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Purpose: The purpose of the study was to evaluate the outcomes of deep anterior lamellar keratoplasty (DALK) in children and adolescents with advanced keratoconus (KC) at a tertiary eye care center in India. Design: This was a retrospective cross-sectional study. Methods: All cases of KC under the age group of 18 years, operated for DALK at a tertiary eye care center in South India, were evaluated from January 2018 to January 2022; outcome measures were best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA), graft clarity at final follow-up, and complications. Results: Of 27 eyes of 25 cases, 16 were male and 9 were female, with a mean age of presentation at 14.9 years. In stromal dissection technique, big bubble was attempted in 23 eyes and achieved in 20 eyes; manual dissection was done for the rest of the cases. Final BCVA varied from 0.1 to 0.6 logMAR units. Twenty-three eyes had excellent graft clarity at final follow-up. Complications noted in the study were intraoperative microperforation in four cases, postoperatively suture-related complications in three cases, and corneal graft rejection in one case. Conclusion: DALK in pediatric age group for advanced KC is an effective treatment option.

Human beings experience adversative effects due to the large fluoride concentrations present in potable water. Because of the low cost and simple operation, the extensively acknowledged process is adsorption. The objective of this study is to investigate the performance of some of the prepared carbons from bio-waste materials viz., Citrus limon, Citrus nobilis, Pithecellobium dulce, and Bombax malabaricum sheaths in defluoridation. Initial concentration, particle size, agitation time, adsorbent dose, and pH were the different parameters chosen to study their effect on adsorption. Studied the adsorption kinetics. Further suitability to adsorption isotherms was reviewed.

Abstract The basic objective of the current investigation by using CFD simulation is to select the appropriate material to fabricate Vortex tubes in meteorological conditions, which can improve efficiency and performance. The simulation results of vortex tubes were used in obtaining the performance for various materials such as copper, stainlessteel, brass, PVC, CPVC, acrylic, nylon, and bronze. The ratio of length of the hot tube and inner diameter was chosen as (L/D) 40 with the consistent inner diameter of the hot tube as 15 mm. Compressed air is passed through an inlet pipe between 2 and 12 bars in the step of 2 bars. 2D CFD was developed and analyzed with Ansys Fluent to access the performance of the vortex tube. Finally, after evaluating all simulation values for eight materials for performance depending upon their physical properties varies in the sequence from copper–bronze–brass–stainless steel–CPVC–PVC–acrylic–nylon material.

Abstract Background Virulence of the entomopathogenic nematode, Heterorhabditis indica against larvae (3rd, 4th and 5th larval instars) and pupae of citrus fruit piercing moth, Eudocima materna L. (Lepidoptera: Erebidae) was evaluated under laboratory conditions. The experiments included pathogenicity assessment of H. indica against larvae and pupae using a range of concentrations (10, 25, 50, 100 and 200 infective juveniles (IJs) larva−1 and pupa−1) as well as evaluation of their reproductive potential on different larval instars with different concentrations (50, 100, 200, 400 and 600 IJs larva−1). Results Application of increasing concentrations of IJs induced higher mortality on larval instars and pupae with mean mortality ranging from 26.6 to 100% (LC50- 3rd (14.43 IJs larva−1), 4th (17.08 IJs larva−1), 5th (23.63 IJs larva−1)) and 10–70% (LC50- 85.91 IJs pupa−1) after 48 h post-exposure, respectively. H. indica successfully reproduced in the 3rd, 4th and 5th larval instars of E. materna and their offspring emerged from the cadavers. The highest reproduction was recorded in 5th instar larvae (1,082,855 IJs larva−1) at 600 IJs larva−1 in E. materna. Conclusion The present study suggests that H. indica strain had the potential for biological control of E. materna.

A novel an electrochemical sensor is constructed based on three-dimensional Nickel oxide nano flowers (3D-NiO) and TiO2-nanowire arrays (TiO2NWA) by hydrothermal route. Initially TiO2-NWA were produced on titanium foil using hydrothermal method in the presence of 1.0 M NaOH solution at 180 °C for 20 h, then 3D-nickel oxide nano (NiO) flowers (up to 3 µM) are directly grown on TiO2 NWA using hydrothermal reaction in the presence of glucose, urea and nickel acetate mixer solution at 150 °C for 5 h, followed by N2 gas assisted annealing at 500 °C for 2 h. The resultant nanostructures are characterized by CV, XRD, FESEM-EDX and TEM. The as prepared electrodes are used as electrochemical sensors for investigating electrochemical behavior of naringenin (NRG) flavonoid. Further differential pulse voltammetry is used to determine the NRG in vegetable (tomato and ginger) samples at optimized conditions, such as accumulation potential, time, the applied sample volume, pH of the buffer and the step potential. The finest oxidation peaks are observed for NRG in acidic condition (phosphate buffer solution) at around 0.35 V. The obtained oxidation peaks were observed at low current values over the concentration of 1.50 × 10−8 M to 2.35 × 10−4 M with lower detection limit of 0.025 nM for NRG. Mainly the presence of carbon (glucose) enhanced the conductivity and surface area of the as prepared electrode (NiO/TiO2NWA). The nano composite modified electrode (NiO/TiO2NWA) displays good stability, high sensitivity and reproducibility. The recommended method is effectively applied an economical and simple sensor for the present investigation. Keywords: Ti foil, Hydrothermal method, TiO2 nanowires, Nickel oxide nano flowers, NaOH, Naringenin and cyclic voltammetry

