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Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) emerged in Wuhan city of China in late December 2019 and identified as a novel coronavirus. Due to its contagious nature, the virus spreads rapidly and causes coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). The global tally of COVID-19 was 28 million in early September 2020. The fears and stress associated with SARS-CoV-2 has demolished the socio-economic status worldwide. Researchers are trying to identify treatments, especially antiviral drugs and/or vaccines, that could potentially control the viral spread and manage the ongoing unprecedented global crisis. To date, more than 300 clinical trials have been conducted on various antiviral drugs, and immunomodulators are being evaluated at various stages of COVID-19. This review aims to collect and summarize a list of drugs used to treat COVID-19, including dexamethasone, chloroquine, hydroxychloroquine, lopinavir/ritonavir, favipiravir, remdesivir, tociluzimab, nitazoxanide and ivermectin. However, some of these drugs are not effective and their use has been suspended by WHO. more...

This paper investigates on the rarely studied negative group delay (NGD) RF circuit with innovative stop-band (SB) behavior. In difference with the classical filter, the SB-NGD function is identified in function of frequency bands where the group delay (GD) presents negative sign. The ideal diagram specifying the SB-NGD function is introduced by indicating all the appropriate parameters. The S-parameter analytical model of the circuit is established. The SB-NGD analysis is developed. The main specifications of the SB-NGD circuit are expressed in function of its constituting components. Then, the design synthesis equations enabling to determine the SB-NGD circuit in function of the desired specifications as the center frequency and GD are built up. To illustrate concretely the feasibility of the SB-NGD function, a circuit proof-of-concept composed of LC-series network is theoretically analyzed. A parametric analysis on the SB circuit elements is accomplished to appraise the influence of each element on the SB-NGD specifications. To validate the unfamiliar SB-NGD theory, a prototype is fabricated and tested. The GD measured response of the considered circuit is compared by simulations and analytical calculations. SB-NGD responses showing a good agreement between the calculation and simulation are obtained with a 15 MHz center frequency, 44 ns GD and 3 MHz bandwidth. more...

The plasmon-induced transparency (PIT) in planar metasurface comprising of resonators having one S-shaped structure and a rectangular strip (both made of silver) was investigated. It was found that the S-shaped component of metasurface induces a single bright mode, whereas the rectangular strip manifests two bright modes with strong coupling of incidence electromagnetic waves. When both the metasurface components were placed in the proximity, the PIT-like phenomenon was observed. The effects of rotational angle of the metasurface as well as the angle of incidence on the transmission spectra (of the metasurface) were also investigated. Both the transverse electric (TE) and transverse magnetic (TM) waves were used to explore the PIT effect. It was noticed that the PIT window could be easily tuned by altering the horizontal distance between the resonator components (i.e., the S-shaped structure and rectangular strip). It is expected that the proposed metasurface structure would be prudent in switching, ultrafast sensing and optical applications. more...

Abstract  Valves working under different loads and temperatures are the mostly forced engine elements. In an internal combustion engine, pressures and temperatures affecting on the valves vary with fuel type and the combustion characteristics of the fuel. Consequently, valves are exposed to different dynamic and thermal stress. In this study, stress distributions and temperature profiles on exhaust valve are obtained depending on different carbon film thickness. It is concluded that heat losses and valve temperatures decrease and valve surfaces are exposed to less thermal shocks with increasing carbon film thickness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] more...

A specially designed metallic E-shaped fractal-based perfect metamaterial absorber (PMA) with fairly wideband absorptivity in the K- and Ka-bands of the microwave regime was investigated. The PMA top surface is comprised of square-shaped split-ring resonators (SRRs) surrounded with the stated fractal design. The absorptivity of PMA was analyzed in the range of 20 - 30 GHz for the normal and oblique incidence of waves. Both the transverse electric (TE) and transverse magnetic (TM) modes were taken up to observe the robustness of the proposed design. It was observed that the fractal resonators exhibit capacitive effect at low frequencies, whereas the SRRs manifest capacitive effect at higher frequencies. The simulation and measured results were found to be in fairly good agreement. It is expected that the proposed design of PMA would be useful for 5G communication applications. more...

