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In today's world, Brain Tumor diagnosis plays a significant role in the field of Oncology. The earlier identification of brain tumors increases the compatibility of treatment of patients and offers an efficient diagnostic recommendation from medical practitioners. Nevertheless, accurate segmentation and feature extraction are the vital challenges in brain tumor diagnosis where the handling of higher resolution images increases the processing time of existing classifiers. In this paper, a new robust weighted hybrid fusion classifier has been proposed to identify and classify the tumefaction in the brain which is of the hybridized form of SVM, NB, and KNN (SNK) classifiers. Primarily, the proposed methodology initiates the preprocessing technique such as adaptive fuzzy filtration and skull stripping in order to remove the noises as well as unwanted regions. Subsequently, an automated hybrid segmentation strategy can be carried out to acquire the initial segmentation results, and then their outcomes are compiled together using fusion rules to accurately localize the tumor region. Finally, a Hybrid SNK classifier is implemented in the proposed methodology for categorizing the type of tumefaction in the brain. The hybrid classifier has been compared with the existing state-of-the-art classifier which shows a higher accuracy result of 99.18% while distinguishing the benign and malignant tumors from brain Magnetic Resonance (MR) images. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Focuses on a study which analyzed the application of the concept of crossword puzzle in pharmacology education. Efficacy of crossword puzzle as a teaching-learning method; Limitations of the study.

Abstract Early detection and identification of morphological differences in the brain is crucial for the pre-surgical planning of Alzheimer's disease treatment. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) can detect Alzheimer's disease as well as its severity levels in patients. An automatic segmentation of the grey matter, white matter, cerebrospinal fluid and hippocampus is required to obtain accurate volume of various brain matters. In this study, an effective segmentation and classification techniques are proposed to accurately distinguish the progress of Alzheimer's disease, mild cognitive impairment and normal control subjects. A hybrid segmentation technique is formulated with K -means clustering and graph-cut methods to perform segmentation. The clustered regions are assigned labels according to their features for the classification analysis. They are further classified as normal cognitive impaired, stable mild cognitive impaired, progressive mild cognitive impaired or Alzheimer's disease using the game theory classifier. The proposed method achieves an accuracy of about 85.5 %. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A continuing medical education (CME) pictorial quiz is presented.

