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Present investigation was carried out to elucidate the extracts of botanicals i.e., Cichorium intybus, Glycyrrhiza glabra, Trachyspermum ammi and Terminalia chebula, for their possible toxic effect against C. chinensis population. The results revealed that mortality was highest (94.649%) in case of T. ammi treatment, followed by T. chebula with mortality value 56.929%. Mortality was 52.363% where application of C. intybus was carried out. Minimum mortality (34.500%) was observed in G. glabra treated grains. A natural ecto-parasitoid, Anisopteromalus calandrae was used to manage C. chinensis population. A. calandrae male and female adults (5, 10 and 15 pairs) were released to analyze the parasitism efficiency. A. calandrae was reared in the laboratory on C. chinensis larvae. Honey was offered as a suitable food to parasitoid. The parasitism data was recorded after the adult emergence of brunchid beetles. The experiment conducted under Completely Randomized Design and results statistically evaluated using statistical software at 5% level of significance. A. calandrae parasitized both larval and pupal stages of C. chinensis and preferred 4th instar larvae of C. chinensis. Large amount of A. calandrae may efficiently control the C. chinensis population. As compared to control (1558.7 host adult), the minimum host emergence (699.00 host adult) was observed with high population density of A. calandrae. It was also obvious from the results, that mortality was increased with the increase in concentration so, a direct dosemortality response was observed.

Present study was designed to investigate the effects of different combinations of three temperatures (20, 25 and 30℃) and three relative humidity levels (55, 65 and 75%) on the efficacy of three synthetic IGRs i.e., pyriproxyfen, lufenuron and buprofezin at concentrations of 1, 5 and 10ppm on fecundity and adult emergence inhibition of T. granarium under controlled laboratory conditions. This study was conducted at Grain Research Training and Storage management Cell, Department of Entomology, University of Agriculture, Faisalabad, Pakistan. All the treatments were replicated three times using Completely Randomized Design. Larvae of T. granariumwere exposed to IGRs at different levels of temperature and relative humidity. F1 adult emergence results showed that at temperature 20ᵒC, the highest percent reduction in adult emergence (84.38, 70.65 and 79.94%) was recorded after exposure to lufenuron, buprofezin and pyriproxyfen treated diet, respectively. At 75% relative humidity, lufenuron, buprofezin and pyriproxyfen caused 77.53, 80.00 and 80.32% reduction in adult emergence, respectively. Adults were exposed to IGRs at different temperature and relative humidity to evaluate the oviposition inhibition. The results revealed that at temperature 20℃, maximum percent reduction in fecundity (87.95, 80.45 and 70.55%) was recorded after exposure to buprofezin, pyriproxyfen and lufenuron treated diet, respectively. At 75% relative humidity buprofezin, pyriproxyfen and lufenuron caused 86.73, 83.72 and 69.11% reduction in fecundity, respectively. It is concluded that temperature and relative humidity play an important role in the effectiveness of insect growth regulators.

Genetic studies were conducted to examine the heritage of resistant to cotton leaf curl virus. Genetic components of variance revealed higher σ2GCA and Additive (σ2A) than σ2SCA and Dominance (σ2D), which indicated additive genes were more reliable for inheritance of resistance to CLCV. The ratio of variances σ2gca/σ2sca was higher than unity (one) and further proved from degree of dominance [σ2A/σ2D]0.5 which was greater than one and confirmed supremacy of additive genes at both locations and generations. The heritability narrow sense (h2) and broad sense (H2) was found higher which suggested role of additive genes, which are fixable. Therefore selection would be effective in early segregating generation according to the symptoms of cotton leaf curl virus. The GCA effects for CLCV showed that among the parents, Mac-7 found as good general combiner with highest significant negative GCA effects at both locations in F1 and F2 which considered as CLCV resistant parent. The SCA effects exhibited that hybrid, Mac-7 x USD16-3058, CIM-602 x Mac-7 and NIA-Noori x Mac-7 showed significant negative SCA effect in both generations and locations. It was noted that cross combinations involved good x poor and poor x good general combiner with significant SCA effect was due to complementary gene action which produce desirable transgressive segregants, these can be further studies through bi-parental mating of diallel selective mating or any other form of recurrent selection in early generation with single plant selection to exploited both additive an non-additive gene action.

