Multivariate Analysis of Some Mangrove Forests from Coastal Areas of Pakistan

No Abstrac

Nanophotonics: Fundamentals, Challenges, Future Prospects and Applied Applications

Nanophotonics encompasses a wide range of nontrivial physical effects including light-matter interactions that are well beyond diffraction limits, and have opened up new avenues for a variety of applications in light harvesting, sensing, luminescence, optical switching, and media transmitting technologies. Recently, growing expertise of fusing nanotechnology and photonics has become fundamental, arising outskirts, challenging basic experimentation and opportunities for new technologies in our daily lives, and played a central role in many optical systems. It entails the theoretical study of photon’s interactions with matter at incredibly small scales, known as nanostructures, in order to prepare nanometer scale devices and accessories for processing, development, slowing down, influencing, and/or regulating photons through comprehending their behavior while interacting with or otherwise traveling via matter. This multidisciplinary field has also made an impact on industry, allowing researchers to explore new horizons in design, applied science, physical science, chemistry, materials science, and biomedical technologies. The foundations, nano-confinements, quantum manifestations, nanoscale interactions, numerical methods, and peculiarities of nonlinear optical phenomena in nano-photonics as well as projected nano-photonics consumption’s in our cutting-edge world, will be covered in this chapter

An assessment of pollution in major creeks around Port Qasim

Discharge of industrial and domestic wastes in sea alter the physical and chemical properties of sea water, which may affect the marine ecosystem. This study was aimed to measure the water quality of eight different creeks around Port Qasim. Samples were collected and analyzed using standard procedures during February and March, 2009. The parameters including pH, Conductivity, Total Dissolved Solids, Salinity, Dissolved Oxygen, Nitrate, Phosphate, Sulphate, Chloride, Calcium, Potassium, Zinc, Iron, Cobalt, Chromium, Manganese and Cadmium were determined. The result shows that Bakran creek and Gharo-Phitti creeks are heavily polluted compared to other creeks. This study recommends that wastes from the industries or sewerage should be treated before being discharge into the creek system

Hydrothermal synthesis, structural and impedance studies of nanocrystalline zinc chromite spinel oxide material

Zinc chromite (ZnCr2O4) nanocrystalline spinel material was synthesized through hydrothermal method by using zinc nitrate 6-hydrate and chromium nitrate 9-hydrate as precursors. The synthesized material was characterized for phase identification, crystallinity and surface morphology by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). XRD results showed that hydrothermally as-synthesized products remained poorly crystalline up to 300 °C. Zinc chromite cubic spinel structure developed after calcination at 600 °C for 4 h. Formation of single-phase cubic structure of ZnCr2O4 was also confirmed by Rietveld refinement study with lattice parameter a = 8.2874 Å, and Fd3m space group. Thermal stability of the developed material was observed by thermogravimetry (TG) and differential thermal analysis (DTA). Thermal study reveals that ZnCr2O4 is thermally stable above 700 °C. The Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectra show the two absorption bands of Cr–O and Zn–O at 490 and 616 cm−1 respectively. These bonds were associated with ZnCr2O4 and indicate the formation of cubic spinel ZnCr2O4 material. The band gap energy of ZnCr2O4 powder was determined by absorption spectroscopy in ultraviolet–visible range and was found to be 3.771 eV and 3.147 eV for direct and indirect band gap respectively. SEM images show well-faceted crystals of ZnCr2O4, with the grain size of 50–80 nm. An equivalent circuit model (R1Q1)(R2Q2)(R3Q3) was employed to explain three relaxation processes associated with bulk and grain boundaries in ZnCr2O4 nanoparticles, and electrodes. Conductivity of the nanoparticles increased with frequency, and dielectric constant of the material showed dispersion at comparatively lower frequencies. At higher frequencies, the dielectric constant remained independent of frequency as attributable to the atomic and electronic polarizations

A Thermolabile Phospholipase B from Talaromyces marneffei GD-0079: Biochemical Characterization and Structure Dynamics Study

Phospholipase B (EC 3.1.1.5) are a distinctive group of enzymes that catalyzes the hydrolysis of fatty acids esterified at the sn-1 and sn-2 positions forming free fatty acids and lysophospholipids. The structural information and catalytic mechanism of phospholipase B are still not clear. Herein, we reported a putative phospholipase B (TmPLB1) from Talaromyces marneffei GD-0079 synthesized by genome mining library. The gene (TmPlb1) was expressed and the TmPLB1 was purified using E. coli shuffle T7 expression system. The putative TmPLB1 was purified by affinity chromatography with a yield of 13.5%. The TmPLB1 showed optimum activity at 35 °C and pH 7.0. The TmPLB1 showed enzymatic activity using Lecithin (soybean > 98% pure), and the hydrolysis of TmPLB1 by 31P NMR showed phosphatidylcholine (PC) as a major phospholipid along with lyso-phospholipids (1-LPC and 2-LPC) and some minor phospholipids. The molecular modeling studies indicate that its active site pocket contains Ser125, Asp183 and His215 as the catalytic triad. The structure dynamics and simulations results explained the conformational changes associated with different environmental conditions. This is the first report on biochemical characterization and structure dynamics of TmPLB1 enzyme. The present study could be helpful to utilize TmPLB1 in food industry for the determination of food components containing phosphorus. Additionally, such enzyme could also be useful in Industry for the modifications of phospholipids

Structural, impedance and Mössbauer studies of magnesium ferrite synthesized via solâgel auto-combustion process

