Direct and indirect effects of CYTOR lncRNA regulate HIV gene expression.

The implementation of antiretroviral therapy (ART) has effectively restricted the transmission of Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) and improved overall clinical outcomes. However, a complete cure for HIV remains out of reach, as the virus persists in a stable pool of infected cell reservoir that is resistant to therapy and thus a main barrier towards complete elimination of viral infection. While the mechanisms by which host proteins govern viral gene expression and latency are well-studied, the emerging regulatory functions of non-coding RNAs (ncRNA) in the context of T cell activation, HIV gene expression and viral latency have not yet been thoroughly explored. Here, we report the identification of the Cytoskeleton Regulator (CYTOR) long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) as an activator of HIV gene expression that is upregulated following T cell stimulation. Functional studies show that CYTOR suppresses viral latency by directly binding to the HIV promoter and associating with the cellular positive transcription elongation factor (P-TEFb) to activate viral gene expression. CYTOR also plays a global role in regulating cellular gene expression, including those involved in controlling actin dynamics. Depletion of CYTOR expression reduces cytoplasmic actin polymerization in response to T cell activation. In addition, treating HIV-infected cells with pharmacological inhibitors of actin polymerization reduces HIV gene expression. We conclude that both direct and indirect effects of CYTOR regulate HIV gene expression.

Antibiotic Resistance of Helicobacter pylori: Mechanisms and Clinical Implications.

Helicobacter pylori is a pathogenic bacterium associated with various gastrointestinal diseases, including chronic gastritis, peptic ulcers, mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue lymphoma, and gastric cancer. The increasing rates of H. pylori antibiotic resistance and the emergence of multidrug-resistant strains pose significant challenges to its treatment. This comprehensive review explores the mechanisms underlying the resistance of H. pylori to commonly used antibiotics and the clinical implications of antibiotic resistance. Additionally, potential strategies for overcoming antibiotic resistance are discussed. These approaches aim to improve the treatment outcomes of H. pylori infections while minimizing the development of antibiotic resistance. The continuous evolution of treatment perspectives and ongoing research in this field are crucial for effectively combating this challenging infection.

Unsteady magneto porous convective transport by micropolar binary fluid due to inclined plate: An inclusive analogy.

In this investigation , the consequence of viscous dissipation on the unstable magneto porous convective transport by a micropolar binary fluid due to an inclined surface with viscous dissipation and thermal radiation is examined. Viscous dissipation plays a noteworthy role in industrial applications. The governing PDEs are converted to combined ODEs with the Boussinesq approximation using a similarity analysis. The obtained non-linear ODEs are resolved using the shooting method with "ODE45 MATLAB" coding assistance. The numerical outcomes are revealed graphically for various dimensionless parameters and numbers, including temperature, concentration, velocity, and micro-rotation. The temperature, micro-rotation, and velocity fields escalate with increasing Eckert numbers. The radiation parameter and variable viscosity parameter increase the flow rate of the fluid. Increasing radiation parameters, suction parameters, and Prandtl numbers lessen the fluid temperature. The buoyancy parameters have symmetrical impacts on the velocity and microrotation of fluid particles in the cooling and heating modes. Improving Eckert number, inclined angle, Schmidt number, Prandtl number, and magnetic parameter reduces skin friction. The heat transmission rate escalates in quantity due to larger Prandtl number values. Rising Prandtl, Eckert, and Schmidt numbers accelerate the mass transfer rate. The current research result is compared to previously published article's result with good agreement.

Effectiveness of ten-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine on invasive pneumococcal disease among children <2 years old: A prospective population-based study in rural Bangladesh.

