Pedagogical Implications of Corpus-based Approaches to ELT in Pakistan

The advent of corpora has opened new vistas for language study and restructured linguists’ and academicians’ approaches to lexicography and English language teaching (ELT). After 1980s, the use of online language corpora and computer tools garnered tremendous attention of English language teachers and academicians. Keeping in view the modern trends and needs of learners, this research focused on the practical implications of online corpora for ELT and its utility in the Pakistani context. Michigan Corpus of Academic Spoken English (MICASE) is used as a reference corpus for this research. MICASE is a collection of nearly 1.8 million words of transcribed speech (almost two hundred hours of recording). The transcribed data of MICASE includes wide range of speech events like seminars, lectures, advisory meetings and lab sessions. The study identified the utility of lexical items at syntactic level and its usage in various contexts. Furthermore, the layers of meanings and uses of lexicons through in-depth study of right and left collocates were explored in the reference corpus. The results showed that lexicons can be used as noun, verb and adjective depending upon the context of the study and right and left collocates play a significant role in understanding the meanings of lexical items in various contexts. Thus, this strategy can be fruitful for English language learners and academic discourse community who are interested in understanding the versatile uses of lexical items and their contextual meaning.Keywords: collocate, context, corpus, ELT, MICAS

Corpus-driven analysis of Pakistani newspaper editorials on COVID-19 discourse

Cataclysmic changes by the gradual spread of COVID-19 have triggered the interest of scientists, scholars, academicians, and linguists in analyzing the discourse related to the spread of the pandemic. The descriptions made by all of these scholars not only contribute to language with linguistic innovations but also cause the emergence of human attitudes and behaviours. At the same time, the issues raised through the language used during the challenging time of such crises shape and reveal several human schemas of language, discourse, society, and culture. Several studies on past situations of diseases and calamities have provided critical analyses of these schemas of difficult times in human history. Discourses through various linguistic practices in this regard play a crucial role in shaping and demonstrating the schemas of the crisis hit societies. Media discourse, specifically, has hidden powers to exercise, identify and report various socio-cultural issues. The current study focuses on finding the themes of socio-cultural attitudes and behaviours that emerged from newspaper editorials published in Pakistani newspapers in February, March and April, 2020. To achieve this goal, the corpusdriven analysis of 198 newspaper editorials having 215,842 words was conducted. The study revealed various themes that prevailed in this pre-vaccination period of COVID-19 in Pakistan. The themes included the metaphoric use of the language such as battle, corps and frontline; racism while naming the virus as China virus or Hazara virus; conspiracy theories assumed to be associated with COVID-19 spread i.e. suspected involvement of Bill Gates and the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), US and World Health Organization (WHO); negligence on the part of people; and criticism on government for health facilities and implications of globalization. It is concluded, based on these findings, that media representation of prevaccination phase of COVID-19 in Pakistan is loaded with unhealthy discourse which could have been avoided in order to shape positive attitudes and behaviours of the masses

Novel Robust Control Using a Fractional Adaptive PID Regulator for an unstable system

Recent advances in fractional order calculus led to the improvement of control theory and resulted in potential use of fractional adaptive PID controller in advanced academic and industrial applications as compared to the conventional adaptive PID controller. Basically, a fractional order  adaptive PID  controller  is  an  improved version of classical  integer  order  adaptive PID  controller that outperformed  its classical  counterpart. In case of a closed loop system, a minute change would result in instability of the overall system. An efficient PID controller can be used to control the response of such system.  Among various parameters of an instable system, speed of the system is an important parameter to be controlled efficiently. The current research work presents the speed controlling mechanism for an uncertain instable system by using fractional order adaptive PID controller.To validate the arguments, effectiveness and robustness of the proposed fractional order adaptive PID controller have been studied in comparison to the classical adaptive PID controller using The Criterion of quadratic error. Simulation findings and comparisons demonstrated that the proposed controller has superior control performance and outstanding robustness in terms of percentage overshoot, settling time, rising time, and disturbance rejection

'Enriching lives’: supporting women out of the criminal justice system

Report on research that explored how and why women need to be supported when involved with the criminal justice system. Looks at the Enrich programme, how it works and why. Identifies four key domains of vulnerability: psychological, social, economic and biologica

Historical and Geo-Strategic Significance of the Holy City of Madinah: Early Time to Prophet Era

This research article mainly discusses the historical and geo-strategic position of Medina, one of the most important cities in the world. Especially before the Prophet's era and in the Prophet's era, the status of this city has a key role in the development of Islam. Madinah which considered a holy and sacred city for the Muslim of entire world. Madinah was not only a religious city but a very important trade route for Quraish to go for Syria and beyond. Taking into consideration the historical and geographical position of this city, the Prophet of Islam made this city the center of Islam and later on, the city of Madinah became the headquarters of the Islamic state. This paper highlights the historical and geo-strategic importance of the city of Madinah

Prognostically Significant Fusion Oncogenes and Gene Mutations in Pakistani AML Patients

