Life Sciences Commons^™

Seroprevalence, Biochemical Investigation And Risk Factor Assessment For Hbv & Hcv Infection In Hospital Based Patients Of Islamabad, Pakistan, Narmeen Adnan Rana, Bushra Munir, Nazeer Hussain, Nazia Imtiaz, Muhammad Asif Gondal Dr., Fahed Parvaiz Dr.

Journal of Bioresource Management

Viral hepatitis poses a serious threat to mankind. Hepatitis B and C Virus are blood borne pathogens that affect millions of individually globally. This study was conducted on a hospital-based population in Islamabad, Pakistan over a period of 4 months, utilizing ELISA as the diagnostic technique which suggested a higher seroprevalence rate for both HBV and HCV i.e. 2.07% and 8.24% respectively. A correlational analysis of the biochemical parameters of these individuals with HBV and HCV infection was carried out and the results indicated a positive correlation of HBV with Alkaline Phosphatase (ALP), HCV with Total Bilirubin (TBil) and both …

Land Application Of Sewage Sludge: Physiological And Biochemical Response Of The Rio Grande Tomato, Nabil Charchar, Ali Elafri, Redwane Rais, Halassi Ismahen

Journal of Bioresource Management

Treated wastewater produces sewage sludge as a by-product that may have beneficial implications on agricultural practices. The effects of sludge amendments on growth, morphological and biochemical characteristics of the agro-industrial Tomato cultivar Rio Grande were observed. A pot culture experiment was carried out during 4 months (16 February 2019 to 18 June 2019), at an experimental green house in the locality of Salah Soufi, Guelma, north-eastern Algeria. There were significant differences between soil and sewage sludge samples. Total nitrogen (20.58 mg/kg) was more available in sewage sludge than in soil (N = 2.09 ± 0.3 mg/kg). In contrast, sludge …

Role Of Rescue 1122 In Wildlife Welfare In Punjab, Pakistan, Muhammad Sajid Rana, Fakhar -I-Abbas, Fakhra Nazir, Kainaat William

Journal of Bioresource Management

Rescue 1122 emergency services in Punjab (Pakistan) also responds to calls when residents feel threatened from wild animals. Emergency calls received between August 2015 and July 2016 recorded 16 arthropod, 25 mammal, 156 bird, 816 reptile and 264 un-identified cases from different parts of the Punjab, which were safely handled and in majority of cases animals were safely released back in nature.

Survey Of Human-Leopard (Panthera Pardus) Conflict In Ayubia National Park, Pakistan, Muhammad Nabeel Awan, Atif Yaqub, Muhammad Kamran

Journal of Bioresource Management

Wildlife populations are at a risk of extinction mainly because of human-wildlife conflict (HWC). The present study was designed to evaluate the ongoing HWC with special reference to Common Leopard (Panthera pardus) in Ayubia National park through field study as well as a literature-based approach. Questionnaire interview surveys were designed for wildlife officials working in the park and the locals who bear the cost for leopard conflict through livestock depredation and crop damage. The study showed that human-leopard conflict in the study area has been increasing. More than 60% of people considered livestock depredation as the major reason …

Feeding Ecology, Behaviour And Habitat Utilization Of Black Drongo (Dicrurus Macrocercus) In Pothwar Plateau, Pakistan, Muhammad Bilal, Zeeshan Khalid, Ali Hasnain Mosvi, Amir Naseer

Journal of Bioresource Management

Black Drongo is an insectivorous bird native to Pakistan. The present study focused on its feeding preferences, behaviour, ecology and habitat relationships. The study was carried out from first week of December, 2019 to the second week of April, 2020 in the two villages of Rawalpindi named as Daultala (Location-I) and Nata Gujarmall (Location-II). Observations were made by point count method on foot using line transect method. Air (52.27%) was the most commonly used feeding substrate. Aerial feeding mode (52.27%) is preferred over plant or tree gleaning (n=58) and ground feeding (n=47). Most common perching site was man made obstacle, …

Comment: Probably A Good News: Covid-19 Is Not Spreading Fast In Tropical Region Like In Temperate Region, Madeeha Manzoor

Journal of Bioresource Management

My understanding of Covid-19 is that, there are some climatic factors involved in seed spread of this virus. As it started from the area of China which falls under temperate zone, its second victim was Iran’s city Qom which also falls under temperate zone and third is Italy which is completely in temperate zone.

