Effect of sorbitol in callus induction and plant regeneration in wheat

Six wheat genotypes were evaluated for their response to callus induction and regeneration on MS medium modified with different concentrations of sorbitol, that is, 0, 10, 20, 30 gL-1 along with optimum (3 mgL-1) concentration of 2,4-D. Variability was observed among different genotypes for callus induction. Highest callus induction frequency was shown by Wafaq- 2001, which was about 85.62% followed by Inqalab-91 which showed 71.94% callus induction. While minimum callus induction frequency was shown by Saleem-2000 which was about 51.21%. Regarding sorbitol concentration highest average callus induction frequency (79.20%) was obtained at 20 gL-1 and lowest average callus induction frequency (59.20%) was observed at 30 gL-1. In Wafaq-2001 and Inqalab-91 plant regeneration increased gradually by increasing the sorbitol concentration from 0 to 20 gL-1 but then it decreased. Similarly Auqab-2002 had no regeneration al all on non-sorbitol medium but showed regeneration on addition of sorbitol. Similarly time duration required for plant regeneration also decreased by increasing the concentration of sorbitol. It was also observed that sorbitol has given more strength to regenerated plant

Design of heat sinks for wearable thermoelectric generators to power personal heating garments: A numerical study

To mitigate climate change attributed to the built environments, there have been tremendous efforts to improve air conditioning systems in the buildings. The possibility of harvesting body heat as a renewable energy source to power a wearable personal heating system is investigated. The aim of this study is to integrate a wearable personal heating system with a thermoelectric generator (TEG) that harvests the body heat which is used to convert it into electricity. Moreover, the interaction between the TEG configuration and power output is studied. The power generation of TEG system is obtained by COMSOL Multiphysics software. The simulation results concluded that all the four proposed heat sink configurations can improve the power output of the wearable TEG at 1.4 m/s and 3m/s compared to that of the reference model. Furthermore, the perforated and trapezium shapes of heat sinks have a significantly better performance in comparison to conventional heat sinks

Exploring the Security Awareness of the Python and JavaScript Open Source Communities

Software security is undoubtedly a major concern in today's software engineering. Although the level of awareness of security issues is often high, practical experiences show that neither preventive actions nor reactions to possible issues are always addressed properly in reality. By analyzing large quantities of commits in the open-source communities, we can categorize the vulnerabilities mitigated by the developers and study their distribution, resolution time, etc. to learn and improve security management processes and practices. With the help of the Software Heritage Graph Dataset, we investigated the commits of two of the most popular script languages -- Python and JavaScript -- projects collected from public repositories and identified those that mitigate a certain vulnerability in the code (i.e. vulnerability resolution commits). On the one hand, we identified the types of vulnerabilities (in terms of CWE groups) referred to in commit messages and compared their numbers within the two communities. On the other hand, we examined the average time elapsing between the publish date of a vulnerability and the first reference to it in a commit. We found that there is a large intersection in the vulnerability types mitigated by the two communities, but most prevalent vulnerabilities are specific to language. Moreover, neither the JavaScript nor the Python community reacts very fast to appearing security vulnerabilities in general with only a couple of exceptions for certain CWE groups.Comment: 17th International Conference on Mining Software Repositorie

Client Satisfaction Towards Quality of Health Services: an Assessment at Primary Healthcare of District Gujranwala

This survey designed to evaluate the satisfaction level and the factors that affect the patient satisfaction regarding health care delivery services with the aim to improve the services in the primary health care settings of Gujranwala. A Cross Sectional Study done on randomly selected patients attending the basic health units of Gujranwala, with more than18 years of age. Pretested structured "Liker scale questionnaire" was used for data collection. Out of total respondents, 62 (41.3%) clients were satisfied with the services provided by the basic health units of Gujranwala. The factors identified to determine patient satisfaction were accessibility of services, behavior of staff, health education, level of cleanliness, drug availability and miscellaneous services. Not a single ranked area of satisfaction noticed. Client\u27s occupation and income had significant relationship with the patient satisfaction level. Gender, age, and education of clients were not contributing factors; they not affect the client satisfaction level.Less than half clients were satisfied with the services provided by the basic health units. Management of health facilities needs to improve the services

