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The aim of the present research work was to investigate the variation in nutritional potential, phenolic profile, antioxidant, and free radical scavenging activities of four wildly grown accessions of Cucumis melo var. Agrestis. The accessions of Cucumis melo var. Agrestis were collected from different areas of the district Faisalabad and Layyah of Punjab province (Pakistan). Mineral profile and amino acid analysis were examined using inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectroscopy (ICP-OES) and an amino acid analyzer. High-pressure liquid chromatography (HPLC) was used for the separation and quantification of polyphenols from chloroform and methanol fractions of Cucumis melo. ICP-OES was used for quantitative and qualitative evaluation of elements, and results showed that magnesium (533.6–663.2 ppm) and iron (308.1–590.8 ppm) were the most abundant minerals. Amino acids analyzer showed that valine (0.03–45.58 mmol/L) and taurine (0.03–2.34 mmol/L) were present in the highest concentration. The methanol extract yield of the accessions was in the range of 14.00–17.03 g/100 g of plant material. HPLC analysis showed the detection of eleven phenolic compounds, and the most abundant compound was chlorogenic acid (1120.53–1237.52 µg/g), followed by gallic acid (188.14–930.74 µg/g) and vanillic acid (6.35–298.81 µg/g). Chloroform and methanol fractions were analyzed for antioxidant activity, and results showed that all the fractions were rich in total phenolic content (TPC) (26.6–112.00 mg/100 g) and total flavonoid content (TFC) (20.5–77.9 mg/100 g). Methanol fraction of accession-1 showed the best free radical scavenging capacity (82.2 %) and % inhibition of linoleic acid peroxidation activity (84.4 %) than other fractions. Statistical analysis revealed significant variation among the nutritional potential and antioxidant activity of all the accessions.

An experiment to study stability of Ashwagandha genotypes was conducted during Kharif 2018-19 at three different environments. High influence of environment was observed as G x E was significant for all the studied traits. Based upon stability parameters, the genotypes JA-20, UWS-305, UWS-309 and UWS-314 were identified as stable for above average environment, whereas JA-134 was found stable under below average environment for root yield at harvest. UWS-305 showed below average stability for total alkaloid content. Out of the 45 crosses, above average stability was depicted by UWS-305 x UWS-10 and UWS-304 x RVA-100 while below average stability was showed by UWS-309 x RVA-100 for root yield at harvest along with total alkaloid content. Hence, above identified stable genotypes may be beneficial in breeding programme for improvement of root yield and alkaloid content in ashwagandha.

This article aims to study the neutrosophic quaternion numbers, where we defined the neutrosophic quaternions numbers and the two equal neutrosophic quaternions numbers, also, the neutrosophic quaternions numbers algebra were introduced by studying addition, multiplication, division and conjugate of a neutrosophic quaternions number. In addition, we have discussed how to calculate the absolute value of a neutrosophic quaternions number and its inverted.

Ganglioneuroma is a rare, benign, slow-growing asymptomatic tumor of the neural crest cells. It occurs in one per million population with female predominance. It most commonly occurs in the retro=peritoneum. Although CT scan and other imaging modalities can be used, its diagnosis is essentially based on histopathology. We report a case of 18 year old male who presented with abdominal pain and a mass in the left lumbar quadrant. CT scan abdomen showed a retroperitoneal mass encasing aorta, IVC and left common iliac artery. A diagnosis of Ganglioneuroma was established on ultrasound guided Trucut biopsy. He underwent laparotomy for total excision of mass. Per-operatively the mass was separated from the vital structures and the major blood vessels. His post-operative course was uneventful and he was discharged on 7th post-operative day. His final histopathology confirmed the initial diagnosis of ganglioneuroma. Nonetheless, a possibility of ganglioneuroma should be kept under consideration in cases of all retroperitoneal extra-adrenal masses. Key Words: Ganglioneuroma, Retroperitoneal Mass, Extra-Adrenal Mass.

The influence of TEOS on the rheological properties of PVDF and poly(vinylidene fluoride-co-hexafluoropropylene) was investigated. The addition of TEOS to low molecular weight PVDF results in pseudoplastic behavior. The exception is PVDF containing 5 wt%. TEOS, which shows dilation behavior. Similar behavior has high molecular weight PVDF with the addition of 2 wt.% TEOS and low molecular weight copolymer with and without TEOS. The influence of temperature on the viscosity and activation energy of the tested PVDF solutions and the influence of TEOS on the average molecular weight were also examined.

It may be difficult for researchers to memorize or remember the trigonometric ratios of any neutrosophic angle, and this is what prompted us to activate the role of the neutrosophic complex numbers for that. In this paper we presented neutrosophic Euler’s formulas and neutrosophic De Moivre's formula. Also, we benefited from that by finding the trigonometric ratios of the multiples of neutrosophic angle in terms of the trigonometric ratios of the neutrosophic angle (𝜃̈+ 𝜑̈𝐼) and convert trigonometric ratios from formula 𝑠𝑖𝑛𝑛(𝜃̈+ 𝜑̈𝐼), or formula 𝑐𝑜𝑠𝑚(𝜃̈+ 𝜑̈𝐼), into a linear expression for the multiples of the neutrosophic angle (𝜃̈+ 𝜑̈𝐼), which made it easier for us to find integrals of the neutrosophic trigonometric functions by other methods.

