Publications by authors named "Muhammad Yasir"

Technological development has led to the need for materials able to block electromagnetic waves (EMWs) emitted from various devices. EMWs could negatively affect the working performance and lifetime of multiple instruments and measuring devices. New EMW shielding materials are being developed, while among nanomaterials, graphene-based composites have shown promising features.

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NF-κB-inducing kinase (NIK) plays a pivotal role in regulating both the canonical and non-canonical NF-κB signaling pathways, driving the expression of proteins involved in inflammation, immune responses, and cell survival. Overactivation of NIK is linked to various pathological conditions, including chronic inflammation, autoimmune diseases, metabolic disorders, and cancer progression. As such, NIK represents a compelling target for therapeutic intervention in these diseases.

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The increasing utilization of deep learning models in drug repositioning has proven to be highly efficient and effective. In this study, we employed an integrated deep-learning model followed by traditional drug screening approach to screen a library of FDA-approved drugs, aiming to identify novel inhibitors targeting the TNF-α converting enzyme (TACE). TACE, also known as ADAM17, plays a crucial role in the inflammatory response by converting pro-TNF-α to its active soluble form and cleaving other inflammatory mediators, making it a promising target for therapeutic intervention in diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis.

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Electromagnetic waves (EMWs) have become an integral part of our daily lives, but they are causing a new form of environmental pollution, manifesting as electromagnetic interference (EMI) and radio frequency signal leakage. As a result, the demand for innovative, eco-friendly materials capable of blocking EMWs has escalated in the past decade, underscoring the significance of our research. In the realm of modern science, the creation of new materials must consider the starting materials, production costs, energy usage, and the potential for air, water, and soil pollution.

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Background: Guillain-Barre Syndrome (GBS) is a severe autoimmune neuropathy that has to be treated quickly and efficiently in emergency situations, when both cost and effectiveness are vital.

Objective: To compare the clinical outcomes and cost-effectiveness of plasmapheresis and intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG) in managing acute GBS in emergency departments.

Methodology: A prospective observational study conducted from January to December 2023 evaluated the treatment of adults with acute GBS using IVIG or plasmapheresis.

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Miniaturization is crucial to realize thermoelectric (TE) devices as an energy source for smart utilities. The present work reports the bulk-like value realized in Cu Se thin films in the mid-temperature range. The effect of varying the film thickness on the structural and TE properties were systematically studied, and the obtained results were compared with that of their bulk counterpart.

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Malaria remains a global health challenge, with increasing resistance to frontline antimalarial treatments such as artemisinin (ART) threatening the efficacy of current therapies. In this study, we investigated the potential of FDA-approved drugs to selectively inhibit the malarial proteasome, a novel target for antimalarial drug development. By leveraging pharmacophore modeling, molecular docking, molecular dynamics (MD) simulations, and binding free-energy calculations, we screened a library of compounds to identify inhibitors selective for the Plasmodium proteasome over the human proteasome.

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An appealing strategy for the treatment of several diseases is the therapeutic targeting of noncoding RNAs (ncRNAs), such as microRNAs (miRNAs) and long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs). Many antisense oligonucleotides and small interfering RNAs have been tested in clinical studies over the past 10 years, and several of these have received FDA approval. However, trial results have thus far been mixed, with some studies reporting strong effects and others showing low effectiveness or side effects, including toxicity.

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Article Synopsis
  • This study conducted in Rabigh City, Saudi Arabia aimed to identify antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in common pathogenic bacteria within a healthcare facility over a six-month period.
  • Out of 1,933 patient samples, 11.1% showed bacterial growth, with a higher prevalence in patients over 50 years old; the majority were Gram-negative bacteria like E. coli and K. pneumoniae.
  • The findings reveal significant resistance among isolated bacteria, particularly with K. pneumoniae showing increased resistance to carbapenem antibiotics, emphasizing the need for ongoing monitoring of AMR in healthcare environments.
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  • The study examines the genomic characteristics of lactic acid bacteria found in human breast milk and animal milk, comparing them to clinical isolates to understand their probiotic and pathogenic potential.* -
  • Genome sequencing focused on 61 isolates, revealing that breast milk and animal milk isolates had fewer antibiotic resistance genes and shared many essential metabolic functions compared to clinical strains.* -
  • Although some virulence genes were present in both groups, most HBM isolates showed strong similarities to a known probiotic strain, indicating a generally lower risk profile than those found in clinical samples.*
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Diabetes mellitus (DM) is a complex metabolic disorder characterized by chronic hyperglycemia, with aldose reductase playing a critical role in the pathophysiology of diabetic complications. This study aimed to investigate the efficacy of flavonoid compounds as potential aldose reductase inhibitors using a combination of molecular docking and molecular dynamics (MD) simulations. The three-dimensional structures of representative flavonoid compounds were obtained from PubChem, minimized, and docked against aldose reductase using Discovery Studio's CDocker module.

