Explore the vast range of titles available.

The increasing price of and demand for energy have prompted several organizations to develop intelligent strategies for energy tracking, control, and conservation. Demand side management is a critical strategy for averting substantial supply disruptions and improving energy efficiency. A vital part of demand side management is a smart energy management system that can aid in cutting expenditures while still satisfying energy needs; produce customers’ energy consumption patterns; and react to energy-saving algorithms and directives. The Internet of Things is an emerging technology that can be employed to effectively manage energy usage in industrial, commercial, and residential sectors in the smart environment. This paper presents a smart energy management system for smart environments that integrates the Energy Controller and IoT middleware module for efficient demand side management. Each device is connected to an energy controller, which is the inculcation of numerous sensors and actuators with an IoT object, collects the data of energy consumption from each smart device through various time-slots that are designed to optimize the energy consumption of air conditioning systems based on ambient temperature conditions and operational dynamics of buildings and then communicate it to a centralized middleware module (cloud server) for management, processing, and further analysis. Since air conditioning systems contribute more than 50% of the electricity consumption in Pakistan, for validation of the proposed system, the air conditioning units have been taken as a proof of concept. The presented approach offers several advantages over traditional controllers by leveraging real-time monitoring, advanced algorithms, and user-friendly interfaces. The evaluation process involves comparing electricity consumption before and after the installation of the SEMS. The proposed system is tested and implemented in four buildings. The results demonstrate significant energy savings ranging from 15% to 49% and highlight the significant benefits of the system. The smart energy management system offers real-time monitoring, better control over the air conditioning systems, cost savings, environmental benefits, and longer equipment life. The ultimate goal is to provide a practical solution for reducing energy consumption in buildings, which can contribute to sustainable and efficient use of energy resources and goes beyond simpler controllers to address the specific needs of energy management in buildings.

Solvent extraction of lithium (Li) from acidic leachates of spent batteries black mass (BM) over nickel (Ni), manganese (Mn), and cobalt (Co) can allow easy integration of Li recycling into conventional hydrometallurgical flowsheets, eliminating the need for thermal pretreatment of BM. In this study, a ternary organic phase consisting of iron (Fe 3+ ), tributyl phosphate (TBP), and 2-ethylhexyl phosphonic acid mono 2-ethylhexyl ester (P507) to selectively extract Li + over Ni 2+ , Mn 2+ , and Co 2+ has been developed. The extraction, scrubbing, stripping, and regeneration conditions were optimized, and McCabe–Thiele diagrams were constructed. An increasing P507/Fe (optimum 1.5–1.7) mole ratio was found to enhance Li release during water stripping but suppressed extraction. FTIR spectroscopy confirmed the stability of Fe 3+ in the organic phase during water stripping. The Fe 3+ preloaded solvent gave > 90% Li (7.7 g/L initially) extraction at an organic/aqueous phase ratio of 7 in four stages. After six cycles, the Li extraction efficiency was maintained, showing excellent selectivity, reducing NMC metal ions from 7.6–64 g/L to only 0–0.05 g/L in purified strip solution. The developed solvent system facilitates water stripping, eliminating the need for acids and alkalis, and allows easy integration in established chloride-based battery recycling processes, enabling early Li recovery from the leachate.

We present a Physics-guided deep learning framework to address common limitations in Confocal Laser Scanning Microscopy (CLSM), including diffraction-limited resolution, noise, and under sampling due to low laser power conditions. The optical system’s point spread function and primary CLSM image degradation mechanisms, namely photon shot noise, dark current noise, motion blur, speckle noise, and under sampling are explicitly incorporated into the model as physics-based constraints. A convolutional autoencoder is trained with a custom loss function that integrates these optical degradation processes, ensuring that the reconstructed images adhere to physical image formation principles. The model is evaluated on simulated CLSM datasets generated based on experimentally observed CLSM noise characteristics. Statistical comparisons, including intensity histograms, spatial frequency distributions, and structural similarity metrics, confirm that the synthetic dataset closely matches accurate CLSM data. The proposed approach is compared with traditional image reconstruction methods, including Richardson-Lucy deconvolution, non-negative least squares, and total variation regularization. Results indicate that the physics-constrained autoencoder improves structural detail recovery while maintaining consistency with known CLSM imaging physics. This study demonstrates that Physics-guided deep learning can provide an alternative computational approach to CLSM enhancement, complementing existing optical correction methods. Future work will focus on further validation using experimental CLSM acquisitions.

