applications areas are also discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Everything has changed after outbreak of COVID-19. Its the time to take precautions and do every possible effort to mitigate the effects of pandemic and curb the chances of any future outbreak. Recently Moradabad city was listed among one of the highest polluted city of the India. One of the major contributor to the pollution was found the use of coal furnaces in local industries for casting of Metal. As per the latest report of National Green Tribunal (NGT) and central pollution control board, Moradabad city is the highly polluted city of India and the average Air Quality Index (AQI) is 489 g/m3 during November 01, 2020 to November 16,2020 [1]1. Therefore, a systematic replacement of coal furnace with smart electric furnace is proposed in the given paper. The study suggests that replacement of coal furnace with smart electric furnace will not only result in better environment for Moradabad city but will also be beneficial in many other ways by exploiting inherent advantages of electric furnace over coal furnaces. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

GenoVault is a cloud-based repository for handling Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) data. It is developed using OpenStack-based private cloud with various services like keystone for authentication, cinder for block storage, neutron for networking and nova for managing compute instances for the Cloud. GenoVault uses object-based storage, which enables data to be stored as objects instead of files or blocks for faster retrieval from different distributed object nodes. Along with a web-based interface, a JavaFX-based desktop client has also been developed to meet the requirements of large file uploads that are usually seen in NGS datasets. Users can store files in their respective object-based storage areas and the metadata provided by the user during file uploads is used for querying the database. GenoVault repository is designed taking into account future needs and hence can scale both vertically and horizontally using OpenStack-based cloud features. Users have an option to make the data shareable to the public or restrict the access as private. Data security is ensured as every container is a separate entity in object-based storage architecture which is also supported by Secure File Transfer Protocol (SFTP) for data upload and download. The data is uploaded by the user in individual containers that include raw read files (fastq), processed alignment files (bam, sam, bed) and the output of variation detection (vcf). GenoVault architecture allows verification of the data in terms of integrity and authentication before making it available to collaborators as per the user's permissions. GenoVault is useful for maintaining the organization-wide NGS data generated in various labs which is not yet published and submitted to public repositories like NCBI. GenoVault also provides support to share NGS data among the collaborating institutions. GenoVault can thus manage vast volumes of NGS data on any OpenStack-based private cloud. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The current research focuses on the design, method development, characterization, and clinical assessment of novel irbesartan medication compounds. The objective of synthetic modification of a drug molecule is to achieve the desired properties such as enhancing the pharmacological properties and minimizing the side effects. It is a biphenyl tetrazole and an aza‐spiro compound, a highly selective, potent nonpeptide compound that belongs to the sartan group, an authorized type‐1 angiotensin II receptor (AT1), dilates the blood vessels and is used in curing of to treat high blood pressure, cardiac arrest, and renal disease in diabetics. To achieve the structural modification of the irbesartan drug, the researcher prepared the FeCl3/SiO2 catalyst and successfully used it for the acetylation, chloro acetylation reaction of irbesartan with acetyl chloride and chloroacetyl chloride. Further, the reaction is performed in presence of the catalyst and without a catalyst to elucidate the role of the catalyst. With the aid of TLC, FT‐IR, and UV–visible spectral methods, the structural interpretation of synthesized derivatives is completed. The present work illustrates a novel method of synthesis of irbesartan derivatives through safe and convenient procedures. The pharmacological evaluation of synthetic derivatives and green chemistry protocol of synthesis is under progress. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