Data from two countries from Temperate zone and three countries from Tropical zone was compared. The days counted from the 100 cases each country reached as day one and further days studied on equal basis.

Potential For Wetlands To Remediate Harmful Pathogenic Fecal Coliform Bacteria From Streams, C. Ewing, Benjamin Strang, Bradley Axe, Jocelyn Birt, Brayden Kinney, Zachary Senger, Stephen J. Jacquemin

Lake Campus Research Symposium Abstracts and Posters

Wetlands are increasingly becoming a cornerstone of stream remediation in the highly eutrophic regions of the Midwestern United States. Wetlands have numerous advantages over other technologies as they incorporate natural biological process resultant from plants and bacteria while also providing an increase in wildlife habitat and greenspaces rather than relying on costly and technologically complex processes to treat waterways. The capacity for wetlands to remediate nutrients and improve water clarity is fairly well established. However, less is known about their potential to affect changes in the pathogenic microbial communities (such as E. coli) commonly associated with runoff in agricultural areas …

Nutrient Removal Potential Of Constructed Wetlands In Grand Lake St. Marys Watershed, Stephen J. Jacquemin, Jocelyn Birt, Benjamin Strang, Conner Ewing, Bradley Axe, T. Dirksen

Lake Campus Research Symposium Abstracts and Posters

Constructed wetlands are becoming an increasingly important management tool to reduce nutrient rich agricultural runoff in the Great Lakes region. The objective of this study was to assess the removal efficiency of two constructed wetlands operating on tributaries of Grand Lake St. Marys (Prairie Creek and Coldwater Creek) located in northwest Ohio. Water samples were collected weekly during 2019 year from inflow and outflow points where they were analyzed for nutrient (nitrate-N, total phosphorus, dissolved reactive phosphorus) concentrations following standard EPA colorimetric methods. Overall, while both wetlands experienced high mean nutrient inputs (concentrations in mg/L) across both fall and summer …

Simpler Method To Compare Starch Hydrolysis Rate And In Vitro Expected Glycemic Index Of Flours, Courtney Simons, Charles Ciampaglio

Lake Campus Research Symposium Abstracts and Posters

In vitro expected glycemic index (eGI) is a reliable tool to predict postprandial blood glucose concentrations. Making these predictions is important particularly for diabetespatients who must manage their health condition by consuming products with more slowly digestible carbohydrates. Current methods require lengthy preparation time and expensive equipment. In this study, a cheaper and faster in vitro method was developed. Legume samples were digested with continuous agitation for 3 hours with the help of alpha-amylase enzyme. Glucose production was monitored by measuring changes in refractive index using a refractometer. Relative hydrolysis rates of flours demonstrated effectiveness of the method to differentiate …

Continuous Water Quality Monitoring Platform For Grand Lake St Marys, Aaron Neikamp, Alex Lehman, Brandon Siefring, Jason Evers, Ryan M. Spicer, Shayna R. Petitjean

Lake Campus Research Symposium Abstracts and Posters

For the past decade, Grand Lake St. Marys (GLSM) has struggled to provide a stable and clean water source for the community affecting people and businesses alike. A safe level of microcystin –a toxin in the harmful algal blooms–is 20 ppb in recreational water, and GLSM has seen an excess of 82 ppb. As of now, there is no solution to continuously monitor the water quality; therefore, corrective actions are only based off intermittent samples taken by hand. A solution to this issue would be a water quality platform (WQP) that monitors parameters such as water and air temperature, conductivity, …

