AIM:To detect and segregate causative mutations in congenital families with optic nerve hypoplasia(ONH).M E T H O D S:Two unrel a ted consanguineous Pakistani families with severe ONH,showing features of micropthalmia...AIM:To detect and segregate causative mutations in congenital families with optic nerve hypoplasia(ONH).M E T H O D S:Two unrel a ted consanguineous Pakistani families with severe ONH,showing features of micropthalmia,nystagmus,corneal opacity,and keratopathy were included.Genetic analysis was carried out by Target Panel Sequencing,and the nucleotide variant was confirmed by Sanger sequencing.In silico analyses were carried out to study the protein order-disorder functions and their effects on messenger ribonucleic acid(mRNA).RESULTS:Target panel sequencing revealed that the afflicted family members carried a novel frameshift mutation(NM_145178.4;c.91del G;p.Gly31Glyfs*55)that ensued in the conservation of an amino acid residue in the bHLH domain of ATOH7 protein.In silico studies predicted that the activity of the ATOH7 gene is probably affected by this mutation,which results in a shortened and nonfunctional protein.Three-dimensional structural analysis shows that DNA binding may be impacted by amino acid changes from non-polar to positively charged and vice versa(Arg42Pro and Pro18Arg),as well as from positively charged(Arg)to a small polar amino acid(Gly).CONCLUSION:A novel ATOH7 mutation is harmful.This study also emphasizes the potential effects of modified ATOH7 configurations on the stability and functionality of proteins.展开更多
The flexural strength of glass is a critical design parameter for applications encountering impact loadings.However,the micro defects,specimen geometry,loading rate,and load transformation from a quasi-dynamic to quas...The flexural strength of glass is a critical design parameter for applications encountering impact loadings.However,the micro defects,specimen geometry,loading rate,and load transformation from a quasi-dynamic to quasi-impulsive state may influence the measurement accuracy.Due to the stochastic and amorphous nature of the material,an accurate determination of the flexural strength remains a challenge.In this two-fold study,a coupled experimental-numerical strategy was devised to evaluate the dynamic flexural strength.In the first phase,three-point bending experiments were conducted on a novel“Electromagnetic Split Hopkinson Pressure Bar(ESHPB)”.The incident stress signal and fracture time were recorded from experimental data,while the flexural strength was indirectly computed from a numerical algorithm.A quantitative comparison of the flexural strength with those in existing literature established the accuracy of the proposed methodology.Results of the study indicate that the specimen response became independent of the support conditions under impulsive loading.That being said,the specimen behaved like it had an infinite span length,and the measured flexural strength remained the same whether the specimen was supported or not.Besides,the specimen also maintained contact at the interfaces of the incident bar and fixture supports for the entire loading duration.In the second part of this study,the computed flexural strength was used to calibrate the existing JH-2 model.Numerical prediction of the damage propagation corroborated with that obtained from reprography images,though qualitatively.This work presents a precise and robust methodology to determine the dynamic flexural strength of brittle ceramics like Aluminosilicate glass over traditional experimental procedures to facilitate its adoption.展开更多
Ammonium vanadate with bronze structure(NH_(4)V_(4)O_(10))is a promising cathode material for zinc-ion batteries due to its high specific capacity and low cost.However,the extraction of NH^(+)_(4) at a high voltage du...Ammonium vanadate with bronze structure(NH_(4)V_(4)O_(10))is a promising cathode material for zinc-ion batteries due to its high specific capacity and low cost.However,the extraction of NH^(+)_(4) at a high voltage during charge/discharge processes leads to irreversible reaction and structure degradation.In this work,partial NH^(+)_(4) ions were pre-removed from NH_(4)V_(4)O_(10) through heat treatment;NH_(4)V_(4)O_(10) nanosheets were directly grown on carbon cloth through hydrothermal method.Defi-cient NH_(4)V_(4)O_(10)(denoted as NVO),with enlarged interlayer spacing,facilitated fast zinc ions transport and high storage capacity and ensured the highly reversible electrochemical reaction and the good stability of layered structure.The NVO nanosheets delivered a high specific capac-ity of 457 mAh g^(−1) at a current density of 100 mA g^(−1) and a capacity retention of 81%over 1000 cycles at 2 A g^(−1).The initial Coulombic efficiency of NVO could reach up to 97%compared to 85%of NH_(4)V_(4)O_(10) and maintain almost 100%during cycling,indicating the high reaction reversibility in NVO electrode.展开更多
