Catalytic potential of endophytes facilitates synthesis of biometallic zinc oxide nanoparticles for agricultural application.

Recent advances fascinated the use of biological resources in combination with metals to obtain high quality biometals and apply its advantages in different fields. Endophytic mediated Zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO-NPs) is an economical and ecofriendly way for farmers to avoid Zn deficiency in rice crop and obtain high yield. Here we synthesized ZnO-NPs utilizing endophytic bacterial strain of Enterobacter hormaechei (E. hormaechei). The physiochemical properties of the prepared NPs were determined through UV-Vis spectroscopy, XRD, FT-IR, SEM and TEM. The prepared NPs revealed surface plasmon resonance (SPR) at 320 nm (nm) and crystalline structure with 21 nm average crystalline size. FT-IR spectra showed the presence of carboxylic, alcohol and amine functional groups, which confirm the biometallic assembling of the ZnO and endophytic bacterial functional groups. SEM showed pyramidal symmetry whereas TEM revealed poly dispersed spherical shape with particle size distribution 18-48 nm. Our results showed that prepared NPs possess significant antifungal, antibacterial and antioxidant potential at 25, 50 and 100 µg/mL concentrations. Moreover, Cytotoxic and hemolytic assay showed significant results (less % viability and hemolysis activity) at 50 and 100 µg/mL (ZnO-NP's) concentrations as compared to control. The prepared ZnO-NPs were used as bio fertilizer in various concentrations as a foliar spray, which showed significant enhancement of the rice plant growth, along with chlorophyll, proteins and carotenoid contents. These results recommend that endophytic mediated ZnO-NPs are biocompatible and possess significant potential for agricultural applications.

Development of an assessment framework for the proposed Multi-Scalar Seasonally Amalgamated Regional Standardized Precipitation Evapotranspiration Index (MSARSPEI) for regional drought classifications in global warming context.

Drought hazard is one of the main consequences of global warming and climate change. Unlike other natural disasters, drought has complex climatic features. Therefore, accurate drought monitoring is a challenging task. This paper proposes a framework for assessing drought classifications at the regional level. The proposed framework provides a new drought monitoring indicator called Multi-Scalar Seasonally Amalgamated Regional Standardized Precipitation Evapotranspiration Index (MSARSPEI). MSARSPEI is an amalgam of the Standardized Precipitation Evapotranspiration (SPEI) (Vicente-Serrano et al., 2010) and Regionally Improved Weighted Standardized Drought Index (RIWSDI) (Jiang et al., 2020). In the proposed framework, the Boruta algorithm of feature selection is configured to ensemble monthly time series data of evaporation in various meteorological stations located in specific regions. Further, the framework suggests the standardization of the Cumulative Distribution Function (CDF) of K-Component Gaussian (K-CG) mixture distribution function for obtaining MSARSPEI data. The application of the proposed framework is based on seven different regions of Pakistan. For comparative analysis, this paper compared the performance of MSARSPE with SPEI using Pearson correlation. Outcomes associated with this research show that the proposed regional drought index has a strong correlation with the competing indicator in various time scales. In addition, the study assessed the spatial extent of various drought classifications under MSARSPEI. In summation, this research concludes that the choice of the MSARSPEI is rationally valid and more appropriate for the regional assessment of drought under the global warming scenario.

On the Extended Generalized Inverted Kumaraswamy Distribution.

In this work, we provide a new generated class of models, namely, the extended generalized inverted Kumaraswamy generated (EGIKw-G) family of distributions. Several structural properties (survival function (sf), hazard rate function (hrf), reverse hazard rate function (rhrf), quantile function (qf) and median, s th raw moment, generating function, mean deviation (md), etc.) are provided. The estimates for parameters of new G class are derived via maximum likelihood estimation (MLE) method. The special models of the proposed class are discussed, and particular attention is given to one special model, the extended generalized inverted Kumaraswamy Burr XII (EGIKw-Burr XII) model. Estimators are evaluated via a Monte Carlo simulation (MCS). The superiority of EGIKw-Burr XII model is proved using a lifetime data applications.

Review-Insights into Off-Label therapeutic strategies against mild and severe COVID-19 infection.

Currently, prevention and control of the coronavirus disease pneumonia epidemic situation are grim globally. To cope with total sheer carriers and patients of COVID-19 requires intensive medical support and adjunctive therapies to overcome the disease. The epidemic can be controlled with the help of both, disease suppression via community health measures and adjunctive therapies for patients suffering from infection. Till date, we do not have any proper anti-COVID-19 therapy. In order to achieve the overall realization of this pandemic, there is a need to identify treatments depending upon their direct or indirect targets; like inhibition of polyprotein synthesis, transmembrane serine protease, inhibition of viral entry and endocytosis. This could be possible by turning the focus in the direction towards the development of numerous tentative drugs, particularly in the severe to badly ill. Though, majority of these off-label adjunctive medicines are being inspected in a lot of clinical trials at different stages, scientific organizations have endeavored to elucidate the situation where these adjunctive drugs might be practiced as off-label, open- label or compassionate. Our review compiles the adjunctive therapies adopted in COVID-19 infected patients according to clinical severity in conjugation with practicing recommendations from existing guidance rules issued by global professional bodies in healthcare.