Potential of Flax Fiber Reinforced Biopolymer Composites for Cross-Arm Application in Transmission Tower: A Review

Muhammad Rizal Muhammad Asyraf,Mohamad Ridzwan Ishak,Mohd Nor Faiz Norrrahim,Abdul Latif Amir,Norizan Mohd Nurazzi,Rushdan Ahmad Ilyas,Mochamad Asrofi,Mazlan Rafidah,Muhammad Rizal Razman 한국섬유공학회 2022 Fibers and polymers Vol.23 No.4

Man-made composites are vastly implemented in various engineering applications, particularly in cross-arm component of latticed transmission tower. However, their practice in this sector has increased pollutant emissions and landfill areas. Thus, scientists and engineers have been driven to look for other ‘greener’ alternative materials that have low-cost and renewable sources. Flax fibers and poly(lactic) acid (PLA) biopolymer have been extensively used to develop vast green composite structural products because of their great mechanical behaviours. A comprehensive understanding of properties of composite materials is essential to evaluate their applicability, especially in structural applications. This manuscript discusses the physic-mechanical properties and processing and manufacturability of flax fiber, PLA biopolymer and their composites. This review also comprehensively discovers the potential of fabric flax fiber-reinforced PLA composites for cross-arm application. The chemical composition, extraction, treatment and fabrications of these fiber and biopolymer are elaborated deeply given that these aspects are essential for the development of green composite cross-arm.

Genome-wide identification and expression analyses of WRKY transcription factor family members from chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) reveal their role in abiotic stress-responses

Muhammad Waqas,Muhammad Tehseen Azhar,Iqrar Ahmad Rana,Farrukh Azeem,Muhammad Amjad Ali,Muhammad Amjad Nawaz,정규화,Rana Muhammad Atif 한국유전학회 2019 Genes & Genomics Vol.41 No.4

Background WRKY proteins play a vital role in the regulation of several imperative plant metabolic processes and pathways, especially under biotic and abiotic stresses. Although WRKY genes have been characterized in various major crop plants, their identification and characterization in pulse legumes is still in its infancy. Chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) is the most important pulse legume grown in arid and semi-arid tropics. Objective In silico identification and characterization of WRKY transcription factor-encoding genes in chickpea genome. Methods For this purpose, a systematic genome-wide analysis was carried out to identify the non-redundant WRKY transcription factors in the chickpea genome. Results We have computationally identified 70 WRKY-encoding non-redundant genes which were randomly distributed on all the chickpea chromosomes except chromosome 8. The evolutionary phylogenetic analysis classified the WRKY proteins into three major groups (I, II and III) and seven sub-groups (IN, IC, IIa, IIb, IIc, IId and IIe). The gene structure analysis revealed the presence of 2–7 introns among the family members. Along with the presence of absolutely conserved signatory WRKY domain, 19 different domains were also found to be conserved in a group-specific manner. Insights of gene duplication analysis revealed the predominant role of segmental duplications for the expansion of WRKY genes in chickpea. Purifying selection seems to be operated during the evolution and expansion of paralogous WRKY genes. The transcriptome data-based in silico expression analysis revealed the differential expression of CarWRKY genes in root and shoot tissues under salt, drought, and cold stress conditions. Moreover, some of these genes showed identical expression pattern under these stresses, revealing the possibility of involvement of these genes in conserved abiotic stress–response pathways. Conclusion This genome-wide computational analysis will serve as a base to accelerate the functional characterization of WRKY TFs especially under biotic and abiotic stresses.

Metabolites of Marine Algae Collected from Karachi-coasts of Arabian Sea

Muhammad Shaiq Ali,Muhammad Jahangir,Muhammad Saleem,Muhammad Kashif Pervez,Shaista Hameed,Viqar Uddin Ahmad 한국생약학회 2000 Natural Product Sciences Vol.6 No.2

The ethanolic extracts of marine green, brown and red algae collected from Karachi coasts of Arabian Sea afforded a new enol-derivative of N-acylsphingosine named as coelarthenol (1) from Coelarthrum muelleri, two new glucose-derivatives named: botryenal (2) and botryenol (3) from Botryocladia leptopoda, α-tocopherol quinone (4) from Codium iyengarii, β-sitosterol and hexadecanoic acid from Stokeyia indica. The known constituents (4, β-sitosterol & hexadecanoic acid) have not been reported so far from their corresponding sources and the structures were determined through spectroscopic methods, whereas, the structures of new constituents (1-3) were elucidated with the aid of selective HMBC experiments. The phytotoxicity of 4 was also monitored.