Pure and silver doped ZnO thin films were successfully grown on glass substrates by spray pyrolysis technique. The effect of Ag doping different concentration (2, 4, 6 and 8 at.%) on the structural, surface morphological, electrical and optical properties of Ag:ZnO thin films were investigated by X-Ray diffraction (XRD), Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive X-ray spectrometer (EDS), photoluminescence (PL) and Hall effect measurement respectively. The X-ray pattern results confirmed that the Ag:ZnO thin films were polycrystalline nature with the preferential orientation along (002) plane in wurtzite structure. The SEM image revealed that the surface morphology of the films nano flower shaped grains with Ag doping. The compositional analysis by EDS confirms the presence of Zn, O and Ag. The surface roughness of the films decreases with increase of silver doping concentration was investigated by Atomic force microscopy (AFM). Optical transmittance 85% and a minimum resistivity of 1.23 × 10 −3 Ω cm, are achieved for films when Ag doped ZnO with 6 at.% and confirm that these films are suitable for transparent conductive oxide (TCO) applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• One of the deadly and dangerous types of cancer seen in children and adults named Brain tumor. • Brain tumor's accurate and early diagnosis is significant for the treatment process. • The tumor segmentation's accuracy is very crucial to diagnosis accuracy. • The primary goal of this suggested approach is to accurately and efficiently assess the tumor. One of the deadly and dangerous types of cancer seen in children and adults named Brain tumor. Brain tumor's accurate and early diagnosis is significant for the treatment process. The tumor segmentation's accuracy is very crucial to diagnosis accuracy. As a consequence, employing brain MR image segmentation, this research provides a hybrid deep learning-based brain tumor diagnosis and classification. The primary goal of this suggested approach is to accurately and efficiently assess the tumor. The MRI images were first preprocessed for the segmentation phase. The preprocessed photos are then used throughout the feature extraction procedure. Stationary wavelet packet transform (SWPT) is applied for the feature extraction process. Then, a hybrid Adaptive Black widow optimization with Moth Flame optimization (HABWMFO) is utilized for the optimal feature selection. Following that, the feature values are being sent to clustering for segmentation. For segmentation, the Adaptive Kernel Fuzzy C Means clustering technique (AKFCM) was developed. Finally, a Hybrid Convolution Neural Network- Long Short-Term Memory (CNN-LSTM) deep learning is used to improve tumor classification accuracy. The suggested technique is implemented on the MATLAB platform, and its effectiveness is assessed using performance measures such as F1 score, accuracy, precision, loss, and recall. These analyses show that the suggested strategy is far more successful than the existing ones. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Transforming human intentions into patterns to direct the devices connected externally without any body movements is called Brain-Computer Interface (BCI). It is specially designed for rehabilitation patients to overcome their disabilities. Electroencephalogram (EEG) signal is one of the famous tools to operate such devices. In this study, we planned to conduct our research with twenty subjects from different age groups from 20 to 28 and 29 to 40 using three-electrode systems to analyze the performance for developing a mobile robot for navigation using band power features and neural network architecture trained with a bioinspired algorithm. From the experiment, we recognized that the maximum classification performance was 94.66% for the young group and the minimum classification performance was 94.18% for the adult group. We conducted a recognizing accuracy test for the two contrasting age groups to interpret the individual performances. The study proved that the recognition accuracy was maximum for the young group and minimum for the adult group. Through the graphical user interface, we conducted an online test for the young and adult groups. From the online test, the same young-aged people performed highly and actively with an average accuracy of 94.00% compared with the adult people whose performance was 92.00%. From this experiment, we concluded that, due to the age factor, the signal generated by the subjects decreased slightly. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background The pathophysiology of increased severity of erectile dysfunction in men with diabetes and their poor response to oral pharmacotherapy are unclear. Defective vascular endothelium and consequent impairment in the formation and action of nitric oxide (NO) are implicated as potential mechanisms. Endothelial NO synthase, critical for NO generation, is localized to caveolae, plasma membrane lipid rafts enriched in structural proteins, and caveolins. Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM)-induced changes in caveolin expression are recognized to play a role in cardiovascular dysfunction. Aims To evaluate DM-related changes to male erectile tissue in a mouse model that closely resembles human T2DM and study the specific role of caveolins in penile blood flow and microvascular perfusion using mice lacking caveolin (Cav)-1 or Cav-3. Methods We used wild-type C57BL6 (control) and Cav-1 and Cav-3 knockout (KO) male mice. T2DM was induced by streptozotocin followed by a high-fat diet for 4 months. Penile expressions of Cav-1, Cav-3, and endothelial NO synthase were determined by western blot, and phosphodiesterase type 5 activity was measured using [ 3 H] cyclic guanosine monophosphate as a substrate. For hemodynamic studies, Cav-1 and Cav-3 KO mice were anesthetized, and penile blood flow (peak systolic velocity and end-diastolic velocity; millimeters per second) was determined using a high-frequency and high-resolution digital imaging color Doppler system. Penile tissue microcirculatory blood perfusion (arbitrary perfusion units) was measured using a novel PeriCam PSI system. Outcomes Penile erectile tissues were harvested for histologic studies to assess Cav-1, Cav-3, and endothelial NO synthase expression, phosphodiesterase type 5 activity, and blood flow, and perfusion measurements were assessed for hemodynamic studies before and after an intracavernosal injection of prostaglandin E 1 (50 ng). Results In T2DM mice, decreased Cav-1 and Cav-3 penile protein expression and increased phosphodiesterase type 5 activity were observed. Decreased response to prostaglandin E 1 in peak systolic velocity (33 ± 4 mm/s in Cav-1 KO mice vs 62 ± 5 mm/s in control mice) and perfusion (146 ± 12 AU in Cav-1 KO mice vs 256 ± 12 AU in control mice) was observed. Hemodynamic changes in Cav-3 KO mice were insignificant. Clinical Translation Our findings provide novel mechanistic insights into erectile dysfunction severity and poor pharmacotherapy that could have potential application to patients with T2DM. Strengths and Limitations Use of KO mice and novel hemodynamic techniques are the strengths. A limitation is the lack of direct evaluation of penile hemodynamics in T2DM mice. Conclusion Altered penile Cav-1 expression in T2DM mice and impaired penile hemodynamics in Cav-1 KO mice suggests a regulatory role for Cav-1 in DM-related erectile dysfunction. Parikh J, Zemljic-Harpf A, Fu J, et al. Altered Penile Caveolin Expression in Diabetes: Potential Role in Erectile Dysfunction. J Sex Med 2017;14:1177–1186. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highly oriented Zn doped TiO 2 thin films (0, 2, 4, 6 and 8 at%) were deposited by spray pyrolysis technique. X-ray diffraction analysis showed a strong orientation along (101) direction for 6 at% Zn with polycrystalline tetragonal anatase phase. Scanning electron microscopy observations revealed uniform distribution of spherical-shaped grains, whereas columnar arrangement of tetragonal-shaped grains with porous nature was revealed from atomic force microscopy. Transmittance spectra indicated a decrease in the energy band gap with increasing doping concentration; i.e. 3.55 up to 3.21 eV, attributed to grain refinement to the nanoscale regime. The optical constants such as refractive index and extinction coefficient as a function of wavelength, were determined; the low extinction coefficient values confirmed the good quality of the thin films. Photoluminescence spectra showed strong emissions at 423 and 437 nm with a weak emission at 505 nm, which confirmed the lesser defect density in 6 at% Zn film. The electrical properties studied by Hall Effect measurements revealed that the 6 at% Zn led to an increase in the carrier concentration, as well as an increase in the mobility with a least resistivity. The efficiency of dye sensitized solar cells, assembled by using natural dye extracted from Hibiscus Surattensis as sensitizer and Zn-doped TiO 2 nanocrystalline thin films as a photoelectrode, was found to be around 1.22%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although the precise molecular mechanisms responsible for neuronal death and motor dysfunction in late-onset Parkinson's disease (PD) are unknown, evidence suggests that mitochondrial dysfunction and neuroinflammation occur early, leading to a collective increase in reactive oxygen species (ROS) production and oxidative stress. However, the lack of methods for tracking oxidative stress in the living brain has precluded its use as a potential biomarker. The goal of the current study is to address this need through the evaluation of the first superoxide (O 2 •- )-sensitive radioactive tracer, [ 18 F]ROStrace, in a model of late-onset PD. To achieve this goal, MitoPark mice with a dopaminergic (DA) neuron-specific deletion of transcription factor A mitochondrial ( Tfam ) were imaged with [ 18 F]ROStrace from the prodromal phase to the end-stage of PD-like disease. Our data demonstrate [ 18 F]ROStrace was sensitive to increased oxidative stress during the early stages of PD-like pathology in MitoPark mice, which persisted throughout the disease course. Similarly to PD patients, MitoPark males had the most severe parkinsonian symptoms and metabolic impairment. [ 18 F]ROStrace retention was also highest in MitoPark males, suggesting oxidative stress as a potential mechanism underlying the male sex bias of PD. Furthermore, [ 18 F]ROStrace may provide a method to identify patients at risk of Parkinson's before irreparable neurodegeneration occurs and enhance clinical trial design by identifying patients most likely to benefit from antioxidant therapies.

