Search

Background: HRCT chest has proven to be a helpful radiological modality to assess the course of disease. The main objective of the study was to analyze the pattern of lung involvement on HRCT chest among post-Covid patients. Methodology: This cross-sectional study was carried out in the post Covid patients (30 days after discharge) from Nov 2020 to July 2021 in Sahiwal Teaching Hospital, Pakistan. Total 180 patients were selected through non probability consecutive sampling technique. Whole body Multi Slice CT scan 128 Slices by GE discovery was used to get HRCT of chest and to document various patterns and stages of pulmonary fibrosis in the post-COVID patients. The data was analyzed using the IBM SPSS 28.0.0 2021. Various radiological findings were expressed in percentages. Results: A total of 77.8% patients had bilateral lung involvement, while 22.2% had unilateral lung involvement after one month of disease. Ground Glass Haze was the commonest radiological pattern, found in 140 (77.8%) cases. Other radiological patterns were Air Space Opacification (47.2%), Septal Thickening (20%) and Fibrotic Bands (26.1%). Traction Bronchiectasis (10%) and Honey Combing (7.8%) were among the lesser ones reported. About 62% patients had mixed findings on HRCT Chest. Diagnosis of Organizing Pneumonia was made in 166 (92.22%) patients while 14 (7.78%) patients were labelled as UIP (Usual Interstitial Pneumonia) with honey-combing in HRCT chest. The involvement of Right Lower Lobe was in 165 (91.7%) of cases. Right Middle Lobe remained fairly spared and was seen in 120 (66.7%) cases. Conclusion: Patchy ground glass haze seen bilaterally in lower lung lobes are the commonest abnormalities in HRCT chest of post-COVID patients. Keywords: Covid-19, Pneumonia, Radiology

Melatonin is a natural, multifunctional, nontoxic, regulatory, and ubiquitous biomolecule, having low molecular weight and pleiotropic effects in the plant kingdom. It is a recently discovered plant master regulator which has a crucial role under abiotic stress conditions (salinity, drought, heat, cold, alkalinity, acid rain, ozone, and metals stress). In the solanaceous family, the tomato is highly sensitive to abiotic stresses that affect its growth and development, ultimately hampering production and productivity. Melatonin acts as a strong antioxidant, bio-stimulator, and growth regulator, facilitating photosynthesis, delaying leaf senescence, and increasing the antioxidant enzymes system through direct scavenging of reactive oxygen species (ROS) under abiotic stresses. In addition, melatonin also boosts morphological traits such as vegetative growth, leaf photosynthesis, root architecture system, mineral nutrient elements, and antioxidant activities in tomato plants, confirming their tolerances against salinity, drought, heat, cold, alkalinity, acid rain, chemical, pathogen, and metals stress. In this review, an attempt has been made to summarize the potential role of melatonin for tomato plant endurance towards abiotic stresses, along with the known relationship between the two.

The CGG repeats in the 5' untranslated region of the fragile X mental retardation 1 gene (FMR1) gene shows increased instability upon maternal transmission. Maternal FMR1 intermediate (45-54 repeats) and premutation (PM: 55-200 repeats) alleles usually expand to full mutation (200 repeats) alleles in offspring and consequently, cause fragile X syndrome (FXS) in them.In a prospective cohort study, Pakistani pregnant women in prenatal care were first screened for FMR1 expanded alleles. In the follow-up, pregnancy outcomes in women carrying FMR1 expanded alleles were recorded and their newborn offspring were also screened for FXS.In a total of 1950 pregnant women, 89 (4.6%) were detected carriers for FMR1 expanded alleles; however, rates of detection of expanded alleles were found significantly high in women with a history of FXS. In addition, miscarriages and birth of affected newborns with FXS were significantly more common in women carrying large size PM alleles and had a history of FXS (P = 0.0494 and P = 0.0494, respectively).The current study provides the first evidence of screening Pakistani pregnant women for FMR1 expanded alleles in prenatal care. Moreover, the miscarriage was also detected as a clinical predictor for FXS.Offspring would have a higher risk of developing FXS due to maternal FMR1 alleles expansions during transmission. This is the first prospective cohort study in Pakistan for finding FMR1 allelic status of pregnant women and their newborn offspring in follow-up. The robust offspring risk for FXS estimated in this study may be valuable information for genetic counseling of women carriers for FMR1 expanded alleles. The family history and miscarriage were detected as effective indicators for FXS carrier screening in Pakistani women.

