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We consider a probe U(1) Maxwell-Chern-Simons theory in 5-dimensions, and analyze the vector perturbations around a classical charged black-brane background. We solve the equations of motion for these perturbations in a derivative expansion. By computing the boundary current, we find that time and spatial derivatives can be interpreted as the induced electric and magnetic field respectively, and the Chern-Simons term contributes to a nonzero divergence of the boundary current which indicates a quantum anomaly. Using holography, we construct a two-derivative effective action for the vector perturbations. By complexifying the radial coordinate, and using appropriate transformation, we construct the full solution on the complexified bulk contour. By computing the on-shell action for the full Schwinger-Keldysh geometry, we obtain the Keldysh functional. We find that the single boundary on-shell action mixes parity, whereas the Keldysh functional does not depend on the Chern-Simons term up to the quadratic orders in derivative expansion.

Re-arrangement of cationic distribution in partially inverse spinel NiAl2O4 by using chemical pressure perturbation is studied. Structural, impedance and magnetic analysis suggest presence of regions/domains inside the grain/bulk with same lattice arrangement but varying in cationic oxidation state. Perturbing the cationic distribution in the grain via low concentrations of ambivalence substituent rearranges the cationic distribution across these domains within the partially inverse spinel lattice without disturbing the crystal structure. A comprehensive explanation on the origin & tunability of cationic distribution within the partially-inverse lattice is proposed.

Abstract A series of carbon-doped ZnO [Zn1−yCyO (0.00 ≤ y ≤ 0.10)] nanorods were synthesized using a cost-effective low-temperature (85 °C) dip coating technique. X-ray diffractometer scans of the samples revealed the hexagonal structure of the C-doped ZnO samples, except for y = 0.10. XRD analysis confirmed a decrease in the unit cell volume after doping C into the ZnO matrix, likely due to the incorporation of carbon at oxygen sites (CO defects) resulting from ionic size differences. The morphological analysis confirmed the presence of hexagonal-shaped nanorods. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy identified C–Zn–C bonding, i.e., CO defects, Zn–O–C bond formation, O–C–O bonding, oxygen vacancies, and sp2-bonded carbon in the C-doped ZnO structure with different compositions. We analyzed the deconvoluted PL visible broadband emission through fitted Gaussian peaks to estimate various defects for electron transition within the bandgap. Raman spectroscopy confirmed the vibrational modes of each constituent. We observed a stronger room-temperature ferromagnetic nature in the y = 0.02 composition with a magnetization of 0.0018 emu/cc, corresponding to the highest CO defects concentration and the lowest measured bandgap (3.00 eV) compared to other samples. Partial density of states analysis demonstrated that magnetism from carbon is dominant due to its p-orbitals. We anticipate that if carbon substitutes oxygen sites in the ZnO structure, the C-2p orbitals become localized and create two holes at each site, leading to enhanced p–p type interactions and strong spin interactions between carbon atoms and carriers. This phenomenon can stabilize the long-range order of room-temperature ferromagnetism properties for spintronic applications.

Abstract Lorentz symmetry forbids decays of massive spin-1 particle like the Z 0 into two massless photons, a result known as the Landau-Yang theorem. But it is known that infrared effects can break Lorentz invariance. Employing the construction of Mund et al. [1] which incorporated this Lorentz violation, we propose an interaction leading to the decay Z 0 → 2γ and study the dependence of the decay on the parameter of this Lorentz violation.

Abstract Background Individuals infected with SARS-CoV-2 vary greatly in their disease severity, ranging from asymptomatic infection to severe disease. The regulation of gene expression is an important mechanism in the host immune response and can modulate the outcome of the disease. miRNAs play important roles in post-transcriptional regulation with consequences on downstream molecular and cellular host immune response processes. The nature and magnitude of miRNA perturbations associated with blood phenotypes and intensive care unit (ICU) admission in COVID-19 are poorly understood. Results We combined multi-omics profiling—genotyping, miRNA and RNA expression, measured at the time of hospital admission soon after the onset of COVID-19 symptoms—with phenotypes from electronic health records to understand how miRNA expression contributes to variation in disease severity in a diverse cohort of 259 unvaccinated patients in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. We analyzed 62 clinical variables and expression levels of 632 miRNAs measured at admission and identified 97 miRNAs associated with 8 blood phenotypes significantly associated with later ICU admission. Integrative miRNA-mRNA cross-correlation analysis identified multiple miRNA-mRNA-blood endophenotype associations and revealed the effect of miR-143-3p on neutrophil count mediated by the expression of its target gene BCL2. We report 168 significant cis-miRNA expression quantitative trait loci, 57 of which implicate miRNAs associated with either ICU admission or a blood endophenotype. Conclusions This systems genetics study has given rise to a genomic picture of the architecture of whole blood miRNAs in unvaccinated COVID-19 patients and pinpoints post-transcriptional regulation as a potential mechanism that impacts blood traits underlying COVID-19 severity. The results also highlight the impact of host genetic regulatory control of miRNA expression in early stages of COVID-19 disease.

