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Vegetation concrete is increasingly being used for slope stabilization in highways, green roofing in urban developments, and erosion control in coastal areas due to its sustainable solutions for enhancing landscape aesthetics, mitigating pollution, and protecting the environment. However, the environmental and economic impacts of different mix proportions, particularly concerning CO2 emissions, remain insufficiently explored. This study aimed to identify the optimal mix proportions of vegetation concrete through laboratory testing that minimize CO2 emissions while ensuring compatibility with plant growth and cost-effectiveness. The vegetation concrete mix were prepared using different quantities of biochar (5 %, 10 %, and 15 %) and cement content (4 %, 8 %, and 12 %) by weight to evaluate their impact on porosity, unconfined compressive strength (UCS), alkalinity, plant compatibility, cost-effectiveness, and CO2 emissions from raw materials. The results indicate that increasing the biochar content from 0 % to 15 % led to a 16 % reduction in porosity and a 92 % increase in UCS of vegetation concrete. Similarly, increasing the cement content from 0 % to 12 % resulted in an 11 % decrease in porosity and a substantial 200 % increase in the UCS of vegetation concrete. Moreover, the addition of 5 % biochar had a beneficial effect on plant growth, however, increasing the biochar content beyond this level adversely impacted plant development. Based on laboratory test results, the recommended optimal mix for vegetation concrete includes a mix of 5 % biochar, 8 % low-alkaline sulfoaluminate cement, 6 % sawdust, and 6 % ferrous sulfate. The analysis of CO2 emission of the materials studied showed that cement contributed the most to CO2 emissions, followed by biochar, sawdust, water, and soil. Notably, the utilization of sulfoaluminate cement led to a 31.8 % reduction in CO2 emissions compared to Portland cement, while also lowering the overall cost of vegetation concrete by 24.7–33.8 %. This research underscores the necessity of scientifically establishing relationships between the composition of plant-based concretes and their environmental and economic performance. In summary, this study identifies optimal mix proportions for vegetation concrete, leveraging low-alkaline sulfoaluminate cement and biochar to minimize CO2 emissions, enhance landscape aesthetics, and ensure compatibility with plant growth, thus emphasizing its potential as a sustainable and cost-effective construction material.

AbstractThis paper examines an under explored and integrated organization management strategy issue for the enhancement of the organizational performance. Considering two critical domains namely Human Resource and Organizational Development as theorised by this study is motivated by extend of the influence of those domains on the Generation Y staff of a GLC company in Malaysia. The simple random sampling of a total of 550 questionnaires distributed, where the researcher was able to collect about 506 completed forms or 92% rate of return that was later analysed. The research findings suggested that training and development is most significant and dominant dimension of HR system. Whereas organizational culture is confirmed to be the significant dimension of organisational development. Based on the Re-Specified model of organization management, results also showed that Human Resource system has a direct significant effect on employees’ performance as compared to Organizational Development. It is found a non-significant influence of model on the performance of employees, which is driven to review the organization management strategy by the managers, executives and professionals. The research contributes with the sustainable enhancement of organizational performance model while driving for purpose driven work, rewards, work-life flexibility, among the generation Y workforce.

This study evaluates the performance of a geosynthetic reinforced soil integrated bridge system (GRS-IBS) in terms of total displacement by varying different design parameters simultaneously and also suggests optimum values of them. These parameters include, i. backfill internal friction angle (∅b) and reinforcement spacing (Sv), ii. Backfill internal friction angle (∅b) and geogrid axial stiffness (EA) at varying reinforcement spacing (Sv), iii. Backfill internal friction angle (∅b) and number of bearing bed layers, and the effect of retained backfill slope (mb). Simulations were conducted using PLAXIS 2D software. Analysis showed that the cumulative effect of these parameters had a significant effect on total displacement but after a certain point increase or decrease in their values showed no effect on the results while some parameters showed negligible effect on the deformation of the wall. Furthermore, due to the notable effect of ∅b, Sv and EA on the total displacement of the wall, the impact of these parameters was also investigated on the development of tensile force in the topmost layer of geogrid in GRS IBS. It was noted that the shape of the tensile force distribution graph was the same for all the cases and the order of the parameters in terms of their effect on tensile force was Sv > ∅b > EA. Also, a detailed analysis of tensile force development in all the layers of geogrids showed that if Sv ≤ 0.2 m, the spacing between reinforcement in the lower portion of GRS IBS can be increased as these layers showed approximately zero tensile load.

