A Deep Learning Approach for Landmines Detection Based on Airborne Magnetometry Imaging and Edge Computing

Landmines continue to pose an ongoing threat in various regions around the world,with countless buried landmines affecting numerous human lives.The detonation of these landmines results in thousands of casualties reported worldwide annually.Therefore,there is a pressing need to employ diverse landmine detection techniques for their removal.One effective approach for landmine detection is UAV(Unmanned Aerial Vehicle)based AirborneMagnetometry,which identifies magnetic anomalies in the local terrestrial magnetic field.It can generate a contour plot or heat map that visually represents the magnetic field strength.Despite the effectiveness of this approach,landmine removal remains a challenging and resource-intensive task,fraughtwith risks.Edge computing,on the other hand,can play a crucial role in critical drone monitoring applications like landmine detection.By processing data locally on a nearby edge server,edge computing can reduce communication latency and bandwidth requirements,allowing real-time analysis of magnetic field data.It enables faster decision-making and more efficient landmine detection,potentially saving lives and minimizing the risks involved in the process.Furthermore,edge computing can provide enhanced security and privacy by keeping sensitive data close to the source,reducing the chances of data exposure during transmission.This paper introduces the MAGnetometry Imaging based Classification System(MAGICS),a fully automated UAV-based system designed for landmine and buried object detection and localization.We have developed an efficient deep learning-based strategy for automatic image classification using magnetometry dataset traces.By simulating the proposal in various network scenarios,we have successfully detected landmine signatures present in themagnetometry images.The trained models exhibit significant performance improvements,achieving a maximum mean average precision value of 97.8%.

Predictors of cerebrospinal fluid GeneXpert MTB/RIF positivity in patients with tuberculous meningitis:A prospective cohort study

Objective:To identify the clinical,laboratory,and radiological markers that could predict a positive GeneXpert result in patients suspected of tuberculous meningitis.Methods:In this prospective,observational study,patients with tuberculous meningitis were systematically evaluated.Various clinical,laboratory[including cerebrospinal fluid(CSF)microscopy,culture,and GeneXpert],and neuroimaging factors were examined.All participants were administered anti-tuberculous treatment and corticosteroids.A six-month follow-up was done to evaluate the outcome.Results:Of the 116 patients studied,54(46.6%)tested positive for GeneXpert,while 62(53.4%)were negative.Third cranial nerve involvement(OR 3.71,95%CI 1.052-13.09,P=0.04)and the presence of basal exudates on neuroimaging(OR 5.22,95%CI 2.03-13.42,P=0.001)emerged as independent predictive factors for a positive GeneXpert result.A positive CSF GeneXpert result(P=0.002)and drug resistance(P=0.004)were significantly linked to adverse outcomes.Additionally,a high score on the Medical Research Council stageⅢ(OR 5.64,95%CI 1.18-26.87,P=0.03)and elevated CSF cell counts(OR 1.002,95%CI 1.00-1.001,P=0.03)were identified as independent predictors of poor prognosis.Conclusions:Third cranial nerve involvement and the presence of basal exudates were significant indicators of a positive GeneXpert result.MRC stageⅢdisability and elevated CSF cell counts predicted poor outcomes.

Antioxidant activity and identification of bioactive compounds from leaves of Anthocephalus cadamba by ultra-performance liquid chromatography/electrospray ionization quadrupole time of flight mass spectrometry

