Reservoir Potential Evaluation of the Middle Paleocene Lockhart Limestone of the Kohat Basin, Pakistan: Petrophysical Analyses

The Lockhart Limestone is evaluated for its reservoir potential by utilizing wireline logs of Shakardara-01 well from Kohat Basin, Pakistan. The analyses showed 28.03% average volume of shale (Vsh), 25.57% average neutron porosity (NPHI), 3.31% average effective porosity (PHIE), 76% average water saturation (Sw), and 24.10% average hydrocarbon saturation (Sh) of the Lockhart Limestone in Shakardara-01 well. Based on variation in petrophysical character, the reservoir units of the Lockhart Limestone are divided into three zones i.e., zone-1, zone-2 and zone-3. Out of these zones, zone-1 and zone-2 possess a poor reservoir potential for hydrocarbons as reflected by very low effective porosity (1.40 and 2.02% respectively) and hydrocarbon saturation (15 and 5.20%), while zone-3 has a moderate reservoir potential due to its moderate effective porosity (6.50%) and hydrocarbon saturation (52%) respectively. Overall, the average effective porosity of 3.31% and hydrocarbon saturation of 24.10% as well as 28.03% volume of shale indicated poor reservoir potential of the Lockhart Limestone. Lithologically, this formation is dominated by limestone and shale interbeds in the Shakardara-01 well. Cross-plots of the petrophysical parameters versus depth showed that the Lockhart Limestone is a poor to tight reservoir in Shakardara-01 well and can hardly produce hydrocarbons under conventional drilling conditions

Dysfunction of the temporalis muscle following pterional craniotomy: Analysis of 20 cases

Background & Objectives: Temporalis muscle dysfunction following pterional approach for skull base approaches is commonly encountered which is very discomforting for patients however, literature regarding its management is insufficient. This study presents 20 cases over the course of 4 years and discuss the pitfalls in the management of temporalis muscle dysfunction following pterional craniotomy for various lesions.Materials and Methods: Sixty patients were operated using the pterional craniotomy, out of which 20 patients were included in the study. In these cases we used three methods of temporalis muscle dissection namely, the submuscular, subfascial & interfascial. Postoperatively, patients were followed for a median of 8 months. Detailed description of the follow-up findings and their statistical associations is presented.Results: Twenty patients with 12 (60%) males & 8 (40%) females with mean age of 43.8 ± 10.9 years were operated. Twelve (60%) patients were operated using the submuscular approach, 6 (30%) by the subfascial method and 2 (10%) by interfascial technique of temporalis muscle dissection. Of the 20 patients, 8 (40%) reported trismus, 10 (50%) had temporal region and jaw pain and 14 (70%) complained of difficulty chewing. For these patients, we employed local heat therapy (n = 14, 70%), chewing exercises (n = 12, 60%) and oral range-of-motion exercises (n = 9, 45%). 78.5% of patients responded with resolution of pain after local heat therapy, 80% with jaw range-of-motion exercises. The temporal hollowing was assessed by plastic surgeon, but none of the patient pursued plastic surgery intervention.Conclusion: Temporalis muscle dysfunction following pterional craniotomy occurs in about one-third of patients. It is a cause of significant patient concern. Physiotherapy and oral analgesics can alleviate the common symptoms. Patients must be informed about this complication to avoid undue psychological distress. Early diagnosis & management leads to better patient response

Psychiatric Comorbidity in People with Epilepsy

Background and Objective: People with epilepsy often experience psychiatric comorbidity. This study aims to investigate the relationship among seizure regulation, psychiatric comorbidity, and antiepileptic drug use in a group of individuals with epilepsy in Pakistan. Methods: This is an observational study conducted at Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences, over a period of six months (1st June – 31st Dec 2022). One-hundred-twenty people (sample size) with epilepsy above the age of 18 with confirmed diagnosis of epilepsy were included in the study who completed a questionnaire that assessed their seizure control, psychiatric comorbidity, and antiepileptic drug use. Data was analyzed using SPSS version 25 Results: The majority of participants (80.8%) reported effective seizure control , while 19.2% reported ineffective seizure control . Regarding psychiatric comorbidity, 84.2% of the participants reported some form of psychiatric comorbidity, with depression being the most commonly reported (31.7%). In terms of antiepileptic drug use, 69.2% of the participants reported being on monotherapy, 28.3% reported being on polytherapy, and 2.5% reported not being on any medication. Conclusion: People with epilepsy have a significant likelihood of experiencing psychiatric comorbidity which highlights the need for screening and therapy

