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Due to multitude of gaps in Pakistan's healthcare system, community pharmacies serve as the" first port of call" for various illnesses. However, the present scarcity of pharmacists in these settings poses significant challenges to healthcare delivery in the country. This scarcity is primarily due to difficulties in retaining pharmacists for community practice. The aim of this study was to explore the factors that influence the retention of community pharmacists by using COM-B model. A qualitative methodology employing the COM-|B model was utilized to design this study. In-depth interviews were conducted with pharmacists experienced in community pharmacy practice, at time and place convenient to them. Data were transcribed, translated and analyzed by deductive thematic analysis in accordance with the constructs of COM-B model. A diverse range of factors were identified that negatively influenced the retention of community pharmacists including working conditions and proprietor's demeanor, deficiency in training and intern experience, lack of career planning, low social acceptance, less salary and job satisfaction, less regulatory control and aptitude of renting out category. Conversely, the study also identified the factors that motivate community pharmacists to stay in their roles despite the challenges including strong educational background, abundant job opportunities, flexible schedules, direct patient engagement and positive impact on sales. There was an observed discrepancy between the challenges faced by community pharmacists and the motivators that encourage them to continue their job. Due to a disparity and abundance of challenges rather than motivators, retention rates for community pharmacists are low. This imbalance shed light on areas where improvements are needed to enhance pharmacist retention. Various areas for change were highlighted including strict implementation of regulations, integration of practical experience of community pharmacy practice and internships into academic programs, career guidance, and raising patient awareness about the roles of community pharmacists. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To explore the determinants that innervate or avert the parents to use antibiotics responsibly for their children in Bahawalpur, Pakistan. Further, to assess the cognizance of Pakistani parents about antibiotic resistance. The Health Belief Model (HBM) was utilized to design this study. Parents who were using antibiotics for their children were taken as study participants. They were recruited purposively from various public and private healthcare settings and were asked to conveniently participate in the study. A total of 18 in-depth interviews were conducted at time and place convenient to the study participants. Data were transcribed, translated and analyzed by framework analysis in accordance with the constructs of Health Belief Model including perceived susceptibility, severity, benefit, barriers, self-efficacy and cues to action. Within each HBM construct, responses of participants were analyzed, yielding 8 themes and 17 subthemes. Parents had a knowledge of antibiotics but considered their families to be at low risk of antibiotic resistance since their families were "low users" of antibiotics. Majority of the participants were not aware of the indications and risks of antibiotic use and perceived the antibiotics as a quick fix for every ailment. Communicating the risks of antibiotic resistance to parents and providing actionable solutions to tackle antibiotic resistance may address these perceptions. Though parents revealed awareness about antibiotics, they continue to overestimate the value of antibiotics. Refocus of the antibiotic stewardship interventions are required and these campaigns are needed to be tailored to target their intended audience in a format that is appropriate to them. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Extensively drug resistant tuberculosis (XDR-TB) is considered as a major threat to global health. This study aimed to analyse the treatment outcomes and identify the factors significantly associated with unfavourable treatment outcomes among XDR-TB patients. We conducted a retrospective observational study at 10 Programmatic Management Units of the National Tuberculosis Control Program of Pakistan. The Electronic Nominal Recording Reporting System records were used to collect data of all eligible XDR-TB patients registered at the study sites between March 2012 and August 2018. Treatment outcomes were analysed as per the standard criteria. Factors associated with unfavourable treatment outcomes were analysed by using multivariate binary logistic regression analysis. Out of the total 184 patients, 59 (32.1%) completed their treatment successfully. Whereby, 83 patients (45.1%) died, 24 (13%) had treatment failure, and 11 (6%) were lost to follow-up. Treatment outcomes were not evaluated in 7 (3.8%) patients. Factors significantly associated with unfavourable treatment outcomes included; conventional therapy with bedaquiline, unfavourable interim treatment outcomes and occurrence of adverse drug events (negative association). Treatment success rate in the study cohort was sub-optimal (i.e., <75%). The poor success rate and high mortality are concerning, and requires immediate attention of the program managers and clinicians. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The concept of towable horse trailers and caravans has become increasingly common for transporting horses around the country as well as for providing a comfortable and mobile living space during vacations. It is very common for the towing vehicle to double its fuel usage by towing a horse trailer or a caravan. The massive increase in fuel consumption is mainly due to the changed aerodynamics. To optimise the design of the trailer and reduce fuel consumption, it is essential to know the high drag contribution surfaces and appropriately modifying them. In the present study, two different industrial models of the horse-trailer have been evaluated and optimised for their aerodynamic drag. Both trailers have a different front design which can represent almost all-important feature changes to estimate the drag contribution and prediction of the best-optimised shape. The challenge is to reduce the drag force without reducing the internal accommodation space and meeting the legal specifications. The front shape of the trailer, roof and different add-on devices has been tested and drag performance has been evaluated. The length of the wake region has been improved by providing a roof curvature and diffuser at the top and bottom rear side of the trailer. Providing a roof curvature on the trailer roof has delayed the flow separation at the rear end of the roof by reducing the adverse pressure gradients. The wake behind the car is found sensitive to the gap between the car and trailer. Adverse pressure gradient has been recovered in the wake region by using add-on devices. This resulted in the conclusion that fuel consumption has been reduced to a significant percentage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Control valves in the oil and gas industries frequently handle oil-water flow. Pressure drops and energy dissipation in the valve generate turbulence mixing in the flow which causes higher shear forces resulting in emulsification. This highly emulsified mixtures require a large size separator, extra time and chemical additives that increase the cost of the mixture flow and separation operations. Therefore, it is essential to quantify the extent of shear forces generated and degree of oil-water mixing resulting because of valves present in the oil transportation pipeline system and also to evaluate the performance of different valves. In this study, a novel quantification method is proposed to evaluate the extent local and global oil-water mixing within and because of valves. A widely used indicator; Mixing Coefficient (Mc) together with other novel proposed indicator Modified Mixing Coefficient (Mmc) and Velocityinvolved Modified Mixing Coefficient (Vmmc), are used as indicators to evaluate the local oil-water mixing degree at various cross-sectional planes of the valve. The variances of Mc, Mmc, and Vmmc are used to evaluate the global oil-water mixing performance of the valve. A well validated computational fluid dynamics model is used to evaluate the oil-water mixing degree globally and locally caused by two valves equipped with tangentially oriented and directly oriented orifices respectively. It has been concluded that at higher inlet velocities, the tangentially oriented orifices can reduce the oil-water mixing better than directly oriented orifices. At lower velocities, however, the directly oriented orifices are providing better separation properties. When considering the in-situ oil volume fraction, the tangentially oriented orifices can always produce a higher change in in-situ oil volume fraction compared with directly oriented orifices. The quantification method and the comparison of tangentially and directly oriented orifices can be used to inform the control valve design in oil and gas industries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • Nano-silver synthesized via solution evaporation method with octahedral crystal structure and crystallite size of 28 to 39 nm. • Irregular and non-uniform surface morphology. • Different functional on the surface of nano-silver included CH, CH 2 , OH, alkyne, and an alkyl halide. • Nano-silver synthesized at 70 °C and a dose of 3.0 g/L caused effective inhibition of E. coli. The modulation of antimicrobial properties of nanomaterials can be achieved through various physical