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Cucumber green mottle mosaic virus (CGMMV), a well-known Tobamovirus , infects cucurbits across the globe. To determine its current status, molecular characterization, genetic recombination, gene flow and selection pressure, 10 districts from Punjab province of Pakistan were surveyed and a total of 2561 cucurbits samples were collected during 2019–2020. These samples were subjected to virus-specific double antibody sandwich-enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (DAS-ELISA) for the detection of CGMMV. The results revealed that viral disease was prevalent in all surveyed districts of Punjab with an overall 25.69% disease incidence. ELISA positive samples were further confirmed through RT-PCR and sequencing of coat protein (CP) cistron. Sequence analysis showed that the present studied CGMMV isolates have 96–99.5% nucleotide and 94.40–99.50% amino acid identities with those already available in GenBank. Phylogenetic analysis also revealed that understudied isolates were closely related with South Korean (AB369274) and Japanese (V01551) isolates and clustered in a separate clad. Sequence polymorphisms were observed in 663 bp of sequence within 31 CGMMV isolates covering complete CP gene. Total number of sites were 662, of which 610 and 52 sites were monomorphic and polymorphic (segregating), respectively. Of these polymorphic, 24 were singleton variable and 28 were parsimony informative. Overall nucleotide diversity (π) in all the understudied 31 isolates was 0.00010 while a total of 1 InDel event was observed and InDel Diversity (k) was 0.065. Haplotype diversity analysis revealed that there was a total 29 haplotypes with haplotype diversity (Hd) of 0.993458 in all the 31 isolates which provide evidence of less diversity among Pakistani isolates. The statistical analysis revealed the values 2.568, 5.31304 and 4.86698 of Tajima's D, Fu, & Li's F* and D*, respectively, which witnessed the population of CGMMV was under balanced selection pressure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bluetongue virus (BTV) infection is an emerging hazard in small ruminants having socio-economic impacts on animals and associated people. The current study was aimed to estimate the sero-prevalence and associated risk factors in sheep and goat from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province of Pakistan. Three distinct zones (northern, central and southern) with four districts (Mansehra, Abbottabad, Swabi, and Kohat) with a higher population of small ruminants were selected. A total of n = 408 sera originating from sheep (n = 212) and goats (n = 196) were randomly collected for detection of BTV group specific antibodies through competitive ELISA (c-ELISA). Univariable and multiple logistic regressions were applied to assess the potential risk factors associated with the occurrence of this disease. Results showed an overall prevalence of 50.00% (CI = 44.17–54.83) of BTV in both sheep and goats with a significant difference ( p <  0.05) among different districts. The prevalence of BTV in sheep was found higher (56.60%, CI = 49.6–63.4) than goats (42.86%, CI = 35.8–50.1). The risk factors identified based on chi-square test were; 1–2 year of animals, herd size and location in sheep while, milking status, ticks infestation, location and herd size for goats ( p  < 0.05). On the basis of univariable analysis, 1–2 year of animals, and location for sheep while, ticks infestation and location for goats (OR > 1). Multiple logistic regressions conferred only herd size and location as potential risk factors (OR > 1) for BTV in sheep and goats. The study concluded higher prevalence of BTV in sheep than the goats, the risk factors were significantly associated with the occurrence of disease, and together ascertaining the needs to design appropriate disease management and control strategies in sheep and goats. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to meet the water demands of ever-increasing human population, wastewater treatment is a challenging task. Advanced oxidation processes are promising technologies for wastewater treatment. The current study employed waste H2O2(40%) collected from a food industry to treat municipal wastewater (MWW) of Abbottabad city in Pakistan. Various H2O2doses (1, 1.5, 2, and 2.5 mL L−1) were applied to evaluate its influence on water quality parameters like chemical oxygen demand (COD), biochemical oxygen demand (BOD5), pH, conductivity, turbidity, and fecal coliforms. Using 2.5 mL waste H2O2, the initial concentration of BOD5200 mg L−1and COD 327 mg L−1were reduced to 70 and 93 mg L−1, respectively; in addition to 51.72 and 50% reduction of turbidity and coliform populations. An increase in conductivity was noted after 30 min and at 90 min of peroxide dose application. No significant change occurred in pH at lower H2O2dosing but it increased to 8.5 when higher dose of H2O2was applied. The treatment strategy may effectively improve the quality of MWW rendering it suitable for its use in agricultural sector. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