AIM: To find the CYP1 B1 mutations associated with primary congenital glaucoma(PCG) in Pakistani consanguineous pedigrees. METHODS: After getting informed consent, 11 consanguineous pedigrees belonging to different et...AIM: To find the CYP1 B1 mutations associated with primary congenital glaucoma(PCG) in Pakistani consanguineous pedigrees. METHODS: After getting informed consent, 11 consanguineous pedigrees belonging to different ethnic groups were enrolled. Detailed medical history was recorded and pedigrees were drawn. The standard ophthalmological examination was done to characterize the phenotype. Genomic DNA was extracted from 10 mL whole blood and coding exons and exon intron boundaries of CYP1 B1 gene were directly sequenced. Bioinformatics tools were used to model the mutant protein and predict the effect of novel variants on protein structure and function. RESULTS: Sequencing analysis revealed 5 different CYP1 B1 variants in 7 families(7/11; 64%), including two novel variants. A common mutation, p.R390 H was found in four families, whereas p.P437 L was found once in a family. Two novel variants, a homozygous non sense variant p.L13* and a compound heterozygous variant, p.P350 T along with p.V364 M were segregating with PCGin two families. All the patients had the variable onset and severity of the disease. The success rate of early clinical interventions was observed dependent on mutation types and position. Two different haplotypes were associated with frequently found mutation, p.R390 H. CONCLUSION: Identification of novel CYP1 B1 variants reassert the genetic heterogeneity of Pakistani PCG patients. The patients with missense mutations show severe phenotypic presentations and poor vision after surgical interventions as compare to patients with null variants. This may help to better understand the role of CYP1 B1 mutations in the development of PCG and its course of pathogenicity.展开更多
In this study we report design of stimuli-resP0nsive coating based on poly（2-methyl-2-oxazoline-random-glycidyl methacrylate） （PMOXA-r-GMA） comb copolymer and poly（acrylic acid）-block-poly（glycidyl methacrylate...In this study we report design of stimuli-resP0nsive coating based on poly（2-methyl-2-oxazoline-random-glycidyl methacrylate） （PMOXA-r-GMA） comb copolymer and poly（acrylic acid）-block-poly（glycidyl methacrylate） （PAA-b-PGMA） block copolymers and scrutinize its ability to control protein adsorption. Firstly, PMOXA/PAA based coatings were prepared by simply spin coating the mixture of PMOXA-r-GMA and PAA-b-PGMA copolymer solutions onto silicon substrates followed by annealing at 110℃. Then coatings were rigorously characterized by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy （XPS）, the static water contact angle （WCA） test, ellipsometry and atomic force microscopy （AFM）. After that, the relationship of switchable behavior of PMOXA/PAA based coatings with PAA content and chain length was investigated through the change of thickness and WCA upon pH and ionic strength （I） trigger, which indicated that the change in thickness and WCA was triggered when PAA contents were increased as well as by increasing chain length of PAA in PMOXA/PAA based coatings. Finally, real-time adsorption/desorption of lysozyme （Lyso） on PMOXA/PAA based coatings was monitored using quartz crystal microbalance with dissipation monitoring （QCM-D）. The results showed that the Lyso adsorption amount was increased upon increasing chain length and contents of PAA in PMOXA/PAA based coatings. The adsorbed Lyso was then efficiently desorbed by changing pH and I of medium with the maximum desorption （〉 90% desorption percentage） observed for the suitable ratio of PMOXA and PAA while chain length of PAA was kept longer than that of PMOXA. Furthermore, the prepared coatings were found to repeatedly adsorb and desorb Lyso for four successive cycles of adsorption/desorption, which confirmed the stability of prepared coatings.展开更多