Complex numbers have been studied in previous papers, but the papers did not deal with the conversion from algebraic form of a neutrosophic complex number form to exponential or trigonometric form and vice versa, and this prompted us to search for a method that facilitates this conversion process, as this paper dealt with how to move from algebraic form of a neutrosophic complex number to exponential or trigonometric form and vice versa, also, we discussed the roots from order 𝑛 of a neutrosophic complex number, whether this number is given in algebraic or trigonometric form.

The Agriculture Editorial Office wishes to make the following changes to the author’s paper [...]

The investigation was carried with 65 genotypes of Ashwagandha in three different environments to get information on combining ability for root yield at harvest, yield attributing traits and total alkaloid content. The analysis of variance indicated that experimental material contained considerable variability, furthermore the expression of both GCA as well as SCA was highly influenced by the environment. Based on the study five parental lines viz., L9, L5, L14, L15 and L8 along with tester T3 were reported as good general combiners for root yield and total alkaloid content over the environments. Among the crosses 10 hybrids and 22 hybrids were found useful specific combiner for root yield at harvest and total alkaloid content, respectively on pooled basis due to significant desirable SCA effects across the environments. Hence the above-selected genotypes may be useful for further exploitation in breeding programme of ashwagandha.

The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of the superoxide dismutase mimic compound “tempol” on liver and renal damage in Long Evans male rats administered with carbon tetrachloride (CCl4). Methods: The antioxidant enzyme activity and oxidative stress parameters were investigated in the liver, kidney, and plasma tissues. Histological examination of the liver and kidney sections affirmed inflammatory cell infiltration, collagen deposition, and iron deposition. RT-PCR was also employed to evaluate the expression of oxidative stress and inflammatory genes. Results: The CCl4-administered rats exhibited increased plasma activities of ALT, AST, and ALP compared to the control rats. The tempol treatment in the CCl4-administered rats significantly lowered ALT, AST, and ALP enzyme activities compared to the CCl4 group. Oxidative stress parameters, such as the MDA, NO, and APOP levels in various tissues of the CCl4-administered rats, showed increased concentrations, whereas tempol significantly lowered the level of oxidative stress. Moreover, CCl4 administration decreased the antioxidant enzyme activities, which were further significantly restored by the tempol treatment. The control rats that underwent treatment with tempol did not present with any abnormality or toxicity. Furthermore, the tempol treatment in the CCl4-administered rats increased Nrf-2-HO-1-mediated gene expression and enhanced related antioxidant enzyme gene expressions. The tempol treatment in the CCl4-administered rats also decreased anti-inflammatory gene expressions in the liver. In histological sections of the liver, CCl4 increased inflammatory cell infiltration, collagen deposition, and iron deposition, which were reduced significantly due to the tempol treatment. Conclusion: The results of this investigation revealed that tempol could protect against liver and kidney damage in CCl4-administered rats by modulating antioxidant gene expressions and restoring antioxidant defense mechanisms.

This research focuses on the purpose and importance of studying the impact of physical factors on heat transfer and air flow patterns in a solar air heater (SAH) with wire-shaped roughness on the absorbers rectangle conduit. By understanding these factors, we can enhance the radiation absorption effectiveness of solar collectors. To investigate the effects of artificial roughness arrangement on SAH efficiency, we developed an experimental apparatus. The experiments involved determining the allowable ranges of dimensionless factors such as relative wire roughness height (h/D), relative roughness wire pitch (p/h), and the angle of approach of flow (α). Additionally, we considered the Reynolds number (Re) and the duct width to height ratio (W/H) during the development of computer program code for optimization. By comparing experimental findings with those obtained from a smooth duct under similar flow circumstances, we evaluated the improved heat transfer and friction factor. Notably, for specific parameters such as W/H = 5, h/D = 0.01, p/h = 40, and α = 50◦, the average Stanton number (Stav) was found to be 1.196 times higher than that of a smooth SAH duct. Similarly, the average friction factor (fav) was observed to be 1.044 times higher than that of a smooth SAH duct. At p/h = 40 and h/D = 0.01, the average air friction factor and average Stanton number are the lowest for Reynolds number 3000. These numbers have the best efficiency index, which is 1.148. The research findings have implications for optimizing solar air heaters by incorporating wire-shaped roughness on the absorbers conduit. This enhances heat transfer and overall performance, leading to more efficient solar collectors with positive environmental and economic impacts through increased energy efficiency and reduced reliance on non-renewable energy sources.

The purpose of this article is to study the neutrosophic limits, where the methods of neutrosophic factorization and neutrosophic rationalization were applied, useful theorems have been proven for facilitating the calculation of the neutrosophic limits. Also, the definition of a positive neutrosophic number was presented, and the necessary condition to find the square root of the neutrosophic number, in addition to studying some special limits and neutrosophic trigonometric limits. Where detailed examples were given to clarify each case.

