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Newcastle disease virus (NDV) and avian influenza virus (AIV) are causing contagious diseases in chickens and wild birds worldwide; however, there is a paucity of information on the current status of seropositivity of Newcastle and avian influenza diseases in chickens and wild birds of Pakistan. Therefore, the present study aimed to investigate the serological evidence of both diseases in commercial poultry (broiler, layer chickens), backyard poultry, and captive wild birds in poultry‑dense regions of Punjab, Pakistan. Enzyme‑linked immunosorbent (ELISA) and haemagglutination inhibition (HI) assays were performed for the determination of antibodies against NDV and AIV and their genotyping and subtyping, respectively. Overall, 47.5% and 67.4% seroprevalence of NDV and AIV, respectively, was observed in both poultry and wild birds. Based on bird's category, layer chickens had the highest seroprevalence of NDV (60.8%, 95% CI: 52.95‑68.22, OR: 0.71) followed by backyard poultry (56.8%, 95% CI: 47.92‑65.32, OR: 0.82), broilers (52.7%, 95% CI: 46.84‑58.64), pigeons (41.3%, 95% CI: 30.53‑52.81, OR: 1.59), peafowls (26.1%, 95% CI: 11.09‑48.69, OR: 3.16), ducks (23.8%, 95% CI: 12.59‑39.8, OR: 3.57), turkeys (16.7%, 95% CI: 4.41‑42.27, OR: 5.58), parrots (14.3%, 95% CI: 2.52‑43.85, OR: 6.70) and quails (2.3%, 95% CI: 0.2‑13.51, OR: 4.8). Comparatively, backyard chickens had the highest seroprevalence of AIV (78.8%, 95% CI: 70.64‑85.22, OR: 0.63) followed by ducks (73.8%, 95% CI: 57.68‑85.6, OR: 0.83), layers (73.5%, 95% CI: 65.98‑79.89, OR: 0.84), pigeons (72.5%, 95% CI: 61.2‑81.61, OR: 0.89), broilers (70.1%, 95% CI: 64.44‑75.29), turkeys (55.5%, 95% CI: 31.35‑77.6, OR: 1.87), peafowls (47.8%, 95% CI: 27.42‑68.9, OR: 2.56) and parrots (42.8%, 95% CI: 18.8‑70.3, OR: 3.1). Overall, 40.1%, 34.2%, 31.3%, and 25.1% sera were positive for H9 AIV, G‑VII NDV, H7 AIV, and G‑VI NDV, respectively. The current study revealed a widespread exposure to NDV and AIV in poultry and captive wild birds. Therefore, it is crucial to include captive wild birds in NDV and AIV surveillance programs to further strengthen disease control measures, particularly in endemic regions.

Sinusoidal shock waveforms are the classical type of waveforms generated in Drop Test Machines (DTMs) using Rubber Wave Generators (RWGs). For different specifications of pulse, different RWGs are used, leading to the laborious work of replacing RWGs in DTMs. In this study, a novel technique is developed to predict a shock pulse of variable height and time using a Hybrid Wave Generator (HWG) that yields variable stiffness. This variable stiffness is a combination of the fixed stiffness of rubber and the variable stiffness of magnet. A mathematical nonlinear model has developed, consisting of a polynomial model of RWG and an integral approach of magnetic force. The designed HWG is capable enough to produce a strong magnetic force as a result of a high magnetic field generated in the solenoid. This magnetic force combines with rubber to give a variable stiffness effect. This way, a semi-active control of the stiffness and pulse shape is achieved. Two sets of HWGs are tested to study the control over the shock pulse. An average hybrid stiffness from 32 to 74 kN/m is observed by varying voltage from 0 to 1000 VDC, resulting in a change of height of pulse from 18 to 56 g (net change 38 g) and a change of shock pulse width from 17 to 12 ms (net change 5 ms). From experimental results, it is concluded that the developed technique gives satisfactory results for the control/prediction of variable shape shock pulse.

Two-dimensional (2D) van der Waals (vdW) heterostructured transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) open up new possibilities for a wide range of optoelectronic applications. Interlayer couplings are responsible for several fascinating physics phenomena, which are in addition to the multifunctionalities that have been discovered in the field of optoelectronics. These couplings can influence the overall charge, or the energy transfer processes via stacking, separation, and dielectric angles. This focused review article summarizes the most recent and promising strategies for interlayer exciton emission in 2D or integrated perovskites and TMD heterostructures. These types of devices require a thorough comprehension and effective control of interlayer couplings in order to realize their functionalities and improve performance, which is demonstrated in this article with the energy or charge transfer mechanisms in the individual devices. An ideal platform for examining the interlayer coupling and the related physical processes is provided by a summary of the recent research findings in 2D perovskites and TMDs. Furthermore, it would encourage more investigation into the comprehension and regulation of excitonic effects and the related optoelectronic applications in vdW heterostructures over a broad spectral response range. Finally, the current challenges and prospects are summarized in this paper.

Two-dimensional (2D) layered semiconductors are appealing materials for high-specific-power photovoltaic systems due to their unique optoelectronic properties. The 2D materials can be naturally thin, and their properties can be altered in a variety of ways. Therefore, these materials may be used to develop high-performance opto-spintronic and photovoltaic devices. The most recent and promising strategies were used to induce circular photo-galvanic effects (CPGEs) in 2D TMD materials with broken inversion symmetry. The majority of quantum devices were manufactured by mechanical exfoliation to investigate the electrical behavior of ultrathin 2D materials. The investigation of CPGEs in 2D materials could enable the exploration of spin-polarized optoelectronics to produce more energy-efficient computing systems. The current research on nanomaterial-based materials paves the way for developing materials to store, manipulate, and transmit information with better performance. Finally, this study concludes by summarizing the current challenges and prospects.

It is meaningful to find suitable in vitro models for preclinical toxicology and efficacy evaluation of nanodrugs and nanocarriers or drug screening and promoting clinical transformation of nanocarriers. The emergence and development of organoids technology provide a great possibility to achieve this goal. Herein, we constructed an in vitro 3D organoid model to study the inhibitory effect of nanocarriers on colorectal cancer. And designed hydroxyapatite nanoclusters (c-HAP) mediated by polydopamine (PDA) formed under alkaline conditions (pH 9.0), then used c-HAP to load DOX (c-HAP/DOX) as nanocarrier for improved chemotherapy. In vitro, drug release experiments show that c-HAP/DOX has suitable responsive to pH, can be triggered to the facile release of DOX in a slightly acidic environment (pH 6.0), and maintain specific stability in a neutral pH value (7.4) environment. c-HAP/DOX showed an excellent antitumor effect in the two-dimensional (2D) cell model and three-dimensional (3D) patient-derived colon cancer organoids (PDCCOs) model. In addition, c-HAP/DOX can release a sufficient amount of DOX to produce cytotoxicity in a slightly acidic environment, entering efficiently into the colorectal cancer cells caused endocytosis and induced apoptosis. Therefore, organoids can serve as an effective in vitro model to present the structure and function of colorectal cancer tissues and be used to evaluate the efficacy of nanocarriers for tumors., Competing Interests: Declaration of interests The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2022. Published by Elsevier Inc.)

Background: Tripsacum dactyloides (2n = 4x = 72) and Zea perennis (2n = 4x = 40) are tertiary gene pools of Zea mays L. and exhibit many abiotic adaptations absent in modern maize, especially salt tolerance. A previously reported allopolyploid (hereafter referred to as MTP, 2n = 74) synthesized using Zea mays, Tripsacum dactyloides, and Zea perennis has even stronger salt tolerance than Z. perennis and T. dactyloides. This allopolyploid will be a powerful genetic bridge for the genetic improvement of maize. However, the molecular mechanisms underlying its salt tolerance, as well as the key genes involved in regulating its salt tolerance, remain unclear., Results: Single-molecule real-time sequencing and RNA sequencing were used to identify the genes involved in salt tolerance and reveal the underlying molecular mechanisms. Based on the SMRT-seq results, we obtained 227,375 reference unigenes with an average length of 2300 bp; most of the unigenes were annotated to Z. mays sequences (76.5%) in the NR database. Moreover, a total of 484 and 1053 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified in the leaves and roots, respectively. Functional enrichment analysis of DEGs revealed that multiple pathways responded to salt stress, including "Flavonoid biosynthesis," "Oxidoreductase activity," and "Plant hormone signal transduction" in the leaves and roots, and "Iron ion binding," "Acetyl-CoA carboxylase activity," and "Serine-type carboxypeptidase activity" in the roots. Transcription factors, such as those in the WRKY, B3-ARF, and bHLH families, and cytokinin negatively regulators negatively regulated the salt stress response. According to the results of the short time series-expression miner analysis, proteins involved in "Spliceosome" and "MAPK signal pathway" dynamically responded to salt stress as salinity changed. Protein-protein interaction analysis revealed that heat shock proteins play a role in the large interaction network regulating salt tolerance., Conclusions: Our results reveal the molecular mechanism underlying the regulation of MTP in the response to salt stress and abundant salt-tolerance-related unigenes. These findings will aid the retrieval of lost alleles in modern maize and provide a new approach for using T. dactyloides and Z. perennis to improve maize., (© 2023. The Author(s).)

