Papers by Muhammad Usman Mehmood
THE LAHORE JOURNAL OF ECONOMICS, 2013
Pakistan has a large and dispersed primary public health system that gives citizens access to tra... more Pakistan has a large and dispersed primary public health system that gives citizens access to trained doctors and staff, and to subsidized medicines. However, both the use of these facilities and health outcomes remain low. Improvements in information and communications technology provide exciting opportunities to leverage technology to improve management. This paper presents a detailed qualitative and quantitative study of the institutional context in which such interventions in the public health sector in Punjab would be trialed. We describe the structure and management of primary healthcare facilities, present selected results from a survey of a representative sample of basic health units, and identify some key issues. We also report and discuss officials’ responses to the question of how services might be improved.
Korean Journal of Soil Science and Fertilizer, 2014
Series of field experiments were conducted to evaluate the long term effect of gypsum and crop re... more Series of field experiments were conducted to evaluate the long term effect of gypsum and crop residue on crop yield and soil health in rice-wheat crop rotation system in salt affected soil. A saline-sodic field having EC e (electrical conductivity of the saturation extract) 4.77 (dS m-1); pH (H 2 O) 8.96; SAR 43.78 (mmol L-1) and gypsum requirement (G.R.) 2.86 (Mg acre-1) was selected on Soil Salinity Research Institute Farm. Five treatments consisting of (T 1) control, (T 2) gypsum at 100% G.R., (T 3) gypsum at 25% G.R. + wheat straw at 3 Mg ha-1 , (T 4) gypsum at 25% G.R. + rice straw at 3 Mg ha-1 , (T 5) gypsum at 25% G.R.+ rice and wheat straw at 3 Mg ha-1 were replicated four times under completely randomized block design. The data indicated that grain and straw yield of rice and wheat was significantly (P<0.05) increased by all the amendments used either single or in combination. T 2 (gypsum at 100% G.R.) significantly (P< 0.05) increased grain and straw yield of rice and wheat crops followed by T 3 (gypsum at 25% G.R. + wheat straw at 3 Mg ha-1) when compared with control. Soil properties were also improved by used amendments, pronounced decreased in EC e , pH s and SAR were recorded in T 2 followed by T 3. The efficiency of the treatments could be arranged in following order gypsum at 100% G.R.> gypsum at 25% G.R. + wheat straw at 3 Mg ha-1 > gypsum at 25% G.R. + rice and wheat straw at 3 Mg ha-1 > gypsum at 25% G.R. + rice straw at 3 Mg ha-1 > control.
Journal of Equine Veterinary Science, 2016
Phytopathologia Mediterranea, 2012
The present study was designed to isolate and identify toxigenic mycoflora of maize and maize-glu... more The present study was designed to isolate and identify toxigenic mycoflora of maize and maize-gluten meal. A total of 82 samples of maize and 8 samples of maize-gluten meal were collected from Faisalabad district of Pakistan over a period of two years. These samples were inoculated on different culture media. Fungal contamination of maize and maize-gluten was 56% and 75% of samples, respectively. Isolation frequencies of different genera isolated from maize were Aspergillus 33%; Penicillium 28%; Fusarium 10%; and Alternaria 1%. Isolation frequency among species was maximum for P. verrucosum, followed by A. niger aggregates, A. ochraceous, A. flavus, P. chrysogenum, A. parasiticus, A. carbonarius, Fusarium spp. and Alternaria spp. Relative density of Aspergillus isolates was maximum for A. niger aggregates and A. ochraceous (30% each) followed by A. flavus (26%), A. parasiticus (11%) and A. carbonarius (3%). Percentage of toxigenic fungi among Aspergillus isolates was 52%. Aflatoxigenic isolates of A. flavus and A. parasiticus were 43 and 67% and ochratoxigenic isolates of A. carbonarius, A. ochraceous and A. niger aggregates were 100, 63 and 38%, respectively. Aspergillus parasiticus produced higher concentrations of AFB1 (maximum 1374.23 ng g-1) than A. flavus (maximum 635.50 ng g-1). Ochratoxin A production potential of A. ochraceous ranged from 1.81 to 9523.1 ng g-1 , while in A. niger aggregates it was 1.30 to 1758.6 ng g-1. Isolation frequencies of fungal genera from maize-gluten meal were Aspergillus (63%) and Penicillium (50%). A. flavus was the most frequently isolated species. Percentage of toxigenic fungi among Aspergillus isolates was 40%. Aflatoxigenic isolates of A. flavus were 33% and ochratoxigenic isolates of A. ochraceous were 100%.
