Hammad Ismail

Rice is a widely grown crop consumed by millions of people across the globe. However, increasing soil salinity, primarily due to seawater intrusion in coastal areas, inadequate irrigation practices and drainage in inland regions, has made rice growth difficult necessitating the identification of salt tolerant varieties suitable for saline environment. This study aimed to evaluate and identify salt tolerant genotypes using a hydroponic system. A total of 268 genotypes from Bengal Assam Aus Panel (BAAP) were tested under three NaCl concentrations: 75, 150 and 300 mM. The plants were grown up to two leaf stage with three replicates per treatment group and then subjected to salt stress for a week. Principal component analysis and hierarchical clustering was performed to evaluate genetic relationships and genotype responses under salinity stress. Genotype AUS 335 was the best performer for majority phenotypic traits whereas genotype BRRI Dhan 50 was the least performer. Shoot fresh weight showed the highest heritability at 300 mM salinity. Root length and shoot length were highly correlated. PCA and hierarchical clustering grouped genotype into four clusters that are closely related with one another. At 75 mM salinity, sixteen genotypes were identified as tolerant, whereas nine genotypes were tolerant at 150 mM. All the genotypes were susceptible at 300 mM salinity. The genotypes AUS 16, Haiganj Boro-2 and Jagal were tolerant at 75- and 150-mM salt concentrations. Antioxidant analysis revealed changes in concentration of stress coping enzymes. These identified salt tolerant genotypes could be utilized in breeding programs and cultivated in salinity prone areas, thereby ensuring rice productivity and global food security.

Summary: Nitric oxide (NO) is a key signaling molecule that regulates diverse physiological responses, including adaptation to hypoxia in plants. Although stabilization of group-VII ETHYLENE RESPONSE FACTOR (ERFVII) transcription factors under low O ₂ is known to be facilitated by the N-dragon pathway, whether NO directly mediates N-terminal cysteine (Cys) oxidation to regulate ERFVII stability remains unresolved. Here, we combined genetic, computational, and structural approaches to investigate NO’s role in proteasomal degradation of ERFVII during flooding stress. Arabidopsis mutants with elevated S-Nitrosoglutathione (GSNO) levels compromised ERFVII activation during dark submergence but increased expression of genes encoding N-degron pathway enzymes. Although direct detection of in vivo NO-mediated S-nitrosylated proteins remains technically challenging, the GPS-SNO 1.0 tool predicted the conserved N-terminal second Cys residue as a high-confidence S-nitrosylation site. Structural modeling using the Schrödinger Suite 2024-4 further revealed that conversion of the Cys thiol (Cys-SH) to S-nitrosothiol (Cys-SNO) induced notable conformational changes in ERFVII TFs. Molecular docking further demonstrated that Cys-SNO-modified ERFVII peptides exhibited stronger binding affinities and altered interaction networks with N-degron pathway enzymes, supporting a role for NO-mediated structural remodeling in ERFVII degradation. Elevated GSNO also disrupted energy balance efficiency for overcoming O ₂ deficiency, altered the expression of sugar starvation-responsive genes, and impaired ATP binding capacity of Cys-SNO ERFVII proteins, as evidenced by docking and molecular dynamics simulations. Collectively, these results support a model in which NO-mediated modification of the conserved N-terminal Cys promotes ERFVII degradation, thereby linking NO signaling to hypoxia-responsive transcriptional regulation and metabolic adaptation during flooding stress.

1. Gliomas are the tumors of glial cells and constitute approximately 81% of the primary malignant brain tumors [1]. Glioblastoma (GBM) has a five-year survival rate of approximately 5% [2]. It is ...

Methamphetamine (METH) abuse is associated with addiction, emotional dysregulation, motor impairments, cognitive deficits, and depressive symptoms, which are exacerbated by stress and social isolation. This study investigated the therapeutic potential of combined treatment and environmental enrichment in METH withdrawn mice. Behavioral, biochemical and neurochemical outcomes were evaluated. Post-treatment results demonstrated: motor and exploratory behavior via OFT (open field test) mobility increased to from 32.37 meters (withdrawal group) to 59.52 meters, anxiety reduction indicated in EPM (elevated plus maze test) open arm rose from 33.2 to 74.2 sec, while cognitive improvement by MWM (morris water maze test) escape latency decreased from 225.4 to 127.4 sec in hidden platform trial. Moreover, memory and exploration activity were determined by NOR (novel object recognition test) and HBT (hole board test) which showed enhanced novel object exploration (16.4 vs 5 sec) and exploratory behavior (17.6 explored areas vs 8.6). Social interaction time increased to 41.64 sec, and light-dark compartment preference improved to 68.4%. Biochemical analysis revealed elevated antioxidants enzymes activity POD (peroxidase) (0.178 U/min) SOD (superoxide dismutase) (0.82 U/mg protein) and CAT (catalase) (3.6 U/min) indicating improved oxidative stress resilience. Neurotransmitters restoration was observed with serotonin (0.21 µg/mg) and dopamine (0.46 µg/mg) levels rebounding from negligible withdrawn group. These findings demonstrate that combined treatment and enriched environment robustly accelerate functional recovery in METH-withdrawn mice, suggesting a promising strategy for mitigating addiction-related deficits.

