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To investigate the toxic effects of Cd on seedling growth parameters and mineral nutrients, and the impact of SA in the alleviation of Cd toxicity in four basmati rice genotypes (Basmati-198, Basmati-370, Basmati-2000 and Kashmir Basmati), the pot experiment was conducted in sand-filled pots under normal temperature (28±2°C). After germination, the seedlings were subjected to 0, 100, 500, 1000 and 1500 μM of Cd concentrations. The results showed reductions in different seedling growth attributes and the mineral nutrients at different Cd regimes. When SA was applied alone in the medium, no change in root Cd or slight reduction in shoot Cd revealed the protective effect of SA against subsequent Cd toxicity that might be ascribed to the inhibition of Cd uptake. However, with the elevating Cd stress, SA reduced the root or shoot Cd contents, improved the seedling growth attributes and the mineral nutrients exhibiting the ameliorating impact to Cd toxicity. Variable genotypic responses were observed for different seedling growth traits and the status of mineral nutrients. Under elevating Cd levels, Basmati-198 showed less Cd accumulation revealing reduced toxic effects of Cd on seedling growth traits and the mineral nutrients as compared to other rice genotypes. © 2014 Friends Science Publishers [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cadmium (Cd) becomes very perilous pollutant for living things when its concentrations exceed certain threshold value. Barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) can accumulate high amount of Cd but the genotypic differences in barley for Cd uptake have not been clearly determined. The objective of this work was to determine the effects of three Cd levels (0, 500, 1000 and 1500 µM/L) and alleviation of its toxicity by 0 and 10 mM thiourea (TU) on relative fresh and dry weights, macro- and micronutrients and antioxidants activation for scavenging reactive oxygen species in two barley genotypes cultured in vitro. One month old in vitro cultured two barley genotypes were done under controlled conditions and TU was applied with and without increased doses of Cd. One month old calli were treated with Cd alone and in combination with of TU. After 15 days of growth, the plants were harvested and the data on relative fresh weight were collected and then the other data were taken according to the procedures. The increased doses of Cd significantly affected all the parameters and TU alleviates the Cd stress to some extent. The results revealed that high Cd toxicity is possibly associated with a decline in fresh and dry weight, macro and micronutrients and enhanced production of CAT and SOD but amelioration occurs by TU to some extent in both genotypes. However, Jau-83 proved more tolerant than Haider-91. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the present study rolling circle amplification (RCA) was used to characterize the unknown components of Banana bunchy top virus (BBTV) from the samples collected from Tando Jam Sindh, Pakistan. The RCA product was treated with several types of restriction endonuleases (Clal, Kpnl, EcoRV, BgUI, Mbol, Trul, Hpall and Haelll) for Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphism (RFLP) analysis. This restriction pattern was further confirmed by Southern blot analysis and hybridized to all respective fragments. On the basis of results, it has been suggested that five components of BBTV are prevalent in Pakistani isolate of BBTV. Furthermore, it was found that the cloned components were highly homologous to South Pacific group of BBTV reported earlier in Pakistan. So, the results of present study confirmed that similar to geminiviruses, the RCA technology can also be used for characterization of nanoviruses. It can also be suggested that the technique is of great value to nanovirus research since the components that make up this group are still being discovered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Primary brain tumors are a common cause of morbidity and mortality in children and young people (CYP) globally. Impaired neurocognitive function is a potential severe consequence in primary brain tumor (PBT) survivors. There are no in-depth studies from low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) to inform management and follow-up. The research questions of this study were as follows: Are the sociodemographic factors (lower age of CYP, female gender, low socioeconomic status, low parental education), disease-related factors (high grade of tumor, presence of seizures, presence of hydrocephalous), and treatment-related factors (adjuvant therapy, no surgical intervention, post-treatment seizures, placement of shunts) associated with decline in neurcognition outcomes 12 months post-treatment in CYP with PBTs? Methods: A prospective cohort study was conducted from November 2020 to July 2023 at the Aga Khan University Hospital and Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre, tertiary care hospitals in Karachi, Pakistan. All CYP aged 5 to 21 years with a newly diagnosed PBTs were eligible. The neurocognition assessment was undertaken by a psychologist at two points, i.e., pre-treatment and at 12 months post-treatment using validated tools. The verbal intelligence was assessed by Slosson Intelligence tool, revised 3rd edition (SIT-R3), perceptual reasoning by Raven's Progressive Matrices (RPM), and the Processing Speed Index by Wechsler Intelligence Scale (WISC V) and Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS-IV). The data were analyzed by STATA version 12 software. Generalized estimating equation (GEE) was used to determine the factors associated with the mean change in 12 months post-treatment verbal and non-verbal neurocognition scores. Unadjusted and adjusted beta coefficients with their 95% confidence intervals were reported. Results: A total of 48 CYPs with PBTs were enrolled, 23 (48%) of them were lost to follow-up and 10 (21%) died. The remaining 25 (52%) were reassessed 12 months after treatment. On multivariable analysis, a significant decline in verbal intelligence scores at 12 months