Survey of aflatoxins in chillies from Pakistan produced in rural, semi-rural and urban environments

Chilli peppers from Pakistan are consumed locally and also exported. Their quality is compromised by aflatoxins (AF) contamination. AF in chillies from rural, semi-rural and urban areas of the Punjab region of Pakistan were determined. Twenty-three (52.3%), 22 (50%) and 29 (65.9%) samples from rural, semi-rural and urban areas respectively, contained levels of aflatoxins which exceeded the European Union limits of >5 µg kg-1 for AFB1 and >10 µg kg-1 for total AF that apply to spices. Mean values for AFB1 in ground samples were 23.8, 14.8 and 14.0 µg kg-1 for rural, semi-rural and urban areas, respectively. Mean total AF in ground samples were 27.7, 17.7 and 16.2 µg kg-1 from equivalent locations. Eleven (50%), 12 (54.5%) and 14 (63.6%) whole samples from rural, semi-rural and urban areas, respectively, contained total levels of AF that exceeded European Union limits. The data indicate that individual localities have particular problems. In conclusion, the concentrations were often greater than the statutory limits set by the European Union.The authors acknowledge the financial support of the Higher Education Commission, Pakistan, under Indigenous PhD fellowship 5000 batch-III (Grant Number 063-00445-Ps3-047). R.R.M.P. is grateful for the FCT framework position: Commitment to Science (C2008-UMIN-HO-CEB-2)

Aflatoxin B1 in chilies from the Punjab region, Pakistan

The occurrence of aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) in chilies from Pakistan was determined by using HPLC in work undertaken in Pakistan.Whole (n=22) and powdered (n=22) chilies were analyzed. Sixteen (73.0%) and 19 (86.4%) samples of whole and ground chilies, respectively, were contaminated. The mean concentration in powdered chilies (32.20 μg/kg) was higher statistically than in whole chilies (24.69 μg/kg). Concentrations ranged from 0.00 to 89.56 μg/ kg for powdered chilies, compared with 0.00–96.3 μg/kg for whole chilies. The limits of detection and quantification were 0.05 μg/kg and 0.53 μg/kg, respectively. The concentrations were high in general and greater than the statutory limit set by the European Union. There is considerable scope for improvements in chili production in Pakistan.Higher Education Commission, PakistanFundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT

A review on recent developments of thermoelectric materials for room-temperature applications

Wearable thermoelectric generators (TEGs) emerge as a viable renewable energy source, which directly convert the heat dissipated from human skin into electricity. Extensive reviews have been conducted on the efficiency of thermoelectric materials (TE) as the dominant element of TEGs. TE materials are categorised as inorganic, organic, and hybrid. Each of these reviews focused on either a specific type of TE materials, or on a certain specification (i.e. flexibility) of them. However, less attention has been paid to comprehensively review all these types without taking into account a certain specification. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to summarize the progress and current state-of-the-art research on the three types of TE materials respecting their TE properties and efficiency at 300K, which is the operating temperature of wearable TEGs. Concerning the inorganic TE materials, the results show that Bi0.4-xSb1.6+xTe3 and Bi2Te2.7Se0.3 are the most optimal TE materials, which exhibit the greatest efficiencies at room temperature. In addition, it is remarkably more efficient to replace polymer based TE composites with carbon based TE composites in the organic and the hybrid types. In total, this comprehensive review paves the way for researchers to find out the most suitable TE materials at room temperatures

Optimization of a wearable thermoelectric generator encapsulated in polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) : a numerical modelling

