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Shazia Naheed,1 Irum Umar Din,1 Muhammad Usman Qamar,2 Nasir Rasool,1 Matloob Ahmad,1 Muhammad Bilal,1 Aqsa Khalid,3 Gulraiz Ahmad,1 Sami A Al-Hussain,4 Magdi EA Zaki4 1Department of Chemistry, Government College University Faisalabad, Faisalabad, 38000, Pakistan; 2Institute of Microbiology, Faculty of Life Sciences, Government College University, Faisalabad, 38000, Pakistan; 3School of Interdisciplinary Engineering & Science (SINES), National University of Sciences and Technology (NUST), Islamabad, 44000, Pakistan; 4Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Imam Mohammad Ibn Saud Islamic University, Riyad, 11623, Saudi ArabiaCorrespondence: Nasir Rasool; Magdi E A Zaki, Email nasirrasool@gcuf.edu.pk; mezaki@imamu.edu.saIntroduction: Global public health concerns include the emergence and spread of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and extended-spectrum beta-lactamase Escherichia coli (ESBL-E. coli). These pathogens cause infections that are difficult to treat, which can have fatal outcomes and require lengthy hospital stays. As a result, we created butyl 2-bromoisonicotinate and tested its antibacterial effectiveness against the ESBL-E. coli ST 405 and MRSA pathogens. Natural product discovery is complemented by synthetic compound synthesis because of the latter’s potential for superior characteristics, target specificity, scalability, intellectual advantages, and chemical diversity. Because of this, the potential for discovering new medicinal compounds is increased, and the constraints placed on natural sources are overcome. Natural items are tough to obtain since they are hard to isolate and synthesize. Therefore, modern science is actively searching for small molecules as therapeutic agents by applying sustainable techniques that can be commercialized.Methods: Two patients’ blood samples were taken, and the BACTEC/Alert system was used to process them. On blood and MacConkey agar, the positive samples were subcultured and incubated aerobically at 37 °C. Using the VITEK 2 compact system, the isolates were subjected to isolate identification and MIC. MLST of the ESBL-E. coli was performed by PCR. Additionally, Fischer esterification was used to create butyl 2-bromoisonicotinate in excellent yields. A commercially available palladium catalyst was then used to arylate the compound, resulting in medium to good yields of arylated butyl 2-bromoisonicotinates. Using the agar well diffusion assay and the micro-broth dilution method, we assessed the in-vitro activities of the synthesized molecules (3, 5a-h) against clinically isolated ESBL-E. coli ST405, and MRSA. A molecular operating environment was used to carry out in silico validation of the synthesized compounds’ binding to the active site and to evaluate the stability of their molecular interactions with the target E. coli 2Y2T protein.Results: MRSA and ESBL-producing E. coli were identified as the two clinical isolates. While MRSA was also resistant to beta-lactam drugs and least resistant to vancomycin, ESBL-producing E. coli belonged to ST405 and was resistant to cephalosporins and sensitive to carbapenems. Good yields of the desired compounds were produced by our effective and economical synthesis. By using a micro-broth dilution assay, the Molecules (3, 5a, and 5d) were most effective against both resistant strains. The Molecules (3, 5a, 5b, and 5d) also displayed good binding energies.Conclusion: The butyl 2-bromoisonicotinate displayed antibacterial efficacy against ESBL-producing E. coli ST405 and MRSA strains. After the in-vivo trial, this substance might offer an alternative therapeutic option.Keywords: ESBL, MRSA, MLST, Fischer esterification, Suzuki-Miyaura, docking studies

Towards the intelligent transportation systems, Location Based Service (LBS) are widely engaged in Vehicular Ad Hoc Networks (VANETs) that are becoming as significant application that change the human driving experience in today's world. LBS systems facilitate the users with intelligent services by collecting an accurate location information. Due to the frequent exchange rate of the location information in an open environment, VANETs are inherently susceptible to privacy and security attacks. In past, many schemes have been proposed to ensure the privacy and security of exchanged location information; but fail to deploy in practical VANETs. At the same time, system efficiency is compromised which is another primary requirement of VANETs. Leveraging the semi-decentralized and lightweight nature of consortium blockchain technology, and Certificateless conditional privacy protection scheme to reduce the node authentication overhead, this paper introduces Consortium Blockchain assisted Certificateless Conditional Privacy Protection scheme to address the aforementioned challenges. Additionally, the proposed scheme has ability to develop anonymous regions for a particular time stamp ensuring the location privacy of vehicles. Rigorous security analysis and experiments show the practicality and resilience to various attack models, and achieve ADP 83% with maximum malicious attacks. Comparing with existing state of the art methods, the proposed scheme exhibits the privacy improvement and low computational complexity., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist., (Copyright: © 2024 Ilyas et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.)

The Pteridaceae family, known for its taxonomic complexity, presents challenges in identification due to high variability among its species. This study investigates the spore morphology employing both SEM and LM techniques in 10 Pteridaceae taxa phytogeographicaly Sino-Himalayan, Malesian, and European elements in Pakistan. The taxa include Adiantum capillus-veneris, A. incisum, A. venustum, Aleuritopteris bicolor, Oeosporangium nitidulum, O. pteridioides, Onychium cryptogrammoides, O. vermae, Pteris cretica, and P. vittata. The objective is to assess their taxonomic relevance and develop a spore-based taxonomic key. Findings indicate differences in spore shape, sizes, exospore thickness, and in surface ornamentation highlighting the potential for taxonomic differentiation. Spores are trilete, and notable differences are observed in the dimension of spores in both distal and proximal sides. Equatorial dimensions vary between 35 and 50 μm, while the polar diameter ranges from 29 to 50 μm. SEM revealed different spore ornamentation types that show several useful characteristics establishing valuable taxonomic variations. The studied Adiantum taxa feature a perispore with tubercules and a micro-granulose surface. The spores of examined Oeosporangium and Aleuritopteris taxa shows cristate sculptures with variable ornamentations. Both species of Onychium have tuberculate-pleated tubercles with sinuous folds on both distal and proximal sides. The surface ornamentation among examined Pteris taxa show variability. PCA analysis indicated that spore quantitative data identified distinct groups, underscoring taxonomic significance. Nevertheless, there was variation observed in surface ornamentation and spore shape, indicating the potential for discrimination among taxa. RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTS: Spore morphology of 10 Pteridaceae taxa has been investigated through LM and SEM. Investigated species shows differences in spore shape, sizes, exospore thickness, and in surface ornamentation. Ornamentation on the perispore provides several valuable characteristics, establishing useful taxonomic distinctions. Spore morphological analysis is effective at the generic level, with minor distinctions discernible at the species level., (© 2024 Wiley Periodicals LLC.)

An epithelioid angiomyolipoma (a perivascular epithelioid cell tumor) is a rare mesenchymal neoplasm with distinctive cellular morphology and nonspecific imaging appearances. Mostly reported perivascular epithelioid cell tumors (PEComas) are benign; however, rarely, PEComas can be malignant with pulmonary, hepatic, nodal, and osseous metastases. We present a case of a 40-year-old man with malignant right submandibular salivary gland PEComa, metastasized to the bones, lungs, and liver. We are going to discuss the diagnosis and management options of the rare disease of metastatic PEComa of the submandibular salivary gland., (© 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. on behalf of University of Washington.)

