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Plants in their natural habitat frequently face different biotic and abiotic stresses, which lead to the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) that can damage cell membranes, cause peroxidation and deterioration of macromolecules, and ultimately result in cell death. Superoxide dismutase (SOD), a class of metalloenzymes, is primarily found in living organisms and serves as the principal line of defense against ROS. The SOD gene family has not yet been characterized in any species of water lily from the genus Nymphaea. The present study aims to conduct a genome-wide study to discover SOD genes in four representative water lily species. In our present comparative study, we discovered 43 SOD genes in the genomes of four water lily species. The phylogenetic investigation results revealed that SOD genes from water lily and closely related plant species formed two distinct groups, as determined by their binding domains with high bootstrap values. Enzymatic ion-binding classified the SOD gene family into three groups, FeSOD, Cu/ZnSOD, and MnSOD. The analysis of gene structure indicated that the SOD gene family exhibited a relatively conserved organization of exons and introns, as well as motif configuration. Moreover, we discovered that the promoters of water lily SODs contained five phytohormones, four stress-responsive elements, and numerous light-responsive cis-elements. The predicted 3D protein structures revealed water lily SODs form conserved protein dimer signatures that were comparable to each other. Finally, the RT-qPCR gene expression analysis of nine NcSOD genes revealed their responsiveness to heat, saline, cold, cadmium chloride, and copper sulphate stress. These findings establish a basis for further investigation into the role of the SOD gene family in Nymphaea colorata and offer potential avenues for genetic enhancement of water lily aquaculture.

Objective: To find the frequency of backache in our pregnant women and factors increasing the risk of low backache in pregnancy. Study Design: Prospective longitudinal study. Place and Duration of Study: Department of Gynecology & Obstetrics, Avicenna Medical College, Lahore Pakistan, from Jan 2018 to Dec 2019. Methodology: We included 247 consecutive women between 18 and 45 years of age and between 16 and 35 weeks of a single pregnancy. These were evaluated for low backache. Women with comorbid conditions and multiple fetuses who needed elective caesarian sections were excluded. Results: Mean age of the pregnant women in our study was 27 ± 3.7 years, with an age range of 18 to 45 years. 197 (80.1%) complained about low back pain during their pregnancy, and 75 (30.3%) had a previous history of back pain when not pregnant. Back pain was present in 47 (19.02%) 6 months postpartum. The risk factors present were higher weight gain in 75 (30 %), age >35 years in 62 (25 %), low haemoglobin 38 (15%) and poor socio-economic condition 25 (10.1%). Conclusion: Low back pain is common in pregnancy and is a less addressed issue of pregnant women. Many factors responsible for low backache in pregnant women were identified. Analgesics and increased physical activity are the main treatment and prevention options.

Fragaria vesca, commonly known as wild or woodland strawberry, is the most widely distributed diploid Fragaria species and is native to Europe and Asia. Because of its small plant size, low heterozygosity, and relative ease of genetic transformation, F. vesca has been a model plant for fruit research since the publication of its Illumina-based genome in 2011. However, its genomic contribution to octoploid cultivated strawberry remains a long-standing question. Here, we de novo assembled and annotated a telomere-to-telomere, gap-free genome of F. vesca ‘Hawaii 4’, with all seven chromosomes assembled into single contigs, providing the highest completeness and assembly quality to date. The gap-free genome is 220 785 082 bp in length and encodes 36 173 protein-coding gene models, including 1153 newly annotated genes. All 14 telomeres and seven centromeres were annotated within the seven chromosomes. Among the three previously recognized wild diploid strawberry ancestors, F. vesca, F. iinumae, and F. viridis, phylogenomic analysis showed that F. vesca and F. viridis are the ancestors of the cultivated octoploid strawberry F. × ananassa, and F. vesca is its closest relative. Three subgenomes of F. × ananassa belong to the F. vesca group, and one is sister to F. viridis. We anticipate that this high-quality, telomere-to-telomere, gap-free F. vesca genome, combined with our phylogenomic inference of the origin of cultivated strawberry, will provide insight into the genomic evolution of Fragaria and facilitate strawberry genetics and molecular breeding.

