Allelopathic inhibition of germination, seedling growth and cell division of selected plant species by Calotropis procera (Ait.) Ait.

Calotropis procera (Ait.) Ait. is perennial medicinal obnoxious shrub growing in Pakistan up to 1500 m altitude. Hot and water aqueous extracts from leaves and young stems of C. procera were used against Pennisetum glaucum (Linn.) R. Br., Setaria italica (Linn.) P. Beauv., Brassica campestris Linn. and Lactuca sativa L. under laboratory condition. It was seen that germination, seedling growth, fresh and dry biomass reduced in concentration dependent manner. It was observed that the allelopathic effects depended upon the tested species, growth parameter measured, soaking duration and concentration of the donor plant material. The C. procera litter incorporated into the growth medium inhibited the test species used. The C. procera extracts from leaves were more inhibitory than stem extracts. The tendency of inhibition was radical growth > germination > plumule growth suggesting radicle growth to be a better measure of allelopathy. Leaf extracts significantly reduced division and size of cells. It is suggested that aqueous extract from C. procera can be further assessed against microbes and weed under laboratory and field condition

Comparison of Biodiversity and Abundance of Earthworms in Maize Croplands, Irrigated with Sewage and Canal Water of District Faisalabad, Pakistan

The diversity and richness of earthworms that were irrigated with canal (Chak 200 RB Lathianwala) and sewage (Chokera) water in the district of Faisalabad were determined from August to November 2020. For collection of specimens, hand picking and digging method was used and then preserved in formalin. AAS (Atomic absorption spectrophotometer) was used to check the concentration of heavy metals in both water and soil samples. Total 10 species were identified from Chak 200 RB Lathianwala and showed Shannon-Weiner Diversity Index (H\u27) =2.13, Evenness = 0.93 and Dominance = 0.07. The significant difference in abundance were determined (t = 7.7115, p = 0.0001 at p \u3c 0.05). Water and soil samples of sewage water had an acidic pH (5.960, 6.213), while water and soil samples of canal water had a basic pH (7.748, 7.867). The levels of total dissolved solids, electrical conductance, dissolved oxygen, and alkalinity of sewage water were lower than those of canal water except for total suspended solids, turbidity, and metals, viz. Cr, Ca, Pb, Co, Cd, Zn, and Mg. In sewage water irrigated soil, their concentrations were also higher than canal water irrigated soil, except for Mg. A significantly positive correlation coefficient was observed among temperature and abundance at both localities. Results showed that acidic pH and higher concentrations of pollutants alter the diversity and abundance of earthworms

Citrus Fruit Peels in Combating Various Foodborne Pathogens

Foodborne diseases are the world's main problem in a society nowadays; many phytochemicals are of great interest to scientists. Herbal medicines can be used to treat many infectious diseases. In our study, we focus on screening of antibacterial activity of the lemon (Citrus limon) and orange (Citrus sinesis) peels against various pathogens. Bioactive compounds have been found in variety of citrus fruits that have favorable impact on human health. The major component; flavonoids have been found in the peels of citrus fruits in large amount. Citrus peel has a rich amount of flavonoid and other poly methylated flavonoids (exceptional to some plants). These antibacterial compounds exhibit antibacterial activity and have wide application in both food and pharmaceuticals industries. The citrus peel extracts show effective antimicrobial activity. The antagonistic activity of selected citrus peel extracts was determined by agar well diffusion; against test organisms i.e. Escherichia coli, Salmonella typhi and Bacillus subtilis isolated from food products. Effectiveness of peel extracts are measured in terms of inhibitory zones in millimeter. The methanol extract of lemon peel displayed zone of inhibition in between 5mm to 8mm and methanol extract of orange peel displayed zone of inhibition about 10mm and 11mm. It was observed that lemon peel extract has maximum antibacterial activity against Bacillus subtilis (8mm) and minimum antibacterial activity against Salmonella typhi (5mm) whereas orange peel extract has maximum antibacterial activity against Bacillus subtilis (11mm) and minimum antibacterial activity against Salmonella typhi (10mm). Both Citrus peels extract showed considerable antibacterial activity against all tested foodborne pathogens. Our main focus was the use of herbal treatments against various infections which overcome the emergence of upcoming superbugs

Hepatitis C virus genotypes circulating in district Swat of Khyber Pakhtoonkhaw, Pakistan

