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Photolysis of methylene blue was studied by using an advanced UV/H2O2 oxidation process. This study investigated different initial dye concentrations (I0, 20, 30 ppm) using different concentrations of H2O2 (10 %, 30%, 50 %) in three additions (5 mL, 10 mL, 15 mL). The results showed that the degradation efficiencies of this dye at different concentrations were as follows: 99.86 % at 10 ppm using 15 mL of 10 % H2O2 after 60 min, 99.22 % at 20 ppm using 15 mL of 30 % H2O2 for 60 min, and 98.90 % at 30ppm using 15 mL of 50 % H2O2 after 90 min. An increase in the optimum concentration of H2O2 was observed with an increase in the initial dye concentration. The de-coloration time also increased with increasing initial dye concentration.

Background: β-caryophyllene (BCP) is a naturally occurring bicyclic sesquiterpene extracted from various plants, and widely used as a medicinal agent for various diseases. During hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) development, cancer cells generally exhibit increased cell proliferation due to mutations or aberrant expression of key regulatory genes. The current study determines the cytotoxic effects of BCP alone or in combination with doxorubicin (DOX) and cisplatin (DDP) on HCC cells, and elucidates the underlying mechanism of BCP to exert its anticancer activities., Materials and Methods: HepG2, SMMC-7721 HCC cells, and HL-7702 normal liver cells were treated with BCP, DOX, and DDP individually or combinatorially. Cell proliferation assay, flow cytometric assay, and Western blot were employed to evaluate the cytotoxic effects of these treatments. Transwell assays were used to examine BCP's effects on HCC cell migration and invasion. RNA-seq analysis was used to determine BCP's primary target genes in HepG2 cells. Integrative analysis of differentially expressed genes (DEGs) of RNA-seq data with an HCC TCGA dataset identified BCP-targeted genes that were verified by RT-qPCR analysis. Ectopic gene expression, cell viability, and colony formation assay were performed to validate the primary targets of BCP., Results: BCP selectively inhibited HCC cell proliferation while exhibited relatively low toxicity in normal liver cells; however, DOX and DDP showed higher toxicity in normal cells than that in HCC cells. In combinatorial treatments, BCP synergistically enhanced cytotoxicity of DOX and DDP in HCC cells but this effect was markedly reduced in HL-7702 cells. BCP treatment reduced migration and invasion of HCC cells. Furthermore, RNA-seq analyses of BCP-treated HepG2 cells identified 433 protein-coding DEGs. Integrative analyses revealed five BCP-targeted DEGs regulating the MAPK signaling pathway. Among these five genes, three displayed a significantly positive correlation of their expression with the overall survival of HCC patients. As a primary target, PGF was significantly downregulated by BCP treatment, and its exogenous expression desensitized HCC cells to BCP-mediated inhibition., Discussion: BCP inhibits malignant properties of HCC and synergistically sensitizes the anticancer activity of DOX and DDP. In HCC cells, BCP primarily targets the PGF gene and MAPK signaling pathway., 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 © 2024 Basheer, Wang, Li, Jehan, Raza, Du, Ullah, Li and Sui.)

One of the biggest issues the world is currently experiencing is the scarcity of pure water due to the contamination of pure water by human activities. Highly efficient, semiconducting photocatalytic materials have great potential as future catalytic materials for facilitating the clean-up process of contaminated water. Among the many semiconductor photocatalysts, non-metal-doped zinc oxide (ZnO) nanoparticles have attracted special attention in the scientific field for environmental remediation applications. The present paper reports an easy and viable synthesis of C-, N-, and S-based ZnO semiconductor photocatalysts through a simple heating method. The structural changes in the obtained samples were studied using XRD, TG/DTA, and FT-IR analyses, and morphological examinations were performed using TEM and SEM. The quantification of non-metal dopants was carried out using CNS and XPS analyses. The surface areas of the samples were analyzed using the BET method and the band energies of the samples were measured using UV-vis-diffuse reflectance Kubelka-Munk plots. Photoactivity studies were performed and revealed that the utilized in situ method resulted in the development of high-performance sulphur - (81.4%, k = 1.951 × 10 -2 min -1 ), nitrogen - (78.5%, k = 2.271 × 10 -2 min -1 ), and carbon - (67.2%, k = 1.392 × 10 -2 min -1 ) doped ZnO photocatalysts. As revealed through XPS and UV analyses, a possible electron-transfer mechanism is suggested, wherein electronic transition occurred from different sub-bands when non-metal elements were introduced into the ZnO lattice. The study paves the way for the bulk-scale fabrication of doped nanoparticles through a simple heating method, whereby the unique combination of the present method with bandgap engineering will ultimately produce advanced non-metal-based ZnO photocatalysts that could find useful applications in sustainable industrial sectors., Competing Interests: There are no conflicts of interest to declare., (This journal is © The Royal Society of Chemistry.)

