Central Complex Research Articles

Design, Synthesis, ssDNA Binding Affinities, and Evaluation of Novel Metal‐Centered Ferrocene as an Effective Antimicrobial and DNA Cleavage Agent

ABSTRACTMetal (Co3+, Ni2+, and Pt2+)–centered and noncentered ferrocene–Schiff bases were prepared. They have been structurally characterized by spectroscopic methods, elemental analysis, conductivity, and magnetic moment. Electron spin resonance was used for the characterization of the Co3+‐centered complex. All synthesized compounds showed antibacterial activity against all tested Gram‐positive and Gram‐negative strains, as well as potent antifungal effect against Candida species. Remarkably, these compounds demonstrated greater efficacy against Gram‐positive bacteria than Gram‐negative. Without an additional oxidant or reductant, the compounds exhibited DNA cleavage capability in the dark. The development of synthesized novel chemical compounds having DNA cleavage and antimicrobial activity plays a profound role in the advancement of medical therapeutics.

Velocity coding in the central brain of bumblebees.

Moving animals experience wide-field optic flow due to the displacement of the retinal image during motion. These cues provide information about self-motion and are important for flight control and stabilization, and for more complex tasks like path integration. While in honeybees and bumblebees the use of wide-field optic flow in behavioral tasks is well investigated, little is known about the underlying neuronal processing of these cues. Furthermore, there is a discrepancy between the temporal frequency tuning observed in most motion-sensitive neurons described so far from the optic lobe of insects and the velocity tuning that has been shown for many behaviors. Here we investigated response properties of motion-sensitive neurons in the central brain of bumblebees. Extracellular recordings allowed us to present a large number of stimuli to probe the spatiotemporal tuning of these neurons. We presented moving gratings that simulated either front-to-back or back-to-front optic flow and found three response types. Direction-selective responses of one of the groups matched those of TN-neurons, which provide optic flow information to the central complex, while the other groups contained neurons with purely excitatory responses that were either selective or non-selective for stimulus direction. Most recorded units showed velocity-coding properties at lower angular velocities, but showed spatial frequency dependent responses at higher velocities. Based on behavioral data, neuronal modelling work has previously predicted the existence of non direction-selective neurons with such properties. Our data now provides physiological evidence for these neurons and shows that neurons with TN-like properties exhibit a similar velocity-dependent coding.

A High-Dimensional Spin-Qudit Candidate of Gd(III) Center Complex Crystal with Addressable Transitions

A High-Dimensional Spin-Qudit Candidate of Gd(III) Center Complex Crystal with Addressable Transitions

A historical perspective on the insect central complex: Anatomy, development, and function

The central complex (CX), a remarkable brain region at the core of insect behaviors, has been the subject of extensive research for decades. In this review, we offer a comprehensive historical perspective on the anatomy, development, and function of the CX. The CX consists of discrete and highly structured neuropils found at the center of the brain, which are conserved across insects and arthropods. The developmental processes that shape the CX are themselves conserved across insects. In early research, the CX had been shown to receive visual information and control motor function. Using increasingly advanced methods throughout the years, it has become clear that the CX is involved in high-level behavioral control, such as in vector navigation and goal directed orientation. Its numerical simplicity presents a rare opportunity to study structure-function relationships in small brains, gain insights into evolutionary neurobiology, and develop novel neuromorphic technologies inspired by insect brains. Since the CX is a highly conserved brain region involved in the control of spatial tasks, it is uniquely suited to gain a detailed understanding of the computations required for these processes at the level of neural circuits.

Substrate specificity and kinetic mechanism of 3-hydroxy-Δ5-C27-steroid oxidoreductase

