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Silver nanotechnology has received tremendous attention in recent years, owing to its wide range of applications in various fields and its intrinsic therapeutic properties. In this review, an attempt is made to critically evaluate the chemical, physical, and biological synthesis of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) as well as their efficacy in the field of theranostics including microbiology and parasitology. Moreover, an outlook is also provided regarding the performance of AgNPs against different biological systems such as bacteria, fungi, viruses, and parasites (leishmanial and malarial parasites) in curing certain fatal human diseases, with a special focus on cancer. The mechanism of action of AgNPs in different biological systems still remains enigmatic. Here, due to limited available literature, we only focused on AgNPs mechanism in biological systems including human (wound healing and apoptosis), bacteria, and viruses which may open new windows for future research to ensure the versatile application of AgNPs in cosmetics, electronics, and medical fields.

Background Malaria control in Liberia depends upon universal coverage with pyrethroid-impregnated long-lasting insecticidal nets (LLINs). Despite regular mass distribution, LLIN coverage and usage is patchy. Pyrethroid resistance in malaria vectors may further reduce LLIN efficacy. Durable Wall Lining (DWL), a novel material treated with two non-pyrethroid class insecticides, was designed to be installed onto the surface of inner walls, and cover openings and ceiling surfaces of rural houses. Objectives Aim To determine the malaria control efficacy of DWL. Primary objective To determine if DWL has an additional protective effect in an area of pyrethroid resistance. Secondary objectives To compare surface bio-availability of insecticides and entomological effectiveness over the study duration. Design A cluster randomized trial. Participants Children aged 2–59 months. Control arm 50 houses per 20 clusters, all of which received LLIN within the previous 12 months. Active arm 50 houses per 20 experimental clusters, all of which received LLINs with the previous 12 months, and had internal walls and ceilings lined with DWL. Randomisation Cluster villages were randomly allocated to control or active arms, and paired on 4 covariates. Main outcome measures Primary measure Prevalence of infection with P. falciparum in children aged 2 to 59 months. Secondary measure Surface bioavailability and entomological effectiveness of DWL active ingredients. Results Plasmodium falciparum prevalence in active clusters after 12 months was 34.6% compared to 40.1% in control clusters (p = 0.052). The effect varied with elevation and was significant (RR = 1.3, p = 0.022) in 14 pairs of upland villages. It was not significant (RR = 1.3, p = 0.344) in 6 pairs of coastal villages. Pooled risk ratio (RR) was calculated in SAS (Cary, NC, USA) using the Cochran–Mantel–Haenszel (CMH) test for upland and coastal cluster pairs. DWL efficacy was sustained at almost 100% for 12 months. Conclusions Findings indicate that DWL is a scalable and effective malaria control intervention in stable transmission areas with pyrethroid-resistant vectors, where LLIN usage is difficult to achieve, and where local housing designs include large gable and eve openings. Trial registration ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT02448745 (19 May 2015): https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT02448745

Understanding the size distribution, variation patterns, and potential formation mechanisms of particulate organic nitrates (PONs) is crucial for assessing their influences on atmospheric chemistry, air quality, and the regional climate. This study investigates PONs in the coastal atmosphere of Qingdao, China by collecting size-resolved particulate matter samples and analyzing six types of organic nitrates, namely pinene keto nitrate (PKN229), monoterpene hydroxyl nitrate (MHN215), monoterpene dicarbonyl nitrate (MDCN247), oleic acid hydroxyl nitrate (OAHN361), oleic acid keto nitrate (OAKN359), and pinene sulfate organic nitrate (PSON295), using ultrahigh-performance liquid chromatography(mass spectrometry). The mean total concentration of organic nitrates in fine particles reaches 677 ng m−3. The predominant compound is MHN215, followed by PKN229 and MDCN247. All six organic nitrates exhibited distinct concentration peaks in the droplet mode, with MDCN247 and OAHN361 showing a minor peak in the condensation mode. In addition, an apparent concentration peak is observed in the coarse mode for OAKN359. Comparative analyses under various conditions highlight the significant influences of primary emissions and secondary formation processes on the abundance and size distribution of organic nitrates. For instance, both firework displays during festivals and high NOx emissions from fuel combustion significantly increase the concentrations of condensation-mode organic nitrates, whereas dust particles enhanced the heterogeneous formation of coarse-mode particles. Furthermore, the high humidity of the coastal area promotes aqueous formation in droplet-mode particles.

