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For over five millennia, humans have benefited from the valuable byproducts of Bombyx mori silkworms nourished on mulberry leaves and a multitude of potential applications remains available due to the diverse array of silkworm varieties. In this work, we discuss the utilization of Daehwangjam (DHJ), golden silk (GS), and Juhwangjam (JHJ), distinctive colored silks found in Korea, as chemosensors. These novel silks emit fluorescence under external stimuli and show a diminishing fluorescence intensity when exposed to HCl vapor. The considerable surface-to-volume ratio of these cocoons allows for the identification of 5 ppm, 300 ppm, and 3000 ppm HCl vapors through decreased fluorescence intensity. The results show the suitability of natural DHJ, GS, and JHJ for applications in biosensing applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This study aimed to evaluate the effect of using the lubricated eyelid speculum on the overall pain perception by the subject patients who underwent cataract surgery by phacoemulsification technique under topical anesthesia.Methods: A prospective interventional randomized comparative study was conducted at the tertiary eye care center, wherein adult patients scheduled for bilateral cataract surgery with phacoemulsification techniques under topical anesthesia were randomized to undergo surgery with two different modes of eyelid speculum insertion, either with or without lubrication of the eyelid speculum. Fifty percent of the patients underwent surgery with eyelid speculum without lubrication, and 50% with lubrication of the eyelid speculum. The primary outcome was to compare the level of overall pain perception among the subject patients of the two groups by using the Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) in the immediate postoperative period.Results: The study included 130 patients who underwent bilateral cataract surgery (n = 260 eyes) under topical anesthesia, wherein n = 130 eyes underwent surgery using lubricated eyelid speculum and n = 130 eyes underwent surgery with dry eyelid speculum. Pain perception score assessed on the VAS (0-10 cm) ranged from 0.5 to 6, with a mean ± standard deviation of 2.06 ± 1.12. A significant correlation was found with two different methods of eyelid speculum insertion with reduced overall pain perception in patients with the use of lubricated eyelid speculum compared to the dry eyelid speculum (P = 0.0001).Conclusion: The overall pain perception associated with cataract surgery performed by phacoemulsification technique under topical anesthesia can be further minimized by lubricating the eyelid speculum prior to insertion for exposing the globe. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Young age, female sex, absence of comorbidities, and prior infection or vaccination are known epidemiological barriers for contracting the new infection and/or increased disease severity. Demographic trends from the recent coronavirus disease 2019 waves, which are believed to be driven by newer severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS‐CoV‐2) variants, indicate that the aforementioned epidemiological barriers are being breached and a larger number of younger and healthy individuals are developing severe disease. The new SARS‐CoV‐2 variants have key mutations that can induce significant changes in the virus‐host interactions. Recent studies report that, some of these mutations, singly or in a group, enhance key mechanisms, such as binding of the receptor‐binding domain (RBD) of the viral spike protein with the angiotensin‐converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) receptor in the host‐cells, increase the glycosylation of spike protein at the antigenic sites, and enhance the proteolytic cleavage of the spike protein, thus leading to improved host‐cell entry and the replication of the virus. The putative changes in the virus–host interactions imparted by the mutations in the RBD sequence can potentially be the reason behind the breach of the observed epidemiological barriers. Susceptibility for contracting SARS‐CoV‐2 infection and the disease outcomes are known to be influenced by host‐cell expressions of ACE2 and other proteases. The new variants can act more efficiently, and even with the lesser availability of the viral entry‐receptor and the associated proteases, can have more efficient host‐cell entry and greater replication resulting in high viral loads and prolonged viral shedding, widespread tissue‐injury, and severe inflammation leading to increased transmissibility and lethality. Furthermore, the accumulating evidence