| 1. |
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| 2. |
- Liu, DJ, et al.
(författare)
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Schizophrenia risk conferred by rare protein-truncating variants is conserved across diverse human populations
- 2023
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Ingår i: Nature genetics. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1546-1718 .- 1061-4036. ; 55:3, s. 369-
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Schizophrenia (SCZ) is a chronic mental illness and among the most debilitating conditions encountered in medical practice. A recent landmark SCZ study of the protein-coding regions of the genome identified a causal role for ten genes and a concentration of rare variant signals in evolutionarily constrained genes1. This recent study—and most other large-scale human genetics studies—was mainly composed of individuals of European (EUR) ancestry, and the generalizability of the findings in non-EUR populations remains unclear. To address this gap, we designed a custom sequencing panel of 161 genes selected based on the current knowledge of SCZ genetics and sequenced a new cohort of 11,580 SCZ cases and 10,555 controls of diverse ancestries. Replicating earlier work, we found that cases carried a significantly higher burden of rare protein-truncating variants (PTVs) among evolutionarily constrained genes (odds ratio = 1.48; P = 5.4 × 10−6). In meta-analyses with existing datasets totaling up to 35,828 cases and 107,877 controls, this excess burden was largely consistent across five ancestral populations. Two genes (SRRM2 and AKAP11) were newly implicated as SCZ risk genes, and one gene (PCLO) was identified as shared by individuals with SCZ and those with autism. Overall, our results lend robust support to the rare allelic spectrum of the genetic architecture of SCZ being conserved across diverse human populations.
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| 3. |
- Khan, H. R., et al.
(författare)
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Cross-cultural prevalence of sleep quality and psychological distress in healthcare workers during COVID-19 pandemic
- 2021
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Ingår i: Brain and Behavior. - : John Wiley & Sons. - 2162-3279. ; 11:11
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: Poor quality sleep and emotional disturbances are expected in times of crisis. COVID-19 has severely impacted healthcare worldwide and with that comes the concern about its effects on healthcare workers. The purpose of the present study was to assess sleep quality and psychological distress in healthcare workers during the COVID-19 pandemic.Methods: The present work is a multi-centric cross-sectional study targeting healthcare workers from India, Pakistan, and Nepal. It used an online version of the Pittsburg Sleep Quality Index and the General Health Questionnaire, and data were analyzed using SPSS V.24.Results: A total of 1790 participants completed the questionnaire. Of the 1790 participants, 57% reported poor sleep quality, and 10% reported a high level of psychological distress. A cross-cultural comparison found some differences between the different groups of participants. The details of the differences were further explored in the article.Conclusion: The present study highlights that a significant proportion of healthcare workers are affected by poor sleep quality and psychological distress during the COVID-19 pandemic. It also emphasizes the imperative to provide them with psychosocial support to avoid potential short- and long-term psychological consequences of these troubling times.
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| 4. |
- Mustafa, Ghulam M., et al.
(författare)
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Study of optoelectronic and transport properties of MgLu2Z4 (Z=S, Se) spinels for optoelectronic and energy harvesting applications
- 2021
-
Ingår i: Materials Science in Semiconductor Processing. - : Elsevier. - 1369-8001 .- 1873-4081. ; 121
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Intense research has been done to build materials that are potential candidates for energy storage applications. Spinels are of great interest in this respect because they have vast potential to be used in Mg-based batteries. To explore their energy storage as well as transport response, we calculate Mg-based spinels, namely MgLu2Z4 (ZS, Se). The full potential linearized augmented plane wave method has been used to examine their optoelectronic and transport response. An increase in the lattice constant has been observed by replacing S with Se, and our calculated values are in good agreement with those obtained experimentally. The Tran-Blaha modified Becke-Johnson exchange potential (TB-mBJ), has been used to study the optoelectronic and thermoelectric characteristics of the respective spinels. The dependence of these properties on the bandgap has also been observed. Replacing S with Se resulted in the transformation of the electronic bandgap from near-infrared to the visible region (MgLu2S4: 2.60 eV and MgLu2Se4: 2.00 eV). These results showed that these materials have the potential to be used in optoelectronic devices. The optical properties are discussed as a function of energy. Besides, the thermal transports are discussed with the help of Seebeck coefficient and figure of merit as a function of chemical potential and temperature.
