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Abstract We have studied 1/f noise in critical current $$I_c$$ I c in h-BN encapsulated monolayer graphene contacted by NbTiN electrodes. The sample is close to diffusive limit and the switching supercurrent with hysteresis at Dirac point amounts to $$\simeq 5$$ ≃ 5 nA. The low frequency noise in the superconducting state is measured by tracking the variation in magnitude and phase of a reflection carrier signal $$v_{rf}$$ v rf at 600–650 MHz. We find 1/f critical current fluctuations on the order of $$\delta I_c/I_c \simeq 10^{-3}$$ δ I c / I c ≃ 10 - 3 per unit band at 1 Hz. The noise power spectrum of critical current fluctuations $$S_{I_c}$$ S I c measured near the Dirac point at large, sub-critical rf-carrier amplitudes obeys the law $$S_{I_c}/{I{_c}}^2 = a/f^{\beta }$$ S I c / I c 2 = a / f β where $$a\simeq 4\times 10^{-6}$$ a ≃ 4 × 10 - 6 and $$\beta \simeq 1$$ β ≃ 1 at $$f > 0.1$$ f > 0.1 Hz. Our results point towards significant fluctuations in $$I_c$$ I c originating from variation of the proximity induced gap in the graphene junction.

Advances in Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) offer great opportunities for developing countries to stimulate economic growth. However, Nepal has not been able to harness the full potential of the ICTs and benefit from them to the extent possible because of the general absence of underlying fundamentals including policies and strategies aligned with the technological dynamism of the sector, to address ever evolving needs and fully capitalize on opportunities offered ICTs and digital technologies. To rise to the ICT challenge facing the country requires a thorough review of structural impediments to the transformative potential of ICTs and digital technologies, establishment of the policy environment that promotes innovative harnessing of these technologies by all actors, including the private sector, and a strategic orientation that factors in fast evolving technology landscape, where artificial intelligence, blockchain, analytics and Industry 4.0 are set to play defining roles going forward.

Background: Primary suture closure of wounds is often the optimal solution for soft tissue defect closure because of its simplicity and satisfactory outcome, yet it may be impeded by high -tension closure. The customary application of skin grafts, flaps, free tissue transfer, or tissue expansion is often associated with relatively more complex surgical reconstructive procedures, significant morbidity and extended hospitalization and prolonged recovery period. Methods: We retrospectively investigated all patients who underwent wound closure using a mechanical wound closure device between 2014 and 2016 in a tertiary hospital center. The device consisted of stainless steel hooks, sutured over the opposite wound edges, and rubber bands for generating tension which is gradually increased. Approximated wound margins were sutured or allowed to heal by secondary intention. Results: The mechanical device was applied in 50 patients. There were 38 males and 12 females. Wound size ranged from 3 to 25 cm. In most of the patients there was a satisfactory wound margin approximation. However, in 6 patients skin hook cut through from wound margins occurred due to excessive rubber band tension. In 5 patients, it was decided to also apply negative-pressure wound therapy along with the device. After application of the wound closure device, a residual raw area remained in other 4 patients in whom a split thickness graft was applied. During follow-up, hypertrophic scar and wound dehiscence were found in 5 patients. Conclusions: The mechanical wound closure device herein presented is a simple and inexpensive technique that allows a significant reduction in surgical costs and surgery-related morbidity. Level of Evidence: Level IV, therapeutic study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As the applications of hydrogen as a replacement for fossil fuels and energy storage increase, more concerns have been raised regarding its safe usage. Hydrogen’s extreme physical properties—its lower flammability limit (LFL), for instance—represent a challenge to simulating hydrogen leakage and, hence, mitigating accidents that occur due to such leakage. In this work, the OpenFOAM-based CFD simulation package containmentFOAM was validated by different experimental results. As in its original use, to simulate nuclear safety issues, the containmentFOAM package is capable of capturing different phenomena, like buoyant gas clouds and diffusion between gases and air. Despite being widely validated in nuclear safety, this CFD package was assessed with benchmark experiments used to validate hydrogen leakage scenarios. The validation cases were selected to cover different phenomena that occur during the hydrogen leakage—high-speed jet leakage, for example. These validation cases were the hallway with vent, FLAME, and GAMELAN experiments. From the comparison of the experimental and simulation results, we concluded that the containmentFOAM package showed good consistency with the experimental results and, hence, that it can be used to simulate actual leakage cases.

