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Abstract Diabetes mellitus (DM) is a rapidly prevailing disease throughout the world that poses boundless risk factors linked to several health problems. Vildagliptin is the standard dipeptidyl peptidase-4 (DPP-4) inhibitor type of medication that is used for the treatment of diabetes anti-hyperglycemic agent (anti-diabetic drug). The current study aimed to synthesize vildagliptin-loaded ZnO NPs for enhanced efficacy in terms of increased retention time minimizing side effects and increased hypoglycemic effects. Herein, Zinc Oxide (ZnO) nanoparticles (NPs) were constructed by precipitation method then the drug vildagliptin was loaded and drug loading efficiency was estimated by the HPLC method. X-ray diffraction analysis (XRD), UV–vis spectroscopy, FT-IR, scanning electron microscope (SEM), and EDX analysis were performed for the characterization of synthesized vildagliptin-loaded ZnO NPs. The UV–visible spectrum shows a distinct peak at 363 nm which confirms the creation of ZnO NPs and SEM showed mono-dispersed sphere-shaped NPs. EDX analysis shows the presence of desired elements along with the elemental composition. The physio-sorption studies, which used adsorption isotherms to assess adsorption capabilities, found that the Freundlich isotherm model explains the data very well and fits best. The maximum adsorption efficiency of 58.83% was obtained. Further, In vitro, anti-diabetic activity was evaluated by determining the α-amylase and DPP IV inhibition activity of the product formed. The formulation gave maximum inhibition of 82.06% and 94.73% of α-amylase and DPP IV respectively. While at 1000 µg/ml concentration with IC50 values of 24.11 μg/per ml and 42.94 μg/ml. The inhibition of α-amylase can be ascribed to the interactive effect of ZnO NPs and vildagliptin.

In the Haber-Bosch process (HBp), which uses elevated pressure and temperature to produce more concentration of nitrogen and hydrogen gases, 90% of the 175 million metric tons of NH3 generated worldwide in 2016 were manufactured in this process. According to the road plan for sustainable ammonia production sustainably, using water as a reducing agent is the most effective way to fix nitrogen in close-quarters ambiance. A complete explanation of theoretical and practical work on electrocatalytic nitrogen reduction is provided in this article, with special attention paid to the low selectivity of nitrogen reduction to ammonia in comparison to protons to hydrogen. Since they are essential for accurately achieving high nitrogen production and Faradaic efficiency (FE), their information outlines electrocatalysts, electrolyte selection criteria, and managed experiment design. Under diverse conditions, the evolution of theory and experiment is examined. Finally, feedback is given on this field’s present issues and prospects.

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID 19) pandemic brought substantial changes in the way doctors used to interact with patients. In the general practice, consultation over the phone has become a norm now. However, it is not well known how this new mode of consultation affected clinicians’ practices. Objective of this study was to find out if doctors working in the general practices were trained enough for telephonic consultation and how this new mode of consultation affected their clinical practice in general. It was an online survey. Information was gathered by using an online questionnaire which was sent electronically to general practitioners (GPs) and general practitioner speciality trainees (GPSTs) working in the general practices based in Leicestershire. Data were analyzed by using software SPSS. Descriptive characteristics of participants were reported in terms of numbers and percentages, whereas Chi square test was run to assess if there is a difference between GPs and GPSTs in terms of their experience of remote consultations by telephone. The questionnaire response rate was 69.3% (n = 133/192). Of the total, 54.1% (n = 72/133) of participants were women. About 36% (n = 48/133) of the participants were GPSTs, whereas 64% (n = 85/133) were qualified GPs. Not having enough training for phone consultation, technical issues during consultation, inadequate supervision framework, difficulties in building therapeutic alliance with patients, making diagnosis and risk assessment, and increased duration of consultation were identified as issues. Similarly, concerns around patients’ confidentiality and medico legal issues were highlighted. GPs and GPSTs reported similar difficulties. In conclusion, lack of training for the telephonic consultation has been identified as a unanimous issue along with other challenges to phone consultations. There is an urgent need to take measures to make telephone consultation more successful, enjoyable, and safe for patient care by addressing identified issues. Larger studies with representative samples are needed to increase generalizability of our findings.

Abstract The investigation focused on creating and studying a new 2D–2D S-scheme CdS/g-C3N4 heterojunction photocatalyst. Various techniques examined its structure, composition, and optical properties. This included XRD, XPS, EDS, SEM, TEM, HRTEM, DRS, and PL. The heterojunction showed a reduced charge recombination rate and more excellent stability, helping to lessen photocorrosion. This was due to photogenerated holes moving more quickly out of the CdS valence band. The interface between g-C3N4 and CdS favored a synergistic charge transfer. A suitable flat band potential measurement supported enhanced reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation in degrading 4-nitrophenol and 2-nitrophenol. This resulted in remarkable degradation efficiency of up to 99% and mineralization of up to 79%. The findings highlighted the practical design of the new 2D–2D S-scheme CdS/g-C3N4 heterojunction photocatalyst and its potential application in various energy and environmental settings, such as pollutant removal, hydrogen production, and CO2 conversion.

Abstract Diabetes is a serious health issue that can be a great risk factor related to numerous physical problems. A class of drugs “Gliflozin” especially Sodium Glucose Co. Transporter 2 was inhibited by a novel drug, which is known as “empagliflozin”. While ZnO nanoparticles (NPs) had considerable promise for combating diabetes, it was employed in the treatment and management of type-2 diabetes mellitus. The new drug empagliflozin was initially incorporated into Zinc Oxide NPs in this study using the surface physio-sorption technique, and the degree of drug adsorption was assessed using the HPLC method. The tailored product was characterized by using the FTIR, EDX, Ultraviolet–Visible, XRD and SEM techniques. With an average particle size of 17 nm, SEM revealed mono-dispersion of NPs and sphere-like form. The Freundlich isotherm model best fits and explains the data for the physio-sorption investigation, which examined adsorption capabilities using adsorption isotherms. The enzymes α-amylase and α-glucosidase, which are involved in the human metabolism of carbohydrates, were used in the in-vitro anti-diabetic assays. It was discovered that the composite showed the highest levels of 81.72 and 92.77% inhibition of -α-amylase and -glucosidase at an absolute concentration of 1000 μg per ml with IC50 values of 30.6 μg per ml and 72 μg per ml.

Aims Helplines and crisis lines are a standard component of a public health approach which appear to be intuitively supportive and useful to a population in acute distress and prevent severely adverse outcomes i.e., suicide. These services exist in different formats throughout the world. They have the advantage of being widely accessible, approachable, and bypass the waiting times and bureaucracies of referral systems for accessing secondary mental health services. The authors set out to study the range of outcomes used to evaluate mental health helplines and crisis lines. The focus was not simply to explore whether mental health helplines were effective or not. Rather the authors wanted to investigate what outcomes were being considered as evidence. The authors aimed to conduct a systematic review of evidence for mental health outcomes of service users of helplines and crisis lines. The research question was, ‘What outcomes are evidenced in published literature for mental health helplines and/or crisis lines in terms of efficacy, effectiveness or efficiency?’ Methods This was a systematic review of literature using the PRISMA-2020 statement. Literature searches of Web of Science, Ovid (PsycINFO, Medline, EMBASE), PubMed and Scopus were conducted in December 2022. Relevant information from eligible studies was extracted by using a structured data extraction form. Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool (MMAT) was used to assess quality of the included studies. While the heterogeneity of studies prevented a meta-analysis, it provided a rich landscape for exploring the topic through a thematic analysis. Results Eighteen studies finally met the inclusion and exclusion criteria. The projects studied used both trained professionals and volunteers trained to offer crisis intervention. Both qualitative and quantitative outcomes were evaluated across the studies. Outcomes were frequently subjective assessments of service users and/or the personnel delivering the intervention. Studies evaluated outcomes in various ways. Anonymity of the callers made long-term follow-up difficult in most cases, though it is understandable that anonymity might have contributed to the helpline being more accessible and less intimidating to the callers. MMAT scores showed the papers have a range of methodological soundness. Conclusion There is lack of consensus and uniformity regarding what outcomes can evidence the efficacy, efficiency, and effectiveness of mental health helplines. Before more investment in helplines, there needs to be discussion, planning and understanding among policy makers and service developers in deciding what they want to achieve from a mental health helpline. This will help researchers focus on relevant outcomes to evaluate mental health helplines. Services need clarity regarding what difference they are trying to make when such helplines are set up.