Despite the critical role of balanced nutrition in crop productivity, the use of potash (K) and zinc (Zn) is not much practiced by Pakistani farmers. The reduced nutrient uptake and crop productivity together increase the costs associated with fertilization and revisit farmers' confidence in the efficacy and profitability of fertilizers. To address this problem, a field study was conducted in the research area of the MNS-University of Agriculture, Multan, in collaboration with Engro Fertilizers Limited. The research plan consisted of five treatments, including T1 = control (without N, P, K, and Zn fertilizers), T2 = NP in practice (NP at 32-23-0 kg acre-1), T3 = recommended NP (NP at 48-34.5 kg acre-1), T4 = balanced NPK (NP +K at 48-34.5-30 kg acre-1), and T5 = balanced NPK + Zn (NPK+Zn at 48-34.5- 30 + 7.5 kg acre-1). Wheat was used as a test crop, and its growth, yield, and physiological and nutritional parameters were studied. The results indicated that NPK+Zn balanced nutrition increased plant height, spike length, photosynthetic rate, water use efficiency, transpiration rate, stomatal conductance, and grain yield by 13%, 15%, 44%, 60%, 63%, 39%, and 78%, respectively, compared with the control. It was found that the combined application of NP, K, and Zn improved the recovery efficiency of applied nutrients, i.e., nitrogen recovery efficiency (NRE) by 230%, phosphorus recovery efficiency (PRE) by 136%, potassium recovery efficiency (KRE) by 135%, and zinc recovery efficiency (ZnRE) by 136% compared to NP-alone application. Agronomic use efficiency of applied fertilizers, such as potassium agronomic use efficiency (KAUE) by 71%, phosphorus agronomic use efficiency (PAUE) by 72%, nitrogen agronomic use efficiency (NAUE) by 70%, and zinc agronomic use efficiency (ZnAUE) by 72%, was observed compared to NP-alone application. The results showed that NPUE, PPUE, NPUE, and ZnPUE were reduced by 5%, 3%, 3%, and 5%, respectively, compared to NP-alone application. Our findings suggest that K and Zn should be made an essential part of wheat nutrition management for higher yield and better quality of produce. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objective of this work is to analyze the boundary layer flow in the vicinity of a stagnation point on a linearly stretched isothermal flat surface. The ambient fluid temperature is considered different than that of the sheet. The streaming fluid rheological behavior is approximated via the Williamson fluid model. The normalized partial differential equations based on the balances of mass, momentum, and energy are simulated numerically via the symbolic and numeric computing software Maple for two entirely different scenarios. In the first scenario, the outer potential flow velocity dominates the sheet velocity whilst it is the other way round for the second scenario. The plots showing the behaviors of velocity and temperature are presented at various streamwise locations. The skin friction and Nusselt number are also visualized graphically and listed in tabular forms. The analysis reveals that all quantities including velocity and temperature show a strong dependence on the streamwise co-ordinate. In general, velocity distribution and temperature rise with a gradual march along the streamwise direction. The heat transfer coefficient also elevates upon an increase in the streamwise co-ordinate. This contradicts several previously published results on the boundary layer flow of Williamson fluid where no such dependence is seen. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Greenhouse cultivation of vegetables, especially cucumber in hydroponic/soilless culture, has been developed in different parts of the world. There is an expanding interest in hydroponics because they can produce fresh food closer to urban areas. The objective of this study was to evaluate the efficiency of the biopesticides: matrine (extract from Sophora flavescens), spintoram (derived from soil bacterium Saccharopolyspora spinosa), azadirachtin (neem extract), and Annona squamosa (custard apple extract) against the cotton aphid (Aphis gossypii Glov.) and the two-spotted spider mite, (Tetranychus urticae Koch.). A drip-irrigation hydroponics system (DIHS) was designed and used for this study. Fourteen-day-old seedlings of cucumber plants were shifted in DIHS, and nutrient requirements were maintained during the period of experiment. Randomized complete block design (RCBD) was used for this experiment with 3 replicates and with 5 treatments. Data were collected 24 h pre-treatment and 1, 3, 7, and 14 days post-treatment. Results revealed that the custard apple extract showed the highest efficiency (80 and 76%) reduction against the aphid and the mite, respectively, followed by matrine (legend) and neem extract (73%), and spintoram (radiant) (69%) in case of the aphid, while it was followed by matrine (legend) (75%), spintoram (radiant), (66%), and neem extract (56%) in the case of the mite.

The underlying intention of the present work is to elaborate the boundary layer flow of Carreau fluid over a non‐linear stretching curved surface. Firstly, we derived the equation of motion for a two‐dimensional curved surface using the Carreau constitutive relation. Employing the well‐known approximations of the boundary layer theory (order of magnitude analysis), the terms of higher and next order have been neglected. We developed an appropriate similarity transformation that reduced the considered partial differential equation into an ordinary differential equation (self‐similar formulation). The MATLAB built‐in function usually known as bvp5c is utilized to get the numerical solution of the considered problem. The impact of the power‐law index (n), Weissenberg number (We)$({We})$ and curvature parameter (k) on velocity profile and skin friction are analyzed through several graphs and tables. The obtained results are also verified by employing the shooting method through Maple software. The results reveal that both boundary layer thickness and velocity profile increase by enlarging the dimensionless curvature parameter of the curved surface. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The rapid replacement of PSTN with VOIP networks indicates the definitive phase-out of the PBX/PABX with smartphone-based VOIP technology that uses WLAN connectivity for local communication; however, security remains a key issue, regardless of the communication coverage area. Session initiation protocol (SIP) is one of the most widely adopted VOIP connection establishment protocols but requires added security. On the Internet, different security protocols, such as HTTPS (SSL/TLS), IPSec, and S/MIME, are used to protect SIP communication. These protocols require sophisticated infrastructure and some pose a significant overhead that may deteriorate SIP performance. In this article, we propose the following: i) avoid using Internet bandwidth and complex Internet protocols for local communication within an organization, but harness WLAN connectivity, ii) use multi-threaded or multicore computer systems to handle concurrent calls instead of installing hardware-based SIP servers, and iii) run each thread in a separate core. Cryptography is a key tool for securely transmitting confidential data for long- and short-range communication, and the Diffie-Hellman (DH) protocol has