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Oxidative stress plays a central role in the pathophysiology of melanoma. Curcumin (CUR) is a polyphenolic phytochemical that stimulates reactive oxygen species (ROS) production, while disulfiram (DSS) is a US FDA-approved drug for the treatment of alcoholism that can act by inhibiting the intracellular antioxidant system. Therefore, we hypothesized that they act synergistically against melanoma cells. Herein, we aimed to study the antitumor potential of the combination of CUR with DSS in B16-F10 melanoma cells using in vitro and in vivo models. The cytotoxic effects of different combination ratios of CUR and DSS were evaluated using the Alamar Blue method, allowing the production of isobolograms. Apoptosis detection, DNA fragmentation, cell cycle distribution, and mitochondrial superoxide levels were quantified by flow cytometry. Tumor development in vivo was evaluated using C57BL/6 mice bearing B16-F10 cells. The combinations ratios of 1:2, 1:3, and 2:3 showed synergic effects. B16-F10 cells treated with these combinations showed improved apoptotic cell death and DNA fragmentation. Enhanced mitochondrial superoxide levels were observed at combination ratios of 1:2 and 1:3, indicating increased oxidative stress. In vivo tumor growth inhibition for CUR (20 mg/kg), DSS (60 mg/kg), and their combination were 17.0%, 19.8%, and 28.8%, respectively. This study provided data on the potential cytotoxic activity of the combination of CUR with DSS and may provide a useful tool for the development of a therapeutic combination against melanoma. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this research, the g-C3N4/TiO2 nanocomposite was prepared by a simple hydrothermal method and was used as photocatalyst for dye degradation. Prior to that, the g-C3N4/TiO2 was characterized by different analytical techniques such as FTIR, XRD, SEM, and nitrogen gas adsorption. Main functional groups of g-C3N4/TiO2 composite are shown in the FTIR spectrum. The XRD pattern reveals that the presence of anatase and rutile phases of TiO2 as well as layer stacking of conjugated aromatic and in-planar repeating triazine unit of g-C3N4. The SEM analysis shows the presence of 2D-layered structured of g-C3N4 and agglomerated spherical TiO2 particles (0D). The 2D/0D g-C3N4/TiO2 nanocomposite shows higher photocatalytic activity than pure g-C3N4 and TiO2, whereby 100% of MB was degraded under visible light after 2 h. This is attributed to their high surface area which is 273.32 mg−1 and generation of more effective reactive oxygen species of ∙ OH and ∙ O2 to degrade MB. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Obesity has now been recognized as a high-risk factor for reproductive health. Although remarkable advancements have been made in ART, a considerable number of infertile obese women still suffer from serial implantation failure, despite the high quality of embryos transferred. Although obesity has long been known to exert various deleterious effects on female fertility, the underlying mechanisms, especially the roles of lipid metabolism in endometrial receptivity, remain largely elusive.Objective and Rationale: This review summarizes current evidence on the impacts of several major lipids and lipid-derived mediators on the embryonic implantation process. Emerging methods for evaluating endometrial receptivity, for example transcriptomic and lipidomic analysis, are also discussed.Search Methods: The PubMed and Embase databases were searched using the following keywords: (lipid or fatty acid or prostaglandin or phospholipid or sphingolipid or endocannabinoid or lysophosphatidic acid or cholesterol or progesterone or estrogen or transcriptomic or lipidomic or obesity or dyslipidemia or polycystic ovary syndrome) AND (endometrial receptivity or uterine receptivity or embryo implantation or assisted reproductive technology or in vitro fertilization or embryo transfer). A comprehensive literature search was performed on the roles of lipid-related metabolic pathways in embryo implantation published between January 1970 and March 2022. Only studies with original data and reviews published in English were included in this review. Additional information was obtained from references cited in the articles resulting from the literature search.Outcomes: Recent studies have shown that a fatty acids-related pro-inflammatory response in the embryo-endometrium boundary facilitates pregnancy via mediation of prostaglandin signaling. Phospholipid-derived mediators, for example endocannabinoids, lysophosphatidic acid and sphingosine-1-phosphate, are associated with endometrial receptivity, embryo spacing and decidualization based on evidence from both animal and human studies. Progesterone and estrogen are two cholesterol-derived steroid hormones that synergistically mediate the structural and functional alterations in the uterus ready for blastocyst implantation. Variations in serum cholesterol profiles throughout the menstrual cycle imply a demand for steroidogenesis at the time of window of implantation (WOI). Since 2002, endometrial transcriptomic analysis has been serving as a diagnostic tool for WOI dating. Numerous genes that govern lipid homeostasis have been identified and, based on specific alterations of lipidomic signatures differentially expressed in WOI, lipidomic analysis of endometrial fluid provides a possibility for non-invasive diagnosis of lipids alterations during the WOI.Wider Implications: Given that lipid metabolic dysregulation potentially plays a role in infertility, a better understanding of lipid metabolism could have significant clinical implications for the diagnosis and treatment of female reproductive disorders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Monitoring of pollutant and toxic substances is essential for cleaner environment and healthy life. Sensing of various environmental contaminants and biomolecules such as heavy metals, pharmaceutics, toxic gases, volatile organic compounds, food toxins, and pathogens is of high importance to guaranty the good health and sustainable environment to community. In recent years, graphitic carbon nitride (g-CN) has drawn a significant amount of interest as a sensor due to its large surface area and unique electrochemical properties, low bandgap energy, high thermal and chemical stability, facile synthesis, nontoxicity, and electron rich property. Furthermore, the binary and ternary nanocomposites of graphitic carbon nitride further enhance their performance as a sensor making it a cost effective, fast, and reliable gadget for the purpose, and opens a wide area of research. Numerous reviews addressing a variety of applications including photocatalytic energy conversion, photoelectrochemical detection, and hydrogen evolution of graphitic carbon nitride have been documented to date. But a lesser attention has been devoted to the mechanistic approaches towards sensing of variety of pollutants concerned with environmental and biological aspects. Herein, we present the sensing features of graphitic carbon nitride towards the detection of various analytes including toxic heavy metals, pharmaceuticals, phenolic compounds, nitroaromatic compounds, volatile organic molecules, toxic gases, and foodborne pathogens. This review will undoubtedly provide future insights for researchers working in the field of sensors, allowing them to investigate the intriguing graphitic carbon nitride material as a sensing platform that is comparable to several other nanomaterials documented in the literature. Therefore, we hope that this study could reveal some intriguing sensing properties of graphitic carbon nitride, which may help researchers better understand how it interacts with contaminants of environmental and biological concern. Graphitic carbon nitride Nanosheets as Promising Analytical Tool for Environmental and Biological Monitoring of Hazardous Substances. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hospital-acquired infections involving carbapenem-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii (A. baumannii) and extended spectrum beta-lactamase (ESBL)-producing Enterobacteriaceae pose significant challenges in the intensive care units. The lack of novel antimicrobial drugs amplifies the urgency to explore innovative management strategies. Nanotechnology, with its ability to generate nanoparticles possessing specific properties beneficial in drug delivery and nanomedicine, stands as a pivotal research domain. The objective of this study was to synthesize, for the first time, biologically silver nanoparticles (Ag-NPs) from Lavandula mairei Humbert (L. mairei) plant. The biosynthesized Ag-NPs were characterized by UV-visible spectral analysis, X-Ray diffraction Analysis, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy analysis, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy. Subsequently, the antibacterial and antioxidant activities of Ag-NPs were assessed using the micro-dilution method, DPPH test and FRAP assay, respectively. The green-synthesized Ag-NPs exhibited high antibacterial activity against ESBL-producing multidrug-resistant (MDR) strains and against carbapenem-resistant and non-carbapenem-resistant strains of A. baumannii, as well as a very interesting antioxidant activity. The present study suggests that these results hold very promising for the potential application of biologically synthesized Ag-NPs from L. mairei (Ag-LM-NPs) in the invention of novel antibacterial and antioxidant agents., (© 2024. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature.)

