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License plates to uniquely identify vehicles mainly use aluminum as the base material. Currently, there is no distinction of different use cases of license plates, such as short-time usage for test drive and transportation purposes that do not need such long-lasting materials not only from cost but also from sustainability perspectives. This paper presents a methodology to select the best material for different use cases under the holistic consideration of specifically defined criteria as to material properties, sustainability aspects, and supply chain implications. We show that there are several candidate materials for different use cases that stick out by changing the importance of these numerous criteria. In addition, the paper delves deeper into the sustainability aspect by means of a comprehensive System Dynamics model. We show that a scenario in which the company picks up used license plates by relying on a logistics service provider to get them delivered to an external recycling service provider yields the best results.

Strawberries are amongst the most desirable fruits with a rich flavour, appealing taste, high fibre content and many other health benefits. Diets rich in dietary fibre provide many health benefits. In the present work, strawberry juice was prepared in two batches, one with preservative sodium benzoate (treated) and another without (untreated). Prebiotic fibre i.e., apple pomace was added to both batches in concentrations of 5%, 8%, and 11%. Dietary fibre in both batches was analysed by enzymatic-gravimetric method. The additional analyses included pH, acidity, total soluble solids (TSS), colour, total phenolic content (TPC), antioxidant, ascorbic acid, anthocyanin, microbial and sensory parameters. Dietary fibre was increased significantly in all the treatments as well as TS, while pH and acidity were not affected. Ascorbic acid, anthocyanin, antioxidant, total phenolic content, and sensory analysis of treatment 2 (T2, 8% treated) showed the best results. The microbial load on the other hand increased more in the untreated batch. The T2 treatment of both the batches was given ultrasound treatment. The sonication temperature (20 oC), frequency (20 kHz), and power (650 W) were kept the same, and the time was varied (0, 15, 30, 45, and 60 minutes). Dietary fibre showed a slight increase as fibre became more soluble by cavitation in sonication while pH acidity and TSS were not significantly affected. Anthocyanin increased, but only at lower sonication times. Antioxidants, total phenols, and colour and sensory parameters were significantly improved with sonication time. Similarly, the microbial load was reduced significantly.

In this work, we report synthesis of thiosemicarbazones 1b-10b and their cyclic derivatives 1,3-Thiazoles 1c-10c. The prepared compounds were checked by FT-IR analysis, their characterization by 1H NMR, 13C NMR, FT-IR and elemental analysis. Both series were then evaluated for their antibacterial behavior using ciprofloxacin and tetracycline as reference. MIC values displayed 1b, 3b, 4b, 5b, and 2c as potentially good antibacterial agents. Series 1c-10c was further investigated for antioxidant activity using DPPH and ABTS assays. Compounds 9c and Ic exhibited better antioxidant activity with an IC50 value of; 4.949 and 4.884 mg/mL lower than that of the standard BHT (5.083 mg/mL) in DPPH protocol while in ABTS protocol, compounds 3c, 4c and 6c showed greater activity than standard BHT (IC50 values; 4.943, 4.944 and 4.984 mg/mL, respectively, BHT; (5.086 mg/mL)). Molecular docking result revealed that 8b and 2c displayed the finest enactment against the GlcN-6-P synthase as reinforced by its lowest binding energy (–31.06 and –28.44 kcal mol respectively) as compared to other ligands. These compounds are potentially novel for researchers and pharmaceutical companies to investigate other biological activities and processing.

Triazole-based acetamides serve as important scaffolds for various pharmacologically active drugs. In the present work, structural hybrids of 1,2,4-triazole and acetamides were furnished by chemically modifying 2-(4-isobutylphenyl) propanoic acid (1). Target compounds 7a–f were produced in considerable yields (70–76%) by coupling the triazole of compound 1 with different electrophiles under different reaction conditions. These triazole-coupled acetamide derivatives were verified by physiochemical and spectroscopic (HRMS, FTIR, 13CNMR, and 1HNMR,) methods. The anti-liver carcinoma effects of all of the derivatives against a HepG2 cell line were investigated. Compound 7f, with two methyl moieties at the ortho-position, exhibited the highest anti-proliferative activity among all of the compounds with an IC50 value of 16.782 µg/mL. 7f, the most effective anti-cancer molecule, also had a very low toxicity of 1.190.02%. Molecular docking demonstrates that all of the compounds, especially 7f, have exhibited excellent binding affinities of −176.749 kcal/mol and −170.066 kcal/mol to c-kit tyrosine kinase and protein kinase B, respectively. Compound 7f is recognized as the most suitable drug pharmacophore for the treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma.