consistently been a popular choice for secret key exchanges. Primarily, used for symmetric key sharing, it has been proven effective in generating public/private key pairs, sharing public keys securely over public channels, and subsequently deriving shared secret keys from private/public keys. This key exchange scheme was proposed to safeguard VOIP communication within WLANs, which rely on the SIP for messaging and multimedia communication. For ensuring an efficient implementation of SIP, the system was rigorously analyzed using the M/M/1 and M/M/c queuing models. We analyze the behavior of SIP servers with queuing models with and without end-to-end security and increase users' trust in SIP security by providing a transparent sense of end-to-end security as they create and manage their private and public keys instead of relying on the underlying SIP technology. This research implements instant messaging, voice conversation, and secret key generation over DH while implementing and observing the role of multi-threading in multiqueue systems that serve incoming calls. By increasing the number of threads from one to two, the SIP response time improved from 20.23809 to 0.08070 min at an arrival rate of 4250 calls/day and a service rate of three calls/min. Similarly, by adding one to seven threads, the queue length was reduced by four calls/min. Implementing secure media streaming and reliable AES-based signaling for session confidentiality and integrity introduces a minor 8-ms tradeoff in SIP service performance. However, the advantages of implementing added security outweigh this limitation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent times, there has been a significant surge in interest regarding the retrofitting of concrete columns utilizing Near Surface Mounted (NSM) Fiber Reinforced Polymer (FRP) bars due to their numerous benefits, such as more load carrying capacity, increased durability, and improved seismic performance. The purpose of this study is to determine that NSM GFRP bars can effectively strengthen circular, square, and rectangular concrete columns. Eight concrete columns of each shape (circular, square, and rectangle), Two control samples and six retrofitted Samples using various Retrofitting material and ratios were studied. Based on past research, it is projected that retrofitting with NSM GFRP increases the strength and ductility of columns, with the quantity and arrangement of NSM FRP bars being a key factor in overall performance. The report ends by highlighting the practical uses of research findings in construction sector and outlining potential directions for additional study in this area. In conclusion, this study's findings offer convincing proof that using NSM GFRP bars can increase concrete columns strength and durability when is compared to control columns. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As a material and a type of construction, masonry is one of the pioneers in the discipline of civil engineering. Several techniques have been used for strengthening masonry columns. An experiment was performed on masonry columns strengthened by NSM (steel and GFRP) reinforcement. The retrofitted specimens are vertically confined with NSM bars and horizontally confined by stirrups (a bundle of 45 turns of small binding wires). In total, 8 masonry column specimens were tested in uniaxial compression, out of which 2 specimens will serve as control specimens. Compression testing was performed on masonry columns to observe failure mode, stress-strain, and energy absorption capacity responses of the control and reinforced specimens. The addition of NSM reinforcement (Steel and GFRP) improves the overall stress-strain response of masonry columns, particularly in post-peak ranges. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An evaluation of the expression and predictive significance of the MDM2 gene in brain lower-grade glioma (LGG) cancer was carried out using onco-informatics pipelines. Several transcriptome servers were used to measure the differential expression of the targeted MDM2 gene and search mutations and copy number variations. GENT2, Gene Expression Profiling Interactive Analysis, Onco-Lnc, and PrognoScan were used to figure out the survival rate of LGG cancer patients. The protein–protein interaction networks between MDM2 gene and its co-expressed genes were constructed by Gene-MANIA tool. Identified bioactive phytochemicals were evaluated through molecular docking using Schrödinger Suite Software, with the MDM2 (PDB ID: 1RV1) target. Protein–ligand interactions were observed with key residues of the macromolecular target. A molecular dynamics simulation of the novel bioactive compounds with the targeted protein was performed. Phytochemicals targeting MDM2 protein, such as Taxifolin and (-)-Epicatechin, have been shown with more highly stable results as compared to the control drug, and hence, concluded that phytochemicals with bioactive potential might be alternative therapeutic options for the management of LGG patients. Our once informatics-based designed pipeline has indicated that the MDM2 gene may have been a predictive biomarker for LGG cancer and selected phytochemicals possessed outstanding interaction results within the macromolecular target's active site after utilizing in silico approaches. In vitro and in vivo experiments are recommended to confirm these outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Plastic waste has increased significantly in recent years as a result of fast population growth and urbanization. Studies on the incorporation of plastic aggregates as a substitution for natural aggregates in concrete are needed to successfully reduce both adverse environmental impact and the depletion of natural resources. The objective of this research was to investigate the use of plastic as a partial substitution for natural coarse aggregates in concrete. For this purpose, seven concrete mixes were produced using 0, 10, 15, and 20% plastic coarse aggregates to replace natural aggregates with and without silica fume of similar replacement levels with cement. Fresh density, workability, compressive strength, splitting tensile strength, stress–strain response, and Poisson's ratio were observed to study the fresh as well as hardened properties of concrete mixtures. Indoor and outdoor thermal performance and thermo-gravimetric analysis were also investigated. The results revealed that the plastic aggregates' incorporation improved the workability of concrete; however, it negatively influenced the fresh density and mechanical properties of concrete. The compressive and tensile strengths of plastic aggregate concrete without silica fume were reduced by 32 and 33%, respectively. The reduction in strength could be associated with the smooth texture of plastic aggregates. The addition of silica fume with plastic aggregates resulted in denser concrete and improved mechanical properties. In general, the performance of plastic aggregates as a partial replacement for natural aggregates was satisfactory, which suggests their possible use to produce eco-friendlier concrete. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The deployment of wearable or body-worn devices is increasing rapidly, and thus researchers' interests mainly include technical and economical issues, such as networking, interoperability, security, power optimization, business growth and regulation. To address these issues properly, previous survey papers usually focused on describing the wireless body area network architecture and network protocols. This implies that deployment issues and awareness issues of wearable and BAN devices are not emphasized in previous work. To defeat this problem, in this study, we have focused on feasibility, limitations, and security concerns in wireless body area networks. In the aspect of the economy, we have focused on the compound annual growth rate of these devices in the global market, different regulations of wearable/wireless body area network devices in different regions and countries of the world and feasible research projects for wireless body area networks. In addition, this study focuses on the domain of devices that are equally important to physicians, sportsmen, trainers and coaches, computer scientists, engineers, and investors. The outcomes of this study relating to physicians, fitness trainers and coaches indicate that the use of these devices means they would be able to treat their clients in a more effective way. The study also converges the focus of businessmen on the Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) and provides manufacturers and vendors with information about different regulatory bodies that are monitoring and regulating WBAN devices. Therefore, by providing deployment issues in the aspects of technology and economy at the same time, we believe that this survey can serve as a preliminary material that will lead to more advancements and improvements in deployment in the area of wearable wireless body area networks. Finally, we present open issues and further research direction in the area of wireless body area networks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Phytopathogenic fungi are serious threats in the agriculture sector especially in fruit and vegetable production. The use of plant essential oil as antifungal agents has been in practice from many years. Plant essential oils (PEOs) of Cuminum cyminum, Trachyspermum ammi, Azadirachta indica, Syzygium aromaticum, Moringa oleifera, Mentha spicata, Eucalyptus grandis, Allium sativum, and Citrus sinensis were tested against Fusarium oxysporum. Three phase trials consist of lab testing (MIC and MFC), field testing (seed treatment and foliar spray), and computer-aided fungicide design (CAFD). Two concentrations (25 and 50 μl/ml) have been used to asses MIC while MFC was assessed at four concentrations (25, 50, 75, and 100 μl/ml). C. sinensis showed the largest inhibition zone (47.5 and 46.3 m2) for both concentrations. The lowest disease incidence and disease severity were recorded in treatments with C. sinensis PEO. Citrus sinensis that qualified in laboratory and field trials was selected for CAFD. The chemical compounds of C. sinensis PEO were docked with polyketide synthase beta-ketoacyl synthase domain of F. oxysporum by AutoDock Vina. The best docked complex was formed by nootkatone with -6.0 kcal/mol binding affinity. Pharmacophore of the top seven C. sinensis PEO compounds was used for merged pharmacophore generation. The best pharmacophore model with 0.8492 score was screened against the CMNP database. Top hit compounds from screening were selected and docked with polyketide synthase beta-ketoacyl synthase domain. Four compounds with the highest binding affinity and hydrogen bonding were selected for confirmation of lead molecule by doing MD simulation. The polyketide synthase-CMNPD24498 showed the highest stability throughout 80 ns run of MD simulation. CMNPD24498 (FW054-1) from Verrucosispora was selected as the lead compound against F. oxysporum. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Diabetes mellitus (DM) is a very common metabolic disorder/disease. The deterioration of β-cells by autoimmune system is the hallmark of this disease. Thioredoxin-Interacting Protein (TXNIP) is responsible for β-cells degradation by T-cells in the pancreas. This protein had been declared a good drug target for controlling DM. Lots of side effects have been reported as a result of long-time consumption of conventional antidiabetic drugs. The development of new and effective drugs with the minimal side effects needs time. TXNIP was selected as a target for Computer-Aided Drug Design. The antidiabetic fungal metabolite compounds were selected from the literature. The compounds were screened for their drug-likeness properties by DruLiTo and DataWarior tools. Twenty-two drug-like fungal compounds were subjected to Quantitative Structure-Activity Relationship (QSAR) analysis by using CheS-Mapper 2.0. The lowest (0.01) activity cliff was found for three compounds: Pinazaphilone A, Pinazaphilone B, and Chermesinone A. The highest value for apol (81.76) was shown by Asperphenamate, while Albonoursin and Sterenin L showed highest score (40.66) for bpol. The lowest value (0.46) for fractional molecular frame (FMF) was calculated for Pinazaphilone A and Pinazaphilone B. TPSA for Pinazaphilone A and Pinazaphilone B was 130.51 Å2. log P < 5 was observed for all the twenty-two compounds. Molecular docking of fungal compounds with TXNIP was done by AutoDock Vina. The binding energy for complexes ranged between −9.2 and −4.6 kcal/mol. Four complexes, TXNIP-Pinazaphilone A, TXNIP-Pinazaphilone B, TXNIP-Asperphenamate, and TXNIP-Sterenin L, were selected for MD simulation to find out the best lead molecule. Only one complex, TXNIP-Pinazaphilone B, showed a stable conformation throughout the 80 ns run of MD simulation. Pinazaphilone B derived from the Penicillium species fungi was selected as the lead molecule for development of antidiabetic drug having the least side effects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Instant messaging applications (apps) have played a vital role in online interaction, especially under COVID-19 lockdown protocols. Apps with security provisions are able to provide confidentiality through end-to-end encryption. Ill-intentioned individuals and groups use these security services to their advantage by using the apps for criminal, illicit, or fraudulent activities. During an investigation, the provision of end-to-end encryption in apps increases the complexity for digital forensics investigators. This study aims to provide a network forensic strategy to identify the potential artifacts from the encrypted network traffic of the prominent social messenger app Signal (on Android version 9). The analysis of the installed app was conducted over fully encrypted network traffic. By adopting the proposed strategy, the forensic investigator can easily detect encrypted traffic activities such as chatting, media messages, audio, and video calls by looking at the payload patterns. Furthermore, a detailed analysis of the trace files can help to create a list of chat servers and IP addresses of involved parties in the events. As a result, the proposed strategy significantly facilitates extraction of the app's behavior from encrypted network traffic which can then be used as supportive evidence for forensic investigation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lepidoptera is the second most diverse insect order outnumbered only by the Coeleptera. Acetylcholinesterase (AChE) is the major target site for insecticides. Extensive use of insecticides, to