Scorpion venoms are known to contain over 100,000 biologically active constituents. However, only a few of them have been studied. The major constituents of venom are proteins and peptides, which exhibit various biological and pharmacological properties, including anticancer activities. In the current study, the venom of yellow scorpions (Buthus sindicus) found in Sindh, Pakistan, was extracted and evaluated for its anti-cancer and anti-inflammatory activities. The crude venom showed a dose dependent inhibition of phagocyte oxidative burst from human whole blood cells (28.3% inhibition at highest tested concentration of 300 μg/mL). In-vitro cytotoxicity of crude venom was evaluated against human prostrate (PC3), cervical (HeLa) and neuroblastoma (U87-MG) cell lines, along with cytotoxicity against normal human fibroblast (BJ) cells. Crude venom was cytotoxic to all cell lines, with prominent inhibitory effect on PC3 cells. Crude venom was fractionated through RP-UPLC, resulted in fifteen fractions, followed by evaluation of their anticancer potential. Among all, the fraction I significantly (P < 0.001) reduced the cell viability of all three cancer cell lines, and exhibited insignificant cytotoxicity against normal cell line. Furthermore, the apoptotic cell death pathway was evaluated for crude venom, and fraction I, in most sensitive cell line PC3, by using flow-cytometry analysis. Both crude venom and its fraction I caused a mitochondrial-mediated apoptosis in prostate cancer cells (PC3). To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of the anticancer and anti-inflammatory activity of venom of Pakistani yellow scorpions. Results indicate their therapeutic potential, and a case for further purification and validation studies.

Explosions, once limited to military and accidental contexts, now occur frequently due to advances in warfare, local disputes, and global conflicts. Recent incidents, like urban bombings, emphasize the urgent need for infrastructure to withstand explosions. Slabs, critical in architectural frameworks, are vulnerable to explosive forces due to their slimness, making them prime targets for sabotage. Scholars have explored various strategies to fortify slabs, including the use of advanced materials like CFRP laminates/strips, steel sheets and ultra-high-strength concrete, along with reinforcement techniques such as two-mesh and diagonal reinforcements. A novel approach introduced in current research involves integrating vertical short bars, or studs, to enhance slab resilience against touch-off explosions. The aim of this research endeavor is to assess the impact of studs and their utilization in bolstering the anti-contact-blast capabilities of a concrete slab. To achieve this goal, a specialized framework within the ABAQUS/Explicit 2020 software is employed for comprehensive analysis. Initially, a conventionally reinforced slab devoid of studs serves as the benchmark model for numerical validation, facilitating a comparative assessment of its anti-contact-blast effectiveness against the findings outlined by Zhao and colleagues in 2019. Following successful validation, six additional distinct slab models are formulated utilizing sophisticated software, incorporating studs of varying heights, namely, 15 mm and 10 mm. Each configuration encompasses three distinct welding scenarios: (i) integration with upper-layer bars, (ii) attachment to bottom-layer bars, and (iii) connection to both upper- and bottom-layer bars. The comparative merits of the slabs are evaluated and deliberated upon through the examination of diverse response parameters. The research revealed that the incorporation of studs within slabs yielded notable enhancements in blast resistance. Specifically, taller studs demonstrated exceptional resilience against deformation, cracking, and perforation, while also diminishing plastic damage energy. Particularly noteworthy was the superior performance observed in slabs with studs welded to both upper and lower layers of re-bars. This highlights the critical significance of both the integration of studs and their precise positioning in fortifying structural integrity against blast-induced loadings.

AbstractThe purpose of this research is to provide Butler’s tourism lifecycle model and destination management role for tourism image branding which is a missing feature in recent destination management research. It is to provide determinants of tourism destination management for branding Cyberjaya city of Malaysia as a tourist site. A quantitative research methodology using SPSS 19 and PLS-SEM 4 is employed to examine and investigate the opportunities supporting the destination’s image. Results show a significant contribution of destination management determinants for image branding, where Cyberjaya city has the potential to become a destination city. The determinant of branding from exploration to rejuvenation of destination requires the personal satisfaction of tourists through the quality of accommodation, perception of beauty and managing destination infrastructure. The valuable research is to guide tourism managers to use Cyberjaya as a tourism destination city. This is to offer the travelers to visit and consider the city of Cyberjaya as their choice of stay. The Butler tourism lifecycle model is extended with this research on tourism destinations use for image branding.

