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Soil moisture is a significant hydrological component that is dynamic in nature. The variation in soil moisture in the basin scale would affect the vegetation, ecology and environment. Soil moisture trend analysis aids in providing the variation of soil moisture over the basin. The present study aimed to analyse the soil moisture trend in Lower Bhavani basin, Tamil Nadu from 2003- 2022. Satellite-based soil moisture Global Land Data Assimilation System (GLDAS) data was extracted from the Google Earth Engine (GEE) platform to analyse the variation and trend over the period of time. The highest and lowest soil moisture was observed during monsoon and summer months and its percentage variation was studied. Using Man-Kendall test and Sen’s slope, trend analysis was calculated for two decades (2003-2012 and 2013-2022). In 2003-2012, an increasing trend of soil moisture was observed during winter (October to February); from 2013-2022, an increasing trend was observed during both winter (October to February) and monsoon seasons (June to September). The remaining season did not follow any trend, and there was no decreasing trend in soil moisture. The trend analysis of the study will help to monitor and manage the environmental system across the Lower Bhavani basin. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mycoplasma pneumoniae is recognized as the leading cause of community-acquired lower respiratory tract infection in children, accounting for a significant proportion of pediatric mortality. Macrolides are the first-line treatment for M. pneumoniae infections. However, the extensive use of macrolides in clinical practice resulted in the emergence of macrolide-resistant M. pneumoniae (MRMP), which has a negative impact on treatment outcomes. Hence, in the present study, MRMP was determined in hospitalized children with community-acquired pneumonia (CAP). Real-time PCR detected M. pneumoniae in 41 of 348 clinical samples. Sanger sequencing revealed that none of the isolates were associated with the A2063G or A2064G base mutation, which confers macrolide resistance, in domain V of the 23S rRNA gene. Although MRMP was not observed in children with CAP in our study, healthcare practitioners should be vigilant about the potential risk of MRMP infections.

Face recognition technology is a biometric technology that uses a person's face traits to identify them. People take pictures of their faces, which are then processed automatically by facial recognition software. Face recognition is emerged as a promising future development direction with numerous possible applications. Face Recognition starts by extracting the coordinates of features such the length of the mouth, the breadth of the eyes, and the pupil, comparing the result to the measurements contained in the database, and returning the closest match. There are five stages in the suggested system. Pictures in the database are being trained. Caffe model for the face detection Techniques for feature extraction, resizing, and normalisation, and results based on comparison When you hear a voice, it's a sign of a problem. With the purpose of recognising people on a target list, automated surveillance is an important application of interest. This project uses an automated security camera to do real-time facial recognition. This project's purpose is to compare one image to multiple others that have already been trained. In this project, We offer a methodology robust face identification in a real-time setting in this research. On the Open CV platform, we apply the Caffe model to monitor faces. The accuracy of face recognition is really high. Because the computation time is so short, the suggested system can correctly distinguish multiple faces, which is important for quickly searching for suspects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Biomaterials are implanted in millions of individuals worldwide each year. Both naturally derived and synthetic biomaterials induce a foreign body reaction that often culminates in fibrotic encapsulation and reduced functional lifespan. In ophthalmology, glaucoma drainage implants (GDIs) are implanted in the eye to reduce intraocular pressure (IOP) in order to prevent glaucoma progression and vision loss. Despite recent efforts towards miniaturization and surface chemistry modification, clinically available GDIs are susceptible to high rates of fibrosis and surgical failure. Here, we describe the development of synthetic, nanofiber‐based GDIs with partially degradable inner cores. We evaluated GDIs with nanofiber or smooth surfaces to investigate the effect of surface topography on implant performance. We observed in vitro that nanofiber surfaces supported fibroblast integration and quiescence, even in the presence of pro‐fibrotic signals, compared to smooth surfaces. In rabbit eyes, GDIs with a nanofiber architecture were biocompatible, prevented hypotony, and provided a volumetric aqueous outflow comparable to commercially available GDIs, though with significantly reduced fibrotic encapsulation and expression of key fibrotic markers in the surrounding tissue. We propose that the physical cues provided by the surface of the nanofiber‐based GDIs mimic healthy extracellular matrix structure, mitigating fibroblast activation and potentially extending functional GDI lifespan.

