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Due to numerous shortcomings of the existing automobiles, the future of transportation lies in Electric Vehicles (EVs). For the sustainable existence of EVs, the development of charging infrastruct...

Anatomy of the tendons of the hand is of high clinical importance for plastic and reconstructive surgeons operating on hand and dealing with tendon injuries and hand reconstruction surgery. Among the variations in tendon Anatomy, variants of Flexor Digitorum Superficialis (FDS) and Palmaris longus (PL) are common. Here, we report an 18-year-old male patient, presenting to the emergency department with an alleged history of accidental glass cut injury over the volar aspect of the right wrist. On intraoperative exploration, his FDS of the little finger was hypoplastic and PL was found absent. Clinically, the absence of PL and Hypoplastic FDS to little finger can lead to problems in hand reconstructive surgeries. To the best of our knowledge, this case is the first of its kind where absent PL is associated with hypoplastic and thin FDS of the little finger.

Introduction Microsatellite instability (MSI), referred to as variations at microsatellite loci, at mismatch repair (MMR) genes leads to the formation of an aberrant MMR system that fails to rectify errors occurring during DNA replication. MMR deficiency can be assessed by immunohistochemical analysis of the expression of mismatch repair proteins in the target tissues. Methods We investigated the expression of four key MMR proteins (MLH1, MSH2, MSH6, and PMS2) in formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded (FFPE) tumor and normal tissues obtained from thirty gastric cancer (GC) patients. The association of clinicopathological features with MMR status was also analyzed. Results A total of 12 (40%) GC patients exhibited loss of expression of MMR proteins, including loss of MLH1 and PMS2 in 3 cases and loss of MSH2 and MSH6 in 4 cases. Univariate analysis showed an association of loss of MMR protein expression with moderately differentiated GC. However, there was no statistically significant association between loss of MMR protein expression with gender, tumor location, depth of invasion, lymph node metastasis, WHO classification, lympho-vascular invasion, and infection with H. pylori. Conclusion Our results implicate the role of mismatch repair proteins in gastric tumorigenesis. The MMR protein status is an important aspect of tumorigenesis and can be prescribed for the screening of GC.

The COVID-19 pandemic, caused by the viral pathogen SARS-CoV-2, has taken the lives of millions of individuals around the world. Obesity is associated with adverse COVID-19 outcomes, but the underlying mechanism is unknown. In this report, we demonstrate that human adipose tissue from multiple depots is permissive to SARS-CoV-2 infection and that infection elicits an inflammatory response, including the secretion of known inflammatory mediators of severe COVID-19. We identify two cellular targets of SARS-CoV-2 infection in adipose tissue: mature adipocytes and adipose tissue macrophages. Adipose tissue macrophage infection is largely restricted to a highly inflammatory subpopulation of macrophages, present at baseline, that is further activated in response to SARS-CoV-2 infection. Preadipocytes, while not infected, adopt a proinflammatory phenotype. We further demonstrate that SARS-CoV-2 RNA is detectable in adipocytes in COVID-19 autopsy cases and is associated with an inflammatory infiltrate. Collectively, our findings indicate that adipose tissue supports SARS-CoV-2 infection and pathogenic inflammation and may explain the link between obesity and severe COVID-19.One sentence summaryOur work provides the first in vivo evidence of SARS-CoV-2 infection in human adipose tissue and describes the associated inflammation.

Code smells are indicators of some design flaws in the software code. The evolutionary property of an object-oriented software product increases the number of code smells with every release of a version of the product. These code smells like to hamper the quality of the software system. During software maintenance, it becomes cost and effort-intensive to eliminate such a large number of smells due to time and budget constraints. This demands the prioritization of code smells where the developers are with top severe smells to save time and effort. Before proposing any prioritization approach, it becomes important to Figure out the need for code smell elimination using different refactoring activities. Following this, it is imperative to understand the role of different relevant elements in code smell prioritization. To address this need, this paper highlights the drawbacks of code smells as well as provides an overview of several prioritization-related elements such as factors, subject programs, performance metrics, and detection tools. This would help the researchers in getting a preliminary understanding of various parameters that are crucial for proposing and validating code smell prioritization approaches.

Using face mask bioaerosol sampling, we found substantial variation between individuals in SARS-CoV-2 copies exhaled over a 15-minute period, which moderately correlated with nasal swab viral load. Talking was associated with a median of 2 log10 greater exhaled viral copies. Exposure varies substantially between individuals but may be risk stratified by nasal swab viral load and whether the exposure involved conversation.