The 10-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV10) was introduced in March 2015 in Bangladesh. In this study, we aimed to estimate the impact of PCV10 on invasive pneumococcal disease (IPD) identified by blood cultures and severe pneumonia identified clinically and its effectiveness on invasive disease caused by vaccine serotypes. We conducted population-based surveillance among children aged 2- <24 months between April 2012 through March 2019 in Mirzapur, a rural sub-district of Bangladesh. We compared incidence of IPD and severe pneumonia before (April 2012 to March 2015) and after (April 2015 to March 2019) the introduction of PCV10. Vaccine effectiveness was measured using an indirect cohort analysis of data from four sentinel sites in which PCV10 vaccination status was compared between children with IPD caused by vaccine serotype vs. non-vaccine serotypes. We identified 24 IPD cases by blood culture and 1,704 severe pneumonia hospitalizations during the surveillance period. IPD incidence in under-2-year-old children fell 25 % (95 % CI: -1.2 % to 76 %; p-value = 0.59) from 106 cases per 100,000 child-years at baseline to 79.3 in April 2018- March 2019. Vaccine serotype-IPD incidence was lower (77 % reduction, 95 % CI: -0.45 % to 96 %; p-value = 0.068) in April 2018 - March 2019 than in the pre-vaccine period (85.7 cases to 19.8/100,000 child-years). A significant decline of 54.0 % (95 % CI: 47.0 % to 59.0 %; p-value < 0.001) was observed in hospitalizations due to severe pneumonia. From indirect cohort analysis, the effectiveness of PCV10 against vaccine serotype IPD was 37 % (95 % CI: -141.0 % to 83.5 %; p = 0.5) after the 1st dose and 63.1 % (95 % CI: -3.3 % to 85.9 %, p = 0.0411) after the 2nd or the 3rd dose. This study demonstrates that PCV10 introduction prevented hospitalizations with severe pneumonia and provided individual protection against vaccine serotypes.

Heat generation and radiative effects on time-dependent free MHD convective transport over a vertical permeable sheet.

This paper investigates the role of heat absorption or production on time-dependent free MHD convective transport over a vertical porous plate with thermal radiation. The PDEs are changed into non-dimensional couple ODEs by adopting proper similarity analysis. Then the finite difference method (FMD) is used for solving the converted non-dimensional coupled ODEs. The roles of the dimensionless parameters or numbers like the radiative parameter (R), internal heat absorption or generation(Q), the suction (v0), the magnetic force parameter (M), the Schmidt number (Sc), and Prandtl number (Pr) the on the numerical results of the temperature, velocity, and concentration distributions are explained in graphically. The results indicate that improving values of the heat absorption or production with thermal radiation improves the thermal boundary layer thickness. The local skin friction coefficient increases by about 11 % and the heat transfer rate reduces by about 85 % due to improving values of Q from 1.0 to 2.0. Growing values of the radiative parameter from 1.0 to 4.0 improves the local skin friction coefficient by about 13 %. The heat transfer rate lessens by about 41 %. Our numerical results are more compared with the published paper.

Measuring residual transpiration in plants: a comparative analysis of different methods.

Residual transpiration (RT) is defined as a loss of water through the leaf cuticle while stomata are closed. Reduced RT might be a potentially valuable trait for improving plant performance under water deficit conditions imposed by either drought or salinity. Due to the presence of stomata on the leaf surface, it is technically challenging to measure RT. RT has been estimated by the water loss through either astomatous leaf surface or isolated astomatous cuticular layers. This approach is not suitable for all species (e.g. not applicable to grasses) and is difficult and too time consuming for large-scale screening in breeding programs. Several alternative methods may be used to quantify the extent of RT; each of them comes with its own advantages and limitations. In this study, we have undertaken a comparative assessment of eight various methods of assessing RT, using barley (Hordeum vulgare ) plants as a model species. RT measured by water retention curves and a portable gas exchange (infrared gas analyser; IRGA) system had low resolution and were not able to differentiate between RT rates from young and old leaves. Methods based on quantification of the water loss at several time-points were found to be the easiest and least time-consuming compared to others. Of these, the 'three time-points water loss' method is deemed as the most suitable for the high throughput screening of plant germplasm for RT traits.

Receptor model-based source-specific health risks of toxic metal(loid)s in coal basin-induced agricultural soil in northwest Bangladesh.

