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Taenia multiceps is a neglected parasite having veterinary and public health importance. The predilection sites of the parasite larva (Coenurus cerebralis) are brain (cerebral coenurosis) and subcutaneous (non-cerebral coenurosis). There is a dearth of data regarding molecular characterization of T. multiceps and even fewer population structure-based studies on T. multiceps. The current study was conducted to provide epidemiological information regarding the global population structure of the parasite. The NCBI GenBank database was accessed to download the sequences of cox1 gene, which were further subjected to PopArt software to construct median-joining networks. The DnaSp software was used to compute neutrality and diversity indices. Host and region-wise indices of neutrality and diversity were also computed. There were 166 gene sequences found in the NCBI database. Followed by removal of short gene sequences, 143 were considered to perform bioinformatic analyses. A total of 30 haplotypes with 46 mutations and 23 parsimony informative sites were found. High diversity (Hd = 0.889, π = 0.01186) and negative but statistically insignificant neutrality indices (Tajima's D = -1.57659, Fu's Fs = -10.552) were found. Region-wise results revealed highest haplotype diversities in isolates from KSA (Hd = 1.00) followed by Greece and Italy (Hd = 0.962), and China (Hd = 0.931). Host-wise data analysis showed an overall negative Tajima's D value and there exists highest haplotype diversity in cattle (Hd = 1.00) followed by dogs (Hd = 0.833), sheep (Hd = 0.795) and goats (Hd = 0.788). The findings of the study indicate that the population diversity of T. multiceps will increase worldwide as shown by high diversity and negative neutrality indices. The findings of the study significantly add-in to the existing bank of knowledge about population structure of T. multiceps. We recommend conducting more studies employing different genetic markers to better comprehend the epidemiology of the parasite., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no competing interests., (Copyright © 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Concrete is used worldwide as a construction material in many projects. It exhibits a brittle nature, and fibers' addition to it improves its mechanical properties. Polypropylene (PP) fibers stand out as widely employed fibers in concrete. However, conventional micro-PP fibers pose challenges due to their smooth texture, affecting bonding within concrete and their propensity to clump during mixing due to their thin and soft nature. Addressing these concerns, a novel type of PP fiber is proposed by gluing thin fibers jointly and incorporating surface indentations to enhance mechanical anchorage. This study investigates the incorporation of macro-PP fibers into high-strength concrete, examining its fresh and mechanical properties. Three different concrete strengths 40 MPa, 45 MPa, and 50 MPa, were studied with fiber content of 0-1.5% v/f. ASTM specifications were utilized to test the fresh and mechanical properties, while the RILEM specifications were adopted to test the bond of bar reinforcements in concrete. Test results indicate a decrease in workability, increased air content, and no substantial shift in fresh concrete density. Hardened concrete tests, adding macro-PP fibers, show a significant increase in splitting tensile strength, bond strength, and flexural strength with a maximum increase of 34.5%, 35%, and 100%, respectively. Concrete exhibits strain-hardening behavior with 1% and 1.5% fiber content, and the flexural toughness increases remarkably from 2.2 to 47.1. Thus, macro PP fibers can effectively improve concrete's mechanical properties and resistance against crack initiation and spread., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

The Global Value Chain (GVC) is an essential aspect of sustainable economic growth and environmental quality in countries that participate in it. Therefore, comprehending the relationship between GVC and economic growth and carbon emissions is critical to achieving global climate neutrality targets. However, there is a paucity of knowledge regarding the impacts of disaggregated levels of GVC on economic growth and carbon emissions in countries with different income levels. In this study, we utilized the SYS-GMM model to explore the relationships between backward and forward GVCs and the economic growth and carbon emissions of 42 lower-middle, 36 middle-upper, and 48 high-income countries using data from 1995 to 2018. Our key findings suggest that forward GVC significantly increases economic growth and reduces CO 2 emissions. Conversely, backward GVC reduces the economic growth and CO 2 emissions of high-income countries. We also found that upper-middle-income economies can enhance their economic growth and reduce CO 2 emissions by increasing their backward GVC. In contrast, lower-middle-income economies can increase their economic growth by participating in both forward and backward GVCs. However, higher levels of participation in both GVC components result in increased CO 2 emissions. Our findings emphasize the importance of considering income levels when analysing the impact of GVC participation on economic growth and environmental sustainability. Overall, the relationship between economic growth and CO 2 emissions with backward and forward GVCs varies significantly across country categories., Competing Interests: The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (© 2024 The Authors.)

Fractional order algorithms demonstrate superior efficacy in signal processing while retaining the same level of implementation simplicity as traditional algorithms. The self-adjusting dual-stage fractional order least mean square algorithm, denoted as LFLMS, is developed to expedite convergence, improve precision, and incurring only a slight increase in computational complexity. The initial segment employs the least mean square (LMS), succeeded by the fractional LMS (FLMS) approach in the subsequent stage. The latter multiplies the LMS output, with a replica of the steering vector (Ŕ) of the intended signal. Mathematical convergence analysis and the mathematical derivation of the proposed approach are provided. Its weight adjustment integrates the conventional integer ordered gradient with a fractional-ordered. Its effectiveness is gauged through the minimization of mean square error (MSE), and thorough comparisons with alternative methods are conducted across various parameters in simulations. Simulation results underscore the superior performance of LFLMS. Notably, the convergence rate of LFLMS surpasses that of LMS by 59%, accompanied by a 49% improvement in MSE relative to LMS. So it is concluded that the LFLMS approach is a suitable choice for next generation wireless networks, including Internet of Things, 6G, radars and satellite communication., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist., (Copyright: © 2024 Shah et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.)

Objectives: This research aimed to overcome challenges posed by cefepime excessive elimination rate and poor patient compliance by developing transdermal delivery system using nano-transfersomes based chitosan gel., Methods: Rotary evaporation-sonication method and the Box-Behnken model were used to prepare cefepime loaded nano-transfersomes (CPE-NTFs). The physiochemical characterization of CPE-NTFs were analyzed including DLS, deformability index, DSC and antimicrobial study. Optimized CPE-NTFs loaded into chitosan gel and appropriately characterized. In vitro release, ex vivo and in vivo studies were performed., Results: The CPE-NTFs were physically stable with particle size 222.6 ± 1.8 nm, polydispersity index 0.163 ± 0.02, zeta potential -20.8 ± 0.1 mv, entrapment efficiency 81.4 ± 1.1% and deformability index 71 ± 0.2. DSC analysis confirmed successful drug loading and thermal stability. FTIR analysis showed no chemical interaction among the excipients of CPE-NTFs gel. The antibacterial activity demonstrated a remarkable reduction in the minimum inhibitory concentration of cefepime when incorporated into nano-transfersomes. CPE-NTFs based chitosan gel (CPE-NTFs gel) showed significant physicochemical properties. In vitro release studies exhibited sustained release behavior over 24 h, and ex vivo studies indicated enhanced permeation and retention compared to conventional cefepime gel. In vivo skin irritation studies confirmed CPE-NTFs gel was nonirritating and biocompatible for transdermal delivery., Conclusion: This research showed nano-transfersomes based chitosan gel is a promising approach for cefepime transdermal delivery and provides sustained release of cefepime.

We report an efficient sample preparation method (freezing) for onsite fat and meat analysis via a specially designed thermoelectric cooling and temperature-controlling system. This investigation also focused on the effect of phase change on the sensitivity and reproducibility of LIBS emission signals and plasma parameters. The plasma emissions of animal fats (lard) were recorded when the sample was frozen (-2 °C), fluid (15 °C), and in a liquid state (37 °C) with a thermoelectric cooling system. At each temperature, the plasma emissions were acquired at laser pulse energy from 50 to 300 mJ and detector gate delay (DGD) from 0.5 to 5 μs. With increasing sample temperature, the DGD, where the optical emission intensity reached a maximum, decreased. At a laser pulse energy of 200 mJ and a sample temperature of -2 °C, the emission signals increased fourfold, the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) improved tenfold, and the self-absorption in the emission lines decreased significantly. The repeatability of the emission signals and plasma parameters of frozen and liquid fat samples was determined using the relative standard deviation (RSD) of Se I (473.08 nm) and K I (766.48 nm) emission lines. The RSDs of the emission signals improved from 40 to 18 % and 37 to 16 %, whereas the shot-to-shot RSDs of the electron temperature and electron number density get improved from 11 to 6 % and 12 to 6.8 %, respectively., Competing Interests: The authors declare the following financial interests/personal relationships which may be considered as potential competing interests: SAMI UL HAQ reports administrative support, equipment, drugs, or supplies, and statistical analysis were provided by National Institute of Lasers and Optronics College, Pakistan Institute of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Nilore, Islamabad, 45,650, Pakistan. If there are other authors, they declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (© 2024 Published by Elsevier Ltd.)