Background Although systematic tuberculosis screening in high-risk groups is recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO), implementation in prisons has been limited due to resource constraints. Whether Xpert Ultra sputum pooling could be a sensitive and efficient approach to mass screening in prisons is unknown. Methods In total, 1280 sputum samples were collected from incarcerated individuals in Brazil during mass screening and tested using Xpert G4. We selected samples for mixing in pools of 4, 8, 12, and 16, which were then tested using Ultra. In each pool, a single positive sample of differing Xpert mycobacterial loads was used. Additionally, 10 pools of 16 negative samples each were analyzed as controls. We then simulated tuberculosis screening at prevalences of 0.5–5% and calculated the cost per tuberculosis case detected at different sputum pooling sizes. Results The sensitivity and specificity of sputum pooling were high (sensitivity: 94%; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 88–98; specificity: 100%, 95% CI: 84–100). Sensitivity was greater in pools in which the positive sample had a high mycobacterial load compared to those that were very low (100% vs 88%). In settings with a higher tuberculosis prevalence, pools of 4 and 8 were more efficient than larger pool sizes. Larger pools decreased the costs by 87% at low prevalences, whereas smaller pools led to greater cost savings at higher prevalence at higher prevalences (57%). Conclusions Sputum pooling using Ultra was a sensitive strategy for tuberculosis screening. This approach was more efficient than individual testing across a broad range of simulated tuberculosis prevalence settings and could enable active case finding to be scaled while containing costs.

BackgroundIn healthcare settings in low- and middle-income countries, which frequently rely upon natural ventilation, the risk of aerosol transmission of SARS-CoV-2 remains poorly understood. We aimed to evaluate the risk of exposure to SARS-CoV-2 in naturally-ventilated hospital settings by measuring parameters of ventilation and comparing these findings with results of bioaerosol sampling.MethodsWe measured outdoor and room CO2 to estimate absolute ventilation (liters per second [L/s]) from 9 hospitals in Bangladesh during October 2020 - February 2021. We estimated infectious risk across different spaces using a modified Wells-Riley equation. We collected air samples from these same spaces at 12.5 L/min over 30 minutes and performed RT-qPCR to detect SARS-CoV-2 N-gene. We used multivariable linear regression and calculated elasticity to identify characteristics associated with ventilation.ResultsBased on ventilation of 86 patient care areas and COVID-19 case numbers, we found that over a 40-hour exposure period, outpatient departments posed the highest median risk for infection (5.4%), followed by COVID intensive care units (1.8%). We detected SARS-CoV-2 RNA in 18.6% (16/86) of air samples. Ceiling height and total open area of doors and windows were found to have the greatest impact on ventilation.ConclusionOur findings provide evidence that naturally-ventilated healthcare settings may pose a high risk for exposure to SARS-CoV-2, particularly among non-COVID designated spaces, but improving parameters of ventilation can mitigate this risk.

BackgroundGiven the persistence of viral RNA in clinically recovered COVID-19 patients, subgenomic RNAs (sgRNA) have been reported as potential molecular viability markers for SARS-CoV-2. However, few data are available on their longitudinal kinetics, compared with genomic RNA (gRNA), in clinical samples.MethodsWe analyzed 536 samples from 205 patients with COVID-19 from placebo-controlled, outpatient trials of Peginterferon Lambda-1a (Lambda; n=177) and favipiravir (n=359). Nasal swabs were collected at three time points in the Lambda (Day 1, 4 and 6) and favipiravir (Day 1, 5, and 10) trials. N-gene gRNA and sgRNA were quantified by RT-qPCR. To investigate the decay kinetics in vitro, we measured gRNA and sgRNA in A549ACE2+ cells infected with SARS-CoV-2, following treatment with remdesivir or DMSO control.ResultsAt six days in the Lambda trial and ten days in the favipiravir trial, sgRNA remained detectable in 51.6% (32/62) and 49.5% (51/106) of the samples, respectively. Cycle threshold (Ct) values for gRNA and sgRNA were highly linearly correlated (Pearson’s r=0.87) and the rate of increase did not differ significantly in Lambda (1.36 cycles/day vs 1.36 cycles/day; p = 0.97) or favipiravir (1.03 cycles/day vs 0.94 cycles/day; p=0.26) trials. From samples collected 15-21 days after symptom onset, sgRNA was detectable in 48.1% (40/83) of participants. In SARS-CoV-2 infected A549ACE2+ cells treated with remdesivir, the rate of Ct increase did not differ between gRNA and sgRNA.ConclusionsIn clinical samples and in vitro, sgRNA was highly correlated with gRNA and did not demonstrate different decay patterns to support its application as a viability marker.SummaryWe observed prolonged detection of subgenomic RNA in nasal swabs and equivalent decay rates to genomic RNA in both longitudinal nasal swabs and in remdesivir-treated A549ACE2+ cells infected with SARS-CoV-2. Taken together, these findings suggest that subgenomic RNA from SARS-CoV-2 is comparably stable to genomic RNA and that its detection is therefore not a more reliable indicator of replicating virus.

