Category: Nevin Manimala

Environ Sci Pollut Res Int. 2023 May 4. doi: 10.1007/s11356-023-27248-y. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

Spontaneous combustion of coal leading to mine fire is a major problem in most of the coal mining countries in the world. It causes major loss to the Indian economy. The liability of coal to spontaneous combustion varies from place to place and mainly depends on the coal intrinsic properties and other geo-mining factors. Hence, the prediction of spontaneous combustion susceptibility of coal is of utmost importance for preventing the risk of fire in coal mines and utility sectors. Machine learning tools are pivotal in system improvements in relation to the statistical analysis of experimental results. Wet oxidation potential (WOP) of coal determined in the laboratory is one of the most relied indices used for assessing the spontaneous combustion susceptibility of coal. In this study, multiple linear regression (MLR) and five different machine learning (ML) techniques, such as Support Vector Regression (SVR), Artificial Neural Network (ANN), Random Forest (RF), Gradient Boosting (GB) and Extreme Gradient Boost (XGB) algorithms, were used to predict the spontaneous combustion susceptibility (WOP) of coal seams based on the coal intrinsic properties. The results derived from the models were compared with the experimental data. The results indicated excellent prediction accuracy and ease of interpretation of tree-based ensemble algorithms, like Random Forest, Gradient Boosting and Extreme Gradient Boosting. The MLR exhibited the least while XGB demonstrated the highest predictive performance. The developed XGB achieved R² of 0.9879, RMSE of 4.364 and VAF of 84.28%. In addition, the results of sensitivity analysis showed that the volatile matter is most sensitive to the changes in WOP of coal samples considered in the study. Thus, during spontaneous combustion modelling and simulation, volatile matter can be used as the most influential parameter for assessing the fire risk of the coal samples considered in the study. Further, the partial dependence analysis was done to interpret the complex relationships between the WOP and intrinsic properties of coal.

PMID:37140867 | DOI:10.1007/s11356-023-27248-y

Neurol Sci. 2023 May 4. doi: 10.1007/s10072-023-06831-8. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Parkinson’s disease (PD) is one of the common causes of disability in the elderly. This study aims to estimate the prevalence of hallucinations in Parkinson’s patients in the world.

METHODS: A systematic review of PubMed/Medline, ISI Web of Knowledge, and Google Scholar was conducted from 2017 to 2022. This study investigated the prevalence of hallucinations in Parkinson’s patients. Point prevalence was analyzed with a 95% confidence interval. The variances of each study were calculated using the binomial distribution formula The researcher used Cochrane Q-test with a significance level of less than 0.1 to check the heterogeneity between studies and the change index assigned to heterogeneity I₂. Due to the heterogeneity between the studies, the random effects model was used to combine the results of the studies. All statistical analyses were performed by STATA version 14 software using meta-analysis commands.

RESULTS: Reports indicated that the prevalence of hallucinations in Parkinson’s patients in 32 studies was 28% (0.22-0.34 = 95%CI). The highest prevalence was 34% and 95% CI = 0.07- 0.61 in developing countries and 27% with CI = 0.33-0.21 in developed countries. Reports showed the prevalence in men was 30% (CI = 0.22-0.38) and in women 23% (95% CI = 0.14-0.31).

CONCLUSIONS: Considering the relatively high prevalence of hallucinations in these patients, checking up for the presence of hallucinations on every visit of Parkinson’s patients is recommended, and providing appropriate treatment for that is necessary.

PMID:37140832 | DOI:10.1007/s10072-023-06831-8

Eur Phys J E Soft Matter. 2023 May 4;46(5):31. doi: 10.1140/epje/s10189-023-00286-7.

