A novel AI-based approach for modelling the fate, transportation and prediction of chromium in rivers and agricultural crops: A case study in Iran

Chromium (Cr) pollution caused by the discharge of industrial wastewater into rivers poses a significant threat to the environment, aquatic and human life, as well as agricultural crops irrigated by these rivers. This paper employs artificial intelligence (AI) to introduce a new framework for modeling the fate, transport, and estimation of Cr from its point of discharge into the river until it is absorbed by agricultural products. The framework is demonstrated through its application to the case study River, which serves as the primary water resource for tomato production irrigation in Mashhad city, Iran. Measurements of Cr concentration are taken at three different river depths and in tomato leaves from agricultural lands irrigated by the river, allowing for the identification of bioaccumulation effects. By employing boundary conditions and smart algorithms, various aspects of control systems are evaluated. The concentration of Cr in crops exhibits an accumulative trend, reaching up to 1.29 µg/g by the time of harvest. Using data collected from the case study and exploring different scenarios, AI models are developed to estimate the Cr concentration in tomato leaves. The tested AI models include linear regression (LR), neural network (NN) classifier, and NN regressor, yielding goodness-of-fit values (R2) of 0.931, 0.874, and 0.946, respectively. These results indicate that the NN regressor is the most accurate model, followed by the LR, for estimating Cr levels in tomato leaves

Study of the GSM with frequency of 950 MHz on the memory of male mice

Background and aims: The increasing use of productive machines with electromagnetic waves of different frequency and severity has led to perform many studies about the possible impact of the waves on the health of living creatures. The aim of this study was to investigate memory function and reminding in mice, exposed to microwave radiation with a frequency of 950 MHz (GSM signal). Methods: In this experimental study, 120 male mices were divided into 10 groups of 12 animals in each group. The exposed 9 groups were under microwave radiation at the power densities of 0.02, 1.3 and 8.6 mW/ cm2 and the time intervals of 2, 4 and 6 hours and one group was considered as control. The analysis of mice’s memory was done with the passive avoidance trial test and by measuring the frequency of animals entering the dark compartment of shuttle box and their entrance latency time in 6, 12, 24, 48 h, 1 and 2 weeks after the last learning stage. Results: The results showed no significant changes among the latency time of animals in entrance to the dark side of compartment, but the frequency of entrance showed significant difference among the exposure groups with the potent of 0, 0.02, 1.3 and 8.6 mW/cm2. Conclusion: Memory function and analysis of animals exposed to mobile radiation show a decrease depending on exposure time and power. The increasing frequency of animal in entrance to the dark field with the memory of electrical shock should be a sign of animal memory impairment with the exposure to the microwave mobile radiation

Risk Factors of Acute Renal Cortical Lesions in Scintigraphy in Children with Urinary Tract Infection

Introduction: Urinary Tract Infection (UTI) is one of the most common pediatric infections. UTI may create cystitis or pyelonephritis by involving bladder or renal parenchyma, respectively. Pyelonephritis, especially in pediatric patients, can lead to scar formation in kidneys and consequent complications such as hypertension, proteinuria, dysfunction and chronic renal insufficiency. The current study aimed to determine risk factors of acute rental cortical lesions in renal scintigraphy in children with UTI.Materials and Methods: Fifty-three patients with significant renal cortical lesions and 53 cases without significant renal cortical lesions were compared based on the intensity of findings of DMSA scintigraphy within the first two weeks of diagnosis. Patients were divided into three groups of 1 month to 2 years, 2 to 4 years and 4 to 10 years.Results: Of 106 patients, 11 males (20.8%) and 42 females (79.2%) had significant acute renal cortical lesions, whereas 15.1% of males and 84.9% of females had no significant acute renal cortical lesions. There was a significant difference in the degree of fever, the average interval between the onset of fever and treatment, mean level of CRP, leukocytosis and ESR in the two studied groups. The presence of Vesicoureteral Reflux (VUR), low initial hemoglobin and low initial BMI as random findings were associated with significant renal cortical lesions. Gender, age, grade of VUR and type of organism in urine culture had no significant association with significant renal cortical lesions.Conclusions: In this study, delaying in treatment, high degree fever, leukocytosis, high initial ESR and CRP, existence of VUR and low initial BMI and hemoglobin levels were associated with an increase in the value of acute renal cortical lesions, so in these cases, DMSA scan is suggested.Keywords: Urinary Tract Infections; DMSA (Dimercaptosuccinic Acid); Renal scars; Pediatrics

A new empirical approach for modelling fate and transport of Chromium bioaccumulation in irrigated crops: A water-food-pollution nexus

Discharge of chromium (Cr) into receiving water bodies is a serious problem in water resources worldwide that inevitably gets taken up by agricultural crops and hence threatens both the environment and human health. This study investigates the fate and transport modelling of Cr discharged into the Kashaf River by leather industries in Mashhad city, Iran and the bio magnification effects on agricultural crops irrigated by the river. The accumulative concentration of Cr in tomato in the present case study from the time of planting until harvest day shows an increasing trend of up to 126 μg/L. The sensitivity analysis illustrates that the accumulated chromium ions in tomato are affected by time in growth cycle, chromium dosage in water, and total hardness of water more than any other factors. This study adopts an empirical approach by developing statistical modelling for bio-accumulated Cr in tomato during the growth period and evaluates different 3D mathematical distribution such as Polynomial, Interpolant, and Lowest models. The results demonstrate Polynomial with x and y more than four-degree model has the best efficiency for the measurement of accumulated chromium ion in tomato as per qualitative factors. The outputs in this study can be viewed in the context of water-food-pollution nexus and how the pollution discharged from the industry into the water resources can have a major impact on the safety of food that is dependent on irrigation from freshwater resources