Potential Of Pasture Grasses To Reduce Soil Runoff In Simulated Spring Seeding Applications, Aubrey Jaqueth, Stephen J. Jacquemin

Lake Campus Research Symposium Abstracts and Posters

Declines in surface water quality has emerged as one of the foremost environmental, social, and political issues in the Midwestern United States over the past several decades. One of the leading causes of water quality issues in this region has been linked to non-point source surface runoff of soil, nutrients, and chemicals from primarily agricultural landscapes. Surface runoff negatively affects water by facilitating eutrophic conditions and additionally, negatively impacts landscapes by reducing the organic and top soil layers leading to production declines. Thus, best management practices that focus on reducing runoff rates in agricultural acreage are a high priority. The …

Effect Of Temperature Of The Growth Of Mold On Provolone Cheese, Heather N. Johnson, Victoria Borger, Morgan Mock

Lake Campus Research Symposium Abstracts and Posters

How much does temperature affect how fast cheese molds? A piece of mold from a strawberry was placed on six different slices of provolone cheese and the slices stored in a refrigerator (40oF), incubator(93.2oF) and on a counter at room temperature (72oF). Mold growth was monitored weekly by measuring the diameter of mold spread in each treatment. After three weeks, the cheese held in the incubator had the highest rate of mold growth, while the cheese held at room and refrigeration temperature showed similar growth profile. However, by the fourth week, the mold exposed to room temperature grow exponentially above …

Predicting Anthocyanin Content In Canned Black Beans Based On Color, Courtney Simons, Juan Osorno, Lauren Fuelling

Lake Campus Research Symposium Abstracts and Posters

The dark color of black beans is associated with the presence of anthocyanins. These are phytochemicals known to contribute to improved health due to their antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, anti-viral and anti-cancer benefits. Therefore, the color of canned black beans could potentially predict the total concentration of anthocyanins present. To test this hypothesis, 12 black bean varieties obtained from North Dakota State University Bean Breeding Program were cooked and evaluated for anthocyanin content and color characteristics (L*, hue and chroma) of end-product. Pearson Correlation statistics was applied to determine if color values could be used as a reliable index to predict relative …

The Wright State – Lake Campus 2019 – 2020 Scholarly Review, Wright State University - Lake Campus

Lake Campus Research Symposium Reports

This report provides a listing of the scholarly endeavors from Lake Campus during the 2019 calendar year, spanning across disciplines.

This document contains the Annual Research Report from 2019 and the Research Symposium Program from 2020.

Using Δ18o To Track Po4 Entering The Western Basin Of Lake Erie, Melanie M. Marshall, Gabrielle K. Metzner, Kevin E. Mccluney

Lake Campus Research Symposium Abstracts and Posters

Algal blooms in the Western Basin of Lake Erie are dependent upon nutrients provided by major rivers within Northwest Ohio. To develop more accurate methods of defining which of these waterways is the largest contributor, a proof of concept study is being conducted using δ18O of phosphate molecules. In the summer of 2016, under relatively low stream flow conditions, 10-20L samples of water were collected at the several major branches within the Portage River, at the mouths of the Portage, Maumee, and Sandusky Rivers, and at two locations within the Western Basin. In the spring of 2017, these collections were …

Cost-Effective Method To Determine Effect Of Ethylene Gas On Ripening Of Bananas, Ashley Siefring, Devin Siefring, Brooke Gaerke, Colby Homan

Lake Campus Research Symposium Abstracts and Posters

Ethylene, a gaseous plant hormone associated with fruit ripening processes, is produced by bananas as they ripen. Hence the presence of ripe bananas could trigger the ripening of green bananas if they are stored together. To test this hypothesis, green bananas, all at the same stage of maturation was collected and separated into two groups. One group was stored alone while the other group was stored with ripe bananas. The rate of ripening between the two groups was observed over 2 weeks and measured using a standard banana color chart. The study confirmed our hypothesis that green bananas ripen faster …

