Revolutionizing Agriculture: Nano Fertilizers for Sustainable Crop Improvement

The abundant metalloid element silicon (Si) is present in the crust of the Earth and is important for improving many aspects of plant characteristics. The potential of silicon in agriculture is examined in this article with particular attention to how it affects crop improvement, stress management, and plant growth. Under certain pH circumstances, plant roots absorb orthosilicic acid, the form of silicon that is accessible to plants in soil. The benefits of Si application, including improved vegetative growth, development, and resistance to biotic and abiotic stress, have been demonstrated by numerous studies. Additionally, silica plays a role in decreased transpiration, enhanced photosynthesis, and UV-B radiation protection. Agricultural crops encounter a multitude of difficulties, such as pathogens, pests, drought, flooding, salinity, and metal toxicity, which are frequently intensified by inadequate silicon availability in soils. To remedy this deficiency, si fertilizers are used, which improves plant function. It is further important to fertilize with Si because certain crops actively accumulate Si in their tissues. Applications of Si take into account the fertility of the soil, the amount of moisture present, and the uptake of nutrients, resulting in enhanced growth, productivity, and resilience to stress. Si increases stem strength, stress tolerance, and lodging resistance, for instance, in rice. Moreover, silica boosts water use efficiency in drought-stricken maize and modifies proline levels in upland rice in response to water restrictions. Eventually, Si-based compounds have a great deal of promise to improve crop yield and solve the problems facing contemporary agriculture. The numerous advantages of applying Si in supporting resilient and sustainable agriculture are highlighted in this review

Determination of Underground Structure and Migration of Hot Plumes Contaminating Fresh Water Using Vertical Electrical Survey (VES) and Magnetic Survey, A Case Study of Tattapani Thermal Spring, Azad Kashmir

A geophysical survey was carried out at Tattapani thermal spring Azad Kashmir to delineate structure,thickness, depth, lithology and migration of hot plumes contaminating fresh water. The study area was investigated byVertical Electrical Sounding (VES) using schlumberger array at 21 locations arranged in ten profiles to a maximumdepth of 500 m and 200 magnetic observations. The extension and tectonic setup of thermal spring was mapped bygeoelectrical litho sections, subsurface geological sections (20m, 20-100m and 100-500m) pseudo section, apparentresistivity map, geoelectrical parameters, statistical distribution of apparent resistivity, total magnetic intensity andanomaly map. The data show that Tattapani hot spring is concentrated along the fault line delineated by geoelectricallitho sections and magnetic section with value of -120 nT to -300 nT, total field intensity of 50000-50450 nT andconfirm by macro anisotropy (1.0 to 2.7). The geoelectrical lithological section portrays that study area compriseslithological fabric of dolomite (≥400 ohm.m), sandstone (150-200 ohm.m), clay (80-150 ohm.m), Shaley clay (50-80)and shale (≤ 50). The Thermal Plumes (10-70 ohm.m) were pictured by resistivity section and pseudo section ataverage depth of 30-60 m and showing migration of hot plumes in the North-Eastern direction contaminating freshwater (100-200 ohm.m). The longitudinal conductance (0.95-15 mhos), transverse resistance (20-300 ohm.m2) are seenhaving maximum value in the North-Eastern and North-Western side of the study area. The study also shows that freshground water is mostly concentrated in sandstone (150-200 ohm.m), dolomite (≥400 ohm.m) and lies above the thermalplumes and thus highly prone to contamination due to upwelling of thermal water

Frequency and Anatomical Distribution of Pulmonary Embolism on CT Pulmonary Angiography