The current project was planned for the extraction and characterization of the bioactive moieties from coriander seed (CS), black cumin seed (BCS), and fenugreek seed (FS) with special reference to their synergistic effect. Purposely, the solvent extraction method was applied by using the water and aqueous methanol (70:30 v/v) at constant temperature (40°C) for 7 h. For the estimation of antioxidant profile of resultant extracts, the indices such as total phenolic content (TPC), total flavonoid content (TFC), DPPH (1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl), β-carotene bleaching assay, FRAP (ferric reducing antioxidant power), and ABTS (2,2′-azino-bis,3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) assay were adapted. Moreover, high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) characterization of the extracts was also carried out for their active ingredients estimation. The results indicated that the combination of spices in some treatments exhibited more antioxidant activity as compared to their single one. The maximum TPC, TFC, DPPH, β-carotene bleaching assay, FRAP, and ABTS assay were exhibited by methanolic extract of T2 (BCS) as 292.5 ± 9.14 (mgGAE/100 g), 188.8 ± 5.69 (mgQE/100 g), 46.3 ± 0.32 (IC50 μg/ml), 76.96 ± 0.81 (%), 5.53 ± 0.08 (mg/TEg), and 67.18 ± 0.82 (μmolTE/g), respectively, followed by T4 (combination of CS and BCS) as 290.5 ± 8.54 (mgGAE/100 g), 184.2 ± 5.88 (mgQE/100 g), 48.2 ± 0.48 (IC50 μg/ml), 75.62 ± 0.87 (%), 5.49 ± 0.04 (mg/TEg), and 64.56 ± 0.46 (μmolTE/g) values for respective parameters, whilst least was observed in T6 (combination of BCS and FS) of respective antioxidant indices as 287.2 ± 9.57 (mgGAE/100 g), 175.9 ± 5.79 (mgQE/100 g), 50.7 ± 0.96 (IC50 μg/ml), 73.24 ± 0.59 (%), 5.40 ± 0.09 (mg/TEg), and 61.96 ± 0.58 (μmolTE/g). Moreover, HPLC characterization conforms to the presence of thymoquinone, diosgenin, and phenolic acids, including (chlorogenic acid, caffeic acid, and kaempferol) in BCS, FS, and CS, respectively. Conclusively, spices extraction was dependent upon the type of solvent and showed promising antioxidant potential not only alone but also in their combinations thus can be utilized for mitigating the oxidative-stress-related maladies.

This experiment was conducted to determine standardized ileal amino acid digestibility (SIAAD) of commonly used feed ingredients in poultry diets in Pakistan. These feed ingredients included corn, rice broken (RB), rice polishings (RP), wheat bran (WB), sunflower meal (SFM), cottonseed meal (CSM), guar meal (GM), soybean meal (SBM) from India and Argentine and fish meal (FM). The SIAAD of each ingredient was determined in triplicate using 21-days-old broilers. Day-old male broiler chicks (Hubbard× Hubbard) were reared on corn-SBM based diet from 1 to 13 days and thereafter birds were fed experimental diets from day 14 to 21. Each diet was fed to 36 birds kept in six replicate cages, each cage had six birds. In cereals, the SIAAD of corn’s amino acid (AA) (90.1%) was similar (p>0.05) to RB (89.0%). Isoleucine (97.8%) and lysine (96.9%) were highly digestible AA in corn and RB, respectively. Among cereal-by products, WB’s SIAAD (76.9%) was same (p>0.05) as RP (71.9%). Arginine from WB (82.5%) and RP (83.2%) was highly digestible. However, threonine in WB (72.7%) and leucine in RP (69.6%) were the lowest digestible AAs. In plant protein meals, AAs from Argentine-SBM (85.1%) and Indian-SBM (83.4%) had higher (p0.05). The SBM from plant protein meals had higher (p