Chilling injury owing to low temperatures severely affects the growth and development of maize ( Zea mays .L) seedlings during the early and late spring seasons. The existing maize germplasm is deficient in the resources required to improve maize's ability to tolerate cold injury. Therefore, it is crucial to introduce and identify excellent gene/QTLs that confer cold tolerance to maize for sustainable crop production. Wild relatives of maize, such as Z . perennis and Tripsacum dactyloides, are strongly tolerant to cold and can be used to improve the cold tolerance of maize. In a previous study, a genetic bridge among maize that utilized Z. perennis and T. dactyloides was created and used to obtain a highly cold-tolerant maize introgression line (MIL)-IB030 by backcross breeding. In this study, two candidate genes that control relative electrical conductivity were located on MIL-IB030 by forward genetics combined with a weighted gene co-expression network analysis. The results of the phenotypic, genotypic, gene expression, and functional verification suggest that two candidate genes positively regulate cold tolerance in MIL-IB030 and could be used to improve the cold tolerance of cultivated maize. This study provides a workable route to introduce and mine excellent genes/QTLs to improve the cold tolerance of maize and also lays a theoretical and practical foundation to improve cultivated maize against low-temperature stress.

Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) have emerged as intriguing porous materials with diverse potential applications. Herein, we synthesized a copper-based MOF (MOF-199) and investigated its use in energy storage applications. Methods were adapted to intensify the electrochemical characteristics of MOF-199 by preparing composites with graphene and polyaniline (PANI). The specific capacity of the synthesized MOF in a three-electrode assembly was significantly enhanced from 88 C g -1 to 475 C g -1 and 766 C g -1 with the addition of graphene and polyaniline (PANI), respectively. Due to the superior performance of (MOF-199)/PANI, a hybrid supercapacitor was fabricated with the structure of (MOF-199)/PANI//activated carbon, which displayed an excellent maximum energy and power density of 64 W h kg -1 and 7200 W kg -1 , respectively. The hybrid device exhibited an appreciable capacity retention of 92% after 1000 charge-discharge cycles. Moreover, using Dunn's model, the capacitive and diffusive contributions as well as the k 1 and k 2 currents of the fabricated device were calculated, validating the hybrid nature of the supercapattery device. The current studies showed that MOF-199 exhibits promising electrochemical features and can be considered as potential electrode material for hybrid energy storage devices., Competing Interests: There are no conflicts to declare., (This journal is © The Royal Society of Chemistry.)

Transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) van der Waals (vdW) 1D heterostructures are recently synthesized from 2D nanosheets, which open up new opportunities for potential applications in electronic and optoelectronic devices. The most recent and promising strategies in regards to forming 1D TMDs nanotubes (NTs) or nanoscrolls (NSs) in this review article as well as their heterostructures that are produced from 2D TMDs are summarized. In order to improve the functionality of ultrathin 1D TMDs that are coaxially combined with boron nitride nanotubes and single-walled carbon nanotubes. 1D heterostructured devices perform better than 2D TMD nanosheets when the two devices are compared. The photovoltaic effect in WS 2 or MoS 2 NTs without a junction may exceed the Shockley-Queisser limit for the above-band-gap photovoltage generation. Photoelectrochemical hydrogen evolution is accelerated when monolayer WS 2 or MoS 2 NSs are incorporated into a heterojunction. In addition, the photovoltaic performance of the WSe 2 /MoS 2  NSs junction is superior to that of the performance of MoS 2 NSs. The summary of the current research about 1D TMDs can be used in a variety of ways, which assists in the development of new types of nanoscale optoelectronic devices. Finally, it also summarizes the current challenges and prospects., (© 2022 Wiley-VCH GmbH.)

Since disease is a natural aspect of life, human deep space missions will largely depend on preventing disease, diagnosis, and treatment. Pharmaceuticals are used to identify, treat, prevent, or cure illnesses, but they are unstable on Earth and even more so in space. What if the pharmacist could prepare small quantities of medicines in space, on site, as needed? The alteration in pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic (PK-PD) and pharmacogenomics with flying and medications will need to be customised for each person individually and specifically at the point of need because of drug stability issues. We can't meet the expense of bringging everything we might need, so pharmacists must devise ways to manufacture medications in-situ and on-demand. With this skill, pharmacists would be able to fulfill the demand of any exploration mission that involved spaceflight with robust pharmaceuticals that would be stable enough to last the duration of the mission, comprehensive enough to treat all potential medical events, safe, and effective, notwithstanding the known PK-PD and pharmacogenetic alterations that take place during spaceflight. The purpose of this article was to review topics related with Astropharmacy. The topics include: the need of Astropharmacy in space, health-related problems caused by hostile space conditions, storage problems in space, methods to establish the stability and effectiveness of pharmaceutical products in space, and alteration in human physiology including PK-PD and pharmacogenomics and highlight the pharmacist's potential roles in the pharmacies orbiting the space., (© Individual authors.)

In this study, silica in the form of raw local natural sand was added to high-density-polyethylene (HDPE) in order to develop a composite material in the form of sheets that could have potential applications in thin film industries, such as packaging, or recycling industries, such as in 3D printing. The silica/HDPE composite sheets were developed using a melt extruder followed by using a hot press for compression molding. The impact of two different particle sizes (25 µm and 5 µm) of the silica particles on selected properties such as toughness, elastic modulus, ductility, and composite density were analyzed. A considerable increase in the toughness and elastic modulus was observed from 0 wt% to 20 wt% with a 25 µm filler size. However, a general decreasing trend was observed in the material's toughness and elastic modulus with decreasing particle size. A similar trend was observed for the ductility and the tensile strength of the sheets prepared from both filler particle sizes. In terms of the composite density, as the filler was increased from 20 wt% to 50 wt%, an increase in the composite densities was noticed for both particle sizes. Additionally, the sheets developed with 25 µm particle size had a slightly higher density than the 5 µm particle size, which is expected as the size can account for the higher weight. Results from this work aim to analyze the use of local sand as a filler material that can contribute towards maximizing the potential of such composite materials developed in extrusion industries.

Heat shock transcription factors (HSF) are divided into classes A, B and C. Class A transcription factors are generally recognized as transcriptional activators, while functional characterization of class B and C heat shock transcription factors have not been fully developed in most plant species. We isolated and characterized a novel HSF transcription factor gene, TrHSFB2a (a class B HSF) gene, from the drought stress-sensitive forage crop species, white clover ( Trifolium repens ). TrHSFB2a was highly homologous to MtHSFB2b , CarHSFB2a , AtHSFB2b and AtHSFB2a. The expression of TrHSFB2a was strongly induced by drought ( PEG6000 15% w / v ), high temperature (35 °C) and salt stresses (200 mM L -1 NaCl) in white clover, while subcellular localization analysis showed that it is a nuclear protein. Overexpression of the white clover gene TrHSFB2a in Arabidopsis significantly reduced fresh and dry weight, relative water contents (RWC), maximum photosynthesis efficiency (Fv/Fm) and performance index on the absorption basis (PI ABS ), while it promoted leaf senescence, relative electrical conductivity (REC) and the contents of malondialdehyde (MDA) compared to a wild type under drought, heat and salt stress conditions of Arabidopsis plants. The silencing of its native homolog ( AtHSFB2a ) by RNA interference in Arabidopsis thaliana showed opposite trends by significantly increasing fresh and dry weights, RWC, maximum photosynthesis efficiency (Fv/Fm) and performance index on the absorption basis (PI ABS ) and reducing REC and MDA contents under drought, heat and salt stress conditions compared to wild type Arabidopsis plants. These phenotypic and physiological indicators suggested that the TrHSFB2a of white clover functions as a negative regulator of heat, salt and drought tolerance. The bioinformatics analysis showed that TrHSFB2a contained the core B3 repression domain (BRD) that has been reported as a repressor activator domain in other plant species that might repress the activation of the heat shock-inducible genes required in the stress tolerance process in plants. The present study explores one of the potential causes of drought and heat sensitivity in white clover that can be overcome to some extent by silencing the TrHSFB2a gene in white clover.

Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) is the most violent class of tumor and accounts for 20-24% of total breast carcinoma, in which frequently rare mutation occurs in high frequency. The poor prognosis, recurrence, and metastasis in the brain, heart, liver and lungs decline the lifespan of patients by about 21 months, emphasizing the need for advanced treatment. Recently, the adaptive immunity mechanism of archaea and bacteria, called clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR) combined with nanotechnology, has been utilized as a potent gene manipulating tool with an extensive clinical application in cancer genomics due to its easeful usage and cost-effectiveness. However, CRISPR/Cas are arguably the efficient technology that can be made efficient via organic material-assisted approaches. Despite the efficacy of the CRISPR/Cas@nano complex, problems regarding successful delivery, biodegradability, and toxicity remain to render its medical implications. Therefore, this review is different in focus from past reviews by (i) detailing all possible genetic mechanisms of TNBC occurrence; (ii) available treatments and gene therapies for TNBC; (iii) overview of the delivery system and utilization of CRISPR-nano complex in TNBC, and (iv) recent advances and related toxicity of CRISPR-nano complex towards clinical trials for TNBC., Competing Interests: The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (© 2022 The Authors.)

Helictotrichon virescens is a perennial herbaceous plant with a life expectancy of about 10 years. It has high cold and heat resistance and can successfully survive over winter in the habitats with a temperature range of -25 to 25°C. Therefore, this study aimed to identify the key genes regulating low-temperature stress responses in H. virescens and analyze cold tolerant at molecular level. This study used RNA sequencing (RNA-Seq) and weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA) to identify the hub genes associated with cold tolerance in H. virescens . RT-PCR was conducted, homologous genes were identified, and related bioinformatics were analyzed to verify the identified hub genes. Moreover, WGCNA analysis showed that only the brown module had the highest correlation with the active-oxygen scavenging enzymes [peroxide (POD), superoxide dismutase (SOD), and catalase (CAT)]. The expression levels of three hub genes in the brown module (Cluster-37118.47362, cluster-37118.47713, and cluster-37118.66740) were significantly higher under low-temperature stress than those under control conditions. Furthermore, gene ontology (GO) and KEGG annotations showed that the three hub genes were mainly enriched in the metabolism pathways of sphingolipids, selenocompounds, glyoxylate, and dicarboxylate, carotenoids biosynthesis, and other biological pathways. The results of this study also showed that the subcellular localization prediction results showed that the cold tolerance hub genes were all localized to the plasma membrane. By constructing a protein interaction network, it was found that the hub gene Cluster-37118.66740 interacted with Sb09g003460.1 and Sb04g020180.1 proteins in Sorghum bicolor. By constructing phylogenetic trees of the four species of H. virescens , Sorghum bicolo , Oryza sativa Japonica , and Arabidopsis thaliana , the results showed that, the hub gene Cluster 37118.66740 (of H. virescens ) and Os03g0340500 (of Oryza sativa Japonica ) belonged to the same ancestral branch and were in the same subfamily. Thus, this study provides methodology and guidance to identify the cold tolerance genes for other herbage and their cold tolerant molecular mechanisms at molecular level., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2022 Cheng, Pan, Cui, Zheng, Luo, Chen, Yang, Wang, Li, Zhou, Lei, Li, Zhang, Iqbal and He.)

Nanotheranostic agents based on plasmonic nanostructures with their resonance wavelengths located in the second near-infrared window (NIR-II) have gained significant attention in profound tumor photothermal therapy. However, the modulation of localized surface plasmon resonance of gold nanomaterials from the first near-infrared (NIR-I) window to the NIR-II window is still challenging. The structures and compositions of the plasmonic nanomaterials have demonstrated promising characteristics in controlling the optical properties of plasmonic nanostructures. Here, gold nanorod (Au NR) coated with an ultrathin palladium (Pd) shell was developed for tumor-targeted NIR-II photothermal-augmented nanocatalytic therapy through the combination of compositional manipulation and structural evolution strategies. These Au@Pd core-shell hybrid NRs (HNRs) were functionalized with biocompatible chitosan (CS) to acquire lower toxicity and higher stability in physiological systems. Further, Au@Pd-CS HNRs were endowed with an excellent targeting ability by conjugating with folic acid (FA). The as-synthesized Au@Pd-CS-FA HNRs show efficient and complete photothermal ablation of tumor cells upon 1064 nm laser irradiation. The remarkable photothermal conversion efficiency of 69.0% was achieved, which is superior to many reported photothermal agents activated in the NIR-II region. Excitingly, Au@Pd-CS-FA HNRs have peroxidase and catalase activities, simultaneously producing ˙OH for catalytic therapy and O 2 for relieving tumor hypoxia and photodynamic therapy. Additionally, in vivo tumor photothermal therapy was carried out, where the biocompatible Au@Pd-CS-FA HNRs penetrate intensely into the tumor cells and consequently show remarkable therapeutic effects. The idea about plasmonic modulation behind the bimetallic core-shell nanostructure in this report can be extended to construct new classes of metal-based nanotheranostic agents with dual-modal combined therapy as an alternative to traditional chemotherapy.

Polymer composite sheets using a low-cost filler (local natural sand) and polymer (high-density polyethylene, HDPE) as a replacement of the traditionally used wood-fiber-based sheets for paper-based applications were developed. The sand/polymer composite sheets were prepared by melt extrusion in a melt blender followed by compression molding. The effects of varying particle size, concentration, and the use of a compatibilizer (polyethylene-grafted maleic anhydride) was studied on the mechano-chemical performance properties of the composite sheets such as morphology, thermal and mechanical properties, and wettability characteristics used in the printing industry. In terms of thermal stability, filler (sand) or compatibilizer addition did not alter the crystallization, melting, or degradation temperatures significantly, thereby promoting good thermal stability of the prepared sheets. Compatibilization improved anti-wetting property with water. Additionally, for the compatibilized sheets prepared from 25 µm sand particles, at 35 wt%, the contact angle with printing ink decreased from 44° to 38.30°, suggesting improved ink-wetting performance. A decrease in the elastic modulus was also observed with the addition of the compatibilizer, with comparable results to commercial stone paper. Results from this study will be considered as a first step towards understanding compatibility of local natural sand and polymers for paper-based application.

Clostridium perfringens produces core virulence factors that are responsible for causing hemorrhagic abomasitis and enterotoxemia making food, animals, and humans susceptible to its infection. In this study, C. perfringens was isolated from necropsied intestinal content of buffalo and cattle belonging to four major bovine-producing regions in the Punjab Province of Pakistan for the purpose offind out the genetic variation. Out of total 160 bovine samples ( n : 160), thirty-three ( n : 33) isolates of C. perfringens were obtained from buffalo ( Bubales bubalis ) and cattle ( Bos indicus ) that were further subjected to biochemical tests; 16S rRNA based identification and toxinotyping was done using PCR (Polymerase Chain Reaction) and PFGE (Pulse Field Gel Electrophoresis) pulsotypesfor genetic diversity. Occurrence of C. perfringens was found to be maximum in zone-IV (Bhakkar and Dera Ghazi Khan) according to the heatmap. Correlation was found to be significant and positive among the toxinotypes (α -toxin , and ε -toxin ). Response surface methodology (RSM) via central composite design (CCD) and Box-Behnken design (BBD) demonstrated substantial frequency of C. perfringens based toxinotypes in all sampling zones. PFGE distinguished all isolates into 26 different pulsotypes using SmaI subtyping. Co-clustering analysis based on PFGE further decoded a diversegenetic relationship among the collected isolates. This study could help us to advance toward disease array of C. perfringens and its probable transmission and control. This study demonstrates PFGE patterns from Pakistan, and typing of C. perfringens by PFGE helps illustrate and mitigate the incidence of running pulsotypes., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2022 Zafar Khan, Khalid, Humza, Yang, Alvi, Munir, Ahmad, Iqbal, Tahir, Liu and Zhang.)

