Assessment of industrial effluent discharges contributing to Ganga water pollution through a multivariate statistical framework: investigating the context of Indian industries.

The swift industrial expansion has posed significant environmental challenges, particularly in the context of water pollution. Industrial effluents consist of substantial amounts of harmful pollutants that enter the main rivers via various tapped and untapped drains/local water streams, causing alterations in their physical and chemical properties. This study investigated 153 grossly polluting industries (GPIs) that were identified to release their effluents into the main rivers through different drains within multiple sectors in the industrial zone of four northern states of India in 2023.

The amalgam of naive CD4 T cell transcriptional states is reconfigured by helminth infection to dampen the amplitude of the immune response.

Naive CD4 T cells in specific pathogen-free (SPF) mice are characterized by transcriptional heterogeneity and subpopulations distinguished by the expression of quiescence, the extracellular matrix (ECM) and cytoskeleton, type I interferon (IFN-I) response, memory-like, and T cell receptor (TCR) activation genes. We demonstrate that this constitutive heterogeneity, including the presence of the IFN-I response cluster, is commensal independent insofar as being identical in germ-free and SPF mice. By contrast, Nippostrongylus brasiliensis infection altered this constitutive heterogeneity.

CBLs downregulation foretells T cell ubiquitination leading to autoimmunity.

In a study published in the July issue of Immunity, Li et al. demonstrate that expression of the E3 ubiquitin ligases CBL and CBL-B is downregulated in Tfh cells in SLE with Tfh cell expansion and autoimmunity. This leads to reduced ubiquitination of the T cell costimulator ICOS which regulates proteostasis of the Tfh cell transcription factor BCL6 via chaperone-mediated autophagy.

EEG-based motor imagery channel selection and classification using hybrid optimization and two-tier deep learning.

Brain-computer interface (BCI) technology holds promise for individuals with profound motor impairments, offering the potential for communication and control. Motor imagery (MI)-based BCI systems are particularly relevant in this context. Despite their potential, achieving accurate and robust classification of MI tasks using electroencephalography (EEG) data remains a significant challenge.

The Role of Supraclavicular Flap in Reconstruction Following Resection in Buccal Mucosa Carcinoma.

Buccal mucosa is one of the common subsite for oral carcinoma. Following excision of the buccal mucosa tumor mass various pedicled and free flaps have been used to reconstruct the oral cavity defect. In this age of free flaps various locoregional pedicled flaps have been underrated and overlooked and supraclavicular flap is one of them.

Evaluation of a simple method for testing aztreonam and ceftazidime-avibactam synergy in New Delhi metallo-beta-lactamase producing Enterobacterales.

NDM-producing carbapenem-resistant bacterial infections became a challenge for clinicians. Combination therapy of aztreonam and ceftazidime-avibactam is a prudent choice for these infections. However, there is still no recommendation of a practically feasible method for testing aztreonam and ceftazidime-avibactam synergy.

Evaluation of three protocols for direct susceptibility testing for Gram-negative rods from flagged positive blood culture bottles.

Unlabelled: Bloodstream infections are associated with high mortality, which can be reduced by targeted antibiotic therapy in the early stages of infection. Direct antibiotic susceptibility testing (AST) from flagged positive blood cultures may facilitate the administration of early effective antimicrobials much before the routine AST. This study aimed to evaluate three different direct AST protocols for Gram-negative rods from flagged positive blood culture broths.

Evaluation of a rapid immunochromatographic test for the diagnosis of intestinal protozoan infections among patients attending a rural outreach outpatient department in Northern India.

Despite great efforts, intestinal protozoan infections remain a significant healthcare concern worldwide. Although many point-of-care (POC) tests are increasingly being used, microscopic examination of stool specimens remains the mainstay for their diagnosis, especially in resource-limited settings. We assessed the utility of rapid POC tests based on immunochromatography among patients from rural Northern India.

Engaging GME Learners in Health System-Aligned Improvement Work in the Clinical Learning Environment.

Alignment between graduate medical education (GME) and health system priorities is foundational to meaningful engagement of residents and fellows in systems improvement work within the clinical learning environment. The Residents and Fellows Leading Interprofessional Continuous Improvement Teams program at the University of California San Francisco was designed over a decade ago to address barriers to trainee participation in health system-based improvement work. The program provides structure and support for health system-aligned trainee-led improvement projects in the clinic learning environment.

Breakthrough infection among healthcare personnel following exposure to COVID-19: Experience after one year of the world's largest vaccination drive.

Context: The COVID-19 vaccination drive globally was supposedly a game-changing event. However, the emerging variants of the virus and waning immunity over time posed new challenges for breakthrough infections. Standing at the frontline of defense against COVID-19, healthcare personnel (HCP) were vulnerable to such infections.

Relevance of Conventional Microscopy in the Diagnosis of Mucormycosis during COVID-19 Pandemic.

Introduction: Mucormycosis is a lethal disease which bewildered the health-care community of India during the ongoing second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. The diagnosis is challenging considering the poor isolation in culture.

Aims: The aim of the study was to emphasize the utility of potassium hydroxide (KOH) mount examination using conventional light microscopy for early diagnosis of mucormycosis in resource-limited settings.

Probabilistic hierarchical clustering based identification and segmentation of brain tumors in magnetic resonance imaging.

The automatic segmentation of the abnormality region from the head MRI is a challenging task in the medical science domain. The abnormality in the form of the tumor comprises the uncontrolled growth of the cells. The automatic identification of the affected cells using computerized software systems is demanding in the past several years to provide a second opinion to radiologists.