The transition from 3D to 2D lead halide perovskites is traditionally led by the lattice incorporation of bulky organic cations. However, the transformation into a coveted 2D superlattice-like structure by cationic substitution at the Pb 2+ site of 3D perovskite is unfamiliar. It is demonstrated that the gradual increment of [Sn 2+ ] alters the FASn x Pb 1- x I 3 nanocrystals into the Ruddlesden-Popper-like nanoplatelets (NPLs), with surface-absorbed oleic acid (OA) and oleylamine (OAm) spacer ligand at 80 °C (FA + : formamidinium cation). These NPLs are stacked either by a perfect alignment to form the superlattice or by offsetting the NPL edges because of their lateral displacements. The phase transition occurs from the Sn/Pb ratio ≥0.011, with 0.64 wt% of Sn 2+ species. At and above Sn/Pb = 0.022, the NPL superlattice stacks start to grow along [00l] with a repeating length of 4.37(3) nm, comprising the organic bilayer and the inorganic block having two octahedral layers (n = 2). Besides, a photoluminescence quantum yield of 98.4% is obtained with Sn/Pb = 0.011 (n ≥ 4), after surface passivation by trioctylphosphine (TOP)., (© 2023 Wiley-VCH GmbH.)

The rapid growth of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions raises concern about the possible consequences of atmospheric CO2 increase, such as global warming and greenhouse effect. Photocatalytic CO2 conversion has attracted researchers' interests to find a sustainable route for its elimination. In the present study, a direct Z-scheme TiO2/g-C3N4 composite (T-GCN) was fabricated via a facile hydrothermal route for the photocatalytic reduction of CO2 into methane (CH4) and methanol (CH3OH), under visible light irradiation without an electron mediator. The microstructure of the as-obtained TiO2/g-C3N4 nanocomposites was fully characterized for its physicochemical, structural, charge separation, electronic, and photo-excited carrier separation properties. The effect of CO2 and H2O partial pressure was studied to find the best operational conditions for obtaining maximum photocatalytic efficiency; the PCO2 and PH2O were 75.8 and 15.5 kPa, respectively, whereas, by increasing the light intensity from 20 to 80 mW/cm2, a remarkable improvement in the reduction rate takes place (from 11.04 to 32.49 μmol.gcat−1.h−1 methane production, respectively). Finally, under the most favorable light, PCO2 and PH2O conditions, high methanol and methane rates were obtained from the CO2 photocatalytic reduction through T-GCN (1.44 μmol.gcat.−1.h−1 and 32.49 μmol.gcat.−1.h−1, respectively) and an integrated proposition for the Z-scheme mechanism of photocatalytic reduction was proposed. This study offers a promising strategy to synthesize a Z-scheme T-GCN heterojunction with high photocatalytic performance for effective CO2 conversion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: Direct borohydride fuel cell (DBFC) is a liquid fuel cell technology that has a number of advantages, including lower operating temperature as well as great cell voltage when compared with hydrogen as well as alcohol fuel cell. The utilisation of reagent in liquids, under room pressures as well as temperatures, facilitated the internal processes of the fuel cell system and its application. Polymer electrolyte membranes or proton exchange membrane are an important component of fuel cells. Commercial perfluorosulphonic acid type membranes such as Nafion are often used in DBFC systems. However, Nafion has some disadvantages such as high cost, low stability at high temperatures, and low conductivity at low humidity or high temperatures that limit its use in DBFC systems. Thus, this review accounts the cheaper alternative membrane than Nafion that applied for DBFC which is sulfonated poly ether ether ketone (SPEEK) based membrane. The mixing of SPEEK with other filler such as graphitic carbon nitride (g‐C3N4), clay, silica, metal oxide, heteropoly acids, and carbon nanotube is being discussed. The properties of SPEEK membranes performance such as degree of sulfonation, water intake, ionic conductivity, BH4 crossover as well as mechanical strength in DBFC were studied. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study was carried out to assess the change of single cocoon quality characteristics and reeling performance due to stifling as well as one year storage after stifling for Daba eco-race. Cocoon weight reduces significantly due to stifling as compared to green/harvested cocoons whereas it remains at par afterwards during storage. No difference was noted for shell weight as well as filament length after stifling and storage. Non-broken filament length (NBFL) reduces significantly after 1 year storage of stifled cocoons but this characteristic remains same between green and stifled varieties. Statistical term "skewness" represents the asymmetry in distribution of data. For green, stifled as well as one year stifled stored tasar cocoons, the mode values of filament length and NBFL are lower than average revealing maximum frequencies lie in the lower range as compared to average values and so the estimated skewness values are positive. After stifling and one year storage, increase of skewness value depicts the occurrence of maximum frequencies towards further lower range as compared to green and stifled varieties. No deviation of single fibre denier was noted between three types of cocoons, In case of reeling performance, significant reduction of reelability (%) was observed but raw silk recovery (%) remains almost same after one year storage with marginal reduction of yield/1000 cocoons (g). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Digital Twin technology is an emerging concept that has quickly gained traction in both industry and academia. A digital twin is a virtual representation of a real-world object or system. It is used to evaluate performance, and inefficiencies and design solutions to improve the efficiency of its physical counterpart. The Digital Twin is described as the integration of data between a physical and virtual asset. It is nothing but a replica of the physical object, known as a logical object, which reflects all the major characteristics and properties of the original product. To model a digital twin for a physical object or process, it uses artificial intelligence, the Internet of Things, and other supporting technologies like cloud and analytics. The review of digital twins in the manufacturing, health, and industrial sectors is mainly represented in this paper. It also discusses the significance, characteristics, and fundamentals of creating a digital twin for any physical asset or process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Currently, integrated humidity sensors with fast-response time are widely needed. The most commonly used polyimide capacitive humidity sensor has a long response time, which is difficult to meet the need for a fast response. Most studies focusing on technology and materials have a high cost and are difficult to ensure compatability with the CMOS process. The dynamic compensation method can shorten the response time by only adding digital circuits or software processing. However, conventional compensation technology is not suitable for humidity sensors due to temperature coupling. This paper proposes a new dynamic compensation method for humidity sensors based on the decoupling of temperature factors by analyzing the coupling relationship between sensor dynamic characteristics and temperature. Simulations and experiments were used to verify the proposed method. The experimental results show that the proposed method reduces the humidity response time of the sensor by 85.6%. The proposed method can effectively shorten the response time of humidity sensors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Internet of things (IoT) has revolutionized how we utilize technology over the past decade. IoT's rapid growth affects several fields, including the healthcare sector. As a result, the concept of smart healthcare or electronic healthcare (e-healthcare) has emerged. Smart healthcare promises to enhance people's lives and wellbeing by monitoring them, offering an efficient connection, improving mobility, gathering medical data, and decreasing hospital and patient costs. IoT in healthcare is still one of the hot and trendy topics that needs in-depth investigation. No recent review has been conducted to elucidate the extent of research in the area, features of published papers, motives, and challenges in enabling IoT in healthcare systems. This study presents a comprehensive systematic review of the screened articles published between 2015 and 2022 pertaining to enabling IoT in healthcare services and applications. A total of 106 papers fulfilled the final inclusion criteria and were analyzed using systematic literature review (SLR). Two procedures were used to review the final articles: First, publications are examined in terms of study designs, publishing journals, and topics/study objectives. In the second approach, motives, challenges, and recommendations for enabling IoT in healthcare systems are explored. This article summarizes published studies on IoT in healthcare systems and its usage in smart healthcare service delivery. Based on the reviewed studies, recommendations for future research to enable the effective application of IoT in healthcare and service delivery are