Solving bi-objective economic-emission load dispatch of diesel-wind-solar microgrid using African vulture optimization algorithm.

Microgrid is a localised power generation infrastructure designed to provide continuous and reliable power supply to a small, specific region. The increasing concern towards environmental sustainability has resulted in the prioritisation of non-emitting Renewable Energy Sources (RESs) while optimal sizing of microgrid. Optimal sizing of generation units at minimum cost with minimum emission satisfying various practical constraints is a challenging bi-objective optimization problem of power system known as Economic-Emission Load Dispatch (EELD). Metaheuristic approaches are predominantly used to solve the EELD problem. This article explores the advanced metaheuristic methods to solve EELD problem and proposes application of African Vulture Optimization Algorithm (AVOA) to subsequently address the EELD problem of a microgrid combining diesel, wind, and solar energy sources based on field data of a specific location in Jaisalmer, India. AVOA emulates the foraging and navigation patterns of vultures, incorporating effective exploration and exploitation characteristics. The effectiveness of AVOA is first validated using three standard test systems of 10, 6 (IEEE30-bus), and 40 units with/without transmission losses, prior applying it for microgrid. The obtained results are compared with several other popular optimization techniques to establish the efficacy of proposed method. Further, AVOA is employed to analyse the impact of individual RESs on microgrid's cost and emissions across three distinct generation scenarios. The viability score is employed to evaluate the efficacy of all techniques along with other significant performance indices. Statistical data tests such as ANOVA, Wilcoxon, and robustness are employed to assess the statistical confidence of the AVOA. Additionally, a multi-comparison post-hoc TukeyHSD test is introduced which proves the superiority of AVOA. Results establish AVOA as the most effective solution for addressing the EELD problem in microgrid (all sources), with significant reduction of 5.25% and 33.09% in cost (323318.21$/day) and emission (of 2433.95 Tons/day) respectively compared to the closest competitive method.

Analysis of Complications and Management After Self-Administration of Medical Termination of Pregnancy Pills.

Background Medical abortion up to seven weeks of pregnancy by using a combination of mifepristone and misoprostol with careful follow-up is approved by WHO guidelines. But due to the counter sale of medical termination of pregnancy (MTP) pills, in our country, pregnant women have easy access to use them landing upon serious complications. The present study aims to assess the outcome of self-medicated MTP pills in pregnant women. Method This prospective observational study includes pregnant women who presented to our hospital for medical assistance due to complications after using the counter of MTP pills without medical consultation. Findings of ultra-sonographic and physical examination were noted along with analysis of subsequent management. Results The major complaint at presentation was excessive bleeding (78%). Out of 100 patients, 66% of cases were diagnosed as incomplete abortion, 6% as missed abortion, and 6% as unaffected pregnancy. Ectopic pregnancy was detected in 12% of cases. Sixty patients of incomplete abortion were managed with suction and evacuation and six were supplemented with misoprostol. All patients with ectopic pregnancies were managed surgically. Conclusion The majority of the pregnant women who took MTP pills presented with serious complications in the form of bleeding, incomplete/missed abortion, and ectopic pregnancy. Restriction of the over-the-counter dispensation of abortion pills needs to be strictly implemented and knowledge of women regarding the unfavourable outcome of MTP pill intake without proper consultation needs to be improved.

Tetrahydrocurcumin confers protection against amyloid ß-induced toxicity.

Amyloid plaques and neurofibrillary tangles are the hallmarks of Alzheimer's disease. Amyloid ß, a primary component of the amyloid plaques, is neurotoxic. Considerable attention has been directed toward identifying compounds with neuroprotective properties. Using rat primary hippocampal cultures, we show that tetrahydrocurcumin (THC), a metabolite of curcumin, shows a protective effect against oligomeric amyloid-ß-induced toxicity. We further show that THC reduces amyloid-ß-induced (i) increase in the level of reactive oxygen species, (ii) decrease in mitochondrial membrane potential, and (iii) caspase activation. In addition, we show that THC protects human neurons from oligomeric amyloid-ß-induced toxicity as well. Thus, THC confers protection against amyloid-ß-induced toxicity, and the antioxidant activity may contribute to its protective effect.

Antioxidant activity of Myristica malabarica extracts and their constituents.

The 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) assay of the ether, methanol, and aqueous extracts of the spice Myristica malabarica (rampatri) revealed the methanol extract to possess the best antioxidant activity. Column chromatography of the methanol extract led to the isolation of a new 2-acylresorcinol and four known diarylnonanoids of which the diarylnonanoid, malabaricone C, showed the maximum DPPH scavenging activity. Malabaricone C could prevent both Fe(II)- and 2,2'-azobis(2-amidinopropane)dihydrochloride-induced lipid peroxidation (LPO) of rat liver mitochondria more efficiently than curcumin. The anti-LPO activity of malabaricone C was attributed to its better radical scavenging and Fe(II) chelation capacities. The superior activity of malabaricone C was rationalized by a systematic structure-activity correlation of the results obtained with the structurally related diarylnonanoids and curcumin. Malabaricone C also prevented the gamma-ray-induced damage of pBR322 plasmid DNA in a concentration-dependent manner. The radioprotective activity was found to correlate with its (*)OH radical scavenging property, which matched well with that of d-mannitol.