Objective:To evaluate the antioxidant potential of different extract/fractions of Anthocephalus cadamba（A.cadamba）（Roxb.） Miq.（Rubiaceae） and study the tentative identification of their active constituents.Methods:The extract/fractions were screened for antioxidant activity using various in vitro assays viz.DPPH assay,ABTS assay,superoxide anion radical scavenging assay, reducing power assay and plasmid DNA nicking assay.Total phenolic content of extract/fractions was determined by colorimetric method.An ultra-performance LC-electrospray-quadrupoletime of flight mass spectrometry method was used to analyse the active constituents of extract/ fractions of A.cadamba.Results:The ethyl acetate fraction was found to be most active fraction in all the assays as compared to other extract/fractions.The IC50 value of ethyl acetate fraction （ETAC fraction） was 21.24μg/mL,1.12μg/mL,9.68μg/mL and S7.81μg/mL in DPPH assay, ABTS assay,reducing power assay and superoxide scavenging assay respectively.All the extract/ fractions also showed the potential to protect the plasmid DNA（pBR322） against the attack of hydroxyl radicals generated by Fenton’s reagent.The bioactive compounds were identified by UPLC-ESI-QTOF-MS,by comparing the mass andλmax with literature values.Conclusions:The potential of the extract/fractions to scavenge different free radicals in different systems indicated that they may be useful therapeutic agents for treating radical-related pathologic damage.

Next-Generation Intelligent MXene-Based Electrochemical Aptasensors for Point-of-Care Cancer Diagnostics

Delayed diagnosis of cancer using conventional diagnostic modalities needs to be addressed to reduce the mortality rate of cancer.Recently,2 D nanomaterial-enabled advanced biosensors have shown potential towards the early diagnosis of cancer.The high surface area,surface functional groups availability,and excellent electrical conductivity of MXene make it the 2 D material of choice for the fabrication of advanced electrochemical biosensors for disease diagnostics.MXene-enabled electrochemical aptasensors have shown great promise for the detection of cancer biomarkers with a femtomolar limit of detection.Additionally,the stability,ease of synthesis,good reproducibility,and high specificity offered by MXene-enabled aptasensors hold promise to be the mainstream diagnostic approach.In this review,the design and fabrication of MXene-based electrochemical aptasensors for the detection of cancer biomarkers have been discussed.Besides,various synthetic processes and useful properties of MXenes which can be tuned and optimized easily and efficiently to fabricate sensitive biosensors have been elucidated.Further,futuristic sensing applications along with challenges will be deliberated herein.

Synthesis,isolation,identification and characterization of new process-related impurity in isoproterenol hydrochloride by HPLC,LC/ESI-MS and NMR

One unknown impurity （Imp-II） during the analysis of laboratory batches of isoproterenol hydrochloride was detected in the level ranging from 0.04% to 0.12% by high performance liquid chromatography with UV detection. The unknown impurity structure was proposed as 4-[2-（propan-2oylamino）ethyl]benzene-l,2-diol （Imp-II） using the liquid chromatography-mass spectrophotometry （LC-MS） analysis. Imp-II was isolated by semi-preparative liquid chromatography from the impurity-enriched reaction crude sample. Its proposed structure was confirmed by nuclear magnetic spectroscopy such as 1H, 13C, DEPT （1D NMR）, HSQC （2D NMR） and infrared spectroscopy （IR）, and retention time and purity with HPLC followed by the chemical synthesis. Due to less removable nature of Imp-II during the purification, the synthetic process was optimized proficiently to control the formation of Imp-II below to the limit 〈 0.12% in the course of reaction. The new chemical route was developed for the preparation of this impurity in required quantity with purity to use as reference standard. The most probable mechanism for the formation of Imp-II was discussed in details.

Expression quantitative trait analyses to identify causal genetic variants for type 2 diabetes susceptibility

Type 2 diabetes(T2D) is a common metabolic disorder which is caused by multiple genetic perturbations affecting different biological pathways. Identifying genetic factors modulating the susceptibility of this complex heterogeneous metabolic phenotype in different ethnic and racial groups remains challenging. Despite recent success, the functional role of the T2D susceptibility variants implicated by genome-wide association studies(GWAS) remains largely unknown. Genetic dissection of transcript abundance or expression quantitative trait(eQTL) analysis unravels the genomic architecture of regulatory variants. Availability of eQTL information from tissues relevant for glucose homeostasis in humans opens a new avenue to prioritize GWASimplicated variants that may be involved in triggering a causal chain of events leading to T2D. In this article, we review the progress made in the field of eQTL research and knowledge gained from those studies in understanding transcription regulatory mechanisms in human subjects. We highlight several novel approaches that can integrate eQTL analysis with multiple layers of biological information to identify ethnic-specific causal variants and gene-environment interactions relevant to T2D pathogenesis. Finally, we discuss how the eQTL analysis mediated search for "missing heritability" may lead us to novel biological and molecular mechanisms involved in susceptibility to T2D.