Jack fruit peel oil (JFPO) exhibits passive chemical characteristics; thereby, dual-fuel mode frequently involves hydrogen to address its combustion difficulties. This strategy has been gaining prominence nowadays. The present investigation investigates on the performance, emission, and combustion characteristics of a direct injected compression ignition dual-fuel engine operating on a binary fuel blend of jack fruit peel oil (JFPO) and diethyl ether with hydrogen induction. The engine was operated by inducing hydrogen gas into the intake manifold of the engine at 8 and 10 LPM with the applied load ranging from 25 to 100%. The test fuel was prepared by blending jack fruit peel oil and diethyl ether in the volumetric ratio of 90:10. JFP brake thermal efficiency was 16% lower than diesel at full load but enhanced by 9% with direct hydrogen induction at a knock limit of 10 LPM and 23% with JFP + H 2  + 10% DEE at maximum load. At maximum load, JFP + 10 LPM of hydrogen gas + 10% DEE produces 916 ppm of NO x , which is 44.46% less than diesel. Furthermore, adding hydrogen gas and DEE to air fuel mixture decreased emissions of carbon monoxide and unburned hydrocarbon by 0.702% and 28.30% opa, respectively., (© 2024. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.)

Purpose: This study elucidates the mechanism of the physiological effect of cannabidiol (CBD) by assessing its impact on lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced inflammation in RWPE-1 cells and prostatitis-induced by 17β-estradiol and dihydrotestosterone in a rat model, focusing on its therapeutic potential for chronic prostatitis/chronic pelvic pain syndrome (CP/CPPS)., Materials and Methods: RWPE-1 cells were stratified in vitro into three groups: (1) controls, (2) cells with LPS-induced inflammation, and (3) cells with LPS-induced inflammation and treated with CBD. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays and western blots were performed on cellular components and supernatants after administration of CBD. Five groups of six Sprague-Dawley male rats were assigned: (1) control, (2) CP/CPPS, (3) CP/CPPS and treated with 50 mg/kg CBD, (4) CP/CPPS and treated with 100 mg/kg CBD, and (5) CP/CPPS and treated with 150 mg/kg CBD. Prostatitis was induced through administration of 17β-estradiol and dihydrotestosterone. After four weeks of CBD treatment, a pain index was evaluated, and prostate tissue was collected for subsequent histologic examination and western blot analysis., Results: CBD demonstrated efficacy in vivo for CP/CPPS and in vitro for inflammation. It inhibited the toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4)/nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-κB) pathway by activating the CB2 receptor, reducing expression of interleukin-6, tumor necrosis factor-alpha, and cyclooxygenase-2 (COX2) (p<0.01). CBD exhibited analgesic effects by activating and desensitizing the TRPV1 receptor., Conclusions: CBD inhibits the TLR4/NF-κB pathway by activating the CB2 receptor, desensitizes the TRPV1 receptor, and decreases the release of COX2. This results in relief of inflammation and pain in patients with CP/CPPS, indicating CBD as a potential treatment for CP/CPPS., Competing Interests: The authors have nothing to disclose., (Copyright © 2024 Korean Society for Sexual Medicine and Andrology.)