Abstract The oxygenated hydro diesel (OHD) is prepared from hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), acetone, and seaweed polysaccharide. A long-term study was carried out on the OHD fuel blend stability for about a year at various temperatures. The long-term stability shows very stable properties, no easy emulsion breaking, and a long storage period. The neat diesel and blend fuel performance test was conducted at various engine speeds, 1700–3100 RPM the diesel blend with 5 wt.% and 10 wt. % of H2O2 revealed the best fraction for reducing smoke and emissions. The blend contains 15 wt.% H2O2, revealing a significant reduction in exhaust temperature without considering the engine's performance. Moreover, the performance of the OHD also revealed an economizing rate, decreasing environmental pollution and prolonging the engine’s service life. The diesel engine performance and environmental evaluation leading to exhaust emissions characterization ( $${\mathrm{CO}}_{\mathrm{X}}$$ CO X , $${\mathrm{SO}}_{\mathrm{X}}, {\mathrm{NO}}_{\mathrm{X}}$$ SO X , NO X , and others). Based on the results, the various concentrations of H2O2 are an effective method for reducing the emission of diesel engines. Decreased CO, SO2, unburned hydrocarbons, and NO2 were also observed as percentages of H2O2. Due to increased oxygen content, water content and cetane number, the number of unburned hydrocarbons from diesel fuel decreased with the addition of H2O2. Therefore, the OHD blend can significantly curtail the exhaust emission of conventional diesel fuel, which will help reduce the harmful greenhouse gas emissions from diesel fuel sources.

In this work, a comprehensive shrinkage and tensile strength characterization of unsaturated polyester (UPE-8340) and vinyl ester (VE-922) epoxy matrices and composites reinforced with multiwall carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) was conducted. The aspect ratio of UPE and VE with methyl ethyl ketone peroxide (MEKP) was kept at 1:16.6; however, the weight of the MWCNTs was varied from 0.03 to 0.3 gm for the doping of the reinforced nanocomposites. Using a dumbbell-shaped mold, samples of the epoxy matrix without MWCNTs and with reinforced UPE/MWCNT and VE/MWCNT nanocomposites were made. The samples were then cured in a typical ambient chamber with air and an inner gas (carbon dioxide). The effect of the MWCNTs on UPE- and VE-reinforced composites was studied by observing the curing kinetics, shrinkage, and tensile properties, as well as the surface free energy of each reinforced sample in confined saline water. The CO2 curing results reveal that the absence of O2 shows a significantly lower shrinkage rate and higher tensile strength and flexural modulus of UPE- and VE-reinforced nanocomposite samples compared with air-cured reinforced nanocomposites. The construction that was air- and CO2-cured produced results in the shape of a dumbbell, and a flawless surface was seen. The results also show that smaller quantities of MWCNTs made the UPET- and VE-reinforced nanocomposites more stable when they were absorbed and adsorbed in concentrated salt water. Perhaps, compared to air-cured nanocomposites, CO2-cured UPE and VE nanocomposites were better at reducing shrinkage, having important mechanical properties, absorbing water, and being resistant to seawater.

Abstract Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is a prevailing nosocomial pathogen that is increasingly isolated in community settings. It shows resistance against all beta-lactam drugs and has acquired mechanisms to resist other groups of antibiotics. To tackle this emerging issue of MRSA, there is an urgent need for antibiotic alternatives, and utilizing lytic bacteriophages is one of the most promising therapeutic approaches. In the present study, a lytic bacteriophage TSP was isolated from hospital wastewater against MRSA. The phage efficiently inhibited bacterial growth for up to 12 h at MOI of 1 and 10. TSP phage showed activity against various isolates of MRSA and MSSA, isolated from different clinical samples, with variable antibiotic susceptibility patterns. The bacteriophage TSP showed stability at varying temperatures (25 °C, 37 °C) and pH values (5–9), while its maximum storage stability was observed at 4 °C. It had a short latent period (20 min) and burst size of 103 ± 5pfu/infected cells. TSP genome sequence and restriction analysis revealed that its genome has a linear confirmation and length of 17,987 bp with an average GC content of 29.7%. According to comparative genomic analysis and phylogenetic tree,TSP phage can be considered a member of genus “P68viruses”. The strong lytic activity and short latent period in addition to its lytic nature makes it a good candidate for phage therapy against MRSA infections, if it proves to be effective in in-vivo studies.

Water is a critical component for humans to survive, especially in arid lands or areas where fresh water is scarce. Hence, desalination is an excellent way to effectuate the increasing water demand. Membrane distillation (MD) technology entails a membrane-based non-isothermal prominent process used in various applications, for instance, water treatment and desalination. It is operable at low temperature and pressure, from which the heat demand for the process can be sustainably sourced from renewable solar energy and waste heat. In MD, the water vapors are gone through the membrane's pores and condense at permeate side, rejecting dissolved salts and non-volatile substances. However, the efficacy of water and biofouling are the main challenges for MD due to the lack of appropriate and versatile membrane. Numerous researchers have explored different membrane composites to overcome the above-said issue, and attempt to develop efficient, elegant, and biofouling-resistant novel membranes for MD. This review article addresses the 21st-century water crises, desalination technologies, principles of MD, the different properties of membrane composites alongside compositions and modules of membranes. The desired membrane characteristics, MD configurations, role of electrospinning in MD, characteristics and modifications of membranes used for MD are also highlighted in this review.

