Sunflower is cultivated around the globe to meet various nutritional, medicinal and industrial ne... more Sunflower is cultivated around the globe to meet various nutritional, medicinal and industrial needs. The seed is a rich source of edible oil, protein, vitamins, antioxidants and other micronutrients. It is considered a source of healthy diets and has been recommended to improve the human immune system as well as to cure various chronic diseases. Sunflower seed oil contained polyunsaturated fatty acids (linoleic acid), tocopherols and phytosterols, which tends to lower low-density lipid and improve immunity against various human diseases. Its seed and plants parts have been directly exploited as a source of herbal medicine. Methanolic extract of seed and other parts contained diterpene, carboxylic acid, aldehyde, steroid, polyphenol, vanillic acid, ferulic acid, trans-caffeic acid, coumaric acid, nicotinic acid, allelochemical and other aromatic compounds, which may help to cure several chronic human diseases without side effects as mentioned in this review. Future research should b...
Sign language recognition has been a topic of research since the first data glove was developed. ... more Sign language recognition has been a topic of research since the first data glove was developed. Many researchers have attempted to recognize sign language through various techniques. However none of them have ventured into the area of Pakistan Sign Language (PSL). The Boltay Haath project aims at recognizing PSL gestures using Statistical Template Matching. The primary input device is the DataGlove5 developed by 5DT. Alternative approaches use camera-based recognition which, being sensitive to environmental changes are not always a good choice.This paper explains the use of Statistical Template Matching for gesture recognition in Boltay Haath. The system recognizes one handed alphabet signs from PSL.
International Review of Management and Business Research, 2020
This research analyses 629 university leaders and investigates the effect of personality attribut... more This research analyses 629 university leaders and investigates the effect of personality attributes and cross cultural experiences as predictors of dynamic cross cultural competencies in an research and developemnt setting. The study finds out and suggests that transformational leadership develops through work related and non-work related activities of cultural as well as personality characteristics. Keywords: Transformational Leadership, Cross Culture, Personality Attributes, Global Leaders.
The structure and performance of promoted Ni/Al2O3 with Cu via thermocatalytic decomposition (TCD... more The structure and performance of promoted Ni/Al2O3 with Cu via thermocatalytic decomposition (TCD) of CH4 mixture (2% CH3OH) were studied. Mesoporous Cat-1 and Cat-2 were synthesized by the impregnation method. The corresponding peaks of nickel oxide and copper oxide in the XRD showed the presence of nickel and copper oxides as a mixed alloy in the calcined catalyst. Temperature program reduction (TPR) showed that Cu enhanced the reducibility of the catalyst as the peak of nickel oxide shifted toward a lower temperature due to the interaction strength of the metal particles and support. The impregnation of 10% Cu on Cat-1 drastically improved the catalytic performance and exhibited 68% CH4 conversion, and endured its activity for 6 h compared with Cat-1, which deactivated after 4 h. The investigation of the spent carbon showed that various forms of carbon were obtained as a by-product of TCD, including graphene fiber (GF), carbon nanofiber (CNF), and multi-wall carbon nanofibers (MW...
Background: Initial management by external fixation is well-established but high incidence of pin... more Background: Initial management by external fixation is well-established but high incidence of pin tract infections, thermal necrosis of bone and potential of mal-union and non-union are the main complications. This study was conducted to evaluate the result of AO external fixator in open diaphysial fracture of tibia Gustilo type IIIA and IIIB. Material & Methods: This descriptive cross-sectional study was carried out in Department of Orthopaedic Surgery and Traumatology Unit-I, Liaquat University Hospital, Hyderabad, Jamshoro, from October 2010 to September 2012. Thirty patients with open diaphysial fracture of tibia Gustilo type IIIA and IIIB as assessed by pre-operative workup and operative findings were treated by AO external fixator. After admission, history, clinical examination, routine investigations and x-ray findings were noted. Data was entered in a proforma and analyzed by SPSS software. Results: Out of 30 patients, 25(83.3%) were males and 5(16.7%) females; with male to ...
Quaid-e-Awam University Research Journal of Engineering, Science & Technology, 2020
The utilization of (HSC) high strength concrete in the construction industry is increasing all ov... more The utilization of (HSC) high strength concrete in the construction industry is increasing all over the world because it reduces the cross-section of structural members and increases floor area. High strength concrete can be produced by using high cement content with low w/c ratio, mineral admixtures, and chemical admixture, and with suitable fiber. Nevertheless, in this research, HSC mix was achieved with the use of a special type BASF Master (M)/Polyheed 996 super-plasticizer based on polycarboxylic ether available in the market which reduced the w/c of concrete mixes, albeit attaining adequate workability. Compressive strength, up to 63 Mpa at 28 days, was achieved at slump value 178 mm by utilizing locally available materials like cement, sand, and coarse aggregates with a maximum 1.2% (by weight of cement) dosage of super-plasticizers. HSC has high workability, and to control the workability, different percentages of polyester fiber length 32 mm were also added to HSC. Polyeste...
