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Sökning: WFRF:(Shahid Muhammad)

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1.
  • Qureshi, Tayyab, et al. (författare)
  • Structural and thermal investigation of lignocellulosic biomass conversion for enhancing sustainable imperative in progressive organic refinery paradigm for waste-to-energy applications
  • 2024
  • Ingår i: Environmental Research. - : Elsevier. - 0013-9351 .- 1096-0953. ; 246
  • Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
    • The depletion of finite fossil fuel reserves and the severe environmental degradation resulting from human activities have compelled the expeditious development and application of sustainable waste to energy technologies. To encapsulate energy and environment in sustainability paradigm, bio waste based energy production is need to be forged in organic bio refinery setup. According to world bioenergy association, biomass can cover 50 % of the primary energy demand of the world. Therefore, the present study focuses on reforming the energy mix for a clean energy generation, where, sample composition of cotton stalk was acidified in dilute (5% wt.) hydrochloric acid (HCL) for analyzing material burnout patterns in biomass conversion systems utilized in organic bio refinery sector. Advanced thermochemical burning technique, which includes pyrolysis and combustion was applied at four different leaching times from 0 to 180 min under nitrogen environment from 0 degrees C to 500 degrees C and air from 500 degrees C to 900 degrees C, respectively. Different analyses including proximate, ultimate, gross calorific value (GCV), thermos-gravimetric, kinetic, XRD, FTIR, SEM-EDS were used for analyzing the degradation of demineralized cotton stalk at different treatment rates. Proximate study demonstrated that cotton stalk leaching for 180 min has efficiently infused HCL, leading in a significant increase in fixed carbon and higher heating value of 20.23 % and 12.48%, respectively, as well as a reduction in carbon footprint of around 54.80%. The findings of proximate was validated by GCV analysis and CHNS analysis as value of carbon and hydrogen has shown increasing behavior with the time delay in demineralization Thermo-gravimetric and derivative thermo-gravimetric data analyses shows an increasing trend of conversion efficiency, with the maximum increase of 98 % reported for sample 3H. TT.DEM. XRD characterization has reported 23 degrees to 25 degrees angle for all the observed peaks. Sample 3H.TT.DEM has shown maximum angle inclination along with matured crystalline peak. The latter observations has been validated by FTIR spectroscopy as sample 3H.TT.DEM has reported maximum O-H group formation. Sample 3H.TT. DEM has reported lowest activation energy of 139.51 kJ*mole-1 and lowest reactivity of 0.000293649%*min 0C, due to moderate and stable reactiveness. In SEM examination, increment in pore size and number of pores within the structural matrix of cotton stalk was observed with the enhancement in acidulation process. Furthermore, in EDS analysis, 3H.TT.DEM has shown most balanced distribution of the elements. In this research, sustainable transformation of biomass is envisioned to improve the waste bio refinery system, significantly contributing to the achievement of Sustainable Development Goals 7, 12 and 13.
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2.
  • Ahsan, Hajra, et al. (författare)
  • Photocatalysis and adsorption kinetics of azo dyes by nanoparticles of nickel oxide and copper oxide and their nanocomposite in an aqueous medium
  • 2022
  • Ingår i: PeerJ. - : PeerJ. - 2167-8359. ; 10
  • Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
    • Azo dyes are recalcitrant organic pollutants present in textile industry effluents. Conventional treatment methods to remove them come with a range of disadvantages. Nanoparticles and their nanocomposites offer more efficient, less expensive and easy to handle wastewater treatment alternative. Methods. In this study, nanoparticles of nickel oxide (NiO-NPs), copper oxide (CuO-NPs) and their nanocomposite (NiO/CuO-NC) were synthesized using co- precipitation method. The functional groups present on the surface of synthesized nanomaterials were verified using Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). Surface morphology was assessed using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) whereas purity, shape and size of the crystallite were determined using X-ray diffraction (XRD) technique. The potential of these nanomaterials to degrade three dyes i.e., Reactive Red-2 (RR-2), Reactive Black-5 (RB-5) and Orange II sodium salt (OII) azo dyes, was determined in an aqueous medium under visible light (photocatalysis). The photodegradation effectiveness of all nanomaterials was evaluated under different factors like nanomaterial dose (0.02-0.1 g 10 mL-1), concentration of dyes (20-100 mg L-1), and irradiation time (60-120 min). They were also assessed for their potential to adsorb RR-2 and OII dyes. Results. Results revealed that at optimum concentration (60 mgL-1) of RR-2, RB-5, and OII dyes, NiO-NPs degraded 90, 82 and 83%, CuO-NPs degraded 49, 34, and 44%, whereas the nanocomposite NiO/CuO-NC degraded 92, 93, and 96% of the said dyes respectively. The nanomaterials were categorized as the efficient degraders of the dyes in the order: NiO/CuO-NC > NiO-NPs > CuO-NPs. The highest degradation potential shown by the nanocomposite was attributed to its large surface area, small particles size, and quick reactions which were proved by advance analytical techniques. The equilibrium and kinetic adsorption of RR-2 and OII on NiO-NPs, CuO-NPs, and NiO/CuO-NC were well explained with Langmuir and Pseudo second order model, respectively (R2 ≥0.96). The maximum RR-2 adsorption (103 mg/g) was obtained with NiO/CuO-NC. It is concluded that nanocomposites are more efficient and promising for the dyes degradation from industrial wastewater as compared with dyes adsorption onto individual NPs. Thus, the nanocomposite NiO/CuO-NC can be an excellent candidate for photodegradation as well as the adsorption of the dyes in aqueous media.
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3.
  • Asif, Muhammad, et al. (författare)
  • The Effect of Infrared Laser Irradiation on the Surface Morphology and Electrical Properties of Zinc Metal
  • 2023
  • Ingår i: Physchem. - : MDPI AG. - 2673-7167. ; 3:1, s. 22-33
  • Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
    • This study details the irradiation of pure (99.995%) and immaculate metallic Zinc using Nd: YAG laser (1064 nm, 10 mJ, 9–14 ns). The influence and impact of multiple laser shots on the formation of microstructures and crystal structure orientations is assessed. Arrays of ablated craters are machined on the whole surface of the target to probe the electrical and topographical characteristics of laser-treated surfaces. Irradiated samples are examined by multiple characterizing techniques such as scanning electron microscopy (SEM), atomic force microscopy (AFM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and a four-point probe for electrical conductivity measurements. SEM and AFM analysis exhibited the formation of laser-induced ripple structures with periodicity sheerly dependent on laser shots. A comparison of surface topography of the virgin and treated samples disclosed a pronounced modification in surface texture. The XRD patterns of laser shined targets indicate no momentous structural change in the crystal structure, whereas the measurements on the electrical conductivity of the irradiated surfaces exhibit an exponential descending trend with an augmentation in laser shots.
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4.
  • Mushtaq, Afshan, et al. (författare)
  • Catalytic oxidative desulfurization of thio-compounds by employing χ-Anderson-type polyoxometalates-porphyrin covalent organic framework (COF)
  • 2023
  • Ingår i: Tetrahedron. - : Elsevier. - 0040-4020 .- 1464-5416. ; 144
  • Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
    • Severe environmental sulfur contents due to the consumption of fuels in automobiles and industries resulted in serious health hazards and pollution because of it, desulfurization of diesel become inevitable. Targeting the profound desulfurization of diesel, we performed experiments to deeply desulphurized the thio-compounds by catalytic-oxidative desulfurization technique. We synthesized new metalloporphyrin (C52H36N4O8Sn)4MeO-SnPor which after conversion into (C64H64N8O16Sn)4Tris-SnTP leading towards the synthesis of covalent organic framework [(N(C4H9)4]12[HNC(CH2O)3]4[(CO)4C44H24N4Sn] [NiMo6O18]4(SnTP@NiAdCOF). SnTP@NiAd COF showed the outstanding catalytic property for deep desulfurization of thio-compounds above than 96% of thiobenzoic acid (TB) and 99% of 2-aminothiophenol (2-ATP) sulfur contents were oxides after 100 min of reaction using H2O2 as an oxidant at room temperature with constant stirring. During desulfurization percentage desulfurization efficiency was checked for different time intervals by TLC and further confirmed by reverse phase high-performance liquid chromatography (RP-HPLC). Reverse-phase high-performance liquid chromatograms indicated that the peak area and peak height of thio-compounds decrease gradually with the passage of reaction time which confirmed the removal of thio-compounds from the reaction mixture. Sulfur contents removed up to 5 ppmw showed excellent catalytic characteristics of synthesized SnTP@NiAdCOF. The exceptional catalytic efficiency of prepared catalyst SnTP@NiAdCOF was because of the existence of active oxidizing centers of χ-NiAd and metalloporphyrin that are MoO and [(Por)SnII], respectively. The potential mechanism appeared to be the formation of Mo(O2) and [(Por)SnII–OOH] from MoO and [(Por)SnII], respectively that act as active oxidizing centers and efficiently converted the thio-group into oxides and sulfones. Effective removal of sulfur grants the desulfurization of fuels by using SnTP@NiAdCOF catalyst to lessen the energy expenditure and also to enhance the production of environmentally-safe fuels.
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5.
