Identification of the HAK gene family reveals their critical response to potassium regulation during adventitious root formation in apple rootstock

Adventitious root formation is a bottleneck during vegetative proliferation.Potassium(K^(+))is an essential macronutrient for plants.K^(+)accumulation from the soil and its distribution to the different plant organs is mediated by K^(+)transporters named K^(+)transporter(KT),K^(+)uptake(KUP),or high-affinity K^(+)(HAK).This study aimed to identify members of the HAK gene family in apples and to characterize the effects of K^(+)supply on adventitious root formation and on the expression of HAK genes and the genes that putatively control auxin transport,signaling,and cell fate during adventitious root formation.In this study,34 HAK genes(MdHAKs)were identified in the apple(Malus×domestica‘Golden Delicious’)genome.A phylogenetic analysis divided MdHAKs into four clusters(Ⅰ,Ⅱ,Ⅲ,andⅣ),comprising 16,1,4,and 13 genes,respectively.The syntenic relationships revealed that 62.5%of the total MdHAK genes arise from genomic duplication events.Chromosome location,domain structure,motif analysis,and physico-chemical characteristics were subsequently investigated.Furthermore,the application of K^(+)indicated the emergence of adventitious roots at 8 d and produced more adventitious roots at 16 d than the K^(+)-free control(CK)treatment.In addition,various MdHAKs showed root-specific expression in B9 apple rootstock stem cuttings and enhanced expression during the initiation and emergence stages of adventitious root formation in response to K^(+)treatment.Additionally,K^(+)treatment enhanced the expression levels of MdPIN1,MdPIN2,and MdAUX1.Further data indicated that a higher expression of MdWOX11,MdLBD16,and MdLBD29 and of cell cycle-related genes contributed to the auxin-stimulated adventitious root formation in response to K^(+).

Depositional Environment and Lithofacies Analyses of Eocene Lacustrine Shale in the Bohai Bay Basin:Insights from Mineralogy and Elemental Geochemistry

The effect of various depositional parameters including paleoclimate,paleosalinity and provenance,on the depositional mechanism of lacustrine shale is very important in reconstructing the depositional environment.The classification of shale lithofacies and the interpretation of shale depositional environment are key features used in shale oil and gas exploration and development activity.The lower 3rd member of the Eocene Shahejie Formation(Es_(3)^(x)shale)was selected for this study,as one of the main prospective intervals for shale oil exploration and development in the intracratonic Bohai Bay Basin.Mineralogically,it is composed of quartz(avg.9.6%),calcite(avg.58.5%),dolomite(avg.7%),pyrite(avg.3.3%)and clay minerals(avg.20%).An advanced methodology(thin-section petrography,total organic carbon and total organic sulfur contents analysis,X-ray diffraction(XRD),X-ray fluorescence(XRF),field-emission scanning electron microscopy(FE-SEM))was adopted to establish shale lithofacies and to interpret the depositional environment in the lacustrine basin.Six different types of lithofacies were recognized,based on mineral composition,total organic carbon(TOC)content and sedimentary structures.Various inorganic geochemical proxies(Rb/Sr,Ca/(Ca+Fe),Ti/Al,Al/Ca,Al/Ti,Zr/Rb)have been used to interpret and screen variations in depositional environmental parameters during the deposition of the Es_(3)^(x)shale.The experimental results indicate that the environment during the deposition of the Es_(3)^(x)shale was warm and humid with heightened salinities,moderate to limited detrital input,higher paleohydrodynamic settings and strong oxygen deficient(reducing)conditions.A comprehensive depositional model of the lacustrine shale was developed.The interpretations deduced from this research work are expected to not only expand the knowledge of shale lithofacies classification for lacustrine fine-grained rocks,but can also offer a theoretical foundation for lacustrine shale oil exploration and development.

