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This study aims to comprehend the use of Environmental Socio-scientific issues (ESSI) contexts in science education. This qualitative study has used systematic literature review techniques to answer the research questions. The review comprised 61 studies. The research questions focused on the type of methodology used, nature of studies and participants, skills developed through ESSIs, issues taught as ESSI, geographical spread and implication mentioned for student learning, teacher preparation, and suggestions for curriculum. Findings claim that qualitative methods are mainly used; argumentation and decision-making are the most targeted skills. Climate change, followed by nuclear power, is the most reported ESSI. Further, the United States of America and Turkey are the two leading countries where most of the research in this field has occurred, while South Asian countries and the African continent lag. The influence of cultural values in understanding such issues by students, teaching the integration of local socioscientific issues (SSIs) in lesson plans to pre-service and in-service teachers, and evaluation of science textbook curriculum on the frameworks of scientific literacy are some of the unexplored aspects in the domain.

Purpose: The aim of the study was to evaluate and compare the effects of Rhythmic Stabilization and a combination of isotonic technique on grip strength, pinch strength, and dexterity of hand among middle aged healthy individuals. Methods Forty middle aged healthy individuals were selected on the basis of inclusion and exclusion criteria. Participants were randomly allocated to two groups, with 20 in group A (Rhythmic Stabilization) and 20 in group B (Combination of Isotonic Technique). Treatment was given for 4 weeks, thrice a week. Outcome measures: grip strength, pinch strength, and dexterity were assessed by the Jamar hand dynamometer, the Pinch gauge, and the Perdue peg board, respectively. Outcome measures were assessed at baseline and after 4 weeks of treatment. Results Notably, Group A participants showed a significant improvement in all outcome measures compared to Group B (p

Cancer is a leading cause of mortality worldwide, and conventional cancer therapies such as chemotherapy and radiotherapy often result in undesirable and adverse effects. Natural products have emerged as a promising alternative for cancer treatment, with comparatively fewer side effects reported. Opuntia ficus-indica (L.) Mill., a member of the Cactaceae family, contains a diverse array of phytochemicals, including flavonoids, polyphenols, betalains, and tannins, which have been shown to exhibit potent anticancer properties. Various parts of the Opuntia plant, including the fruits, stems/cladodes, and roots, have demonstrated cytotoxic effects against malignant cell lines in numerous studies. This review comprehensively summarizes the anticancer attributes of the phytochemicals found in Opuntia ficus-indica (L.) Mill., highlighting their potential as natural cancer prevention and treatment agents. Bibliometric metric analysis of PubMed and Scopus-retrieved data using VOSviewer as well as QDA analysis provide further insights and niche to be explored. Most anticancer studies on Opuntia ficus-indica and its purified metabolites are related to colorectal/colon cancer, followed by melanoma and breast cancer. Very little attention has been paid to leukemia, thyroid, endometrial, liver, and prostate cancer, and it could be considered an opportunity for researchers to explore O. ficus-indica and its metabolites against these cancers. The most notable mechanisms expressed and validated in those studies are apoptosis, cell cycle arrest (G0/G1 and G2/M), Bcl-2 modulation, antiproliferative, oxidative stress-mediated mechanisms, and cytochrome c. We have also observed that cladodes and fruits of O. ficus-indica have been more studied than other plant parts, which again opens the opportunity for the researchers to explore. Further, cell line-based studies dominated, and very few studies were related to animal-based experiments. The Zebrafish model is another platform to explore. However, it seems like more in-depth studies are required to ascertain clinical utility of this biosustainable resource O. ficus-indica.

Purpose: This paper intends to contemplate the evolution and growth of green intellectual capital over the period 2008 to 2022, consequences of green intellectual capital, its sectoral classification, current trends and future scope of research. Design/Methodology/Approach: For a better understanding of this concept, a systematically arranged review was performed following PRISMA framework. For this, data has been extracted from Scopus and Web of Science databases. Collected data were confined on the basis of inclusion and exclusion criteria. The paper was sectioned into two types of analysis: bibliometric analysis and content analysis. Findings: Results highlighted that green intellectual capital has important meanings in influencing organisational performance, namely economic, social and financial performance. Findings also deduced that researchers were mainly focused on the manufacturing sector. Practical implications: This study will provide useful insights to researchers, practitioners, managers and policymakers. Findings suggest intangible resource-green intellectual capital should be managed efficaciously which will provide competitive benefits and also contribute to undertakings’ financial, social and environmental performance. Originality/value: The existing literature needs to be apprehended and streamlined for enabling synergy in deciphering its explicit outcomes. Also, there are only a few studies focusing on this construct and on its systematic literature review.

