Publications by authors named "Muhammad Akhtar"

Flavokawain B () is a natural chalcone extracted from the roots of and has been proven to be a potential cytotoxic compound. Using the partial structure of flavokawain B (FKB), about 23 analogs have been synthesized. Among them, compounds , and were found in new FKB derivatives.

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Complex industrial discharges pose certain risks to the ecosystem. This study was aimed at identifying acute and sub-chronic toxicological effects of the textile industry wastewater. The textile wastewater was evaluated for the metals and organic pollutants by atomic absorption spectrophotometer and GC-MS respectively.

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Pistacia khinjuk is one of the fifteen known species of Pistacia belonging to Anacardiaceae family. Keeping in view the possible therapeutic utility of this genus and the lack of literature on this plant, this study involves phytochemical investigation of P. khinjuk and its antioxidant activity.

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Nitrogen efficiency of lactating buffalo can be increased by providing dietary crude protein (CP) precisely to the requirement. Twelve lactating Nili-Ravi buffaloes (6 primiparous and 6 multiparous) at 76 ± 37.5 days in milk (DIM) were used in this study.

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Three isostructural lanthanide series with a core of MnMnLn are reported. These three families have the formulae of [MnMnLn(μ-O)(Hedte)(piv)(NO)] {no crystallization solvent, Ln = La, Ce, Pr, Nd, Eu (1-4, 6); solv = 3MeCN, Ln = Sm, Gd, Tb, Dy, Ho, Er, Tm, Yb, Y (5, 7-13)}, where Hedte = N,N,N',N'-tetrakis(2-hydroxyethyl)ethylenediamine and piv = pivalate; [MnMnLn(μ-O)(Hedte)(benz)(NO)], where benz = benzoate, or [MnMnLn(μ-O)(edteH)(benz)(NO)]·2MeCN {Ln = Gd, Tb, Dy (14-16); and [MnMnLn(μ-O)(edteH)(piv)].solv {solv = 4MeCN, Ln = La (17); solv = 2MeCN·tol·HO, Ln = Pr, Nd, Sm, Tb (18-20, 22); solv = 2MeCN·HO, Ln = Gd (21).

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Introduction: WRKY proteins belong to a plant-specific class of transcription factors. Seventy-four WKRY genes have been identified in Arabidopsis and many WRKY proteins are known to be involved in responses to stress, especially to biotic stress. They may act either as transcriptional activators or as repressors of genes that play roles in the stress response.

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Osteosarcoma is one of the primary malignant bone tumors that confer low survival rates for patients even with intensive regime treatments. Therefore, discovery of novel anti-osteosarcoma drugs derived from natural products that are not harmful to the normal cells remains crucial. Curcumin is one of the natural substances that have been extensively studied due to its anti-cancer properties and is pharmacologically safe considering its ubiquitous consumption for centuries.

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Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the leading causes of death associated with cancer. Various molecular mechanisms are involved in HCC development. Alterations in these molecular mechanisms include chromosomal instability, gene mutations, and variations in protein expressions.

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Article Synopsis
  • The Pcal_1032 gene in the hyperthermophilic archaeon Pyrobaculum calidifontis encodes a glucokinase, part of the ROK family of sugar kinases.
  • Despite initially low protein expression in E. coli, a targeted mutation significantly increased recombinant protein yield by tenfold.
  • Pcal_1032 demonstrates high stability and activity, with optimal conditions at 95 °C and pH 8.5, making it the most active and stable glucokinase studied from archaea so far.
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The present study was conducted to determine the prevalence of myopia in young students of Bahaudin Zakariya University, Multan. A total sample of 620 students of both gender (male=295; female=325) was collected during 2014. The data was divided in two breeding pattern groups, five groups on account of age at myopia onset and different family size.

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This study was conducted to validate the hepatoprotective activity of Cosmos sulphureus and Cosmos bipinnatus. Aqua-methanolic extracts of both plants were evaluated for the presence of various phyto-constituents through HPLC. Different doses of both plant extracts were administered to rats for nine days.

