Epilepsy is a long-term neurological condition that results in recurrent seizures. Approximately 30% of patients with epilepsy have drug-resistant epilepsy (DRE). The ketogenic diet (KD) is considered an effective alternative treatment for epileptic patients. The aim of this study was to identify the metabolic role of the KD in epilepsy. Ketone bodies induce chemical messengers and alterations in neuronal metabolic activities to regulate neuroprotective mechanisms towards oxidative damage to decrease seizure rate. Here, we discuss the role of KD on epilepsy and related metabolic disorders, focusing on its mechanism of action, favorable effects, and limitations. We describe the significant role of the KD in managing epilepsy disorders.

Background: Type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM2) is a chronic and sometimes fatal condition which affects people all over the world. Nanotherapeutics have shown tremendous potential to combat chronic diseases—including DM2—as they enhance the overall impact of drugs on biological systems. Greenly synthesized silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) from Catharanthus roseus methanolic extract (C. AgNPs) were examined primarily for their cytotoxic and antidiabetic effects. Methods: Characterization of C. AgNPs was performed by UV–vis spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and atomic force microscopy (AFM). The C. AgNPs were trialed on Vero cell line and afterwards on an animal model (rats). Results: The C. AgNPs showed standard structural and functional characterization as revealed by FTIR and XRD analyses. The zetapotential analysis indicated stability while EDX analysis confirmed the formation of composite capping with Ag metal. The cytotoxic effect (IC50) of C. AgNPs on Vero cell lines was found to be 568 g/mL. The animal model analyses further revealed a significant difference in water intake, food intake, body weight, urine volume, and urine sugar of tested rats after treatment with aqueous extract of C. AgNPs. Moreover, five groups of rats including control and diabetic groups (NC1, PC2, DG1, DG2, and DG3) were investigated for their blood glucose and glycemic control analysis. Conclusions: The C. AgNPs exhibited positive potential on the Vero cell line as well as on experimental rats. The lipid profile in all the diabetic groups (DG1-3) were significantly increased compared with both of the control groups (p < 0.05). The present study revealed the significance of C. AgNPs in nanotherapeutics.

Crop improvement is the fundamental goal of plant biologists, and genetic diversity is the base for the survival of plants in nature. In this study, we evaluated 20 wheat lines for morphological and genetic diversity using eight simple sequence repeats markers from Wheat Microsatellite Consortium (WMC). Morphologically, variations were observed among all of the different wheat lines for the studied trait except for single spike weight. The highest values for different agronomic traits were recorded for the different wheat lines. The maximum days to heading were recorded for Borlaug-16 (128.3 ± 2.52 days). Similarly, days to maturity were recorded and were highest in Markaz-19 (182.3 ± 5.13 days), followed by Borlaug-16 (182.0 ± 4.58 days). The highest plant height was observed for Zincol-16 (122.3 ± 2.51 cm), followed by Markaz-19 (120.0 ± 14.79 cm) and Borlaug-16 (119.7 ± 6.8 cm). The productivity measured by 100-grain weight was highest in the case of Zincol-16 (84.0 ± 7.5 g). In contrast, wheat lines Shahkar, Sehar, and Farid-6 showed the lowest values for the traits tested. The results of genetic diversity revealed a total number of 16 alleles at eight SSR markers with an average of 2.00 ± 0.534 alleles per locus. Out of eight SSR markers, one marker (WMC105) was monomorphic, and six were dimorphic, showing two alleles at each locus. The maximum number of alleles (3) was observed for marker WMC78, in which genotypes AC and AA were predominantly found in high-yielding lines Borlaug-2016 and Zincol-2016 that were distantly related to other varieties. Zincol-2016 was also agronomically distinct from the rest of the 19 wheat lines. The results obtained from this study may be of importance for the scientific community to further explore the underlying genetic polymorphism associated high yielding varieties using marker-assisted selection for sustainable agriculture.

