Relationship of smoking with COVID-19 and its adverse effects

There is a direct relationship between COVID-19 and smoking. This relationship has detrimental consequences for smoking and COVID-19 on body physiology. Smoking causes disc herniation, lungs diseases, heart illness, lipid profile changes, muscle protein synthesis declines, head, neck, and gastric cancers, cerebral inflammation, weight loss and obesity. The smoking habit of pregnant women leads to miscarriage, poor foetal growth, and low lipid and protein levels in breast milk. In males, it also reduces semen ejaculation and seminal vesicle volume. The treatment is based on quitting the smoking. Preventive measures such as a healthy diet and regular exercise can help to mitigate the negative consequences of smoking. In addition, smoking has been recognised as a major factor in COVID-19 transmission. Tobacco smokers are at increased risk of serious COVID-19 infection due to poor lung function, cross-infection, and vulnerable hygiene behaviors. People who have smoked in the past are thought to be more susceptible than non-smokers to have more severe COVID-19 illness symptoms. COVID-19 is more common among smokers than nonsmokers. Current smokers are five times more likely to have influenza infection than non-smokers. Smoking has been identified as one of the risk factors linked to infection and death.

Strategies used to treat waste material for energy production on sustainable basis

In the developing world, traditional forms of energy are rapidly eradicated, and contribute freely to global concerns such as waste exposure and dangerous deviations in an environment. So, it is required to develop and used renewable or humorous energy resources for future. Every month, a huge amount of waste is generated and becomes the part of landfill or sent to less developed areas, and sometimes left untreated. It has significant environmental consequences for biological systems, and human well-being. Due to this, numerous new waste disposal plants have emerged and developed to generate energy from garbage dumps. Large amount of trash created each day for landfills causes numerous critical ecological effects. Various new approaches are accessible for changing waste materials into energy sources, going from exceptionally straightforward frameworks of discarding waste to more perplexing advancements fit. Waste can be converted into energy by using three possible strategies such as thermochemical, biochemical, and chemical changes. This article explores the impact of waste on environment, and how waste can be used to generate energy.

Aloe Vera in Dentistry: A Review

Aloe Vera is a tender and succulent type of plant belonging to the Liliaceae family and genus Aloe. It has been used as a medicinal plant for its healing and soothing properties for more than 2000 years. Properties of the Aloe Vera are not only specie dependent but also on how it is handled after being collected. Due to the adverse effects associated with conventional drugs, researchers are again interested in pursuing plant-based therapies for diseases. Aloe Vera possesses number of beneficial ingredients whilst some studies have also reported its potentially harmful effects. Presence of Aloe Vera in the scaffold material increases viability of the regenerating cells. It is crucial to understand how Aloe Vera interacts with the human body and its physiology when used for dental diseases and discomforts. Components like anthraquinones, aloe-emodin, and aloin present in the Aloe Vera leaves are responsible for their strong anti-bacterial and anti-viral properties. Therefore, this article reviews the current literature related to Aloe Vera use as a replacement or adjunctive therapy in dental diseases.

Prevalence of Newcastle Disease Virus in Pakistan, its present status and future challenges

Newcastle disease is caused by Newcastle Disease Virus (NDV) leads to severe morbidity and mortality in poultry throughout the world and considered as lentogenic, mesogenic or velogenic based on the mean death of the chicken embryo. The NDV velogenic strain is deadly endemic in Pakistan. Poultry is considered as the second major industry in Pakistan having annual growth of 8-10%. Unfortunately, the increase of NDV cases leads to severe cost impact, loss of production and livelihood. This review highlights the current status and epidemiology of NDV in Pakistan. Various genotypes and sub-genotypes have been identified in Pakistan. Various ND cases have been reported in Pakistan which has very bad consequences on the economy and dealing of poultry products.

Study on effect of hair coat color on various reproductive attributes of Cholistani service bulls

The objective of the present study was to assess the possible effect of hair coat color on various orchidometric, seminal and andrological attributes of black-coated and brown-coated Cholistani service bulls. Adult Cholistani bulls (n= 8) were grouped as black-spotted (n= 4) and brown-spotted (n=4). Semen collection was performed once weekly (2 ejaculates/collection) using artificial vagina (AV) throughout the study period (October-May). Semen samples were evaluated for various physical attributes. Body weight and orchidometric attributes of the bulls were attained using calipers. Blood sampling was performed twice weekly and serum testosterone level was deduced through automated analyzer. The scrotal circumference, Scrotal Skin Fold Thickness and Paired Testicular Volume were significantly higher (P<0.05) in black-spotted Cholistani bulls as compared to brown-spotted bulls. Similarly, the ejaculatory volume (5.8±0.1 mL) and individual sperm motility (63.3±1.4%) were significantly higher (P<0.05) in black-spotted bulls. Percentage of live spermatozoa, and spermatozoa with normal morphology and acrosome was also higher in black-spotted bulls though statistically non-significant (P>0.05). Amongst post-thaw seminal attributes, percentage of live spermatozoa, and spermatozoa with normal morphology and acrosome were significantly higher (P<0.05) in black-spotted bulls. Similarly, serum testosterone level in black-spotted Cholistani bulls (6.9±0.3 ng/mL) was significantly higher (P<0.05) compared to brown-spotted bulls (5.4±0.3 ng/mL). The black-spotted Cholistani service bulls showed substantially better orchidometric and seminal attributes allied with higher serum level of testosterone.

