The Bleeding and Burning Kashmir: Violence, Terrorism and Freedom Struggle

Efforts have been made to discuss various issues which Kashmir Valley had faced in the past six decades –Violence, Terrorism, Aggression and Bloodshed. Political conflict in the valley have marked a high degree of militarization and the presence of herse laws giving special powers to military forces makes Kashmiri people victims of violence. This article puts a view that how India and Mainstream parties of Jammu and Kashmir had and are trying to suppress the slogans and voices Kashmiri people and Separatists that are demanding nothing but Freedom. Keywords: Freedom, Jamat-I –islami, Kashmiri pundits, Ragdo Ragdo, Violence etc

Bioinformatics and phylogenetic analysis of human Tp73 gene

The Tp73 gene encoding p73 protein belongs to the Tp53 gene family and it functions in the initiation of cell-cycle arrest or apoptosis and also involves in regulating a series of pathways including breast cancer, neuroblastoma and cholorectal cancer. New discoveries about the control and function of p73 are still in progress and it is hoped to develop better diagnostics and therapeutics by exploiting this system. Evolutionary studies are of principal importance in the field of biological research since for a very long time as provided the basis for comparative genomics. The sequence of Homo sapiens Tp73, transcript variant-7 mRNA sequence was retrieved from the NCBI in FASTA format and was studied for its relationships and percent similarity within human and others species. Genetic variation among Tp73 found in human beings and other organisms were studied in detail. Phylogenetic analysis and multiple sequence alignment of the human Tp73, transcript variant-7 mRNA sequence through unweighted pair group method with arithmetic mean (UPGMA) was performed which showed its pattern of variations and relationship among different organisms especially with rat, mouse and chimpanzee. This current study will help in modern research strategies through the manipulation and exploitation of p73, as its pathways are promising and one can predict its extensive clinical and biological use in the near future for the human benefit worldwide.Keywords: Tp73, Bioinformatics, phylogenetics analysis, cancer, Tp53African Journal of Biotechnology Vol. 12(26), pp. 4187-419

Customer Relationship Management Practices in University Libraries of Pakistan

The purpose of this study was to appraise the prevailing status of customer relationship management (CRM) practices in university libraries of Pakistan to increase strong and mutual beneficial relationship with user. Moreover, correlates of CRM practices with types, categories, and geographical locations of university libraries were also explored. This study adopted cross-sectional survey research design using a questionnaire. The survey questionnaire was emailed to the in-charge/head librarians of all 193 university libraries in Pakistan and response rate was 74%. The results were consolidated at the analysis stage. The results have demonstrated that current status of CRM practices (customer focus, organizational focus, customer feedback management) is in the adolescence phase, while information technology infrastructure is inadequate for absolute implantation of CRM programmes and strategies. The data indicate that CRM practices are linked with university libraries types and geographical locations private sector university libraries are concentrating more on organizational focus as compared to public sector while university libraries of Islamabad Capital Territory are having good IT Infrastructure from KPK Province and AJK region respectively. The study suggests that all academic institutions should formulate a clearly specified user care and satisfaction policy. In Pakistan, Information Management / Library & Information Sciences schools and library associations should conduct ongoing training, workshops, seminars, and conferences on CRM strategies, practices, programs, tactics and mechanism, defined in this study. University top management must encourage, provide financial resources and train staff for smooth running and implementation of CRM. Complete IT infrastructure, CRM software and models should be adopted as per market demand. CRM models may be developed for Pakistani university libraries or such models may be opted with some amendments from other pure business CRM models

Identification of bioflavonoid as fusion inhibitor of dengue virus using molecular docking approach

AbstractDengue virus with four distinct serotypes belongs to Flavivirus, poses a significant threat to human health and becomes an emerging global problem. Membrane fusion is a central molecular event during viral entry into host cell. To prevent viral infection it is necessary to interrupt the virus replication at an early stage of attachment. Dengue Virus (DENV) envelope protein experiences conformational changes and it causes the virus to fuse with host cell. Hinge region movement of domain I and II in envelope protein facilitates the fusion process. Small molecules that bind in this pocket may have the ability to interrupt the conformational changes that trigger fusion process. We chose different flavonoids (baicalein, fisetin, hesperetin, naringenin/ naringin, quercetin and rutin) that possess anti dengue activity. Molecular docking analysis was done to examine the inhibitory effect of flavonoids against envelope protein of DENV-2. Results manifest quercetin (flavonoid found in Carica papaya, apple and even in lemon) as the only flavone that can interrupt the fusion process of virus by inhibiting the hinge region movement and by blocking the conformational rearrangement in envelope protein. These novel findings using computational approach are worthwhile and will be a bridge to check the efficacy of compounds using appropriate animal model under In vivo studies. This information can be used by new techniques and provides a way to control dengue virus infection