Background: The onset and progression of leukemia is associated with many genetic abnormalities including gene mutations and production of fusion oncogenes. Molecular studies on fusion oncogenes and mutations in different populations have been done. However, not much research on correlation of the fusion oncogenes with acute myeloid leukemia have been done in Pakistan.Methods: Genetic analysis of 105 AML patients was done to investigate AML1-ETOand CBFB-MYH11 fusion oncogenes and mutations in NPM1 and NRAS genes. The genomic DNA and cDNA were subjected to amplification, electrophoresis, and Sanger sequencing.Results: The frequency of AML1-ETO was 26% in AML patients and 34.2% in AML-M2 patients. CBFB-MYH11 was present in 11.4% AML patients. A total of six mutations in 4 regions of NPM1 gene and 2 regions of NRAS gene were detected. 3’UTR of NPMI gene had three variants; g.1128C>T (57.1%), g.1185-/T insertion (80.95%), and g.1163A>T (57.14%) while c.867_871subGTGGA >CAAGTTTGC (2.86%) was present in exon 12. NRAS gene had two mutations c.12C>T (51.4%) and c.33A>T (11.43%) in exon 2. c.867_871subGTGGA >CAAGTTTGC , and g.1163A>T in NPM1 gene and c.33A>T in NRAS gene were the novel findings in this ethnic population.Conclusion: This genetic analysis may help to modulate the treatment strategies and improve survival of patients.Keywords: Acute Myeloid Leukemia; Fusion Oncogenes; AML; AML1-ETO; CBFB-MYH11; AML-M2; Nucleophosmin, NPM1; NRAS

Assessment of Available Manganese in Milk by Using fodders Grown in Long-Term Wastewater Irrigated Soil

Heavy metals are considered as most important contaminations due to industrialization of countries and an influence on its existence in soil, plant and milk. A study was carried out to check manganese content in soil, forage and milk at three sites of city Jhang, Punjab, Pakistan. All samples (milk, soil, water, fodder plants and ground water) were analyzed for manganese by Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometer. Different health indices were also studied to check Mn flow in food chain. Level of Mn in samples was found within acceptable limits. Manganese level was higher in soil samples collected from Site-III than other sites. Manganese showed higher value (2.595 to 10.402 mg/kg) in soil than other samples. Fodders were found to accumulate manganese from 0.008 to 0.022 mg/kg. Manganese concentration was found to be 0.1482 to 1.241 mg/L, 0.164 to 0.9708 mg/L in water and milk, respectively. BCF and PLI values for manganese were also found to be less than 1. Estimated daily intake (EDI) and THQ of manganese are found within permissible limits in milk of cows feeding on fodders irrigated with wastewater and ground water. So, use of wastewater for irrigation purpose should be properly checked due to possible toxic effects

Convergent synthesis of new N -substituted 2-{[5-(1H -indol-3-ylmethyl)-1,3,4-oxadiazol-2-yl]sulfanyl}acetamides as suitable therapeutic agents

A series of N-substituted 2-{[5-(1H-indol-3-ylmethyl)-1,3,4-oxadiazol-2-yl]sulfanyl}acetamides (8a-w) was synthesized in three steps. The first step involved the sequential conversion of 2-(1H-indol-3-yl)acetic acid (1) to ester (2) followed by hydrazide (3) formation and finally cyclization in the presence of CS2 and alcoholic KOH yielded 5-(1H-indole-3-yl-methyl)-1,3,4-oxadiazole-2-thiol (4). In the second step, aryl/aralkyl amines (5a-w) were reacted with 2-bromoacetyl bromide (6) in basic medium to yield 2-bromo-N-substituted acetamides (7a-w). In the third step, these electrophiles (7a-w) were reacted with 4 to afford the target compounds (8a-w). Structural elucidation of all the synthesized derivatives was done by 1H-NMR, IR and EI-MS spectral techniques. Moreover, they were screened for antibacterial and hemolytic activity. Enzyme inhibition activity was well supported by molecular docking results, for example, compound 8q exhibited better inhibitory potential against α-glucosidase, while 8g and 8b exhibited comparatively better inhibition against butyrylcholinesterase and lipoxygenase, respectively. Similarly, compounds 8b and 8c showed very good antibacterial activity against Salmonella typhi, which was very close to that of ciprofloxacin, a standard antibiotic used in this study. 8c and 8l also showed very good antibacterial activity against Staphylococcus aureus as well. Almost all compounds showed very slight hemolytic activity, where 8p exhibited the least. Therefore, the molecules synthesized may have utility as suitable therapeutic agents.Uma série de acetamidas 2-{[5-(1H-indol-3-ilmetil)-1,3,4-oxadiazol-2-il]sulfanila} N-substituídas (8a-w) foi sintetizada em três fases. A primeira etapa envolveu a conversão sequencial de ácido 2-(1H-indol-3-il)acético (1) a éster (2), seguido por hidrazida (3) e, finalmente, a e ciclização na presença de CS2 e KOH alcoólico produziu 5-(1H-indol-3-il- metil)-1,3,4-oxadiazole-2-tiol (4). Na segunda etapa, aminas arílicas/aralquílicas(5a-w) reagiram com brometo de 2-bromoacetila (6​​), em meio básico, para se obter acetamidas 2-bromo-N-substituídas (7a-w). Na terceira etapa, estes eletrófilos (7a- w) reagiram com 4, para se obter os compostos alvo (8a-w). A elucidação estrutural de todos os derivados sintetizados foi realizada por 1H-NMR, IR e técnicas de espectrometria de EI-MS. Além disso, eles foram submetidos a triagem de atividade antibacteriana e hemolítica. Análise da inibição enzimática foi bem apoiada pelos resultados de docking molecular. Por exemplo, o composto 8q exibiu melhor potencial inibitório contra α-glicosidase, e os compostos 8g e 8b exibiram, comparativamente, melhor inibição contra butirilcolinesterase (BChE) elipoxigenase (LOX), respectivamente. Do mesmo modo os compostos 8b e 8c mostraram excelente potencial antibacteriano contra SalmonellaTyphi, semelhante ao do ciprofloxacino, antibiótico padrão usado neste estudo. Os compostos 8c e 8l também mostraram excelente potencial antibacteriano contra Staphylococcus aureus . Quase todos os compostos mostraram pequena atividade hemolítica, sendo que o composto 8p apresentou menor atividade. Assim, as moléculas sintetizadas podem ter a sua utilidade como agentes terapêuticos adequados

