Abstract Background: Chemicals have deleterious effect on the environment. The wide use of nanomaterials as products for plant protection, fertilizers, and also in water purification leads to the release of these materials to the environment. Terrestrial gastropods including snails and slugs have the ability to accumulate heavy metals in their bodies. The present study evaluates the toxic effect of zinc oxide nanoparticles on the terrestrial slug Lehmannia nyctelia. Zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO NPs) were prepared by thermal decomposition method. ZnO NPs are characterized by Xray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy (UV). Slugs were treated with three different concentrations of ZnO NPs. Results: A total of three animals died by the end of the experiment. Many histological alterations were detected after exposure to different concentration of ZnO NPs. Conclusions: The obtained histological alterations prove the toxic effect of ZnO NPs on the animal under study

Scorpions are terrestrial arthropods inhabiting deserts. Exomorghological studies play an important role in the identification of different scorpions' species. The current study deals with the ecomorphology of four species of scorpions belong to the family buthidae (Leiurus quinquestriatus, Androctonus amoreuxi, Orthochirus innesi and Buthacus leptochelys) inhabiting New Valley governorate, Egypt. Random samples were implemented during the period from April to July, 2017 and July to September, 2019. Scorpions were obtained from the area under rocks, gap of soil, leaf litter, under bark, and within vegetation. Morphological characteristics of these species were done using a scanning electron microscope (SEM). In conclusion, the differences among four species of studied scorpions were noticed in the dorsal carapace, respiratory pores of the third segment of mesosoma, pectinal teeth count between females and males, last segment of metasoma and telson. In all scorpions' species studied, one venom pore was detected except in Androctonus amoreuxi two venom pores in telson were observed.

Abstract Background: Monacha obstructa is one of the most abundant gastropod of Egyptian farms. It is a destructive land snail as they cause great damage to vegetables and crops. The present study aimed to control snails by ultraviolet radiation. Materials and methods: Snails under study were subjected to the same dose of UV-A radiation for two different periods. The source of radiation was UV-fluorescent lamps, UV-A 366 nm. Small pieces of mantle edge, foot, digestive gland, and intestine of treated and untreated snails were taken and prepared for histological examination by light microscope. While small pieces of mantle edge and foot only were prepared for scanning electron microscopic examination. Results: Histopathological changes in the mantle, foot, digestive gland, and intestine of treated snails were studied. The changes included destruction and disorganization of many cell types. UV-A radiation affected the fitness of the snails; they became less active. The changes in different organs will lead to alteration in their functions. Conclusions: UV-A has a destructive effect on different organs of the snails under study. This effect will lead to the control of this snail (Monacha obstructa).

Abstract: The scorpion venom consisting of a pair of gland connected to telson has great importance for their survival, assisting in feeding and self-defense. Scorpion venoms are a complex mixture of inorganic salts, free amino acids, heterocyclic components, peptides and proteins. The present study aimed to identify telson components of four scorpion species Leiurus quinquestriatus, Androctonus amoreuxi, Orthochirus innesi and Buthacus leptochelys. Five telsons separated from four species of scorpions were preserved in 100% ethanol, homogenized in acetonitrile, centrifuged and sonicated as preparation of gas chromatography mass spectrometry (GC-MS) analysis. The present study indicated variations in the number and types of amino acids, fatty acids derivatives and neurotoxin in the four scorpion species. The four species of scorpions are included: L. quinquestriatus which has 14 amino acids, 15 fatty acids and 17 neurotoxic compounds; A. amoreuxi which has 8 amino acids, 13 fatty acids and 4 neurotoxic compounds; O. innesi which has 10 amino acids, 16 fatty acids and 6 neurotoxic compounds; B. leptochelys which has 6 amino acids, 19 fatty acids and 5 neurotoxic compounds were recorded. In conclusion, concentrations of amino and fatty acids derivatives and neurotoxic compounds showed differences among the four scorpion species. Furthermore, in all scorpion species, acetamide had the highest percentage as neurotoxin, and the highest level of neurotoxins was found in L. quinquestriatus, indicating this species may be the most venomous ones.

It is known that silver nanoparticles (Ag NPs) and AgNO₃ have harmful effects on the surrounding organisms, which may cause damage to these organisms. Therefore, the aim of this study is to detect damage caused by Ag NPs and silver nitrate to land slugs (Lehmannia nyctelia). In this study, the slugs were exposed to various concentrations of Ag NPs and AgNO₃ for 15 days. The biochemical, antioxidant, lipid peroxidation (LPO), DNA fragmentation, and histopathological endpoints were assessed after 15 days of exposure to different concentrations of Ag NPs (0.04, 0.08, 0.4, and 0.8 g/L) and silver nitrate (0.04, 0.08, 0.4, and 0.8 g/L). The results show a significant decrease in total protein, total carbohydrate, superoxide dismutase, and GST and a significant increase in total lipid, LPO, and DNA fragmentation after exposure to Ag NPs and AgNO₃ for 15 days compared with the control group. Histopathiological alterations were observed in the digestive glands which were indicated by histochemical staining. We concluded that exposure to AgNO₃ and Ag NPs caused oxidative stress, genetic damage and alterations in the profile of muscle proteins and histological structure in L. nyctelia.