The world has been suffering from the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) pandemic, and millions of people have been infected through human-to-human transmission and lost their lives within months. Although multidisciplinary scientific approaches have been employed to fight against this deadly pandemic, various mutations and diverse environments keep producing constraints in treating SARS-CoV-2. Indeed, the efficacy of the developed vaccines has been limited, and inoculation with the vaccines does not guarantee complete protection even though multiple doses are required, which is a frustrating process. Historically, coinage metals (Cu, Ag, and Au) have been well-known for their effectiveness in antiviral action as well as good biocompatibility, binding receptor inhibition, reactive oxygen species, and phototherapy properties. Thus, this review highlights the diagnostic and therapeutic mechanisms of SARS-CoV-2 using the antivirus ability and mode of action of coinage metals such as viral entry mechanisms into host cells and the NP-inhibition process, which are explained in detail. This article also draws attention to coinage metal nanomaterial-based approaches to treat other contagious viruses. In addition, coinage metal-based biosensors and an overview of some other biocompatible metal-based nanomaterials to fight against SARS-CoV-2 variants are discussed. Finally, the advantages, perspectives and challenges of coinage metal nanoparticles are given to fight against viral infections in the future.

Panicle degeneration, sometimes known as abortion, causes heavy losses in grain yield. However, the mechanism of naturally occurring panicle abortion is still elusive. In a previous study, we characterized a mutant, apical panicle abortion1331 (apa1331), exhibiting abortion in apical spikelets starting from the 6 cm stage of panicle development. In this study, we have quantified the five phytohormones, gibberellins (GA), auxins (IAA), abscisic acid (ABA), cytokinins (CTK), and brassinosteroids (BR), in the lower, middle, and upper parts of apa1331 and compared these with those exhibited in its wild type (WT). In apa331, the lower and middle parts of the panicle showed contrasting concentrations of all studied phytohormones, but highly significant changes in IAA and ABA, compared to the upper part of the panicle. A comparative transcriptome of apa1331 and WT apical spikelets was performed to explore genes causing the physiological basis of spikelet abortion. The differential expression analysis revealed a significant downregulation and upregulation of 1587 and 978 genes, respectively. Hierarchical clustering of differentially expressed genes (DEGs) revealed the correlation of gene ontology (GO) terms associated with antioxidant activity, peroxidase activity, and oxidoreductase activity. KEGG pathway analysis using parametric gene set enrichment analysis (PGSEA) revealed the downregulation of the biological processes, including cell wall polysaccharides and fatty acids derivatives, in apa1331 compared to its WT. Based on fold change (FC) value and high variation in expression during late inflorescence, early inflorescence, and antherdevelopment, we predicted a list of novel genes, which presumably can be the potential targets of inflorescence development. Our study not only provides novel insights into the role of the physiological dynamics involved in panicle abortion, but also highlights the potential targets involved in reproductive development.

Photothermal therapy is a promising tumor ablation technique that converts light into heat energy to kill cancer cells. Prussian blue (PB), a biocompatible photothermal reagent, has been widely explored for cancer treatment. However, the translational potential of PB is severely hampered by its low photothermal conversion efficiency (PCE) and poor stability. To tackle these issues, we adopted the biomineralization modality where PB was integrated with calcium phosphate (CaP) through the binding between calcium ions and PB. The mineralized PB (CaP&PB) demonstrated significantly improved PCE (40.2%), resulting from a calcium-induced bandgap-narrowing effect, and exhibited superior suspension stability. Using a 4T1 orthotopic breast cancer BALB/c mouse model, we observed that mineralized PB showed a significant temperature increase within the tumor, which led to better tumoricidal activity compared with CaP and PB when identical NIR treatment was applied. These achievements demonstrated the success of introducing calcium phosphate into Prussian blue by biomineralization to improve the PCE and stability of photothermal reagents, suggesting an alternative translational strategy for enhanced cancer photothermal therapy.

Transcatheter arterial embolization (TAE) is an effective therapeutic method for several clinical ailments. Interminably, the polymer microsphere is reflected as one of the idyllic embolic materials due to the exceptional biocompatibility and microcatheter administration. Herein, a one-step solution drying technique was first developed to fabricate sodium hyaluronate microspheres cross-linked by 1,4-Butanediol diglycidyl ether (BDDE) for transcatheter arterial embolization. The monodispersed sodium hyaluronate microspheres with a diameter range from 350 to 900 μm were obtained by this technique without any complicated instrument and extra surfactant, which is consistent with the standard distribution of commercial embolic microspheres. Additionally, barium sulfate (BaSO 4 ) nanoparticles were introduced as the contrasting mediator to improve the X-ray imaging capability of sodium hyaluronate microspheres and then achieve a real-time trace and discernibility in vivo . A significantly embellished mechanical strength and compressibility for BaSO 4 @SH microspheres were also observed. In vitro biocompatibility evaluation revealed non-cytotoxicity and great hemocompatibility of BaSO 4 @SH microspheres. Moreover, the histopathological analysis and computed tomography images of the embolized kidney confirmed the effective occlude blood and in vivo visibility capability of BaSO 4 @SH microspheres for at least 4 weeks. Conclusively, such an inexpensive and environmentally friendly technique for fabricating BaSO 4 @SH microspheres might be a promising strategy to promote the development of transcatheter arterial embolization in practice.

Objective: To measure the empathy levels of undergraduate medical students, and to explore whether the empathy level has any significant association with gender, academic year and academic achievement., Methods: The cross-sectional study was conducted at the College of Medicine, Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University, Dammam, Saudi Arabia, from January to March 2020, and comprised medical students. Data was collected using the pre-validated student version of the Jefferson Scale of Empathy. Data was analysed using SPSS 23., Results: Of the 391 students, 251(64.19%) were females, and 140(35.8%) were males. The overall mean empathy score was 105.18±12.51. Second year medical students showed the highest empathy score 108.59±13.33. There was minor but significant decline in empathy as the students progressed through their academic studies (p<0.05). Empathy scores were significantly higher in female students (p<0.05), and students with higher grade point average scores (p<0.05)., Conclusions: The gradual reduction in empathy is alarming and demands due attention.

Accurately delineating tumor boundaries is key to predicting survival rates of cancer patients and assessing response of tumor microenvironment to various therapeutic techniques such as chemotherapy and radiotherapy. This review discusses various strategies that have been deployed to accurately delineate tumor boundaries with particular emphasis on the potential of chemotherapeutic nanomaterials in tumor boundary delineation. It also compiles the types of tumors that have been successfully delineated by currently available strategies. Finally, the challenges that still abound in accurate tumor boundary delineation are presented alongside possible perspective strategies to either ameliorate or solve the problems. It is expected that the information communicated herein will form the first compendious baseline information on tumor boundary delineation with chemotherapeutic nanomaterials and provide useful insights into future possible paths to advancing current available tumor boundary delineation approaches to achieve efficacious tumor therapy., (© 2022 Chinese Pharmaceutical Association and Institute of Materia Medica, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences. Production and hosting by Elsevier B.V.)

Inorganic nanomaterials showed great potential as drug carriers for chemotherapeutics molecules due to their biocompatible physical and chemical properties. A manganese-based inorganic nanomaterial manganese phosphate (MnP) had become a new drug carrier in cancer therapy. However, the approach for manganese phosphate preparation and drug integration is still confined in complex methods. Inspired by mimetic mineralization, we proposed a "one-step" method for the preparation of manganese phosphate-doxorubicin (DOX) nanomedicines (MnP-DOX) by manganese ion and DOX complexation. The structural characterization results revealed that the prepared MnP-DOX nanocomplexes were homogeneous with controlled sizes and shapes. More importantly, the MnP-DOX nanocomposites could significantly induce cancer inhibition in vitro and in vivo . The results indicated that the drug molecules were integrated into MnP nanocarriers by mimetic mineralization, which not only prevented the premature release of the drug but also reduced excessive modification. Moreover, the designed MnP-DOX complex showed high loading efficacy and pH-dependent degradation leading to drug release, achieving high efficiency for cancer chemotherapy in vitro and in vivo via a facile process . These achievements presented an approach to construct the manganese phosphate-based chemotherapy nanomedicines by mimetic mineralization for cancer therapy.