Functional Sites Within The Ihnv Nonvirion Protein That Regulate Host Cellular Responses, Jeff Ringiesn, Bartolomeo Gorgoglione, Douglas W. Leaman

Celebration of Undergraduate & Graduate Research, Scholarship, and Creative Activities Materials

Fish Rhabdoviruses are responsible for causing fatal epizootics within commercial and wild populations of various fish species around the world. Infectious hematopoietic necrosis virus (IHNV), also known as the Salmonid novirhabdovirus, is enzootic along the Pacific Coast of North America and is comprised of five genogroups, each of which is endemic to a specific geographical location. Once the virus enters the host through the fin epithelia, IHNV infection causes infectious hematopoietic necrosis in salmonid species. The disease is highly fatal and presents with signs such as abdominal distension, bulging of the eyes, anemia, and necrosis of vital organs such as …

Tip60 Regulation Of Δnp63Α Is Associated With Cisplatin Resistance, Akshay Hira, Andrew Stacy, Jin Zhang, Michael P. Craig, Madhavi Kadakia

Celebration of Undergraduate & Graduate Research, Scholarship, and Creative Activities Materials

About 5.4 million basal and squamous cell skin cancers are diagnosed every year in the US. ΔNp63a, a member of the p53 transcription factor family, is overexpressed in non-melanoma skin cancer and regulates cell survival, migration and invasion. TIP60 is histone acetyltransferase (HAT) which mediates cellular processes such as transcription and the DNA damage response (DDR). Previous studies in our lab have shown that overexpression of TIP60 induces ΔNp63a protein stabilization in a catalytic-dependent manner. Since ΔNp63a is known to transcriptionally regulate several DDR genes and promote cisplatin resistance, its stabilization by TIP60 may contribute to the failure of platinum-based …

Multi-Label Model For Toxicity Prediction, Xiu Huan Yap, Michael L. Raymer

Celebration of Undergraduate & Graduate Research, Scholarship, and Creative Activities Materials

Most computational predictive models are specifically trained for a single toxicity endpoint. Since more than 1300 toxicity assays have been reported in the TOXCAST dashboard, achieving high coverage over this growing number of toxicity endpoints remains challenging. Furthermore, single-endpoint models lack the ability to learn dependencies between endpoints, such as those targeting similar biological pathways, which may be used to boost model performance. In this study, we characterize the performance of 3 multi-label classification (MLC) models, namely Classifier Chains (CC), Label Powersets (LP) and Stacking (SBR), on Tox21 challenge data. These MLC models employ the Problem Transformation approach, which is …

Measuring Nomophobia And Exploration Of Consequences And Comorbidities, Sarah Marie Fryman, William L. Romine

Celebration of Undergraduate & Graduate Research, Scholarship, and Creative Activities Materials

Excessive use of smartphones has coined the term “Nomophobia”, or fear of not being able to use your smartphone. For many, these devices have become an extension of ourselves, which raises hesitation on whether or not society has become addicted to smartphones. Specific diagnostic criteria for smartphone addiction have yet to be settled, and even appropriate to use the word “addiction” when describing excessive usage of smartphones is controversial.