Background: Postpartum Hemorrhage (PPH) is the most common reason of maternal death globally. Misoprostol and oxytocin are two first line and effective management protocols. But controversies exist in literature. For that matter, this study was conducted. Objectives: To compare the frequency of postpartum hemorrhage with per rectal misoprostol in relation to intramuscular oxytocin in females undergoing normal vaginal delivery at term. Methods: This randomized controlled trial was conducted in Department of Obstetrics & Gynaecology, Sheikh Zayed Hospital, Lahore from 01-01-2019 to 01-12-2019. Patients were divided randomly into equal halves through the lottery method. Group A received Misoprostol and group B received Oxytocin. Medications were administered within one minute of clamping and the cutting of cord. During 24 hours, soaked pads were evaluated for blood loss and total blood loss was calculated. If blood loss>500ml, then PPH was labeled. Results: Mean age of women in Group A and in Group-B were 29.11±6.67 and 29.23±6.70 years. The mean gestational age for Group A came as 39.60±1.78 weeks and for Group-B, it was 39.53±1.72. In Group-A 24(15.7%) and in Group-B 59(38.6%) women suffered from PPH. PPH was significantly lower in comparison to the women in Group-B. Pvalue=0.000. Conclusion: Results of this study showed that use of per rectal Misoprostol is more suitable and effective in the prevention of Post-partum hemorrhages compared to oxytocin in females undergoing normal vaginal delivery at term.

Aims: This study aims to assess the academic performance of children with hearing impairment who received early intervention in Lahore. Study Design: Cross sectional survey design was used. Place and Duration of Study: Data was collected from Special Institute/School; Hamza foundation academy Lahore, Pakistan for the duration of six months from March 2021 to September 2021. Methodology: 97 students with moderate to severe sensorineural hearing loss children (aged in between 4 to 12), using hearing aids (HA’s) and cochlear implant (CI) were included by using purposive sampling technique. Hearing impaired children with other than sensorineural hearing loss and children who didn’t receive early intervention (hearing aids/implants or speech therapy) were excluded from this study. Results: It was found that 97 children with hearing impairment achieved significantly in their test score (80 to 99%) across English, Science, and Mathematics as compared to Urdu and Islamiyat (70 to 79%) after the implementation of intervention strategies. Conclusion: The study conclude that, while children with hearing impairment faced struggle in some areas of academics which includes listening and imitation in subjects like Urdu (structure of words) and Islamiyat (due to Arabic talafuz), their academic performance in Math, English, and Science is higher with overall achieved percentage between 80 to 99%.

In recent decades, global crop production is being threatened by contamination of arable lands with vanadium (V). Among many stress-relief substances, melatonin (ME) is a widely studied biomolecule acting as an antioxidant under stress conditions. The current study was aimed to investigate the response of tomato seedlings towards vanadium stress, along with the circumventing role of ME by promoting V stress tolerance in tomato seedlings. Our results revealed that accentuated inhibition of growth and biomass were caused by V (40 mg/L) stress, mainly due to impairments of photosynthetic systems, root traits, and mineral homeostasis. Conversely, notable reinforcement of plant growth parameters was seen with ME (100 µM) application, with improved chlorophyll content, root morphology, mineral nutrient homeostasis, and gas exchange parameters, along with reduced V accumulation. Further, ME efficiently triggered the antioxidant enzymes activities, by restoring cellular integrity [reduced electrolyte leakage (EL) and malondialdehyde] and restricted production of superoxide (O2•−) and hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) radicals, mainly through regulation of antioxidant enzymes. The present study highlighted the potential role of ME in tomato, for circumventing V-induced phytotoxicity, mainly by boosting photosynthesis, biomass production, redox balance, nutrient uptake, and root traits. In conclusion, ME application restricted the V availability in plant, improved plant growth and, thus, provided an improved V stress tolerance.

