Study of the superconducting properties of the Bi-Ca-Sr-Cu-O system

High Temperature Superconductivity in the Bi-Ca-Sr-Cu-O System has been observed and has attracted considerable attention in 1988. The 80 K superconductivity phase has been identified to have a composition of Bi2CaSr2Cu2Ox, while the 110 K phase as reported in the literature has a possible composition of Bi2Ca2Sr2Cu3Ox. Researchers present here a study of the electrical properties of bulk samples of the slowly cooled and rapidly quenched 2:1:2:2 system. The samples used in this study were prepared from appropriate amounts of Bi2O3, CuO, SrCO3, CaCO3

Antifungal and nematicidal activity of selected legumes of Pakistan

The antifungal activity of legume seed extracts was tested against 6 fungi, viz., Trichophyton longifusus, Candida albicans, Aspergilus flavus, Microsporum canis, Fusarium solani and Candida glaberata. The extracts showed moderate activity against different fungal strains. Nematicidal activity has also been carried out to evaluate their potential toxicity against juveniles of the root-knot nematode Meloidogyne spp. In vitro results showed that ethanolic extract of these legumes caused appreciable mortality of second stage juveniles of Meloidogyne javanica and Meloidogyne incognita. The concentrations used @ 1% and 0.5% were found more effective and produced significant results as compared to 0.25%, and 0.1%. The mortality rate increased with increasing exposure time for most of the extracts

Studies of oil from cowpea (vigna unguiculata ( l.) walp.) cultivars commonly grown in Pakistan

The physiochemical properties and fatty acid ( FA) composition of oil from seeds of 4 cowpea cultivars viz., Elite, CP(1), White Star and SA dandy, commonly grown in Pakistan, were investigated. Oil contents ranged from 2.71-2.96% with triacylglycerols being present in highest amount. Iodine values were found highest in CP1 while SA dandy and CP1 excelled in saponification values and acid values, respectively. Despite variations unsaturated fatty acids were observed as being present in higher concentration in all cultivars. Among sterols, stigmasterol was present in highest amount followed by beta-sitosterol and campesterol. Among tocopherols, alpha-, and beta-tocopherols were observed as being present in highest and lowest concentrations, respectively. Results from most of the parameters revealed not significant (

Developing health service delivery in a poor and marginalised community in North West Pakistan

Objective: To improve maternal health and reduce child mortality through developing health service delivery in a poor and marginalised community in North West Pakistan. Methodology: A multifaceted intervention to extend and strengthen the range and quality of services provided at an existing health centre, in a rural community in Peshawar District, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province. The intervention was developed with community involvement and had four main components: service development, staff capacity development, community engagement and the introduction of a micro-credit scheme. The evaluation assessed the efficiency and effectiveness of project implementation, including a survey of maternal and child health indicators. Results: Between 2014 and 2017, a range of new health services were developed at the health centre. Local volunteers were trained to promote health awareness in the community and refer pregnant women to the health centre. The survey indicated health improvements, such as increased vaccination rates for women and children, and a dramatic reduction in unskilled deliveries. Conclusions: Community engagement was essential to achieve much needed maternal and child health improvements in this poor and marginalised community. Sustainability was achieved by training local volunteers as community health workers

Heaviness, health and happiness: a cross-sectional study of 163 066 UK Biobank participants

<b>Background</b><p></p> Obesity is known to increase the risk of many diseases and reduce overall quality of life. This study examines the relationship with self-reported health (SRH) and happiness.<p></p> <b>Methods</b> <p></p>We conducted a cross-sectional study of the 163 066 UK Biobank participants who completed the happiness rating. The association between adiposity and SRH and happiness was examined using logistic regression. SRH was defined as good (excellent, good), or poor (fair, poor). Self-reported happiness was defined as happy (extremely, very, moderately) or unhappy (moderately, very, extremely). <p></p> <b>Results</b> <p></p>Poor health was reported by 44 457 (27.3%) participants. The adjusted ORs for poor health were 3.86, 2.92, 2.60 and 6.41 for the highest, compared with lowest, deciles of Body Mass Index, waist circumference, waist to hip ratio and body fat percent, respectively. The associations were stronger in men (p<0.001). Overall, 7511 (4.6%) participants felt unhappy, and only class III obese participants were more likely to feel unhappy (adjusted OR 1.33, 95% CI 1.15 to 1.53, p<0.001) but the associations differed by sex (p<0.001). Among women, there was a significant association between unhappiness and all levels of obesity. By contrast, only class III obese men had significantly increased risk and overweight and class I obese men were less likely to be unhappy. <p></p> <b>Conclusions</b><p></p>Obesity impacts adversely on happiness as well as health, but the association with unhappiness disappeared after adjustment for self-reported health, indicating this may be mediated by health. Compared with obese men, obese women are less likely to report poor health, but more likely to feel unhappy. <p></p&gt

