Development of a diagnostic prediction model for giant cell arteritis by sequential application of Southend Giant Cell Arteritis Probability Score and ultrasonography: a prospective multicentre study.

BACKGROUND: Giant cell arteritis is a critically ischaemic disease with protean manifestations that require urgent diagnosis and treatment. European Alliance of Associations for Rheumatology (EULAR) recommendations advocate ultrasonography as the first investigation for suspected giant cell arteritis. We developed a prediction tool that sequentially combines clinical assessment, as determined by the Southend Giant Cell Arteritis Probability Score (SGCAPS), with results of quantitative ultrasonography. METHODS: This prospective, multicentre, inception cohort study included consecutive patients with suspected new onset giant cell arteritis referred to fast-track clinics (seven centres in Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, and UK). Final clinical diagnosis was established at 6 months. SGCAPS and quantitative ultrasonography of temporal and axillary arteries with three scores (ie, halo count, halo score, and OMERACT GCA Score [OGUS]) were performed at diagnosis. We developed prediction models for diagnosis of giant cell arteritis by multivariable logistic regression analysis with SGCAPS and each of the three ultrasonographic scores as predicting variables. We obtained intraclass correlation coefficient for inter-rater and intra-rater reliability in a separate patient-based reliability exercise with five patients and five observers. FINDINGS: Between Oct 1, 2019, and June 30, 2022, we recruited and followed up 229 patients (150 [66%] women and 79 [34%] men; mean age 71 years [SD 10]), of whom 84 were diagnosed with giant cell arteritis and 145 with giant cell arteritis mimics (controls) at 6 months. SGCAPS and all three ultrasonographic scores discriminated well between patients with and without giant cell arteritis. A reliability exercise showed that the inter-rater and intra-rater reliability was high for all three ultrasonographic scores. The prediction model combining SGCAPS with the halo count, which was termed HAS-GCA score, was the most accurate model, with an optimism-adjusted C statistic of 0·969 (95% CI 0·952 to 0·990). The HAS-GCA score could classify 169 (74%) of 229 patients into either the low or high probability groups, with misclassification observed in two (2%) of 105 patients in the low probability group and two (3%) of 64 of patients in the high probability group. A nomogram for easy application of the score in daily practice was created. INTERPRETATION: A prediction tool for giant cell arteritis (the HAS-GCA score), combining SGCAPS and the halo count, reliably confirms and excludes giant cell arteritis from giant cell arteritis mimics in fast-track clinics. These findings require confirmation in an independent, multicentre study. FUNDING: Royal College of Physicians of Ireland, FOREUM.

Recent advances in the fluorimetric and colorimetric detection of cobalt ions.

Cobalt is an essential metal to maintain several functions in the human body and is present in functional materials for numerous applications. Thus, to monitor these functions, it is necessary to develop suitable probes for the detection of cobalt. Presently, researchers are focused on designing different chemosensors for the qualitative and quantitative detection of the metal ions. Among the numerous methods devised for the identification of cobalt ions, colorimetric and fluorimetric techniques are considered the best choice due to their user-friendly nature, sensitivity, accuracy, linearity and robustness. In these techniques, the interaction of the analyte with the chemosensor leads to structural changes in the molecule, causing the emission and excitation intensities (bathochromic, hyperchromic, hypochromic, and hypsochromic) to change with a change in the concentration of the analyte. In this review, the recent advancements in the fluorimetric and colorimetric detection of cobalt ions are systematically summarized, and it is concluded that the development of chemosensors having distinctive colour changes when interacting with cobalt ions has been targeted for on-site detection. The chemosensors are grouped in various categories and their comparison and the discussion of computational studies will enable readers to have a quick overview and help in designing effective and efficient probes for the detection of cobalt in the field of chemo-sensing.

Effects of Peanut Rust Disease (Puccinia arachidis Speg.) on Agricultural Production: Current Control Strategies and Progress in Breeding for Resistance.

