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Sesuvium sesuvioides (Fenzl) Verdc (Aizoaceae) has been traditionally used in the treatment of inflammation, arthritis, and gout. However, its antiarthritic potential has not been evaluated scientifically. The current study was designed to assess the antiarthritic properties of the n-butanol fraction of S. sesuvioides (SsBu) by phytochemical analysis, in vitro and in vivo pharmacological activities, and in silico studies. Phytochemical analysis showed total phenolic contents (90.7 ± 3.02 mg GAE/g) and total flavonoid contents (23.7 ± 0.69 mg RE/g), and further analysis by GC-MS identified possible bioactive phytocompounds belonging to phenols, flavonoids, steroids, and fatty acids. The in vitro antioxidant potential of SsBu was assessed by DPPH (175.5 ± 7.35 mg TE/g), ABTS (391.6 ± 17.1 mg TE/g), FRAP (418.2 ± 10.8 mg TE/g), CUPRAC (884.8 ± 7.97 mg TE/g), phosphomolybdenum (5.7 ± 0.33 mmol TE/g), and metal chelating activity (9.04 ± 0.58 mg EDTAE/g). Moreover, in the in vitro studies, inhibition (%) of egg albumin and bovine serum albumin denaturation assays showed that the anti-inflammatory effect of SsBu at the dose of 800 μg/ml was comparable to that of diclofenac sodium used as a standard drug. The in vivo antiarthritic activity was assessed to determine the curative impact of SsBu against formalin-induced (dose-dependent significant (p < 0.05) effect 72.2% inhibition at 750 mg/kg compared to standard; 69.1% inhibition) and complete Freund’s adjuvant-induced arthritis (40.8%; inhibition compared to standard, 42.3%). SsBu significantly controlled PGE-2 level compared to the control group (p < 0.001) and restored the hematological parameters in rheumatoid arthritis. Treatment with SsBu significantly reduced oxidative stress by reinstating superoxide dismutase, GSH, and malondialdehyde along with pro-inflammatory markers (IL-6 and TNF-α) in arthritic rats. Molecular docking revealed the antiarthritic role of major identified compounds. Kaempferol-3-rutinoside was found to be more potent for COX-1 (−9.2 kcal/mol) and COX-2 inhibition (−9.9 kcal/mol) than diclofenac sodium (COX-1, −8.0 and COX-2, −6.5 kcal/mol). Out of the 12 docked compounds, two for COX-1 and seven for COX-2 inhibition showed more potent binding than the standard drug. The results from the in vitro, in vivo, and in silico approaches finally concluded that the n-butanol fraction of S. sesuvioides had antioxidant and antiarthritic potential, which may be due to the presence of potential bioactive compounds.

To date, both quality related high-molecular-weight (HMW) and low-molecular-weight (LMW) glutenin genes related to dough extensibility and viscoelasticity traits were investigated separately in wheat. Therefore, the present study was designed to molecularly characterize nine spring wheat genotypes for desirable bread quality attributes by using gene/allele-specific DNA markers for both HMW and LMW glutenin and validating these results by conducting different bread quality analysis. The PCR results indicated that Uaf-10137 and Akbar-19 genotypes carried those HMW & LMW-Gs alleles that had previously been associated with good bread quality. These genotypes had Ax2*, Bx7 + By8 and Dx5 + Dy10 allelic combinations at Glu-1 loci, while gluA3b and gluB3b alleles were only present in Uaf-10137 at Glu-3 loci. However, Akbar-19 only had gluB3b allele at Glu-3 loci. Furthermore, the PCR investigation in Uaf-10123, Subhani-21, Uaf-10136 and Dilkash-20 genotypes confirmed the presence of some unknown alleles at both Glu-1 and Glu-3 loci thus indicating moderate bread making quality. In contrary to this, Uaf-9515 and M.H-21 showed the presence of unknown alleles at Glu-A1, Glu-B1, Glu-A3, Glu-B3 loci and gave poor performance for bread quality parameters. Similar results were observed by using various bread quality-related tests such as farinograph, extensograph, sedimentation and bread volume. The results of these tests were in line with the findings of molecular investigations performed at the same wheat genotypes. In conclusion, genotypes UAf-10137 and Akbar-19 were identified for having good bread making quality attributes and can be used as parents or as a good source of bread quality genes/alleles in future breeding programs.

