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A case report of a very rare entity of persistent Müllerian duct syndrome with malignant transformation of Mullerian remnant is presented. A twenty-two-year-old phenotypically normal male presented with complain of hematuria and lower abdominal pain. On examination patient had bilateral cryptorchidism and on imaging bilateral duplication of pelvicalyceal system and ureters and left sided ureterocoele. There was a malignant mass lesion with metastatic lymphadenopathy in pelvis. The diagnosis of persistent Mullerian duct syndrome was suspected on MRI pelvis and confirmed by genetic and pathological testings. Risk of malignant transformation of undescended testis and Mullerian remnants increases with age and have impact on psychological health of patient, so early diagnosis becomes crucial.

The article briefly reports the fundamental scientific principles and landmarks in the field of luminescence and further enlightens the importance of persistent phosphor that is now widely used in luminous paints. Its main focus is on phosphorescence that makes use of lanthanides that have gained paramount importance in various cross-sections of luminescent applications. Both inorganic and organic afterglow materials, synthesis and characterization along with skilled researchers' essential updates on emerging trends and efforts are elucidated at length. It exclusively reviews the red/green/blue organic/inorganic/hybrid phosphorescent materials and the latest advances in the development of novel long afterglow materials that can accelerate the green technology in the world of luminescence.

KCNH2 encodes hERG1, the voltage-gated potassium channel that conducts the rapid delayed rectifier potassium current (I Kr ) in human cardiac tissue. hERG1 is one of the first channels expressed during early cardiac development, and its dysfunction is associated with intrauterine fetal death, sudden infant death syndrome, cardiac arrhythmia, and sudden cardiac death. Here, we identified a hERG1 polypeptide (hERG1 NP ) that is targeted to the nuclei of immature cardiac cells, including human stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes (hiPSC-CMs) and neonatal rat cardiomyocytes. The nuclear hERG1 NP immunofluorescent signal is diminished in matured hiPSC-CMs and absent from adult rat cardiomyocytes. Antibodies targeting distinct hERG1 channel epitopes demonstrated that the hERG1 NP signal maps to the hERG1 distal C-terminal domain. KCNH2 deletion using CRISPR simultaneously abolished I Kr and the hERG1 NP signal in hiPSC-CMs. We then identified a putative nuclear localization sequence (NLS) within the distal hERG1 C-terminus, 883-RQRKRKLSFR-892. Interestingly, the distal C-terminal domain was targeted almost exclusively to the nuclei when overexpressed HEK293 cells. Conversely, deleting the NLS from the distal peptide abolished nuclear targeting. Similarly, blocking α or β1 karyopherin activity diminished nuclear targeting. Finally, overexpressing the putative hERG1 NP peptide in the nuclei of HEK cells significantly reduced hERG1a current density, compared to cells expressing the NLS-deficient hERG1 NP or GFP. These data identify a developmentally regulated polypeptide encoded by KCNH2 , hERG1 NP , whose presence in the nucleus indirectly modulates hERG1 current magnitude and kinetics.

Cardiac myocytes isolated from adult heart tissue have a rod-like shape with highly organized intracellular structures. Cardiomyocytes derived from human pluripotent stem cells (iPSC-CMs), on the other hand, exhibit disorganized structure and contractile mechanics, reflecting their pronounced immaturity. These characteristics hamper research using iPSC-CMs. The protocol described here enhances iPSC-CM maturity and function by controlling the cellular shape and environment of the cultured cells. Microstructured silicone membranes function as a cell culture substrate that promotes cellular alignment. iPSC-CMs cultured on micropatterned membranes display an in-vivo-like rod-shaped morphology. This physiological cellular morphology along with the soft biocompatible silicone substrate, which has similar stiffness to the native cardiac matrix, promotes maturation of contractile function, calcium handling, and electrophysiology. Incorporating this technique for enhanced iPSC-CM maturation will help bridge the gap between animal models and clinical care, and ultimately improve personalized medicine for cardiovascular diseases. © 2022 The Authors. Current Protocols published by Wiley Periodicals LLC. Basic Protocol 1: Cardiomyocyte differentiation of iPSCs Basic Protocol 2: Purification of differentiated iPSC-CMs using MACS negative selection Basic Protocol 3: Micropatterning on PDMS.

