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In this study, we examine the effects of various shapes of nanoparticles in a steady flow of hybrid nanofluids between two stretchable rotating disks. The steady flow of hybrid nanofluids with transformer oil as the base fluid and Fe3O4+TiO2 as the hybrid nanofluid is considered. Several shapes of Fe3O4+TiO2 hybrid nanofluids, including sphere, brick, blade, cylinder, and platelet, are studied. Every shape exists in the same volume of a nanoparticle. The leading equations (partial differential equations (PDEs)) are transformed to the nonlinear ordinary differential equations (ODEs) with the help of similarity transformations. The system of equations takes the form of ODEs depending on the boundary conditions, whose solutions are computed numerically by the bvp4c MATLAB solver. The outputs are compared with the previous findings, and an intriguing pattern is discovered, such that the tangential velocity is increased for the rotation parameter, while it is decreased by the stretching values because of the lower disk. For the reaction rate parameter, the concentration boundary layer becomes shorter, and the activation energy component increases the rate at which mass transfers come to the higher disk but have the opposite effect on the bottom disk. The ranges of various parameters taken into account are Pr = 6.2, Re = 2, M = 1.0, ϕ1= ϕ2 = 0.03, K = 0.5, S = −0.1, Br = 0.3, Sc = 2.0, α1= 0.2, γ = 0.1, En = 2.0, and q = 1.0, and the rotation factor K is within the range of 0 to 1. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Due to emergence of multidrug resistance, alternative approaches are practiced and needed in conventional antimicrobial therapies. Drug combination therapies have been used like synergism for better results with decreased drug dosage to avoid toxicity than monotherapy, but results can be additive and antagonistic depending on their combined effect. The present project was therefore designed to assess the effects of already reported bioactive fractions of B. clausii KP10 with each other and with antibiotics in synergistic manner to combat microbes. Different solvents were used for the extraction and fractionations. Antimicrobial activities were performed against different available bacterial and fungal strains. In our experiments crude methanolic extract (CME), n-hexane fraction (n-HF), chloroform (CLF), ethyl acetate (EAF), Methanol Soluble (MSF) and water soluble fractions (WSF) were obtained and then combinations of each were prepared with (1:1, v/v) each other and with reported antibacterial and antifungal drugs streptomycin (STM) and Terbinafine (TER) separately (1:1:1). Single extract with drug combination was also prepared (1:1). Maximum zone of inhibition was shown by combination of n-HEF:MSF (24 mm) against S. aureus. CLF:WSF:STM showed maximum ZOI (37.2 mm) against E. coli. WSF: STM showed maximum ZOI (33 mm) against S. aureus. Maximum antifungal activity was shown by CME:WSF:TER (26 mm) and EAF:TER with maximum ZOI (17 mm) against Fusarium solani. n-HEF:EAF:TER showed maximum ZOI (18 mm) against Aspergillus niger. Combination of extracts with each other usually showed antagonistic behavior but extracts with standard drugs have shown synergy which could be a better approach in the development of antimicrobials therapies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Now a days the best way to treat human diseases is by using bioactive compounds obtained from natural sources like plants, microbes etc. The present project was therefore planned for the isolation and purification of bioactive fractions from Cassia glauca Lam leaves. Crude methanol extract (Sample Name F14) was prepared by Soxhlet extractor which was further purified by column chromatography using silica gel 60 mesh (70-230) and fractions were eluted by using gradient method. Thirteen fractions (F1-F13) were collected using three different organic solvents (n-Hexane, ethyl acetate, methanol) mixed in different combinations. Crude extract and fractions obtained after purification were used to evaluate antibacterial, antifungal, antioxidant and cytotoxic activities. Antimicrobial activities against two Gram positive bacteria; S. aureus and B. subtilis, and two Gram negative bacteria; P. multocida and E. coli and four fungal strains; Aspergillus niger, Aspergillus ustilago, Fusarium solani and Alternaria alternata were performed by using well diffusion method. Antioxidant activity was performed by using DPPH free radical scavenging assay. The cytotoxicity was done by hemolytic assay. In our experiments the maximum zone of inhibition (25 mm) was shown by F7 (100 % Ethyl acetate) against E. coli and maximum zone of inhibition (19.7 mm) against A. niger was observed by F2 (n-Hexane and Ethyl acetate 10:1). Maximum antioxidant activity (57%) was shown by F14. In our studies F9 (Ethyl acetate: Methanol) showed maximum (64%) cytotoxic activity. Those fractions that showed all activities (antimicrobial, antioxidant and cytotoxic) were further analyzed by thin layer chromatography (TLC). Finally, statistical analysis was done. The results can further enhance the medicinal potential of Cassia glauca Lam leaves for the treatment of different diseases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Approach to efficiently manage banana processing waste was proposed by extracting phenolic compound from preserved banana peel powder (PBPP) and then utilizing retentate of this extraction to remove lead and copper from water. The parameters for maximum removal of lead and copper using banana peel retentate (BPR) were optimized in batch biosorption system via response surface methodology (Box-Wilson Design). The optimum values found include: pH, contact time, metal ion concentration and temperature which were 6, 20 min, 20 ppm and 20 °C for both metals, and biosorbent dose of 3 and 1 g/L for lead and copper, respectively. At optimized conditions, reduction of lead and copper (87.30% and 67.50%, respectively) by BPR was lower than by PBPP without phenolic extraction (94.20% and 73.00%). Furthermore, one month storage of vacuum-oven dried banana peel at room temperature showed no significant effect on the yield of polyphenols as well as on the biosorption capacity of banana peel. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Clitoria ternatea is one of the medicinal plants of fabaceae family that have been traditionally useful in herbal medicine. In present study, the invitro antimicrobial, antioxidant and enzyme inhibition assay of polar and non-polar extracts/fractions of Clitoria ternatea seeds were evaluated. The antimicrobial activity was done by well diffusion assay while MIC was done by serial dilution method. Crude ethanolic extract showed maximum antibacterial activity against B. subtilus (17.6 mm ±0.17). Ethyl acetate extract showed maximum MIC at 0.156 µg/mL against E. coli. In addition, Crude methanolic extract showed maximum antifungal activity against Aspergillus parasiticus (16 mm ±0.27). The antioxidant activity was done by DPPH and FRAP assay. Crude methanolic extract showed maximum antioxidant activity by DPPH assay (86.26%) while crude methanolic extract exhibit maximum reducing power 370.19 % ± 20.50. Moreover, n-hexane extract possessed highest phenolic content (272.16 ± 17.96 GAE µg/g), crude methanolic extract possessed highest flavonoid content (275.5 ± 8.24 GAE µg/g). The highest enzyme inhibition assay was observed in crude methanolic extract (a-amylase), n-hexane extract and water-soluble residue exhibited 50% pepsin enzyme inhibition. The results concluded that most of the extracts/fractions obtained from Clitoria seeds showed significant biological activities and can act as promising source of natural therapeutic agents and can be used for future drug developmental studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Slaughterhouse waste is capable of causing serious bacterial, viral and pathogenic diseases both in humans and animals. Slaughterhouse wastewater contains fat, proteins, suspended solids and diluted blood. Due to this, organic as well as nutrient profusion in wastewater is very high. These partially solubilized residues pose a real threat to human health if left out in riverbeds and other water bodies untreated. Processing of blood requires a high capital investment on heavy instruments for slaughtering and collection of blood. The hazard could be minimized by environmentally friendly and cost-effective disposal methods. This waste could be used for land application via composting, as it is a rich source of primary plant nutrients i.e. N, P and K as well as growth promoting microbes and organic substances. Keeping in view the above-mentioned facts, a pot trial was conducted in the wire house of the Institute of Soil and Environmental Sciences. We mixed the soil with slaughterhouse waste before sowing. Three seedlings of spinach were maintained after germination. Water was applied as needed by the plants. Recommended doses of N, P, and K fertilizers were applied. Data regarding physiological parameters, growth and yield was collected and analyzed at appropriate growth stages. After harvesting, plant tissues (root and leave) and soil samples was subjected to analysis for plant nutrients provision. Analysis of data was done following standard statistical procedure. Slaughterhouse waste improves the plant growth. Results showed that blood, intestine and dry matter significantly affect the plant growth parameter of spinach in natural soil. Plant height was increased up to 92 %, root length 194 %, shoot dry weight 60 % and root dry weight 169 % with blood at (120 ml), intestine (100 g) and dry matter (20 g) as compared to control. All the treatments significantly improved these parameters but blood, intestine and dry matter increased chlorophyll contents 84%, relative water contents 21 %, photosynthetic rate 91%, transpiration rate 95%, and stomatal conductance 58 %, and decreased electrolyte leakage up to 54% in spinach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lignocellulosic agricultural biomass generated by agriculture sector remains underutilized which can be a key source for bio-development. Biomass from dilute acid hydrolysate comprise a considerable quantity of fermentable sugars while carbonyl degradation of compounds (Furans, acetic acid, and phenolic compounds) exhibit severe toxicity to fermentation microbes. The study was carried out to hydrolyse the sugarcane bagasse and to optimize different detoxification strategies. Sugarcane bagasse was hydrolysed with acid at 121°C for 20, 40 and 60 minutes. Afterwards analysis of detoxification methodologies like over-liming (pH 6; pH 9.0), vacuum evaporation (3-fold; 5-fold) and charcoal treatment (1%, 30 min; 5%, 60 minutes) were carried out. The results indicate that concentrations of sugars and degradation products was observed to enhance with an increase of hydrolysis time. Overliming utilizing calcium hydroxide resulted in 50% decline of furfurals while substantial decrease of phenolic compounds was observed. Fivefold vacuum evaporated concentration of hydrolysate exhibit considerable decrease in the concentration of acetic acid and furans. Furfural and hydroxymethyle furfural were removed completely removal with 5% treatment of charcoal at 60°C while acetic acid and phenolics also reduced. The detoxified hydrolysate can be applied in industry for production of several important products. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Discovery of new therapeutic agents has become crucial because mankind is experiencing issues regarding health and environment. In the current study Escherichia coli (ATCC 35218) extracts were evaluated for their antimicrobial and antioxidant potentials against different bacterial and fungal species. Different extracts were prepared following different methods including soxhlet extraction with ethanol using cell mass of E. coli. Some other extracts like crude proteins, crude isoprenoid quinine and polar lipids were extracted from the E. coli cell mass with different extraction solvents. Another extraction was done using solvents in order of increasing polarity by using methanol as well as n-hexane. chloroform, ethyl acetate and water. The antimicrobial potential was evaluated by well diffusion as well as disc diffusion method. The antioxidant effect of E. coli extracts were investigated in terms of DPPH free radical scavenging activity. Polar lipids showed maximum antibacterial activity in a range of 5-9 mm against Bacillus subtilis, Staphylococcus aureus and Pasturella multocida. Extract of Crude proteins exhibited maximum antioxidant activity (83.45%). A significant antifungal activity of about 13 mm against Fusarium solani was also shown by crude polar lipids. Finally, results were analyzed statistically by the paired t-test (Tucky's test) using software Statistix, version 8.1. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Stevia rebaudiana is not only a pivotal source of non-caloric sweetener but is also a medicinally important herb. Propagation through seed has certain limitations as it responds in particular environmental conditions and cannot tolerate temperature beyond 30°C. Keeping these limitations in mind, a proficient in vitro micro-propagation and regeneration system was established in this sweet herb to promote it as a non-caloric sweetener. In this experiment, various concentrations and combinations of growth regulators were tested to seek for the most responsive protocol for micro-propagation and regeneration. The best regeneration response was observed on MS medium containing Murashige and Skoog salts (4.33g/L), sucrose (30 g/L), 6-benzalamino purine (1.5 mg/L) and kinetin (0.5 mg/L) with maximum number of shoots (19.00± 0.57). Similarly, indole-3-butyric acid proved to be an appropriate growth regulator for root induction and proliferation. Rather differential role of IBA was observed as root number increased but root length decreased with increase in IBA concentration. The acclimatized plants in pots were tested for the production of non-caloric sweeteners (stevioside and rebaudioside A) through High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC). Hence, we conclude that this protocol will prove a step forward in promoting availability of this non-caloric sweetener for diabetic patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For plants and other species alike, phosphorus (P) is the second most essential macronutrient. However, it becomes unavailable to plants because of its fixation with soil collisions, and hence cannot enter the food chain. In a pot trial, the impact of mycorrhizae and various organic amendments on P uptake and plant growth of spinach (Spinacia oleracea) was assessed. Farmyard manure (FYM), biogas slurry (BGS), and compost were used as organic amendments at a rate of 1.5% w/w in each treatment, along with mycorrhizae. Mycorrhizae and organic amendments applied together were found to boost plant growth and increase P uptake. FYM + mycorrhizae and BGS + mycorrhizae combinations resulted in increased root length, shoot height, shoot fresh weight, root fresh weight and leaf area. BGS + mycorrhizae combinations also showed increased P absorption, leading to higher photosynthetic activity and biomass. Mycorrhizae and organic amendments were shown to increase P uptake by as much as 42.25% and plant growth by 57.39%. We concluded that using this strategy in the field can be an economically viable option while also lowering the potential for negative environmental effects caused by the overuse of chemical fertilizers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A remarkable diversity of extremophilic bacteria has been reported which has significant applications in biotechnology, environment, industry and medicine. Hot springs are good example of naturally occurring extremophilic environment. In our research, a catalase producing thermoduric alkalotolerant bacterial strain was isolated from the hot springs of Tatta Pani, Poonch, Azad Kashmir where microbial flora is less explored. The thermoduric isolate was screened on basis of its pH tolerance. It was characterized biochemically and identified on basis of the 16S rRNA gene sequence. The cells of the isolate were aerobic, gram positive rods. The isolate was observed to grow at pH up to 11.0 and 65 °C whereas optimum conditions of pH and temperature were 10.0 and 50 °C, respectively. The isolate was oxidase and coagulase negative, non-motile and gave negative results for H2S production and citrate utilization. The catalase activity of the isolate was determined using its crude enzyme extract which was maximum at pH 10.0 and 45 °C. The isolate showed maximum similarity with Bacillus clausi (~88% homology). The 16S rRNA gene sequence of the isolate, named as strain KP10, had been submitted in GenBank and accessioned as KX013388. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tomato waste products (peels and seeds) are rich source of nutrients and bioactive substances, which play a significant role in enhancing the nutritional profile and prolonging shelf life. For this purpose, the effect of tomato waste powder (TWP) at different replacing levels (2, 4 and 8 %) on the physico-chemical, rancidity and organoleptic properties of cookies at storage intervals of 0, 15, 30 and 45 days were evaluated. Results demonstrated that TWP had high contents of protein (18.96 %), crude fiber (21.03 %), total phenols (48.35 mg GAE/100g) and lycopene (466 μg/100g). All properties of cookies were affected significantly by the addition of TWP from T1 to T3. During storage TWP had a nonsignificant effect on physicochemical properties with the exception of moisture. Rancidity parameters decreased significantly from T0 (control sample without TWP) to T3 (Sample with 8% TWP) and increased with storage, but the change was less than control (without TWP). Cookies supplemented with 4% TWP were most liked by judges. Conclusively, TWP could be used to improve storage stability of food products. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Antioxidants present in plants like secondary metabolites and peptides are gaining much interest while addressing the issues of oxidative damages to human and agriculture. The present study focused on evaluating the antioxidant potential of selected plants of indigenous sources including Viola odorata, V. tricolor, V. hybrid, pansy super hybrid F1, Petunia mix, Clitoria ternatea, Panicum vigatum, P. laxam, P. maximum and Hamelia patens, families gaining medicinal interests due to cyclotides reported from them. Phenolics and crude protein contents were specifically extracted using phosphate buffer saline (PBS) and protein extraction buffer (PEB), respectively. Analysis showed among leaves, Petunia contains maximum proteins 3.21 mg/g of plant powder in PEB extract and Clitoria among seeds contains 1.95 mg/g in PEB (0.96 mg/g in PBS). Maximum phenolics and flavonoids were observed as 22.13 mg/g of GAE in V. hybrid (PBS) and 36.99 mg/g of catechin, in P. vigatum leaves (PBS), respectively. The lowest phenolics exists in P. vigatum 8.06 mg/g while least flavonoids in Hamelia seeds 3.91 mg/g. Maximum Fe3+ reducing powers of 16.17 and 11.97% were observed in PBS extract of Petunia leaves and Hamelia seeds extract in PEB. Clitoria leaves similar to Petunia among highest in proteins showed 9.8% reducing power which decreased on Proteinase-K treatment. Antioxidant behaviour of proteins was observed when PEB extracts of Petunia were treated with proteinases with maximum loss of DPPH radical scavenging activity from 70.31 to 32.56% (i.e. 38%). Extracts of selected plants showed antioxidant behaviour due to phenolics, flavonoids and protein contents. Results were statistically analysed for their significance and comparison. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Essential oil of O. sanctum L. (Tulsi) has been used in cure of many diseases in traditional system of medicine, but application of its bioactive fractions as antioxidant, antimicrobial and antitermitic ingredient is still unexplored. Yield (%) of Ocimum sanctum essential oil extracted by hydrodistillation was 0.197. Ocimum sanctum essential oil was distilled under vacuum to yield fractions with varied bioactive properties. The major components detected in Ocimum sanctum essential oil using Gas Chromatographic-Mass Spectroscopy (GC-MS) analyses were linalool (54.82%), eugenol (12.97%), estragole (5.35%) and α-bergamatene (3.59%). Ocimum sanctum essential oil and fractions showed varied total phenolic contents, total flavonoid contents, flavonol contents, DPPH scavenging activity, reducing power ability and hydroxyl scavenging activity. In many cases antioxidant activities of fractions were much higher than pure essential oil. Fractions isolated at 185 ± 2°C, 239 ± 2°C, 200 ± 2°C and 215 ± 2°C showed much higher antifungal activity against Aspergilus niger, Penicillium fellutanum, Pleurotus sajor-caju and Ganoderma lucidum, respectively than Ociumum sanctum essential oil. It is previously known that Ocimum sanctum has great ability to inhibit the fungal growth, but isolation of fractions with superior antifungal activities is the new finding of this study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Xylitol is the first rare sugar that has global market due to having beneficial health properties and being an alternative to current conventional sweeteners. Biotechnological production of xylitol by Candida tropicalis DSM 7524 as an alternative to chemical method for the fermentation of xylose to xylitol was studied. Banana peel was used as a substrate for xylitol production. Hydrolysate was detoxified by neutralization, activated charcoal treatment and vacuum evaporation. Effect of pH was tested for C. tropicalis at three different levels and pH value of 2.5 was found to be the best; producing 24.7 g L-1 xylitol. Rusks were prepared by replacing sucrose with xylitol at different levels. Physicochemical analysis of rusks at different intervals of storage i.e. 0, 10, 20 and 30 days was carried out. Hardness decreased significantly (P< 0.05) from the treatment having 100% sucrose (4,950.6 g) to 100% xylitol (3,090.3 g) upon replacing sucrose with xylitol, while fracturability value increased from 71.90 to 74.26 mm for the treatment containing 100% xylitol. Color value and water activity of rusks increased significantly with the replacement of sucrose with xylitol. The increase in moisture content and decreasing trend in other parameters with storage were observed in rusks. Xylitol has low calorific value as compared to sucrose so it can be incorporated into dietetic foods which may help in controlling sugar level in diabetic patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Due to a lack of high-quality water, farmers have been compelled to use sewage water for irrigation, contaminating agricultural soils with multiple heavy metals. For the remediation of contaminated soil, plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR), pressmud (PM), and iron (III) oxide were used to improve the growth and phytostabilization potential of chickpea grown in contaminated soil. Contaminated soil was collected from a nearby field, receiving sewage and factory water over the last 60 years. Chickpea seeds were inoculated with metal-tolerant (lead and cadmium) rhizobacterial and rhizobial strains. It was observed that combined application of rhizobia, rhizobacteria, iron oxide, and pressmud improved shoot fresh weight (87%), root fresh weight (47.9%), root length (47.9%), nodules plant -1 (2.58 folds), photosynthetic rate (63%) and grain yield (39%) of chickpea as compared to respective untreated control in contaminated soil. Moreover, a significant decrease in the lead (75.8 and 68.1%) and cadmium (81 and 72%) concentrations due to the combined application of rhizobacteria, rhizobia, iron oxide, and pressmud was observed in shoot and root of chickpea than respective control, respectively. It can be concluded that the contaminated soil with mixed metals can be remediated, and the growth and yield of chickpea can be improved.

