Risk assessment of heavy metal and metalloid toxicity through a contaminated vegetable (Cucurbita maxima) from wastewater irrigated area: A case study for a site-specific risk assessment in Jhang,Pakistan

The present research was conducted in district Jhang, Pakistan, to evaluate the concentration of metals/metalloids in soil and pumpkin (Cucurbita maxima) irrigated with domestic wastewater. Data revealed that the levels of metals and metalloids in soil samples from two different sites were below the safe limits except Cd, whereas, in the vegetable, the concentrations of As, Se, Ni, Mo, Pb, Mn, and Cu were above the safe limits. The levels of 12 metals and metalloids in the soil were ranged between 0.14 to 22.76 mg/kg at site-I and 0.16 to 22.13 mg/kg at site-II. The levels of these metals in the vegetable were found 0.35 to 61.13 mg/kg at site-I and 0.31 to 53.63 mg/kg at site-II. The transfer factor at both sites was highest for As and Co. The pollution load index recorded for Se, Cu, Cd, Mo, Pb, and Co was greater than 1. The daily intake of As, Mn, and Mo was above the oral reference dose, which reflects that the intake of pumpkin is not safe for the inhabitants of the selected sites. The control measures should be taken to phytoextract heavy metals and metalloids from polluted sites so as to reduce the health risks.     

In vitro nemato-toxic potential of some leaf extracts on Juvenile mortality of Meloidogyne incognita race-3

Abstract

Aqueous leaf extracts of four commonly growing weeds namely Ageratum conyzoides, Elephantopus scaber, Lantana camara and Xanthium strumarium were used to evaluate their nematicidal activity on second stage juvenile of Meloidogyne incognita race-3. The juveniles were exposed to various concentration of leaf extract namely 250, 500, 1000 and 2000?ppm for 12, 24 and 48?h, respectively. All leaf extracts showed the nematicidal property in concentration and time-dependent manner. The maximum juvenile mortality was recorded in E. scaber throughout the incubation period followed by X. strumarium, L. camara and A. conyzoides. The regression and correlation of regression revealed the best concentration-dependent effect of aqueous leaf extracts on nematode mortality in E. scaber (R²?=?.751) followed by X. strumarium (R²?=?.749), A. conyzoides (R²?=?.687) and L. camara (R²?=?.756). Aqueous leaves extracts of these aforementioned weeds showed nematicidal properties, therefore, may be used as a key component of integrated disease management programme.     

A novel homozygous 10 nucleotide deletion in BBS10 causes Bardet–Biedl syndrome in a Pakistani family

Bardet–Biedl Syndrome is a multisystem autosomal recessive disorder characterized by central obesity, polydactyly, hypogonadism, learning difficulties, rod-cone dystrophy and renal dysplasia. Bardet–Biedl Syndrome has a prevalence rate ranging from 1 in 100,000 to 1 in 160,000 births although there are communities where Bardet–Biedl Syndrome is found at a higher frequency due to consanguinity. We report here a Pakistani consanguineous family with two affected sons with typical clinical features of Bardet–Biedl Syndrome, in addition to abnormal liver functioning and bilateral basal ganglia calcification, the latter feature being typical of Fahr's disease. Homozygous regions obtained from SNP array depicted three known genes BBS10, BBS14 and BBS2. Bidirectional sequencing of all coding exons by traditional sequencing of all these three genes showed a homozygous deletion of 10 nucleotides (c.1958_1967del), in BBS10 in both affected brothers. The segregation analysis revealed that the parents, paternal grandfather, maternal grandmother and an unaffected sister were heterozygous for the deletion. Such a large deletion in BBS10 has not been reported previously in any population and is likely to be contributing to the phenotype of Bardet–Biedl Syndrome in this family.     