Micro finance is well-organized and successful instrument to decrease poverty. Although microfina... more Micro finance is well-organized and successful instrument to decrease poverty. Although microfinance Sector in Pakistan has recognize important development and attain little cost formations. The major reason of study is to forecast that how Micro finance decreases poverty or not and method of self-employment in rural and urban of Sindh successful or not. A most important mean of this research article was to calculate that what type of Impact of microfinance on reduction of poverty and Self-employment with Supply lending and Demand following hypotheses theory. Researcher used Stratified random sampling technique 500 clients of each organization (TMB and SRSO) was selected for testing PLS with Smartpls 3. After assessment of responses with the help PLS of measurement and structural model result shows positive impact of independent variable (IV) on Dependent variables (DVs).
2019 Sixth HCT Information Technology Trends (ITT), 2019
This paper addresses the inventory control problem to predict the demand variations in real-time.... more This paper addresses the inventory control problem to predict the demand variations in real-time. The work presents a novel solution using a reinforcement learning model that manages Internet of Things (IoT) devices for collaboration. The key focus is on the inventories with open orders. Such inventories require a solution that can predict variations based on short-term demand data. Demand variations are frequent and involve high degree of uncertainty. The inventory prediction and update in real-time is a challenging and non- trivial task. The accurate predictions of inventory variations play key role in reducing the overhead of inventory management. In this work, we explore a novel reinforcement model using inventory data of Grupo Bimbo and results show that reinforcement model performs better to identify demand based on short variations. The model learning is optimized using IoT devices.
Omics Technologies for Sustainable Agriculture and Global Food Security Volume 1, 2021
Abiotic stresses are the limiting factors that adversely affect the sustainable food production t... more Abiotic stresses are the limiting factors that adversely affect the sustainable food production to meet the global food demand. However, plant has evolved an inbuilt mechanism to sense and respond these abiotic stresses. Unraveling these mechanisms of abiotic response is important for developing climate resilient crop. In last two decades, the advent of omics platform has made significant progress in this direction. Omics technologies like Next Generation sequencing (NGS), Transcriptomics, Proteomics, and Metabolomics have been used in crop plants under abiotic stresses. The quantum of information generated through omics platform has been utilized by plant breeders for quantitative trait loci (QTL) analysis, marker development, and deciphering abiotic stress pathways. This chapter focused on different omics technology has been adopted for understanding abiotic stress response in agriculturally important crop.
Transgenic Plant Technology for Remediation of Toxic Metals and Metalloids, 2019
Abstract Transgenics in phytoremediation is applied to enhance metal accumulation in plants. One ... more Abstract Transgenics in phytoremediation is applied to enhance metal accumulation in plants. One of the drawbacks of phytoremediation is the long duration of the cleanup process. But the transgenics approach promises to increase the efficiency of phytoremediation, which can result in short-term cleanup programs using plants. Transgenic approaches also promise application of plants for treating pollutants via chemical transformation, immobilization, and physical removal. High throughput molecular techniques are offering generation of transgenic plants for phytoremediation in a short period of time. Alteration of rhizosphere physicochemical properties by manipulation of metabolic pathways involved in root exudation helped in efficient accumulation and chemical transformation of metals. Accumulated metals are detoxified in plants via enzymatic pathways, and therefore transgenic approaches focusing on these pathways promise detoxification of metal stress in plants. The uptake and translocation of heavy metals and metalloids by plants are well characterized. Therefore transgenic approaches using this vast knowledge help to generate designer plants that are capable of detoxifying targeted metals and metalloids. The future of transgenic technology also lies in the generation of plants that can act as sensing devices for detecting the presence of toxic heavy metals and metalloids in agriculture fields.
