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Background: Peritonitis is a grievous surgical emergency, characterized by the inflammation of the peritoneum and a major cause of morbidity and mortality in surgical situations. This study investigated the delayed presentation impact on 30-day mortality in emergency laparotomies for peritonitis patients in Karachi. Methods: This longitudinal study was employed on 148 peritonitis patients at Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre, selected through non-probability convenient sampling. The study included secondary peritonitis-diagnosed patients of all ages and genders admitted from December 2022 to August 2023. Data encompassed pre-hospital experiences, care received at our center, and previous medical consultations. National Exploratory Laparotomy Audit (NELA) score estimated the 30-day mortality rate. SPSS version 26.0 was used, with qualitative variables presented as percentages and frequencies, considering p

Lactic acid bacteria (LAB) are widely used to produce various food products, adding flavor, texture, and health benefits. The bacteria are commonly grown on expensive nutrients like glucose, sucrose, and yeast extracts, which makes them commercially unappealing. In the current study, Lactobacillus acidophilus TISTR 1338 culture was studied using spent cell yeast as a nitrogen source and molasses as a carbon source. The drying process used to create starter cultures of Lactobacillus acidophilus TISTR 1338 was vacuum drying. After vacuum drying, this bacterium had a survival rate of 8.08 log CFU/g. The dried strain survived for four months at 37 °C. With wasted cells at 0.5%, molasses concentration at 11% at 2.14 109 CFU/mL at 22 h, precise growth rate at 0.39 h−1, and yield cell mass at 1.67 1011 CFU/g sugar, yeast produced the maximum cell mass. The lower viability of the tested strain was induced by a higher temperature during this prolonged storage. Meanwhile, dehydrated starter culture was subjected to accelerated storage testing at 50, 60, and 70 °C. To determine the vacuum-dried Lactobacillus acidophilus TISTR 1338′s long-term storage viability, a temperature-dependent prophecy model was created. Molasses and spent cell yeast serve as promising carbon and nitrogen sources when optimized conditions are employed. The study also suggests that vacuum drying is a promising method for producing dried cells suitable for non-refrigerated storage conditions.

Background and Objectives: Colorectal cancer (CRC) is a common type of cancer that has a high death rate and is becoming more common in developed countries. Currently, there are several treatment options available for CRC patients, and clinical trials are being conducted to improve conventional therapies. This study investigates the combined impact of Bacillus coagulans (B.C) and Newcastle disease virus (NDV) on the growth of human colorectal adenocarcinoma cells (HT29 cell line). Materials and Methods: The HT29 cell line was cultured under controlled laboratory conditions. They were treated with Fluorouracil (5-FU), NDV, and B.C., after which various assessments were conducted to determine the effects of these treatments. These assessments included MTT assay for cytotoxicity, evaluation of cell viability, and measurement of caspase 8 and 9 activity levels. The significance of the data was determined at a threshold of P