Using the spray pyrolysis process,the work shows the production of pristine and 6%Ag-doped methylammonium lead iodide bromide(MAPbI2Br)film.Through X-ray diffraction analysis,it was found that Ag doping led to a signi...Using the spray pyrolysis process,the work shows the production of pristine and 6%Ag-doped methylammonium lead iodide bromide(MAPbI2Br)film.Through X-ray diffraction analysis,it was found that Ag doping led to a significant increase in grain size to 29.64 nm,alongside reductions in dislocation line density to 5.39×1014 m−2 and d-spacing to 3.18Å,while maintaining the native cubic crystal structure of MAPbI2Br.This research demonstrates a reduction in deep-level trap states with Ag doping,along with a significant narrowing of the band gap to 1.91 eV in the 6%Ag-doped MAPbI2Br.Moreover,the refractive index and extinction coefficient increased to 2.54 and 2.13,respectively.Regarding solar cell performance,all cells demonstrated encouraging outcomes;still,the 6%Ag-doped cell distinguished itself with a fill factor of 0.82,an open-circuit voltage of 1.07 V,an outstanding short-circuit current density of 11.31 mA/cm²,and an efficiency of 10.03%.These results highlight the effectiveness of Ag doping in improving perovskite solar cell technology,marking a notable progress in this field.展开更多
COVID-19 virus is a causative agent of viral pandemic in human beings which specifically targets respiratory system of humans and causes viral pneumonia.This unusual viral pneumonia is rapidly spreading to all parts o...COVID-19 virus is a causative agent of viral pandemic in human beings which specifically targets respiratory system of humans and causes viral pneumonia.This unusual viral pneumonia is rapidly spreading to all parts of the world,currently affecting about 105 million people with 2.3 million deaths.Current review described history,genomic characteristics,replication,and pathogenesis of COVID-19 with special emphasis on Nigella sativum(N.sativum)as a treatment option.N.sativum seeds are historically and religiously used over the centuries,both for prevention and treatment of different diseases.This review summarizes the potential role of N.sativum seeds against COVID-19 infection at levels of in silico,cell lines and animal models.展开更多
This paper presents a block-based secure and robust watermarking technique for color images based on multi-resolution decomposition and de-correlation.The principal objective of the presented scheme is to simultaneous...This paper presents a block-based secure and robust watermarking technique for color images based on multi-resolution decomposition and de-correlation.The principal objective of the presented scheme is to simultaneously meet all the four requirements(robustness,security,imperceptibility,and capacity)of a good watermarking scheme.The contribution of this study is to basically achieve the four contradictory requirements that a good watermarking scheme must meet.To do so,different approaches are combined in a way that the four requirements are achieved.For instance,to obtain imperceptibility,the three color channels(red,green,and blue)are de-correlated using principal component analysis,and the first principal component(de-correlated red channel)is chosen for watermark embedding.Afterwards,to achieve robustness,the de-correlated channel is decomposed using a discrete wavelet transform(DWT),and the approximate band(the other three bands are kept intact to preserve the edge information)is further decomposed into distinct blocks.The random blocks are chosen based on a random generated key.The random selected blocks are further broken down into singular values and vectors.Based on the mutual dependency on singular values and vectors’matrices,the values are modified depending on the watermarking bits,and their locations are saved and used as another key,required when the watermark is to be extracted.Consequently,two-level authentication levels ensure the security,and using both singular values and vectors increases the capacity of the presented scheme.Moreover,the involvement of both left and right singular vectors along with singular values in the watermarking embedding process strengthens the robustness of the proposed scheme.Finally,to compare the presented scheme with the state-of-the-art schemes in terms of imperceptibility(peak signal-to-noise ratio and structural similarity index),security(with numerous fake keys),robustness(normalized correlation and bit error rate),and capacity,the Gonzalez and Kodak datasets are used.The comparison shows significant improvement of the proposed scheme over existing schemes.展开更多