Reinforced concrete (RC) structures are generally designed to carry quasi-static gravity loads through almost indispensable components namely slab, however, it may be subjected to high intense loads induced from the impact of projectiles generated by the tornado, falling construction equipment, and also from accidental explosions during their construction and service lifespan. Impacts due to rock/boulder falls do occur on the structures located especially in hilly areas. Such loadings are not predictable but may cause severe damage to the slab/structure. It stimulates structural engineers and researchers to investigate and understand the dynamic response of RC structures under such impulsive loading. This research work first investigates the performance of 1000 × 1000 × 75 mm3 conventionally reinforced two-way spanning normal strength concrete slab with only tension reinforcement (0.88%) under the concentric impact load (1035 N) using the finite element method based computer code, ABAQUS/Explicit-v.6.15. The impact load is delivered to the centroid of the slab using a solid-steel cylindroconical impactor (drop weight) with a flat nose of diameter 40 mm, having a total mass of 105 kg released from a fixed height of 2500 mm. Two popular concrete constitutive models in ABAQUS namely; Holmquist-Johnson-Cook (HJC) and Concrete Damage Plasticity (CDP), with strain rate effects as per fib MODEL CODE 2010, are used to model the concrete material behavior to impact loading and to simulate the damage to the slab. The slab response using these two models is analyzed and compared with the impact test results. The strain rate effect on the reinforcing steel bars has been incorporated in the analysis using the Malvar and Crawford (1998) approach. A classical elastoplastic kinematic idealization is considered to model the steel impactor and support system. Results reveal that the HJC model gives a little overestimation of peak displacement, maximum acceleration, and damage of the slab while the predictions given by the CDP model are in reasonable agreement with the experimental test results/observations available in the open literature. Following the validation of the numerical model, analyses have been extended to further investigate the damage response of the slab under eccentric impact loadings. In addition to the concentric location (P1) of the impacting device, five locations on a quarter of the slab i.e., two along the diagonal (P2 & P3), the other two along the mid-span (P4 & P5), and the last one (P6) between P3 and P5, covering the entire slab, are considered. Computational results have been discussed and compared, and the evaluation of the most damaging location(s) of the impact is investigated. It has been found that the most critical location of the impact is not the centroid of the slab but the eccentric one with the eccentricity of 1/6th of the span from the centroid along the mid-span section.

Dhaka city is experiencing rapid land cover changes, and the effects of climate change are highly visible. Investigating their combined influence on runoff patterns is vital for sustainable urban planning and water resources management. In this work, multi-date land cover classification was performed using a random forest (RF) algorithm. To validate accuracy of land cover classification, an assessment was conducted by employing kappa coefficient, which ranged from 85 to 96%, indicating a high agreement between classified images and the reference dataset. Future land cover changes were forecasted with cellular automata-artificial neural network (CA-ANN) model. Further, soil conservation service -curve number (SCS-CN) rainfall-runoff model combined with CMIP6 climate data was employed to assess how changes in land cover impact runoff within Dhaka metropolitan development plan (DMDP) area. Over the study period (2020–2100), substantial transformations of land cover were observed, i.e., built-up areas expanded to 1146.47 km2 at the end of 2100, while agricultural areas and bare land diminished considerably. Consequently, monsoon runoff increased from 350.14 to 368.24 mm, indicating elevated hydrological responses. These findings emphasized an intricate interplay between urban dynamics and climatic shifts in shaping runoff patterns, underscoring urgency of incorporating these factors into urban planning strategies for sustainable water resources management in a rapidly growing city such as Dhaka.

This paper presents an annotated dataset used in the MOOD Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) hackathon, hosted in Montpellier, June 2022. The collected data concerns unstructured data from news items, scientific publications and national or international reports, collected from four event-based surveillance (EBS) Systems, i.e. ProMED, PADI-web, HealthMap and MedISys. Data was annotated by relevance for epidemic intelligence (EI) purposes with the help of AMR experts and an annotation guideline. Extracted data were intended to include relevant events on the emergence and spread of AMR such as reports on AMR trends, discovery of new drug-bug resistances, or new AMR genes in human, animal or environmental reservoirs. This dataset can be used to train or evaluate classification approaches to automatically identify written text on AMR events across the different reservoirs and sectors of One Health (i.e. human, animal, food, environmental sources, such as soil and waste water) in unstructured data (e.g. news, tweets) and classify these events by relevance for EI purposes.

