Background: Brucellosis is a pervasive zoonotic disease caused by various Brucella species. It mainly affects livestock and wildlife and poses significant public health threats, especially in regions with suboptimal hygiene, food safety, and veterinary care standards. Human contractions occur by consuming contaminated animal products or interacting with infected animals. Objective: This study aims to provide an updated understanding of brucellosis, from its epidemiology and pathogenesis to diagnosis and treatment strategies. It emphasizes the importance of ongoing research, knowledge exchange, and interdisciplinary collaboration for effective disease control and prevention, highlighting its global health implications. Methods: Pathogenesis involves intricate interactions between bacteria and the host immune system, resulting in chronic infections characterized by diverse clinical manifestations. The diagnostic process is arduous owing to non-specific symptomatology and sampling challenges, necessitating a fusion of clinical and laboratory evaluations, including blood cultures, serological assays, and molecular methods. Management typically entails multiple antibiotics, although the rise in antibiotic-resistant Brucella strains poses a problem. Animal vaccination is a potential strategy to curb the spread of infection, particularly within livestock populations. Results: The study provides insights into the complex pathogenesis of brucellosis, the challenges in its diagnosis, and the management strategies involving antibiotic therapy and animal vaccination. It also highlights the emerging issue of antibiotic-resistant Brucella strains. Conclusions: In conclusion, brucellosis is a significant zoonotic disease with implications for public health. Efforts should be directed towards improved diagnostic methods, antibiotic stewardship to combat antibiotic resistance, and developing and implementing effective animal vaccination programs. Interdisciplinary collaboration and ongoing research are crucial for addressing the global health implications of brucellosis.

PD-1 (Programmed Cell Death Protein-1) and PD-L1 (Programmed Cell Death Ligand-1) play a crucial role in regulating the immune system and preventing autoimmunity. Cancer cells can manipulate this system, allowing them to escape immune detection and promote tumor growth. Therapies targeting the PD-1/PD-L1 pathway have transformed cancer treatment and have demonstrated significant effectiveness against various cancer types. This study delves into the structure and signaling dynamics of PD-1 and its ligands PD-L1/PD-L2, the diverse PD-1/PD-L1 inhibitors and their efficacy, and the resistance observed in some patients. Furthermore, this study explored the challenges associated with the PD-1/PD-L1 inhibitor treatment approach. Recent advancements in the combination of immunotherapy with chemotherapy, radiation, and surgical procedures to enhance patient outcomes have also been highlighted. Overall, this study offers an in-depth overview of the significance of PD-1/PD-L1 in cancer immunotherapy and its future implications in oncology.

Nanoparticles (NPs) are elements derived from a cluster of atoms with one or more dimensions in the nanometer scale in the range of 1–100 nm. The bio nanofabrication of metallic NPs is now an important dynamic area of research, with major significance in applied research. Biogenic synthesis of NPs is more desirable than physical and chemical synthesis due to its eco-friendliness, non-toxicity, lower energy consumption, and multifunctional nature. Plants outperform microorganisms as reducing agents as they contain large secondary biomolecules that accelerate the reduction and stability of the NPs. The produced NPs can then be studied spectroscopically (UV-Visible, XRD, Raman, IR, etc.) and microscopically (SEM, TEM, AFM, etc.). The biological reduction of a metallic ion or its oxide to a nanoparticle is quick, simple, and may be scaled up at room temperature and pressure. The rise in multi-drug resistant (MDR) microbes due to the immoderate use of antibiotics in non-infected patients is a major cause of morbidity and mortality in humans. The contemporary development of a new class of antibiotics with different mechanisms of action to kill microbes is crucial. Metals and their oxides are extremely toxic to microbes at unprecedentedly low concentrations. In addition, prevailing infections in plants and animals are raising significant concerns across the globe. NPs’ wide range of bioactivity makes them ideal antimicrobial agents in agricultural and medical fields. The present review outlines the synthesis of metallic NPs from botanicals, which enables the metals to be in a stabilized form even after ionization. It also presents a valuable database on the biofunctionalization of synthesized NPs for further drug development.