BackgroundAberrant brain insulin signaling has been posited to lie at the crossroads of several metabolic and cognitive disorders. Intranasal insulin (INI) is a non-invasive approach that allows investigation and modulation of insulin signaling in the brain while limiting peripheral side effects.ObjectivesThe objective of this systematic review and meta-analysis is to evaluate the effects of INI on cognition in diverse patient populations and healthy individuals.MethodsMEDLINE, EMBASE, PsycINFO, and Cochrane CENTRAL were systematically searched from 2000 to July 2021. Eligible studies were randomized controlled trials that studied the effects of INI on cognition. Two independent reviewers determined study eligibility and extracted relevant descriptive and outcome data.ResultsTwenty-nine studies (pooled N = 1,726) in healthy individuals as well as those with Alzheimer's disease (AD)/mild cognitive impairment (MCI), mental health disorders, metabolic disorders, among others, were included in the quantitative meta-analysis. Patients with AD/MCI treated with INI were more likely to show an improvement in global cognition (SMD = 0.22, 95% CI: 0.05-0.38 p = ConclusionsThis review demonstrates that INI may be associated with pro-cognitive benefits for global cognition, specifically for individuals with AD/MCI. Further studies are required to better understand the neurobiological mechanisms and differences in etiology to dissect the intrinsic and extrinsic factors contributing to the treatment response of INI.

Secretins form large multimeric pores in the outer membrane (OM) of Gram-negative bacteria. These pores are part of type II and III secretion systems (T2SS and T3SS, respectively) and are crucial for pathogenicity. Recent structural studies indicate that secretins form a structure rich in β-strands. However, little is known about the mechanism by which secretins assemble into the OM. Based on the conservation of the biogenesis of β-barrel proteins in bacteria and mitochondria, we used yeast cells as a model system to study the assembly process of secretins. To that end, we analyzed the biogenesis of PulD (T2SS), SsaC (T3SS) and InvG (T3SS) in wild type cells or in cells mutated for known mitochondrial import and assembly factors. Our results suggest that secretins can be expressed in yeast cells, where they are enriched in the mitochondrial fraction. Interestingly, deletion of mitochondrial import receptors like Tom20 and Tom70 reduces the mitochondrial association of PulD but does not affect that of InvG. SsaC shows another dependency pattern and its membrane assembly is enhanced by the absence of Tom70 and compromised in cells lacking Tom20 or the topogenesis of outer membrane β-barrel proteins (TOB) complex component, Mas37. Collectively, these findings suggest that various secretins can follow different pathways to assemble into the bacterial OM.

Oral melanocytic nevi are benign proliferation of nevus cells in the epithelial layer, the submucosal layer, or both. They are classified as junctional, intramucosal, and compound nevi. They may also be classified as congenital or acquired. Unlike their cutaneous counterparts, oral melanocytic nevi are rare. Intramucosal nevi are typically light brown and dome-shaped, and are the most common type, accounting for 64% of all reported oral nevi. The common blue nevus is the second most common type found in the oral cavity, accounting for 16.5–36% of all oral nevi. In this article, we report a case of an intramucosal nevus in a male patient on the right corner of the lower lip, which presented as a mucocele and was histopathologically confirmed.

Abstract: Efforts have been made in this work to enhance the dielectric properties of SrBi2Ta2O9 (SBT) by substitution in Sr1−x Bi2+(2/3)x (V x Ta1−x )2O9 (where x =0.1 and 0.2). Structural, microstructural, dielectric and impedance properties of the ceramic samples prepared in this work were characterized by XRD (X-ray diffraction), SEM (scanning electron microscope) and impedance spectroscopic techniques. The XRD investigations on Sr1−x Bi2+(2/3)x (V x Ta1−x )2O9 [where, x =0.1 and 0.2] indicated the slight increase in lattice constants compared to SBT. The SEM investigations revealed that the increase of x (x =0.0, 0.1 and 0.2) in Sr1−x Bi2+(2/3)x (V x Ta1−x )2O9 increases the growth of grain and the change on shape of grains to plate shaped structure. Higher Curie temperature and enhanced peak dielectric constant at the Curie temperature were observed for the increase of x (x =0.0, 0.1 and 0.2) in Sr1−x Bi2+(2/3)x (V x Ta1−x )2O9 ceramic samples investigated in this work. Among the investigated compositions the maximum peak dielectric constant is observed for Sr1−x Bi2+(2/3)x (V x Ta1−x )2O9 ceramic with x =0.2. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: An attempt has been made in this work to increase the bulk and total conductivity of Li7La3Zr2O12 (LLZ) with partial substitution of trivalent Y for a tetravalent Zr using yttria-stabilized ZrO2 (3% YSZ) as reactant. The small doping of Y for Zr helps to increase the bulk and total conductivity to 9.56×10−4 and 8.10×10−4 Scm −1, respectively, at 25°C. The presence of small amount of Y helped to get well sintered pellet relatively at lower temperature with lower sintering time compared to LLZ, which helps to improve the overall conductivity. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