Background: Pulmonary embolism, with its growing prevalence, has become a potentially life-threatening medical condition with crucial symptoms. However, prognosis is good if timely diagnosis is made and to the level of segmental and sub segmental arteries as well. Standard computed tomography pulmonary angiography (CTPA) is thus used to diagnose acute pulmonary embolism. Objective: The primary objective of the current study was to determine and investigate the anatomical distribution frequency of pulmonary emboli, where segmental, sub segmental, and lobar arteries on CT pulmonary angiography are included. Methodology: In a descriptive cross-sectional study, single-centered studies and CTPA scans of 98 patients were included. Data was obtained from Shalimar Hospital and University of Lahore – Teaching Hospital, Lahore, Pakistan. Sample size included patients of all age groups with suspected pulmonary embolism, with no differentiation of male or female samples. Results: According to statistics and analysis, the current study results indicated the presence of pulmonary embolism in 36 patients and its absence in 62 patients. Results indicated that amongst the 98 patients scanned, the highest frequency of pulmonary emboli was found in the pulmonary trunk and lobar artery in 8 patients (8.2%). Furthermore, CTPA of the participants detected pulmonary emboli in segmental and sub-segmental arteries of 5 patients (5.1%), with another 2 patients showing pulmonary emboli in only the sub-segmental artery (2.0%). Another 2-2 patients showed pulmonary emboli in lobar and segmental artery and lobar, segmental and sub-segmental artery respectively (2.0%, 2.0%). Conclusion: The largest number of pulmonary emboli were found in the pulmonary trunk, followed by emboli of segmental and lobar arteries in patients. It is concluded that CTPA evaluates pulmonary embolism with great precision and anatomical distribution localized main trunk, and pulmonary artery emboli along with lobar, segmental and sub-segmental artery emboli. Keywords: Computed Tomography Pulmonary Angiography (CTPA), pulmonary emboli, segmental artery, sub segmental artery, lobar arteries DOI: 10.7176/JHMN/100-02 Publication date:May 31st 202

Accuracy of procalcitonin levels for diagnosis of culture-positive sepsis in critically ill trauma patients: A retrospective analysis

Background: Abdominal trauma and intra-abdominal sepsis are associated with significant morbidity and mortality. Microcirculation in the gut is disrupted in hemorrhagic and septic shock leading to tissue hypoxia, and the damaged gut acts as a reservoir rich in inflammatory mediators and provides a continual source of inflammation to the systemic circulation leading to sepsis. Sepsis is defined as the presence (probable or documented) of infection together with a systemic inflammatory response to infection. Blood culture is commonly considered to be the preferred approach for diagnosing sepsis, although it is time-consuming, that is, reports are normally available only after 12-48 hours. Procalcitonin levels (PCT) have recently emerged as a promising biomarker in the diagnosis of sepsis. The aim of the present study is to determine the diagnostic accuracy of PCT levels in predicting sepsis in critically ill trauma patients.Methodology: This was designed as a validation study conducted in the Indoor Department of General Surgery, Liaquat National Hospital, Karachi. The sample size was calculated by taking the estimated frequency of sepsis in suspected patients at 62.13%, expected sensitivity of PCT at 70.83%, and specificity at 84.21% and the desired precision level of 12% for sensitivity; the calculated sample size was 96. The non-probability consecutive sampling method was used to recruit participants who were diagnosed with sepsis on clinical assessment. Blood culture samples were sent for the enrolled patients and a final diagnosis was made on the blood culture report. PCT levels were measured in these suspected patients on the same day of sending blood culture. Diagnostic accuracy of PCT size was measured using the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve. ROC curve was formulated for PCT levels against culture-proven sepsis to determine the ideal cut-off value of PCT levels. Two different cut-offs were determined to obtain the highest sensitivity and highest specificity accordingly.Results: A total of 97 individuals met the inclusion criteria with a mean age of 34.89 ± 10.52 years. Mean PCT levels were 0.96 ± 0.59, with a gender predilection towards females (p \u3c 0.001). No age difference was documented among gender (p = 0.655). The mean duration of intensive care unit stay was 11.73 ± 3.56 days. Culture-proven sepsis was identified in 67.0% of the study participants with a higher PCT level (p \u3c 0.001). Among the 52.6% males included in the study, half were reported to have culture-positive sepsis, but among the 47.4% females culture was positive in 87% (p \u3c 0.001). ROC revealed PCT was predictive for culture-positive sepsis at a cut-off value 0.47 ng/mL (p \u3c 0.001), with a sensitivity of 92.3%, specificity of 68.7%, positive predictive value (PPV) of 85.7%, and negative predictive value (NPV) of 81.5%. By increasing the cut-off value to 0.90 ng/mL at area under the curve of 0.816, the specificity increased to 81.3% and sensitivity became 66.2%, with a PPV of 87.8% and NPV of 54.2%.Conclusion: Our study determined two cut-values for PCT to predict sepsis, one with the highest sensitivity and the other with better specificity. Other than that, higher PCT levels were significant in female trauma patients. We conclude that PCT is a reliable marker for culture-proven diagnosis of sepsis and may aid physicians/surgeons to promptly manage patients accordingly