The study was performed for removing ibuprofen from water using ozonation with visible light SrWO4/ZnO catalyst. For the removal of Ibuprofen, the overall reaction was carried out in a glass reactor in the presence of UV light and constant supply of ozone. The maximum removal efficiency of Ibuprofen was 93% at 0.1 mg/L initial Ibuprofen concentration, and 0.35 g/L catalyst concentration keeping the contact time 30 min. After a certain value, an increase in a concentration of doping agent, catalyst as well as initial Ibuprofen concentration results in a decrease of efficiency of the process. The prepared photo catalysts were characterized by X-ray diffraction, FTIR spectra and SEM analysis. XRD peaks and FTIR spectra has clearly shown that the doping of SrWO4 with ZnO showed better result as compared to individual. SEM analysis showed that they spherical nano-composite crystals were dominant in character. BOD character was found to reduce after ozonation of solution. Various by products were formed and were identified through GC-MS analysis. From results, it was found that combination of SrWO4/ZnO was able to remove 93% of ibuprofen and 0.4% dopping of ZnO on SrWO4 was found to be sufficient. Degradation pattern of by products were identitified in GC-MS with various mass ratios as 177, 92, 57, 44. Nearly 55% removal of BOD was observed in this study. This study was found to be useful for removal of pharmaceuticals and other similar pollutants from water effectively.

Objective: To describe the results of medicolegal autopsies conducted at mortuary of Ghulam Muhammad Mahar Medical College, Sukkur, Pakistan during a specific period. Methods: Present study is a retrospective descriptive analysis of medicolegal autopsies conducted in the mortuary from a period of January 2018 to December 2020 after acquiring ethical approval from the hospital. A total of 297 medicolegal autopsies were performed during this specific period. Their significant findings such as gender, age, caste, area of residence, cause & manner of death were collected from Post-mortem registers/records, Inquest papers and Post- mortem reports and entered on SPSS version 22 for analysis. Frequency and percentages were calculated for all categorical variables. Results: It was observed that out of 297 medicolegal deaths, maximum number of autopsies conducted were in third decade of life (n=133 cases, 44.78%) followed by 66 (22.22%) in 2nd decade of life. Male cases predominated over female cases, which were (n=193, 65%). Majority of the cases were resident of local areas of Sukkur. Mughals were in majority with 79 cases (26.59%) followed by Sheikhs with 62 cases (20.87%), Baloch 44 (14.81%). Maximum number of deaths were due to road traffic accidents (n=103, 34.68%) followed by firearm injuries (n=73, 24.57 %) and asphyxial deaths (n=11, 3.70%). Accidental was the most common manner of death (n=192, 64.64%) followed by homicidal (n=40, 13.46%). Conclusion: It is observed that majority of cases were in 3rd decade of life and preponderance of male sex is seen over female sex , could be due to more exposure of males to outer world. Most common cause of death found was road traffic accidents probably due to increased frequency of transportation and decreased regulation of traffic control.

Ashwagandha is an important, medicinal, less exploited crop and most of its cultivated varieties are local cultivars. Information related to ashwagandha’s genetic diversity is very limited. Hybrid vigor exploitation may be useful in breaking its yield barrier at a commercial scale. A total of 45 F1 crosses were produced during Kharif 2017-18 by using a line x tester matting design, which included three testers along with 15 lines. A total of 65 genotypes were grown in an RBD design, with three replications in three different environments during Kharif 2018-19, and observations were recorded for 11 different yield-attributing traits that were responsible for the estimation of the magnitude of the heterosis. An analysis of variance showed that a valuable amount of diversity existed in the breeding material. Based on the study, three promising crosses viz., UWS-305 × UWS-10, UWS-305 × RVA-100, and UWS-301 × RVA-100 were identified as superior heterotic materials for the root yield at harvest, whereas for the total alkaloid content, three excellent hybrids viz., UWS-309 × RVA-100, UWS-305 × RVA-100, and UWS-314 × RVA-100 were reported. Out of the above crosses, the cross-combination of UWS-305 × RVA-100 showed a significantly positive and useful heterosis on a pooled basis. Hence, the above crosses may be gainfully utilized in breeding programs for ashwagandha.

Recently, a swarm-based method called Artificial Hummingbird Algorithm (AHA) has been proposed for solving optimization problems. The AHA algorithm mimics the unique flight capabilities and intelligent foraging techniques of hummingbirds in their environment. In this paper, we propose a modified version of the AHA combined with genetic operators called mAHA. The experimental results show that the proposed mAHA improved the convergence speed and achieved better effective search results. Consequently, the proposed mAHA was used for the first time to find the global maximum power point (MPP). Low efficiency is a drawback of photovoltaic (PV) systems that explicitly use shading. Normally, the PV characteristic curve has an MPP when irradiance is uniform. Therefore, this MPP can be easily achieved with conventional tracking systems. With shadows, however, the conditions are completely different, and the PV characteristic has multiple MPPs (i.e., some local MPPs and a single global MPP). Traditional MPP tracking approaches cannot distinguish between local MPPs and global MPPs, and thus simply get stuck at the local MPP. Consequently, an optimized MPPT with a metaheuristic algorithm is required to determine the global MPP. Most MPPT techniques require more than one sensor, e.g., voltage, current, irradiance, and temperature sensors. This increases the cost of the control system. In the current research, a simple global MPPT method with only one sensor is proposed for PV systems considering the shadow conditions. Two shadow scenarios are considered to evaluate the superiority of the proposed mAHA. The obtained results show the superiority of the proposed single sensor based MPPT method for PV systems.

