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Mg0.5−xZnxCo0.5Fe2O4 with ferrites were substituted with Zn2+ with concentrations x = 0.0, 0.05, 0.1, 0.15, 0.2, and 0.25 prepared from a sol–gel auto-combustion method. The impact of Zn2+ ion substitution on morphological, structural, DC electrical resistivity, and magnetic characteristics was examined. The diffraction analysis with X-ray reveals that the prepared ferrites are spinel with a single-phase face-centred cubic structure. The cubic crystal structure samples’ values for the crystallite size (42 to 25 nm) and lattice constant (8.386 to 8.425 Å) increased as the concentration increased. Field-effect scanning electron microscopy revealed the ferrite samples’ polycrystalline structures and spherical morphologies. Using FESEM micrographs, the average grain size was between 56.4 and 85.7 nm. Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy was used to identify two different peaks that emerged at around 585–592 cm−1 and 401–405 cm−1. These peaks revealed information on the functional groups of the sample chemicals. Temperature-dependent DC electrical resistivity shows the semiconductors’ nature samples. The vibrating sample magnetometer analysis shows that the ferrites are soft ferrimagnetic. The saturation magnetisation was increased (60.45 to 85.04 emu/g), and coercivity was decreased (356.46 to 620.59 Oe) when the concentration was increased. The study unveiled tuned values of the physical characteristics, thereby highlighting potential applications in recent technologies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: The aim of the proposed work is to predict the performance of an Artificial Neural Network (ANN) algorithm in detection of vehicle quality performance based on Features customization and differentiators by comparing it with the Digraph algorithm. Materials and Methods:The proposed ANN is trained and tested with a "Novel Car Evaluation Database" created by Marko Bohanec. With correct quality 826 samples and inaccurate quality 826 samples in two groups with a total sample size of 1652. Training data [75% of dataset] and testing data set [25% of data set] are separated from the obtained samples. The samples are calculated using G power analysis using clincalc, which includes two groups: alpha (0.05), power (80%). There is a statistically significant difference between the groups with p=0.04 Results: The proposed ANN algorithm provided better results in predicting the quality of novel car evaluation compared to the Digraph approach. Conclusion: For the given data set, from the results it is found that the ANN algorithm is significantly more suitable for recognition of better car quality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent Years Have Seen Employee Engagement Become A Hot Topic. Despite This, The Topic Is Still A Hot One. There Is Not Enough Academic Literature And Little Information About How Management Can Influence Employee Engagement. The Lack Of A Common Definition Of Employee Involvement Is One Of The Major Challenges In Today's Field Of Employee Engagement. Kahn, One The Pioneers Of The Field Of Employee Involvement, Defines Employee Engagement As "Harnessing The Organization Members." Employee Engagement Is The Level Of Commitment That Employees Have, Both Emotionally And Intellectually, To The Organization's Mission And Work. An Employee's Engagement Can Be Described As A Higher Level Of Ownership, Where They Want To Do Their Best For Their Customers And Internal Customers. Engagement Is Not A Passing Trend. It Has Clear Business Benefits. Engagement Can Be Seen As A Competitive Advantage. It Is Difficult To Raise Engagement Levels And Maintain Them. This Is Why It Takes Effort And Commitment. Positive Engagement Statements Show A Positive Attitude And Pride In The Company's Products. Bad Experiences Can Be Prevented And Minimized By Organizations. They Must Also Ensure That Employees' Needs, Including Those Of Professionals, Are Met. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Involuntary displacement from one’s land and habitat carries with it the risk of the migrant becoming poorer than before displacement, since a significant number of migrants do not receive adequate compensation for loss of their assets nor effective assistance to re-establish them and make them productive. Unless the local government puts special attention to proper rehabilitation and resettlement of displaced families, especially tribes, they will continue to be victims of such programs and be drawn into pathetic situations. In this backdrop, the present study has made an attempt to find out the impact of involuntary displacement and rehabilitation of Indira Sagar Project on the tribal community in the State of Andhra Pradesh. An ethnographic method has been adopted to carry out this study. The fieldwork of research was conducted in December 2015. To collect primary data anthropological tools and techniques were used to study the various aspects of displacement, and rehabilitation. Secondary data has been collected from books, articles, reports and available literature. The study finds that the impact of dam-induced displacement and resettlement brought change among the families resettled in the rehabilitation colony. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Falls are being acknowledged as having far reaching consequences for the quality of life of the aged; yet there are not many studies conducted in India. This paper attempts to provide some insights on the effects of falls on the life of the elderly and also for the caregivers. Objective: The broad objective of the study is to understand the effects of falls among the elderly population. It helps in interpreting the causes and the effect of falls in the future life of the elderly people. It ultimately sheds some light on how the falls of the elderly affect the life of their caregivers as well. Methods: Qualitative research was carried out in Thrissur district of Kerala among those who experienced falls between the time period of January 2015 to January 2016. The data was collected in the month of May 2016. In-depth interviews with victims of falls and their care givers were conducted. Key informant interviews were also used as a method for collecting data. Results: The findings of the study revealed that age was a major risk factor in falls. Other risk factors such as history of falls and non-communicable diseases also played a significant role in contributing to falls among the elderly. As a result of falls, majority of the respondents opted for treatment in private hospitals which ultimately resulted in high healthcare expenditure. Restriction of activities among majority of the respondents were reported as a consequence of falls, which resulted in change in attitude of the elderly people, mostly leading to loss of confidence along with an increase in fear of fall. The caregivers were mainly involved in assisting the elderly in their routine activities. There was a constant need of support and assistance for the elderly for performing their activities which to some extent was burdensome to the caregivers. Conclusions: Falls among the elderly are resulting in people getting affected not only physically but psychologically as well. The ultimate consequence is more social withdrawal and less activities resulting in a change in attitude of the elderly. The health awareness among the people of Kerala also results in people seeking quality treatment which most of them considers, is available in private hospitals. This ultimately results in increased healthcare expenditure which turns out to be a burden on the productive population especially in a scenario where majority of the elderly is remaining uninsured. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Intraperitoneal instillations of local anaesthetic agents alone or in combination dexmedetomidine have been found to reduce post-operative pain following laparoscopic cholecystectomy. Aim: Comparing antinociceptive effects of intraperitoneal instillation of bupivacaine plain and bupivacaine with dexmedetomidine in patients undergoing laparoscopic cholecystectomy. Materials and methods: Study was conducted on 100 adult patients of ASA physical status 1 and 2 in the age group of 18 years to 60 years, posted for elective laparoscopic cholecystectomy under general anaesthesia. Patients were randomly divided on an alternate basis into two groups of 50 each. Group B: (n=50) patients received Intraperitoneal bupivacaine 50 ml 0.25% + 5 ml normal saline. Group DB: (n=50) Intraperitoneal bupivacaine 50 ml 0.25% + dexmedetomidine 1 μg/kg with normal saline 5 ml. Results: Mean pain scores were significantly lower in the group BD when compared to group B during the entire duration of the study. There was statistically significant difference in VAS pain score at 6, 8, 12, 18, 24 hours after surgery. Mean pain scores were significantly lower in the group BD when compared to group B during the entire duration of the study. There was statistically significant difference in VAS pain score at 6, 8, 12, 18, 24 hours after surgery. There was statistically significant difference between two groups of patients in terms of heart rate, systolic and diastolic blood pressure from 1 hour to 12 hours. 