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The use of Internet of Drones (IoD) technology has surged across various domains such as logistics, surveying, industrial inspections, emergency response, security, infrastructure monitoring, crop management, and more. However, real-time communication with drones or Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) in the IoD environment occurs over an insecure open channel, making it susceptible to various security and privacy vulnerabilities, including unauthorized access, data interception, denial of service attacks, and privacy concerns. Due to their unique characteristics, including long transmission distances, unstable communication environments, resource limitations, and the highly dynamic nature of UAVs, ensuring the security and privacy of IoD systems is of paramount importance for the success of IoD-based applications. Furthermore, drones are resource-constrained devices, and employing expensive security solutions is impractical, as it would significantly reduce the operational capacity of drones. In this paper, we present the design of an ultralightweight, secure, and robust user-authenticated key agreement framework for the IoD environment, named USAF-IoD. The proposed USAF-IoD is developed by incorporating authenticated encryption (ASCON), cryptographic hashing, XOR operations, and the use of physical unclonable functions (PUFs). PUFs are employed to enhance resistance against physical tampering attacks. The security analysis reveals that the proposed USAF-IoD meets the essential security requirements of the IoD environment. The comparative analysis further highlights the effectiveness of the proposed USAF-IoD, notably excelling in terms of security and functionality characteristics when compared to existing benchmark schemes, and showcasing competitive performance in computation, communication, and energy overheads.

Optimisation of molecular geometry of the headline compound, 4-pyrrolidin-2-yl-pyridine (4P2YLP) was achieved theoretically exercising Density Functional Theory using B3LYP standard approach utilising basis set, 6-311++G(d,p). Using Gaussian 09, HOMO–LUMO analysis was achieved to comprehend the chemical activity and electronic properties of the heading compound. The least HOMO–LUMO gap was obtained for gas phase (5.6486). Bonding interlinkage of the fragments is accomplished by Natural Bonding Orbitals (NBO), as steadiness and chemical reactivity depend on the border molecular orbitals. The nucleophilic & electrophilic spots along with 3D charge transmission areas are determined using the Molecular Electrostatic Potential (MEP). Multiwfn 3.8 software with Pauli Repulsion (PR) & electron localization has been used to conduct ELF and LOL research. While LOL simply displays the most closely spaced orbitals overlapping, ELF displays the electron pair density. Non-linear response properties are analysed in a variety of solvents. The dipole moment (1.9039), polarizability (3.23017E-23 esu) & first order hyperpolarizability (1.51981E-30 esu) of water are the highest values among the selected solvents. Different solvents endured UV–Vis analysis employing TD-DFT technique and the absorption of maximum wavelength is accomplished. Fructose 5-dehydrogenase inhibitor activity by docking is investigated using molecular modelling procedures.

FT-Raman, UV-visible, infrared Fourier transform, and DFT approaches, were used on molecule 3-amino-2,5-dichloropyridine. An extensive analysis of the vibrational distribution energy has been undertaken for the complete assignments for all the vibrations. Also carried out atoms in molecules theory of topological analysis, reduced density gradient and electron localization function. The contacts among the giver and acceptor were studied through natural bond orbital. The estimated values for the orbital of the highest and orbital of the lowest for various solvents reflect the electron stimulation properties. The electronic transition was obtained by ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy and time dependent-density function theory method with several solvents. The molecule’s reactive regions are obtained by Fukui function and MEP exploration. The compound was subjected to non-linear optical investigations to determine its dipole moment, first-order polarizability, and hyperpolarizability.

Due to the flexibility and affordability of low-cost aerial base stations (ABSs), the coexistence of ABSs and terrestrial base stations (TBSs) equipped with a large number of antennas can be a promising solution to meet the high throughput and coverage needs of future wireless networks. In this article, we propose an analytical framework for three-dimensional (3D) heterogeneous aerial-terrestrial networks, where the TBSs are equipped with large antenna elements, and ABSs provide seamless connectivity from air to ground user equipment (GUE). Using tools from stochastic geometry, we derive exact analytical expressions for association probability, coverage probability, area spectral efficiency (ASE), and average ergodic rate (AER) while considering the maximum biased received power association scheme, path loss with line-of-sight (LoS)/non-line-of-sight (NLoS) link and Nakagami-m fading for aerial communications. The derived expressions are validated using Monte Carlo simulations, and a close match is observed between the analytical and simulated results. Simulation results demonstrate that the use of multi-antennas TBSs in conjunction with the ABSs leads to better network performance. However, the overall performance depends upon the density of the aerial and terrestrial network nodes, ABSs altitudes, and the number of antennas per TBS. Furthermore, it is observed that the dense deployment of ABSs leads to higher aerial interference. However, deploying a higher number of TBS antennas while optimally selecting other network parameters results in improved network performance.

Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) supported by smart vehicles have revolutionized modern transportation, offering a wide range of applications and services, such as electronic toll collection, collision avoidance alarms, real-time parking management, and traffic planning. However, the open communication channels among various entities, including smart vehicles, roadside infrastructure, and fleet management systems, introduce security and privacy vulnerabilities. To address these concerns, we propose a novel security framework, named blockchain-assisted lightweight authenticated key agreement security framework for smart vehicles-enabled ITS (BASF-ITS), which ensures data protection both during transit and while stored on cloud servers. BASF-ITS employs a combination of efficient cryptographic primitives, including hash functions, XOR operator, ASCON, elliptic curve cryptography, and physical unclonable functions (PUF), to design authenticated key agreement schemes. The inclusion of PUF significantly enhances the system’s resistance to physical attacks, preventing tampering attempts. To ensure data integrity when stored on the cloud, our framework incorporates blockchain technology. By leveraging the immutability and decentralization of the blockchain, BASF-ITS effectively safeguards data at rest, providing an additional layer of security. We rigorously analyze the security of BASF-ITS and demonstrate its strong resistance against potential security ass aults, making it a robust and reliable solution for smart vehicle-enabled ITS. In a comparative analysis with contemporary competing schemes, BASF-ITS emerges as a promising approach, offering superior functionality traits, enhanced security features, and reduced computation, communication, and storage costs. Furthermore, we present a practical implementation of BASF-ITS using blockchain technology, showcasing the computational time versus the “transactions per block” and the “number of mined blocks”, confirming its efficiency and viability in real-world scenarios. Note to Practitioners—This article is motivated by designing an efficient, lightweight, and anonymous blockchain-enabled authenticated security framework that can fix the security and privacy concerns in insecure environments for ITS applications, such as automated road speed enforcement, collision avoidance alarm systems, and traffic planning and management, etc. Authenticated key agreement schemes are extensively used to secure communications in the ITS environment. However, the existing state-of-the-art schemes are not efficient in terms of performance, are not resilient against potential security attacks, and do not support anonymity, untraceability, and unlinkability. Therefore, we propose the authenticated security framework to secure communication among the participating entities in the ITS environment. It utilizes efficient cryptographic primitives, such as hash function, XOR-operator, ASCON, elliptic curve cryptography, and PUF. It is shown that the proposed framework can be deployed as a robust tool to address the ITS security problems efficiently. Moreover, the proposed framework is lightweight and efficient and can be easily deployed in various ITS applications and other resource-constrained environments. However, the participating entities, such as vehicles and roadside units, must be PUF-enabled to deploy the proposed framework.

ABSTRACTA 90-day feeding trial was conducted to investigate the effects of phytase supplemented Distiller’s Dried Grains with Soluble (DDGS) based diet on the production performance, tissue composition, nutrient digestibility and activity of anti-oxidant enzymes in the gills of mrigal (Cirrhinus mrigala) juveniles. Six experimental diets were formulated to contain increasing levels of supplemental phytase, 0 (D1), 250 (D2), 500 (D3), 750 (D4), 1000 (D5), and 1250 (D6) phytase (FTU/kg). Each experimental diet was randomly assigned and fed three times daily to triplicate groups of 180 fish. Significant increase in body weight gain and specific growth rate, feed conversion and protein efficiency ratios of groups fed up to 750 FTU/kg were observed. Broken line analysis of Specific Growth Rate showed that the optimal dietary phytase level of mrigal juveniles is 750 FTU /kg or higher than this dose. Results among protein, lipid, moisture, ash and P contents of whole body, muscle, liver and viscera were not significantly different as phytase level increased from 250 FTU/kg to 1250 FTU/kg (D2 to D6). It was concluded that phytase at the rate of 750 FTU /kg is the optimum dose for the enhanced growth in juvenile mrigal.

ABSTRACTThe effects of cadmium (Cd) and nickel (Ni) toxicity on embryonic and larval development of Hypophthalmichthys molitrixand Ctenopharyngodon idellawas determined. Different concentrations (0.1, 0.3, and 0.5 mg/l) of Cd and Ni were administered in separate trials to the fish after spawning to 168 h post-hatching (hph) period. Cd was more toxic to the embryos of both fish, as highest embryonic mortality (%) of H. molitrixand C. idellawas observed. However, Ni was found to be more toxic to the larvae of H. molitrixand C. Idellawith highest larval mortality at 168 hph. However, Ni was found to be more toxic to the larvae of H. molitrixand C. idellawith highest larval mortality at 168 hph. The study found a significant effect of heavy metal and metal concentration for causing deformities in H. molitrix. However, in C. idellaonly the effect of metal concentration on fish deformities was significant. Furthermore, Ni was found to cause more deformities as compared to Cd in H. molitrix.While Cd was found to cause more deformities as compared to Ni in C. idella. In conclusion, the study suggests that Cd and Ni may cause serious deformities in fish.