Menthol, terpene alcohol with a strong minty, cooling odor and taste is highly popular in food, flavor, cosmetic and pharmaceutical industries. Crystallization of menthol from mint oil is a tedious process involving high cost and a much longer period. The present study has been undertaken to devise a new method with low input and with higher production rates. The crystallization of menthol was performed by the methods including Temperature programmed cooling process (TPCP); Short-path molecular fractional distillation (SPMFD) and Stripping crystallization (SC). About 99 % menthol contained in the mint oil was recovered during the crystallization process. The characterization techniques such as scanning electron microscopy (SEM) for surface morphology, x-ray diffraction (XRD) for crystal structure and crystallite size evaluation, and FTIR and Raman spectroscopy for analyzing the chemical nature of the crystals., Competing Interests: The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (© 2024 The Authors.)

Direct AC-AC converters are strong candidates in the power converting system to regulate grid voltage against the perturbation in the line voltage and to acquire frequency regulation at discrete step levels in variable speed drivers for industrial systems. All such applications require the inverted and non-inverted form of the input voltage across the output with voltage-regulating capabilities. The required value of the output frequency is gained with the proper arrangement of the number of positive and negative pulses of the input voltage across the output terminals. The period of each such pulse for low-frequency operation is almost the same as the half period of the input grid or utility voltage. These output pulses are generated by converting the positive and negative input half cycles in noninverting and inverting forms as per requirement. There is no control complication to generate control signals used to adjust the load frequency as the operating period of the switching devices is normally greater than the period of the source voltage. However, high-frequency pulse width modulated (PWM) control signals are used to regulate the output voltage. The size of the inductor and capacitor is inversely related to the value of the switching frequency. Similarly, the ripple contents of voltage and currents in these filtering components are also inversely linked with PWM frequency. These constraints motivate the circuit designer to select high PWM frequency. However, the alignment of the high-frequency control input with the variation in the input source voltage is a big challenge for a design engineer as the switching period of a high-frequency signal normally lies in the microsecond. It is also required to operate some high-frequency devices for various half cycles of the source voltage, creating control complications as the polarities of the half cycles are continuously changing. This requires at least the generation of two high-frequency signals for different intervals. The interruption of the filtering inductor current is a big source of high voltage surges in circuits where the high-frequency transistors operate in a complementary way. This may be due to internal defects in the switching transistors or some unnecessary inherent delay in their control signals. In this research work, a simplified AC-AC converter is developed that does not need alignment of high-frequency control with the polarity of the source voltage. With this approach, high-frequency signals can be generated with the help of any analog or digital control system. By applying this technique, only one high-frequency control signal is generated and applied in AC circuits, as in a DC converter, without applying a highly sensitive polarity sensing circuit. So, controlling complications is drastically simplified. The circuit and configuration always avoid the current interruption problem of filtering the inductor. The proposed control and circuit topology are tested both in computer-based simulation and practically developed circuits. The results obtained from these platforms endorse the effectiveness and validation of the proposed work., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

