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Abstract BACKGROUND: The incidence of the cancers of the oral cavity, pharynx, esophagus and larynx in different population groups of India is amongst the highest reported in Asian countries. There [...]

Objectives Invariant natural killer T (i NKT) cells are unique subset of glycolipid-reactive T lymphocytes with potent antitumour characteristics. This study was planned to understand Th-like cytokine profiles of i NKT-cell subsets and modulation of their functions in response to glycolipid ligand and tumour cell lysate ( TL). Subjects and Methods Cytokine profile of iNKT-cell subsets was evaluated from the peripheral blood of eight oral squamous cell carcinoma ( OSCC) patients by flow cytometry and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay ( ELISA), while antitumour activity of iNKT cells was measured by methyl tetrazolium salt assay. Results CD4+ ( CD4+ CD8−) iNKT subset from OSCC patients showed significant ( P < 0.01) expansion and higher IL-4 production following activation with α-GalCer-pulsed DCs, while CD4− CD8− double negative ( DN) and CD8+ ( CD4− CD8+) i NKT subsets produced IFN- γ predominantly. i NKT cells showed significantly ( P = 0.02) increased secretion of IFN- γ and enhanced cytotoxicity to KB and SCC-4 tumour cells in response to α-GalCer and TL-pulsed DCs. Conclusion It appears that mutual balance/ratio of i NKT subsets may be important for their effector functions. Selectively expanded DN and CD8+ i NKT cells with α-GalCer and TL may be a better candidate vaccine for i NKT-cell-based adoptive cancer immunotherapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

SUMMARY Breast conservation therapy for early breast cancer is an established but grossly under-utilized treatment option in India for various reasons. Breast conservation therapy was offered to 200 suitable breast cancer patients between June 1993 and June 1998. Fifty-one patients (25%) opted for breast conservation and the remaining preferred mastectomy. In patients agreeing to conservation therapy, surgery was performed first along with peroperative implantation of iridium-192 to deliver a boost. Whole breast irradiation of 45 Gy was delivered 3–4 weeks after the boost. Cosmesis was assessed at the end of 6 months from completion of therapy. The main reason for refusal of breast conservation therapy was fear of recurrence in the remaining breast (60%). There were no locoregional failures in our study at a median follow up of 42 months; one patient experienced a systemic relapse. Cosmesis was good to excellent in 80% of patients. Breast conservation therapy using peroperative iridium-192 implant provides excellent locoregional disease control and cosmesis. The results of our study indicate that patient preference for mastectomy is an important reason for the under-utilization of breast conservation therapy in India. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