The rollout of China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) has benefited Pakistan in getting a faster pace in terms of economic and financial stability. Pakistan has a significant geographical location in the Asian continent. It possesses an enormous renewable energy sources (RES) potential, primarily wind, in its Sindh, Balochistan, and Khyber Pakhtun-Khuwa (KPK) provinces. This study concentrates on the availability of wind power potential at the selected twelve sites located in three different provinces of the country, using the Weibull probability distribution (WPD) technique. Five parametric estimation techniques were simulated on the data sets of the selected wind sites to find the optimal results. The obtained results showed that the annual wind energy density was found to be 3668.28 kWh/m2at Lucky Energy, 3297.21 kWh/m2at Sujawal, 3180.03 kWh/m2at Tando Ghulam Ali, 2836.76 kWh/m2at Sanghar, 2821.09 kWh/m2at Baburband, 2684.32 kWh/m2at Ketibandar, 2618.78 kWh/m2at Umerkot, 1759.2 kWh/m2Hawksby, 1253.76 kWh/m2at Gwadar, 896.41 kWh/m2at Quetta, 558.59 kWh/m2at Haripur and 376.07 kWh/m2at Peshawar respectively. From the results, it is found that sites present in Sindh province are suitable for commercial-scale wind farm development and the selected wind sites of Balochistan are appropriate for utility-scale wind power development. In contrast, the selected wind sites of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province are unsuitable for commercial scale due to low wind speeds around the year.

This study explores the potentiality of the zinc and iron-based perovskite cathode materials in intermediate temperature solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs), for which BaFe0.8Zn0.1Nb0.1O3-δ(BFZNO:1) and BaFe0.6Zn0.3Nb0.1O3-δ(BFZNO:2) materials with cubic crystal phase purity were considered. These materials have been effectively synthesized by employing the sol–gel autocombustion process. The structural details and phase purity of the synthesized nanomaterials were confirmed from the data obtained from the XRD patterns, while SEM images revealed that both materials are highly porous with grain sizes of 200–250 nm and 55–65 nm for BFZNO:1 and BFZNO:2, respectively. The DC electrical conductivity of BFZNO:1 was estimated as 3.98 S/cm and that of BFZNO:2 as 3.56 S/cm at 700 °C. The BFZNO:1 exhibited a superior current density of 1360 mAcm–2, a power density of 530 mW cm–2, and an open circuit voltage of 1.29 at an intermediate temperature of 700 °C, confirming the potential of Zn and Fe-based perovskite cathode materials for application in intermediate temperature SOFCs.

The coal is an imperative source of energy, which on combustion, it emits sulphur dioxide, which cause air pollution. In the present study, microwave mediated desulphurization of coal was investigated and input variables were optimized by response surface methodology (RSM). The proximate analysis and ultimate analysis report indicate the sample belongs to subbituminous having sulphur (6.96%), volatile matter (34.5%) and calorific value (5099 kcal/kg). Under microwave irradiation, up to 68% of sulphur was leached in alkaline medium. The particle size of coal, concentration of potassium hydroxide (KOH), microwave exposure time and power of microwave radiation were systematically optimized for maximum desulphurization of the coal. Under optimum conditions of the process variables, 63.06% desulphurization of coal was achieved. The optimum levels of process variables are as, particle size 500 µm, irradiation time 8.54 min, radiation power 720 W and concentration of KOH 15% (w/v). Findings revealed that the microwave-assisted desulphurization under alkaline condition furnished promising efficiency, which can be employed for the desulphurization of coal.