This review explores recent advancements in synthesizing quinoid heteroaryls, namely quinazoline and quinoline, vital in chemistry due to their prevalence in natural products and pharmaceuticals. It emphasizes the rapid, highly efficient, and economically viable synthesis achieved through gold-catalyzed cascade protocols. By investigating methodologies and reaction pathways, the review underscores exceptional yields attainable in the synthesis of quinoid heteroaryls. It offers valuable insights into accessing these complex structures through efficient synthetic routes. Various strategies, including cyclization, heteroarylation, cycloisomerization, cyclo-condensation, intermolecular and intramolecular cascade reactions, are covered, highlighting the versatility of gold-catalyzed approaches. The comprehensive compilation of different synthetic approaches and elucidation of reaction mechanisms contribute to a deeper understanding of the field. This review paves the way for future advancements in synthesizing quinoid heteroaryls and their applications in drug discovery and materials science., Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflict of interest., (This journal is © The Royal Society of Chemistry.)

Salinization is a leading threat to soil degradation and sustainable crop production. The application of organic amendments could improve crop growth in saline soil. Thus, we assessed the impact of sugarcane bagasse (SB) and its biochar (SBB) on soil enzymatic activity and growth response of maize crop at three various percentages (0.5%, 1%, and 2% of soil) under three salinity levels (1.66, 4, and 8 dS m -1 ). Each treatment was replicated three times in a completely randomized block design with factorial settings. The results showed that SB and SBB can restore the impact of salinization, but the SBB at the 2% addition rate revealed promising results compared to SB. The 2% SBB significantly enhanced shoot length (23.4%, 26.1%, and 41.8%), root length (16.8%, 20.8%, and 39.0%), grain yield (17.6%, 25.1%, and 392.2%), relative water contents (11.2%, 13.1%, and 19.2%), protein (17.2%, 19.6%, and 34.9%), and carotenoid (16.3, 30.3, and 49.9%) under different salinity levels (1.66, 4, and 8 dS m -1 , respectively). The 2% SBB substantially drop the Na + in maize root (28.3%, 29.9%, and 22.4%) and shoot (36.1%, 37.2%, and 38.5%) at 1.66, 4, and 8 dS m -1 . Moreover, 2% SBB is the best treatment to boost the urease by 110.1%, 71.7%, and 91.2%, alkaline phosphatase by 28.8%, 38.8%, and 57.6%, and acid phosphatase by 48.4%, 80.1%, and 68.2% than control treatment under 1.66, 4 and 8 dS m -1 , respectively. Pearson analysis showed that all the growth and yield parameters were positively associated with the soil enzymatic activities and negatively correlated with electrolyte leakage and sodium. The structural equational model (SEM) showed that the different application percentage of amendments significantly influences the growth and physiological parameters at all salinity levels. SEM explained the 81%, 92%, and 95% changes in maize yield under 1.66, 4, and 8 dS m -1 , respectively. So, it is concluded that the 2% SBB could be an efficient approach to enhance the maize yield by ameliorating the noxious effect of degraded saline soil., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare the following financial interests/personal relationships which may be considered as potential competing interests:Jianguo Zhang reports financial support was provided by National Natural Science Fundation of China. Jianguo Zhang reports financial support was provided by the Key Scientific and Technological Project of Shaanxi Province., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Understanding the feeding dynamics of aquatic animals is crucial for aquaculture optimization and ecosystem management. This paper proposes a novel framework for analyzing fish feeding behavior based on a fusion of spectrogram-extracted features and deep learning architecture. Raw audio waveforms are first transformed into Log Mel Spectrograms, and a fusion of features such as the Discrete Wavelet Transform, the Gabor filter, the Local Binary Pattern, and the Laplacian High Pass Filter, followed by a well-adapted deep model, is proposed to capture crucial spectral and spectral information that can help distinguish between the various forms of fish feeding behavior. The Involutional Neural Network (INN)-based deep learning model is used for classification, achieving an accuracy of up to 97% across various temporal segments. The proposed methodology is shown to be effective in accurately classifying the feeding intensities of Oplegnathus punctatus , enabling insights pertinent to aquaculture enhancement and ecosystem management. Future work may include additional feature extraction modalities and multi-modal data integration to further our understanding and contribute towards the sustainable management of marine resources.

