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Background and objectives Microbial cells capability to tolerate the effect of various antimicrobial classes represent a major worldwide health concern. The flexible and multi-components nanocomposites have enhanced physicochemical characters with several improved properties. Thus, different biological activities of biosynthesized starch/silver-selenium nanocomposite (St/Ag-Se NC) were assessed. Methodology The St/Ag-Se NC was biosynthesized using Cladosporium cladosporioides CBS 174.62 ( C. cladosporioides ) strain. The shape and average particle size were investigated using scanning electron microscope (SEM) and high-resolution transmission electron microscope (HR-TEM), respectively. On the other hand, the St/Ag-Se NC effect on two cancer cell lines and red blood cells (RBCs) was evaluated and its hydrogen peroxide (H 2 O 2 ) scavenging effect was assessed. Moreover, its effects on various microbial species in both planktonic and biofilm growth forms were examined. Results The St/Ag-Se NC was successfully biosynthesized with oval and spherical shape and a mean particle diameter of 67.87 nm as confirmed by the HR-TEM analysis. St/Ag-Se NC showed promising anticancer activity toward human colorectal carcinoma (HCT-116) and human breast cancer (MCF-7) cell lines where IC 50 were 21.37 and 19.98 µg/ml, respectively. Similarly, little effect on RBCs was observed with low nanocomposite concentration. As well, the highest nanocomposite H 2 O 2 scavenging activity (42.84%) was recorded at a concentration of 2 mg/ml. Additionally, Staphylococcus epidermidis ( S. epidermidis ) ATCC 12,228 and Candida albicans ( C. albicans ) ATCC 10,231 were the highly affected bacterial and fungal strains with minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) of 18.75 and 50 µg/ml, respectively. Moreover, the noticeable effect of St/Ag-Se NC on microbial biofilm was concentration dependent. A high biofilm suppression percentage, 87.5% and 68.05%, were recorded with S. epidermidis and Staphylococcus aureus ( S. aureus ) when exposed to 1 mg/ml and 0.5 mg/ml, respectively. Conclusion The biosynthesized St/Ag-Se NC showed excellent antioxidant activity, haemocompatibility, and anti-proliferative effect at low concentrations. Also, it exhibited promising antimicrobial and antibiofilm activities.

H. pylori infects approximately 50% of the world’s population that causes chronic gastritis, and may lead to peptic ulcer disease (PUD). H. pylori -induced chronic infections are associated with gastric adenocarcinoma and low-grade gastric lymphoma. In Egypt, H. pylori strains are widespread and became resistant to antimicrobial agents, thus advanced typing methods are needed to differentiate infectious strains that are resistant to antibiotics, and therefore earlier prognosis and infection control. The main objectives were (i) to determine susceptibility of infectious H. pylori strains to some antimicrobial agents that are currently used in eradication therapy in Egypt; (ii) to identify diverse strains commonly detected in the gastrointestinal (GIT) endoscopy units in Egypt through phenotypic and genotypic analyses. In this observational study we isolated 167 isolates from 232 gastric biopsies (antrum and corpus) of patients who were admitted to the upper GIT endoscopy units in five governmental Egyptian hospitals. Antimicrobial susceptibility patterns were investigated using Kirby Bauer disc diffusion and agar dilution Minimum Inhibitory Concentrations (MICs) methods. Phenotypic characterization was based on biotyping and antibiogram typing techniques. Genotypic characterization was carried out using PCR-based Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphism (RFLP) and Enterobacterial Repetitive Intergenic Consensus (ERIC)-PCR analyses. H. pylori isolates were highly resistant to diverse antimicrobial agents including Metronidazole, Fluoroquinolones, Macrolides, Amoxycillin, Tetracycline and Gentamicin. Two factors contributed to the increased resistance of H. pylori to the conventional therapy seen in Egypt: (i) Metronidazole and Amoxycillin are inexpensive and available drugs being abused by patients; (ii) the regional prescribing practice of Macrolids commonly used to treat upper respiratory and urinary tract infections. Five different biotypes were identified depending on the ability of the isolates to synthesize different enzymes. Nine antibiogram types were identified. PCR-RFLP analysis revealed fifteen different fingerprints while ERIC-PCR revealed 22 fingerprints. Biotyping alone or in combination with antibiogram typing are highly useful molecular tools in the prognosis of strain relatedness. PCR-RFLP and ERIC-PCR acquired good discriminatory power for identifying H. pylori infectious sub-types.

