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Abstract Introduction The health of women is of particular concern because they often have greater health needs than men and many women still lack access to quality healthcare services, preventing their ability to attain the best possible level of health. Hence, this study aimed to assess the accessibility and availability of health services among rural women. Methods A household survey was conducted by using a multi-stage sample with 407 married women aged 18–45 years, having at least one child and living in Tiruchirappalli District, Tamil Nadu were recruited for this study. A semi-structured questionnaire was used to collect data about the demographic status, and accessibility and availability of health services. Results Of the 407 respondents, 70% were aged between 26 and 40 years, 73% were working as farmers and labourers and 77% were living in nuclear families. 71% of them had enjoyed hospital facilities near their residence and 83% of the hospitals were run by the government. In village health nurse service (VHN), 34% of the respondents had received all services from VHN and 86% did not face any kind of gender inequality and almost all of them were satisfied with the service provided by the VHN. Almost all the respondents (98%) were satisfied with the availability of health services and 92% of them benefited from the government scheme related to childbirth. Conclusion This study showed that overall, the women were satisfied with the availability of healthcare services and reproductive health services. Moreover, almost all of them benefited from the government scheme related to childbirth.

Abstract Myocardial infarction (MI) is the most prevalent non‐communicable disease worldwide. Nanotheranostics have made significant progress in the biomedical field, presenting an avenue to overcome the limitations of conventional approaches towards MI, in which personalized interventions have enhanced nanotherapeutic efficacy. The pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of nanoscale materials have been modified through alteration of their physical and chemical properties such as structure, size, and surface, thereby improving target sensitivity and specificity. This revolutionary technology has also been accomplished through precision therapeutics in MI. In this review, we discuss advanced nanoparticle designs utilized in the diagnosis and treatment of MI that could be applied to deliver personalized treatment and improve patient outcomes.

Abstract Background Congenital heart defects are frequently observed in infants of diabetic mothers, but the molecular basis of the defects remains obscure. Thus, the present study was performed to gain some insights into the molecular pathogenesis of maternal diabetes-induced congenital heart defects in mice. Methods and results We analyzed the morphological changes, the expression pattern of some genes, the proliferation index and apoptosis in developing heart of embryos at E13.5 from streptozotocin-induced diabetic mice. Morphological analysis has shown the persistent truncus arteriosus combined with a ventricular septal defect in embryos of diabetic mice. Several other defects including defective endocardial cushion (EC) and aberrant myofibrillogenesis have also been found. Cardiac neural crest defects in experimental embryos were analyzed and validated by the protein expression of NCAM and PGP 9.5. In addition, the protein expression of Bmp4, Msx1 and Pax3 involved in the development of cardiac neural crest was found to be reduced in the defective hearts. The mRNA expression of Bmp4, Msx1 and Pax3 was significantly down-regulated (p < 0.001) in the hearts of experimental embryos. Further, the proliferation index was significantly decreased (p < 0.05), whereas the apoptotic cells were significantly increased (p < 0.001) in the EC and the ventricular myocardium of the experimental embryos. Conclusion It is suggested that the down-regulation of genes involved in development of cardiac neural crest could contribute to the pathogenesis of maternal diabetes-induced congenital heart defects.

Atherosclerosis continues to be a leading cause of morbidity and mortality globally. The precise evaluation of the extent of an atherosclerotic plaque is essential for forecasting its likelihood of causing health concerns and tracking treatment outcomes. When compared to conventional methods used, nanoparticles offer clear benefits and excellent development opportunities for the detection and characterisation of susceptible atherosclerotic plaques. In this review, we analyse the recent advancements of nanoparticles as theranostics in the management of atherosclerosis, with an emphasis on applications in drug delivery. Furthermore, the main issues that must be resolved in order to advance clinical utility and future developments of NP research are discussed. It is anticipated that medical NPs will develop into complex and advanced next-generation nanobotics that can carry out a variety of functions in the bloodstream.

