NiO/MnFe2O4 Nanocomposite Photoluminescence, Structural, Morphological, Magnetic, and Optical Properties: Photocatalytic Removal of Cresol Red under Visible Light Irradiation.

In this study, pure nickel oxide (NiO), manganese ferrite (MnFe2O4 or MFO), and binary nickel oxide/manganese ferrite (NiO/MFO1-4) nanocomposites (NCs) were synthesized using the Sol-Gel method. A comprehensive investigation into their photoluminescence, structural, morphological, magnetic, optical, and photocatalytic properties was conducted. Raman analysis, UV-Vis spectroscopy, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and X-ray diffraction techniques were used to characterize the materials. The synthesized samples exhibited superparamagnetic behavior, as revealed by our analysis of their magnetic properties. A lower recombination rate was shown by the photoluminescence analysis, which is helpful for raising photocatalytic activity. The photocatalytic activity was evaluated for the degradation of Cresol Red (CR) dye. 91.6% of CR dye was degraded by NiO/MFO-4 nanocomposite, and the NC dosage as well as solution pH affected the photocatalytic performance significantly. In four sequential photocatalytic cycles, the magnetically separable NCs were stable and recyclable. The enhanced photocatalytic activity and magnetic separability revealed the potential application of NiO/MFO-4 as an efficient photocatalyst for the removal of dyes from industrial wastewater under solar light irradiation.

Effectiveness of functional electrical stimulation machine in managing neurological diseases - A retrospective study.

Background & Objective: Cerebrovascular Accident (CVA) or stroke, Spinal Cord injury can lead to neurological diseases resulting in major loss in motor function causing hemiplegia or tetraplegia. In 2019, according to The Global Burden of Diseases (GBD) CVA/Stroke is the second leading cause of death and the third leading cause of death and disability combined, globally. Its prevalence vary drastically among South Asian countries. The objective of this study was to determine the effectiveness of Functional Electrical Stimulation (FES) machine on neurologically impaired patients at the Physical Therapy department at IHHN, Karachi, Pakistan. Method: In this retrospective study data was extracted from August 2016 to February 2022 on patients with neurological symptoms i.e. hemiplegia or paraplegia with muscle power of two or less on Manual Muscle Testing (MMT). The parameters for evaluating patients progress pre and post treatment were MMT results and their mobility status. The number of sessions ranged between 40 to 100 sessions of Functional Electrical Stimulation (FES) provided on alternate days according to the patient's need. Result: Data of 51 patients who had completed their treatment were extracted and analyzed. The mean age of patients who completed treatment was 49.62 ± 17.26 years. Out of 51(100%), 30 (58.8%) were male and 21 (41.2%) were female. Pre- and post-treatment median (IQR) showed remarkable improvement in MMT of upper limb muscle (from 1.0 to 4.0) and lower limb muscle (from 2.0 to 4.0). Conclusion: FES cycling is an effective treatment for patients with neurological impairments, as it resulted in improvement in both upper and lower limb muscle strength, along with mobility status.

Genomic diversity of aquaporins across genus Oryza provides a rich genetic resource for development of climate resilient rice cultivars.

BACKGROUND: Plant aquaporins are critical genetic players performing multiple biological functions, especially climate resilience and water-use efficiency. Their genomic diversity across genus Oryza is yet to be explored. RESULTS: This study identified 369 aquaporin-encoding genes from 11 cultivated and wild rice species and further categorized these into four major subfamilies, among which small basic intrinsic proteins are speculated to be ancestral to all land plant aquaporins. Evolutionarily conserved motifs in peptides of aquaporins participate in transmembrane transport of materials and their relatively complex gene structures provide an evolutionary playground for regulation of genome structure and transcription. Duplication and evolution analyses revealed higher genetic conservation among Oryza aquaporins and strong purifying selections are assisting in conserving the climate resilience associated functions. Promoter analysis highlighted enrichment of gene upstream regions with cis-acting regulatory elements involved in diverse biological processes, whereas miRNA target site prediction analysis unveiled substantial involvement of osa-miR2102-3p, osa-miR2927 and osa-miR5075 in post-transcriptional regulation of gene expression patterns. Moreover, expression patterns of japonica aquaporins were significantly perturbed in response to different treatment levels of six phytohormones and four abiotic stresses, suggesting their multifarious roles in plants survival under stressed environments. Furthermore, superior haplotypes of seven conserved orthologous aquaporins for higher thousand-grain weight are reported from a gold mine of 3,010 sequenced rice pangenomes. CONCLUSIONS: This study unveils the complete genomic atlas of aquaporins across genus Oryza and provides a comprehensive genetic resource for genomics-assisted development of climate-resilient rice cultivars.

