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The present study aimed to understand the effect of nitrogen on the carbide precipitation and its influence on pitting corrosion of shielded metal arc welded high nitrogen 316SS weld. Nitrogen addition to weld reduces Cr availability sites in ferrite and enhances Cr in nearby austenite. Although higher carbon and continuous ferrite with ferritic austenitic mode exist, the changes in the degree of sensitisation were avoided at all the stages, and marginal changes in pitting potential (Epit) at 898 K/100 h and 998 K/24 h were observed. Nitrogen addition to weld further reduced the number of stable pits in ferrite and austenite, and the protectiveness of passive film was affected by nitrogen in ferrite and austenite, which affected pit propagation. This results in stable pits in ferrite and austenite, which affects pit propagation during thermal ageing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: To establish normative data of plethysmograph variability index (PVI), a simple non-invasive tool to measure fluid responsiveness, in neonates. Methods: All healthy term and late preterm neonates were enrolled. PVI was recorded by pulse-oximeter on first three days of life along with other vital parameters. Data was analysed using SPSS software. Results: The median PVI value was noted to be 21 with a wide range. The distribution of PVI did not differ according to day of life/ gestational age/ gender/ weight for gestational age. It did not significantly correlate with heart rate, gestational age or birth weight. A weak positive correlation was noted between PVI and PI (Rho = 0.157, p <0.001). Conclusions: PVI normative data in neonates has been presented. Serial trend of PVI values is more useful than a single value in making clinical decisions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study focused on investment, profitability, and input–output specific technical and scale efficiencies and suggested appropriately for its sustainable development in Andhra Pradesh. Farmers (n = 60) were interviewed, and data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, B-C ratio, C-D production function, and DEA techniques. The results depicted that majority of the farmers' primary occupation was aquaculture and 53% of them were farming on leased land. Yield (kg/ha) was highest for large farmers (5247 kg) followed by medium (5200 kg) and small farmers (4800 kg) which resulted the net incomes of $8771 for large farmers, medium ($7377), and small farmers ($6186). The share of feed cost and medicine cost was higher for large farmers, while feed and other costs were highest for medium and small farmers. Net returns were found to be proportional to the land holdings, while labor days have a negative effect. Inefficiency scores given by the DEA model suggest farmers were able to produce the same level of output with combination of inputs corresponding to the minimum cost of production. Adoption of scientific farming practices and CAA guidelines may ensure sustainable farm income. The DoF, AP has to frame policies for the promotion and monitoring of inland low-saline shrimp culture for the mutual benefit of all stakeholders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Decompressive craniectomy [DC] is one of the leading armaments to lower refractory intracranial pressure. Post-DC hydrocephalus [PDCH] occurs in 11.9–36% of patients undergoing DCs for TBIs. Various theories have been given regarding pathophysiological mechanism of PDCH but remain dubious. Risk factors predicting PDCH still under research. Exact timeline regarding developmental process of PDCH remains undefined. Method: This retrospective study was conducted on 422 patients who underwent DCs in our tertiary care trauma center over the period of one year. 60 patients out of 422 who developed PDCH were analyzed with respect to demographic variables and preoperative and postoperative risk factors. A total of 20 randomly selected patients, who underwent DCs but did not develop hydrocephalus, were selected and compared with patients who developed PDCH. Outcome analysis was done by dichotomizing the groups into independent and dependent groups. Results: Among 422 patients undergoing DC, 14.21%[n = 60] developed PDCH. Younger [34.2 y vs 43.3 y, p = 0.0004] male age group was predominant in our study. Age [p = 0.021, multivariate analysis] and midline shift [p = 0.008, multivariate analysis] were significant preoperative predicting risk factors for PDCH. Interhemispheric hygroma [p = 0.031], brain bulge [ p = 0.008], and blood in postoperative scan [p = 0.029] were significant postoperative risk factors. Lower GCS score at admission [p = 0.0003], postoperative day 10 and at the time of establishment of PDCH were significantly predicted surgery to hydrocephalus time. Midline shift [p = 0.007] and thickness of interhemispheric hygroma [p = 0.021] were associated with poor outcome in patients with PDCH. Conclusion: Younger age group and presence of midline shift are significant preoperative predictors of PDCH. Blood in postoperative scan, interhemispheric hygroma and brain bulge in postoperative period are significant predictors for PDCH. Deterioration in GCS score in postoperative period following DC should be taken as high index of suspicion for developing PDCH. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cochlear implants (CIs) are a well-established treatment for severe to profound hearing loss, particularly in young children. The success of CIs is influenced by various factors, including the age of implantation and the quality and duration of post-operative rehabilitation, such as Auditory Verbal Therapy (AVT). AVT plays a crucial role in developing listening and spoken language skills in children with CIs. However, the impact of AVT duration on long-term outcomes remains unclear. This study aimed to investigate the impact of AVT duration on the long-term auditory and speech outcomes of children who received CIs between 9 and 12 months of age. Specifically, we compared the outcomes of children who received AVT for one year, one and a half years, and two years after implantation. This descriptive cohort study included 45 children diagnosed with severe to profound hearing loss who received unilateral CIs and completed at least one year of AVT. Participants were divided into three groups based on AVT duration (Group A: 1 year, Group B: 1.5 years, Group C: 2 years). Their auditory perception, speech intelligibility, receptive and expressive language, and speech production skills were assessed using standardized tests five years post-implantation.. Children who received AVT for two years (Group C) demonstrated significantly better outcomes in auditory perception and speech intelligibility compared to those who received AVT for one year (Group A). Group C also exhibited higher scores in expressive language and speech production, while both groups achieved similar results in receptive language. These findings suggest a positive correlation between AVT duration and long-term language and speech development. Early cochlear implantation, coupled with continuous AVT for at least two years, significantly enhances auditory and speech abilities in children with severe to profound hearing loss. This study underscores the importance of extended AVT duration to maximize the long-term benefits of cochlear implants and enable children to reach their full communication potential. