Identification of the odorant binding proteins of Western Flower Thrips (Frankliniella occidentalis), characterization and binding analysis of FoccOBP3 with molecular modelling, molecular dynamics simulations and a confirmatory field trial.

Olfactory systems are indispensable for insects as they, including Western Flower Thrips (Frankliniella occidentalis), use olfactory cues for ovipositing and feeding. F. occidentalis use odorant binding proteins (OBPs) to transport semiochemicals to odorant receptors to induce a behavioural response from the sensillum lymph of the insect's antennae. This study identifies four OBPs of F. occidentalis and analyses their expression at three stages of growth: larvae, adult males and adult females. Further, it investigates the presence of conserved motifs and their phylogenetic relationship to other insect species. Moreover, FoccOBP3 was in silico characterized to analyse its structure along with molecular docking and molecular dynamics simulations to understand its binding with semiochemicals of F. occidentalis. Molecular docking revealed the interactions of methyl isonicotinate, p-anisaldehyde and (S)-(-)-verbenone with FoccOBP3. Moreover, molecular dynamics simulations showed bonding stability of these ligands with FoccOBP3, and field trials validated that Lurem TR (commercial product) and p-anisaldehyde had greater attraction as compared to (S)-(-)-verbenone, given the compound's binding with FoccOBP3. The current study helps in understanding the tertiary structure and interaction of FoccOBP3 with lures using computational and field data and will help in the identification of novel lures of insects in the future, given the importance of binding with OBPs.Communicated by Ramaswamy H. Sarma.

Trends and social aspects in the management and conversion of agricultural residues into valuable resources: A comprehensive approach to counter environmental degradation, food security, and climate change.

The circular economy is essential as it encourages the reuse and recycling of resources while reducing waste, which ultimately helps to reduce environmental pollution and boosts economic efficiency. The current review highlights the management of agricultural and livestock residues and their conversion into valuable resources to combat environmental degradation and improve social well-being. The current trends in converting agricultural residues into useful resources emphasize the social benefits of waste management and conversion. It also emphasizes how waste conversion can reduce environmental degradation and enhance food security. Using agricultural residues can increase soil health and agricultural output while reducing pollution, greenhouse gas emissions, and resource depletion. Promoting sustainable waste-to-resource conversion processes requires a combination of strategies that address technical, economic, social, and environmental aspects. These multiple strategies are highlighted along with prospects and considerations.

How fear of intimacy affects infertile men's neuropsychological functioning through mental toughness.

Objective: There is a significant need in Pakistan to investigate the psychological effects of infertility on the mental health of infertile men. The current study examined how fear of intimacy affects neuropsychological impairment and evaluated its relationship to other variables including quality of life and mental toughness. Method: An analytical cross-sectional study was carried out on infertile male patients in various healthcare settings in Punjab, Pakistan. The participants were recruited using a non-probability (purposive) sampling strategy. The sample size was 120 infertile. SPSS 26 was used to analyze the data. Results: Fear of intimacy was found significant impact on neuropsychological impairment (r = 0.40; ***p < 0.001), as well as fear of intimacy, significantly associated with emotional problems (r = 0.48; **p < 0.01), learning problems (r = 0.33; **p < 0.01), sensory and motor problem (r = 0.55; **p < 0.01), concentration problem (r = 0.21; **p < 0.01), mental & physical in coordination (r = 0.37; **p < 0.01) and depression (r = 0.22; **p < 0.01). Fear of intimacy has negative impact on QoL (r = -0.25; *p > 0.05). Similarly, neuropsychological impairment was found to be negatively associated with QoL (r = -0.52; **p > 0.01). The relationship between fear of intimacy and neuropsychological impairment was found to be significantly mediated by QoL. Furthermore, the findings revealed that mental toughness significantly moderated the relationship between fear of intimacy and neuropsychological impairment. Conclusion: Overall, infertile men in Pakistan had relatively high levels of fear of intimacy, which largely caused neuropsychological impairment. This study can help neuropsychological researchers, mental health professionals, as well as policymakers in improving clinical mental health practices for infertile patients.

