Exploring the Alternative Splicing of Long Noncoding RNAs.

Like protein-coding genes, long noncoding RNA (lncRNA) genes are composed of introns and exons. After their transcription, lncRNAs are subject to constitutive and/or alternative splicing. Here, we describe the current knowledge on lncRNA splice variants and their functional implications in cell biology.

Can the co-application of biochar and different inorganic nitrogen fertilizers repress N2O emissions in acidic soil?

The sole application of nitrogen (N) fertilizer with lower N2O emission potential or combined with biochar may help for mitigating N2O production. However, how biochar applied with various inorganic N fertilizers affected N2O emission in acidic soil remains unclear. Thus, we examined N2O emission, soil N dynamics and relating nitrifiers (i.e., ammonia-oxidizing archaea, AOA) in acidic soil. The study contained three N fertilizers (including NH4Cl, NaNO3, NH4NO3) and two biochar application rates (i.e., 0% and 0.5%). The results indicated that the alone application of NH4Cl produced more N2O. Meanwhile, the co-application of biochar and N fertilizers enhanced N2O emission as well, especially in the combined treatment of biochar and NH4NO3. Soil pH was decreased with the application of various N fertilizers, especially with NH4Cl, and the average decrease rate was 9.6%. Meanwhile, correlation analysis showed a negative relationship between N2O and pH, dramatically, which might indicate that the alteration of pH was one factor relating to N2O emission. However, there was no difference between the same N addition treatments with or without biochar on pH. Interestingly, in the combined treatment of biochar and NH4NO3, the lowest net nitrification rate and net mineralization rate appeared during days 16-23. Meanwhile, the highest emission rate of N2O in the same treatment also appeared during days 16-23. The accordance might indicate that N transformation alteration was another factor relating to N2O emissions. In addition, compared to NH4NO3 alone application, co-applied with biochar had a lower content of Nitrososphaera-AOA, which was a main contributor to nitrification. The study emphasizes the importance of using a suitable form of N fertilizers and further indicates that two factors, namely alteration of pH and N transformation rate, are related to N2O emission. Moreover, in future studies, it is necessary to explore the soil N dynamics controlled by microorganisms.

Livelihood challenges of single female household heads in the Rohingya and host communities in Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh during the COVID-19 pandemic.

BACKGROUND: Following the mass influx of Rohingya refugees into Cox's Bazaar, Bangladesh in 2017, makeshift settlement camps in Ukhiya and Teknaf have been overburdened, leading to livelihood challenges for both Rohingya and host communities. The humanitarian crisis has had adverse effects on vulnerable populations, which include older people, persons with disabilities, adolescents, and single female household heads. Using a subset of a larger dataset on households with most vulnerable groups in both communities, we analysed the effect of the pandemic and lockdown on the livelihood of single female household (HH) heads. METHODS: A cross-sectional household roster survey was designed to collect data from households with most vulnerable groups (MVGs) of host and Rohingya communities from December 2020 to March 2021; 11 host community villages and 10 Rohingya camps purposively selected as per the affiliated intervention of the project. The paper analysed quantitative and qualitative data from the sub-group of single female household heads without any income/low income. Participants were surveyed for their socio-demographic characteristics, COVID-19 experiences and knowledge, food security situation, social experiences and mental health using PHQ-2 test for depression. RESULTS: We surveyed 432 single female HH heads. Support during the pandemic was reported to be low, with less than 50% of HHs reporting relief meeting their needs; only 36% and 15% of these HHs received rations in camps and host communities respectively. Loan facilities were mostly unavailable and there were reported insufficiencies in food consumption. Over 50% of respondents tested positive on the PHQ-2, a scale used to screen for depression. Further analyses indicates that having a chronic health issue (OR 2.2, 95% CI 1.33-3.66) was positively associated with the PHQ-2 score for Rohingya single females. For host single females, having an ill member in the HH (OR 1.46, 95% CI 1.02-2.08) and the inability to save before the pandemic (OR 1.57 95% CI 1.11-2.23) increased the odds of screening positive for depression. CONCLUSION: Our study findings revealed insufficiencies with economic opportunities and food security for single female-headed households, as well as a high rate of positive screening for depression amongst this population. These findings call for a more in-depth understanding of the needs of this group.