ABSTRACTIn this paper, an attempt is made to improve the performance of permanent magnet DC (PMDC) motor using third order sliding mode control. From the derived mathematical modelling for buck converter fed permanent magnet DC motor, expressions for both classical sliding surface (CSS) and proportional integral derivative sliding surface (PIDSS) with the third order sliding mode control is derived and compared analytically. Simulation work is done for PI controller, sliding mode control (SMC), third order CSS and third order PIDSS by using Matlab/Simulink to validate the performance of the above said controllers under no-load condition and various load torque conditions such as: constant load torque, frictional load torque, fan type load torque, propeller type load torque and undefined load torque. Experimental results are obtained with PMDC motor to validate the proposed control method for various speeds with different constant load torque conditions. Comparisons are carried out both in simulation and real time for PI controller, SMC, CSS and PIDSS based on the speed settling time and steady state error. Satisfactory results are obtained and presented in this paper.

Dual-fuel low-temperature combustion is a possible solution for alleviating the tradeoff between oxides of nitrogen and soot emissions in conventional diesel combustion, albeit with poor combustion stability, high carbon monoxide, and unburned hydrocarbon emissions at low engine loads. The present work compares emissions and combustion (heat release and other metrics) of both diesel and poly-oxy methylene dimethyl ether as high-reactivity fuels to ignite natural gas while leveraging spray-targeted reactivity stratification, which involved multiple injections of the high-reactivity fuels. The experiments included six parametric sweeps of: (1) start of first injection, (2) start of second injection, (3) percentage of energy substitution of natural gas, (4) commanded injection duration ratio, (5) rail pressure, and (6) intake pressure. The experiments were performed on a 1.8 L heavy-duty single-cylinder research engine operating at a medium speed of 1339 rev/min. Not-to-exceed limits for the indicated oxides of nitrogen emissions, maximum pressure rise rate, and the coefficient of variation of the indicated mean effective pressure were set to 1 g/kWh, 10 bar/CAD, and 10%, respectively. The indicated emissions decreased and combustion improved significantly for both fueling combinations when the experimental procedure was applied.

Voice-gender differences and spatial separation are important cues for auditory object segregation. The goal of this study was to investigate the relationship of voice-gender difference benefit to the breadth of binaural pitch fusion, the perceptual integration of dichotic stimuli that evoke different pitches across ears, and the relationship of spatial separation benefit to localization acuity, the ability to identify the direction of a sound source. Twelve bilateral hearing aid (HA) users (age from 30 to 75 years) and eleven normal hearing (NH) listeners (age from 36 to 67 years) were tested in the following three experiments. First, speech-on-speech masking performance was measured as the threshold target-to-masker ratio (TMR) needed to understand a target talker in the presence of either same- or different-gender masker talkers. These target-masker gender combinations were tested with two spatial configurations (maskers co-located or 60° symmetrically spatially separated from the target) in both monaural and binaural listening conditions. Second, binaural pitch fusion range measurements were conducted using harmonic tone complexes around a 200-Hz fundamental frequency. Third, absolute localization acuity was measured using broadband (125–8000 Hz) noise and one-third octave noise bands centered at 500 and 3000 Hz. Voice-gender differences between target and maskers improved TMR thresholds for both listener groups in the binaural condition as well as both monaural (left ear and right ear) conditions, with greater benefit in co-located than spatially separated conditions. Voice-gender difference benefit was correlated with the breadth of binaural pitch fusion in the binaural condition, but not the monaural conditions, ruling out a role of monaural abilities in the relationship between binaural fusion and voice-gender difference benefits. Spatial separation benefit was not significantly correlated with absolute localization acuity. In addition, greater spatial separation benefit was observed in NH listeners than in bilateral HA users, indicating a decreased ability of HA users to benefit from spatial release from masking (SRM). These findings suggest that sharp binaural pitch fusion may be important for maximal speech perception in multi-talker environments for both NH listeners and bilateral HA users.