hERG1 conducts cardiac IKr and is critical for repolarization of the human heart. Reduced IKr causes long QT syndrome and increases the risk for cardiac arrhythmia and sudden cardiac death. At least two subunits combine to form functional hERG1 channels, hERG1a and hERG1b. Changes in hERG 1a/1b subunit abundance modulates IKr kinetics, magnitude, and drug sensitivity. Studies from native cardiac tissue have suggested that hERG1 subunit abundance is dynamically regulated, but the impact of altered subunit abundance on IKr and its response to external stressors is not well understood. Here, we used a substrate-driven hiPSC-CM maturation model to investigate how changes in relative hERG 1a/1b subunit abundance impact the response of native IKr to extracellular acidosis, a known component of ischemic heart disease and sudden infant death syndrome. IKr recorded from immature hiPSC-CMs display a two-fold greater inhibition by extracellular acidosis (pH 6.3) compared to matured hiPSC-CMs. qRT-PCR and immunocytochemistry demonstrated that hERG1a subunit mRNA and protein were upregulated, and hERG1b subunit mRNA and protein were downregulated in matured hiPSC-CMs compared to immature hiPSC-CMs. The shift in subunit abundance in matured hiPSC-CMs was accompanied by an increased in IKr density. Silencing the impact of hERG1b on native IKr kinetics by overexpressing a polypeptide identical to the hERG1a PAS domain reduced the magnitude of IKr proton inhibition in immature hiPSC-CMs to levels comparable to those observed in matured hiPSC-CMs. These data demonstrate that hERG1 subunit abundance is dynamically regulated and that hERG1 subunit abundance determines IKr sensitivity to protons in hiPSC-CMs.

Voltage-gated Channel hERG1 conducts rapid delayed rectifier potassium current (I

Near-UV (NUV)-excitable blue-light-emitting Eu2+ ions-doped Ca-chabazite Ca1.9Al3.8Si8.2O24 phosphor was synthesized by facile urea-assisted combustion synthesis method. Prepared materials were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD) study, scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), and photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopy. The Eu2+-doped Ca1.9Al3.8Si8.2O24 calcium aluminosilicate phosphor exhibited intense and broad emission in the blue region. CIE chromaticity coordinates were plotted and obtained values were compared with standard NTSC coordinates. Electron vibration interaction (EVI) parameters such as Huang Rhy’s factor (S) and effective phonon energy (ħω) were calculated to determine the strength of electron–phonon coupling. The prepared mineral-based blue-emitting Near-UV-excitable phosphor may prove to be a potential candidate as a blue component for the white light emitting diode (wLED).

Natural products and herbal remedies used in traditional folklore medicine have been the source of many medically beneficial drugs because they elicit fewer side effects, relatively cheap, affordable and claimed to be effective. However, in order to make these remedies acceptable to modern medicine, there is a need to scientifically evaluate them to identify the active principles and to understand their mechanism of action. Selaginella bryopteris (S. bryopteris) is a pteridophytic plant belongs to the family selaginellaceae. Its familiar name is sanjeevani booti. The aim of the present investigation was isolation and characterization of active components derived from whole plant of S. bryopteris. The plant was extracted with petroleum ether, ethyl acetate and methanol solvent. The preliminary phytochemical results revealed that alkaloids, carbohydrates, reducing sugar, flavonoids, protein, amino acid, tannin and phenolic compound as active constituents in methanolic extract of S. bryopteris. The total phenolics content of whole plant of methanolic extract was (184.13±0.416 mg/gm), followed by flavonoids (89.67±2.516mg/gm). The quantification and the identification of compounds in the crude extract and active bands isolated by preparative TLC were accomplished using spectroscopic analysis. The most important compounds amentoflavone identified in the crude extract appreciable amounts may account for its various biological activities. Keywords: Selaginella bryopteris, Isolation, Plant extraction, Phytochemical

In current times, after the rapid expansion and spread of the COVID-19 outbreak globally, people have experienced severe disruption to their daily lives. One idea to manage the outbreak is to enforce people wear a face mask in public places. Therefore, automated and efficient face detection methods are essential for such enforcement. In this paper, a face mask detection model for static and real time videos has been presented which classifies the images as "with mask" and "without mask". The model is trained and evaluated using the Kaggle data-set. The gathered data-set comprises approximately about 4,000 pictures and attained a performance accuracy rate of 98%. The proposed model is computationally efficient and precise as compared to DenseNet-121, MobileNet-V2, VGG-19, and Inception-V3. This work can be utilized as a digitized scanning tool in schools, hospitals, banks, and airports, and many other public or commercial locations.

Energy efficiency to route data in wireless sensor networks is key concern to enhance network lifetime. In this paper, an energy efficient routing protocol has been proposed using fuzzy logic tools. Fuzzy sets and fuzzy decision rules have been introduced for intelligent selection of CHs and to establish multi-hop routes to base station. The performance of the proposed protocol is compared with FD-LEACH, OCM-FCM and MH-EEBCDA. Simulation results confirm that the proposed protocol is far better than these protocols in terms network lifetime and throughput. The performance of proposed protocol improves further for networks with higher node density.