Livestock herding is a vital practice in Balochistan, contributing to the economy and culture. The livestock sector is significant in Balochistan, providing 20% of the national stock. Large predators and their prey species, including livestock, have coexisted in these mountainous landscapes for centuries. The aim of the present research is to investigate the impacts of livestock depredation by large predators on livelihoods and predator conservation in two districts of Balochistan, Pakistan. A human-carnivore conflict survey was conducted from July to September 2019, collecting data from 311 residents in a selected study area. Large predators in the study area preyed on a total of 876 livestock during a one-year period, including 560 goats, 292 sheep, 19 cows, and 5 donkeys. The gray wolf is the leading predator, responsible for 66.3% of livestock depredation, followed by the caracal (24.3%), Asiatic jackal (8.9%), and striped hyena (0.6%). The total economic loss was USD 78,694. Overall, 80% of respondents had a negative perception of wolves compared to 24.4% for caracals. Only 20.6% of respondents knew about the importance of conserving carnivores. Livestock depredation by carnivores in the study area created a negative perception of these animals among people. There is a lack of awareness about the importance of conserving carnivore species and their role in the ecosystem. This lack of understanding has ultimately led to detrimental effects on predator populations. It is imperative to raise awareness among people about the ecological significance of carnivores through community meetings, seminars in educational institutions, and providing basic education to herders about effective livestock guarding practices.

Objective: To determine the incidence of pressure injuries (PIs) and their impact on clinical outcomes in patients treated with prone positioning for COVID-19 acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS)., Method: All patients with COVID-19 ARDS who were treated with prone positioning were categorised as cases and those who were not treated with prone positioning were categorised as controls. Demographics, clinical data and confounding variables affecting outcomes were recorded. Outcome variables of mortality and length of stay in intensive care units (ICUs) for both groups were recorded. Both groups' incidence of PIs were recorded and compared using statistical tests. Fisher's exact test was used for categorical variables, and Mann-Whitney U test was used for continuous variables., Results: The sample included 212 patients, treated with prone position (n=104) and without prone treatment (n=108). The incidence of PIs was n=75 (35.4%). PIs were significantly higher in patients in the prone position (n=51, 49%) compared with patients who were not (n=24, 22%); p=0.001. Patients in the prone position were found to have lower APACHE-2 scores, longer stays on the ventilator, ICU and in the hospital., Conclusion: PIs are more prevalent in patients in the prone position and it adversely impacts clinical outcomes; it prolongs the length of stay on the ventilator, in the ICU and in the hospital.

Background: Most chemotherapeutics used in cancer therapies exhibit considerable side effects to the patients. Thus, developing new chemo agents to treat cancer patients with minimal toxic and side effects is urgently needed. Recently, the combination of different chemotherapeutics has become a promising strategy to treat malignancies. Thymoquinone (TQ) is a primary bioactive compound derived from the folk medicinal plant Nigella sativa, which has been found an antitumor, chemopreventive and chemopotentiating agent against human neoplastic diseases., Purpose: We briefly summarize the current research of the biomolecular mechanisms of TQ and evaluate the existing literature on TQ adjuvant therapies against various cancers., Method: The data in this review were gathered by several search engines including, Google Scholar, PubMed and ScienceDirect. We highlighted and classified the outcomes of both in vitro and in vivo experiments of TQ adjuvant therapies against human cancers and their chemopreventive activities on vital organs., Results: Several studies have shown that TQ synergistically potentiated the antitumor activity of numerous chemo agents against human neoplastic disease, including lung, breast, liver, colorectal, skin, prostate, stomach, bone and blood cancers. TQ also acted as a chemopreventive agent and reduced the toxicity of many chemo agents to vital organs, such as the heart, liver, kidneys and lungs., Conclusion: In summary, we highly recommend an advanced evaluation of TQ adjuvant therapies at the level of preclinical and clinical trials, which could lead to a novel combinatorial therapy for cancer treatment with low or tolerable adverse effects on patients., (Copyright © 2022 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.)

Background: Nigella sativa, or commonly called black cumin is a small herb of family Ranunculaceae is a well-known medicinal plant but its effects on tissue mineral concentrations of animal bodies is unknown., Purpose: To study the effect of oral administration of fixed oil of black cumin seeds on tissues mineral content using laboratory rats as experimental model., Study Design: Experimental animals were exposed to two oral doses of seed oil (60 and 120 ml kg -1 body weight). Short- and long term experiments lasted 24 h and 60 days respectively, with three replicates each., Methods: Oil extracted from black cumin seeds was subjected to GC-MS to identify chemical components. Following the wet digestion in nitric acid, samples of whole blood and organs of rats were subjected to atomic absorption spectrophotometry for determination of elements concentrations. Data were compared statistically at p < .05., Results: Compared to control, Cr, Mn, Ni, Cu, Zn showed decrease, whereas Co, Na, Mg and K demonstrated increase, but Ca showed both increase and decrease in most of the tissues upon short term exposure to low and high doses of black cumin oil. During long term exposure, Cr, Fe, Mn, Cu exhibited decrease; Co, Na, Mg and Ca concentrations demonstrated an upregulation, whereas Ni and Zn showed increase and decrease in most of the tissues. Comparison of short term with long term experiments at low dose revealed increases in Fe, Zn, Cu, Mg, K and Ca, a decrease in Cr, Mn, Ni and Cu in most tissues, but both increase and decrease in Na. At high dose, an increase occurred in Fe, Ni, Zn, K, Ca, Mg, a decrease in Cr, while both increase and decrease in Cu, Co and Na concentrations., Conclusion: Our study demonstrates that oral administration of black cumin seeds oil to laboratory rats significantly alters tissue trace elements and electrolytes concentrations. The study appears beneficial but indicates modulatory role of black cumin oil as regards mineral metabolism with far reaching implications in health and disease., (Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier GmbH.)

