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| 2. |
- Muhammad, Noor, et al.
(författare)
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Novel mutations in MPT64 secretory protein of Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex
- 2023
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Ingår i: International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. - : MDPI. - 1661-7827 .- 1660-4601. ; 20:3
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Tuberculosis (TB) is a global health problem caused by the Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex (MTBC). These bacteria secrete various proteins involved in the pathogenesis and persistence of MTBC. Among the secretory proteins, MPT64 (Rv1980C) is highly conserved and is also known as a major culture filtrate that is used in rapid diagnosis of MTBC. In the current study, we aimed to find the mutation in this highly conserved protein in isolates from the Pashtun-dominant province of Pakistan. We analyzed 470 M. tuberculosis whole-genome sequences of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province. Mutations in the MPT64 gene were screened through TB-Profiler and BioEdit software tools. The DynaMut web server was used to analyze the impact of the mutation on protein dynamics and stability. Among 470 MTB genomes, three non-synonymous mutations were detected in nine isolates, and one synonymous mutation (G208A) was found in four isolates. Mutation G211T (F159L), which was detected at the C-terminal domain of the protein in six isolates, was the most prominent. The second novel mutation, T480C (I70V), was detected in two isolates at the C-terminal side of the protein structure. The third novel mutation, A491C (L66R), was detected in a single isolate at the N-terminal side of the MPT64 protein. The effect of these three mutations was destabilizing on the protein structure. The molecular flexibility of the first two mutations increased, and the last one decreased. MPT64 is a highly conserved secretory protein, harboring only a few mutations. This study provides useful information for better managing the diagnosis of MTB isolates in high TB-burden countries.
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| 3. |
- Ali, Qasim, et al.
(författare)
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Drought tolerance potential of Vigna mungo L. lines as deciphered by modulated growth, antioxidant defense, and nutrient acquisition patterns
- 2016
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Ingår i: Revista Brasileira de Botânica. - : Springer. - 0100-8404 .- 1806-9959. ; 39:3, s. 801-812
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Water shortage is one of the major environmental constraints that hamper the crop productivity worldwide. The present study was aimed to examine the drought tolerance potential of seven cultivars/lines of Vigna mungo L. depending upon their germination behavior, seedling growth, antioxidative defense mechanism, and nutrient acquisition. An experiment was conducted in the growth chamber using petri-plates and laid out in a completely randomized design (CRD). Hoagland's nutrient solution supplemented with 12 % PEG-8000 (drought treatment) or without PEG-800 (control) was used. Drought stress significantly altered the germination attributes as well as biomass production of all the studied cultivars/lines. Least adversative effects of drought stress were recorded in lines M-01001-1 and M-6036-21, respectively. The studied cultivars/lines exhibited differential response for various biochemical attributes under drought stress. The maximum increase in MDA and SOD activities and protein content was recorded in line M-603621, while the maximum AsA was recorded in line M-01001-1. Drought stress resulted in a significant reduction of plant N, P, K, Ca, and Mg contents, while the plant iron (Fe) contents remained unaffected. Results revealed that cultivars/lines M-01001-1 and M-6036-21 exhibited enhanced performance in terms of nutrient acquisition when stressed by drought. Based upon seed germination behavior, plant biomass production, biochemical attributes and mineral elements, the cultivars/lines M-01001-1 and M-6036-21 were identified as drought tolerant, while M-97 and Arroj-II were identified as drought sensitive.
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| 4. |
- Arshad, Wajiha, et al.
(författare)
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A rare case of retropharyngeal liposarcoma : a rare location of a rare diagnosis
- 2023
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Ingår i: Journal of Surgical Case Reports. - : Oxford University Press (OUP). - 2042-8812. ; 2023:3
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- We report a case of retropharyngeal liposarcoma in a 53-year-old female, who had complaints of neck swelling accompanied with dysphagia, orthopnea and dysphonia. Clinical examination revealed huge multinodular swelling in front of neck with bilateral extension, more prominent on left side and moving with deglutition. The diagnosis of retropharyngeal liposarcoma was established following CT scan, MRI and incisional biopsy. Surgical excision of mass along with near total thyroidectomy was performed. Postoperative hospital stay was uneventful. She remained well in follow-up period of 1 year as well. In conclusion, retropharyngeal liposarcoma is a rare tumor. A review of the literature explores the reasons behind the late presentation as well as the difficulties in diagnosis and treatment of this rare tumor.
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| 5. |
- Al Amli, Ali Sabah, et al.