  • Ullah, Hameed, et al. (författare)
  • Polyoxometalate based ionic liquids reinforced on magnetic nanoparticles: A sustainable solution for microplastics and heavy metal ions elimination from water
  • 2024
  • Ingår i: Microchemical journal (Print). - : Elsevier. - 0026-265X .- 1095-9149. ; 204
  • Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
    • To purify water from contaminents is essential for life on universe. Here, in this manuscript we introduces an innovative approach to overcome the intricate challenge of eliminating heavy metal ions and microplastics from water. We designed a mesoporous composite materials by synergistically integrating polyoxometalates (POMs) based ionic liquids with silica coated magnetic nanoparticles. The synthesis process initiates with the utilization of highly reduced molybdenum aggregates in polyoxometalate-ionic liquids, reinforced onto magnetic nanoparticles (POM–IL–MNPs). Crafted composites, including Q8[Mo64Ni8La6]@SiO2@Fe3O4, Q10[Mo64Ni8La6]@SiO2@Fe3O4, Q8[Mo176/Mo248]@SiO2@Fe3O4, and Q10[Mo176/Mo248]@SiO2@Fe3O4, are meticulously designed by substituting POM counter cations with long-chain alkyl-based quaternary ammonium salts. The ionic liquids and composites exhibit remarkable hydrophobicity and thermal stability due to large anions and long-chain organic counter cations. Comprehensive characterization, including FT–IR, UV–vis spectroscopy, TGA, DSC, CV, rheological study, elemental analysis, and ICP-AES, ensures a thorough investigation. Additional analyses, such as Powder X-ray diffraction (PXRD), SEM, EDX, DLS, N2 adsorption, and VSM, reveal amorphous crystallinity, distinctive surface morphology, and substantial specific surface area. Core shell structure of POM-IL-MNPs was determined by Transmision electron microscope (TEM), ICP-AES analysis demonstrates metal ion removal efficiencies from 87.35% to 99.98%, with DLS confirming 100% efficiency in PVC beads elimination. This research not only advances water decontamination but also provides valuable insights into designing and characterizing novel materials with promising environmental applications.
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6.
  • Zaman, Muhammad, et al. (författare)
  • Application of Nanoprecipitation Technique to Develop Poloxamer-407 Facilitated Solid Lipid Nanoparticles for the Controlled Delivery of Tacrolimus
  • 2023
  • Ingår i: International Journal of Polymer Science. - : HINDAWI LTD. - 1687-9422 .- 1687-9430. ; 2023
  • Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
    • Currently, the solid lipid nanoparticles (SLNs) are utilized as a novel approach for the controlled drug delivery system (CDDS). Tacrolimus (TCM), a lipophilic drug, can easily be encapsulated in the hydrophobic core of these SLNs using nanoprecipitation technique. The current aim was to develop the controlled release Poloxamer (PLX) facilitated TCM loaded SLNs (PLX/TCM-SLNs), followed by their physicochemical evaluations, including chemical compatibility, particle size, surface charge, surface morphology, nature of SLNs, loading efficiency (LE), entrapment efficiency (EE), in vitro drug release studies, release kinetic modeling, and statistical evaluation. Here we also evaluate physicochemical properties of TCM and investigate solubility profile for improvement and dissolution rate of PLX/TCM-SLNs. PLX was used in the process as a polymer due to its low toxicity and weak immunogenic properties. The prepared formulation was characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) images, and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) has confirmed the compatibility of the selected ingredients, whereas particle size analysis showed that prepared PLX/TCM-SLNs were of nanosized (120:6 +/- 9nm) having zeta potential of - 21.3 Mv. On the other hand, SEM had revealed the smooth and uniform surface of the particle, while X-ray diffraction (XRD) confirmed the uniform surface as crystalline structure of TCM in PLX/TCM-SLNs masked. A satisfactory level of EE (94:5 +/- 2:74%) has also been noticed. Furthermore, in vitro drug release studies have explored the controlled release of drug during 8 hours, following zero order release kinetics and diffusion type of release mechanism. Outcomes of the studies have advocated the successful preparation of SLNs, as controlled release PLX/TCM-SLNs have been prepared efficiently.
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7.
  • Zaman, Muhammad, et al. (författare)
  • Fabrication of PEGylated Chitosan Nanoparticles Containing Tenofovir Alafenamide : Synthesis and Characterization
  • 2022
  • Ingår i: Molecules. - : MDPI. - 1431-5157 .- 1420-3049. ; 27:23
  • Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
    • Tenofovir alafenamide (TAF) is an antiretroviral (ARV) drug that is used for the management and prevention of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). The clinical availability of ARV delivery systems that provide long-lasting protection against HIV transmission is lacking. There is a dire need to formulate nanocarrier systems that can help in revolutionizing the way to fight against HIV/AIDS. Here, we aimed to synthesize a polymer using chitosan and polyethylene glycol (PEG) by the PEGylation of chitosan at the hydroxyl group. After successful modification and confirmation by FTIR, XRD, and SEM, TAF-loaded PEGylated chitosan nanoparticles were prepared and analyzed for their particle size, zeta potential, morphology, crystallinity, chemical interactions, entrapment efficacy, drug loading, in vitro drug release, and release kinetic modeling. The fabricated nanoparticles were found to be in a nanosized range (219.6 nm), with similar to 90% entrapment efficacy, similar to 14% drug loading, and a spherical uniform distribution. The FTIR analysis confirmed the successful synthesis of PEGylated chitosan and nanoparticles. The in vitro analysis showed similar to 60% of the drug was released from the PEGylated polymeric reservoir system within 48 h at pH 7.4. The drug release kinetics were depicted by the Korsmeyer-Peppas release model with thermodynamically nonspontaneous drug release. Conclusively, PEGylated chitosan has the potential to deliver TAF from a nanocarrier system, and in the future, cytotoxicity and in vivo studies can be performed to further authenticate the synthesized polymer.
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8.
  • 2019
  • Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)
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9.
  • Ahmed, Soban, et al. (författare)
  • Development and Optimization of Deep Learning Models for Weapon Detection in Surveillance Videos
  • 2022
  • Ingår i: Applied Sciences. - : MDPI. - 2076-3417. ; 12:12
  • Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
    • Featured Application This work has applied computer vision and deep learning technology to develop a real-time weapon detector system and tested it on different computing devices for large-scale deployment. Weapon detection in CCTV camera surveillance videos is a challenging task and its importance is increasing because of the availability and easy access of weapons in the market. This becomes a big problem when weapons go into the wrong hands and are often misused. Advances in computer vision and object detection are enabling us to detect weapons in live videos without human intervention and, in turn, intelligent decisions can be made to protect people from dangerous situations. In this article, we have developed and presented an improved real-time weapon detection system that shows a higher mean average precision (mAP) score and better inference time performance compared to the previously proposed approaches in the literature. Using a custom weapons dataset, we implemented a state-of-the-art Scaled-YOLOv4 model that resulted in a 92.1 mAP score and frames per second (FPS) of 85.7 on a high-performance GPU (RTX 2080TI). Furthermore, to achieve the benefits of lower latency, higher throughput, and improved privacy, we optimized our model for implementation on a popular edge-computing device (Jetson Nano GPU) with the TensorRT network optimizer. We have also performed a comparative analysis of the previous weapon detector with our presented model using different CPU and GPU machines that fulfill the purpose of this work, making the selection of model and computing device easier for the users for deployment in a real-time scenario. The analysis shows that our presented models result in improved mAP scores on high-performance GPUs (such as RTX 2080TI), as well as on low-cost edge computing GPUs (such as Jetson Nano) for weapon detection in live CCTV camera surveillance videos.
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10.
  • Azeem, Muhammad, et al. (författare)
  • Chemical composition and repellent activity of native plants essential against dengue mosquito, Aedes aegypti
  • 2019
  • Ingår i: Industrial crops and products (Print). - : Elsevier BV. - 0926-6690 .- 1872-633X. ; 140
  • Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
    • Aedes aegypti L. (Diptera: Culicidae) mosquito is an important vector of chikungunya, dengue and yellow fever. Plant based essential oils may serve as good alternatives to commercially available mosquito repellent, DEET. Steam distillation was used for the extraction of essential oils from fresh collected aerial parts of plants viz Chenopodium ambrosioides, Conyza sumatrensis, Erigeron canadensis, Eucalyptus camaldulensis, Mentha spicata, Parthenium hysterophorus, and Tagetes minuta. The essential oils were tested for mosquito repellent activity against laboratory reared female Ae. aegypti by human bait technique. Identification of chemical constituents of essential oils was carried out by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). The essential oil of M. spicata, E. canadensis, P. hysterophorus, C. sumatrensis, T. minuta, C. ambrosioides, and E. camaldulensis exhibited 100%, 80%, 63.9%, 51.4%, 50.2%, 39.7%, and 13.7% mosquito repellent activity respectively, at the tested dose of 30 mu g/cm(2). The most abundant constituents of M. spicata, E. canadensis, P. hysterophorus, C. sumatrensis and T. minuta essential oils were piperitenone oxide (47.1%), limonene (41.3%), germacrene D (36.6%), cis-lachnophyllum ester (33.3%) and dihydrotagetone (20.9%) respectively. M. spicata essential oil completely inhibited the attractiveness of human hands toward female mosquitoes for more than 45 min thus showed bioactivity comparable to that of commercially used mosquito repellent, DEET. This study suggests that the dilute solution of M. spicata essential oil could be used as potent mosquito repellent against Ae. aegypti alternative to commercially available synthetic mosquito repellents.
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11.
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12.
  • Fatima, Iza, et al. (författare)
  • Individual and synergistic effects of different fertilizers and gibberellin on growth and morphology of chili seedlings
  • 2024
  • Ingår i: Acta Ecologica Sinica. - 1872-2032. ; 44:2, s. 275-281
  • Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
    • Gibberellins (GA3), as well as the basic elements phosphorus (P), nitrogen (N), and potassium (K), are crucial to the growth of chili. This study investigates the effect of different fertilizers and plant growth regulator on the growth and morphology of chili seedlings. Soil application of NPK, urea, SOP, and DAP (2.5 g/L) was applied during sowing, and N in two splits at sowing and after twenty days of sowing while foliar application of GA3 (50 mg/L) was applied after fifteen days of germination. The result of five seedlings' traits plant height (PH), plant girth (PG), plant spread (PS), number of leaves (NOF), and root length (RL) demonstrated a significant difference among growth-related traits in chili seedlings owing to the use of fertilizers, GA3, and their combinations. An optimum level of K and P alone or in combination with GA3 had a significant effect on all traits. PH was particularly influenced by the combination of GA3 with K and P whereas other traits like PG, NOF, PS, and RL are greatly influenced by the application of NPK, urea, SOP, DAP, and their combination with GA3. The study results showed an increase in chili seedlings' growth and morphology in response to various fertilizers and GA3.
