SUMMARY In the conventional seismic design of high‐rise reinforced concrete core‐wall buildings, the design demands such as design shear and bending moment in the core wall are typically determined by the response spectrum analysis procedure, and a plastic hinge is allowed to form at the wall base to limit the seismic demands. In this study, it is demonstrated by using a 40‐story core‐wall building that this conventional approach could lead to an unsafe design where the true demands—the maximum inelastic seismic demands induced by the maximum considered earthquake—could be several times greater than the design demands and be unproportionately dominated by higher vibration modes. To identify the cause of this problem, the true demands are decomposed into individual modal contributions by using the uncoupled modal response history analysis procedure. The results show that the true demands contributed by the first mode are reasonably close to the first‐mode design demands, while those contributed by other higher modes are much higher than the corresponding modal design demands. The flexural yielding in the plastic hinge at the wall base can effectively suppress the seismic demands of the first mode. For other higher modes, however, a similar yielding mechanism is either not fully mobilized or not mobilized at all, resulting in unexpectedly large contributions from higher modes. This finding suggests several possible approaches to improve the seismic design and to suppress the seismic demands of high‐rise core‐wall buildings. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

SUMMARYRecently, the issue of large inelastic seismic force demands at severe ground shakings such as maximum considered earthquake level has been highlighted in the conventionally designed high‐rise reinforced concrete core wall buildings. Uncoupled modal response history analysis was used in this study to identify the modes responsible for the large inelastic seismic force demands. The identification of dominant modes and mean elastic design spectra of seven representative ground motions for different damping ratios has led to the identification of three control measures: plastic hinges (PHs), buckling‐restrained braces (BRBs) and fluid viscous dampers (FVDs). The identified control measures were designed to suppress the dominant modes responsible for the large inelastic seismic force demands. A case‐study building was examined in detail. Comparison of the modal as well as the total responses of the case‐study building with and without the control measures shows that all the control measures were effective and able to reduce the inelastic seismic demands. A reduction of 33%, 22% and 27% in the inelastic shear demand at the base and a reduction of 60%, 22% and 26% in the inelastic moment demand at mid‐height were achieved using the PHs, BRBs and FVDs, respectively. Furthermore, a reduction of about 30–40% in the inelastic seismic deformation demands was achieved for the case of the BRBs and FVDs. The study enables us to gain insight to the complex inelastic behavior of high‐rise wall buildings with and without the control measures. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

An rare pandemic of viral pneumonia occurs in December 2019 in Wuhan, China, which is now recognized internationally as Corona Virus Disease 2019 (COVID-19), the etiological agent classified as Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Corona Virus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). According to the World Health Organization (WHO), it has so far expanded to more than 213 countries/territories worldwide. Our study aims to find the viral peptides of SARS-COV-2 by peptide mass fingerprinting (PMF) in order to predict its novel structure and find an inhibitor for each viral peptide. For this reason, we calculated the mass of amino acid sequences translated from the SARS-CoV2 whole genome and identify the peptides that may be a target for inhibition. Molecular peptide docking with Moringa oleifera, phytochemicals (aqueous and ethanolic) leaf extracts of flavonoids (3.56 ± 0.03), (3.83 ± 0.02), anthraquinone (11.68 ± 0.04), (10.86 ± 0.06) and hydroxychloroquine present therapy of COVID-19 in Pakistan for comparative study. Results indicate that 15 peptides of SARS-CoV2 have been identified from PMF, which is then used as a selective inhibitor. The maximum energy obtained from AutoDock Vina for hydroxychloroquine is -5.1 kcal/mol, kaempferol (flavonoid) is -6.2 kcal/mol, and for anthraquinone -6 kcal/ mol. Visualization of docking complex, important effects are observed regarding the binding of peptides to drug compounds. In conclusion, it is proposed that these compounds are effective antiviral agents against COVID-19 and can be used in clinical trials.

Amygdalin a naturally occurring compound, predominantly in the bitter kernels of apricot, almond, apple and other members of Rosaceae family. Though, amygdalin is used as an alternative therapy to treat various types of cancer but its role in cancer pathways has rarely been explored yet. Therefore, present study was intended with the aim to investigate the alleged anti-cancerous effects of amygdalin specifically on PI3K–AKT–mTOR and Ras pathways of cancer in human body. Computational modelling and simulation techniques were used to assess the effect of amygdalin on PI3K-AKT-mTOR and Ras pathways using different level of dosage. It was observed that amygdalin had direct and substantial contribution to regulate PI3K-mTOR activities on threshold levels while the other caner pathways were effected indirectly. Consequently, amygdalin is a down-regulator of a cancer within a specified amount and contribute considerably to reduce various types of cancer in human. Furthermore, in-vitro and in-vivo analyses of amygdalin could be of helpful to authenticate its pharmacological effects.

Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is an infection of the respiratory system caused by single standard RNA viruses named as Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The disease appeared as a serious problem and the leading cause of death in human beings throughout the world. The main source of different phytochemicals are plants, which helps in the development of new drugs against various ailments. Islam is comprehensive religion and a complete code of life for Muslims. The teaching of Islam, according to the Holy Quran and Hadith are universal for the benefit of humanity. Islam believes that every ailment is from God and who made the disease definitely made its medication. There is a complete guideline with regard to taking measures against infectious diseases such as quarantine and seeking medicinal treatment. The research objective is to gather the knowledge of medicinal plants described in the Holy Quran or utilized by the Prophet (SAW) for the treatment of different ailments or advised to use them to boost immunity and strengthen the body. Scientists across the globe have found these plants beneficial for many diseases and have antiviral potential. In present study, the six plant species including Olea europaea , Nigella sativa, Allium Sativum, Allium cepa, Zingiber officinale and Cassia senna were selected which contain phytochemicals like Calcium Elenolate, Thymoquinone, S-Allylcysteine, Dipropyl Disulfide, Sesquiterpene, Monoterpene, Pelargonidin 3-Galactoside ion and Kaempferol. The phytochemicals monoterpene (from Zingiber officinale ) shows best interaction with target proteins RdRP, 3CLPro, ACE2. Calcium Elonate (from olive) bonds with 3CLPro, ACE2 and Kemoferol and Pelargomidine (from Senna Makki) bonds with RdRP, ACE2. The ligands show a unique set of intersections i.e. hydrogen bonding, and alkyl interaction. These medicinal plants can be utilized immediately for the treatment of COVID-19 as their safety is already established. This treatment can enhance recovery when combined with other treatments. Furthermore, the screening of bioactive compounds or phytochemicals found in these plants can be utilized to design new therapeutic drug to treat COVID-19 pandemic.