SUMMARY Metastases to the peripheral bones of the extremities are rare. Such lesions are often diagnosed as inflammatory or infective in nature. We present a report of a case of simultaneous involvement of the peripheral bones of the extremities – the talus and the thumb of the left hand – with a brief review of pathophysiology and management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background -Dermatofibrosarcoma Protuberans (DFSP) is a rare cutaneous tumor of low malignant potential . Surgery is curative in majority of cases but sub optimal surgical interventions and high recurrence rates are often encountered due to rarity of the disease, paucity of literature and innocuous clinical presentation. We present a single institution experience of managing 82 DFSP patients. Material and method- The medical records of all biopsy proven DFSP patients treated at our centre between 1995 to 2016 were accessed from the prospectively maintained soft tissue sarcoma data base. Data regarding clinical profile, treatment details and relapse patterns were analysed. Result- A total of 82 patients of DFSP were treated between 1994 to 2016 constituting 14 % of all soft tissue sarcomas. Two thirds were in 3rd to 5th decade and males were more commonly affected (74%) . Chest wall and trunk was the most common site ( 51%) . Mean tumor size was 6.5 cm . 82 % patients had history of previous sub-optimal surgical intervention. Wide local excision was performed in all patients and 35 patients required soft tissue reconstruction using flaps. External beam radiotherapy (EBRT) was given to 57% high risk cases. At a mean follow up of 55 months 7% had local relapse and 2 patients had systemic relapse. Conclusion- DFSP is a rare variety of Soft tissue sarcoma and often mismanaged at community level. Optimal surgical resection with negative margins and judicious use of reconstructive surgery and radiotherapy can result in excellent outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Radiation-based gauges have been widely utilized in the industry as a dependable, non-destructive method of measuring metal layer thickness. It is only possible to trust the conventional radiation thickness meter when the material's composition is known in advance. Thickness measurement errors are to be anticipated in contexts like rolled metal factories, where the real component of the material could diverge greatly from the stated composition. An X-ray-based device was suggested in this study to measure aluminum sheet thickness and identify the type of its alloys. Transmission and backscattered X-ray energy were recorded using two sodium iodide detectors while a 150 kV X-ray tube in the described detection system was operated. Aluminum layers of varying thicknesses (2-45 mm) and alloys (1050, 3105, 5052, and 6061) were simulated to be placed between the X-ray source and the transmission detector. The development of radiation-based systems used the MCNP code as a very powerful framework to imitate the detecting architecture and the spectra acquired by the detectors. The recorded signals were transferred to the frequency domain using the Fourier transform, and the frequency characteristics were extracted from them. Two GMDH neural networks were trained using these characteristics: one to identify the alloy type and another to determine the aluminum layer's thickness. The classifier network had a 92.2% success rate in identifying the alloy type, while the predictive network had a 1.9% error rate in determining the thickness of the aluminum layer. By extracting important characteristics and using powerful neural networks, this study was able to improve the precision with which aluminum layer thickness was measured and correctly identify the alloy type. The suggested method is used to determine the thickness of aluminum and its alloy sheets and may also be applied to other metals., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Many different kind of fluids in a wide variety of industries exist, such as two-phase and three-phase. Various combinations of them can be expected and gas-oil-water is one of the most common flows. Measuring the volume fraction of phases without separation is vital in many aspects, one of which is financial issues. Many methods are utilized to ascertain the volumetric proportion of each phase. Sensors based on measuring capacity are so popular because this kind of sensor operates seamlessly and autonomously without necessitating any form of segregation or disruption for measuring in the process. Besides, at the present moment, Artificial intelligence (AI) can be nominated as the most useful tool in several fields, and metering is no exception. Also, three main type of regimes can be found which are annular, stratified, and homogeneous. In this paper, volume fractions in a gas-oil-water three-phase homogeneous regime are measured. To accomplish this objective, an Artificial Neural Network (ANN) and a capacitance-based sensor are utilized. To train the presented network, an optimized sensor was implemented in the COMSOL Multiphysics software and after doing a lot of simulations, 231 different data are produced. Among all obtained results, 70 percent of them (161 data) are awarded to the train data, and the rest of them (70 data) are considered for the test data. This investigation proposes a new intelligent metering system based on the Multilayer Perceptron network (MLP) that can estimate a three-phase water-oil-gas fluid's water volume fraction precisely with a very low error. The obtained Mean Absolute Error (MAE) is equal to 1.66. This dedicates the presented predicting method's considerable accuracy. Moreover, this study was confined to homogeneous regime and cannot measure void fractions of other fluid types and this can be considered for future works. Besides, temperature and pressure changes which highly temper relative permittivity and density of the liquid inside the pipe can be considered for another future idea., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist., (Copyright: © 2024 Mayet et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.)

