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The present study reports the design and synthesis of new benzimidazole-oxadiazole compounds as potent inhibitors of α-glucosidase and α-amylase. The synthesized molecules were characterized through different techniques such as 1HNMR, 13CNMR, HREI-MS and evaluated for their in vitro inhibitory activities against these enzymes. Among the compounds screened, compound 8 demonstrated the highest inhibitory activity against both α-glucosidase (IC50 = 11.60 µM) and α-amylase (IC50 = 6.20 µM). Molecular docking analyses were conducted to investigate the binding modes and interactions of the active compounds within the enzyme active sites. The results demonstrate that several benzimidazole-oxadiazole hybrids exhibited potent inhibitory effects on both α-glucosidase and α-amylase, suggesting their promise as antidiabetic agents.

The emulsion graft polymerization process was used to synthesize a novel polyglycidyl methacrylate grafted silanized bamboo fiber composites. The grafting percentage was assessed by varying surfactant, initiator and monomer concentrations. The surface morphologies and thermal behavior of the biocomposites were analyzed using FTIR, SEM, XRD and TGA techniques. In batch adsorption studies, the effect of adsorption parameters like pH, adsorption time, adsorbent dose and solution temperature were examined on the adsorption efficiency of lead ions. The adsorption capacity of biosorbent composites was enhanced through conversion of epoxy group of Poly glycidyl methacrylate (PGMA) into sulfonic acid groups via sulfonation process. The sulfonic acid groups were incorporated into VMBF-g-PGMA by stirring the grafted sample in H2SO4 (98 %) for 2 h at 90 °C to obtain sulfonated grafted polymer (VMBF-g-PGMA-S). By increasing the concentration of monomers up to 5 %, the maximum grafting percentage (289 %) was achieved. The grafting % increases rapidly from 0.5 to 0.20 g initiator and at 0.20 g of initiator, the highest grafting yield was 512 %. The maximum Pb+2 adsorption capacity of adsorbent was 200 mg/g. The thermodynamic parameters for pb+2 adsorption revealed an exothermic and spontaneous nature of sorption process, and the entropy change showed that there are no substantial structural changes occurred in biosorbent material. The experimental results confirmed that sulfonated biosorbent composites are effective, economical, and promising adsorbent which could be used for removal of lead and other ions from aqueous solution.

Abstract Background Pakistan reports a significant burden of neonatal mortality, with infections as one of the major causes. We aim to assess the long-term impact of early infancy infections on neurodevelopmental outcomes during later childhood. Methods We conducted a prospective follow-up study of the cohort enrolled at the Karachi site of the Aetiology of Neonatal Infection in South Asia (ANISA) during 2019–2020. Children with a possible serious bacterial infection (based on the WHO IMCI algorithm) at early infancy were assessed for neurodevelopment at 6–9 years of age and compared with healthy controls. The Ten Questions (TQS) questionnaire, Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ), and Parent’s Evaluation of Developmental Stage Assessment Level (PEDS: DM-AL) neurodevelopmental assessment tools, were administered and scored by the research staff who were blinded to the child’s exposure status. Generalized Structural Equation Modelling (GSEM) was employed to verify relationships and associations among developmental milestones, anthropometry, and sociodemographic variables. Results A total of 398 children (241 cases and 157 controls) completed neurodevelopmental and growth assessments. Cases had a significantly higher rate of abnormal TQS scores (54.5% vs. 35.0%, p-value 0.001), greater delays in motor milestones (21.2% vs. 12.1%, p-value 0.02), lower fine motor skills (78.4 ± 1.4 vs. 83.2 ± 1.5, p-value 0.02). The receptive language skills were well-developed in both groups. According to the logistic regression model, exposure to infection during the first 59 days of life was associated with delayed TQS milestones (β = -0.6, 95% CI -1.2,-0.04), TQS hearing domain (β = -0.3, 95% CI: -1.2 to 0.7), PEDS: DM-AL fine motor domain (β = -1.3, 95% CI: -4.4 to 1.7), PEDS: DM-AL receptive language development (β = -1.1, 95% CI: -3.7 to 1.4) and child anthropometric measurements such as weight and height (β = -0.2, 95% CI: -0.4 to 0.01 and β = -0.2, 95% CI: -0.4 to -0.01, respectively). Early pSBI exposure was positively associated with PEDS: DM-AL self-help domain (β = 0.6, 95% CI: -1.2 to 2.4) and SDQ-P overall score (β = 0.02, 95% CI: -0.3 to 0.3). Conclusion Children exposed to PSBI during early infancy have higher rates of abnormal development, motor delays, and lower fine motor skills during later childhood in Pakistan. Socioeconomic challenges and limited healthcare access contribute to these challenges, highlighting the need for long-term follow-ups with integrated neurodevelopment assessments.

Abstract Gram-negative bacteria (GNB) are a major cause of neonatal sepsis in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Although the World Health Organization (WHO) reports that over 80% of these sepsis deaths could be prevented through improved treatment, the efficacy of the currently recommended first- and second-line treatment regimens for this condition is increasingly affected by high rates of drug resistance. Here we assess three well known antibiotics, fosfomycin, flomoxef and amikacin, in combination as potential antibiotic treatment regimens by investigating the drug resistance and genetic profiles of commonly isolated GNB causing neonatal sepsis in LMICs. The five most prevalent bacterial isolates in the NeoOBS study (NCT03721302) are Klebsiella pneumoniae, Acinetobacter baumannii, E. coli, Serratia marcescens and Enterobacter cloacae complex. Among these isolates, high levels of ESBL and carbapenemase encoding genes are detected along with resistance to ampicillin, gentamicin and cefotaxime, the current WHO recommended empiric regimens. The three new combinations show excellent in vitro activity against ESBL-producing K. pneumoniae and E. coli isolates. Our data should further inform and support the clinical evaluation of these three antibiotic combinations for the treatment of neonatal sepsis in areas with high rates of multidrug-resistant Gram-negative bacteria.

Coronavirus disease (COVID-19), an infectious disease caused by a newly discovered Coronavirus (severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) was targeted in the current research study. Different hybrid thiadiazole based thiazolidinone derivatives were designed and successfully synthesized. Structural validation of novel compounds was achieved via spectroscopy by employing 1HNMR, 13CNMR, HREI-MS. All the synthesized compounds were biologically evaluated to study their potential to inhibit the main protease of SARS-CoV-2. The SAR data revealed that among the synthesized thiadiazole-based thiazolidinone derivatives showed significant inhibitory profile against the targeted enzymes. Different substituted compounds 1 (IC50 = 0.10 µM), 2 (IC50 = 1.43 µM), 4 (IC50 = 2.25 µM), 5 (IC50 = 24.56 µM), 6 (IC50 = 26.47 µM), and 8 (IC50 = 19.59 µM), were found with excellent potentials, even more potent than its standard GC-376 drug (IC50 = 0.439 µM). Among the potent candidates of the series, compound 1 bearing CF3 at meta and NO2 at ortho position exhibited the top ranking potential and emerged as the excellent inhibitor of protease of SARS-CoV-2. Furthermore, these potent analogues were subjected to molecular docking study in order to explore their bonding interactions with active sites of SARS-CoV-2 3CL protease. This study was also enriched with ADME analysis to evaluate drug-likeness of lead compounds of the series.

