Evaluation of bio-rational insecticides to control Helicoverpa armigera (Hübner) and Spodoptera exigua (Hübner) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) fed on Vicia faba L.

Two botanical pesticides, Neem Azal-T/S (NA) and Quassia amara, one biopesticide, Bacillus thuringiensis subsp. aizawai (Bta) and one combination of Bta + NA were tested against 2nd and 4th instar larvae of the noctuids Helicoverpa armigera (Hübner) and Spodoptera exigua (Hübner) on field beans under both laboratory and greenhouse conditions. The maximum mortality of 58 and 27 % was obtained in Bta + NA treatments in case of 2nd and 4th instar larvae of H. armigera under laboratory conditions followed by Bta (50 and 14 %) and NA (34 and 7 %) alone treatments. Under greenhouse conditions a mortality of 69 and 26 % was observed in case of Bta + NA treatments in 2nd and 4th instar larvae of H. armigera followed by Bta (67 and 20 %) and NA (56 and 10 %) alone. The mortality of H. armigera larvae was higher under greenhouse conditions. There was a significant difference in the mortality between 2nd and 4th instar larvae both under laboratory and greenhouse conditions. The mortality of H. armigera was higher in 2nd instar than in the 4th instar larvae in all treatments. Similar results were obtained in case of S. exigua both under laboratory and greenhouse conditions. The results indicate that Bta and NA have the potential to the control of H. armigera and S. exigua either independently or in combination, when used at the right stage of the field populations. The uassia-extracts tested did not show a high efficacy against larvae of H. armigera and S. exigua

Video Inter-frame Forgery Detection Approach for Surveillance and Mobile Recorded Videos

We are living in an age where use of multimedia technologies like digital recorders and mobile phones is increasing rapidly. On the other hand, digital content manipulating softwares are also increasing making it easy for an individual to doctor the recorded content with trivial consumption of time and wealth. Digital multimedia forensics is gaining utmost importance to restrict unethical use of such easily available tampering techniques. These days, it is common for people to record videos using their smart phones. We have also witnessed a sudden growth in the use of surveillance cameras, which we see inhabiting almost every public location. Videos recorded using these devices usually contains crucial evidence of some event occurence and thereby most susceptible to inter-frame forgery which can be easily performed by insertion/removal/replication of frame(s). The proposed forensic technique enabled detection of inter-frame forgery in H.264 and MPEG-2 encoded videos especially mobile recorded and surveillance videos. This novel method introduced objectivity for automatic detection and localization of tampering by utilizing prediction residual gradient and optical flow gradient. Experimental results showed that this technique can detect tampering with 90% true positive rate, regardless of the video codec and recording device utilized and number of frames tampered

Management of red pumpkin beetle, Aulacophora foveicollis (Lucas) with traditional method of dusting with dung ash in cucurbits

208-214Efficacy of dung ash was evaluated against red pumpkin beetle in cucumber, musk melon and bottle gourd crops during 2018 and 2019 at Entomological Research Farm, Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana. After germination, dung ash was dusted on plants 1, 2, 3 and 4 times at weekly interval. Significant decline in adult population in all the treatments was observed as compared to control. Lowest mean adult population was observed in plots which were dusted with ash three to four times at weekly interval and higher percentage reduction compared to control in these treatments was observed. In all the three crops, highest mortality of plants was observed in control during both the years. With three dung ash applications given at weekly interval, an additional yield of 84.33, 98.85 and 254.40 q/ha was obtained in cucumber, musk melon and bottle gourd, respectively. The net return over control with dung ash treatments was also found better in all the three crops. Based on this study, it is concluded that red pumpkin beetle can be managed effectively with dusting of dung ash on the plants 3-4 times at weekly interval. This management technique has the prospective to be utilised as an alternate to harmful chemical insecticides in IPM programmes

Beneficial Remedies of Ayurvedic Medicines Against Allopathic Drugs In Peptic Ulcer

Ayurveda has long been regarded as the most dependable and secure medical system. The effectiveness of Ayurvedic Remedies becomes evident after a certain period of time. These remedies operate by enhancing the immune response or eliciting antagonistic reactions. Ayurvedic treatments utilize substances derived from plants, marine sources, and minerals. These remedies tend to have minimal to no observed side effects due to their natural origin. Here, we compared the Allopathic therapies with Ayurvedic remedies for Peptic Ulcer disease

Intelligent Energy Management across Smart Grids Deploying 6G IoT, AI, and Blockchain in Sustainable Smart Cities