4 patients (8%) of group B and only 5 (10%) patients of groups B + D had postoperative nausea/vomiting, and 7 (14%) patients of group B and 2 (4%) patients of groups B+D had postoperative shoulder pain. Conclusion: Intraperitoneal instillation of dexmedetomidine with bupivacaine prolongs the duration of postoperative analgesia as compared to that with bupivacaine alone. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present paper describes a sensitive, precise and accurate HPLC method with UV detection for the quantification of metoprolol succinate in bulk and tablet formulation. Separations were carried out on Inertsil ODS-2 analytical column (150 mm × 4.6 mm, 5 μ particle size). An isocratic elution system was developed using ammonium acetate buffer: acetonitrile: acetic acid [84:15:1 v/v/v]. The pH of the mobile was adjusted to 3.8 with orthophosphoric acid. The elution of the analyte was achieved with a flow rate of 1.0 ml/min. Detection was by UV absorbance at a wavelength of 280 nm. The detector response was linear in the concentration of 10-50 μg/ml (R2 = 0.9997) metoprolol succinate. The limit of detection and limit of quantitation values were found to be 0.0189 μg/ml and 0.0630 μg/ml, respectively. The method was validated following ICH guidelines. All the parameters of validation were found in the acceptance range. The method was successfully applied to the assay of metoprolol succinate in tablets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Remedial writing instruction is part of a larger basic skills academic re-education program focused on students who did not benefit from conventional strategies or procedures. The present study uses an exploratory-cum-one shot pre-test post-test non-experimental design comprising of non-equivalent groups for initial development and try-out of a need based remedial instruction program on 17 students from 5 government schools randomly identified as falling below a set cut-off score on a criterion referenced Tamil writing assessment device. The 12-week teaching program spread across 36 sessions of 45-minute duration each for 3 days a week, was carried out using an assortment of individual as well as small group based strategies, techniques and activities drawn from several sources, but based on a discernible 4-tier interventional model. It involved (i) direct skills based instruction on identified individual skill deficits; (ii) teaching the generic structure, semantics, grammar and organization of writing; (iii) promoting self management strategies for writing; and, (iv) use of technology-assisted procedures for writing. Results indicate the possibility of developing a comprehensive remedial teaching package program for improving Tamil writing in primary school children and demonstrates significant gains between their pre to post test writing scores (p: <0.001). Admittedly, the rather inferior research design used in this study precludes sufficient external validity and wide spread applications of the results in classroom settings across the country. Nonetheless, it paves the way for a need to undertake more intensive, highly focused and case-controlled studies on writing intervention strategies on several other Indian languages for benefit of such students in our country. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Diabetic nephropathy (DN) is a chronic hyperglycemic manifestation of microvascular damage in the kidneys. Widespread research in this area suggests the involvement of perturbed redox homeostasis and autophagy in renal cells phrase- promote the progression of DN., Materials and Methods: Reframed sentences-The present study investigates the pharmacological effect of Syringic acid (SYA), in streptozotocin (STZ, 55 mg/kg, i.p) induced diabetic nephropathy model and in high glucose (30 mM) challenged rat renal epithelial cells (NRK 52E) cells with a focus on oxidative stress and autophagy mechanisms., Results: Both in vivo and in vitro experimental data revealed elevated oxidative stress markers along with compromised levels of nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 (Nrf2), a pivotal cellular redox-regulated transcription factor in renal cells upon glycemic stress. Elevated blood glucose also reduced the autophagy process as indicated by low expression of light chain (LC) 3-IIB in diabetic kidney and in NRK 52E cells subjected to excess glucose. SYA (25 and 50 mg/kg, p.o.) administration for 4 weeks to diabetic rats, Reframed sentence-preserved the renal function as evidenced by reduced serum creatinine levels as well as improved urine creatinine and urea levles as compared to non treated diabetic animals. At the molecular level, SYA improved renal expression of Nrf2 and autophagy-related proteins (Atg5, Atg3, and Atg7) in diabetic rats. Similarly, SYA (10 and 20 μM) co-treatment in high glucose-treated NRK 52E cells displayed increased levels of Nrf2 and autophagy induction., Conclusion: Results from this study signify the renoprotective effect of SYA and highlight the modulation of oxidative stress and autophagy mechanisms to mitigate diabetic kidney disease., Competing Interests: None

