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Bacteria were isolated from samples of Fresh Apple juices from shops of three different localities of Lahore. Analysis of samples from Liberty, Anarkali and Yateem khana Markets show different levels of contamination. There were pathogenic and non-pathogenic bacteria in all samples and were identified by the morphological and biochemical tests. Most of the plasmids of pathogenic bacteria were 4kb in their molecular size. Ribotyping of 16S ribosomal RNA gene sequencing was done to confirm Helicobacter pylori strain and Gluconobacter oxydans. The highest sensitivity of 210mm was shown by Enterobacter sp. against Aztheromysine disk (15µg) while Micrococcus sp. was highly resistant against all of the Antibiotics applied. The antibiotic resistance of pathogenic bacteria was also checked against Ricinus communis plant's extracts, all isolated bacterial pathogens were resistant but only, E.coli was inhibited at 300µl of the extracts. Presence of pathogenic bacteria in Apple juice samples was due to contamination of sewage water in drinking water while some of these pathogenic bacteria came from Apple's tree and other from store houses of fruits. Resumo As bactérias foram isoladas de amostras de suco de maçã fresco de lojas de três diferentes localidades de Lahore. A análise de amostras dos mercados Liberty, Anarkali e Yateem khana mostram diferentes níveis de contaminação. Havia bactérias patogênicas e não patogênicas em todas as amostras e foram identificadas pelos testes morfológicos e bioquímicos. A maioria dos plasmídeos de bactérias patogênicas tinha 4 kb em seu tamanho molecular. A ribotipagem do sequenciamento do gene do RNA ribossômico 16S foi realizada para confirmar a cepa de Helicobacter pylori e Gluconobacter oxydans. A maior sensibilidade de 210 mm foi mostrada por Enterobacter sp. contra disco de azteromisina (15µg) enquanto Micrococcus sp. foi altamente resistente a todos os antibióticos aplicados. A resistência a antibióticos de bactérias patogênicas também foi verificada contra extratos de plantas de Ricinus communis, todos os patógenos bacterianos isolados foram resistentes, mas apenas E. coli foi inibida em 300µl dos extratos. A presença de bactérias patogênicas nas amostras de suco de maçã deveu-se à contaminação da água de esgoto na água potável, enquanto algumas dessas bactérias patogênicas vieram da árvore da maçã e outras de armazéns de frutas.

A field experiment entitled “Effect of nitrogen and zinc on summer cowpea (Vigna unguiculata L. Walp) under south Gujarat condition” was carried out during summer 2019 at College Farm, N. M. College of Agriculture, Navsari Agricultural University, Navsari (Gujarat). The experiment comprising sixteen (16) treatment combinations were laid out in randomized block design with factorial concept in three replications. The treatment consisted combinations of 4 level of zinc viz., Zn0: 0 kg Zn/ha, Zn1: 2.5 kg Zn/ha, Zn2: 5.0 kg Zn/ha and Zn3: 7.5 kg Zn/ha and 4 level of nitrogen viz., N0: 0 kg N/ha, N1: 10 kg N/ha, N2: 20 kg N/ha and N2: 30 kg N/ha. An application of different levels of zinc significantly increased number of pods/plant, number of seeds/pod, protein content, nutrient content in seed and stover, seed and stover yield of cowpea. Similarly, plant height, number of branches/plant, protein content, nutrient content of seed and stover, number of pods/plant, number of seeds/pod, seed yield and stover yield were significantly increased with increasing levels of nitrogen. While, 1000 seed weight and harvest index were not significantly influenced by different levels of zinc and nitrogen. There was no significant effect of interaction between different levels of zinc and nitrogen on growth and yield attributes, yield, protein content and nutrient content in seed and stover of cowpea.

Objectives Breast cancer is the most commonly diagnosed invasive non-skin malignancy in women worldwide, and it is the leading cause of cancer-related deaths in them. Nigella sativa Linn. seed oil has been found to be effective in cancer treatment as well as having anti-cancer properties in some other types of cancers. The study looked into the synergistic cytotoxic effects of N. sativa Linn. seed oil and doxorubicin in the treatment of human breast cancer cells (MCF-7). Methods Nigella sativa Linn. seed oil was used to evaluate its effect on human breast cancer cells, either alone or in conjunction with doxorubicin. 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) tests were used to examine cell proliferation and cell viability, while phase-contrast inverted microscopy was used to examine cellular morphology. Furthermore, the role of N. sativa seed oil in decreasing cell tumorigenicity features was highlighted by testing the cancer cell migration using the wound healing assay. Results Results showed that higher concentrations (50 μg/mL) of N. sativa Linn. seed oil changed the breast cancer cell morphology and decreased the cell proliferation and viability. Breast cancer cells treated with black seed oil decreased cell movement after 24 hours compared to the untreated cell in the wound healing assay. Whereas, only the higher concentration of doxorubicin (0.5–2.5 μg/mL) reduced cell proliferation and cell viability. Moreover, the combination treatment of 50 μg/mL of black seed oil with different concentrations of doxorubicin caused a significant cell proliferation reduction and decreased cell viability. The activity was seen optimum at lower concentration (0.1 µg/mL) of doxorubicin. Conclusions There was decreased cell proliferation and cell viability when N. sativa seed oil was used alone or in conjunction with doxorubicin in Breast cancer cells (MCF-7) revealing potential opportunities in the field of cancer treatment.

