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Proteases have received a lot of attention in recent years thanks to their use in a variety of industries, including the food, feed, leather, textile, and pharmaceutical sectors. The soil sample from a cold climate was used in the current experimental study of protease production. In order to identify the protease-producing bacterial species, morphological, physiological, and biochemical analyses were carried out, and the isolated bacterial strain's ability to produce proteases on skim milk agar was assessed. As a result of casein hydrolysis, a zone formed surrounding the bacterial colony suggested a protease-positive strain. To increase the production of protease by isolated Bacillus species, various sources of nitrogen and carbon were examined. Yeast extract (309.32 IU/ml) was the nitrogen source that supported growth the best among the other sources studied, and fructose (269.4 IU/ml) was the carbon source that produced the most protease activity. The fermentation time of 72 h (393.7033 IU/ml) was anticipated to be the best setting for protease synthesis. When 2% (w/v) soybean meal was employed, protease activity was measured at 494.92 IU/ml. The influence of pH was investigated, and it was discovered that 7.5 was the best and optimal pH for Bacillus species to produce 511 IU/ml of protease. When the temperature range was discovered to be 40°C, the highest protease activity of 542.93 IU/ml was recorded. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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A total of 184 samples of fish meal were assayed for proximate composition, pepsin digestibility, salt, acid insoluble ash and chromium. The samples were categorized into four groups A, B, C and D on the basis of their crude protein contents which ranged from 55-60, 50-55, 45-50 and 40-45% for four groups, respectively. Group A contained 12.50% samples, 46.20% samples were in group B, 29.89% in group C and 11.41% were in group D. The results showed a variation in nutrient composition among samples. An inverse relationship was observed between fat, ash, pepsin digestibility, chromium and crude protein contents of fish meal. All the samples were adulterated with slightly higher levels of sand and salt than recommended.

Apharyngostrigea oderolalensis new species a member of the family Strigeidae, is described from the small intestine of the cattle egret (Bubulcus ibis Linn.) from Sindh, Pakistan. The new species of trematode is characterized by a porous, spined tegment, small oral sucker, lobe like slightly lateral with tentacular appendages which are lobe-like, the fore body is separated from hind body by a slight constriction; large acetabulum; round to oval testes; pretesticular ovary; vitellaria present in fore body and hind body. Uterus extends up to the posterior end of acetabulum. Genital cone somewhat delimited from body parenchyma. Eggs thin walled, large in size. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Echinostoma cribbi sp.n. is being described here, collected from the small intestine of the bird cattle egret (Bubulcus ibis Linn., 1758). The new species is characterized by 38-40 collar spines absence of esophagus, having contiguous ovary and testes, anterior testis smaller as compared to posterior testis and a different host and locality. This is the ninth species of Echinostoma Rud., 1809 being reported from a bird of Pakistan. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Guava roots naturally infected with root-knot nematodes (Meloidogyne javanica) were fixed, sectioned and examined with a microscope. It was observed that the nematode juveniles developed and moved normally within root tissue. The cortex was completely destroyed. Cells showing hypertrophy and hyperplasia were common. Females deposited eggs into a gelatinous egg mass, while the males were present in the rhizosphere soil. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Current study was carried out in December, 2014 to investigate the occurrence of helminth parasites in catfish species belonging to family Ariidae (Blecker, 1862). Four species of catfishes namely Arius arius (Hamilton, 1822), Arius caelatus (Valenciennes, 1840), Arius dussumieri (Valenciennes, 1840) and Arius sona (Hamilton, 1822) off the Karachi coast were screened for the occurrence of helminth parasites. Fish were examined after washing contents of gastrointestinal tract and observed under light microscope with the help of regular parasitological methods. The nematode parasites namely; Raphidascaris acus (Bloch, 1779) larvae, Metabronema magnum (Taylor, 1925), Haplonema immutatum (Ward et Magath, 1917) and Hedruris bryttosi (Yamaguti, 1935) were recorded from the gut of the catfish, Arius arius (Hamilton, 1822). These are new host records as these parasites have not been reported from Arius arius species in the region, off the Karachi coast. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A survey of plant parasitic nematodes associated with Almond was conducted encompassing six almond nurseries of Khuzdar and Kalat districts Balochistan Province. Sixteen different nematodes were recorded. The nematodes found in all six nurseries were Scutylenchus rugosus, Meloidogyne javanica larvae and Zygotylenchus guevarai. Similarities between six localities on the basis of association of nematode species in the assemblages was determined. Different treatments were used to control population of Scutylenchus rugosus, Zygotylenchus guevarai and Meloidogyne javanica larvae. Amendments including sugarcane bagasse, neem leaf powder, sawdust, Fertinemakil, Marigold flower powder were employed alone and in combination whereas for comparison a chemical nematicide was used. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sixty-six samples of seedlings and rootstock of grapevine were selected from 6 vineyard from two districts of Balochistan, Pakistan. Seven species of nematodes were found associated with the seedlings/rootstock including Aphelenchus avenae, Helicotylenchus indicus, Hoplolaimus indicus, Meloidogyne javanica, M. incognita, Xiphinema americanum and X. index. A matrix of similarity between six vineyard-nurseries was computed using Bray-Curtis index. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sixty six rhizosphere soil samples of peach seedlings were collected from six nurseries of Khuzdar and Kalat districts of Balochistan from December, 2012 to February, 2013. Eight different phytonematodes were found associated with the seedlings. The most predominant nematode was Helicotylenchus pseudorobustus and the least frequent were Meloidogyne javanica and Tylenchorhynchus annulatuus. A matrix of similarities with respect to nematode species assemblages, for the six nurseries is given. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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The article discusses a study which examined a Acanthocephalan species Porrorchis jonesae from the small intestine of the bird Acridotheres tristis found in Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan. The study fixed the specimens in formaline acetic solution, stained them with Mayer's carmalum, dehydrated them in ethanol and cleared them in clove oil and xylol. It compared the species from its congeners in a number of characters, including the arrangement of proboscis hooks, body size, testes size and shape, size of eggs.

