N-(5-Chloro-2-meth­oxy­phen­yl)benzene­sulfonamide

In the title compound, C13H12ClNO3S, the dihedral angle between the two aromatic rings is 73.94 (9)°. An intra­molecular C—H⋯O hydrogen bond occurs. In the crystal, inter­molecular N—H⋯O hydrogen bonds connect the mol­ecules to centrosymmetric dimers, forming an R 2 2(8) ring motif. The packing is consolidated by C—H⋯O hydrogen bonds and weak π–π inter­actions [centroid–centroid distances = 3.81 (3) and 3.81 (3) Å]

Synthesis, Characterization, Biological Activities and Ab-initio Study of Transition Metal Complexes of [Methyl 2-((4-chlorophenyl)(hydroxy)methyle) Acrylate]

Taking cognizance of the medicinal significance and diverse functions of synthetic Morita-Baylis-Hillman adducts (MBHA), the title ligand was synthesized and purified through column chromatography. Cr+3, Mn+2, Co+3, Ni+2, Cu+2 complexes of the ligand were synthesized under basic conditions, subjected to characterization through spectral analyses and verified with the IR spectrum that was generated computationally by the DFT B3LYP method, with 6-311++ G (d,p) basis set and Hartree Fock (HF) B3LYP method in conjunction with 3-21G(d,p) basis set. Powder XRD helped to testify crystals of the complexes. Moreover, the antibacterial, and antioxidant characteristics of MBHA and its complexes were also established. All of them were found to be active antioxidants. The antibacterial activities, examined against S. aureus, E. coli, B. pumilis and S. typhi have revealed that its Cobalt complex has an excellent potential to act against all of them. Hence, these compounds maybe having potentialities for the discovery of new, cheaper and efficient drugs against various infectious diseases. The study also uncovers the first example of utilization of MBHA towards metal complex formation

Multi-Year Comparison of CO2 Concentration from NOAA Carbon Tracker Reanalysis Model with Data from GOSAT and OCO-2 over Asia

Accurate knowledge of the carbon budget on global and regional scales is critically important to design mitigation strategies aimed at stabilizing the atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. For a better understanding of CO2 variation trends over Asia, in this study, the column-averaged CO2 dry air mole fraction (XCO2) derived from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) CarbonTracker (CT) was compared with that of Greenhouse Gases Observing Satellite (GOSAT) from September 2009 to August 2019 and with Orbiting Carbon Observatory 2 (OCO-2) from September 2014 until August 2019. Moreover, monthly averaged time-series and seasonal climatology comparisons were also performed separately over the five regions of Asia; i.e., Central Asia, East Asia, South Asia, Southeast Asia, and Western Asia. The results show that XCO2 from GOSAT is higher than the XCO2 simulated by CT by an amount of 0.61 ppm, whereas, OCO-2 XCO2 is lower than CT by 0.31 ppm on average, over Asia. The mean spatial correlations of 0.93 and 0.89 and average Root Mean Square Deviations (RMSDs) of 2.61 and 2.16 ppm were found between the CT and GOSAT, and CT and OCO-2, respectively, implying the existence of a good agreement between the CT and the other two satellites datasets. The spatial distribution of the datasets shows that the larger uncertainties exist over the southwest part of China. Over Asia, NOAA CT shows a good agreement with GOSAT and OCO-2 in terms of spatial distribution, monthly averaged time series, and seasonal climatology with small biases. These results suggest that CO2 can be used from either of the datasets to understand its role in the carbon budget, climate change, and air quality at regional to global scales

Monitoring of Atmospheric Carbon Dioxide over Pakistan Using Satellite Dataset

Satellites are an effective source of atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) monitoring; however, city-scale monitoring of atmospheric CO2 through space-borne observations is still a challenging task due to the trivial change in atmospheric CO2 concentration compared to its natural variability and background concentration. In this study, we attempted to evaluate the potential of space-based observations to monitor atmospheric CO2 changes at the city scale through simple data-driven analyses. We used the column-averaged dry-air mole fraction of CO2 (XCO2) from the Carbon Observatory 2 (OCO-2) and the anthropogenic CO2 emissions provided by the Open-Data Inventory for Anthropogenic Carbon dioxide (ODIAC) product to explain the scenario of CO2 over 120 districts of Pakistan. To study the anthropogenic CO2 through space-borne observations, XCO2 anomalies (MXCO2) were estimated from OCO-2 retrievals within the spatial boundary of each district, and then the overall spatial distribution pattern of the MXCO2 was analyzed with several datasets including the ODIAC emissions, NO2 tropospheric column, fire locations, cropland, nighttime lights and population density. All the datasets showed a similarity in the spatial distribution pattern. The satellite detected higher CO2 concentrations over the cities located along the China–Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) routes. The CPEC is a large-scale trading partnership between Pakistan and China and large-scale development has been carried out along the CPEC routes over the last decade. Furthermore, the cities were ranked based on mean ODIAC emissions and MXCO2 estimates. The satellite-derived estimates showed a good consistency with the ODIAC emissions at higher values; however, deviations between the two datasets were observed at lower values. To further study the relationship of MXCO2 and ODIAC emissions with each other and with some other datasets such as population density and NO2 tropospheric column, statistical analyses were carried out among the datasets. Strong and significant correlations were observed among all the datasets