Abstract Cardiovascular disorders, including acute myocardial infarction (AMI), often lead to blood clot formation, impacting blood circulation. Streptokinase, a cost-effective and widely available thrombolytic agent, is crucial in treating thrombosis. This study aimed to produce streptokinase from Streptococcus pyogenes EBL-48 and compare its efficacy with heparin in an animal model. We evaluated the clot-lysing effectiveness of streptokinase produced from Streptococcus pyogenes EBL-48, emphasizing its low cost and ease of production. Streptokinase was produced using pre-optimized fermentation media and purified through ion exchange and gel-filtration chromatography. In vivo analysis involved inducing clots in a trial animal model using ferric chloride, comparing streptokinase with heparin. Ultrasonography assessed the clot-lysing activity of streptokinase. Streptokinase (47 kDa) effectively lysed clots, proving its low cost, easy production, and minimal adverse effects. Ultrasonography confirmed its fibrinolytic efficacy. These findings highlight potential as an affordable and easily produced thrombolytic agent, particularly relevant in resource-limited settings. Streptokinase efficacy and minimal adverse effects make it a promising option for thrombolytic therapy, especially in economically constrained regions. Future studies could optimize production techniques, explore different strains, and conduct clinical trials for human validation. Comparative studies with other thrombolytic agents would enhance understanding of their advantages and limitations.

Background: Apical ground-glass opacification (GGO) identified on CT angiography (CTA) performed for suspected acute stroke was developed in 2020 as a coronavirus-disease-2019 (COVID-19) diagnostic and prognostic biomarker in a retrospective study during the first wave of COVID-19. Objective: To prospectively validate whether GGO on CTA performed for suspected acute stroke is a reliable COVID-19 diagnostic and prognostic biomarker and whether it is reliable for COVID-19 vaccinated patients. Methods: In this prospective, pragmatic, national, multi-center validation study performed at 13 sites, we captured study data consecutively in patients undergoing CTA for suspected acute stroke from January-March 2021. Demographic and clinical features associated with stroke and COVID-19 were incorporated. The primary outcome was the likelihood of reverse-transcriptase-polymerase-chain-reaction swab-test-confirmed COVID-19 using the GGO biomarker. Secondary outcomes investigated were functional status at discharge and survival analyses at 30 and 90 days. Univariate and multivariable statistical analyses were employed. Results: CTAs from 1,111 patients were analyzed, with apical GGO identified in 8.5 % during a period of high COVID-19 prevalence. GGO showed good inter-rater reliability (Fleiss κ = 0.77); and high COVID-19 specificity (93.7 %, 91.8–95.2) and negative predictive value (NPV; 97.8 %, 96.5–98.6). In subgroup analysis of vaccinated patients, GGO remained a good diagnostic biomarker (specificity 93.1 %, 89.8–95.5; NPV 99.7 %, 98.3–100.0). Patients with COVID-19 were more likely to have higher stroke score (NIHSS (mean +/- SD) 6.9 +/- 6.9, COVID-19 negative, 9.7 +/- 9.0, COVID-19 positive; p = 0.01), carotid occlusions (6.2 % negative, 14.9 % positive; p = 0.02), and larger infarcts on presentation CT (ASPECTS 9.4 +/- 1.5, COVID-19 negative, 8.6 +/- 2.4, COVID-19 positive; p = 0.00). After multivariable logistic regression, GGO (odds ratio 15.7, 6.2–40.1), myalgia (8.9, 2.1–38.2) and higher core body temperature (1.9, 1.1–3.2) were independent COVID-19 predictors. GGO was associated with worse functional outcome on discharge and worse survival after univariate analysis. However, after adjustment for factors including stroke severity, GGO was not independently predictive of functional outcome or mortality. Conclusion: Apical GGO on CTA performed for patients with suspected acute stroke is a reliable diagnostic biomarker for COVID-19, which in combination with clinical features may be useful in COVID-19 triage.

