Hepcidin Antimicrobial Peptide (HAMP) Screening for P.CYS70ARG Variant and Iron Overload in β -Thalassemia Major Patients

Hereditary Hemochromatosis is a rare genetic iron overload disorder characterized by iron accumulation in vital body organs such as the lungs, liver, and pancreas. HAMP mutations are reported as one of the principal sources for the disturbance of iron homeostasis. This study was designed to screen the involvement of p.Cys70Arg HAMP variant in iron overload in the β-thalassemia patients. For the purpose, bioinformatics tools were used for the structural and functional manifestation of mutated protein which revealed 1.93 kcal/mol energy differences between the wild-type and mutated proteins, causing the stability decline. Following that, clinical data was collected for 106 β-thalassemia major (β-TM) patients which showed a higher prevalence of splenectomy, hepatomegaly and ascites. The PCR-RFLPs were performed to screen the HAMP p.Cys70Arg in 27 controls and 106 β-TM patients. Sac ӀӀ restriction enzyme was used to screen genetically affected and ethnically matched control samples but no control was found with HAMP p.Cys70Arg variant. Out of these 106 β-thalassemia patients, eight patients were HCV+ with higher levels of ferritin in blood. HAMP exon 3 Sanger sequencing did not reveal any mutation in these patients conferring iatrogenic hemochromatosis. Future recommendations include sequencing of complete HAMP gene with its three exons in a large sample size

Role of Cooperative Learning in Improving Language Proficiency and Academic Achievement in English of Elementary Students: An Experimental Study

English language, as it is employed as a common medium used for communication with people, whom native language is not understandable. In this regard, Governments of developing countries paying attention to promoting English. That require upgradation in the curriculum, as well as, the shift of teaching methodology from teacher to student centered, are the basic requisites for making the change in the educational system possible. That provides opportunities for cooperative learning. Therefore the current experimental study was carried out to find the role of cooperative learning in promoting language proficiency and achievement with regards to English among 8th grade students, who are supposed to study in the private schools of Lahore. The 8th grade students enrolled in private schools of Lahore district implied the population of the study. Whereas, the two girls sections of the 8th class of The Educators School, Jinnah Campus, Lahore, were chosen as the sample and nominated as experimental and control groups. Before and after the intervention, English language proficiency tests (EPT) to measure the students' proficiency in English and English achievement test (EAT) to identify students’ achievement in English developed by the researchers were utilized. Findings highlighted that cooperative learning is an effective teaching methodology that proves beneficial in the improvement of 8th grade students' proficiency and achievement in English. It is recommended that our teachers may use such innovative teaching methodologies in their classroom that not only promote students' involvement for discussion on the relevant topi

Development of face-based trustworthiness impressions in childhood : A systematic review and metaanalysis

Acknowledgements This research was supported by an Australian Government Research Training Program Scholarship to SS. CRediT authorship contribution statement Saba Siddique: Conceptualisation, Data Curation, Formal Analysis, Investigation, Methodology, Writing – Original Draft, Writing – Review and Editing. Clare A.M. Sutherland: Conceptualisation, Methodology, Supervision, Writing – Review and Editing. Romina Palermo: Conceptualisation, Supervision, Writing – Review and Editing. Linda Jeffery: Conceptualisation Supervision, Writing – Review and Editing. Yong Z. Foo: Formal Analysis, Software, Visualisation, Writing – Review and Editing. Derek C. Swe: Investigation, Writing - Review and Editing.Peer reviewedPostprin

Children show neural sensitivity to facial trustworthiness as measured by fast periodic visual stimulation

Acknowledgements We would like to thank Mirha Khan for helping to test pilot participants. Funding This research was supported by an Australian Government Research Training Program Scholarship to SS, and Australian Research Council (ARC) Discovery Early Career Research Award to C.S. [DE190101043], ARC Discovery Project to C.S. and R.P. [DP220101026], and R.P. and L. J. [DP140101743].Peer reviewedPostprin

Underpinning Quality Assurance: Identifying Core Testing Strategies for Multiple Layers of Internet-of-Things-Based Applications