We therefore explore utilize current measures to explore the symptoms of nomophobia and their hierarchy, as well as comorbidities including social anxiety, self-esteem, distracted driving and sleep quality. A total of …

Anthrax Event Detection Using Twitter: Analysis Of Unigram And Bigrams For Relevant Vs Non-Relevant Tweets, Michele Miller, William L. Romine

Celebration of Undergraduate & Graduate Research, Scholarship, and Creative Activities Materials

Due to the lack of anthrax attacks in recent times, researchers have used naturally occurring events to assess their anthrax detection models, but these provide little information on how the models will perform in the context of an unannounced, intentional release of a bioterrorism agent, like anthrax. Therefore, it is important to develop a detection model using data surrounding real anthrax scares and events.We develop a methodology to detect an anthrax-related event on Twitter. We describe a process to separate the tweets concerning anthrax-related events from those not related so experts can address misconceptions and fears in real-time.Most tweets were …

Enhanced Expression Of Receptor Tyrosine Kinase Mer (Mertk) On Socs3-Treated Polarized Raw 264.7 Anti-Inflammatory M2c Macrophages, Sankhadip Bhadra

Celebration of Undergraduate & Graduate Research, Scholarship, and Creative Activities Materials

Macrophages are phagocytic cells located in tissues, organs and even circulated within our body as white blood cells. Based on the local cytokine milieu in tissue sites, macrophages may be polarized into pro-inflammatory M1 or anti-inflammatory M2 phenotypes. Receptor tyrosine kinase Mer (MERTK) helps in clearing dead neutrophils and other apoptotic cells from damaged tissue sites preventing chronic inflammation and autoimmune disorders. MERTK aids in the maintenance of tissue homeostasis and wound healing. Phosphatidylserine (PtdSer) present on the surface of apoptotic cells release “eat me” signals which are recognized by the two “bridging ligands” of MERTK receptor, Gas6 and ProS. …

An Annotated Checklist Of Butterflies At Elevated Protected Areas Of Pakistan, Madeeha Manzoor, Sher Wali Khan, Safdar Ali Shah

Journal of Bioresource Management

Different vegetation types, cater to the needs of butterflies at different stages of their life cycle. Some caterpillars are specific in their diet and egg-laying, such as the caterpillar of the Monarch butterfly, which mainly consumes leaves of milkweed and hence prefers laying eggs on this plant (Faldyn et al., 2018). This entomological research was undertaken at protected areas of Pakistan that include Dhirkot Nature Reserve, Pir Chanasi National Park, Banjosa Game Reserve, Pir Lasura National Park and Tolipir National Park. Forty-four different species of butterflies were recorded from the study area. The highest diversity of butterflies was observed from …

Optimization Of Xylanase Activity In The Presence Of Salts Of Different Metals For The Pulping Of Indigenous Non-Woody Raw Materials (Gossypium Arborium), Muhammad Suleman, Abu Ul Hassan Faiz, Lariab Zahra Faiz

Journal of Bioresource Management

This study was conducted to optimize the process of degradation of agricultural wastes using xylanase by pulping. The cotton stalk was treated with enzyme and sugar with different concentration was obtained. The substrate concentration, incubation time, cofactors and activators on xylanase were investigated in the pulping and bleaching process. The study presents results that at pH 6.0 with time span (3, 6 and 9 hours) of incubation produced 56 mg/ml, 75 mg/ml and 112.5 mg/ml sugar respectively. While at pH 7.0 with time duration (3, 6 and 9 hours) of incubation 64 mg/ml, 75 mg/ml and 150 mg/ml of sugar …

Effect Of Homofermentative Inoculant On Fermentation Characteristics And Nutritive Values Of Corn Silage, Nafeesa Qudsia Hanif, Iffat Tahira, Nighat Sultana, Mujahid Hasan

Journal of Bioresource Management

An in vitro study was planned to assess the effects of a homofermentative microbial inoculant on the fermentation parameters and nutritive value of corn silage. The inoculant was applied at concentrations of 5x10⁴cfu/g of forage (T1), 1x10⁵cfu/g of forage (T2) 1.5x10⁵cfu/g of forage (T3) and a negative control group (T0) without bacterial inoculant in three replicates each. At day 3, 7, 45 and 90 of the experiment individual buckets were opened to characterize the material, quick acidification, dry matter recovery, and aerobic stability of silage respectively. The temperature of the trial samples was 32.75±1.92 …