A breakthrough in cosmeceuticals by utilizing insects as major ingredients in cosmetic products is gaining popularity. Therefore, the interest in rare sources of ingredients, for instance, from the Oryctes rhinoceros beetle, can bring huge benefits in terms of turning pests into wealth. In this study, curcumin was chosen as the active ingredient loaded into chitosan-gold nanoparticles (CCG-NP). Curcumin is unstable and has poor absorption, a high rate of metabolism, and high sensitivity to light. These are all factors that contribute to the low bioavailability of any substance to reach the target cells. Therefore, chitosan extracted from O. rhinoceros could be used as a drug carrier to overcome these limitations. In order to overcome these limitations, CCG-NPs were synthesized and characterized. Chitosan was isolated from O. rhinoceros and CCG-NPs were successfully synthesized at 70 °C for 60 min under optimal conditions of a reactant ratio of 2:0.5 (0.5 mM HAuCl4: 0.1% curcumin). Characterizations of CCG-NP involved FTIR analysis, zeta potential, morphological properties determination by FE-SEM, particle size analysis, crystallinity study by XRD, and elemental analysis by EDX. The shape of the CCG-NP was round, its size was 128.27 d.nm, and the value of the zeta potential was 20.2 ± 3.81 mV. The IC50 value for cell viability is 58%, indicating a mild toxicity trait. To conclude, CCG-NP is a stable, spherical, nano-sized, non-toxic, and homogeneous solution.

This study considers the integration of multistage flash (MSF) desalination with hydrate-based desalination (HBD) precursor to improve MSF performance in terms of distillate production, longevity, and operational conditions. This is accomplished by a comprehensive analysis of the rate of scale formation, distillate production, and the MSF performance ratio by means of mathematical modelling conducted in Simulink software. To calibrate the effectiveness of HBD as precursor to the MSF desalination process, two MSF models were created: the once-through (OT) and brine recycle (BR) configurations. The MSF models were validated in terms of stagewise distillate production, brine temperature, and coolant temperatures with data from the literature, while neglecting the non-equilibrium allowance. The operational performance of the proposed integration approach was evaluated in terms of the deposition rates of CaCO3, scale thickness, fouling resistance, overall heat transfer coefficient, performance ratio, and production ratio. The examination was conducted from the perspective of water salinity and stream temperature for the integrated HBD-MSF systems. The results show that due to the quality of output water in terms of salinity and temperature, the integration of HBD and MSF improved the performance of MSF by substantially reducing scale formation rates as well as increasing the production of distillate where the scale formation rates were 40.6% and 36.3% lower for the hybrid HBD-MSF-OT and HBD-MSF-BR systems, respectively.

From a sustainability standpoint, TiO2 semiconductor photocatalyst has a lot of potential in water purification. However, due to TiO2's high band gap and rapid recombination rate of electron/hole (e−/h+) pairs, visible light exposure is not practicable. To overcome these limitations, this study investigated the effects of phosphorous (P) doping and multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) insertion in the TiO2 matrix. The thin films form of the photocatalyst was focused on to avoid the challenges associated with the usage of powder form photocatalyst. Thin films of TiO2, TiO2/MWCNTs and phosphorous (P)-doped TiO2/MWCNTs composites have been satisfactorily prepared on glass substrates by a newly developed facile sol-gel drop coating (SGDC) method. Characterization of the prepared samples for morphology, structure, and other properties was done by using Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscopy (FESEM), Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and Ultraviolet–Visible (UV–Vis) absorption spectroscopy. The XRD pattern of all thin films exhibited an anatase phase of the TiO2 crystal lattice, and calculation of lattice parameters revealed a fair match of lattice values of P-doped TiO2/MWCNTs thin films with the standard value of the same. The photocatalytic activity was estimated by the degradation of methylene blue (MB) dye in water under visible light exposure. The efficiency percentage of the as synthesized P-doped TiO2/MWCNTs thin films was more than doubled when compared to pure TiO2 and MWCNTs-TiO2. The enhancement of photocatalytic activity of P-doped TiO2/MWCNTs thin films is due to the photo-induced electron absorption effect by MWCNTs and the electron trap effect by P, a non-metal within the TiO2 matrix. Additionally, P doping within TiO2 also lowers the band gap, which in turn helps to exhibit pronounced photo-catalytic activity in the visible light region. A first-order kinetics model fitted the experimental photodegradation data well. The findings of the study suggest that P-doped TiO2/MWCNTs composite thin films prepared by the SGDC method can be widely applied in waste water treatment using visible light exposure.

The aim of this study was to examine the effect of rosuvastatin in experimentally-induced hepatic inflammation and fibrosis in rats. Carbon tetra chloride (CCl4) was administered orally to induce liver damage in female Long Evans rats. Rats were treated with CCl4 alone twice a week over two weeks. Rosuvastatin (10 mg/kg) was also given daily to CCl4 treated rats concurrently by nasogastric gavage. After two weeks, various oxidative stress markers as well as liver markers enzymes were investigated in different animal groups tested in this study. Moreover, histological assessments were also done for inflammatory cell infiltration and fibrosis in the liver of all test groups. Plasma aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activities were increased in the CCl4 group compared with the control group. Increased liver enzyme activities were significantly decreased by rosuvastatin treatment. Moreover, rosuvastatin treatment inhibited the formation of lipid peroxidation products in CCl4 administered rats. Rosuvastatin treatment also restored the decreased superoxide dismutase (SOD) activities as well as elevated the reduced glutathione concentration in CCl4 administered rats. Liver tissues from rats of control group also revealed no significant pathological changes, while CCl4 administered rats showed significant infiltration of inflammatory cells and liver fibrosis, which was further, normalized or significantly decreased by rosuvastatin treatment. This study revealed that, rosuvastatin treatment may ameliorate all necroinflammatory and fibrotic changes in liver tissues of CCl4 induced rats and could be used as an alternative therapy for chemical or drug-induced liver fibrosis. [ J Adv Biotechnol Exp Ther 2020; 3(1.000): 01-08]

