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Abstract Tick-borne bacteria of the genera Rickettsia and Coxiella cause several emerging veterinary and human infectious diseases. Ticks of the genus Hyalomma are medically important vectors due to their potential role in the transmission of pathogens to vertebrate hosts. There is an inadequate knowledge on tick-borne Rickettsia spp. and Coxiella spp. in ticks infesting transhumant camels in Pakistan. In this study, we conducted a molecular survey for screening of Rickettsia spp. and Coxiella spp. in ticks infesting camels. Seven hard tick species including Hyalomma dromedarii, Hyalomma anatolicum, Hyalomma scupense, Hyalomma isaaci, Hyalomma turanicum, Hyalomma asiaticum, and Rhipicephalus sanguineus s.l were confirmed on camels in three distinct physiographic regions of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. A subset of morphologically identified ticks were subjected to molecular assays for the genetic characterization of ticks and the detection and genetic characterization of Rickettsia and Coxiella species using standard genetic markers. Ticks screened for pathogens resulted in the detection of Rickettsia aeschlimannii and Candidatus Rickettsia shennongii and Coxiella burnetii. The molecular analysis further reveals the presences of an undetermined Rickettsia aeschlimannii-like species, that is making a distinct phylogenetic clade with R. aeschlimannii. The detection of pathogens in camel ticks poses potential health hazards as these ticks frequently bites humans. Molecular screening of Rickettsia spp. and Coxiella spp. associated with camel ticks is a preliminary step toward the surveillance of evaluating their zoonotic threats in the region.

Abstract Coccidiosis causes huge economic losses worldwide. Current study evaluated the effect of biosynthesized Zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnONPs) using Nigella sativa, on Eimeria tenella infected broilers. Scanning electron microscopy showed spherical ZnONPs with 50–100 nm diameter, Fourier transforms infrared spectroscopy revealed the functional groups involved in the reduction of zinc acetate dihydrate to ZnONPs, UV–vis spectroscopy showed a peak at 354 nm, and Zeta potential exhibited stability at − 30 mV. A total of 150, a day-old broiler chicks were divided into 5 equal groups. Control negative: uninfected and untreated; Control positive: Infected and untreated; 3rd, 4th and 5th group were infected orally with 5 × 104 sporulated oocysts of Eimeria tenella and treated with 60 mg/kg ZnONPs, 1% Nigella sativa seeds and amprolium 125 ppm, respectively. ZnONPs significantly (p

Abstract Determination of the seroprevalence and risk factors that are associated with West Nile virus (WNV) in horses is essential for adoption of effective prevention strategies. Our objective in this study, therefore, was to determine the seroprevalence and to identify the risk factors associated with WNV infection in the most densely horse-populated governorates in Egypt. A cross-sectional study was conducted in 2018 on 930 horses, which were distributed over five governorates in the Nile delta of Egypt. The horses, which were randomly selected, were serologically tested through use of an ID screen West Nile competition enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) to detect anti-WNV immunoglobulin G (IgG) and plaque reduction neutralization tests (PRNT; gold standard) to confirm the seropositive status of animals and to avoid cross reaction with other flavi-viruses. Four variables (geographical location, breed, sex and age) were considered in the risk analysis. Univariable and stepwise forward multivariable logistic regression methods were used for risk-factor analysis. The odds ratio (OR) was used as an approximate measure of relative risk. A total of 156 (16.8%; 95% confidence interval (CI) 14.4–19.2; P

Herein, the indolonaphthyridine-based molecules (INDTD1-INDTD8) with A 1 -π-A 2 -π-A 1 configuration were designed by the end-capped modification of INDTR reference with various acceptors. The density functional theory (DFT) and time-dependent DFT (TD-DFT) analyses at M06/6-31G(d,p) level were reported in this research to explore their optoelectronic and photovoltaic features. Their geometrical structures were initially optimized at the afore-said level and followed by various calculations such as the frontier molecular orbitals (FMOs), UV-Visible, density of states (DOS), transition density matrix (TDM), binding energy (E b ), open circuit voltage (V oc ) and fill factor (FF). Moreover, their global reactivity parameters (GRPs) were depicted by using the HOMO-LUMO band gaps obtained from the FMOs study. The tailored molecules demonstrated lower band gaps (2.183-2.269 eV) than INDTR (2.288 eV). They also showed bathochromic shifts in the visible region in chloroform (735.937-762.318 nm) and gas phase (710.384-729.571 nm) as compared to INDTR (724.710 and 698.498 nm, respectively). Further, intramolecular charge transfer (ICT) was demonstrated via the DOS and TDM graphical maps. Among all the entitled chromophores, INDTD7 showed significantly reduced band gap (2.183 eV), red-shifted absorption value (760.914 nm) in chloroform solvent and minimal E b value (0.554 eV). The presence of -SO 3 H groups on the terminal acceptors of INDTD7  may enhance the mobility of charges. The results suggested that the newly designed chromophores can be effective candidates for the future organic solar cell applications. Moreover, this study may encourage the experimentalists to develop photovoltaic materials., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

In real-life situations, we have to analyze the data that contains the atypical observations, and the presence of outliers has adverse effects on the performance of ordinary least square estimates. In this situation, redescedning M-estimators, proposed by Huber (1964), are used to tackle the effects of outliers to increase the efficiency of least square estimates. In this study, we introduce a redescending M-estimator designed to generate robust estimates by mitigating the influence of outlier observations, even when the tuning constant is set to low values. This innovative estimator exhibits enhanced linearity at its core and maintains continuity throughout its range. Our proposed estimator stands out for its novelty, simplicity, differentiability, and practical applicability across real-world scenarios. The results of the proposed redescedning M-estimators are compared with existing robust estimators using an extensive simulation study. Two examples based on real-life data are also added to validate the performance of the suggested function. The formulated redescedning M-estimator produced efficient results as compared to all the considered redescedning M-estimators., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

In current era, non-fullerene (NF) chromophores have been reported as significant NLO materials due to promising optoelectronic properties. Therefore, a series of NF based chromophores abbreviated as TPBD2-TPBD6 with D-π-A architecture was designed from the reference compound (TPBR1) by its structural tailoring with an efficient donor and various acceptor groups for the first time. First, the structures of said compounds were optimized at M06-2X/6-311G (d,p) level. Further, the optimized structures were utilized to execute frontier molecular orbitals (FMOs), UV-Visible (UV-Vis) absorption, density of states (DOS) and transition density matrix (TDM) analyses at the same level to understand the non-linear (NLO) response of TPBR1 and TPBD2-TPBD6. Promising NLO results were achieved for all derivatives i.e., the highest amplitude of linear polarizability ⟨α⟩, first (β total ) and second ([Formula: see text] total ) hyperpolarizabilities than their parent molecule. The compound TPBD3 was noted with the most significant NLO properties as compared to the standard molecule. The structural modeling approach by utilizing the acceptor molecules has played a prominent role in attaining favorable NLO responses in the molecules. Thus, our study has tempted the experimentalists to synthesize the proposed NLO materials for the modern optoelectronic high-tech applications., (© 2022. The Author(s).)