was predicted by post-treatment seizures beta = − 20.8 (95% CI, − 38.2, − 3.4), mothers having no formal educational status and lower household monthly income. Similarly, a significant decline in perceptual reasoning scores was also predicted by post-treatment seizures beta = − 10.7 (95% CI, − 20.6, − 0.8), mothers having no formal education and having lower household monthly income. Worsening of processing speed scores at 12 months post-treatment were predicted by tumor histology, post-treatment seizures beta = − 33.9 (95% CI, − 47.7, − 20.0), lower educational status of the mother, and having lower household monthly. However, an improvement was seen in processing speed scores after surgical tumor resection. Conclusion: In this novel study, the post-treatment mean change in verbal and non-verbal neurocognition scores was associated with sociodemographic, tumor, and treatment factors. These findings may have potential implications for targeted early psychological screening of higher risk CYP with PBTs. Identification of these predictors may serve as a foundation for developing more cost-effective treatment thereby alleviating the burden of neurocognitive morbidity. However to establish generalizability, future research should prioritize larger-scale, multicountry studies. (Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT05709522) [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Plants are important source of medicines and major resources of healthcare since ancient times. Of these evening primrose (Oenothera biensis L.) is used in the treatment of a number of diseases due to its distinct antioxidative and medicinal properties. The studies pertaining to seasonal patterns of some secondary metabolites accumulation in leaves of different ages are not reported thus far. In this research, evening primrose was investigated for changes in the levels of secondary products such as alkaloids, saponins, tannins, phenolics and flavonoids. Results revealed that secondary metabolites accumulation in evening primrose substantially increased in summer season as compared to other seasons. All metabolites i.e., alkaloids, saponins, tannins, phenolics, flavonoids increased in summer season except anthocyanin, which decreased. A comparison of leaves of various ages indicated that the accumulation of secondary metabolites was more prominent in penultimate and middle leaves as compared to old bottom leaves. Results showed that for the leaves of three ages, seasonal changes were the most important to change evening primrose metabolism These changes switch the plant metabolic phenomena in a way that survival of young growing parts is ensured under harsh environmental conditions. Of the studied metabolites, contribution of phenolics was more explicit than the alkaloids and saponins. © 2014 Friends Science Publishers [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Contamination of agricultural soils with heavy metals, including cadmium (Cd), is global threat to agricultural productivity. Maize is sensitive to Cd toxicity, although varietal differences exist. However, the responses of maize varieties to Cd toxicity across the growing seasons are not reported. With the objective to find variability for Cd tolerance across the seasons, in this study, nine maize (Zea mays L.) varieties were investigated for their comparative responses against Cd toxicity in sand medium during spring and autumn growing seasons, 2009. Data indicated significant varietal differences in all the growth attributes i.e., length and dry weight of shoot and root, number and area of green leaves and number of roots per plant. Although, tolerance of maize varieties were relatively better during autumn season, Pak-Afgoi, EV-79 and SWL-2002 were better tolerant whilst EV-20 was more sensitive to Cd toxicity during both the seasons. Application of Cd resulted in the appearance of visual toxicity symptoms on the leaves (overall leaf chlorosis & necrosis) and roots (constriction & browning) in all the varieties during both the seasons, but with great varietal differences. Correlations of visual toxicity symptoms with shoot growth data revealed that reduced leaf chlorosis, not the leaf necrosis, was positively related to shoot dry weight in both the seasons, while this was also the case for leaf area in autumn season. However, reduced root constriction and browning were positively related to increased root dry weight. Overall the results suggested that great varietal differences exist in maize for Cd tolerance, which provides room for improving and cultivating this species in marginally Cd contaminated soils. Leaf chlorosis, root constriction and browning can be taken as important determinants of tolerance against Cd in maize. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Photocatalytic performance of BaHfO 3 and SrHfO 3 perovskites is examined using DFT. • SCAN and TB-mBJ meta-GGAs are employed to accurately evaluate physical properties. • Band gaps, band edge potentials, optical abosrtion and effective masses are reported. • Photocatalytic performance of BaHfO 3 is found to be better in UV region of spectrum. A reliable first-principles account of experimentally observed physical properties of perovskite oxides is crucial for realizing their employment in electronic and optical devices. In this context, SCAN meta-GGA functional of DFT offers good approximation for the exchange-correlation energy; facilitating accurate determination of structural and energetic properties. However, SCAN is unable to reproduce electronic and optical properties of wide bad gap materials. In the present study, we report systematic DFT calculations to show that structural, energetic, electronic and optical properties of hafnium based BaHfO 3 and SrHfO 3 perovskite oxides can be accurately determined through a combine application of SCAN and Tran-Blaha modified Becke-Johnson (TB-mBJ) meta-GGAs. The structural and energetic properties computed using SCAN functional for both BaHfO 3 and SrHfO 3 are found to be in good agreement with experimental data; achieving a level of accuracy comparable to computationally expansive hybrid DFT calculations. On