Candidiasis poses a significant threat to human health, especially in immunocompromised patients. However, there is a paucity of epidemiological data concerning the prevalence of candidiasis in developing regions of China. We conducted a retrospective study on patients positive for Candida infections in a tertiary care hospital in Shantou, China, to identify the clinical characteristics and risk factors for candidiasis. Of 5,095 cases of candidiasis, 489 (9.59%) were candidemia infections. Candida albicans (n = 230, 47.0%) was the predominant species identified among all patients. Non-albicans Candida (NAC) was more prevalent in adult patients, while Candida glabrata was slightly more frequent in pediatric patients (n = 10, 14.7%). Pulmonary diseases (n = 200, 47.8%) were the most common underlying comorbidities in adult patients (n = 25, 35.2%). Thrombocytopenia was the only laboratory finding higher in adult patients than in pediatric patients. Respiratory dysfunction, the presence of a central venous catheter, septic shock, and thrombocytopenia were independent risk factors for candidemia-related 30-day mortality. Amphotericin B exhibited high efficacy (100%), and itraconazole exhibited the lowest efficacy against all tested Candida isolates. C. glabrata had a lower susceptibility to azole, although this was not statistically significant. The epidemiological data on candidiasis, specifically candidemia in pediatric and adult patients, varied regarding the prevalence of Candida species and associated risk factors. This study provides guidance for prescribing the appropriate therapy and yields insights into the susceptibility patterns of different Candida isolates to antifungal drugs., Competing Interests: Declarations. Ethics approval and consent to participate: Ethical approval was provided by the Second Affiliated Hospital of Shantou University Medical College, Shantou, Human Research Ethics Committee (Ref; 2022 − 167) following the Declaration of Helsinki criteria. The ethical committee waived consent forms from the patients as all the clinical samples were obtained from the Second Affiliated Hospital of Shantou University Medical College, hospital laboratory as routine work and not for this study. Competing interests: The authors declare no competing interests. Informed consent: Statement. Patient consent was waived as we get data from the Second Affiliated Hospital of Shantou University Medical College, Shantou, surveillance system as a secondary source; no patient image or figure is involved., (© 2025. The Author(s).) more...

Atom probe tomography (APT) is routinely used to investigate nano-scale solute architecture within multicomponent systems. However, there is no consensus on how to best quantify solute clustering within APT data. This contribution leverages recent developments in the field of non-parametric hypothesis testing of nearest-neighbour distributions to address this critical gap. We adapt a goodness-of-fit-type test statistic known as 'the level of heterogeneity' to quantitatively discern whether solute distributions exhibit clustering behaviour beyond what would be expected from a random distribution. Further, comparing APT datasets remains difficult due to the inability to directly compare their nearest-neighbour distributions. We present a method that leverages Monte-Carlo simulations, already used to calculate the non-parametric statistic, as a means of comparing APT data. The method is more powerful than comparing datasets through the Pearson coefficient, as is conventionally done., 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 © 2025. Published by Elsevier B.V.) more...

Fungal dysbiosis is increasingly recognized as a key factor in cancer, influencing tumor initiation, progression, and treatment outcomes. This review explores the role of fungi in carcinogenesis, with a focus on mechanisms such as immunomodulation, inflammation induction, tumor microenvironment remodeling, and interkingdom interactions. Fungal metabolites are involved in oncogenesis, and antifungals can interact with anticancer drugs, including eliciting potential adverse effects and influencing immune responses. Furthermore, mycobiota profiles have potential as diagnostic and prognostic biomarkers, emphasizing their clinical relevance. The interplay between fungi and cancer therapies can affect drug resistance, therapeutic efficacy, and risk of invasive fungal infections associated with targeted therapies. Finally, emerging strategies for modulating mycobiota in cancer care are promising approaches to improve patient outcomes., (©2024 American Association for Cancer Research.) more...

Current diagnostic biomarkers for acute myocardial infarction (AMI), such as troponins, often lack specificity, leading to false positives under non-cardiac conditions. Recent studies have implicated circadian rhythm and immune infiltration in the pathogenesis of AMI. This study hypothesizes that analyzing the interplay between circadian rhythm-related gene expression and immune infiltration identify highly specific diagnostic biomarkers for AMI. Our results demonstrated differential expression of 15 circadian rhythm-related genes (CRGs) between AMI patients and healthy individuals, with five key genes-JUN, NAMPT, S100A8, SERPINA1, and VCAN identified as key contributors to this process. Functional enrichment analyses suggest these genes significantly influence cytokine and chemokine production in immune responses. Immune infiltration assessments using ssGSEA indicated elevated levels of neutrophils, macrophages, and eosinophils in AMI patients. Additionally, we identified potential therapeutic implications with 13 pivotal miRNAs and 10 candidate drugs targeting these genes. The Benjamini-Hochberg method was employed to adjust for multiple testing, and the results retained statistical significance. RT-qPCR analysis further confirmed the upregulation of these five genes under hypoxic conditions, compared to controls. Collectively, our findings highlight the critical role of CRGs in AMI, providing a foundation for improved diagnostic approaches and novel therapeutic targets., Competing Interests: Declarations. Competing interests: The authors declare no competing interests., (© 2025. The Author(s).) more...