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Article Synopsis
  • * The selected compounds underwent molecular docking to evaluate their binding to tryptase and were experimentally tested in rat basophilic leukemia cells to measure their efficacy in inhibiting tryptase and related activities.
  • * Results indicated that certain FDA-approved drugs, such as landiolol and cidofovir, effectively inhibited tryptase, showcasing machine learning's potential in drug repurposing and aiding the development of treatments for related diseases.
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The pollution of wastewater with pharmaceuticals and endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) in populated areas poses a growing threat to humans and ecosystems. To address this serious problem, various one-dimensional (1D) hierarchical ZnO-based nanostructures inspired by Anelosimus eximius cobwebs were developed and successfully grown on a glass substrate through simple hydrothermal synthesis. The nanorods (nr) obtained during primary growth were chemically etched with KOH (ZnO-KOH), followed by the secondary growth of nano cobweb-like (ncw) structures using polyethyleneimine (ZnO).

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Chronic pain is frequently associated with neuropathy, inflammation, or the malfunctioning of nerves. Chronic pain is associated with a significant burden of morbidity due to opioid use, associated with addiction and tolerance, and disability. MicroRNAs (miRs) are emerging therapeutic targets to treat chronic pain through the regulation of genes associated with inflammation, neuronal excitability, survival, or de-differentiation.

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In this work, polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) intercalated CuFe layered double hydroxides (LDH) membranes were fabricated and investigated for UV-LED/persulfate degradation of methylene blue (MB), crystal violet (CV), methyl orange (MO), and Eriochrome black T (EBT) dyes from water. The PVDF-CuFe membrane exhibited improved heterogeneity, surface functionality (CuO, Fe-O, Cu-O-Fe), surface roughness, and hydrophilicity. The process parameters were optimized by response surface methodology, and maximum MB removal (100%) was achieved within 45.

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Total hip arthroplasty (THA) is one of the most successful orthopaedic interventions globally, with over 450,000 procedures annually in the U.S. alone.

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Article Synopsis
  • Intensive chemotherapy is the primary treatment for acute myeloid leukemia (AML), but its effectiveness is limited by heart-related side effects, known as cardiotoxicity.
  • Research showed that the angiotensin II receptor type 1 (AGTR1) is connected to both AML and cardiovascular disease, and blocking AGTR1 enhances the effectiveness of chemotherapy while protecting the heart.
  • The study highlighted that AGTR1-Notch1 signaling plays a crucial role in regulating genes related to cancer stemness and chemotherapy resistance in AML, suggesting a potential strategy to improve treatment outcomes for patients.
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Alzheimer's disease (AD) is distinguished by the gradual loss of cognitive function, which is associated with neuronal loss and death. Accumulating evidence supports that protein phosphatases (PPs; PP1, PP2A, PP2B, PP4, PP5, PP6, and PP7) are directly linked with amyloid beta (Aβ) as well as the formation of the neurofibrillary tangles (NFTs) causing AD. Published data reported lower PP1 and PP2A activity in both gray and white matters in AD brains than in the controls, which clearly shows that dysfunctional phosphatases play a significant role in AD.

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Purpose: This study examines the incidence of infection and resistance associated with Intracorneal Ring Segment (ICRS) implantation, a common outpatient surgical treatment for correcting refractive errors and corneal ectatic diseases. Although ICRS procedures are typically safe and reversible, there is a low but notable risk of microbial infections, which require prompt and sometimes invasive treatment.

Methods: Three electronic databases, PubMed, Web of Science (WoS), and Scopus, were utilised to search for literature according to PRISMA guidelines to identify infections related to the implantation of ICRS in the cornea between January 2000 and December 2022.

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Aldose reductase plays a central role in diabetes mellitus (DM) associated complications by converting glucose to sorbitol, resulting in a harmful increase of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in various tissues, such as the heart, vasculature, neurons, eyes, and kidneys. We employed a comprehensive approach, integrating both ligand- and structure-based virtual screening followed by experimental validation. Initially, candidate compounds were extracted from extensive drug and chemical libraries using the DeepChem's GraphConvMol algorithm, leveraging its capacity for robust molecular feature representation.

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This study aims to use machine learning methods to examine the causative factors of significant crashes, focusing on accident type and driver's age. In this study, a wide-ranging data set from Jeddah city is employed to look into various factors, such as whether the driver was male or female, where the vehicle was situated, the prevailing weather conditions, and the efficiency of four machine learning algorithms, specifically XGBoost, Catboost, LightGBM and RandomForest. The results show that the XGBoost Model (accuracy of 95.

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Even with the best infection control protocols in place, the risk of a hospital-acquired infection of the surface of an implanted device remains significant. A bacterial biofilm can form and has the potential to escape the host immune system and develop resistance to conventional antibiotics, ultimately causing the implant to fail, seriously impacting patient well-being. Here, we demonstrate a 4 log reduction in the infection rate by the common pathogen of 3D-printed polyaryl ether ketone (PAEK) polymeric surfaces by covalently binding the antimicrobial peptide Mel4 to the surface using plasma immersion ion implantation (PIII) treatment.

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Salmonella enterica serotype Typhi (S Typhi) associated urinary tract infections are exceedingly rare, accounting for less than 1% of cases. Such infections have known to occur in immune-compromised or individuals with urogenital structural abnormalities. With the emergence of extensively drug resistant S Typhi strains in Pakistan, the management of its various unique presentations poses therapeutic challenges.

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