© 2024 The Author(s). Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY), https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/In response to the growing need for enhanced energy management in smart grids in sustainable smart cities, this study addresses the critical need for grid stability and efficient integration of renewable energy sources, utilizing advanced technologies like 6G IoT, AI, and blockchain. By deploying a suite of machine learning models like decision trees, XGBoost, support vector machines, and optimally tuned artificial neural networks, grid load fluctuations are predicted, especially during peak demand periods, to prevent overloads and ensure consistent power delivery. Additionally, long short-term memory recurrent neural networks analyze weather data to forecast solar energy production accurately, enabling better energy consumption planning. For microgrid management within individual buildings or clusters, deep Q reinforcement learning dynamically manages and optimizes photovoltaic energy usage, enhancing overall efficiency. The integration of a sophisticated visualization dashboard provides real-time updates and facilitates strategic planning by making complex data accessible. Lastly, the use of blockchain technology in verifying energy consumption readings and transactions promotes transparency and trust, which is crucial for the broader adoption of renewable resources. The combined approach not only stabilizes grid operations but also fosters the reliability and sustainability of energy systems, supporting a more robust adoption of renewable energies.Peer reviewe

Risk and Clinical Risk Factors associated With Late Lower Cranial Neuropathy in Long-Term oropharyngeal Squamous Cell Carcinoma Survivors

IMPORTANCE: Lower cranial neuropathy (LCNP) is a rare, but permanent, late effect of radiotherapy and other cancer therapies. Lower cranial neuropathy is associated with excess cancer-related symptoms and worse swallowing-related quality of life. Few studies have investigated risk and clinical factors associated with late LCNP among patients with long-term survival of oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma (OPSCC survivors). OBJECTIVE: to estimate the cumulative incidence of and identify clinical factors associated with late LCNP among long-term OPSCC survivors. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: This single-institution cohort study included disease-free adult OPSCC survivors who completed curative treatment from January 1, 2000, to December 31, 2013. Exclusion criteria consisted of baseline LCNP, recurrent head and neck cancer, treatment at other institutions, death, and a second primary, persistent, or recurrent malignant neoplasm of the head and neck less than 3 months after treatment. Median survival of OPSCC among the 2021 eligible patients was 6.8 (range, 0.3-18.4) years. Data were analyzed from October 12, 2019, to November 13, 2020. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES: Late LCNP events were defined by neuropathy of the glossopharyngeal, vagus, and/or hypoglossal cranial nerves at least 3 months after cancer therapy. Cumulative incidence of LCNP was estimated using the Kaplan-Meier method, and multivariable Cox proportional hazards models were fit. RESULTS: Among the 2021 OPSCC survivors included in the analysis of this cohort study (1740 [86.1%] male; median age, 56 [range, 28-86] years), 88 (4.4%) were diagnosed with late LCNP, with median time to LCNP of 5.4 (range, 0.3-14.1) years after treatment. Cumulative incidence of LCNP was 0.024 (95% CI, 0.017-0.032) at 5 years, 0.061 (95% CI, 0.048-0.078) at 10 years, and 0.098 (95% CI, 0.075-0.128) at 15 years of follow-up. Multivariable Cox proportional hazards regression identified T4 vs T1 classification (hazard ratio [HR], 3.82; 95% CI, 1.85-7.86) and accelerated vs standard radiotherapy fractionation (HR, 2.15; 95% CI, 1.34-3.45) as independently associated with late LCNP status, after adjustment. Among the subgroup of 1986 patients with nonsurgical treatment, induction chemotherapy regimens including combined docetaxel, cisplatin, and fluorouracil (TPF) (HR, 2.51; 95% CI, 1.35-4.67) and TPF with cetuximab (HR, 5.80; 95% CI, 1.74-19.35) along with T classification and accelerated radiotherapy fractionation were associated with late LCNP status after adjustment. CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE: This single-institution cohort study found that, although rare in the population overall, cumulative risk of late LCNP progressed to 10% during the survivors\u27 lifetime. As expected, clinical factors associated with LCNP primarily reflected greater tumor burden and treatment intensity. Further efforts are necessary to investigate risk-reduction strategies as well as surveillance and management strategies for this disabling late effect of cancer treatment

Type 1 diabetes, COVID-19 vaccines and short-term safety: Subgroup analysis from the global COVAD study