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) is the leading cause of chronic hepatitis worldwide and its subtypes/genotypes are clinically important for clinical management and vaccine development. The present study describes frequency distribution of different HCV genotypes and their treatment status in HCV RNA positive patients from district Swat. A total of 185 HCV infected sera were analyzed by molecular genotyping assay. The most prevalent genotype was 3a (34.1%), followed by 2a (8.1%), 3b (7%) and 1a (5.4%). The samples found untypable by the present method of genotypes was 37.8% while, patients with mixed genotype infections were 7.6%. More than 80% of untypable cases were from those HCV patients who had received interferon plus ribavirin standard therapy in the past and either were non-responders and were relapsed thereafter or were under treatment. In conclusion, genotype 3a is the most prevalent HCV genotype in the region. A high prevalence rate of untypable genotypes is present in treated patients that need further investigation for the successful genotyping by developing new assays or using viral sequencing method

Impact of Capital Asset Pricing Model (CAPM) on Pakistan (The Case of KSE 100 Index)

In this paper the estimated return on stock model i.e. Capital Asset Pricing Model (CAPM) is employed in order to get information whether it better estimates the return on stock in Pakistani capital market. For this purpose time series monthly data from secondary sources for a period of 2003 to 2007 has been taken.  CAPM were tested for the five sizes and book to market portfolios from Karachi Stock Exchange. Pakistan T-bill rate is taken as risk free rate. However basic problem with (CAPM) was predictive power and Robustness of results. For this purpose capital asset pricing model was applied. Dependent variable portfolio represented by . The excessive return shows the return above that of the risk free rate  that is required by the investor for taking additional risk. While independent variables were market risk premium. Research Findings show that CAPM better estimates the return in Pakistani capital market. In case of CAPM, it was able to show the existence of risk premium as the only factor affecting the stock return. Key Words: CAPM, Market portfolio, KSE, Risk Premiumii

Frequency of Neurosurgical Lesions in Patients with Minor Traumatic Head Injuries

Objective: To observe the characteristics of minor head injuries (HI) receiving treatment at our Neurosurgery Department and their evolution in the short term.Materials and Methods: Study included patients over the age of 14 who had sustained a minor HI, had a cranial CT scan and had been admitted for observation in the neurosurgery ward. Descriptive and retrospective analysis.Results: A total of 114 patients were included in the study. 76% presented with Glasgow 15 and 78% were male. Brief loss of consciousness (70%) and amnesia (52%) were the two most frequent alertness clinical findings. Surgical lesions were (15%) depressed skull fractures, 8% had extradural hematomas, cerebral contusions in 5.2% and subdural hematomas in 1%.Conclusions: As patients with minor traumatic brain injury have significant number of surgical lesion so Clinical guidelines must be set up for the treatment of patients with minor traumatic brain injury

Bovine lactoferrin to prevent neonatal infections in low-birth-weight newborns in Pakistan: Protocol for a three-arm double-blind randomized controlled trial

Background: Sepsis is a common and severe complication in premature neonates, particularly those born with low birth weights (\u3c2500 \u3eg). Neonatal sepsis is steadily emerging as a leading cause of neonatal mortality in Pakistan. Lactoferrin is a natural product with broad-spectrum antimicrobial properties and glycoprotein that is actively involved in innate immune host responses. Clinical trials have revealed its protective effect on sepsis, but lactoferrin dosage, duration, and role in the prevention of sepsis are still uncertain.Objective: We aimed to establish the efficacy of bovine lactoferrin in the prevention of late-onset sepsis and to determine the optimal dose and method of administering bovine lactoferrin that may contribute to improvement in overall survival of low birth weight infants.Methods: We will implement the study in 2 phases at the Aga Khan University Hospital. The first phase, which we have completed, was formative research. This phase mainly focused on a qualitative exploration of perceptions about feeding and caring practices of low birth weight newborns and a trial of improved practices for the preparation and administration of bovine lactoferrin to newborns. The second phase is a 3-arm double-blind randomized controlled trial. In this phase, we randomly allocated 2 different daily oral prophylactic doses of bovine lactoferrin (150 mg or 300 mg) and placebo to 300 low-birth weight neonates starting within the first 72 hours of birth and continuing for the first 28 days of life.Results: The study protocol was approved by the Ethics Review Committee of Aga Khan University on August 16, 2017. Data collection began in April 2018 and was completed in September 2020. Data analyses are yet to be completed. We expect the results to be published in peer-reviewed journals by autumn of 2021.Conclusions: This intervention, if effective, has the potential to be translated into a safe, affordable, and widely utilized treatment to prevent sepsis and, subsequently, may improve the survival outcomes of low birth weight neonates in Pakistan and other low- and middle-income countries.Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT03431558; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT03431558.International registered report identifier (irrid): PRR1-10.2196/23994