Comparative Analysis of Pythagorean MCDM Methods for the Risk Assessment of Childhood Cancer

According to the World Health Organization(WHO),cancer is the leading cause of death for children in low and middle-income countries.Around 400,000 kids get diagnosed with this illness each year,and their survival rate depends on the country in which they live.In this article,we present a Pythagorean fuzzy model that may help doctors identify the most likely type of cancer in children at an early stage by taking into account the symptoms of different types of cancer.The Pythagorean fuzzy decision-making techniques that we utilize are Pythagorean Fuzzy TOPSIS,Pythagorean Fuzzy Entropy(PF-Entropy),and Pythagorean Fuzzy PowerWeighted Geometric(PFPWG).Ourmodel is fed with nineteen symptoms and it diagnoses the risk of eight types of cancers in children.We develop an algorithm for each method and calculate its complexity.Additionally,we consider an example to make a clear understanding of our model.We also compare the final results of various tests that prove the authenticity of this study.

Umbilical Cord Care Practices and Cord Care Education of Mothers Attending Health Care (Pakistan Prospect)

Neonatal mortality is of global concern, it is the death in the first month of life. According to WHO, 2.4 million children died globally in the first month of life2. Globally the neonatal mortality rate declined slowly from 28/100 live births in 2000 to 17.9/100 live births in 2019. It is a major challenge for the low socioeconomic group of countries. Most neonatal deaths occurred in south Asia and African countries, in 2019 out of 2.4 million death 81% occurred in the Southeast Asia. Objective: To evaluate and improve cord care practices of mothers to reduce the risk of cord related infections. Methodology: The mixed method will be used in this research, questionnaire is used for data collection, total collected sample is 391. Results: 354 (91.0%) of the 394 patients analyzed obtained prenatal care (ANC) in both traditional and nontraditional settings. Among these, 288 (72.3%) got cord care health education, whereas 106 (27.7%) did not. The overall documentation of the instructions for the use of metabolized spirits alone included 116 (48.9%) teaching institutions and 103 (43.5%) private hospitals. the average results show the age of the baby 1 - 7 days, the average age of the mother is 18 - 25 years. The average education of the mothers is primary. Participation of health centers is average. Most of the participants has 1 child. Conclusion: This research concludes the poor umbilical cord practices and knowledge. Those with information used it better. Raise awareness about umbilical cord care and improper behaviors, including using mentholated balms. Before women leave the hospital, they should learn cord care. Mothers must clean wires. Several healthcare organizations don’t provide cord care instruction, and what they provide isn’t research-based.

Randomized control trial of a culturally adapted behavioral activation therapy for Muslim patients with depression in Pakistan

BACKGROUND Behavioral activation therapy(BA)is as effective as cognitive behavior therapy(CBT)in treating depression and can be delivered by practitioners with much less psychological training,making it particularly suitable for low resource settings.BA that is culturally adapted for Muslims(BA-M)is a culturally adapted form of BA that has been found acceptable and feasible for Muslims with depression in the United Kingdom and Turkey;however,this is the first time that its efficacy has been determined through a definitive randomized controlled trial.AIM To compare the effectiveness of BA-M with CBT for Muslim patients with depression in Pakistan.METHODS One hundred and eight patients were randomized 1:1 to treatment arms in a parallel-group randomized controlled trial in hospital or community sites in Lahore,Pakistan.Recruitment followed self-referral or referrals from clinicians,consultants or relevant professionals at each site.Four measures were recorded by blinded assessors:The patient health questionnaire-9(PHQ-9);the BA for depression scale short form(BADS-SF);symptom checklist-revised and the World Health Organization Quality-of-Life Brief Scale.All measures were recorded at baseline and post treatment;PHQ-9 and BADS-SF were also recorded at each session and at three month follow up.The primary analysis was to regress the PHQ-9 score after therapy upon the PHQ-9 score before therapy(baseline)and the type of therapy given,that is,analysis of covariance.In addition,analysis using PHQ-9 scores collected at each therapy session was employed in a 2-level regression model.RESULTS Patients in the BA-M arm experienced greater improvement in PHQ-9 score of 1.95 units compared to the CBT arm after adjusting for baseline values(P=0.006)The key reason behind this improvement was that patients were retained in therapy longer under BA-M,in which patients were retained for an average 0.75 sessions more than CBT patients(P=0.013).Patients also showed significant differences on physical(P<0.001),psychological(P=0.004)and social(P=0.047)domains of Quality of Life(QoL)at post treatment level,indicating an increased QoL in the BA-M group as compared to the treatment as usual group.Some baseline differences were noted in both groups for BA scores and two domains of QoL scale:Physical and environment,which might have influenced the results,though the BA-M group showed more improvement at completion of therapy.CONCLUSION Results proved the efficacy of BA-M in reducing symptoms for depressed patients in Pakistan,indicating BA-M is a promising treatment modality for depression in future,particularly in low resource settings.

