Residual effects of monoammonium phosphate, gypsum and elemental sulfur on cadmium phytoavailability and translocation from soil to wheat in an effluent irrigated field

Qayyum, Muhammad Farooq,Rehman, Muhammad Zia ur,Ali, Shafaqat,Rizwan, Muhammad,Naeem, Asif,Maqsood, Muhammad Aamer,Khalid, Hinnan,Rinklebe, Jö,rg,Ok, Yong Sik Elsevier 2017 CHEMOSPHERE - Vol.174 No.-

<P><B>Abstract</B></P> <P>Cadmium (Cd) accumulation in agricultural soils is one of the major threats to food security. The application of inorganic amendments such as mono-ammonium phosphate (MAP), gypsum and elemental sulfur (S) could alleviate the negative effects of Cd in crops. However, their long-term residual effects on decreasing Cd uptake in latter crops remain unclear. A field that had previously been applied with treatments including control and 0.2, 0.4 and 0.8% by weight of each MAP, gypsum and S, and grown with wheat and rice and thereafter wheat in the rotation was selected for this study. Wheat (<I>Triticum aestivum</I> L.) was grown in the same field as the third crop without further application of amendments to evaluate the residual effects of the amendments on Cd uptake by wheat. Plants were harvested at maturity and grain, and straw yield along with Cd concentration in soil, straw, and grains was determined. The addition of MAP and gypsum significantly increased wheat growth and yield and decreased Cd accumulation in straw and grains compared to control while the reverse was found in S application. Both MAP and gypsum decreased AB-DTPA extractable Cd in soil while S increased the bioavailable Cd in soil. Both MAP and gypsum increased the Cd immobilization in the soil and S decreased Cd immobilization in a dose-additive manner. We conclude that MAP and gypsum had a significant residual effect on decreasing Cd uptake in wheat. The cost-benefit ratio revealed that gypsum is an effective amendment for decreasing Cd concentration in plants.</P> <P><B>Highlights</B></P> <P> <UL> <LI> Residual monoammonium phosphate (MAP) and gypsum reduced the Cd uptake in wheat. </LI> <LI> Amendment of residual elemental sulfur (S) increased Cd uptake in plants. </LI> <LI> Gypsum had the highest cost-benefit ratio compared with MAP and elemental S. </LI> <LI> Gypsum may be used to enhance crop production in Cd-contaminated soils. </LI> </UL> </P>

Prevalence of PALB2 Germline Mutations in Early-onset and Familial Breast/Ovarian Cancer Patients from Pakistan

Muhammad Usman Rashid,Faiz Ali Khan,Noor Muhammad,Asif Loya,Ute Hamann 대한암학회 2019 Cancer Research and Treatment Vol.51 No.3

Purpose Partner and localizer of BRCA2 (PALB2) is a breast cancer susceptibility gene that plays an important role in DNA repair. This is the first study assessing the prevalence of PALB2 mutations in early-onset and familial breast/ovarian cancer patients from Pakistan. Materials and Methods PALB2 mutation screening was performed in 370 Pakistani patients with early-onset and familial breast/ovarian cancer, who were negative for BRCA1, BRCA2, TP53, CHEK2, and RAD51C mutations, using denaturing high-performance liquid chromatography analysis. Mutations were confirmed by DNA sequencing. Novel PALB2 alterations were analyzed for their potential effect on protein function or splicing using various in silico prediction tools. Three-hundred and seventy-two healthy controls were screened for the presence of the identified (potentially) functional mutations. Results A novel nonsense mutation, p.Y743*, was identified in one familial breast cancer patient (1/127, 0.8%). Besides, four in silico-predicted potentially functional mutations including three missense mutations and one 5' untranslated region mutation were identified: p.D498Y, novel p.G644R, novel p.E744K, and novel c.-134_-133delTCinsGGGT. The mutations p.Y743* and p.D498Y were identified in two familial patients diagnosed with unilateral or synchronous bilateral breast cancer at the ages of 29 and 39, respectively. The other mutations were identified in an early-onset (! 30 years of age) breast cancer patient each. All five mutations were absent in 372 healthy controls suggesting that they are disease associated. Conclusion Our findings show that PALB2 mutations account for a small proportion of early-onset and hereditary breast/ovarian cancer cases in Pakistan.