To mitigate climate change attributed to the electricity generation, there have been tremendous efforts in replacing fossil fuels with renewable energies in the electricity sector. For this purpose, wearable thermoelectric generators (WTEGs) are the most promising direct and green power generation technique for portable electronics. In spite of extensive research, there is a trade-off relationship between the flexibility of WTEGs and their power output. Thus, this research aims to improve the performance of a flexible WTEG through differing thermal conditions around the hot and cold junctions. Accordingly, the PDMS substrate of a flexible WTEG is segmented into two layers, whereas each layer is individually filled with different fillers. Accordingly, three different patterns are proposed for the segmentation. Then, using COMSOL Multiphysics software, the output voltage and power of the specified patterns are analyzed and compared with those of an original flexible WTEG. Results concluded that releasing the thermoelectric legs from PDMS coating can remarkably improve the output voltage as well as the power generation. In addition, with regard to the segmentation pattern, adding fillers to the PDMS layers has a twofold effect on the voltage and power generation. Precisely, the thickness of each segment should be taken into consideration for selecting an appropriate filler. This work paves the way for enhancing the performance of flexible WTEGs, which ultimately leads to low carbon and energy-efficient electricity generation

Energy transition for meeting ecological goals: Do economic stability, technology, and government stability matter?

Unquestionably, energy transition, which entails increasing renewables in the energy mix, is among the most reliable strategies to discontinue the utilization of fossil fuels and achieve Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). In this context, technological advancement can not only stimulate green energy supply but also promote resource efficiency for realizing ecological goals. Also, persistent long-term energy policies and uninterrupted investments are needed to progress on SDGs for climate control and sustainable development. Hence, factors such as economic and government stability are pertinent to implementing and governing energy strategies. Against this background, this study assesses the potential of energy transition in meeting ecological goals by taking into account the roles of economic stability, technology, and government stability in BRICS from 1992 to 2018. Using the second-generation Westerlund cointegration test, the study found a long-run association among variables. The findings from the Continuously Updated Fully Modified (CuP-FM) test disclosed that energy transition is effective in limiting the ecological footprint (EF) in BRICS. Alongside this, economic stability and technology reduce ecological degradation. In addition, government stability stimulates environmental sustainability, while population density decreases environmental sustainability. Finally, the implications of these conclusions for meeting SDGs are discussed and policy directions are provided. Copyright © 2022 Tang, Shahzad, Ahmed, Ahmad and Abbas.Guangdong University of Petrochemical Technology, GDUPT: 2020rc059, 702-72100003004, 702/5210012The correspondence author is supported by the Fundamental Research Start-up Funds from Guangdong University of Petrochemical Technology (Project No. 702-72100003004 and 702/5210012) (Grant No. 2020rc059)

Association between progestin-only contraceptive use and cardiometabolic outcomes: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Aims The association between progestin-only contraceptive (POC) use and the risk of various cardiometabolic outcomes has rarely been studied. We performed a systematic review and meta-analysis to determine the impact of POC use on cardiometabolic outcomes including venous thromboembolism, myocardial infarction, stroke, hypertension and diabetes. Methods and results Nineteen observational studies (seven cohort and 12 case-control) were included in this systematic review. Of those, nine studies reported the risk of venous thromboembolism, six reported the risk of myocardial infarction, six reported the risk of stroke, three reported the risk of hypertension and two studies reported the risk of developing diabetes with POC use. The pooled adjusted relative risks (RRs) for venous thromboembolism, myocardial infarction and stroke for oral POC users versus non-users based on the random effects model were 1.06 (95% confidence interval (CI) 0.70-1.62), 0.98 (95% CI 0.66-1.47) and 1.02 (95% CI 0.72-1.44), respectively. Stratified analysis by route of administration showed that injectable POC with a RR of 2.62 (95% CI 1.74-3.94), but not oral POCs (RR 1.06, 95% CI 0.7-1.62), was associated with an increased risk of venous thromboembolism. A decreased risk of venous thromboembolism in a subgroup of women using an intrauterine levonorgestrel device was observed with a RR of 0.53 (95% CI 0.32-0.89). No effect of POC use on blood pressure was found, but there was an indication for an increased risk of diabetes with injectable POCs, albeit non-significant. Conclusions This systematic review and meta-analysis suggests that oral POC use is not associated with an increased risk of developing various cardiometabolic outcomes, whereas injectable POC use might increase the risk of venous thromboembolism