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Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, a variety of diagnostic approaches, including RT-qPCR, RAPID, and LFA, have been adopted, with RT-qPCR emerging as the gold standard. However, a significant challenge in COVID-19 diagnostics is the wide range of symptoms presented by patients, necessitating early and accurate diagnosis for effective management. Although RT-qPCR is a precise molecular technique, it is not immune to false-negative results. In contrast, CRISPR-based detection methods for SARS-CoV-2 offer several advantages: they are cost-effective, time-efficient, highly sensitive, and specific, and they do not require sophisticated instruments. These methods also show promise for scalability, enabling diagnostic tests. CRISPR technology can be customized to target any genomic region of interest, making it a versatile tool with applications beyond diagnostics, including therapeutic development. The CRISPR/Cas systems provide precise gene targeting with immense potential for creating next-generation diagnostics and therapeutics. One of the key advantages of CRISPR/Cas-based therapeutics is the ability to perform multiplexing, where different sgRNAs or crRNAs can target multiple sites within the same gene, reducing the likelihood of viral escape mutants. Among the various CRISPR systems, CRISPR/Cas13 and CARVER (Cas13-assisted restriction of viral expression and readout) are particularly promising. These systems can target a broad range of single-stranded RNA viruses, making them suitable for the diagnosis and treatment of various viral diseases, including SARS-CoV-2. However, the efficacy and safety of CRISPR-based therapeutics must be thoroughly evaluated in pre-clinical and clinical settings. While CRISPR biotechnologies have not yet been fully harnessed to control the current COVID-19 pandemic, there is an optimism that the limitations of the CRISPR/Cas system can be overcome soon. This review discusses how CRISPR-based strategies can revolutionize disease diagnosis and therapeutic development, better preparing us for future viral threats.

Abstract Rock drilling is an essential operation in mining industries. Temperature at the bit-rock interface plays a major role in the wear rate of the drill bit. This paper primarily focuses on the wear rate of tungsten carbide (WC) drill bit and the interrelationship between temperature and wear rate during rotary drilling operations conducted using a computer numerical control (CNC) machine. The interrelationship between the temperature and wear rate was studied with regard to three types of rock samples, i.e., fine-grained sandstone (FG) of uniaxial compressive strength (UCS) that is 17.83 MPa, medium-grained sandstone (MG) of UCS that is 13.70 MPa, and fine-grained sandstone pink (FGP) of UCS that is 51.67 MPa. Wear rate of the drill bit has been measured using controlled parameters, i.e., drill bit diameter (6, 8, 10, 12, and 16 mm), spindle speed (250, 300, 350, 400, and 450 rpm), and penetration rate (2, 4, 6, 8, and 10 mm/min), respectively. Further, a fully instrumented laboratory drilling set-up was utilized. The weight of each bit was measured after the bit reached 30 mm depth in each type of the rock sample. Furthermore, effects of the bit-rock interface temperature and operational parameters on wear rate of the drill bits were examined. The results show that the wear rate of drill bits increased with an increase in temperature for all the bit-rock combinations considered. This is due to the silica content of the rock sample, which leads to an increase in the frictional heat between the bit-rock interfaces. However, in case of medium-grained sandstone, the weight percentage (wt%) of SiO2 is around 7.23 wt%, which presents a very low wear rate coefficient of 6.33×10−2 mg/(N·m). Moreover, the temperature rise during drilling is also minimum, i.e., around 74 °C, in comparison to that of fine-grained sandstone and fine-grained sandstone pink. In addition, this paper develops the relationship between temperature and wear rate characteristics by employing simple linear regression analysis.