Emergency message (EM) dissemination is a significant process in vehicular ad hoc networks (VANETs) and plays a vital role in road safety. Nonetheless, EMs’ dissemination while avoiding broadcast storms poses a considerable challenge. Moreover, selecting optimal cooperative forwarders is also challenging because of unreliability, high end-to-end delay, and packet loss caused by localization errors. Besides, the conventional broadcast-based schemes usually choose forwarder vehicles based on distance, neglecting the influence of links’ qualities. To that end, we propose multi-hop EM dissemination (MEMD) through optimal cooperative forwarder in grid-based fifth-generation (5G) VANET environment. To ensure reliable EMs’ dissemination, we incorporate vehicle-to-everything communication instead of the conventional short-range vehicle-to-vehicle communication. The proposed scheme obtains vehicle positions by integrating GPS measurements with a map-matching technique to avoid vehicle localization errors. Instead of a single parameter, the proposed scheme selects an optimal cooperative forwarder by using our proposed fitness function, which considers different mobility and social parameters. The proposed scheme categorizes EMs’ dissemination into single-hop and multi-hop broadcasting to avoid unnecessary rebroadcasting and communication congestion in the network. Simulation results demonstrate that for varying density, the proposed scheme achieves an average increase of 12%, 9%, and 8.9% in coverage, and 7.95%, 4%, and 3.4% in PDR, and an average reduction of 13.5%, 7.2%, and 12.7% in E2E delay, and 20.9%, 11.3%, and 4% in rebroadcast ratio, as compared to LCL, REMD, and EMDZoI, respectively.

Glutathione (GSH), the constituent of the redox buffer system, is a scavenger of reactive oxygen species (ROS), and its ratio to oxidized glutathione (GSSG) is a key indicator of oxidative stress in the cell. Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is a highly aggressive hematopoietic malignancy characterized by aberrant levels of reduced and oxidized GSH due to oxidative stress. Therefore, the real-time, dynamic, and highly sensitive detection of GSH/GSSG in AML cells is of great interest for the clinical diagnosis and treatment of leukemia. The application of genetically encoded sensors to monitor GSH/GSSG levels in AML cells is not explored, and the underlying mechanism of how the drugs affect GSH/GSSG dynamics remains unclear. In this study, we developed subcellular compartment-specific sensors to monitor GSH/GSSG combined with high-resolution fluorescence microscopy that provides insights into basal GSH/GSSG levels in the cytosol, mitochondria, nucleus, and endoplasmic reticulum of AML cells, in a decreasing order, revealing substantial heterogeneity of GSH/GSSG level dynamics in different subcellular compartments. Further, we investigated the response of GSH/GSSG ratio in AML cells caused by Prussian blue and Fe3O4nanoparticles, separately and in combination with cytarabine, pointing to steep gradients. Moreover, cytarabine and doxorubicin downregulated the GSH/GSSG levels in different subcellular compartments. Similarly, live-cell imaging showed a compartment-specific decrease in response to various drugs, such as CB-839, parthenolide (PTL), and piperlongumine (PLM). The enzymatic activity assay revealed the mechanism underlying fluctuations in GSH/GSSG levels in different subcellular compartments mediated by these drugs in the GSH metabolic pathway, suggesting some potential therapeutic targets in AML cells.

The study aimed to improve the treatment of impetigo with naturally occurring quercetin and its copper–quercetin (Cu–Q) complex by preparing sustained-release (SR) nanoparticles of polycaprolactone (PCL). The solvent evaporation method was used for the copper–quercetin (Cu–Q) complex formation, and their PCL nanoparticles (PCL-NPs, Q-PCL-NPs, and Cu-Q-PCL-NPs) were prepared by the high-pressure homogenization method. Synthesis of nanoparticles was confirmed by their physicochemical and antibacterial properties of quercetin against Gram-positive as well as Gram-negative bacteria. The percentage loading efficiency of quercetin and release in 100 mM of phosphate buffer pH 7.4 and 5.5 at 37 °C was found to be more than 90% after 24 h with the zero-order release pattern. Minimum inhibitory concentration of nanoparticles was found to increase threefold in the case of Cu-Q-PCL-NPs may be due to the synergistic antibacterial behavior. Scanning electron microscopy showed spherical nanoparticles, and surface roughness was confirmed by atomic force microscopy analysis. Fortunately, no sign of irritation on rat skin even at 3%, was seen. In vitro antioxidant assay by 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl reduction was found to be ≤80 ± 0.02% which confirmed their scavenging activity. Interestingly, for the ex vivo study, the tape-stripping model was applied against Staphylococcus aureuscontaining rats and showed the formation of the epidermal layer within 4–5 days. Confirmation of antibacterial activity of pure quercetin, from Cu–Q complex, and their SR release from Q-PCL-NPs and Cu-Q-PCL-NPs was considered an effective tool for the treatment of skin diseases and can be used as an alternative of already resistant ciprofloxacin in impetigo.

