Search

This research investigates the role of local government institutions in promoting community development in Bahawalpur division from 2001 to 2018. The provision of municipal amenities is crucial for community growth, and local governments are expected to play a significant role in enhancing social, political, and cultural development. However, financial constraints, lack of education, community participation, and infrastructural development hinder their effective functioning. The study used statistical sampling techniques and analyzed the data using regression, and correlation analysis. The results show a positive trend in the contribution of local government towards community development, with a significant positive relation between the local government budget, community participation, education level, and infrastructure development. The study suggests that local governments should prioritize allocating sufficient budgets for community development programs and encourage community engagement in decision-making processes. Overall, the study highlights the significance of local government institutions in promoting community development in Bahawalpur division.

Objective: The objectives of this study were to assess the outcome of close distal tibial fractures fixed with pre-contoured locking plate using MIPPO technique in terms of union and infection. Methods: This study was conducted in the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery and Traumatology from Sep 2013 to May 2017. We enrolled 40 cases with close distal tibial fractures. Fractures were managed with locking compression plate using MIPPO technique. Patients were followed for 12 months post-fracture stabilization. Results: In this study total 40 patients (24 males and 16 females) were included. Male to female ratio of the patients was 1.5:1. The mean age of the patients was 44.70±13.67 years with minimum and maximum ages of 18 & 60 years respectively. All fractures united with the mean union time of 16±4 weeks. The infection rate was 5%.

Objective: Investigate the potential predictors’ dysarthria and dyspraxia of speech and language impairment after childhood stroke. Study Design: Cross sectional study Place and duration of study: Study was conducted in the department of Paediatric Neurology, The Children’s Hospital & Institute of Child Health, Lahore for about one year i.e. from 31st August 2019 to 31st August 2020. Methodology: Seventy children of radiological diagnosed arterial ischemic stroke were selected for study. Prevalence of dyspraxia and dysarthria and language impairment was measured within 2 weeks of stroke. Side of stroke (right, left or both) were assessed and proportion of language impairment, dysarthria, dyspraxia was measured in this study. SPSS version 23 was used for data analysis and determination of variables. P values of ≤0.05 were considered as significant. Results: Seventy patients were included in this study. The mean age of the patients was 8.11±1.26 years. Stroke effects on left side was noted in 27 (38.6%) cases, stroke effects on right side was noted in 33 (47.1%) cases, while in 13 (18.6%) cases both Hemispheres were involved, dysarthria was present in 50 (71.4%) cases, language impairment was observed in 45 (64.3%) cases and verbal dyspraxia was noted in 12 (17.1%) cases. Conclusion: Long term cognitive, motor and neurological outcomes are the results of arterial ischemic stroke. Dysarthria, language impairment and dysparaxia are the main affects of stroke that dependant on size and place lesion. Rehabilitation cannot be predicted after childhood stroke. Keywords: Apraxia; Brain injury; Child; Dysarthria; Language; Stroke; Speech.

The current research deals with the exact solutions of the nonlinear partial differential equations having two important difficulties, that is, the coefficient singularities and the stochastic function (white noise). There are four major contributions to contemporary research. One is the mathematical analysis where the explicit a priori estimates for the existence of solutions are constructed by Schauder’s fixed point theorem. Secondly, the control of the solution behavior subject to the singular parameter ϵ when ϵ → 0. Thirdly, the impact of noise that is present in the differential equation has been successfully handled in exact solutions. The final contribution is to simulate the exact solutions and explain the plots.

PurposeThe study aims to examine the relationship between personality traits and investor risk behavior of the individuals trading in stock markets. Furthermore, this study establishes the association of financial literacy on the relationship between personality traits and investor risk behavior.Design/methodology/approachThe authors analyze cross-sectional survey method data by using moderated multiple regression analysis, a standard method of determining the moderation effect. PROCESS Model method has been used in this study to check the robustness of the results.FindingsThe findings reveal that personality traits significantly influence investor risk behavior and financial literacy modifies the fundamental relationships between personality traits and investor risk behavior. The findings also conclude that behavioral impact was predetermined by individuals' genetic traits and is influenced by financial literacy.Research limitations/implicationsThe current study provides valuable insights for investors and adamant grounds for future research. The two-fold role of individuals' personalities in case of gains and losses can be of interest to the researchers in future.Practical implicationsInvestors currently facing the complex financial choices which are far beyond the day-to-day financial advice. This study guides rational investment behavior for portfolio managers and investors for advanced investment options.Social implicationsMost of the prior literature is based on developed markets, whereas the current study focuses on less literate society (i.e. Pakistan) to protect the investors from scams and fraud. The current study supports the vital role of investors in the socio-economic development of emerging markets.Originality/valueThe authors believe this study expands the boundaries of personality theories, especially in the context of risk behavior and financial literacy. The study also contributes to advancing the personality theory trimmed with financial literacy and investor behavior while making important theoretical inroads for future research.

