Renewable Energy Systems: Development and Perspectives of a Hybrid Solar-Wind System

Considering the intermittent natural energy resources and the seasonal un-balance, a phtovoltaic-wind hybrid electrical power supply system was developed to accommodate remote locations where a conventional grid connection is inconvenient or expensive. However, the hybrid system can also be applied with grid connection and owners are allowed to sell excessive power back to the electric utility. The proposed set-up consists of a photo-voltaic solar-cell array, a mast mounted wind generator, lead-acid storage batteries, an inverter unit to convert DC to AC, electrical lighting loads, electrical heating loads, several fuse and junction boxes and associated wiring, and test instruments for measuring voltages, currents, power factors, and harmonic contamination data throughout the system. The proposed hybrid solar-wind power generating system can be extensively used to illustrate electrical concepts in hands-on laboratories and also for demonstrations in the Industrial Technology curriculum. This paper describes an analysis of local PV-wind hybrid systems for supplying electricity to a private house, farmhouse or small company with electrical power depending on the site needs. The major system components, work principle and specific working condition are presented

A CLINICAL TRIAL OF AROGYA VARDHINI VATI AND LEKHANIYA MAHAKASHAYA IN THE MANAGEMENT OF OBESITY

Obesity is a condition in which there is an excessive accumulation of fat in the body which is a risk to health. The WHO now considers obesity to be a global epidemic and public health problem. Globally an estimated 300 million adults are now obese and many are overweight. A person with a BMI of 30 or more is generally considered obese. The problem is due to calorie imbalance resulting from an excessive food intake coupled with inadequate exercise. It is associated with increased mortality by predisposing to the development of important diseases like diabetes, hypertension, atherosclerosis, heart diseases, arthritis, infertility etc and diminishes the efficacy and happiness of affected. As per Ayurveda, Acharya charaka has counted Sthoulya under the eight varieties of impediments which are designated as Ninditapurusha. As Chikitsa sutra of Sthoulya, Lekhan karma is an important therapeutic measure said by Acharya charaka. Moreover, drugs of Arogya vardhini vati and Lekhaniya mahakashaya are most effective in the management of Sthoulya. To assess the effect of Lekhan karma, 20 patients were selected for this study from the OPD and IPD of Uttarakhand Ayurved University, Gurukul Campus Hospital, Haridwar. The effect of the therapy was assessed statically based on the performa prepared

Evaluation of cell-based and surrogate SARS-CoV-2 neutralization assays

Determinants of protective immunity against SARS-CoV-2 infection require the development of well-standardized, reproducible antibody assays. This need has led to the emergence of a variety of neutralization assays. Head-to-head evaluation of different SARS-CoV-2 neutralization platforms could facilitate comparisons across studies and laboratories. Five neutralization assays were compared using forty plasma samples from convalescent individuals with mild-to-moderate COVID-19: four cell-based systems using either live recombinant SARS-CoV-2 or pseudotyped viral particles created with lentivirus (LV) or vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV) packaging and one surrogate ELISA-based test that measures inhibition of the spike protein receptor binding domain (RBD) binding its receptor, human angiotensin converting enzyme 2 (hACE2). Vero, Vero E6, HEK293T expressing hACE2, and TZM-bl cells expressing hACE2 and transmembrane serine protease 2 were tested. All cell-based assays showed 50% neutralizing dilution (ND50) geometric mean titers (GMTs) that were highly correlated (Pearson r = 0.81–0.89) and ranged within 3.4-fold. The live-virus assay and LV-pseudovirus assays with HEK293T/hACE2 cells showed very similar mean titers: 141 and 178, respectively. ND50 titers positively correlated with plasma IgG targeting SARS-CoV-2 spike and RBD (r = 0.63–0.89), but moderately correlated with nucleoprotein IgG (r = 0.46–0.73). ND80 GMTs mirrored ND50 data and showed similar correlation between assays and with IgG concentrations. The VSV-pseudovirus assay and LV-pseudovirus assay with HEK293T/hACE2 cells in low and high-throughput versions were calibrated against the WHO SARS-CoV-2 IgG standard. High concordance between the outcomes of cell-based assays with live and pseudotyped virions enables valid cross-study comparison using these platforms. 24

Impact of COVID-19 on cardiovascular testing in the United States versus the rest of the world

Objectives: This study sought to quantify and compare the decline in volumes of cardiovascular procedures between the United States and non-US institutions during the early phase of the coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted the care of many non-COVID-19 illnesses. Reductions in diagnostic cardiovascular testing around the world have led to concerns over the implications of reduced testing for cardiovascular disease (CVD) morbidity and mortality. Methods: Data were submitted to the INCAPS-COVID (International Atomic Energy Agency Non-Invasive Cardiology Protocols Study of COVID-19), a multinational registry comprising 909 institutions in 108 countries (including 155 facilities in 40 U.S. states), assessing the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on volumes of diagnostic cardiovascular procedures. Data were obtained for April 2020 and compared with volumes of baseline procedures from March 2019. We compared laboratory characteristics, practices, and procedure volumes between U.S. and non-U.S. facilities and between U.S. geographic regions and identified factors associated with volume reduction in the United States. Results: Reductions in the volumes of procedures in the United States were similar to those in non-U.S. facilities (68% vs. 63%, respectively; p = 0.237), although U.S. facilities reported greater reductions in invasive coronary angiography (69% vs. 53%, respectively; p < 0.001). Significantly more U.S. facilities reported increased use of telehealth and patient screening measures than non-U.S. facilities, such as temperature checks, symptom screenings, and COVID-19 testing. Reductions in volumes of procedures differed between U.S. regions, with larger declines observed in the Northeast (76%) and Midwest (74%) than in the South (62%) and West (44%). Prevalence of COVID-19, staff redeployments, outpatient centers, and urban centers were associated with greater reductions in volume in U.S. facilities in a multivariable analysis. Conclusions: We observed marked reductions in U.S. cardiovascular testing in the early phase of the pandemic and significant variability between U.S. regions. The association between reductions of volumes and COVID-19 prevalence in the United States highlighted the need for proactive efforts to maintain access to cardiovascular testing in areas most affected by outbreaks of COVID-19 infection