Trace element geochemistry and stable isotopic(δ^(13)C andδ^(15)N)records of the Paleocene coals,Salt Range,Punjab,Pakistan

The Paleocene coals of the Salt Range in the Punjab Province of Pakistan have great economic potential;however,their trace element and stable isotopic characteristics have not been studied in detail except for a few sporadic samples.In this study,a total of 59 coal samples of which 14 are obtained from open cast mines have been investigated for elemental composition andδ^(13)C-δ^(15)N isotopic signatures.Average contents of trace elements such as Co,Cr,Cu,Pb,Sr,Th,U,V,and Zn are 7.4,41.7,11.2,12.5,90.2,4.0,1.9,128,and 31.1 mg/kg,respectively.These values,when compared with the World Coal Clarke values,were relatively higher in low-rank coals in comparison with Clarke values for brown coals.Likewise,As(20.4 mg/kg),Co(6.6 mg/kg),Cr(22.4 mg/kg),Cu(^(13).3 mg/kg),Pb(19.2 mg/kg),Sr(^(15)4.7 mg/kg),Th(2.5 mg/kg),V(47.8 mg/kg),and Zn(75.1 mg/kg)were significantly higher in the sub-bituminous to bituminous coals of the Salt Range.Mineralogical analysis,based on X-ray diffraction and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy,revealed that the studied samples contain illite,kaolinite calcite,gypsum,pyrite,and quartz.Elemental affinity with organic and inorganic phases of coals calculated by an indirect statistical approach indicated a positive association of ash content with Ag,Al,Co,Cr,Cs,Cu,Mn,P,Rb,Pb,Th,U,and V,suggesting the presence of inorganic components in studied coals.However,As,Fe,Sr,and Zn exhibit negative correlations that imply their association with the organic fraction.Theδ^(13)C andδ^(15)N isotopic range and average−24.94‰to−25.86‰(−25.41‰)and−2.77‰to 3.22‰(0.96‰),respectively,reflecting 3C type modern terrestrial vegetation were common in the palaeomires of studied coal seams.In addition,the trivial variations of 0.92‰and 0.45‰among^(13)C and^(15)N values can be attributed to water level fluctuations and plant assemblies.

Surface Morphological Characterization of CoCexFe2?xO4 Spinal Ferrites Synthesized by Solide-State Reaction Method

The Spinal Ferrite CoCexFe2?xO4 with different compositions (x = 0.0, 0.33, 0.66, 1.0) were prepared by solid state reaction method. FTIR (Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy), SEM (Scanning Electron Microscopy) and UV Spectroscopy (Ultraviolet) have been used to study the phase conformation, morphology and structural properties of all synthesized compositions respectively. Lattice constant was observed to be decreased as smaller ionic radii Co2+ (0.74 ?) replaced the higher ionic radii Ce2+ (1.14 ?). FTIR confirm the formation of cubic spinal ferrites by stretching vibration of metal oxide ion mechanism. SEM shows the surface morphology and grain size for synthesized cubic spinal ferrites in the range of 1.25 - 2.65 μm. Optical band gap energy was determined in the range of 1.4575 - 1.425 eV for x = 0.0 to 1.0 nano-ferrites, respectively. This range of band gap energy indicates that the synthesized ferrites have potential applications in electrical devices.