A comprehensive review on Gossypium hirsutum resistance against cotton leaf curl virus

Cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) is a significant fiber crop. Being a major contributor to the textile industry requires continuous care and attention. Cotton is subjected to various biotic and abiotic constraints. Among these, biotic factors including cotton leaf curl virus (CLCuV) are dominant. CLCuV is a notorious disease of cotton and is acquired, carried, and transmitted by the whitefly (Bemisia tabaci). A cotton plant affected with CLCuV may show a wide range of symptoms such as yellowing of leaves, thickening of veins, upward or downward curling, formation of enations, and stunted growth. Though there are many efforts to protect the crop from CLCuV, long-term results are not yet obtained as CLCuV strains are capable of mutating and overcoming plant resistance. However, systemic-induced resistance using a gene-based approach remained effective until new virulent strains of CLCuV (like Cotton Leaf Curl Burewala Virus and others) came into existence. Disease control by biological means and the development of CLCuV-resistant cotton varieties are in progress. In this review, we first discussed in detail the evolution of cotton and CLCuV strains, the transmission mechanism of CLCuV, the genetic architecture of CLCuV vectors, and the use of pathogen and nonpathogen-based approaches to control CLCuD. Next, we delineate the uses of cutting-edge technologies like genome editing (with a special focus on CRISPR-Cas), next-generation technologies, and their application in cotton genomics and speed breeding to develop CLCuD resistant cotton germplasm in a short time. Finally, we delve into the current obstacles related to cotton genome editing and explore forthcoming pathways for enhancing precision in genome editing through the utilization of advanced genome editing technologies. These endeavors aim to enhance cotton’s resilience against CLCuD

Cytokine Gene Polymorphisms across Tuberculosis Clinical Spectrum in Pakistani Patients

BACKGROUND: Pakistan ranks 7(th) globally in terms of tuberculosis (TB) disease burden (incidence 181/100000 pop./yr; prevalence of 329/pop./yr). Reports from different populations show variable associations of TB susceptibility and severity with cytokine gene polymorphisms. Tuberculosis clinical severity is multi-factorial and cytokines play a pivotal role in the modulation of disease severity. We have recently reported that the ratio of two key cytokines (IFNgamma and IL10) show significant correlation with the severity spectrum of tuberculosis. The objective of the current study was to analyze the frequency of cytokine gene polymorphisms linked to high and low responder phenotypes (IFNgamma +874 T(hi)-->A(lo) and IL10 -1082 G(lo)-->A(hi)) in tuberculosis patients. METHODS AND FINDINGS: STUDY GROUPS WERE STRATIFIED ACCORDING TO DISEASE SITE AS WELL AS DISEASE SEVERITY: Pulmonary N = 111 (Minimal, PMN = 19; Moderate, PMD = 63; Advance, PAD = 29); Extra-pulmonary N = 67 (Disseminated DTB = 20, Localized LTB = 47) and compared with healthy controls (TBNA = 188). Genotype analyses were carried out using amplification refractory mutation system-PCR (ARMS-PCR) and stimulated whole blood (WB) culture assay was used for assessing cytokine profiles. Our results suggest that the IFNgamma +874 TT genotype and T allele was overrepresented in PMN (p = 0.01) and PMD (p = 0.02). IFNgamma +874 TT in combination with IL10 GG(lo) genotypes showed the highest association (chi(2) = 6.66, OR = 6.06, 95% CI = 1.31-28.07, p = 0.01). IFNgamma AA(lo) on the other hand in combination with IL10 GG(lo) increased the risk of PAD (OR = 5.26; p = 0.005) and DTB (OR = 3.59; p = 0.045). CONCLUSION: These findings are consistent with the role of IL10 in reducing collateral tissue damage and the protective role of IFNgamma in limiting disease in the lung