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Abstract This study assessed the impacts of wheat straw as a cosubstrate on coal biocoverion into methane and the associated mechanism within methane metabolic pathways. Co-digestion of coal with varying wheat straw concentrations resulted in a remarkable (1246.05%) increase in methane yield compared to that of the control (CK). Moreover, microbial analysis revealed a uniform distribution of Methanosarcinaceae (51.14%) and Methanobacteriaceae (39.90%) in the co-digestion of coal and wheat straw (CWS1) at a ratio of 3:1 (w/w) compared to other treatments such as coal and wheat straw (CWS2) at a ratio of 3:0.5. In addition, Hungatieclostridiaceae and Rhodobacteriaceae were abundant in both co-digesters, whereas the bacterial communities in the CK group were significantly different and more abundant than those in the Peptostreptococcaceae and Enterobacteriaceae groups. The key enzymes related to methanogenic metabolic pathways, including EC: 1.2.99.5 and EC: 2.1.1.86 (facilitating the conversion of CO2 into methane), and EC:1.12.98.1 exhibited significant abundance within CWS1. Aromatic compounds such as 4-(2-chloroanilino)-4-oxobutanoic acid and phthalic acid were substantially more abundant in CWS1 and CWS2 than in CK, indicating the increased bioavailability of coal to microbial activities. This novel approach demonstrates that wheat straw co-digestion with coal during anaerobic digestion modulates microbial communities and their metabolic pathways to enhance methane production from complex substrates such as coal.

Windows malware is becoming an increasingly pressing problem as the amount of malware continues to grow and more sensitive information is stored on systems. One of the major challenges in tackling this problem is the complexity of malware analysis, which requires expertise from human analysts. Recent developments in machine learning have led to the creation of deep models for malware detection. However, these models often lack transparency, making it difficult to understand the reasoning behind the model’s decisions, otherwise known as the black-box problem. To address these limitations, this paper presents a novel model for malware detection, utilizing vision transformers to analyze the Operation Code (OpCode) sequences of more than 350000 Windows portable executable malware samples from real-world datasets. The model achieves a high accuracy of 0.9864, not only surpassing the previous results but also providing valuable insights into the reasoning behind the classification. Our model is able to pinpoint specific instructions that lead to malicious behavior in malware samples, aiding human experts in their analysis and driving further advancements in the field. We report our findings and show how causality can be established between malicious code and actual classification by a deep learning model, thus opening up this black-box problem for deeper analysis.

Summary: Background: The incidence of myocardial infarction (MI) and its adverse effects on health and mortality remain high in densely populated low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). To address the issue of densely populated areas and timely access to primary PCI, chest pain units (CPUs) were deployed at strategic locations in Karachi, with a populace of over 23 million people. This study describes the results of this initiative in expediting MI care. Methods: Between 2017 and 2023, 18 CPUs, each with a cardiologist, technician, ECG machine, crash cart and an ambulance were placed in high density areas. Findings: A total of 915,564 patients were seen at 18 CPUs over the study period. 692,444 (75.6%) were categorized as non-cardiac and subsequently discharged. 223,120 (24.6%) patients were directed for additional care. Of these, 9% had ST elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) (19, 580), 29% NSTE ACS/Unstable angina, and 31% with various other cardiac conditions. Additionally, 31% were referred for medical outpatient evaluation. CPU inception led to a significant annual growth (16–20%) in primary PCI procedures at NICVD, totaling 20,000 by 2022–2023. The median first medical contact to device time was 100 min (IQR 80–135), while total ischemic was 232 min (IQR: 172–315; 5th −95th %le: 50–920). The overall in-hospital mortality rate for patients undergoing primary PCI was 5.58%, with a range between 5.1% and 6.9% through the study period. Interpretation: Novel standalone chest pain units, operational from 2017 in Karachi, Pakistan, have expedited triage and enhanced the timely management of AMI. This initiative's transformative impact presents a model that resonates beyond borders, serving as a role model for global healthcare systems. Funding: The CPU and primary PCI program is fully funded by the government of Sindh. No specific funding was allocated for this study.

With the rapid development of urban power grids and the large-scale integration of renewable energy, traditional power grid fault diagnosis techniques struggle to address the complexities of diagnosing faults in intricate power grid systems. Although artificial intelligence technologies offer new solutions for power grid fault diagnosis, the difficulty in acquiring labeled grid data limits the development of AI technologies in this area. In response to these challenges, this study proposes a semi-supervised learning framework with self-supervised and adaptive threshold (SAT-SSL) for fault detection and classification in power grids. Compared to other methods, our method reduces the dependence on labeling data while maintaining high recognition accuracy. First, we utilize frequency domain analysis on power grid data to filter abnormal events, then classify and label these events based on visual features, to creating a power grid dataset. Subsequently, we employ the Yule–Walker algorithm extract features from the power grid data. Then we construct a semi-supervised learning framework, incorporating self-supervised loss and dynamic threshold to enhance information extraction capabilities and adaptability across different scenarios of the model. Finally, the power grid dataset along with two benchmark datasets are used to validate the model’s functionality. The results indicate that our model achieves a low error rate across various scenarios and different amounts of labels. In power grid dataset, When retaining just 5% of the labels, the error rate is only 6.15%, which proves that this method can achieve accurate grid fault detection and classification with a limited amount of labeled data.

Objective: To note short-term outcome of patients undergoing tetralogy of fallot repair. Study Design: Retrospective longitudinal study. Place and Duration of Study: Department of Pediatric Cardiology, National Institute of Cardiovascular Disease, Karachi Pakistan, from Sep 2020 to Feb 2021. Methodology: A total of 113 patients under 25 years of age who underwent tetralogy of fallot correction were included. Pre-operative information, echocardiography, investigations and history of the patient were noted. Intra-operative and post-operative information and surgical procedure were also noted. Short-term outcome included data up to discharge or death of the patients enrolled. Results: Mean age was noted to be 9.40+5.01 years, with 59(52.2%) of the patients undergoing tetralogy of fallot repair were male. Mean saturation of peripheral Oxygen (SpO2) at the time of surgery was noted to be 79.27±.34. There were 76(67.3%) patients without history of previous surgery. Mean cardiopulmonary bypass time was noted to be 106.04±40.59 minutes. Mean aortic cross-clamp time was recorded to be 58.79±27.90 minutes. Additional procedures were required in 68(60.2%) patients. Mean duration of hospital stay was 13.96±8.68 days while mean duration of ICU stay was 87.04±69.37 hours. Mortality was reported in 3(2.7%) patients. Conclusion: Low mortality and low post-operative morbidity were noted among patients undergoing tetralogy of fallot repair.