In the last couple of years, oxynitride phosphors have been explored because of promising potential in phosphor-converted white LEDs. The oxynitrides based on [(Si, Al) (O, N)4] have been newly developed because of higher formal charge of N3 − compared with O2– and strong nephelauxetic effect resembling to oxygen environment. Thermal quenching and thermal degradation are important parameters, which decide materials credibility in lighting industry. Oxynitride phosphors have high degree of cross-linking and strong crystal field splitting that aid in minimizing losses in energy conversion process. When oxynitrides coordinate with rare earth ions, there occurs large crystal field splitting that eventually leads to long wavelength excitation and emission as compared with traditional oxide materials. The present chapter reports the development of oxynitride phosphors doped with various lanthanides for assorted applications in solid-state lighting.

In the present manuscript we report the structural and optical properties of terbium doped lanthanum orthophosphate nanophosphor capped with assorted capping agents and synthesized by conventional sol-gel method. The fabricated nanophosphor has been characterized using XRD (X-ray diffraction), SEM (Scanning electron microscopy), TG /DTA(thermo gravimetric analysis), PL(Photoluminescence spectroscopy) and FTIR (Fourier transform infra red spectroscopy). The studies explored that host LaPO4 when annealed at higher temperatures of 1000°C exhibit monazite structure which remain unaltered even after the addition of distinct capping agents like polyethylene glycol (PEG), Pyridine (PY) and Polystyrene (PS). The optical emission spectrum has been characterized with a broad band centered at 492nm and another spectral band at 545nm respectively. PLstudies reveal that different spectral emission transitions are a consequence of typical 4f-4f intra configurational forbidden transitions of Tb3+. Additions of suitable capping agents have shown improvement in luminescence efficiency due to surface defect passivation. The present work confirms lanthanum orthophosphate nano phosphor doped with Tb3+ as a suitable host for phosphor converted LEDs and solid state lighting.

In the present work, investigation on high pressure torsion (HPT) and accumulative HPT (ACC HPT) processed Zr62Cu22Al10Fe5Dy1 bulk metallic glass (BMG) is performed. BMG plate was cut into four pieces (disc) for HPT and ACC HPT processing. BMG specimens obtained after n=2, 10 and 11 revolutions of the HPT and ACC HPT are termed as BMG 2, BMG 10 and BMG 11, respectively. Alloys are found to retain the glassy phase before and after HPT process. Homogeneous amorphous structure of BMG initial is obtained with slight decrease in microhardness at different locations on the plate. Besides, significant reduction in hardness for BMG 2, BMG 10, and BMG 11 specimens is observed due to HPT processing from central to peripheral region of the disc. Present study shows that ACC HPT more intensively transform the structure of BMG in comparison to that of conventional HPT.

Nanomaterials synthesize by different techniques exhibit excellent photocatalytic activity. These catalysts could be employed for environmental remediation, renewable energy sources, photocatalysis and many other applications in various fields. Nanophotocatalyst has been used for the treatment of hazardous materials such as industrial effluents containing complex organic compounds, dyes and metal ions successfully. The multidimensional study of composition, shape, size, surface area and nanostructure and different operating parameters like pH, concentration, temperature etc, of these photocatalyst help in current and further development of photocatalysts for different applications. The photocatalytic activity of nanoparticles has made a great contribution in providing definitive mechanistic information about the photocatalytic processes. The main aim of this review paper is to give an overview of the enhanced photocatalytic activities of titanium dioxide (TiO2) nanoparticles. This review includes the basic properties of photocatalyst and mechanim of photocatalysis process followed by unique photocatalytic properties and research of TiO2 nanoparticles as photocatalysts. An effort has also been made to give an overview of expedient photocatalytic activity of these doped nanoparticles. Many investigators have reported the enhanced photocatalytic activity by the degradation of dyes as a model compound.

