Characterization of new natural cellulosic fibre extracted from the barks of Trianthema Portulacastrum.

The growing demand for sustainable materials has driven research into natural fibres as eco-friendly alternatives to synthetic counterparts. This study explores the potential of Trianthema portulacastrum fibre, an underutilised natural resource, for sustainable material applications by characterising its chemical, structural, thermal, mechanical, and morphological properties. The fibres were meticulously characterised to evaluate these properties.

Porcine Collagen Implants in Advanced Keratoconus: Outcomes at 1 Year.

Purpose: To report the visual and tomographic outcomes 1 year after porcine collagen lenticule implantation in eyes with advanced keratoconus.

Methods: Patients older than 18 years with advanced keratoconus having central corneal thickness (CCT) greater than 350 µm and visual acuity of 20/40 or better with contact lens, but intolerant to contact lenses, were included. A femtosecond laser-assisted stromal pocket was created at a depth of 140 µm.

Yoga Intervention and Inflammatory Homoeostasis in Breast Cancer Patients.

Objectives: Yoga, renowned for its ability to maintain physical, mental and spiritual well-being, has recently gained prominence as a supportive therapy during conventional breast cancer (BC) treatment. This paradigm shift reflects a growing trend of people embracing yoga to enhance their overall health and aid in managing BC. The objective of this study was to determine the yoga intervention and inflammatory homoeostasis in newly diagnosed BC patients.

Real-World Data of Esophageal Malignancies Managed Under the Government Scheme From a Tertiary Cancer Center in South India.

Background: Esophageal cancer is a major problem in India. The incidence has a geographic variation, being more common in some parts of south India and pockets in the north. The patients usually present in late stages as the symptoms are non-specific, hence patients are treated for other causes over prolonged periods.

Are all tuberculosis deaths correctly attributed due to tuberculosis? Analysis of causes of death (COD) using verbal autopsy: A cross-sectional study in Puducherry.

Background: State Task Force National Tuberculosis Elimination Programme (STF-NTEP) wanted to ascertain the cause of death of tuberculosis (TB) patients was due to TB. Hence, this study was done to determine the cause of death among TB patients using verbal autopsy.

Material And Method: The community-based cross-sectional study was conducted among the closest caregivers of the reported TB death cases using a verbal autopsy questionnaire.

Effect of Chemical Injury on Autophagy in Canine Corneal Stromal Fibroblasts.

Ocular trauma leads to loss of corneal clarity resulting in vision deficits. Autophagy plays a critical role in the extracellular matrix, tissue repair, and homeostasis but its precise mechanistic role in regulating corneal function remains unknown. The present study investigated the modulation of autophagy-related genes ( and ) in healthy and injured canine corneal stromal fibroblasts (CSFs).

Analysis of Smad3 in the modulation of stromal extracellular matrix proteins in corneal scarring after alkali injury.

Purpose: During ocular trauma, excessive proliferation and transdifferentiation of corneal stromal fibroblasts cause haze/fibrosis in the cornea. Transforming growth factor β (TGFβ) plays a key role in corneal fibrosis through the Smad signaling pathway. The aberrant activity of TGFβ signaling during ocular trauma (viz.

OsHMA3 overexpression works more efficiently in generating low-Cd rice grain than OsNramp5 knockout mutation.

Objective: Cadmium (Cd) is a highly toxic metal element and a carcinogen to humans. Rice is prone to taking up Cd from paddy fields and accumulating it in grain, which raises health concerns for rice consumers. OsNramp5 is a major transporter for Cd and manganese (Mn) uptake in rice, whereas OsHMA3 is a tonoplast-localized transporter involved in Cd detoxification in vacuoles.

Discordance in Acute Gastrointestinal Toxicity between Synchrotron-Based Proton and Linac-based Electron Ultra-High Dose Rate Irradiation.

Purpose: Proton FLASH has been investigated using cyclotron and synchrocyclotron beamlines but not synchrotron beamlines. We evaluated the impact of dose rate [ultra-high vs conventional (CONV)] and beam configuration [shoot-through (S-T) vs spread-out Bragg peak (SOBP)] on acute radiation-induced gastrointestinal toxicity (RIGIT) in mice. We also compared RIGIT between synchrotron-based protons and linac-based electrons with matched mean dose rates.

Next-gen agriculture: integrating AI and XAI for precision crop yield predictions.

Climate change poses significant challenges to global food security by altering precipitation patterns and increasing the frequency of extreme weather events such as droughts, heatwaves, and floods. These phenomena directly affect agricultural productivity, leading to lower crop yields and economic losses for farmers. This study leverages Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Explainable Artificial Intelligence (XAI) techniques to predict crop yields and assess the impacts of climate change on agriculture, providing a novel approach to understanding complex interactions between climatic and agronomic factors.

A library of proton lineal energy spectra spanning the full range of clinically relevant energies.

Purpose: In locations where the proton energy spectrum is broad, lineal energy spectrum-based proton biological effects models may be more accurate than dose-averaged linear energy transfer (LET) based models. However, the development of microdosimetric spectrum-based biological effects models is hampered by the extreme computational difficulty of calculating microdosimetric spectra. Given a precomputed library of lineal energy spectra for monoenergetic protons, a weighted summation can be performed which yields the lineal energy spectrum of an arbitrary polyenergetic beam.

Mustard Gas Induced Corneal Injury Involves Ferroptosis and p38 MAPK Signaling.

Purpose: Sulfur mustard gas (SM) exposure to eyes causes multiple corneal injuries including stromal cell loss in vivo. However, mechanisms mediating stromal cell loss/death remains elusive. This study sought to test the novel hypothesis that SM-induced toxicity to human corneal stromal fibroblasts involves ferroptosis mechanism via p38 MAPK signaling.

