High-resolution molecular characterization of complex environmental mixtures: Aquatic dissolved organic matter and wildfire-influenced aerosol

The natural environment is replete with organic matter of varying complexities. Whether it is particulate material in the atmosphere, decades old organic matter trapped within glaciers, or biological debris flowing with rivers and streams, natural organic matter (NOM) is exquisitely complex. High-resolution mass spectrometry allows us to have a glimpse of the molecular composition of NOM and delineate the elemental compositions of thousands of chemical species that form it. In this dissertation, the overarching aim was to explore the molecular diversity of complex mixtures from two sources: Surface water and atmospheric organic aerosol. The first objective of this dissertation was to demonstrate ionization selectivity of three popular ionization methods so that the necessity of using more than one technique for untargeted qualitative analysis of complex mixtures could be validated. Electrospray ionization (ESI), atmospheric pressure photoionization (APPI), and atmospheric pressure chemical ionization (APCI) were tested on commercial humic substances in combination with the Fourier Transform - Orbitrap Elite Mass Spectrometer. Our findings provide evidence for the tendency of ESI to access polar, more oxygenated compounds that constitute a majority of humic substances. A minor fraction comprising relatively less polar, aromatic compounds, could be accessed with either APPI or APCI, highlighting the importance of employing complementary ionization methods to obtain representative molecular compositions of complex mixtures. The second objective of this dissertation was to demonstrate the extreme molecular complexity of organic aerosol collected downwind of wildfires in the Pacific Northwest of the United States. The focus was particularly on the fraction of organic aerosol that had aged to develop an abundance of tar balls (TB) that are carbonaceous spherules of extremely variable optical properties and whose detailed molecular composition is yet to be elucidated. We attempted to find a preliminary TB-specific molecular signature by comparing several TB-rich and non-TB aerosol mixtures. Using Fourier Transform - Ion Cyclotron Resonance Mass Spectrometers and complementary ionization techniques, ESI and laser desorption ionization, we present detailed molecular composition of TB, which indicates them to be a mixture of low-oxygen organic constituents enclosed in a more oxidatively aged shell

Incidence of Development of Hydrocephalus after Excision and Repair of Spina Bifida Aperta in Infants

Objective:  To find out the incidence of hydrocephalus after excision and repair in infants presenting with Spina Bifida Aperta. Materials & Methods:  This prospective cohort study was conducted at the Pediatric Neurosurgery Department, Children Hospital & The Institute of Child Health, Lahore, Pakistan, from January 2021 to October 2021. A total of 62 infants of both genders presenting with spina bifida Aperta undergoing repair were included. Data of the patients, i.e., name, age, gender, head circumference, location, and width of the defect, accompanying bladder, limb anomalies, radiological, laboratory findings, and diagnosis (meningocele or meningomyelocele) were noted. Patients were followed postoperatively for 1-month, and the incidence of post-surgery hydrocephalus was noted. Results:  Out of 62 children, 36 (58.1%) were male and 24 (41.9%) female. The mean age was noted to be 138.82 days. Most children, 36 (58.1%), were found to have meningocele. The most frequent local meningocele/meningomyelocele was noted to be lumbosacral, 22 (35.5%). Post-surgery hydrocephalus was noted among 11 (17.1%) cases. No significant association of gender, age, head circumference, defect size, the maximum dimension, diagnosis (meningocele or meningomyelocele), or location was noted with post-surgery hydrocephalus among study cases (p > 0.05). No mortality was reported. Conclusion:  Meningomyelocele and lumbosacral location of the defect were among the prominent factors affecting the incidence of post-surgery hydrocephalus. Keywords:  Spina Bifida Aperta, Meningiocele, Myelomeningocele, hydrocephalus, lumbosacra