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| 5. |
- Arof, A. K., et al.
(författare)
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Quasi solid state dye-sensitized solar cells based on polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) electrolytes containing redox couple
- 2014
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Ingår i: Optical and Quantum Electronics. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 0306-8919 .- 1572-817X. ; 46:1, s. 143-154
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Quasi solid state dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) have been fabricated with electrolytes containing I-/I-3(-) redox couple using 80% hydrolyzed polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) doped with potassium iodide (KI) and a mixture of potassium iodide and tetrapropyl ammonium iodide (Pr4NI) salts. The quasi solid state gel polymer electrolytes were prepared using 1: 1 ethylene carbonate (EC): propylene carbonate (PC) mixture. The solar cells have the structure of ITO/TiO2/N-3-Dye/electrolyte/Pt/ITO. The conductivity of the electrolytes has been calculated from the bulk resistance value determined using the electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. The performance of the DSSCs has been studied by varying the concentration of the doping salts in the electrolyte and incident light intensity. The DSSC fabricated with the KI salt electrolyte containing 9.9 wt% PVA, 39.6 wt% EC, 39.6 wt% PC, 10.9 wt% KI(+I-2) exhibited the best power conversion efficiency of 1.97 %. However, the DSSC with a double-salt electrolyte containing 9.9 wt% PVA: 39.6 wt% EC: 39.6 wt% PC: (6.5 wt% KI: 4.4 wt% Pr4NI) (+I-2) exhibited a higher efficiency of 3.27% under 100 mW/cm(2) light intensity. The efficiency of this cell increased to 4.59 % under dimmer light of intensity of 54 mW/cm(2).
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| 6. |
- Abbas, Syed Adeel, et al.
(författare)
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Spinel-type Na2MoO4 and Na2WO4 as promising optoelectronic materials : First-principle DFT calculations
- 2020
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Ingår i: Chemical Physics. - : Elsevier. - 0301-0104 .- 1873-4421. ; 538
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The mechanical, thermodynamic, electronic, and optical properties of Na2MoO4 (NMO) and Na2WO4 (NWO) spinels are elaborated by density functional theory (DFT) based full potential augmented plane wave method (FP-LAPW + lo). Our optimized lattice constants for the studied spinels are in good agreement with that obtained experimentally. The enthalpy of formation ensures the thermodynamic stability of NMO and NWO in the cubic phase. The Born mechanical stability criteria guarantees their mechanical stability, while Poisson ratio (ν) and Pugh's ratio (B/G) infer their brittle behavior. The Debye temperature (θD) is significant for NMO than NWO. The wide bandgap of 3.5 eV for NMO and 4.4 eV for NWO show the maximum absorption in the ultraviolet region that increases their importance for optoelectronic applications. The optical properties are explained in term of dielectric constant, refractive index, absorption of light, reflection, and optical loss factor.
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| 7. |
- Ahmed, Sheik, et al.
(författare)
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Thalassemia Patients from Baluchistan in Pakistan Are Infected with Multiple Hepatitis B or C Virus Strains
- 2021
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Ingår i: American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene. - : American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene. - 0002-9637 .- 1476-1645. ; 104:4, s. 1569-1576
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- There are an estimated 2,000 children with 6-thalassemia in the province Baluchistan of Pakistan. These children are at high risk of acquiring transfusion-transmitted infections (TTIs) due to their need of regular blood transfusions for survival. Therefore, we investigated the frequencies of TTIs among these multi-transfused patients in a region where the WHO guidelines for blood safety are not always followed. Sera from 400 children (mean age 7.7 +/- 4.70 years) treated at two thalassemia centers in Baluchistan were investigated for TTIs. Eleven (2.8%) were hepatitis B surface antigen positive, and 72 (18.3%) had anti-hepatitis C virus (HCV), two of which were infected with both viruses. Only 22% of the children had been reached by the program for universal hepatitis B virus (HBV) vaccination which started in 2004. Half (51%) of the HCV infected had also been HBV infected. The HBV- and HCV-infected patients were older and had received more blood transfusions than the uninfected patients (P < 0.001). Molecular characterization of the viral strains revealed the presence of several genetically different strains in at least three HBV- and seven HCV-infected children. This is the first study to demonstrate infections with multiple HBV or HCV strains simultaneously infecting thalassemia patients. These may become the source for new emerging recombinant viruses of unknown virulence. The high prevalence of anti-HCV-positive children, and the presence of HBV infections among children who should have been vaccinated, highlights an urgent need for improvements of blood safety in this region of Pakistan.