BackgroundThere is a need to identify scalable tuberculosis screening strategies among high burden populations. The WHO has identified a non-sputum-based triage test as a development priority.MethodsWe performed a diagnostic case-control study of point-of-care C-reactive protein (CRP) and Xpert-MTB-Host-Response (Xpert-MTB-HR) assays in the context of a mass screening program for tuberculosis in two prisons in Brazil. All incarcerated individuals irrespective of symptoms were screened by sputum Xpert-MTB/RIF and sputum culture. Among consecutive, Xpert-MTB/RIF or culture-confirmed cases and Xpert-MTB/RIF and culture-negative controls, CRP was quantified in serum by a point-of-care assay (iChroma-II) and a 3-gene expression score was quantified from whole blood using the Xpert-MTB-HR cartridge. We evaluated receiver operating characteristic area under the curve (AUC) and assessed specificity at 90% sensitivity and sensitivity at 70% specificity, consistent with WHO target product profile (TPP) benchmarks.FindingsTwo hundred controls and 100 culture- or Xpert-positive tuberculosis cases were included. Half of tuberculosis cases and 11% of controls reported any tuberculosis symptoms. AUC for CRP was 0·79 (95% CI: 0·73-0·84) and for Xpert-MTB-HR was 0·84 (95% CI: 0·79-0·89). At 90% sensitivity, Xpert-MTB-HR had significantly higher specificity (53·0%, 95% CI: 45·0-69·0%) than CRP (28·1%, 95% CI: 20·2-41·8%) (p=0·003), both well below the TPP benchmark of 70%. Among individuals with medium or high sputum Xpert semi-quantitative load, sensitivity (at 70% specificity) of CRP (90·3%, 95% CI: 74·2-98·0) and Xpert-MTB-HR (96·8%, 95% CI: 83·3-99·9%) was higher.InterpretationFor active case finding in this high tuberculosis-burden setting, CRP and Xpert-MTB-HR did not meet TPP benchmarks for a triage test. However, Xpert-MTB-HR was highly sensitive in detecting individuals with medium or high sputum bacillary burden.FundingNational Institutes of Health (R01 AI130058 and R01 AI149620) and Brazilian National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq-404182/2019-4).

RationaleStandardized weight-based dose of anti-tubercular drugs contributes to a substantial incidence of toxicities, inadequate treatment response, and relapse, in part due to variable drug levels achieved. Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the N-acetyltransferase-2 (NAT2) gene explain the majority of interindividual pharmacokinetic variability of isoniazid (INH). However, an obstacle to implementing pharmacogenomic-guided dosing is the lack of a point-of-care assay.ObjectivesTo develop and test a NAT2 classification algorithm, validate its performance in predicting isoniazid clearance, and develop a prototype pharmacogenomic assay.MethodsWe trained random forest models to predict NAT2 acetylation genotype from unphased SNP data using a global collection of 8,561 phased genomes. We enrolled 48 pulmonary TB patients, performed sparse pharmacokinetic sampling, and tested the acetylator prediction algorithm accuracy against estimated INH clearance. We then developed a cartridge-based multiplex qPCR assay on the GeneXpert platform and assessed its analytical sensitivity on whole blood samples from healthy individuals.Measurements and Main ResultsWith a 5-SNP model trained on two-thirds of the data (n=5,738), out-of-sample acetylation genotype prediction accuracy on the remaining third (n=2,823) was 100%. Among the 48 TB patients, predicted acetylator types were: 27 (56.2%) slow, 16 (33.3%) intermediate and 5 (10.4%) rapid. INH clearance rates were lowest in predicted slow acetylators (median 19.3 L/hr), moderate in intermediate acetylators (median 41.0 L/hr) and highest in fast acetylators (median 46.7 L/hr). The cartridge-based assay accurately detected all allele patterns directly from 25ul of whole blood.ConclusionsAn automated pharmacogenomic assay on a platform widely used globally for tuberculosis diagnosis could enable personalized dosing of isoniazid.SummaryThis manuscript describes the development and validation of point-of-care multiplex pharmacogenomic assay to guide personalized dosing of isoniazid for treatment or prevention of tuberculosis.