Toxic metal(loid)s (TMLs) in agricultural soils cause detrimental effects on ecosystem and human health. Therefore, source-specific health risk apportionment is very crucial for the prevention and control of TMLs in agricultural soils. In this study, 149 surface soil samples were taken from a coal mining region in northwest Bangladesh and analyzed for 12 TMLs (Pb, Cd, Ni, Cr, Mn, Fe, Co, Zn, Cu, As, Se, and Hg). Positive matrix factorization (PMF) and absolute principal component score-multiple linear regression (APCS-MLR) receptor models were employed to quantify the pollution sources of soil TMLs. Both models identified five possible sources of pollution: agrochemical practice, industrial emissions, coal-power-plant, geogenic source, and atmospheric deposition, while the contribution rates of each source were calculated as 28.2%, 17.2%, 19.3%, 19% and 16.3% in APCS-MLR, 22.2%, 13.4%, 24.3%, 15.1% and 25.1% in PMF, respectively. Agrochemical practice was the major source of non-carcinogenic risk (NCR) (adults: 32.37%, children: 31.54%), while atmospheric deposition was the highest source of carcinogenic risk (CR) (adults: 48.83%, children: 50.11%). NCR and CR values for adults were slightly higher than for children. However, the trends in NCR and CR between children and adults were similar. As a result, among the sources of pollution, agrochemical practices and atmospheric deposition have been identified as the primary sources of soil TMLs, so prevention and control strategies should be applied primarily for these pollution sources in order to protect human health.

ARPC5 isoforms and their regulation by calcium-calmodulin-N-WASP drive distinct Arp2/3-dependent actin remodeling events in CD4 T cells.

CD4 T cell activation induces nuclear and cytoplasmic actin polymerization via the Arp2/3 complex to activate cytokine expression and strengthen T cell receptor (TCR) signaling. Actin polymerization dynamics and filament morphology differ between nucleus and cytoplasm. However, it is unclear how the Arp2/3 complex mediates distinct nuclear and cytoplasmic actin polymerization in response to a common stimulus. In humans, the ARP3, ARPC1, and ARPC5 subunits of the Arp2/3 complex exist as two different isoforms, resulting in complexes with different properties. Here, we show that the Arp2/3 subunit isoforms ARPC5 and ARPC5L play a central role in coordinating distinct actin polymerization events in CD4 T cells. While ARPC5L is heterogeneously expressed in individual CD4 T cells, it specifically drives nuclear actin polymerization upon T cell activation. In contrast, ARPC5 is evenly expressed in CD4 T cell populations and is required for cytoplasmic actin dynamics. Interestingly, nuclear actin polymerization triggered by a different stimulus, DNA replication stress, specifically requires ARPC5 but not ARPC5L. TCR signaling but not DNA replication stress induces nuclear actin polymerization via nuclear calcium-calmodulin signaling and N-WASP. Diversity in the molecular properties and individual expression patterns of ARPC5 subunit isoforms thus tailors Arp2/3-mediated actin polymerization to different physiological stimuli.

Viscous dissipation effect on unsteady magneto-convective heat-mass transport passing in a vertical porous plate with thermal radiation.

The effects of radiative and viscous dissipation on the transfer of unsteady magnetic-conductive heat-mass across a vertically porous sheet is studied in this article. The non-dimensional ODEs are solved by applying the Finite Difference Method (FDM) through the MATLAB software numerically. The fluid temperature and velocity enhance for uplifting values of the Eckert number. Enhancing values of the transpiration parameter the velocity, concentration, and temperature distributions reduce. The local skin friction enhances about 9%, and 18% due to increase the Eckert number (0.5-3.0) and Dufour number (0.5-4.0), respectively and reduces 17%, 38%, and 31% due to increase Prandtl number (0.71-7.0), magnetic force parameter (0.5-3.0), and suction parameter (0.5-3.0), respectively. Enhancing values of the Eckert number (0.5-3.0) reduces the heat transfer rate by 40%. The increasing value of the Prandtl number (0.71-7.0) and the suction parameter (0.5-3.0) increases the heat transfer rate by 27% and 92%, respectively. With an increase in the values of the Schmidt number (0.22-0.67), the mass transfer rate increased by approximately 94%. At last, the numerical results of this paper has compared with the previously published paper. We noticed that the comparison has an excellent acceptance.

How Does Stomatal Density and Residual Transpiration Contribute to Osmotic Stress Tolerance?