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| 8. |
- Naeem, Rehan, et al.
(författare)
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Impact of DC Grid Topology on Transient Stability of HVDC-Segmented Power System
- 2016
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Ingår i: 2016 International Conference on Intelligent Systems Engineering, ICISE 2016. - : Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE). - 9781467387538 ; , s. 51-54
-
Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- This paper compares the effects of ring, radial and interconnected DC grid topologies on the transient stability of a segmented 15 - bus electric grid for different HVDC schemes. For this purpose, three HVDC convertor technologies and four HVDC station configurations are considered. A three phase AC bus fault is applied and the rotor angle disturbance is analyzed. The results show that the transient stability is dependent on the topology for bipolar configuration of line commutated current source and capacitor commutated convertor technologies. For rest of the HVDC schemes, transient stability is independent of the topology used.
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| 9. |
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| 10. |
- Schmidt, Sarah, et al.
(författare)
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The Role of Donor Lymphocyte Infusion (DLI) in Post-Hematopoietic Cell Transplant (HCT) Relapse for Chronic Myeloid Leukemia (CML) in the Tyrosine Kinase Inhibitor (TKI) Era
- 2020
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Ingår i: Biology of blood and marrow transplantation. - : Elsevier BV. - 1083-8791 .- 1523-6536. ; 26:6, s. 1137-1143
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Treatment for relapse of chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) following hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT) includes tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) with or without donor lymphocyte infusions (DLIs), but the most effective treatment strategy is unknown. This study was performed through the Center for International Blood and Marrow Transplant Research (CIBMTR) database. We retrospectively reviewed all patients reported to the CIBMTR registry from 2002 to 2014 who underwent HCT for CML and were alive 30 days postrelapse. A total of 215 HCT recipients relapsed and were analyzed in the following groups: (1) TKI alone (n = 128), (2) TKI with DLI (n = 48), and (3) DLI without TKI (n = 39). In multivariate analysis, disease status prior to HCT had a significant effect on overall survival (OS). Patients who received a DLI alone compared with a TKI with a DLI had inferior survival (hazard ratio, 2.28; 95% confidence interval, 1.23 to 4.24; P= .009). Those who received a TKI alone had similar survival compared with those who received a TKI with a DLI (P = .81). These data support that despite use of TKIs pretransplantation, TKI salvage therapy continues to provide significant survival following relapse in patients with CML following HCT. These data do not suggest that adding a DLI to a TKI adds an improvement in OS.
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| 11. |
- Ahmed, Naeem, et al.
(författare)
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A study to examine the ageing behaviour of cold plasma-treated agricultural seeds
- 2023
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Ingår i: Scientific Reports. - : Springer Nature. - 2045-2322. ; 13
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Cold plasma (low pressure) technology has been effectively used to boost the germination and growth of various crops in recent decades. The durability of these plasma-treated seeds is essential because of the need to store and distribute the seeds at different locations. However, these ageing effects are often not ascertained and reported because germination and related tests are carried out within a short time after the plasma-treatment. This research aims to fill that knowledge gap by subjecting three different types of seeds (and precursors): Bambara groundnuts (water), chilli (oxygen), and papaya (oxygen) to cold plasma-treatment. Common mechanisms found for these diverse seed types and treatment conditions were the physical and chemical changes induced by the physical etching and the cold plasma on the seeds and subsequent oxidation, which promoted germination and growth. The high glass transition temperature of the lignin-cellulose prevented any physical restructuring of the surfaces while maintaining the chemical changes to continue to promote the seeds germination and growth. These changes were monitored over 60 days of ageing using water contact angle (WCA), water uptake, electrical conductivity, field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The vacuum effect was also investigated to separate its effect from cold plasma (low pressure). This finding offers a framework for determining how long agricultural seeds that have received plasma treatment can be used. Additionally, there is a need to transfer this research from the lab to the field. Once the impact of plasma treatment on seeds has been estimated, it will be simple to do so.