A single amino-acid substitution in the sodium transporter HKT1 associated with plant salt tolerance

A crucial prerequisite for plant growth and survival is the maintenance of potassium uptake, especially when high sodium surrounds the root zone. The Arabidopsis HIGH-AFFINITY K TRANSPORTER1 (HKT1), and its homologs in other salt-sensitive dicots, contributes to salinity tolerance by removing Na from the transpiration stream. However, TsHKT1;2, one of three HKT1 copies in Thellungiella salsuginea, a halophytic Arabidopsis relative, acts as a Ktransporter in the presence of Na in yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae). Amino-acid sequence comparisons indicated differences between TsHKT1;2 and most other published HKT1 sequences with respect to an Asp residue (D207) in the second pore-loop domain. Two additional T. salsuginea and most other HKT1 sequences contain Asn (N) in this position. Wild-type TsHKT1;2 and altered AtHKT1 (AtHKT1) complemented K-uptake deficiency of yeast cells. Mutanthkt1-1 plants complemented with both AtHKT1 and TsHKT1;2 showed higher tolerance to salt stress than lines complemented by the wild-type AtHKT1. Electrophysiological analysis in Xenopus laevis oocytes confirmed the functional properties of these transporters and the differential selectivity for Na and Kbased on the N/D variance in the pore region. This change also dictated inward-rectification for Na transport. Thus, the introduction of Asp, replacing Asn, in HKT1-type transporters established altered cation selectivity and uptake dynamics. We describe one way, based on a single change in a crucial protein that enabled some crucifer species to acquire improved salt tolerance, which over evolutionary time may have resulted in further changes that ultimately facilitated colonization of saline habitats.Peer Reviewe

Deep Learning for Medication Recommendation: A Systematic Survey

ABSTRACTMaking medication prescriptions in response to the patient's diagnosis is a challenging task. The number of pharmaceutical companies, their inventory of medicines, and the recommended dosage confront a doctor with the well-known problem of information and cognitive overload. To assist a medical practitioner in making informed decisions regarding a medical prescription to a patient, researchers have exploited electronic health records (EHRs) in automatically recommending medication. In recent years, medication recommendation using EHRs has been a salient research direction, which has attracted researchers to apply various deep learning (DL) models to the EHRs of patients in recommending prescriptions. Yet, in the absence of a holistic survey article, it needs a lot of effort and time to study these publications in order to understand the current state of research and identify the best-performing models along with the trends and challenges. To fill this research gap, this survey reports on state-of-the-art DL-based medication recommendation methods. It reviews the classification of DL-based medication recommendation (MR) models, compares their performance, and the unavoidable issues they face. It reports on the most common datasets and metrics used in evaluating MR models. The findings of this study have implications for researchers interested in MR models

A single amino-acid substitution in the sodium transporter HKT1 associated with plant salt tolerance

