Explore the vast range of titles available.

An electroencephalography (EEG)-based brain–computer interface (BCI) is a system that provides a pathway between the brain and external devices by interpreting EEG. EEG-based BCI applications have initially been developed for medical purposes, with the aim of facilitating the return of patients to normal life. In addition to the initial aim, EEG-based BCI applications have also gained increasing significance in the non-medical domain, improving the life of healthy people, for instance, by making it more efficient, collaborative and helping develop themselves. The objective of this review is to give a systematic overview of the literature on EEG-based BCI applications from the period of 2009 until 2019. The systematic literature review has been prepared based on three databases PubMed, Web of Science and Scopus. This review was conducted following the PRISMA model. In this review, 202 publications were selected based on specific eligibility criteria. The distribution of the research between the medical and non-medical domain has been analyzed and further categorized into fields of research within the reviewed domains. In this review, the equipment used for gathering EEG data and signal processing methods have also been reviewed. Additionally, current challenges in the field and possibilities for the future have been analyzed.

For autonomous driving, perception is a primary and essential element that fundamentally deals with the insight into the ego vehicle’s environment through sensors. Perception is challenging, wherein it suffers from dynamic objects and continuous environmental changes. The issue grows worse due to interrupting the quality of perception via adverse weather such as snow, rain, fog, night light, sand storms, strong daylight, etc. In this work, we have tried to improve camera-based perception accuracy, such as autonomous-driving-related object detection in adverse weather. We proposed the improvement of YOLOv8-based object detection in adverse weather through transfer learning using merged data from various harsh weather datasets. Two prosperous open-source datasets (ACDC and DAWN) and their merged dataset were used to detect primary objects on the road in harsh weather. A set of training weights was collected from training on the individual datasets, their merged versions, and several subsets of those datasets according to their characteristics. A comparison between the training weights also occurred by evaluating the detection performance on the datasets mentioned earlier and their subsets. The evaluation revealed that using custom datasets for training significantly improved the detection performance compared to the YOLOv8 base weights. Furthermore, using more images through the feature-related data merging technique steadily increased the object detection performance.

NRC publication: Yes

Proteases are important industrial biocatalysts that constitute the largest group of enzymes acting as proteinases, peptidases, and amidases with a broad range of industrial applications. In this review, particular attention has been given to comprehensively scrutinize the proteases. After the succinct introduction, classification of proteases as exopeptidases (amino and carboxy proteases) and endopeptidases (serine, aspartic, cysteine, and metalloproteases), sources of alkaline, acidic and neutral protease like animal, plant and microbial sources along with the multi-industrial applications have been dissertated. Now a day’s, mostly proteases, which are present in the market, are produced from microbial sources because of the fast production rate and the limited requirement of cultivation. In addition to this, a critique on the applications of proteases in food, detergent, leather, pharmaceutical, cosmetics, silk degumming, silver recovery, chemical industry, and wastewater treatment industries is also concisely addressed. Finally, protein engineering and immobilization strategies to improve the catalytic properties of protease are thoroughly vetted. The quest for novel sources of protease enzyme has been encouraged to fulfill their ever-increasing demands for industrial exploitation. Graphic Abstract

Polysaccharides are essential macromolecules which almost exist in all living forms, and have important biological functions, they are getting more attention because they exhibit a wide range of biological and pharmacological activities, such as anti-tumour, immunomodulatory, antimicrobial, antioxidant, anticoagulant, antidiabetic, antiviral, and hypoglycemia activities, making them one of the most promising candidates in biomedical and pharmaceutical fields. Polysaccharides can be obtained from many different sources, such as plants, microorganisms, algae, and animals. Due to their physicochemical properties, they are susceptible to physical and chemical modifications leading to enhanced properties, which is the basic concept for their diverse applications in biomedical and pharmaceutical fields. In this review, we will give insight into the most recent updated applications of polysaccharides and their potentialities as alternatives for traditional and conventional therapies. Challenges and limitations for polysaccharides in pharmaceutical utilities are discussed as well.

Agriculture in the 21st century is facing multiple challenges, such as those related to soil fertility, climatic fluctuations, environmental degradation, urbanization, and the increase in food demand for the increasing world population. In the meanwhile, the scientific community is facing key challenges in increasing crop production from the existing land base. In this regard, traditional farming has witnessed enhanced per acre crop yields due to irregular and injudicious use of agrochemicals, including pesticides and synthetic fertilizers, but at a substantial environmental cost. Another major concern in modern agriculture is that crop pests are developing pesticide resistance. Therefore, the future of sustainable crop production requires the use of alternative strategies that can enhance crop yields in an environmentally sound manner. The application of rhizobacteria, specifically, plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR), as an alternative to chemical pesticides has gained much attention from the scientific community. These rhizobacteria harbor a number of mechanisms through which they promote plant growth, control plant pests, and induce resistance to various abiotic stresses. This review presents a comprehensive overview of the mechanisms of rhizobacteria involved in plant growth promotion, biocontrol of pests, and bioremediation of contaminated soils. It also focuses on the effects of PGPR inoculation on plant growth survival under environmental stress. Furthermore, the pros and cons of rhizobacterial application along with future directions for the sustainable use of rhizobacteria in agriculture are discussed in depth.