ABSTRACT

Inference problems for two-dimensional snapshots of rotating turbulent flows are studied. We perform a systematic quantitative benchmark of point-wise and statistical reconstruction capabilities of the linear Extended Proper Orthogonal Decomposition (EPOD) method, a nonlinear Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) and a Generative Adversarial Network (GAN). We attack the important task of inferring one velocity component out of the measurement of a second one, and two cases are studied: (I) both components lay in the plane orthogonal to the rotation axis and (II) one of the two is parallel to the rotation axis. We show that EPOD method works well only for the former case where both components are strongly correlated, while CNN and GAN always outperform EPOD both concerning point-wise and statistical reconstructions. For case (II), when the input and output data are weakly correlated, all methods fail to reconstruct faithfully the point-wise information. In this case, only GAN is able to reconstruct the field in a statistical sense. The analysis is performed using both standard validation tools based on [Formula: see text] spatial distance between the prediction and the ground truth and more sophisticated multi-scale analysis using wavelet decomposition. Statistical validation is based on standard Jensen-Shannon divergence between the probability density functions, spectral properties and multi-scale flatness.

PMID:37140827 | DOI:10.1140/epje/s10189-023-00286-7

Jpn J Radiol. 2023 May 4. doi: 10.1007/s11604-023-01436-9. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

PURPOSE: The present study aimed to determine whether the water content change in the medullary cavity of occult rib fractures by spectral computed tomography (CT).

METHODS: The material decomposition (MD) images were reconstructed using the water-hydroxyapatite basis material pairs from spectral CT. The water contents of the medullary cavity in subtle or occult rib fractures and the symmetrical sites of the contralateral ribs were measured, and their difference was calculated. The absolute value of the water content difference was compared to patients without trauma. An independent samples t-test was adopted to compare the consistency of the water content in the medullary cavity of the normal ribs. Intergroup and pairwise comparisons were applied to the difference in water content among the subtle/occult fractures and normal ribs, followed by receiver operating characteristic curve calculations. p < 0.05 was considered to have a statistically significant difference.

RESULTS: A total of 100 subtle fractures, 47 occult fractures, and 96 pairs of normal ribs were included in this study. The water content of the medullary cavity in the subtle and occult fractures was both higher than that in their symmetrical sites with the difference value of 31.06 ± 15.03 mg/cm³ and 27.83 ± 11.40 mg/cm³, respectively. These difference values between the subtle and occult fractures were not statistically significant (p = 0.497). For the normal ribs, the bilateral water contents were not statistically different (p > 0.05) with a difference value of 8.05 ± 6.13 mg/cm³. The increased water content of fractured ribs was higher than that of normal ribs (p < 0.001). According to the classification based on whether the ribs were fractured, the area under the curve was 0.94.

CONCLUSIONS: The water content measured on MD images in spectral CT in the medullary cavity increased as a response to subtle/occult rib fractures.

PMID:37140822 | DOI:10.1007/s11604-023-01436-9

Virus Genes. 2023 May 4. doi: 10.1007/s11262-023-01995-z. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

Although comprehensive vaccination is the cornerstone of public health programs to control hepatitis B virus (HBV) infections, 5% of people who receive the existing vaccine do not develop proper immunity against HBV. To overcome this challenge, researchers have tried using various protein fragments encoded by the virus genome to achieve better immunization rates. An important antigenic component of HBsAg called the preS2/S or M protein has also received much attention in this area. The gene sequences of preS2/S and Core18-27 peptide were extracted from the GenBank (NCBI). Final gene synthesis was conducted with pET28. Groups of BALB/c mice were immunized with 10 μg/ml of recombinant proteins and 1 μg/ml CPG7909 adjuvant. Serum levels of IF-γ, TNF-α, IL-2, IL-4, and IL-10 were measured by ELISA assay method on spleen cell cultures on day 45, and IgG1, IgG2a, and total IgG titers obtained from mice serum were quantified on days 14 and 45. Statistical analysis did not show any significant difference between the groups regarding IF-γ level. There were, however, significant differences in terms of IL-2 and IL-4 levels between the groups receiving preS2/S-C18-27 with and without adjuvant and the groups receiving both preS2/S and preS2/S-C18-27 (Plus Recomb-Plus Recomb: the group of mice that received both preS2/S and preS2/S-C18-27 simultaneously). The strongest total antibody production was induced by immunization with both recombinant proteins without CPG adjuvant. The groups that received both preS2/S and preS2/S-C18-27, whether with or without adjuvant, were significantly different from those that received the conventional vaccine considering most abundant interleukins. This difference suggested that higher levels of efficacy can be achieved by the use of multiple virus antigen fragments rather than using a single fragment.