Peanuts play a pivotal role as an economic crop on a global scale, serving as a primary source of both edible oil and protein. Peanut rust (Puccinia arachidis Speg.) disease constitutes a significant global biotic stress, representing a substantial economic threat to the peanut industry by inducing noteworthy reductions in seed yields and compromising oil quality. This comprehensive review delves into the distinctive characteristics and detrimental symptoms associated with peanut rust, scrutinizing its epidemiology and the control strategies that are currently implemented. Notably, host resistance emerges as the most favored strategy due to its potential to surmount the limitations inherent in other approaches. The review further considers the recent advancements in peanut rust resistance breeding, integrating the use of molecular marker technology and the identification of rust resistance genes. Our findings indicate that the ongoing refinement of control strategies, especially through the development and application of immune or highly resistant peanut varieties, will have a profound impact on the global peanut industry.

Genetic Diversity, Evolutionary Dynamics, and Ongoing Spread of Pedilanthus Leaf Curl Virus.

Pedilanthus leaf curl virus (PeLCV) is a monopartite begomovirus (family Geminiviridae) discovered just a few decades ago. Since then, it has become a widely encountered virus, with reports from ca. 25 plant species across Pakistan and India, indicative of its notable evolutionary success. Viruses mutate at such a swift rate that their ecological and evolutionary behaviors are inextricably linked, and all of these behaviors are imprinted on their genomes as genetic diversity. So, all these imprints can be mapped by computational methods. This study was designed to map the sequence variation dynamics, genetic heterogeneity, regional diversity, phylogeny, and recombination events imprinted on the PeLCV genome. Phylogenetic and network analysis grouped the full-length genome sequences of 52 PeLCV isolates into 7 major clades, displaying some regional delineation but lacking host-specific demarcation. The progenitor of PeLCV was found to have originated in Multan, Pakistan, in 1977, from where it spread concurrently to India and various regions of Pakistan. A high proportion of recombination events, distributed unevenly throughout the genome and involving both inter- and intraspecies recombinants, were inferred. The findings of this study highlight that the PeLCV population is expanding under a high degree of genetic diversity (π = 0.073%), a high rate of mean nucleotide substitution (1.54 × 10-3), demographic selection, and a high rate of recombination. This sets PeLCV apart as a distinctive begomovirus among other begomoviruses. These factors could further exacerbate the PeLCV divergence and adaptation to new hosts. The insights of this study that pinpoint the emergence of PeLCV are outlined.

Synthesis, Crystal Structure and Fluorimetric Study of 2-phenylphthalazin-1(2H)-one: a Highly Selective Florescent Chemosensor for Detection of Fe3+ and Fe2+ Metal Ions.

A ligand, 2-phenylphthalazin-1(2H)-one (K), was synthesized by refluxing 2-formylbenzoic acid with phenyl hydrazine in presence of ethanol. FTIR, elemental analysis and single crystal XRD techniques were used to elucidate the structure. Fluorimetric turn-off response was recorded when solution of ligand (K) in DMF was treated with aqueous solution of Fe3+ and Fe2+ metal ions. No specific changes were observed on addition of other metal ions (Pb2+, Cd2+, Mn2+, Zn2+, Ba2+, Ni2+, Al3+, Ag1+, Co2+, Ca2+, Cu2+, Mg2+, Cr3+). Limit of Detection (LOD) was calculated for Fe2 and Fe3+as 2.4 µM and 2.5µM respectively, which is quite below to the recommended value 5.4 µM of the Environment Protection Agency of USA. Association constants for Fe3+ and Fe2+ metal ions were determined as 6 × 10-4 M-1 and 3.6 × 10-4 M-1 respectively. Benesi-Hildebrand plot confirmed 1:1 binding ratio between metal ions and ligand.

Increased health risk assessment in different vegetables grown under untreated sewerage irrigation regime due to higher heavy metals accumulation.