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Decompressive craniectomy (DC) is a neurosurgical procedure, frequently used in lowering the refractory intracranial pressure (ICP) following traumatic brain injuries. Post-traumatic hydrocephalus (PTH), a debilitating complication in the patients with traumatic brain injuries, occurs in 11.9–36% patients undergoing DCs. Sunken flap syndrome (SFS) is a rare entity, following DCs or cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) diversion procedures for PTH after DCs and leads to neurological deterioration of the patients. Literature regarding risk factors associated with SFS in the patients undergoing ventriculoperitoneal shunt procedures for hydrocephalus following DCs is scarce. The aim of this study is to determine the incidence of SFS and to establish a relationship between several clinico-radiological features and SFS in patients undergoing shunt procedures for PTH. Results: This retrospective study was conducted in a tertiary care trauma centre upon 60 patients who underwent shunt procedures for PTH. Intraventricular haemorrhage (P < 0.0001), communicating-type hydrocephalus (P = 0.0006), and modified frontal horn index (P < 0.0001) were significantly associated with development of SFS. MFHI > 43 was a significant risk factor in development of SFS. Conclusions: SFS is the common complication following shunt procedures for PTH after DCs. MFHI is significant risk predictor for SFS. MFHI > 43 is associated with higher chances of developing SFS following shunt insertion in PTH. Early cranioplasty following DCs might prevent development of SFS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Bmp/Smad1 pathway plays a crucial role in developmental processes and tissue homeostasis. Mitogen-activated protein kinase (Mapk)/Erk mediated phosphorylation of Smad1 in the linker region leads to Smad1 degradation, cytoplasmic retention and inhibition of Bmp/Smad1 signaling. While Fgf/Erk pathway has been documented to inhibit Bmp/Smad1 signaling, several studies also suggests the cooperative interaction between these two pathways in different context. However, the precise role and molecular pathway of this collaborative interaction remain obscure. Here, we identified Xbra induced by Fgf/Erk signaling as a factor in a protective mechanism for Smad1. Xbra physically interacted with the linker region phosphorylated Smad1 to make Xbra/Smad1/Smad4 trimeric complex, leading to Smad1 nuclear localization and protecting it from ubiquitin-mediated proteasomal degradation. This interaction of Xbra/Smad1/Smad4 led to sustained nuclear localization of Smad1 and the upregulation of lateral mesoderm genes, while concurrently suppression of neural and blood forming genes. Taken together, the results suggests Xbra-dependent cooperative interplays between Fgf/Erk and Bmp/Smad1 signaling during lateral mesoderm specification in Xenopus embryos. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The posterior cranial fossa (PCF) and the foramen magnum (FM) are the critical anatomical components of the craniovertebral junction region, which comprise and transmit numerous vital neurovascular structures. So, a fundamental knowledge of the basic radiological anatomy of PCF and FM is of paramount importance in the evaluation of associated pathologies and approaching these areas surgically. The aim of this study is to describe different linear and angular craniometric parameters of PCF, FM and surrounding territory based on reconstructed computed tomography (CT) images. Material and methods: This study was conducted in our tertiary care hospital in northern India from the period of January 2023 to June 2023 on 120 patients, and CT screening was done for the head and spine region following a history of head injury. Results: In this study, 120 patients were included, of whom 50.83% (n = 61) were females and 49.17% (n = 59) were males. Age ranged from 18 to 70 years with mean age of 43.5 ± 14.08 years. The mean values for linear craniometric parameters of PCF were statistically nonsignificant for different age groups. Statistically significant differences were found for twinning line (TL) (p < 0.0001), McRae's line (< 0.0001), clivus length (< p < 0.0001), internal occipital protuberence -opisthion line (p = 0.01), Klaus' index (p < 0.0001), height of posterior fossa (h) (p < 0.0001), h/TL (p = 0.028), when these values were compared for the genders. The measurements of FM transverse diameter, anteroposterior diameter and area were 27.12 ± 1.42 mm (range 23.6–30.1 mm), 30.99 ± 2.23 mm (range 27.6–35.8 mm) and 691.32 ± 30.35 mm2 (range 632.7–777.7 mm2). The values of clivus canal angle (p = 0.038) and clivoodontoid angle (p = 0.012) were statistically significant when compared for different age groups. The values of Boogard's angle (p = 0.021) and tentorial slope (p = 0.031) were statistically significant when these were compared for the genders. Conclusions: This study described almost all the linear and angular craniometric parameters used in the morphometric analysis of PCF and FM. The findings of this study provide valuable data regarding linear and angular craniometric parameters of PCF and FM which can redefine reference values. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Microbial biofilms and microbiologically influenced corrosion (MIC) pose serious problems in pipelines transporting freshwater from the reservoir to service water systems and fire water systems of power reactors. The present work aims to design a silane-based epoxy-biocide hybrid coating along with antibacterial compounds on carbon steels (CS) for controlling the MIC of pipeline materials. The optimal inhibitory concentrations of biocides are identified and a robust protocol has been developed to prepare epoxy-based coatings impregnated with three biocides (25 ppm each of benzalkonium chloride, bronopol, and isothiazoline). Microbiological and accelerated corrosion studies were carried out by exposing the coated CS specimens to the enriched freshwater bacterial culture (FWC). As compared to the impedance value of 102 Ohms for the polished CS, the values were 106 and 105 Ohms, respectively, for epoxy-coated specimens (CSE) and epoxy-coated specimens impregnated with biocides (CSEB). The corrosion protection efficiency of CSE and CSEB coated specimens exposed to FWC was 99.9% and 98.1%, respectively. Confocal microscopic analysis showed the average biomass thickness was 51.3 ± 0.6 µm and 24.4 ± 0.5 µm, respectively, for CSE and CSEB specimens in comparison to 94.1 ± 0.2 µm on CS specimens. The improved anticorrosion and antifouling behaviors observed in the CSEB specimens suggest that the new coating strategy has the potential for the development of multifunctional hybrid epoxy coatings for pipeline materials to mitigate MIC-related issues in water-transporting pipeline systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nirmatrelvir is a potent and selective inhibitor of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) main protease that is used as an oral antiviral coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) treatment. To sustain unbound systemic trough concentrations above the antiviral in vitro 90% effective concentration value (EC90), nirmatrelvir is coadministered with 100 mg of ritonavir, a pharmacokinetic enhancer. Ritonavir inhibits nirmatrelvir's cytochrome P450 (CYP) 3A4-mediated metabolism which results in renal elimination becoming the primary route of nirmatrelvir elimination when dosed concomitantly. Nirmatrelvir exhibits absorption-limited nonlinear pharmacokinetics. When coadministered with ritonavir in patients with mild-to-moderate COVID-19, nirmatrelvir reaches a maximum concentration of 3.43 µg/mL (11.7× EC90) in approximately 3 h on day 5 of dosing, with a geometric mean day 5 trough concentration of 1.57 µg/mL (5.4× EC90). Drug interactions with nirmatrelvir/ritonavir (PAXLOVIDTM) are primarily attributed to ritonavir-mediated CYP3A4 inhibition, and to a lesser extent CYP2D6 and P-glycoprotein inhibition. Population pharmacokinetics and quantitative systems pharmacology modeling support twice daily dosing of 300 mg/100 mg nirmatrelvir/ritonavir for 5 days, with a reduced 150 mg/100 mg dose for patients with moderate renal impairment. Rapid clinical development of nirmatrelvir/ritonavir in response to the emerging COVID-19 pandemic was enabled by innovations in clinical pharmacology research, including an adaptive phase 1 trial design allowing direct to pivotal phase 3 development, fluorine nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy to delineate absorption, distribution, metabolism, and excretion profiles, and innovative applications of model-informed drug development to accelerate development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recently, demands of the prefabricated tailor-welded blanks (TWBs) are being increased in the manufacturing of the structures of the aircraft panels. TWBs eliminate several operations of assembly process and reduce the consumption of material, time and cost. To manufacture the TWBs, friction stir welding process is gaining popularity because it reduces the common defects of the convention welding method. However, welding of similar