Unlocking the in vitro and in vivo antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities of polysaccharide fractions from Lepidium sativum seed-coat mucilage.

Inflammation coupled with oxidative stress contribute to the pathogenicity of various clinical disorders. Oxidative stress arises from an imbalance between production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and antioxidant defense system, leading to cellular damages. The study investigated the antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects of polysaccharides isolated from Lepidium sativum seed-coat mucilage. The water-soluble polysaccharides were extracted from mucilage and fractionated using gel permeation chromatography. The radical scavenging potential of various fractions was determined using DPPH, H2O2, and lipid peroxidation assays. The most effective EC50 was recorded for F53 (57.41 ± 1.34 µg/mL), followed by F20 (69.19 ± 0.61 µg/mL) and F52 (75.06 ± 0.45 µg/mL). In vitro anti-inflammatory effect was determined through human membrane stabilization assay while the in vivo effect was evaluated using a carrageenan-induced paw edema in mouse model where F53 demonstrated significant (P = 0.05) anti-inflammatory potential (92.60 % compared to diclofenac sodium 91.46 %). GC-MS analysis revealed the presence of galacturonic acid and glucuronic acid as main acidic monosaccharides along with varying quantities of rhamnose, arabinose, and maltose as prominent neutral monosaccharides. The study concludes that cress seed mucilage contains potent antioxidant and anti-inflammatory polysaccharides. Further studies on the mode of action of these polysaccharides could provide deeper insights into their potential use as antioxidant and anti-inflammatory agents.

Rhizofungus Aspergillus terreus Mitigates Heavy Metal Stress-Associated Damage in Triticum aestivum L.

Industrial waste and sewage deposit heavy metals into the soil, where they can remain for long periods. Although there are several methods to manage heavy metals in agricultural soil, microorganisms present a promising and effective solution for their detoxification. We isolated a rhizofungus, Aspergillus terreus (GenBank Acc. No. KT310979.1), from Parthenium hysterophorus L., and investigated its growth-promoting and metal detoxification capabilities. The isolated fungus was evaluated for its ability to mitigate lead (25 and 75 ppm) and copper (100 and 200 ppm) toxicity in Triticum aestivum L. seedlings. The experiment utilized a completely randomized design with three replicates for each treatment. A. terreus successfully colonized the roots of wheat seedlings, even in the presence of heavy metals, and significantly enhanced plant growth. The isolate effectively alleviates lead and copper stress in wheat seedlings, as evidenced by increases in shoot length (142%), root length (98%), fresh weight (24%), dry weight (73%), protein content (31%), and sugar content (40%). It was observed that wheat seedlings possess a basic defense system against stress, but it was insufficient to support normal growth. Fungal inoculation strengthened the host's defense system and reduced its exposure to toxic heavy metals. In treated seedlings, exposure to heavy metals significantly upregulated MT1 gene expression, which aided in metal detoxification, enhanced antioxidant defenses, and maintained metal homeostasis. A reduction in metal exposure was observed in several areas, including normalizing the activities of antioxidant enzymes that had been elevated by up to 67% following exposure to Pb (75 mg/kg) and Cu (200 mg/kg). Heavy metal exposure elevated antioxidant levels but also increased ROS levels by 86%. However, with Aspergillus terreus colonization, ROS levels stayed within normal ranges. This decrease in ROS was associated with reduced malondialdehyde (MDA) levels, enhanced membrane stability, and restored root architecture. In conclusion, rhizofungal colonization improved metal tolerance in seedlings by decreasing metal uptake and increasing the levels of metal-binding metallothionein proteins.

Protein arginine methyltransferase 6 mediates antiviral immunity in plants.

Viral suppressor RNA silencing (VSR) is essential for successful infection. Nucleotide-binding and leucine-rich repeat (NLR)-based and autophagy-mediated immune responses have been reported to target VSR as counter-defense strategies. Here, we report a protein arginine methyltransferase 6 (PRMT6)-mediated defense mechanism targeting VSR. The knockout and overexpression of PRMT6 in tomato plants lead to enhanced and reduced disease symptoms, respectively, during tomato bush stunt virus (TBSV) infection. PRMT6 interacts with and inhibits the VSR function of TBSV P19 by methylating its key arginine residues R43 and R115, thereby reducing its dimerization and small RNA-binding activities. Analysis of the natural tomato population reveals that two major alleles associated with high and low levels of PRMT6 expression are significantly associated with high and low levels of viral resistance, respectively. Our study establishes PRMT6-mediated arginine methylation of VSR as a mechanism of plant immunity against viruses.