Anti-microbial, antioxidant potential of Cassia fistula and study their phytochemical assessments

Cassia fistula (C. fistula) is a flowering plant and a member of Fabaceae family. This study was designed to examine the antibacterial, antioxidant and phytochemical activity of ethanolic extract of C. fistula plant. The microbial inhibitory effect of ethanolic extracts of C. fistula was tested against Gram positive isolates such as Bacillus cereus, Staphylococcus aureus and Gram-negative isolates such as Salmonella typhi, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa using disc diffusion method and well diffusion method. The 25 mg extract of C. fistula leaves (CF-05) showed more zone of inhibition against Salmonella typhi, i.e., (21mm) and in 50 mg extract of CF-13 fruit showed best zone of inhibition against Salmonella typhi, i.e., 17 mm. Qualitative analysis and antioxidant activity at various concentrations was also measured. The phytochemical analysis showed the presence of alkaloids, carbohydrates, fats, tannins, flavonoids, saponins, terpenoids, and sterols. The antioxidant activity in 2, 2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical scavenging activity revealed the distinguished antioxidant activity of C. fistula.

Computational detection, analysis and interpretations of genomic variants in human diseases associated GENEMDM 2

Most of the mutations described in human MDM2 are tolerated without significantly disrupting the corresponding structural or molecular function. However, some of them are associated with a variety of human diseases, including cancer. Numerous computational methods have been developed to predict the effects of missense single nucleotide variants (SNVs). The non-synonymous single nucleotide polymorphisms affect the function of XRCC1, which impairs the ability to repair DNA and therefore increases the risk of diseases such as cancer. In this study, sequence and structure-based computational tools were used to screen the total listed coding SNPs of the MDM2 gene in order to recognize and describe them. The potential 6 ns SNP of MDM2 were identified from 29 ns SNP by consistent analysis using computational tools PolyPhen 2, SIFT, PANTHER and cSNP. The computational methods were used to systematically classify functional mutations in the regulatory and coding regions that modify the expression and function of the MDM2 enzyme. The HOPE project also made it possible to elaborate the structural effects of the substitutions of amino acids. In silico analysis predicted that rs759244097 is harmful. This study concluded that identifying this SNP will help to determine an individual's cancer susceptibility, prognosis and further treatment. Furthermore, current high-throughput sequencing efforts and the need for extensive interpretation of protein sequence variants requires more efficient and accurate computational methods in the coming years.

RISPR-Cas9: a weapon against COVID-19

In current pandemic circumstances, novel coronavirus is a salutary challenge for all over the world and coronavirus used the host cell for replication. Coronavirus usually use the host cellular products to perform their basic functions. Various specific target sites also present in coronavirus proteins for target-specific therapy such as small inhibitor molecule for viral polymerase or prevent the attachment of viruses to the receptor sites for vaccination purpose. The virus attaches to ACE2 receptors and uses enzyme to cleave translated products which encodes for various enzymes like RNA polymerase, helicase etc. The system needs some processes which lead for the disturbance and make the virus unable to replicate. The recombinant DNA technology makes a great advancement in every field of life with a number of importance in agriculture, industries, and clinics. It is used to manipulate the genetic material of living organism for the purpose of producing desirable products such as disease resistant crops, treatment of cancer, genetic disease and viral disease. Thus, for the purpose of antiviral strategies, the specific technique called CRISPR/Cas9 is used, and this technique has the capability to target specific nucleotide sequence inside the genome of coronavirus.

CRISPER/CAS: A potential tool for genomes editing

The ability to engineer genomes presents a significant opportunity for applied biology research. In 2050, the population of this world is expected to reach 9.6 billion residents; rising food with better quality is the most promising approach to food security. Compared to earlier methodologies including Zinc Finger Nucleases (ZFNs) plus Transcription Activator-Like Effector Nucleases (TALENs), which were expensive as well as time-consuming, innovation in Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats (CRISPR) and related CRISPR (Cas) protein classifications allowed selective editing of genes for the enhancement of food. The basic mechanism of CRISPR Cas9 process and its applications on genome editing has been summarized in this manuscript. The method relies on Sequence-Specific Nucleases (SSNs) to create Double Stranded Breaks (DSB) of DNA at the locus of genome defined by user, mended by using one of two DNA mending ways: Non-Homologous End Joining (NHEJ) or Homology Directed Repair (HDR). Cas9, an RNA-guided endonuclease, was used to produce stable knock-in and knock-out mutants. The focus of this effort is to explore the CRISPR Cas9 genome editing to manage gene expression and improve future editing success. This adaptable technique can be consumed for a wide range of applications of genome editing requiring high precision. Advances in this technology have sparked renewed interest in the possibilities for editing genome in plants.

An ethnobotanical study of medicinal plants used to treat skin diseases by the native communities of Murree, Pakistan

The objective of this study was to document traditional medicinal plants (including their applications and associated procedures) used to treat skin diseases by native communities of Murree Hills (Pakistan). Data was collected from 5 different sampling sites and 138 informants were interviewed. Respondents were queried in their local language for the type of herbal treatment, famous to that area. It was observed that elderly people and health practitioners of the study area possessed more knowledge about herbal remedies in contrast to young aged people. Results reported that total 56 plants belonging to 36 families and 54 genera were in use by local communities for treatment of multiple skin diseases. It was detected that herbs (41%) constituted the highest proportion of medicinal plants followed by shrubs. Leaves were most reported plant part (43 %) followed by fruits (20%), whereas infusion (30%) was a widely used mode of preparation of traditional remedies and direct application on skin was the dominant route of administration. Relative frequency citation (RFC) was recorded highest for Mentha royleana (0.913) and least for Ajuga bracteosa (0.369). Cluster analysis grouped these medicinal species into high, medium and low-ranking groups. High ranking group comprised of 18 medicinal plants, which reflected the popularity and trust of local communities of these plants. Therefore, further pharmacological studies are highly recommended. This study is first proper documentation based on the valuable information attained by the local tribes and it can be utilized by scientific community for further validation and characterization.