Remote Sensing Indices for Spatial Monitoring of Agricultural Drought in South Asian Countries

Drought is an intricate atmospheric phenomenon with the greatest impacts on food security and agriculture in South Asia. Timely and appropriate forecasting of drought is vital in reducing its negative impacts. This study intended to explore the performance of the evaporative stress index (ESI), vegetation health index (VHI), enhanced vegetation index (EVI), and standardized anomaly index (SAI) based on satellite remote sensing data from 2002–2019 for agricultural drought assessment in Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, and Bangladesh. The spatial maps were generated against each index, which indicated a severe agricultural drought during the year 2002, compared to the other years. The results showed that the southeast region of Pakistan, and the north, northwest, and southwest regions of India and Afghanistan were significantly affected by drought. However, Bangladesh faced substantial drought in the northeast and northwest regions during the drought year (2002). The longest drought period of seven months was observed in India followed by Pakistan and Afghanistan with six months, while, only three months were perceived in Bangladesh. The correlation between drought indices and climate variables such as soil moisture has remained a significant drought-initiating variable. Furthermore, this study confirmed that the evaporative stress index (ESI) is a good agricultural drought indicator, being quick and with greater sensitivity, and thus advantageous compared to the VHI, EVI, and SAI vegetation indices

The Use of Soil Conditioners to Ensure a Sustainable Wheat Yield under Water Deficit Conditions by Enhancing the Physiological and Antioxidant Potentials

Traditional mulch material (farmyard manure) has long been used in agriculture. However, recent developments have also introduced the scientific community and farmers to advanced chemicals such as potassium polyacrylamide (KPAM), which has revolutionised the concept of the soil water-holding capacity to many compared with other materials being used. To compare the effect of different organic and inorganic soil amendment materials under water stress conditions, a two-year (2018 and 2019) field study was conducted. The main plots consisted of irrigation treatments, i.e., I0 (control irrigation), I1 (drought-induced by skipping irrigation at the 4th leaf stage), and I2 (drought-induced by skipping irrigation at the anthesis stage). The subplots included a control treatment and soil amended with different conditioners such as potassium polyacrylamide (KPAM, 30 kg/ha), farmyard manure (FYM, 4 tons/ha), and biochar (10 tons/ha); these were mixed thoroughly with the soil before sowing. The results showed a significant reduction in the water relation parameters (water potential up to 35.77% and relative water content up to 21%), gas exchange parameters (net CO2 assimilation rate up to 28.85%, stomatal conductance up to 43.18%, and transpiration rate up to 49.07%), and yield attributes (biological yield up to 8.45% and grain yield up to 32.22%) under drought stress conditions. In addition, water stress also induced an increase in the synthesis of osmoprotectants (proline up to 77.74%, total soluble sugars up to 27.43%, and total free amino acids up to 11.73%). Among all the soil conditioners used, KPAM significantly reduced the negative effects of drought stress on the wheat plants. Thus, it could be concluded that the use of soil conditioners is a promising method for dealing with the negative consequences of drought stress for achieving sustainable crop yields

Correction: Ejaz et al. The Use of Soil Conditioners to Ensure a Sustainable Wheat Yield under Water Deficit Conditions by Enhancing the Physiological and Antioxidant Potentials. <i>Land</i> 2022, <i>11</i>, 368

In the published publication [...

Nanoengineering of extracellular vesicles for drug delivery systems: Current advances and future directions

Extracellular Vesicles (EVs) have gained high repute in drug delivery systems owing to their relatively higher efficacy as natural drug delivery vehicles. The current literature has advanced the use of EVs in drug delivery through exploring various aspects including their biogenesis, characterization, and nanoengineering techniques thereby leading them from laboratory to clinical use with optimized good laboratory practices. In this timely review, we summarize the current status of EVs characterizations and recent updates on nanoengineering of EVs regarding Cargo loading and surface fabrication. Further, we have also reviewed current progress in clinical translation and implications of EVs in clinical trials together with future recommendations