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Abstract Microorganism contamination on substrate surfaces is arousing increasingly concern as a serious health issue. In this research work, antimicrobial water-based acrylic paint containing silver nanoparticles (Ag NPs) was prepared using the facile Ag+ in situ reduction process, in which AgNO3 and reducing agent sodium acrylate were refluxed with acrylic polymeric solution to obtain an antimicrobial and antifungal polymeric material for substrate coating. The Synthesized antimicrobial and antifungal water-based acrylic paint were characterized by different spectroscopic techniques. The FTIR and UV–Visible spectroscopic analyses were investigated to study the water-based acrylic paint structure as well as the significant impact of Ag NPs on the paint matrix. The UV–Visible and FTIR Spectra peak shows successful integration of Ag NPs within the polymer matrix without altering the core functional groups of the paint. The water based acrylic paint exhibited a strong antimicrobial activity, revealed substantial inhibition zones against all four strains of Gram negative represented by Escherichia coli, Acinetobacter baumannii, Klebsiella pneumoniae and Gram-positive represented by Bacillus cereus. The coated film on substrate also shows great inhibition zone which exhibit a strong antimicrobial activity. Moreover, water based acrylic paint also exhibited a great antifungal activity, revealed substantial zone of inhibition against the Aspergillus niger, Aspergillus terreus and Rhizopus arrhizus fungal strains. Also, the coated film showed the best adhesion at 50% and 80% solution of polymeric coating sample as compared to pure or very dilute sample coating. This innovative approach has the potential to revolutionize varies industries from healthcare to construction.

Background: The presence of perinatal asphyxia and its severity appear to correlate with increasing incidence of Acute kidney injury (AKI). The objective of this study is to determine the frequency of AKI and its outcome in birth asphyxia. Methods: This cross-sectional study was carried out in the Department of Pediatric Medicine from March 2019 to September 2019. A total of 111 newborns with birth asphyxia of gestational age 37–41 weeks were included. Neonates born to mothers having hypertension and diabetes mellitus, patients with congenital kidney anomalies like polycystic kidney disease and renal agenesis, and mothers taking nephrotoxic drugs or any other known cause of AKI like hypovolemic shock were excluded. Urine output (UOP) and final outcome of the patient were also noted. AKI was noted. Results: The mean gestational age was 38.29 ± 1.07 weeks. The mean weight of neonates was 3.08 ± 0.31 kg. The frequency of AKI in birth asphyxia was 20 (18.02%) neonates. Complete recovery in AKI patients was seen in 07 (35.0%) and death in 13 (65.0%) patients. Conclusion: This study has shown that the frequency of AKI in birth asphyxia was found in 18.02% neonates with complete recovery seen in 35.0% and death in 65.0% patients.

Abstract Highly crystalline organic semiconductors are ideal materials for photocatalytic hydrogen evolution in water splitting. However, the instability and complex synthesis processes of most reported organic molecule‐based photocatalysts restrict their applications. In this study, we introduce benzo [1,2‐b:4,5‐bʹ] bis [1] benzothiophene‐3,9‐dicarboxylic acid, 5,5,11,11‐tetraoxide (FSOCA), a highly crystalline, stable molecular crystal that is easy to synthesize and serves as an efficient photocatalyst for the hydrogen evolution reaction. FSOCA exhibits high efficiency in sacrificial hydrogen evolution reaction (760 µmol h−1, 76 mmol g−1 h−1 at 330 mW cm−2; 570 µmol h−1, 57 mmol g−1 h−1 at 250 mW cm−2), and FSOCA remains stable during photocatalysis for up to 400 h. Experiments and theoretical studies confirmed the presence of hydrogen bonds between the sulfone group and the sacrificial agent (ascorbic acid). This interaction significantly improved the oxidation reaction kinetics and boosted the photocatalytic performance. This study presents a scalable and convenient approach to synthesize highly crystalline, active, and stable organic photocatalysts with potential applications in large‐scale photocatalysis.

Abstract The use of light to regulate photocatalyzed reversible deactivation radical polymerization (RDRP) under mild conditions, especially driven by broadband light or sunlight directly, is highly desired. But the development of a suitable photocatalyzed polymerization system for large-scale production of polymers, especially block copolymers, has remained a big challenge. Herein, we report the development of a phosphine-based conjugated hypercrosslinked polymer (PPh3-CHCP) photocatalyst for an efficient large-scale photoinduced copper-catalyzed atom transfer radical polymerization (Cu-ATRP). Monomers including acrylates and methyl acrylates can achieve near-quantitative conversions under a wide range (450–940 nm) of radiations or sunlight directly. The photocatalyst could be easily recycled and reused. The sunlight-driven Cu-ATRP allowed the synthesis of homopolymers at 200 mL from various monomers, and monomer conversions approached 99% in clouds intermittency with good control over polydispersity. In addition, block copolymers at 400 mL scale can also be obtained, which demonstrates its great potential for industrial applications.

Speech enhancement (SE) aims to improve the intelligibility and perceptual quality of speech contaminated by noise signals through spectral or temporal changes. Deep learning models achieve speech enhancement and estimate the magnitude spectrum. This paper proposes a novel and computationally efficient deep learning model to enhance noisy speech. The model pre-processes the noisy speech magnitude by redistributing energy from high-energy voiced segments to low-energy unvoiced segments using an adaptive power law transformation while maintaining the total energy of the speech signals constant. A U-shaped fuzzy long short-term memory (UFLSTM) estimates the magnitude of a time-frequency (T-F) mask by using the pre-processed data. Residual connections to the similar-shaped layers are added to avoid gradient decay. Attention process is adopted by modifying the forget gate of UFLSTM. To make a causal speech enhancement system, the processing does not include any future audio frames. We compare the proposed speech enhancement to other deep learning models in different noisy environments with signal-to-noise ratios of 0 dB, 5 dB, and 10 dB. The experiments show that the proposed SE system outscores the competing deep learning models and considerably improves speech intelligibility and quality. In terms of STOI and PESQ, the LibriSpeech database improves results by (0.211) 21.1% and (0.95) 36.39%, respectively, over noisy speech in seen noisy conditions, and by (0.199) 19.9% and (0.94) 35.69% over noisy speech in unseen noisy conditions. Further, the cross-corpus analysis shows that proposed SE system performs better when trained with the DNS dataset as compared to the LibriSpeech, VoiceBank, and TIMIT datasets.

Abstract Background Selecting American mink (Neovison vison) for tolerance to Aleutian mink disease virus (AMDV) has gained popularity in recent years, but data on the outcomes of this activity are scant. The objectives of this study were to determine the long-term changes in viremia, seroconversion and survival in infected mink. Mink were inoculated intranasally with a local isolate of Aleutian mink disease virus (AMDV) over 4 years (n = 1742). The animals had been selected for tolerance to AMDV for more than 20 years (TG100) or were from herds free of AMDV (TG0). The progenies of TG100 and TG0, and their crosses with 25, 50 and 75% tolerance ancestry were also used. Blood samples were collected from each mink up to 14 times until 1211 days post-inoculation (dpi) and were tested for viremia by PCR and for anti-AMDV antibodies by counter-immunoelectrophoresis (CIEP). Viremia and CIEP status were not considered when selecting replacements. Low-performing animals were pelted and the presence of antibodies in their blood and antibody titer were measured by CIEP, and viremia and viral DNA in seven organs (n = 936) were tested by PCR. Results The peak incidences of viremia (66.7%) and seropositivity (93.5%) were at 35 dpi. The incidence of viremia decreased over time while the incidence of seroconversion increased. The least-squares means of the incidence of PCR positive of lymph node (0.743) and spleen (0.656) were significantly greater than those of bone marrow, liver, kidneys, lungs and small intestine (0.194 to 0.342). Differences in tolerant ancestry were significant for every trait measured. Incidences of viremia over time, terminal viremia, seropositivity over time, AMDV DNA in organs and antibody titer were highest in the susceptible groups (TG0 or TG25) and lowest in the tolerant groups (TG100 or TG75). Conclusion Previous history of selection for tolerance resulted in mink with reduced viral replication and antibody titer. Viremia had a negative effect and antibody production had a positive effect on survival and productivity.

