Neutrosophic ωα - Closed Sets in Neutrosophic Topological Spaces

Aim of this present paper is, we introduce and investigate a new class of closed sets is called Neutrosophic ωα-closed sets in Neutrosophic topological spaces and its properties and characterization are discussed details

Open Issues, Research Challenges, and Survey on Education Sector in India and Exploring Machine Learning Algorithm to Mitigate These Challenges

The nation's core sector is education. But dealing with problems in educational institutions, particularly in higher education, is a challenging task. The growth of education and technology has led to a number of research challenges that have attracted significant attention as well as a notable increase in the amount of data available in academic databases. Higher education institutions today are worried about outcome-based education and various techniques to assess a student's knowledge level or capacity for learning. In general, there are more contributors in the academic field than there are authors. Research is being done in this field to determine the best algorithm and features that are crucial for predicting the future outcomes. This survey can help educational institutions assess themselves and find any gaps that need to be filled in order to fulfil their purpose and vision. Machine Learning (ML) approaches have been explored to solve the issues as higher education systems have grown in size

Application of Genetic Algorithm Technique for Machining Parameters Optimization in Drilling of Stainless Steel

Abstract This work is aimed at developing relations between the pertinent variables that affect drilling process of stainless steel using artificial neural network. The experiments were conducted on vertical CNC machining centre. The parameters used were spindle speed and feed rate. The effect of machining parameters on entry burr height, exit burr height and surface roughness was experimentally evaluated for different spindle speeds and feed rates. A model was established between the drilling parameters and experimentally obtained data using ANN. The predicted values and measured values are fairly close, which indicates that the developed model can be effectively used to predict the burr height and surface roughness in drilling of stainless steel. Genetic algorithm (GA) technique was used in this work to identify the optimized drilling parameters. Confirmation test was conducted with the optimized parameters and it was found that confirmation test results were similar to that of GA-predicted output values

A window into fungal endophytism in Salicornia europaea: deciphering fungal characteristics as plant growth promoting agents

Aim Plant-endophytic associations exist only when equilibrium is maintained between both partners. This study analyses the properties of endophytic fungi inhabiting a halophyte growing in high soil salinity and tests whether these fungi are beneficial or detrimental when non-host plants are inoculated. Method Fungi were isolated from Salicornia europaea collected from two sites differing in salinization history (anthropogenic and naturally saline) and analyzed for plant growth promoting abilities and non-host plant interactions. Results Most isolated fungi belonged to Ascomycota (96%) including dematiaceous fungi and commonly known plant pathogens and saprobes. The strains were metabolically active for siderophores, polyamines and indole-3-acetic acid (mainly Aureobasidium sp.) with very low activity for phosphatases. Many showed proteolytic, lipolytic, chitinolytic, cellulolytic and amylolytic activities but low pectolytic activity. Different activities between similar fungal species found in both sites were particularly seen for Epiccocum sp., Arthrinium sp. and Trichoderma sp. Inoculating the non-host Lolium perenne with selected fungi increased plant growth, mainly in the symbiont (Epichloë)-free variety. Arthrinium gamsii CR1-9 and Stereum gausapatum ISK3-11 were most effective for plant growth promotion. Conclusions This research suggests that host lifestyle and soil characteristics have a strong effect on endophytic fungi, and environmental stress could disturb the plant-fungi relations. In favourable conditions, these fungi may be effective in facilitating crop production in non-cultivable saline lands

Randomized Clinical Trial of High-Dose Rifampicin With or Without Levofloxacin Versus Standard of Care for Pediatric Tuberculous Meningitis: The TBM-KIDS Trial

