Regulation of amino acid metabolism in the cellular slime mould Dictyostelium discoideum

The thesis begins with a description of cellular slime moulds and briefly reviews growth and differentiation of D. discoideum and the changes occurring during differentiation. Proteins are a major nutrient during growth and differentiation of D. discoideum Ax2. The proteinases and peptidases involved in the breakdown of protein and peptides, and some amino acid metabolising enzymes are described. The effects of glucose and amino acids on differentiation are discussed and the introduction concludes with a brief description of transport systems used by the slime mould namely pinocytosis and phagocytosis. The aims of the experimental work were four fold. A) To develop and define different growth systems where the rates of amino acid utilization by the cells were different. B) To determine if rates of amino acid utilization could be altered by growth conditions. C) To measure the rates of amino acid utilization and the effect of metabolites on the utilization of amino acids. D) To determine if rates of amino acid metabolism were related to the levels of amino acid metabolising enzymes in the cells. Axenic liquid medium (ALM), either with or without glucose, at 86mM, was used to grow the cells. The following results were obtained. 1) In the absence of glucose. a) During growth of the cells, the pH of the medium increased. The yield of the cells obtained increased as the initial pH of the medium was decreased within the pH range 6.0 - 7.0. b) Growth of the cells was limited by pH change of the medium. With the pH of the culture maintained at 6.2 the cells grew to a xviii density of 6.6 x 106 cells/ml. In the absence of pH control, the cell density reached 2.8 x 106 cells/ml. c) Ammonia was produced during growth. An ammonia concentration of 19 mM was achieved during growth to a density of 6.6 x 106 cells/ml. Cultures growing to a lower cell density produce proportionally less ammonia. 2. In the presence of glucose. a) The yield of the cells increased to 1.2 x 107 cells/ml and the pH change associated with growth was reduced. The final density was much less susceptible to the pH at which the medium was prepared (routinely 6.2). b) Control of medium pH at 6.2 marginally increased the final cell density to 1.5 x 10 cells/ml. c) During growth ammonia production was reduced to about half the value obtained in the absence of glucose. 3. Fructose, added to ALM produced similar results to glucose with respect to growth yield, pH change and ammonia production. 4. Galactose, added to ALM reduced the growth rate and diminished the yield to values less than the control value. Galactose had little effect on ammonia production. 5. Pyruvate, added to ALM had a small effect. It increased the yield by 25% and decreased the ammonia production by 20%. 6. The addition of ammonium chloride (up to 20 mM), sodium and potassium phosphate {up to 28.76 mM) and 2(N-morpholino) ethane sulphonic acid (up to 20 mM) all reduced the growth rate and the yield of the cells. 7. In washed cell suspensions. a) Glucose, added to the cell suspensions, reduced ammonia production to an extent comparable to its effect during growth. b) By using the techniques of ammonia estimation, amino acid analysis, radiolabelled substrate utilization and oxygen uptake, amino acid breakdown was measured. In general, cells grown in the absence of glucose had a greater ability to catabolise amino acids. c) Among the individual amino acids, whose rates of degradation were measured, arginine was the most rapidly catabolised followed by lysine and tyrosine. The pattern was independent of the medium in which the cells were grown. d) The rate of amino acid catabolism, measured by ammonia production or 14C- carbon dioxide production, was reduced by the addition of a range of compounds to washed cell suspensions. e) In washed cell suspensions prepared from cells grown in the absence of glucose, glucose at 10 and 20 mM stimulated the breakdown of extracellular amino acids. A similar effect was produced by 2 deoxy D-glucose and trehalose but not by other additives. These results are discussed in terms of stimulation of uptake but reduction in metabolism. f) Galactose, pyruvate, phosphate, and glucose in ALMg cells and glucose and 2 deoxy D-glucose above 20 mM in ALM cells, all reduced amino acid metabolism. The data are considered in relation to metabolic and osmotic effects on the cells. 8. The activities of several amino acid catabolising enzymes were measured in cells grown in the presence and absence of glucose. Cells grown in the absence of glucose possessed higher levels of activity and this correlates with their increased ability to catabolise amino acids

Optimality Conditions for Interval-Valued Optimization Problems on Riemannian Manifolds Under a Complete Order Relation

This article explores fundamental properties of convex interval-valued functions defined on Riemannian manifolds. The study employs generalized Hukuhara directional differentiability to derive KKT-type optimality conditions for an interval-valued optimization problem on Riemannian manifolds. Based on type of functions involved in optimization problems, we consider the following cases: 1. objective function as well as constraints are real-valued; 2. objective function is interval-valued and constraints are real-valued; 3. objective function as well as contraints are interval-valued. The whole theory is justified with the help of examples. The order relation that we use throughout the paper is a complete order relation defined on the collection of all closed and bounded intervals in $\mathbb{R}$

Attitudes of Islamic Learning and Education Faculty Students towards English Language at Karachi University