Diabetes mellitus is a chronic multifactorial metabolic illness that is characterized by numerous chronic complications. Diabetes affects almost every system of the body. Among these diabetic foot is one of the major complications of diabetes mellitus. Its main objective was to investigate the knowledge, attitude and foot care practices in diabetic patients suffering from diabetic foot lesions. An institutional-based cross-sectional study was designed to be conducted at Civil Hospital, Bahawalpur, Pakistan. Total 150 diabetic patients with diabetic foot lesions were selected by systematic random sampling method. An informed written consent was obtained from each of the study participant according to the declaration of Helsinki. Data was collected by a structured and pretested questionnaire via face-to-face interview and by direct observation of the patient. Ratio of Type II diabetes among study population was 91.3% whereas 23.3% patients were having family history of diabetes. Result of the study showed that 44.35% patients of study sample were having some knowledge about diabetes related complications whereas 45.44% patients were having a positive attitude towards control and prevention of diabetes related complications. Good foot care and footwear practices were being carried out by just 33.62% of patients included in the study. It was concluded from the present study that by providing education regarding control and management of diabetes and its complications, patients training about foot care practices, early detection and management of peripheral neuropathy and strict control of blood glucose could be very helpful in decreasing the diabetic complication including diabetic foot lesions.

A regiodivergent cobalt-catalyzed addition of carboxylic acid or 1,3-dicarbonyl compounds to allenes has been developed to prepare E-enol esters and allylation products.

Up to date, solid-state carbon dots (CDs) with bright red fluorescence have scarcely achieved due to aggregation-caused quenching (ACQ) effect and extremely low quantum yield in deep-red to near infrared region. Here, we report a novel fluorine-defects induced solid-state red fluorescence (λem = 676 nm, the absolute fluorescence quantum yields is 4.17%) in fluorine, nitrogen and sulfur co-doped CDs (F,N,S-CDs), which is the first report of such a long wavelength emission of solid-state CDs. As a control, CDs without fluorine-doping (N,S-CDs) show no fluorescence in solid-state, and the fluorescence quantum yield/emission wavelength of N,S-CDs in solution-state are also lower/shorter than that of F,N,S-CDs, which is mainly due to the F-induced defect traps on the surface/edge of F,N,S-CDs. Moreover, the solid-state F,N,S-CDs exhibit an interesting temperature-sensitive behavior in the range of 80–420 K, with the maximum fluorescence intensity at 120 K, unveiling its potential as the temperature-dependent fluorescent sensor and the solid-state light-emitting device adapted to multiple temperatures.

Magnetic targeting is one of the most promising approaches for improving the targeting efficiency by which magnetic drug carriers are directed using external magnetic fields to reach their targets. As a natural magnetic nanoparticle (MNP) of biological origin, the magnetosome is a special “organelle” formed by biomineralization in magnetotactic bacteria (MTB) and is essential for MTB magnetic navigation to respond to geomagnetic fields. The magnetic targeting of magnetosomes, however, can be hindered by the aggregation and precipitation of magnetosomes in water and biological fluid environments due to the strong magnetic attraction between particles. In this study, we constructed a magnetosome-like nanoreactor by introducing MTB Mms6 protein into a reverse micelle system. MNPs synthesized by thermal decomposition exhibit the same crystal morphology and magnetism (high saturation magnetization and low coercivity) as natural magnetosomes but have a smaller particle size. The DSPE-mPEG–coated magnetosome-like MNPs exhibit good monodispersion, penetrating the lesion area of a tumor mouse model to achieve magnetic enrichment by an order of magnitude more than in the control groups, demonstrating great prospects for biomedical magnetic targeting applications.

In this work, we investigate the perturbed optical solitons to the time-space fractional Gerdjikov–Ivanov equation with conformable derivatives having group velocity dispersion and quintic nonlinearity coefficients that exhibits the pulse behavior in nonlinear optics. Abundant families of optical solitons in single and combined forms like dark, singular, dark-singular, bright-dark are emerged by new $$\Phi ^6$$ -model expansion method. Singular periodic, rational function solutions are also obtained. The constraint conditions for valid solutions are also enumerated. Moreover, the fractional behavior of reported outcomes is depicted through 2D, 3D and contour profiles by selecting appropriate parameters. The obtained outcomes exhibit that the applied mathematical gadget is direct, efficient and concise to solve many complex nonlinear phenomena by the soft computations.

