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The underlying research work is focused on enhancement in the efficiency and voltage gain for solar PV systems with the help of designing a novel regulating framework that includes advanced converter topologies integrated with intelligent control techniques. Optimization in extracting energy from the solar panel at different climatic conditions, voltage gain with minimum losses, and enhancing overall system efficiency and power quality are major tasks to be undertaken. The proposed control architecture presents a new Fractional Order Proportional-Integral-Derivative Control (FOPTC) technique and its adaptation mechanism for correct MPPT under dynamic variations of meteorological conditions. Consequently, it offers improved energy harvesting because it is able to identify the global maximum power point with higher speed and precision than traditional control techniques that apply hybrid approaches. The improved topological structure will ensure a substantial rise in voltage gain and efficiency with reduced voltage and current stresses upon the circuit components. In addition, the idea of a Neuro Feed Quadratic Controller (NFQC) is introduced to generate the regulating pulses for switching components of the converter for optimizing the voltage conversion process. Simulation and analytical studies confirm the higher efficiency, improved voltage gain, and reduced total harmonic distortion in the proposed framework over conventional systems. Doi: 10.28991/ESJ-2025-09-01-015 Full Text: PDF

Purpose - The Open University of Sri Lanka implemented a fully online professional development course on open educational resources-based e-learning (OEReL), which adopted a scenario-based learning (SBL) design within the constructivist pedagogy. It was designed to facilitate knowledge construction in a collaborative manner with the support of open educational resource (OER), mainly through peer-facilitated discussion forum activities. The purpose of this paper is to present a case study on how peer-facilitated discussions affected the OEReL process, what factors supported and hindered peer-facilitated discussions, and what challenges were faced during the process. Design/methodology/approach - The OEReL course consisted of five modules with 14 discussion forum activities. Content analysis of the threaded forum discussions was the key data collection and analysis strategy based on the community of inquiry (CoI) framework (Garrison and Arbaugh, 2007). It was supplemented with participants’ reflections and focus group discussions. Findings - The three elements of CoI – cognitive presence, social presence and teaching presence played a major role in knowledge construction in the OEReL process. A complementary relationship between cognitive presence, social presence and teaching presence was observed, where the three elements have interacted in supporting knowledge construction. Overall, the findings reaffirm the significant of role of instructors in cultivating the three presences within a peer-facilitated environment, by enabling learners to engage with the content in a meaningful manner through appropriate course design, structure and leadership. Practical implications - Forum discussions created an opportunity for participants to engage in meaning making through social negotiation, where facilitation became a shared responsibility among instructors and learners. Peer-facilitation was the key strength that promoted critical, analytical and reflective thinking, as well as self-regulated learning. The SBL design, learning tasks with OER integration, and instructor guidance were the most supportive factors, while time constraints due to the participants’ workload was challenging. Originality/value - Through carefully orchestrated, well-structured and pedagogically sound OEReL environments, peer-facilitated forum discussions can be designed creatively and implemented in a meaningful manner to enhance knowledge construction.

Parkinson’s Disease (PD) has been found to cause force control deficits in upper and lower limbs. About 50% of patients with advanced PD develop a debilitating symptom called freezing of gait (FOG), which has been linked to force control problems in the lower limbs, and some may only have a limited response to the gold standard pharmaceutical therapy, levodopa, resulting in partially levodopa-responsive FOG (PLR-FOG). There has been limited research on investigating upper-limb force control in people with PD with PLR-FOG, and without FOG. In this pilot study, force control was explored using an upper-and-lower-limb haptics-enabled robot in a reaching task while people with PD with and without PLR-FOG were on their levodopa medication. A healthy control group was used for reference, and each cohort completed the task at three different levels of assistance provided by the robot. Similar significant proportional force control deficits were found in the upper and lower limbs in patients with PLR-FOG versus those without FOG. Some aspects of force control were found to be retained, including an ability to increase or decrease force in response to changes in resistance while completing a reaching task. Overall, these results suggest there are force control deficits in both the upper and lower limbs in people with PLR-FOG.