Aims Background: Nature and degree of mental illness can impair abilities of patients to drive safely which puts their own safety and safety of others at risk. There is also an ongoing concern of patients not being properly informed on their duty to inform the DVLA and potentially to stop driving for an extended period. Aims: 1.To assess if risk assessment of patients in term of driving status was completed at time of admission, during their stay on ward, and if any advice regarding fitness to drive was given at time of discharge. 2.To improve patients being asked about driving status on admission to 100% of patients. 3.To improve rates of service users being informed of the DVLA guidance following a mental health illness to 100% of patients. Methods It is a Quality Improvement (QI) project. Baseline information on current practices were assessed against local fitness to drive policy of Leicestershire Partnership NHS Trust in May 2023. Data was collected from 10 inpatient (6 general adult & 4 old age) wards. All patients who were discharged in the month of January 2023 were included for audit. Information was collected about driving status of patients at time of admission, during their stay on ward, and if any advice regarding fitness to drive was given at time of discharge. Data was recorded anonymously. Results are reported in percentages for descriptive statistics. Results Risk assessment was completed in 95% of patients on admission. About 12% (15/128) of the patients were driving at the time of admission, 80% of them were female. Assessment of driving risk during admission only took place in 11.7% (13/128) of cases. Advice on fitness to drive at time of discharge was given only in 12.5% (16/128) of cases. About ¼ of patients who were driving at time of admission, did not receive advice on fitness to drive at time of discharge from hospital. Conclusion There is a huge gap in clinical practice regarding compliance with fitness to drive policy. There is an urgent need to improve awareness among mental health teams that they have a role with regard to assessment of their patients’ risks and fitness to drive. An educational training video will be prepared and shared with clinicians in December 2023 to fill gaps in the service. Further information will be collected on practices related to fitness to drive policy in March 2024 for further evaluation of services.

In Pakistan, the origin of the indigenous cockfighting chicken (ICC) or gamecock population is unknown. However, it is speculated that this might have been associated with domestication, an event linked to recreational, entertainment (cockfighting), religious or ornamental activities. This study aims to understand the origin and genetic diversity of the ICC population in Pakistan.A total of 185 ICC population and 10 captive Indian red junglefowl (Gallus gallus murghi) were analyzed for genetic diversity indices and phylogenetic reconstruction using a 397 bp of mtDNA D-loop region.It is reported that a total of 43 haplotypes from 38 polymorphic nucleotide sites. The haplotype and nucleotide diversity are also estimated in the range of 0.643–0.909, and 0.00585–0.01575, respectively. The total genetic diversity within the population was 91.52%. Four mitochondrial haplogroups A, B, C and D were identified by median-joining network analysis, two of them have high percentages, haplogroup D (81.6%) and A (15.1%). Phylogenetic analysis showed that the ICC population of Pakistan and Gallus gallus murghi shared haplogroup D. The results of this study showed that sub-haplogroup D17a05, has significantly high haplotype diversity and percentage as compared to previously published studies, this indicated that Pakistan might be one of the centres of domestication for chicken, as it is considered that Southeast Asia is the centre of domestication. Frequencies of Haplogroup A also indicate South-North indices. This research work showed that the indigenous cockfighting chicken population of Pakistan is genetically introgressed from Gallus gallus murghi, and significant variations could be attributed to the underlying differences in the geographics, selection pressures, introgression, and regional practices; and multiple origins of cockfighting chickens’ populations around the world which reflected the past trading routes between human communities and civilizations.

AbstractRock quality designation (RQD) is a standard technique in mining and geotechnical investigation for quantifying the quality and degree of jointing of the rock mass. However, the need for expeditious and inexpensive geotechnical site characterization is the prime motivation for modifying RQD. This research work integrates 2D Electrical Resistivity Tomography (2D ERT) and Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) conducted at Site 1 and Site 2. The UAV survey was performed to calculate RQD on the rock surface using volumetric Joint Counts (Jv) at Sites 1 and 2. A 2D ERT survey was conducted to obtain the corresponding subsurface resistivity values. Using k-nearest neighbours (k-NN), resistivity values were assigned to various RQD indices such as very poor rocks (2500 Ωm excellent rock. Based on the established correlation of RQD and resistivity, the subsurface rock mass quality at Site 1 was predominantly good and excellent rock, while at Site 2, poor rock was significantly reported. This research concluded that rock mass characterization using RQD is more rapid and inexpensive than the direct or indirect calculation of RQD. The combined 2D ERT and UAV deployed in this research study provide an environmentally non-destructive approach for slope stability assessment.

Abstract Background Intravitreal anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (anti-VEGF) injections play a key role in treating a range of macular diseases. The effectiveness of these therapies is dependent on patients’ adherence (the extent to which a patient takes their medicines as per agreed recommendations from the healthcare provider) and persistence (continuation of the treatment for the prescribed duration) to their prescribed treatment regimens. The aim of this systematic review was to demonstrate the need for further investigation into the prevalence of, and factors contributing to, patient-led non-adherence and non-persistence, thus facilitating improved clinical outcomes. Methods Systematic searches were conducted in Google Scholar, Web of Science, PubMed, MEDLINE, and the Cochrane Library. Studies in English conducted before February 2023 that reported the level of, and/or barriers to, non-adherence or non-persistence to intravitreal anti-VEGF ocular disease therapy were included. Duplicate papers, literature reviews, expert opinion articles, case studies, and case series were excluded following screening by two independent authors. Results Data from a total of 409,215 patients across 52 studies were analysed. Treatment regimens included pro re nata, monthly and treat-and-extend protocols; study durations ranged from 4 months to 8 years. Of the 52 studies, 22 included a breakdown of reasons for patient non-adherence/non-persistence. Patient-led non-adherence varied between 17.5 and 35.0% depending on the definition used. Overall pooled prevalence of patient-led treatment non-persistence was 30.0% (P = 0.000). Reasons for non-adherence/non-persistence included dissatisfaction with treatment results (29.9%), financial burden (19%), older age/comorbidities (15.5%), difficulty booking appointments (8.5%), travel distance/social isolation (7.9%), lack of time (5.8%), satisfaction with the perceived improvement in their condition (4.4%), fear of injection (4.0%), loss of motivation (4.0%), apathy towards eyesight (2.5%), dissatisfaction with facilities 2.3%, and discomfort/pain (0.3%). Three studies found non-adherence rates between 51.6 and 68.8% during the COVID-19 pandemic, in part due to fear of exposure to COVID-19 and difficulties travelling during lockdown. Discussion Results suggest high levels of patient-led non-adherence/non-persistence to anti-VEGF therapy, mostly due to dissatisfaction with treatment results, a combination of comorbidities, loss of motivation and the burden of travel. This study provides key information on prevalence and factors contributing to non-adherence/non-persistence in anti-VEGF treatment for macular diseases, aiding identification of at-risk individuals to improve real-world visual outcomes. Improvements in the literature can be achieved by establishing uniform definitions and standard timescales for what constitutes non-adherence/non-persistence. Systematic review registration PROSPERO CRD42020216205.

The use of chimeric antigen receptor modified immune cell therapeutics has improved the treatment of a range of tumours. Here the authors explore a dual-target iPSC-derived NK cell product as a potential therapeutic for the treatment of multiple myeloma.