Aim: To evaluate pathologies of the petrous temporal bone in cochlear implant candidates on CT and MRI preoperatively. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted at Combined Military Hospital Lahore from Jan 2014 to April 2016. 163 candidates were evaluated on CT and 149 were evaluated on MRI. All patients belonged to pediatric age group. Pathologies were grouped using classification of Sennaroglu & Saatci and every pathology was sought in all the cases ensuring that the pathologiesare not missed. Results: High-resolution CT scan temporal bone revealed 69.9% normal studies. Chronic otitis media with mastoiditis was major abnormality observed in 16.6% of cases. Unilateral mastoiditis was seen in 6.1% of patients. Bilateral CSOM without mastoiditis was seen bilaterally in 1.8% of cases. While unilateral CSOM was observed 0.6 % of patients. Among inner ear malformations, Mondini malformation was seen in 4 cases (2.5%). A high jugular bulb was seen in 2 cases (1.2%).93.3% of cases were labeled as normal study on MRI. Four cases showed Mondini malformation. Infective process of middle ear showed a cumulative frequency of 2.7%. Inner ear aplasia was found in one patient. Sclerosing labyrinthitis was also found in one case. Conclusion: Both CT and MRI have substantial role in pre-operative evaluation of petrous temporal bone in cochlear implant candidates. Preoperative evaluation of petrous temporal bone by CT scan and MRI successfully identifies pathologies which can be absolute or relative contraindications of the cochlear implant as well as conditions in which surgical procedure needs to be modified. Keywords: Cochlear implants, HRCT temporal bone, MRI cochlea, Mastoiditis, Mondini malformation

Objectives One-fifth of the world’s population lives in eight countries that constitute the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC). There is very little coordination among SAARC countries regarding the harmonization of pharmaceutical regulations and medicines safety. Pakistan, India and Bangladesh have experienced medicine-related tragedies where many patients have died. This study aims to examine current pharmacovigilance activity in the SAARC region to improve pharmacovigilance practices and to make recommendations for building a platform for collaboration to improve the safety monitoring of medicines in the region. The current review utilized secondary data. We reviewed the official websites of all SAARC countries’ national regulatory authorities for pharmacovigilance-related information. A data set with eleven pharmacovigilance indicators were gathered and synthesized. Key findings All eight SAARC member countries have pharmacovigilance systems with full membership in the WHO Program for International Drug Monitoring. Out of eleven pharmacovigilance indicators, India met ten; Pakistan, Bangladesh and Bhutan nine; Maldives and Afghanistan seven; Nepal and Sri Lanka five. The SAARC countries do not have a harmonized pharmacovigilance system or centralized database. Due to positioning in different WHO regions, it is proposed to create a consortium on medicine safety among SAARC countries like other regional organizations of the world to strengthen the pharmacovigilance systems and harmonize the pharmacovigilance practices among member countries. Summary To improve the quality of medicines and to strengthen regional medicine safety, the SAARC secretariat should consider forming a technical group of all member countries’ regulatory authorities.

The “top-down” approach was adopted to manufacture nano inkjet inks. Pigment Black 7 and Pigment Red 122 both 100% dried powders were used. The premix of these two pigments was subjected to bead milling to reduce the particle size to the nano-scale. The inkjet inks prepared were characterized for their particle size, zeta potential, purity, viscosity, surface tension, foaming properties, and pH using required analysis and spectroscopy techniques. Both inkjet inks were applied digitally on pre-treated cotton. The printing was performed on a Monna Lisa Evo Tre printer (EPSON). The printed samples were evaluated for colour fastness to light, rubbing, washing, and laundering using relevant AATCC and ISO methods. The powders of the same colour index numbers were kneaded and emulsified by a traditional ball milling method. Emulsions prepared were characterized and applied on singed, desized, scoured, bleached, and pre-treated pure cotton through a traditional rotary screen-printing method. The printed samples were evaluated for their application fastness properties for comparative studies. It was concluded that by promoting the use of green chemistry and nanotechnology, the digitally printed fabric samples displayed better print quality, increased application fastness properties and good colour gamut as compared to traditionally printed fabric samples. Moreover, the new digital printing process resulted in reduced chemical, energy and water consumption along with socio-economic, environmentally friendly effectiveness, with almost zero waste production as compared to the traditional printing method.