In the present manuscript, Calcium diphosphate phosphor doped with Cerium and capped with sodium hexametaphosphate has been reported. A theoretical analysis of electron vibration interactions in optical transitions of Ce3+ ions in Ca2P2O7 has been elaborated in brief. The main EVI parameters such as Huang’s Rhys factor and effective phonon energy were determined by evaluating the lowest 5d level of Ce3+ spectrum. The obtained values were used to model the shape of emission band along with estimation of zero phonon line. The fabricated nano phosphor was characterized by powder X-ray diffraction technique. Studies revealed that Ca2P2O7 crystallizes in tetragonal group with square anti prism symmetry. The crystal structure arrangement was found to be non linear in nature with two PO3 groups linked by bridging oxygen forming the diphosphate group. Transmission electron microscopy observations explored nano structural features of the synthesized nano phosphor compound. A study involving SAED and HRTEM on isolated particles was carried out to validate the stabilization of the tetragonal phase. The phosphate functional group of the host was probed by Fourier transform infrared microscopy. Optical properties were examined by evaluating the photoluminescence excitation and emission spectra. Broad emission peaks were observed around 326 nm and 347 nm because of 4f-5d transitions of rare earth activator Ce3+. With the help of TL glow curve measurements, the trap depths were calculated employing peak shape method. Lifetime calculation for the nano phosphor indicates that the aforementioned compound has promising potential for solid state lighting and optoelectronic applications.

Chest wall hamartoma is a very rare tumour with benign course and distinct clinical, radiological, and histopathological characteristics. The lesion develops during foetal life and is present at or shortly after birth. It should be kept in differential diagnosis of complex chest wall masses diagnosed during antenatal ultrasound. CT thorax is useful for appreciation of detailed anatomy, characterization of the congenital abnormality and for surgical planning. Histopathology is used for the confirmation. Accurate diagnosis of mesenchymal hamartoma is important since many chest wall masses in children are malignant. We report a rare case of multifocal chest wall hamartoma in an infant who presented with multiple bilateral complex chest wall masses in which characteristic radiological and histopathological features led to the diagnosis of hamartoma, which was successfully treated with surgery.

Down syndrome (DS) is a chromosomal disorder caused by trisomy of chromosome 21 (Ts21). Unbalanced karyotypes can lead to dysfunction of the proteostasis network (PN) and disrupted proteostasis is mechanistically associated with multiple DS comorbidities. Autophagy is a critical component of the PN that has not previously been investigated in DS. Based on our previous observations of PN disruption in DS, we investigated possible dysfunction of the autophagic machinery in human DS fibroblasts and other DS cell models. Following induction of autophagy by serum starvation, DS fibroblasts displayed impaired autophagic flux indicated by autophagolysosome accumulation and elevated p62, NBR1, and LC3-II abundance, compared to age- and sex-matched, euploid (CTL) fibroblasts. While lysosomal physiology was unaffected in both groups after serum starvation, we observed decreased basal abundance of the Soluble N-ethylmaleimide-sensitive-factor Attachment protein Receptor (SNARE) family members syntaxin 17 (STX17) and Vesicle Associated Membrane Protein 8 (VAMP8) indicating that decreased autophagic flux in DS is due at least in part to a possible impairment of autophagosome-lysosome fusion. This conclusion was further supported by the observation that over-expression of either STX17 or VAMP8 in DS fibroblasts restored autophagic degradation and reversed p62 accumulation. Collectively, our results indicate that impaired autophagic clearance is a characteristic of DS cells that can be reversed by enhancement of SNARE protein expression and provides further evidence that PN disruption represents a candidate mechanism for multiple aspects of pathogenesis in DS and a possible future target for therapeutic intervention.

Background: The main aim of the study was to characterize breast lesions using digital breast tomosynthesis and ultrasound and compare the detection and characterization of lesions between both the modalities.Methods: This was a cross-sectional, observational study that included 150 women who were screened with mammography followed by digital breast tomosynthesis and ultrasound for breast cancer. Patients approaching willingly for screening as per the inclusion criteria underwent mammography and digital breast tomosynthesis followed by ultrasonography. In lesion showing characteristics of malignancy biopsy correlation was done.Results: About half of the patients had type C tissue composition of the breast (50.67%). Most patients were of age between 35 to 44 years (46%). Malignant lesions were similarly detected by both the modalities. Almost all benign cases were also similarly diagnosed. Sensitivity and specificity of ultrasonography was 94.85% and 92%. Sensitivity and specificity for tomosynthesis was 91.86% and 88.24%. Combined testing showed 100% sensitivity, 97.8% specificity, 98.36% positive predictive value and 100% negative predictive value.Conclusions: Combining use of tomosynthesis and ultrasonography can make it possible to detect any small lesion, malignancy in its earliest stage (in situ) as well as few premalignant conditions like atypical ductal hyperplasia, as in few conditions there is possible sonography negative and mammogram positive calcifications are found.