Osmotic stress that is induced by salinity and drought affects plant growth and development, resulting in significant losses to global crop production. Consequently, there is a strong need to develop stress-tolerant crops with a higher water use efficiency through breeding programs. Water use efficiency could be improved by decreasing stomatal transpiration without causing a reduction in CO2 uptake under osmotic stress conditions. The genetic manipulation of stomatal density could be one of the most promising strategies for breeders to achieve this goal. On the other hand, a substantial amount of water loss occurs across the cuticle without any contribution to carbon gain when the stomata are closed and under osmotic stress. The minimization of cuticular (otherwise known as residual) transpiration also determines the fitness and survival capacity of the plant under the conditions of a water deficit. The deposition of cuticular wax on the leaf epidermis acts as a limiting barrier for residual transpiration. However, the causal relationship between the frequency of stomatal density and plant osmotic stress tolerance and the link between residual transpiration and cuticular wax is not always straightforward, with controversial reports available in the literature. In this review, we focus on these controversies and explore the potential physiological and molecular aspects of controlling stomatal and residual transpiration water loss for improving water use efficiency under osmotic stress conditions via a comparative analysis of the performance of domesticated crops and their wild relatives.

Prevalence and associated factors of depression among Bangladeshi university students: A cross-sectional study.

Objective:  The study aimed to assess the prevalence of depression and its associated factors among university students in Bangladesh. Participants: A total of 403 undergraduate students from Patuakhali Science and Technology University, and Barisal University participated in the study. Method: A cross-sectional study was conducted using Beck's Depression Inventory (BDI). Result: The prevalence of depression (BDI ≥ 14) was 47.14%. Depression was 3.4 times (95% CI: 1.6-7.1), 3.8 times (95% CI: 1.7-8.6), and 3.9 times (95% CI: 1.5-8.9) higher among 2nd, 3rd, and 4th-year students, respectively than 1st-year students. Students with a history of stressful life events (aOR = 2.7, 95% CI: 1.7-4.4), suicidal attempts (aOR = 3.0, 95% CI: 1.2-7.9), and who received inadequate monthly allowance from their family (aOR = 0.53 95% CI: 0.3-0.9) were more likely to develop depressive symptoms. Conclusion: This study reports a high level of depression among university students which needs further discussion, exploration, and calls for designing appropriate interventions.

Exogenous nitric oxide promotes salinity tolerance in plants: A meta-analysis.

Nitric oxide (NO) has received much attention since it can boost plant defense mechanisms, and plenty of studies have shown that exogenous NO improves salinity tolerance in plants. However, because of the wide range of experimental settings, it is difficult to assess the administration of optimal dosages, frequency, timing, and method of application and the overall favorable effects of NO on growth and yield improvements. Therefore, we conducted a meta-analysis to reveal the exact physiological and biochemical mechanisms and to understand the influence of plant-related or method-related factors on NO-mediated salt tolerance. Exogenous application of NO significantly influenced biomass accumulation, growth, and yield irrespective of salinity stress. According to this analysis, seed priming and foliar pre-treatment were the most effective methods of NO application to plants. Moreover, one-time and regular intervals of NO treatment were more beneficial for plant growth. The optimum concentration of NO ranges from 0.1 to 0.2 mM, and it alleviates salinity stress up to 150 mM NaCl. Furthermore, the beneficial effect of NO treatment was more pronounced as salinity stress was prolonged (>21 days). This meta-analysis showed that NO supplementation was significantly applicable at germination and seedling stages. Interestingly, exogenous NO treatment boosted plant growth most efficiently in dicots. This meta-analysis showed that exogenous NO alleviates salt-induced oxidative damage and improves plant growth and yield potential by regulating osmotic balance, mineral homeostasis, photosynthetic machinery, the metabolism of reactive oxygen species, and the antioxidant defense mechanism. Our analysis pointed out several research gaps, such as lipid metabolism regulation, reproductive stage performance, C4 plant responses, field-level yield impact, and economic profitability of farmers in response to exogenous NO, which need to be evaluated in the subsequent investigation.

Nutritional and in vitro antioxidant activity analyses of formulated soymilk dessert.

