Protective effects of Euphorbia heterophylla against testicular degeneration in streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats in relation to phytochemical profile.

Background: Diabetes mellitus (DM) poses a major risk to human health due to an array of implications, one of which is a detrimental effect on the testicular and reproductive functions. Euphorbia heterophylla is widely recognized for its medicinal properties worldwide.

Methods And Findings: The objective of this study was to profile E.

Polarization dependent exciton-plasmon coupling in PEAPbI/Al and its application to perovskite solar cell.

This paper reports the strong coupling between Al nanostructure and two-dimensional (2D) layered perovskite PEAPbI (PEPI) films. The high exciton binding energy of 118 meV and long carrier lifetime of 216 ps are characterized from the 2D PEAPbI film, which indicates that the excitons in perovskite are robust and can couple to metal plasmons. The ordinary and extraordinary optical dispersions are revealed from the anisotropic 2D perovskite.

Usability, Ergonomics, and Educational Value of a Novel Telestration Tool for Surgical Coaching: Usability Study.

Background: Telementoring studies found technical challenges in achieving accurate and stable annotations during live surgery using commercially available telestration software intraoperatively. To address the gap, a wireless handheld telestration device was developed to facilitate dynamic user interaction with live video streams.

Objective: This study aims to find the perceived usability, ergonomics, and educational value of a first-generation handheld wireless telestration platform.

Educational value of a novel telestration device for surgical coaching-a randomized controlled trial.

Introduction: Communication is fundamental to effective surgical coaching. This can be challenging for training during image-guided procedures where coaches and trainees need to articulate technical details on a monitor. Telestration devices that annotate on monitors remotely could potentially overcome these limitations and enhance the coaching experience.

Uterine Manipulation May Not Influence Ongoing Pregnancy: Case Report and Literature Review.

Abdominal pain is a very common presentation in early pregnancy. Its cause may be gynecological or totally nonpregnancy related. While acute appendicitis is the most common nonobstetric cause of pain in pregnant women, diagnosis and differentiation from other causes, including ectopic pregnancy, remain challenging.

Asymmetric dual-core liquid crystal channel-based tunable mode converter.

In this work, a higher order-to-fundamental mode converter is reported and analyzed based on an asymmetric dual channel waveguide (ADC-WG) on silicon. In the reported structure, one of the two waveguides is infiltrated with nematic liquid crystal (NLC) material to add temperature tunability while the other one is a solid BK7 waveguide. The modal characteristics are obtained using the full vectorial finite difference method (FVFDM).

Full Correction of Posttransplant Anemia Is Associated With Stabilized Cardiac Dimensions Among Kidney Transplant Recipients: A Prospective Randomized Controlled Trial.

Objectives: Posttransplant anemia might be associated with cardiovascular morbidity and increased mortality. To our knowledge, the debate on anemia correction has neither been revisited nor decided definitively. We aimed to assess the effects of full correction of posttransplant anemia on the cardiovascular system and quality of life among renal transplant recipients with stable graft function who were using erythropoietin-stimulating agents.

Cesarean Scar Pregnancy: Current Understanding and Treatment Including Role of Minimally Invasive Surgical Techniques.

The incidence of cesarean scar pregnancy (CSP) is increasing reflecting the global increase in cesarean section (CS) rate which has almost doubled since 2000. CSP differs from other types of ectopic pregnancy in its ability to progress while still carrying a significant risk of maternal morbidity. Little is known about precise etiology or natural history although current interest in the pathology of placenta accretes spectrum disorders might be enlightening.

Scope and Suction: Hysteroscopic-guided Suction Evacuation of Cesarean Scar Pregnancy - A Safe and Efficacious Treatment for Selected Patients.

Objectives: This study aimed to evaluate hysteroscopic-guided suction evacuation for the treatment of cesarean scar pregnancy (CSP).

Materials And Methods: This was a retrospective analysis of CSP over 2 years. This study was conducted at KK Women's and Children's Hospital (KKH), Singapore, thirty-seven patients with a CSP.

Perovskite interface defect passivation with poly(ethylene oxide) for improving power conversion efficiency of the inverted solar cells.

Inverted perovskite solar cells (PSCs) attract researchers' attention for their potential application due to the low-temperature fabrication, negligible hysteresis and compatibility with multi-junction cells. However, the low-temperature fabricated perovskite films containing excessive undesired defects are not benefit for improving the performance of the inverted PSCs. In this work, we used a simple and effective passivation strategy that Poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) polymer as an antisolvent additive to modify the perovskite films.

Efficient MIR crosstalk reduction based on silicon-on-calcium fluoride platform with Ge/Si strip arrays.

Reduction of the crosstalk (CT) between contiguous photonic components is still a big challenge in fabricating high packing density photonic integrated circuits (PICs). Few techniques to accomplish that goal have been offered in recent years but all in the near-IR region. In this paper, we report a design for realizing a highly efficient CT reduction in the MIR regime, for the first time to the best of our knowledge.

Broadband Photon Harvesting in Organic Photovoltaic Devices Induced by Large-Area Nanogrooved Templates.

Thin-film organic photovoltaic (OPV) devices represent an attractive alternative to conventional silicon solar cells due to their lightweight, flexibility, and low cost. However, the relatively low optical absorption of the OPV active layers still represents an open issue in view of efficient devices that cannot be addressed by adopting conventional light coupling strategies derived from thick PV absorbers. The light coupling to thin-film solar cells can be boosted by nanostructuring the device interfaces at the subwavelength scale.