The Asiatic black bear (Ursus thibetanus) is considered one of the largest carnivores inhabiting different territories including coniferous and broad-leaved forests, extending from sea level to the elevation of 4300 m. The Kaghan and Siran Valleys in Pakistan's District Mansehra were the location of the current study. To evaluate the altitudinal distribution and seasonal movement of Asiatic black bears in the region, we used three approaches (sign distribution survey, questionnaire-based survey, and scat collecting). A total of 1858 bear signs were observed during the field survey, the highest number of signs was dig marks (1213) followed by plant uprooting. Dig marks (MER: 7.574) were observed repeatedly in each potential site of both valleys followed by plant uprooting (MER: 1.594). Similarly, the altitudinal distribution of black bears was determined through the frequency of signs concerning elevation (m). Elevation of the study area ranged from 1300 to 3500 m and the most abundant population was recorded at the elevation of 2501–3000 m followed by 2001–2500 m. About 52% of local communities encountered black bears during the summer season in the field followed by Spring (23%.8) and winter (15.3%). Manshi Reserver forest (24.5%) from Kaghan and Panjul Reserve forest (31.6) from Siran Valley are the potential summer migratory spots. Eleven scat samples were collected with a 0.103 encounter rate (ER). Most of the scats (about 70%) were observed within the maize crop field in the summer season at low elevation, while just 30% of the scat was observed in the winter season in the forest.

This study was undertaken to see how microbial consortia influenced maize development and yield under salt-affected conditions. The efficacy of the pre-isolated bacterial strains Burkholderia phytofirmans, Bacillus subtilis, Enterobacter aerogenes, and Pseudomonas syringae and Pseudomonas fluorescens to decrease the detrimental effects of salt on maize was tested in four distinct combinations using Randomized Complete Block Design with three replicates. The results revealed that these strains were compatible and collaborated synergistically, with an 80% co-aggregation percentage under salt-affected conditions. Following that, these strains were tested for their ability to increase maize growth and yield under salt-affected field conditions. The photosynthetic rate (11–50%), relative water content (10–34%), and grain yield (13–21%) of maize were all increased by these various combinations. However, when Burkholderia phytofirmans, Enterobacter aerogenes and Pseudomonas fluorescens were combined, the greatest increase was seen above the un-inoculated control. Furthermore, as compared to the un-inoculated control, the same combination resulted in a 1.5-fold increase in catalase and a 2.0-fold increase in ascorbate concentration. These findings showed that a multi-strain consortium might boost maize's total yield response as a result of better growth under salt stress.

A comprehensive, up-to-date systematic review (SR) of the new-onset rheumatic immune-mediated inflammatory diseases (R-IMIDs) following COVID-19 vaccinations is lacking. Therefore, we investigated the demographics, management, and prognosis of new R-IMIDs in adults following SARS-CoV-2 vaccinations. A systematic literature search of Medline, Embase, Google Scholar, LitCovid, and Cochrane was conducted. We included any English-language study that reported new-onset R-IMID in adults following the post-COVID-19 vaccination. A total of 271 cases were reported from 39 countries between January 2021 and May 2023. The mean age of patients was 56 (range 18–90), and most were females (170, 62.5%). Most (153, 56.5%) received the Pfizer BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine. Nearly 50% of patients developed R-IMID after the second dose of the vaccine. Vasculitis was the most prevalent clinical presentation (86, 31.7%), followed by connective tissue disease (66, 24.3%). The mean duration between the vaccine’s ‘trigger’ dose and R-IMID was 11 days. Most (220, 81.2%) received corticosteroids; however, 42% (115) received DMARDs such as methotrexate, cyclophosphamide, tocilizumab, anakinra, IV immunoglobulins, plasma exchange, or rituximab. Complete remission was achieved in 75 patients (27.7%), and 137 (50.6%) improved following the treatment. Two patients died due to myositis. This SR highlights that SARS-CoV-2 vaccines may trigger R-IMID; however, further epidemiology studies are required.

Owing to inconsistent results of a single bacterial strain, co-inoculation of more than one strain under salinity stress could be a more effective strategy to induce salt tolerance. Co-inoculation of more than one bacterial strain could be more effective due to the presence of several growths promoting traits. This study was conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of multi-strains bacterial consortium to promote wheat growth under salinity stress. Several plant growth promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) had been isolated and tested for their ability to grow in increasing concentrations of sodium chloride (NaCl). Those rhizobacterial strains having tolerance against salinity were screened to evaluate their ability to promote wheat growth in the presence of salinity by conducting jar trials under axenic conditions. The rhizobacteria with promising results were tested for their compatibility with each other before developing multi-strain inoculum of PGPR. The compatible PGPR strains were characterized, and multi-strain inoculum was then evaluated for promoting wheat growth under axenic conditions at different salinity levels, i.e., 2.1 (normal soil), 6, 12, and 18 dS m–1. The most promising combination was further evaluated by conducting a pot trial in the greenhouse. The results showed that compared to a single rhizobacterial strain, better growth-promoting effect was observed when rhizobacterial strains were co-inoculated. The multi-strain consortium of PGPR caused a significant positive impact on shoot length, root length, shoot fresh weight, and root fresh weight of wheat at the highest salinity level in the jar as well as in the pot trial. Results showed that the multi-strain consortium of PGPR caused significant positive effects on the biochemical traits of wheat by decreasing electrolyte leakage and increasing chlorophyll contents, relative water contents (RWC), and K/Na ratio. It can be concluded that a multi-strain consortium of PGPR (Ensifer adhaerens strain BK-30, Pseudomonas fluorescens strain SN5, and Bacillus megaterium strain SN15) could be more effective to combat the salinity stress owing to the presence of a variety of growth-promoting traits. However, further work is going on to evaluate the efficacy of multi-strain inoculum of PGPR under salt-affected field conditions.

Small N-heterocyclic molecules are important scaffolds in the pharmaceutical industry and most FDA-approved drugs are nitrogen-containing heterocycles. Chemists try to employ iron-based catalysts for organic transformations due to their abundance, economic, easily accessible and environment-friendly behaviour. N-heterocycles are synthesized by the cyclization reactions. This review covered the synthesis of N-heterocycles by employing iron-based catalysts via intermolecular or intramolecular cyclizations.

Terrestrial laser scanners (TLS) are used for a variety of applications, e.g., surveying, forestry, cultural heritage preservation, mining, topographic mapping, urban planning, forensics etc. This technology has made a huge shift in 3D spatial data collection due to much faster speed compared to other techniques. In the absence of guiding principles for positioning TLS relative to an object, surveyors collect data at maximum arrangements of scanning geometry elements due to fear of incomplete data of TLS. In 3D spatial data acquisition, positional accuracy and Level of Detail (LOD) are major considerations and are dependent on laser incident angle, footprint size, range and resolution. Mathematical models have been developed relating range, incident angle and laser footprint size for different surface configurations. These models can be used to position TLS to collect data at required positional accuracy and LOD. Models have been verified by deriving one model from other surface models by changing parameters. Effects of incident angle and footprint size have been studied mathematically and experimentally on a natural sloping surface. From the results, surveyors can plan the positioning of the scanner so that data is collected at the required accuracy and LOD.

Sunnah is second authentic source of Islamic law. It is the one of the real blessing of Allah that He created religious scholars and aeimma for writing, memorizing, defending and Rawayat wa darayat of these sunah .The struggles and services of Imam Ahmad bin Hanbal (Rahimahu Allahu Ta'ala) for Ahadees are praise working.He was born in Marw on the 20th of Rabi-ul-Awwal 164 A.H.He was a very pious scholar who devoted all his life in the Science of Ahadith and Fiqh.He wrote many books but His most famous book is his "MUSNAD".A book in which he collected about 50 000 to 70 000 Ahadith. His book Musnad Ahmad bin Hanbal is a true treasure of knowledge.This book has many qualities, one of the distinctive quality of this book is that Mukhzramen-e-Rawat have been mentioned here. Mukhzrm is a person who lives during the age of ignorance (zamana e jahiliyat) and age of Islam but He accepts Islam after the death of Holy Prophet (PBUH). This paper is an attempt to highlight the Mukhzramen Rawat. اللہ تعالٰی نے قرآن مجید نازل فرما کراس امت پر عظیم احسان فرمایا،جس میں زیادت ونقصان اور تحری