There are a total of 82,290 new cases and 16,710 deaths estimated for bladder cancer in the United States in 2023. Currently, urine cytology tests are widely used for bladder cancer diagnosis, though they suffer from variable sensitivity, ranging from 45 to 97%. More recently, the microbiome has become increasingly recognized for its role in human diseases, including cancers. This study attempts to characterize urinary microbiome bladder cancer-specific dysbiosis to explore its diagnostic potential. RNA-sequencing data of urine samples from patients with bladder cancer ( n = 18) and matched controls ( n = 12) were mapped to bacterial sequences to yield species-level abundance approximations. Urine samples were analyzed at both the population and species level to reveal dysbiosis associated with bladder cancer. A panel of 35 differentially abundant species was discovered, which may be useful as urinary biomarkers for this disease. We further assessed whether these species were of similar significance in a validation dataset ( n = 81), revealing that the genera Escherichia , Acinetobacter , and Enterobacter were consistently differentially abundant. We discovered distinct patterns of microbial-associated immune modulation in these samples. Several immune pathways were found to be significantly enriched with respect to the abundance of these species, including antigen processing and presentation, cytosolic DNA sensing, and leukocyte transendothelial migration. Differential cytokine activity was similarly observed, suggesting the urinary microbiome's correlation to immune modulation. The adherens junction and WNT signaling pathways, both implicated in the development and progression of bladder cancer, were also enriched with these species. Our findings indicate that the urinary microbiome may reflect both microbial and immune dysregulations of the tumor microenvironment in bladder cancer. Given the potential biomarker species identified, the urinary microbiome may provide a non-invasive, more sensitive, and more specific diagnostic tool, allowing for the earlier diagnosis of patients with bladder cancer.

Purpose: This study analyzed changes in body composition and physical fitness in men with testosterone deficiency (TD) after testosterone treatment (TT) and examined the correlations of body composition and physical fitness with serum testosterone levels and hypogonadal symptoms., Materials and Methods: Seventy patients with TD were divided into control (group I, n=23) and experimental (group II, n=47) groups. Patients in the experimental group were administered intramuscular testosterone enanthate (250 mg) for six months. The aging males symptom scale (AMS) score, international prostate symptom score (IPSS), body mass index, waist circumference, and serum laboratory values were measured at baseline and at the end of the study. Bioelectrical impedance analysis was used to assess the patients' body composition. Seven types of basic exercise tests were used to evaluate the patients' physical fitness., Results: After six months, there were no significant differences in group I, while group II had significantly improved IPSS and AMS scores; increased hemoglobin, hematocrit, prostate-specific antigen, and testosterone levels and skeletal muscle mass; and waist circumference, and body fat mass. All elements of the physical fitness test were significantly improved in group II, with the exceptions of flexibility and endurance. Decreased waist circumference was correlated with changes in testosterone levels in group II, and the IPSS, cardiorespiratory fitness, and agility were correlated with improved hypogonadal symptoms., Conclusions: TT improved the hypogonadal and lower urinary tract symptoms in patients with TD and improved body composition, physical fitness, and metabolic syndrome parameters. Increased testosterone and improved hypogonadal symptoms were correlated with a decrease in waist circumference and an improvement in cardiorespiratory fitness and agility. As such, when implementing TT, we should consider whether these areas may be improved, as this can help to predict the effect., Competing Interests: The authors have nothing to disclose., (Copyright © 2024 Korean Society for Sexual Medicine and Andrology.)

