poly(2-Aminophenyl disulfide)@Silica Gel (P2APDS@SiO2) new hybrid adsorbant was prepared successfully by in-situ polymerization method and the product was analyzed by XRD, TEM, TGA, FTIR and BET techniques. Moreover, this work reports also an extensive study of the effect of the SiO2 on the electrochemical performance of hybrid material based on P2APDS employing cyclic voltammetry. Moreover, to evaluate the Methylene Blue (MB) adsorption, the effectiveness parameters on the adsorption process were investigated including the pH value, concentration and temperature. The results indicated that the maximum adsorption of MB on the fabricated hybrid mate-rial occurred at pH 6.7 with a capacity reaching 109.82 mg.g−1. Fur-thermore, P2APDS@SiO2 is attractive for treating the effluents containing dyes due to its recy-clability and high removal capability

Bangladesh is characterized by its tropical climate and low elevation. Every year, this region is affected by flooding. The proximity of India adds another significant layer of complexity to this issue. Because India opens its switch gate during the rainy season, Bangladesh sees an increase in the amount of water that flows through the country. The area often has issues with flooding. In the year 2022, the residents of the north-east part of Bangladesh were put in a terrible position due to flooding. Therefore, one of our goals is to find factors associated with this flood disaster. In addition to this, one of our goals is to mitigate the negative impact that the flood had on the physical and emotional health of the people living in the north-east part of Bangladesh. This study also includes some demographic and socio-economic factors associated with this environmental disaster.

Bifidobacterium animalis subsp. lactis (BAL) is a commercial probiotic. It is known for its application in regulating the human gut microbiome composition. Nowadays, scientific research reveals cytotoxic effect of the BAL on colorectal cancer (CRC) cell lines. Laetiphorus sulphureus (LS) is an edible mushroom that produces various secondary metabolites with biological activity. However, as far as we know, the effect of BAL in a co-treatment with LS was not investigated previously on CRC cells, especially on HCT-116 cell line, therefore, this was the aim of our study. We used LS ethyl acetate extract (EALS) in two selected concentrations (10 and 50 µg/mL). The HCT-116 cell viability was estimated in a simple co-culture system (modified HoxBan system) in treatment with the BAL and BAL/EALS. The effect of EALS on the viability of these cells without BAL was also tested. The cell viability was determined with trypan blue staining after 12 and 24 h. Levels of redox status parameters (H₂O₂ and NO₂^-) were determined after 12 and 24 h in HCT-116 cells with BAL and BAL/EALS in order to determine the cause of HCT-116 cell death. Our results showed the significant cytotoxicity of the BAL on the HCT-116 cells in a co-culture system, while the EALS extract further enhanced the cytotoxicity of this probiotic. Dose-dependent effects were noticed in a co-treatment consisting of BAL and EALS. Namely, the lowest viability was noticed at 50 µg/mL of EALS. Considering that EALS extract did not cause a cytotoxic effect in monocultures, it can be concluded that EALS stimulated the anticancer activity of BAL. We detected higher H₂O₂ and NO₂^- values in treatment with BAL, especially in co-treatment BAL/EALS. The death of the HCT-116 cells may be due to elevated levels of NO₂^- and H₂O₂ and possibly their products (peroxynitrites). Further studies will reveal the more detailed mechanism by which the BAL and BAL/EALS treatments cause death of the HCT-116 cells.

Climate change has increased the frequency of natural disasters, and Pakistan, as a developing nation, is facing severe challenges in coping with floods, which have devastatingly impacted people's livelihoods. In 2022, floods affected over 33 million people, resulting in approximately 1730 deaths, according to the World Bank. Flood prediction is a critical research area. This study employs machine learning techniques to provide accurate and reliable flood forecasts for Pakistan.

Specifically, Support Vector Machines (SVM) and logistic regression algorithms are utilized in this research for flood prediction. Historical data encompassing floods, rainfall, temperature, water level, topographic information, and land cover of Pakistan is collected and split into 75% for model training and 25% for testing. Additionally, topographic data and land cover information are employed to create inundation maps.

