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Introduction: The HBV virus has its enveloped protein that surrounds nucleic acid for its protection. Hepatitis B DNA virus belongs to the Hepadnoviridae family and is similar to retroviruses. Globally, HBV infected people approximately 2 billion in the world, about 350 million people were chronic carriers. One million deaths are caused by the HBV virus every year. Each year, 400,000 new cases were reported in Latin America. Among all over the World, Pakistan was considered as one of the largest chronic viral hepatitis infection countries. Methodology: 975 samples were recoded from different districts of south Punjab. The sera of the patient’s sample were examined to analyze the LFTs, HBS serology, HBS ELIZA, anti-HBeAg, AFP, anti- HDV, HBC IgM, and HBV DNA EAL TIME PCR. An anticoagulant sample was used to analyze their prothrombin time, HB level, WBC count, PLT counts, and HBA1C. Data were analyzed by using Microsoft Excel 2019 and SPSS version 14.0. Results: 975 samples were collected from the Multan district of Punjab. Out of which 638(65.43%) patients were detected positive for HBsAg serology, 312(32.84%) were not detected. The HBA1C test values are higher in HBV patients and its normal value is below 6.4%. In 1st group 258 patients out of 638 are HBV PCR DETECTED, bilirubin 2.1+-5.7, ALP 425.1±575.1, AST 119.6±102.6, ALT 62.0±41.6, and albumin 3.5±0.9. in the 2nd group, 149 patients out of 638 are HBV PCR detected, bilirubin 1.4±1.9, ALP 488.1±339.2, AST 143.0±117.4, ALT 78.1±53.4, and albumin 4.4±0.6. Conclusion: The prevalence of HBV in diabetic patients is higher as compared to control diabetic patients. the patients with high serum AFP levels tend to be HBs-Ag-positive, and those who have low AFP levels are associated with cryptogenic cirrhosis. The positive HBc IgM is higher in anti-HDV-negative cases as compared to HDV-positive cases. The value of HBV DNA was higher in anti-HDV-negative cases. The HBsAg correlates with HBV DNA level and it’s a level higher in the IT phase and lowers in the IC phase.

Several interfaces exist for querying provenance. Many are not flexible in allowing users to select a database type of their choice. Some provide query functionality in a data model that is differe...

Drinking water contamination by arsenic (As) is of significant concern due to its potential cause of cancer and arsenicosis. In this study, out of the 200 samples (n = 200), the mean As concentrations ranged from below detection limit (BDL) to 3.30, 4.81, 4.42 and 3.85 µg L−1 in small residential, roadside, industrial and household areas, respectively. From 200 total samples, 9% of the groundwater samples showed As levels higher than the WHO safe guideline limit of 10 μg L−1. Human health risk was assessed using average daily intake (ADD), hazard quotient (HQ) and cancer risk (CR) values which were found to be greater than the recommended values by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (1.0 and 10−6) for health risk assessment. The CR were ranged from 0–5.7 × 10−1, 4.0 × 10−1, 2.0 × 10−1 and 1.0 × 10−1 in small residential areas for children, adolescents, males and females, respectively. In roadside areas, the values ranged from 0–2.8 × 10−1, 4.0 × 10−1, 2.0 × 10−1 and 2.8 × 10−1 for children, adolescents, males and females, while 0–5.9 × 10−1, 4.1 × 10−1, 2.1 × 10−1 and 1.6 × 10−1 in industrial areas and 0–8.0 × 10−1, 2.91 × 10−1, 2.6 × 10−1 and 3.9 × 10−1 were calculated in household sites. All the CR values were found to be exceeding the US-EPA limit (10−6) recommending that the people in the study area are more prone to carcinogenic risk. Overall, it was concluded that due to presence of As in drinking water, these areas tend to be at higher cancer risks. To provide safe drinking water for the people living in these As-affected areas, urgent remedial and management steps are required.