Pulse Oximetry Imaging System Using Spatially Uniform Dual Wavelength Illumination.

Pulse oximetry is a non-invasive method for measuring blood oxygen saturation. However, its detection scheme heavily relies on single-point measurements. If the oxygen saturation is measured at a single location, the measurements are influenced by the profile of illumination, spatial variations in blood flow, and skin pigment. To overcome these issues, imaging systems that measure the distribution of oxygen saturation have been demonstrated. However, previous imaging systems have relied on red and near-infrared illuminations with different profiles, resulting in inconsistent ratios between transmitted red and near-infrared light over space. Such inconsistent ratios can introduce fundamental errors when calculating the spatial distribution of oxygen saturation. In this study, we developed a novel illumination system specifically designed for a pulse oximetry imaging system. For the illumination system, we customized the integrating sphere by coating a mixture of barium sulfate and white paint inside it and by coupling eight red and eight near-infrared LEDs. The illumination system created identical patterns of red and near-infrared illuminations that were spatially uniform. This allowed the ratio between transmitted red and near-infrared light to be consistent over space, enabling the calculation of the spatial distribution of oxygen saturation. We believe our developed pulse oximetry imaging system can be used to obtain spatial information on blood oxygen saturation that provides insight into the oxygenation of the blood contained within the peripheral region of the tissue.

Customized Integrating-Sphere System for Absolute Color Measurement of Silk Cocoon with Corrugated Microstructure.

Silk fiber, recognized as a versatile bioresource, holds wide-ranging significance in agriculture and the textile industry. During the breeding of silkworms to yield new varieties, optical sensing techniques have been employed to distinguish the colors of silk cocoons, aiming to assess their improved suitability across diverse industries. Despite visual comparison retaining its primary role in differentiating colors among a range of silk fibers, the presence of uneven surface texture leads to color distortion and inconsistent color perception at varying viewing angles. As a result, these distorted and inconsistent visual assessments contribute to unnecessary fiber wastage within the textile industry. To solve these issues, we have devised an optical system employing an integrating sphere to deliver consistent and uniform illumination from all orientations. Utilizing a ColorChecker, we calibrated the RGB values of silk cocoon images taken within the integrating sphere setup. This process accurately extracts the authentic RGB values of the silk cocoons. Our study not only helps in unraveling the intricate color of silk cocoons but also presents a unique approach applicable to various specimens with uneven surface textures.

Optimizing Cardiac Wireless Implant Communication: A Feasibility Study on Selecting the Frequency and Matching Medium.

Cardiac wireless implantable medical devices (CWIMD) have brought a paradigm shift in monitoring and treating various cardiac conditions, including heart failure, arrhythmias, and hypertension. One of the key elements in CWIMD is the implant antenna which uses radio frequency (RF) technology to wirelessly communicate and transmit data to external devices. However, wireless communication with a deeply implanted antenna using RF can be challenging due to the significant loss of electromagnetic (EM) signal at the air-skin interface, and second, due to the propagation and reflection of EM waves from different tissue boundaries. The air-skin interface loss of the EM wave is pronounced due to the absence of a matching medium. This paper investigates the EM propagation losses in the human body and presents a choice of optimal frequency for the design of the cardiac implant antenna and the dielectric properties of the matching medium. First, the dielectric properties of all tissues present in the human thorax including skin, fat, muscle, cartilage, and heart are analyzed as a function of frequency to study the EM wave absorption at different frequencies. Second, the penetration of EM waves inside the biological tissues is analyzed as a function of frequency. Third, a transmission line (TL) formalism approach is adopted to examine the optimal frequency band for designing a cardiac implant antenna and the matching medium for the air-skin interface. Finally, experimental validation is performed at two ISM frequencies, 433 MHz and 915 MHz, selected from the optimal frequency band (0.4-1.5 GHz) suggested by our analytical investigation. For experimental validation, two off-the-shelf flexible dipole antennas operating at selected ISM frequencies were used. The numerical and experimental findings suggested that for the specific application of a cardiac implant with a penetration depth of 7-17 cm, the most effective frequency range for operation is within 0.4-1.5 GHz. The findings based on the dielectric properties of thorax tissues, the penetration depth of EM waves, and the optimal frequency band have provided valuable information on developing and optimizing CWIMDs for cardiac care applications.