© 2016 American Society of Plant Biologists. All rights reserved. A crucial prerequisite for plant growth and survival is the maintenance of potassium uptake, especially when high sodium surrounds the root zone. The Arabidopsis HIGH-AFFINITY K+ TRANSPORTER1 (HKT1), and its homologs in other salt-sensitive dicots, contributes to salinity tolerance by removing Na+ from the transpiration stream. However, TsHKT1;2, one of three HKT1 copies in Thellungiella salsuginea, a halophytic Arabidopsis relative, acts as a K+transporter in the presence of Na+ in yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae). Amino-acid sequence comparisons indicated differences between TsHKT1;2 and most other published HKT1 sequences with respect to an Asp residue (D207) in the second pore-loop domain. Two additional T. salsuginea and most other HKT1 sequences contain Asn (N) in this position. Wild-type TsHKT1;2 and altered AtHKT1 (AtHKT1N-D) complemented K+-uptake deficiency of yeast cells. Mutanthkt1-1 plants complemented with both AtHKT1N-D and TsHKT1;2 showed higher tolerance to salt stress than lines complemented by the wild-type AtHKT1. Electrophysiological analysis in Xenopus laevis oocytes confirmed the functional properties of these transporters and the differential selectivity for Na+ and K+based on the N/D variance in the pore region. This change also dictated inward-rectification for Na+ transport. Thus, the introduction of Asp, replacing Asn, in HKT1-type transporters established altered cation selectivity and uptake dynamics. We describe one way, based on a single change in a crucial protein that enabled some crucifer species to acquire improved salt tolerance, which over evolutionary time may have resulted in further changes that ultimately facilitated colonization of saline habitats

A Single Amino-Acid Substitution in the Sodium Transporter HKT1 Associated with Plant Salt Tolerance

A crucial prerequisite for plant growth and survival is the maintenance of potassium uptake, especially when high sodium surrounds the root zone. The Arabidopsis HIGH-AFFINITY K(+) TRANSPORTER1 (HKT1), and its homologs in other salt-sensitive dicots, contributes to salinity tolerance by removing Na(+) from the transpiration stream. However, TsHKT1;2, one of three HKT1 copies in Thellungiella salsuginea, a halophytic Arabidopsis relative, acts as a K(+) transporter in the presence of Na(+) in yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae). Amino-acid sequence comparisons indicated differences between TsHKT1;2 and most other published HKT1 sequences with respect to an Asp residue (D207) in the second pore-loop domain. Two additional T. salsuginea and most other HKT1 sequences contain Asn (n) in this position. Wild-type TsHKT1;2 and altered AtHKT1 (AtHKT1(N-D)) complemented K(+)-uptake deficiency of yeast cells. Mutant hkt1-1 plants complemented with both AtHKT1(N)(-)(D) and TsHKT1;2 showed higher tolerance to salt stress than lines complemented by the wild-type AtHKT1. Electrophysiological analysis in Xenopus laevis oocytes confirmed the functional properties of these transporters and the differential selectivity for Na(+) and K(+) based on the n/d variance in the pore region. This change also dictated inward-rectification for Na(+) transport. Thus, the introduction of Asp, replacing Asn, in HKT1-type transporters established altered cation selectivity and uptake dynamics. We describe one way, based on a single change in a crucial protein that enabled some crucifer species to acquire improved salt tolerance, which over evolutionary time may have resulted in further changes that ultimately facilitated colonization of saline habitats

Clinical characteristics, risk factors and outcomes in patients with severe COVID-19 registered in the International Severe Acute Respiratory and Emerging Infection Consortium WHO clinical characterisation protocol: a prospective, multinational, multicentre, observational study

Due to the large number of patients with severe coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), many were treated outside the traditional walls of the intensive care unit (ICU), and in many cases, by personnel who were not trained in critical care. The clinical characteristics and the relative impact of caring for severe COVID-19 patients outside the ICU is unknown. This was a multinational, multicentre, prospective cohort study embedded in the International Severe Acute Respiratory and Emerging Infection Consortium World Health Organization COVID-19 platform. Severe COVID-19 patients were identified as those admitted to an ICU and/or those treated with one of the following treatments: invasive or noninvasive mechanical ventilation, high-flow nasal cannula, inotropes or vasopressors. A logistic generalised additive model was used to compare clinical outcomes among patients admitted or not to the ICU. A total of 40 440 patients from 43 countries and six continents were included in this analysis. Severe COVID-19 patients were frequently male (62.9%), older adults (median (interquartile range (IQR), 67 (55-78) years), and with at least one comorbidity (63.2%). The overall median (IQR) length of hospital stay was 10 (5-19) days and was longer in patients admitted to an ICU than in those who were cared for outside the ICU (12 (6-23) days versus 8 (4-15) days, p<0.0001). The 28-day fatality ratio was lower in ICU-admitted patients (30.7% (5797 out of 18 831) versus 39.0% (7532 out of 19 295), p<0.0001). Patients admitted to an ICU had a significantly lower probability of death than those who were not (adjusted OR 0.70, 95% CI 0.65-0.75; p<0.0001). Patients with severe COVID-19 admitted to an ICU had significantly lower 28-day fatality ratio than those cared for outside an ICU