The next-generation Internet of vehicles (IoVs) seamlessly connects humans, vehicles, roadside units (RSUs), and service platforms, to improve road safety, enhance transit efficiency, and deliver comfort while conserving the environment. Currently, numerous entities communicate in the IoVs environment via insecure public channels that are susceptible to a variety of security assaults and threats. To address these security challenges, we design an anonymous authenticated key exchange mechanism for the IoVs in smart transportation supported by blockchain, referred to as AAKE-BIVT. AAKE-BIVT securely transmits traffic information to a cluster head, before heading to a nearby RSU utilizing the established secret session keys via mutual authentication and key agreement. A cloud server (CS) then securely aggregates data from related RSUs and generates transactions. The CS combines the transactions into blocks in a peer-to-peer network of CSs, and the blocks are confirmed and added to the blockchain via a voting-based consensus method. By means of rigorous informal security studies and formal security analysis through the random oracle model, we reveal that the proposed AAKE-BIVT is resistant to a broad range of potential security assaults in the IoVs environment. Furthermore, a comparative study reveals that AAKE-BIVT outperforms existing state-of-the-art techniques, in terms of security and functionality while being more efficient in terms of communication and computation. Additionally, the blockchain simulation validates the implementation viability of our proposed AAKE-BIVT.

Many advancements are being made in vehicular networks, such as self-driving, dynamic route scheduling, real-time traffic condition monitoring, and on-board infotainment services. However, these services require high computation power and precision and can be met using mobile edge computing (MEC) mechanisms for vehicular networks. MEC operates through the edge servers available at the roadside, also known as roadside units (RSU). MEC is very useful for vehicular networks because it has extremely low latency and supports operations that require near-real-time access to rapidly changing data. This paper proposes an efficient computational offloading, smart division of tasks, and cooperation among RSUs to increase service performance and decrease the delay in a vehicular network via MEC. The computational delay is further reduced by parallel processing. In the division of tasks, each task is divided into two sub-components which are fed to a deep neural network (DNN) for training. Consequently, this reduces the overall time delay and overhead. We also adopt an efficient routing policy to deliver the results through the shortest path to improve service reliability. The offloading, computing, division, and routing policies are formulated, and a model-based DNN approach is used to obtain an optimal solution. Simulation results prove that our proposed approach is suitable in a dynamic environment. We also compare our results with the existing state-of-the-art, showing that our proposed approach outperforms the existing schemes.

Biotic or abiotic stresses reduce leaf area of soybean plants in the intercropping system, especially during critical reproductive growth phase (from pod-initiation to physiological-maturity) of soybean, which finally influences yield and yield components. However, total yield loss due to reduction in soybean leaf area under maize/soybean intercropping system is still unclear. In a three-year field study, an experiment consisted of four treatments: no removal of trifoliate (CK, 100% leaf area), removal of three-trifoliate (SI, 85% leaf area), removal of six-trifoliate (SII, 70% leaf area), and removal of nine-trifoliate (SIII, 55% leaf area) from the top of the soybean canopy under maize/soybean intercropping. These defoliation treatments were applied at the pod initiation (R3) stage by removing the different number of fully developed trifoliate from the top of the soybean canopy in maize/soybean intercropping system. Results revealed that defoliation significantly decreased total dry matter accumulation and partitioning to vegetative and reproductive organs. Compared with CK (no defoliation), treatments SI, SII, and SIII reduced crop growth rate (by 25%, 46%, and 75%), reproductive growth rate (by 21%, 44%, and 63%), pod-initiation (by 11%, 23%, and 32%), while increased pod-abscission (by 11%, 20%, and 37%) and photosynthetic-rate (by 8%, 19%, and 28%), respectively at physiological-maturity. These negative responses reduced pods plant−1by 16%, 32%, and 49% and seeds plant−1by 20%, 34%, and 46% in SI, SII, and SIII, respectively, compared to non-defoliated. Overall, in SI, SII, and SIII, soybean produced 80%, 67%, and 55% of CK yield. Results implied that any change in leaf area of intercropped-soybean, especially during reproductive phase, will directly affect the availability of photoassimilates and nutrients for developing pods and seeds. Thus, more attention should be paid to improve leaf area of intercropped soybean for the high productivity of intercropping systems via appropriate variety selection or planting arrangement. Furthermore, breeders can evolve new soybean varieties, particularly for the intercropping systems, which can cope with the shading effects of tall crops in intercropping systems. Future studies are needed to understand the internal signaling and the molecular mechanism controlling in soybean in intercropping system.