Esta investigación se llevó a cabo para determinar el efecto de la exposición al macho cabrío sobre la respuesta al estro, el inicio del estro permanente, la tasa de ovulación, la tasa de concepción y la tasa de preñez en cabras sincronizadas con esponjas de acetato de medroxiprogesterona (MAP). Se colocaron esponjas dentro de la vagina durante quince días en grupos aislados y expuestos a machos. Después de retirar la esponja, se observaron continuamente las actividades estrales. El intervalo entre la retirada de la esponja y el inicio del estro permanente fue de 32.3±10 h (18-51 h) y 45.2±10.9 h (27-51 h) en el grupo de machos aislados y expuestos respectivamente (p0.05). Los embarazos fueron confirmados por ultrasonido en el día 35 después del apareamiento, que fueron 93%, fue y 69% en el grupo expuesto y aislado de machos, respectivamente (p>0.05). Sobre la base de la evidencia, se infirió que la exposición repentina al macho después de la extracción de la esponja provocó un inicio del estro notablemente más temprano, mientras que la exposición continua al macho no pudo mostrar un impacto significativo en las tasas de concepción y preñez en comparación con el grupo aislado., This investigation was executed to determine effect of buck exposure on estrus response, onset of standing estrus, ovulation rate, conception rate and pregnancy rate in goats synchronized with medroxyprogesterone acetate (MAP) sponges. Sponges were placed inside the vagina for fifteen days in buck exposed and isolated groups. Post sponge withdrawal, estrus activities were continuously observed. The interval between sponge withdrawal and the onset of standing estrus were 32.3±10 h (18-51 h) and 45.2±10.9 h (27-51h) in buck isolated and exposed group respectively (p0.05). Pregnancies were confirmed by ultrasound on day 35 post mating which were 93%, was and 69% in buck exposed and isolated group respectively (p>0.05). Based upon the evidence, it was inference that post sponge removal sudden buck exposure cause markedly earlier estrus onset while the continuous buck exposure was unable to show significantly impact on conception and pregnancy rates compare to isolated group.

We investigated the role of ascorbic acid (AsA) to alleviate nickel (Ni) induced adverse effects on growth and concentration of Ni, copper (Cu), and manganese (Mn) in hydroponically grown wheat varieties viz. Galaxy, Punjab-2011, and FSD-08. Plants were exposed to five levels of Ni viz. 0, 5, 10, 15, and 20Exploiting plant internal mechanisms with foliar application of different organic substances have widely been investigated to decrease metal accumulation and their adverse effects on plants. However, the differential response of different varieties to metal accumulation in response to foliar application of ascorbic acid is not well documented. This study was conducted to investigate the effect of exogenous application of ascorbic acid on growth response, the concentration of Ni, Cu, and Mn in three wheat varieties.

Several interfaces exist for querying provenance. Many are not flexible in allowing users to select a database type of their choice. Some provide query functionality in a data model that is different from the graph-oriented one that is natural for provenance. Others have intuitive constructs for finding results but have limited support for efficiently chaining responses, as needed for faceted search. This article presents a user interface for querying provenance that addresses these concerns and is agnostic to the underlying database being used.

Toxic metals and particle pollutants in urbanized cities have significantly increased over the past few decades mainly due to rapid urbanization and unplanned infrastructure. This research aimed at estimating the concentration of toxic metals and particle pollutants and the associated risks to public health across different land-use settings including commercial area (CA), urban area (UA), residential area (RA), and industrial area (IA). A total of 47 samples for both soil and air were collected from different land-use settings of Faisalabad city in Pakistan. Mean concentrations of toxic metals such as Mn, Zn, Pb, Ni, Cr, Co, and Cd in all land-use settings were 92.68, 4.06, 1.34, 0.16, 0.07, 0.03, and 0.02 mg kg−1, respectively. Mean values of PM10, PM2.5, and Mn in all land-use settings were found 5.14, 1.34, and 1.9 times higher than the World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines. Mn was found as the most hazardous metal in terms of pollution load index (PLI) and contamination factor (CF) in the studied area. Health risk analysis for particle pollutants using air quality index (AQI) and geoinformation was found in the range between good to very critical for all the land-use settings. The hazard quotient (HQ) and hazard index (HI) were higher for children in comparison to adults, suggesting that children may be susceptible to potentially higher health risks. However, the cancer risk (CR) value for Pb ingestion (1.21 × 10−6) in children was lower than the permissible limit (1 × 10−4 to 1 × 10−6). Nonetheless, for Cr inhalation, CR value (1.09 × 10−8) was close to tolerable limits. Our findings can be of valuable assistance toward advancing our understanding of soil and air pollutions concerning public health in different land-use settings of the urbanized cities of Pakistan.