Background: Caudal epidural steroid injections are the popular treatment for patients with chronic low back aches (LBA) and radiculopathy, pain that radiates down the legs. These injections are typically given in the lower back, and their purpose is to reduce inflammation and pain caused by a herniated disc or other issues in the lumbosacral spine. Studies have generally found that caudal epidural steroid injections effectively manage chronic LBP, although they may not provide long-term relief in all cases. It is essential to remember that these injections should be combined with other forms of conservative management, such as physical therapy, before considering more invasive interventions., Materials and Methods: A prospective analysis is performed at the Orthopedics Department At The Hind Institute Of Medical Sciences In Sitapur, Uttar Pradesh, India, over two years. In the study, 80 patients with chronic low back pain and symptoms that did not improve with conservative therapies. The patients are clinically examined before and after receiving a cervical epidural steroid injection (CESI) based on their ability to perform daily activities and work using the Oswestry disability index (ODI) and visual analog scale (VAS)., Results: The experiment was conducted with 165 CESI administered to 120 patients. A single injection is given to 85 patients; two injections are given to 25 patients, and 10 patients receive three injections. Of the 120 patients, 50 were male, and 70 were female, all of whom had chronic LBA. Of the 120 cases of LBA, 37 were diagnosed with lumbar disc herniation, 11 with lumbar canal stenosis, and 22 with degenerative disc disease. The remaining 50 cases were classified as non-specific LBA. Follow-up evaluations were conducted 1 week, 1 month, and 3 months after that, till 12 months of treatment. The mean pre-CESI VAS score was 7.11, and the mean post-CESI VAS score was 4.82 after one year of treatment. The mean ODI score before CESI treatment was 59.12; after CESI treatment for a full year, it was 44.64. We observed excellent outcomes in 27.5% of patients, good outcomes in 38.33%, fair outcomes in 21.67%, and bad outcomes in 12.5% of patients., Conclusion: Patients who experience chronic function aches can dramatically reduce their discomfort with the help of CESIs., Competing Interests: There are no conflicts of interest., (Copyright: © 2023 Journal of Pharmacy and Bioallied Sciences.)

The phenomenon of acoustic wave reflection off fluid-solid surfaces is the focus of this research. This research aims to measure the effect of material physical qualities on oblique incidence acoustic attenuation across a large frequency range. To construct the extensive comparison shown in the supporting documentation, reflection coefficient curves were generated by carefully adjusting the porousness and permeability of the poroelastic solid. The next stage in determining its acoustic response is to determine the pseudo-Brewster angle shift and the reflection coefficient minimum dip for the previously indicated attenuation permutations. This circumstance is made possible by modeling and studying the reflection and absorption of acoustic plane waves encountering half-space and two-layer surfaces. For this purpose, both viscous and thermal losses are taken into account. According to the research findings, the propagation medium has a significant impact on the form of the curve that represents the reflection coefficient, whereas the effects of permeability, porosity, and driving frequency are relatively less significant to the pseudo-Brewster angle and curve minima, respectively. This research additionally found that as permeability and porosity increase, the pseudo-Brewster angle shifts to the left (proportionally to porosity increase) until it reaches a limiting value of 73.4 degrees, and that the reflection coefficient curves for each level of porosity exhibit a greater angular dependence, with an overall decrease in magnitude at all incident angles. These findings are given within the framework of the investigation (in proportion to the increase in porosity). The study concluded that when permeability declined, the angular dependence of frequency-dependent attenuation reduced, resulting in iso-porous curves. The study also discovered that the matrix porosity largely affected the angular dependency of the viscous losses in the range of 1.4 × 10 -14 m 2 permeability., Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflict of interest.

The present study analyzes the determinants and patterns of the regional, local, and differential plant diversity of two different sites with similar climatic but varied edaphic factors. This research was undertaken to study the plant diversity and population structure as a consequence of variation in the soil quality between two biotopes: Guru Ghasidas Vishwavidyalaya in Koni (site-I) and National Thermal Power Corporation in Sipat (site-II). The soil of site-I was found to be fertile and showed rich vegetation. On the other hand, the soil of site II was found to be contaminated with heavy metals, which impacts the flora of the region. The ecology of both sites was studied, and their quantitative and qualitative aspects were compared and contrasted. The abundance, density, and richness of the plants in site II were fairly lower than in site-I, which was confirmed by utilizing Simpson's and Shannon's diversity indices. Many of the species collected from site II were heavy metal accumulators and could also serve as indicators of heavy metal toxicity.

