SAID SHEHATA

Urban flooding represents one of the most pressing challenges for cities worldwide, exacerbated by climate change and rapid urbanization. Conventional grey infrastructure often proves inadequate in addressing these complex hydrological threats, prompting increased attention to Nature-based Solutions (NbS) as sustainable alternatives. This review examines the role of NbS in advancing climate-resilient urban development through effective flood management. Analyzing 42 peer-reviewed studies, key implementation trends across geographic regions and climatic contexts were identified. NbS strategies—including sponge city concepts, green infrastructure, and blue-green corridors—can reduce stormwater runoff by 30–75% while providing co-benefits such as enhanced biodiversity, urban heat island mitigation, and improved public well-being. Barriers include institutional fragmentation, limited funding, and regulatory constraints. Successful implementation requires integrated governance, updated planning frameworks, dedicated financial instruments, and community engagement. NbS are essential components of climate adaptation strategies, offering multifunctional pathways toward resilient, sustainable, and livable urban environments.

Human Immuno-deficiency virus (HIV) is still spreading all over the world. There are many routes through which the virus recognizes host cells by its envelope protein. One of these routes is through binding to glucose-regulated protein 78 (GRP78) which is overexpressed in stressed cells. In this study, we investigate the association between GRP78 and HIV envelope protein at four different binding sites (R1: C130-C162), (R2: C223-C252), (R3: C301-C335), and (R4: C388-C418) using a comprehensive in silico approach. Protein-protein docking and molecular dynamics simulations are conducted to evaluate the binding. Results indicate that the R4 region (C388-C418) is the potential binding site of the envelope protein to GRP78 on the cell surface with average binding energy of -12.20 ±2.0kcal/mol. The predicted findings open the gate towards further studies that could lead to the development of effective inhibitors that can alleviate viral recognition of the host cell and eradicate the viral infection.

Recent studies have shown that ferroptosis and cellular stress are related to triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC). This study used molecular dynamics simulations (MDS) and protein-peptide docking to pinpoint the glutathione peroxidase 4 (GPX4) protein and glucose-regulated protein 78 (GRP78) interaction site. The cyclic peptide Pep42 had previously been identified as a selective target for GRP78 on cancer cell membranes. Sequence alignments reveal that the GPX4 cyclic regions: R1 (C7-C16), R2 (C16-C29), R3 (C7-C29), and R7 (C93-C102) share sequence identity of 30.00 %, 30.77 %, 38.46 %, and 42.86 % against Pep42 peptide, respectively. Moreover, these four GPX4 regions have a grand average hydrophobicity index (GRAVY) of 1.2, 1.3, 1.2, and 1.5, respectively, similar to Pep42's GRAVY of 1.1. Additionally, they show strong binding affinities for GRP78 substrate binding domain β (SBDβ) (-6.81, -7.85, -8.77, and -7.25 kcal/mol, for R1, R2, R3, and R7, respectively). This study attempts to predict the binding site which needs further extensive experimental validation aimed at exploring potential disruptors of the GRP78 -GPX4 association. This would block ferroptosis resistance and chemoresistance in TNBC.

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