shows that multiple new variants have reduced neutralization by both, natural and vaccine‐acquired antibodies, indicating that repeated and vaccine breakthrough infections may arise as serious health concerns in the ongoing pandemic. Highlights: Emerging SARS‐CoV‐2 variants: Harbor key mutations altering the virus‐host interactions.Show more efficient host‐cell entry and greater replication resulting in higher viral loads, prolonged viral shedding, and greater tissue injury.Show reduced neutralization by natural and vaccine acquired antibodies.Causing symptomatic illness in increasing number of young, women, and healthy individuals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A 16-tupling frequency system for millimeter-wave generation using cascaded arrangement of parallel Mach-Zehnder modulators is presented in this paper. Parallel non-ideal Mach-Zehnder modulators are used to realize a Mach-Zehnder modulator (MZM) with an ideal splitting ratio of 0.5. Hence, parallel MZMs work as a modulator with ultra-high extinction ratio. A 5GHz radio frequency signal is 16-tupled to 80GHz with optical sideband suppression ratio of 64 dB and radio frequency spurious sideband suppression ratio of 31 dB. The system has radio frequency spurious sideband suppression ratio = 10 dB for modulation range of 2.79 to 2.86. Further, optical sideband suppression and radio frequency spurious sideband suppression ratios are independent of extinction ratio of MZMs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The Delta variant (B.1.617.2) was considered the most dangerous SARS-CoV-2 strain; however, in-depth studies on its impact based on demographic and clinical characteristics of COVID-19 are scarce., Objective: We aimed to investigate the shift in demographic and clinical characteristics of the COVID-19 pandemic with the emergence of the SARS-CoV-2 Delta variant compared with the wild-type (WT) strain (B.1)., Methods: A cross-sectional study of COVID-19 cases in the Indian population caused by the WT strain (B.1) and Delta variant of SARS-CoV-2 was performed. The viral genomic sequence metadata containing demographic, vaccination, and patient status details (N=9500, N Delta =6238, N WT =3262) were statistically analyzed., Results: With the Delta variant, in comparison with the WT strain, a higher proportion of young individuals (<20 years) were infected (0-9 years: Delta: 281/6238, 4.5% vs B.1: 75/3262, 2.3%; 10-19 years: Delta: 562/6238, 9% vs B.1: 229/3262, 7%; P<.001). The proportion of women contracting infection increased (Delta: 2557/6238, 41% vs B.1: 1174/3262, 36%; P<.001). However, it decreased for men (Delta: 3681/6238, 59% vs B.1: 2088/3262, 64%; P<.001). An increased proportion of the young population developed symptomatic illness and were hospitalized (Delta: 27/262, 10.3% vs B.1: 5/130, 3.8%; P=.02). Moreover, an increased proportion of the women (albeit not men) from the young (Delta: 37/262, 14.1% vs B.1: 4/130, 3.1%; P<.001) and adult (Delta: 197/262, 75.2% vs B.1: 72/130, 55.4%; P<.001) groups developed symptomatic illness and were hospitalized. The mean age of men and women who contracted infection (Delta: men=37.9, SD 17.2 years; women=36.6, SD 17.6 years; P<.001; B.1: men=39.6, SD 16.9 years; women=40.1, SD 17.4 years; P<.001) as well as developing symptoms or being hospitalized (Delta: men=39.6, SD 17.4 years; women=35.6, SD 16.9 years, P<.001; B.1: men=47, SD 18 years; women=49.5, SD 20.9 years, P<.001) were considerably lower with the Delta variant than the B.1 strain. The total mortality was about 1.8 times higher with the Delta variant than with the WT strain. With the Delta variant, compared with B.1, mortality decreased for men (Delta: 58/85, 68% vs B.1: 15/20, 75%; P<.001); in contrast, it increased for women (Delta: 27/85, 32% vs B.1: 5/20, 25%; P<.001). The odds of death increased with age, irrespective of sex (odds ratio 3.034, 95% CI 1.7-5.2, P<.001). Frequent postvaccination infections (24/6238) occurred with the Delta variant following complete doses., Conclusions: The increased involvement of young people and women, the lower mean age for illness, higher mortality, and frequent postvaccination infections were significant epidemiological concerns with the Delta variant., (©Ashutosh Kumar, Adil Asghar, Khursheed Raza, Ravi K Narayan, Rakesh K Jha, Abhigyan Satyam, Gopichand Kumar, Prakhar Dwivedi, Chetan Sahni, Chiman Kumari, Maheswari Kulandhasamy, Rohini Motwani, Gurjot Kaur, Hare Krishna, Sujeet Kumar, Kishore Sesham, Sada N Pandey, Rakesh Parashar, Kamla Kant. Originally published in the Interactive Journal of Medical Research (https://www.i-jmr.org/), 08.10.2024.)