Animal Reproduction Science, 2016
Two experiments were conducted to evaluate the effect of royal jelly (RJ) on post-thaw sperm qual... more Two experiments were conducted to evaluate the effect of royal jelly (RJ) on post-thaw sperm quality, in vitro and in vivo fertility rate of cryopreserved buffalo bull sperm. The semen was collected from three mature regular donor buffalo bulls, ejaculates were pooled and semen evaluated initially. In Experiment 1, the ejaculates were extended in tris-citric acid diluter supplemented with different RJ concentrations (0, 0.05, 0.1, 0.2, 0.3 or 0.4%). The diluted semen was cooled to 4 • C, packaged into 0.5 mL straws and frozen using standard procedure. The straws were thawed and assessed for sperm progressive motility, viability, plasma membrane, acrosome, and chromatin integrity. The results indicated that sperm progressive motility was significantly greater (P < 0.05) in 0.05, 0.1, 0.2 and 0.3% RJ than 0.4% RJ supplemented and control groups. The sperm viability, plasma membrane and acrosome integrity were significantly improved (P < 0.05) in 0.1% RJ supplemented group the compared to other treatment groups. In Experiment 2, cryopreserved sperm with 0.1% RJ supplementation and control (without RJ supplementation) were used to observe the in vitro fertilizing potential and in vivo fertility. In vitro fertilization method was applied to assess the cleavage rate; whereas, AI was performed in buffalo during in vivo fertility trial. The buffaloes were inseminated 12 h after standing estrus and pregnancy diagnosis was performed through ultrasonography. The results revealed that the cleavage rate was higher (P < 0.05) in 0.1% RJ as compared to control group. However, the pregnancy rate was similar (P > 0.05) between 0.1% RJ supplemented and control groups. It is concluded that supplementation of RJ in freezing extender can improve the cryosurvival rate and in vitro fertilizing capacity of buffalo bull sperm.
Animal Reproduction Science, 2016
The aim of this work was to evaluate the efficacy of Ovsynch and G6G protocols on synchronization... more The aim of this work was to evaluate the efficacy of Ovsynch and G6G protocols on synchronization and pregnancy rate in Nili-Ravi buffaloes. A total of fifty buffaloes were assigned into two treatment groups: 1) Ovsynch (n = 25) and 2) G6G (n = 25). Ultrasonography was performed for follicular and CL dynamics. The blood samples were collected before PGF2α injection of Ovsynch to measure the progesterone (P 4) concentration. All animals were fixed time inseminated following last GnRH shot. Pregnancy status was determined by ultrasonography between d 30 and 40 post-AI. The results revealed that synchronization rate and response to final PGF2α were significantly (p < 0.05) higher in G6G compared to Ovsynch. The ovulation to first GnRH of Ovsynch was significantly (p > 0.05) different in G6G (84%) than Ovsynch (56%). The dominant follicle following last GnRH of Ovsynch showed significantly larger diameter in G6G (11.7 ± 0.2) compared to Ovsynch (10.9 ± 0.2). Moreover, the higher (p > 0.05) P 4 concentration was observed in G6G than Ovsynch. The presence of double CL on day 7 was higher (p > 0.05) in G6G (64%) than Ovsynch (24%) group. The pregnancy rate was similar (56% vs 32%; P = 0.08), but it was tended to be greater in G6G compared to Ovsynch. It has been concluded that G6G treatment showed better ovulatory and luteolytic response to first GnRH and PGF2α compared to Ovsynch treatment. Moreover, the addition of GnRH and PGF2α prior to Ovsynch is helpful to improve synchronization application of Ovsynch protocol in Nili-Ravi buffaloes.
