Quaid-i-Azam University

About: Quaid-i-Azam University is a education organization based out in Islamabad, Pakistan. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Heat transfer & Nanofluid. The organization has 6577 authors who have published 16865 publications receiving 381678 citations. The organization is also known as: Islamabad University.

Germin and Germin-like Proteins: Evolution, Structure, and Function

Abstract: Germin and germin-like proteins (GLPs) are encoded by a family of genes found in all plants. They are part of the cupin superfamily of biochemically diverse proteins, a superfamily that has a conserved tertiary structure, though with limited similarity in primary sequence. The subgroups of GLPs have different enzyme functions that include the two hydrogen peroxide-generating enzymes, oxalate oxidase (OxO) and superoxide dismutase. This review summarizes the sequence and structural details of GLPs and also discusses their evolutionary progression, particularly their amplification in gene number during the evolution of the land plants. In terms of function, the GLPs are known to be differentially expressed during specific periods of plant growth and development, a pattern of evolutionary subfunctionalization. They are also implicated in the response of plants to biotic (viruses, bacteria, mycorrhizae, fungi, insects, nematodes, and parasitic plants) and abiotic (salt, heat/cold, drought, nutrient, and metal) stress. Most detailed data come from studies of fungal pathogenesis in cereals. This involvement with the protection of plants from environmental stress of various types has led to numerous plant breeding studies that have found links between GLPs and QTLs for disease and stress resistance. In addition the OxO enzyme has considerable commercial significance, based principally on its use in the medical diagnosis of oxalate concentration in plasma and urine. Finally, this review provides information on the nutritional importance of these proteins in the human diet, as several members are known to be allergenic, a feature related to their thermal stability and evolutionary connection to the seed storage proteins, also members of the cupin superfamily.

All Inorganic Cesium Lead Iodide Perovskite Nanowires with Stabilized Cubic Phase at Room Temperature and Nanowire Array-Based Photodetectors.

Abstract: Alluring optical and electronic properties have made organometallic halide perovskites attractive candidates for optoelectronics. Among all perovskite materials, inorganic CsPbX3 (X is halide) in black cubic phase has triggered enormous attention recently owing to its comparable photovoltaic performance and high stability as compared to organic and hybrid perovskites. However, cubic phase stabilization at room temperature for CsPbI3 still survives as a challenge. Herein we report all inorganic three-dimensional vertical CsPbI3 perovskite nanowires (NWs) synthesized inside anodic alumina membrane (AAM) by chemical vapor deposition (CVD) method. It was discovered that the as-grown NWs have stable cubic phase at room temperature. This significant improvement on phase stability can be attributed to the effective encapsulation of NWs by AAM and large specific area of these NWs. To demonstrate device application of these NWs, photodetectors based on these high density CsPbI3 NWs were fabricated demonstrating de...