and chemical processes, which ultimately affect subsequent properties. In this study, the antibacterial potential of nano-silver was investigated at 0.5, 1.0, 2.0, and 3.0 g/L, and its differential temperature synthesis was achieved at 20, 50, and 70 °C using the solvent evaporation method. Nano-silver particles exhibited FCC (octahedral) crystalline structure with crystallite sizes ranging between 28 and 39 nm calculated using XRD analysis. Moreover, irregular and non-uniform surface morphology was evident from SEM micrographs. The UV–Vis absorbance spectrum of nano-silver exhibited wave maxima at 433 nm, while the FTIR analysis depicted different modes of vibration indicating the CH, OH, C≡C, C-Cl, and CH 2 functional groups attached to the surface. Lastly, nano-silver caused prominent inhibition (12.5 mm) in the Escherichia coli growth, particularly at 70 °C synthesis temperature and 3.0 g/L dose. It is concluded that both the nano-silver crystal growth temperature and dose contributed substantially to bacterial growth inhibition linked with subsequent size, shape-dependent properties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study is aimed to synthesis and evaluate PEGylated Eu enabled spherical alumina submicron particles (s-Al 2 O 3 :Eu) for potential theranostic applications. This study is bisected into two parts, a) synthesis of PEGylated Eu enabled spherical alumina submicron particles (s-Al 2 O 3 :Eu), and b) characterization of the synthesized particles to determine their efficacy for potential theranostic applications. The synthesis of the particles involved the following steps. In the first step, s-Al 2 O 3 :Eu is synthesized using solvothermal synthesis. In the next step, the particles undergo post synthesis water–ethanol treatment and calcination. The surface of the synthesized s-Al 2 O 3 :Eu particles is then coated by PEG to increase its biocompatibility. Once the particles are prepared, they are characterized using different techniques. The microstructure, composition and structure of the particles is characterized using SEM, EDX and XRD techniques. The detection of the functional groups is done using FTIR analysis. The photoluminescence emission spectrum of s-Al 2 O 3 :Eu is studied using Photoluminescence spectroscopy. And, finally, the biocompatibility is studied using MTT assay on RD cell lines. The microstructure analysis, from the micrographs obtained from SEM, shows that the spherical alumina particles have a submicron size with narrow size distribution. The compositional analysis, as per EDX, confirms the presence of Oxygen, Aluminum and Europium in the particles. While, XRD analysis of s-Al 2 O 3 :Eu confirms the formation of alpha alumina phase after calcination at 700 °C. Emission peaks, obtained by Photoluminescence emission spectroscopy, show that the optimum emission intensities correspond to the transition from 5D 0 to 7F j orbital of Eu+3. FTIR analysis confirms the successful coating of PEG. Finally, a cell viability of more than 86% is observed when the biocompatibility of the particles is studied, using MTT assay on RD cell lines. s-Al 2 O 3 :Eu with narrow distribution are successfully synthesized. Structural and functional characterizations support the suitability of s-Al 2 O 3 :Eu as potential theranostic agent. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The unavailability of appropriate pediatric drug pack size is a global issue. Antibiotics are the lifesaving and most frequently prescribed therapeutic agents given to pediatrics. The objective of this study was to assess the compliance of pediatric antibiotic pack size with the standard dosage regimen. Methods: A descriptive study design was employed. Data were collected from a community pharmacy in Bahawalpur, Pakistan, between August 1, 2017, and September 30, 2017. Five most commonly prescribed antibiotics were selected and calculations were made to check the appropriateness of packaging size by comparing the quantity of product in the available pack with the dosage regimen recommended by the British National Formulary for Children (BNFC). Results: Only 16 clarithromycin, 9 amoxicillin, 1 cefotaxime, and 1 metronidazole packaging sizes were sufficient to meet the dosage regimen for treatment. None of the available pack sizes for gentamicin matched the recommended duration of treatment. The study findings revealed that the available pack sizes either had leftover or a shortfall of antibiotic formulation. Highly inappropriate dosage forms (containing either excess and less quantity) of antibiotics were intravenous infusions and oral suspensions. Conclusion: The study concluded that the packaging sizes of antibiotics failed to supply the recommended dosage regimen to pediatrics for common indications. This may contribute to development of antibiotic resistance among pediatric patients. Health policy makers