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Muhammad Junaid Tahir,1 Waleed Tariq,1 Muhammad Anas Tahseen Asar,1 Muhammad Irfan Malik,1,2 Fahd Kamal Akhtar,1 Muna Malik,3 Qirat Akhtar,4 Khabab Abbasher Hussien Mohamed Ahmed,5 Muhammad Talha Awan,1 Kaleem Ullah,6 Muhammad Sohaib Asghar7 1Lahore General Hospital, Lahore, Pakistan; 2Postgraduate Medical Institute, Lahore, Pakistan; 3Combined Military Hospital, Lahore, Pakistan; 4Army Medical College, Rawalpindi, Pakistan; 5University of Khartoum, Faculty of Medicine, Khartoum, Sudan; 6Pir Abdul Qadir Shah Jeelani Institute of Medical Sciences, Gambat, Sindh, Pakistan; 7Dow University of Health Sciences–Ojha Campus, Karachi, PakistanCorrespondence: Khabab Abbasher Hussien Mohamed Ahmed, Faculty of Medicine, University of Khartoum, Khartoum, 11111, Sudan, Email Khabab9722@gmail.comBackground: This study was carried out to find the awareness level, prevalence of anxiety and depression, and their associated factors among doctors and medical students during the COVID-19 pandemic in Punjab province, Pakistan.Materials and Methods: An online questionnaire-based cross-sectional study was conducted; data were collected regarding the demographic profile, awareness of COVID-19, anxiety symptoms using a self-rating anxiety scale (SAS), and depression symptoms using a self-rating depression scale (SDS). A total of 504 responses were obtained. The Chi-square test was used to compare groups and the logistic regression model for the association of factors with anxiety and depression.Results: A total of 504 medical students and doctors responded to the questionnaire. The mean age of participants was 25.66 ± 6.71 years. The awareness rate of COVID-19 was 97.6%. The prevalence rate of anxiety and depression was 3.4% and 15.1%, respectively. According to the logistic regression model, those with low awareness levels (≤ 6 points) and spending more time on the news (> 3 hours) had higher levels of anxiety, while higher levels of depression symptoms were reported in females, young people, and medical students.Conclusion: Doctors and medical students had a high level of awareness of COVID-19 and a low level of anxiety and depression. However, female gender and younger age group were the most vulnerable groups significantly associated with depression.Keywords: COVID-19, doctors, medical students, awareness, anxiety, depression, infection

Yu G, Ali Z, Sajjad Khan A, et al. Int J Nanomedicine. 2021;16:3255-3273. At the authors request, the Editor and Publisher of International Journal of Nanomedicine wish to retract the published article. Concerns were raised regarding the alleged duplication of images in Figures 9A, 9B and 9C with the same images from a previous article (ud Din et al, 2017 https://doi.org/10.1080/10717544.2016.1272651) by the same authors. Specifically, Figure 9A, Untreated Control, Pure Drug, HePC-NLCs, Normal Saline and all corresponding Tumor mass images appear to have been duplicated with the same images for Figure 6A, Control, Solution, DRTN, and Hydrogel images, respectively, from ud Din et al, 2017. Figure 9B, Pure Drug, Caspas-3; HePC-NLCs, Caspas-3 and Normal Saline, Caspas-3 appear to have been duplicated with the same images from Figure 6C, Solution, Ki-67 and Figure 6B, DRTN, Caspase-3 and Control, Caspase-3, respectively, from ud Din et al, 2017. Figure 9C, Untreated Control, PARP; Pure Drug, PARP; HePC-NLCs, PARP and Normal Saline, PARP appear to have been duplicated with the same images from Figure 6C, Hydrogel, CD31; Figure 6B, Solution, PARP; Figure 6C, Control, CD31 and Figure 6B, Control, PARP, respectively, from ud Din et al, 2017. The authors responded to our queries and agreed with the concerns that had been raised and requested for the retraction of the article. The Editor agreed with this decision and approved the authors retraction request. We have been informed in our decision-making by our policy on publishing ethics and integrity and the COPE guidelines on retractions. The retracted article will remain online to maintain the scholarly record, but it will be digitally watermarked on each page as “Retracted”.

