Cadmium(II) contamination in the environment is an emerging problem due to its acute toxicity and mobility, so it is very urgent to remove this species from industrial wastewater before it is discharged into the environment. Thus, a starch-based activated carbon (AC) with a specific surface area of 1600 m2g-1 is used as an adsorbent for the capturing of toxic cadmium(II) ions from synthetic solutions. The sorbent is characterized by BET, SEM, TEM, XRD, FT-IR, TGA, and zeta potential. The maximum uptake (284 mg g-1) of Cadmium(II) ion is obtained at pH 6. The thermodynamic parameters like ∆G, ∆H, ΔS are found to be -17.42 kJmol-1, 6.49 kJ mol-1, and 55.66 Jmol-1K-1 respectively, revealing that the adsorption mechanism is endothermic, spontaneous, and feasible. The experimental data follows the D-R and Langmuir models well. The mass transfer is controlled by pseudo 2nd order kinetics. Furthermore, the density functional theory simulations demonstrate that the activated carbon strongly interacted with the Cd(II) ion through its various active sites. The adsorption energy noted for all interactive sites is highly negative (-0.45 eV to -10.03 eV), which shows that the adsorption process is spontaneous and stable which is in agreement with the experimental thermodynamics analysis.

Cadmium (II) contamination in the environment is an emerging problem due to its acute toxicity and mobility, so it is very urgent to remove this species from industrial wastewater before it is discharged into the environment. Thus, a starch-based activated carbon (AC) with a specific surface area of 1600 m2g-1 is used as an adsorbent for the capturing of toxic Cadmium (II) ions from synthetic solution. The sorbent is characterized by BET, SEM, TEM, XRD, FT-IR, TGA, and zeta potential. The maximum uptake (284 mg g-1) of Cadmium (II) ion is obtained at pH 6. The thermodynamics parameters like ∆G, ∆H, ΔS are found to be -17.42 kJmol-1, 6.49 kJ mol-1, and 55.66 Jmol-1K-1 respectively, revealing that the adsorption mechanism is endothermic, spontaneous, and feasible. The experimental data follows the D-R and Langmuir models well. The mass transfer is controlled by pseudo 2nd order kinetics. Furthermore, the density functional theory simulations demonstrate that the activated carbon strongly interacted with the Cd (II) ion through its various active sites. The adsorption energy noted for all interactive sites is highly negative (-0.45 eV to -10.03 eV), which shows that the adsorption process is spontaneous and stable which is in agreement with the experimental thermodynamics analysis.

Epilepsy is a prevalent neurological disorder with considerable risks, including physical impairment and irreversible brain damage from seizures. Given these challenges, the urgency for prompt and accurate seizure detection cannot be overstated. Traditionally, experts have relied on manual EEG signal analyses for seizure detection, which is labor-intensive and prone to hu-man error. Recognizing this limitation, the rise of deep learning methods has been heralded as a promising avenue, offering more refined diagnostic precision. On the other hand, the prevailing challenge in many models is their constrained emphasis on specific domains, potentially diminishing their robustness and precision in complex real-world environments. This paper presents a novel model that seamlessly integrates the salient features from the time-frequency domain alongside pivotal statistical attributes derived from EEG signals. This fusion process involves the integration of essential statistics, including the mean, median, and variance, combined with the rich data from compressed time-frequency (CWT) images processed using auto-encoders. This multidimensional feature set provides a robust foundation for subsequent analytic steps. A long short-term memory (LSTM) network, meticulously optimized for the renowned Bonn Epilepsy dataset, was used to enhance the capability of the proposed model. Preliminary evaluations underscore the prowess of the proposed model: remarkable 100% accuracy in most of the binary classifications, impressive performance exceeding 95% for three-class and four-class challenges, and a commendable rate exceeding 93.5% for the five-class classification.

Abstract Purpose – The purpose of this study is to investigate the impact of spiritual leadership on knowledge hiding behavior of employees in agriculture research institutes of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. The study also aims to analyze theoretically and then investigate empirical evidence concerning the mediation pathway (namely, professional commitment) to clarify the significant association amid spiritual leadership and subordinate's knowledge hiding behavior. Design/methodology- The cross-sectional data using five point lickert scale was used in this survey based study to investigate the given hypotheses. In order to account for the prim effect and any potential for common method bias, data was gathered at two different time points with a gap of four weeks. Smart PLS4 was used to assess a sample of 298 complete and valid responses for hypotheses testing. Findings – The results show that spiritual leadership impacts negatively the employees’ knowledge hiding behavior. Moreover, this relationship is mediated by professional commitment. Originality/value – First, in contrast to the majority of past studies that concentrated on antecedents of knowledge sharing, the present study examined the impact of spiritual leadership on employee’s knowledge hiding behaviors, which are two opposing concepts. Secondly, the study examined empirically, the mediation effect of professional commitment. These three variables have not been studied together previously.

Load variations in any power system result in losses escalation and voltage drops. With the sensible and optimal allocation of distributed generators (DGs), these problems could be considerably mitigated. It has been seen in the priorly existing methods that ideally allocation of DGs has been carried out during fixed loads and constant power requirements. However, in real scenarios the loads are always variable and allocation of DGs must be done in accordance to the variations of the connected load. Therefore, the current paper addressed the aforementioned problem by distinctive optimal allocation of DGs for each variability of 24hour load horizon. However, the single exclusive solution is considered among all allocations of 24 hours. The min-max regret concept has been utilized in order to deal with such methodology. Altogether, 24 scenarios are analyzed wherein each scenario corresponds to a specific hour of the respective day. The optimal allocation of DGs in terms of their optimal sizing and placement has been carried out by using three algorithms including battle royal optimization (BRO), accelerated particle swarm optimization (APSO) and genetic algorithm (GA). The multi-objective optimization problem is evaluated on the basis of minimum value criterion of the multi-objective index (MO). MO comprises of active and reactive power losses and voltage deviation. Hence, in order to find robustness of proposed technique, Conseil international des grands réseaux electriques (CIGRE’s) MV benchmark model incorporating 14 buses has been considerably used as a test network. In the end the results of three proposed algorithms have been compared.

This study examines the wind shear coefficient (WSC) values at three coastal wind sites located in the southern region of Balochistan, Pakistan: Pasni, Ormara, and Jiwani. These WSC values were obtained using 10-minute measured wind speed data at heights of 20, 40, and 60 meters above ground level (AGL). Since wind measurements are typically recorded at lower heights due to cost and resource constraints, extrapolation techniques were employed to estimate wind speeds at higher altitudes. However, using a constant WSC value for extrapolation may lead to significant errors between extrapolated and actual wind speed measurements, impacting the energy output of wind turbines. To evaluate the effect of WSC on energy yield, the study employed power curves and frequency distributions for 2MW and 1.5MW wind turbines. Additionally, wind power density was calculated using air density derived from measured air temperature and surface pressure data, covering two years period from November 2016 to August 2018. The overall mean WSC values were found to be 0.076 at Pasni, 0.094 at Jiwani, and 0.053 at Ormara. The study further investigated the seasonal, monthly, and diurnal variations of WSC. For assessing wind resources at a height of 60m, the study utilized Wind Roses, wind power density, and Weibull parameters. Comparing the actual WSC values presented in this paper with those obtained using the 1/7 power law and measured data at 60m AGL, the energy yield from the wind turbines showed reduced output and capacity factor.

The increasing demand by consumers for popular healthy fruits, such as the watermelon (Citrullus lanatus), generate substantial bio-wastes, making it imperative to harness the value of these by-products. Watermelon has low-calorie content and several other nutritional benefits that make it suitable for weight management and heart-healthy diets. Within this article, the nutritional composition and bioactives of watermelon which are strongly linked to the prevention of cardiovascular disorders (CVD), cancer, and age-related conditions, will be thoroughly reviewed. In addition, the therapeutic potential effects of watermelon consumption, such as anti-inflammatory, cardio-protective and anti-cancer properties, are also examined, with emphasis to the importance of incorporating watermelon into regular diets for overall health improvement. Additionally, the study explores various applications of watermelon by-products in functional foods, contributing to meeting recommended daily nutrient allowances, as well as in other functional products like cosmetics, with health promoting properties. In conclusion, this comprehensive review underscores the role of watermelon and its by-products for the development of products that can contribute to the prevention of chronic diseases and promote overall well-being

Dysferlinopathies comprise a spectrum of muscular dystrophies characterized by progressive muscle weakness and degeneration due to mutations in the DYSF gene, which encodes the dysferlin protein critical for muscle membrane repair. This review delves into the clinical spectra of dysferlinopathies, their molecular mechanisms, and the spectrum of emerging therapeutic strategies. We explore the phenotypic heterogeneity of dysferlinopathies, highlight the incomplete understanding of genotype-phenotype correlations, and discuss the implications of various DYSF mutations. Furthermore, we examine the utility of animal models in elucidating disease mechanisms and the potential of symptomatic, pharmacological, molecular, and genetic therapies in mitigating the disease's progression. We also consider the roles of diet and metabolism in managing dysferlinopathies, as well as the impact of clinical trials on treatment paradigms. By culminating the complexities inherent in dysferlinopathies, this article emphasizes the need for multidisciplinary approaches, precision medicine, and extensive collaboration in research and clinical trial design to advance our understanding and treatment of these challenging disorders.

Fibrodysplasia Ossificans Progressiva (FOP) is an enigmatic, ultra-rare genetic disorder characterized by progressive heterotopic ossification, wherein soft connective tissues undergo pathological transformation into bone structures. This incapacitating process severely limits patient mobility and poses formidable challenges for therapeutic intervention. Predominantly caused by missense mutations in the ACVR1 gene, the disorder has hitherto defied comprehensive mechanistic understanding and effective treatment paradigms. This write-up offers a comprehensive overview of the contemporary understanding of FOP's complex pathobiology, underscored by advances in molecular genetics and proteomic studies. We shed light on targeted therapy, spanning genetic therapeutics, enzymatic and transcriptional modulation, stem cell therapies, and innovative immunotherapies. We also focused on the intricate complexities surrounding clinical trial design for ultra-rare disorders like FOP, addressing fundamental statistical limitations, ethical conundrums, and methodological advancements essential for the success of interventional studies. We advocate for the adoption of a multi-disciplinary approach that converges bench-to-bedside research, clinical expertise, and ethical considerations to tackle the challenges of ultra-rare diseases like FOP and comparable ultra-rare diseases. Overall, this article serves a dual role: as a definitive scientific resource for ongoing and future FOP research and as a call to action for innovative solutions to address methodological and ethical challenges that impede progress in the broader field of medical research for ultra-rare conditions.

The most important plastic resins used for wire coating are Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC), Nylon, Polysulfone and Low-high density polyethylene (LDPE / HDPE). In this article,the coating process is performed using elastic-viscous fluid as a coating material for wire coating in a pressure type coating die. The elastic-viscous fluid is electrically conducted in the presence of an applied magnetic field. The governing non-linear equations are modeled and then solved analytically by utilizing an Adomian decomposition method (ADM). The convergence of the series solution is established. The results are also verified by Optimal Homotopy Asymptotic Method (OHAM). The effect of different emerging parameters such as non-Newtonian parameters α and β, magnetic parameter M and the Brinkman number Br on solutions (velocity and temperature profiles) are discussed through several graphs. Additionally, the current result also compares with the published work already available in the literature.

Stem cells are currently being used in many clinical trials for regenerative purposes. These are promising results for stem cells in the treatment of several diseases, including cancer. Nevertheless, there are still many variables which should be addressed before the application of stem cells for cancer treatment. One approach should be to establish well-characterized therapeutic stem cell banks to minimize the variation in results from different clinical trials and facilitate their effective use in basic and translational research.

Cement manufacturing is one of the most energy-intensive industries in the world. Most of the cost of producing cement is accounted by fuel consumption and power expenditures. Thermal power plants are the major source of electricity in Pakistan. But they are not efficient and environmentally friendly. This study simulates four different models for five cement plants of Pakistan on Homer Pro software and compares the optimal solutions based on the net present cost (NPC), levelized cost of electricity (LCOE) and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Model-1 consists of solar panels, electrolyzer, hydrogen tank, hydrogen generator and converter. Model-2 has only a diesel generator and acts as a base case in this study. Model-3 has solar panels and a battery-converter system. In Model-4, diesel generators, solar panels and converters are considered. Based on NPC, the most optimal model is Model-4, having a 0.249 $/KWh LCOE in islanded systems. The NPC and operating costs are US$540 million and US$ 32.5 million per year, respectively, with a 29.80% reduction in CO2 emissions when compared to the base case. Based on GHG emissions, Model-1 and Model-3 are the best models with 0% GHG emissions. Sensitivity analyses is also performed using the parameters of load, inflation rate and discounted rate. The results prove that the proposed hybrid micropower systems (HMS) can sustainably provide electricity for 24 hours a day to the sites under consideration with minimum objectives.