Abstract Background Diverse microbes, such as bacteria, are of immense worth to mangrove ecosystems due to their adaptability to salinity and variable environmental characteristics conditions. Pyridine and its derivatives compose most heterocyclic aromatic compounds largely produced by human activities that lead to environmental pollution. Bacteria have a crucial role in the nutrient cycling of carbon and nitrogen etc., to understand their functional involvement with environmental factors or ecosystem functioning as well as the species invasion and domestic or agriculture pyridine degradation pollution activities that threaten the mangrove ecosystem. Methods This work established the genetic-based molecular degradation of organic compounds in the mangrove ecosystem, which ultimately makes the availability of nutrients. As well as the effects of various abiotic factors on pyridine degradation to discover the pyridine degradation and the removal of ammonia nitrogen and the proposed nitrogen metabolism pathway. Results The novel bacterial strain NM1-A2 was isolated from mangrove sediments and, after 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis identified as Bacillus aryabhattai. NM1-A2 completely degraded pyridine within a 100 h incubation period at a temperature of 35 °C, an initial pH of 7.0, glucose and a pyridine concentration of 500 mg/L. The pseudo-first-order kinetics model described the pyridine biodegradation profile of NM1-A2 well. Interestingly, within 96 h the strain achieved almost complete pyridine degradation with a total organic carbon (TOC) removal of 87.9% ± 0.19% (from 377.52 ± 6.9 mg/L to 45.65 ± 0.14 mg/L). Within 96 h, the pyridine ring in the total nitrogen (TN) fraction at the maximum concentration of 55.31 ± 0.17 mg/L, furtherly 51.3% ± 2.39% of (TN) converted into Ammonia nitrogen (NH4 +-N). Furthermore, NM1-A2 exhibited its pyridine biodegradation activity decreased by only 4% after three consecutive cycles (48 h each). Moreover, NM1-A2 possessed nrt-ABCD nitrate transport family and gltABCD operons that participate in the activities of glutamine and glutamate synthetase in NH4 + conversion in the nitrogen cycle. Furthermore, the nitrogen metabolism genes (nrtA, nrtB, nrtC, nirB, nirD, gltB, gltD, glnA) exhibited expression in NM1-A2. Conclusion This research offers a potential treatment strategy for pyridine degradation in the mangrove ecosystem. Graphical Abstract

Smartphones are intricately connected to the modern society. The two widely used mobile phone operating systems, iOS and Android, profoundly affect the lives of millions of people. Android presently holds a market share of close to 71% among these two. As a result, if personal information is not securely protected, it is at tremendous risk. On the other hand, mobile malware has seen a year-on-year increase of more than 42% globally in 2022 mid-year. Any group of human professionals would have a very tough time detecting and removing all of this malware. For this reason, deep learning in particular has been used recently to overcome this problem. Deep learning models, however, were primarily created for picture analysis. Despite the fact that these models have shown promising findings in the field of vision, it has been challenging to fully comprehend what the characteristics recovered by deep learning models are in the area of malware. Furthermore, the actual potential of deep learning for malware analysis has not yet been fully realized due to the translation invariance trait of well-known models based on CNN. In this paper, we present ViTDroid, a novel model based on vision transformers for the deep learning-based analysis of opcode sequences of Android malware samples from large real-world datasets. We have been able to achieve a false positive rate of 0.0019 as compared to the previous best of 0.0021. However, this incremental improvement is not the major contribution of our work. Our model aims to make explainable predictions, i.e., it not only performs the classification of malware with high accuracy, but it also provides insights into the reasons for this classification. The model is able to pinpoint the malicious behavior-causing instructions in the malware samples. This means that our model can actually aid in the field of malware analysis itself by providing insights to human experts, thus leading to further improvements in this field.

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Here we report a case of congenital CMV infection with rare presentation as haemolytic anaemia in a 50-day-old infant. Clinical manifestations of our patient were pallor, jaundice, hepatosplenomegaly, and a deranged coagulation profile. Congenital CMV being the most common viral congenital infection should be suspected in every neonate and infant presenting with haemolytic anaemia. It is also the most common non-genetic cause of SNHL and not much is yet there for its prevention except for primary prevention as the role of immunoglobulin is still under trial.

Multi-energy synergy systems integrating high-penetration large-scale plug-in electric vehicles, distributed renewable energy generations, and battery energy storage systems have great potential to reduce the reliance of the grid on traditional fossil fuels. However, the random charging characteristics of plug-in electric vehicles and the uncertainty of photovoltaics may impose an additional burden on the grid and affect the supply–demand equilibrium. To address this issue, judicious scheduling optimization offers an effective solution. In this study, considering charge and discharge management of plug-in electric vehicles and intermittent photovoltaics, a novel Multi-energy synergy systems scheduling framework is developed for solving grid instability and unreliability issues. This formulates a large-scale mixed-integer problem, which calls for a powerful and effective optimizer. The new binary level-based learning optimization algorithm is proposed to address nonlinear large-scale high-coupling unit commitment problems. To investigate the feasibility of the proposed scheme, numerical experiments have been carried out considering multiple scales of unit numbers and various scenarios. Finally, the results confirm that the proposed scheduling framework is reasonable and effective in solving unit commitment problems, can achieve 3.3% cost reduction and demonstrates superior performance in handling large-scale energy optimization problems. The integration of plug-in electric vehicles, distributed renewable energy generations, and battery energy storage systems is verified to reduce the output power of 192.72 MW units during peak periods to improve grid stability. Therefore, optimizing energy utilization and distribution will become an indispensable part of future power systems.

The current research work was carried out to simulate monthly streamflow historical record using Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) and Artificial Neural Network (ANN) at the Astore Basin, Gilgit-Baltistan, Pakistan. The performance of SWAT and ANN models was assessed during calibration (1985–2005) and validation (2006–2010) periods via statistical indicators such as coefficient of determination (R2), Nash–Sutcliffe efficiency (NSE), percent bias (PBIAS), and root-mean-square error (RMSE). R2, NSE, PBIAS, and RMSE values for SWAT (ANN with Architecture (2,27,1)) models during calibration are 0.80 (0.88), 0.73 (0.82), 15.7 (0.008), and 79.81 (70.34), respectively, while during validation, the corresponding values are 0.71 (0.86), 0.66 (0.95), 17.3 (0.10), and 106.26 (75.92). The results implied that the ANN model is superior to the SWAT model based on the statistical performance indicators. The SWAT results demonstrated an underestimation of the high flow and overestimation of the low flow. Comparatively, the ANN model performed very well in estimating the general and extreme flow conditions. The findings of this research highlighted its potential as a valuable tool for accurate streamflow forecasting and decision-making. The current study recommends that additional machine learning models may be compared with the SWAT model output to improve monthly streamflow predictions in the Astore Basin. HIGHLIGHTS SWAT and ANN model performance was assessed via statistical performance indicators.; Compromise programming was used to rank ANN architectures.; ANN architecture (2,27,1) outperformed SWAT model.; SWAT model exhibits limitations in accurately estimating high and low flows.; ANN model excels in predicting both general and extreme flow scenarios.;

