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Background The main objective of this study to evaluate the association between CPK-MB, CPK, LDH levels and ECG changes to find out the prognosis in patients of organophosphorous poisoning. Methods This was a prospective observational hospital-based study conducted among 94 adult patients who were admitted with history of organophosphorous compound poisoning to the Department of Toxicology in Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital, Chennai, after obtaining clearance from Institutional Ethics Committee and written informed consent from the study participants. Results The comparison of initial ECG abnormalities and mean CPK, mean CK-MB, mean LDH values showed a positive correlation with statistical significance. The CPK values & CK-MB values at the time of initial evaluation were found to be significantly higher among the deceased patients in comparison to those discharged. Also, a study on the initial LDH value of deceased patients revealed significantly higher levels as compared to those that of the discharged patients. Conclusion Mortality was observed only in patients whose on admission ECG had QTc prolongation, conduction block, QRS changes, VT and VF. It was observed that the CPK, CK-MB, LDH levels recorded were frequently higher among the OPC poisoning patients. The CPK, CPKMB and LDH values recorded at the time of admission exhibited significantly higher values in the case of the deceased than that of the discharged. On admission, CPK, CK-MB, LDH levels were significantly higher in patients with abnormal ECG as compared to normal ECG. Within each ECG parameter, significant difference was observed in CPK, CK-MB, LDH levels among survived and expired patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Non-destructive testing (NDT) is generally used to estimate the compressive strength of concrete material without compromising its structural integrity. However, the available testing methods on the market have particular limitations that may restrict the accuracy of the results. Therefore, this study aimed to develop a new technique for measuring the compressive strength of geopolymer concrete using infrared imaging analysis and Thermal Diameter Variation (TDV) rate. The compressive strength range was designed within the target strength of 20, 30 and 40 MPa. The infrared image was captured on the preheated concrete surface using FLIR-ONE infrared camera. Based on the correlation between TDV rate and compressive strength, higher accuracy was obtained in the orange contour with an R2 of 0.925 than in the red contour with an R2 of 0.8867. It is apparent that infrared imaging analysis has excellent reliability to be used as an alternative NDT by focusing on the warmer region during the procedure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dramatic population and economic growth result in increasing demand for concrete infrastructure, which leads to an increment of freshwater demand and a reduction of freshwater resources. However, freshwater is a finite resource, which means that freshwater will be used up someday in the future when freshwater demand keeps increasing while freshwater resources are limited. Therefore, replacing freshwater with seawater in concrete blending seems potentially beneficial for maintaining the freshwater resources as well as advantageous alternatives to the construction work near the sea. There have been few experimental research on the effect of blending water salt content on the mechanical and physical characteristics of concrete, particularly high-strength concrete. Therefore, a research study on the influence of salt concentration of blending water on the physical and mechanical properties of high-strength concrete is necessary. This study covered the blending water salinity, which varied from 17.5 g/L to 52.5 g/L and was determined on the physical and mechanical properties, including workability, density, compressive strength, and flexural strength. The test results indicate that the use of sea salt in blending water had a slight negative influence on both the workability and the density of high strength concrete. It also indicates that the use of sea salt in blending water had a positive influence on both the compressive strength and the flexural strength of high-strength concrete in an earlystage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Background Little leaf disease caused by phytoplasma infection is a significant threat to eggplant (also known as brinjal) cultivation in India. This study focused on the molecular characterisation of the phytoplasma strains and insect vectors responsible for its transmission and screening of brinjal germplasm for resistance to little leaf disease. Results Surveys conducted across districts in the Tamil Nadu state of India during 2021–2022 showed a higher incidence of phytoplasma during the Zaid (March to June), followed by Kharif (June to November) and Rabi (November to March) seasons with mean incidence ranging from 22 to 27%. As the name indicates, phytoplasma infection results in little leaf (reduction in leaf size), excessive growth of axillary shoots, virescence, phyllody, stunted growth, leaf chlorosis and witches’ broom symptoms. PCR amplification with phytoplasma-specific primers confirmed the presence of this pathogen in all symptomatic brinjal plants and in Hishimonus phycitis (leafhopper), providing valuable insights into the role of leafhoppers in disease transmission. BLAST search and phylogenetic analysis revealed the phytoplasma strain as “Candidatus Phytoplasma trifolii”. Insect population and disease dynamics are highly influenced by environmental factors such as temperature, relative humidity and rainfall. Further, the evaluation of 22 eggplant accessions revealed immune to highly susceptible responses where over 50% of the entries were highly susceptible. Finally, additive main effect and multiplicative interaction (AMMI) and won-where biplot analyses identified G18 as a best-performing accession for little leaf resistance due to its consistent responses across multiple environments. Conclusions This research contributes essential information on little leaf incidence, symptoms, transmission and resistance profiles of different brinjal genotypes, which together ensure effective and sustainable management of this important disease of eggplants.