Objective: To compare the frequency of Pseudo-Exfoliation Syndrome (PXS) in patients undergoing cataract surgery in different regional hospitals in Pakistan. Study Design: Cross-sectional study. Place and Duration of Study: Three Tertiary Care Hospitals of Karachi, Rawalakot and Skardu Pakistan, from Sep 2017 to May 2020. Methodology: Patients aged 45 years and more undergoing age-related cataract surgery were evaluated for Pseudo-Exfoliation Syndrome. Initially, each patient underwent a complete outpatient ophthalmological workup. Demographic details like age and gender were noted. All the patients were screened for hypertension and diabetes mellitus. In addition, patients were screened for pseudo-exfoliation syndrome. Congenital, developmental, secondary and traumatic cataracts were excluded. Results: A total of 1882 patients were included in the study. Pseudo-exfoliation was carried out in 249(13.23%) patients. In Hospital-A, 23(3.23%); in Hospital-B, 145(14.92%) and Hospital-C, 81(40.70%) of the patients had pseudo-exfoliation. The frequency of pseudo-exfoliation syndrome was significantly more in Hospital-C and then in Hospital-B and least in HospitalA (p

Objective: To assess the frequency of dry eye among children during the COVID-19 pandemic. Study Design: Cross-sectional study. Place and Duration of Study: Pakistan Naval Ship Hafeez Hospital, Islamabad Pakistan, from Mar to Aug 2021. Methodology: Children aged 7-15 years reporting to the PNS Hafeez Hospital, OPD were included in the study. A proforma was used to record the demographics and screen time of the children. In addition, an ophthalmic examination was conducted to assess the dry eye status of the children using the Schirmer-II test. Results: Seventy-three children participated in the study. Their mean age was 11.08±2.42 years. There were 40(54.8%) boys and 33 (45.2%) girls. These children had a mean daily screen time of 7.23±2.77hours. Children with dry eye had a greater amount of screen time (8.75±2.11hours) as compared to those with normal tear function (6.05±2.66 hours; p

While covalent triazine frameworks are promising photocatalytic materials, it is challenging to prepare large-scale thin films. Here, authors report an interfacial polymerization method to prepare photocatalytic covalent triazine framework thin films with lateral sizes up to 250 cm2.

Objective: To assess any association between the type of cataract and the central corneal thickness at pre-operative and postoperative three-day and one-month appointments after phacoemulsification surgery. Study Design: Prospective, comparative study. Place and Duration of Study: Eye Department Combined Military Hospital Multan, from Jun 2020 to Apr 2021. Methodology: A total of 89 patients requiring cataract surgery by phacoemulsification were recruited. Age and gender were recorded for each patient. Patient’s type of cataract based on maturity was recorded before the surgery. Phacoemulsification cataract surgery using ‘divide and conquer’ technique was carried out. Patients’ central corneal thickness was measured at the pre-operative, three-day post-operative and one-month post-operative appointment using traditional non-contact tonopachymeter. Results: There were 49 (55.1%) male and 40 (44.9%) female patients with a mean age of 62.15 ± 12.40 years. No significant association was found between the type of cataract and central corneal thickness at the three-time intervals (p=0.14). Central corneal thickness significantly increased from 0.48 ± 0.04 mm pre-operatively to 0.51 ± 0.04 mm at the three-day post-operative appointment (p

This study aims to quantify land use and land cover changes before and after the 2010 flood in district Charsadda, Pakistan. Advanced geographic information systems (GIS) and remote sensing techniques (RST) evaluate land use and land cover changes. The purpose of this research is to estimate and compare the preand post-flood changes and their influences on land use and land cover changes. Land use land cover data studies are important for sustainable management of natural resources; they are becoming increasingly important for assessing the environmental impacts of economic development. Moreover, some remedial measures are adopted to develop the area's land cover to overcome future problems. Land use and land cover changes are measured using satellite images. Two instances, i.e., pre-flood and post-flood, are compared to analyze the change in land use and land cover of district Charsadda within 5 km along the Kabul River. Comparative analysis of pre-flood and post-flood imageries highlighted some drastic changes over the water body, built-up area, agricultural land, and bare land during flood instances. The study area is rural and agricultural land is dominant as compared to other land uses. We evaluated the percentage of different land use and land cover within our study area. The agricultural land found about 68.5%, barren land 22.5%, and the water body 8.8% before the flood. After inundation, the water body raised to 16.4%, bare soil increased to 26.3%, agricultural land degraded up to 57.0%, and settlements (villages) along the Kabul River were severely damaged and finished by this flood. 2010’s flood heavily damaged approximately four villages in district Nowshera, six in district Peshawar, and twenty-seven Charsadda District villages.

Objective: To compare the frequency of depression in low vision and normal vision patients. Study Design: Comparative cross-sectional study. Place and Duration of Study: Eye Department, Combined Military Hospital, Malir Cantt, Karachi Pakistan, from Dec 2017 to May 2019. Methodology: Patients with low vision and normal vision were evaluated for depression. Initially, each patient underwent a complete Outpatient ophthalmological workup. Then, the patients were assigned to the low vision and normal vision groups,and after informed consent, each patient was to complete Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9). Result: Two hundred and sixty-nine patients with low vision and 275 patients with normal vision were included in the study.One hundred and eighty-two (67.66%) patients with low vision and 71(25.82%) patients with normal vision were found to have significant depression (PHQ-9 score≥5). Depression was significantly more prevalent in the Low Vision-Group (p=

The purpose of this study is to identify the leading causes of slope instability along a local highway in Anhui, People’s Republic of China. As part of the east expansion project, the mountain range will be excavated to create a two-way, nearly 30 m wide highway. The site’s topography consists of a hill with palm-shaped faces carved from limestone running along its sides. The geological characteristics and slope stability of the research area highlight the possibility of slope failure along both sides of the roadway. Slope stability analysis was performed in order to determine the failure mechanism and create a stable slope. Initial slope characterization and shear properties of the rock were determined by means of fieldwork and laboratory analysis. By causing wedging failure and toppling collapse, the bedding joints and discontinuity orientations increase instability, as determined by a kinematic analysis performed with DIP.6 software. The Limit Equilibrium Method (LEM) of analysis is presented in the software Slide 6.020 to illustrate the instability of the slope. The unstable condition of the slopes was determined using empirical methods that were validated and enhanced by limit equilibrium analysis.

The energy demand all over the world is increasing rapidly day by day. In traditional power systems, power plants are located far away from the consumer’s premises. This in turn causes a substantial amount of power loss both in transmission and distribution. In general, distribution system has more losses than the losses occurred on the transmission side. It employs that there will be a significant difference between the generated power and the energy consumers that are (physically) far away from the generating stations. Therefore, the electric utilities always remain under stress due to such non negligible amount of losses which has a direct impact on financial management and efficiency of the power system as well. To address this issue different technique have been introduced to reduce line losses and to improve the efficiency. The best among these techniques is line loss reduction through Distributed Generation (DG) which is more effective than the other techniques. In this paper we have taken three 11kV feeders (located at Bannu) as a case study and for the prescribed technique an attempt has been made to increase the efficiency of a system by integrating different capacity of DG into a radial distribution feeder. The results have been analyzed mathematically, however Electrical Transient Analyzer Program (ETAP) simulator is used as a test bed. Finally, the obtained results are presented in tabular and graphical form in terms of clearly defined parameters.