Background: The nutritional status of children is a good predictor of the community's overall nutritional profile. The nutritional requirements of women before conception, during pregnancy, and during breastfeeding are referred to as maternal nutrition. Globally, 165 million children under the five years are malnourished. It accounts for at least half of all the childhood deaths worldwide. Objective: To find the nutritional status of child of well-nourished mother vs. malnourished mothers Methodology: This comparative1observational study was conducted at Pediatrics Department, Masood Hospital & The Children Complex, Rahim Yar Khan. The study included 294 mothers of children aged 6 to 59 months who were both well-nourished and malnourished. Both mothers of children who were well-nourished when they were admitted to the ward and mothers of children who were malnourished when they were admitted to the NSC were included. Mothers' Body Mass Index (BMI) was assessed, and children's MUAC was obtained. The information was gathered using a designed questionnaire that asked about the mother's age, BMI, the children's age and gender, MUAC.Data was entered in SPSS V 25. Result: Total 294 children were included. Among1them 158(53.7%) mothers malnourished children & 136(46.3%) mothers of well-nourished children. The mean age of children was 2.50 + 0.98. There were 129(43.9%) male children and 165(56.1%) female children. Out of malnourished children, there were 31(19.6%) mildly undеr-wеіght, 9(5.7%) moderately undеr wеіght & 3(1.9%) were severely underweight. Furthermore, 134 mothers1of well-nоurіshеd children, 55(40.4%) mildly1undеrwеіght, 40(30.9%) moderately1undеrwеіght & 27(19.9%) were severely1underweight. There were 145 mothers had normal Hb and 149 mother’s anemic. Practical Implication: The purpose of this research was to determine if there is a correlation between children malnutrition and the health of their mothers. The findings of this study may aid in bringing the attention of the entire family, and notably the mothers, to the treatment of children suffering from severe acute malnutrition. Children can be protected from developing malnutrition through early diagnosis and treatment. Conclusion: Findings of our study showed that many children having history of mother malnutrition were undernourished. Study concluded that malnutrition was not problem of only mothers; it was also a big problem for children as well as whole family. In addition to caring for the malnourished child who has been admitted, the underlying causes of malnutrition must be identified and addressed if the problem is to be resolved for the entire family. Keywords: Body Mass Index, Nutritional Assessment, Malnutrition, Well-nourished

This work discovers the Laplace transform using a generalized pathway fractional integral formula involving an extended Mittag-Leffler function in the kernel for various parameters. Our findings are fairly broad in scope. Some well-known and novel results can also be obtained here.

Purpose: To identify resistance mechanisms for the chemotherapeutic drug fludarabine in chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), as innate and acquired resistance to fludarabine-based chemotherapy represents a major challenge for long-term disease control.Experimental Design: We used piggyBac transposon-mediated mutagenesis, combined with next-generation sequencing, to identify genes that confer resistance to fludarabine in a human CLL cell line.Results: In total, this screen identified 782 genes with transposon integrations in fludarabine-resistant pools of cells. One of the identified genes is a known resistance mediator DCK (deoxycytidine kinase), which encodes an enzyme that is essential for the phosphorylation of the prodrug to the active metabolite. BMP2K, a gene not previously linked to CLL, was also identified as a modulator of response to fludarabine. In addition, 10 of 782 transposon-targeted genes had previously been implicated in treatment resistance based on somatic mutations seen in patients refractory to fludarabine-based therapy. Functional characterization of these genes supported a significant role for ARID5B and BRAF in fludarabine sensitivity. Finally, pathway analysis of transposon-targeted genes and RNA-seq profiling of fludarabine-resistant cells suggested deregulated MAPK signaling as involved in mediating drug resistance in CLL.Conclusions: To our knowledge, this is the first forward genetic screen for chemotherapy resistance in CLL. The screen pinpointed novel genes and pathways involved in fludarabine resistance along with previously known resistance mechanisms. Transposon screens can therefore aid interpretation of cancer genome sequencing data in the identification of genes modifying sensitivity to chemotherapy. Clin Cancer Res; 22(24); 6217–27. ©2016 AACR.

Supplementary Material and Methods in Word format

Supplementary Figure S1. schematic illustration of piggyBac transposon and transposase vectors used. PB IR refers to piggyBac inverted repeats. FRT is flippase recognition target. Supplementary Figure S2. Real-time quantitative PCR analysis confirms efficient depletion of BMP2K and DCK. Supplementary Figure S3. TP53 deficient HCT116 cell line exhibits reduced sensitivity to F-ara-A. Supplementary Figure S4. Protein expression following transient transfection of the putative fludarabine resistance genes DCK, NUDCD3, ARID5B and LARS in HCT116 cell line. Supplementary Figure S5. Vemurafinib normalizes the response to F-ara-A in cells expressing V600E mutant BRAF. Supplementary Figure S6. Hierarchical clustering of differentially expressed genes in pools of HG3 cells resistant to fludarabine. Supplementary Figure S7. Increased phosphorylation of ERK in HG3 pool resistant to fludarabine. Supplementary Figure S8. Distribution of mutations in the BRAF gene in CLL.