This paper describes an improved model for the monitoring of power used by a party such as household users and different industries in Pakistan. The power theft detection was done using the intelligent internet of things (IoT) service system for calculating the user's power simultaneously. The power meter catches a theft detection device that is instantly transmitted to the central system which compares both the data by means of microcontroller and if there is any difference found, it informs the power utility about the hooking, meter relief or theft activities happen. Information of the theft detection through the global mobile communications system is transmitted and notified theft is displayed on the terminal monitor or won. As a result, although consumers continue to use excess fuel, the customer's power supply is cut in the electricity boards segment. The general radio package module system sends central circuit and meter data via an internet protocol address to a web server. GSM's IoT based perception is used to monitor the power supply and billing information calculated with a microcontroller continuously with the determination of the electricity table area. With this unit, the duplicate user can be located at the rear of the electricity office with the power meter status.

Background: The Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has brought destructive consequences on the global political, economical, social, fi nancial, and healthcare structures [1]. The pandemic has risen up the level of anxiety, depressive thoughts and psychological stress among students who were studying in china, but now stocked in home country. Approximately 30,000 Pakistani students are being enrolled in M.Phil and PhD in China. The aim of this study is to identify the psychological and physiological impact of COVID-19 on these students.

Objective: During septoplasty, nasal packing is routinely used by surgeons for hemostasis and balancing the cartilage and bony skeleton of the nose. However, these new techniques are not totally mild and therefore new ways are adopted to check their efficiency and reason their value. The study was performed to compare the use of plastic intranasal splints with or without anterior nasal packing to determine the need of nasal packing after septoplasty. Study Design: Comparative Study. Setting: ISRA University Hyderabad. Period: March 2018 to April 2019. Material & Methods: A total of 50 patients presenting with nasal septum in this period were prospectively examined. For the purpose of comparative study, we divided the patients into two groups: Group A –Patients who underwent septoplasty with packing and Group-B –Patients who underwent septoplasty without packing. We recorded the pain felt using Visual analogue scale before and after the surgery and also noted the Mean Age gender wise and recorded treatment results for statistical analysis using SPSS Version-20. Results: In our data, a total fifty (50) patients comprising 28 Males (68%) and 22 Females (32%) were listed in the study. The mean± standard deviation VAS scores of Group-A was at 5.2 ±0.9 and Group-B is 2.9±0.61 showing less pain in Group B-without splints and packing. However the complication rate in patients without Splints and packing was only 18%. Conclusion: Thus we find septoplasty without nasal splints and packing is more effective and cause lesser bleeding and pain to patients.

Areca catechu L. (areca) belongs to the Arecaceae family, which is composed of 181 genera and 2,600 species (Christenhusz and Byng 2016), is cultivated extensively in Southern and Southeastern Asia (Peng et al. 2015). Areca has a long history for its important economic and medicinal benefits and is one of the most important commercial crops in Hainan province, China. In recent years, root rot and stem rot diseases have occurred, causing areca plants to wither and even die. The serious symptoms mainly appeared in the Hainan province (Li et al. 2006). In March 2018, the rotten tissues of the diseased plants were observed to become brittle, brown, and even black from the stem base to the root; the outer leaves turned yellow, dry, and dropping in areca plantations of Qionghai county. The disease can spread from individual plants to the whole plantation in one to two years, with the characteristics of large-scale occurrence and rapid transmission, causing huge economic losses. Diseased tissues (5 × 5 mm) were disinfected with 75% ethanol for 30 s, 1% HgCl2 for 1 min, washed in sterile water, placed on potato dextrose agar (PDA) medium and incubated at 28°C (Gao et al. 2019). Pure isolates were obtained by transferring the mycelium around the diseased tissues to PDA several times. The colonies were white and cottony after culturing for 7 days. The reverse side of the colony was yellowish white. Basidiospores were hyaline, thin-walled, smooth, 1.7-1.8 x 1.6-1.7 μm (n=30) in size and circular or ellipse in shape, in addition to a dimitic hyphal system (Das et al. 2017). For molecular identification, the genomic DNA of the isolate was extracted using the thermolysis method (Zhang et al. 2010). The ribosomal internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region was amplified using the primer pairs ITS1/ITS4 (White et al. 1990), and the amplified DNA fragments were sequenced. The obtained ITS sequence (GenBank accession No. MW534416) had 99.36% identity with the reference sequence (GenBank accession No. KX013157) of Grammothele lineata Berk. & M.A. Curtis. A phylogenetic tree was constructed with software MEGA7 using the neighbor-joining method, showing that the isolate was grouped in the same clade as G. lineata. To fulfil Koch's postulates, a pathogenicity test was performed using the stems of 6-month-old healthy areca seedlings. Stem surfaces were sterilized with 70% ethanol for 30 s, rinsed three times with sterile water, and gently stabbed with a sterile needle, and then inoculated with a 1-cm-diameter colonized PDA disk from a 7-day culture on wounds, moistened with wet cotton, and wrapped with a fresh plastic wrap. Plants inoculated with sterile PDA medium plugs were used as a control. The inoculation assay was carried out twice, with five plants in both control and treatment in each test. After 20 days, the stems of the plants inoculated with the pathogen exhibited rotten symptoms, and the leaves began to become yellow and shrunken, while the control plants had only the surface of the stems discolored slightly and the inner tissue was undamaged. The fungus was re-isolated from the infected stems. Based on the morphological observations and ITS sequence analysis, the isolate was identified as G. lineata. As far as we know, this is the first report of G. lineata causing the stem rot of areca in China.