An experiment to compare whitebox and blackbox testing techniques for different programming languages.

Veterinary antibiotics (VAs) are widely used in Pakistan for growth enhancement, production, and in the prevention and treatment of infectious diseases in the livestock and poultry industry. Their emergence into the agro-environment began during the resource utilization of farmyard and poultry manure. However, these bioactive organic pollutants are non-degradable in the natural environment and can be uptaken by plants, eventually ending up in the human food chain. Despite the danger these antibiotics pose, unfortunately, it is an issue that still remains underreported, especially in Pakistan. As such, this review critically summarizes the current consumption, exposure pathways, strategies for controlling dissemination, and serious environmental concerns associated with VAs. Additionally, the fate of antibiotics in the dry arid climate of Pakistan is thoroughly explained along with the lack of monitoring and strict legislation in developing countries. It is reported that antibiotic consumption negatively impacts raw manure, hence suggestions such as limiting the consumption of antibiotics from the source, proper disposal of farmyard manure with effective technologies, and remediation techniques are introduced. Finally, the authors highlight the importance of farmer's education and awareness campaigns in the pollution control of antibiotics, as the problem can only be properly addressed with the cooperation of government agencies, companies, and involved stakeholders. © 2021 Friends Science Publishers

Water scarcity has become one of the major limiting factors in global agriculture, particularly in the arid and semi-arid regions of the world. This necessitates irrigation with marginal-quality waters including those with high levels of residual sodium carbonate (RSC) and an important water quality parameter. Extended use of high RSC water leads to accumulate sodium in the soil which alters physical and chemical properties of soils. The electrical conductivity is a good index of salinity while sodium adsorption ratio (SAR) that of sodicity hazard of irrigation water. It has been found that waters with high RSC values are more hazardous compared to no RSC water of equal SAR. Sustainable agriculture on these soils demands to adopt certain site-specific management strategies prior to use such low-quality waters for the economic production of crops. Strategies like dilution with low salt water and addition of calcium-based amendments, along with organic manures have been traditionally practiced and giving some promising results. It is well documented that for improving plant growth, irrigation to achieve low leaching fraction is necessary for the purpose of reducing the transport of solutes that are responsible for the degradation of water quality and provides an efficient use of limited water supplies. In addition, implementations of government policies and public–private sector collaborations are necessary to find new horizons for the management of high RSC irrigation waters in arid and semi-arid regions of the world. This article provides an overview of soil permeability problems associated with the irrigation using high RSC waters.

Natural springs which originate from hilly areas of Skardu in Pakistan make their route downward and are utilized by the public as they passes from residential areas. Due to weathering processes in mountainous regions, these springs can be the source of various trace elements and pollutants. Keeping in mind the same concept, ten mostly used freshwater springs were selected to evaluate their drinking water quality in the Skardu region. Three samples of water from each spring (start/mouth, 100 m away from the mouth, and 200 m away from mouth) were collected and analyzed for water quality via Water Quality Index (WQI). The main parameters of spring water were recorded in the laboratory as electrical conductivity (EC), total dissolved solids (TDS), residual sodium carbonate (RSC), and sodium adsorption ratio (SAR), and secondary parameters, i.e., Kelley’s ratio (KR), permeability index (PI), and WQI, were derived. Besides these parameters, heavy metal pollutants (Cd, Cr, Mn, and Cu) were also determined from the water samples. The results showed that the assessed parameters TDS, SSP, KR, and PI were found within the safer limits of drinking water as prescribed by the Pak-EPA and WHO. However, among trace elements, only Cd (0.03 mg L−1) was found above the permissible limits of 0.01 mg L−1 as given by the GOP-EPA (2008) and WHO (1996) at Shigri Bala spring 200 m away. Similarly, at 2 ft from the mouth of Chumig S1 spring, its concentrations were recorded 0.03 mg L−1, and at Benazir Chowk spring (100 m away), it was found 0.02 mg L−1. In general, the Water WQI demonstrates that springs have good water quality. Our findings are useful for the environmental protection managers and citizens of the Skardu concerned with the water quality of the springs.

