Evaluation of Insulin receptor (INSR), Leptin receptor (LEPR) and β3-adrenergic receptor (ADRB3) gene polymorphisms in Diabetes Mellitus patients of Kashmir valley

The prevalence of type 2 diabetes mellitus has reached epidemic proportions worldwide. This complex disorder is characterized by defects in insulin secretion and insulin resistance. Type 2 diabetes is a consequence of complex interactions among multiple genetic variants and environmental risk factors. The genetic basis of type 2 diabetes is still poorly understood. The overarching aim of this study was to investigate various polymorphisms in Insulin receptor (INSR), leptin receptor (LEPR) and β3-adrenergic receptor (ADRB3) genes and evaluate their role in the incidence and progression of type 2 diabetes. Three single nucleotide polymorphisms (233, 234 and 276) in the exon 3 of INSR gene, a CTTTA pentanucleotide repeat Del/Ins polymorphism in the 3@ UTR of LEPR gene and a single nucleotide polymorphism (Trp64Arg) in the ADRB3 gene were analysed. The study comprised of 500 local subjects including 200 type 2 diabetes patients and 300 age and gender matched healthy controls. Restriction fragment length polymorphism and single stranded conformation polymorphism techniques were used for genotyping and the results were validated by direct sequencing assay. We observed that codon 233, 234 and 276 of INSR gene were monomorphic in our population thereby ruling out any possible association with type 2 diabetes. However we found an association of LEPR and ADRB3 gene polymorphisms with risk factors and severity of type 2 diabetes, such as obesity, abnormal lipid profile, hypertension, elevated HbA1c levels and serum creatinine levels. The frequency of Del allele was 89.7% and 59.3% in cases and controls respectively (p<0.001; odds ratio 6.0; 95% confidence interval 3.61 - 9.97). The wild allele (Del) in the LEPR gene showed a positive association with the disease as well as associated risk factors. The genotypes for Del/Ins polymorphism did not satisfy Hardy and Weinberg equilibrium (χ2=57.22). In ADRB3 gene, frequency of variant C (Arg) allele was observed to be 40% and 10.2% in cases and controls respectively (p<0.001; odds ratio 5.89; 95% confidence interval 3.69-9.39). Presence of C (Arg) allele was observed to be a risk factor, where as the wild T (Trp) allele exerted a protective effect against type 2 diabetes in our population. Presence of C allele was directly related to higher BMI, WHR, dyslipidemia and uncontrolled diabetes. Genotypes for Trp64Arg polymorphism were in Hardy and Weinberg equilibrium (χ2=0.48). The study signifies that Del allele in LEPR gene and Arg allele in ADRB3 are genotypic risk factors that confer susceptibility to type 2 Diabetes Mellitus in ethnic Kashmiri population

IMPACT OF LAND USE CHANGE ON CLIMATE: A CASE STUDY OF GULBERG SCHEME, LAHORE, PAKISTAN

&nbsp; &nbsp; With embryonic pressure of climate change vulnerability, climate change adaptation and mitigation has become a sizzling issue of 21st century. The whole globe is facing perilous impacts of abrupt climate changes. In Pakistan, the concept of climate change adaptation has been promoted during the last decade. Focussing on land surface temperature, this study determined the impact of commercialization on climate by considering the case of Gulberg Scheme, Lahore. The methodology included: literature review, data collection, procurement of satellite imageries and the use of state of the art sofwares to determine the land surface temperature of various land uses. The study found that change of land use was causing significant rise in temperature. There is need to give due consideration to climate change vulnerability while formulating land use reclassification schemes. Use of green infrastructure may prove to be effective in climate change adaptation. &nbsp

Efficacy of the muscle energy technique versus the strain-counter strain technique on immediate deactivation of myofascial trigger points in upper trapezius muscle

Aims and objectives: Thisstudy aimed to check the comparative efficacy of the Muscle EnergyTechnique versus the Strain-Counter Strain technique on immediate deactivation ofmyofascial trigger points in the upper trapezius muscle. Study design: The study comprised acomparative analytical design to compare and contrast the two study interventions. Place andduration of the study: The research was conducted in the Department of Physical therapy,Allied hospital Faisalabad for 6 months. Patients and methods: Based on inclusion andexclusion criteria, 40 subjects were enrolled in the study using the convenient samplingmethod. The subjects were divided into two groups; group A (n=20) received a single sessionof baseline treatment with themuscle energy technique, while group B (n=20)received a singlesession of baseline treatment with the strain-counter strain technique. The subjects wereevaluated through the pressure-pain threshold (algometer), Numeric Pain Rating Scale, andModified Bournemouth Questionnaire as pre-intervention and post-intervention measuringtools for pain and functional status. Results: The data was analyzed using SPSS version 17.Within group analysis showed a significant difference between pre- values and post values ofpressure-pain threshold, Numeric Pain Rating Scale and Modified BournemouthQuestionnaire in both groups (P&lt;0.05). Between group analysis was done using independentsample t test. It also showed significant difference (P&lt;0.05) in post mean values between thetwo group subjects in all three outcomes. The post-mean values for the strain-counter straingroup were slightly more improved than the Muscle Energy Technique group. Conclusion:The strain-counter strain technique is found more effective than the Muscle Energy Techniquefor immediate deactivation of myofascial trigger points in the upper trapezius muscle