supplemental figure and table legend

Heavy metals create serious health problems, so the practical implementation and development of low-cost sorbent materials to remove heavy metals from the ecosystem is a worldwide issue. The purpose of this study is to find a low-cost ligand that has the potential to adsorb heavy metals from aqueous and soil samples and also has biological potential. For this, a Schiff base, dimeric o-toluidine (SBL), has been synthesized through condensation, characterized by spectroscopic analysis, and had its biological activities measured. We also studied its adsorption efficiency through a batch technique to remove Zn(II), Co(II), and Cu(II) from aqueous and soil samples under different conditions such as metal ion concentration, pH, contact time, and SBL concentration. The adsorption potential of SBL was analyzed by the Langmuir and Freundlich adsorption isotherms. The values of correlation coefficients revealed that the Freundlich isotherm elucidated results that were more appropriable than the Langmuir model. Adsorption equilibrium was established in 90 min for aqueous samples and in 1,440 min for soil samples. For the maximum adsorption of all metals, the optimum pH was 8, and it showed a capacity to remove 77 to 95 percent of metals from the samples. The maximum adsorption capacity (qmax) of SBL were 75.75, 62.50, and 9.17 mg g-1 in the case of Cu(II), Zn(II), and Co(II) ions, respectively, from aqueous samples and 10.95, 64.10, and 88.49 mg g-1 in the case of Zn(II), Cu (II), and Co(II), respectively, from soil samples. The effectiveness of SBL in the sorption of the selected metals was found to be Cu+2 > Zn+2 > Co+2 for aqueous samples and Co+2 > Cu+2 > Zn+2 for soil samples. The antimicrobial activity of SBL was also investigated. The results revealed that SBL showed moderate inhibitory activity against Staphylococcus dysentria, C. albican, and Aspergillus niger, whereas it exhibited weak activity against S. aureus, P. aureginosa, K. pneumoniae, P. vulgaris, and E.coli when compared to Fluconazole and Ciprofloxacin as the standard. Acute toxicity of the synthesized compound was measured through its daily oral administration with various doses ranging from 0.1 to 1,000 mg/kg of the mice’s body weights. Even at the dose of 1,000 mg/kg, the SBL showed no mortality or any type of general behavioral change in the treated mice. Based on preparation cost, metal removal capacity, toxicity, and antimicrobial activities, SBL is an excellent sorbent and should be studied at pilot scale levels.

Objective: To determine the frequency of encrustations of ureteral stents in a tertiary care hospital of Pakistan. Patients and Methods: In this study we included 150 patients of Urology Unit of Ibn e Sina Hospital and Research Institute Multan, Pakistan in whom ureteral stents implantation was done. The study duration was April-2020 to July-2020. Patients with ureteral stents having renal stone, ureteric stone, ureteral stricture, pelviureteric junction obstruction (PUJO), trauma or malignant disease as primary pathology and duration of implantation >2 weeks to

Introduction and background:Mortality between stages 1 and 2 single-ventricle palliation is significant. Home-monitoring programmes are suggested to reduce mortality. Outcomes and risk factors for adverse outcomes for European programmes have not been published.Aims:To evaluate the performance of a home-monitoring programme at a medium-sized United Kingdom centre with regards survival and compare performance with other home-monitoring programmes in the literature.Methods:All fetal and postnatal diagnosis of a single ventricle were investigated with in-depth analysis of those undergoing stage 1 palliation and entered the home-monitoring programme between 2016 and 2020. The primary outcome was survival. Secondary outcomes included multiple parameters as potential predictors of death or adverse outcome.Results:Of 217 fetal single-ventricle diagnoses during the period 2016–2020, 50.2% progressed to live birth, 35.4% to stage 1 and 29.5% to stage 2. Seventy-four patients (including 10 with postnatal diagnosis) entered the home-monitoring programme with six deaths making home-monitoring programme mortality 8.1%. Risk factors for death were the hybrid procedure as the only primary procedure (OR 33.0, p < 0.01), impaired cardiac function (OR 10.3, p < 0.025), Asian ethnicity (OR 9.3, p < 0.025), lower mean birth-weight (2.69 kg versus 3.31 kg, p < 0.01), and lower mean weight centiles during interstage follow-up (mean centiles of 3.1 versus 10.8, p < 0.01)Conclusion:Survival in the home-monitoring programme is comparable with other home-monitoring programmes in the literature. Hybrid procedure, cardiac dysfunction, sub-optimal weight gain, and Asian ethnicity were significant risk factors for death. Home-monitoring programmes should continue to raise awareness of these factors and seek solutions to mitigate adverse events. Future work to generalise home-monitoring programme and single-ventricle fetus to stage 2 outcomes in the United Kingdom will require multi-centre collaboration.

Gut inflammation is a challenging concern in humans and animals, which disturbs normal growth and leads to severe bowel diseases. Short chain fatty acids (SCFA) are the gut microbiota metabolites produced from fermentation of non-digestible carbohydrates, and have been reported to modulate gut inflammation. SCFA have been implicated as the potential therapeutic bioactive molecules for gut inflammatory diseases, and could be an alternative to antibiotic growth promoters (AGP). In this review, the existing knowledge about the types of SCFA, the related gut microbes producing SCFA, the roles of SCFA in maintaining gut homeostasis, and how SCFA modulate gut inflammation is summarized. The therapeutic application of SCFA in the treatment of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is also highlighted.