Lignocellulosic bioethanol is a promising renewable energy source that can reduce greenhouse gas emissions and improve energy security. However, its commercialization faces significant economic and environmental challenges, including high feedstock costs, complex pretreatment processes, expensive enzyme formulations, and substantial energy and water requirements. This review examines the key factors affecting its viability, including feedstock costs, enzyme efficiency, co-product generation, greenhouse gas emissions, water use, energy efficiency, and land use impacts. Recent advancements in pretreatment technologies, enzyme recycling, genetically engineered microbial strains, and fermentation strategies are discussed for their potential to improve process efficiency and reduce production costs. This review also explores co-product valorization, including lignin and biogas utilization, which can enhance the economic sustainability of bioethanol production by generating additional revenue streams, offsetting operational costs, and improving overall process efficiency. Identifying research gaps, it highlights the need for cost-effective feedstock supply chains, advanced enzyme technologies, and optimized fermentation methods. Additionally, the role of life cycle assessments and government policies, including subsidies, is considered in shaping production costs and the environmental impact. By integrating economic and environmental perspectives, this review provides insights into advancing the sustainable production of lignocellulosic bioethanol, emphasizing the importance of continued innovation to overcome existing challenges. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Next‐generation sequencing is advancing in low‐ and middle‐income countries, but accessibility remains limited. In Pakistan, many members of the Pashtun population practice familial marriage and maintain distinct socio‐cultural traditions, isolating them from other ethnic groups. As a result, they may harbor genetic variants that could unveil new gene‐disease associations. To investigate the genetic basis of epilepsy in the Pashtun community we recently established a collaboration between Bannu University and the University of Tuebingen. Here we report our first results of exome sequencing of four families with presumed monogenetic epilepsy and Mendelian inheritance pattern. In Family #201, we identified distinct disease‐causing variants. One had a homozygous pathogenic missense variant in TSEN54 (c.919G > T, p.(Ala307Ser)), linked to Pontocerebellar Hypoplasia Type 2A. The second individual had a homozygous class IV missense variant in MOCS2 (c.226G > A, p.(Gly76Arg)) which is associated with Molybdenum cofactor deficiency. In family EP02, one affected individual carried a heterozygous class III variant in OPHN1 (c.1490G > A, p.(Arg497Gln)), related to syndromic X‐linked intellectual disability with epilepsy. Our small study demonstrates the promise of next‐generation sequencing in genetic epilepsies among the Pashtun population. Diagnostic next‐generation sequencing should be established in Pakistan as soon as possible, and if not feasible, genetic research projects may pioneer this path. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lactic acid bacteria (LAB) are widely used to produce various food products, adding flavor, texture, and health benefits. The bacteria are commonly grown on expensive nutrients like glucose, sucrose, and yeast extracts, which makes them commercially unappealing. In the current study, Lactobacillus acidophilus TISTR 1338 culture was studied using spent cell yeast as a nitrogen source and molasses as a carbon source. The drying process used to create starter cultures of Lactobacillus acidophilus TISTR 1338 was vacuum drying. After vacuum drying, this bacterium had a survival rate of 8.08 log CFU/g. The dried strain survived for four months at 37 °C. With wasted cells at 0.5%, molasses concentration at 11% at 2.14 109 CFU/mL at 22 h, precise growth rate at 0.39 h−1, and yield cell mass at 1.67 1011 CFU/g sugar, yeast produced the maximum cell mass. The lower viability of the tested strain was induced by a higher temperature during this prolonged storage. Meanwhile, dehydrated starter culture was subjected to accelerated storage testing at 50, 60, and 70 °C. To determine the vacuum-dried Lactobacillus acidophilus TISTR 1338′s long-term storage viability, a temperature-dependent prophecy model was created. Molasses and spent cell yeast serve as promising carbon and nitrogen sources when optimized conditions are employed. The study also suggests that vacuum drying is a promising method for producing dried cells suitable for non-refrigerated storage conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Streptococcus agalactiae and Klebsiella pneumoniae are emerging as major milk-borne pathogens. Additionally, resistance to antibiotics of pathogens is of concern. Therefore, this study investigated the prevalence and drug resistance of S. agalactiae and K. pneumoniae in mastitis milk samples and assessed the antimicrobial potential of sodium alginate (G)-stabilized MgO nanoparticles (M) and antibiotics (tylosin [T] and ampicillin [A]) against both of these pathogens. A total of n = 200 milk samples from cattle were collected using purposive sampling, and standard microbiological approaches were adopted to isolate target bacteria. Parametric and non-parametric statistical tests were used to analyze the obtained data. Four preparations, GT (gel-stabilized tylosin), GA (gel-stabilized ampicillin), GTM (tylosin and MgO nanoparticles stabilized in gel), and GAM (ampicillin and MgO nanoparticles stabilized in gel), were evaluated against both bacteria through well diffusion and broth microdilution method. The analysis revealed that 45.24% (95/210) of the milk samples were positive for mastitis, of which 11.58% (11/95) were positive for S. agalactiae and 9.47% (9/95) were positive for K. pneumoniae. S. agalactiae had a significantly higher zone of inhibition (ZOI) than K. pneumoniae against penicillin, tetracycline, and amoxicillin, whereas the opposite was observed against imipenem and erythromycin. All gel (G)-based preparations showed an increase in the percentage of ZOI compared with antibiotics alone, with GTM presenting the highest of all, i.e., 59.09 and 56.25% ZOI compared with tylosin alone against S. agalactiae and K. pneumoniae, respectively. Similarly, in a broth microdilution assay, the lowest MIC was found for K. pneumoniae (9.766 ± 0.0 μg/mL) against GTM, followed by GT, GAM, and GA after incubation for 24 h. A similar response was noted for preparations against S. agalactiae but with a comparatively higher MIC. A significant reduction in MIC with respect to incubation time was found at 8 h and remained until at 20 h against both pathogens. The cytotoxicity of the MgO nanoparticles used in this study was significantly lower than that of the positive control. Overall, this study found that K. pneumoniae and S. agalactiae appeared higher in prevalence and antimicrobial resistance, and sodium alginate-based antibiotics and MgO nanoparticles were effective alternative approaches for tackling antimicrobial resistance.

