Search

Malaria morbidity has various presentations and the focus now shifts to uncommon signs and symptoms of malaria infection such as cognitive impairment to address the morbidity when the mortality declines. About 50% of children admitted to hospitals due to malaria experience neurological complications due to factors like low blood sugar, inflammation, elevated pressure, decreased oxygen levels, and excitotoxicity. Malaria during pregnancy negatively also impacts children’s cognitive, behavioral, and executive function leading to neurodevelopmental delay due to increased susceptibility which can significantly affect maternal and child health, leading to higher rates of underestimated factors like anxiety, depression, and PTSD. Despite having the world’s second-largest tribal population, India’s indigenous and tribal communities and their mental health are less explored and less understood. Western psychological tools and neurocognitive assessment tools are not universally applicable, thus necessitating the development of tailored tools to investigate psychological or neurocognitive impairment. This paper has illuminated the hidden mental health consequences of malaria infection, emphasizing the prevalence, nature, and implications of psychological distress among affected individuals. The findings underscore the importance of recognizing and addressing these psychological consequences in the holistic management and prevention of malaria and its mental health consequences.

Introduction India’s contribution to the malaria burden was highest in South-East Asia Region in 2021, accounting for 79% of the estimated malaria cases and 83% of malaria-related deaths. Intensified Malaria Control Programme supported by Global Funds to Fight against AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria has deployed crucial interventions to reduce the overall burden of malaria in India. Evaluation of utilisation of malaria elimination interventions by the community and assessment of the healthcare system is underway in eleven high malaria endemic states in India. Health system preparedness for malaria elimination, logistics, and supply chain management of diagnostic kits and anti-malarial drugs in addition to the knowledge, attitude and practice of the healthcare workers is also being assessed.Methods and analysis The study is being undertaken in 11 malaria endemic states with a variable annual parasite incidence of malaria. In total, 47 districts (administrative unit of malaria control operations) covering 37 976 households are to be interviewed and assessed. We present here the protocol following which the study is being undertaken at the behest and approval of Ministry of Health and Family Welfare in India.Ethics and dissemination No patients were involved in the study. Study findings will be shared with Institutional ethics board of National Institute for Malaria Research New Delhi (NIMR) in a timely, comprehensive, accurate, unbiased, unambiguous and transparent manner and to the National Vector-borne Disease (Malaria) Control Programme officers and the Community public who participated. Important findings will be communicated through community outreach meetings which are existing in the Health system. Results will be informed to study participants via local fieldwork supervised by District Malaria Officers. Also findings will be published in reputed journals based on Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) publication policy.The ICMR-NIMR ethics committee approved the study via letter No. NIMR/ECM/2023/Feb/14 dated 24 April 2023 for version 5. All standard ethical practices will be followed.

In view of the increased number of detected dengue cases in Bengaluru, a request for situation analysis was received from local health authorities in the selected area. The study included epidemiological and entomological assessments to understand the same. The immature forms collected were allowed to emerge, pooled, and processed for vector incrimination. In the surveyed population (347), 20 (5.8%) reported fever cases and 12 (3.5%) were confirmed as dengue cases among the 102 families. Stegomyia indices were high. Vector incrimination studies revealed pools positive for the presence of dengue virus in flower pots, fridge trays, plastic barrels, and rubber tires habitats. This study highlights the increased risk of dengue fever incidence in communities wherepoor intra and peri-domestic sanitation practices are prevailing and recommendsregular entomological surveillance of denguevirus in its vector population..

