Historical Aspect of Inflation in Pre and Post Covid-19 Pandemic in Pakistan

Covid-19 Pandemic proved to be very dangerous and catastrophic in the entire history of mankind. It affected every corner of the world within less than a year. It changed the lifestyle and paralyzed all modern technology and killed millions of people around the globe. This study presents the historical overview of major world pandemics and Covid-19 as well. It also examines the impact of Covid-19 pandemic on inflation and on other sectors of Pakistan's economy. The results reveal that covid-19 is the main culprit responsible for double digit inflation and slow economic growth in Pakistan. The present study explores that during 2020 high inflation was due to world lock down while in 2021 the main cause of inflation was persistent increase in oil prices, food shortage, political instability in Afghanistan and devaluation of Pakistan’s rupee. The results indicate that Covid-19 affects adversely every sector of Pakistan economy. The study suggests that government should pay proper attention to health of the general public and implement suitable policies to stabilize the economic growth.

inPOSE: a flexible toolbox for chromosomal cloning and amplification of bacterial transgenes

Cloning genes and operons encoding heterologous functions in bacterial hosts is almost exclusively carried out today using plasmid vectors. This has multiple drawbacks, including the need for constant selection and the variation in copy numbers. Chromosomal integration of transgenes has always offered a viable alternative, however, to date it has been of limited use due to its tedious nature and to being limited often to a single copy. We introduce here a strategy that uses bacterial insertion sequences, the simplest autonomous transposable elements to insert and amplify genetic cargo into a bacterial chromosome. Transgene insertion can take place either as transposition or homologous recombination, and copy-number amplification is achieved using controlled copy-paste transposition. We display successful use of IS1 and IS3 for this purpose in Escherichia coli cells, using various selection markers. We demonstrate the insertion of selectable genes, an unselectable gene, and a five-gene operon in up to two copies in a single step. We continue with the amplification of the inserted cassette to double-digit copy numbers within two rounds of transposase induction and selection. Finally, we analyze the stability of the cloned genetic constructs in the lack of selection, and find it to be superior to all investigated plasmid-based systems. Due to the ubiquitous nature of transposable elements we believe that with proper design, this strategy can be adapted to numerous further bacterial species.

Aza-SAHA Derivatives are Selective Histone Deacetylase 10 Chemical Probes That Inhibit Polyamine Deacetylation

We report the first selective chemical probes for histone deacetylase 10 (HDAC10) with unprecedented selectivity over other HDAC isozymes. HDAC10 deacetylates polyamines and has a distinct substrate specificity, making it unique among the 11 zinc-dependent HDAC hydrolases. Taking inspiration from HDAC10 polyamine substrates, we systematically inserted an amino group (“aza-scan”) into the hexyl linker moiety of the approved drug Vorinostat (SAHA). This one atom replacement (C-->N) transformed SAHA from an unselective pan-HDAC inhibitor into a specific HDAC10 inhibitor. Optimization of the aza-SAHA structure yielded DKFZ-748, which has a double-digit nanomolar IC50 against HDAC10 in cells and >500-fold selectivity over the closest relative HDAC6 as well as the Class I enzymes (HDAC1, 2, 3, 8). Potency of our aza-SAHA derivatives is rationalized with HDAC10 co-crystal structures and demonstrated by cellular and biochemical target-engagement, as well as thermal-shift, assays. Treatment of cells with DKFZ-748, followed by quantification of selected polyamines, confirmed for the first time the suspected cellular function of HDAC10 as a poly-amine deacetylase. Selective HDAC10 chemical probes provide a valuable pharmacological tool for target validation and will enable further studies on the enigmatic biology of HDAC10 and acetylated polyamines. HDAC10-selective aza-SAHA derivatives are not cytotoxic, which opens the doors to novel therapeutic applications as immunomodulators or in combination cancer therapy.

Stretchable origami robotic arm with omnidirectional bending and twisting

Inspired by the embodied intelligence observed in octopus arms, we introduce magnetically controlled origami robotic arms based on Kresling patterns for multimodal deformations, including stretching, folding, omnidirectional bending, and twisting. The highly integrated motion of the robotic arms is attributed to inherent features of the reconfigurable Kresling unit, whose controllable bistable deploying/folding and omnidirectional bending are achieved through precise magnetic actuation. We investigate single- and multiple-unit robotic systems, the latter exhibiting higher biomimetic resemblance to octopus’ arms. We start from the single Kresling unit to delineate the working mechanism of the magnetic actuation for deploying/folding and bending. The two-unit Kresling assembly demonstrates the basic integrated motion that combines omnidirectional bending with deploying. The four-unit Kresling assembly constitutes a robotic arm with a larger omnidirectional bending angle and stretchability. With the foundation of the basic integrated motion, scalability of Kresling assemblies is demonstrated through distributed magnetic actuation of double-digit number of units, which enables robotic arms with sophisticated motions, such as continuous stretching and contracting, reconfigurable bending, and multiaxis twisting. Such complex motions allow for functions mimicking octopus arms that grasp and manipulate objects. The Kresling robotic arm with noncontact actuation provides a distinctive mechanism for applications that require synergistic robotic motions for navigation, sensing, and interaction with objects in environments with limited or constrained access. Based on small-scale Kresling robotic arms, miniaturized medical devices, such as tubes and catheters, can be developed in conjunction with endoscopy, intubation, and catheterization procedures using functionalities of object manipulation and motion under remote control.

Acculturation and employment dynamics in a Brazilian NGO aimed at Haitian refugees’ social integration

Since the earthquake in 2010, over one hundred thousand Haitians have migrated to Brazil. The issue of employment and cultural integration of refugees received intense attention from civil society between the years of 2016 and 2018, a period of economic crisis and double-digit unemployment rates in Brazil. This article aims to understand how the employment and social integration processes were combined into the activities of an NGO that works with Haitian refugees. It also investigates how these activities were adjusted to changing economic circumstances in the host country. We adopted Berry’s theoretical approach (Berry, 1997) and explored in depth the activities organized by the NGO: intercultural seminars, conversation circles, Portuguese courses, seminars for employers, mediated job interviews, and company visits after employment. We conducted in-depth interviews with the administrators, non-participant observation of the activities and documental analysis. The data was treated through content analysis (Bardin, 2008), allowing us to capture how the activities were implemented, their goals, and the organizational values that underpinned them. This study expands the literature on refugee integration by presenting the processes of employment and acculturation as inseparable phenomena, that precede or follow one another according to the socioeconomic condition of the host country and the profile of the migratory wave. By adopting the perspective of the NGO administrators, it also provides a practical contribution to legislators and social entrepreneurs who desire to structure programs for refugees that are regular, cohesive and coherent.