A STUDY OF THE NOVEL "SADION KI ZANJEER" IN A HISTORICAL AND SOCIAL CONTEXT

Razia Fasih Ahmed is an important contemporary writer. He has a keen eye for the changes taking place in society. “Sadion ki Zanjeer” is One of his most important novels written in the context of  “Fall of Dhaka”. In this novel, he presented the historical facts regarding the tragedy of East Pakistan in three periods namely “manzar”,”pasmanzar” and “paish manzar”. After the Fall of Dhaka, the people of East Pakistan, who were suffering from misconceptions about independence, realized that it was a conspiracy. The author has stated all these facts very clearly in this novel. He also described the wrong decisions taken by West Pakistan at the political and economic levels. This novel is also an excellent account of the cultural situation of East Pakistan. In this article, the incident of  “Fall of Dhaka” has been presented as a historical tragedy because of the mental and psychological conditions of the characters

A comparative analysis of toluidine blue with frozen section in oral squamous cell carcinoma

Background:Surgical excision of the primary tumor with safe margins remains the mainstay of treatment for oral cavity squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC). The standard of care for assessment of intraoperative margins is frozen section histopathology. Unfortunately the facility is not available at most centers in limited resource countries. Toluidine blue, a metachromatic dye, has been well described in clinical identification of malignant and premalignant lesion in the oral cavity. Considering this we decided to explore intraoperative use of toluidine blue staining, in comparison with frozen sections, for the assessment of tumor-free margins. Methods: After obtaining clearance from the in-house ethical review committee, a prospective study was conducted at Aga Khan University Hospital, Karachi, from August 15, 2009 to March 14, 2010. A sample of 56 consenting Patients with biopsy-proven OSCC were included in the study, giving us 280 tumor margins. Margins were analyzed using toluidine blue staining and frozen section histopathology. A receiver operator curve (ROC) was then applied to compare assessment of margin status by toluidine blue and frozen section. Results: Of the 280 examined margins 11 stained positive with toluidine blue, three were positive on frozen section biopsy, and three were positive on final histopathology. Toluidine blue staining had sensitivity and specificity of 100% and 97%, respectively. The diagnostic accuracy of toluidine blue was found to be 97.1% with a positive predictive value (PPV) of 27.2% and a negative predictive value (NPV) of 100%. Conclusions: Toluidine blue can be used as an effective screening modality for the assessment of intraoperative margins in resource limited environments and reducing the number of frozen section biopsies performed. Further by providing real-time clinical information within minutes it can reduce indirect costs such as operating room time. It may also be used as an ad hoc for frozen section biopsies where frozen section facilities are available

Microscale characterization of prostate biopsies tissues using optical coherence elastography and second harmonic generation imaging

© 2018 USCAP, Inc All rights reserved. Photonics, especially optical coherence elastography (OCE) and second harmonic generation (SHG) imaging are novel high-resolution imaging modalities for characterization of biological tissues. Following our preliminary experience, we hypothesized that OCE and SHG imaging would delineate the microstructure of prostate tissue and aid in distinguishing cancer from the normal benign prostatic tissue. Furthermore, these approaches may assist in characterization of the grade of cancer, as well. In this study, we confirmed a high diagnostic accuracy of OCE and SHG imaging in the detection and characterization of prostate cancer for a large set of biopsy tissues obtained from men suspected to have prostate cancer using transrectal ultrasound (TRUS). The two techniques and methods described here are complementary, one depicts the stiffness of tissues and the other illustrates the orientation of collagen structure around the cancerous lesions. The results showed that stiffness of cancer tissue was ∼57.63% higher than that of benign tissue (Young's modulus of 698.43±125.29 kPa for cancerous tissue vs 443.07±88.95 kPa for benign tissue with OCE. Using histology as a reference standard and 600 kPa as a cut-off threshold, the data analysis showed sensitivity and specificity of 89.6 and 99.8%, respectively. Corresponding positive and negative predictive values were 99.5 and 94.6%, respectively. There was a significant difference noticed in terms of Young's modulus for different Gleason scores estimated by OCE (P-value<0.05). For SHG, distinct patterns of collagen distribution were seen for different Gleason grade disease with computed quantification employing a ratio of anisotropic to isotropic (A:I ratio) and this correlated with disease aggressiveness

