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Abstract Background Post hepatectomy liver failure (PHLF) remains a significant risk in patients undergoing curative liver resection for cancer, however currently available PHLF risk prediction investigations are not sufficiently accurate. The Hepatectomy risk assessment with functional magnetic resonance imaging trial (HEPARIM) aims to establish if quantitative MRI biomarkers of liver function & perfusion can be used to more accurately predict PHLF risk and FLR function, measured against indocyanine green (ICG) liver function test. Methods HEPARIM is an observational cohort study recruiting patients undergoing liver resection of 2 segments or more, prior to surgery patients will have both Dynamic Gadoxetate-enhanced (DGE) liver MRI and ICG testing. Day one post op ICG testing is repeated and R15 compared to the Gadoxetate Clearance (GC) of the future liver remnant (FLR-GC) as measure by preoperative DGE- MRI which is the primary outcome, and preoperative ICG R15 compared to GC of whole liver (WL-GC) as a secondary outcome. Data will be collected from medical records, biochemistry, pathology and radiology reports and used in a multi-variate analysis to the value of functional MRI and derive multivariant prediction models for future validation. Discussion If successful, this test will potentially provide an efficient means to quantitatively assess FLR function and PHLF risk enabling surgeons to push boundaries of liver surgery further while maintaining safe practice and thereby offering chance of cure to patients who would previously been deemed inoperable. MRI has the added benefit of already being part of the routine diagnostic pathway and as such would have limited additional burden on patients time or cost to health care systems. (Hepatectomy Risk Assessment With Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging - Full Text View - ClinicalTrials.gov , n.d.) Trial registration ClinicalTrials.gov, ClinicalTrials.gov NCT04705194 - Registered 12th January 2021 – Retrospectively registered

The present study investigated the biosynthesis of silver (AgNPs), zinc oxide (ZnONPs) and titanium dioxide (TiO2NPs) nanoparticles using Aspergillusoryzae, Aspergillusterreus and Fusariumoxysporum. Nanocomposites (NCs) were successfully synthesized by mixing nanoparticles using a Sonic Vibra-Cell VC/VCX processor. A number of analytical techniques were used to characterize the synthesized biological metal nanoparticles. Several experiments tested biologically synthesized metal nanoparticles and nanocomposites against two types of human pathogenic bacteria, including Gram-positive Staphylococcus aureus and methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), and Gram-negative Escherichia coli and Pseudomonasaeruginosa. Additionally, the antitumor activity in HCT-116 cells (colonic carcinoma) was also evaluated. Significant antimicrobial effects of various synthesized forms of nanoparticles and nanocomposites against E. coli and P. aeruginosa bacteria were detected. Various synthesized biogenic forms of nanoparticles and nanocomposite (9.0 to 29 mm in diameter) had high antibacterial activity and high antitumor activity against HCT-116 cells (colonic carcinoma) with IC50 values of 0.7–100 µg/mL. Biosynthesized NPs are considered an alternative to large-scale biosynthesized metallic nanoparticles and nanocomposites, are simple and cost effective, and provide stable nanomaterials.

Soil salinity is a major threat to modern agriculture, as it affects crop growth and development. The present study focuses on the integration of eco-friendly biostimulants in salinity stress as a strategy to achieve the alleviation of abiotic stress. Field experiments were conducted at two locations, consisting of saline and non-saline soil, to investigate the utilization of exopolysaccharide (EPS)-producing bacteria (Azotobacter chroococcum) and melatonin at different concentrations (0, 25, 50, and 100 µM) for alleviating the adverse effects of salinity on the growth and production of faba bean plants. Salinity stress caused a reduction in all measured parameters of the faba bean plants grown in the saline soil relative to the plants grown in the non-saline soil. The addition of bacteria and/or melatonin significantly increased the growth parameters and yield components under both soils compared to the respective control plants. Both bacteria inoculation and melatonin application enhanced N, P, and K concentrations; the proline content; RWC%; and the K+/Na+ ratio; however, Na+ and Cl− concentrations were decreased significantly in salt-stressed faba beans. The combined use of bacteria and melatonin exhibited the highest stimulating effects. The present study recommends the combined use of EPS-producing bacteria and melatonin for the salinity stress management strategy of faba bean.

The biological activities of two species of bacteria isolated from soil of cotton fields identified as Bacillus subtilis strain NRC313 (BS NRC313) and Bacillus thuringiensis strain NRC335 (BT NRC335) were evaluated against the third larval instar of the cotton leafworm, Spodoptera littoralis (Boisd.). The different entomopathogenic bacteria of BS NRC313and BT NRC335 contained 10 × 108 cell/ml, and caused mortality of 100 and 97.3% for the above mentioned strains, respectively. Concentrations of 2.5 × 108 to 10 × 108 cell/ml of strains BS NRC313 and BT NRC335 were applied to the larvae: LC50 were 3.3 × 108 and 3.9 × 108 cell/ml respectively. The influence of exposure to toxin concentrations manifested in terms of decreasing the adult emergence and prolongation of the generation period. The percentage of larvae that survived and succeeded to pupate increased by decreasing the concentration. The longevity of adult emergence that resulted from larvae treated with Bacillus subtilis were 6.0 ± 0.51 and 9.0 ± 0.63 days at 5 × 108 and 2.5 × 108 cell/ml, respectively compared with 9.8 ± 0.47 in control. The results indicated that Bacillus subtilis was more potent than Bacillus thuringiensis. Field applications of B. thuringiensis, B. subtilis and Reldan achieved 55.6, 67.4 and 89.4% reduction of the cotton leafworm larvae Spodoptera littoralis in clover plants under field conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]