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Objectives: This study aimed to compare the efficacy of yoga combined with an integrated multimodal approach on the incidence and severity of post-mastectomy pain syndrome (PMPS) and the role of miR-133B expressions in patients undergoing breast cancer surgery. Methods: With approval from the institutional ethics committee and informed consent obtained from each participant, forty patients of ASA grade I - II, aged 20 - 65 years, undergoing breast cancer surgery were included. Patients received a thoracic paravertebral block for up to 72 hours and pregabalin until the end of the fourth postoperative week. Patients were randomly allocated into two groups: "Control" and "yoga." Patients in the Yoga group practiced the yogic exercise "Anulom-vilom" from the third day until the 90th day postoperatively. The delta-CT of miRNA-133B expression of genes on the 90th postoperative day was compared to the baseline, along with various pain intensity and quality of life parameters. Results: In the Yoga group, a significant up-regulation in miR-133B expression was observed on days 30 and 90 postoperatively. Patients with PMPS in the Yoga group showed a decreased ΔCT of miR-133B, indicating an up-regulation of gene expression, compared to the control group. A lower incidence of PMPS (10% vs. 30%) was observed in the experimental group, along with a significant enhancement of quality of life in post-mastectomy patients and decreased mean Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) pain scores, Pain Detect Questionnaire (PDQ) ، and Neuropathic Pain Symptom Inventory (NPSI) scores in the Yoga group; however, these were not statistically significant. Conclusions: The study demonstrated the feasibility of integrating yoga with a multimodal pain management approach and highlighted the role of miR-133B in the pathogenesis of PMPS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Leprosy, a leading cause of disability, remains endemic in southern Nepal. Alongside physical impairment and stigmatization, many people affected by leprosy suffer from mental health problems. Objectives This study had two objectives: (a) Establishing a baseline level of mental wellbeing and depression among people affected by leprosy in southern Nepal, and (b) Examining factors that influence mental wellbeing and depression in this target group. Methods A cross-sectional survey was conducted using three interview-administered questionnaires measuring level of depression (PHQ-9), mental wellbeing status (WEMWBS) and level of stigma (5-QSI-AP). Random clustering sampling was used to include leprosy-affected people from Self Help Groups (SHGs) and the reference group was matched based on socio-demographic characteristics. All participants were adults with no additional major morbidities. A sample of 142 persons affected by leprosy and 54 community controls were included. Results People affected by leprosy participating in SHGs had a significantly lower level of mental wellbeing and higher level of depression than the general population. Both mental wellbeing and depression were influenced by gender and the level of stigma. In addition, the level of depression was associated with the disability grade of leprosy-affected people. Conclusion Leprosy-affected people need mental health-care interventions at different organizational levels, with attention to identifying individuals at increased risk for mental health problems or with additional needs. These findings highlight the demand for further research on specific interventions to improve the mental health of leprosy-affected people.

Pre-treatment of biomass is a necessary step for delignification as well as an unavoidable step in the journey of biomass to biofuel. Apart from delignification, defragmentation and partial depolymerization of biomass are two other additional useful steps in the overall process of pre-treatment. Ultimately these three steps together make the downstream enzymatic hydrolysis process more effective in producing optimum total reducing sugar. Several different pre-treatment technologies are available to delignify various types of biomasses with each of them being unique concerning specific advantages and disadvantages, characteristics of its own. However, different pre-treatment methods, in combination, have been found beneficial with higher delignification efficiency in comparison to a single pre-treatment method, implemented on its own. Apart from physical pre-treatment procedures like milling, grinding, steam explosion, etc., pre-treatment methods can be divided, roughly, into three groups: biological pre-treatment, physical pre-treatment and chemical pre-treatment. Chemical pre-treatments always arrest significantly higher attention due to their effectiveness and minimum treatment time required. In this review, a thorough discussion of various chemical and biological pre-treatment technologies, along with their efficacy and effective outcomes, have been discussed in order to understand their impacts on bioenergy industries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In neutron star merger events, the occurrence of rapid neutron capture process (r-process) has been established. About half of the elements beyond iron are synthesised in stars by r-process. In stellar environments, very high neutron flux in a short time (∼ a few seconds) can be attained, leading to the creation of progressively neutron-rich nuclei until the waiting point is reached. At this point, further neutron capture reactions cannot happen and highly neutron-rich nuclei become stable via β - decay. A detailed understanding of the r-process remains illusive. In the present work, the theoretical predictions of radiative neutron capture (n, γ ) cross-sections of astrophysical importance and the reaction rates using the Hauser–Feshbach statistical model formalism have been investigated for Fe, Co, Ni, Cu, Zn, Ga, Ge, As and Se isotopes (around the first r-process peak near mass = 80 ). These calculations have been compared with the JINA REACLIB reaction rates. The inherent uncertainties remain large in neutron-rich nuclei. When there is low-energy enhancement, a significant increase in the reaction rate occurs for neutron capture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]