Prospects of Vaccination Against COVID-19 and Road to DNA-based Vaccine: A Review

Covid-19 made the countries develop and adopt significant measures to control the spread of disease. For this purpose, firstly countries ordered the public to follow precautions, like, wearing a mask, sanitizer usage, and home quarantine. Then, countries endeavor for the preparation of vaccination started to not only stop the spread but to control and end the coronavirus. These efforts of vaccination started giving benefits in late 2020 and by the end of February 2021, many vaccines were approved conditionally and ready to use, while more were on the way to approval. Apparent from this, there is a great possibility that more clinically proven vaccines will be available on the market in the coming few years. Now, when there is the solution, "The Vaccine", the main point is how to meet the need for the vaccine on a global scale and capital generation for the purchase of vaccine. Till so far, mRNA vaccines are market-available, while DNA-type vaccines are under improvement, being experimented and tested. Because DNA vaccines usually only encode one protein from a pathogen; those may not be as effective if individuals need to mount an immune response to numerous proteins to gain protection, but this can be achieved by combining multiple vaccines. While mRNA vaccines guide the immune system to make a protein that will trigger an immune response without using a live virus and generate longer immunity.

Anatomical Variations in Leaves of Pisum sativum Grown with Wastewater of Different Industries

An experiment was carried out to evaluate the anatomical variations in leaves of Pisum sativum grown in medium irrigated with different industrial wastewaters. The Sukhrawa drain area was selected for the collection of wastewaters of different industries in district Okara, Punjab, Pakistan. The experiment was comprised of six wastewater treatments, including protein farm wastewater, rice mill wastewater, combined wastewater of hospital and oil mill, paper mill wastewater and municipal wastewater. The results of anatomical variations in the epidermis, vascular bundle, palisade, and mesophyll cells indicated that the apical part, center, and base of leaf blade all showed normal structure and healthy cells when irrigated with rice mill wastewater and paper mill wastewater, while the center of leaf blade also showed good results when irrigated with the municipal wastewater. So, the results indicate that pea plants can be grown with wastewater from the rice mill, paper mill and municipal wastewater. In the future, wastewater from rice mills, paper mills and municipal wastewater should be considered to check for possible anatomical variations in other plants.

Evaluation of Seed Germination of Sorghum bicolor Grown After Priming with Leaf Extract and Milky Sap Exudate of Calotropis procera

A pot experiment was conducted to investigate the effect of priming with the extract of plant Calotropis procera on seed germination of Sorghum bicolor. The seeds of Sorghum bicolor were primed with different concentrations of Calotropis procera leaf extract and milky sap exudate for five days at different time intervals. In total, there were five groups of days and nine seed priming treatments. The result showed that maximum seeds were germinated on day 4 in all treatments, but it was not significantly different from day 2, 3, and day 5. Whereas the highest germination of seeds was noted in two treatments, 24 hours priming with 100% boiled leaves extract (T3) and 24 hours priming with 100% milky exudate (T4), irrespective of priming days, except one day. These results showed that both milky exudate and boiled leaf extract have a positive effect on seed germination of Sorghum bicolor; therefore, in the future, both types of extracts of Calotropis procera should be considered important for priming the seeds of different plants to improve seed germination.

Historical Climatic Trends and Smallholder Farmers' Perceptions of Climate Variability and Change in Arid and Semi-Arid Lands of Kenya

This article presents an overview of smallholder farmers' perceptions of climate variability and change in synchrony with historical climate trends in Machakos County, Kenya. Farmers' perceptions were obtained using focus group discussions and household interviews. Monthly rainfall and temperature (minimum and maximum) data for the period of 1983-2014 were obtained and used in the analysis. The interview data were analyzed using descriptive statistics while data from the focus group discussions were analyzed using qualitative content analysis. The Mann-Kendall test and linear regression analysis were used to detect statistically significant climate trends. Meteorological data provided some evidence to support farmers' perceptions of changes in rainfall and temperature. The Mann-Kendall test revealed statistically significant rainfall and temperature trends. The linear regression analysis showed increasing trends for both rainfall and temperature. Most farmers (77.7%) perceived decreasing amounts of seasonal rainfall contrary to analyzed seasonal rainfall trends, which showed an increase in seasonal rainfall. The experienced changes and variations in rainfall and temperature expose the farming systems to climate change risks. To support smallholder farmers in managing the increasing climate change risks, there is a need to enhance their adaptive capacity through effective adaptation planning and implementation.

Infectious Bronchitis: A Moving Target for Commercial Poultry Industry

The poultry industry is one of the most efficient and flourishing sectors of agriculture that not only provides cheaper protein (eggs, meat) but also contributes heavily to the country's economy. There are several challenges faced by the poultry industry worldwide. Among all these challenges, disease management has been a major problem. Infectious bronchitis viruses (IBVs) are RNA-based viruses having high recombination and mutation rates. IBVs are gamma coronaviruses affecting the upper respiratory tract of chickens. Due to the high rate of mutation and recombination, IBVs are very difficult to properly diagnose and control. Some serotype IBVs are extremely resistant, causing high economic losses in the form of excessive use of antibiotics after the eruption of secondary pathogens and mortality, but some serotype IBVs are limited to morbidity losses only. There are some control methods for IBVs and practicing effective vaccination and biosecurity measures is highly recommended. Exposure of IBVs to chicken flock postulates gateway to secondary pathogens, which also pass on to coming generations. This review paper provides updated research tools and methods to diagnose and control IBVs.