Surface Morphological Characterization of CoCexFe2?xO4 Spinal Ferrites Synthesized by Solide-State Reaction Method

The Spinal Ferrite CoCexFe2?xO4 with different compositions (x = 0.0, 0.33, 0.66, 1.0) were prepared by solid state reaction method. FTIR (Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy), SEM (Scanning Electron Microscopy) and UV Spectroscopy (Ultraviolet) have been used to study the phase conformation, morphology and structural properties of all synthesized compositions respectively. Lattice constant was observed to be decreased as smaller ionic radii Co2+ (0.74 ?) replaced the higher ionic radii Ce2+ (1.14 ?). FTIR confirm the formation of cubic spinal ferrites by stretching vibration of metal oxide ion mechanism. SEM shows the surface morphology and grain size for synthesized cubic spinal ferrites in the range of 1.25 - 2.65 μm. Optical band gap energy was determined in the range of 1.4575 - 1.425 eV for x = 0.0 to 1.0 nano-ferrites, respectively. This range of band gap energy indicates that the synthesized ferrites have potential applications in electrical devices.

Optimization Algorithms of PERT/CPM Network Diagrams in Linear Diophantine Fuzzy Environment

The idea of linear Diophantine fuzzy set(LDFS)theory with its control parameters is a strong model for machine learning and optimization under uncertainty.The activity times in the critical path method(CPM)representation procedures approach are initially static,but in the Project Evaluation and Review Technique(PERT)approach,they are probabilistic.This study proposes a novel way of project review and assessment methodology for a project network in a linear Diophantine fuzzy(LDF)environment.The LDF expected task time,LDF variance,LDF critical path,and LDF total expected time for determining the project network are all computed using LDF numbers as the time of each activity in the project network.The primary premise of the LDF-PERT approach is to address ambiguities in project network activity timesmore simply than other approaches such as conventional PERT,Fuzzy PERT,and so on.The LDF-PERT is an efficient approach to analyzing symmetries in fuzzy control systems to seek an optimal decision.We also present a new approach for locating LDF-CPM in a project network with uncertain and erroneous activity timings.When the available resources and activity times are imprecise and unpredictable,this strategy can help decision-makers make better judgments in a project.A comparison analysis of the proposed technique with the existing techniques has also been discussed.The suggested techniques are demonstrated with two suitable numerical examples.

Evolutionary Safe Padé Approximation Scheme for Dynamical Study of Nonlinear Cervical Human Papilloma Virus Infection Model

This study proposes a structure-preserving evolutionary framework to find a semi-analytical approximate solution for a nonlinear cervical cancer epidemic(CCE)model.The underlying CCE model lacks a closed-form exact solution.Numerical solutions obtained through traditional finite difference schemes do not ensure the preservation of the model’s necessary properties,such as positivity,boundedness,and feasibility.Therefore,the development of structure-preserving semi-analytical approaches is always necessary.This research introduces an intelligently supervised computational paradigm to solve the underlying CCE model’s physical properties by formulating an equivalent unconstrained optimization problem.Singularity-free safe Padérational functions approximate the mathematical shape of state variables,while the model’s physical requirements are treated as problem constraints.The primary model of the governing differential equations is imposed to minimize the error between approximate solutions.An evolutionary algorithm,the Genetic Algorithm with Multi-Parent Crossover(GA-MPC),executes the optimization task.The resulting method is the Evolutionary Safe PadéApproximation(ESPA)scheme.The proof of unconditional convergence of the ESPA scheme on the CCE model is supported by numerical simulations.The performance of the ESPA scheme on the CCE model is thoroughly investigated by considering various orders of non-singular Padéapproximants.