Abstract: (1) Background: Scorpions (Arthropoda: Arachnida) represent a diverse group of invertebrates, accounting for a significant proportion of earth’s predators and ecosystems’ modulators. Surviving mostly in hardly reachable nests, and representing key hazards to human health, they attracted major interest for characterizing their eco-, morpho-, and genotypes. (2) Methods: Four scorpion species were collected from the New Valley governorate in Upper Egypt, where a high level of scorpionism and related neurological symptoms are found, that were Leiurus quinquestriatus, Androctonus amoreuxi, Orthochirus innesi, Buthacus leptochelys. They were DNA barcoded, genetically and phylogenetically analyzed through PCR amplification and sequencing of the mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase subunit 1 (COI) gene hypervariable 50 region. (3) Results: New, morphologically authenticated scorpion barcodes could be added to the barcoding databases. However, several discrepancies and barcode database inadequacies could be revealed. Moreover, taxon-specific patterns for nitrogenous bases’ distribution could be identified, resulting in a significantly high percentage of COI barcode guanine in scorpionids, in comparison to araneids and opilions. (4) Conclusions: For a group of animals where both cryptic speciation and a high risk of human envenomation are evident, the findings of the current study strongly recommend continuous and comprehensive research efforts dealing with morphogenetic authentication for different species of scorpions.

The term endophyte refers to a group of microbes that inhabit plant internal tissues such as bacteria and fungi. In this study, we isolated Beauveria sp AUMC 15401 from the internal tissues of tomato leaves and extracted the alkaloidal contents from the leaves. Also, Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) analysis was used to identify the composition of the alkaloidal extract. The analysis showed that Beauveria sp AUMC 15401 colonization stimulates plant secondary metabolism to produce novel alkaloids as compared with the control tomato extract. Furthermore, the alkaloidal extract from the infected tomato leaves showed a high cytotoxic effect against A549 adenocarcinoma human alveolar basal epithelial cells. In addition, molecular docking studies were performed to investigate the potential binding of each alkaloid in the extract with epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR), vascular endothelial growth factor receptor 2 (VEGFR2), and SRC tyrosine kinases (SRC). These proteins are the main key factors in epithelial malignancies and their inhibition could reduce tumor growth. A pharmacokinetic study (ADME) was also conducted to determine the potential of the isolated alkaloids to be oral active candidates.

There are many symmetries in intuitionistic fuzzifying topology. In the present paper, the notion of intuitionistic fuzzifying topology as an extension of fuzzifying topology and a preliminary of the research on bi-intuitionistic fuzzy topology is introduced. A theory of intuitionistic fuzzy topology with the semantic method of intuitionistic fuzzy logic is established.

https://doi.org/10.3390/sym14081613

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SiC is considered a perspective material in advanced nuclear systems as well as for electronic or spintronic applications, which require an ion implantation process. In this regard, two sets of 6H-SiC samples were implanted with i) 2.5 MeV Fe ions and ii) 2.5 MeV Fe ions and co-implanted 500 keV He ions at room temperature and then annealed at 1500 °C for 2 h. The microstructure evolution and Fe diffusion behavior before and after annealing were characterized and analyzed. After annealing, Fe concentration is enhanced close to the surface in the Fe-implanted sample, whereas in the co-implanted system, Fe atoms are redistributed into two distinct, spatially separated regions (close to the surface, and around the He-induced defects). The reason behind this finding is explained from an energetic point of view by using ab initio simulations. Technologically, the pre-existing cavities can be used to control the Fe diffusion.

In previous reports, experimental studies have shown that both thermal stability and strength can be controlled by grain boundary (GB) segregation. In this study, we investigate the segregation behavior of solute (Ti, Ag and Ta) atoms to low/high-angle symmetric tilt grain boundaries (STGBs) of W using density functional theory (DFT) calculations and supported by TEM experiments. We found no segregation preference for Ti or Ta at low-angle STGBs; however, they exhibit a slight segregation tendency to the core of high-angle STGBs. In contrast, Ag is more prone to segregate in and all around the GB plane. We estimated the mechanical and electronic contributions to solution energy and found that the electronic contribution is dominant. Furthermore, the role of d−valence electrons of solute and W atoms was analyzed using the local density of states (PDOS). We found that substantial d−valence electrons hybridization in the case of Ta plays an important role in stabilizing W-Ta bonds, while the anisotropic nature of W-Ti bond contributes to stabilize surrounding W atoms. Charge transfer analysis revealed that Ti and Ta lose electrons to W atoms. Contrary to the electronegativity rule, Ag atoms gain charge from neighboring W atoms and excellent s−s hybridization may explain the increased GB segregation of Ag atoms.