In-vitro assessment of food consumption, utilization indices and losses promises of leafworm, Spodoptera litura (Fab.), on okra crop

Ahmad Nawaz,Habib Ali,Muhammad Sufyan,Muhammad Dildar Gogi,Muhammad Jalal Arif,Abid Ali,Muhammad Qasim,Waqar Islam,Noman Ali,Imran Bodla,Madiha Zaynab,Khalid Ali Khan,Hamed A. Ghramh 한국응용곤충학회 2020 Journal of Asia-Pacific Entomology Vol.23 No.1

The lepidopteran insect pests have significant importance in vegetable production. The present study was performed to investigate the baseline studies about the assessment of feeding and consumption potential, utilization indices and losses promises of leafworm, Spodoptera litura (Fab.) on Okra. The data regarding feeding potential, food utilization and consumption indices as well as losses of different larval instars were recorded and subjected to appropriate statistical analysis. The results showed that, in the beginning, the approximate digestibility of various instars was increase, e.g. third instar (51.36%–64.03%), fourth instar (63.42%–69.45%) and fifth instar (70.25%–76.10%). However, after a certain period, the digestibility was decreased and efficiency to convert the ingested food into biomass varied significantly. The consumption index values increased with an increase in time but the consumption and growth rate was declined of fourth instar larvae. The ingestion and digestion increased of third (10.01–13.06, 8.32–11.91 mg), fourth (11.27–17.28, 10.96–14.03 mg) and fifth (12.60–19.40, 11.93–15.28 mg) larval instars. The corrected weight of consumed leaves increased with a gain in body weight. However, in the third instar, a decline was observed on the last day of feeding. Maximum leaf area was consumed by fifth instar larvae (44.66 cm 2 ) followed by fourth (35.41 cm 2 ) and third (27.98 cm 2 ) instars. In conclusion, all the dependent parameters, including food utilization potential, consumption indices and losses were higher for fifth instar larvae than others. These results emphasized the re-establishment of fundamental (economic threshold level: ETL, economic injury level: EIL) integrated pest management concepts.

Kinetics, isothermal and mechanistic insight into the adsorption of eosin yellow and malachite green from water via tri-metallic layered double hydroxide nanosheets

Muhammad Altaf Nazir,Tayyaba Najam,Muhammad Sohail Bashir,Muhammad Sufyan Javed,Muhammad Aswad Bashir,Muhammad Imran,Umair Azhar,Syed Shoaib Ahmad Shah,Aziz ur Rehman 한국화학공학회 2022 Korean Journal of Chemical Engineering Vol.39 No.1

The use of highly efficient, environment-friendly and economically inexpensive materials for the adsorption removal of contaminants from water has always been considered as emerging task. In this study, we synthesized hybrid tri-metallic nickel cobalt layered double hydroxide (NiCoAl-LDH) porous material for the adsorption removal of Eosin yellow (EY) and Malachite green (MG) from water. The characterization results disclosed that tri-metallic LDH has been synthesized with extraordinary purity, identical morphology and high surface area (134.21 m2·g−1). The NiCoAl-LDH performs the best for adsorption of EY (qe=37.30mg·g−1 at pH=2) and MG (qe=39.61 mg·g−1 at pH=10). The Langmuir and Freundlich isotherm models were applied to explain the adsorption process of dyes on the surface of LDH. The Langmuir model (R2=0.991 and 0.999 for Eosin Y and Malachite G, respectively) was very appropriate to explain the process of adsorption on NiCoAl-LDH as homogeneous (monolayer). The maximum adsorption capacity of EY and MG calculated with Langmuir model was 78.74 and 110.13 mg·g−1 at 30 °C, respectively. Also with 240 minutes contact time 94.8% EY and 89.9% MG was adsorbed by as synthesized NiCoAl-LDH nanosheets. The NiCoAl-LDH nanosheets showed excellent performance of reusability of up to five regeneration cycles. The results showed that the adsorption capacity of NiCoAl-LDH nanosheets after five regeneration cycles, to adsorb EY, decreased only from 40.80 to 36.93 mg·g−1 and that of MG from 79.21 to 75.42 mg·g−1, which is acceptable. The overall results Suggest that the fabricated NiCoAl-LDH is favorable for the purification of dye contaminated water.

