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Salinization of aquatic ecosystem, abrupt climate change, and anthropogenic activities cause adverse impact on agricultural land/soil as well as the aquaculture industry. This experimental study was designed to evaluate different biomarkers of oxidative stress, antioxidant enzymes, and genotoxic potential of diverse salinities of brackish water on freshwater fish. A total of 84 fresh water mrigal carp (Cirrhinus mrigala) were randomly segregated and maintained in four groups (T0, T1, T2, and T3) in a glass aquarium under similar laboratory conditions at various salinity levels (0, 3, 5, and 7 parts per thousand) to determine the pathological influence of brackish water. All the fish in groups T1, T2, and T3 were exposed to various salinity levels of brackish water for a period of 90 days while the fish of group T0 served as the control group. The experimental fish reared in different groups T1, T2, and T3 displayed various physical and behavioral ailments. The results revealed significantly augmented quantity of different oxidative stress indicators including reactive oxygen species (ROS) and thiobarbituric acid reactive substance (TBARS) in different visceral tissues (kidneys, liver, and gills) of exposed fish. Different antioxidant enzymes such as reduced glutathione (GSH), peroxidase (POD), superoxide dismutase (SOD), and catalase (CAT) along with total proteins were remarkably reduced in the kidneys, gills, and liver tissues. Results showed significantly increased values of different nuclear abnormalities (erythrocyte with micronucleus, erythrocyte with condensed nucleus, and erythrocyte with lobed nucleus) and morphological changes (pear shaped erythrocyte, spindle-shaped erythrocytes, and spherocyte) in red blood cells of experimental fish. The results on genotoxic effects exhibited significantly increased DNA damage in isolated cells of liver, kidneys, and gills of exposed fish. The findings of our experimental research suggested that brackish water causes adverse toxicological impacts on different visceral tissues of fresh water fish at higher salinity level through disruption and disorder of physiological and biochemical markers.

Pyriproxyfen (PPF) mimics a natural hormone in insects and disrupts their growth. It is a well-known synthetic insecticide and aromatic juvenile hormone analog frequently used in agriculture and vegetable crops to control various insect species. At present, scanty information is available about the possible potential threats of PPF in aquatic organisms. Therefore, in this study, different toxico-pathologic endpoints of PPF like DNA damage, biomarkers of oxidative stress, and status of antioxidant enzymes were determined in Labeo rohita (freshwater fish). In our study, 60 active, free from any external obvious ailments, same size, age, and body mass were randomly allocated to four glass aquaria (T0-T3) separately containing 100 L water. The fish present in groups T1, T2, and T3 were administered PPF dissolved in water 300, 600, and 900 μg/L for 30 days. Different tissues including the blood and visceral organs were obtained from each fish on days 10, 20, and 30 of the experiment. Results on various morphological and nuclear changes in red blood cells of PPF-exposed Labeo rohita fish including pear-shaped erythrocytes, spherocytes, red blood cells with a blebbed nucleus, micronucleus, and nuclear remnants were significantly increased. Our results on genotoxicity (comet assay) recorded significantly ( P ≤ 0.05 ) increased DNA damage in various tissues of insecticide-exposed fish. The results on oxidative stress profile (reactive oxygen species and thiobarbituric acid reactive substances) and antioxidant enzymes (reduced glutathione superoxide dismutase, peroxidase, and catalase) in multiple tissues of Labeo rohita fish concluded significantly ( P ≤ 0.05 ) higher quantity of biomarkers of oxidative stress and lower concentrations of different antioxidant enzymes in treated fish. Hence, the findings of our experimental research determine that PPF could induce adverse toxic impacts on multiple tissues of Labeo rohita fish.

Technology is quickly evolving and becoming part of our lives. Life has become better and easier due to the technologies. Although it has lots of benefits, it also brings serious risks and threats, known as cyberattacks, which are neutralized by cybersecurities. Since spherical fuzzy sets (SFSs) and interval-valued SFS (IVSFS) are an excellent tool in coping with uncertainty and fuzziness, the current study discusses the idea of spherical cubic FSs (SCFSs). These sets are characterized by three mappings known as membership degree, neutral degree, and nonmembership degree. Each of these degrees is spherical cubic fuzzy numbers (SCFNs) such that the summation of their squares does not exceed one. The score function and accuracy function are presented for the comparison of SCFNs. Moreover, the spherical cubic fuzzy weighted geometric (SCFWG) operators and SCF ordered weighted geometric (SCFOWG) operators are established for determining the distance between two SCFNs. Furthermore, some operational rules of the proposed operators are analyzed and multiattribute decision-making (MADM) approach based on these operators is presented. These methods are applied to make the best decision on the basis of risks factors as a numerical illustration. Additionally, the comparison of the proposed method with the existing methods is carried out; since the proposed methods and operators are the generalizations of existing methods, they provide more general, exact, and accurate results. Finally, for the legitimacy, practicality, and usefulness of the decision-making processes, a detailed illustration is given.

The concept of fuzzy graph (FG) and its generalized forms has been developed to cope with several real-life problems having some sort of imprecision like networking problems, decision making, shortest path problems, and so on. This paper is based on some developments in generalization of FG theory to deal with situation where imprecision is characterized by four types of membership grades. A novel concept of T-spherical fuzzy graph (TSFG) is proposed as a common generalization of FG, intuitionistic fuzzy graph (IFG), and picture fuzzy graph (PFG) based on the recently introduced concept of T-spherical fuzzy set (TSFS). The significance and novelty of proposed concept is elaborated with the help of some examples, graphical analysis, and results. Some graph theoretic terms are defined and their properties are studied. Specially, the famous Dijkstra algorithm is proposed in the environment of TSFGs and is applied to solve a shortest path problem. The comparative analysis of the proposed concept and existing theory is made. In addition, the advantages of the proposed work are discussed over the existing tools.