Significant attention is paid to the design of magnetoplasmonic nanohybrids, which exploit synergistic properties for biomedical applications. Here, a facile method was employed to prepare plasmonic magnetic Au-MnO heterostructured hybrid nanoparticles for imaging-guided photothermal therapy of cancers in vitro, with the view to reducing the serious drawbacks of chemotherapy and gadolinium-based contrast agents. The biocompatibility of the prepared Au-MnO nanocomposites was further enhanced by Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved triblock copolymers Pluronic ® F-127 and chitosan oligosaccharide (COS), with complementary support to enhance the absorption in the near-infrared (NIR) region. In addition, synthesized COS-PF127@Au-MnO nanocomposites exhibited promising contrast enhancement in T 1 MR imaging with a good r 1 relaxivity value (1.2 mM -1 s -1 ), demonstrating a capable substitute to Gd-based toxic contrast agents. In addition, prepared COS-PF127@Au-MnO hybrid nanoparticles (HNPs) produced sufficient heat (62 °C at 200 μg/mL) to ablate cancerous cells upon 808 nm laser irradiation, inducing cell toxicity, and apoptosis. The promising diagnostic and photothermal therapeutic performance demonstrated the appropriateness of the COS-PF127@Au-MnO HNPs as a potential theranostic agent.

Background: Helictotrichon virescens is a perennial grass that is primarily distributed in high altitude areas of 2000 ~ 4500 m. It is widely cultivated in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau of China, strongly resistant to cold, and an essential part of the wild herbs in this region. However, the molecular mechanism of the response of H. virescens to low temperature stress and the key regulatory genes for specific biological processes are poorly understood., Results: Physiological and transcriptome analyses were used to study the cold stress response mechanism in H virescens. During the low temperature stress period, the content of chlorophyll a and b decreased more and more with the delay of the treatment time. Among them, the difference between the controls was not significant, and the difference between the control and the treatment was significant. At the same time, the expression of related differential genes was up-regulated during low temperature treatment. In addition, the plant circadian pathway is crucial for their response to cold stress. The expression of differentially expressed genes that encode LHY and HY5 were strongly up-regulated during cold stress., Conclusions: This study should help to fully understand how H. virescens responds to low temperatures. It answers pertinent questions in the response of perennial herbs to cold stress, i.e., how light and low temperature signals integrate to regulate plant circadian rhythms and Decrease of content of chlorophylls (which can be also accompanied with decrease of total quantity of reaction centers) leads to an increase in photosynthetic damage., (© 2022. The Author(s).)

In this work, the effect of alkaline treatment on the thermal insulation and mechanical properties of date palm wood fibers (DPWF) and polylactic acid (PLA) green composite was studied. Alkaline treatment was applied to DPWF using two different solutions: sodium hydroxide (NaOH) and potassium hydroxide (KOH), with concentration of 2 vol.%. The fibers were later incorporated into PLA with weight percentages from 10 to 40 wt.%, to form three composite types: PLA with untreated fibers (PLA-UTDPWF), PLA with KOH treated fibers (PLA-KOH), and PLA with NaOH treated fibers (PLA-NaOH). The prepared composites were for use as a green thermal insulation material. The composites were tested to assess the effect of treatment on their physical (density and degree of crystallization), thermal (thermal conductivity, specific heat capacity, thermal diffusivity, thermal degradation, glass transition, and melting temperature), and mechanical properties. Moreover, the composite structural characteristics were investigated using FTIR and SEM analysis. The alkaline treatment significantly increased the crystallinity of the composites, specifically for higher filler loadings of 30 and 40 wt.%. The crystallinity for the 40 wt.% increased from 33.2% for PLA-UTDPWF, to 41% and 51%, for PLA-NaOH and PLA-KOH, respectively. Moreover, the alkaline treatment reduced the density and produced lighter composites than the untreated specimens. For instance, the density of 40 wt.% composite was reduced from 1.43, to 1.22 and 1.30 gcm3 for PLA-NaOH and PLA-KOH, respectively.

Background: Haemonchosis is a fatal disease of small ruminants caused by the parasite Haemonchus contortus (H. contortus). The most common drugs used in the treatment of H. contortus include albendazole, oxfendazole, and ivermectin. However, as previously reported in the treatment of haemonchosis, these medicines have acquired drug resistance problems over time. Interestingly, natural plant compounds have demonstrated promising effects in the treatment of H. contortus. Therefore, the current study evaluated the effects of plant extract, Ferula asafetida, against common drugs such as albendazole, oxfendazole, ivermectin, and closantel for the treatment of haemonchosis in small ruminants., Methodology: The current study was conducted on different small ruminant farms in Kasur District, Punjab, Pakistan. The positive animals (n = 720) after coprological examination were selected in this study and divided into two major groups (n = 360 goats and n = 360 sheep). Further, animals were divided into five treatment groups (A-E) and one control group with no treatment (F). Albendazole, oxfendazole, ivermectin, closantel, and Ferula asafetida were administered orally to groups A-E, respectively. The eggs per gram feces (EPG) were determined through the McMaster technique on days 0, 7th, and 14th of treatment., Results: The results showed a significantly higher efficacy of closantel and Ferula asafetida against H. contortus in both goats (100% and 70%; p < 0.05) and sheep (99% and 87%; p < 0.05), respectively. No correlation was observed between EPG reduction with age and gender in both goats and sheep., Conclusion: Allopathic drug closantel and herbal drug, Ferula asafetida, have been proved an effective dewormer against H. contortus in small ruminants., (© 2022. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature B.V.)

The destruction of β-cells of the pancreas leads to either insulin shortage or the complete absence of insulin, which in turn causes diabetes Mellitus. For treating diabetes, many trials have been conducted since the 19th century until now. In ancient times, insulin from an animal's extract was taken to treat human beings. However, this resulted in some serious allergic reactions. Therefore, scientists and researchers have tried their best to find alternative ways for managing diabetes with progressive advancements in biotechnology. However, a lot of research trials have been conducted, and they discovered more progressed strategies and approaches to treat type I and II diabetes with satisfaction. Still, investigators are finding more appropriate ways to treat diabetes accurately. They formulated insulin analogs that mimic the naturally produced human insulin through recombinant DNA technology and devised many methods for appropriate delivery of insulin. This review will address the following questions: What is insulin preparation? How were these devised and what are the impacts (both positive and negative) of such insulin analogs against TIDM (type-I diabetes mellitus) and TIIDM (type-II diabetes mellitus)? This review article will also demonstrate approaches for the delivery of insulin analogs into the human body and some future directions for further improvement of insulin treatment.

Owing to the tremendous energy storage capacity of two-dimensional transition metal carbides (MXenes), they have been efficiently utilized as a promising candidate in the field of super-capacitors. The energy storage capacity of MXenes can be further enhanced using metal dopants. Herein, we have reported the synthesis of pristine and nickel doped niobium-carbide (Nb 2 C) MXenes, their computational and electrochemical properties. Upon introduction of nickel (Ni) the TDOS increases and a continuous DOS pattern is observed which indicates coupling between Ni and pristine MXene. The alterations in the DOS, predominantly in the nearby region of the Fermi level are profitable for our electrochemical applications. Additionally, the Ni-doped sample shows a significant capacitive performance of 666.67 F g -1 which can be attributed to the additional active sites generated by doping with Ni. It is worth noting that doped MXenes exhibited a capacitance retention of 81% up to 10 000 cycles. The current study unveils the opportunities of using MXenes with different metal dopants and hypothesize on their performance for energy storage devices., Competing Interests: The authors declare that there are no competing interests., (This journal is © The Royal Society of Chemistry.)

Transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) have received significant attention owing to their thickness-dependent folded current-voltage ( I ds - V ds ) characteristics, which offer various threshold voltage values. Owing to these astonishing characteristics, TMDs based negative differential resistance (NDR) devices are preferred for the realization of multi-valued logic applications. In this study, an innovative and ground-breaking germanium selenide/hafnium disulfide (p-GeSe/n-HfS 2 ) TMDs van der Waals heterostructure (vdWH) NDR device is designed. An extraordinary peak-to-valley current ratio (≈5.8) was estimated at room temperature and was used to explain the tunneling and diffusion currents by using the tunneling mechanism. In addition, the p-GeSe/n-HfS 2 vdWH diode was used as a ternary inverter. The TMD vdWH diode, which can exhibit different band alignments, is a step forward on the road to developing high-performance multifunctional devices in electronics., Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflicts of interest., (This journal is © The Royal Society of Chemistry.)

Diabetes mellitus is an oxidative stress-related disease characterized by hyperglycemia and a variety of complications, including nephropathy. Vitamin D has variable functions extending beyond the calcium metabolism to prevent oxidative tissue damage. We aimed to investigate whether vitamin D supplements could enhance Glibenclamide's effectiveness in treating diabetes and minimize the risk of associated pathology. Wistar rats were divided into normal control (n = 10) and diabetic (n = 30), where animals received two low doses of Streptozotocin 30 mg/kg/BW intraperitoneally to develop diabetes. The diabetic rats were then randomly divided into three equal groups: untreated, treated with Glibenclamide (0.6 mg/kg), and treated with Glibenclamide and Vitamin D3 (500 IU/kg). After eight weeks, the animals were sacrificed, and blood samples and kidney tissues were collected to evaluate biochemical, anti-oxidant, and pro-inflammatory cytokine levels and histological and immunohistochemical changes. Diabetic animals had significantly increased fasting blood glucose, lipid profile, blood urea, serum creatinine, and Malondialdehyde levels, whereas serum insulin, albumin, and the anti-oxidant enzymes superoxide dismutase and catalase were significantly decreased compared to normal control (p < 0.01). Furthermore, some renal histological changes were observed together with significantly increased immunoreactivity of anti-p53, anti-TNF-α, and anti-IL-6 antibodies when compared to the normal control. All abnormal parameters improved significantly with Glibenclamide therapy (p < 0.01), but combination therapy with vitamin D produced a much better result. In conclusion, vitamin D supplementation along with anti-diabetic medication can help prevent or reduce the severity of diabetic nephropathy due to its potent antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and anti-apoptotic properties.

Touchless technology often called Zero User Interface (UI) has begun to permeate every aspect of our lives as its use became necessary for hygiene measures in public places. The evolution of touchless technology replacing touchscreen interaction started as a luxury concept to give a fancier look to digital interactions, but now it has gained real value as a health-oriented interaction method. Switching to a touchless interface reduces common touchpoints, which help to safeguard against the spread of pathogens. Although the evolution of touchless technology is not new, its use massively increased due to its inherent hygienic nature during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, this investment in a new form of digital interaction has several privacy and security issues that need attention, in order to allow for safe human-machine interaction to cope with security breaches and cyber-attacks to protect our credentials. This paper outlines the potential security and privacy issues concerning Zero UI adoption in various technologies that need to be considered if one wishes to adopt responsible technology practices with this technology., (© The Author(s) 2022.)

Guided bone regeneration (GBR) technology is a commonly used surgical procedure for the repair of damaged periodontal tissues. Poor mechanical property and rapid degradation rate are the major reasons for GBR membrane failure in clinical applications. Herein, we applied a green papermaking method to fabricate silk fibroin (SF) membranes blended with collagen and tested their performance. The results showed that the blended SF75 (SF and collagen in a weight ratio of 75:25) membranes are biocompatible with good mechanical properties in the wet condition and appropriate biodegradation rate. MC3T3-E1 osteoblast cell adhesion and proliferation on the membranes were improved by the hybrid biological functions of SF and collagen. Subcutaneous implantation in rats for 9 weeks demonstrated that the membranes induced a less severe inflammatory response. The biodegradation time of the SF75 membranes was appropriate for tissue regeneration. This research, for the first time, reports a blended membrane prepared from silk fibroin and collagen with an ecofriendly method, which shows promise for application in guided bone regeneration.

Macrophages have high plasticity and heterogeneity, and can suppress or mediate inflammation, depending on their cytokine secretion and phenotype. Regulating macrophage polarization into its M2 phenotype has a remarkable effect on inflammatory inhibition, inducing the regeneration of injured tissues. Here, we synthesized two heptamannosylated β-cyclodextrin derivatives (CD-Man7 and C 3 -CD-Man7) and demonstrated that their multivalent mannose ligands could induce M2 macrophage polarization to accelerate wound healing. Unlike hydrophilic CD-Man7, amphiphilic C 3 -CD-Man7 can self-assemble to form nanoparticles (CD-Man-NPs) in aqueous solution. Further, in vitro results confirmed that multivalent mannose ligands of either CD-Man7 or CD-Man-NPs stimulated RAW264.7 macrophages to differentiate into the M2 phenotype, which promoted fibroblast migration via a paracrine mechanism. In vivo results confirmed that both CD-Man7 and CD-Man-NPs reduced the inflammatory response in wound tissue and accelerated wound healing. The present study demonstrates multivalent effects of CD-Man7 and CD-Man-NPs on M2 macrophage polarization, indicating the therapeutic potential of these β-cyclodextrin glycoconjugates in the treatment of inflammatory diseases and wound healing., (Copyright © 2021 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

The Fermi level alignment between electrodes and two-dimensional (2D) materials is significant in characterizing sensors based on their reversibility, response time, sensitivity, and long-term stability. Here, we have demonstrated that the modulation of the Schottky barrier height between the interface of metal (Pd/Au) and multilayered ReSe 2 nanoflakes caused the change in the transfer curve (I ds -V bg ) of FETs based devices and rectifying characteristics (I ds -V ds ) of the Schottky diodes at various hydrogen concentrations at T = 22 °C, fluctuating from 50 to 350 ppm with a response (R%) from 669 to 1198%, respectively. Sensors based on a mono- or bilayer system did not exhibit sensitivity to hydrogen gas owing to metal electrodes diffused into materials. The value of the ideality factor of the Schottky diode-based sensor changed from 4 to 1.6 as the hydrogen concentration was changed from 50 to 900 ppm, while the relative response increased from 0 to 3.5 as the hydrogen concentration was increased from 0 to 900 ppm. This research can offer a real solution for developing cost-effective, faster, and room temperature sensors based on 2D materials., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2021 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Touchless Technology is facilitating the move to Zero User Interface(UI) propelled by the COVID-19 pandemic which has accelerated the use of this technology due to hygiene requirements. Zero UI can be defined as a controlled interface that enables user interaction with technology through voice, gestures, hand interaction, eye tracking, and biometrics such as facial recognition and contactless fingerprints. Smart devices, IoT sensors, smart appliances, smart TVs, smart assistants and consumer robotics are predominant examples of devices in which Zero UI is becoming increasingly adopted. These control interfaces include natural interaction modes such as voice or gestures. Touchscreens and shared devices such as kiosks, self-service counters and interactive displays are present in our everyday lives. Each of these interactions however is a concern for consumers in a post-COVID-19 world where hygiene is of utmost importance. The one-stop solution to hygienic interactions includes touchless technology such as voice control, remote mobile screen take over, biometric, and gesture control as Zero User interfaces. With the breakthroughs in image recognition and natural language processing, powered by advanced computer vision and machine learning, "Zero UI" is becoming a new normal. This paper is focusing on the progress of the touchless interaction technology during the COVID-19 pandemic, which actually accelerated development in this concept and moved it from being a luxury to a life necessity., (© 2021 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Public health and its related facilities are crucial for thriving cities and societies. The optimum utilization of health resources saves money and time, but above all, it saves precious lives. It has become even more evident in the present as the pandemic has overstretched the existing medical resources. Specific to patient appointment scheduling, the casual attitude of missing medical appointments (no-show-ups) may cause severe damage to a patient's health. In this paper, with the help of machine learning, we analyze six million plus patient appointment records to predict a patient's behaviors/characteristics by using ten different machine learning algorithms. For this purpose, we first extracted meaningful features from raw data using data cleaning. We applied Synthetic Minority Oversampling Technique (SMOTE), Adaptive Synthetic Sampling Method (Adasyn), and random undersampling (RUS) to balance our data. After balancing, we applied ten different machine learning algorithms, namely, random forest classifier, decision tree, logistic regression, XG Boost, gradient boosting, Adaboost Classifier, Naive Bayes, stochastic gradient descent, multilayer perceptron, and Support Vector Machine. We analyzed these results with the help of six different metrics, i.e., recall, accuracy, precision, F1-score, area under the curve, and mean square error. Our study has achieved 94% recall, 86% accuracy, 83% precision, 87% F1-score, 92% area under the curve, and 0.106 minimum mean square error. Effectiveness of presented data cleaning and feature selection is confirmed by better results in all training algorithms. Notably, recall is greater than 75%, accuracy is greater than 73%, F1-score is more significant than 75%, MSE is lesser than 0.26, and AUC is greater than 74%. The research shows that instead of individual features, combining different features helps make better predictions of a patient's appointment status., Competing Interests: The authors declare that there is no conflict of interest regarding the publication of this paper., (Copyright © 2021 Zeeshan Qureshi et al.)