Reactivity-Controlled Compression Ignition (RCCI) combustion is considered one of the most promising Low-Temperature Combustion (LTC) concepts aimed at reducing greenhouse gases for the transportation and power generation sectors. Due to the spontaneous combustion of a lean, nearly homogeneous mixture of air and low-reactivity fuel (LRF), ignited through the direct injection of a small quantity of high-reactivity fuel (HRF), RCCI (dual-fuel) shows higher efficiency and lower pollutants compared to conventional diesel combustion (CDC) if run at very advanced injection timing. Even though a HRF is used, the use of advanced injection timing leads to high ignition delays, compared to CDC, and generates high cycle-to-cycle variability, limited operating range, and high pressure rise rates at high loads. This work presents an experimental analysis performed on a heavy-duty single-cylinder compression ignited engine in dual-fuel diesel–natural gas mode. The objective of the present work is to investigate and highlight the correlations between combustion behavior and pollutant emissions, especially unburned hydrocarbons (HC) and oxides of nitrogen (NOx). Based on the analysis of crank-resolved pollutants measurements performed through fast FID and fast NOx systems under different engine operating conditions, two correlations were found demonstrating a good accordance between pollutant production and combustion behavior: Net Cyclic Hydrocarbon emission—cyclic IMEP variations (R2 = 0.86), and Cyclic NOx—maximum value of the Rate of Heat Released (R2 = 0.82).

Maternal diabetes has been associated with a greater risk of neurodevelopmental disorders in offspring. It has been established that hyperglycemia alters the expression of genes and microRNAs (miRNAs) regulating the fate of neural stem cells (NSCs) during brain development. In this study, the expression of methyl-CpG-binding protein-2 (Mecp2), a global chromatin organizer and a crucial regulator of synaptic proteins, was analyzed in NSCs obtained from the forebrain of embryos of diabetic mice. Mecp2 was significantly downregulated in NSCs derived from embryos of diabetic mice when compared to controls. miRNA target prediction revealed that the miR-26 family could regulate the expression of Mecp2, and further validation confirmed that Mecp2 is a target of miR-26b-5p. Knockdown of Mecp2 or overexpression of miR-26b-5p altered the expression of tau protein and other synaptic proteins, suggesting that miR-26b-5p alters neurite outgrowth and synaptogenesis via Mecp2. This study revealed that maternal diabetes upregulates the expression of miR-26b-5p in NSCs, resulting in downregulation of its target, Mecp2, which in turn perturbs neurite outgrowth and expression of synaptic proteins. Overall, hyperglycemia dysregulates synaptogenesis that may manifest as neurodevelopmental disorders in offspring from diabetic pregnancy.

Dual fuel combustion leverages a high-reactivity fuel (HRF) to ignite a premixed low reactivity fuel (LRF)–air mixture to achieve high efficiencies and low engine-out emissions. The difference in the relative amounts of these fuels and in-cylinder fuel reactivity stratification profoundly impacts dual fuel combustion. The effect of increasing LRF energy substitution on dual fuel combustion at various fixed HRF (diesel) quantities was experimentally studied for two different LRFs (natural gas and propane) on a heavy-duty single cylinder engine at a constant intake pressure of 1.5 bar and injection pressure of 500 bar. Further, this effect was studied for three different HRF start of injection (SOI) timings of 310 CAD (50° BTDC), 330 CAD (30° BTDC), and 350 CAD (10° BTDC). For 310 CAD SOI, increasing the LRF substitution at a fixed HRF resulted in higher loads, peak cylinder pressures, and peak apparent heat release rates (AHRR). The onset of low temperature heat release (LTHR) was advanced as the LR fuel flowrate increased at a given pilot quantity for diesel–NG but remained constant for diesel–propane dual fuel combustion at these SOIs due to the impact of propane on the temperature at which the onset of LTHR occurs. The indicated fuel conversion efficiency (IFCE) ranged from 35% at 4 bar IMEPg to 47% at 9 bar IMEPg with NG as the LRF and from 35% at 3 bar IMEPg to 51% at 8 bar IMEPg with propane as the LRF. For 330 CAD SOI, the HC and CO emissions decreased at a higher fixed HRF quantity and an increasing LRF substitution. However, this was accompanied by significantly higher oxides of nitrogen (NOx) emissions for both NG and propane as LRFs. For 350 CAD SOI, increasing the LRF substitution at constant HRF consistently led to a higher second stage AHRR, whereas the first stage AHRR remained relatively unchanged for both NG and propane as LRFs. This was accompanied by higher IFCE for all fixed HRF quantities as LRF substitution was increased. For all SOIs studied, the HC and CO emissions were substantially lower and combustion stability was significantly improved as the LRF substitution (and consequently, the load) was increased. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, the present work is unique in that it involves the first systematic experimental study of the impact of LRF energy substitution at fixed HRF quantities over a range of SOIs, providing comparative results for two different LRFs (NG and propane) on the same engine platform.