IAA is more effective than EDTA in enhancing phytoremediation potential for cadmium and copper contaminated soils.

Enhanced phytoremediation offers a rapid and eco-friendly approach for cleaning agricultural soil contaminated with copper and cadmium which pose a direct threat to food scarcity and security. The current study aimed to compare the effectiveness of the two commonly used additives, IAA and EDTA, for the remediation of copper (Cu) and cadmium (Cd) contaminated soils using sunflower and maize. The plants were cultivated in pots under controlled conditions with four sets of treatments: control (0), Cu50/Cd50, Cu50/Cd50 + EDTA, and Cu50/Cd50 + IAA. The results showed that Cu50/Cd50 mg/kg drastically compromised the phytoremediation potential of both plants, as evident by reduced shoot and root length, and lower biomass. However, the augmentation of Cu50/Cd50 with EDTA or IAA improved the tested parameters. In sunflower, EDTA enhanced the accumulation of Cu and Cd by 58% and 21%, respectively, and improved plant biomass by 41%, compared to control treatment. However, IAA exhibited higher accumulation of Cu and Cd by 64% and 25%, respectively, and enhanced plant biomass by 43%. In case of maize, IAA was superior to EDTA which enhanced the accumulation of Cu and Cd by 87% and 32% respectively, and increased the plant biomass by 57%, compared to control treatment. Our findings demonstrate that foliar IAA is more effective than EDTA in enhancing the phytoremediation potential of sunflower and maize for Cu and Cd.

Staphylococcus arlettae mediated defense mechanisms and metabolite modulation against arsenic stress in Helianthus annuus.

Introduction: Arsenate, a metalloid, acting as an analog to phosphate, has a tendency to accumulate more readily in plant species, leading to adverse effects. Methods: In the current study, sunflower seedlings were exposed to 25, 50 and 100 ppm of the arsenic. Results: Likewise, a notable reduction (p<0.05) was observed in the relative growth rate (RGR) by 4-folds and net assimilation rate (NAR) by 75% of Helianthus annuus when subjected to arsenic (As) stress. Nevertheless, the presence of Staphylococcus arlettae, a plant growth-promoting rhizobacterium with As tolerance, yielded an escalation in the growth of H. annuus within As-contaminated media. S. arlettae facilitated the conversion of As into a form accessible to plants, thereby, increasing its uptake and subsequent accumulation in plant tissues. S. arlettae encouraged the enzymatic antioxidant systems (Superoxide dismutase (SOD), peroxidase (POD), ascorbate peroxidase (APX) and catalase (CAT)) and non-enzymatic antioxidants (flavonoids, phenolics, and glutathione) in H. annuus seedlings following substantial As accumulation. The strain also induced the host plant to produce osmolytes like proline and sugars, mitigating water loss and maintaining cellular osmotic balance under As-induced stress. S. arlettae rectified imbalances in lignin content, reduced high malonaldehyde (MDA) levels, and minimized electrolyte leakage, thus counteracting the toxic impacts of the metal. Conclusion: The strain exhibited the capability to concurrently encourage plant growth and remediate Ascontaminated growth media through 2-folds rate of biotransformation and bio-mobilization.

Anti-Oxidative and Anti-Apoptotic Oligosaccharides from Pichia pastoris-Fermented Cress Polysaccharides Ameliorate Chromium-Induced Liver Toxicity.