This article provides a comparison among the generalized Second Grade fluid flow described by three recently proposed fractional derivatives i.e. Atangana Baleanu fractional derivative in Caputo sense (ABC), Caputo Fabrizio (CF) and Constant Proportional-Caputo hybrid (CPC) fractional derivative. The heat mass transfer is observed during the flow past a vertical porous plate that is accelerated exponentially under the effects of the Magneto hydro dynamics. The effects of the heat generation and exponential heating in the temperature boundary layer and chemical reaction at the concentration boundary layer are also analyzed in this article. The flow model is described by three partial differential equations and the set of non-dimensional PDE's is transformed into ODE's by utilization of the integral transform technique (Laplace transform). For the better understanding of the rheological properties of the Second Grade fluid we used the CF, ABC and CPC operators to describe the memory effects. The analytical exact solution of the problem is obtained in the form of G-functions and Mittag Leffler functions. For the physical significance of flow parameters, different parameters are graphed. From this analysis it is concluded that the CPC is the most suitable operator to describe the memory effects., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

The acquisition of agricultural land is a crucial aspect of survival for numerous rural communities, serving as a fundamental tool for combating poverty and food insecurity and promoting equitable sustainable economic progress. The expropriation of land offers a promising prospect for remedying past inequities and promoting both economic progress and food sufficiency. Limited research has examined the association between land expropriation and food security, livelihood shocks, and the well-being of rural households worldwide. Therefore, this research explores the implications of land expropriation on food security, livelihood shocks, and well-being of land lost rural communities. The data were collected from 384 farmers selected through stratified sampling techniques using face-to-face surveys in rural China. The data were analyzed using descriptive and logit regression models. The descriptive findings showed that land expropriation has detrimental effects on the livelihood, food security, and well-being of the farmers. Furthermore, these impacts are more harmful among land-expropriated households with a lower educational level, a large family size, and women farmers in less developed rural communities. The econometric results evinced that gender, age, education level, marital status, family size, and negative changes in income all significantly affect the impact of land expropriation on the food security of farmers. Similarly, the findings revealed that farmers with lower education levels were more likely to be affected by land loss as compared to farmers with medium and high education levels. Farmers with complete land loss were 1.70 times more likely to suffer livelihood shocks than those with partial land loss. The results also evinced that the well-being of all farmers was not affected equally, and some farmers' well-being was affected more than others due to various socioeconomic backgrounds. Therefore, this study suggests the implementation of public policies that provide support to farmers who have been marginalized due to land acquisition., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist., (Copyright: © 2024 Li et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.)

Postpartum infection of the uterus by pathogenic bacteria is exacerbated due to a lack of sufficient epidemiological studies and evidence-based therapeutics. Therefore, this study was planned to find the prevalence, risk factors, and drug-resistance profile of S. aureus and E. coli isolated from bovine endometritis and to evaluate the antibacterial potential of sodium alginate-based antibiotics and nanoparticles. The study revealed 34.21% S. aureus and 31.57% E. coli, whereas most of the assumed risk factors presented significant association in this study. S. aureus showed the highest resistance against fusidic acid (60%) and cefoxitin (50%), while the highest resistance in E. coli was found against fusidic acid (60%), gentamicin (60%), chloramphenicol (50%), and cefoxitin (50%). Tylosin coupled with MgO nanoparticles stabilized in sodium alginate gel (Tylo + MgO + gel) presented significantly lower minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) against E. coli , showing 13.88 ± 4.51 µg/mL after 24 h incubation. On the other hand, gel-based preparations showed MIC as 31.25 ± 0 µg/mL (Tylo + gel + MgO) and 26.04 ± 9.02 µg/mL (Tylo + Gel) against S. aureus . Generally, the MICs of non-gel-based preparations were significantly higher against bacteria except ampicillin against S. aureus in this study. The toxicity analysis of MgO nanoparticles presented 20-80% mortality of snails against a wider range of 0.01 mg/mL-10 mg/mL. The histopathological parameters concluded MgO nanoparticles safe to use on off targets. The current study thus concludes the rise in antimicrobial resistance while the gel-based products appearing as effective antimicrobials with sufficient safety margins for off-targets. The study thus invites further investigation for the development of suitable and affordable modified therapeutics for better health and production of animals.

The aim of present work is to apply the Caputo-Fabrizio fractional derivative in the constitutive equations of heat transfer. Natural convection flow of an unsteady second grade fluid over a vertical plate with exponential heating is discussed. The generalized Fourier law is substituted in temperature profile. A portion of the dimensionless factors are utilized to make the governing equations into dimensionless structures. The solutions for temperature and velocity profiles of Caputo-Fabrizio model are acquired through the Laplace transform method. These solutions are greatly affected through the variation of different dimensionless variables like Prandtl number, Grashof number, and second-grade fluid parameter. Finally, the influence of embedded parameters is shown by plotting graphs through Mathcad. From the graphical results it is concluded that, the temperature of the fluid decreases with the increasing values of the Prandtl number and Second grade fluid parameter and increases with the passage of time. The velocity of the fluid increases with increasing values of the Grashof number, second grade parameter and time while decreases with increasing values of fractional parameter and Prandtl number., (© 2023. Springer Nature Limited.)

This present research article investigates the exact analytical solution for the mathematical model of the generalized Casson fluid flow by using the new fractional operator with Rabotnov exponential kernel i.e. Yang-Abdel-Cattani operator. The impacts of heat source, magnetic hydrodynamics and chemical reactions on the flow of fractional Casson fluid through a vertical flat plate are studied in this article. For the sake of a better interpretation of the rheological behavior of Casson fluid we have used the new operator of fractional order with exponential kernel of Rabotnov known as Yang-Abdel-Cattani operator of fractional derivative. By making use of the technique of Laplace transform we have find the exact analytical solution of the problem in the Mittag-Leffler's form, for all the three governing equations i.e. Velocity, energy and concentration equation. It has been noticed from the literature that it is challenging to obtain analytical results from fractional fluid model derived by the various fractional operators. This article helps to address this issue by providing analytical solutions for fractionalized fluid models. To analyze the physical importance of different fluid parameters such as Schmidt number, Prandtl number, MHD and alpha on the heat, mass and momentum class are presented through graphs. The concentration of the fluid decreases with Schmidth number and temperature of the fluid decreases with the increasing Prandtl number. The velocity of the fluid decreases with increasing MHD effects and increases with increasing Alpha. The Yang-Abdel-Cattani operator of fractional order can describe the memory effects more suitably than the other fractional operators., (© 2023. Springer Nature Limited.)

Arrhythmia is a cardiac condition characterized by an irregular heart rhythm that hinders the proper circulation of blood, posing a severe risk to individuals' lives. Globally, arrhythmias are recognized as a significant health concern, accounting for nearly 12 percent of all deaths. As a result, there has been a growing focus on utilizing artificial intelligence for the detection and classification of abnormal heartbeats. In recent years, self-operated heartbeat detection research has gained popularity due to its cost-effectiveness and potential for expediting therapy for individuals at risk of arrhythmias. However, building an efficient automatic heartbeat monitoring approach for arrhythmia identification and classification comes with several significant challenges. These challenges include addressing issues related to data quality, determining the range for heart rate segmentation, managing data imbalance difficulties, handling intra- and inter-patient variations, distinguishing supraventricular irregular heartbeats from regular heartbeats, and ensuring model interpretability. In this study, we propose the Reseek-Arrhythmia model, which leverages deep learning techniques to automatically detect and classify heart arrhythmia diseases. The model combines different convolutional blocks and identity blocks, along with essential components such as convolution layers, batch normalization layers, and activation layers. To train and evaluate the model, we utilized the MIT-BIH and PTB datasets. Remarkably, the proposed model achieves outstanding performance with an accuracy of 99.35% and 93.50% and an acceptable loss of 0.688 and 0.2564, respectively.

