National Institute for Interdisciplinary Science and Technology

Introduction: The continued exploration of natural resources holds great potential for identifying novel and effective anticancer compounds. In this study, we aim to analyze the anticancer potential of the methanol extract from the rhizome of the ethnomedicinal plant Corallocarpus epigaeus against skin cancer. Methods: A methanol extract of the rhizome (CME) was prepared by successive solvent extraction of the dried powder using a polarity gradient. Anticancer potential of CME was assessed by MTT (3- (4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide) - cell viability assay. Antiproliferative activity of CME against skin cancer cells was confirmed by fluorescent microscopy and in vitro scratch assay. The cell death mechanism exhibited by CME was analysed by FACS (Fluorescence- Activated Cell Sorting) and Western blot analysis. Results: The MTT assay revealed a significant cytotoxic effect of CME against skin cancer cells, especially the melanoma skin cancer cell line (IC50 0.15 μg/mL), and its non-toxicity towards normal fibroblast cells. In vitro scratch assay and acridine orange/ethidium bromide staining confirmed the cytotoxic effect against the melanoma cell line, A375. FACS analysis of CME-treated A375 cells stained with FITC-Annexin V/PI revealed that the cytotoxic effect was mediated through apoptotic cell death. Additionally, immunoblot analysis revealed the activation of p53 and upregulation of the Bax protein, indicating the involvement of the p53-mediated apoptotic pathway. Discussion: The present study highlights the potent anticancer efficacy of a bioactive extract (CME) from Corallocarpus epigaeus against both melanoma and NMSC skin cancer cells, with preliminary evidence of apoptosis induction in melanoma. Ongoing work in our lab aims to isolate the active compound(s), characterize the phytochemicals, elucidate the molecular mechanisms underlying the anticancer activity, and explore the potential of CME as a topical chemotherapeutic agent for treating melanoma. Conclusion: Our study provides evidence for the potential of CME against skin cancer cells, particularly melanoma, and warrants further exploration of its chemotherapeutic efficacy against melanoma.

ABSTRACT Lead‐free alternatives to lead halide perovskites must achieve both high photoluminescence quantum yield (PLQY) and environmental stability for practical optoelectronic applications. While 0D copper halides demonstrate exceptional PLQY (>95%), their isolated clusters are vulnerable to moisture‐induced degradation. Conversely, 3D frameworks provide structural robustness but sacrifice luminescence efficiency. A water‐stable 3D Cu 4 I 4 single crystal framework (MpCuI) achieves 94% PLQY—the highest for 3D Cu 4 I 4 frameworks—through coordination‐driven assembly with 1‐methylpiperazine as a bifunctional N‐donor ligand. Cu─N coordination bonds (2.06–2.12 Å) extend Cu 4 I 4 cubane clusters into a close‐packed 3D network crystallizing in the highest‐symmetry orthorhombic space group ( Pnnn ) reported for this class. Spectroscopic and theoretical analyses reveal cluster‐centered self‐trapped exciton (CC‐STE) emission with strong exciton‐phonon coupling (Huang‐Rhys factor S = 22.54). MpCuI maintains 99.8% PLQY retention after 1‐week water immersion and demonstrates stable white‐light emission in proof‐of‐concept LED devices (CRI ∼84), establishing coordination bonding as a strategy for copper halide frameworks combining high efficiency with environmental robustness.

Chest X-ray image quality is crucial for accurate medical diagnosis, yet acquired images are often degraded by noise, which can obscure important anatomical details. This work presents a deep learning–based denoising framework for chest X-ray images using a customized U-Net-like architecture combined with adversarial learning. Normal chest X-ray images from the Kaggle Chest X-ray Pneumonia dataset are preprocessed, resized, and synthetically corrupted with Gaussian noise to generate paired noisy and clean training samples. The proposed generator network, termed SharpXRLikeUNet, integrates Laplacian filtering to enhance edge preservation during denoising. Initially, the model is trained using a composite loss function consisting of L1 loss, structural similarity index measure (SSIM) loss, and perceptual loss derived from a pretrained VGG16 network. To further improve visual realism, a generative adversarial network (GAN) framework is employed by introducing a patch-based discriminator, and an adversarial loss component is incorporated into the generator objective. Experimental results demonstrate effective noise reduction while preserving fine structural details in chest X-ray images. The trained models are saved, and the generator is exported to ONNX format to support efficient deployment and cross-platform inference.