Activation of the catalyst particles during a CVD process can be anticipated from the carbon feeding rate. In this study, Fe2O3/Al2O3 catalyst was synthesized with uniformly dispersed iron over alumina support for onward production of multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) in a fluidized bed chemical CVD reactor. The effect of the ethylene flowrate on catalytic activity of the compound catalyst and morphology of the as-grown MWCNTs was also investigated in this study. The dispersed active phases of the catalyst and optimized gas flowrate helped in improving the tube morphology and prevented the aggregation of the as-grown MWCNTs. The flowrates, below 100 sccm, did not provide sufficient reactants to interact with the catalyst for production of defect-free CNT structures. Above 100 sccm, concentration of the carbon precursor did not show notable influence on decomposition rate of the gas molecules. The most promising results on growth and structural properties of MWCNTs were gained at ethylene flowrate of 100 sccm. At this flowrate, the ratio of G and D intensity peaks (IG/ID) was deliberated about 1.40, which indicates the growth of graphitic structures of MWCNTs.

Summary To address the paucity of information on the spatial and temporal composition of elasmobranch fish assemblages in the Arabian region, data from fisheries surveys around Kuwait's Boubyan Island, in the Tigris-Euphrates-Karun delta at the head of the Arabian (Persian) Gulf were examined. A total number of 461 elasmobranchs consisting of at least 13 taxa were captured by gillnets (300 m length, 4, 4.5, 5.5, and 5.75 inch stretch mesh) and otter trawls (5-m chain line length, 34 and 10 mm stretch mesh in body and cod end, respectively) from February 2004 to March 2005. Seventy-nine gillnet sets averaged 24 min soak time, while 431 5-min trawl tows averaged 4.1 km h−1 for a swept area of 1025 m2 tow−1 with a net spread of 3 m. Most taxa were infrequently recorded. Of the six species that accounted for over 90% of individual abundance, the longheaded eagle ray Aetobatus flagellum (170, 269.5 kg) and the scaly whipray Himantura imbricata (137, 17.3 kg) ranked first and second, respectively. Most sharks were Arabian carpetshark Chiloscyllium arabicum (22, 7.7 kg) and milk shark Rhizoprionodon acutus (21, 2.3 kg). Species richness for gillnets was greatest along the main Gulf coast (H' = 1.87), although H. imbricata and A. flagellum were widespread. Based on published birth sizes, neonates or young-of-year of several species were recorded. Results indicated that the water temperature strongly determined seasonal distribution: no elasmobranchs were recorded in the winter following a 14°C drop after October, and diversity, abundance and biomass generally increased in summer. While salinity varied from 28.4 to 39.8, major anthropogenic modifications in the upper Tigris-Euphrates watersheds and development of Boubyan Port will result in higher salinities, which in turn will influence longer-term patterns of elasmobranch distribution.

Dechlorination of lindane was carried out in a two-phase reaction. In first phase Devarda’s alloy and sodium borohydride were used in aqueous/ethanol reaction media. The reaction duration and temperature were optimized. In first phase higher dechlorination (78%) was achieved at 80°C with 40-minute reaction time and the products were chlorobenzene, dichlorobenzene, and chlorocyclohexane. In second phase, Ca(OH)2 and sulfur were added in reaction media. The reactions conditions like temperature and reaction time were optimized. After 30 minutes, dechlorination was enhanced from 78% to 94% and the final products were benzene, phenol, catechol, benzenethiol, cyclohexane, cyclohexanol, and cyclohexanethiol. The results suggested that dechlorination of lindane in first and second phase was carried out through hydrodechlorination and substitution reactions, respectively. The developed method was applied for lindane containing real wastewater and higher dechlorination (91%) was achieved under optimized reaction conditions.

Thioureas, often contained within neoprene to provide water resistance, are an important cause of allergic contact dermatitis (ACD) in those who use neoprene products. We wish to present three cases of thiourea-induced ACD from three different orthopaedic supports containing neoprene. The first case was a 67-year-old woman who developed an itchy rash on her heel three weeks after using a neoprene insole for plantar fasciitis. The second case was a 47-year-old man who developed an itchy rash on his wrist after wearing neoprene wrist splints for psoriatic arthropathy. The third case was a 77-year-old woman who experienced a severe erythematous rash with blistering from a neoprene elbow brace she received following a humeral fracture. All patients were patch tested to the British Society of Cutaneous Allergy Standard and rubber series and a cut piece from all the relevant supports. At 96 hours, all patients had a + reaction to mixed dialkylthiourea, diethylthiourea, and the supports’ material. No other positive patch test reactions were identified. As neoprene is fast becoming one of the most popular materials used for orthopaedic supports, awareness of this reaction and close liaison between dermatologists and orthopaedic surgeons are therefore essential to allow for early recognition of this complication.

We presented a general formula to generate the family of even-point ternary approximating subdivision schemes with a shape parameter for describing curves. Some sufficient conditions for C0 to C7 continuity and approximation order for certain ranges of parameter are discussed. The proposed even-point ternary schemes compare remarkably with existing even-point ternary schemes because they are able to generate limit functions with higher smoothness and approximation order. In addition, we measured curvature and torsion that assist the quality of subdivided curves.