Background: Educating patients regarding surgery is an important aspect of the preoperative process. It helps individuals answer their queries, reduce anxiety, and improve overall satisfaction with the surgical experience., Objective: To compare patients' expectations with their real-perioperative surgical experiences. Also, to evaluate the effectiveness of preoperative education and, thus, improve the doctor-patient relationship., Methodology: Through consecutive sampling, 65 adult patients were selected from the ENT department of Khyber Teaching Hospital. Preoperative education was provided to all the subjects using a 25-point pro-forma, and their queries were addressed. Postoperatively, all participants were interviewed regarding their expectations and real perioperative surgical experiences. The gaps were noted, and participants were asked about their preferences for addressing such gaps in future interactions. Postoperatively, patients were asked to give comments on how a certain part of preoperative education could have been better delivered., Results: Among the 65 patients, 28 (43.1%) were male, and 37 (56.9%) were female. The majority (38.5%) had a primary/secondary school education. Eight (12.3%) patients had ear surgery, 19 (29.2%) had nose surgery, and 38 (58.5%) had throat surgery. Almost 39 (60%) patients had preoperative fear/anxiety. After preoperative education, 17 (26.2%) patients experienced perioperative fear/anxiety, which was a significant reduction (p = 0.001). Preoperative anxiety was greater in females (M: F = 8:13, p = 0.00), while perioperative anxiety was comparable among both genders after patient education (M: F = 5:12, p = 0.18). The greatest dissatisfaction was noted regarding the surgical schedule (33.8%), range of motion (16.9%), deep breathing exercises (13.8%), and preoperative fasting (12.3%). Most importantly, patients' comments were noted, when they were asked to suggest a better way to educate preoperatively in their respective area of dissatisfaction. Patients appreciated detailed explanations with practical demonstrations for range of motion exercises. One patient complained about no clear instructions on postoperative resumption of snuff., Conclusion: Preoperative patient education should be a two-way process involving active participation and continuous feedback. By educating patients properly through a multidisciplinary approach, healthcare providers can further enhance patient satisfaction, alleviate anxiety, and improve the overall quality of care., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Packing of tympanic cavity is generally considered an essential step in myringoplasty. However, each packing material comes with one or another side effect. The objective of this meta-analysis was to compare the results of Type 1 myringoplasty with or without packing. Pubmed, Cochrane database, Embase, Google Scholar, and clinicaltrials.gov were searched using 'tympanoplasty or myringoplasty and packing' as the search query. All RCTs / quasi-RCTs comparing tympanoplasty Type 1 with packing (control) versus without packing (intervention) of tympanic cavity in the human population were included. For dichotomous and continuous outcomes, relative risks (RR) and mean differences (MD) were calculated with 95% confidence interval, respectively. Heterogeneity was assessed using I2 statistics. Publication bias was checked using funnel plot and Egger's test, if applicable. Quality of evidence was assessed for each outcome using GRADE approach. Eleven studies were deemed eligible. For graft uptake and functional success rate, RR of 1.01 and 1.05 were obtained, respectively, showing no significant differences between the intervention and control groups. At 1st and 3rd postoperative month, no-packing group showed 3.86 dB and 2.08 dB better air-bone gap (ABG) closure than the packing group, respectively. Also, intervention with no-packing was 9.28-minute shorter procedure. With RR 0.35, no-packing had significantly lesser postoperative aural fullness. Type 1 tympanoplasty performed with or without packing show comparable results in terms of graft uptake and functional success rate. However, if performed without packing, it takes shorter time, provides early hearing improvement and causes less aural fullness. Key Words: Tympanoplasty Type 1, Packing, Gelfoam, No-packing, Meta-analysis, Endoscopic myringoplasty.

Background Surgical excision is the primary treatment for juvenile nasopharyngeal angiofibroma (JNA), but this procedure is challenging due to its high vascularity and local aggressiveness. Moreover, preoperative embolization is a subject of debate. Objective The objective of this study is to assess the efficacy, safety, and feasibility of endoscope-assisted excision as a surgical intervention for non-embolized advanced JNA. Materials and methods This case series involved six male patients (mean age: 16 years) with JNA, classified as stages Ⅱc to Ⅲb according to the Radkowski classification. None underwent preoperative embolization. Results Two stage Ⅱc cases underwent total endoscopic endonasal excision. One patient with stage Ⅲa and another with stage Ⅲb underwent surgery via an endoscope-assisted sublabial approach. Two patients, one with stage Ⅱc JNA and another with Ⅲb, underwent a two-stage procedure. Postoperative CT scans showed no residual disease at the six-month mark. On average, each procedure required 1.5 units of blood transfusion. One patient experienced intraoperative bleeding, whereas the remaining patients were free of any major complications. The mean operation duration was 175 minutes per procedure. The mean length of stay at the hospital was 3.75 days per procedure. Conclusion Endoscope-assisted or purely endoscopic approaches can be safely and effectively employed for the complete excision of non-embolized advanced JNAs., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist., (Copyright © 2024, Liaqat et al.)

Fire blight, a devastating disease caused by Erwinia amylovora , poses a significant threat to pear and apple trees in Xinjiang province, China. In an effort to combat this pathogen, we isolated 10 bacteria from various components of apple and crabapple trees and conducted screenings to assess their ability to inhibit E. amylovora in vitro. Through biochemical tests and partial 16S rRNA gene sequencing, we identified two promising strains, Priestia megaterium strain H1 and Bacillus subtilis strain I2. These strains were then evaluated for their efficacy in biocontrol under controlled laboratory conditions, focusing on immature fruits and leaves. Remarkably, all selected antagonists exhibited the capability to reduce the severity of the disease on both fruit and leaves. P. megaterium strain H1 and B. subtilis strain I2 exhibited significant reductions in disease incidence on both immature fruits and leaves compared to the control. Specifically, on immature fruits, they achieved reductions of 53.39% and 44.76%, respectively, while on leaves, they demonstrated reductions of 59.55% and 55.53%, respectively. Furthermore, during the study, we detected the presence of lipopeptides, including surfactin , iturins , bacillomycin D, and fengycins , in the methanol extract obtained from these two antagonistic bacteria using thin-layer chromatography (TLC). Based on the results obtained, B. subtilis strain I2 and P. megaterium strain H1 exhibit considerable potential for controlling fire blight. However, further evaluation of their efficacy under natural field conditions is essential to validate their practicality as a biocontrol method.