Soymilk (SM) is nutritionally nearly equal to milk from cows and is free of cholesterol, gluten, and lactose. This study's objective was to formulate a cholesterol-free soymilk dessert (SOD) and compare it's to commercial desserts (CODs). Results indicated that the CODs contain substantial amounts of cholesterol while SOD does not. Soymilk dessert has more protein, and vitamin E than CODs, but less fat and calcium. In addition, the result also highlighted that SOD has higher number of amino acids compared to CODs. The total antioxidant, flavonoids and phenolics content of SOD were significantly higher than CODs. Furthermore, the in vitro antioxidant activity of SOD and CODs by DPPH and ABTS methods revealed that the IC50 of SODs significantly (p < 0.001) lower than CODs, and lower IC50 indicated the higher free radical scavenging power of SODs than CODs. These findings indicated that this non-dairy SOD may provide beneficial protein, as well as minerals, and antioxidants to support the body's various physiological functions.

Prevalence and factors associated with dietary supplement use among Bangladeshi public university students: A cross-sectional study.

INTRODUCTION: The usage of dietary supplement (DS) such as vitamins, minerals, and fish oil has expanded, but there is limited data on their use by sub-populations such as university students. The study was aimed to investigate the prevalence of DS use among Bangladeshi university students and its associated factors. METHODS: A cross-sectional survey of 390 students was conducted from two public universities from Barishal Division in Bangladesh using a structured questionnaire with 72 questions divided into five sections: sociodemographic, knowledge, opinions, and attitudes, types of DS, reasons and sources for using DS, and adverse reactions after taking DS. Descriptive statistics and logistic regression were utilized to estimate the results. RESULTS: Among all the students, 15.6% students were using DS where only 7.7% of them used DS according to physicians' recommendation. Additionally, students used DS for general health and well-being, weight gaining and as a source of energy for physical and sporting activities, etc. The use of DS was significantly associated with female sex (AOR = 5.44, 95% CI: 2.18-13.52), ≥25 years age (AOR = 0.08, 95% CI: 0.01-0.67), underweight (AOR = 5.86, 95% CI: 1.95-17.62), having major illness (AOR = 6.99, 95% CI: 1.98-24.70) and good knowledge of DS (AOR = 2.64, 95% CI: 1.23-5.64). CONCLUSION: This study provides new findings on DS use and its correlates in Bangladeshi students which may be used by the policymakers to improve DS usage among students. Adaptation of an appropriate program is recommended to educate students on proper and safer ways of using DS.

Thermal Radiation Effect on Unsteady Magneto-Convective Heat-Mass Transport Passing in a Vertical Permeable Sheet with Chemical Reaction.

The unsteady magneto-convective heat-mass transport passing in a vertical porous sheet with the thermal radiation and the chemical reaction effects has been examined numerically. The governing PDEs have been transferred into ODEs by applying the local similarity transformation. The nondimensional governing equations including the boundary conditions are solved by applying the superposition method with the help of the "MATLAB ODE45" software numerically. The influence of emerging nondimensional numbers/parameters, for example, the Prandtl number (Pr), thermal radiation parameter (R), Schmidt number (Sc), and chemical reaction parameter (K r), on fluid velocity, concentration, and thermal radiation within the boundary layer has been examined. The outcomes indicate that enhancing values of the Soret and Dufour numbers reduce the thermal boundary layer thickness. Uplifting values of the thermal radiation (0.5-3.5) enhance the local skin friction coefficient and mass transfer rate by approximately 15% and 78% but decrease the heat transfer rate by 47%. The local skin friction coefficient enhances about 21%, and the mass transfer rate reduces about 64% due to an increase in the chemical reaction parameter (0.5-2.0). Finally, we compared our numerical results with previously published literature and observed them to have a good agreement.

Elevated aqueous endothelin-1 concentrations in advanced diabetic retinopathy.