Two-dimensional transition-metal dichalcogenide (2D-TMD) semiconductors and their van der Waals heterostructures (vdWHs) have attracted great attention because of their tailorable band-engineering properties and provide a propitious platform for next-generation extraordinary performance energy-harvesting devices. Herein, we reported unique and unreported germanium selenide/rhenium diselenide (p-GeSe/n-ReSe 2 ) 2D-TMD vdWH photodetectors for extremely sensitive and high-performance photodetection in the broadband spectral range (visible and near-infrared range). A high and gate-tunable rectification ratio (RR) of 7.34 × 10 5 is achieved, stemming from the low Schottky barrier contacts and sharp interfaces of the p-GeSe/n-ReSe 2 2D-TMD vdWHs. In addition, a noticeably high responsivity ( R = 2.89 × 10 5 A/W) and specific detectivity ( D* = 4.91 × 10 13 Jones), with good external quantum efficiency (EQE = 6.1 × 10 5 ) are obtained because of intralayer and interlayer transition of excitations, enabling the broadband photoresponse (λ = 532-1550 nm) at room temperature. Furthermore, fast response times of 16-20 μs are estimated under the irradiated laser of λ = 1550 nm because of interlayer exciton transition. Such a TMD-based compact system offers an opportunity for the realization of high-performance broadband infrared photodetectors.

:: Entrustable professional activities (EPAs) provide a novel approach to support teachers' structured professionalization and to assess improvement in teaching competence thereafter. Despite their novelty, it is important to assess EPAs as a construct to ensure that they accurately reflect the work of the targeted profession., Background:: The co-creation of an EPA framework for training and entrustment of small-group facilitators has been discussed in the literature. Although a rigorous design process was used to develop the framework, its content validity has not been established yet. Approach : A modified Delphi technique was used. Three survey rounds were conducted from December 2019 to April 2020. Expert health professions educationalists were recruited using purposive sampling and snowball techniques. In Round 1, a rubric consisting of seven items was used to assess the quality of nine pre-designed EPAs. In Round 2, competencies required to perform the agreed-upon EPAs were selected from 12 competencies provided. In Round 3, consensus was sought on sub-activities recommended for agreed-upon EPAs. Quantitative data were analyzed using multiple statistical analyses, including item-wise and rubric-wise content validity indices, asymmetric confidence interval, mean, standard deviation, and response frequencies. Qualitative data were thematically analyzed using content analysis., Findings:: Three of the nine proposed EPAs achieved statistical consensus for retention. These EPAs were: (1) preparing an activity, (2) facilitating a small-group session, and (3) reflecting upon self and the session. Nine of the 12 pre-determined competencies achieved consensus and were then mapped against each agreed-upon EPA based on their relevance. Finally, results indicated consensus on five, six, and four sub-activities for EPA 1, EPA 2, and EPA 3, respectively., Conclusions:: The final framework delineates three EPAs for small-group facilitation and their associated sub-activities. The full description of each EPA provided in this article includes the title, context, task specification, required competencies, and entrustment resources. Program developers, administrative bodies, and teaching staff may find this EPA framework useful to structure faculty development, to entrust teachers, and to support personal development.

Pancreatic carcinoma (PC) is greatly induced by the KRAS gene mutation, but effective targeted delivery for gene therapy has not existed. Small interfering ribonucleic acid (siRNA) serves as an advanced therapeutic modality and holds great promise for cancer treatment. However, the development of a non-toxic and high-efficiency carrier system to accurately deliver siRNA into cells for siRNA-targeted gene silencing is still a prodigious challenge. Herein, polyethylenimine (PEI)-modified hydroxyapatite (HAp) nanoparticles (HAp-PEI) were fabricated. The siRNA of the KRAS gene (siKras) was loaded onto the surface of HAp-PEI via electrostatic interaction between siRNA and PEI to design the functionalized HAp-PEI nanoparticle (HAp-PEI/siKras). The HAp-PEI/siKras was internalized into the human PC cells PANC-1 to achieve the maximum transfection efficiency for active tumor targeting. HAp-PEI/siKras effectively knocked down the expression of the KRAS gene and downregulated the expression of the Kras protein in vitro. Furthermore, the treatment with HAp-PEI/siKras resulted in greater anti-PC cells' (PANC-1, BXPC-3, and CFPAC-1) efficacy in vitro. Additionally, the HAp-PEI exhibited no obvious in vitro cytotoxicity in normal pancreatic HPDE6-C7 cells. These findings provided a promising alternative for the therapeutic route of siRNA-targeted gene engineering for anti-pancreatic cancer therapy.

Cancer treatment has been recently energized by nanomaterials that simultaneously offer diagnostic and therapeutic effects. Among the imaging and treatment modalities in frontline research today, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and phototherapy have gained significant interest due to their noninvasiveness among other intriguing benefits. Herein, Fe(iii) was adsorbed on titanium dioxide to develop magnetic Fe-TiO 2 nanocomposites (NCs) which leverage the Fe moiety in a double-edge-sword approach to: (i) achieve T 1 -weighted MRI contrast enhancement, and (ii) improve the well-established photodynamic therapeutic efficacy of TiO 2 nanoparticles. Interestingly, the proposed NCs exhibit classic T 1 MRI contrast agent properties (r 1 = 1.16 mM -1 s -1 ) that are comparable to those of clinically available contrast agents. Moreover, the NCs induce negligible cytotoxicity in traditional methods and show remarkable support to the proliferation of intestine organoids, an advanced toxicity evaluation system based on three-dimensional organoids, which could benefit their potential safe application for in vivo cancer theranostics. Aided by the Fenton reaction contribution of the Fe component of the Fe-TiO 2 NCs, considerable photo-killing of cancer cells is achieved upon UV irradiation at very low (2.5 mW cm -2 ) intensity in typical cancer PDT. It is therefore expected that this study will guide the engineering of other biocompatible magnetic titania-based nanosystems with multi-faceted properties for biomedical applications.

Purpose: This study examines the relationship between workplace bullying (WPB) and the turnover intentions (TIs) of nurses, both directly and indirectly, i.e. through serial mediation of psychological contract violation (PCV) and poor employee wellbeing (EWB). And that with the moderating effect of servant leadership (SL) on its final path to TIs of nurses., Design/methodology/approach: A total of 285 nurses voluntarily participated in the survey through convenient sampling from 13 different district hospitals. The authors performed partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) to test the study's measurement and structural models., Findings: Overall, results indicated 62% prevalence rate of WPB and TIs of nurses had 67% variance explained by the exogenous factors. Workplace bullying was found to have direct as well as indirect relationship with TIs of nurses. For the latter, PCV and poor EWB were found to have partially mediated, both singly and serially. The moderating effect of SL on the serial mediation pathway was negative and significant., Originality/value: Drawing on a tripartite theoretical perspective, this study illuminates the mechanism underlying WPB-TIs relationship with an advanced multivariate statistical technique in the nursing work setting in a developing country., (© Emerald Publishing Limited.)

