Three-Dimensional Flow of a Second Grade Fluid along an Infinite Horizontal Plane Wall with Periodic Suction

In this paper, three-dimensional flow of a second grade fluid along a horizontal infinite plate which is subjected to a transverse sinusoidal suction velocity distribution is studied. Due to variable suction velocity distribution the flow becomes three-dimensional and for constant suction the problem becomes two-dimensional. The free stream velocity is uniform and for small perturbation approximation, analytic technique is applied to obtain the expressions for velocity field and components of skin friction. The effect of second-grade parameter, Reynolds number and suction parameter on the velocity in the direction of main flow and on the stress components is investigated with the help of graphs. The existence of backflow is observed and it is noted that the Reynolds number and suction parameter are controlling parameters for the backflow

Respiration-Based COPD Detection Using UWB Radar Incorporation with Machine Learning

COPD is a progressive disease that may lead to death if not diagnosed and treated at an early stage. The examination of vital signs such as respiration rate is a promising approach for the detection of COPD. However, simultaneous consideration of the demographic and medical characteristics of patients is very important for better results. The objective of this research is to investigate the capability of UWB radar as a non-invasive approach to discriminate COPD patients from healthy subjects. The non-invasive approach is beneficial in pandemics such as the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, where a safe distance between people needs to be maintained. The raw data are collected in a real environment (a hospital) non-invasively from a distance of 1.5 m. Respiration data are then extracted from the collected raw data using signal processing techniques. It was observed that the respiration rate of COPD patients alone is not enough for COPD patient detection. However, incorporating additional features such as age, gender, and smoking history with the respiration rate lead to robust performance. Different machine-learning classifiers, including Naïve Bayes, support vector machine, random forest, k nearest neighbor (KNN), Adaboost, and two deep-learning models—a convolutional neural network and a long short-term memory (LSTM) network—were utilized for COPD detection. Experimental results indicate that LSTM outperforms all employed models and obtained 93% accuracy. Performance comparison with existing studies corroborates the superior performance of the proposed approach

Experimental investigation to thermal performance of different photo voltaic modules for efficient system design

Due to rapid industrialization, and depletion of fossil fuels, alternative renewable resources are mandatory, where solar thermal energy is one of the promising alternate. In this study, an experimental investigation was conducted to analyze the thermal performance of different photovoltaic-modules under varying climate conditions. These include thin plate Copper indium diselenide, mono-crystalline silicon, micro crystalline silicone, amorphous silicon and poly-crystalline silicon. The analysis was concentrated on the evaluation of module efficiency, solar irradiance absorption rate, maximum power output, performance ratio, normalized power output efficiency and temperature effect on each module at real operational outdoor conditions. Mono-crystalline silicon module showed high average efficiency of 20.8% and average performance ratio 1.21 compared to the other PV modules. It was observed that all types of modules have higher average temperature in summer season and showed low performance ratio and low module efficiency as compared to winter season. Average normalized power out of mono-crystalline silicon 56.2% more efficient than the other modules. The increased thermal performance of mono-crystalline silicon was related with its high absorption rate and high conduction rate. Thus, mono-crystalline silicon PV module is the best potential candidate for solar capturing technique to be utilize in diverse solar thermal energy applications

Molecular characterization and functional analysis of cytochrome P450-mediated detoxification CYP302A1 gene involved in host plant adaptation in Spodoptera frugieprda

The fall armyworm (FAW) Spodoptera frugiperda is a destructive and polyphagous pest of many essential food crops including maize and rice. The FAW is hard to manage, control, or eradicate, due to its polyphagous nature and voracity of feeding. Here, we report the characterization and functional analysis of the detoxification gene CYP302A1 and how S. frugieprda larvae use a detoxification mechanism to adapt host plants. Results demonstrated that CYP302A1 expression levels were much higher in midgut tissue and the older S. frugiperda larvae. Our current studies revealed the enhanced P450 activity in the midguts of S. frugiperda larvae after exposure to rice plants as compared to corn plants and an artificial diet. Furthermore, higher mortality was observed in PBO treated larvae followed by the exposure of rice plants as compared to the corn plant. The dsRNA-fed larvae showed downregulation of CYP302A1 gene in the midgut. At the same time, higher mortality, reduced larval weight and shorter developmental time was observed in the dsRNA-fed larvae followed by the exposure of rice plant as compared to the corn plant and DEPC-water treated plants as a control. These results concluded that the inducible P450 enzyme system and related genes could provide herbivores with an ecological opportunity to adapt to diverse host plants by utilizing secondary compounds present in their host plants

Lessons and implications from a mass immunization campaign in squatter settlements of Karachi, Pakistan: an experience from a cluster-randomized double-blinded vaccine trial [NCT00125047]

OBJECTIVE: To determine the safety and logistic feasibility of a mass immunization strategy outside the local immunization program in the pediatric population of urban squatter settlements in Karachi, Pakistan. METHODS: A cluster-randomized double blind preventive trial was launched in August 2003 in 60 geographic clusters covering 21,059 children ages 2 to 16 years. After consent was obtained from parents or guardians, eligible children were immunized parenterally at vaccination posts in each cluster with Vi polysaccharide or hepatitis A vaccine. Safety, logistics, and standards were monitored and documented. RESULTS: The vaccine coverage of the population was 74% and was higher in those under age 10 years. No life-threatening serious adverse events were reported. Adverse events occurred in less than 1% of all vaccine recipients and the main reactions reported were fever and local pain. The proportion of adverse events in Vi polysaccharide and hepatitis A recipients will not be known until the end of the trial when the code is broken. Throughout the vaccination campaign safe injection practices were maintained and the cold chain was not interrupted. Mass vaccination in slums had good acceptance. Because populations in such areas are highly mobile, settlement conditions could affect coverage. Systemic reactions were uncommon and local reactions were mild and transient. Close community involvement was pivotal for information dissemination and immunization coverage. CONCLUSION: This vaccine strategy described together with other information that will soon be available in the area (cost/effectiveness, vaccine delivery costs, etc) will make typhoid fever control become a reality in the near future