In this study, an attempt is made to investigate how the operational parameters such as capacitance, voltage, feed rate, and rotating speed affect the material removal rate, tool wear, overcut, and taper angle for micro-EDM drilling of aluminium 6061 utilizing brass C360 electrode. A novel Taguchi-GRA-CRITIC hybrid optimization methodology is used to obtain the optimal combination of micro-EDM drilling process parameters. The experiment was designed using the Taguchi L18 orthogonal array, and responses were recorded for each experiment. Grey Relational Analysis (GRA) is applied to improve the multi-response of the planned experiment. The weighting values corresponding to various responses are determined using CRITIC (criterion importance through intercriteria correlation) analysis. The hybrid methodology determines the best combination of process parameters for different responses. ANOVA was used to discover the most critical parameters. Finally, confirmation experiments were conducted with optimal parameters to identify improvement in grey relational grade over the initial parameters. The study's findings indicate that, compared to the initial process parameter setting, the grey relational grade (GRG) increased by 92.36% with the optimal parameter setting.

Background and Aim: Two-point discrimination (TPD) is a useful test for assessing cutaneous sensation. Sensory testing devices for testing TPD values have shown to be valid and reliable in the measurement of the functional sensitivity of the hand and its relativity to touch perception. Evaluation of TPD in the lower extremities is debatable because of dearth of information available in the literature about normative values. The aim of this study is to identify the normative values of TPD of lower limb dermatomes in young, healthy individuals and analyze its relationship with body mass index (BMI) and gender. Materials and Methods: A total of 150 participants of the age group 18–25 undergoing graduation program were included in this study. They underwent TPD test for lower limb (L1 to S2) dermatomes, using a baseline esthesiometer. The Spearman's ratio test was used to find the relationship between BMI and TPD values. The Mann–Whitney U-test was used to compare TPD values according to gender. Results: The normative value ranged from 1.46 ± 1.27 to 2.61 ± 1.45 in lower limb dermatomes. The minimum value noted was at the S1 dermatome (left) and the maximum at the L2 dermatome (left). In the sidewise analysis of TPD, the median values of both sides were approximately the same. There was a definite correlation (P < 0.05) between female gender and TPD; however, there was no significant correlation between BMI and TPD. Conclusion: This study suggested that women are more perceptive in appreciating TPD values than men. Moreover, TPD values do not vary according to BMI or right and left sides.

PURPOSE: Stroke lies among the most disabling diseases and is world-wide a leading cause of death. Most of the stroke patients experience cognitive deficits associated with executive dysfunction (decision making, problem solving, working memory, and cognitive flexibility). Executive dysfunction in stroke makes the patients vulnerable to depression, anxiety as their daily activities like personal, social, cultural and occupational are severely affected. Thus, the dependency increases and their quality of life decreases. Problem solving is one such important executive function required in day-to-day life. Puzzle solving reflects onto ones problem-solving ability that requires understanding, conceptual knowledge recruitment, novel and insightful thinking, and processing a solution. The purpose of this study was to determine if noninvasive brain stimulation has any effect on puzzle-solving ability of stroke patients and to assess their performance on the same. METHOD: A 3-week interventional study on 11 stroke participants was done. The samples were assessed at baseline for cognitive impairment using Montreal Cognitive Assessment Scale. Participants with scores

Today the patients and their families are 'powerless' recipients of healthcare services. The healthcare services are siloed and fragmented and getting worse with an increasing array of specialists and subspecialists who “patch up” patients and send them back home. It is important for healthcare providers to become involved in the process of health promotion, prevention, and recovery. For successful implementation of this family-level care needs to be recognized and integrated into all policies, guidelines of the government, and healthcare providers reoriented through in-service and basic training.