inhibit the function of this enzyme, have resulted in the development of insecticide resistance. Complete knowledge of the target proteins is very important to know the cause of resistance. Computational annotation of insect acetylcholinesterase can be helpful for the characterization of this important protein. Acetylcholinesterase of fourteen lepidopteran insect pest species was annotated by using different bioinformatics tools. AChE in all the species was hydrophilic and thermostable. All the species showed lower values for instability index except L. orbonalis, S. exigua and T. absoluta. Highest percentage of Arg, Asp, Asn, Gln and Cys were recorded in P. rapae. High percentage of Cys and Gln might be reason for insecticide resistance development in P. rapae. Phylogenetic analysis revealed the AChE in T. absoluta , L. orbonalis and S. exigua are closely related and emerged from same primary branch. Three functional motifs were predicted in eleven species while only two were found in L. orbonalis, S. exigua and T. absoluta. AChE in eleven species followed secretory pathway and have signal peptides. No signal peptides were predicted for S. exigua , L. orbonalis and T. absoluta and follow non secretory pathway. Arginine methylation and cysteine palmotylation was found in all species except S. exigua , L. orbonalis and T. absoluta. Glycosylphosphatidylinositol (GPI) anchor was predicted in only nine species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In reinforced concrete (RC) columns, the efficiency of confinement that is provided by fiber–reinforced polymer (FRP) composites is usually limited by the buckling of longitudinal steel bars. This situation is even more critical in noncircular columns in which the FRP ruptures due to a combination of buckling of the steel bars and FRP stress concentrations at the corners. The main objective of this study is to observe the effect of internal steel bars on the axial compressive response of noncircular RC column specimens confined with polyethylene terephthalate (PET) FRP, which possesses a large rupture strain (LRS) capacity. In total, 32 specimens were tested under monotonic axial compression. The parameters considered are the number of PET FRP layers, the stirrup spacing, and the cross-sectional aspect ratio. The test results indicate that the strength and deformation capacities of the confined specimens were significantly influenced by the parameters that were considered. Of interest, with an increase in PET FRP confinement, the effect of buckling length became less significant. In addition, the test results indicate that the PET FRP confinement provided a weak but prolonged constraint on the buckling of longitudinal bars. Moreover, PET FRP efficiently sustained the stress concentrations of bar buckling at corners that led to a considerable ductile response before failure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The recent emerging advancements in the domain of the fuzzy sets are the framework of the T-spherical fuzzy set (TSFS) and interval valued T-spherical fuzzy set (IVTSFS). Keeping in view the promising significance of the latest research trend in the fuzzy sets and the enabling impact of IVTSFS, we proposed a novel framework for decision assembly using interval valued TSFS based upon encompassing the four impressive dimensions of human judgement including favor, abstinence, disfavor, and refusal degree. Another remarkable contribution is the optimization of information modeling and prevention of information loss by redefining the concept of each membership in interval. Moreover, the proposed research made a worthy contribution work by demonstrating the effective utilization of the interval valued TSFS based framework in anomaly detection, medical diagnosis, and shortest path problem. The proposed work demonstrates the effective remedial measure for the anomaly detection problem based on several parameters using the aggregation operators of IVTSFS. Moreover, the interval valued T-spherical fuzzy relations and their composition are illustrated to investigate the medical diagnosis problem. Furthermore, the notion of interval valued T-spherical fuzzy graph is also presented and fundamental notions of graph theory are also demonstrated with the help of real world instances. In the context of interval valued T-spherical fuzzy graphs (IVTSFGs), a modified Dijkstra Algorithm (DA) is developed and applied to the shortest path problem. The in-depth quantitative assessment and comparative analysis revealed that the proposed notion outpaces contemporary progressive approaches. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sodium aescinate (SA) is a vital salt of sodium escin from Aesculus wilsonii Rehd seeds. SA injection (SAI) has received great success in treating cerebral edema, venous reflux disease and other inflammatory conditions. Recently, high incidences of immediate hypersensitivity reactions were reported after SA infusion, which raised questions on safety and risk associated with its clinical application. This study was designed to check whether SAI and its four components induce degranulation using RBL-2H3 mast cells. For this purpose, we evaluated different treatment levels of SAI (20, 40, 60, 80 and 100 μg ml-1) and its four characteristic components, SA-A, SA-B, SA-C and SA-D, at 60 μg ml-1 in different tests including cell viability test, β-hexosaminidase and histamine assays, oxidative stress indices, apoptosis analysis and intracellular calcium ions in RBL-2H3 cells. Our results demonstrated that SAI at 80 μg ml-1 and 100 μg ml-1, and its two components (SA-B and SA-D) at 60 μg ml-1 were responsible for disturbing cell morphology and cell viability, elevated levels of β-hexosaminidase, histamine, modulation of oxidative stress indices, induced apoptosis and increase in intracellular calcium ions in RBL-2H3 cells, when compared with the control. Our results demonstrated for the first time that SAI was more likely to induce immediate hypersensitivity reactions attributable to degranulation via oxidative stress caused by SA-B and SA-D components. These results would not only be useful for the safety of end user but also for the industry to improve the quality of SA infusion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To compare the frequency of hematuria and mean length of stay as outcome of holmium laser enucleation of prostate (HoLEP) and transurethral resection of prostate (TURP) group with benign prostatic hyperplasia. Methodology: Study was randomized trial, conducted in Urology department of General hospital, Lahore, for Six months. Sampling technique was consecutive. Those who were willing, randomly allocated in two groups by using lottery method. In Group A, patients undergone HoLEP and in Group B, TURP. After surgery, irrigation started with normal saline solution. Irrigation time was noted. Patients were shifted in ward and followed for next 24 hours. If blood was present in urine grossly, then hematuria was labeled. Clinically and vitally stable patients were discharged from wards and hospital stay was also noted. Data was collected on preformed Performa and analyzed on SPSS. Results: Total 108 patients fulfilling the inclusion criteria participated. Main outcome variables in this study were frequency of hematuria and length of stay (LOS) in hospital of patients