Comparative phylogenomic insights of KCS and ELO gene families in Brassica species indicate their role in seed development and stress responsiveness.

Very long-chain fatty acids (VLCFAs) possess more than twenty carbon atoms and are the major components of seed storage oil, wax, and lipids. FAE (Fatty Acid Elongation) like genes take part in the biosynthesis of VLCFAs, growth regulation, and stress responses, and are further comprised of KCS (Ketoacyl-CoA synthase) and ELO (Elongation Defective Elongase) sub-gene families. The comparative genome-wide analysis and mode of evolution of KCS and ELO gene families have not been investigated in tetraploid Brassica carinata and its diploid progenitors. In this study, 53 KCS genes were identified in B. carinata compared to 32 and 33 KCS genes in B. nigra and B. oleracea respectively, which suggests that polyploidization might has impacted the fatty acid elongation process during Brassica evolution. Polyploidization has also increased the number of ELO genes in B. carinata (17) over its progenitors B. nigra (7) and B. oleracea (6). Based on comparative phylogenetics, KCS, and ELO proteins can be classified into eight and four major groups, respectively. The approximate date of divergence for duplicated KCS and ELO genes varied from 0.03 to 3.20 million years ago (MYA). Gene structure analysis indicated that the maximum number of genes were intron-less and remained conserved during evolution. The neutral type of selection seemed to be predominant in both KCS and ELO genes evolution. String-based protein-protein interaction analysis suggested that bZIP53, a transcription factor might be involved in the activation of transcription of ELO/KCS genes. The presence of biotic and abiotic stress-related cis-regulatory elements in the promoter region suggests that both KCS and ELO genes might also play their role in stress tolerance. The expression analysis of both gene family members reflect their preferential seed-specific expression, especially during the mature embryo development stage. Furthermore, some KCS and ELO genes were found to be specifically expressed under heat stress, phosphorus starvation, and Xanthomonas campestris infection. The current study provides a basis to understand the evolution of both KCS and ELO genes in fatty acid elongation and their role in stress tolerance.

Exploration of the genomic atlas of Dof transcription factor family across genus Oryza provides novel insights on rice breeding in changing climate.

DNA-binding with one finger (Dof) transcription factors have been demonstrated to regulate various stresses and developmental processes in plants. Their identification and comparative evolutionary analyses in cultivated and wild species of genus oryza were yet to be explored. In this context, we report a comprehensive genomics atlas of DNA-binding with one finger (Dof) family genes in 13 diverse rice genomes (five cultivated and eight rice wild-relatives) through a genome-wide scanning approach. A galore of 238 Dof genes, identified across the genus Oryza, are categorized into seven distinct subgroups by comparative phylogenetic analysis with the model plant Arabidopsis. Conserved motifs and gene structure analyses unveiled the prevalence of species- and subgroups-specific structural and functional diversity that is expediating with the evolutionary period. Our results indicate that Dof genes might have undergone strong purifying selections and segmental duplications to expand their gene family members in corresponding Oryza genomes. We speculate that miR2927 potentially targets the Dof domain to regulate gene expression under different climatic conditions, which are supported by in-silico and wet-lab experiments-based expression profiles. In a nutshell, we report several superior haplotypes significantly associated with early flowering in a treasure trove of 3,010 sequenced rice accessions and have validated these haplotypes with two years of field evaluation-based flowering data of a representative subpanel. Finally, we have provided some insights on the resolution of Oryza species phylogeny discordance and divergence highlighting the mosaic evolutionary history of the genus Oryza. Overall, this study reports a complete genomic landscape of the Dof family in cultivated and wild Oryza species that could greatly facilitate in fast-track development of early maturing and climate-resilient rice cultivars through modern haplotype-led breeding.

Genome-wide characterization and functional analysis of class III peroxidase gene family in soybean reveal regulatory roles of GsPOD40 in drought tolerance.

