Dengue is an arboviral infection that poses a substantial public health concern, with early diagnosis being a critical factor in effective management. However, limited diagnostic expertise in developing countries contributes to the under-reporting of dengue cases. This review compares the accuracy of rapid diagnostic tests (RDTs) and the tourniquet test (TT) in diagnosing dengue fever (DF) in non-laboratory-based settings. Relevant original articles on the use of RDTs and TT for dengue diagnosis were retrieved from PubMed, Scopus, and ScienceDirect. The STARD and QUADAS-2 tools were employed to evaluate the methodological quality of the included studies. Search terms included combinations of ‘fever’, ‘dengue’, and ‘“diagnosis’. In total, 23 articles were eligible for inclusion. The RDTs demonstrated mean sensitivities and specificities of 76.2% (SD = 13.8) and 91.5% (SD = 10.3), respectively, while the TT showed mean sensitivity and specificity values of 48.6% (SD = 24.9) and 79.5% (SD = 14.9), respectively. Overall, RDTs exhibited superior diagnostic performance compared to the TT. Our findings suggest that the TT is an inadequate stand-alone diagnostic tool for dengue. RDTs should be prioritized for dengue diagnosis in resource-limited settings. However, in situations where RDTs are unavailable, the TT may serve as a supplementary option.

This study was undertaken to investigate the molecular detection of biofilm-producing Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) from goat mastitis. An overall 384 milk samples were initially screened for subclinical mastitis (SCM) followed by molecular characterization of S. aureus isolates. The biofilm formation was assessed using Congo Red agar (CRA), a microtiter plate and the presence of the icaA gene. The results revealed a molecular prevalence of 53.24% (115/216) for pathogenic S. aureus in milk samples of goats. The phenotypic prevalence of biofilm production by CRA and microtitre methods was recorded to be 38.26% (44/115) and 26.96% (31/115) respectively, while the molecularly confirmed biofilm-forming S. aureus through polymerase chain reaction targeting icaA gene was 58.26% (67/115). The phylogenetic analysis of icaA gene revealed high identity between sequences of study isolates and the isolates of other neighbouring countries. The antibiogram profiling of pathogenic S. aureus showed increased resistance to cefoxitin and oxytetracycline followed by gentamicin. Out of 115, 45.22% (52/115) were declared as multiple drug resistant with multiple antibiotic resistance index greater than 0.2. The study concluded that biofilm-producing S. aureus strains are considered to be a common cause of SCM in dairy goats of Pakistan and biofilm formation is associated with multidrug resistance of study isolates.

In this research communication we investigate the prevalence and antimicrobial susceptibility of S. aureus harboring virulent genes responsible for mastitis in cattle of Punjab, Pakistan. A total of 690 milk samples were collected from commercial dairy farms for analysis of the prevalence of subclinical and clinical mastitis and isolation of S. aureus. Virulence ability and methicillin resistance in S. aureus (MRSA) was determined by targeting the pvl (the gene for Panton–Valentine leukocidin) and mecA genes, respectively. A total of 175 S. aureus isolates exhibiting prevalence of pvl gene (6.28%) and mecA gene (22.28%) were determined. Antimicrobial susceptibility testing of pvl positive and negative MRSA against different classes of antibiotics revealed 100% resistance against β-lactams while 100% sensitivity towards tylosin and linezolid.

Salinity poses a major obstacle in increasing the yield of cotton. To explore genetic material that can yield better under salt stress conditions, eight parents including 5 females and 3 testers were crossed in line × tester mating design. After successful completion of crossing, parents and their 15 crosses were evaluated for seed cotton yield, within boll yield components, fibre quality, ionic and biochemical traits under control and NaCl salt stressed conditions (10 and 20 dSm−1). Under salt stress conditions seed cotton yield, fibre length and fibre strength decreased in all genotypes whereas, lint percentage and fibre fineness increased. Among parents RH-647 and among crosses FH-214 × FH-2015 performed better for seed cotton yield while for fibre quality traits under salt stress conditions among parents KEHKSHAN, and among crosses FH-214 × KEHKSHAN performed better. Results suggested that plant height, boll weight, lint percentage, fibre length and fibre strength are reliable traits for the selection of salt tolerant genotypes in the future cotton breeding programs.