The unregulated administration of currently available antimicrobial agents resulted in overspreading of resistant microbial phenotypes. In this study, Mucor racemosus was used for biosynthesis of zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO NPs) through fungi-based ecofriendly approach. The biosynthesized of ZnO NPs was initially considered based on analytical practices including UV–vis spectroscopy and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Additionally, their cytotoxicity and anticancer activity were analyzed using suitable cell lines and their antioxidant effect was also assessed. Microbiologically, their inhibitory activity was comparatively evaluated against various methicillinresistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and methicillinsensitive Staphylococcus aureus (MSSA). Characterization of ZnO NPs displayed a distinct maximum absorption peak at 320 nm appeared in the UV–vis. Also, TEM revealed predominantly spherical ZnO NPs with particle size distribution ranging from 15 to 55 nm (mean size ≃ 40 nm). The normal cell line (Wi-38) illustrated the biosafety of ZnO NPs, where results showed IC 50 of 197.2 µg/mL. Furthermore, ZnO NPs exhibited promising suppressive activity on Hep-G2 cancerous cell with IC 50 of 51.4 µg/mL. Besides, ZnO NPs displayed antioxidant activity where IC 50 was 69.2 µg/mL. As well, the minimum inhibitory concentrations of ecofriendly ZnO NPs against the tested MRSA and MSSA isolates were ranged from 32 to 512 µg/mL. Also, their minimum bactericidal concentrations against the tested MSSA was in lower range, 32–1024 µg/mL, than the recorded range, 128–1024 µg/mL, against the MSSA. Also, the crystal violet (CV) assay showed an eradication potential of the biosynthesized ZnO NPs on MRSA and MSSA biofilm in a range of 23.24–73.96% and 6.63–74.1%, respectively. In conclusion, the ecofriendly synthesized ZnO NPs with antioxidant and anticancer activities demonstrated promising inhibitory effect on planktonic growth form of MRSA and MSSA clinical isolates with capability to eradicate their preformed biofilm. To achieve their full potential, future research needs to enhance the synthesis process to make ZnO NPs more uniform and scalable, as well as investigate their action mechanisms at the molecular level.

The urgent need for sustainable therapeutic nanomaterials has driven interest in green synthesis routes. In this study, zinc oxide-manganese oxide nanocomposites were mycosynthesized by employing the fungal extracellular filtrate of Aspergillus terreus . Characterization based on different spectroscopical analysis confirmed their crystalline structure, associated functional groups, and nanoscale morphology. The obtained composites showed nanoscales with average particle sizes of 75 nm and 99 nm as determined by TEM and DLS analysis, respectively. Additionally, microbiological assays revealed their strong growth-ceasing activity against Escherichia coli and Bacillus subtilis strains. Also, the time-kill assessment demonstrated rapid bacterial reduction at higher nanocomposite doses. Cytotoxicity studies indicated good safety in the case of WI-38 normal cells, potent anticancer activity against the MCF-7 tumor cell line, and a respectable selectivity index approximately 3.4 for the tested cancerous cell line. These findings highlight fungal-mediated biosynthesis as an eco-friendly route for producing zinc oxide-manganese oxide nanocomposites with respected spectrum antimicrobial activity and anticancer potential.

Applications of artificial intelligence (AI) models have been massively explored for various engineering and sciences domains over the past two decades. Their capacity in modeling complex problems confirmed and motivated researchers to explore their merit in different disciplines. The use of two AI-models (probabilistic neural network and multilayer perceptron neural network) for the estimation of two different water quality indicators (namely dissolved oxygen (DO) and five days biochemical oxygen demand (BOD5)) were reported in this study. The WQ parameters estimation based on four input modelling scenarios was adopted. Monthly water quality parameters data for the duration from January 2006 to December 2015 were used as the input data for the building of the prediction model. The proposed modelling was established utilizing many physical and chemical variables, such as turbidity, calcium (Ca), pH, temperature (T), total dissolved solids (TDS), Sulfate (SO4), total suspended solids (TSS), and alkalinity as the input variables. The proposed models were evaluated for performance using different statistical metrics and the evaluation results showed that the performance of the proposed models in terms of the estimation accuracy increases with the addition of more input variables in some cases. The performances of PNN model were superior to MLPNN model with estimation both DO and BOD parameters. The study concluded that the PNN model is a good tool for estimating the WQ parameters. The optimal evaluation indicators for PNN in predicting BOD are (R2 = 0.93, RMSE = 0.231 and MAE = 0.197). The best performance indicators for PNN in predicting Do are (R2 = 0.94, RMSE = 0.222 and MAE = 0.175).