in both treatment groups. Statistical significance was calculated using two-tailed test. As per findings of this study it was seen that patients frequency of hematuria was significantly higher in patients who were treated with TURP (HoLEP: 3.7% vs. TURP: 29.6%, p-value=0.000) while LOS in hospital was also significantly higher for patients who were treated with TURP (HoLEP: 41.65±10.63 vs. TURP: 54.02±10.44, p- value=0.000). Conclusion: Holmium laser enucleation is better than transurethral resection of prostate in terms of shorter hospital stay and low frequency of hematuria postoperatively. HoLEP can replace TURP but more studies required with long term effects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The cytoplasmic dynein light chain 1 (DYNLL1) is an important constituent of motor proteins complex. In human it is encoded by DYNLL1 gene. It is involved in cargo transport functions and interacts with many viral proteins with the help of short linear consensus motif sequence (K/R) XTQT. Viral proteins bind to DYNLL1 through its consensus short linear motif (SLiM) sequence to reach the target site in the cell and cause different infections in the host. It is still unknown if bacterial proteins also contain the same conserved SLiMs sequence through which they bind to this motor protein and cause infections. So, it is important to investigate the role of DYNLL1 in human bacterial infections. The interaction partner proteins of DYNLL1 against conserved viral motif sequences were predicted through PDBSum. Pairwise sequence alignment, between viral motif sequence and that of predicted proteins, was performed to identify conserved region in predicted interaction partners. Docking between the DYNLL1 and new pathogenic interaction partners was performed, by using PatchDock, to explore the protein-protein binding quality. Interactions of docked complexes were visualized by DimPlot. Three pathogenic bacterial proteins i.e., enterochelin esterase (3MGA), protective antigen (3J9C) and putative lipoprotein (4KT3) were selected as candidate interaction partners of DYNLL1. The putative lipoprotein (4KT3) showed low quality binding with DYNLL1. So, enterochelin esterase (3MGA) and protective antigen (3J9C) were speculated to be involved in human bacterial infections by using DYNLL1 to reach their target sites. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

These studies were conducted in the field at Multan, Pakistan to investigate the population trend of the aphid, Aphis gossypii and the ladybeetle, Coccinella septempunctata on brinjal, Solanum melongena, during the 2013-14 and 2014-15 crop seasons. Brinjal varieties Round Black, Dilnasheen, Black Beauty, Hybrid Shilpa, Bemisal and Nirala were used in the experiment. The number of aphids and ladybeetles were recorded at weekly intervals from October 15 to March 1, both years. Aphid numbers were recorded on three leaves per plant and four plants per plot and averaged per leaf. Numbers of ladybeetles were recorded from the whole plant by sampling three plants per plot. Seasonal mean number of aphids per leaf was at the maximum on the variety Black Beauty and lowest on Nirala, during the 2013-14 growing season. During the 2014-15season the maximum number of aphids per leaf was recorded on the variety Round Black and lowest on Nirala. When sampling dates were compared, the highest and lowest aphid numbers/leaf was noted on February 1 and March 1, respectively, during 2013-14. However, the maximum and minimum number was recorded on February 1 and January 1, respectively during 2014-15. The number of ladybeetles per plant was highest on December 1 and lowest on October 15, during both growing seasons. A significant positive correlation was found between aphid and ladybeetle populations during 2013-14, and correlation was positive but non-significant during the 2014-15 season. Findings from our study indicate that there exists a positive correlation between the two populations, but is not always significant. A positive correlation is expected between prey (aphid) and predator (ladybeetle). However, it’s strength and consistency needs to be further investigated by repeating the study for more seasons and at more locations to clearly see the trend of the two populations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The quality of dried fig was compared by treating blanched figs with potassium metabisulfite, NaCl, ascorbic acid (AA) at various concentrations (2, 3, 4%) and sucrose solution (30, 40, 50%). In comparison of results for functional attributes, T5 (blanching +4% AA dipped for 10 min) stood prominent in retaining higher ascorbic acid, phenolics and antioxidant activity followed by T4 (blanching +3% AA dipped for 10 min) and T3 (blanching +2% AA dipped for 10 min). However, higher fibers and total sugars were found in T8 (blanching +50% sucrose dipped for 30 min) and T7 (blanching +40% sucrose dipped for 30 min). Eventually, sensory evaluation of the stored samples demonstrated best scores for the osmotically dehydrated fig with 30 and 40% sucrose prior to cabinet drying. Overall, the results of present investigation have significant contribution to the food industry. Of note the shelf life and stability of fig could be enhanced upon bringing the result of this finding in practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Phosphorous is an essential micronutrient of plants and involved in critical biological functions. In nature, phosphorous is mostly present in immobilized inorganic mineral and in the fixed organic form including phytic acid and phosphoesteric compounds. However, the bioavailability of bound phosphorous could be enhanced by the use of phosphate solubilizing microorganisms such as bacteria and fungi. The phytases are widespread in an environment and have been isolated from different sources comprising bacteria and fungi. In current studies, we show the successful use of gamma rays and EMS (Ethyl Methane Sulphonate) mutagenesis for enhanced activity of phytases in a fungal strain Sporotrichum thermophile. We report an improved strain ST2 that could produce a clear halo zone around the colony, up to 24 mm. The maximum enzymatic activity was found of 382 U/mL on pH 5.5. However, the phytase activity was improved to 387 U/ml at 45 °C. We also report that the mutants produced through EMS showed the greater potential for phytase production. The current study highlights the potential of EMS mutagenesis for strain improvement over physical mutagens. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent times, secure communication protocols over web such as HTTPS (Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure) are being widely used instead of plain web communication protocols like HTTP (Hypertext Transfer Protocol). HTTPS provides end-to-end encryption between the user and service. Nowadays, organizations use network firewalls and/or intrusion detection and prevention systems (IDPS) to analyze the network traffic to detect and protect against attacks and vulnerabilities. Depending on the size of organization, these devices may differ in their capabilities. Simple network intrusion detection system (NIDS) and firewalls generally have no feature to inspect HTTPS or encrypted traffic, so they rely on unencrypted traffic to manage the encrypted payload of the network. Recent and powerful next-generation firewalls have Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) inspection feature which are expensive and may not be suitable for every organizations. A virtual private network (VPN) is a service which hides real traffic by creating SSL-protected channel between the user and server. Every Internet activity is then performed under the established SSL tunnel. The user inside the network with malicious intent or to hide his activity from the network security administration of the organization may use VPN services. Any VPN service may be used by users to bypass the filters or signatures applied on network security devices. These services may be the source of new virus or worm injected inside the network or a gateway to facilitate information leakage. In this paper, we have proposed a novel approach to detect VPN activity inside the network. The proposed system analyzes the communication between user and the server to analyze and extract features from network, transport, and application layer which are not encrypted and classify the incoming traffic as malicious, i.e., VPN traffic or standard traffic. Network traffic is analyzed and classified using DNS (Domain Name System) packets and HTTPS- (Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure-) based traffic. Once traffic is classified, the connection based on the server's IP, TCP port connected, domain name, and server name inside the HTTPS connection is analyzed. This helps in verifying legitimate connection and flags the VPN-based traffic. We worked on top five freely available VPN services and analyzed their traffic patterns; the results show successful detection of the VPN activity performed by the user. We analyzed the activity of five users, using some sort of VPN service in their Internet activity, inside the network. Out of total 729 connections made by different users, 329 connections were classified as legitimate activity, marking 400 remaining connections as VPN-based connections. The proposed system is lightweight enough to keep minimal overhead, both in network and resource utilization and requires no specialized hardware. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mosquitoes, Aedes aegypti L. and Anopheles gambiae G. are very important insect vectors for transmission of infectious diseases like dengue and malaria. Extensive use of insecticides provided rapid control of these insect vectors but gradually they have developed insecticide resistance. Target site insensitivity is one the main reasons for insecticide resistance development. Development of new insecticides targeting different target sites can be a useful approach for management of insecticide resistance in insect pests. Chorion peroxidase inhibitors have been predicted by using computer aided drug designing (CAAD) approach. 3D structure of chorion peroxidase of A. aegypti and A. gambiae was predicted by using I-TASSER and refined by 3Drefine and GalaxyWEB servers. Ligand binding sites were predicted by using 3DLigandSite, RaptorX and COACH servers. Ligands/Inhibitor compounds were obtained from literature and drug bank. Protein-ligand docking was performed by AutoDock Vina. The compounds with low binding energy and good interactions were selected for both species. Pharmacophore models were generated by using LigandScout. Screening of zinc library was performed against the features of designed pharmacophores. Top ten compounds with best pharmacophore fit score for each species were selected for docking with chorion peroxidase. Protein ligand interactions were determined through LIGPLOT. One lead compound showing lowest binding energy and best interactions was selected for each species, i.e., ZINC04581496 (A. aegypti) and ZINC15675298 (A. gambiae). Protein-Protein interaction was studied by STRING database to find the co-expressing proteins in network of chorion peroxidase. Ten interaction partners were found for A. aegypti while five for A. gambiae. These pharmacophore models may provide theoretical basis for designing effective insecticides for A. aegypti and A. gambiae control. The efficacy of computationally predicted lead molecules can be confirmed by testing in vitro and in vivo. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Curd is the most widespread traditional fermented milk product used by a large population and is a good source of vitamin B, protein, and calcium. In this study, the isolation of exopolysaccharide (EPS)‐producing strains of Lactobacillus delbrueckii subsp. bulgaricus from curd samples was carried out. Identification of EPS‐producing strains was done by Gram staining, catalase activity, sugar fermentation test, API 50 CHL, and PCR analysis. These EPS‐producing strains were subjected for the estimation of technological properties such as titratable acidity, curdling time, acidification rate, and texture. The strains best in their technological properties were selected for the production of yogurt in combination with EPS‐ or non‐EPS‐producing strains of Streptococcus thermophilus. The EPS concentration range was from 41 to 268 mg/L in the yogurt. The highest value of EPS concentration was detected in S. thermophilus and non‐EPS‐producing Lb. bulgaricus after 14 days of storage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Stored cereals and food products are severely infested by different insect pests throughout the world but Trogoderma granarium is found most destructive insect pest of stored grains. Temperature and relative humidity affects the growth and development of these insect pests of stored grains. Present study was designed to investigate the effects of temperature (20, 25 and 30°C) and relative humidity levels (55, 65 and 75%) on the efficacy of three synthetic Insect Growth Regulators (IGRs) i.e., pyriproxyfen, lufenuron and buprofezin at concentrations of 1, 5 and 10 ppm. The study aimed to estimate the fecundity and adult emergence inhibition of T. granarium under controlled laboratory conditions. Counted numbers of grubs were exposed to IGRs at different levels of temperature and relative humidity. F1 adult emergence results at 20°C; showed highest percent reduction in adult emergence (84.38, 70.65 and 79.94%) when exposed to lufenuron, buprofezin and pyriproxyfen treated diet, respectively. At 75% relative humidity lufenuron, buprofezin and pyriproxyfen caused 77.53, 80.00 and 80.32% reduction in adult emergence, respectively. Adults were exposed to IGRs at different temperature and relative humidity to evaluate the oviposition inhibition too. Percentage of reduction in fecundity (87.95, 80.45 and 70.55%) perceived after exposure to buprofezin, pyriproxyfen and lufenuron treated diet, respectively at 20°C was found highest. While 75% relative humidity reduced fecundity most effectively (86.73, 83.72 and 69.11%) when test insects were treated with buprofezin, pyriproxyfen and lufenuron, respectively. It is concluded that temperature and relative humidity significantly affected the activity of tested growth regulators which may lead to standardization of abiotic factors to gain maximum efficiency of IGRs in future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Present investigation was carried out to elucidate the extracts of botanicals i.e., Cichorium intybus, Glycyrrhiza glabra, Trachyspermum ammi and Terminalia chebula, for their possible toxic