Fossil and renewable fuels are used by industrial units that produce energy-intensive products. Competitive fuel pricing encourages these fuel sources' usage globally, particularly in developing nations, which leads to large volumes of byproducts like fly ash among thermal power plant operators. The elements and compounds found in coal fly ash (CFA) and biomass fly ash (BFA) can be utilized through several engineering applications. This study aims to assess typical CFA and BFA samples quantitatively and qualitatively via techniques such as ultimate analysis (CH-S), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray fluorescence (XRF) elemental analysis, and ash fusion temperature (AFT), to anticipate the ideal ratios of coal to biomass blends for combustion applications while adhering to environmental regulations. The optimal blend, consisting of 75 % CFA and 25 % BFA, exhibited improved carbon (C%) and hydrogen (H%) percentages, increasing from 2.5 % to 4.67 % and from 0 % to 0.12 %, respectively. These improvements were further confirmed by the observed functional groups in FTIR, indicating a rising trend in both carbon and hydroxyl groups from BFA to CFA. XRF and XRD also confirmed it and TGA also showed optimum mass loss (ML%) behavior of 14.55 % for 75CFA + 25BFA. According to slagging and fouling indices, the values of R B/A , R s , and F u indicate a reduction in slagging and fouling issues through the blending of CFA with BFA. Simultaneously, the fusion temperature increased from 1181 °C to 1207 °C. CFA was found to increase the AFT of the BFA from 1197 °C to 1247 °C, mitigating their propensity. This suggests that a blend of 75CFA + 25BFA results in lower to medium range of slagging and fouling. However, AFI and BAI indicate a slightly higher range. AFT analysis further validates the conclusions drawn from the indices. The ternary phase diagram shows that the ash's melting point increases in the optimum blend. This is attributed to a reduced content of K 2 O (<15 %) and increased proportions of >50 % CaO and SiO 2 , effectively inhibiting slagging, agglomeration, and deposition. Meanwhile, the blend maintains a medium level of acidity and susceptively to corrosion, as observed in the case of 75CFA + 25BFA. The identification of optimal blend ratios can be anticipated to offer essential solutions for future research, aiming to ensure smooth industrial operations and regulatory compliance in power plants., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2023 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

This work is aimed at studying the drug delivery applications of iron oxide (Fe 3 O 4 ) nanoparticles with strontium (Sr) doping with varying molar ratios prepared by the co-precipitation route. The impact of increased strontium content on the particle size and magnetic properties was investigated. The impending of these nanoparticles for drug loading, drug release, and their respective cytotoxicity was also inspected.First, iron oxide nanoparticles were doped with various amounts of strontium, from 0.25, 0.50, and 0.75, to 1 mol using co-precipitation method. These synthesized nanoparticles were characterized by XRD, SEM, EDX, VSM, and FTIR for evaluating crystal structure, phase purity, morphology, composition, magnetic properties, and functional groups, respectively. Drug loading and drug release properties were determined using UV-vis spectroscopy, whereas MTT assay evaluated cytotoxicity. Colloidal stability was assessed using zeta potential in PBS solution.The findings confirmed the successful doping of iron oxide with strontium via XRD and EDX. SEM results confirmed spherical morphology for all and needle-like structure for 1 mol strontium doped sample. For VSM results, a single domain structure was established. It was also observed that the drug encapsulation efficiency increases with increased strontium content. Cytotoxicity results by MTT assay revealed increased cytotoxicity with increasing nanoparticle concentration, and ibuprofen-loaded nanoparticles showed higher cytotoxicity than un-loaded nanoparticles at the same concentration. Zeta potential results showed colloidal stability of iron oxide nanoparticles increased by the addition of strontium.This study provided predominantly comparison of the cytotoxicity of ibuprofen-loaded and non-loaded nanoparticles on Hep-2 cancer cells at similar concentrations for the first time for both Fe 3 O 4 particles and Sr-doped Fe 3 O 4 nanoparticles and enclosed the impact of increasing Sr doping content on Fe 3 O 4 nanoparticles., (© 2023. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.)

Flexible capacitive energy storage applications require polymer nanocomposites with high dielectric properties, which can be accomplished by addition of inorganic nanofillers to the polymer matrix. Low-density polyethylene (LDPE), known for its good dielectric characteristics and wide use in electrical insulation have been investigated for the desired applications. However, the improvement of its breakdown strength still continues with the use of various nanomaterials employed as nanofillers. In this study, a waste-derived material known as biomass fly ash (BFA) as a nanofiller to improve the dielectric properties of LDPE has been explored. BFA exhibits versatility in its composition with various metal oxides, making it an attractive choice as a nanofiller. The BFA-LDPE sheets were prepared using a conventional solvent mixing and subsequent hot-pressing process, incorporating BFA loadings ranging from 1 % to 4 wt%. The effects of different BFA loadings were carefully examined, and the synthesized nanocomposites were extensively characterized using various characterization methods, such as XRD, SEM, FTIR, TGA and dielectric constant measurements, to investigate the crystallographic properties, morphology, chemical composition, and thermal stability. Among all the nanocomposites, 4 wt%BFA-LDPE exhibited the highest dielectric constant, with a value of 11.58, compared to simple LDPE that had a dielectric constant of 8.33. This improvement is ascribed to the synergistic effects of different inorganic metal oxides (SiO 2 , MgO, and Fe 2 O 3 ) present in BFA. The results showed a significant enhancement in dielectric properties, indicating that the waste-derived BFA can be purposefully applied as an effective nanofiller in the LDPE-based composites with even less than 4% loading for electrical insulating applications in future studies., Competing Interests: The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (© 2023 The Authors.)

Objective: To compare the efficacy of conchal cartilage graft and temporalis fascia graft in Type 1 tympanoplasty in terms of graft uptake and hearing improvement., Study Design: Descriptive study. Place and Duration of the Study: Department of Otolaryngology, Khyber Teaching Hospital, Peshawar, Pakistan, from January 2020 till December 2022., Methodology: Using quota sampling, 2 groups were made i.e. conchal cartilage group (Group A) and temporalis fascia group (Group B). Total of 124 records were selected with 62 records from each group. Graft uptake rate and audiological outcomes were compared between the groups. Moreover, postoperative complication rate was also noted for each group., Results: The graft uptake rates between Group A and B at 3rd month were compared postoperatively (98.39%, 93.55%, p=0.36). The difference between preoperative mean air-bone gap (ABG, 28.05 ± 2.19dB, 28.68 ± 2.38 dB, p=0.12) and postoperative mean ABG (13.35 ± 3.45, 14.47 ± 3.29, p=0.69) was also statistically not significant. However, the differences regarding audiological success rate between cartilage and fascia groups (96.77%, 82.25%, p=0.01) and average operating time (51.8 ± 2.1 vs. 43.5 ± 3.2 minutes, p=0.009) were significantly different., Conclusion: In chronic otitis media (COM) patients with subtotal perforations, endoscopic tympanoplasty using conchal cartilage or temporalis fascia as graft yielded comparable outcomes in terms of graft uptake, hearing improvement, and postoperative complications. However, using conchal cartilage, the procedure showed better audiological success rate. With temporalis fascia as graft, the procedure was performed in a shorter time., Key Words: Chronic otitis media, Tympanoplasty, Temporalis fascia, Conchal cartilage, Subtotal perforation.

In this era, renewable energy technologies are suitable to meet the challenges of fossil fuel depletion and global warming. Thus, hydrogen is gaining attention as an alternative clean energy carrier that can be produced from various methods, one of them is the iodine-sulfur (I-S) cycle which is a thermochemical process. The I-S cycle requires a material that can withstand an extremely corrosive environment at high temperatures. Immersion tests were conducted on bare superalloy Hastelloy X (HX), MoSi 2, and SiC-MoSi 2 coated HX, deposited in physical vapor deposition (PVD) to evaluate their corrosion resistance. Bare HX exhibited a high corrosion rate of 208.1 mm yr -1 when exposed to 98 wt% sulfuric acid at 300 °C. In contrast, HX with MoSi 2 coating showed a much lower corrosion rate of 23.5 mm yr -1 , and HX with SiC-MoSi 2 coating demonstrated the lowest corrosion rate at 6.5 mm yr -1 under the same conditions. The coated samples were analyzed via FESEM before and after corrosion testing. The FESEM images reveal the formation of coalescent particles on the surface of the coating. The elemental analysis illustrates an increased concentration of silicon and oxygen in the corroded samples. Elemental mapping of these samples show a uniform distribution of elements over the sample. These findings contribute not only to materials science understanding but also to practical applications in hydrogen production via the I-S cycle, where corrosion-resistant materials are critical., Competing Interests: The authors declare the following financial interests/personal relationships which may be considered as potential competing interests:Asif Hussain Khoja reports was provided by National University of Science and Technology. If there are other authors, they declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (© 2023 The Authors.)

