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

Identification of Novel Dihydrofolate Reductase Inhibitor as Potential Antimalarial Drug: In silico Studies

Abstract.-Advancement in computational biology leads to improve the efficacy for new compounds to cure the diseases. Malaria is the most virulent diseases and causing millions of deaths annually, especially in developing and under-developed countries. Plasmodium falciparum dihydrofolate reductase (PfDHFR) is one of the most important drug target for different antifolates. Pyrimethamine with sulphadoxine complex is the most recommended and efficient antifolate prescribed against PfDHFR. But malarial parasites have developed resistance against this drug due to the point mutations in PfDHFR. This study focus to design a novel antimalarial drug (analog) against mutated PfDHFR by considering the in silico approaches. The new antimalarial drugs were designed by the addition/substitution of different functional groups and molecules in parent compound of pyrimethamine. The docking studies of newly designed compound and pyrimethamine with mutated receptor protein of PfDHFR were performed by using different docking servers. Various in silico therapeutic calculations for novel antimalarial compound and pyrimethamine were executed using computational approaches. The basic of ligand properties, docking results, energy calculations and drug score favor indicated that the new antimalarial drug compound have potential to show better efficacy than pyrimethamine. This designed analog could be used for preclinical test and have the potential to eradicate P. falciparum

An Evaluation of MPhil Educational Leadership and Management Program at a Private University, Lahore: A Case Study

In today's competitive educational environment, it is difficult to maintain and enhance quality for higher education institutions. The purpose of the current case study was to evaluate the effectiveness of MPhil in Educational Leadership and Management (MPhil-ELM) program at a private university of Lahore. The study tried to evaluate the satisfaction of the teachers and the students regarding the MPhil-ELM program using CIPP Model. It also focused on to provide some suggestions regarding quality enhancement and for the sustainability of the program in future. The interpretive qualitative paradigm was adopted, case study was the design, and mixed methods were the approach of this study. The population of the study was the students studying from Fall-2015 to Spring-2017 in MPhil-ELM program and the teachers teaching in this program. Purposive, criterion-based sampling technique was used to select students and the teachers; only those teachers were selected who had taught more than two courses since the beginning of MPhil-ELM program to the enrolled students. Document analysis, interview protocol and survey questionnaire were the major tools to obtain required data. The study found that MPhil-ELM program was meeting its desired objectives. Most of the teachers and the students were satisfied with teaching courses. However, based on the teachers' and students’ recommendations, the research suggested: firstly, proactive steps should be taken for research culture; and secondly, quality of teaching and learning should not be compromised. In order to sustain this program in future, the study recommended that the department should follow market-oriented trends and build effective industry linkages

Design and Assessment of a Novel In Silico Approach for Developing a Next-Generation Multi-Epitope Universal Vaccine Targeting Coronaviruses

In the past two decades, there have been three coronavirus outbreaks that have caused significant economic and health crises. Biologists predict that more coronaviruses may emerge in the near future. Therefore, it is crucial to develop preventive vaccines that can effectively combat multiple coronaviruses. In this study, we employed computational approaches to analyze genetically related coronaviruses, including severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) and its variants, focusing on the spike glycoprotein as a potential vaccine candidate. By predicting common epitopes, we identified the top epitopes and combined them to create a multi-epitope candidate vaccine. The overall quality of the candidate vaccine was validated through in silico analyses, confirming its antigenicity, immunogenicity, and stability. In silico docking and simulation studies suggested a stable interaction between the multi-epitope candidate vaccine and human toll-like receptor 2 (TLR2). In silico codon optimization and cloning were used to further explore the successful expression of the designed candidate vaccine in a prokaryotic expression system. Based on computational analysis, the designed candidate vaccine was found to be stable and non-allergenic in the human body. The efficiency of the multi-epitope vaccine in triggering effective cellular and humoral immune responses was assessed through immune stimulation, demonstrating that the designed candidate vaccine can elicit specific immune responses against multiple coronaviruses. Therefore, it holds promise as a potential candidate vaccine against existing and future coronaviruses