Deep learning methods, a powerful form of artificial intelligence, have been applied in a number of spectroscopy and gas sensing applications. However, the speciation of multi-component gas mixtures from infrared (IR) absorption spectra using deep learning remains to be explored. Here, we propose a one-dimensional deep convolutional neural network gas classification model for the identification of small molecules of interest based on IR absorption spectra in flexible user-defined frequency ranges. The molecules considered include ten that are of interest in the atmosphere or in industrial and environmental processes: water vapor, carbon dioxide, ozone, nitrous oxide, carbon monoxide, methane, nitric oxide, sulfur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide, and ammonia. A simulated dataset of IR absorption spectra for mixtures of these molecules diluted in air was generated and used to train a deep learning model. The model was tested against simulated spectra containing noise and was found to provide speciation predictions with accuracy from 82 to 97%. The internal operation of the model was investigated using class activation maps that illustrate how the model prioritizes spectral information for classification. Finally, the model was demonstrated for the prediction of speciation for two synthetic experimental mixture spectra. The proposed model and the dataset generation strategies are generalized and can be implemented for other gases, different frequency ranges, and spectroscopy types. The multi-component speciation method developed herein is the first application of a convolutional neural network model, trained on HITRAN-based simulations, for spectral identification.

JET, the world’s largest operating tokamak with unique Be/W wall and tritium handling capability, completed a Deuterium-Tritium (D-T) campaign in 2021 (Maggi et al 29th Fusion Energy Conf. ) following a decade of preparatory experiments, dedicated enhancements, technical rehearsals and training (Horton et al 2016 Fusion Eng. Des. 109–111 925). Operation with tritium raises significant technical, safety and scientific challenges not encountered in standard protium or deuterium operation. This contribution describes the tritium operational requirements, pulses and technical preparations, new operating procedures, lessons learned and details on the achieved operational availability and performance. The preparation and execution of the recent JET tritium experiments benefitted from the previous experience in 1991 (Preliminary Tritium Experiment), 1997 (DTE1 campaign) and 2003 (Trace Tritium Campaigns) and consisted of the following five phases: technical rehearsals and scenario preparation, tritium commissioning, 100% tritium campaign, D-T campaign (DTE2), tritium clean-up. Following the clean-up JET resumed normal operation and is currently undertaking a further D-T campaign (DTE3).

Measurement(s) Ice-on and ice-off dates • Lake characteristics Technology Type(s) Observations • Historical records Sample Characteristic - Environment ice-covered lake Sample Characteristic - Location Northern Hemisphere

In the present investigation, nanochitosan-polyurethane dispersions (NCS-PUs) were prepared via polymerization process and applied on polyester cotton fabric (PCF) as a finishing agent. A prepolymer of PU with NCO functionality was synthesized using isophorone diisocyanate (IPDI), polyethylene glycol (PEG) and DMPA (2, 2-dimethylol propionic acid) was extended with NCS. The structural characterization of NCS-PUs was monitored by FTIR analysis. Pad dry cure technique was adopted for the application of NCS-PUs on pre-dyed and printed PCF samples. The PCF samples (dyed and printed) were tested for antibacterial activity, Ultraviolet protection factor (UPF) and tear & tensile strength properties. The UPF values in case of 10% PUB1 to PUB6 application was recorded to be 40.5, 42.30, 44.10, 47.50, 54.30 and 37.80, respectively, whereas the tensile strength improved up to 8.1% in case of 10% NCS-PUs application and these value was increased when 20% NCS-PUs was applied. Antimicrobial activity was evaluated against Gram positive and negative strains (S. aureus and E. coli). The PCF samples finished with NCS-PUs showed higher antimicrobial activity, protection against UV and tensile strength versus unfinished sample with NCS-PUs. Results revealed that the NCS-PUs significantly improved the properties of PCF (both of dyed and printed samples), hence, the NCS-PUs can be applied as finishing agent to enhance the antimicrobial activity along with protection from UV radiation.