Prevalence and attributable health burden of chronic respiratory diseases, 1990–2017: A systematic analysis for the global burden of disease study 2017

© 2020 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an Open Access article under the CC BY 4.0 license Background: Previous attempts to characterise the burden of chronic respiratory diseases have focused only on specific disease conditions, such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) or asthma. In this study, we aimed to characterise the burden of chronic respiratory diseases globally, providing a comprehensive and up-to-date analysis on geographical and time trends from 1990 to 2017. Methods: Using data from the Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study (GBD) 2017, we estimated the prevalence, morbidity, and mortality attributable to chronic respiratory diseases through an analysis of deaths, disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs), and years of life lost (YLL) by GBD super-region, from 1990 to 2017, stratified by age and sex. Specific diseases analysed included asthma, COPD, interstitial lung disease and pulmonary sarcoidosis, pneumoconiosis, and other chronic respiratory diseases. We also assessed the contribution of risk factors (smoking, second-hand smoke, ambient particulate matter and ozone pollution, household air pollution from solid fuels, and occupational risks) to chronic respiratory disease-attributable DALYs. Findings: In 2017, 544·9 million people (95% uncertainty interval [UI] 506·9–584·8) worldwide had a chronic respiratory disease, representing an increase of 39·8% compared with 1990. Chronic respiratory disease prevalence showed wide variability across GBD super-regions, with the highest prevalence among both males and females in high-income regions, and the lowest prevalence in sub-Saharan Africa and south Asia. The age-sex-specific prevalence of each chronic respiratory disease in 2017 was also highly variable geographically. Chronic respiratory diseases were the third leading cause of death in 2017 (7·0% [95% UI 6·8–7·2] of all deaths), behind cardiovascular diseases and neoplasms. Deaths due to chronic respiratory diseases numbered 3 914 196 (95% UI 3 790 578–4 044 819) in 2017, an increase of 18·0% since 1990, while total DALYs increased by 13·3%. However, when accounting for ageing and population growth, declines were observed in age-standardised prevalence (14·3% decrease), age-standardised death rates (42·6%), and age-standardised DALY rates (38·2%). In males and females, most chronic respiratory disease-attributable deaths and DALYs were due to COPD. In regional analyses, mortality rates from chronic respiratory diseases were greatest in south Asia and lowest in sub-Saharan Africa, also across both sexes. Notably, although absolute prevalence was lower in south Asia than in most other super-regions, YLLs due to chronic respiratory diseases across the subcontinent were the highest in the world. Death rates due to interstitial lung disease and pulmonary sarcoidosis were greater than those due to pneumoconiosis in all super-regions. Smoking was the leading risk factor for chronic respiratory disease-related disability across all regions for men. Among women, household air pollution from solid fuels was the predominant risk factor for chronic respiratory diseases in south Asia and sub-Saharan Africa, while ambient particulate matter represented the leading risk factor in southeast Asia, east Asia, and Oceania, and in the Middle East and north Africa super-region. Interpretation: Our study shows that chronic respiratory diseases remain a leading cause of death and disability worldwide, with growth in absolute numbers but sharp declines in several age-standardised estimators since 1990. Premature mortality from chronic respiratory diseases seems to be highest in regions with less-resourced health systems on a per-capita basis. Funding: Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

Forward-central two-particle correlations in p-Pb collisions at root s(NN)=5.02 TeV

Two-particle angular correlations between trigger particles in the forward pseudorapidity range (2.5 2GeV/c. (C) 2015 CERN for the benefit of the ALICE Collaboration. Published by Elsevier B. V.Peer reviewe