Abstract Objective The aim of this study was to assess the impact of regularity in treatment follow-up appointments on treatment outcomes among hypertensive patients attending different healthcare settings in Islamabad, Pakistan. Additionally, factors associated with regularity in treatment follow-up were also identified. Methods A cross-sectional study was undertaken in selected primary, secondary and tertiary healthcare settings between September, 2017 and December, 2018 in Islamabad, Pakistan. A structured data collection form was used to gather sociodemographic and clinical data of recruited patients. Binary logistic regression analyses were undertaken to determine association between regularity in treatment follow-up appointments and blood pressure control and to determine covariates significantly associated with regularity in treatment follow-up appointments. Results A total of 662 patients with hypertension participated in the study. More than half 346 (52%) of the patients were females. The mean age of participants was 54 ± 12 years. Only 274 (41%) patients regularly attended treatment follow-up appointments. Regression analysis found that regular treatment follow-up was an independent predictor of controlled blood pressure (OR 1.561 [95% CI 1.102–2.211; P = 0.024]). Gender (OR 1.720 [95% CI 1.259–2.350; P = 0.001]), age (OR 1.462 [CI 95%:1.059–2.020; P = 0.021]), higher education (OR 1.7 [95% CI 1.041–2.778; P = 0.034]), entitlement to free medical care (OR 3.166 [95% CI 2.284–4.388; P = 0.0001]), treatment duration (OR 1.788 [95% CI 1.288–2.483; P = 0.001]), number of medications (OR 1.585 [95% CI 1.259–1.996; P = 0.0001]), presence of co-morbidity (OR 3.214 [95% CI 2.248–4.593; P = 0.0001]) and medication adherence (OR 6.231 [95% CI 4.264–9.106; P = 0.0001]) were significantly associated with regularity in treatment follow-up appointments. Conclusion Attendance at follow-up visits was alarmingly low among patients with hypertension in Pakistan which may explain poor treatment outcomes in patients. Evidence-based targeted interventions should be developed and implemented, considering local needs, to improve attendance at treatment follow-up appointments.

From the Islamic point of view, the source of all leadership powers is the essence of God Almighty. The essence of God Almighty is the owner of everything and He is the legislator. Man is only his vicegerent and caliph in this universe. It is based on three principles according to the instructions of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him). One is that the rule of God and obedience to the Qur'an and Sunnah is the greatest foundation of the state and government. The second is that the government will be formed at the discretion of the Muslim Ummah through public consultation. And third, the Islamic government is responsible for running the state as well as providing for the collective welfare of society and the needs of all citizens. There are a few principles that must be found in the leadership of the Islamic State۔These principles are mentioned below.

Industrial wastewater contains a variety of contaminants like salts, organic carbon, and heavy metals. Among the heavy metals, cadmium (Cd) and lead (Pb) are considered highly toxic even at low concentration. These metals could enter the food chain through a process of phytoassimilation, hence, lethal for living beings. The present study aimed to investigate Cd and Pb phytoextraction in four grass species viz. Dhab (Desmostachya bipinnata), Sporobolus (Sporobolus arabicus), Kallar (Leptochloa fusca) and Para grass (Brachiaria mutica) from industrial wastewater. The grasses were grown hydroponically in plastic pots in industrial wastewater as growth medium under greenhouse conditions. The experiment trial was arranged following completely randomized design (CRD) with three replicates. Results showed that B. mutica had maximum shoot metal content (Pb = 21, Cd = 0.66 mg kg-1 dry matter), shoot metal uptake (Pb = 201.8, Cd = 6.39 µg plant-1), translocation factor (Pb = 0.73, Cd = 0.55), shoot dry matter (28.8 g pot-1), and root dry matter (4.2 g pot-1). Root Pb concentration was highest in B. mutica followed by D. bipinnata and L. fusca. Whereas S. arabicus showed depressed growth, minimum shoot metal accumulation and uptake potential. Thereby among the tested grass species B. mutica could be suitable option to remediate industrial wastewater contaminated with moderate levels of Pb and Cd.

Chickpea relies on inoculation with N2-fixing bacteria to fulfill its N requirement. The efficacy of the inoculation process hangs on the success of association between N2-fixing bacteria and Chickpea plants. Seed treatment with insecticides may kill the inoculated bacteria and result in poor establishment and upshot of the symbiosis. Survival efficacy of four rhizobial (Mesorhizobium ciceri) strains (CRI14, CRI20, CRI34 and CRI35) selected on the basis of preliminary study, was evaluated at increasing concentration of imidacloprid (0-200 µg L-1). Amongst four inoculated strains, the strain CRI20 and CRI35 showed better survival in the presence of Imidacloprid when compared to rest of two. Strain CRI35was able to tolerate insecticide above the recommended dose whereas the strain CRI20 showed relatively less growth at high concentration. So, for as the efficacy of these strains was concerned pertaining to improvement in growth of imidacloprid treated chickpea it was tested in a pot trial. Chickpea seeds were treated with recommended dose of imidacloprid and then inoculated with respective rhizobial strains as per experimental plan. Un-inoculated treated and untreated seeds were also used for comparison. The pots were arranged according to completely randomized design in two sets having three replications each. At flowering, plants from one set were uprooted and data regarding nodulation was recorded, whereas, the data regarding growth and yield parameters was calculated from other set at maturity. The results showed that inoculation not only improved nodulation but also caused a significant increase in growth and yield. Rhizobial strain CRI35 performed better than the other which might be due to its better growth promoting traits in addition to its ability to tolerate insecticide. Therefore, it is suggested to use only those rhizoidal strains that could tolerate agrochemicals and survive well in the rhizosphere and would consequently nodulate legume plants more efficiently.

Background Over-the-counter (OTC) medicines are typically safe. However, there is evidence that OTC medicines can sometimes cause harm as a result of their misuse, abuse and dependence. Aim of the review To review the literature on OTC medicines misuse, abuse and dependence in adults and identify the implicated medicines, contributing factors, associated harms and risk-mitigating interventions. Methods Following PRISMA guidelines, electronic databases including Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL), EMBASE, MEDLINE, PsycINFO Web of Science and Google Scholar were searched for peer-reviewed journal articles published in English between January 2011 and March 2019. Quantitative, qualitative and mixed-methods studies assessing aspects of misuse, abuse and dependence of OTC medicines in individuals aged 18 years or more were included. Studies that solely focused on adolescents only, doping in sports or abuse of OTC medicines in people who are substance abusers were excluded. The random effect meta-analysis model was used to pool the prevalence among the population-based studies. Results Of 2355 peer-reviewed studies initially identified, 53 were included in this review. According to the study design, the prevalence varied, but the overall pooled prevalence in the population-based studies was: 16.2% for misuse, 2.0% for abuse, and 7.2% for dependence. The common OTC medicines groups involved in the problematic use were analgesics (with or without codeine), sedative antihistamines, cough mixtures containing dextromethorphan. Physical, psychological, social and financial harms were associated with problematic use of OTC medicines in addition to hospitalisation and death. Interventions for the affected individuals were provided mainly through the community pharmacies, general practices and specialised addiction centres. Conclusion The problematic use of OTC medicines is quite prevalent in adults, necessitating raising public awareness about their safe use. In addition, innovative harm minimisation models need to be developed, evaluated and implemented across health care settings.

Background: Highly infectious respiratory disease COVID-19 emerged in Wuhan, China, and spread worldwide. Different measures have been adopted worldwide to contain the COVID-19, and these measures have various impacts on health-related quality of life (HRQoL). This study aimed to assess the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic (CP) and lockdown policy on physical health (PH)–psychological health (PsH), physical activity (PA), and overall well-being (OW) in the context of HRQoL, exploring the mediating role of emotional regulation (ER).Method: The current study was conducted in two provincial cities of China. An online survey was conducted in both the cities to collect the data. After quantifying the data, a total of 2,200 respondents data were analyzed through appropriate statistical techniques.Results: The study results indicate that CP was found significantly and negatively related to PH (β = −0.157, t = 9.444, p < 0.001). A significant relationship was found between CP and PsH (β = 0.779, t = 45.013, p < 0.001). The third prediction revealed a significant negative relationship between the CP and OW (β = −0.080, t = 5.261, p < 0.001). The CP and PA had a significant negative relationship (β = −0.047, t = 3.351, p < 0.001).Conclusion: The PH, PsH, and OW of the Chinese people were affected due to the CP and lockdown measures. It is suggested that ER intervention reduces the negative psychological impacts for improving quality of life. ER can function one's sentiments in their social environment effectively for quality of life.