An abstract of the article "Algal Diversity of Eastern India and Their Role in Fish Nutrition," by N. Khatoon and R. Pal, is presented.

Enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli (ETEC) cause hundreds of millions of diarrheal illnesses annually ranging from mildly symptomatic cases to severe, life-threatening cholera-like diarrhea. Although ETEC are associated with long-term sequelae including malnutrition, the acute diarrheal illness is largely self-limited. Recent studies indicate that in addition to causing diarrhea, the ETEC heat-labile toxin (LT) modulates the expression of many genes in intestinal epithelia, including carcinoembryonic cell adhesion molecules (CEACAMs) which ETEC exploit as receptors, enabling toxin delivery. Here, however, we demonstrate that LT also enhances the expression of CEACAMs on extracellular vesicles (EV) shed by intestinal epithelia and that CEACAM-laden EV increase in abundance during human infections, mitigate pathogen-host interactions, scavenge free ETEC toxins, and accelerate ETEC clearance from the gastrointestinal tract. Collectively, these findings indicate that CEACAMs play a multifaceted role in ETEC pathogen-host interactions, transiently favoring the pathogen, but ultimately contributing to innate responses that extinguish these common infections., Competing Interests: Competing interests statement:The authors declare no competing interest.

Enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli (ETEC) cause hundreds of millions of cases of infectious diarrhea annually, predominantly in children from low-middle income regions. Notably, in children, as well as volunteers challenged with ETEC, diarrheal severity is significantly increased in blood group A (bgA) individuals. EtpA, is a secreted glycoprotein adhesin that functions as a blood group A lectin to promote critical interactions between ETEC and blood group A glycans on intestinal epithelia for effective bacterial adhesion and toxin delivery. EtpA is highly immunogenic resulting in robust antibody responses following natural infection and experimental challenge of volunteers with ETEC. To understand how EtpA directs ETEC-blood group A interactions and stimulates adaptive immunity, we mutated EtpA, mapped its glycosylation by mass-spectrometry (MS), isolated polyclonal (pAbs) and monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) from vaccinated mice and ETEC-infected volunteers, and determined structures of antibody-EtpA complexes by cryo-electron microscopy. Both bgA and mAbs that inhibited EtpA-bgA interactions and ETEC adhesion, bound to the C-terminal repeat domain highlighting this region as crucial for ETEC pathogen-host interaction. MS analysis uncovered extensive and heterogeneous N-linked glycosylation of EtpA and cryo-EM structures revealed that mAbs directly engage these unique glycan containing epitopes. Finally, electron microscopy-based polyclonal epitope mapping revealed antibodies targeting numerous distinct epitopes on N and C-terminal domains, suggesting that EtpA vaccination generates responses against neutralizing and decoy regions of the molecule. Collectively, we anticipate that these data will inform our general understanding of pathogen-host glycan interactions and adaptive immunity relevant to rational vaccine subunit design., Competing Interests: JMF is listed as the "Inventor" on U.S. patent 8323668 assigned to the University of Tennessee Research Foundation on December 4, 2012 that relates to use of EtpA related antigens in vaccine development. The other authors have declared that no competing interests exist., (Copyright: This is an open access article, free of all copyright, and may be freely reproduced, distributed, transmitted, modified, built upon, or otherwise used by anyone for any lawful purpose. The work is made available under the Creative Commons CC0 public domain dedication.)

