Worldwide, stored products are attacked by a large number of pests resulting in significant economic losses. Among these stored grain pests, khapra beetle, Trogoderma granarium (Everts) (Coleoptera: Dermestidae) is one of the top ranked pests that has ability to survive under diverse climate conditions. The management of this pest is mainly done by using synthetic chemicals which have side effects on consumers, ecosystem and non-target organisms. However, phyto-derivatives were found to be the effective environment friendly alternatives against T. granarium. Therefore, in this review, success of phyto-derivatives against khapra beetle from conventional means to modern research has been critically analyzed, summarized and discussed. In context, the different life stages of the insect starting from egg laying to adult development have been briefly explained. The review focuses upon recent research conducted on the evaluation of dozens of phyto-derivatives. In addition, the article has also highlighted some limitations of plant derived compounds and concludes via hoping that the future formulated pesticides will be safer, economical, least toxic to human and our planet ecosystem.

This is the first ethno-botanical study about the indigenous plants of district Faisalabad, Punjab-Pakistan. Main theme
behind this study documents the existing ethno-medicinal data about local traditional herbal treatments. Overall, 300
local informants were interviewed from 22different locations of the district and collected data was analyzed by using
different quantitative ethnobotanical tools. The 61 plants of 53 genera and 29 families be there found in use for 15
disease caused by microorganisms and contagious ones also. With reference to highest Use Value (UV), Ficus carica
(0.83), Albizzia lebbeck (0.73) and Psidium guajava (0.71) were found the most used medicinal plant species in area. The
100% Fidelity Level (FL) was calculated for Acacia nilotica being used against gastro, respiratory, diabetics and
hypertension. The highest Relative Frequency Citation (RFC) value was calculated for Citrus aurantifolia. The
maximum Informant Consensus Factor (ICF) index was calculated for gastro and respiratory problems, fever, headache,
and skin infection. The comparative study by calculating Jaccard Index (JI) with reported literature was shown that
8.18%resemblance and 12.81% distinction to earlier studies; however 79.01% medicinal uses of the reported species
were documented the first time. The plants reported with high RPL index can be further analyzed for biochemical
pharmaceutical and biotechnological screening.

Induction of stress-related genes is primarily reckoned as a major step in plant responses to any stress. The plant genomes possess multiple types of transcription factors (TFs) belonging to diverse families and many of them are unique to plants. The TFs are regulators of transcriptional reprogramming linked with stress responses in plants. TF gene(s) frequently retorts to numerous stresses and then their respective polypeptides may contribute in the positive or negative regulation of apparently dissimilar processes. Many plant TFs are induced by biotrophic as well as necrotrophic pathogens. Functional characterization of TFs provides solid evidence of their role in the regulation of plant defense responses. This advocates the fact that TF does not work alone, but the immune response to pathogens mediated by it, is strongly linked to enhancing the effect of TF on the transcription of defense associated genes. The plant-plant difference in transcriptional responses of TF and Defense associated genes highlights that a TF may regulate defense positively or negatively. This diversity in responses is proof of functional diversity among TFs. Their functions in plant immunity and abiotic stress tolerance in plants have been characterized but still need investigations in Capsicum annuum. This article focuses upon recent progress in our understanding of the role of the TFs involved in Capsicum defense against Microbial pathogenesis especially against bacterial pathogens. We have dissected collateral interactions between TFs, proteins and nuclear receptors working for Capsicum defense. Besides, we have also reviewed and discussed the topical concepts of transcriptional intervention for controlling the activity of TFs.

The recent outbreak of Covid-19 is posing a severe threat to public health globally. Coronaviruses (CoVs) are the largest known group of positive-sense RNA viruses surviving on an extensive number of natural hosts. CoVs are enveloped and non-segmented viruses with a size between 80 and 120 nm. CoV attachment to the surface receptor and its subsequent entrance into cells is mediated by Spike glycoprotein (S). For enhanced CoV entry and successful pathogenesis of CoV, proteolytic processing and receptor-binding act synergistically for induction of large-scale S conformational changes. The shape, size and orientation of receptor-binding domains in viral attachment proteins are well conserved among viruses of different classes that utilize the same receptor. Therefore, investigations unraveling the distribution of cellular receptors with respect to CoV entry, structural aspects of glycoproteins and related conformational changes are highly significant for understanding virus invasion and infection spread. We present the characteristic features of CoV S-Proteins, their significance for CoVs and related receptor binding activities for pathogenesis and viral survival. We are analyzing the novel role of S-protein of CoVs along with their interactive receptors for improving host immunity and decreasing infection spread. This is hoped that presented information will open new ways in tackling coronavirus, especially for the ongoing epidemic.

Recently, efforts to determine the ecological impacts of microplastic pollutants have increased because of plastic’s accelerated contamination of the environment. The tiny size, variable surface topography, thermal properties, bioavailability and biological toxicity of microplastics all offer opportunities for these pollutants to negatively impact the environment. Additionally, various inorganic and organic chemicals sorbed on these particles may pose a greater threat to organisms than the microplastics themselves. However, there is still a big knowledge gap in the assessment of various toxicological effects of microplastics in the environment. Ecological risk assessment of microplastics has become more challenging with the current data gaps. Thus, a current literature review and identification of the areas where research on ecology of microplastics can be extended is necessary. We have provided an overview of various aspects of microplastics by which they interact negatively or positively with marine organisms. We hypothesize that biogeochemical interactions are critical to fully understand the ecological impacts, movement, and fate of microplastics in oceans. As microplastics are now ubiquitous in marine environments and impossible to remove, we recommend that it’s not too late to converge research on plastic alternatives. In addition, strict actions should be taken promptly to prevent plastics from entering the environment.

