Explore the vast range of titles available.

Microalgae, due to their complex metabolic capacity, are being continuously explored for nutraceuticals, pharmaceuticals, and other industrially important bioactives. However, suboptimal yield and productivity of the bioactive of interest in local and robust wild-type strains are of perennial concerns for their industrial applications. To overcome such limitations, strain improvement through genetic engineering could play a decisive role. Though the advanced tools for genetic engineering have emerged at a greater pace, they still remain underused for microalgae as compared to other microorganisms. Pertaining to this, we reviewed the progress made so far in the development of molecular tools and techniques, and their deployment for microalgae strain improvement through genetic engineering. The recent availability of genome sequences and other omics datasets form diverse microalgae species have remarkable potential to guide strategic momentum in microalgae strain improvement program. This review focuses on the recent and significant improvements in the omics resources, mutant libraries, and high throughput screening methodologies helpful to augment research in the model and non-model microalgae. Authors have also summarized the case studies on genetically engineered microalgae and highlight the opportunities and challenges that are emerging from the current progress in the application of genome-editing to facilitate microalgal strain improvement. Toward the end, the regulatory and biosafety issues in the use of genetically engineered microalgae in commercial applications are described.

Manufacturing sectors, including automotive, aerospace, military, and aviation, are paying close attention to the increasing need for composite materials with better characteristics. Composite materials are significantly used in industry owing to their high-quality, low-cost materials with outstanding characteristics and low weight. Hence, aluminum-based materials are preferred over other traditional materials owing to their low cost, great wear resistance, and excellent strength-to-weight ratio. However, the mechanical characteristics and wear behavior of the Al-based materials can be further improved by using suitable reinforcing agents. The various reinforcing agents, including whiskers, particulates, continuous fibers, and discontinuous fibers, are widely used owing to enhanced tribological and mechanical behavior comparable to bare Al alloy. Further, the advancement in the overall characteristics of the composite material can be obtained by optimizing the process parameters of the processing approach and the amount and types of reinforcement. Amongst the various available techniques, stir casting is the most suitable technique for the manufacturing of composite material. The amount of reinforcement controls the porosity (%) of the composite, while the types of reinforcement identify the compatibility with Al alloy through improvement in the overall characteristics of the composites. Fly ash, SiC, TiC, Al2O3, TiO2, B4C, etc. are the most commonly used reinforcing agents in AMMCs (aluminum metal matrix composites). The current research emphasizes how different forms of reinforcement affect AMMCs and evaluates reinforcement influence on the mechanical and tribo characteristics of composite material.

Blood cancer can be fatal if not detected early; innovative biosensors with machine learning optimization enable timely diagnosis by identifying cancer-specific biomarkers in blood, improving survival rates through earlier intervention and targeted treatment. A graphene-based sensor, crafted with advanced materials, enhances sensitivity for rapid and early blood cancer detection, offering improved diagnostic accuracy and timely medical intervention for better patient outcomes. Machine learning optimization is used to achieve higher sensitivity. The graphene sensor achieves a maximum sensitivity of 1430 nm/RIU, enabling highly accurate and efficient blood cancer detection performance. The developed sensor demonstrates an impressive detection limit of 0.044, offering exceptional precision and sensitivity, making it highly effective for early-stage blood cancer diagnosis and clinical applications. The optimized sensor design achieves a high-quality factor of 125 and a figure of merit of 121, indicating excellent performance, sharp resonance, and enhanced precision for blood cancer detection applications. Optimization is achieved using parametric optimization. Optimization of the sensor is accomplished through detailed parametric analysis, resulting in a finely tuned design. This optimized structure significantly enhances sensitivity and detection speed, making it a highly suitable choice for early-stage and rapid blood cancer diagnosis, thereby improving the chances of timely treatment and patient survival.