Low birth weight (LBW) is a critical public health concern in Pakistan, significantly contributing to neonatal mortality and long-term health disparities. Consanguineous marriages, highly prevalent in the region, are associated with adverse birth outcomes. While antenatal care (ANC) visits are crucial for improving maternal and child health, their role in mediating the relationship between consanguinity and LBW remains underexplored. This study investigates whether ANC visits mediate the association between consanguineous marriage and LBW in Pakistan. This cross-sectional study utilized data from the 2017–18 Pakistan Demographic and Health Survey (PDHS), analyzing 14,465 live births. Consanguineous marriage was the independent variable, ANC visits (categorized as ≥ 8 vs. <8) served as the mediating variable, and LBW (< 2500 g vs. ≥2500 g) was the dependent variable. Generalized Structural Equation Modeling (GSEM) with 2000 bootstrap replications was employed to estimate direct and indirect effects, adjusting for maternal age, region, residence, household wealth, and working status. Consanguineous marriage was significantly associated with a reduction in the likelihood of adequate ANC visits (β=−0.015, p  < 0.001). ANC visits, in turn, showed a strong and statistically significant negative association with LBW (β=−0.403, p  < 0.001). The lmediation analysis revealed a statistically significant indirect effect of consanguineous marriage on LBW through reduced ANC utilization (β = 0.0062, p  = 0.001; 95% CI: 0.0026 to 0.0098). A significant direct positive association between consanguineous marriage and LBW also persisted (β = 0.0173, p  = 0.035; 95% CI: 0.0012 to 0.0335), confirming a partial mediation effect. Our findings indicate that consanguineous marriage increases the risk of LBW in Pakistan, partially mediated by reduced antenatal care utilization. This suggests that both behavioral (reduced ANC uptake) and potentially biological (genetic) pathways contribute to adverse birth outcomes in consanguineous unions. Targeted interventions are needed to increase ANC access and utilization, particularly in rural and low-income consanguineous communities, alongside promoting women’s healthcare autonomy and genetic counseling to mitigate the burden of LBW.

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has affected globally; but thanks to vaccines, the effect has been countered with the help of a vaccination programme. We report a case of exfoliative bullous rash in a 69-year-old lady admitted to the acute medicine unit with complaints of rash post-AstraZeneca (AZ) vaccine administration. The rash initially started under her breast and had spread to other parts of the body without mucosal involvement. She was noted to have neutrophilia and raised inflammatory markers and subsequently commenced on antibiotics. Histology showed sub-epidermal blistering but negative immunofluorescence which excluded immune-bullous disease. A significant improvement was seen, and the presentation subsided after treatment with antibiotics and emollient therapy.

One of the aggressive and lethal cancers, pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is characterized by poor prognosis and resistance to conventional treatments. Moreover, the tumor immune microenvironment (TIME) plays a crucial role in the progression and therapeutic resistance of PDAC. It is associated with T-cell exhaustion, leading to the progressive loss of T-cell functions with an impaired ability to kill tumor cells. Therefore, this study employed single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) analysis of a publicly available human PDAC dataset, with cells isolated from the primary tumor and adjacent normal tissues, identifying upregulated genes of T-cells and cancer cells in two groups (“cancer cells_vs_all-PDAC” and “cancer-PDAC_vs_all-normal”). Common and unique markers of cancer cells from both groups were identified. The Reactome pathways of cancer and T-cells were selected, while the genes implicated in those pathways were used to perform PPI analysis, revealing the hub genes of cancer and T-cells. The gene expression validation of cancer and T-cells hub-genes was performed using GEPIA2 and TISCH2, while the overall survival analysis of cancer cells hub-genes was performed using GEPIA2. Conclusively, this study unraveled 16 novel markers of cancer and T-cells, providing the groundwork for future research into the immune landscape of PDAC, particularly T-cell exhaustion. However, further clinical studies are needed to validate these novel markers as potential therapeutic targets in PDAC patients.

Ivermectin (IVM) is an anti-parasitic drug which is used for treating parasitic infestations. It has been used in humans for treating intestinal strongyloidiasis and onchocerciasis however, currently researchers are investigating its potential for treating coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. Due to its broad-spectrum activities, IVM is being used excessively in animals which has generated an interest for researchers to investigate its toxic effects. Cytotoxic and genotoxic effects have been reported in animals due to excessive usage of IVM. Therefore, this study aims to evaluate the cytotoxic and genotoxic effects of IVM on the Madin-Darby-Bovine-Kidney (MDBK) cell line by examining the expression of a DNA damage-responsive gene ( OGG1 ). Cytotoxicity of IVM was tested using an assay (MTT 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide), whereas the genotoxicity was evaluated using comet assay along with micronucleus assay. Moreover, the gene expression of DNA damage response gene ( OGG1 ) was measured by qRT-PCR, after extraction of RNA from the MDBK cell line using the TRIzol method and its conversion to cDNA by reverse-transcriptase PCR. During the experiment, cell viability percentage was measured at different doses of IVM i.e., 25%, 50%, 75%, along with LC50/2, LC50 and LC50*2. It was observed that the gene expression of OGG1 increased as the concentration of IVM increased. It was concluded that IVM has both cytotoxic and genotoxic effects on the MDBK cell line. Furthermore, it is recommended that studies related to the toxic effects of IVM at molecular level and on other model organisms should be conducted to combat its hazardous effects.