PMID:37140777 | DOI:10.1007/s11262-023-01995-z

Ir J Med Sci. 2023 May 4. doi: 10.1007/s11845-023-03373-y. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Topical insulin can promote and accelerate corneal regeneration, even in eyes with serious comorbidities, and offers several benefits over other treatment options.

AIMS: The aim of this study is to evaluate the effect of topical insulin in treatment of recurrent epithelial corneal erosion.

METHODS: Patients with recurrent epithelial erosions were included in a prospective non-randomized hospital-based study, divided into two groups, one of them received persistent epithelial defects (PEDs) conventional treatment and the other received the same treatment with insulin eye drops 4 times/day. All patients were examined carefully by slit lamp. Patients during the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th weeks as well as after 2 months. Demographics, etiology, therapy, comorbidities, and the healing time of PED were performed.

RESULTS: Area shows significant improvement after 2 weeks (p = 0.006), 2 months (p = 0.046), and 3 months (p = 0.002) in group II (cornetears gel and topical insulin) as compared to group I (cornetears gel). The recurrence was statistically significant decreased with cornetears gel and topical insulin (group II) by 0.0%, as compared to cornetears gel (group I) by 3 patients (21.4%).

CONCLUSION: Topical insulin can promote corneal reepithelization in recurrent epithelial erosion and decreases recurrence in these cases. Other advantages include excellent tolerance, availability, and cost-effectiveness.

PMID:37140764 | DOI:10.1007/s11845-023-03373-y

Bull Environ Contam Toxicol. 2023 May 4;110(5):89. doi: 10.1007/s00128-023-03729-1.

ABSTRACT

In the present study, livers, kidneys and adipose tissue of Yellow-legged Gull (Larus michahellis) were collected. Samples were used to determine relationships between heavy metals/metalloids in liver and kidneys (Hg, Cd, Pb, Se and As) or persistent organic pollutants in adipose tissue (7 PCBs and 11 organochlorine pesticides) with biomarkers of oxidative stress (CAT, GPx, GR, GSH, GST, MDA) analysed in both internal organs. Three possible influencing variables have been studied: age, sex and sampling area. As a result, statistically significant differences (P < 0.05, P < 0.01) were only found according to the sampling area, with differences among the three studied areas found in both organs. Significant positive correlations (P < 0.01) were found in liver (Hg vs. GST; Se vs. MDA) and in kidney (As vs. GR; As vs. GPx; PCB52 vs. CAT; PCB138 vs. CAT). The scarcity in correlations suggests that the levels of pollutants found in animals were not high enough to trigger an effect at the oxidative level.

PMID:37140760 | DOI:10.1007/s00128-023-03729-1

Hernia. 2023 May 4. doi: 10.1007/s10029-023-02801-3. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

PURPOSE: This study aims to characterize the patterns of recurrence associated with specific types of primary inguinal hernia repair techniques used for and their respective correlations with early morbidity, in patients undergoing open repair for their first hernia recurrence.

METHODS: After ethics approval was obtained, a retrospective review of charts from patients who underwent open surgery for repair of a first recurrence after a previous inguinal hernia repair during 2013-2017 was completed. Statistical analyses were performed and p-values < .05 are reported as statistically significant.

RESULTS: 1393 patients underwent 1453 surgeries for recurrent inguinal hernias at this institution. Operations for recurrence were longer (61.9 ± 21.1 vs. 49.3 ± 11.9; p < .001), required more frequent intra-operative surgical consultation (1% vs. 0.2%; p < .001) and had a higher incidence of surgical-site infections (0.8% vs. 0.4%; p = .03) than primary inguinal hernia repairs. When comparing the patterns of recurrence among different techniques of primary repairs, patients undergoing laparoscopic hernia repair presented with a higher incidence of indirect recurrences. Reoperations after a Shouldice repair and open mesh repair represented markers for higher surgical difficulty in the recurrent operation (longer operative time, higher identification of heavy scarring, less nerve identification, and higher frequency of intra-operative consultation), but not higher rates of complications when compared with other techniques.