Overview of Optical Biosensors for Early Cancer Detection: Fundamentals, Applications and Future Perspectives.

Conventional cancer detection and treatment methodologies are based on surgical, chemical and radiational processes, which are expensive, time consuming and painful. Therefore, great interest has been directed toward developing sensitive, inexpensive and rapid techniques for early cancer detection. Optical biosensors have advantages in terms of high sensitivity and being label free with a compact size.

Detection of Occult Hepatitis C Virus Infection in Egyptian Patients Who Achieved a Sustained Virologic Response to Direct-Acting Antiviral Agents.

Background: Occult hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection (OCI) is diagnosed based on the detection of HCV-RNA in non-serum reservoirs, such as peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) and/or hepatocytes with undetectable HCV-RNA in the serum. The current study was designed to shed more light on the presence of occult HCV in a population of cases who achieved an SVR after receiving treatments for HCV-infection and its significance.

Methods: This cross-sectional study evaluated 111 chronic HCV patients treated at Theodor Bilharz Research Institute, Egypt and achieved a sustained virological response (SVR) 12 -24 weeks after treatment with Direct acting antiviral drugs (DAAs).

An efficient image segmentation method for skin cancer imaging using improved golden jackal optimization algorithm.

Skin cancer is one of the worst cancers nowadays that poses a severe threat to the health and safety of individuals. Therefore, skin cancer classification and early diagnosis are recommended to preserve human life. Multilevel thresholding image segmentation is well-known and influential technique for extracting regions of interest from skin cancer images to improve the classification process.

Crystal structure and Hirshfeld surface analysis of (±)-'-(2-hy-droxy-3-meth-oxy-benzyl-idene)-2-(4-iso-butyl-phen-yl)propionohydrazide.

The title mol-ecule, CHNO, adopts a V-shaped conformation and is chiral at the C atom with methyl group attached at the common cut of the edges of the V-conformation and crystallizes as a racemate. It also contains an intra-molecular O-H⋯N hydrogen bond. In the crystal, N-H⋯O hydrogen bonds form chains of mol-ecules extending along the -axis direction, together with normal van der Waals contacts.

An AI-Enabled Internet of Things Based Autism Care System for Improving Cognitive Ability of Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders.

Smart monitoring and assisted living systems for cognitive health assessment play a central role in assessment of individuals' health conditions. Autistic children suffer from some difficulties including social skills, repetitive behaviors, speech and nonverbal communication, and accommodating to the environment around them. Thus, dealing with autistic children is a serious public health problem as it is hard to determine what they feel with a lack of emotional cognitive ability.

Electrical performance of efficient quad-crescent-shaped Si nanowire solar cell.

The electrical characteristics of quad-crescent-shaped silicon nanowire (NW) solar cells (SCs) are numerically analyzed and as a result their performance optimized. The structure discussed consists of four crescents, forming a cavity that permits multiple light scattering with high trapping between the NWs. Additionally, new modes strongly coupled to the incident light are generated along the NWs.

Mid-infrared optical modulator based on silicon D-shaped photonic crystal fiber with VO material.

Recently, photonic crystal fibers (PCFs) have become of significant interest due to their various applications, especially in the mid-infrared (mid-IR) regime. In this work, an optical mid-IR modulator based on silicon D-shaped PCF (Si-D-PCF) with vanadium dioxide () as a phase changing material (PCM) is presented and analyzed. Thanks to the phase transition of the material between insulating (ON) and conducting (OFF) states, the modulation process can be attained.

Tunable liquid crystal asymmetric dual-core photonic crystal fiber mode converter.

In this study, a compact mode converter based on an asymmetric dual-core photonic crystal fiber (ADC-PCF) infiltrated with nematic liquid crystal (NLC) is reported. The full vectorial finite difference method is used to compute the modal characteristics of the studied transverse magnetic (TM) mode. In this investigation, the geometrical and material parameters of the proposed mode converter are studied to achieve high wavelength selectivity with a compact device length.

Light absorption enhancement in ultrathin film solar cell with embedded dielectric nanowires.

A novel design of thin-film crystalline silicon solar cell (TF C-Si-SC) is proposed and numerically analyzed. The reported SC has 1.0 µm thickness of C-Si with embedded dielectric silicon dioxide nanowires (NWs).

Three-Dimensional Assessment of Mandibular Condylar Volume and Position Subsequent to Twin Block Functional Therapy of Skeletal Class II Malocclusion Accompanied by Low-Level Laser Therapy.

This study aimed to evaluate and compare the effect of low-level laser therapy (LLLT) on mandibular condylar volume and position following treatment of a Class II malocclusion with a twin block (TB) appliance employing cone beam computed tomography (CBCT). Twenty-four growing patients, aged 9-12 years, were randomly allocated into control and laser groups. All patients were treated with a TB appliance.

Quantitative and qualitative evaluation of toxic metals and trace elements in the tissues of renal cell carcinoma compared with the adjacent non-cancerous and control kidney tissues.

Toxic metals and trace elements (TMTE) are linked to the development of several human cancers. Many reports have documented the association between some TMTE and renal cell carcinoma. In this work, we assessed the presence (qualitative) and evaluated the concentration (quantitative) of 22 TMTE in three groups of kidney tissue samples: renal cell carcinoma (RCC), adjacent non-cancerous, and control kidney tissues from cadavers.