A depressive disorder is a prevalent psychiatric disorder, which affects 21% of the world population. The presently using drugs can impose a variety of side-effects, including cardiac toxicity, hypopiesia, sexual dysfunction, body weight gain, and sleep disorder. During the past decade, there is a growing interest in the therapeutic effects of natural products on mental disorders. Curcumin, the principal curcuminoid found in spice turmeric, has recently been studied for its active role in the treatment of various central nervous system disorders. Curcumin demonstrates neuroprotective action in Alzheimer’s disease, tardive dyskinesia, major depression, epilepsy, and other related neurodegenerative and neuropsychiatric disorders. The present review attempts to discuss some of the potential protective role of curcumin in animal models of major depression, tardive dyskinesia, and diabetic neuropathy. These studies call for well planned for pharmaceutical, pharmacological, and clinical studies on curcumin for its potential use in neurological disorders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The great demand for batteries with high power and energy densities promotes active research on lithium garnets for advanced safe lithium ion battery technologies. Lithium garnets Li7La3M2O12 (M=Zr, Hf) in cubic phase exhibits two orders of higher conductivity compared to their tetragonal phase. Earlier efforts to stabilize related Li7La3Sn2O12 in cubic phase by solid state method was unsuccessful. In this work, an attempt has been made to synthesise Sn-based lithium garnets in cubic phase. The addition of Al2O3 chemically did not help to stabilize Li7La3Sn2O12 in cubic phase through solid state method. Sn-based lithium garnets Li7-x La3Sn2-x Nb x O12 (x =0–1) were prepared through solid state reaction method. Li7-x La3Sn2-x Nb x O12 with x ≥0.25 stabilizes in cubic structure at sintering temperature around 950°C. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The genome-wide association studies (GWAS) typically use linear or logistic regression models to identify associations between phenotypes (traits) and genotypes (genetic variants) of interest. However, the use of regression with the additive assumption has potential limitations. First, the normality assumption of residuals is the one that is rarely seen in practice, and deviation from normality increases the Type-I error rate. Second, building a model based on such an assumption ignores genetic structures, like, dominant, recessive, and protective-risk cases. Ignoring genetic variants may result in spurious conclusions about the associations between a variant and a trait. We propose an assumption-free model built upon data-consistent inversion (DCI), which is a recently developed measure-theoretic framework utilized for uncertainty quantification. This proposed DCI-derived model builds a nonparametric distribution on model inputs that propagates to the distribution of observed data without the required normality assumption of residuals in the regression model. This characteristic enables the proposed DCI-derived model to cover all genetic variants without emphasizing on additivity of the classic-GWAS model. Simulations and a replication GWAS with data from the COPDGene demonstrate the ability of this model to control the Type-I error rate at least as well as the classic-GWAS (additive linear model) approach while having similar or greater power to discover variants in different genetic modes of transmission., (© 2024 Wiley Periodicals LLC.)

Food packaging has a pivotal share to improve protection, safety and shelf-life time of foods and bioproducts. Herein, we prepared bioactive nanocomposite films that composed of tragacanth (TG), polyvinyl alcohol, ZnO nanoparticles (NPs) and ascorbic acid (AA) using glycerol as a plasticizer and citric acid as a cross-linker for food packaging. The SEM images showed a homogenous distribution of ZnO NPs with low aggregation in nanocomposite films. The water solubility of nanocomposite films reduced from 15.65 % to 10.81 with increasing of TG and ZnO NPs contents. The incorporation of AA and ZnO NPs into nanocomposite films improved antioxidant activity from 50 % to 66 % in 95 % ethanolic solution. Also, the nanocomposite films showed good antibacterial activity against Gram-negative and -positive bacteria. Soil degradation rate of nanocomposite films increased from 80 % to 91.46 as the wt% of TG increased. Therefore, prepared nanocomposite films could be employed as a promising candidate for food packaging applications., (Copyright © 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)