Cholesterol is a key sterol whose homeostasis is primarily maintained through bile acid metabolism. Proper bile acid formation is vital for nutrient and fat-soluble vitamin absorption and emulsification of lipids. Synthesis of bile acids occurs through two main pathways, both of which rely on 3-hydroxy-5-C27 steroid oxidoreductase (HSD3B7) to begin epimerization of the 3β hydroxyl of cholesterol into its active 3α conformation. In this sequence HSD3B7 catalyzes the dehydrogenation of the 3β-hydroxy group followed by isomerization of the Δ5-cholestene-3-one. These reactions are some of the many steps that transform cholesterol for either storage or secretion. HSD3B7 has distinct activity from other 3β-HSD family members leaving significant gaps in our understanding of its mode of catalysis and substrate specificity. Additionally, the role of HSD3B7 in health and disease positions it as a metabolic vulnerability that could be harnessed as a therapeutic target. To this end, we evaluated the mechanism of HSD3B7 catalysis and reveal that HSD3B7 displays activity towards diverse 7α-hydroxylated oxysterols. HSD3B7 retains its catalytic efficiency towards these substrates, suggesting that its substrate binding pocket can withstand changes in polarity upon alterations to this hydrocarbon tail. Experiments aimed at determining substrate order are consistent with HSD3B7 catalyzing a sequential ordered bi bi reaction mechanism with the binding of NAD+ followed by 7α-hydroxycholesterol to form a central complex. HSD3B7 bifunctional activity is dependent on membrane localization through a putative membrane-associated helix giving insight into potential regulation of enzyme activity. We found strong binding of the NADH product thought to activate the isomerization reaction. Homology models of HSD3B7 reveal a potential substrate pocket that allows for oxysterol binding and mutagenesis was utilized to support this model. Together these studies offer an understanding of substrate specificity and kinetic mechanism of HSD3B7 which can be exploited for future drug development.

Continuous integration of heading and goal directions guides steering.

Navigating animals must integrate a diverse array of sensory cues into a single locomotor decision. Insects perform intricate navigational feats using a brain region termed the central complex in which an animal's heading direction is transformed through several layers of circuitry to elicit goal-directed locomotion. These transformations occur mostly in the fan-shaped body (FB), a major locus of multi-sensory integration in the central complex. Key aspects of these sensorimotor computations have been extensively characterized by functional studies, leveraging the genetic tools available in the fruit fly. However, our understanding of how neuronal activity in the FB dictates locomotor behaviors during navigation remains enigmatic. Here, we manipulate the activity of two key neuronal populations that input into the FB-the PFN a and PFN d neurons-used to encode the direction of two complex navigational cues: wind plumes and optic flow, respectively. We find that flies presented with unidirectional optic flow steer along curved walking trajectories, but silencing PFN d neurons abolishes this curvature. We next use optogenetic activation to introduce a fictive heading signal in the PFNs to establish the causal relationship between their activity and steering behavior. Our studies reveal that the central complex guides locomotion by summing the PFN-borne directional signals and shifting movement trajectories left or right accordingly. Based on these results, we propose a model of central complex-mediated locomotion wherein the fly achieves fine-grained control of sensory-guided steering by continuously integrating its heading and goal directions over time.

Cell type-specific driver lines targeting the Drosophila central complex and their use to investigate neuropeptide expression and sleep regulation.

The central complex (CX) plays a key role in many higher-order functions of the insect brain including navigation and activity regulation. Genetic tools for manipulating individual cell types, and knowledge of what neurotransmitters and neuromodulators they express, will be required to gain mechanistic understanding of how these functions are implemented. We generated and characterized split-GAL4 driver lines that express in individual or small subsets of about half of CX cell types. We surveyed neuropeptide and neuropeptide receptor expression in the central brain using fluorescent in situ hybridization. About half of the neuropeptides we examined were expressed in only a few cells, while the rest were expressed in dozens to hundreds of cells. Neuropeptide receptors were expressed more broadly and at lower levels. Using our GAL4 drivers to mark individual cell types, we found that 51 of the 85 CX cell types we examined expressed at least one neuropeptide and 21 expressed multiple neuropeptides. Surprisingly, all co-expressed a small neurotransmitter. Finally, we used our driver lines to identify CX cell types whose activation affects sleep, and identified other central brain cell types that link the circadian clock to the CX. The well-characterized genetic tools and information on neuropeptide and neurotransmitter expression we provide should enhance studies of the CX.

Prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 Among Deported Guatemalan Migrants in Tecun Uman, Guatemala