Guo Yu, 1 Zakir Ali, 2 Anam Sajjad Khan, 2 Kalim Ullah, 3 Humzah Jamshaid, 2 Alam Zeb, 4 Muhammad Imran, 4 Sadia Sarwar, 4 Han-Gon Choi, 5 Fakhar ud Din 2 1Department of Head and Neck Breast, Xinxiang Central Hospital, Xinxiang City, Henan Province, 453000, People’s Republic of China; 2Nanomedicine Research Group, Department of Pharmacy, Faculty of Biological Sciences, Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad, 45320, Pakistan; 3Department of Zoology, Kohat University of Science & Technology, Kohat, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan; 4Riphah Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Riphah International University, Islamabad, Pakistan; 5College of Pharmacy & Institute of Pharmaceutical Science and Technology, Hanyang University, Ansan, South KoreaCorrespondence: Fakhar ud Din Tel +92 512-90644314Fax +92 512-90644144Email fudin@qau.edu.pkHan-Gon Choi Email hangon@hanyang.ac.krBackground: The purpose of this study was to investigate the suitability of nanostructured lipid carriers (NLCs) loaded with miltefosine (HePC) as an anticancer drug for the treatment of breast cancer.Methods: HePC-NLCs were prepared using a microemulsion technique and then evaluated for particle size, polydispersity index (PDI), incorporation efficiency, in vitro release of entrapped drug, and hemolytic potential. Furthermore, pharmacokinetic, biodistribution, and liver toxicity analyses were performed in Sprague–Dawley rats, and antitumor efficacy was evaluated in Michigan Cancer Foundation-7 (MCF-7) and squamous cell carcinoma-7 (SCC-7) cells in vitro and in tumour-bearing BALB/c mice in vivo. Advanced analyses including survival rate, immunohistopathology, and terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase dUTP nick end labelling (TUNEL) assays were performed to evaluate apoptosis in vivo.Results: The average particle size of the HePC-NLCs was 143 ± 16 nm, with a narrow PDI (0.104 ± 0.002), and the incorporation efficiency was found to be 91 ± 7%. The NLCs released HePC in a sustained manner, and this release was significantly lower than that of free drug. The in vitro hemolytic assay demonstrated a significantly reduced hemolytic potential (∼ 9%) of the NLCs compared to that of the test formulations. The HePC-NLCs demonstrated enhanced pharmacokinetic behaviour over free drug, including extended blood circulation and an abridged clearance rate in rats. Furthermore, the HePC-NLCs exhibited higher cytotoxicity than the free drug in MCF-7 and SCC-7 cells. Moreover, the HePC-NLCs showed significantly enhanced (P < 0.005) antitumor activity compared to that of the control and free drug-treated mouse groups. Tumour cell apoptosis was also confirmed, indicating the antitumor potential of the HePC-NLCs.Conclusion: These findings demonstrate the ability of NLCs as a drug delivery system for enhanced pharmacokinetic, antitumor, and apoptotic effects, most importantly when loaded with HePC.Keywords: breast cancer, miltefosine, nano lipid carriers, bioavailability, pharmacokinetics, antitumor efficacy

Milk quantity and quality traits in cattle are affected by udder health, breed, genetic (such as heritability, repeatability, and heterosis), and environmental factors. The present study was designed to evaluate the effect of udder health, genetic factors and environmental factors on milk performance traits in cattle breeds. The study was conducted on four dairy farms in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. A total of 291 milk samples and 547 records were collected from lactating cattle ranging between parities one to six. For milk performance traits and udder health, each milk sample was analysed for milk composition (fat %, protein %, and lactose %) and SSC (by direct microscopic SCC method). The data were analysed using a generalized linear model of SAS studio for the effect of the SCC, breed, and herd on milk performance while wombat and CFC for the analysis of genetic and non-genetic factors. The results showed that animals with higher SCC have significantly lower (P<0.01) milk fat %. Breed-wise analysis showed significantly higher (P<0.01) protein % in Achai, lactose % in Jersey and its crossbred (Jersey x Achai), and LMY was recorded significantly higher in Friesian and its crossbred Jersey x Friesian (JF). The analysis of the environmental effect on milk composition and LMY showed that animals kept in the different herds have significantly different (P<0.01) milk compositions and LMY. The estimates of additive genetic variance (Va), variance of the permanent environment (Vpe), and estimates of phenotypic variation (Vp) were recorded highest for SCC. The analysis of the effect of genetic factors (i.e. heritability, repeatability, and