Objectives: To compare the efficacy of topical Nepafenac 0.1 % and Diclofenac 0.1% eye drops in reducing the aqueous cells in the anterior chamber in an un-eventful post cataract surgery., Methods: This prospective, clinical trial was conducted at an Eye OPD of Qazi Hussain Ahmad Medical Complex, Nowshera from January till December 2021. Ophthalmic assessment included Visual acuity (VA), slit-lamp examination, Intraocular pressure (IOP), Central macular thickness (CMT) by Optical coherence tomography (OCT) and anterior chamber-aqueous cells measurement pre-operatively and at day 1 st , 2 nd , 4 th and 8 th week post-operatively. Patients were randomly allocated to topical diclofenac 0.1% (TD) four times a day and nepafenac 0.1% (TN) three times a day for four weeks each along with topical steroids and antibiotics., Results: Seventy patients (70) were randomly distributed into two treatment arms of 35 each. In both the arms VA improved which achieved a level of statistical significance post-operatively, however statistically insignificant difference was observed between the groups at 8 th week follow up visit (p= 0.62). However, IOP and CMT values didn't achieve statistical significance between the arms pre and post operatively. In TN arm, level of AC-cells at 2 nd and 4 th week post-operatively were significantly lower (10.54 ± 4.05 and 08.20 ± 4.44) than TD arm (11.28 ± 5.04 and 09. 66 ± 5.50) with statistically significant difference (p < 0.05)., Conclusions: Topical Nepafenac 0.1% was more effective in suppressing the anterior chamber inflammation as compared to diclofenac during the early few post-operative weeks., Competing Interests: Conflicts of interest: None., (Copyright: © Pakistan Journal of Medical Sciences.)

Orange Chinese cabbage ( Brassica rapa L. ssp. pekinensis ) is an excellent source of health-promoting nutrients that could reduce the risk of chronic diseases. This study mainly investigated the accumulation patterns of eight lines of orange Chinese cabbage for indolic glucosinolates (GLSs) and pigment content from representative plant organs across multiple developmental stages. The indolic GLSs were highly accumulated at the rosette stage (S2), especially in inner and middle leaves, and the order of indolic GLSs accumulation in non-edible organs was flower > seed > stem > silique. The expression levels of biosynthetic genes in light signaling, MEP, carotenoids, and GLS pathways were consistent with the metabolic accumulation patterns. The results of a principal component analysis show a clear separation of high indolic GLS lines (15S1094 and 18BC6) from low indolic GLS lines (20S530). A negative correlation between the accumulation of indolic GLS and carotenoids was identified in our study. Our work contributes to providing valuable knowledge required to breed, grow, and select orange Chinese cabbage varieties and their eatable organs with higher nutritional value.

Efficient charge-carrier separation and their utilization are the key factors in overcoming sluggish four-electron reaction kinetics involved in photocatalytic oxygen evolution. Here, a novel study demonstrates the significance of Na 2 S 2 O 8 as a sacrificial agent in comparison to AgNO 3 . Resultantly, BiFeO 3 (BFO) and titanium doped-oxygen deficient BiFeO 3 (Ti-BFO-R) nanostructures achieve ≈64 and 44.5 times higher O 2 evolution in the presence of Na 2 S 2 O 8 compared to AgNO 3 as a sacrificial agent, respectively. Furthermore, the presence of Co single atoms (Co-SAs) deposited via immersion method on BFO and Ti-BFO-R nanostructures led to achieving outstanding O 2 evolution at a rate of 16.11 and 23.89 mmol g -1 h -1 , respectively, which is 153 and 227.5 times higher compared to BFO (in the presence of AgNO 3 ), the highest O 2 evolution observed for BFO-based materials to date. The successful deposition of Co-SAs is confirmed by aberration-corrected high-angle annular dark-field scanning transmission electron microscopy (AC HAADF-STEM) and X-ray absorption near-edge structure (XANES). The charge transfer investigations confirm the significance of Co-SAs on BFO-based photocatalysts for improved charge-carrier separation, transport, and utilization. This novel study validates the excellent role of Na 2 S 2 O 8 as a sacrificial agent and Co-SAs as a cocatalyst for BFO-based nanostructures for efficient O 2 evolution., (© 2023 Wiley-VCH GmbH.)

The aim of the present work is to apply the Caputo-Fabrizio fractional derivative to the heat transformation of unsteady incompressible second grade fluid. The effects of magneto hydro dynamic and radiation are analyzed. In governing equation of heat transfer nonlinear radiative heat is examined. Exponential heating phenomena is considered at boundary. Firstly, the dimensional governing equations with the initial & boundary conditions are converted into non-dimensional form. Exact analytical solutions are obtained for dimensionless fractional governing equations which consist of momentum and energy equations by using Laplace transform method. Special cases are investigated of the obtained solutions and it is noticed that some well-known results are achieved published in literature from these special cases. At the end, for graphical illustration the influences of different physical parameters like radiation, Prandtl, fractional parameter, Grashof numbers and Magneto hydro dynamic are checked graphically., (© 2023. The Author(s).)

The prime motive to conduct this communication is to explicate hydrothermal attributes of water by inducing new composition of nanoparticles termed as ternary particles. For this purpose, two differently natured groups one with lesser densities (Carbon nanotubes, Graphene and Aluminium oxide) and with higher densities (Copper oxide, Copper and Silver) are accounted. A 3D permeable surface is considered as a physical configuration of problem by providing dual stretching. Initially, mathematical structuring in dimensional representation expressing the constitutive relations for mass, momentum and energy conservation is manifested. Later on, a set of similar variables are executed to express attained coupled system into ordinary form. Numerical simulations are performed to find solution by employing shooting and RK-4 methods in conjunction. Description about change is displayed through graphical visualization. Subsequently, temperature distribution and heat flux coefficient against sundry variables are also measured and comprehensively discussed in pictorial and tabular format. Wall drag coefficients along (x, y) directions are also computed. It is inferred from the outcomes that velocity, temperature and concentration of base fluid is higher for ternary group 1 containing particles of low densities than for group 2 with more denser particles. It is also deduced that elevation in temperature of fluid is revealed against Soret number whereas contrary aspects is observed in view of concentration distribution. Dufour number has declining impact on temperature profile whereas it upsurges the mass distribution. It is depicted that skin friction in case of group containing particles with less densities are more than other group., (© 2023. The Author(s).)

The ribosomal protein contains complex structures that belong to polypeptide glycoprotein family, which are involved in plant growth and responses to various stresses. In this study, we found that capsicum annuum 40S ribosomal protein SA-like (CaSLP) was extensively accumulated in the cell nucleus and cell membrane, and the expression level of CaSLP was up-regulated by Salicylic acid (SA) and drought treatment. Significantly fewer peppers plants could withstand drought stress after CaSLP gene knockout. The transient expression of CaSLP leads to drought tolerance in pepper, and Arabidopsis's ability to withstand drought stress was greatly improved by overexpressing the CaSLP gene. Exogenous application of SA during spraying season enhanced drought tolerance. CaSLP-knockdown pepper plants demonstrated a decreased resistance of Pseudomonas syringae PV.tomato (Pst) DC3000 (Pst.DC3000), whereas ectopic expression of CaSLP increased the Pst.DC3000 stress resistance in Arabidopsis. Yeast two-hybrid (Y2H) and bimolecular fluorescence complementation (BiFC) results showed that CaNAC035 physically interacts with CaSLP in the cell nucleus. CaNAC035 was identified as an upstream partner of the CaPR1 promoter and activated transcription. Collectively the findings demonstrated that CaSLP plays an essential role in the regulation of drought and Pst.DC3000 stress resistance., (© 2023. The Author(s).)