Heavy metals are environmental pollutants and carcinogenic for human health if ingested. In developing countries, including Pakistan, untreated sewerage water is one of the major sources of irrigation for vegetable production in the vicinities of urban areas which might be toxic to human health due to heavy metals contamination. The present study was conducted to investigate the uptake of heavy metals by sewage water application and its impact on human health. The experiment consisted of five vegetable crops (Raphanus sativus L, Daucus carota, Brassica rapa, Spinacia oleracea, and Trigonella foenum-graecum L.) and two irrigation sources (clean water irrigation and sewage water irrigation). Each treatment was three time replicated for all five vegetables, and standard agronomic practices were applied. The results demonstrated that shoot and root growth in radish, carrot, turnip, spinach, and fenugreek was enhanced significantly with sewerage water, probably due to enhanced organic matter. However, pithiness was observed in the root of radish under sewerage water treatment. Very high concentrations of Cd, up to 7.08 ppm in turnip roots while up to 5.10 ppm in fenugreek shoot, were observed, and other vegetables also contained higher concentrations of Cd. Zn concentrations in the edible parts of carrot (control (C) = 129.17 ppm, sewerage (S) = 164.10 ppm), radish (C = 173.73 ppm, S = 253.03), turnip (C = 109.77 ppm, S = 149.67 ppm), and fenugreek (C = 131.87 ppm, S = 186.36 ppm) were increased by sewerage water treatment but a decrease in Zn concentration in spinach (C = 262.17 ppm, S = 226.97 ppm) was observed. Fe concentration in edible parts of carrot (C = 888.00 ppm, S = 524.80 ppm), radish (C = 139.69 ppm, S = 123.60 ppm), turnip (C = 195.00 ppm, S = 121.37 ppm), and fenugreek (C = 1054.93 ppm, S = 461.77 ppm) were also decreased by sewerage water treatment while spinach leaves had accumulated higher Fe (C = 1560.33 ppm, S = 1682.67 ppm) in sewerage water treatment. The highest bioaccumulation factor value was 4.17 for Cd in carrots irrigated with sewerage water. The maximum value of bioconcentration factor was 3.11 for Cd in turnip under control, and the highest value of translocation factor was 4.82 in fenugreek irrigated with sewerage water. Daily intake of metals and health risk index (HRI) calculation indicated that HRI for Cd was more than 1, suggesting toxicity in these vegetables while HRI for Fe and Zn is still under safe limit. Correlation analysis among different traits of all vegetables under both treatments revealed valuable information for selecting traits in the next crop breeding programs. It is concluded that untreated sewerage-irrigated vegetables, highly contaminated with Cd, are potentially toxic for human consumption and should be banned in Pakistan. Furthermore, it is suggested that the sewerage water should be treated to eliminate toxic compounds, particularly Cd, before irrigation usage and non-edible/phytoremediation crops might be grown in contaminated soils.

Disease stratification in GCA and PMR: state of the art and future perspectives.

Giant cell arteritis (GCA) and polymyalgia rheumatica (PMR) are closely related conditions characterized by systemic inflammation, a predominant IL-6 signature, an excellent response to glucocorticoids, a tendency to a chronic and relapsing course, and older age of the affected population. This Review highlights the emerging view that these diseases should be approached as linked conditions, unified under the term GCA-PMR spectrum disease (GPSD). In addition, GCA and PMR should be seen as non-monolithic conditions, with different risks of developing acute ischaemic complications and chronic vascular and tissue damage, different responses to available therapies and disparate relapse rates. A comprehensive stratification strategy for GPSD, guided by clinical findings, imaging and laboratory data, facilitates appropriate therapy and cost-effective use of health-economic resources. Patients presenting with predominant cranial symptoms and vascular involvement, who usually have a borderline elevation of inflammatory markers, are at an increased risk of sight loss in early disease but have fewer relapses in the long term, whereas the opposite is observed in patients with predominant large-vessel vasculitis. How the involvement of peripheral joint structures affects disease outcomes remains uncertain and understudied. In the future, all cases of new-onset GPSD should undergo early disease stratification, with their management adapted accordingly.

Karachi Cancer Registry (KCR): Consolidated Data of 5-years 2017-2021.

