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The yield and concentration of secondary metabolites (SMs) in plants can vary due to numerous challenges such as dynamic environmental conditions, moisture, soil quality, soil organic matter and plant genetics. To obtain a good yield of SMs novel elicitation approaches, such as the use of biotic and abiotic stressors, genetic modifications, and optimized growth conditions, have been practiced, particularly the use of selenium nanoparticles (SeNPs) and light emitting diode (LED) interaction through employing tissue culture technique. In the present study, in vitro callus cultures of sandalwood ( Santalum album L.) were subjected to elicitation with different concentrations of SeNPs with doses of 30 µg/L, 60 µg/L, and 90 µg/L in combination with green (∼550 nm), red (∼660 nm) and blue (∼460 nm) LED lights. Interaction of these treatments produced 16 treatments replicated three times in 48 test tubes. The results were analysed using two-way ANOVA and Tukey's HSD test. The study revealed that synergistic interaction between SeNPs and LED light wavelengths significantly enhanced callus growth and secondary metabolite (SM) production eliciting callus cultures with blue LED light and a dose of 90 µg/L SeNPs resulted in an increase in callus growth including fresh weight, dry weight, and the number of shoot branches per callus. This combined treatment positively influenced the functions of major bioactive antioxidants such as superoxide dismutase (SOD), peroxidase (POD), catalase (CAT) and phenylalanine ammonia-lyase (PAL). Furthermore, the concentrations of essential secondary metabolites, including total phenolic, total saponins, casein/BSA/PVPP-bound tannins, flavan-3-ols, and tocopherols experienced substantial elevation under the synergistic influence of SeNPs and LED light conditions. The sandalwood plants produced through the callus culturing technique using optimized SeNPs and LED lights show an enhanced yield of secondary metabolites, which will be very useful and potential for pharmaceutical, cosmetic and various other industries to discover and develop novel products., Competing Interests: The authors declare there are no competing interests., (©2024 Mazhar et al.)

Background: The Medicare Advantage program provides care to nearly half of Medicare beneficiaries, including a rapidly growing population of cancer survivors. Despite its increased adoption, it is still unknown whether or not the program improves healthcare access, outcomes, and affordability for cancer survivors., Methods: We performed a cross-sectional study of Medicare beneficiaries aged ≥ 65 years with a self-reported history of cancer from the 2019 National Health Interview Survey. We used multivariable logistic regression to evaluate the association between Medicare program type (Medicare Advantage vs. traditional Medicare) and measures of healthcare access, acute care utilization, and affordability., Results: We identified 4451 beneficiaries with a history of cancer, corresponding to 26.6 million weighted cancer survivors in 2019. Of the beneficiaries, 35.8% were enrolled in Medicare Advantage, whereas 64.2% were enrolled in traditional Medicare. The age, sex, racial and ethnic composition, household income, primary site of cancer, and comorbidity burden of Medicare Advantage and traditional Medicare beneficiaries were similar. In the adjusted analysis, there were no differences in healthcare access or acute care utilization between traditional Medicare and Medicare Advantage beneficiaries. However, cancer survivors enrolled in Medicare Advantage were more likely to worry about (34.3% vs. 29.4%; aOR, 1.3 (95% CI, 1.1-1.5)) or have problems paying (13.6% vs. 11.1%; aOR, 1.4 (95% CI, 1.1-1.8)) medical bills., Conclusions: We found no evidence that Medicare Advantage beneficiaries with cancer had better healthcare access, affordability, or acute care utilization than traditional Medicare beneficiaries did. Furthermore, Medicare Advantage beneficiaries were more likely to report financial strain and have difficulty paying for their medical bills than were those with traditional Medicare. Despite the generous benefits and attractive incentives, Medicare Advantage plans may not be more cost-effective than traditional Medicare is for cancer survivors. Our study informs ongoing congressional deliberations to re-evaluate the role of Medicare Advantage in promoting equity among beneficiaries with cancer.

In the present study, the antibacterial activity of Cornus macrophylla was examined. Organic solvent extracts of leaves were prepared using methanol, n- hexane, chloroform, and ethyl acetate. Antibacterial activity was examined by using a 100 mg/mL extract concentration. Penicillin was kept as a positive control while dimethyl sulfoxide was taken as a negative control. Methanolic extract exhibited a 21.5, 36.3, 25.3, and 23.7 mm inhibition zone diameter (IZD); n -hexane showed a 33, 40, 32.8, and 28.7 mm IZD; chloroform showed a 18.8, 29, 22.3, and 21.6 mm IZD; and ethyl acetate showed a 23.5, 30.2, 30, and 22.3 mm IZD against Erwinia carotovora, Pseudomonas syringae, Ralstonia solanacearum , and Xanthomonas axonopodis, respectively. The n -hexane extract revealed high antibacterial activity against all bacterial species as compared with methanolic, chloroform, and ethyl acetate extract. Gas Chromatography Mass Spectrometry (GC/MS) analysis of n -hexane extract depicted the presence of 55 compounds. Out of these compounds, one compound, identified as α-amyrin (Mol. wt = 426), exhibited the maximum peak area (32.64%), followed by A'-Neogammacer-22(29)-en-3-ol, acetate, (3.beta.,21.beta.)- (Mol. wt = 468) and β-amyrin (Mol. wt = 426) having peak areas of 25.97 and 6.77%, respectively. It was concluded that the antibacterial activity observed during the present investigation may be due to these compounds.