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Boron neutron capture therapy (BNCT) remains an important treatment arm for cancer patients with locally invasive malignant tumors. This therapy needs a significant amount of boron to deposit in cancer tissues selectively, sparing other healthy organs. Most of the liposomes contain water-soluble polyhedral boron salts stay in the core of the liposomes and have low encapsulation efficiency. Thus, modifying the polyhedral boron core to make it hydrophobic and incorporating those into the lipid layer could be one of the ways to increase drug loading and encapsulation efficiency. Additionally, a systematic study about the linker-dependent effect on drug encapsulation and drug-release is lacking, particularly for the liposomal formulation of hydrophobic-drugs. To achieve these goals, liposomal formulations of a series of lipid functionalized cobalt bis(dicarbollide) compounds have been prepared, with the linkers of different hydrophobicity. Hydrophobicity of the linkers have been evaluated through logP calculation and its effect on drug encapsulation and release have been investigated. The liposomes have shown high drug loading, excellent encapsulation efficiency, stability, and non-toxic behavior. Release experiment showed minimal release of drug from liposomes in phosphate buffer, ensuring some amount of drug, associated with liposomes, can be available to tumor tissues for Boron Neutron Capture Therapy., (Copyright © 2020 American Pharmacists Association®. All rights reserved.)

This paper presents an efficient mechanism for secured encryption of intraoral information in the emerging field of Teledental. Due to global rapid surge in the (Coronavirus Disease) COVID patients, the services of Teledental are best suited in the newer post-COVID era. A devised perceptron has been intelligently embedded with de-multiplexing ability to transmit data to the dentists has been proposed. Exact session key has been developed through learning rules applied on the perceptrons by both the patient and dentist. For simplicity, gingivitis data is highly recommended to transmit in a highly secured manner with patients' data integrity. Gingivitis is an important dental disease which is primarily caused by the bacterial colonization. It shows gum bleeding and inflammations in the gingiva. Encrypted transmission is required to the Dentist for early diagnosis and treatment in Teledental system in this pandemic context. Gingivitis data are then broken into parts by the demultiplexer followed by individual proposed header generation. It is predominantly done to confuse the intruders about the originality of the intraoral data. Chi-square, Avalanche, Strict Avalanche, etc. were carried on the proposed partial shares to generate good outcomes when compared to classical algorithms. To confuse the intruders, character frequency, floating frequency, and autocorrelation were tested extensively. It is a newer approach to avail the secured Teledental features in post-COVID time., Competing Interests: Conflict of interestThe authors declare that there is no conflict of interest for this publication., (© Bharati Vidyapeeth's Institute of Computer Applications and Management 2021.)

This paper deals with one of the key problems of e-healthcare which is the security. Patients are worried about the confidentiality of their electronic medical record (EMR) which could be used to expose their identities. It is high time to revisit the confidentiality and security issues of the existing telehealth system. Intruders can perform sniffing, spoofing, or phishing operations effortlessly during the online exchange of the EMR using a digital platform. The EMR must be transmitted anonymously with a high degree of hardness of encryption by protecting the authentication, confidentiality, and integrity criteria of the patient. These requirements recommend the security of the current system to be improved. In this paper, a neural synchronization-guided concatenation of header and secret shares with the ability to transmit the EMR with an end-to-end security protocol has been proposed. This proposed methodology breaks down the EMR into the n number of secret shares and transmits to the n number of recipients. The original EMR can be reconstructed after the amalgamation of a minimum k (threshold) number of secret shares. The novelty of the technique is that one share should come from a specific recipient to whom a special privilege is given to recreate the EMR among such a predefined number of shares. In the absence of this privileged share, the original EMR cannot be reconstructed. This proposed technique has passed various parametric tests. The results are compared with existing benchmark techniques. The results of the proposed technique have shown robust and effective potential., Competing Interests: Conflict of interestNo conflict of interest., (© King Fahd University of Petroleum & Minerals 2021.)