Background: FOXO3, a member of the FOX transcription factor family, is frequently described as being deregulated in cancer. Additionally, notable role of FOXO3 can be easily recognized in the process of ageing and survival. Even though various studies have been done to acknowledge the tumour-suppressive or oncogenic role of FOXO3 in cancer, still there exist a lack of understanding in terms of cancer prognosis and treatment. Therefore, to provide better insight, our study aims to evaluate the role and function of FOXO3 in breast cancer in Indian female patients. We examined the FOXO3 expression levels in breast cancer samples by analyzing mRNA and protein expression along with its clinicopathological parameters., Results: A total of 127 cases of breast cancer with equal normal cases (n=127) were assessed with methylation (MS-PCR), Immunohistochemistry (IHC), mRNA expression using Real-time PCR was analysed and 66.14% cases at mRNA level were found to be downregulated, while 81.10% of cases had little or very little protein expression. Our data state, the promoter hypermethylation of the FOXO3 gene and the downregulated protein expression are significantly correlated (p=0.0004). Additionally, we found a significant correlation between the level of FOXO3 mRNA with ER (p=0.04) and status of lymph node (p=0.01) along with this., Conclusion: Data suggests the prognostic significance and the tumour-suppressive role of FOXO3 in breast cancer cases studied in India. However, there is a need for the extended research targeting FOXO3 to measure its clinical potential and develop well-defined therapeutic strategies., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2023 Khan, Sadaf, Ahmad, Aloliqi, Eisa, Najm, Habib, Mustafa, Massey, Malik, Sunita, Pawar, Akhter, Shukla, Deo and Husain.)

Objective: This systematic review was aimed to compare ball and locator attachment system on the basis of clinical and biomechanical performance of implant supported overdenture as well as biological and patient related outcomes., Material and Methods: Open and free electronic and manual searches were performed in digital databases including MEDLINE via PubMed, the Cochrane Database of Clinical Trials, and Scopus along with some other reliable sources. From the 667 retrieved records, 11 full-text controlled trials were included in this study. Risk of bias was assessed according to RoB 2.0 except for one RCT (economic evaluation), only assessed by CASP checklist., Results: From the 11 retrieved studies, total 183 locator and 219 ball attachments were identified in 452 subjects of 30 yrs-95 yrs of age. Studies provided data about prosthodontic complications or maintenance (replacement or the activation of matrix and patrix part, loss of retention, fracture and relining of the prosthesis, fracture of the attachment and the survival probability), oral health impact profile, soft tissue parameters and periodontal complications, marginal bone loss, patient related outcome and cost of the attachment systems. Only 5 studies were assessed at low risk bias, while other 6 at moderate to high risk of bias., Conclusion: Locator attachment system show lesser complications including loss of retention and lower maintenance appointments, lesser soft tissue, and periodontal complications than the ball attachment. Ball is better in terms of cost effectiveness. In other related outcomes, no significant differences were noted between ball and locator attachment., Competing Interests: The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (© 2022 The Authors.)

A novel pair of protein tyrosine phosphatases in Drosophila melanogaster (pupal retina) has been identified. Phosphotyrosyl protein phosphatases (PTPs) are structurally diverse enzymes increasingly recognized as having a fundamental role in cellular processes including effects on metabolism, cell proliferation, and differentiation. This study presents identification of novel sequences of PTPs and their comparative homology modeling from Drosophila melanogaster (Dr-PTPs) and complexation with the potent inhibitor HEPES. The 3D structure was predicted based on sequence homology with bovine heart low molecular weight PTPs (Bh-PTPs). The sequence homologies are approximately 50% identical to each other and to low molecular weight protein tyrosine phosphatases (PTPs) in other species. Comparison of the 3D structures of Bh-PTPs and Dr-PTPs (primo-2) reveals a remarkable similarity having a four stranded central parallel β sheet with flanking α helices on both sides, showing two right handed β-α-β motifs. The inhibitor shows similar binding features as seen in other PTPs. The study also highlights the key catalytic residues important for target recognition and PTPs' activation. The structure guided studies of both proteins clearly reveal a common mechanism of action and inhibitor binding at the active site and will be expected to contribute toward the basic understanding of functional association of this enzyme with other molecules., Competing Interests: The authors declare no competing financial interest., (© 2022 The Authors. Published by American Chemical Society.)