Background: Cryotherapy is a common destructive treatment modality for treating plantar warts that results in blistering and scarring. Mitomycin an antitumor drug with antiviral property is a safe, better and a promising option for treating plantar warts. Objective was to compare efficacy of cryotherapy and mitomycin microneedling in the management of plantar warts. It was a randomized controlled trial conducted at the Skin Department CMH Abbottabad from 1st May to 31st December 2021., Methods: The study included 60 patients with plantar warts. Each group with 30 patients. Random tables were used to determine the distribution of patients within each group. Group A received mitomycin microneedling (1u/ml) repeated every 3 weeks. Group B was prescribed liquid nitrogen cryotherapy. The freeze-thaw cycle was 20 secs and repeated every 2 weeks. Both groups were treated for 4 months duration. For analysis of data, SPSS version 21.0 was used. Efficacy was compared by the application of Chi-square test between the two groups. p<0.05 was considered statistically significant., Results: Mitomycin microneedling completely cured 76.7% of patients, while cryotherapy was effective for only 56.7%. Complete remission was observed after two to three sessions of mitomycin microneedling while average of 4 sessions of cryotherapy were required for complete remission. In general, microneedling with mitomycin had better tolerance, pain being the commonest adverse effect., Conclusions: Plantar warts can be effectively treated with mitomycin microneedling. Treatment of plantar warts with this method is more effective, requires fewer sessions, and may take less time to complete.

Background: Ginseng has been used in biomedicine to prevent and treat decreased physical and mental capacities. Total ginsenosides (TG) from ginseng root which have antitumor and immune-enhancing properties, are the principal active components of Panax ginseng , while the sulphation-modified TG derivative-3 (SMTG-d3) was expected to enhance the anticancer activity in conventional medicinal treatments., Methods: The chlorosulphonic acid-pyridine technique, used for the sulfation modification of TG to improve their biological activity, and the infrared spectroscopic characteristics of TG and SMTG-d3 were investigated, and the effects of SMTG-d3 on immunocytes and cytokines relevant to tumor treatment were assessed. The MTT assay was used to assess the effect of TG and SMTG-d3 on the cytotoxicity and T-lymphocytic proliferation against mouse splenocytes. The LDH method was employed to evaluate NK activity induced by TG or SMTG-d3. The production levels of splenocytes-secreted IL-2 and IFN-γ and peritoneal macrophages-secreted TNF-α were determined using mouse ELISA kits., Results and Discussion: It showed that the ideal conditions for the sulfation modification of TG: the volume ratio of chlorosulfonic acid to pyridine lower than 1:2.5; controlled amount of chlorosulfonic acid; and a yield of 51.5% SMTG-d3 (2 h, < 45°C). SMTG-d3 showed two characteristic absorption peaks at 1,230 cm -1 and 810 cm -1 , indicating the formation of sulfuric acid esters and the presence of sulfuric acid groups. SMTG-d3 exhibited higher antitumor immunological activity than TG by promoting the proliferation of T lymphocytes and the production of IFN-γ and TNF-α, thus enhancing NK cell activity, and reducing cytotoxicity. The findings imply sulfated modification represents an effective method of enhancing the immunomodulatory activities of TG and could be used as the basis for developing new drug target compounds; SMTG-d3 can serve as an antitumor immunomodulator and can be considered an effective and prospective herbal formulation in clinical applications., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2023 Guo, Wang, Haq, Wang, Guo, Luo and Ijaz.)

In this research article the heat transfer of generalized second grade fluid is investigated with heat generation. The fluid flow is analyzed under the effects of Magneto hydrodynamics over an infinite vertical flat plate. The Newtonian heating phenomenon has been adopted at the boundary. For this purpose the problem is divided into two compartments i.e. momentum equation and energy equations. Some specific dimensionless parameters are defined to convert the model equations into dimensionless system of equations. The solutions for dimensionless energy and momentum equations are obtained by using the Laplace transform technique. From obtained results by neglecting magneto hydrodynamic effects and heat source some special case are achieved which are already published in literature. The case for which the fractional parameter approaches to the classical order is also discussed and it has been observed that it is convergent. Finally, the influences of different physical parameters are sketched graphically. It has been observed that for increasing values of Prandtl number the velocity and temperature decreases, for increasing values of Grashof number the velocity of the fluid increases. Also it has been investigated that for increasing values of fractional parameter the velocity and temperature of the fluid increases., (© 2022. The Author(s).)

The elemental composition, mineral phases, and crystalline structure of nephrite jade were investigated using calibration-free laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (CF-LIBS), Raman spectroscopy, and X-ray diffraction (XRD). For compositional analysis, the laser-induced plasma was generated on the surface of nephrite jade. The plasma emissions were then acquired and analyzed, which revealed several elements in the sample, including Si, Mg, Ca, Li, Fe, Al, Na, K, and Ni. The plasma temperature was extracted from the Boltzmann plot before and after two-step self-absorption correction, and used in CF-LIBS calculations to get the elemental concentration. After self-absorption correction, the quantitative results obtained using CF-LIBS were found to be in close agreement with ICP-OES. The Raman spectrum of nephrite jade exhibits Si-O and M-OH stretching vibrations in the regions of 100 cm -1 to 1200 cm -1 and 3600 cm -1 to 3700 cm -1 , respectively, whereas the XRD spectrum revealed the monoclinic crystalline phase of tremolite., Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflict of interest., (© 2022 The Author(s).)

Background: Alopecia areata is an autoimmune disorder of patchy non scarring hair loss. Steroids, either Intralesional, e.g, triamcinolone or potent topical, e.g, clobetasol are the first line treatment. Platelet rich plasma is an autologous concentrated plasma with growth factors which enhances regeneration of hair follicles. It is simple and effective treatment with no major side effects. Objective was to compare the efficacy of intralesional injection of platelet rich plasma and triamcinolone in patients of alopecia areata. It was a randomized controlled trial (open-labelled), conducted at the Dermatology Department, Combined Military Hospital Abbottabad from 1st May to 31st December 2021., Methods: Sixty clinically diagnosed patients of alopecia areata of the scalp were enrolled in the study. They were divided into two groups, A and B. Random numbers table was used to allocate 30 patients into each group. Group A patients were given an intralesional injection of triamcinolone while intralesional platelet rich plasma was given to Group B. Both treatments were repeated at one-month intervals for four months. In the study, Chi-square tests were used to compare effectiveness. It was considered significant when the p-value turned out to be <0.05.., Results: There was significant difference in complete response rate between intralesional injection of steroid and intralesional injection of platelet rich plasma. Platelet rich plasma was less effective (p =0.05). Local corticosteroid injection was significantly more effective than platelet rich plasma (p<0.05)., Conclusions: Intralesional injection of steroid is an effective and considerable treatment for alopecia areata. This study also proposes intralesional injection of platelet rich plasma as an alternative therapy for alopecia areata as it is not associated with serious local side effects.

Climate change is a serious threat to global agriculture and the farming community is well aware of this challenge. This is the first empirical study that looks beyond the traditional studies only limited to the adoption of climate change measures by estimating the impact of adopted practices on technical efficiency and computing the actual level of fertilizer at the farm level. For this purpose, face-to-face interviews were conducted for data collection with 196 farmers selected through multiple stage simple random sampling in the wheat-maize mix cropping zone of Punjab province. The results depicted that changing fertilizer was the most commonly adopted strategy (76%) to negate the effects of climate changes on crop production. Stochastic frontier analysis results revealed that the adoption of diversification practices, soil and water conservation practices, and modern input use strategies were influential factors explaining the technical efficiency differential among different farmers. The average technical efficiency score was 0.71 in the locality implying that farmers have an opportunity to increase their farm efficiency by 29% with the present level of inputs. Moreover, adopters of modern input practices with a high index were 27% more efficient than those with a low adaptation index of these climate countering measures. The empirical results also revealed the excessive use of nitrogen fertilizer to counter the climate change impacts at the agricultural farms. This result has important policy implications for government agencies that it is not enough just to guide and motivate the farmers to adopt certain strategies to negate the effect of climate change. They should also be informed about the exact usage level of those suggested measures., (© 2021. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.)

This study aim to examine the channel flow of a couple stress Casson fluid. The flow is generated due to the motion of the plate at [Formula: see text], while the plate at [Formula: see text] is at rest. This physical phenomenon is derived in terms of partial differential equations. The subjected governing PDE's are non-dimensionalized with the help of dimensionless variables. The dimensionless classical model is generalized by transforming it to the time fractional model using Fick's and Fourier's Laws. The general fractional model is solved by applying the Laplace and Fourier integral transformation. Furthermore, the parametric influence of various physical parameters like Casson parameter, couple stress parameter, Grashof number, Schmidt number and Prandtl number on velocity, temperature, and concentration distributions is shown graphically and discussed. The heat transfer rate, skin friction, and Sherwood number are calculated and presented in tabular form. It is worth noting that the increasing values of the couple stress parameter [Formula: see text] deaccelerate the velocity of Couple stress Casson fluid., (© 2022. The Author(s).)