QTL analysis for some quantitative traits in bread wheat

Quantitative trait loci (QTL) analysis was conducted in bread wheat for 14 important traits utilizing data from four different mapping populations involving different approaches of QTL analysis. Analysis for grain protein content (GPC) sug- gested that the major part of genetic variation for this trait is due to environmental interactions. In contrast, pre-harvest sprouting tolerance (PHST) was controlled mainly by main effect QTL (M-QTL) with very little genetic variation due to environmental interactions; a major QTL for PHST was detected on chromosome arm 3AL. For grain weight, one QTL each was detected on chromosome arms 1AS, 2BS and 7AS. QTL for 4 growth related traits taken together detected by different methods ranged from 37 to 40; nine QTL that were detected by single-locus as well as two-locus analyses were all M-QTL. Similarly, single-locus and two-locus QTL analyses for seven yield and yield contributing traits in two populations respectively allowed detection of 25 and 50 QTL by composite interval mapping (CIM), 16 and 25 QTL by multiple-trait composite interval mapping (MCIM) and 38 and 37 QTL by two-locus analyses. These studies should prove useful in QTL cloning and wheat improvement through marker aided selection.

Inhibition of H2O2-induced DNA damage in single cell gel electrophoresis assay (comet assay) by castasterone isolated from leaves of centella asiatica

Brassinosteroids (BRs) are a large group of polyhydroxy steroids, which regulate numerous aspects of plant growth and development, including stem elongation, leaf bending, tracheary element differentiation, stress protection and photomorphogenesis. Recent studies indicate antigenotoxic and anticancerous activities of these compounds. The role of natural BRs in H2O2 (hydrogen peroxide) -induced DNA damage in human lymphocytes is still unknown. The present study reports the presence of Castasterone from leaves of Centella asiatica, an important medicinal herb commonly used as a memory enhancer and immunomodulator. CA50 fraction isolated from Centella asiatica was characterized as Castasterone by electrospray ionization mass spectral data with standard Castasterone. An attempt has been made to study antigenotoxic activity of the isolated Castasterone against H2O2 -induced DNA damage in human blood lymphocytes using Single cell gel electrophoresis assay (Comet Assay). Castasterone at 10–9 M concentration proved to be effective in diminishing the DNA damage by 89.42 %.

Insecticidal Toxicity of Spilanthol from <i>Spilanthes acmella</i>Murr. against <i>Plutella xylostella</i>L.

The present study explored the Spilanthes acmella Murr. for insecticidal principle, a plant of high value. The seed extract showed insecticidal activity against Plutella xylostella. Further, bioassay guided isolation of bioactive compounds resulted in insecticidal active molecule, which was identified with the help of ESI-MS and NMR. Highest activity of 95 - 100 percent was observed at low dose of 2 g/l with spilanthol, while 60 - 70 and 80 - 90 percent mortality at 5 g/l in crude seed extracts prepared in methanol and hexane after 48 hours exposure, respectively. LC50 of 1.49, 5.14, 5.04, 11.75 g/l was observed with spilanthol, crude seed extract of methanol, hexane, deltamethrin, respectively. The findings indicate the potential of S. acmella with potent insecticidal toxicity for the management of P. xylostella and other insects of agricultural importance.

Cope's sign and complete heart block secondary to acute cholecystitis: A case report

Rationale: Cope's sign is reflex bradycardia seen in the patient presenting with symptoms of acute cholecystitis. This bradycardia may be due to vagally mediated cardio-biliary reflex. Many of these reflexes due to acute cholecystitis have similar clinical features (some electrocardiographic changes like bradycardia, complete heart block, and asystole) mimicking that of acute coronary syndrome. Patient's concern: A 60-year old male presented with symptoms of acute cholecystitis and referred to the emergency department with complete heart block and abdominal pain with hypotension requiring an emergency temporary pacemaker. Diagnosis: Cope's sign and complete heart block. Intervention: Emergency temporary cardiac pacemaker insertion. Outcomes: The patient was discharged after three days with regular follow-up and advice for laparoscopic cholecystectomy. Lessons: Complete heart block or any symptomatic bradycardia associated with abdominal pain should be under consideration of cholecystitis that may be associated with either presence or absence of gall stones due to cardio biliary reflex.

