Does club convergence matter in health outcomes? Evidence from Indian states.

Background: Population health is vital to a nation's overall well-being and development. To achieve sustainable human development, a reduction in health inequalities and an increase in interstate convergence in health indicators is necessary. Evaluation of the convergence patterns can aid the government in monitoring the health progress across the Indian states.

Reduction of histamine, putrescine and cadaverine by the bacteria Lacticaseibacillus casei depending on selected factors in the real condition of the dairy product.

One way to effectively reduce the number of biogenic amines (BAs) in food is through enzymatic reduction using bacteria, such as lactic acid bacteria. This study focuses on the ability of the bacterial strain Lacticaseibacillus casei CCDM 198 to reduce the number of three important BAs (histamine, putrescine and cadaverine) over time, depending on different conditions (temperature and pH) in vitro and for the real dairy product - skimmed milk. The obtained results show that the studied strain significantly (P < 0.

Tensile Properties of Four Types of ABS Lattice Structures-A Comparative Study.

This article aims to compare the behaviour of four types of lattice structures named Cartesian, Rhomboid, Octagonal, and Starlit under tensile stress loading. The structures were made of Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene (ABS) material using the Fused Filament Fabrication (FFF) technique with three different specific volumes (24, 42, and 60%). Five samples of each type were produced, and a total of 60 samples were tested.

Carbonized Leather Waste with Deposited Polypyrrole Nanotubes: Conductivity and Dye Adsorption.

This paper reports the conversion of a waste to a conducting material, exploiting the ability to adsorb pollutant organic dyes. Leather waste was carbonized at 800 °C in an inert nitrogen atmosphere. The resulting biochar was used for in-situ deposition of polypyrrole nanotubes produced by the oxidative polymerization of pyrrole in the presence of methyl orange.

Propylene Metathesis over Molybdenum Silicate Microspheres with Dispersed Active Sites.

In this work, we demonstrate that amorphous and porous molybdenum silicate microspheres are highly active catalysts for heterogeneous propylene metathesis. Homogeneous molybdenum silicate microspheres and aluminum-doped molybdenum silicate microspheres were synthesized via a nonaqueous condensation of a hybrid molybdenum biphenyldicarboxylate-based precursor solution with (3-aminopropyl)triethoxysilane. The as-prepared hybrid metallosilicate products were calcined at 500 °C to obtain amorphous and porous molybdenum silicate and aluminum-doped molybdenum silicate microspheres with highly dispersed molybdate species inserted into the silicate matrix.

Comprehensive Biodegradation Analysis of Chemically Modified Poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) Materials with Different Crystal Structures.

This work presents a comprehensive analysis of the biodegradation of polyhydroxybutyrate (PHB) and chemically modified PHB with different chemical and crystal structures in a soil environment. A polymer modification reaction was performed during preparation of the chemically modified PHB films, utilizing 2,5-dimethyl-2,5-di(-butylperoxy)-hexane as a free-radical initiator and maleic anhydride. Films of neat PHB and chemically modified PHB were prepared by extrusion and thermocompression.

Physical Characterization of a Novel Carrot Juice Whey-Enriched Beverage Fermented with Milk or Water Kefir Starter Cultures.

The purpose of this work was to evaluate the selected physicochemical, rheological, and sensory properties of a new whey-enriched carrot juice beverage (carrot juice: whey ratios of 100:0; 95:5; 85:15; 75:25; 65:35) fermented with milk or water kefir starter cultures over a storage period of 21 days (at 4 ± 1 °C). In general, for all tested samples, the values of total soluble solids, pH, and density decreased with increasing storage time. In contrast, the values of ethanol, degree of fermentation, and total dissolved solids increased with the prolongation of the storage time.

Linkage between growth phenology and climate-growth responses along landscape gradients in boreal forests.

Boreal forests represent an important carbon sink and, therefore, significantly contribute to climate change mitigation. Tree-ring width series of boreal species reflect climate variation at the moment of tree-ring formation but also lagged climatic effects from dormancy preceding tree-ring formation and antecedent growing seasons. However, little is known about how the growth sensitivity to climate in specific intra-annual periods varies across the landscape.

Predicting nurses' safety compliance behaviour in a developing economy, using the theory of planned behaviour: A configurational approach.

Aim: The study's main objective was to use a fuzzy set qualitative comparative analysis to identify the configuration of recipes that predict nurses' safety compliance behaviour.

Design: A cross-sectional design.

Methods: A survey was used where questionnaires were collected from 285 nurses across four primary healthcare hospitals within the Ashanti Region, Ghana.

Magneto-responsive hyaluronan hydrogel for hyperthermia and bioprinting: Magnetic, rheological properties and biocompatibility.

Magneto-responsive soft hydrogels are used for a number of biomedical applications, e.g., magnetic hyperthermia, drug delivery, tissue engineering, and neuromodulation.

Design and Fabrication of Electrospun PLA-Based Silica-Modified Composite Nanofibers with Antibacterial Properties for Perspective Wound Treatment.

The aim of this study was to develop a novel amikacin (AMI) delivery system with prolonged release based on composite electrospun nanofibers of PLA supplemented with AMI-loaded Si nanoparticles of different morphology. The resultant materials were characterized in terms of their physical properties (scanning electron microscopy, Brunauer-Emmett-Teller analysis, thermogravimetric analysis, water contact angle). High-Performance Liquid Chromatography was used to determine the AMI content in the liquid fractions obtained from the release study.

