Drought is a main abiotic stress that restricts plant growth and development. The increased global demand of anti-cancer alkaloids extracted from periwinkle (Catharanthus roseus) is mainly related to ...plant growth and development, which are severely affected by drought. Chitosan nanoparticles (CSNPs) have been used to boost plant growth and defense mechanism, however their impact to alleviate drought stress of C. roseus has not been investigated yet. In this study, control and stressed plants (100 and 50% of field capacity FC, respectively) were subjected to CSNPs application at 1%. Drought stress considerably reduced plant growth, relative water content (RWC), stomatal conductance and total chlorophyll; however, CSNPs mitigated these effects. They enhanced proline accumulation and the activity of catalase (CAT) and ascorbate peroxidase (APX) with possible mitigation of drought-induced oxidative stress. Therefore, they reduced H2O2 and malondialdehyde (MDA) accumulation, and eventually preserved membrane integrity. Drought stress increased alkaloid accumulation, and further increase was observed with the application of CSNPs. High alkaloid content was associated with induced gene expression of strictosidine synthase (STR), deacetylvindoline-4-O-acetyltransferase (DAT), peroxidase 1 (PRX1) and geissoschizine synthase (GS) up to 5.6 folds under drought stress, but more accumulation was noticed with the application of CSNPs. Overall, this study is the first on using CSNPs to mitigate drought stress of C. roseus by inducing the antioxidant potential and gene expression of alkaloid biosynthesis.
•Application of CSNPs enhanced the growth of water-stressed C. roseus.•Accumulation of MDA and H2O2 were lowered due to CSNPs treatment.•CSNPs induced the activities of CAT and APX enzymes under drought.•CSNPs afforded considerable protection against water-induced oxidative damage.•CSNPs increased alkaloid content and STR, DAT, PRX1 and GS genes expressions under drought.
The major interest of this research is to study the flow characteristics and heat transfer of a hybrid nanofluid due to stretching/shrinking surface. The surface is permeable, which allowing fluid ...suction from the wall mass. The mathematical model is based on a single phase nanofluid model with modified thermophysical properties. The similarity transformation is used to alter the partial differential equations into coupled nonlinear ordinary differential equations, which are then tackled numerically using the bvp4c function in MATLAB software. The characteristics of different controlling parameters on velocity and temperature distributions along with skin friction coefficient and heat transfer rate are illustrated graphically. The results reveal that in comparison to simple nanofluid, the hybrid nanofluid is more efficient in heat conduction due to its strong thermal properties. It is further observed that Eckert number has no effect on boundary layer separation, whereas the higher value of suction parameter may have an effect on heat transfer performance. Finally, the numerical outcomes are compared to already published results in the limiting scenario and found to be in good accord.
It is very uncommon to discover Paragangliomas in the urinary bladder. These tumours originate from the sympathetic nerves which supply chromaffin cells in the bladder wall. They can be classified as ...functional or non-functional. If functional, the most common presentations are with hypertensive crisis or post-micturition syncope. A silent paraganglioma of the bladder can be easily misdiagnosed which can result in severe peri-operative morbidity. We present a case of a male patient who was being managed for hypertension for 2-3 years. He presented at The Indus Hospital, Karachi on 7th August 2022 with gross painless haematuria. An ultrasound scan revealed an echogenic lesion arising from base of the urinary bladder, which was treated via Transurethral Resection of Bladder Tumour (TURBT). Histopathological report revealed Paraganglioma of the Bladder. He was later scheduled for Partial Cystectomy (PC) and has been doing well ever since.
Conventional energy sources are a major source of pollution. Major efforts are being made by global organizations to reduce CO2 emissions. Research shows that by 2030, EVs can reduce CO2 emissions by ...28%. However, two major obstacles affect the widespread adoption of electric vehicles: the high cost of EVs and the lack of charging stations. This paper presents a comprehensive data-driven approach based demand-side management for a solar-powered electric vehicle charging station connected to a microgrid. The proposed approach utilizes a solar-powered electric vehicle charging station to compensate for the energy required during peak demand, which reduces the utilization of conventional energy sources and shortens the problem of fewer EVCS in the current scenario. PV power stations, commercial loads, residential loads, and electric vehicle charging stations were simulated using the collected real-time data. Furthermore, a deep learning approach was developed to control the energy supply to the microgrid and to charge the electric vehicle from the grid during off-peak hours. Furthermore, two different machine learning approaches were compared to estimate the state of charge estimation of an energy storage system. Finally, the proposed framework of the demand management system was executed for a case study of 24 hours. The results reflect that peak demand has been compensated with the help of an electric vehicle charging station during peak hours.
This article reports on an exploratory aspect of a larger study that examines unfair dismissal arbitration decisions relating to misconduct derived dismissals made by Australia's federal industrial ...tribunal. The central proposition explored is that an association occurs between the arbitrator's work history and their decision to overturn a dismissal. The arbitrators' previous occupations were classified based on their alignment with unitarist (employer harmony) and pluralist (worker interests) frameworks, or the ‘blended’ place in between. Subsequent logistic regression modelling allowed us to identify three types of arbitral decision styles: systems‐driven, evidence‐based and restorative‐voice. These decision styles offer our readership a descriptive framework that consolidates statistically significant decision factors. Australian media reports and professional forums scrutinise the appointment of members to its national industrial tribunal and the decisions that they make. The decision styles presented here can inform organisational stakeholders, including workers, HR managers, supervisors, unions and industry bodies who need to apply and/or respond to misconduct‐driven dismissal processes or formulate relevant policies, processes and systems such as codes of conduct or performance management.