This study examined potentially toxic elements (PTE) of water and sediments in the Darband and Samana streams of Hangu District. Darband and Samana streams are the main fluvial ecosystems of Hangu District, Pakistan, directly or indirectly affecting more than 0.52 Million people. Water and sediment samples were collected and analyzed for PTE utilizing inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). Water characteristics of Darband and Samana streams were noted within the WHO drinking water guidelines, except for Turbidity and sulfate. Most water characteristics showed higher values in the Samana stream than in the Darband stream. Similarly, most of PTE showed higher concentrations in sediments collected from the Samana stream than the Darband stream. For ecological risk evaluation, several pollution indices were employed to assess the eco-toxicological consequences. The highest contamination factor (CF) value of 15 and 20 were exhibited by molybdenum (Mo) in the Samana and Darband streams showing very high contamination. Similarly, the pollution load index (PLI) showed that 24% of the sediment samples were polluted (PLI > 1). Furthermore, a high ecological risk in a range of 160 < ERI < 320 was observed for Mo, while a low ecological risk ERI < 40 was by As for the Darband and Samana streams sediments. Statistical techniques revealed that various anthropogenic sources primarily contaminated in water and sediment. Therefore, this study recommends regular monitoring PTE contaminations in the area to avoid any health hazards in the future., (© 2023. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.)

Diabetes mellitus (DM) is a chronic metabolic disorder, with type 2 diabetes (T2DM) significantly impacting the cardiovascular (CV) system. Our comprehensive study on the cardiovascular effects of liraglutide, conducted concurrently with the formulation of diabetes treatment guidelines, aims to provide healthcare providers and patients with reassurance regarding the safety and effectiveness of liraglutide. From the beginning until August 20, 2023, we conducted searches in databases including PubMed, Web of Science, Embase, Cochrane Library, Scopus, and Google Scholar. These searches aimed to identify studies comparing liraglutide to control in terms of symptom resolution among patients with T2DM. For all relevant outcomes, we calculated risk ratios along with their corresponding 95% confidence intervals. Thirteen randomized controlled trials (RCTs) were included in this analysis. The results demonstrated a significant reduction in the risk of major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE), myocardial infarction, CV mortality, and all-cause mortality. No significant difference was found between the liraglutide and control groups for the outcome of stroke. However, sensitivity analysis revealed a significant reduction in the risk of stroke among patients taking liraglutide. Our comprehensive meta-analysis strongly supports the use of liraglutide for managing cardiovascular disease (CVD) due to its established safety and effectiveness. Further RCTs and meta-analyses are needed to more thoroughly evaluate liraglutide's therapeutic potential, with the aim of enhancing the quality of life for those with CVD., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist., (Copyright © 2023, Vemulapalli et al.)

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) encompasses a range of conditions, from fatty liver to cirrhosis. In response to evolving research and to better reflect the complex metabolic underpinnings, the term metabolic dysfunction-associated fatty liver disease (MAFLD) has been proposed. The aim of this meta-analysis was to compare cardiovascular events and all-cause mortality between NAFLD and MAFLD patients. The present study was conducted following the Preferred Reporting of Systematic Review and Meta-analysis (PRISMA) guidelines. We systematically searched PubMed, EMBASE, and the Web of Science to identify studies that compared cardiovascular outcomes in MAFLD and NAFLD from inception to July 31, 2023. Outcomes assessed in this meta-analysis included all-cause mortality, cardiovascular mortality, and cardiovascular events. A total of 11 studies were included in this meta-analysis. The risk of cardiovascular mortality was significantly higher in patients with MAFLD patients compared to NAFLD patients (risk ratio (RR): 1.48, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.11 to 1.98). The risk of all-cause mortality was higher in MAFLD patients compared to NAFLD, and the difference was statistically significant (RR: 2.80, 95% CI: 2.39 to 3.28). The risk of cardiovascular events was significantly higher in MAFLD patients compared to NAFLD (RR: 1.18, 95% CI: 0.86 to 1.61). The key findings underscore that individuals diagnosed with MAFLD face a notably higher risk of all-cause mortality, cardiovascular mortality, and cardiovascular events when compared to those with NAFLD., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist., (Copyright © 2023, Virk et al.)

Wheat ( Triticum aestivum L.) is a prominent grain crop. The goal of the current experiment was to examine the genetic potential of advanced bread wheat genotypes for yield and stripe rust resistance. Ninety-three bread wheat genotypes including three varieties (Kohat-2017, Pakistan-2013, and Morocco) were field tested in augmented design as observational nurseries at three locations (i.e., Kohat, Nowshera, and Peshawar) during the 2018-19 crop season. Various parameters related to yield and stripe rust resistance showed significant differences among genotypes for most of the characters with few exceptions. The analysis of variance revealed significant variations for all the genotypes for all the traits at all three sites with few exceptions where nonsignificant differences were noticed among genotypes. Averaged over three locations, genotypes exhibiting maximum desirable values for yield and yield components were KT-86 (325 tillers) for tillers m -2 , KT-50 (2.86 g) for grain weight spike -1 , KT-49 (41.6 g) for 1000-grain weight, KT-50 (74 grains) for grains spikes -1 , KT-55 (4.76 g) for spike weight, and KT-36 and KT-072 (4586 kg ha -1 ) for grain yield. Correlation analysis revealed that grain yield had a significant positive correlation with grain spike -1 and grain weight spike -1 at Kohat, with grains spike -1 , tillers m -2 , and grain weight spike -1 at Nowshera, and with plant height, spike weight, 1000-grain weight, and tillers m -2 at Peshawar. Molecular marker data and host response in the field at the adult stage revealed that Yr15 and Yr10 are both still effective in providing adequate resistance to wheat against prevalent races of stripe rust. Four lines showing desirable lower average coefficient of infection (ACI) values without carrying Yr15 and Yr10 genes show the presence of unique/new resistance gene(s) in the genetic composition of these four lines. Genotype KT-072 (4586 kg ha -1 and 1.3 ACI), KT-07 (4416 kg ha -1 and 4.3 ACI), KT-10 (4346 kg ha -1 and 1.0 ACI), and KT-62 (4338 kg ha -1 and 2.7 ACI) showed maximum values for grain yield and low desirable ACI values, and these lines could be recommended for general cultivation after procedural requirements of variety release., Competing Interests: The authors declare no competing financial interest., (© 2023 The Authors. Published by American Chemical Society.)