Hemoptysis is an important and alarming symptom with various etiologies. A thorough evaluation should be done by the clinician to identify the underlying pathology and site of bleeding, so that the appropriate treatment can be planned. In our review article, we describe the various etiologies of hemoptysis and define the approach to hemoptysis for the clinician and the relevant investigations. We performed literature searches in PubMed for keywords “Hemoptysis and Approach and Diagnosis” using Medical Subject Heading terms. The etiology of hemoptysis may sometimes be missed by an incomplete initial diagnosis; hence, the diagnostic work up should be exhaustive. Optimal diagnostic workup remains largely unclear. Through our review, we have described the causes of hemoptysis, provided an essential diagnostic pathway according to the accuracy of the investigations, and tried to fill the gaps regarding the subject.

Corpus spongiosum abscess is a rare condition with no case reported as of now diagnosed on ultrasonography (USG). Here, we report a unique case of a 40-year-old Indian male with a 15 days' history of pain and difficulty during micturition. The patient had swelling and erythema in distal 1/3 of the penis. The patient was a known case of type 2 diabetes mellitus. Pain aggravated during micturition, there was no history of any urethral catheterization, trauma, or urethritis. On USG, fluid collection was noted in the corpus spongiosum on the posterior aspect of the distal penile urethra. The abscess was drained percutaneously under ultrasound guidance and was send for culture and sensitivity test. The culture yielded Acinetobacter and the patient was treated with 1 week of intravenous antibiotic according to the culture sensitivity test.

Abstract COVID 19 is known to cause immune dysregulation and vitamin D is a known immunomodulator. This study aims to objectively investigate the impact of Pulse D therapy in reducing the inflammatory markers of COVID-19. Consented COVID-19 patients with hypovitaminosis D were evaluated for inflammatory markers (N/L ratio, CRP, LDH, IL6, Ferritin) along with vitamin D on 0th day and 9th/11th day as per their respective BMI category. Subjects were randomised into VD and NVD groups. VD group received Pulse D therapy (targeted daily supplementation of 60,000 IUs of vitamin D for 8 or 10 days depending upon their BMI) in addition to the standard treatment. NVD group received standard treatment alone. Differences in the variables between the two groups were analysed for statistical significance. Eighty seven out of one hundred and thirty subjects have completed the study (VD:44, NVD:43). Vitamin D level has increased from 16 ± 6 ng/ml to 89 ± 32 ng/ml after Pulse D therapy in VD group and highly significant (p 0.05). The difference in the reduction of markers between the groups (NVD vs VD) was highly significant (p