Atropa acuminata Royle Ex Lindl ( Atropa acuminata ) under tremendous threat of extinction in its natural habitat. However, the antimicrobial, antileishmanial and anticancer effects of the plant’s extracts have not been reported yet. In the current study, an attempt has been made to evaluate the pharmacological potential of this plant’s extracts against microbes, Leishmania and cancer. The roots, stems and leaves of Atropa acuminata were ground; then, seven different solvents were used alone and in different ratios to prepare crude extracts, which were screened for pharmacological effects. The aqueous, methanolic and ethanolic extracts of all parts carried a broad spectrum of anti-bacterial activities, while no significant activity was observed with combined solvents. Three types of cytotoxicity assays were performed, i.e., haemolytic, brine shrimp and protein kinase assays. The aqueous extract of all the parts showed significant haemolytic activity while n-hexane extracts of roots showed significant activity against brine shrimp. The acetone extracts strongly inhibited protein kinase while the methanolic extracts exhibited significant cytotoxic activity of roots and stem. The anti-leishmanial assays revealed that the methanolic extract of leaves and roots showed significant activity. These findings suggest that this plant could be a potential source of natural product based drugs.

Background Afghan refugees in northern Pakistan have been resident for over 30 years and current information on malaria in this population is sparse. Understanding malaria risk and distribution in refugee camps is important for effective management both in camps and on return to Afghanistan. Methods Cross-sectional malariometric surveys were conducted in five Afghan refugee camps to determine infection and exposure to both Plasmodium falciparum and Plasmodium vivax . Factors associated with malaria infection and exposure were analysed using logistic regression, and spatial heterogeneity within camps was investigated with SatScan. Results In this low-transmission setting, prevalence of infection in the five camps ranged from 0–0.2 to 0.4–9 % by rapid diagnostic test and 0–1.39 and 5–15 % by polymerase chain reaction for P. falciparum and P. vivax , respectively. Prevalence of anti-malarial antibodies to P. falciparum antigens was 3–11 and 17–45 % for P. vivax antigens. Significant foci of P. vivax infection and exposure were detected in three of the five camps. Hotspots of P. falciparum were also detected in three camps, only one of which also showed evidence of P. vivax hotspots. Conclusions There is low and spatially heterogeneous malaria transmission in the refugee camps in northern Pakistan. Understanding malaria risk in refugee camps is important so the malaria risk faced by these populations in the camps and upon their return to Afghanistan can be effectively managed.

Fraud continues to proliferate online, from phishing and ransomware to impersonation scams. Yet automated prevention approaches adapt slowly and may not reliably protect users from falling prey to new scams. To better combat online scams, we developed ScamPilot, a conversational interface that inoculates users against scams through simulation, dynamic interaction, and real-time feedback. ScamPilot simulates scams with two large language model-powered agents: a scammer and a target. Users must help the target defend against the scammer by providing real-time advice. Through a between-subjects study (N=150) with one control and three experimental conditions, we find that blending advice-giving with multiple choice questions significantly increased scam recognition (+8%) without decreasing wariness towards legitimate conversations. Users' response efficacy and change in self-efficacy was also 9% and 19% higher, respectively. Qualitatively, we find that users more frequently provided action-oriented advice over urging caution or providing emotional support. Overall, ScamPilot demonstrates the potential for inter-agent conversational user interfaces to augment learning.

An amendment to this paper has been published and can be accessed via a link at the top of the paper.An amendment to this paper has been published and can be accessed via a link at the top of the paper.

Generative AI, including large language models (LLMs) have the potential -- and already are being used -- to increase the speed, scale, and types of unsafe conversations online. LLMs lower the barrier for entry for bad actors to create unsafe conversations in particular because of their ability to generate persuasive and human-like text. In our current work, we explore ways to promote online safety by teaching people about unsafe conversations that can occur online with and without LLMs. We build on prior work that shows that LLMs can successfully simulate scam conversations. We also leverage research in the learning sciences that shows that providing feedback on one's hypothetical actions can promote learning. In particular, we focus on simulating scam conversations using LLMs. Our work incorporates two LLMs that converse with each other to simulate realistic, unsafe conversations that people may encounter online between a scammer LLM and a target LLM but users of our system are asked provide feedback to the target LLM.

Empowering role of nanoinformatics in design and elucidation of nanoparticles for effective cancer treatment has made this field a fascinating area for researchers, inspiring them to enhance up the quality and efficacy of existing anticancer medicines. Theoretical and computational modeling is being seen as a forefront solution for problems related to surface chemistry, optimized geometry, or other properties in nanoparticle designing and drug delivery. The current review aims to acquaint with the insight story of the incubation of in silico tools and techniques in nanotechnology to develop better anticancer nanomedicines. The review also recapitulates the assets and liabilities of this field and present an outline of existing inventiveness and endeavors of nanoinformatics. We propose how nanoinformatics could hasten up the advancements in anticancer nanomedicines through use of computational tools, nanoparticles repositories & various modeling and simulation methods.