Grapefruit (Citrus paradisi) is a widely grown citrus and its fruit is affected by a variety of biotic and abiotic stress. Keeping in view the hazardous effects of synthetic fungicides, the recent trend is shifting towards safer and eco-friendly control of fruit diseases. The present study was aimed to diagnose the fruit rot disease of grapefruit and its control by using zinc oxide green nanoparticles (ZnO NPs). Fruit rot symptoms were observed in various grapefruit growing sites of Pakistan. Diseased samples were collected, and the disease-causing pathogen was isolated. Following Koch's postulates, the isolated pathogen was identified as Rhizoctonia solani. For eco-friendly control of this disease, ZnO NPs were prepared in the seed extract of Trachyspermum ammi and characterized. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) of these NPs described the presence of stabilizing and reducing compounds such as phenols, aldehyde and vinyl ether, especially thymol (phenol). X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis revealed their crystalline nature and size (48.52 nm). Energy dispersive X-ray (EDX) analysis elaborated the presence of major elements in the samples, while scanning electron microscopy (SEM) confirmed the morphology of bio fabricated NPs. ZnO NPs exhibited very good anti-fungal activity and the most significant fungal growth inhibition was observed at 1.0 mg/ml concentration of green NPs, in vitro and in vivo. These findings described that the bioactive constituents of T. ammi seed extract can effectively reduce and stabilize ZnO NPs. It is a cost-effective method to successfully control the fruit rot disease of grapefruit.
Introduction: The most prevalent and severe type of mental disease, depression affects 60–70% of adults, primarily between the ages of 15 and 35. Not only are the patients affected by this terrible disorder, but also their care givers and families. It has long been known that depression often manifests as a variety of psychosomatic conditions, one of which is non-epileptic fits, which are typically more common in children and women than men. Therefore, the majority of patients who present to a psychiatric emergency room, outpatient department, or ward having non-epileptic fits have underlying depression. This was one of the few studies conducted on the prevalence of depression in patients experiencing non-epileptic fits in Pakistan, particularly in province, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Study Design and Study Area: In the psychiatry department of Khyber Teaching Hospital Peshawar, this descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted. Duration of Study: The duration of study was 06 months i.e. from 30th march, 2015 to 30th September, 2015. Materials and Methods: The study included 162 patients who presented to the hospital with non-epileptic fits and had ages ranging from 20 to 40 years. The study excluded non-consenting individuals, those with organic brain disorders, and those who had another psychiatric diagnosis already. On a proforma that was especially created, variables were recorded. The BDI depression scale was used to evaluate the depression screening process. Results: Of 193 patients, 162 met the requirements for study. The patients were estimated to have a mean age of 25.44 years, with a standard deviation of 14.25 years. Only 32 patients (20%) were female, while remaining 130 (80%) patient were male. Majority 88 (56%) individuals were uneducated. 46 people (32%) had education up to the primary level, 14 (8%) were matriculating, and 12 (4%) were graduates. 40 people (25%) were single, 94 people (58%) were wed, and 28 people (17%) were widows or widowers. 30 people (19%) were working and 132 (81%) were unemployed. 62 persons had been seeking care for more than 24 months, compared to 8 who had been doing so for less than 24 months, 20 persons for less than 18 months, 14 patients having duration of illness for less than 12 months and 12 patients of less than 6 months period of illness. Only when non-epileptic fits were linked to the depression (p value 0.004) was statistical significance observed. When depression was compared to the patient's gender, marital status, educational attainment, length of care, and occupation, there was no statistically significant difference. Conclusions: The majority of people who have non-epileptic fits also have depression. Age of onset of non-epileptic fits and depression are significantly correlated, whereas gender, educational level, marital status, occupation, length of illness, and patient's family history are not. Keyword: Psychological distress, depression, non-epileptic fits, KTH.
Abstract Honey, which is medicinally very important, is the major product of honeybees. The role of the honeybee queen is crucial in maintaining the health and stability of the colony as it is responsible for reproducing and maintaining the population of the hive. Productive and healthy honeybee queens ensure the success of the colony. Various factors, such as parasites, diseases, lack of food and habitat, climate change, genetic defects, and exposure to pesticides, can lead to the failure of the queen bee. Therefore, applications of artificial queen‐rearing techniques in beekeeping positively affect the growth of honeybee queens with desirable characteristics. This current research was conducted at the KUST Model Bee Form of Kohat University of Science and Technology, on Apis mellifera honeybee colonies during spring 2021. In this study, the Doolittle grafting method was used for the rearing of the A. mellifera queen bee. A total of 230 larvae of different ages (12–24, 24–48, and 48–72 h old larvae were used for grafting. Of these 230 grafted larvae, the number of queen cup cells accepted was 139 and the number of emerged queen cup cells was 82. The queen cell acceptance rate was significant ( P = 0.000; P < 0.05). The effect of larval age, and the addition of royal jelly in queen cup cells prior to grafting, on the acceptance rate of queen cup cells was also studied. Young larvae, that is, from 12–24 up to 48 h of age, showed high acceptance rates. The acceptance rates of 12–24, 24–48 and 48–72 h old larvae were 76.7%, 55.7% and 20.0%, respectively. This shows that a queen produced from a 1 day old larva has the highest acceptance rate. The addition of royal jelly into queen cup cells before grafting showed the highest larval acceptance rate in March and April. In this study the acceptance rate for queen cup cells with wet and dry grafting were 89.5% and 46.1%, respectively. However further studies are recommended to determine the effect of all factors on the morphology of the queen.