Geochemical distribution and environmental risk assessment of trace metals in groundwater released from e-waste management activities in Lahore, Pakistan.

Non-sustainable e-waste recycling and dumping activities release trace metals into the ambient environment where they may threaten the biological communities and human health. A total of 45 groundwater and 21 leachate samples were collected from seven recycling, seven dumping, and one reference site in Lahore, Pakistan, and analyzed for Cu, Pb, Zn, Cd, Mn, and Fe in atomic absorption spectrophotometer. Comparing the results with the World Health Organization (WHO) standards of drinking water, only the concentrations of Cu, Zn, Mn, and Fe at all sites were found to be within the permissible limits, i.e., 2, 3, 0.5, and 1 mg/L, respectively. In leachates, only Cd and Mn at one site (0.204 and 8.636 mg/L, respectively) exceeded the allowable limits of National Environmental Quality Standards of Municipal and Liquid industrial effluents. Geo-accumulation index, contamination factor, contamination degree, and pollution load index values showed no to moderate contamination. The ecological risk index did not exceed 150, depicting low risk to nearby biological communities. The non-carcinogenic health risk assessment showed a hazard index value greater than 1 at all sites for children (2.04) and adults (1.52), with Pb being the major contributor to adverse health impacts via ingestion and dermal route. Children (1.21 × 10-4) were at a more significant threat of carcinogenic risk from Pb and Cd as compared to adults (8.10 × 10-5). Therefore, there is a dire need to introduce sustainable e-waste recycling and managing techniques to reduce further groundwater contamination via the percolation of trace metals and to reduce the current contamination level.

How Daily Obstacles Affect Frontline Healthcare Professionals' Mental Health during Omicron: A Daily Diary Study of Handwashing Behavior.

Based on coping theory, the current research examines how and why COVID-19 phobia affects frontline healthcare professionals' mental health, as well as their burnout and work-related stress. We focused on the mediating role of burnout and work-related stress in this study. In the current study, we also examined the moderating influence of healthcare professionals' handwashing behavior using the Hayes Process model. We employed a daily diary approach to collect data from respondents in Pakistan's frontline healthcare professionals (n = 79, 79 × 10 = 790) who were directly treating COVID-19 patients during the omicron wave. According to the findings of the study, COVID-19 phobia significantly disturbs healthcare professionals' mental health, as well as significantly strengthens burnout and work-related stress. The findings also demonstrated that burnout significantly negatively influences mental health. The mediation influence of burnout and work-related stress in the association between COVID-19 phobia and mental health has shown to be significant. The moderation analysis revealed that high handwashing behavior significantly buffers the negative impact of COVID-19 phobia, as well as the adverse effect of burnout on healthcare professionals' mental health. Moreover, our findings have theoretical and managerial implications, as well as new research directions for scholars to understand the adverse impact of daily obstacles on professionals' (nurses and doctors, etc.) mental health and work performance, as well as issues based on resource conversation philosophy.

Odorant Binding Proteins (OBPs) and Odorant Receptors (ORs) of Anopheles stephensi: Identification and comparative insights.

