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Prior to the fabrication and implementation processes, it is imperative to accurately predict the mechanical strength of the textile composite. The major goal of this work is to develop a three-dimensional finite element method to estimate the mechanical response of a woven fabric hybrid natural textile composite under compression. A mesoscale finite element model for a plain-woven fabric unit cell has been developed and analysed for its mechanical characteristics. For their mechanical robustness, six natural fibre plain-woven patterns viz. flax plain, jute plain, basalt plain, inter-yarn hybrid basalt-flax plain, and jute-flax plain were compared and thoroughly examined. These patterns' mechanical properties were modelled and critically contrasted using matrix materials like thermoset epoxy and thermoplastic polypropylene. The basalt-flax plain with epoxy as the matrix material has excellent mechanical properties among the numerous analysed patterns. Thus, it was concluded that transverse-longitudinal shear characteristics and yarn cross-sectional stiffness have the greatest influence on compressed textiles. In parametric analysis, the impact of geometric parameters on strain energy, artificial strain energy, displacement, and contact pressure – such as yarn width, yarn spacing, and fabric thickness was thoroughly investigated and discussed in detail. The current model can accurately mimic a textile fabric with various weaving patterns, material properties, and stress conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A representative model for multilayer natural fibre composite (NFC) plates is introduced to investigate its homogenised strength criterion. A three-layer NFC plate model is used to analyse the local stress–strain characteristics in multi-layered NFC. Finite element analysis (FEA) is performed on the representative volume element (RVE) under various boundary conditions to investigate stress and strain at macroscopic and microscopic levels. The explicit assessment of homogenised strength requires calculating stress tensors and equivalent stresses to determine parameter values. The precise specification of homogenised strength requirements assists in comprehending the material's behaviour under various loading conditions, which affects composite application design and optimisation techniques. The study examined the effect of fibre orientation angles on NFC's mechanical behaviour. The results demonstrate that flax fibres have comparatively higher stress levels than coir fibres. This study improves the understanding of natural fibre laminate composites' macroscopic and microscopic behaviours, that is, the material's response under different loadings. The definition of homogenised strength criterion on NFC improves their design evaluations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In present research the impact of insulation on the discharge process of phase change material (PCM) and a comparison of the thermal performance of a solar cooker using two distinct types of heat transfer fluid (HTF) were experimentally investigated. The aim of this study is to select best performing HTF at the thermal performance point of view. In this experiment a solar cooker with an integrated PCM thermal storage unit was connected through connecting pipes to an evacuated tube solar collector. Separately, water and SigmaTherm-K were used as HTF to evaluate the thermal performance of a solar cooker. Acetanilide of commercial grade was utilized as thermal storage material in the solar cooker. Both charging and discharging of PCM were studied with insulation and without insulation. It was discovered that the temperature attained with PCM in an insulated cooker is 16.5°C and 19.3°C higher than without PCM using water and SigmaTherm-K as HTF respectively. It was concluded that using PCM with the SigmaTherm-K increased the amount of average energy by 29.11% compared to water. The temperature attained by water as cooking load increased from 22°C to 77°C and from 20.1°C to 86.2°C using water and SigmaTherm-K as a HTF respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Solid Papillary Carcinoma (SPC) of the breast is a rare tumor with an incidence of less than 1%, mainly affecting elderly females. It is morphologically characterized by well-defined nodules with low-grade nuclear features associated with fibrovascular cores and shows neuroendocrine differentiation. SPC can be in-situ or invasive but has a favorable prognosis. It is a morphological mimicker of some pre-malignant conditions leading to its frequent misdiagnosis. An appropriate immunohistochemical (IHC) panel workup helps in distinguishing this tumor from its various morphological mimics. In this report, we present one such case of SPC with a small focus of invasion, reviewing the literature.

Dental trauma is a serious and highly prevalent health issue across the globe. Most of the frequent dental injuries result in the loss of teeth and affects the overall quality of life. The loss of a tooth is usually compensated by a dental implant. The common methods adopted while placing the implant tooth are platform switching and platform matching. A plethora of works has studied the qualitative performance of these methods across different situations clinically. However, a detailed comparative work studying in-depth the mechanical parameters has not been attempted yet. In this computational work, two commonly available different platform-switched and one platform-matched implant-abutment configurations were compared. A 3D model of an implant (5.5 × 9.5 mm) was designed and inserted into a human mandibular bone block using computer-aided design (CAD) and extracting the clinical imaging data. Three separate models of implant-abutment configurations such as Platform Switched (PS)-I, a 5.5 mm implant with a 3.8 mm wide abutment, Platform Switched (PS)-II, a 5.5 mm implant with a 4.5 mm wide abutment, and Platform Matched (PM), a 5.5-mm implant with a 5.5 mm wide abutment were analyzed. Clinically relevant vertical-, horizontal-, and oblique-type of occlusal loadings were applied to each model to characterize the mechanical response. Mechanical parameters such as von Mises stresses, deformations, and strain energies were obtained using finite element modeling (FEM). These parameters showed lower values for platform switching within the peri-implant bone and that may help to limit marginal bone loss. However, the same parameters were increasing more in the abutment, implant, and screw for the platform-switched implant configuration than that of platform-matched configuration. The computational framework, along with the results, are anticipated to guide the clinicians and medical practitioners in making better decisions while selecting the commonly available methods.