Background. Pediatric tuberculous meningitis (TBM) commonly causes death or disability. In adults, high-dose rifampicin may reduce mortality. The role of fluoroquinolones remains unclear. There have been no antimicrobial treatment trials for pediatric TBM. Methods. TBM-KIDS was a phase 2 open-label randomized trial among children with TBM in India and Malawi. Participants received isoniazid and pyrazinamide plus: (i) high-dose rifampicin (30 mg/kg) and ethambutol (R30HZE, arm 1); (ii) high-dose rifampicin and levofloxacin (R30HZL, arm 2); or (iii) standard-dose rifampicin and ethambutol (R15HZE, arm 3) for 8 weeks, followed by 10 months of standard treatment. Functional and neurocognitive outcomes were measured longitudinally using Modified Rankin Scale (MRS) and Mullen Scales of Early Learning (MSEL). Results. Of 2487 children prescreened, 79 were screened and 37 enrolled. Median age was 72 months; 49%, 43%, and 8% had stage I, II, and III disease, respectively. Grade 3 or higher adverse events occurred in 58%, 55%, and 36% of children in arms 1, 2, and 3, with 1 death (arm 1) and 6 early treatment discontinuations (4 in arm 1, 1 each in arms 2 and 3). By week 8, all children recovered to MRS score of 0 or 1. Average MSEL scores were significantly better in arm 1 than arm 3 in fine motor, receptive language, and expressive language domains (P < .01). Conclusions. In a pediatric TBM trial, functional outcomes were excellent overall. The trend toward higher frequency of adverse events but better neurocognitive outcomes in children receiving high-dose rifampicin requires confirmation in a larger trial. Clinical Trials Registration. NCT02958709

Global burden of 288 causes of death and life expectancy decomposition in 204 countries and territories and 811 subnational locations, 1990–2021: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2021