should devise strict rules and regulations to ensure the availability of child-specific antibiotic pack sizes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Pharmacies are a primary source of healthcare services in low and middle income countries, especially where patient to physician ratio is low. Due to the wide variability in the training of pharmacy workers, inappropriate antibiotic dispensing is common, which increases the risk of poor therapeutic outcomes and antibiotic resistance.Objectives: This study aims to understand the factors that drive the inappropriate dispensing of antibiotics among pharmacy workers in Bahawalpur, Pakistan.Methods: In this qualitative study, the data were collected from the pharmacy workers through semi-structured interviews. A two-step sampling procedure, including purposive and convenient sampling techniques, was adopted to recruit the study participants. The sample size was determined by applying the saturation point criteria. All interviews were audio recorded and transcribed verbatim. The data were analysed to draw conclusions using the inductive thematic analysis approach.Results: A total of 16 in-depth interviews were conducted. Data analysis yielded four themes and 18 subthemes. Under-dispensing and dispensing of antibiotics without need were reported. Lack of knowledge of dispensers, false feeling of being qualified, social acceptance, customer demands, public beliefs, high consultation fees of doctors, expensive diagnostic tests, economic influences and profit maximization were the main factors associated with the inappropriate dispensing of antibiotics.Conclusions: Multiple pharmacy worker (non-pharmacist) level factors that may lead to the inappropriate dispensing of antibiotics were identified in this study. There is a dire need for the training of pharmacy workers and supervision of their dispensing practices. Strict enforcement of legislation is required to restrict the irrational use of antibiotics in Pakistan. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The World Health Organization released a Global Action Plan to overcome the threatening concerns of antibacterial resistance. One of the cornerstones of this plan is the Antibiotic Stewardship Program (ASP). The study aimed to assess the community pharmacists' knowledge, perceptions and current practices regarding ASP. A qualitative study was conducted in Bahawalpur, Pakistan, in which data were collected from the community pharmacists through in-depth, semi-structured interviews. The convenience sampling technique was used to recruit the study participants. Interview protocol was pilot tested and the sample size was limited by applying the saturation point criteria. All interviews were audio recorded and transcribed verbatim. The thematic analysis approach was used to analyze the data and draw conclusions based on study objectives. A total of fifteen community pharmacists were interviewed. Analysis of the data yielded five themes and 16 subthemes. All of the respondents had sound knowledge about the irrational use of antibiotics; however, they were oblivious about the ASP. After explaining the term, the respondents were of the opinion that these strategies could not be implemented in the current healthcare system of the country. According to the findings of the study, prescribing and dispensing practices were not followed. Only a few patients were educated about the antibiotics they were purchasing. Most of the study participants were unaware of any ASP being offered in the community pharmacy settings. The study participants agreed to be the antibiotic stewards, but a number of obstacles were reported. The training of pharmacists, medication reconciliation, the implementation of the good pharmacy practice guidelines and assurance of pharmacist availability at drug retail outlets were few suggestions given by the study participants to incorporate the ASP in the community settings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: International accreditations of drug regulatory authorities not only lead to improvement in their functioning but pharmaceutical firms are also benefited. The aim of this study is to identify aspects that should be improved for the purpose of international accreditation and recognition of Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan (DRAP). Methods: A qualitative study was conducted from May 1, 2017, to July 31, 2017. The data were collected from officials working in DRAP through in-depth semistructured interviews. The respondents were recruited through a convenience sampling strategy. The sample size was determined by using the saturation point criterion. Data were analyzed to draw conclusions using inductive thematic analysis. Results: A total of 12 officials working in DRAP were interviewed. Analysis of the data yielded 25 categories, 10 subthemes, and 3 themes. The