Lead is getting more and more alarming because of its toxicity and destructive effects on plants, animals, and human health. The higher lead uptake by plants deteriorate the consistency in growth a...

Objectives: To determine the ordering pattern and cost effective use of thyroid function tests for diagnosing thyroid diseases, aiming to minimize the total cost of diagnosis without compromising the diagnostic accuracy of the tests. Study Design: Retrospective Observational study. Setting: Department of Pathology, Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences, Islamabad. Period: 1st December 2016 to 31st February 2017. Material & Methods: The data regarding the number of entitled patients and the cost of each of T3, T4 and TSH was determined. Also the number of cases where the thyroid profile was normal were determined and analysis was made about whether was there any need to prescribe full profile. Mean and standard were used for quantitative variables and frequency and percentages were applied for qualitative data. About 1491 patients were included in the study. Results: Mean age of the study sample was 25 ± 6.5 years (range: 1 years to 80 years). There were 579 (39%) males and 912 (61%) females. About 700 (46.9%) patients were entitled. Majority of the cases were from medicine and gynae obstetrics units of the hospital i.e 644 (43.2%) and 549 (36.8%) cases respectively. In about 838 (56.2%) cases, the thyroid function tests were normal. Conclusion: There is a huge financial burden on patients as well on the hospital regarding performing thyroid function tests in clinical setup. There is a need to spread awareness among junior doctors to ensure judicious advising of the thyroid function tests in patients especially in cases coming from low socioeconomic class and in cases of entitled patients, whose burden is from the government funds.

Cholera is deadly watery diarrhea caused by Vibro cholerae. Approximately 550,000 Pakistani children die each year due to waterborne illnesses including diarrhea. Vibro cholera bacterium strain O1eLtOR is a major cause of diarrhea in Pakistan. Since it is a waterborne bacteria, people relying on tap water (not filtered) are the most vulnerable to this disease. In current study, tap water was disinfected by using different concentrations of sodium dichloroisocyanurate (NADDC) to devise an effective and inexpensive method to make water safe for drinking. Different concentrations of NADDC were utilized to disinfect water and 1.2 mg of NADDC in 40 ml water was effective to disinfect water from bacterial colonies The experimental data is represented through the proposed mathematical model i.e. exponential decay model and statistical analysis of the generated data is also done. The graphical representation is also done to show the exponential decay of bacterial growth. The results of our study reveal that NADCC is an effective chemical agent to purify drinking water from Vibrio cholerae.

The effect of organic amendments on phytoavailability of nickel (Ni) and other metals in soil may change with time due to transformation of organic matter. We investigated the residual effect of or...

Background: Feminizing adrenal tumors are rare and generally malignant tumors usually seen in male adults and children. We report the case of a benign feminizing adrenal tumor in a male patient. To our knowledge, only 2 other cases of benign, estrogen-only-secreting adrenal tumors have been reported. Case Report: A 44-year-old male with a history of hypertension presented to his primary care physician with chest tenderness, fatigue, and erectile dysfunction. Hormonal workup and imaging identified an estrogen-only-secreting adrenal adenoma. The adenoma was removed via laparoscopic adrenalectomy, and the patient had a normal postoperative course. Pathologic findings were an adrenal cortical adenoma with a Weiss score of 0 and a Ki-67 score of 0%. At 6-month follow-up, the patient's symptoms had significantly improved, and his previously abnormal sex hormone levels were within normal limits. Conclusion: Given the ambiguity in distinguishing between malignant and benign feminizing adrenal tumors, we suggest that radiologic (via Hounsfield units), clinical (via trending hormone levels), and histopathologic (via Weiss and Ki-67 scores) findings are sufficient to confirm the benign nature of this commonly malignant tumor.