Wheat plants encounter both biotic and abiotic pressure in their surroundings. Among the biotic stress factors, the Russian wheat aphid (RWA: Diuraphis noxia Kurdjumov) decreases grain yield and quality. The current RWA control strategies, including resistance breeding and the application of aphicides, are outpaced and potentially environmentally harmful. Alternatively, priming can stimulate defence responses to RWA infestation. This study investigated the priming potential of two priming agents, avirulent Puccinia triticina ( Pt ) isolates and salicylic acid (SA), against RWA infestation. The priming effect of Pt isolates and SA in reducing RWA-induced leaf damage and increased antioxidant activities is an indication of defence responses. Selected South African wheat cultivars and Lesotho landraces, grown under greenhouse conditions, were inoculated with Pt isolates (UVPt13: avirulent, UVPt26: virulent) and treated with SA at the seedling or booting stages. The leaf damage rating score was used for phenotyping. The antioxidant-mediated defence responses were evaluated in three selected cultivars for further priming investigation. Our results revealed that the priming agents significantly reduced the leaf damage in most cultivars at both growth stages, and UVPt13 and SA priming significantly ( p ≤ 0.05) increased superoxide dismutase, peroxidase, and ascorbate peroxidase activities. However, catalase activity exhibited a more pronounced decline in plants treated with the UVPt13 isolate. The Pt isolate priming was more efficient than the SA application. However, it is crucial to investigate the potential of effectors from the avirulent Pt isolate to prime wheat plants for resistance against RWA infestation. This could contribute to developing strategies to enhance crop protection and relieve pest pressure in wheat production. more...

Fault ruptures induced by earthquakes pose a significant threat to constructions, particularly underground structures such as pile foundations. Among various foundation types, batter pile foundations are widely used due to their ability to resist inclined forces. To gain new insights into the response of batter pile groups to fault ruptures caused by earthquakes, this study investigates the deformation and failure mechanisms of batter pile groups due to the propagation of normal and reverse fault ruptures using 3D numerical modeling. An advanced hypoplastic constitutive model for clay, which accounts for small-strain stiffness, and a concrete damage plasticity (CDP) model are employed to simulate the soil and the batter pile foundation, respectively. Results show that following fault propagation, nearly 10% tilting and significant displacement occurred at the pile cap, indicating a total failure of the batter pile foundation. It was also observed that the piles bent towards the slipping direction of the hanging wall. Tensile damage to the pile foundation was notably more severe than compression damage. The most severely damaged regions were not only located at the joints between the piles and the pile caps but were also found along the pile shafts., Competing Interests: Declarations. Competing interests: The authors declare no competing interests., (© 2025. The Author(s).) more...

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a major threat to global public health. The current review synthesizes to address the possible role of Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning (AI/ML) in mitigating AMR. Supervised learning, unsupervised learning, deep learning, reinforcement learning, and natural language processing are some of the main tools used in this domain. AI/ML models can use various data sources, such as clinical information, genomic sequences, microbiome insights, and epidemiological data for predicting AMR outbreaks. Although AI/ML are relatively new fields, numerous case studies offer substantial evidence of their successful application in predicting AMR outbreaks with greater accuracy. These models can provide insights into the discovery of novel antimicrobials, the repurposing of existing drugs, and combination therapy through the analysis of their molecular structures. In addition, AI-based clinical decision support systems in real-time guide healthcare professionals to improve prescribing of antibiotics. The review also outlines how can AI improve AMR surveillance, analyze resistance trends, and enable early outbreak identification. Challenges, such as ethical considerations, data privacy, and model biases exist, however, the continuous development of novel methodologies enables AI/ML to play a significant role in combating AMR., 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., (© 2025 The Authors.) more...

Uropathogens, particularly bacteria, can infect any part of the urinary tract and cause bacteriuria. Our study aimed to examine the antibiotic-resistant profile, associated risk factors, and phenotypic and genotypic features of ESBL, carbapenemase, and mcr resistance genes in multidrug-resistant bacteria. Samples were inoculated on culture media, identified using standard biochemical tests, and species confirmation was performed via 16S rRNA gene amplification. Furthermore, antibiotic susceptibilities were evaluated using the Kirby-Bauer disc diffusion method. The phenotypically confirmed resistant strains were further inspected for ESBL, carbapenemases, and mcr variants using PCR. Merely 57.24% (83/145) of the samples exhibited growth. Of these, 39.70% (33/83) were identified as Klebsiella pneumoniae, 27.70% (23/83) as Escherichia coli, 10.80% (9/83) as Pseudomonas aeruginosa, 9.60% (8/83) as Staphylococcus aureus, 7.20% (6/83) as Proteus mirabilis, and 4.80% (4/83) as Staphylococcus saprophyticus. Overall, 22.54% (16/71) of the gram-negative strains were confirmed molecularly to have resistant genes. The ESBL - producers accounted for 21.74% (5/23) of E. coli, 21.21% (7/33) of K. pneumoniae, and 22.22% (2/9) of P. aeruginosa. Likewise, carbapenemase-harboring strains included 6.06% (2/33) of K. pneumoniae, 4.35% (1/23) of E. coli, and 11.11% (1/9) of P. aeruginosa. Notably, 3.03% (1/33) of K. pneumoniae, 8.70% (2/23) of E. coli, and 11.11% (1/9) of P. aeruginosa strains tested positive for the mcr-1 gene. None of the Proteus strains showed any resistant genes. The most common variants were blaSHV-11 (non-ESBL) and blaCTX-M-15 (ESBL) accounted for 28.57% (4/14) each, blaTEM-116 accounted for 14.29% (2/14), blaSHV-1, blaSHV-75, blaTEM-1 and blaOXA-1 accounted for 7.14% (1/14) each of the ESBL. Similarly, the carbapenemase variants included blaOXA-48, blaNDM-1, blaVIM-1, and blaKPC-2, each accounting for 25.0% (1/4), while 37.50% (6/16) of the strains exhibited co-existence of different gene variants. Based on our findings, it can be concluded that females, especially those in middle age, were more infected. These pathogens exhibited a wide range of ESBL, carbapenemase, and mcr-1 variants. Imipenem was suggested as the preferred medication. more...