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13.
  • Hussain, Muhammad Mahroz, et al. (författare)
  • Arsenic biogeochemical cycling in paddy soil-rice system : Interaction with various factors, amendments and mineral nutrients
  • 2021
  • Ingår i: Science of the Total Environment. - : Elsevier BV. - 0048-9697 .- 1879-1026. ; 773
  • Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
    • Arsenic (As) contamination is a well-recognized environmental and health issue, threatening over 200 million people worldwide with the prime cases in South and Southeast Asian and Latin American countries. Rice is mostly cultivated under flooded paddy soil conditions, where As speciation and accumulation by rice plants is controlled by various geo-environmental (biotic and abiotic) factors. In contrast to other food crops, As uptake in rice has been found to be substantially higher due to the prevalence of highly mobile and toxic As species, arsenile (As(Ill)), under paddy soil conditions. In this review, we discussed the biogeochemical cycling of As in paddy soil-rice system, described the influence of critical factors such as pH, iron oxides, organic matter, microbial species, and pathways affecting As transformation and accumulation by rice. Moreover, we elucidated As interaction with organic and inorganic amendments and mineral nutrients. The review also elaborates on As (im) mobilization processes and As uptake by rice under the influence of different mineral nutrients and amendments in paddy soil conditions, as well as their role in mitigating As transfer to rice grain. This review article provides critical information on As contamination in paddy soil-rice system, which is important to develop suitable strategies and mitigation programs for limiting As exposure via rice crop, and meet the UN's key Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs: 2 (zero hunger), 3 (good health and well-being), 12 (responsible consumption and production), and 13 (climate action)).
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14.
  • Khan, Yusra Habib, et al. (författare)
  • Barriers and facilitators of childhood COVID-19 vaccination among parents : A systematic review
  • 2022
  • Ingår i: Frontiers in Pediatrics. - : Frontiers Media S.A.. - 2296-2360. ; 10
  • Forskningsöversikt (refereegranskat)abstract
    • BackgroundThe acceptance of vaccination against COVID-19 among parents of young children plays a significant role in controlling the current pandemic. A wide range of factors that influence vaccine hesitancy in adults has been reported worldwide, but less attention has been given to COVID-19 vaccination among children. Vaccine hesitancy is considered a major challenge in achieving herd immunity, and it is more challenging among parents as they remain deeply concerned about their child's health. In this context, a systematic review of the current literature is inevitable to assess vaccine hesitancy among parents of young children to ensure a successful ongoing vaccination program.MethodA systematic search of peer-reviewed English literature indexed in Google Scholar, PubMed, Embase, and Web of science was performed using developed keywords between 1 January 2020 and August 2022. This systematic review included only those studies that focused on parental concerns about COVID-19 vaccines in children up to 12 years without a diagnosis of COVID-19. Following PRISMA guidelines, a total of 108 studies were included. The quality appraisal of the study was performed by Newcastle-Ottawa Scale (NOS).ResultsThe results of 108 studies depict that vaccine hesitancy rates differed globally with a considerably large number of factors associated with it. The highest vaccine hesitancy rates among parents were reported in a study from the USA (86.1%) and two studies from Saudi Arabia (> 85%) and Turkey (89.6%). Conversely, the lowest vaccine hesitancy rates ranging from 0.69 and 2% were found in two studies from South Africa and Switzerland, respectively. The largest study (n = 227,740) was conducted in Switzerland while the smallest sample size (n = 12) was represented by a study conducted in the USA. The most commonly reported barriers to childhood vaccination were mothers' lower education level (N = 46/108, 43%), followed by financial instability (N = 19/108, 18%), low confidence in new vaccines (N = 13/108, 12%), and unmonitored social media platforms (N = 5/108, 4.6%). These factors were significantly associated with vaccine refusal among parents. However, the potential facilitators for vaccine uptake among respondents who intended to have their children vaccinated include higher education level (N = 12/108, 11%), followed by information obtained through healthcare professionals (N = 9/108, 8.3%) and strong confidence in preventive measures taken by the government (N = 5/81, 4.6%).ConclusionThis review underscores that parents around the globe are hesitant to vaccinate their kids against COVID-19. The spectrum of factors associated with vaccine hesitancy and uptake varies across the globe. There is a dire need to address vaccine hesitancy concerns regarding the efficacy and safety of approved vaccines. Local context is inevitable to take into account while developing programs to reduce vaccine hesitancy. There is a dire need to devise strategies to address vaccine hesitancy among parents through the identification of attributing factors.
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15.
  • Klar, Joakim, 1974-, et al. (författare)
  • Altered paracellular cation permeability due to a rare CLDN10B variant causes anhidrosis and kidney damage
  • 2017
  • Ingår i: PLOS Genetics. - : Public Library of Science (PLoS). - 1553-7390 .- 1553-7404. ; 13:7
  • Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
    • Claudins constitute the major component of tight junctions and regulate paracellular permeability of epithelia. Claudin-10 occurs in two major isoforms that form paracellular channels with ion selectivity. We report on two families segregating an autosomal recessive disorder characterized by generalized anhidrosis, severe heat intolerance and mild kidney failure. All affected individuals carry a rare homozygous missense mutation c.144C>G, p.(N48K) specific for the claudin-10b isoform. Immunostaining of sweat glands from patients suggested that the disease is associated with reduced levels of claudin-10b in the plasma membranes and in canaliculi of the secretory portion. Expression of claudin-10b N48K in a 3D cell model of sweat secretion indicated perturbed paracellular Na+ transport. Analysis of paracellular permeability revealed that claudin-10b N48K maintained cation over anion selectivity but with a reduced general ion conductance. Furthermore, freeze fracture electron microscopy showed that claudin-10b N48K was associated with impaired tight junction strand formation and altered cis-oligomer formation. These data suggest that claudin-10b N48K causes anhidrosis and our findings are consistent with a combined effect from perturbed TJ function and increased degradation of claudin-10b N48K in the sweat glands. Furthermore, affected individuals present with Mg2+ retention, secondary hyperparathyroidism and mild kidney failure that suggest a disturbed reabsorption of cations in the kidneys. These renal-derived features recapitulate several phenotypic aspects detected in mice with kidney specific loss of both claudin-10 isoforms. Our study adds to the spectrum of phenotypes caused by tight junction proteins and demonstrates a pivotal role for claudin-10b in maintaining paracellular Na+ permeability for sweat production and kidney function.
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16.
  • Munir, M. Adeel, et al. (författare)
  • Blockchain Adoption for Sustainable Supply Chain Management : Economic, Environmental, and Social Perspectives
  • 2022
  • Ingår i: Frontiers in Energy Research. - : Frontiers Media S.A.. - 2296-598X. ; 10
  • Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
    • Due to the rapid increase in environmental degradation and depletion of natural resources, the focus of researchers is shifted from economic to socio-environmental problems. Blockchain is a disruptive technology that has the potential to restructure the entire supply chain for sustainable practices. Blockchain is a distributed ledger that provides a digital database for recording all the transactions of the supply chain. The main purpose of this research is to explore the literature relevant to blockchain for sustainable supply chain management. The focus of this review is on the sustainability of the blockchain-based supply chain concerning environmental conservation, social equality, and governance effectiveness. Using a systematic literature review, a total of 136 articles were evaluated and categorized according to the triple bottom-line aspects of sustainability. Challenges and barriers during blockchain adoption in different industrial sectors such as aviation, shipping, agriculture and food, manufacturing, automotive, pharmaceutical, and textile industries were critically examined. This study has not only explored the economic, environmental, and social impacts of blockchain but also highlighted the emerging trends in a circular supply chain with current developments of advanced technologies along with their critical success factors. Furthermore, research areas and gaps in the existing research are discussed, and future research directions are suggested. The findings of this study show that blockchain has the potential to revolutionize the entire supply chain from a sustainability perspective. Blockchain will not only improve the economic sustainability of the supply chain through effective traceability, enhanced visibility through information sharing, transparency in processes, and decentralization of the entire structure but also will help in achieving environmental and social sustainability through resource efficiency, accountability, smart contracts, trust development, and fraud prevention. The study will be helpful for managers and practitioners to understand the procedure of blockchain adoption and to increase the probability of its successful implementation to develop a sustainable supply chain network.
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17.
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18.
  • Nawaz, Sadia, et al. (författare)
  • WNT10A missense mutation associated with a complete odonto-onycho-dermal dysplasia syndrome
  • 2009
  • Ingår i: European Journal of Human Genetics. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1018-4813 .- 1476-5438. ; 17:12, s. 1600-1605
  • Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
    • Wnt signalling is one of a few pathways that are crucial for controlling genetic programs during embryonic development as well as in adult tissues. WNT10A is expressed in the skin and epidermis and it has shown to be critical for the development of ectodermal appendages. A nonsense mutation in WNT10A was recently identified in odonto-onycho-dermal dysplasia (OODD; MIM 257980), a rare syndrome characterised by severe hypodontia, nail dystrophy, smooth tongue, dry skin, keratoderma and hyperhydrosis of palms and soles. We identified a large consanguineous Pakistani pedigree comprising six individuals affected by a complete OODD syndrome. Autozygosity mapping using SNP array analysis showed that the affected individuals are homozygous for the WNT10A gene region. Subsequent mutation screening showed a homozygous c.392C>T transition in exon 3 of WNT10A, which predicts a p.A131V substitution in a conserved alpha-helix domain. We report here on the first inherited missense mutation in WNT10A with associated ectodermal features.
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19.