Background: Workplace hygiene is vital in controlling infectious diseases in industries. The factors like unhealthy environment, unhygienic workplace, and contact between healthy and disease-affected employees cause industrial hazards in workplaces., Objectives: This study assessed various components of workplace hygiene among industrial workers., Materials and Methods: A quantitative survey has been conducted in a steel, and power industry limited in Odisha. The study surveyed 425 male contractual workers for primary data on workplace hygiene. Probability proportion to sample technique adopted for justification of the sample. The univariate and bivariate analysis models have been done according to the study's objective., Results: Nearly 92% of respondents reported proper use of washing facilities, and 97% used toilet and urinal appropriately. One-fourth of respondents use personal disinfected clothing, and 92.2% have access to safe drinking water. The factors such as education, technical education, and occupation are significantly associated with respondents' use of washing facilities, dining hall, personal protective clothing, safe drinking water, proper cleaning, and sanitation at the workplace., Conclusion: Workplace hygiene strengthens the safety measures at the workplace and reduces the incidences of occupational hazards., Competing Interests: There are no conflicts of interest., (Copyright: © 2022 Indian Journal of Community Medicine.)

High-throughput screening (HTS) involves testing of compound libraries against validated drug targets using quantitative bioassays to identify 'hit' molecules that modulate the activity of target, which forms the starting point of a drug discovery effort. Eicosanoids formed via cyclooxygenase (COX) and lipoxygenase (LOX) pathways are major players in various inflammatory disorders. As the conventional non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) that inhibit both the constitutive (COX-1) and the inducible (COX-2) isoforms have gastric and renal side effects and the recently developed COX-2 selective anti-inflammatory drugs (COXIBs) have cardiac side effects, efforts are being made to develop more potent and safer antiinflammatory drugs. Current assay methods for these enzymes, such as oxygraphic, radioisotopic, spectrophotometric etc. are not compatible for screening of large number of compounds as in drug discovery programs. In the present study, HTS-compatible assays for COX-1, COX-2 and 5-LOX were developed for screening of compound libraries with the view to identify potential anti-inflammatory drug candidates. A spectrophotometric assay involving co-oxidation of tetramethyl-p-phenylene diamine (TMPD) during the reduction of prostaglandin G2 (PGG2) to PGH2 was adopted and standardized for screening of compounds against COX-1 and COX-2. Similarly, the HTS-compatible FOX (ferrous oxidation-xylenol orange) based spectrophotometric assay involving the formation of Fe3+/xylenol orange complex showing absorption in the visible range was developed for screening of compounds against 5-LOX.

Stress can be viewed as a cause of adverse circumstance that induces a wide range of biochemical and behavioral changes. Oxidative stress is a major contributor to the genesis of neurodegenerative and neuropsychiatric problems. In the present study, we investigated the protective effect of alprazolam in acute immobilization-induced various behavioral and biochemical alteration in mice. Mice were immobilized for a period of 6 h. Alprazolam (0.25 and 0.5 mg/kg, i.p.) was administered 30 min before subjecting the animals to acute stress and several behavioral (mirror chamber, actophotometer, tail flick test) and biochemical tests (malondialdehyde level, glutathione, catalase, nitrite and protein) were performed. Acute immobilization stress for a period of 6 h caused severe anxiety, analgesia and decreased locomotor activity in mice. Biochemical analyses revealed an increase in malondialdehyde, nitrite level and depleted glutathione and catalase activity in stressed brain. Pretreatment with alprazolam (0.25 and 0.5 mg/kg, i.p.) significantly reversed immobilization stress-induced anxiety, analgesia and impaired locomotor activity. Biochemically, alprazolam pretreatment decreased malondialdehyde, nitrite activity and restored reduced glutathione level and catalase activity. These results suggest that alprazolam has a neuroprotective effect and can be used in the treatment and management of stress and related disorders.