Oxidative stress impairs the structure and function of the cell, leading to serious chronic diseases. Antioxidant-based therapeutic and nutritional interventions are usually employed for combating oxidative stress-related disorders, including apoptosis. Here, we investigated the hepatoprotective effect of oligosaccharides, produced through Pichia pastoris-mediated fermentation of water-soluble polysaccharides isolated from Lepidium sativum (cress) seed mucilage, on chromium(VI)-induced oxidative stress and apoptosis in mice. Gel permeation chromatography (GPC), using Bio-Gel P-10 column, of the oligosaccharides product of fermentation revealed that P. pastoris effectively fermented polysaccharides as no long chain polysaccharides were observed. At 200 µg/mL, fractions DF73, DF53, DF72, and DF62 exhibited DPPH radical scavenging activity of 92.22 ± 2.69%, 90.35 ± 0.43%, 88.83 ± 3.36%, and 88.83 ± 3.36%, respectively. The antioxidant potential of the fermentation product was further confirmed through in vitro H2O2 radical scavenging assay. Among the screened samples, the highest H2O2 radical scavenging activity was displayed by DF73, which stabilized the free radicals by 88.83 ± 0.38%, followed by DF53 (86.48 ± 0.83%), DF62 (85.21 ± 6.66%), DF72 (79.9 4± 1.21%), and EPP (77.76 ± 0.53%). The oligosaccharide treatment significantly alleviated chromium-induced liver damage, as evident from the increase in weight gain, improved liver functions, and reduced histopathological alterations in the albino mice. A distinctly increased level of lipid peroxide (LPO) free radicals along with the endogenous hepatic enzymes were evident in chromium induced hepatotoxicity in mice. However, oligosaccharides treatment mitigated these effects by reducing the LPO production and increasing ALT, ALP, and AST levels, probably due to relieving the oxidative stress. DNA fragmentation assays illustrated that Cr(VI) exposure induced massive apoptosis in liver by damaging the DNA which was then remediated by oligosaccharides supplementation. Histopathological observations confirmed that the oligosaccharide treatment reverses the architectural changes in liver induced by chromium. These results suggest that oligosaccharides obtained from cress seed mucilage polysaccharides through P. pastoris fermentation ameliorate the oxidative stress and apoptosis and act as hepatoprotective agent against chromium-induced liver injury.

Wearable sensors based on artificial intelligence models for human activity recognition.

Human motion detection technology holds significant potential in medicine, health care, and physical exercise. This study introduces a novel approach to human activity recognition (HAR) using convolutional neural networks (CNNs) designed for individual sensor types to enhance the accuracy and address the challenge of diverse data shapes from accelerometers, gyroscopes, and barometers. Specific CNN models are constructed for each sensor type, enabling them to capture the characteristics of their respective sensors. These adapted CNNs are designed to effectively process varying data shapes and sensor-specific characteristics to accurately classify a wide range of human activities. The late-fusion technique is employed to combine predictions from various models to obtain comprehensive estimates of human activity. The proposed CNN-based approach is compared to a standard support vector machine (SVM) classifier using the one-vs-rest methodology. The late-fusion CNN model showed significantly improved performance, with validation and final test accuracies of 99.35 and 94.83% compared to the conventional SVM classifier at 87.07 and 83.10%, respectively. These findings provide strong evidence that combining multiple sensors and a barometer and utilizing an additional filter algorithm greatly improves the accuracy of identifying different human movement patterns.

Pichia pastoris Mediated Digestion of Water-Soluble Polysaccharides from Cress Seed Mucilage Produces Potent Antidiabetic Oligosaccharides.

Diabetes mellitus is a heterogeneous metabolic disorder that poses significant health and economic challenges across the globe. Polysaccharides, found abundantly in edible plants, hold promise for managing diabetes by reducing blood glucose levels (BGL) and insulin resistance. However, most of these polysaccharides cannot be digested or absorbed directly by the human body. Here we report the production of antidiabetic oligosaccharides from cress seed mucilage polysaccharides using yeast fermentation. The water-soluble polysaccharides extracted from cress seed mucilage were precipitated using 75% ethanol and fermented with Pichia pastoris for different time intervals. The digested saccharides were fractionated through gel permeation chromatography using a Bio Gel P-10 column. Structural analysis of the oligosaccharide fractions revealed the presence of galacturonic acid, rhamnose, glucuronic acid, glucose and arabinose. Oligosaccharide fractions exhibited the potential to inhibit α-amylase and α-glucosidase enzymes in a dose-dependent manner in vitro. The fraction DF73 exhibited strong inhibitory activity against α-amylase with IC50 values of 38.2 ± 1.12 µg/mL, compared to the positive control, acarbose, having an IC50 value of 29.18 ± 1.76 µg/mL. Similarly, DF72 and DF73 showed the highest inhibition of α-glucosidase, with IC50 values of 9.26 ± 2.68 and 50.47 ± 5.18 µg/mL, respectively. In in vivo assays in streptozotocin (STZ)-induced diabetic mice, these oligosaccharides significantly reduced BGL and improved lipid profiles compared to the reference drug metformin. Histopathological observations of mouse livers indicated the cytoprotective effects of these sugars. Taken together, our results suggest that oligosaccharides produced through microbial digestion of polysaccharides extracted from cress seed mucilage have the potential to reduce blood glucose levels, possibly through inhibition of carbohydrate-digesting enzymes and regulation of the various signaling pathways.