Background: Thyroid surgeries are commonly done nowadays for benign and malignant conditions. Recurrent laryngeal nerve palsy (RLNP) is an important and potentially catastrophic complication of thyroid surgery. The purpose of the study was to determine the impact of rigid endoscopy (Hopkins rod-lens telescope) performed at different time intervals on the diagnosis of RLNP in post-thyroid surgery patients. Aims and Objectives: To assess Proper Timing of Laryngoscopy in Post-thyroid Surgery patients to Detect RLN Injury. Materials and Methods: Rigid endoscopy was performed postoperatively at day 0 (T0), at 2nd day post-op (T1), and day 14 (T2). For patients with RLNP, repeated examinations were performed at 2 months (T3), 6 months (T4), and 12 months (T5). Results: The study included 50 patients of thyroid swelling with different diagnoses. Overall, 35 patients appeared for postoperative laryngoscopic examination of the vocal folds at our center, providing 61 nerves at risk. RLNP rate was 8.1% at T0, 11.5% at T1, 9.8% at T2, 8.1% at T3, 4.9% at T4, and 3.3% at T5. T1 was significantly superior to all other time intervals in terms of diagnosis of RLNP but statistically not significant. Conclusion: Rigid endoscopy is essential for the detection of vocal cord paralysis after thyroidectomy. We report different time evaluation criteria of vocal cord morbidity with great and significant variability of results. Second day post-op inspection of the larynx (T1) is suggested.

In this research work, different combinations of normal strength concrete (NSC), ultra-high-performance concrete (UHPC), and steel fiber-reinforced UHPC (SFR-UHPC) concrete with re-bars of conventional steel and of carbon fiber-reinforced polymer (C-FRP) are used in a two-way square slab of size 1000mm x 1000mm x 75mm subjected to 2500 mm free-fall impact loading. Experimental arrangement consisting of 105 kg dropping weight with the circular flat impacting face of 40 mm diameter used for carrying out impact test is modeled using a high-fidelity physics-based finite element computer code, ABAQUS/Explicit-v.6.15. After validating the experimental results of the NSC slab with steel bars, analyses are extended by replacing NSC and steel bars with UHPC/SFR-UHPC and C-FRP bars, respectively, under the same dropping weight. Only the remote face (tension face) of the slabs is provided with the re-bars. Widely employed and available with the ABAQUS, the Concrete Damage Plasticity model with strain-rate effects has been entrusted for simulating the concrete plastic response. Re-bars of steel are idealized with the Johnson-Cook plasticity damage model. C-FRP re-bars are defined with the classical plasticity model following the elastic-plastic constitutive laws. The impact responses of the slabs consisting of NSC/UHPC/SFR-UHPC concrete with re-bars of steel, and C-FRP combinations considered are discussed and compared. Slabs made of UHPC/SFR-UHPC concrete with the C-FRP re-bars are found to offer a promising combination of materials to withstand low-velocity impact load with little damage and extraordinary impact performance.

Exposure of building infrastructures to accidental or intentional blasts is an extreme load condition that may cause irreparable damage leading to the collapse of buildings. Columns being principal elements are the most important for the stability and safety of the buildings under accidental explosions and subversive blast events and therefore attract the attention of structural engineers and researchers. Some recent examples are the Beirut seaport explosion (August 2020), the explosion at an ammunition warehouse in Ryazan City of Russia (October 2020), the gas explosion in China’s Hubei Province (June 2021), a blast at a chemical factory on the outskirts of Bangkok (July 2021), and the explosion on a container ship docked at Dubai’s Jebel Ali Port (July 2021). In the crises like ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine, the enhanced response of the principal components of a structure may save the life of the building users by limiting severe damage to the structure. In this study, three experimentally tested 3000-mm-long normal strength concrete columns, 300mm x 300mm, provided with (i) conventional reinforcement, (ii) seismic reinforcements over top and bottom confining regions (600 mm), and (iii) seismic reinforcement over confining and mid-height regions, carrying an axial working load of 950 kN available in the literature, are modeled in the ABAQUS 2020 code and are subjected to 82 kg TNT close-range explosive load at a scaled distance 1.0 m/kg1/3 using the software’s explicit module. In addition to this, one column with seismic reinforcement over its entire length has been considered and modeled. The concrete damage plasticity model is explored for nonlinear elastic and inelastic behaviors, degradation of stiffness, and loading rate effect on concrete. Following the validation of the numerical models, the seismic reinforcements of the columns have been replaced by the cross-diagonal reinforcements between the conventional stirrups with the same axial load. Blast performance of the columns with the seismic reinforcements and with replaced diagonal reinforcements is critically examined and discussed. The results show that the application of cross-diagonal reinforcements as a replacement for the seismic reinforcements enhances the blast resistance of the reinforced concrete column significantly by reducing the damage and displacement.