Ruminant Nutrition : Comparative Growth Performance of Calves of Different Cattle Breeds Under a Feedlot Fattening System

( Ijaz Ahmad ),( Muhammad Fiaz ),( Muhammad Nauman Manzoor ),( Tanveer Ahmad ),( Muhammad Yaqoob ),( Ik Hwan Jo ) 한국동물자원과학회(구 한국축산학회) 2013 한국축산학회지 Vol.55 No.6

Male cattle calves(n=24), 9-12 months age, with an average body weight of 120±20kg were fed total mixed rations(TMR) for 120 days to determine their growth performance. Animals were divided into four groups(six of each breed): Crossbred (Friesian×Sahiwal), Dhanni, Lohani, and Cholistani. The data obtained were analyzed using analysis of variance techniques under a completely randomized design. The average daily gain(ADG), feed efficiency(FE), and dressing percentage ranged from 639-892g/d, 0.105-0.155kg/kg, and 51.2-51.5%, respectively, in the different breeds. The ADG and FE did not differ between the Crossbred, Dhanni, and Lohani breeds, but these values were lower in Cholistani calves(P<0.05). The dressing percentage was similar in all breeds. The highest increase in body height was observed in Dhanni calves, but heart girth was obviously higher in Lohani calves. The feed cost per kg gain was higher for Cholistani calves but similar among Crossbred, Dhanni, and Lohani calves(P>0.05). In conclusion, Dhanni, Lohani, and Crossbred calves possess the promising potential for beef production under the rainfed(Barani) conditions of the Punjab.

Effects of elastic medium on buckling of microtubules due to bending and torsion

Taj, Muhammad,Hussain, Muzamal,Afsar, Muhammad A.,Safeer, Muhammad,Ahmad, Manzoor,Naeem, Muhammad N.,Badshah, Noor,Khan, Arshad,Tounsi, Abdelouahed Techno-Press 2020 Advances in concrete construction Vol.9 No.5

Microtubules buckle under bending and torsion and this property has been studied for free microtubules before using orthotropic elastic shell model. But as microtubules are embedded in other elastic filaments and it is experimentally showed that these elastic filaments affect the critical buckling moment and critical buckling torque of the microtubules. To prove that, we developed orthotropic Winkler like model and demonstrated that the critical buckling moment and critical buckling torque of the microtubules are orders of higher magnitude than those found for free microtubules. Our results show that Critical buckling moment is about 6.04 nNnm for which the corresponding curvature is about θ = 1.33 rad /㎛ for embedded MTs, and critical buckling torque is 0.9 nNnm for the angle of 1.33 rad/㎛. Our results well proved the experimental findings.

Risk Factors and Epidemiology of Gastric Cancer in Pakistan

Daniyal, Muhammad,Ahmad, Saeed,Ahmad, Mukhtiar,Asif, Hafiz Muhammad,Akram, Muhammad,Rehman, Saif Ur,Sultana, Sabira Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention 2015 Asian Pacific journal of cancer prevention Vol.16 No.12

Gastric cancer is the 2nd most common cause of death among all cancers and is the 4th most common cancer in the world. The number of deaths due to gastric cancer is about 800,000 annually. Gastric cancer is more common in men as compared to women and is 3rd most common cancer after colorectal and breast cancers in women. A progressive rise in the incidence rate has been observed in females over the last 5 years. The highest incidence of stomach cancer is in China, South America and Eastern Europe. The incidence of gastric cancer has 20 fold variation worldwide. Global variation is linked by two factors which play important role in developing gastric cancer. One is infection with Helicobacter pylori and the $2^{nd}$ is diet. South Asia is a region with low risk, despite a high prevalence of H.pylori. Gastric carcinoma is common in southern region of India. Gastric cancer is more readily treated if diagnosed early. This study aims to provide awareness about gastric cancer as well as an updated knowledge about risk factors and epidemiology of gastric cancer in Pakistan.