  • Rauf, Shahid, et al. (författare)
  • Triangular loop resonator based compact chipless RFID tag
  • 2017
  • Ingår i: IEICE Electronics Express. - : IEICE-INST ELECTRONICS INFORMATION COMMUNICATIONS ENG. - 1349-2543. ; 14:4
  • Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
    • A novel, frequency selective surface (FSS) inspired, fully passive, chipless data encoding circuit capable of being operated as a radio frequency identification (RFID) tag is presented. The tag is composed of finite repetitions of the unit cell realized on a grounded FR4 substrate having an overall size of 27.5 x 30mm(2). The unit cell is made up of several triangle-shaped resonators patterned in a looped fashion. Variation in the geometric structure of the tag, achieved by addition or removal of nested loops, corresponds to a specific bit sequence. Each sequence is represented in the spectral domain as a unique frequency signature of the resonators. The proposed 10-bit tag covers the spectral range from 4 to 11 GHz. The tag is compact, robust, and exhibits a stable response to impinging signals at different angles of incidence.
  •  
20.
  • Ahmad, Bashir, et al. (författare)
  • Effect of Salicylic Acid and Amino Acid on Pea Plant (Pisum sativum) Late Season, Growth and Production
  • 2023
  • Ingår i: Polish Journal of Environmental Studies. - : HARD Publishing Company. - 1230-1485 .- 2083-5906. ; 32:3, s. 1987-1994
  • Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
    • Salicylic acid and amino acid are plant growth promoters. Therefore, the study entitled "Effect of salicylic acid and amino acid on late season peas growth and production" was conducted. The study has two factors: amino acid (Glycine) and salicylic acid each having four levels that were sprayed on peas. Analysis of data showed that maximum germination percentage (92.50 %), plant height (63.16 cm), primary branches plant-1 (2.80), leaves plant-1 (264.27), leaf chlorophyll content (57.25 SPAD), pods plant-1 (49.25), seeds pod-1 (10.41), pod length (11.74 cm) and yield ha-1 (1922.5 kg) having least days to flowering and pod formation (50.13 and 5.12 days) were noted in 225 mg L-1 amino acid. Salicylic acid levels showed that maximum germination percentage (95.83 %) height of plants (71.85 cm), leaves plant-1 (257.13), primary branches plant-1 (3.25), leaf chlorophyll content (55.81 SPAD), pods plant-1 (52.16), seeds pod-1 (10.91), pod length(11.05 cm) and yield ha-1 (1895.0 kg) having least days to pod formation and flowering (5.26 and 48.30 days) were noted in salicylic acid level of 300 mg L-1. The combined effect of 225 mg L-1 amino acid and 300 mg L-1salicylic acid levels positively improved primary branches plant-1 (3.93), pod plant-1 (66.33), pod length (13.77 cm), seeds pod-1 (12.44), leaf chlorophyll content (64.49 SPAD) and maximum yield ha-1 (1942.66 kg). It is concluded that for higher growth and yield pea cultivar Climax when cultivated late could be applied with 225 mg L-1 amino acid and 300 mg L-1 salicylic under Peshawar climatic conditions.
  •  
21.
  • Akram, Talia, et al. (författare)
  • Aberrant splicing due to a novel RPS7 variant causes Diamond-Blackfan Anemia associated with spontaneous remission and meningocele
  • 2020
  • Ingår i: International Journal of Hematology. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 0925-5710 .- 1865-3774. ; 112:6, s. 894-899
  • Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
    • Diamond-Blackfan Anemia (DBA) is a congenital pure red cell aplasia caused by heterozygous variants in ribosomal protein genes. The hematological features associated with DBA are highly variable and non-hematological abnormalities are common. We report herein on an affected mother and her daughter presenting with transfusion-dependent anemia. The mother showed mild physical abnormalities and entered spontaneous remission at age 13 years. Her daughter was born with occipital meningocele. Exome sequencing of DNA from the mother revealed a heterozygous novel splice site variant (NM_001011.4:c.508-3T > G) in the Ribosomal Protein S7 gene (RPS7) inherited by the daughter. Functional analysis of the RPS7 variant expressed from a mini-gene construct revealed that the exon 7 acceptor splice site was replaced by a cryptic splice resulting in a transcript missing 64 bp of exon 7 (p.Val170Serfs*8). Our study confirms a pathogenic effect of a novel RPS7 variant in DBA associated with spontaneous remission in the mother and meningocele in her daughter, thus adding to the genotype-phenotype correlations in DBA.
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22.
  • Al Azzawi, Tiba Nazar Ibrahim, et al. (författare)
  • Evaluation of Iraqi Rice Cultivars for Their Tolerance to Drought Stress
  • 2020
  • Ingår i: Agronomy. - : MDPI. - 2073-4395. ; 10:11
  • Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
    • Drought stress is a serious problem around the globe and particularly in the Republic of Iraq. Rice is the third most consumed crop for the Iraqi people; however, its cultivation and production is very low due to several challenges including drought. The current study was performed to evaluate five Iraqi rice cultivars along with relevant (drought-tolerant and drought-susceptible) controls under drought stress, either by treatment with 10% PEG (polyethylene glycol) or through water withholding to induce natural drought stress. The phenotypes of all the cultivars were evaluated and the transcriptional responses of key drought-responsive candidate genes, identified through the EST-SSR marker-based approach, were studied. We also studied transcript accumulation of drought-related transcriptional factors, such as OsGRASS23, OsbZIP12, and OsDREB2A. Moreover, the reference cultivars also included a drought-tolerant inter-specific cultivar Nerica 7 (a cross between Oryza sativa ssp. indica X O. glaberrima). Among the cultivars, the more drought-tolerant phenotypic characteristics and higher transcript accumulation of drought-related marker genes OsE647 and OsE1899 and transcriptional factors OsGRASS23, OsbZIP12, and OsDREB2A were observed in four (out of five) significantly drought-tolerant Iraqi cultivars; Mashkab, followed by Furat, Yasmen, and Amber 33. On another note, Amber Barka was found to be significantly drought susceptible. Mashkab and Amber Barka were found to be the most drought-tolerant and-susceptible cultivars, respectively. The identified tolerant cultivars may potentially serve as a genetic source for the incorporation of drought-tolerant phenotypes in rice.
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23.
  • Chaudhry, Muhammad Hamid, et al. (författare)
  • Assessment of DSM Based on Radiometric Transformation of UAV Data
  • 2021
  • Ingår i: Sensors. - Switzerland : MDPI. - 1424-8220. ; 21:5
  • Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
    • Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) is one of the latest technologies for high spatial resolution 3D modeling of the Earth. The objectives of this study are to assess low-cost UAV data using image radiometric transformation techniques and investigate its effects on global and local accuracy of the Digital Surface Model (DSM). This research uses UAV Light Detection and Ranging (LIDAR) data from 80 meters and UAV Drone data from 300 and 500 meters flying height. RAW UAV images acquired from 500 meters flying height are radiometrically transformed in Matrix Laboratory (MATLAB). UAV images from 300 meters flying height are processed for the generation of 3D point cloud and DSM in Pix4D Mapper. UAV LIDAR data are used for the acquisition of Ground Control Points (GCP) and accuracy assessment of UAV Image data products. Accuracy of enhanced DSM with DSM generated from 300 meters flight height were analyzed for point cloud number, density and distribution. Root Mean Square Error (RMSE) value of Z is enhanced from ±2.15 meters to 0.11 meters. For local accuracy assessment of DSM, four different types of land covers are statistically compared with UAV LIDAR resulting in compatibility of enhancement technique with UAV LIDAR accuracy. 
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24.
  • Dost, Shahi, et al. (författare)
  • Reduced reference image and video quality assessments : review of methods
  • 2022
  • Ingår i: EURASIP Journal on Image and Video Processing. - : Springer. - 1687-5176 .- 1687-5281. ; 2022:1
  • Forskningsöversikt (refereegranskat)abstract
    • With the growing demand for image and video-based applications, the requirements of consistent quality assessment metrics of image and video have increased. Different approaches have been proposed in the literature to estimate the perceptual quality of images and videos. These approaches can be divided into three main categories; full reference (FR), reduced reference (RR) and no-reference (NR). In RR methods, instead of providing the original image or video as a reference, we need to provide certain features (i.e., texture, edges, etc.) of the original image or video for quality assessment. During the last decade, RR-based quality assessment has been a popular research area for a variety of applications such as social media, online games, and video streaming. In this paper, we present review and classification of the latest research work on RR-based image and video quality assessment. We have also summarized different databases used in the field of 2D and 3D image and video quality assessment. This paper would be helpful for specialists and researchers to stay well-informed about recent progress of RR-based image and video quality assessment. The review and classification presented in this paper will also be useful to gain understanding of multimedia quality assessment and state-of-the-art approaches used for the analysis. In addition, it will help the reader select appropriate quality assessment methods and parameters for their respective applications.
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25.
  • Hashmi, Muhammad Usman, et al. (författare)
  • Concomitant Skew and Phase Correction (CSPC) for Industry 5.0 Enabler Pervasive Distributed Computing Systems
  • 2023
  • Ingår i: IEEE Transactions on Consumer Electronics. - : Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Inc.. - 0098-3063. ; 70:1, s. 1511-1518
  • Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
    • Synchronizing time among pervasive distributed computing nodes is critical and also a key enabler for proper functioning and coordination in an Industry 5.0 environment. It enables distributed data logging, coordination of distributed algorithms, and event driven interactions in a synchronized manner which is not possible without having a common notion of time in an Industry 5.0 environment. Synchronization ensures that data generated by pervasive nodes is consistent and accurate. Diverse synchronization methods are available, however, these existing methods use multiple timestamp exchanges for correction of clock skew. Concomitant Skew and Phase Correction (CSPC) method proposed in this article uses Phase Embedded and Skew Estimated Timestamp (PESET). In contrary to existing methods, single PESET is sufficient to compute clock skew offset along with phase offset at the receiving node. The experimental results also validate single PESET can be used instead of multiple timestamp exchanges in low latency Industry 5.0 environments. This does not only lead to save the computational resources of the Industry 5.0 environments, also enable them as energy efficient networks.