Background: There are limited data on in-hospital cardiac arrest (IHCA) complicating non-ST-segment-elevation myocardial infarction (NSTEMI) based on management strategy. Methods: We used National Inpatient Sample (2000–2017) to identify adults with NSTEMI (not undergoing coronary artery bypass grafting) and concomitant IHCA. The cohort was stratified based on use of early (hospital day 0) or delayed (≥hospital day 1) coronary angiography (CAG), percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI), and medical management. Outcomes included incidence of IHCA, in-hospital mortality, adverse events, length of stay, and hospitalization costs. Results: Of 6,583,662 NSTEMI admissions, 375,873 (5.7 %) underwent early CAG, 1,133,143 (17.2 %) received delayed CAG, 2,326,391 (35.3 %) underwent PCI, and 2,748,255 (41.7 %) admissions were managed medically. The medical management cohort was older, predominantly female, and with higher comorbidities. Overall, 63,085 (1.0 %) admissions had IHCA, and incidence of IHCA was highest in the medical management group (1.4 % vs 1.1 % vs 0.7 % vs 0.6 %, p

Background The Society for Cardiovascular Angiography and Interventions proposed a staging system (A–E) to predict prognosis in cardiogenic shock. Herein, we report clinical outcomes of the RECOVER III study for the first time, according to Society for Cardiovascular Angiography and Interventions shock classification. Methods and Results The RECOVER III study is an observational, prospective, multicenter, single‐arm, postapproval study of patients with acute myocardial infarction with cardiogenic shock undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention with Impella support. Patients enrolled in the RECOVER III study were assigned a baseline Society for Cardiovascular Angiography and Interventions shock stage. Staging was then repeated within 24 hours after initiation of Impella. Kaplan‐Meier survival curve analyses were conducted to assess survival across Society for Cardiovascular Angiography and Interventions shock stages at both time points. At baseline assessment, 16.5%, 11.4%, and 72.2% were classified as stage C, D, and E, respectively. At ≤24‐hour assessment, 26.4%, 33.2%, and 40.0% were classified as stage C, D, and E, respectively. Thirty‐day survival among patients with stage C, D, and E shock at baseline was 59.7%, 56.5%, and 42.9%, respectively (P=0.003). Survival among patients with stage C, D, and E shock at ≤24 hours was 65.7%, 52.1%, and 29.5%, respectively (P

Although the number of women in the field of medicine continues to rise, the discrimination against women and the gender inequity in both leadership roles and salary remains persistent. The gender divide is particularly prominent in male-dominated specialties, such as cardiology. Social media help foster global connections and disseminate information quickly and worldwide. The rise of social media has influenced how female physicians communicate and has shown its benefits particularly within the field of cardiology. Virtual platforms are important avenues where female physicians have united for greater representation of gender issues and advocacy efforts. Social media further amplify gender-equality activism by facilitating the conversations surrounding gender equity and proposing solutions to self-identified issues by the virtual community of female physicians and their allies. In this review, we discuss the role of social media as tools for advancing women in the field of cardiology and fostering gender equality and diversity. Résumé: Bien que le nombre de femmes dans le domaine de la médecine continue d’augmenter, la discrimination à l’égard des femmes et l’inégalité entre les sexes, tant au niveau des rôles de direction que des salaires, persistent. L’écart entre les sexes est particulièrement marqué dans les spécialités à prédominance masculine, comme la cardiologie. Les médias sociaux contribuent à favoriser les liens à l’échelle mondiale et permettent de diffuser des renseignements rapidement dans le monde entier. L’essor des médias sociaux a influencé la manière dont les femmes médecins communiquent, et ces médias ont démontré des bienfaits, notamment dans le domaine de la cardiologie. Les plateformes virtuelles sont des moyens importants utilisés par les femmes médecins pour s’unir afin de mieux mettre de l’avant les questions de genre et d’améliorer les efforts de sensibilisation. Les médias sociaux amplifient encore davantage le militantisme en faveur de l’égalité des sexes en facilitant les conversations autour de l’égalité des sexes et en proposant des solutions aux problèmes ciblés par la communauté virtuelle des femmes médecins et de leurs alliés. Dans cet examen, nous discutons du rôle des médias sociaux à titre d’outils permettant de faire progresser les femmes dans le domaine de la cardiologie et de favoriser l’égalité des sexes et la diversité.