Incidence and Risk Factors of Post-Thyroidectomy Stridor

Background: Thyroidectomy is a common procedure performed by the general surgeons. Stridor is an airway sign caused by a variety of post-thyroidectomy complications. Objective: To determine the incidence of post-thyroidectomy stridor and the risk factors associated with its occurrence. Patients and Methods: The study included 280 adult patients who had total or partial thyroidectomy performed by various surgeons. Patients were followed up for 6 months after they were discharged from the hospital. Data collected included demographic information, type of thyroid disease, duration of illness before surgery, type of surgery, number of intubation attempts, and the presence of hoarseness and hematoma post-operatively. Results: Only eighteen patients (6.43%) who underwent thyroidectomy developed stridor during the follow-up period. They were compared to 25 other patients who were chosen from the original sample based regular visit of patients during the follow up. Higher body mass index (BMI), bilateral thyroidectomy, presence of concomitant hoarseness and hematoma, and more than one attempt at intubation were all associated with an increased risk of post-thyroidectomy stridor. Conclusion: Stridor affects only a small percentage of patients undergoing thyroidectomy. Increased BMI, bilateral thyroidectomy, presence of concomitant hoarseness and hematoma, and frequent tracheal intubation are the most common risk factors for post-thyroidectomy stridor

Synthesis of new 2-{2,3-dihydro-1,4-benzodioxin-6- yl[(4-methylphenyl) sulfonyl]amino}-N-(un/substituted-phenyl) acetamides as α-glucosidase and acetylcholinesterase inhibitors and their in silico study

The aim of the present research work was to investigate the enzyme inhibitory potential of some new sulfonamides having benzodioxane and acetamide moieties. The synthesis was started by the reaction of N-2,3-dihydrobenzo[1,4]-dioxin-6-amine (1) with 4-methylbenzenesulfonyl chloride (2) in the presence of 10% aqueous Na2CO3 to yield N-(2,3-dihydrobenzo[1,4]-dioxin-6-yl)-4-methylbenzenesulfonamide (3), which was then reacted with 2-bromo-N-(un/substituted-phenyl)acetamides (6a-l) in DMF and lithium hydride as a base to afford various 2-{2,3-dihydro-1,4-benzodioxin-6-yl[(4-methylphenyl)sulfonyl] amino}-N-(un/substituted-phenyl)acetamides (7a-l). All the synthesized compounds were characterized by their IR and 1 H-NMR spectral data along with CHN analysis data. The enzyme inhibitory activities of these compounds were tested against -glucosidase and acetylcholinesterase (AChE). Most of the compounds exhibited substantial inhibitory activity against yeast -glucosidase and weak against AChE. The in silico molecular docking results were also consistent with in vitro enzyme inhibition data

A Nonlinear Structure of a Chemical Reaction Model and Numerical Modeling with the New Aspect of Existence and Uniqueness

In this article, a nonlinear autocatalytic chemical reaction glycolysis model with the appearance of advection and diffusion is proposed. The occurrence and unicity of the solutions in Banach spaces are investigated. The solutions to these types of models are obtained by the optimization of the closed and convex subsets of the function space. Explicit estimates of the solutions for the admissible auxiliary data are formulated. An elegant numerical scheme is designed for an autocatalytic chemical reaction model, that is, the glycolysis model. The fundamental traits of the prescribed numerical method, for instance, the positivity, consistency, stability, etc., are also verified. The authenticity of the proposed scheme is ensured by comparing it with two extensively used numerical techniques. A numerical example is presented to observe the graphical behavior of the continuous system by constructing the numerical algorithm. The comparison depicts that the projected numerical design is more productive as compared to the other two schemes, as it holds all the important properties of the continuous model.Basque Government, Grant IT1555-22 and Grant KK-2022/00090 MCIN/AEI 269.10.13039/ 501100011033, Grant PID2021-1235430B-C21/C22