Spatio-temporal variability in macroinvertebrate community structure and ecological health status of a tropical dynamic river-estuarine system, India: An integrated approach of multivariate analysis.

River-estuarine ecosystems are under severe anthropogenic threat due to resource exploitation, transportation, sewage/industrial discharges, and pollutants from surrounding areas. Monitoring the water quality and biological communities is essential for assessing ecosystem health and sustainability. Present study integrated the ecological community data along with water quality analysis to understand the impact of anthropogenic pressures on benthic macroinvertebrates.

Functionally and Metabolically Divergent Melanoma-Associated Macrophages Originate from Common Bone-Marrow Precursors.

Tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs) can be widely heterogeneous, based on their ontogeny and function, and driven by the tissue-specific niche. TAMs are highly abundant in the melanoma tumor microenvironment (TME), usually correlating with worse prognoses. However, the understanding of their diversity may be harnessed for therapeutic purposes.

Functionally and metabolically divergent melanoma-associated macrophages originate from common bone-marrow precursors.

Melanomas display high numbers of tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs), which correlate with worse prognosis. Harnessing macrophages for therapeutic purposes has been particularly challenging due to their heterogeneity, based on their ontogeny and function and driven by the tissue-specific niche. In the present study, we used the YUMM1.

A Computational Deep Fuzzy Network-Based Neuroimaging Analysis for Brain Hemorrhage Classification.

The boundaries and regions between individual classes in biomedical image classification are hazy and overlapping. These overlapping features make predicting the correct classification result for biomedical imaging data a difficult diagnostic task. Thus, in precise classification, it is frequently necessary to obtain all necessary information before making a decision.

Arsenic causing gallbladder cancer disease in Bihar.

In recent times Gallbladder cancer (GBC) incidences increased many folds in India and are being reported from arsenic hotspots identified in Bihar. The study aims to establish association between arsenic exposure and gallbladder carcinogenesis. In the present study, n = 200 were control volunteers and n = 152 confirmed gallbladder cancer cases.

AP-1-independent NFAT signaling maintains follicular T cell function in infection and autoimmunity.

Coordinated gene expression programs enable development and function of T cell subsets. Follicular helper T (Tfh) cells coordinate humoral immune responses by providing selective and instructive cues to germinal center B cells. Here, we show that AP-1-independent NFAT gene expression, a program associated with hyporesponsive T cell states like anergy or exhaustion, is also a distinguishing feature of Tfh cells.

Strengthening adolescent agency for optimal health outcomes.

argue that agency and health are intimately connected; achieving best health outcomes for adolescents will require strengthening their agency

Challenges in setting up a diagnostic microbiology laboratory during coronavirus disease 2019 crisis and impact on the diagnosis of communicable diseases.

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has left the health-care workers exhausted and the system dwindling. The challenges have been immense everywhere and even worse in developing countries. Despite the Indian Government's forethought and active investment in various national programs, the pandemic has brought unconceivable repercussions on the management and notification of several other lethal infectious diseases including human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and tuberculosis.

Effects of COVID-19 during pregnancy on maternal and neonatal outcome: A retrospective observational study in tertiary teaching hospital, India.

Aim: This study aims to describe the clinical characteristics, maternal and neonatal outcome of pregnancies complicated with COVID-19 infection.

Methods: This is a retrospective, single center, observational study conducted on all COVID-19 positive pregnant women who were admitted in our institution from 1 April 2020 to 30 November 2020. During the study period, a total of 201 pregnant and postpartum women with COVID-19 infection confirmed by RT-PCR test, regardless of their symptoms, were admitted and included in the study.

Persistence of SARS-CoV-2 in COVID-19 patients during the second wave of the pandemic in India.

Introduction: India witnessed the catastrophic second wave of COVID-19 during the summer months of 2021. Many patients with non-resolution of symptoms admitted to dedicated COVID-19 treatment centers required prolonged inpatient care which led to the unavailability of beds for other COVID-19 patients. The objective of this study was to determine the duration of SARS-CoV-2 positivity in moderate and severe COVID-19 patients requiring long-term pulmonary care as well as to find out the association between different variables with the persistence of the virus.

Quality control of large genome datasets.

The 1000 Genomes Project (TGP) is a foundational resource that serves the biomedical community as a standard reference cohort for human genetic variation. There are now seven public versions of these genomes. The TGP Consortium produced the first by mapping its final data release against human reference sequence GRCh37, then "lifted over" these genomes to the improved reference sequence (GRCh38) when it was released, and remapped the original data to GRCh38 with two similar pipelines.

A secure energy-efficient routing protocol for disease data transmission using IoMT.

The outlook of the World toward health infrastructure has drastically changed due to COVID-19 which created the need for the development of emerging technologies where interactions between the patients and the health workers can be minimized. Consequently, a secure and energy-efficient internet of medical things (IoMT) enabled wireless sensor network (WSN) is proposed for communicable infectious diseases that utilizes genetic algorithm. The proposed system makes use of movable sinks in IoT-enabled WSNs for healthcare called OptiGeA.

ST-AL: a hybridized search based metaheuristic computational algorithm towards optimization of high dimensional industrial datasets.

The rapid growth of data generated by several applications like engineering, biotechnology, energy, and others has become a crucial challenge in the high dimensional data mining. The large amounts of data, especially those with high dimensions, may contain many irrelevant, redundant, or noisy features, which may negatively affect the accuracy and efficiency of the industrial data mining process. Recently, several meta-heuristic optimization algorithms have been utilized to evolve feature selection techniques for dealing with the vast dimensionality problem.