Three copper(II) complexes of diphenyl acetic acid (DPAA) pyridine (py), 2,2΄-dipyridylamine (dpa), and 4,7-diphenyl, 1,10-phenanthroline (di-phen), [Cu₂(DPAA)₄(py) 2 ] (Cu-1), [Cu(DPAA)₂(dpa)] (Cu-2), and [Cu₂(DPAA)₄(di-phen)₂] (Cu-3) were synthesized and characterized. Their antibacterial activities were evalvated. The minimum inhibitory concentrations (MIC) of these complexes against six tested microbial strains ranged from 1 to 128 μg/mL, and that of vancomycin antibiotic ranged from 0.5 to 2 μg/mL. The bactericidal effects of Cu-1, Cu-2 and Cu-3 and vancomycin against Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) were determined by colony count assay. Cu-1, Cu-2, and vancomycin showed relatively weaker antibiofilm formation activities; however, Cu-3 showed enhanced activity against S. aureus proliferation and biofilm formation as confirmed by microscopic analysis. In antibiofilm assays, Cu-1, Cu-2 and Cu-3 demonstrated high inhibition ability (23-75 %), of mature biofilm formation at concentrations of 5 to 15 μg/mL, and vancomycin at 15 μg/mL inhibited only 47 %. Cu-3 also effectively killed S. aureus within biofilms at doses up to 2 × MIC μg/mL. Further analysis of extracellular proteins (ECPs) expression revealed, that Cu-3 had significant potential in suppressing ECPs production. Molecular docking (MD) studies with biofilm associated protein (Bap) and SARS-CoV-2 receptors showed high interactions by several bonding types, where Cu-2 found as potent antiviral agent. Collectively, these findings highlighted the copper complexes potential in antibacterial applications, with Cu-3 emerging as a potent candidate for S. aureus biofilm inhibition., 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 © 2025 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.) more...

Ammonia (NH 3 ) is a hazardous gas that pollutes the environment and causes irritation. Its harmful effects on chickens, including its impact on their immune system, have previously been observed. However, the mechanism by which NH 3 exposure causes immune system disorders in chickens remains unclear. The bursa of Fabricius (BF) and thymus are the two main lymphoid organs responsible for the proliferation, differentiation, and selection of B- and T-lymphocytes, both critical for the innate immune response of the host. In this study, we investigated the mechanism of NH 3 -induced immune dysregulation in broiler chickens. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) revealed swollen mitochondria and breakage of the large crista lining, membrane deformation, chromatin condensation, increased vacuolation, and blood vessel spasms in the NH 3 -exposed BF and thymus tissues. Immunofluorescent analysis showed clustering of CD4 + and CD8 + cells, indicating an active immune response to NH 3 exposure. Furthermore, NH 3 exposure enhanced the mRNA expressions of Toll-like receptor 7 (TLR-7), myeloid differentiation primary response 88 (MYD88), and nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-κB), along with their proteins, and led to activation of the TLR-7/MyD88/NF-κB signaling pathway and NLRP3 inflammasome in chicken thymus tissues. Both mRNA and protein levels of key inflammation-related genes and proteins were upregulated in the NH 3 -treated group, highlighting a robust inflammatory response due to NH 3 exposure. The specific findings of significant structural damage to key lymphoid organs and activation of inflammatory pathways in broiler chickens upon NH 3 exposure can provide guidance for future, targeted therapies to improve poultry health. more...

This study proposes a new hybrid machine learning (ML) model for the early and accurate diagnosis of heart disease. The proposed model is a combination of two powerful ensemble ML models, namely ExtraTreeClassifier (ETC) and XGBoost (XGB), resulting in a hybrid model named ETCXGB. At first, all the features of the utilized heart disease dataset were given as input to the ETC model, which processed it by extracting the predicted probabilities and produced an output. The output of the ETC model was then added to the original feature space by producing an enriched feature matrix, which is then used as input for the XGB model. The new feature matrix is used for training the XGB model, which produces the final result that whether a person has cardiac disease or not, resulting in a high diagnosis accuracy for cardiac disease. In addition to the proposed model, three other hybrid DL models, such as convolutional neural network + recurrent neural network (CNN-RNN), convolutional neural network + long short-term memory (CNN-LSTM), and convolutional neural network + bidirectional long short-term memory (CNN-BLSTM), were also investigated. The proposed ETCXGB model improved the prediction accuracy by 3.91%, while CNN-RNN, CNN-LSTM, and CNN-BLSTM enhanced the prediction accuracy by 1.95%, 2.44%, and 2.45%, respectively, for the diagnosis of cardiac disease. The simulation outcomes illustrate that the proposed ETCXGB hybrid ML outperformed the classical ML and DL models in terms of all performance measures. Therefore, using the proposed hybrid ML model for the diagnosis of cardiac disease will help the medical practitioner make an accurate diagnosis of the disease and will help the healthcare society decrease the mortality rate caused by cardiac disease. more...