In the current research work, local clay-alginate beads loaded with sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) surfactant were prepared for efficient adsorption of methylene blue (MB). FTIR, SEM-EDX, and TGA instruments were used to examine the surface functional groups, morphology, elemental analysis, and thermal stability of beads, respectively. The adsorption efficiency of native clay for MB increases from 124.78 to 247.94 mg/g when loaded in alginate and SDS in beads form. The impacts of adsorbent dosage, initial pH, contact time, initial MB concentration, and temperature were investigated and optimized. The maximum adsorption capacity of beads for MB was 1468.5 mg/g. The process followed a pseudosecond order kinetic and Freundlich adsorption isotherm model. Thermodynamic study confirmed that MB adsorption on beads is endothermic and spontaneous in nature. The beads were recycled and reused for five times. According to the findings, local clay-alginate beads impregnated with SDS proved to be a promising and efficient adsorbent for extracting MB from aqueous solution., (© 2022. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.)

A basic urea technique was successfully used to synthesize Mg/Al-Layered double hydroxides (Mg/Al LDHs), which were then calcined at 400 °C to form Mg/Al-Layered double oxides (Mg/Al LDOs). To reconstruct LDHs, Mg/Al LDOs were fabricated with different feeding ratios of Ni by the co-precipitation method. After synthesis, the Ni/Mg/Al-layered double hydroxides (NMA-LDHs) with 20% and 30% Ni (S1 and S2) were roasted at 400 °C and transformed into corresponding Ni/Mg/Al-layered double oxides (NMA-LDOs) (S1a and S2b, respectively). The physiochemical properties of synthesized samples were also evaluated by various characterization techniques, such as X-ray diffraction (XRD), Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS), Fourier transform infrared (FTIR), and Brunauer, Emmett, and Teller (BET). The adsorption behavior of methyl orange (MO) onto the synthesized samples was evaluated in batch adsorption mode under varying conditions of contact time, adsorbent quantity, and solution pH. As the dosage amount increased from 0.01-0.04 g, the removal percentage of MO dye also increased from 83% to 90% for S1, 84% to 92% for S1a, 77% to 87% for S2, and 93% to 98% for S2b, respectively. For all of the samples, the adsorption kinetics were well described by the pseudo-second-order kinetic model. The equilibrium adsorption data were well fitted to both Langmuir and Freundlich models for methyl orange (MO). Finally, three adsorption-desorption cycles show that NMA-LDHs and NMA-LDOs have greater adsorption and reusability performance for MO dye, signifying that the design and fabrication strategy can facilitate the application of the natural hydrotalcite material in water remediation.

In recent years, the rapid increase in the resistance of microorganisms to antibiotics has produced major health issues. Novel applications for these compounds have been developed by integrating modern technologies such as nanotechnology and material science with the innate antibacterial activity of metals. The current study demonstrated the synthesis of zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO NPs) from Momordica charantia and Curcuma zedoaria plant extracts, as well as their antibacterial properties. The synthesis of ZnO NPs was confirmed via UV-visible spectroscopy, showing clear peaks at 375 and 350 nm for M. charantia and C. zedoaria, respectively. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analysis revealed crystals of irregular shapes for the majority of the nanoparticles synthesized from both plants. The existence of ZnO NPs was confirmed using X-ray diffraction while the particle size was calculated using Scherrer's equation, which was 19.65 for C. zedoaria and 17.02 for M. charantia. Different functional groups were detected through Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy analysis. The antibacterial activity of the ZnO NPs at three different concentrations (250, 500, and 1000 µg/ml) was assessed against three different bacterial strains, i.e., Escherichia coli (E. coli), Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus), and Pseudomonas aeruginosa (P. aeruginosa), using disc diffusion methods. The ZnO nanoparticles showed promising antibacterial activity against bacterial strains. For C. zedoaria, the highest growth inhibition was observed at a concentration of 1000 µg/ml, which was 18, 19, and 18 mm as compared to antibiotics (15, 11, and 15.6 mm) against E. coli, P. aeruginosa, and S. aureus, respectively. Similarly, at 1000 µg/ml of NPs, M. charantia showed the highest growth inhibition (18, 15, and 17 mm) as compared to antibiotics (15, 11, and 14.6 mm) against E. coli, P. aeruginosa, and S. aureus, respectively. In conclusion, compared to pure plant extract and antibiotics, ZnO NPs at a higher concentration (1000 µg/ml) exhibited a significant difference in zone of inhibition against all the bacterial strains. Different concentrations of ZnO using M. charantia and C. zedoaria caused increments in the scavenging of 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radicals and 2,2-azino-bis (3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) (ABTS). The nanoparticles extracted using C. zedoaria exhibited higher antioxidant activity than M. charantia. Greenly synthesized ZnO nanoparticles have remarkable antibacterial properties and antioxidant activity, making them a promising contender for future pharmaceutical application., (© 2022. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature.)

Heavy metal(loid)s (HM) contaminations in the soil poses threats to the human and ecological community due to their bioaccumulation, toxicity, and persistent nature in the ecosystem. This review was designed to know about the HM contamination in soils, ecological risk, distribution, and potential health risks. Soil HM concentrations published in the last 30 years were collected from Springer, Science Direct, Willey, Mendeley, ResearchGate, Google Scholar, etc. HM concentrations were used for the geo-accumulation index (Igeo), contamination factor, as well as integrated indices such as spatial distribution of ecological risk index. Similarly, the Igeo pattern was observed in Sindh > Baluchistan > Punjab > Khyber Pakhtunkhwa > Gilgit-Baltistan > Islamabad. Moreover, the high ecological risk mean values ranged (160 < ERI < 320) due to cadmium (Cd) was exhibited in the Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provinces and Islamabad. Non-carcinogenic risk like hazard quotient was found higher for children (1.59) of Punjab due to arsenic (As) ingestion, whereas the lower risk was observed due to Zn (2.5E-08) for adults of Punjab province via inhalation pathway. Similarly, the health index (HI) from exposure to As (1.61) in soil was higher than the rest of the HM. Moreover, cancerous risk was determined and found in the tolerable range (10 -4 -10 -6 ). This study recommended that HM contaminants in the soil need to be monitored on regular basis, especially in Baluchistan, Gilgit-Baltistan, and Sindh provinces., (© 2022. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature B.V.)

With the advancement in 3D bioprinting technology, cell culture methods can design 3D environments which are both, complex and physiologically relevant. The main component in 3D bioprinting, bioink, can be split into various categories depending on the criterion of categorization. Although the choice of bioink and bioprinting process will vary greatly depending on the application, general features such as material properties, biological interaction, gelation, and viscosity are always important to consider. The foundation of 3D bioprinting is the exact layer-by-layer implantation of biological elements, biochemicals, and living cells with the spatial control of the implantation of functional elements onto the biofabricated 3D structure. Three basic strategies underlie the 3D bioprinting process: autonomous self-assembly, micro tissue building blocks, and biomimicry or biomimetics. Tissue engineering can benefit from 3D bioprinting in many ways, but there are still numerous obstacles to overcome before functional tissues can be produced and used in clinical settings. A better comprehension of the physiological characteristics of bioink materials and a higher level of ability to reproduce the intricate biologically mimicked and physiologically relevant 3D structures would be a significant improvement for 3D bioprinting to overcome the limitations., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2023 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

This study examined the concentration of heavy metal(loid)s (HM) in groundwater and associated health risks in the Hangu District, Pakistan. Seventy-one groundwater samples were selected from various sources to determine the concentration of twelve HM using the ICP-MS. The average concentrations of HM in groundwater were observed within acceptable guidelines proposed by the World Health Organization (WHO). Similarly, the groundwater of the study area based on the HM contamination index results was noted as an excellent group. Generally, the chronic daily intake (CDI) values for both adults and children were observed in the sequence of Fe > Zn > Ni > Mn > Cu > Sb > Cr > Mo > As > Pb > Co > Cd. The highest hazard quotient was computed for children through groundwater from the tube well. Moreover, both carcinogenic and non-carcinogenic hazards of groundwater were observed in the order of tube well > dug well > spring > bore well. The present study suggests that children were more susceptible to health risks than adults., (© 2022. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.)