Plastic pollution is a major global environmental issue due to its structural complexity and poor biodegradability. Biological approaches are appropriate due to cost effectiveness and environmental friendliness, however effective polymer degradation is still in its infancy. As biological treatments are slower than physical and chemical approaches, they could be applied in conjunction with pre-treatment techniques such as photo-oxidation, heat treatment, and chemical treatments. But these processes lead to high energy consumption and hazardous secondary pollution. To address these concerns, an enzymatic pre-treatment strategy has been proposed in this study, with an aim of promoting surface oxidation on the plastics leading to improved hydrophilicity. This in turn, facilitates the surface attachment of microbes, ultimately, accelerating biodegradation. Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and Fourier Transform Infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy analyses confirmed the surface oxidation of the polyethylene (PE) and polycarbonate (PC) plastics mediated by the action of laccase enzyme. Contact angle measurement witnessed the increased hydrophilicity of the treated plastics. Following, a potential biofilm forming microbial consortium has been employed for the biodegradation of enzyme treated plastics. SEM analysis indicated the increased formation of corrosive pits and surface aberrations on the enzymatically pre-treated plastics and Confocal Laser Scanning microscopy (CLSM) analysis exhibited the enhanced biofilm formation and exopolysaccharide deposition on the pre-treated PE and PC. In addition, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) revealed the reduction in the elemental composition of carbon with an increment in the oxygen composition of plastics. Gel permeation chromatography (GPC) further confirmed the greater reduction in the molecular weights of the plastics subjected to integrated enzymatic and biofilm treatment than only biofilm treated plastics. This is the first report on the integration of enzymatic pre-treatment with the biofilm mediated microbial degradation to achieve enhanced treatment of plastics which demonstrated to be a promising technology for the effective mitigation of plastic pollution., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest All the authors declare that there is no conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2023 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

The environmental release of noxious petroleum hydrocarbons (PHCs) from the petroleum refining industries is an intractable global challenge. Indigenous PHCs degrading microbes produce insufficient yield of amphiphilic biomolecules with trivial efficiency makes the bioremediation process ineffective. In this concern, the present study is focused on the production of high yield multi-functional amphiphilic biomolecule through the genetic modification of Enterobacter xiangfangensis STP-3 strain using Ethyl methane sulphonate (EMS) induced mutagenesis. Mutant M9 E.xiangfangensis showed 2.32-fold increased yield of bioamphiphile than wild-type strain. Novel bioamphiphile produced by M9 E.xiangfangensis exhibited improved surface and emulsification activities which ensure the maximum degradation of petroleum oil sludge (POS) by 86% than wild-type (72%). SARA, FT-IR, and GC-MS analyses confirmed the expedited degradation of POS and ICP-MS analysis indicated the enhanced removal of heavy metals in connection with the ample production of functionally improved bioamphiphile. FT-IR NMR, MALDI-TOF, GC-MS and LC-MS/MS analyses portrayed the lipoprotein nature of bioamphiphile comprising pentameric fatty acid moiety conjugated with the catalytic esterase moiety. Further, homology modelling and molecular docking revealed the stronger interaction of hydrophobic amino acids, leucine and isoleucine with the PHCs in the case of wild-type esterase moiety, whereas in the mutant, aromatic amino acids were majorly interacted with the long chain and branched chain alkanes, thereby exhibited better efficiency. This is the first report on the adoption of EMS induced mutagenesis strategy to ameliorate the amphiphilic biomolecules for their sustainable applications in diverse biotechnological, environmental and industrial arenas., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare the following financial interests/personal relationships which may be considered as potential competing interests: Dr.K.Ramani reports financial support was provided by India Ministry of Science & Technology Department of Biotechnology. Dr.K.Ramani reports a relationship with SRM Institute of Science and Technology (Deemed to be University) that includes: funding grants., (Copyright © 2023 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Objective The purpose of the study was to assess the clinical outcome of patients by using n-butyl-2-cyanoacrylate in the management of comminuted fracture segments of the anterior wall of the maxillary sinus in the zygomatico-maxillo-facial complex region. Material and methods A prospective study was done at a tertiary care teaching institute in India with a study population of ten patients in a single group. The method of recruitment was a convenient sampling method. Out of all the study subjects, three patients had isolated maxillary sinus wall fractures, whereas the remaining seven had other associated facial fractures that required stable fixation with mini plates. The comminuted fractures of the anterior wall of the maxillary sinus were carefully reduced through an intra-oral approach, and n-butyl-2-cyanoacrylate was applied over the edges of fractured segments. The segments were left undisturbed for one minute and closed with a 3-0 vicryl. The outcome variables, namely bone alignment visualised through computed tomography (CT) scan postoperatively, paresthesia or hypoesthesia of the infraorbital nerve, postoperative infection, and wound dehiscence, were noted at one-week, one-month, three-month, and six-month intervals. Data were analysed using the Chi-square test. Results Among all patients, seven had satisfactory bone alignment. A total of seven patients recovered from hypoesthesia of the infraorbital nerve. The association of bone alignment with hypoesthesia or paresthesia revealed a highly significant p-value (0.002) using the Chi-square test. Also, an association between postoperative infection and wound dehiscence showed substantial results with a p-value less than 0.05. Conclusion Good bone alignment was seen postoperatively in 70% of patients. The cyanoacrylate used had no adverse reactions, and its application was restricted to non-load-bearing areas in this study. Further studies with a higher level of evidence and a larger sample size are needed to validate the use of adhesives for bone fixation in other regions of the face., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist., (Copyright © 2023, Hafeez. A et al.)