Hospital wastewater is a critical source of antimicrobial resistance (AMR), which facilitates the proliferation and spread of clinically significant antimicrobial resistance genes (ARGs) and pathogenic bacteria. This study utilized metagenomic approaches, including advanced binning techniques, such as MetaBAT2, MaxBin2, and CONCOCT, which offer significant improvements in accuracy and completeness over traditional binning methods. These methods were used to comprehensively assess the dynamics and composition of resistomes and mobilomes in untreated wastewater samples taken from two general hospitals and one cancer hospital. This study revealed a diverse bacterial landscape, largely consisting of Proteobacteria, Firmicutes, Bacteroidetes, and Actinobacteria, with notable variations in microbial composition among hospitals. Analysis of the top 15 genera showed unique microbial pattern distribution in each hospital: Aeromonas was predominant in 1stHWTS (49.39 %), Acidovorax in the CAHWTS at 16.85 %, and Escherichia and Bacteroides in the 2ndHWTS at 11.44 % and 11.33 %, respectively. A total of 114 pathogenic bacteria were identified, with drug-resistant Aeromonas caviae and Escherichia coli being the most prevalent. The study identified 34 types and 1660 subtypes of ARGs, including important last-resort antibiotic resistance genes (LARGs), such as bla NDM , mcr, and tet(X). Using metagenomic binning, this study uncovered distinct patterns of host-resistance associations, particularly with Proteobacteria and Firmicutes. Network analysis highlighted the complex interactions among ARGs, mobile genetic elements (MGEs), and bacterial species, all contributing to the dissemination of AMR. These findings emphasize the intricate nature of AMR in hospital wastewater and the influence of hospital-specific factors on microbial resistance patterns. This study provides support for implementing integrated management strategies, including robust surveillance, advanced wastewater treatment, and strict antibiotic stewardship, to control the dissemination of AMR. Understanding the interplay among bacterial communities, ARGs, and MGEs is important for developing effective public health measures against AMR., 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 © 2024 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.) more...

Heavy metal (HM) contaminants are the emerging driving force for reshaping the microflora of plants by eradicating the non-tolerance and non-resistant microbes via their lethal effects. Seeds served as a prime source of ancestral microbial diversity hereditary transfer from generation to generation. However, the problem arises when they got exposed to metal contamination, does metal pollutant disrupt the delicate balance of microbial communities within seeds and lead to shifts in their microflora across generations. In this study, the endophytic community within Zea mays seeds was compared across three distinct regions in Yunnan province, China: a HM-contaminated site Ayika (AK), less-contaminated site Sanduoduo (SD), and a non-contaminated Site Dali (DL). High-throughput sequencing techniques were employed to analyze the microbial communities. A total of 492,177 high-quality reads for bacterial communities and 1,001,229 optimized sequences for fungal communities were obtained. These sequences were assigned to 502 and 239 operational taxonomic units (OTUs) for bacteria and fungi, respectively. A higher diversity was recorded in AK samples than in SD and DL. Microbial community structure analysis showed higher diversity and significant fluctuation in specific taxa abundance in the metal-polluted samples exhibiting higher response of microbial flora to HM. In AK samples, bacterial genera such as Gordonia and Burkholderia-Caballeronia-Paraburkholderia were dominant, while in SD Pseudomonas and Streptomyces were dominant. Among the fungal taxa, Fusarium, Saccharomycopsis, and Lecanicillium were prevalent in HM-contaminated sites. Our finding revealed the influential effect of HM contaminants on reshaping the seed microbiome of the Zea mays, showing both the resilience of certain important microbial taxa as well the shifts in the diversity in the contaminated and pristine conditions. The knowledge will benefit to develop effective soil remediation, reclamation, and crop management techniques, and eventually assisting in the extenuation of metal pollution's adverse effects on plant health and agricultural productivity., (© 2024. The Author(s).) more...