The research paper aims at studying the attitudes of the students of Islamic Learning and Education Faculty towards English at the University of Karachi. It is based on testing the hypothesis that the students of Islamic Learning Faculty have less positive attitudes towards English as compared to the students of Education faculty through a survey on first year students of both faculties. A five-point Likert scale was used to conduct a survey on 151 students of the Islamic Learning faculty and 135 students of the Education faculty. The results were calculated using an independent t-testand standard deviation which reveals that there is a minor difference in the attitudes of thestudent of both faculties. The students of the Education faculty showed more positive attitudes when asked about the importance of English as compared to the attitudes of the students of Islamic Learning Faculty. However, the difference in their attitude is negligible. As the results reveal a minor association between the attitudes of the learners and their faculty, the study; therefore, proves the null hypothesiswhich says that there is no significant difference between the attitudes of the students of both the faculties. Keywords: attitudes; English language; t-test; standard deviation; Islamic learning faculty; education faculty; likert-scale

Save water and safe water: Evaluation of design and storage period on water quality of rainwater harvesting system

The present research has been aimed to assess the appropriateness of different aspects of rooftop rainwater harvesting system as an alternative of ground water installed at Chitra Topi. 25 households were purposively selected for the collection of relevant data with the help of interview schedules, focus group discussions, and water sampling. Average rooftop area of surveyed households was 100 m2. Ideal storage system and proper management of surplus during peak seasons can ensure water availability throughout the year. From quality perspective, there are few issues in the physical, chemical and microbiological parameters. But by the introduction of simple components there problems can be rectified to a large extent. Based on results, it is concluded that rain water harvesting systems were shown to be a relatively low cost option for improving a households’ geographical and temporal access to a water source, increasing convenience and decreasing collection times. Keywords: Rainwater, Harvesting, Design, Water qualit

Attitudes of Islamic Learning and Education Faculty Students Towards English Language at Karachi University

The research paper aims at studying the attitudes of the students of Islamic Learning and Education Faculty towards English at the University of Karachi. It is based on testing the hypothesis that the students of Islamic Learning Faculty have less positive attitudes towards English as compared to the students of Education faculty through a survey on first year students of both faculties. A five-point Likert scale was used to conduct a survey on 151 students of the Islamic Learning faculty and 135 students of the Education faculty. The results were calculated using an independent t-testand standard deviation which reveals that there is a minor difference in the attitudes of thestudent of both faculties. The students of the Education faculty showed more positive attitudes when asked about the importance of English as compared to the attitudes of the students of Islamic Learning Faculty. However, the difference in their attitude is negligible. As the results reveal a minor association between the attitudes of the learners and their faculty, the study; therefore, proves the null hypothesiswhich says that there is no significant difference between the attitudes of the students of both the faculties. Keywords: attitudes; English language; t-test; standard deviation; Islamic learning faculty; education faculty; likert-scale

Improving community case management of diarrhoea and pneumonia in district Badin, Pakistan through a cluster randomised study--the NIGRAAN trial protocol

BACKGROUND: Diarrhoea and pneumonia contribute 30% of deaths in children under 5 in Pakistan. Pakistan\u27s Lady Health Workers Programme (LHW-P) covers about 60% of the population but has had little impact in reducing morbidity and mortality related to these major childhood killers. An external evaluation of the LHW-P suggests that lack of supportive supervision of LHWs by lady health supervisors (LHSs) is a key determinant of this problem. Project NIGRAAN aims to improve knowledge and skills of LHWs and community caregivers through supervisory strategies employed by LHSs. Ultimately, community casemanagement (CCM) of childhood pneumonia and diarrhoea will improve. METHODS/DESIGN: NIGRAAN is a cluster-randomised trial in District Badin, Pakistan. There are approximately 1100 LHWs supervised by 36 LHSs in Badin. For this study, each LHS serves as a cluster. All LHSs working permanently in Badin who regularly conduct and report field visits are eligible. Thirty-four LHSs have been allocated to either intervention or control arms in a ratio of 1:1 through computer-generated simple randomisation technique. Five LHWs from each LHSs are also randomly picked. All 34 LHSs and 170 LHWs will be actively monitored. The intervention consists of training to build LHS knowledge and skills, clinical mentorship and written feedback to LHWs. Pre- and post-intervention assessments of LHSs, LHWs and community caregivers will be conducted via focus group discussions, in-depth interviews, knowledge assessment questionnaires, skill assessment scorecards and household surveys. Primary outcome is improvement in CCM practices of childhood diarrhoea and pneumonia and will be assessed at the cluster level. DISCUSSION: NIGRAAN takes a novel approach to implementation research and explores whether training of LHSs in supervisory skills results in improving the CCM practices of childhood diarrhoea and pneumonia. No significant harm to participants is anticipated. The enablers and barriers towards improved CCM would provide recommendations to policymakers for scale up of this intervention nationally and regionally

Comparison of Garden Soil with Nitrogen and Potassium for Growing Lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.) in Glass House.