proposed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Photocatalysis has been vastly applied for the removal of contaminants of emerging concern (CECs) and other micropollutants, with the aim of future water reclamation. As a process based upon photon irradiation, materials that may be activated through natural light sources are highly pursued, to facilitate their application and reduce costs. TiO2 is a reference material, and it has been greatly optimized. However, in its typical configuration, it is known to be mainly active under ultraviolet radiation. Thus, multiple alternative visible light driven (VLD) materials have been intensively studied recently. WO3 and g-C3N4 are currently attractive VLD catalysts, with WO3 possessing similarities with TiO2 as a metal oxide, allowing correlations between the knowledge regarding the reference catalyst, and g-C3N4 having an interesting and distinct non-metallic polymeric structure with the benefit of easy production. In this review, recent developments towards CECs degradation in TiO2 based photocatalysis are discussed, as reference catalyst, alongside the selected alternative materials, WO3 and g-C3N4. The aim here is to evaluate the different techniques more commonly explored to enhance catalyst photo-activity, specifically doping with multiple elements and the formation of composite materials. Moreover, the possible combination of photocatalysis and ozonation is also explored, as a promising route to potentialize their individual efficiencies and overcome typical drawbacks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Organizations often use smart card-based user authentication for remote access. The research community has put forward dynamic identity based remote user authentication schemes for distributed multi-server environment to safeguard the connection between user and server. Recently, Qiu et al. proposed an efficient smart card based remote user authentication scheme for the multi-server environment, in which they uphold their scheme provides mutual authentication and key agreement, user-anonymity, resistance against various kind of attacks. This paper will manifest that if the adversary is successful in stealing a smart card, then their schemes are vulnerable to masquerade attack, server spoofing attack, and password guessing attack. We overcome their flaws and propose an enhanced anonymous scheme where whenever the user wants to log into a server, the user identity is changed dynamically before login. And also, the scheme resists all possible attacks. We compared our scheme with respect to the related scheme, used BAN logic for verification of correctness of mutual key agreement and AVISPA to prove scheme is safe. We have provided formal security proofs for our scheme. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Proton-exchange membranes based on gamma-irradiated films of PVDF and radiation-grafted sulfonated polystyrene with an ion-exchange capacity of 1.8 meq/g and crosslinking degrees of 0 and 3% were synthesized. A solvent-free, environmentally friendly method of styrene grafting from its aqueous emulsion, with a styrene content of only 5 vol.% was used. Energy dispersive X-ray mapping analysis showed that the grafted sulfonated polystyrene is uniformly distributed throughout the membrane thickness. The obtained materials had a proton conductivity up to 132 mS/cm at 80 °C and a hydrogen permeability of up to 5.2 cm2/s at 30 °C, which significantly exceeded similar values for Nafion®-212 membranes. The resulting membranes exhibited a H2/O2 fuel cell peak power density of up to 0.4 W/cm2 at 65 °C. Accelerated stability tests showed that adding a crosslinking agent could significantly increase the stability of the membranes in the fuel cells. The thermal properties and crystallinity of the membranes were investigated through differential scanning calorimetry and X-ray powder diffraction methods. The conductivity, water uptake, and mechanical properties of the membranes (stress–strain curves) were also characterized. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The scientific community is inclined towards addressing environmental and energy concerns through sustainable means. Conventional processes such as chemical synthesis, involve the usage of environmentally harmful ligands and high tech facilities, which are time-consuming, expensive, energy-intensive, and require extreme conditions for synthesis. Plant-based synthesis is valuable and sustainable for the ecosystem. The use of plant-based precursors for nanoparticle synthesis eliminates the menace of toxic waste contamination. The present review elucidates that the plant based synthesized iron oxide and manganese oxide nanoparticles have tremendous and exceptional applications in various fields such as antimicrobial and antioxidative domains, environmental, electrical and sensing properties. Hence, the literature reviewed explains that plant based synthesis of nanoparticles is an adept and preferred technique. These important transition oxide metal nanoparticles have great applicability in ecological, environmental science as well as electrochemistry and sensing technology. Both these metal oxides display a stable and adaptable nature, which can be functionalized for a specific application, thus exhibiting great potential for efficiency. The current review epitomizes all the latest reported work on the synthesis of iron and manganese oxide nanoparticles through a greener approach along with explaining various significant applications keeping in view the concept of sustainability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reliable predictions of future distribution ranges of ecologically important species in response to climate change are required for developing effective management strategies. Here we used an ensemble modelling approach to predict the distribution of three important species of Abies namely, Abies pindrow, Abies spectabilis and Abies densa in the Hindu Kush Himalayan region under the current and two shared socioeconomic pathways (SSP245 and SSP585) and time periods of 2050 and 2090s. A correlative ensemble model using presence/absence data of the three Abies species and 22 environmental variables, including 19 bioclimatic variables and 3 topographic variables, from known distributions was built to predict the potential current and future distribution of these species. The individual models used to build the final ensemble performed well and provided reliable results for both the current and future distribution of all three species. For A. pindrow, precipitation of the driest month (Bio14) was the most important environmental variable with 83.3% contribution to model output while temperature seasonality (Bio4) and annual mean diurnal range (Bio2) were the most important variables for A. spectabilis and A. densa with 48.4% and 46.1% contribution to final model output, respectively. Under current climatic conditions, the ensemble models projected a total suitable habitat of about 433,003 km2, 790,837 km2 and 676,918 km2 for A. pindrow, A. spectabilis and A. densa, respectively, which is approximately 10.36%, 18.91% and 16.91% of the total area of Hindu Kush Himalayan region. Projections of habitat suitability under future climate scenarios for all the shared socioeconomic pathways showed a reduction in potentially suitable habitats with a maximum overall loss of approximately 14% of the total suitable area of A. pindrow under SSP 8.5 by 2090. A decline in total suitable habitat is predicted to be 9.6% in A. spectabilis by 2090 under the SSP585 scenario while in A. densa 6.67% loss in the suitable area is expected by 2050 under the SSP585 scenario. Furthermore, there is no elevational change predicted in the case of A. pindrow while A. spectabilis is expected to show an upward shift by about 29 m per decade and A. densa is showing a downward shift at a rate of 11 m per decade. The results are interesting, and intriguing given the occurrence of these species across the Hindu Kush Himalayan region. Thus, our study underscores the need for consideration of unexpected responses of species to climate change and formulation of strategies for better forest management and conservation of important conifer species, such as A. pindrow, A. spectabilis and A. densa. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Thyroid hormone excess secondary to global type 3 deiodinase (DIO3) deficiency leads to increased locomotor activity and reduced adiposity, but also to concurrent alterations in parameters of the leptin–melanocortin system that would predict obesity. To distinguish the underlying contributions to the energy balance phenotype of DIO3 deficiency, we generated mice with thyroid hormone excess targeted to pro-opiomelanocortin (POMC)-expressing cells via cell-specific DIO3 inactivation. These mice exhibit a male-specific phenotype of reduced hypothalamic Pomc expression, hyperphagia, and increased activity in brown adipose tissue, with adiposity and serum levels of leptin and thyroid hormones remained normal. These male mice also manifest a marked and widespread hypothalamic reduction in the expression of bone morphogenetic receptor 1a (BMPR1A), which has been shown to cause similar phenotypes when inactivated in POMC-expressing cells. Our results indicate that developmental overexposure to thyroid hormone in POMC-expressing cells programs energy balance mechanisms in a sexually dimorphic manner by suppressing adult hypothalamic BMPR1A expression. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In cancer management, drug resistance remains a challenge that reduces the effectiveness of chemotherapy. Several studies have shown that curcumin resensitizes cancer cells to chemotherapeutic drugs to overcome resistance. In the present study, we investigate the potential therapeutic role of curcumin in regulating the proliferation of drug-resistant cancers. Six drug-sensitive (MCF7, HCT116, and A549) and -resistant (MCF7/TH, HCT116R, and A549/ADR) cancer cell lines were treated with curcumin followed by an analysis of cytotoxicity, LDH enzyme, total reactive oxygen species, antioxidant enzymes (SOD and CAT), fibrosis markers (TGF-β1 protein, fibronectin, and hydroxyproline), and expression of cellular apoptotic markers (Bcl-2, Bax, Bax/Bcl-2 ratio, Annexin V, cytochrome c, and caspase-8). Additionally, the expression of cellular SIRT1 was estimated by ELISA and RT-PCR analysis. Curcumin treatment at doses of 2.7–54.3 µM significantly reduced the growth of sensitive and resistant cells as supported with decreased viability and increased cellular LDH enzyme of treated cells compared to controls non-treated cells. Curcumin also at doses of 2.7 and 54.3 µM regulated the fibrogenesis by reducing the expression of fibrotic markers in treated cells. Analysis of apoptotic markers indicated increased Bax, Bax, Bax/Bcl-2 ratio, Annexin V, caspase-8, and cytochrome c expression, while Bcl-2 expressions were significantly reduced. In curcumin-treated cells at 2.7 μM, non-significant change in ROS with significant increase in SOD and CAT activity was observed, whereas an increase in ROS with a reduction in respective antioxidant enzymes were seen at higher concentrations along with significant upregulation of SIRT1. In conclusion, the present study shows that curcumin induces anticancer activity against resistant cancer cell lines in a concentration- and time-dependent manner. The protective activities of curcumin against the growth of cancer cells are mediated by modulating oxidative stress, regulating fibrosis, SIRT1 activation, and inducing cellular apoptosis. Therefore, curcumin could be tested as an auxiliary therapeutic agent to improve the prognosis in patients with resistant cancers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study was aimed to evaluate the effect of over dilution of semen with tris extender on motion and functional attributes of bull sperm post‐thaw. Ejaculates (n = 24; mass motility ≥3+) were collected from bulls (n = 4) using artificial vagina, diluted to 20, 15, 10 and 5 million spermatozoa/0.25 ml, and cryopreserved. The results revealed that total motility (%), progressive motility (%) and rapid motility (%), straight linear velocity (μm/s), straightness (%) reduced significantly (p < 0.05) when semen was diluted to 5 million sperm concentration. Among the various sperm function attributes, proportions of live spermatozoa, acrosome intact spermatozoa, hypo‐osmotic swelling responsive spermatozoa and non‐capacitated spermatozoa reduced (p < 0.05) in 5 million spermatozoa, and the proportions of moribund spermatozoa, dead spermatozoa, live acrosome reacted spermatozoa, dead acrosome intact spermatozoa, capacitated spermatozoa and spermatozoa with lipid peroxidation increased significantly (p < 0.05) when semen was diluted from 20 to 5 million. However, the over‐dilution of semen did not affect slow motility, dead acrosome reacted spermatozoa, sperm protamine deficiency and spermatozoa with lipid peroxidation. In conclusion, the over dilution of semen affected sperm motion and functional attributes of frozen–thawed bull semen. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Anion exchange membrane fuel cells have unique advantages and are thus gaining increasing attention. Poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) is one of the potential polymers for the development of anion exchange membranes. This review provides recent studies on PVA-based membranes as alternative anion exchange membranes for alkaline fuel cells. The development of anion exchange membranes in general, including the types, materials, and preparation of anion exchange membranes in the last years, are discussed. The performances and characteristics of recently reported PVA-based membranes are highlighted, including hydroxide conductivity, water uptake, swelling degree, tensile strength, and fuel permeabilities. Finally, some challenging issues and perspectives for the future study of anion exchange membranes are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The bipolar complex fuzzy set (BCFS) is a novel approach that can easily represent ambiguous and difficult information in real-life dilemmas. The primary notion of BCFS is the combination of two various conceptions that is, bipolar fuzzy set (BFS) and complex fuzzy set (CFS). The BCFS contains two functions, i.e. positive membership function and negative membership function. The positive membership function contains the real part and unreal part which belong to 0 , 1 which is supposed to be a positive aspect and the negative membership function contains the real part and unreal part which belongs to - 1 , 0 which is supposed to be a negative aspect. To keep the benefits of the BCFS, in this manuscript, we initiate several new Dice similarity measures (DSMs) for BCFSs, generalized DSMs (GDSM) for BCFSs, and show that the DSMs and asymmetric measures (projection measure) are the particular cases of the GDSMs. We also discuss the properties of the proposed similarity measures (SM). Moreover, we interpret weighted GDSMs (WGDSMs) of BCFSs and show that weighted DSM (WDSM) and weighted asymmetric measures are the particular cases of the WGDSMs. After that, we apply the initiated GDSMs and WGDSMs to the two real-life applications i.e. pattern recognition and medical diagnosis to display the real-life use of initiated SMs. Consequently, to display the broad view and superiority of the interpreted DSMs, we do a comparison of these SMs with existing SMs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper develops a new clean production technology combining atmospheric pressure plasma jets and nano-chitosan to prepare strong and durable bio-based coatings for improving the inkjet printing performance of antimicrobial silk fabrics. The key contribution of this study is to introduce green and environmental friendly production methods, avoiding the use of chemicals and pollution caused by dye hydrolysis in traditional ways. By contradistinctive experiments, we present direct empirical evidence that the plasma-chitosan treatment can significantly improve the hydrophilicity of the silk surfaces. Wettability test indicates that the infiltration time of droplet on the surface of modified silk fabric was only 1/12 of the time spent on the untreated sample. The study of reactive dye inkjet printing illustrates that the antibleeding property on modified samples was evidently enhanced. Meanwhile, in respect of color fixation of reactive dyes, there was also an increase in K/S value on modified samples, ranging from 76 % to 214 % in color depth of the four-color print blocks, even after gas steaming and washing. Scanning electron microscope (SEM) observation reveals that the surface of silk fibers modified with plasma is covered with firmer and more uniform chitosan coatings in terms of morphology change. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) analysis verifies that the content of oxygenous groups on the silk fabric processed by plasma-chitosan increased by more than 42 %. As to the antibacterial effect of nano-chitosan, the photographs of inhibition zone shows that the plasma processing effectively enhanced the durability of chitosan against B. subtilis, and thus prepared long-lasting antibacterial silk fabric. Furthermore, measurements of washing and rubbing color fastness prove that the plasma-chitosan treated fabrics still had excellent inkjet printing effect even after 45 cycles of soaping. Taken together, it turns out that such nontoxic, nonpolluting, low energy-consumed chitosan coating combining with plasma can explicitly provide an innovative option for the production of inkjet printing on natural fabrics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, the influence of plasma turbulence due to the sheared and body stress flow on the dispersion characteristics of the transverse electromagnetic modes in strongly coupled plasma is analysed. Using kinetic theory and solving the scattering relationship for the Vlasov‐Maxwell system, the influence of plasma turbulence on the growth of the electromagnetic mode is investigated. The minimum value of the stress rate threshold for the growth rate of electromagnetic instability in the linear polarization is higher than that of circular polarization. It is shown that the instability growth rate maximum for the circular polarization is about 100 times higher than that of the linear polarization. In the circular polarization, the value minimum of the shear stress is 1.2 times the minimum volume of the body stress. For the linear polarization, the value minimum of the body stress is 1.5 times the minimum volume of the shear stress. Increasing the density gradient of plasma leads to a higher stress threshold rate, and the range of propagation angles of growing modes is limited. With increasing steps of the density gradient plasma in the low‐density corona, electromagnetic instability occurs at a higher stress flow. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Canine babesiosis caused by Babesia canis (Piana & Galli‐Valerio, 1895) is emerging in new regions in Europe since its vector Dermacentor reticulatus (Fabricius, 1794) is expanding its geographic range. In the Berlin/Brandenburg area in northeast Germany, D. reticulatus is highly abundant but in the past only one autochthonous B. canis infection was reported. Since 2015, autochthonous cases were occasionally diagnosed but numbers increased since autumn 2019. The aim of the study was to genotype autochthonous canine Babesia spp. infections from Berlin/Brandenburg. Between 04/2015 and 01/2022, 46 dogs with acute babesiosis were presented to the small animal clinic (one dog was infected twice resulting in 47 samples). There were 32 dogs that had never left Berlin/Brandenburg and 14 others that had not left the region in the 6 weeks prior to disease onset. PCRs targeting the 18S rRNA and the Bc28.1 merozoite surface antigen were positive in 47 and 42 samples, respectively. Sequencing of cloned PCR products identified all samples as B. canis with 17 18S rRNA and 12 Bc28.1 haplotypes. Based on network analysis for 18S rRNA sequences and a previously described polymorphic dinucleotide, samples were assigned to two distinct clusters. One contained 31 and the other 16 samples. Using network analysis, the Bc28.1 haplotypes could also be separated into two clusters differing by at least five polymorphisms. Analyses of sequences from multiple clones indicated the presence of up to five 18S rRNA and eight Bc28.1 haplotypes and thus high parasite variability in an individual host. The genetic diversity could suggest that the parasites in the region have multiple origins, but diversity in individual dogs and dog populations from endemic regions is unknown. The suitability of both markers for genotyping is questionable due to potential intragenomic diversity for the rRNA and high intergenomic variability for the Bc28.1 marker. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The research on crop genetic enhancement has created a continuous flow of new, improved germplasm for the benefit of farmers and consumers of the Global South during and after the Green Revolution. Understanding farmers' heterogeneous preferences for varietal traits in different market segments and incorporating the prominent ones in crop breeding programs are expected to facilitate a faster diffusion of these new varieties. Albeit knowing little about farmers' trait preferences in South Asia, public-sector breeding programs prioritize yield enhancement and risk reduction over other varietal traits. Against this backdrop, we examined wheat farmers' preferences for varietal traits in Central India, where the prevailing varietal turnover rate has been meager. We conducted a ranking exercise among 120 individuals, followed by a sex-disaggregated survey with a choice experiment among 420 farm-households in 2019. The lowest varietal turnover rate was observed for the socially marginalized castes. Most women respondents were not actively involved in making decisions related to wheat cultivation, including varietal selection. However, the results indicate that marginalized caste and women farmers are open to experimentation with new varieties, as shown by their positive willingness to pay for improved varietal traits. Across the gender and caste groups, grain quality attributes (especially chapati quality) were ranked high, above the yield-enhancing and risk-ameliorating traits. From the observed patterns, one could deduce that developing and disseminating improved varieties with better grain quality and targeting women and marginalized social groups in varietal dissemination programs could enhance farmer adoption of new, improved germplasm and wheat productivity in Central India. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The photocatalytic approach is known to be one of the most promising advanced oxidation processes for the tertiary treatment of polluted water. In this paper, β-NaYF4/TiO2 composite films have been synthetized through a novel sol–gel/spin-coating approach using a mixture of β-diketonate complexes of Na and Y, and Yb3+, Tm3+, Gd3+, Eu3+ as doping ions, together with the TiO2 P25 nanoparticles. The herein pioneering approach represents an easy, straightforward and industrially appealing method for the fabrication of doped β-NaYF4/TiO2 composites. The effect of the doped β-NaYF4 phase on the photocatalytic activity of TiO2 for the degradation of methylene blue (MB) has been deeply investigated. In particular, the upconverting TiO2/β-NaYF4: 20%Yb, 2% Gd, x% Tm (x = 0.5 and 1%) and the downshifting TiO2/β-NaYF4: 10% Eu composite films have been tested on MB degradation both under UV and visible light irradiation. An improvement up to 42.4% in the degradation of MB has been observed for the TiO2/β-NaYF4: 10% Eu system after 240 min of UV irradiation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Guar (Cyamopsis tetragonoloba [L.] Taub.), a legume, has gained its industrial importance due to galactomannan gum in its seed endosperm. As a legume guar Rhizobium nodulation is usually inadequate. Thus, it does not fix nitrogen sufficiently in the soil. Guar seeds were germinated under five concentrations each of organic {Bovine Serum Albumin (BSA)}, inorganic {Ca(NO3)2} and combined {(BSA + Ca(NO3)2} nitrogen sources in order to analyze the morphological, anatomical, and protein concentration changes due to different concentrations of varying nitrogen sources. Low nitrogen concentration in modified Hoagland's solution in absence of preexisting nitrogen in the supporting solution (coco peat) showed significantly reduced morphological and anatomical characteristics and total protein concentration. On the other hand, the combination of organic and inorganic nitrogen sources showed greater effect on morphological, anatomical characters, and total protein concentration than individual treatments and control. At 16.1 mM nitrogen [given through combined treatment of 0.075 g/dL BSA + 0.095 g/dL Ca (NO3)2] metaxylem number (MXN), percent of stele that is metaxylem (percSisMX) and total protein concentration (TPC) were nearly equal or higher than the control. These parameters are positively correlated with each other which indicates that MXN, percSisMX and TPC contribute to relieve guar plant from nitrogen stress by more inflow of water and nutrients. Results show despite being a leguminous crop guar behaves as non-leguminous crop toward nitrogen and is affected by nitrogen stress during germination. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A non-descript doe in her first parity presented with the history of dark brownish vaginal discharge. Fetuses (n=2) with absence of positive signs of viability upon ultrasonography. Termination of pregnancy with luteolytic agent was failed to initiate the parturition process even after 48-76 hrs after administration with cloprostenol sodium injection intramuscularly. Caesarean section revealed that abnormal pregnancy due to fetal mummification (Two fetuses) associated with uterine adhesion. Post-operatively the doe was administered with antibiotic to combat infection and oral uterine cleanser therapy for three days. Doe was recovered uneventfully on post-operative follow-up. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aromatic substituted phenols and their by-products discharged from numerous industries are of environmental concern due to their toxic, carcinogenic, recalcitrant, and bioaccumulating properties. Therefore, their complete removal from waters by low-cost, efficient, environmentally friendly nanomaterial-based treatment techniques is desirable. Double metal cyanide complexes (DMCC) are the extremely useful heterogeneous and recoverable catalyst. Hence, green route has been developed for several DMCC and their photocatalytic efficiency was evaluated for degradation of toxic phenols. Herein, nanocubes for hexacyanocobaltate of iron (FeHCC ~ 200 nm), nickel (NiHCC < 10 nm), and zinc (ZnHCC ~ 500 nm) were synthesized after employing Aegle marmelos. Subsequently, at neutral pH and sunlight irradiation, 15 mg of catalysts were able to degrade the maximum extent of phenols (1 × 10 -4  M) in the order: 3-aminophenol (96% ZnHCC > 94% FeHCC > 93% NiHCC) > phenol (94% ZnHCC > 92% FeHCC > 91% NiHCC) > 2,4-DNP (92% ZnHCC > 91% FeHCC > 90% NiHCC). This is attributed to highest basicity of 3-aminophenol containing excess of free electrons. Highest catalytic potential of ZnHCC (X m  = 0.54-0.43 mg/g) is because of its highest surface area and negative zeta potential along with sharp morphology and crystallinity. Adsorption of phenols over catalyst was statistically significant with Langmuir isotherms (R 2  ≥ 0.96; p value ≤ 0.05). Small and non-toxic by-products like oxalic acid, benzoquinone, (Z)-hex-3-enedioic acid, (Z)-but-2-enal, and (Z)-4-oxobut-2-enoic acid were identified in GC-MS. Degradation modes involving hydroxylation, oxidative skeletal rearrangement, and ring opening clearly supported enhanced oxidation of phenols by • OH. Overall, due to greater active sites, high surface activity, low band gap, and semiconducting nature, DMCC revealed promising potential for solar photocatalytic remediation of wastewater.