The study aimed to describe the impact of Fiqh learning actions using the Make-a-Match method on the cooperative skills of eleventh-grade students at Madrasah Aliyah Muhammadiyah 1 Kota Malang. This research used a qualitative approach with class action research (CAR) designed with two cycles. The study subjects were students in the 11th grade of the Department of Social Sciences Education (IPS), which had 18 students. Researchers collected data through observations, interviews, and documentation during the class action process. They then analyzed it through the Miles, Huberman, and Saldana procedures. Research results showed that the Make-a-Match method improved students' collaborative skills. Each of the collaborative skills indicators showed an improvement from cycle I to cycle II. The match-seeking technique required in applying this learning method instructed students to actively follow learning, be responsible as group members, interact, and collaborate.

This study investigates the progression of regenerative tourism, highlighting the evolution from traditional sustainability models toward initiatives that proactively promote environmental restoration, social equity, and economic development. The discussion is rooted in Regenerative Development Theory and examines the critical need for developing comprehensive metrics and indicators. These tools are essential for assessing the impacts of regenerative tourism initiatives, allowing for a nuanced understanding of their contributions to environmental sustainability, social well-being, and economic prosperity. Through a conscientious methodology development and validation process, this work aims to provide stakeholders with the means to accurately evaluate and enhance the regenerative effects of tourism practices. The findings underscore the significance of regenerative tourism in guiding the industry towards a more sustainable and transformative future, offering valuable insights for policymaking, practical interventions, and the direction of future research.

Summary: Background: Healthcare-associated infections account for substantial neonatal in-hospital mortality. Chlorhexidine gluconate (CHG) whole body skin application could reduce sepsis by lowering bacterial colonisation density, although safety and optimal application regimen is unclear. Emollients, including sunflower oil, may independently improve skin condition, thereby reducing sepsis. We aimed to inform which concentration and frequency of CHG, with or without emollient, would best balance safety and the surrogate marker of efficacy of reduction in bacterial colonisation, to be taken forward in a future pragmatic trial evaluating clinical outcomes of sepsis and mortality. Methods: In this multicentre, randomised, open-label, factorial pilot trial, neonates in two hospital sites (South Africa, Bangladesh) aged 1–6 days with gestational age ≥ 28 weeks and birthweight 1000–1999 g were randomly assigned in a factorial design stratified by site to three different concentrations of CHG (0.5%, 1%, and 2%), with or without emollient (sunflower oil) applied on working days vs alternate working days. A control arm received neither product. Caregivers were unblinded although laboratory staff were blinded to randomisation Co-primary outcomes were safety (change in neonatal skin condition score incorporating dryness, erythema, and skin breakdown) and efficacy in reducing bacterial colonisation density (change in total skin bacterial log10 CFU from randomisation to day-3 and day-8). The trial is registered at the ISRCTN registry, ISRCTN 69836999. Findings: Between Apr 12 2021 and Jan 18 2022, 208 infants were randomised and 198 were included in the final analysis. Skin condition scores were low with mean 0.1 (sd = 0.3; N = 208) at baseline, 0.1 (sd = 0.3; N = 199) at day 3 and 0.1 (sd = 0.3; N = 189) at day 8, with no evidence of differences between concentration (1% CHG vs 0.5% estimate = −0.3, 95% CI = (−1.2, 0.6), p = 0.55. 2% CHG vs 0.5% CHG estimate = 0.5 (−0.4, 1.4), p = 0.30), increasing frequency (estimate = −0.4; 95% CI = (−1.1, 0.4), p = 0.33), emollient (estimate = −0.5, (−1.2, 0.3), p = 0.23) or with control (estimate = −0.9, (−2.3, 0.4), p = 0.18). Mean log10 CFU was 4.9 (sd = 3.0; N = 208) at baseline, 6.3 (sd = 3.1; N = 198) at day 3 and 8.4 (sd = 2.6; N = 183) with no evidence of differences between concentration (1% CHG vs 0.5% estimate = −0.4; 95% CI = (−1.1, 0.23); p = 0.23. 2% CHG vs 0.5% CHG estimate = 0.0 (−0.6, 0.6), p = 0.96), with increasing frequency (estimate = −0.4; 95% CI = (−0.9, 0.2); p = 0.17), with emollient (estimate = 0.4, 95% CI = (−0.2, 0.9); p = 0.18) or with control (estimate = −0.2, 95% CI = (−1.3, 0.9); p = 0.73). By day-8, overall 158/183 (86%) of neonates were colonised with Enterobacterales, and 72/183 (39%) and 69/183 (9%) with Klebsiella spp resistant to third-generation cephalosporin and carbapenems, respectively. There were no CHG-related SAEs, emollient-related SAEs, grade 3 or 4 skin scores or grade 3 or 4 hypothermias. Interpretation: In this pilot trial of CHG with or without sunflower oil, no safety issues were identified, and further trials examining clinical outcomes are warranted. The relatively late start application of emollient, at a mean of 3.8 days of life, may have reduced the impact of the intervention although no subgroup effects were detected. There was no clear evidence in favour of a specific concentration of chlorhexidine, and there was rapid colonisation with Enterobacterales with frequent antimicrobial resistance, regardless of skin application regimen. Funding: The MRC Joint Applied Global Health award, the Global Antibiotic Research and Development Partnership (GARDP), MRC Clinical Trials Unit core funding (UKRI) and St. George's, University of London.

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Myocardial infarction (MI), one of the most perilous types of cardiac illness, carries a significant burden of mortality and morbidity. This study aims to shed light on the impact of Malva parviflora seed oil (MPSO) on plasma cardiac function tests, levels of cardiac inflammatory mediators, and the expression of cardiac miRNA140-5p and miRNA208b genes in a rat model of MI induced by isoproterenol (ISO). The methods involved the extraction of MPSO using hexane, with the determination of fatty acid contents accomplished through GC spectrometry. Adult albino rats, weighing 185 ± 7 g, were divided into five groups (n = 6): normal control rats, ISO-treated rats, ISO-treated rats with MPSO (157 and/or 314 mg/kg, respectively), and ISO-treated rats with omega (100 mg/kg, respectively) for a duration of four weeks. The results revealed that Malva parviflora seeds yielded 3.3 gm/100 dry seeds. Among the nine fatty acid components identified, coriolic acid was the most abundant (31.60 %), followed by pentadecanoic acid (30.05 %). The cardioprotective potential of MPSO was assessed in rats subjected to ISO-induced cardiac injury. Following 24 h of ISO treatment, rats displayed elevated levels of plasma cardiac troponin I (cTnI), troponin T (cTnT), lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), and B-Type Natriuretic Peptide (BNP), as well as cardiac BcL-2, P53, toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4), NF-κB (Nuclear factor kappa-light-chain-enhancer of activated B cells), thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARs), reduced glutathione (GSH), superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), miRNA-140-5p, and miRNA-208b gene expression. Histopathological examination confirmed cardiac injury in ISO-treated rats. Furthermore, MPSO mitigated the elevation of cardiac enzymes and TBARS, as well as cardiac inflammatory mediators, while concurrently downregulating the expression levels of miRNA-140-5p and miRNA-208b genes. Conversely, the enhancement of cardiac GSH, SOD, and CAT activity demonstrated the antioxidant capabilities of MPSO against ISO-induced cardiac injury. Histopathological findings underscored MPSO's protective effect on cardiac tissue against oxidative damage in ISO-treated rats. In nutshel, the findings of this study unveil the cardioprotective and free radical scavenging attributes of MPSO in rats with ISO-induced cardiac damage. MPSO appears to provide cardiac protection against free radicals and inflammation induced by xenobiotics, potentially owing to its rich content of polyphenols, flavonoids, polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs), and cyclopropenoid fatty acids.