Implementing Sustainable Tourism practices in luxury resorts of Maldives: Sustainability principles & Tripple Bottomline Approach

The aim of the research paper is to understand the sustainability challenges faced by resorts mainly luxury in Maldives and to implement the sustainable tourism practices. The Maldives economy is dependent mostly on the fishing, boat building, boat repairing and tourism. Over recent years there is a drastic change that has took place in Maldives in tourism industry. Maldives has progressed to be the upper middle-income country and luxury resorts are the reason for increased GDP in the country. Although there are some practices associated with the luxury resorts to follow in terms of environmental concerns. Present study focuses on the triple bottom line approach and the 12 major Sustainable Tourism Principles as a framework for sustainability practices and its implementation including the challenges associated in Maldives. The paper suggests some recommendations on several paradigm of enforcing laws and regulations, waste management facilities, fostering collaboration along with promoting local agriculture. The study also contemplates on several other areas such as on the impact of sustainability initiatives, coral restoration, and the use of sustainable supply chains. The intent of the current research is to suggest methods to promote the sustainable practices in luxury resort in Maldives

Identification of Missense Mutation (I12T) in the BSND Gene and Bioinformatics Analysis

Nonsyndromic hearing loss is a paradigm of genetic heterogeneity with 85 loci and 39 nuclear disease genes reported so far. Mutations of BSND have been shown to cause Bartter syndrome type IV, characterized by significant renal abnormalities and deafness and nonsyndromic nearing loss. We studied a Pakistani consanguineous family. Clinical examinations of affected individuals did not reveal the presence of any associated signs, which are hallmarks of the Bartter syndrome type IV. Linkage analysis identified an area of 18.36 Mb shared by all affected individuals between markers D1S2706 and D1S1596. A maximum two-point LOD score of 2.55 with markers D1S2700 and multipoint LOD score of 3.42 with marker D1S1661 were obtained. BSND mutation, that is, p.I12T, cosegregated in all extant members of our pedigree. BSND mutations can cause nonsyndromic hearing loss, and it is a second report for this mutation. The respected protein, that is, BSND, was first modeled, and then, the identified mutation was further analyzed by using different bioinformatics tools; finally, this protein and its mutant was docked with CLCNKB and REN, interactions of BSND, respectively

Library Leaders’ Attitude towards User Care in University Libraries of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Islamabad

The goal of this research was to look at the attitudes of library leaders’ towards user care in university libraries of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Islamabad. This study was conducted utilizing a quantitative research methodology that included a survey approach and a questionnaire. The data were collected from all library leaders’ working in the universities/ degree awarding institutions of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Islamabad recognized by Higher Education Commission of Pakistan. Both descriptive as wells as inferential statistics were applied to analyze data using SPSS. The results revealed that the library leaders had an overall positive attitude towards user care. There were no statistically significant differences in the library leaders’ attitude based on types of university, number of employees in libraries, year of establishment of university, library working days in a week, and library timing respectively. Conversely, there were statistically significant mean differences in library leaders’ attitude towards user care based on geographical locations of university and gender of the respondents. The results provided a pragmatic insight into the user-centred approaches for managing customer (user) relationship for marketing of library resources and services. This research also had an important contribution to the existing literature on relationship marketing in general and user relationship management in particular as only a few such studies appeared so far

In silico modeling of lipase H

LAH 2 is a type of autosomal recessive hypotrichosis that affect hairs, eyebrows, scalp and eyelashes. Mutations in Lipase H gene result in LAH 2. Changes that result from mutation on physiochemical properties, post-translational modifications, functional sites, secondary structure and tertiary structure lipase H gene (LIPH) at molecular level were analyzed in the current study. Results indicate that the 3rd motif of LIPH deletes as a result of mutation. The number of alpha helices and beta sheets become varied in normal and abnormal protein. Tertiary structure of LIPH was predicted through homology modeling. Mutations were then inserted to reveal the difference between normal and abnormal structure. Ligands to target LIPH are also retrieved. ASP178, ASP207 and HIS248 constitute the active site of LIPH. Missense mutations in LIPH also brought drastic changes at molecular level that led to imbalanced function. All these changes can be studied through bioinformatics without going for expensive laborious and time consuming experimental techniques.Keywords: LAH2, LIPH, tertiary structure, secondary structure, physiochemical properties, ligands, active siteAfrican Journal of Biotechnology Vol. 12(16), pp. 2051-205

Open reduction and internal fixation in a case with transscaphoid perilunate dislocation 8 months after the injury: a patient with a 5-year follow-up

The management of perilunate dislocations diagnosed later than three months continue to elicit debate with literature being scarce. We report a 22-year-old male with transscaphoid perilunate dislocation who reported to our hospital 8 months after sustaining the injury. Open reduction was done along with bone grafting. Five years after the surgery the patient is symptom-free with an excellent range of motion