Objective: To confirm that either Fibrinolytic therapy or open decortication which of the two is an effective First line treatment of pleural empyema., Methods: This prospective comparative study was conducted in the department of surgery Sheikh Zayed Medical College and Hospital, Rahim Yaar Khan. Seventy eight (78) patients were included in this study. There were two groups of patients; Group I (n=35) patients treated with fibrinolytic therapy, Group II (n=43) patients treated with open decortication. Data was entered and analyzed in SPSS v16. Student's t-test was used for comparison of quantitative variables. Chi-square and Fisher's Exact test were used for comparison of qualitative variables. P-value ≤ 0.05 was taken as significant difference., Results: There was no significant difference in base baseline characteristics of patients of Group I and II. Incidence of comorbidities was also same between the groups. Most of the patients in Group I and II were in empyema stage III. Fluid cultures was positive in 33 (94.3%) patients in group I and 39 (90.7%) patients in group II. 30 (85.7%) was successfully treated using fibrinolytic therapy but this therapy failed in five (14.3%) patients, two of these patients expired within the hospital. There was only one (2.3%) treatment failure in open decortication Group that patient expired within the hospital (p-value 0.04). Overall duration of hospitalization was significantly high in fibrinolytic group, this was 17.6± 1.95 days versus 12.09± 2.18 days in open decortication group (p-value<0.0001). There was no significant difference regarding operative mortality within the two groups., Conclusion: Open Drainage is associated with better outcomes as compared to fibrinolytic therapy when used as a First line treatment of empyema.

The survival of Salmonella spp. in chorizos has been studied under the effect of storage conditions; namely temperature (T=6, 25, 30 degrees C), air inflow velocity (F=0, 28.4 m/min), and initial water activity (a(w0)=0.85, 0.90, 0.93, 0.95, 0.97). The pH was held at 5.0. A total of 20 survival curves were experimentally obtained at various combinations of operating conditions. The chorizos were stored under four conditions: in the refrigerator (Ref: T=6 degrees C, F=0 m/min), at room temperature (RT: T=25 degrees C, F=0 m/min), in the hood (Hd: T=25 degrees C, F=28.4 m/min), and in the incubator (Inc: T=30 degrees C, F=0 m/min). Semi-logarithmic plots of counts vs. time revealed nonlinear trends for all the survival curves, indicating that the first-order kinetics model (exponential distribution function) was not suitable. The Weibull cumulative distribution function, for which the exponential function is only a special case, was selected and used to model the survival curves. The Weibull model was fitted to the 20 curves and the model parameters (alpha and beta) were determined. The fitted survival curves agreed with the experimental data with R(2)=0.951, 0.969, 0.908, and 0.871 for the Ref, RT, Hd, and Inc curves, respectively. Regression models relating alpha and beta to T, F, and a(w0) resulted in R(2) values of 0.975 for alpha and 0.988 for beta. The alpha and beta models can be used to generate a survival curve for Salmonella in chorizos for a given set of operating conditions. Additionally, alpha and beta can be used to determine the times needed to reduce the count by 1 or 2 logs t(1D) and t(2D). It is concluded that the Weibull cumulative distribution function offers a powerful model for describing microbial survival data. A comparison with the pathogen modeling program (PMP) revealed that the survival kinetics of Salmonella spp. in chorizos could not be adequately predicted using PMP which underestimated the t(1D) and t(2D). The mean of the Weibull probability density function correlated strongly with t(1D) and t(2D), and can serve as an alternative to the D-values normally used with first-order kinetic models. Parametric studies were conducted and sensitivity of survival to operating conditions was evaluated and discussed in the paper. The models derived herein provide a means for the development of a reliable risk assessment system for controlling Salmonella spp. in chorizos.

In this paper, we propose to use probabilistic neural networks (PNNs) for classification of bacterial growth/no-growth data and modeling the probability of growth. The PNN approach combines both Bayes theorem of conditional probability and Parzen's method for estimating the probability density functions of the random variables. Unlike other neural network training paradigms, PNNs are characterized by high training speed and their ability to produce confidence levels for their classification decision. As a practical application of the proposed approach, PNNs were investigated for their ability in classification of growth/no-growth state of a pathogenic Escherichia coli R31 in response to temperature and water activity. A comparison with the most frequently used traditional statistical method based on logistic regression and multilayer feedforward artificial neural network (MFANN) trained by error backpropagation was also carried out. The PNN-based models were found to outperform linear and nonlinear logistic regression and MFANN in both the classification accuracy and ease by which PNN-based models are developed.