Due to the increasing demand for antibiotic-free livestock products from the consumer side and the ban on the use of antibiotic growth promoters, the poultry feed industry is increasingly interested in developing more alternatives to cope with this problem. Organic acids (butyric acid) have many beneficial effects on poultry health, performance, and egg quality when used in their diet, thus they can be considered for the replacement of antibiotics in livestock production systems. Butyric acid is most efficacious against pathogenic bacteria such as Salmonella spp. and Escherichia coli, and stimulates the population of beneficial gut bacteria. It is a primary energy source for colonocytes and augments the differentiation and maturation of the intestinal cells. Collectively, butyric acid should be considered as an alternative to antibiotic growth promoters, because it reduces pathogenic bacteria and their toxins, enhancing gut health thereby increasing nutrient digestibility, thus leading to improved growth performance and immunity among birds. The possible pathways and mechanisms through which butyric acid enhances gut health and production performance are discussed in this review. Detailed information about the use of butyric acid in poultry and its possible benefits under different conditions are also provided, and the impacts of butyric acid on egg quality and osteoporosis are noted.

Epidemiologically, metabolic disorders have garnered much attention, perhaps due to the predominance of obesity. The early postnatal life represents a critical period for programming multifactorial metabolic disorders of adult life. Though altricial rodents are prime subjects for investigating neonatal programming, there is still no sufficiently generalised literature on their usage and methodology. This review focuses on establishing five approach-based models of neonatal rodents adopted for studying metabolic phenotypes. Here, some modelled interventions that currently exist to avoid or prevent metabolic disorders are also highlighted. We also bring forth recommendations, guidelines and considerations to aid research on neonatal programming. It is hoped that this provides a background to researchers focused on the aetiology, mechanisms, prevention and treatment of metabolic disorders.

A compact dual-polarized monostatic antenna (single radiator for transmit and receive modes) is presented with differential receive mode operation to achieve excellent interport isolation for 2.4 GHz single frequency full-duplex or in-band full-duplex applications. The presented antenna comprises three ports radiating element (patch) and a simple 3 dB/180o ring hybrid coupler has been utilized for differentially excited receive mode operation. The 3 dB/180o ring hybrid coupler acts as a self-interference cancellation (SIC) circuit for effective suppression of RF leakage from the transmit port to provide very high interport decoupling between transmit and receive ports. A compact antenna structure has been realized by using two-layered printed circuit board through vias interconnections of both receive ports of the antenna with inputs of SIC circuit. The validation model of proposed antenna offers more than 95 dB peak interport isolation. Moreover, the experimentally measured interport isolation is better than 70 dB throughout the antenna's 10 dB return-loss impedance bandwidth (BW) of 50 MHz (2.38–2.43 GHz). Furthermore, the recorded isolation is more than 80 dB in 20 MHz BW. The implemented antenna has good radiation characteristics including nice gain and low cross-polarization levels as endorsed by measurements. Same antenna structure with microstrip-T feeds can provide DC isolated ports with same interport RF isolation performance for active antenna applications. Such antenna with DC interport isolation will avoid the requirements of additional series capacitors on transmit and receive ports of antenna.