Thromboembolism is one of the most severe manifestations of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Thrombotic complications have been reported even with the administration of thromboprophylaxis. This has led many experts to have variable opinions on the most effective prophylactic strategy and to anticipate the discovery of the ideal dosing of anticoagulation to reduce thromboembolic events and related mortality. We performed a systematic review to evaluate whether therapeutic-dose anticoagulation is superior to prophylactic-dose anticoagulation by comparing mortality rates, bleeding risks, and rates of thromboembolism. We adhered to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines to create our systematic review. Twenty-two records were collected from PubMed, PubMed Central (PMC), and Medical Literature Analysis and Retrieval System Online (MEDLINE), after which they undertook quality appraisals. A total of 124 studies were analyzed in six systematic reviews and meta-analyses, one pooled analysis, two multicenter retrospective cohort studies, one observational study, one retrospective chart review, one evidence-based protocol, and four narrative reviews.

Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) are prevalent medical conditions affecting millions of people worldwide and are associated with significant morbidity and mortality. The main precursor of CVDs and the related events, such as hypertension and heart failure, is hyperlipidemia, most commonly an increase in low-density lipoproteins. Lipid-lowering drugs are cardinal in the treatment of CVDs. American College of Cardiology and American Heart Association have issued guidelines for lipid-lowering therapy, and statins are first-line medication. In the recent years, a new class of lipid-lowering agents called proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin type 9 (PCSK9) inhibitors has been identified as the potential lipid-lowering therapy for the statin-resistant patient. In clinical trials and observational studies, PCSK9 inhibitors and statins are both associated with the development of neurocognitive dysfunction in the older population. This systematic review aims to inquire if there is significant neurocognitive dysfunction associated with statins and PCSK9 inhibitors and compare neurocognitive effects associated with statins with those of PCSK9 inhibitors.

Globally, crop production has been widely threatened by contamination of arable lands with heavy metals including Nickel (Ni). Stress-relief molecule melatonin (ME) has been widely used to mitigate the phytotoxicity induced by heavy metals. The current study aimed to explore the response to Ni stress and the alleviating role of ME in boosting Ni-stress tolerance in tomato seedlings. The roots of tomato seedlings pretreated with ME (100 μM) for 3 days, followed by applied Ni (50 μM) for 7 days. The treatments were composed of (1) control (CK); (2) melatonin (ME, 100 μM); (3) nickel (Ni, 50 μM); and (4) melatonin and nickel treatment (ME+Ni, 100 μM + 50 μM). Nickel toxicity noticeably inhibited plant growth and biomass production by impairing the root architecture, photosynthesis process, nutrient uptake, and antioxidant enzymes. Conversely, ME-supplementation inhibited Ni-induced growth damage, improved root architecture, nutrient uptake, pigment contents, and leaf gas exchange parameters, and decreased Ni-accumulation. Furthermore, the electrolyte leakage (EL), malondialdehyde (MDA) content, and reactive oxygen species (ROS) accumulation were significantly reduced in ME-treated seedlings via improving antioxidant enzyme activity as well as upregulation of their encoding gene expression. In conclusion, our findings provide a shred of substantial evidence that ME improved Ni-induced phytotoxicity in tomato seedlings, mainly by improving the root architecture, biomass production, mineral homeostasis (reducing nickel accumulation in plants), and photosynthetic efficiency.

Livedoid vasculopathy (LV) is an uncommon chronic coagulation disorder whose underlying etiology is not yet fully understood. It predominantly affects females, especially those in late adolescence. There is currently limited research on treatment options for those with this diagnosis. The present systematic review aims to compare the efficacy of rivaroxaban and intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG) therapy in the treatment of livedoid vasculopathy. A detailed search was conducted from April 20, 2022, to May 1, 2022, using four databases: Elsevier, Medline Complete, Medline Ovid, and PubMed. Out of these, 20 relevant articles were used, and the data was extracted and analyzed. Both rivaroxaban and IVIG were shown to be effective treatment options with similar treatment response times. However, future large-scale clinical trials are needed to determine an established treatment regimen for these patients.

Hypertension (HTN) is one of the most prevalent and dangerous cardiovascular diseases worldwide. Recently, its direct or indirect association with gut dysbiosis has been an interest of study for many. It also includes the metabolomic and functional gene changes in hypertensives compared with healthy individuals. This systematic review aims to study quantitative and qualitative interactions between the two and re-defining the heart-gut axis. We have strictly followed the

Iron deficiency anemia (IDA) is a worldwide public health problem affecting millions, with developing nations accruing a significant disease burden.