This paper proposes a novel efficient multistage algorithm to extract source speech signals from a noisy convolutive mixture. The proposed approach comprises of two stages named Blind Source Separation (BSS) and De-noising. A hybrid source prior model separates the source signals from the noisy reverberant mixture in the BSS stage. Moreover, we model the low and high-energy components by generalized multivariate Gaussian and super-Gaussian models, respectively. We use Minimum Mean Square Error (MMSE) to reduce noise in the noisy convolutive mixture signal in the de-noising stage. Furthermore, two proposed models investigate the performance gain. In the first model, the speech signal is separated from the observed noisy convolutive mixture in the BSS stage, followed by suppression of noise in the estimated source signals in the de-noising module. In the second approach, the noise is reduced using the MMSE filtering technique in the received noisy convolutive mixture at the de-noising stage, followed by separation of source signals from the de-noised reverberant mixture at the BSS stage. We evaluate the performance of the proposed scheme in terms of signal-to-distortion ratio (SDR) with respect to other well-known multistage BSS methods. The results show the superior performance of the proposed algorithm over the other state-of-the-art methods.

Peste des Petits Ruminants (PPR), a highly contagious viral disease, causes significant economic losses in sheep and goats. Laboratory diagnosis is crucial to disease control and eradication. Since PPRVs have recently adopted new hosts, genetic diversity within isolates of the same lineage is more likely than if they were host-specific, sheep and goats most often. ELISA detects antibodies and antigens in serology. However, mishandling, environmental conditions (temperature and humidity), storage, and sensitivity issues of commercially available ELISA kits prevent rapid PPR virus detection in third-world countries like Pakistan. In the 2020-21 outbreaks in Pakistan, 325 blood samples, 19 swabs, and 6 virus tissue samples of sheep and goats were collected from Gilgit, Islamabad, and Fateh Jang. These virus isolates were submitted to NCBI for partial N gene sequencing. Antigen was prepared from indigenous virus Using semi-purified antigen from PPRV, an indirect ELISA for the detection of PPR antibodies in goat and sheep serum was developed using MW600922 grown in Vero cells. Dilutions of 1:200 serums and 1:32 antigens improve antibody detection. The N-gene-based analysis revealed a better understanding of PPRV genetic characterization. This study develops an RT-PCR assay to detect PPRV by targeting the N-protein gene. This assay offers an accurate and affordable diagnostic tool for PPRV and partial genome sequencing. Results described that PPRV isolates from the current study have 99.73% and 99.4% similarity to previously published Lahore and Faisalabad isolates from Pakistan, respectively. Compared to previous isolates from NCBI data, the virus showed high divergence rates with the Turkish strain. The comparative analysis between Commercial kit (c-ELISA) and I-ELISA revealed that the former had a high sensitivity of 90.60% and specificity of 85.23% compared with the cELISA kit. By comparing I-ELISA and VNT, we find that the current assay is 100% specific and 82.14 % sensitive. Based on these results, serological surveys for PPR antibodies, on a larger scale, in small ruminants can be conducted with indirect ELISA rather than competitive ELISA. Furthermore, the cost and storage efficiency was highly significant because the currently developed method has a low production cost, which is much lesser than the commercially available kit. Our findings demonstrated a significant breakthrough in terms of cost-effectiveness and storage efficiency, and they are highly recommended for developing countries.

Polymer inclusion membranes (PIMs), which contained cellulose tri-acetate used as a polymer base, a plasticizer in the form of o-NPOE, and meso-tetra methyl tetrakis-[methyl-2-(4-acetlphenoxy)] calix[4]pyrrole (KP) used as a carrier, were prepared and tested for the effective purification of aqueous solutions of methylene blue dye. The scanning electron microscope (SEM), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), and attenuated total reflection Fourier transform infrared (ATR-FTIR) were used to define the microstructure and surface of PIMs. Experimental results showed that with the increased concentration of methylene blue in an aqueous solution, the removal percentage also increased. Further observation also showed that the flux increased with the rise of the source phase pH values from 3 to 10. The carrier and plasticizer content in the membrane significantly influenced the membrane’s transport properties. The optimal composition of the membrane in per cent by weight was for KP: 74% plasticizer; 18% support; 8% carrier. It was shown that the membrane with optimal composition showed good reusability and enabled the easy and spontaneous separation of methylene blue from aqueous solutions.

Cadmium (Cd) is a heavy metal that suppresses plant growth; however, application of endophytic bacteria can increase resistance of plants against Cd, as well as improve plant growth. Two bacterial endophytic strains were isolated from Solanum nigrum and were identified as Serratia sp. AI001 and Enterobacter sp. AI002 by 16S DNA sequencing. Strains AI001 and AI002, tolerated up to 25 mg/mL Cd in broth culture and showed phosphate solubilization potential in Pikovskaya agar medium. AI001 and AI002 produced indole-3-acetic acid, which was confirmed by gas spectrometry-mass chromatography. Brassica plants stressed with 0, 5, 15, and 25 mg/L Cd showed significant decrease in plant growth, chlorophyll content and biomass, and significant increase in Cd dose-dependent electrolyte leakage. Inoculation of strain AI001 or AI002 significantly enhanced the plant growth attributes of shoot length, root length, chlorophyll content, and biomass as compared to those in uninoculated plants. Reduced glutathione contents in plants stressed with different concentrations of Cd also increased with inoculation of AI001 and AI002. The reason of Cd resistance enhancement in plants by inocula could be due to their greater plant growth promoting activities as well as their antioxidative response.

Single cell proteins are the dead dried cells of microorganisms or purified protein isolated from microorganism’s cell culture, used as a food supplement to humans’ food and animals feed. World suffer from malnutrition particularly developing countries, due to rapid increase in population, increased the demand for protein and nutrients requirement. Bacteria is potential microorganism for SCP production due to high protein content, fast generation time, bio-active secondary metabolites production and can grow on various substrates. Actinobacteria species and strain have capability to produce biological active compounds, produced about two-thirds of antibiotics available in the market, actively used as antibiotics, antiprotozoal, antifungal, antiviral, anticancer, anticholesterol, antihelminth and immunosuppressant. Actinomycetes can be used as probiotic as well as single cell protein that will deal with antibiotic as well as protein source.

Background: Qazvin province has suffered a lot of natural disasters (earthquakes) for a long time. so, the establishment of the first industrial city in Iran, has always been a source of concern. One of these problems is the possibility of chlorine gas leaking from the chlorination system of drinking water and treatment plant the existing ones are on the health of the inhabitants of this region.Material and method: This analytical study was carried out in Novorossiysk district of Alborz in December 2012. Initially, chlorine gas leakage scenarios from these facilities were simulated by ALOHA and WISER software, and then using the Emergency Level System, according to the CCPS Consultative Center's Chemical Process Safety Advice, the Emergency Response Program was presented. Results: ALOHA software, in comparison with WISER software, has more precision to identify and address the consequences of chlorine gas leakage hazards and according to the simulation of this software in the event of a leak from the well and water resources unit at 8240 m from the area and at night 7520 meters will be affected. Due to the speed of delivering results through the WISER software, this software can be used at times when the operating speed is considered (incident time).Conclusion: According to the CCPS model, the emergency conditions were classified at levels 3 and 4, therefore, the relevant crisis management agencies (Qazvin Crisis Management Committee, Alborz City Health Center, Red Crescent and Firefighting Authority) should provide training maneuvers At Alborz city level, and informing people of cities and industrial companies, many efforts have been made to reduce human and environmental damage in case of possible leakage.

Polymorphism in cytochrome P450 (CYP) 2C9 enzyme is known to cause significant inter-individual differences in drug response and occurrence of adverse drug reactions. Different alleles of the CYP2C9 gene have been identified but the notable alleles responsible for reduced enzyme activity are CYP2C9*2 and CYP2C9*3. No pharmacogenetic data is available on CYP2C9*2 and CYP2C9*3 alleles in Pakistani population. In Pakistan pharmacogenetics which examines the relationship between genetic factors and drug response, are in the early stages of development. We for the first time investigated the association between the CYP2C9 variant alleles CYP2C9*2 and CYP2C9*3 and the incidence of hypoglycemia in diabetic patients who were receiving the sulfonylurea medications. A total of n=400 individuals of Pashtun ethnicity were recruited from ten different districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan to participate in the study. The study participants were divided into two distinct groups: the case group (n=200) and the control group (n=200). The case group consisted of individuals with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus (T2DM) who were receiving sulfonylurea medications and experience hypoglycaemia with it whereas the control group included individuals with T2DM who were receiving sulfonylurea medication but did not experience sulfonylurea-induced hypoglycaemia (SIH). Blood samples were obtained from study participants following informed consent. DNA was isolated from whole blood samples using Wiz-Prep DNA extraction kit. Following DNA isolation, CYP2C9 alleles were genotyped using MassARRAY sequencing platform at centre of genomics Rehman Medical Institute (RMI). The frequency of CYP2C9*2 (low activity allele) was more frequent in the diabetic patients with sulphonylurea-induced hypoglycaemia (SIH) compared to the control group (17.5% vs. 6.0%, p=0.021). The frequency of its corresponding genotype CYP2C9*1/*2 was higher in cases compared to control group (10% vs. 6% with P=0.036), same was true for genotype CYP2C9*2/*2 (7% vs. 3.5 % with P=0.028). Logistic regression analysis evident potential association of CYP2C9*2 allele and its genotypes with SIH. When adjusted for confounding factors such age, weight, sex, daily dose of sulphonylurea and triglyceride level the association between the CYP2C9*2 allele and hypoglycemia remains consistent. Confounding factors played no role in SIH because both groups (cases and controls) were closely matched in term of age, weight, sex, mean daily dose of sulphonylurea and trigyleride levels. Our study suggests that genetic information about a patient's CYP2C9 gene/enzyme can potentially assist physicians in prescribing the most suitable and safest drug based on their genetic make-up.

The battle of currents between AC and DC reignited as a result of the development in the field of power electronics. The efficiency of DC distribution systems is highly dependent on the efficiency of distribution converter, which calls for optimized schemes for efficiency enhancement of distribution converters. Modular solid-state transformers play a vital role in DC Distribution Networks and Renewable Energy systems (RES).This paper deals with efficiency-based load distribution for Solid State Transformers (SSTs) in DC distribution networks. Aim is to achieve a set of minimum inputs that are consistent with output while considering constraints and efficiency. As the main feature of modularity is associated with a three-stage structure of SSTs. This modular structure has been optimized using Ant Lion Optimizer (ALO) and validated by applying it EIA (Energy Information Agency) DC Distribution Network which contains SSTs. In the DC distribution grid, modular SSTs provide promising conversion of DC power from medium voltage to lower DC range (400V). The proposed algorithm is simulated in MATLAB and also compared with two other metaheuristic algorithms. The obtained results prove that the proposed method can significantly reduce input requirements for producing the same output while satisfying the specified constraints.

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a novel global pandemic infectious disease with higher potential for outbreaks than the other epidemic disease such as severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), influenza A (H1N1), and the Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS), which identified in China on December 31, 2019. This disease is caused by a new generation of betacoronavirus termed as the 2019 novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) or SARS-CoV-2. Although, the first report of this disease was in recent months, now, the COVID-19 is known as a global pandemics. Hence, the aim of this article is the quick review of the recent studies on the novel coronavirus disease 2019 including researches on the epidemiological parameters, mechanism of action, diagnosis, and treatment of the novel coronavirus disease, as well as clinical features of patients infected with COVID-19. Moreover, the novel COVID-19 has comprised of SARS, H1N1, and MERS.

This paper is devoted to the study of reproducing kernels on 2-inner product Hilbert spaces. We focus on a new structure to produce reproducing kernel Hilbert and Banach spaces. According to multi-variable computing, this structures can be useful in electrocardiographs, machine learning and economy

This paper propose an original approach of achieving a Cymatics based visual perception of isolated speech commands. The idea is to smartly combine the effective speech processing and analysis methods with the phenomena of Cymatics. In this context, an effective approach for automatic isolated speech based message recognition is proposed. The incoming speech segment is enhanced by applying the appropriate pre-emphasis filtering, noise thresholding and zero alignment operations. The Mel-Frequency Cepstral coefficients (MFCCs), Delta coefficients and Delta-Delta coefficients are extracted from the enhanced speech segment. Later on, the Dynamic Time Warping (DTW) technique is employed to compare these extracted features with the reference templates. The comparison outcomes are used to make the classification decision. The classification decision is transformed into a methodical excitation. Finally, this excitation is converted into the systematic visual perceptions via the phenomenon of Cymatics. The system functionality is tested with an experimental setup and results are presented. The approach is novel and can be employed in various applications like visual art, encryption, education, archeology, architecture, integration of impaired people, etc.

(1) Background: Breast cancer (BC) is the second largest cause of mortality in female worldwide. Besides from basic risk factors, there are several hereditary variables that contribute to BC. Breast cancer has been linked to a variety of nuclear DNA changes as well as mitochondrial DNA alterations. The aim of this study was to analysis the association of mitochondrial tRNA leucine2 gene with BC. (2) Material and methods: In the current study, 24 samples have been collected from various families in Peshawar. DNA was extracted from Blood. PCR was used to amplify the mitochondrial tRNA MT-TL2 gene, and 22 samples were sequenced. The sequence was compared with accession #NC-012920.1 of the revised Cambridge Reference Sequence (rCRS). (3) Results: The results (Chromatograph, nucleotide sequence and rCRS alignment) shows mutations in mitochondrial tRNA MT-TL2 gene in our participants is not the cause of Breast cancer. (4) Conclusion: Yet, a significant number of BC patients must be studied, and their full mitochondrial DNA must be analyzed. This will provide an indication of the potential DNA marker that might be used to prevent BC deaths at the earliest stages.