Membrane protrusions are fundamental to cellular functions like migration, adhesion, and communication and depend upon dynamic reorganization of the cytoskeleton. GAP-dependent GTP hydrolysis of Arf proteins regulates actin-dependent membrane remodeling. Here, we show that dAsap regulates membrane protrusions in S2R+ cells by a mechanism that critically relies on its ArfGAP domain and relocalization of actin regulators, SCAR, and Ena. While our data reinforce the preference of dAsap for Arf1 GTP hydrolysis in vitro, we demonstrate that induction of membrane protrusions in S2R+ cells depends on Arf6 inactivation. This study furthers our understanding of how dAsap-dependent GTP hydrolysis maintains a balance between active and inactive states of Arf6 to regulate cell shape., (© 2024 Federation of European Biochemical Societies.)

Agriculture is vital to human life and economic development even though it may have a detrimental influence on soil quality. Agricultural activities can deteriorate the soil quality, endangers the ecosystem health and functioning, food safety, and human health. To resolve the problem of soil degradation, alternative soil conditioners such as wood ash are being explored for their potential to improve soil-plant systems. This study provides an overview of the production, properties, and effects of wood ash on soil properties, crop productivity, and environmental remediation. A comprehensive search of relevant databases was conducted in order to locate and assess original research publications on the use of wood ash in agricultural and environmental management. According to the findings, wood ash, a byproduct of burning wood, may improve the structure, water-holding capacity, nutrient availability, and buffering capacity of soil as well as other physico-chemical, and biological attributes of soil. Wood ash has also been shown to increase agricultural crop yields and help with the remediation of polluted regions. Wood ash treatment, however, has been linked to several adverse effects, such as increased trace element concentrations and altered microbial activity. The examination found that wood ash could be a promising material to be used as soil conditioner and an alternative supply of nutrients for agricultural soils, while, wood ash contributes to soil improvement and environmental remediation, highlighting its potential as a sustainable solution for addressing soil degradation and promoting environmental sustainability in agricultural systems., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Background: COVID-19 epidemiology changed with the emergence of SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern (VOC). Pakistan administered mostly inactivated vaccines. We investigated the association between VOC and breakthrough infections in a mixed-vaccination-status population of Karachi., Methods: We investigated SARS-CoV-2 VOC tested in 392 respiratory specimens collected between May and December 2021. Data for age, sex, hospital admission, vaccinations, together with CT values of the diagnostic PCR test were analyzed., Results: The median age of COVID-19 cases tested was 40 (27-57) years and 43.4% were female. Delta variants were most common (56.4%) followed by Alpha (15.9%), Omicron (12.2%), Beta/Gamma (11.3%), and others (4.3%). Eighteen percent of cases were hospitalized whereby, predominant VOC were Beta/Gamma (40.8%), Alpha (35.2%) and Delta (22.5%). Overall, 55.4% of individuals were fully vaccinated, 7.4% were partially vaccinated and 37.2% were unvaccinated. Most (74.6%) inpatients were unvaccinated. Vaccines comprised inactivated (85.34%), single-shot vector (8.62%), two-shot vector (3.02%) and mRNA (3.02%) types. Omicron variants showed lower viral loads as compared to Alpha, Beta/Gamma, and Delta (p = 0.017). The risk of infection with Delta and Omicron variants was higher, 8 weeks after vaccination. The majority of those with breakthrough infections after receiving inactivated vaccines acquired COVID-19 within 4 months of vaccination., Conclusion: Our data highlights the shifting of VOC from Delta to Omicron during 2021 and that COVID-19 vaccinations reduced both hospitalizations and viral transmission. It informs on the increased risk of breakthrough infection within 8 weeks of vaccination, indicating the need for booster vaccinations., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that they have no Conflict of Interest to Declare., (Copyright © 2024. Published by Elsevier Ltd.)

This research introduces a novel dual-pathway convolutional neural network (DP-CNN) architecture tailored for robust performance in Log-Mel spectrogram image analysis derived from raw multichannel electromyography signals. The primary objective is to assess the effectiveness of the proposed DP-CNN architecture across three datasets (NinaPro DB1, DB2, and DB3), encompassing both able-bodied and amputee subjects. Performance metrics, including accuracy, precision, recall, and F1-score, are employed for comprehensive evaluation. The DP-CNN demonstrates notable mean accuracies of 94.93 ± 1.71% and 94.00 ± 3.65% on NinaPro DB1 and DB2 for healthy subjects, respectively. Additionally, it achieves a robust mean classification accuracy of 85.36 ± 0.82% on amputee subjects in DB3, affirming its efficacy. Comparative analysis with previous methodologies on the same datasets reveals substantial improvements of 28.33%, 26.92%, and 39.09% over the baseline for DB1, DB2, and DB3, respectively. The DP-CNN's superior performance extends to comparisons with transfer learning models for image classification, reaffirming its efficacy. Across diverse datasets involving both able-bodied and amputee subjects, the DP-CNN exhibits enhanced capabilities, holding promise for advancing myoelectric control.

Gut microbiota interacts with host epithelial cells and regulates many physiological functions such as genetics, epigenetics, metabolism of nutrients, and immune functions. Dietary factors may also be involved in the etiology of colorectal cancer (CRC), especially when an unhealthy diet is consumed with excess calorie intake and bad practices like smoking or consuming a great deal of alcohol. Bacteria including Fusobacterium nucleatum, Enterotoxigenic Bacteroides fragilis (ETBF), and Escherichia coli ( E. coli ) actively participate in the carcinogenesis of CRC. Gastrointestinal tract with chronic inflammation and immunocompromised patients are at high risk for CRC progression. Further, the gut microbiota is also involved in Geno-toxicity by producing toxins like colibactin and cytolethal distending toxin (CDT) which cause damage to double-stranded DNA. Specific microRNAs can act as either tumor suppressors or oncogenes depending on the cellular environment in which they are expressed. The current review mainly highlights the role of gut microbiota in CRC, the mechanisms of several factors in carcinogenesis, and the role of particular microbes in colorectal neoplasia., Competing Interests: All the authors declared that current review paper is not submitted in any other journal in the form of paper and dissertation. Further, they have no conflict of interest., (© 2024 The Authors.)

Lead (Pb) is a highly toxic contaminant that is ubiquitously present in the ecosystem and poses severe environmental issues, including hazards to soil-plant systems. This review focuses on the uptake, accumulation, and translocation of Pb metallic ions and their toxicological effects on plant morpho-physiological and biochemical attributes. We highlight that the uptake of Pb metal is controlled by cation exchange capacity, pH, size of soil particles, root nature, and other physio-chemical limitations. Pb toxicity obstructs seed germination, root/shoot length, plant growth, and final crop-yield. Pb disrupts the nutrient uptake through roots, alters plasma membrane permeability, and disturbs chloroplast ultrastructure that triggers changes in respiration as well as transpiration activities, creates the reactive oxygen species (ROS), and activates some enzymatic and non-enzymatic antioxidants. Pb also impairs photosynthesis, disrupts water balance and mineral nutrients, changes hormonal status, and alters membrane structure and permeability. This review provides consolidated information concentrating on the current studies associated with Pb-induced oxidative stress and toxic conditions in various plants, highlighting the roles of different antioxidants in plants mitigating Pb-stress. Additionally, we discussed detoxification and tolerance responses in plants by regulating different gene expressions, protein, and glutathione metabolisms to resist Pb-induced phytotoxicity. Overall, various approaches to tackle Pb toxicity have been addressed; the phytoremediation techniques and biochar amendments are economical and eco-friendly remedies for improving Pb-contaminated soils., Competing Interests: The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (© 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.)