Hydrogen peroxide (H 2 O 2 ) acts as a signaling molecule to direct different biological processes. However, its excess amount results in oxidative stress, which causes the onset of different types of cancers. TiO 2 nanostructure was synthesized by a facile hydrothermal method. The prepared material was characterized by FTIR spectroscopy, XRD, SEM, EDX, TGA, and Raman spectroscopy, which confirmed the formation of nanostructured material. Subsequently, the prepared nanoparticles (NPs) were capped with 1- H -3-methylimidazolium acetate ionic liquid (IL) to achieve its deagglomeration and functionalization. A new colorimetric sensing probe was prepared for the detection of H 2 O 2 based on ionic liquid-capped TiO 2 nanoparticles (TiO 2 /IL) and 3,3',5,5'-tetramethylbenzidine (TMB) dye, which acts as an oxidative chromogenic substrate. H 2 O 2 reacts with TMB, in the presence of ionic liquid-coated TiO 2 NPs, to form a blue-green product. The color was visualized with the naked eye, and the colorimetric change was confirmed by a UV-vis spectrophotometer. To obtain the best response of the synthesized sensor, different parameters (time, pH, concentrations, loading of nanomaterials) were optimized. It showed a low limit of detection 8.61 × 10 -8 M, a high sensitivity of 2.86 × 10 -7 M, and a wide linear range of 1 × 10 -9 -3.6 × 10 -7 M, with a regression coefficient ( R 2 ) value of 0.999. The proposed sensor showed a short incubation time of 4 min. The sensing probe did not show any interference from the coexisting species. The TiO 2 /IL sensor was effectively used for finding H 2 O 2 in the urine samples of cancer patients., Competing Interests: The authors declare no competing financial interest., (© 2021 The Authors. Published by American Chemical Society.)

Artemisia annua (AAH) is traditionally used as an anti-malarial, expectorant and antipyretic Chinese medicine. The aim of this study was to explore the therapeutic effect of Qinghao Powder (QHP) on chicken coccidiosis, evaluate the safe dosage of QHP, and provide test basis for clinical medication. High-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and thin-layer chromatography (TLC) were used to detect artemisinin in Qinghao Powder (QHP) for quality control. The level of artemisinin in QHP was 81.03 mg/g. A total of 210 chicks (14 days of age) were divided randomly into seven groups: three QHP treatments (0.15, 0.30, and 0.60 g/kg), a toltrazuril control (1.00 mL/L), a sulfachloropyrazine sodium control (SSC, 0.30 g/L), an E. tenella -infected control, and a healthy control group. All the groups were inoculated orally with 7 × 10 4 E. tenella oocysts except for the healthy control group. After seven days of administration, compared with the infected control group, chicks which were administered QHP, SS, and toltrazuril showed less bloody feces, oocyst output, and cecal lesions, and the protection rates were improved. The maximum rBWG and ACI were found in the SS-medicated group, followed by the groups medicated with 0.60 and 0.30 g/kg QHP. Therefore, a 0.30 g/kg dose level of QHP in the feed was selected as the recommend dose (RD) in the target animal safety test, in which 80 broiler chicks (14 days of age) were randomly divided into four major groups (I-healthy control group; II-1× RD; III-3× RD; IV-6× RD), with each group subdivided into two subgroups (A and B) consisting of 10 chicks each. After 7-day (for sub-group A) or 14-day (for sub-group B) administration, compared with the healthy control, treatment-related changes in BWG, feed conversion ratio (FCR), relative organ weight (ROW) of the liver, WBC counts, and levels of RBC, HGB, ALT, AST, and TBIL were detected in the 3× and 6× RD groups. No differences were noted in necropsy for all doses, and histopathological examinations exhibited no QHP-associated signs of toxicity or abnormalities in the liver or kidney. The findings suggest that QHP at a dose of 0.30 g/kg feed would be appropriate for therapy and intermittent treatment of E. tenella -infected chicks, the dosage in clinical applications should be set according to the recommended dose to ensure animal safety., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2021 Wang, Guo, Haq, Guo, Cui, Yang, Cheng, Wei and Lv.)

Biochar application has recently gained increased attention to reclaim heavy metal degraded soils. In this context, the present study investigated the effects of biochar on the growth regulation and heavy metal accumulation in tomato grown on contaminated soils. A two-factorial design with factor A including three treatments with mine (contaminated soil) and garden soil in the following ratio viz., T1 = 1:2, T2 = 1:1, and T3 = 2:1, and garden soil only as control; whereas factor B consists of biochar amendments at three levels viz., B1 (3%), B2 (6%), and B3 (9%). Our results revealed significant negative effects of heavy metal-contaminated soil on plant growth, and besides resulted heavy metal accumulation in tomato fruit. Tomato plants showed maximum reduction of growth in T3 followed by T2, and lowest in T1, a similar pattern was found for accumulation of heavy metals in the fruit. However, the application of biochar reduced the bioavailability and accumulation of heavy metals in the tomato fruit, as well as improved plant growth in contaminated soils. Overall, among the three biochar treatments, B2 was determined as the optimum level for improved growth coupled with reduced heavy metal accumulation in the tomato fruit. Besides, biochar application decreased the daily intake of metals and human health risk index values, thus alleviating the health risk. Hence, the present study demonstrated a positive role of biochar in reclaiming heavy metal-contaminated soils and in increasing the plant growth., (© 2021 Scandinavian Plant Physiology Society.)

In this work, we developed a cost-effective and environmentally friendly anthocyanin-based paper sensor with high sensitivity and optical visibility for the rapid detection of ammonia in aqueous solutions. The detection principle is based on a color change upon ammonia exposure to an anthocyanin-containing paper, which can be recorded simply via a smartphone. The paper sensors were fabricated by extracting anthocyanin from different sources ( i.e. , red cabbage, blueberry, and blackberry) and immersing pre-cut paper in anthocyanin extracts. Anthocyanin was extracted from different sources into water and aqueous ethanolic solution (80%) using solid-liquid extraction (SLE) and sonication assisted extraction (SAE) methods. The sensor sensitivity and optical visibility were improved by selecting a suitable combination of anthocyanin source, extraction technique, and solvent and controlling the ammonia release from the samples via alkalinization using a suitable base. Sensors fabricated with anthocyanin extracted from red cabbage (Red-C) into water using the SLE method and samples alkalinized with NaOH showed higher sensor sensitivity and better optical visibility. The Red-C anthocyanin sensors also exhibited a visible color change from dark to light blue for ammonia samples with concentrations as low as 2 mg NH 3 -N/L. Moreover, the spike recovery results of the sensors (101.9-109.4%) were in good agreement with those of the standard spectrophotometry method (105.4-112.2%), which suggest that these biosensors are a promising analytical tool as a replacement for time-consuming and environmentally unfriendly standard spectrophotometry methods for the on-site screening of ammonia., Competing Interests: The authors declare no competing financial interest., (This journal is © The Royal Society of Chemistry.)

Dehydrins (DHNs) play an important role in abiotic stress tolerance in a large number of plants, but very little is known about the function of DHNs in pepper plants. Here, we isolated a Y 1 SK 2 -type DHN gene " CaDHN3 " from pepper. To authenticate the function of CaDHN3 in salt and drought stresses, it was overexpressed in Arabidopsis and silenced in pepper through virus-induced gene silencing (VIGS). Sub-cellular localization showed that CaDHN3 was located in the nucleus and cell membrane. It was found that CaDHN3 -overexpressed (OE) in Arabidopsis plants showed salt and drought tolerance phenotypic characteristics, i.e., increased the initial rooting length and germination rate, enhanced chlorophyll content, lowered the relative electrolyte leakage (REL) and malondialdehyde (MDA) content than the wild-type (WT) plants. Moreover, a substantial increase in the activities of antioxidant enzymes; including the superoxide dismutase (SOD), peroxidase (POD), catalase (CAT), ascorbate peroxidase (APX), and lower hydrogen peroxide (H 2 O 2 ) contents and higher O 2 •- contents in the transgenic Arabidopsis plants. Silencing of CaDHN3 in pepper decreased the salt- and drought-stress tolerance, through a higher REL and MDA content, and there was more accumulation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in the CaDHN3 -silenced pepper plants than the control plants. Based on the yeast two-hybrid (Y2H) screening and Bimolecular Fluorescence Complementation (BiFC) results, we found that CaDHN3 interacts with CaHIRD11 protein in the plasma membrane. Correspondingly, the expressions of four osmotic-related genes were significantly up-regulated in the CaDHN3 -overexpressed lines. In brief, our results manifested that CaDHN3 may play an important role in regulating the relative osmotic stress responses in plants through the ROS signaling pathway. The results of this study will provide a basis for further analyses of the function of DHN genes in pepper.