heterosis) revealed that estimation of heritability was highest (0.59) for age at first calving (AFC) while lowest (0.00) for calving interval (CI), and estimation of repeatability was highest (0.99) for AFC while lowest (0.00) for CI. The results of heterosis analysis showed that crossbred (Achai x Jersey) had positive heterosis for milk composition traits and SCC while negative heterosis for LMY compared to their purebreds. The study concluded that crossbred, better herd management and nutrition, and selection based on genetic factors (such as heritability, repeatability, and heterosis) can bring improvement in milk performance traits and udder health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we have analyzed the bifurcation of stagnation points in the non-Newtonian flow of the FENE-P fluid through a channel induced by peristalsis. The stream function for the flow under consideration is developed under negligible inertia and streamline curvature effects. A nonlinear autonomous system is developed for scrutiny of the critical points. A dynamical system approach is used to examine the stability of bifurcation points. Streamline patterns, and local and global bifurcation diagrams are plotted for analysis of the backward flow, trapping, and augmented flow regions. The impacts of important embedded parameters, i.e., extensibility parameter and Deborah number on local and global bifurcation diagrams, are also examined. The whole analysis reveals that two critical conditions appear in the flow field that are actually responsible for the conversion of backward flow to trapping and trapping to augmented flow. It is further seen that bifurcations occur at lower flow rates for increasing Deborah's number while an opposite trend prevails for increasing the extensibility parameter. A comparison of bifurcations between planar and axisymmetric flows is also performed. It is observed that a greater area of the trapping region is encountered for axisymmetric flow than that for planar flow. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Inayat Ullah,1 Khakemin Khan,2 Muhammad Sohail,3 Kifayat Ullah,4 Anwar Ullah,4 Shabnum Shaheen5 1Lanzhou Center for Tuberculosis Research and Institute of Pathogen Biology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, People’s Republic of China; 2Department of Chemistry, Hazara University, Mansehra, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan; 3School of Chemical Engineering and the Environment, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing 100081, People’s Republic of China; 4Department of Biosciences, COMSATS Institute of Information Technology, Park Road, Chack Sahzad, Islamabad, Pakistan; 5Department of Botany, Lahore College for Women University, Lahore, Punjab-Pakistan Abstract: In this research work, copper (Cu), palladium (Pd) and their bimetallic palladium@copper (Pd@Cu) nanoparticles were synthesized using trisodium citrate as a stabilizing agent using the known chemical reduction method. The synthesized Cu, Pd and Pd@Cu nanoparticles were characterized by the ultraviolet–visible spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction spectroscopy, respectively. The different volumes of trisodium citrate were used for the stability of synthesized monometallic Cu, Pd and bimetallic Pd@Cu nanoparticles. The synthesized Cu, Pd and their bimetallic Pd@Cu nanoparticles were used as catalysts for the reduction of 4-nitrophenol in the presence of NaBH4. The bimetallic Pd@Cu nanoparticles had efficient catalytic activities with a high rate constant (1.812 min-1) as compared to monometallic Cu (0.3322 min-1) and Pd (0.2689 min-1) nanoparticles, respectively. The correlation coefficient (R2) was found to be 0.99 for these three nanoparticles. Meanwhile, the effect of Cu, Pd and bimetallic Pd@Cu nanoparticles was checked on the physiology of specific different micro-organism strains. The bimetallic Pd@Cu nanoparticles reported the maximum resistance at maximum level the growth of bacterial strain and had observed a smooth antibacterial graph than the monometallic analogs. Keywords: stabilizing agent, bimetallic nanoparticles, catalytic activities, antimicrobial effects