Biometric Assessment of the Testis in Pakistani Adult Male Goats (Capra hircus)
Pakistan journal of zoology
The biometric analysis of the testes of adult male of the local breeds of goat is reported. The m... more The biometric analysis of the testes of adult male of the local breeds of goat is reported. The mean length, breadth, thickness and circumference of right testicle with epididymis recorded was 8.42±0.91 cm, 4.58±0.56 cm, 4.19±0.53 cm and 12.53±1.23 cm and those of left testicle with epididymis were 8.44±1.06 cm, 4.62±0.57 cm, 4.24±0.51cm and 12.66±1.32 cm, respectively. The measurement of circumference of left testicle with epididymis were significantly (P &lt; 0.05)higher than those of right testicle with the epididymis. The mean length, breadth, and circumference of right testicle without epididymis were 6.62±0.83 cm, 4.38±0.55 cm, and 12.36±1.16 cm, whereas those of the left testicle without epididymis were 6.65±0.84cm, 4.41±0.56 cm and 12.47±1.18 cm, respectively. The mean weight of right and left testicle without epididymis was 59.36±16.86 g and 60.35±17.16 g, respectively. The breadth, circumference and weight of left testicle without epididymis were significantly (P&lt;0.05) higher than those of right testicle without epididymis. Key words: Biometry, Capra hircus, testicle measurements.
Objective: To compare mesorectal fascia status on histopathological findings with MRI based radio... more Objective: To compare mesorectal fascia status on histopathological findings with MRI based radiological mesorectal fascia status in patients with rectal carcinoma taking histopathology finding as gold standard. Study Design: Analytical study. Place and Duration of Study: Department of Pathology, Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital and Research Centre, Lahore, from January 2011 to April 2012. Methodology: Biopsy proven cases of rectal adenocarcinoma undergoing abdominoperineal resection were included in this study. Microscopic examination of slides was done to determine mesorectal fascia status as involved or otherwise without knowing the results of mesorectal fascia status on MRI. Mesorectal fascia status of MRI was determined by a radiologist who was not aware of the histopathological assessment of mesorectal fascia. Mean and standard deviation was calculated for age. Frequency and percentage were calculated for gender and mesorectal fascia status. 2 x 2 table was generated to...
Functional Annotation of the cda1 Gene from Bacillus thuringiensis through Homology Modeling and Molecular Docking
Insecticidal proteins from Bacillus thuringiensis have been exploited to develop insect-resistanc... more Insecticidal proteins from Bacillus thuringiensis have been exploited to develop insect-resistance in crop plants. We are using B. thuringiensis serovar konkukian S4 as a model organism to elucidate the substrate utilization pathways in bacteria. Functional annotation of the putative genes involved in recalcitrant substrate degradation is vital in this context. Genome sequence analyses of the serovar konkukian have shown the presence of a probable chitin deacetylase/xylanase gene named as cda1. The protein sequence of the said gene was retrieved from UniProt database to describe its function using in silico tools. Primary structure analyses show that the protein CDA1 is hydrophobic in nature due to the high content of non- polar amino acid residues. The instability (Ii) and aliphatic indices are computed to be 23.73 and 93.6, respectively by Expasy’s ProtParam that classify the protein as stable for a wide range of temperatures. Secondary structure analyses predicted that CDA1 has p...
Pakistan Veterinary Journal Molecular Identification of Black Aspergilli Isolated from Poultry Feeds by Sequencing their ITS-Regions
Pakistan Veterinary Journal
Key words: Aspergillus niger DNA ITS region Ochratoxin A PCR Black Aspergilli are second most imp... more Key words: Aspergillus niger DNA ITS region Ochratoxin A PCR Black Aspergilli are second most important cause of contamination of poultry feed and their by-products with ochratoxin-A after Aspergillus ochraceous in Pakistan. A total of 23 black Aspergilli were isolated from poultry feeds. Of these black Aspergilli samples, 12 (52.17%) were toxigenic (Ochratoxin A). A PCR based molecular method of cloning and sequencing of ITS (internal transcribed spacer) regions of fungal DNA was developed to identify these fungi. A universal pair of primers (ITS1 and ITS4) was used and PCR product (600 bp) for A. niger was amplified. These specific universal primers of ITS region were tested for twelve DNA samples of different isolates of Aspergillus species isolated from poultry feeds. The sequencing of ITS-region provided a powerful and reliable tool for identification of black Aspergilli responsible for the production of ochratoxin-A in poultry feed., 2012. Molecular identification of black Asp...
