Predicting Cyberbullying on social media

Cyberbullying is the use of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) by individuals tohumiliate, tease, embarrass, taunt, defame and disparage a target without any face-to-face contact.Social media is the “virtual playground” used by bullies with the upsurge of social networking sitessuch as Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, Twitter etc. It is critical to implement models and systems forautomatic detection and resolution of bullying content available online as the ramifications can lead toa societal epidemic. This research proffers a novel hybrid model for Cyberbullying detection in threedifferent modalities of social data, namely, textual, and info-graphic (text embedded along with animage). The architecture consists of a Deep Learning convolution neural network (DLCNN) forpredicting the textual bullying content. The info-graphic content is discretized by separating text fromthe image using Google Lens of Google Photos App. The processing of textual and visual componentsis carried out using the hybrid architecture and a Boolean system with a logical OR operation isaugmented to the architecture which validates and categorizes the output on the basis of text andimage bullying truth value. The model achieves a prediction accuracy of 98% which is acquired afterperforming tuning of different hyper-parameters. The simulation results show that the proposedmethod gives the better accuracy compared to the state of art approaches

Effect of Liquefaction Induced Lateral Spreading on Seismic Performance of Pile Foundations

Seismically active areas are vulnerable to liquefaction, and the influence of liquefaction on pile foundations is very severe. Study of pile-supported buildings in liquefiable soils requires consideration of soil-pile interaction and evaluation of the interaction resulting from movement of soil surrounding the pile. This paper presents the results of three-dimensional finite difference analyses conducted to understand the effect of liquefiable soils on the seismic performance of piles and pile groups embedded in stratified soil deposits using the numerical tool FLAC3D. A comparative study has been conducted on the performance of pile foundations on level ground and sloping ground. The soil model consists of a non-liquefiable, slightly cemented sand layer at the top and bottom and a liquefiable Nevada sand layer in between. This stratified ground is subjected to 1940 El Centro, 2001 Bhuj (India) earthquake ground motions, and harmonic motion of 0.3g acceleration. Parametric studies have been carried out by changing the ground slope from 0° to 10° to understand the effects of sloping ground on pile group response. The results indicate that the maximum bending moments occur at boundaries between liquefiable and non-liquefiable layers, and that the bending moment increases with an increase in slope angle. The presence of a pile cap prevents horizontal ground displacements at ground level. Further, it is also observed that the displacements of pile groups under sloping ground are in excess of those on level ground due to lateral spreading. Doi: 10.28991/CEJ-SP2021-07-05 Full Text: PD

Autologous Whole Blood Injection For COVID-19 Can Reduce Cytokine Storm and Severity of Illness

Autologous whole blood injection is used for various indications. It has an immunomodulatory action on the immune system. A randomized controlled two-arm study was conducted to determine IL-6 levels, CT changes and mortality among adult COVID-19 patients. The trial included 30 patients divided into two groups. The interventional group received 2 doses of 2.5 ml of autologous whole blood injection spaced 2 days apart. There was a statistically significant reduction in IL-6 levels on day 6 in the group receiving treatment. CT score improved in patients who received treatment. No cases of mortality were reported in the treatment group. Autologous whole blood injection can be used as a simple, low-cost adjuvant in the treatment of adult COVID-19 patients, regardless of disease severity

Circulating 25-hydroxyvitamin D status in apparently healthy adolescents and its association with body mass index in Puducherry population

Background: Several earlier studies were focused on Vitamin D status and insulin resistance in diabetes mellitus in adultpopulation. However, very few studies have been done among the healthy adolescents associating Vitamin D status with bodymass index (BMI) (anthropometric marker of central obesity). Objective: To examine the concentration of 25-hydroxyvitamin D(25[OH]D) in apparently healthy adolescent and its association with BMI in apparently healthy adolescents (12-19 years age group)of Puducherry region. Methods: About 60 apparently healthy adolescents were evaluated for anthropometric, physiological, andbiochemical (fasting insulin and glucose, lipid profile, and 25[OH]D) parameters. Correlation between Vitamin D levels and BMIwas calculated. Results: Our study demonstrated a significant low level of 25(OH)D level in overweight (BMI=25-29.9) and obeseadolescent (BMI≥30) compared to non-obese (BMI<25) group. Pearson’s correlation analysis showed strong negative associationbetween BMI and serum 25(OH)D. Conclusion: Overweight or obese adolescents are more prone to Vitamin D deficiency. Hence,major efforts should be undertaken to tackle Vitamin D deficiency in adolescents such as food fortification and micronutrientsupplementation

