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The PBAT is a biodegradable, thermally and mechanically stable polymer that plays an important role in combating plastic pollution. In this project, we studied the influence on plant growth and intrinsic microbial miscellany during PBAT degradation. Chinese cabbage (Brassica rapa) grown in pots under controlled conditions was used as a test crop. PBAT was used in three quantities 0, 0.5, and 1 g, respectively. Every treatment was replicated thrice to minimize the error. Changes in growth parameters were recorded after 15, 30, 45, and 60 d. The PBAT degradation process was analyzed using the high-throughput sequencing technique. Three particle sizes < 0.1 mm (D1), 0.1-0.2 mm (D2), and 0.2-0.5 (D3), and two additive proportions 0.05% (M1) and 0.5% (M2) were used. The results showed that smaller particle sizes and larger additive proportions enhanced the PBAT degradation and soil microbial communities. At the genus level, The PBAT degradation products had significantly inhibited the phylum proteobacteria and actinomycetes. The acid Bacillus abundance was recorded highest at low pH due to the formation of acidic intermediates while a decline in Nocardia spp. was also obvious at this condition. The effect of PBAT on the soil microbial community provides a way for the development of microplastic resources for their effective degradation, the assessment of the potential impact on soil ecosystems, the understanding of their degradation process, and the maintenance of overall soil health.

L-asparaginase, an important biopharmaceutical, has been a boon to cancer patients, especially for the therapeutic treatment of acute lymphoblastic leukemia. However, asparaginase formulations from E. coli and Erwinia species currently being used are associated with potential side effects causing hindrances towards a successful therapeutic treatment. Therefore, optimization and production of asparaginase from varied microbial sources has been the aim of several studies to overcome the hypersensitive and toxicological responses associated with presently used drug formulations. In this study, the possibility of using Enterobacter aesburiae strain R16C1/MT93543isolated from black gram rhizospheric soil sample as L-asparaginase source of industrial importance, was investigated. Different fermentation process parameters for the production of enzyme were optimized using submerged fermentation in shake flask. Box Behnken design was used to optimize and study individual as well as interactive effect of rpm, inoculum size (%) and temperature for asparaginase activity. Comparable values for enzyme activity were obtained from experimental results and software predicted values. As per interaction data obtained for the selected fermentation parameters, rpm, size of inoculum and temperature showed significant effects at interactive levels, thus, showing effect on production of enzyme. A significant improvement in enzyme activity was obtained using optimized environment. Higher enzyme activity of 40.36 U/ml was observed in M9 medium which was 4.4-fold higher than the initial activity of enzyme.

There is a limited understanding of molecular and cellular events that derive disease progression in patients with COVID-19. Receptor for Advanced Glycation End Products (RAGE) is hyperactive in development and complications of several diseases by mediating oxidative stress and inflammation in the body. The present study aims to explore activation of RAGE signaling in patients infected with SARS-CoV-2 with preexisting comorbidities. Enhanced levels of ligands of RAGE including AGEs, S100, and HMGB-1 were observed in Covid 19 patients with severe diseases, however, their level was significantly higher in COVID-19 patients with comorbidties as compared to COVID-19 patients without comorbidties. The Expression of RAGE in parallel to ligands accumulation, was significantly increased in patients with severe disease and comorbidities as compared to COVID-19 patients with sever disease without comorbidities. The expression of downstream effectors of RAGE including STAT-3 and NF-kB were also enahnced and their activity was increaed in COVID-19 patients with comorbisdities. Levels of inflammatory and oxidative stress biomarkers were markeldy in COVID-19 patients with comorbidties as compared to COVID-19 patients without comorbidties. We conclude that upregulated RAGE axis is favorable to worsen the severity of the SARS-CoV-2 infection in patients with preexisting comorbidities and partly explain inflammatory and oxidative stress strom in severe COVID-19 patietnts.

The current study was to investigate the leaching and groundwater contamination potential of selected Dioxins, in local soil series. Solute transport was modelled through Breakthrough curve (BTC) plots, based on distribution coefficient (Kd), Retardation factor and Dispersivity, under normal velocity (20 cm day -1) and preferential or steady flow (50 cm day -1). In case of Dibenzo -p- Dioxin (DD), distribution coefficient values were found in order of Charsadda > Peshawar > Sultanpur series, while for 2 Chloro- p- Dioxin (2Cl-DD), the order was Charsadda > Sultanpur > Peshawar. However, the overall sorption was low. Under the normal velocity both of selected Dioxins (DD & 2Cl-DD), BTC plots relatively took longer time to reach the point of saturation as compared to high seepage velocity. However, the overall solute transport was found to be rapid. This behaviour showed that sorption of the Dioxins selected soil series is low and there is potential for leaching and groundwater contamination.

