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Purpose This study explored how exogenous silicon (Si) affects growth and salt resistance in maize. Methods The maize was cultivated in sand-filled pots, incorporating varied silicon and salt stress (NaCl) treatments. Silicon was applied at 0, 2, 4, 6, and 8 mM, and salt stress was induced using 0, 60 and120 mM concentrations. Soil salinity triggers a range of physiochemical abnormalities, often leading to growth arrest and, eventually, the demise of susceptible plants. Results The salt stress significantly reduced the total chlorophyll content (12.58–33.14%), antioxidant enzymes, notably SOD (32–46%), POD (10.33–18.48%), and CAT (10.05–13.19%). In contrast, salt stress increased secondary metabolites, including total phenols (49.11–66.35%.), flavonoids (220.99–280.36%), and anthocyanin (50.04–58.6%). Adding silicon under salt stress reduced the absorption of Na + by 6.69%, 20.7%, 41.12%, and 34.28%, respectively, compared to their respective controls. Additionally, applying Si at 8 mM significantly enhanced antioxidant enzymes such as SOD (50.57%), POD (15.58%), CAT (10.06%) and chlorophyll ratio (21.32%). Conclusion Silicon application positively impacted nearly all growth and physiological features, indicating it helps mitigate against salinity. This was achieved by regulating various salinity indicators, where secondary metabolites, including anthocyanin, ascorbic acid, total phenols, and flavonoids, increased. Graphical Abstract

This research examines the influence of exogenous indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) on growth parameters and cadmium stress resistance in Sorghum bicolor (L. Moench). The plants were grown in pots, each filled with 4.5 kg of sand. After 21 days, root treatment with indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) was applied using five concentrations (0, 50, 100, 150, and 200 µM) under three cadmium (Cd) levels (0, 40, and 80 ppm). Applied Cadmium stress significantly reduced plant growth, with reductions in root length (12.73–15.88%), shoot length (17.60–19.25%), and plant height (10.62–14.88%). All growth parameters were improved with the application of 200 µM IAA, increasing root length (20.25–28.25%), shoot length (35.68–45.68%), and plant height (20.37%). The highest level of cadmium stress (80 ppm) was the most detrimental, while the 200 µM IAA treatment produced the most favorable results. Under cadmium stress, IAA application reduced the uptake of Na + , K + , and Ca 2+ ions by 7.69–9.52%, 3.70–7.31%, and 6.66–7.69%, respectively, as well as Cd 2+ by 2.50–5.26%. Despite these reductions, IAA application significantly enhanced antioxidant activities, including catalase (CAT), superoxide dismutase (SOD), and peroxidase (POD). At 200 µM IAA, antioxidant enzyme activities were increased by 4.65% (SOD), 8.82% (POD), 10.06% (CAT), and 17.9% ascorbate peroxidase (APX). The treatment also boosted chlorophyll content (17.46–22.85%), while reducing oxidative stress markers such as H 2 O 2 (29.4–40.8%) and malondialdehyde (38.9–42.1%). These findings suggest that IAA effectively mitigates cadmium-induced stress by improving growth parameters and physiological responses. Future research should explore the molecular mechanisms underlying IAA-mediated cadmium stress alleviation.

Macronutrients are essential for plant growth and development because they give plants the building blocks, they need to stay healthy and do important biological processes. A completely randomized designed (CRD) pot experiment was done to find out how nitrogen and sulfur affected the morphology and biochemistry of sunflowers. There were three replicates of each treatment: N1 (0), N2 20 kg ha-1 and N3 40 kg ha-1 and sulfur S1 (0), S2 40 kg ha-1 and S3 60 kg ha-1. Sunflower growth and physiology were improved by exogenously applied sulfur and nitrogen to the plant. Root and shoot length, fresh and dry weight, number of leaves per plant, leaf area, plant height, chlorophyll a, chlorophyll b, carotenoids, total soluble protein, and shoot calcium, potassium, and sodium ions contents all went up compared to the control conditions. Furthermore, sulfur and nitrogen have positive impacts on sunflowers' growth, ionic parameters and there was increase for anthocyanin (24.98%. and 36.66%), ascorbic acid (43.17% and 97.88%), and flavonoid (34.56%. and 112.91%) amounts with the highest levels at 60 kg ha-1 of S and 40 kg ha-1 of N, respectively. There was significant increase in photosynthetic pigments on application of Sulphur (Chl a. :19.15%, Chl b.  52.17%) and Nitrogen (chla. 20.53%, Chl b. 57.16%). Thus, applying sulfur and nitrogen externally to the plant is suggested to boost sunflower growth and chlorophyll levels at different nutritional levels.

Intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) is characterized by the disruption of cerebral vascular integrity, leading to hematoma enlargement, edema formation and physical damage to brain tissue. It has an extremely high disability rate and mortality rate, with mortality rates as high as 50%, imposing considerable physical and economic burdens on patients and their families. Therefore, identifying effective therapeutic targets for ICH has become an urgent issue. In recent years, numerous animal and clinical studies have shown that matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs), particularly MMP-9 and MMP-2, are closely associated with the pathophysiological processes of ICH. During the acute phase of ICH, MMP expression increases, leading to the disruption of the blood-brain barrier (BBB), exacerbating neuroinflammation and cerebral edema. However, in the subacute and chronic phases, MMPs play a crucial role in BBB repair, angiogenesis, and neurological recovery. Therefore, MMPs hold promise as effective therapeutic targets for ICH. This article provides an overview of ICH, the primary structure, classification, regulation, and role of MMPs in the destruction of the BBB, angiogenesis, and neural repair in ICH.

Study objective The objective of this study was to compare pterygium excision with amniotic membrane graft and that with stem cell graft in terms of pterygium recurrence, using a quasi-experimental study design. This study was conducted at the department of ophthalmology at Nishtar Hospital, Multan, Pakistan from January to September 2019. Methodology and results A total of 214 patients who presented to the outpatient section at the department of ophthalmology were included in this study. A lottery method was used to divide the patients into two equal groups: A and B. Patients in group A underwent pterygium excision with amniotic membrane graft, and patients in group B underwent pterygium excision with stem cell grafts. Follow-ups were planned for the third day, the second week, the first month, the third month, and the sixth month postoperatively. Frequency and percentage were calculated for qualitative variables and for quantitative data. Mean and standard deviation were calculated, and a p-value of <0.05 was considered significant. Postoperative complications (i.e., graft edema, hemorrhage, and recurrence) in group A were observed as n = 0 (0%), n = 11 (10.3%), and n = 15 (14%), respectively. Postoperative complications (i.e., graft edema, hemorrhage, and recurrence) in group B were observed as 15%, 3.7%, and 12.1%, respectively. Statistically, the difference for graft edema was significant (p = 0.000). Conclusion Stem cell grafting after pterygium excision was not associated with any major complications postoperatively. Stem cell grafting is better in terms of cosmetic appearance and has less recurrence rate as compared to amniotic membrane transplantation.

Numerous abiotic and biotic stresses threaten sustainable agriculture under limited resources. Agriculture productivity is disrupted by these unpredictable environmental fluctuations, posing a serious threat to food security. As a beneficial nutrient, silicon (Si) application enhances biological functions, crop development and productivity. Silicon application has garnered attention for its ability to mitigate various stresses and has shown a highly significant response under conditions such as water scarcity, salinity, metal toxicity, thermal stress and nutrients deprivation. Additionally, it enhances defense mechanisms against fungal, bacterial and pest attacks. High crops production can be achieved by incorporating Si into the agricultural system to replace synthetic fertilizers. This approach can help overcome limitations in crop production posed by limited resources and unpredictable environmental conditions. The environmentally friendly Si application is replacement of synthetic toxic chemicals for sustainable agriculture to get maximum yield under limited resources and unpredictable environmental conditions, as well regulate the genes expression to mitigate the biotic and abiotic stresses. The keys genes involved in different metabolic pathways under Si application have discussed in this study, which will be more beneficial to develop stress resilient crops through CRISPR/CAS technology to overcome the food threat and agriculture sustainability. Graphical Abstract