3-D Bioprinting is employed as a novel approach in biofabrication to promote skin regeneration following chronic-wounds and injury. A novel bioink composed of carbohydrazide crosslinked {polyethylene oxide-co- Chitosan-co- poly(methylmethacrylic-acid)} (PEO-CS-PMMA) laden with Nicotinamide and human dermal fibroblast was successfully synthesized via Free radical-copolymerization at 73 °C. The developed bioink was characterized in term of swelling, structural-confirmation by solid state 13C-Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR), morphology, thermal, 3-D Bioprinting via extrusion, rheological and interaction with DNA respectively. The predominant rate of gelation was attributed to the electrostatic interactions between cationic CS and anionic PMMA pendant groups. The morphology of developed bioink presented a porous architecture satisfying the cell and growth-factor viability across the barrier. The thermal analysis revealed two-step degradation with 85 % weight loss in term of decomposition and molecular changes in the bioink moieties By applying low pressure in the range of 25-50 kPa, the optimum reproducibility and printability were determined at 37 °C in the viscosity range of 500-550 Pa. s. A higher survival rate of 92 % was observed for (PEO-CS-PMMA) in comparison to 67 % for pure chitosan built bioink. A binding constant of K ≈ 1.8 × 10 6  M -1 recognized a thermodynamically stable interaction of (PEO-CS-PMMA) with the Salmon-DNA. Further, the addition of PEO (5.0 %) was addressed with better self-healing and printability to produce skin-tissue constructs to replace the infected skin in human., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2023 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Phospholipase A2 (PLA2) promotes inflammation via lipid mediators and releases arachidonic acid (AA), and these enzymes have been found to be elevated in a variety of diseases, including rheumatoid arthritis, sepsis, and atherosclerosis. The mobilization of AA by PLA2 and subsequent synthesis of prostaglandins are regarded as critical events in inflammation. Inflammatory processes may be treated with drugs that inhibit PLA2, thereby blocking the COX and LOX pathways in the AA cascade. To address this issue, we report herein an efficient method for the synthesis of a series of octahydroquinazolinone compounds ( 4a - h ) in the presence of the catalyst Pd-HPW/SiO 2 and their phospholipase A2, as well as protease inhibitory activities. Among eight compounds, two of them exhibited overwhelming results against PLA2 and protease. By using FT-IR, Raman, NMR, and mass spectroscopy, two novel compounds were thoroughly studied. After carefully examining the SAR of the investigated compounds against these enzymes, it was found that compounds ( 4a , 4b ) containing both electron-donating and electron-withdrawing groups on the phenyl ring exhibited higher activity than compounds with only one of these groups. DFT studies were employed to study the electronic nature and reactivity properties of the molecules by optimizing at the BLYP/cc-pVDZ. Natural bond orbitals helped to study the various electron delocalizations in the molecules, and the frontier molecular orbitals helped with the reactivity and stability parameters. The nature and extent of the expressed biological activity of the molecule were studied using molecular docking with human non-pancreatic secretory phospholipase A2 (hnps-PLA2) (PDB ID: 1DB4) and protease K (PDB ID: 2PWB). The drug-ability of the molecule has been tested using ADMET, and pharmacodynamics data have been extracted. Both the compounds qualify for ADME properties and follow Lipinski's rule of five.

The Internet of medical things (IoMT) provides an ecosystem in which to connect humans, devices, sensors, and systems and improve healthcare services through modern technologies. The IoMT has been around for quite some time, and many architectures/systems have been proposed to exploit its true potential. Healthcare through the Internet of things (IoT) is envisioned to be efficient, accessible, and secure in all possible ways. Even though the personalized health service through IoT is not limited to time or location, many associated challenges have emerged at an exponential pace. With the rapid shift toward IoT-enabled healthcare systems, there is an extensive need to examine possible threats and propose countermeasures. Authentication is one of the key processes in a system's security, where an individual, device, or another system is validated for its identity. This survey explores authentication techniques proposed for IoT-enabled healthcare systems. The exploration of the literature is categorized with respect to the technology deployment region, as in cloud, fog, and edge. A taxonomy of attacks, comprehensive analysis, and comparison of existing authentication techniques opens up possible future directions and paves the road ahead.

Drought stress is one of the abiotic stresses restricting plant development, reproductive growth, and survival. In the present study, the effect of drought stress and post-drought recovery for the selected local wheat cultivar, Atta Habib, was studied. Wheat was grown for 16 days followed by drought stress for 7 days and allowed to recover for 7 days after the removal of the drought stress. Same-aged untreated plants were also grown as a control. The effect of drought stress and post-drought recovery on morphology (root length, shoot length, root weight, and shoot weight), enzymatic activity, and fatty acid profile were analyzed. The results showed that shoot weight (93.1 mg), root weight (85.2 mg), and shoot length (11.1 cm) decreased in the stressed plants but increased steadily in the recovered plants compared to the same-aged control plants, while root length showed a higher increase (14.0 cm) during drought stress and tended to normalize during the recovery phase (13.4 cm). The ascorbate peroxidase activity increased in the stressed plants (5.44 unit/mg protein) compared to the control, while gradually normalizing in the recovery phase (5.41 unit/mg protein). Gas chromatography coupled mass spectrometric analysis revealed abundance changes in important fatty acids, such as palmitic acid, stearic acid, oleic acid, linoleic acid, and linolenic acid. Palmitic acid (39.1%) and oleic acid (2.11%) increased in the drought-stressed plants, while a reduction in linoleic acid (6.85%) and linolenic acid (51.18%) was observed compared to the same-aged control plants, i.e., palmitic (33.71%), oleic (0.95%), linoleic (7.52%), and linolenic acid (55.23%). The results suggest that wheat tries to recover in the post-drought stage by repairing oxidative damage through ascorbate peroxidase, and by adjusting fatty acid abundances under drought stress and during the post-drought phase in an effort to maintain membranes' integrity and a suitable fat metabolism route, thus helping recovery. Targeted metabolomics may be further used to explore the role of other metabolites in the drought-stress response mechanism in wheat. Furthermore, this relatively little explored avenue of post-drought recovery needs more detailed studies involving multiple stress durations., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2022 Ullah, Khan, Lodhi, Ahmed, Tayyab, Mehmood, Din, Khan, Sohail and Akram.)

