Green Synthesis of Withania coagulans Extract-Mediated Zinc Oxide Nanoparticles as Photocatalysts and Biological Agents.

Recently, biosynthesized nanoparticles (NPs) have played a vital role as an alternative to physical and chemical methods. Here, a distinctive bioinspired synthesis of zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO NPs) has been introduced using leaf extracts of Withania coagulans as the reducing agent by using distilled water and methanol. The synthesized catalysts were analyzed through ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy, dynamic light scattering, scanning electron microscopy, Fourier transform infrared, energy-dispersive X-ray analysis, and X-ray diffraction for NP synthesis, morphology, functional group, elemental composition, and peak crystallinity analysis. The phytochemical analysis of 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH), total flavonoid content, total alkaloid content, and total phenolic content of the crude methanolic extract of the plant was also performed, suggesting the greatest potential as the supporting material for ZnO NPs. The NPs were investigated for their catalytic efficiency in the degradation of dyes (rhodamine B dye) and against important human food-borne pathogens (Staphylococcus aureus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Escherichia coli). ZnO NPs exhibited a strong catalytic activity in the degradation of dyes and against bacteria. The results also showed an enhanced activity of ZnO NPs of methanolic extract (ZnO-M) composites compared to zinc oxide of distilled water (ZnO-D). The % age degradation of the dye, Kapp, and linear relationship were obtained from pseudo-first-order kinetics. The highest reduction rate in 30 and 60 min was observed under sunlight by ZnO-M and ZnO-D, respectively. The rate constant Kapp for the reduction of the dye was 13.6 × 10-1 min-1 and 6.8 × 10-1 min-1, respectively (numerical values). For ZnO-M, ln(Kapp) ≈ 0.309. For ZnO-D, ln(Kapp) ≈ -0.385. These rate constants represent the degradation of the dye in the presence of ZnO-M and ZnO-D catalysts. In addition, NPs were found to be most active against S. aureus (18 mm in the case of ZnO-M and 15 mm in the case of ZnO-D) than P. aeruginosa and E. coli. The results suggested that the prepared ZnO NPs could be used in pharmaceutical industries as well as photocatalysts. ZnO-M had greater control over particle size and morphology, potentially resulting in smaller, more uniform NPs. ZnO-D achieved fine size control but not potentially better than that compared to organic solvents.

Contamination of ready-to-eat street food in Pakistan with Salmonella spp.: Implications for consumers and food safety.

OBJECTIVES: Ready-to-eat (RTE) food sold in Quetta, Pakistan was assessed for microbial contamination. METHODS: Equal numbers of samples were collected from four categories of RTE food - burgers, shawarma, pizza and sandwiches - from January 2018 to December 2018. Microbial contamination of individual food samples was assessed by quantifying the total aerobic count obtained from plating samples on bacterial growth medium. Salmonella spp. serovars were identified using polymerase chain reaction. RESULTS: Approximately 38% (121/320) of RTE food samples were not fit for human consumption. The most contaminated type of RTE food was shawarma (49%). Microbial contamination of food samples was higher in summer compared with the other seasons. Approximately 40% (49/121) of food samples that were not fit for human consumption were contamined with Salmonella spp. Salmonella enteritidis (69%) and Salmonella typhimurium (31%) were the only serovars among the samples testing positive for Salmonella spp. Of the 49 samples with high microbial counts, S. enteritidis was present in 34 samples and S. typhimurium was present in 15 samples. The antibiotic sensitivity results demonstrated that both S. enteritidis and S. typhimurium were resistant to amoxicillin. In addition, S. enteritidis was resistant to chloramphenicol and erythromycin, and S. typhimurium presented high resistance to erythromycin. Both S. typhimurium and S. enteritidis were highly sensitive to kanamycin. CONCLUSION: RTE food sold by street vendors in Quetta was found to be contaminated with Salmonella spp. and poses a great health risk to consumers. As such, consumption should be avoided, and the health authorities should take stringent action to ensure the quality of street food in order to reduce the healthcare burden.

Sialuria-Related Intellectual Disability in Children and Adolescent of Pakistan: Tenth Patient Described has a Novel Mutation in the GNE Gene.

BACKGROUND: Sialuria is a rare inborn error of metabolism caused by excessive synthesis of sialic acid due to the mutation in the binding site of the cytidine monophosphate-sialic acid of UDPGlcNAc 2-Epimerase/ManNAc Kinase (GNE/MNK). OBJECTIVE: This is the first study investigating the molecular basis of neuronal disorders exhibiting sialuria in Pakistani children/adolescents. METHODS: The current study genotyped GNE SNPs rs121908621, rs121908622 and rs121908623 by using PCR, RFLP, and DNA sequencing methods. Socioeconomic and clinical histories were also recorded. RESULTS: Our data suggest that clinical symptoms and financial status play a significant role in conferring sialuria related Intellectual Disability (ID). SNP: rs121908623 showed G/A substitution (R263Q) in the GNE gene. CONCLUSION: We have identified one case study in Pakistan, so this makes our research a leap forward towards the identification of the 10th case study worldwide.

Drugs targeting SNPrs35753505 of the NRG1 gene may prevent the association of neurological disorder schizophrenia in a Pakistani population.

The Neuregulin 1 (NRG1) gene has been associated with schizophrenia in several populations, and all four types of NRG1 genes are linked with neurotransmitters activities. In this study for the first time we have demonstrated an association between NRG1 mutation and schizophrenia in Pakistani population. We examined the relationship of three genetic variants SNPs: rs3924999, rs2954041 and rs35753505 of NRG1 gene with the onset of disease. Genomic DNA samples were obtained from the blood of 100 patients and 80 matched controls. All three NRG1 SNPs were genotyped by polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism method and further confirmed by DNA sequencing. The SNPs frequencies were estimated by Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium and Chi-square tests. Our study established a significant association of rs35753505 with schizophrenia but no association with rs3924999 and rs2954041. The frequency of risk allele C was significantly higher (62.5%) in rs35753505 patients when compared to controls (28.13%). Genotype frequency by Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium for SNPrs3924999 in patients was GG 77.4%, GA 21.12% and AA 1.44% and showed no association with the disease. Similarly, no genotype association was observed in rs2954041: GG 92.98%, GT 6.89%, TT 0.13% of NRG1. However, one unexpected G allele, 100% guanine (G) with no adenine (A) was found to be present in SNP rs35753505 in both patients and controls. This is an interesting finding that both cohorts display only allele G peak but no peak for allele A in the electropherogram for this SNP. Our results suggest that SNP rs35753505 of NRG1 plays an important role in conferring susceptibility to the schizophrenia in a Pakistani population.