The experiment was conducted during the year 2019-20 by Vegetable Section, Agriculture Research Station (ARS) Baffa Mansehra to compare garden soil with nitrogen (Urea) and potassium (Murate of Potash) for lettuce production in glass house. Lettuce is an important summer off-season and high valued crop cultivated at District Mansehra in the months of July-August. The produce is transported to other metropolises with handsome earning,  but excessive use of minerals and synthetic fertilizers may render the produce less profitable in one or another way. Hence this experiment was designed to compare garden soil with  nitrogen and potassium doses.  It is evident from the statistical analysis that garden soil has a significant effect on  number of leaves, leaf area, seed per plant, yield per plant and yield per acre. Seed production is noticeable for garden soil when the prevailing temperature during seed formation was 250C.  In terms of leaf area maximum leaf area 576.10 cm2was recorded for garden soil while minimum leaf area 303.43 cm2 was recorded with nitrogen applied @ 200 kg ha-1 and potassium applied @ 100 kg ha-1 respectively. Maximum number of leaves 28.03 was recorded for garden soil while the minimum number 21.96 was recorded for nitrogen applied @ 200 kg ha-1 and potassium applied @ 100 kg ha-1. Seed formation was successful with mean temperature 250C in glass house for 30 days, here again garden soil surpassed nitrogen and potassium with 4.03gm plant-1. Yield per plot 3.69 kg was recorded for garden soil and the minimum value 1.1843 kg was recorded for nitrogen and potassium applied @ 200 kg ha-1 nitrogen while potassium applied @ 100 kg ha-1. Garden soil gives maximum yield of 13600 kg acre-1 compared with the lowest production 6070.5 kg acre-1 of nitrogen and potassium applied @ 200 kg ha-1 nitrogen while potassium applied @ 150 kg ha-1.  Keywords:, Lettuce, garden soil, leaf area, seed production, glass house DOI: 10.7176/CEIS/14-2-06 Publication date:May 31st 202

Integration of Next Generation IIoT with Blockchain for the Development of Smart Industries

In modern era, a wide range of smart industries is being focus on automation-based applications. Various technologies are rapidly implementing in Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) for manufacturing sectors that helping to achieve advanced schedule production framework and on time delivery of products. The integration of IIoT platforms with the blockchain are challenging service in manufacturing system. The primary objective of this article is to characterize various issues and challenges that are implementing IIoT and blockchain in industries. The proposed work is an integration of IIoT and blockchain in industrial processes for solving the security issues in real-time. Also, identifying various enablers of blockchain and issues of IIoT from smart industries manufacturing using a survey tool is formed in the form of questionnaire. Based on these responses Decision Making Trial and Evaluation Laboratory (DEMATEL) technique has been implemented for categorizing these challenges into cause and effect. In this paper, we introduce the general layout with their key issues and challenges of IIoT and blockchain that signifies the safety requirements to design the IIoT and blockchain. Further, we describe how IIoT can be integrated to the blockchain for smart Industrial applications. Finally, various recommendations are the proposed to upcoming IIoT and blockchain developments. The proposed work will be highly beneficial for the smart industries to develop a next generation IIoT and blockchain based framework

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

OUTCOME OF DEVELOPMENTAL THERAPY IN CHILDREN WITH CEREBRAL PALSY CHILDREN: A PROSPECTIVE COHORT

Introduction: Cerebral palsy (CP) is the non-progressive disorder of motor and posture with associated delayed development in areas of cognition, perception, behavior and sensation, due to insult to immature brain. Improvement in all developmental domains of CP patients depends upon early institution of rehabilitation programs involving all multidisciplinary approach. The portage early education program (PEEP) is a worldwide, effective and early interventional method, for developmentally delayed children.   Objective: To determine the outcome of developmental therapy in children with CP by using PEEP.  Study Design: Experimental research design (within group)  Settings: The children hospital and the institute of child health Multan.  Methodology: 156 patients of 2 to 10 years of age, both gender from January 2020 to December 2020, diagnosed as CP were enrolled for this study. All children were assessed by using PEEP and GMFM (Gross Motor Function Measure) twice 6 months apart. A trained clinical psychologist administered PEEP to all the children. All the Patients were advised regular weekly sessions at hospital by multidisciplinary team and at least 2 hours per day for continuation of these therapies at home. At the end of 6 months we found that all families had not followed this. The patient who visited >2times/month were considered compliant and those visited <2times/month were considered non-compliant. Data was analyzed by using SSPS version 16. Paired t test was used to compare the developmental outcome of compliant and non-compliant groups.  Results: Out of 156 participants, 58(37%) were in compliant and 98(63%) non-compliant. Male subjects were prominent 42(72.41%) and 67(68.37%) respectively. Most of the participants belonged to 3-6 years of age in both groups28(48.29%) and 51(52.04%) respectively. Spastic quadriplegia (26(44.83%), 57 (58.16%)), and level 5 on GMFM  24(42.86) and 52(53.06%) respectively was commonly presents in both patient groups. The mean comparison of DQ of Compliant CP Children at initial stage and after six months in areas of GM, C, SH, S, L and GMFM was found statistically significant.   Conclusion: CP children should be on regular follow up for developmental therapy for long time for better outcome. PEEP is an excellent system for the assessment, training and rehabilitation of children with delayed development.