CONCLUSIONS: Open reoperations for inguinal hernia first recurrences are more complex, with noticeable differences according to the index operation, and associated with higher morbidity when compared with primary hernia repairs. This complexity varies according to the type of primary surgery, with a previous Shouldice repair and open hernia repair with mesh presenting higher surgical difficulties although this did not translate to higher incidence of early complications. This information may allow adequate allocation of surgeons with an expertise in recurrent hernias and choice of recurrent repair method (laparoscopic or open) based on the primary surgery.

PMID:37140758 | DOI:10.1007/s10029-023-02801-3

J Plant Res. 2023 May 4. doi: 10.1007/s10265-023-01465-5. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

The present study was conducted to understand the key ecological and biological questions of conservation importance in Drepanostachyum falcatum which aimed to map potential distribution in the western Himalayas and decipher spatial genetic structure. Eco-distribution maps were generated through ecological niche modelling using the Maximum Entropy (MaxEnt) algorithm implemented with 228 geocoordinates of species presence and 12 bioclimatic variables. Concomitantly, 26 natural populations in the western Himalayas were genetically analysed using ten genomic sequence-tagged microsatellite (STMS) markers. Model-derived distribution was adequately supported with appropriate statistical measures, such as area under the ‘receiver operating characteristics (ROC)’ curve (AUC; 0.917 ± 0.034)”, Kappa (K; 0.418), normalized mutual information (NMI; 0.673) and true skill statistic (TSS; 0.715). Further, Jackknife test and response curves showed that the precipitation (pre- and post-monsoon) and temperature (average throughout the year and pre-monsoon) maximize the probabilistic distribution of D. falcatum. We recorded a wide and abundant (4096.86 km²) distribution of D. falcatum in the western Himalayas with maximum occurrence at 1500 to 2500 m asl. Furthermore, marker analysis exemplified high gene diversity with low genetic differentiation in D. falcatum. Relatively, the populations of Uttarakhand are more genetically diverse than Himachal Pradesh, whereas within the Uttarakhand, the Garhwal region captured a higher allelic diversity than Kumaon. Clustering and structure analysis indicated two major gene pools, where genetic admixing appeared to be controlled by long-distance gene flow, horizontal geographical distance, aspect, and precipitation. Both the species distribution map and population genetic structure derived herein may serve as valuable resources for conservation and management of Himalayan hill bamboos.

PMID:37140755 | DOI:10.1007/s10265-023-01465-5

Langenbecks Arch Surg. 2023 May 4;408(1):175. doi: 10.1007/s00423-023-02898-1.

ABSTRACT

PURPOSE: Laparoscopic ileal pouch-anal anastomosis (IPAA) surgery offers improved short-term outcomes over open surgery but can be technically challenging. Robotic surgery has been increasingly used for IPAA surgery, but there is limited evidence supporting its use. This study aims to compare the short-term outcomes of laparoscopic and robotic IPAA procedures.

METHODS: All consecutive patients receiving laparoscopic and robotic IPAA surgery at 3 centres, from 3 countries, between 2008 and 2019 were identified from prospectively collated databases. Robotic surgery patients were propensity score matched with laparoscopic patients for gender, previous abdominal surgery, ASA grade (I, II vs III, IV) and procedure performed (proctocolectomy vs completion proctectomy). Their short-term outcomes were examined.

RESULTS: A total of 89 patients were identified (73 laparoscopic, 16 robotic). The 16 patients that received robotic surgery were matched with 15 laparoscopic patients. Baseline characteristics were similar between the two groups. There were no statistically significant differences in any of the investigated short-term outcomes. Length of stay trend was higher for laparoscopic surgery (9 vs 7 days, p = 0.072) CONCLUSION: Robotic IPAA surgery is safe and feasible and offers similar short-term outcomes to laparoscopic surgery. Length of stay may be lower for robotic IPAA surgery, but further larger scale studies are required in order to demonstrate this.

PMID:37140753 | DOI:10.1007/s00423-023-02898-1