Just like animals and human beings, plants also accommodate a countless number of microorganisms as hosts. Microorganisms enjoy this hospitality by developing an interaction with the plants either in a synergistic way benefiting each other or in an antagonistic manner damaging their hosts. Such types of mutualistic and pathogenic interactions also take place among microbial community. Proteins, metabolites and certain molecular mechanisms determine whether the intruder is a symbiotic or pathogenic microorganism. Various bacteria and fungi interact symbiotically and play significant role in plant growth promotion. Certain species of fungi, oomycetes, bacteria and nematodes are also pathogenic in nature and cause impact on soil and plant. Soil serves as a big substrate for microbial community, which are important in a number of ways owing to their role in mineralization, nutrient availability and are sources of industrial products such as enzymes, hormones, antibiotics, vitamins etc. This review will improve our understanding about relationships between plants and their microbial friends and foes. The mechanisms adopted by soil microbes to contribute in the betterment of soil leading towards enhanced plant growth as well as pathogenicity caused by these microbes have also been discussed. Recent advances to recognize the molecular mechanisms involved in such interactions have also been discussed. Recent advances made in this field and the areas needing further research have also been mentioned.

Herbicide resistance and environmental pollution are the risks associated with chemical control of weeds. Allelopathic plant extracts may be exploited for weed management as an alternative to commercial herbicides. Before development of allelochemical-based eco-friendly herbicides, bioherbicidal potential of plants need to be evaluated. Present study was conducted to evaluate phytotoxic allelopathic impact of leaf extract from eight agroforestry and fruit plant species against Lepidium sativum. The results showed that all plant species delayed germination and inhibited root length, shoot length and seedling dry weight of Lepidium sativum. Four plant species such as Moringa oleifera, Mangifera indica, Albizia procera and Delonix regia were most phytotoxic with Lepidium sativum root growth inhibition of ≥85% as compared with control and seedling persistence index

N-(4-bromophenyl)furan-2-carboxamide (3) was synthesized by the reaction furan-2-carbonyl chloride (1) and 4-bromoaniline (2) in the presence of Et3N in excellent yields of 94%. The carboxamide (3) was arylated by employing triphenylphosphine palladium as a catalyst and K3PO4 as a base to afford N-(4-bromophenyl)furan-2-carboxamide analogues (5a-i) in moderate to good yields (43–83%). Furthermore, we investigated the in vitro anti-bacterial activities of the respective compounds against clinically isolated drug-resistant bacteria A. baumannii, K. pneumoniae, E. cloacae and S. aureus. The molecule (3) was found to be the most effective activity against these bacteria, particularly NDM-positive bacteria A. baumannii as compared to various commercially available drugs. Docking studies and MD simulations further validated it, expressing the active site and molecular interaction stability.

Plant growth promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) and silicon (Si) are known for alleviating abiotic stresses in crop plants. In this study, Bacillus drentensis and Enterobacter cloacae strains of PGPR and foliar application of Si were tested for regulating the antioxidant metabolism and nutrient uptake on grain yield of mung bean under irrigation of saline water (3.12 and 7.81 dS m−1). Bacterial inoculation and supplemental Si (1 and 2 kg ha−1) reduced salinity-induced oxidative stress in mung bean leaves. The improved salt stress tolerance was achieved by enhancing the activities of catalase (45%), peroxidase (43%) and ascorbate peroxidase (48%), while decreasing malondialdehyde levels (57%). Enhanced nutrient uptake of magnesium 1.85 mg g−1, iron 7 mg kg−1, zinc 49.66 mg kg−1 and copper 12.92 mg kg−1 in mung bean seeds was observed with foliar application of Si and PGPR inoculation. Biomass (7.75 t ha−1), number of pods per plant (16.02) and 1000 seed weight (60.95 g) of plants treated with 2 kg Si ha−1 and B. drentensis clearly outperformed treatments with Si or PGPR alone. In conclusion, application of Si and PGPR enhances mung bean productivity under saline conditions, thereby helping exploitation of agriculture in low productive areas.

Ecosystem functioning is dependent a lot on large mammals, which are, however, vulnerable and facing extinction risks due to human impacts mainly. Megafauna of Asia has been declining for a long, not only in numbers but also in their distribution ranges. In the current study, we collected information on past and current occurrence and distribution records of Asia’s megafauna species. We reconstructed the historical distribution ranges of the six herbivores and four carnivores for comparison with their present ranges, to quantify spatially explicit levels of mega-defaunation. Results revealed that historically the selected megafauna species were more widely distributed than at current. Severe range contraction was observed for the Asiatic lion, three rhino species, Asian elephant, tigers, and tapirs. Defaunation maps generated have revealed the vanishing of megafauna from parts of the East, Southeast, and Southwest Asia, even some protected Areas losing up to eight out of ten megafaunal species. These defaunation maps can help develop future conservation policies, to save the remaining distribution ranges of large mammals.

BackgroundCOVID-19 break out has created panic and fear in society. A strict kind of lockdown was imposed in Wuhan, Hubei province of China. During home confinement due to lockdown, people face multidimensional issues. The present study explored the psychological impacts of COVID-19 home confinement during the lockdown period and Wuhan’s residents’ attitude toward physical activity.MethodsA cross-sectional online survey was conducted to collect the primary data according to the study objectives. The population was Wuhan residents (+ 18 years) who were in home confinement. A total of 2280 participant’s reply to the online questionnaire survey and collected data after quantifying the data, about 2200 (96.49%); about (49.8%) female, about (49.4%) male, others about (0.2%), and about (0.6%) were not disclosed their gender participants responses were used for analysis. The collected data were analyzed through appropriate statistical techniques.ResultsAccording to results, H1 is supported with β = −40.793, t = 57.835, p = 0.000, which claimed a negative association between COVID-19 lockdown policy and behavior and attitude. Results for H2 reveals that the COVID-19 lockdown policy have negative influence on emotional control with β = −0.769, t = 46.766, p = 0.000 and it is supported. H3 documented a significant positive relationship between COVID-19 lockdown policy and lockdown period psychological impact, which means lockdown policy, is the main reason to increase the lockdown psychological impact. Further, COVID-19 lockdown policy have negative influence on physical activity (H4) and self-belief (H5) with β = −0.657, t = 32.766, p = 0.000 and β = −0.620, t = −6.766, p = 0.000 respectively. H6 stated that there is a positive impact of behavior and attitude toward physical activity. The results for H6, behavior, and attitude affecting the physical activity with β = 0.401, t = 10, p = 0.000, which is supported.ConclusionCOVID-19 home confinement created various psychological impacts, negatively affecting the emotional state due to depression and anxiety. Physical activity is the best strategy to manage human nature’s psychological issues, and people’s attitudes were positive toward physical activity during home confinement. However, the lockdown policy also affects physical activity participation negatively, and a sedentary lifestyle prevailed during home confinement.

Soil phosphorus (P) adsorption and desorption occur in an important endogenous cycle linked with soil fertility problems and relevant to the environmental risk assessment of P. In our study, the effect of long-term inorganic and organic fertilization on P adsorption and desorption characteristics in relation to changes in soil properties was evaluated by selecting three long-term experimental sites in southern China. The selected treatments at each site were CK (unfertilized), NPK (synthetic nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium) and NPKM (synthetic NPK plus manure). The adsorption and desorption characteristics of P were evaluated using Langmuir and Freundlich isotherms. The results showed that long-term application of NPK plus manure significantly increased soil organic carbon (SOC), total P and available P at all three sites compared with the NPK and CK treatments. All three treatments fit these equations well. The maximum adsorption capacity (Qm) of P increased with NPKM treatment, and the binding energy of P (K) and the maximum buffering capacity (MBC) showed increasing trends. NPKM showed the highest Qm (2346.13 mg kg-1) at the Jinxian site, followed by Nanchang (221.16 mg kg-1) and Ningxiang (2219.36 mg kg-1). Compared to CK and NPK, the NPKM treatment showed a higher MBC as 66.64, 46.93 and 44.39 L kg-1 at all three sites. The maximum desorption capacity (Dm) of P in soil was highest with the NPKM treatment (157.58, 166.76, 143.13 mg kg-1), showing a better ability to release P in soil. The correlation matrix showed a significant positive correlation of SOC, total and available P with Qm, Dm and MBC. In conclusion, it is suggested that manure addition is crucial to improve P utilization in red paddy soils within the recommended range to avoid the risk of environmental pollution.