Climate change is a severe threat for productivity of sugarcane crop. Crop models have potential to quantify the climate change impacts, and management practices effects on development and productivity of sugarcane crop. These models provide simulations as a result of interaction between genotype, management, and environment. The current study was conducted with the objectives to (1) calibration, evaluation and application of CSM-CANEGRO-Sugarcane model (2) climate change assessment and make adaptation strategies for industrial (spring and autumn crops) and non-industrial (summer crop) sugarcane. Two field experiments regarding industrial sugarcane were carried out at Multan during 2013–2014 and 2014–2015 and two field experiments regarding ponda chewing sugarcane (non-industrial, thick, soft and juicier sugarcane) at Vehari during 2017 and 2018. Calibration and evaluation of CSM-CANEGRO-Sugarcane model showed that all model statistical parameters were obtained under acceptable range. Model sensitivity was also evaluated against Carbon, Temperature and Water analysis for both sites. Results revealed that average temperature is increased almost 0.94 °C during baseline weather data (1980–2018), while according to different climate projections by Global Climate Models (GCMs), average temperature 3–5 °C can be increase during mid-century. So, without adaptation strategies, fresh cane yield will be decreased ranging from 15.31 to 22.57% at different GCMs during mid-century (2039–2069). Adaptation strategies; like 18–25 days earlier planting, increasing 15% N application quantity and increasing frequency of irrigation and growing heat tolerant and more growing degree days requiring varieties can compensate the negative impact of climate change in future scenario.

Homogeneous and high-density immobilization of proteins on gold-based sensing surface without the loss of protein activity is of great significance for high-performance immunosensing but remains challenging. To realize more sensitive immunosensing, an improved method for protein immobilization on the gold surface is urgently required. Here, we propose a biological and mild approach by combining a genetically encoded SpyTag–SpyCatcher interaction system with a redesigned S-layer of bacteria. This method allows proteins of interest to be covalently linked with the S-layer in a biological manner and arranged orderly in a two-dimensional nanoarray on the gold surface. The activity of African swine fever virus proteins was significantly preserved after immobilization. In addition, our S-layer-based immobilization method exhibited an eightfold increase in detection sensitivity compared with the conventional chemical cross-linking for protein immobilization during serological tests. Together, our S-layer-based immobilization method provides an innovative approach for building a quality gold-based biosensing interface and should greatly contribute to the high-sensitivity sensing for a deeper understanding of pathogen infection and host immunity.

This study explores the financial sustainability of microfinance institutions (MFIs) in the economic context to identify how macro-level economic decisions affect the micro-level decisions in the microfinance sector in South Asia. For that purpose, the data of 409 South Asian MFIs combined with the macroeconomic variables of respective countries are used over the period 1999–2017. The empirical analysis uses a fixed-effect model (FEM) to analyse the unbalance panel data of microfinance institutions and macroeconomic variables. We employ two-stage least squares (2SLS) model for robustness and System Generalized Method of Moment (GMM) to address the potential endogeneity and over-identification bias. The results reveal that economic indicators such as foreign investment, human development, inflation, interest rate, private credit, and labour force participation have negatively influenced financial sustainability except for the GDP growth. The overall economic results seem imperative from the good-governance perspective of MFIs. Besides, the government and microfinance policymakers need to give due consideration to the macro-level economic decisions to achieve the financial sustainability of MFIs.JEL Classification:A12, G21, G28, O1, Q01

ABSTRACTThis paper identifies the impact of different roles of female participation (i.e. female borrower, board member, manager, and loan officer) in achieving financial sustainability and outreach of MFIs. We used global panel data from 1999 to 2017 and employed panel-ordinary least square (OLS), fixed-effect model. Moreover, we employed Two-Stage Least Square (2SLS) to resolve the endogeneity problem. We found that female as a borrower, board member and manager has a significant favorable influence on outreach except for female loan officer. However, these have significant negative impact on financial sustainability except female manager. The estimates also indicate that female participation has more impact on outreach than financial sustainability. Our study have implications for devising target market strategy, recruitment, and leadership style strategy for the microfinance sector to achieve poverty reduction, gender equality, and women empowerment.

