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The study examined the effect of professional learning communities (PLC) on the achievement of students. PLC is about developing collaborative learning among colleagues to enhance the performance of an organization within a specific environment. Student achievement has defined the performance of students which can be evaluated with the help of tests. Data were gathered from SSTs (N=890) involving three districts (Sheikhupura, Kasur, and Lahore) through a multistage sampling technique. The study adopted the Professional Learning Communities Assessment (PLCA) scale to examine the PLC which was developed by Olivier et al. (2010). Student achievement scores were obtained from their respective schools based on BISE results of 10th grade. The study found that teachers strongly agreed that they were part of PLC in their institutions. The study also found a moderate and significant relationship between both PLC and student achievement (r=.71), and a 41% variance in student achievement could be explained with the help of PLC. Overall, female teachers were found better than male teachers, while urban teachers were better than urban teachers for being part of PLC. The recommendations were also added to the given study.

Objective: To assess the frequency of intra-abdominal hypertension and its relationship with outcomes among patients of laparotomy admitted to the intensive care unit. Study Design: Comparative cross-sectional study Place and Duration of Study: Combined Military Hospital ,Rawalpindi Pakistan, from Apr to Sep 2021. Methodology: Two-hundred patients who underwent laparotomy admitted to the intensive care unit of Combined Military Hospital were recruited in our study. Intra-abdominal pressure was measured after every 8 hours for 72 hours after admission to the intensive care unit. In addition, patients were followed up for two weeks from admission in the intensive care unit to assess the outcome. Results: Out of two hundred patients, 150(75%) had good outcomes, while 50(25%) had poor outcomes. The mean age of patients who underwent the surgery was 40.63±9.448 years. 171(85.5%) patients did not have raised intra-abdominal pressure, while 29(14.5%) had intra-abdominal hypertension. High Body mass index and poor outcome had a significant association with the presence and severity of intra-abdominal hypertension among study participants (p-value

he present study attributed to determining the influence of organizational structure on learners' achievement. For this purpose, a public and public-private partnership model adopted by schools was considered. A quantitative, descriptive approach was followed, and a survey technique was used. The study was delimited to Punjab province and also delimited to public elementary schools, and the PPP model adopted FAS and EVS schools. The multi-stage random sampling procedure was followed to choose the sample. The sample was comprised of 652, including 506 Heads from Public schools and 146 Heads from PPP model-adopted schools. The researchers developed a questionnaire, validated before the actual collection of data. It was concluded that different parameters of the organizational structure of both types of institutions influence learners’ achievement. A fully developed organizational structure of schools leads to better learners’ academic achievement and results in improved performance of schools. Therefore, it was recommended that efforts should be made to develop a better organizational structure.

The study aimed to examine effect of school climate on performance of schools. School climate includes measuring quality of the schools on various indicators such as dealing with internal and external dynamics, sustaining and fostering the school climate, high expectation and respects, handling conflicts and crisis, and shared decision making. Performance of schools is described as accomplishment of all short-term and long-term educational goals by the students, schools, and teachers. In district Sahiwal, 740 Secondary school teachers were selected randomly by using multistage sampling technique who evaluated their head teachers’ performance on quality practices of school climate on Head Teacher Effectiveness Questionnaire adopted for this study. For school performance, scores of student achievement were collected from their institutions along with the data on school performance questionnaire that included factors related to the teacher presence, school cleanliness, functioning of the facilities, and student presence. The data were obtained by reports of monthly visits collected through the evaluation teams of the districts authorities. The study explored that head of the institutions developed school climate effectively, and excellent level of schools performance was also found. The study found reasonable relationship between school climate and performance of schools (r=.57), and 32% variance in performance of school could be explained through school climate. The study also added that climate of school might be evaluated by using these quality practices of head teachers.