Introduction: Osteochondroma of the coronoid process also known as Jacob’s disease, has rarely been reported in the literature and it posses a challenge as diagnosis may be overlooked in favour of other causes of limited mouth opening. Case Report: This is a case report of an adult male patient who presented with restricted mouth opening in whom radiological imaging, especially 3D computed tomography, played a role in establishing the diagnosis of Jacob’s disease. Conclusion: An osteochondroma of the coronoid process of the mandible (Jacob’s disease) is a rare cause of restricted mouth opening and its diagnosis can be overlooked in favour of TMJ ankylosis. The CT scan plays an important role in diagnosis and in planning for surgery.

Structural members with low-flexural stiffness, such as slabs, are more susceptible to impulsive loadings induced by falling machines/tools during construction and installation, and also from rolling boulders/rocks triggered by wind/earthquake, especially in mountainous areas. The impact resistance of reinforced concrete (RC) slabs supported on two opposite edges (often called the one-way slab) and on all four edges (i.e., two-way slab) has been adequately studied experimentally as well as computationally, and is available in the literature. However, the slabs supported on three edges have not been studied under low-velocity impact for their impact response. For this purpose, a computational study is performed through finite elements by implementing ABAQUS software on the validated model, resulting in the slab, which is supported on (i) three edges and (ii) two opposite edges, to be subjected to low-velocity impact, induced by dropping a 105 kg non-deformable steel mass from a height of 2500 mm onto the slab centroid. Furthermore, the role of the material strength of the concrete of the slab is investigated via replacing the ultra-high performance concrete (UHPC) for standard or normal-strength concrete (NSC). The impact load is modeled by considering the explicit module of the software. Failure mechanism, stress/strain contour, displacement distribution, and crack pattern of the slabs are compared and discussed.

In the present experimental work, the efforts have been made to use the aluminum composite panel waste collected from a construction site in high strength concrete. This waste of aluminum composite panel contains aluminum coversheets and core of low-density polyethylene. In this investigation, concrete with aluminum waste with varying percentages of 2, 4, 7, and 12% by weight of cement, and LDPE as an additive mass of 3.5, 7, 12.5, and 21% by weight of cement were studied. The concrete was tested in the fresh and hardened state. In the fresh state, concrete was tested for workability and expansion. In the hardened state, the concrete was tested for various strength, Non-destructive tests, and durability tests. Based on the results showed for 28 days, it can be reported that the use of replaced aluminum waste and LDPE as additive waste by weight of cement had a significant decrease in workability as well as strength.

We examine the impact of corporate governance on cash holdings and the interplay of family ownership on this relationship through static and dynamic panel estimation models. Composite indicator for the corporate governance based on several proxies related to corporate board structure and ownership is constructed using principal component analysis (PCA). Our evidence is based on a sample of 120 publicly listed non-financial firms from Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) over the period 2013–2017. The selected sample is further divided into family and non-family firms based on 10% or more ownership. We document the negative impact of corporate governance on cash holdings. The findings reveal that family ownership as a moderator weakens the impact of corporate governance mechanism on cash holdings. The analysis of individual proxies of corporate governance and cash holdings in the whole sample, as well as sub-sample, provides some new insights that family firms with more board size, board independence, and institutional shareholdings hold more cash as compared to non-family firms. The study theoretically supports the agency theory. The study suggests that individual market participants may make investment decisions thereby keeping in view the role of family ownership. The study also provides better insights to regulatory authorities to design policies in such a way that ensure the protection of minority shareholders as corporate cash holdings decisions are different in family and non-family firms.

This is the era of information and new technologies, among the brilliant inventions and advancement, Global system of mobile phone communication (GSM) makes the life as approachable as one can think. It changes the social relation and social network of an individual. Hence the mobile has two sides of a coin. Advantages and disadvantages are associated with every feasibility or inventions. But some time blessings bring some harmful effects on the human body. Mobile phone uses radio waves. Some part of the radio wave is also absorbed in the body. The ear is the most exposed part of the body. The salivary gland is very close to the ear. Hence, the affected part of the cellular phone radiations is a salivary gland. In the current study, we collected the unstimulated saliva sample from volunteers to estimate the antioxidant profile of the mobile phone user. The Uric acids, Catalase, C Reactive Protein (CRP), Reduced Glutathione (GSH), and Superoxide Dismutase (SOD) were included in the antioxidant profile. Uric acid, GSH, SOD was significantly decreased while CRP and Catalase were significantly increased. The result shows the increase the risk of inflammation and oxidative stress, which can predispose the cell phone user to a multitude of infectious & non-infectious oral diseases.