Crystalline magnesium ferrite (MgFe2O4) spinel oxide powder was synthesized by nitrateâcitrate solâgel auto-combustion process with stoichiometric composition of metal nitrate salts, urea and citric acid. The study was focused on the modification of synthesis conditions and effect of these modified conditions on the structural and electrical properties of synthesized MgFe2O4 ceramic materials. Phase composition, crystallinity, structure and surface morphology were studied by X-ray diffraction, FTIR and SEM. Pure single phase MgFe2O4 spinel ferrite was obtained after calcination at 850 °C. Rietveld refinement of XRD result confirmed the single cubic phase spinel oxide with the lattice constant of a = 8.3931 à and Fd3m symmetry. UVâvisible absorption study of calcined powder revealed an optical band gap of 2.17 eV. SEM images of sintered specimens (1050â1450 °C) showed that the grain size increased with the increase in sintering temperature. From the impedance results of the sintered MgFe2O4 specimens, it was found that the resistance of grain, grain boundary and electrode effect decreased with an increase in sintering temperature and associated grain growth. In the intermediate frequency region lowering of impedance and dielectric values was observed due to the decrease in grain boundary areas. Mössbauer studies indicated that magnesium ferrite had a mixed spinel structure in calcined and sintered samples, however, the well refined single phase MgFe2O4 was observed due to well developed high crystalline structure at 1350 °C and 1450 °C. Keywords: Solâgel auto-combustion, Magnesium ferrite, X-ray diffraction, SEM, Mössbauer spectroscopy, Impedance spectroscop

Significance of Haematological Variates in Determining Risk of Cardiovascular Complications Post SARS-CoV-2 Infection: A Prospective Cohort Study

Introduction: Coronavirus Disease-2019 (COVID-19) is an ongoing global pandemic. Changes in haematological variables in patients with COVID-19 are emerging as important features of the disease. These changes in haematological variables may provide significant clues in the prognosis post Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection. Aim: To determine the significance of various haematological variables in cardiac outcomes post SARS-CoV-2 infection. Materials and Methods: This was a prospective cohort study conducted at Prince Faisal bin Khalid Cardiac Centre, Abha, Kingdom of Saudi between March 2021 and October 2021. A total of 59 patients who were infected with SARS-CoV-2 with or without cardiac complaints were involved. Demographic, clinical, and laboratory data were recorded. Leukocyte counts, Neutrophil Counts, Lymphocyte counts, Neutrophil to Lymphocyte Ratio (NLR), platelet counts, Prothrombin Time (PT), Activated Partial Thromboplastin Time (APTT), and D-Dimer were assessed and compared between subjects who developed Cardiovascular Complications (CVC+ group) and the subjects who did not develop CVC post SARS-CoV-2 infection (CVCgroup). Statistical analyses were performed using R scripting language and R Studio (version 1.2.5033, Orange Blossom). For continuous variables, t-test (for normally distributed) and MannWitney U test (for non normally distributed) were employed. For categorical data, Chi-square test (c2 ) was used. A p-value <0.05 was considered significant. Results: Among all the haematological variables assessed, Neutrophil counts (p<0.0001), NLR (p<0.0001), and PT (p<0.0001) were highly significant for developing CVC post SARS-CoV-2 infection. Additionally, Leukocyte counts (p=0.028), Lymphocyte counts (p=0.0002), APTT (p=0.036), and D-dimer (p=0.022) also showed statistical significance for developing CVC post-SARSCoV 2 infection. Conclusion: Haematological testing is easily available, inexpensive, and provides almost instant results. Therefore, assessing haematological variables like Leukocyte counts, Neutrophil counts, Lymphocyte counts, NLR, PT, APTT, and D-Dimer values post SARS-CoV-2 infection can help doctors identify patients at higher risk of developing CVC and guide their interventions accordingly. This can potentially help in reducing the occurrence of cardiovascular complications

Efficacy of Platelet-Rich Plasma Therapy in Oral Lichen Planus: A Systematic Review

Background and Objectives: Oral lichen planus (OLP) is an autoimmune, mucocutaneous, oral potentially malignant disorder (OPMD), which characteristically manifests with chronic, recalcitrant lesions, with frequent flare-ups and remissions. The precise etiopathogenesis of OLP is still debatable, although it is believed to be a T-cell-mediated disorder of an unidentified antigen. Despite the availability of various treatments, no cure for OLP exists due to its recalcitrant nature and idiopathic etiology. Platelet-rich plasma (PRP) has antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and immunomodulatory properties, in addition to its regulatory action on keratinocyte differentiation and proliferation. These salient properties substantiate the possible role of PRP in the treatment of OLP. Our systematic review focuses on assessing the therapeutic potential of PRP as a treatment modality in OLP. Materials and Methods: We conducted a detailed literature search for studies assessing PRP as a therapeutic regimen in OLP, using the Google Scholar and PubMed/MEDLINE search engines. The search was limited to studies published from January 2000 to January 2023 and included a combination of Medical Subject Heading (MeSH) terms. ROBVIS analysis was carried out for the assessment of publication bias. Descriptive statistics were performed using Microsoft Excel. Results: This systematic review included five articles that met the inclusion criteria. Most of the included studies demonstrated that PRP treatment considerably ameliorated both objective and subjective symptoms in OLP subjects, with comparable efficacy to the standard corticosteroid treatment. Further, PRP therapy offers the added benefit of minimal adverse effects and recurrences. Conclusion: This systematic review suggests that PRP has significant therapeutic potential for treating OLP. However, further research with larger sample sizes is imperative to corroborate these findings