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| 12. |
- Ahmed, Naeem, et al.
(författare)
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Effects of Oxygen (O2) Plasma Treatment in Promoting the Germination and Growth of Chili
- 2022
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Ingår i: Plasma chemistry and plasma processing. - : Springer. - 0272-4324 .- 1572-8986. ; 42:1, s. 91-108
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- In general, seed germination is improved by low-pressure plasma treatment using precursors such as air, nitrogen, O2, and argon, etc. For the first time, low-pressure O2 plasma was used to treat chili seeds in this study. When compared to untreated and vacuum-treated seeds, O2 plasma treatment using the discharge power of 80 W for 60 s significantly improves chili seed germination and growth. The effect of vacuum on the germination and growth of chili seeds was also studied and shown to be negligible. The physical and chemical changes induced by O2 plasma treatment were investigated to understand the plasma treatment to germination improvement. Combinatory etching and chemical modification aided imbibition and increased germination percentage in this O2 plasma treatment on chili seeds. The success of this method has the potential to be scaled up to solve food security issues with seeds that would otherwise struggle to germinate.
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| 13. |
- Ahmed, Naeem, et al.
(författare)
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Germination and growth improvement of papaya utilizing oxygen (O2) plasma treatment
- 2022
-
Ingår i: Journal of Physics D. - : Institute of Physics (IOP). - 0022-3727 .- 1361-6463. ; 55:25
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- In general, cold plasma treatment improves crop germination and growth. The purpose of this research is to examine the impact of low-pressure O2 plasma treatment on the germination and growth kinetics of papaya seeds. Seeds were treated for 40 s at a discharge power of 80 W using O2 as a monomer. Physical and chemical changes were studied to understand the mechanism of germination and growth improvement. Furthermore, changes in phytohormones and antioxidant activity that were beneficial to germination were also examined. O2 plasma treatment improved wettability, surface etching, and oxidation, and affected other molecular-level changes leading to a 16% germination improvement in papaya.
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| 14. |
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| 15. |
- DeFilipp, Zachariah, et al.
(författare)
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Maintenance Tyrosine Kinase Inhibitors Following Allogeneic Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation for Chronic Myelogenous Leukemia : A Center for International Blood and Marrow Transplant Research Study
- 2020
-
Ingår i: Biology of blood and marrow transplantation. - : Elsevier. - 1083-8791 .- 1523-6536. ; 26:3, s. 472-479
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- It remains unknown whether the administration of tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) targeting BCR-ABL1 after allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT) is associated with improved outcomes for patients with chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML). In this registry study, we analyzed clinical outcomes of 390 adult patients with CML who underwent transplantation between 2007 and 2014 and received maintenance TKI following HCT (n = 89) compared with no TKI maintenance (n = 301), as reported to the Center for International Blood and Marrow Transplant Research. All patients received TKI therapy before HCT. The majority of patients had a disease status of first chronic phase at HCT (n = 240; 62%). The study was conducted as a landmark analysis, excluding patients who died, relapsed, had chronic graft-versus-host disease, or were censored before day +100 following HCT. Of the 89 patients who received TKI maintenance, 77 (87%) received a single TKI and the other 12 (13%) received multiple sequential TKIs. The most common TKIs used for maintenance were dasatinib (n = 50), imatinib (n = 27), and nilotinib (n = 27). As measured from day +100, the adjusted estimates for 5-year relapse (maintenance, 35% versus no maintenance, 26%; P = .11), leukemia-free survival (maintenance, 42% versus no maintenance, 44%; P = .65), or overall survival (maintenance, 61% versus no maintenance, 57%; P = .61) did not differ significantly between patients receiving TKI maintenance or no maintenance. These results remained unchanged in multivariate analysis and were not modified by disease status before transplantation. In conclusion, our data from this day +100 landmark analysis do not demonstrate a significant impact of maintenance TKI therapy on clinical outcomes. The optimal approach to TKI administration in the post-transplantation setting in patients with CML remains undetermined.