Artificial Intelligence Unveils the Unseen: Mapping Novel Lung Patterns in Bronchiectasis via Texture Analysis.

Thin-section CT (TSCT) is currently the most sensitive imaging modality for detecting bronchiectasis. However, conventional TSCT or HRCT may overlook subtle lung involvement such as alveolar and interstitial changes. Artificial Intelligence (AI)-based analysis offers the potential to identify novel information on lung parenchymal involvement that is not easily detectable with traditional imaging techniques.

Defining the Optimal Radiation-induced Lymphopenia Metric to Discern Its Survival Impact in Esophageal Cancer.

Purpose: A detrimental association between radiation-induced lymphopenia (RIL) and oncologic outcomes in patients with esophageal cancer has been established. However, an optimal metric for RIL remains undefined but is important for the application of this knowledge in clinical decision-making and trial designs. The aim of this study was to find the optimal RIL metric discerning survival.

Salvage Total Hip Replacement for Failed Proximal Femoral Fracture Fixation.

Introduction: Salvage arthroplasty for failed proximal femoral fracture fixation is a complex procedure. This involves the removal of the primary failed or broken implant followed by a hip joint replacement procedure. The complications and technical difficulties associated with these surgeries are often difficult to anticipate.

Association of Posterior Tibial Slope and Functional Outcome After Total Knee Arthroplasty: An Observational Study.

Introduction Precise implant positioning, particularly a well-balanced posterior tibial slope (PTS), is crucial for the success of total knee arthroplasty (TKA) because it enhances sagittal plane stability and significantly influences knee motion patterns. The long-term impact of tibial slope on active and passive range of motion (ROM) still needs to be studied, despite ROM's crucial role in patient contentment. This study examined the relationship between tibial slope and active and passive ROM following TKA, with a follow-up period of at least three months.

PI3K signaling and lysyl oxidase is critical to corneal stroma fibrosis following mustard gas injury.

Sulfur mustard gas (SM), an alkylating and vesicating agent, has been used frequently in many wars and conflicts. SM exposure to the eye results in several corneal abnormalities including scar/fibrosis formation. However, molecular mechanism for SM induced corneal fibrosis development is poorly understood.

The role of combined problem-based learning (PBL) and case-based learning (CBL) teaching methodologies in dental education.

Background: Innovative methods of teaching such as problem-based learning (PBL) and case-based learning (CBL) have shown promising results in academic understanding and application and enable one to manage their patients in a better manner. The study aimed to analyze the role of a combination of PBL and CBL teaching methodologies in a dental teaching institute in India.

Materials And Methods: This prospective, cross-sectional randomized study comprised 500 students divided into two study groups, each consisting of 250 participants.

End Binding Proteins: Drivers of Cancer Progression.

Cancer, a complex and heterogeneous disease, continues to be a major global health concern. Despite advancements in diagnostics and therapeutics, the aggressive nature of certain cancers remain a significant challenge, necessitating a deeper understanding of the underlying molecular mechanisms driving their severity and progression. Cancer severity and progression depend on cellular properties such as cell migration, cell division, cell shape changes, and intracellular transport, all of which are driven by dynamic cellular microtubules.

Removing barriers to management of adults with type 2 diabetes on insulin using continuous glucose monitoring in UK primary care practice: An expert consensus.

Aims: This expert consensus reviews the reality of primary care clinical management of people with type 2 diabetes (T2D) on non-intensive insulin therapy, with an emphasis on the use of continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) technology for effective care in this participant group. Here, we identify key unmet needs for skills and systems development within this frontline healthcare setting, along with major challenges and opportunities associated with managing these changes effectively.

Methods: The authors participated in two primary care consensus panels held on 28 November 2023 and on 21 May 2024.

Evaluation of the Impact of Smoking on Orthodontic Treatment.

Smoking is a prevalent habit known for its detrimental effects on oral health and it affects not only oral health but also various organ systems. The influence of smoking on periodontal health, including gingival inflammation, bone loss and delayed wound healing, poses significant challenges during orthodontic therapy. Orthodontic treatment depends on healthy bone and periodontal remodelling.

ViTBayesianNet: An adaptive deep bayesian network-aided alzheimer disease detection framework with vision transformer-based residual densenet for feature extraction using MRI images.

One of the most familiar types of disease is Alzheimer's disease (AD) and it mainly impacts people over the age limit of 60. AD causes irreversible brain damage in humans. It is difficult to recognize the various stages of AD, hence advanced deep learning methods are suggested for recognizing AD in its initial stages.

The impact of socioeconomic deprivation on the prevalence of gestational diabetes: An observational study.

Background: Approximately 3.5% of pregnancies in the United Kingdom are complicated by gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM). Risk factors for this mirror those contributing to type 2 diabetes (T2DM).

Anchorage and Stability of Orthodontic Mini Implants in Relation to Length and Types of Implants.

Anchorage control is crucial for achieving optimal results in orthodontic treatment. Scientific literature has documented the exploration of various methods to prevent anchorage loss, including the use of extraoral and intraoral devices. The advent of mini implants and micro implants has introduced new possibilities by allowing placement in previously inaccessible areas.

Fabrication of nutritional edible bowls with wheat bran, multigrain powder, refined flour, flax seed powder, fenugreek essential oil, and jaggery.

Background: The recycling or decomposition of plastic waste poses challenges due to its non-organic nature. As a consequence of the unregulated production of plastic goods, a substantial quantity of plastic garbage has been generated. There is an increasing demand for sustainable substitutes for synthetic petrochemical-derived plastic products.