Alleviation of banded leaf and sheath blight disease incidence in maize by bacterial volatile organic compounds and molecular docking of targeted inhibitors in Rhizoctonia solani

Rhizoctonia solani (RS) is a pathogenic fungus that affects maize (Zea mays L.) plants and causes banded leaf and sheath blight (BLSB) with severe consequences leading to significant economic losses. Contrarily, rhizobacteria produce numerous volatile organic compounds (VOCs) that help in devising the environment-friendly mechanism for promoting plant growth and stress alleviation without having physical contact with plants. In the present study, 15 rhizobacterial strains were tested for their antagonism against RS. The antagonistic potential of VOCs of the tested plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) strains ranged from 50% to 80% as compared to the control (without PGPR). Among these 15 strains, the maximum (80%) antagonistic activity was exhibited by Pseudomonas pseudoalcaligenes SRM-16. Thus, the potential of VOCs produced by P. pseudoalcaligenes SRM-16 to alleviate the BLSB disease in maize was evaluated. A pot experiment was conducted under greenhouse conditions to observe the effect of VOCs on disease resistance of BLSB-infected seedlings. Overall, maize seedlings exposed to VOCs showed a significant increase in disease resistance as indicated by a reduced disease score than that of unexposed infected plants. The VOCs-exposed maize exhibited lower (11.6%) disease incidence compared to the non-inoculated maize (14.1%). Moreover, plants exposed to VOCs displayed visible improvements in biomass, photosynthetic pigments, osmoregulation, and plant antioxidant and defense enzyme activities compared to the healthy but unexposed seedlings. Simultaneous application of RS and VOCs enhanced superoxide dismutase (SOD), peroxidase (POD), catalase (CAT), phenylalanine ammonia lyase (PAL), ascorbate peroxidase (APX), and polyphenol oxidase (PPO) activities by 96.7%, 266.6%, 313.7%, 246.6%, 307%, and 149.7%, respectively, in the roots and by 81.6%, 246.4%, 269.5%, 269.6%, 329%, and 137.6%, respectively, in the shoots, relative to those of the control plants. The binding affinity of the VOCs (2-pentylfuran, 2,3-butanediol, and dimethyl disulfide) with CRZ1 and S9 protein receptors of RS was assessed by deploying in silico methods. Overall, 2-pentylfuran exhibited a binding affinity with both the selected receptors of RS, while 2,3-butanediol and dimethyl disulfide were able to bind S9 protein only. Hence, it can be deduced that S9 protein receptors are more likely the target RS receptors of bacterial VOCs to inhibit the proliferation of RS

Accessing the Effectiveness of Preparing Teachers’ Program at University Level in Pakistan

B.Ed (Honors) program initiated with the recommendations of the National Curriculum Revision Committee (NCRC) and Higher Education Commission (HEC) in Pakistan. Government of Pakistan (GOP) ensures to expose a deep interest in creating severe modifications to confiscate entirely differences in the transnational standards. The present study was designed to assess the effectiveness of B.Ed (Honors) program being offered in private and public sector universities in Pakistan. Faculty teachers and alumni were selected as sample of the study. For data collection, questionnaire containing 45 statements with four factors and focus group discussion were used.  SPSS version 23 was used for data analysis. Descriptive statistics indicated that the respondents were satisfied about the teachers’ content knowledge, effectiveness of teaching methodologies, practices of behavior changes and timely feedbacks. Respondents were less satisfied with the statements related to admission criteria, appropriateness of content, supportive environment for learning and teaching practices, assessment system and availability of physical resources. Inferential statistics showed that significant difference in mean scores of respondents from private and public sectors universities on the factors of program objectives, content of program, assessment procedure and accessibility of physical facilities. It is suggested in the light of findings that administration of universities should allocate more budget for improving the quality of this program, content should revised, selection criteria should appropriate, availability and  proper use of  technology and proficiency of English.   &nbsp

Analysis of collaborative wireless vehicular technologies under realistic conditions