The Impacts of COVID-19 on the Use of Academic Libraries and the Emerging Trends of Digital Libraries in South Asia

Human history is full of many bitter examples of natural calamities which affected mankind with heavy losses. The COVID-19 pandemic is one of the most disastrous calamities which momentously impacted every sphere of life, especially, higher education and the use of academic libraries. This pandemic instigated the worldwide subsequent lockdown policies imposed by various governments. These policies badly devastated the physical use of the academic libraries. Following the COVID-19 pandemic, the faculty and students who are reliant on the physical use of libraries have badly suffered. This temporary postponement of the in-person operation of libraries has opened up new challenges for the staff of libraries. Though the libraries were closed for the faculty and students, but the library staff decided to adopt digital methods to fulfil the needs of faculty and students. During this pandemic, the trend of digital libraries and resources has emerged. The academic institutions adopted the policy to work from home and online classes for the students. This restriction opens up new dimensions to explore the knowledge from digital sources and libraries. Those libraries which were fully aware of the need for digital resources had already managed a huge collection of digital sources. In the use of digital libraries, there was a trend to remain up-to-date with modern developments, especially in March 2020, when there was a worldwide lockdown. This article is an attempt to highlight the use of academic libraries during the COVID-19 pandemic and about the new trends of digital libraries

Pengaruh Penggunaan Yoghurt Bifidobacterium dan Krimer Nabati Dalam Pembuatan Es Krim

Es krim merupakan produk olahan susu yang dibuat melalui proses pembekuan dan terbuat dari kombinasi bahan- bahan yang terdiri dari susu, bahan pemanis, bahan penstabil, bahan pengemulsi dan bahan tambahan lainnya. Nilai gizi es krim sangat tergantung pada nilai bahan bakunya. Es krim yang bermutu tinggi nilai bahan bakunya harus diketahui dengan pasti. Salah satu inovasi yang dikembangkan pada es krim yaitu pembuatan es krim dengan menggunakan yoghurt. Keunggulan es krim yoghurt dibandingkan es krim biasa adalah karena yoghurt memiliki banyak manfaat serta memiliki kadar gizi yang tinggi dan merupakan sumber protein, kalori, kalsium, magnesium dan fosfor, dari variasi rasa es krim yoghurt yang mengandung bakteri baik dalam sistem pencernaan manusia. Bifidobacterium salah satu bakteri yang baik dalam tubuh. Manfaat bifidobacterium yaitu meningkatkan fungsi pencernaan, menurunkan kolesterol, sebagai antioksidan dan anti inflamasi, mengurangi gejala alergi dan juga rasa dari starter bifidobacterium yang tidak terlalu asam, sehingga rasa dari es krim dengan penggunaan yoghurt bifidobacterium dan krimer nabati akan tidak asam dan diharapkan konsumen menyukai rasa dari es krim yoghurt. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mengetahui presentase terbaik peggunaan yoghurt bifidobacterium dan krimer nabati dalam pembuatan es krim ditinjau dari viskositas, kecepatan meleleh, overrun, total asam tertitrasi dan total padatan. Materi penelitian adalah es krim yang dibuat dari yoghurt dengan starter bifidobacterium dan krimer nabati dengan penambahan bahan–bahan seperti gula pasir, tepung maizena dan quick stabilizer. Metode yang digunakan dalam penelitian ini adalah percobaan faktorial dengan Rancangan Acak Lengkap (RAL) 5 perlakuan dan 4 ulangan yaitu perlakuan P0 dengan penggunaan 0% yoghurt bifidobacterium dan 100% krimer nabati, P1 dengan penggunaan 25% yoghurt bifidobacterium dan 75% krimer nabati, P2 dengan penggunaan 50% yoghurt bifidobacterium dan 50% krimer nabati, P3 dengan penggunaan 75% yoghurt bifidobacterium dan 25% krimer nabati, P4 dengan penggunaan 100% yoghurt bifidobacterium dan 0% krimer nabati. Variabel yang diteliti adalah viskositas, kecepatan meleleh, overrun, total asam tertitrasi dan total padatan. Data yang diperoleh diolah dengan bantuan Microsoft Excel, analisis statistika menggunakan Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) apabila terdapat perbedaan antara perlakuan maka dilanjutkan Uji Jarak Berganda Duncan (UJBD). Hasil analisis ragam menunjukkan bahwa pengaruh penggunaan yoghurt bifidobacterium dan krimer nabati pada es krim memberikan perbedaan pengaruh yang sangat nyata (P<0,01) terhadap viskositas, kecepatan meleleh, overrun dan total padatan, sedangkan pada total asam tertitrasi memberikan perbedaan pengaruh yang berbeda nyata (P<0,05). Rata-rata hasil analisis dari P0, P1, P2, P3 dan P4 pada pengujian viskositas (mpa’s) 12,97±6,75; 7,70±3,38; 4,05±2,01; 3,30±1,58 dan 3,60±1,63, kecepatan meleleh (menit/50g) 46,23±1,56; 43,67±3,12; 39,90±2,35; 37,19±0,77 dan 33,84±1,25, overrun (%) 18,77±1,72; 21,21±3,41; 25,82±1,98; 29,99±1,93 dan 33,08±3,97, Keasaman (TAT) (%) 0,234±0,019; 0,266±0,012; 0,261±0,034; 0,272±0,020 dan 0,302±0,028, serta total padatan (%) 41,76±1,12; 40,45±2,39; 38,15±1,20; 36,05±0,65 dan 33,16±0,73. Berdasarkan hasil penelitian dapat disimpulkan bahwa perlakuan terbaik penggunaan yoghurt bifidobacterium dan krimer nabati dalam pembuatan es krim ditinjau dari viskositas, kecepatan meleleh, overrun, total asam tertitrasi dan total padatan yaitu dengan penggunaan 75% yoghurt bifidobacterium dan 25% krimer nabati yang menghasilkan nilai rataan viskositas 3,30 mpa’s, nilai rata-rata kecepatan meleleh 37,19 menit/50 g, nilai rata-rata overrun 29,99%, nilai rata-rata total asam tertitrasi 0,272% dan nilai rata-rata total padatan 36,05%