Improvement of productivity has become an important goal for mining industries in order to meet the expected targets of production and increased price competitiveness. Productivity can be improved in different ways. The effective utilization of men and machinery is one such way. Equipment is prone to numerous unexpected potential failures during its operation. Failure Mode and Effect Analysis (FMEA) is one of the suitable techniques of reliability modeling used to investigate the failure behavior of a complex system. In conventional FMEA, the risk level of failures, a ranking of failures and prioritization of necessary actions is made on the basis of estimated Risk Priority Number (RPN). While this approach is easy and uncomplicated, there are a few flaws in acquiring the best approximation of the failure. The estimation of RPN is made by multiplying the Severity (S), Occurrence (O) and Detection (D) alone and irrespective of the degree of importance of each input. Hence, a new risk management approach known as the Fuzzy rule base interface system was proposed in this research in order to mitigate the failures. Fuzzy FMEA is designed in order to acquire the highest Fuzzy RPN value which will be used as the focus of enhancements to reduce the probability of occurrence of some kind of failure for a second time. This study focused on the Root Cause Analysis (RCA) of underground mining machinery such as Load-Haul-Dumper (LHD). 16 potential risks of various sub-system breakdowns were identified in Fuzzy FMEA. The highest value of RPN 168 (for potential failure mode-F9) was obtained for the electrical subsystem (SSE), as was the highest FRPN 117 (F9). There is a difference between the RPN and FRPN values. The FRPN value is obtained from Fuzzy field generation with consideration of the degree of importance of the given input data. In addition, the recommendations were made based on the analysis to reduce the uneven occurrence of failures. Keywords: Risk, Failure, FMEA, RPN, LHD, Subsystem and fuzzy FMEA

Background and Aims: Cataract surgery in ophthalmology is usually done under peribulbar block with a mixture of 0.5% bupivacaine and 2% lidocaine. Several case reports of fatalities associated with bupivacaine has necessitated a search for alternative safe agents. The aim of this study was to compare peribulbar block characteristics using a mixture of 0.5% bupivacaine and 2% lidocaine with a mixture of 0.5% ropivacaine and 2% lidocaine. Material and Methods: Eighty patients were allocated to two random groups of 40 each. Patients of groups BL and RL were given 4 ml of 0.5% bupivacaine and 4 ml of 0.5% ropivacaine each in a mixture with 4 ml of 2% lidocaine and 100 IU of hyaluronidase respectively. Block characteristics, hemodynamic variables, adverse drug interactions and other complications were recorded. Results: Demographic characteristics were comparable in both the groups. Duration of onset of the block and the side effect profile was comparable in both the groups but the total duration of the block and the time for first rescue analgesia was found to be longer in group BL than in group RL. Conclusions: Ropivacaine 0.5% and lidocaine 2% as a 1:1 mixture in a volume of 8 ml with 100 IU of hyaluronidase is as effective as a 1:1 mixture of bupivacaine 0.5% and lidocaine 2% in a volume of 8 ml with 100 IU of hyaluronidase with regards to onset and total duration of the block and side effects and hemodynamic changes.

A selective, sensitive and high-throughput liquid chromatographyâtandem mass spectrometry (LCâESI-MS/MS) method has been developed and validated for the quantitation of Guanfacine in rat plasma. Sample clean-up involved liquidâliquid extraction (LLE) and 100 μL of rat plasma was used. YMC BASIC column (50 mmÃ2.0 mm, 3.5 µm) was used. Mobile phase used was 10 mM ammonium formate (pH 4.0):acetonitrile (70:30, v/v) at a flow rate of 0.3 mL/min. The parentâproduct ion transitions for the drug (m/z 246.0â159.0) and IS (m/z 252.0â161.1) were monitored on a triple quadrupole mass spectrometer, operating in the multiple reaction monitoring (MRM) and positive ion mode. The method was validated over the concentration range of 50.00â10,000.00 pg/mL for Guanfacine. The method was successfully applied into a pharmacokinetic study in rat plasma. Keywords: Guanfacine, LCâESI-MS/MS, Rat plasma, Liquidâliquid extraction, Pharmacokinetic study

An efficient system was developed for indirect plant regeneration from in vitro-derived leaf and internode explants of Hoya wightii ssp. palniensis. Maximum percentage of the organogenic callus was obtained on MS medium supplemented with NAA (1.0 mg/l) and 2,4-D (2.0 mg/l). The best shoot bud induction was observed on MS medium with BA (1.0 mg/l) +IBA (0.5 mg/l). The coconut water (15%) was better, resulting in a differentiation of the shoot initials in to well-developed shoots. The elongated shoots (› 3cm long) were rooted on a full strength MS basal medium, supplemented with 0.2 mg/l of IBA. Finally, the rooted plants were transferred to the soil with 80% success rate. This protocol was utilized for the in vitro propagation of this endangered plant species.