Air pollution is growing at alarming rates on regional and global levels, with significant consequences for human health, ecosystems, and change in climatic conditions. The present 12 weeks (4 October 2021, to 26 December 2021) study revealed the different ambient air quality parameters, i.e., PM 2.5 , PM 10 , SO 2 , NO 2 , and O 3 over four different sampling stations of Delhi-NCR region (Dwarka, Knowledge park III, Sector 125, and Vivek Vihar), India, by using satellite remote sensing data (MERRA-2, OMI, and Aura Satellite) and different ground-based instruments. The ground-based observation revealed the mean concentration of PM 2.5 in Dwarka, Knowledge park III, Sector 125, and Vivek Vihar as 279 µg m -3 , 274 µg m -3 , 294 µg m -3 , and 365 µg m -3 , respectively. The ground-based instrumental concentration of PM 2.5 was greater than that of satellite observations, while as for SO 2 and NO 2 , the mean concentration of satellite-based monitoring was higher as compared to other contaminants. Negative and positive correlations were observed among particulate matter, trace gases, and various meteorological parameters. The wind direction proved to be one of the prominent parameter to alter the variation of these pollutants. The current study provides a perception into an observable behavior of particulate matter, trace gases, their variation with meteorological parameters, their health hazards, and the gap between the measurements of satellite remote sensing and ground-based measurements., (© 2024. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.)

Peptidoglycan recognition proteins (PGRPs) function in host antibacterial responses by recognizing bacterial peptidoglycan (PGN). In the present study, a short pgrp5 (named mpgrp5) was identified in Cirrhinus mrigala (mrigal). The full-length cDNA of the mpgrp5 gene was 1255 bp, containing an open reading frame of 746 bp encoding a protein of 248 amino acids. The predicted protein contained the typical Pgrp/amidase domain, conserved Zn 2+ , and PGN binding residues. The phylogenetic analysis revealed that the mpgrp5 is closely related to Pgrps reported in Labeo rohita, Cyrinus carpio, and Ctenopharyngodon idella. The ontogenetic expression of mpgrp5 was highest at 7 days post-hatching (dph) and its possible maternal transfer. mpgrp5 was constitutively expressed in all tissues examined, with the highest expression observed in the intestine. Furthermore, mpgrp5 was found upregulated in mrigal post-challenge in a time-dependent manner at 6hpi in the liver (3.16 folds, p < 0.05) and kidney (2.79 folds, p < 0.05) and at 12hpi in gill (1.90 folds, p < 0.01), skin (1.93 folds, p < 0.01), and intestine, (2.71 folds, p < 0.05) whereas at 24hpi in spleen (4.0 folds, p < 0.01). Our results suggest that mpgrp5 may play an important role in antibacterial immune response from early life stages in mrigal., (Copyright © 2023 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

China's energy-intensive industries utilize the leading proportion of coal to meet the demand for its industrial outputs, while on the other hand, these industries also assure the provision of livelihood to millions of people, and capping the share of coal consumption for these industries can adversely affect the industrial and economic growth of China. Thus, to achieve the Pareto improvement between environmental pollution and industrial output growth, it is essential to comprehend the patterns of coal consumption in these industries. Hence, the present research intended to analyze the potential drivers of coal consumption by applying a joint LMDI, DEA, and the production theoretical decomposition approach. Findings indices that, first, industrial output growth was the crucial driver to simulate the industrial coal consumption, while the potential coal intensity and coal technology changes exhibited the reverse effect. Second, the coal inputs and industrial output efficiency, along with the improvements in technological gaps, were found to be the imperative factors in decelerating coal consumption. Third, the energy industrial group was discovered to have more potentials of coal conversation as compared to the non-energy industrial group. Moreover, results also indicated that coal pure technical efficiency is accelerating coal growth, which revealed that coal can be saved by enhancing coal allocative efficiency. These findings laid the empirical ground to design a feasible coal conservation policy for achieving the imperative goals of environmental protection without compromising industrial output growth., (© 2024. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.)

Background: The aim of this in vitro research was to compare and evaluate the stability of TADs coated with PRP over 6 months. TAD stability is essential for the long-term success of orthodontic treatment. PRP has become a valuable adjunct to promote healing in many procedures of oral surgery. The use of PRP in combination with bone grafts in dental treatments yields positive results in terms of improving the handling properties of the grafts and enhancing the quantity and quality of the newly formed bone., Methods: This study was conducted at Islamic International Dental College, Orthodontic Department for 6 months from April 2018 to February 2019. It was a triple-blinded study using split-mouth randomized clinical trial. Comparison of Failure of Temporary Anchorage Devices inserted with Platelet Rich Plasma and Platelet Poor Plasma (placebo) was done on 25 patients with TADs placed on the right and left sides (total of 50 TADs). Patients who had visited for comprehensive orthodontic treatment were screened according to inclusion and exclusion criteria to be included in the study. The consent form was designed in which the procedure and the reason for the study were explained to every patient selected. Each patient was given the consent form which was signed by the patient. Injection of a few drops of PRP into the pilot hole by an 18 gauge needle syringe and similarly PPP (Placebo) onto the opposing site was done. The operator was blinded during the procedure. Patients were advised to report if there was any failure of TAD.TADs were assessed on every orthodontic visit (monthly) for 6 months., Results: The total number of patients was 25, each with TAD on both the right and left sides. In a total of 50 TADs, 5 (10%) failed, 4 (8% of the total) of the left side and 1 (2% of the total) of the right side Out of these 25, 14 (56%) were males and 11 (44%) were females. In 25 patients only 1 (4%) patient showed both left and right side failure while 4 (16%) patients showed only left side failure. In terms of PPP (placebo) and PRP, the rate of failure were 3 (12%) of PPP and 2 (8%) for PRP. The mean days of failure were 46.00±3.22 and 6.50±9.192 for PPP and PRP respectively., Conclusions: From this study, it was noticed that there was no significant difference in the stability of TADs injected with PRP or PPP (placebo). Other factors such as gender, and patient or operator handedness were also not significant.