Cerebellar pathology engenders the disturbance of movement that characterizes Friedreich ataxia (FRDA), yet the impact of cerebellar pathology on cognition in FRDA remains unclear. Numerous studies have unequivocally demonstrated the role of the cerebellar pathology in disturbed cognitive, language and affective regulation, referred to as Cerebellar Cognitive Affective Syndrome (CCAS), and quantified by the CCAS-Scale (CCAS-S). The presence of dysarthria in many individuals with ataxia, particularly FRDA, may confound results on some items of the CCAS-S resulting in false-positive scores. This study explored the relationship between performance on the CCAS-S and clinical metrics of disease severity in 57 adults with FRDA. In addition, this study explored the relationship between measures of intelligibility and naturalness of speech and scores on the CCAS-S in a subgroup of 39 individuals with FRDA. We demonstrated a significant relationship between clinical metrics and performance on the CCAS-S. In addition, we confirmed the items that returned the greatest rate of failure were based on Verbal Fluency Tasks, revealing a significant relationship between these items and measures of speech. Measures of speech explained over half of the variance in the CCAS-S score suggesting the role of dysarthria in the performance on the CCAS-S is not clear. Further work is required prior to adopting the CCAS-S as a cognitive screening tool for individuals with FRDA., (© 2024. The Author(s).) more...

Objectives: To compare the outcomes of modified extended right lobe graft (MERLG) and modified right lobe graft (MRLG) in living-donor liver transplantation (LDLT)., Methods: This retrospective study was performed at the Liver transplant department of the Pir Abdul Qadir Shah Jeelani Institute of Medical Sciences Hospital, Gambat, Pakistan, from March 2019 to September 2020. The outcomes of 20 MERLG donors and recipients were compared to those of 74 MRLG donors and recipients. Demographics, operative parameters, complications, hospital stay, and one-year survival were compared between the two groups., Results: The mean graft volume of the MERLG group was more (637.10 ± 71.35 g) than in the MRLG group (562.27 ± 57.77 g), (p= 0.001). Donor blood loss was higher in the MERLG group (680.10±170.60 ml) compared to the MRLG group (650.23±190.65 ml), p=0.527. In addition, the operative time was longer in the MERLG group (345.80±76.90 min) than in the MRLG group (318.12±100.80 min) (p= 0.257). The MERLG recipients were sicker (mean MELD score of 22.54±3.67) than the MRLG (18.86±4.37) (p=0.001). The drain output was higher in the MRLG group (1340 ± 470.32 ml) than in the MERLG group (1110 ± 450.60 ml) (P =0.045). No significant difference was found when comparing postoperative laboratory results and complications between the donor and recipient groups (p >0.05). Kaplan-Meier analysis showed a 95% one-year survival in MERLG group compared to 90.7% in the MRLG group (p=0.549)., Conclusion: With appropriate technical expertise, MERLGs are technically safe and feasible in LDLT donors without any added risks. MERLGs also yielded better outcomes in sick recipients., (Copyright: © Pakistan Journal of Medical Sciences.) more...

Plastic waste management has received significant attention in recent decades due to the urgent global environmental crisis caused by plastic pollution. The versatile and durable nature of plastic has led to its widespread usage across various sectors. However, its nonbiodegradable nature contributes to unsustainable production practices, leading to extensive landfill usage and posing threats to marine ecosystems and the food chain. To address these environmental concerns, numerous challenges have been recently addressed through investigating alternative approaches for disposing of plastic waste, with the construction sector emerging as a promising option. Incorporating plastic waste materials into concrete not only offers economic benefits but also provides a valid alternative to conventional disposal methods. This paper presents the results of different experimental studies, some of them available in the literature and others new, discussing the feasibility of integrating plastic waste into concrete and its impact on mechanical properties. The influence of different sizes, natures, treatments, and percentages of plastic waste in the concrete mixtures is dealt with in order to provide further data for helping to understand the nonunivocal results in the literature, under the conviction that only further observations can help to understand the mechanics of concrete with plastic aggregates. The experimental investigation highlighted that one parameter that is better than others and can be considered to compare different experimental investigations is the variation in weight (due to the effective volume of plastics in the mix), determining a sort of increasing of porosity that degrades the mechanical characteristics. However, this seems inconsistent in some cases. Therefore, the need for further research is highlighted to refine production methods and optimize mix designs. more...