OBJECTIVE: Polymerase e exonuclease (POLE) is an enzyme involved in DNA replication and may be an attractive therapeutic target in various cancers. Here we sought to model the impact of specific POLE mutations on protein function. Due to the lack of a crystal structure, the tertiary structures of the wild type and four common mutants were modeled using I-Tasser server. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Molecular docking and dynamic simulation studies were performed, and the structure and function of the mutants analyzed through residue conservation analysis and protein folding energy changes. RESULTS: All mutants of POLE gene had favorable binding affinities compared with their wild type of counterpart. The P286R variant, but not the other variants, disrupted cladribine binding to the protein. Similarly, dynamics studies revealed instability of the P286R mutant, while V411L, L424V, and L424F appeared to favor cladribine binding. CONCLUSIONS: Since P286R is a hotspot mutation in endometrioid carcinomas, patients with this variant may not respond to cladribine. Population-based pharmacogenomics studies will be required to validate our results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research introduces a novel approach to repurposing walnut shells, an abundant agricultural waste, to synthesize sustainable nitrogen-doped activated carbon (N@AC). The resulting material exhibits remarkable properties suitable for dual applications in high-performance all-solid-state supercapacitors and efficient Rhodamine B dye (RhB) adsorption. In a three-electrode setup, the N@AC electrode exhibits an impressive specific capacitance of 484.6 Fg−1 at 1 Ag−1 and remarkable long-term stability, maintaining 97.4% of its initial performance even after 5000 charge-discharge cycles. Simultaneously, the all-solid-state symmetric supercapacitor configuration (N@AC//N@AC) demonstrates outstanding specific capacitance, registering at 168.8 Fg−1 at 1 Ag−1, accompanied by a favourable rate capability of 67.3% at 10 Ag−1. Notably, the N@AC//N@AC configuration attains a high energy density of 39.8 WhKg−1 at 1 Ag−1. Furthermore, N@AC//N@AC exhibits favourable cyclic stability, retaining 83.91% of its initial capacitance even after 10,000 charge-discharge cycles. Moreover, the adsorption efficiency of N@AC toward RhB is scrutinized, highlighting its efficacy in addressing environmental remediation challenges. The porous architecture and nitrogen functionalities of N@AC play a crucial role in expeditiously eliminating organic pollutants from aqueous solutions, offering a sustainable approach to treating wastewater. Optimal conditions for the highest RhB adsorption are identified: pH 7.2, a contact duration of 180 min, and an initial dye concentration of 20 mgL−1. Thermodynamic evaluations, encompassing the determination of ΔH◦, ΔH◦, and ΔS◦, signify the endothermic and spontaneous nature of the adsorption process. In desorption investigations, it is noted that H2O, employed as an eluting agent, proficiently releases 87.35% of the adsorbed RhB dye.

Abstract Photocatalysts have developed into a successful strategy for degrading synthetic and organic toxins, such as chemicals and dyes, in wastewater. In this study, graphene oxide was reduced at different temperatures and used for degrading indigo carmine and neutral red dyes. The wide surface areas, strong adsorption sites, and oxygen functionalities of reduced graphene oxide (rGO) at 250 °C (rGO-250) produced more photocatalytic degradation efficiency and adsorption percentage. The catalyst dosage, initial dye concentration, solution pH and recyclability were all used to optimize the photocatalytic activity of rGO-250. This research presents a capable nano-adsorbent photocatalyst for the efficient degradation of organic dyes. GO and rGOs were also investigated for carbon dioxide (CO2) absorption properties. Results showed that rGO-250 has better CO2 adsorption properties than other rGOs. Overall, it was observed that rGO-250 has better photocatalytic and CO2 adsorption capabilities compared to graphene oxide reduced at different temperatures.