Abstract Background Migrant populations in Central America face complex disease burdens, including respiratory viruses. A frequently overlooked sub-group within the migrant populations is the returned migrants. Assessment of COVID-19 disease burden and associated risk factors are important for identifying high-risk groups, as well as for informing disease reduction efforts, including vaccination programs. Methods As a sub-study within a larger (AGRI-CASA) cohort study, we screened and offered enrollment to returned migrants on a weekly basis in El Centro de Retornados de Ayutla, located in the Tecun Uman community along the Guatemala-Mexico border. The existing screening program includes symptomatic screening of all returnees for cough or fever; we then performed SARS-CoV-2 rapid antigen testing from nasopharyngeal swab on all symptomatic and 10% of asymptomatic individuals. In our sub-study of this screened population, we collected additional clinical and exposure data and a second mid-turbinate nasal swab on all consenting adults available with COVID-like illness (CLI). The samples underwent PCR testing at the Trifinio Center for Human Development (CHD) laboratory. We did not enroll minors due to uncertainty of legal guardians. Results From January-September 2023, 10,570 Guatemalans were deported through El Centro de Salud de Ayutla, of which 5,373 (50.8%) were tested for SARS-CoV-2 and 42 (0.8%) were positive, a decrease from 2021 (n=40,927 migrants, 12,181 tested, and 714 [5.9%) positive) and 2022 (n=36,865 migrants, 12,406 tested, 403 [3.2%] positive). Our sub-study enrolled 197 (30.1%) of 655 symptomatic participants with CLI from January-September 2023. Of those, median age (SD) was 26 (7.87) years and 174 (88%) were male. The most commonly reported symptoms were cough (34.5%) nasal congestion (27.9%), sore throat (21.3%), and headache (19.3%). Of 197 participants, 163 samples were available for testing; 4 (2.5%) of those were SARS-CoV-2 antigen positive via POC testing and 5 (3.1%) of those samples were PCR-positive at the Trifinio Center for Human Development (CHD) laboratory. The PCR-confirmed SARS-CoV-2 positive samples contained XBB1.15, XBB1.5.11, and XBB.1.5 variants. According to Guatemala’s Laboratorio Nacional de Salud, the main variant in the country in February and June 2023 was Omicron, especially the XBB variant. Conclusion Despite the crowding conditions for deported migrants returning from Mexico, SARS-CoV-2 positivity for symptomatic individuals was relatively low. Further studies should evaluate additional pathogens and migrants traveling in both directions to characterize the full disease burden of this vulnerable population. Combined with additional information on the vaccination status of the deported migrants, these results will be crucial in calculating the number-needed-to-vaccinate (NNV) among the departed migrant populations and the local Guatemalans as well as assessing the cost effectiveness of vaccination programs targeting these populations.

Stem cell-specific ecdysone signaling regulates the development of dorsal fan-shaped body neurons and sleep homeostasis

Complex behaviors arise from neural circuits that assemble from diverse cell types. Sleep is a conserved behavior essential for survival, yet little is known about how the nervous system generates neuron types of a sleep-wake circuit. Here, we focus on the specification of Drosophila 23E10-labeled dorsal fan-shaped body (dFB) long-field tangential input neurons that project to the dorsal layers of the fan-shaped body neuropil in the central complex. We use lineage analysis and genetic birth dating to identify two bilateral type II neural stem cells (NSCs) that generate 23E10 dFB neurons. We show that adult 23E10 dFB neurons express ecdysone-induced protein 93 (E93) and that loss of ecdysone signaling or E93 in type II NSCs results in their misspecification. Finally, we show that E93 knockdown in type II NSCs impairs adult sleep behavior. Our results provide insight into how extrinsic hormonal signaling acts on NSCs to generate the neuronal diversity required for adult sleep behavior. These findings suggest that some adult sleep disorders might derive from defects in stem cell-specific temporal neurodevelopmental programs.

Connectomic reconstruction predicts visual features used for navigation

Many animals use visual information to navigate1–4, but how such information is encoded and integrated by the navigation system remains incompletely understood. In Drosophila melanogaster, EPG neurons in the central complex compute the heading direction5 by integrating visual input from ER neurons6–12, which are part of the anterior visual pathway (AVP)10,13–16. Here we densely reconstruct all neurons in the AVP using electron-microscopy data17. The AVP comprises four neuropils, sequentially linked by three major classes of neurons: MeTu neurons10,14,15, which connect the medulla in the optic lobe to the small unit of the anterior optic tubercle (AOTUsu) in the central brain; TuBu neurons9,16, which connect the AOTUsu to the bulb neuropil; and ER neurons6–12, which connect the bulb to the EPG neurons. On the basis of morphologies, connectivity between neural classes and the locations of synapses, we identify distinct information channels that originate from four types of MeTu neurons, and we further divide these into ten subtypes according to the presynaptic connections in the medulla and the postsynaptic connections in the AOTUsu. Using the connectivity of the entire AVP and the dendritic fields of the MeTu neurons in the optic lobes, we infer potential visual features and the visual area from which any ER neuron receives input. We confirm some of these predictions physiologically. These results provide a strong foundation for understanding how distinct sensory features can be extracted and transformed across multiple processing stages to construct higher-order cognitive representations.