Web GIS-Based Temporal Analysis of Climatic Factors Impacting Heat Stroke in Karachi

This study focuses on the impact of climate change, specifically the increasing threat of heatwaves, in Pakistan, with a particular emphasis on the city of Karachi. The Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) analysed a century of climatic data to reveal warming trends, attributing them to human-induced factors. The vulnerability of Pakistan to climate change is highlighted, given its warm climate and location in a region where temperature increases are expected to surpass global averages. The study examines the past three decades, noting a significant rise in the frequency of hot days, especially in Karachi, where heatwaves have become more prevalent. The aims and objectives of the study involve identifying temporal changes in temperature, rainfall, humidity, and wind speed from 1984 to 2014 in Karachi. The literature review emphasizes the health implications of heatwaves, citing increased mortality during such events globally. The study incorporates a comprehensive temporal analysis, addressing gaps in previous research by considering multiple climate indicators responsible for heatwaves. The methodology involves statistical analyses, including linear regression and Pearson correlation, applied to temperature data and urbanization parameters. Results indicate an increasing trend in heat index temperature, with heatwave vulnerability peaking in the last three decades. Heat Index Temperature Anomalies show a clear surge, emphasizing the need for new indices to control critical heat stress conditions. The study concludes that tropical climate variability, particularly heat index, is linked to extreme hot days, urging measures to reduce population vulnerability. The findings underscore the importance of policy strategies, such as integrated coastal zone management, to mitigate the adverse health effects of heatwaves in Karachi’s vulnerable population.

Land classification for choice of tree species on farm lands in the Attock District of Punjab, Pakistan

In Pakistan, particularly in Punjab Province, it is difficult for agrofarmers to combine their indigenous knowledge and modern scientific methods to evaluate existing traditional farming systems and forestry practices. This requires an evaluation of indigenous soil classification in simple terms along with knowledge of the local flora, especially trees. This study focuses on land suitability classification for trees in the Attock District of Punjab, Pakistan. A survey was conducted which included interviews of local agrofarmers as well as standard soil analyses including both chemical and physical determinations of local soil types. An evaluation of soil types for cultivation of various crops was carried out given its total extent, component soil series and their proportions, spotting characteristics of each soil series and their major limitations/hazards for trees/crops. These would lead to the identification of various tree species according to soil characteristics. Then, according to the soil types and species, a land suitability map was obtained for the choice of tree species by using geographic information system （GIS） software. Land suitability classification will help local agroforesters/agrofarmers in matching suitable agricultural trees/crops properly for different soils in the area.

Isolation of Cr(Ⅵ) reducing bacteria from industrial effuents and their potential use in bioremediation of chromium containing wastewater

The present study was aimed to assess the ability of Bacillus sp.JDM-2-1 and Staphylococcus capitis to reduce hexavalent chromium into its trivalent form.Bacillus sp.JDM-2-1 could tolerate Cr（Ⅵ）（4800 μg/mL） and S.capitis could tolerate Cr（Ⅵ）（2800 μg/mL）.Both organisms were able to resist Cd^2＋（50 μg/mL）,Cu^2＋（200 μg/mL）,Pb^2＋（800 μg/mL）,Hg^2＋（50 μg/mL） and Ni2＋（4000 μg/mL）.S.capitis resisted Zn^2＋ at 700 μg/mL while Bacillus sp.JDM-2-1 only showed resistance up to 50 μg/mL.Bacillus sp.JDM-2-1 and S.capitis showed optimum growth at pH 6 and 7,respectively,while both bacteria showed optimum growth at 37°C.Bacillus sp.JDM-2-1 and S.capitis could reduce 85% and 81% of hexavalent chromium from the medium after 96 h and were also capable of reducing hexavalent chromium 86% and 89%,respectively,from the industrial effuents after 144 h.Cell free extracts of Bacillus sp.JDM-2-1 and S.capitis showed reduction of 83% and 70% at concentration of 10 μg Cr（Ⅵ）/mL,respectively.The presence of an induced protein having molecular weight around 25 kDa in the presence of chromium points out a possible role of this protein in chromium reduction.The bacterial isolates can be exploited for the bioremediation of hexavalent chromium containing wastes,since they seem to have a potential to reduce the toxic hexavalent form to its nontoxic trivalent form.