Green Supply Chain Management (GSCM) has gained increasing attention as a means of ensuring sustainable manufacturing and a sustainable society. This study examines the relationship between GSCM practices and top management performance to understand its effect on low-carbon performance, sustainable manufacturing, and sustainable society. Data were gathered from 389 top-, middle-, and lower-level managers working in bag-manufacturing firms in India. The data were analyzed using a structural equation modelling (SEM) approach. The findings indicate positive and significant relationships among the constructs, with \"green product and product design\" showing the most substantial influence on \"top management performance\" (β = 0.274, p  < 0.001). This top management performance significantly boosts \"low carbon performance\" (β = 0.375, p  < 0.001), which in turn positively impacts “sustainable manufacturing” (β = 0.283, p  < 0.001) and “sustainable society” (β = 0.347, p  < 0.001). The SEM model explained 20% of the variance in \"top management performance,\" 19.5% in \"low carbon performance,\" 16.1% in \"sustainable society,\" and 14.7% in \"sustainable manufacturing.\" The link between “low-carbon performance” and \"Top Management Performance\" is found to have a medium effect size, indicating a strong and discernible correlation between the two variables. In practical terms, an organization will likely make significant strides toward sustainability and carbon emissions reduction when senior management actively supports and implements these measures. This study highlights that adopting GSCM practices is limited to improving firm performance and goes beyond creating sustainable manufacturing and society. This study is in the exploratory stage and adopts a holistic approach to understand the impacts of GSCM practices. Further studies on GSCM practices should be conducted to gain deeper insights. The model provides a broader picture for manufacturers to develop a long-term vision while adopting GSCM practices for sustainable manufacturing and sustainability.

Background Influenza B is often perceived as a less severe strain of influenza. The epidemiology and clinical outcomes of influenza B have been less thoroughly investigated in hospitalised patients. The aims of this study were to describe clinical differences and outcomes between influenza A and B patients admitted over a period of 4 years. Methods We retrospectively collected data of all laboratory confirmed influenza patients ≥18 years at two tertiary hospitals in South Australia. Patients were confirmed as influenza positive if they had a positive polymerase-chain-reaction (PCR) test of a respiratory specimen. Complications during hospitalisation along with inpatient mortality were compared between influenza A and B. In addition, 30 day mortality and readmissions were compared. Logistic regression model compared outcomes after adjustment for age, Charlson index, sex and creatinine levels. Results Between January 2016–March 2020, 1846 patients, mean age 66.5 years, were hospitalised for influenza. Of whom, 1630 (88.3%) had influenza A and 216 (11.7%) influenza B. Influenza B patients were significantly younger than influenza A. Influenza A patients were more likely be smokers with a history of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and ischaemic heart disease (IHD) than influenza B. Complications, including pneumonia and acute coronary syndrome (ACS) were similar between two groups, however, septic shock was more common in patients with influenza B. Adjusted analyses showed similar median length of hospital stay (LOS), in hospital mortality, 30-day mortality and readmissions between the two groups. Conclusions Influenza B is less prevalent and occurs mostly in younger hospitalised patients than influenza A. Both strains contribute equally to hospitalisation burden and complications. Trial registration Australia and New Zealand Clinical Trial Registry (ANZCR) no ACTRN12618000451202 date of registration 28/03/2018

Skin disease classification is a choir cognate for early diagnosis and therapy. The novelty of this study lies in integrating the Grasshopper Optimisation Algorithm (GOA) with a DETR (DEtection TRansformer) model which is developed for the classification of skin disease. Hyperparameter tuning using GOA optimizes the critical parameters of the proposed model to improve classification accuracy. After extensive testing on a large dataset of skin disease photos, the optimised DETR model returned an accuracy of at least 99.26%. The superiority of the DETR improved using GOA compared to standard ones indicates its potential to be used for automatically diagnosing skin diseases. Findings demonstrate that the proposed method contributes to enhancing diagnostic accuracy and creates a basis for improving transformer-based medical image analysis.

Over the last few years, keen interest has been taken in creating and tuning the concentration of oxygen vacancies in electrode materials to enhance their performance and to develop next-generation rechargeable batteries. Oxygen vacancies can be created in electrode materials by using various synthesis techniques. Furthermore, controlled generation of oxygen vacancies in electrode materials plays an essential role in enhancing their electrochemical properties. However, controlled creation of oxygen vacancies in electrode materials via facile techniques is still a challenge. Furthermore, the characterization techniques available to quantify the exact amount and type of oxygen vacancies present in the bulk as well as the surface of a material are not appropriate. Hence, in this review, we have comprehensively summarized the recent reports on oxygen vacancy-based electrode materials and their impact on the electrochemical performance of rechargeable batteries. Furthermore, the challenges and prospects of these oxygen vacancy-rich electrode materials are also discussed.