Abstract Cloud computing is an extremely important infrastructure used to perform tasks over processing units. Despite its numerous benefits, a cloud platform has several challenges preventing it from carrying out an efficient workflow submission. One of these is linked to task scheduling. An optimization problem related to this is the maximal determination of cloud computing scheduling criteria. Existing methods have been unable to find the quality of service (QoS) limits of users- like meeting the economic restrictions and reduction of the makespan. Of all these methods, the Heterogeneous Earliest Finish Time (HEFT) algorithm produces the maximum outcomes for scheduling tasks in a heterogeneous environment in a reduced time. Reviewed literature proves that HEFT is efficient in terms of execution time and quality of schedule. The HEFT algorithm makes use of average communication and computation costs as weights in the DAG. In some cases, however, the average cost of computation and selecting the first empty slot may not be enough for a good solution to be produced. In this paper, we propose different HEFT algorithm versions altered to produce improved results. In the first stage (rank generation), we execute several methodologies to calculate the ranks, and in the second stage, we alter how the empty slots are selected for the task scheduling. These alterations do not add any cost to the primary HEFT algorithm, and reduce the makespan of the virtual machines’ workflow submissions. Our findings suggest that the altered versions of the HEFT algorithm have a better performance than the basic HEFT algorithm regarding decreased schedule length of the workflow problems.

The signal-to-noise ratio paradox is interpreted as the climate model’s ability to predict observations better than the model itself. This view is counterintuitive, given that climate models are simplified numerical representations of complex earth system dynamics. A revised interpretation is provided here: the signal-to-noise ratio paradox represents excessive noise in climate predictions and projections. Noise is potentially reducible, providing a scientific basis for improving the signal in regional climate projections. The signal-to-noise ratio paradox was assessed in long-term climate projections using single-model and multi-model large ensemble climate data. A null hypothesis was constructed by performing bootstrap resampling of climate model ensembles to test its ability to predict the 20th-century temperature and precipitation trends locally and compare it with the observations. The rejection of the null hypothesis indicates the existence of a paradox. The multi-model large ensemble does not reject the null hypothesis in most places globally. The rejection rate in the single-model large ensemble is related to the model’s fidelity to simulate internal climate variability rather than its ensemble size. For regions where the null hypothesis is rejected in the multi-model large ensemble, for example, India, the paradox is caused by a smaller signal strength in the climate model’s ensemble. The signal strength was improved by 100% through ensemble selection and based on past performance, which reduced uncertainty in India’s 30-year temperature projections by 25%. Consistent with previous studies, precipitation projections are noisier, leading to a paradox metric value 2–3 times higher than that of the temperature projections. The application of ensemble selection methodology significantly decreased uncertainty in precipitation projections for the United Kingdom, Western Australia, and Northeastern America by 47%, 36%, and 20%, respectively. Overall, this study makes a unique contribution by reducing uncertainty at the temporal scale, specifically in estimating trends using the signal-to-noise ratio paradox metric.

Background: Chronic Achilles tendon ruptures are defined as tears that occur 4–6 weeks after injury and also those that fail to heal at 6–12 weeks. Reduced plantar flexion, discomfort, trouble walking, chronic pain, poor wound healing, and rerupture are all problems of chronic tears. The V-Y flap, turndown flap, peroneus tendon graft, flexor digitorum graft, and flexor hallucis longus (FHL) graft are just a few of the operations proposed and claimed to have great post-operative clinical results. Aims and Objectives: This study aims to evaluate the functional outcome of tendon debridement, gastrocnemius turndown flap, and augmentation with FHL tendon to reconstruct a chronic Achilles tendon tear. Materials and Methods: This study included 12 patients with chronic Achilles tendon rupture. The gastrocnemius turndown flap, which was augmented with FHL tendon, was used to treat all of the patients in the study. The American Orthopaedic Foot and Ankle Society (AOFAS) score, Achilles Tendon Total Rupture Score (ATRS) score, and ability to do repetitive single affected side heel raises were the outcomes evaluated in this study. Results: After a year of follow-up, the mean AOFAS score increased from 61.17 points preoperatively to 86.67 points. The mean ATRS improved significantly from 41.91 points preoperatively to 84.41 points at the most recent follow-up (P

Abstract Cloud technology is not immune to bugs and issue tracking. A dedicated system is required that will extremely error prone and less cumbersome and must command a high degree of collaboration, flexibility of operations and smart decision making. One of the primary goals of software engineering is to provide high-quality software within a specified budget and period for cloud-based technology. However, defects found in Cloud-Based Bug Tracking software’s can result in quality reduction as well as delay in the delivery process. Therefore, software testing plays a vital role in ensuring the quality of software in the cloud, but software testing requires higher time and cost with the increase of complexity of user requirements. This issue is even cumbersome in the embedded software design. Early detection of defect-prone components in general and embedded software helps to recognize which components require higher attention during testing and thereby allocate the available resources effectively and efficiently. This research was motivated by the demand of minimizing the time and cost required for Cloud-Based Bug Tracking Software testing for both embedded and general-purpose software while ensuring the delivery of high-quality software products without any delays emanating from the cloud. Not withstanding that several machine learning techniques have been widely applied for building software defect prediction models in general, achieving higher prediction accuracy is still a challenging task. Thus, the primary aim of this research is to investigate how deep learning methods can be used for Cloud-Based Bug Tracking Software defect detection with a higher accuracy. The research conducted an experiment with four different configurations of Multi-Layer Perceptron neural network using five publicly available software defect datasets. Results of the experiments show that the best possible network configuration for software defect detection model using Multi-Layer Perceptron can be the prediction model with two hidden layers having 25 neurons in the first hidden layer and 5 neurons in the second hidden layer.