An appearance model plays a crucial rule in multi-target tracking. In traditional approaches, the two steps of appearance modeling i.e visual representation and statistically similarity measure are modeled separately. Visual representation is achieved either through hand-crafted features or deep features and statically similarity is measure through a cross entropy loss function. A loss function based on cross-entropy (KL-divergence, mutual information) find closely related probability distribution for the targets. However, if the targets have similar visual representation, it ends up mixing the targets. To tackle this problem, we come up with a synergetic appearance model named Single Shot Appearance Model based on Siamese neural network. The network is trained with a contrastive loss function for finding the similarity between different targets in a single shot. The input to the network is two target patches and based on their similarity, a contrastive score is output by the network. The proposed model is evaluated on accumulative dissimilarity metric on three datasets. Quantitatively, promising results are achieved against three baseline methods.

Mitochondrial Ca2+ ([Ca2+]M) uptake through Ca2+ uniporter (MCU) is central to many cell functions such as bioenergetics, spatiotemporal organization of Ca2+ signals, and apoptosis. MCU activity is regulated by several intrinsic proteins including MICU1, MICU2, and EMRE. While significant details about the role of MICU1, MICU2, and EMRE in MCU function have emerged recently, a key challenge for the future experiments is to investigate how these regulatory proteins modulate mitochondrial Ca2+ influx through MCU in intact cells under pathophysiological conditions. This is further complicated by the fact that several variables affecting MCU function change dynamically as cell functions. To overcome this void, we develop a data-driven model that closely replicates the behavior of MCU under a wide range of cytosolic Ca2+ ([Ca2+]C), [Ca2+]M, and mitochondrial membrane potential values in WT, MICU1 knockout (KO), and MICU2 KO cells at the single mitochondrion and whole-cell levels. The model is extended to investigate how MICU1 or MICU2 KO affect mitochondrial function. Moreover, we show how Ca2+ buffering proteins, the separation between mitochondrion and Ca2+-releasing stores, and the duration of Ca2+-releasing channels affect mitochondrial function under different conditions. Finally, we demonstrate an easy extension of the model to single channel function of MCU.

This paper propose an original approach of achieving a Cymatics based visual perception of image-extracted text. In this context, an effective approach for automated text detection and recognition for the natural scene images is proposed. The incoming image is firstly enhanced by employing CLAHE and DWT. Afterwards, the text regions of the enhanced image are detected by employing the MSER feature detector. The non-text MSERs are removed by employing the geometrical and contour based filters. The remaining MSERs are grouped into words or phrases by finding out similarities between them. The text recognition is performed by employing an OCR function. The extracted text is sequentially analysed on character by character basis. Each character is converted into a methodical acoustic excitation. Finally, these excitations are converted into the systematic visual perceptions by using the phenomenon of Cymatics. The system functionality is tested with an experimental setup. For the case of studied natural scenes, the suggested approach achieves 80% precision in text localization and 53% precision in end-to-end text recognition. The devised system principle is novel and can be employed in various applications like visual art, encryption, education, integration of impaired people, etc.

This paper proposes a novel approach, based on the adaptive rate processing and analysis, for the isolated speech recognition. The idea is to smartly combine the event-driven signal acquisition and windowing along with adaptive rate processing, analysis and classification for realizing an effective isolated speech recognition. The incoming speech signal is digitized with an event-driven A/D converter (EDADC). The output of EDADC is windowed with an activity selection process. These windows are later on resampled uniformly with an adaptive rate interpolator. The resampled windows are de-noised with an adaptive rate filter and their spectrum are computed with an adaptive resolution short time Fourier transform (ARSTFT). Later on, the magnitude, Delta and Delta-Delta spectral coefficients are extracted. The Dynamic Time Warping (DTW) technique is employed to compare these extracted features with the reference templates. The comparison outcomes are used to make the classification decision. The system functionality is tested for a case study and results are presented. An 8.2 times reduction in acquired number of samples is achieved by the devised approach as compared to the classical one. It aptitudes a significant computational gain and power consumption reduction of the proposed system over the counter classical ones. An average subject dependent isolated speech recognition accuracy of 96.8% is achieved. It shows that the proposed approach is a potential candidate for the automatic speech recognition applications like rehabilitation centers, smart call centers, smart homes, etc.

Herein we foremost detailed the numerical modeling of the double absorber layer- methyl ammonium lead iodide– carbon nitride layer solar cell and subsequently provided in-depth insight on the active layer associated with dominant radiative and non-radiative recombination losses limiting the efficiency ( ) of the solar cell. Under recombination kinetics phenomena, we explored the influence of Radiative recombination, Auger recombination, Shockley Read Hall recombination, the energy distribution of defects; Band Tail recombination (Hoping Model), Gaussian distribution, metastable defect states including single donor (0/+), single acceptor (-/0), Double Donor (0/+/2+), double acceptor (2/-/0-), and the interface layer defects on the output characteristics of the solar cell. Setting defect (or trap) density to with uniform energy distribution of defects for all the layers, we achieved the of 24. 16 %. A considerable enhancement in power conversion efficiency was perceived as we reduced the trap density to for the absorber layers. Further, it was observed that for the absorber layer with double donor defect states, the active layer should be carefully synthesized to reduce crystal order defects to keep the total defect density as low as to achieve efficient device characteristics

Sugarcane is an important industrial crop of semitropical and tropical areas. Due to the importance of this crop it is cultivated on nearly 20 million hectares by more than 90 countries. This crop belongs to family Poaceae, a grass family which is economically vital tracheophyte family that has properties much like that of wheat, maize, rice and sorghum. The Poaceae family is globally vital for providing dietary macromolecules, carbohydrates, and different nutrients. The most important item of sugarcane for the consumption is sucrose that gets accumulated in the stalk internodes. Sucrose is taken out and refined by different mills which is used as a sweetener in human food industries and in the fermentation industry. Large production of alcohol is attained by Brazilian sugarcane industries.

No single evolutionary event has been identified as the cause for the final emergence of our species. I propose that a mutation on CD155 receptor gene occurred to establish a symbiosis with poliovirus, which exerted its beneficial impact via RNA dependent non-genetic transgenerational inheritance, which caused a qualitative enhancement of cognitive functions. I posit that this mutation occurred in what we call, Anatomically Modern Humans, our immediate ancestor species and that the disruption of this symbiosis causes autism spectrum disorder. Positive selection of CD155 to the extent of becoming a species defining characteristic, the chronology of autism spectrum disorder prevalence increase and continued increase, the multigenerational nature of RNA inheritance, the universal infection of humans by poliovirus and a very low associated mortality rate, and several other factors support this hypothesis. Specific genetic, epidemiological and sperm miRNA content studies are suggested to test this hypothesis.

Religious harmony performs a key role in preserving political and worldwide stability. Internationally it's far crucial to stay in a non-violent and harmonious environment, mainly in a society composed of believers of various races and religions. Relations among religions are normal. Failure to hold religious harmony can plunge society into battle and chaos. Therefore, the cause of this newsletter is to record in element the elements that affect the sustainable harmony among multi-religious societies. The record additionally emphasized that elements including acceptance, knowledge, cooperation, fairness, and justice are crucial elements in preserving religious harmony. Therefore, this paper pursuits to shape a solid idea of multi-sectarian harmony in society. It must additionally contribute to the improvement of a multi-religious society. Try to hold and construct a sturdy dating among them. Religious harmony is vital to make sure solidarity and team spirit amongst believers of more than one religion. A multi-religious society is a network with one-of-a-kind religions, including Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, Christianity, etc. To stay in a non-violent and harmonious society, it's far very crucial to just accept believers from different religions in a selected network. From the angle of Islam, Islam is a faith that accepts the range of religions on this international however denies that every one religion is proper. So is the case in almost all religions. Religious pluralism may be described because of the range of religions on this international; however, withinside the idea of religious pluralism, it could be described because of the perception that every religion on this international is absolute truths. Pluralists trust that every one religion withinside the international is actual and have to be respected. It could be very crucial to recognize that everyone's proper statements are legitimate and deserve the same appreciation. This handiest method that fans of one religion have to be given different reality statements, including Muslims, Jews, Hindus, and others. However, from the angle of Islam, Islam accepts more than one religion however does now no longer understand that every one religion is proper. Recognizing the origins of various religions in a multi-religious society is the important thing to making sure harmony and solidarity withinside the international. Recognizing that religious range in a multi-religious society is a crucial component in preserving social harmony. For example, Muslims who cost the lifestyles of different religious groups (including Buddhists, Hindus, and Christians) can enhance inter-religious members of the society and deal with them kindly. Therefore, the popularity of the lifestyles of the religious range must be visible as a resounding component for a selected network. Everyone residing in a multi-religious society has to recognize and be given religious freedom. One must accept and appreciate the beliefs of different religions. Respect for the lifestyles of the religious range additionally contributes to political and countrywide stability. Respect also can enhance interreligious members of the society via way of means of acknowledging the lifestyles of various religious groups. Mutual appreciation, cooperation, tolerance, knowledge, and kindness are crucial elements in residing in a multi-ethnic and religious society. To hold a harmonious society, all multi-religious believers must have the proper and freedom to exercise their faith. It must now no longer be abandoned (Abdullah et al., 2016). Islam has usually emphasized the idea of justice (alAdl). All divine religions are of belief of religious harmony. By studying different religions, it is very clear that all religions are of the view to respect other religions and followers of different beliefs.

A new method is proposed to increase rejection in microfiltration by applying membrane oscillation using a new type of microfiltration membranes with slotted pores. The oscillations applied to the membrane surface result in reducing membrane fouling and increasing separation efficiency. An exact mathematical solution of the flow in the surrounding solution outside the oscillating membrane is developed. The oscillation results in appearance of the lift velocity, which moves oil particles away from the membrane. The latter results in both reducing membrane fouling and increasing oil droplets rejection. This developed model was supported by the experimental results for oil water separation in produced water treatment. It was proven that oil droplet concentration reduced notably in the permeate due to the membrane oscillation and that applied shear rate caused by the membrane oscillation is also reduce pore blockage. New generation of microfiltration membranes with slotted pores was used in the experiments.

Gold- and MnO₂- nanozymes are well-known for their enzyme-like activity. In this regard, initially, gold- and MnO₂- nanozymes were synthesized by simple and green methods. Afterward, the kinetic studies were performed using the Michaelis–Menten model for both gold- and MnO₂- nanozymes. The kinetic parameters including K_m and V_max were calculated via the construction of the linear plot of Lineweaver–Burk for both nanozymes. The results showed a V_max and K_m of 185 nM sec^-1 and 47 nM sec^-1 for the gold- and MnO₂- nanozymes, in order. The ratio of V_max(gold)/V_max(MnO₂) was found to be about 4.0 which pointed that the catalytic efficiency of gold-nanozymes is 4.0-fold higher than the catalytic efficiency of MnO₂- nanozymes. The K_m value was found to be 0.72 mM and 1.6 mM for the as-prepared gold- and MnO₂- nanozymes, respectively, and the K_m of MnO₂-nanozymes is 2.2-fold higher than that of gold nanozymes. Since the Km shows the affinity of substrate for binding to nanozyme active nodes (lower K_m=higher affinity), it is consultable that the substrate affinity toward MnO₂-nanozymes is 2.2-fold lower than that of the gold-nanozymes. Considering the above results, the as-prepared gold nanozymes are very stronger peroxidase-like mimics than the metal oxide MnO₂-nanozymes.

The use of nitrogen (N) fertilizers can have detrimental effects on the environment due to nitrate leaching. This study aims to examine the impact of N fertilizer source and application timing on wheat yield and nitrate leaching in various soil textures. A randomized complete block design (RCBD) was employed to conduct the experiment. The treatments consisted of two N fertilizer sources: ammonium nitrate (AN) and urea (NN), applied at three different times throughout the year, with a control treatment. The three application timings were total application before sowing (T₁), total application in spring (T₂), and half the amount before sowing and the other half in spring (T₃). The experiment was conducted in three different soil textures (sandy loam, silty clay loam, and silty clay), with three replications over three growing seasons: 2018-19 (Y₁), 2019-20 (Y₂), and 2020-21 (Y₃). The results indicated significant effects of different soil textures on grain yield. Specifically, the silty clay loam soil differed significantly from the sandy loam and silty clay soils in terms of grain yield. The interaction effects between the N fertilizer source and application timing were also found to be significant for all soil textures (p<0.01). In sandy loam and silty clay soils, the grain yield increased when using the T₃ application timing compared to the silty clay loam soil. Notably, the silty clay loam soil with the T₂ application timing exhibited the highest grain yield, with a yield of 6863.6 kg ha^-1. Furthermore, the study revealed that N fertilizers and their application timing significantly influenced the protein content in the silty clay and sandy loam soils. The protein percentages were 10.76 and 10.93 for the silty clay and sandy loam soils, respectively, following the T₂ treatment. Additionally, ammonium nitrate (AN) demonstrated a noticeable effect on the percentage of grain protein compared to urea (NN). In conclusion, the application timing of N fertilizers had an impact on grain yield and protein content in different soil textures. Moreover, nitrate concentration increased throughout the experiment, with the highest soil nitrate concentration observed in both fertilizer treatments, particularly in the sandy loam soil.