and dissimilar material having different thicknesses is challenging by friction stir welding process. In this work, an attempt has been made to join the dissimilar material with different thickness ratios and also evaluate the performance of the weld joint with effect of input process parameters using surface response methodology. The experiments were conducted on the basis of Box–Behnken method design of experiments, in which three input factors are tool welding speed, rotation speed and tilt angle, and tensile strength of the joint is output response. Adequacy of the design of experiments is investigated by ANOVA analysis, and mathematical model is developed to determine the trend of the response surfaces of tensile strength to input factors. Additionally, microstructures of the weld joint are studied to analyze the material deposition process in the weld joint of the different thicknesses of the work piece material. This analysis shows that the tool tilt angle is one of the important factors among all input process parameters. The trend of the response surfaces of the tensile strength of the weld joint substantially varies on slight variation in the tool tilt angle. The highest tensile strength 302 MPa of the weld joint is obtained at 80 tool tilt angle, 900 rpm and 63 mm/min welding speed. The average grain size in stir zone of highest tensile strength weld joint is 6.01 μm, and lowest tensile strength weld joint is 13.99 μm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Inferior vena cava (IVC) indices are commonly used to assess the need for fluid bolus during shock. It needs expertise and is difficult to do during surgical procedures. Plethysmograph variability index (PVI) is a simpler non-invasive tool used to measure fluid responsiveness in adults. However, the data on PVI in neonates is limited. This cross-sectional observational study was done at a tertiary level NICU to correlate PVI and IVC among spontaneously breathing neonates. The PVI was documented using the Masimo Radical 7 pulse oximeter. The IVC collapsibility index (IVC CI) was determined by bedside ultrasound. The Spearman correlation coefficient was analyzed. The PVI showed strong positive correlation with IVC CI (rho = 0.64, 95% CI: 0.474–0.762) (p <0.001). Thus, PVI can be a useful tool for hemodynamic monitoring of neonates. However, further studies are needed before applying it to clinical use. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cloud computing is the on-demand availability of computing resources, especially storage and computing power. The Cloud Data Center (CDC) consumes a huge amount of electrical energy due to inefficient resource utilization and scheduling algorithms. This leads to issues like high energy consumption along with high maintenance costs and carbon emissions. Virtual machine consolidation (VMC) is one of the energy-saving approaches used in data centers. The VMC problem in CDCs with energy constraints is a strict NP-hard problem. In this paper, a dynamic VMC algorithm is proposed to address the issues discussed above. The proposed algorithm categorizes the servers into three categories such as underloaded, overloaded, and normally loaded based on the CPU load. It migrates a few virtual machines (VMs) from overloaded machines to the normally loaded machine(s) for load balancing and migrates all the VMs of underloaded machines to normally loaded servers to switch-off idle servers. Further, modified water wave optimization (MWWO) approach is used to find a suitable migration plan which will reduce the load on overloaded servers and increase the overall resource utilization. It has been known and proven that an overloaded host consumes more energy over some time than the normally utilized host. The experimental evaluation is done on CloudSim Plus which is a cloud simulation tool. We have used two real-time workloads for experiments to reveal the efficiency of the proposed MWWO-VMC algorithm. The simulation experimental results are compared with various heuristic and metaheuristic dynamic VM consolidation algorithms. In comparison to previous similar works, the MWWO-VMC algorithm is successful in reducing energy consumption and VM migrations, increasing resource utilization and maximizing the dormant servers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The deformation and displacement phenomena of liquid droplets from solid substrates are important in sub-surface processes such as enhanced oil recovery, chemical processing, and others, where the velocity of the continuous fluid is a key parameter. In the present work, a pioneering mathematical model equation for the minimum fluid velocity at which perturbation development begins, termed the 'critical velocity of perturbation' that is associated with the elongated part of a droplet and water has been developed using viscous potential flow analysis. Furthermore, the deformation and detachment of large (2 mL and 4 mL) aniline droplets, small (120 μ L) aniline droplet and small (5 μ L and 40 μ L) iso-quinoline droplets in close channels have been experimentally investigated in the verification of the proposed mathematical model equation. The developed model equation was successfully verified. Tails were formed, and the droplet partially detached when the continuous fluid velocity exceeded the critical velocity of perturbation. This study will aid in enhancing process efficiency and lowering operational costs in the field of liquid recovery and associated process industries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Bile duct injuries (BDIs) are the potential grievous complications of cholecystectomy that result in substantial morbidity and mortality. Outcomes of BDI management depend on multiple factors such as the type and extent of injury, timing of repair, and surgical expertise. The present retrospective study was conducted to analyse the risk factors associated with the BDI repair outcomes. Methods: The data of patients having primary or recurrent bile duct stricture following BDI from 1985 to 2018 were retrospectively evaluated. Results: A total of 268 patients underwent hepaticojejunostomy (HJ). Of the total, 218 patients had primary bile duct stricture, and 50 patients had HJ stricture. The most commonly performed procedure for primary BDI was Roux-en-Y HJ (RYHJ), followed by right hepatectomy, right posterior sectionectomy, and left hepatectomy. All patients with strictured HJ underwent RYHJ, except one who underwent a right hepatectomy. Outcome assessment using the McDonald grading system showed that 62%, 27%, 5%, and 6% of patients with primary bile duct stricture had grade A, grade B, grade C, and grade D complications, respectively, with a mortality rate of 3.21%, whereas 46%, 34%, and 18% patients with strictured HJ had grade A, grade B, and grade C complications, respectively, with a mortality rate of 2%. High-up biliary strictures, early repair, and blood loss > 350 mL are the surrogate markers for failure of repair. Conclusion: Management of BDI needs a multidisciplinary approach. The outcomes of both primary biliary stricture and strictured HJ can be improved with management of patients in a tertiary care centre. However, attempts to repair within 2 weeks of injury, Strasberg E4 and E5, and blood loss of > 350 mL may have an adverse effect on the outcome of HJ. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The nature of earthquake events and atmospheric factors’ response to the tropical cyclones (TCs) frequency during the boreal summer (June–July–August: JJA) season in the West North Pacific (WNP) is investigated using a 45-year (1977–2021) monthly dataset. The WNP is the most cyclonically active basin on the globe and boreal summer alone accounts for its 42% of share. The WNP region encompasses the subduction zones between the Pacific and Philippine Sea plates, where 32% of boreal summer TCs cross these plates’ boundaries. Here I conduct statistical and GIS analyses of many environmental parameters on the occurrence of TCs in the WNP and seismicity along the plates’ boundaries. Years with frequent TCs in the WNP correlate with statistically significantly high seismicity in the lithosphere, assuming a 75 km (correl: 0.75) and a 120 km (correl: 0.75) lithospheres, respectively. TCs do not need to cross the plates’ boundaries to increase the seismicity (correl: 0.47 and 0.43 for 75 km and 120 km lithosphere, respectively), possibly due to the large spatial areas affected by each TC. Among the environmental parameters investigated, relative vorticity is strongly linked with TC frequency in the WNP in boreal summer showing a maximum percentage of variation during both extremely high and low TC years. Higher-level tropospheric winds (200 hPa) and vertical shear are found more dominant in extremely high-TC years while middle level tropospheric winds (850 hPa) and vertical velocity (omega) are found more commanding in extremely low-TC years. Other factors like sea surface temperature, relative humidity, outgoing longwave radiation, sea level pressure, etc. are also found mutually connected through the environmental and dynamical processes and as a result influence cyclogenesis. Results from this work suggest that few environmental parameters may dominantly control the extreme cyclogenesis, which then influences seismicity along submerged plates’ boundaries. Having the earthquakes and TCs as two major destruction casing natural hazards in the region, the presented results are very valuable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Key message: OscWRKY1 from Ocimum sanctum positively regulates phenylpropanoid pathway genes and rosmarinic acid content. OscWRKY1 overexpression promotes resistance against bacterial pathogen in Arabidopsis. WRKY transcription factor (TF) family regulates various developmental and physiological functions in plants. PAL genes encode enzymes which are involved in plant defense responses, but the direct regulation of PAL genes and phenylpropanoid pathway through WRKY TF's is not well characterized. In the present study, we have characterized an OscWRKY1 gene from Ocimum sanctum which shows induced expression by methyl jasmonate (MeJA), salicylic acid (SA), and wounding. The recombinant OscWRKY1 protein binds to the DIG-labeled (Digoxigenin) W-box cis-element TTGAC[C/T] and activates the LacZ reporter gene in yeast. Overexpression of OscWRKY1 enhances Arabidopsis resistance towards Pseudomonas syringae pv. tomato Pst DC3000. Upstream activator sequences of PAL and C4H have been identified to contain the conserved W-box cis-element (TTGACC) in both O. sanctum and Arabidopsis. OscWRKY1 was found to interact with W-box cis-element present in the PAL and C4H promoters. Silencing of OscWRKY1 using VIGS resulted in reduced expression of PAL, C4H, COMT, F5H and 4CL transcripts. OscWRKY1 silenced plants exhibit reduced PAL activity, whereas, the overexpression lines of OscWRKY1 in Arabidopsis exhibit increased PAL activity. Furthermore, the metabolite analysis of OscWRKY1 silenced plants showed reduced rosmarinic acid content. These results revealed that OscWRKY1 positively regulates the phenylpropanoid pathway genes leading to the alteration of rosmarinic acid content and enhances the resistance against bacterial pathogen in Arabidopsis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cloud computing has emerged as the preeminent computing platform for multiple enterprises. All scales of organizations adopt cloud services to leverage cloud technology to drive their businesses ahead. It is prevalent to use the workflow paradigm in modeling a wide variety of problems to compute in distributed environments. Cloud computing is mostly adapting technology to deal with workflow applications, particularly applications with unpredictable workloads. Due to the increased demand for cloud services, excessive power utilization in cloud data centers is a serious issue that needs to be addressed. Scientific workflow applications, in particular, consume high amounts of electrical energy. Many studies have been conducted on the consumption of energy in the cloud environment, and this area of research attracts people from all fields, including both research and business. For this paper, a survey was conducted on existing energy-efficient techniques for scheduling various workflows in a cloud environment. We targeted the methods that minimize energy consumption with assured quality of service constraints. This study on energy-aware and proper workflow scheduling provide extensive knowledge about various energy-aware scheduling paradigms currently going on. The review will help in listing the future directions in this field along with other factors included. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An intuitionistic fuzzy random variable (IFRV) handles ambiguous, incomplete and ill-known data or information along with statistical variability, and deals with fuzzy number, grade of membership and non-membership functions and probability distribution function. So, taking such advantages of IFRV, we extend the classical continuous review inventory system in intuitionistic fuzzy random (IFR) environment by considering demand rate as IFRV. Due to uncertain variability, demand may suddenly increase, consequently, item shortage (stock out) may occur in the inventory system. To minimize the shortage quantity, fuzzy service level constraint and reorder level pertaining to safety stock are considered here. Service level constraint ensures that a certain fraction of demand to be fulfilled by on-hand inventory, whereas safety stock is kept against anticipation of shortage. Furthermore, we develop a methodology to compute the fuzzy expected shortage quantity for IFR inventory system, and determine the order quantity and reorder level. The proposed model is illustrated with numerical example and sensitivity analysis by changing the values of key parameters, which also helps in delineating the managerial insights. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Classical Lie symmetry analysis is proposed to get a new variety of similarity solutions to a nonlinear (3+1)-modified Korteweg de Vries-Zakharov–Kuznetsov equation. The equation is often used to control the type of weakly nonlinear ion-acoustic waves in a homogeneous magnetised electron-positron plasma. In a magnetised plasma, including some hot and cold ions, such waves exist. By comparing the results reported earlier, new variety of analytical solutions are created and validated. Trigonometric, hyperbolic, rational, and exponential solutions of various types are derived. To prove their physical significance, animation profiles are plotted using MATLAB. Dominated dynamical behaviour of the animation profile is represented in each case. Electrostatic potential dynamics reveal elastic single solitons to multi solitons, elastic multi solitons, kink to stationary, and bell-shaped to asymptotic behaviour. Equations (13) and (21) in this study that were solved trivially can lead to more research in this area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is challenging to tune absorption of nanomaterials in the visible region for using them in optoelectronics applications. Heterostructures of transition metal dichalcogenides WS2, WSe2, MoS2, MoTe2, MoSe2, monolayers, and mercury cadmium telluride are investigated and calculations have been performed using density-functional theory with Van der Waals interaction. The results so obtained show that the monolayer of WS2, WSe2, MoS2, MoSe2, and MoTe2 has an absorption in the range of ~ 410–690 nm for the visible spectrum. For HgCdTe ~ 410–450 nm. However, for the heterostructure absorption rises along with wavelength and gets pushed towards the deep red end resulting in the redshift phenomenon. Strong absorption can be observed in the spectrum range of ~ 710–1050 nm for all the heterostructure. With high absorption in the visible red region may find various applications in the optical devices Schottky barrier solar cell absorbers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Macroalgal biomass for bioethanol production has proved to be a viable alternative to feedstocks of first-generation (food crops rich in starch) and second-generation biofuel (agricultural residues and woody biomasses rich in lignocellulosic components). Production of bioethanol from biomass involves fermentation of mixed monosugars such as glucose, xylose, galactose, rhamnose, mannose, and fucose, and abundant monomer is found in algal biomass as well as lignocellulosic biomass. The inability of commonly used Saccharomyces cerevisiae to ferment xylose (pentose) sugar has led to the exploration of robust yeast strains that can utilize mixed sugars to produce ethanol. This study focuses on the isolation of yeast strains from various fruits and fermented products to determine efficacy in ethanol production using synthetic and macroalgal sugar. Two strains prioritized based on ethanol yield are Meyerozyma caribbica (isolated from cashew-fermented juice) and Pichia kudriavzevii (isolated from toddy). Strain P. kudriavzevii is thermotolerant (at 45 °C), whereas M. caribbica is tolerant to high salinity and produced ethanol of 2.6 g/L from 5.95 g/L of sugar, achieving 88.8% fermentation efficiency. P. kudriavzevii strain exhibits ethanol tolerance up to 4%. Fermentation of synthetic glucose produced 1.35 g/L and 1.44 g/L ethanol by M. caribbica and P. kudriavzevii strains with fermentation efficiencies of 83.6% and 94.8% respectively. M. caribbica strain fermented xylose and produced 1.4 g/L of ethanol achieving 14.9% fermentation efficiency, while simultaneous saccharification and fermentation process using P. kudriavzevii strain exhibited efficiency of 65.1% and 80.9% for Enteromorpha intestinalis and Ulva lactuca respectively. Cellulolytic activity of the prioritized strains was determined to carry out consolidated bioprocess. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Green synthesis of copper oxide nanoparticles (CuONPs) was performed using Sesbania aculeata leaf extract. The characteristics of CuONPs were studied using the selected area electron diffraction analysis. The effect of nanoparticles on the plant growth including germination efficiency was studied in Brassica nigra at different concentrations (25, 30, 100 mg/100 ml) using plant tissue culture technique. The uptake of copper and potential metal-binding compounds (citrate, phytochelatins, nicotinamide) in xylem and phloem saps of B. nigra was examined. Copper uptake in xylem and phloem sap was found to be higher at 100 mg/100 ml concentration (2.2 ± 0.23 and 5.70 ± 0.9 µM, respectively) when compared to the control (1.0 ± 0.15 and 4.90 ± 0.7 µM) which could be toxic and inhibit the plant's growth. 25 and 30 mg/100 ml were found to be safer. The root uptake of CuONPs in xylem was observed through the transmission electron microscopy analysis. Since the nanoparticles at higher dose inhibit plant's growth, potassium leakage rate was analyzed and found to be higher with copper sulfate treatment (0.8 µg/g FW min−1) than with the CuONPs treatment (0.5 µg/g FW min−1) at 100 mg/100 ml concentration. Additionally, we evaluated the antimicrobial activity of CuONPs and the maximum zone of inhibition was found with Phoma destructiva (23 mm), Curvularia lunata (22 mm) at 40 µl concentration. This study shows that CuONPs synthesized using greener technology enhanced the plant growth of B. nigra at a lower dose (25 and 30 mg/100 ml) and act as a strong antimicrobial agent which can act as biofertilizer for both the crop protection and production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hip joint proprioception is vital in maintaining posture and stability in elderly individuals. Examining hip joint position sense (JPS) using reliable tools is important in contemporary clinical practice. The objective of this study is to evaluate the intra-rater and inter-rater reliability of hip JPS tests using a clinically applicable measurement tool in elderly individuals with unilateral hip osteoarthritis (OA). Sixty-two individuals (mean age = 67.5 years) diagnosed with unilateral hip OA participated in this study. The JPS tests were evaluated using a digital inclinometer in hip flexion and abduction directions. The absolute difference between target and reproduced angle (repositioning error) in degrees was taken to measure JPS accuracy. The intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC (2.k), was used to assess the reliability. The Intra rater-reliability for hip JPS tests showed very good agreement in the lying position (hip flexion-ICC = 0.88–0.92; standard error of measurement (SEM) = 0.06–0.07, hip abduction-ICC = 0.89–0.91; SEM = 0.06–0.07) and good agreement in the standing position (hip flexion-ICC = 0.69–0.72; SEM = 0.07, hip abduction-ICC = 0.66–0.69; SEM = 0.06–0.08). Likewise, inter-rater reliability for hip JPS tests demonstrated very good agreement in the lying position (hip flexion-ICC = 0.87–0.89; SEM = 0.06–0.07, hip abduction-ICC = 0.87–0.91; SEM = 0.07) and good agreement in the standing position (hip flexion-ICC = 0.64–0.66; SEM = 0.08, hip abduction-ICC = 0.60–0.72; SEM = 0.06–0.09). The results support the use of hip JPS tests in clinical practice and should be incorporated in assessing and managing elderly participants with hip OA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The large-scale acquisition of multi-temporal hyperspectral images has increased the demand for a more efficient compression strategy to reduce the large size of such images. In this work, we propose a lossless prediction-based compression technique for multi-temporal images. It removes temporal correlations along with spatial and spectral correlation, reducing the size of time-lapse hyperspectral image significantly. It predicts the pixel value of the target image by a linear combination of pixels from already predicted spectral and temporal bands. The weight matrix used in the prediction is updated using the RLS filter. Experimental results demonstrate the optimal number of bands to be selected for prediction, the comparative strength of individual correlations, and effectiveness of the technique in terms of bit-rate. Our results show that including temporal correlations reduces the bit-rate by 24.07% and our model provides optimization of 18.15% in terms of bits per pixel compared to the state-of-the-art method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pollution emitted by a vehicle can be checked by reducing the distance traveled and through operational adjustments. Optimized route and simultaneous pickup and delivery in a vehicle routing problem (VRP) can achieve the same. This paper investigates a two-echelon pollution routing problem with simultaneous pickup and delivery by considering multiple time windows (2E-PRPSPD-MTW) for customers' visit. The first echelon consists of depots and intermediate depots (called satellites), whereas the second echelon consists of the satellites and customers. Two fleets (one for each echelon) of heterogeneous vehicles accomplish pickup and delivery operations. The 2E-PRPSPD-MTW is developed in a bi-objective framework, focusing on minimization of both travel time and fuel consumption. The proposed bi-objective 2E-PRPSPD-MTW is an NP-hard problem. So, in order to optimize it, multi-objective variable neighborhood search (MOVNS) is modified and used. In this process, six operators are proposed in order to improve the neighborhood structure. The suggested operators explore the entire solution space to find the near optimal solution. With the aim of providing much richer insights, the efficacy of the proposed method and mathematical formulation is demonstrated through numerical experiment for a number of instances varying from small to large scale. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Previous studies have shown insufficient dispersion and thermal stability of nanofluids for high-temperature carbon capture and storage applications. Compared to the other NPs, TiO2 nanofluids exhibit superior stability due to their high zeta potential. In previous studies, TiO2 nanofluids have shown superior performance in heat transfer and cooling applications along with importing the stability of other nanofluids like SiO2 in form of nanocomposites. Therefore, in this study, a nanofluid formulation consisting of titania nanofluid in a base solution of ethylene glycol (EG) with different co-stabilizers such as surfactants was synthesized for better dispersion stability, enhanced electrical, and rheological properties especially for the use in high-temperature industrial applications which include carbon capture and storage along with enhanced oil recovery. The formulated nanofluid was investigated for stability using dynamic light scattering (DLS) study and electrical conductivity. Additionally, the formulated nanofluid was also examined for thermal stability at high temperatures using an electrical conductivity study followed by rheological measurements at 30 and 90 °C. At a high temperature, the shear-thinning behavior of EG was found highly affected by shear rate; however, this deformation was controlled using TiO2 nanoparticles (NPs). Furthermore, the role of surfactant was also investigated on dispersion stability, electrical conductivity followed by viscosity results, and it was found that the nanofluid is superior in presence of anionic surfactant sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) as compared to nonionic surfactant Triton X-100 (TX-100). The inclusion of ionic surfactant provides a charged layer of micelles surrounding the core of a NP and it produced additional surface potential. Consequently, it increases the repulsive force between two adjacent NPs and renders a greater stability to nanofluid while nonionic surfactant allowed monomers to adsorb on the surface of NP via hydrophobic interaction and enhances the short-range interparticle repulsion, to stabilize nanofluid. This makes titania nanofluid suitable for widespread high-temperature applications where conventional nanofluids face limitations. Finally, the application of the synthesized titania nanofluids was explored for the capture and transport of CO2 where the inclusion of the anionic surfactant was found to increase the CO2 capturing ability of titania nanofluids by 140–220% (over the conventional nanofluid) while also showing superior retention at both investigated temperatures. Thus, the study promotes the role of novel surfactant-treated titania nanofluids for carbon removal and storage and recommends their applications involving carbonated fluid injection (CFI) to carbon utilization in oilfield applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Trunk Impairment Scale (TIS) is a valid and reliable tool to assess trunk impairment in children with heterogeneous cerebral palsy. The purpose of this study was to determine the reliability and validity of the TIS in assessing children with spastic diplegic cerebral palsy. The sample was a total of 30 subjects (15 = boys, 15 = girls). All subjects underwent an assessment of the sitting component of the Gross Motor Function Measure-88 and TIS by rater 1. Rater one observed video recordings within 24 h and scored TIS for intra-rater reliability, while rater two did likewise after 48 h for inter-rater reliability. The mean and standard deviation of the TIS and sitting components of the Gross Motor Function Measure-88 were 15.66 ± 4.20 and 52.36 ± 6.26, respectively. We established intra-rater and inter-rater reliability of the TIS with Intra Class Correlation Coefficient 0.991 and 0.972, respectively. The concurrent validity of the TIS with the sitting component of the Gross Motor Function Measure-88 was good, with an r-value of 0.844 (p < 0.001). This study showed the excellent intra-rater and inter-rater reliability and high concurrent validity of the TIS in assessing children with spastic diplegic cerebral palsy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research formulates a real-life multi-depot and multi-period vehicle routing problem (MDMPVRP) by imposing time window (TW) and many other constraints. A set of customers, spread in different locations, are to be served by a fleet of heterogeneous vehicles over a finite number of periods. Each customer is associated with combinations of routes and vehicles over the period. A customer must be served in one of the allowable combinations. The objective of this MDMPVRP-TW is to minimize the total distance traversed by the fleet over the planning horizon. The proposed MDMPVRP-TW is an extension of vehicle routing problem (VRP), and is hence an NP-hard problem. In order to optimize it, we propose a hybrid meta-heuristic approach by combining tabu search (TS) and variable neighbourhood search (VNS) algorithms. Furthermore, to provide richer insights, the efficacy of the proposed method and mathematical formulation is demonstrated through numerical experiments for a number of instances varying from small to large scale. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the rising demand for cloud services, the high energy consumption of cloud data centers is a significant problem that needs to be handled. The Dynamic Voltage and Frequency Scaling approach has been identified as one of the efficient techniques to conserve energy, particularly while scheduling real-world scientific workflows. Moreover, scientific workflows demand high-availability of the system. The computational systems in the cloud data centers are not failure-free and further frequency scaling impacts negatively on the reliability of the system by increasing the transient fault rate. A trade-off is required between energy conservation and the reliability of the computational machine. In this paper, we propose an energy-efficient and reliability aware workflow task scheduling in a cloud environment (EERS) algorithm, which conserves energy and maximizes the system reliability. The EERS comprises five sub-algorithms. First, we apply a task rank calculation algorithm to preserve the task dependencies. Second, a task clustering algorithm to reduce the communication cost which reduces energy consumption. The third is the sub-target time distribution algorithm to define the sub_makespan for each task. Further, we propose a cluster-VM mapping algorithm that reduces energy and maximizes system reliability and finally, a slack algorithm to reclaim slack associated with the non-critical tasks. The performance of the EERS evaluated on the WorkflowSim simulator using two real-world scientific workloads CyberShake and Montage. The results indicate that it surpasses the related existing approaches. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Spinocerebellar ataxia type 3 (SCA3) is the most common type of SCA worldwide caused by abnormal polyglutamine expansion in the coding region of the ataxin-3 gene. Ataxin-3 is a multi-faceted protein involved in various cellular processes such as deubiquitination, cytoskeletal organisation, and transcriptional regulation. The presence of an expanded poly(Q) stretch leads to altered processing and misfolding of the protein culminating in the production of insoluble protein aggregates in the cell. Various post-translational modifications affect ataxin-3 fibrillation and aggregation. This review provides an exhaustive assessment of the various pathogenic mechanisms undertaken by the mutant ataxin-3–containing aggregates (MATAGGs) for disease induction and neurodegeneration. This includes in-depth discussion on MATAGG dynamics including their formation, role in neuronal pathogenesis, and the debate over the toxic v/s protective nature of the MATAGGs in disease progression. Additionally, the currently available therapeutic strategies against SCA3 have been reviewed. The shift in the focus of such strategies, from targeting the steps that lead to or reduce aggregate formation to targeting the expression of mutant ataxin-3 itself via RNA-based therapeutics, has also been presented. We also discuss the intriguing promise that various growth and neurotrophic factors, especially the insulin pathway, hold in the modulation of SCA3 progression. These emerging areas show the newer directions through which SCA3 can be targeted including various preclinical and clinical trials. All these advances made in the last three decades since the discovery of the ataxin-3 gene have been critically reviewed here. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: MB02 (bevacizumab biosimilar) showed similar structural, functional, and pharmacokinetic properties to reference bevacizumab (Avastin®; EU-bevacizumab). Objectives: To confirm clinical similarity between MB02 and EU-bevacizumab, a comparability study was undertaken in the first-line treatment of stage IIIB/IV non-squamous non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Patients and Methods: This multinational, double-blind, randomized, phase III study (STELLA) compared MB02 or EU-bevacizumab (15 mg/kg) administered with chemotherapy (paclitaxel 200 mg/m2 and carboplatin AUC6) on Day 1 of every 3-week cycle for 6 cycles (Week 18), followed by MB02/EU-bevacizumab in blinded monotherapy until disease progression, unacceptable toxicity, death, withdrawal of consent or end of study (Week 52). The primary efficacy endpoint was objective response rate (ORR) evaluated by an independent radiological review committee (IRC) at Week 18 (intent-to-treat population). Secondary endpoints included progression-free survival (PFS), overall survival (OS), safety and immunogenicity. Results: A total of 627 subjects were randomized 1:1 to MB02 (n = 315) or EU-bevacizumab (n = 312). ORR, assessed by the IRC at Week 18, was comparable in MB02 (40.3%) and EU-bevacizumab (44.6%) groups. ORR risk ratio of 0.910 (90% CI 0.780 to 1.060; 95% CI 0.758 to 1.092) and ORR risk difference of −4.02 (90% CI −10.51 to 2.47; 95% CI −11.76 to 3.71) were within the similarity predefined margins. There were no significant differences between MB02 and EU-bevacizumab groups in median PFS (36.0 vs 37.3 weeks, respectively; HR 1.187; 95% CI 0.98 to 1.44) and median OS (not achieved; HR 1.108; 95% CI: 0.83 to 1.49) at the end of study. The safety profile of MB02 and EU-bevacizumab regarding nature, frequency and severity of the adverse events (AE) was comparable. The most frequent grade ≥3 investigational-product-related AEs were hypertension and anemia, with a difference between treatment groups of <5%. Anti-drug antibodies (ADA) and neutralizing ADA (NAb) incidence were similar in both treatment groups. Conclusion: MB02 demonstrated similar efficacy to EU-bevacizumab, in combination with carboplatin and paclitaxel, in subjects with advanced non-squamous NSCLC, with comparable safety and immunogenicity profiles. Clinical trial registration: EudraCT No. 2017-001769-26; ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT03296163. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Backgrounds: To analyse the morbidity, mortality and survival pattern following surgery for borderline ovarian and malignant ovarian tumours. Methods: The medical records of 57 consecutive patients with invasive and borderline epithelial ovarian cancer patients registered and operated in our tertiary centre between 2015 to 2017 were reviewed. Patients were followed up for a minimum of 18 months to maximum of 42 months at an interval of 3 months with CA125 values. Various prognostic factors were analysed. The data descriptive statistics of frequency and percentage analysis were used for categorical variables and mean and standard deviation were used for continuous variables. Results: The most common age group was 51 years and above with the majority (56.2%) of women belonging to postmenopausal age group (32/57). In our study, 30 out of 57 women (52.6%) had stage III disease, 17 women had stage I disease (29.8%) and 7 women had stage 2 disease (12.3%). Majority of the women had serous epithelial ovarian tumour (47 out of 57 patients), which contributed to 82.4%. Grade 1 and 2 morbidity was encountered in 8 patients. Six patients had wound infection (grade 1), and 2 patients required blood transfusions (grade 2). One patient had grade 3 morbidity requiring re-laparotomy. Borderline tumours and early-stage epithelial ovarian tumours had good prognosis, less morbidity and good survival. The overall median survival was 25 months. Conclusions: With meticulous perioperative care, surgery for ovarian cancer in the primary and interval setting can be done with minimal morbidity and no postoperative mortality, especially in patients with co-morbidities. Grade is an important prognostic factor affecting the survival of patients with epithelial ovarian cancers undergoing surgery. Lymph node dissection helps achieve local control but may not improve the survival. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Lateral ankle sprains are among the common injuries in the physically active population in different age groups and progress to chronic ankle instability (CAI). Accordingly, the current study assesses the effectiveness of strengthening and proprioceptive training programs on proprioception and balance in those suffering from CAI. Design: Quasi-experimental design. Methods: Thirty-six individuals with self-reported CAI were assigned into three groups based on age: group 1 (23 ± 1.84), group 2 (35.80 ± 1.68), group 3 (44.25 ± 4.86), then performed strength and balance exercises for 6 weeks. The study furthermore measured pre- and post-training of joint position sense (JPS), static balance, dynamic balance, chronic ankle instability tool (CAIT) and lower extremity functional scale (LEFS). Results: Statistical analysis showed significant improvement (P < 0.01) on all outcome measures among all groups. In group 1, mainly the plantar flexion JPS improved to 3.7°, while in group 2 and group 3 the eversion JPS improved to 3.1° and 1.78° (P < 0.01). With reference to static balance with one's eyes closed and eyes open, the improvement in group 1 was 4.46, 11.05 s, group 2 was 2.23, 7.85 s and group 3 was 1.69, 4.68 s. In relation to dynamic balance, the development in group 1 was 5.85 cm, while group 2 was 4.71 cm and group 3 was 2.49 cm. Moreover, both CAIT and LEFS showed significant differences (P < 0.01) after training. Conclusion: This study found that combined strengthening and proprioceptive training effectively improves stability, proprioception, balance, and self-reported functional outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Attempts to understand and interpret the inherent phenomena of liquid crystalline materials have changed the scenario of condensed matter physics. These liquid crystals gained importance due to shear with interatomic forces of neighboring atoms due to change in temperature, responsible for phase transitions with textures. In particular shear forces responsible liquid crystalline textures arise due to bonding, columbic attractive forces and hard core repulsive forces between the neighboring atoms that prevent the atoms to occupy their atomic regular sites. The focus of article attempts underlying microscopic phenomena of synthesized liquid crystalline substances with vibration studies and Frontier molecular orbital (FMO) contours. Vibration studies these compounds were interpreted for bonding with shifts in wave numbers of infrared spectra. Shear forces responsible for liquid crystalline nature were interpreted with electron density method, B3LYP method using 6-311G++ (d,p) basis set [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Software defined network (SDN) increases control on network infrastructures. It aggregates responsibilities of different hardware devices at higher level abstraction which is called as controller. The controller may face problem of serious failures. The guarantee of packet delivery in secure environment during data transmission is a major challenge using appropriate network policies. The mathematical model investigates the hidden issues in any system. The quality of service (QoS) has two views. One perspective is QoS requirement and other is real QoS during the data transmission. This QoS helps to find the accuracy of the controller decision. In this paper, we have proposed reward based formal model of distributed software defined networks using real time data (SDNR) to compute real time QoS during data transmission. We have separated time based QoS reliability from the other QoS like security and consistency level of network policy and these QoS have been incorporated collectively. We have considered all above three parameters as a reward for distributed SDN. The reliability is an abstraction of QoS parameters like latency, throughput, delay and link utilization which is computed at packet delivery time and captures the motive of other finer QoS parameters. In distributed SDN several controllers updates their data parallel in real time and they share Network Information Base of each other. The synchronization and the time is an important factor in the case of distributed SDN. Extended Time Automata is used to investigate role of reward in data transmission in distributed SDN in real time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Benzylisoquinoline alkaloids (BIAs) are medicinal compounds that are the vital constituents of several pharmaceutical preparations, including vasodilator with papaverine. Though intermediate steps and associated enzymes involved in the biosynthesis of key BIAs of opium poppy have been characterized, very limited information is available for the biosynthesis of papaverine. Through various studies, two metabolic routes utilizing (S)-norcoclaurine as substrate for the biosynthesis of papaverine have been suggested. These