Streamflow forecasting is crucial for planning, designing, and managing water resources. Accurate streamflow forecasting is essential in developing water resource systems that are both technically and economically efficient. This study tested several machine learning techniques to estimate monthly streamflow data in the Hunza River Basin, Pakistan, using streamflow, precipitation, and air temperature data between 1985 and 2013. The techniques tested included adaptive boosting (AB), gradient boosting (GB), random forest (RF), and K-nearest neighbors (KNN). The models were developed using river discharge as the target variable, while air temperature and precipitation as the input variables. The model's performance was assessed via four statistical performance indicators namely root mean square error (RMSE), mean square error (MSE), mean absolute error (MAE), and coefficient of determination (R2). The results obtained for RMSE, MSE, MAE, and R2 using AB, GB, RF, and KNN techniques are (16.8, 281, 6.53, and 0.998), (95.1, 9,047, 61.5, and 0.921), (126.8, 16,078, 74.6, and 0.859), and (219.9, 48,356, 146.3, and 0.775), respectively. The results indicate that AB outperforms GB, RF, and KNN in predicting monthly streamflow for the Hunza River Basin. Machine learning, particularly AB, offers a reliable approach for streamflow forecasting, aiding hazard and water management in the area. HIGHLIGHTS This study used machine learning techniques to estimate monthly streamflow in Hunza River Basin, Pakistan.; The dataset included the mean monthly streamflow, precipitation, and temperature between 1985 and 2013.; AB, GB, RF, and KNN models were used for forecasting.; RMSE, MSE, MAE, and R2 were used as performance indicators.; The AB model outperformed the other models in terms of prediction accuracy.;

Abstract Background Acute hyperglycemia is considered an independent prognosticator of both in-hospital and long-term outcomes in patients with acute coronary syndrome (ACS). This study aimed To analyze the incidence of acute hyperglycemia and its impact on the adverse in-hospital outcome in patients with STE-ACS undergoing primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). Methods In this study, we enrolled patients presenting with STE-ACS and undergoing primary PCI at a tertiary care cardiac center. Acute hyperglycemia was defined as random plasma glucose (RBS) > 200 mg/dl at the time of presentation to the emergency room. Results Of the 4470 patients, 78.8% were males, and the mean age was 55.52 ± 11 years. In total, 39.4% (1759) were found to have acute hyperglycemia, and of these, 59% (1037) were already diagnosed with diabetes. Patients with acute hyperglycemia were observed to have a higher incidence of heart failure (8.2% vs. 5.5%; p

Pulmonary Artery Aneurysm (PAA), whether congenital or acquired, is a rare diagnostic finding compared to aortic aneurysms. There have been few cases where PAAs were documented as a complication of untreated Patent Ductus Arteriosus (PDA) due to long-standing Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension (PAH). However, it is quite rare for a case of PAA to be reported with co-existing PDA without PAH. This report highlights a case of a five-year-old girl who was presented with palpitations, easy fatigability, fever, cyanosis, and vomiting. A Chest X-ray showed moderate cardiomegaly. A PDA of 6 mm was diagnosed on Transthoracic Echocardiography (TTE) and a large cavity connected with LPA raised suspicion of a possible LPA aneurysm. A Chest CT scan confirmed the diagnosis of a saccular aneurysm, originating from the distal part of the main Left Pulmonary Artery (LPA) just proximal to the point of bifurcation into lobar branches, measuring 7.5 x 6.5 cm. ---Continue

Objective This study aimed to assess the International Quality Improvement Collaborative single-site data from a developing country to identify trends in outcomes and factors associated with poor outcomes.Design Retrospective descriptive study.Setting The National Institute of Cardiovascular Diseases, Karachi, Pakistan.Participants Patients undergoing surgery for congenital heart disease (CHD).Outcome measure Key factors were examined, including preoperative, procedural and demographic data, as well as surgical complications and outcomes. We identified risk factors for mortality, bacterial sepsis and 30-day mortality using multivariable logistic regression.Results A total of 3367 CHD surgical cases were evaluated; of these, 59.4% (2001) were male and 82.8% (2787) were between the ages of 1 and 17 years. Only 0.2% (n=6) were infants (≤30 days) and 2.3% (n=77) were adults (≥18 years). The in-hospital mortality rate was 6.7% (n=224), and 4.4% (n=147) and 0.8% (n=27) had bacterial sepsis and surgical site infections, respectively. The 30-day status was known for 90.8% (n=3058) of the patients, of whom 91.6% (n=2800) were alive. On multivariable analysis, the adjusted OR for in-hospital mortality was 0.40 (0.29–0.56) for teenagers compared with infancy/childhood and 1.95 (1.45–2.61) for patients with oxygen saturation

Objectives: Smoking is a potent risk factor for coronary artery disease, but there is controversy about its protective nature in terms of prognosis in ST-elevation acute coronary syndrome patients undergoing primary percutaneous coronary intervention. So, the main objective of this study is to unfold this controversy in a South Asian population in terms of clinical angiographic parameters and its in-hospital outcomes. Methods: In this study, we included 1756 consecutive patients diagnosed with ST-elevation acute coronary syndrome undergoing primary percutaneous coronary intervention. Patients were classified into smokers and non-smokers, and the in-hospital mortality rate was compared. Multivariable logistic regression analysis was performed to evaluate the paradoxical role of smoking. Results: Smokers were younger (53.78 ± 11.16 years vs 56.43 ± 11.17 years; p

Objectives Obesity is a globally well-established risk factor for atherosclerotic cardiovascular diseases; however, some studies have witnessed survival benefits among obese patients and this phenomenon is termed ‘the obesity paradox’. Our aim was to evaluate the existence of an obesity paradox in patients with ‘ST-elevation acute coronary syndrome (STE-ACS)’ in our population.Methods In this observational study, we included patients presenting with STE-ACS undergoing primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). Body mass index (BMI) ‘(weight (kg)/height (m)2) was calculated and patients with BMI ≥30 kg/m2 were categorised as obese. All the patients were observed during their hospital stay for postprocedure in-hospital morbidity (pump failure, contrast-induced nephropathy, major bleeding, cerebrovascular accident/stroke, access site complications or stent thrombosis) and mortality.Results A total of 1099 patients were included, out of which 78% (857) were men, and mean age was 54.66±10.9 years. The mean BMI was 27.48±4.93 kg/m2 and 23.2% (255) were categorised as obese. The in-hospital morbidity rate was 13.4% (113/844) vs 8.6% (22/255); p=0.042 and in-hospital mortality rate was 1.9% (16/844) vs 4.7% (12/255); p=0.013 for non-obese and obese patients, respectively. On multivariable analysis, obesity showed paradoxical protective effect with adjusted OR of 0.59 (95% CI 0.36 to 0.96, p=0.033) for postprocedure in-hospital morbidity. However, obesity was found to be an independent predictor of in-hospital mortality with an adjusted OR of 3.13 (95% CI 1.37 to 7.15, p=0.007).Conclusion In conclusion, we have found evidence of the obesity paradox in in-hospital morbidity, but not in mortality, after primary PCI of patients with ST-ACS in our population.