AbstractThis paper aims to predict compressional and shear sonic travel time logs using conventional logs that are easier and less expensive to acquire during the development cycle. The study uses a gradient boosting algorithm and incorporates a novel method of using statistical feature engineering with wavelet transform to improve prediction accuracy across thin beds in hydrocarbon reservoirs. The approach uses a discrete wavelet transform over the neutron log, a prominent feature, to identify thin layers and enhance prediction accuracy. The detailed coefficients are analyzed using Daubechies and Haar wavelets to reconstruct newly transformed data with an enhanced thin-layer signal. The Haar wavelet with three levels is the most optimum wavelet and decomposition levels. The algorithm for the reconstructed log shows an increased thin layer resolution, with an accuracy improvement of 6.8% for the prediction. The proposed approach significantly contributes to geologists, geophysicists, and reservoir technologists for reservoir characterization and safe drilling operations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nanostructured SnO2 thin films are synthesized by the chemical Spray pyrolysis method in presence of air and nitrogen as carrier gas. The study has emphasized on the impact of carrier gas on the underlying, electrical, and optical properties of the deposited thin films. XRD studies uncover that there is no variation in the crystalline structure of the film. The SnO2 thin films prepared using nitrogen as carrier gas is found more conductive as compared to the film prepared using air as a carrier gas. The change in conductivity is due to the increased oxygen deficiency in the nitrogen atmosphere. The HBM and EMA models are used to calculate particle radius by optical absorption data, showing the particle diameter is low for nitrogen as compared to air as carrier gas. The activation energy is also found to decrease in presence of nitrogen as carrier gas. This may be due to shallow donor and deep acceptor levels of semiconductors. The decrease in particle size increases the number of surface atoms, responsible for a decrease in activation energy of films. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Determining the optimal feature set is a challenging problem, especially in an unsupervised domain. To mitigate the same, this paper presents a new unsupervised feature selection method, termed as densest feature graph augmentation with disjoint feature clusters. The proposed method works in two phases. The first phase focuses on finding the maximally non-redundant feature subset and disjoint features are added to the feature set in the second phase. To experimentally validate, the efficiency of the proposed method has been compared against five existing unsupervised feature selection methods on five UCI datasets in terms of three performance criteria, namely clustering accuracy, normalized mutual information, and classification accuracy. The experimental analyses have shown that the proposed method outperforms the considered methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For low-power circuit applications, the performance of the circuit is significantly influenced by the MOSFET's analog/RF and non-linearity properties. Gate-all-around junction-less accumulation mode MOSFETs (JAM) are now the perfect choice for low-power circuit applications. In the present work, the gate-stack engineering method is used for gate-all-around junction-less accumulation mode MOSFET (GSJAM) to improve the analog/RF characteristics. The analog/RF and linearity parameter analyses are numerically performed for a 20 nm channel length gate-all-around gate-stacked junction-less MOSFET using an ATLAS 3D device simulator. The comparative analysis of these analog/RF and linearity parameters is also done. The gate stack engineering shows significant improvements in analog/RF parameters, i.e., trans-conductance (gm), output resistance (Rout), early voltage (Vea), intrinsic gain (AV), trans-conductance frequency product (TFP), gain frequency product (GFP), trans-conductance generation factor (TGF), gain bandwidth product (GBWP), gain trans-conductance frequency product (GTFP), and cut-off frequency (fT). The results of the simulation investigation show that when GSJM is compared to JAM MOSFET, the values of gm, Rout, Vea, and TGF are all 26.37%, 2.24 times, 22.38%, and 20.78% higher, respectively. Also, the gate-stack junction-less MOSFET improves the linearity parameters, i.e., 2nd -order trans-conductance (gm2), 3rd -order trans-conductance (gm3), VIP2, VIP3, IIP3, IMD3, and 1-dBCP. When comparing GSJAM to JAM MOSFET, the values of VIP2 are 81.63% higher, VIP3 is 1.77 times higher, IIP3 is 6.72 times higher, and 1-dBCP is twice as high. Further, for analog/RF applications, a 20 nm CMOS common-source voltage amplifier circuit using gate-stake junction-less MOSFET has also been designed for a 20 mV and 1 GHz sinusoidal input signal. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The gate-all-around (GAA) silicon-on-insulator (SOI) Schottky barrier (SB) nano-wire (NW) MOSFET was recently proposed for low-power and high-frequency analog and radio frequency (RF) circuits. But their use in low-power and high-frequency analog/RF circuits is still under investigation. In this work, basic analog signal processing circuits using gate-all-around SOI-SB-NW MOSFETs are designed for low-power and high-frequency applications. These basic and necessary analog processing circuits are designed for ± 0.3 V and ± 0.25 V power supplies to work on frequencies up to 10 GHz. The analog/RF characteristics of the GAA SOI-SB MOSFET are compared with those of the GAA SB NW MOSFET. The SOI-SB NW MOSFET shows improvements in early voltage, output resistance, and transconductance generation factor. The Silvaco TCAD simulator is used to obtain the results and perform numerical simulations. Simulation results show good analog/RF performance of the analog processing circuits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Neonatal sepsis significantly contributes to neonatal mortality and morbidity in developing countries. The delay in diagnosis due to the time-consuming gold standard blood culture necessitates rapid, accessible, and cost-effective diagnostic markers. Aims: This study aimed to evaluate the sensitivity and specificity of Micro-ESR for early neonatal sepsis diagnosis and compare its effectiveness with other standard markers. Methodology: Conducted at D.Y. Patil Hospital's Department of Pediatrics in Navi Mumbai, this prospective observational study included 200 neonates suspected of sepsis. Blood samples were analyzed for CBC, CRP, Micro-ESR, and bacterial culture before antibiotic initiation. Micro-ESR's diagnostic performance was assessed against other markers based on confirmed sepsis cases via blood culture. Results: Among 200 neonates, 16 had a positive blood culture. Micro-ESR showed a sensitivity of 87.5% and specificity of 28.80%. In comparison, Total Leucocyte Count (TLC) and Absolute Neutrophil Count (ANC) demonstrated higher specificity (91.25% and 70% respectively) but lower sensitivity. Platelet count and CRP indicated high specificity (94.56%) and sensitivity (100%) respectively, albeit with low predictive values. Conclusions: While CRP exhibited the highest sensitivity, TLC and platelet count showed superior specificity. Despite its lower specificity, Micro-ESR's high sensitivity suggests its utility as a supportive early diagnostic marker alongside CBC, CRP, and ANC. Blood culture remains the definitive diagnostic standard. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Industrial waste locks are used as raw materials to reduce harmful effects on the environment and improve environmental performance. Marble clay powder can be used as a filling aid and can fill voids in concrete structures. This article will show you how to use a maximum natural sand alternative in concrete with marble powder and quarry dust. The challenge of the 21st century is to change to a new form that can support the natural system. This necessitates a radical rethinking of how to give the community infrastructure and housing. Making a concerted effort to develop novel, innovative, and alternative construction materials may be necessary. Jungles of concrete around cause's impact on the Environment and it would result in climate change. Mankind must avoid the use of things that are detrimental to the environment. So in this paper, it is decided to address the issue by adopting the use of the green concrete concept which is environmentally friendly. Green concrete is concrete made up using industrial wastes such as marble powder, quarry dust, wood ash, paper pulp, etc. Green concrete, which is capable of sustainable development, helps to reduce the consumption of natural resources, energy use, and environmental pollution. Green concrete is more cost‐effective than ordinary concrete and reduces the cost of resultant concrete by 14%–20%. It is also observed that the alkali‐aggregate reaction and sulfate attack resistance of concrete are both significantly improved. Green concrete is a useful tool for lowering environmental pollution and enhancing concrete's resistance to harsh conditions. All stages of infrastructure construction and rehabilitation will follow this trend of using new cement and techniques. Green concrete's adaptability and its performance derivatives will meet a variety of future needs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The use of ordinary Portland cement (OPC) in the construction industry is inevitable. The huge production of OPC and its use in infrastructural development pose an environmental impact. Greenhouse gas emitted increases the global temperature and it is an alarming sign to everybody on the planet. Concrete is the most consuming material which is produced by using OPC and it is proven that OPC contributes a lot to CO2 emission. Hence in