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Background: The study was conducted in the various districts of Punjab, Pakistan, to ascertain the incidence and epidemiology of SARS-CoV-2 variants circulating in the population during the fifth wave of COVID-19. Method: A total of 9603 nasopharyngeal swab samples of suspected patients were collected from the different districts of Punjab from December 2021 to April 2022. In the BSL-3 facility, an auto-extractor (Uni-medica) was used to extract the RNA genome. Viral detection and quantification were performed using real-time reverse transcriptase PCR. Multiplex PCR was used to target different mutations of the spike protein in order to identify SARS-CoV-2 variants. Results: 711 samples were found to be positive from a total of 9603. The Omicron variant of concern (VOC) was the predominant lineage of SARS-CoV-2 circulating at the time of sampling. Ninety-one percent proportion of COVID-19 was caused by the Omicron, followed by the wild variant (3.80%) and Delta (68.11%). Men were found to have a greater Omicron prevalence (47.96%) than women (42.05%). Furthermore, compared to older individuals (32.07%) and younger kids (10.55%), adults had the higher percentage of Omicron (47.39%). Conclusion: This study brought attention to the Omicron variant's circulation in Punjab Province, Pakistan, during the COVID-19 fifth wave. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With recent advancements in the petroleum industry, the need for multiphase pumps to transport multiphase products, such as the product of oil, water, and natural gas, arises along with their challenges. A helico-axial multiphase pump should be capable of converting fluid kinetic energy into pressure by avoiding gas–liquid separation and the gas-locking phenomenon, enabling smooth pump operation at higher gas volume fractions. In this paper, erosion on a helico-axial pump is evaluated at different flow conditions using sand particles mixed with water. A very important practical finding of this investigation is that the erosion rate increased when the flow conditions deviated from the design point of 3600 RPM. Operating the pump in off-design conditions not only reduced its hydraulic efficiency but also increased the erosion rates and hence reduces its life. It was observed that at 4800 RPM, the pump efficiency decreased by 11% and the erosion rate increased by 80%. This increase in erosion rate was attributed to the formation of local vortices upstream of the blade leading edge affecting the particle flow path and increasing its impact on the blade surface. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]