Objectives: To analyze the pattern of maxillofacial injuries and associated concomitant injuries received by a motorcyclist.Methods and materials: This descriptive (cross-sectional) study carried out at the Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery Unit of Hayatabad Medical Complex, Peshawar from 4th December, 2019 to 20th February 2021. A total of 386 patients having road traffic accidents were included in the study regardless of age and gender. Every patient was examined both clinically and radiographically to confirm the site of maxillofacial fracture.Results: Majority of the patients were involved in motorbike accidents (79%) among the patients injured in road traffic accidents. More than two third of the patients were young males (76%) as compare to females (24%). Out of 304 patients who sustained maxillofacial trauma during motor bike accidents, only a minority of victims 38(12.5%) used helmets while the remaining did not. The most common fractured site was mandible (46.7%).Conclusion: Most of the patients encountered in the present study were young males without helmets and mandible being the most frequent site.
Iron oxide nanoparticles (NPs) have attracted substantial interest due to their superparamagnetic features, biocompatibility, and nontoxicity. The latest progress in the biological production of Fe3O4 NPs by green methods has improved their quality and biological applications significantly. In this study, the fabrication of iron oxide NPs from Spirogyra hyalina and Ajuga bracteosa was conducted via an easy, environmentally friendly, and cost-effective process. The fabricated Fe3O4 NPs were characterized using various analytical methods to study their unique properties. UV-Vis absorption peaks were observed in algal and plant-based Fe3O4 NPs at 289 nm and 306 nm, respectively. Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy analyzed diverse bioactive phytochemicals present in algal and plant extracts that functioned as stabilizing and capping agents in the fabrication of algal and plant-based Fe3O4 NPs. X-ray diffraction of NPs revealed the crystalline nature of both biofabricated Fe3O4 NPs and their small size. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) revealed that algae and plant-based Fe3O4 NPs are spherical and rod-shaped, averaging 52 nm and 75 nm in size. Energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy showed that the green-synthesized Fe3O4 NPs require a high mass percentage of iron and oxygen to ensure their synthesis. The fabricated plant-based Fe3O4 NPs exhibited stronger antioxidant properties than algal-based Fe3O4 NPs. The algal-based NPs showed efficient antibacterial potential against E. coli, while the plant-based Fe3O4 NPs displayed a higher zone of inhibition against S. aureus. Moreover, plant-based Fe3O4 NPs exhibited superior scavenging and antibacterial potential compared to the algal-based Fe3O4 NPs. This might be due to the greater number of phytochemicals in plants that surround the NPs during their green fabrication. Hence, the capping of bioactive agents over iron oxide NPs improves antibacterial applications.
The potential of using laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) in combination with various other spectroscopic and statistical methods was assessed for characterizing pure and MgO-doped nylon (6/6) organic polymer samples. The pure samples, obtained through a polycondensation chemical technique, were artificially doped with MgO prior to analysis for comparative purposes. These artificially doped samples served as crucial reference materials for comparative analysis and reference purposes. The LIBS studies were performed under local thermodynamic equilibrium (LTE) and optically thin plasma conditions. To assess the structural crystallinity of the nylon (6/6) polymer samples, X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis, and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy were employed to detect functional groups such as N-H, C-H, and C-N in the adsorbent polyamide nylon sample. Additionally, diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (DRS) analysis was conducted to investigate the effects of doping and temperature on the band gap and material reflectance across different sample temperatures. Chemical compositional analysis was performed using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) with the carbon C1s peak at 248.8 eV serving as a reference for spectrum calibration, along with energy-dispersive X-ray (EDX) analysis, which demonstrated good agreement between the techniques. To validate the different methodologies, the results obtained from CF-LIBS and EDX were compared with those from the standard inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) technique. Finally, for classification analysis, principal component analysis (PCA) was applied to the LIBS spectral data at different sample temperatures (25 °C, 125 °C, 225 °C, and 325 °C). The analyses demonstrated that the combination of LIBS with PCA, along with other methods, presents a robust technique for polymer characterization.
Pyrus communis is a common fruit of temperate region, its domestication and origin is at two different points, Asia and China. Pear fruits bearing brown spot symptoms were picked, and pathogen was isolated and poured on Potato Dextrose Agar (PDA) media. On basis of molecular and molecular analyses, this isolated pathogen was identified as Alternaria alternata. Zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO NPs) were prepared from Theveti peruviana leaf extract and were characterized through various techniques Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) analysis of prepared ZnO NPs depicted the presence of agents responsible for stabilization and reduction such as alkenes, alkynes, nitro compounds, alkyl halides, aromatic compounds and aliphatic amines. X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis confirmed the size (27 nm) and crystalline nature of ZnO NPs. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) depicted the irregular shape of the prepared ZnO NPs. Mass percentage of zinc (79.84%) and oxygen (20.16%) was depicted using Energy Dispersive X-Ray (EDX) analysis. The in vitro and in vivo antifungal activity (A.F) of prepared NPs against A. alternata was confirmed by poisoned food technique and wound inoculation method. On the basis of which it was concluded that 1.0 mg/mL concentration of ZnO NPs could effectively inhibit A. alteranata growth and minimize the risk of brown spot of pear. SEM images of A. alternata under 1 mg/mL NPs showed the deformation in morphology of A. alternata. ZnO NPs also aided in the preservation of its various organoleptic and biochemical properties. The high percentage of soluble solids, firmness, ascorbic acid and sugars demonstrated its high quality. It has been concluded that 1 mg/mL ZnO NPs can effectively control brown spot of pear while maintaining its quality. In addition, the method might be applied to control emerging diseases in an ecofriendly way to meet the global food demand. RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTS: Isolation and characterization of pathogen causing brown spot in pear. Pathogenicity of A. alternata was checked on healthy fruits. Thevetia peruviana leaf extract was used for the synthesis, characterization and antifungal assay of ZnO Nanoparticles. Green synthesized nanoparticles can be economically effective alternative fungicide for the large scale in agriculture fields.
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