文摘AIM:To detect and segregate causative mutations in congenital families with optic nerve hypoplasia(ONH).M E T H O D S:Two unrel a ted consanguineous Pakistani families with severe ONH,showing features of micropthalmia,nystagmus,corneal opacity,and keratopathy were included.Genetic analysis was carried out by Target Panel Sequencing,and the nucleotide variant was confirmed by Sanger sequencing.In silico analyses were carried out to study the protein order-disorder functions and their effects on messenger ribonucleic acid(mRNA).RESULTS:Target panel sequencing revealed that the afflicted family members carried a novel frameshift mutation(NM_145178.4;c.91del G;p.Gly31Glyfs*55)that ensued in the conservation of an amino acid residue in the bHLH domain of ATOH7 protein.In silico studies predicted that the activity of the ATOH7 gene is probably affected by this mutation,which results in a shortened and nonfunctional protein.Three-dimensional structural analysis shows that DNA binding may be impacted by amino acid changes from non-polar to positively charged and vice versa(Arg42Pro and Pro18Arg),as well as from positively charged(Arg)to a small polar amino acid(Gly).CONCLUSION:A novel ATOH7 mutation is harmful.This study also emphasizes the potential effects of modified ATOH7 configurations on the stability and functionality of proteins.
基金funded by the 111 Project,China(No.BP0719007)the National Key R&D Program of China(No.2017YFB1103500)the National Natural Science Foundation of China(Nos.11772268,12002178 and 12025205).
文摘The flexural strength of glass is a critical design parameter for applications encountering impact loadings.However,the micro defects,specimen geometry,loading rate,and load transformation from a quasi-dynamic to quasi-impulsive state may influence the measurement accuracy.Due to the stochastic and amorphous nature of the material,an accurate determination of the flexural strength remains a challenge.In this two-fold study,a coupled experimental-numerical strategy was devised to evaluate the dynamic flexural strength.In the first phase,three-point bending experiments were conducted on a novel“Electromagnetic Split Hopkinson Pressure Bar(ESHPB)”.The incident stress signal and fracture time were recorded from experimental data,while the flexural strength was indirectly computed from a numerical algorithm.A quantitative comparison of the flexural strength with those in existing literature established the accuracy of the proposed methodology.Results of the study indicate that the specimen response became independent of the support conditions under impulsive loading.That being said,the specimen behaved like it had an infinite span length,and the measured flexural strength remained the same whether the specimen was supported or not.Besides,the specimen also maintained contact at the interfaces of the incident bar and fixture supports for the entire loading duration.In the second part of this study,the computed flexural strength was used to calibrate the existing JH-2 model.Numerical prediction of the damage propagation corroborated with that obtained from reprography images,though qualitatively.This work presents a precise and robust methodology to determine the dynamic flexural strength of brittle ceramics like Aluminosilicate glass over traditional experimental procedures to facilitate its adoption.
基金This work was supported by the National Science Foundation(CBET-1803256)National Natural Science Foundation of China(Grant No.51772267)+3 种基金the National Key R&D Program of China(Grant No.2016YFB0401501)the Key R&D Program of Zhejiang Province(Grant No.2020C01004)The author acknowledges the financial support from China Scholarship Council(No.201906320198)2019 Zhejiang University Academic Award for Outstanding Doctoral Candidates.