The Cadamba is one of the important medicinal plants belonging to the Rubiaceae family. It is crucially significant as it has the largest number of phytochemicals and secondary metabolites (viz., cadambagenic acid, cadamine, quinovic acid, β-sitosterol, cadambine, etc.) having pharmacological and biological properties. It can be used as an alternative to various synthetic chemical compounds in the prevention as well as the treatment of several incurable diseases. More than 100 years of research has been done to discover various phytochemicals and their implications. Very few of them, i.e. ≤2% have been commercialized due to the lack of a suitable model system as well as various associated controversial issues. The solubility of phytochemicals is another major concern: Further response that will be generated due to the solvent used is also unpredictable. Moreover, the Cadamba is one of the ornamental plants with religious significance. Here we have made an effort to summarize all the phytochemicals and their significance to render the interest that would help in their commercialization.

Herein, we report a novel, simple, and cost-effective way to synthesize flexible and conductive rGO and rGO/MWCNT freestanding films. The effects of MWCNT addition on the electrochemical performance of rGO/MWCNT nanocomposite films are investigated in some strong base aqueous electrolytes, such as KOH, LiOH, and NaOH via three-electrode system. The supercapacitor behavior of the films is probed via cyclic voltammetry, galvanostatic charging-discharging, and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. The structural and morphological studies of the films are performed by X-ray diffractometer, Raman spectrometer, surface area analyzer, thermogravimetric analysis, field emission scanning electron microscope and transmission electron microscope. The rGO/MWCNT film synthesized with 10 wt% MWCNTs (GP10C) exhibits high specific capacitance of 200 Fg −1 , excellent cyclic stability with 92% retention after 15,000 long cycle test, small relaxation time constant (~ 194 ms), and high diffusion coefficient (7.8457 × 10 −9  cm 2  s −1 ) in 2 M KOH electrolyte. Furthermore, the symmetric supercapacitor coin cell with GP10C as both anode and cathode using 2 M KOH as electrolyte demonstrates high energy density of 29.4 Whkg −1 and power density of 439 Wkg −1 at current density 0.1 Ag −1 and good cyclic stability with 85% retention of the initial capacitance at 0.3 Ag −1 after 10,000 cycles. Such a high performance of the GP10C film in the supercapacitor can be ascribed to the large surface area and small hydration sphere radius and high ionic conductivity of K + cations in KOH electrolyte.

ObjectivesTo determine the effectiveness of combined exercise-nutrition interventions in prefrail/frail hospitalised older adults on frailty, frailty-related indicators, quality of life (QoL), falls and its cost-effectiveness.DesignRandomised controlled trials (RCTs) of combined exercise-nutrition interventions on hospitalised prefrail/frail older adults ≥65 years were collated from MEDLINE, Emcare, CINAHL, Ageline, Scopus, Cochrane and PEDro on 10 October 2019. The methodological quality was appraised, and data were summarised descriptively or by meta-analysis using a fixed effects model. The standardised mean difference (SMD) or difference of means (MD) with 95% CIs was calculated.ResultsTwenty articles from 11 RCTs experimenting exercise-nutrition interventions on hospitalised older adults were included. Seven articles were suitable for the meta-analyses. One study had low risk of bias and found improvements in physical performance and frailty-related biomarkers. Exercise interventions were mostly supervised by a physiotherapist, focusing on strength, ranging 2–5 times/week, of 20–90 min duration. Most nutrition interventions involved counselling and supplementation but had dietitian supervision in only three studies. The meta-analyses suggest that participants who received exercise-nutrition intervention had greater reduction in frailty scores (n=3, SMD 0.25; 95% CI 0.03 to 0.46; p=0.02) and improvement in short physical performance battery (SPPB) scores (n=3, MD 0.48; 95% CI 0.12 to 0.84; p=0.008) compared with standard care. Only the chair-stand test (n=3) out of the three SPPB components was significantly improved (MD 0.26; 95% CI 0.09 to 0.43; p=0.003). Patients were more independent in activities of daily living in intervention groups, but high heterogeneity was observed (I2=96%, p<0.001). The pooled effect for handgrip (n=3)±knee extension muscle strength (n=4) was not statistically significant. Nutritional status, cognition, biomarkers, QoL, falls and cost-effectiveness were summarised descriptively due to insufficient data.ConclusionsThere is evidence, albeit weak, showing that exercise-nutrition interventions are effective to improve frailty and frailty-related indicators in hospitalised older adults.