Environmental Science and Pollution Research, 2021
The production of cement releases an enormous amount of CO 2 into the environment. Besides, indus... more The production of cement releases an enormous amount of CO 2 into the environment. Besides, industrial wastes like silica fume and fly ash need effective utilization to reduce their impacts on the environment. This research aims to explore the influence of silica fume (SF) and fly ash (FA) individually and combine them as binary cementitious material (BCM) on the hardened properties and embodied carbon of roller compacted concrete (RCC). A total of ten mixes were prepared with 1:2:4 mix ratio at the different water-cement ratios to keep the zero slump of roller compacted concrete. However, the replacement proportions for SF were 5%–15%, and FA were 5%–15% by the weight of cement individually and combine in roller compacted concrete for determining the hardened properties and embodied carbon. In this regard, several numbers of concrete specimens (cubes and cylinders) were cast and cured for 7 and 28 days correspondingly. It was observed that the compressive strength of RCC is boosted by 33.6 MPa and 30.6 MPa while using 10% of cement replaced with SF and FA individually at 28 days, respectively. Similarly, the splitting tensile strength of RCC is enhanced by 3.5 MPa at 10% cement replaced with SF and FA on 28 days, respectively. The compressive and splitting tensile strength of RCC is increased by 34.2 MPa and 3.8 MPa at SF7.5FA7.5 as BCM after 28 days consistently. In addition, the water absorption of RCC decreased while using SF and FA as cementitious material individually and together at 28 days. Besides, the embodied carbon of RCC decreased with increasing the replacement level of SF and FA by the mass of cement individually and combined.
Direct texturing of nanostructures on consumable substrates and products is a challenge because o... more Direct texturing of nanostructures on consumable substrates and products is a challenge because of incompatible ingredients and materials' properties. Here, we developed a direct laser-based method to print nanostructured holograms on dried films of consumable corn syrup solutions. A holographic laser (λ = 1050 nm) interference system was used to construct the nanostructures of the holograms on food for rainbow effects. The relationship between wavelength and periodicity contributed to the changing diffraction angle through the change of the refractive index (1.642). Increasing the sugar concentration (25−175 mg) in the syrup increased the diffraction efficiency of these holograms. The added amount of sugar in the composition increased the refractive index (7%) and decreased the light absorption (12.9%), which influenced the change of diffraction angle by 4.4°. The surface holograms displayed wideband visual diffraction of light extending from violet to red wavelengths. These holograms on edible materials can be imprinted onto commercial food products for adding aesthetic value and controlling perception.
International Journal of Management and Fuzzy Systems, 2020
In the present manuscript we introduce the concept of some notions such as fixed points, periodic... more In the present manuscript we introduce the concept of some notions such as fixed points, periodic points, invariant set and strongly invariant or S-invariant set of discrete dynamical system (Z, Ψ) in BCI-algebra where in (Z, Ψ), Z is a nonempty set and supposed to be a BCI-algebra and the mapping Ψ is a homomorphism from Z to Z and establish some new homomorphic properties of BCI-algebra based on these notions. We also prove some new results related to the set that contains the all fixed points and to the set that contains all periodic points in Z such that we prove that the set of all fixed points and the set of all periodic points in BCI-algebra Z are the BCI-sub algebras. We show that when a sub set of BCI-algebra Z is an invariant set with respect to Ψ. We prove that the set of all fixed points and the set of all periodic points in p-semisimple BCIalgebra Z are the ideals of Z. We also prove that the set of all fixed points in Z is an S-invariant subset of a BCI-algebra Z. We have no doubt that the research along this line can be kept up, and indeed, some results in this manuscript have already made up a foundation for further exploration concerning the further progression of a discrete dynamical system in BCI-algebra and their applications in other disciplines of algebra.
International Journal of Economic and Environmental Geology, 2020
Present study explores livelihoods of rural households and their vulnerability towards natural ha... more Present study explores livelihoods of rural households and their vulnerability towards natural hazards in three selected villages of district Gilgit, a far-flung mountainous area in north of Pakistan. Data were collected from 180 households by using purposive and snowball sampling techniques. Moreover, Livelihood Vulnerability Index (LVI) and descriptive statistics were used for data analysis. The standard value of LVI ranges from 0 to 1, whereby the higher value of LVI shows higher vulnerability. LVI for each village was calculated using the data of seven components i.e. socio demography, livelihood strategies, social networks, food, health and education, water, natural disasters and climate vulnerability. The results suggest that the rural households of district Gilgit are vulnerable to natural disasters and Gilgit is most vulnerable in food and social network and least vulnerable in terms of demographic profile. Lastly, the overall value of LVI for district Gilgit is 0.34
BACKGROUND Surgical site infections are a major cause of morbidity and mortality following orthop... more BACKGROUND Surgical site infections are a major cause of morbidity and mortality following orthopedic surgery. Recent efforts to identify sources of contamination in the operating rooms have implicated mobile phones. AIM To investigate microbial colonization on the mobile phones of health care professionals in the orthopedic operating room. METHODS We conducted a cross-sectional study involving culture and sensitivity analysis of swabs taken from the mobile phones of orthopedic and anesthesia attendings, residents, technicians and nurses working in the orthopedic operating rooms over a period of two months. Demographic and cell phone related factors were recorded using a questionnaire and the factors associated with contamination were analyzed. RESULTS Ninety-three of 100 mobile phones were contaminated. Species isolated were Coagulase-negative Staphylococcus (62%), Micrococcus (41%) and Bacillus (26%). The risk of contamination was increased with mobile covers and cracked screens and decreased by cell phone cleaning. CONCLUSION Mobile phones belonging to health care workers are frequently contaminated with pathogenic bacteria with the potential of transferring drug resistance to nosocomial pathogens. Studies investigating the relationship to surgical site infections need to be conducted. The concept of "mobile hygiene" involving the change of mobile covers, replacement of cracked screens or even wiping the phone with an alcohol swab could yield the cost-effective balance that contaminated cell phones deserve until they are established as a direct cause of surgical site infections.