Prevalence of Sleep Paralysis in the Medical Students of a Local Medical College

Abstract Objective: To find out the prevalence of sleep paralysis among the medical students of a local Pakistani medical college. Methodology: This cross-sectional study was conducted on 107 medical students from, Karachi Institute of Medical Sciences (KIMS), Karachi, Pakistan. Non-probability Convenient Sampling Technique was utilized for this study. Students suffering from any psychiatric illness were excluded from this study. The study was performed after taking permission from the Institutional Ethical Review Committee. Written informed consent was taken from all the students. The data were collected using a pretested predesigned Questionnaire which was consisted of 10 questions related to the common10 happening and symptoms of sleep paralysis. Data were recorded in the form of frequency and percentages and analyzed using SPSS 24. Results: 52% (56 out of 107) participants have had an experience of sleep paralysis. Most of the participants (76.6%) described their experience as an Inability to move. Frequency of experience ranged from 0 to 20 times in the last year. Age at first experience ranged between 10-20 years. Conclusion: We found a high prevalence of sleep paralysis (47.2%) among the medical students at a local Pakistani medical college. Majority of the students experienced the phenomenon multiple times in their life. The students associated the symptoms the factors such as academic stress, anxiety, workload, emotional experiences, sleep deprivation, work routine, sleep pattern, sleep deprivation, fatigue, mental disturbance, studies and routine stress. 37.3% of the students also related the phenomenon to their position of sleep (lying on back). The participants described the experience as a source of great distress. Sleep paralysis needs to be studied, investigated and addressed in context of mental health of the students

Characterization of regional hydrological drought using improved precipitation records under multi-auxiliary information

Drought is a complex natural hazard that has been recurrently occurred in many regions across the globe. Therefore, precise drought characterization and its regional monitoring are key challenges for advanced water management and hydrological research. In this research, we provided a novel method to improve annual average time series data for the Standardized Drought Index (SDI)-type drought monitoring tools. We proposed multi-auxiliary information-based estimation strategy that improves annual moving average/total precipitation time series records. Therefore, we incorporated a minimum and maximum temperature as auxiliary variables under multi-auxiliary regression estimator. In summary, this study propagates a new drought index named: the Precision-Weighted Standardized Precipitation Index (PWSDI). We evaluated the performance of PWSDI for 10 meteorological stations in Pakistan. We found that improved estimates of temporal precipitation time series are good candidates for modelling and monitoring hydrological drought at the regional settings under SDI procedure

DEVELOPMENT, FABRICATION, AND PERFORMANCE EVALUATION OF INDIRECT MULTI-PORTIONED TYPE SOLAR DRYER FOR AGRICULTURAL PRODUCE

OBJECTIVE: The primary objective of this study was to minimize post-harvest damages and improve the handling of agricultural commodities. The secondary objective was to assess the performance of the dryer by varying inlet velocity of air on temperature, final moisture of the product, drying period, and drying rate METHODS: The present research was carried out for the development, fabrication, and testing of a multi-portioned type solar dryer. The multi-portioned dryer consisted of a collector unit, air storage chamber, drying cabins, and a chimney. A fan assembly was also attached at the inlet of the collector and at the outlet of the drying compartment to control the air velocity and to remove the moist air. RESULTS: The data obtained from the experiments revealed that the maximum temperature elevation of 36.5oC was attained during a no-load test. The results obtained after carrying out load tests revealed that the maximum drying rate of 47 g/hr was achieved at the air inlet velocity of 3.2 m/s. The initial moisture content of 80.50% was brought down to 3.31% in five sunshine hours of 150 gram sliced potatoes. Each portion received air at varying speeds, and it was observed that the portion receiving air at the lowest speed had the maximum temperature. CONCLUSION: The lowest temperature elevation was recorded for the portion receiving air at the highest speed. The dryer was also found to be suitable for the on-field practical application for the drying of perishable commodities

Molecular and physical composition of tar balls in wildfire smoke: an investigation with complementary ionisation methods and 15-Tesla FT-ICR mass spectrometry

Tar balls (TBs) are a major carbonaceous product of wildfires and other biomass-burning events that often exceed soot or other elemental forms of carbon in number and mass. Being a recalcitrant fraction of organic carbon, TBs are capable of long-range atmospheric transport, and thus, exert influence not only in the vicinity of wildfires but also in remote regions. Here, we characterised ambient atmospheric aerosol samples with varying TB number fractions collected downwind of Pacific Northwest wildfires using a 15-Tesla Fourier transform-ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometer (15-T FT-ICR MS). Relative to non-TB aerosol, we found 2006 and 851 molecular formulae exclusively in TB-rich aerosol using laser desorption ionisation (LDI) of samples directly from an aerosol-loaded substrate and electrospray ionisation (ESI) of ACN-extracted aerosol, respectively. Elemental composition from LDI/15-T FT-ICR MS revealed TBs to be abundant in molecular species of low volatility and high viscosity, providing molecular detail that was consistent with key climate and air quality-related properties of TBs. Our findings demonstrate that the TB-specific molecular composition obtained from (−)LDI/15-T FT-ICR MS not only complements (−)ESI analyses, but provides a more apt reflection of the physical properties of TBs as well. We provide proof-of-concept evidence for the potential value of using LDI/15-T FT-ICR MS in routine OA analyses, specifically smoke samples rich in refractory OA, and improve the representation of OA in atmospheric and climate modelling studies that aim to fully understand its impact and occurrence

