Parul University

Multi-criteria decision making (MCDM) methods play an important role in supporting decisions involving multiple criteria with different characteristics and levels of importance. However, differences in normalization procedures, criterion treatment, and aggregation mechanisms can lead to variations in the resulting preference structures. This study proposes a new MCDM method, namely total evaluation based on knowledge-driven normalized optimization (TEKNO), which integrates normalization, relative evaluation, criterion weighting, optimization-based normalization, and total evaluation into a unified decision-making framework. The proposed method is designed to transform heterogeneous decision information into comparable evaluation values while preserving the relative contribution of each criterion. The applicability of TEKNO is evaluated through two decision-making case studies involving new store location selection and leasing customer selection. The evaluation framework includes ranking analysis, comparison with established MCDM methods, Spearman rank correlation analysis, and sensitivity analysis under variations in criterion weights. The results show that TEKNO achieves a Spearman rank correlation coefficient of 1.0000 for the new store location case and 0.9964 for the leasing customer selection case, indicating very strong agreement with the reference rankings. In addition, the ranking remains unchanged across the tested sensitivity scenarios, demonstrating the stability of TEKNO under variations in criterion weights. These findings indicate that TEKNO provides a transparent, systematic, and stable alternative for MCDM applications for practical decision support where reliable ranking, methodological transparency, and robustness across alternative evaluation conditions are required. Nevertheless, broader validation using diverse datasets, decision domains, weighting schemes, and statistical evaluation techniques is required to further establish its generalizability and comparative performance.

The derivatives of quinazolin-4(3H)-one make up an important part of the wide range of N-containing heterocycles that exhibit a variety of pharmacological activity, which include antimicrobial, anticancer, antiinflammatory and antiviral agents. A set of new derivatives of quinazolin-4(3H)-one (4a-4i) were synthesized in a condensation-cyclization strategy from anthranilamide/2-amino-5-chlorobenzamide and the corresponding heterocyclic aldehydes through hybridization with five different types of heteroaromatic moieties; pyridine, pyrrole, quinoline, furan, and thiophene, and using sodium hydrogen sulphite as the catalyst. The yield of the products obtained was good (75-80%) and they were characterized using a combination of FT-IR, UV-visible spectroscopy, 1H and 13C NMR spectroscopy, mass spectrometry and elemental analysis. To gain greater understanding of electronic, structural and property relationships, Density Functional Theory (DFT) calculations have been conducted on compounds 4d, 4f and 4i using the B3LYP level of theory. The computational results show that compound 4i has the lowest HOMO-LUMO energy gap (0.57 eV) and the largest electrophilicity index (numbering approximately 2410.04) indicating greater chemical reactivity and electron transferring ability. In vitro and molecular docking studies were performed against a number of Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Salmonella enterica, Bacillus subtilis, and Staphylococcus aureus protein targets, with the compounds (4d, 4f and 4i) showing overall greater than comparable inhibition of the reference inhibitors. Antibacterial activity of the synthesized quinazolin-4(3H)-one derivatives (4a-4i) was assessed against Gram-positive (S. aureus and B. subtilis) and Gramnegative (S. marcescens and Escherichia coli) bacteria. The pharmacokinetic and antimicrobial activity of synthesized liquid quinazolin-4(3H)-ones (4a-4i) was assessed using in silico ADMET prediction and minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) testing. The results of the ADMET analysis showed that there are favourable characteristics when considering the likelihood for the 4a-4i to be used as drugs. Furthermore, compounds 4a, 4b, 4d, 4e, 4f, 4g, and 4i exhibited the best pharmacokinetics. Antimicrobial screening against Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria indicated that the MIC for these compounds ranged from 100 to 230 mu M. 4d and 4i had the greatest antibacterial activity, followed by compounds 4e, 4h, and 4c, emphasising the importance of modifying the quinazolinone structure to increase antimicrobial activity. Thus, heterocycle substituted, quinazolin-4(3H)-ones have been identified as a potential scaffold for developing new generation antimicrobial agents and contributing to future structure-based design efforts.

The green synthesis of silver nanoparticle formation using medicinal plants, rich in bioactive compounds, aids in overcoming challenges associated with physical and chemical approaches of nanoparticle synthesis. The current work investigated the biogenic synthesis of Tn-AgNPs using aqueous extracts of Trapa natans stems, a non-conventional medicinal plant, rich in bioactive compounds. The formation of T. natans (Tn)-AgNPs was confirmed by the colour shift and by recording the surface plasmon resonance (SPR) absorption peaks in the range of 420–440 nm in the UV–visible spectrum. Identification of functional groups involved in reduction and stabilisation was conducted using the FTIR spectrum. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) revealed the formation of short silver nanorods with a length ranging from 160 to 180 nm and a width of approximately 15–30 nm. X-ray diffraction examinations revealed a highly crystalline structure of the resultant Tn-AgNPs. The well diffusion assay demonstrated antibacterial efficacy of Tn-AgNPs with increasing concentration against laboratory reference strain Pseudomonas aeruginosa (ATCC 27853). Additionally, the growth kinetics assay demonstrated significant reductions in the growth absorbance after 24 h. Subsequently, these nanoparticles are also biocompatible up to 20 ppm, as revealed by anti-haemolysis activity. This work aligns with SDG3 and highlights the potential of Tn-AgNPs as an alternative antibacterial agent.

Histamine (HM) is a low-molecular weight biogenic amine that is produced during food spoilage and is a health threat at high levels. In this work, a reduced graphene oxide-dysprosium molybdate nanocomposite modified glassy carbon electrode (rGO-DysM@GCE) for the sensitive detection of HM at a low oxidation potential is reported. The synergy between rGO and catalytically active DysM leads to better electron-transfer kinetics as well as higher numbers of electroactive sites, leading to better electrocatalytic performance. PXRD, XPS, FT-IR, FESEM and HR-TEM were used for the characterization of the nanocomposite. The sensor had a low detection limit of 11.2 nM, a wide linear range of 0.02-0.55 mu M, and excellent selectivity, reproducibility, repeatability, and storage stability. The results obtained in the spiked fish samples yielded a recovery value of 96.5-98.0%, which suggests that the proposed sensor could be used practically for monitoring and analysing the quality of fish foods.

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) and heavy metal resistance (HMR) in aquatic ecosystems are increasing global health concerns driven by anthropogenic pollution of water systems. Municipal wastewater, hospital effluents, industrial discharge, agricultural runoff, and aquaculture activities contribute to the persistence and dissemination of resistant microorganisms and resistance genes in aquatic environments. Clinically important waterborne pathogens, including Escherichia coli, Salmonella Typhi, Shigella spp., and Vibrio cholerae, readily acquire resistance under continuous environmental stress conditions. Heavy metals further enhance AMR persistence through co-selection and cross-resistance mediated by mobile genetic elements carrying both antimicrobial and heavy metal resistance genes. This review summarizes the major environmental drivers, molecular mechanisms, and dissemination pathways associated with AMR–HMR interactions in aquatic systems. Recent advances in wastewater-based epidemiology, metagenomic surveillance, and resistance monitoring are highlighted as emerging tools for environmental and public health assessment. Current mitigation approaches, including advanced oxidation processes, membrane bioreactors, nanomaterial-based filtration, and microbial bioremediation, are also evaluated. A multidisciplinary One Health framework is essential for limiting environmental resistance dissemination and protecting human, animal, and ecosystem health. Heavy metal-driven co-selection of antimicrobial resistance and monitoring strategies in aquatic environments. Created with BioRender.com.