A New Insight Into the Anti Proliferative and Apoptotic Effects of Fulvic and Humic Acids as Bio Product of Humus on Breast Cancer Cells, Optimized by Response Surface Methodology

Today, plant compounds and substances of natural origin as bio products are strongly recommended for the prevention and treatment of cancer. In the field of biomedicine antiviral, anti-inflammatory, anti-oxidant properties among the most known activities of Humus and the products obtained from humus. In this study, the effect of humic and fulvic acids (HA, FA), bio product of humus, on breast cancer cells (MCF7), the most common cancer among women, was investigated. To achieve optimum cytotoxic time and determine the effect of the different parameters the Response Surface Methodology (RSM) was applied. The main parameters influencing the cytotoxic performance in the MTT assay, such as time and concentrations were regarded. The cell viability was measured using different concentrations of HA and FA including 10, 50, 100, and 200 µg/mL for 14, 24, and 48 h, respectively. Apoptosis, cell cycle, mechanical properties and survivin gene expression of MCF7 cells treated with HA and FA were analyzed after 14 h. Our results showed that HA and FA induced apoptosis, reduced cell viability and gene expression in the cured MCF7 cells. We have seen a dose-dependent behavior of HA in increasing the cell population in phase Sub-G1. The results of AFM showed that the increasing behavior of elastic modulus value and cell–cell adhesion forces were dose-dependent in cells treated with HA and FA. The golden result of this study was the matching of laboratory and statistical results which confirms the success of the RSM model in biological researches

Molecular dynamics simulations, molecular docking, and kinetics study of kaempferol interaction on Jack bean urease: Comparison of extended solvation model

Since the urease enzyme creates gastric cancer, peptic ulcer, hepatic coma, and urinary stones in millions of people worldwide, it is essential to find strong inhibitors to help patients. Natural products are well known for their beneficial effects on health and efforts are being made to isolate the ingredients, the so-called flavonoids. Flavonoids are now considered as an indispensable component in a variety of nutraceutical, pharmaceutical, and cosmetic applications. Kaempferol (KPF) is an antioxidant found in many fruits and vegetables. Many reports have explained the significant effects of dietary KPF in reducing the risk of chronic diseases such as cancer, ischemia, stroke, and Parkinson’s. The current study aimed at investigating the inhibitory impact of KPF on Jack bean urease (JBU) using molecular dynamics (MD) simulations and molecular mechanics Poisson–Boltzmann surface area (MM-PBSA) calculations to confirm the results obtained from isothermal titration calorimetry (ITC), extended solvation model, and docking software. In addition, UV–VIS spectrophotometry was used to study the kinetics of urease inhibition. Calorimetric and spectrophotometric determinations of the kinetic parameters of this inhibition indicate the occurrence of a reversible and noncompetitive mode. Also, the docking and MD results indicated that the urease had well adapted to the kaempferol in the binding pocket, thereby forming a stable complex. Kaempferol displayed low binding energy during MMPBSA calculations. The inhibitory potential of kaempferol was confirmed by experimental and simulation data, but in vivo investigations are also recommended to validate our results

Insulin Can Improve the Normal Function of the Brain by Preventing the Loss of the Neurons

Background: Insulin promotes the expression of genes related to brain function, thus preventing the neurodegeneration process. The present study was designed to find the neuroprotective effect of insulin by reducing neuron loss in the brain. Materials and Methods: In this study, 20 adult male NMRI mice were divided into two groups: control and insulin. The control group was intact, and the insulin group received 100 µL of insulin at a 72-hour interval by intraperitoneal (I.P.) injection for 30 days. At the end of the study, the brain was removed. The volume of the brain and the total number of neurons and glia were estimated by stereological techniques, and also the gene expression of NSR, PI3K, AKT, IGF-1, and FOXO-1 was measured using real-time PCR. Results: The results showed that the total number of neurons decreased in the control group compared to the experimental group. Furthermore, the expression of NSR, PI3K, AKT, IGF-1, and FOXO-1 genes was lower in the control group than in the insulin group. Conclusion: The results showed that treating mice with insulin prevented reducing the number of neurons and gene expression related to normal brain function. So, insulin could have neuroprotective effects against neuron loss. Insulin may be beneficial as a new approach to avoiding neuron loss in regenerative medicine

A new integrated agent-based framework for designing building emergency evacuation: a BIM approach

Today, safety control is considered one of the most important pillars of building construction processes due to maintaining security in major incidents such as fire, earthquake, and flood, and placing a basis of mutual trust between builders and residents for building design and construction. The evacuation process is a key aspect of safety control in case of an emergency such as a fire. This study develops a new integrated agent-based framework for designing building emergency evacuation by using Building Information Model (BIM). Three main steps of the framework include data collection, building model development, and evacuation simulation with a combination of Revit-MassMotion. The methodology is demonstrated through its application to a real case of a multi-story commercial building located in Iran. The building model is simulated through three scenarios with a different number of floors (i.e., one, two, and three floors). In each scenario, the safety of evacuation is evaluated for three designs of stairs in the building. The results show the best performance of the building evacuation in all scenarios can be achieved when two individual stairs are designed for each floor. Other influential factors including the maximum density, vision time, and agent count are more acceptable compared to other design factors. These parameters can also be used to design a control system by using smart conceptual models based on both decision tree and auto-work break structure methods