Abiotic Stress Tolerance in Cotton

Cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) is a vital fiber crop that is being cultivated under diverse climatic conditions across the globe. The demand for cotton and its by-products is increasing day by day due to more consumption of this fiber in the textile industry and the utilization of cotton seed as a source of edible oil. However, the average seed cotton yield in the world is below that of the potential yield of cultivars. The factors responsible for low yield includes shortage of approved seed, pest and disease attack, weed infestation, unwise use of nutrients, and the incidence of abiotic stresses (including drought, heat, and salinity). Among these, the abiotic stresses are a single major factor, which is responsible for reducing the yield now and will affect the productivity of cotton in future. In this scenario, it is necessary to adopt ways to improve the tolerance of cotton against abiotic stresses. The strategies for improving tolerance against abiotic stresses may include the wise use of macro- and micronutrients, the use of osmoprotectants, the use of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi, and the plant-growth promoting rhizobacteria

Smoke Priming, a Potent Protective Agent Against Salinity: Effect on Proline Accumulation, Elemental Uptake, Pigmental Attributes and Protein Banding Patterns of Rice (Oryza Sativa)

The exogenous application of plant derived smoke solution through seed pre treatment is consider to create tolerance in the plant against salinity, for this purpose different dilution of plant derived smoke solution as 1:5000 Buhania, 1:1000 Buhania, 1:1000 Cymbopogon, 1:500 Cymbopogon were used against 0 mM, 50, 100 and 150mM NaCl solution in the medium. The effect was observed on total proline accumulation, heavy metals uptake, photosynthetic pigments and protein polypeptide bands intensity in two rice varieties as Basmati 385 (B-385) and Shaheen Basmati (S. Basmati). Proline concentration increases while chlorophyll “a” chlorophyll “b” and carotene level decreases with increasing salinity. On other hand zinc concentration increases while cadmium and lead concentration decrease in the crop under saline conditions. Intensity of protein polypeptides bands decreases gradually with increasing salinity level but plants from the seeds soaked with smoke solution alleviate the drastic affect of salinity, and intensity of bands is quite good by comparing with non primed seeds. It is concluded that seed priming with plant derived smoke solution show beneficial effect on crop to protect them from salinity

Prevalence of HBV and HBV vaccination coverage in health care workers of tertiary hospitals of Peshawar, Pakistan

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Hepatitis B Virus (HBV) may progress to serious consequences and increase dramatically beyond endemic dimensions that transmits to or from health care workers (HCWs) during routine investigation in their work places. Basic aim of this study was to canvass the safety of HCWs and determine the prevalence of HBV and its possible association with occupational and non-occupational risk factors. Hepatitis B vaccination coverage level and main barriers to vaccination were also taken in account.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>A total of 824 health care workers were randomly selected from three major hospitals of Peshawar, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Blood samples were analyzed in Department of Zoology, Kohat University of Science and Technology Kohat, and relevant information was obtained by means of preset questionnaire. HCWs in the studied hospitals showed 2.18% prevalence of positive HBV. Nurses and technicians were more prone to occupational exposure and to HBV infection. There was significant difference between vaccinated and non-vaccinated HCWs as well as between the doctors and all other categories. Barriers to complete vaccination, in spite of good knowledge of subjects in this regard were work pressure (39.8%), negligence (38.8%) un-affordability (20.9%), and unavailability (0.5%).</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Special preventive measures (universal precaution and vaccination), which are fundamental way to protect HCW against HBV infection should be adopted.</p

Growth, yield and quality attributes of guar (Cyamopsis tetragonoloba L.) genotypes grown under different planting dates in a semi-arid region of Pakistan