Virtualization and energy management optimization of high speed computer network data centers based on optical switching and network technology

With the development of cloud computing and big data technology, the scale and complexity of data centers are increasing, and the thermal energy consumption management of computer processors can effectively improve the energy efficiency of data centers and reduce operating costs. Therefore, this study discusses the application of high-speed computer network architecture based on optical switching and network technology in data center virtualization. By constructing a high-speed computer network model based on optical switching technology, virtualization technology is used to dynamically schedule and manage resources, combined with real-time monitoring system, and the energy consumption data of the processor is collected. Using the data analysis method, the energy consumption performance under different load conditions is evaluated and the optimization strategy is proposed. The experimental results show that the network architecture using optical switching technology significantly reduces the latency of data center and improves the resource utilization. In the thermal management of the processor, dynamic resource scheduling successfully reduces the energy consumption and effectively maintains the stability and performance of the system. As a result, data center virtualization solutions based on optical switching and networking technologies can significantly optimize the power management of computer processors and improve overall energy efficiency.

HYDIN variants cause primary ciliary dyskinesia in the Finnish population.

Primary ciliary dyskinesia (PCD) is a rare genetic disorder characterized by chronic respiratory tract infections and in some cases laterality defects and infertility. The symptoms of PCD are caused by malfunction of motile cilia, hair-like organelles protruding out of the cell. Thus far, disease causing variants in over 50 genes have been identified and these variants explain around 70% of all known cases. Population specific genetics underlying PCD has been reported highlighting the importance of characterizing gene variants in different populations for development of gene-based diagnostics and management. Whole exome sequencing was used to identify disease causing variants in Finnish PCD cohort. The effect of the identified HYDIN variants on cilia structure and function was confirmed by high-speed video analysis, immunofluorescence and electron tomography. In this study, we identified three Finnish PCD patients carrying homozygous loss-of-function variants and one patient with compound heterozygous variants within HYDIN. The functional studies showed defects in the axonemal central pair complex. All patients had clinical PCD symptoms including chronic wet cough and recurrent airway infections, associated with mostly static airway cilia. Our results are consistent with the previously identified important role of HYDIN in the axonemal central pair complex and improve specific diagnostics of PCD in different national populations.

Estimating orientation in natural scenes: A spiking neural network model of the insect central complex.

The central complex of insects contains cells, organised as a ring attractor, that encode head direction. The 'bump' of activity in the ring can be updated by idiothetic cues and external sensory information. Plasticity at the synapses between these cells and the ring neurons, that are responsible for bringing sensory information into the central complex, has been proposed to form a mapping between visual cues and the heading estimate which allows for more accurate tracking of the current heading, than if only idiothetic information were used. In Drosophila, ring neurons have well characterised non-linear receptive fields. In this work we produce synthetic versions of these visual receptive fields using a combination of excitatory inputs and mutual inhibition between ring neurons. We use these receptive fields to bring visual information into a spiking neural network model of the insect central complex based on the recently published Drosophila connectome. Previous modelling work has focused on how this circuit functions as a ring attractor using the same type of simple visual cues commonly used experimentally. While we initially test the model on these simple stimuli, we then go on to apply the model to complex natural scenes containing multiple conflicting cues. We show that this simple visual filtering provided by the ring neurons is sufficient to form a mapping between heading and visual features and maintain the heading estimate in the absence of angular velocity input. The network is successful at tracking heading even when presented with videos of natural scenes containing conflicting information from environmental changes and translation of the camera.

Comparing total chemical synthesis and total biosynthesis routes to fungal specialized metabolites.

Covering the period 1965-2024Total synthesis has been defined as the art and science of making the molecules of living Nature in the laboratory, and by extension, their analogues. At the extremes, specialised metabolites can be created by total chemical synthesis or by total biosynthesis. In this review we explore the advantages and disadvantages of these two approaches using quantitative methodology that combines measures of molecular complexity, molecular weight and fraction of sp3 centres for bioactive fungal metabolites. Total biosynthesis usually involves fewer chemical steps and those steps move more directly to the target than comparable total chemical synthesis. However, total biosynthesis currently lacks the flexibility of chemical synthesis and the ability to easily diversify synthetic routes.

Exploring the Asymmetric Body's Influence on Interval Timing Behaviors of Drosophila melanogaster.