OBJECTIVE:  To collect and analyse epidemiologic data of all malignancies by age group and gender for the Karachi population to estimate the cancer incidence of 5-years (2017-2021) and identify major risk factors for setting priorities towards cancer control programs. STUDY DESIGN: Observational study. Place and Duration of the Study: Karachi Cancer Registry (KCR) Secretariat, Pakistan Health Research Council (PHRC), JPMC, Karachi, from 2017-2021. METHODOLOGY: Cancer data of seven tertiary care hospitals of Karachi submitted to KCR during the study period were analysed including age, gender, date of first contact, primary site and ICD coding. All the data was cleaned, merged, and analysed. All patients 0-14 years were classified as 'children', all aged 15-19 years were classified as 'adolescents', and those age 20-years and above as 'adults'. Age standardised incidence rates (ASIR) were determined for both genders. RESULTS: During the last five years (2017-2021), a total of 65,886 malignant cases were received. The distributions seen amongst males and females were 33,510 (51%) and 32,376 (49%), respectively with 60,145 (91.3%) tumours found in adults (≥20 years), 4844 (7.3%) in children, and 897 (1.4%) in adolescents. The three most common tumour sites were oral, liver, and colorectal in males; breast, oral and ovary in females; bone, brain and connective tissue in adolescents; and leukaemia, brain and bone in children. The overall ASIR (%) in males was 89.20 for adults, 9.19 for children, and 1.61 for adolescents. The overall ASIR (%) in females was 93.44 for adults, 5.45 for children, and 1.11 for adolescents. CONCLUSION: Oral cancer, a largely preventable cancer is the leading cancer in males while breast cancer is the leading cancer in females followed by oral cancer. In adolescents and children, the incidence closely matches most of the world. KEY WORDS: Karachi, Cancer registry, Oral cancer, Breast cancer, Age-standerdised ratio.

Enhancements in yield, agronomic, and zinc recovery efficiencies of rice-wheat system through bioactive zinc coated urea application in Aridisols.

BACKGROUND: Zinc (Zn) deficiency and source-dependent Zn fertilization to achieve optimum Zn levels in rice and wheat grains remain global concern for human nutrition, especially in developing countries. To-date, little is known about the effectiveness of bioactive Zn-coated urea (BAZU) to enhance the concentration, uptake, and recovery of Zn in relation to agronomic efficiency in paddy and wheat grains. RESULTS: Field experiments were carried out during 2020-21 on the rice-wheat system at Lahore, Faisalabad, Sahiwal, and Multan, Punjab, Pakistan using four treatments viz.T1 (Urea 46% N @ 185 kg ha-1 + zero Zn), T2 (Urea 46% N @ 185 kg ha-1 + ZnSO4 33% Zn @ 15 kg ha-1), T3 (BAZU 42% N @ 103 kg ha-1 + Urea 46% N @ 62 kg ha-1 + 1% bioactive Zn @ 1.03 kg ha-1) and T4 (BAZU 42% N @ 125 kg ha-1 + Urea 46% N @ 62 kg ha-1 + 1% bioactive Zn @ 1.25 kg ha-1) in quadruplicate under Randomized Complete Block Design. Paddy yield was increased by 13, 11, 12, and 11% whereas wheat grain yield was enhanced by 12, 11, 11, and 10% under T4 at Multan, Faisalabad, Sahiwal, and Lahore, respectively, compared to T1. Similarly, paddy Zn concentration was increased by 58, 67, 65 and 77% (32.4, 30.7, 31.1, and 34.1 mg kg-1) in rice whereas grain Zn concentration was increased by 90, 87, 96 and 97% (46.2, 43.9, 46.7 and 44.9 mg kg-1) in wheat by the application of BAZU (T4) at Multan, Faisalabad, Sahiwal, and Lahore, respectively, in comparison to T1. Zinc recovery was about 9-fold and 11-fold higher in paddy and wheat grains, respectively, under BAZU (T4) treatment relative to T2 while, the agronomic efficiency was enhanced up to 130% and 141% in rice and wheat respectively as compared to T2. CONCLUSION: Thus, T4 application at the rate of 125 kg ha-1 could prove effective in enhancing the rice paddy and wheat grain yield along with their Zn biofortification (∼34 mg kg-1 and ∼47 mg kg-1, respectively) through increased agronomic and Zn recovery efficiencies, the underlying physiological and molecular mechanisms of which can be further explored in future.

Development of an Innovative Glass/Stainless Steel/Polyamide Commingled Yarn for Fiber-Metal Hybrid Composites.