Effect of co-application of straw and various nitrogen fertilizers on N2O emission in acid soil.

In order to explore the alteration of N transformation and N2O emissions in acid soil with the co-application of straw and different types of nitrogen (N) fertilizers, an incubation experiment was carried out for 40 days. There are totally five treatments in the study: (a) without straw and N fertilizer (N0), (b) straw alone application (SN0), (c) straw with NH4Cl (SN1), (d) straw with NaNO3 (SN2), and (e) straw with NH4NO3 (SN3). N2O emissions, soil physicochemical properties, and abundance/activity of ammonia-oxidizing archaea (AOA) were measured. The results showed that the combined application of straw and N enhanced N2O emissions, particularly, SN2 and SN3 treatments. Moreover, the soil pH was lower in co-application treatments and the average decreasing rate was 9.69%. Specially, the pH was lowest in the SN1 treatment. The results of correlation analysis indicated a markedly negative relationship between pH and N2O, as well as a negative relationship between pH and net mineralization rate. These findings suggest that pH alteration can affect the N transformation process in soil and thus influence N2O emissions. In addition, the dominant AOA at the genus level in the SN2 treatment was Nitrosopumilus, and Candidatus nitrosocosmicus in the SN3 treatment. The reshaped AOA structure can serve as additional evidence of the changes in the N transformation process. In conclusion, as the return of straw, the cumulation of N2O from arable acid soil depends on the form of N fertilizer. It is also important to consider how N fertilizer is applied to reduce the possibility of N being lost in the soil as gas.

An Ex Vivo Study of Wireless Linkage Distance between Implantable LC Resonance Sensor and External Readout Coil.

The wireless monitoring of key physiological parameters such as heart rate, respiratory rate, temperature, and pressure can aid in preventive healthcare, early diagnosis, and patient-tailored treatment. In wireless implantable sensors, the distance between the sensor and the reader device is prone to be influenced by the operating frequency, as well as by the medium between the sensor and the reader. This manuscript presents an ex vivo investigation of the wireless linkage between an implantable sensor and an external reader for medical applications. The sensor was designed and fabricated using a cost-effective and accessible fabrication process. The sensor is composed of a circular planar inductor (L) and a circular planar capacitor (C) to form an inductor-capacitor (LC) resonance tank circuit. The reader system comprises a readout coil and data acquisition instrumentation. To investigate the effect of biological medium on wireless linkage, the readout distance between the sensor and the readout coil was examined independently for porcine and ovine tissues. In the bench model, to mimic the bio-environment for the investigation, skin, muscle, and fat tissues were used. The relative magnitude of the reflection coefficient (S11) at the readout coil was used as a metric to benchmark wireless linkage. A readable linkage signal was observed on the readout coil when the sensor was held up to 2.5 cm under layers of skin, muscle, and fat tissue. To increase the remote readout distance of the LC sensor, the effect of the repeater coil was also investigated. The experimental results showed that the magnitude of the reflection coefficient signal was increased 3-3.5 times in the presence of the repeater coil, thereby increasing the signal-to-noise ratio of the detected signal. Therefore, the repeater coil between the sensor and the readout coil allows a larger sensing range for a variety of applications in implanted or sealed fields.

Perceptions of faculty on promotion policy in medical and dental colleges associated with Shaheed Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto Medical University Islamabad, Pakistan.

OBJECTIVE: To explore the perceptions of medical and dental faculty regarding the existing promotion criterion and develop a proposed alternative criterion. METHODS: The qualitative exploratory study was conducted from November 2019 to May 2020 at Shaheed Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto Medical University, Islamabad, Pakistan, after approval from the Islamic International Medical College which is affiliated with Riphah International University, Rawalpindi, Pakistan. It comprised focus group discussions involving experts from two medical and dental colleges from both private and public sectors. Data was analysed manually to develop codes, subthemes and themes. RESULTS: Of the 24 participants, 12(50%) participated in each of the two focus groups discussions. Each discussion included 1(8.3%) principal, 2(16.7%) professors, 1(8.3%) associate professor, 2(16.7%) assistant professors and 1(8.3%) senior lecturer from basic sciences, and 1(8.3%) professor, 1(8.3%) associate professor and 1(8.3%) assistant professor from the clinical side as well as 1(8.3%) final year student each from the medical and dental streams. All 24(100%) believed that the current promotion criteria was unrealistic, inconsistent and biased, and lacked justified faculty evaluation; 19(80%) agreed on strengthening the role of research in promotion; 3(12.5%) highlighted lack of opportunities for post-graduation, and 18(75%) were in favour of introducing faculty e-portfolio. Collectively, they suggested that in order to make the criteria dependable, it should include comprehensive teacher assessment with mandatory continuing professional development activities, by standardising research work, and through introducing robust faculty promotion policy and guidelines. CONCLUSIONS: Faculty opinions outlining the gaps in the existing promotion criteria of medical and dental colleges associated with a specific medical university in Pakistan carries critical value as they proposed a modified criteria contextual to the needs of the faculty.