Aim: The differential diagnosis of intrinsic nonfibrotic conditions that may lead to portal hypertension include hepatoportal sclerosis (HPS), nodular regenerative hyperplasia (NRH), and sinusoidal obstruction syndrome (SOS). In this article, we characterize the clinical features and outcome of these lesions when they manifest as portal hypertension. Methods: Data was collected through retrospective patient medical records. Results: Patients (HPS: 28, NRH: 17, SOS: 11) were identified more frequently in recent years. All groups presented with signs and symptoms of portal hypertension. All patients had complex medical histories. An elevated serum alkaline phosphatase occurred in all groups and an elevated bilirubin with SOS. Imaging of the liver with HPS and NRH suggested cirrhosis, which was not seen with SOS. 11%, 12%, and 9% of patients in the HPS, NRH, and SOS respectively, underwent transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt placement to manage the complications of portal hypertension, while 43%, 24%, and 36% of patients respectively, received a liver transplant. Conclusions: Patients with HPS, NRH, and SOS had complex medical histories, likely contributing to the development of these lesions. They are recognized more frequently now. In contrast to HPS and NRH, SOS occurred in liver transplant recipients, was associated with elevated serum bilirubin, and imaging did not suggest the presence of advanced fibrosis/cirrhosis. Liver transplantation appeared to be a viable treatment for complications related to HPS and NRH. Retransplantation for SOS yielded mixed results. HPS, SOS, and NRH should be considered when evaluating liver specimens from patients with unexplained nonfibrotic portal hypertension. Key message: Intrinsic nonfibrotic causes of portal hypertension appear to be increasing in frequency. The differential diagnosis includes NRH, HPS, and SOS. These conditions are associated with complex diseases and possibly due to treatments. Pathologists need to be aware of this differential diagnosis when presented with liver biopsies performed to assess portal hypertension., Competing Interests: Declaration of Conflicting InterestsThe author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

The textile industry's high-salinity wastewater presents a significant difficulty for fractioning salts and dyes. To fractionate the dyes and salts, a high-performance CPVC composite loose nanofiltration membrane (LNM) was fabricated by interfacial polymerization. The organic phase was obtained by crosslinking polyethylenimine (PEI) with tannic acid (TA) and gallic acid (GA) using TMC. The resultant composite LNM performance was enhanced by adjusting the coating parameters, which included TA and GA concentrations as well as coating time. The study examined the effects of the total content of TA/PEI and GA/PEI concentrations on the chemical structure, surface roughness, and microstructure of the selective layer of LNM using SEM, AFM, FTIR, and water contact angle measurements. It also investigated the filtration performance of the membrane's selective layer, including pure water flux, PEG800 rejection rate, and membrane fouling analysis. However, the resultant membrane treated simulated reactive black 5 (RB5) dye wastewater. When the total content of TA/PEI is 4 kg L -1 , the permeability of pure water flux is high at 7.5 L per m 2 per h per bar when the total content of GA/PEI is 14 kg L -1 and the pure water flux is high at 8.8 L per m 2 per h per bar. The overall PEG800 rejection rates were 97-98.98%. The optimal TA : PEI ratios reached a good pure water permeability up to 6.4 L per (m 2 per h per bar) with a high rejection rate of 99.69% for a ratio 1/3 to dye, and GA : PEI ratios reached a good water permeability at 5.5 and 6.5 L per (m 2 per h per bar) with rejection rates of 99.21% and 98.88% for ratio 1/3 and 3.5/10.5 for simulated RB5 dye, and the NaCl retention rate gradually decreased from 4% to 3%. The resultant LNM demonstrated promising applications in dye and salt fractionation., Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflict of interest., (This journal is © The Royal Society of Chemistry.)