Background: Oral submucous fibrosis (OSMF) causes changes over the pharynx that may cause changes in airway dimensions. Cephalometry could be a reliable diagnostic tool for evaluation of the changes happening in the pharyngeal structures, so that preventive measures such as areca nut habit cessation could be initiated at an earlier stage. Aim: To test pharyngeal changes and airway dimensions in OSMF patients using digital lateral cephalograms. Setting and Design: This was a crossectional observational study done in the Department of Oral Medicine and Radiology. Material and Method: Twenty-two subjects with clinically diagnosed OSMF formed the study group A, and 30 healthy subjects formed the control group B. OSMF subjects were further divided into stage I, II, III according to Nagesh And Bailoor (1993) criteria. We tested all study subjects for velopharyngeal and upper airway dimensions as measured on Digital Lateral Cephalographs using Sirona Sidexis software. The findings were compiled to arrive at data in the study population. Result: Statistically significant difference was observed for mouth opening tongue between different stages of OSMF (p = 0.000) and significant difference was also observed for hyoid position to vertical, AH-FH (p = 0.023), tongue length (VT) (p = 0.002), mid airway width (p = 0.031), soft palate width (p = 0.012) between the groups. Conclusion: There was a significant change in the pharyngeal airway with the advancing stage of OSMF. Lateral cephalometric radiographs are a useful, non-invasive diagnostic tool to analyze pharyngeal airway changes in OSMF patient's to prevent the development of complications associated with advanced stages.

Background. The application of nanomedicine to antiretroviral drug delivery holds promise in reducing the comorbidities related to long-term systemic exposure to highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART). However, the safety of drugs loaded with silver nanoparticles has been debatable. This study is aimed at evaluating the effects of HAART-loaded silver nanoparticles (HAART-AgNPs) on the behavioural assessment, biochemical indices, morphological, and morphometric of the hippocampus in diabetic Sprague-Dawley rats. Methods. Conjugated HAART-AgNPs were characterized using FTIR spectroscopy, UV spectrophotometer, HR-TEM, SEM, and EDX for absorbance peaks, size and morphology, and elemental components. Forty-eight male SD rats (250±13 g) were divided into nondiabetic and diabetic groups. Each group was subdivided into (n=8) A (nondiabetic+vehicle), B (nondiabetic+HAART), C (nondiabetic+HAART-AgNPs), D (diabetic+vehicle), E (diabetic+HAART), and F (diabetic+HAART-AgNPs). Morris water maze, Y-maze test, and weekly blood glucose levels were carried out. Following the last dose of 8-week treatment, the rats were anaesthetized and euthanized. Brain tissues were carefully removed and postfixed for Nissl staining histology. Results. 1.5 M concentration of HAART-AgNPs showed nanoparticle size 20.3 nm with spherical shape. HAART-AgNPs revealed 16.89% of silver and other elemental components of HAART. The diabetic control rats showed a significant increase in blood glucose, reduced spatial learning, positive hippocampal Nissl-stained cells, and a significant decrease in GSH and SOD levels. However, administration of HAART-AgNPs to diabetic rats significantly reduced blood glucose level, improved spatial learning, biochemical indices, and enhanced memory compared to diabetic control. Interestingly, diabetic HAART-AgNP-treated rats showed a significantly improved memory, increased GSH, SOD, and number of positive Nissl-stained neurons compared to diabetic-treated HAART only. Conclusion. Administration of HAART to diabetic rats aggravates the complications of diabetes and promotes neurotoxic effects on the experimental rats, while HAART-loaded silver nanoparticle (HAART-AgNP) alleviates diabetes-induced neurotoxicity.

Evaporated α-spectra have been measured in coincidence with low energy discrete γ-rays from residual nucleus 68Zn populated by αn evaporation from compound nucleus 73Ge produced in the reaction 64Ni(9Be,αn)68Zn at E(9Be) = 30 MeV. Low energy γ-gated α-particle spectra, for the first time, have been used to extract the nuclear level density (NLD) for the intermediate 69Zn nucleus in the excitation energy range of E ≈ 4-20 MeV. The slope of present NLD data as a function of excitation energy for 69Zn matches nicely with the slope determined from RIPL estimates for NLD at low energies and the NLD from neutron resonance data at neutron separation energy Sn. The extracted inverse NLD parameter (k = A/a˜) has been used to determine the nuclear level density parameter value a at neutron separation energy Sn for 69Zn. The cross section of 68Zn(n,γ) capture reaction as a function of neutron energy is then estimated employing the derived a(Sn) in the reaction code TALYS. It is found that the estimated neutron capture cross section agrees well with the available experimental data without any normalization. The present result indicates that experimentally derived nuclear level density parameter can constrain the statistical model description of astrophysical capture cross section and optimize the uncertainties associated with astrophysical reaction rate.