the other hand, TB-mBJ calculated band gaps computed using the SCAN optimized lattice parameters provide better agreement with experimental data at a low computational cost. The optical properties, band edge potentials and effective masses of the charge carriers in BaHfO 3 and SrHfO 3 are also computed to examine the combined application of SCAN and TB-mBJ meta-GGAs in predicting the photocatalytic performance of these wide band gap materials. Our results clearly show that the combination of the two meta-GGAs provide a computationally economical route for evaluating the photocatalytic performance of alkaline-earth metal hafnates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To determine the frequency of Lumbar Stenosis in symptomatic backache patients of more than 50 years age. Methodology: This descriptive cross sectional study was conducted in Department of Neurosurgery, Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre, Karachi, on 169 patients having symptoms from Feb 2017 to January 2019. Non-probability consecutive sampling was used to enroll the sample. After following the ethical practices, taking informed written consent, the pre-designed performa was filled along with the complete history and the examination. Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) lumbosacral spine was advised and patients with lumbar spinal stenosis based on their history, MRI and examination were reported by the consultant radiologist. Results: In total of 169 participants, the mean age was recorded to be 63±8.40 years, wherein 67 (39.6%) females and 102 (60.3%) were males. The frequency of spinal stenosis diagnosed on imaging in symptomatic patients was recorded to be as 37.3% (n=63). A significant relationship was recorded between gender and professions with LSS (p-value = <0.05), whereas age group and BMI had an insignificant relationship (p-value = >0.05). Conclusion: The study concluded that 37% of the participants with any symptoms were diagnosed as LSS. Furthermore, a positive relationship was determined between gender and profession with LSS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: There are limited data available, particularly in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), on the long-term quality of life (QoL) and family functioning of primary caregivers of children and young people (CYPs) affected by primary brain tumors (PBTs). This study aimed to assess the factors associated with the mean change in QoL and family functioning scores of primary caregivers of CYP patients with PBTs 12 months posttreatment., Methods: This prospective cohort study enrolled CYPs aged 5-21 years with newly diagnosed PBTs and their primary caregivers. The study was carried out between November 2020 and July 2023. The primary caregivers of CYPs were recruited from two major tertiary care centers in Karachi, Pakistan. The primary caregivers QoL were assessed by the Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory (PedsQL) Family Impact Module. The assessment was undertaken by a psychologist at the time of diagnosis and 12 months posttreatment. The data were analyzed with STATA version 12., Results: Forty-eight CYPs with newly diagnosed PBTs and their primary caregivers (46 mothers and 2 fathers) were enrolled. At 12 months posttreatment, 25 (52%) CYPs and their primary caregivers (mothers) were reassessed, and 23 (48%) were lost to follow-up. On multivariable analysis, a significant decrease in mothers' mean 12-month posttreatment QoL and family functioning scores was associated with CYP having posttreatment seizures (beta= -10.2; 95% CI: -18.4 to -2.0) and with the financial burden associated with the CYP's illness (beta= -0.3; 95% CI: -0.4 to -0.1). However, in those cases where CYP had higher posttreatment quality of life scores (beta = 0.4; 95% CI = 0.1, 0.6) and posttreatment higher verbal intelligence scores (beta = 0.1; 95% CI = 0.01, 0.3), the mothers' QoL and family functioning scores were significantly greater., Conclusion: We found a significant decrease in QoL of mothers who had a high financial burden and whose CYP had posttreatment seizures. However, those whose CYPs had higher posttreatment verbal intelligence scores and quality of life scores had significantly greater QoL scores. Identification of the factors that influence primary caregivers QoL has the potential to aid in the development of targeted strategies to alleviate stressors and improve the overall quality of life for primary caregivers and their children who are at high risk., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

The objective of this study is to investigate the effects of feature selection methods on the performance of machine learning methods for quantifying motor symptoms of Parkinson's disease (PD) patients. Different feature selection methods including step-wise regression, Lasso regression and Principal Component Analysis (PCA) were applied on 88 spatiotemporal features that were extracted from motion sensors during hand rotation tests. The selected features were then used in support vector machines (SVM), decision trees (DT), linear regression, and random forests models to calculate a so-called treatment-response index (TRIS). The validity, testretest reliability and sensitivity to treatment were assessed for each combination (feature selection method plus machine learning method). There were improvements in correlation coefficients and root mean squared error (RMSE) for all the machine learning methods, except DTs, when using the selected features from step-wise regression inputs. Using step-wise regression and SVM was found to have better sensitivity to treatment and higher correlation to clinical ratings on the Unified PD Rating Scale as compared to the combination of PCA and SVM. When assessing the ability of the machine learning methods to discriminate between tests performed by PD patients and healthy controls the results were mixed. These results suggest that the choice of feature selection methods is crucial when working with data-driven modelling. Based on our findings the step-wise regression can be considered as the method with the best performance.