文摘Ammonium vanadate with bronze structure(NH_(4)V_(4)O_(10))is a promising cathode material for zinc-ion batteries due to its high specific capacity and low cost.However,the extraction of NH^(+)_(4) at a high voltage during charge/discharge processes leads to irreversible reaction and structure degradation.In this work,partial NH^(+)_(4) ions were pre-removed from NH_(4)V_(4)O_(10) through heat treatment;NH_(4)V_(4)O_(10) nanosheets were directly grown on carbon cloth through hydrothermal method.Defi-cient NH_(4)V_(4)O_(10)(denoted as NVO),with enlarged interlayer spacing,facilitated fast zinc ions transport and high storage capacity and ensured the highly reversible electrochemical reaction and the good stability of layered structure.The NVO nanosheets delivered a high specific capac-ity of 457 mAh g^(−1) at a current density of 100 mA g^(−1) and a capacity retention of 81%over 1000 cycles at 2 A g^(−1).The initial Coulombic efficiency of NVO could reach up to 97%compared to 85%of NH_(4)V_(4)O_(10) and maintain almost 100%during cycling,indicating the high reaction reversibility in NVO electrode.
基金supported by Pakistan Sciences Foundation Grant (No: Biotech-101)LUMHS Intramural Funds to Ali M Waryah
文摘AIM: To find the CYP1 B1 mutations associated with primary congenital glaucoma(PCG) in Pakistani consanguineous pedigrees. METHODS: After getting informed consent, 11 consanguineous pedigrees belonging to different ethnic groups were enrolled. Detailed medical history was recorded and pedigrees were drawn. The standard ophthalmological examination was done to characterize the phenotype. Genomic DNA was extracted from 10 mL whole blood and coding exons and exon intron boundaries of CYP1 B1 gene were directly sequenced. Bioinformatics tools were used to model the mutant protein and predict the effect of novel variants on protein structure and function. RESULTS: Sequencing analysis revealed 5 different CYP1 B1 variants in 7 families(7/11; 64%), including two novel variants. A common mutation, p.R390 H was found in four families, whereas p.P437 L was found once in a family. Two novel variants, a homozygous non sense variant p.L13* and a compound heterozygous variant, p.P350 T along with p.V364 M were segregating with PCGin two families. All the patients had the variable onset and severity of the disease. The success rate of early clinical interventions was observed dependent on mutation types and position. Two different haplotypes were associated with frequently found mutation, p.R390 H. CONCLUSION: Identification of novel CYP1 B1 variants reassert the genetic heterogeneity of Pakistani PCG patients. The patients with missense mutations show severe phenotypic presentations and poor vision after surgical interventions as compare to patients with null variants. This may help to better understand the role of CYP1 B1 mutations in the development of PCG and its course of pathogenicity.
基金financially supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 21674102)
文摘In this study we report design of stimuli-resP0nsive coating based on poly（2-methyl-2-oxazoline-random-glycidyl methacrylate） （PMOXA-r-GMA） comb copolymer and poly（acrylic acid）-block-poly（glycidyl methacrylate） （PAA-b-PGMA） block copolymers and scrutinize its ability to control protein adsorption. Firstly, PMOXA/PAA based coatings were prepared by simply spin coating the mixture of PMOXA-r-GMA and PAA-b-PGMA copolymer solutions onto silicon substrates followed by annealing at 110℃. Then coatings were rigorously characterized by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy （XPS）, the static water contact angle （WCA） test, ellipsometry and atomic force microscopy （AFM）. After that, the relationship of switchable behavior of PMOXA/PAA based coatings with PAA content and chain length was investigated through the change of thickness and WCA upon pH and ionic strength （I） trigger, which indicated that the change in thickness and WCA was triggered when PAA contents were increased as well as by increasing chain length of PAA in PMOXA/PAA based coatings. Finally, real-time adsorption/desorption of lysozyme （Lyso） on PMOXA/PAA based coatings was monitored using quartz crystal microbalance with dissipation monitoring （QCM-D）. The results showed that the Lyso adsorption amount was increased upon increasing chain length and contents of PAA in PMOXA/PAA based coatings. The adsorbed Lyso was then efficiently desorbed by changing pH and I of medium with the maximum desorption （〉 90% desorption percentage） observed for the suitable ratio of PMOXA and PAA while chain length of PAA was kept longer than that of PMOXA. Furthermore, the prepared coatings were found to repeatedly adsorb and desorb Lyso for four successive cycles of adsorption/desorption, which confirmed the stability of prepared coatings.