Abstract Blockchain is the latest boon in the world which handles mainly banking and finance. The blockchain is also used in the healthcare management system for effective maintenance of electronic health and medical records. The technology ensures security, privacy, and immutability. Federated Learning is a revolutionary learning technique in deep learning, which supports learning from the distributed environment. This work proposes a framework by integrating the blockchain and Federated Deep Learning in order to provide a tailored recommendation system. The work focuses on two modules of blockchain-based storage for electronic health records, where the blockchain uses a Hyperledger fabric and is capable of continuously monitoring and tracking the updates in the Electronic Health Records in the cloud server. In the second module, LightGBM and N-Gram models are used in the collaborative learning module to recommend a tailored treatment for the patient’s cloud-based database after analyzing the EHR. The work shows good accuracy. Several metrics like precision, recall, and F1 scores are measured showing its effective utilization in the cloud database security.

Background Alcoholic liver disease (ALD) is a major source of alcohol-related morbidity and mortality. Heavy drinkers and alcoholics may progress from fatty liver to alcoholic hepatitis to cirrhosis. The enzyme γ-glutamyltranspeptidase (GGT) is a membrane-bound glycoprotein which catalyzes the transfer of the γ-glutamyl group from γ-glutamyl peptides to other peptides, amino acids, and water. Serum GGT activity mainly attributed to hepatobiliary system and thus is an important marker of ALD. Hence the present study is conducted to estimate and correlate the levels of GGT and osteopontin (OPN) in ALD. Aims and Objectives The objective of this study is to estimate and correlate the levels of GGT and OPN in ALD. Materials and Methods Sixty clinically diagnosed cases of ALD and sixty age- and gender-matched healthy controls were recruited for the study. Blood samples were collected from them and serum aspartate aminotransferase, serum alanine transaminases (ALTs), serum ALP levels, and plasma OPN levels were measured. Estimation of serum aspartate transaminases (AST), ALTs, and alkaline phosphatase (ALP) was assayed by standard photometric methods in autoanalyzer ERBA-XL (EM-200) using commercially available kits. OPN was estimated by using commercial kit based on enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Results The parameters of the liver function tests such as AST, ALT, and ALP were significantly increased in patients with ALD (p

Objectives: To determine the prevalence and predictors of Retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) and severe ROP. Methods: A prospective observational study (April 2019–May 2020) was conducted at a tertiary care center in preterm newborns with; 1) birth-weight

Abstract Distillery industry is amidst the top source of surface water pollution owing to its very high content of recalcitrant organics, inorganics, and persistent turbidity contents. Melanoidins are the chief dark brown-colored complex contaminant existing in the distillery generated effluent with a very high organic load. The present investigation examined the melanoidin elimination from a model wastewater system utilizing Cu-impregnated activated carbon derived from waste leaves of Mangifera indica. With the initial surface characterization utilizing SEM equipped with EDX and FTIR, the Box-Behnken design of experiments was engaged for determining the influence of different factors for the melanoidin removal from the aqueous system. Adsorbent dose, initial melanoidin concentration, and contact time have imposed the maximum effect on to the melanoidin removal (73%) using the synthesized activated carbon, clearly showing its ability for the melanoidin removal from the aqueous contaminated system.

Polycarbonates (PC) are widely used as a high performance engineering plastics having an edge over other polymers for its impact, optical, tensile and thermal properties. PC, however, suffers to a drastic reduction in its impact properties at sub-zero temperature near the ductile-brittle-transition. Researchers have done extensive work on enhancing its property at low temperature and also studied the effect of modification on other important properties of PC. A substantial research work available in literature has been reviewed and PC properties, materials, basic approaches for property enhancement, characterization methods etc. have been discussed. The conventional methods like blending and copolymerization, and recently developed methods like nano-addition and reactive blending for property enhancement have been reviewed [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]