Drought tolerance has been the criterion under water stress conditions. The present study was therefore evaluated in six wheat genotypes viz. (IBWSN-1010, IBWSN-1025, TD-1, ESW-9525,Khirman and Chakwal-86). Experiment first occupied with different polyethylene glycol (PEG 6000) concentration 0.0, -0.5, -0.75, -1.0 MPa, where is another experiment was laid out complete randomized design (CRD) along with two treatments (T1 control normal four irrigations) and (T2 terminal drought T. drought) conditions with replication thrice, has been used to induce drought tolerance. Different seedling parameters as agronomical traits, named, Plant height (cm), Spike length (cm), Number of Tiller Plant-1, Straw weight/plant (g), 100 Grain weight (g), Seed index (g), Days to 75% heading; Days to 75% maturity. The results depicted that ESW-9525 and IBWSN-1010 wheat cultivars performed better as compared to both check varieties (Khirman and Chakwal-86). The mean squares of variance showed that different osmotic potential had meaningful impact on most of the characters excluding root dry weight. Moreover, using all seedling growth parameters, under consideration can be utilized as selective characters to evaluate among resistant and susceptible cultivars in water stress under laboratory experiment and breeding programs seems to be additional desired for evaluation in water stress.

The paleoecological fluctuations left their impression marks on the tooth enamel of mammals during their tooth development. These marks can be used as stress indicators because they reflect the type of duress faced by the extinct mammalian species during their lives. The enamel hypoplasia (EH) is a common stress marker to trace out the paleoenvironment of the region and the likelihood of species extinction. The material used for current EH analysis belongs to the genus Deinotherium, family Deinotheriidae, collected from Middle Miocene (15.2–11.2 Ma) Siwaliks of Pakistan. In this analysis 35 samples consisting of 52 teeth of two species, Deinotherium pentapotamiaeand D. indicum are included. The results indicate that 13/52 (25%) of the analyzed teeth have occurrences of EH giving a prediction that these Siwalik deinotheriids were facing the physiological and/or ecological stresses during the Middle Miocene epoch of Pakistan. The higher frequency of EH in molars (30.30%) compared to premolars (21.05%) express that the individuals experienced a comparatively high stress at the adult stages of their lives. This higher magnitude of EH in molars supports the idea of ecological stressors, i.e., dietary, mating, disease, and predator-prey associations, amplify the likelihood of extinction by dint of EH occurrences. Keywords: enamel hypoplasia, Siwaliks, Middle Miocene, Proboscidea, Deinotherium, root crown junction

Medical education has been extraordinarily disrupted during the COVID-19 era worldwide. The pandemic limited routine ward or patient-based medical education. These limitations have resulted in new challenges for medical students, especially the final year students in completing their mandated curriculum. We are suggesting a revised curriculum for final year medical students, by following which we can address COVID restriction while making sure all competencies have been achieved by students. This revised curriculum centers around the usual placement of students in Surgical Assessment Unit (SAU), however all students will be posted in simulation wards/labs on their turn to enhance and consolidate their understanding and learning of common surgical cases in these wards, so that they can replicate these skills in SAU and wards on their turns. This article highlights how the proposed curriculum addresses the learning needs of final year medical students in their surgery rotation. The article will also summarize the critical appraisal process of our curriculum in the context of curriculum design theories. Finally, the article will highlight the quality assurance measures adhered to while developing the curriculum.

Listening Skill of any language is the key to all effective communication (Amir & Kang, 2018a; Amir & Kang, 2018b). Listening means the ability to receive and interpret the spoken text accurately and this fact makes it the one communication skill that a language learner should master. Considering the importance of the English language in Pakistan’s educational system, and that of Listening comprehension in the communication system, this study critically evaluates listening competency making a comparison between various groups of Higher Secondary School students of the provincial capital Quetta. The purpose of the study is to identify problems and hurdles that students face while listening to the English language and recommend the remedial steps required to be taken by the subject specialists i.e. teachers of English. The study evaluated the performance of Higher Secondary Students in listening comprehension through the conduct of Listening Comprehension Test/Tests in the classrooms while Questionnaires were used to identify problems of listening comprehension, teaching strategies, listening habits, and other variables. The data collected was analyzed quantitatively to determine the significant differences and correlations between various groups and subgroups of students formed on the basis of sectors and gender. The study was expected to help the teachers and students in better academic performance and concluded with findings and subsequent recommendations for teachers and students to improve listening comprehension of English with respect to the Educational system prevailing in the province of Baluchistan.