The natural capacity of plants to endure salt stress is largely regulated by multifaceted structural and physio-biochemical modulations. Salt toxicity endurance mechanism of six ecotypes of Typha domingensis Pers. was evaluated by analyzing photosynthesis, ionic homeostasis, and stomatal physiology under different levels of salinity (0, 100, 200 and 300 mM NaCl). Typha populations were collected across different areas of Punjab, an eastern province in Pakistan. All studied attributes among ecotypes presented differential changes as compared to control. Different salt treatments not only affected gas exchange attributes but also shown significant modifications in stomatal anatomical changes. As compared to control, net photosynthetic rate, transpiration rate, total chlorophyll contents and carotenoids were increased by 111%, 64%, 103% and 171% respectively, in Sahianwala ecotype among all other ecotypes. Similarly, maximum water use efficiency (WUE), sub stomatal CO₂ concentration, sodium (Na⁺) and chloride (Cl⁻) contents were observed in Sahianwala (191%, 93%, 168%, 158%) and Knotti (162%, 75%, 146%, 182%) respectively, as compared to the others ecotypes. Adaxial and abaxial stomatal areas remained stable in Sahianwala and Knotti. The highest abaxial stomatal density was observed in Gatwala ecotype (42 mm²) and maximum adaxial stomatal density was recorded in Sahianwala ecotype (43 mm²) at 300 mM NaCl salinity. The current study showed that Typha ecotypes responded varyingly to salinity in terms of photosynthesis attributes to avoid damages due to salinity. Overall, differential photosynthetic activity, WUE, and changes in stomatal attributes of Sahianwala and Knotti ecotypes contributed more prominently in tolerating salinity stress. Therefore, Typha domingensis is a potential species to be used to rehabilitate salt affected lands for agriculture and aquatic habitat.

L-glutaminase is an important anticancer agent that is used extensively worldwide by
depriving cancer cells of L-glutamine. The marine bacterium, Halomonas meridian was isolated
from the Red Sea and selected as the more active L-glutaminase-producing bacteria. L-glutaminase
fermentation was optimized at 36 h, pH 8.0, 37 C, and 3.0% NaCl, using glucose at 1.5% and soybean
meal at 2%. The purified enzyme showed a specific activity of 36.08 U/mg, and the molecular weight
was found to be 57 kDa by the SDS-PAGE analysis. The enzyme was highly active at pH 8.0 and
37 C. The kinetics’ parameters of Km and Vmax were 12.2  10?6 M and 121.95 mol/mL/min,
respectively, which reflects a higher affinity for its substrate. The anticancer efficiency of the enzyme
showed significant toxic activity toward colorectal adenocarcinoma cells; LS 174 T (IC50 7.0 g/mL)
and HCT 116 (IC50 13.2 g/mL). A higher incidence of cell death was observed with early apoptosis
in HCT 116 than in LS 174 T, whereas late apoptosis was observed in LS 174 T more than in HCT 116.
Also, the L-glutaminase induction nuclear fragmentation in HCT 116 was more than that in the LS
174T cells. This is the first report on Halomonas meridiana as an L-glutaminase producer that is used
as an anti-colorectal cancer agent.

Magnetic nanoparticles have recently attained much interest due to the wide
distribution of their applications. The current work is concerned with the synthesis
of magnetic iron oxide nanoparticles using green and chemical methods.
Licorice extract has been used as the main factor for the production of green
synthesized magnetic nanoparticles (GSM), compared with the co-precipitation
method for the production of chemically synthesized magnetic nanoparticles
(CSM). Both scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and particle size analyzer
(PSA) proved the formation of the particles in the nanoscale with the range of
50–110 nm and 40–100 nm for GSM and CSM, respectively. Furthermore,
Energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX) indicated the existence of iron and
oxygen elements in both the samples and proved the formation of iron oxide
nanoparticles. Both types of nanoparticles were solely integrated with chitosan
for the formation of magnetic-dependent membranes followed by integrationdependent
characterization using SEM and Raman spectroscopy. The tensile
properties of the membranes showed higher elongation and strain properties of
chitosan/GSM membrane compared with plain chitosan or chitosan/CSM
membranes, which candidate it for mechanical-dependent applications. The
vibrating sample magnetism (VSM) properties showed that GSM nanoparticles
methanol electrochemical sensors with high sensitivity even at low concentrations
of methanol.are superparamagnetic. In addition, the GSM nanoparticles are applied as

In the Barramiya area, the majority of gold deposits are generally related with the quartz veins that associated with shear zones cutting the crystalline basement rocks. The quartz vein system is controlled by shear zone and general faults. The present study is to delineate the general faults, shear zones, geological limits, and basement rock relief, using airborne magnetic and gravity data analysis at the Barramiya gold mine and surrounding area, Eastern Desert of Egypt. To achieve our goal, we have applied on magnetic and gravity data the following techniques: reduction to pole (RTP), analytical signal, tilt derivative, total horizontal derivative, 3D Euler deconvolution, downward continuation, and source parameter imagining power spectrum techniques. The analytical signal used to map the types of rock boundaries. Tilt derivative and total horizontal derivative filters helped to delineate fractures and the contact zones of the formations that host the main Barramiya shear zone. 3D Euler deconvolution techniques helped to delineate the fault trends which represented at the following direction: NNE–SSW and NNW–SSE. The average depths of both regional and residual causes have been estimated by applying downward continuation, source parameter imagining, and power spectrum techniques. According to the results of the present study, the depth of the basement rocks is relatively high (~ 80-m depth) in the western part of the study area and the basement rocks cropped out in the surface at the rest of the area. Our results are coinciding with the previous geological studies.