Evaluating the influence of road construction on landslide susceptibility in Saudi Arabia's mountainous terrain: a Bayesian-optimised deep learning approach with attention mechanism and sensitivity analysis.

In the mountainous region of Asir region of Saudi Arabia, road construction activities are closely associated with frequent landslides, posing significant risks to both human life and infrastructural development. This highlights an urgent need for a highly accurate landslide susceptibility map to guide future development and risk mitigation strategies. Therefore, this study aims to (1) develop robust well-optimised deep learning (DL) models for predicting landslide susceptibility and (2) conduct a comprehensive sensitivity analysis to quantify the impact of each parameter influencing landslides. To achieve these aims, three advanced DL models-Deep Neural Networks (DNN), Convolutional Neural Networks (CNN), and Bayesian-optimised CNN with an attention mechanism-were rigorously trained and validated. Model validation included eight matrices, calibration curves, and Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) and Precision-Recall curves. Multicollinearity was examined using Variance Inflation Factor (VIF) to ensure variable independence. Additionally, sensitivity analysis was used to interpret the models and explore the influence of parameters on landslide. Results showed that road networks significantly influenced the areas identified as high-risk zones. Specifically, in the 1-km buffer around roadways, CNN_AM identified 10.42% of the area as 'Very High' susceptibility-more than double the 4.04% indicated by DNN. In the extended 2-km buffer zone around roadways, Bayesian CNN_AM continued to flag a larger area as Very High risk (7.46%), in contrast to DNN's 3.07%. In performance metrics, CNN_AM outshined DNN and regular CNN models, achieving near-perfect scores in Area Under the Curve (AUC), precision-recall, and overall accuracy. Sensitivity analysis highlighted 'Soil Texture', 'Geology', 'Distance to Road', and 'Slope' as crucial for landslide prediction. This research offers a robust, high-accuracy model that emphasises the role of road networks in landslide susceptibility, thereby providing valuable insights for planners and policymakers to proactively mitigate landslide risks in vulnerable zones near existing and future road infrastructure.

Slag and Bagasse Ash: Potential Binders for Sustainable Rigid Pavement.

The current study tries to cut carbon emissions by using various waste materials in place of cement, including sugarcane bagasse ash (SCBA), ground granulated blast furnace slag (GGBFS), and ladle furnace slag (LFS), individually and in a combined form also, which has not been studied yet. In the same context, effort was made to utilize the maximum amount of waste materials as the replacement of cement to create a sustainable environment. Besides this, another aim is checking the performance of these waste materials as binding materials with respect to compressive strength for sustainable rigid pavement construction without activating them or using any activating solution. For this purpose, the compressive strength test is done for GGBFS, LFS, and SCBA, and later on, the artificial neural network (ANN) technique is also used to check the novelty of results in a broad way. For the same purpose, M40 grade concrete was made by incorporating different selected waste materials in a varying proportion ranging from 0 to 35%. Based on the results obtained from the compressive strength test for different curing periods, i.e., 7, 14, and 28 days, it was observed that the GGBFS, LFS, and SCBA can be utilized individually up to 15%, respectively. Another observation made from the findings was that the use of LFS and SCBA in the individual form up to 20% was found to be possible as the maximum reduction in strength was found to be up to 2.63%. However, the cumulative impact of all these waste products was also examined. Based on the data, it was concluded that the best outcomes would arise from using these additives in combination to replace cement in the mix by up to 30% (i.e., without compromising the required characteristics of concrete), which will be proved as an aid to the environment and the society also. Besides this, the fluctuation in the compressive strength value of concrete mixes after integrating various waste materials was also examined in order to construct a model using the ANN approach. The model's outcomes suggest that the ANN model does a good job of forecasting the compressive strength of concrete.

A novel cyclic dinuclear gold(I) complex induces anticancer activity via an oxidative stress-mediated intrinsic apoptotic pathway in MDA-MB-231 cancer cells.

A new dinuclear cyclic gold(I) complex [Au2(DCyPA)2](PF6)2, 1, based on bis[2-(dicyclohexylphosphano)ethyl]amine (DCyPA) has been synthesized and characterized by elemental analysis, IR and NMR spectroscopy, and X-ray crystallography. In the dinuclear complex cation [Au2(DCyPA)2]2+, the two gold(I) ions are bridged by the ligand bis[2-(dicyclohexylphosphano)ethyl]amine (DCyPA) giving rise to a 16-membered ring centrosymmetric metallacycle. The cytotoxicity of the complex was evaluated against the triple-negative human breast cancer cells MDA-MB-231. In order to understand the mechanism of the cytotoxic behavior, a variety of assays, including Annexin V-FITC/Propidium iodide double staining, ROS production, and mitochondrial membrane potential and migration assays were carried out. The results indicated that complex 1 induced cytotoxicity via an oxidative stress-mediated intrinsic apoptotic pathway in MDA-MB-231 cancer cells.

Potential Role of Serum S-100ß Protein as a Predictor of Cardiotoxicity and Clinical Poor Outcome in Acute Amphetamine Intoxication.

Cardio- and neurotoxicity of amphetamines play an important role in worsening morbidity, making the initial evaluation of the patient's status a potentially lifesaving action. The current study hypothesized that the S-100ß serum level could predict the severity of acute amphetamine toxicity and the in-hospital outcome. The current study is a prospective cohort study conducted on 77 patients diagnosed with acute amphetamine exposure and referred to Aseer Poison Control Center, Saudi Arabia. The patients admitted to ICU showed significantly higher serum levels of S-100ß in comparison to those not admitted (p < 0.05). Moreover, the S-100ß level was significantly elevated among patients with prolonged QTc intervals. Receiver-operating characteristic curve of S-100ß serum level as an in-hospital outcome predictor showed that at a cutoff value > 0.430 ug/L, the sensitivity of S-100ß serum level as severity predictor was 100%, and the specificity was 74.1%. In conclusion, the current study revealed that the S-100ß serum level could be used as an outcome predictor in hospital admission cases due to toxic amphetamine exposure and offers an idea about the cardiac and neuronal involvement. This can help select patients who will benefit most from ICU admission and early management and assess the severity of cases in settings where GC-MS is not available.

Apremilast prevent doxorubicin-induced apoptosis and inflammation in heart through inhibition of oxidative stress mediated activation of NF-κB signaling pathways.

BACKGROUND: Doxorubicin is an effective, potent and commonly used anthracycline-related anticancer drug; however, cardiotoxicity compromises its therapeutic potential. Apremilast, a novel phosphodiesterase type 4-inhibitor, reported to have anti-inflammatory effects and modulating many inflammatory mediators. METHODS: The present study investigated the influence of apremilast against doxorubicin-induced cardiotoxicity in male Wistar rats. A total, 24 animals were divided into four groups of six animal each. Group 1, served as control and received normal saline. Group 2 animals, received doxorubicin (20mgkg-1, ip). Group 3 and 4, treatment group, received doxorubicin (20mgkg-1, ip) with the same schedule as group-2, plus apremilast (10 and 20mgkg-1day-1, po) respectively. Oxidative stress, caspase-3 enzyme activity, gene expression and protein expression were tested. RESULTS: The results of the present study demonstrated that administration of apremilast reversed doxorubicin-induced cardiotoxicity. CONCLUSION: These findings suggested that apremilast can attenuate doxorubicin-induced cardiotoxicity via inhibition of oxidative stress mediated activation of nuclear factor-kappa B signaling pathways.