The fabrication of freestanding bendable films without polymer substrates is demonstrated as a capacitive humidity-sensing material. The bendable and porous SiO2/Si films are simply prepared by electrochemical-assisted stripping, metal-assisted chemical etching, followed by oxidation procedures. The capacitive humidity-sensing properties of the fabricated porous SiO2/Si film are characterized as a function of the relative humidity and frequency. The remarkable sensing performance is demonstrated in the wide RH range from 13.8 to 79.0%. The sensing behavior of the porous SiO2/Si film is studied by electrochemical impedance spectroscopy analysis. Additionally, the reliability of the porous SiO2/Si sensing material is confirmed by cyclic and long-term sensing tests. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This review summarizes the status of the impact of pranayama on health care. Thousands of years ago yoga originated in India, and in the present day and age, an alarming awareness was observed health and natural remedies among people through yoga and pranayama. Pranayama is a main component of yoga and it is the practice of breath regulation and has been proven as an effective method for improving health and addition to prevention and management of diseases. With increasing scientific research in yoga, its healing aspects are also being explored. Yoga is reported to reduce stress and anxiety, improve autonomic functions by triggering neurohormonal mechanisms by the suppression of sympathetic activity, and even, nowadays, several reports suggested yoga is beneficial for the physical health of cancer patients and pranayama for breathing-related diseases. Such global recognition of yoga also testifies to India’s growing cultural influence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A global gridded net ecosystem exchange (NEE) of CO 2 dataset is vital in global and regional carbon cycle studies. Top-down atmospheric inversion is one of the major methods to estimate the global NEE; however, the existing global NEE datasets generated through inversion from conventional CO 2 observations have large uncertainties in places where observational data are sparse. Here, by assimilating the GOSAT ACOS v9 XCO 2 product, we generate a 10-year (2010–2019) global monthly terrestrial NEE dataset using the Global Carbon Assimilation System, version 2 (GCASv2), which is named GCAS2021. It includes gridded (1∘×1∘), globally, latitudinally, and regionally aggregated prior and posterior NEE and ocean (OCN) fluxes and prescribed wildfire (FIRE) and fossil fuel and cement (FFC) carbon emissions. Globally, the decadal mean NEE is -3.73±0.52 PgC yr -1 , with an interannual amplitude of 2.73 PgC yr -1. Combining the OCN flux and FIRE and FFC emissions, the net biosphere flux (NBE) and atmospheric growth rate (AGR) as well as their inter-annual variabilities (IAVs) agree well with the estimates of the Global Carbon Budget 2020. Regionally, our dataset shows that eastern North America, the Amazon, the Congo Basin, Europe, boreal forests, southern China, and Southeast Asia are carbon sinks, while the western United States, African grasslands, Brazilian plateaus, and parts of South Asia are carbon sources. In the TRANSCOM land regions, the NBEs of temperate N. America, northern Africa, and boreal Asia are between the estimates of CMS-Flux NBE 2020 and CT2019B, and those in temperate Asia, Europe, and Southeast Asia are consistent with CMS-Flux NBE 2020 but significantly different from CT2019B. In the RECCAP2 regions, except for Africa and South Asia, the NBEs are comparable with the latest bottom-up estimate of Ciais et al. (2021). Compared with previous studies, the IAVs and seasonal cycles of NEE of this dataset could clearly reflect the impacts of extreme climates and large-scale climate anomalies on the carbon flux. The evaluations also show that the posterior CO 2 concentrations at remote sites and on a regional scale, as well as on vertical CO 2 profiles in the Asia-Pacific region, are all consistent with independent CO 2 measurements from surface flask and aircraft CO 2 observations, indicating that this dataset captures surface carbon fluxes well. We believe that this dataset can contribute to regional- or national-scale carbon cycle and carbon neutrality assessment and carbon dynamics research. The dataset can be accessed at 10.5281/zenodo.5829774 (Jiang, 2022). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In India's Indo-Gangetic plains, river flows are strongly altered by dams, barrages and water diversions for irrigation, urban supply, hydropower production and flood control. Human demands for freshwater are likely to intensify with climatic and socio-economic changes, exacerbating trade-offs between different sustainable development goals (SDGs) dependent on freshwater (e.g. SDG2, SDG6, SDG7, SDG11 and SDG15). Freshwater ecosystems and endangered aquatic species are not explicitly addressed in the SDGs, but only nested as targets within SDG6 and SDG15. Thus, there is high risk that decisions to advance other SDGs may overlook impacts on them. In this study, we link a water resource systems model and a forecast extinction risk model to analyze how alternative conservation strategies in the regulated Beas River (India) affect the likelihood of survival of the only remaining population of endangered Indus River Dolphins (IRD) in India in the face of climate change-induced impacts on river hydrology and human water demands, explicitly accounting for potential trade-offs between related SDGs. We find that the frequency of low flow released from the main reservoir may increase under some climate change scenarios, significantly affecting the IRD population. The strongest trade-offs exist between the persistence of IRD, urban water supply and hydropower generation. The establishment of ecologically informed reservoir releases combined with IRD population supplementation enhances the probability of survival of the IRD and is compatible with improving the status of relevant SDGs. This will require water managers, conservation scientists, and other stakeholders to continue collaborating to develop holistic water management strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Theileria orientalis causes losses to cattle producers in Eastern Asia, Oceania and, more recently, North America. One pathogenic genotype (Ikeda) has been sequenced to the chromosomal level, while only draft genomes exist for globally distributed Chitose and Buffeli genotypes. To provide an accurate comparative gene-level analysis and help further understand their pathogenicity, we sequenced isolates of the Chitose and Buffeli genotypes of T. orientalis using long-read sequencing technology. A combination of several long-read assembly methods and short reads produced chromosomal-level assemblies for both Fish Creek (Chitose) and Goon Nure (Buffeli) isolates, including the first complete and circular apicoplast genomes generated for T. orientalis. Comparison with the Shintoku (Ikeda) reference sequence showed both large and small translocations in T. orientalis Buffeli, between chromosomes 2 and 3 and chromosomes 1 and 4, respectively. Ortholog clustering showed expansion of ABC transporter genes in Chitose and Buffeli. However, differences in several genes of unknown function, including DUF529/FAINT-domain-containing proteins, were also identified and these genes were more prevalent in Ikeda and Chitose genotypes. Phylogenetics and similarity measures were consistent with previous short-read genomic analysis. The generation of chromosomal sequences for these highly prevalent T. orientalis genotypes will also support future studies of population genetics and mixed genotype infections. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The modern era of human society has seen the rise of a different variety of diseases. The mortality rate, therefore, increases without adequate care which consequently causes wealth loss. It has become a priority of humans to take care of health and wealth in a genuine way. Methods: In this article, the authors endeavored to design a hospital management system with secured data processing. The proposed approach consists of three different phases. In the first phase, a smart healthcare system is proposed for providing an effective health service, especially to patients with a brain tumor. An application is developed that is compatible with Android and Microsoft-based operating systems. Through this application, a patient can enter the system either in person or from a remote place. As a result, the patient data are secured with the hospital and the patient only. It consists of patient registration, diagnosis, pathology, admission, and an insurance service module. Secondly, deep-learning-based tumor detection from brain MRI and EEG signals is proposed. Lastly, a modified SHA-256 encryption algorithm is proposed for secured medical insurance data processing which will help detect the fraud happening in healthcare insurance services. Standard SHA-256 is an algorithm which is secured for short data. In this case, the security issue is enhanced with a long data encryption scheme. The algorithm is modified for the generation of a long key and its combination. This can be applicable for insurance data, and medical data for secured financial and disease-related data. Results: The deep-learning models provide highly accurate results that help in deciding whether the patient will be admitted or not. The details of the patient entered at the designed portal are encrypted in the form of a 256-bit hash value for secured data management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent decades, human-induced climate change has caused a worldwide increase in the frequency/intensity/duration of extreme events, resulting in enormous disruptions to life and property. Hence, a comprehensive understanding of global-scale spatiotemporal trends and variability of extreme events at different intensity levels (e.g., moderate/severe/extreme) and durations (e.g., short-term/long-term) of normal, dry and wet conditions is essential in predicting/forecasting/mitigating future extreme events. This article analyses these aspects using estimates of a non-stationary standardized precipitation evapotranspiration index corresponding to different accumulation periods for 0.5° resolution CRU grids at globe-scale. Results are analyzed with respect to changes in land-use/landcover and geographic/location indicators (latitude, longitude, elevation) at different time scales (decadal/annual/seasonal/monthly) for each continent. The analysis showed an (i) increasing trend in the frequency/count of both dry and wet conditions and variability of dry conditions, and (ii) contrasting (decreasing) trend in the variability of wet conditions, possibly due to climate change-induced variations in atmospheric circulations. Globally, the highest variability in the wet and dry conditions is found during the Northern hemisphere's winter season. The decadal-scale analysis showed that change in variability in dry and wet conditions has been predominant since the 1930s and 1950s, respectively and is found to be increasing in recent decades. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As the core component of proton exchange membrane fuel cells, proton exchange membranes (PEM) have attracted much attention of researchers. To trade-off the proton conductivity, dimensional stability and anti-oxidation ability of PEM, graphene oxide (GO) and acidized multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNT) using calcium ion as coordination bridge (GO-Ca2+-MWCNT) was synthesized, and then incorporated into sulfonated poly(arylene ether nitrile) (SPEN) to fabricate SPEN/GO-Ca2+-MWCNT organic–inorganic composite membranes by solution-casting method and explore the influence of varying loading on performances as PEM. It was found that the proton conductivity of the composite membranes was higher than that of SPEN, while maintaining better dimensional stability, excellent anti-oxidation ability and good mechanical properties. All of these were attributed to the formation of three-dimensional structure between GO and MWCNT bridged by Ca2+ and the interaction between the sulfonic acid group and calcium ions in SPEN/GO-Ca2+-MWCNT composites. Particularly, the SPEN/GO-Ca2+-MWCNT-1 composite membrane exhibited excellent tensile strength of 71.45 MPa, better thermal stability as well as high proton conductivity (0.054 S/cm at 30 °C, and 0.193 S/cm at 90 °C), above 10–2 S/cm, satisfying the requirement of PEM. All in all, the results indicate that the filler with three-dimensional network structure can effectively improve the performances of SPEN, and the prepared composite membranes show potential applications in many fields. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Herein, we report nickel oxide-decorated reduced graphene oxide synthesis through hydrothermal routes and their adsorption behavior in single and binary metal ion-containing aqueous media. The formation of the hybrid was verified through microscopic and spectroscopic characterizations. Generally, wastewater contains multiple metal ions, and the presence of other ions may affect the adsorption process. Hence, adsorption studies in a multicomponent system are essential to understand the adsorbent's potential for real-life application. Systematic adsorption studied in single metal ion-containing solutions indicated that the hybrids' adsorption capacities were ~ 725 mg g−1 and ~ 890 mg g−1 for cadmium and lead ion, respectively. Simultaneous metal ion removal experiments in binary metal ion systems indicated an increase in adsorption capacity with a maximum value of ~ 1000 mg g−1 for lead ion adsorption and a decrease in adsorption capacity with a maximum value of ~ 580 mg g−1 for cadmium ion adsorption. This observation suggested that the lead and cadmium ion adsorption process is affected by the synergistic and antagonistic effects, respectively. Experimental results indicate that the process followed the Langmuir isotherm and pseudo-second-order kinetics irrespective of the systems when the adsorption experiments were done in single and binary metal ion-containing systems. Thermodynamic studies indicated endothermicity and spontaneity of the process. The kinetic experiments showed that the film diffusion dominates the metal ion adsorption process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Immobilizing inorganic or organic particles on cotton fabric to increase the surface roughness, followed by coating with low surface reagents to reduce the surface energy, are the dominant strategies to prepare the superhydrophobic cotton surface. However, the inorganic or organic particles can easily fall off the surface of the fabrics. Thus, the surface roughness of the fabric could be reduced during the process, resulting in the poor durability of the superhydrophobic fabric. In this work, the surface of the cotton fabric was etched by cellulase. Following this, the treated fabric was grafted using a diblock copolymer (poly[(methyl methacrylate)-b-(2-(dimethylamino)ethyl)] (PMMA-b-PDMAEMA)), which was synthesized following the reversible addition-fragmentation chain transfer (RAFT) polymerization process. The mist polymerization technology was used for the process. The coatings successfully endowed the cotton fabric with superhydrophobic properties. The maximum WCA value recorded was 159.9 °. The treated fabric exhibited excellent mechanical and chemical stability. Moreover, the modified cotton sample also exhibited good self-cleaning effects in the presence of solid dust and liquid contaminants. It also exhibited excellent oil-water separation properties. Therefore, the superhydrophobic fabric prepared using a combination of the etching method and mist polymerization technology can find its potential application in home and industrial areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this work, the durable superhydrophobic cotton fabric was successfully constructed by coated with polystyrene (PS) latex particles and polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) via mist polymerization finishing technology. As a result, the water contact angle (WCA) of the finished fabric was arrived at 158.1°, reaching the superhydrophobic level. Even the finished fabric after withstand 1400 abrasion cycles or 50 washing cycles, the WCA values of treated fabric were also higher than 154.0°, exhibiting excellent mechanical durability. In addition, the superhydrophobic surface of finished fabric was also showed outstanding chemical durability. The finished fabric with such excellent superhydrophobic properties was showed good oil-water separation properties, the separation efficiency (η) values of the SCF-2 sample as a filter material for chloroform/water and n-hexane/water mixtures were reached 99.6 % and 99.1 %, respectively. Moreover, even the SCF-2 sample after withstand 50 separation cycles for mixtures, the η values were not obviously reduced. The finished fabric was also showed outstanding self-cleaning properties. More interesting that the desired properties of finished fabric were not obviously reduced after the finishing process. Therefore, in consideration of its amazing performances, it is expected that the finished fabric can be used as a promising material for self-cleaning, oil-water separation, and other potential application areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Heme-oxygenase 1 (HMOX1) is a critical stress response gene that catalyzes the multistep oxidation of heme. A GT(n) repeat of variable length in the promoter in has been associated with a wide range of human diseases, including infections. This paper aims to summarise and systematically review associations between the length of the HMOX1 GT(n) promoter and infectious disease in humans. Methods: A search using relevant terms was performed in PubMED and EMBASE through to 15/01/21 identifying all research that studied an association between the HMOX1 GT(n) repeat polymorphism and the incidence and/or outcome of any human infectious disease. Citations were screened for additional studies. Potential studies were screened for inclusion by two authors. Data was extracted on allele frequency, genotype, strength of association, mechanism of genotyping, and potential biases. A narrative review was performed across each type of infection. Results: 1,533 studies were identified in the search, and one via citation screening. Sixteen studies were ultimately included, seven in malaria, three in HIV, three in sepsis, and one each in pneumonia, hepatitis C, and acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). Sample sizes for nearly all studies were small (biggest study, n = 1,646). Allelic definition was different across all included studies. All studies were at some risk of bias. In malaria, three studies suggested that longer alleles were associated with reduced risk of severe malaria, particularly malaria-induced renal dysfunction, with four studies identifying a null association. In sepsis, two studies suggested an association with longer alleles and better outcomes. Conclusions: Despite the importance of HMOX1 in survival from infection, and the association between repeat length and gene expression, the clinical data supporting an association between repeat length and incidence and/or outcome of infection remain inconclusive. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

PCSK1 encodes an enzyme required for prohormone maturation into bioactive peptides. A striking number of single nucleotide polymorphisms and rare mutations in PCSK1 are associated with a range of clinical phenotypes. Infants bearing 2 copies of a catalytically inactivating mutation, such as G209R, exhibit life-threatening chronic diarrhea and subsequently develop systemic endocrinopathies. Using CRISPR/Cas9 technology, we have engineered a mouse model bearing a G209R missense mutation in exon 6 of the murine Pcsk1 locus. Most pups homozygous for the G209R mutation succumbed by day 2, and surviving pups were severely dwarfed. In homozygous (but not heterozygous) pups, blood glucose levels were significantly lower, accompanied by elevated plasma insulin-like immunoreactivity and accumulation of large quantities of unprocessed proinsulin in the pancreas. Peptide hormone processing was also aberrant in G209R mouse pituitary, with mature adrenocorticotropin levels markedly reduced in homozygotes, accompanied by a significant accumulation of proopiomelanocortin. We also observed a significant reduction in proprotein convertase 1/3 protein in the brains of G209R homozygous mice by Western blotting, while proprotein convertase 2 (PC2) levels remained unaffected. Most likely due to the continued presence of PC2, pituitary and brain levels of α-melanocyte-stimulating hormone were not impaired. Analysis of intestinal cell types indicated a modest reduction of enteroendocrine cells in G209R homozygotes. We suggest that the G209R Pcsk1 mouse model recapitulates many of the dramatic neonatal deficiencies of human patients with this homozygous mutation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The application of green synthesized nanocomposites for the prevention of environmental pollution is increasing nowadays. Here, a green composite has been synthesized by embedding MnO 2 on Rauvolfia tetraphylla leaves using its leaf extract hereinafter termed as MnO 2 @RTL, and demonstrated for crystal violet (CV) dye removal from simulated and real wastewater. The surface properties of the material were determined by scanning electron microscopy-energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (SEM-EDX), Fourier transform infrared spectra (FTIR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and Brunauer-Emmet-Teller (BET) surface area, pH ZPC , and zeta potential. The material exhibits a remarkable adsorption capacity of 61.162 mg/g at 328 K and pH 7. The adsorption was best fitted with Pseudo-second-order kinetic (R 2  = 0.998) and a combination of Langmuir and Freundlich isotherm model (R 2  = 0.994-0.999). The thermodynamic study revealed spontaneous (ΔG values =  - 2.988 to - 4.978 kJ/mol) and endothermic (ΔH values = 6.830 to 11.018 kJ/mol) adsorption. After adsorption, 80% regeneration occurred with 50% methanol, and recycled up to five times. Advantageously, the material was able to remove CV dye in the presence of coexistent ions and from industrial wastewater, confirming field applicability. The adsorption capacity of the material is superior to previously reported materials. The standard deviation and relative standard deviations have been evaluated to be 0.000422-0.000667 and 0.473-0.749%, which suggests the reliability of the experiments. The exhausted material, after recycling, was pyrolyzed to overcome the disposal problem. It was established as a secondary adsorbent with 73% efficiency which makes the material win-win. The material showed antibacterial properties with Staphylococcus aureus bacteria with a zone of inhibition 5 mm., (© 2023. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.)

Background: Colorectal cancer is the third most commonly diagnosed cancer. Natural compounds, administered together with conventional chemotherapeutic agent(s) and/or radiotherapy, may be a novel element in the combination therapy of this cancer. Considering the anticancer properties of compounds derived from different tissues of various snail species confirmed earlier, the purpose of the present research was to evaluate the effect of extracts from eggs of Helix aspera maxima and Helix aspersa aspersa snails, and fractions of extracts containing particles of different molecular weights on Caco-2 human epithelial colorectal adenocarcinoma cells. Methods: The extracts and fractions were analyzed for antioxidant activity, phenols and total carbohydrates using colorimetric methods. Lipid peroxidation products and glutathione in eggs were also examined using these methods. Crude protein and fat in eggs were determined. Molecular weights of egg proteins and glycoproteins were analyzed by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. Astaxanthin, selected vitamins and amino acids in eggs were measured using liquid chromatography methods, and minerals by emission spectroscopy, mass spectrometry or X-ray fluorescence. The action of extracts on the cell viability was determined by the MTT (methylthiazolyldiphenyl-tetrazolium bromide) test, based on the mitochondrial oxidative activity, after 24 and 72 h of treatment. The influence of fractions on the cell viability was assayed after 24 h. The effect of extracts on the percentage of live and dead cells was evaluated by the trypan blue assay, in which live cells exclude trypan blue, while dead cells take up this dye, after 12, 24, 48 and 72 h of treatment. Their influence on the integrity of cell membranes was determined based on the activity of LDH (lactate dehydrogenase), released from damaged cells, after 24 and 72 h of treatment. Then, the effect of extracts on the content of lipid peroxidation products in cells was examined using colorimetric method, after 24 h of treatment. Their influence on types of cell death was determined by flow cytometry, after this time. Results: The extracts and their fractions containing molecules <3 kDa decreased the cell viability, after 24 h of treatment. The extracts reduced the percentage of live cells (also after 48 h), increased the degree of cell membrane damage and the amount of lipid peroxidation products, induced apoptosis and reduced necrosis. Conclusions: Antioxidants, phenols, lipid peroxidation products, anticancer peptides, restriction of methionine, appropriate ratio of essential amino acids to non-essential amino acids, vitamin D3, Ca, Mg, S, Cu, Mn, Zn, Se and other bioactive compounds comprised in the extracts and their additive and synergistic effects may have influenced Caco-2 cells. Natural extracts or the chemical compounds contained in them might be used in the combination therapy of colorectal cancer, which requires further research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]