This paper presents a two-elements based, dual polarized, single layer, patch antenna array with improved isolation between transmit (Tx) and receive (Rx) ports for 2.4 GHz in-band full duplex (IBFD) or simultaneous transmit and receive wireless applications. The differential feeding deployed at the Rx port effectively suppresses the coupling which is termed as self-interference from the Tx port to achieve high Tx–Rx interport isolation. A simple 3 dB/180° ring hybrid coupler with nice amplitude and phase balance characteristics has been used for differential Rx operation. The mathematical description for a differential feeding based self-interference cancellation mechanism is also presented for the proposed dual polarized IBFD antenna array. The measurement results for the implemented prototype of the antenna array demonstrate very nice levels of Tx–Rx interport isolation. The implemented single layer, compact antenna array presents 10 dB return-loss bandwidth of more than 50 MHz for both Tx and Rx ports. The prototype achieves >80 dB peak interport isolation and 75 dB (65 dB) isolation in 20 MHz (50 MHz) bandwidth.

The term ‘structure in linguistics’ is mostly used to refer to a sequence of units that are in a certain linguistic relationship to one another. Thus no matter how minimal a sequence is, if it can be analysed in terms of a relationship within it, then that is a structural unit. For example, one of the structures of a noun phrase may be ‘article + adjective + noun’ as in the vicious circle (Richards & Schmidts, 2002). Structures entail relationships which may be syntagmatic or paradigmatic. According to Finnegan (2014) when we say language structure we are essentially talking about syntax, semantics and phonology of a language. When it comes to idioms the same principles apply. The structures of idioms are essentially their syntactic behaviour. This behaviour cannot be predicted solely on the basis of their form or figurative meaning alone, but it must be due to some relation between the form and meaning (Gibbs & Nayak, 1989). An idiom is an institutionalised and conventionalized sequence of at least two words or free morphemes that is semantically restricted so that it functions as a single lexical unit, whose meaning cannot or can only to a certain extent be deduced from the meanings of its constituents. (Skandera, 2003: 60). To Nurnberg, Sag and Wasow (1994), idioms are characterised as having conventional meaning, figuration, inflexibility of form, and proverbiality. Idioms have been called ‘multiword units’ (Grant & Bauer, 2004), metaphors (Gibbs, 1993; Toris, 2011), phrasemes (Howarth, 1998), fixed expressions (Moon, 1997; Carter, 1998) and formulaic expressions (Wray, 2002). Structurally, idioms do not form a unique class of linguistic items such that all idioms belong to it, but that they share many of the same properties normally associated with more literal expressions.

In an interview given in July 1974, Intiār Ḥusain, one of the most perceptive creative writers of Pakistan, had this to say about the experience of migration that was the direct outcome of the Partition of India in 1947:

A decade ago when I was talking about the experience of migration and the articles I wrote concerning it, I was in a state of great hope and optimism. It was then my feeling that in the process of the Partition we had sudenly, almost by accident, regained a lost, great experience—namely, the experience of migration, hijrat, which has a place all its own in the history of the Muslims—and that it will give us a lot. But today, after our political ups and downs, I find myself in a different mood. Now I feel that sometimes a great experience comes to be lost to a nation; often nations forget their history. I do not mean that a nation does, or has to, keep its history alive in its memory in every period. There also comes a time when a nation completely forgets its past. So, that experience, I mean the experience of migration, is unfortunately lost to us and on us. And the great expectation that we had of making something out of it at a creative level and of exploiting it in developing a new consciousness and sensibility—that bright expectation has now faded and gone.

The paper gives a detailed description of all those finite A-groups of nilpotent length three that satisfy the cyclic subnormal separation condition. It is shown that every monolithic group under discussion is an extension of its Fitting subgroup P, which is a homocyclic p-group, by a p′ metabelian subgroup H, where p is a prime. The centraliser of P in H is trivial while the monolith W is equal to ω1(P) and the action of H on W is faithful and irreducible. H is further shown to have non trivial centre and is an extension of its derived subgroup M by a subgroup L such that

for all primes q where Mq and Lq are the respective Sylow q-subgroups of M and L. The Fitting subgroup of F of H is shown to be M × Z(H), while Z(H) = F ∩ L and every element of L of prime order is in Z(H). Finally it is shown that if ql(q) is the exponent of Mq then every element of order dividing ql(q) in L belongs to Z(H).