Vitamin D3 is a secoster oid that exerts its effect by binding to its nuclear receptor called vitamin D receptor (VDR), inducing apoptosis and thereby inhibiting cell proliferation in cancer cells. The VDR receptor, located in the nucleus, is known to regulate the functions of over 200 genes. Various allelic forms of hVDR have been discovered that increase susceptibility to various cancers. The VDR-Cdx2 polymorphism, located in the promoter region of exon 1e in the VDR gene, influences the functional activity of the receptor, since the hVDR lacks consensus TATA and CAAT boxes. The current investigation examines the association between VDR-Cdx2 polymorphism and breast cancer in premenopausal females from Southern Pakistan.We conducted a case control study on 264 subjects (103 cases and 161 controls) who were recruited from a tertiary hospital located in Karachi, Pakistan. Genomic DNA was extracted from peripheral blood using a commercial kit method, and the VDR-Cdx2 polymorphism was genotyped using tetraprimer amplification refractory mutation system polymerase chain reaction (T-ARMS-PCR) method. Pearson chi square test was used to assess the association between VDR-Cdx2 genotype and breast cancer while genotype distribution in controls was evaluated by Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium (HWE). Breast cancer risk was calculated using odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals.The genotype distribution in the control group was in HWE (p > 0.05) for the VDR-Cdx2 polymorphism. A non-significant association was observed between VDR cdx2 polymorphism and breast cancer, however the GG genotype was at risk (OR = 1.832, 95% CI = 0.695-4.828) of developing breast cancer.The GG genotype of Cdx2-VDR gene polymorphism may increase the risk of developing breast cancer in young female patients in South Pakistan. Further investigations examining additional single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in VDR are required to assess their relationships with breast cancer.

Purpose: This study examined 46 articles in total, which yielded 5 recurring themes: perceived discrimination, language barriers, socioeconomic barriers, cultural barriers and educational/knowledge barriers. The two most dominant themes found were the inability to speak the country's primary language and belonging to a culture with different practices and values from the host country. The review provides vital insights into the numerous challenges that immigrants and refugees encounter as they navigate through the primary care systems of English-speaking (E-S) countries and potential solutions to overcome these barriers. Design/methodology/approach: Access to adequate healthcare plays a central part in ensuring the physical and mental wellbeing of society. However, vulnerable groups such as immigrants and refugees, face numerous challenges when utilizing these healthcare services. To shed further light on the barriers impacting healthcare quality, the authors' team performed a scoping thematic review of the available literature on immigrant and refugees' experiences in primary healthcare systems across E-S countries. Articles were systematically reviewed while focusing on healthcare perceptions by immigrants, potential barriers and suggestions to improve the quality of primary care. Findings: This work looked at qualitative and quantitative information, attempting to combine both paradigms to give a rich and robust platform with which to devise a further study through focus groups. Qualitative inquiry accounted for 28/46, or 61%, of studies, and quantitative inquiry made up 9/46, or 20%, while 9/46 or 20% combined both qualitative and qualitative. Emerging themes are -perceived ethnic discrimination faced by immigrants accessing primary care, language barriers, socioeconomic barriers, cultural barriers and educational barriers. Research limitations/implications: Most medical journals rely on quantitative data to relate "results" and cases. The authors set out to change ways in which medical reports can be done. Most of the authors were solely trained in quantitative research; consequently, they had to learn to isolate themes and to use a narrative approach in the article. Practical implications: Research implications clearly indicated that using a qualitative (phenomenological) approach with quantitative data created a human and reachable discourse around patient comfort and the realities of immigrants and refugees to E-S countries. The use of this research opens medical practitioners (and patients) to a richer understanding within a usually difficult arena. Social implications: By understanding the qualitative nature of medical research, practitioners, students and mentors are able to bridge medical quantitivity to the human, widening doors to social science and medical collaboratory research. Originality/value: As stated above, this work is important as it understands the human/patient element and de-emphasizes the medical obsession with quantifying the lives of patients through hard data. This is a unique collaboration that relies on the qualitative to pinpoint and define the difficulties of newcomers to E-S countries.

