Evaluation of Anti-cancer and Anti-proliferative Activity of Medicinal Plant Extracts (Saffron, Green Tea, Clove, Fenugreek) on Toll Like Receptors Pathway

Ajmal, Sidra,Shafqat, Mahwish,Ajmal, Laiba,Younas, Hooria,Tasadduq, Raazia,Mahmood, Nasir The Korean Society of Pharmacognosy 2022 Natural Product Sciences Vol.28 No.3

Despite considerable efforts, cancer remains an aggressive killer worldwide. Chemotherapeutic drugs that are currently in use lead to destructive side effects and have not succeeded in fulfilling expectations. For centuries, medicinal plants are used for treating various diseases and are also known to have anticancer activity. The main aim of this research was to evaluate antiproliferative activity of saffron, clove, fenugreek, and green tea on Vero and MDA-MB-231 cell lines and to subsequently analyze the effect of these extracts on IRAK-4, TAK1, IKK-alpha, IKK-beta, NF-Kappa B, IRF3, IRF7 genes in Toll Like Receptors (TLRs) pathway. Antiproliferative assay was done by Neutral Red Dye uptake assay. Methanolic extract of green tea was found to be most effective against both cell lines as IC₅₀ was achieved at least concentration of the extract. For molecular studies, MDAMB-231 cells were sensitized with methanolic extract of green tea at same IC₅₀, and RT-PCR was performed to determine the relative expression of genes. Expression of IRAK-4, TAK1, IKK-beta, NF-Kappa B, IRF3 genes was down regulated and IRF7 and IKKalpha was upregulated. Green tea has a potential cytotoxic effect on both cell lines which was demonstrated by its effect on the expression of (TLRs) pathway genes.

Runoff Estimation Using the NRCS Slope-Adjusted Curve Number in Mountainous Watersheds

Ajmal, Muhammad,Waseem, Muhammad,Ahn, Jae-Hyun,Kim, Tae-Woong American Society of Civil Engineers 2016 Journal of irrigation and drainage engineering Vol.142 No.4

<P>In mountainous watersheds, rainfall generates runoff quickly because of the decreased depression storage, high downslope flow velocity, and smaller chance for rainwater infiltration. In order to obtain precise event-based runoff estimations in mountainous watersheds, a slope-adjusted curve number (CNII) with a smaller initial abstraction ratio () is indispensable in the standard natural resources conservation service (NRCS) curve number (CN) model. Using measured rainfall-runoff data from 39 mountainous watersheds in South Korea, this study investigated two existing CNII approaches and suggested a new approach that was accompanied by a lower value. The new CNII equation was calibrated with 1,402 measured rainfall-runoff events from 31 watersheds and validated with 377 rainfall-runoff events from the remaining eight watersheds. Most of the runoff events, used for both calibration and validation, were underestimated using a CN without a slope-adjusting factor. By considering the combined effect of the proposed CNII and setting equal to 0.01, the performance measures based on the root mean squares error (in mm), Nash-Sutcliffe efficiency, and coefficient of determination were significantly improved from averages of 27.10, 0.64, and 0.75 to 18.69, 0.82, and 0.87, respectively, as compared to the standard NRCS model. The proposed modification exhibited superior results compared to the two existing CNII approaches. Findings from this study support the adjustment of both the CN and in the NRCS model to increase its runoff prediction capabilities.</P>

Quantifying Excess Stormwater Using SCS-CN-Based Rainfall Runoff Models and Different Curve Number Determination Methods

Ajmal, Muhammad,Kim, Tae-Woong American Society of Civil Engineers 2015 Journal of irrigation and drainage engineering Vol.141 No.3

<P> Estimation of excess storm water is among the most basic hydrological challenges for hydrologists and engineers. The initial abstraction ratio λ (= 0.2) assumed in the original U.S. Soil Conservation Service curve number (SCS-CN) is ambiguous and must be calibrated from rainfall-runoff measurements for better runoff estimation. Eight different models including the original SCS-CN model, modified models inspired by it, and three newly proposed models were investigated to assess the accuracy of runoff estimation using rainfall-runoff measurements from 15 watersheds in South Korea. Different methods for CN determination were evaluated to see the effect of CN and λ on runoff estimation. The optimized λ and CN exhibited better results than fixed values as in the original SCS-CN model. Using three different goodness-of-fit statistics to assess the accuracy of the estimates, our proposed models outperformed in all watersheds in the study area when compared with the original SCS-CN model and some of its modified models. </P>