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| 16. |
- Iqbal, M. Naeem, et al.
(författare)
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Mesoporous Ruthenium Oxide : A Heterogeneous Catalyst for Water Oxidation
- 2017
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Ingår i: ACS Sustainable Chemistry and Engineering. - : American Chemical Society (ACS). - 2168-0485. ; 5:11, s. 9651-9656
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Herein we report the synthesis of mesoporous ruthenium oxide (MP-RuO2) using a template-based approach. The catalytic efficiency of the prepared MP-RuO2 was compared to commercially available ruthenium oxide nanoparticles (C-RuO2) as heterogeneous catalysts for water oxidation. The results demonstrated superior performance of MP-RuO2 for oxygen evolution compared to the C-RuO2 with respect to recyclability, amount of generated oxygen, and stability over several catalytic runs.
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| 17. |
- Jafri, Syed M. A. H., et al.
(författare)
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TransMap : Transformation Based Remapping and Parallelism for High Utilization and Energy Efficiency in CGRAs
- 2016
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Ingår i: IEEE Transactions on Computers. - : IEEE. - 0018-9340 .- 1557-9956. ; 65:11, s. 3456-3469
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- In the era of platforms hosting multiple applications with arbitrary inter application communication and computation patterns, compile time mapping decisions are neither optimal nor desirable. As a solution to this problem, recently proposed architectures offer run-time remapping-. The run-time remapping techniques displace or parallelize/serialize an application to optimize different parameters (e.g., utilization and energy). To implement the dynamic remapping, reconfigurable architectures commonly store multiple (compile-time generated) implementations of an application. Each implementation represents a different platform location and/or degree of parallelism. The optimal implementation is selected at run-time. However, the compile-time binding either incurs excessive configuration memory overheads and/or is unable to map/parallelize an application even when sufficient resources are available. As a solution to this problem, we present Transformation based reMapping and parallelism (TransMap). TransMap stores only a single implementation and applies a series for transformations to the stored bitstream for remapping or parallelizing an application. Compared to state of the art, in addition to simple relocation in horizontal/vertical directions, TransMap also allows to rotate an application for mapping or parallelizing an application in resource constrained scenarios. By storing only a single implementation, TransMap offers significant reductions in configuration memory requirements (up to 73 percent for the tested applications), compared to state of the art compaction techniques. Simulation results reveal that the additional flexibility reduces the energy requirements by 33 percent and enhances the device utilization by 50 percent for the tested applications. Gate level analysis reveals that TransMap incurs negligible silicon (0.2 percent of the platform) and timing (6 additional cycles per application) penalty.
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| 18. |
- Karim, Sitara, et al.
(författare)
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Examining the interrelatedness of NFTs, DeFi tokens and cryptocurrencies
- 2022
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Ingår i: Finance Research Letters. - : Academic Press Inc - Elsevier Science. - 1544-6123 .- 1544-6131. ; 47
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The high volatility of the blockchain markets has driven the attention of investors and market participants to concentrate on the diversification avenues of NFTs, DeFi Tokens, and Cryptocurrencies. We examined the extreme risk transmission of blockchain markets using the quantile connectedness technique at the median, extreme low, and extreme high volatility conditions. We find significant risk spillovers among blockchain markets with strong disconnection of NFTs. Meanwhile, time-varying features characterized various uneven economic circumstances. Overall, NFTs offer greater diversification avenues with substantial risk-bearing potential among other blockchain markets to shelter the investments and minimize extreme risks.
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| 19. |
- Khan, Tahir Naeem, et al.