Hydrogen is an economical source of clean energy that has been utilized by industry for decades. In recent years, demand for hydrogen has risen significantly. Hydrogen sources include water electrolysis, hydrocarbon steam reforming, and fossil fuels, which emit hazardous greenhouse gases and therefore have a negative impact on global warming. The increasing worldwide population has created much pressure on natural fuels, with a growing gap between demand for renewable energy and its insufficient supply. As a result, the environment has suffered from alarming increases in pollution levels. Biohydrogen is a sustainable energy form and a preferable substitute for fossil fuel. Anaerobic fermentation, photo fermentation, microbial and enzymatic photolysis or combinations of such techniques are new approaches for producing biohydrogen. For cost-effective biohydrogen production, the substrate should be cheap and renewable. Substrates including algal biomass, agriculture residue, and wastewaters are readily available. Moreover, substrates rich in starch and cellulose such as plant stalks or agricultural waste, or food industry waste such as cheese whey are reported to support dark- and photo-fermentation. However, their direct utilization as a substrate is not recommended due to their complex nature. Therefore, they must be pretreated before use to release fermentable sugars. Various pretreatment technologies have been established and are still being developed. This article focuses on pretreatment techniques for biohydrogen production and discusses their efficiency and suitability, including hybrid-treatment technology.

The seminal discovery of paclitaxel from endophytic fungus Taxomyces andreanae was a milestone in recognizing the immense potential of endophytic fungi as prolific producers of bioactive secondary metabolites of use in medicine, agriculture, and food industries. Following the discovery of paclitaxel, the research community has intensified efforts to harness endophytic fungi as putative producers of lead molecules with anticancer, anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, antioxidant, cardio-protective, and immunomodulatory properties. Endophytic fungi have been a valuable source of bioactive compounds over the last three decades. Compounds such as taxol, podophyllotoxin, huperzine, camptothecin, and resveratrol have been effectively isolated and characterized after extraction from endophytic fungi. These findings have expanded the applications of endophytic fungi in medicine and related fields. In the present review, we systematically compile and analyze several important compounds derived from endophytic fungi, encompassing the period from 2011 to 2022. Our systematic approach focuses on elucidating the origins of endophytic fungi, exploring the structural diversity and biological activities exhibited by these compounds, and giving special emphasis to the pharmacological activities and mechanism of action of certain compounds. We highlight the tremendous potential of endophytic fungi as alternate sources of bioactive metabolites, with implications for combating major global diseases. This underscores the significant role that fungi can play in the discovery and development of novel therapeutic agents that address the challenges posed by prevalent diseases worldwide.

Artemisia judaica (ArJ) is a Mediterranean aromatic plant used traditionally to treat gastrointestinal ailments, skin diseases, atherosclerosis, and as an immuno-stimulant. This study describes ArJ essential oil constituents and investigates their wound healing activity. The in vitro antioxidant and antibiofilm activities of ArJ essential oil were investigated. The in vivo pro/anti-inflammatory and oxidative/antioxidant markers were compared with standard silver sulfadiazine (SS) in a second-degree skin burn experimental rat model. The gas chromatography-equipped flame ionization detector (GC-FID) analysis of ArJ essential oil revealed the major classes of compounds as oxygenated monoterpenes (>57%) and cinnamic acid derivatives (18.03%). The antimicrobial tests of ArJ essential oil revealed that Bacillus cereus, Candida albicans, and Aspergillus niger were the most susceptible test organisms. Two second-degree burns (each 1 inch square in diameter) were created on the dorsum of rats using an aluminum cylinder heated to 120 °C for 10 s. The wounds were treated either with ArJ or SS ointments for 21 days, while the negative control remained untreated, and biopsies were obtained for histological and biochemical analysis. The ArJ group demonstrated a significant increase in antioxidant superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase (CAT) enzymatic activities, while lipid peroxide (LP) levels remained insignificant compared to the negative control group. Additionally, ArJ and SS groups demonstrated a significant decrease in inflammatory levels of tumor necrosis factor α (TNF-α) compared to the negative group, while interleukin 1 beta (IL-1b) and IL-6 were comparable to the negative group. At the same time, anti-inflammatory IL-10 and transforming growth factor beta 1 (TGF-b1) markers increased significantly in the ArJ group compared to the negative control. The ArJ results demonstrated potent wound healing effects, comparable to SS, attributable to antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects as well as a high proportion of oxygenated monoterpenes and cinnamate derivatives.