Introduction: Treatment of early breast cancer in older women is usually not guideline concordant owing to lack of routine evaluation of their potential frailty. We assessed the feasibility and impact of a self-administered geriatric assessment on the decision-making process in women aged 65 and above treated in a UK District General Hospital. Methods: One hundred and one patients, aged 65 and above, with early stage, non-metastatic breast cancer were prospectively recruited between Dec-2018 and March-2021. Patients with metastatic breast cancer, a previous history of cancer and dementia were excluded. All patients had a geriatric assessment with a self-administered questionnaire (mycarg.org). All cases were discussed in the multidisciplinary meeting (MDT) and a pre geriatric assessment recommendations was made, based on the tumour grade, size, node status and receptor status. The findings of the assessment were later discussed in a second meeting and a further recommendation was made based on the geriatric assessment. Any change in the proposed treatment was recorded. Potential factors (age, Body Mass Index, co-morbidities, medications, instrumental activities of daily living, and basic activities of daily living, social support and psychological status) associated with a change in the treatment recommendation were compared using Pearson's Chi square tests for categorized data, and Mann Whitney U test for continuous data. A multivariate logistic regression was performed to test the association between geriatric assessment domains and change in treatment decision. The multivariate model was built using variables which were associated in the bivariate analysis with a p-value

The global burden of paediatric and congenital heart disease (PCHD) is substantial. We propose a novel public health framework with recommendations for developing effective and safe PCHD services in low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs). This framework was created by the Global Initiative for Children’s Surgery Cardiac Surgery working group in collaboration with a group of international rexperts in providing paediatric and congenital cardiac care to patients with CHD and rheumatic heart disease (RHD) in LMICs. Effective and safe PCHD care is inaccessible to many, and there is no consensus on the best approaches to provide meaningful access in resource-limited settings, where it is often needed the most. Considering the high inequity in access to care for CHD and RHD, we aimed to create an actionable framework for health practitioners, policy makers and patients that supports treatment and prevention. It was formulated based on rigorous evaluation of available guidelines and standards of care and builds on a consensus process about the competencies needed at each step of the care continuum. We recommend a tier-based framework for PCHD care integrated within existing health systems. Each level of care is expected to meet minimum benchmarks and ensure high-quality and family centred care. We propose that cardiac surgery capabilities should only be developed at the more advanced levels on hospitals that have an established foundation of cardiology and cardiac surgery services, including screening, diagnostics, inpatient and outpatient care, postoperative care and cardiac catheterisation. This approach requires a quality control system and close collaboration between the different levels of care to facilitate the journey and care of every child with heart disease. This effort was designed to guide readers and leaders in taking action, strengthening capacity, evaluating impact, advancing policy and engaging in partnerships to guide facilities providing PCHD care in LMICs.

Anaerobic activated sludge plays a key role in the anaerobic digestion (AD) treatment of wastewater. The ability of anaerobic activated sludge to endure stress shock determines the performance of AD. In this study, the resistance of anaerobic activated sludge acclimated by three feeding patterns (continuous, semi-continuous, and pulse) to four stress shocks, including low pH influent, high OLR (organic loading rate), high ammonium and high sulfate, was investigated respectively. The results showed that the anaerobic activated sludge acclimated by semi-continuous feeding had the best resistance to high OLR shock, followed by pulse feeding, and then continuous feeding. There was no significant difference in the resistance of the three activated sludge to the other stress shocks. Under stress shock, the microbial community structure and abundance of specific functional microorganisms in the activated sludge acclimated by different feeding patterns varied, while the relative abundance of Methanosarcinaceae in the anaerobic activated sludge increased. The variation in the relative abundance of specific functional microorganisms was in charge of the differences in the resistance of anaerobic activated sludge. Overall, the results presented herein provide reference for improving the stability and effectiveness of activated sludge under adverse conditions. HIGHLIGHTS Resistance of activated sludge acclimated by three feeding patterns was studied.; Acclimated activated sludge was well resistant to low pH influent and high sulfate.; Sludge acclimated by semi-continuous feeding can best resist to high OLR shock.; The relative abundance of Methanosarcinaceae increased under stress shock.; Differences in functional microbial abundance led to different resistance of sludge.;

Essential oils, consisting of volatile compounds, are derived from various plant parts and possess antibacterial and antioxidant properties. Certain essential oils are utilized for medicinal purposes and can serve as natural preservatives in food products, replacing synthetic ones. This review describes how essential oils can promote the performance of bioactive films and preserve food through their antioxidant and antibacterial properties. Further, this article emphasizes the antibacterial efficacy of essential oil composite films for food preservation and analyzes their manufacturing processes. These films could be an attractive delivery strategy for improving phenolic stability in foods and the shelf-life of consumable food items. Moreover, this article presents an overview of current knowledge of the extraction of essential oils, their effects on bioactive films and food preservation, as well as the benefits and drawbacks of using them to preserve food products.

Pathogens cause infections and millions of deaths globally, while antipathogens are drugs or treatments designed to combat them. To date, multifunctional nanomaterials (NMs), such as organic, inorganic, and nanocomposites, have attracted significant attention by transforming antipathogen livelihoods. They are very small in size so can quickly pass through the walls of bacterial, fungal, or parasitic cells and viral particles to perform their antipathogenic activity. They are more reactive and have a high band gap, making them more effective than traditional medications. Moreover, due to some pathogen’s resistance to currently available medications, the antipathogen performance of NMs is becoming crucial. Additionally, due to their prospective properties and administration methods, NMs are eventually chosen for cutting-edge applications and therapies, including drug administration and diagnostic tools for antipathogens. Herein, NMs have significant characteristics that can facilitate identifying and eliminating pathogens in real-time. This mini-review analyzes multifunctional NMs as antimicrobial tools and investigates their mode of action. We also discussed the challenges that need to be solved for the utilization of NMs as antipathogens.