基金supported by King Saud University,Riyadh,Saudi Arabia,under project number RSP2024R397CONAHCYT for the scholarship awarded.
文摘Using the spray pyrolysis process,the work shows the production of pristine and 6%Ag-doped methylammonium lead iodide bromide(MAPbI2Br)film.Through X-ray diffraction analysis,it was found that Ag doping led to a significant increase in grain size to 29.64 nm,alongside reductions in dislocation line density to 5.39×1014 m−2 and d-spacing to 3.18Å,while maintaining the native cubic crystal structure of MAPbI2Br.This research demonstrates a reduction in deep-level trap states with Ag doping,along with a significant narrowing of the band gap to 1.91 eV in the 6%Ag-doped MAPbI2Br.Moreover,the refractive index and extinction coefficient increased to 2.54 and 2.13,respectively.Regarding solar cell performance,all cells demonstrated encouraging outcomes;still,the 6%Ag-doped cell distinguished itself with a fill factor of 0.82,an open-circuit voltage of 1.07 V,an outstanding short-circuit current density of 11.31 mA/cm²,and an efficiency of 10.03%.These results highlight the effectiveness of Ag doping in improving perovskite solar cell technology,marking a notable progress in this field.
文摘COVID-19 virus is a causative agent of viral pandemic in human beings which specifically targets respiratory system of humans and causes viral pneumonia.This unusual viral pneumonia is rapidly spreading to all parts of the world,currently affecting about 105 million people with 2.3 million deaths.Current review described history,genomic characteristics,replication,and pathogenesis of COVID-19 with special emphasis on Nigella sativum(N.sativum)as a treatment option.N.sativum seeds are historically and religiously used over the centuries,both for prevention and treatment of different diseases.This review summarizes the potential role of N.sativum seeds against COVID-19 infection at levels of in silico,cell lines and animal models.
文摘This paper presents a block-based secure and robust watermarking technique for color images based on multi-resolution decomposition and de-correlation.The principal objective of the presented scheme is to simultaneously meet all the four requirements(robustness,security,imperceptibility,and capacity)of a good watermarking scheme.The contribution of this study is to basically achieve the four contradictory requirements that a good watermarking scheme must meet.To do so,different approaches are combined in a way that the four requirements are achieved.For instance,to obtain imperceptibility,the three color channels(red,green,and blue)are de-correlated using principal component analysis,and the first principal component(de-correlated red channel)is chosen for watermark embedding.Afterwards,to achieve robustness,the de-correlated channel is decomposed using a discrete wavelet transform(DWT),and the approximate band(the other three bands are kept intact to preserve the edge information)is further decomposed into distinct blocks.The random blocks are chosen based on a random generated key.The random selected blocks are further broken down into singular values and vectors.Based on the mutual dependency on singular values and vectors’matrices,the values are modified depending on the watermarking bits,and their locations are saved and used as another key,required when the watermark is to be extracted.Consequently,two-level authentication levels ensure the security,and using both singular values and vectors increases the capacity of the presented scheme.Moreover,the involvement of both left and right singular vectors along with singular values in the watermarking embedding process strengthens the robustness of the proposed scheme.Finally,to compare the presented scheme with the state-of-the-art schemes in terms of imperceptibility(peak signal-to-noise ratio and structural similarity index),security(with numerous fake keys),robustness(normalized correlation and bit error rate),and capacity,the Gonzalez and Kodak datasets are used.The comparison shows significant improvement of the proposed scheme over existing schemes.