The Internet of Things (IoT) constitutes a digitally integrated network of intelligent devices equipped with sensors, software, and communication capabilities, facilitating data exchange among a multitude of digital systems via the Internet. Despite its pivotal role in the software development life-cycle (SDLC) for ensuring software quality in terms of both functional and non-functional aspects, testing within this intricate software–hardware ecosystem has been somewhat overlooked. To address this, various testing techniques are applied for real-time minimization of failure rates in IoT applications. However, the execution of a comprehensive test suite for specific IoT software remains a complex undertaking. This paper proposes a holistic framework aimed at aiding quality assurance engineers in delineating essential testing methods across different testing levels within the IoT. This delineation is crucial for effective quality assurance, ultimately reducing failure rates in real-time scenarios. Furthermore, the paper offers a mapping of these identified tests to each layer within the layered framework of the IoT. This comprehensive approach seeks to enhance the reliability and performance of IoT-based applications

Sequence and phylogenetic analysis of virulent Newcastle disease virus isolates from Pakistan during 2009–2013 reveals circulation of new sub genotype

AbstractDespite observing the standard bio-security measures at commercial poultry farms and extensive use of Newcastle disease vaccines, a new genotype VII-f of Newcastle disease virus (NDV) got introduced in Pakistan during 2011. In this regard 300 ND outbreaks recorded so far have resulted into huge losses of approximately USD 200 million during 2011–2013. A total of 33 NDV isolates recovered during 2009–2013 throughout Pakistan were characterized biologically and phylogenetically. The phylogenetic analysis revealed a new velogenic sub genotype VII-f circulating in commercial and domestic poultry along with the earlier reported sub genotype VII-b. Partial sequencing of Fusion gene revealed two types of cleavage site motifs; lentogenic 112GRQGRL117 and velogenic 112RRQKRF117 along with some point mutations indicative of genetic diversity. We report here a new sub genotype of virulent NDV circulating in commercial and backyard poultry in Pakistan and provide evidence for the possible genetic diversity which may be causing new NDV out breaks

Pythagorean fuzzy incidence graphs with application in illegal wildlife trade

Chemical engineers can model numerous interactions in a process using incidence graphs. They are used to methodically map out a whole network of interconnected processes and controllers to describe each component's impact on the others. It makes it easier to visualize potential process paths or a series of impacts. A Pythagorean fuzzy set is an effective tool to overcome ambiguity and vagueness. In this paper, we introduce the concept of Pythagorean fuzzy incidence graphs. We discuss the incidence path and characterize the strongest incidence path in Pythagorean fuzzy incidence graphs. Furthermore, we propose the idea of Pythagorean fuzzy incidence cycles and Pythagorean fuzzy incidence trees in Pythagorean fuzzy incidence graphs and give some essential results. We illustrate the notions of Pythagorean fuzzy incidence cut vertices, Pythagorean fuzzy incidence bridges, and Pythagorean fuzzy incidence cut pairs. We also establish some results about Pythagorean fuzzy incidence cut pairs. Moreover, we study the types of incidence pairs and determine some crucial results concerning strong incidence pairs in the Pythagorean fuzzy incidence graph. We also obtain the characterization of Pythagorean fuzzy incidence cut pairs using $\alpha$-strong incidence pairs and find the relation between Pythagorean fuzzy incidence trees and $\alpha$-strong incidence pairs. Finally, we provide the application of Pythagorean fuzzy incidence graphs in the illegal wildlife trade

Endophytic Bacillus atrophaeus CHGP13 and salicylic acid inhibit blue mold of lemon by regulating defense enzymes