The abundance of literature reviews in Green Supply Chain Management (GSCM) poses a challenge to making objective, evidence-based decisions due to information diffusion. Few studies systematically summarize these reviews to address this challenge. This study aims to conduct an umbrella review, analyzing existing reviews to identify current trends and enhance our understanding of the GSCM adoption process. A sample of 70 review papers was collected using a systematic approach. Quantitative findings reveal growing publication trends, with China leading in contributions, the Journal of Cleaner Production as the top journal, and Joseph Sarkis as the leading author. Bibliometric analysis using VOSviewer identifies Srivastava's study as the most impactful review paper. Qualitative analysis using NVivo 12 classifies reviews into systematic, narrative, and integrative categories. Additionally, the study presents an integrated framework for understanding GSCM adoption and a green innovation cycle model for sustaining green practices. This research contributes to the literature by providing an umbrella review in the GSCM area, offering classifications based on methodology, and developing practical models for GSCM adoption and sustaining it. The study concludes with implications and identifies areas for future research.

The absorption studies on serotonin (STO) and platinum metal clusters were investigated. The STO-Pt3 (gas phase) cluster has the maximum adsorption energy, whereas the water medium has the lowest. The gas phase STO-Pt3 absorption energy is -19.18 kcal/mol, while the water solvent is -11.03. The electrophilicity index of all metal-drug systems is greater, indicating that metal clusters make the serotonin more electrophilic. The cluster's conductivity representation as energy gaps pointed, suggesting it could be a sensor. A more stable gas phase medium has more negative solvation energies than other media types. The metal clusters and molecules interacted substantially in non-covalent interaction studies. Electron localized function (ELF) and localized orbital locator (LOL) experiments proved electron delocalization energies and reduced density gradient (RDG) confirmed non-covalent interactions. Molecular electrostatic potential shows the electrophilic and nucleophilic attractions of STO with Pt3 metal clusters. Frontier molecular orbital (FMO) studies show very low energy gap values.

Abstract Recently, cancer research protocols have introduced clinical-stage spirooxindole-based MDM2 inhibitors. However, several studies reported tumor resistance to the treatment. This directed efforts to invest in designing various combinatorial libraries of spirooxindoles. Herein, we introduce new series of spirooxindoles via hybridization of the chemically stable core spiro[3H-indole-3,2′-pyrrolidin]-2(1H)-one and the pyrazole motif inspired by lead pyrazole-based p53 activators, the MDM2 inhibitor BI-0252 and promising molecules previously reported by our group. Single crystal X-ray diffraction analysis confirmed the chemical identity of a representative derivative. Fifteen derivatives were screened for cytotoxic activities via MTT assay against a panel of four cancer cell lines expressing wild-type p53 (A2780, A549, HepG2) and mutant p53 (MDA-MB-453). The hits were 8h against A2780 (IC50 = 10.3 µM) and HepG2 (IC50 = 18.6 µM), 8m against A549 (IC50 = 17.7 µM), and 8k against MDA-MB-453 (IC50 = 21.4 µM). Further MTT experiments showed that 8h and 8j potentiated doxorubicin activity and reduced its IC50 by at least 25% in combinations. Western blot analysis demonstrated that 8k and 8m downmodulated MDM2 in A549 cells. Their possible binding mode with MDM2 were simulated by docking analysis.

The development of antipodal Vivaldi antenna with a fractal slot is presented in this paper due to its promising application as an element of possible multisensory systems of head stroke imaging. The fractal slot is applied to improve the directivity, bandwidth and gain of the antenna. Hence, this research mainly aims to create and optimise a compact Vivaldi antenna through the fractal slot for the detection of stroke in the human head. The antenna is designed with an overall dimension of $65\times 65\times1.6$ mm3 using Roger RO4350B as a substrate through the CST Studio Suite 2019 software. The proposed antenna will also be compared with an antipodal Vivaldi antenna without the fractal slot to observe differences in the result. The proposed antenna can produce a wide bandwidth of 1.44 GHz ranging from 2.35 GHz to 3.79 GHz at the maximum gain of 7.35 dBi. Furthermore, the prototype antenna has a directivity characteristic, which produces the unidirectional radiation necessary for microwave imaging procedures. The proposed antenna is also evaluated with the CST studio head model, thus providing satisfactory penetration results through the head tissue. A value of 0.0013 W/kg per 10 g is achieved for the maximum SAR. Thus, the proposed antenna met most of the requirements for the imaging process, which will affect its effectiveness during scanning of head stroke.

BackgroundThere is limited data on antibiotic treatment in hospitalized neonates in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). We aimed to describe patterns of antibiotic use, pathogens, and clinical outcomes, and to develop a severity score predicting mortality in neonatal sepsis to inform future clinical trial design.Methods and findingsHospitalized infants ConclusionAntibiotic regimens used in neonatal sepsis commonly diverge from WHO guidelines, and trials of novel empiric regimens are urgently needed in the context of increasing antimicrobial resistance (AMR). The baseline NeoSep Severity Score identifies high mortality risk criteria for trial entry, while the NeoSep Recovery Score can help guide decisions on regimen change. NeoOBS data informed the NeoSep1 antibiotic trial (ISRCTN48721236), which aims to identify novel first- and second-line empiric antibiotic regimens for neonatal sepsis.Trial registrationClinicalTrials.gov, (NCT03721302).

The intensification of cropping systems in the salt-affected coastal zones of the Ganges Delta can boost food security in the region. The scarcity of fresh water, coupled with varying degrees of soil and water salinity are however limiting factors for the expansion of irrigated cropping in that area. In this study, we assessed the potential of growing sunflowers using combinations of low and medium saline water for irrigation. The experiments were conducted at two locations with six irrigation treatments in 2016–2017 and 2017–2018. The treatments were: T1—two irrigations at early vegetative (25–30 days after sowing; DAS) and flowering stages (60–65 DAS) with low salinity water (LSW, electric conductivity, ECw < 2 dS m−1); T2—two irrigations, one at the vegetative stage with LSW and one at the flowering stage with medium salinity water (MSW, 2 < ECw < 5dS m−1); T3—two irrigations, one at the vegetative stage with LSW and one at seed development stage (75–80 DAS) with MSW; T4—three irrigations at the vegetative, flowering and seed development stages with LSW; T5—three irrigations, at vegetative stage with LSW, and flowering and seed development stages with MSW; and T6—three irrigations, two at the vegetative and flowering stages with LSW and one at the seed development stage with MSW. Irrigation with LSW at early growth stages and MSW at later growth stages did not significantly (p < 0.05) affect the yield compared to the LSW irrigation at early and later growth stages. Crop water productivity and irrigation water productivity of sunflowers (p < 0.001) increased substantially with the decreasing amount of irrigation water with an average of 1.18 kg m−3 and 2.22 kg m−3 in 2017 and 0.92 kg m−3 and 1.29 kg m−3 in 2018, respectively. Grain yield was significantly correlated with root zone solute potential. The flowering and seed development stages of sunflowers in February–March were sensitive to both low and medium saline water irrigation for seed yield. Overall, the results show that irrigation with LSW (ECw < 2dS m−1) at early growth stages and MSW (2 < ECw < 5dS m−1) at later growth stages could be an option for dry-season sunflowers in the coastal zones of the Ganges Delta which would allow double cropping in this area.

Abstract A metamaterial (MTM) loaded compact three-dimensional antenna is presented for the portable, low-cost, non-invasive microwave head imaging system. The antenna has two slotted dipole elements with finite arrays of MTM unit cell and a folded parasitic patch that attains directional radiation patterns with 80% of fractional bandwidth. The operating frequency of the antenna is 1.95–4.5 GHz. The optimization of MTM unit cell is performed to increase the operational bandwidth, realized gain, and efficiency of the antenna within the frequency regime. It is also explored to improve radiation efficiency and gain when placed to head proximity. One-dimensional mathematical modelling is analyzed to precisely estimate the power distribution that validates the performance of the proposed antenna. To verify the imaging capability of the proposed system, an array of 9 antennas and a realistic three-dimensional tissue-emulating experimental semi-solid head phantom are fabricated and measured. The backscattered signal is collected from different antenna positions and processed by the updated Iterative Correction of Coherence Factor Delay-Multiply-and-Sum beamforming algorithm to reconstruct the hemorrhage images. The reconstructed images in simulation and experimental environment demonstrate the feasibility of the proposed system as a portable platform to successfully detect and locate the hemorrhages inside the brain.