Lead (Pb) contamination in soil and subsequent transport in groundwater poses severe threats to the food safety and human health. In current study, the effects of soil organic matter on sorption behavior of Pb onto six agricultural soils were investigated by batch sorption experiments and microscopic characterization. Results indicated that Pb sorption onto agricultural soils was dominated by the soil organic matter content and soil texture. The decrease of organic matter content reduced the sorption capacity of Pb onto agricultural soils. Based on soil texture, the Pb sorption was highest in clay soil and lowest in silt type of soil. The overall Pb sorption was in the order of clay > clay loam > silty clay loam ≈ loam > silt loam > silt. The sorption isotherms of measured aqueous and soil phase Pb concentrations were fit well with the linear sorption model. The organic carbon normalized partition coefficients (Log KOC) ranged from 2.90 to 2.99. Linear partition coefficient (Kd) values were positively correlated with the soil properties, such as clay (R2 =0.90), OC (R2 =0.94) and pH (R2 = 0.45); however, weak correlation was found between Kd and soil sand contents (R2 = 0.12). The leachability model showed potential risk of Pb leaching from silt soil with lowest organic matter content. The findings are of significant importance for understanding potential threats of Pb to the soil ecosystem, groundwater, plants, and humans.

0.9Bi1 − xNdxFeO3 – 0.1PbTiO3 solid solution where x = 0.05, 0.10, 0.15 and 0.20 were success fully synthesized by the standard solid-state reaction method. The effect of Nd3+ion substitution on structural, micro structural, ferroelectric, magnetic, dielectric and magneto-electric properties of 0.9BiFeO3-0.1PbTiO3 have been investigated. The XRD analysis for the samples under study revealed distorted rhombohedral structure with R3C space group. 0.9Bi1 − xNdxFeO3 – 0.1PbTiO3 where x = 0.05, 0.10, 0.15 and 0.20 i.e.(BNFPT)x compounds crystallised as single-phase materials with the same structure as the parent BiFeO3 compound.. The SEM study revealed the uniform grain scattering for all prepared samples. Raman spectroscopy showed disappearance of some Raman modes indicated a structural phase transition with substitution of Nd dopants at Bi site and also confirmed the distorted rhombohedral perovskite structure of (BNFPT)x compounds with R3c symmetry. Dielectric measurements showed magnetoelectric coupling around Neel temperature in all the samples and also improved dielectric properties with addition of dopants in BiFeO3(BFO) compound. All the prepared samples exhibit weak ferro-magnetic character at room temperature. However, the variation in linear behavior and enhancement in magnetization is found at 5 K which shows gradual increase in remnant magnetization from 0.00785 emu/g to 0.37513 emu/g with increase in Nd doping for all (BNFPT)x samples. Nd doping reduces leakage current by three orders of magnitude, from 10− 4 to 10− 7. Ferroelectric study revealed the pinning effect in hysteresis loops with low remnant polarization.

Mercury (Hg) bioaccumulation in fish poses severe threats to the food safety and human health. This study was conducted to assess Hg bioaccumulation in fish (n = 24) and scalp hair (n = 77) of the fishing communities at up and downstream of the river Swat, Pakistan. The mean Hg concentration in upstream fish Salmo trutta fario (Brown trout) and Schizothorax plagiostomus (Swati fish) species were 34.7 ± 18 µgKg− 1 and 29.4 ± 15 µgKg− 1. The mean Hg concentration in downstream Swati fish, Crossocheilus diplochilus (Spena dega) and Garra gotyla gotyla (Tora dega) were 64.6 ± 21 µgKg− 1, 113.3 ± 33 µgKg− 1 and 326.3 ± 53 µgKg− 1 respectively. The mean Hg concentration in scalp hair of the up and downstream fishing communities were 658 ± 125 µgKg− 1 and 3969 ± 791 µgKg− 1. Independent T-test showed significant difference (t = -3.37) in the mean Hg concentration in scalp hair of the up and downstream communities. The most prevalent health problems found in the fishing community were muscle pain, headache, visual impairment, arterial blood pressure, anemia, and kidney dysfunction. Multilinear regression indicated that daily and weekly consumption of the fish significantly increase Hg accumulation in human scalp hair. Regular consumption of fruits, cruciferous and leafy vegetables were found to reduce Hg toxicity in the population. Further studies are recommended to identify the sources of Hg and welfare impact of fish contamination on the fishing community of river Swat.

Background Himalayan yew (Taxus wallichiana) is one of the endangered medicinal plants species having great importance due to the presence of anticancer drug Taxol. This metabolite is mainly used for the treatment of ovarian, breast, AIDS-related cancers, and other indications. The study being reported here was conducted for the propagation of Himalayan yew by using two different trials of Indole Butyric acid (IBA) and Indole acetic acid (IAA) hormones treatments (2000–7000 ppm) through stem cuttings (140 each). In the same way, 3840 cuttings were treated with IBA and IAA from November 2016 to November 2017 at Lalku valley, Swat, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), Pakistan. Results The influence of IBA treatment (7000 ppm) showed a survival of 85.22% (average number of roots = 10.4, average length of roots = 15.5 cm, average number of leaves = 92.4 and average number of sprouts = 3.3) while that of IAA treatment (7000 ppm) the survival of 81.11% (average number of roots = 9.1, average length of roots = 14.6 cm, average number of leaves = 84.0 and average number of sprout = 3.0) were more significant followed by 2000–6000 ppm (IBA and IAA). Lowest survival 40–45% (average number of roots = 4.2, average length of roots = 8.0 cm, average number of leaves = 32.2, average number of sprouts = 1.7) was noticed for controlled cuttings. Conclusion The present study enhanced the potential of conservation and propagation of T. wallichiana. Hence our study suggests and recommends the application of IBA (7000 ppm) as a better hormone for the conservation and propagation of Himalayan yew.