In the COVID-19 pandemic, telehealth plays a significant role in the e-healthcare. E-health security risks have also risen significantly with the rise in the use of telehealth. This paper addresses one of e-health's key concerns, namely security. Secret sharing is a cryptographic method to ensure reliable and secure access to information. To eliminate the constraint that in the existing secret sharing schemes, this paper presents Tree Parity Machine (TPM) guided patients' privileged based secure sharing. This is a new secret sharing technique that generates the shares using a simple mask based operation. This work considers addressing the challenges presents in the original secret sharing scheme. This proposed technique enhances the security of the existing scheme. This research introduces a concept of privileged share in which among k number of shares one share should come from a specific recipient (patient) to whom a special privilege is given to recreate the original information. In the absence of this privileged share, the original information cannot be reconstructed. This technique also offers TPM based exchange of secret shares to prevent Man-In-The-Middle-Attack (MITM). Here, two neural networks receive common inputs and exchange their outputs. In some steps, it leads to full synchronization by setting the discrete weights according to the specific rule of learning. This synchronized weight is used as a common secret session key for transmitting the secret shares. The proposed method has been found to produce attractive results that show that the scheme achieves a great degree of protection, reliability, and efficiency and also comparable to the existing secret sharing scheme., Competing Interests: Competing interestsThe authors declare that they have no competing interests., (© The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature 2021.)

Antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) combine the high specificity of antibodies with cytotoxic payloads. However, the present strategies for the synthesis of ADCs either yield unstable or heterogeneous products or involve complex processes. Here, we report a computational approach that leverages molecular docking and molecular dynamics simulations to design ADCs that self-assemble through the non-covalent binding of the antibody to a payload that we designed to act as an affinity ligand for specific conserved amino acid residues in the antibody. This method does not require modifications to the antibody structure and yields homogenous ADCs that form in less than 8 min. We show that two conjugates, which consist of hydrophilic and hydrophobic payloads conjugated to two different antibodies, retain the structure and binding properties of the antibody and its biological specificity, are stable in plasma and improve anti-tumour efficacy in mice with non-small cell lung tumour xenografts. The relative simplicity of the approach may facilitate the production of ADCs for the targeted delivery of cytotoxic payloads.

Two independent analytical methods (kinetic and sequential extraction protocols) were used to understand the distribution, stability, and lability of Pb-sediment complexes in Indian continental shelf. The concentrations of sedimentary Pb varied from 12.0±0.6 to 30.4±0.1mg·kg -1 and 15.9±0.3 to 36.7±0.4mg·kg -1 in the western and eastern shelf of India respectively. The kinetic extraction study showed that higher proportion of labile Pb-complexes were present in the eastern shelf sediments (~24% of total Pb) than the western shelf sediments (~14% of total Pb). The sedimentary organic matter was found to regulate lability of sedimentary Pb complexes. The sequential extraction study suggested that Fe/Mn oxyhydroxide were the primary hosting phase for labile Pb complexes. This study showed that water soluble, exchangeable, carbonate/bicarbonate-Pb complexes in the sediments was labile. This study provides a better physicochemical description of stability or lability of Pb complexes in the coastal sediment of India., (Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Two tri-block copolymers P123 (PEO 19 PPO 69 PEO 19 ) and F127 (PEO 100 PPO 65 PEO 100 ) have been employed to form polymeric nanomicelles and function as potential nanocarriers for an anticancer pyrazoline derivative (PYZ) in aqueous buffer solution for biological studies. Encapsulation within these nanomicelles considerably enhanced the fluorescence of the PYZ compared to its low fluorescence in aqueous buffer medium. The effect of the micellar structures on the photophysical properties of PYZ have been demonstrated by means of steady state and time resolved fluorescence spectroscopy. Variation in hydrophilicity of the corona region was found to be a prime factor in modulating the location of the PYZ within the micelles which in turn influenced its corresponding enhanced emission and cytotoxicity. These drug encapsulated nanomicelles were found to be successfully internalized into the MCF-7 cells to demonstrate high-quality fluorescent images. The location of PYZ within the polymeric micelles influenced the CAC (Critical Aggregation Concentration)/CMC (Critical Micellar Concentration) ratio which modulated their drug release capacity resulting in a variation in their cytotoxicity., (Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Context: Anesthesia and analgesia for surgeries to the upper extremity are commonly provided using brachial plexus anesthesia. There are limited or almost no studies comparing the use of ropivacaine with fentanyl to ropivacaine with dexmedetomidine., Aims: To compare the efficacy of fentanyl and dexmedetomidine as adjuvants to ropivacaine for brachial plexus block among patients undergoing upper limb orthopedic surgeries., Settings and Design: This was a prospective, randomized, double-blinded study., Subjects and Methods: The patients were randomly divided into three groups of 35 each using computerized randomization table. Group I patients received 3 mg/kg of 0.75% ropivacaine with 1 μg/kg of fentanyl diluted with normal saline (NS) to make a total volume of 35 ml. Group II patients received 3 mg/kg of 0.75% ropivacaine with 1 μg/kg of dexmedetomidine diluted with NS to make a total volume of 35 ml. Group III patients received 3 mg/kg of 0.75% ropivacaine with NS making a total volume of 35 ml., Statistical Analysis Used: Statistical analysis was performed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences, version 15.0. Analysis of variance followed by independent samples t -test was performed for parametric data, and Kruskal-Wallis test followed by Mann-Whitney U-test was performed for nonparametric data., Results: Mean motor and sensory block onset time was minimum in Group I and maximum in Group III while mean duration of sensory and motor block was maximum in Group I and minimum in Group III. Time taken for first rescue analgesic dose was also maximum in Group I and minimum in Group III., Conclusions: It can be concluded that 3 mg/kg of 0.75% ropivacaine along with 1 μg/kg of fentanyl diluted with NS to make a total volume of 35 ml was the most efficacious regimen for brachial plexus block among patients undergoing upper limb orthopedic surgeries., Competing Interests: There are no conflicts of interest.