Class III peroxidases (PODs) are plant-specific glycoproteins, that play essential roles in various plant physiological processes and defence responses. To date, scarce information is available about the POD gene family in soybean. Hence, the present study is the first comprehensive report about the genome-wide characterization of GmPOD gene family in soybean (Glycine max L.). Here, we identified a total of 124 GmPOD genes in soybean, that are unevenly distributed across the genome. Phylogenetic analysis classified them into six distinct sub-groups (A-F), with one soybean specific subgroup. Exon-intron and motif analysis suggested the existence of structural and functional diversity among the sub-groups. Duplication analysis identified 58 paralogous gene pairs; segmental duplication and positive/Darwinian selection were observed as the major factors involved in the evolution of GmPODs. Furthermore, RNA-seq analysis revealed that 23 out of a total 124 GmPODs showed differential expression between drought-tolerant and drought-sensitive genotypes under stress conditions; however, two of them (GmPOD40 and GmPOD42) revealed the maximum deregulation in all contrasting genotypes. Overexpression (OE) lines of GsPOD40 showed considerably higher drought tolerance compared to wild type (WT) plants under stress treatment. Moreover, the OE lines showed enhanced photosynthesis and enzymatic antioxidant activities under drought stress, resulting in alleviation of ROS induced oxidative damage. Hence, the GsPOD40 enhanced drought tolerance in soybean by regulating the key physiological and biochemical pathways involved in the defence response. Lastly, the results of our study will greatly assist in further functional characterization of GsPODs in plant growth and stress tolerance in soybean.

Digital health interventions (DHI) for the treatment of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in children - a comparative review of literature among various treatment and DHI.

The objective of this study is to compare game-based digital therapeutic device and other DHI like (smartphone apps, wearable technologies) for ADHD with the current pharmacological and behavior therapy. The FDA has approved a game-based digital therapeutic device - EndeavorRx, for the treatment of ADHD in pediatric patients belonging to the age group of 8-12 years old. This has been primarily recommended for the treatment of inattentive or combined-type ADHD who have demonstrated an attention issue. This is the first game-based therapeutic device to be approved by the FDA for any type of condition. According to the FDA, this has been shown to improve attention which is measured by computer-based testing. Objective: The objective of this study is to compare a game-based digital therapeutic device and other DHI (smartphone apps, wearable technologies) with the current pharmacological and behavior therapy used in the treatment of ADHD.

Genome-Wide Diversity of MADS-Box Genes in Bread Wheat is Associated with its Rapid Global Adaptability.

MADS-box gene family members play multifarious roles in regulating the growth and development of crop plants and hold enormous promise for bolstering grain yield potential under changing global environments. Bread wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) is a key stable food crop around the globe. Until now, the available information concerning MADS-box genes in the wheat genome has been insufficient. Here, a comprehensive genome-wide analysis identified 300 high confidence MADS-box genes from the publicly available reference genome of wheat. Comparative phylogenetic analyses with Arabidopsis and rice MADS-box genes classified the wheat genes into 16 distinct subfamilies. Gene duplications were mainly identified in subfamilies containing unbalanced homeologs, pointing towards a potential mechanism for gene family expansion. Moreover, a more rapid evolution was inferred for M-type genes, as compared with MIKC-type genes, indicating their significance in understanding the evolutionary history of the wheat genome. We speculate that subfamily-specific distal telomeric duplications in unbalanced homeologs facilitate the rapid adaptation of wheat to changing environments. Furthermore, our in-silico expression data strongly proposed MADS-box genes as active guardians of plants against pathogen insurgency and harsh environmental conditions. In conclusion, we provide an entire complement of MADS-box genes identified in the wheat genome that could accelerate functional genomics efforts and possibly facilitate bridging gaps between genotype-to-phenotype relationships through fine-tuning of agronomically important traits.

Grain Fe and Zn contents linked SSR markers based genetic diversity in rice.

Rice is critical for sustainable food and nutritional security; however, nominal micronutrient quantities in grains aggravate malnutrition in rice-eating poor populations. In this study, we evaluated genetic diversity in grain iron (Fe) and zinc (Zn) contents using trait-linked simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers in the representative subset of a large collection of local and exotic rice germplasm. Results demonstrated that aromatic fine grain accessions contained relatively higher Fe and Zn contents in brown rice (BR) than coarse grain accessions and a strong positive correlation between both mineral elements. Genotyping with 24 trait-linked SSR markers identified 21 polymorphic markers, among which 17 demonstrated higher gene diversity and polymorphism information content (PIC) values, strongly indicating that markers used in current research were moderate to highly informative for evaluating the genetic diversity. Population structure, principal coordinate and phylogenetic analyses classified studied rice accessions into two fine grain specific and one fine and coarse grain admixture subpopulations. Single marker analysis recognized four ZnBR and single FeBR significant marker-trait associations (MTAs) contributing 15.41-39.72% in total observed phenotypic variance. Furthermore, high grain Fe and Zn contents linked marker alleles from significant MTAs were also identified. Collectively, these results indicate a wide genetic diversity exist in grain Fe and Zn contents of studied rice accessions and reveal perspective for marker-assisted biofortification breeding.

