Aquatic pollution is a burning issue nowadays due to urbanization and industrialization. Industrial wastewater (IWW) contains pollutants that pose a great risk to the environment and human beings and is a big challenge for industries. The remediation of IWW by microorganisms is an environmentally friendly technique. This study was carried out to evaluate the pollution of IWW and to use consortia of Bacillus pakistanensis, Lysinibacillus composti, and Cladophora glomerata for bioremediation. The IWW was obtained from the Hayatabad Industrial Estate and was evaluated for physicochemical parameters and metal concentration. A pot experiment was carried out for two weeks to assess the efficiency of the developed consortia. The IWW and tap water (control) were treated with three different consortia (Bacillus pakistanensis-Cladophora glomerata (CT1, E1), Lysinibacillus composti-Cladophora glomerata (CT2, E2), and Bacillus pakistanensis-Lysinibacillus composti-Cladophora glomerata (CT3, E3). The three pots (CT1, CT2, and CT3) serving as the control were provided with tap water, and the three experimental pots (E1, E2, and E3) were provided with IWW. After treatment, substantial reductions were obtained in the following parameters and percentages: colour 85.7%, electrical conductivity (EC) 40.8%, turbidity 69.6%, sulphide 78.5%, fluoride 38.8%, chloride 62.9%, biological oxygen demand (BOD) 66%, chemical oxygen demand (COD) 81.8%, total suspended solids (TSSs) 82.7%, total dissolved solids (TDSs) 24.6%, Ca hardness 37.2%, Mg hardness 50%, and total hardness 39%. The samples of water were also examined for metal concentrations using atomic absorption spectrophotometry. The selected species removed 98.2% of Mn, 94% of Cu, 97.7% of Cr, 91.6% of Cd, 92.8% of Co, 79.6% of Ag, 82.6% of Ni, 98% of Ca, 90% of Mg, and 82.1% of Pb. The BCF values showed by the consortia for Mn, Cu, Cr, Cd, Co, Ag, Ni, Ca, Mg, and Pb were 91.8, 67, 97.5, 83.3, 85.7, 48.1, 80.4, 84.3, 82.5, and 80.3%, respectively. The t-test analysis showed that the treatment with the selected species significantly decreased the metal concentrations in the IWW (p ≤ 0.05). Overall, the study concludes that metal concentration in the water was decreased significantly by the consortia of algae-bacteria.

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is a human coronaviruses that emerged in China at Wuhan city, Hubei province during December 2019. Subsequently, SARS-CoV-2 has spread worldwide and caused millions of deaths around the globe. Several compounds and vaccines have been proposed to tackle this crisis. Novel recommended in silico approaches have been commonly used to screen for specific SARS-CoV-2 inhibitors of different types. Herein, the phytochemicals of Pakistani medicinal plants (especially Artemisia annua) were virtually screened to identify potential inhibitors of the SARS-CoV-2 main protease enzyme. The X-ray crystal structure of the main protease of SARS-CoV-2 with an N3 inhibitor was obtained from the protein data bank while A. annua phytochemicals were retrieved from different drug databases. The docking technique was carried out to assess the binding efficacy of the retrieved phytochemicals; the docking results revealed that several phytochemicals have potential to inhibit the SARS-CoV-2 main protease enzyme. Among the total docked compounds, the top-10 docked complexes were considered for further study and evaluated for their physiochemical and pharmacokinetic properties. The top-3 docked complexes with the best binding energies were as follows: the top-1 docked complex with a −7 kcal/mol binding energy score, the top-2 docked complex with a −6.9 kcal/mol binding energy score, and the top-3 docked complex with a −6.8 kcal/mol binding energy score. These complexes were subjected to a molecular dynamic simulation analysis for further validation to check the dynamic behavior of the selected top-complexes. During the whole simulation time, no major changes were observed in the docked complexes, which indicated complex stability. Additionally, the free binding energies for the selected docked complexes were also estimated via the MM-GB/PBSA approach, and the results revealed that the total delta energies of MMGBSA were −24.23 kcal/mol, −26.38 kcal/mol, and −25 kcal/mol for top-1, top-2, and top-3, respectively. MMPBSA calculated the delta total energy as −17.23 kcal/mol (top-1 complex), −24.75 kcal/mol (top-2 complex), and −24.86 kcal/mol (top-3 complex). This study explored in silico screened phytochemicals against the main protease of the SARS-CoV-2 virus; however, the findings require an experimentally based study to further validate the obtained results.