Introduction Worldwide, gastric cancer (GC) is one of the most deadly carcinomas ranking fifth in the order of occurrence and third in mortality. The effective management of GC patients remains poor even with the noticeable advancements in surgical, radio- and chemo-therapeutic approaches. One of the major problems is the failure in early diagnosis of the disease and non-availability of efficient prognostic biomarkers. Identification of key players contributing towards initiation and progression of the disease helps in formulating strategies for the effective treatment of gastric cancer. Recent studies have implicated the dysregulation of heat shock proteins (Hsp) in the occurrence of human malignant tumors, suggesting their potential to be explored as biomarkers in the diagnosis and prognosis of gastric cancer. In here, we aim to summarize information available on implication of dysregulation of Hsp in gastric tumorigenesis and current Hsp based approaches being exploited for the treatment of gastric cancer.

Gastric cancer (GC) remains a serious health issue on a global scale. Molecular markers from genomics, transcriptomics, epigenomics, proteomics, microbiomics, and metabolomics, identified by exploiting different techniques involving NGS, GC-MS, LC-MS, etc., could provide important leads to design personalized treatment. Molecular classification based treatment of GC may also be an important activity to pursue. By accounting all the events of mutational imprints of gastric cancer, better management of the disease can be envisaged by effectively addressing prevention, diagnosis, and prognosis of GC.

Gastric cancer (GC) is a heterogeneous disease and remains one of the leading causes of cancer-related mortalities worldwide. The management of the disease is difficult due to late diagnosis and poor response to available treatment regimes. Currently available gastric cancer biomarkers have serious limitations in their applicability in diagnosis and prognosis of the disease. Therefore, potential biomarkers, particularly with noninvasive assays, are urgently required for the early detection and efficient prediction of therapeutic response and prognosis of gastric cancer. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are a class of small non-coding RNA sequences that play an important role in modulating key biological processes by regulating the expression of target genes. These molecules are abnormally expressed within the tumor tissues and associated biological fluids including blood, gastric juice, and urine of GC patients. Recent experimental findings have led to the identification of a large number of miRNAs implicated in the occurrence and progression of gastric cancer. miRNAs contribute to gastric carcinogenesis by regulating the expression of different oncogenes and tumor suppressor genes involved in cell proliferation, apoptosis, motility, and invasion. Many miRNAs have been found specifically associated with tumor type, tumor stage, and patient survival. Therefore, miRNAs are now being sincerely investigated as a source of potential biomarkers for the effective management of gastric cancer. Availability of such markers will also assist clinicians in designing precision medicine regimes for personalized treatment of the GC patients and provide potential targets for future drug development. This review summarizes the current knowledge about microRNA markers and their applicability in the diagnosis, prognosis, and prediction of treatment response in gastric cancer.

Introduction: In the past, many wash-in schemes have been used with initially high fresh gas flow (FGF) to achieve the necessary alveolar concentration of inhalational agent in 10–15 min. This study was designed to show whether 1-1-12 wash-in scheme proposes an earlier achievement of induction or is there any requirement of high FGF phase to know the time taken for induction with and without nitrous oxide (N2O). Aims: The aim of the study was to find out the time required for the alveolar concentration of desflurane to be from 1% to 6% with and without N2O. Design: It was a potential randomized study which was conducted on sixty patients admitted for elective surgery. Materials and Methods: Two groups of thirty patients each were made and randomly assigned. Group N received desflurane with N2O plus oxygen and Group A received desflurane with air plus oxygen. Statistical Analysis: The observations were noted and evaluated accordingly. Analysis was done using unpaired t-test. Results: Hemodynamic parameters were almost similar in both the groups. In Group N, gradual FAD (Alveolar Desflurane concentration, i.e., end-tidal desflurane) from 1% to 6% was achieved at 0.5, 1, 1.5, 2, 3, and 4 min. In Group A, the same was achieved at 0.6, 1, 1.5, 2, 3, and 4 min (P > 0.05). No significant difference was found between the recuperation time and score in both the groups. Rather complications were more in Group N and statistically significant for nausea and vomiting. Conclusion: Time taken to attain FAD from 1% to 6% was 4 min in both the groups. It is concluded that the recitation of 1-1-12 wash-in scheme is autonomous on the use of N2O and high FGF phase.