The findings highlight three topographic factors that play a pivotal role in predicting flood-sensitive areas: slope, distance to the river, and river. The combined SVM and logistic regression model (SVR-LR) exhibited area under the curve values of 0.98 and 0.95 for the training and testing phases, respectively. These results demonstrate the efficacy of the SVM and logistic regression integration for precise flood forecasting in Pakistan, contributing to enhancing flood resilience in the region.

The aim of this research is to evaluate the genetic characteristics of 9 introduced mung bean varieties, thereby creating a database of agronomic characteristics, as a basis for future studies. The experiment was conducted from January to April at the net house of the School of Agriculture and the Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Institute of Food and Biotechnology, Can Tho University, Vietnam. The experiment was arranged in a completely randomized design with 1 factor, 9 treatments and 4 repetitions, in which the Taichung variety was selected as the control variety. The results showed that the mung bean varieties had two harvests and grew well. The seed shape of introduced varieties was diverse with the highest Shannon index (1.08). Besides, mung bean DNA was amplified with 3 sets of SSR primers (CEDG026, CEDG232, CEDG037) of linkage groups of 2, 4, and 6, respectively. The results showed that all 3 primer pairs appeared in monomorphic bands. The broad-sense heritability of traits varied from 0.02% to 63.60% in first harvest and 33.32% to 78.41% in second harvest. Moreover, the correlation coefficient results showed a strong positive relationship between the yield and the number of pods per plant. Based on important agronomic traits including the number of pods per plant, 1000 seed weight, growth time and yield, 2 promising mung bean varieties were initially selected (VC 6494-986-S7 and VC 6518-50), of which VC 6494-986-S7 had superior yield compared to the control variety, used as a material for further studies.

This article presents important results regarding molds with new conformal cooling channels geometries. The aim is to assess the maximum pressure that the parts can be subjected to in a real injection molding application. Linear structural analyses are carried over in the Finite Element Method Software ANSYS Workbench 2020 R2, in order to analyze both the resistance and stiffness behavior of the studied geometries. The results are analyzed according to several metrics. The new geometries of the conformal cooling channels behave relatively well in comparison with their bulk counterpart, with displacements just higher 62.42 % for the best geometry The Huber-Mises Stress is just 30.75 % higher for the best novel geometry, in comparison with the bulk one. The results were discussed and it could be concluded that some of the structures are suitable for the typical operating conditions of the injection molding process.

An industrial by-product known as fly ash is produced when coal is burned for electricity production and is considered an environmental pollutant. To reduce environmental pollution, a comprehensive fly ash utilisation programme must be implemented, including numerous factors at different levels. Fly ash's geotechnical qualities, including its specific gravity, permeability, internal angular friction, and consolidation characteristics, make it ideal for use as structural fill, particularly on clay soils, when building highways and embankments. A lot of research has been done on how fly ash affects soil stability. In order to determine the impact of fly ash addition on soil properties, this inquiry reviewed a few of these papers and conducted a critical assessment. This study also concentrated on the effects of fly ash (FA) combined with clay soil. Through a series of experimental experiments, it can be said that fly ash generally increased soil stability, particularly in terms of CBR values, soil permeability, and decreased the possibility of volumetric soil changes. This is because of the size and shape of the particles, and because the volumetric dilatation of the ground has decreased over the treated period as well. The behaviour modification of the hardened soil persists since the additions are not biodegradable.

Three Gd-Sb-based compounds, namely, GdSb₂, Gd₄Sb₃, GdSbS₂O, have been studied theoretically for electronic and band structure features for the first time. Strong electron correlations in the Gd 4f shell were accounted for in the GGA+U method. In our investigation, the variety of electronic properties was obtained from a metallic to a semiconducting one with an interesting half-metallic case in between. The calculations shown that GdSbS₂O is a narrow gap semiconductor, therefore, it has spin polarization at the Fermi energy equal to 0. Despite the layered crystal structure of GdSbS₂O, we obtained that van-der-Waals forces have negligible effect for its band structure. Another studied compound is GdSb₂, it is found to be metallic for both spin projections, the calculated value of spin-polarization here is 11.3%. This compound was also found to have an interesting topological feature in the band structure just below the Fermi energy which could be regarded as a Dirac point. The last considered compound, Gd₄Sb₃, was revealed to be a half-metal with the gap only in one spin projection with the value of 0.67 eV, for this reason, spin polarization in Gd₄Sb₃ is 100%. Thus, in our calculations we demonstrate that in the Gd-Sb compounds spin polarization at the Fermi energy can vary from 0 to 100% that makes this class of intermetallic compounds very interesting for functional applications. The results are published in Int. J. Mol. Sci. 24(10), 8778 (2023). This research was supported by Russian Science Foundation within project No. 22-42-02021.