The p53-inducible long noncoding RNA TRINGS protects cancer cells from necrosis under glucose starvation.

The tumor suppressor p53 is activated in response to cellular stress to prevent malignant transformation. However, several recent studies have shown that p53 can play protective roles in tumor cell survival under adversity. Whether p53-regulated long noncoding RNAs are involved in this process remains to be fully understood. Here, we show that under glucose starvation condition, p53 directly upregulates a novel lncRNA named TRINGS (Tp53-regulated inhibitor of necrosis under glucose starvation) in human tumor cells. TRINGS binds to STRAP and inhibits STRAP-GSK3ß-NF-κB necrotic signaling to protect tumor cells from cell death. Interestingly, TRINGS appears to respond to glucose starvation specifically, as it is not activated by serum, serine, or glutamine deprivation. Collectively, our findings reveal that p53-induced lncRNA TRINGS controls the necrotic pathway and contributes to the survival of cancer cells harboring wild-type p53 under glucose stress.

A Design of Adaptive Control and Communication Protocol for SWIPT System in 180 nm CMOS Process for Sensor Applications.

This paper presents an adaptive control and communication protocol (ACCP) for the ultra-low power simultaneous wireless information and power transfer (SWIPT) system for sensor applications. The SWIPT system-related operations depend on harvested radio frequency (RF) energy from the ambient environment. The necessary power for SWIPT system operation is not always available and it depends on the available RF energy in the ambient environment, transmitted RF power from the SWIPT transmitter, and the distance from the transmitter and channel conditions. Thus, an efficient control and communication protocol is required which can control the SWIPT system for sensor applications which mainly consists of a transmitter and a receiver. Multiple data frame structures are used to optimize the exchange of bits for the communication and control of the SWIPT system. Both SWIPT transmitter and receiver are capable of using multiple modulation schemes which can be switched depending on the channel condition and the available RF energy in the ambient environment. This provides support for automatic switching between the time switching scheme and power splitting scheme for the distribution of received RF power in the SWIPT receiver. It also adjusts the digital clock frequency at the SWIPT receiver according to the harvested power level to optimize the power consumption. The SWIPT receiver controller with ACCP is implemented in 180 nm CMOS technology. The RF frequency of the SWIPT operation is 5.8 GHz. Digital clock frequency at the SWIPT receiver can be adjusted between 32 kHz and 2 MHz which provides data rates from 8 to 500 kbps, respectively. The power consumption and area utilization are 12.3 µW and 0.81 mm².

Aftermath of traumatic tympanic membrane perforation: Our findings at a tertiary care hospital in Pakistan.

OBJECTIVES: To determine the outcome of traumatic tympanic membrane perforation in a teaching hospital at Peshawar, Pakistan. METHODS: This prospective observational study was performed in the Department of ENT and Head and Neck Surgery, MTI/LRH, Peshawar, Pakistan from January 2016 to December 2019 after approved from Institutional Research and Ethical Board. All consented patients fulfilling inclusion criteria were enrolled. Sample size was calculated 114 using online sample size calculator (OpenEpi). Every patient was evaluated properly, subsequently otoscopy and PTA was performed. Required information was recorded and analyzed using SPSS (version 25). RESULTS: Out of 114 patients 81 (71.1%) were males and 33(28.9%) were female with male: female ratio of 2.5:1. Patient's age ranged from 6- 55 years with mean ± SD age of 26.41 ± 9.7 years. Majority of Patients, 46.5%( 53) were in 2nd decade. Amongst the causes slap outnumbered (80, 70.2%), and left ear was involved predominately (67, 58.7%) affecting mainly anterio-inferior quadrant (50, 43.9%). Small size perforation was most common finding (64, 56.1%). Majority of patients (72, 63.2%) presented in a week time and single perforation was the commonest (107, 93.%). Most of traumatic TM perforation got healed spontaneously (97, 85.1%). CONCLUSION: It is concluded that spontaneous healing of traumatic membrane perforation occurs in more than 90% cases provided the ear is kept dry and not accompanied by unfavorable conditions.