Recently, triboelectric nanogenerators (TENGs) have been widely used for energy harvesting and self-powered sensing due to their significant and unique advantages. However, the intrinsic mechanisms that contribute to tribo-electricification (TE) between two materials remain as a subject of rigorous debate. In addition to predicting the qualitative charge transfer in solid-solid contacts based on the difference in the work functions of the two moieties constituting the interface, we argue that it is essential to obtain atomic-level, first principles, insights into the bonding properties, quantitative charge transfer, and the possible presence of a electrostatic potential barrier at the interface to fully understand the TE mechanism of a system. We have utilized dispersion-corrected density functional theory (DFT) calculations in this study to systematically investigate the TE potential of bare surface Ti3C2and Ti3N22D MXene monolayers and their surface functionalized modifications Ti3C2R2and Ti3N2R2(where R = -O, -OH, or -F) in contact with Al(111). For these heterostructures, we have analyzed the adhesive energy of the interfaces, the nature of interaction through the electron localization function (ELF), and the charge distribution, which have revealed distinct characteristics of MXene/Al contacts for these monolayer/metal interfaces at their equilibrium distance and the changes in their properties under uniaxial pressure. Among all the metallic 2D MXene variants investigated in this study, we have determined that Ti3C2F2/Al and Ti3N2F2/Al interfaces show exceptional potential for TE.

Apoptosis is a form of programmed cell death that is essential for maintaining internal environmental stability. Disordered apoptosis can cause a variety of diseases; therefore, sensing apoptosis can provide help in study of mechanism of the relevant diseases and drug development. It is known that caspase-3 is a key enzyme involved in apoptosis and the expression of its activity is an indication of apoptosis. Here, we present a genetically encoded switch-on mNeonGreen2-based molecular biosensor. mNeonGreen2 is the brightest monomeric green fluorescent protein. The substrate of caspase-3, DEVD amino acid residues, is inserted in it, while cyclized by insertion of Nostoc punctiformeDnaE intein to abolish the fluorescence (inactive state). Caspase-3-catalyzed cleavage of DEVD linearizes mNeonGreen2 and rebuilds the natural barrel structure to restore the fluorescence (activated state). The characterization exhibited that the Caspase-3 biosensor has shortened response time, higher sensitivity, and prolonged functional shelf life in detection of caspase-3 amongst the existing counterparts. We also used the Caspase-3 biosensor to evaluate the effect of several drugs on the induction of apoptosis of HeLa and MCF-7 tumor cells and inhibition of Zika virus invasion.

The present study aimed to design and evaluate controlled porosity osmotic pump (CPOP) tablets of enalapril maleate (ENP) being used for the treatment of hypertension. D-optimal response surface design was used, considering cellulose acetate and osmotic agents (lactose and fructose) as variables while physicochemical parameters of tablets were taken as responses. The asymmetric, leachable membrane of cellulose acetate on ENP tablets was applied and an increase in the thickness of core tablets from 5 ± 0.01 to 5.4 ± 0.17 mm was observed. The average weight of all CPOP formulations ranged from 376.7 ± 0.4 to 389.1 ± 0.3 mg and hardness was 6.2 ± 0.02 to 6.32 ± 0.06 Kg/cm2. The friability of all formulations was less than 1%. 89.53 ± 1.05% of ENP release was observed in phosphate buffer pH 6.8 after 12 h. Due to the smallest AIC (Akaike information criteria) and the greatest r2values, zero-order release kinetics model with non-Fickian diffusion behavior was observed in all proposed formulations. f1(difference factor) values were 1.28 ± 0.06 to 12.64 ± 0.41% and f2(similarity factor) values were 59.75 ± 0.24 to 94.03 ± 1.36% in the same dissolution medium. pH-independent behavior was observed in pH-responsive study. Dissolution efficiency (DE) ranged from 51.49 ± 0.23 to 53.52 ± 0.52% and mean dissolution time (MDT) values ranged from 5.27 ± 0.05 to 5.59 ± 0.23 h. No interaction between the ingredients was found in FTIR analysis. The optimized formulation with improved drug release property was found stable in the accelerated stability study of six months. CPOP tablets of ENP can be considered as an effective substitute for immediate-release tablets to control hypertension in chronic conditions.

Context Soil salinity is a serious environmental issue that is drastically reducing crop productivity via limiting the uptake of important micronutrients including iron (Fe) and zinc (Zn). Aims To identify the wheat genotypes with better Fe and Zn uptake potential under saline conditions. Methods The seedlings of eight wheat genotypes (SARC-1, SARC-2, SARC-3, SARC-4, SARC-5, SARC-6, SARC-7 and SARC-8) were exposed to salinity (100mM NaCl), deficiency of Fe and Zn (one-fourth of the control) and their combination of salinity and deficiency of Fe and Zn, created usingHoagland’s nutrient solution for 28 days. Key Results It was noticed that root and shoot growth of all the genotypes decreased due to salinity and nutrient (Fe and Zn) deficiency, and even higher in their combined treatment. The concentration of Na increased while K decreased under both salinity alone and it's combination with nutrient deficiency. The concentrations and uptake of Fe and Zn greatly decreased in the combinedapplication of salinity and nutrient deficiency followed by nutrient deficiency and saline treatments. Multivariate analysis showed that Na uptake was the major reason for the limited growth and nutrient uptake by wheat genotypes. Conclusions SARC-5 was the most sensitive genotype against salinity and nutrient deficiency. In contrast, SARC-1 was the most tolerant genotype against salinity, whichaccumulated the highest contents of both Fe and Zn. Among the eight genotypes used in the present study, SARC-1 is the most suitable genotype for cultivation on Zn and Fe deficient saline soils. Implications The obtained results would be very helpful for ensuring food security and quality in salt affected areas.