MnO₂ nanoparticles are considered nanozymes with intrinsic peroxidase-like activity and there are several reports on their application in the field of nanozyme-based sensing and detection, however, up to now, there is no report on the investigation of their biochemical and kinetics properties toward enzyme-mediated oxidations. Hence, in this work, the MnO₂ nanozymes were synthesized and characterized with different characterization methods. Thereafter, their biochemical properties including pH stability, thermal stability, and salt stability as well as their kinetics perfromances were evaluated toward n-electron irreversible oxidation of 3,3’-diaminobezedine. The results showed that the as-prepared nanozymes reveal their maximal enzyme-like activity over a wide pH range of 3.0-6.0 at a temperature of 23-25 ℃ toward oxidation of 3,3’-diaminobezedine. Besides, the salt stability studies exhibited that the as-mentioned nanozymes can save their maximal activity over a wide range of high salt concentrations over 3-7 M of NaCl. Moreover, the kinetics studies revealed a K_m as low as 1.6 mM and a V_max as high as 47 nM sec^-1 for the MnO₂ nanozymes toward irreversible oxidation of DAB to produce the brown-colored polyDAB.

In this study, considering the peroxidase-like activity of the SiO₂@AuNPs nanocomposite, their biochemical properties including, pH stability, cycling stability, shelf stability, and kinetic parameters were investigated. The results revealed that the as-mentioned SiO₂@AuNPs nanocomposite reveal its maximal activity at pH=4.0 along with saving 83.3% of its maximal activity at pH=5.0. Besides, the reusability and shelf-storage studies exhibited that the SiO₂@AuNPs nanocomposite retained 90% and 100% of its initial activity after 5 operational cycles and 30 days of storage, in order. The kinetic parameters of the as-prepared nanozymes were calculated using Menten kinetic model, revealing a V_max of 1.35 µM min^-1 and a K_m as low as 0.06 mM for the SiO₂@AuNPs nanocomposite. Based on the results of this work, the as-prepared SiO₂@AuNPs nanocomposite with intrinsic peroxidase-like activity shows high substrate affinity and catalytic efficiency along with excellent cycling- and shelf-stability, making them suitable for application in peroxidase-mediated reactions instead of the native enzyme.

Zinc nanoparticles (ZnNPs) open new opportunities for biomedical applications as a strategy against microbes and dye removal in an efficient way. The composite ZnNPs using Rhododendron arboreum (R. arboreum) stem bark were synthesized and characterized for UV-visible spectroscopy (UV-vis), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and X-ray diffraction (XRD). The synthesized nanoparticles showed zones of inhibition of 23±0.09, 18±0.1 and 16±0.05 mm, against the Klebsiella pneumoniae (K. pneumoniae), Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) and Escherichia coli (E. coli strains. The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC) values against K. pneumoniae, S. aureus, and E. coli were found to be 34±0.21 and 72.71±0.47, 47±0.11 and 94.86±0.84 and 94±0.18 and 185.43±0.16 µg/mL, respectively. The biosynthesized ZnNPs resulted in significant eradication of the outer and inner membranes of the bacterial cells. Likewise, the synthesized ZnNPs showed time-dependent photocatalytic degradation activity and revealed 65% methyl orange dye degradation with an irradiation period of 6 hours. The findings of this study suggest the suitability of the novel R. arboreum stem bark-based ZnNPs as an effective ameliorant against bactericidal activities and photocatalysts for the removal of hazardous water contaminants.

In this contribution, unmodified silver nanoparticles were synthesized and characterized for their size and morphological properties. Thereafter, their peroxidase-like activity as the common catalytic property of silver nanoparticles was investigated by catalyzing the oxidation of 3,3’,5,5’-tetramethyl-benzidine (TMB) as peroxidase substrate, exhibiting, a specific activity as high as 5.4 µM min^-1 for the as-prepared unmodified silver nanoparticles. The stability of the catalytic activity of the as-prepared nanozymes was also checked upon their storage at ambient temperature within 7 days at different storage conditions. The results revealed that the peroxidase-like activity of unmodified silver nanoparticles was approximately retained at about 75%, and 63% after 7 days exposing daylight and air oxygen, in order. The shelf-life (storage stability) of the as-prepared nanozymes was also investigated at usual storage conditions (i.e., 4 ℃ under dark), revealed that the nanozymes saved their activity about 96% of their initial activity after 10 days of storage at 4 ℃ under dark conditions.

It is well-known that the peroxidase enzyme catalyzes the oxidation of different substrates such as 3,3’,5,5’-thetramethylbenzidine, and 3,3’-diaminobenzidine, however, the affinity of different substrates to the enzyme and consequently and catalytic performances of the enzyme toward different substrates is not same, resulting in different kinetics indexes. As the BSA-gold nanozymes are considered artificial peroxidase enzymes, hence, the kinetics indexes of these nanozymes should also be varied by varying their substrate. Hence, in this work, a comparative study was performed on the kinetics performances of BSA-gold nanozymes for enzyme-mediated oxidations of 3,3’,5,5’-thetramethylbenzidine, and 3,3’-diaminobenzidine. The results showed that the Km value of BSA-gold nanozymes was 0.03 mM and 0.72 mM toward TMB and DAB, in order, to reveal the higher affinity (lower Km) of TMB for binding to nanozyme active nodes compared to its alternative substrate, DAB. In contrast, the Vmax was found to be 263 nM sec^-1 and 185 nM sec^-1 for nanozmye-mediated oxidation of TMB and DAB, respectively. The higher Vmax of the nanozyme-mediated oxidation of TMB revealed that the catalytic efficiency of BSA-Au nanozymes toward TMB oxidation is higher (about 1.5-fold) than that of the DAB oxidation. The difference between the kinetic indexes of TMB and DAB may be related to their different oxidation pathways and their different reactivity. In fact, the DAB oxidizes via an n-electron irreversible oxidation pathway to produce an indamine polymer. While TMB nanozyme-mediated oxidation has occurred upon a 2-electron reversible mechanism for the production of a cation radical. These different pathways resulted in different kinetic performances.

The current study was formulated with the aim of assessing the impact of the Extent of Drug addiction on the Family environment and interventions for drug-addicted youth in rural areas of Dir Lower Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. The study comprised a dependent variable (Extent of Drug addiction) and an independent variable (Family Environment). A sample size of 266 was randomly selected for primary data collection through structured interviews. The collected information was evaluated through descriptive analysis (frequency and percentage distribution) and inferential analysis, specifically utilizing the Chi-square Statistical Test. The study concluded that drug addiction among youth has an adverse impact on the family environment, leading to instability and violent behavior. Further, families of drug-addicted youth experience a high level of dissatisfaction in relationships, often culminating in divorce. Similarly, the families of drug-addicted are characterized by low cohesion, role conflict, and tolerance. Thus, the government should formulate polices and strategies for the prevention of drug addiction, with speedy implementation across all institutional dynamics, including family. Moreover, It is also crucial to rehabilitate the lifeblood of a nation (youth) in terms of socio-economic, emotional and psychological growth. These recommendations were put forward in the light of the current study.

It is well established in literature that the public debt and economic growth bear positive and non-linear relationship. However, in recent literature, evidence of no causal relationship is found when accounted for endogeneity in case of advanced economies (Panizza & Presbitero, 2014). Chudik, Mohaddes, Pesaran, & Raissi, (2017) analyse the data on forty countries and find no evidence of universally applicable threshold effect in the relationship between debt and growth. These advancements in the debt-growth literature provides the motivation to re-explore the relationship between public debt and economic growth under non-linearity and endogeneity in context of developing economies of South Asia including Pakistan, India, Bangladesh and Sri-Lanka for the period 1980-2014. There exists a significant, positive but nonlinear relationship between the public debt and economic growth for the selected set of developing countries when accounted for endogeneity and non-linearity. The negative association between the public debt and economic growth for SAARC region is found when the debt level is higher than 61% of GDP which is quite lower than developed economies (90% of GDP). Individual threshold levels for debt-to-GDP ratio divulge that Sri Lanka, Pakistan and India need to control their public borrowings as their current debt levels are higher and/or around the respective threshold levels.

The production of concrete and the manufacturing process of cement results in a significant carbon footprint, contributing to a large portion of global emissions in structures such as buildings, bridges, roads, and tunnels. Although concrete is an ideal building material that is durable and long-lasting, it can be susceptible to micro-cracks. These micro-cracks in concrete can allow water and chlorine ions to penetrate the structure, leading to the degradation of concrete and corrosion of the reinforcement, posing an unacceptable level of structural risk. Self-healing concrete is not a new material in the construction industry but can be characterized by the capability of concrete to repair its cracks autogenously or autonomously. Recent advancements in concrete research and technology have given us a better understanding of concrete's healing properties. Self-healing concrete combines durability with sustainability while offsetting the high carbon output of concrete manufacturing and production and associated life-cycle costs. Technologies such as microbially-induced calcite (calcium carbonate) precipitation (MICP), shape memory polymers, encapsulation methods, hydration, and swelling agents can potentially reduce carbon emissions while enhancing resilience and longevity. This paper examines these technologies and their applications in the construction industry by comprehensively reviewing the literature and available case studies. The study concluded that there are promising advancements and innovations in concrete, particularly when improving upon the autogenous healing properties. The recommendations for future research include exploring more ways to bring the concrete industry and cement manufacturing toward net zero carbon emissions.

Fingerhuthia africana Lehm belongs to family Poaceae, is an erect perennial grass used traditionally to cure different diseases. The current study was carried out to find the bioactive compounds by GC-MS, elemental analysis through atomic absorption spectrophotometry, proximate analysis by AOAC, genotoxic activity through comet assay, antioxidant activity through DPPH and antidiarrheal activity through castor oil induce diarrhea followed by charcoal meal on mice model. GC-MS chromatogram represents different compounds detected in the crude extract. Major pharmacological bioactive compounds are 4H-Pyran-4-one, 2,3-dihydro-3,5-dihydroxy-6-methyl-; 4-Methyl itaconate; .alpha.-Terpineol; 1,2,3-Propanetriol, 1-acetate; Benzofuran, 2,3-dihydro-; Caryophyllene oxide; Hinesol; n-Hexadecanoic acid; 9,12-Octadecadienoic acid (Z,Z)-, methyl ester; Hexadecanoic acid and methyl ester. Elemental analysis of stem, leaves and roots of the plant show the presence of (macro and micro) nutrients such as Ca, Mg, K, Na, Cu, Pb, Zn, Mn, Fe, Cd and Co were absent in all parts. Proximate analysis of different parts revealed the presence of moisture contents (8.57%), ash (9.77%), fats contents (5.96%), fibers contents (45.03%), protein (3.62%), carbohydrates (39.71%) and Gross energy (Kcal/100g) (220.10). The ethanolic extract show dose-dependent genoprotective potential (127.38 ± 1.16), (83.28 ± 0.65), and (44.08 ± 1.40) at 50, 75, and 100 mg/100 ml, respectively, as compared to the methanolic extract which show genotoxic activity (85.13 ± 1.23) at high dose. After 90 minutes at a concentration of 300 (g/ml), methanolic extract demonstrated the greatest antioxidant potential (79.5%), followed by aqueous extract (76.5%). The methanolic extract of F. africana demonstrated antidiarrheal efficacy, with the maximum inhibition of charcoal movement (83.78%) occurring at a dosage of 300 mg/kg, followed by doses of 200 and 100 mg/kg, 73.26% and 59.56%, respectively. The current research highlights that the plant contains a substantial quantity of micro and macro nutrients, possesses high nutritional value, and exhibits pharmacological activities. These properties render the plant suitable for developing remedies to treat various therapeutic diseases.

Due to urban sprawls, the arable land is shifting in the settlement areas and towns, while industrial development is making it more vulnerable. The current study was conducted to see the changes in land use and land cover in Kotri area, Pakistan from 1998 to 2020 to establish trends in recent land use development based on available land use data. In this regard, satellite images in the study area were acquired from USGS and processed using ArcMap 10.5 and Environmental for Visualizing Images (ENVI). Results show that; there was a change in the settlement pattern of Kotri city with 40% between 1998 and 2020, 77% decrease in Bare-land was observed in 2020. Natural vegetation in the study area has decreased significantly with 4.4 Sq/ km in 2020, surface water-bodies in 1998 were 1.3 sq/km and in 2020 there is 1.8 Sq/km indicating 32% increase in surface water bodies. It was further revealed that settlement in Kotri has increased due to its geographical location, nearness of the major city of Hyderabad, and the establishment of the industrial zone and educational city near Kotri. From the foregoing, the study concluded that Kotri City will have more changes in its land use and land cover as the expansion in the city is going on and on. It is therefore recommended that local government and provincial government should pay attention towards this development and put up an action plan towards proper provision for such expansion.

There is little doubt that the efficacy of MnDPDP and its therapeutic improved counterpart Ca4Mn(DPDP)5 mainly depends on their MnSOD-mimetic activity when it comes to their potential use as rescue medicines, during e.g., acute myocardial infarction. However, pharmacokinetic considerations suggest that the efficacy of MnDPDP on Pt2+-associated neurotoxicity depends on another action of this drug. Electron Paramagnetic Resonance (EPR) studies have demonstrated that Pt2+ outcompetes Mn2+ and endogenous Zn2+ from binding to fodipir (DPDP), and hence suggest that the previously reported CIPN protective efficacy of MnDPDP is a result of chelation and elimination of Pt2+ by DPDP, which in turn suggests that Mn2+ is unnecessary for efficacy when it comes to oxaliplatin-associated CIPN.