this study attempt is made to produce concrete by using environment‐friendly material like fly ash along with alkaline activators, which is termed Geo polymer concrete. The by‐product fly ash is widely available worldwide. It is a by‐product of thermal power plants. The use of fly ash in concrete produces less expensive and more cost‐effective concrete than concrete made up using OPC. Due to its high silicate and alumina content, fly ash reacts with an alkaline solution to create an aluminosilicate gel that binds the aggregate and results in high‐quality concrete. Fly ash is finer than cement, it occupies the pores of cement after hydration. This would result in denser concrete which gives higher strength. In comparison to ordinary concrete, fly ash‐based geopolymer concrete offers better resistance to aggressive environments and high temperatures. In the present study, an alkaline activator of molarity 8 is used to prepare geopolymer concrete. The test specimens are cast and cured for 28 days. Test results indicate that an alkaline liquid fly‐ash ratio (0.4) produces higher mechanical properties. Hence, geopolymer concrete produced in this study is found to be cost‐effective and environment friendly. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In oil and gas exploration, it is vital to acquire information about the bottom hole conditions. This is done in the field using wireline logging. The sonic log is one of the most prolific logs as it assists in porosity determination, cement evaluation and identification of lithology and gas‐bearing intervals. However, sonic logging tools are not always a part of the wireline logging arrangement. Still, there are sections where the logging data are missing, and in some cases, these are dependent upon old tools. The tool is incapable of recording shear wave transit times. This study explores the possibility of substituting the sonic log using machine learning and artificial intelligence techniques. These techniques can also predict the sonic log data in sections where these are missing or unreliable. Artificial neural networks, decision tree regression, random forest regression, support vector regression and extreme gradient boosting are the most popular tools available at our disposal for making these estimations. This study has compared these different techniques for their effectiveness and accuracy in making sonic transit time predictions based on other available well logs. The obtained results suggest that despite all the attention on artificial neural networks, eXtreme gradient boosting and the random forest regression outperform it for the given purpose. In the case of missing shear transit time data, random forest regression made predictions with a root mean squared error of 1.03 × 10–4 and a root mean squared error of 0.97 while eXtreme gradient boosting regression did so with a root mean squared error of 1.36 × 10–4 and the same regression coefficient (0.97). When no sonic data were available, random forest regression estimated shear transit time with a root mean squared error of 6.41×10–4 and a regression coefficient of 0.95, and compressional transit time with a root mean squared error of 9.06×10–5 and a root mean squared error of 0.94. The root mean squared error of shear transit time and compressional transit time predictions made using eXtreme gradient boosting were found to be the same as those of random forest regression. The root mean squared error, however, was observed to be slightly less for the compressional transit time predictions and somewhat more for the shear transit time predictions. As data analysis, in general, is a better method for estimation than the use of empirical correlations, these machine learning‐based predictions can serve as powerful tools in the oil and gas exploration industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The small signal model of MOSFET is a must for implementation of analog/digital circuits. The non-quasi-static (NQS) model is well known and provides accurate parameters for MOSFET. In the present work, extrinsic and intrinsic NQS model parameters were extracted for 20 nm Gate Stacked Junction-less Accumulation Mode (GSJAM) MOSFET using two-port admittance parameters. Further, for analog/RF applications, the first order active high pass filter (HPF), low pass filter (LPF) and second order active HPF, LPF are implemented using 20 nm GSJAM MOSFET. The first order and second order active filters are implemented for 10 GHz circuit applications. For amplifying the processed filtered input signal, a CMOS single stage common source voltage amplifier is used in the output circuit. Filter circuits use GSJAM N-type MOSFET as an active load in conjunction with a passive capacitor. With cut-off frequency, further bode-plot analysis of the low pass filter and high pass filter circuits is conducted. For numerical simulation, the well-known silvaco CAD tool is used. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Alzheimer's disease is a chronic neurodegenerative disease that causes brain cells to degenerate, resulting in decreased physical and mental abilities and, in severe cases, permanent memory loss. It is considered as the most common and fatal form of dementia. Although mild cognitive impairment (MCI) precedes Alzheimer's disease (AD), it does not necessarily show the obvious symptoms of AD. As a result, it becomes challenging to distinguish between mild cognitive impairment and cognitively normal. In this paper, we propose an ensemble of deep learners based on convolutional neural networks for the early diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease. The proposed approach utilises simple averaging ensemble and weighted averaging ensemble methods. The ensemble-based transfer learning model demonstrates enhanced generalization and performance for AD diagnosis compared to traditional transfer learning methods. Extensive experiments on the OASIS-3 dataset validate the effectiveness of the proposed model, showcasing its superiority over state-of-the-art transfer learning approaches in terms of accuracy, robustness, and efficiency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A significant quantity of hydrocarbons remains in the reservoir after production using primary and secondary techniques. Traditional recovery techniques produce about 33 % of the original oil in place. However, the utilization of chemicals such as surfactants and polymers facilitate the additional recovery of one‐third of this oil. Researchers are currently aiming at mixing surfactant and nanoparticles for their potential applications in petroleum industry. In this work, authors claimed to be the first to study usage of synthesized Mesoporous Silica Nanoparticles (MSN) with Sodium Dodecyl Sulphate (SDS) surfactant to understand its applicability in Chemical Enhanced Oil Recovery through evaluation of the surface tension & Interfacial tension, surfactant adsorption, contact angle, and core flooding experiments. Surface tension studies revealed a synergistic interaction between MSN and anionic surfactant molecules. With the introduction of 2500 ppm of anionic surfactant, the surface tension of deionized water reduces to 34.5 mN/m from 72.4 mN/m. The surface tension of the mixture was further lowered by ∼9.8 % with the addition of 300 ppm MSN. The Interfacial Tension results also showed the same trend. When 300 ppm of MSN was introduced, then IFT values decreases from 8.13 mN/m to 3.91 mN/m at 2500 ppm of anionic surfactant. Contact angle measurements after MSN injection went from 77.98° for SDS (2500 ppm) to 73.36°, 66.54°, and 41.95° for 100, 200, and 300 ppm of MSN, respectively. This demonstrates that the shift toward water‐wet behavior increased along with the MSN concentration. Additionally, adding 300 ppm of MSN lowered surfactant adsorption by ∼80 % at a surfactant concentration of 2500 ppm. Up to 72.27 % of the OOIP could be recovered using the chemical slug made of SDS surfactant, polymer, and MSN. The research data suggests that the MSN can increase the effectiveness of the chemical injection approach, which can be used to recover more oil. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent times Gallbladder cancer (GBC) incidences increased many folds in India and are being reported from arsenic hotspots identified in Bihar. The study aims to establish association between arsenic exposure and gallbladder carcinogenesis. In the present study, n = 200 were control volunteers and n = 152 confirmed gallbladder cancer cases. The studied GBC patient's biological samples-gallbladder tissue, gallbladder stone, bile, blood and hair samples were collected for arsenic estimation. Moreover, n = 512 gallbladder cancer patients blood samples were also evaluated for the presence of arsenic to understand exposure level in the population. A significantly high arsenic concentration (p < 0.05) was detected in the blood samples with maximum concentration 389 µg/L in GBC cases in comparison to control. Similarly, in the gallbladder cancer patients, there was significantly high arsenic concentration observed in gallbladder tissue with highest concentration of 2166 µg/kg, in gallbladder stones 635 µg/kg, in bile samples 483 µg/L and in hair samples 6980 µg/kg respectively. Moreover, the n = 512 gallbladder cancer patient's blood samples study revealed very significant arsenic concentration in the population of Bihar with maximum arsenic concentration as 746 µg/L. The raised arsenic concentration in the gallbladder cancer patients' biological samples—gallbladder tissue, gallbladder stone, bile, blood, and hair samples was significantly very high in the arsenic exposed area. The study denotes that the gallbladder disease