Cancer Incidence, Mortality, Years of Life Lost, Years Lived With Disability, and Disability-Adjusted Life Years for 29 Cancer Groups From 2010 to 2019: A Systematic Analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2019.

The Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study 2019 (GBD 2019) provided systematic estimates of incidence, morbidity, and mortality to inform local and international efforts toward reducing cancer burden. To estimate cancer burden and trends globally for 204 countries and territories and by Sociodemographic Index (SDI) quintiles from 2010 to 2019. The GBD 2019 estimation methods were used to describe cancer incidence, mortality, years lived with disability, years of life lost, and disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) in 2019 and over the past decade. Estimates are also provided by quintiles of the SDI, a composite measure of educational attainment, income per capita, and total fertility rate for those younger than 25 years. Estimates include 95% uncertainty intervals (UIs). In 2019, there were an estimated 23.6 million (95% UI, 22.2-24.9 million) new cancer cases (17.2 million when excluding nonmelanoma skin cancer) and 10.0 million (95% UI, 9.36-10.6 million) cancer deaths globally, with an estimated 250 million (235-264 million) DALYs due to cancer. Since 2010, these represented a 26.3% (95% UI, 20.3%-32.3%) increase in new cases, a 20.9% (95% UI, 14.2%-27.6%) increase in deaths, and a 16.0% (95% UI, 9.3%-22.8%) increase in DALYs. Among 22 groups of diseases and injuries in the GBD 2019 study, cancer was second only to cardiovascular diseases for the number of deaths, years of life lost, and DALYs globally in 2019. Cancer burden differed across SDI quintiles. The proportion of years lived with disability that contributed to DALYs increased with SDI, ranging from 1.4% (1.1%-1.8%) in the low SDI quintile to 5.7% (4.2%-7.1%) in the high SDI quintile. While the high SDI quintile had the highest number of new cases in 2019, the middle SDI quintile had the highest number of cancer deaths and DALYs. From 2010 to 2019, the largest percentage increase in the numbers of cases and deaths occurred in the low and low-middle SDI quintiles. The results of this systematic analysis suggest that the global burden of cancer is substantial and growing, with burden differing by SDI. These results provide comprehensive and comparable estimates that can potentially inform efforts toward equitable cancer control around the world.Funding/Support: The Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation received funding from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the American Lebanese Syrian Associated Charities. Dr Aljunid acknowledges the Department of Health Policy and Management of Kuwait University and the International Centre for Casemix and Clinical Coding, National University of Malaysia for the approval and support to participate in this research project. Dr Bhaskar acknowledges institutional support from the NSW Ministry of Health and NSW Health Pathology. Dr Bärnighausen was supported by the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation through the Alexander von Humboldt Professor award, which is funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research. Dr Braithwaite acknowledges funding from the National Institutes of Health/ National Cancer Institute. Dr Conde acknowledges financial support from the European Research Council ERC Starting Grant agreement No 848325. Dr Costa acknowledges her grant (SFRH/BHD/110001/2015), received