Abstract Reliable communications are essential to provide intelligent services to connected cars. For operational services, connected vehicles in VANET (Vehicle Ad hoc Networks) regularly transfer large amounts of data related to vehicular safety. Similarly, V2X (Vehicle-to-Everything) communications include vehicles exchanging information with each other and with infrastructure that is, Vehicle-to-Infrastructure (V2I) and Vehicle-to-Vehicle (V2V). This paper has analyzed the performance of IEEE 802.11p and 5G test network in a collaborative manner under realistic conditions. For performance analysis the exchange of safety-critical road weather and traffic information has been performed to enhance the traffic safety and traffic efficiency in the domain of intelligent transportation system (ITS). The vehicular connectivity is provided in V2V and V2I scenarios by utilizing short-range IEEE 802.11 standard or cellular approaches, such as the 5G network. Here, we consider combining these technologies in a cooperative manner to exploit jointly their advantages. In this cooperative heterogeneous network, the IEEE 802.11p supports safety-related pilot use cases while the provision of non-safety-related pilot use cases are supported by the 5G test network. The performance analysis revealed that the IEEE 802.11p performs quite reasonably well with restricted mobility in contrast of 5G test network in a collaborative manner to avoid road accidents

Analysis of VANET wireless networking technologies in realistic environments

Abstract Communication is essential to provide an intelligent services to connected cars. For operational services, connected vehicles in VANET (Vehicle Ad hoc Networks) regularly try to transfer large amounts of data for vehicular safety. Similarly, V2x (Vehicle-to-Everything) communication includes vehicles transferring information with each other and with infrastructure i.e., Vehicle-to-Infrastructure (V2I) and Vehicle-to-Vehicle (V2V) are proven to increase traffic safety and security as well as to enhance the efficiency of intelligent transportation system (ITS). Vehicular connectivity is provided using short-range technologies such as the IEEE 802.110 standard or cellular approaches, such as the 5G network. In this article, we consider combining these technologies in a cooperative manner and aiming at exploiting jointly their advantages. In this cooperative heterogeneous network, the IEEE 802.11p supports safety-related pilot use cases while the provision of non-safety-related pilot use cases are supported by the 5G test network

An Integrated Approach for Developing an Urban Livability Composite Index—A Cities’ Ranking Road Map to Achieve Urban Sustainability

Livability is a concept that assesses the quality of life and relative performance of different regions and communities, based on various qualitative and quantitative factors. The assessment of urban livability is a complex and multidimensional task, which is of utmost importance for informed and transparent policy and decision making. The present study aimed to develop a road map for cities’ ranking on the bases of their livability. We have used a case study of eight major cities of Punjab, Pakistan. Indicators of cities’ sustainability considered for the cities’ ranking were spatial planning and growth, individual wellbeing, urban economy, connectivity and infrastructure, quality of life, and the urban environment. In the first stage, after the consolidation of socio-economic, environmental, and other indicators, they are converted into dimension indices by taking geometric means. In the second stage, the Analytical Hierarchical Process (AHP) has been employed for assigning weights to each dimension into a composite index. The results of the study depict the disparities among cities through a multidimensional analysis. Lahore is ranked as first overall from the bottom. Thus, the study recommends that, despite the high standing of Lahore on the livability ladder, it must address the issue of connectivity and traffic congestion and per capita needs of the public infrastructure for a growing mega metropolitan city of over 10 million people. Similarly, Rawalpindi is ranked as the second-best city with regard to livability in Punjab. The main contributing factors for Rawalpindi city are ‘individual well-being’, ‘urban economy’, and ‘urban environment’. Moreover, the current study also suggests important policy implications for decision makers to highlight the areas that must be reconsidered for improvement in terms of the selected indicators and dimensions

An Integrated Approach for Developing an Urban Livability Composite Index—A Cities’ Ranking Road Map to Achieve Urban Sustainability