This systematic review was aimed to test the null hypothesis that coating of orthodontic wires with nanoparticles does not affect the frictional properties at bracket--wire interface. Electronic database searches were performed up to September 2020. In vitro studies were considered for reviewing process. Study selection, data extraction, risk of bias assessment was performed during reviewing process. Only qualitative analyses of included literature were done due to the presence of heterogeneity among the studies. Out of 1,068 retrieved records, nine studies satisfied the inclusion criteria and included in this review. Studies were assessed at low risk to high risk of bias according to certain parameters. Wide variety of nanoparticles were used for surface coating of orthodontic wires of variable sizes, shapes, and materials like stainless steel, NiTi, and TMA and placed into the slots of different types of orthodontic brackets to evaluate the alteration in frictional and other mechanical properties. Most of the studies clearly indicate that coating with nanoparticles decreases the friction between wire and bracket interface under specified in vitro conditions. Furthermore, among the nine included studies, only two considered evaluation of effect of coated brackets on frictional and other mechanical properties and results were heterogeneous. The null hypothesis is rejected and it is concluded that the wires coated with nanoparticles might offer a novel opportunity to substantially reduce frictional resistance at bracket--wire interface during tooth movement. Further studies are necessary to strengthen the evidence regarding effect of coated brackets on frictional properties., Competing Interests: There are no conflicts of interest., (Copyright: © 2022 Journal of Orthodontic Science.)

Induction motors tend to have better efficiency on rated conditions, but at partial load conditions, when these motors operate on rated flux, they exhibit lower efficiency. In such conditions, when these motors operate for a long duration, a lot of electricity gets consumed by the motors, due to which the computational cost as well as the total running cost of industrial plant increases. Squirrel-cage induction motors are widely used in industries due to their low cost, robustness, easy maintenance, and good power/mass relation all through their life cycle. A significant amount of electrical energy is consumed due to the large count of operational units worldwide; hence, even an enhancement in minute efficiency can direct considerable contributions within revenue saving, global electricity consumption, and other environmental facts. In order to improve the efficiency of induction motors, this research paper presents a novel contribution to maximizing the efficiency of induction motors. As such, a model of induction motor drive is taken, in which the proportional integral (PI) controller is tuned. The optimal tuning of gains of a PI controller such as proportional gain and integral gain is conducted. The tuning procedure in the controller is performed in such a condition that the efficiency of the induction motor should be maximum. Moreover, the optimization concept relies on the development of a new hybrid algorithm, the so-called Scrounger Strikes Levy-based dragonfly algorithm (SL-DA), that hybridizes the concept of dragonfly algorithm (DA) and group search optimization (GSO). The proposed algorithm is compared with particle swarm optimization (PSO) for verification. The analysis of efficiency, speed, torque, energy savings, and output power is validated, which confirms the superior performance of the suggested method over the comparative algorithms employed.

Purpose: Globally, colorectal cancer (CRC) ranks third in terms of incidence and second in terms of mortality. A relatively low burden of CRC has been reported from low- and middle-income countries (LMIC), and there is a paucity of publications related to CRC from LMIC., Patients and Methods: A computerized comprehensive structured CRC clinical database was developed. All the patients with histopathologically proven CRC undergoing either curative and palliative multimodality management or surgical interventions between 2000 and 2019 were included in the study. A descriptive analysis of the demographic profile and clinical spectrum was performed., Results: A total of 970 patients of CRC were treated between 2000 and 2019. Of these, 401 patients (41.3%) had colon cancer and 569 (58.7%) had rectal cancer. The male-to-female ratio was 1.79:1. The mean age at presentation was 47.7 years. A total of 337 (34.7%) patients qualified as young CRC (≤ 40 years of age at diagnosis). The commonest symptom among patients with colon cancer was abdominal pain; 55.6% of patients had a right-sided primary tumor as compared with 42.2% with left-sided tumors. The commonest symptom among patients with rectal cancer was bleeding per rectum. The predominant location of the tumor was in the lower rectum (58%). Majority of patients with CRC presented with locally advanced stage II and III disease. The most common histologic subtype encountered for both colon and rectal cancers was adenocarcinoma (84.8% and 81.2%, respectively)., Conclusion: This study has revealed certain important findings related to CRC in LMIC including a higher burden of young colorectal cancer, a relatively higher proportion of rectal cancers in comparison with colon cancer, a high percentage of patients with low-rectal cancer, and advanced stage at presentation.