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Factors affecting weld quality in resistance spot welding of advanced high strength steels
Prevalence and trends of transfusion transmitted infections among blood donors in a tertiary care hospital of Assam
Abstract The overall prevalence of transfusion-transmissible infections (TTIs) in India is 1.58%, while in Assam, it stands at 1.2%. The relatively higher prevalence of TTIs in certain geographical regions can be attributed to illiteracy, lack of awareness, inadequate diagnosis due to poor infrastructure, and insufficient research efforts. Additionally, ABO antigens are also considered to be associated with the risk of developing TTIs. Therefore, the present study was designed to investigate the trend and sero-prevalence of TTIs among blood donors and to evaluate the possible association between TTIs and ABO blood groups. This retrospective observational study was conducted at a tertiary care hospital in Assam over a span of eight and a half years, from June 2015 to December 2023. The medical records of blood donors were reviewed without consideration of age, ethnicity, or gender. Data on demographic details, blood group, and TTI screening test results were collected and analyzed for the study. The overall prevalence of TTIs in our study was found to be 3.1%, with HCV having the highest prevalence (1.14%), followed by syphilis (1.0%), HBV (0.54%), HIV (0.41%), and malaria (0.01%). An overall upward trend in TTI prevalence was observed, with HCV showing a particularly notable increase. A significant positive association (p < 0.05) was identified between donors lacking ABO antigens and TTI positivity, while a negative association was observed in those expressing both A and B antigens. Additionally, the present study found that donors with Rh-negative blood groups had a lower likelihood of TTIs compared to Rh-positive donors. The relatively higher prevalence of TTIs highlights a lack of public awareness, insufficient knowledge, and inadequate counselling within the studied population.
The association between dietary antioxidant index with tumor size, proliferation marker, and the odds of breast cancer in Iranian women
Green solvent extraction of health boosting phenolics from pigeon pea husk
Exosome mediated delivery of Epigallocatechin 3 gallate as a novel approach to alleviate psoriasis symptoms through cytokine and apoptotic pathway modulation
Abstract Psoriasis is a chronic skin disorder with significant individual and societal impacts. Current therapies often lack efficacy, are costly, or cause side effects, necessitating new treatments. This study explores regenerative therapies—exosomes, mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), epigallocatechin-3-gallate nanoparticles (EGN), and EGN-loaded exosomes (EGN-Exo)—in regulating psoriasis-related markers (IL-6, IL-4, Bcl-2, Bax, NF-κB, CDC25B). An imiquimod-induced psoriasis model in Wistar rats was used, with six groups: negative control, positive control, and treatments (MSCs, exosomes, EGN, EGN-Exo). After seven days, ELISA revealed EGN-Exo most effectively reduced pro-inflammatory IL-6 and pro-apoptotic Bax while increasing anti-inflammatory IL-4 and anti-apoptotic Bcl-2. EGN-Exo also significantly lowered NF-κB and CDC25B, demonstrating superior anti-inflammatory effects. Apoptosis profiling showed EGN-Exo reduced late apoptotic cells, highlighting cytoprotective abilities. EGN had a moderate effect, while MSCs and exosomes showed modest improvements. Histopathological and immunohistochemical analyses confirmed EGN-Exo’s efficacy, notably reducing TGF-β expression. These findings suggest EGN-Exo combines EGCG’s antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties with exosomes’ targeted delivery, offering a promising advanced therapy for psoriasis.
A scalable framework for evaluating multiple language models through cross-domain generation and hallucination detection
In vitro assessment of Moringa Oleifera leaf extract’s protective impact on fibroblast cell line (WI-38) exposed to electronic cigarette liquid
Abstract Moringa oleifera (MO), a medicinal herb, has been studied in recent decades for its diverse range of biological activities. Several studies have revealed that MO leaf extract (MOLE) possesses cytoprotective properties, while other studies have reported anti-proliferative potential. This study was conducted to assess the potential effect of MOLE on electronic cigarette liquid (EC e-liquid) treated human lung fibroblast cell line (WI-38). An MTT assay was performed to investigate the potential effect of EC e-liquid and MOLE on cell viability and determine the cytotoxic concentration (CC50) in WI-38 cells. Cells were treated with 190.2 µg/mL of EC e-liquid (EC group) and 33.2 µg/mL of EC e-liquid and MOLE (EC + MOLE group) for 24 h. Analysis of apoptosis and cell cycle was performed using flow cytometric assay. Moreover, the expression of apoptosis-related proteins Bax and Bcl2 was measured using ELISA.Our findings revealed that MOLE demonstrated a cytotoxic effect on EC e-liquid treated WI-38 cells through induction of apoptosis via up-regulation of Bax and down-regulation of Bcl2. Additionally, MOLE induced cell cycle arrest at the S phase. Overall, these findings indicate that MOLE is an inefficient cytoprotective agent against EC e-liquid cytotoxicity; nonetheless, it exerts a cytotoxic effect, suggesting a promising role as a valuable anti-proliferative agent.