Newcastle Disease (ND) was ranked as a List A and trade limited disease by the World Health Organization. It is one of the deadly diseases of domestic and zoo birds especially pheasants that are highly susceptible species to Newcastle disease virus (NDV). This study was designed to determine the humoral immune response (HIR) of thermostable NDV vaccine strain I-2 in same age pheasants. For this purpose, forty-five pheasants of the same age were separated and placed in cages. Thermostable NDV I-2 vaccine was mixed with feed and administered through oral route to the same age pheasants. HIR was detected using haemagglutination inhibition test (HI) and enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) on 0, 7th, 14th, 21th and 28th days post-vaccination (DPV). Optimum geometric mean anti-NDV-ELISA (2380) and anti-NDV-HI (Log27.5) antibodies titers were identified on 14th DPV. It was concluded that the oral administration of NDV I-2 strain is able to elicit a protective immune response in pheasants. Moreover, the use of this novel vaccine technique at the same age of pheasants overwhelms the attempt to catch these birds for single vaccination.

In this article, the compact, ultra-wideband and high-gain MIMO antenna is presented for future 5G devices operating over 28 GHz and 38 GHz. The presented antenna is designed over substrate material Roger RT/Duroid 6002 with a thickness of 1.52 mm. The suggested design has dimensions of 15 mm × 10 mm and consists of stubs with loaded rectangular patch. The various stubs are loaded to antenna to improve impedance bandwidth and obtain ultra-wideband. The resultant antenna operates over a broadband of 26.5–43.7 GHz, with a peak value of gain >8 dBi. A four-port MIMO configuration is achieved to present the proposed antenna for future high data rate devices. The MIMO antenna offers isolation

The present study evaluated the attitude of university students and teachers towards instructional role of artificial intelligence. It was a descriptive study and the researcher used survey approach for data collection. The data was collected from 323 university students and 196 university teachers by using two questionnaires developed (one for students and one for teachers) on five point rating (Likert) scales. Descriptive statistics i.e. percentage was used for data analysis. This study demonstrated positive attitude of university students and teachers towards AI and its instructional role. It appeared to be encouraging for the respondents as well as for the administrators and policy makers. The study suggested higher education institutions to formulate a feasible policy to get benefits of instructional role of AI in higher education.

Abstract Introduction Aleutian mink disease virus (AMDV) causes a serious health problem for mink globally. The disease has no cure nor an effective vaccine and selection for tolerance using antibody titer is adopted by many mink farmers. The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of various doses of a local AMDV isolate on the response of black American mink to infection with AMDV. Methods Eight black American mink were each inoculated intranasally with 0.5 mL of eight serial 10‐fold dilutions (100 to 10−7) of a 10% spleen homogenate containing a local AMDV isolate. Blood samples were collected on days 0, 20, 35, 56, 84, 140, and 196 postinoculation (dpi). Anti‐AMDV antibodies and viral DNA were tested by counter‐immunoelectrophoresis (CIEP) and PCR, respectively. Animals that were PCR or CIEP positive at 196 dpi (n = 41) were killed at 218 dpi, and samples of blood and seven organs were tested by CIEP and PCR. Results Antibody production persisted in all seroconverted mink until the termination of the experiment, whereas 71.1% of the mink showed short‐lived viremia. Significant associations were observed between inoculum dose and the incidence of viremia until 84 dpi which disappeared thereafter, whereas associations between inoculum dose and the incidence of seropositive mink were significant on all sampling occasions. Antibody titer at 218 dpi significantly decreased with decreasing inoculum dose. AMDV DNA was detected in the bone marrow, lymph nodes, and spleen samples of almost all mink inoculated at every dose but was not detected in other organs of some mink. Conclusions CIEP is more accurate than PCR for detecting AMDV infection in mink. Using antibody titer in naturally infected mink may not be accurate for the identification of tolerant mink.

Objective: To compare the efficacy of sodium hyaluronate, hydroxypropyl methylcellulose/dextran and polypropylene/polyethylene glycol based commercial artificial tear products using the noninvasive tear film breakup time. Study Design: Quasi experimental Study. Place and Duration of Study: Study was conducted at the Eye department of Combined Military Hospital Malir Cantt Karachi, from Sep 2017 to Nov 2017. Methodology: Three different types of commercially available artificial tears were evaluated on 30 eyes of 30 patients, having all types of dry eyes diseases. The noninvasive tear film breakup time was measured before and then at 15, 30 and 45 mins after instillation of the artificial tear using keratometer. The active ingredients in these eye drops were sodium hyaluronate, polyethylene glycol/propylene glycol and hydroxypropyl methylcellulose/ dextran 70. Results: Among the three artificial tears only Sodium hyaluronate eye drops caused a statistically significant increase in noninvasive tear film break up time at 45 mins post instillation. Polyethylene glycol/propylene eye drops extended tear film breakup time upto 30 mins. Comparison of the difference in extension of the breakup time was statistically insignificant between sodium hyaluronate and polyethylene glycol/polypropylene at 15 and 30 mins post instillation. Conclusion: Sodium hyaluronate eye drops were effective in prolonging the noninvasive tear film breakup time upto 45 mins postinstillation while polypropylene/polyethylene glycol were effective upto 30 mins in all types of dry eye diseases.

Since its first report in 1942, peste-des-petits-ruminants virus (PPRV) has caused several epidemics in a wide range of susceptible hosts around the world. In the last 30 years, the evidence of natural and experimental infections and virus isolation were reported from novel but unusual hosts such as camel, cattle, buffalo, dogs, Asiatic lion and pigs. In addition, PPRV in a potential vector, biting midges (Culicoides imicola), has been reported. Either presented as clinical and/or subclinical infections, the presence of the virus in an extended range of susceptible hosts highlights the cross-species transmission and supports the hypothesis of an endemic circulation of PPRV among susceptible hosts. However, the potential role of large ruminants, camels and unusual hosts for PPRV epidemiology is still obscure. Therefore, there is a need for molecular and epidemiological investigations of the disease among usual and unusual hosts to achieve the goals of disease control and eradication programmes initiated by national and international organisations, such as the FAO and OIE. This review is the first to summarise the scattered data on PPR in large ruminants, camels and unusual hosts to obtain the global scientific communities’ attention for further research on epidemiological aspects, not only in its native hosts, but also in large ruminants, camels and other unusual hosts.

Herein, we report on the evaluation of chemically modified hyrdroxyethylcellulose for its sorption efficacy to remove Cd(II) from spiked high-hardness ground water (GW) and distilled water (DW) solutions. Hyrdroxyethylcellulose was chemically modified using adipic anhydride in the presence of DMAP as a catalyst under homogeneous reaction conditions. Hyrdroxyethylcellulose adipate (HEC-Adip) obtained was then converted to its sodium salt as HEC-Adip-Na after treating with saturated solution of NaHCO3. Structures were thoroughly characterized using FTIR, SEM, EDS and solid-state CP/MAS 13C NMR. The surface charge of the sorbent was monitored by pHZPC (pH of zero point charge). The sorption data fitted well to Langmuir isotherm and pseudo-second order kinetic model. Maximum sorption capacity of Cd(II) was calculated to be 114.94 mg g−1 and 112.35 mg g−1 from DW and GW, respectively. Thermodynamic parameters, i.e., ΔH°, ΔS° and ΔG°, were also calculated and showed negative values indicating spontaneous and exothermic nature of sorption process. In addition, the synthesized sorbent is more suitable for repeated use because it shows negligible decrease in its sorption capacity for the uptake of Cd(II) from aqueous solution after five regeneration cycles. Keywords: Hydroxyethylcellulose, Sodium hydroxyethylcellulose adipate, Metal uptake, Cadmium, Kinetics

Abstract Emulsion templating is at the forefront of producing a wide array of porous materials that offers interconnected porous structure, easy permeability, homogeneous flow‐through, high diffusion rates, convective mass transfer, and direct accessibility to interact with atoms/ions/molecules throughout the exterior and interior of the bulk. These interesting features together with easily available ingredients, facile preparation methods, flexible pore‐size tuning protocols, controlled surface modification strategies, good physicochemical and dimensional stability, lightweight, convenient processing and subsequent recovery, superior pollutants remediation/monitoring performance, and decent recyclability underscore the benchmark potential of the emulsion‐templated porous materials in large‐scale practical environmental applications. To this end, many research breakthroughs in emulsion templating technique witnessed by the recent achievements have been widely unfolded and currently being extensively explored to address many of the environmental challenges. Taking into account the burgeoning progress of the emulsion‐templated porous materials in the environmental field, this review article provides a conceptual overview of emulsions and emulsion templating technique, sums up the general procedures to design and fabricate many state‐of‐the‐art emulsion‐templated porous materials, and presents a critical overview of their marked momentum in adsorption, separation, disinfection, catalysis/degradation, capture, and sensing of the inorganic, organic and biological contaminants in water and air.