Exploiting zeolitic imidazolate framework (ZIF)-based nanoparticles to synergistically enhance starvation-combined chemotherapy strategies remains an urgent demand. Herein, glucose oxidase (GOX) and doxorubicin (DOX) were facilely incorporated into ZIFs for starvation-combined chemotherapy. The as-prepared DOX/GOX-loaded ZIF (DGZ) exhibited uniform size with good dispersity, effective protection of the GOX activity, and stable delivery of the drugs into tumor. Correspondingly, it could achieve the glucose- and pH-responsive degradation and thus the controllable drug release. As a result, the acidification of glucose accompanied with reactive oxygen species (ROS) production was observed for the starvation-enhanced chemotherapy and the improved degradation. Most importantly, adjustable Zn

Low wheat production is linked to soil degradation, low organic matter, temperature variation, and nutrient depletion in soils of semiarid regions. Nitrogen is mostly applied as urea to meet crop requirements; however, excessive N application may pollute the environment and contaminate groundwater. The current studies explored possible ways for decreasing N losses (NH

In this article, we investigate existence and the exact solutions of the extended Fisher-Kolmogorov (EFK) equation. This equation is used in the population growth dynamics and wave propagation. The fourth-order term in this model describes the phase transitions near critical points which are also known as Lipschitz points. He's variational method is adopted to construct the soliton solutions as well as the periodic wave solutions successfully for the extended (higher-order) EFK equation. This approach is simple and has the greatest advantages because it can reduce the order of our equation and make the equation more simple. So, the results that are obtained by this approach are very simple and straightforward. The graphics behavior of these solutions are also sketched in 3D, 2D, and corresponding contour representations by the different choices of parameters.

New variants of SARS-CoV-2 are being reported worldwide. The World Health Organization has reported Alpha (B.1.1.7), Beta (B.1.351), Gamma (P.1), Delta (B.1.617.2) and Omicron (B.1.1.529) as the variants of concern. There are speculations that the variants might evade the host immune responses induced by currently available vaccines and develop resistance to drugs under consideration. The first step of viral infection in COVID-19 occurs through the interaction of the spike protein's receptor-binding domain (RBD) with the peptidase domain of the human ACE-2 (hACE-2) receptor. This study aims to get a molecular-level understanding of the mechanism behind the increased infection rate in the alpha variant. We have computationally studied the spike protein interaction in both the wild-type and B.1.1.7 variant with the hACE-2 receptor using molecular dynamics and MM-GBSA based binding free energy calculations. The binding free energy difference shows that the mutant variant of the spike protein has increased binding affinity for the hACE-2 receptor (

Deep neural networks (DNNs) have enabled astounding progress in several vision-based problems. Despite showing high predictive accuracy, recently, several works have revealed that they tend to provide overconfident predictions and thus are poorly calibrated. The majority of the works addressing the miscalibration of DNNs fall under the scope of classification and consider only in-domain predictions. However, there is little to no progress in studying the calibration of DNN-based object detection models, which are central to many vision-based safety-critical applications. In this paper, inspired by the train-time calibration methods, we propose a novel auxiliary loss formulation that explicitly aims to align the class confidence of bounding boxes with the accurateness of predictions (i.e. precision). Since the original formulation of our loss depends on the counts of true positives and false positives in a minibatch, we develop a differentiable proxy of our loss that can be used during training with other application-specific loss functions. We perform extensive experiments on challenging in-domain and out-domain scenarios with six benchmark datasets including MS-COCO, Cityscapes, Sim10k, and BDD100k. Our results reveal that our train-time loss surpasses strong calibration baselines in reducing calibration error for both in and out-domain scenarios. Our source code and pre-trained models are available at https://github.com/akhtarvision/bpc_calibration, Comment: Accepted at CVPR 2023

Background: The goal of this research was to assess the effectiveness and safety of intra-articular tranexamic acid (TA) with intravenous (IV) TA in reducing perioperative blood loss, the severity of early postoperative problems, and venous thromboembolism in patients who have had a primary unilateral cemented total knee replacement. Patients and methods: This comparative study was undertaken using a non-probability purposive sampling technique at the Department of Orthopedic Surgery, King Edward Medical University / Mayo Hospital, Lahore, from July 1st, 2018 to October 30th, 2019. A total of number 71 patients, aged 35 to 75 years, who underwent unilateral cemented total knee replacement for advanced knee osteoarthritis were included in the study. Patients who had known allergic reactions to tranexamic acid, risk factors of thromboembolism, severe kidney and heart diseases, and blood clotting disorders were excluded. The patients were divided into two groups, A and B. Pre-operatively, patients in Group A were given intraarticular tranexamic acid (3000mg). In Group B, intravenous tranexamic acid (10mg/kg) was given pre-operatively. Outcome parameters studied were drained blood (DB), level of hemoglobin (Hb), blood transfusion (BT), and hematocrit (Hct) after 48 hours of surgery and compared with the preoperative value. Data was entered and analyzed using SPSS version 21.0. Independent sample T-test was applied to compare the hematocrit and hemoglobin difference in the two groups, and the P-value was taken less than 0.05 as significant. Results: Out of the total 36 patients in Group A, there were 20 (55.5%) males and 16 (44.4%) females, while amongst 35 patients in Group B, there were 21 (60%) males and 14 (40%) females. The mean preoperative Haemoglobin (Hb) in Group A was 13.9+1.2 and 13.8+0.9 in Group B (p = 0.44). The mean postoperative Hb in Group A was 12.11±2.47 and 11.24 ± 3.52 in Group B (p = 0.002). The mean variation of Hct in Group A was 4.49 and 6.82 in Group B (p = 0.001). Conclusion: Intra-articular tranexamic acid during total knee joint replacement is a viable alternative to the established intravenous tranexamic acid with statistically significant high postoperative hemoglobin and hematocrit levels.