Objective: To explore the long-term outcome of patients who underwent Oncotype DX® testing. The relationship between the RS, adjuvant treatments received, and clinical outcomes across the entire range of RS results are reported. Methods: 10-year Kaplan–Meier estimates for distant recurrence/BC-specific survival (BCSS) in this cohort. The analysis included 439 patients. The follow-up time ranged from 14 to 142 months. All analyses were performed using the SPSS v20. Results: More than half of patients had low RS (

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the relationship between mesiodistal angulation of maxillary and mandibular 1st molar to different facial growth patterns. METHODOLOGY: This cross-sectional study was conducted from January to February 2021 at the Jinnah Sindh Medical University, Karachi, Sindh. According to the non-probability consecutive sampling technique, a lateral cephalogram of 90 individuals (55 female and 35 male) with mean age 19.7±4.38 was analyzed for the vertical growth pattern. Only those patients with age between 14 to 30, teeth in permanent dentition, and presence of teeth posteriorly from 1st premolar to 2nd molar were included. Mesiodistal angle was measured of the maxillary and mandibular molar to the palatal plane (PP), mandibular plane(MP), and occlusal plane(OP). The findings were then related to the facial growth pattern. Data were analyzed utilizing SPSSversion 20. RESULTS: Molar’s angulation was significantly (P

The development of immune checkpoint inhibitors is becoming a promising approach to fight cancers. Antibodies targeting immune checkpoint proteins such as CTLA-4 and PD-1 can reinvigorate endogenous antitumor T-cell responses and bring durable advantages to several malignancies. However, only a small subset of patients benefit from these checkpoint inhibitors. Identification of new immune checkpoints with the aim of combination blockade of multiple immune inhibitory pathways is becoming necessary to improve efficiency. Recently, several B7 family-related proteins, TIGIT, VSIG4, and VSIG3, which belong to the VSIG family, have attracted substantial attention as coinhibitory receptors during T-cell activation. By interacting with their corresponding ligands, these VSIG proteins inhibit T-cell responses and maintain an immune suppressive microenvironment in tumors. These results indicated that VSIG family members are becoming putative immune checkpoints in cancer immunotherapy. In this review, we summarized the function of each VSIG protein in regulating immune responses and in tumor progression, thus providing an overview of our current understanding of VSIG family members.

Abstract Objective: To assess the common concerns of FCPS and MDS trainees in Orthodontics due to COVID-19 lockdown. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted in different institutes of Sindh which offered FCPS/MDS training in Orthodontics. The study was carried out after approval from the ethical commit- tee. A questionnaire was designed comprising of 15 questions. Each question aiming to assess the difficulties faced by trainees due to the imposition of lockdown. The questionnaire was distributed amongst 80 participants/trainees in the training year 2 to 4. Results: The average age of study participants was 29 years with range of 27 to 38 years. In this study a large number of subjects said that they were unsure regarding completion of cases due to lockdown i.e; n=63,(77.8%). Approximately half of the study subjects thought that there will be mas- sive patient burden after resuming to the normal practice i.e 40(49.4%). Nearly quarter of them were puzzled that due to lockdown it was difficult to focus on thesis and research work i.e 18(22.2%). Few of them also responded that after resuming to the normal practice there would be pressure from su- perior authorities for academic works i.e; n=9,(11.1%). Conclusion: This study analyzed those major concerns were non-availability of basic materials for procedures, fear of completion of cases due to lockdown and massive patient burden in clinics after uplifting of lockdown. Therefore, Covid-19 lockdown has in many ways affected the academic and clinical activities of the post-graduate students. The uncertainty to tackle this surprise situation is still an unanswered question.

This paper presents an efficient Optical Character Recognition (OCR) system for offline isolated Pashto characters recognition. Developing an OCR system for handwritten character recognition is a challenging task because of the handwritten characters vary both in shape and in style and most of the time the handwritten characters also vary among the individuals. The identification of the inscribed Pashto letters becomes even palling due to the unavailability of a standard handwritten Pashto characters database. For experimental and simulation purposes a handwritten Pashto characters database is developed by collecting handwritten samples from the students of the university on A4 sized page. These collected samples are then scanned, stemmed and preprocessed to form a medium sized database that encompasses 14784 handwritten Pashto character images (336 distinguishing handwritten samples for each 44 characters in Pashto script). Furthermore, the Zernike moments are considered as a feature extractor tool for the proposed OCR system to extract features of each individual character. Linear Discriminant Analysis (LDA) is followed as a recognition tool for the proposed recognition system based on the calculated features map using Zernike moments. Applicability of the proposed system is tested by validating it with 10-fold cross-validation method and an overall accuracy of 63.71% is obtained for the handwritten Pashto isolated characters using the proposed OCR system.

Sulfur, organosulfur compounds, and sulfides are essential parts of life. Microbial sulfate assimilation is among the most active and ancient metabolic activities in the sulfur cycle that operates in various ecosystems. We analyzed the molecular basis of bacterial characterization. NR1 was isolated and purified from mangrove sediments. Whole-genome sequencing indicated that the NR1 isolate was closely related to Bacillus cereus. The genome contained 5,305 functional genes with a total length of 5,420,664 bp, a GC content of 35.62%, 42 rRNA, and 107 tRNA. DBT-grown cultures exhibited DBT utilization, fleeting emergence of DBT sulfone (DBTO2), and formation of 2-hydroxybiphenyl (2-HBP). Molecular analysis of the PCR products’ dsz operon revealed the presence of dszA, dszB, and dszC genes, which encoded for NR1’s 90% DBT desulfurization activity. Furthermore, 17 sulfur metabolism-related genes, including genes involved in assimilation sulfate reduction, APS and PAPS, and the cys, ssu, and TST gene families, were identified. In sulfate media, alkenesulfonate was converted to sulfite and inhibited ssu enzymes. Downregulated cysK variants were associated with nrnA expression and the regulation of L-cysteine synthesis. These findings established a scientific foundation for further research and application of bacteria to mangrove rehabilitation and ecological treatment by evaluating the bacterial characterization and sulfur degradation metabolic pathway. We used whole-genome and transcriptome sequencing to examine their genetic characteristics.

Abstract Madagascar's ring‐tailed lemurs (Lemur catta) are experiencing rapid population declines due to ongoing habitat loss and fragmentation, as well as increasing exploitation for bushmeat and the illegal pet trade. Despite being the focus of extensive and ongoing behavioral studies, there is comparatively little known about the genetic population structuring of the species. Here, we present the most comprehensive population genetic analysis of ring‐tailed lemurs to date from across their likely remaining geographic range. We assessed levels of genetic diversity and population genetic structure using multilocus genotypes for 106 adult individuals from nine geographically representative localities. Population structure and FST analyses revealed moderate genetic differentiation with localities being geographically partitioned into northern, southern, western and also potentially central clusters. Overall genetic diversity, in terms of allelic richness and observed heterozygosity, was high in the species (AR = 4.74, HO = 0.811). In fact, it is the highest among all published lemur estimates to date. While these results are encouraging, ring‐tailed lemurs are currently affected by ongoing habitat fragmentation and occur at lower densities in poorer quality habitats. The effects of continued isolation and fragmentation, coupled with climate‐driven environmental instability, will therefore likely impede the long‐term viability of the species.