Community service has a documented correlation with improved medical school performance. To promote community service and awareness of community resources, a Community Service Day was integrated into orientation for incoming first-year students at Baylor College of Medicine. One hundred seventy-five first-year medical students and 31 second-year leaders volunteered at 11 community sites. We hoped this early introduction to community service would make students more aware of community resources and motivate them to continue volunteering throughout their medical training. Students were surveyed about their experiences. Seventy percent of responding students reported the service day helped them learn about the community's resources related to health care, and 92% reported it helped them get to know their classmates. We concluded that integrating a Community Service Day into medical student orientation is a successful way to expose students to community resources, while simultaneously encouraging camaraderie and teamwork among classmates.

Dexamethasone, a high-potency synthetic glucocorticoid, is often used to treat various immunological and inflammatory conditions. Commercial preparations of dexamethasone facilitate administration to human patients. Veterinary use of dexamethasone may be complicated by the unavailability of commercial dosage forms. As such, compounded preparations containing dexamethasone, such as a topical paste, are used in veterinary medicine. The purpose of this study was to determine the 30-day stability of compounded dexamethasone 2 mg/mL paste when incubated in temperatures which may mimic storage conditions during any given season. Samples were incubated at room temperature, -20 degrees C, 4 degrees C, 40 degrees C, and 80 degrees C for 30 days. Samples were subsequently analyzed using a stability-indicating high-performance liquid chromatography method on a reverse phase column. Our data suggests that the chemical stability of dexamethasone, the active pharmaceutical ingredient, is well within the guidelines set forth in United States Pharmacopeia Chapter <795> (90% to 110% stated potency) for all tested temperatures, with the exception of 80 degrees C (approximately 176 degrees F).

We report the synthesis, crystallization, and solid-state characterization of the 3,7-ethoxy-substituted spirobiphenalenyl-boron neutral radical 22. The radical is distinguished by its low disproportionation energy and one-dimensional structure. We show that our strategy of substitution of OEt group at the active positions of the phenalenyl units changes the crystal packing from its previously known OMe analogue and the solid-state properties are dictated by the partial π-stack structure and the oxygen atoms at the 3,7-positions and can be best rationalized in terms of the resonating valence bond model. Magnetic susceptibility measurements show that in the solid state the radical remains paramagnetic but there is significant spin-spin interaction between the molecules. Band structure calculations reflect efficient overlap between the molecules along the π stack and show evidence of interactions between the spin-bearing oxygen atoms. The room temperature electrical conductivity (σ(RT)=2.0×10(-2) S cm(-1)) of 22 is higher than that observed in previously known one-dimensional phenalenyl radicals., (Copyright © 2011 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.)

Fifty-three cases of ventral hernia admitted between 15th July, 1993 and 31st December, 2001 in the IPGME&R, Kolkata is being presented with analysis of causes, method of repair and complications. The study was intended to find a simple, universal cost-effective repair of the deformity. Most cases can be repaired with a method of closure consisting of plication of the inner layer and 2 to 3 layered darning in the outer layer with '0' prolene. The main factor appears to be a tensionless closure and avoidance of postoperative infection and stress like cough and constipation. While in the west, use of prolene mesh has become a routine, the authors feel that darning is not only less expensive but reduces the amount of foreign body introduced.