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26.
  • Hussain, Adil, et al. (författare)
  • Nitric oxide mediated transcriptome profiling reveals activation of multiple regulatory pathways in Arabidopsis thaliana
  • 2016
  • Ingår i: Frontiers in Plant Science. - : Frontiers Media S.A.. - 1664-462X. ; 7
  • Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
    • Imbalance between the accumulation and removal of nitric oxide and its derivatives is a challenge faced by all plants at the cellular level, and is especially important under stress conditions. Exposure of plants to various biotic and abiotic stresses causes rapid changes in cellular redox tone potentiated by the rise in reactive nitrogen species that serve as signaling molecules in mediating defensive responses. To understand mechanisms mediated by these signaling molecules, we performed a large-scale analysis of the Arabidopsis transcriptome induced by nitrosative stress. We generated an average of 84 and 91 million reads from three replicates each of control and 1 mM S-nitrosocysteine (CysNO)-infiltrated Arabidopsis leaf samples, respectively. After alignment, more than 95% of all reads successfully mapped to the reference and 32,535 genes and 55,682 transcripts were obtained. CysNO infiltration caused differential expression of 6436 genes (3448 up-regulated and 2988 down-regulated) and 6214 transcripts (3335 up-regulated and 2879 down-regulated) 6 h post-infiltration. These differentially expressed genes were found to be involved in key physiological processes, including plant defense against various biotic and abiotic stresses, hormone signaling, and other developmental processes. After quantile normalization of the FPKM values followed by student's T-test (P < 0.05) we identified 1165 DEGs (463 up-regulated and 702 down-regulated) with at least 2-folds change in expression after CysNO treatment. Expression patterns of selected genes involved in various biological pathways were verified using quantitative real-time PCR. This study provides comprehensive information about plant responses to nitrosative stress at transcript level and would prove helpful in understanding and incorporating mechanisms associated with nitrosative stress responses in plants.
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27.
  • Hussain, Adil, et al. (författare)
  • Nitric oxide synthase in the plant kingdom
  • 2021
  • Ingår i: Nitric oxide in plant biology. - : Elsevier. - 9780128187975 ; , s. 43-52
  • Bokkapitel (refereegranskat)abstract
    • After the discovery of nitric oxide (NO) as an important signaling molecule in plants, its involvement has been reported in several key physiological processes. At the cellular level, slight alterations in the quantity of NO or its various adducts, also known as reactive nitrogen intermediates (RNIs), have phenomenal implications. In plants this highly reactive, diatomic gaseous molecule regulates a plethora of physiological processes ranging from development, to reproduction, and defense against biotic and abiotic stresses. In animals, NO is produced enzymatically via the nitric oxide synthase (NOS) enzyme. However, after decades of research, it is now clear that in plants there is not one but several routes for NO production. Interestingly the discovery of a NOS enzyme in plants has remained an attractive topic of research for plant scientists over the years; the enzyme still remains elusive. In this chapter we briefly discuss the different pathways responsible for NO production in plants with special emphasis on the enzymatic production. We also discuss the NOS enzyme and its presence in lower and higher plants.
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28.
  • Imran, Muhammad, et al. (författare)
  • Computation of Entropy Measures for Metal-Organic Frameworks
  • 2023
  • Ingår i: Molecules. - : Mdpi. - 1431-5157 .- 1420-3049. ; 28:12
  • Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
    • Entropy is a thermodynamic function used in chemistry to determine the disorder and irregularities of molecules in a specific system or process. It does this by calculating the possible configurations for each molecule. It is applicable to numerous issues in biology, inorganic and organic chemistry, and other relevant fields. Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) are a family of molecules that have piqued the curiosity of scientists in recent years. They are extensively researched due to their prospective applications and the increasing amount of information about them. Scientists are constantly discovering novel MOFs, which results in an increasing number of representations every year. Furthermore, new applications for MOFs continue to arise, illustrating the materials' adaptability. This article investigates the characterisation of the metal-organic framework of iron(III) tetra-p-tolyl porphyrin (FeTPyP) and CoBHT (CO) lattice. By constructing these structures with degree-based indices such as the K-Banhatti, redefined Zagreb, and the atom-bond sum connectivity indices, we also employ the information function to compute entropies.
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29.
  • Imran, Qari Muhammad, et al. (författare)
  • NO and ROS crosstalk and acquisition of abiotic stress tolerance
  • 2021
  • Ingår i: Nitric oxide in plant biology. - : Elsevier. - 9780128187975 ; , s. 477-491
  • Bokkapitel (refereegranskat)abstract
    • Nitric oxide (NO) and H2O2, known as signaling molecules, particularly regulate various cellular processes under stress conditions. Abiotic stress, like other stresses, leads to the production of reactive oxygen and nitrogen species (ROS and RNS, respectively). The interaction or crosstalk between these two redox molecules is important for the regulation of cellular processes. Increasing evidence has suggested that NO transfers its bioactivity through posttranslational modifications, the major among them is S-nitrosation, the covalent attachment of an NO moiety to a cysteine thiol that can bring conformational changes in proteins and hence in their functions. S-nitrosation of the tripeptide glutathione (GSH) results in the formation of S-nitrosoglutathione (GSNO), which is a relatively stable reservoir of NO. The formation of GSNO, therefore, determines cellular redox status, crucial for normal metabolic activities, and is regulated by key enzyme GSNO reductase (GSNOR) in plants. Here, we overview the importance of H2O2 and NO as signaling molecules in plants and their roles in stress tolerance. We also discuss crosstalk between H2O2 and NO and its importance in abiotic stress tolerance, with examples of salt, cold, drought, metal, and heat tolerance. The accumulated data from the cited research has important implications for the improved productivity of many crop plants.
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30.
  • Inqiad, Waleed Bin, et al. (författare)
  • Comparative analysis of various machine learning algorithms to predict 28-day compressive strength of Self-compacting concrete
  • 2023
  • Ingår i: Heliyon. - : Elsevier. - 2405-8440. ; 9:11
  • Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
    • Construction industry is indirectly the largest source of CO2 emissions in the atmosphere, due to the use of cement in concrete. These emissions can be reduced by using industrial waste materials in place of cement. Self-Compacting Concrete (SCC) is a promising material to enhance the use of industrial wastes in concrete. However, there are very few methods available for accurate prediction of its strength, therefore, reliable models for estimating 28-day Compressive Strength (C–S) of SCC are developed in current study by using three Machine Learning (ML) algorithms including Multi Expression Programming (MEP), Extreme Gradient Boosting (XGB), and Random Forest (RF). The ML models were meticulously developed using a dataset of 231 points collected from internationally published literature considering seven most influential parameters including cement content, quantities of fly ash and silica fume, water content, coarse aggregate, fine aggregate, and superplasticizer dosage to predict C–S. The developed models were evaluated using different statistical errors including Root Mean Square Error (RMSE), Mean Absolute Error (MAE), coefficient of determination (R2) etc. The results showed that the XGB model outperformed the MEP and RF model in terms of accuracy with a correlation R2 = 0.998 compared to 0.923 for MEP and 0.986 for RF. Similar trend was observed for other error metrices. Thus, XGB is the most accurate model for estimating C–S of SCC. However, it is pertinent to mention here that it does not give its output in the form of an empirical equation like MEP model. The construction of these empirical models will help to efficiently estimate C–S of SCC for practical purposes.
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31.
  • Jameel, Muhammad, et al. (författare)
  • A novel AP4M1 mutation in autosomal recessive cerebral palsy syndrome and clinical expansion of AP-4 deficiency
  • 2014
  • Ingår i: BMC Medical Genetics. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1471-2350. ; 15, s. 133-
  • Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
    • BACKGROUND:Cerebral palsy (CP) is a heterogeneous neurodevelopmental disorder associated with intellectual disability in one-third of cases. Recent findings support Mendelian inheritance in subgroups of patients with the disease. The purpose of this study was to identify a novel genetic cause of paraplegic CP with intellectual disability in a consanguineous Pakistani family.METHODS:We performed whole-exome sequencing (WES) in two brothers with CP and intellectual disability. Analysis of AP4M1 mRNA was performed using quantitative real-time PCR on total RNA from cultured fibroblasts. The brothers were investigated clinically and by MRI.RESULTS:We identified a novel homozygous AP4M1 mutation c.194_195delAT, p.Y65Ffs*50 in the affected brothers. Quantitative RT-PCR analysis showed markedly reduced AP4M1 mRNA levels suggesting partial non-sense mediated mRNA decay. Several clinical and MRI features were consistent with AP-4 complex deficiency. However, in contrast to previously reported cases with AP4M1 mutations our patients show an aggressive behavior and a relatively late onset of disease.CONCLUSION:This study shows an AP4M1 mutation associated with aggressive behavior in addition to mild dysmorphic features, intellectual disability, spastic paraparesis and reduced head circumference. Our findings expand the clinical spectrum associated with AP-4 complex deficiency and the study illustrates the importance of MRI and WES in the diagnosis of patients with CP and intellectual disability.
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32.