A Review of Non-Isolated High Step-Down Dc-Dc Converters

Ajmal Farooq,Zeeshan Malik,Zhaohui Sun,Guozhu Chen 보안공학연구지원센터 2015 International Journal of Smart Home Vol.9 No.8

In this paper, a review of the common techniques used for high step-down dc-dc voltage conversion is presented. First, the limitations of conventional buck & synchronous rectifier buck converters used for high step down dc-dc voltage conversion which include narrow duty cycle, high voltage stress, large ripple and low efficiency are briefly discussed. Then various topologies of non-isolated step-down dc-dc converters are reviewed and discussed. The topologies/techniques used for high step down dc-dc conversion are divided into various groups which include interleaved, quadratic, tapped, switched capacitor, switched inductor, coupled inductor, multi level and buck converter with three state switching cells. Each group of converters is briefly discussed, main circuit structure of each topology is given and their features and limitations are given. Finally a comparison of all the discussed topologies is carried out based on some common features.

Exploiting Color Spaces for the Task of Foreground Detection

Ajmal Shahbaz,Kang-Hyun Jo 제어로봇시스템학회 2017 제어로봇시스템학회 국제학술대회 논문집 Vol.2017 No.10

Soil moisture dynamics with hydro-climatological parameters at different soil depths

Ajmal, Muhammad,Waseem, Muhammad,Ahmad, Waqas,Kim, Tae-Woong Springer-Verlag 2016 Environmental Earth Sciences Vol.75 No.2

<P>The soil-water interaction is crucial for effective hydrological processes determination. The soil moisture (SM) is an important parameter to provide priori information for the interactions imparting and affecting the energy fluxes response for such kind of processes. This work investigated the effects of climatic, geophysical and hydrological parameters on SM at 9 stations within Utah State, USA, for daily data recorded between 2010 and 2012 at 5 different soil depths (approximately 5, 10, 20, 50, and 100 cm). A high correlation was found for soil temperature, evapotranspiration (ET), and surface temperature, respectively, in most of the stations at either alpha = 5 % or 1 %. All stations exhibited a downward trend in SM for the top three soil depths, whereas, for other depths some stations depicted an upward trend. From time series analysis, it was found that surface average temperature, ET and soil temperature varied on seasonal basis with maximum in June and minimum in January of each year. In addition, SM availability in the top 5 cm of soil depth showed more significance for having strong correlation with hydroclimatic variables and were essential in interpreting many hydrological processes. From analyses at shallow soil depths (5 and 10 cm), the spatial SM variability across the stations was consistent during winter and spring whereas inconsistent during summer and autumn. In addition, the SM exhibited a temporal cyclic variability for almost all stations.</P>

Women’s Participation in Politics: A Case Study of Balochistan

Ajmal Khan,Hussan Ara,Muhammad Kamran Taj 아시아사회과학학회 2023 Jornal of Asia Social Science Vol.10 No.3

This research examines the issue of women's participation in politics in Balochistan, with a focus on the barriers and challenges they face in actively engaging in political affairs. Balochistan, a province in Pakistan, presents a unique case where women's participation in politics is significantly lower compared to other democratic states. Despite constitutional guarantees of equal rights and opportunities for women, their representation in political decision-making processes remains marginal. This study investigates the factors contributing to this under-representation, including illiteracy, traditional and patriarchal societal norms, cultural barriers, economic dependency, and the male-dominated structure of political parties. The research employs a qualitative approach, utilizing interviews and oral testimonies with key stakeholders, including female members of the Provincial Assembly, social activists, lawyers, councilors, and women organization administrators. Thematic analysis of the collected data reveals a lack of political activism among women and limited efforts by political parties to promote women's empowerment. The study recommends a multifaceted approach to address these challenges, including educational reforms, legal protections against discrimination, political reforms such as increasing reserved seats and promoting merit-based selection, social and cultural transformation through awareness campaigns, and economic empowerment of women. The findings of this research contribute to the existing body of knowledge on women's political participation and provide insights and recommendations to enhance women's empowerment and foster a more inclusive and democratic political environment in Balochistan.