Ectopic parathyroid tumors are uncommon, accounting for only 6% of parathyroid adenomas, and even fewer cases are attributed to parathyroid carcinomas. While ectopic parathyroid carcinoma in the anterior mediastinum is a rare condition, the occurrence of recurrent skeletal fractures in the presence of mild hypercalcemia is even rarer. In this report, we present the case of a 52-year-old man with a medical history of hypertension, chronic kidney disease, and a previous right-sided intertrochanteric fracture of the femur one year earlier. He presented to the emergency room with left-sided hip pain and shortness of breath due to volume overload. Laboratory tests revealed mild hypercalcemia and hyperparathyroidism, with normal vitamin D levels. An X-ray showed a left neck of femur fracture. Further evaluation with a three-phase skeletal scintigraphy indicated the presence of metabolic bone disease. A contrast-enhanced computed tomography of the chest revealed a solitary soft tissue nodule in the anterior mediastinum, representing an ectopic parathyroid adenoma. The lesion was successfully removed using video-assisted thoracic surgery, and the histopathological analysis confirmed the diagnosis of parathyroid carcinoma. The combination of mild hypercalcemia and recurrent fractures is an unusual presentation of ectopic parathyroid carcinoma, underscoring the importance of considering this condition as a potential cause in similar cases to ensure timely and appropriate treatment., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist., (Copyright © 2023, Mahmood et al.)

Lead, a toxic heavy metal present in soil, hampers biological activities and affects the metabolism of plants, animals, and human beings. Its higher concentration may disturb the various physio-chemical processes, which result in stunted and poor plant growth. An interactive approach of plant growth promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) and L-tryptophan can be used to mitigate the lethal effects of lead. A pot experiment was conducted, and two weeks before sowing, the level of lead (300 mg kg -1 ) was maintained by spiking the PbCl 2 salt. Pseudomonas fluorescens and L-tryptophan were applied individually as well as in combination to segregate the effect of both in contaminated soil under a completely Randomized Design (CRD). Statistical analysis revealed that plant growth was significantly reduced up to 22% due to lead contamination. However, the interactive approach of PGPR and L-tryptophan significantly improved the plant growth, physiology, and yield with relative productive index (RPI) under a lead-stressed environment. Moreover, integrated use of PGPR and L-tryptophan demonstrated a considerable increase (22%) in lead removal efficiency (LRE) by improving bioconcentration factor (BCF) and translocation factor (TF) for shoot without increasing the lead concentration in achenes. The reduced lead concentration in achene was due to its immobilization in shoot and root by negatively charged particles and improved the lead sequestration in vegetative parts which abridged the translocation of lead into achenes., (© 2023. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.)

Due to ongoing human activities, heavy metals are heavily accumulated in the soil. This leads to an increase in the discharge and the quick spread of heavy metal pollution in human settlements and natural habitats, having a disastrous effect on agricultural products. The current experiment was planned to evaluate the effect of lead-tolerant-plant-growth-promoting rhizobacteria (LTPGPR) on growth, yield, antioxidant activities, physiology, and lead uptake in the root, shoot, and seed of Indian mustard ( Brassica juncea ) in lead-amended soil. Three pre-isolated well-characterized lead-tolerant rhizobacterial strains-S10, S5, and S2-were used to inoculate seeds of Indian mustard grown at three different levels of lead (300 mg kg -1 , 600 mg kg -1 , 900 mg kg -1 ) contaminated soil. The experiment was designed following a completely randomized design (CRD) under factorial arrangements. Lead nitrate was used as a source of lead contamination. At harvesting, data regarding growth, physiology, yield per plant, antioxidant activities, malondialdehyde and proline content, and lead uptake in the root, shoot, and seed of Indian mustard were recorded. Results demonstrated that lead contamination at all levels significantly reduced the plant growth, yield, and physiological processes. Plants inoculated with lead-tolerant rhizobacteria showed a significant improvement in plant growth, yield, antioxidant activities, and physiological attributes and cause a valuable reduction in the malondialdehyde contents of Indian mustard in lead-contaminated soil. Moreover, plants inoculated with lead-tolerant rhizobacteria also showed an increment in lead uptake in the vegetative parts and a significant reduction of lead contents in the seed of Indian mustard.

Argyrolobium roseum (Camb.) Jaub & Spach ( Papilionaceae ) is a medicinal plant, cultivated in northern areas of Pakistan. The consumption of trace minerals (lead) is very toxic to the vital organs of the body, therefore the overcome of these minerals is very necessary. In this regard, this study aimed to assess the potential pharmacological effect of aqueous and ethanolic extract of Argyrolobium roseum (Camb.) Jaub & Spach against pb-induced oxidative stress, histological changes in Pb-induced rats' liver and kidney, and anti-inflammatory effect. The metal concentrations in liver and kidney homogenates were measured through atomic absorption spectrophotometer. The antioxidant activity was measured through DPPH and FRAP assay. Pb concentrations were significantly higher in liver and kidney homogenates after injection of Pb acetate was given intraperitoneally (45.2 ± 6.8 and 58.8 ± 7.9, respectively; p  < .0001). The level of Pb in liver and kidney homogenates was significantly reduced by aqueous and ethanolic extracts of Argyrolobium roseum (Camb.) Jaub & Spach. The Pb + Aq-600 mg/kg-treated rats exhibited a protective effect on hepatocytes cells against Pb-induced liver injury and restored the cells of the kidney. Pb + Aq-600 mg/kg showed higher antioxidant activity as compared to other treated groups. The highest decreased MDA level was found in liver and kidney homogenate of Pb + Aq-600 mg/kg rats (11.2 ± 1.51 nmol/mg; p  < .001) and GSH and CAT levels tended to normal after treatment of Pb + Aq-600 mg/kg in rats. The ALAD, ALT, AST, and ALP level were enhanced and tended to be normal after the Aq-400 and Aq-600 mg/kg treatment in Pb-exposed rats. The result showed that 600 mg/kg Aq + Pb exhibited significant ( p  < .001) anti-inflammatory activity. The findings of this study concluded that treatment of the aqueous extract of Argyrolobium roseum (Camb.) Jaub & Spach reduces the renal and hepatic damage in Pb-induced rats and it also decreases oxidative stress via improving antioxidant components., Competing Interests: There is no conflict of interest., (© 2023 The Authors. Food Science & Nutrition published by Wiley Periodicals LLC.)

Complexation of micronutrients with complexing agents reduce undesirable reactions of fertilizers in soil water system. In the form of complex structure nutrients remain available to plants in the useable form. Nanoform fertilizer enhances the surface area of particles and less amount of fertilizer contact with large area of plant roots which reduce fertilizer cost. Controlling release of fertilizer using polymeric material like sodium alginate makes agriculture practices more efficient and cost effective. Several fertilizers and nutrients are used at a large scale to improve crop yields globally and almost more than half goes to waste. Therefore, there is a dire need to improve plant-available nutrients in soil, using feasible, environmentally friendly technologies. In the present research, complexed micronutrients were successfully encapsulated using a novel technique at nanometric scale. The nutrients were complexed with proline and encapsulated using sodium alginate (polymer). Sweet basil was subjected to seven treatments over three months in a moderately controlled environment (25 °C of temperature and 57% of humidity) to study the effects of synthesized complexed micronutrient nano fertilizers. The structural modifications of the complexed micronutrient nanoforms of fertilizers were examined, through X-ray powder diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The size of manufactured fertilizers was between 1 and 200 nm. Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy stretching vibration peaks at 1600.9 cm -1 (C=O), 3336 cm -1 (N-H) and at 1090.2 cm -1 (N-H in a twisting and rocking) corresponds to the pyrrolidine ring. Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry was used to analyze the chemical makeup of the essential oil of the basil plants. Essential oil yield of basil plants increased from 0.0035 to 0.1226% after treatments. The findings of the present research show that complexation and encapsulation improve crop quality, essential oil yield, and antioxidant potential of basil., (© 2023. The Author(s).)

