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One of the most important drivers of the emergence of antimicrobial resistance is the irrational usage of antibiotics. But alongside some indirect sources such as feeding Chinese corn stover silage could also transmit resistant genes to animals. This study was aimed at assessing the antibiotic resistance phenotypes, drug resistance genes and mediated drug resistance mechanisms. A total of 37 isolates were obtained by selective medium and identified by 16S rDNA sequencing including Lactobacillus acidophilus (n = 3), Lactobacillus amylovorus (n = 4), Weissella confusa (n = 3), Acetobacter pasteurianus (n = 9), Lactobacillus buchneri (n = 6), Enterococcus faecium (n = 8) and Lactobacillus reuteri (n = 4). Antimicrobial resistance of all isolates to 12 antibiotics was determined using the agar dilution method. Widespread resistance to ampicillin, erythromycin, clindamycin, kanamycin, streptomycin, levofloxacin and ciprofloxacin was observed. The presence of relevant resistance genes was examined by PCR, and the genes pbp5, blaZ, bla TEM, mecA, mexI, tetW, ermB, msrA, msrC, ermC, vatE, aacA-aphD, aphA1, aadA1, aadA2 and vanX were detected. All the isolated strains had multiple drug resistance, and harboured related drug-resistant genes; therefore, the use of probiotics in animal feed should be standardized to reduce the risks of horizontal transmission of drug resistance genes to animal products and human population.HighlightsFermentation bacteria isolated from the silage were identified.Lactobacillus strains isolated from the silage exhibited antimicrobial resistance.Feeding Chinese corn stover silage transmits resistant genes to animals.Standardization of probiotics in animal feed is crucial to avoid horizontal drug resistance.

Summary Pseudomonas sp. strain 166 was isolated from soil samples from Changbai Mountains. A novel bacteriocin PA166 from Pseudomonas sp. 166 was purified using ammonium sulfate, dextran gel chromatography column and Q‐Sepharose column chromatography successively. The molecular mass of bacteriocin PA166 was found to be 49.38 kDa by SDS‐PAGE and liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry (MS)/MS. Bacteriocin PA166 showed stability at a wide range of pH (2–10), and thermal stability (40, 60, 80 and 100°C). The bacteriocin PA166 antimicrobial activity was slightly inhibited by Ca2+, K+ and Mg2+. The minimum bactericidal concentrations of bacteriocin PA166 against five Pasteurella multocida strains ranged from 2 to 8 μg ml−1. Bacteriocin PA166 showed low cytotoxicity and a higher treatment index (TI = 82.51). Fluorescence spectroscopy indicated that bacteriocin PA166 destroyed the cell membrane to exert antimicrobial activity. In summary, bacteriocin PA166 had strong antibacterial activity, high TI and low toxicity, and hence could serve as a potential clinical therapeutic drug.

Multidrug-resistant Enterococcus faecalis (E. faecalis) often cause intestinal infections in cats. The aim of this study was to investigate a multidrug-resistant E. faecalis isolate for plasmidic and chromosomal antimicrobial resistance and their genetic environment. E. faecalis strain ESC1 was obtained from the feces of a cat. Antimicrobial susceptibility testing was carried out using the broth microdilution method. Conjugation experiments were performed using Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus as receptors. Complete sequences of chromosomal DNA and plasmids were generated by whole genome sequencing (WGS) and bioinformatics analysis for the presence of drug resistance genes and mobile elements. Multidrug-resistant E. faecalis ESC1 contained a chromosome and three plasmids. The amino acid at position 80 of the parC gene on the chromosome was mutated from serine to isoleucine, and hence the amino acid mutation at this site led to the resistance of ESC1 strain to fluoroquinolones. Eleven antibiotic resistance genes were located on two plasmids. We identified a novel composite transposon carrying two aminoglycoside resistance genes aac(6′)-aph(2″). This study reported the coexistence of a novel 5.4 kb composite transposon and a resistance plasmid with multiple homologous recombination in an isolate of E. faecalis ESC1. This data provides a basis for understanding the genomic signature and antimicrobial resistance mechanisms of this pathogen.