Journal of Data Mining in Genomics & Proteomics, 2014
The pace, by which scientific knowledge is being produced and shared today, was never been so fas... more The pace, by which scientific knowledge is being produced and shared today, was never been so fast in the past. Different areas of science are getting closer to each other to give rise new disciplines. Bioinformatics is one of such newly emerging fields, which makes use of computer, mathematics and statistics in molecular biology to archive, retrieve, and analyse biological data. Although yet at infancy, it has become one of the fastest growing fields, and quickly established itself as an integral component of any biological research activity. It is getting popular due to its ability to analyse huge amount of biological data quickly and cost-effectively. Bioinformatics can assist a biologist to extract valuable information from biological data providing various web-and/or computer-based tools, the majority of which are freely available. The present review gives a comprehensive summary of some of these tools available to a life scientist to analyse biological data. Exclusively this review will focus on those areas of biological research, which can be greatly assisted by such tools like analysing a DNA and protein sequence to identify various features, prediction of 3D structure of protein molecules, to study molecular interactions, and to perform simulations to mimic a biological phenomenon to extract useful information from the biological data.
Proceedings of the VLDB Endowment, 2008
The number of potentially-related data resources available for querying-databases, data warehouse... more The number of potentially-related data resources available for querying-databases, data warehouses, virtual integrated schemascontinues to grow rapidly. Perhaps no area has seen this problem as acutely as the life sciences, where hundreds of large, complex, interlinked data resources are available on fields like proteomics, genomics, disease studies, and pharmacology. The schemas of individual databases are often large on their own, but users also need to pose queries across multiple sources, exploiting foreign keys and schema mappings. Since the users are not experts, they typically rely on the existence of pre-defined Web forms and associated query templates, developed by programmers to meet the particular scientists' needs. Unfortunately, such forms are scarce commodities, often limited to a single database, and mismatched with biologists' information needs that are often context-sensitive and span multiple databases. We present a system with which a non-expert user can author new query templates and Web forms, to be reused by anyone with related information needs. The user poses keyword queries that are matched against source relations and their attributes; the system uses sequences of associations (e.g., foreign keys, links, schema mappings, synonyms, and taxonomies) to create multiple ranked queries linking the matches to keywords; the set of queries is attached to a Web query form. Now the user and his or her associates may pose specific queries by filling in parameters in the form. Importantly, the answers to this query are ranked and annotated with data provenance, and the user provides feedback on the utility of the answers, from which the system ultimately learns to assign costs to sources and associations according to the user's specific information need, as a result changing the ranking of the queries used to generate results. We evaluate the effectiveness of our method against "gold standard" costs from domain experts and demonstrate the method's scalability.
Progress In Electromagnetics Research Letters, 2010
This paper presents the high frequency electromagnetic field expressions for Perfect electromagne... more This paper presents the high frequency electromagnetic field expressions for Perfect electromagnetic conductor (PEMC) Gregorian system. In this Gregorian system both the reflectors are PEMC and are embedded in the homogenous chiral medium. Depending upon the values of chirality parameter (kβ) two cases are analyzed. In the first case, chiral medium supports positive phase velocity (PPV) for both the left circularly polarized (LCP) and right circularly polarized (RCP) modes. In the second case, chiral medium supporting PPV for one mode and negative phase velocity (NPV) for the other mode is taken into account. Since Geometrical optics (GO) fails at the focal point, so Maslov's method is used to find the field expressions at the point. Field plots for different values of admittance (M) of the PEMC and the chirality parameter (kβ) are given in the paper.
Progress In Electromagnetics Research M, 2010
This work presents the derivation of high frequency electromagnetic field expressions for two dim... more This work presents the derivation of high frequency electromagnetic field expressions for two dimensional Gregorian system embedded in a chiral medium. Two cases have been analyzed. Firstly, the chirality parameter is adjusted to support positive phase velocity (PPV) for both left circularly polarized (LCP) and right circularly polarized (RCP) modes traveling in the medium. Secondly, the chirality is adjusted in such a way that one mode travels with PPV and other with negative phase velocity (NPV). Method proposed by Maslov is used, for finding the field expressions, to overcome the problem of Geometrical Optics (GO) because GO fails at caustics. The results for both the cases are given in the paper.