European Journal of Pure and Applied Mathematics, 2019
The objective of this article is to investigate the effect of twice order slip on the MHD flow of... more The objective of this article is to investigate the effect of twice order slip on the MHD flow of fractionalized Maxwell fluid through a permeable medium produced by oscillatory movement of an infinite bottom plate. The governing equations are developed by fractional calculus approach. The exact analytical results for velocity field and related shear stress are calculated using Laplace transforms and presented in terms of generalized M-function satisfying all imposed initial and boundary conditions. The flow results for fractionalized Maxwell, traditional Maxwell and Newtonian fluid with and without slips, in the presence and absence of magnetic and porous effects are derived as the limiting cases. The impact of fractional parameter, slip coefficients, magnetic force and porosity parameter over the velocity field and shear stress are discussed and analyzed through graphical illustrations. The outcomes demonstrate that the speed comparing to streams with slip condition is lower than ...
Intracellular regulatory pathways are replete with protein-protein and protein-DNA interactions, ... more Intracellular regulatory pathways are replete with protein-protein and protein-DNA interactions, offering attractive targets for therapeutic interventions. So far, most drugs are targeted toward enzymes and extracellular receptors. Protein-protein and protein-DNA interactions have long been considered as “undruggable”. Protein-DNA interactions, in particular, present a difficult challenge due to the repetitive nature of the B-DNA. Recent studies have provided several breakthroughs; however, a design methodology for these classes of inhibitors is still at its infancy. A dominant motif of these macromolecular interactions is an α-helix, raising possibilities that an appropriate conformationally-constrained α-helical peptide may specifically disrupt these interactions. Several methods for conformationally constraining peptides to the α-helical conformation have been developed, including stapling, covalent surrogates of hydrogen bonds and incorporation of unnatural amino acids that rest...
Annexins are multifunctional proteins with roles in plant development and alleviation of stress t... more Annexins are multifunctional proteins with roles in plant development and alleviation of stress tolerance. In the present communication, we report on the effect of heterologous expression of Brassica juncea annexin, AnnBj2 in tobacco. Transgenic tobacco plants expressing AnnBj2 exhibited salt-tolerant and abscisic acid (ABA)-insensitive phenotype at the seedling stage. Biochemical analysis showed that AnnBj2 transgenic plants retained higher chlorophyll and proline content, and lower malondialdehyde (MDA) levels compared to the null line under salt stress. They exhibited better water retention capacity compared to the null segregant (NS) line. AnnBj2 overexpression altered the transcript levels of several stress-related marker genes involved in reactive oxygen species (ROS) scavenging and abiotic stress signaling. Taken together, these results suggest a positive role for AnnBj2 in salt stress response upon heterologous expression in tobacco.
Thermoplastic starch powders and films were produced by using different combinations of hydrophil... more Thermoplastic starch powders and films were produced by using different combinations of hydrophilic (malic acid and water) and amphiphilic (isoleucine and butyric acid) plasticizers. Spray drying was used to produce thermoplastic starch powder followed by compression molding for the development of films. In all plasticized formulations, the rate of retrogradation was inhibited until the seventh day. The crystallinity and moisture sensitivity of the freshly prepared films were dependent on amphiphilic plasticizer quantity in formulation. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and thermogravimetric analysis showed an effective interaction of starch with isoleucine. Isoleucine formulated films showed the highest tensile strength, whereas malic acid-rich films showed better strain values.
Overexpression of AnnBj2 resulting in salt stress tolerance is the first report of functional cha... more Overexpression of AnnBj2 resulting in salt stress tolerance is the first report of functional characterization of any annexin in mustard. Constitutive expression of AnnBj2 resulted in ABA and glucose insensitivity mustard transgenic plants. Constitutively expressed AnnBj2 modulated the expression of genes involved in ABA metabolism at seed germination stage in mustard plants.