PURPOSE: Endothelin-1 (ET-1) is a potent vasoconstrictor which seems to be involved in the pathogenesis of diabetic retinopathy (DR). However, studies on intraocular ET-1 in DR have been limited. Thus, we investigated aqueous ET-1 levels in patients with DR. METHODS: A total 85 subjects were included in this prospective study. Those were classified into three groups: advanced DR group included those with severe nonproliferative DR or proliferative DR, whereas early DR group included those with mild nonproliferative DR or moderative nonproliferative DR. Those who underwent cataract surgery and had no concomitant ocular disease were included in the control group. Aqueous humor levels of ET-1 were obtained before intravitreal bevacizumab injection (IVB) and after 1 month for the DR patients, and at the time of cataract surgery for the control group. RESULTS: Advanced DR group included 40 eyes (47.1%), whereas early DR group did 19 eyes (22.4%), and control group (26 eyes, 30.5%). Mean aqueous ET-1 level was 10.1±4.1 pg/mL (6.0-21.0 pg/mL) in advanced DR group, 1.9±0.7 pg/mL (0.6-2.8 pg/mL) in early DR group, and 2.1±1.0 pg/mL (0.7-3.9 pg/mL) in control group (P < 0.001). Advanced DR group was further subdivided into severe nonproliferative DR (15 eyes, 12.8%) and proliferative DR (25 eyes, 34.3%). Mean aqueous ET-1 level was 10.1±4.3 pg/mL (6.0-20.1 pg/mL) in patients with severe nonproliferative DR, and 10.0±4.0 pg/mL (6.0-21.0 pg/mL) in those with proliferative DR (P = 0.928) at baseline. Mean ET-1 level at 1 month after intravitreal injection was 2.5±1.0 pg/mL (0.3-4.8 pg/mL) in patients with severe proliferative DR and 2.9±1.7 pg/mL (1.0-7.0 pg/mL) in those with proliferative DR (P = 0.443). Mean aqueous ET-1 level was significantly reduced in both groups (P < 0.001, respectively). CONCLUSION: The mean aqueous ET-1 level was significantly higher in the eyes with advanced DR than those with early DR and the control group. The mean aqueous ET-1 level was significantly reduced after intravitreal injections in the advanced DR group. Based on our results, future studies on the exact role of ET-1 in the pathogenesis of DR and future implication for intervention would be helpful for managing DR.

Compliance to hand hygiene and its determinant factors among Community Health Care Providers in Community Clinics: an observational study in Bangladesh.

Background: Healthcare-associated infections caused by poor hand hygiene (HH) practices can affect both the care seekers and the health care providers (HCPs) while providing primary health care. No study has been conducted on the compliance of HH practices among the primary level HCPs in Bangladesh. Objective: The study aimed to assess the compliance rates of HH and its determinant factors among Community Health Care Providers (CHCPs) in Community Clinics (CC). Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted from September 2019 to February 2020 among 150 randomly selected CHCPs with functional HH facilities in Patuakhali district, Bangladesh. Structured interviews and observation tools were used to collect data. Results: Good HH compliance among CHCPs was found to be 16.7% (95% CI: 11.3-21.3). Out of all 1218 possible HH opportunities, only 255 (20.9%) resulted in any HH action. Presence of 70% alcohol-based hand sanitiser at the point of care (aOR: 6.4, 95% CI: 1.1-38.3), HH training (aOR: 4.6, 95% CI: 1.1-18.9), displayed visual cues (aOR: 4.4, 95% CI: 1.1-17.7), knowledge about HH (aOR: 3.8, 95% CI: 1.1-13.6) and number of HH opportunities (aOR: 0.6, 95% CI: 0.4-0.8) were factors associated with HH compliance. Discussion: Overall HH compliance among CHCPs was relatively low. It was recommended to implement multimodal HH improvement strategies, including a continuous training program, supply of alcohol-based hand rub, reminder, provision of five moments of HH in the training modules and feedback on HH performance.

Potentially toxic elemental contamination in Wainivesi River, Fiji impacted by gold-mining activities using chemometric tools and SOM analysis.