A Comparative Study of Foreground Detection using Gaussian Mixture Models- Novice to Novel

Ajmal Shahbaz,Laksono Kurnianggoro,Kang-Hyun Jo 제어로봇시스템학회 2016 제어로봇시스템학회 국제학술대회 논문집 Vol.2016 No.10

Foreground detection is the classical computer vision task of segmenting out motion information from a particular scene. Foreground detection using Gaussian Mixture Models (GMM) is the famous choice. Since first time proposed, many researchers tried to improve GMM. This paper focuses on the comparative evaluation of three most famous improvements in the algorithm. The improved methods are compared both qualitatively and quantitatively using standard datasets available online.

Experimental Investigation on FACA and FACACRETE – An Innovative Building Material

Ajmal Muhammed,Palanisamy Thangaraju 대한토목학회 2019 KSCE JOURNAL OF CIVIL ENGINEERING Vol.23 No.11

Recently, many studies are put forward by researchers to utilize waste materials like fly ash, GGBS, etc. in the construction industry due to the problems arise in the disposal of these materials. A novel study on incorporating the FACA (fly ash artificial coarse aggregate) in concrete is illustrated in this paper by comparing fly ash artificial coarse aggregate concrete (FACACRETE) with normal concrete. Different mixtures of geo-polymers were prepared using different molarities of NaOH solution and varying alkaline solution to fly ash ratio. These mixtures were cast to form a hard mass and cured. It is then pulverized in to fly ash artificial coarse aggregates (FACA). The properties of FACA were determined and are compared with conventional coarse aggregates. From the experiment, it is found that the FACA is a lightweight aggregate. It can be used for wearing as well as non–wearing surfaces as per IS: 383 – 2016. It is found that 8MA1 (8 Molar NaOH solution and 0.4 is the alkaline solution to fly ash ratio) is economical and can be used for further research as NaOH needed is less. This mix (8MA1) of FACA is used to prepare fly ash artificial coarse aggregate concrete (FACACRETE). The mechanical properties of both normal concrete and FACACRETE are compared and the results suggest that the compressive, splitting tensile, flexural strengths and the stress–strain relationship of FACACRETE is comparable with conventional concrete of same grade as per IS 456. The compressive toughness and compressive index of the FACACRETE is found to be more than the conventional concrete. The failure pattern of FACACRETE is associated with multiple cracking and that of normal concrete is localized failure. On considering the experimental investigations conducted here, it is found that the FACA can be used to replace conventional coarse aggregate in concrete.

Effect of crushed waste glass as partial replacement of natural fine aggregate on performance of high strength cement concrete

Ajmal, Paktiawal,Mehtab, Alam Techno-Press 2022 Advances in materials research Vol.11 No.4

Disposal of industrial waste in cities where municipal authorities permitting higher floor area ratio coupled with increasing living standards, a lot of demolition waste is being generated. Its disposal is a challenge particularly in megacities where no landfills are available. The ever-increasing cost of building construction materials also necessitates consuming demolition wastes in a useful manner to save fresh natural raw materials. In the present work, the crushed waste glass is used in high-strength concrete as a partial replacement of fine aggregate. The control concrete of grade M60 was proportioned following BIS 10262-2009. The crushed waste glass has been used as a partial replacement with varying percentages of 10, 20, 30, and 40% by weight of fine aggregate. Experimental tests were carried on the fresh and hardened state of the concrete. The effect of crushed waste glass on the workability of the concrete has been investigated. Non-destructive tests, acid attack tests, compressive strength, split tensile strength, and X-ray diffraction analysis was carried out for the control concrete and concrete containing crushed waste glass after 7, 28, and 270 days of normal curing. The results show that for the same w/c ratio, the workability of concrete increases with increasing replaced crushed waste glass content. However, the decrease in compressive strength of the concrete after 28 days of normal curing and further after 28 days of acid attacks, up to 30% replacement level of fine aggregate by the crushed waste glass is insignificant.