Sunflower is cultivated around the globe to meet various nutritional, medicinal and industrial ne... more Sunflower is cultivated around the globe to meet various nutritional, medicinal and industrial needs. The seed is a rich source of edible oil, protein, vitamins, antioxidants and other micronutrients. It is considered a source of healthy diets and has been recommended to improve the human immune system as well as to cure various chronic diseases. Sunflower seed oil contained polyunsaturated fatty acids (linoleic acid), tocopherols and phytosterols, which tends to lower low-density lipid and improve immunity against various human diseases. Its seed and plants parts have been directly exploited as a source of herbal medicine. Methanolic extract of seed and other parts contained diterpene, carboxylic acid, aldehyde, steroid, polyphenol, vanillic acid, ferulic acid, trans-caffeic acid, coumaric acid, nicotinic acid, allelochemical and other aromatic compounds, which may help to cure several chronic human diseases without side effects as mentioned in this review. Future research should b...
Sign language recognition has been a topic of research since the first data glove was developed. ... more Sign language recognition has been a topic of research since the first data glove was developed. Many researchers have attempted to recognize sign language through various techniques. However none of them have ventured into the area of Pakistan Sign Language (PSL). The Boltay Haath project aims at recognizing PSL gestures using Statistical Template Matching. The primary input device is the DataGlove5 developed by 5DT. Alternative approaches use camera-based recognition which, being sensitive to environmental changes are not always a good choice.This paper explains the use of Statistical Template Matching for gesture recognition in Boltay Haath. The system recognizes one handed alphabet signs from PSL.
International Review of Management and Business Research, 2020
This research analyses 629 university leaders and investigates the effect of personality attribut... more This research analyses 629 university leaders and investigates the effect of personality attributes and cross cultural experiences as predictors of dynamic cross cultural competencies in an research and developemnt setting. The study finds out and suggests that transformational leadership develops through work related and non-work related activities of cultural as well as personality characteristics. Keywords: Transformational Leadership, Cross Culture, Personality Attributes, Global Leaders.
The structure and performance of promoted Ni/Al2O3 with Cu via thermocatalytic decomposition (TCD... more The structure and performance of promoted Ni/Al2O3 with Cu via thermocatalytic decomposition (TCD) of CH4 mixture (2% CH3OH) were studied. Mesoporous Cat-1 and Cat-2 were synthesized by the impregnation method. The corresponding peaks of nickel oxide and copper oxide in the XRD showed the presence of nickel and copper oxides as a mixed alloy in the calcined catalyst. Temperature program reduction (TPR) showed that Cu enhanced the reducibility of the catalyst as the peak of nickel oxide shifted toward a lower temperature due to the interaction strength of the metal particles and support. The impregnation of 10% Cu on Cat-1 drastically improved the catalytic performance and exhibited 68% CH4 conversion, and endured its activity for 6 h compared with Cat-1, which deactivated after 4 h. The investigation of the spent carbon showed that various forms of carbon were obtained as a by-product of TCD, including graphene fiber (GF), carbon nanofiber (CNF), and multi-wall carbon nanofibers (MW...
Background: Initial management by external fixation is well-established but high incidence of pin... more Background: Initial management by external fixation is well-established but high incidence of pin tract infections, thermal necrosis of bone and potential of mal-union and non-union are the main complications. This study was conducted to evaluate the result of AO external fixator in open diaphysial fracture of tibia Gustilo type IIIA and IIIB. Material & Methods: This descriptive cross-sectional study was carried out in Department of Orthopaedic Surgery and Traumatology Unit-I, Liaquat University Hospital, Hyderabad, Jamshoro, from October 2010 to September 2012. Thirty patients with open diaphysial fracture of tibia Gustilo type IIIA and IIIB as assessed by pre-operative workup and operative findings were treated by AO external fixator. After admission, history, clinical examination, routine investigations and x-ray findings were noted. Data was entered in a proforma and analyzed by SPSS software. Results: Out of 30 patients, 25(83.3%) were males and 5(16.7%) females; with male to ...
Quaid-e-Awam University Research Journal of Engineering, Science & Technology, 2020
The utilization of (HSC) high strength concrete in the construction industry is increasing all ov... more The utilization of (HSC) high strength concrete in the construction industry is increasing all over the world because it reduces the cross-section of structural members and increases floor area. High strength concrete can be produced by using high cement content with low w/c ratio, mineral admixtures, and chemical admixture, and with suitable fiber. Nevertheless, in this research, HSC mix was achieved with the use of a special type BASF Master (M)/Polyheed 996 super-plasticizer based on polycarboxylic ether available in the market which reduced the w/c of concrete mixes, albeit attaining adequate workability. Compressive strength, up to 63 Mpa at 28 days, was achieved at slump value 178 mm by utilizing locally available materials like cement, sand, and coarse aggregates with a maximum 1.2% (by weight of cement) dosage of super-plasticizers. HSC has high workability, and to control the workability, different percentages of polyester fiber length 32 mm were also added to HSC. Polyeste...