The quality and level of groundwater tables have rapidly declined because of intensive pumping in Punjab (Pakistan). For sustainable groundwater supplies, there is a need for better management practices. So, the identification of potential groundwater recharge zones is crucial for developing effective management systems. The current research is based on integrating seven contributing factors, including geology, soil map, land cover/land use, lineament density, drainage density, slope, and rainfall to categorize the area into various groundwater recharge potential zones using remote sensing, geographic information system (GIS), and analytical hierarchical process (AHP) for Punjab, Pakistan. The weights (for various thematic layers) and rating values (for sub-classes) in the overlay analysis were assigned for thematic layers and then modified and normalized using the AHP. The result indicates that about 17.88% of the area falls under the category of very high groundwater potential zones (GWPZs). It was found that only 12.27% of the area falls under the category of very low GWPZs. The results showed that spatial technologies like remote sensing and geographic information system (GIS), when combined with AHP technique, provide a robust platform for studying GWPZs. This will help the public and government sectors to understand the potential zone for sustainable groundwater management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To compare the day case Laparoscopic cholecystectomy with conventional Laparoscopic cholecystectomy in terms of early return to activities and intensity of postoperative pain. Study Design: Randomized control trial (Parallel). Place and Duration of Study: Department of Surgery Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences/ Shaheed Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto Medical University Islamabad. Study was conducted from 1 Nov 2014 to 30 April 2015. Materials and Methods: After approval of hospital ethical committee, patients who were fulfilling the inclusion criteria were included in study after taking informed and written consent. Sample size was calculated using WHO sample size calculator, which turned out to be 42 for each group. Patients were divided into two groups, group A and group B by lottery method. Patients in group A had undergone Day case Laparoscopic cholecystectomy and patients in group B had undergone Conventional Laparoscopic cholecystectomy. Data was collected and recorded on purposively designed Performa. Data was analyzed using SPSS 17; paired t test was used to calculate p-value. Results: In group A, among 42 patients 13(31%) were on VAS 4, 13(31%), on VAS 5, 8(19%), in VAS 3, 6(14.3%), in VAS 2 and 2(4.8%), in VAS 6. The minimum and maximum “number of days to return to activities” was 3 and 7 days respectively. Among 42 patients, 20(47.6%) patients had returned to their home activities in 3 days, 13(31%) in 4 days, 5(11.9%) in 5 days, 2(4.8%) in 6 days and 2(4.8%) in 7 days. In group B the minimum and maximum intensity of pain on Visual Analogue Scale was 2 and 6 respectively. Among 42 patients 15(35.7%) were on VAS 5, 14(33.3%) were on VAS 3, 8(19%), in VAS 4, 4(9.5%), in VAS 6 and 1(2.4%), in VAS 2. The minimum and maximum “number of days to return to activities” was 6 and 10 days respectively. Out of 42 patients 17(40.5%) had returned to their home activities in 9 days, 17(40.5%) in 8 days, 4(9.5%) in 7 days, 3(7.1%) in 10 days and 1(2.4%) in 6 days. Conclusion: Patients undergoing day case LC do return to their routine activities earlier than those who undergo conventional LC, but there is no difference in terms of intensity of post-operative pain as measured on Visual analogue scale.

Antibiotic tolerance has become an increasingly serious crisis that has seriously threatened global public health. However, little is known about the exogenous factors that can trigger the development of antibiotic tolerance, both in vivo and in vitro. Herein, we found that the addition of citric acid, which is used in many fields, obviously weakened the bactericidal activity of antibiotics against various bacterial pathogens. This mechanistic study shows that citric acid activated the glyoxylate cycle by inhibiting ATP production in bacteria, reduced cell respiration levels, and inhibited the bacterial tricarboxylic acid cycle (TCA cycle). In addition, citric acid reduced the oxidative stress ability of bacteria, which led to an imbalance in the bacterial oxidation–antioxidant system. These effects together induced the bacteria to produce antibiotic tolerance. Surprisingly, the addition of succinic acid and xanthine could reverse the antibiotic tolerance induced by citric acid in vitro and in animal infection models. In conclusion, these findings provide new insights into the potential risks of citric acid usage and the relationship between antibiotic tolerance and bacterial metabolism.