Evidence-based consensus on the diagnosis, prevention and management of hepatitis C virus disease

Hepatitis C virus(HCV) is a potent human pathogen and is one of the main causes of chronic hepatitis round the world. The present review describes the evidencebased consensus on the diagnosis, prevention and management of HCV disease. Various techniques, for the detection of anti-HCV immunoglobulin G immunoassays, detection of HCV RNA by identifying virus-specific molecules nucleic acid testings, recognition of core antigen for diagnosis of HCV, quantitative antigenassay, have been used to detect HCV RNA and core antigen. Advanced technologies such as nanoparticlebased diagnostic assays, loop-mediated isothermal amplification and aptamers and Ortho trak-C assay have also come to the front that provides best detection results with greater ease and specificity for detection of HCV. It is of immense importance to prevent this infection especially among the sexual partners, injecting drug users, mother-to-infant transmission of HCV, household contact, healthcare workers and people who get tattoos and piercing on their skin. Management of this infection is intended to eradicate it out of the body of patients. Management includes examining the treatment(efficacy and protection), assessment of hepatic condition before commencing therapy, controlling the parameters upon which dual and triple therapies work, monitoring the body after treatment and adjusting the co-factors. Examining the treatment in some special groups of people(HIV/HCV co-infected, hemodialysis patients, renal transplanted patients).

Spatio-temporal analysis of forest fire events in the Margalla Hills,Islamabad,Pakistan using socio-economic and environmental variable data with machine learning methods

Most forest fires in the Margalla Hills are related to human activities and socioeconomic factors are essential to assess their likelihood of occurrence.This study considers both environmental(altitude,precipitation,forest type,terrain and humidity index)and socioeconomic(population density,distance from roads and urban areas)factors to analyze how human behavior affects the risk of forest fires.Maximum entropy(Maxent)modelling and random forest(RF)machine learning methods were used to predict the probability and spatial diffusion patterns of forest fires in the Margalla Hills.The receiver operating characteristic(ROC)curve and the area under the ROC curve(AUC)were used to compare the models.We studied the fire history from 1990 to 2019 to establish the relationship between the probability of forest fire and environmental and socioeconomic changes.Using Maxent,the AUC fire probability values for the 1999 s,2009 s,and 2019 s were 0.532,0.569,and 0.518,respectively;using RF,they were 0.782,0.825,and 0.789,respectively.Fires were mainly distributed in urban areas and their probability of occurrence was related to accessibility and human behaviour/activity.AUC principles for validation were greater in the random forest models than in the Maxent models.Our results can be used to establish preventive measures to reduce risks of forest fires by considering socio-economic and environmental conditions.

Synthesis of zinc oxide nanoparticles reinforced clay and their applications for removal of Pb(II)ions from aqueous media

The aim of the study was to synthesize zinc oxide nanoparticles(ZnONPs)composite with clay by a novel route and then to explore the capability of composite of ZnONPs and silty clay(SC)as adsorbents for Pb(II)eradication from aqueous media by batch adsorption method.The effect of different operating factors like temperature,pH,dose and time of contact on the adsorption process were studied to optimize the conditions.Langmuir,Freundlich,Dubinin-Radushkevich(DR)and Temkin isotherms were applied for the interpretation of the process.The R^(2)and q values obtained from Langmuir model suggested that the process is best interpreted by this model.The values of adsorption capacity(qm)noted were 12.43 mg·g^(-1) and 14.54 mg·g^(-1)on SC and ZnONPsSC respectively.The kinetic studies exposed that pseudo second order(PSO)kinetics is followed by the processes suggesting that more than one steps are involved to control the rate of reactions.Various thermodynamic variables such as change in free energy(AGe),change in enthalpy(AH9)and change in entropy(ASe)were calculated.Thermodynamic data suggested that Pb(II)adsorption on SC and ZnONPsSC are spontaneous,endothermic and feasible processes.