themes were administrative barriers, operational barriers, and future aspects of international accreditation. The subthemes related to administrative barriers included human resource, lack of harmonization and coordination, transparency and accountability, and improper resource allocation. The subthemes related to operational barriers included procedures and policies, deficit of testing laboratories and equipment, reporting system for adverse drug reactions, and external factors influencing the functioning of DRAP. The subthemes related to future aspects of international accreditation included advantages associated with international accreditation and time required to achieve this goal. Conclusions: There is a huge scope of improvement in the functioning of DRAP and the identified barriers must be dealt with timely to make it happen. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Evaluating treatment outcomes of a cohort of patients is an effective way for analyzing the effectiveness of a program. Information regarding drug resistance pattern, detailed management, treatment outcomes and factors associated with unsuccessful outcomes in multidrug resistant (MDR-TB) patients is missing from Baluchistan province of Pakistan. This study was carried out at Programmatic Management of Drug Resistant TB unit at Fatimah Jinnah General and Chest Hospital Quetta. All eligible 186 MDR-TB patients enrolled at the study site from January 1, 2012 to April 30, 2016 were retrospectively followed until the treatment outcomes were reported. Data was abstracted through a standardized data collection form and analysed by SPSS 20. Multivariate binary logistic regression (MVBLR) analysis was used to evaluate factors associated with i) death and treatment failure and ii) lost to follow up. A p-value of <0.05 was considered statistically significant. The study participants were resistant to a median of four drugs (range 2–8) with majority being resistant to any second-line anti-TB drug (SLD) (55.5%). Among SLD, resistance was highest for ofloxacin (52.2%). The study site had an overall treatment success rate of 71.6%. A total of 129 (69.4%) patients were cured, four (2.2%) completed treatment, 37 died (19.9%), 14 (7.5%) were lost to follow up and two (1.1%) were declared treatment failures. In MVBLR analysis, patients' age of >40 years (OR = 4.249, p-value = 0.001) had statistically significant positive and baseline body weight of >40 kg (OR = 0.256, p-value = 0.002) had statistically significant negative association with death and treatment failure. No factor had statistical significant association with lost to follow up. Overall treatment success rate was promising but did not achieve the target success rate (> 75%) set by World Health Organization. It can be further improved by paying special attention and providing enhanced management to the patients with risk factors for unsuccessful outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] In the previous decade nanostructure materials have emerged as the necessary ingredient in electronic application and enhancement of device performance. Cobalt sulfide is one such transition metal sulfide which has provoked a lot of interest in the field of research. The present study was related to pure, (Al and Zn) doped cobalt sulfide NPs have been fabricated using facile co-precipitation method. The cubic structure has conformed to XRD analysis and crystallite size of pure and doped Co 9 S 8 NPs in the range of 11 to 29 nm and with W-H method varies from 29 to 51 nm. The SEM micrograph shows that the agglomeration of the particles in the form of clusters. To conform the vibrational modes of (Al and Zn) doped Co 9 S 8 -NPs was done with Raman spectroscopy analysis. The absorbance of prepared materials was investigated with UV–VIS and it was also observed that the band gap decreased from 3.6 to 1.94 eV with doping agents. In case of IV analysis shows that the resistivity decreased and conductivity increased of Al and Zn doped Co 9 S 8 NPs. Furthermore, the sharp increase in potential difference at lower temperature indicates that the doped material is an excellent thermoelectric material for energy storage devices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] Nanofinishing is the process by which ultrafine dispersion of nanomaterials is applied to a textile for the development of functionalities. The utilization of nanometal oxides as antimicrobial agents have shown a substantial antimicrobial property in cotton. In the present study, previously synthesized powder containing ZnO nanoflowers (ZnO NFs) was characterized for morphology, surface composition, roughness, and charge using Transmission electron microscopy (TEM), Scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM), Atomic force microscopy(AFM) and Zeta potential. Optical properties of crystalline ZnO were determined by