Background: Aspergillus , a widespread fungus in the natural environment, poses a significant threat to human health by entering the human body via the airways and causing a disease called aspergillosis. This study comprehensively analyzed data on aspergillosis in published articles from mainland China to investigate the prevalence of Aspergillus , and risk factors, mortality rate, and underlying condition associated with aspergillosis., Methods: Published articles were retrieved from Google Scholar, PubMed, and Science Direct online search engines. In the 101 analyzed studies, 3558 Aspergillus isolates were meticulously collected and classified. GraphPad Prism 8 was used to statistically examine the epidemiology and clinical characteristics of aspergillosis., Results: Aspergillus fumigatus was prominently reported ( n  = 2679, 75.14%), followed by A. flavus ( n  = 437, 12.25%), A. niger ( n  = 219, 6.14%), and A. terreus ( n  = 119, 3.33%). Of a total of 9810 patients, 7513 probable cases accounted for the highest number, followed by confirmed cases ( n  = 1956) and possible cases ( n  = 341). In patients, cough emerged as the most common complaint ( n  = 1819, 18.54%), followed by asthma ( n  = 1029, 10.48%) and fever (1024, 10.44%). Of total studies, invasive pulmonary aspergillosis (IPA) was reported in 47 (45.53%) studies, exhibiting an increased prevalence in Beijing ( n  = 12, 25.53%), Guangdong ( n  = 7, 14.89%), and Shanghai ( n  = 6, 12.76%). Chronic pulmonary aspergillosis (CPA) was reported in 14 (13.86%) studies. Among the total of 14 studies, the occurrence of CPA was 5 (35.71%) in Beijing and 3 (21.42%) in Shanghai. Allergic bronchopulmonary aspergillosis (ABPA), was reported at a lower frequency ( n  = 8, 7.92%), Guangdong recorded a relatively high number ( n  = 3, 37.5%), followed by Beijing ( n  = 2, 25.0%), and Shanghai ( n  = 1, 12.5%). Percentage of death reported: IPA had the highest rate ( n  = 447, 68.87%), followed by CPA ( n  = 181, 27.88%) and ABPA ( n  = 14, 2.15%). Among the aspergillosis patients, 6220 had underlying conditions, including chronic lung disease ( n  = 3765, 60.53%), previous tuberculosis ( n  = 416, 6.68%), and organ transplant or organ failure ( n  = 648, 10.41%). Aspergillosis was also found in patients using corticosteroid therapy ( n  = 622, 10.0%)., Conclusion: This review sheds light on the prevalence patterns of Aspergillus species, risk factors of aspergillosis, and gaps in surveillance that could be helpful for the control and treatment of aspergillosis and guide the researchers in future studies., Registration: This systematic review was prospectively registered on PROSPERO: Registration ID CRD42023476870., Competing Interests: The authors declare that there is no conflict of interest., (© The Author(s), 2024.) more...

Objective: Huntington's disease (HD) is an inherited neurodegenerative disease involving progressive motor abnormalities, cognitive decline, and psychiatric disturbances. Depression and cognitive difficulties are among the most impactful symptoms of HD, yet the pathogenesis of these symptoms is not fully understood. HD involves low-level chronic inflammation and dysregulation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis, which are linked to depression and cognitive impairment in non-HD populations. However, previous research on the relationships of these pathologies with depression and cognition in HD is limited and inconsistent., Methods: Fifty-three adults with the HD gene expansion (30 premanifest and 23 manifest) completed measures of depression and cognitive functioning. Forty-eight out of 53 participants provided hair samples for quantification of cortisol, and 34 participants provided blood samples for quantification of peripheral inflammatory cytokines. We examined the associations of four cytokines (interleukin [IL]-6, IL-10, IL-1β, and tumor necrosis factor [TNF]-α) and cortisol levels with depression and cognitive scores., Results: In unadjusted models, higher levels of plasma IL-6, IL-10, and TNF-α correlated with higher depression scores, and higher levels of IL-10 and TNF-α correlated with poorer cognitive performance. After controlling for age, sex, and body mass index, only the correlations of IL-10 with depression and cognitive performance remained significant. No correlations were evident with hair cortisol., Interpretations: Peripheral inflammation is associated with depression symptoms and cognitive impairment in HD. Our findings suggest that interactions between the immune and nervous systems are important in HD, and highlight the potential of chronic inflammation as a therapeutic target in early stages of HD., (© 2024 The Authors. Annals of Clinical and Translational Neurology published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of American Neurological Association.) more...

Bacterial skin infections represent a major healthcare concern that can delay healing and threaten human health. Silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) have been widely used for antimicrobial purposes; however, their high toxicity limits their applications. Therefore, there is an urgent need to develop simple and efficient therapeutic approaches for treating bacterial infections and promoting wound healing. Here, novel tripeptide (Ghk and GhkCu)-modified AgNPs were developed and subsequently evaluated their antibacterial efficacy against four pathogenic bacterial isolates, cytotoxic properties, and therapeutic effects as a topical treatment for infected wounds. Spherical GhkAgNPs and GhkCuAgNPs with average sizes of 45.92 nm and 56.82 nm exhibited potential antibacterial activity, with a MIC concentration of 8 μg/ml against S. aureus and E. coli. Both AgNPs showed superior bactericidal effects against S. aureus, with complete inhibition after 7 days of treatment. Cytotoxicity assays revealed IC 50 (half maximal inhibitory concentrations) values ranging from 6.75 to 6.99 µg/ml in L929 cells. GhkAgNPs displayed accelerated cell migration and facilitated healing up to 92% after 12 h. Furthermore, topical applications of GhkAgNPs and GhkCuAgNPs to S. aureus-infected wounds demonstrated enhanced in vivo wound healing efficacy compared to control groups, as evidenced by increased regenerated epidermal thickness, improved collagen deposition, and downregulation of TNF-α expression. Hence concluded that these novel tripeptides Ghk and GhkCu-modified AgNPs exhibited potent antibacterial effects and significantly promoted wound healing properties., 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 © 2024 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.) more...