One of the most controversial problems of modern corporate finance is the dividend policy, which can be described as a trade-off between the size of retained earnings and the amount of securities issued. When deciding on a dividend policy, firms take several aspects into account. The current study looks at the elements that influence banks’ dividend distribution decisions. A panel dataset of 22 banks listed on the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) from FY 1999 to 2018 was used for the empirical analysis. The results are inferred using structural equation modeling (SEM). The findings show that retained earnings, leverage, and size are important factors in determining dividend payouts, whereas earnings per share, cash flow, sales growth, liquidity, institutional ownership, sponsor ownership, individual ownership, risk, age, relative tax, return on assets, investment opportunity, and retained earnings are insignificant while taking dividend decision. The findings also support the notion that dividend payouts have reduced the agency problem and that management utilizes them as a signaling device. Furthermore, the findings show that the majority of dividend policy theories that are traditionally based on developed markets can be applied to emerging market countries like Bangladesh, because the majority of the characteristics found to be important in determining dividend policies in Bangladesh are consistent with those established in developed economies. This study's findings can be used by financial managers and policymakers to make proper dividend decisions. They can also assist investors in making portfolio selections based on sectoral dividend payment patterns.

Recent technology has modeled VANET (vehicular adhoc network) communication well in terms of privileges to derive vehicular communication technologically to save time, energy, and money. Due to the increase in powerful technology in modern times, VANETs play a vital role in uplifting daily concerns across vehicles and vehicular identities. Hence, to tune VANETs to become compatible with traditional technologies and increase demand, VANETs require upgrading. The severity and frequency of unwanted occurrences have become a considerable concern for our day-to-day lives relating to vehicular position. Thus, verily updated methodologies or working procedures are needed for the future VANET interplay to eradicate such problems occurring through vehicular identities. This article outlines in technology related to VANETS, future developments, and coping issues by deriving comprehensive frameworks, workflow patterns, upgrading procedures including big data, fog computing, SDN (software defined networking), and SIoT (social Internet of Things). This article provides a high-level overview of a complete VANET upgrade solution to address future problem management issues under a range of acceptable scientific themes, indicators, and combinations.

In Bangladesh, more clarity is needed on data that could contribute to the provision of sustainable banking services. Therefore, the qualitative exploration of bank employees' skills to advance contemporary banking careers and services has been rational. Moreover, limited knowledge of what constitutes a sustainable banking career and service inspires this study to adapt to the new normal post-COVID-19. Fifteen experienced employees from the banking industry participated in the interview to accomplish the research. The results from content data analysis showed that technical skills may vary from department to department based on employees' job responsibilities. However, the employee skills are more or less similar for different banks. The results further showed that the banking sector emphasizes the need for honesty from banks' employees, as they maintain a large amount of cash and other types of assets in their vaults. Additionally, the research participants expressed their sentiments regarding other skills, such as patience, smartness, and technological expertise. These skills are needed to carry out the day-to-day operations and achieve high customer satisfaction. Therefore, the study recommends that banks focus on creating an employee base with the skills found in the investigation to develop banking services.

Abstract This paper presents the preparation and measurement of tissue-mimicking head phantom and its validation with the iteratively corrected coherence factor delay-multiply-and-sum (IC-CF-DMAS) algorithm for brain stroke detection. The phantom elements are fabricated by using different chemical mixtures that imitate the electrical properties of real head tissues (CSF, dura, gray matter, white matter, and blood/stroke) over the frequency band of 1–4 GHz. The electrical properties are measured using the open-ended dielectric coaxial probe connected to a vector network analyzer. Individual phantom elements are placed step by step in a three-dimensional skull. The IC-CF-DMAS image reconstruction algorithm is later applied to the phantom to evaluate the effectiveness of detecting stroke. The phantom elements are preserved and measured multiple times in a week to validate the overall performance over time. The electrical properties of the developed phantom emulate the similar properties of real head tissue. Moreover, the system can also effectively detect the stroke from the developed phantom. The experimental results demonstrate that the developed tissue-mimicking head phantom is time-stable, and it shows a good agreement with the theoretical results in detecting and reconstructing the stroke images that could be used in investigating as a supplement to the real head tissue.

Objective Risk factors predisposing infants to community-acquired bacterial infections during the first 2 months of life are poorly understood in South Asia. Identifying risk factors for infection could lead to improved preventive measures and antibiotic stewardship.Methods Five sites in Bangladesh, India and Pakistan enrolled mother–child pairs via population-based pregnancy surveillance by community health workers. Medical, sociodemographic and epidemiological risk factor data were collected. Young infants aged 0–59 days with signs of possible serious bacterial infection (pSBI) and age-matched controls provided blood and respiratory specimens that were analysed by blood culture and real-time PCR. These tests were used to build a Bayesian partial latent class model (PLCM) capable of attributing the probable cause of each infant’s infection in the ANISA study. The collected risk factors from all mother–child pairs were classified and analysed against the PLCM using bivariate and stepwise logistic multivariable regression modelling to determine risk factors of probable bacterial infection.Results Among 63 114 infants born, 14 655 were assessed and 6022 had signs of pSBI; of these, 81% (4859) provided blood samples for culture, 71% (4216) provided blood samples for quantitative PCR (qPCR) and 86% (5209) provided respiratory qPCR samples. Risk factors associated with bacterial-attributed infections included: low (relative risk (RR) 1.73, 95% credible interval (CrI) 1.42 to 2.11) and very low birth weight (RR 5.77, 95% CrI 3.73 to 8.94), male sex (RR 1.27, 95% CrI 1.07 to 1.52), breathing problems at birth (RR 2.50, 95% CrI 1.96 to 3.18), premature rupture of membranes (PROMs) (RR 1.27, 95% CrI 1.03 to 1.58) and being in the lowest three socioeconomic status quintiles (first RR 1.52, 95% CrI 1.07 to 2.16; second RR 1.41, 95% CrI 1.00 to 1.97; third RR 1.42, 95% CrI 1.01 to 1.99).Conclusion Distinct risk factors: birth weight, male sex, breathing problems at birth and PROM were significantly associated with the development of bacterial sepsis across South Asian community settings, supporting refined clinical discernment and targeted use of antimicrobials.