Objective: To describe presentations, comorbidities, investigations, and surgical treatment of patients with mucormycosis amid the COVID-19 pandemic in a tertiary care hospital in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan., Methods: This descriptive study was conducted at the department of ENT, and Head and Neck Surgery, Medical Teaching Institute, Lady Reading Hospital, Peshawar, Pakistan from June 2020 to June 2021. All the patients fulfilling the inclusion criteria were included. Patients with COVID-19 were diagnosed based on real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). After diagnosing mucormycosis computed tomography (CT) scan and/or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) were performed for subsequent surgical clearance. After taking informed consent demographic data were collected on a proforma and analyzed using SPPS version 25., Results: Out of 23 patients males were 14(60.9%), females were 9 (39.1%) with a male: female ratio of 1.5:1. Mean ± SD age was 51.26 ± 1.41 years. Nasal obstruction and headache were the most common (8, 34.8%) presentations. The commonest co-morbidities were hypertension with diabetes mellitus (8, 34.8%). Out of 23 patients, 16(69.6%) had COVID-19 PCR positive. The majority of patients (17, 73.9%) were not vaccinated against COVID-19. Most of the patients (9, 39.1%) had HbA1c levels of 7% to 8.9%. The commonest surgery was endoscopic debridement of paranasal sinuses (9, 39.1%), while the commonest CT scan finding was a heterogeneous lesion involving the nose, maxillary and ethmoid sinuses (12, 52.2%)., Conclusion: Mucormycosis of paranasal sinuses with/or without intracranial extension is frequently seen in unvaccinated patients having uncontrolled diabetes and COVID-19 infection., Competing Interests: Conflict of Interest: None., (Copyright: © Pakistan Journal of Medical Sciences.)

Economic burden of private supplementary tutoring is increasing around the world. Demand for private supplementary tutoring, contributing factors, and their effects are investigated in the study. For this purpose, data were collected through questionnaire, and multistage non-probability technique was used. Hurder model was used to find the factors affecting demand for private supplementary tutoring at the higher secondary level. Linear regression model was used to find the economic burden of family and factors affecting the demand for private tutoring. The findings showed that several factors have a significant effect on the demand for private supplementary tutoring, and some of them significantly impact on the economic burden. The study recommends regulating the market of shadow education because of differentiated tuition fee in different tuition centers to cut down the burden of private tutoring for households., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2022 Parveen, Alghamdi, Javed and Din.)

Drought is one of the most damaging abiotic stress that hinder plant growth and development. The present study aimed to determine the effects of various Ca/Mg quotients under polyethylene glycol (PEG)-induced osmotic stress on growth, uptake and translocation of Ca and Mg in Avena sativa (L). Plants were grown in nutrient solution supplemented with three different Ca/Mg molar quotients (0.18, 2, and 4). After 30 days plants were exposed to two different PEG (Polyethylene glycol) concentrations (0.6 MPa & 0.2 MPa) for 8 days, and solutions were renewed after 4 days. A solution containing Ca and Mg nutrients has mitigated the negative impact caused via osmotic stress on relative growth rate (RGR), absolute growth rate (AGR), crop growth rate (CGR), leaf area ratio (LAR), Leaf index ratio (LAI), root-shoot ratio (RSR), water use efficiency (WUE) and net assimilation rate (NAR). In addition, it adversely affected germination parameters, including final emergence percentage (FEP), mean germination time (MGT), Timson germination Index (TGI), germination rate index (GRI) and percent field capacity (%FC), of oat (Avena sativa L.). Mg and Ca in shoot and root and Ca translocation factor decreased with increasing Ca in solution, while Mg translocation factor increased with increasing Ca in nutrient solution. In this work, the combined effects of various Ca/Mg quotients and osmotic stress produced by polyethylene glycol (PEG) in different concentrations (0.6 MPa, 0.2 MPa) on the growth and element uptake of Avena sativa L. are examined. As a result, the Ca/Mg Quotient may naturally combat the moderate drought stress experienced by field crops.

In the current study, activated carbon (AC) was prepared from date palm using single step activation using boric acid as an activating agent. The synthesized AC was incorporated with alginate (AC-alginate (AC-alg)) to prepare membrane for adsorption of methylene blue (MB) in batch adsorption study. The prepared membrane was characterized using different types of analytical techniques such as FTIR, SEM, and TGA analysis. Adsorption of methylene blue dye from aqueous solution was carried out using AC-alg membrane in batch investigation. Various experimental parameters effecting the adsorption of MB on membrane such as initial pH of dye solution, contact time, concentration of dye solution and temperature were optimized to get maximum adsorption efficiency. Kinetics, isotherm and thermodynamics study was performed for dye adsorption. Pseudo-second order kinetic model and Langmuir adsorption isotherm were well fitted to the experimental data. The maximum adsorption capacity for MB adsorption was 666 mg/g found by Langmuir adsorption isotherm. Thermodynamic study revealed that the adsorption of MB on AC-alg membrane is spontaneous and an exothermic process. The experimental result confirmed that AC-alg membrane is a suitable and easily recoverable adsorbent to be used for efficient removal of MB and MB like other dyes., (Copyright © 2022 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Sara Rehman Objectives  The purpose of this study was to determine the diagnostic accuracy of breast magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in classifying incidental satellite masses in biopsy-proven breast cancer patients as benign or malignant masses and assessing its impact on surgical management of these patients. We also analyzed the incidence of MRI-detected lesions, which were thereafter assessed with second look ultrasound (US). Materials and Methods  A retrospective study was performed on breast cancer patients presenting from August 01, 2016 to July 31, 2019, with satellite masses seen on base line MRI. Satellite masses were classified as benign and malignant based on MRI features of shape, margin, T2-weighted imaging signals, internal enhancement pattern, enhancement kinetic curves, and diffusion restriction. This was compared with results of histopathological examination. The number of MRI-detected lesions, location of the satellite mass, and type of surgery were also documented. Results  Out of 400 breast cancer patients undergoing MRI breast, 115 patients had multiple masses. Histopathological diagnosis was available for 73 patients; and a total of 93 satellite masses were evaluated. There was evidence of additional masses on second look ultrasound in 21 patients. Of 72 masses classified as malignant on MRI, 58 showed malignant pathological outcome; while out of 21 masses characterized as benign on MRI, 18 turned out to be benign on histopathology. A statistically significant association was found between MRI features and pathological outcome of satellite masses ( p  = 0.001). The sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive values, and accuracy were 95%, 56%, 80.56%, 85.7% and 81.7%, respectively. Based on these findings, modified radical mastectomy (MRM)/mastectomy was done for 42 patients, 5 patients underwent lumpectomy limited to a single tumor, extended resection done for 14 patients, 5 underwent bilateral breast conservation surgery (BCS), BCS for contralateral breast done for 4 patients undergoing ipsilateral MRM/mastectomy, and bilateral MRM/mastectomies were performed for 2 patients. One patient was lost to follow up. Conclusion  Breast MRI is the most sensitive modality for the assessment of breast cancer and plays an essential role in the detection of additional tumor foci. These findings can modify the surgical approach in these patients. However, considering the low specificity, biopsy of satellite masses is imperative to determine the most appropriate surgical plan., Competing Interests: Conflict of Interest None., (MedIntel Services Pvt Ltd. This is an open access article published by Thieme under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonDerivative-NonCommercial License, permitting copying and reproduction so long as the original work is given appropriate credit. Contents may not be used for commercial purposes, or adapted, remixed, transformed or built upon. ( https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ ).)