Bioremediation of real-time petroleum refining industry oily waste (PRIOW) is a major challenge due to the poor emulsification potential and oil sludge disintegration efficiency of conventional bioamphiphile molecules. The present study was focused on the design of a covalently engineered supramolecular bioamphiphile complex (SUBC) rich in hydrophobic amino acids for proficient emulsification of hydrocarbons followed by the concomitant degradation of total petroleum hydrocarbons (TPH) in PRIOW using the hydrocarbonoclastic microbial bio-formulation system. The synthesis of SUBC was carried out by pH regulated microbial biosynthesis process and the yield was obtained to be 450.8 mg/g of petroleum oil sludge. The FT-IR and XPS analyses of SUBC revealed the anchoring of hydrophilic moieties of monomeric bioamphiphilic molecules, resulting in the formation of SUBC via covalent interaction. The SUBC was found to be lipoprotein in nature. The maximum loading capacity of SUBC onto surface modified rice hull (SMRH) was achieved to be 45.25 mg/g SMRH at the optimized conditions using RSM-CCD design. The SUBC anchored SMRH was confirmed using SEM, FT-IR, XRD and TGA analyses. The adsorption isotherm models of SUBC onto SMRH were performed. The integrated approach of SUBC-SMRH and hydrocarbonoclastic microbial bio-formulation system, emulsified oil from PRIOW by 92.86 ± 2.26% within 24 h and degraded TPH by 89.25 ± 1.75% within 4 days at the optimum dosage ratio of SUBC-SMRH (0.25 g): PRIOW (1 g): mass of microbial-assisted biocarrier material (0.05 g). The TPH degradation was confirmed by SARA fractional analysis, FT-IR, 1 H NMR and GC-MS analyses. The study suggested that the application of covalently engineered SUBC has resulted in the accelerated degradation of real-time PRIOW in a very short duration without any secondary sludge generation. Thus, the SUBC integrated approach can be considered to effectively manage the hydrocarbon contaminants from petroleum refining industries under optimal conditions., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2022 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Possible polymorphic forms of the chemotherapy drug, temozolomide were predicted from the ab initio and DFT methods. The lattice minimization via distributed multipole analysis was carried out for the hypothetical generated structures. A crystal with unit cell parameters close to the real one and of same space group was retrieved, with partly similar packing and interactions. The analysis of inter molecular interaction (through Hirshfeld surface) and electrostatic potential reveals the complementary sites in the molecule. The 26 predicted structures were analyzed with respect to two computed lattice energies and hydrogen-bond propensity. The lattice energy of the real crystal [EXP] packing ranked number 6 compared on the basis of DMACRYS software and number 3 on the basis of the total lattice energy issued from the Crystalexplorer17 software at the B3LYP/6-31G∗∗ level of theory. The molecule has two strong hydrogen bond donors and five strong acceptors. The predicted packings are stabilized by one or two strong N-H…O/N-H…N as well as weak C-H…O/C-H…N and H…π hydrogen bonds. While the real structure with Z' = 1, EXP, forms only one strong H-bond (N-H…O=C), several of the predicted packings form two strong H-bonds. Two predicted crystal packings have unit cell parameters close to the real structure, one of them shares several common intermolecular interactions., Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflict of interest., (© 2022 The Author(s).)

Purpose: As interventional radiologists, we encounter precarious deep-seated mediastinal lesions in our day-to-day practice. The conventional technique of percutaneous transthoracic biopsy of these lesions carries significant intrinsic complications. Endovascular approaches for such lesions under fluoroscopic guidance have been described in previous literature but with significant technical constraints. In this article, we would like to describe the novel approach of computed tomography (CT)-guided trans superior vena caval biopsy, which we have performed in 3 consecutive precarious mediastinal lesions., Material and Methods: We placed a vascular sheath under ultrasound and fluoroscopic guidance considering the intended angle of needle puncture and length to reach the target lesion from the puncture site. With the sheath in situ, the trans superior vena caval biopsy was performed under CT guidance, and multiple cores of target tissue were safely and successfully obtained., Results: We have carefully and successfully employed this novel technique of CT-guided trans superior vena caval approach for 3 tricky deep-seated mediastinal lesions with very low risk of complications., Conclusions: Through this article, we would like to enhance the importance of thought-provoking new techniques in tackling complex challenging referrals., Competing Interests: The authors report no conflict of interest., (Copyright © Polish Medical Society of Radiology 2022.)