Utilization of Various Analogy of Synthetic Nanoporous Zeolites and Composite of Zeolites for Decontamination/Detoxification of CWA Simulants—An Updated Review

In this review, we summaries the past few year work on the chemistry of CWA’s and their simulants on various heterogeneous surfaces of zeolites, composites of zeolites and doped zeolite with transition metal oxides. This review elaborates an updated literature overview on the degradation of CWA’s and its simulants. The data written in this review were collected from the peer-reviewed national and international literature.

Physicochemical evaluation and in vitro release studies on itraconazolium sulfate salt

To counter the poor aqueous solubility of itraconazole(ITC),its sulfate salt(ITCSUL)was synthesized and characterized by 1 H NMR,MS,FTIR,DSC,XRPD,DLS and SEM.Antifungal properties of ITCSUL were confirmed against different fungal pathogens by broth microdilution method.Enhanced solubility of the salt in various pharmaceutical solvents was observed.Approximately 5.5 fold increase in percentage drug release from ITCSUL than that of ITC in 3 h was observed.Further,the physical mixtures of ITCSUL with two cyclodextrins;b-cyclodextrin(b-CD)and HP-b-cyclodextrin(HP-b-CD)were prepared in 3 M ratios.The in vitro release studies of CD mixtures of ITC and ITCSUL exhibited markedly enhanced dissolution in comparison to ITC and ITCSUL respectively.The promising in vitro performance of ITCSUL and ITCSUL CD mixtures along with advantage of expedient preparation suggest their potential applications in designing a better oral drug delivery system.

Disseminated cysticercosis presenting with bilateral proptosis: A case report

Rationale: Disseminated cysticercosis is characterized by presence of cysts in multiple body organs, like brain, skin, eyes, muscles and rarely heart and lungs.Patient concerns: A 22-year-old man presented with bilateral proptosis of 1-year duration. He also had two episodes of cysticercosis encephalitis. In the second episode of encephalopathy, the patient died.Diagnosis: Disseminated cysticercosis.Interventions: Corticosteroids(Initially intravenous dexamethasone 0.4 mg/kg/day for 2 weeks, followed by oral prednisolone 1.0 mg/kg/day).Outcomes: The patient died of cysticercosis encephalitis approximately 2 months later.Lessons: Disseminated cysticercosis in our case presented only with proptosis as he had very heavy infestation of the brain and eyes. Heavy larval infestation in a patient with disseminated cysticercosis can be life-threatening.

COVID-19 presentation as acute pancreatitis:A case report

Rationale:The gastrointestinal manifestations of COVID-19 include anorexia,nausea,vomiting,abdominal pain,and diarrhea.However,pancreatitis as the presentation of COVID-19 is rarely reported.Patient’s Concern:A 63-year-old COVID-19 patient presented with complaints of abdominal pain and difficulty breathing for 5 d.Diagnosis:Contrast-enhanced computed tomography of the abdomen suggested acute interstitial pancreatitis without any biliary tract obstruction.Interventions:The patient was resuscitated with intravenous fluids based on dynamic parameters of fluid responsiveness.The patient was started on enteral feeding,analgesics,antibiotics,dexamethasone,low molecular weight heparin,and supportive therapy.Outcomes:The patient developed severe acute respiratory distress syndrome and died 6 days after admission.Lessons:Management of COVID-19 in the presence of pancreatitis is challenging.Adequate early fluid resuscitation is an important aspect of medical management for COVID-19 patients with pancreatitis and restrictive strategies must be followed.Increased liver enzymes and renal dysfunction in acute pancreatitis can also limit the use of specific therapies like remdesivir.Dexamethasone,even though it has shown a beneficial effect in treating COVID-19,can have an additive effect in causing hyperglycemia in these cases.Clinicians should be aware of this atypical presentation of COVID-19 with pancreatitis and adjust their management strategies,keeping in mind the considerations for both diseases.