Leading to advancement in technological manifestations the phenomenon of persistent luminescence and growth of luminescent materials has witnessed a rapid headway in research and development. It is an optical phenomenon, also referred as long lasting phosphorescence and is applied effectively in safety indications, emergency lighting, graphic arts, interior decoration, multidimensional optical memory and detection of high energy UV, X-rays and β rays. Persistent luminescence is the underlying mechanism that constitutes one of the aspects of solid state lighting technology. LED light bulbs are extremely energy efficient and sustainable since the power consumption is brought down by 80% when compared to conventional light bulbs. Such low energy consumption can save millions in energy costs and can provide eco-friendly sustainable lighting worldwide. Since sustainable energy services are central to economic development, pioneered use of LED lighting powered by renewable energy will cause positive impact not only on environment through reduced carbon dioxide emission and less deforestation but will also provide a cheaper source of lighting to people. The paper highlights the principle working of persistent phenomenon through various models. It also explores the advancement made in this arena through various research input. We are working with the probability of generation of reliable, compact and efficient LEDs with a couple of phosphor systems. Nevertheless, sustainability is multi-faceted. Though LED lighting is worth significant from energy consumption standpoint it is struggling with respect to finite material usage and recyclability. Constant efforts are raised to overcome these shortcomings.

Nowadays, various image processing methods are broadly being used as a part of the biomedical zones. It is crucial to diagnose the disease and to classify the specific stage for the radiologists to give reasonable remedial to the patients. Lung cancer is the most widely recognized known cancer among individuals, which can be delegated little cell and non-little cell. In this paper, we have proposed a model for the detection of pulmonary lesions at the initial and advanced stages of lung disease on CT (Computed Tomography) images. The proposed framework consists of four stages; change of RGB to grey scale image, smoothing will be performed using median filter to lessen the effect of noise from images, segmentation will be performed using thresholding and watershed techniques and after that the features are extracted for processed image. A framework has been tested with 12,645 images, a dataset of 50 patients. We have noticed that the proposed model perform better than already existing techniques and performance of this model is zero false positive acceptances.

Down syndrome (DS) is a genetic disorder caused by trisomy of chromosome 21 (Tri21). This unbalanced karyotype has the ability to produce proteotoxic stress and dysfunction of the proteostasis network (PN), which are mechanistically associated with several comorbidities found in the DS phenotype. Autophagy is the cellular process responsible for bulk protein degradation and its impairment could negatively impact protein quality control. Based on our previous observations of PN disruption in DS, we investigated possible dysfunction of the autophagic machinery in human DS fibroblasts. Both euploid (CTL) and DS fibroblasts induced autophagy successfully through serum starvation (SS), as evidenced by increased LC3-II abundance in CTL and DS. However, DS cells displayed evidence of autophagolysosome (AL) accumulation and impaired clearance of autophagosome cargo, e.g. accumulation of p62 and NBR1. Similar observations were also present in DS cells from multiple differentiation stages, implicating impeded autophagic degradation as a possible early pathologic mechanism in DS. Lysosomal pH and cathepsin B proteolytic activity were found to not differ in CTL and DS fibroblasts after SS, indicating that lysosomal dysfunction did not appear to contribute to unsuccessful autophagic clearance. Based on these results, we hypothesized that possible interference of the endosomal system with autophagy results in autophagosome fusion with endosomal vesicles and negatively impacts degradation. Consistent with this hypothesis, we observed increased abundance of the recycling endosome marker, Rab11, after SS in DS fibroblasts. Further, colocalization of autophagosome markers with resident proteins of early endosomes, late endosomes and recycling endosomes (Rab11) further support our hypothesis. In summary, our work is consistent with impairment of autophagic flux and general PN dysfunction as candidate mechanisms for pathology in DS.

This paper makes a case for a new cross-layer interface, Expressive Memory (XMem), to communicate higher-level program semantics from the application to the system software and hardware architecture. XMem provides (i) a flexible and extensible abstraction, called an Atom, enabling the application to express key program semantics in terms of how the program accesses data and the attributes of the data itself, and (ii) new cross-layer interfaces to make the expressed higher-level information available to the underlying OS and architecture. By providing key information that is otherwise unavailable, XMem exposes a new, rich view of the program data to the OS and the different architectural components that optimize memory system performance (e.g., caches, memory controllers). By bridging the semantic gap between the application and the underlying memory resources, XMem provides two key benefits. First, it enables architectural/system-level techniques to leverage key program semantics that are challenging to predict or infer. Second, it improves the efficacy and portability of software optimizations by alleviating the need to tune code for specific hardware resources (e.g., cache space). While XMem is designed to enhance and enable a wide range of memory optimizations, we demonstrate the benefits of XMem using two use cases: (i) improving the performance portability of software-based cache optimization by expressing the semantics of data locality in the optimization and (ii) improving the performance of OS-based page placement in DRAM by leveraging the semantics of data structures and their access properties.