The use of Phyllanthus emblica (gooseberry) leaf extract to synthesize Boron-doped zinc oxide nanosheets (B-doped ZnO-NSs) is deliberated in this article. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) shows a network of synthesized nanosheets randomly aligned side by side in a B-doped ZnO (15 wt% B) sample. The thickness of B-doped ZnO-NSs is in the range of 20-80 nm. B-doped ZnO-NSs were tested against both gram-positive and gram-negative bacterial strains including Staphylococcus aureus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Klebsiella pneumonia, and Escherichia coli . Against gram-negative bacterium ( K. pneumonia and E. coli ), B-doped ZnO displays enhanced antibacterial activity with 26 and 24 mm of inhibition zone, respectively. The mass attenuation coefficient (MAC), linear attenuation coefficient (LAC), mean free path (MFP), half-value layer (HVL), and tenth value layer (TVL) of B-doped ZnO were investigated as aspects linked to radiation shielding. These observations were carried out by using a PTW ® electron detector and VARIAN ® irradiation with 6 MeV electrons. The results of these experiments can be used to learn more about the radiation shielding properties of B-doped ZnO nanostructures., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2022 Khalid, Ahmad, Muhammad, Khan, Khandaker, Alam, Asim, Din, Iqbal, Rehman, Razzaq, Pandian, Sharma, Emran, Sayyed, Aldawood and Sulieman.)

Environmental problems with chemical and biological water pollution have become a major concern for society. Providing people with safe and affordable water is a grand challenge of the 21st century. The study investigates the photocatalytic degradation capabilities of hydrothermally prepared pure and Cu-doped ZnO nanoparticles (NPs) for the elimination of dye pollutants. A simple, cost-effective hydrothermal process is employed to synthesize the Cu-doped ZnO NPs. The photocatalytic dye degradation activity of the synthesized Cu-doped ZnO NPs is tested by using methylene blue (MB) dye. In addition, the parameters that affect photodegradation efficiency, such as catalyst concentration, starting potential of hydrogen (pH), and dye concentration, were also assessed. The dye degradation is found to be directly proportional to the irradiation time, as 94% of the MB dye is degraded in 2 hrs. Similarly, the dye degradation shows an inverse relation to the MB dye concentration, as the degradation reduced from 94% to 20% when the MB concentration increases from 5 ppm to 80 ppm. The synthesized cost-effective and environmentally friendly Cu-doped ZnO NPs exhibit improved photocatalytic activity against MB dye and can therefore be employed in wastewater treatment materials., Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflicts of interest., (Copyright © 2022 Awais Khalid et al.)

The iron metal-organic framework composite with chitosan (CS/MOF-235) was synthesized using a solvothermal method and its synthesis was confirmed by surface area, PZC, XRD, FESEM, XPS, TGA, TEM, EDX mapping and EDX analysis. The chitosan composite of the iron metal-organic framework (CS/MOF-235), MOF-235 and chitosan were used for the removal of methylene blue (MB) and methyl orange (MO) from aqueous solutions. The maximum adsorption capacities were found to be 2857-2326 mg/g for CS/MOF-235, 357 - 236 mg/g for MOF-235 and 209-171 mg/g for chitosan (CS) which reveal that the adsorption capacity of CS/MOF-235 is almost 8 and 14 times greater than MOF-235 and chitosan respectively. The adsorption selectivity of the (CS/MOF-235) towards the dye was in the order MO > MB. Moreover, hydrogen bonding, pi-pi bonding, pore-filling, electrostatic interactions and chemisorption were proposed as possible mechanisms for the removal of dyes onto CS/MOF-235. The intraparticle diffusion and Richenberg models confirmed that the adsorption process was jointly controlled by the pore and film diffusion. The negative values of the isosteric heat of adsorption (ΔH¯) fall with surface coverage indicating that a lesser amount of heat is required for the greater uptake of dyes., (Copyright © 2021 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Despite the benefits of smart grids, concerns about security and privacy arise when a large number of heterogeneous devices communicate via a public network. A novel privacy-preserving method for smart grid-based home area networks (HAN) is proposed in this research. To aggregate data from diverse household appliances, the proposed approach uses homomorphic Paillier encryption, Chinese remainder theorem, and one-way hash function. The privacy in Internet of things (IoT)-enabled smart homes is one of the major concerns of the research community. In the proposed scheme, the sink node not only aggregates the data but also enables the early detection of false data injection and replay attacks. According to the security analysis, the proposed approach offers adequate security. The smart grid distributes power and facilitates a two-way communications channel that leads to transparency and developing trust.

Boron nitride (BN) nanomaterials are rapidly being investigated for potential applications in biomedical sciences due to their exceptional physico-chemical characteristics. However, their safe use demands a thorough understanding of their possible environmental and toxicological effects. The cytotoxicity of boron nitride nanotubes (BNNTs) was explored to see if they could be used in living cell imaging. It was observed that the cytotoxicity of BNNTs is higher in cancer cells (65 and 80%) than in normal cell lines (40 and 60%) for 24 h and 48 h respectively. The influence of multiple experimental parameters such as pH, time, amount of catalyst, and initial dye concentration on percentage degradation efficiency was also examined for both catalyst and dye. The degradation effectiveness decreases (92 to 25%) as the original concentration of dye increases (5-50 ppm) due to a decrease in the availability of adsorption sites. Similarly, the degradation efficiency improves up to 90% as the concentration of catalyst increases (0.01-0.05 g) due to an increase in the adsorption sites. The influence of pH was also investigated, the highest degradation efficiency for MO dye was observed at pH 4. Our results show that lower concentrations of BNNTs can be employed in biomedical applications. Dye degradation properties of BNNTs suggest that it can be a potential candidate as a wastewater and air treatment material., Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflict of interest., (This journal is © The Royal Society of Chemistry.)

In many smart devices and numerous digital applications, authentication mechanisms are widely used to validate the legitimacy of users' identification. As a result of the increased use of mobile devices, most people tend to save sensitive and secret information over such devices. Personal Identification Number (PIN)-based and alphanumeric passwords are simple to remember, but at the same time, they are vulnerable to hackers. Being difficult to guess and more user-friendly, graphical passwords have grown in popularity as an alternative to all such textual passwords. This paper describes an innovative, hybrid, and much more robust user authentication approach, named GRA-PIN (GRAphical and PIN-based), which combines the merits of both graphical and pin-based techniques. The feature of simple arithmetic operations (addition and subtraction) is incorporated in the proposed scheme, through which random passwords are generated for each login attempt. In the study, we have conducted a comparative study between the GRA-PIN scheme with existing PIN-based and pattern-based (swipe-based) authentications approaches using the standard Software Usability Scale (SUS). The usability score of GRA-PIN was analyzed to be as high as 94%, indicating that it is more reliable and user friendly. Furthermore, the security of the proposed scheme was challenged through an experiment wherein three different attackers, having a complete understanding of the proposed scheme, attempted to crack the technique via shoulder surfing, guessing, and camera attack, but they were unsuccessful.

Fahr's disease is a rare clinical neurodegenerative entity, occurring mainly in 4th or 5th decade, showing gradually progressive bilateral symmetric calcifications in basal ganglia, subcortical white matter, thalami or cerebellum, which can lead to movement disorder and/or neuropsychiatric manifestations. We present two cases in the same family; a 68-year-old brother had involuntary jerky movements of hand and dysarthria for 10 years while the 44-year-old sister had right lower limb spasticity and decreased vision for 2 years. The serial MRI scans showed slow progression in the bilateral subcortical white matter and cerebellar dentate nuclei calcifications along with surrounding reactive gliosis.