  • Javed, Muhammad Sufyan, et al. (författare)
  • Electrochemical studies of perovskite cathode material for direct natural gas fuel cell
  • 2016
  • Ingår i: International journal of hydrogen energy. - : Elsevier. - 0360-3199 .- 1879-3487. ; 41:4, s. 3072-3078
  • Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
    • Natural gas is the most promising renewable energy source and its widespread availability ensured its importance for early applications in stationary fuel cells as a reliable and low cost fuel. Therefore it is very important to efficiently utilization of natural gas in low temperature fuel cells. Herein, we demonstrate the synthesis of perovskite material of Yttrium doped Sr0.92FexTi1-xO3-delta (x = 0.25, 030) (YSFT) by solid state reaction method and further investigated as a new cathode material for a low temperature solid oxide fuel cell fueled by natural gas. The YSFT is characterized by X-ray powder diffraction, Brunauer-Emmett-Teller and scanning electron microscopy. The perovskite structure is achieved at relatively low temperature (850 degrees C). The average crystalline size is found 28 nm and 36 nm for x = 0.25 and 0.30 respectively. TGA results showed the lattice oxygen loss of YSFT is about 0.206% in its original weight in the temperature range of 25-1000 degrees C. The maximum electronic conductivities of 2.3 Scm(-1) and 2.07 Scm(-1) are achieved for x = 025 and x = 0.30 at 550 degrees C in air atmosphere respectively. It is observed that the oxygen reduction is enhanced due to the perovskite crystal structure and oxygen vacancies play an important role in the redox reaction to improve the performance of fuel cell. The YSFT perovskite cathode material based fuel cell with natural gas have achieved the power density of 250 mWcm(-2) for x = 025 at 550 degrees C. The fuel cell device has demonstrated very stable results by running continuously for 5 h with domestic available natural gas. 
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33.
  • Khan, Aisha, et al. (författare)
  • Epidemiological and Pathological Characteristics of Cutaneous Leishmaniasis from Baluchistan Province of Pakistan
  • 2021
  • Ingår i: Parasitology. - : Cambridge University Press. - 0031-1820 .- 1469-8161. ; 148:5, s. 591-597
  • Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
    • Cutaneous Leishmaniasis (CL) is considered a neglected tropical disease which in Pakistan can now be considered as growing public health problem. The exact figures on the magnitude of disease are lacking both at national and regional level and only a few health centers are available for diagnosis of CL. The present study was designed to identify the epidemiology of CL infection from August 2018 to December 2019 and to assess clinical aspects of CL in Baluchistan Province of Pakistan. A total of 4072 clinically suspected CL cases were analysed statistically. The highest number of CL cases were reported in May, followed by April, January and then July, February, and June and lowest number of cases were observed in March and November. The highest prevalence rate was found in males where 38% of reported cases were aged 0-9 years. The majority (24.4%) of lesions were found on the hands followed by the face in which cheeks, ears and nose were the effected organs. About 50% of the participants have single lesion while 14% of the participants had two and nearly 3% of the participants have six lesions. The atypical clinical presentations were observed in Baluchistan and common unusual presentations were lupus erythematosus. The study findings suggest that more epidemiological studies and health education campaigns are needed for the population awareness regarding CL in Baluchistan. It is recommended that risk factors should be evaluated to establish the control and management strategies to prevent disease at individual and community level. 
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34.
  • Khan, Murtaza, et al. (författare)
  • Nitric oxide-induced AtAO3 differentially regulates plant defense against Pseudomonas syringae pv. tomato in Arabidopsis thaliana
  • 2019
  • Ingår i: BMC Plant Biology. - : BioMed Central. - 1471-2229.
  • Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
    • Background: Exposure of plants to different environmental insults instigates significant changes in the cellular redox tone driven in part by promoting the production of reactive nitrogen species. The key player, nitric oxide (NO) is a small gaseous diatomic molecule, well-known for its signaling role during stress. In this study, we focused on abscisic acid (ABA) metabolism-related genes that showed differential expression in response to the NO donor S-nitroso-L-cysteine (CySNO) by conducting RNA-seq-based transcriptomic analysis.Results: CySNO-induced ABA-related genes were identified and further characterized. Gene ontology terms for biological processes showed most of the genes were associated with protein phosphorylation. Promoter analysis suggested that several cis-regulatory elements were activated under biotic and/or abiotic stress conditions. The ABA biosynthetic gene AtAO3 was selected for validation using functional genomics. The loss of function mutant atao3 was found to differentially regulate oxidative and nitrosative stress. Further investigations for determining the role of AtAO3 in plant defense suggested a negative regulation of plant basal defense and R-gene-mediated resistance. The atao3 plants showed resistance to virulent Pseudomonas syringae pv. tomato strain DC3000 (Pst DC3000) with gradual increase in PR1 gene expression. Similarly, atao3 plants showed increased hypersensitive response (HR) when challenged with Pst DC3000 (avrB). The atgsnor1–3 and atsid2 mutants showed a susceptible phenotype with reduced PR1 transcript accumulation. Drought tolerance assay indicated that atao3 and atnced3 ABA-deficient mutants showed early wilting, followed by plant death. The study of stomatal structure showed that atao3 and atnced3 were unable to close stomata even at 7 days after drought stress. Further, they showed reduced ABA content and increased electrolyte leakage than the wild-type (WT) plants. The quantitative polymerase chain reaction analysis suggested that ABA biosynthesis genes were down-regulated, whereas expression of most of the drought-related genes were up-regulated in atao3 than in WT.Conclusions: AtAO3 negatively regulates pathogen-induced salicylic acid pathway, although it is required for drought tolerance, despite the fact that ABA production is not totally dependent on AtAO3, and that drought-related genes like DREB2 and ABI2 show response to drought irrespective of ABA content.
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35.
  • Khan, Tahir Naeem, et al. (författare)
  • Novel missense mutation in the RSPO4 gene in congenital hyponychia and evidence for a polymorphic initiation codon (p.M1l)
  • 2012
  • Ingår i: BMC Medical Genetics. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1471-2350. ; 13, s. 120-
  • 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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36.
  • Mallhi, Tauqeer Hussain, et al. (författare)
  • Biochemical Association of MTHFR C677T Polymorphism with Myocardial Infarction in the Presence of Diabetes Mellitus as a Risk Factor
  • 2023
  • Ingår i: Metabolites. - : MDPI. - 2218-1989 .- 2218-1989. ; 13:2
  • Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
    • Myocardial infarction (MI) is a cardiovascular disease that occurs due to the blockage of the coronary artery. Subsequently, cardiac muscles receive a lower oxygen supply, which leads to the death of cardiac muscles. The etiology of MI is linked to various environmental, occupational, and genetic factors. Various studies have been conducted on the polymorphism of genes involved in MI. Previous studies have shown that different variants of the methylene tetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) gene are involved in causing MI by altering the metabolism of folate and homocysteine. However, the genetic polymorphism of MTHFR C677T (rs1801133) and its association with MI in the presence of diabetes mellitus (DM) as a risk factor still needs to be investigated. This study recruited 300 participants who were divided into three groups, i.e., the control, MI, and MI-DM. The blood samples collected from the study participants were subjected to various biochemical tests and their clinical parameters were monitored. MTHFR C677T (rs1801133) genotyping was performed by Tetra ARMS PCR using predetermined primers. The MTHFR C677T (rs1801133) polymorphism was associated with MI in the presence of DM as a risk factor among the participants. The MTHFR C677T (rs1801133) T/T homozygous genotype was found to be significant among MI patients in the presence of DM as a risk factor.
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37.
  • Mallhi, Tauqeer Hussain, et al. (författare)
  • Estimation of Psychological Impairment and Coping Strategies during COVID-19 Pandemic among University Students in Saudi Arabia : A Large Regional Analysis
  • 2022
  • Ingår i: International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. - : MDPI. - 1661-7827 .- 1660-4601. ; 19:21
  • Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
    • Background: The COVID-19 pandemic and associated restrictive measures have substantially affected educational processes around the globe, resulting in psychological distress among students. The mental health of students in higher education is of paramount importance, and the COVID-19 pandemic has brought this vulnerable population into renewed focus. In this context, the evaluation of students' mental health at educational institutes has gained invaluable popularity during the COVID-19 pandemic. This study aimed to ascertain the psychological health and coping strategies among students from a higher education institute in Saudi Arabia.Methods: An online study instrument was used to assess anxiety (Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7, GAD-7), depression (Patient Health Questionnaire-9, PHQ-9), post-traumatic stress disorder-PTSD (Impact of Event Scale-Revised, IES-R) and coping strategies (Brief-COPE). The severity of the psychological distress was classified as per the scoring criteria and correlated with demographics using appropriate statistical methods.Results: Of 1074 students (age 21.1 +/- 2.1 years), 12.9% and 9.7% had severe anxiety and depression, respectively. The mean anxiety and depression scores were 7.50 +/- 5.51 and 9.31 +/- 6.72, respectively. About one-third (32%) of students reported suicidal ideation, with 8.4% students having such thoughts nearly every day. The average PTSD score was 21.64 +/- 17.63, where avoidance scored higher (8.10 +/- 6.94) than intrusion and hyperarousal. There was no association of anxiety, depression and PTSD score with the demographics of the study participants. Religious/spiritual coping (5.43 +/- 2.15) was the most adoptive coping mechanism, followed by acceptance (5.15 +/- 2.10). Male students were significantly (p < 0.05) associated with active copings, instrumental support, planning, humor, acceptance and religious coping. Substance use was the least adopted coping strategy but practiced by a considerable number of students.Conclusions: The long-lasting pandemic situation, onerous protective measures and uncertainties in educational procedures have resulted in a high prevalence of psychological ailments among university students, as indicated in this study. These findings accentuate the urgent need for telepsychiatry and appropriate population-specific mental health services to assess the extent of psychological impairment and to leverage positive coping behaviors among students.
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38.