Survival after Trastuzumab Therapy in Patients with Locally Advanced or Metastatic HER2-Positive Gastric or Gastroesophageal Junction Cancer: A Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials.

Background: In the Trastuzumab for Gastric Cancer study, it was found that trastuzumab combined with doublet chemotherapy (fluoropyrimidine and platinum) was the gold-standard treatment for gastroesophageal adenocarcinoma (GEA) that was locally advanced, unresectable, or metastatic (HER2+). Materials and Methods: We performed a meta-analysis of randomized phase II/III studies testing trastuzumab in combination or alone. Results: This meta-analysis's findings involved 2048 patients in total. The treatment arm and hormone receptor status were used to stratify the combined HR. Overall, the PFS (Random model) HR [0.80] and 95% confidence intervals (CI) [0.68-0.95] were significantly higher for regimens containing trastuzumab, fluoropyrimidine, and platinum compared to regimens containing fluoropyrimidine and platinum. Conclusions: The results of this meta-analysis provide additional support for trastuzumab's use in treating HER2-positive GEA, particularly in cases where the disease lacks a HER2+ receptor.

Knowledge, Attitude, and the Practice of Community Pharmacists to Dispense Opioid-Related and Opioid-Containing Medication in Eastern Province, Saudi Arabia.

Objectives: This study was done to evaluate the knowledge of community pharmacists-working in Saudi Arabia-regarding over-the-counter opioid-related and opioid-containing medications. Materials and Methods: A quantitative cross-sectional study was conducted using an online questionnaire that was distributed through social media and taken to the community pharmacists in person. A total of 101 responders were reached in a period of around 3 weeks. Results: Most of the pharmacists working in community pharmacies in Saudi Arabia are non-Saudi (85.15%), males (88.12%), and the majority are holders of bachelor's degrees (85.15%). More than half of the participants spend a considerably sufficient time with the patient 6-10 minutes (60.4%). The availability of a private counseling room in community pharmacies is significantly low (21.78%). Only (69.41%) of participants always counsel the patient before dispensing opioid-related medications. Most of the participants (84.76%) believe that all over-the-counter opioid-related and opioid-containing medications should be restricted to avoid drug abuse. Conclusion: A little neglect from pharmacists' side regarding dispensing such medications was observed; thus, there is a significant need to raise their awareness regarding over-the-counter opioid abuse.

A transposon-derived gene family regulates heading date in rice.

As a consequence of transposon domestication, transposon-derived proteins often acquire important biological functions. However, there have been limited studies on transposon-derived proteins in rice, and a systematic analysis of transposon-derived genes is lacking. Here, for the first time, we conducted a comprehensive analysis of the DDE_Tnp_4 (DDE) gene family, which originated from transposons but lost their transpositional ability and acquired new gene functions in Oryza species. A total of 58 DDE family genes, categorized into six groups, were identified in Oryza species, including 13 OsDDE genes in Oryza sativa ssp. japonica. Our analysis indicates that gene duplication events were not the primary mechanism behind the expansion of OsDDE genes in rice. Promoter cis-element analysis combined with haplotype analysis confirmed that OsDDEs regulate the heading date in rice. Specifically, OsDDE9 is a nuclear-localized protein expressed ubiquitously, which promotes heading date by regulating the expression of Ghd7 and Ehd1 under both short-day and long-day conditions. Single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) variations in the OsDDE9 promoter leads to changes in promoter activity, resulting in variations in heading dates. This study provides valuable insights into the molecular function and mechanism of the OsDDE genes.

Isolation of multiple electrocardiogram artifacts using independent vector analysis.

Electrocardiogram (ECG) signals are normally contaminated by various physiological and nonphysiological artifacts. Among these artifacts baseline wandering, electrode movement and muscle artifacts are particularly difficult to remove. Independent component analysis (ICA) is a well-known technique of blind source separation (BSS) and is extensively used in literature for ECG artifact elimination. In this article, the independent vector analysis (IVA) is used for artifact removal in the ECG data. This technique takes advantage of both the canonical correlation analysis (CCA) and the ICA due to the utilization of second-order and high order statistics for un-mixing of the recorded mixed data. The utilization of recorded signals along with their delayed versions makes the IVA-based technique more practical. The proposed technique is evaluated on real and simulated ECG signals and it shows that the proposed technique outperforms the CCA and ICA because it removes the artifacts while altering the ECG signals minimally.