The study aimed to compare teacher effectiveness in English and Mathematics by using students' ratings on quality factors such as learning environment, instructional planning and strategies, subject matter knowledge, assessment, and effective communication. Through using a multistage sampling technique, the data was obtained from the students of 10th grade (N=2009), who evaluated their teachers' performance on STEQ developed by Akram (2018). The five factors of STEQ exhibited a high level of reliability (α=.88) with factor-wise reliability ranging from 0.74 to 0.86. T-test for independent samples was used to compare boys' and girls', and urban and rural students' perceptions of teacher effectiveness in English and Mathematics. Female teachers were perceived as more effective than male teachers by their students in Mathematics and English, while urban teachers were perceived as more effective as compared to rural teachers by their students in Mathematics and English. Student achievement in English and Mathematics also statistically significantly differed based on the gender of students and school location. The study also gave recommendations.

The study aimed to find out the effect of organizational learning culture on teachers’ self-efficacy at the secondary level. An organizational learning culture is a process to measure how quality dimensions such as inquiry and dialogue, continuous learning, team learning, empowerment, systems connection, providing leadership, and integrated systems were implemented within the school. Teacher self-efficacy is defined as how quality factors such as engagement of students, strategies for instruction, and management of the classroom were implemented by teachers. Multiple sampling techniques were employed to obtain data from teachers (N=729) selected randomly through involving two tools; the Dimension of Learning Culture questionnaire (DLCQ) developed by Watkins and Marsick (1996) and the Teacher Sense of Self Efficacy Scale (TSES) developed by Tchannen and Hoy (2001). The study revealed that organizational learning culture was above average, while the teacher self-efficacy was also found an above average. The study determined a moderate relationship between both the variables (r=.41) and a 32% variance in teacher self- efficacy could also be explained through an organizational learning culture. The study involved a small sample size, future studies might be conducted involving a larger sample size to get a more vivid picture.

The study examined the effect of instructional leadership on school performance. Instructional leadership is a process that how quality practices: building and sustaining the school vision, monitoring of curriculum and instruction, leading a learning community, data gathering and assessing, and shared leadership were implemented by head teachers effectively. School performance is defined as the attainment of targets by teachers, students and schools. In district Sahiwal, head teachers were evaluated for instructional leadership by their SSTs (N=1026) on HTEQ. For school performance, a score of student achievement were obtained from their schools, while data on factors: cleanliness of schools, student presence, the functionality of facilities, and teacher presence were obtained through monthly visit reports of MEAs. The study revealed that head teachers were used practices of instructional leadership effectively and excellent level of schools' performance were found. The study explored a moderate relationship between variables (r=.54), and a 39 % variance in school performance could be explained through instructional leadership. The recommendations were also added in the study.

Proper medical attention and hygienic conditions during delivery reduce the risk of complications and infections that may cause death or serious illness for the mother and baby. To reduce the health risks is to increase the proportion of deliveries in safe, clean environment under the supervision of skilled health professionals. Unfortunately, in Pakistan, around 34% of births took place at home. The role of various factors behind the access to skilled birth attendants has been investigated however the role of women empowerment is not given due consideration by the researcher, particularly in the case of Pakistan. This paper examined the influence of women’s empowerment on access to skilled delivery services. The data from PDHS 2017-18 has been used. The results reveal that variables of women empowerment have a significant impact on female access to a skilled birth attendant. Specifically, significant associations have been found between women’s media and information technology empowerment, economic empowerment and socio-cultural empowerment, interpersonal empowerment, and access to skilled birth attendants. This study suggests that there is a need to focus on women’s access to media and information technology, women's decision-making autonomy, economic enhancement, and education to increase the use of skilled birth attendants in Pakistan.

The study examined the effect of self-evaluation of head teachers’ effectiveness on school performance through quality indicators: teacher evaluation, instructional leadership, organizational management, school climate, and communication and community relations. School performance is defined as the extent to which long or short-term educational targets are achieved by teachers, students and schools. In district Sahiwal, 104 head teachers evaluated their own effectiveness on HTEQ developed by researchers by selecting them conveniently. For school performance, MEAs' monthly visit reports were used to collect the data on the factors: teacher presence, school cleanliness, functioning of facilities and student presence, while data on student achievement scores were obtained from their schools. The study found that head teachers implemented these indicators effectively and their schools' performance was also at an excellent level. The study revealed a moderate relationship between both of the variables (r=.54). The study also revealed that a 41% variance in the performance of schools was explained through all five factors of head teachers’ effectiveness.