Background: Tranexamic acid reduces blood loss in surgery and the risk of death in trauma patients. Meta-analyses of small trials suggest that tranexamic acid decreases the number of deaths from gastrointestinal bleeding, but these meta-analyses are prone to selection bias. Objective: The trial provides reliable evidence of the effect of tranexamic acid on mortality, rebleeding and complications in significant acute gastrointestinal bleeding. Design: A multicentre, randomised, placebo-controlled trial and economic analysis. Patients were assigned by selecting one treatment pack from a box of eight, which were identical apart from the pack number. Patients, caregivers and outcome assessors were masked to allocation. The main analyses were by intention to treat. Setting: The setting was 164 hospitals in 15 countries, co-ordinated from the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine. Participants: Adults with significant upper or lower gastrointestinal bleeding (n = 12,009) were eligible if the responsible clinician was substantially uncertain about whether or not to use tranexamic acid. The clinical diagnosis of significant bleeding implied a risk of bleeding to death, including hypotension, tachycardia or signs of shock, or urgent transfusion, endoscopy or surgery. Intervention: Tranexamic acid (a 1-g loading dose over 10 minutes, then a 3-g maintenance dose over 24 hours) or matching placebo. Main outcome measures: The primary outcome was death due to bleeding within 5 days of randomisation. Secondary outcomes were all-cause and cause-specific mortality; rebleeding; need for endoscopy, surgery or radiological intervention; blood product transfusion; complications; disability; and days spent in intensive care or a high-dependency unit. Results: A total of 12,009 patients were allocated to receive tranexamic acid (n = 5994, 49.9%) or the matching placebo (n = 6015, 50.1%), of whom 11,952 (99.5%) received the first dose. Death due to bleeding within 5 days of randomisation occurred in 222 (3.7%) patients in the tranexamic acid group and in 226 (3.8%) patients in the placebo group (risk ratio 0.99, 95% confidence interval 0.82 to 1.18). Thromboembolic events occurred in 86 (1.4%) patients in the tranexamic acid group and 72 (1.2%) patients in the placebo group (risk ratio 1.20, 95% confidence interval 0.88 to 1.64). The risk of arterial thromboembolic events (myocardial infarction or stroke) was similar in both groups (0.7% in the tranexamic acid group vs. 0.8% in the placebo group; risk ratio 0.92, 95% confidence interval 0.60 to 1.39), but the risk of venous thromboembolic events (deep-vein thrombosis or pulmonary embolism) was higher in tranexamic acid-treated patients than in placebo-treated patients (0.8% vs. 0.4%; risk ratio 1.85, 95% confidence interval 1.15 to 2.98). Seizures occurred in 38 patients who received tranexamic acid and in 22 patients who received placebo (0.6% vs. 0.4%, respectively; risk ratio 1.73, 95% confidence interval 1.03 to 2.93). In the base-case economic analysis, tranexamic acid was not cost-effective and resulted in slightly poorer health outcomes than no tranexamic acid. Conclusions: Tranexamic acid did not reduce death from gastrointestinal bleeding and, although inexpensive, it is not cost-effective in adults with acute gastrointestinal bleeding. Future work: These results caution against a uniform approach to the management of patients with major haemorrhage and highlight the need for randomised trials targeted at specific pathophysiological processes. Limitations: Although this is one of the largest randomised trials in gastrointestinal bleeding, we cannot rule out a modest increase or decrease in death due to bleeding with tranexamic acid. Trial registration: Current Controlled Trials ISRCTN11225767, ClinicalTrials.gov NCT01658124 and EudraCT 2012-003192-19. Funding: This project was funded by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Health Technology Assessment programme and will be published in full in Health Technology Assessment; Vol. 25, No. 58. See the NIHR Journals Library website for further project information.

The creation of novel anticancer treatments for a variety of human illnesses, including different malignancies and dangerous microbes, also potentially depends on nanoparticles including silver. Recently, it has been successful to biologically synthesize metal nanoparticles using plant extracts. The natural flavonoid 3,3′, 4′, 5,5′, and 7 hexahydroxyflavon (myricetin) has anticancer properties. There is not much known about the regulatory effects of myricetin on the possible cell fate-determination mechanisms (such as apoptosis/proliferation) in colorectal cancer. Because the majority of investigations related to the anticancer activity of myricetin have dominantly focused on the enhancement of tumor cell uncontrolled growth (i.e., apoptosis). Thus, we have decided to explore the potential myricetin interactors and the associated biological functions by using an in-silico approach. Then, we focused on the main goal of the work which involved the synthesis of silver nanoparticles and the labeling of myricetin with it. The synthesized silver nanoparticles were examined using UV-visible spectroscopy, dynamic light scattering spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, and scanning electron microscopy. In this study, we have investigated the effects of myricetin on colorectal cancer where numerous techniques were used to show myricetin’s effect on colon cancer cells. Transmission Electron Microscopy was employed to monitor morphological changes. Furthermore, we have combined the results of the colorectal cancer gene expression dataset with those of the myricetin interactors and pathways. Based on the results, we conclude that myricetin is able to efficiently kill human colorectal cancer cell lines. Since, it shares important biological roles and possible route components and this myricetin may be a promising herbal treatment for colorectal cancer as per an in-silico analysis of the TCGA dataset.

Cache-enabled networks suffer hugely from the challenge of content caching and content delivery. In this regard, cache-enabled device-to-device (D2D) assisted multitier cellular networks are expected to relieve the network data pressure and effectively solve the problem of content placement and content delivery. Consequently, the user can have a better opportunity to get their favored contents from nearby cache-enabled transmitters (CETs) through reliable and good-quality links; however, as expected, designing an effective caching policy is a challenging task due to the limited cache memory of CETs and uncertainty in user preferences. In this article, we introduce a joint content placement and content delivery technique for D2D assisted multitier cellular networks (D2DMCN). A support vector machine (SVM) is employed to predict the content popularity to determine which content is to be cached and where it is to be cached, thereby increasing the overall cache hit ratio (CHR). The content request is satisfied either by the neighboring node through the D2D link or by the cache-enabled base stations (BSs) of the multitier cellular networks (MCNs). Similarly, to solve the problem of optimal content delivery, the Hungarian algorithm is employed aiming to improve the quality of satisfaction. The simulation results indicate that the proposed content placement strategy effectively optimizes the overall cache hit ratio of the system. Similarly, an effective content delivery approach reduces the request content delivery delay and power consumption.