Guar (Cyamopsis tetragonoloba L.) is grown in semi-arid regions worldwide as a forage, vegetable, and green manure crop. An experiment was conducted to evaluate growth, forage yield and nutritional quality of guar genotypes grown under different sowing dates. To this end, seven genotypes, viz., Desi Punjab, Farmi Punjab, Desi Sindh, Farmi Sindh, BR-90, BR-2017 and Baluchistan were grown at three sowing times (mid-May, late-May and early-June) during the two years 2020 and 2021. Results showed that maximum leaf area and pods per plant were recorded in genotype Farmi Punjab, while maximum fresh and dry forage yield were archived in genotype ‘BR-90’. Similarly, maximum crude protein in the forage and gum content in mature seeds, were also recorded in BR-90. In addition, mid-May was proved to be the best sowing time for guar genotypes studied in view of achieving maximum morphological traits, fresh and dry forage yield and forage quality, compared to later planting times. Moreover, late sowing caused reduction in yield and other related attributes. It is perceived that synthetic guar variety BR-90 and planting time at mid-May are the best for semi-arid region of Punjab, Pakistan

Integrative Molecular Analysis of DNA Methylation Dynamics Unveils Molecules with Prognostic Potential in Breast Cancer

DNA methylation acts as a major epigenetic modification in mammals, characterized by the transfer of a methyl group to a cytosine. DNA methylation plays a pivotal role in regulating normal development, and misregulation in cells leads to an abnormal phenotype as is seen in several cancers. Any mutations or expression anomalies of genes encoding regulators of DNA methylation may lead to abnormal expression of critical molecules. A comprehensive genomic study encompassing all the genes related to DNA methylation regulation in relation to breast cancer is lacking. We used genomic and transcriptomic datasets from the Cancer Genome Atlas (TGCA) Pan-Cancer Atlas, Genotype-Tissue Expression (GTEx) and microarray platforms and conducted in silico analysis of all the genes related to DNA methylation with respect to writing, reading and erasing this epigenetic mark. Analysis of mutations was conducted using cBioportal, while Xena and KMPlot were utilized for expression changes and patient survival, respectively. Our study identified multiple mutations in the genes encoding regulators of DNA methylation. The expression profiling of these showed significant differences between normal and disease tissues. Moreover, deregulated expression of some of the genes, namely DNMT3B, MBD1, MBD6, BAZ2B, ZBTB38, KLF4, TET2 and TDG, was correlated with patient prognosis. The current study, to our best knowledge, is the first to provide a comprehensive molecular and genetic profile of DNA methylation machinery genes in breast cancer and identifies DNA methylation machinery as an important determinant of the disease progression. The findings of this study will advance our understanding of the etiology of the disease and may serve to identify alternative targets for novel therapeutic strategies in cancer

Effect of Micro- to Nanosize Inclusions upon the Thermal Conductivity of Powdered Composites with High and Low Interface Resistance

Materials for thermal management application require better control over the thermophysical properties, which has largely been achieved by fabricating powdered composite. There are, however, several factors like filler volume fraction, shape morphology, inclusion size, and interfacial thermal resistance that limit the effective properties of the medium. This paper presents a methodology to estimate the effective thermal conductivity of powdered composites where the filler material is more conductive than the matrix. Only a few theoretical models, such as Hasselman and Johnson (HJ) model, include the effect of interfacial resistance in their formulation. Nevertheless, HJ model does not specify the nature of the interfacial thermal resistance. Although Sevostianov and Kachanov (SK) method takes care of interface thickness, they, on the other hand, have not taken into account the interfacial resistance due to atomic imperfections. In the present work, HJ model has been modified using SK method and the results were compared with experimental ones from the literature. It has been found that the effect of interfacial resistance is significant in highly resistive medium at microscale compared to nanoscale, such as Cu/diamond system, while, in a highly conductive medium, like bakelite/graphite system, the effect of shape factor is more significant than interfacial thermal resistance

Molecular epidemiology of hcv among health care workers of khyber pakhtunkhwa

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Studies of the molecular epidemiology and risk factors for hepatitis C virus (HCV) in health care workers (HCWs) of Peshawar, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa region are scarce. Lack of awareness about the transmission of HCV and regular blood screening is contributing a great deal towards the spread of hepatitis C. This study is an attempt to investigate the prevalence of HCV and its possible association with both occupational and non-occupational risk factors among the HCWs of Peshawar.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Blood samples of 824 HCWs, aged between 20-59 years were analysed for anti-HCV antibodies, HCV RNA and HCV genotypes by Immunochromatographic tests and PCR. All relevant information was obtained from the HCWs with the help of a questionnaire. The study revealed that 4.13% of the HCWs were positive for HCV antibodies, while HCV RNA was detected in 2.79% of the individuals. The most predominant HCV genotype was 3a and 2a.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>A program for education about occupational risk factors and regular blood screening must be implemented in all healthcare setups of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province in order to help reduce the burden of HCV infection.</p