Benzothiazole analogs are very interesting due to their potential activity against several infections. In this research, five benzothiazole derivatives were studied using density functional theory calculations. The optimized geometry, geometrical parameters and vibrational spectra were analyzed. The charge distribution diagrams, such as FMO (HOMO-LUMO), energies of HOMO-LUMO, polarizability, hyperpolarizability, MESP and density of states, were calculated. The computed energies of HOMO and LUMO showed that the transfer of charge occurred within the compound. The effect of the change of substituents on the ring on the value of the HOMO-LUMO energy gap was also observed. It was observed that, in this series, compound 4 with CF3 substituent had the lowest energy gap of HOMO-LUMO, and compound 5 with no substituent had highest HOMO-LUMO energy gap. From the energies of HOMO and LUMO, the reactivity descriptors, such as electron affinity (A), ionization potential (I), chemical softness (σ), chemical hardness (ƞ), electronic chemical potential (μ), electrophilicity index (ω), were calculated. In addition, the 13C and 1H NMR chemical shifts of the molecules were calculated using the gauge-independent atomic orbit (GIAO) method; the shifts were in good agreement with the experimental values. The anti-bacterial potential of compounds 1 to 5 was tested by molecular docking studies toward target proteins 2KAU and 7EL1 from Klebsiella aerogenes and Staphylococcus aureus. Compounds 3 and 1 showed high affinity toward 2KAU and 7EL1, respectively.

Reverse image search has been a vital and emerging research area of information retrieval. One of the primary research foci of information retrieval is to increase the space and computational efficiency by converting a large image database into an efficiently computed feature database. This paper proposes a novel deep learning-based methodology, which captures channel-wise, low-level details of each image. In the first phase, sparse auto-encoder (SAE), a deep generative model, is applied to RGB channels of each image for unsupervised representational learning. In the second phase, transfer learning is utilized by using VGG-16, a variant of deep convolutional neural network (CNN). The output of SAE combined with the original RGB channel is forwarded to VGG-16, thereby producing a more effective feature database by the ensemble/collaboration of two effective models. The proposed method provides an information rich feature space that is a reduced dimensionality representation of the image database. Experiments are performed on a hybrid dataset that is developed by combining three standard publicly available datasets. The proposed approach has a retrieval accuracy (precision) of 98.46%, without using the metadata of images, by using a cosine similarity measure between the query image and the image database. Additionally, to further validate the proposed methodology’s effectiveness, image quality has been degraded by adding 5% noise (Speckle, Gaussian, and Salt pepper noise types) in the hybrid dataset. Retrieval accuracy has generally been found to be 97% for different variants of noise

To reduce crime rates, there is a need to understand and analyse emerging patterns of criminal activities. This study examines the occurrence patterns of crimes using the crime dataset of Lahore, a metropolitan city in Pakistan. The main aim is to facilitate crime investigation and future risk analysis using visualization and unsupervised data mining techniques including clustering and association rule mining. The visualization of data helps to uncover trends present in the crime dataset. The K-modes clustering algorithm is used to perform the exploratory analysis and risk identification of similar criminal activities that can happen in a particular location. The Apriori algorithm is applied to mine frequent patterns of criminal activities that can happen on a particular day, time, and location in the future. The data were acquired from paper-based records of three police stationsin the Urdu language. The data were then translated into English and digitized for automatic analysis. The result helped identify similar crime-related activities that can happen in a particular location, the risk of potential criminal activities occurring on a specific day, time, and place in the future, and frequent crime patterns of different crime types. The proposed work can help the police department to detect crime events and situations and reduce crime incidents in the early stages by providing insights into criminal activity patterns.

This paper assesses the vulnerability of Asiatic black bear to poaching in a key ecological zone in Northern Pakistan. Evidence about black bear hunting and cubs poaching were collected from Siran and Kaghan valleys of district Mansehra, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province through three different methods including participants’ observations, interviews from key informants and structured questionnaire. We find local community members of both valleys to be active observers of hunting and poaching in the study area. The structured interviews with locals of the study area revealed striking facts about ongoing trafficking by hunters and traders of the neighboring districts (i.e. Kohistan and Battagram). The study identifies a tribe known as Maddi Khel in the neighboring district Battagram the member of which regularly travel to the study area for hunting of black bear, pheasants, gray goral and snow leopard. According to interviews with the local people, hunters and traders in groups from 10 to 25 persons with their own poaching arrangements including guns, pistols and well-trained domesticated dogs were seen every winter. For hunters in the study area, the main target was the killing of female black bear because killing of mothers allows them to poach their cubs. We also identify the routes i.e. Raam Gali, Door Gali, and Kunda Gali through which hunters enter from the neighboring districts Kohistan and Battagram for the purpose of poaching. During each four months season (December to March), on average, approximately 2–5 mothers are killed that carry 12 to 20 cubs. The small cubs have higher black-market demand in different cities in Pakistan that motivates hunters to continue poaching in the study area. Despite the conservation claims by the government department in the province, the ground survey reveals severe risk to the population of black bear from hunting and illegal trafficking. The government’s wildlife department staff is less equipped to tackle with hunters in winter due to the extreme weather conditions in the area and their inability to stay for longer time.

Dengue fever has emerged as a big threat to human health since the last decade owing to high morbidity with considerable mortalities. The proposed study aims at the in silico investigation of the inhibitory action against DENV4-NS1 of phytochemicals from two local medicinal plants of Pakistan. Non-Structural Protein 1 of Dengue Virus 4 (DENV4-NS1) is known to be involved in the replication and maturation of viron in the host cells. A total of 129 phytochemicals (50 from Tanacetum parthenium and 79 from Silybum marianum) were selected for this study. The tertiary structure of DENV4-NS1 was predicted based on homology modelling using Modeller 9.18 and the structural stability was evaluated using molecular dynamics simulations. Absorption, distribution, metabolism, excretion and toxicity (ADMET) along with the drug-likeness was also predicted for these phytochemicals using SwissADME and PreADMET servers. The results of ADMET and drug-likeness predictions exhibited that 54 phytochemicals i.e. 25 from Tanacetum parthenium and 29 from Silybum marianum showed effective druglikeness. These phytochemicals were docked against DENV4-NS1 using AutoDock Vina and 18 most suitable phytochemicals with binding affinities ≤ -6.0 kcal/mol were selected as potential inhibitors for DENV4-NS1. Proposed study also exploits the novel inhibitory action of Jaceidin, Centaureidin, Artecanin, Secotanaparthenolide, Artematin, Schizolaenone B, Isopomiferin, 6, 8-Diprenyleriodictyol, and Anthraxin against dengue virus. It is concluded that the screened 18 phytochemicals have strong inhibition potential against Dengue Virus 4.

Abstract Background Likewise the fingerprints and palm prints, footprints are also helpful in solving a crime puzzle; however, very few studies have been reported targeting the identification of sex-based upon footprint features. Therefore, the present study aims at the identification of sex using footprint features from the population of Punjab, Pakistan. The foot measurements, i.e., toe length ratio, individual toe lengths, foot breadth, and foot index, are used as features for the identification of sex. Footprint samples were collected from 280 volunteers (142 males and 138 females) from all over Punjab (age range 18–50 years). A sex identification method is proposed in this study employing various machine learning algorithms, i.e., Naïve Bayes, J48, Random Forest, Random Tree, and REP Tree, and compared them. Results The designed model was cross-validated using 10-fold cross-validation. The results demonstrated the varying accuracy of the machine learning algorithms, using different combinations of footprint features. However, the Naïve Bayes algorithm demonstrated an accuracy of 87.8%, for sex identification, using the combination of toe length and foot indexes. Conclusions It is concluded that by using a combination of toe length and foot indexes and employing the Naïve Bayes algorithm, sex can be identified more accurately as compared to the other methods.