Lead (Pb(II)), an extremely hazardous heavy metal that has been shown to have detrimental effects on both the environment and humans, mostly gets into the ecosystem through industrial activities. In this work, a new solid-phase extraction (SPE) based on treated date pits bio-sorbent and iCAP Q inductively-coupled plasma mass spectrometry (iCAP Q ICP/MS) method has been optimized for the trace determination of Pb(II) in various industrial wastewater effluents. A cost-effective biomass material was prepared from date pits (DP), and chemically modified with H2O2 and successively used as SPE bio-sorbent for Pb(II) extraction. Extracting solutions for instance H2SO4, HNO3 and HCl at various concentrations (1–5 mM) were optimized, and best extraction of Pb(II) was obtained by HCl (1 mM). The optimized SPE and iCAP Q ICP/MS method has offered excellent validation conditions in terms of coefficient of determination (CoD, R2 > 0.999), detection limit (DL, 0.011 µg/L), quantification limit (QL, 0.034 µg/L), and run-to-run and day-to-day precision (RSD

Abstract A synbiotic containing Lactiplantibacillus plantarum [American Type Culture Collection (ATCC) strain identifier 202195] and fructooligosaccharide was reported to reduce the risk of sepsis in young infants in rural India. Here, the whole genome of two isolates of L. plantarum ATCC 202195, which were deposited to the ATCC approximately 20 years apart, were sequenced and analyzed to verify their taxonomic and strain-level identities, identify potential antimicrobial resistant genes and virulence factors, and identify genetic characteristics that may explain the observed clinical effects of L. plantarum ATCC 202195. Minimum inhibitory concentrations for selected antimicrobial agents were determined using broth dilution and gradient strip diffusion techniques. The two L. plantarum ATCC 202195 isolates were genetically identical with only three high-quality single nucleotides polymorphisms identified, and with an average nucleotide identity of 99.99%. In contrast to previously published reports, this study determined that each isolate contained two putative plasmids. No concerning acquired or transferable antimicrobial resistance genes or virulence factors were identified. Both isolates were sensitive to several clinically important antibiotics including penicillin, ampicillin and gentamicin, but resistant to vancomycin. Genes involved in stress response, cellular adhesion, carbohydrate metabolism and vitamin biosynthesis are consistent with features of probiotic organisms.

Summary: Background: Precise enteric fever disease burden data are needed to inform prevention and control measures, including the use of newly available typhoid vaccines. We established the Surveillance for Enteric Fever in Asia Project (SEAP) to inform these strategies. Methods: From September, 2016, to September, 2019, we conducted prospective clinical surveillance for Salmonella enterica serotype Typhi (S Typhi) and Paratyphi (S Paratyphi) A, B, and C at health facilities in predetermined catchment areas in Dhaka, Bangladesh; Kathmandu and Kavrepalanchok, Nepal; and Karachi, Pakistan. Patients eligible for inclusion were outpatients with 3 or more consecutive days of fever in the last 7 days; inpatients with suspected or confirmed enteric fever; patients with blood culture-confirmed enteric fever from the hospital laboratories not captured by inpatient or outpatient enrolment and cases from the laboratory network; and patients with non-traumatic ileal perforation under surgical care. We used a hybrid surveillance model, pairing facility-based blood culture surveillance with community surveys of health-care use. Blood cultures were performed for enrolled patients. We calculated overall and age-specific typhoid and paratyphoid incidence estimates for each study site. Adjusted estimates accounted for the sensitivity of blood culture, the proportion of eligible individuals who consented and provided blood, the probability of care-seeking at a study facility, and the influence of wealth and education on care-seeking. We additionally calculated incidence of hospitalisation due to typhoid and paratyphoid. Findings: A total of 34 747 patients were enrolled across 23 facilitates (six tertiary hospitals, surgical wards of two additional hospitals, and 15 laboratory network sites) during the study period. Of the 34 303 blood cultures performed on enrolled patients, 8705 (26%) were positive for typhoidal Salmonella. Adjusted incidence rates of enteric fever considered patients in the six tertiary hospitals. Adjusted incidence of S Typhi, expressed per 100 000 person-years, was 913 (95% CI 765–1095) in Dhaka. In Nepal, the adjusted typhoid incidence rates were 330 (230–480) in Kathmandu and 268 (202–362) in Kavrepalanchok. In Pakistan, the adjusted incidence rates per hospital site were 176 (144–216) and 103 (85–126). The adjusted incidence rates of paratyphoid (of which all included cases were due to S Paratyphi A) were 128 (107–154) in Bangladesh, 46 (34–62) and 81 (56–118) in the Nepal sites, and 23 (19–29) and 1 (1–1) in the Pakistan sites. Adjusted incidence of hospitalisation was high across sites, and overall, 2804 (32%) of 8705 patients with blood culture-confirmed enteric fever were hospitalised. Interpretation: Across diverse communities in three south Asian countries, adjusted incidence exceeded the threshold for “high burden” of enteric fever (100 per 100 000 person-years). Incidence was highest among children, although age patterns differed across sites. The substantial disease burden identified highlights the need for control measures, including improvements to water and sanitation infrastructure and the implementation of typhoid vaccines. Funding: Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

Background: Systematic assessment of childhood asthma is challenging in low- and middle-income country (LMIC) settings due to the lack of standardised and validated methodologies. We describe the contextual challenges and adaptation strategies in the implementation of a community-based asthma assessment in four resource-constrained settings in Bangladesh, India, and Pakistan. Method: We followed a group of children of age 6–8 years for 12 months to record their respiratory health outcomes. The study participants were enrolled at four study sites of the ‘Aetiology of Neonatal Infection in South Asia (ANISA)’ study. We standardised the research methods for the sites, trained field staff for uniform data collection and provided a ‘Child Card’ to the caregiver to record the illness history of the participants. We visited the children on three different occasions to collect data on respiratory-related illnesses. The lung function of the children was assessed in the outreach clinics using portable spirometers before and after 6-minute exercise, and capillary blood was examined under light microscopes to determine eosinophil levels. Results: We enrolled 1512 children, 95.5% (1476/1512) of them completed the follow-up, and 81.5% (1232/1512) participants attended the lung function assessment tests. Pre- and post-exercise spirometry was performed successfully in 88.6% (1091/1232) and 85.7% (1056/1232) of children who attempted these tests. Limited access to health care services, shortage of skilled human resources, and cultural diversity were the main challenges in adopting uniform procedures across all sites. Designing the study implementation plan based on the local contexts and providing extensive training of the healthcare workers helped us to overcome these challenges. Conclusion: This study can be seen as a large-scale feasibility assessment of applying spirometry and exercise challenge tests in community settings of LMICs and provides confidence to build capacity to evaluate children’s respiratory outcomes in future translational research studies.

A mortality prediction model can be a great tool to assist physicians in decision making in the intensive care unit (ICU) in order to ensure optimal allocation of ICU resources according to the patient’s health conditions. The entire world witnessed a severe ICU patient capacity crisis a few years ago during the COVID-19 pandemic. Various widely utilized machine learning (ML) models in this research field can provide poor performance due to a lack of proper feature selection. Despite the fact that nature-based algorithms in other sectors perform well for feature selection, no comparative study on the performance of nature-based algorithms in feature selection has been conducted in the ICU mortality prediction field. Therefore, in this research, a comparison of the performance of ML models with and without feature selection was performed. In addition, explainable artificial intelligence (AI) was used to examine the contribution of features to the decision-making process. Explainable AI focuses on establishing transparency and traceability for statistical black-box machine learning techniques. Explainable AI is essential in the medical industry to foster public confidence and trust in machine learning model predictions. Three nature-based algorithms, namely the flower pollination algorithm (FPA), particle swarm algorithm (PSO), and genetic algorithm (GA), were used in this study. For the classification job, the most widely used and diversified classifiers from the literature were used, including logistic regression (LR), decision tree (DT) classifier, the gradient boosting (GB) algorithm, and the random forest (RF) algorithm. The Medical Information Mart for Intensive Care III (MIMIC-III) dataset was used to collect data on heart failure patients. On the MIMIC-III dataset, it was discovered that feature selection significantly improved the performance of the described ML models. Without applying any feature selection process on the MIMIC-III heart failure patient dataset, the accuracy of the four mentioned ML models, namely LR, DT, RF, and GB was 69.9%, 82.5%, 90.6%, and 91.0%, respectively, whereas with feature selection in combination with the FPA, the accuracy increased to 71.6%, 84.8%, 92.8%, and 91.1%, respectively, for the same dataset. Again, the FPA showed the highest area under the receiver operating characteristic (AUROC) value of 83.0% with the RF algorithm among all other algorithms utilized in this study. Thus, it can be concluded that the use of feature selection with FPA has a profound impact on the outcome of ML models. Shapley additive explanation (SHAP) was used in this study to interpret the ML models. SHAP was used in this study because it offers mathematical assurances for the precision and consistency of explanations. It is trustworthy and suitable for both local and global explanations. It was found that the features that were selected by SHAP as most important were also most common with the features selected by the FPA. Therefore, we hope that this study will help physicians to predict ICU mortality for heart failure patients with a limited number of features and with high accuracy.