Objective Taking leads from the available research, we aimed to develop a synergy-based herbal combination of Tinospora cordifolia (TC), Phyllanthus emblica (PE), and Piper nigrum (PN). Also, evaluating their synergistic effect on CP-induced immunosuppression in mice model and exploring the possible mechanisms involved in reversing the damage. Methodology The immunomodulatory activity of combination, of TC stem, PE fruits, and PN dried fruits, was determined by in vitro assays (splenocyte proliferation and pinocytic activity of peritoneal macrophages of mice) and in vivo study using CP-induced immunosuppression model in Swiss Albino mice. The ratio was optimized for combining three by in vitro MTT assay. The combination was further evaluated for anti-oxidant activity by DPPH scavenging method and quantified for its bioactive metabolites by HPTLC. Serum collected on day 0, 4, 7 and 14 was employed for estimation of haematogram (haematocrit, TLC, DLC, and haemoglobin, etc) and immune parameters (IL-10, IL-6 and TNF-α) by ELISA. Results The study demonstrated, that combination of herbal extracts at an intermediate dose could inhibit the proliferation of spleen cells and peritoneal macrophages (P ≤ 0.0001) and induce suppression of pro-inflammatory mediators, and also certified that combination exerts synergized effects. The results showed that the combination possess potential antioxidant activity by DPPH scavenging method (IC50-113.5 µg/ml). It was identified that combination significantly (P ≤ 0.0001) improved the immune markers, haematogram parameters, and histological parameters, with maximum protection offered by an intermediate dose. Conclusion The results suggested that present combination could be further explored clinically as potent synergy-based therapeutic approach for immune modulation.

This research utilizes a hybrid technology through resonant line-level control phase-shifted full-bridge (HR-LLC-PSFB) dc–dc converter. In this research, a line level control (LLC) auxiliary circuit is used to achieve zero-current soft-switching turned-off operation of a controlled switch. The zero-voltage soft-switching turned-on operation is achieved by using the transformers’ magnetic branch energy and the energy reflected by the output filter inductor. The effective turn’s ratio of the isolating transformers is used to reduce the inverter circuit’s voltage stresses. The effect of voltage overshoots and freewheeling circulating current in rectifying branches is improved by implementing an energy recovery circuit with an output filter. A closed loop coordination proportional integral derivative (PID) controller is proposed to generate the pulse width modulation (PWM) control signal to transmit smooth power by controlling output voltage and current values. The droop constant current charging (CCC) and reduced constant current charging (RCCC) technique is proposed for the charging process. Simulations performed in MATLAB and results substantiate the proposed work superiority in comparison to other topologies.

Sustainable wheat production in drought prone areas can be achieved by developing resilient wheat varieties. In the present study, chemical mutagenesis was used to induce mutations in a cultivated wheat variety ‘NN-Gandum-1’. In total, 44 mutants were selected based on their high yield potential for exposing to well-watered (W 1) and rainfed (W 2) conditions for one season. Then, 24 mutants were selected and were exposed to W 1 and W 2 regimes. On the basis of least relative reduction in physiological parameters under W 2 regime, five mutants were selected for conducting exome capturing assays. In total, 184 SNPs were identified in nine genes (ABC transporter type 1, aspartic peptidase, cytochrome P450, transmembrane domain, heavy metal-associated domain, HMA, NAC domain, NAD (P)-binding domain, S-type anion channel, Ubiquitin-conjugating enzyme E2 and UDP-glucuronosyl/UDP-glucosyltransferase). Maximum number of mutations were observed in chr.2D, which contained mutations in three genes, i.e. ABC transporter type 1, NAD (P)-binding domain and UDP-glucuronosyl/UDP-glucosyltransferase which may have a role in conferring drought tolerance. The selected mutants were further tested for studying their biochemical responses under both the regimes for 2 years. The extent of membrane damage was estimated through malondialdehyde and hydrogen per oxidase, and tolerance to drought stress was assessed via antioxidant enzymes in leaves. The selected mutants under drought stress increased the accumulation of proline content, total soluble sugars, total free amino acids, while decreased total chlorophyll content, carotenoids and total soluble protein. These mutants can further be explored to understand the genetic circuits of drought tolerance in wheat.