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We have previously shown that human interferon α-2b (IFN) produced in Escherichia coli (E. coli) is heterogeneous at the N-terminal, with three major species (Ahsan et al., 2014).

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Systematic magnetic, electronic, and electrical studies on the CuZnO/GaZnO cell structure grown on (001) sapphire by the pulsed laser deposition technique show that the Cu multivalent (Cu) ions modulate magnetic and resistive states of the cells. The magnetic moment is found to be reduced by ∼30% during the high resistance state (HRS) to low resistance state (LRS) switching. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy results reveals an increase of the Cu/Cu oxidation state ratio (which has been determined by the relative positions of the Fermi level and the Cu acceptor level) during the HRS to LRS transition.

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Lead (Pb) contamination is ubiquitous and usually causes toxicity to plants. Nevertheless, application of compost and plant growth promoting rhizobacteria synergistically may ameliorate the Pb toxicity in radish. The present study assessed the effects of compost and Bacillus sp.

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Genome sequence of the hyperthermophilic archaeon Pyrobaculum calidifontis contains an open reading frame, Pcal_0632, annotated as glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase, which is partially overlapped with phosphoglycerate kinase. In the phylogenetic tree, Pcal_0632 clustered with phosphorylating glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenases characterized from hyperthermophilic archaea and exhibited highest identity of 54% with glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase from Sulfolobus tokodaii. To examine biochemical function of the protein, Pcal_0632 gene was expressed in Escherichia coli and the gene product was purified.

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The aim of the study was to see the effectiveness of locking compression plate (LCP) in wedge fracture of diaphysis of radius and ulna in adults. This prospective descriptive case series study inducted total 45 patients presenting with wedge fracture (AO Type, 22-B) of radius and/or ulna. The treatment outcome of these patients were monitored for 24 weeks in 8 visits.

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A novel, family GH10 enzyme, Xyn10B from Acidothermus cellulolyticus 11B was cloned and expressed in Escherichia coli. This enzyme was purified to homogeneity by binding to regenerated amorphous cellulose. It had higher binding on Avicel as compared to insoluble xylan due to the presence of cellulose-binding domains, CBM3 and CBM2.

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Background & Objective: Low back pain is a frequent problem faced by the majority of people at some point in their lifetime. Exercise therapy has been advocated an effective treatment for chronic low back pain. However, there is lack of consensus on the best exercise treatment and numerous studies are underway.

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Genome sequence of Pyrobaculum calidifontis, a hyperthermophilic archaeon, harbors three open-reading frames annotated as alcohol dehydrogenases. One of them, Pcal_1311, does not display a significantly high homology with any of the characterized alcohol dehydrogenases. Highest homology of 38% was found with the characterized counterpart from Geobacillus stearothermophilus.

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Objective: To determine the role of folic acid in preventing the adverse effects of artemether, on fetal heart in Albino mice.

Study Design: Experimental study.

Place And Duration Of Study: Department of Anatomy, University of Health Sciences, Lahore, from July 2011 to January 2012.

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A pot experiment was conducted to evaluate the potential of two plant growth promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) viz. Bacillus sp. CIK-516 and Stenotrophomonas sp.

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Gaharu (agarwood, Lamk.) is a valuable tropical rainforest product traded internationally for its distinctive fragrance. It is not only popular as incense and in perfumery, but also favored in traditional medicine due to its sedative, carminative, cardioprotective and analgesic effects.

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Tk1884, an open reading frame encoding α-amylase in Thermococcus kodakarensis, was cloned with the native signal sequence and expressed in Escherichia coli. Heterologous gene expression resulted in secretion of the recombinant protein to the extracellular culture medium. Extracellular α-amylase activity gradually increased after induction.

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Xylanase XynB of the hyperthermophile Thermotoga maritima, which belongs to glycoside hydrolase family 10 (GH10), does not have an associated carbohydrate binding module (CBM) in the native state. CBM6 and CBM22 from a thermophile Clostridium thermocellum were fused to the catalytic domain of XynB (XynB-C) to determine the effects on activity and other properties. XynB-B22C and XynB-CB22, produced by fusing CBM22 to the N- and C-terminal of XynB-C, showed 1.

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