We describe our automatic generative algorithm to create street addresses from satellite images by learning and labeling roads, regions, and address cells. Currently, 75% of the world’s roads lack adequate street addressing systems. Recent geocoding initiatives tend to convert pure latitude and longitude information into a memorable form for unknown areas. However, settlements are identified by streets, and such addressing schemes are not coherent with the road topology. Instead, we propose a generative address design that maps the globe in accordance with streets. Our algorithm starts with extracting roads from satellite imagery by utilizing deep learning. Then, it uniquely labels the regions, roads, and structures using some graph- and proximity-based algorithms. We also extend our addressing scheme to (i) cover inaccessible areas following similar design principles; (ii) be inclusive and flexible for changes on the ground; and (iii) lead as a pioneer for a unified street-based global geodatabase. We present our results on an example of a developed city and multiple undeveloped cities. We also compare productivity on the basis of current ad hoc and new complete addresses. We conclude by contrasting our generative addresses to current industrial and open solutions.

Abstract: A selective, sensitive and high-throughput liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry (LC–ESI-MS/MS) method has been developed and validated for the quantitation of Guanfacine in rat plasma. Sample clean-up involved liquid–liquid extraction (LLE) and 100μL of rat plasma was used. YMC BASIC column (50mm×2.0mm, 3.5µm) was used. Mobile phase used was 10mM ammonium formate (pH 4.0):acetonitrile (70:30, v/v) at a flow rate of 0.3mL/min. The parent→product ion transitions for the drug (m/z 246.0→159.0) and IS (m/z 252.0→161.1) were monitored on a triple quadrupole mass spectrometer, operating in the multiple reaction monitoring (MRM) and positive ion mode. The method was validated over the concentration range of 50.00–10,000.00pg/mL for Guanfacine. The method was successfully applied into a pharmacokinetic study in rat plasma. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The effect of the antitubercular drugs isoniazid (10 μg/ml), ethambutol (10 μg/ml), rifampicin (0.5 μg/ml) and streptomycin (1 μg/ml) on the calmodulin like protein (CAMLP) content of Mycobacterium tuberculosis HR and M. tuberculosis HR was investigated. The drugs were added to actively growing cells at their mid log phase of growth (14 days) and after 12 more hours of incubation, CAMLP was estimated. In both the mycobacteria, all the four antitubercular drugs CAMLP. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article offers information regarding a proposal to add a new paragraph to Recommendation 7A of International Code of Nomenclature for algae, fungi, and plants (ICN). It mentions that after January 1990, it is necessary for herbariums to be specified. It also reveals that the type specimens must be deposited in any one of the herbaria recognized by Index herbariorum.

Radiorespirometric studies using glucose labelled at 1, 2, 3-4, and 6 positions and enzymatic studies were conducted to determine the primary pathways of glucose dissimilation in Mycobacterium tuberculosis H37Rv. The pattern of 14CO2 recovery was C3-4 greater than C1 greater than C6 = C2. The Embden-Meyerhof pathway was found to be the predominant pathway for glucose oxidation, operative to the extent of 94%. The pentose phosphate pathway accounted for the remaining 6%. Maximum incorporation of 14C into cellular components was from C2 and C6 labelled glucose.

Mycobacterium tuberculosis H37Rv, the slow-growing human pathogenic strain of tubercle bacilli and Mycobacterium smegmatis and Mycobacterium phlei, the fast-growing saprophytes, have shown variations regarding the type of dehydrogenase that initiates malate oxidation in the respiratory chain. M. tuberculosis H37Rv is characterized by having a malate oxidase system (designated MALNAD pathway) in which malate oxidation is mediated by the NAD+-dependent malate dehydrogenase (EC 1.1.1.37) but not by FAD-dependent malate-vitamin K reductase. M. smegmatis possesses a different malate oxidase system (designated MALFAD pathway) in which malate oxidation is exclusively carried out by the FAD-dependent malate-vitamin K reductase because NAD+-dependent malate dehydrogenase is absent in this organism. M. phlei has a mixed system of malate oxidase (designated MALNAD+FAD pathways) in which both the NAD+-and FAD-dependent dehydrogenases take part. In all the three systems, the rest of the electron transport chain is common.