The significant electrochemical performance in terms of both specific energy and power delivered via hybrid energy storage devices (supercapattery) has raised their versatile worth but electrodes with flashing electrochemical conduct are still craved for better performance. In this work, binary and ternary metal phosphates based on copper, cobalt, and manganese were synthesized by a sonochemical method. Then, the compositions of copper and cobalt were optimized in ternary metal phosphates. The structural studies and morphological aspects of synthesized materials were scrutinized by X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy. Furthermore, the electrochemical characterizations were performed in three- and two-cell configurations. The sample with equal compositions of copper and cobalt (50/50) demonstrates the highest specific capacity of 340 C g -1 at a current density of 0.5 A g -1 among all. This optimized composition was utilized as a positive electrode material in a supercapattery device that reveals a high specific capacity of 247 C g -1 . The real device exhibits an excellent energy density of 55 W h kg -1 while delivering a power density of 800 W kg -1 . Furthermore, the device was able to provide an outstanding specific power of 6400 W kg -1 while still exhibiting a specific energy of 19 W h kg -1 . The stability potential of the device was tested for 2500 continuous charge and discharge cycles at 8 A g -1 . Excellent capacitive retention of 90% was obtained, which expresses outstanding cyclic stability of the real device. A theoretical study was performed to investigate the capacitance and diffusion-controlled contribution in the device performance using Dunn's model. The maximum diffusion-controlled contribution of 85% was found at 3 mV s -1 scan rate. The study demonstrates the utilization of ternary metal phosphates as self-supported electrode materials for potential energy storage applications., Competing Interests: The authors declare no financial conflict of interest., (This journal is © The Royal Society of Chemistry.)

S-adenosylmethionine decarboxylase (SAMDC) mediates the biosynthesis of polyamines (PAs) and plays a positive role in plants' response to adversity stress tolerance. In this study, we isolated a SAMDC gene from white clover, which is located in mitochondria. It was strongly induced when white clover exposed to drought (15% PEG6000), salinity (200 mM NaCl), 20 μM spermidine, 100 μM abscisic acid, and 10 mM H 2 O 2 , especially in leaves. The INVSc1 yeast introduced with TrSAMDC1 had tolerance to drought, salt, and oxidative stress. Overexpression of TrSAMDC1 in Arabidopsis showed higher fresh weight and dry weight under drought and salt treatment and without growth inhibition under normal conditions. Leaf senescence induced by drought and saline was further delayed in transgenic plants, regardless of cultivation in 1/2 MS medium and soil. During drought and salt stress, transgenic plants exhibited a significant increase in relative water content, maximum photosynthesis efficiency (Fv/Fm), performance index on the absorption basis (PI ABS ), activities of antioxidant protective enzymes such as SOD, POD, CAT, and APX, and a significant decrease in accumulation of MDA and H 2 O 2 as compared to the WT. The concentrations of total PAs, putrescine, spermidine, and spermidine in transgenic lines were higher in transgenic plants than in WT under normal and drought conditions. These results suggested that TrSAMDC1 could effectively mitigate abiotic stresses without the expense of production and be a potential candidate gene for improving the drought and salt resistance of crops., (Copyright © 2021 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.)

Purpose: This study aimed to evaluate the concurrent validity of the Arabic version of the General Medication Adherence Scale (GMAS) using two validated scales namely Adherence to Refills and Medications Scale (ARMS) and Medication Adherence Rating Scale (MARS) in Saudi patients with non-communicable diseases., Methods: A cross sectional study was conducted for 2 months in out-patient departments at a tertiary care hospital in Khobar, Saudi Arabia. The study collected data from patients with chronic illnesses through convenience sampling. Pearson correlation (ρ) was conducted to report concurrent validity of GMAS. A correlation coefficient value ≥ 0.5 with p-value < 0.01 was considered threshold for establishing concurrent validity. The study was approved by an ethics committee (IRB-2019-05-002)., Results: A total of 406 patients responded to the study. The average age was 42.4 ± 5.94 years, and most patients were females (53.7%), married (70%), graduates (65.3%), employed (39.9%) and, had a monthly family income > SAR 10,000, i.e., USD 2666.2 (56.4%). The mean adherence scores obtained from MARS, ARMS and GMAS were 7.09, 19.9, and 27.4. The correlation (ρ) between GMAS and MARS scores was 0.65, and between GMAS and ARMS scores was -0.79, p < 0.01 for both comparisons., Conclusion: The concurrent validity of GMAS-AR was established in this study that would further substantiate psychometric properties of the scale in this population., Competing Interests: The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (© 2021 The Authors.)

Drought is a serious outcome of climate change reducing the productivity of forage species under arid and semi-arid conditions worldwide. Diethyl aminoethyl hexanoate (DA-6), a novel plant growth regulator, has proven to be involved in the amelioration of critical physiological functions in many agricultural crops under various abiotic stresses, but the role of the DA-6 in improving seed germination has never been investigated under drought stress. The present study was carried out to elucidate the impact of the DA-6 priming on seeds germination of white clover under drought stress. Results showed that seed priming with the DA-6 significantly mitigated the drought-induced reduction in germination percentage, germination vigor, germination index, seed vigor index, root length, shoot length, and fresh weight after 7 days of seed germination. The DA-6 significantly increased the endogenous indole-3-acetic acid, gibberellin, and cytokinin content with marked reduction in abscisic acid content in seedlings under drought stress. In addition, the DA-6 significantly accelerated starch catabolism by enhancing the activities of hydrolases contributing toward enhanced soluble sugars, proline content and ameliorated the antioxidant defense system to enhance the ability of reactive oxygen species scavenging under drought stress. Furthermore, exogenous DA-6 application significantly increased dehydrins accumulation and upregulated transcript levels of genes encoding dehydrins ( SK2, Y2SK, or DHNb ) during seeds germination under water deficient condition. These findings suggested that the DA-6 mediated seeds germination and drought tolerance associated with changes in endogenous phytohormones resulting in increased starch degradation, osmotic adjustment, antioxidants activity, and dehydrins accumulation during seed germination under water deficient condition., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2021 Hassan, Geng, Zeng, Raza, Khan, Iqbal, Peng, Zhu and Li.)

Macrophages with the M1 phenotype are a type of immune cell with exciting prospects for cancer therapy; however, when these macrophages infiltrate into tumours, many of them are induced by the tumour microenvironment to transform into the M2 type, which can enable tumour defence against external therapeutic strategies, assisting in tumour development. Macrophages have strong plasticity and functional heterogeneity, and their phenotypic transformation is complex and still poorly understood in relation to cancer therapy. Recent material advances in inorganic nanomaterials, especially inorganic elements in vivo, have accelerated the development of macrophage regulation-based cancer treatments. This review summarizes the basics of recent research on macrophage phenotype transformation and discusses the current challenges in macrophage type regulation. Then, the current achievements involving inorganic material-based macrophage regulation and the related anticancer effects of induced macrophages and their extracellular secretions are reviewed systematically. Importantly, inorganic nanomaterial-based macrophage phenotype regulation is flexible and can be adapted for different types of cancer therapies, presenting a possible novel approach for the generation of immune materials for cancer therapy.

Recently, van der Waals heterostructures (vdWHs) based on transition-metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) have attracted significant attention owing to their superior capabilities and multiple functionalities. Herein, a novel vdWH field-effect transistor (FET) composed of molybdenum ditelluride (MoTe 2 ) and palladium diselenide (PdSe 2 ) is studied for highly sensitive photodetection performance in the broad visible and near-infrared (VNIR) region. A high rectification ratio of 6.3 × 10 5 is obtained, stemming from the sharp interface and low Schottky barriers of the MoTe 2 /PdSe 2 vdWHs. It is also successfully demonstrated that the vdWH FET exhibits highly sensitive photo-detecting abilities, such as noticeably high photoresponsivity (1.24 × 10 5 A W -1 ), specific detectivity (2.42 × 10 14 Jones), and good external quantum efficiency (3.5 × 10 6 ), not only due to the intra-TMD band-to-band transition but also due to the inter-TMD charge transfer (CT) transition. Further, rapid rise (16.1 µs) and decay (31.1 µs) times are obtained under incident light with a wavelength of 2000 nm due to the CT transition, representing an outcome one order of magnitude faster than values currently in the literature. Such TMD-based vdWH FETs would improve the photo-gating characteristics and provide a platform for the realization of a highly sensitive photodetector in the broad VNIR region., (© 2021 The Authors. Advanced Science published by Wiley-VCH GmbH.)