Typhoid is a food-borne fatal disease caused by Salmonella typhi. It causes inflammation of the intestine, resulting in diarrhoea, fever, headache, cough, and muscle pain. Improved hygiene has resulted in a marked decline in typhoid fever cases in many developed countries. However, significant typhoid cases emerge in low and middle-income countries annually, including Pakistan. Typhoid fever accounts for a larger percentage of acute febrile illnesses in Pakistan. Azithromycin is the only effective drug used in multidrug-resistant typhoid. The emergence of drug resistance typhoid has been of more significant concern in recent years due to its irrational use of azithromycin. It is considered the last antibiotic to eradicate multidrug-resistant typhoid fever from Pakistan. In this article, we express our concern of the irrational use of azithromycin in Pakistan and its effect on typhoid in the country.

Background & Objective: After the Spanish Flu world has seen epidemics of SARS and MERS; however, these epidemics have no comparison to the magnitude of devastation caused by COVID-19. This virus originated from Wuhan, China and spread to every nook and corner of the world within weeks. In three months World Health Organization had labeled it as a pandemic. This novel deadly virus shows no discrimination of race or age. Everyone is equally at risk of developing the infection; however, clinical severity is thought to be influenced by age and the presence of comorbids. Furthermore, an increased rate of intensive care admissions, length of stay, need for mechanical ventilation, and mortality have been reported in patients with COVID-19 infections having comorbids.The objective of this study was to evaluate the Factors responsible for clinical severity of COVID 19 infection in patients presenting to tertiary care hospitals in Lahore. Methods: This Descriptive observational study was conducted simultaneously at three tertiary care hospitals in Lahore. A total of 200 confirmed patients with COVID-19 infection by RT PCR were included in the study. The case records of all the inpatients in the General Corona ward, Isolation wards, HDUs and ICUs were analyzed. Data analysis was performed in SPSS 20. Age, gender, and comorbid including Diabetes, hypertension, ischemic heart disease were recorded and their relationship with the severity of COVID 19 infection was studied by applying the Spearman's rank correlation and Fisher's exact test. Results: Out of the total 200 patients 54.5% were male and 45.5% were female, with a mean age of 58.29 ± 15.20 years. Critical and severe disease was seen in 33% and 63% of patients respectively. Most frequent comorbids reported were Hypertension (HTN), Diabetes (DM), ischemic heart disease (IHD), and lung diseases. A statistically significant positive association was observed between the severity of COVID 19 infection and increased age, diabetes. Hypertension was most frequently reported comorbid but association was not statistically significant. However, patients who had HTN along with ischemic heart disease had a statistically significant positive association with the severity of the disease . Conclusion: Advanced age, diabetes Mellitus and hypertension when present in patients with ischemic heart disease have a statistically significant association with clinical severity of patients suffering from COVID 19 infection.

Background: COVID-19 outbreak posed a serious threat to public health and greatly impacted the life of professionals and students. Hence, this study aimed to evaluate the knowledge related to COVID-19 during a lockdown in Punjab, Pakistan. Subjects and methods: This cross-sectional online study recruited 833 participants (males=417, females=416) from major cities (Lahore, Islamabad, Rawalpindi, Gujranwala, Bahawalpur, Faisalabad, and Sialkot) in Punjab, Pakistan, during the months of March and April 2020. A pre-designed questionnaire was shared, among professionals (including pharmacists, paramedical staff, lawyers, businessmen, teachers) and students (including medical undergraduate and postgraduate students, and non-medical students), containing 12 questions regarding their knowledge of COVID-19. Data were collected using convenient sampling technique. Chi-square test and logistic regression model were applied for analysis using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) software. Results: The mean age of the participants was 23 years ranged from 15-68 years. Of the 833 participants, 365 (43.8%) were well aware, 405 (48.6%) were aware and only 63 (7.6%) were not aware of COVID-19. Most of the participants (69.4%) did not know about coronaviruses (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus and Middle East respiratory syndrome-related coronavirus) before this pandemic. Using logistic regression analysis, age above 24 years, being a student (vs. being a professional) and a prior knowledge about coronavirus resulted in having higher odds of knowledge about COVID-19 with a significant p-value (

