Different Pretreatment Methods of Lignocellulosic Biomass for Use in Biofuel Production

Lignocellulosic biomasses are carbon neutral and abundantly available renewable bioresource material available on earth. However, the main problem that hinders its frequent use is the tight bonding within its constituents that include cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin. The selection of pretreatment process depends exclusively on the application. Various pretreatment processes are primarily developed and utilized in effective separation of these interlinked components to take maximum benefit from the constitutes of the lignocellulosic biomasses especially for the production of biofuel. The major pretreatment methods include physical, chemical, thermophysical, thermochemical, and biological approaches. Various aspects of these different pretreatment approaches are discussed in this chapter

Rearing the Cotton Bollworm, Helicoverpa armigera, on a Tapioca-Based Artificial Diet

The impact of a tapioca-based artificial diet on the developmental rate, life history parameters, and fertility was examined over five consecutive generations for the cotton bollworm, Helicoverpa armigera Hubner (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae), a highly polyphagous pest of many agricultural crops. The study showed that when fed the tapioca-based artificial diet during larval stage, larval and pupal developmental period, percent pupating, pupal weight, emergence rate of male and female, longevity, fecundity and hatching were non-significantly different than that of the control agar-based artificial diet. Moreover, the cost to rear on tapioca-based diet approached 2.13 times less than the cost of rearing on the agar-based artificial diet. These results demonstrate the effectiveness and potential cost savings of the tapioca-based artificial diet for rearing H. armigera

Profiling Caenorhabditis elegans non-coding RNA expression with a combined microarray

Small non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs) are encoded by genes that function at the RNA level, and several hundred ncRNAs have been identified in various organisms. Here we describe an analysis of the small non-coding transcriptome of Caenorhabditis elegans, microRNAs excepted. As a substantial fraction of the ncRNAs is located in introns of protein-coding genes in C.elegans, we also analysed the relationship between ncRNA and host gene expression. To this end, we designed a combined microarray, which included probes against ncRNA as well as host gene mRNA transcripts. The microarray revealed pronounced differences in expression profiles, even among ncRNAs with housekeeping functions (e.g. snRNAs and snoRNAs), indicating distinct developmental regulation and stage-specific functions of a number of novel transcripts. Analysis of ncRNA–host mRNA relations showed that the expression of intronic ncRNA loci with conserved upstream motifs was not correlated to (and much higher than) expression levels of their host genes. Even promoter-less intronic ncRNA loci, though showing a clear correlation to host gene expression, appeared to have a surprising amount of ‘expressional freedom’, depending on host gene function. Taken together, our microarray analysis presents a more complete and detailed picture of a non-coding transcriptome than hitherto has been presented for any other multicellular organism

The functional characterization of long noncoding RNA SPRY4-IT1 in human melanoma cells

Expression of the long noncoding RNA (lncRNA) SPRY4-IT1 is low in normal human melanocytes but high in melanoma cells. siRNA knockdown of SPRY4-IT1 blocks melanoma cell invasion and proliferation, and increases apoptosis. To investigate its function further, we affinity purified SPRY4-IT1 from melanoma cells and used mass spectrometry to identify the protein lipin 2, an enzyme that converts phosphatidate to diacylglycerol (DAG), as a major binding partner. SPRY4-IT1 knockdown increases the accumulation of lipin2 protein and upregulate the expression of diacylglycerol O-acyltransferase 2 (DGAT2) an enzyme involved in the conversion of DAG to triacylglycerol (TAG). When SPRY4-IT1 knockdown and control melanoma cells were subjected to shotgun lipidomics, an MS-based assay that permits the quantification of changes in the cellular lipid profile, we found that SPRY4-IT1 knockdown induced significant changes in a number of lipid species, including increased acyl carnitine, fatty acyl chains, and triacylglycerol (TAG). Together, these results suggest the possibility that SPRY4-IT1 knockdown may induce apoptosis via lipin 2-mediated alterations in lipid metabolism leading to cellular lipotoxicity

Convalescent plasma in patients admitted to hospital with COVID-19 (RECOVERY): a randomised controlled, open-label, platform trial