Objective Many Native American (NA) patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) do not exhibit the classical SLE autoantibody profiles of European American (EA) and African American (AA) patients with SLE. The poorer SLE disease outcomes noted in NA patients highlights a need for more equitable diagnostic and prognostic tools for NA patients with SLE. The objective was to identify informative autoantibody profiles for NA, AA, and EA patients with SLE using an expanded set of autoantigens. Methods Sera from 49 NA, 49 AA, and 49 EA age‐, sex‐, and antinuclear autoantibody titer–matched patients with SLE who met the American College of Rheumatology classification criteria and 10 ethnicity‐, sex‐, and age‐matched controls were tested for autoantibody reactivity by autoantigen microarrays. Autoantibodies that were significantly elevated in patients with SLE compared with ethnicity‐specific controls were selected for hierarchical clustering. Differences in clinical criteria between patient clusters were determined by Fisher's exact test and corrected for multiple comparisons. Results NA, AA, and EA patients with SLE each had a cluster distinguished by higher levels of anti‐Ro52 and another cluster distinguished by nucleic acid–specific autoantibodies. Additional clusters were distinguished in NA patients by elevated extracellular matrix autoantibodies and were distinguished in AA patients by elevated Sm/RNP autoantibody and elevated nucleolin/histone autoantibody. Two EA patient clusters with similar nucleic acid– and Ro52‐specific autoantibodies were distinguished by either high or low histone 2A reactivity. Renal manifestations trended higher in the NA Ro52 cluster and were significantly enriched in the AA nucleolin/histone cluster. The AA nucleolin/histone cluster and EA H2A cluster had higher disease activity. Conclusion Expanded autoantibody profiles can identify informative subsets of patients with SLE.

Electrification of the transportation sector can play a vital role in reshaping smart cities. With an increasing number of electric vehicles (EVs) on the road, deployment of well-planned and efficient charging infrastructure is highly desirable. Unlike level 1 and level 2 charging stations, level 3 chargers are super-fast in charging EVs. However, their installation at every possible site is not techno-economically justifiable because level 3 chargers may cause violation of critical system parameters due to their high power consumption. In this paper, we demonstrate an optimized combination of all three types of EV chargers for efficiently managing the EV load while minimizing installation cost, losses, and distribution transformer loading. Effects of photovoltaic (PV) generation are also incorporated in the analysis. Due to the uncertain nature of vehicle users, EV load is modeled as a stochastic process. Particle swarm optimization (PSO) is used to solve the constrained nonlinear stochastic problem. MATLAB and OpenDSS are used to simulate the model. The proposed idea is validated on the real distribution system of the National University of Sciences and Technology (NUST) Pakistan. Results show that an optimized combination of chargers placed at judicious locations can greatly reduce cost from $3.55 million to $1.99 million, daily losses from 787kWh to 286kWh and distribution transformer congestion from 58% to 22% when compared to scenario of optimized placement of level 3 chargers for 20% penetration level in commercial feeders. In residential feeder, these statistics are improved from $2.52 to $0.81 million, from 2167kWh to 398kWh and from 106% to 14%, respectively. It is also realized that the integration of PV improves voltage profile and reduces the negative impact of EV load. Our optimization model can work for commercial areas such as offices, university campuses, and industries as well as residential colonies.

In this study, an edible film based on funoran was developed. Moreover, the effects of plasticizers (glycerol, xylitol, and sorbitol) on the physicochemical properties of the funoran films were also investigated. The interactions between plasticizers and funoran molecules of the film-forming system were characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, thermogravimetric analysis, and scanning electron microscopy. The results showed that the addition of plasticizers altered and broke the initial complex entangled structures of funoran molecular chains. Funoran films containing plasticizers were compatible, homogeneous, and dense, exhibiting good thermal stability below 100 °C. With the addition of plasticizers, the elongation at break, oxygen permeability, light transmittance, and water vapor permeability increased, but the tensile strength decreased. It was found that a glycerol addition of 40% was most suitable for commercial applications. All the results revealed the excellent film-forming properties of funoran, indicating that the prepared funoran films have tremendous potential for packaging applications.

Technology has made the life faster and easier. With the growth of technology, every sector has upgraded them to be competitive in the market. With the introduction of latest technology, customer satisfaction comes into picture. Banks are also using technology for satisfying the customers. The bank offers various services to their customer to satisfy them. Automated Teller Machine (ATM) services if one of them. Customer satisfaction is the prime objective of Banks. This research work is aspiring to examine the ramification of Automated Teller Machine (ATM) service qualities on overall customer satisfaction. Survey method was used to collect data. Information from 211 ATM users was collected from different places of Kurdistan region using a structured questionnaire. A pilot survey was conducted to ensure all dimensions meets to its objectives of research. SPSS-22 was used for analyzing the data. To recognize the service quality components of ATM and their association with overall customer satisfaction descriptive analysis, correlation and coefficient and regression test and ANOVA test were used. Results indicates that majority of dimensions are significantly correlated with overall customer satisfaction. At the end, few recommendations were made for improvement of ATM service quality.

The increased interest in nanomedicine and its applicability for a wide range of biological functions demands the search for raw materials to create nanomaterials. Recent trends have focused on the use of green chemistry to synthesize metal and metal-oxide nanoparticles. Bioactive chemicals have been found in a variety of marine organisms, including invertebrates, marine mammals, fish, algae, plankton, fungi, and bacteria. These marine-derived active chemicals have been widely used for various biological properties. Marine-derived materials, either whole extracts or pure components, are employed in the synthesis of nanoparticles due to their ease of availability, low cost of production, biocompatibility, and low cytotoxicity toward eukaryotic cells. These marine-derived nanomaterials have been employed to treat infectious diseases caused by bacteria, fungi, and viruses as well as treat non-infectious diseases, such as tumors, cancer, inflammatory responses, and diabetes, and support wound healing. Furthermore, several polymeric materials derived from the marine, such as chitosan and alginate, are exploited as nanocarriers in drug delivery. Moreover, a variety of pure bioactive compounds have been loaded onto polymeric nanocarriers and employed to treat infectious and non-infectious diseases. The current review is focused on a thorough overview of nanoparticle synthesis and its biological applications made from their entire extracts or pure chemicals derived from marine sources.