Synergy of 1-MCP and hypobaric treatments prevent fermented flavour and improve consumers' acceptability of 'Shughri' pear.

Development of fermented flavour during storage reduces acceptability of Shughri pear. Therefore, the current study was designed to investigate the combined effect of 1-Methylcyclopropene (1-MCP) and hypobaric treatment on stability of Shughri pear during 120 days of storage. Fruit were treated individually or combinedly with 25, 50, and 75 kilo pascal hypobaric treatments for 4 h and 1-MCP (0.3 µLL-1 and 0.6 µLL-1) for 24 h, whereas control received no treatment. The pears were stored for 120 days at (0 ± 1 °C, 85 ± 5% RH), and were evaluated after every 30 days. After cold storage, pears were shifted to simulated retail conditions (20 ± 3 °C, 65 ± 5% RH). The combination of 25 kPa + 0.6 µLL-1 1-MCP significantly (P ≤ 0.05) delayed fruit ripening, reduced Alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH), and Pyruvate decarboxylase (PDC) activities, maintained the quality, and led to higher consumers' acceptability of the pear followed by 50 kPa + 0.6 µLL-1 and 25 kPa + 0.3 µLL-1. The control fruit were marketable for a week after storage with relatively less acceptability due to fermented flavour compared to treated fruit, marketable for more than two weeks. Among all the treatments, the synergy of 1-MCP and hypobaric treatment 25 kPa + 0.6 µLL-1 1-MCP improved the postharvest storage life and quality parameters, preventing development of fermented flavour in the pears. The experiment was conducted on pilot scale, for commercial application, the results of this study should be validated on large scale.

Identification of Small Inhibitors for Human Metadherin, an Oncoprotein, through in silico Approach.

AIMS: Cancer is a disease that takes lives of thousands of people each year. There are more than 100 different types of cancers known to man. This fatal disease is one of the leading causes of death today. BACKGROUND: Astrocyte elevated gene-1(AEG-1)/Metadherin (MTDH) activates multiple oncogenic signaling pathways and leads to different types of cancers. MTDH interacting with staphylococcal nuclease domain containing 1(SND1) supports the survival and growth of mammary epithelial cells under oncogenic conditions. OBJECTIVE: Silencing MTDH or SND1 individually or disrupting their interaction compromises the tumorigenic potential of tumor-initiating cells. The aim of our present study was to investigate novel interactions of staphylococcal nuclease domain containing 1 (SND1) binding domain of AEG-1/MTDH with different lead compounds through molecular docking approach using MOE software. METHODS: Molecular docking was done by docking the ChemBridge database against important residues of MTDH involved in interaction with SND1. After docking the whole ChemBridge database, the top 200 interactive compounds were selected based on docking scores. After applying Lipinski's rule, all the remaining chosen compounds were studied on the basis of binding affinity, binding energy, docking score and protein-ligand interactions. Finally, 10 compounds showing multiple interactions with different amino acid residues were selected as the top interacting compounds. RESULTS: Three compounds were selected for simulation studies after testing these compounds using topkat toxicity and ADMET studies. The simulation study indicated that compound 32538601 is a lead compound for inhibiting MTDH-SND1 complex formation. CONCLUSION: These novels, potent inhibitors of MTDH-SND1 complex can ultimately help us in controlling cancer up to some extent.

Mechanistic Investigation of the Androgen Receptor DNA-Binding Domain and Modulation via Direct Interactions with DNA Abasic Sites: Understanding the Mechanisms Involved in Castration-Resistant Prostate Cancer.