by Portuguese national funds through Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia, IP under the Norma Transitória grant DL57/2016/CP1334/CT0006. Dr Ghith acknowledges support from a grant from Novo Nordisk Foundation (NNF16OC0021856). Dr Glasbey is supported by a National Institute of Health Research Doctoral Research Fellowship. Dr Vivek Kumar Gupta acknowledges funding support from National Health and Medical Research Council Australia. Dr Haque thanks Jazan University, Saudi Arabia for providing access to the Saudi Digital Library for this research study. Drs Herteliu, Pana, and Ausloos are partially supported by a grant of the Romanian National Authority for Scientific Research and Innovation, CNDS-UEFISCDI, project number PN-III-P4-ID-PCCF-2016-0084. Dr Hugo received support from the Higher Education Improvement Coordination of the Brazilian Ministry of Education for a sabbatical period at the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, between September 2019 and August 2020. Dr Sheikh Mohammed Shariful Islam acknowledges funding by a National Heart Foundation of Australia Fellowship and National Health and Medical Research Council Emerging Leadership Fellowship. Dr Jakovljevic acknowledges support through grant OI 175014 of the Ministry of Education Science and Technological Development of the Republic of Serbia. Dr Katikireddi acknowledges funding from a NHS Research Scotland Senior Clinical Fellowship (SCAF/15/02), the Medical Research Council (MC_UU_00022/2), and the Scottish Government Chief Scientist Office (SPHSU17). Dr Md Nuruzzaman Khan acknowledges the support of Jatiya Kabi Kazi Nazrul Islam University, Bangladesh. Dr Yun Jin Kim was supported by the Research Management Centre, Xiamen University Malaysia (XMUMRF/2020-C6/ITCM/0004). Dr Koulmane Laxminarayana acknowledges institutional support from Manipal Academy of Higher Education. Dr Landires is a member of the Sistema Nacional de Investigación, which is supported by Panama’s Secretaría Nacional de Ciencia, Tecnología e Innovación. Dr Loureiro was supported by national funds through Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia under the Scientific Employment Stimulus–Institutional Call (CEECINST/00049/2018). Dr Molokhia is supported by the National Institute for Health Research Biomedical Research Center at Guy’s and St Thomas’ National Health Service Foundation Trust and King’s College London. Dr Moosavi appreciates NIGEB's support. Dr Pati acknowledges support from the SIAN Institute, Association for Biodiversity Conservation & Research. Dr Rakovac acknowledges a grant from the government of the Russian Federation in the context of World Health Organization Noncommunicable Diseases Office. Dr Samy was supported by a fellowship from the Egyptian Fulbright Mission Program. Dr Sheikh acknowledges support from Health Data Research UK. Drs Adithi Shetty and Unnikrishnan acknowledge support given by Kasturba Medical College, Mangalore, Manipal Academy of Higher Education. Dr Pavanchand H. Shetty acknowledges Manipal Academy of Higher Education for their research support. Dr Diego Augusto Santos Silva was financed in part by the Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior - Brasil Finance Code 001 and is supported in part by CNPq (302028/2018-8). Dr Zhu acknowledges the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas grant RP210042

Reducing the environmental impact of surgery on a global scale: systematic review and co-prioritization with healthcare workers in 132 countries