Purpose: We developed a tool for locating and grading knee osteoarthritis (OA) from digital X-ray images and illustrate the possibility of deep learning techniques to predict knee OA as per the Kellgren-Lawrence (KL) grading system. The purpose of the project is to see how effectively an artificial intelligence (AI)-based deep learning approach can locate and diagnose the severity of knee OA in digital X-ray images., Methods: Selection criteria: Patients above 50 years old with OA symptoms (knee joint pain, stiffness, crepitus, and functional limitations) were included in the study. Medical experts excluded patients with post-surgical evaluation, trauma, and infection from the study. We used 3172 Anterior-posterior view knee joint digital X-ray images. We have trained the Faster RCNN architecture to locate the knee joint space width (JSW) region in digital X-ray images and we incorporate ResNet-50 with transfer learning to extract the features. We have used another pre-trained network (AlexNet with transfer learning) for the classification of knee OA severity. We trained the region proposal network (RPN) using manual extract knee area as the ground truth image and the medical experts graded the knee joint digital X-ray images based on the Kellgren-Lawrence score. An X-ray image is an input for the final model, and the output is a Kellgren-Lawrence grading value., Results: The proposed model identified the minimal knee JSW area with a maximum accuracy of 98.516%, and the overall knee OA severity classification accuracy was 98.90%., Conclusions: Today numerous diagnostic methods are available, but tools are not transparent and automated analysis of OA remains a problem. The performance of the proposed model increases while fine-tuning the network and it is higher than the existing works. We will extend this work to grade OA in MRI data in the future., (© 2022. Italian Society of Medical Radiology.)

Deregulation of alternative splicing is implicated as a relevant source of molecular heterogeneity in cancer. However, the targets and intrinsic mechanisms of splicing in hepatocarcinogenesis are largely unknown. Here, we report a functional impact of a Splicing Regulatory Glutamine/Lysine-Rich Protein 1 (SREK1) variant and its regulator, Serine/arginine-rich splicing factor 10 (SRSF10). HCC patients with poor prognosis express higher levels of exon 10-inclusive SREK1 (SREK1 L ). SREK1 L can sustain BLOC1S5-TXNDC5 (B-T) expression, a targeted gene of nonsense-mediated mRNA decay through inhibiting exon-exon junction complex binding with B-T to exert its oncogenic role. B-T plays its competing endogenous RNA role by inhibiting miR-30c-5p and miR-30e-5p, and further promoting the expression of downstream oncogenic targets SRSF10 and TXNDC5. Interestingly, SRSF10 can act as a splicing regulator for SREK1 L to promote hepatocarcinogenesis via the formation of a SRSF10-associated complex. In summary, we demonstrate a SRSF10/SREK1 L /B-T signalling loop to accelerate the hepatocarcinogenesis., (© 2022. The Author(s).)

Human-computer interfaces (HCI) allow people to control electronic devices, such as computers, mouses, wheelchairs, and keyboards, by bypassing the biochannel without using motor nervous system signals. These signals permit communication between people and electronic-controllable devices. This communication is due to HCI, which facilitates lives of paralyzed patients who do not have any problems with their cognitive functioning. The major plan of this study is to test out the feasibility of nine states of HCI by using modern techniques to overcome the problem faced by the paralyzed. Analog Digital Instrument T26 with a five-electrode system was used in this method. Voluntarily twenty subjects participated in this study. The extracted signals were preprocessed by applying notch filter with a range of 50 Hz to remove the external interferences; the features were extracted by applying convolution theorem. Afterwards, extracted features were classified using Elman and distributed time delay neural network. Average classification accuracy with 90.82% and 90.56% was achieved using two network models. The accuracy of the classifier was analyzed by single-trial analysis and performances of the classifier were observed using bit transfer rate (BTR) for twenty subjects to check the feasibility of designing the HCI. The achieved results showed that the ERNN model has a greater potential to classify, identify, and recognize the EOG signal compared with distributed time delay network for most of the subjects. The control signal generated by classifiers was applied as control signals to navigate the assistive devices such as mouse, keyboard, and wheelchair activities for disabled people., Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflicts of interest., (Copyright © 2021 M. Thilagaraj et al.)