In this study, circulating microRNAs (miRNAs) are being investigated as non-invasive biomarkers for early diagnosis and prognosis of human cancers. Since the prognosis for pancreatobiliary subtype of periampullary carcinoma is poor, we assessed the prognostic relevance of miRNAs in combination with CA19-9 as noninvasive biomarker in periampullary carcinoma. Circulating miRNAs in plasma and serum CA19-9 were evaluated in periampullary carcinoma patients (n = 109) undergoing Whipple's pancreaticoduodenectomy and in healthy volunteers (n = 92). Tumour tissues were subjected to staging and subtyping prior to determining differentially expressed miRNAs in them by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR). Statistical analysis involved correlation, receiver operating characteristic, logistic regression, survival analyses and Cox-proportional regression. Of the three differentially expressed circulating miRNA, miRNA192 was significantly increased both in circulation and in tumour tissue and correlated with tumour stage and aggressiveness (r = 0.96, P < 0.0001). Area under the curve of circulating miRNA192 + CA19-9 combination was 0.877 (95% confidence interval, 0.72 to 0.96) for stage III and 0.92 (95% confidence interval, 0.77 to 0.88) for tumour aggressiveness. The combination was associated with poor survival (median: 22 months, P = 0.0008) in stage III patients. Cox-proportional regression analysis revealed prognostic importance of combination of circulating miR192 and CA19-9 (HR = 1.005, P = 0.0001) in periampullary carcinoma. In conclusion, combination of circulating miRNA192 with serum CA19-9 is a better prognostic biomarker than CA19-9 alone. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Suicide results from complex interactions of various risk factors—reasons for dying (RFD)—and protective factors—reasons for living (RFL). Suicide is not necessarily a wish to die but may be an appeal for help. We analyzed RFD and RFL in persons who had attempted suicide, through their clinical records at a Crisis Intervention Clinic (CIC). Methods: We retrospectively analyzed demographic and clinical data, and classified RFD and RFL, among patients with either ideas or attempt of suicide registered at our CIC ( N = 83). Using two open-ended questions from the clinical history data, we derived their RFD or RFL; ( n = 53) completed these questions regarding RFD-RFL. Results: In the total sample, males and females were equally represented and educated, but males were significantly older. Most common diagnosis was nonpsychotic mood disorder. Commonest mode of suicide attempt was hanging. Family conflict vs. family responsibility, hope vs. hopelessness, stressful life events, and negative cognitions about the self and the world were important RFD. RFL included feeling responsible, love for family and for self, hope, career success, and religious beliefs, Conclusion: RFD and RFL could both be grouped in similar categories related to family, career, hope, etc.

A person’s signature is merely a handwritten sign that closely resembles his/her name, frequently stylized and distinctive, and that expresses the person’s identity, intent, and consent. Two types of verifications are present. They are online signature verification and offline signature verification. Generally, Offline Signature verification is less efficient and slower process compare to online verification when come to the situation having larger number of documents and files to verify with in less time. Over the years, many researchers have developed so many methods for signature verifications to help the people or organizations to find whether the signature of a particular person is forged or genuine. To overcome this problems; In this paper we introduced a simple method to improve the verification of the signature in Image Processing using Convolution Neural Networks(CNN). Signature Verification it is used to authenticate various kinds of documents, including cheques, draughts, certificates, approvals, letters, and other legal ones, such verification is crucial for preventing document forgery and falsification. Previously, to verify a signature, it was manually checked against copies of real signatures. This straightforward approach might not be sufficient given that forgery and signature fraud techniques are becoming more sophisticated as a result of improving technology.

Abstract Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a degenerative motor neuron disease that has been linked to defective DNA repair. Many familial ALS patients harbor autosomal dominant mutations in the gene encoding the RNA/DNA binding protein ‘fused in sarcoma’ (FUS) commonly inducing its cytoplasmic mislocalization. Recent reports from our group and others demonstrate a role of FUS in maintaining genome integrity and the DNA damage response (DDR). FUS interacts with many DDR proteins and may regulate their recruitment at damage sites. Given the role of FUS in RNA transactions, here we explore whether FUS also regulates the expression of DDR factors. We performed RT2 PCR arrays for DNA repair and DDR signaling pathways in CRISPR/Cas9 FUS knockout (KO) and shRNA mediated FUS knockdown (KD) cells, which revealed significant (> 2-fold) downregulation of BRCA1, DNA ligase 4, MSH complex and RAD23B. Importantly, similar perturbations in these factors were also consistent in motor neurons differentiated from an ALS patient-derived induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) line with a FUS-P525L mutation, as well as in postmortem spinal cord tissue of sporadic ALS patients with FUS pathology. BRCA1 depletion has been linked to neuronal DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs) accumulation and cognitive defects. The ubiquitin receptor RAD23 functions both in nucleotide excision repair and proteasomal protein clearance pathway and is thus linked to neurodegeneration. Together, our study suggests that the FUS pathology perturbs DDR signaling via both its direct role and the effect on the expression of DDR genes. This underscors an intricate connections between FUS, genome instability, and neurodegeneration.