Rising burden of Hepatitis C Virus in hemodialysis patients

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Aim</p> <p>High prevalence of Hepatitis C virus (HCV) has been reported among the dialysis patients throughout the world. No serious efforts were taken to investigate HCV in patients undergoing hemodialysis (HD) treatment who are at great increased risk to HCV. HCV genotypes are important in the study of epidemiology, pathogenesis and reaction to antiviral therapy. This study was performed to investigate the prevalence of active HCV infection, HCV genotypes and to assess risk factors associated with HCV genotype infection in HD patients of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa as well as comparing this prevalence data with past studies in Pakistan.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Polymerase chain reaction was performed for HCV RNA detection and genotyping in 384 HD patients. The data obtained was compared with available past studies from Pakistan.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Anti HCV antibodies were observed in 112 (29.2%), of whom 90 (80.4%) were HCV RNA positive. In rest of the anti HCV negative patients, HCV RNA was detected in 16 (5.9%) patients. The dominant HCV genotypes in HCV infected HD patients were found to be 3a (n = 36), 3b (n = 20), 1a (n = 16), 2a (n = 10), 2b (n = 2), 1b (n = 4), 4a (n = 2), untypeable (n = 10) and mixed (n = 12) genotype.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>This study suggesting that i) the prevalence of HCV does not differentiate between past and present infection and continued to be elevated ii) HD patients may be a risk for HCV due to the involvement of multiple routes of infections especially poor blood screening of transfused blood and low standard of dialysis procedures in Pakistan and iii) need to apply infection control practice.</p

Optimasi Portofolio Resiko Menggunakan Model Markowitz MVO Dikaitkan dengan Keterbatasan Manusia dalam Memprediksi Masa Depan dalam Perspektif Al-Qur`an

Risk portfolio on modern finance has become increasingly technical, requiring the use of sophisticated mathematical tools in both research and practice. Since companies cannot insure themselves completely against risk, as human incompetence in predicting the future precisely that written in Al-Quran surah Luqman verse 34, they have to manage it to yield an optimal portfolio. The objective here is to minimize the variance among all portfolios, or alternatively, to maximize expected return among all portfolios that has at least a certain expected return. Furthermore, this study focuses on optimizing risk portfolio so called Markowitz MVO (Mean-Variance Optimization). Some theoretical frameworks for analysis are arithmetic mean, geometric mean, variance, covariance, linear programming, and quadratic programming. Moreover, finding a minimum variance portfolio produces a convex quadratic programming, that is minimizing the objective function ðð¥with constraintsð ð 𥠥 ðandð´ð¥ = ð. The outcome of this research is the solution of optimal risk portofolio in some investments that could be finished smoothly using MATLAB R2007b software together with its graphic analysis

Search for heavy resonances decaying to two Higgs bosons in final states containing four b quarks

A search is presented for narrow heavy resonances X decaying into pairs of Higgs bosons (H) in proton-proton collisions collected by the CMS experiment at the LHC at root s = 8 TeV. The data correspond to an integrated luminosity of 19.7 fb(-1). The search considers HH resonances with masses between 1 and 3 TeV, having final states of two b quark pairs. Each Higgs boson is produced with large momentum, and the hadronization products of the pair of b quarks can usually be reconstructed as single large jets. The background from multijet and t (t) over bar events is significantly reduced by applying requirements related to the flavor of the jet, its mass, and its substructure. The signal would be identified as a peak on top of the dijet invariant mass spectrum of the remaining background events. No evidence is observed for such a signal. Upper limits obtained at 95 confidence level for the product of the production cross section and branching fraction sigma(gg -> X) B(X -> HH -> b (b) over barb (b) over bar) range from 10 to 1.5 fb for the mass of X from 1.15 to 2.0 TeV, significantly extending previous searches. For a warped extra dimension theory with amass scale Lambda(R) = 1 TeV, the data exclude radion scalar masses between 1.15 and 1.55 TeV