This study was conducted to evaluate the potential of water hyacinth as aquafeed for grass carp (Ctenopharyngodon idella). Fish were stocked in eight glass aquaria at 20 fish per aquaria. Three iso-proteinous diets (30% crude protein (CP)) were prepared with the addition of different parts of sun-dried water hyacinth, that is, whole plant meal diet (WPM), leaf meal diet (LM) and root meal diet (RM), along with control diet. Results revealed significant (P ≤ .05) differences in weight gain and length among treatments. Higher weight gain was observed in LM and lower in RM diets. CP contents of fish fed WPM were significantly higher (P ≤ .05), followed by LM than RM and control diets. Crude fat was significantly higher in fish fed RM followed by LM, while ash contents were significantly higher in control. Nutrient digestibility in the case of CP was significantly higher (P ≤ .05) for WPM, LM and control groups than RM, while fat digestibility was significantly higher (P ≤ .05) in RM diet followed by LM than WPM and control. Histological study showed no significant variations in liver and kidney. In conclusion, LM-based diets were found to be most suitable without any adverse effects on the histopathological disorders in experimental fish.

Reduced germination and early crop maturity due to soil compaction, nutrients stress, and low moisture are major constraints to achieve optimum crop yield, ultimately resulting in significant economic damages and food shortages. Biochar, having the potential to improve physical and chemical properties of soil, can also improve nutrients and moisture access to plants. In the present study, a growth room experiment was conducted to assess biochar influence on maize seed germination, early growth of seedlings, and its physiological attributes. Corn cob biochar (CCB) was mixed with soil at different rates (0.5%, 1%, 1.5%, 2%, 2.5%, and 3% w/w) before seed sowing. Results obtained showed that increasing CCB application rate have neutral to positive effects on seed germination and seedling growth of maize. Biochar addition at the rate of 1.5% (w/w) significantly increased shoot dry biomass (40%), root dry biomass (32%), total chlorophyll content (a and b) (55%), germination percentage (13%), seedling vigor (85%), and relative water content (RWC) (68%), in comparison to un-amended control treatment. In addition to this, it also improved germination rate (GR) by 3% as compared to control treatment, while causing a reduction in mean emergence time (MET). Moreover, application of biochar (3%) also resulted in enhancement of antioxidant enzyme activity, particularly superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase (CAT) by 13% and 17%, respectively. Conclusively, biochar application is an attractive approach to improve the initial phase of plant growth and provide better crop stand and essential sustainable high yields.

Biochar enhances soil fertility by improving the soil physical, chemical and microbiological properties. The aim of this study was to investigate the impact of corn cob-derived biochar on soil enzymatic activity, organic carbon, aggregate stability and soil microbial biomass carbon under drought stress. Biochar was prepared from crushed corn cobs pyrolyzed at 300 °C and 400 °C and applied at a ratio of 1% (w/w) and 3% (w/w) filled in pots. In each pot, three field capacity (FC) levels, i.e., 100, 70 and 40%, were maintained gravimetrically. Results showed that biochar application improved the growth (plant height and root length) and relative water content in maize leaves under drought stress, while it reduced electrolyte leakage compared to a control treatment. Aggregate stability was significantly (p ≤ 0.05) higher in biochar amended soil. Moreover, microbial biomass carbon and soil water also increased under drought stress at 70% FC and 40% FC, respectively, where 3% w/w (400 °C) biochar was applied. Among enzymes, β-glucosidase and alkaline phosphatase activity were improved with biochar application. The maximum organic carbon (240%, 246% and 249%, 254% more than control) was calculated in soils where 3% biochar pyrolyzed at 400 °C and 300 °C was mixed with soil, respectively. Similarly, the carbon pool index (CPI) and carbon management index (CMI) were also higher in biochar-amended soil as compared to control treatment. Conclusively, biochar amendment could effectively improve soil quality and maize growth under drought stress.

Background & objectives: Dengue fever, caused by dengue virus (DENV), has become a serious threat to human lives. Phytochemicals are known to have great potential to eradicate viral, bacterial and fungal-borne diseases in human beings. This study was aimed at in silico drug development against nonstructural protein 4B (NS4B) of dengue virus 4 (DENV4). Methods: A total of 2750 phytochemicals from different medicinal plants were selected for this study. These plants grow naturally in the climate of Pakistan and India and have been used for the treatment of various pathologies in human for long-time. The ADMET studies, molecular docking and density functional theory (DFT) based analysis were carried out to determine the potential inhibitory properties of these phytochemicals. Results: The ADMET analysis and docking results revealed nine phytochemicals, i.e. Silymarin, Flavobion, Derrisin, Isosilybin, Mundulinol, Silydianin, Isopomiferin, Narlumicine and Oxysanguinarine to have potential inhibitory properties against DENV and can be considered for additional in vitro and in vivo studies to assess their inhibitory effects against DENV replication. They exhibited binding affinity ≥−8 kcal/mol against DENV4-NS4B. Furthermore, DFT based analysis revealed high reactivity for these nine phytochemicals in the binding pocket of DENV4-NS4B, based on ELUMO, EHOMO and band energy gap. Interpretation & conclusion: Five out of nine phytochemicals are reported for the first time as novel DENV inhibitors. These included three phytochemicals from Silybum marianum, i.e. Derrisin, Mundulinol, Isopomiferin, and two phytochemicals from Fumaria indica, i.e. Narlumicine and Oxysanguinarine. However, all the nine phytochemicals can be considered for in vitro and in vivo analysis for the development of potential DENV inhibitors.

In the current agricultural model, the increasing soil salinity, especially in arid and semiarid regions, causes environmental and economic losses. Inoculation of plant with growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) can be a sustainable strategy to increase plant abiotic stress tolerance mainly in the early vulnerable stage of their growth. The efficiency of PGPR inoculation was evaluated in three Italian lentil accessions and two Pakistan native varieties differing in salinity tolerance. Pseudomonas putida (6), Pseudomonas fluorescens (6K) and Serratia ficaria (W10) were used as bio-inoculants. Seedling growth was detected 16 days after NaCl treatments. Results showed that in absence of salinity, all strains increased differently the growth of lentils compared to the un-inoculated ones. Inoculum significantly increased the growth of the most salt sensitive in comparison to the most salt resistant varieties. 6 and 6K were the most effective growth-inducers under salinity stress. A specificity between PGPR and lentil was evident. 6K mostly improved biomass and growth of the Italian accessions, while the strain 6 mostly affected the Pakistan landraces.

Heart attack and other heart-related diseases are among the main causes of fatalities in the world. These diseases and some other severe problems like kidney failure and paralysis are mainly caused by hypertension. Since bioactive peptides extracted from naturally existing food substances possess antihypertensive activity, these antihypertensive peptides (AHTP) can function as prospective replacements for existing pharmacological drugs with no or fewer side effects. Such naturally existing peptides can be identified using in-silico approaches. The in-silico methods have been proven to save huge amounts of time and money in the identification of effective peptides. The proposed methodology is a deep learning-based in-silico approach for the identification of antihypertensive peptides (AHTPs). An ensemble method is proposed that combines convolutional neural network (CNN) and support vector machine (SVM) classifiers. Amino acid composition (AAC) and g-gap dipeptide composition (DPC) techniques are used for feature extraction. The proposed methodology has been evaluated on two standard antihypertensive peptide sequence datasets. The model yields 95% accuracy on the benchmarking dataset and 88.9% accuracy on the independent dataset. Comparative analysis is provided to demonstrate that the proposed method outperforms existing state-of-the-art methods on both of the benchmarking and independent datasets.