Climate uncertainty is a serious risk to agriculture sector impacting food security. Soybean crop is not exception to climate change. Crop growth simulation modelling approach has been established as a valuable tool to determine climate uncertainty on soybean yield. However, the crop growth model must be calibrated and evaluated for new regions before application for climate change assessment. Limited studies are available about evaluation of CSM-CROPGRO-Soybean model and its application for climate change impact on soybean in spring and autumn seasons under arid conditions. Field experiments were conducted in spring and autumn season in 2019 and 2020 at farmer field in Multan, Pakistan. During spring season experiments, cultivars Williams-82, NARC-1 and Ajmeri were placed in main plots in both seasons, while dates were 10th Jan, 20th Jan, 01st Feb, 10th Feb and 20th Feb during spring season while sowing dates were 01st Jul, 15th Jul, 01st Aug, 15th Aug and 30th Aug in autumn were allocated in sub plots. Results indicated that after calibration, performance of model was well due to acceptable ranged values of error and root mean square error (RMSE). In sensitivity analysis, model was responsive to CO2, temperature and rainfall. Climate change reduced more seed yield in autumn season as compared to spring season. Without adaptation strategies, seed yield will be reduced by 22.73% in spring and 35.91% in autumn season during mid-century at all GCMs at RCP 8.5. With adopting adaptation strategies of seven days earlier sowing of spring soybean and ten days delay sowing of autumn crop, along with growing climate resilient cultivars can minimize the negative impact of climate change.

In this paper, design of composite state convergence controller for teleoperating a multi-degrees-of-freedom manipulator is presented. The composite variables corresponding to the joints of the master and slave manipulators as well as operator’s force are transmitted across the communication channel. The control laws for the master and slave systems are defined according to the composite state convergence scheme with the addition of cancellation terms containing the nonlinear dynamics of master and slave manipulators. It is shown that convergence of composite variables of respective master and slave joints guarantee the convergence of respective joint positions of the master and slave systems under the composite state convergence control laws. MATLAB simulations on time-delayed teleoperation model are performed to validate the proposal.

This paper describes the design process and the steps involved in the implementation of a fuzzy logic-based controller for autonomous navigation of an educational robot called Qbot2. The differential-driven robot is equipped with three ultrasonic sensors (SRF-04) mounted on the front bumper and DC motors with built-in encoders and current sensors. The controller takes the inputs from three ultrasonic sensors and generates the speed commands to avoid any obstacle in its path. PCB is designed to process all the data from the sensors and direct the signal to the motors via motor driver circuits. The low-level implementation of the hurdle avoidance controller is implemented using an inexpensive Arduino UNO in real-time. The controller performance is validated through an experimental run. The designed platform can be used to implement various fuzzy inference systems in real-time and hence can be utilized as laboratory work for testing soft computing algorithms on mobile robotics.

Hypothetical proteins (HPs) are non-predicted sequences that are identified only by open reading frames in sequenced genomes, but their protein products remain uncharacterized by any experimental means. The genome of every species consists of HPs that are involved in various cellular processes and signaling pathways. Annotation of HPs is important as they play a key role in disease mechanisms, drug designing, vaccine production, antibiotic production, and host adaptation. In the case of bacteria, 25-50% of the genome comprises HPs, which are involved in metabolic pathways and pathogenesis. The characterization of bacterial HPs helps to identify virulent proteins that are involved in pathogenesis. This can be done using in-silico studies, which provide sequence analogs, physiochemical properties, cellular or subcellular localization, structure and function validation, and protein-protein interactions. The most diverse types of virulent proteins are exotoxins, endotoxins, and adherent virulent factors that are encoded by virulent genes present on the chromosomal DNA of the bacteria. This review evaluates virulent HPs of pathogenic bacteria, such as Staphylococcus aureus, Chlamydia trachomatis, Fusobacterium nucleatum, and Yersinia pestis. The potential of these HPs as a drug target in bacteria-caused infectious diseases, along with the mode of action and treatment approaches, has been discussed.