The coronavirus disease-19 pandemic with the characteristics of asymptomatic condition, long incubation period and poor treatment has influenced the entire globe. Coronaviruses are important emergent pathogens, specifically, the recently emerged sever acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2, the causative virus of the current COVID-19 pandemic. To mitigate the virus and curtail the infection risk, vaccines are the most hopeful solution. The protein structure and genome sequence of SARS-CoV-2 were processed and provided in record time; providing feasibility to the development of COVID-19 vaccines. In an unprecedented scientific and technological effort, vaccines against SARS-CoV-2 have been developed in less than one year. This review addresses the approaches adopted for SARS-CoV-2 vaccine development and the effectiveness of the currently approved vaccines.

Soon after the first COVID-19 positive case was detected in Wuhan, China, the virus spread around the globe, and in no time, it was declared as a global pandemic by the WHO. Testing, which is the first step in identifying and diagnosing COVID-19, became the first need of the masses. Therefore, testing kits for COVID-19 were manufactured for efficiently detecting COVID-19. However, due to limited resources in the densely populated countries, testing capacity even after a year is still a limiting factor for COVID-19 diagnosis on a larger scale and contributes to a lag in disease tracking and containment. Due to this reason, we started this study to provide a better cost-effective solution for enhancing the testing capacity so that the maximum number of people could get tested for COVID-19. For this purpose, we utilized the approach of artificial neural networks (ANN) to acquire the relevant data on COVID-19 and its testing. The data were analyzed by using Machine Learning, and probabilistic algorithms were applied to obtain a statistically proven solution for COVID-19 testing. The results obtained through ANN indicated that sample pooling is not only an effective way but also regarded as a “Gold standard” for testing samples when the prevalence of the disease is low in the population and the chances of getting a positive result are less. We further demonstrated through algorithms that pooling samples from 16 individuals is better than pooling samples of 8 individuals when there is a high likelihood of getting negative test results. These findings provide ground to the fact that if sample pooling will be employed on a larger scale, testing capacity will be considerably increased within limited available resources without compromising the test specificity. It will provide healthcare units and enterprises with solutions through scientifically proven algorithms, thus, saving a considerable amount of time and finances. This will eventually help in containing the spread of the pandemic in densely populated areas including vulnerably confined groups, such as nursing homes, hospitals, cruise ships, and military ships.

Dental caries is a biofilm-mediated, sugar-driven, multifactorial, dynamic disease that results in the phasic demineralization and remineralization of dental hard tissues. Despite scientific advances in cariology, dental caries remains a severe global concern. The aim of this study was to determine the optimization of microbial and molecular techniques for the detection of cariogenic pathogens in dental caries patients, the prevalence of cariogenic bacteria on the basis of socioeconomic, climatological, and hygienic factors, and in vitro evaluation of the antimicrobial activity of selected synthetic antibiotics and herbal extracts. In this study, oral samples were collected from 900 patients for bacterial strain screening on a biochemical and molecular basis. Plant extracts, such as ginger, garlic, neem, tulsi, amla, and aloe vera, were used to check the antimicrobial activity against the isolated strains. Synthetic antimicrobial agents, such as penicillin, amoxicillin, erythromycin, clindamycin, metronidazole, doxycycline, ceftazidime, levofloxacin, and ciprofloxacin, were also used to access the antimicrobial activity. Among 900 patients, 63% were males and 37% were females, patients aged between 36 and 58 (45.7%) years were prone to disease, and the most common symptom was toothache (61%). For oral diseases, 21% used herbs, 36% used antibiotics, and 48% were self-medicated, owing to sweets consumption (60.66%) and fizzy drinks and fast food (51.56%). Staphylococcus mutans (29.11%) and Streptococcus sobrinus (28.11%) were found as the most abundant strains. Seven bacterial strains were successfully screened and predicted to be closely related to genera S. sobrinus, S. mutans, Actinomyces naeslundii, Lactobacillus acidophilus, Eubacterium nodatum, Propionibacterium acidifaciens, and Treponema Pallidum. Among plant extracts, the maximum zone of inhibition was recorded by ginger (22.36 mm) and amla (20.01 mm), while among synthetic antibiotics, ciprofloxacin and levofloxacin were most effective against all microbes. This study concluded that phyto extracts of ginger and amla were considered suitable alternatives to synthetic antibiotics to treat dental diseases.

Sandwich pipes are widely used in various piping applications owing to their exceptional pressure resistance and thermal insulation properties. In this paper, the mechanical properties and loading performance of sandwich pipes made of polypropylene material have been investigated under different loading conditions including lateral and axial compression, as well as hydrostatic internal and external pressures. For this purpose, finite element models of sandwich pipes with various designs have been developed. Material properties have been determined through standard experimental tests, and the finite element models have been validated using lateral compression experiments. The results indicate that incorporating annular cores with thinner thickness and greater numbers, along with using a thicker inner pipe in the sandwich pipe structure, improves its properties and performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]