Semiconductor photocatalysts with engineered heterostructure are gaining attention for environmental remediations. The combination of two or more metal oxides with support materials has proved an effective strategy for better charge separation to lead to redox reactions. Therefore, the novel combination of tungsten oxide (WO3) and bismuth oxide (Bi2O3) with graphene oxide (GO) was studied to degrade methylene blue dye as a model organic pollutant. The novel composite material was synthesized using a facile hydrothermal route. The photocatalysts (i.e., WO3, WO3/Bi2O3, and GO/WO3/Bi2O3 composite) were characterized in terms of surface morphology by scanning electron microscope, elemental mapping by energy-dispersive X-ray, crystalline structure by X-ray diffraction, and functional group identification by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. The characterization analysis confirms the successful synthesis of all pristine and composite materials. The optical response of photocatalysts (WO3/Bi2O3) and composites photocatalyst (GO/WO3/Bi2O3) was checked by UV–visible spectroscopy using the Tauc plot method. The considerable reduction in energy bandgap from 2.9 (for WO3/Bi2O3) to 2.2 (for GO/WO3/Bi2O3) suggests that the proposed composite material is not only effective under natural sunlight but also a potential material with improved charge separation. The optimization of influencing parameters was done, and the best degradation efficiency of about 98% was achieved under pH = 9, composite dose = 30 mg per 100 mL, and H2O2 concentration = 13 mM, with the reaction time of 180 min under ambient sunlight. Kinetic studies confirmed that the photocatalytic degradation process followed the 1st-order kinetic model. The response surface methodology (RSM) was employed to analyze the data statistically. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Agglomeration economies are the external benefits earned from clustering of industries and people in cities. The study assumes unbridled clustering of population in emerging urban agglomerations turning economies into diseconomies. This study empirically investigates the heterogeneous socioeconomic impacts of agglomeration economies in selected cities of Punjab, Pakistan, from 1998 to 2018, using the Pooled Mean Group and the Mean Group techniques of Panel ARDL. Agglomeration economies are determined by population density, number of registered factories, employment size, and housing, in the cities of Punjab. The study designed four indices for socioeconomic conditions using principal component analysis. These include: education-index, healthcare-index, water & sanitation-index, and economic conditions-index. Research findings reveal pressures of high population density, unemployment, and costly housing on educational & healthcare facilities, poor sanitation & waste management, in cities of Punjab, Pakistan. The study suggests that policy makers and urban planners to develop short term and long term policies and development plans for villages and secondary cities to uplift wellbeing of the local population. Nonetheless, cities need to decentralize for sustainable development and management.

Fish is a fundamentally healthy food, loaded with essential nutrients, high protein content, vitamin D, and omega-three fatty acid. Mislabeling is a common problem in the fish industry that causes an imbalance in prices and fluctuation in the market. DNA barcoding is a potential technique for authentication of mislabeled and misidentified fish species. In this study, 11 freshwater and 6 marine fish species were used for DNA barcoding and further authentication using the mitochondrial cytochrome b (Cyt b) gene. Cyt b was amplified using PCR, producing an average read length of 1,141 bp. The obtained sequences were compared to the National Center for Biotechnology Information database (NCBI) using the Basic Local Alignment Search Tool (BLAST). The average AT content (55.20%) was higher than the average GC content (44.78%) in marine and freshwater fish species. The mean genetic Kimura 2-parameter distances for species, genus, families, and orders were 0.311, 0.308, 0.023, and 0.337, respectively. Phylogenetic tree analysis revealed that most of the freshwater fish species clustered together due to the fact that they were in the same order or family, while the marine fish species clustered distantly. Single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) analysis of all species in the study revealed distinct features regarding unique sites. All fish species could be identified based on their unique SNP profiles. Based on SNP data, DNA sequence based QR codes were developed for accurate identification of fish species. This is the first study to develop DNA-based QR barcodes for proper authentication of species during the chain of custody using simple technology.

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