Objective: To compare outcome of pterygium excision with conjunctival autograft using sutures versus conjunctival limbal autograft using autologous blood. Study Design: Randomized controlled trial. Place and Duration of Study: Combined Military Hospital (CMH) Rawalakot, from Jul 2017 to Jul 2018. Material and Methods: After getting approval from hospital ethical committee 140 patients with primary pterygium were included in the study. The demographic details were noted and patients were randomized by lottery method in two groups (group A & B). Both groups were operated under topical anesthesia (Alcain). Group A underwent lamellar pterygium excision followed by limbal conjunctival autograft secured with nylon 10/0 sutures. Group B underwent limbal conjunctival autograft using autologous blood (non-glue, suture less), 2-3 drops of patients own blood below graft acted as adhesive when left there for 15 to 20 minutes. Patients were followed up at 2 weeks, 2 month and 6 months postoperatively to see recurrence. All the readings were carried out and noted by single person in order to minimize study bias. Results: A total of 140 patients (70 in each group) were included in the study with a mean age of 32.88 ± 5.82 years in group A and 32.97 ± 4.69 years in group-B. Regarding gender distribution, 51.43% in group-A and 48.57% in group-B were males. Comparison of outcome of pterygium excision with conjunctival autograft using sutures vs conjunctival limbal autograft using autologous blood showed that 15.71% in group-A and 5.71% in group-B had recurrence of pterygium. Conclusion: We concluded that the recurrence was significantly lower after pterygium excision when comparing conjunctival limbal autograft using autologous blood (non-glue, suture less) with conjunctival autograft using sutures.

This study focused on to ascertaining the attitude of learners towards tutoring in distance education. It was a descriptive study and was delimited to B.Ed Programme of Allama Iqbal Open University (AIOU), Islamabad. Population of the study consisted of learners of B.Ed. Programme of AIOU. The sample of the study consisted on 600 learners from five Regional Campuses of AIOU in the Province of Punjab i.e. Multan, Faisalabad, Lahore, Gujranwala and Rawalpindi. The sample was drawn by using convenient-cum-purposive sampling technique(s) from five. A questionnaire was used as research tool. It was developed on 5-point rating (Likert) scale. A pilot study was conducted to finalize the tool. The finalized research tool was administered and data was collected. The data was analyzed in terms of percentage. The findings of the study demonstrated positive attitude of learners towards tutoring in distance education. It was evident from the data analysis that learners acknowledged tutors having subject knowledge and they the help them in self-study for developing new knowledge. However, learners wished feedback and comments of the tutors on their assignments in proper way. In the light of the findings of the study the researcher recommended training for distance education tutors on how to provide feedback and comments on students’ work.

Renewable CO2 conversion to useful products presents a sustainable, carbon-neutral method to limit climate change, yet few materials can perform this complex chemistry. Here, authors prepare a polymer-TiO2-graphene composite that can take up CO2 and convert it to CH4 using light and water.

Over the most recent couple of years, the Internet of Things and other empowering innovations have been logically utilized for digitizing the vegetable supply chain (VSC). Background: The unpredictable examples and complexity inserted in enormous data dimensions present a test for an orderly human master examination. Hence in an information-driven setting, soft computing (SC) has accomplished critical energy to investigate, mine, and concentrate confidential information data, or tackle complex improvement issues, finding some harmony between good productivity and maintainability of vegetable supply frameworks. Methods: This paper presents a new and diverse scientific classification of VSC issues from the SC methodology. It characterizes VSC issues and sorts them in light of how they be demonstrated according to the SC perspective. Moreover, we examine the SC methodologies commonly utilized in each phase of the VSC and their related classes of issues. Accordingly, there is an issue in distinguishing and characterizing VSC issues according to a more extensive point of view, enveloping the different SC strategies that can apply in various phases (from creation to retailing), and recognizing the issues that emerge in these phases according to the SC viewpoint. Results: We likewise acquaint some rules with the assistance of VSC analysts and specialists to settle on appropriate strategies while resolving specific issues they could experience. Even though a few latest examinations have arranged the SC writing in this field, they are situated towards a solitary group of SC strategies (a gathering of techniques that share standard qualities) and survey their application in VSC phases. Conclusions: We have suggested a novel approach and complete scientific classification of vegetable supply chain concerns about soft computing. We present a view of three delegate supply chains: cruciferous vegetables, dark green leafy vegetables, and tomatoes. We assembled the scientific type in light of different parts to arrange vegetable supply chain issues as per how they can be demonstrated utilizing soft computing methodologies.

Precipitation elasticity provides a basic estimate of the sensitivity of long-term streamflow to changes in long-term precipitation, and it is especially useful as the first assessment of climate change impact in land and water resource projects. This study estimated and compared the precipitation elasticity (εp) of streamflow in 86 catchments within Pakistan over 50 major rivers using three widely used analytical models: bivariate nonparametric (NP) estimator, multivariate NP analysis, and multivariate double logarithm (DL) model. All the three models gave similar values of elasticity in the range of 0.1–3.5 for over 70–75% of the catchments. This signifies that a 1% change in the annual mean precipitation compared to the long-term historic mean annual precipitation will amplify the streamflow by 0.1–3.5%. In addition, the results suggested that elasticity estimation of streamflow sensitivity using the multivariate DL model is more reliable and realistic. Precipitation elasticity of streamflow is observed high at altitudes ranging between 250 m and 1000 m while the longitudinal and latitudinal pattern of εp shows higher values in the range of 70–75 and 32–36 decimal degrees, respectively. The εp values were found to have a direct relationship with the mean annual precipitation and an inverse relationship with the catchment areas. Likewise, high εp values were noticed in areas where the mean annual temperature ranges between 15 and 24 °C.

Unbalanced load condition is one of the major issues of all commercial, industrial and residential sectors. Unbalanced load means that, when different loads are distributed on a three-phase four-wire system, unequal currents pass through the three phases. Due to it, a heavy current flows in the neutral wire, which not only adds the losses, but also puts constraints on three phases’ loads. In this paper, we have presented a practical approach for load balancing. First, we have considered the existing three-phase load system where the supply is a three-phase unbalanced supply. Before balancing the load, it is necessary to compensate the current in neutral wire. A nature-inspired moth–flame optimization (MFO) algorithm is used to propose a scheme for balancing of current in neutral wire. The information of a distributed single-phase load was used to balance the currents in a three-phase system. The feeder phase and load profiles of each single-phase load are used to reconfigure the network using an optimization process. By balancing the current of three phases, the current of the neutral conductor in substation transformers was reduced to almost zero.

Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) ranks third in terms of fatal coronavirus diseases threatening public health, coming after SARS-CoV (severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus), and MERS-CoV (Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus). SARS-CoV-2 (severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus type 2) causes COVID-19. On January 30, 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) announced that the current outbreak of COVID-19 is the sixth global health emergency. As of December 3, 2020, 64 million people worldwide have been affected by this malaise, and the global economy has experienced a loss of more than $1 trillion. SARS-CoV-2 is a positive-sense single-stranded RNA virus belonging to the Betacoronavirus genus. The high nucleotide sequence identity of SARS-CoV-2 with the BatCoV RaTG13 genome has indicated that bats could be the possible host of SARS-CoV-2. SARS-CoV-2 penetrates the host cell via binding its spike protein to the angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) receptor, which is similar to the mechanisms of SARS-CoV and MERS-CoV. COVID-19 can spread from person to person via respiratory droplets and airborne and contaminated fomites. Moreover, it poses a significant risk to smokers, the elderly, immunocompromised people, and those with preexisting comorbidities. Two main approaches are used to control viral infections, namely, vaccination, and biosecurity. Studies to analyze the antigenicity and immunogenicity of SARS-CoV-2 vaccine candidates are underway, and few vaccines may be available in the near future. In the current situation, the Human Biosecurity Emergency (HBE) may be the only way to cope effectively with the novel SARS-CoV-2 strain. Here, we summarize current knowledge on the origin of COVID-19 as well as its epidemiological relationship with humans and animals, genomic resemblance, immunopathogenesis, clinical-laboratory signs, diagnosis, control and prevention, and treatment. Moreover, we discuss the interventional effects of various nutrients on COVID-19 in detail. However, multiple possibilities are explored to fight COVID-19, and the greatest efforts targeted toward finding an effective vaccine in the near future. Furthermore, antioxidants, polyphenols, and flavonoids, both synthetic and natural, could play a crucial role in the fight against COVID-19.

