MinION as a Teaching tool in a Graduate course in Pakistan

Genomics is a rapidly evolving field of study that is increasingly being utilized as a tool to detect ethnic and tribal-specific mutations that may be the key to rare and common diseases with higher prevalence in the population under study [1]. However, researchers and science educators in remote areas can often find it difficult to access the latest genetic technologies, probably due to its high costs and lack of suitable infrastructure. Recent technological innovations are resulting in portable, low-cost instruments that enable next-generation sequencing in remote environments, offering new opportunities to generate a more widespread network of trained geneticists [2]. We need to formalize educational efforts to teach students and young researchers with hands-on training to excel in molecular and bioinformatics knowledge. Here, we report our experience of using the MinION pocket size sequencer in a graduate course. The graduate course had some theoretical lectures that explained the basic principles of genomics followed be practical sessions. We hope that the training material developed during this course will provide the community with useful tools to help educate future generations of genome scientists in Pakistan.

Spectrophotometric Quantification of Trace Elements and Toxic Metals in Raw Milk Samples of Peshawar City, Pakistan

The present study focused on the physicochemical characterization and spectrophotometric determination of the concentrations of trace elements (Zn, Cu, Fe and Mn) and toxic heavy metals (Cd and Pb) in raw milk samples collected from various commercial sites of Peshawar city, Pakistan. Evaluation of the nutritional values as well as the possible health concerns associated with the consumption of contaminated milk shown the average percentage composition of protein, fats, solid non-fats, lactose, salts and added water in the milk sample as 2.78, 4.81, 6.41, 3.05, 0.47 and 31.1 %, respectively. The values of pH, conductivity, density and freezing point were observed as 6.59, 3.51 mS/cm, 1.04 g/mL and -0.3674 ºC at 26 ºC. The physicochemical characteristics such as percentage protein, fat, lactose, salts, water, solid not fat, total solids, pH, conductivity and density were evaluated and found in the safe limits of the WHO/FAO. The average concentration of trace elements such as zinc and copper were found to be 1.4035 mg/L and 0.2588 mg/L, respectively. The concentration of Zn and Cu was found within permissible limits suggested by WHO. However, the average concentration of Fe, Mn, Cd and Pb were found higher than the permissible limits of WHO. The observed concentrations were: Fe = 1.5553, Mn = 0.4354, Cd = 0.1865 and Pb = 1.1162 mg/L. The presence of the non-essential and hazardous Cd and Pb in milk samples even in lower concentrations may cause severe health problems since these are the most noxious pollutants due to their non-biodegradable and bio-accumulative nature. Over-dose of Fe and Mn also leads to several health issues. A thorough and more precise investigation of raw milk consumption in Peshawar is highly recommended to ascertain the actual reasons and sources in the larger public interests

Prioritizing the Issues extracted for Getting Right People on Right Project in Software Project Management from Vendors' Perspective

Software project management inspires and urges the spirit of software developing team members which continues until project completion. Obviously, success of every project based on right selection of team members that ensures to meet the desired requirements of any software developing project. The fundamental aim of current study is to extract and prioritize issues faced by vendors of global software development (GSD) organizations during the selection of right team with having aim to complete the project successfully. As a methodology, a systematic literature review (SLR) used for data extraction and categorization, a questionnaire survey adopted for data validation, and a hierarchical analytical process (AHP) used for prioritizing extracted findings. A total of 12 issues are extracted and grouped into 3 categories (association, teamwork, and fascination). The overall result showed that 'association' is the most important category as compare to other categories. Similarly, communication and coordination issues, team's consistency and stability issues, and lack of expertise issues, etc are highlighted as the most critical issues during selection of right people for the right project from vendors' perspective.Qatar University [IRCC-2020-009]

Development and Evaluation of Drug Loaded Regenerated Bacterial Cellulose-Based Matrices as a Potential Dosage Form