A Meta-analysis: Shape of Age Effects and Second Language Grammar Acquisition

Muhammad Asif Qureshi 아시아영어교육학회 2021 The Journal of Asia TEFL Vol.18 No.2

This study reports findings of a meta-analysis on the effects of the age of first exposure, known as the age of onset (AO), on the acquisition of morphosyntax in a second language (L2). Several studies report restrictive effects of AO on L2 grammar acquisition (Abrahamsson, 2012; DeKeyser et al., 2010; Qureshi, 2016); however, there is a disagreement about the way sensitivity to second language acquisition declines (Birdsong, 2009; Long, 2013). Researchers disagree about the nature of the decline and argue whether the decrease that occurs in learners’ ultimate proficiency in the second language is gradual and continuous or gradual but followed by a plateau, without further decline. To explore the nature of AO, 29 samples from 14 studies were analyzed. The results revealed a large effect size1 (d = 1.13, SD = .06) for the impact of AO on ultimate proficiency in L2 morphosyntax. However, for the disaggregated data (i.e., when earlier & late learners are separated), a linear decline was observed for the 6 to 16 age-group (21 samples), while a flattening of the regression line was detected for the 17 to 24 age-group (8 samples). More importantly, the findings revealed two different shapes of decline based on participants’ first language and the target L2. Overall, the findings support a bounded critical period for second language acquisition and indicate the typological distance between the two languages as a major influencing factor.

Mobile Services Personalization Evaluation Model

Muhammad Asif,John Krogstie 보안공학연구지원센터(IJUNESST) 2013 International Journal of u- and e- Service, Scienc Vol.6 No.2

Irradiation applications for polymer nano-composites: A state-of-the-art review

Muhammad Jawwad Saif,Muhammad Naveed,Hafiz Muhammad Asif,Rabia Akhtar 한국공업화학회 2018 Journal of Industrial and Engineering Chemistry Vol.60 No.-

In recent years, irradiation treatment has emerged as a popular technique for modification of nanostructures in fabrication of high performance polymer composites. The conventional modification methods typically involve expensive chemicals, difficult processing techniques and specialized chemistry. However, the irradiation treatment is considered simple, rapid and “green” technique that operates under ambient conditions and the product is free of residual initiators and modifiers. Such modifications develop strong interfacial matrix-nanostructure interactions and exhibit notable advantages as compared to chemical approaches. High energy radiations have beneficial effects for tailoring structure and properties of nano-systems with high precision. The irradiation processes, mechanisms, strategies and composites are reviewed in this article along with the potential applications and future challenges.

Numerical Modelling of Flow Characteristics in an Asymmetric Trapezoidal Compound Channel with Vegetation Patches

Muhammad Asif,Usman Ghani,Ghufran Ahmed Pasha 대한토목학회 2020 KSCE JOURNAL OF CIVIL ENGINEERING Vol.24 No.12

Vegetation is an important component of rivers, present naturally alongside the banks. In this research study, three-dimensional computational fluid dynamics (CFD) code ANSYS FLUENT was used to solve the Reynolds Averaged Navier-Stokes equations and to simulate flow features in an asymmetric vegetated compound channel. Three-dimensional flow characteristicsand turbulence properties were captured well by the Reynolds stress turbulence model (RSM). A total of five flow cases were considered in this work. Among these, four cases were of circular vegetation patches present on the floodplain edge and one was of non-vegetated asymmetric trapezoidal compound channel. Impact of vegetation patch density, patch center to center (c/c) spacing and flow blockage area has been investigated on various flow features and compared with flow characteristics in a channel without vegetation. Flow features include mean and depth-averaged velocities, secondary flows, Reynolds shear and normal stresses, turbulence intensities and turbulent kinetic energy. The results show that the presence of vegetation patches along the floodplain imparted flow resistance which shifted the zone of higher velocities towards outer wall of main channel and floodplain. Increased velocities in the main channel up to 24.8% was observed for larger flow blockage (aD, where a is the density of the vegetation patch and D is the diameter of patch) and smaller normalized c/c spacing (L/D, where L is the c/c spacing between two patches and D is the diameter of patch) of patches. Large transverse shear stresses existed around the vegetated zone due to the gradient of velocities and vortices in the main channel and floodplain. Floodplain, especially vegetated zone acquires less Reynolds stresses and turbulence making it favorable for deposition of sediments and growth of ecological species.