AIMS/INTRODUCTION Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccinations have been proven to be generally safe in healthy populations. However, the data on vaccine safety in patients with type 1 diabetes are scarce. This study aimed to evaluate the frequency and severity of short-term (<7-day) adverse vaccination events (AEs) and their risk factors among type 1 diabetes patients. MATERIALS AND METHODS This study analyzed data from the COVID-19 vaccination in Autoimmune Diseases (COVAD) survey database (May to December 2021; 110 collaborators, 94 countries), comparing <7-day COVID-19 vaccine AE among type 1 diabetes patients and healthy controls (HCs). Descriptive statistics; propensity score matching (1:4) using the variables age, sex and ethnicity; and multivariate analyses were carried out. RESULTS This study analyzed 5,480 completed survey responses. Of all responses, 5,408 were HCs, 72 were type 1 diabetes patients (43 females, 48.0% white European ancestry) and Pfizer was the most administered vaccine (39%). A total of 4,052 (73.9%) respondents had received two vaccine doses. Patients with type 1 diabetes had a comparable risk of injection site pain, minor and major vaccine AEs, as well as associated hospitalizations to HCs. However, type 1 diabetes patients had a higher risk of severe rashes (3% vs 0.4%, OR 8.0, 95% confidence interval 1.7-36), P = 0.007), although reassuringly, these were rare (n = 2 among type 1 diabetes patients). CONCLUSIONS COVID-19 vaccination was safe and well tolerated in patients with type 1 diabetes with similar AE profiles compared with HCs, although severe rashes were more common in type 1 diabetes patients

COVID-19 breakthrough infections in type 1 diabetes mellitus: a cross-sectional study by the COVID-19 Vaccination in Autoimmune Diseases (COVAD) Group

To investigate the frequency, profile, and severity of COVID-19 breakthrough infections (BI) in patients with type I diabetes mellitus (T1DM) compared to healthy controls (HC) after vaccination. The second COVID-19 Vaccination in Autoimmune Diseases (COVAD-2) survey is a multinational cross-sectional electronic survey which has collected data on patients suffering from various autoimmune diseases including T1DM. We performed a subgroup analysis on this cohort to investigate COVID-19 BI characteristics in patients with T1DM. Logistic regression with propensity score matching analysis was performed. A total of 9595 individuals were included in the analysis, with 100 patients having T1DM. Among the fully vaccinated cohort, 16 (16%) T1DM patients had one BI and 2 (2%) had two BIs. No morbidities or deaths were reported, except for one patient who required hospitalization with oxygen without admission to intensive care. The frequency, clinical features, and severity of BIs were not significantly different between T1DM patients and HCs after adjustment for confounding factors. Our study did not show any statistically significant differences in the frequency, symptoms, duration, or critical care requirements between T1DM and HCs after COVID-19 vaccination. Further research is needed to identify factors associated with inadequate vaccine response in patients with BIs, especially in patients with autoimmune diseases

COVID-19 Vaccination In Autoimmune Diseases (COVAD) Study : Vaccine Safety In Idiopathic Inflammatory Myopathies

In this study we investigated COVID-19 vaccination-related adverse events (ADEs) 7 days postvaccination in patients with idiopathic inflammatory myopathies (IIMs) and other systemic autoimmune and inflammatory disorders (SAIDs). Seven-day vaccine ADEs were collected in an international patient self-reported e-survey. Descriptive statistics were obtained and multivariable regression was performed. Ten thousand nine hundred respondents were analyzed (1227 IIM cases, 4640 SAID cases, and 5033 healthy controls [HCs]; median age, 42 [interquartile range, 30-455] years; 74% female; 45% Caucasian; 69% completely vaccinated). Major ADEs were reported by 76.3% of the IIM patients and 4.6% reported major ADEs. Patients with active IIMs reported more frequent major (odds ratio [OR], 2.7; interquartile range [IQR], 1.04-7.3) and minor (OR, 1.5; IQR, 1.1-2.2) ADEs than patients with inactive IIMs. Rashes were more frequent in IIMs (OR, 2.3; IQR, 1.2-4.2) than HCs. ADEs were not impacted by steroid dose, although hydroxychloroquine and intravenous/subcutaneous immunoglobulins were associated with a higher risk of minor ADEs (OR, 1.9; IQR, 1.1-3.3; and OR, 2.2; IQR, 1.1-4.3, respectively). Overall, ADEs were less frequent in inclusion-body myositis (IBM) and BNT162b2 (Pfizer) vaccine recipients. Seven-day postvaccination ADEs were comparable in patients with IIMs, SAIDs, and HCs, except for a higher risk of rash in IIMs. Patients with dermatomyositis with active disease may be at higher risk, and IBM patients may be at lower risk of specific ADEs. Overall, the benefit of preventing severe COVID-19 through vaccination likely outweighs the risk of vaccine-related ADEs. Our results may inform future guidelines regarding COVID-19 vaccination in patients with SAIDs, specifically in those with IIMs. Studies to evaluate long-term outcomes and disease flares are needed to shed more light on developing future COVID-19 vaccination guidelines