Nanotechnology offers promising opportunities in combating infectious agents, especially multidrug-resistant bacteria (MDR), which is a major concern in modern times. Zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO-NPs) are effective in delivering therapeutic agents to living systems due to their biocompatibility and bioactivity, making them effective against infectious microbes and also allowing them to be applied as an effective anticancer instrument. This study aimed to investigate the antimicrobial activity of ZnO-NPs against P. aeruginosa, a multi-drug resistant (MDR) bacterium in combination with Piperacillin-Tazobactam, as well as the in vitro effect of anticancer activity on MCF-7 and HepG2 cell lines. Piperacillin-Tazobactam, are beta-lactam antibiotics highly effective against Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria such as Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and recommended for the empirical treatment of Febrile Neutropenia (FN) after chemotherapy. ZnO-NPs of variable size (designated as ZnO-NPs-A, ZnO-NPs-B, and ZnO-NPs-C with 35±2.5 nm, 50±2 nm, and 65±3 nm mean sizes, respectively) and Piperacillin-Tazobactam alone and in combination were used for the study. The extended-spectrum beta-lactamase (ESBLs) producing MDR P. aeruginosa strain sensitivity profiling towards different combinations of ZnO-NPs and Piperacillin-Tazobactam was measured. There was no synergistic effect observed against growth inhibition of P. aeruginosa. The combined dose of ZnO-NPs-A and Piperacillin-Tazobactam showed great antibacterial efficacy even as compared to the pure drug against P. aeruginosa. Similarly, the Piperacillin-Tazobactam with ZnO-NPs-C showed the least cell viability as compared to the drug alone. The study showed a significant decrease in cell viability with the combined application of Piperacillin-Tazobactam and ZnO-Nps in comparison to the individual treatments.

Nanotechnology offers exciting prospects against infectious agents, particularly multidrug resistance bacteria (MDR), which is the roaring concern of this era. Zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO-Nps) efficiently deliver therapeutic agents into living systems due to their biocompatibility and bioactivity, which make them highly effective against infectious pathogens. The present investigation was designed to investigate the impact of the ZnO-Nps in combination with the Piperacillin-Tazobactam (TZP) drug against MDR. TZP are beta-lactam antibiotics highly effective against Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria such as Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and are recommended for the empirical treatment of Febrile neutropenia (FN) associated with chemotherapy treatment. For this study, three different-sized ZnONp combinations were used. The extended-spectrum beta-lactamase (ESBLs) producing Escheria coli and MDR P. aeruginosa strain sensitivity profiling towards different combinations of ZnO-Nps and Piperacillin-Tazobactam were measured. The synthesized Zno-Nps w ere d esignated a s Z n-1, Z n- 2, and Zn-3 based on their sizes, and were made in different combinations with the commercially available drug TZP (ZnO-Nps+ Drug) against MDR E.coli and P. aeruginosa. There was no synergistic effect observed against growth inhibition of E.coli. The combined dose of Zn-1 and TZP showed better antibacterial efficacy even as compared to the pure drug against P. aeruginosa. The study revealed that the dosage and biological activity of drugs used to treat fatal human diseases like cancer can be decreased while their efficacy can be boosted by using ZnO nanoparticles as powerful drug delivery systems.

The study was designed to evaluate the genetic background of indigenous germplasm by using simple sequence repeats (SSRs) gene markers for the selection of elite lines with multiple gene combinations that can be used in breeding programs for wheat improvement against rust disease. The principal component analysis (PCA) was constructed to estimate the genetic difference between the accessions and revealed an 85.3% variation. A high level of association was found between markers XWMC170 /XGWM608, XGWM44a/XGWM44b, XGDM111a/XGWM129, XWMC765a/XWMC765b, and GWM148a/XWMC765b while low level of correlation was observed between the markers CSLV34b and CSLV34a i.e -0.688 followed by GWM148a and XGWM129 (-0.633). Cluster analysis revealed three main groups but group A was totally different from B and C with the genetic distance of 18.5 revealing that these accessions were having totally different genetic bases and are more diversified than the others. A total of 40 reported genetic markers (SSRs) were utilized to amplify the required bands for identifying the genes and their genetic distance in terms of variations between the wheat germplasm. The highest amplification was revealed by XGDM19 (130 bp), WMC773 (298 bp), XWMC331a (210 bp), BARC114a (105 bp), barc86a (200 bp), and XBARC4a (90 bp) i.e. 50, 48, 47, 46, 45, and 42 respectively. The study was useful as disease-related SSRs markers were used for general diversity, making the single SSRs marker used for multiple purposes including disease resistance, genetic diversity, and mineral or ion identification. It will ultimately help in saving the cost, time, and effort rather than using individual/or specific markers for evaluating the genetic distance or base for the diversity analysis.