Livability is a concept that assesses the quality of life and relative performance of different regions and communities, based on various qualitative and quantitative factors. The assessment of urban livability is a complex and multidimensional task, which is of utmost importance for informed and transparent policy and decision making. The present study aimed to develop a road map for cities’ ranking on the bases of their livability. We have used a case study of eight major cities of Punjab, Pakistan. Indicators of cities’ sustainability considered for the cities’ ranking were spatial planning and growth, individual wellbeing, urban economy, connectivity and infrastructure, quality of life, and the urban environment. In the first stage, after the consolidation of socio-economic, environmental, and other indicators, they are converted into dimension indices by taking geometric means. In the second stage, the Analytical Hierarchical Process (AHP) has been employed for assigning weights to each dimension into a composite index. The results of the study depict the disparities among cities through a multidimensional analysis. Lahore is ranked as first overall from the bottom. Thus, the study recommends that, despite the high standing of Lahore on the livability ladder, it must address the issue of connectivity and traffic congestion and per capita needs of the public infrastructure for a growing mega metropolitan city of over 10 million people. Similarly, Rawalpindi is ranked as the second-best city with regard to livability in Punjab. The main contributing factors for Rawalpindi city are ‘individual well-being’, ‘urban economy’, and ‘urban environment’. Moreover, the current study also suggests important policy implications for decision makers to highlight the areas that must be reconsidered for improvement in terms of the selected indicators and dimensions

Proliferation Capacity and Expression of Cell Cycle Genes in Normal and Gestational Diabetes Affected WJMSCs

Wharton’s jelly derived mesenchymal stem cells (WJMSCs) are a well-known source for the regenerative approach. Current investigation shows that the metabolic disorders like gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) are not only responsible for several disease factors in adult life but also have adverse effects on perinatal environment as well as on the cellular properties of WJMSCs. This study was designed to determine the effects of gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) on proliferation of WJMSCs (GDM WJMSCs). Mesenchymal stem cells were isolated from Wharton’s jelly tissue of normal(healthy) samples and from the GDM affected sample. The isolated cells were characterized for the presence of stem cells markers by Immunocytochemistry. After characterization, the analysis of GDM effect on WJMSCS proliferation rate was analyzed by calculating the population doubling time of the cells at different passages (P0-P3). Moreover, the expression of the important cell cycle genes (CDCA2, CDCA8, CDC20, and CCNA2) was analyzed by quantitative PCR to determine the effect of GDM at gene level. The isolated cells expressed the stem cell specific marker CD90 which confirmed that the isolated cells are WJMSCs. Population doubling time (PDT) was found to be increased in the early passages (P0-P1) in GDM-WJMSCs as compared to control WJMSCs. However, at later passages (P2, P3 stages) PDT was decreased and an improvement in the proliferation rate was observed. The fold change expression of cell cycle genes was found to be decreased in GDM-WJMSCs as compared to control WJMSCs. This study concluded that the GDM affect the expression of cell cycle genes, hence the cells proliferate slow as compared to the normal cells. The GDM affected cells had a high population doubling time in the early passages but when the cells were grown in vitro in controlled environment the cells proliferate efficiently, suggesting that the GDM affected WJMSCs can also be utilized for the regenerative purpose after improving the proliferation rate of cells

Applications of Pruning Methods in Natural Language Processing

Deep neural networks (DNN) are in high demand because of their widespread applications in natural language processing, image processing, and a lot of other domains. However, due to their computational expense, over-parameterization, and large memory requirements, DNN applications often require the use of substantial model resources. This strict requirement of latency and limited memory availability are hurdles in the device deployment of these technologies. Therefore, a common idea could be to mitigate the DNN-based models’ size without any performance degradation using different compression techniques. During the last few years, a great deal of progress has been made in the field of Natural Language Processing (NLP) using deep learning approaches. The objective of this research is to offer a thorough overview of the various pruning methods applied in the context of NLP. In this paper, we review several recent pruning-based schemes used for converting standard networks into their compact and accelerated versions. Traditionally, pruning is a technique for improving latency, reducing model size, and computational complexity which is a viable approach to deal with the above-mentioned challenges. In general, these techniques are divided into two main categories: structural and unstructured pruning methods. Structural pruning methods are further classified into filter, channel, layer, block, and movement pruning. Whereas, neuron, magnitude-based, and iterative pruning lie in the category of unstructured pruning. For each method, we discuss the related metrics and benchmarks. Then recent work on each method is discussed in detail, which provides insightful analysis of the performance, related applications, and pros and cons. Then, a comparative analysis is provided to analyze the differences among approaches. Finally, the paper concludes with possible future directions and some technical challenges