Due to excessive use of antibiotics, resistance against microorganisms is developed. An alternative use of antibiotics, natural remedies from plants have been used against infectious diseases. In the current study, bioactive compounds from Calotropis procera (C. procera) root were extracted and chitosan and polyvinyl alcohol (CS-PVA) were used asa carriers and for the delivery to treat induced infection. Different concentration of C. procera extracts (25–75 mg/mL) were loaded on CS-PVA membrane and applied on the induced wounds in rabbits. Wound reduction was recorded for 12 days. On 6th day, small tissue from healing area were collected and subject to histopathology for tissue regeneration. The antioxidant activity (DPPH, TPC and TFC) was also investigated of CS-PVA loaded C. procera root extract. The DPPH free radical inhibition for 75 mg/mL were recorded up to 66.37%. The TPC and TFC contents were recorded to be 36.52 ± 5.12 GAE mg/g of DW (dry weight) and 24.49 ± 6.27 CE mg/g of DW (dry weight), respectively. The antibacterial activity was evaluated against Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus in comparison to control (Rifampicin). The zones of inhibition were recorded to be 18.50 ± 2.30 and 20.40 ± 4.20, respectively for CS-PVA membrane loaded with 75 mg extracts along with Rifampicin 28.50 ± 2.5 and 30.50 ± 1.38. The CS-PVA membranes were also studied for swelling and biodegradability. The biodegradability was increased, while swelling was decreased of CS-PVA membranes loaded with extract. The bioactive compounds from the CS-PVA loaded with extract released in controlled and sustainable way. Result revealed that CS-PVA loaded C. procera root extract has promising antimicrobial and antioxidant activity and could possibly be employed for the treatment of infectious diseases.

Strawberry is one of the highly consumed fruits which are cultivated in wide areas of the world. The most important problem of the strawberry is low storability and high postharvest losses; hence, more than 50% of harvested fruit is lost in Iran. The purpose of this research was to investigate biochemical and shelf life reaction of Camarosa cultivar to different concentrations of methyl jasmonate. The investigation was performed in split plot experiments in a completely randomized design with three replications. The main factor included different concentrations of methyl jasmonate (8 and 12 μM /L), along with control (distilled water) and the sub-factor included different storage times (7, 14 and 21 days). The fruits were transferred to a cold storage with a temperature of 2 ± 0.5 °C, relative humidity of 90-95% and carbon dioxide content of 15% over the course of the research. Methyl jasmonate treatment improved antioxidant capacity and catalase enzyme activity of the treated fruits. The highest antioxidant capacity and catalase enzyme activity were observed at 12 μM/L. Ethylene biosynthesis was significantly affected by the storage time of the treated fruits; so that methyl jasmonate at 12 μM/L reduced the ethylene production. Also, fruit firmness was improved at 5 μM/L methyl jasmonate concentration. Based on the results, methyl jasmonate is potent to increase the strawberry marketability with minimal side effects and, hence, may be chosen for decreasing the postharvest losses of strawberry fruit.

Abstract Present research work represents antiviral and antibacterial value of body fat of Saara hardwickii commonly called as spiny tailed lizard. Oil was extracted from body fats located in the ventral region of this animal using hydrocarbons e.g., n-hexane, methanol, butanol and ethyl acetate as a solvent. The antibacterial activity of lizard oil was tested against standard as well as multi-resistant lines ofEscherichia coli, Styphalococcus aureus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Proteus vulgaris alone and with antibiotic ampicillin. For antibacterial potential, Ethyl acetate and Butanol solvent extract showed best zone of inhibition (7mm) with P. aeruginosa and S. aureus respectively. For antiviral potential, Butanol and Methanol extract showed best HA (Hemagglutination) titer of 04 with NDV and IBV viral strain respectively. It is concluded that lizard oil has antimicrobial potential against different pathogens strains (virus, bacteria).

Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak became a pandemic and has not even left the South Asian Association Regional Cooperation (SAARC) regions, consisting of Pakistan, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, India, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Maldives, and Bhutan. India has the worst condition with the highest number of confirmed cases in Asia and the second highest number of cases in the world. In the number of deaths, India stands on the 3rd rank in the world and first in SAARC countries. The only effective way to reduce the spread of COVID-19 is to limit human-to-human transmission by implementing lockdowns and curfews. However, the South Asian countries are now suffering from the second wave of COVID-19, in which the death rate is higher than the previous one. The COVID-19 vaccine has been developed by many countries and India is the only South Asian country that develops its own vaccine and also dispatches the doses of vaccines to other countries. Due to the densely populated region, South Asia is much vulnerable to COVID-19 rise. Protecting populations of vulnerable regions and promoting equality should be the priority of every country.