A Highly Reliable, 5.8 GHz DSRC Wake-Up Receiver with an Intelligent Digital Controller for an ETC System.

In this article, a highly reliable radio frequency (RF) wake-up receiver (WuRx) is presented for electronic toll collection (ETC) applications. An intelligent digital controller (IDC) is proposed as the final stage for improving WuRx reliability and replacing complex analog blocks. With IDC, high reliability and accuracy are achieved by sensing and ensuring the successive, configurable number of wake-up signal cycles before enabling power-hungry RF transceiver. The IDC and range communication (RC) oscillator current consumption is reduced by a presented self-hibernation technique during the non-wake-up period. For accommodating wake-up signal frequency variation and enhancing WuRx accuracy, a digital hysteresis is incorporated. To avoid uncertain conditions during poor and false wake-up, a watch-dog timer for IDC self-recovery is integrated. During wake-up, the digital controller consumes 34.62 nW power and draws 38.47 nA current from a 0.9 V supply. In self-hibernation mode, its current reduces to 9.7 nA. It is fully synthesizable and needs 809 gates for its implementation in a 130 nm CMOS process with a 94 × 82 µm2 area. The WuRx measured power consumption is 2.48 µW, has -46 dBm sensitivity, and a 0.484 mm² chip area.

A Highly Accurate, Polynomial-Based Digital Temperature Compensation for Piezoresistive Pressure Sensor in 180 nm CMOS Technology.

Recently, piezoresistive-type (PRT) pressure sensors have been gaining attention in variety of applications due to their simplicity, low cost, miniature size and ruggedness. The electrical behavior of a pressure sensor is highly dependent on the temperature gradient which seriously degrades its reliability and reduces measurement accuracy. In this paper, polynomial-based adaptive digital temperature compensation is presented for automotive piezoresistive pressure sensor applications. The non-linear temperature dependency of a pressure sensor is accurately compensated for by incorporating opposite characteristics of the pressure sensor as a function of temperature. The compensation polynomial is fully implemented in a digital system and a scaling technique is introduced to enhance its accuracy. The resource sharing technique is adopted for minimizing controller area and power consumption. The negative temperature coefficient (NTC) instead of proportional to absolute temperature (PTAT) or complementary to absolute temperature (CTAT) is used as the temperature-sensing element since it offers the best temperature characteristics for grade 0 ambient temperature operating range according to the automotive electronics council (AEC) test qualification ACE-Q100. The shared structure approach uses an existing analog signal conditioning path, composed of a programmable gain amplifier (PGA) and an analog-to-digital converter (ADC). For improving the accuracy over wide range of temperature, a high-resolution sigma-delta ADC is integrated. The measured temperature compensation accuracy is within ±0.068% with full scale when temperature varies from -40 °C to 150 °C according to ACE-Q100. It takes 37 µs to compute the temperature compensation with a clock frequency of 10 MHz. The proposed technique is integrated in an automotive pressure sensor signal conditioning chip using a 180 nm complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) process.

Design of a Low-Power, Small-Area AEC-Q100-Compliant SENT Transmitter in Signal Conditioning IC for Automotive Pressure and Temperature Complex Sensors in 180 Nm CMOS Technology.