Age-Related Alterations in Testicular Histoarchitecture of Yangzhou Goose Ganders

The age of maturity and seasonality are vital characteristics in the production of seasonal breeders like Yangzhou ganders. Ancestors of the current geese breeds were wild geese that adapted their breeding season, according to the season having plenty of food and suitable weather conditions to reproduce and raise their chicks to combat harsh environmental conditions. The present study aimed to elucidate histological changes in testicular histoarchitecture of Yangzhou goose ganders. Testis samples were collected from Yangzhou ganders during premature, transition and mature states. Testicular regression was accessed by observing changes in the number of spermatocytes, spermatogonia, elongated spermatids, round spermatids, width of seminiferous tubules, epithelial height, luminal tubular diameter and Johnsen’s score. The results depicted a positive correlation between age and number of spermatogonia, primary spermatocytes, spermatids, and epithelial height. Thus, testicular histoarchitecture works usually on the balance between Sertoli and other germ cells. Further, our results conclude that breeding seasonality and age of sexual maturity also affect spermatogenesis efficiency in Yangzhou ganders.

Assessing the Health Risk Due to Exposure to Non-ionizing Radiation in the Form of Magnetic Field from Electrical Power Lines

We are all exposed to electromagnetic fields from electrical appliances, electric power transmission lines, distribution lines and power substations. This study was focused on investigating the possible risks to human health due to exposure to extremely low frequency varying magnetic fields from 330 kV, 132 kV, 33 kV and 11kV power lines in southeastern Nigeria. To determine the risks, a magnetic field meter was used to take measurements of magnetic flux from these power lines. From which, the induced current density due to exposure to varying magnetic fields was obtained using a model of the human body known as the prolate spheroid model. The maximum mean magnetic field and current density induced as obtained from the study were 4.790 µT and 0.04214 mA/m², which were obtained from the 330 kV power line. The study results are well below the reference levels of the International Commission for Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection, which are used for comparison, indicating that there is very low exposure risk to people living near these electric power transmission lines.

Novel Corona Virus and Veterinary Perspective: A Review

The family of RNA viruses, Coronaviridae has been responsible for the past two epidemics of many viral related diseases and viral pneumonia. Currently, the covid-19 pandemic is brought about by another member from the Coronaviridae family named SARS-CoV-2 (severe acute respiratory syndrome-corona virus), which arose from China in December 2019. Coronavirus was not considered primarily a pathogen in the human population until the outbreak of SARS-CoV-19. Coronavirus causes a variety of infectious diseases in many livestock, poultry, and pet animals resulting in great economic losses. Because of the long-term experience attained with animal CoV, veterinary medication could assist with producing a superior comprehension of the cause and spread of SARS-CoV-2 and could drive future exploration in human medication towards the improvement of safe immunization and successful immunogenic and antiviral medications. This review focuses on general morphological and genomic features, origin of coronaviruses, its specific impacts on animals in relation to zoonotic potential and food chain wrongdoings. In addition, we propose some recommendations and control strategies that could be applied in combating the threats imposed by the covid-19 pandemic.

A Comprehensive Review of Nutritional Benefits of Minerals in Meat and Meat Products

Minerals are chemical elements that organisms require as a necessary nutrient to sustain good health at various stages of life. To support human biochemical processes, including structural and functional activity in the body, at least twenty mineral elements are required. However, inadequate consumption of these essential minerals in the human diet can result in metabolic problems, organ damage, chronic diseases, and death. Mineral deficiency affects roughly two billion people globally, the bulk of whom live in third-world nations. Among those, infants and pregnant women are more susceptible to the mineral shortage in the body. To avoid these deficiencies, humans need to consume muscle foods, which are superior sources of essential minerals, particularly zinc, selenium, phosphorus, iron, etc. compared to plant-based foods. Minerals derived from muscle foods are easier to absorb in the body than minerals derived from plant foods. However, the amount of essential minerals in muscle foods varies widely and depends on several factors, including nutrition, species, breed, sex, age at slaughter, muscle types, physiological status, production system, and post-mortem factors such as processing and analytical methods. The present study discusses the mineral composition of different muscle foods, factors affecting the mineral contents in different muscle foods and the beneficial and important roles that minerals play in human health.

Tuning the Electronic and Nonlinear Optical Properties of (4-Methylphenyl) (4-methylpiperidin-1-yl) Methanone and Its Substituted Analogues

A lot of molecules have been reported for certain applications. However, the need to continuously search for novel materials with more promise is very important because of the competitive technological innovations. One of the ways to achieve this is to use valid theoretical methods that can effectively and accurately predict the properties of existing molecular entities and using these methods to predict the properties of hypothetical molecules. The compound (4-methylphenyl) (4-methylpiperidin-1-yl) methanone (MPMPM) has been reported for its nonlinear optical potentials; however, investigating their reactivity indices would lead to the understanding of the mechanism behind their suitability as nonlinear optical devices. The molecular backbone of MPMPM was altered by introducing some substituents that could alter molecular properties. MPMPM and its derivatives were, therefore, optimized with density functional theory and the time-dependent density functional theory using pure and hybrid correlations and a polar basis set, 6-31G(d). The energy band gaps of the substituted derivatives were lower than that of MPMPM while the dipole moments and hyperpolarizabilities were higher, indicating that they could serve as better alternatives for nonlinear optical applications.