Recent statistical analyses indicate a rapid increase in the incidence of breast and colon cancer in Egypt. Although invasive techniques have been widely employed for early detection, diagnosis, and intervention of those cancers, they are associated with inherent risks and limitations, which often result in various complications. Therefore, noninvasive screening methods are inevitable due to their accessibility, cost-effectiveness, and high patient compliance rates. The enzyme L-asparaginase catalyzes the conversion of L-asparagine to L-aspartic acid: key metabolite for tumor cell division, thereby demonstrating anticancer potential. However, the prolonged use of bacterial L-asparaginase may cause allergic reactions and side effects such as diabetes, leukopenia, and co-agglutination disorders. Exploring the anticancer properties of L-asparaginase from different species such as yeast and fungi has been proposed to mitigate these adverse effects. This study aimed at extracting and optimizing the expression of L-asparaginase from the eukaryotic Cladosporium species, as to assess its anticancer potential against breast and colon cancer cell lines. Cladosporium species were identified morphologically and then cultured on modified Czapek-Dox Agar (mCDA) medium supplemented with L-asparagine to induce L-asparaginase production. Submerged fermentation was employed to optimize enzyme production. The enzyme activity was quantified using the Nesslerization method, and its cytotoxicity against colon and breast cancer cell lines was assessed using the (MTT) assay. Among the Cladosporium isolates, 18.4% exhibited positive plate assay test, with enzyme activities ranging from 255 to 428 U/mL. Immunoblotting using sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) analysis revealed single protein band of approximately 37 kDa, consistent with L-asparaginase activity. Cytotoxicity assay of purified L-asparaginase showed significant antiproliferative effects against breast cancer cell lines MCF-7 and MDA-MB-231, with IC.sub.50 values of 36.26 and 45.7 µg/mL, respectively. Certain eukaryotic Cladosporium strains are potential sources for the anticancer L-asparaginase production.

Fungal species are increasingly recognized as efficient bio‐factories for the biosynthesis of nanoparticles with distinctive functionalities. In this study, zinc oxide‐magnesium oxide nanocomposite (ZnO‐MgO NCs) were biologically created employing the Sarocladium kiliense PV248633.1 fungal strain. Ultraviolet‐visible spectroscopy confirmed nanoparticle formation through characteristic absorption peaks, while Fourier‐transform infrared spectroscopy identified functional groups associated with metal‐oxygen bonds. Also, the nanoparticle size and surface characteristics Transmission electron microscopy and dynamic light scattering analyzes revealed an average particle size of 35 nm. Biological assessments demonstrate potent antitumor activity (IC₅₀ = 78.1 µg/mL) against MCF‐7 breast cancer cells, alongside minimal cytotoxicity against normal WI‐38 cells (IC₅₀ = 218.7 µg/mL), indicating selective toxicity. Antibacterial evaluations showed particularly high efficacy against Acinetobacter baumannii and Pseudomonas aeruginosa occasionally surpassing the performance of cefepime. Dose‐dependent antimicrobial activity was confirmed through well diffusion and broth microdilution techniques, with minimum inhibitory concentrations highlighting strong bactericidal potential. Biofilm inhibition assays revealed strain‐specific responses, with A. baumannii being the most susceptible. Furthermore, the synergistic combination of the biosynthesized nanocomposite with cefepime enhanced antibacterial outcomes against selected isolates, suggesting potential for addressing drug resistance. Overall, the mycogenic ZnO‐MgO NCs synthesized from S. kiliense exhibited substantial anticancer, antibacterial, and antibiofilm properties, locating this nanocomposite as a promising candidate for biomedical purposes. Biosynthesis and multifunctional activities of ZnO–MgO nanocomposites using Sarocladium kiliense extract. The fungal extract of S. kiliense was utilized for the green synthesis of ZnO–MgO nanocomposites (NCs) using zinc nitrate and magnesium nitrate as precursors. The obtained NCs were characterized by UV–Vis, TEM, DLS, and XRD analyzes, confirming nanosized crystalline structures. The biosynthesized ZnO–MgO NCs exhibited potent antimicrobial, antibiofilm, and anticancer activities, suggesting their potential application in biomedical and pharmaceutical fields.