SummaryBackground Azithromycin has been proposed as a treatment for COVID-19 on the basis of its immunomodulatoryactions. We aimed to evaluate the safety and efficacy of azithromycin in patients admitted to hospital with COVID-19.Methods In this randomised, controlled, open-label, adaptive platform trial (Randomised Evaluation of COVID-19Therapy [RECOVERY]), several possible treatments were compared with usual care in patients admitted to hospitalwith COVID-19 in the UK. The trial is underway at 176 hospitals in the UK. Eligible and consenting patients wererandomly allocated to either usual standard of care alone or usual standard of care plus azithromycin 500 mg once perday by mouth or intravenously for 10 days or until discharge (or allocation to one of the other RECOVERY treatmentgroups). Patients were assigned via web-based simple (unstratified) randomisation with allocation concealment andwere twice as likely to be randomly assigned to usual care than to any of the active treatment groups. Participants andlocal study staff were not masked to the allocated treatment, but all others involved in the trial were masked to theoutcome data during the trial. The primary outcome was 28-day all-cause mortality, assessed in the intention-to-treatpopulation. The trial is registered with ISRCTN, 50189673, and ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT04381936.Findings Between April 7 and Nov 27, 2020, of 16 442 patients enrolled in the RECOVERY trial, 9433 (57%) wereeligible and 7763 were included in the assessment of azithromycin. The mean age of these study participants was65·3 years (SD 15·7) and approximately a third were women (2944 [38%] of 7763). 2582 patients were randomlyallocated to receive azithromycin and 5181 patients were randomly allocated to usual care alone. Overall,561 (22%) patients allocated to azithromycin and 1162 (22%) patients allocated to usual care died within 28 days(rate ratio 0·97, 95% CI 0·87–1·07; p=0·50). No significant difference was seen in duration of hospital stay (median10 days [IQR 5 to >28] vs 11 days [5 to >28]) or the proportion of patients discharged from hospital alive within 28 days(rate ratio 1·04, 95% CI 0·98–1·10; p=0·19). Among those not on invasive mechanical ventilation at baseline, nosignificant difference was seen in the proportion meeting the composite endpoint of invasive mechanical ventilationor death (risk ratio 0·95, 95% CI 0·87–1·03; p=0·24).Interpretation In patients admitted to hospital with COVID-19, azithromycin did not improve survival or otherprespecified clinical outcomes. Azithromycin use in patients admitted to hospital with COVID-19 should be restrictedto patients in whom there is a clear antimicrobial indication

Fungal flora and aflatoxin contamination in Pakistani wheat kernels (Triticum aestivum L.) and their attribution in seed germination

This study aimed to isolate fungal pathogens and to subsequently quantify aflatoxin (AF; B1 + B2 + G1 + G2) contamination in wheat crops grown in Pakistan. Accordingly, a total of 185 wheat samples were collected from different areas of Pakistan and numerous potent fungal pathogens were isolated. AF contamination attributed to the presence of intoxicating fungal pathogens and resulting metabolic activities were quantified using a high performance liquid chromatography-fluorescence detector coupled with postcolumn derivatization. Additionally, the effect of fungal pathogens on seed germination was also examined. The results obtained showed that 50% of tested wheat samples were found to be contaminated with a diverse range of fungal species. The rate of recurrence of fungal pathogens were Aspergillus 31%, Penicillium 9%, Fusarium 8%, Rhizopus 3%, and Alternaria 2%. The presence of Tilletia indica and Claviceps purpurea species was found to be inevident in all tested wheat samples. AFB1 contamination was detected in 48 (26.0%) samples and AFB2 in 13 (7.0%) samples. AFG1 and AFG2 were not found in any of the tested samples. The contamination range of AFB1 and AFB2 was 0.05–4.78 μg/kg and 0.02–0.48 μg/kg, respectively. The total amount of AFs (B1 + B2) found in 48 (26.0%) samples had a mean level of 0.53 ± 0.40 μg/kg and a contamination range of 0.02–5.26 μg/kg. The overall results showed that in 137 (74.0%) samples, AFs were not found within detectable limits. Furthermore, in 180 (97.2%) samples, AF levels were found to be below the maximum tolerated levels (MTL) recommended by the European Union (4 μg/kg). In five (2.7%) samples, AF contamination was higher than the MTL of the European Union. However, these samples were fit for human consumption with reference to the MTL (20 μg/kg) assigned by the USA (Food and Drug Administration and Food and Agriculture Organization) and Pakistan (Pakistan Standards and Quality Control Authority). Germination rates in healthy and contaminated wheat kernels were 84.6% and 45.2%, respectively. Based on the obtained results, it was concluded that the levels of fungal pathogen and AF contamination in Pakistani-grown wheat are not a potential threat to consumer health. However, control procedures along with a strict monitoring policy are mandatory to further minimize the prevalence of fungal carriers and the potency of AFs in crops cultivated in Pakistan

Frequency of Modifiable Risk Factors in Ischemic Stroke Patients at a Tertiary Care Hospital in Lahore Pakistan

Objective: The objective was to find out the frequency of modifiable risk factors among patients of ischemic stroke at a tertiary care hospital in Lahore Pakistan. Study type,settings& duration:This observational cross-sectional study was conducted at Medical Department Services Hospital, Services Institute of Medical Sciences, Lahore Pakistan from January 2019 to January 2020. Methodology:After an informed consent 105 patients with ischemic stroke aged between 18-65 years from both sex wasincluded in this study. Patients with trauma, tumor, arteriovenousmalformations, unstable cardiopulmonary condition, psychiatric disease and hemorrhagic stroke were excluded. Demographic information and detailed history with physical examination was noted. Blood pressure and sugar levels were measured for all patients. All bloods test including fasting lipid profile were determined. SPSS version 17.0 was used for data analysis. Results:A total of 105 patients of ischemic stroke were enrolled in the present study. Mean age of the patients was 51.2±8.4 years and 73 (69.5%) were male. Mean BMI was 29.3±2.9 kg/m2. Hyperlipidemia was the most frequent risk factor seen in 53 (50.5%) patients with ischemic stroke followed by obesity in 48 (45.8%) patients, smoking in 43 (40.9%), hypertension in 41 (39.1%) and diabetes mellitus in 41 (39.1%) patients. Conclusion:Hyperlipidemia was the leading risk factor in ischemic stroke patients in the present study followed by obesity, smoking, diabetes mellitus and hypertension respectively