Aquatic pollution is one of the main problems due to rapid development in industrialization. The remediation of industrial wastewater (IWW) by microorganisms is an environmentally friendly technique. This study was conducted to assess pollution load in IWW and to use Bacillus pakistanensis and Lysinibacillus composti individually and in a consortium for bioremediation. The IWW was obtained from Hayatabad Industrial Estate and evaluated for physicochemical parameters and metal concentration. The pH, color, electrical conductivity (EC), turbidity, temperature, sulfide, fluoride, chloride, biological oxygen demand (BOD), chemical oxygen demand (COD), total suspended solids (TSS), total dissolved solids (TDS), calcium hardness, magnesium hardness, and total hardness were noted as 6.82, 440 TCU, 1.195 mS/cm, 54.65 mg/L, 26.8 °C, 5.60 mg/L, 3.6 mg/L, 162 mg/L, 85.5 mg/L, 921 mg/L, 232 mg/L, 794 mg/L, 590 mg/L, 395 mg/L, and 985 mg/L, respectively. The metals such as manganese, copper, chromium, cadmium, cobalt, silver, nickel, calcium, magnesium, and lead were also analyzed as 1.23 mg/L, 0.81 mg/L, 2.12 mg/L, 0.18 mg/L, 0.151 mg/L, 0.24 mg/L, 1.12 mg/L, 0.113 mg/L, 14.5 mg/L, and 0.19 mg/L, respectively. A pot experiment was performed for two weeks to evaluate the efficiency of the selected species. The IWW and tap water (control) were treated with selected species, individually and in a consortium. After treatment, a considerable reduction was noted in the color 87.3%, EC 46.5%, turbidity 84.1%, sulfide 87.5%, fluoride 25.0%, chloride 91.3%, BOD 96.4%, COD 86.5%, TSS 90%, TDS 45.0%, Ca hardness 42.3%, Mg hardness 77.2%, and total hardness 52.2%. After the experiment, samples of water were also analyzed for metal concentrations by atomic absorption spectrophotometry. The selected species removed 99.3% of Mn, 99.6% of Cu, 97.8% of Cr, 94.4% of Cd, 46.3% of Co, 85.1% of Ag, 88.4% of Ni, 98.8% of Ca, 91.5% of Mg, and 90.5% of Pb. The t-test analysis showed that the treatment with the selected species significantly decreased the metal concentrations in the IWW (p ≤ 0.05).

Salad vegetables are consumed without heat treatment therefore the possibility of food-borne illness is more. Salad can get contaminated with pathogenic microorganisms during growing in the field, harvesting, handling, processing, and distribution. Staphylococcus aureus is one of the most adaptable human pathogens. It can cause a range of illnesses from minor skin infections to life-threatening diseases. The present study was conducted for the isolation of Staphylococcus aureus from salad vegetables from different restaurants in Peshawar. For this purpose, a total of 30 salad samples were collected from different local restaurants located in Peshawar. The samples were diluted in peptone water and inoculated on a Mannitol Salt Agar medium. The S. aureus was confirmed by biochemical tests. 17 samples out of 30 were confirmed positive for S. aureus. The positive samples were then checked for antibiotic susceptibility with antibiotics CLR, FOX, NV, LZD, and VA by inoculating on an agar plate. In positive samples, 47.05% to resistant to NV, 35.29% to LZD, 29.41%) to CLR, 23.52 % to VA, and 17.64% MRSA were detected. A high level of sensitivity of 64.70% was shown by FOX and LZD. Out of 30 samples, 29.98% (average) resistance was noted against 5 antibiotics which indicated a low level of hygienic condition applied during salad making, handling, and processing. Our study concluded that S. aureus was present in salad vegetables of different restaurants in Peshawar. MRSA was also detected in RTE salad during the present study. Further molecular research is needed for the identification of MRSA and VRSA genes.

Pseudomonas aeruginosa is an opportunistic pathogen of major global health concern, due to its increasing multidrug resistance (MDR). One of the principal mechanism contributing to its MDR phenotype is the overexpression of efflux pump systems, particularly the MexAB-OprM complex. This study aimed to assess the prevalence, antibiotic susceptibility patterns, and phenotypic and genotypic profiles of efflux pump-mediated resistance in P. aeruginosa clinical isolates. A total of one hundred clinical specimens were collected from patients admitted to Al-Khidmat Hospital, Peshawar. Antibiotic susceptibility was performed against ten antibiotics using the Kirby–Bauer disc diffusion method. Efflux pump activity was assessed using the ethidium bromide-agar cartwheel method, while the presence of the mexA and mexB genes was detected by polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Forty percent of clinical specimens yielded bacterial growth, with P. aeruginosa isolates more prevalent in males (54%). High resistance rates were observed against ceftazidime (82%), ciprofloxacin (70%), cefepime (61%), and levofloxacin (66%), whereas higher susceptibility was recorded for imipenem (76%), amikacin (73%), gentamicin (70%), and colistin (100%). Among the isolates, 62.5% were classified as MDR, of which 68% demonstrated phenotypic efflux pump activity. Genotypic analysis revealed that 71% and 82% of MDR isolates harbored the mexA and mexB genes, respectively. These findings indicate a strong association between efflux pump overexpression and the MDR phenotype in P. aeruginosa. The high prevalence of mexA and mexB genes supports the major contribution of the MexAB-OprM efflux system to antimicrobial resistance in these clinical isolates. This study underscores the importance of routine molecular surveillance and suggests that efflux pump inhibitors (EPIs), in combination with conventional antibiotics, may represent a promising therapeutic strategy. Furthermore, these findings emphasize the need for strengthened antibiotic stewardship and targeted resistance monitoring to effectively manage MDR P. aeruginosa infections.