Photoluminescence (PL), Diffused reflectance Spectroscopy (DRS), and bandgap energy determination. Highly crystalline, ZnO NFs bearing crystal defects and high surface charge were loaded onto the pristine cotton by a dip coating method using Triton X-100 as dispersant and iSys MTX fabric binder. The pristine cotton fabric of 125 g/m2 was nano finished by loading 20,42 and 58 µg/cm2 (1–3 dip cycles) ZnO NFs respectively. The loading of ZnO NFs onto the surface of cotton fabric was confirmed by SEM and used for antibacterial activity against E. coli as a photocatalytic reactor. The prepared samples were irradiated with a UV lamp of λmax = 254 nm (15 min, 30 min, 45 min) and D65 artificial sunlight (60 min, 120 min, 180 min) to investigate their photocatalytic activity against pathogenic E. coli using modified Breed Smear's method. The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC) of ZnO NFs@ cotton were determined as 19.53 µg/ml and 39.06 µg/ml respectively after exposure to UV light. After exposure to sunlight MIC and MBC observed were higher i.e. 156.25 µg/ml and 312.5 µg/ml respectively showing lesser activity in sunlight as compared to ionizing UV radiations. To verify the photocatalytic activity, hydroxyl radicals generated by ZnO NFs@ cotton were also determinedtime-resolved PL on exposure to a UV lamp and D65 artificial sunlight. This nano-finished cotton is a promising candidate to be used as a medical textile with high antibacterial activity even after 20 washing cycles with only a 5% decrease in efficiency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract The current study focuses on to the latent potential of Plant Leaf Extract (PLE) to induce growth and antioxidant character in radish root when applied as pre-sowing seed priming agents. The growth behavior in primed seed with PLE of mulberry leaf (mL), Brassica leaf (BL), Sorghum leaf (SL), Moringa leaf (MoL), was regularly monitored whereas, proximate composition, biochemical attributes and antioxidant potential was assessed after 60 days of emergence. Results revealed that PLE based seed priming affect growth physiology consequently improved total phenolic content (TPC), radical scavenging capacity (DPPH IC 50) and reducing power of radish root. Overall, seed bio-priming with 3% of MoL for 6 h was found to be the most effective to optimize growth with improved biochemical and antioxidant attributes. So far, seed bio-priming with crude extracts of selected plant leaves may provide viable bioactive fortification choice. Graphical abstract fx1 Highlights • Seeds of radish were primed with plant leaf extracts. • Primed seeds were sown under controlled conditions. • Variation in nutritional and biochemical profile was monitored. • Priming showed promising efficiency for the improvement in nutritional values. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Appropriate use of medicines is important to provide quality health. The aim of this study was to assess the prescribing practices and prescription errors in the private clinic practices of Bahawalpur, Pakistan. Methods A cross-sectional observational study was performed in March 2015 to assess the prescribing practices and prescription errors in the private clinical practices of Bahawalpur, Pakistan. We used the standard World Health Organization (WHO) methodology to achieve the study objectives. A convenience sampling technique was used to collect the prescriptions from five community pharmacies. Results A total of 300 prescriptions were collected. Among the prescribing indicators, the average number of drugs per encounter was 4.5, 23.3% of drugs were prescribed by generic name, 39.6% of encounters resulted in the prescription of antibiotics, in 19% of encounters injections were prescribed and 54.5% of the drugs prescribed were from the Essential Drugs List. A total of 1218 omissions, 510 commissions and 199 drug interaction-related errors were recorded. Conclusion Irrational prescribing of medicines and low compliance with the standards of prescription writing were observed in the private clinical practices of Bahawalpur. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Stripe rust (SR) caused by Puccinia striiformis Westend. f. sp. tritici Erikss (Pst) is one of the most important and destructive disease of wheat worldwide. In Pakistan, stipe rust appeared as epidemic and is causing huge losses to wheat production. However, wheat breeding programs are not sufficiently advanced to cope with the recently emerged Puccinia striiformis strains. Under this scenario, current research was carried out for safe, effective and sustainable management of stripe rust of wheat. Seven wheat varieties include Sehar-06, Galaxy-13, Abdul Sattar-02, Faisalabad-08, Johar-16, TD-1 and Ujala-16 were planted at research farm of Muhammad Nawaz Shareef University of Agriculture, Multan, Pakistan during November 