Comparison of maternal and neonatal outcomes among COVID-positive pregnant women affected in second and third waves in a dedicated COVID hospital in Amritsar

Background: With the emergence of new mutated variants of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-COV-2), we have witnessed three waves of coronavirus disease (COVID) with varying severity, complication, and outcome in Punjab. The physiological changes of pregnancy make mother more vulnerable for severe infection. Current study is aimed at comparison of maternal and neonatal outcomes of COVID-positive pregnant women in second and third waves. Materials and Methods: This was a retrospective observational single-center study conducted at a dedicated COVID hospital in Punjab, India. Records of all COVID-positive pregnant women admitted from January to June 2021 and from January to February 2022 were reviewed. The demographic details, severity of symptoms, maternal and fetal complications, outcomes, and mortality were noted. Results: There were 220 COVID-positive pregnant patients in the second wave and 65 in third wave. The majority of patients belonged to the age group of 20–34 years (57.73% in the second wave and 70.77% in the third wave). Maternal deaths and severity of disease increased with increasing age of the mother, that is, 6.7% in 35 years age group (RR = 2.058, P value = 0.1248). Also, the maternal deaths increased with increasing parity (RR = 2.00, P value = 0.2380). The majority of the study subjects were in the third trimester, with 77.73% in the second wave and 90.77% in the third wave. The majority of the patients in both the waves were asymptomatic or had mild symptoms. In the COVID second wave, 10.91% pregnant patients had moderate COVID symptoms and 8.18% had severe COVID symptoms, whereas none presented with moderate or severe symptoms in the third wave. Eighteen maternal deaths (8.18%) were seen during the COVID second wave, whereas no maternal death occurred in the third COVID wave. 100% of these deaths were because of COVID. Need of oxygen supplementation and intensive care unit admission had statistically significant association with maternal mortality. Conclusion: In the third COVID wave, the morbidity and mortality were significantly reduced. This could be a result of wide-spread vaccination, new strain of COVID, or both. In spite of this, the pregnancy complications such as pre-term birth, IUGR, and IUD were significant. Hence, pregnancies complicated by COVID should be considered as a high risk and closely monitored

Biallelic and monoallelic variants in PLXNA1 are implicated in a novel neurodevelopmental disorder with variable cerebral and eye anomalies

Purpose To investigate the effect of PLXNA1 variants on the phenotype of patients with autosomal dominant and recessive inheritance patterns and to functionally characterize the zebrafish homologs plxna1a and plxna1b during development. Methods We assembled ten patients from seven families with biallelic or de novo PLXNA1 variants. We describe genotype-phenotype correlations, investigated the variants by structural modeling, and used Morpholino knockdown experiments in zebrafish to characterize the embryonic role of plxna1a and plxna1b. Results Shared phenotypic features among patients include global developmental delay (9/10), brain anomalies (6/10), and eye anomalies (7/10). Notably, seizures were predominantly reported in patients with monoallelic variants. Structural modeling of missense variants in PLXNA1 suggests distortion in the native protein. Our zebrafish studies enforce an embryonic role of plxna1a and plxna1b in the development of the central nervous system and the eye. Conclusion We propose that different biallelic and monoallelic variants in PLXNA1 result in a novel neurodevelopmental syndrome mainly comprising developmental delay, brain, and eye anomalies. We hypothesize that biallelic variants in the extracellular Plexin-A1 domains lead to impaired dimerization or lack of receptor molecules, whereas monoallelic variants in the intracellular Plexin-A1 domains might impair downstream signaling through a dominant-negative effect

International Impact of COVID-19 on the Diagnosis of Heart Disease

Background: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has adversely affected diagnosis and treatment of noncommunicable diseases. Its effects on delivery of diagnostic care for cardiovascular disease, which remains the leading cause of death worldwide, have not been quantified. Objectives: The study sought to assess COVID-19's impact on global cardiovascular diagnostic procedural volumes and safety practices. Methods: The International Atomic Energy Agency conducted a worldwide survey assessing alterations in cardiovascular procedure volumes and safety practices resulting from COVID-19. Noninvasive and invasive cardiac testing volumes were obtained from participating sites for March and April 2020 and compared with those from March 2019. Availability of personal protective equipment and pandemic-related testing practice changes were ascertained. Results: Surveys were submitted from 909 inpatient and outpatient centers performing cardiac diagnostic procedures, in 108 countries. Procedure volumes decreased 42% from March 2019 to March 2020, and 64% from March 2019 to April 2020. Transthoracic echocardiography decreased by 59%, transesophageal echocardiography 76%, and stress tests 78%, which varied between stress modalities. Coronary angiography (invasive or computed tomography) decreased 55% (p &lt; 0.001 for each procedure). In multivariable regression, significantly greater reduction in procedures occurred for centers in countries with lower gross domestic product. Location in a low-income and lower–middle-income country was associated with an additional 22% reduction in cardiac procedures and less availability of personal protective equipment and telehealth. Conclusions: COVID-19 was associated with a significant and abrupt reduction in cardiovascular diagnostic testing across the globe, especially affecting the world's economically challenged. Further study of cardiovascular outcomes and COVID-19–related changes in care delivery is warranted