Early Secreted Antigen ESAT-6 of Mycobacterium tuberculosis Promotes Protective T Helper 17 Cell Responses in a Toll-Like Receptor-2-dependent Manner

Despite its relatively poor efficacy, Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) has been used as a tuberculosis (TB) vaccine since its development in 1921. BCG induces robust T helper 1 (Th1) immune responses but, for many individuals, this is not sufficient for host resistance against Mycobacterium tuberculosis (M. tb) infection. Here we provide evidence that early secreted antigenic target protein 6 (ESAT-6), expressed by the virulent M. tb strain H37Rv but not by BCG, promotes vaccine-enhancing Th17 cell responses. These activities of ESAT-6 were dependent on TLR-2/MyD88 signalling and involved IL-6 and TGF-β production by dendritic cells. Thus, animals that were previously infected with H37Rv or recombinant BCG containing the RD1 region (BCG::RD1) exhibited improved protection upon re-challenge with virulent H37Rv compared with mice previously infected with BCG or RD1-deficient H37Rv (H37RvΔRD1). However, TLR-2 knockout (TLR-2-/-) animals neither showed Th17 responses nor exhibited improved protection in response to immunization with H37Rv. Furthermore, H37Rv and BCG::RD1 infection had little effect on the expression of the anti-inflammatory microRNA-146a (miR146a) in dendritic cells (DCs), whereas BCG and H37RvΔRD1 profoundly induced its expression in DCs. Consistent with these findings, ESAT-6 had no effect on miR146a expression in uninfected DCs, but dramatically inhibited its upregulation in BCG-infected or LPS-treated DCs. Collectively, our findings indicate that, in addition to Th1 immunity induced by BCG, RD1/ESAT-6-induced Th17 immune responses are essential for optimal vaccine efficacy

Prognostic model to predict postoperative acute kidney injury in patients undergoing major gastrointestinal surgery based on a national prospective observational cohort study.

Background: Acute illness, existing co-morbidities and surgical stress response can all contribute to postoperative acute kidney injury (AKI) in patients undergoing major gastrointestinal surgery. The aim of this study was prospectively to develop a pragmatic prognostic model to stratify patients according to risk of developing AKI after major gastrointestinal surgery. Methods: This prospective multicentre cohort study included consecutive adults undergoing elective or emergency gastrointestinal resection, liver resection or stoma reversal in 2-week blocks over a continuous 3-month period. The primary outcome was the rate of AKI within 7 days of surgery. Bootstrap stability was used to select clinically plausible risk factors into the model. Internal model validation was carried out by bootstrap validation. Results: A total of 4544 patients were included across 173 centres in the UK and Ireland. The overall rate of AKI was 14·2 per cent (646 of 4544) and the 30-day mortality rate was 1·8 per cent (84 of 4544). Stage 1 AKI was significantly associated with 30-day mortality (unadjusted odds ratio 7·61, 95 per cent c.i. 4·49 to 12·90; P < 0·001), with increasing odds of death with each AKI stage. Six variables were selected for inclusion in the prognostic model: age, sex, ASA grade, preoperative estimated glomerular filtration rate, planned open surgery and preoperative use of either an angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor or an angiotensin receptor blocker. Internal validation demonstrated good model discrimination (c-statistic 0·65). Discussion: Following major gastrointestinal surgery, AKI occurred in one in seven patients. This preoperative prognostic model identified patients at high risk of postoperative AKI. Validation in an independent data set is required to ensure generalizability

The development and validation of a scoring tool to predict the operative duration of elective laparoscopic cholecystectomy

Background: The ability to accurately predict operative duration has the potential to optimise theatre efficiency and utilisation, thus reducing costs and increasing staff and patient satisfaction. With laparoscopic cholecystectomy being one of the most commonly performed procedures worldwide, a tool to predict operative duration could be extremely beneficial to healthcare organisations. Methods: Data collected from the CholeS study on patients undergoing cholecystectomy in UK and Irish hospitals between 04/2014 and 05/2014 were used to study operative duration. A multivariable binary logistic regression model was produced in order to identify significant independent predictors of long (> 90 min) operations. The resulting model was converted to a risk score, which was subsequently validated on second cohort of patients using ROC curves. Results: After exclusions, data were available for 7227 patients in the derivation (CholeS) cohort. The median operative duration was 60 min (interquartile range 45–85), with 17.7% of operations lasting longer than 90 min. Ten factors were found to be significant independent predictors of operative durations > 90 min, including ASA, age, previous surgical admissions, BMI, gallbladder wall thickness and CBD diameter. A risk score was then produced from these factors, and applied to a cohort of 2405 patients from a tertiary centre for external validation. This returned an area under the ROC curve of 0.708 (SE = 0.013, p  90 min increasing more than eightfold from 5.1 to 41.8% in the extremes of the score. Conclusion: The scoring tool produced in this study was found to be significantly predictive of long operative durations on validation in an external cohort. As such, the tool may have the potential to enable organisations to better organise theatre lists and deliver greater efficiencies in care