Severe progression of autoimmune hepatitis in a young COVID-19 adult patient: A case report

Rationale:The impact of COVID-19 in patients with autoimmune liver disease treated with immunosuppressive therapy has not been described so far.This case report describes the clinical course of a patient with autoimmune hepatitis(AIH)who developed COVID-19 and the features of cytokine syndrome leading to its deterioration in our intensive care unit.Patient’s Concern:A 28-year-old male presented with generalized anasarca for two weeks and chronic liver disease for 8 months.Diagnosis:AIH and Covid-19 with features of cytokine storm syndrome.Interventions:Intravenous furosemide,mannitol,syrup lactulose,steroids(prednisolone 40 mg),azathioprine 1 mg/kg body weight,rifaximin,vitamin K,and blood products.Outcomes:The patient had hepatic encephalopathy and AIH and died on the 10th day after admission despite ventilatory support,sustained low-efficiency hemodialysis,and resuscition.Lessons:The dramatic release of cytokines and the inflammatory‐immune responses not only alter the pathophysiology but also affects the onset and severity of disease progression in patients with AIH.

Sudden cardiac death in a case of Crohn's disease with COVID-19: A case report

Rationale:The mechanism of sudden cardiac death in COVID-19 can be multifactorial.Cardiac hypersensitivity to 5-ASA therapy leading to myocarditis has been reported in some cases.Cytokine storm syndrome and idiosyncratic reaction with mesalazine use may lead to sudden cardiac death in COVID-19.Use of immunosuppressants in hospitalized COVID-19 patients should be continued with caution,especially in patients with inflammatory bowel disease.Patient’s concern:A 75-year-old man who was tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 was admitted with a history of shortness of breath for the last two days.He was a known case of Crohn’s disease treated with mesalazine.Diagnosis:COVID-19 pneumonia with underlying Crohn’s disease leading to sudden cardiac death.Intervention:Remdesivir,antibiotics,steroids,low molecular weight heparin,tablet zinc,tab vitamin C,and other supportive treatment were started.Because of increased inflammatory markers,itolizumab was given to the patient on the 2nd day.Outcome:On the 5th day of the intensive care unit,the patient complained of sudden chest pain with respiratory distress leading to bradycardia and asystole and could not be resuscitated.Lessons:Causes for sudden cardiac death in COVID-19 pneumonia patients with Crohn’s disease is multifactorial.Although mesalazine may be a safe and effective drug in the management of inflammatory bowel disease,it can induce sytokine strom syndrome and idiosyncratic reactions that could be one of the reasons of sudden cardic death.Therefore,we should be aware of its serious and potentially life-threatening complications,especially in COVID-19 infected patients.

In vitro Sensitivity of Three Bacterial Pathogens of Koi Carp （Cyprynus carpio L.） to Certain Antibiotics

Three gram negative bacteria isolated from infected koi carp, Cyprinus carpio L. and screened for sensitivity to thirty antibiotics by the Bauer disc diffusion method. Bacteria evaluated were Aeromonas hydrophila, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Edwardseilla tarda. A. hydrophila was resistant to ampicilin, cephalothin, sulphatriad, cefpodoxime and cefoxitin. Highest sensitivity was recorded to Colistin methane sulphonate and Ceftriaxone. High resistance was observed for P. aeruginosa in Kanamysin, Cephalothin, Sulphatriad, Colistin methane sulphonate, Tobramysin, Nitro Furantoin, Cefpodoxime, Cefoxitin and Aztreonam. Highest sensitivity recorded with Moxifloxacin. High resistance was observed in Co-trimoxamole and higher sensitivity performed for E. tarda by Tetracyclin, Cephotaxime, Ciprofloxacin, Norfloxacin, Ofloxacin, Moxifloxacin, Gatifloxacin and Levofloxacin. Out of that highest sensitivity recorded with Moxifloxacin High sensitivity was recorded for Moxifloxacin, Ciprofloxacin, Gatifloxacin, Levofloxacin. By means of antibiotic sensitivity test highest resistance was recorded to P. aeruginosa （MAR index-0.3） and least resistant was recorded to E, tarda （MAR index- 0.033）.