Anopheles stephensi is an important vector of malaria in the South Asia, the Middle East, and Eastern Africa. The olfactory system of An. stephensi plays an important role in host-seeking, oviposition, and feeding. Odorant binding proteins (OBPs) are globular proteins that play a pivotal role in insect olfaction by transporting semiochemicals through the sensillum lymph to odorant receptors (ORs). Custom motifs designed from annotated OBPs of Aedes aegypti, Drosophila melanogaster, and Anopheles gambiae were used for the identification of putative OBPs from protein sequences of the An. stephensi Indian strain. Further, BLASTp was also performed to identify missing OBPs and ORs. Subsequently, the presence of domains common to OBPs was confirmed. Identified OBPs were further classified into three sub-classes. Phylogenetic and syntenic analyses were carried out to find homology, and thus the evolutionary relationship between An. stephensi OBPs and ORs with those of An. gambiae, Ae. aegypti and D. melanogaster. Gene structure and physicochemical properties of the OBPs and ORs were also predicted. A total of 44 OBPs and 45 ORs were predicted from the protein sequences of An. stephensi. OBPs were further classified into the classic (27), atypical (10) and plus-C (7) OBP subclasses. The phylogeny revealed close relationship of An. stephensi OBPs and ORs with An. gambiae homologs whereas only five OBPs and two ORs of An. stephensi were related to Ae. aegypti OBPs and ORs, respectively. However, D. melanogaster OBPs and ORs were distantly rooted. Synteny analyses showed the presence of collinear block between the OBPs and ORs of An. stephensi and An. gambiae as well as Ae. aegypti's. No homology was found with D. melanogaster OBPs and ORs. As an important component of the olfactory system, correctly identifying a species' OBPs and ORs provide a valuable resource for downstream translational research that will ultimately aim to better control the malaria vector An. stephensi.

Comprehensive Analyses of NAC Transcription Factor Family in Almond (Prunus dulcis) and Their Differential Gene Expression during Fruit Development.

As plant specific transcription factors, NAC (NAM, ATAF1/2, CUC2) domain is involved in the plant development and stress responses. Due to the vitality of NAC gene family, BLASTp was performed to identify NAC genes in almond (Prunus dulcis). Further, phylogenetic and syntenic analyses were performed to determine the homology and evolutionary relationship. Gene duplication, gene structure, motif, subcellular localization, and cis-regulatory analyses were performed to assess the function of PdNAC. Whereas RNA-seq analysis was performed to determine the differential expression of PdNAC in fruits at various developmental stages. We identified 106 NAC genes in P. dulcis genome and were renamed according to their chromosomal distribution. Phylogenetic analysis in both P. dulcis and Arabidopsis thaliana revealed the presence of 14 subfamilies. Motif and gene structure followed a pattern according to the PdNAC position in phylogenetic subfamilies. Majority of NAC are localized in the nucleus and have ABA-responsive elements in the upstream region of PdNAC. Differential gene expression analyses revealed one and six PdNAC that were up and down-regulated, respectively, at all development stages. This study provides insights into the structure and function of PdNAC along with their role in the fruit development to enhance an understanding of NAC in P. dulcis.

Genome-Wide Identification of Stress-Associated Proteins (SAPs) Encoding A20/AN1 Zinc Finger in Almond (Prunus dulcis) and Their Differential Expression during Fruit Development.

Stress-associated proteins (SAPs) are zinc finger proteins involved in the regulation of various stresses in a variety of plant species. A total of nine PdSAP genes were identified in Prunus dulcis. Phylogenetic and synteny analyses were performed to analyze the homology and evolutionary relationship of PdSAP genes. The functions of PdSAP genes were assessed by further analyses, including cis-regulatory elements, gene duplication, gene ontology, gene structure, subcellular localization, and motif pattern. This study found that PdSAP genes were unevenly distributed on chromosomes 2, 3, 6, and 7. Phylogenetic analysis of PdSAP genes with Arabidopsis thaliana and Oryza sativa suggested that six subgroups have a similar pattern of AN1 and A20 domains in each subgroup. PdSAP genes lacked duplicated blocks. The majority of PdSAP genes were localized in the nucleus region. Three hormonal and five stress cis-regulatory elements were found in the upstream promoter region of the PdSAP gene family. RNA-seq analysis revealed differential gene expression of PdSAP genes at days 12, 17, 22, 27, 32, and 37 of fruitlet development after flowering. This study identifies the SAP genes in P. dulcis and also provides insights into the expression of PdSAP genes in abnormal fruitlets with diapause atrophic growth at various developmental stages.