BACKGROUND Regular, detailed reporting on population health by underlying cause of death is fundamental for public health decision making. Cause-specific estimates of mortality and the subsequent effects on life expectancy worldwide are valuable metrics to gauge progress in reducing mortality rates. These estimates are particularly important following large-scale mortality spikes, such as the COVID-19 pandemic. When systematically analysed, mortality rates and life expectancy allow comparisons of the consequences of causes of death globally and over time, providing a nuanced understanding of the effect of these causes on global populations. METHODS The Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study (GBD) 2021 cause-of-death analysis estimated mortality and years of life lost (YLLs) from 288 causes of death by age-sex-location-year in 204 countries and territories and 811 subnational locations for each year from 1990 until 2021. The analysis used 56 604 data sources, including data from vital registration and verbal autopsy as well as surveys, censuses, surveillance systems, and cancer registries, among others. As with previous GBD rounds, cause-specific death rates for most causes were estimated using the Cause of Death Ensemble model-a modelling tool developed for GBD to assess the out-of-sample predictive validity of different statistical models and covariate permutations and combine those results to produce cause-specific mortality estimates-with alternative strategies adapted to model causes with insufficient data, substantial changes in reporting over the study period, or unusual epidemiology. YLLs were computed as the product of the number of deaths for each cause-age-sex-location-year and the standard life expectancy at each age. As part of the modelling process, uncertainty intervals (UIs) were generated using the 2·5th and 97·5th percentiles from a 1000-draw distribution for each metric. We decomposed life expectancy by cause of death, location, and year to show cause-specific effects on life expectancy from 1990 to 2021. We also used the coefficient of variation and the fraction of population affected by 90% of deaths to highlight concentrations of mortality. Findings are reported in counts and age-standardised rates. Methodological improvements for cause-of-death estimates in GBD 2021 include the expansion of under-5-years age group to include four new age groups, enhanced methods to account for stochastic variation of sparse data, and the inclusion of COVID-19 and other pandemic-related mortality-which includes excess mortality associated with the pandemic, excluding COVID-19, lower respiratory infections, measles, malaria, and pertussis. For this analysis, 199 new country-years of vital registration cause-of-death data, 5 country-years of surveillance data, 21 country-years of verbal autopsy data, and 94 country-years of other data types were added to those used in previous GBD rounds. FINDINGS The leading causes of age-standardised deaths globally were the same in 2019 as they were in 1990; in descending order, these were, ischaemic heart disease, stroke, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and lower respiratory infections. In 2021, however, COVID-19 replaced stroke as the second-leading age-standardised cause of death, with 94·0 deaths (95% UI 89·2-100·0) per 100 000 population. The COVID-19 pandemic shifted the rankings of the leading five causes, lowering stroke to the third-leading and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease to the fourth-leading position. In 2021, the highest age-standardised death rates from COVID-19 occurred in sub-Saharan Africa (271·0 deaths [250·1-290·7] per 100 000 population) and Latin America and the Caribbean (195·4 deaths [182·1-211·4] per 100 000 population). The lowest age-standardised death rates from COVID-19 were in the high-income super-region (48·1 deaths [47·4-48·8] per 100 000 population) and southeast Asia, east Asia, and Oceania (23·2 deaths [16·3-37·2] per 100 000 population). Globally, life expectancy steadily improved between 1990 and 2019 for 18 of the 22 investigated causes. Decomposition of global and regional life expectancy showed the positive effect that reductions in deaths from enteric infections, lower respiratory infections, stroke, and neonatal deaths, among others have contributed to improved survival over the study period. However, a net reduction of 1·6 years occurred in global life expectancy between 2019 and 2021, primarily due to increased death rates from COVID-19 and other pandemic-related mortality. Life expectancy was highly variable between super-regions over the study period, with southeast Asia, east Asia, and Oceania gaining 8·3 years (6·7-9·9) overall, while having the smallest reduction in life expectancy due to COVID-19 (0·4 years). The largest reduction in life expectancy due to COVID-19 occurred in Latin America and the Caribbean (3·6 years). Additionally, 53 of the 288 causes of death were highly concentrated in locations with less than 50% of the global population as of 2021, and these causes of death became progressively more concentrated since 1990, when only 44 causes showed this pattern. The concentration phenomenon is discussed heuristically with respect to enteric and lower respiratory infections, malaria, HIV/AIDS, neonatal disorders, tuberculosis, and measles. INTERPRETATION Long-standing gains in life expectancy and reductions in many of the leading causes of death have been disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic, the adverse effects of which were spread unevenly among populations. Despite the pandemic, there has been continued progress in combatting several notable causes of death, leading to improved global life expectancy over the study period. Each of the seven GBD super-regions showed an overall improvement from 1990 and 2021, obscuring the negative effect in the years of the pandemic. Additionally, our findings regarding regional variation in causes of death driving increases in life expectancy hold clear policy utility. Analyses of shifting mortality trends reveal that several causes, once widespread globally, are now increasingly concentrated geographically. These changes in mortality concentration, alongside further investigation of changing risks, interventions, and relevant policy, present an important opportunity to deepen our understanding of mortality-reduction strategies. Examining patterns in mortality concentration might reveal areas where successful public health interventions have been implemented. Translating these successes to locations where certain causes of death remain entrenched can inform policies that work to improve life expectancy for people everywhere. FUNDING Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

A comparative study of Fentanyl and Clonidine as additives to plain Bupivacaine in caudal anaesthesia in children

Introduction: The efficacy of clonidine or fentanyl as additives to alter the neuroendocrine stress response and emergence agitation in caudal anaesthesia in children is still not clear. Objectives: To compare the efficacy and safety of Fentanyl and Clonidine as additives to plain bupivacaine in caudal anaesthesia in children. Materials &amp; Methods: A prospective, open labeled randomized controlled trial was conducted in Meenakshi Mission Hospital and Research Centre, Madurai, between August 2008 to June 2010. Children undergoing various elective infra-umbilical surgical procedures were included. Children were randomly assigned to either 0.5% Bupivacaine(B), Fentanyl plus 0.5% Bupivacaine (BF) or Clonidine Plus 0.5% Bupivacaine(BC) groups. Results: A total of 90 children, with 30 subjects in each of the three intervention groups were included. Time taken for spontaneous movement was significantly higher (151.8±11.7) in BC group, as compared the other two groups. The duration of postoperative analgesia was lowest in Bupivacaine (146±91.2) alone group, followed by BF (293.5±154.5) and BC group (510±359.9). Sedation time also has shown a similar trend. The mean pain scores from 2 hours to 24 hours were highest in bupivacaine group, followed by BF and BC group. The differences in the sedation scores across the three study groups from 45minutes to 24-hour post-operative period were statistically significant. Conclusions: Addition of clonidine 1µg/kg to 0.5% bupivacaine prolonged the duration of postoperative analgesia after a single shot caudal injection without any significant side effects when compared to bupivacaine 0.5% alone or its combination with fentanyl 1µg/kg