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is due to poor prognosis and lack of availability of effective treatment. Novel therapeutic strategies will be the fine tuning of intracellular ROS signaling to effectively deprive cells of ROS-induced tumor-promoting events. This review discusses the generation of ROS, the major signaling their modulation in therapeutics. We explore some of the major pathways involved in HCC, which include the VEGF, MAPK/ERK, mTOR, FGF, and Ser/Thr kinase pathways. In this review, we study cornerstone on natural bioactive compounds with their effect on hepatocarcinomas. Furthermore, we focus on oxidative stress and FDA-approved signaling pathway inhibitors, along with chemotherapy and radiotherapy enhancers which with early evidence of success. While more in vivo testing is required to confirm the findings presented here, our findings will aid future nonclinical, preclinical, and clinical studies with these compounds, as well as inspire medicinal chemistry scientists to conduct appropriate research on this promising natural compound and their derivatives.

Faults and failures are familiar case studies in centralized and decentralized tracking systems. The processing of sensor data becomes more severe in the presence of faults/failures and/or noise. Effective schemes have been presented for decentralized systems, in the presence of faults only. In some practical scenarios of systems, there are certain interruptions in addition to these faults. These interruptions may occur in the form of noise. However it is expected that the decision about the sensor data is difficult in the presence of noise. This is because the noise adversely affects the communication amongst sensors and the processing unit. More complexity is expected when there are faults and noise simultaneously. To deal with this problem, in addition to existing fault detection and isolation schemes, the Kalman filter is employed. Here, a generic discussion is provided, which is equally applicable to other situations. This work addresses various faults in the presence of noise for decentralized tracking systems. Local single faults and multiple faults in the presence of noise are the core issues addressed in this paper. The proposed work is comprised of a general scenario for a decentralized tracking system followed by a case study of a target tracking scenario with and without noise. The presented schemes are also tested for different types of faults. The proposed work presents effective tracking in the presence of noise and faults. The results obtained demonstrate the acceptable performance of the scheme of this work.

This study modified carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) via microwave and prepared gatifloxacin patches through solvent evaporation technique. The prepared patches were investigated with regards to the physical appearance, thickness, weight uniformity, folding endurance, drug content, percent moisture loss, percent moisture uptake, water vapour transmission rate, microbial penetration, skin irritancy, stability, in-vitro drug release, release kinetic, ex-vivo permeation, skin drug retention, and ATR-FTIR of skin. The in-vitro release and ex-vivo permeation experiments were conducted via diffusion cell. It was found that CMC viscosity/molecular weight was reduced as the microwave irradiation time prolonged. All the prepared patches were smooth, clear and elastic and possessed good uniformity in weight, thickness, drug content, % moisture uptake and % moisture loss. The drug content was in the range of 85–95%. The drug release was facilitated by the reduction of CMC viscosity following non-Fickian diffusion mechanism as indicated in kinetic studies. Ex-vivo permeation and skin retention of the drug have been intensified when a low-viscosity polymer was introduced. ATR-FTIR results confirmed that the prepared patches mainly influenced the lipids and proteins of the skin which gave rise to the improved permeation and skin retention of the drug.