Peristaltic motions are used in a variety of industrial and real-world problems such as pumping mixture with such a high solid content from the mining sector, biogases, sewers facilities, food flow through the gastrointestinal system, urinary tract, and fallopian tube of human females where extremely abrasive, gritty, and viscous fluids are present. The goal of this theoretical study is to examine the impact of the lubricated walls on the peristaltic transport of a viscous fluid in an asymmetric medium. The interfacial condition is derived under the assumptions of thin film lubrication and long wavelength approximation. The theory of a dynamical system is utilized to examine the lubrication effects on the position and bifurcation of stagnation points in the flow. For this, three flow distributions, backward flow, trapping, and augmented flow, are discussed. The obtained system of equations is solved numerically by the shooting method based on Newton–Raphson root-finding algorithm in Mathematica. The prime findings for the velocity profile, pressure increase, trapping, and reflux criteria are illustrated through graphs. Bifurcation occurs earlier by increasing the influence of lubrication. The trapping area diminishes and the augmented flow section expands with the lubrication parameter. This will be useful for medical engineering, industrial and physiological systems. The comparison for the particular case of no-slip condition is presented and found to be in excellent agreement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The ethnobotanical documentation of medicinal plants used against livestock illnesses was carried out in a tribal community of Shishikoh, District Chitral, Pakistan. For data tabulation, semi-structured questionnaires were used. A total of 52 plant species belonging to 28 families and 46 genera were found to be used for ethnoveterinary purposes. The dominant family was Asteraceae with 7 (13.46%) species followed by Apiaceae with 4 (7.69) species, Brassicaceae, Lamiaceae, Fabaceae (Papilionaceae), Poaceae and Salicaceae each had 3 (6%) species. The reported taxa were used for the treatment of 32 different livestock illnesses. The maximum number of plants used for Constipation was12 (23.0%) followed by 10 (19.23%) for Parasitic infection, 9 (17.31) for wound infection, 7 (13.46%) for diarrhea, 6 (11.53) for galactagogues and gastric trouble was treated with 5 (9.62%) species, while the remaining showed less than 5 (9.62%) for each. The ethnoveterinary medicinal plants were administered mainly orally (39;75%) followed by topical (13; 25%), and nasally (1;1.92%) routes. The most harvested plant parts for preparing remedies in the area were leaves (18; 41%), followed by whole plants (6; 23%) and aerial parts (3; 12%). The maximum use value index (UVi) was recorded for Allium cepa at (0.08) followed by Foeniculum vulgare, Artemisia maritima, Alium sativum, Berberis lyceum, and Capparis spinosa each with 0.07 in each; Anthemis cotula, Artemisia perviflora, Brassica compestris, Mentha arvensis had 0.05 UVi in each. The dominant RFCi was also calculated for Capparis spinosa with (0.73), followed by Mentha arvensis (0.69), Allium cepa (0.68), Verbascum thapsus (0.67), and Juniperus excelsa (0.65). The recipes were mostly used in the form of decoction and infusion, followed by balrn and paste. Indigenous knowledge is widely known by the ethnic groups of tribal communities and is passed down from generation to generation. However, it faces a high risk of elimination due to factors such as lack of interest, allopathy, overgrazing, deforestation, and unsustainable utilization. The scientific evaluation of cited plant taxa is recommended to unlock their maximum therapeutic potential and develop possible conservation strategies in the veterinary sector for the welfare of livestock. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The conception of T-spherical fuzzy set (TSFS) is a recent phenomenon in the environment of fuzzy notions that describe opinion about some certain objects under uncertainties with the help of four types of degrees known as the degree of membership (DM), degree of abstinence (DA), degree of non-membership (DNM) and degree of refusal (DR). The focus of this manuscript, to examine the interrelationship among any numbers of T-spherical fuzzy numbers (TSFNs) by the use Maclaurin symmetric mean (MSM) operators. We investigate and develop T-spherical fuzzy (TSF) MSM (TSFMSM) operator, TSF weighted MSM (TSFWMSM) operator, TSF dual MSM (TSFDMSM) operator, TSF weighted dual MSM (TSFWDMSM) operator. By using these investigated operators, some special cases of the explored operators are also developed, and their properties are examined. In addition, an algorithm for handling multi attribute decision making (MADM) problems based MSM operators in TSF setting. An illustrative example to check the applicability of the MSM operators of TSFSs is presented where the evaluation of technology commercialization is observed. To show the superiority of the newly established MSM operators, a comprehensive comparative study is designed numerically. In view of the comparative analysis, some advantages of the new MSM operators of the TSFNs are stated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]