Novel acridine-based thiosemicarbazones as ‘turn-on' chemosensors for selective recognition of fluoride anion: a spectroscopic and theoretical study

New thiosemicarbazide-linked acridines 3a–c were prepared and investigated as chemosensors for the detection of biologically and environmentally important anions. The compounds 3a–c were found selective for fluoride (F−) with no affinity for other anions, i.e. −OAc, Br−, I−, HSO4−, SO42−, PO43−, ClO3−, ClO4−, CN− and SCN−. Further, upon the gradual addition of a fluoride anion (F−) source (tetrabutylammonium fluoride), a well-defined change in colour of the solution of probes 3a–c was observed. The anion-sensing process was studied in detail via UV–visible absorption, fluorescence and 1H-NMR experiments. Moreover, during the synthesis of acridine probes 3a–c nickel fluoride (NiF2), a rarely explored transition metal fluoride salt, was used as the catalyst. Theoretical studies via density functional theory were also carried out to further investigate the sensing and anion (F−) selectivity pattern of these probes

Max-Min Throughput Optimization in WPCNs: A Hybrid Active/Passive IRS-Assisted Scheme

The integration of wireless powered communication network (WPCNs) with intelligent reflecting surface (IRS) technology has emerged as a promising solution for enhancing the energy and spectral efficiency of the network. Recent studies have explored the benefits of active and passive reflecting element surfaces in various networks. However, most existing works on IRS-assisted WPCNs mainly focus on comparing an active IRS to single/multiple IRSs or to a hybrid IRS comprising active and passive elements on the same surface. In this paper, we explore a hybrid, active and passive IRS-assisted WPCN which can significantly improve network capacity. By introducing a distributed pair of active and passive IRSs, signal amplification and multiple reflection links can boost the wireless link capacity. To enhance network performance, this new framework utilizes both active and passive IRS elements to optimize wireless energy transfer (WET) on the downlink and wireless information transfer (WIT) on the uplink. However, designing a joint deployment of active and passive IRS elements becomes more challenging due to the joint operations of downlink WET and uplink WIT in WPCNs. To address the complexity of the non-convex optimization problem associated with the hybrid IRS-aided architecture, we use a systematic divide-and-conquer methodology. This decomposes the main problem into three interconnected sub-problems that are solved sequentially using sophisticated techniques. Furthermore, the study examines two practical deployment scenarios for active and passive IRS elements, namely &#x2018;Hybrid Case-1&#x2019; (where active IRS is placed near the hybrid access point (H-AP) and passive IRS is placed near wireless devices) and &#x2018;Hybrid Case-2&#x2019; (where active IRS is placed near wireless devices and passive IRS is placed near the H-AP). Extensive simulations and numerical analysis demonstrate the superiority of our proposed hybrid IRS-based framework over single active IRS and conventional double passive IRSs-assisted network, making it a promising and compelling solution for practical WPCN deployments, ensuring enhanced network performance and throughput fairness in wireless power and communications technologies

Exploiting a Deep Neural Network for Efficient Transmit Power Minimization in a Wireless Powered Communication Network

In this paper, we propose a learning-based solution for resource allocation in a wireless powered communication network (WPCN). We provide a study and analysis of a deep neural network (DNN) which can reasonably effectively approximate the iterative optimization algorithm for resource allocation in the WPCN. In this scheme, the deep neural network provides an optimized solution for transmitting power with different channel coefficients. The proposed deep neural network accepts the channel coefficient as an input and outputs minimized power for this channel in the WPCN. The DNN learns the relationship between input and output and gives a fairly accurate approximation for the transmit power optimization iterative algorithm. We exploit the sequential parametric convex approximation (SPCA) iterative algorithm to solve the optimization problem for transmit power in the WPCN. The proposed approach ensures the quality of service (QoS) of the WPCN by managing user throughput and by keeping harvested energy levels above a defined threshold. Through numerical results and simulations, it is verified that the proposed scheme can best approximate the SPCA iterative algorithms with low computational time consumption