Abstract Origanum vulgare has been of great interest in academia and pharma industry due to its antioxidant, antifungal and antitumor properties. The present study aimed to find the anti-MRSA potential and in vivo toxicity assessments of O. vulgare. O. vulgare extract was used to monitor anti-MRSA activity in mice. Following MRSA established infection in mice (Mus musculus), treatment with O. vulgare was continued for 7 days. Autopsies were performed and re-isolation, gross lesion scoring and bacterial load in various organs were measured. Additionally, blood sample was analysed for hematological assays. Toxicity assessment of O. vulgare potential as medicine was done at 200 mg/kg and 400 mg/kg by evaluating liver and kidney functions. Bacterial load and gross lesion in lungs and heart were significantly low compared to positive control following O. vulgare treatment. Likewise, O. vulgare treated groups had hematological, neutrophil and TLC values similar to control groups. Increased AST, ALP and total bilirubin alongwith marked hepatocellular degeneration and distortion around the central vein, inflammatory cell infiltration, and cytoplasmic vacuolization of hepatic cells was observed at higher dose. It is concluded that crude extract of O. vulgare may contain beneficial secondary metabolites and in future may be explored for curing infectious diseases.

Conventional black box machine learning (ML) algorithms for gas-phase species identification from THz frequency region absorption spectra have been reported in the literature. While the robust classification performance of such ML models is promising, the black box nature of these ML tools limits their interpretability and acceptance in application. Here, a one-dimensional convolutional neural network (CNN), VOC-Net, is developed and demonstrated for the classification of absorption spectra for volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in the THz frequency range, specifically from 220 to 330 GHz where prior experimental data is available. VOC-Net is trained and validated against simulated spectra, and also demonstrated and tested against experimental spectra. The performance of VOC-Net is examined by the consideration of confusion matrices and receiver-operator-characteristic (ROC) curves. The model is shown to be 99+% accurate for the classification of simulated spectra and 97% accurate for the classification of noisy experimental spectra. The model’s internal logic is examined using the Gradient-weighted Class Activation Mapping (Grad-CAM) method, which provides a visual and interpretable explanation of the model’s decision making process with respect to the important distinguishing spectral features.

Gas sensing for dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) based on rotational absorption spectroscopy is demonstrated in the 220–330 GHz frequency range using a robust electronic THz-wave spectrometer. DMSO is a flammable liquid commonly used as a solvent in the food and pharmaceutical industries, materials synthesis, and manufacturing. DMSO is a hazard to human health and the work environment; hence, remote gas sensing for DMSO environmental and process monitoring is desired. Absorption measurements were carried out for pure DMSO at 297 K and 0.4 Torr (53 Pa). DMSO was shown to have a unique rotational fingerprint with a series of repeating absorption bands. The frequencies of transitions observed in the present study were found to be in good agreement with spectral simulations carried out based on rotational parameters derived in prior work. Newly, intensities of the rotational absorption lines were experimentally observed and reported for DMSO in this study. Measured intensities for major absorption lines were found in very good agreement with relative line intensities estimated by quantum mechanical calculations. The sensor developed here exhibited a detection limit of 1.3 × 1015–2.6 × 1015 DMSO molecules/cm3 per meter of absorption path length, with the potential for greater sensitivity with signal-to-noise improvements. The study illustrates the potential of all electronic THz-wave systems for miniaturized remote gas sensors.

This manuscript investigates fixed point of single-valued Hardy-Roger’s type F-contraction globally as well as locally in a convex b-metric space. The paper, using generalized Mann’s iteration, iterates fixed point of the abovementioned contraction; however, the third axiom (F3) of the F-contraction is removed, and thus the mapping F is relaxed. An important approach used in the article is, though a subset closed ball of a complete convex b-metric space is not necessarily complete, the convergence of the Cauchy sequence is confirmed in the subset closed ball. The results further lead us to some important corollaries, and examples are produced in support of our main theorems. The paper most importantly presents application of our results in finding solution to the integral equations.

Abstract In contrast to the Einstein-Hilbert action, the action for self-dual gravity contains vierbeins. They are eleminated at the level of observables by an SL(2, ℂ) gauge condition implied by the action. We argue that despite this condition, new “edge” or superselected state vectors corresponding to maps of the spheres S ∞2 at infinity to SL(2, ℂ) arise. They are characterised by new quantum numbers and they lead to mixed states. For black holes, they arise both at the horizon and the spatial infinity and may be relevant for the black hole information paradox. Similar comments can be made about the EinsteinPalatini action which uses vierbeins.