ECHOLOCATION IN DOLPHINS WITH A DOLPHIN-BAT COMPARISON

ABSTRACT

Dolphins possess a highly sophisticated auditory system and a keen capability for echolocation. Signals are emitted in the form of high intensity, short duration, broadband exponentially decaying pulses. The frequency spectra of echolocation signals used by many dolphins are dependent on the output intensity of the signals and not on any fine tuning by the animals. When the output intensity is low, the center frequency of the click tends to be low. As the output intensity increases, the center frequency also tends to increase. The pulses propagate from the dolphin's melon in a relatively narrow beam, and echoes are received via the lower jaw, with a slightly wider beam. Echo- locating dolphins can detect targets at ranges of approximately 100 plus meters, depending on the size of the targets. Target discrimination experiments have shown that dolphins can discriminate the shape, size, material composition and internal structure of targets from the echoes. The broadband short duration properties of the signal allow the echoes to have high temporal resolution, so that within the structure of the echoes a considerable amount of information on the properties of the target can be conveyed. A brief comparison between the bat and dolphin sonar system will also be made. Bats typically emit much longer signals and a wider variety of different types of signals than dolphins. Signals used by some bats are suited to detecting Doppler shift, whereas the dolphin signal is designed to be tolerant of Doppler effects.     

Metallic Slit–Loaded Ring Resonator–Based Plasmonic Demultiplexer with Large Crosstalk

Plasmonics - Photonics provides a key solution to limit the myriads of challenges offered by existing silicon technology. Here, we propose a simple 2-channel Plasmonic demultiplexer with...     

Music of metagenomics—a review of its applications,analysis pipeline,and associated tools

Functional & Integrative Genomics - This humble effort highlights the intricate details of metagenomics in a simple, poetic, and rhythmic way. The paper enforces the significance of the...     

Association of Household and Community Socioeconomic Position and Urbanicity with Underweight and Overweight among Women in Pakistan

Background

Similar to other developing countries, Pakistan is going through a rapid nutrition transition where shift from underweight to overweight and obesity is occurring. In this paper, we report on the relationship of household socioeconomic position (SEP), community SEP and urbanicity with under- and over-weight categories of BMI among Pakistani women.

Methods

We analyzed data on 4,767 women ages 15-49 years enrolled in a nationally representative Pakistan Demographic Health Survey (PDHS) conducted in 2012-13 that employed a multistage, stratified cluster sampling design. We assessed the association of urbanicity, household and community SEP derived from household assets and utilities, with categories of body mass index (BMI) using multinomial regression analysis where normal weight (BMI 18.6-22.5) was the reference category.

Results

Thirteen percent of women were underweight (BMI <18.5), 15% pre-overweight (BMI: 22.6-24.9), 25% overweight (BMI: 25.0–29.9) and 14% were obese (BMI≥30). Pre-overweight, overweight and obesity among women increased across household wealth quintiles (HWQs) in a graded fashion whereas there was no significant difference in underweight by household wealth. Women in urban areas were more likely to be obese. There was a pronounced increase in adjusted odds ratios (aORs) for overweight/obesity across HWQs within urban areas compared to rural areas. There was a steeper gradient in aORs for obesity from 1st to 5th HWQs in high income communities compared to the middle- and low income communities. In community-level analyses, communities in urban areas were more likely to have higher levels of obesity while in rural areas, especially in Sindh, more communities were more likely to have a higher level of underweight.

Conclusion

A shift to higher overweight and obesity than underweight in Pakistan is associated with high household and community wealth as well as living in urban areas. Clustering of obesity and underweight in distinct communities afford opportunity for tailored intervention programs.     

Synthesis,structure–activity relationship and molecular docking of 3-oxoaurones and 3-thioaurones as acetylcholinesterase and butyrylcholinesterase inhibitors

The present study describes efficient and facile syntheses of varyingly substituted 3-thioaurones from the corresponding 3-oxoaurones using Lawesson’s reagent and phosphorous pentasulfide. In comparison, the latter methodology was proved more convenient, giving higher yields and required short and simple methodology. The structures of synthetic compounds were unambiguously elucidated by IR, MS and NMR spectroscopy. All synthetic compounds were screened for their inhibitory potential against in vitro acetylcholinesterase (AChE) and butyrylcholinesterase (BChE) enzymes. Molecular docking studies were also performed in order to examine their binding interactions with AChE and BChE human proteins. Both studies revealed that some of these compounds were found to be good inhibitors against AChE and BChE.