Pakistan is 5th most populous country in the world and striving to achieve population equilibrium. Unfortunately, one in five women in Pakistan has not been using contraceptives and thus bearing unwanted pregnancies. Female’s participation in their own matters and benefits from social, economic, and political spheres has remained very low. Gender inequality is often cited as a barrier to improving women’s sexual and reproductive health outcomes, including contraceptive use. Pakistan is ranked at 148th place out of the 149 countries in Global Gender Gap Report 2018, which indicates very high gender inequality. Keeping in view this fact, we investigated the impact of women’s decision-making autonomy on contraceptive use among married women age 15–49 years in Pakistan. Pakistan Demographic and Health Survey 2018 data has been used for analysis by using descriptive statistics, association tests, and multiple logistic regression. Women’s participation in making four household decisions: access to health care; large household purchases; what to do with the husband earning and freedom to visit family and relatives have been used as women’s decision-making autonomy. The results indicated that women’s decision-making autonomy has been positively associated with contraceptive use. Women’s age, province of residence, education level, household wealth status, number of children, time since last sex, and awareness about family planning services have also been found statistically significantly associated with contraceptive use. The current study suggests integrating the interventions for women's decision-making autonomy into family planning programs. For this purpose, the development of community-based awareness programs for women’s decision-making autonomy and contraceptive use could be useful interventions to achieve population equilibrium.

Adverse effects on the health and well-being changes may also express as a decreased sleep quality in COVID-19 patients. This study aimed to assess sleep quality among confirmed COVID-19 patients and the non-COVID-19 Pakistani population.An online cross-sectional survey was conducted between April and September 2020 in Punjab province, Pakistan. Information about demographic characteristics, COVID-19 diseased status, prior knowledge about COVID-19, and sleep quality using the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) was collected.A total of 597 participants were included in this study, 296 (49.6%) COVID-19 patients and 301(50.4%) non-COVID-19 population. The PQSI was used to measure seven distinct sleep components; subjective quality, latency, duration, efficiency, disturbances, medication, and daytime dysfunction. Where mean ± standard deviation (SD) were 0.96 ± 0.743, 1.47 ± 1.032, 0.97 ± 1.006, 0.61 ± 0.995, 1.13 ± 0.649, 0.23 ± 0.651, 1.02 ± 0.861 respectively in total population (N = 597). Sleep latency, sleep duration, and sleep efficiency did not show a significant difference in the T-Test. While sleep quality, sleep disturbances, sleep medication, and daytime dysfunction showed a significant difference between both populations.In conclusion, we highlighted the poor sleep quality in COVID-19 patients as compared to the non-COVID-19 population

Electrospinning is an intensely facile methodology for the precise manufacturing of polymer nanofibers by manipulation of electrostatic force, which stunts like a driving force. In this technique, fibers produced with a diameter range between 50 to 500 nm. Two practices are made up by the scientists for electrospinning of versatile polymer. Polymers can be electrospun into ultrafine fibers in solvent solution or melt form. Tremendous progress had been made in this field in the past, and numerous applications were inaugurated. It’s a field of nanotechnology which rapidly growing due to enormous potential in creating novel applications regarding morphologies, materials structure, surface area, porosity, and Reinforcement in nanocomposite development. Fibers can be assembled in the form of nonwoven, aligned, patterned, random three-dimensional structures and sub-micron fibers. Many complications faced during electrospinning, for example, control the morphology and structure of Nanofibers, analyze surface functionality, and assembling strategies for various polymers. We need to find out various parameters for accurate fiber assembly. Here we briefly review the evolution activities in the field of electrospinning, understand its process, polymeric structure, property characterization, technology frailty, research provocations, future expectations, and resourceful applications.