Nutritional Evaluation Of Maize Plant Fodder Grown In Spring And Autumn Season In Punjab, Pakistan, Nafeesa Qudsia Hanif, Nadeem Akhtar

Journal of Bioresource Management

Present study was planned to assess the nutritional evaluation of maize plant grown in spring and autumn seasons. For this purpose, a total of 277 (n=130 in spring and n=147 in autumn season) samples were collected from high maize-growing localities i.e. Kasur, Pakpattan, Okara, Burewala, Sahiwal, Lahore and Melsi. These samples were analyzed for different parameters such as dry matter (DM) and Crude protein (CP) etc. It was noticed that during spring season the values of dry matter (DM), neutral detergent fiber (NDF), acid detergent fiber (ADF) and starch were significantly higher than autumn season values. On the other hand, …

Diversity And Ethnobotanical Importance Of Pine Species From Sub-Tropical Forests, Azad Jammu And Kashmir, Kishwar Sultana, Sher Wali Khan, Safdar Ali Shah

Journal of Bioresource Management

A general investigation of sub-tropical forests, from Pir Chinasi National Park, Tolipir National Park, Dhirkot Nature Reserve and Banjosa Game Reserve was carried out during different months from February 2008 to May 2010. The relative abundance of species was calculated using line transects of 50m. A total of five different species (Abies pindrow. Cedrus deodara, Pinus wallichiana, Pinus roxburgii and Picea smithiana) from the Pinaceae family were recorded. The main reported use of Cedrus deodara and Pinus wallichiana by the local people was for furniture and construction purposes. Pinus wallichiana was observed as the dominant …

Insect Diversity And Association With Plants: A Case Study In Rural Areas Of Dhirkot, Azad Kashmir Pakistan, Abu Ul Hassan Faiz, Mehboob Ul Hassan, Mikhail F. Bagaturov, Majid Mahmood, Ghazal Tariq, Lariab Zahra Faiz

Journal of Bioresource Management

Insects play a vital role for proper functioning of forest ecosystem, including positive roles as pollinators, seed dispersers, genetic linkers and detrimental effects by feeding on and/or killing trees. The present study was conducted to find insect association with plants in rural areas of Dhirkot. The study was conducted from March, 2019 to September, 2019. The sampling was carried out by line transect method. Thirty transects were taken for sampling insects. Sixty-five species of insects in association with 150 plants were recorded.

Association Of Interleukin 17f With Arthritis In Punjabi Families Of Pakistan, Asia Parveen, Andleeb Batool, Maryam Mukhtar, Abdul Wajid, Naila Malkani

Journal of Bioresource Management

Arthritis is a chronic inflammatory disease that causes severe joint pain. Interleukin 17F (IL17F) is considered as a candidate gene functionally; it mediates pro-inflammatory responses, depending on the type and site of inflammation. The present study examined the polymorphism of IL17F (rs763780 and rs2397084) among the families affected by arthritis. Demographic data and blood samples were collected from the families with at least one affected offspring with arthritis. Analysis of the IL17F gene polymorphism was performed by the digestion of DNA with NlaIII and AvaII. The results showed that IL17F rs763780 (AA, AG and GG genotypes) and rs2397084 (AA, AG …

Seasonal Population Fluctuations In Some Non-Passeriformes At Marala Head, Pakistan, Zahid Bhatti, Asad Ghufran, Fakhra Nazir

Journal of Bioresource Management

Point count method was used to determine the relative abundance of non-passerine species at Marala wetlands (District Sialkot, Pakistan) during different calendar months between October, 2000 and September, 2001. Six species (Hoopoe, Lapwing, Spotted Owlet, Osprey, Indian Roller and Indian Nightjar) were recorded. Osprey and Spotted Owlet appearing in smaller numbers and Red Wattled Lapwing as a dominant resident. All the species were resident with some variation in population sizes during different seasons, though Osprey was a winter visitor.