Heavy metal contamination has severely hampered worldwide crop productivity. Cadmium (Cd) pollution is one of the most important environmental and agricultural soil challenges facing the world today, and it is mostly caused by human activity. The current research examines the potential effect of melatonin (ME) in alleviating Cd toxicity in pepper (Capsicum annuum L) seedlings. Cd stress reduced the growth traits, pigments molecules, and gas exchange elements, but increased phenolic content, hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), malondialdehyde (MDA) content and activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT) and peroxidase (POD). Conversely, exogenously applied ME promoted growth characteristics, chlorophyll content, and leaf gas exchange parameters in treated seedlings. Furthermore, ME supplementation further enhanced protein, total phenolics, and antioxidant enzyme activity. The increased activity of antioxidant scavengers played a central role in reducing H2O2 and MDA content in seedlings under Cd toxicity. According to the present research, seedlings pretreatment with ME decreases Cd-toxicity and allows pepper to grow in Cd-contaminated environments. Future research may aid in the understanding of the ME-assisted stress reduction mechanism in pepper crops. In addition, study into the potential of melatonin for stress relief in various horticultural and agronomic crops would aid in agricultural production development.

The study examined the short- and long-run nexus between industrial growth, economic growth, oil production, inflation, and trade deficit of China, using quarterly data from 1995Q1 to 2020Q4. We used autoregressive distributed lag model (ARDL), after affirmation of long-run relationship and uni-directional causality. To examine short-run dynamics, an error correction model (ECM) was specified, and Granger causality test was conducted to find the direction of causality between variables. Empirical findings confirmed cointegration between trade deficit and industrial growth, economic growth, inflation, and oil production. Further, uni-directional causality between trade deficit and all independent variables was found, running from independent variables towards trade deficit. Results revealed that growth of industrial production index play a substantial role in determining trade balance of China. The study further confirms the effectiveness of economic growth and inflation for trade deficit, in both short run and long run. The findings are consistent with extant literature. On the policy front, a couple of suggestions including trade policies with special focus on industrial reforms, and loose monetary policies are made on the basis of derived conclusions.

The motivation behind this quantitative research was to break down three goals: (1) the effect of adolescents form contribution with measurements of fashion awareness and fashion involvement, (2) the effect of youth's state of mind towards pop-up stores and (3) the effect of youths purchasing conduct towards pop-up retail locations. The scope of the study is limited to adolescent/youth studying in different departments of the University of the Punjab, Lahore. The sample of this study was 339 self-controlled questionnaire which was gathered from five departments of Punjab University Lahore, Pakistan. SEM method was used to analyze the information made in the examination. IBM SPSS-22 and AMOS two statistical software’s were used in this investigation. The present research uncovered that fashion involvement and adolescents purchasing are not related. Behavior towards pop up stores totally intervened the connection between fashion involvement and youths purchasing pattern.The current study has some limitations in that it used non-probability sampling technique and a smaller sample size due to limited resources and time. The data was collected from the students of University of the Punjab only. Future researches may address these limitations and further validate the findings of this study by using a larger sample size and a more suitable probability sampling technique.

In the course of China’s rapid economic development, the coexistence of industrial development and dominant industrial agglomeration (AGG), along with growing environmental problems, has attracted widespread attention from scholars. Although the linear relationship between the two has been analyzed in depth in the research literature, a concomitant phenomenon, i.e., the gradual expansion in the scale of foreign direct investment (FDI), has been overlooked. By employing threshold panel regression model, this paper attempts to construct a theoretical model with embedded AGG and FDI, and incorporates other factors affecting environmental pollution (POL). For examining the mechanism of AGG on POL, we proposed a testable theoretical hypothesis, and conducted an empirical study by combining panel data of POL and AGG at the provincial level in China. The measurement index of a control variable was changed to check the robustness of our results, and the coefficient sign of each explanatory variable was not changed, confirming the robustness of main results. Overall, AGG improves regional POL, but the impact of FDI is stage-specific and roughly there are three stages. Specifically, the positive effect of AGG on POL is strong when FDI is at a low level. When the level of FDI crosses the first threshold and continues to rise, the positive effect of AGG on POL reaches its strongest; until the second threshold is crossed, the positive effect of AGG starts diminishing slowly. Concluding this, for promoting economic development and environmental protection in the region in parallel, government and enterprises should prioritize the increment in FDI, with an equalization of levels of AGG and FDI, in order to enhance the improvement effect of AGG on POL.