(författare)
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Cenani-Lenz syndrome restricted to limb and kidney anomalies associated with a novel LRP4 missense mutation
- 2013
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Ingår i: European Journal of Medical Genetics. - : Elsevier BV. - 1769-7212 .- 1878-0849. ; 56:7, s. 371-374
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Cenani-Lenz syndrome (CLS) is a rare autosomal recessive developmental disorder of the limbs. The disorder is characterized by complete syndactyly with metacarpal fusions and/or oligodactyly sometimes accompanied by radioulnar synostosis. The clinical expression is variable and kidney agenesis/hypoplasia, craniofacial dysmorphism and teeth abnormalities are frequent features as well as lower limb involvement. CLS was recently associated with mutations in the low-density lipoprotein receptor-related protein 4 (LRP4) gene and dysregulated canonical WNT signaling. We have identified a large consanguineous Pakistani pedigree with 9 members affected by CLS. The affected individuals present with a consistent expression of the syndrome restricted to the limbs and kidneys. Symptoms from the lower limb are mild or absent and there were no radioulnar synostosis or craniofacial involvement. Genetic analysis using autozygosity mapping and sequencing revealed homozygosity for a novel missense mutation c.2858T > C (p.L953P) in the LRP4 gene. The mutation is located in a region encoding the highly conserved low-density lipoprotein receptor repeat class B domain of LRP4. Our findings add to the genotype-phenotype correlations in CLS and support kidney anomalies as a frequent associated feature.
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| 20. |
- Khan, Tahir Naeem, et al.
(författare)
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Novel missense mutation in the RSPO4 gene in congenital hyponychia and evidence for a polymorphic initiation codon (p.M1l)
- 2012
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Ingår i: BMC Medical Genetics. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1471-2350. ; 13, s. 120-
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: Anonychia/hyponychia congenita is a rare autosomal recessive developmental disorder characterized by the absence (anonychia) or hypoplasia (hyponuchia) of finger- and/or toenails frequently caused by mutations in the R-spondin 4 (RSPO4) gene. Methods: Three hypo/anonychia consanguineous Pakistani families were ascertained and genotyped using microsatellite markers spanning the RSPO4 locus on chromosome 20p13. Mutation screening of the RSPO4 gene was carried out by direct sequencing of the entire coding region and all intron-exon boundaries. Results: Mutations in the RSPO4 gene were identified in all families including a novel missense mutation c.178C>T (p.R60W) and two recurrent variants c.353G>A (p.C118Y) and c.3G>A (p.M1l). The c.3G>A variant was identified in unaffected family members and a control sample in a homozygous state. Conclusions: This study raises to 17 the number of known RSPO4 mutations and further expands the molecular repertoire causing hypo/anonychia. The c.353G>A emerges as a recurrent change with a possible founder effect in the Pakistani population. Our findings suggest that c.3G>A is not sufficient to cause the disorder and could be considered a polymorphism.
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| 21. |
- Masood, Asad, et al.
(författare)
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Atmospheric Pressure Plasma Polymerisation of D-Limonene and Its Antimicrobial Activity
- 2023
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Ingår i: Polymers. - : MDPI. - 2073-4360. ; 15:2
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Antibacterial coating is necessary to prevent biofilm-forming bacteria from colonising medical tools causing infection and sepsis in patients. The recent coating strategies such as immobilisation of antimicrobial materials and low-pressure plasma polymerisation may require multiple processing steps involving a high-vacuum system and time-consuming process. Some of those have limited efficacy and durability. Here, we report a rapid and one-step atmospheric pressure plasma polymerisation (APPP) of D-limonene to produce nano-thin films with hydrophobic-like properties for antibacterial applications. The influence of plasma polymerisation time on the thickness, surface characteristic, and chemical composition of the plasma-polymerised films was systematically investigated. Results showed that the nano-thin films deposited at 1 min on glass substrate are optically transparent and homogenous, with a thickness of 44.3 ± 4.8 nm, a smooth surface with an average roughness of 0.23 ± 0.02 nm. For its antimicrobial activity, the biofilm assay evaluation revealed a significant 94% decrease in the number of Escherichia coli (E. coli) compared to the control sample. More importantly, the resultant nano-thin films exhibited a potent bactericidal effect that can distort and rupture the membrane of the treated bacteria. These findings provide important insights into the development of bacteria-resistant and biocompatible coatings on the arbitrary substrate in a straightforward and cost-effective route at atmospheric pressure.
