Nanotechnology monitors a leading agricultural controlling process, especially by its miniature dimension. Additionally, many potential benefits such as enhancement of food quality and safety, reduction of agricultural inputs, enrichment of absorbing nanoscale nutrients from the soil, etc. allow the application of nanotechnology to be resonant encumbrance. Agriculture, food, and natural resources are a part of those challenges like sustainability, susceptibility, human health, and healthy life. The ambition of nanomaterials in agriculture is to reduce the amount of spread chemicals, minimize nutrient losses in fertilization and increased yield through pest and nutrient management. Nanotechnology has the prospective to improve the agriculture and food industry with novel nanotools for the controlling of rapid disease diagnostic, enhancing the capacity of plants to absorb nutrients among others. The significant interests of using nanotechnology in agriculture includes specific applications like nanofertilizers and nanopesticides to trail products and nutrients levels to increase the productivity without decontamination of soils, waters, and protection against several insect pest and microbial diseases. Nanotechnology may act as sensors for monitoring soil quality of agricultural field and thus it maintain the health of agricultural plants. This review covers the current challenges of sustainability, food security and climate change that are exploring by the researchers in the area of nanotechnology in the improvement of agriculture.

Combination therapy of multiple drugs through a single system is exhibiting high therapeutic effects. We investigate nanocarrier mediated inhibitory effects of topotecan (TPT) and quercetin (QT) on triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) (MDA-MB-231) and multi drug resistant (MDR) type breast cancer cells (MCF-7) with respect to cellular uptake efficiency and therapeutic mechanisms as in vitro and in vivo. The synthesized mesoporous silica nanoparticle (MSN) pores used for loading TPT; the outer of the nanoparticles was decorated with poly (acrylic acid) (PAA)-Chitosan (CS) as anionic inner-cationic outer layer respectively and conjugated with QT. Subsequently, grafting of arginine-glycine-aspartic acid (cRGD) peptide on the surface of nanocarrier (CPMSN) thwarted the uptake by normal cells, but facilitated their uptake in cancer cells through integrin receptor mediated endocytosis and the dissociation of nanocarriers due to the ability to degrade of CS and PAA in acidic pH, which enhance the intracellular release of drugs. Subsequently, the released drugs induce remarkable molecular activation as well as structural changes in tumor cell endoplasmic reticulum, nucleus and mitochondria that can trigger cell death. The valuable CPMSNs may open up new avenues in developing targeted therapeutic strategies to treat cancer through serving as an effective drug delivery podium.

In this paper, we derive the isothermal mechanical response of a 4‐element rheological model for shape memory polymers (SMP) in the context of (i) constant stress, (ii) constant strain, (iii) constant stress rate, (iv) constant strain rate, (v) periodic strain. The effect of shape memory strain (modeled by a friction element) and the temperature dependence of the material properties on the SMP response are examined for a polyurethane shape memory polymer of the polyester polypole series. In particular, it is possible to identify a threshold frequency during periodic loading, near which the damping capacity of the SMP is strongly affected by an increasing shape memory strain. On the other hand, when the applied frequency is much greater than the threshold value, an increasing shape memory strain ceases to have any effect on the damping. It is also shown that at a given frequency (significantly greater than the threshold value), the damping capacity as a function of temperature attains a maximum. While this maximum value is frequency‐dependent (being inversely proportional), the temperature at which the maximum is attained is frequency‐independent, and is analytically shown to be the glass transition temperature.

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Reports indicate an increase in the incidence of DNA fragmentation in male factor infertility and its role in the outcome of assisted reproductive techniques (ART). However, reports are conflicting between the relationships of sperm DNA integrity with conventional semen parameters. We examined the relationship between conventional sperm parameters and DNA integrity using acridine orange (AO) test. The study included 373 patients and 28 fertile volunteers. DNA normality was compared with semen parameters between the patient and donor populations. Significant correlations were noted between DNA normality and sperm concentration (r = 0.18, P = 0.000), motility (r = 0.21, P = 0.0001), rapid motility (0.19, P = 0.000), normal morphology by World Health Organization (r = 0.15, P = 0.019) and head defects (r = -0.15, P = 0.023). A significant difference was noted in AO levels between donors and patients with asthenozoospermia (P = 0.002) and oligoasthenozoospermia (P = 0.001). A significant difference in DNA integrity was noted in samples having <30% and >30% normal morphology. A wide range of % DNA normality was observed in the patient group. Sperm assessment for DNA status using AO is reliable and shows good correlation with sperm count, motility and morphology. Assessment of sperm DNA status with AO staining may be helpful prior to ART.

Mosquito-borne diseases represent a deadly threat for millions of people worldwide. Eco-friendly mosquitocides are a priority. In Ayurvedic medicine, Plectranthus species have been used to treat heart disease, convulsions, spasmodic pain and painful urination. In this research, we evaluated the acute toxicity of essential oil from Plectranthus barbatus and its major constituents, against larvae of the malaria vector Anopheles subpictus, the dengue vector Aedes albopictus and the Japanese encephalitis vector Culex tritaeniorhynchus. The chemical composition of P. barbatus essential oil was analyzed by gas chromatography-mass spectroscopy. Nineteen components were identified. Major constituents were eugenol (31.12%), α-pinene (19.38%) and β-caryophyllene (18.42%). Acute toxicity against early third-instar larvae of An. subpictus, Ae. albopictus and Cx. tritaeniorhynchus was investigated. The essential oil had a significant toxic effect against larvae of An. subpictus, Ae. albopictus and Cx. tritaeniorhynchus, with 50% lethal concentration (LC50) values of 84.20, 87.25 and 94.34 μg/ml and 90% lethal concentration (LC90) values of 165.25, 170.56 and 179.58 μg/ml, respectively. Concerning major constituents, eugenol, α-pinene and β-caryophyllene appeared to be most effective against An. subpictus (LC50 = 25.45, 32.09 and 41.66 μg/ml, respectively), followed by Ae. albopictus (LC50 = 28.14, 34.09 and 44.77 μg/ml, respectively) and Cx. tritaeniorhynchus (LC50 = 30.80, 36.75 and 48.17 μg/ml, respectively). Overall, the chance to use metabolites from P. barbatus essential oil against mosquito vectors seems promising, since they are effective at low doses and could be an advantageous alternative to build newer and safer mosquito control tools.

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Mouse spermatozoa possess a neutral proteinase, acrosin, that is to a large extent (70-80%) present in the zymogen (proacrosin) form. Acid extraction yields higher amounts of acrosin than detergent extraction. Synthetic inhibitor studies indicate that mouse acrosin has a serine and histidine at its active site and hydrolyzes the peptide bonds of lysine and arginine but of not phenylalanine. An inhibitor of acrosin is associated with mouse spermatozoa, capable of preventing the activity of at least 60% of all available acrosin. Acrosin activity is essential for fertilization because natural and synthetic inhibitors of mouse acrosin prevent the union of the gametes. Also, the relative inhibitory activity of synthetic agents toward acrosin runs approximately parallel to their antifertility activity. The percent of acrosin in the proacrosin form does not change after capacitating mouse spermatozoa in vitro.