Aviation Demand and Economic Growth in the Czech Republic: Cointegration Estimation and Causality Analysis

The main purpose of the paper is to empirically examine the aviation-led growth hypothesis for the Czech Republic by testing causality between aviation and economic growth. We resort to econometric tests such as unit root tests and test of cointegration purposed by Johansen (1988). Fully Modified OLS, Dynamic OLS and Conical Cointegration Regression are used to estimate the cointegration equation for time span of 42 years from 1970 to 2012. Empirical results reveal the existence of cointegration between aviation demand and economic growth. Graphic methods such as Cholesky impulse response function (both accumulated and non-accumulated) and variance decomposition have also been applied to render the analysis rigorous. The positive contribution of aviation demand to economic growth is similar in all three estimation techniques of cointegration equation. Finally, Granger causality test is also applied to find the direction of causal relationship. Findings help in lime-lighting the importance of aviation industry in economic growth for a developing country like the Czech Republic

Investigating Content and Language Integration in an EFL Textbook: A Corpus-Based Study

This research evaluates an English language textbook from CLIL perspective. For this purpose, an intermediate level (grade-11) English language textbook has been selected and analyzed utilizing Coyle’s conceptual framework of 4Cs (i.e. content, cognition, communication and culture).Content, communication, and culture have been explored through a checklist, whereas cognition has been explored by developing a corpus from the questions given in the exercises of the textbook and analyzing in the light of Bloom’s taxonomy. The results reveal certain breeches between CLIL features and the textbook’s contents. Layout, learning outcomes, organization of the content, subject matter, authenticity of the text, exercises, and focus on language skills does not seem to match with CLIL perspectives. Listening and speaking skills are observed to be ignored. Moreover, the exercises do not seem to foster critical thinking and interaction between students and teachers. Most of the questions are observed covering only first two levels (i.e. knowledge and comprehension) of Bloom’s taxonomy. The study concludes that CLIL principles are not integrated in the textbook. Therefore, the textbook is not suitable to an ESL/EFL setting

Review Paper on IoT Based Smart Applications, Home Automation

This paper discusses internet of things and their applications in various domains such as healthcare, manufacturing, retail, transportation, etc. It highlights the importance of IoT technology in enabling devices and sensors to communicate and exchange data, leading to more efficient and connected systems. The paper explores different applications of IoT, including smart agriculture, smart cities, smart energy, and smart traffic monitoring systems, smart environment, and smart home automation. It also addresses the challenges and problems associated with IoT, such as privacy and security issues, handling big data, connectivity, data transmission, and compatibility. The literature review section examines the development of IoT in smart homes, identifies challenges and hindrances to widespread adoption, and discusses intelligent home automation systems. The survey analysis focuses on the gaps in IoT implementation, including security, interoperability, scalability, data management, ethical concerns, edge computing, and legal/regulatory frameworks. Overall, the paper provides an overview of IoT-based smart applications, their benefits, challenges, and future prospects

Frequency of Chemotherapy-Induced Myalgia in Cancer Patients using The Visual Analogue Scale

AbstractObjective: The aim of the study was to find the frequency of chemotherapy-induced myalgia inpatients with cancer in Lahore.Methodology: This cross-sectional study was conducted over a period of six months after ethicalapproval from February to July 2021. Using a non-probability convenient sampling technique,seventy eligible patients between 45-55 years of age with cancer were included in this study fromboth public and private hospital settings on the basis of predefined eligibility criteria. A self-structured questionnaire including a visual analogue pain scale was used for data collection. Datawas analyzed using SPSS version 21. The qualitative variables were presented with pie charts andquantitative variables are tabulated with frequencies and percentages.Results: Mean age±SD of participants was 53±6.9 years. Out of 70 participants, 90% were females. Thesignificant outcome variables included the presence of myalgia, painful girdle, intensity of pain(visual analogue scale), duration of treatment with the chemotherapy drug, dose of chemotherapydrug and chemotherapy sessions. Chemotherapy-induced myalgia was 94.3% among target cancerpatients in Lahore.Conclusion: In our study, chemotherapy-induced myalgia is alarmingly high in patients withcancers. The pain is mostly moderate in nature and affects the shoulder region. Measures should beadopted to mitigate the chemotherapy-induced myalgia as it adversely affects the patient's alreadydeteriorating quality of life.Keywords: Myalgia, Cancer, Cancer Pain, Palliative care, Chemotherapy

Antibiotic Resistance Breakers and Nano-Antibiotics in Mediating Antimicrobial Resistance

Antibiotic resistance is increasing at an alarming rate and is now widely recognized as a global issue that requires urgent attention. Globally, the demand for new drugs has increased due to multidrug-resistant pathogens and emerging viruses. One promising avenue of research involves antibiotic resistance breakers (ARBs), which may or may not have direct antibacterial effects and can either be co-administered with or conjugated with failing antibiotics. This strategy may increase an antibiotic’s spectrum and its efficacy against bacteria that have acquired resistance against it and reduce the dosage necessary for an antibiotic. In this chapter, we have discussed antibiotic resistance breakers, their classification, and mechanisms of action in combating microbial resistance. Moreover, this chapter will also focus on the nanotechnological approach, a novel delivery platform using nano-carriers used to overcome the permeability barrier encountered in resistant bacteria. Nano-carriers are also used to selectively deliver high concentrations of antibiotics locally, thus avoiding systemic side effects. Several strategies have been studied to deliver antibiotics such as the use of antimicrobial polymers, nanoparticles, and liposomes. The current study will help to understand how the resistance ability of bacteria can be overcome or reversed through antibiotic resistance breakers and nano-antibiotics