Study objective and design The objective of this study was to determine the effectiveness of triamcinolone acetonide when used as a single dose as compared to the topical use of dexamethasone to control the inflammation after phacoemulsification. The study was a randomized controlled trial conducted in the Department of Ophthalmology at the District Headquarter (DHQ) Teaching Hospital, Dera Ghazi Khan, from March 1, 2018, to August 31, 2019. Materials and methods Eighty patients were included in the study. All patients were assigned to two groups of 40 patients each using the lottery method. Group A patients were treated with a 1-mg intracameral injection of triamcinolone acetonide postoperatively after phacoemulsification. Group B patients were administered 0.1% dexamethasone eye drops with a dosage of one drop every four hours for four weeks. Postoperative follow-up was planned for day one, day seven, and day 28. Results The postoperative inflammation cell values of Group A on day one, day seven, and day 28 were 1.68 ±0.84, 0.22 ±0.15, and 0.12 ±0.23, respectively, while the postoperative inflammation cell values of Group B on day one, day seven, and day 28 were 1.91 ±0.75, 0.28 ±0.15, and 0.09 ±0.20, respectively. The postoperative inflammation flare values of Group A on day one, day seven, and day 28 were 0.31 ±0.37, 0.03 ±0.44, and 0.00 ±0.22, respectively, while the postoperative inflammation flare values of Group B on day one, day seven, and day 28 were 0.25 ±0.26, 0.22 ±0.46, and 0.02 ±0.18, respectively. Conclusion The efficacy of both modes of treatments is comparable; however, triamcinolone acetonide is preferable to dexamethasone, as its intracameral injection generally results in better compliance than multiple dosages of topical eye drops of dexamethasone.

This study presents a novel application of soft-computing through intelligent, neural networks backpropagated by Levenberg–Marquardt scheme (NNs-BLMS) to solve the mathematical model of unsteady thin film flow of magnetized Maxwell fluid with thermo-diffusion effects and chemical reaction (TFFMFTDECR) over a horizontal rotating disk. The expression for thermophoretic velocity is accounted. Energy expression is deliberated with the addition of non-uniform heat source. The PDEs of mathematical model of TFFMFTDECR are transformed to ODEs by the application of similarity transformations. A dataset is generated through Adams method for the proposed NNs-BLMS in case of various scenarios of TFFMFTDECR model by variation of rotation parameter, magnetic parameter, space dependent heat sink/source parameter, temperature dependent heat sink/source parameter and chemical reaction controlling parameter. The designed computational solver NNs-BLMS is implemented by performing training, testing and validation for the solution of TFFMFTDECR system for different variants. Variation of various physical parameters are designed via plots and explain in details. It is depicted that thin film thickness increases for higher values of disk rotation parameter, while it diminishes for higher magnetic parameter. Furthermore, higher values of Dufour number and the corresponding diminishing values of Soret number causes enhancement in fluid temperature profile. Further the effectiveness of NNs-BLMS is validated by comparing the results of the proposed solver and the standard solution of TFFMFTDECR model through error analyses, histogram representations and regression analyses.

The development of wearable sensor devices brings significant benefits to patients by offering real-time healthcare via wireless body area networks (WBANs). These wearable devices have gained significant traction due to advantageous features, including their lightweight nature, comfortable feel, stretchability, flexibility, low power consumption, and cost-effectiveness. Wearable devices play a pivotal role in healthcare, defence, sports, health monitoring, disease detection, and subject tracking. However, the irregular nature of the human body poses a significant challenge in the design of such wearable systems. This manuscript provides a comprehensive review of recent advancements in wearable and flexible smart sensor devices that can support the next generation of such sensor devices. Further, the development of direct ink writing (DIW) and direct writing (DW) methods has revolutionised new high-resolution integrated smart structures, enabling the design of next-generation soft, flexible, and stretchable wearable sensor devices. Recognising the importance of keeping academia and industry informed about cutting-edge technology and time-efficient fabrication tools, this manuscript also provides a thorough overview of the latest progress in various fabrication methods for wearable sensor devices utilised in WBAN and their evaluation using body phantoms. An overview of emerging challenges and future research directions is also discussed in the conclusion.