Background: Fibroadenoma commonly present as painless breast lump in young girls. Nearly 10-15% regress spontaneously over the period of 6-60 months, rest are managed surgically. Centchroman (Saheli), a novel non-steroidal, selective anti-estrogen has been used for the treatment of mastalgia and its effectiveness in the treatment of fibroadenoma is being tested in the ongoing trials. Methods: A total of 60 patients between 15-35 years of age with painless lump breast of size 2 to 5 centimeters confirmed as fibroadenoma by fine needle aspiration cytology (FNAC) were included in the study. Detailed patient's characteristics, clinical history, physical examination (for size in 2 dimensions), ultrasound findings (for size in 3 dimensions) were assessed. All participants included in the study were given tablet Centchroman (Saheli) 30 mg thrice weekly orally for 3 months. Size of Fibroadenoma was reassessed clinically for size in two dimensions and ultrasonologically for size in three dimensions at 4 weeks and 3 months of starting of therapy.Results: Out of 60 patients, 18 patients (30%) had complete response, 40 patients (66.66%) showed a decrease in the size of fibroadenoma and only 2 patients (3.33%) had no response to this therapy. None showed an increase in size.Conclusions: It may prove to be the most effective modality for the treatment of small sized fibroadenoma breast especially in unmarried girls with minimal side effects. Ultrasonology may be relied upon for follow up measurements since it is more accurate in measuring the dimensions.

Context: Inguinal hernia repair (IHR) is a common surgical procedure which can be performed under general, regional, or peripheral nerve block anesthesia. Aim: The aim of our study was to compare the efficacy of paravertebral block (PVB) with spinal anesthesia (SA) for IHR with respect to postoperative analgesia, ambulation, and adverse effects. Settings and Design: This was a prospective, single-blind randomized controlled trial. Materials and Methods: Sixty American Society of Anesthesiologists Class I–II patients of 20–60 years scheduled for IHR were randomized by a computer-generated list into two groups of thirty each, to receive either PVB (Group PVB: at T12–L2 levels, 10 ml of 0.5% levobupivacaine at each level) or SA (Group SA: at L3–L4/L2–L3 level, 2.5 ml of 0.5% levobupivacaine). Primary outcome was duration of postoperative analgesia and time to reach discharge criteria. Secondary outcome was time to ambulation, time to perform the block, time to surgical anesthesia, total rescue analgesic consumption, adverse effects, hemodynamic changes, patient, and surgeon satisfaction. Statistical Analysis Used: Student's t-test, Chi-square test as applicable, and Statistical Package for Social Sciences (version 14.0, SPSS Inc., Chicago, IL, USA) were used. Results: Time to the first analgesic requirement was 15.17 ± 3.35 h in Group PVB and 4.67 ± 1.03 h in Group SA (P < 0.001). Time to reach the discharge criteria was significantly shorter in Group PVB than Group SA (P < 0.001). Conclusion: PVB is advantageous in terms of prolonged postoperative analgesia and encourages early ambulation compared to SA.

The asymptomatic behaviour of esophageal cancerous cells at early stages develops advanced clinical presentation of the disease, resulting in poor prognosis and curbed intervention of therapeutic modalities. The endeavours to detect diagnostic and prognostic markers have been proven futile at the clinical platform. While several biomarkers have been investigated, including CYFRA 21-1, carcinoembryonic antigen and squamous cell carcinoma antigen, their sensitivity has not proved consistently satisfactory across the various stages of esophageal cancer. Hence, there is an impending requirement of biomarkers for early diagnosis and better prognosis. In the recent past, next generation sequencing (NGS) tool has emerged as an important tool to highlight the hallmarks of esophageal cancer (EC). This review summarizes the changes/mutations occurred in tumor cells during carcinogenesis and addresses the contribution of NGS techniques, viz. whole genome sequencing (WGS), RNA-Sequencing and Exome sequencing (ES), in EC. Additionally, this review highlights the connection between the findings from these techniques. An effort has been made to emphasize the genes affected and involved signaling pathway in EC. Further, investigations of these mutated genes would not only shed light on the relevant genes to be studied but also help in the better management and cure through personalized therapy.

Background: Elective gallbladder surgery is the most common abdominal surgical procedure. Antibiotic prophylaxis is a common conduct in open cholecystectomy, but there is ambiguity about the use of prophylactic antibiotics in laparoscopic cholecystectomy. Some surgeons suggest that the elimination of prophylactic antibiotics in patients undergoing elective laparoscopic cholecystectomy increase the incidence of postoperative infective complications but not to a statistically significant degree. The aim of this study was to evaluate the role of prophylactic antibiotics in laparoscopic cholecystectomy.Methods: A total of 100 patients were included and they were randomized in 2 groups of 50 each. Group A was given prophylactic intravenously (IV) antibiotic within 1 hour before surgery and group B was not given any antibiotics. Results were compared and data analyzed statistically using chi-square and t test. Complications in both the groups were compared.Results: Rate of surgical site infections were 6% (n=3) and 4% (n=2) in group A and B respectively; and the difference between them was not found statistically significant. All infections which occurred in present study were superficial surgical site infection. There was no evidence of deep-seated infections and none of the patients developed distant infection. There was no derangement in any of the biochemical parameter in this study.Conclusions: We were not able to demonstrate any significant benefit from addition of prophylactic antibiotics in elective laparoscopic cholecystectomy.