  • Mallhi, Tauqeer Hussain, et al. (författare)
  • Evaluation of knowledge and barriers of influenza vaccine uptake among university students in Saudi Arabia : a cross-sectional analysis
  • 2022
  • Ingår i: PeerJ. - : PeerJ. - 2167-8359. ; 10
  • Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
    • Background. Influenza vaccine hesitancy is a significant threat to global maneuvers for reducing the burden of seasonal and pandemic influenza. This study estimated the vaccine uptake, barriers, and willingness for influenza vaccines among university students in Saudi Arabia. Methods. A cross-sectional survey was conducted among health science (HS) and non-health science (NHS) university students. A 31-item questionnaire was used to ascertain the vaccination rate, barriers, and willingness for the flu vaccine. Results. This study included 790 students (mean age: 21.40 +/- 1.94 years), 246 (31.1%) from HS and 544 (68.9%) from NHS disciplines. About 70% did not take flu shots before the arrival of the winter. The mean knowledge score was 7.81 +/- 1.96, where 20.4%, 67.6%, and 12% of respondents had good, moderate, and poor knowledge regarding flu vaccines. The relative importance index (RII) analysis showed a lack of recommendation from physicians (51.5%, RI ranked: 1) was a top-ranked barrier to vaccine uptake, followed by negative perceptions and accessibility issues. Only 36.6% of the participants were willing to get vaccinated every year, 70% were willing to receive a vaccine on their doctor's recommendations, and 46% agreed to vaccinate if vaccines were freely available in the university. The knowledge, barriers, and willingness widely varied across students from two disciplines. Conclusions. Our analysis underscored low flu vaccine uptake among university students. In addition, the study participants' knowledge was unsatisfactory, and they were less inclined to receive the flu vaccine in the future. Lack of recommendation from the physicians, negative perceptions towards the flu vaccine, and difficult accessibility were found as significant barriers to the vaccine uptake. A multidimensional approach at educational institutes to cover the knowledge gap and address the barriers curtailing the vaccination rate among students is recommended.
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39.
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40.
  • Nawaz, Muhammad Ul Saqlain, et al. (författare)
  • Efficient resource prediction framework for software-defined heterogeneous radio environmental infrastructures
  • 2023
  • Ingår i: Advanced Engineering Informatics. - : Elsevier Ltd.. - 1474-0346. ; 56
  • Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
    • Artificial Intelligence (AI) is defining the future of next-generation infrastructures as proactive and data-driven systems. AI-empowered radio systems are replacing the existing command and control radio networks due to their intelligence and capabilities to adapt to the radio environmental infrastructures that include intelligent networks, smart cities and AV/VR enabled factory premises or localities. An efficient resource prediction framework (ERPF) is proposed to provide proactive knowledge about the availability of radio resources in such software-defined heterogeneous radio environmental infrastructures (SD-HREIs). That prior information enables the coexistence of radio users in SD-HREIs. In a proposed framework, the radio activity is measured in both the unlicensed bands that include 2.4 and 5 GHz, respectively. The clustering algorithms k- means and DBSCAN are implemented to segregate the already measured radioactivity as signal (radio occupancy) and noise (radio opportunity). Machine learning techniques CNN and LRN are then trained and tested using the segregated data to predict the radio occupancy and radio opportunity in SD-HREIs. Finally, the performance of CNN and LRN is validated using the cross-validation metrics.
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41.
  • Nawaz, Sadia, et al. (författare)
  • Report of a recurrent mutation in ARS (component B) gene with severe Mal de Meleda in a large consanguineous Pakistani family
  • 2011
  • Ingår i: Pakistan journal of medical sciences print. - 1682-024X .- 1681-715X. ; 27:3, s. 686-689
  • Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
    • Objective: To characterize the disease causing mutation in a large consanguineous Pakistani family with severe Mat de Meleda (MDM) or keratosis palmoplantaris transgrediens, a rare autosomal recessive skin disorder. Methodology: Single nucleotide polymorphism (SNPs) genotyping was performed using the Gene Chip Mapping 250K array (Affymetrix). Homozygosity mapping and sorting of genomic regions were performed with dedicated software called AutoSNPa. Selected regions were further investigated by genotyping with microsatellite markers derived from known and novel pOlymorphic repeats. Two-point LOD score calculation was performed by using the MLINK of Fast link computer package. All three coding exons of ARS (component B) gene were amplified by PCR and sequenced. Conclusion: Sequencing of all the coding exons of ARS (component B) gene in the affected individuals revealed a recurrent missense mutation in exon 3 at base pair 256 from Guanine to Alanine (256G>A) and as a result the amino acid Glycine is replaced by Arginine at position 86 (G86R). This finding will facilitate control of affected MDM births in the Pakistani families.
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42.
  • Nisar, Muhammad Imran, et al. (författare)
  • Does the implementation of revised American College of Cardiology and American Heart Association (ACC/AHA) guidelines improve the identification of stillbirths and preterm births in hypertensive pregnancies : a population-based cohort study from South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa
  • 2024
  • Ingår i: BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth. - : BioMed Central (BMC). - 1471-2393. ; 24:1
  • Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
    • Background Hypertensive disorders of pregnancy (HDP) are a significant cause of maternal mortality worldwide. The classification and treatment of hypertension in pregnancy remain debated. We aim to compare the effectiveness of the revised 2017 ACC/AHA blood pressure threshold in predicting adverse pregnancy outcomes. Methods We conducted a secondary data analysis of the Alliance for Maternal and Newborn Health Improvement (AMANHI) biorepository study, including 10,001 pregnant women from Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Tanzania. Blood pressure was measured using validated devices at different antenatal care visits. The blood pressure readings were categorized as: normal blood pressure (systolic blood pressure (sBP) < 120 mm Hg and diastolic blood pressure (dBP) < 80 mm Hg), elevated blood pressure (sBP 120-129 and dBP < 80), stage 1 hypertension (sBP 130-139 or dBP 80-89, or both), and stage 2 hypertension (sBP >= 140 or dBP >= 90, or both). We estimated risk ratios for stillbirths and preterm births, as well as diagnostic test properties of both the pre-existing JNC7 (>= 140/90) and revised ACC/AHA (>= 130/80) thresholds using normal blood pressure as reference group. Results From May 2014 to June 2018, blood pressure readings were available for 9,448 women (2,894 in Bangladesh, 2,303 in Pakistan, and 4,251 in Tanzania). We observed normal blood pressure in 70%, elevated blood pressure in 12.4%, stage 1 hypertension in 15.2%, and stage 2 hypertension in 2.5% of the pregnant women respectively. Out of these, 310 stillbirths and 9,109 live births were recorded, with 887 preterm births. Using the ACC/AHA criteria, the stage 1 hypertension cut-off revealed 15.3% additional hypertension diagnoses as compared to JNC7 criteria. ACC/AHA defined hypertension was significantly associated with stillbirths (RR 1.8, 95% CI 1.4, 2.3). The JNC 7 hypertension cut-off of >= 140/90 was significantly associated with a higher risk of preterm births (RR 1.6, 95% CI 1.2, 2.2) and stillbirths (RR 3.6, 95% CI 2.5, 5.3). Both criteria demonstrated low sensitivities (8.4 for JNC-7 and 28.1 for ACC/AHA) and positive predictive values (11.0 for JNC7 and 5.2 for ACC/AHA) in predicting adverse outcomes. Conclusion The ACC/AHA criteria (>= 130/80) identified additional cases of hypertension but had limited predictive accuracy for stillbirths and preterm births, highlighting the ongoing need for improved criteria in managing pregnancy-related hypertension.
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43.
  • Nisar, Muhammad Imran, et al. (författare)
  • Early to mid-pregnancy HbA1c levels and its association with adverse pregnancy outcomes in three low middle-income countries in Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa
  • 2024
  • Ingår i: BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth. - : BioMed Central (BMC). - 1471-2393. ; 24:1
  • Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
    • Background: Hyperglycemia during pregnancy leads to adverse maternal and fetal outcomes. Thus, strict monitoring of blood glucose levels is warranted. This study aims to determine the association of early to mid-pregnancy HbA1c levels with the development of pregnancy complications in women from three countries in South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa.Methods: We performed a secondary analysis of the AMANHI (Alliance for Maternal and Newborn Health Improvement) cohort, which enrolled 10,001 pregnant women between May 2014 and June 2018 across Sylhet-Bangladesh, Karachi-Pakistan, and Pemba Island-Tanzania. HbA1c assays were performed at enrollment (8 to < 20 gestational weeks), and epidemiological data were collected during 2-3 monthly household visits. The women were followed-up till the postpartum period to determine the pregnancy outcomes. Multivariable logistic regression models assessed the association between elevated HbA1c levels and adverse events while controlling for potential confounders.Results: A total of 9,510 pregnant women were included in the analysis. The mean HbA1c level at enrollment was found to be the highest in Bangladesh (5.31 +/- 0.37), followed by Tanzania (5.22 +/- 0.49) and then Pakistan (5.07 +/- 0.58). We report 339 stillbirths and 9,039 live births. Among the live births were 892 preterm births, 892 deliveries via cesarean section, and 532 LGA babies. In the multivariate pooled analysis, maternal HbA1c levels of >= 6.5 were associated with increased risks of stillbirths (aRR = 6.3, 95% CI = 3.4,11.6); preterm births (aRR = 3.5, 95% CI = 1.8-6.7); and Large for Gestational Age (aRR = 5.5, 95% CI = 2.9-10.6).Conclusion: Maternal HbA1c level is an independent risk factor for predicting adverse pregnancy outcomes such as stillbirth, preterm birth, and LGA among women in South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa. These groups may benefit from early interventional strategies.
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44.
  • Rasool, Mahmood, et al. (författare)
  • A novel missense mutation in the EDA gene associated with X-linked recessive isolated hypodontia
  • 2008
  • Ingår i: Journal of Human Genetics. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1434-5161 .- 1435-232X. ; 53:10, s. 894-8
  • Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
    • Isolated hypodontia, or congenital absence of one to six permanent teeth (OMIM 300606), is a common condition that affects about 20% of individuals worldwide. We identified two extended Pakistani pedigrees segregating X-linked hypodontia with variable expressivity. Affected males show no other associated anomalies, and obligate carrier females have normal dentition. We analyzed the families with polymorphic markers in the ectodysplasin A (EDA) gene region and obtained significant linkage to the phenotype in each pedigree (Z(max) 3.29 and 2.65, respectively, at theta = 0.00). Sequence analysis of the coding regions of EDA revealed a novel missense mutation c.1091T>C resulting in a methionine to threonine substitution (p.M364T) in the tumor necrosis factor (TNF) homology domain. Met364 is a highly conserved residue located on the outer surface of the EDA protein. From our findings, we suggest that the mutation disturbs but does not destroy the EDA structure, resulting in the partial and unusually mild ED phenotype restricted to hypodontia.