A non-invasive, low-powered, and portable electromagnetic (EM) head imaging system is presented using metamaterial (MTM) loaded compact directional 3D antenna. The antenna consists of two slotted dipole elements with $2\times 3$ and $3\times 3$ finite MTM array elements in top and ground, respectively, and folded parasitic elements that operate within the frequency range of 1.12 GHz to 2.5 GHz. The MTM array elements are optimized to enhance the overall performance regarding antenna bandwidth, realized gain, efficiency, and directionality in both free space and proximity to the head model. The mathematical modelling is also analyzed to justify the integration of MTM unit cells to the top and ground side of the antenna. The impact of MTM on SAR analysis is also performed. A tissue-mimicking 3D head phantom is fabricated and measured to validate the antenna performance. A nine-antenna portable setup is used with the fabricated phantom to measure and collect the scattering parameters that are later analyzed to detect and reconstruct the haemorrhage images by applying the updated IC-CF-DMAS algorithm. The overall performance demonstrates the feasibility of the proposed system as a portable platform to successfully detect, locate and monitor the haemorrhages inside the head in EM imaging system.

This paper presents the detection of brain tumors through the YOLOv3 deep neural network model in a portable electromagnetic (EM) imaging system. YOLOv3 is a popular object detection model with high accuracy and improved computational speed. Initially, the scattering parameters are collected from the nine-antenna array setup with a tissue-mimicking head phantom, where one antenna acts as a transmitter and the other eight antennas act as receivers. The images are then reconstructed from the post-processed scattering parameters by applying the modified delay-multiply-and-sum algorithm that contains $416\times 416$ pixels. Fifty sample images are collected from the different head regions through the EM imaging system. The images are later augmented to generate a final image data set for training, validation, and testing, where the data set contains 1000 images, including fifty samples with a single and double tumor. 80% of the images are utilized for training the network, whereas 10% are used for validation, and the rest 10% are utilized for testing purposes. The detection performance is investigated with the different image data sets. The achieved detection accuracy and F1 scores are 95.62% and 94.50%, respectively, which ensure better detection accuracy. The training accuracy and validation losses are 96.74% and 9.21%, respectively. The tumor detection with its location in different cases from the testing images is evaluated through YOLOv3, which demonstrates its potential in the portable electromagnetic head imaging system.

Urban areas are facing challenges in waste management systems due to the rapid growth of population in cities, causing huge amount of waste generation. As traditional waste management system is highly inefficient and costly, the waste of resources can be utilized efficiently with the integration of the internet of things (IoT) and deep learning model. The main purpose of this research is to develop a smart waste management system using the deep learning model that improves the waste segregation process and enables monitoring of bin status in an IoT environment. The SSD MobileNetV2 Quantized is used and trained with the dataset that consists of paper, cardboard, glass, metal, and plastic for waste classification and categorization. By integrating the trained model on TensorFlow Lite and Raspberry Pi 4, the camera module detects the waste and the servo motor, connected to a plastic board, categorizes the waste into the respective waste compartment. The ultrasonic sensor monitors the waste fill percentage, and a GPS module obtains the real-time latitude and longitude. The LoRa module on the smart bin sends the status of the bin to the LoRa receiver at 915 MHz. The electronic components of the smart bin are protected with RFID based locker, where only the registered RFID tag can be used to unlock for maintenance or upgrading purposes.

The formation of a C-C bond through Mizoroki-Heck cross-coupling reactions in water with efficient heterogeneous catalysts is a challenging task. In this current study, a highly reduced graphene oxide (HRG) immobilized palladium (Pd) nanoparticle based catalyst (HRG-Py-Pd) is used to catalyze Mizoroki-Heck cross-coupling reactions in water. During the preparation of the catalyst, amino pyrene is used as a smart functionalizing ligand, which offered chemically specific binding sites for the effective and homogeneous nucleation of Pd NPs on the surface of HRG, which significantly enhanced the physical stability and dispersibility of the resulting catalyst in an aqueous medium. Microscopic analysis of the catalyst revealed a uniform distribution of ultrafine Pd NPs on a solid support. The catalytic properties of HRG-Py-Pd are tested towards the Mizoroki-Heck cross-coupling reactions of various aryl halides with acrylic acid in an aqueous medium. Furthermore, the catalytic efficacy of HRG-Py-Pd is also compared with its non-functionalized counterparts such as HRG-Pd and pristine Pd NPs (Pd-NPs). Using the HRG-Py-Pd nanocatalyst, the highest conversion of 99% is achieved in the coupling reaction of 4-bromoanisol and acrylic acid in an aqueous solution in a relatively short period of time (3 h), with less quantity of catalyst (3 mg). Comparatively, pristine Pd NPs delivered lower conversion (∼92%) for the same reaction required a long reaction time and a large amount of catalyst (5.3 mg). Indeed, the conversion of the reaction further decreased to just 40% when 3 mg of Pd-NPs was used which was sufficient to produce 99% conversion in the case of HRG-Py-Pd. On the other hand, HRG-Pd did not deliver any conversion and was ineffective even after using a high amount of catalyst and a longer reaction time. The inability of the HRG-Pd to promote coupling reactions can be attributed to the agglomeration of Pd NPs which reduced the dispersion quality of the catalyst in water. Therefore, the high aqueous stability of HRG-Py-Pd due to smart functionalization can be utilized to perform other organic transformations in water which was otherwise not possible.

A gap coupled hexagonal split ring resonator (GCHSRR) based metamaterial is presented in this paper for S-band and X-band microwave applications with absorptance. This gap coupled hexagonal split ring resonator is the amendment of the typical split-ring resonator (SRR). Three interconnected hexagonal split ring resonators are applied with a stripline to increase the electrical length and coupling effect of the GCHSRR. SRR has an impact on the extraction of effective parameters such as permittivity, permeability and refractive index. The dimension of the proposed GCHSRR unit cell is 10 × 10 mm2, which is printed on low-cost FR4 material. The transmission frequency of the proposed GCHSRR unit cell ranges from 3.42 GHz to 3.73 GHz and 11.27 GHz to 11.91 GHz, which makes the metamaterial applicable for S-band and X-band microwave applications. The GCHSRR unit cell has a double negative regime of 7.92 GHz to 9.78 GHz with an effective negative refractive index regime of 6.30 GHz to 10.22 GHz and 11.97 GHz to 12.61 GHz. The effective medium ratio is 8.4, which implies the novelty of the proposed design. Moreover, the GCHSRR has high absorption peaks of 99%, 98%, and 81% at 4.27 GHz, 5.42 GHz, and 12.40 GHz, respectively. An 18 × 20 GCHSRR array structure is also designed and studied. The effective parameters and the effective medium ratio with a high absorptance make the proposed GCHSRR based metamaterial suitable for practical microwave applications.