Objective: This study attempts to assess the prevalence and disparity of the nutritional status of the elderly with their socioeconomic characteristics. Materials and Methods: A total of four hundred elderly in Sunamgonj district of Bangladesh have been interviewed through a structured questionnaire from July to September 2019. Descriptive statistical tools and mini nutrition assessment short Form, t-test, and F-test have been applied for data analysis. Results: The analysis reveals that 40% of elderly suffer from malnutrition, 59% are at risk of malnutrition, and 1% are normal nutrition. The findings show that the nutrition status of elderly is significantly varied with their occupation, place of residence, marital status, religion, age, family type, living arrangement, take care, and sleeping disorder. It is observed that more proportion of the elderly is at risk of malnutrition. Conclusion: Therefore, measures should be taken to improve the nutrition status of the elderly.

The slow dynamic response of a proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) to high load change during deficit periods must be considered. Therefore, integrating the hybrid system with energy storage devices like battery storage and/or a supercapacitor is necessary. To reduce the consumed hydrogen, an energy management strategy (EMS) based on the white shark optimizer (WSO) for photovoltaic/PEMFC/lithium-ion batteries/supercapacitors microgrid has been developed. The EMSs distribute the load demand among the photovoltaic, PEMFC, lithium-ion batteries, and supercapacitors. The design of EMSs must be such that it minimizes the use of hydrogen while simultaneously ensuring that each energy source performs inside its own parameters. The recommended EMS-based-WSO was evaluated in regard to other EMSs regarding hydrogen fuel consumption and effectiveness. The considered EMSs are state machine control strategy (SMCS), classical external energy maximization strategy (EEMS), and optimized EEMS-based particle swarm optimization (PSO). Thanks to the proposed EEMS-based WSO, hydrogen utilization has been reduced by 34.17%, 29.47%, and 2.1%, respectively, compared with SMCS, EEMS, and PSO. In addition, the efficiency increased by 6.05%, 9.5%, and 0.33%, respectively, compared with SMCS, EEMS, and PSO.

Methane hydrate applications in gas storage and desalination have attracted increasing attention in recent years. In the present work, the effect of isopentane (IP), sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS), and IP/SDS blends as promoters on methane hydrate formation kinetics, in terms of the pressure–temperature (P-T) profile, gas uptake, hydrate induction time (HIT), and water-to-hydrate conversion ratio (WHCR), were studied for distilled water and seawater samples with an IP/water sample ratio of 3:10 (by volume) and an SDS/water sample ratio of 1:1000 (by mass). Each solution was tested in a stirred tank at 600 rpm at a temperature and pressure of 2 °C and 5.2–5.3 MPa. In the case of methane hydrate formation in distilled water, the highest WHCR attained was 9.97% without additives, and 45.71% and 72.28% for SDS and isopentane additives, respectively. However, when using seawater at a salinity of 3.9%, the highest WHCR attained was 2.26% without additives and 9.89% and 18.03% for SDS and IP promoters, respectively, indicating the inhibiting effect of salinity on hydrate formation. However, the HIT was longer for seawater hydrate formation, with an average of 13.1 min compared to 9.90 min for methane hydrate formation. Isopentane enhances the HIT for methane hydrate formation in seawater by 2.23 times compared to SDS. For methane hydrate formation in seawater, the presence of IP shortened the HIT by 15.6 min compared to the seawater sample without promoters. Additionally, a synergistic effect was observed when IP and SDS were combined and used in methane hydrate formation in distilled water and seawater systems. The positive effect of IP on methane hydrate formation is possibly due to the binary hydrate formation mechanism, which improves the hydrate formation thermodynamic and kinetic parameters.

The dynamic melting of CuO–coconut oil was addressed in a latent-heat thermal energy storage unit loaded with copper foam. In a new design, the thermal storage unit is made of a shell-tube-shaped chamber, in which a liquid flow of hot phase-change material (PCM) is allowed to enter the chamber from a port at the bottom and exit at the top. A fin is mounted in the chamber to forward the entrance PCM liquid toward the solid regions. The control equations were solved using the finite element method. The impact of foam porosity, inlet pressure, fin length, and the concentrations of CuO nanoparticles on the thermal charging time of the chamber was investigated. A fast-charging time of 15 min with a foam porosity of 0.95 was achieved. A porosity of 0.95 can provide a maximum thermal charging power of 15.1 kW/kg. The inlet pressure was a significant parameter, and increasing the inlet pressure from 0.5 kPa to 4 kPa reduced the melting time by 2.6 times. The presence of the fin is not advantageous, and even a long fin could extend the thermal charging time. Moreover, dispersed nanoparticles were not beneficial to dynamic melting and extended the thermal charging time.