Introduction: The JEEViKA program, a rural livelihood initiative, sought to uplift Self-Help Group (SHG) cadres in Bihar, India. However, health-related issues remained a challenge due to limited attention and health literacy among SHG members and mid-level managers. This study aimed to enhance health knowledge among mid-level managers through a technical course developed by the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) Patna in collaboration with JEEViKA and Project Concern International (PCI), focusing on integrating health aspects with economic development., Methods: A comprehensive training needs assessment identified gaps in health knowledge among mid-level managers. A technical course curriculum was developed, comprising 20 topics covering health, nutrition, and sanitation. The course was delivered virtually to six batches of mid-level managers. Pre- and post-training assessments measured knowledge improvement., Results: Initial assessment revealed that 71 (38.8%) participants had good, while 90 (49.2%) had average health knowledge scores. The virtual course led to improved knowledge levels, with 538 (89.7%) out of 600 total participants achieving good or excellent scores in post-training assessments. Specific knowledge gaps related to maternal, infant, and child health were addressed throughout the course., Discussion: The study underscores the importance of equipping mid-level managers with health literacy to effectively integrate health components into livelihood projects. The collaboration between AIIMS Patna, JEEViKA, and PCI highlights the potential of knowledge-based interventions to bridge health gaps in rural communities. The success of the virtual course emphasizes the feasibility of online training to enhance health knowledge and underscores the symbiotic relationship between health and economic development., Competing Interests: Human subjects: Consent was obtained or waived by all participants in this study. Project Concern International and Institutional Research Committee, All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) Patna issued approval PCI-1411-SC-0610-00. All procedures performed in this study were according to the ethical standards of the Institutional Research Committee (IRC) and with the 1964 Helsinki Declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards. The study was approved by Project Concern International and the Institutional Research Committee of All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) Patna, which is an autonomous institute of national importance in India. Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study. Animal subjects: All authors have confirmed that this study did not involve animal subjects or tissue. Conflicts of interest: In compliance with the ICMJE uniform disclosure form, all authors declare the following: Payment/services info: Project Concern International, the project partner of All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) Patna, had approved and provided funding for the project. Financial relationships: All authors have declared that they have no financial relationships at present or within the previous three years with any organizations that might have an interest in the submitted work. Other relationships: All authors have declared that there are no other relationships or activities that could appear to have influenced the submitted work., (Copyright © 2024, Kumar et al.)

The existence of a previously unrecognized subarachnoid lymphatic-like membrane (SLYM) was reported in a recent study. SLYM is described as an intermediate leptomeningeal layer between the arachnoid and pia mater in mouse and human brains, which divides the subarachnoid space (SAS) into two functional compartments. Being a macroscopic structure, having missed detection in previous studies is surprising. We systematically reviewed the published reports in animals and humans to explore whether prior descriptions of this meningeal layer were reported in some way. A comprehensive search was conducted in PubMed/Medline, EMBASE, Google Scholar, Science Direct, and Web of Science databases using combinations of MeSH terms and keywords with Boolean operators from inception until 31 December 2023. We found at least eight studies that provided structural evidence of an intermediate leptomeningeal layer in the brain or spinal cord. However, unequivocal descriptions for this layer all along the central nervous system were scarce. Obscure names like the epipial, intermediate meningeal, outer pial layers, or intermediate lamella were used to describe it. Its microscopic/ultrastructural details closely resemble the recently reported SLYM. We further examined the counterarguments in current literature that are skeptical of the existence of this layer. The potential physiological and clinical implications of this new meningeal layer are significant, underscoring the urgent need for further exploration of its structural and functional details., (© 2024 American Association for Anatomy.)