Phytotoxicity or allelopathy means poisonous results by a composite on plant growth, composites may be trace metals, pesticides salinity or phytotoxins . Some of the medicinal plants have phytotoxic activities which inhibit the growth of weeds and unwanted plants which are not of our desire. The present study is aimed to investigate the phytotoxic assessment of Centaurea pullata methanolic extract (CPME) roots. Dried plant were ground and extracted with methanol to prepare methanol crude extract. In-vitro phytotoxicity activity was conducted using these methanolic extracts as per standard procedures. The inhibitory effect of Centaurea pullata extract is tested on stalk and root of Portulaca oleracea and using four concentrations (3, 1.5, 0.75 and 0.37mg/ml) of plant extract and distal water in control. The result is noted on 5 th and 10 th days. The results obtained from these experiments showed that the crude methanolic extract of Centaurea pullata slightly inhibits the roots and shoots of Portulaca oleracea seeds as compared to the control plate which was not treated by the above mentioned sample extracts shown in Figures as. From the results obtained that, Phytotoxicity activity of Centaurea pullata methanolic extract showed non-significant results. Purification and in vivo studies of these plant are required for further verification.

Currently, energy storage with superior efficiency, inferior cost and environmentally benign is a solemn matter for the humanity worldwide because of constantly escalating demands of energy. Considering this crisis, many productive approaches were proposed to meet the current and future necessities. However, research is still continuous to develop innovative pathways and to improve the existing methodologies. Supercapacitors have taken the superior position among the talented devices for energy storage. Nanomaterials based on graphene (GN) and metal oxides/hydroxides have emerged as much more pertinent and beneficial resources for supercapacitor devices. In this review, we consider advanced research steps towards various versatile designing strategies for GN-metal oxide/hydroxide composite materials. We portray here very recently demonstrated (latest research of years 2013–2015) supercapacitive manners of GN-metal oxide/hydroxide nanocomposites in terms of specific capacitance and cyclic stability. Furthermore, we accentuate the fabrication challenges and future perspectives of such materials for energy storage.

Commercially accessible and long-lasting resources of energy are among the foremost areas of current research. Supercapacitors have taken the position of very thoughtful candidates in the energy-storing field to meet the modern necessities. Several graphene-based materials have been employed for supercapacitor electrodes. Here, we demonstrated an economical and advanced hydrothermal technique using combination of two reducing materials (urea and starch) for the fabrication of reduced graphene oxide/zinc oxide (RGO/ZnO) composite. The X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy analysis were carried out to study the structure and of RGO/ZnO composite. The supercapacitive behaviour of RGO/ZnO composite was studied via cyclic voltammetry and galvanostatic charge/discharge experiments. The results showed enhanced specific capacitance (313.14 F g−1) with good cyclic stability (1000 cycles).

Graphene-based nanocomposite materials have drawn the serious attention of researchers due to their remarkable applications in the field of energy storage. Here, in the current work, the authors prepared various composite electrode materials composed of iron oxide and reduced graphene oxide. A simple cost-effective and one-step hydrothermal approach was employed, for the first time, using a combination of two reducing agents, namely urea and starch. The formation of composite materials was characterised using scanning electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction. The electrochemical characteristics of the as-manufactured composite materials were explored using cyclic voltammetry and galvanostatic charge/discharge tests. It was found that the iron oxide–reduced graphene oxide composite prepared by using two reducing agents exhibits higher specific capacitance (286.6 F g− 1) at scan rate of 5 mV s− 1 in 1M KOH solution.

In this study, we report the successful reduction of graphene oxide (GO) with cost effective and environment friendly methods. In the first method, we irradiated GO with highly energetic UV laser to obtain reduced GO (rGO). Moreover, Ag and Ni nanoparticles (NPs) were also productively deposited on rGO by in situ reduction of metal salts with ultraviolet (UV) laser irradiation. In the second method, we employed neem leaf extract as reducing agent to synthesise rGO decorated with Ag and Ni NPs in a one-step approach. The reduction of GO as well as the deposition of Ag and Ni NPs on rGO was examined by Raman spectroscopy. We also performed ultraviolet–visible (UV-vis) spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction and SEM analysis to observe absorption in UV-vis range, crystallographic orientations and surface morphology of rGO-NPs composites respectively. Both the reducing sources were found efficient for the reduction of GO and successful deposition of metal NPs on the surface of rGO via in situ reduction of metal salts...