Summary: Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) is a well-established risk factor for cardiovascular mortality worldwide. Although hypertrophy is traditionally regarded as an adaptive response to physiological or pathological stress, prolonged hypertrophy can lead to heart failure. Here we demonstrate that Prdm16 is dispensable for cardiac development. However, it is required in the adult heart to preserve mitochondrial function and inhibit hypertrophy with advanced age. Cardiac-specific deletion of Prdm16 results in cardiac hypertrophy, excessive ventricular fibrosis, mitochondrial dysfunction, and impaired metabolic flexibility, leading to heart failure. We demonstrate that Prdm16 and euchromatic histone-lysine N-methyltransferase factors (Ehmts) act together to reduce expression of fetal genes reactivated in pathological hypertrophy by inhibiting the functions of the pro-hypertrophic transcription factor Myc. Although young Prdm16 knockout mice show normal cardiac function, they are predisposed to develop heart failure in response to metabolic stress. Our study demonstrates that Prdm16 protects the heart against age-dependent cardiac hypertrophy and heart failure.

In this paper, a ‘k’-state inverter producing a higher number of voltage levels was designed, and we studied the inverter’s working. Further, a tri-state inverter was derived from the ‘k’-state inverter, which could build a maximum number of output voltage levels with the requirement of fewer components, thereby reducing the cost and size. A single Tri-state architecture generates three direct current (D.C.) voltage levels; therefore, cascading five tri-state architectures can generate 242 levels of DC voltages. Further, the inversion is done via the H bridge, which leads to 485 levels of the output voltage. Algorithms to design the amplitude of voltage sources and the generation of pulses are discussed in this paper. The proposed tri-state inverter takes a significant role in advancing renewable energy systems in utilizing inverter technology. A simulation study validated the operation of the proposed inverter. Moreover, an experimental setup was built for a single-phase 485-level inverter, and the structure’s performance was verified through the experimental results.

Diabetes mellitus (DM) is a common endocrine disease characterized by a state of hyperglycemia (higher level of glucose in the blood than usual). DM and its complications can lead to diabetic foot ulcer (DFU). DFU is associated with impaired wound healing, due to inappropriate cellular and cytokines response, infection, poor vascularization, and neuropathy. Effective therapeutic strategies for the management of impaired wound could be attained through a better insight of molecular mechanism and pathophysiology of diabetic wound healing. Nanotherapeutics-based agents engineered within 1–100 nm levels, which include nanoparticles and nanoscaffolds, are recent promising treatment strategies for accelerating diabetic wound healing. Nanoparticles are smaller in size and have high surface area to volume ratio that increases the likelihood of biological interaction and penetration at wound site. They are ideal for topical delivery of drugs in a sustained manner, eliciting cell-to-cell interactions, cell proliferation, vascularization, cell signaling, and elaboration of biomolecules necessary for effective wound healing. Furthermore, nanoparticles have the ability to deliver one or more therapeutic drug molecules, such as growth factors, nucleic acids, antibiotics, and antioxidants, which can be released in a sustained manner within the target tissue. This review focuses on recent approaches in the development of nanoparticle-based therapeutics for enhancing diabetic wound healing.