Micro finance is well-organized and successful instrument to decrease poverty. Although microfina... more Micro finance is well-organized and successful instrument to decrease poverty. Although microfinance Sector in Pakistan has recognize important development and attain little cost formations. The major reason of study is to forecast that how Micro finance decreases poverty or not and method of self-employment in rural and urban of Sindh successful or not. A most important mean of this research article was to calculate that what type of Impact of microfinance on reduction of poverty and Self-employment with Supply lending and Demand following hypotheses theory. Researcher used Stratified random sampling technique 500 clients of each organization (TMB and SRSO) was selected for testing PLS with Smartpls 3. After assessment of responses with the help PLS of measurement and structural model result shows positive impact of independent variable (IV) on Dependent variables (DVs).
2019 Sixth HCT Information Technology Trends (ITT), 2019
This paper addresses the inventory control problem to predict the demand variations in real-time.... more This paper addresses the inventory control problem to predict the demand variations in real-time. The work presents a novel solution using a reinforcement learning model that manages Internet of Things (IoT) devices for collaboration. The key focus is on the inventories with open orders. Such inventories require a solution that can predict variations based on short-term demand data. Demand variations are frequent and involve high degree of uncertainty. The inventory prediction and update in real-time is a challenging and non- trivial task. The accurate predictions of inventory variations play key role in reducing the overhead of inventory management. In this work, we explore a novel reinforcement model using inventory data of Grupo Bimbo and results show that reinforcement model performs better to identify demand based on short variations. The model learning is optimized using IoT devices.
Omics Technologies for Sustainable Agriculture and Global Food Security Volume 1, 2021
Abiotic stresses are the limiting factors that adversely affect the sustainable food production t... more Abiotic stresses are the limiting factors that adversely affect the sustainable food production to meet the global food demand. However, plant has evolved an inbuilt mechanism to sense and respond these abiotic stresses. Unraveling these mechanisms of abiotic response is important for developing climate resilient crop. In last two decades, the advent of omics platform has made significant progress in this direction. Omics technologies like Next Generation sequencing (NGS), Transcriptomics, Proteomics, and Metabolomics have been used in crop plants under abiotic stresses. The quantum of information generated through omics platform has been utilized by plant breeders for quantitative trait loci (QTL) analysis, marker development, and deciphering abiotic stress pathways. This chapter focused on different omics technology has been adopted for understanding abiotic stress response in agriculturally important crop.
Transgenic Plant Technology for Remediation of Toxic Metals and Metalloids, 2019
Abstract Transgenics in phytoremediation is applied to enhance metal accumulation in plants. One ... more Abstract Transgenics in phytoremediation is applied to enhance metal accumulation in plants. One of the drawbacks of phytoremediation is the long duration of the cleanup process. But the transgenics approach promises to increase the efficiency of phytoremediation, which can result in short-term cleanup programs using plants. Transgenic approaches also promise application of plants for treating pollutants via chemical transformation, immobilization, and physical removal. High throughput molecular techniques are offering generation of transgenic plants for phytoremediation in a short period of time. Alteration of rhizosphere physicochemical properties by manipulation of metabolic pathways involved in root exudation helped in efficient accumulation and chemical transformation of metals. Accumulated metals are detoxified in plants via enzymatic pathways, and therefore transgenic approaches focusing on these pathways promise detoxification of metal stress in plants. The uptake and translocation of heavy metals and metalloids by plants are well characterized. Therefore transgenic approaches using this vast knowledge help to generate designer plants that are capable of detoxifying targeted metals and metalloids. The future of transgenic technology also lies in the generation of plants that can act as sensing devices for detecting the presence of toxic heavy metals and metalloids in agriculture fields.