Emerging studies reveal that neurodegenerative disorders, including amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and frontotemporal dementia (FTD), are commonly linked to DNA damage accumulation and repair deficiency. Neurons are particularly vulnerable to DNA damage due to their high metabolic activity, relying primarily on oxidative phosphorylation, which leads to increased reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation and subsequent DNA damage. Efficient and timely repair of such damage is critical for guarding the integrity of genomic DNA and for cell survival. Several genes predominantly associated with RNA/DNA metabolism have been implicated in both ALS and FTD, suggesting that the two diseases share a common underlying pathology with varied clinical manifestations. Recent studies reveal that many of the gene products, including RNA/DNA binding proteins (RBPs) TDP-43 and FUS are involved in diverse DNA repair pathways. A key question in the etiology of the ALS/FTD spectrum of neurodegeneration is the mechanisms and pathways involved in genome instability caused by dysfunctions/mutations of those RBP genes and their consequences in the central nervous system. The understanding of such converging molecular mechanisms provides insights into the underlying etiology of the rapidly progressing neurodegeneration in ALS/FTD, while also revealing novel DNA repair target avenues for therapeutic development. In this review, we summarize the common mechanisms of neurodegeneration in ALS and FTD, with a particular emphasis on the DNA repair defects induced by ALS/FTD causative genes. We also highlight the consequences of DNA repair defects in ALS/FTD and the therapeutic potential of DNA damage repair-targeted amelioration of neurodegeneration.

Background and Objective: Exercise intervention can be personalized and delivered digitally to achieve better outcomes in people with diabetes. The study aim was to analyse the effect of supervised exercise prescription delivered as part of Fitterfly diabetes digital therapeutics program in people with diabetes (PWD) after completion of the program. Method: De-identified data of 150 participants (mean age 45.29 ± 10.53 years, 39.3% females) who completed the 90-day program was analyzed. Structured virtual physiotherapy consultations and personalized exercise prescriptions were provided by physiotherapists along with expert-led care by a multidisciplinary team. Participants received access to Fitterfly mobile application for digital logging of meals and physical activity, regular follow-ups from physiotherapists to ensure adherence to the personalized prescription and for reviewing the goals to be achieved during the course of the program. Wilcoxon test was used for the statistical analysis with p < 0.05 considered statistically significant. Results: After completion of the program, significant median improvement in 6-minute walk test and total fitness score by 5.35% (p < 0.001) and 46.86% (p < 0.001) respectively was observed. Participants were categorized based on their activity levels at the beginning of the program, 26% (39/150) of participants were in the sedentary category, 55% (82/150) were in the aerobic category and 19% (29/150) were in the strength training category. After completion of the program, all the participants were following strength training as part of their exercise regimen. Median exercise duration per week in these participants improved by 180 (135,270) min, 70 (0,141.25) min and 60 (0, 142.50) min respectively. Post-program, median HbA1c reduction by -0.8 (-2.00, -0.38) % was observed, with 87.33% (131/150) of the participants showing significant HbA1c reduction. Median weight reduction was found to be -2.5 (-1.00, -4.50) kg and median waist circumference reduction was -4.00 (-7.00, -0.08) cm. Among users who started with HbA1c above recommended level (>7%), 48.39% (45/93) reduced their HbA1c in the recommended range after completion of the program. Conclusion: The study demonstrated improvement in cardiorespiratory and physical fitness, exercise duration and incorporation of strength training in the exercise regimen of the participants. Significant improvement in glycemic control and a significant reduction in body weight and waist circumference was also observed. Virtual supervised exercise guidance as a part of Fitterfly diabetes digital therapeutics program can help in improving safety and adherence to physical activity among people with T2DM for effective diabetes management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]