The roles of brain asymmetry in Drosophila are diverse, encompassing the regulation of behavior, the creation of memory, neurodevelopment, and evolution. A comprehensive examination of the Drosophila brain has the potential to enhance our understanding of the functional significance of brain asymmetry in cognitive and behavioral processes, as well as its role in evolutionary perspectives. This study explores the influence of brain asymmetry on interval timing behaviors in Drosophila, with a specific focus on the asymmetric body (AB) structure. Despite being bilaterally symmetric, the AB exhibits functional asymmetry and is located within the central complex of the fly brain. Interval timing behaviors, such as rival-induced prolonged mating duration: longer mating duration behavior (LMD) and sexual experience-mediated shorter mating duration behavior (SMD), are essential for Drosophila. We utilize genetic manipulations to selectively activate or inhibit AB neurons and evaluates their impact on LMD and SMD behaviors. The results indicate that specific populations of AB neurons play unique roles in orchestrating these interval timing behaviors. Notably, inhibiting GAL4R38D01-labeled AB neurons disrupts both LMD and SMD, while GAL4R42C09 neuron inhibition affects only LMD. Moreover, hyperexcitation of GAL4R72A10-labeled AB neurons perturbs SMD. Our study identifies NetrinB (NetB) and Abdominal-B (Abd-B) are important genes for AB neurons in LMD and highlights the role of 5-HT1B neurons in generating LMD through peptidergic Pigment-dispersing factor (PDF) signaling. In summary, this study underscores the importance of AB neuron asymmetry in mediating interval timing behaviors and provides insights into the underlying mechanisms of memory formation and function in Drosophila.

ARGONAUTE2 Localizes to Sites of Sporocysts in the Schistosome-Infected Snail, Biomphalaria glabrata.

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are a class of small regulatory RNA that are generated via core protein machinery. The miRNAs direct gene-silencing mechanisms to mediate an essential role in gene expression regulation. In mollusks, miRNAs have been demonstrated to be required to regulate gene expression in various biological processes, including normal development, immune responses, reproduction, and stress adaptation. In this study, we aimed to establishment the requirement of the miRNA pathway as part of the molecular response of exposure of Biomphalaria glabrata (snail host) to Schistosoma mansoni (trematode parasite). Initially, the core pieces of miRNA pathway protein machinery, i.e., Drosha, DGCR8, Exportin-5, Ran, and Dicer, together with the central RNA-induced silencing complex (RISC) effector protein Argonaute2 (Ago2) were elucidated from the B. glabrata genome. Following exposure of B. glabrata to S. mansoni miracidia, we identified significant expression up-regulation of all identified pieces of miRNA pathway protein machinery, except for Exportin-5, at 16 h post exposure. For Ago2, we went on to show that the Bgl-Ago2 protein was localized to regions surrounding the sporocysts in the digestive gland of infected snails 20 days post parasite exposure. In addition to documenting elevated miRNA pathway protein machinery expression at the early post-exposure time point, a total of 13 known B. glabrata miRNAs were significantly differentially expressed. Of these thirteen B. glabrata miRNAs responsive to S. mansoni miracidia exposure, five were significantly reduced in their abundance, and correspondingly, these five miRNAs were determined to putatively target six genes with significantly elevated expression and that have been previously associated with immune responses in other animal species, including humans. In conclusion, this study demonstrates the central importance of a functional miRNA pathway in snails, which potentially forms a critical component of the immune response of snails to parasite exposure. Further, the data reported in this study provide additional evidence of the complexity of the molecular response of B. glabrata to S. mansoni infection: a molecular response that could be targeted in the future to overcome parasite infection and, in turn, human schistosomiasis.

ПАЛЕОАНТРОПОЛОГИЧЕСКОЕ ОПИСАНИЕ ДВУХ ИНДИВИДОВ ИЗ ХРИСТИАНСКИХ ПОГРЕБЕНИЙ В С. ГЛАЗОК (ТАМБОВСКАЯ ОБЛАСТЬ)

The article presents the paleoanthropological characteristics of two skeletons unearthed near Glazok, the Michurinsky district, the Tambov region (Russia) under the leadership of I.E. Safonov and D.A. Chilikin. The sex and age definitions, osteological, odontological data and pathologies are represented according to standard methods used in paleoanthropology. In the first burial, there was an adult man 35-45 years old, in the second a young woman, 20-25 years old. According to the study, the man was above medium height, relatively narrow-shouldered with average upper limb girdle characteristics and massive tibia. According to the odontological description, the woman is a representative of the Western odontological trunk, the Central European odontological complex, which is also characteristic of the modern population of the Tambov region. At the same time, the strongly differentiated first premolars and hypoplasia are a distinctive feature of the studied individuals. The man lost several teeth during his lifetime due to a carious lesion. In addition, there are detected dental tartar and chips on the tooth enamel.