Bacterial cellulose (BC) is a highly pure form of cellulose and possesses superior physico-mechanical properties with wide range of applications. These properties of BC can further be improved by various modifications, including its regeneration from the BC solution. In the current research work, regenerated BC (R-BC) matrices were prepared using N-methyl-morpholine-oxide (NMMO; 50% w/w solution in water) and loaded with model drugs, i.e., famotidine or tizanidine. The characterization of drug loaded regenerated BC (R-BC-drug) matrices was carried out using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), x-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), which revealed the stability of matrices and successful drug loading. Results of dissolution studies showed immediate (i.e., >90%) drug release in 30 min. The drugs release data was found to best fit into first order kinetics model having R2 values >0.99 for all the formulations. These results indicated that regenerated BC-based matrices had the ability to be used for delivery of orally administered drugs

Role of critical success factors in offshore quality requirement change management using SLR

In software engineering field, requirement change management is a challenging job. Ignoring incoming changes results in customer displeasure. It may also result in late product transportation. Managing requirement changes in poor way is the main cause of product failure. It has more diverse effect in global software outsourcing. In software quality requirement change management, it is necessary to address success factors in order to accomplish the requirements of the customers. In this paper, systematic literature review approach is used for documentation and scrutinization of success factors. Total sixteen success factors were recognized having great impact on quality software requirement change management. Our identified success factors like 'Proper Requirement Change Management', 'Rapid Delivery', 'Quality Software Product, Access to Market', 'Project Management', 'Skills and Methodologies', 'Low Cost/Effort Estimation', 'Clear Plan and Road Map', 'Agile Processes', 'Low Labor Cost', 'User Satisfaction', 'Communication/Close Coordination', 'Proper Scheduling and Time Constraints', 'Frequent Technological Changes', 'Robust Model', 'Geographical juncture/Cultural differences' are the crucial factors that affect software quality requirement change. Company size and different database have been used for the analysis of success factors. The databases/search engine used are Google scholar, Science Direct, IEEE Explore and Springer for the exploration of success factors. Companies are analyzed on the basis of their size such as small, medium and large.Qatar Foundation - grant No. UREP27-020-1-003

Antioxidant enzymes as bio-markers for copper tolerance in safflower (Carthamus tinctorius L.)

Activities of antioxidants enzymes were investigated in order to evaluate protective mechanism of plants against oxidative stress induced by high concentration of copper. Safflower (Carthamus tinctorius L.) plants were exposed to 100 μM copper (Cu) for two weeks under controlled environmental conditions using hydroponic culture. Cu induced changes in chlorophyll and carotenoids pigments. More Cu accumulated in the roots as compared with the leaves. Level of lipid peroxidation and antioxidative enzyme activities (peroxidase, catalase and superoxide dismutase) also correlated with the Cu content of the plant tissues. However, restricted transfer of the metal to the foliage and enhanced activity of peroxidase, catalase and superoxide dismutase may be of great significance for scavenging oxidative stress caused by excessive copper in safflower plants. Thus, these antioxidant enzymes served as good predictors for the evaluation of heavy metal tolerance.Keywords: Carthamus tinctorius, copper stress, oxidative damage, antioxidant defenseAfrican Journal of Biotechnology Vol. 9(33), pp. 5441-5444, 16 August, 201

Governance and exchange rate in Pakistan: A time series analysis

Financial market is more sensitive rather than any other market.The eExchange rate is a more prominent indicator of financial market and it directly affects the whole economy.As globalization increases international dependence also increases many times.So volatility in the exchange rate has a direct effect on the terms of trade.Variance of volatility can be minimized with better governance.The exchange rate is used as a proxy variable for financial markets.Empirical analysis of the impact of governance on exchange rate in Pakistan is uniqueness of study.In this study, we investigated the effects of saving rate, money supply and governance on the exchange rate. This analysis is a time series for the time period of 1980 to 2012.After checking unit root, Auto-Regressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) approach to co-integration is applied.Empirical findings are exploring significant impact of governance on exchange rate in the short run (SR) as well as in the long run (LR) in Pakistan.Results suggest that if governance improves it will bring positive change in the economy through the exchange rate. These results are consistent with the theory