Environmental Science and Pollution Research, 2021
The production of cement releases an enormous amount of CO 2 into the environment. Besides, indus... more The production of cement releases an enormous amount of CO 2 into the environment. Besides, industrial wastes like silica fume and fly ash need effective utilization to reduce their impacts on the environment. This research aims to explore the influence of silica fume (SF) and fly ash (FA) individually and combine them as binary cementitious material (BCM) on the hardened properties and embodied carbon of roller compacted concrete (RCC). A total of ten mixes were prepared with 1:2:4 mix ratio at the different water-cement ratios to keep the zero slump of roller compacted concrete. However, the replacement proportions for SF were 5%–15%, and FA were 5%–15% by the weight of cement individually and combine in roller compacted concrete for determining the hardened properties and embodied carbon. In this regard, several numbers of concrete specimens (cubes and cylinders) were cast and cured for 7 and 28 days correspondingly. It was observed that the compressive strength of RCC is boosted by 33.6 MPa and 30.6 MPa while using 10% of cement replaced with SF and FA individually at 28 days, respectively. Similarly, the splitting tensile strength of RCC is enhanced by 3.5 MPa at 10% cement replaced with SF and FA on 28 days, respectively. The compressive and splitting tensile strength of RCC is increased by 34.2 MPa and 3.8 MPa at SF7.5FA7.5 as BCM after 28 days consistently. In addition, the water absorption of RCC decreased while using SF and FA as cementitious material individually and together at 28 days. Besides, the embodied carbon of RCC decreased with increasing the replacement level of SF and FA by the mass of cement individually and combined.
Direct texturing of nanostructures on consumable substrates and products is a challenge because o... more Direct texturing of nanostructures on consumable substrates and products is a challenge because of incompatible ingredients and materials' properties. Here, we developed a direct laser-based method to print nanostructured holograms on dried films of consumable corn syrup solutions. A holographic laser (λ = 1050 nm) interference system was used to construct the nanostructures of the holograms on food for rainbow effects. The relationship between wavelength and periodicity contributed to the changing diffraction angle through the change of the refractive index (1.642). Increasing the sugar concentration (25−175 mg) in the syrup increased the diffraction efficiency of these holograms. The added amount of sugar in the composition increased the refractive index (7%) and decreased the light absorption (12.9%), which influenced the change of diffraction angle by 4.4°. The surface holograms displayed wideband visual diffraction of light extending from violet to red wavelengths. These holograms on edible materials can be imprinted onto commercial food products for adding aesthetic value and controlling perception.
International Journal of Management and Fuzzy Systems, 2020
In the present manuscript we introduce the concept of some notions such as fixed points, periodic... more In the present manuscript we introduce the concept of some notions such as fixed points, periodic points, invariant set and strongly invariant or S-invariant set of discrete dynamical system (Z, Ψ) in BCI-algebra where in (Z, Ψ), Z is a nonempty set and supposed to be a BCI-algebra and the mapping Ψ is a homomorphism from Z to Z and establish some new homomorphic properties of BCI-algebra based on these notions. We also prove some new results related to the set that contains the all fixed points and to the set that contains all periodic points in Z such that we prove that the set of all fixed points and the set of all periodic points in BCI-algebra Z are the BCI-sub algebras. We show that when a sub set of BCI-algebra Z is an invariant set with respect to Ψ. We prove that the set of all fixed points and the set of all periodic points in p-semisimple BCIalgebra Z are the ideals of Z. We also prove that the set of all fixed points in Z is an S-invariant subset of a BCI-algebra Z. We have no doubt that the research along this line can be kept up, and indeed, some results in this manuscript have already made up a foundation for further exploration concerning the further progression of a discrete dynamical system in BCI-algebra and their applications in other disciplines of algebra.
International Journal of Economic and Environmental Geology, 2020
Present study explores livelihoods of rural households and their vulnerability towards natural ha... more Present study explores livelihoods of rural households and their vulnerability towards natural hazards in three selected villages of district Gilgit, a far-flung mountainous area in north of Pakistan. Data were collected from 180 households by using purposive and snowball sampling techniques. Moreover, Livelihood Vulnerability Index (LVI) and descriptive statistics were used for data analysis. The standard value of LVI ranges from 0 to 1, whereby the higher value of LVI shows higher vulnerability. LVI for each village was calculated using the data of seven components i.e. socio demography, livelihood strategies, social networks, food, health and education, water, natural disasters and climate vulnerability. The results suggest that the rural households of district Gilgit are vulnerable to natural disasters and Gilgit is most vulnerable in food and social network and least vulnerable in terms of demographic profile. Lastly, the overall value of LVI for district Gilgit is 0.34
BACKGROUND Surgical site infections are a major cause of morbidity and mortality following orthop... more BACKGROUND Surgical site infections are a major cause of morbidity and mortality following orthopedic surgery. Recent efforts to identify sources of contamination in the operating rooms have implicated mobile phones. AIM To investigate microbial colonization on the mobile phones of health care professionals in the orthopedic operating room. METHODS We conducted a cross-sectional study involving culture and sensitivity analysis of swabs taken from the mobile phones of orthopedic and anesthesia attendings, residents, technicians and nurses working in the orthopedic operating rooms over a period of two months. Demographic and cell phone related factors were recorded using a questionnaire and the factors associated with contamination were analyzed. RESULTS Ninety-three of 100 mobile phones were contaminated. Species isolated were Coagulase-negative Staphylococcus (62%), Micrococcus (41%) and Bacillus (26%). The risk of contamination was increased with mobile covers and cracked screens and decreased by cell phone cleaning. CONCLUSION Mobile phones belonging to health care workers are frequently contaminated with pathogenic bacteria with the potential of transferring drug resistance to nosocomial pathogens. Studies investigating the relationship to surgical site infections need to be conducted. The concept of "mobile hygiene" involving the change of mobile covers, replacement of cracked screens or even wiping the phone with an alcohol swab could yield the cost-effective balance that contaminated cell phones deserve until they are established as a direct cause of surgical site infections.