Aqueous areca nut extract induces oxidative stress in human lung epithelial A549 cells: Probable role of p21 in inducing cell death

Areca nut a well-known masticator used across globe. Habitual chewing of areca nut is associated with serious oral health effects. However, the role of areca nut in oxidative stress induction and cell death is less understood. Hence, in the present study we aimed to evaluate the toxic mechanism of areca nut extract on human lung epithelial A549 cells. Cells were treated with or without aqueous areca nut extract and cell viability was measured by MTT assay. Cells treated with areca nut extract show reduced viability in a dose dependent manner with the IC50 of 0.5 concentration. Areca nut extract induced the reactive oxygen species (ROS), lipid peroxidation followed by membrane damage with leakage of lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) enzyme. Cells with continuous exposure of areca nut extract depletes the free radical neutralizing anti-oxidant enzymes like superoxide dismutase (SOD), Glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) and Glutathione-S-transferase (GST). Further, the analysis of mRNA expression of apoptotic genes and cell cycle regulators show decreased expression of anti-apoptotic gene (Bcl-2), Cyclin E1, Cyclin D1, CDK4, Rb and p53 whereas induced expression of p21 and marginal increase of pro-apoptotic gene (Bax) confirms the toxic nature of areca nut. Thus, cell death due to areca nut exposure may be through different mechanism rather than the conventional apoptotic pathway, where p21 induction might be independent of p53 action, which possibly suggests that there may be a role of p21 in oxidative stress induced cell death. Further FACS analysis confirms cell death in areca nut treated cells. © 2016 Elsevier Inc

Cadmium induces oxidative stress and apoptosis in lung epithelial cells

Cadmium (Cd) is one of the well-known highly toxic environmental and industrial pollutants. Cd first accumulates in the nucleus and later interacts with zinc finger proteins of antiapoptotic genes and inhibit the binding of transcriptional factors and transcription. However, the role of Cd in oxidative stress and apoptosis is less understood. Hence, the present study was undertaken to unveil the mechanism of action. A549 cells were treated with or without Cd and cell viability was measured by MTT assay. Treatment of cells with Cd shows reduced viability in a dose-dependent manner with IC50 of 45 μM concentration. Cd significantly induces the reactive oxygen species (ROS), lipid peroxidation followed by membrane damage with the leakage of lactate dehydrogenase (LDH). Cells with continuous exposure of Cd deplete the antioxidant super oxide dismutase (SOD) and glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) enzymes. Further, analysis of the expression of genes involved in apoptosis show that both the extrinsic and intrinsic apoptotic pathways were involved. Death receptor marker tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), executor caspase-8 and pro-apoptotic gene (Bax) were induced, while antiapoptotic gene (Bcl-2) was decreased in Cd-treated cells. Fluorescence-activated cell sorting (FACS) analysis further confirms the induction of apoptosis in Cd-treated A549 cells

Blockchain-Enabled On-Path Caching for Efficient and Reliable Content Delivery in Information-Centric Networks

As the demand for online content continues to grow, traditional Content Distribution Networks (CDNs) are facing significant challenges in terms of scalability and performance. Information-Centric Networking (ICN) is a promising new approach to content delivery that aims to address these issues by placing content at the center of the network architecture. One of the key features of ICNs is on-path caching, which allows content to be cached at intermediate routers along the path from the source to the destination. On-path caching in ICNs still faces some challenges, such as the scalability of the cache and the management of cache consistency. To address these challenges, this paper proposes several alternative caching schemes that can be integrated into ICNs using blockchain technology. These schemes include Bloom filters, content-based routing, and hybrid caching, which combine the advantages of off-path and on-path cachings. The proposed blockchain-enabled on-path caching mechanism ensures the integrity and authenticity of cached content, and smart contracts automate the caching process and incentivize caching nodes. To evaluate the performance of these caching alternatives, the authors conduct experiments using real-world datasets. The results show that on-path caching can significantly reduce network congestion and improve content delivery efficiency. The Bloom filter caching scheme achieved a cache hit rate of over 90% while reducing the cache size by up to 80% compared to traditional caching. The content-based routing scheme also achieved high cache hit rates while maintaining low latency

Investigation on thermophysical properties of multi-walled carbon nanotubes enhanced salt hydrate phase change material