Traditional waste management system operates based on daily schedule which is highly inefficient and costly. The existing recycle bin has also proved its ineffectiveness in the public as people do not recycle their waste properly. With the development of Internet of Things (IoT) and Artificial Intelligence (AI), the traditional waste management system can be replaced with smart sensors embedded into the system to perform real time monitoring and allow for better waste management. The aim of this research is to develop a smart waste management system using LoRa communication protocol and TensorFlow based deep learning model. LoRa sends the sensor data and Tensorflow performs real time object detection and classification. The bin consists of several compartments to segregate the waste including metal, plastic, paper, and general waste compartment which are controlled by the servo motors. Object detection and waste classification is done in TensorFlow framework with pre-trained object detection model. This object detection model is trained with images of waste to generate a frozen inference graph used for object detection which is done through a camera connected to the Raspberry Pi 3 Model B+ as the main processing unit. Ultrasonic sensor is embedded into each waste compartment to monitor the filling level of the waste. GPS module is integrated to monitor the location and real time of the bin. LoRa communication protocol is used to transmit data about the location, real time and filling level of the bin. RFID module is embedded for the purpose of waste management personnel identification.

Abstract The Michael addition reaction of barbituric acid with chalcones incorporating the indole scaffold was achieved by using a highly efficient bimetallic Iron–palladium catalyst in the presence of acetylacetone (acac). This catalytic approach produced the desired products in a simple operation and low catalyst loading with acceptable yield of the new hybrids. All tested compounds were subjected for biological activity on α‐glucosidase and α‐amylase. The results revealed that all synthesized compounds exhibited very good activity against both enzymes when compared to positive control (acarbose). Moreover, compound 5o showed the best activity whereas its IC50 (μM) are 13.02+0.01 and 21.71+0.82 for α‐glucosidase and α‐amylase respectively. Both compounds 5o and 5l exhibited high similarity in binding mode and pose with amylase protein (4UAC). The obtained data may be used for developing potential hypoglycemic agents.

Internet of Things (IoT) based application requires integration with the wireless communication technology to make the application data readily available. In this paper, a modified meander shape microstrip patch antenna has been proposed for IoT applications at 2.4 GHz ISM (Industrial, Scientific and Medical) band. The dimension of the antenna is 40×10×1.6 mm3. The antenna design is comprised of an inverse S-shape meander line connected with a slotted rectangular box. A capacitive load (C-load) and parasitic patch with the shaped ground are applied to the design. Investigations show that the antenna designed with an inverse S-shape patch and connecting rectangular box in the microstrip line has a higher efficiency and gain compare to the conventional meander shape antenna. The C-load is applied to the feed line to match the impedance. Moreover, parametric studies are carried out to investigate the flexibility of the antenna. Results show that, the gain and efficiency can be improved through adjusting the rectangular box with applying parasitic element and the shaped ground. The parasitic element has high impact on the bandwidth of the antenna of 12.5%. The finalized antenna has a peak gain of -0.256 dBi (measured) and 1.347 dBi (Simulated) with 79% radiation efficiency at 2.4 GHz. To prove the efficiency and eligibility in IoT applications, the measurement of the power delivered and received by the antenna at 2.4 GHz is performed and compared with the results of a dipole antenna. The antenna is integrated with 2.4 GHz radio frequency module and IoT sensors to validate the performance. The antenna novelty relies on the size compactness with high fractional bandwidth that is validated through the IoT application environment.

Corporate dividend behaviour is looked upon in many ways by the experts in the area of financial literature. To examine the dividend practices in banking sector in Bangladesh, it is taken secondary data and the views of dividend policy makers’ covering the divergent aspects of dividend practices. The parametric test, non-parametric test and percentile are used for inferring the result. In the banking sector, the maximum payouts are in large size firm, earlier listed bank, low leveraged firm, high risk’s firm, medium PE ratio’s firm. The survey results reveal that the banks prefer both cash & stock dividend most but majority shareholders prefer stock. The most of the companies follow stable payout with increasing trend in dividend payment but no satisfactory research is done to justify the investors’ preference. The decision maker, investors and other stakeholders should follow these findings for taking decision.

A firm considers various factors when approaching a dividend policy decision. To analyze the determinants of dividend policy in the context of Bangladesh, questionnaire survey has been done from financial decision makers of sample companies. The nonparametric test and factor analysis is used for interpreting results. The research finding exhibits that in the first stage, the economic related factor, legal constraint factor, capital market related factor, residual policy factor, capital source factor and clientele factors are considered in dividend decision making. Then in the second stage, the companies follow the preceding years' pattern of dividend payment. In the next stage, dividend decision is made mainly on the level of earnings and liquidity. The observed result reveals that present earnings and liquidity are the most likely factors for the firm in deciding the payout policy.

Schiff base, S-methyl-2-(4-methoxybenzylidine) dithiocarbazate as a primary ligand (HL1), quinoline (L2) as a co-ligand, and hydrated metal salts have been reacted in ethanol in 1:2:1 M ratio to produce mixed-ligand complexes of the type, [M(L1)(L2)].NO3 [M = Uranyl(VI), Th(VI), Zr(IV)], The isolated products have been structurally investigated by elemental analyses, 1H NMR, IR and UV–Vis studies. The electronic studies shows octahedral geometry for all the studied complexes, whereas the molar conductance data suggest an ionic nature. Density functional computation (DFT) studies are also carried out in order to determine the bonding inside the structure of the complexes. The studied mixed-ligand complexes showed moderate antibacterial activity when evaluated against four pathogenic bacteria: Shigella dysenteriae, Bacillus subtilis, Agrobacterium tumefaciens, and Escherichia coli. In addition, molecular docking analysis for all the complexes, using the CLC Drug Discovery Workbench software, showed that they virtually docked on S. dysenteriae, B. subtilis, A. tumefaciens, and E. coli.

A metamaterial design and its analysis based on an epsilon negative concentric crossed-line split ring resonator (CCSRR) have been presented in this paper. The CCSRR unit cell structure is the amendment of the typical concentric split ring resonator (CSRR). The inserted crossed line increases the electrical length of the presented CCSRR unit cell. The dimension of the proposed CCSRR unit cell is 10 × 10 × 1.575 mm3 and it is printed on the Rogers RT 5880 substrate material. The transmission frequency ranges from 6.33 GHz to 6.65 GHz, 10.42 GHz to 10.73 GHz, and 13.21 GHz to 13.42 GHz which covers the frequency bands of C, X, and Ku-band of microwave applications. A complete analysis of scattering parameters, effective medium parameters, mutual coupling effect as well as the unit cell characteristics with electromagnetic analysis have been performed in this study. The proposed CCSRR unit cell structure exhibits epsilon negative characteristics in the frequency ranges of 6.53 GHz to 6.96 GHz, 10.63 GHz to 10.91 GHz, and 13.37 GHz to 13.40 GHz. Experimental validation has also been performed by measuring the scattering parameters of the proposed CCSRR unit cell and its array structure. Furthermore, the capacitive coupling among the concentric split ring resonators within the 1 × 2 and 2 × 2 array structures have been studied which is based on the near field split gaps that lead to the fundamental inductive-capacitive resonances. Besides, the effective medium ratio 4.5 implies the effectiveness and compactness of the proposed CCSRR unit cell structure. The compactness, effective medium parameters, and effective medium ratio make the proposed CCSRR metamaterial appropriate for the microwave applications.