The present research article is directed to study the heat and mass transference analysis of an incompressible Newtonian viscous fluid. The unsteady MHD natural convection flow over an infinite vertical plate with time dependent arbitrary shear stresses has been investigated. In heat and mass transfer analysis the chemical molecular diffusivity effects have been studied. Moreover, the infinite vertical plate is subjected to the phenomenon of exponential heating. For this study, we formulated the problem into three governing equations along with their corresponding initial and boundary conditions. The Laplace transform method has been used to gain the exact analytical solutions to the problem. Special cases of the obtained solutions are investigated. It is noticed that some well-known results from the published literature are achieved from these special cases. Finally, different physical parameters' responses are investigated graphically through Mathcad software.

Prenatal environment significantly influences mammalian fetal development and adverse in utero conditions have life-long consequences for the offspring health. Research has revealed that a wide variety of prenatal stress factors lead to increased risk of vulnerability to neuropsychiatric disorders in the individuals. Multiple mediators are involved in stress transfer from mother to the developing fetus, with stress hormone cortisol being a chief player. Further, the developmental programming effects of prenatal stress have been observed in the form of alterations in the offspring brain at different levels. This review covers stress transfer mediators such as cortisol, serotonin, maternal cytokines, reactive oxygen species (ROS) and the maternal microbiota, and their role in fetal programming. Prenatal stress leads to alterations in the offspring brain at multiple levels, from molecular and cellular to structural. These alterations eventually result in lasting phenotypic alterations such as in the offspring behavior and cognition. Different brain alterations induced by prenatal stress such as in neural pruning processes, neural circuit formation, brain structural connectivity and epigenetic systems regulating neural gene expression are under focus in the second part of the review. The latter constitutes a key molecular mechanism involved in prenatal stress effects and has been discussed in more detail.

Background: The risk factors and adverse outcomes related to maternal depression and child malnutrition are a leading cause of morbidity and mortality in low and middle-income countries (LMIC) including Pakistan. Above 25% of women suffer from maternal depression. Up to 50% children are under-nourished which contributes to 35% of all under-5 deaths in the country., Aim: To determine the efficacy of Learning through Play Plus Thinking Healthy Program (LTP Plus) intervention to reduce maternal depression in mothers with undernourished children., Methods: In this randomised controlled trial, all eligible mothers presenting to the paediatric departments were invited to participate in the study. Out of the total 256 mothers screened, 107 were included, 54 of those were randomly allocated to LTP Plus group and 53 to treatment as usual (TAU). Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) was used to screen for depression. Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HDRS), Maternal Attachment Inventory (MAI), Social Support Scale (OSLO-3) and the Euro-QoL (EQ-5D) were used to measure the severity of depression, mother-child attachment, level of support and health related quality of life dimensions. Assessments were completed at baseline, end of intervention (3 months from baseline) and at 6 months from baseline., Results: Mothers in the LTP Plus group significantly showed improvements in depression (p<0.001), social support (p = 0.02) and quality of life (p<0.001) at the end of the intervention (LTP Plus), as compared to the TAU group, which were sustained up to 6 months after baseline., Conclusion: The outcomes of LTP Plus intervention for mothers of malnourished children show promising results in reducing maternal depression and improving child outcomes. A full trial with longer-term outcomes and cost-effectiveness needs to be conducted., (Copyright © 2020. Published by Elsevier B.V.)

India has a diverse range of agro-ecological conditions which support the cultivation of different rice varieties differing in the adaptation which is so important for sustainable development of rice crop. Specific ecotypes of rice adapted to diverse conditions have divergence in their morphology, physiology, biochemistry, molecular function, agronomy, and stress response. In the present study, 12 different rice varieties viz., PB-1, PB-1509, Pusa-RH-10, CSR-30, HKR-47, PR-126, Govind, Sharbati, ADT-37, ADT-39, ADT-45, White Ponni, were selected for the study of intrinsic biochemical behaviour and these varieties belong to different Agro-ecological zones and basmati or non-basmati rice varieties. Amongst intrinsic biochemicals activity, the differential response of radical scavenging, superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT) and guaiacol peroxidase (POX) activities, were observed in the selected rice varieties at 14 days old seedling stage, developed under controlled growth conditions. Comparatively, North India region rice varieties displayed an enhanced intrinsic biochemical response than south India region rice varieties. Similarly, basmati rice varieties showed increased biochemical response compared to non-basmati rice varieties. Thus, the differential biochemical responses (radical scavenging, SOD, CAT, and POX activities) observed creates a significant difference between rice varieties and provides valuable information about rice ecotype-biochemical interaction for sustainable adaptive value under different ecological conditions., Competing Interests: Conflict of interestThe authors declare that there is no conflict of interest regarding the publication of this paper., (© Korean Society of Crop Science (KSCS) 2020.)

Background: Carotenoids, the secondary metabolites terpenoids, are the largest factors that form the fruit color. Similar to flavonoids, they are not only safe and natural colorants of fruits but also play a role as stress response biomolecules., Methods: To study the contribution of the key genes in carotenoids biosynthesis, fruit-color formation, and in response to cold stress, we characterized the key regulatory factor CaATHB-12 from the HD-ZIP I sub-gene family members in pepper., Results: Cold stress enhanced carotenoid accumulation as compared with the normal condition. CaATHB-12 silencing through virus-induced gene silencing changed the fruit color by regulating the carotenoid contents. CaATHB-12 silencing increased the antioxidant enzyme activities in the fruits of pepper, exposed to cold stress, whereas CaATHB-12 overexpression decreased the activities of antioxidant enzymes in the transgenic Arabidopsis lines, exposed to cold stress, suggesting that CaATHB-12 is involved in the regulation of cold stress in the pepper fruits., Conclusion: Our research will provide insights into the formation of fruit color in pepper and contribution of CaATHB-12 in response to cold stress. Further study should be focused on the interaction between CaATHB-12 and its target gene., Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflict of interest. The authors have not received any funding or benefits from industry or elsewhere to conduct this study., (© 2020 Rui-Xing Zhang et al.)

Introduction: The world is facing a formidable challenge to prevent the COVID-19 global outbreak, and health care systems are under pressure globally. The governments alone cannot prevent the spread of this pandemic without creating a sensitive public opinion and cooperation. Therefore, this study analyzed the knowledge, behavior, and precautionary measures taken by the general public to protect themselves from COVID-19 pandemic., Methodology: For this purpose, snowball sampling technique was used to collect data from 401 respondents through an online survey in the Punjab province of Pakistan. A Multivariate Probit Model was used to determine the factors affecting the choice of precautionary measures to avoid COVID-19 infection., Results: Majority of the respondents (58.1%) belonged to urban areas in this study. The urban respondents had higher knowledge about Coronavirus disease as compared to rural respondents. Similarly, the hygienic behavior of urban respondents was better than rural respondents. But unavailability of hygienic material (mask and hand sanitizer) was the main problem faced by the general public. Public transportation was considered the most risk-prone place to COVID-19 by the respondents. Majority of the respondents perceived medium to highest risk from COVID-19, and it was found one of the most influential factors affecting the adoption of precautionary measures along with knowledge of this pandemic., Conclusions: Government needs to start a comprehensive awareness campaign on social media along with the mainstream media create awareness about the importance of social distancing, washing hands and wearing masks among the general public to enhance knowledge and improve the behavior of the general public about COVID-19., Competing Interests: No Conflict of Interest is declared, (Copyright (c) 2020 Shamsheer ul Haq, Pomi Shahbaz, Ismet Boz.)