Thermal Energy Storage (TES) is a valuable tool for improving the energy efficiency of renewable energy conversion systems. One of the most effective methods for harnessing thermal energy from solar sources is through energy storage using phase change materials (PCMs). However, the thermal performance of PCMs is hindered by their low thermal conductivity. This research focuses on enhancing the thermal performance of salt hydrate PCM using multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) and surfactants. Through experimental investigations, a salt hydrate PCM with varying concentrations of MWCNTs (ranging from 0.1% to 0.9%) was prepared using a two-step technique and their thermophysical properties were thoroughly characterized. Various techniques such as field emission scanning electron microscope, thermal conductivity analyzer, ultraviolet-visible spectrum, thermogravimetric analyzer, and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy were utilized to study the effect of surfactant on the nanocomposites and examine their morphology, thermal conductivity, optical properties, thermal stability, and chemical stability. The results indicated that the inclusion of MWCNTs with salt hydrate significantly improved the thermal conductivity by 68.09% at a concentration of 0.7 wt %, compared to pure salt hydrate. However, this enhancement in thermal performance was accompanied by a reduction in optical transmittance in the developed nanocomposite PCM. Additionally, the formulated nanocomposite demonstrated excellent thermal and chemical stability up to temperatures as high as 468 °C. As a result, this nanocomposite shows great promise as a potential candidate for solar TES applications, offering favourable characteristics for efficient energy storage from solar sources

BOBMEX: the Bay of Bengal monsoon experiment

The first observational experiment under the Indian Climate Research Programme, called the Bay of Bengal Monsoon Experiment (BOBMEX), was carried out during July-August 1999. BOBMEX was aimed at measurements of important variables of the atmosphere, ocean, and their interface to gain deeper insight into some of the processes that govern the variability of organized convection over the bay. Simultaneous time series observations were carried out in the northern and southern Bay of Bengal from ships and moored buoys. About 80 scientists from 15 different institutions in India collaborated during BOBMEX to make observations in most-hostile conditions of the raging monsoon. In this paper, the objectives and the design of BOBMEX are described and some initial results presented. During the BOBMEX field phase there were several active spells of convection over the bay, separated by weak spells. Observation with high-resolution radiosondes, launched for the first time over the northern bay, showed that the magnitudes of the convective available potential energy (CAPE) and the convective inhibition energy were comparable to those for the atmosphere over the west Pacific warm pool. CAPE decreased by 2-3 kJ kg-1 following convection, and recovered in a time period of 1-2 days. The surface wind speed was generally higher than 8 m s-1. The thermohaline structure as well as its time evolution during the BOBMEX field phase were found to be different in the northern bay than in the southern bay. Over both the regions, the SST decreased during rain events and increased in cloud-free conditions. Over the season as a whole, the upper-layer salinity decreased for the north bay and increased for the south bay. The variation in SST during 1999 was found to be of smaller amplitude than in 1998. Further analysis of the surface fluxes and currents is expected to give insight into the nature of coupling

Protein kinases orchestrate cell cycle regulators in differentiating BeWo choriocarcinoma cells

Abstract Choriocarcinoma, a trophoblastic neoplasia, occurs in women as an incidence of abnormal pregnancy. BeWo choriocarcinoma cells derived from the abnormal placentation are a suitable model system to study the factors associated with differentiation, invasion and other cellular events as an alternative to clinical samples. Many protein kinases orchestrate the complex events of cell cycle and in case of malignancy such regulators are found to be mutated. In the present study, BeWo cells treated with forskolin (Fo) and phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate (PMA) were used to study the role of PKA (protein kinase A) and PKC (protein kinase C), respectively, on the expression pattern of differentiation-related genes, membrane markers, PKC isoforms and cell cycle regulators. The effect of Fo and PMA on the cell proliferation was assessed. Progressive induction of alkaline phosphatase level and formation of multinucleated differentiated cells were observed in the cells treated with Fo. Exposure of cells to Fo and PMA induced the mRNA transcripts of α-hCG, β-hCG and endoglin and down-regulates E-cadherin at mRNA and protein levels. Synergistic levels of both up- and down-regulated genes/proteins were observed when cells were treated with the combination of Fo and PMA. The mRNA levels of cyclin D1, cyclin E1, p21, Rb, p53, caspase-3 and caspase-8 decreased gradually during differentiation. Fo significantly inhibited the protein levels of PCNA, Rb, PKC-α and PMA stimulated mRNA expression of PKC-ε and PKC-δ. Further, failure in the activation of essential components of the cell cycle machinery caused G2/M phase arrest in differentiating BeWo cells