In a volatile environment, a substantial number of sensor nodes are extensively dispatched to track and detect changes in physical environment. Although sensor nodes have limited energy resources, so energy-efficient routing is a major concern in Wireless Sensor Networks (WSN) to extend the network’s lifespan. Recent research shows that less throughput, increased delay, and high execution time have been provided with high energy usage. A new mechanism called the IRGA-MACS is proposed to overcome these inherent problems. Firstly, the Improved Resampling Genetic Algorithm (IRGA) is used for the best Cluster Head (CH) selection. Secondly, to assess the shortest path among CHs and nodes, the Modified Ant Colony Optimization based Simulated Annealing (MACS) has been speculated to minimize the time consumption during the transmission. The results show that the proposed approaches attain the supreme goal of increasing the network lifetime compared to existing methods.

Pasteurella multocida (Pm) is one of the major pathogens of bovine respiratory disease (BRD), which can develop drug resistance to many of the commonly used antibiotics. Our earlier research group found that with clinical use of enrofloxacin, Pm was more likely to develop drug resistance to enrofloxacin. In order to better understand the resistance mechanism of Pm to enrofloxacin, we isolated PmS and PmR strains with the same PFGE typing in vitro, and artificially induced PmR to obtain the highly resistant phenotype, PmHR. Then transcriptome sequencing of clinically isolated sensitive strains, resistant and highly drug-resistant strains, treated with enrofloxacin at sub-inhibitory concentrations, were performed. The satP gene, of which the expression changed significantly with the increase in drug resistance, was screened. In order to further confirm the function of this gene, we constructed a satP deletion (ΔPm) strain using suicide vector plasmid pRE112, and constructed the C-Pm strain using pBBR1-MCS, and further analyzed the function of the satP gene. Through a continuously induced resistance test, it was found that the resistance rate of ΔPm was obviously lower than that of Pm in vitro. MDK99, agar diffusion and mutation frequency experiments showed significantly lower tolerance of ΔPm than the wild-type strains. The pathogenicity of ΔPm and Pm was measured by an acute pathogenicity test in mice, and it was found that the pathogenicity of ΔPm was reduced by about 400 times. Therefore, this study found that the satP gene was related to the tolerance and pathogenicity of Pm, and may be used as a target of enrofloxacin synergistic effect.

In aquaculture, viral diseases pose a significant threat and can lead to substantial economic losses. The primary defense against viral invasion is the innate immune system, with interferons (IFNs) playing a crucial role in mediating the immune response. With advancements in molecular biology, the role of non-coding RNA (ncRNA), particularly microRNAs (miRNAs), in gene expression has gained increasing attention. While the function of miRNAs in regulating the host immune response has been extensively studied, research on their immunomodulatory effects in teleost fish, including silver carp (Hyphthalmichthys molitrix), is limited. Therefore, this research aimed to investigate the immunomodulatory role of microRNA-30b-5p (miR-30b-5p) in the antiviral immune response of silver carp (Hypophthalmichthys molitrix) by targeting cytokine receptor family B5 (CRFB5) via the JAK/STAT signaling pathway. In this study, silver carp were stimulated with polyinosinic-polycytidylic acid (poly (I:C)), resulting in the identification of an up-regulated miRNA (miR-30b-5p). Through a dual luciferase assay, it was demonstrated that CRFB5, a receptor shared by fish type I interferon, is a novel target of miR-30b-5p. Furthermore, it was found that miR-30b-5p can suppress post-transcriptional CRFB5 expression. Importantly, this study revealed for the first time that miR-30b-5p negatively regulates the JAK/STAT signaling pathway, thereby mediating the antiviral immune response in silver carp by targeting CRFB5 and maintaining immune system stability. These findings not only contribute to the understanding of how miRNAs act as negative feedback regulators in teleost fish antiviral immunity but also suggest their potential therapeutic measures to prevent an excessive immune response. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is well known that Particulate Matter2.5 (PM2.5) has a major adverse effect on the organism. However, the health hazards of livestock farm PM2.5 to humans and animals are not yet known, and the role of miRNAs in the cellular damage induced by livestock farm PM2.5 is also unclear. Therefore, our study used cowshed PM2.5 to stimulate rat alveolar macrophage NR8383 to construct an in vitro injury model to investigate the effect of miR–122–5p on PM2.5-induced apoptosis in the NR8383. The level of apoptosis was quantified by flow cytometry and Hoechst 33342/PI double staining. Furthermore, the potential target gene Collagen type IV alpha (COL4A1) of miR–122–5p was identified through the use of bioinformatics methods. The results demonstrated a decline in cell viability and an increase in apoptosis with rising PM2.5 concentrations and exposure durations. The transfection of miR–122–5p mimics resulted in an upregulation of the pro-apoptotic protein Bcl–xL/Bcl–2 and activation of cleaved caspase–3 while inhibiting the anti-apoptotic protein B–cell lymphoma–2. The experimental data indicate that miR–122–5p is involved in the apoptotic process by targeting COL4A1. Furthermore, the overexpression of COL4A1 was observed to enhance the PM2.5-activated PI3K/AKT/NF–κB signaling pathway, which contributed to the inhibition of apoptosis. This finding offers a promising avenue for the development of therapeutic strategies aimed at mitigating cellular damage induced by PM2.5 exposure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are highly conserved endogenous single-stranded non-coding RNA molecules that play a crucial role in regulating gene expression to maintain normal physiological functions in fish. Nevertheless, the specific physiological role of miRNAs in lower vertebrates, particularly in comparison to mammals, remains elusive. Additionally, the mechanisms underlying the control of antiviral responses triggered by viral stimulation in fish are still not fully understood. In this study, we investigated the regulatory impact of miR-1388 on the signaling pathway mediated by IFN regulatory factor 3 (IRF3). Our findings revealed that following stimulation with the viral analog poly(I:C), the expression of miR-1388 was significantly upregulated in primary immune tissues and macrophages. Through a dual luciferase reporter assay, we corroborated a direct targeting relationship between miR-1388 and tumor necrosis factor receptor (TNFR)-associated factor 3 (TRAF3). Furthermore, our study demonstrated a distinct negative post-transcriptional correlation between miR-1388 and TRAF3. We observed a significant negative post-transcriptional regulatory association between miR-1388 and the levels of antiviral genes following poly(I:C) stimulation. Utilizing reporter plasmids, we elucidated the role of miR-1388 in the antiviral signaling pathway activated by TRAF3. By intervening with siRNA-TRAF3, we validated that miR-1388 regulates the expression of antiviral genes and the production of type I interferons (IFN-Is) through its interaction with TRAF3. Collectively, our experiments highlight the regulatory influence of miR-1388 on the IRF3-mediated signaling pathway by targeting TRAF3 post poly(I:C) stimulation. These findings provide compelling evidence for enhancing our understanding of the mechanisms through which fish miRNAs participate in immune responses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The poor stability of antibacterial peptide to protease limits its clinical application. Among these limitations, trypsin mainly exists in digestive tract, which is an insurmountable obstacle to orally delivered peptides. OM19R is a random curly polyproline cationic antimicrobial peptide, which has high antibacterial activity against some gram-negative bacteria, but its stability against pancreatin is poor. According to the structure-activity relationship of OM19R, all cationic amino acid residues (l-arginine and l-lysine) at the trypsin cleavage sites were replaced with corresponding d-amino acid residues to obtain the designed peptide OM19D, which not only maintained its antibacterial activity but also enhanced the stability of trypsin. Proceeding high concentrations of trypsin and long-time (such as 10 mg/mL, 8 h) treatment, it still had high antibacterial activity (MIC = 16–32 µg/mL). In addition, OM19D also showed high stability to serum, plasma and other environmental factors. It is similar to its parent peptide in secondary structure and mechanism of action. Therefore, this strategy is beneficial to improve the protease stability of antibacterial peptides.