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| 22. |
- Masood, Asad, et al.
(författare)
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Atmospheric Pressure Plasma Polymerization of Carvone: A Promising Approach for Antimicrobial Coatings
- 2023
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Ingår i: Coatings. - : Mdpi. - 2079-6412. ; 13:6
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Medical devices are often vulnerable to colonization by nosocomial pathogens (bacteria), leading to infections. Traditional sterilization methods may not always be effective, and as a result, alternative options are being explored to prevent microbial contamination. Recently, scientists are emphasizing using plant-derived essential oils that possess inherent antibacterial properties to produce antimicrobial coatings using plasma polymerization technology carried out at atmospheric pressure (AP). This approach shows promise compared to other coating strategies that need several processing steps, including a high-vacuum system, and are laborious, such as the immobilization of antimicrobial materials on precoated layers in the low-pressure plasma polymerization approach. The present study demonstrates the potential of AP plasma polymerization for producing thin films with excellent antibacterial properties and surface characteristics. The resulting coatings are stable, smooth, and have high wettability, making them ideal for repelling bacteria. The calculated zeta potential and deposition rate for the films are also favorable. These AP plasma-polymerized thin films created from carvone show a reduction rate of more than 90% for Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus bacteria. Our computational docking studies also reveal strong binding interactions between the original carvone monomer and both bacteria. The study suggests that these AP plasma-produced coatings have great potential as antibacterial coatings for biomedical devices.
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| 23. |
- Maul, Kayleigh M., et al.
(författare)
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Child abuse in Pakistan : A qualitative study of knowledge, attitudes and practice amongst health professionals
- 2019
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Ingår i: International Journal of Child Abuse & Neglect. - : PERGAMON-ELSEVIER SCIENCE LTD. - 0145-2134 .- 1873-7757. ; 88, s. 51-57
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Child abuse is a global problem and pervades all cultures and socio-economic strata. The effects can be profound and life altering for victims. There is substantial literature from high income countries about signs of abuse, but a dearth of data from low and middle income countries like Pakistan. Healthcare professionals (HCP) are ideally placed to detect abuse, but, to inform interventions, an understanding of their experiences, training needs and cultural beliefs is needed. This study aimed to: (1) Explore the challenges that HCP face when managing cases of abuse; (2) Explore cultural beliefs and understand how these shape practice and (3) Identify training needs. A qualitative study using a phenomenological design was conducted. In-depth interviews were conducted with doctors, nurses and security staff in the emergency department of a large private hospital in Pakistan (n = 15). Interviews were undertaken in Urdu, translated into English and analysed using an inductive thematic approach. Multiple challenges were identified. The process of referral to legal services was poorly understood and further training and guidelines was suggested by participants. As the legal system in Pakistan does not allow HCP to keep potentially abused patients in their custody, they felt restricted in their ability to advocate and concerned about the safety of both the identified children and themselves. HCP have potential to detect abuse early; however, in Pakistan there are numerous challenges. HCP require support through training, as well as clear institutional frameworks and legal support to undertake this role.
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| 24. |
- Meurisch, Christian, et al.
(författare)
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SmartGuidance'17 : 2nd Workshop on Intelligent Personal Support of Human Behavior
- 2017
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Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- In today's fast-paced environment, humans are faced with various problems such as information overload, stress, health and social issues. So-called anticipatory systems promise to approach these issues through personal guidance or support within a user's daily and professional life. The Second Workshop on Intelligent Personal Support of Human Behavior (SmartGuidance'17) aims to build on the success of the previous workshop (namely Smarticipation) organized in conjunction with UbiComp 2016, to continue discussing the latest research outcomes of anticipatory mobile systems. We invite the submission of papers within this emerging, interdisciplinary research field of anticipatory mobile computing that focuses on understanding, design, and development of such ubiquitous systems. We also welcome contributions that investigate human behaviors, underlying recognition and prediction models; conduct field studies; as well as propose novel HCI techniques to provide personal support. All workshop contributions will be published in supplemental proceedings of the UbiComp 2017 conference and included in the ACM Digital Library.