Mediterranean Journal of Social Sciences, 2014
Khul' is the proposal given to the husband by the wife for divorce. Divorce is the absolute right... more Khul' is the proposal given to the husband by the wife for divorce. Divorce is the absolute right of the husband and no one other than the husband can use that right. Like divorce consent of the husband is necessary in khul'. In Pakistani courts this right is used by the judge which is against the opinion of majority of Islamic Jurists and also violates the absolute right of husband to pronounce talaq (divorce). Judicial Khul' is exercised in Pakistani courts, according to Article 2(ix) of dissolution of Muslims Marriages Act 1939. Khul' is considered talaq(divorce) and according to majority of Islamic Jurists (Jamhor) the husband has only two more options of divorce for constituting talaq mualaz. But in Pakistani courts it is not considered as talaq, which is contrary to the opinion of majority jurists (Jamhor) and there is need for the reformation. In this research detailed discussion is undergone to point out draw back in Article 2(ix) of dissolution Muslims marriages Act 1939 and recommendations are proposed for the amendments of this Act.
Synergistic Action of the Antifungal β-chitin Binding Protein CBP50 from Bacillus thuringiensis with Bacterial Chitinases
Current Proteomics, 2014
Molecular vision, 2013
We previously reported that importin 13 (IPO13), a member of the importin-β family of nuclear imp... more We previously reported that importin 13 (IPO13), a member of the importin-β family of nuclear import proteins, regulates nuclear import of the glucocorticoid receptor in airway epithelial cells, IPO13 serves as a potential marker for corneal epithelial progenitor cells, and IPO13 is associated with corneal cell proliferation. Here we investigated the role of IPO13 in the pathogenesis of pterygium and the underlying mechanism including interaction with other cell proliferation-related factors: keratin 17 (K17), a lesional protein and a member of the type I keratins, and c-Jun, a protein of the activator protein-1 complex. Tissue samples were collected from primary pterygia, recurrent pterygia, and normal conjunctiva to perform the following experiments: immunohistochemical measurement of IPO13 and K17. Pterygium epithelial cells (PECs) were cultured in keratinocyte serum-free defined medium to examine the expression of IPO13 and K17. Lentivirus-mediated silencing and overexpression I...
Bioinformation, 2013
This paper presents an in silico characterization of the chitin binding protein CBP50 from B. thu... more This paper presents an in silico characterization of the chitin binding protein CBP50 from B. thuringiensis serovar konkukian S4 through homology modeling and molecular docking. The CBP50 has shown a modular structure containing an N-terminal CBM33 domain, two consecutive fibronectin-III (Fn-III) like domains and a C-terminal CBM5 domain. The protein presented a unique modular structure which could not be modeled using ordinary procedures. So, domain wise modeling using MODELLER and docking analyses using Autodock Vina were performed. The best conformation for each domain was selected using standard procedure. It was revealed that four amino acid residues Glu-71, Ser-74, Glu-76 and Gln-90 from N-terminal domain are involved in protein-substrate interaction. Similarly, amino acid residues Trp-20, Asn-21, Ser-23 and Val-30 of Fn-III like domains and Glu-15, Ala-17, Ser-18 and Leu-35 of C-terminal domain were involved in substrate binding. Site-directed mutagenesis of these proposed amino acid residues in future will elucidate the key amino acids involved in chitin binding activity of CBP50 protein.
Progress In Electromagnetics Research M, 2011
This paper is a theoretical investigation and analysis of the focal region fields of a hyperbolic... more This paper is a theoretical investigation and analysis of the focal region fields of a hyperbolic focusing lens embedded in chiral medium. Chiral-dielectric and dielectric-chiral interfaces are studied and the behavior of waves after passing through these interfaces are discussed. Geometric optics (GO) is used initially. However, it fails around the focal region because it gives non-realistic singularity in this region. So, Maslov's method is used in the caustic region and the field analysis is made. The effect of chirality variation on the amplitude of the fields around the focal region is given and discussed.
Firmware and hardware design of a novel door locking system
IEEE Southeastcon 2009, 2009
A low cost electronic system has been designed which can control different locking mechanisms. Ha... more A low cost electronic system has been designed which can control different locking mechanisms. Hardware design of an electromechanical lock is also presented in this paper. Microchipreg PIC microcontroller is the brain controlling all the operations. Low operating power consumption, small circuit, non-volatile memory operation using on-chip Electrically Erasable Programmable Read Only Memory (EEPROM), flexible mechanical design and user friendly
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Papers by Muhammad Usman Mehmood