Gefitinib (GEF) is a clinical medication for the treatment of lung cancer targeting the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR). However, its efficacy is remarkably limited by low solubility and dissolution rates. In this study, two cocrystals of GEF with co-formers were successfully synthesized using the recrystallization method characterized via Powder X-ray Diffraction, Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy, and 2D Nuclear Overhauser Effect Spectroscopy. The solubility and dissolution rates of cocrystals were found to be two times higher than those of free GEF. In vitro cytotoxicity studies revealed that the cocrystals enhanced the inhibition of cell proliferation and apoptosis in A549 and H1299 cells compared to free GEF. In mouse models, GEF@TSBO demonstrated targeted, safe, and effective antitumor activity with only one-dose administration. Mechanistically, the GEF cocrystals were shown to increase the cellular levels of damaged DNA, while potentially downregulating PARP, thereby impairing the DNA repair machinery and leading to an imbalance between DNA damage and restoration. These findings suggest that the cocrystallization of GEF could serve as a promising adjunct to significantly enhance the physicochemical and biopharmaceutical performance for lung cancer treatment, providing a facial strategy to improve GEF anticancer efficiency with high bioavailability that can be orally administrated with only one dose. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The post-reaction separation in heterogeneous catalysis always remained a point of concern for nanoparticle application in an aqueous medium. This study corroborates the immobilization of TiO2 nanoparticles (NPs) on various solid supports such as activated carbon (AC), zeolite (Z), and ceramics (CCTO) materials. Economically viable and facile impregnation methods were employed to obtain a high mass yield (up to 95%) of immobilized TiO2 NPs. The characterizations of tailored materials were performed by using XRD, BET, UV-Vis DRS, SEM, and pH of the point of zero charges (pHpzc) analyses. The immobilization of TiO2 NPs significantly altered the physicochemical properties and ultimately enhanced the photocatalytic activities under ordinary compact fluorescent light (CFL). To investigate the photocatalytic performance of immobilized materials, model dyes e.g., Methyl Orange (MO) and Methylene Blue (MB) were considered in addition to the heavy metal ions i.e., Cd2+. The immobilization of TiO2 on solid supports revealed better performance for all tshree systems; whereby the AC@TiO2 exhibited higher efficiency as compared to the counterparts i.e., Z@TiO2 and CCTO@TiO2. In binary solutions (MB:Cd2+ and MO:Cd2+), the synergistic effect of the photo-generated positive hole scavenger (MB) and electron trapper (Cd2+) further enhances the removal efficiencies. The regeneration studies showed similar performance as that of the fresh samples, whereby the photocatalytic efficiencies were found to decrease for the consecutive cycles. The immobilization of titania NPs on various solid supports such as activated carbon, zeolite, and ceramics revealed the better photocatalytic performances of the immobilized materials. Moreover, the immobilization affected the bandgap energies for better photocatalytic performances under visible light. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Increased usage of nano-zinc oxide (nZnO) in different commercial fields has raised serious concerns regarding their discharge into the water streams containing natural and synthetic coating agents. Moreover, utilization of ground and surface water for drinking purposes is a common approach in many countries. Therefore, the removal of nZnO particles from water is essential to minimize the risk to the environment. The present research investigated the removal of nZnO from complex water matrices by conventional coagulation-flocculation-sedimentation (C/F/S) process using polyaluminum chloride (PACl) as coagulants. The result showed that removal of uncoated nZnO through sedimentation was efficient in waters containing divalent cations in the absence of dissolved organic matter (DOM). For the water containing higher salt concentration, PACl coagulant showed better removal performance with increasing coagulant dosage; however, synthetic organic coating agent and DOM significantly decreased the removal up to 75%. The surface potential of studied waters indicated that the addition of PACl affects the charge potential of nZnO particles resulting in charge neutralization. The result of the particle size analyzer revealed the presence of smaller particles with size of 430 nm even after C/F/S process, which may increase the possibility of particles release into aquatic environment. The results of the present study may help in understating the removal behavior of other coated nanoparticles during conventional water treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) have a unique action mechanism that can help to solve global problems in antibiotic resistance. However, their low therapeutic index and poor stability seriously hamper their development as therapeutic agents. In order to overcome these problems, we designed peptides based on the sequence template XXRXXRRzzRRXXRXX-NH2, where X represents a hydrophobic amino acid like Phe (F), Ile (I), and Leu (L), while zz represents Gly−Gly (GG) or d-Pro−Gly (pG). Showing effective antimicrobial activity against Gram-negative bacteria and low toxicity, designed peptides had a tendency to form an α-helical structure in membrane-mimetic environments. Among them, peptide LRpG (X: L, zz: pG) showed the highest geometric mean average treatment index (GMTI = 73.1), better salt, temperature and pH stability, and an additive effect with conventional antibiotics. Peptide LRpG played the role of anti-Gram-negative bacteria through destroying the cell membrane. In addition, peptide LRpG also exhibited an anti-inflammatory activity by effectively neutralizing endotoxin. Briefly, peptide LRpG has the potential to serve as a therapeutic agent to reduce antibiotic resistance owing to its high therapeutic index and great stability.