Fiber-metal hybrid composites are widely used in high-tech industries due to their unique combination of mechanical, toughness and ductile properties. Currently, hybrid materials made of metals and high-performance fibers have been limited to layer-by-layer hybridization (fiber-metal laminates). However, layer-by-layer hybridization lacks in fiber to fiber mixing, resulting in poor inter-laminar interfaces. The objective of this paper was to establish the fundamental knowledge and application-related technological principles for the development and fabrication of air-textured commingled yarn composed of glass (GF), stainless steel (SS) and polyamide-6 (PA-6) filaments for fiber-metal hybrid composites. For this purpose, extensive conceptual, design and technological developments were carried out to develop a novel air-texturing nozzle that can produce an innovative metallic commingled yarn. The results show that an innovative metallic commingled yarn was developed using fiber-metal hybrid composites with a composite tensile strength of 700 ± 39 MPa and an E-modulus of 55 ± 7. This shows that the developed metallic commingled yarn is a suitable candidate for producing metal-fiber hybrid composites.

Interaction of the causal agent of apricot bud gall Acalitus phloeocoptes (Nalepa) with apricot: Implications in infested tissues.

Apricot bud gall mite, Acalitus phloeocoptes (Nalepa), is a destructive arthropod pest that causes significant economic losses to apricot trees worldwide. The current study explores the ways to understand the mode of dispersal of A. phloeocoptes, the development and ultrastructure of apricot bud gall, and the role of phytohormones in the formation of the apricot bud galls. The results demonstrated that the starch granules in the bud axon were extended at the onset of the attack. During the later stages of the attack, the cytoplasm was found to deteriorate in infected tissues. Furthermore, we have observed that the accumulation of large amounts of cytokinin (zeatin, ZT) and auxin (indoleacetic acid, IAA) led to rapid bud proliferation during rapid growth period, while abscisic acid (ABA) controls the development of gall buds and plays a vital role in gall bud maturity. The reduction of gibberellic acid (GA3) content led to rapid lignification at the later phase of bud development. Overall, our results have revealed that the mechanism underlying the interaction of apricot bud gall with its parasite and have provided reliable information for designing valuable Apricot breeding programs. This study will be quite useful for pest management and will provide a comprehensive evaluation of ecology-based cost-effective control, life history and demographic parameters of A. phloeocoptes.

Phenotypic characterization of exotic tomato germplasm: An excellent breeding resource.

Tomato production in Pakistan faces significant problems of low yields due to various biotic and abiotic stresses primarily because of a narrow genetic base of the cultivars being used. Therefore, Introduction and evaluation of the exotic tomato germplasm has become necessary to acquire elite material to develop future breeding programs. To this end, the present study was conducted for the phenotypic characterization of twenty exotic tomato genotypes along with two locally grown cultivars in semi-arid subtropical climate. Data were collected for morphological, fruit quality and fruit yield traits. A significant (p<0.05) phenotypic variation was observed for all the studied traits. Maximum yield was obtained from "Rober" i.e., 1508.31 g per plant. The maximum shelf life was observed in the Cromco, with the least weight loss (2.45%) and loss in the firmness of fruit (22.61%) in 4 days. Correlation analyses revealed a strong genetic association among morphological and yield related traits. High estimates of the heritability (ranged from 79.77% to 95.01% for different traits), along with a high genetic advance (up to 34%) showed the potential usefulness of these traits and genotypes to develop breeding programs to improve the tomato yield and fruit quality.

Long non-coding RNAs: emerging players regulating plant abiotic stress response and adaptation.