On Computing the Suitability of Non-Human Resources for Business Process Analysis

Business process improvement is a systematic approach used by several organizations to continuously improve their quality of service.Integral to that is analyzing the current performance of each task of the process and assigning the most appropriate resources to each task.In continuation of our previous work,we categorize resources into human and non-human resources.For instance,in the healthcare domain,human resources include doctors,nurses,and other associated staff responsible for the execution of healthcare activities;whereas the non-human resources include surgical and other equipment needed for execution.In this study,we contend that the two types of resources(human and non-human)have a different impact on the process performance,so their suitability should be measured differently.However,no work has been done to evaluate the suitability of non-human resources for the tasks of a process.Consequently,it becomes difficult to identify and subsequently overcome the inefficiencies caused by the non-human resources to the task.To address this problem,we present a three-step method to compute a suitability score of non-human resources for the task.As an evaluation of the proposed method,a healthcare case study is used to illustrate the applicability of the proposed method.Furthermore,we performed a controlled experiment to evaluate the usability of the proposed method.The encouraging response shows the usefulness of the proposed method.

The current status of anti-GPCR drugs against different cancers

G protein coupled receptors(GPCRs)have emerged as the most potential target for a number of drug discovery programs ranging from control of blood pressure,diabetes,cure for genetic diseases to treatment of cancer.A panel of different ligands including hormones,peptides,ions and small molecules is responsible for activation of these receptors.Molecular genetics has identified key GPCRs,whose mutations or altered expressions are linked with tumorgenicity.In this review,we discussed recent advances regarding the involvement of GPCRs in the development of cancers and approaches to manipulating the mechanism behind GPCRs involved tumor growth and metastasis to treat different types of human cancer.This review provides an insight into the current scenario of GPCR-targeted therapy,progress to date and the challenges in the development of anticancer drugs.

Studies on batch adsorptive removal of cadmium and nickel from synthetic waste water using silty clay originated from Balochistan-Pakistan

The potentials of silty clay(SC),acquired from Chaman,Balochistan,were investigated as adsorbent for Ni(Ⅱ)and Cd(Ⅱ)removal from contaminated media.The influence of different operating factors like dose,pH,temperature,and time of contact was explored,and optimum values were noted under batch adsorption method.Isothermal study was conducted with varying concentrations of solutions on optimized conditions and different adsorption models i.e.,Langmuir,Freundlich,Temkin and Dubinin-Radushkevich(D-R)isotherm,which were employed to interpret the process.The isothermal data of both Ni(Ⅱ)and Cd(Ⅱ)were well fitted to Langmuir isotherm suggesting the formation of monolayer of metal ions on silty clay.The values of adsorption capacity noted for Ni(Ⅱ)and Cd(Ⅱ)were 3.603 mg·g^-1 and 5.480 mg·g^-1,respectively.Kinetic studies affirmed that pseudo second order(PSO)kinetics was being obeyed by the removal of Ni(Ⅱ)and Cd(Ⅱ).Thermodynamic variables like free energy change(ΔG°),enthalpy change(ΔH°)and entropy change(ΔS°)were calculated.The negative value ofΔG°and the positive values ofΔH°andΔS°unfolded that the removal process of both metal ions of by SC was spontaneous,endothermic and feasible.

Comparison in effect of different metal ions, pH and reducing agent on the protease activity in human hyper mature and mature cataract

This study was undertaken to isolate and characterize the protease activity of human eye lens sample of mature and hyper mature cataract. Samples were collected just after surgery of the cataract lens and were stored at -20 ℃. The total protein extract was isolated from 5 samples in each case （mature and hyper mature cataract） and clear supernatant obtained after centrifugation was used as an enzyme source. The optimum pH for the proteases of mature cataract was 7.5 while the proteases of hyper mature cataract were recorded for maximum activity at pH 5.5 and 7.5. The optimum temperature for both enzyme sources was 50 ℃. Effect of different metal ions such as potassium, lead, silver, zinc and borate was studied. In each case protease activity was increased. Reducing agent e.g. β mercaptoethanol also caused an increase in activity indicating the involvement of sulfhydryl groups. Protease activity was also located on agar plates.