Emergence and spread of the SARS-CoV-2 omicron (BA.1) variant across Africa: an observational study.

Background: In mid-November, 2021, the SARS-CoV-2 omicron variant (B.1.1.

Use of pennisetin-casein complex microparticles for Curcuma longa L. extract microencapsulation: Improvement of antioxidant and alpha-amylase inhibitory activities.

This study aimed to use a new protein complex of Pennisetin (Pen) a non gluten protein of pearl millet and casein (Cas), for curcumin (Cur) extract encapsulation using simple or complex coacervation. The potential improvement of Cur antioxidant activities and α-amylase inhibition after encapsulation was explored. Complex microparticles of Pen and Cas with various ratios exhibited average diameters ranging from 1.

Association between hypo-osmotic swelling test-induced tail swelling patterns and sperm quality.

The current sperm selection procedure for intracytoplasmic sperm injection has limited ability to detect structural and functional abnormalities of the spermatozoa. The aim of this study was to investigate whether the degree of sperm tail swelling observed during hypo-osmotic swelling test (HOST) may predict sperm quality. Sixty semen samples were collected from men investigated for couple infertility.

Techno-economic optimization for isolated hybrid PV/wind/battery/diesel generator microgrid using improved salp swarm algorithm.

The main objective of this study is to develop a new method for solving the techno-economic optimization problem of an isolated microgrid powered by renewable energy sources like solar panels, wind turbines, batteries, and diesel generators while minimizing greenhouse gas emissions. An Improved Salp Swarm Algorithm (ISSA) with a position adaptation mechanism for the salp leader that involves a leader salp that moves about depending on both food availability and its previous position has been proposed to overcome the convergence problem. In the original SSA, as the approach converges, it can no longer find optimal solutions and becomes trapped in a local minimum.

Neoadjuvant endocrine therapy with or without palbociclib in low-risk patients: a phase III randomized double-blind SAFIA trial.

Background: The most prevalent subtype of breast cancer (BC) is luminal hormonal-positive breast cancer. The neoadjuvant chemotherapy regimens have side effects, emphasizing the need to identify new startegies.

Objective: Analyze the complete pathologic response (pCR) rate and overall response in a low-risk hormone-positive subset of patients receiving neoadjuvant hormone treatment (NAHT) with or without Palbociclib (a CDK4/CDK6 inhibitor) to boost NAHT effectiveness.