Powder metallurgy of Mg–1%Al–1%Sn alloy reinforced with low content of graphene nanoplatelets (GNPs)

Muhammad Rashad,Fusheng Pan,Muhammad Asif,Aitao Tang 한국공업화학회 2014 Journal of Industrial and Engineering Chemistry Vol.20 No.6

The Mg–1%Al–1%Sn–0.18% graphene nanoplatelets (GNPs) composite is fabricated by semi powdermetallurgy method followed by hot extrusion. Microscopic observation revealed the uniformdistribution of GNPs in the matrix. The addition of 0.18 wt% GNPs to Mg–1wt%Al–1wt%Sn alloy leadto increase in tensile strength (i.e., from 236 to 269 MPa). The increase in strength of the composite couldbe due to high specific surface area, superior nano-filler adhesion and two-dimensional structure ofGNPs.

Natural resource management: A systematic literature review

Asif, Muhammad,Zaman, Khalid,Khan, Khan Burhan Techno-Press 2020 Advances in environmental research Vol.9 No.4

The earlier literature widely documented the role of natural resources in economic development and confined their findings either in support of resource blessing growth or resource curse hypothesis. The ample research on the stated theme has available in the relevant databases, supported with empirical data, while a few studies used a case study or mixed-method approach. The study identified plenty of room on a given topic by conducting a systematic literature review and synthesizing the literature in more meaningful inferences. After a thorough investigation of the literature review through systematic intervention, the study concludes that natural resource management is imperative for a country's sustained growth. Simultaneously, it is desirable to reduce resource conflicts, improve institutional performance, decrease corruption, and stabilize the political environment to get maximum natural resource management potential globally.

Mid-upper-arm circumference as a screening measure for identifying children with elevated body mass index: a study for Pakistan

Asif, Muhammad,Aslam, Muhammad,Altaf, Saima The Korean Pediatric Society 2018 Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics (CEP) Vol.61 No.1

Purpose: Mid-upper-arm circumference (MUAC) is considered an alternative screening method for obesity. The aims of this investigation were to examine the ability of MUAC to correctly identify children with elevated body mass index (BMI) and to determine the best MUAC cutoff point for identification of children with high BMI. Methods: Anthropometric measurements (height, weight, and MUAC) from a cross-sectional sample of 7,921 Pakistani children aged 5-14 years were analyzed. Pearson correlation coefficients between MUAC and other anthropometric measurements were calculated. Receiver operating characteristic curve analysis was used to determine the optimal MUAC cutoff point for identifying children with high BMI. Results: Among 7,921 children, the mean (${\pm}$standard deviation) age, BMI, and MUAC were 10.00 (${\pm}2.86years$), 16.16 (${\pm}2.66kg/m^2$), and 17.73 (${\pm}2.59cm$), respectively. The MUAC had a strong positive correlation with BMI. The optimal MUAC cutoff points indicating elevated BMI in boys ranged from 16.76 to 22.73, while the corresponding values in girls ranged from 16.38 to 20.57. Conclusion: MUAC may be used as a simple indicator of overweight/obesity in children, with reasonable accuracy in clinical settings.

An efficient hydration of nitriles with ruthenium-supported heterogeneous catalyst in water under moderate conditions

Muhammad Asif Hussain,최은주,Adnan Maqbool,Muhammad Atif,Hassan Zeb,여재구,유정아,조영훈,Moses Noh,김정원 한국공업화학회 2021 Journal of Industrial and Engineering Chemistry Vol.99 No.-

A facile eco-friendly heterogeneous catalytic system has been developed for amide synthesis that furtherutilized in pharmaceutical and organic chemistry. The Ru/MnO2 catalyst has shown outstanding andunprecedented activity for a wide range of aliphatic and benzylic nitriles in green solvent water at 60 C. The system has also exhibited a remarkable tolerance for selective hydration of heteroatom (e.g. nitrogen,oxygen and sulphur atoms) containing nitriles. Pharmaceutically important nicotinamides andpyrazinamide has been synthesized by hydration of the heteroatomic nitriles with appreciable yieldsand selectivities. Moreover, the Ru/MnO2 catalyst has employed water as a benign solvent, with morethan 30,000 TONs and reusabilityfive times after isolation from the reaction mixture by centrifugationand easy workup that established a path for green environmental and technologically acceptableprotocol.