Prevalence of Ringing Delusion among Mobile Phone Users

The exponential application of mobile technology has led to a concern about implications of electromagnetic radiation on human health. As we are aware that mobile phone radiates EMR when users communicate to others and that time subscribers of the device are regularly exposed nearby 40% - 50% of total mobile irradiation. We analyzed the risk of "Ringing Delusion" among normal users, moderate users and heavy users when compared to low users. Although the "Ringing Delusion" has not been added in medical terminology but we found frequently such kind of symptoms among mobile phone users. "Ringing Delusion" may be considered as an imagination of ringing voice from cellular phone. The risk was also compared between urban and rural, male and female and adult and children population. The information was gathered through well designed questionnaires for cellular user’s demographic and social characteristics, adopted safety measures and calling duration. Prevalence of “Ringing Delusion” among rural users was higher than the urban users. A trend for the risk was also observed in male users in comparison to female. Study may support innovators to re-examine health effects of mobile phones.

Selective Cluster-Based Temperature Monitoring System for Homogeneous Wireless Sensor Networks

Over the past few decades, there has been a revolution in ICT, and this has led to the evolution of wireless sensor networks （WSN）, in particular, wireless body area networks. Such networks comprise a specialized collection of sensor nodes （SNs） that may be deployed randomly in a body area network to collect data from the human body. In a health monitoring system, it may be es-sential to maintain constant environmental conditions within a specific area in the hospital. In this paper, we propose a tempera-ture-monitoring system and describe a case study of a health-monitoring system for patents critically ill with the same disease and in the same environment. We propose Enhanced LEACH Selective Cluster （E-LEACH-SC） routing protocol for monitoring the tem-perature of an area in a hospital. We modified existing Selective Cluster LEACH protocol by using a fixed-distance-based thresh-old to divide the coverage region in two subregions. Direct data transmission and selective cluster-based data transmission ap-proaches were used to provide short-range and long-distance coverage for the collection of data from the body of ill patients. Ex-tensive simulations were run by varying the ratio of node densities of the two subregions in the health-monitoring system. Last Node Alive （LNA）, which is a measure of network lifespan, was the parameter for evaluating the performance of the proposed scheme. The simulation results show that the proposed scheme significantly increases network lifespan compared with traditional LEACH and LEACH-SC protocols, which by themselves improve the overall performance of the health-monitoring system.

Anaphylactoid Shock with Infusion of 5% Albumin in a Patient under General Anesthesia

A 61 year old male patient undergoing gastrectomy under general anesthesia developed severe anaphylactoid shock after 15 minutes from starting 5% albumin infusion. His blood pressure went from 101/67 down to 44/23 with his heart rate going up from 91 to 99. A total of 1600 mcg of phenylephrine were given without any improvement in the hemo-dynamics. We then gave 50 mcg of Epinephrine to which blood pressure rapidly responded going up to 141/60 (mean 88). Then 15 mg of Dexamethasone were given. Blood pressure remained stable with the mean between 75 and 90, without requiring anymore pressors. 5% albumin is considered among the safer colloids with a risk of anaphylactoid reactions less than gelatins and dextrans and comparable to starches. However, severe life threatening anaphylaxis has been reported with Albumin infusion. With the still ongoing crystalloid colloid debate, with many studies showing no survival benefit with colloid use for volume resuscitation, the risk of severe anaphylactic shock, even with the safer colloids like albumin should drive to a more conservative use of albumin for volume resuscitation, specially under general anesthesia, when recognizing the signs and symptoms of anaphylaxis and the offending agent maybe more challenging.