Hydrothermal characteristics in circular wavy microchannels (CWMCs) with bifurcation plate have been numerically studied and compared with hydrothermal performance of sinusoidal wavy microchannels (SWMCs). Numerical study were carried out considering the Reynolds number (Re) ranging from 100 to 300. It was observed that, as the fluid flows through CWMC, it continuously absorbs heat from the channel leading to decrease in the temperature difference between the channel and the fluid. Hence, heat dissipation along the channel length decreases. To augment the heat dissipation along the fluid flow direction in CWMC, bifurcation plate (BFP) is introduced in the middle of the channel. CWMC with bifurcation plate has shown higher Nusselt number (Nu) with pressure drop penalty. The parametric study on bifurcation plate length was also carried out to minimize the pressure drop penalty and to achieve higher Nu. It is identified that CWMC with bifurcation plate length of 12.5 mm gives higher Nu with pressure drop penalty. Nu is further enhanced by providing slots on bifurcation plate. It is concluded that CWMC with BFP(10 mm) having slots gives the highest Nu than any other designs with pressure drop penalty.

Phytonematodes are globally important functional components of the belowground ecology in both natural and agricultural soils; they are a diverse group of which some species are economically important pests, and environmentally benign control strategies are being sought to control them. Using eco-evolutionary theory, we test the hypothesis that root-exudates of host plants will increase the ability of a hyperparasitic bacteria, Pasteuria penetrans and other closely related bacteria, to infect their homologous pest nematodes, whereas non-host root exudates will not. Plant root-exudates from good hosts, poor hosts and non-hosts were characterized by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC/MS) and we explore their interaction on the attachment of the hyperparasitic bacterial endospores to homologous and heterologous pest nematode cuticles. Although GC/MS did not identify any individual compounds as responsible for changes in cuticle susceptibility to endospore adhesion, standardized spore binding assays showed that Pasteuria endospore adhesion decreased with nematode age, and that infective juveniles pre-treated with homologous host root-exudates reduced the aging process and increased attachment of endospores to the nematode cuticle, whereas non-host root-exudates did not. We develop a working model in which plant root exudates manipulate the nematode cuticle aging process, and thereby, through increased bacterial endospore attachment, increase bacterial infection of pest nematodes. This we suggest would lead to a reduction of plant-parasitic nematode burden on the roots and increases plant fitness. Therefore, by the judicious manipulation of environmental factors produced by the plant root and by careful crop rotation this knowledge can help in the development of environmentally benign control strategies.

The study investigates whether behavioural theory is a superior explanation for short-term return–volatility relationship than traditional leverage and volatility feedback hypotheses. Using VAR and quantile regression frameworks, the study shows that behavioural theory explains the relationship better than the leverage and feedback hypotheses. The study supports that behavioural biases (representative, affect, extrapolation heuristics, etc.) exist among market participants, and these biases cause India Volatility Index (India VIX) to be an efficient hedge for extreme negative market movements.

Oral cancer prevalence in Asia-pacific region is at an alarming stage due to the adverse habits and different socio-economic and cultural status of the population. The better understanding of the disease process at the molecular level has altered the approach of the oral cancer towards early diagnosis of the lesion rather than late stages to reduce the morbidity and mortality. A good number of screening techniques has been time tested for the sensitivity and specificity in diagnosing oral cancer in the initial premalignant stages. Surgical biopsy is a gold standard for diagnosis but this needs professional services, which are impractical at times. Alternative screening methods which are noninvasive, easily performed and highly accurate are the norms for any test to accept as an alternative for histopathology. This article focuses on some screening techniques, which are done either as confirmative or adjuvant for histopathology.