Plants need to cope with multitudes of stimuli throughout their lifecycles in their complex environments. Calcium acts as a ubiquitous secondary messenger in response to numerous stresses and developmental processes in plants. The major Ca 2+ sensors, calcineurin B-like proteins (CBLs), interact with CBL-interacting protein kinases (CIPKs) to form a CBL-CIPK signaling network, which functions as a key component in the regulation of multiple stimuli or signals in plants. In this review, we describe the conserved structure of CBLs and CIPKs, characterize the features of classification and localization, draw conclusions about the currently known mechanisms, with a focus on novel findings in response to multiple stresses, and summarize the physiological functions of the CBL-CIPK network. Moreover, based on the gradually clarified mechanisms of the CBL-CIPK complex, we discuss the present limitations and potential prospects for future research. These aspects may provide a deeper understanding and functional characterization of the CBL-CIPK pathway and other signaling pathways under different stresses, which could promote crop yield improvement via biotechnological intervention.

Dehydrins play an important role in improving plant resistance to abiotic stresses. In this study, we isolated a dehydrin gene from pepper ( Capsicum annuum L.) leaves, designated as CaDHN4. Sub-cellular localization of CaDHN4 was to be found in the nucleus and membrane. To authenticate the function of CaDHN4 in cold- and salt-stress responses and abscisic acid (ABA) sensitivity, we reduced the CaDHN4 expression using virus-induced gene silencing (VIGS), and overexpressed the CaDHN4 in Arabidopsis. We found that silencing of CaDHN4 reduced the growth of pepper seedlings and CaDHN4 -silenced plants exhibited more serious wilting, higher electrolyte leakage, and more accumulation of ROS in the leaves compared to pTRV2:00 plants after cold stress, and lower chlorophyll contents and higher electrolyte leakage compared to pTRV2:00 plants under salt stress. However, CaDHN4-overexpressing Arabidopsis plants had higher seed germination rates and post-germination primary root growth, compared to WT plants under salt stress. In response to cold and salt stresses, the CaDHN4-overexpressed Arabidopsis exhibited lower MDA content, and lower relative electrolyte leakage compared to the WT plants. Under ABA treatments, the fresh weight and germination rates of transgenic plants were higher than WT plants. The transgenic Arabidopsis expressing a CaDHN4 promoter displayed a more intense GUS staining than the normal growth conditions under treatment with hormones including ABA, methyl jasmonate (MeJA), and salicylic acid (SA). Our results suggest that CaDHN4 can protect against cold and salt stresses and decrease ABA sensitivity in Arabidopsis., Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Main Conclusion: HSP60 gene family in pepper was analyzed through bioinformatics along with transcriptional regulation against multiple abiotic and hormonal stresses. Furthermore, the knockdown of CaHSP60-6 increased sensitivity to heat stress. The 60 kDa heat shock protein (HSP60) also known as chaperonin (cpn60) is encoded by multi-gene family that plays an important role in plant growth, development and in stress response as a molecular chaperone. However, little is known about the HSP60 gene family in pepper (Capsicum annuum L.). In this study, 16 putative pepper HSP60 genes were identified through bioinformatic tools. The phylogenetic tree revealed that eight of the pepper HSP60 genes (50%) clustered into group I, three (19%) into group II, and five (31%) into group III. Twelve (75%) CaHSP60 genes have more than 10 introns, while only a single gene contained no introns. Chromosomal mapping revealed that the tandem and segmental duplication events occurred in the process of evolution. Gene ontology enrichment analysis predicted that CaHSP60 genes were responsible for protein folding and refolding in an ATP-dependent manner in response to various stresses in the biological processes category. Multiple stress-related cis-regulatory elements were found in the promoter region of these CaHSP60 genes, which indicated that these genes were regulated in response to multiple stresses. Tissue-specific expression was studied under normal conditions and induced under 2 h of heat stress measured by RNA-Seq data and qRT-PCR in different tissues (roots, stems, leaves, and flowers). The data implied that HSP60 genes play a crucial role in pepper growth, development, and stress responses. Fifteen (93%) CaHSP60 genes were induced in both, thermo-sensitive B6 and thermo-tolerant R9 lines under heat treatment. The relative expression of nine representative CaHSP60 genes in response to other abiotic stresses (cold, NaCl, and mannitol) and hormonal applications [ABA, methyl jasmonate (MeJA), and salicylic acid (SA)] was also evaluated. Knockdown of CaHSP60-6 increased the sensitivity to heat shock treatment as documented by a higher relative electrolyte leakage, lipid peroxidation, and reactive oxygen species accumulation in silenced pepper plants along with a substantial lower chlorophyll content and antioxidant enzyme activity. These results suggested that HSP60 might act as a positive regulator in pepper defense against heat and other abiotic stresses. Our results provide a basis for further functional analysis of HSP60 genes in pepper.

Phytophthora capsici has been the most destructive pathogen of pepper plants (Capsicum annuum L.), possessing the ability to quickly overcome the host defense system. In this context, the chitin-binding protein (CBP) family member CaChiIV1 regulates the response to P. capsici and abiotic stresses. The relevance of functional characterization and regulation of CaChiIV1 has not been explored in horticultural crops, especially pepper plants. The target gene (CaChiIV1) was isolated from pepper plants and cloned; the encoded protein carries a chitin-binding domain (CBD) that is rich in cysteine residues and has a hinge region with an abundance of proline and glycine residues. Additionally, the conserved regions in the promoter have a remarkable motif, "TTGACC". The expression of CaChiIV1 was markedly regulated by methyl-jasmonate (MeJA), hydrogen peroxide (H 2 O 2 ), melatonin, mannitol and P. capsici (PC and HX-9) infection. Knockdown of CaChiIV1 in pepper plants increased sensitivity to P. capsici (PC strain). Higher malondialdehyde (MDA) content and relative electrolyte leakage (REL) but lower antioxidant enzyme activities, chlorophyll content, root activity, and proline content were observed in CaChiIV1-silenced plants than in control plants. In conclusion, CaChiIV1-silenced pepper plants displayed increased susceptibility to P. capsici infection due to changes in expression of defense-related genes, thus showing its coregulation affect in particular conditions. Furthermore, antioxidant enzymes and proline content were largely diminished in CaChiIV1-silenced plants. Therefore, this evidence suggests that the CaChiIV1 gene plays a prominent role in the defense mechanism of pepper plants against P. capsici infection. In the future, the potential role of the CaChiIV1 gene in defense regulatory pathways and its coregulation with other pathogen-related genes should be identified.

Background: Massive hemoptysis is a life-threatening condition and can arise as a complication of various conditions. It rarely occurs as a complication of a ruptured thoracic aortic aneurysm. Even rarer are conditions where pseudoanurysms of aorta result due to infection., Case Presentation: A 30 year-old female patient presented with left sided chest pain, intermittent fever, cough and massive hemoptysis. A pseudo-aneurysm of proximal descending thoracic aorta at the level of the left Subclavian artery was noted over CT scan. Upon performing a left posterolateral thoracotomy, the aneurysm was seen to have ruptured into the apical segment of left upper lobe, contained mainly by a thrombus. The anterior wall of the pseudoaneurysm was debrided and a bovine pericardial patch was used to repair the aortic defect. Cultures of the tissue obtained showed Enterobacter species, therefore the patient was prescribed 6 weeks of IV antibiotics following surgery. Post-operative CT scan revealed reduced diameter of the aorta. She was discharged in good health and remains well at follow up evaluation., Conclusions: We present a case of hemoptysis caused by a ruptured descending aorta aneurysm into left lung. The aneurysm was secondary to infection by Enterobacter. Surgical repair of the concerned region of aorta was effective, without any major sequelae. To the best of our knowledge, no such cases have been reported previously.