Background and Objectives: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a respiratory disease caused by a novel Coronavirus The World Health Organization (WHO) officially declared it a health emergency on January 30, 2020 WHO also called for collaborative efforts from all countries to prevent its further spread The success of the world's battle against COVID-19 depends upon people's adherence to the control measures which is affected by their Knowledge, Attitudes and Practices (KAP) towards the disease as suggested by KAP theory In this study, the KAP of population from Punjab towards COVID-19 during the rapid rise period of the COVID-19 outbreak is investigated Methods: This was a cross-sectional study based on Google forms-based survey regarding the Knowledge, Attitudes and Practices of participants towards COVID-19 A total of n = 500 participants completing their questionnaires were included Online data was extracted and cross-checked for any discrepancy Statistical analysis was done by using SPSS ver 22 Results: Participants with = 22 years of age significantly practicing more social distancing (P0 05) Knowledge of hand hygiene and proper discarding of mask were significantly more associated with the practices of social distancing Knowledge of cough and sneezing etiquettes was significantly related to practice social distancing (P0 01) Attitude of hand hygiene protocols was significantly related to practicing hand washing, minimizing touching environment (P0 01) and disinfecting house and workplace (P0 05) Conclusion: The present study showed a good knowledge, positive attitudes and suitable practices in population of Punjab The health awareness programs designed after pandemic declaration by WHO, played a vital role in improving all these things [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] Copyright of Biomedica is the property of Knowledge Bylanes and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use This abstract may be abridged No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract (Copyright applies to all Abstracts )

Food safety is an assurance that foodstuff which is consumed are safe to human health. Insufficient practices and absence of knowledge among food handlers are contributing factors for the spread of foodborne diseases. To evaluate knowledge, attitudes, and practices concerning food safety issues among food handlers in multiple food service area’s by conducting face to face interviews and administrating structured questionnaire. A cross sectional analytical study was conducted among 72 food handlers by using purposeful sampling technique. The study demonstrated that the positive association was found between working experience, formal training with knowledge, attitude and practices towards food safety and disease control measures (p < 0.05). The mean percentage of pre training KAP and observed practices scores were 75.8 and 13.7 while Post training KAP were 95.9 and 16.8 respectively. Food handlers have adequate knowledge regarding the basic food hygiene but needs improvement in HACCP (critical temperatures of hot or cold ready-to-eat foods, time temperature control of food and cross-contamination etc). There is an immediate need for periodic education and increasing awareness regarding safe food handling practices. Verdicts from this study gives a vision for better food sanitation practices and influence all food service institutions to follow HACCP practices.

Intimate partner violence (IPV) is a public health and human rights issue with the social and economic impacts felt by women. Punjab is a male-dominated society, where partner violence is generally accepted as a cultural norm and viewed as normal behavior within a marriage. It stems from attitudes that partner violence is a private matter and usually a justifiable response to misbehavior on the part of the wife. The focus of the current study is to investigate the impact of this cultural norm in acceptability attitude of women toward IPV in Punjab province. A large-scale sample size of more than 46,000 from Multi-Indicator Cluster Survey (MICS) 2018 has been used. The impact of the cultural norm on the wife-beating attitude has been investigated in five dimensions: wife going out without telling him, neglecting the children, arguing with him, refusing to have sex with him, and burning the food. The logistic regression results indicate that wife-beating is accepted as a community norm. It has been found that if wife-beating is accepted by community, then the individual female is more than 3 times more likely to consider it justifiable in all five dimensions. The other important factors are education level, household wealth, ethnicity, media exposure, and wife–husband age difference. The level of education of women plays the most important role in rejecting the wife-beating norm, as an increase in level of education is associated with an increase in the probability of rejecting the wife-beating. So, the current study suggests that there is a dire need to increase the female education level to overcome this issue.