Our environment has been significantly impacted by man-made pollutants, primarily due to industries make substantial use of synthetic chemicals, resulting in significant environmental consequences. In this research investigation, the co-precipitation approach was employed for the synthesis of cellulose-based ferric oxide (Fe₂O₃/cellulose) and copper oxide nanoparticles (CuOx-NPs). Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analyses were conducted to determine the properties of the newly synthesised nanoparticles. Furthermore, the synthesized nanoparticles were employed for eliminating chromium from aqueous media under various conditions, including temperature, contact time, adsorbent concentration, adsorbate concentration, and pH. Additionally, the synthesised materials were used to recover Cr(VI) ions from real samples, including tap water, seawater, and industrial water, and the adsorptive capacity of both materials evaluated under optimal conditions. The synthesis of Fe₂O₃/cellulose and CuOx-NPs proved to be effective, as indicated by the outcomes of the study.

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a high contagious respiratory infectious disease that has afiected millions of people worldwide. Initially, basic public health measures were implemented to control specially the spread of such virus. However, vaccination has emerged as a highly efiective strategy in combating COVID-19 and reducing its transmission. Several efiective and safe vaccines have been approved to prevent the inadvertent spread of the disease. In this study, a modeling approach is used to analyze the impact of these vaccines on the dynamics of COVID-19. By applying a higher-order numerical method, the model is solved based on reported cases in Pakistan. A spectral method is employed for the numerical solution, and the model is simulated to assess the efiects of vaccination. The Next-generation method is used to calculate the threshold quantity, known as R0, which indicates the potential for disease transmission. The study also includes a detailed stability analysis, examining the invariance properties of the model solution and discussing equilibrium points and their stability in disease-free and endemic states. Furthermore, the study presents graphical representations of the influence of special parameters on the dynamics of the pandemic.

Generally, stochastic functional differential equations (SFDEs) pose a challenge as they often lack explicit exact solutions. Consequently, it becomes necessary to seek certain favorable conditions under which numerical solutions can converge towards the exact solutions. This article aims to delve into the convergence analysis of solutions for stochastic functional differential equations by employing the framework of G-Brownian motion. To establish the goal, we find a set of useful monotone type conditions and work within the space Cr((−∞,0];Rn). The investigation conducted in this article confirms the mean square boundedness of solutions. Furthermore, this study enables us to compute both LG2 and exponential estimates.

This study compares the effects of lecture-based instruction and process-oriented guided inquiry learning (POGIL)-based instruction on the self-efficacy performance of Grade 12 students. A quasi-experimental, pretest-posttest design was adopted to investigate and assess the impact of POGIL-based instruction versus lecture-based instruction on students’ performance as measured by three types of cognitive outcomes; Knowing, Applying and Reasoning (KAR). Two government high schools in Alain were selected as research sites, one for the boys and one for the girls. The total number of participants was approximately 110 students (N=110); 54 were assigned to treatment groups (25 girls and 29 boys), and 56 were assigned to control groups (27 girls and 29 boys). The treatment group was taught a circular motion unit in physics using POGIL-based instruction, while the control group was taught the unit using lecture-based instruction. The study's findings showed statistically significant differences between students of the control group and the treatment group in favour of the latter regarding their science performance, self-efficacy and science-related attitudes. Moreover, positive correlations were found between participants’ performance at the KAR test, self-efficacy and scientific attitudes towards scientific inquiry after the intervention. In conclusion, it is recommended to shift teaching towards POGIL-based instruction due to its positive impact on students’ performance and self-efficacy. It is also suggested to replicate the study to include government and private schools, elementary and high schools, teachers and advisors.

The aim of this study was to investigate the impact of Process Oriented Guided Inquiry Learning (POGIL)-based instruction versus lecture-based instruction on Grade 12 students’ performance in circular motion unit. A quasi-experimental, pretest-posttest design, the impact of POGIL-based instruction versus lecture-based instruction on students’ performance as measured by three types of cognitive outcomes: Knowing, Applying and Reasoning (KAR). The total number of participants was approximately 110 students (N=110); 54 were assigned to treatment groups (25 girls and 29 boys) and 56 were assigned to control groups (27 girls and 29 boys). The treatment group was taught a unit of circular motion in physics using POGIL-based instruction while the control group was taught the unit using lecture-based instruction. The findings of the study showed statistically significant differences between students of the control group and the treatment group in favor of the later regarding their circular motion performance, suggesting the superiority of the POGIL in enhancing student understanding of the circular motion.

In this paper, we study the weighted reproducing kernels. We introduce a generalization of weighted reproducing property and extend it to relative reproducing property on Banach spaces. This generalization will develop the parallel computing and it can be used as a base of parallel learning for machines especially in the case that there are non-homogenous weighted hypothesis. This methods formulate learning and estimation problems in a relative reproducing kernel Banach space (RRKBS) of functions defined on the data domain, expanded in terms of a kernel.

Due to urban sprawls, the arable land is shifting in the settlement areas and towns, while industrial development is making it more vulnerable. The current study was conducted to see the changes in land use and land cover in Kotri area, Pakistan from 1998 to 2020 to establish trends in recent land use development based on available land use data. In this regard, satellite images in the study area were acquired from USGS and processed using ArcMap 10.5 and Environmental for Visualizing Images (ENVI). Results show that; there was a change in the settlement pattern of Kotri city with 40% between 1998 and 2020, 77% decrease in Bare-land was observed in 2020. Natural vegetation in the study area has decreased significantly with 4.4 Sq/ km in 2020, surface water-bodies in 1998 were 1.3 sq/km and in 2020 there is 1.8 Sq/km indicating 32% increase in surface water bodies. It was further revealed that settlement in Kotri has increased due to its geographical location, nearness of the major city of Hyderabad, and the establishment of the industrial zone and educational city near Kotri. From the foregoing, the study concluded that Kotri City will have more changes in its land use and land cover as the expansion in the city is going on and on. It is therefore recommended that local government and provincial government should pay attention towards this development and put up an action plan towards proper provision for such expansion.

The number of Internet of Things (IoT) applications is increasing at a fast-paced and so is the interest in blockchain-enabled IoT ecosystem. IoT applications make our day-to-day life more efficient, while integrating blockchain into the IoT ecosystem (blockchain-IoT) brings security, transparency, trust, and privacy to IoT applications. Perhaps, smart logistics, smart health, and smart city are some of the potential blockchain-enabled IoT application domains. One of the reasons that is hindering the mass adoption of blockchain-IoT into mainstream applications is the lack of a dedicated governance. Without proper governance and regulations, and because of the obfuscated and concealed cryptographic nature of blockchain, blockchain can be used for various illicit activities such as ransomware, money laundering, fraud and so on. Furthermore, blockchain and IoT are relatively contemporary technologies and paucity of exclusive governance can ultimately lead to lack of confidence in these technologies. Therefore, in order to fully avail from blockchain and IoT integration (blockchain-IoT) and as well as further prevail this integration, governance can play an important role. Proper regulations and standarization are required to benefit from the novel characteristics of blockchain-IoT and avoid blockchain being used for malicious purposes. In this research, we address the role of blockchain in governance mechanisms, governance for blockchain, and finally proposed a vigorous governance framework for blockchain-enabled IoT ecosystem. We also demonstrate the applications of our proposed governance framework through a smart logistics case study. We anticipate that our proposed governance framework can facilitate and encourage blockchain and IoT integration in various application domains.

The world is growing very rapidly concerning technology. In the next-generation Internet, the existing architecture requires to be upgraded from Host-Centric Networking paradigm to Information-centric networking architecture. The unique aspect of information-centric networking is in-network cashing. Due to the system augmentation and In-network cashing technique, this novel system needs extremely high content security to ensure system integrity and maintenance. 5G network may be supported by the Information-Centric Network due to its high data transmission rate. In order to handle the serious security issues such as attack on confidentiality, authentication and integrity of the content, a Digital Signature based Access Control Mechanism in Information-Centric Network (DSAC) scheme is proposed to enhance security of ICN. Briefly, this new scheme uses Digital Signature, hash function, Trusted Third Party (TTP) and Proxy TTP. The client request for content, after receiving a request, the content provider generates and encrypts content with the digital signature and random value ‘k’ hash function and send it to TTP. After the signing process, the TTP sends the encryption hash key to Proxy TTP. In this proposed scheme authentication, confidentiality, the integrity aspects of the content security are improved.

We proposed a deep learning based chemometric data analysis technique. We trained L2 regularized sparse autoencoder end-to-end for reducing the size of the feature vector to handle the classic problem of curse of dimensionality in chemometric data analysis. We introduce a novel technique of automatic selection of nodes inside hidden layer of an autoencoder through pareto optimization. Moreover, linear regression, ϵ-SVR , and Gaussian process regressor are applied on the reduced size feature vector for the regression. We evaluated our technique on orange juice and wine dataset and results are compared against state-of-the-art methods. Quantitative results are shown on Normalized Mean Square Error (NMSE) and the results show considerable improvement in the state-of- the-art.

Although most people are infected with Epstein-Barr Virus (EBV) during their lifetime, only a minority of them develop an EBV-associated malignancy. EBV acts in both direct and indirect ways to transform infected cells into tumor cells. There are multiple ways in which the EBV, host, and tumor environment interact to promote malignant transformation. This paper focuses on some of the mechanisms that EBV uses to transform the tumor microenvironment (TME) of EBV-associated gastric cancer (EBVaGC) for its benefit, including overexpression of IDO1, synergism between H pylori and EBV coinfection, and M1 to M2 switch. In this review, we expand on different modalities and combinatorial approaches to therapeutically target this mechanism.

During the last two decades, energy poverty has captured a growing attention of researchers and policymakers due to its strong association with economic poverty and poor economic performance. This study uses a broad set of macro level indicators and makes the first attempt to measure energy poverty and its impact on economic growth of Pakistan over the period 1990 to 2017. In particular, our energy poverty indicator considers four main dimensions of energy poverty, namely, energy services, clean energy, energy governance and energy affordability. Our main results show that though the overall energy poverty has reduced in Pakistan during the selected sample period, the country shows an increasing dependence on polluted energy supply in order to meet its growing demand of energy. In second stage of the investigation, we test the neoclassical growth theory where we incorporate energy poverty along with human capital as source of economic growth. Our cointegration results reveal a strong relationship between energy poverty and economic growth that is also dynamically stable in short run. These strong negative linkages between energy poverty with economic growth for the sample economy complement the previous literature on the subject.

Steam boiler has a significant role in the industrial sector. The failure in boiler tubes significantly reduces the availability of the plant. Furthermore, deposits on the inner tube wall contribute to such failure by changing the thermal resistance of the wall, which causes a significant increase in the tube wall's temperature and, consequently, lower allowable stress. The presented thermal-fluid model is developed for the water tube. The model is implemented using ANSYS FLUENT to estimate the wall maximum water tube wall temperature considering the deposits layer and then determine the minimum thickness of the tube wall via ASME standards to assure safe operation. The model is verified via a mesh independence test. The minimum tube thickness is recommended and justified given the thermo-mechanical performance of the water tubes at several operating loads of 50, 75, and 100 %. These loads are implemented by different convective heat transfer coefficients of flue gases under different deposit thicknesses, thermal conductivity, and flue gas temperature. The present work contributes to the literature by recommending the minimum thickness of the water wall tubes and highlighting the thermo-mechanical effect of the deposits on water tube resilience under different operating conditions.

It remains poorly understood how the life history strategies and transmission ecologies of viruses of plants, arthropods, and vertebrates are interrelated. The present analysis hinges on the virus transmission success. Virus transmission reflects where in the host-body viruses are retained or replicating. Plants, arthropods, and vertebrates share a protective outer-layer, a circulatory system, and reproductive organs. The latter enables vertical virus transmission and associates with virus-host mutualism. Two broadly opposing virus life history strategies are considered. Acute viruses tend to be replicative and are swiftly transmitted to the next host. Instead, persistent viruses keep virus replicating costs and host damage to a minimum. The intertwined life histories and transmission ecologies are accordingly pieced together, based on the virus mono- or instead dual-host tropism, the location of virus retention or replication on or in the host-body, the presence of cyclical or mechanical transmission by arthropods, and of horizontal and vertical host-to-host transmission modes. It is shown that in the arthropod and in the vertebrate animal host, virus circulation in the hemocoel or blood circulation goes hand-in-hand with vertical transmission. Instead, plant phloem viruses do not transmit via seed. The latter is the rule for the plant-only viruses. The risk management implications are discussed in brief.

Hyperlipidemia is an identified risk factor for metabolic syndrome, obesity and cardiovascular complications characterized by elevated levels of lipids in blood. The present study aimed to inhibit HMG-CoA reductase with 15-oxoursolic acid through in-vivo and in-silico assessments. HFD-induced hyperlipidemia in rats was developed with a marked increase in total cholesterol (58.34 ± 0.21 mg/dl), triglycerides (45.45 ± 0.39 mg/dl), LDL-c (66.12 ± 0.10 mg/dl), VLDL-c (19.34 ± 0.16 mg/dl), and a decrease in HDL-c (10.34 ± 0.18 mg/dl). The oral administration of 15-oxoursolic acid at a concentration of 30 mg/Kg b.w significantly reduced the serum concentration of total cholesterol (42.65 ± 0.54 mg/dl), triglycerides (32.33 ± 0.16 mg/dl), LDL-c (50.34 ± 0.15 mg/dl) and VLDL-c (13.15 ± 0.45 mg/dl) respectively and an increased in the serum HDL-c (18.56 ± 0.34 mg/dl). 15-oxo ursolic acid also caused a decrease in the coronary risk index and atherogenic risk index. In-silico studies of 15-oxoursolic acid with HMG-CoA reductase showed significant interaction capability with binding energy (-9.26805 Kcal/mol). It is concluded that 15-oxoursolic acid could significantly reduce the total cholesterol, triglycerides and LDL levels in HFD-induced hyperlipidemia rats which might lead to new medication with significant hypolipidemic potential.