Energy deficiency and continuous increasing rate of petroleum is a major problem in these days. To overcome these problems renewable energy applications are getting more attention in which solar cells and fuel cells becoming more important. In renewable energy application, high voltage gain and high efficiency de-de boost converters are bigger factors because output of PV arrays and fuel cells are low. Traditional boost converter has some limitations which are examine in renewable energy applications. High voltage gain and high efficiency topologies of de-de boost converter with minimum losses and low cost are covered in this paper. This paper contains the serious concern of high voltage gain and high efficiency de-de boost converters and presents a comparative review of de-de converter topologies given by number of researchers.

Much remains unknown about Mycobacterium tuberculosis transmission. Seminal experimental studies from the 1950s demonstrated that airborne expulsion of droplet nuclei from an infectious tuberculosis (TB) patient is the primary route of transmission. However, these findings did not rule out other routes of M. tuberculosis transmission. We reviewed historical scientific evidence from the late 19th/early 20th century and contemporary studies investigating the presence, persistence and infectiousness of environmental M. tuberculosis. We found both experimental and epidemiological evidence supporting the presence and viability of M. tuberculosis in multiple natural and built environments for months to years, presumably following contamination by a human source. Furthermore, several studies confirm M. tuberculosis viability and virulence in the environment using guinea pig and mouse models. Most of this evidence was historical; however, several recent studies have reported consistent findings of M. tuberculosis detection and viability in the environment using modern methods. Whether M. tuberculosis in environments represents an infectious threat to humans requires further investigation; this may represent an untapped source of data with which to further understand M. tuberculosis transmission. We discuss potential opportunities for harnessing these data to generate new insights into TB transmission in congregate settings.

Rapidly changing technology is playing a very important role in all the spheres of human life. The financial sector is not an exception to it. In the last few years, however, innovations in IT and development of new digital tools and technologies have simplified the way consumers access banking and financial services. Peer-to-peer lending, also known as P2P lending, is one of the emerging financial products which utilises online services for lending without any intermediation of banking institution. P2P lending is a form of private lending which is not a new model; it has been in vogue since centauries. Private lending is a century old practice and initially started out as relatively simple system for the purpose of facilitating loans between individuals but with the passage of the time, with the advent of technology, it has grown into a complex economy of technology and institution. What is so unique about P2P lending is the use of Internet online platform for the lending process. Though P2P lending is in its nascent stage and credit available through it is very small in comparison to total credit disbursed through banking system, this practice has attracted the attention of public significantly across the globe. The main objective of this article is to analyses the evolution, advantages, relevance and challenges faced by P2P lending model in India. Besides, an attempt has been made to suggest few measures for its healthy and sustainable growth in years to come.

Efficient routing is challenging and crucial problem in the irregular mesh NoC topologies because of increasing hardware cost and routing tables. In this paper, the authors propose an efficient deadlock-free routing algorithm for irregular mesh NoCs which reduces the latency and power consumption significantly. The problem with degree priority based routing algorithm is that it cannot remove deadlocks in irregular mesh topologies. Therefore, the authors use the extended Logic Based Distributed Routing (LBDRe) to remove deadlock situations without using any virtual channel in the degree priority based routing algorithm. The proposed LBDRe based technique also removes the dependency on routing tables. The authors further apply odd-Even routing algorithm to LBDRe to ensure that some turns are prohibited to remove deadlocks. Experimental results show that the proposed routing algorithm reduces power consumption by 9–22% and overall average latency by 8–12% with the minimum hardware cost for the irregular mesh NoC topologies.

Background: Several chemotherapeutic agents have been developed to prevent gingivitis and its progression into periodontitis. In this present study, the efficacy of ozonated oil and chlorhexidine gel was assessed and compared on plaque induced gingivitis. Aim: To evaluate the effect of ozonated oil on plaque induced gingivitis and to compare its efficacy with chlorhexidine gel. Materials and Methods: A total of 20 subjects, aged from 18 to 65 years, with plaque-induced gingivitis were selected from the outpatient Department of Periodontology, Government Dental College and Hospital, Aurangabad, for this study. They were divided randomly into the test or ozonated oil group (Group I) and the control or chlorhexidine gel group (Group II) with 10 subjects in each group. Subjects were randomly assigned to massage their gingiva thrice a day for 3 weeks with ozonated oil (test), and chlorhexidine gel (control). Plaque index and gingival index scores were recorded for the 20 subjects at baseline and after 3 weeks. Results: Ozonated oil (Group I) and chlorhexidine gel (Group II) groups showed statistically significant differences with respect to plaque index and gingival index, from the baseline to 3 weeks (P < 0.001 in both). But the difference between Group I and Group II, at the end of the study period, was not statistically significant with respect to the plaque index and gingival index. Conclusions: The ozonated oil and chlorhexidine gel, both can be used as an effective agent in maintaining and improving gingival health.