effect against C. chinensis population. The results revealed that mortality was highest (94.649%) in case of T. ammi treatment, followed by T. chebula with mortality value 56.929%. Mortality was 52.363% where application of C. intybus was carried out. Minimum mortality (34.500%) was observed in G. glabra treated grains. A natural ecto-parasitoid, Anisopteromalus calandrae was used to manage C. chinensis population. A. calandrae male and female adults (5, 10 and 15 pairs) were released to analyze the parasitism efficiency. A. calandrae was reared in the laboratory on C. chinensis larvae. Honey was offered as a suitable food to parasitoid. The parasitism data was recorded after the adult emergence of brunchid beetles. The experiment conducted under Completely Randomized Design and results statistically evaluated using statistical software at 5% level of significance. A. calandrae parasitized both larval and pupal stages of C. chinensis and preferred 4th instar larvae of C. chinensis. Large amount of A. calandrae may efficiently control the C. chinensis population. As compared to control (1558.7 host adult), the minimum host emergence (699.00 host adult) was observed with high population density of A. calandrae. It was also obvious from the results, that mortality was increased with the increase in concentration so, a direct dosemortality response was observed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Present study was designed to investigate the effects of different combinations of three temperatures (20, 25 and 30°) and three relative humidity levels (55, 65 and 75%) on the efficacy of three synthetic IGRs i.e., pyriproxyfen, lufenuron and buprofezin at concentrations of 1, 5 and 10ppm on fecundity and adult emergence inhibition of T. granarium under controlled laboratory conditions. This study was conducted at Grain Research Training and Storage management Cell, Department of Entomology, University of Agriculture, Faisalabad, Pakistan. All the treatments were replicated three times using Completely Randomized Design. Larvae of T. granariumwere exposed to IGRs at different levels of temperature and relative humidity. F1 adult emergence results showed that at temperature 20°C, the highest percent reduction in adult emergence (84.38, 70.65 and 79.94%) was recorded after exposure to lufenuron, buprofezin and pyriproxyfen treated diet, respectively. At 75% relative humidity, lufenuron, buprofezin and pyriproxyfen caused 77.53, 80.00 and 80.32% reduction in adult emergence, respectively. Adults were exposed to IGRs at different temperature and relative humidity to evaluate the oviposition inhibition. The results revealed that at temperature 20°C, maximum percent reduction in fecundity (87.95, 80.45 and 70.55%) was recorded after exposure to buprofezin, pyriproxyfen and lufenuron treated diet, respectively. At 75% relative humidity buprofezin, pyriproxyfen and lufenuron caused 86.73, 83.72 and 69.11% reduction in fecundity, respectively. It is concluded that temperature and relative humidity play an important role in the effectiveness of insect growth regulators. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present investigation was done to evaluate the toxicity of leaf extracts of Ricinus communis (Linnaeus), Citrus paradise (Macfad) and Jatropha curcus (Linnaeus) against Tribolium castaneum and Rhyzopertha dominica. Plant extracts were prepared in four different solvents (methanol, chloroform, petroleum ether and n-hexane) and were applied at 5, 10 and 15% concentrations on wheat flour placed in small plastic jars. The data for mortality was recorded after 24, 48 and 72 hours. The highest mortality (65.06%) of T. castaneum was observed in methanol extract of R. communis while comparatively the least (39.21%) mortality was observed in n-hexane extract of R. communis at 15% concentration after an exposure period of 72 hours. In case of J. curcus, highest mortality (37.32%) was recorded in methanol extract while the lowest mortality (21.07%) was observed after 72 hours of treatment at 15% concentration. While in methanol extract of C. paradise the highest mortality (24.69%) was recorded at 15% concentration after 72 hours exposure period. The n-hexane based extract of J. curcus gave comparatively low mortality of the T. castaneum with values 4.24% at 15% and 1.03 % at lowest concentrations (5%) after 24 hrs. In case of mortality bioassay against R. dominica, highest mortality 59.51% was observed at 15% concentration of methanolic extract of R. communis after 72 hours while least 1.01 % at 5% concentration (of n-hexane extract of J. curcus) after 24 hours. The outcomes of current bioassays revealed that the mortality response of the tested insects was influenced by dose, exposure time and nature of solvent, used. The order of effectiveness of plant extracts was R. communis > J. curcus > C. sinensis and that of solvents was methanol > chloroform > petroleum ether > n-hexane. From results we conclude that methanolic extract of R. communis gave comparatively highest mortality of both insects after exposure of 72 hrs and lowest was recorded in n-hexane extract of J. curcus (after 24 hr). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Seven insect growth regulators (IGRs) (One juvenile hormone analogues [Pyriproxyfen 10.8EC], two ecdysone agonist [Tebufenozide 20SC, Methoxyfenozide 240SC] and four chitin synthesis inhibitor [Lufenuron 50EC, Flufenoxuron 10DC, Triflumuron 20SC, and Buprofezin 25%WP]) were tested under laboratory conditions against the larvae of Trogoderma granarium (Everts) and Tribolium castaneum (Herbst). Four concentrations of these IGRs (2.5, 5, 7.5, and 10ppm) were applied to observe their effects at 30±2°C and 65±5% r.h. after 7 and 14 days of treatment application. The overall results showed that all the tested IGRs showed significant larvicidal activity against the larvae of both T. granarium and T. castaneum. Results revealed that the highest larval mortality of T. castaneum was 77.30 and 83.54% with flufenoxuron followed by methoxyfenozide (70.40, 76.65%), pyriproxyfen (56.61, 62.86%) and lufenuron (53.16, 59.41%) at 7 and 14 days after treatment (DAT). The lowest mortality 42.81 and 49.06% was resulted in case of triflumeron treatment after 7 and 14 days, respectively. Similarly, In case of T. granarium the highest mortality was 66.96 and 73.20% due to the effect of flufenoxuron, and was lowest 32.47 and 38.72% where triflumeron was applied after 7 and 14 days, respectively. Results regarding the comparative effect of different concentrations showed that highest mortality 65.23% in T. castaneum and 54.88% in T. granarium larvae was noted at 10 ppm and mortality was lowest at 2.5 ppm against both the test insects. Bioactivities of all the tested IGRs were found to be dose and exposure period dependent. The results regarding the relative potency of the entire tested IGRs indicated that they were more effective when applied on wheat as compared to rice and maize. From these results, it is concluded that the applications of IGRs have proved to be very effective against both species examined in the present study. These compounds particularly chitin synthesis inhibitors (CSIs) (flufenoxuron and lufenuron) should be considered as potential components in IPM of stored grains insect pests. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]