Controlled Structuring of Hyaluronan Films by Phase Separation and Inversion.

This work explores application of phase separation phenomena for structuring of films made from hyaluronan. A time-sequenced dispensing of different solution mixtures was applied under rotation of hyaluronan-covered substrates to generate surface textures. This method is applicable in direct surface modification or cover layer deposition.

Regions of robust relative stability for PI controllers and LTI plants with unstructured multiplicative uncertainty: A second-order-based example.

This example-oriented article addresses the computation of regions of all robustly relatively stabilizing Proportional-Integral (PI) controllers under various robust stability margins for Linear Time-Invariant (LTI) plants with unstructured multiplicative uncertainty, where the plant model with multiplicative uncertainty is built on the basis of the second-order plant with three uncertain parameters. The applied graphical method, adopted from the authors' previous work, is grounded in finding the contour that is linked to the pairs of P-I coefficients marginally fulfilling the condition of robust relative stability expressed using the norm. The illustrative example in the current article emphasizes that the technique itself for plotting the boundary contour of robust relative stability needs to be combined with the precondition of the nominally stable feedback control system and with the line for which the integral parameter equals zero in order to get the final robust relative stability regions.

Ideal marker for targeted axillary dissection (IMTAD): a prospective multicentre trial.

Background: Targeted axillary dissection (TAD) is an established method for axillary staging in patients with breast cancer after neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC). TAD consists of sentinel lymph node biopsy and initially pathological lymph node excision, which must be marked by a reliable marker before NAC.

Methods: The IMTAD study is a prospective multicentre trial comparing three localisation markers for lymph node localisation (clip + iodine seed, magnetic seed, carbon suspension) facilitating subsequent surgical excision in the form of TAD.

3D Printed Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM) Capillaries for Chemiresistive Gas Sensors.

This paper discusses the possible use of 3D fused deposition modeling (FDM) to fabricate capillaries for low-cost chemiresistive gas sensors that are often used in various applications. The disadvantage of these sensors is low selectivity, but 3D printed FDM capillaries have the potential to increase their selectivity. Capillaries with 1, 2 and 3 tiers with a length of 1.

Further experimental results on modelling and algebraic control of a delayed looped heating-cooling process under uncertainties.

The aim of this research is to revise and substantially extend experimental modelling and control of a looped heating-cooling laboratory process with long input-output and internal delays under uncertainties. This research follows and extends the authors' recent results. As several significant improvements regarding robust modelling and control have been reached, the obtained results are provided with a link and comparison to the previous findings.

Tuning of Morphological and Antibacterial Properties of Poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):Peroxodisulfate by Methyl Violet.

This study demonstrates a one-step synthesis of poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) (PEDOT) in the presence of the methyl violet (MV) dye. The structural properties of PEDOT:peroxodisulfate were studied using Raman and MALDI-TOF spectroscopies. The use of the MV dye in the polymerization process resulted in a change in the typical irregular morphology of PEDOT:peroxodisulfate, leading to the formation of spherical patterns.

Effect of Crosshead Speed and Volume Ratio on Compressive Mechanical Properties of Mono- and Double-Gyroid Structures Made of Inconel 718.

The current development of additive technologies brings not only new possibilities but also new challenges. One of them is the use of regular cellular materials in various components and constructions so that they fully utilize the potential of porous structures and their advantages related to weight reduction and material-saving while maintaining the required safety and operational reliability of devices containing such components. It is therefore very important to know the properties of such materials and their behavior under different types of loads.

Latest Developments in Minimally Invasive Spinal Treatment in Slovakia and Its Comparison with an Open Approach for the Treatment of Lumbar Degenerative Diseases.

The study describes the benefits of MIS-TLIF (minimally invasive transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion) and compares them with OTLIF (open transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion). It compares blood loss, length of hospitalization stays (LOS), operation time, and return of the patient to the environment. A total of 250 adults (109 males and 141 females), mean age 59.

Integrative analysis of mRNA and miRNA expression profiles and somatic variants in oxysterol signaling in early-stage luminal breast cancer.

Oxysterols, oxidized derivatives of cholesterol, act in breast cancer (BC) as selective estrogen receptor modulators and affect cholesterol homeostasis, drug transport, nuclear and cell receptors, and other signaling proteins. Using data from three highly overlapping sets of patients (N = 162 in total) with early-stage estrogen-receptor-positive luminal BC-high-coverage targeted DNA sequencing (113 genes), mRNA sequencing, and full micro-RNA (miRNA) transcriptome microarrays-we describe complex oxysterol-related interaction (correlation) networks, with validation in public datasets (n = 538) and 11 databases. The ESR1-CH25H-INSIG1-ABCA9 axis was the most prominent, interconnected through miR-125b-5p, miR-99a-5p, miR-100-5p, miR-143-3p, miR-199b-5p, miR-376a-3p, and miR-376c-3p.

Sustainable polysaccharide and protein hydrogel-based packaging materials for food products: A review.

Sustainable food packaging is a necessary element to ensure the success of a food system, the accomplishment of which is weighed in terms of quality retention and ensured products safety. Irrespective of the raised environmental concerns regarding petroleum-based packaging materials, a sustainable analysis and a lab to land assessment should be a priority to eliminate similar fates of new material. Functionalized bio-based hydrogels are one of the smartest packaging inventions that are expected to revolutionize the food packaging industry.