Long-term analysis of land cover changes resulting from mining activities: Strzelin case study (S–W Poland)
Optimizing the methodology for precise estimation of skeletal muscle fiber type proportions in humans
Multi-laboratory comparisons of manual patch clamp hERG data generated using standardized protocols and following ICH S7B Q&A 2.1 best practices
Abstract Acute block of hERG channels is the most common mechanism underlying drug-induced QTC prolongation and potentially fatal Torsade de Pointes arrhythmia. Updates to ICH E14 Q&As now allow for using negative nonclinical data, including hERG, to support QTC risk assessment in late-stage clinical development. To interpret the hERG results, understanding hERG assay reproducibility or hERG data variability is pivotal. Protocol and best practice recommendations have been provided with the goal of minimizing lab-to-lab data differences, but the impact remains unclear. To fill this knowledge gap, hERG data from a HESI-coordinated multi-laboratory study were leveraged. Using standardized protocol and following best practices for patch clamp studies, five laboratories tested 28 drugs using the manual patch clamp technique. Systematic differences in block potencies were observed for data generated by one laboratory for the first 21 drugs, and these differences disappeared for the last seven drugs. Exposure, pharmacological sensitivity of the cell lines, and cell/data qualities were ruled out as the factors underlying systematic differences. All laboratories retested two drugs and obtained results within 1.6X of the initial testings, except for another laboratory that obtained data for one drug that differed from its initial testing by 7.6X. Descriptive statistics and meta-analysis were applied to the dataset to estimate what the distribution in hERG block potencies would be if a laboratory were to test the same drug repeatedly. This measure, or hERG data variability, was ~ 5X. Based on these results, hERG block potency values within 5X of each other should not be considered different, since these values are within the natural data distribution of the hERG assay; laboratory-specific safety margin threshold may be required to account for systematic data differences.
Energy-aware cluster head optimization and secure blockchain integration for heterogeneous 6G-enabled IoMT networks
PCPE-YOLO with a lightweight dynamically reconfigurable backbone for small object detection
A novel holistic metric for sustainability assessment of photovoltaic/battery systems
Abstract The increasing reliance on renewable energy has increased the need for efficient, sustainable energy systems, particularly photovoltaic (PV)-battery systems, which are vital for many applications in diverse climatic regions and directly contribute to SDG 7 (Affordable and Clean Energy). Achieving sustainability in such systems requires evaluating their performance across different locations and climatic conditions, where traditional metrics often fall short in capturing the complexities of energy utilization and battery behavior. This study proposes a novel holistic metric (HM) that incorporates battery performance, energy utilization, and load dynamics, providing a more accurate measure of system performance and supporting SDG 12 (Responsible Consumption and Production). The methodology involves the use of hybrid optimization of multiple energy resources (HOMER) software to simulate PV-battery systems in three locations, namely, Cairo, Berlin, and Riyadh, over a three-year period (2017–2019), with a focus on the battery state of charge (SOC), cycling behavior, and energy efficiency. The results indicate that Riyadh, with its balanced solar conditions, achieved the highest long-term viability (HM ≈ 0.74), followed by Berlin (HM ≈ 0.69) and Cairo (HM ≈ 0.67), with Cairo’s oversized PV system and Berlin’s low solar availability influencing battery performance and system efficiency. This study concludes that tailoring PV-battery system design and energy management strategies to local conditions is crucial for optimizing battery longevity, energy efficiency, and system resilience, addressing SDG 13 (Climate Action). The findings contribute to a more comprehensive approach for evaluating and improving the resilience of PV-battery systems, addressing gaps in conventional sustainability metrics.
Nonlinear time domain and multi-scale frequency domain feature fusion for time series forecasting
Fish feeding behavior recognition via lightweight two stage network and satiety experiments
A graph transformer with optimized attention scores for node classification
A prognostic model integrating radiomics and deep learning based on CT for survival prediction in laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma
Cross-modal gated feature enhancement for multimodal emotion recognition in conversations
Enhanced mechanical, thermal, and wear performance of halloysite nanotube infused carbon fiber epoxy composites
Abstract This work explores the mechanical, thermal, and tribological characteristics of carbon fabric reinforced epoxy (CF-Ep) composites filled with halloysite nanotubes (HNT). The mechanical properties were evaluated, including hardness, interlaminar shear strength (ILSS), tensile strength, and flexural strength. The enhanced curing and even dispersion of HNTs in the epoxy matrix were validated by DSC, FTIR, and SEM measurements. Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA) demonstrated improved thermal stability and damping, especially for the 0.75 wt.% HNT composite. Tribological performance was investigated utilizing a pin-on-disc configuration (60 N, 3 m/s) and silica sand (212 µm, 30 N, 2.38 m/s) under three-body abrasion and dry sliding wear, respectively. Hardness was highest at 1.75 wt.% HNT, and wear resistance and mechanical performance were best at 0.75 wt.% HNT composite. Surface damage, including matrix separation, micro-ploughing, and fragmentation, was lessened in 0.75 wt.% HNT composites, according to scanning electron microscopy worn surfaces. Using Minitab 17 and the Taguchi approach, wear experiments was created using an L16 orthogonal array. There were four levels of variation in three factors: load (10–40 N), abrading distance (250–1000 m), and HNT content (0–2.75 wt.%). The most important variables influencing wear volume loss were found to be load + distance and load + filler interactions using ANOVA and regression analysis. Scanning electron microscopy revealed that H0.75% HNT-filled composites had the best resistance to wear because they showed less surface damage mechanisms, such as fragmentation, micro-ploughing, and matrix detachment, when they were worn-out by dry sliding or abrasion. Overall, by strengthening interfacial bonding, improving load transfer, and creating a protective tribolayer that decreased material loss and surface damage during abrasion, HNTs improved mechanical and wear properties. Specifically, the 0.75 wt.% HNT composite showed outstanding heat stability and wear resistance, which made it a good option for high-performance uses such as power plant chute and automobile liners.