Flaviviruses are a group of enveloped viruses that enter the host cells through receptor-mediated endocytosis. The entry of flaviviruses into the cells is a multi-step process which involves several host factors that trigger the uptake of the virus. The initial step in the virus life cycle is the interactions between viral envelope proteins and the specific receptors on the surface of host cell. To date, several receptors have been identified such as glycosaminoglycans, tight junction proteins, laminin receptor and phosphatidylserine receptors. Moreover, the viruses may utilize integrins and C-type lectin receptors on the surface of host cells as the initial attachment factors. This mini-review will focus on recent progresses in the understanding of virus attachment, internalization, and membrane fusion with specific emphasis on the cellular receptors.

Formaldehyde is a primary chemical in the manufacturing of various consumer products. It is synthesized via partial oxidation of methanol using a mixed oxide iron molybdate catalyst (Fe2(MoO4)3–MoO3). This is one of the standard energy-efficient processes. The mixed oxide iron molybdate catalyst is an attractive commercial catalyst for converting methanol to formaldehyde. However, a detailed phase analysis of each oxide phase and a complete understanding of the catalyst formulation and deactivation studies is required. It is crucial to correctly formulate each oxide phase and influence the synthesis methods precisely. A better tradeoff between support and catalyst and oxygen revival on the catalyst surface is vital to enhance the catalyst’s selectivity, stability, and lifetime. This review presents recent advances on iron molybdate’s catalytic behaviour for formaldehyde production—a deep recognition of the catalyst and its critical role in the processes are highlighted. Finally, the conclusion and prospects are presented at the end.

Background Tick saliva contains many bioactive molecules that are involved in attachment to the host, blood-feeding and transmission of pathogens. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are a class of short non-coding RNAs with a length of 19–24 nucleotides. They act as regulators of gene expression by binding to their target mRNA at the post-transcriptional level and control a variety of cellular functions, including regulation of growth, metabolism and development. The detection and characterizations of miRNAs from tick saliva may help explain the molecular mechanisms involved in the interaction between ticks, pathogens and hosts. They may also contribute to the discovery of vaccines, which can control ticks and the pathogens they transmit. Results An RNA library was generated from the saliva of fed adult Haemaphysalis longicornis ticks, containing 17.4 million clean reads of 18–30 nucleotides. Overall, 319 known miRNAs and 1 novel miRNA were found. The 10 most abundantly expressed miRNAs present in tick saliva were miR-100_2, miR-315, miR-184_1, miR-100-5p_2, miR-5307, miR-184-3p_3, Let-7-5p_6, miR-71_5, miR-1-3p_6 and miR-10-5p_2. miR-375, one of the abundantly expressed, was subjected to quantitative real-time PCR analysis (qRT-PCR) in various tick developmental stages, as well as in different tissues isolated from adult ticks. The expression of miR-375 in different tick development stages was highest in unfed nymphs and lowest in the egg stage. In the tissues of adult ticks, miR-375 was most highly expressed in the salivary gland. To investigate the possible role of miR-375, Ant-375 was used to inhibit the miR-375. The treated group (Ant-375) had a reduced number of eggs (t(10) = 2.652, P = 0.0242), eggs that were partially desiccated, and reduced egg hatchability (t(10) = 2.272, P = 0.044) compared to Ms-Ant and the non-injected control. Conclusions This is the first study to investigate the miRNA profile in tick saliva and the role of miR-375 in H. longicornis. The identification and characterization of miRNA in tick saliva may help to reveal the molecular mechanisms of interactions among ticks, pathogens and hosts, and suggest new vaccine strategies to control tick-borne diseases. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (10.1186/s13071-019-3318-x) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Extracellular vesicles (EVs), are considered as vehicles of cellular communication. Parasites usually release EVs in their excretory-secretory products to modulate host environment. However, little is known about the secretion of EVs by ticks. In this study, we show for the first time that the tick Haemaphysalis longicornis secretes EVs in saliva that resembles exosomes. EVs were purified from pilocarpine induced saliva of partially engorged H. longicornis ticks. Electron microscopy analysis revealed the presence of exosome-like vesicles with a size of 100 nm. Proteomic analysis by LC-MS/MS identified a total of 356 proteins in tick-derived EVs. Proteome data of tick-derived EVs was validated by Western blot analysis. Immunodetection of Hsp70 and GAPDH proteins indicated that the proteomics data of tick-derived EVs were highly reliable. Bioinformatics analysis (Gene Ontology) indicated association of certain biological and molecular functions with proteins which may be helpful during tick development. Likewise, KEGG database revealed involvement of vesicular proteins in proton transport, detoxification, ECM-receptor interaction, ribosome, RNA transport, ABC transporters, and oxidative phosphorylation. The results of this study provide evidence that EVs are being secreted in tick saliva and suggest that tick saliva-derived EVs could play important roles in host-parasite relationships. Moreover, EVs could be a useful tool in development of vaccines or therapeutics against ticks.