(författare)
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Seismic Behavior of Reinforced Normal Strength Concrete and Reactive powder Concrete Eccentrically Loaded Frames
- 2020
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Ingår i: Technology Reports of Kansai University. - Japan : Faculty of Engineering, Kansai University. - 0453-2198. ; 62:3, s. 199-210
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The purpose of this investigation is to study the effect of repeated load on reinforced concrete beam-column connections. Eight specimens were adopted in this investigation; four specimens were poured with normal strength concrete, and other four specimens were poured with reactive powder concrete. The frames dimensions are constant; 280 mm and 200mm of beam height and width respectively with 1000mm beam length and 200mm square column with 700mm height. The load was applied at mid-span and at a distance 150mm from the mid-span of beam. The reduction in frame capacity reached to 53.3% due to eccentricity. All tested specimens were failed at cycle 5 with different load level; . the decrease in stiffness of cyclically loaded frames of normal strength concrete was higher than that of reactive powder concrete frames. The deflections of cyclically loaded frames higher than that of statically loaded frames. In brief, the frames with eccentrically and cyclically loading give lowest ultimate strength, first crack load and stiffness with highest deflections.
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| 6. |
- Ali, Qasim, 1986, et al.
(författare)
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Adaptive damage retention mechanism enables healthier yeast population
- 2019
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Ingår i: Journal of Theoretical Biology. - : Elsevier BV. - 0022-5193 .- 1095-8541. ; 473, s. 52-66
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- During cytokinesis in budding yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) damaged proteins are distributed asymmetrically between the daughter and the mother cell. Retention of damaged proteins is a crucial mechanism ensuring a healthy daughter cell with full replicative potential and an ageing mother cell. However, the protein quality control (PQC) system is tuned for optimal reproduction success which suggests optimal health and size of the population, rather than long-term survival of the mother cell. Modelling retention of damage as an adaptable mechanism, we propose two damage retention strategies to find an optimal way of decreasing damage retention efficiency to maximize population size and minimize the damage in the individual yeast cell. A pedigree model is used to investigate the impact of small variations in the strategies over the whole population. These impacts are based on the altruistic effects of damage retention mechanism and are measured by a cost function whose minimum value provides the optimal health and size of the population. We showed that fluctuations in the cost function allow yeast cell to continuously vary its strategy, suggesting that optimal reproduction success is a local minimum of the cost function. Our results suggest that a rapid decrease in the efficiency of damage retention, at the time when the mother cell is almost exhausted, produces fewer daughters with high levels of damaged proteins. In addition, retaining more damage during the early divisions increases the number of healthy daughters in the population. (C) 2019 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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| 7. |
- Ali, Rouknuddin Qasim
(författare)
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Stem cell in-vitro strategies for the induction of sensory neurons for inner ear cell therapy
- 2016
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- The cochlea, a part of the auditory system, is a complex structure consisting of several different types of cells including hair cells and spiral ganglion neurons. In mammals, the regenerative potential of hair cells and spiral ganglion neurons is lost soon after the birth and damage to any of these cells causes sensorineural hearing loss. Cochlear implant is presently the only available treatment for sensorineuronal hearing loss, bypassing the malfunctioning hair cells and directly simulating the spiral ganglion neurons. Cochlear implant functionality depends on the activation of remaining spiral ganglion neurons. A possibility for a stem cell approach replacing auditory neurons in the cochlea has attracted great interest. The aim of this thesis was to identify methods to induce progenitors for sensory neurons from human pluripotent stem cells, with the prospective use in a cell therapy for the inner ear. Paper I focused on differentiation of sensory neural types from precursors at different stages of neural rosette formation derived from human embryonic stem cells (day 4, 7, or 11- rosettes). Neural and sensory neural phenotype differentiation was examined by immunocytochemistry. Cells positive for NESTIN and TUJ1 were present at all tested time points, indicating presence of the earliest stages of neural differentiation. Starting from the 11-days neural rosettes resulted in decreased potential for neural differentiation, compared to starting from the 4-and 7-days protocols which more effectively could be driven into differentiation towards cells with sensory neuron marker phenotype. In paper II an approach using the SB431542 small molecule for blocking of the TGFß/Activin/Nodal signaling pathway was evaluated for effects on sensory neural differentiation, examined by gene expression and immunocytochemistry. Blocking of this pathway significantly facilitated the induction of markers present on sensory neurons; NGN1, NEUROD1 and BRN3A. Consecutive treatment with bFGF further enhanced the expression of these markers, as well as an increase in expression of GATA3. This protocol also enhanced the presence of colonies positive for TUJ1 as well as BRN3A or ISL1. Notably, addition of a third culture step, with exposure to the neurotrophic factors BDNF + NT3 resulted in > 90% presence of colonies with a phenotype compatible with sensory neurons. In paper III, we evaluated the capacity of additional small molecules (Isoxazole-9 and Metformin) to induced sensory neurons, starting from long-term neuroepithelial stem (lt- NES) cells. Here, Isoxazole 9 (ISX9), but not Metformin or SB431542, significantly induced sensory neural genes (GATA3, BRN3A and PERIPHERIN) after a 4-day treatment. Exposure to ISX9 significantly increased the number of BRN3A/TUJ1 positive cells. Further treatment with BDNF7NT3 resulted in increased levels of cells with GATA3 expression and also BRN3A/TUJ1 positive cells in ISX9-exposed populations. In conclusion, this thesis has explored and demonstrated cultural conditions for in vitro induction of sensory neural phenotypes, starting from in vitro cultured human pluripotent stem cells or lt-NES cells. The presented approaches may provide appropriate strategies to develop an effective treatment for sensory neural hearing loss.