The research aims to forecast the mechanical performance of a hybrid woven fabric natural composite subjected to compression, utilizing the three‐dimensional finite element method. A detailed finite element model of a plain woven fabric unit cell is created and analyzed for different materials like flax, basalt, and jute, and combinations of these materials (inter‐yarn hybrid basalt‐flax, jute‐flax and basalt‐jute fabrics). It is observed that fabric's response to compression is mainly influenced by the transverse longitudinal shear behaviour and the stiffness of the yarn cross‐section. Compression of single‐layer woven fabric involves yarn bending and compaction, resulting in varying fiber volume fractions in different areas due to compaction. The basalt‐jute hybrid plain woven fabric outperformed other plant‐based fiber fabrics with a polypropylene matrix in terms of mechanical performance under compression. Increase in yarn spacing and fabric thickness resulted in higher strain energy and displacement, attributed to changes in fiber volume fraction and crimp angle. Whereas, increasing yarn width led to a stiffer fabric due to increased contact area at the crossover region and higher bending rigidity, resulting in decreased strain energy and displacement. Importantly, this developed model can effectively simulate textile fabrics with diverse weaving patterns, material properties, and loading conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Corona Virus Disease-19 (COVID-19) caused by the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome-Corona Virus-2 (SARSCoV-2) has led to a global pandemic. Currently, the standard method for the diagnosis of COVID-19 is the detection of SARSCoV-2 by Reverse Transcriptase Quantitative Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-qPCR). Lower Cycle threshold (Ct) value of PCR is found to be associated with increased probability of progression to severe disease and infectivity. Blood group A individuals have been found to be more susceptible to infection by SARS-CoV-2 while that of O blood group have lower risk of infection. There has been growing scientific interest to obtain data which may characterise the susceptibility to COVID-19 infection and determine the risk factors which may be associated with progression and severity of the disease. Aim: To study the association of RT-qPCR Ct values for SARSCoV-2 with ABO blood group types. Materials and Methods: A prospective observational study was conducted at tertiary care centre in western Maharashtra, India where in a total of 116 symptomatic admitted patients between mid-July to mid-August 2020 and was found to be positive for SARS-CoV-2 by RT-qPCR were enrolled in the study. Ct values for pan-Sarbecovirus E-gene and SARSCoV-2 specific RdRP gene were recorded for each patient. In addition, all the patients were typed for ABO blood grouping. Distribution of different ABO blood group types in SARS-CoV-2 positive patients were analysed and was compared with blood groups in 882 non-COVID-19 blood donors comprising control group. Ct values for E and RdRP gene were also analysed in respect to different age group, gender and blood group types. Blood group records of voluntary healthy blood donors reporting at our centre between September to November 2019 were obtained. Results: Of the 116 patients, 33 (28.45%) comprised of type A, 34 (29.31%) of type B, 41 (35.34%) were of type O and remaining 8 (6.90%) had AB blood group type. Compared to the control group, no significant difference was noted in the distribution of ABO blood types in SARS-CoV-2 positive patients. Also, no statistical significance was found in the Ct values with respect to age, gender and different ABO blood group types. Conclusion: RT-qPCR Ct values for SARS-CoV-2 infection have no association with ABO blood group types.