BACKGROUND: The immobile nature of plants means that they can be frequently confronted by various biotic and abiotic stresses during their lifecycle. Among the various abiotic stresses, water stress, temperature extremities, salinity, and heavy metal toxicity are the major abiotic stresses challenging overall plant growth. Plants have evolved complex molecular mechanisms to adapt under the given abiotic stresses. Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs)-a diverse class of RNAs that contain > 200 nucleotides(nt)-play an essential role in plant adaptation to various abiotic stresses. RESULTS: LncRNAs play a significant role as 'biological regulators' for various developmental processes and biotic and abiotic stress responses in animals and plants at the transcription, post-transcription, and epigenetic level, targeting various stress-responsive mRNAs, regulatory gene(s) encoding transcription factors, and numerous microRNAs (miRNAs) that regulate the expression of different genes. However, the mechanistic role of lncRNAs at the molecular level, and possible target gene(s) contributing to plant abiotic stress response and adaptation, remain largely unknown. Here, we review various types of lncRNAs found in different plant species, with a focus on understanding the complex molecular mechanisms that contribute to abiotic stress tolerance in plants. We start by discussing the biogenesis, type and function, phylogenetic relationships, and sequence conservation of lncRNAs. Next, we review the role of lncRNAs controlling various abiotic stresses, including drought, heat, cold, heavy metal toxicity, and nutrient deficiency, with relevant examples from various plant species. Lastly, we briefly discuss the various lncRNA databases and the role of bioinformatics for predicting the structural and functional annotation of novel lncRNAs. CONCLUSIONS: Understanding the intricate molecular mechanisms of stress-responsive lncRNAs is in its infancy. The availability of a comprehensive atlas of lncRNAs across whole genomes in crop plants, coupled with a comprehensive understanding of the complex molecular mechanisms that regulate various abiotic stress responses, will enable us to use lncRNAs as potential biomarkers for tailoring abiotic stress-tolerant plants in the future.

First report of Rhizoctonia solani AG-4 HGI Causing Stem Canker on Fagopyrum tataricum (Tartary buckwheat) in China.

Tartary buckwheat (Fagopyrum tataricum) is an ideal functional food source, which is well known to be gluten-free and rich in proteins, fats, vitamins, minerals, and flavonoids of various pharmaceutical uses, such as rutin, quercitin and epicatechin (Zhou, M et al. 2018). The Rhizoctonia solani AG-4 HGIII causing severe canker disease was first isolated from common buckwheat (F. esculentum) in Inner Mongolia of China (Zhou, H et al. 2015). In 2018, sunken lesion and dark brown symptoms were observed on the root and stem of ten days old Tartary buckwheat in Liangshan (28°21'N, 103°19''E), Sichuan Province and Fenghuang (28°19' N, 109°48' E), Hunan Province in China. In the beginning, water soaked spots appeared on the stem base, where gradually became rotten and necrotic, finally resulting in the damping-off and death of buckwheat seedlings. This disease had over 40% incidence and lead to serious losses to the buckwheat production in 2018. To isolate the pathogens on Tartary buckwheat, ten plants with typical symptoms were collected from each location. The infected tissue was taken and cut into 3mm pieces from the margin between healthy and diseased tissue, surface sterilized with 1% sodium hypochlorite solution for 4 min, washed three times with sterile distilled water, dried on sterilized filter paper and then placed on potato dextrose agar (PDA) with 100 mg/ml streptomycin sulfate. After incubation at 28℃ in the dark for 2 days, mycelial tips of four fungal cultures were transferred to PDA plates for purification. Initially, colonies were pale white, and then turned brown after 2 days incubation. The mycelium was hairy and concentrically whorled in the culture medium. Microscopic observation showed that the hyphae characteristically branched at right angles and had constriction at the base of hyphal branches. Nuclear staining showed that the hyphae cells were multinuclear. These morphological features revealed that the isolates belonged to R. solani (Sneh et al. 1991). Subsequently, the ribosomal DNA (rDNA) internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region of one isolate was amplified by PCR (White et al. 1990) and sequenced (GeneBank accession no. MT078642) by Shanghai Majorbio Bio-pharm Technology Co.,Ltd. DNA was extracted by Fungal genomic DNA Extraction Kit, D3390-02, OMEGA. The BLAST similarity analysis showed a 99.96% match with R. solani AG-4 HGI (GenBank accession no. JQ343830) and 99.85% identity to R. solani AG-4 HGI isolate SX-8 (GenBank accession no. KJ170346) (Suli, Sun et al. 2015). Furthermore, the phylogenetic analysis performed by the neighbour-joining method (MEGA 7 software) showed that the isolate was clearly clustered with the group of R. solani AG-4 HGI (Ireland et al. 2015). Pathogenicity was tested in the greenhouse condition to satisfy Koch's postulates. Tartary buckwheat plants of seven days old and fifty days old were respectively inoculated near the base of the stem neck with one mycelial plug contacted directly. Ten plants in a pot were inoculated as one treatment, four pots were used for replicates. Control plants were inoculated with PDA medium plugs without fungi. All the plants were kept at 26℃ with 14 h light, 10 h dark and 96% humidity. After five days (Suli, Sun et al. 2015), over 90% of the inoculated plants exhibited necrotic brown lesions on stems that was similar to those symptoms observed in the field, whereas control plants remained asymptomatic. The visible characteristics and ITS sequence of the pathogen re-isolated from symptomatic plants were in accordance with the original isolate (R. solani AG-4 HGI). Based on disease symptoms in the fields, morphological characteristics, ITS sequence analysis, and pathogenicity assay, we concluded that R. solani AG-4 HGI was the principle cause of Tartary buckwheat blight in Liangshan, Sichuan Province and Fenghuang, Hunan Province in China. Previously, R. solani AG-4 HGI has been identified as a Chinese chive pathogen (Shi, Y et al. 2017). To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of the natural occurrence of Rhizoctonia solani AG-4 HGI affecting Tartary Buckwheat in China. This finding is helpful for the early diagnosis and identification of the disease, which will be the guiding of effective control methods to the devastating disease at the early stage.