Interlaminar and interfacial properties of composites are important parameters for any application, extensive research has been out bursting to enhance the above properties using nanotubes (NTs) as an alternate solution to minimize delamination of laminates. This research focused on significance of functionalized engineering materials for better efficiency in industries, especially stealth technology. Silane-coupling agent “3-glycidyletheroxypropyl-tri methoxy silane, KH-560” is one module among five modules designed in this work. Five modules are considered as (M1, M2, M3, M4 & M5) with (0.5wt % of AMINE, CARBOXYL, multi wall carbon nano tubes (MWCNTs), 5 % KH-560 treated carbon laminate and finally with base carbon fiber). PAN-based 12 k carbon fiber as base fiber with functionalized and non-functionalized nanocomposite are incorporated as fillers in the epoxy laminates fabricated using vacuum bagging technique. Findings indicated 5 % KH-560 silane treated carbon fiber (module M5) showed best results such as properties with 39 %, 55 % and 20 % in “tensile, flexural and interlaminar shear strength (ILSS)” respectively. FESEM analysis is conducted to understand morphology of the laminates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A revolutionary composite material, blending Glass Fiber Reinforced Polymer (GFRP) with advanced nanofillers like TiO2 and MgO, showcases remarkable versatility in various industries due to its unique properties. The process involves precise control of key factors, including fiber stacking sequence (F.S.S) and nanofiller integration (MgO and TiO2). The vacuum bagging process is employed in the production of nanocomposite laminates. Experimental studies have been conducted to assess the performance of composites with and without nanofillers, with a specific focus on crucial mechanical properties, namely ultimate tensile strength (U.T.S), flexural strength (F.S), impact strength (I.S), and hardness (H). The Taguchi L9 orthogonal array design optimizes parameters and enhances mechanical properties. Comparisons reveal significant improvements with nanofillers, including a 31.96% increase in ultimate tensile strength and a substantial 68.43% enhancement in flexural strength. ANOVA results highlight the critical impact of fiber stacking sequence on ultimate tensile strength (63.65%), flexural strength (65.70%), and impact strength (9.30%), while nanofillers play a lesser role, contributing 11.71% to ultimate tensile strength, 2.66% to flexural strength, and 3.61% to impact strength. Notably, in composite hardness, nanofillers play a more significant role, contributing 39.22%, while the influence of fiber stacking sequence is lower at 3.29%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ravinder Kodela,1 Niharika Nath,2 Mitali Chattopadhyay,1 Diandra E Nesbitt,1 Carlos A Velázquez-Martínez,3 Khosrow Kashfi11Department of Physiology, Pharmacology and Neuroscience, Sophie Davis School of Biomedical Education, City University of New York Medical School, 2Department of Life Sciences, New York Institute of Technology, New York, NY, USA; 3Faculty of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada Abstract: Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the second leading cause of death due to cancer and the third most common cancer in men and women in the USA. Nuclear factor kappa B (NF-κB) is known to be activated in CRC and is strongly implicated in its development and progression. Therefore, activated NF-κB constitutes a bona fide target for drug development in this type of malignancy. Many epidemiological and interventional studies have established nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) as a viable chemopreventive strategy against CRC. Our previous studies have shown that several novel hydrogen sulfide-releasing NSAIDs are promising anticancer agents and are safer derivatives of NSAIDs. In this study, we examined the growth inhibitory effect of a novel H2S-releasing naproxen (HS-NAP), which has a repertoire as a cardiovascular-safe NSAID, for its effects on cell proliferation, cell cycle phase transitions, and apoptosis using HT-29 human colon cancer cells. We also investigated its effect as a chemopreventive agent in a xenograft mouse model. HS-NAP suppressed the growth of HT-29 cells by induction of G0/G1 arrest and apoptosis and downregulated NF-κB. Tumor xenografts in mice were significantly reduced in volume. The decrease in tumor mass was associated with a reduction of cell proliferation, induction of apoptosis, and decreases in NF-κB levels in vivo. Therefore, HS-NAP demonstrates strong anticancer potential in CRC. Keywords: nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, cell cycle, apoptosis, xenograft, NF-κB, thioredoxin reductase, chemoprevention