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| 8. |
- Anjum, Asad Ur Rehman, et al.
(författare)
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Sensitivity Analysis of Mathematical Model to Study the Effect of T Cells Infusion in Treatment of CLL
- 2020
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Ingår i: Mathematics. - : MDPI AG. - 2227-7390. ; 8:4
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- In this paper, we considered a mathematical model concerned with the treatment of Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia (CLL) taking into account the effect of superficially infused T cells in this particular type of tumor. The model is described thoroughly by the system of non-linear differential equations explaining the interaction of naive, infected, cancer and immune cell population. The detailed sensitivity analysis with the application is the major part of this paper. The basic objective is to provide insight to how parameters' behavior varies model results by elaborating the results obtained from the application of sensitivity analysis. The sensitivity of the model was evaluated not only theoretically, but also with the help of a numerical approach, producing graphs providing better imminent of results. We argue that the application of the sensitivity analysis method endows an insight into how and which parameters are of primary significance in controlling the spread of leukemia.
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| 9. |
- Arslan, Muhammad, et al.
(författare)
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Impact of Varying Load Conditions and Cooling Energy Comparison of a Double-Inlet Pulse Tube Refrigerator
- 2020
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Ingår i: Processes. - : MDPI. - 2227-9717. ; 8:3
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Modeling and optimization of a double-inlet pulse tube refrigerator (DIPTR) is very difficult due to its geometry and nature. The objective of this paper was to optimize-DIPTR through experiments with the cold heat exchanger (CHX) along the comparison of cooling load with experimental data using different boundary conditions. To predict its performance, a detailed two-dimensional DIPTR model was developed. A double-drop pulse pipe cooler was used for solving continuity, dynamic and power calculations. External conditions for applicable boundaries include sinusoidal pressure from an end of the tube from a user-defined function and constant temperature or limitations of thermal flux within the outer walls of exchanger walls under colder conditions. The results of the system's cooling behavior were reported, along with the connection between the mass flow rates, heat distribution along pulse tube and cold-end pressure, the cooler load's wall temp profile and cooler loads with varied boundary conditions i.e. opening of 20% double-inlet and 40-60% orifice valves, respectively. Different loading conditions of 1 and 5W were applied on the CHX. At 150 K temperature of the cold-end heat exchanger, a maximum load of 3.7 W was achieved. The results also reveal a strong correlation between computational fluid dynamics modeling results and experimental results of the DIPTR.
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| 10. |
- Asif, M., et al.
(författare)
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A dataset about anthropometric measurements of the Pakistani children and adolescents using a cross-sectional multi-ethnic anthropometric survey
- 2021
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Ingår i: Data in Brief. - : Elsevier. - 2352-3409. ; 34
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Evaluation of nutritional status is necessary during childhood and the juvenile years when the level of hydration and the adipose tissues experience significant changes. Anthropometric measurements and their derived indices are valid proxies to predict body fat, obesity (general or central) and their associated cardiovascular risks. The dataset under consideration also provides the socio-demographic related information and anthropometric measurement values related to height, weight, body mass index (BMI), waist circumference (WC), hip circumference (HpC), waist-to-hip ratio (WHpR), waist-to-height ratio (WHtR), mid-upper arm circumference (MUAC), neck circumference (NC), and wrist circumference (WrC). Standard procedure was adopted for quantifying the body measurements. The data were consisting of 10,782 children and adolescents aged 2–19 years, belonging four major cities of Pakistan viz. Multan, Lahore, Rawalpindi and Islamabad. This dataset is beneficial to develop anthropometric growth charts which will provide the essential knowledge of growth and nutritional disorders (e.g., stunted, overweight and obesity) of Pakistani children and adolescents. The dataset can also be used by researchers to calculate body surface area (BSA), body frame size (BFS), body shape index (BSI), and tri-ponderal mass index (TMI) of children and adolescents that are also some other reliable indicators of obesity and insulin resistance as well as cardiometabolic risk in children and adults.
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