Turmeric (Curcuma longa) and Cumin (Cuminum cyminum) seeds are common spices used in foods and are necessary commodity of kitchens. They have known potential in health and pharmacentical industries. In present study, we explored the antibacterial, antifungal, antioxidant and functional properties of turmeric and cumin seeds extracts. The extracts were also used against Escherichia coli in active packaging for pathogen control and food safety. It was found in the study that, phlobatannins, flavonoids, alkaloids and quinon were absent while the coumarin and terpenoids were present in cumin, whereas turmeric was found rich in phlobatannins, flavonoids, alkaloids, terpenoids and quinon except coumarin, which was found absent. The total phenolic contents of cumin and turmeric were estimated as 51.2 mg/g and 20 mg/g of dry weight equivalent to gallic acid. The DPPH radical scavenging activity of 44% and 46% were recorded for cumin and turmeric respectively. The FTIR analysis established the presence of different functional groups preliminary confirmed by chemical analysis. Both cumin and turmeric were found active against a group of pathogenic bacteria including, Salmonella typhi, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Staphylococcus aurous and Escherichia coli. Enhanced antibacterial activity of cumin was noted compared to turmeric extracts. Both extracts were found active against different fungal species, Mucor mucedo, Aspergillus flavus, Aspergillus niger and Saccharomyces boulardii. Cumin and Turmeric extracts incorporated in alginate-based film for packaging and foodborne pathogens control in meat were found reducing the number of pathogenic bacteria E. coli.

BackgroundHydroxychloroquine (HCQ) has been considered for the treatment of coronavirus disease 2019 , but data on its efficacy are conflicting. We analyzed the efficacy of HCQ along with standard of care (SOC) treatment, compared with SOC alone, in reducing disease progression in mild COVID-19. MethodsA single-center open-label randomized controlled trial was conducted from April 10 to May 31, 2020 at Pak Emirates Military Hospital, Rawalpindi. Five hundred patients of both genders between the ages of 18 and 80 years with mild COVID-19 were enrolled in the study. A total of 349 patients were assigned to the intervention group (standard dose of HCQ plus SOC) and 151 patients were assigned to SOC only. The primary outcome was progression of disease while secondary outcome was polymerase chain reaction (PCR) negativity on days 7 and 14. The results were analyzed on Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS; IBM Corp., Armonk, NY) version 23. A p-value <0.05 was considered significant. ResultsThe median age of the intervention group was 34 ± 11.778 years and control group was 34 ± 9.813 years. Disease progressed in 16 patients, 11 (3.15%) of which were in the intervention group and 5 (3.3%) in the control group (p-value = 0.940). PCR negative cases in intervention and control groups on day 7 were 182 (52.1%) and 54 (35.8%), respectively (p-value = 0.001); and on day 14 were 244 (69.9%) and 110 (72.9%), respectively (p-value = 0.508). Consecutive PCR negativity on days 7 and 14 was observed in 240 (68.8%) patients in the intervention group compared to 106 (70.2%) in the control group (p-value = 0.321). ConclusionThe addition of HCQ to SOC in hospitalized mild COVID-19 patients neither stops disease progression nor helps in early and sustained viral clearance.

The agricultural sector worldwide is facing many issues relating to crop productivity due to the lack of communication between extension workers and farmers. To reduce this gap, information technology like mobile phones are one of the essential communication devices in numerous fields as well as agriculture. This review aims to analyze mobile phone usage in agricultural modernization and rural development. The advancement of the agricultural sector in rural areas is essential for reducing poverty among growers. As we all know, agricultural activities provide employment opportunities and generate income in rural areas. Poverty can be decreased by advancement in the agriculture sector for better production. Agriculture production, socioeconomic conditions, and food security can be improved by increasing the usage of mobile phones for easy and accurate agricultural knowledge sharing to the farming community.

Metasurfaces have gained growing interest in recent years due to their simplicity in manufacturing and lower insertion losses. Meanwhile, they can provide unprecedented control over the spatial distribution of transmitted and reflected optical fields in a compact form. The metasurfaces are a kind of planar array of resonant subwavelength components that, depending on the intended optical wavefronts to be sculpted, can be strictly periodic or quasi-periodic, or even aperiodic. For instance, gradient metasurfaces, a subtype of metasurfaces, are designed to exhibit spatially changing optical responses, which result in spatially varying amplitudes of scattered fields and the associated polarization of these fields. This paper starts off by presenting concepts of anomalous reflection and refraction, followed by a brief discussion on the Pancharatanm–Berry Phase (PB) and Huygens’ metasurfaces. As an introduction to wavefront manipulation, we next present their key applications. These include planar metalens, cascaded meta-systems, tunable metasurfaces, spectrometer retroreflectors, vortex beams, and holography. The review concludes with a summary, preceded by a perspective outlining our expectations for potential future research work and applications.