Compositional study and antioxidant potential of Ipomoea hederacea Jacq. and Lepidium sativum L. seeds

The present investigation has been carried out to find the proximate composition, amino acids, metal contents, oil composition as well as the antioxidant capacity of the seeds of Ipomoea hederacea Jacq. and Lepidium sativum L. Proximate composition indicated a great difference in oil (14.09\ub10.66, 28.03\ub11.05) and fibre (16.55\ub10.31, 6.75\ub11.20) contents for I. hederacea and L. sativum, respectively. Fatty acid profile indicated that oleic acid (19.50 \ub1 0.37, 30.50 \ub1 0.16) and linoleic acid (52.09 \ub1 0.48, 8.60 \ub1 0.38) are major fatty acids. \u3b3-Tocopheol and alfa-tocopheol (28.70 \ub1 0.14, 111.56 \ub1 0.37) were the most abundant in the seed oil of I. hederacea and L. sativum, respectively. Results of antioxidant assays like TEAC, FRAP and TRAP indicated that L. sativum has much greater antioxidant potential than I. hederacea

Spatial Binding Impairments in Visual Working Memory following Temporal Lobectomy

Disorders of the medial temporal lobe (MTL) adversely affect visual working memory (vWM) performance, including feature binding. It is unclear whether these impairments generalize across visual dimensions or are specifically spatial. To address this issue, we compared performance in two tasks of 13 epilepsy patients, who had undergone a temporal lobectomy, and 15 healthy controls. In the vWM task, participants recalled the color of one of two polygons, previously displayed side by side. At recall, a location or shape probe identified the target. In the perceptual task, participants estimated the centroid of three visible disks. Patients recalled the target color less accurately than healthy controls because they frequently swapped the nontarget with the target color. Moreover, healthy controls and right temporal lobectomy patients made more swap errors following shape than space probes. Left temporal lobectomy patients, showed the opposite pattern of errors instead. Patients and controls performed similarly in the perceptual task. We conclude that left MTL damage impairs spatial binding in vWM, and that this impairment does not reflect a perceptual or attentional deficit

Gender differences in the association between adiposity and probable major depression: a cross-sectional study of 140,564 UK Biobank participants

<b>Background</b><p></p> Previous studies on the association between adiposity and mood disorder have produced contradictory results, and few have used measurements other than body mass index (BMI). We examined the association between probable major depression and several measurements of adiposity: BMI, waist circumference (WC), waist-hip-ratio (WHR), and body fat percentage (BF%).<p></p> <b>Methods</b><p></p> We conducted a cross-sectional study using baseline data on the sub-group of UK Biobank participants who were assessed for mood disorder. Multivariate logistic regression models were used, adjusting for potential confounders including: demographic and life-style factors, comorbidity and psychotropic medication.<p></p> <b>Results</b><p></p> Of the 140,564 eligible participants, evidence of probable major depression was reported by 30,145 (21.5%). The fully adjusted odds ratios (OR) for obese participants were 1.16 (95% confidence interval (CI) 1.12, 1.20) using BMI, 1.15 (95% CI 1.11, 1.19) using WC, 1.09 (95% CI 1.05, 1.13) using WHR and 1.18 (95% CI 1.12, 1.25) using BF% (all p <0.001). There was a significant interaction between adiposity and gender (p = 0.001). Overweight women were at increased risk of depression with a dose response relationship across the overweight (25.0-29.9 kg/m2), obese I (30.0-34.9 kg/m2), II (35.0-39.9 kg/m2) and III (≥40.0 kg/m2) categories; fully adjusted ORs 1.14, 1.20, 1.29 and 1.48, respectively (all p < 0.001). In contrast, only obese III men had significantly increased risk of depression (OR 1.29, 95% CI 1.08, 1.54, p = 0.006).<p></p> <b>Conclusion</b><p></p> Adiposity was associated with probable major depression, irrespective of the measurement used. The association was stronger in women than men. Physicians managing overweight and obese women should be alert to this increased risk