Niharika Nath,1,2 Xiaoping Liu,3 Lloydine Jacobs,1 Khosrow Kashfi1,3 1Department of Physiology, Pharmacology, and Neuroscience, Sophie Davis School of Biomedical Education, City University of New York Medical School, New York, NY, USA; 2Department of Life Sciences, New York Institute of Technology, New York, NY, USA; 3Division of Cancer Prevention, Department of Medicine, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY, USA Background: The Wnt/ß-catenin/T cell factor (TCF) signaling pathway is important in the development of nonmelanoma skin cancers (NMSCs). Nitric-oxide-releasing nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NO-NSAIDs) are chemopreventive agents consisting of a traditional NSAID attached to an NO-releasing moiety through a chemical spacer. Previously we showed that an aromatic spacer enhanced the potency of a particular NO-NSAID compared to an aliphatic spacer. Methods: We synthesized an NO-releasing NSAID with an aromatic spacer (flurbiprofen benzyl nitrate, NBS-242), and using the human skin cancer cell line A-431, we evaluated its effects on cell kinetics, Wnt/ß-catenin, cyclin D1, and caspase-3. Results: NBS-242 inhibited the growth of A-431 cancer cells, being ~15-fold more potent than flurbiprofen and up to 5-fold more potent than NO-flurbiprofen with an aliphatic spacer, the half maximal inhibitory concentrations (IC50) for growth inhibition being 60 ± 4 µM, 320 ± 20 µM, and 880 ± 65 µM for NBS-242, NO-flurbiprofen, and flurbiprofen, respectively. This effect was associated with inhibition of proliferation, accumulation of cells in the G0/G1 phase of the cell cycle, and an increase in apoptotic cell population. NBS-242 cleaved ß-catenin both in the cytoplasm and the nucleus of A-431 cells. NBS-242 activated caspase-3 whose activation was reflected in the cleavage of procaspase-3. To test the functional consequence of ß-catenin cleavage, we determined the expression of cyclin D1, a Wnt-response gene. NBS-242 reduced cyclin D1 levels in a concentration dependent manner. Conclusion: These findings establish a strong inhibitory effect of NBS-242 in A-431 human epidermoid carcinoma cells. NBS-242 modulates parameters that are important in determining cellular mass. Keywords: flurbiprofen, nitric oxide, ß-catenin, chemoprevention, skin cancer

Apart from the widely used polymeric fibers, Quartz fiber is the one that possesses various characteristics. Quartz polymeric fiber in combination with Cyanate Ester resin produces a high-performance composite that has excellent properties and is used primarily in military applications. The present investigation aims at developing a model to predict the output characteristics of hole in the drilling of Quartz composite laminate. Output parameters considered are thrust force, torque, exit delamination factor, hole diameter, cylindricity, and surface roughness. Vacuum Assisted Resin Transfer Molding (VARTM) process was adopted for laminate manufacturing. Full factorial design of experiments was considered for the selected input parameters and experiments were carried out. Further modeling was developed to predict the output parameters employing Back Propagation Neural Network (BPNN) method and it was found that the optimal network architecture was 3-45-15-10-6 with Mean Squared Error (MSE) of 0.0105. Experimental results were analyzed and the inuence of input parameters in this drilling process was studied. The testing data were consistent with the output parameters predicted from the model and the obtained maximum error was 7.58%. Further, the model developed was validated with a new batch of experiments and the values obtained were satisfactory with maximum error of 7.17%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The major objective of this paper is to see how efficient nano aluminium try hydrate is in improving the mechanical properties of Woven S-Glass fibre reinforced hybrid epoxy composites. Because of its high strength-to-weight ratio, the use of Fibre Reinforced Composites has increased in the contemporary context. The composites were made using a hand lay-up approach to achieve the goals. In the present research work, S-Glass fiber acts as a reinforcement material, epoxy resin as a matrix and nano aluminium try hydrate as a filler material. Different kinds of composite samples were fabricated by changing the weight ratio of reinforcement (10 wt.%), matrix (75, 80, 85 and 90 wt. %), and filler materials (0, 5, 10 and 15 wt.%). Mechanical properties such as tensile, flexural, and impact tests were performed in accordance with ASTM standards. SEM was used to investigate the morphological behaviour of hybrid composites. The mechanical properties of FRP composites improved as the 10-weight percentage of aluminium try hydrate powder increased. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Polymeric composites are widely used in aerospace. One such important use of polymeric composites is the filament-wound composite case for the Solid Rocket Motor (SRM). Environmental conditions expected during flight and other phases of the SRMs life cycle affect its performance. The performance of SRM, in turn, depends primarily on the composite case and propellant grain. In this study, the performance evaluation of SRM with the composite case is carried out for different environmental conditions. These cases are designed to sustain very high pressure and temperature environments generated due to the combustion of propellant grains and are intended to perform adequately at any time during their service life. The performance evaluation test matrix is formulated considering various expected dynamic and thermal conditions. The small SRM with a composite case is subjected to planned tests as per the matrix, followed by static tests. The pressure versus time data is plotted for all test conditions. The ballistic parameters result of the virgin (without subjecting it to any test) small SRM is considered as a reference for comparative studies with the rest of all other test conditions results. All the ballistic performance test results are also analysed with respect to the pressure-time curve for mission bounds. The analysis of experimental test results reveals that various environmental dynamic conditions like random vibration, acceleration and shock, do not affect the composite case and the ballistic performance of a small SRM. The effect of grain temperature on ballistic performance is also found as expected. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]