Lemons (Citrus limon L.) are one of the most economically important and consumed fruit worldwide. The species is vulnerable to several postharvest decay pathogens, of which Penicillium italicum associated with blue mold disease is the most damaging. This study investigates the use of integrated management for blue mold of lemon using lipopeptides (LPs) extracted from endophytic Bacillus strains and resistance inducers. Two resistance inducers; salicylic acid (SA) and benzoic acid (BA) were tested at 2, 3, 4, and 5 mM concentrations against the development of blue mold on lemon fruit. The 5 mM SA treatment produced the lowest disease incidence (60%) and lesion diameter (1.4 cm) of blue mold on lemon fruit relative to the control. In an in vitro antagonism assay eighteen Bacillus strains were evaluated for their direct antifungal effect against P. italicum; CHGP13 and CHGP17 had the greatest inhibition zones of 2.30 and 2.14 cm. Lipopeptides (LPs) extracted from CHGP13 and CHGP17 also inhibited the colony growth of P. italicum. LPs extracted from CHGP13 and 5 mM SA were tested as single and combined treatments against disease incidence and lesion diameter of blue mold on lemon fruit. SA + CHGP13 + PI had the lowest disease incidence (30%) and lesion diameter (0.4 cm) of P. italicum on lemon fruit relative to the other treatments. Furthermore, the lemon fruit treated with SA + CHGP13 + PI had the highest PPO, POD, and PAL activities. The postharvest quality analysis of the lemon fruit including fruit firmness, total soluble solids, weight loss, titratable acidity, and ascorbic acid content revealed that the treatment SA + CHGP13 + PI had little effect on fruit quality compared to the healthy control. These findings indicate that Bacillus strains and resistance inducers can be used as components of integrated disease management for the blue mold of lemon

Fosfomycin Resistance in Clinical Isolates of Escherichia coli from Urinary Tract Infections in a Tertiary Care Hospital

Background: Fosfomycin is called an old-new antibiotic, because it was reintroduced for the treatment of urinary tract infections. The rampant use of antibiotics has led to Fosfomycin resistance reported from different parts of the world. The purpose of this study was to find out the frequency of Fosfomycin resistance in clinical isolates of Escherichia coli (E. coli) from urinary tract samples. Methods: This cross-sectional study, including n=314 patients, was conducted in the Microbiology laboratory at Pakistan Naval Ship SHIFA Hospital, Pakistan from January to June 2022. Urine samples were inoculated on agar at 37±2°C for 24-48hrs. The growth of E. coli was confirmed by API 10S as per recommended Clinical Laboratory Standard Institute (CLSI) guidelines. Susceptibility testing was performed by the standard Kirby Bauer Disc Diffusion method. The Chi-square test was applied to categorical variables. p-value ≤ 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: Out of 314 clinical isolates, 171 (54.5%) were females and 143 (45.5%) were males (mean age 49±10.3 (6-81) years). Sixty-six (21%) isolates were found resistant to Fosfomycin while 248 (79%) were sensitive. A significant difference was found between the gender (p=0.035), whereas, 29 (17.0%) females and 37 (25.9%) males were found resistant to Fosfomycin. Conclusion: The resistance to Fosfomycin is increasing and it is an impending threat as oral treatment options are limited in urinary tract infections. However, improved surveillance may help in controlling nosocomial infection along with the rational use of antibiotics can prevent and reduce its spread. Keywords: Fosfomycin; Culture; Susceptibility; Urinary Tract Infections (UTIs)

Variations in physico-chemical and antioxidant attributes of grape seed oil as function of extraction techniques

The aim of the current research work was to assess and compare the impact of two extraction techniques on the physico-chemical, and antioxidant parameters of grape seed oil (GSO). The GSO extracted by Soxhlet and Folch methods indicated a notable variation in the oil yield (8.58 % and 10.19%) and saponification value (196.35 and 189.33 mg of KOH g-1), respectively. However, no significant (p<0.05) variation was detected for density, acid value, refractive index, iodine no, unsaponifiable matter, and free fatty acids between the tested two oils. Meanwhile, the oil produced by Soxhlet method exhibited relatively a higher extent of unsaturated dienes, trienes, peroxide value, p-anisidine value, and thus poor oxidation state. A notable variation in the content of principal fatty acid (linoleic acid) was recorded between Folch extracted oil (70.11%) and Soxhlet extracted oil (66.57%). The contents of total tocopherols were noted to be considerably higher for Folch extracted oil (105.55 mg kg-1) than the Soxhlet extracted oil (73.70 mg kg-1). Among the individual phenolics analyzed by HPLC, gallic acid (14.02 mg kg-1) and caffeic acid (5.20 mg kg-1) were detected as major component in Folch extracted oil and Soxhlet extracted oil, respectively. The results of the present comparative study support that Folch method is relatively a good choice for the extraction of GSO with promising nutritive quality in terms of oxidation parameters, contents of linoleic acid and antioxidant phenolics