Reproductive tissues-specific meta-QTLs and candidate genes for development of heat-tolerant rice cultivars.

KEY MESSAGE: By integrating genetics and genomics data, reproductive tissues-specific and heat stress responsive 35 meta-QTLs and 45 candidate genes were identified, which could be exploited through marker-assisted breeding for fast-track development of heat-tolerant rice cultivars. Rice holds the key to future food security. In rice-growing areas, temperature has already reached an optimum level for growth, hence, any further increase due to global climate change could significantly reduce rice yield. Several mapping studies have identified a plethora of reproductive tissue-specific and heat stress associated inconsistent quantitative trait loci (QTL), which could be exploited for improvement of heat tolerance. In this study, we performed a meta-analysis on previously reported QTLs and identified 35 most consistent meta-QTLs (MQTLs) across diverse genetic backgrounds and environments. Genetic and physical intervals of nearly 66% MQTLs were narrower than 5 cM and 2 Mb respectively, indicating hotspot genomic regions for heat tolerance. Comparative analyses of MQTLs underlying genes with microarray and RNA-seq based transcriptomic data sets revealed a core set of 45 heat-responsive genes, among which 24 were reproductive tissue-specific and have not been studied in detail before. Remarkably, all these genes corresponded to various stress associated functions, ranging from abiotic stress sensing to regulating plant stress responses, and included heat-shock genes (OsBiP2, OsMed37_1), transcription factors (OsNAS3, OsTEF1, OsWRKY10, OsWRKY21), transmembrane transporters (OsAAP7A, OsAMT2;1), sugar metabolizing (OsSUS4, α-Gal III) and abiotic stress (OsRCI2-7, SRWD1) genes. Functional data evidences from Arabidopsis heat-shock genes also suggest that OsBIP2 may be associated with thermotolerance of pollen tubes under heat stress conditions. Furthermore, promoters of identified genes were enriched with heat, dehydration, pollen and sugar responsive cis-acting regulatory elements, proposing a common regulatory mechanism might exist in rice for mitigating reproductive stage heat stress. These findings strongly support our results and provide new candidate genes for fast-track development of heat-tolerant rice cultivars.

Meta-analysis of grain iron and zinc associated QTLs identified hotspot chromosomal regions and positional candidate genes for breeding biofortified rice.

Biofortification of staple crops with essential micronutrients is the sustainable way to overcome the hidden hunger. A large number of quantitative trait loci (QTL) linked with grain micronutrient contents have been reported in different mapping studies. Identification of consistent QTLs across diverse genetic backgrounds is useful for candidate gene analysis and marker assisted selection of target traits. In this study, an up to date meta-analysis of grain iron and zinc associated QTLs was performed and 48 meta-QTLs (MQTLs) distributed across 12 rice chromosomes were identified. The 95% confidence intervals of identified genomic regions were significantly narrower than the average of their corresponding original QTLs. A total of 9308 genes/transcripts physically located within or near MQTL regions were retrieved and through prioritization of candidate genes (CGs) 663 non-redundant iron and zinc CGs were selected and studied in detailed. Several functionally characterized iron and zinc homoeostasis related genes e.g OsATM3, OsDMAS1, OsFRO2, OsNAS1-3, OsVIT2, OsYSL16, OsZIP3 and OsZIP7 were also included in our MQTL analysis. More than 64% genes were enriched with zinc and iron binding gene ontology terms and were involved in oxidation reduction process, carbohydrate metabolic process, regulation of transcription, trans-membrane transport, response to oxidative stress, cell redox homeostasis and proteolysis etc. In-silico transcriptomic analysis of rice identified 260 CGs which were regulated in response to iron and zinc stresses. We also identified at least 37 genes which were differentially expressed under both stress conditions and majority of these have not been studied in detailed before. Our results strongly indicate that majority of the MQTLs identified in this study are hotspots for grain iron and zinc concentration and are worth of intensive functional studies in near future.

Genetic and Molecular Control of Floral Organ Identity in Cereals.