Meniscal tears are the most common injury of the knee. Tears of medial meniscus are seen more frequently as compared to lateral meniscus. Most often tears result from sports injuries where there is a twisting motion on the partially flexed, weight-bearing knee. As the majority of our population resides in peripheries where access to arthroscopy and imaging modalities is difficult so we need a clinical test for evaluation of medial meniscal tears. And then this technique can be opted in our practice for early diagnosis of meniscal tears to take proper management for reducing morbidity of these particularpatient, if its diagnostic accuracy comes out to high. Objective: To determine the diagnostic accuracy of McMurray test in diagnosing medial meniscal tears, taking arthroscopy as gold standard. Material and Methods: ThisCross-sectional validation study was carried out in Orthopedic Department of Hospital from September 2020 to August 2021. In this study a total of 149 patients were observed. McMurray test was performed by a single and same consultant and was looked for medial meniscal tear (present/absent) .After this arthroscopy was done in each patient by the consultant orthopedic surgeon who has examined the patient and presence or absence of medial meniscal tear was noted. McMurray test results were compared with arthroscopy result. Results: In this study mean age was 30 years with SD ± 11.35.85% patients were male and 15% patients were female. Diagnostic accuracy of Mcmurray Test findings taking arthroscopy as gold standard was analyzed as the sensitivity was 76.55%, specificity was 75%, Positive predictive value was 99.10%, Negative predictive value was 8.10%. So the overall diagnostic accuracy was 76.51%. Conclusion: This study concludes that the McMurray test had sensitivity 76.55%, specificity 75%, Positive predictive value 99.10%, Negative predictive value 8.10% and the diagnostic accuracy 76.51% in diagnosis of meniscal tear keeping knee arthroscopy as gold standard. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To evaluate the results of definitive treatment with uniplanar external fixator in open fracture management of tibia in terms of healing. Material and Methods: This case series study was conducted from January 2017 to December 2022 in Akbar Medical Center Dabgari Garden, Peshawar Pakistan. A total number of 97 patients of either gender having age range of 15 to 60 years with open fracture of tibia were included. All patients were admitted horn outpatient department of the center. All the data collected was entered and analyzed with help of SPSS version 23. The results were evaluated using association for the study and application of the methods of Ilizarov (ASAMl) scoring system. Results: There was total 97 patients having age range of44(15-59) with mean age 31.23.(Std Deviation 11.58). Male patients were 74(76.3%) while female were 23(23.7%). Delayed union was noted in 11 (11.3%), External Rotation in 3(3.1%) Healed without complication in 72(74.2%), Infection in 4(4.1%), one pin broken in 4 (4.1%) and Shortening of less than 1.5 cm was noted 3(3.1%) cases. In 4(4.1%) cases debridement was done as secondary procedure, in one case NAfixator was applied 1(1%) while in 7(7.2%) case bone grafting was done as secondary procedure Conclusion: External fixator is used as a definitive treatment method for open fractures of the tibial shaft caused by high energy trauma either in war times or in motor vehicle accidents has good bone and functional results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mycobacterium avium subsp. avium (MAA) is the main tuberculosis pathogen of poultry and wild birds. MAA can also infect mammals such as pigs, cattle, and horses and can pose a threat to people with low immunity. Here, we describe the first identification of MAA strain HJW isolated from a cow in Jilin Province, China. The isolate was completely sequenced and a phylogenetic analysis of its relationship to members of the Mycobacterium avium complex (MAC) was performed. The results revealed that strain HJW was type MAA based on the analysis of insertion sequence amplification and whole genome sequencing. The HJW genome size was 4,961,843 bp with a GC content of 69.28%. The strain was genetically most closely related to the Mycobacterium avium subsp. avium strain DSM 44156. This study suggests that MAA may pose an infection risk to cattle and provides data support for the phylogeny of Mycobacterium avium. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The co-contamination of aquatic systems with antimony (Sb) and humic acid (HA) is a global concern due to their potential risks to human health and environment. In this research, three-level-three-variable Box–Behnken design (BBD) was investigated for simultaneous Sb(III) and total organic carbon (TOC) removal responses from groundwater by use of ferric chloride (FC) as a coagulant. This study focuses on three operating variables, including initial Sb(III) concentration (100, 550, and 1000 μg/L), HA concentration (2, 6, and 10 mgC/L) and FC dosages (20, 60, and 100 mg/L). The proposed quadratic model presented good correlation with experimental values having R2 and adjusted R2 values of response variables (Sb(III): 0.9981 and 0.9956) and (TOC: 0.9935 and 0.9851), respectively. The most pronounced influence of FC dosage was observed in the removal responses of TOC and Sb(III). Interestingly, the model revealed that a high level of FC dosage had the same TOC removal potential regardless of increasing HA concentration. The statistical model for both Sb(III) and TOC responses was used to optimize the experimental conditions. Moreover, the experimental results were successfully validated with predicted values having high accuracy. The sludge volume produced for studied variables followed the decreasing order as FC dosage > HA concentration > Sb(III) concentration. Under optimum conditions, 0.45 mL/L sludge volume was produced in the treatment of ground water in Nawabshah. In general, the results of the current study may provide some insights into the predictability of simultaneous removal performance of Sb species and organic substances from groundwater. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Drug solubility plays a significant role in the development of drug formulation. The objectives of this work are to improve the solubility and dissolution rate of vortioxetine (VT) by preparing its inclusion complexes (ICs) with β‐Cyclodextrin (β‐CD) and γ‐Cyclodextrin (γ‐CD). The ICs were prepared in 1:1 M ratio via recrystallization method and characterized by P‐XRD, FT‐IR, 1H NMR, 2D NOESY, and DSC. Further, the crystal structure of VT‐β‐CD was analyzed by SC‐XRD. P‐XRD data obtained for ICs describe the crystalline pattern. The DSC analysis shows change in the thermal behavior of VT, CDs and ICs. FT‐IR analysis shows shifting of frequencies in ICs when compared with the pristine VT drug and CDs. The 2D NOESY in DMSO‐d6 indicates weak interaction between the VT and CD molecules. The crystal structure of VT‐β‐CD consists of one guest VT, one host CD, and nine water molecules in the crystal lattice. The solubility of ICs was significantly improved in distilled water, pH 1.2 acidic, and phosphate buffer pH 6.8 medium, as compared with the solubility of the pristine VT drug. The in vitro dissolution rate of ICs in different dissolution media was investigated, which was higher than that of the commercial product of VT. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Subtrochanteric femur fractures have a bimodal age distribution. Younger patients sustain a subtrochanteric fracture as a result of a high-energy injury and typically they have associated traumatic injuries while in older age it is due to low quality of bone. Objective: To determine the functional outcome after proximal femoral nailing for subtrochanteric fracture of femur. Material and Methods: This descriptive case series study was carried out in the Department of Orthopedics Surgery, Medical Teaching Institute, Lady Reading Hospital, Peshawar Pakistan from September 2020 till March 2021 on total of 79 patients to determine the functional outcome after proximal femoral nailing for subtrochanteric femur fractures. Sampling technique was non-probability consecutive sampling. Results: In this study age distribution among 79 patients was analyzed as n= 20-30 years 18(22.8%) 31-40 years 19 (24.1%) 41-50 years 24(30.4%)51-60 years 18(22.8%). Mean age was 47 years with SD±2.87. Gender wise distribution among 79 patients male were 58(73.4%) and female were 21(26.6%). Distribution of duration of disease among 79 patients were analysed as n=1-2 weeks were 58(73.4%) and 3-4 weeks were 21(26.6%). Distribution of BMI classification among 79 patients were analysed as n=Below 18.5 Underweight was 58(73.4%) and 18.5-24.9 Normal weight was 21(26.6%) distribution of functional outcome among 79 patients were analysed as n= Excellent was 30(38.0%) Good was 25(31.6%) Fair was 20(25.3%) and Poor was 4(5.1%). Conclusion: The post-operative clinical and radiological outcome suggests that proximal femoral nail is a exceptional device for treatment of fracture subtrochanteric femur. Although technically demanding, it avoids extensive soft tissue dissection and iatrogenic bony avascularization thus decrease the incidence of fracture non-union and implant failure and at the same time provide much more axial stability due to its intramedullary placement thus it allows the patients to move relatively early following surgery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The science of hydrological modeling has continuously evolved under the influence of rapid advancements in software and hardware technologies. Starting from simple rational formulae for estimating peak discharge and developing into sophisticated univariate predictive models, accurate conversion of rainfall into runoff and the assessment of inherent uncertainty has been a prime focus for researchers. Therefore, alternative data-driven methods have gained widespread attention in hydrology. Moreover, scientists often