Microwave Irradiation Effect on Structural, Optical, and Thermal Properties of Cadmium Oxide Nanostructure

Cadmium oxide nanostructures were prepared by microwave assisted wet chemical technique at different time intervals. Results on structural, optical, and thermal properties of the CdO nanostructures as a function of the microwave irradiation were reported. The X-ray diffraction data indicates that the sample showed perfection in the microstructural improvement as a function of microwave irradiation. Surface morphological changes with different time of microwave irradiation were recorded by transmission electron microscope and the particle size were found in the ranges from 5 to 30 nm. Chemical composition and thermal stability of the samples were analyzed by energy dispersive X-ray spectrum and thermogravimetric analysis, respectively. The band gaps were shifted towards the blue region due to the Moss-Burstein effect and it exhibited direct band transitions, which corresponds to optical band gaps of 3.92-4.20 eV and contrast behavior of optical properties of CdO nanostructure in UV and IR regions were registered. Room temperature photoluminescence spectra revealed that the intensity of luminescent emission tends to decrease with the increase in exposure of microwave irradiation

Enhanced Production of Xylitol from Corncob by Pachysolen tannophilus Using Response Surface Methodology

Optimization of the culture medium and process variables for xylitol production using corncob hemicellulose hydrolysate by Pachysolen tannophilus (MTTC 1077) was performed with statistical methodology based on experimental designs. The screening of nine nutrients for their influence on xylitol production was achieved using a Plackett-Burman design. Peptone, xylose, MgSO4·7H2O, and yeast extract were selected based on their positive influence on xylitol production. The selected components were optimized with Box-Behnken design using response surface methodology (RSM). The optimum levels (g/L) were peptone: 6.03, xylose: 10.62, MgSO4·7H2O: 1.39, yeast extract: 4.66. The influence of various process variables on the xylitol production was evaluated. The optimal levels of these variables were quantified by the central composite design using RSM, for establishment of a significant mathematical model with a coefficient determination of . The validation experimental was consistent with the prediction model. The optimum levels of process variables were temperature (36.56°C), pH (7.27), substrate concentration (3.55 g/L), inoculum size (3.69 mL), and agitation speed (194.44 rpm). These conditions were validated experimentally which revealed an enhanced xylitol yield of 0.80 g/g

Response surface optimization of medium composition for xylitol production by Debaryomyces hansenii var hansenii using corncob hemicellulose hydrolysate

Optimization of the culture medium for xylitol production using Debrayomyces hansenii var hansenii was carried out. The optimization of xylitol production using corncob hemicelluloses hydrolysate as substrate was performed with statistical methodology based on experimental designs. The screening of nine nutrients for their influence of xylitol production to achieved using a Plackett-Burman design. MgSO4.7H2O, KH2PO4, (NH4)2SO4, yeast extract were selected for based on their positive influence on xylitol production. The selected components were optimized using Response Surface Methodology (RSM). The optimum conditions are: MgSO4.7H2O - 1.02 g/l, (NH4)2SO4 - 3.94 g/l, KH2PO4- 2.74 g/l and yeast extract - 3.45 g/l. These conditions are validated experimentally which revealed an enhanced xylitol yield of 0.76 g/g