In this paper, new exact solitary wave, soliton and elliptic function solutions are constructed in various forms of three dimensional nonlinear partial differential equations (PDEs) in mathematical physics by utilizing modified extended direct algebraic method. Soliton solutions in different forms such as bell and anti-bell periodic, dark soliton, bright soliton, bright and dark solitary wave in periodic form etc are obtained, which have large applications in different branches of physics and other areas of applied sciences. The obtained solutions are also presented graphically. Furthermore, many other nonlinear evolution equations arising in mathematical physics and engineering can also be solved by this powerful, reliable and capable method. The nonlinear three dimensional extended Zakharov-Kuznetsov dynamica equation and (3 + 1)-dimensional modified KdV-Zakharov-Kuznetsov equation are selected to show the reliability and effectiveness of the current method. Keywords: Modified extended direct algebraic method, Solitons, Solitary wave solutions, Jacobi and Weierstrass elliptic function solutions, Three dimensional extended Zakharov-Kuznetsov dynamical equation, (3 + 1)-Dim modified KdV-Zakharov-Kuznetsov equation

In this manuscript, we constructed different form of new exact solutions of generalized coupled Zakharov–Kuznetsov and dispersive long wave equations by utilizing the modified extended direct algebraic method. New exact traveling wave solutions for both equations are obtained in the form of soliton, periodic, bright, and dark solitary wave solutions. There are many applications of the present traveling wave solutions in physics and furthermore, a wide class of coupled nonlinear evolution equations can be solved by this method. Keywords: Traveling wave solutions, Elliptic solutions, Generalized coupled Zakharov–Kuznetsov equation, Dispersive long wave equation, Modified extended direct algebraic method

In this paper, we obtain some fixed point theorems for dominated mappings satisfying locally contractive conditions on a closed ball in a left K-sequentially O-complete ordered quasi-partial metric space and in a right K-sequentially O-complete ordered quasi-partial metric space, respectively. Our results improve several well known results.

Channel estimation and equalization of sparse multipath channels is a real matter of concern for researchers in the recent past. Such type of channel impulse response is depicted by a very few significant non-zero taps that are widely separated in time. A comprehensive comparison of few algorithms in this regard has been provided. The algorithms simulated are LS, LMS and MP while simulation results along with observations are also presented in this paper. The metrics used for performance evaluation are Bit error rate (BER) and Normalized channel mean square error (NCMSE). On the basis of obtained simulation results, it is observed that MP algorithm requires shorter training sequence for estimation of channel response at the receiver as compared with LS. Furthermore, it is observed that MP has best performance while LS and LMS stand after respectively.

Background: Terminalia catappa has been used as a folk medicine for treating dermatitis, hepatitis as well as other diseases in India. It possesses anticancer, antioxidant as well as anticlastogenic characteristics. Aim: The aim of the present investigation is to highlight the anticarcinogenic and antimutagenic potential of extracts of T. catappa. Subjects: Anticarcinogenic potential of methanolic extract of T. catappa has been tested against the carcinogenicity induced by methyl methanesulfonate in the in vitro and in vivo models. Methods: The parameters for evaluation included chromosomal aberrations (CA), sister chromatid exchanges (SCEs) and replication indices (RI) both in the presence as well as in the absence of exogenous metabolic activation system (in vitro study) and total aberrant cells and the frequencies of aberrations were used (for in vivo methods). Results: Alcoholic extracts of T. catappa significantly reduce chromosomal aberration from 34.42%, 70.65% and 82.80% at 24, 48, and 72 h produced by methyl methanesulfonate (MMS) to 22.77%, 49.60% and 42.50% levels. Similarly the number of sister chromatid exchanges was reduced from 6.20 per cell to 3.10 per cell at 48 h of treatment and replication index was enhanced in vitro for each concentration and duration of treatment. Further their ameliorating potential was dose and duration dependant. Similarly these extracts significantly reduced the number of aberrant cells or frequency of aberrations per cell in vivo. Conclusion: Extracts of T. catappa significantly reduced chromosomal aberrations up to 11.65% to 40.30% at different dosages against MMS induced toxicity, similarly sister chromatid exchange was reduced and replication index enhanced in vitro. Similarly in the in vivo experiments, the effective reduction in clastogeny ranges from 19.70% to 40.90%. Their reducing potential was time and dose dependant.

Cooperative spectrum sensing was proposed to combat fading, noise uncertainty, shadowing, and even hidden node problem due to primary users (PUs) activity that is not spatially localized. It improves the probability of detection by collaborating to detect PUs signal in cognitive radio (CR) system as well. This paper studies cooperative spectrum sensing and signal detection in CR system by implementing hard decision combining in data fusion centre. Through computer simulation, we evaluate the performances of cooperative spectrum sensing and signal detection by employing OR and AND rules as decision combining. Energy detector is used to observe the presence of primary user (PU) signal. Those results are compared to non-cooperative signal detection for evaluation. They show that cooperative technique has better performance than non-cooperative. Moreover, signal to noise ratio (SNR) with greater than or equal 10 dB and 15 collaborated users in CR system has optimal value for probability of detection.