Abstract:Salmonella species (spp) and Escherichia coli (E. coli) are the most common infectious pathogens in poultry. Antimicrobials were given either for the treatment or growth promoters that can increase the possibility of emergence of bacterial resistance towards antimicrobials. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of antimicrobial resistant (AMR) Salmonella spp and E. coli isolated from a sample of broiler farms in East Coast Malaysia from 2018-2019. A total of 384 cloacal swabs were collected from broilers farms in Kelantan, Terengganu, and Pahang. The bacteria were isolated and confirmed by bacteriological and serological methods. Following that, confirmed isolates were subjected to antimicrobial susceptibility test. Salmonella spp and E. coli were recovered from the cloacal swabs samples with the overall prevalence of 6.5% and 51.8% respectively. In Kelantan, Terengganu and Pahang, the prevalence of Salmonella spp were 7%, 6.5% and 5.8% respectively, while the prevalence for E. coli were 50%, 48.3% and 58% respectively. Salmonella spp and E. coli displayed resistance towards the following antimicrobials: erythromycin (100% for both pathogens), chloramphenicol (76.2%, 84.5%), tetracycline (62%, 94.6%), ampicillin (47.7%, 87%), sulfamethoxazole/trimethoprim (42.9%, 83.3%), ciprofloxacin (4.8%, 23.8%), nalidixic acid (9.6%, 60.7%), streptomycin (19%,66%), and kanamycin (28.6%,57%), cephalotin (0%, 11%), gentamicin (0%, 20.2%) respectively. No resistance were recorded towards colistin for both pathogens. Multidrug resistance (MDR) was recorded in 82% of Salmonella spp and 100% of E. coli. These findings demonstrate the high prevalence of MDR Salmonella spp. and E. coli in broiler farms in East coast Malaysia. This could be attributed to the excessive use of antimicrobial agents by the poultry farm owners. Enhanced control measures and a strong monitoring system should be urgently implemented to reduce the emergence of antimicrobial resistance that is harmful to public health.

Medical implants made of biodegradable materials could be of advantage for temporary applications such mechanical support during bone-healing or as vascular stents to keep blood vessels open. After completion of the healing process the implant would disappear, avoiding long-term side effects or the need for surgical removal. Various corrodible metal alloys based on magnesium, iron or zinc have been proposed as sturdier and potentially less inflammatory alternative to degradable organic polymers, in particular for load-bearing applications. Despite the recent introduction of magnesium-based screws the remaining hurdles to routine clinical applications are still challenging, such as limiting mechanical material characteristics or unsuitable corrosion characteristics. Here, salient features and clinical prospects of currently investigated biodegradable implant materials are summarized with a main focus on magnesium alloys. A mechanism of action for the stimulation of bone growth due to the exertion of mechanical force by magnesium corrosion products is discussed. To explain divergent in vitro and in vivo effects of magnesium a novel model for bacterial biofilm infections is proposed which predicts crucial consequences antibacterial implant strategies.

As formally is known, nanozymes are the nanomaterials or nanoscale materials which reveal enzyme-like properties. These nanomaterilas can be utilzied instead of the natural enzymes for simulation of enzymatic reactions in harsh environmental conditions. Among different nanoscale enzyme-like materials, the majority of them reveal peroxidase-like activity, due to the high catalytic efficiency and stability of peroxidase-like nanozymes, they had been widely utilized for sensing and detection via constructing the colorimetric and fluorescence-based analytical and bioanalytical sensors. There are several high impact nanozymatic sensors which reported in the literature. Although the review articles published in this field, however, the current reviews focus on the introducing nanozyme field not description on the best articles published in this filed. Hence, this article aimed to present a brief introduction on the nanozyme-based chemistry with emphasizing on the historical overview of recent nanozymatic sensors. In this regard the best nanozymatic sensors which published over 2016-2023 were briefly described and overviewed.

Considering higher stability and lower cost of nanozymes than native enzymes, the nanozymatic systems had been utilized for several practical application, especially for sensing and detection. Most of common nanozymatic sensors are single-nanozyme based systems, however, recently a new generation of nanozyme-based systems called “multinanozyme system’ was introduced by Hormozi Jangi et al. (2020). Since the first report of multinanozyme systems, several multinaozyme systems have been developed and utilized for highly sensitive and selective sensing aims. The main advantages of multinaozyme systems compared of common nanozymatic sensors are their impact on simultaneous enhancing selectivity and sensitivity of sensor in a well-designed detection process. Since, the principles of design and detection mechanism of this new generation is not well-described in the literature, the aim of this article is the fast review of the principles of design of this new generation of nanozyme-based sensing and detection.

Influence of reaction time on silver nanoparticles-catalyzed oxidation of 3,3’,5,5’-tetramethylbenzidine (TMB) was evaluated via probing the oxidation process by recording the UV-Visible absorbance of the resulting colored products of TMB oxidation by hydrogen peroxide in the presence of silver nanoparticles as peroxides mimics. The time curve of the oxidation process was constructed, revealed that the concentration of the oxidation product was increased by increasing the reaction time and then levled off because the nanozyme active nodes were saturated after a certain reaction time and consequently the steady-state condition can be observed. The maximal activity of the silver nanozymes was achieved after a very short reaction time as short as 3.0 min and after this time, the color intensity of the oxidation products remained constant, revealing saturation of active nodes of nanoparticles with nanozyme-substrate.

In this contribution, time course studies were performed toward oxidation of different peroxidase substrates in the presence of silver nanozymes. In this regard, two common peroxidase substrates, TMB and DAB, were selected as model chromogens. The process of the oxidation reaction was probed by recording the absorbance of the colored products using UV-Vis spectrophotometer. Thereafter, the nanozymatic activity was calculated and used as an index for comparing the performance of the silver nanozymes against different substrates in a certain reaction time. The time course curves, revealed that the maximal activity of the silver nanozymes were achieved after a very short time of 3.0 min toward TMB oxidation while regarding DAB, the maximal activity was observed after 25.0 min which is 6.5-fold slower than that of the TMB oxidation. The difference between the DAB and TMB can be assigned to their different reaction pathways and different reactivity. In fact, the oxidation of DAB has occurred via n-electron irreversible pathway while the TMB oxidation has occurred through a simple 2-electon reversible pathway. Besides, DAB is a high stable and less relative compound compared of TMB, resulting different oxidation times, different affinity for binding to nanozyme active nodes which lead to different nanozymatic activities.

In this work, a high throughput nanozymatic method was developed for green nanozyme-mediated biodegradation of organic dyes in real water media. The nanozymes were synthesized and characterized for their size and morphology by TEM and DLS analysis. The nanozymatic properties of the as-prepared nanomaterials were evaluated by standard enzyme activity assay, revealing high peroxidase-like performances for the as-prepared nanozymes. Therefore, for exploring more precise, the kinetics behavior of the as-prepared nanozymes was evaluated by the standard Lineweaver-Burk method, revealing a V_max as high as 0.263 µM sec^-1 and a K_m as low as 0.03 mM, revealing high catalytic efficiency and affinity of the as-prepared nanozymes. Hence, the as-prepared nanozymes were utilized for organic dye degradation in real water media using methylene blue as a model organic dye. The effective factors on the dye degradation including pH, ionic strength, degradation time, nanozyme amount, etc. were optimized by the one-factor-at-a-time optimization method. At optimal experimental conditions, the as-prepared nanozymes can degrade about 99.0% of the organic dye within a degradation time as low as 7 min. The developed method was finally employed for the nanozyme-mediated degradation of methylene blue from real water media such as pool, mineral, river, and tap water samples. The results of this study revealed an excellent biodegradation yield of over 94.3%-99.0% for the different real samples, proving the suitability of the developed method for dye degradation in real water media.

Solvent free copolymerization of epoxides derived from fatty acid esters of waste cooking oil with phthalic anhydride using (salen)CrIII Cl as catalyst and n-Bu4NCl/DMAP as co-catalyst was carried out for the first time under microwave irradiation, where reaction time was reduced from number of hours to minutes. The polyesters were obtained with molecular weight (Mw = 3084-6740 g/mol) and dispersity values (D = 1.18-1.92), when (salen)CrIII Cl/n-Bu4NCl was used as catalysts. While in case of DMAP as a co-catalyst, polyesters with improved molecular weight (Mw = 5537-6925 g/mol) and narrow dispersity values (D = 1.07-1.28) were obtained even at reduced concentrations of (salen)CrIII Cl and DMAP. The obtained products were characterized and evaluated by attenuated total reflection-fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR), proton nuclear magnetic resonance (1H-NMR) spectroscopy, gel permeation chromatography (GPC) and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) Techniques.

Microbial foodborne pathogens can cause major risks to public health and the food industry. Rapid and accurate detection of these pathogens is crucial to prevent outbreaks and ensure food safety. Traditional single-mode biosensing approaches have their limitations in terms of specificity, sensitivity, and speed. Over the years, there has been an increasing research interest in developing multimodal biosensing strategies that integrate multiple sensing techniques to achieve enhanced accuracy, efficacy, and precision in foodborne pathogen detection. This article review paper explores the current state of multimodal biosensing technologies and their promising applications in the food industry. We discuss various integrated biosensing platforms, including optical, electrochemical, and nanomaterial-based systems, among others. The advantages, challenges, and future prospects of multimodal biosensing for foodborne pathogens are thoroughly examined, highlighting the potential impact of these advanced technologies on food safety and public health.

This article provides a general overview of the bio-inspired computing method called DNA-Based Computing (DBC), including its theory and applications. The main theme of DBC is the central dogma of molecular biology (once information of DNA/RNA has got into a protein, it can’t get out again), i.e., DNA to RNA (sequences of four types of nucleotides) and DNA/RNA to protein (sequence of twenty types of amino acids) are allowed, not the reverse ones. Thus, DBC transfers few-element information (DNA/RAN-like) to many-element information (protein-like), solving a given cognitive problem. DBC can take many forms; this article elucidates two main forms, denoted as DBC-1 and DBC-2. Using arbitrary numerical examples, it is shown that DBC-1 can solve the following cognitive problems: “similarity indexing between seemingly different but inherently identical objects” and “recognizing regions of an image separated by a complex boundary.” DBC-2 can solve the following cognitive problem: “pattern recognition when the relevant information is insufficient.” Smart manufacturing-based systems (digital twins and big data analytics) must solve the abovementioned problems to make the manufacturing enablers (machine tools and monitoring systems) more self-reliant and autonomous. Consequently, DBC can improve the cognitive problem-solving ability of smart manufacturing-relevant systems and, thereby, can enhance its biologicalization.

The widely conserved RACK1 protein is a WD-40 type scaffold protein that regulates diverse environmental stress signal transduction pathways. Arabidopsis RACK1A has been reported to interact with various proteins in salt stress and Light-Harvesting Complex (LHC) pathways. However, the mechanism of how RACK1 contributes to the photosystem and chlorophyll metabolism in stress conditions remains elusive. Using T-DNA-mediated activation tagging transgenic rice (Oryza sativa L.) lines, we show that leaves from rice RACK1B gene (OsRACK1B) gain-of-function (RACK1B-OX) plants exhibit the stay-green phenotype under salinity stress. In contrast, leaves from down-regulated OsRACK1B (RACK1B-UX) plants display an accelerated yellowing. qRT-PCR analysis revealed that several genes encoding chlorophyll catabolic enzymes (CCEs) are differentially expressed in both RACK1B-OX and RACK1B-UX rice plants. In addition to CCEs, STAY-GREEN (SGR) is a key component that forms the SGR-CCE complex in senescing chloroplasts, which causes LHCII complex instability. Transcript and protein profiling revealed a significant upregulation of OsSGR in RACK1B-UX plants than that in RACK1B-OX rice plants during salt treatment. The results imply that senescence-associated transcription factors (TFs) are altered in accordance with altered OsRACK1B expression, indicating a transcriptional reprogramming by OsRACK1B and a novel regulatory mechanism involving the OsRACK1B-OsSGR-TFs complex. Our findings suggest that ectopic expression of OsRACK1B negatively regulates chlorophyll degradation, leads to the steady level of LHC-II isoform Lhcb1, an essential prerequisite for the state transition of photosynthesis for adaptation, and delays salinity-induced senescence. Taken together, these results provide important insights into the molecular mechanisms of salinity-induced senescence, which can be useful in circumventing the effect of salt on photosynthesis and in reducing the yield penalty of important cereal crops, like rice, in global climate change conditions.

AI is extraordinarily useful technology but it is becoming increasingly powerful with rapidly growing capabilities to disrupt and harm human society. We call on international and national organizations and individuals to join forces in banning the development of superintelligent AI and introducing regulations to prevent and mitigate AI-caused harm.

In this paper, a technique of image watermarking using multiple images as watermarks is presented. The technique is based on transform domain functions including discrete wavelet transform (DWT), discrete cosine transform (DCT) and singular value decomposition (SVD) with an image as the host signal i.e. the watermarks will be used as proofs of the authenticity of the host image. The technique is executed by performing multilevel DWT followed by applying DCT and SVD to both the host and watermark. Multiple watermarks are used for the insurance of better security level. The scheme is immune to common image processing operations & some attacks and exhibits PSNR of 108.3781dB, normalized cross correlation (NCC) over 0.99 and normalized correlation (NC) over 0.99.