Along with good academic record, the corporate world also looks for ‘Employability Skills’ in a job aspirant. Despite the fact that the universities are churning out lakhs of graduates every year yet the feedback from the Industry regarding the ‘Employability Skills’ of these job aspirants is quite discouraging.The reason being that all technical and management colleges are characterized by diversity. Students come from different geographical and varied academic backgrounds and hence there is no uniformity in the skill sets that they possess when they take admission in these professional courses. Institutes need to develop the Employability skills of the students in order to make them job ready. | Employability skills also referred as Soft Skills or Transferable Skills are not job specific but they are skills that serve across all jobs in the industry. Communication skills, both oral and written, presentation skills, team work, time management skills, leadership skills, problem solving, critical thinking, analytical ability are some of the important employability skills. The institutions can play a significant role in developing these skills by effectively incorporating them into regular teaching. | This paper aims to identify the important employability skills required by graduates, specifically in India, to be successful at their work place. It also tries to find out how a shift in teaching pedagogy from the lecture method to task based method would help students enhance these employability skills. A study of a pilot group of 50 students was undertaken to find out if the ‘Task based approach’ of teaching would develop the required skills and in turn, help the students perform better in their work environments. Measures have also been suggested to Institutes, curriculum designers and faculty members for successful implementation of task based teaching pedagogy in enhancing the Employability skills of the students.

During last decade, the stalemate in multilateral trade negotiations under the framework of World Trade Organization (WTO) regime has provided impetus to the signing of regional trade agreements world over .South Asia is not an exception to this trend and has been involved in setting up its own bilateral and Regional Trade Agreements (RTAs). Most commonly cited cooperation agreements are Agreement on Trade and Commerce between India and Bhutan(1972), India-Nepal Bilateral Trade and Transit Treaties(1991), India–Sri Lanka Bilateral Free Trade Area(1998) Bangkok Agreement (1975), Bangladesh, India, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Thailand Economic Cooperation (BIMST-EC-2004) and the Indian Ocean Rim Association of Regional Cooperation (IOR-ARC-1997). One of the most significant steps towards regional economic cooperation in the history of South Asian countries, was taken with signing of The South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) formed in 1985 with the objective of exploiting “accelerated economic growth, social progress and cultural development in the region” for the welfare of the peoples of South Asia. And then seven South Asian countries—Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, the Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka—initiated a framework for region-wide integration under the South Asian Preferential Trade Agreement (SAPTA) in 1995. In order to further cement the regional economic relations and overcome some impediments of SAPTA, the South Asia Free Trade Agreement (SAFTA) was signed in early 2004, which came into force on 1st July 2006. The SAFTA is a parallel initiative to the multilateral trade liberalization commitments of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) member countries. SAFTA aims to reduce tariffs for intraregional trade among the seven SAARC member countries. It has been agreed that for the South Asian countries, Pakistan and India will eliminate all tariffs by 2012, Sri Lanka by 2013 and Bangladesh, Bhutan, Maldives and Nepal by 2015. The current paper is an attempt in assessing the potential trade in the region with latest dataset with Gravity model approach.

Agricultural growth depends primarily on two main factors - institutional factors and technical factors. Institutional reforms or factors include land reform, tenancy  reforms and  institutional  credit reforms etc.  Technical factors emphasize  using agricultural inputs like high yielding variety seeds, fertilizers and mechanization of agriculture. As far as the mechanization of agriculture is concerned, tractor is one of the most important equipments used for farming. Major manufacturers of the tractors in India are – Eicher , Escorts, Ford, Indo Farm, HMT, Mahindra & Mahindrara, New Holland, Punjab Tractors , Sonalika, Tafe etc.The following table is showing the size of the tractor industry in India

Banking in India is mature in terms of supply, product range and reach-even in rural India through rural banking and remote banking. In terms of quality of assets and capital adequacy, Indian banks are considered to have clean, strong and transparent balance sheets. The present research work analyses the overall financial performance of major private sector banks in India through application of CAMEL Model. Besides it also attempts to compare the performance of these Banks with the help of Composite Ranking Method.