Water scarcity is abiotic stress that is becoming more prevalent as a result of human activities, posing a threat to agriculture and food security. Recently, endophytic bacteria have been proven to reduce drought stress and increase crop productivity. Here, we explored the efficacy of seed endophytic bacteria in maize crops under water deficit conditions. For this purpose, twenty-seven endophytic bacteria have been isolated from three distinct maize cultivars seeds (Malka 2016, Sahiwal Gold and Gohar-19) and evaluated for desiccation tolerance of −0.18, −0.491, and −1.025 MPa induced by polyethylene glycol (PEG) 6000. The nine isolates were chosen on the basis of desiccation tolerance and evaluated for maize growth promotion and antioxidant activity under normal and drought conditions. Results showed that drought stress significantly decreased the growth of maize seedlings. However, isolates SM1, SM4, SM19, and SM23 significantly improved the root and shoot length, plant biomass, leaf area, proline content, sugar, and protein content under normal and drought conditions. Antioxidant enzymes were significantly decreased at p-value < 0.05 with inoculation of seed endophytic bacteria under drought conditions. However, further experiments of seed endophytic bacteria (SM1, SM4, SM19, and SM23) should be conducted to validate results.

Aphids are major pests affecting cereals, vegetables, fruit, forestry and horticultural produce. A multimodal approach may be an effective route to controlling this prolific pest. We assessed the individual and combined effect of eight insecticides and the entomopathogenic fungi, Metarhizium anisopliae (Metschin.) against the cotton aphid, Aphis gossypii Glover (Hemiptera: Aphididae), under laboratory conditions. Six of the insecticides tested were found to be highly compatible (flonicamid, imidacloprid, nitenpyram, dinotefuran, pyriproxyfen and spirotetramat), showing positive integration with the fungus and were selected for bioassays. The combination mixtures (1:1 ratio of M. anisopliae : insecticide) were significantly more toxic to A. gossypii than individual treatments. Maximum mortality (91.68%) of A. gossypii was recorded with combination of flonicamid and M. anisopliae (2.4 × 10 6  cfu/ml) 72 h after application. While minimum mortality (17.08%) was observed with the individual treatment of M. anisopliae (2.4 × 10 6  cfu/ml). The insecticides revealed toxicity consistent with their compatibility with M. anisopliae, ranking for efficacy exactly as they did for compatibility. In addition, the synergy factor (SF) and co-toxicity coefficient (CTC) values indicated synergistic interactions at different time intervals. The synergistic efficacy revealed the potential of fungus-insecticide integration against sucking insect pests.

Additive manufacturing (AM) has revolutionized the manufacturing industry by enabling the fabrication of complex geometries and designs with ease. 3D printing—fused deposition modeling (FDM) has emerged as a prevalent technique, owing to its versatility and cost‐effectiveness. However, the FDM process is complex and depends on multiple parameters, which makes it challenging to obtain high‐quality and consistent 3D printed components. The purpose of this study is to simplify the printing process for users and potentially improve the overall quality and consistency of printed objects. This research delved into optimising 3D printing parameters, specifically raster orientation and in‐fill speed, for PLA material through three experimental studies. The mean effect of these parameters and the effects of their interaction through analysis of variance (ANOVA) on tensile properties were also discussed. Initial experiments identified the most suitable parameters and its optimal values for PLA, which were then applied to five different materials: PETG, PLA tough, Recycle PLA, Plain PLA, and ABS. Tensile tests assessed the printed parts, and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) was employed to analyze fracture interfaces and material failure causes. This study identified a raster of 45°/−45° and 30 mm/s infill speed as optimal for diverse 3D printing materials. Notably, ABS, PETG, and tough PLA exhibited better tensile strengths, surpassing manufacturer benchmarks. However, Plain PLA and Recycled PLA, despite lower tensile strengths, proved valuable for specific applications. Interestingly, all tested materials showed greater flexibility than manufacturer recommendations, suggesting their suitability in scenarios needing both strength and flexibility. This study's results offer promising avenues for refining 3D printing practices, to the advantage of all users. The findings from this study offer significant insights for future research to investigate the effect of other process parameters on the quality of 3D printed parts, leading to further advancements of AM. Highlights Optimised 3D printing parameters. Applicability of optimised settings extended across various materials. ABS, PETG, and tough PLA exceeded manufacturer benchmarks in tensile strength. Experimental and ANOVA findings are in good agreement, revealing significant process parameters. Enhanced 3D printing parameters showcase broad material adaptability, with ABS, PETG and tough PLA exceeded manufacturer benchmarks in tensile strength.

Cadmium (Cd) is a major environmental contaminant due to its widespread industrial use. Cd contamination of soil and water is rather classical but has emerged as a recent problem. Cd toxicity causes a range of damages to plants ranging from germination to yield suppression. Plant physiological functions, i.e., water interactions, essential mineral uptake, and photosynthesis, are also harmed by Cd. Plants have also shown metabolic changes because of Cd exposure either as direct impact on enzymes or other metabolites, or because of its propensity to produce reactive oxygen species, which can induce oxidative stress. In recent years, there has been increased interest in the potential of plants with ability to accumulate or stabilize Cd compounds for bioremediation of Cd pollution. Here, we critically review the chemistry of Cd and its dynamics in soil and the rhizosphere, toxic effects on plant growth, and yield formation. To conserve the environment and resources, chemical/biological remediation processes for Cd and their efficacy have been summarized in this review. Modulation of plant growth regulators such as cytokinins, ethylene, gibberellins, auxins, abscisic acid, polyamines, jasmonic acid, brassinosteroids, and nitric oxide has been highlighted. Development of plant genotypes with restricted Cd uptake and reduced accumulation in edible portions by conventional and marker-assisted breeding are also presented. In this regard, use of molecular techniques including identification of QTLs, CRISPR/Cas9, and functional genomics to enhance the adverse impacts of Cd in plants may be quite helpful. The review’s results should aid in the development of novel and suitable solutions for limiting Cd bioavailability and toxicity, as well as the long-term management of Cd-polluted soils, therefore reducing environmental and human health hazards.