Graphene has become a worldwide admired material among researchers and scientists equally due to its unique richness in mechanical strength, electrical conductivity, optical and thermal properties. Researchers have explored that the composite materials based on graphene and metal/metal oxide nanostructures possess excellent potential for energy storage technologies. In particular, supercapacitors based on such composite materials have engrossed the extreme interest of researchers for its rapid charging/discharging time, safe operation and longer cyclic constancy. Till now, several fabrication techniques for composite materials and their energy storage applications have been explored. Here, specially, we have concentrated on the hottest research progress for the fabrication of graphene oxide and metal/metal oxide nanocomposites. We also emphasized on the characteristics and properties of supercapacitors fabricated using these composite materials. Moreover, our study is focused on the specific capacitance and cyclic stability of various composites to haul out the most efficient material for supercapacitor applications.

This paper proposes schemes for fault detection and isolation in a multi-fault setting. Now-a-days, sensor fault and failure are important issue in various wireless sensor networks. This works suggests a few algorithms based on simple phenomenon of data fusion. Initially, a mutual consensus has been developed among followers (e.g. UAVs in this case) who are tracking the same target. Having known the followers relative positions w.r.t. target, a median is computed by each follower. This median is then shared with neighbours to compare with their estimated values about the target position. If estimation is beyond the defined limits, the follower (sensor) is detected as faulty otherwise healthy. Three different types of induced faults are discussed here as: follower – target or line of communication fault, follower – follower or communication with neighbour fault and simultaneously these two faults. A generalized scenario with definit formation of these followers has been considered to elaborate these faults.

Linear Parameter Varying (LPV) system is an important class of system, as it covers many physical systems. In this paper, the routine Kalman filtering scheme derivations are entertained to modify for generalized LPV systems. The original system is unstable, for controlling purpose a state-feedback controller is employed. For simulation purpose, a real time case study of Boeing-747 model is adopted. The results comprehend attractive features for modified Kalman filtering scheme.

Mobile Ad-hoc Network (MANET) is a physical infrastructure less network, in which there are no fixed nodes and every node in the network functions like a router, which discovers the routes for other nodes in the network, and route the data packets that are not within the direct communication. There are many protocols have been proposed for MANET. The most widely used and popular are AODV, DSR, and DSDV. In this paper, we compare the performance of reactive routing protocols under CBR traffic using NS-2.35. The performance is evaluated based on packet delivery ratio (PDR), throughput, average end-to-end delay, normalized routing load (NRL). The comparison results show that AODV performs best in medium and large network while DSR performs best in small network.

The present study is aimed to investigate the phytochemical screening and biological activities of methanolic extract of Cyperus scariosus roots. Dried plant was grounded and extracted with methanol to prepare methanol crud extract. In vitro biological tests were conducted using this methanolic extracts according to the standard procedure. 100% death rate of brine shrimp was perceived at 3 mg/mL of plant extract after 72 hours. The extract showed action against Aspergillus flavius i.e. 90% followed by A. niger (91%) while the highest activity was shown against A. fumegatrus (94%). Important scavenging results were detected during scavenging of free radicals viz; 92.2% against DPPH, 82.2% to ABTS, 75.8% to hydrogen peroxide, 88.1% to β-carotene, 86.1% to hydroxyl radical and 89.4% against phosphomolybdate at 3 mg/mL were obtained. The results obtained in this study point out that extract showed significant biological activities which might be due to the presence of bioactive constituents.

This literature review reveals that in the ischemic stroke the blood clot occur in the brain due to which the arteries blocks and stop the blood flow. There are main two types of ischemic stroke one is thrombolic and the other one is embolic. The prevalence of ischemic stroke is about 85% in the U.S while in Pakistan as such no true incidence of stroke was determined but estimated annual rate is 250/100,000 translating to 350,000 new cases every year. The ischemic stroke is more than haemoregic stroke. Approximately 70 percent of patients have ischemic stroke. In the ischemic stroke there are many different types of risk factors or causes are involved due to which the ischemic stroke may cause e.g. oxidative stress, blood pressure, obesity, sex, family history etc. Many ROS are generated and may cause the oxidative stress due to which the brain is damaged and may cause the ischemic stroke. These risk factors may control through proper medications, regular exercise and the intake of many dietary antioxidants. In this type of disease the many different types of antioxidants e.g. (Bilirubin and Glutathione, Tocopherols, Dietary Vitamin E, Antioxidant Vitamin Supplements, Dietary Vitamin C) are also involved which scavenge the free radicals and reduce the chance of oxidative stress and thus the brain prevented from the damage.