This paper introduces the implementation of a chatbot on the web portal of a higher education institution, aiming to enhance student interaction and provide seamless access to information and support services. With the increasing reliance on digital platforms for student engagement, a chatbot offers a user-friendly and efficient means of communication, catering to the diverse needs of students in a higher education setting.

The chatbot developed utilizes natural language processing, machine learning, and artificial intelligence algorithms to engage in dynamic conversations with students. We use Large Language Models (LLMs), because this and vector databases are revolutionizing the way we handle and retrieve complex data structures.

Its main objective is to provide instant responses, personalized guidance, and timely support for various aspects of student life within the institution namely: Information Retrieval, the chatbot acts as a virtual collaborator, offering quick and accurate responses to frequently asked questions regarding admissions, programs, course registration, financial aid, and campus facilities, reducing the need for manual information searches; Academic Support the chatbot assists students in academic matters, such as course selection, prerequisites, graduation requirements, and study resources. It can offer personalized recommendations based on the student's academic profile and preferences; Campus Services, provides information about campus services, extracurricular activities, events, and resources; Appointment Scheduling, facilitates appointment scheduling with academic advisors, and support staff, streamlining the administrative processes and ensuring timely access to guidance and assistance.

This development follows a user-centric approach, incorporating feedback from students, faculty, and administrators to ensure that the chatbot meets their specific needs and preferences. Rigorous testing and quality assurance measures are implemented to guarantee the accuracy, reliability, and security of the chatbot.

In conclusion, we achieve a functional chatbot with a medium computational heavy, in this way it can be practical to use it in real time by the students at the institution web portal. The introduction of a chatbot on the web portal of a higher education institution represents a significant advancement in facilitating student interaction and support services. By providing instant and personalized responses, the chatbot streamlines communication, reduces response times, and empowers students to find information and resources efficiently. As the chatbot technology continues to evolve, ongoing enhancements and refinements will ensure that it remains a valuable tool in enhancing student experiences, promoting engagement, and fostering a positive learning environment within the institution.

The history of the use of natural compounds as therapeutic agents goes back many centuries. Being the first object of interest in the early days of medicine, natural compounds are still of great relevance, considering the improvement of methods for isolation, chemical transformation, and synthesis. They are also used in oncology, with the advantage of preventing the development of toxicity to normal cells and resistance in tumor cells. One of the promising classes of natural compounds with antitumor activity is lignans. We studied a number of lignans (arctiin, honokiol, matairesinol, pinoresinol, myrislignan, enterodiol, enterolactone) in the breast cancer cell line MCF7 and the subline MCF7/FUL with acquired resistance to antiestrogen fulvestrant. The antiproliferative activity was assessed by the MTT test. Analysis of the level of intracellular proteins was carried out by immunoblotting. Based on the results of the screening, the most active compound was honokiol; it had the lowest IC₅₀ value for both MCF7 and MCF7/FUL cells, 19.7 μM and 9.1 μM respectively. The revealed antiproliferative activity of honokiol against resistant cells prompted us to study its effects on intracellular proteins associated with proliferation and cell death. Honokiol suppressed the expression of Bcl-2 (an inhibitor of apoptosis) and cyclin D1 (a cell cycle regulator) in both cell lines, but this effect was more pronounced in the resistant subline. The decrease of the expression of antiapoptotic and proliferative proteins induced by honokiol is consistent with its antiproliferative effect, which is more pronounced in resistant subline MCF7/FUL.