Recently, melatonin has gained significant importance in plant research. The presence of melatonin in the plant kingdom has been known since 1995. It is a molecule that is conserved in a wide array of evolutionary distant organisms. Its functions and characteristics have been found to be similar in both plants and animals. The review focuses on the role of melatonin pertaining to physiological functions in higher plants. Melatonin regulates physiological functions regarding auxin activity, root, shoot, and explant growth, activates germination of seeds, promotes rhizogenesis (growth of adventitious and lateral roots), and holds up impelled leaf senescence. Melatonin is a natural bio-stimulant that creates resistance in field crops against various abiotic stress, including heat, chemical pollutants, cold, drought, salinity, and harmful ultra-violet radiation. The full potential of melatonin in regulating physiological functions in higher plants still needs to be explored by further research.

This study covers the methodological gap in determining adoption of adaptation strategies towards changing climate by farmers, in semi-arid region of Pakistan. By considering significance as well as scale of adoption, the study derived an adaptation index and studied determinants and barriers affecting successful adoption of different adaptation strategies, mainly by conducting Focal Group Discussion (FGD), experts’ interviews and household survey. Based on survey from 200 rice growers of Pakistan, the adaptations identified include elevated rates of irrigation, on-farm storage, alteration in fertilizer rates, weather forecasting and soil conservation techniques. Further, influence of different socioeconomic factors on adoption of adaptations is unraveled by using multiple linear regression approach. Results reveal the impact of farming experience, education of farmer, family size, access to credit, involvement in non-farm activities, belief on climate change and relevant adaptations is significant on adoption of adaptations. It suggests that implementation policies for adaptations should be revised, by considering vital role of these socioeconomic characteristics as well as local level actions of farmers.

Pairings have been used to develop a wide range of cryptographic protocols to solve problems beyond the reach of traditional public-key cryptographic schemes. At the same time, they are mathematically complex and involve a rich hierarchy of operations over finite fields and extension fields. Performing a pairing operation involves large number of modular multiplications, additions, and subtractions that require cumbersome manual scheduling of operations. Due to large sequence of operations and custom hardware architectures designed for a specific pairing algorithm, it becomes infeasible to change the underlying pairing type, elliptic curves, or even parameter sets without redesigning the entire architecture. We present the design of a configurable and generic execution unit, capable of being used for any pairing algorithm, and serving as a coprocessor to perform all the underlying operations. The execution unit is supported by a software static scheduler to automate the process of manual scheduling of operations at the lowest level of hierarchy, i.e., at the level of prime field arithmetic. We develop a hierarchical input format to support the tower of fields used to represent extension field elements involved in pairings. We optimize the overall performance of the cryptoprocessor by using an optimal number of multiplier units, capable of taking full advantage of the parallelism present in the algorithm and a single modular adder/subtractor, working in parallel with multipliers.

This study is aimed at empirically investigating the influence of online consumer reviews such as realism, positive reviews, negative reviews and volume of online reviews on hotel booking intentions in Pakistan through mediational mechanism. Data was collected from 250 part-time business graduates of University of Punjab, the largest Public-Sector University of Provincial Capital of Pakistan. SPSS and AMOS were carried out to analyze the results and determine the impact of online reviews on hotel booking intentions. Results indicated that realism, the volume of reviews and positive reviews are the most influential dimensions of online consumer reviews. Moreover, trust act as an intervening variable between positive reviews, the volume of reviews, realism and hotel booking intentions. Empirical analysis also indicated that negative online reviews have no direct and indirect impact on hotel booking intentions of online customers. This study is an effort in proposing a combination of online consumer reviews dimensions in determining Hotel Booking Intentions.