two controversial pathways for papaverine biosynthesis (NH and NCH3) include a short-chain dehydrogenase/reductase (SDR) that catalyzes dehydrogenation of tetrahydropapaverine to papaverine. In this work, we have identified and functionally characterized one SDR, PsDeHase, which might participate in the dehydrogenation in the papaverine biosynthesis. The expression analysis and metabolite profiling suggested a correlation between transcript and papaverine content. The PsDeHase expressed abundantly in stem and shared homology with reductases involved in the secondary metabolism. In silico investigation predicted tetrahydropapaverine as the possible substrate that formed a stable complex with PsDeHase. Repression of PsDeHase transcripts in opium poppy plants exposed to VIGS treatment led to a comparable decrease in the accumulation of papaverine. Key message: Using in silico and Virus-Induced Gene Silencing approaches, we demonstrate that PsDeHase, a Short-chain dehydrogenase/reductase, is putatively involved in papaverine biosynthesis in opium poppy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The main requirement to make safer journey in VANET environment is minimum delay with high packet delivery rate. This ensures that all data packets are received with minimal delay to prevent any accident. This paper presents a new algorithm for VANET class routing protocol that covers sparse and coarse region of vehicles. It takes the advantage of road layout to improve the performance of routing in VANETs. The proposed algorithm uses real-time GPS tracking system to obtain traffic information for creating road based paths from source node to destination node. The optimize forwarding is used to figure out the forwarding node along the road pattern that form the path to deliver the data packets. The results shows that proposed algorithm obtain better results considering the various simulation parameters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Failure of electronic components of printed circuit boards (PCBs) is a major concern, especially during storage. In the present study, we analyzed different modes of damages noticed on PCBs stored in coastal atmosphere such as leaking capacitors, white residues and attack around soldered joints. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, and pH measurements of the electrolyte from good and leaked capacitors indicated that the degraded electrolyte can cause capacitor leakage and subsequent failure. Scanning electron microscopy, energy dispersive x-ray analysis and x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy analysis of the white residue on PCB board showed the presence of phosphorus and oxygen as dendrites, formed due to the leaked electrolyte from capacitors on PCB. PCBs in continuous service with capacitor leak and white residue were also characterized. In this PCB, white residue was predominantly consisting of tin, oxygen and chlorine, which was formed due to corrosion of flux residue under high humid conditions. The damage around soldered joints of stored PCB board was found to be due to re-soldering, over heating which caused damage to the conformal coating and subsequent corrosion due to contaminants from flux residues. Based on the analysis of results, the probable mechanisms for the failure of PCBs are evolved, and the consequences for PCBs on prolonged storage and subsequent operation are also discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Software defined networks concept is used to transfer the responsibility of route management from forwarding devices to a centralized control application which is called a controller. The controller is used to decide the congestion-free path between source and destination. In data transfer, channel capacity plays an important role. In many situations channel capacity is below some threshold value which causes congestion and decreases the reliability of the network. Several requests may contact the controller for getting the optimal path. This increases the load at the controller side. The controller decides the path to improve the reliability of the network as well as to maximize the uses of channel capacity in the network. In this paper, we have proposed an algorithm for load balancing. We have considered our network as a graph, the vertices of the graph are switches and the channels of the network are represented as edges and considered the dominance of the channel capacity over server load for deciding the optimal path. We have demonstrated our algorithm using a mathematical example. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Distributed generations (DGs) have been constantly incorporating into the distribution systems. The optimal planning (sizing and sitting) of the DGs by applying harmony search (HS)-based hybrid genetic algorithm integrated adaptive particle swarm optimization (GA-APSO) technique is exhibited in this work. The fitness evolution function has investigated as the multi-objective function (FMO), which depends on the five significant indexes such as active power loss, reactive power loss, total cost generation index, voltage deviation, and load balancing index. The ideal solution has attained by minimizing the multi-objective (MO) fitness function by deploying HS-based GA-PSO strategy. The projected work will be implemented on IEEE standard 33- and 69-bus radial distribution networks. The performance of the suggested algorithm has analyzed dependent on the five measures, such as active and reactive power loss, voltage profile improvement, reduction in voltage deviation, and cost of operation of generation. The legitimacy of the assessed outcomes has affirmed by comparing with some of the notable optimization algorithms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article investigates the effect of tool pin profile on weld zone shape using computational fluid dynamics techniques in friction stir welding process. The effect of tool pin profile on weld zone shape was investigated by four different pin profile tools: Cylindrical, conical, cylindrical-conical and stepped-conical. In the numerical simulation process, workpiece material and tool are considered as non-Newtonian fluids and solid material, respectively. And simulation is carried out under transient state condition. Temperature distribution and material flow profile developed by the tool pin profile are analyzed for the understanding of viscosity profile of the weld zone region. Critical iso-viscosity surface is developed from the viscosity profile to determine the difference between deformed and undeformed material, which is finally used to determine the weld zone shape. The simulation result shows that maximum temperature and material flow velocity are produced by stepped-conical pin profile tool with respect to all other tools. It is observed from the iso-viscosity surface analysis that a vase-shaped geometry developed around the contact region of the tool and workpiece. The weld zone shape produced by stepped-conical pin profile tool is cylinder dominant vase shape, and weld zone shape of all other tools is basin dominant vase shape. Numerical model was also validated with experimental results of temperature distribution and weld zone shape thickness which showed good agreement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

During welding of 316L stainless steel (SS), heat-affected zone (HAZ) is susceptible to sensitisation and fusion zone is susceptible to pitting corrosion in stainless steel welds. High-nitrogen electrodes with 0.045–0.055 wt% C and with different Cr contents were used for welding of prototype fast breeder reactor components. As-welded and thermally aged (823 K for 2 h) weldments of type 316LN SS with different N contents made by arc welding were studied for localised corrosion. ASTM A262 Practice A and E tests and double-loop electrochemical potentiokinetic reactivation studies on as-welded and thermally aged specimens revealed the absence of sensitisation in the HAZ and in fusion zone. However, pitting potential of the weldments was found to vary with the concentration of N + Cr + Mo in fusion zone and found to be lower in the thermally aged samples. The correlation between weld microstructure, alloying elements and pitting corrosion behaviour has been discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]