Relationship between the use of drugs and changes in body weight among patients: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Purpose: To investigate the impact of drugs on the body weight of patients.Methods: All the randomized controlled trials that evaluated the impact of medications on the body weight of patients were searched in various databases. Studies quantifying the impact of drugs on body weight when compared to placebo or any other treatment were considered for this review. Moreover, the quantitative synthesis of evidence was also performed by generating the forest plot.Results: A total of 20 studies involving 18,547 participants were included in the current review. Weight gains ranging from 0.5 to 2.6 kg were associated with the use of pioglitazone, espindolol, brexpiprazole, glimepiride and ezogabine while weight loss ranging from 1.1 to 12 kg was linked with the use of betahistine, naltrexone, bupropion, liraglutide, phentermine, topiramate, orlistat, zonisamide, duloxetine, semaglutide, metformin and linagliptin. The quantitative synthesis suggested that drugs can significantly reduce body weight by -0.53 kg (CI 95 % -1.01, -0.04, p < 0.04) when compared to standard treatment.Conclusion: The findings of this review suggest substantial association of drugs and weight change during pharmacotherapy. Pioglitzone, brexpiprazole, espindolol, ezogabine and glimepiride cause weight gain while naltrexone, bupropion, betahistine, topiramate, phentermine, zonisamide, semaglutide, linagliptin, liraglutide, orlistat, duloxetine and metformin were associated with weight loss. Drug-induced changes in body weight might cause serious consequences and should be addressed before initiating treatment

FETAL HEART RATE WITH HYPERTENSIVE AND NON-HYPERTENSIVE MOTHERS ON ULTRASONOGRAPHY IN THIRD TRIMESTER- A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW

Background: Preeclampsia throughout pregnancy increase a women’s chance of developing cardiovascular disease. Women that develop preeclampsia are at higher risk for development of hypertension and cardiac disease. Objective: To evaluate the relationship between maternal health (blood pressure} and fetal heart rate (FHR) during third trimester, and differentiate FHR in male and female fetuses. Material & Methods: An electronic study including the articles of nearly a decade and half. The studies were added by means of Google Scholar, Research gate, NCBI and PubMed to name a few. All the articles were included in the official language English. Articles were included having sonographic relation between the hypertensive and non-hypertensive mothers with fetal heart rate. Results: Analyzing the topic, 14 articles were added to determine the exact correlation between fetal cardiac output and hypertensive mothers. 25 articles were added in introduction and technique while 4 articles were included to link pre-eclamptic mothers with adolescent offspring regarding their growth and cardiac output. Conclusion: Gestational hypertension has adverse effect on fetal heart rate and studies have proved the difference by comparing them with normotensive pregnancies. Keywords: Fetal, Heart, Maternal, Blood pressure. DOI: 10.7176/JHMN/90-16 Publication date:June 30th 202

Verdad extra-metódica y ontología de la praxis: la raciónalidad mediatora de la phronesis

Background: Lower back pain (LBP) not only remains the foremost cause of work absence and medical consultation but is also the leading cause of disability. It affects individuals from both developed and developing countries including children, adolescents, and the elderly. Aim: The aim of this research was to investigate the relationship between risk factors and lower back pain among the people of Pakistan. Methodology: A questionnaire-based cross-sectional study was conducted at a local medical college comprising both the students and the staff. Results: Prevalence of LBP in participants was 51%. Males reported a higher frequency of LBP as compared to females (r=.191, p=0.03). Students had a significantly higher incidence of LBP as compared to staff (r=.178, p=0.04). Smoking was also associated with LBP as smokers showed a significantly higher frequency of LBP (r=.366, p=0.006). Higher frequency of LBP was also linked with a higher grade of pain (r=0.346, p=0.005). Females reported a higher grade of pain as compared to males (r=0.292, p=0.01). Conclusion: There is a high frequency of LBP in students associated with gender, smoking and lifestyle. Proper education and planning are needed to address the situation. More prospective studies are indicated to further validate the results of this study.

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