Background The prognosis for oral cancer patients is still very poor worldwide. Early detection and treatment therapy remain the key issue to be addressed for improved patient survival. The characteristic Raman spectral features associated with the biochemical changes in the blood serum samples can be used for the diagnosis of diseases, particularly for oral cancer. Surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) is a promising technique for non-invasive and early detection of oral cancer by analyzing molecular changes in body fluids. Objectives To detect oral cavity anatomical subsites (buccal mucosa, cheek, hard palate, lips, mandible, maxilla, tongue and tonsillar region) cancers by using blood serum samples, SERS with principal component analysis is used. Material and Method SERS is employed with silver nanoparticles for the analysis and detection of oral cancer serum samples by comparing with healthy serum samples. SERS spectra are recorded by Raman instrument and preprocessed using the statistical tool. Principal component analysis (PCA) and Partial least square discriminant analysis (PLS-DA) are used to discriminate between oral cancer serum samples and control serum samples. Results Some major SERS peaks are observed at 1136 cm -1 (Phospholipids) and 1006 cm -1 (Phenylalanine) remain higher in intensities for oral cancer spectra as compared to healthy spectra. The peak at 1241 cm -1 (amide III) is observed only in oral cancer serum samples while absent in healthy serum samples. Higher protein and DNA contents were detected in SERS mean spectra of oral cancer. Moreover, PCA is used to identify the biochemical differences in the form of SERS features which is used to differentiate between oral cancer and healthy blood serum samples, while PLS-DA is used to build differentiation model of oral cancer serum samples and healthy control serum samples. PLS-DA provides successful differentiation with 94% specificity and 95.5% sensitivity. Conclusions SERS can be used for the diagnosis of oral cancer and to identify metabolic changes that occur during disease development., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interests The authors have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2023. Published by Elsevier B.V.)

Fibroids of the uterus are a common benign tumor affecting women of childbearing age. Uterine fibroids (UF) can be effectively treated with earlier identification and diagnosis. Its automated diagnosis from medical images is an area where deep learning (DL)-based algorithms have demonstrated promising results. In this research, we evaluated state-of-the-art DL architectures VGG16, ResNet50, InceptionV3, and our proposed innovative dual-path deep convolutional neural network (DPCNN) architecture for UF detection tasks. Using preprocessing methods including scaling, normalization, and data augmentation, an ultrasound image dataset from Kaggle is prepared for use. After the images are used to train and validate the DL models, the model performance is evaluated using different measures. When compared to existing DL models, our suggested DPCNN architecture achieved the highest accuracy of 99.8 percent. Findings show that pre-trained deep-learning model performance for UF diagnosis from medical images may significantly improve with the application of fine-tuning strategies. In particular, the InceptionV3 model achieved 90% accuracy, with the ResNet50 model achieving 89% accuracy. It should be noted that the VGG16 model was found to have a lower accuracy level of 85%. Our findings show that DL-based methods can be effectively utilized to facilitate automated UF detection from medical images. Further research in this area holds great potential and could lead to the creation of cutting-edge computer-aided diagnosis systems. To further advance the state-of-the-art in medical imaging analysis, the DL community is invited to investigate these lines of research. Although our proposed innovative DPCNN architecture performed best, fine-tuned versions of pre-trained models like InceptionV3 and ResNet50 also delivered strong results. This work lays the foundation for future studies and has the potential to enhance the precision and suitability with which UF is detected.

The world's population is increasing and is anticipated to spread 10 billion by 2050, and the issue of food security is becoming a global concern. To maintain global food security, it is essential to increase crop productivity under changing climatic conditions. Conventional agricultural practices frequently use artificial/chemical fertilizers to enhance crop productivity, but these have numerous negative effects on the environment and people's health. To address these issues, researchers have been concentrating on substitute crop fertilization methods for many years, and biofertilizers as a crucial part of agricultural practices are quickly gaining popularity all over the globe. Biofertilizers are living formulations made of indigenous plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) which are substantial, environment-friendly, and economical biofertilizers for amassing crop productivity by enhancing plant development either directly or indirectly, and are the renewable source of plant nutrients and sustainable agronomy. The review aims to provide a comprehensive overview of the current knowledge on microbial inoculants as biofertilizers, including their types, mechanisms of action, effects on crop productivity, challenges, and limitations associated with the use of microbial inoculants. In this review, we focused on the application of biofertilizers to agricultural fields in plant growth development by performing several activities like nitrogen fixation, siderophore production, phytohormone production, nutrient solubilization, and facilitating easy uptake by crop plants. Further, we discussed the indirect mechanism of PGPRs, in developing induced system resistance against pest and diseases, and as a biocontrol agent for phytopathogens. This review article presents a brief outline of the ideas and uses of microbial inoculants in improving crop productivity as well as a discussion of the challenges and limitations to use microbial inoculants., Competing Interests: Authors do not have any conflict of interest., (© 2023 The Authors.)

Human body exposure to various toxic and non-toxic heavy metals in groundwater is a significant health concern, especially in developing countries. The present study was planned and carried out to appraise the potential health risks of eight heavy metals (Mn, Co, Cu, As, Se, Cd, Hg, and Pb) in different water sources of the Mansa and Muktsar districts of Punjab. The measurements of heavy metals were performed using the inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICPMS) technique. The health (carcinogenic and non-carcinogenic) risks and doses (ingestion and dermal) associated with exposure to heavy metals in water were estimated from the measured concentrations using USEPA guidelines. The average concentrations of heavy metals were observed in the order of Mn (13.93) > Cu (13.12) > Se (4.14) > As (3.28) > Hg (3.27) > Pb (1.29) > Co (0.20) > Cd (0.10) μg L -1 . The results show that the Hg, Pb, As, and Se concentrations are above the guideline values of the World Health Organization (WHO) in 10.34%, 3.45%, 6.90%, and 6.90% locations, respectively. The high values of these heavy metals may be due to geogenic anthropogenic activities. The hazard quotients (non-carcinogenic risk) for ingestion and dermal exposures were observed in the range of 0.32-3.79 and 8.05 × 10 -6 -1.34 × 10 -4 , respectively. On the other hand, the carcinogenic health risks due to ingestion and dermal exposure were observed to be 0.02-0.38 and 6.67 × 10 -8 -1.15 × 10 -6 , respectively. The results of this study will be helpful to the drinking water supplying agencies, water resource development authorities, etc., (© 2023. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.)