ABSTRACT This study investigates the potential of microparticle‐reinforced dairy protein coatings for sustainable packaging applications, focusing on sodium caseinate and whey protein‐based coatings. Initial experiments on handmade lotus‐based paper identified optimal formulations: sodium caseinate with 1.5% microcellulose and whey protein with 1.5% casein microparticles. These coatings were then applied to biodegradable plates and kraft paper for comprehensive evaluation. Results showed significant improvements in key properties. For biodegradable plates, contact angles increased from 69.9° to over 90°, indicating enhanced hydrophobicity. Water absorption at room temperature decreased from 112.27% (uncoated) to 79.14% (casein coated) and 87.43% (whey coated). Oil absorption reduced from 15.05% to 10.69% and 14.66% for casein and whey coatings, respectively. Kraft paper samples demonstrated improved flame resistance, with burn rates decreasing from 5 (uncoated) to 2.027 (casein coated) and 1.923 mm/s (whey coated). Biodegradable plates showed excellent flame resistance, failing to propagate flames under standard testing conditions. Thermal analysis revealed slight alterations in degradation behaviour, while SEM imaging confirmed the formation of continuous coating layers. XRD analysis showed a reduction in crystallinity index from 77.996% to 73.415% (casein coated) and 72.582% (whey coated) for kraft paper. Importantly, soil burial tests demonstrated substantial biodegradation of all samples within 60 days, with kraft paper samples degrading to ~4%–5% of their original weight and biodegradable plates to ~15%–18%. This study highlights the potential of microparticle‐reinforced protein coatings in developing sustainable packaging solutions with enhanced performance and maintained biodegradability.

The rapid growth of modern retail systems has increased the need for intelligent, secure, and data-driven Point of Sale(POS) solutions that extend beyond traditional transaction processing. This paper presents an AI-powered POS system designed to enhance retail operations through intelligent automation, customer behavior analysis, and secure product authentication. The system integrates machine learning algorithms to analyze sales data, customer interactions, and business patterns, enabling adaptive decision-making and improved operational efficiency. Social media integration allows retailers to monitor customer feedback, analyze public sentiment, manage brand reputation, and execute targeted marketing campaigns in real time using Natural Language Processing (NLP) and sentiment analysis techniques. Additionally, blockchain technology is incorporated forproduct authentication, where each product is linked to aunique QR code stored on an immutable ledger, enabling customers to verify product originality and detect counterfeit items. By combining AI-driven analytics with blockchainbased security, the proposed system enhances transparency, trust, and decision-making in retail environments, providing a scalable and future-ready retail management solution.

In recent decades, composite materials have gained worldwide attention in research due to their unique properties such as low weight, low density, high mechanical strength, biodegradability, and eco-friendliness. This study investigates the effect of coir fiber and coir pith loadings on the properties of polyethylene composites. The polyethylene composites were prepared with coir fiber at volume fractions of 20%, 50%, and 80%, while a hybrid composite was fabricated with 25% coir fiber and 25% coir pith. The results showed that the hybrid composite exhibited improved properties due to the combined action of coir fiber and pith. In contrast, the polyethylene composite reinforced with only coir fiber degraded more rapidly above 375 °C, indicating lower thermal stability compared to the hybrid composite. The study also explored the feasibility of processing hybrid polymer composite laminates using compression moulding. The findings revealed that the reinforcement volume fraction significantly influenced the mechanical properties. The hybrid composite demonstrated superior mechanical performance compared to the fiber-only composites, owing to the synergistic effect of fiber and pith. Additionally, the hybrid composite exhibited excellent electrical insulation behavior and was successfully fabricated into various types of strain insulators for electrical applications.

Abstract The development of lead‐free perovskites for optoelectronic applications remains a crucial challenge, particularly in achieving high performance at low operating voltages. Here, a 0D bismuth hybrid perovskite containing 2‐(2‐thienyl)pyridinium (TEP) as the organic cation, (2TEP) 4 Bi 2 I 10 ( TTBI ) is reported, that exhibits excellent photodetection capabilities and interesting thermochromic behavior. Single crystal X‐ray diffraction reveals a structure featuring isolated Bi 2 I 10 4 − dimeric units with short I···I contacts (3.87 Å), promoting enhanced electronic coupling. Density functional theory calculations confirm a direct bandgap of 1.79 eV, while flash‐photolysis time‐resolved microwave conductivity measurements demonstrate a remarkably long charge carrier lifetime of 7.3 µs. Notably, photodetector devices based on TTBI achieve impressive performance metrics at an ultra‐low bias voltage of 0.01 V, including a responsivity of 86 mA W −1 , a detectivity of 3.9 × 10 1 2 Jones, an on/off ratio of 10 4 , and an ultralow dark current of 1 pA. The material also exhibits reversible thermochromic behavior with bandgap modulation from 2.09 to 2.03 eV between 303 and 403 K, driven by thermal expansion and electron‐phonon coupling, enabling dual‐mode optical and thermal sensing. These findings, combined with excellent ambient stability, demonstrate the potential of TTBI as a versatile, environmentally friendly material for next‐generation optoelectronic applications.