Wind energy is a valuable source of electric power as its motion can be converted into mechanical energy, and ultimately electricity. The significant variability of wind speed calls for highly robust estimation methods. In this study, the mechanical power of wind turbines (WTs) is successfully estimated using input variables such as wind speed, angular speed of WT rotor, blade pitch, and power coefficient (Cp). The feed-forward backpropagation neural networks (FFBPNNs) and recurrent neural networks (RNNs) are incorporated to perform the estimations of wind turbine output power. The estimations are performed based on diverse parameters including the number of hidden layers, learning rates, and activation functions. The networks are trained using a scaled conjugate gradient (SCG) algorithm and evaluated in terms of the root mean square error (RMSE) and mean absolute percentage error (MAPE) indices. FFBPNN shows better results in terms of RMSE (0.49%) and MAPE (1.33%) using two and three hidden layers, respectively. The study indicates the significance of optimal selection of input parameters and effects of changing several hidden layers, activation functions, and learning rates to achieve the best performance of FFBPNN and RNN.

This work investigated low shrinkage curing techniques and characterization of unsaturated polyester (UPE-8340) and vinyl ester (VE-922) reinforced composite. The reinforced polymeric composite was composed using various amounts (0.1 vol.% to 0.5 vol.%) of methyl ethyl ketone peroxide (MEKP) and the proportion of UPE and VE (5 vol.%) was kept fixed throughout the study. The epoxy matrix was formed using a 3D printed acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) dumbbell shape mold and the specimen was cured in the presence of air and an inner gas (carbon dioxide) using a customized ambient closed chamber system. The influence of MEKP on UPE and VE reinforce composites was studied by investigating curing kinetics, shrinkage, tensile properties, contact angle, and thermal stability. The CO2-cured results show a significant lower shrinkage rate and higher tensile strength and flexural modulus of UPE and VE reinforced composite articles compared with air-cured reinforced composite. These macro-scale results correlate with the air-cured structure, an un-banded smooth surface was observed, and it was found that the lowest amount of MEKP revealed significant improvement in the contact angle of UPET and VE reinforced composites.

Objective: The objective of this study was to assess the age groups of sexually abused victims which was reported at the different police stations of Karachi. Subject and Methods: This was a single centre, retrospective study on 54 patients by using non-probability sampling technique. The duration of study was from January 2016 till January 2018 at Abbasi Shaheed Hospital, Karachi. The data was collected from the Medico legal Section from more than 45 police station cases that were reported in Abbasi Shaheed Hospital (ASH) and the data was analysed in statistical package for social sciences (SPSS) version 22. Simple frequency distribution of the gender, age, clinical assessment and the lab DNA analysis were identified. The stratification tables were made thereafter for the gender, age, lab DNA analysis and clinical assessment. Results: Only one female was reported to be the sexual abuse victim and rest of 53 sexual abuse victims were males.Age groups i.e. 10-14 years and 30-39 years were reported to be with the greater number of sexual abuse victims 16 (29.6%) and 9 (16.7%) respectively). It was found to be common among males in the comparison of females. Conclusion: In conclusion sexual abuse was common in younger age group i.e. 10-14 years. It seems the children are targeted for the sodomy may be because they are unaware of these sexual activities.

This paper presents a study in which the effect of noise and vibration on the task performance in a mobile driving environment is experimentally investigated. A readability kind of task, where a reading material was presented to the operators on a laptop screen was considered and the operators performed the task in a sitting posture without their back supported with the backrest of the seat. The task performance was measured in terms of mean number of characters read per minute by the operators, which served as data for statistical analysis. Results of the study showed that noise and vibration were statistically significant. The interaction between gender and vibration was also found to be significant. The presence of noise and vibration in a mobile environment decreased the operators’ task performance. The results of the simple main effect analysis indicated that the gender was statistically significant for the last two levels of vibration. However the equivalent acceleration of vibration was found statistically significant for males and females. The findings are in line with previous researches that showed negative significant effect of noise and vibration on operators’ task performance.

To estimate more accurately the beef marbling score (BMS) of live beef cattle, the Bayesian network model (BNM) could be used in parallel with other developed methods, such as ultrasound (US) image analysis with a neural network (NN), biological impedance analysis (BIA) and visual inspections of an experienced inspector. Additionally, most of these methods individually represents positive trends of estimating subjective BMS in Japan. This research reveals that the approach of using BNM to include body condition parameters, exhibit more accurate estimation of BMS with other methods. The measurement was conducted with 28 Japanese Black Beef cattle before one-month slaughter. The weight, chest, abdominal circumference, and longissimus muscle area have been taken into consideration of body measurement parameters for evaluating BMS. The estimation of BMS with BNM, combined with other approaches displayed the higher accuracy rate of almost 90%. Moreover, this research compared the findings with other individual method and combined methods. The estimation of BMS using US image analysis using NN represents 28% accuracy, then BIA provides only 40%, and combing both US and BIA method illustrates 50% of accurate BMS estimation. However, Body condition indices, US and BIA together outreaches all estimation methods and the BNM provided more accurate estimation of BMS with high confidence.

Objective(s): Causality of occurrence of metformin-associated lactic acidosis (MALA) is a clinical problem. Currently, there is no drug available to prevent MALA. The present study was conducted to evaluate the protective effect of Berberine (BBR) against MALA in induced diabetic rat model. Materials and Methods: A sample of 75 healthy male Wistar rats was randomly selected according to inclusion and exclusion criteria. 75 male Wistar rats were randomly divided into a control and 4 experimental groups. Streptozotocin (STZ) in citrate buffer (pH 4.5) at a dose of 45 mg/kg was injected for induction of diabetes mellitus and rats achieving fasting blood glucose >250 mg/dl were included. Blood samples were collected 18 hr after the last dose of metformin and berberine. Ethical approval was taken before the study was conducted. Staistix 10.0 (USA) software was used for data analysis. Results: Berberine decreased MALA. Metformin, metformin + BBR 50 mg/kg bwt, and metformin + BBR 100 mg/kg bwt showed serum lactate as 1.87±0.4 mmol/lL, 1.62 ± 0.44 mmol/l and 1.47± 0.45 mmol/l, respectively (P=0.0001). Insulin resistance and liver enzymes were improved in BBR treated rats. Conclusion: The present study reports berberine protects against MALA in streptozocin-induced diabetes mellitus.