In this paper, a low-power and small-area Single Edge Nibble Transmission (SENT) transmitter design is proposed for automotive pressure and temperature complex sensor applications. To reduce the cost and size of the hardware, the pressure and temperature information is processed with a single integrated circuit (IC) and transmitted at the same time to the electronic control unit (ECU) through SENT. Due to its digital nature, it is immune to noise, has reduced sensitivity to electromagnetic interference (EMI), and generates low EMI. It requires only one PAD for its connectivity with ECU, and thus reduces the pin requirements, simplifies the connectivity, and minimizes the printed circuit board (PCB) complexity. The design is fully synthesizable, and independent of technology. The finite state machine-based approach is employed for area efficient implementation, and to translate the proposed architecture into hardware. The IC is fabricated in 1P6M 180 nm CMOS process with an area of (116 µm × 116 µm) and 4.314 K gates. The current consumption is 50 µA from a 1.8 V supply with a total 90 µW power. For compliance with AEC-Q100 for automotive reliability, a reverse and over voltage protection circuit is also implemented with human body model (HBM) electro-static discharge (ESD) of +6 kV, reverse voltage of -16 V to 0 V, over voltage of 8.2 V to 16 V, and fabricated area of 330 µm × 680 µm. The extensive testing, measurement, and simulation results prove that the design is fully compliant with SAE J2716 standard.

Identification of the risk factors of the thyroid cancer by using logit model in Lahore.

Thyroid Cancer is a disease, which becomes a cause of death in developing countries. The aim of this study is to investigate all the possible risk factors of thyroid cancer in Pakistan. This study was consisting of 320 individuals, including 160 cases and 160 controls. These subjects were interviewed from the INMOL hospital and Sheikh Zayed Hospital, Lahore. The information was collected regarding the characteristics like age, gender, family history of thyroid cancer, use of iodine-diet, radiation therapy, etc. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used to explore the risk factors of the thyroid cancer. Odds ratio and 95% confidence interval (CI) were computed by using logistic regression model. The result showed that the odds ratio and 95% CI for family history of cancer are 2.222 and (1.281-3.853), for use of iodine diet are 2.619 and (1.492-4.596), for acromegaly disease are 1.947 and (1.123-3.374), for oxidative stress are 6.229 and (3.473-11.172), for red meat are 2.601 and (1.421-4.762), for fast food are 3.177 and (1.745-5.785), for fried food are 2.357 and (1.268-4.382), for the use of fats are 2.531 and (1.265-5.064) and for sea food are 2.050 and (1.127-3.729), respectively. It can be concluded that oxidative stress has 6 times high risk of thyroid cancer with the odd ratio 6.229 and CI (3.473, 11.172). Moreover, fast food, the use of iodine diet, red meat and the seafood are also increased the risk factor of thyroid cancer.

Deficiency and toxicity of boron: Alterations in growth, oxidative damage and uptake by citrange orange plants.

Boron (B) deficiency and toxicity are the major factors that affect plant growth and yield. The present study revealed the effect of B deficiency and toxicity on plant growth, morphology, physiology, and cell structure. A hydroponic culture experiment was conducted with five B levels, B deficient (B0), sufficient (B20, B10, B40) and toxic (B100). Our results show that both B deficient as well as excess level inhibit plant growth. In B deficiency, the major visible symptoms were appeared in roots, while B excess burned the leaf margin of older leaves. The antioxidant enzymes including superoxide dismutase (SOD), peroxidase (POD), catalase (CAT) and ascorbate peroxidase (APX) decreased at B deficiency and also decreased up to some extent at B excess, while in sufficient treatments, the higher antioxidant enzymes were found at B20. In addition, the MDA concentration decreased at B deficiency and increased with B concentration. Moreover, the photosynthetic rate, transpiration rate, stomatal conductance, leaf gas exchange and intercellular CO2 were reduced at both B deficiency as well as excess and higher at sufficient B20 treatment significantly. The chlorophyll and carotenoid content increased at B20 treatment, while decreased at B deficiency and excess. The middle lamellae of cell wall were found thick at B excess and normal at B20. The current study revealed that B deficiency as well as excess concentration affect plant growth and various morpho-physiological processes.