Aim: Evaluation of the prevalence and distribution of bone defects associated with chronic periodontitis using cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT). Materials and Methods: CBCT of 100 patients diagnosed with generalized chronic periodontitis was evaluated for the prevalence and distribution of bone defects based on age groups ( 50 years), jaw segments, and gender. Results: The prevalence and distribution of bone defects associated with different age groups, jaw segments, and gender was evaluated. Out of 2484 teeth which were examined, 2064 teeth were having bone defect; therefore, the prevalence of bone defects was 83.1%. The degree of bone loss was 57.8% in males and 42.2% in females. Severity of bone defects increases with age. The study showed that bone defects were more in maxillary arch than mandibular and more in posterior segments than the anterior segments. Conclusion: CBCT can assess early detection of periodontal disease, thereby applying all primary preventive measures for periodontal disease. It gives a clear understanding of the morphology of alveolar bone loss in chronic periodontitis patients which helps design appropriate regenerative periodontal therapy, thereby preventing tooth mobility and tooth loss. Clinical Relevance to Interdisciplinary Dentistry It is necessary to study the prevalence and distributions of different bone defects by localization as variation in the occurrences of defects is present in the same mouth. It may also provide the clues in determining the pathology behind the particular pattern of occurrences of defects in different segments. according to literatue, as CBCT is accurate as clinical measurement, it can be used for evaluating prevalence and distribution of bone defects

Background Arthritis refers to inflammation of joints and includes common disorders such as rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and spondyloarthropathies (SpAs). These diseases differ mainly in terms of their clinical manifestations and the underlying pathogenesis. Glycoproteins in synovial fluid might reflect the disease activity status in the joints affected by arthritis; yet they have not been systematically studied previously. Although markers have been described for assisting in the diagnosis of RA, there are currently no known biomarkers for SpA. Materials and methods We sought to determine the relative abundance of glycoproteins in RA and SpA by lectin affinity chromatography coupled to iTRAQ labeling and LC-MS/MS analysis. We also used ELISA to validate the overexpression of VCAM-1, one of the candidate proteins identified in this study, in synovial fluid from RA patients. Results and discussion We identified proteins that were previously reported to be overexpressed in RA including metalloproteinase inhibitor 1 (TIMP1), myeloperoxidase (MPO) and several S100 proteins. In addition, we discovered several novel candidates that were overexpressed in SpA including Apolipoproteins C-II and C-III and the SUN domain-containing protein 3 (SUN3). Novel molecules found overexpressed in RA included extracellular matrix protein 1 (ECM1) and lumican (LUM). We validated one of the candidate biomarkers, vascular cell adhesion molecule 1 (VCAM1), in 20 RA and SpA samples using ELISA and confirmed its overexpression in RA (p-value

Background Purified protein derivative (PPD) has been used for more than half a century as an antigen for the diagnosis of tuberculosis infection based on delayed type hypersensitivity. Although designated as “purified,” in reality, the composition of PPD is highly complex and remains ill-defined. In this report, high resolution mass spectrometry was applied to understand the complexity of its constituent components. A comparative proteomic analysis of various PPD preparations and their functional characterization is likely to help in short-listing the relevant antigens required to prepare a less complex and more potent reagent for diagnostic purposes. Results Proteomic analysis of Connaught Tuberculin 68 (PPD-CT68), a tuberculin preparation generated from M. tuberculosis, was carried out in this study. PPD-CT68 is the protein component of a commercially available tuberculin preparation, Tubersol, which is used for tuberculin skin testing. Using a high resolution LTQ-Orbitrap Velos mass spectrometer, we identified 265 different proteins. The identified proteins were compared with those identified from PPD M. bovis, PPD M. avium and PPD-S2 from previous mass spectrometry-based studies. In all, 142 proteins were found to be shared between PPD-CT68 and PPD-S2 preparations. Out of the 354 proteins from M. tuberculosis–derived PPDs (i.e. proteins in either PPD-CT68 or PPD-S2), 37 proteins were found to be shared with M. avium PPD and 80 were shared with M. bovis PPD. Alignment of PPD-CT68 proteins with proteins encoded by 24 lung infecting bacteria revealed a number of similar proteins (206 bacterial proteins shared epitopes with 47 PPD-CT68 proteins), which could potentially be involved in causing cross-reactivity. The data have been deposited to the ProteomeXchange with identifier PXD000377. Conclusions Proteomic and bioinformatics analysis of different PPD preparations revealed commonly and differentially represented proteins. This information could help in delineating the relevant antigens represented in various PPDs, which could further lead to development of a lesser complex and better defined skin test antigen with a higher specificity and sensitivity.