General and specific combining ability variances and effects for ten characters related to yield and its contributing traits in safflower were studied using Line x Tester matting design in thirty CMS based hybrids involving 15 lines and two testers along with two checks (AKS 207 & PKV Pink). Combining ability analysis indicated the predominance of non-additive gene action for all the traits under study except seed volume weight for which both additive and non-additive gene actions were found equally important. The parents viz., GMU 2952, GMU 5609 and GMU 3420 among the males and AKS CMS 2A among the females were found good general combiners for seed yield and most of the yield contributing traits whereas for oil content GMU 3420, GMU 3715 and AKS CMS 2A were found good general combiners. For seed yield per plant the cross AKS CMS 3A x GMU 3638 was found significantly superior in addition to number of seeds per capsule. Whereas, AKS CMS 2A x GMU 2900 for seed volume weight, AKS CMS 2A x GMU 3923 for 100 seed weight, AKS CMS 2A x AKS 207 for number of seeds per capsule, AKS CMS 2A x GMU 322 for number of capsule per plant, AKS CMS 3A x GMU 3420 for number of primary branches per plant were identified as good cross combinations. Desired and fertile segregates may be isolated from segregating material of these crosses in the advanced generations if crosses are effected again by using ‘B’ lines of CMS based females along with same male parents in concerned crosses as these crosses involved CMS line as female parent. Further, early generation segregates may be intermated with each other to break undesirable linkages and obtain desirable segregates for seed yield and its contributing traits due to predominance of SCA variance for almost all the traits.

This study evaluates the kinetic hydrate inhibition (KHI) performance of four quaternary ammonium hydroxides (QAH) on mixed CH4 + CO2 hydrate systems. The studied QAHs are; tetraethylammonium hydroxide (TEAOH), tetrabutylammonium hydroxide (TBAOH), tetramethylammonium hydroxide (TMAOH), and tetrapropylammonium hydroxide (TPrAOH). The test was performed in a high-pressure hydrate reactor at temperatures of 274.0 K and 277.0 K, and a concentration of 1 wt.% using the isochoric cooling method. The kinetics results suggest that all the QAHs potentially delayed mixed CH4 + CO2 hydrates formation due to their steric hindrance abilities. The presence of QAHs reduced hydrate formation risk than the conventional hydrate inhibitor, PVP, at higher subcooling conditions. The findings indicate that increasing QAHs alkyl chain lengths increase their kinetic hydrate inhibition efficacies due to better surface adsorption abilities. QAHs with longer chain lengths have lesser amounts of solute particles to prevent hydrate formation. The outcomes of this study contribute significantly to current efforts to control gas hydrate formation in offshore petroleum pipelines.

The issues of quality in a qualitative research cannot be addressed by a single or constant method. It, however, may be judged through the aggregate of various perspectives such as “credibility,” “dependability,” “confirmability,” “ethics” and so on which is the central focus of this paper. In a qualitative research, researchers often engage with flexible realities where the subjective views of respondents may shape the research frame and the whole process of an inquiry. In such a situation, quality issue is more pertinent as it deals with peoplr’s everyday realitiy and subjective explanation of it. The study focuses on the issue of quality in a qualitative research and provides a middle way to deal with this issue in respect to the debates over it. Using secondary sources it provides a comprehensive idea for ensuring quality in a qualitative research.

Remittance is considered to be one of the influential sectors of the socioeconomic development of the Third World countries, particularly countries like Bangladesh. In Bangladesh, remittance contributes to the socioeconomic development, maintain foreign exchange reserves, and manage balance of payment, etc. This paper particularly explains the impacts of remittance on the socioeconomic condition of Bangladesh. The paper is written based on secondary sources, published documents on the impacts of remittance. The paper reveals that remittance has both positive and negative impacts on the socioeconomic condition of Bangladesh. However, the positive impacts are more influential than negative one. In Bangladesh, remittance helps people generate income, provide children advanced education, increase social status, create employment opportunities for poor, and above all empower women. People can avail material and non-material culture and can enjoy civic amenities of the modern era. Although, it creates inequality in the society and cultural lag among people, its influential aspect to the socioeconomic development of Bangladesh is more prevailing. As a result, this paper recommends for necessary initiatives from Government Organizations and Non Government Organizations to maintain both remittance and migration flow normal and congenial.

A novel dialysis membrane with monosodium glutamate (MSG) as an additive has been fabricated and its performance evaluated in terms of urea clearance. Nine formulations of casting solutions had been designed with 20% cellulose acetate, and different ratio of formic acid/MSG. The result shows that MSG based membrane with the 6 wt% of MSG, achieved the best urea clearance, 53.2%. SEM images illustrated that the increment of MSG in casting solution tends to promote macrovoids formation and finally transits to finger like structure. However, when the amount of MSG is further increased beyond 6 wt%, the urea clearance reduced and the macrovoids structure disappeared. Thus, enlarged finger like structure favors the dialysis process.