Embryotoxic effects of Ciprofloxacin in Chicken: A potential risk for antibiotic resistance

Background: Ciprofloxacin is considered as a relatively safe drug having broad spectrum antimicrobial activity in humans and animals including poultry, besides its reported cartilage damage in children and debated use in pregnancy.Methods: Current study is designed to highlight the embryotoxic effects of ciprofloxacin in chicken. In the study fertilized eggs were categorized in 5 groups incubated at standard parameters. On 4th day of incubation, group1 and 2 were injected with Ciprofloxacin (30 and 60 mg/egg respectively). Group 3 was pinched with needle only and group 4 was injected with sterilized saline solution. Group 5 was kept as a control, without any injection or pinching.Results: On the 18th day of incubation, the growth of embryos was monitored. Hemorrhages on neck and head areas were noticed in treated group treated with 60 mg/egg. Low body weight along with the defective beak and nail formation was noticed. No other clear external deformity was observed in any treated and normal groups. It can be inferred that embryotoxic effects of ciprofloxacin cannot be ignored. High or repeated doses can reduce the turnover number of successful hatching chicks and the consumption of antibiotics treated chicken can lead to the development of antimicrobial resistance in humans.Conclusion: It can be concluded that recommended dose limit is very important to avoid the harmful effect of antibiotics and chemicals. Embryotoxic effect of ciprofloxacin cannot be ignored. Use of antibiotic/s in poultry and live stocks should be carefully monitored and judged on medical basis; also its use for growth promotion should be discontinued.Keywords: Ciprofloxacin; Poultry; Antibiotic resistance; Embryotoxic effects; Antimicrobial activity 

Relationship among Economic Growth and other Macroeconomic Variables: A Study of Pakistan

This study is investigating the short run and long run relationship among major macroeconomic variables and economic growth for the economy of Pakistan during 2000 - 2015. Autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) model and bounds test have been applied to estimate the short run and long run relationship between GDP and  other major macroeconomic variables like,  labour force, rate of capital formation, money supply, inflation rate, trade rate, foreign direct investment (FDI) and unemployment. ARDL model indicates significant relationship between labour force, FDI and unemployment economic growth, in the long run, at 1% and 5% level. Keywords: Macroeconomic variables; capital formation; money supply; inflation; trade; FDI; unemployment; economic growth; ARDL model. JEL Code: O1; O4; F43. DOI: 10.7176/JRDM/54-07 Publication date: April 30th 201

(2-Chloro­phen­yl)(4-hy­droxy-1,1-dioxo-2H-1,2-benzothia­zin-3-yl)methanone

In the title mol­ecule, C15H10ClNO4S, the heterocyclic thia­zine ring adopts a half-chair conformation, with the S and N atoms displaced by 0.527 (7) and 0.216 (7) Å, respectively, on opposite sides of the mean plane formed by the remaining ring atoms. The mol­ecular structure is consolidated by an intra­molecular O—H⋯O inter­action and the crystal packing is stabilized by N—H⋯O and C—H⋯O hydrogen bonds

Extraction and Amplification of mtDNA HVR1 from Old and Degraded Samples of Human Skeletal Collected from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan

Background: The study of ancient DNA enables the examination of genetic associations between past and present individuals and populations. The recovery and analysis of human DNA from degraded samples precisely has become a central research tool in various scientific fields’ ranges from ancient DNA to forensics and medical sciences. Methods: In the current study, remains of human bones are analyzed that dates back to 1000-1200 BC from different burial sites of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan. Hypervariable region 1 (HVR1) as a genetic marker was selected. Multiple extractions, qubit assays quantification and cloning of PCR products were performed to get the sequences from the hypervariable region 1 of mtDNA. In this study, we also evaluate the possibility of extracting DNA from degraded human tissues (bones and teeth) such as remains buried in archaeological sites and remains of dead bodies buried for many decades. Results: Mitochondrial DNA HVR1 of 2000 years old degraded bone specimens were successfully determined by analyzing haplotype, defining polymorphisms in the hypervariable region 1. The prominent haplogroup found was eastern European R  (63%) that was also found in present day population by previous studies.Conclusion: The protocol developed in this study could be used for the extraction of DNA from old degraded and ancient bone samples.Keywords: Ancient DNA; Degraded samples; mtDNA; HVS1; Pakistan  