Interleukins (ILs) are vital in regulating the immune system, enabling to combat fungal diseases like candidiasis effectively. Their inhibition may cause enhanced susceptibility to infection. IL inhibitors have been employed to control autoimmune diseases and inhibitors of IL-17 and IL-23, for example, have been associated with an elevated risk of Candida infection. Thus, applying IL inhibitors might impact an individual's susceptibility to Candida infections. Variations in the severity of Candida infections have been observed between individuals with different IL inhibitors, necessitating careful consideration of their specific risk profiles. IL-1 inhibitors (anakinra, canakinumab, and rilonacept), IL-2 inhibitors (daclizumab, and basiliximab), and IL-4 inhibitors (dupilumab) have rarely been associated with Candida infection. In contrast, tocilizumab, an inhibitor of IL-6, has demonstrated an elevated risk in the context of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) treatment, as evidenced by a 6.9% prevalence of candidemia among patients using the drug. Furthermore, the incidence of Candida infections appeared to be higher in patients exposed to IL-17 inhibitors than in those exposed to IL-23 inhibitors. Therefore, healthcare practitioners must maintain awareness of the risk of candidiasis associated with using of IL inhibitors before prescribing them. Future prospective studies need to exhaustively investigate candidiasis and its associated risk factors in patients receiving IL inhibitors. Implementing enduring surveillance methods is crucial to ensure IL inhibitors safe and efficient utilization of in clinical settings., 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 © 2024 Khan, Bilal, Khan, Fang, Chang, Yin, Song, Liu, Zhang, Yao, Wang, Wang, Cai, Hou, Wang, Mao, Liu and Zeng.) more...

Industrialization and population growth are leading to the production of significant amounts of sewage containing hazardous xenobiotic compounds. These compounds pose a threat to human and animal health, as well as the overall ecosystem. To combat this issue, chemical, physical, and biological techniques have been used to remove these contaminants from water bodies affected by human activity. Biotechnological methods have proven effective in utilizing microorganisms and enzymes, particularly laccases, to address this problem. Laccases possess versatile enzymatic characteristics and have shown promise in degrading different xenobiotic compounds found in municipal, industrial, and medical wastewater. Both free enzymes and crude enzyme extracts have demonstrated success in the biotransformation of these compounds. Despite these advancements, the widespread use of laccases for bioremediation and wastewater treatment faces challenges due to the complex composition, high salt concentration, and extreme pH often present in contaminated media. These factors negatively impact protein stability, recovery, and recycling processes, hindering their large-scale application. These issues can be addressed by focusing on large-scale production, resolving operation problems, and utilizing cutting-edge genetic and protein engineering techniques. Additionally, finding novel sources of laccases, understanding their biochemical properties, enhancing their catalytic activity and thermostability, and improving their production processes are crucial steps towards overcoming these limitations. By doing so, enzyme-based biological degradation processes can be improved, resulting in more efficient removal of xenobiotics from water systems. This review summarizes the latest research on bacterial laccases over the past decade. It covers the advancements in identifying their structures, characterizing their biochemical properties, exploring their modes of action, and discovering their potential applications in the biotransformation and bioremediation of xenobiotic pollutants commonly present in water sources., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.) more...

Amnesia is a major health problem prevalent in almost every part of the world specifically in old age peoples. Vanillin analogues have played an important role in the field medicines. Some of them have been documented to be promising inhibitors of cholinesterases and could therefore, be used as antidepressant, anti-Alzheimer and as neuroprotective drugs. In this connection, the present study was designed to synthesize new vanillin analogues ( SB-1 to SB-6 ) of varied biological potentials. The synthesized compounds were investigated as inhibitors against acetylcholinesterase (AChE) and butyrylcholinesterase (BChE) enzymes and as scavengers of DPPH and ABTS free radicals followed by behavioural antiamnesic evaluation in mice. The compounds; SB-1 , SB-3 , SB-4 and SB-6 more potently inhibited AChE with IC 50 values of 0.078, 0.157, 0.108, and 0.014 μM respectively. The BChE was more potently inhibited by SB-3 with IC 50 of 0.057 μM. Moreover, all of the tested compounds exhibited strong antioxidant potentials with promising results of SB-3 against DPPH with IC 50 of 0.305 μM, while SB-5 was most active against ABTS with IC 50 of 0.190 μM. The in-vivo studies revealed the improvement in memory deficit caused by scopolamine. Y-Maze and new object recognition test showed a considerable decline in cognitive dysfunctions. In Y-Maze test the spontaneous alteration of 69.44 ± 1% and 84.88 ± 1.35% for SB-1 and 68.92 ± 1% and 80.89 ± 1% for SB-3 at both test doses were recorded while during the novel object recognition test the Discrimination Index percentage of SB-1 was more pronounced as compared to standard drug. All compounds were found to be potent inhibitors of AChE, BChE, DPPH, and ABTS in vitro however, SB-1 and SB-3 were comparatively more potent. SB-1 was also more active in reclamation of memory deficit caused by scopolamine. SB-1 and SB-3 may be considered as excellent drug candidates for treating amnesia subjected to toxicological evaluations in other animal models., 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., (© 2024 The Authors.) more...