Anaerobic membrane bioreactors for biohydrogen production: Recent developments, challenges and perspectives

Aslam, Muhammad,Ahmad, Rizwan,Yasin, Muhammad,Khan, Asim Laeeq,Shahid, Muhammad Kashif,Hossain, Shakhawat,Khan, Zakir,Jamil, Farrukh,Rafiq, Sikander,Bilad, Muhammad Roil,Kim, Jeonghwan,Kumar, Gopalakr Elsevier 2018 Bioresource technology Vol.269 No.-

<P><B>Abstract</B></P> <P>Biohydrogen as one of the most appealing energy vector for the future represents attractive avenue in alternative energy research. Recently, variety of biohydrogen production pathways has been suggested to improve the key features of the process. Nevertheless, researches are still needed to overcome remaining barriers to practical applications such as low yields and production rates. Considering practicality aspects, this review emphasized on anaerobic membrane bioreactors (AnMBRs) for biological hydrogen production. Recent advances and emerging issues associated with biohydrogen generation in AnMBR technology are critically discussed. Several techniques are highlighted that are aimed at overcoming these barriers. Moreover, environmental and economical potentials along with future research perspectives are addressed to drive biohydrogen technology towards practicality and economical-feasibility.</P> <P><B>Highlights</B></P> <P> <UL> <LI> Anaerobic membrane bioreactor technology for biohydrogen production is overviewed. </LI> <LI> Enhancement of biohydrogen yield and generation rates via various strategies is discussed. </LI> <LI> Techno-economic and environmental impacts of this approach are addressed. </LI> </UL> </P> <P><B>Graphical abstract</B></P> <P>[DISPLAY OMISSION]</P>

Supplemental potassium mediates antioxidant metabolism, physiological processes, and osmoregulation to confer salt stress tolerance in cabbage (Brassica oleracea L.)

Waqas Ahmad,Chaudhary Muhammad Ayyub,Muhammad Asif Shehzad,Khurram Ziaf,Muhammad Ijaz,Ahmad Sher,Tahira Abbas,Jamil Shafi 한국원예학회 2019 Horticulture, Environment, and Biotechnology Vol.60 No.6

Soil salinity is one of the severe threats of climate change that inflicts heavy losses to vegetable production. Potassium (K) has been considered essential approach against abiotic stresses in food crops, however, understanding of K regulated mechanisms for inducing tolerance to NaCl stress in cabbage (Brassica oleracea L.) plants is, still elusive. Here, we report the supplemental K effects on antioxidant defense system and physiological processes that may influence the cabbage production under saline conditions. Initially, cabbage varieties (‘Stone Head’, ‘Golden Acre’, ‘9j-940’, ‘Beauty Ball’, ‘Green Ball’, ‘Green Rise’, ‘Marco F-1’) were tested under NaCl stress (50, 100, 150, and 200 mM) for their higher growth, vigor index and mineral contents. The identified cabbage var. salt-tolerant, cv. Beauty Ball (BB) and salt-sensitive cv. Green Ball (GB) were further exposed to foliar K (5 and 10 mM solutions of KNO3) under the same NaCl regimes. NaCl stress markedly inhibited photosynthetic efficiency, water status and chlorophyll pigments, thereby, resulted in reduced dry biomass of both varieties. Nevertheless, exogenous K spray at 10 mM caused positive gain in leaf water relations, chlorophyll contents in both cabbage varieties. The ameliorative impacts of K were more pronounced in salt-tolerant cv. BB as compared to salt-sensitive cv. GB in terms of higher accumulation of total soluble proteins, total free amino acids, proline contents, upregulated antioxidant activities and enhanced gas exchange characteristics. Hence, improvement in growth and K+/Na+ ratio of cabbage plants by foliar K application (10 mM) were related to up-regulation of physiological and biochemical mechanisms under saline conditions.