Background: Assessment of age through teeth is one of the most reliable and simple method than skeletal remains, to calculate age of an individual. Objectives: The study was carried out with an aim to evaluate reliability of dental age assessment through tooth coronal index (TCI) method. Materials and Methods: The digital panoramic radiographs of 100 subjects of Chhattisgarh aged 20–70 years were selected for the study. The measurements were performed on the JPEG images of selected panoramic radiographs by using Adobe Acrobat 7.0 professional software. The height of the crown, i.e., coronal height, and the height of the coronal pulp cavity, i.e., coronal pulp cavity height, of mandibular second premolars and first molars were measured in millimeter (mm) and then TCI was calculated for each tooth. Actual age of a subject was compared with TCI of tooth and the acquired data were subjected to Pearson's correlation and unpaired t-tests. Results: Negative correlation was observed between the real age and TCI of mandibular first molar (r = −0.092, P = 0.365) and second premolar (r = −0.168, P = 0.096). Statistically significant difference was observed between real age and TCI for mandibular second premolar and first molar (P = 0.000) by unpaired t-test. Conclusion: TCI has the potential to estimate age of an individual on dental radiographs. It is simple, cost effective than histological methods and can be applied to both living and unknown dead.

Background: Demirjian et al. (1973) put forth a method of age prediction, which used seven mandibular teeth on the left side. The technique has been widely applied but revealed variations in age estimates in other populations, including Indians. The aims and objectives of our study were to validate the Demirjian 8-teeth method using orthopantomogram to estimate the reliability of age estimation after incorporating the third molar and to predict the accuracy of age estimation using Indian-specific formulae. Materials and Methods: The study was conducted on the local population with 49 subjects (mean = 18, f = 31) less than 18 years of age. The soft copies of the radiographs of selected subjects were retrieved from the computer attached to the digital orthopantomogram machine (Orthophos XG5; Sirona Dental Systems). Staging of each tooth of left mandibular side was done using Demirjian 8-teeth method. Dental age was calculated using the modified formula given by Acharya et al. and statistical methods were used to compare it with chronological age. Results: The overall mean absolute error (MAE) of the 49 subjects was 0.911 ± 1.65. The highest MAE was in the 13-year age group (1.82 years) while it was lowest in the 18-year age group (0.43 ± 1.10 years). In all, 15 subjects (30.6%) had an error in age estimation which is less than 1 year and 12 subjects (24.5%) had an error of more than 2 years The accuracy of age estimation was found to be better in 16–18 years age group as compared to younger age group, probably because of better development of the third molar by this age. Conclusion: The reasonably good results obtained in this study assert the use of Demirjian's 8-teeth method with Indian cubic functions in the local population.

Objectives. To compare percutaneous mitral valve repair (PMVR) with optimal medical therapy (OMT) in patients with heart failure (HF) and severe functional mitral regurgitation (FMR). Background. Many patients with HF and FMR are not suitable for surgical valve replacement and remain symptomatic despite maximal OMT. PMVR has recently emerged as an alternative solution. Methods. We performed a systematic review and a meta-analysis to address this question. Cochrane CENTRAL, MEDLINE, and Scopus were searched for randomized (RCT) and nonrandomized studies comparing PMVR with OMT in patients with HF and FMR. Primary endpoint was all-cause midterm mortality (at 1 and 2 years). Secondary endpoints were 30-day mortality and cardiovascular mortality and HF hospitalizations, at maximum follow-up. Studies including mixed cohort of degenerative and functional MR were allowed initially but were excluded in a secondary sensitivity analysis for each of the study’s end points. This meta-analysis was performed following the publication of two RCTs (MITRA-FR and COAPT). Results. Eight studies (six observational, two RCTs) comprising 3,009 patients were included in the meta-analysis. In comparison with OMT, PMVR significantly reduced 1-year mortality (RR: 0.70 [0.56, 0.87]; p=0.002; I2=47.6%), 2-year mortality (RR: 0.63 [0.55, 0.73]; p

A large number of oral mucosal lesions result in severe post-affliction deficits. One such defect is neurological fall out. Herpes zoster is a condition that occasionally results in a dreadful post-infection neuralgic pain. Although shingles is generally regarded as a self-limited condition, it can take several weeks to resolve and has the potential for development of complications. To identify this as well as appropriate management is required. Patients affected are in such severe distress that alleviation of pain and successful treatment protocol should be the primary consideration. We report one such case, which was successfully treated, and also intend to highlight the current concepts in the management of such cases.