Facial nerve palsy is usually associated with a malignant parotid neoplasm; it is highly unusual for it to result from a benign situation, such as inflammation or infection of the parotid gland. Surgery along with prompt medical treatment is the mainstay, and in the majority of the patients, nerve paralysis recovers in the follow-up period. We report a case of a 50-year-old non-diabetic non-hypertensive female who presented with odynophagia, left-sided parotid swelling, and left facial nerve palsy. The diagnosis of facial nerve palsy due to a parotid abscess extending to the parapharyngeal space was made. Facial palsy fully recovered within 2 months.

Laryngeal mask airway (LMA) is increasingly being used in children as it is less invasive compared to endotra-cheal intubation and causes less discomfort in the postoperative period. However, some concerns remained about its safety during positive pressure ventilation in children. In a prospective randomized trial, 100 ASA I and II children weighing between 10-20 kg in the range of 2-10 years of age, scheduled for elective surgery were randomly allocated to one of the two groups of 50 patients each. The efficacy of LMA in children during positive pressure ventilation, its haemodynamic changes and postoperative complications were compared to endotracheal intubation. Insertion of LMA was easier in 94% patients while endot-racheal intubation was done easily in 53% of patients only (p< 0.05). The changes in haemodynamic parameters were significantly higher after endotracheal intubation as compared to LMA placement. Furthermore these changes per-sisted for longer duration after endotracheal intubation in comparison to LMA insertion (5 min vs 3 min). Incidence of postoperative complications i.e. bronchospasm, laryngospasm and soft tissue trauma was significantly higher (p< 0.05) after endotracheal intubation as compared to LMA insertion. To conclude, the laryngeal mask airway is a suitable alternative to endotracheal intubation for positive pressure ventilation in children.

ABSTRACT: Globally surgical site infections (SSIs) are one of the most common nosocomial infections. Oxygen acts as a facilitator in the reduction of surgical site infections particularly in colorectal and abdominal surgery. During surgery the normal flora present in large intestine have also been eradicated which are the potential source of post operative infections. Supplemental oxygen aids in the eradication of pathogenic bacteria by oxidative killing. The oxidative killing not only heals the wounds but also enhances the activity of immune system by forming superoxide radicals. High fraction of inspired oxygen facilitate in reduction in the frequency of postoperative nausea and vomiting. Polymorphnuclear leukocytes also participate in the eradication of bacteria by oxidative killing. Free radicals of oxygen activate vascular endothelial growth and help in vasoconstriction. Hypoxia is one of the major problems encountered by anesthetist. Oxygen is used in combination with other gases to enhance the analgesic and anesthetic activity. Oxygen also reduces the chances of post-operative infection, nausea, and vomiting. High supplemental inspiration helps in the prevention of pneumonia. Oxygen is involved in a number of metabolic reactions. The size of the lesions and infections is reduced by an increase in the level of tissue oxygenation.

Animal venom (e.g., scorpion) is a rich source of various protein and peptide toxins with diverse physio-/pharmaco-logical activities, which generally exert their action via target-specific modulation of different ion channel functions. Scorpion venoms are among the most widely-known source of peptidyl neurotoxins used for callipering different ion channels, such as; Na+, K+, Ca+, Cl−, etc. A new peptide of the chlorotoxin family (i.e., Bs-Tx7) has been isolated, sequenced and synthesized from scorpion Buthus sindicus (family Buthidae) venom. This peptide demonstrates 66% with chlorotoxin (ClTx) and 82% with CFTR channel inhibitor (GaTx1) sequence identities reported from Leiurus quinquestriatus hebraeus venom. The toxin has a molecular mass of 3821 Da and possesses four intra-chain disulphide bonds. Amino acid sequence analysis of Bs-Tx7 revealed the presence of a scissile peptide bond (i.e., Gly-Ile) for human MMP2, whose activity is increased in the case of tumour malignancy. The effect of hMMP2 on Bs-Tx7, or vice versa, observed using the FRET peptide substrate with methoxycoumarin (Mca)/dinitrophenyl (Dnp) as fluorophore/quencher, designed and synthesized to obtain the lowest Km value for this substrate, showed approximately a 60% increase in the activity of hMMP2 upon incubation of Bs-Tx7 with the enzyme at a micromolar concentration (4 µM), indicating the importance of this toxin in diseases associated with decreased MMP2 activity.