Background: Hypospadias is a congenital anomaly, exclusive to the male population involving male external genitalia. Incidence varies in different populations and ethnic groups. Objective: To determine the frequency of fistula formation after two staged Bracka’s technique in the management of hypospadias cripples in patients of different age groups. Methodology: Setting: Department of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Shaikh Zayed Hospital, Lahore. Duration of Study: From January 2011 to June 2014. Study Design: Descriptive case series. Sampling Technique: Non-probability: purposive sampling. Study subjects: Patients with age 1 to 60 years, diagnosed as case of hypospadias cripples diagnosed clinically (patients having a persistent functional complication after initial repair). The data was entered into SPSS version 22 and analyzed through it. Fistula formation was presented as frequencies and percentages. Results: The mean age was 8.26±5.67. The majority of the patients, 71 (84%) were less than 10 years of age (84%), 6 patients (7%) were between 10-20 years of age, while 8 patients (9%) were more than 20 years of age. Only 9 patients (11%) had a fistula and most of the patients 76 (89%) had no fistula. There was 1 (1%) patient who had fistula less than 10 years of age, 2 (3%) patients had fistula between 10-20 years of age while 6 (7%) patients had fistula more than 20 years of age. Conclusion: It is concluded that the early intervention in cases of hypospadias cripples results in lesser complications and lesser functional problems as compared to increasing age at the time of presentation.

The potential to therapeutically alter the genome is one of the remarkable scientific developments in recent years. Genome editing technologies have provided an opportunity to precisely alter genomic sequence(s) in eukaryotic cells as a treatment option for various genetic disorders. These technologies allow the correction of harmful mutations in patients by precise nucleotide editing. Genome editing technologies such as CRISPR (clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeat) and base editors have greatly contributed to the practical applications of gene editing. However, these technologies have certain limitations, including imperfect editing, undesirable mutations, off-target effects, and lack of potential to simultaneously edit multiple loci. Recently, prime editing (PE) has emerged as a new gene editing technology with the potential to overcome the above-mentioned limitations. Interestingly, PE not only has higher specificity but also does not require double-strand breaks. In addition, a minimum possibility of potential off-target mutant sites makes PE a preferred choice for therapeutic gene editing. Furthermore, PE has the potential to introduce insertion and deletions of all 12 single-base mutations at target sequences. Considering its potential, PE has been applied as a treatment option for genetic diseases including hemoglobinopathies. β-Thalassemia, for example, one of the most significant blood disorders characterized by reduced levels of functional hemoglobin, could potentially be treated using PE. Therapeutic reactivation of the γ-globin gene in adult β-thalassemia patients through PE technology is considered a promising therapeutic strategy. The current review aims to briefly discuss the genome editing strategies and potential applications of PE for the treatment of β-thalassemia. In addition, the review will also focus on challenges associated with the use of PE.

Meloxicam (MEL) is an oxicam derivative with low water solubility that is useful in the treatment of colorectal cancer (CRC) as a COX-2 inhibitor. MEL-loaded HPMC micro particles were fabricated using an oil-in-oil (o/o) emulsion solvent evaporation (ESE) method. FTIR, XRD, particle size analysis, DSC, SEM and in vitro dissolution investigation were utilized to evaluate the produced micro particles physiochemically. Finally, rabbits were used as animal models in an in vivo pharmacokinetic study to assess the MEL concentration in the plasma of rabbits. Pure MEL, F1 and F2 were given to rabbits by a single dose for in vivo pharmacokinetic investigations. The XRD and DSC results confirmed the transformation of MEL from its crystalline nature to the amorphous state in micro particles. The formulations F1 and F2 particle sizes were determined 92.43μm and 163.26μm, respectively. The prepared micro particles had a smooth, non-porous and spherical surface. In comparison to the pure drug (22.4%), the F1 and F2 cumulative drug release (%) was 86.19% and 79.57%, respectively. Pure MEL, F1 and F2 have estimated C

Background: An estimated 325 million people worldwide live with hepatitis B and/or C and approximately, 5 million people are affected with hepatitis B. in Pakistan.This study aimed at developing PreS protein from Hepatitis B Virus Pakistani isolate (SBS001) with enhanced sensitivity to detect antibodies in serum as a diagnostic method. Methods: Gene encoding PreS region from hepatitis B Virus was cloned and expressed in Escherchia coli. The recombinant protein preS-His was purified by Ni-IDA affinity chromatography. Antibodies were raised in rabbit. This protein was screened for detection of antibodies in HBV patients’ sera through ELISA. This ELISA procedure was compared with commercially available Kit used for diagnosis of HBV infection. Results: Single band purified recombinant PreS protein was obtained with high titer of antibodies raised in rabbits. This recombinant protein was used in ELISA as antigen coated on the plate. That efficiently detected antibodies present in HBV patients. It was concluded that preS-His antigen/ protein A HRP-conjugate ELISA method was more sensitive than the commercial kit for detecting the antibodies present in HBV patient sera. Conclusion: It was concluded that SBS001 PreS recombinant protein can be used in ELISA kits for detection of HBV in Pakistani population.