This study presents numerical findings on the flow and heat transfer irreversibility when metal foams are partially filled in a horizontal pipe. A heater is embedded in the pipe's circumference with a known heat input. Aluminum metal foam, characterized by a pore density of 10 and porosity of 0.95, is placed next to the inner wall of the pipe to enhance heat transfer. To determine the optimal thickness of the metal foam for thermodynamic performance enhancement, metal foams of five different thicknesses (10–80 mm) are examined under forced convection heat transfer conditions. The study integrates the Darcy Extended Forchheimer and local thermal nonequilibrium models to predict flow and heat transfer characteristics through the metal foams. Validation of the numerical methodology is conducted by comparing the results with experimental data available in the literature. A novel aspect of this investigation is the application of the second law of thermodynamics to analyze the thermodynamic performance of metal foams. Exergy and irreversibility analyses are used to evaluate the thermodynamic performance, revealing that a pipe filled with metal foams up to a thickness of 40 mm exhibits superior thermodynamic performance compared to other cases examined in the study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This study aimed to report the long-term results of combined topography-guided photorefractive keratectomy (PRK) and accelerated corneal collagen cross-linking (CXL) for keratoconus using the Zeiss refractive coordinated system. Methods: A prospective interventional study was conducted in a tertiary eye care hospital in South India. Patients with mild-to-moderate progressive keratoconus and corneal pachymetry greater than 450 |im were included. They underwent customized topography-guided PRK followed by CXL. Uncorrected distance visual acuity (UDVA), corrected distance visual acuity (CDVA), and keratometry readings and complications were evaluated at 1, 3, 6, 12, and 24 months postoperatively. Results: Thirty patients (30 eyes) were included in the study. All study parameters showed a statistically significant improvement postoperatively over baseline values. At 24 months, the mean UDVA improved from 0.8 ± 0.180 logarithm of the minimum angle of resolution (logMAR) to 0.38 ± 0.118 logMAR (P-value <0.001) and CDVA improved from 0.467 ± 0.142 logMAR to 0.227 ± 0.078 logMAR (P-value <0.001). The mean flat, steep, and maximum keratometry values were significantly reduced by 2.133, 3, and 4.54 diopters, respectively, at the last follow-up examination (P-value <0.001). Conclusion: The combined topography-guided PRK and accelerated CXL procedure seem to be a promising treatment alternative for early keratoconus. This is the first such study on the Zeiss refractive coordinated system. However, further studies with a larger study population and longer follow-up periods are required to draw final conclusions about the benefits of this procedure in keratoconus. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: To evaluate the expression of CD133 and OCT 4 in Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma. Materials and methods: The study included a total of 50 samples of Archival tissue blocks that were categorised as control and cases (Oral squamous cell carcinoma) and further as Well-differentiated & Moderately squamous cell carcinoma. The sections of both Group I and group II were subjected to Immunohistochemical staining using CD133 antibody and anti-Oct-4 antibody. The cells were counted and the data obtained were compared for the significance keeping p<0.05 as significant. Results: Statistical significance is observed on the correlation of CD133 and OCT 4 expression when the mean number of positive cells is compared between the control and study groups. A high statistical significance is observed on the correlation of CD133 and OCT 4 expression when the mean number of positive cells is compared in normal mucosa and moderately differentiated Squamous cell carcinoma. Conclusion: The quantitative expression of CD133 and OCT 4 increased from normal mucosa to the well-differentiated variation of oral squamous cell carcinoma, and subsequently to the moderately differentiated variant, suggesting that CD133 and OCT 4 plays a role in determining the prognosis of oral squamous cell carcinoma patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: To evaluate the expression of CD133 in Oral epithelial dysplasia. Materials and methods: The study included a total of 50 samples of Archival tissue blocks that were categorised as control and cases (Oral epithelial dysplasia) and further as the cases were categorised again as mild, moderate and severe. The sections of both Group I and group II were subjected to Immunohistochemical staining using CD133 antibody. The cells were counted and the data obtained were compared for the significance keeping p<0.05 as significant. Results: When compared with normal mucosa, the expression of CD133 increased in oral epithelial dysplasia. The mean number of positive cells was increased from Mild epithelial dysplasia to severe epithelial dysplasia. Severe epithelial dysplasia showed increased expression when compared with moderate and mild epithelial dysplasia. Comparison of different grades of epithelial dysplasia showed highly statistical significance. Comparison between and within the group showed highly statistical significant. Comparison of epithelial dysplasia with controls with mean number of positive cells with highly statistically significant. Conclusion: The quantitative expression of CD133 increased from normal mucosa to the through the various differentiations of epithelial dysplasia, suggesting that CD133 might be involved for identification of cell proliferation from mild to severe epithelial dysplasia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]