European Journal of Pure and Applied Mathematics, 2019
The objective of this article is to investigate the effect of twice order slip on the MHD flow of... more The objective of this article is to investigate the effect of twice order slip on the MHD flow of fractionalized Maxwell fluid through a permeable medium produced by oscillatory movement of an infinite bottom plate. The governing equations are developed by fractional calculus approach. The exact analytical results for velocity field and related shear stress are calculated using Laplace transforms and presented in terms of generalized M-function satisfying all imposed initial and boundary conditions. The flow results for fractionalized Maxwell, traditional Maxwell and Newtonian fluid with and without slips, in the presence and absence of magnetic and porous effects are derived as the limiting cases. The impact of fractional parameter, slip coefficients, magnetic force and porosity parameter over the velocity field and shear stress are discussed and analyzed through graphical illustrations. The outcomes demonstrate that the speed comparing to streams with slip condition is lower than ...
Intracellular regulatory pathways are replete with protein-protein and protein-DNA interactions, ... more Intracellular regulatory pathways are replete with protein-protein and protein-DNA interactions, offering attractive targets for therapeutic interventions. So far, most drugs are targeted toward enzymes and extracellular receptors. Protein-protein and protein-DNA interactions have long been considered as “undruggable”. Protein-DNA interactions, in particular, present a difficult challenge due to the repetitive nature of the B-DNA. Recent studies have provided several breakthroughs; however, a design methodology for these classes of inhibitors is still at its infancy. A dominant motif of these macromolecular interactions is an α-helix, raising possibilities that an appropriate conformationally-constrained α-helical peptide may specifically disrupt these interactions. Several methods for conformationally constraining peptides to the α-helical conformation have been developed, including stapling, covalent surrogates of hydrogen bonds and incorporation of unnatural amino acids that rest...
Annexins are multifunctional proteins with roles in plant development and alleviation of stress t... more Annexins are multifunctional proteins with roles in plant development and alleviation of stress tolerance. In the present communication, we report on the effect of heterologous expression of Brassica juncea annexin, AnnBj2 in tobacco. Transgenic tobacco plants expressing AnnBj2 exhibited salt-tolerant and abscisic acid (ABA)-insensitive phenotype at the seedling stage. Biochemical analysis showed that AnnBj2 transgenic plants retained higher chlorophyll and proline content, and lower malondialdehyde (MDA) levels compared to the null line under salt stress. They exhibited better water retention capacity compared to the null segregant (NS) line. AnnBj2 overexpression altered the transcript levels of several stress-related marker genes involved in reactive oxygen species (ROS) scavenging and abiotic stress signaling. Taken together, these results suggest a positive role for AnnBj2 in salt stress response upon heterologous expression in tobacco.
Thermoplastic starch powders and films were produced by using different combinations of hydrophil... more Thermoplastic starch powders and films were produced by using different combinations of hydrophilic (malic acid and water) and amphiphilic (isoleucine and butyric acid) plasticizers. Spray drying was used to produce thermoplastic starch powder followed by compression molding for the development of films. In all plasticized formulations, the rate of retrogradation was inhibited until the seventh day. The crystallinity and moisture sensitivity of the freshly prepared films were dependent on amphiphilic plasticizer quantity in formulation. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and thermogravimetric analysis showed an effective interaction of starch with isoleucine. Isoleucine formulated films showed the highest tensile strength, whereas malic acid-rich films showed better strain values.
Overexpression of AnnBj2 resulting in salt stress tolerance is the first report of functional cha... more Overexpression of AnnBj2 resulting in salt stress tolerance is the first report of functional characterization of any annexin in mustard. Constitutive expression of AnnBj2 resulted in ABA and glucose insensitivity mustard transgenic plants. Constitutively expressed AnnBj2 modulated the expression of genes involved in ABA metabolism at seed germination stage in mustard plants.
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