In tracking-by-detection paradigm for multi-target tracking, target association is modeled as an optimization problem that is usually solved through network flow formulation. In this paper, we proposed combinatorial optimization formulation and used a bipartite graph matching for associating the targets in the consecutive frames. Usually, the target of interest is represented in a bounding box and track the whole box as a single entity. However, in the case of humans, the body goes through complex articulation and occlusion that severely deteriorate the tracking performance. To partially tackle the problem of occlusion, we argue that tracking the rigid body organ could lead to better tracking performance compared to the whole body tracking. Based on this assumption, we generated the target hypothesis of only the spatial locations of person’s heads in every frame. After the localization of head location, a constant velocity motion model is used for the temporal evolution of the targets in the visual scene. Qualitative results are evaluated on four challenging video surveillance dataset and promising results has been achieved.

Small and medium-sized family farms are the place of life and source of income for about half of the population. The aim of the analysis was to determine the relationship between Eco-Efficiency, Human Capital Efficiency in small and medium-sized family farms. The analyses were carried out using an economic measure (value of agricultural production per work hour calculated per 1 ha) and synthetic measures: human capital and environmental measures. The synthetic measures were determined using the CRITIC-TOPSIS method by defining weights for variables used in the synthetic measures. The analyses covered five countries, namely: Lithuania (960 farms), Moldova (532 farms), Poland (696 farms), Romania (872 farms), and Serbia (524 farms). All the countries qualified for analysis are characterised by a high fragmentation of agricultural holdings. The analyses carried out allowed us to formulate the following conclusions: the Eco-Efficiency and Human Capital Efficiency indexes increase with area for small and medium-sized family agricultural farms. An increase in the Eco-Efficiency index with an increase in farm area leads to a suspicion that the smaller the farm area is, the more extensive the agricultural production being carried out. In addition, an increase in human capital efficiency with an increase in the area of a farm indicates that there is inefficiency in the utilisation of human capital resources in the agricultural farms studied.

The VLSI industry is facing parasitic effects that trouble development in the nanoscale domain. However, instead of replacing the traditional MOSFET design, it would be more advantageous to apply different doping profiles and discerning which deal with specific parasitic effects the best. With a review of Gaussian doping, Uniform doping, and Delta doping profiles and analysis of the FET technology characteristics that use these doping profiles, a comparison can be made among them for integrated circuit design engineers. These doping profiles are compared based on how well they perform against non-ideal and ideal environments. Also, both digital and analog performance are measured to ensure the uniqueness of each doping profile that is present. After getting a list of benefits from each doping profile, it is derived to determine which doping profile works best against a host of parasitic effects and what type of application do these doping profiles have

Abstract The aim of the present review is to discuss the roles of vitamin K and vitamin K-dependent proteins, and the combined action of the vitamins K and D, for maintenance of bone health. The most relevant vitamin K-dependent proteins in this respect are osteocalcin and matrix Gla-protein (MGP). When carboxylated these proteins appear to have the ability to chelate and import calcium from the blood to the bone, thereby reducing the risk of osteoporosis. Carboxylated osteocalcin appears to contribute directly to bone quality and strength. Adequate vitamin K status is required for carboxylation of MGP and osteocalcin. In addition, vitamin K acts on bone metabolism by other mechanism, such as a ligand for the nuclear steroid and xenobiotic receptor (SXR). In this narrative review, we examine the evidence for increased bone mineralization through dietary adequacy of vitamin K (phylloquinone or menaquinone). Summarizing the evidence for a synergistic effect of vitamin K and vitamin D3 we find that an adequate supply of vitamin K on top of an optimal vitamin D status seems to add to the benefit for maintaining bone health. More research related to synergism and possible mechanisms of vitamins D3 and K interaction in bone health is needed.

Many academics are critical of the current publishing system, but it is difficult to create a better alternative. This review relates to the Sciences and Social Sciences, and discusses the primary purpose of academic journals as providing a seal of approval for perceived quality, impact, significance, and importance. The key issues considered include the role of anonymous refereeing, continuous rather than discrete frequency of publications, avoidance of time wasting, and seeking adventure. Here we give recommendations about the organization of journal articles, the roles of associate editors and referees, measuring the time frame for refereeing submitted articles in days and weeks rather than months and years, encouraging open access internet publishing, emphasizing the continuity of publishing online, academic publishing as a continuous dynamic process, and how to improve research after publication. Citations and functions thereof, such as the journal impact factor and h-index, are the benchmark for evaluating the importance and impact of academic journals and published articles. Even in the very top journals, a high proportion of published articles are never cited, not even by the authors themselves. Top journal publications do not guarantee that published articles will make significant contributions, or that they will ever be highly cited. The COVID-19 world should encourage academics worldwide not only to rethink academic teaching, but also to re-evaluate key issues associated with academic journal publishing in the future.

How do sensor research and technologies grow over time? This paper applies the network analysis with a new computational approach to map the structure and evolution of sensor research and technologies over a 30-year time frame (1990-2020).The goal of this study is to analyze the evolution of sensor research for forecasting emerging scientific and technological trajectories. Results show that the scientific interaction within ecosystem (represented with networks) of sensor generates a co-evolution of scientific fields supporting the accelerated growth of different technological tra-jectories, such as: wireless sensors, fiber optic and optical sensors, gas sensors and biosensors. These results suggest main theoretical implications that explain the evolution of sensor research with critical aspects of innovation management to support R&D investments towards new technological trajectories having a high potential of growth.

The maximal prime gaps upper bound problem is one of the major mathematical problems to date. The objective of the current research is to develop a standard which will aid in the understanding of the distribution of prime numbers. This paper presents theoretical results which originated with a researchin the subject of the maximal prime gaps. the document presents the sharpest upper bound for the maximal prime gaps ever developed. The result becomes the Supremum bound on the maximal prime gaps and subsequently culminates with the conclusive proof of the Firoozbakht's Hypothesis No 30. Firoozbakht's Hypothesis implies quite a bold conjecture concerning the maximal prime gaps. In fact it imposes one of the strongest maximal prime gaps bounds ever conjectured. Its truth implies the truth of a greater number of known prime gaps conjectures, simultaneously, the Firoozbakht's Hypothesis disproves a known heuristic argument of Granville and Maier. This paper is dedicated to a fellow mathematician, the late Farideh Firoozbakht.

The multidisciplinary nature of the work required for research in the Covid-19 pandemic has created new challenges for health professionals in the battle against the virus. They need to be equipped with novel tools and resources ---that have emerged during the pandemic--- to gain access to breakthrough findings, know the latest developments, and to address their specific needs for rapid data acquisition, analysis, evaluation, and reporting. Because of the complex nature of the virus, the healthcare systems worldwide are severely impacted as the treatment and the vaccine for Covid-19 disease are not yet discovered. This leads to frequent changes in regulations and policies by governments and international organizations. Our analysis suggests that given the abundance of information sources, finding the most suitable tool for a given task is one of such challenges. But health professionals and policymakers need access to the most relevant, reliable, trusted, and latest information and tools that can be used in their day-to-day tasks of Covid-19 research and analysis. In this article, we present our analysis of various novel and important tools that have been specifically developed during the Covid-19 pandemic and that can be used by the health professionals community to help in advancing their analysis and research. These tools comprise of search engines, information repositories for literature and clinical trials, data sources, dashboards, and forecasting models. We present list of the minimally essential tools to serve a multitude of purposes, from hundreds of those developed since the beginning of the pandemic. A critical analysis is provided for the selected tools based on 17 parameters that can be useful for researchers and analysts for their evaluations. These parameters make up our evaluation framework and have not been used previously for analysis and evaluation. Hence, knowledge of the tools will not only increase the productivity but will also allow to explore new dimensions for using existing tools with more control, better management, and greater outcome of their research. In addition, the parameters used in our framework can be applied for future evaluations of similar tools and health professionals can adapt them for evaluation of other tools not covered in this analysis.

The aim of this work is research dedicated to the search for new bactericidal systems for use in cosmetic formulations, dermocosmetics, or the production of wound dressings. Over the last two decades chitosan due to its special biological activity, has become a highly indispensable biopolymer with very wide application possibilities. Literature reports on the antibacterial effects of chitosan are very diverse, but our research has shown that they can be successfully improved through chemical modification. Therefore, in this study, results on the synthesis of new Schiff bases chitosan – dCsSB-SFD and dCsSB-PCA obtained using two aldehydes: sodium 4-formylbenzene-1,3-disulfonate (SFD) and 2-pyridine carboxaldehyde (PCA) respectively. Chitosan derivatives synthesized in this way demonstrate stronger antimicrobial activity. Carrying out the procedure of grafting chitosan with a caproyl chain allowed obtaining compatible blends of chitosan derivatives with κ-carrageenan, which are stable hydrogels with a high swelling coefficient. Furthermore, covalently bounded PCL improved the solubility of obtained polymers in organic solvents. With this respect, the Schiff base-containing polymers obtained in this study, with special hydrogel and antimicrobial properties are very promising materials for the potential use as a controlled-release formulation of both, hydrophilic and hydrophobic drugs in cosmetic products for skin health.

Solar reflective index (SRI) is one of the important parameters in the analysis of a building’s energetic and thermal performance, especially for “cool” reflective paints or coatings. However, there exists less information on the typical performance of the cool materials exposed for long term in the Middle East and more specifically in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). In this study, we determined values of reflectance, emittance, solar reflective index (SRI), and color difference, for three different high SRI white paints exposed naturally on low and high sloped racks for three years. After 3 years, reflectance values of exposed paint panels significantly decreased with an increased color difference in comparison with original unexposed paint surfaces. Emissivity of the paint changed very little for all of the exposed samples, but SRI, determined from both the reflectance and emittance, was reduced from between 95 and 110 to between 60 and 90 after three years. This appeared to be related to exposure to high temperatures, UV radiation, and adhesion of airborne contaminants in conjunction with low precipitation. Macroscopically, panels exposed on a low slope were the most discolored with the greatest presence of dust infusion and reduction in increase in surface temperatures which was demonstrated through thermal imaging. Such natural weathering research study is necessary for the development of standard exposure tests and determination of various control elements to increase the durability of cool materials in hot and arid climatic conditions of UAE.

Stalk rot caused by Fusarium fungi is one of the most widespread and devastating diseases of maize, and the introduction of resistant genotypes is one of the most effective strategies for controlling the disease. Breeding genotypes with genetically determined resistance will also allow less use of crop protection products. The aim of the research was to identify molecular markers and associated candidate genes determining maize plant resistance to Fusarium stalk rot. The plant material for the study consisted of 122 maize hybrids, which were sown in plots of 10 m2, in a complete randomized block design, in three repetitions, at two locations (Smolice: 51 42’ 58.904’’ N, 17 13’ 29.13’’ E and Kobierzyce: 50 58’ 19.411’’ N, 16 55’ 47.323’’ E). The analyzed genotypes were simultaneously subjected to next-generation sequencing using the Illumina platform. The results of the observation of the degree of infection and sequencing were used for association mapping, which ultimately resulted in the selection of 10 molecular markers important at both places. Among the identified markers, two SNP markers that are located inside candidate genes play an important role. Marker 4772836 is located inside the serine/threonine-protein kinase bsk3 gene, while marker 4765764 is located inside the histidine kinase 1 gene. Both genes can be associated with plant resistance to Fusarium stalk rot, and these genes can also be used in breeding programs to select resistant varieties.

The natural and man-made landscape settings in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK) province of Northern Pakistan have significantly changed in the last decade due to increasing demands of urbanized populace, migration, two major natural disasters, and climate change. The aim of this study is to analyze land possession, income and land-use diversification of KPK administered Charsadda district. Field data is collected through a sample survey. Furthermore, freely available Landsat 7 satellite images are used to classify land-use classes (e.g., vegetation, built-up) for two different years (e.g., 2005 and 2017) for cross-verification and comparison. The highest 45% of 80% land-owners occupy land-area between 1–10 hectares. Annually, the highest 57.5% of the total farmers / employed in-habitants of surveyed regions earn more than Rs. 100,000 or ~$970 from agriculture activities. About 41.9% land-area covered by agricultural-land is transformed into built-up area since 2007, which is attributed to the increasing demand for buildings and commercial markets. The highest diversification is reported in Naguman area of Charsadda district followed by Rajjar and Niami. Population growth and huge migration of displaced persons from neighboring tribal areas are likely to be few factors which contributed to such a drastic change in land-use pattern since 2007 to 2017. Urgent attention of the policy makers, agricultural experts and society is required to minimize land degradation and to thwart further agricultural-land loss.

This review article deals with the pathways of cellular and global molybdate distribution in plants, especially with a full overview for the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana. In its oxidized state as bioavailable molybdate, molybdenum can be absorbed from the environment. Especially in higher plants, molybdenum is indispensable as part of the molybdenum cofactor (Moco), which is responsible for functionality as a prosthetic group in a variety of essential enzymes like nitrate reductase and sulfite oxidase. Therefore, plants need mechanisms for molybdate import and transport within the organism, which is accomplished via high-affinity molybdate transporter (MOT) localized in different cells and membranes. Two different MOT-families were identified. Especially legumes like Glycine max or Medicago truncatula have an increased numbers of MOT1-family members for supplying their symbionts with molybdate for nitrogenase activity. In Arabidopsis thaliana especially, the complete way of molybdate through the plant is traceable. Not only the uptake from soil by MOT1.1 and its distribution to leaves, flowers and seeds by MOT2-family members was identified, but also inside the cell the transport trough the cytoplasm and the vacuolar storage mechanisms depending on glutathione were described. Finally, supplying the Moco biosynthesis complex by MOT1.2 and MOT2.1 was demonstrated.