Sensing in opportunistic spectrum access (OSA) has a responsibility to detect the available channel by performing binary hypothesis as busy or idle states. If channel is busy, secondary user (SU) cannot access and refrain from data transmission. SU is allowed to access when primary user (PU) does not use it (idle states). However, channel is sensed on imperfect communication link. Fading, noise and any obstacles existed can cause sensing errors in PU signal detection. False alarm detects idle states as a busy channel while miss-identification detects busy states as an idle channel. False detection makes SU refrain from transmission and reduces number of bits transmitted. On the other hand, miss-identification causes SU collide to PU transmission. This paper study the performance of OSA based on the greedy approach with sensing errors by the restriction of maximum collision probability allowed (collision threshold) by PU network. The throughput of SU and spectrum capacity metric is used to evaluate OSA performance and make comparisons to those ones without sensing error as function of number of slot based on the greedy approach. The relations between throughput and signal to noise ratio (SNR) with different collision probability as well as false detection with different SNR are presented. According to the obtained results show that CR users can gain the reward from the previous slot for both of with and without sensing errors. It is indicated by the throughput improvement as slot number increases. However, sensing on imperfect channel with sensing errors can degrade the throughput performance. Subsequently, the throughput of SU and spectrum capacity improves by increasing maximum collision probability allowed by PU network as well. Due to frequent collision with PU, the throughput of SU and spectrum capacity decreases at certain value of collision threshold. Computer simulation is used to evaluate and validate these works.

In last few decades, the demand of fresh water is rising magnificently due to rapid increase in population and food demand. A large quantity of groundwater is being used for irrigation due to shortage of surface water. In Pakistan the availability and quality of groundwater has been affected due to rapid urbanization and over exploitation. This research was conducted to assess the impact of sewerage drain at Jaranwala Drain on groundwater quality and evaluate the rate at which drain is deteriorating the groundwater quality. MODFLOW and MT3D models were used to calculate concentrations for different time intervals in aquifer at the end of year 2014. The results showed that the concentration of 723 mg/l was travelled 320 m towards pumping well for simulation time of 35 days in all three layers. After 1096 days of simulation, the travelled distance towards the pumping well was 1000, 970 and 920 m with concentration of 7020, 5630 and 5120 mg/l in the first, second and third layer, respectively. It was concluded that the horizontal movement of the concentration was very high as compared to the vertical movement. It was also concluded that if sewerage drain is passing near agricultural land then tubewell installation on two kilometers or away from drain is safe to avoid the contamination of tubewell water.

Advancement in nanotechnology and its impacts have raised concerns about the application of engineered nano-materialsin agriculture and environment, especially on plants. In this work, the effects of TiO2 nanoparticles (TiO2NPs) were investigated on growth of wheat plant (Triticum aestivum). Main emphasis was on to evaluate the effects of TiO2 NPs on plant’s morphological parameters like root, shoot length and biomass. The seeds of wheat were sowed in soil containing different concentrations of TiO2 NPs i.e. 0, 20,40,60,80,100 mg/kg. There were four replicates for each treatment. A random block design was used to carry out the experiments in a green-house constructed at IESE, NUST Islamabad, Pakistan. The SEM-EDX analysis was performed to observe the uptake of TiO2 NPs by the wheat plants. The results showed that root, shoot length and biomass were significantly affected by TiO2 NPs treatments. An increase in the plant’s root and shoot length and, biomass was observed till 60 mg/kg of TiO2 NPs. Higher concentrations of TiO2 NPs have not only affectedthe length of roots and shoots but also has reduced its biomass. The results of this study strongly recommend to further investigate the possible consequences and impacts of applying NPs on other agricultural crops as well.

Toxic metal pollution of water bodies is a major environmental problem and has accelerated drastically since the beginning of industrial revolution. Aquatic plants are known to accumulate metals and other toxic elements from contaminated water. This study was carried out to investigate short term uptake of cadmium (Cd) by Nasturtium officinale, and Cd effects on chlorophyll contents and oil production. Plants were exposed to 1, 5 and 10 mg L-1 of Cd in hydroponics and sampling was done after 3, 6, 9 and 12 days to check accumulation and toxicity patterns. A control treatment (without Cd) was also included in the experiment to compare the results. The plants treated with 10 mg L-1 of Cd at day 12 had the highest concentration in shoots (35.7 mg kg-1 Cd) and roots (18.8 mg kg-1). The chlorophyll contents decreased from 0.25 to 0.82 mg g-1 fresh weight at levels of Cd from control to highest level of Cd at day 12, respectively. Oil contents dropped from 258±11.5 to 218±3.5 mL kg-1 of fresh biomass over an exposure period of 12 days at 10 mg L-1 of Cd. Keeping in view the bioaccumulation capacity and oil production potential, this technique appears as environmentally and economically sustainable.

