Rama University

This study investigates the synthesis, characterization, and application of copper oxide (CuO) nanoparticles integrated into polymer-based paraffin wax composites for advanced thermal management applications. CuO nanoparticles were synthesized using a wet chemical approach and characterized through X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and dynamic light scattering (DLS), confirming their crystalline structure, morphology, and nanoscale size distribution. The synthesized nanoparticles were incorporated into polymer-supported phase change materials (PCMs) using polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) and polyethylene glycol (PEG) as polymer matrices, with paraffin wax serving as the base phase change material to form polymer wax (PW) composites. PVA and PEG were selected due to their excellentfilm-forming ability, flexibility, thermal stability, and compatibility with metal oxides. The polymer network significantly enhanced nanoparticle dispersion, reduced agglomeration, and improved composite stability. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) revealed improved thermal stability, increased heat storage capacity, reduced supercooling, and enhanced thermal conductivity in the polymer-CuO composite-based nano-enhanced PCMs (NEPCMs). The polymer matrix also strengthened the mechanical integrity of the composites and minimized leakage during repeated thermal cycles, making them suitable for long-term thermal energy storage applications. Beyond thermal performance, the developed CuO-PVA/PEG-paraffin composites offer significant environmental benefits. Their eco-friendly synthesis, reusability, and energy-efficiency improvements reduce reliance on conventional synthetic coolants, which contribute to environmental and aquatic pollution. This is particularly relevant for environmentally sensitive regions such as the Ganga River basin, where minimizing chemical discharge is critical. By supporting clean energy technologies and reducing carbon emissions, these polymer-CuO NEPCMs contribute to sustainable thermal management solutions for green buildings, solar energy systems, and waste heat recovery applications.

Major environmental pollutants include heavy metals including cadmium, copper, lead, chromium, and mercury. These pollutants are especially prevalent in places with significant anthropogenic pressure. Because heavy metal buildup in soils can have detrimental impacts on crop growth caused by phytotoxicity, food safety and marketability, and the environmental health of soil organisms, it is a major concern in agricultural production. Through contamination of the air, water, and soil, plants' influence and metabolic processes have an impact on the biological and geological redistribution of heavy metals. Excessive reactive oxygen species (ROS) and methylglyoxal (MG) accumulation is a typical side effect of heavy metal toxicity. ROS and MG can both induce lipid peroxidation, protein oxidation, enzyme inactivation, DNA damage, and/or interact with other essential components of plant cells. This review focuses on effect of heavy metals on plant growth, yield and their mode of toxic effects in plants.

Cervical cancer remains a major global health burden, necessitating the identification of novel multitarget therapeutic agents derived from natural sources. The present study aimed to identify bioactive phytomolecules from Chenopodium album with potential anticancer activity against cervical cancer using an integrative network pharmacology approach. Phytochemical data were retrieved and validated from the Indian Medicinal Plants, Phytochemistry and Therapeutics (IMPPAT) database. Pharmacokinetic and physicochemical properties of identified terpenoids were evaluated using SwissADME, pkCSM, and ProTox-II to assess drug-likeness, ADMET profiles, and toxicity parameters. Potential molecular targets of terpenoids were predicted using SwissTargetPrediction and TCMSP databases, while cervical cancer-associated genes were obtained from DisGeNET and GeneCards. Overlapping targets were identified and subjected to pathway enrichment analysis using the Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) database to determine key signalling pathways involved in disease modulation. Among the identified phytomolecules, the terpenoid proximadiol emerged as a prominent bioactive compound. Network pharmacology analysis revealed that proximadiol modulates multiple cancer-related pathways, including oestrogen signalling, PI3K-Akt signalling, focal adhesion, apoptosis, and p53 signalling pathways. Molecular docking studies demonstrated strong binding affinities of proximadiol with hub proteins, viz., the BCL2 (-7.3), STAT3 (-6.9 kcal/mol), EGFR (-6.6 kcal/mol), IL6 (-6.3 kcal/mol), and CASP3 (-5.3 kcal/mol) implicated in tumour progression. In silico findings suggest that proximadiol suppresses cervical cancer cell proliferation, induces apoptosis, and inhibits migration and invasion by regulating key oncogenic signalling networks. Collectively, these results highlight proximadiol as a promising multitarget therapeutic candidate from Chenopodium album for cervical cancer management. Further experimental validation is warranted to substantiate its translational potential as a novel phytotherapeutic agent.

Nearly 70% of the population will be infected with Human Papillomavirus (HPV) at some point in their lives; in India, 27,526 women are diagnosed with the virus each year, and 79,906 lose their lives to it. Research has linked HPV to several malignancies; among Indian women, cervical cancer is the most common HPV-related malignancy. Cervical cancer is still a major public health concern, especially in LMICs like India, even though there are ways to avoid it, such as HPV vaccination and screening. Adolescents and young adults in India have low vaccine awareness and uptake, according to this study that examines the epidemiology, prevention, and obstacles to HPV vaccination in the country. We systematically reviewed all relevant literature on HPV prevalence, vaccination coverage, and preventive policies in India by searching PubMed, Google Scholar, and Research Gate. Out of 38 papers that were found, 10 were deemed suitable for inclusion in the complete review. HPV prevalence ranged from 14.7% in Iran to 37 percent in India, according to the results. About 14,089 new instances of cervical cancer are reported annually in India, making it the second most frequent malignancy among women. Although the HPV vaccination is available, just 13.7% of women in the age bracket have gotten a shot. Cost, cultural bias, a lack of knowledge, and an inadequate public health infrastructure were some of the obstacles we uncovered. Public education of the dangers of HPV should be a priority in public health policy. Affordable or free HPV vaccinations, immunization programs in schools, and awareness campaigns throughout the country should all be part of this. Reducing cervical cancer incidence and mortality rates would be another major goal of the national immunization program if HPV vaccination were included.

Cyberattacks have evolved into the latest form of weapon in Cyber Physical Systems. With artificial intelligence (AI) assisting malicious attackers, cybercrime is being made more sophisticated, and that is, for sure, very dangerous. This is a big challenge for our society, whether it is fraud in banks or AI-generated deepfake videos. As most individuals are now able to access their cyberworld through mobile devices, the need for the confidentiality, integrity, and authorized availability of their data sits at the top rung of the cybersecurity ladder. A cybersecurity failure casts doubt on its trustworthiness. This chapter presents the types of intrusion detection, which are generally divided into Signature-based Intrusion Detection Systems (SIDS) and Anomaly-based Intrusion Detection Systems (AIDS). In addition, it offers a taxonomy of modern IDS, an in-depth review of key new papers, and a selection of well-known datasets for analysis purposes. In this chapter, we present a comprehensive survey of IDS methods, types, and techniques, along with their pros and cons. This work compares different machine-learning-based approaches available in the literature for the detection of zero-day attacks, along with their drawbacks and benefits, such as the generation and update of information for new attacks, false alarms, and accuracy. This chapter consolidates the recent developments in the field and presents a detailed analysis of the contemporary landscape of IDS research. The synthesis thus provided sheds light on important ideas that can lead to more advanced intrusion-detection systems capable of responding to the ballooning variety of hazards that threaten cyberspace.