Establishing and managing a quarantine and isolation centre in COVID-19 pandemic.

The novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is a recent pandemic which has spread to over 200 countries of the world since its outbreak. As of 21st April, 2020, more than 2.3 million confirmed cases have been reported. The World Health Organization (WHO) has issued a strategic preparedness response plan for countries at risk. This is based on the knowledge of previous epidemics and experience shared by Chinese health authorities. There is special emphasis on strict 'quarantine and isolation' of suspected/diagnosed cases. Pakistan is a developing country with a weak healthcare system. Pakistan Armed Forces have always provided services to the countrymen during natural and man-made disasters. During this pandemic the largest rehabilitation institute in the country was converted into a 130-bed dedicated isolation and quarantine facility for the COVID-19 patients. We will share our experience of establishing and managing this quarantine and isolation facility and highlight the achievements and out-of-the-box solutions applicable for low resource countries like Pakistan.

Characterization of a thermostable, allosteric L-asparaginase from Anoxybacillus flavithermus.

L-asparaginase is an important enzyme with diverse applications in food industry and therapeutics. However, the enzyme currently employed in the treatment of leukaemias, comes with undesired L-glutaminase activity. A gene encoding 38 kDa L-asparaginase form Anoxybacillus flavithermus was cloned and expressed in Escherichia coli as a soluble and active enzyme. Heat treatment and Ni-affinity column chromatography provided highly purified enzyme possessing a specific activity of 165 units mg-1. The enzyme exhibited allosteric behaviour with a Hill coefficient of 1.60 and K0.5 of 25 mM with L-asparagine as specific substrate. No detectable activity was observed in the presence of D-asparagine, l-glutamine and d-glutamine. Purified AfASNase showed optimum activity at 60 °C and pH 7.0. The enzyme had ability to withstand up to 6 M urea and showed complete inactivation when treated with 1 M guanidine hydrochloride. Protein-Ligand docking and molecular dynamic simulations indicated that the regulatory site is formed by T262-T263-C265-G269-Thr294 and is located on a domain different from the one carrying the well-established active site. AfASNase is reported as first thermostable L-asparaginase with allosteric regulation. Hitherto, AfASNase presents the first characterization of recombinant L-asparaginase from the genus Anoxybacillus.

Achieving environmental sustainability through information technology: "Digital Pakistan" initiative for green development.

The importance of information and communication technologies (ICTs) in environmental resource management opens a new debate for the policy makers in order to promote green technologies to mitigate high mass carbon emissions across the globe. "Digital Pakistan" initiative is taken by the government that aimed to use technology for country's social welfare, which further be enhance for achieving environmental sustainability over a time horizon. This study examined the long-run relationship between ICTs, energy demand, and carbon emissions in a context of Pakistan by using a time series data from 1975 to 2017. The results show that energy demand increases economic growth in the short-run while it decreases economic growth in the long-run. The country's economic growth substantially increases along with an increase in trade openness and mobile-telephone subscription (ICTs) in the short-run; however, the result is changed in the long-run due to increase in carbon emissions in a given time period. The results provoke that continued economic growth and ICT penetration substantially decreases energy demand, whereas urbanization increases energy demand in a country. The results show that variations in emissions associated with proportionate changes in ICTs penetration, economic growth, energy demand, and population growth. Human capital, trade openness, and energy demand are the significant drivers of ICT penetration in a country. The study concludes that the use of green technology is imperative for achieving long-term sustainable growth in a country.