Being an economical and nutritional crop, Capsicum appeases people's peppery taste and is found to bewidely distributed all over the world having vast diversity. In the present study, genetic polymorphism, cross transferability (CT) and genetic diversity were examined among the 54 different accessions of Capsicum species including 49 of Capsicum annuum , three of C. baccatum and two of C. frutescens , using a set of 36 start codon targeted (SCoT) primers. Of the total, 35 SCoT markers showed successful amplification profile among chilli germplasms and an average primer polymorphism was reported as 81.52% which ranged from 50% (SCoT-6) to 100% (SCoT-11). A total of 365 amplicons were obtained with an average of 10.43 bands per primer and the length of the bands ranged from 150 bp to 1.2 kb. Further, polymorphic information content value of SCoT markers ranged from 0.42 (for SCoT-25) to 0.86 (SCoT-27) with an average of 0.78. The average value of CT of SCoT markers was 44.08% ranged from 14.25% to 57.26% among different chilli accessions. A dendrogram was constructed and established genetic relationship among 54 capsicum species, with the help of translation initiation codon polymorphisms or SCoT primer amplification. This study suggests the effectiveness of SCoT marker system for characterizing and assessing genetic diversity of Capsicum germplasm, which can be used for evolutionary studies and to identify agronomically important traits.

Chitin-binding proteins are pathogenesis-related gene family, which play a key role in the defense response of plants. However, thus far, little is known about the chitin-binding family genes in pepper ( Capsicum annuum L.). In current study, 16 putative chitin genes (CaChi) were retrieved from the latest pepper genome database, and were classified into four distinct classes (I, III, IV and VI) based on their sequence structure and domain architectures. Furthermore, the structure of gene, genome location, gene duplication and phylogenetic relationship were examined to clarify a comprehensive background of the CaChi genes in pepper. The tissue-specific expression analysis of the CaChi showed the highest transcript levels in seed followed by stem, flower, leaf and root, whereas the lowest transcript levels were noted in red-fruit. Phytophthora capsici post inoculation, most of the CaChi (CaChiI3, CaChiIII1, CaChiIII2, CaChiIII4, CaChiIII6, CaChiIII7, CaChiIV1, CaChiVI1 and CaChiVI2) were induced by both strains (PC and HX-9). Under abiotic and exogenous hormonal treatments, the CaChiIII2, CaChiIII7, CaChiVI1 and CaChiVI2 were upregulated by abiotic stress, while CaChiI1, CaChiIII7, CaChiIV1 and CaChiIV2 responded to hormonal treatments. Furthermore, CaChiIV1-silenced plants display weakened defense by reducing (60%) root activity and increase susceptibility to NaCl stress. Gene ontology (GO) enrichment analysis revealed that CaChi genes primarily contribute in response to biotic, abiotic stresses and metabolic/catabolic process within the biological process category. These results exposed that CaChi genes are involved in defense response and signal transduction, suggesting their vital roles in growth regulation as well as response to stresses in pepper plant. In conclusion, these finding provide basic insights for functional validation of the CaChi genes in different biotic and abiotic stresses., Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

The dirigent (DIR and DIR-like) proteins involved in lignification, play a pivotal role against biotic and abiotic stresses in plants. However, no information is available about DIR gene family in pepper (Capsicum annuum L.). In this study, 24 putative dirigent genes (CaDIRs) were identified, their gene structure, genome location, gene duplication and phylogenetic relationship were elucidated. Tissue-specific expression analysis displayed the highest transcription levels in flower, stem and leaf. Some CaDIRs were up-regulated by virulent (CaDIR2, 3, 6, 7, 11, 14, 16, 22 and 23) and avirulent (CaDIR3, 5, 7, 16, 20, 22, 23 and 24) Phytophthora capsici strains, as well as by Methyl jasmonate, salicylic acid, NaCl and mannitol stresses. Acid-soluble lignin content increased (103.21%) after P. capsici inoculation (48-hour). Silencing of CaDIR7 weakened plant defense by reducing (~50%) root activity and made plants more susceptible (35.7%) to P. capsici and NaCl (300 mM). Leaf discs of the CaDIR7:silenced plants exposed to NaCl and mannitol (300 mM each), exhibited a significant decrease (56.25% and 48% respectively) in the chlorophyll content. These results suggested that CaDIR7 is involved in pepper defense response against pathogen and abiotic stresses and the study will provide basic insights for future research regarding CaDIRs.

Purpose: To assess the role of technetium-99m methoxy diphosphonate (Tc-99m MDP) single photon emission tomography (SPECT) imaging for the detection of osseous invasion in craniofacial malignancies., Material and Methods: The study was performed in 45 subjects using Tc-99m MDP (740 MBq). Out of 45 subjects, 30 were patients had different craniofacial malignancies, and 15 subjects who did not have any malignancy served as controls. Planar imaging was performed. Anterior, lateral and oblique lateral views of the skull were obtained. SPECT imaging was done taking 64 views of the skull in a 360 ° circular path, each 40 s with 128 × 128 matrices. Scans were visually interpreted using a score of 0, 1, and 2, representing a lesion as definitely absent, doubtful, and definitely present, respectively. Planar scans were compared with the SPECT images., Results: Bone SPECT detected more lesions as compared to planar bone scan and plain radiographs. SPECT was found to be superior to planar imaging and radiographs in the detection and efficient demonstration of the extent of osseous invasion of craniofacial cancer. Sensitivity was 100% for SPECT and 83.33% for planar bone scan., Conclusion: SPECT imaging of the skull is a very beneficial complementary form of investigation in patients with craniofacial malignancies for the assessment of osseous invasion, particularly in tumors likely to invade the skull base., (Copyright © 2017 European Association for Cranio-Maxillo-Facial Surgery. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Background: Maternal depression is a major public health problem. This may affect a mother's ability to provide adequate care for the child. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of the Learning through Play Plus program (LTP Plus) - a parenting program integrated with Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT)., Methods: A total of 247 women with symptoms of depression in Karachi, Pakistan were assigned randomly to either LTP Plus or routine care (Clinical Trials Identifier: NCT00835016). Symptoms of maternal depression were measured using the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) at 3 and 6 months after baseline., Results: At 3 months, there was a significant reduction in the EPDS scores in the intervention group compared to the routine group (adjusted mean difference [AMD] -3.65, 95% CI -6.14 to -1.15, p <0.004). This effect was sustained at 6 months (AMD -2.62, 95% CI -4.43 to -0.81, p<0.005). These women also reported less parental distress and disability. There was also a significant improvement in maternal knowledge about child development at 6 months., Conclusion: There was a significant reduction in depression among women who received the group parenting program LTP Plus. This intervention has the potential to be scaled up and integrated with mother and child health programs., (Crown Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Expressed sequence tags (EST) are potential source for the development of genic microsatellite markers, gene discovery, comparative genomics, and other genomic studies. In the present study, 7630 ESTs were examined from NCBI for SSR identification and characterization. A total of 263 SSRs were identified with an average density of one SSR/4.2 kb (3.4% frequency). Analysis revealed that trinucleotide repeats (47.52%) were most abundant followed by tetranucleotide (19.77%), dinucleotide (19.01%), pentanucleotide (9.12%), and hexanucleotide repeats (4.56%). Functional annotation was done through homology search and gene ontology, and 35 EST-SSRs were selected. Primer pairs were designed for evaluation of cross transferability and polymorphism among 11 plants belonging to five different families. Total 402 alleles were generated at 155 loci with an average of 2.6 alleles/locus and the polymorphic information content (PIC) ranged from 0.15 to 0.92 with an average of 0.75. The cross transferability ranged from 34.84% to 98.06% in different plants, with an average of 67.86%. Thus, the validation study of annotated 35 EST-SSR markers which correspond to particular metabolic activity revealed polymorphism and evolutionary nature in different families of Angiospermic plants.

Background: early Intervention in Psychosis (EI) was introduced into the British NHS as a result of the NHS Plan, about eleven years ago. The intention was to provide thebest possible care or patients with a first episode of psychosis. Recently however, long term studies over five years have suggested that early gains may be lost., Methods and Aims: we wished to establish whether our own group of patients who had received Early Intervention continued over six years to have better outcomes than patients treated in Community Mental Health Teams. To do this we analysed statistically the data on the readmissions and bed days used by our patients over the first six years of illness., Results: We found that patients, both in the whole two groups and in different sub-groups appeared to demonstrate a number of advantages, not always statistically significant, in favour of the EI treated team., Discussion: in many cases, the small size of the samples may have impeded us observing statistically significant differences, however, in general, it appeared that there were a number of advantages in favour of the EI treated team., Conclusion: our study, though small, does appear to support the view that Early Intervention Services do improve outcomes and that some of the improvement may endure after the patient leaves EI services. Much larger studies ae however required.