Background The economically important yaks have a low reproductive rate of only one calf every two years or two calves every three years, which significantly limits the development of the yak industry. Protein and dietary energy are important factors affecting the productive performance of ruminants. Methods This study examined the effects of three different feed formulas (FA: high-energy and high protein, FB: high-energy and low protein, and FC: low-energy and high protein) on the health status of postpartum weaned female yaks. Results Results indicated that significantly lower inflammatory factors of IL-1β and IL-6, and higher antioxidant capacity enzymes of T-AOC and GSH-Px, and lower MDA levels were examined in FA and FB. Analysis of the rumen microbiota in all groups showed that the experimental group, especially the FA group, had an alpha diversity. Firmicutes increased while Bacteroidota decreased in group FA and FB, resulting in a higher Firmicutes to Bacteroidota ratio. Additionally, the abundance of Proteobacteria, Spirochaetota, and Elusimicrobiota was significantly decreased in the groups with different diets in FA and FB. At the genus level, the abundance of Prevotella , Ruminococcus , UCG-002 , and Treponema was significantly lower in the two groups, FA and FB, while the abundance of Butyrivibrio , Christensenellaceae_R-7_group , UCG-005 , and Family_XIII_UCG-001 was higher in the two groups. The Lachnospiraceae_AC2044_group was more abundant in the two groups of FB and FC. Also, Saccharomonas was significantly more prevalent across all the experimental groups. Based on these results, a high-energy diet appears to benefit the health and recovery of postpartum yaks, although further adjustments to the dietary protein ratio may be beneficial. Conclusion Our study provides recommendations for improving the physical health of postpartum weaned female yaks, reducing the time from calving to estrus, and enhancing the reproductive capacity of yaks in Tibetan areas.

The current study aims to assess the beliefs of the general public in Pakistan towards conspiracy theories, acceptance, willingness to pay, and preference for the COVID-19 vaccine. A cross-sectional study was conducted through an online self-administered questionnaire during January 2021. The Chi-square test or Fisher exact test was utilized for statistical data analysis. A total of 2158 respondents completed the questionnaire, among them 1192 (55.2%) were male with 23.87 (SD: ±6.23) years as mean age. The conspiracy beliefs circulating regarding the COVID-19 vaccine were believed by 9.3% to 28.4% of the study participants. Among them, 1040 (48.2%) agreed to vaccinate on its availability while 934 (43.3%) reported the Chinese vaccine as their preference. The conspiracy beliefs of the participants were significantly associated with acceptance of the COVID-19 vaccine. The existence of conspiracy beliefs and low vaccine acceptance among the general population is a serious threat to successful COVID-19 vaccination.

As novel environmental contaminants, MPs exist widely in the environment and accumulate in organisms, which has become a global ecological problem. MP perturbations of organismal physiology and behavior have been extensively recorded in aquatic animals, but the potential effects of MPs on poultry are not well characterized. Here, we explored the adverse effects of MP exposure on the growth performance and gut microbiota of chickens. Results showed that the growth performance of chickens decreased significantly during MP exposure. Additionally, Firmicutes, Bacteroidota, and Proteobacteria were found to be dominant in the gut microbiota of MP-exposed chickens, regardless of health status. Although the types of dominant bacteria did not change, the abundances of some bacteria and the structure of the gut microbiota changed significantly. Compared with the controls, the alpha diversity of gut microbiota in chickens exposed to MPs showed a significant decrease. The results of comparative analyses of bacteria between groups showed that the levels of 1 phyla (Proteobacteria) and 18 genera dramatically decreased, whereas the levels of 1 phyla (Cyanobacteria) and 12 genera dramatically increased, during MP exposure. In summary, this study provides evidence that exposure to MPs has a significant impact on the growth performance and gut microbial composition and structure of chickens, leading to a gut microbial imbalance. This may raise widespread public concern about the health threat caused by MP contamination, which is relevant to the maintenance of environmental quality and protection of poultry health.