Context: Dentinal hypersensitivity (DH) is a chronic disorder in which patients report sharp and acute pain to a variety of stimuli. Till date, a standardized procedure to treat DH is missing, though several alternative treatment strategies have been designed, including laser therapies. Aim: The aim of the study was to treat DH with minimum chemical concentration and least laser energy level with longer follow-up period. Materials and Methods: One hundred and twenty patients were randomly divided into four groups: (i) Group 1-5% potassium nitrate (KNO3); (ii) Group 2 - gallium-aluminum-arsenide diode laser (62.2 J/cm2, wavelength - 980 nm, noncontact pulse mode, and power wattage - 0.5 W); (iii) Group 3 - combined 5% KNO3and the diode laser; and (iv) Group 4 - placebo (control). The visual analog scale (VAS) scores were recorded, analyzed, and compared to tactile stimuli, cold water, and air blast tests at different intervals for 6 weeks. Results: Synergistic use of 5% KNO3and diode laser (Group 3) significantly reduced the DH pain, which was almost negligible after 6th week (97%–99% of the pain was reported to be relieved) and showed promising results than any other studied groups. Further, the diode laser (Group 2) showed better results than 5% KNO3 (Group 1). One-way ANOVA and Bonferroni correction post hoc test revealed the combination of groups with significant differences in the mean VAS scores at the different interval of time (P < 0.01). Conclusions: Convincingly, the combined application of 5% KNO3with the diode laser can be recommended for treating DH patients.

COVID-19 is a multi system disorder and causes various abnormalities in liver function tests. The aim of this study was to estimate the prevalence of abnormal liver function tests in patients of COVID-19 and to describe the association of liver function tests with clinical features and disease severity in these patients. We retrospectively evaluated and analyzed the liver function tests of all real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) positive COVID-19 patients admitted to a tertiary care hospital in Western Maharashtra. The Institutional Ethics Committee of our hospital approved the study. Of the 533 patients included in our study, 50% had abnormal albumin levels while 40.1%, 43.5%, 9.3%, and 6.3% patients had deranged alanine transaminase (ALT) aspartate transaminase (AST), total protein and bilirubin levels, respectively. Hepatocellular injury was observed in 21 (3.9%) patients, and cholestatic liver injury was observed in seven (1.3%) patients. Abnormal liver function test (LFT) was significantly associated with disease severity but not with mortality. Abnormal LFT in patients of COVID-19 is associated with severe disease but not mortality. Liver injury is common in patients of COVID-19. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Algae are often promoted as feedstock organisms to produce a sustainable petroleum fossil fuel alternative. However, to induce lipid accumulation most often requires a severe stress that is difficult to induce in large batch cultures. The objective of this study is to analyze and mathematically model heat stress on growth, chlorophyll content, triacylglyceride, and starch synthesis in algae. We initially screened 30 algal species for the most pronounced induction of lipid droplets from heat stress using confocal microscopy and mass spectroscopy techniques. One species, Coccomyxa subellipsoidea C169, was selected and subjected to further biochemical analyses using a jacketed bioreactor amended with 1% CO2 at 25°C, 30°C, 32°C, 33°C, 34°C, 35°C, and 36°C. Lipid and starch accumulation was less extreme than N stress. Growth was reduced above 25°C, but heat stress induced lipid droplet synthesis was negatively correlated with growth only past a demonstrated threshold temperature above 32°C. The optimal temperature for lipid accumulation was 35°C, which led to 6% of dry weight triglyceride content and a 72% reduction from optimal growth after 5 days. Fatty acid influx rates into triglycerides and 15N labeling of amino acids and proteins indicate that heat stress is mechanistically distinct from N stress. Thus, this study lends support to a novel hypothesis that lipid droplet triglycerides result from a redistribution of carbon flux as fatty acids to neutral storage lipids over membrane or other lipids.

Damaged DNA Binding 1 (DDB1)-binding WD40 (DWD) proteins are highly conserved and involved in a plethora of developmental and physiological processes such as flowering time control, photomorphogenesis, and abiotic stress responses. The phylogeny of this family of proteins in plants and algae of viridiplante is a critical area to understand the emergence of this family in such important and diverse functions. We aimed to investigate the putative homologs of DWD in the viridiplante and establish a deeper DWD evolutionary grasp. The advancement in publicly available genomic data allowed us to perform an extensive genome-wide DWD retrieval. Using annotated Arabidopsis thaliana DWDs as the reference, we generated and characterized a comprehensive DWD database for the studied photoautotrophs. Further, a generic DWD classification system (Type A to K), based on (i) position of DWD motifs, (ii) number of DWD motifs, and (iii) presence/absence of other domains, was adopted. About 72-80% DWDs have one DWD motif, whereas 17-24% DWDs have two and 0.5-4.7% DWDs have three DWD motifs. Neighbor-joining phylogenetic construction of A. thaliana DWDs facilitated us to tune these substrate receptors into 15 groups. Though the DWD count increases from microalgae to higher land plants, the ratio of DWD to WD40 remained constant throughout the viridiplante. The DWD expansion appeared to be the consequence of consistent DWD genetic flow accompanied by several gene duplication events. The network, phylogenetic, and statistical analysis delineated DWD evolutionary relevance in the viridiplante.