Tomato is considered an important vegetable crop for studying the response to abiotic stresses, which deteriorate the growth and development of plants, particularly salt stress. Melatonin is a crucial pleiotropic nontoxic signaling molecule that has a various role in modulating of plant responses to environmental stresses. The purpose of the study was to reckon the alleviating effects of melatonin on tomato plant growth and development in salinity condition. The results exhibited that the pretreatment of tomato seedlings with 100 μM melatonin for 3 days effectively improved the root architecture, photosynthetic pigments, photosynthetic assimilation and growth status of plants under subsequent salt stress (150 mM). The pretreatment slashed sodium ions concentration in leaf and stem by checking sodium ions transport from roots to shoot. Furthermore, melatonin notably surged potassium contents. Melatonin pretreatment (3 days) followed by salinity exposure (7 days) efficiently lowered the oxidative stress by checking the over accumulation of superoxide (O2•−) and hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), reducing the malondialdehyde (MDA) content and electrolyte leakage (EL). This was associated with increased activities of enzymatic antioxidants [superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), glutathione reductase (GR) and ascorbate peroxidase (APX)] and non-enzymatic antioxidants [ascorbic acid (AsA) and glutathione (GSH)]. In conclusion, melatonin pretreatment significantly escalates the salinity tolerance of tomato seedlings by scavenging the excessive ROS and improving cellular membrane stability of, thus mitigating salinity-induced oxidative damage.

This study is conducted to determine the impact that job stress (job conflict, work overload, inadequate reward policy and job burnout) has on teacher’s job outcomes (employee loyalty and employee performance). In order to explain the relationship among the variables, hypothesis testing was used since the study is causal. This paper focuses on teachers of five best intermediate level colleges of Lahore and a sample size of 100 respondents. The independent variable of the study is work related stressors (job conflict, work overload, inadequate reward policy, and job burnout), while dependent variable is teachers’ performance (employee loyalty and employee performance). SPSS version 20 was used for the initial analysis of collected data (descriptive statistics, reliability analysis, and correlation). Furthermore, SEM using AMOS is applied for checking the fitness of the model as well as the relationship among dependent and independent variables. The analyzed results show impact of all independent variables on dependent variables. However, job conflict, job burnout, and inadequate reward policies have significant impact on teacher’s performance. The largest influence comes from job conflict and job burnout on employee loyalty and inadequate reward policy on employee performance.

Purpose- Life satisfaction is a level in which feelings of people are affected positively or negatively about their lives. Employees whose lives are more satisfied are generally more committed with their works, reveal low absenteeism and more efficient in doing duties. This study aims to investigate what factors affect life satisfaction of employees in the banking sector specifically in the Pakistani context. Design/Methodology- The target population of this study was non-managerial employees of banks in Lahore. Total 340 questionnaires were distributed among employees in which 60 were filled incomplete and 30 were lost. The data were collected through self-administered questionnaires distributed to 250 respondents. Findings- The findings of structural equation modeling showed that economic hardship, prospective anxiety, and work stress has a negative impact on life satisfaction. Results also show that economic hardship and prospective anxiety has a positive impact on the financial threat. The financial threat is negatively related to life satisfaction. Practical Implications- It can also help managers to understand the insight of employee adverse financial decision making. Managers also make guidelines which may minimize all the consequences of psychological distress. It also helps in identifying methods to reduce anxiety, stress and economic hardship.

The mathematical complexity involved in ECC requires engineers to delveinto advanced concepts related to algebra and number theory to achieve optimized designs. We present the design of a configurable and generic execution unit for ECC that serves as a coprocessor to perform operations involved during a scalar multiplication. The execution unit is supported by a software static scheduler to automate the cumbersome process of manual scheduling of operations involved in ECC. The arithmetic unit performs the operations at the lowest level of hierarchy, i.e., prime field arithmetic. We focus on optimizing the overall performance of the cryptoprocessor by using an optimal number of multiplier units, capable of taking full advantage of the parallelism present in the algorithm anda single modular adder/subtractor, working in parallel with multipliers. An instruction set architecture capable of supporting all required instructions is designed, along with the coprocessor that can process multiple batches of instructions using the arithmetic unit. We report results for an entire scalar multiplication in terms of latency in clock cycles and in absolute time units. We also demonstrate that the entire setup is generalizable to any cryptosystem that involves modular multiplications and modular additions/subtractions at the lowest level of hierarchy.