Pattern of firearm injuries in head and neck regions at a tertiary care hospital.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the characteristics of firearm injuries on head and neck in patients presenting to the Ear Nose and Throat Department of a tertiary care hospital. METHODS: This prospective, cross-sectional study was conducted at the Lady Reading Hospital, Peshawar, from June 2014 to May 2015, and comprised victims of firearm injuries. They were subjected to a thorough examination of the wounds specifically and the rest of the Ear, Nose and Throat, Head and Neck regions generally. Data was collected on a proforma. SPSS 16 was used for data analysis. RESULTS: Out of the 56 patients, 49(87.5%) were men. The overall mean age was 28.68±1.63 years (range: 6-80 years. Besides, 33(58.9%) patients were in the age range 20-40 years followed by 18(32.1%) below 20 years. Overall, 27(48.2%) patients were jobless and 24(42.9%) had education below grade ten. Pistol was the most commonly-used weapon in 28(50%).Hospital stay was 2-10 days with a mean of 4.37±1.74 days. Single-entry wound on the neck was common 21(37.5%), predominantly on the right side 24(42.9%), while there were 33(58.9%) single-exit wounds, affecting neck in 18(32.1%) cases and on the left side in 19(33.9%). CONCLUSIONS: Firearm injuries were common among young men who were illiterate and poor socioeconomically. Homicidal injuries mostly occurred during the daytime. Pistol was the most commonly-used weapon, while wounds on the neck were more common.

A computational quest for identifying potential vaccine candidates against Moraxella lacunata: a multi-pronged approach.

Moraxella lacunata is an emerging gram-negative bacterium that is responsible for multiple nosocomial infections. The bacterium is evolving resistance to several antibiotics, and currently, no effective licensed vaccines are available, which warrants the search for new therapeutics. A multi-epitope-based vaccine has been designed for M. lacunata. The complete proteome of M. lacunata contains 10,110 core proteins. Subcellular localization analysis revealed the presence of five proteins in the extracellular matrix, while 19 proteins were predicted to be located in the outer membrane, and 21 proteins were predicted to be located in the periplasmic region. Only two proteins, the type VI secretion system tube protein (Hcp) and the transporter substrate-binding domain-containing protein, were selected for epitope prediction as they fulfilled all the criteria for being potential vaccine candidates. Shortlisted epitopes from the selected proteins were fused together using "GPGPG" linkers to overcome the limitations of single-epitope vaccines. Next, the cholera toxin-B adjuvant was attached to the peptide epitope using an EAAAK linker. Docking analysis was performed to examine the interaction between the vaccine and immune cell receptors, revealing robust intermolecular interactions and a stable binding conformation. Molecular dynamics simulation findings revealed no drastic changes in the binding conformation of complexes during the simulation period. The net binding free energy of vaccine-receptor complexes was estimated using the molecular mechanics energies combined with the Poisson-Boltzmann and surface area continuum solvation (MM-PBSA) method. The reported values were -586.38 kcal/mol, -283.74 kcal/mol, and -296.88 kcal/mol for the TLR-4-vaccine complex, MHC-I-vaccine complex, and MHC-II-vaccine complex, respectively. Furthermore, the molecular mechanics energies combined with the generalized Born and surface area continuum solvation (MM-GBSA) analysis predicted binding free energies of -596.69 kcal/mol, -287.39 kcal/mol, and -298.28 kcal/mol for the TLR-4-vaccine complex, MHC-I-vaccine complex, and MHC-II-vaccine complex, respectively. The theoretical vaccine design proposed in the study could potentially serve as a powerful therapeutic against targeted pathogens, subject to validation through experimental studies.Communicated by Ramaswamy H. Sarma.

Solitonic solutions and stability analysis of Benjamin Bona Mahony Burger equation using two versatile techniques.

This study aims to explore the precise resolution of the nonlinear Benjamin Bona Mahony Burgers (BBMB) equation, which finds application in a variety of nonlinear scientific disciplines including fluid dynamics, shock generation, wave transmission, and soliton theory. Within this paper, we employ two versatile methodologies, specifically the extended exp ( - Ψ ( χ ) ) expansion technique and the novel Kudryashov method, to identify the exact soliton solutions of the nonlinear BBMB equation. The solutions we discovered involve trigonometric functions, hyperbolic functions, and rational functions. The uniqueness of this research lies in uncovering the bright soliton, kink wave solution, and periodic wave solution, and conducting stability analysis. Furthermore, the solutions' graphical characteristics were explored through the utilization of the mathematical software Maple 2022 ( https://maplesoft.com/downloads/selectplatform.aspx?hash=61ab59890f2313b2241fde3423fd975e ). The system's physical interpretation is defined through various types of graphs, including contour graphs, 3D-surface graphs, and line graphs, which use appropriate parameter values. These recommended techniques hold significant importance and are applicable in diverse nonlinear evolutionary equations found in the field of nonlinear sciences for illustrating nonlinear physical models.