In the recent past, layered zinc-based vanadium spinel oxides (ZnVOs) have shown an intriguing way to accomplish the challenges of energy conversion, storage, and utilization issues. Here, through first-principles calculations, a comprehensive study has been carried out to investigate the AV2M (where A = Zn, Zn2, Zn3, Zn4, and M = O4, O6, O7, O8, O9 respectively) electronic, photocatalytic, and optical properties. Formation energies with a negative sign express that the final compounds from the pure elements are possible and cohesive energies revealed that compounds are energetically stable. Spin-polarized calculations are also taken into account for better approximation of the electronic properties (band structure and density of states). All layered structures show indirect bandgap for spin-up calculations in range 0.3 eV–2.4 eV, while spin-down calculations show mix trends in range 2.3 eV–3.50 eV. An appropriate band edge with large enough kinetic over-potentials of the oxygen evolution reaction (ΔEV ≥ 1.244 eV) makes them potential candidates as photoanode for water splitting. ZnV2O4 is more suitable for OER as it has small kinetic overpotential as compared to the oxidation potential of water. Interestingly, all ZnVOs display a dramatically large coefficient (~105 cm−1) for optical absorption. Photogenerated electrons and holes on the layered zinc-based vanadium spinel oxide surfaces could make these spinel oxides promising materials for photocatalytic water splitting and solar energy conversion.

The current study focused on the laboratory approach in conjunction with computational methods for the synthesis and bioactivity assessment of unique 2-tetradecanoylimino-3-aryl-4-methyl-1,3-thiazolines (2a–2k). Processes included cyclizing 1-aroyl-3-arylthioureas with propan-2-one in the presence of trimethylamine and bromine. By using spectroscopic techniques and elemental analyses, structures were elucidated. To assess the electronic properties, density functional theory (DFT) calculations were made, while binding interactions of synthesized derivatives were studied by the molecular docking tool. Promising results were found during the evaluation of bioactivity of synthesized compounds against alkaline phosphatase. The drug likeliness score, an indicator used for any chemical entity posing as a drug, was within acceptable limits. The data suggested that most of the derivatives were potent inhibitors of alkaline phosphatase, which in turn may act as lead molecules to synthesize derivatives having desired pharmacological profiles for the treatment of specific diseases associated with abnormal levels of ALPs.

Saussurea hypoleuca belongs to the family Asteraceae, which has previously shown hepatoprotective, anticancer, and antioxidant activity. This study aimed to evaluate the antihyperglycemic and antihyperlipidemic activity of its root methanol extract and various fractions for the first time. This was performed using alloxan-induced diabetes in the rat model for both short, and long-term periods using different administration doses. Different biochemical parameters were studied and further consolidated by histopathological examination and in silico molecular modeling. The results showed that in the long-term study, at a dose of 400 mg/kg b.wt, the ethyl acetate fraction caused a pronounced reduction in fasting blood glucose level (FBG) and glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) by 77.2% and 36.8%, respectively, compared to the diabetic group. This was confirmed by the histopathological examination of the animals’ pancreatic sections. The ethyl acetate fraction also showed a reduction in total cholesterol (TC), total glycerides (TG), and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) levels. It improved kidney and liver functions, causing a reduction in aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alkaline phosphatase (ALP), alanine transaminase (ALT), urea, and creatinine levels. This is mainly attributed to its richness in secondary metabolites. Molecular docking showed that all the tested compounds showed certain inhibitory potential towards human α-glucosidase (HAG) and ATP citrate lyase (ACL). Thus, Saussurea hypoleuca roots can help in the management of hyperglycemia, hyperlipidemia, and hepatic and kidney dysfunction.

The concept of multilayers and filler content has been utilized as an effective technique to acquire excellent microwave absorption performance. MoS2@MXene nanocomposites have been successfully synthesized after exfoliation of the MXene and MoS2 particles were embedded on its surface. MoS2@MXene achieved the minimum Reflection Loss (RL) of −51 dB with 30% ratio in wax. The involved mechanisms are discussed in detail including the synergetic effect between MXene and MoS2 particles which improved the dielectric loss of the MoS2@MXene composites as a result of multiple reflections in the layered structure of MXene, abundant functional groups on the MXene surface and positive effect of the increase in surface area. Moreover, the radar cross-section reduction performance has also been confirmed by using simulation technology. The obtained MoS2@MXene composite proved as an excellent microwave absorbing material for future applications.

The high specific capacitance along with good cycling stability are crucial for practical applications of supercapacitors, which always demands high-performance and stable electrode materials. In this work, we report a series of ternary composites of CoO-ZnO with different fractions of reduced graphene oxide (rGO) synthesized by in-situ growth on nickel foam, named as CZG-1, 2 and 3, respectively. This sort of binder-free electrodes presents excellent electrochemical properties as well as large capacitance due to their low electrical resistance and high oxygen vacancies. Particularly, the sample of CZG-2 (CoO-ZnO/rGO 20 mg) in a nanoreticular structure shows the best electrochemical performance with a maximum specific capacitance of 1951.8 F/g (216.9 mAh/g) at a current intensity of 1 A/g. The CZG-2-based hybrid supercapacitor delivers a high energy density up to 45.9 Wh/kg at a high power density of 800 W/kg, and kept the capacitance retention of 90.1% over 5000 charge-discharge cycles.