Genome-wide characterization of the NLR gene family in tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) and their relatedness to disease resistance

Nucleotide-binding leucine-rich-repeat receptors (NLR), the largest group of genes associated with plant disease resistance (R), have attracted attention due to their crucial role in protecting plants from pathogens. Genome-wide studies of NLRs have revealed conserved domains in the annotated tomato genome. The 321 NLR genes identified in the tomato genome have been randomly mapped to 12 chromosomes. Phylogenetic analysis and classification of NLRs have revealed that 211 genes share full-length domains categorized into three major clades (CNL, TNL, and RNL); the remaining 110 NLRs share partial domains and are classified in CN, TN, and N according to their motifs and gene structures. The cis-regulatory elements of NLRs exhibit the maximum number of these elements and are involved in response to biotic and abiotic stresses, pathogen recognition, and resistance. Analysis of the phylogenetic relationship between tomato NLRs and orthologs in other species has shown conservation among Solanaceae members and variation with A. thaliana. Synteny and Ka/Ks analyses of Solanum lycopersicum and Solanum tuberosum orthologs have underscored the importance of NLR conservation and diversification from ancestral species millions of years ago. RNA-seq data and qPCR analysis of early and late blight diseases in tomatoes revealed consistent NLR expression patterns, including upregulation in infected compared to control plants (with some exceptions), suggesting the role of NLRs as key regulators in early blight resistance. Moreover, the expression levels of NLRs associated with late blight resistance (Solyc04g007060 [NRC4] and Solyc10g008240 [RIB12]) suggested that they regulate S. lycopersicum resistance to P. infestans. These findings provide important fundamental knowledge for understanding NLR evolution and diversity and will empower the broader characterization of disease resistance genes for pyramiding through speed cloning to develop disease-tolerant varieties

(2-Bromo­phen­yl)(4-hy­droxy-1,1-dioxo-2H-1,2-benzothia­zin-3-yl)methanone

In the title mol­ecule, C15H10BrNO4S, the heterocyclic thia­zine ring adopts a half-chair conformation, with the S and N atoms displaced by 0.554 (7) and 0.198 (8) Å, respectively, on opposite sides of the mean plane formed by the remaining ring atoms. The mol­ecular structure is consolidated by intra­molecular O—H⋯O inter­actions and the crystal packing features N—H⋯O and C—H⋯O hydrogen bonds

Agronomic and physiological indices for reproductive stage heat stress tolerance in green super rice

Optimum growing temperature is necessary for maximum yield-potential in any crop. The global atmospheric temperature is changing more rapidly and irregularly every year. High temperature at the flowering/reproductive stage in rice causes partial to complete pollen sterility, resulting in significant reduction in grain yield. Green Super Rice (GSR) is an effort to develop an elite rice type that can withstand multiple environmental stresses and maintain yield in different agro-ecological zones. The current study was performed to assess the effect of heat stress on agronomic and physiological attributes of GSR at flowering stage. Twenty-two GSR lines and four local checks were evaluated under normal and heat-stress conditions for different agro-physiological parameters, including plant height (PH), tillers per plant (TPP), grain yield per plant (GY), straw yield per plant (SY), harvest index (HI), 1000-grain weight (GW), grain length (GL), cell membrane stability (CMS), normalized difference vegetative index (NDVI), and pollen fertility percentage (PFP). Genotypes showed high significant variations for all the studied parameters except NDVI. Association and principal component analysis (PCA) explained the genetic diversity of the genotypes, and relationship between the particular parameters and grain yield. We found that GY, along with other agronomic traits, such as TPP, SY, HI, and CMS, were greatly affected by heat stress in most of the genotypes, while PH, GW, GL, PFP, and NDVI were affected only in a few genotypes. Outperforming NGSR-16 and NGSR-18 in heat stress could be utilized as a parent for the development of heat-tolerant rice. Moreover, these findings will be helpful in the prevention and management of heat stress in rice