burden is very high in the arsenic exposed area of Bihar. The findings do provide a strong link between arsenic contamination and increased gallbladder carcinogenesis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over the years, scientific community has shown immense interest in the synthesis of novel, bioactive molecules with few adverse effects. Instead of painstaking multistep synthesis with hazardous synthetic reagents, also for clinical studies, it is better to enhance the activity and tuning by structural modification of the commercial drugs based on their structural and biological properties. It is demonstrated that diclofenac (DCF) be an effective analgesic and anti‐pyretic in the treatment of cancer‐related pain, but it has limitations and adverse effects as gastrointestinal irritation, small intestine damage, nausea, platelet dysfunction, and vertigo. Wherefore the main objective of the current research is to investigate new, novel, green methods of preparation of DCF derivatives, and structural characterization with the help of FT‐IR, UV‐Visible spectroscopy, MS spectrometry techniques. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The solid polymer electrolytes (SPE) based electrochemical devices are an area of attention for more than two decades. The ability of thin‐film preparation and leakage proof over the liquid counterpart are the key factors of SPE. In the present work, two different compositions, 80–20 and 85–15, of PVA:KI has been used as a host polymer complex. Where further 10 wt% of p‐Si dispersed with PVA:KI complexes. Polymer films have been prepared with standard solution cast techniques, which are further characterized for their electrical conductivity by Electrical Impedance Spectroscopy (EIS). Also, the humidity effect on the ionic conductivity of these thin films is calculated. It is observed that the ionic conductivity of these polymer electrolytes films increases with 58%, 74%, and 89% humidity. To understand the change in this ionic conductivity, the concentration and mobility of ions are also calculated, and it is found that the change in conductivity are predominately influenced due to the mobility of charge carriers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Surfactant flooding is a prolific enhanced oil recovery technique. It alters the rock fluid interfacial interactions between reservoir fluids and rocks. However, a pair of impeding factors often limit the economic viability of the process and need to be optimized. The first is the surfactant loss on the adsorbent surface due to adsorption making it a potential environmental problem. The second is the Critical Micelle Concentration (CMC) which governs the amount of surfactant pumped. This study aimed to minimize the surfactant loss and the CMC, thereby optimizing the flooding efficiency and reducing the environmental concerns for nanoparticle applications. To achieve this, Silicon Carbide nanoparticles (SCN) were employed as additives to the surfactant solution. It was observed that the use of SCN reduces the surfactant adsorption by as much as 44 % and the critical micelle concentration by 14 %. The studies also observed that the concentration of SCN required to get these results is dramatically (more than 25 times) lower than previously reported literature on other nanoparticles. To adsorption isotherm studies provide an insight into the type of adsorption taking place. The adsorption isotherm follows the Langmuir model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Enrollment of patients of Black African ancestry with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) in phase II and phase III of the belimumab trials was not reflective of the racial distribution observed in the lupus population. This study was undertaken to assess the efficacy and safety of intravenous (IV) belimumab plus standard therapy in patients of self‐identified Black race. Methods: EMBRACE (GSK Study BEL115471; ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT01632241) was a 52‐week multicenter, double‐blind, placebo‐controlled trial in adults of self‐identified Black race with active SLE who received monthly belimumab 10 mg/kg IV, or placebo, plus standard therapy. The optional 26‐week open‐label extension phase included patients who completed the double‐blind phase. The primary end point of the study was SLE Responder Index (SRI) response rate at week 52 with modified proteinuria scoring adapted from the SLE Disease Activity Index 2000 (SLEDAI‐2K) (SRI–SLEDAI‐2K). Key secondary end points included SRI response rate at week 52, time to first severe SLE flare, and reductions in prednisone dose. Results: The modified intent‐to‐treat population comprised 448 patients, of whom 96.9% were women and the mean ± SD age was 38.8 ± 11.42 years. The primary end point (improvement in the SRI–SLEDAI‐2K response rate