Structure based design, synthesis of novel fused triazole-thiazole derivatives and their comparative study on Alzheimer disease along with in silico modeling

In this approach, fused triazole thiazole derivatives (1–14) were synthesized and designed as dual inhibitors of AChE and BuChE which exhibit promising inhibitory activity to cure one of the progressive disorders, Alzheimer’s disease. Different spectroscopic techniques (13C NMR, 1H NMR and HREI-MS) were employed for the synthetic confirmations of all the derivatives. Using the standard drug donepezil (IC50 = 10.60 ± 0.20 for AChE and 11.80 ± 0.49 µM for BuChE). All the analogues in the current series showed a wide range of inhibitory potentials such as (IC50 = 7.20 ± 0.10 to 17.50 ± 0.10 µM for AChE and IC50 = 8.10 ± 0.20 to 18.20 ± 0.10 µM for BuChE). The nature, number and position of the attached substituents in the phenyl ring greatly influenced the inhibitory activity of the current analogues in the series. However, Analogue 4 with IC50 values (7.20 ± 0.10, 8.10 ± 0.20 µM) showed immense potency due to para substituted tri-fluoro methyl moiety. Molecular docking studies and ADME analysis was also conducted for the excellent binding interactions with target enzymes and drug like properties of the potent analogues

DataSheet_1_Alleviation of banded leaf and sheath blight disease incidence in maize by bacterial volatile organic compounds and molecular docking of targeted inhibitors in Rhizoctonia solani.docx

Rhizoctonia solani (RS) is a pathogenic fungus that affects maize (Zea mays L.) plants and causes banded leaf and sheath blight (BLSB) with severe consequences leading to significant economic losses. Contrarily, rhizobacteria produce numerous volatile organic compounds (VOCs) that help in devising the environment-friendly mechanism for promoting plant growth and stress alleviation without having physical contact with plants. In the present study, 15 rhizobacterial strains were tested for their antagonism against RS. The antagonistic potential of VOCs of the tested plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) strains ranged from 50% to 80% as compared to the control (without PGPR). Among these 15 strains, the maximum (80%) antagonistic activity was exhibited by Pseudomonas pseudoalcaligenes SRM-16. Thus, the potential of VOCs produced by P. pseudoalcaligenes SRM-16 to alleviate the BLSB disease in maize was evaluated. A pot experiment was conducted under greenhouse conditions to observe the effect of VOCs on disease resistance of BLSB-infected seedlings. Overall, maize seedlings exposed to VOCs showed a significant increase in disease resistance as indicated by a reduced disease score than that of unexposed infected plants. The VOCs-exposed maize exhibited lower (11.6%) disease incidence compared to the non-inoculated maize (14.1%). Moreover, plants exposed to VOCs displayed visible improvements in biomass, photosynthetic pigments, osmoregulation, and plant antioxidant and defense enzyme activities compared to the healthy but unexposed seedlings. Simultaneous application of RS and VOCs enhanced superoxide dismutase (SOD), peroxidase (POD), catalase (CAT), phenylalanine ammonia lyase (PAL), ascorbate peroxidase (APX), and polyphenol oxidase (PPO) activities by 96.7%, 266.6%, 313.7%, 246.6%, 307%, and 149.7%, respectively, in the roots and by 81.6%, 246.4%, 269.5%, 269.6%, 329%, and 137.6%, respectively, in the shoots, relative to those of the control plants. The binding affinity of the VOCs (2-pentylfuran, 2,3-butanediol, and dimethyl disulfide) with CRZ1 and S9 protein receptors of RS was assessed by deploying in silico methods. Overall, 2-pentylfuran exhibited a binding affinity with both the selected receptors of RS, while 2,3-butanediol and dimethyl disulfide were able to bind S9 protein only. Hence, it can be deduced that S9 protein receptors are more likely the target RS receptors of bacterial VOCs to inhibit the proliferation of RS.</p