Grasses represent a major family of monocots comprising mostly cereals. When compared to their eudicot counterparts, cereals show a remarkable morphological diversity. Understanding the molecular basis of floral organ identity and inflorescence development is crucial to gain insight into the grain development for yield improvement purposes in cereals, however, the exact genetic mechanism of floral organogenesis remains elusive due to their complex inflorescence architecture. Extensive molecular analyses of Arabidopsis and other plant genera and species have established the ABCDE floral organ identity model. According to this model, hierarchical combinatorial activities of A, B, C, D, and E classes of homeotic genes regulate the identity of different floral organs with partial conservation and partial diversification between eudicots and cereals. Here, we review the developmental role of A, B, C, D, and E gene classes and explore the recent advances in understanding the floral development and subsequent organ specification in major cereals with reference to model plants. Furthermore, we discuss the evolutionary relationships among known floral organ identity genes. This comparative overview of floral developmental genes and associated regulatory factors, within and between species, will provide a thorough understanding of underlying complex genetic and molecular control of flower development and floral organ identity, which can be helpful to devise innovative strategies for grain yield improvement in cereals.

GmWRKY49, a Salt-Responsive Nuclear Protein, Improved Root Length and Governed Better Salinity Tolerance in Transgenic Arabidopsis.

Plant WRKY transcription factors (TFs) are active guardians against pathogens' insurgency, key components in developmental processes, contributors in signal transduction pathways, and regulators of diverse biotic and abiotic stress responses. In this research, we isolated, cloned, and functionally characterized a new WRKY TF GmWRKY49 from soybean. GmWRKY49 is a nuclear protein which contains two highly conserved WRKY domains and a C2H2-type zinc-finger structure. The normalized expression (log2 ratio) of GmWRKY49 was 2.75- and 1.90-fold in salt-tolerant and salt-susceptible soybean genotypes, respectively. The transcripts of GmWRKY49 could be detected in roots, stems, leaves, flowers, and almost no expression in pod tissues. The salinity-tolerance response of this gene was studied through overexpression in soybean composite seedlings and transgenic Arabidopsis. The effect of GmWRKY49 overexpression on root length of transgenic Arabidopsis was also investigated. Under salt stress, several parameters including germination rate, survival rate, root length, rosette diameter, relative electrolyte leakage, and proline content were significantly higher in composite seedlings and transgenic Arabidopsis than those in wild-type. Moreover, GmWRKY49 enhanced salinity tolerance in soybean mosaic seedlings and transgenic Arabidopsis. These results suggest that GmWRKY49 is a positive regulator of salinity tolerance in soybean and has high potential utilization for crop improvement.

Attitudes of medical students towards incentives offered by pharmaceutical companies -- perspective from a developing nation -- a cross-sectional study.

BACKGROUND: A training physician has his first interaction with a pharmaceutical representative during medical school. Medical students are often provided with small gifts such as pens, calendars and books, as well as free lunches as part of drug promotion offers. Ethical impact of these transactions as perceived by young medical students has not been investigated in Pakistan before. This study aimed to assess the association of socio-demographic variables with the attitudes of medical students towards pharmaceutical companies and their incentives. METHODS: As part of a cross-sectional survey, a validated questionnaire previously used for assessing attitude of medical students towards pharmaceutical industry, was modified, pre-tested and distributed among consenting clinical year students at DUHS and AKU. Questions included acceptability of pharmaceutically sponsored gifts, events and tuition fee, and their impact on future prescription. Responses were graded as agree, disagree or neutral which were then scored according to the AMSA guidelines of ethical conduct. RESULTS: Out of a total of 353 targeted students 303 responded, corresponding to a response rate of 85.8%. Responses indicated that 42.7% students believed in no interaction with drug companies during medical school. However, 81% of students favored pharmaceutical sponsorship of student-body events/seminars at medical colleges. More than one-third of the students were comfortable receiving gifts from drug companies. Overall, the results of this study offer an interesting comparison between the students of a private medical school (AKU) and a public medical school (DUHS); AKU students exhibited a greater degree of mistrust towards drug information provided by pharmaceutical companies compared to DUHS students (p = 0.040). Furthermore, when asked if there was a need to incorporate guidelines in the undergraduate curriculum with regard to interaction with drug companies, 84.2% students at AKU agreed, compared to 54.9% at DUHS. Medical student Attitude Scores are more or less similar to each other independent of their various demographical differences. CONCLUSION: This study highlights that medical students in our population have a high level of acceptability towards incentives offered by pharmaceutical industry and that formal guidance regarding the subject should be incorporated into medical curriculum.