Evaluation of terrestrial shale gas resource potential is a hot issue in unconventional oil and gas exploration. Organic-rich shales are widely developed in the Jurassic strata of Tarim Basin, but their shale gas potential has not been described well. In the study, the Lower-Middle Jurassic fine-grained sedimentary rocks (Kangsu and Yangye Formations) in northern Kashi Sag, northwestern Tarim Basin, were taken as the study object. The comprehensive studies include petrology, mineralogy, organic geochemistry, and physical properties, which were used to characterize the organic matter and reservoir characteristics. Results show that the Jurassic terrestrial shale in the northern Kashi Sag was mainly deposited in lakes, rivers, and deltas. The thickness of black lacustrine shale developed in the Early-Middle Jurassic in the study area is generally over 100 m. The total organic carbon (TOC) content is rich, averaging 2.77%. The vitrinite reflectance (Ro) values indicate that the Lower Jurassic shale organic matter is in the early mature–mature stage, while the Middle Jurassic is in the mature stage. Besides, organic matter is primarily II and III in kerogen types. The whole shale contains a large number of clay minerals, especially illite. The average brittle minerals such as quartz and feldspar are 28.67%, and the average brittleness index is 38.63%. Nanoscale pores containing intergranular pores, dissolution pores, and organic pores, coupled with microcracks, are well developed in Jurassic shale. The sample’s average pore volume is 0.017 cm3/g, and the specific surface area is 9.36 m2/g. Mesoporous contribute the most to pore volume, while the number of microporous is the largest. Both of them provide most of the surface area for the shale. Combined with regional geologic settings, we propose that the Jurassic terrestrial shale has good-excellent shale gas exploration potential and development prospects.

The increase in population growth and demand is rapidly depleting natural resources. Irrigation plays a vital role in the productivity and growth of agriculture, consuming no less than 75% of fresh water utilization globally. Irrigation, being the largest consumer of water across the globe, needs refinements in its process, and because it is implemented by individuals (farmers), the use of water for irrigation is not effective. To enhance irrigation management, farmers need to keep track of information such as soil type, climatic conditions, available water resources, soil pH, soil nutrients, and soil moisture to make decisions that resolve or prevent agricultural complexity. Irrigation, a data-driven technology, requires the integration of emerging technologies and modern methodologies to provide solutions to the complex problems faced by agriculture. The paper is an overview of IoT-enabled modern technologies through which irrigation management can be elevated. This paper presents the evolution of irrigation and IoT, factors to be considered for effective irrigation, the need for effective irrigation optimization, and how dynamic irrigation optimization would help reduce water use. The paper also discusses the different IoT architecture and deployment models, sensors, and controllers used in the agriculture field, available cloud platforms for IoT, prominent tools or software used for irrigation scheduling and water need prediction, and machine learning and neural network models for irrigation. Convergence of the tools, technologies and approaches helps in the development of better irrigation management applications. Access to real-time data, such as weather, plant and soil data, must be enhanced for the development of effective irrigation management applications.

The paper demonstrates symmetric integral operator and interpolation based numerical approximations for linear and nonlinear ordinary differential equations (ODEs) with oscillatory factor x′=ψ(x)+χω(t), where the function χω(t) is an oscillatory forcing term. These equations appear in a variety of computational problems occurring in Fourier analysis, computational harmonic analysis, fluid dynamics, electromagnetics, and quantum mechanics. Classical methods such as Runge–Kutta methods etc. fail to approximate the oscillatory ODEs due the existence of oscillatory term χω(t). Two types of methods are presented to approximate highly oscillatory ODEs. The first method uses radial basis function interpolation, and then quadrature rules are used to evaluate the integral part of the solution equation. The second approach is more generic and can approximate highly oscillatory and nonoscillatory initial value problems. Accordingly, the first-order initial value problem with oscillatory forcing term is transformed into highly oscillatory integral equation. The transformed symmetric oscillatory integral equation is then evaluated numerically by the Levin collocation method. Finally, the nonlinear form of the initial value problems with an oscillatory forcing term is converted into a linear form using Bernoulli’s transformation. The resulting linear oscillatory problem is then computed by the Levin method. Results of the proposed methods are more reliable and accurate than some state-of-the-art methods such as asymptotic method, etc. The improved results are shown in the numerical section.

Uncertainties are the most significant challenges in the smart power system, necessitating the use of precise techniques to deal with them properly. Such problems could be effectively solved using a probabilistic optimization strategy. It is further divided into stochastic, robust, distributionally robust, and chance-constrained optimizations. The topics of probabilistic optimization in smart power systems are covered in this review paper. In order to account for uncertainty in optimization processes, stochastic optimization is essential. Robust optimization is the most advanced approach to optimize a system under uncertainty, in which a deterministic, set-based uncertainty model is used instead of a stochastic one. The computational complexity of stochastic programming and the conservativeness of robust optimization are both reduced by distributionally robust optimization.Chance constrained algorithms help in solving the constraints optimization problems, where finite probability get violated. This review paper discusses microgrid and home energy management, demand-side management, unit commitment, microgrid integration, and economic dispatch as examples of applications of these techniques in smart power systems. Probabilistic mathematical models of different scenarios, for which deterministic approaches have been used in the literature, are also presented. Future research directions in a variety of smart power system domains are also presented.

Decoupled data and control planes in Software Defined Networks (SDN) allow them to handle an increasing number of threats by limiting harmful network links at the switching stage. As storage, high-end servers, and network devices, Network Function Virtualization (NFV) is designed to replace purpose-built network elements with VNFs (Virtualized Network Functions). A Software Defined Network Function Virtualization (SDNFV) network is designed in this paper to boost network performance. Stateful firewall services are deployed as VNFs in the SDN network in this article to offer security and boost network scalability. The SDN controller’s role is to develop a set of guidelines and rules to avoid hazardous network connectivity. Intruder assaults that employ numerous socket addresses cannot be adequately protected by these strategies. Machine learning algorithms are trained using traditional network threat intelligence data to identify potentially malicious linkages and probable attack targets. Based on conventional network data (DT), Bayesian Network (BayesNet), Naive-Bayes, C4.5, and Decision Table (DT) algorithms are used to predict the target host that will be attacked. The experimental results shows that the Bayesian Network algorithm achieved an average prediction accuracy of 92.87%, Native–Bayes Algorithm achieved an average prediction accuracy of 87.81%, C4.5 Algorithm achieved an average prediction accuracy of 84.92%, and the Decision Tree algorithm achieved an average prediction accuracy of 83.18%. There were 451 k login attempts from 178 different countries, with over 70 k source IP addresses and 40 k source port addresses recorded in a large dataset from nine honeypot servers.