couple conventional machine learning models with data pre-processing techniques, i.e., wavelet transformation (WT), to enhance modelling accuracy. In this context, this research work attempts to explore the latent linkage between rainfall and runoff in Pothohar region of Pakistan by developing a novel linkage of five streamline techniques of machine learning, including single decision tree (SDT), decision tree forest (DTF), tree boost (TB), multilayer perceptron (MLP), and gene expression modeling (GEP), with a more sophisticated variant of WT, i.e., maximal overlap discrete wavelet transformation (MODWT), for boundary correction of the transformed components of timeseries data. This study also implements these machine learning models in a stand-alone mode for a more comprehensive comparative analysis of performances. Furthermore, the study uses a combined-basin approach that divides Pothohar region into two basins to compensate for the complex topographic division of the study area. The results indicate that MODWT-based DTF outperformed other stand-alone and hybrid models in terms of modeling accuracy. In the first scenario, considering the Bunha-Kahan River basin, MODWT-DTF yielded the highest NSE (0.86) and the lowest RMSE (220.45 mm) and R2 (0.92 at lag order 3 (Lo3)) when transformed with daubechies4 (db4) at level three. While in the Soan-Haro River basin, MODWT-DTF produced the highest accuracy modeling at lag order 4 (Lo4) (NSE = 0.88, RMSE = 21.72 m3/s, and R2 = 0.91). The highly accurate performance of 3- and 4-days lagged models reflects the temporal consistency in hydrological response of the study area. The comparison of simple and hybrid model performance indicates up to a 55% increase in modeling accuracy due to data pre-processing with wavelet transformation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the rapid increase of compute intensive tasks and workload, the need of the hour is to manage the total workload due to resource constraints and increased cost. For complex computations where multiple computer systems are required to execute a single task such as in federated cloudlet environment, load balancing is the main challenge. Load balancing means to divide the total workload between all the member nodes to get the maximum benefits from the federated environment. A cloudlet is a resourceful computer that is coupled to the Internet and is accessible to the mobile devices in the vicinity. Cloudlet Federation is the concept of a cooperative framework to share resources and load balancing among various member cloudlets. Different tasks consume different amount of energy for their execution that results in a large amount of heat dissipation. Due to heat, the performance of the systems is decreased. The more heat, the more performance degradation, so it becomes very vital to keep the energy consumption as minimum as possible. To address this problem, this paper proposes a novel scheduling strategy that will distribute the total load between all the member nodes in a federated cloudlet environment for load balancing. The proposed methodology not only considers the energy level of the system on which the task has to be executed but also considers the energy required by the tasks in queue. The proposed methodology is tested in a Cloudlet Federation environment and the results show an improved load balancing in terms of energy consumption. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Premature ejaculation (PE) is one of the major causes of sexual dysfunction. Levosulpiride is an off-label medicine used to treat PE, but no review on its efficacy exists. A systematic review and meta-analysis was performed to determine the efficacy of levosulpiride in treating PE. Databases PubMed, Science Direct, and Google Scholar were searched. Randomized control trials (RCTs) comparing levosulpiride with placebo or other medicine were selected. Odds ratio (OR) of improved intravaginal ejaculation latency time (IELT) was calculated. A total of 97 articles were retrieved from database search, of which only four RCTs containing 203 men met the selection criteria. All four RCTs were included in systematic review while only two were included in meta-analysis. A high selection and detection bias was found in both of these studies. Meta-analysis also showed the odds of improving IELT in PE patients using levosulpiride to be significantly higher (p <.05) compared with those who used placebo, OR: 100.81, 95% confidence interval (CI) [13.12–774.90], I 2 = 0%. Odds of improving IELT for > 5 min (500% improvement) were also significantly higher (p <.05) compared with the placebo groups (OR: 38.88, 95% CI [5.12–295.29], I 2 = 0%). The odds of improving IELT for > 1 min, but < 5 min were also significantly higher (p <.05) than placebo groups (OR: 32.84, 95% CI [4.15–259.75], I 2 = 0%). Levosulpiride improved IELT, but even so, limited studies are available on this topic. Additional research is thus required to support the present review's findings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]