Background: Recent evidence suggests olfactory and gustatory sensory deficits among Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients. It is important to assess the occurrence of anosmia and ageusia among infected individuals as it may be the potential symptom and assist in controlling the viral load. The objective of the present study was to determine the prevalence of ageusia and anosmia among COVID-19 patients admitted to the teaching hospitals of District Bannu and Swat-Pakistan. Methodology: This retrospective cohort study was conducted between April to November 2020. A total of 100 confirmed COVID-19 cases, tested through polymerase chain reaction (PCR), were included in the study. Data including gender, age, smoking status, recent travelling history, nasal and paranasal disorder (NPND) history and COVID-19 severity were obtained from the patients’ records. The symptomatology, including frequency of anosmia and ageusia was recorded. Results: Out of 100 patients, 43.75% of patients had anosmia and 31.25% had ageusia, while 68% of patients were presented without olfactory and gustatory dysfunction. Most of the enrolled patients had no recent travel history (91.46%) and none of them were asymptomatic. Moreover, 88% of patients with a previous history of NPND did not have olfactory and gustatory dysfunction. Various characteristics features, including recent travel history, smoking, gender and disease severity, were significantly associated with anosmia and ageusia. Conclusion: The COVID-19 patients were exclusively suffering from ageusia and anosmia. It can be concluded that amongst asymptomatic-to-mild disease severity patients, the existence of smell and taste might be an important differential demonstration for the apprehension and analysis of COVID-19.

Background: Nasal polyps were believed to be small tumours of nasal or sinus mucosa. With progressing research, they are associated with enlargement or swelling of nasal or sinus mucosa, allergy, asthma, any infection, sensitivity to aspirin, and/or cystic fibrosis unclear etiology. The present study aims to evaluate the prevalence of fungal infections that can result in the onset of nasal polyposis in the residents of district Bannu, Pakistan. Methodology: A cross-sectional study was conducted at the ENT Department of Khalifa Gul Nawaz (KGN) teaching hospital in Bannu from March 2018 to February 2020, including 180 polyposis patients with the presence or absence of any fungal infestation. The subjects possessing mass other than nasal polyp based on clinical diagnosis were excluded from the study. The fungal infestation was observed with nasal endoscopy, and the patients were hospitalized for functional endoscopic sinus surgery (FESS). The staging of the nasal polyposis was based on the CT scan findings. The condition was classified into three grades, i.e., grade I, II and III. The data was statistically analysed on SPSS version 20.0. Results: Out of 180 patients diagnosed clinically for nasal polyposis, 97(53.88%) were males. The fungal infestation was positive in 73(41%) specimens. Around 52.72% of patients were found with bilateral involvement. Of which, 31.57% were diagnosed with an allergic event. The fungus Aspergillus was observed in 40.55% of specimens. The one-year follow-up displayed an overall recurrence rate of 40%, i.e., 38(52.05%) patients from the fungal group and 34(47.22%) from the non-fungal group. Conclusion: It is concluded from the study outcomes that the incidence of nasal polyposis with or without fungal infection is associated with the environment and the discrete host response. Moreover, individuals living with lower socioeconomic conditions in crowded and humid areas tend to suffer more.

Oromandibular dystonia is defined as a focal dystonia that manifests as forceful contractions of the face, jaw, and/or tongue. Lingual dystonia is a rare subtype of oromandibular dystonia that specifically affects the tongue. Multiple etiologies are thought to attribute to oromandibular dystonia, including brain damage, the use of neuroleptic medications, neurodegenerative disorders, metabolic disorders, neurodevelopmental disorders, and viral infections. Idiopathic cases of isolated lingual dystonia are rare and seldom reported in the literature. This report describes a 35-year-old female patient with lingual dystonia that was present at rest and aggravated during speech. Despite detailed history taking and a thorough examination, along with multiple imaging and laboratory studies, no cause could be established and her case was classified as being that of an idiopathic etiology.

Oromandibular dystonia is defined as a focal dystonia that manifests as forceful contractions of the face, jaw, and/or tongue. Lingual dystonia is a rare subtype of oromandibular dystonia that specifically affects the tongue. Multiple etiologies are thought to attribute to oromandibular dystonia, including brain damage, the use of neuroleptic medications, neurodegenerative disorders, metabolic disorders, neurodevelopmental disorders, and viral infections. Idiopathic cases of isolated lingual dystonia are rare and seldom reported in the literature. This report describes a 35-year-old female patient with lingual dystonia that was present at rest and aggravated during speech. Despite detailed history taking and a thorough examination, along with multiple imaging and laboratory studies, no cause could be established and her case was classified as being that of an idiopathic etiology.

β-Carotene (vitamin A precursor) and α-tocopherol, the utmost energetic form of vitamin E (VE), are known to be fat-soluble vitamins (FSVs) and essential nutrients needed to enhance the growth and metabolic functions of the human body. Their deficiencies are linked to numerous chronic disorders. Loading of FSVs within nanoemulsions could increase their oxidative stability and solubility. In this research, VE and β-Carotene (BC) were successfully co-entrapped within oil-in-water nanoemulsions of carrier oils, including tuna fish oil (TFO) and medium-chain triglycerides (MCTs), stabilized by modified starch and Tween-80. These nanoemulsions and free carrier oils loaded with vitamins were stored for over one month to investigate the impact of storage circumstances on their physiochemical characteristics. Entrapped bioactive compounds inside the nanoemulsions and bare oil systems showed a diverse behavior in terms of oxidation. A more deficiency of FSVs was found at higher temperatures that were more noticeable in the case of BC. VE behaved like an antioxidant to protect BC in MCT-based nanoemulsions, whereas it could not protect BC perfectly inside the TFO-loaded nanoemulsions. However, cinnamaldehyde (CIN) loading significantly enhanced the oxidative stability and FSVs retention in each nanoemulsion. Purity gum ultra (PGU)-based nanoemulsions comprising FSVs and CIN presented a greater BC retention (42.3%) and VE retention (90.1%) over one-month storage at 40 °C than Twee 80. The superior stability of PGU is accredited to the OSA-MS capabilities to produce denser interfacial coatings that can protect the entrapped compounds from the aqueous phase. This study delivers valuable evidence about the simultaneous loading of lipophilic bioactive compounds to enrich functional foods.