The Pakistan Medical and Dental Council (PM&DC) is the body concerned for the medical and dental education in Pakistan.1 The council was dissolved by an order of the President of Pakistan in October 2019, 2 but the order was revoked by the decision of the High Court of Pakistan.3 According to the PM&DC return/detention policy, a medical student has two chances of exam for his promotion in the next academic class and if one of the students could not pass the two chances provided in at least one of his subjects, the student must pass the exam in 3rd attempt with loss of his / her academic year and must pursue medical studies with the junior class. If one of these students could not pass this or these subjects by exceeding the 3rd chance, the conceded institution offers the 4th and last opportunity to the student.1 If the student still cannot pass the subject in 4th and last opportunity, he is expelled from the establishment with the cancellation of his admission, and the dreams of such a student to become a doctor are fulfilled until he will only be readmitted upon reappearing in the PM&DC competitive entrance test. But due to the sudden and unexpected outbreak of Covid-19, the medical community was the most affected. In some countries, more death rates have been reported among physicians who performed Covid-19 patient care tasks.4 Due to the lockdown policy of Govt. of Pakistan across the country, academic medical institutions were closed as a result of academic months of medical and dental students have also been wasted like other academic fields. The lockdown has been continued and we expect further academic waste from these students. The Pakistan Higher Education Commission has asked for conducting online courses for these students, but the clinical subjects of medical students cannot be taught online as they require direct clinical exposure to patients for the transmission of learning. required. Therefore, as a result of Covid-19, there is expected to be a waste of courses from almost all students across the country. However, in such circumstances, detained / term-back students will suffer a greater and irreparable waste of time as there may be many other technical difficulties regarding the continuation of medical education and the examinations of these students due to the Covid-19 disaster. Therefore, it may be good to revise the Term-Back / Detain policy for these medical, dental, and related students. The authors made the following suggestions for the PM&DC and the institutions to consider this review. 1) To Revise once the Term-Back / detention policy for the period 2019-2020 by allowing students to continue academic promotion during the next academic year with a unique relaxation in the policy. 2) Students who have not passed four chances and who are expelled from the establishment can be relaxed to have an additional chance to continue their medical studies, applicable for the year 2019-2020. 3) Relaxations are similar to those mentioned in the serial number. 1 and 2 for other courses such as Pharm-D, Bachelor of Nursing, etc. Health workers are the main force in the fight against Covid-19 in the exercise of their functions to manage the patients of Covid-19. Mortality rates among healthcare providers have also been reported due to high viral load. There may be a shortage of health care providers around the world. Therefore, facilitation attempts are necessary to help the bona fide medical profession maintain their numbers and needs in the health sectors and to meet the future needs of the world for these health workers. Consequently, in implementing the suggestions of the authors, hundreds to thousands of health professionals and paramedical services will be able to save and secure their future in the service of the sacred mission of saving and serving the sick community.

Ratodero is Taluka of population 224,000 in the district Larkana of Sindh, Pakistan. In the HIV outbreak (2019), 1132 HIV patients were reported in the Ratodero, amongst them, 901 (80%) were children, and the majority (735) below the age of 5 years.1 Larkana district is included among the cities where eight (8) COVID-19 carrier pilgrims from Iran were first confirmed as virus positive.2 Followed by community transmission in the area with the confirmation of the virus in the two individuals.3 There was reported shortage of the personnel protection equipment (PPEs) for the Medical Professional engaged in the tests of the COVID-19 as well as the shortage of Kits, so less number of COVID-19 tests were conducted, therefore the actual number of COVID-19 positive can abruptly raise with the availability of Kits and PPEs.4 There is a complete lockdown in the area since last week of March 2020. There is one medical University with an affiliated hospital. Collaborative efforts of the University teaching hospital and the district administration have constituted a team of experts for necessary actions to combat with expected Corona-19 outbreak. In such circumstances of the existence of HIV in Ratodero as an alarm of threats for another health risk for the poor HIV children of Ratodero Larkana. Dated 09 April 2020. there was a random selection of 20 such HIV children of Ratodero below the age 5, to have look on their physical health and to confirm the quantity/availability of ART (antiretroviral treatment) at their home. It was found that 30% of children were found physically weak. The confirmed average availability of remaining ART drugs was found available for use in the next 14 days. Generally, the children are the population of developing immunity (vulnerable age group) hence there can be increased risk if Co-Infection of COVID-19 if hits the Ratodero Taluika. Therefore the District of Larkana in general but the Taluka Ratodero, in particular, need special attention from the health administration. Following preventive measures can be useful to prevent the spread of COVID-19 among the HIV children of Ratodero, Larkana. • Better compliance of prophylactic SOPs verses COVID-19 through proper surveillance at the rural level in Ratodero. • Availability of Rashan on priority for the families of registered HIV children of Ratodero, taking into account the inclusion of all requirements of good nutrients in the daily intake. • COVID-19 screening of registered HIV children. • HIV Screening of any COVID-19 career of Ratodero if the individual is not amongst already registered HIV patients. • Establishment of a dedicated isolation ward in case of Co-Infection in these children along with the provision of special care to prevent the onset of COVID-19 symptoms in these patients. • Advance Supply of 03 to 06 month ART at home as per instructions of the World Health Organization (WHO) for such HIV patients.5

Background Urbanization and industrialization are the main anthropogenic activities that are adding toxic heavy metals to the environment. Among these, chromium (in hexavalent: Cr+6 and/or trivalent Cr+3) is being released abundantly in wastewater due to its uses in different industrial processes. It becomes highly mutagenic and carcinogenic once it enters the cell through sulfate uptake pathways after interacting with cellular proteins and nucleic acids. However, Cr+6 can be bio-converted into more stable, less toxic and insoluble trivalent chromium using microbes. Hence in this study, we have made efforts to utilize chromium tolerant bacteria for bio-reduction of Cr+6 to Cr+3. Methods Bacterial isolate, K1, from metal contaminated industrial effluent from Kala Shah Kaku-Lahore Pakistan, which tolerated up to 22 mM of Cr6+ was evaluated for chromate reduction. It was further characterized biochemically and molecularly by VITEK®2 system and 16S rRNA gene sequencing respectively. Other factors affecting the reduction of chromium such as initial chromate ion concentration, pH, temperature, contact-time were also investigated. The role of cellular surface in sorption of Cr6+ ion was analyzed by FTIR spectroscopy. Results Both biochemical and phylogenetic analyses confirmed that strain K1 was Staphylococcusaureus that could reduce 99% of Cr6+ in 24 hours at 35 °C (pH = 8.0; initial Cr6+ concentration = 100 mg/L). FTIR results assumed that carboxyl, amino and phosphate groups of cell wall were involved in complexation with chromium. Our results suggested that Staphylococcusaureus K1 could be a promising gram-positive bacterium that might be utilized to remove chromium from metal polluted environments.

BACKGROUND: Diabetes mellitus and dyslipidemia with their complications disclose unscrupulous impact on human health, and increase the rate of mortality all over the world. The allopathic medicine is being used and consumed all over the world for the treatment of hazardous disease and their complications. Nowadays hypothesis has raised that natural production like olive oil and garlic etc having potential benefits to control glycemic control, blood cholesterol, triglycerides, lipoproteins (Low density lipoprotein & High density ipoprotein). AIMS & OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the effects of natural remedies (combination of olive oil & garlic) on serum cholesterol and serum triglyceride(TAG’s) levels with comparison to conventional allopathic (statin) therapy. METHODOLOGY: This Randomized Control Trial (RCT) study conducted at Institute of Biochemistry Sindh University Jamshoro with collaboration of diabetic clinic medical wards LUMHS Jamshoro. Total 160 patients recruited and divided into two groups as control and case study group. Anti diabetic and statin drugs were given to each group with same dose and balanced diet, formulated capsules containing 1.1 ml of olive oil & 500mgs of garlic powder were given only patients of case study group for 3 months. Biochemical analysis of serum cholesterol & serum TAG’s was done at zero level, level – I & level – II by enzymatic caloric method on Cobas auto analyzer. RESULTS: The study presented that serum cholesterol level & serum TAG’s levels were statistically normalized in case study group as compared to control group. CONCLUSION: The natural remedies (Phyto therapy) have an important role in the treatment of dyslipidemia in type – II diabetic patients, so Phyto therapy can also takes part in the prevention of complications due to dyslipidemia in diabetic population.

As the world population and its dependency on energy is growing exponentially day by day, the existing energy generating resources are not enough to fulfill their needs. In the conventional grid system, most of the generated energy is wasted because of improper demand side management (DSM). This leads to a difficulty in keeping the equilibrium between the user need and electric power production. To overcome these difficulties, smart grid (SG) is introduced, which is composed of the integration of two-way communication between the user and utility. To utilize the existing energy resources in a better way, SG is the best option since a large portion of the generated energy is consumed by the educational institutes. Such institutes also need un-interrupted power supply at the lowest cost. Therefore, in this paper, we have taken a university campus load. We have not only applied two bio-inspired heuristic algorithms for energy scheduling—namely, the Firefly Algorithm (FA) and the Lion Algorithm (LA)—but also proposed a hybrid version, FLA, for more optimal results. Our main objectives are a reduction in both, that is, the cost of energy and the waiting time of consumers or end users. For this purpose, in our proposed model, we have divided all appliances into two categories—shiftable appliances and non-shiftable appliances. Shiftable appliances are feasible to be used in any of the time slots and can be planned according to the day-ahead pricing signal (DAP), provided by the utility, while non-shiftable appliances can be used for a specified duration and cannot be planned with the respective DAP signal. So, we have scheduled shiftable appliances only. We have also used renewable energy sources (RES) for achieving maximum end user benefits. The simulation results show that our proposed hybrid algorithm, FLA, has reduced the cost excellently. We have also taken into consideration the consumers’ waiting times, due to scheduling of appliances.