Frequency of Hepatocellular Carcinoma in Patients Infected with Hepatitis C Virus visiting a Tertiary Care Hospital in Lahore for Computed Tomographic Evaluation

Background: Hepatitis C virus has been identified as one of the leading causes of chronic liver disease and its complications world-wide. Subsequent development of hepatocellular carcinoma in these patients is a major complication of this infection having serious implications on morbidity and mortality rates. The objective of this study was to find out the frequency of Hepatocellular carcinoma in patients suffering from Hepatitis C visiting Radiology department of a tertiary care hospital for multi-detector computed tomography evaluation.Methods: This cross-sectional analytical study was conducted at Shalamar Hospital Lahore. A total of 195 patients, suffering from Hepatitis C, visiting Shalamar Hospital, Lahore for evaluation by CT during 6 months study interval were included in this study. Abdominal CT was performed using Triphasic contrast enhancement protocol. All images were interpreted by a senior Radiologist. Frequency of Hepatocellular carcinoma was calculated. Statistical analysis was made using MEDCALC.Results: Out of 195, 63(32.3%) patients were seen to have hepatocellular carcinoma. This disease was more common in male, 45(34.6%) as compared to female patients 18 (27.7%). The presence of HCC showed statistically significant association with alcoholism, obesity, diabetes mellitus and cirrhosis.Conclusion: The study concluded that a substantial number of HCV positive patients develop HCC, which is more common in men as compared to women. The presence of HCC is strongly associated with alcoholism, obesity, diabetes mellitus and cirrhosis.Keywords: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC); Hepatitis C (HCV); Multi-detector Computed Tomography (MDCT)

Essential Oils Based Nano Formulations against Postharvest Fungal Rots

Postharvest phytopathogenic rot fungi affect the quality and quantity of perishable fruits and vegetables. About 30–40% peaches deteriorate annually after harvest in world whereas 40–50% losses are reported from Pakistan. Our research envisages importance of an eco-friendly plant essential oils based nano formulations as a management strategy against postharvest deteriorating fungal rots by enhancing their shelf-life and to attenuate reliance on synthetic fungicides. Plant essential oils mode of action against fungal postharvest rots is responsible of rupturing plasma membrane of fungal cell wall. The natural ripening process of perishable commodities does not get affected by the presence of antifungal packaging in the form of plant essential oil nano formulations as no significant alteration in weight loss of produce was recorded. Challenges in applying EOs for microbial suppression in postharvest systems include optimizing their positioning in commercial fruit storage containers. Several innovative approaches are analyzed in terms of work environment and implementation regarding disease management along with future perspectives in concerning field

Clinico-genomic findings, molecular docking, and mutational spectrum in an understudied population with breast cancer patients from KP, Pakistan

In this study, we report the mutational profiles, pathogenicity, and their association with different clinicopathologic and sociogenetic factors in patients with Pashtun ethnicity for the first time. A total of 19 FFPE blocks of invasive ductal carcinoma (IDC) from the Breast Cancer (BC) tissue and 6 normal FFPE blocks were analyzed by whole-exome sequencing (WES). Various somatic and germline mutations were identified in cancer-related genes, i.e., ATM, CHEK2, PALB2, and XRCC2. Among a total of 18 mutations, 14 mutations were somatic and 4 were germline. The ATM gene exhibited the maximum number of mutations (11/18), followed by CHEK2 (3/18), PALB2 (3/18), and XRCC2 (1/18). Except one frameshift deletion, all other 17 mutations were nonsynonymous single-nucleotide variants (SNVs). SIFT prediction revealed 7/18 (38.8%) mutations as deleterious. PolyPhen-2 and MutationTaster identified 5/18 (27.7%) mutations as probably damaging and 10/18 (55.5%) mutations as disease-causing, respectively. Mutations like PALB2 p.Q559R (6/19; 31.5%), XRCC2 p.R188H (5/19; 26.31%), and ATM p.D1853N (4/19; 21.05%) were recurrent mutations and proposed to have a biomarker potential. The protein network prediction was performed using GeneMANIA and STRING. ISPRED-SEQ indicated three interaction site mutations which were further used for molecular dynamic simulation. An average increase in the radius of gyration was observed in all three mutated proteins revealing their perturbed folding behavior. Obtained SNVs were further correlated with various parameters related to the clinicopathological status of the tumors. Three mutation positions (ATMp. D1853N, CHEK2 p.M314I, and PALB2 p.T1029S) were found to be highly conserved. Finally, the wild- and mutant-type proteins were screened for two drugs: elagolix (DrugBank ID: DB11979) and LTS0102038 (a triterpenoid, isolated from the anticancer medicinal plant Fagonia indica). Comparatively, a higher number of interactions were noted for normal ATM with both compounds, as compared to mutants