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| 25. |
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| 26. |
- Naeem, Aishath, et al.
(författare)
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Pirtobrutinib targets BTK C481S in ibrutinib-resistant CLL but second-site BTK mutations lead to resistance
- 2023
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Ingår i: Blood Advances. - : American Society of Hematology. - 2473-9529 .- 2473-9537. ; 7:9, s. 1929-1943
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Covalent inhibitors of Bruton tyrosine kinase (BTK) have transformed the therapy of chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), but continuous therapy has been complicated by the development of resistance. The most common resistance mechanism in patients whose disease progresses on covalent BTK inhibitors (BTKis) is a mutation in the BTK 481 cysteine residue to which the inhibitors bind covalently. Pirtobrutinib is a highly selective, noncovalent BTKi with substantial clinical activity in patients whose disease has progressed on covalent BTKi, regardless of BTK mutation status. Using in vitro ibrutinib-resistant models and cells from patients with CLL, we show that pirtobrutinib potently inhibits BTK-mediated functions including B-cell receptor (BCR) signaling, cell viability, and CCL3/CCL4 chemokine production in both BTK wild-type and C481S mutant CLL cells. We demonstrate that primary CLL cells from responding patients on the pirtobrutinib trial show reduced BCR signaling, cell survival, and CCL3/CCL4 chemokine secretion. At time of progression, these primary CLL cells show increasing resistance to pirtobrutinib in signaling inhibition, cell viability, and cytokine production. We employed longitudinal whole-exome sequencing on 2 patients whose disease progressed on pirtobrutinib and identified selection of alternative-site BTK mutations, providing clinical evidence that secondary BTK mutations lead to resistance to noncovalent BTKis.
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| 28. |
- Nawaz, Muhammad, et al.
(författare)
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The emerging role of extracellular vesicles as biomarkers for urogenital cancers.
- 2014
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Ingår i: Nature reviews. Urology. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1759-4820 .- 1759-4812. ; 11, s. 688-701
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The knowledge gained from comprehensive profiling projects that aim to define the complex genomic alterations present within cancers will undoubtedly improve our ability to detect and treat those diseases, but the influence of these resources on our understanding of basic cancer biology is still to be demonstrated. Extracellular vesicles have gained considerable attention in past years, both as mediators of intercellular signalling and as potential sources for the discovery of novel cancer biomarkers. In general, research on extracellular vesicles investigates either the basic mechanism of vesicle formation and cargo incorporation, or the isolation of vesicles from available body fluids for biomarker discovery. A deeper understanding of the cargo molecules present in extracellular vesicles obtained from patients with urogenital cancers, through high-throughput proteomics or genomics approaches, will aid in the identification of novel diagnostic and prognostic biomarkers, and can potentially lead to the discovery of new therapeutic targets.
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| 29. |
- Wrande, Marie, et al.
(författare)
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Replication of Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium in RAW264.7 Phagocytes Correlates With Hypoxia and Lack of iNOS Expression
- 2020
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Ingår i: Frontiers in Cellular and Infection Microbiology. - : Frontiers Media S.A.. - 2235-2988. ; 10
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Salmonella infection associates with tissue hypoxia, while inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS), relying for its activity on molecular oxygen, stands as a central host defence measure in murine salmonellosis. Here, we have detailed hypoxia and iNOS responses of murine macrophage-like RAW264.7 cells upon infection with Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium. We noted that only a proportion of the infected RAW264.7 cells became hypoxic or expressed iNOS. Heavily infected cells became hypoxic, while in parallel such cells tended not to express iNOS. While a proportion of the infected RAW264.7 cells revealed shutdown of protein synthesis, this was only detectable after 12 h post infection and after iNOS expression was induced in the cell culture. Our data implicate an intrinsic heterogeneity with regard to hypoxia and iNOS expression in a cell culture-based infection setting.
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