The androgen receptor (AR) is an important drug target in prostate cancer and a driver of castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC). A significant challenge in designing effective drugs lies in targeting constitutively active AR variants and, most importantly, nearly all AR variants lacking the ligand-binding domain (LBD). Recent findings show that an AR's constitutive activity may occur in the presence of somatic DNA mutations within non-coding regions, but the role of these mutations remains elusive. The discovery of new drugs targeting CRPC is hampered by the limited molecular understanding of how AR binds mutated DNA sequences, frequently observed in prostate cancer, and how mutations within the protein and DNA regulate AR-DNA interactions. Using atomistic molecular dynamics (MD) simulations and quantum mechanical calculations, we focused our efforts on (i) rationalising the role of several activating DBD mutations linked to prostate cancer, and (ii) DBD interactions in the presence of abasic DNA lesions, which frequently occur in CRPC. Our results elucidate the role of mutations within DBD through their modulation of the intrinsic dynamics of the DBD-DNA ternary complex. Furthermore, our results indicate that the DNA apurinic lesions occurring in the androgen-responsive element (ARE) enhance direct AR-DNA interactions and stabilise the DBD homodimerisation interface. Moreover, our results strongly suggest that those abasic lesions may form reversible covalent crosslinks between DNA and lysine residues of an AR via a Schiff base. In addition to providing an atomistic model explaining how protein mutations within the AR DNA-binding domain affect AR dimerisation and AR-DNA interactions, our findings provide insight into how somatic mutations occurring in DNA non-coding regions may activate ARs. These mutations are frequently observed in prostate cancer and may contribute to disease progression by enhancing direct AR-DNA interactions.

A retrospective evaluation of side-effects associated with the booster dose of Pfizer-BioNTech/BNT162b2 COVID-19 vaccine among females in Eastern Province, Saudi Arabia.

BACKGROUNDS: The development of several types of vaccines to avert COVID-19 has taken place. Despite several reports of undesirable reactions noted post-COVID-19 vaccine administration, later remains one of the best prevention and management tools in fighting the spread of the virus and its variants and reducing the harshness of this viral attack. The purpose of the current paper was to explore the side-effects experienced by the females in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia directly after receiving the booster dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech/BNT162b2 COVID-19 vaccine. METHODS: A descriptive cross-sectional study among adults living in the East-ern Province, Saudi Arabia was applied. A survey link was, distributed through WhatsApp, SMS, or e-mail to community members. Respondent's demographic information was acquired, as well as information about any local and systemic side-effects reported following booster dose of BioNTech/BNT162b2 COVID-19 vaccine. RESULTS: A total of 72.36% (432/597) of the respondents who participated in this study reported at least one side-effect. Pain and redness at the injection site (75.93%), myalgia (71.99%), headache (53.24%), fever (33.56%), and fatigue (43.78%) were the highest frequently stated side-effects. Furthermore, 9.25% of the respondents had to see a physician due to side effects, plus merely four participants were admitted to the hospital. The respondents working in the non-healthcare-related sector had a 1.677-fold more possibility of side effects in comparison with the other respondents (adjusted odds ratio = 1.677; 95% CI = 1.363, 2.064). CONCLUSIONS: All reported side-effects were mild to moderate. These findings might persuade pessimists and refusers to get the COVID-19 vaccine. Myalgia and pain or redness at the site of injection were the most common reported side-effects in our study.

Application of Soft-Computing Methods to Evaluate the Compressive Strength of Self-Compacting Concrete.

This research examined machine learning (ML) techniques for predicting the compressive strength (CS) of self-compacting concrete (SCC). Multilayer perceptron (MLP), bagging regressor (BR), and support vector machine (SVM) were utilized for analysis. A total of 169 data points were retrieved from the various published articles. The data set was based on 11 input parameters, such as cement, limestone, fly ash, ground granulated blast-furnace slag, silica fume, rice husk ash, coarse aggregate, fine aggregate, superplasticizers, water, viscosity modifying admixtures, and one output with compressive strength of SCC. In terms of properly predicting the CS of SCC, the BR technique outperformed both the SVM and MLP models, as determined by the research results. In contrast to SVM and MLP, the coefficient of determination (R2) for the BR model was 0.95, whereas for SVM and MLP, the R2 was 0.90 and 0.86, respectively. In addition, a k-fold cross-validation approach was adopted to check the accuracy of the employed models. The statistical measures mean absolute percent error, mean absolute error, and root mean square error ensure the validity of the model. Using sensitivity analysis, the influence of input factors on the intended CS of SCC was also explored. This analysis reveals that the highest contributing parameter towards the CS of SCC was cement with 16.2%, while rice husk ash contributed the least with 4.25% among all the input variables.

Aspergillus violaceofuscus alleviates cadmium and chromium stress in Okra through biochemical modulation.