Background: Hamstrings are the muscles of posterior thigh which include Semi membranous, Semi trendiness and the Biceps Femoris. These muscles are extensors of the hip and flexors of the knee and they act opposite to the extensors of the knee. Objective of Study: To find the frequency of reduced hamstring flexibility in prolong sitting (6-8 hours) among office workers. Methodology: This study was carried out in the banks and ofces of Lahore from November 2015 to May 2016. According to inclusion criteria total 272 subjects were included in the study. Hamstring tightness was assessed by 90-90 or active knee extension test with the help of Standardized Goniometer. Data was recorded on self-made questionnaire from the subjects after 6-8 hours of their working in the afternoon and analyzed by using SPSS version 20. Results: On the basis of analysis of data hamstring flexibility was reduced in 233 subjects n= 233; 85.7% and 39 subjects shown normal range of motion n=39, 14.3% .It was also seen that individuals having 8 hours of sitting with less extra-curricular activities were more sufferers. Conclusion: It was concluded that prolonged sitting is an important factor causing reduced hamstring flexibility and it can be prevented by using ergonomically design chairs. By adopting correct postural alignment and by adding frequent rest breaks during prolong sitting. Key Words: Reduced hamstring flexibility, Prolong sitting.

Background Beaches are recreational spots for people. However, beach sand contains harmful microbes that affect human health, and there are no established methods for either sampling and identifying beach-borne pathogens or managing the quality of beach sand. Method This study was conducted with the aim of improving human safety at beaches and augmenting the quality of the beach experience. Beach sand was used as a resource to isolate bacteria due to its distinctive features and the biodiversity of the beach sand biota. A selected bacterial isolate termed FSRS was identified as Pseudomonas stutzeri using 16S rRNA sequencing and phylogenetic analysis, and the sequence was deposited in the NCBI GenBank database under the accession number MF599548. The isolated P. stutzeri bacterium was cultured in Luria–Bertani growth medium, and a crude extract was prepared using ethyl acetate to examine the potential pathogenic effect of P. stutzeri on human skin. A human skin keratinocyte cell line (HaCaT) was used to assess cell adhesion, cell viability, and cell proliferation using a morphological analysis and a WST-1 assay. Result The crude P. stutzeri extract inhibited cell adhesion and decreased cell viability in HaCaT cells. We concluded that the crude extract of P. stutzeri FSRS had a strong pathological effect on human skin cells. Discussion Beach visitors frequently get skin infections, but the exact cause of the infections is yet to be determined. The beach sand bacterium P. stutzeri may, therefore, be responsible for some of the dermatological problems experienced by people visiting the beach.

A field study was conducted to determine the prevalence of various poultry diseases in broilers and layers at Khushab district in Pakistan. The prevalence study was conducted in 360 poultry farms. Diagnosis of diseases in poultry was done based on history, clinical signs, post-mortem examination, cultural, and biochemical characterization. Overall, incidence of Newcastle disease (ND) was found as the highest (avg. 7.85%) in broiler, followed by Fowl typhoid (avg. 6.58%), Mycoplasma (avg. 5.68%), Escherichia coli infection (avg. 5.52%), Coccidiosis (avg. 4.59%), Mycotoxicosis (avg. 4.56%), Infectious Bursal Disease (IBD; avg. 2.84%), Infectious coryza (avg. 2.50%), Hydropericardium syndrome (HPS; avg. 1.67%), and Infectious bronchitis (IB; avg. 1.59%). The period during April to June appeared to be comparatively safer for the broilers as low incidence of disease was recorded at this period. In case of layers, incidence of ND was the highest (avg. 7.92%), followed by Fowl typhoid (avg. 6.97%), Mycotoxicosis (avg. 5.52%), Coccidiosis (avg. 4.75%), IBD (avg. 3.17%), Mycoplasmosis (avg. 3.0%), Infectious coryza (avg. 2.52%), Fowl cholera (avg. 1.52%), IB (avg. 0.90k%), E. coli infection (avg. 0.73%), and HPS (avg. 0.46%). For layers, the period during January to March appeared to be safer. In conclusion, diversified diseases are prevalent in both layers and broilers. Thus, proper vaccination practices, brooding arrangements, preventive measures, and biosecurity practices are recommended.

Objectives: To assess the effectiveness of school-based interventions program in reducing the prevalence of overweight or obesity among schoolchildren. Data source: Ovid Medline (1950-December 2012), Embase (1980-2012), CINAHL (1982-2012), secondary references, review articles, and expert in the field. Study selection: All published clinical trials were eligible for study if were randomized, methodologically strong-based on a validity assessment, aimed to evaluate a school-based intervention for childhood overweight or obesity, and measured outcome in term of prevalence/incidence difference in overweight and obesity among both groups. Studies involved in cost-effective analysis of school-based intervention have been excluded. Data from eligible studies abstracted and pooled for relative risk. Results: Five trials with 3,904 schoolchildren were included. Mean age of the students (boys and girls) ranges 8.6-12.6 years. Meta-analysis showed a statistical significance beneficial effect of school-based intervention programs on obesity status of schoolchildren (risk ratio (RR) 0.58, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.43-0.78) and suggested 42% reduction in prevalence of obesity among schoolchildren through school-based intervention programs. Individual studies also showed effectiveness of these school-based interventions. Conclusion: School-based intervention programs are effective in prevention of childhood overweight and obesity problem and our results quantitatively supported this argument.

No nation in the past or present ever denied the importance of accountability. This is because good and bad people live together whose thinking and thoughts are strikingly different. To stop evils from prevailing in the society, there must be accountability of the perpetrators of these evils. Islamic teachings stand tall among all the religions and legal systems because to bid the good and forbid the evil is considered an integral part of an Islamic state. By reflecting on the history of Islam one cannot find any period (from the Holy Prophet Muhammad (S.A.W) to the age of Mughal in India) without the system of accountability. In Banu- Abbas period there had been proper legislation for this purpose and a separate department of accountability was set up. With the passage of time the system underwent position changes, department of accountability lie between the law enforcing agencies and department for Justice. But in certain circumstances this attains in position of the department of Justice and in other circumstances it became the department of the enforcement. This Article discusses the criteria for the selection of Ombudsman, rules and regulations of his office and his powers (Limitations). It also differentiate between Muhtasib Mutawali (Ombudsman who appointed by government) and Muhtasib Mutatawigh (Ombudsman who has not appointed by government but work voluntarily). The history of the concept and functions of accountability from Banu Abbas to Khilafat e Usmania and to Mughal dynasty has also been highlighted.

The Muslims agree that the Sunnah of the Prophet Muammad (SAW) is the second of the two revealed fundamental sources of Islam, after the Glorious Qur'an. The authentic Sunnah is contained within the vast body of Aha’dith literature. A Aha’dith is composed of two parts: the matn (text) and the isn’ad (chain of reporters). A text may seem to be logical and reasonable but it needs an authentic isn’ad with reliable reporters to be acceptable. If a Aha’dith doesn’t have an authentic isn’ad is called "Za’eef"(Weak) Hadith, but there are differences in the terminology of “Aha’dith Za’eef” between earlier (mutaqaddimeen) and later (muta'akhireen) narrators. In this article, we will discuss the difference between mutaqaddimeen and muta'akhireen about “Aha’dith Za’eef”.

Qur’an and Prophetic traditions (Hadith) are the fundamental sources of Islam. Muslims believe that Qur’an is the word of God (Allah). Hadith (Prophet’s sayings, actions and silent approval and disapproval for something) likewise is based on divine revelation. Qur’an affirms also this view: (God says) Your Companion (Muhammad) has neither gone astray nor has erred. Nor does he speak of (his own) desire. It is only a Revelation revealed. (Al-Qur’an 53:2-4) Allah Almighty Himself took the responsibility to guard His word (the Qur’an): (He says:) Verily, We, it is We Who have sent down the Dhikr (i.e. the Qur’an) and surely, We will guard it (from corruption). (Al-Qur’an 15:9) On the contrary, the responsibility to guard the Prophetic traditions (Hadith) was put on the shoulders of Muslim Ummah. The scholars of Islam (ulamas) tried their utmost to collect and save the Prophetic traditions and guard it from any alteration. To achieve this purpose, they introduced different hadith sciences to distinguish between the true and the fabricated hadith. If a hadith (tradition) did not meet the criterion set by the Ulamas for an acceptable hadith (tradition) was calledMardood. A tradition may be considered mardood for different reasons or defects, like defect in the narrator (Raavi) or in narration, etc. As a result, different types of Mardood hadith emerged. One of these types is known as Muallal. Different scholars have discussed hadith muallal in detail in their works. While this paper is aimed at Imam alDara-Qutni’s approach towards hadith muallal.