This study is carried out on polysaccharide-based hydrogel extracted from the seeds of Ocimum basilicum L. for its evaluation as a superabsorbent and stimuli responsive biomaterial for sustained release drug delivery system. O. basilicum (Syn: Basil) seed hydrogel (BSH) expressed high swelling capacity at pH 6.8 and 7.4 and deionized water. Highly reversible on-off switching (swelling-deswelling) behavior of BSH was ascertained in deionized water and ethanol, pH 7.4 and 1.2, and deionized water and normal saline. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) of BSH has revealed macroporous structure of BSH having average pore size of 1.92 ± 3.83 μm noted after swelling and lyophilization. BSH containing tablet formulations showed a sustained release pattern of diclofenac sodium (DS) which is dependent on the concentration of BSH. When comparing with commercially available formulation of DS, even better sustained release behavior of DS was observed in BSH-based formulation. Super case-II transport mechanism is followed by the DS release from BSH matrix tablet. Haemocompatibility studies of BSH were also performed and found it nonhaemolytic and nonthrombogenic.

Multidrug resistance (MDR) has been a potentiator for the exploration of antibiotics. Nano drug delivery systems have opened new avenues to overcome this challenge. Although antibacterial nanocarriers are extensively realized, their effect on the bacteria residing inside the tissues and their toxicity is rarely explored. This study investigated the effects of flavonoid coated gold nanoparticles (FAuNPs) on the colonization of Enterococcus faecalis in the mouse liver and kidneys. Flavonoids were extracted from the leaves of Berberis lycium Royle and used to stabilize gold following a green synthesis approach. FAuNPs were characterized by ultraviolet-visible (UV-Vis) spectroscopy, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM), X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS). FAuNPs showed significantly higher reduction in bacterial counts in in-vitro and in-vivo in mice organs as compared to the free flavonoids owing to their biocompatibility and effectiveness.

The limited caching capacity of the local cache enabled Base station (BS) decreases the cache hit ratio (CHR) and user satisfaction ratio (USR). However, Cache enabled multi-tier cellular networks have been presented as a promising candidate for fifth generation networks to achieve higher CHR and USR through densification of networks. In addition to this, the cooperation among the BSs of various tiers for cached data transfer, intensify its significance many folds. Therefore, in this paper, we consider maximization of CHR and USR in a multi-tier cellular network. We formulate a CHR and USR problem for multi-tier cellular networks while putting major constraints on caching space of BSs of each tier. The unsupervised learning algorithms such as K-mean clustering and collaborative filtering have been used for clustering the similar BSs in each tier and estimating the content popularity respectively. A novel scheme such as cluster average popularity based collaborative filtering (CAP-CF) algorithm is employed to cache popular data and hence maximizing the CHR in each tier. Similarly, two novel methods such as intra-tier and cross-tier cooperation (ITCTC) and modified ITCTC algorithms have been employed in order to optimize the USR. Simulations results witness, that the proposed schemes yield significant performance in terms of average cache hit ratio and user satisfaction ratio compared to other conventional approaches.

Copper nanoclusters (Cu NCs) are generally formed by several to dozens of atoms. Because of wide range of raw materials and cheap prices, Cu NCs have attracted scientists’ special attention. However, Cu NCs tend to undergo oxidation easily. Thus, there is a dire need to develop a synthetic protocol for preparing fluorescent Cu NCs with high QY and better stability. Herein, we report a one-step method for preparing stable blue-green fluorescent copper nanoclusters using glutathione (GSH) as both a reducing agent and a stabilizing agent. High-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and electrospray ionization mass spectrometer (ESI-MS) were used to characterize the resulting Cu NCs. The as-prepared Cu NCs@GSH possess an ultrasmall size (2.3 ± 0.4 nm), blue-green fluorescence with decent quantum yield (6.2%) and good stability. MTT results clearly suggest that the Cu NCs@GSH are biocompatible. After incubated with EB-labeled HEK293T cells, the Cu NCs mainly accumulated in nuclei of the cells, suggesting that the as-prepared Cu NCs could potentially be used as the fluorescent probe for applications in cellular imaging.

Faults and failures are familiar case studies in centralized and decentralized tracking systems. The processing of sensor data becomes more severe in the presence of faults/failures and/or noise. Effective schemes have been presented for decentralized systems, in the presence of faults only. In some practical scenarios of systems, there are certain interruptions in addition to these faults. These interruptions may occur in the form of noise. However it is expected that the decision about the sensor data is difficult in the presence of noise. This is because the noise adversely affects the communication amongst sensors and the processing unit. More complexity is expected when there are faults and noise simultaneously. To deal with this problem, in addition to existing fault detection and isolation schemes, the Kalman filter is employed. Here, a generic discussion is provided, which is equally applicable to other situations. This work addresses various faults in the presence of noise for decentralized tracking systems. Local single faults and multiple faults in the presence of noise are the core issues addressed in this paper. The proposed work is comprised of a general scenario for a decentralized tracking system followed by a case study of a target tracking scenario with and without noise. The presented schemes are also tested for different types of faults. The proposed work presents effective tracking in the presence of noise and faults. The results obtained demonstrate the acceptable performance of the scheme of this work.

Due to the rapid increase in human population, the use of energy in daily life is increasing day by day. One solution is to increase the power generation in the same ratio as the human population increase. However, that is usually not possible practically. Thus, in order to use the existing resources of energy efficiently, smart grids play a significant role. They minimize electricity consumption and their resultant cost through demand side management (DSM). Universities and similar organizations consume a significant portion of the total generated energy; therefore, in this work, using DSM, we scheduled different appliances of a university campus to reduce the consumed energy cost and the probable peak to average power ratio. We have proposed two nature-inspired algorithms, namely, the multi-verse optimization (MVO) algorithm and the sine-cosine algorithm (SCA), to solve the energy optimization problem. The proposed schemes are implemented on a university campus load, which is divided into two portions, morning session and evening session. Both sessions contain different shiftable and non-shiftable appliances. After scheduling of shiftable appliances using both MVO and SCA techniques, the simulations showed very useful results in terms of energy cost and peak to average ratio reduction, maintaining the desired threshold level between electricity cost and user waiting time.

The dengue outbreak in Lahore, Pakistan during 2011 was unprecedented in terms of its severity and magnitude. This research aims to determine the serotype distribution of the dengue virus during this outbreak and classify the patients demographically. 5ml of venous blood was drawn aseptically from 166 patients with dengue like signs to test for the virus between the months of August to November 2011. The samples were sent to CDC, Atlanta, Georgia for the purpose of molecular assays to determine their serotype. RT-PCR protocol was performed targeting the 4 dengue serotypes. Out of 166 cases, dengue infection was detected with RT-PCR in 95 cases, all infected with the same serotype DEN-2. 75 % of positive cases were males while 25 % were females. Most positive patients were in the age range of 16 - 30 years. 33 % positive cases had accompanying bleeding. This is first study during the 2011 dengue epidemic in Lahore that reports DEN-2 as the only prevalent serotype. It also indicates that more infected patients were males, adults, within the age range of 16 - 30 years, the epidemic peaked in the month of November, Dengue hemorrhagic fever (DHF) is manifested more in females, and that Ravi town was heavily hit by the dengue virus infection.