The Impact of Event Scale-Revised (IES-R) is the most popular measure of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), which has been recently validated in Arabic. This instrumental study aimed to determine optimal cutoff scores of the IES-R and its subscales in Arab samples of psychiatric patients (N = 168, 70.8% females) and healthy adults (N = 992, 62.7% females) from Saudi Arabia during the COVID-19 pandemic as an ongoing collective traumatic event. Based on a cutoff score of 14 of the Depression Anxiety Stress Scale 8-items (DASS-8), receiver operator curve (ROC) analysis revealed two optimal points of 39.5 and 30.5 for the IES-R in the samples (area under the curve (AUC) = 0.86 &amp; 0.91, p values = 0.001, 95% CI: 0.80-0.92 &amp; 0.87 to 0.94, sensitivity = 0.85 &amp; 0.87, specificity = 0.73 &amp; 0.83, Youden index = 0.58 &amp; 0.70, respectively). Different cutoffs were detected for the six subscales of the IES-R, with numbing and avoidance expressing the lowest predictivity for distress. Meanwhile, hyperarousal followed by the irritability expressed stronger predictive capacity for distress than all subscales in both samples. In path analysis, pandemic-related irritability resulted from direct and indirect effects of key PTSD symptoms (intrusion, hyperarousal, and numbing). Irritability contributed to traumatic symptoms of sleep disturbance in both samples while the opposite was not true. The findings suggest usefulness of the IES-R at a score of 30.5 for detecting adults prone to trauma related distress, with higher scores needed for screening in psychiatric patients. Various PTSD symptoms may induce dysphoric mood, which represents a considerable burden that may induce circadian misalignment and more noxious psychiatric problems/ co-morbidities (sleep disturbance) in both healthy and diseased groups.

A disaster wrecks those affected. It spares many in the affected areas, yet those spared may be indirectly impacted. Specific risks are often inherent within a social system or physical location, but they can also be created due to unavoidable natural or technological hazards. The consequences, however, can be similar in that they wreak havoc in communities and destroy economic systems. The analytical framework of deterrence and coping has ascertained beneficial in many circumstances, but a cost benefit calculation is a must to infer the feasibility of planning strategy and resource allocation. This study points to the Cost-Benefit Analysis (CBA) of flood management by District Disaster Management Kulgam. The assessment is established on secondary pooled data collected from administration offices, NGOs, published Journals, and local and national newspapers. It also characterised the strategy, the technique adopted, and the sources of flood damage cost information. The totalled benefits report for 78686.18 lakh of rupees, and that of total costs account for 2218.75lakh of rupees. The Benefit-Cost ratio greater than one (>1) indicates that Flood Management in District Kulgam was economically feasible and successfully governed. The State of Jammu and Kashmir put up with necessary prevention and administration measures to break the spell of devastation due to floods to significant status.

In December 2012, DOAJ’s parent company, IS4OA, announced they would introduce new criteria for inclusion in DOAJ [1] and that DOAJ would collect vastly more information from journals as part of the accreditation process – and that journals already included, would need to reapply in order to be kept in the registry. My hypothesis was that the journals removed from DOAJ on May 9th 2016 would chiefly be journals from small publishers (mostly single journal publishers) and that DOAJ journal metadata information would reveal that they were journals with a lower level of publishing competence than those that would remain in the DOAJ. Among indicators of publishing competence could be the use of APCs, permanent article identifiers, journal licenses, article level metadata deposited with DOAJ, archiving policy/solutions and/or having a policy in SHERPA/RoMEO. The analysis shows my concerns to be correct.

This paper investigates the contribution of business model innovations in improvement of food supply chains. Through a systematic literature review, the notable business model innovations in the food industry are identified, surveyed, and evaluated. Findings reveal that the innovations in value proposition, value creation processes, and value delivery processes of business models are the successful strategies proposed in food industry. It is further disclosed that rural female entrepreneurs, social movements, and also urban conditions are the most important driving forces inducing the farmers to reconsider their business models. In addition, the new technologies and environmental factors are the secondary contributors in business model innovation for the food processors. It is concluded that digitalization has disruptively changed the food distributors models. E-commerce models and internet of things are reported as the essential factors imposing the retailers to innovate their business models. Furthermore, the consumption demand and the product quality are two main factors affecting the business models of all the firms operating in the food supply chain regardless of their positions in the chain. The findings of the current study provide an insight into the food industry to design a sustainable business model to bridge the gap between food supply and food demand.

Previous research demonstrates that the interruption of immersive experiences may lead to a bias in the results of questionnaires. Thus, the traditional way of presenting questionnaires, paper-based or web-based, may not be compatible with evaluating VR experiences. Recent research has shown the positive impact of embedding questionnaires contextually into the virtual environment. However, a comprehensive overview of the available VR questionnaire solutions is currently missing. Furthermore, no clear taxonomy exists for these different solutions in the literature. To address this, we present a literature review of VR questionnaire user interfaces (UI) following PRISMA guidelines. Our search returned 1.109 initial results, which were screened for eligibility, resulting in a corpus of 25 papers. This paper contributes to HCI and games research with a literature review of embedded questionnaires in VR, discussing the advantages and disadvantages and introducing a taxonomy of in-VR questionnaire UIs.

The experiments were designed to know the function of ascorbic acid against salinity on germination, different biochemical and micronutrients concentrations of Solanum melongena. Ascorbic acid was applied as foliar spray on leaves and given in roots through irrigation at 100 and 200 ppm to the plants growed in non saline, 60mM and 100mM salt stress conditions. Different biochemical parameters i.e. chlorophyll, carotenoids, carbohydratrates, protein and micro nutrients concentrations of Solanum melongena were observed under different salt stress concentrations from control (non-saline), 60mM NaCl and 100mM NaCl solutions. The rates of different biochemical parameters and micro nutrients concentrations exhibited decrease in saline media in comparison with their respective control while ascorbic acid used as a foliar spray and through irrigation in roots at the concentration of 100 ppm and 200 ppm resulted promotion in non saline control as compared with salt concentrations media. It was determined that chlorophyll concentration was decreased considerably under salt stress. Amongst micro nutrients ionic composition of Na, K and Na/K ratio resulted that plants treated with different NaCl concentrations at 60mM NaCl and 100mM salt concentrations showed increase in Na and K ions and ascorbic acid were used as a foliar spray and in roots showed decrease in Na and K ions. Overall from the outcomes of the study it was observed that salinity stress significantly decrease vegetative and reproductive parameters that could be improved with the using of ascorbic acid. Best concentration found were 200 ppm ascorbic acid contributed towards an increase in growth irrespective of non-saline and saline conditions. Based on these findings, ascorbic acid treatment helps in alleviating the negative effects of salinity.

Antibiotic resistance (ABR) is an emerging global threat to public health. Substantial evidence has indicated that community pharmacists (CPs) can play a critical role in managing the ever-increasing threat of antibiotic resistance. The study aimed to determine the knowledge, attitude, and practices of CPs (n=180) towards antibiotics and antibiotic resistance as well as to improve the rational use of antibiotics. Two phases of mixed methods (quantitative and qualitative) online study were conducted in Pakistan from August 2019 to March 2020 by using validated questionnaires and semi-structured interview data. Different statistical methods were used to tabulate the quantitative data whereas inductive thematic analysis was conducted to categorize themes from the qualitative data and draw conclusions. Approximately 64.4% were male (mean: 29-33 years old). Overall, CPs had good knowledge of and were familiar with superbugs and their roles in ABR (65.6%, Median=1, IQR=1) although they were poor in differentiating some antibiotic groups with their respective ABR patterns (31.1%, Median=1, IQR=1). Most CPs have a positive attitude towards antibiotics with most (90.0%) having identified ABR as a critical issue in public health (Median=1, IQR=0). Overall, CPs' practices towards antibiotics were reasonable where they tend to educate patients about the rational use of antibiotics (52.8%, Median=1, IQR=1). Two main themes (antibiotics and counseling of patients) were related to self-medication with while educational interventions are the sub-theme. ABR is multifactorial where the subthemes related to budget, time constraints incompetent staff, the absence of CPs, the lack of training, enforcement of laws and regulations are the need of the hour in Pakistan. Effective antibiotic stewardship programs, patient education, and awareness campaigns about antibiotics and ABR along with training of the CPs are important factors that have to be addressed in a timely manner.

Impressively increasing availability of the mechanical circulatory/cardiac support systems (MCS) worldwide, together with the deepening of the knowledge of critical care medical practitioners, have inevitably led to the discussion about further improvements of intensive care associated to MCS. An appealing topic of the left ventricle (LV) overload related to VA ECMO support endangering myocardial recovery is being widely discussed within the scientific community. Unloading of LV leads to the reduction of LV end-diastolic pressure, reduction of pressure in the left atrium and decrease of the LV thrombus formation risk. Consequently, better conditions for myocardial recovery, with comfortable filling pressures and better oxygen delivery/demand ratio are achieved. The combination of VA ECMO and Impella device, also called ECPELLA seems to be a promising strategy which may bring the improvement of CS mortality rates. The series of presented trials and meta-analyses clearly showed potential benefits of this strategy. However, the ongoing research has brought a series of new questions, as whether Impella itself is the only appropriate unloading modality, or any other approach to unload LV would be beneficial in the same way? Benefits and potential risks of LV unloading and its timing are being discussed in current review.

IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) supports high-speed transmission of multi-media like data, audio, and video between mobiles and other wireless devices. IMS is the most suitable for multimedia communication across multiple networks using the Internet of Things (IoT) and cloud computing. IoT-IMS can efficiently manage the huge amount of data generated by smart devices for audio-video during live streaming applications. During these services, the main problem is that an intruder can launch a Session Initialization Protocol (SIP) messages flooding attack on IMS that does not have the functionality to prevent itself from these types of attacks. In this paper, an intrusion detecting and preventing system (IDPS) is proposed that effectively detects the register flooding and spoofing attacks using SIP messages. We proposed a watermark embedding algorithm on the user side and an extraction algorithm on receiving side. A test-bed is set up for IMS where we have considered four different scenarios to evaluate the IDPS approach as compared to counterparts. Results illustrate the dominance of our scheme in terms of response time, register flooding attack detection ratios, CPU load utilization, fault detection ratio, and memory utilization. The fault detection ratio averagely 98.18

Abstract: The gut microbiome refers to microorganisms and their genetic material influencing local and systemic inflammation. Inflammation is known to contribute to cancer development, progression, and treatment. Evidence suggests that modulating the gut microbiome may affect responses to various cancer therapies. The gut microbiota has been suggested to have an impact on immunotherapy efficacy, especially the currently widely used immune checkpoint inhibitors in various malignancies. Microbial Interventions like fecal microbiota transplantation, various probiotics, or even antibiotics can increase or de-crease the tumor's sensitivity to immunotherapy. However, not all tumors react in the same manner, highlighting the tumor microenvironment heterogeneity across tumor types and the influence this has on the crosstalk between the microbiome and therapy outcomes. In this study, we intend to review the association between the gut microbiota and immunotherapy response in cancer patients and the factors regulating this interaction.

Epilepsy is a neurological disorder that affects approximately 1% of the world's population. To diagnose and estimate the occurrence of epilepsy, the analysis of recorded brain activity is performed by a neurologist, which is not only time-consuming and tedious but also occasionally accompanied by human error. Therefore, in recent decades, researchers have aimed to unravel an approach for designing and building an automated method for diagnosing and estimating the occurrence of epilepsy. Accordingly, the present study proposed two new-fangled ways based on brain signals and a convolutional neural network (CNN). Moreover, this research implements a CNN with a sequential three-layer structure. Numerous experiments were performed, and the accuracy of estimating epilepsy using the developed methods was achieved at 95% without feedback and 97% with feedback. The proposed methods were proven to be more accurate than the previous techniques and can be employed as a physician's assistant once entering the field of operation.

The fundamental question in the field of sensor research is new directions of scientific fields, which play a vital role in the progress of science and technology. This study confronts this question here by developing a bibliometric analysis, which endeavors to explain the evolution of sensor research and new technologies that are critical to science and society. The database of Scopus concerning scientific documents and patents is used for statistical and computational analyses in these topics. Results suggest that emerging technological trajectories in sensors are wireless sensor networks, wearable sensors and biosensors. Main characteristics of these growing research fields and technologies in sensors are described for fruitful implications of research and innovation policy directed to science advances and technological change in society.

Cable interference in cable-driven mechanisms (CDM) is a major challenge in their applications. The wrench closure workspace (WCW) in a fully constrained mechanism may not be realized unless cable interference is considered. This paper classifies all possible types of cable interferences for planar cable-driven mechanisms and presents an analytical solution to find the boundaries of the constant-orientation interference region. It is shown that interference between cables starts and ends when one end of a cable coincides with another cable which can be thought as lying a point on a line segment. This geometrical view is developed and applied to provide a framework for the analysis of cable interference. By subtracting the interference space form WCW, the interference-free workspace is obtained in which the robot is able to operate.