Silicon and Germanium oxide (SiO x and GeO x ) nanostructures are promising materials for energy storage applications due to their potentially high energy density, large lithiation capacity (~10X carbon), low toxicity, low cost, and high thermal stability. This work reports a unique approach to achieving controlled synthesis of SiO x and GeO x nanostructures via photonic curing. Unlike conventional methods like rapid thermal annealing, quenching during pulsed photonic curing occurs rapidly (sub-millisecond), allowing the trapping of metastable states to form unique phases and nanostructures. We explored the possible underlying mechanism of photonic curing by incorporating laws of photophysics, photochemistry, and simulated temperature profile of thin film. The results show that photonic curing of spray coated 0.1 M molarity Si and Ge Acetyl Acetate precursor solution, at total fluence 80 J cm -2 can yield GeO x and SiO x nanostructures. The as-synthesized nanostructures are ester functionalized due to photoinitiated chemical reactions in thin film during photonic curing. Results also showed that nanoparticle size changes from ~48 nm to ~11 nm if overall fluence is increased by increasing the number of pulses. These results are an important contribution towards large-scale synthesis of the Ge and Si oxide nanostructured materials which is necessary for next-generation energy storage devices., (© 2024 The Authors. ChemistryOpen published by Wiley-VCH GmbH.)

Cancer is a severe disease that results in death in all countries of the world. A nano-based drug delivery approach is the best alternative, directly targeting cancer tumor cells with improved drug cellular uptake. Different types of nanoparticle-based drug carriers are advanced for the treatment of cancer, and to increase the therapeutic effectiveness and safety of cancer therapy, many substances have been looked into as drug carriers. Lipid-based nanoparticles (LBNPs) have significantly attracted interest recently. These natural biomolecules that alternate to other polymers are frequently recycled in medicine due to their amphipathic properties. Lipid nanoparticles typically provide a variety of benefits, including biocompatibility and biodegradability. This review covers different classes of LBNPs, including their characterization and different synthesis technologies. This review discusses the most significant advancements in lipid nanoparticle technology and their use in medicine administration. Moreover, the review also emphasized the applications of lipid nanoparticles that are used in different cancer treatment types., 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 © 2024 Waheed, Ali, Tabassum, Khatoon, Lai and Zhou.)

Neuromuscular acetylcholine receptors (AChRs) are hetero-pentameric, ligand-gated ion channels. The binding of the neurotransmitter acetylcholine (ACh) to two target sites promotes a global conformational change of the receptor that opens the channel and allows ion conduction through the channel pore. Here, by measuring free-energy changes from single-channel current recordings and using molecular dynamics simulations, we elucidate how a constricted hydrophobic region acts as a "gate" to regulate the channel opening in the pore of AChRs. Mutations of gate residues, including those implicated in congenital myasthenia syndrome, lower the permeation barrier of the channel substantially and increase the unliganded gating equilibrium constant (constitutive channel openings). Correlations between hydrophobicity and the observed free-energy changes, supported by calculations of water densities in the wild-type versus mutant channel pores, provide evidence for hydrophobic wetting-dewetting transition at the gate. The analysis of a coupled interaction network provides insight into the molecular mechanism of closed- versus open-state conformational changes at the gate. Studies of the transition state by "phi"(φ)-value analysis indicate that agonist binding serves to stabilize both the transition and the open state. Intersubunit interaction energy measurements and molecular dynamics simulations suggest that channel opening involves tilting of the pore-lining M2 helices, asymmetric outward rotation of amino acid side chains, and wetting transition of the gate region that lowers the barrier to ion permeation and stabilizes the channel open conformation. Our work provides new insight into the hydrophobic gate opening and shows why the gate mutations result in constitutive AChR channel activity., (© 2023 Kumari et al.)