Potentially toxic element (PTE) contamination in Wainivesi River, Fiji triggered by gold-mining activities is a major public health concern deserving attention. However, chemometric approaches and pattern recognition of PTEs in surface water and sediment are yet hardly studied in Pacific Island countries like Fijian urban River. In this study, twenty-four sediment and eight water sampling sites from the Wainivesi River, Fiji were explored to evaluate the spatial pattern, eco-environmental pollution, and source apportionment of PTEs. This analysis was done using an integrated approach of self-organizing map (SOM), principle component analysis (PCA), hierarchical cluster analysis (HCA), and indexical approaches. The PTE average concentration is decreasing in the order of Fe > Pb > Zn > Ni > Cr > Cu > Mn > Co > Cd for water and Fe > Zn > Pb > Mn > Cr > Ni > Cu > Co > Cd for sediment, respectively. Outcomes of eco-environmental indices including contamination and enrichment factors, and geo-accumulation index differed spatially indicated that majority of the sediment sites were highly polluted by Zn, Cd, and Ni. Cd and Ni contents can cause both ecological and human health risks. According to PCA, both mixed sources (geogenic and anthropogenic such as mine wastes discharge and farming activities) of PTEs for water and sediment were identified in the study area. The SOM analysis identified three spatial patterns, e.g., Cr-Co-Zn-Mn, Fe-Cd, and Ni-Pb-Cu in water and Zn-Cd-Cu-Mn, Cr-Ni and Fe, Co-Pb in sediment. Spatial distribution of entropy water quality index (EWQI) values depicted that northern and northwestern areas possess "poor" to "extremely poor" quality water. The entropy weights indicated Zn, Cd, and Cu as the major pollutants in deteriorating the water quality. This finding provides a baseline database with eco-environmental and health risk measures for the Wainivesi river contamination.

Multivariate statistics and entropy theory for irrigation water quality and entropy-weighted index development in a subtropical urban river, Bangladesh.

Currently, a well-developed combination of irrigation water quality index (IWQIs) and entropy water quality index (EWQIs) for surface water appraisal in a polluted subtropical urban river is very scarce in the literature. To close this gap, we developed IWQIs by establishing statistics-based weights of variables recommended by FAO 29 standard value using the National Sanitation Foundation Water Quality Index (NSFWQI) compared with the proposed EWQIs based on information entropy in the Dhaleshwari River, Bangladesh. Fifty surface water samples were collected from five sampling locations during the dry and wet seasons and analyzed for sixteen variables. Principal component analysis (PCA), factor analysis (FA), Moran's spatial autocorrelation, and random forest (RF) model were employed in the datasets. Weights were allocated for primary variables to compute IWQI-1, 2 and EWQI-1, 2, respectively. The resultant IWQIs showed a similar trend with EWQIs and revealed poor to good quality water, with IWQI-1 for the dry season and IWQI-2 for the wet season is further suggested. The entropy theory recognized that Mg2+, Cr, TDS, and Cl- for the dry season and Cd, Cr, Cl-, and SO42- for the wet season are the major contaminants that affect irrigation water quality. The primary input variables were lessened to ultimately shortlisted ten variables, which revealed good performance in demonstrating water quality status since weights have come effectively from PCA than FA. The results of the RF model depict NO3-, Mg2+, and Cr as the most predominant variables influencing surface water quality. A significant dispersed pattern was detected for IWQImin-3 in the wet season (Moran's I>0). Overall, both IWQIs and EWQIs will generate water quality control cost-effective, completely objective to establish a scientific basis of sustainable water management in the study basin.

Melatonin Modulates Plant Tolerance to Heavy Metal Stress: Morphological Responses to Molecular Mechanisms.

Heavy metal toxicity is one of the most devastating abiotic stresses. Heavy metals cause serious damage to plant growth and productivity, which is a major problem for sustainable agriculture. It adversely affects plant molecular physiology and biochemistry by generating osmotic stress, ionic imbalance, oxidative stress, membrane disorganization, cellular toxicity, and metabolic homeostasis. To improve and stimulate plant tolerance to heavy metal stress, the application of biostimulants can be an effective approach without threatening the ecosystem. Melatonin (N-acetyl-5-methoxytryptamine), a biostimulator, plant growth regulator, and antioxidant, promotes plant tolerance to heavy metal stress by improving redox and nutrient homeostasis, osmotic balance, and primary and secondary metabolism. It is important to perceive the complete and detailed regulatory mechanisms of exogenous and endogenous melatonin-mediated heavy metal-toxicity mitigation in plants to identify potential research gaps that should be addressed in the future. This review provides a novel insight to understand the multifunctional role of melatonin in reducing heavy metal stress and the underlying molecular mechanisms.