CO2 is one of the main sources of global warming affecting the environment. It is one of the biggest challenges of future to reduce CO2 emissions in addition to capture and disposal of CO2 produced as a result of burning of fossil fuels. In this work, CO2 removal from biogas by absorption process is studied. For CO2 absorption from biogas, aqueous K2CO3 and piperazine solvents are used independently and then ultimately in a combination. Equilibrium studies are done to calculate capabilities of simulation tool Aspen Plus® towards the component systems CO2/H2O/PZ, CO2/H2O/K2CO3 and finally CO2/H2O/PZ/K2CO3. Validation and comparisons of equilibrium studies were made with literature data. Furthermore, all the mentioned systems were then compared using typical parameter ranges for biogas composition and conditions. The effect on absorption loading capacity of CO2 was studied by varying parameters of temperature, pressure and biogas composition.

Organic wastes play havoc with the environmental health. However, organic and bio-fertilizers can be developed from composted organic wastes for benign environments and low-nutrient input sustainable agriculture. In this study, we utilized fruit and vegetable waste material to develop organic potassium (K) fertilizer and ACC- deaminase rhizobacterial biofertilizers for sustainable maize production. Organic K fertilizer, with L-tryptophan blending, was developed through mechanical composting. This organic material was also used as a carrier to develop two different biofertilizer products by involving selected biotypes of Pseudomonas fluorescens. In a series of short laboratory experiments, we assessed the quality of these newly developed fertilizer products against raw form of organic waste. Composting of organic waste material decreased soil carbon to nutrient ratios and increased the macro and micronutrient contents of soil. A continuous gradual release of CO2 was noted in soil amended with organic and biofertilizers which exhibited greater stability of these fertilizer products over raw form of organic waste. Likewise, soil aggregate stability of these fertilizer products was also higher than raw form of organic waste. Moreover, soil retained comparatively higher moisture when amended with organic and biofertilizer products as compared to raw form of organic waste. These results suggest that organic wastes should not be used in their raw forms and must be transformed into value-added organic and biofertilizers for improving soil health.

Milk samples of 100 clinically mastitic bovines (50 each from buffaloes and cows) were processed for bacterial isolation. A total of 90 bacterial isolates, including 33 of staphylococci and 57 of other bacterial species were recovered. Of the 33 staphylococcal isolates, 23 were identified as Staphylococcus aureus and 10 as Staphylococcus epidermidis. All Staphylococcus aureus isolates were positive for deoxyribonuclease and mannitol fermentation test and produced ß-haemolysis on blood agar. All Staphylococcus epidermidis isolates were negative to these tests and failed to produce ß-haemolysis on blood agar containing 5% sheep erythrocytes. Penicillin resistance was detected in 13(56.5%) isolates of Staphylococcus aureus and 8(80%) isolates of Staphylococcus epidermidis. Penicillinase was produced by 4 of the 13 penicillin resistant isolates of Staphylococcus aureus and 2 of the 8 penicillin resistant Staphylococcus epidermidis isolates.

The presence of supernumerary teeth is not uncommon in the general population. They occur more frequently in patients with a family history of such teeth but it is rare to find multiple supernumeraries in individuals with no other associated disease or syndrome. There have been very few documented cases of bilateral maxillary and mandibular supernumeraries, distal to the third molars. Supernumerary teeth may affect the permanent dentition if not removed. A 24 year-old male with five distomolars and a complete dentition is presented.

A total of 200 chicks were raised upto 43 days of age under controlled experimental conditions. The birds were randomly divided into four groups A, B, C and D of 50 birds each at the age of day one. Birds of groups A and B were not supplemented with selenium, while those of groups C and D were given selenium @ 0.06 mg/Kg of feed from day one to day 43. The birds of groups B and D were vaccinated against infectious bursal disease (IBD) at the age of day 10 and boosted at the age of day 25. The effect of selenium on humoral immune response was evaluated by recording weekly serum antibody titres against IBD through indirect haemagglutination (IHA) test. The cumulative mean titres (CMT) recorded in groups A, B, C and D were 15, 53, 16 and 61, respectively (P