2019–20 and 2020–21 to determine their response toward Puccinia striiformis. The fungicide Tilt®, propiconazole, (T 2) at the rate of 3 mL per 1500 mL water was used while the Bacillus subtilis (T 1) was added at rate of 0.25 mL/1500 mL water with 15 g of dextrose, 0.25 g of chitosan and 0.25 g of salicylic acid in 1500 mL water to make a fine suspension. Our results showed that T 1 reduced the disease effectively up to (8.18%) followed by T 2 (10.7%) as compared to T 0 (23.8%). The correlation between minimum air temperature, relative humidity and disease severity was highly significant while with maximum air temperature it was negatively non-significant. Also, wind speed, solar radiation and rainfall showed non-significant correlation with disease severity. After treatment, application of T 1 and T 2 , minimum air temperature expressed a significant correlation with disease severity on varieties Sehar-2006, Galaxy-13 and Abdul Sattar-02 while non-significant correlation with disease severity on varieties Faisalabad-08, Johar-16, TD-1 and Ujala-16. Similarly, maximum air temperature, relative humidity, wind speed and solar radiation showed non-significant correlation with disease severity while rain fall was negatively non-significant. The current study showed that Bacillus subtilis is an ecofriendly management of stripe rust and its combination with plant defense activators enhance the efficacy and suppress disease. This management strategy is an innovative, and the results obtained will be helpful for better, ecofriendly and effective management of disease. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the widespread adoption of cloud computing, high-performance computing (HPC) is no longer limited to organisations with the funds and manpower necessary to house and run a supercomputer. However, the performance of large-scale scientific applications in the cloud has in the past been constrained by latency and bandwidth. The main reasons for these constraints are the design decisions of cloud providers, primarily focusing on high-density applications such as web services and data hosting. In this paper, we provide an overview of a high performance OpenStack cloud implementation at the National Computational Infrastructure (NCI). This cloud is targeted at high-performance scientific applications, and enables scientists to build their own clusters when their demands and software stacks conflict with traditional bare-metal HPC environments. In this paper, we present the architecture of our 56 GbE cloud and a preliminary set of HPC benchmark results against the more traditional cloud and native InfiniBand HPC environments. Three different network interconnects and configurations were tested as part of the Cloud deployment. These were 10G Ethernet, 56G Fat-tree Ethernet and native FDR Full Fat-tree InfiniBand (IB). In this paper, these three solutions are discussed from the viewpoint of on-demand HPC clusters focusing on bandwidth, latency and security. A detailed analysis of these metrics in the context of micro-benchmarks and scientific applications is presented, including the affects of using TCP and RDMA on scientific applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction Psoas abscess is an unusual condition and is defined as a collection of pus in the iliopsoas compartment. Due to the unique anatomy of psoas muscle it forms a conduit for spread of infection from upper part of body to hip joint in neglected cases. Case presentation A 67 year old lady presented with left groin pain for three weeks. She underwent an uncemented unipolar hemiarthoplasty eight years back. Currently, she developed fever and was unable to do any active left hip range of motion. Passive motion of the left hip was restricted to 30° flexion, no internal rotation, 5° external rotation, and 10° abduction. Lab workup showed raised serum infective markers and radiographs of pelvis were normal with no evidence of any radiolucency. Ultrasound guided aspiration of left hip joint showed E coli. Arthrotomy revealed clear fluid in hip joint but pus was drained at psoas insertion. Later on, culture reported presence of E. coli and biopsy confirmed psoas abscess. Postoperatively CT scan abdomen showed pyelonephritis. Antibiotics were given for three months. Twenty months later, she remains asymptomatic without evidence of infection with normal gait. Discussion Psoas abscess is a rare clinical entity that may mimic symptoms of a primary prosthetic hip infection. Treatment outcomes are directly related to early detection with adequate dissection of the psoas muscle up to sites of attachment and complete eradication of infection. Conclusion This case highlights importance of thorough initial clinical examination, lab workup and radiological assessment to rule out rare causes of hip joint pain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]