Preliminarily exploring the intraoperative ultrasonography characteristics of patients with degenerative cervical myelopathy

BackgroundHow to quickly read and interpret intraoperative ultrasound (IOUS) images of patients with degenerative cervical myelopathy (DCM) to obtain meaningful information? Few studies have systematically explored this topic.PurposeTo systematically and comprehensively explore the IOUS characteristics of patients with DCM.Materials and methodsThis single-center study retrospectively included patients with DCM who underwent French-door laminoplasty (FDL) with IOUS guidance from October 2019 to March 2022. One-way ANOVA and Pearson’s /Spearman’s correlation analysis were used to analyze the correlations between the cross-sectional area of the spinal cord (SC) and individual characteristics; the relationships between the morphology, echogenicity, pulsation, decompression statuses, compression types of SC, location of the spinal cord central echo complex (SCCEC) and the disease severity (the preoperative Japanese Orthopedic Association score, preJOA score); the difference of the spinal cord pulsation amplitude(SCPA) and the SCCEC forward movement rate (FMR) between the compressed areas(CAs) and the non-compressed areas (NCAs).ResultsA total of 38 patients were successfully enrolled (30 males and 8 females), and the mean age was 57.05 ± 10.29 (27–75) years. The cross-sectional area of the SC was negatively correlated with age (r = − 0.441, p = 0.006). The preJOA score was significantly lower in the heterogeneous group than in the homogeneous group (P < 0.05, p = 0.005). The hyperechoic area (HEA) was negatively while the SCCEC FMR was positively correlated with the preJOA score (r = − 0.334, p = 0.020; r = 0.286, p = 0.041). The SCCEC FMR and SCPA in CAs were significantly greater than those in NCAs (p < 0.05, p = 0.007; P < 0.001, P = 0.000).ConclusionThe cross-sectional area of the SC decreases with age in adults. More changes in intramedullary echogenicity and less moving forward of the SCCEC often indicate poor SC status, and the SCCEC FMR and SCPA are more pronounced in CAs.

Identification of Shallow Groundwater Facies and Flow Patterns in Batang Regency, Central Java, Indonesia

Abstract Population growth as a result of a subsequent increase in the economic center and industrial complex construction has also proven to influence the shallow groundwater occurrence in Batang Regency, Central Java, Indonesia. The region per se, had a minimum amount of observation and literature, especially regarding the issue namely groundwater flow pattern and facies distribution. This research discussed hydrogeological assessment through systematic mapping to investigate shallow groundwater occurrence, including 90 observation &amp; measurement points consisting of 89 dug well and one water spring. Based on purposive random sampling with upstream-downstream consideration, 73 of 90 samples were analyzed in the laboratory to determine groundwater hydrochemistry. The results indicated that the shallow groundwater pattern in Batang Regency generally flows from south to north with a dominant southwest-northeast pattern. Based on the trilinear piper diagram, shallow groundwater facies in the study area are characterized by calcium bicarbonate, alkaline chloride, alkaline bicarbonate, and mixed types. The distribution of calcium bicarbonate facies is widely spread in the southern part of the study area. In contrast, alkaline bicarbonate is mainly found between the coastline and hilly in the south. On the other hand, alkaline chloride is distributed evenly along the coastal area. Intermixing of different groundwater facies is expected due to its positive correlation between TDI and major ions plot in the composition diagram.

Frequency of Autism in Nuclear and Joint family system

Autism, also known as autism spectrum disorder (ASD), is a neurodevelopmental disorder that affects social interaction, communication, and behavior. Autism is a lifelong developmental condition that affects individual’s communication and interaction with others, as well as their understanding of the world. There is limited literature available from Pakistan, therefore this study was designed to find the frequency of autism in nuclear and joint family systems. This was a Cross-sectional observational study conducted in various healthcare settings, including the University of Lahore Teaching Hospital, Mayo Hospital, Orion Center, and Sehat Medical Complex, Pakistan from February 2023 to July 2023. Purposive sampling was the method of sampling used in this investigation (n=133). Parents or caregivers who have a minimum of one ASD-diagnosed child were included in this study. Parents or caregivers who do not have a child diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) were excluded from this study. The investigation into the frequency of autism within joint and nuclear families’ reveals that a majority of families with autistic children lean towards nuclear family structures. While joint families exist, they are less prevalent. The study also underlines that parental engagement is high across both family types, with over 90% actively participating in caregiving and decision-making.