OBJECTIVE To describe three different standardized approaches to improving neonatal acute kidney injury (AKI) identification and the impact on AKI identification, incidence, and nephrology consultation and referral. STUDY DESIGN A retrospective cohort study in three academic NICUs. We compared AKI identification, AKI incidence, nephrology consultation, and nephrology follow-up before and after implantation of local protocols to standardize neonatal AKI identification. RESULT Neonatal AKI identification improved in all three NICUs following protocol implementation (26-85%, P

Syphilis is a sexually transmitted disease and its actual prevalence among Pakistani blood donors is currently unknown. A cross sectional study was conducted at different district healthcare hospitals of Punjab, Pakistan with an aim to evaluate the prevalence and risk factors associated with syphilis in blood donors using immunochromatographic test (ICT) and enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). A total (n=1200) blood samples were collected from donors aged 18-65 years. All the information regarding personal data, demographic data and risk factors was collected via structured questionnaire. On the basis of ICT and ELISA, the overall prevalence of syphilis was 3.91% among blood donors. The demographic factors positively linked with syphilis were age (P= 0.000; Odds ratio, OR= 7.18; 95% confidence interval CI= 2.816-18.295) and education status (P= 0.000; Odds ratio, OR= 12.33; 95% confidence interval CI= 3.469-43.849) of donors. Similarly among the risk factors analyzed, marital status (P= 0.012; Odds ratio OR= 2.251; 95% confidence interval CI= 1.206- 4.202) and blood transfusion history (P= 0.030; Odds ratio OR= 1.981; 95% confidence interval CI= 1.083-3.623) were also strongly associated with syphilis. We emphasized the importance of promoting preventive measures for syphilis. The syphilis diagnosis should not be based on a single test. The present study indicates that higher prevalence is alarming for blood donors in Pakistan. Stringent donor screening is highly recommended to ensure maximum safe blood transfusion.

Giant cell myocarditis is a rare, often rapidly progressive and potentially fatal, disease due to T-cell lymphocyte-mediated inflammation of the myocardium that typically affects young and middle-aged adults. Frequently, the disease course is marked by acute heart failure, cardiogenic shock, intractable ventricular arrhythmias, and/or heart block. Diagnosis is often difficult due to its varied clinical presentation and overlap with other cardiovascular conditions. Although cardiac biomarkers and multimodality imaging are often used as initial diagnostic tests, endomyocardial biopsy is required for definitive diagnosis. Combination immunosuppressive therapy, along with guideline-directed medical therapy, has led to a paradigm shift in the management of giant cell myocarditis resulting in an improvement in overall and transplant-free survival. Early diagnosis and prompt management can decrease the risk of transplantation or death, which remain common in patients who present with cardiogenic shock.

Gap junctional intercellular communication (GJIC) is a homeostatic process mediated by membrane channels composed of a protein family known as connexins. Alterations to channel activity can modulate suppression or facilitation of cancer progression. These varying roles are influenced by the cancer cell genetic profile and the context-dependent mechanisms of a dynamic extracellular environment that encompasses fluctuations to nutrient availability. To better explore the effects of altered cellular metabolism on GJIC in breast cancer, we generated a derivative of the triple-negative breast cancer cell line MDA-MB-231 optimized for growth in low-glucose. Reduced availability of glucose is commonly encountered during tumor development and leads to metabolic reprogramming in cancer cells. MDA-MB-231 low-glucose adapted cells exhibited a larger size with improved cell–cell contact and upregulation of cadherin-11. Additionally, increased protein levels of connexin 43 and greater plasma membrane localization were observed with a corresponding improvement in GJIC activity compared to the parental cell line. Since GJIC has been shown to affect cellular invasion in multiple cancer cell types, we evaluated the invasive qualities of these cells using multiple three-dimensional Matrigel growth models. Results of these experiments demonstrated a significantly more invasive phenotype. Moreover, a decrease in invasion was noted when GJIC was inhibited. Our results indicate a potential response of triple-negative breast cancer cells to reduced glucose availability that results in changes to GJIC and invasiveness. Delineation of this relationship may help elucidate mechanisms by which altered cancer cell metabolism affects GJIC and how cancer cells respond to nutrient availability in this regard. Supplementary material The online version of this article (10.1007/s12079-020-00601-3) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

The relationship between oil prices and metal prices has been extensively investigated. However, the tail risk, systemic risk and spillover risk of oil prices have not been investigated via extreme value theory (EVT). We use this novel approach to determine the tail risk of oil, precious metals, how much risk they pose to the financial system and to what extent a shock in oil prices spill over to other precious metals as well as from the financial system. We use long time series of daily data from 1st January 1987 to 31st December 2021 as long time series is required for the EVT. The data is based on the total return index (RI) of four precious metals including gold, platinum, palladium and silver. Our results show that the tail risk of these metals is lower during the crisis period except the Covid-19 pandemic crisis. Most importantly, gold is a safer asset due to the lowest tail risk among four precious metals, indicating the claim that gold is a precious asset to mitigate the returns during market downturns and acts as a ‘safe haven’. Moreover, we also find that extreme systemic risk (tail-β) for crude oil and selected precious metals reduces during crisis period. This is also recognising the fact that these commodities act as a prospective asset for portfolio diversification to hedge against financial assets' volatility. Finally, the spillover risk among crude oil and selected precious metals varies over time, especially during the crisis period and crude oil is an important stimulator of the spillover risk for precious metals. By using our findings, financial market investors can improve their investment planning to attain the maximum advantage of portfolio diversification. Financial managers can further apply these results in forecasting to estimate future global oil market trends for improving their hedging skills and portfolio performance.