Endophytic fungi from the Chilli were used to help okra plants exposed to cadmium (Cd) or chromium (Cr) stress. Initially, the strain Ch06 produced higher amounts of indole acetic acid (IAA) (230.5 µg/mL), sugar (130.7 µg/mL), proteins (128.2 µg/mL), phenolics (525.6 µg/mL) and flavonoids (98.4 µg/mL) in Czapek broth supplemented with Cd or Cr. The production of IAA and other metabolites in such a higher concentration suggested that Ch06 might improve plant growth under heavy metal stress. For this reason, an experiment was designed, in which biomass of Ch06 (at 2g/100g of sand) were applied to the okra plants exposed to Cd or Cr stress (at 100 or 500 µg/g). The results exhibited that Ch06 improved the total chlorophyll (36.4±0.2 SPAD), shoot length (22.6±0.2 cm), root length (9.1±0.6 cm), fresh weight (5±0.6 g), dry weight (1.25±0.01 g), sugars (151.6 µg/g), proteins (114.8 µg/g), proline (6.7 µg/g), flavonoids (37.9 µg/g), phenolics (70.7 µg/g), IAA (106.7 µg/g), catalase (0.75 enzyme units/g tissue) and ascorbic acid oxidaze (2.2 enzyme units/g tissue) of the associated okra plants. Similar observations have been recorded in Ch06 associated okra plants under Cd and Cr stress. Also, Ch06 association reduced translocation of Cd (35% and 45%) and Cr (47% and 53%) to the upper parts of the okra plants and thus reduced their toxicity. The internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region amplification of 18S rDNA (ribosomal deoxyribo nucleic acid) exhibited that the potent strain Ch06 was Aspergillus violaceofuscus. The results implied that A. violaceofuscus has the ability to promote host species growth exposed to Cd and Cr. Moreover, it helped the host plants to recover in Cd and Cr polluted soils, hence can be used as biofertilizer.

Prevalence of side-effects associated with the booster dose of Pfizer-BioNTech (BNT162b2) of COVID-19 Vaccine among vaccinated adults in the Eastern province of Saudi Arabia.

Background: Reports of local and systemic side-effects of COVID-19 vaccination may play an important role in public confidence in the acceptance of the COVID-19 vaccine booster dose. Methods: We conducted a retrospective cross-sectional study among adults living in Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia. A link to the survey was distributed to community members via WhatsApp, SMS, or e-mail. Participants' general and demographic information was also collected, as well as information about any local and systemic side-effects reported following vaccination. Results: A total of 370/390 (94.87%) of respondents reported one or more side-effects. Pain or redness at the site of injection (88.92%), fatigue (43.78%), body pain fever (37.84%), and headache (15.95%) were the most commonly reported side-effects. Moreover, 2.43% of the participants reported side-effects needed to see a physician; only four were admitted to the hospital. The non-healthcare respondents (n=273 (97.15%), OR (95% CI) = 5.22 (2.02, 13.48, P <0.001) were more likely to report side-effects compared to the healthcare related respondents (n=36 (85.71%), OR (95% CI) = 0.25 (0.10, 0.70), P=0.013). Conclusion: According to this study, the Pfizer-BioNTech (BNT162b2) COVID-19 vaccine was safe when given to Saudi Arabian adults. All reported side-effects were mild to moderate. The findings will likely persuade vaccine-hesitant individuals and pessimists to accept booster dose of COVID-19 vaccine.

Data-Driven Techniques for Evaluating the Mechanical Strength and Raw Material Effects of Steel Fiber-Reinforced Concrete.

Estimating concrete properties using soft computing techniques has been shown to be a time and cost-efficient method in the construction industry. Thus, for the prediction of steel fiber-reinforced concrete (SFRC) strength under compressive and flexural loads, the current research employed advanced and effective soft computing techniques. In the current study, a single machine learning method known as multiple-layer perceptron neural network (MLPNN) and ensembled machine learning models known as MLPNN-adaptive boosting and MLPNN-bagging are used for this purpose. Water; cement; fine aggregate (FA); coarse aggregate (CA); super-plasticizer (SP); silica fume; and steel fiber volume percent (Vf SF), length (mm), and diameter were the factors considered (mm). This study also employed statistical analysis such as determination coefficient (R2), root mean square error (RMSE), and mean absolute error (MAE) to assess the performance of the algorithms. It was determined that the MLPNN-AdaBoost method is suitable for forecasting SFRC compressive and flexural strengths. The MLPNN technique's higher R2, i.e., 0.94 and 0.95 for flexural and compressive strength, respectively, and lower error values result in more precision than other methods with lower R2 values. SHAP analysis demonstrated that the volume of cement and steel fibers have the greatest feature values for SFRC's compressive and flexural strengths, respectively.