The transferable genetic elements are associated with the dissemination of virulence determinants amongst Klebsiella pneumoniae. Thus, we assessed the correlated antimicrobial resistance in carbapenem-resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae clinical isolates. Each isolate’s ability to biosynthesize biofilm, carbapenemase, and extended-spectrum β-lactamase were examined. Genotypically, the biofilm-, outer membrane porin-, and some plasmid-correlated antimicrobial resistance genes were screened. About 50% of the isolates were multidrug-resistant while 98.4% were extended-spectrum β-lactamase producers and 89.3% were carbapenem-resistant. Unfortunately, 93.1% of the multidrug-resistant isolates produced different biofilm levels. Additionally, fimD and mrkD genes encoding adhesins were detected in 100% and 55.2% of the tested isolates, respectively. Also, the blaKPC, blaOXA-48-like, and blaNDM-encoding carbapenemases were observed in 16.1%, 53.6%, and 55.4% of the tested isolates, respectively. Moreover, the blaSHV and blaCTX-M extended-spectrum β-lactamase-associated genes were detected at 95.2% and 61.3%, respectively. Furthermore, aac(3)IIa, qnrB, and tetB resistance-correlated genes were observed in 38.1%, 46%, and 7.9% of the tested isolates, respectively. Certainly, the tested antimicrobial resistance-encoding genes were concurrently observed in 3.2% of the tested isolates. These findings confirmed the elevated prevalence of various antimicrobial resistance-associated genes in Klebsiella pneumoniae. The concurrent transferring of plasmid-encoding antimicrobial resistance-related genes could be associated with the possible acquisition of multidrug-resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae phenotypes.

Clinical isolates of ( ) are among the most recovered bacteria with phenotypic antimicrobial resistance. Bimetallic nanoparticles (BNPs) have received much attention for antimicrobial activity in the last decade. This research aimed to biosynthesize bimetallic copper oxide-selenium nanoparticles (CuO-Se BNPs) and to assess its bioactivity on various clinical isolates. Based on the possible synergistic effects, CuO-Se BNPs were selected and biosynthesized using leaf extract of ( ) for the first time. The obtained BNPs were characterized using UV-vis spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction (XRD), energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX), and transmission and scanning electron microscopes. The capability of Cu-Se BNPs to cease the growth of isolates and to reduce their virulence characters was evaluated. Also, different cell lines were used to assess its cytotoxicity and anticancer activity. The elemental composition of CuO and Se was revealed by the UV, XRD, and EDX data, indicating the synthesis of CuO-Se core shell BNPs with a size of 50 nm. In well diffusion assay, CuO-Se BNPs growth with 10-21 mm inhibition zone diameter and 38-95% inhibition. Also, the minimum inhibitory concentration and minimum bactericidal concentration were in a relatively wide range of 7.8-250 μg/mL and 31.2-500 μg/mL, respectively, with tolerance level range of 2-16. Additionally, CuO-Se BNPs shown anti-pyocyanin activity of 4.35-63.21% inhibition while the anti-proteolytic activity was in a range of 4.96-12.59% and anti-pyoverdine effect was in a range of 0.24-83.41%. The IC50 against Wi-38 normal cells was 267.2 µg/mL while the IC50 were 31.1 and 83.4 µg/mL against MCF-7 and Hep-G2, respectively, indicating promising anticancer activity. This research demonstrates the promising antibacterial, anti-virulence, and antitumor properties with safe low concentrations of CuO-Se NPs, synthesized via an eco-friendly green synthesis method without the use of toxic chemicals, offering a sustainable and cost-effective alternative.

This study examined the effect of ground shells of walnut (GW) as fine aggregate on the fresh and hardened properties of cement mortar before and after being subjected to elevated temperatures. The experimental work consists of two series with different water to cement ratio (w/c) and various percentages of GW. In each series, the ratios of GW were varied in range (0-30% at an increment of 10%). The fresh density and slump test were used as fresh properties and the dry density with compressive strength were measured at the curing ages of 7, 14 and 28 days as hardened characteristics. Also, the dry density and compressive strength at 28 days curing age were examined after exposure to an elevated temperature of 400 °C and 600 °C for two hours. The results indicated that the all tested properties were reduced by using GW. The optimum utilized ratio of GW is 20% for the first series with w/c of 0.5 which led to producing lightweight cement mortar and is suitable for structural purposes before and after exposure to 400 °C. However, the rest of the mixtures are suitable for non-structural purposes.