The inclusion of straw in high concentrate total mixed rations (TMRs) of male fattening goats can provide the necessary fiber to prevent ruminal acidosis and maintain growth. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of the physical form (PF) of the diet (pelleted vs. conventional) and the straw level (SL) of wheat straw (WS) (15% versus 25%) in total mixed rations on feed intake, growth, total tract digestibility, and blood metabolites of fattening goats. Thirty-two male Beetal goats (27.4 &plusmn, 0.28 kg body weight (BW)) were divided randomly into the following four dietary treatments with a 2 &times, 2 factorial arrangement (n = 8/treatment): (1) CTMR15 (conventional TMR containing 15% WS), (2) CTMR25 (conventional TMR containing 25% WS), (3) PTMR15 (pelleted TMR containing 15% WS), and (4) PTMR25 (pelleted TMR containing 25% WS). Both conventional and pelleted 15% WS TMR had 33.7% neutral detergent fiber (NDF) and 19.3% acid detergent fiber (ADF), whereas in 25% WS TMR the NDF and ADF contents were 38.7% and 22.9%, respectively. The experimental diets were formulated to be iso-nitrogenous (crude protein (CP) = 15%). The dry matter intake (DMI) (1.265 vs. 1.044 kg/day) and average daily gain (ADG) (0.176 vs. 0.143 kg/day) were higher (p &lt, 0.05) in pelleted vs. conventional TMR-fed goats. Irrespective of the PF of the TMR, the 15% WS-fed animals had greater (p &lt, 0.05) DMI (1.206 vs. 1.102 kg/day) and ADG (0.172 vs. 0.144 kg) when compared to those fed on 25% WS diets. Furthermore, feed-to-gain ratio (F:G) was higher (p &lt, 0.05) in the 25% WS-fed goats when compared with the 15% WS-fed animals. Digestibility coefficients, nitrogen balancing, hepatic enzymes, blood metabolites, and hematological parameters were similar (p &gt, 0.05) across all treatments. In conclusion, feeding pelleted TMR with WS improved DMI and growth performance as compared to those fed conventional TMR, and 15% WS performed better than 25% WS without exerting any adverse effects on blood metabolites, liver enzymes, or hematological parameters.

The phenotypic and genotypic characteristics of a live-attenuated genotype I (GI) strain (SD12-F120) of Japanese encephalitis virus (JEV) were compared with its virulent parental SD12 strain to gain an insight into the genetic changes acquired during the attenuation process. SD12-F120 formed smaller plaque on BHK-21 cells and showed reduced replication in mouse brains compared with SD12. Mice inoculated with SD12-F120 via either intraperitoneal or intracerebral route showed no clinical symptoms, indicating a highly attenuated phenotype in terms of both neuroinvasiveness and neurovirulence. SD12-F120 harbored 29 nucleotide variations compared with SD12, of which 20 were considered silent nucleotide mutations, while nine resulted in eight amino acid substitutions. Comparison of the amino acid variations of SD12-F120 vs SD12 pair with those from other four isogenic pairs of the attenuated and their virulent parental strains revealed that the variations at E138 and E176 positions of E protein were identified in four and three pairs, respectively, while the remaining amino acid variations were almost unique to their respective strain pairs. These observations suggest that the genetic changes acquired during the attenuation process were likely to be strain-specific and that the mechanisms associated with JEV attenuation/virulence are complicated.