Strategic enhancement of genetic gain for nutraceutical development in buckwheat: A genomics-driven perspective.

Buckwheat (Fagopyrum spp.) under the family Polygonaceae is an ancient pseudocereal with stupendous but less studied nutraceutical properties. The gluten free nature of protein, balanced amino acid profile and health promoting bioactive flavonoids make it a golden crop of future. Besides a scanty basic research, not much attention has been paid to the improvement of plant type and breeding of nutraceutical traits. Scanning of scientific literature indicates that adequate genetic variation exists for agronomic and nutritional traits in mainstream and wild gene pool of buckwheat. However, the currently employed conventional approaches together with poorly understood genetic mechanisms restrict effective utilization of the existing genetic variation in nutraceutical breeding of buckwheat. The latest trends in buckwheat genomics, particularly avalilabity of draft genome sequences for both the cultivated species (F. esculentum and F.tataricum) hold immense potential to overcome these limitations. Utilizing the transgenic hairy rot cultures, role of various transcription factors and gene families have been deduced in production and biosynthesis of bioactive flavonoids. Further, the acquisition of high-density genomics data coupled with the next-generation phenotyping will certainly improve our understanding of underlying genetic regulation of nutraceutical traits. The present paper highlights the application of multilayered omics interventions for tailoring a nutrient rich buckwheat cultivar and nutraceutical product development.

Assessing farmers' perspectives on climate change for effective farm-level adaptation measures in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan.

Agriculture is considered as the backbone of the economy of Pakistan. However, current changes in climate have been adversely affecting agricultural productivity. In this paper, perceived impacts of climate change on agriculture and adaptation towards it have been studied in Charsadda district (lowlands) of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan through extensive field surveys, involving 116 farm households. Results have revealed that climate change factors including fluctuating temperature, evidence of yearly long droughts, and a steady shift in rainfall patterns have pressured the agriculture sector and livelihoods of the local peasants. The staggering floods of 2010 and 2011 in Pakistan have evidenced severe climatic changes in Pakistan. These countrywide floods have washed fertile soil in the study area that has directly contributed to losses in agricultural yield and increased vector-borne diseases in crops. The local farmers have commonly deployed adaptive measure such as crops diversification, changing fertilizer, and planting shaded trees to minimize the impacts of changes in climate. However, these adjustments measures are perceived as not appropriate for improving farm yield. Therefore, the study suggests that improved understanding of the climate change impacts and knowledge on adapting adequately will lead to no-regret adaptation. It will also help protecting farmer's lives and livelihoods and will boost their resilience towards changing climatic conditions. Graphical abstract .

Dynamic linkages between tourism, energy, environment, and economic growth: evidence from top 10 tourism-induced countries.

The importance of sustainable tourism in environmental literature is well documented, while there is a need to explore its different socio-economic and environmental factors that are helpful to promote sustainable development across countries. The objective of the study is to investigate the relationship between international tourism (ITOUR), energy demand (ED), carbon dioxide emissions (CO2), and economic growth (EG) by using a panel data of top 10 tourism-induced countries for the period of 1995-2016. The findings confirmed the Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) hypothesis in the panel of top 10 countries. Moreover, the results show that FDI inflows negatively influenced natural environment in the form of high mass carbon emissions, which supported "pollution haven hypothesis (PHH)." The energy demand escalates carbon emissions across countries. The study confirmed the feedback relationship between (i) tourism income (TI) and ED, and (ii) CO2 emissions and international tourism departures (ITD), while study supported the growth-led tourism income across countries. The study concludes that government(s) should have to focus on ecotourism policies and energy resources in a way to mitigate carbon emissions that is imperative for sustainable development across countries.