Abstract Background Healthcare cannot achieve net-zero carbon without addressing operating theatres. The aim of this study was to prioritize feasible interventions to reduce the environmental impact of operating theatres. Methods This study adopted a four-phase Delphi consensus co-prioritization methodology. In phase 1, a systematic review of published interventions and global consultation of perioperative healthcare professionals were used to longlist interventions. In phase 2, iterative thematic analysis consolidated comparable interventions into a shortlist. In phase 3, the shortlist was co-prioritized based on patient and clinician views on acceptability, feasibility, and safety. In phase 4, ranked lists of interventions were presented by their relevance to high-income countries and low–middle-income countries. Results In phase 1, 43 interventions were identified, which had low uptake in practice according to 3042 professionals globally. In phase 2, a shortlist of 15 intervention domains was generated. In phase 3, interventions were deemed acceptable for more than 90 per cent of patients except for reducing general anaesthesia (84 per cent) and re-sterilization of ‘single-use’ consumables (86 per cent). In phase 4, the top three shortlisted interventions for high-income countries were: introducing recycling; reducing use of anaesthetic gases; and appropriate clinical waste processing. In phase 4, the top three shortlisted interventions for low–middle-income countries were: introducing reusable surgical devices; reducing use of consumables; and reducing the use of general anaesthesia. Conclusion This is a step toward environmentally sustainable operating environments with actionable interventions applicable to both high– and low–middle–income countries

Reducing the environmental impact of surgery on a global scale: systematic review and co-prioritization with healthcare workers in 132 countries

Background Healthcare cannot achieve net-zero carbon without addressing operating theatres. The aim of this study was to prioritize feasible interventions to reduce the environmental impact of operating theatres. Methods This study adopted a four-phase Delphi consensus co-prioritization methodology. In phase 1, a systematic review of published interventions and global consultation of perioperative healthcare professionals were used to longlist interventions. In phase 2, iterative thematic analysis consolidated comparable interventions into a shortlist. In phase 3, the shortlist was co-prioritized based on patient and clinician views on acceptability, feasibility, and safety. In phase 4, ranked lists of interventions were presented by their relevance to high-income countries and low–middle-income countries. Results In phase 1, 43 interventions were identified, which had low uptake in practice according to 3042 professionals globally. In phase 2, a shortlist of 15 intervention domains was generated. In phase 3, interventions were deemed acceptable for more than 90 per cent of patients except for reducing general anaesthesia (84 per cent) and re-sterilization of ‘single-use’ consumables (86 per cent). In phase 4, the top three shortlisted interventions for high-income countries were: introducing recycling; reducing use of anaesthetic gases; and appropriate clinical waste processing. In phase 4, the top three shortlisted interventions for low–middle-income countries were: introducing reusable surgical devices; reducing use of consumables; and reducing the use of general anaesthesia. Conclusion This is a step toward environmentally sustainable operating environments with actionable interventions applicable to both high– and low–middle–income countries

Numerical Study of Heat and Mass Transfer for Williamson Nanofluid over Stretching/Shrinking Sheet along with Brownian and Thermophoresis Effects

The purpose of the current study is to investigate the non-Newtonian unsteady Williamson fluid on a stretching/shrinking surface along with thermophoresis and Brownian effects. Basically, the model consists of a time-dependent magnetic field. The fluid is considered to be electrically conducting due to the effect of the external magnetic field. The values of magnetic Reynolds number are so small that the induced magnetic field is assumed to be negligible. In the concentration equation, the effects of Brownian motion and thermophoresis are discussed. Employing the similarity transformations, the governing nonlinear Partial Differential Equations (PDEs) are converted into the Ordinary Differential Equations (ODEs). The resulting ODEs are solved with the combined effects of the Successive Over Relaxation (SOR) method and Finite Difference Method (FDM). The impact of all the including parameters such as suction parameter, injection parameter, stretching/shrinking parameter, the ratio of viscosity, local Weissenberg number, unsteadiness parameter, Eckert number, Prandtl number, Lewis number, Nusselt number, Brownian motion parameter, shear stress, heat transfer rate, and mass transfer rate are analyzed using graphs and tables. Results show that the values of fluid velocity are better for S=8, −S=0, λ=0.3, β*=0.9, Wi=0.3, and Aa=2.0. It is also depicted from the results that the values of boundary layer thickness are better for S=0, −S=−8, λ=0.3,  β*=0.1, Wi=1.5, and Aa=0.25. From the above numeric results, it is concluded that the fluid velocity is reduced and the thermal boundary layer thickness is enhanced by the enhancement of the stretching parameter