We compared 1-year outcomes in patients treated with paclitaxel-eluting stents (PESs) or sirolimus-eluting stents (SESs) in “real-world” clinical practice. Clinical outcomes were evaluated in 1,558 consecutive, unselected, retrospectively collected patients treated with drug-eluting stents (DESs; PES = 816, SES = 742) at 19 United States centers. The primary end point was 1-year target vessel revascularization (TVR). The study included a prespecified diabetic cohort (PES = 289, SES = 247), for which efficacy comparisons between DESs were analyzed according to vessel diameter and presence of chronic kidney disease. Baseline demographic, angiographic, and procedural characteristics were similar between patients treated with PESs and those treated with SESs. At 1 year, there were no overall statistical differences in death, myocardial infarction, TVR, or stent thrombosis. In the diabetic cohort, however, the cumulative incidence of TVR was significantly lower for patients treated with PESs (3%) compared with SESs (9%, p <0.01), which persisted after adjustment for baseline differences (hazard ratio 0.29, 95% confidence interval 0.12 to 0.67). This decrease in TVR with PES was similar in insulin- and noninsulin-requiring diabetic patients. In multivariate analysis, independent predictors of TVR included diabetes, bifurcation stenting, and overlapping stents; in the diabetic cohort, treatment with SESs was also a multivariate predictor of TVR. In conclusion, in this observational, retrospective analysis of DES-treated patients, PESs and SESs demonstrated similar overall safety and efficacy, but PESs were associated with a significant decrease in 1-year TVR rates in diabetic patients. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Dilemmas like water shortage, rapid industrialization, growing human population and related issues have seriously affected human health and environmental sustainability. For conservation and sustainable use of our water resources, innovative methods for wastewater treatment are continuously being explored. Advance Oxidation Processes (AOPs) show a promising approach to meet specific objectives of municipal wastewater treatment (MWW). The MWW samples were pretreated with Al2(SO4)4·8H2O (Alum) at different doses 4, 8, 12–50mg/L to enhance the sedimentation. The maximum COD removal was observed at alum treatments in range of 28–32mg/L without increasing total dissolved solids (TDS). TDS were found to increase when the alum dose was increased from 32–40mg/L. In the present study, the optimum alum dose of 30mg/L for 3h of sedimentation and subsequent integrated H2O2/UV treatment was applied (using 2.5mL/L of 40% waste H2O2 and 35% fresh H2O2 separately). Organic and inorganic pollutants, contributing towards chemical oxygen demand (COD), biological oxygen demand (BOD), turbidity and total dissolved solids were degraded by H2O2/UV. About 93% COD, 90% BOD and 83% turbidity reduction occurred when 40% waste H2O2 was used. When using fresh H2O2, 63% COD, 68% BOD and 86% turbidity reduction was detected. Complete disinfection of coliform bacteria occurred by using 40% H2O2/UV. The most interesting part of this research was to compare the effectiveness of waste H2O2 with fresh H2O2. Waste H2O2 generated from an industrial process of disinfection was found more effective in the treatment of MWW than fresh 35% H2O2. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Car wash wastewater (CWW) contains petroleum, hydrofluoric acid, ammonium bifluoride products, paint residues, rubber, phosphates, oil, grease and volatile organic compounds (VOCs). The present study dealt with various investigations conducted for the treatment of CWW. A treatment system of 5L capacity was designed in the laboratory. Due to high load of oil and grease, CWW was aerated and scum was removed. Alum was used as coagulant in primary treatment which resulted 93% and 97% reduction in COD and turbidity. During secondary treatment CWW was further treated with waste hydrogen peroxide which resulted in further 71% and 83% reduction in COD and turbidity, respectively. Other desirable changes were also observed in pH, total dissolved solids (TDS), conductivity and dissolved oxygen contents. It was concluded that designed system could be effectively used to treat carwash wastewater that could be reused in the same station. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]