The world receives more than 200 thousand people in a day and it is expected that the total world population will reach 9.6 billion by the year 2050. This will result in extra food demand, which can ...only be met from enhanced crop yield. Therefore, modernization of the agricultural sector becomes the need of the hour. There are many constraints that are responsible for the low production of crops, which can be overcome by using drone technology in the agriculture sector. This paper presents an analysis of drone technologies and their modifications with time in the agriculture sector in the last decade. The application of drones in the area of crop monitoring, and pesticide spraying for Precision Agriculture (PA) has been covered. The work done related to drone structure, multiple sensor development, innovation in spot area spraying has been presented. Moreover, the use of Artificial Intelligent (AI) and deep learning for the remote monitoring of crops has been discussed.
Soil compaction causes substantial reduction in agriculture productivity and has always been of great distress for farmers. Intensive agriculture seems to be more crucial in causing compaction. High ...mechanical load, less crop diversification, intensive grazing, and irrigation methods lead to soil compaction. It is further exasperated when these factors are accompanied with low organic matter, animal trampling, engine vibrations, and tillage at high moisture contents. Soil compaction increases soil bulk density and soil strength, while decreases porosity, aggregate stability index, soil hydraulic conductivity, and nutrient availability, thus reduces soil health. Consequently, it lowers crop performance via stunted aboveground growth coupled with reduced root growth. This paper reviews the potential causes of compaction and its consequences that have been published in last two decades. Various morphological and physiological alterations in plant as result of soil compaction have also been discussed in this review.
Abstract
Introduction
Oral cancer is considered a major global public health problem. The causes of OSCC are tobacco, alcohol, viral infections such as EBV, HPV, and herpes simplex virus, poor oral ...hygiene (including sharp teeth and decay), ill-fitting denture, ultraviolet (UV) exposure, nutrition, and genetic predisposition. The etiology of oral cancer varies in different populations due to area-specific etiological factors.
Objective
Finding a correlation of histopathological pattern to the tumor site and habits as an outcome of OSCC.
Methods
This cross-sectional study was conducted in Karachi, Pakistan. A total of 100 known cases of an oral squamous cell carcinoma were diagnosed with the help of biopsy reports and were examined for histopathologic features, site of the lesion, and risk habits.
Results
48 years was the mean age at the time of diagnosis with a distribution of 61% men and 39% women. The frequently affected site was buccal mucosa and the prime risk habit was gutka followed by betel quid. Histologically, the degree of differentiation shows that moderately differentiated OSCC was most commonly present, while the most prevalent histopathological pattern was spindle cell carcinoma. The statistical relation between lesion site and tobacco habits was found to be significant with a
p
value (
p
= 0.01).
Conclusion
Rates of oral squamous cell carcinoma are higher in males than females with a mean age at the time of diagnosis being less than 50 years. Frequently placing gutka in the buccal vestibule against buccal mucosa is responsible to make buccal mucosa the most common tumor site. This study provides baseline information regarding habits.
Biochar (BC) has attracted attention due to its impacts on soil quality by enhancing soil fertility, carbon storage and contaminants immobilization. BC also induces changes in microbial community ...structure and enhances crop productivity in long term scenarios compared to many other organic amendments. However, information related to the role of modified BCs in altering the soil quality is still scarce. BC can be modified by using physical, chemical and microbial methods. Modified BC can change the functional groups, pore size, pore structure, surface area and chemical properties of soil, which plays a key role in changing the soil quality. The addition of modified BCs as soil amendment increased soil CEC (cation exchange capacity), EC (electron conductivity), pH, organic matter, hydraulic conductivity, soil porosity, infiltration rate, microbial activities (enzymes and community), nutrient profile and gas exchange properties, but it varies according to the soil structure and pervading environmental conditions. This study provides a basis for effective practical approaches to modifying BCs for improving soil quality.
We conducted a systematic review of the literature on the effects of cordycepin on cell survival and proliferation, inflammation, signal transduction and animal models. A total of 1204 publications ...on cordycepin were found by the cut-off date of 1 February 2021. After application of the exclusion criteria, 791 papers remained. These were read and data on the chosen subjects were extracted. We found 192 papers on the effects of cordycepin on cell survival and proliferation and calculated a median inhibitory concentration (IC
) of 135 µM. Cordycepin consistently repressed cell migration (26 papers) and cellular inflammation (53 papers). Evaluation of 76 papers on signal transduction indicated consistently reduced PI3K/mTOR/AKT and ERK signalling and activation of AMPK. In contrast, the effects of cordycepin on the p38 and Jun kinases were variable, as were the effects on cell cycle arrest (53 papers), suggesting these are cell-specific responses. The examination of 150 animal studies indicated that purified cordycepin has many potential therapeutic effects, including the reduction of tumour growth (37 papers), repression of pain and inflammation (9 papers), protecting brain function (11 papers), improvement of respiratory and cardiac conditions (8 and 19 papers) and amelioration of metabolic disorders (8 papers). Nearly all these data are consistent with cordycepin mediating its therapeutic effects through activating AMPK, inhibiting PI3K/mTOR/AKT and repressing the inflammatory response. We conclude that cordycepin has excellent potential as a lead for drug development, especially for age-related diseases. In addition, we discuss the remaining issues around the mechanism of action, toxicity and biodistribution of cordycepin.
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