Objective: To evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of Endo-bronchial ultrasound guided transbronchial needle Aspiration in patients with mediastinal lymphadenopathy and mass lesions especially in the context of granulomatous versus non granulomatous lung disorders. Study Design: Open label, unblended prospective observational cohort. Place and Duration of Study: Department of Pulmonology, Pak Emirates Military Hospital Rawalpindi, from Jul 2015 to Mar 2016. Patients and Methods: All patients presented during study periods with meditational lymphadenopathy or lesions in which the initial bronchoscopy did not reveal any diagnosis were included in the study. Endobronchial ultrasound-guided transbronchial needle aspiration was performed in the bronchoscopy suit under conscious sedation and local anesthesia. Rapid on site evaluation was available for most of the cases. The procedure was performed using an integrated fibreoptic bronchoscopy with 22G TBNA needle by an experienced Bronchoscopist. The data was analyzed by using SPSS version 21 Results: A total of 53 patients with mean age of 44 years underwent endobronchial ultrasound-guided transbronchial needle aspiration for evaluation of meditational or hilar lesions between Jul 2015 to Apr 2016. There were 43 (81.1%) male and 10 (18.8%) female patients. A total of 108 Lymph nodes were sampled in 53 patients, rapid on site evaluation was available in 41 (77.3%) patients. Adequate representative sample could be obtained in 45 of 53 (84.9%) patients. The overall diagnosis were chronic granulomatous lesion in 27 (50.9%) patients, squamous cell carcinoma in 10 (18.8%), lymphoproliferative disorder in 2 (3.7%), thymoma in 1 (1.3%) and reactive hyperplasia in 5 (9.4%) of cases. No major complication of the procedure was observed. Conclusion: End bronchial ultrasound-guided transbronchial needle aspiration was found useful diagnostic modality for lymph nodes sampling in patients with lymphadenopathy and mass like lesions in mediastinum.

Water desalination presents a need to address the growing water-energy nexus. In this work, a literature survey is carried out, along an application of a mathematical model is presented to enhance the freshwater productivity rate of a solar-assisted humidification-dehumidification (HDH) type of desalination system. The prime novelty of this work is to recover the waste heat by reusing the feedwater at the exit of the condenser in the brackish water storage tank and to carry out the analysis of its effectiveness in terms of the system’s yearly thermoeconomics. The developed mathematical model for each of the components of the plant is solved through an iterative procedure. In a parametric study, the influence of mass flow rates (MFRs) of inlet air, saline water, feedwater, and air temperature on the freshwater productivity is shown with and without the waste heat recovery from the condensing coil. It is reported that the production rate of water is increased to a maximum of 15% by recovering the waste heat. Furthermore, yearly analysis has shown that the production rate of water is increased to a maximum of 16% for June in the location of Taxila, Pakistan. An analysis is also carried out on the economics of the proposed modification, which shows that the cost per litre of the desalinated water is reduced by ~13%. It is concluded that the water productivity of an HDH solar desalination plant can be significantly increased by recovering the waste heat from the condensing coil.

Molasses is a highly dense and refined byproduct produced in the sugarcane industry, and it contains high amounts of degradable compounds. Through bioconversion, these compounds can be transformed into renewable products. However, the involved biological process is negatively influenced by the high chemical oxygen demand (COD) of molasses and ion concentration. The co-digestion of molasses with rice-alcohol wastewater (RAW) was compared with its mono-digestion at an increasing organic loading rate (OLR). Both processes were assessed by detecting the COD removal rate, the methane contents of biogas, and the structure and composition of microbial communities at different stages. Results showed that the co-digestion is stable up to a maximum OLR of 16 g COD L−1 d−1, whereas after the acclimatization phase, the mono-digestion process was disturbed two times, which occurred at a maximum OLR of 9 and 10 g COD L−1 d−1. The volatile fatty acids (VFAs) observed were 2059.66 mg/L and 1896.9 mg/L, which in mono-digestion causes the inhibition at maximum OLRs. In the co-digestion process, the concomitant COD removal rates and methane content recorded was 90.72 ± 0.63% 64.47% ± 0.59% correspondingly. While in the mono-digestion process, high COD removal rate and methane contents observed were 89.29 ± 0.094% and 61.37 ± 1.06% respectively. From the analysis of microbial communities, it has been observed that both the bacterial and archaeal communities respond differently at unlike stages. However, in both processes, Propionibacteriaceae was the most abundant family in the bacterial communities, whereas Methanosaetaceae was abundant in the archaeal communities. From the current study, it has been concluded that that rice-alcohol wastewater could be a good co-substrate for the anaerobic digestion of molasses in terms of COD removal rate and methane contents production, that could integrate molasses into progressive biogas production with high OLR.

The presence of harmonics in the load current considerably increases stray losses in electric transformers. In this research paper, a new model for computing the electromagnetic field (EMF) and eddy current (EC) losses in transformer tank covers is derived considering harmonics. Maxwell’s equations are solved with their corresponding boundary conditions. The differential equation thus obtained is solved using the method of separation of variables. The obtained expressions do not require the use of special functions, accommodating them for practical implementation in the industry. The obtained formulas are evaluated for different spectrum contents of the load current and losses. The results are in good agreement with simulations carried out using the Altair Flux finite element (FE) software.

Since young adult Cherokee are at increased risk for both diabetes and cardiovascular disease, we assessed association of apolipoproteins (A-I, B, and C-III in non-HDL and HDL) with obesity and related risk factors. Obese participants (BMI ≥ 30) aged 20–40 years (n=476) were studied. Metabolically healthy obese (MHO) individuals were defined as not having any of four components of the ATP-III metabolic syndrome after exclusion of waist circumference, and obese participants not being MHO were defined as metabolically abnormal obese (MAO). Associations were evaluated by correlation and regression modeling. Obesity measures, blood pressure, insulin resistance, lipids, and apolipoproteins were significantly different between groups except for total cholesterol, LDL-C, and HDL-apoC-III. Apolipoproteins were not correlated with obesity measures with the exception of apoA-I with waist and the waist : height ratio. In a logistic regression model apoA-I and the apoB : apoA-I ratio were significantly selected for identifying those being MHO, and the result (C-statistic = 0.902) indicated that apoA-I and the apoB : apoA-I ratio can be used to identify a subgroup of obese individuals with a significantly less atherogenic lipid and apolipoprotein profile, particularly in obese Cherokee men in whom MHO is more likely.

This paper presents a methodology that aims at identifying virtual inertia (VI) gain limitations from virtual synchronous generators (VSGs) while maintaining the frequency stability considering the delay associated with the frequency measurement process. The phase-locked loop (PLL) is typically used for frequency estimation that is used to calculate the rate of change of frequency (RoCoF) and it drives the VI loop. The PLL is generally accompanied by a low-pass filter that aims to suppress the impact of harmonics. This filter introduces a delay that when used with the VI control loop causes stability issues for high values of VI gain. A comparison of various PLL approaches suggests that certain variants tend to permit higher value of cut-off frequencies which can be utilized to increase the VI gain limit from VSG. This study presents a method by which the upper limit on VI gain can be quantified and related to the cut-off frequency of the PLL low pass filter that is indirectly representing the delay. It is performed using small signal frequency stability analysis on the frequency domain model of the grid with virtual inertia emulating VSG. The effective maximum VI gain from VSG is explored while satisfying the frequency measurement accuracy specification considering harmonics. The results show that the requirements of reaching a stable operation with sufficient stability margins can still be met with a faster PLL-based system and the potential increases in VI support from VSG can be quantified using the proposed method. The study has been first performed on a single machine single inverter bus (SMSIB) system and is generalized to the multi-machine and multi-inverter system.