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disease associated with memory loss and a decline in cognitive behavior. It is a progressive brain disorder where an individual's intelligence and reasoning capabilities are highly affected. The ability to think and process any idea is impaired, which is quite common in elders aged above 60 years. However, the current era has reported an increase in Alzheimer's disease as people gradually lose the ability to analyze things at an early age of 45 years. The main cause of AD is not known yet, due to which a particular target for drug action is not available. The main elements implicated in Alzheimer's disease (AD) include tau protein, amyloid beta protein, and cholinergic receptors, all of which exhibit altered function and expression levels in individuals with the disease. Several studies indicate the disrupted levels of the brain's dopamine and serotonin neurotransmitters. Mitochondrial dysfunction, calcium ions, and inflammation pathways also play a significant role in disease progression. The interplay of a number of genes and proteins is also dysregulated in Alzheimer's disease, which affects processes related to cell signaling and cell division. The link between Alzheimer's disease and diabetes mellitus is a new breakthrough in the research on both diseases. Transcriptomics and proteomics analyses have revealed a number of interconnected genes responsible for AD. The use of natural products as medicines can be a great hallmark in Alzheimer';s research, producing promising results in the future, which may lead to amelioration of the disease and its adverse effects.

Honey is prized for its nutritional and healing properties, but its quality can be affected by contamination with toxic elements. This study evaluates the nutritional value and health risks of fifteen honey samples from different agro-climatic regions of Pakistan. Physicochemical properties such as color, pH, electrical conductivity, moisture, ash, and solids content were within acceptable ranges. ICP-OES analysis was used to assess six essential minerals and ten toxic metals. Except for slightly elevated boron levels (up to 0.18 mg/kg), all elements were within safe limits, with potassium reaching up to 1018 mg/kg. Human health risk assessments—including Average Daily Dose of Ingestion, Total Hazard Quotient, and Carcinogenic Risk—indicated no carcinogenic threats for adults or children, despite some elevated metal levels. Antioxidant activity, measured through total phenolic content (TPC) and DPPH radical scavenging assays, showed that darker honeys had stronger antioxidant properties. While the overall quality of honey samples was satisfactory, significant variations (p ≤ 0.05) were observed across different regions. These differences are attributed to diverse agro-climatic conditions and production sources. The findings highlight the need for continued monitoring to ensure honey safety and nutritional quality.

In this study, in vivo pharmacological effects of plant extracts of hydroponically grown lettuce (HyL), compared with heavy metals (HMs) stressed hydroponically grown plants (HyCd, HyCr and HyPb) were studied. Lactuca sativa L. (lettuce) was grown hydroponically. The highest salt tolerance was estimated against 0.256 mM of Cd, Cr and Pb, respectively. So, we selected plants from 0.256 mM salt stress and extracts were prepared for in vivo pharmacological studies and data was analyzed statistically using ANOVA. Heavy metal stressed plants of HyCd, HyCr and HyPb showed elevated levels of glucose on the 21st day of the experiment, being as low as 355 mg/dl, 364 mg/dl and 210 mg/dl, respectively. In the instance of the liver, kidney and serum biomarkers; it was seen that the levels were restored to normal in HyL, in comparison to heavy metal stress groups (p<0.05). The histopathological studies showed normal distribution and morphology of cells, while in metal-induced plan extracts deformed, submerged and distorted morphology was noted, representing toxicity of heavy metals. We evaluated the antioxidant markers of different organs, which showed variation from normal control values, indicating a less protective effect of metal on antioxidant profiles. The administration of HyL treatment resulted in increased levels of serotonin (0.127 µg/mg of tissue) and dopamine (0.089 µg/mg of tissue) in HPLC quantification. Among heavy metals, HyPb showed minor levels of neurotransmitters (Dopamine; 0.024 and Serotonin; 0.236 µg/mg of tissue) while these neurotransmitters were not detected in the case of HyCd, HyCr. Overall, HyPb showed comparatively higher activity than HyCd and HyCr (p < 0.05). Lactuca sativa possesses good HMs accumulation potential; still, HMs had significant effects on the histology and antioxidant profiles in rat models.