Nosocomial Blood Stream Infections in Pediatric Intensive Care Unit of Fauji Foundation Hospital, Rawalpindi Pakistan

Background: Nosocomial blood stream infections with bacterial organisms are one of the most common problems faced by health care professionals in admitted patients, since these infections complicate the treatment and affect the outcome. The objective of this study was to determine the frequency of most common bacterial organisms in nosocomial blood stream infections in children admitted in Pediatric Intensive Care Unit of a tertiary care hospital at Rawalpindi, Pakistan.Material and Methods: This cross-sectional study was carried out from 6th July 2017 to 6th January 2018 in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (ICU), Fauji Foundation Hospital, Rawalpindi, a tertiary care hospital. A total of 385 patients, aged 14 days to 12 years, admitted in the ICU were monitored from the time of admission till their blood culture reports were positive for bacterial growth along with signs of clinical sepsis Blood samples for culture were collected aseptically and the bottles were incubated for 7 days. Patients were monitored from time the blood culture yielded growth of bacterial pathogens till final blood culture report with antibiotics sensitivity against the pathogen became available. Data was analyzed using SPSS Version 20. Effect modifiers like age, duration of admission and gender were controlled by stratification and chi-square test was applied for comparison with P-value less than .05 considered as statistically significant.Results: Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Salmonella typhi were the most common bacterial organisms (n=83; 21.6% each) causing nosocomial blood stream infection, followed by Escherichia coli (n=77; 20%) and Klebsiella (n=67; 17.4%), respectively. Effect modifier, like gender (stratified and compared by Chi-square test) had a statistically significant relationship with frequency of most common bacterial organisms in nosocomial blood stream infections (P=.001). However, effect modifiers like age and duration (hours) of admission to PICU had a non-significant relationship with frequency of bacterial organisms in nosocomial blood stream infections (P&gt;.05).Conclusions: There is a high frequency of common bacterial organisms in nosocomial blood stream infections in children with predominance of gram-negative bacteria including Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Salmonella typhi. Thus, early initiation of appropriate antibiotic therapy can help in decreasing mortality, significantly in hospitalized patients

Role of strengthening exercises in management and prevention of overuse sports injuries of lower extremity:a systematic review

Overuse injuries are common in sports involving jumping, running, and landing, due to the repetitive nature of these activities and the strain they place on the lower extremity. The objective of the study was to determine the role of strengthening exercises in the management of overuse sports injuries of lower extremity and its effects on prevention of injury recurrence. This study employed a systematic review design. The author extracted and reviewed the papers for this study in accordance with Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) criteria, and then used the PEDro scale to rate the articles' quality. For the most recent and well-developed primary data, several electronic databases including Google Scholar, PubMed Central, MEDLINE, Cochrane Library, and PEDro were exhaustively searched. Inclusion criteria were based on PICO (T) model and included study population, intervention nature, outcome measures, time period, methodological quality, and linguistic extent. The data synthesis involved analyzing randomized control/clinical trials on strengthening exercises for lower extremity overuse sports injuries in athletes, considering outcomes including muscle strength, pain scores, return to sports, and injury prevention. The methodological quality of the recruited articles ranged from excellent to fair on PEDro scale. Three included studies investigated the effects of strengthening exercises on management of lower extremity injuries of athletes. Four studies evaluated its role on prevention from recurrence of injuries. This study has concluded that strength training plays a fundamental role in management and prevention of overuse injuries. It not only improves the muscle performance, fitness level, speed and agility in sports but also decreases the pain, and aids in early recovery from an injury

Optimal Energy Beamforming to Minimize Transmit Power in a Multi-Antenna Wireless Powered Communication Network

In this paper, we study the transmit power minimization problem with optimal energy beamforming in a multi-antenna wireless powered communication network (WPCN). The considered network consists of one hybrid access point (H-AP) with multiple antennae and multiple users with a single antenna each. The H-AP broadcasts an energy signal on the downlink, using energy beamforming to enhance the efficiency of the transmit energy. In this paper, we jointly optimize the downlink time allocation for wireless energy transfer (WET), the uplink time allocation for each user to send a wireless information signal to the H-AP, the power allocation to each user on the uplink, and the downlink energy beamforming vectors while controlling the transmit power at the H-AP. It is challenging to solve this non-convex complex optimization problem because it is numerically intractable and involves high computational complexity. We exploit a sequential parametric convex approximation (SPCA)-based iterative method, and propose optimal and sub-optimal solutions for the transmit power minimization problem. All the proposed schemes are verified by numerical simulations. Through the simulation results, we present the performance of the proposed schemes based on the effect of the number of transmit antennae and the number of users in the proposed WPCN. Through the performance evaluation, we show that the SPCA-based joint optimization solution performance is superior to other solutions