Objective: Weight-bearing radiographs are preferred for joint space width (JSW) assessment in OA, sometimes non-weight-bearing radiographs are also done. This study aims to evaluate (1) The knee JSW in weight-bearing (WB) and non-weight-bearing (NWB) X-ray images. (2) Quadriceps angle (Q angle) at weight-bearing and non-weight-bearing positions., Materials and Methods: Patients above 50 years old with symptoms (knee pain, functional limitations, and crepitus) from April 2019 to November 2019 were included in the study. Expert exclude patients with post-surgical evaluation, trauma, and infection. JSW and Q angle measurements with respect to weight-bearing and non-weight-bearing positions were made by the same medical expert to avoid inter-observer variation., Results: Medial knee JSW varies from 0.49 to 5.75 mm in weight-bearing radiograph and 0.53 mm to 6.16 mm in non-weight-bearing radiograph. Q angle varies from 8.72° to 14.58° in weight-bearing position and 10.13° to 14.92° in non-weight-bearing position. Q angle (< 11.72°) and medial JSW (< 3.725 mm) were found to be significantly associated with the rapid progression of knee varus OA ( p  < 0.001)., Conclusion: NWB digital X-ray images overestimate early and underestimate severe OA. There is a possibility of increasing tibia internal rotation and reduction of joint space width in a standing position (WB) as the phase of knee OA diagnosis. These findings show that weight-bearing knee joint radiographs are helpful to track the progression of knee varus OA and have strong clinical usage than non-weight-bearing radiographs. Patients whose Q angle and knee JSW measures are below the limitations need more attention., Competing Interests: Conflict of interestThe authors declare that they have no conflict of interest., (© Indian Orthopaedics Association 2021.)

The intra-tumor microbiome has recently been linked to epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) in a number of cancers. However, the relationship between EMT and microbes in bladder cancer has not been explored. In this study, we profiled the abundance of individual microbe species in the tumor samples of over 400 muscle invasive bladder carcinoma (MIBC) patients. We then correlated microbe abundance to the expression of EMT-associated genes and genes in the extracellular matrix (ECM), which are key players in EMT. We discovered that a variety of microbes, including E. coli , butyrate-producing bacterium SM4/1, and a species of Oscillatoria , were associated with expression of classical EMT-associated genes, including E-cadherin, vimentin, SNAI2, SNAI3, and TWIST1. We also found significant correlations between microbial abundance and the expression of genes in the ECM, specifically collagens and elastin. Lastly, we found that a large number of microbes exhibiting significant correlations to EMT are also associated with clinical prognosis and outcomes. We further determined that the microbes we profiled were likely not environmental contaminants. In conclusion, we discovered that the intra-tumoral microbiome could potentially play a significant role in the regulation of EMT in MIBC.

The implications of the microbiome on Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) prognosis has not been thoroughly studied. In this study we aimed to characterize the lung and blood microbiome and their implication on COVID-19 prognosis through analysis of peripheral blood mononuclear cell (PBMC) samples, lung biopsy samples, and bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) samples. In all three tissue types, we found panels of microbes differentially abundant between COVID-19 and normal samples correlated to immune dysregulation and upregulation of inflammatory pathways, including key cytokine pathways such as interleukin (IL)-2, 3, 5-10 and 23 signaling pathways and downregulation of anti-inflammatory pathways including IL-4 signaling. In the PBMC samples, six microbes were correlated with worse COVID-19 severity, and one microbe was correlated with improved COVID-19 severity. Collectively, our findings contribute to the understanding of the human microbiome and suggest interplay between our identified microbes and key inflammatory pathways which may be leveraged in the development of immune therapies for treating COVID-19 patients.

Aim: The objectives are to compare the extent and to find whether it is arch dimension or tooth size that contributes to a greater extent to malocclusions such as dental crowding and proclination., Materials and Methods: A total of 90 pretreatment models were selected and divided into three groups, namely uncrowded (Group-A), crowded (Group B), and proclination (Group-C). Measurements obtained were: (1) The largest mesiodistal width of each tooth on each arch (except the second and third molars), (2) Buccal inter-canine and inter-molar widths, (3) Lingual inter-canine and inter-molar widths, (4) Arch perimeters, and (5) Arch length., Results: The mesiodistal teeth dimensions were higher in crowded and proclination group. Both inter canine width and inter molar width of maxilla were reduced in crowded group. Maxillary and mandibular arch perimeter and arch lengths were higher proclination group., Competing Interests: There are no conflicts of interest., (Copyright: © 2021 Journal of Pharmacy and Bioallied Sciences.)

Cytokinesis, the final step of mitosis, is critical for maintaining the ploidy level of cells. Cytokinesis is a complex, highly regulated process and its failure can lead to genetic instability and apoptosis, contributing to the development of cancer. Human hepatocellular carcinoma is often accompanied by a high frequency of aneuploidy and the DNA ploidy pattern observed in human hepatocellular carcinoma results mostly from impairments in cytokinesis. Many key regulators of cytokinesis are abnormally expressed in human hepatocellular carcinoma, and their expression levels are often correlated with patient prognosis. Moreover, preclinical studies have demonstrated that the inhibition of key cytokinesis regulators can suppress the growth of human hepatocellular carcinoma. Here, we provide an overview of the current understanding of the signaling networks regulating cytokinesis, the key cytokinesis regulators involved in the initiation and development of human hepatocellular carcinoma, and their applications as potential diagnostic and therapeutic biomarkers.