at week 52) was not achieved (belimumab 48.7%, placebo 41.6%; odds ratio 1.40 [95% confidence interval 0.93, 2.11], P = 0.1068); however, numerical improvements favoring belimumab were observed, in which the SRI–SLEDAI‐2K response rates were higher in those who received belimumab compared with those who received placebo, especially in patients with SLE who had high disease activity or renal manifestations at baseline. The safety profile of belimumab was generally consistent with that observed in previous SLE trials. Adverse events were the primary reasons for double‐blind phase withdrawals (belimumab 5.4%, placebo 6.7%). Conclusion: The primary end point of this study was not achieved, but improvement with belimumab versus placebo was observed, suggesting that belimumab remains a suitable treatment option for SLE management in patients of Black African ancestry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • The application of mMWCNT in nanofluids as a slug for enhanced oil recovery is investigated and reported for the first time. • The mMWCNT reduced the IFT up to 56 %. • mMWCNT efficiently modified the wetting behavior of the rock, aiding the oil recovery. • A recovery factor of 70 % was achieved. In this captivating study, we explored the fascinating potential of carbon nanotube-based nanofluids in improving oil recovery efficiency and transforming interfacial tension. To accomplish this, we acquired high-purity multi-walled carbon nanotubes from Plasma Chem Gmbh, ensuring a purity level exceeding 95 %, which underwent additional functionalization and experimentation to explore their impact. The functionalization of multi-wall carbon nanotubes with ammonium hydroxide and hydrogen peroxide generated diverse surface groups, reduced van der Waals interactions, and increased carbon nanotube dispersibility through enhanced interactions with polymers or solvents. The modified multi-wall carbon nanotubes were characterized using Raman analysis, HRTEM, and zeta potential. Varying concentrations of altered multi-wall carbon nanotube-based fluids were prepared to study their impact on surface tension using a Surface tensiometer. Adsorption studies were conducted to minimize surfactant loss. Contact angle experiments using a Goniometer helped alter the rock surface's wetting characteristics. Finally, the core flooding experiment using two pore volumes of the nanofluid with the optimal concentration of mMWCNT with SDS and 1000 ppm of polymer calculates the oil recovery factor. The study's findings revealed that the modified multi-wall carbon nanotubes significantly reduced surface and interfacial tension by approximately 59 % and 56 %, respectively, at the optimum concentration. Moreover, the nanotubes successfully minimized surfactant loss by about 49.3 %. The contact angle experiments demonstrated that the modified nanotubes transformed the rock surface from oil-wet to water-wet, as evidenced by a substantial reduction of approximately 54 % in the contact angle value. In conclusion, the core flooding experiment, employing a chemical slug composed of SDS at CMC, modified multi-wall carbon nanotubes, and industrial-grade polymer, yielded a remarkable oil recovery factor of approximately 70 % of the original oil in place. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In remote sensing imagery, segmentation techniques fail to encounter multiple regions of interest due to challenges such as dense features, low illumination, uncertainties, and noise. Consequently, exploiting vast and redundant information makes segmentation a difficult task. Existing multilevel thresholding techniques achieve low segmentation accuracy with high temporal difficulty due to the absence of spatial information. To mitigate this issue, this paper presents a new Rényi's entropy and modified cuckoo search-based robust automatic multi-thresholding algorithm for remote sensing image analysis. In the proposed method, the modified cuckoo search algorithm is combined with Rényi's entropy thresholding criteria to determine optimal thresholds. In the modified cuckoo search algorithm, the Lévy flight step size was modified to improve the convergence rate. An experimental analysis was conducted to validate the proposed method, both qualitatively and quantitatively against existing metaheuristic-based thresholding methods. To do this, the performance of the proposed method was intensively examined on high-dimensional remote sensing imageries. Moreover, numerical parameter analysis is presented to compare the segmented results against the gray-level co-occurrence matrix, Otsu energy curve, minimum cross entropy, and Rényi's entropy-based thresholding. Experiments demonstrated that the proposed approach is effective and successful in attaining accurate segmentation with low time complexity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]