  •  
45.
  • Raykova, Doroteya, et al. (författare)
  • Autosomal Recessive Transmission of a Rare KRT74 Variant Causes Hair and Nail Ectodermal Dysplasia : Allelism with Dominant Woolly Hair/Hypotrichosis
  • 2014
  • Ingår i: PLOS ONE. - : Public Library of Science (PLoS). - 1932-6203. ; 9:4, s. e93607-
  • Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
    • Pure hair and nail ectodermal dysplasia (PHNED) comprises a heterogeneous group of rare heritable disorders characterized by brittle hair, hypotrichosis, onychodystrophy and micronychia. Autosomal recessive (AR) PHNED has previously been associated with mutations in either KRT85 or HOXC13 on chromosome 12p11.1-q14.3. We investigated a consanguineous Pakistani family with AR PHNED linked to the keratin gene cluster on 12p11.1 but without detectable mutations in KRT85 and HOXC13. Whole exome sequencing of affected individuals revealed homozygosity for a rare c.821T> C variant (p.Phe274Ser) in the KRT74 gene that segregates AR PHNED in the family. The transition alters the highly conserved Phe274 residue in the coil 1B domain required for long-range dimerization of keratins, suggesting that the mutation compromises the stability of intermediate filaments. Immunohistochemical (IHC) analyses confirmed a strong keratin-74 expression in the nail matrix, the nail bed and the hyponychium of mouse distal digits, as well as in normal human hair follicles. Furthermore, hair follicles and epidermis of an affected family member stained negative for Keratin-74 suggesting a loss of function mechanism mediated by the Phe274Ser substitution. Our observations show for the first time that homozygosity for a KRT74 missense variant may be associated with AR PHNED. Heterozygous KRT74 mutations have previously been associated with autosomal dominant woolly hair/ hypotrichosis simplex (ADWH). Thus, our findings expand the phenotypic spectrum associated with KRT74 mutations and imply that a subtype of AR PHNED is allelic with ADWH.
  •  
46.
  • Saeed, Ayesha, et al. (författare)
  • Robustness-Driven Hybrid Descriptor for Noise-Deterrent Texture Classification
  • 2019
  • Ingår i: IEEE Access. - : IEEE-INST ELECTRICAL ELECTRONICS ENGINEERS INC. - 2169-3536. ; 7, s. 110116-110127
  • Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
    • A robustness-driven hybrid descriptor (RDHD) for noise-deterrent texture classification is presented in this paper. This paper offers the ability to categorize a variety of textures under challenging image acquisition conditions. An image is initially resolved into its low-frequency components by applying wavelet decomposition. The resulting low-frequency components are further processed for feature extraction using completed joint-scale local binary patterns (CJLBP). Moreover, a second feature set is obtained by computing the low order derivatives of the original sample. The evaluated feature sets are integrated to get a final feature vector representation. The texture-discriminating performance of the hybrid descriptor is analyzed using renowned datasets: Outex original, Outex extended, and KTH-TIPS. The experimental results demonstrate a stable and robust performance of the descriptor under a variety of noisy conditions. An accuracy of 95.86%, 32.52%, and 88.74% at noise variance of 0.025 is achieved for the given datasets, respectively. A comparison between performance parameters of the proposed paper with its parent descriptors and recently published paper is also presented.
  •  
47.
  • Shahid, Muhammad, et al. (författare)
  • Comprehensive Analyses of Nitric Oxide-Induced Plant Stem Cell-Related Genes in Arabidopsis thaliana
  • 2019
  • Ingår i: Genes. - : MDPI. - 2073-4425. ; 10:3
  • Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
    • Plant stem cells are pluripotent cells that have diverse applications in regenerative biology and medicine. However, their roles in plant growth and disease resistance are often overlooked. Using high-throughput RNA-seq data, we identified approximately 20 stem cell-related differentially expressed genes (DEGs) that were responsive to the nitric oxide (NO) donor S-nitrosocysteine (CySNO) after six hours of infiltration. Among these DEGs, the highest number of positive correlations (R ≥ 0.8) was observed for CLAVATA3/EMBRYO SURROUNDING REGION-RELATED (CLE) 12. Gene ontology (GO) terms for molecular function showed DEGs associated with signal transduction and receptor activity. A promoter study of these DEGs showed the presence of cis-acting elements that are involved in growth as well as the regulation of abiotic and biotic stress. Phylogenetic analysis of the Arabidopsis stem cell-related genes and their common orthologs in rice, soybean, poplar, and tomato suggested that most soybean stem cell-related genes were grouped with the Arabidopsis CLE type of stem cell genes, while the rice stem cell-related genes were grouped with the Arabidopsis receptor-like proteins. The functional genomic-based characterization of the role of stem cell DEGs showed that under control conditions, the clv1 mutant showed a similar phenotype to that of the wild-type (WT) plants; however, under CySNO-mediated nitrosative stress, clv1 showed increased shoot and root length compared to WT. Furthermore, the inoculation of clv1 with virulent Pst DC3000 showed a resistant phenotype with fewer pathogens growing at early time points. The qRT-PCR validation and correlation with the RNA-seq data showed a Pearson correlation coefficient of >0.8, indicating the significantly high reliability of the RNA-seq analysis.
  •  
48.
  • Shahid, Muhammad, et al. (författare)
  • Selection of a Graduate Thesis Topic in a Multicultural Educational Environment
  • 2013
  • Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
    • This article presents a case study, performed at Blekinge Institute of Technology (BTH), Sweden, about the topic selection routines for a graduate thesis. The study focuses on the international graduate students who are having different academic cultures of their respective countries. Given that BTH has succeeded in the provision of an academic environment that has been efficient in absorbing different academic cultures in a productive manner at a reasonably good scale. However, in a multi-cultural educational environment, it is a challenge for most international students to adapt to the new academic culture and select the graduate thesis topic according to their real potential. Our findings gathered through an online survey, questionnaire, and focus group discussion is presented. The conclusions indicate, albeit, BTH has well defined routines for the thesis selection, the international graduate students face problems at the stage of thesis selection. The article concludes with suggestions to refine the thesis selection process at the micro level to help both students and staff.
  •  
49.
  • Shahid, Saher, 1987-, et al. (författare)
  • Improved catalytic efficiency of chimeric xylanase 10B from Thermotoga petrophila RKU1 and its synergy with cellulases
  • 2023
  • Ingår i: Enzyme and microbial technology. - : Elsevier BV. - 0141-0229 .- 1879-0909. ; 166
  • Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
    • TpXyl10B is a glycoside hydrolase family 10 xylanase of hyperthermophile Thermotoga petrophila RKU-1. This enzyme is of considerable importance due to its thermostability. However, in its native state, this enzyme does not possess any carbohydrate-binding module (CBM) for efficient binding to plant biomass. In this study CBM6 from Clostridium thermocellum was attached to the N- and C-termini of TpXyl10B, thereby producing the variants TpXyl10B-B6C and TpXyl10B-CB6, respectively. TpXyl10B-B6C showed 5–7 folds increased activity on Beechwood xylan and the different types of plant biomass as compared to that from the catalytic domain only. However, the activity of TpXyl10B-CB6 decreased 0.6–0.8 folds on Beechwood xylan and plant biomass compared to the catalytic domain. We explained these results through molecular modeling, which showed that binding residues of CBM6's cleft B, which were previously reported to show no contribution towards binding due to steric hindrance from a loop region, were exposed in a favorable position in TpXyl10B-B6C such that they efficiently bound the substrate. In contrast, these binding residues of CBM6 in TpXyl10B-CB6 were exposed opposite to the catalytic residues; thus, binding to the substrate resulted in decreased exposure of catalytic residues to the substrate. CD spectroscopy and thermostability assays showed that TpXyl10B-B6C was highly thermostable, having a melting point > 90 °C, which is relatively higher than that of the other variant, TpXyl10B-CB6. In addition, this xylanase variant showed synergism with cellulases for the hydrolysis of plant biomass. Therefore, TpXyl10B-B6C, an engineered xylanase in this study, can be a valuable candidate for industrial applications.
  •  
50.
  • Shahzad, Muhammad, et al. (författare)
  • Evaluation of Storage Conditions and the Effect on DNA from Forensic Evidence Objects Retrieved from Lake Water
  • 2024
  • Ingår i: Genes. - : MDPI. - 2073-4425. ; 15:3
  • Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
    • DNA analysis of traces from commonly found objects like knives, smartphones, tapes and garbage bags related to crime in aquatic environments is challenging for forensic DNA laboratories. The amount of recovered DNA may be affected by the water environment, time in the water, method for recovery, transport and storage routines of the objects before the objects arrive in the laboratory. The present study evaluated the effect of four storage conditions on the DNA retrieved from bloodstains, touch DNA, fingerprints and hairs, initially deposited on knives, smartphones, packing tapes, duct tapes and garbage bags, and submerged in lake water for three time periods. After retrieval, the objects were stored either through air-drying at room temperature, freezing at -30 degrees C, in nitrogen gas or in lake water. The results showed that the submersion time strongly influenced the amount and degradation of DNA, especially after the longest submersion time (21 days). A significant variation was observed in success for STR profiling, while mtDNA profiling was less affected by the submersion time interval and storage conditions. This study illustrates that retrieval from water as soon as possible and immediate storage through air-drying or freezing before DNA analysis is beneficial for the outcome of DNA profiling in crime scene investigations.
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