A 65-year-old male hailing from Lolua, Tangail north bordering district of Dhaka, Bangladesh, reported to the Department of Hematology, Armed Forces Institute of Pathology with the complaints of marked weight loss, generalized weakness, low-grade fever and anorexia. He was referred from Kurmitola General Hospital, Dhaka, Bangladesh for bone marrow aspiration and examination. Before aspirating the bone marrow, a detailed history was taken which revealed that he had been suffering from the above mentioned symptoms for the last 10 months. During this time, he reported to the local physicians who investigated with routine laboratory tests such as complete blood count, peripheral blood film

In the current study we prepared cost-effective adsorbents based on ajwa date pits to remove Cu(II) ions from aqueous medium. Adsorbents were studied using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), FT-IR, and Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) methods to characterize the surface functionalities, morphology, pore size, and particle size. The concentration of Cu(II) ions in the studied samples was determined by atomic adsorption spectrometry technique (AAS). Adsorption method was performed sequentially in a batch system followed by optimization by studying the numerous conditions, for instance the initial amounts of Cu(II) ions, dosages of the adsorbent, contact time, and pH of the solution. The ideal pH observed for maximum adsorption capacity was ~6.5. Langmuir and Freundlich isotherm models correctly predicted the investigation results, with the maximum monolayer adsorption capacities for Cu(II) ions at 328 K being 1428.57 mg/g (treated ajwa date pits, TADP) and 1111.1 mg/g for as produced ajwa date pits (ADP). It was revealed that TADP possess greater adsorption capability than ADP. Recovery investigations revealed that the saturated adsorbents eluted the maximum metal with 0.1 M HCl. Cu(II) ions adsorption was observed to be reduced by 80–89% after the second regeneration cycle. For the raw and chemically processed ajwa date pits adsorbent, the Langmuir model performed significantly better than the Freundlich model. The results demonstrated that the adsorbent made from ajwa date pits could be an economical and environmentally friendly alternative for removing Cu(II) ion pollutant from aqueous media.

A complementary split-ring resonator (CSRR) based metamaterial is designed and investigated in this paper for microwave applications with effective medium ratio. This CSRR is the modification of the conventional split-ring resonator. Three square split-ring resonators (SSRR) are interconnected with a strip line as well as two splits in three square split-ring resonators are applied to increase the electrical length and coupling effect. The CSRR has an impact on the extraction of effective permittivity, permeability, and refractive index. The dimension of the designed unit cell is 5.5 × 5.5 mm2 that is printed on FR4 material. An 18 × 20 array structure is also investigated in this paper. The unit cell has a double negative region of 6.34–7.39 GHz and 8.20–9.98 GHz with effective negative refractive index region of 4.23–7.32 GHz and 7.40–10.0 GHz. The effective medium ratio is 8.0, which implies the effectiveness and compactness of the proposed CSSR design. The compact size, effective parameters, and effective medium ratio rate represent the suitability of the proposed metamaterial for practical C band microwave applications. Keywords: Metamaterial, SRR, EMR, C band, Microwave

Five new C2-symmetric chiral ligands of 2,5-bis(imidazolinyl)thiophene (L1–L3) and 2,5-bis(oxazolinyl)thiophene (L4 and L5) were synthesized from thiophene-2,5-dicarboxylic acid (1) with enantiopure amino alcohols (4a–c) in excellent optical purity and chemical yield. The utility of these new chiral ligands for Friedel–Crafts asymmetric alkylation was explored. Subsequently, the optimized tridentate ligand L5 and Cu(OTf)2 catalyst (15 mol%) in toluene for 48 h promoted Friedel–Crafts asymmetric alkylation in moderate to good yields (up to 76%) and with good enantioselectivity (up to 81% ee). The bis(oxazolinyl)thiophene ligands were more potent than bis(imidazolinyl)thiophene analogues for the asymmetric induction of the Friedel–Crafts asymmetric alkylation.

Novel chiral thiophene-2,5-bis(β-amino alcohol) ligands (L1–L5) were designed and synthesized from thiophene-2,5-dicarbaldehyde (3) with chiral β-amino alcohols (4a–e) in 4 steps with overall 23% yields. An in situ generated L-Cu(OAc)2·H2O catalyst system was found to be highly capable catalyst for the asymmetric Henry reaction of nitromethane (7) with various substituted aromatic aldehydes (6a–m) producing chiral nitroaldols product (8a–m) with excellent enantiomeric purity (up to 94.6% ee) and up to >99% chemical yields. 20 mol% of L4-Cu(OAc)2 catalyst complex in EtOH was effective for the asymmetric Henry transformation in 24 h, at ambient temperature. Ease of ligand synthesis, use of green solvent, base free reaction, mild reaction conditions, high yields and excellent enantioselectivity are all key factors that make this catalytic system robust and highly desirable for the access of versatile building block β-nitro alcohol in practical catalytic usage via asymmetric Henry reaction.

A new series of di-spirooxindole analogs, engrafted with oxindole and cyclohexanone moieties, were synthesized. Initially, azomethine ylides were generated via reaction of the substituted isatins 3a–f (isatin, 3a, 6-chloroisatin, 3b, 5-fluoroisatin, 3c, 5-nitroisatin, 3d, 5-methoxyisatin, 3e, and 5-methylisatin, 3f, and (2S)-octahydro-1H-indole-2-carboxylic acid 2, in situ azomethine ylides reacted with the cyclohexanone based-chalcone 1a–f to afford the target di-spirooxindole compounds 4a–n. This one-pot method provided diverse structurally complex molecules, with biologically relevant spirocycles in a good yields. All synthesized di-spirooxindole analogs, engrafted with oxindole and cyclohexanone moieties, were evaluated for their anticancer activity against four cancer cell lines, including prostate PC3, cervical HeLa, and breast (MCF-7, and MDA-MB231) cancer cell lines. The cytotoxicity of these di-spirooxindole analogs was also examined against human fibroblast BJ cell lines, and they appeared to be non-cytotoxic. Compound 4b was identified as the most active member of this series against prostate cancer cell line PC3 (IC50 = 3.7 ± 1.0 µM). The cyclohexanone engrafted di-spirooxindole analogs 4a and 4l (IC50 = 7.1 ± 0.2, and 7.2 ± 0.5 µM, respectively) were active against HeLa cancer cells, whereas NO2 substituted isatin ring and meta-fluoro-substituted (2E,6E)-2,6-dibenzylidenecyclohexanone containing 4i (IC50 = 7.63 ± 0.08 µM) appeared to be a promising agent against the triple negative breast cancer MDA-MB231 cell line. To explore the plausible mechanism of anticancer activity of di-spirooxindole analogs, molecular docking studies were investigated which suggested that spirooxindole analogs potentially inhibit the activity of MDM2.

A series of new spiro-heterocycles engrafted spirooxindole/pyrrolidine/thiochromene scaffolds was synthesized by the three-component 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition reactions in a fully controlled regio- and stereo-selective fashion. Condensation of several substituted isatin derivatives with L-proline generated the azomethine ylides which subsequently reacted with chalcones based thiochromene scaffold, and finally afforded the target spiro-compounds. This simple protocol furnished a structurally complex, biologically relevant spiro-heterocycles in good yields through a one-pot process. All synthesized chalcone-based thiochromene, along with the spirooxindole/pyrrolidine/thiochromene scaffolds, were tested for their anticancer activity against four cancer cell lines (PC3, HeLa, MCF-7, and MDA-MB231). Toxicity of these compounds was also evaluated against human fibroblast BJ cell line, and they appeared to be not cytotoxic. For the prostate cancer (PC3) cell line, the most active hybrid, among synthesized series, was compound (7f, IC50 = 8.7 ± 0.7 µM). The most potent spirooxindole/pyrrolidine/thiochromene hybrid against cervical (HeLa) cancer cells was compound (7k, IC50 = 8.4 ± 0.5 µM) having chlorine and p-trifluoromethyl substituents attached to phenyl rings. Finally, against the MCF-7 and MDA-MB231 breast cancer cell lines, compound (7d) was the most active member of this series (IC50 = 7.36 ± 0.37, and 9.44 ± 0.32 µM, respectively).