Modern Total Knee Arthroplasty Bearing Designs and the Role of the Posterior Cruciate Ligament

The role of the posterior cruciate ligament (PCL) in total knee arthroplasty (TKA) surgery continues to be a source of debate among the adult reconstruction community. In native knee flexion, the PCL is comprised of an anterolateral and posteromedial bundle that work together to limit posterior tibial translation and allow adequate femoral rollback for deep flexion. In the arthritic knee, the PCL can often become dysfunctional and attenuated, which led to the development of posterior stabilized (PS) TKA bearing options. PS TKAs implement a cam-post construct to functionally replace a resected PCL. While PS designs may facilitate balancing knees with significant deformity, they are associated with complications such as postfracture, increased wear, and patellar clunk/crepitus. In recent years, newer designs have been popularized with greater degrees of congruency and incorporation of medial and lateral pivoting to better recreate native knee kinematics. The American Joint Registry has confirmed the recent predilection for ultra-congruent and cruciate-retaining TKA inserts over PS TKAs during the last decade. Studies have failed to identify an overall clinical superiority between the cruciate substituting and sacrificing designs. The literature has also failed to identify clinical consequences from PCL resection with modern, more conforming TKA designs. In this article, we review modern PCL sacrificing designs and discuss the impact of each on the kinematics after TKA. We also will delineate the role of the PCL in modern TKA in the hopes to better understand the recent surge in sacrificing but not substituting knee implants

The Agroforestry Potential and Analysis of Growth and Yield of different Vegetables Grown Under Olive Orchard to Mitigate Climate Change Effects

Olive is a drought-tolerant plant, making it suitable for cultivation in various dry regions of Pakistan. By applying the principles and regulations of agroforestry, we can increase crop yields, thereby creating a self-sustained farming ecosystem. Agroforestry is a technique that integrates the production of trees, vegetation, and livestock on the same land to achieve financial, environmental, ecological, and cultural benefits. A field experiment was conducted on six winter vegetables—cabbage, Chinese cabbage, kohlrabi, leafy green lettuce, leafy red lettuce, and broccoli—grown under three olive orchards of different ages (10, 20, and 30 years) with varying shading capacities at the Horticultural Research Institute, National Agricultural Research Center, Islamabad. The study focused on intercropping vegetables within olive orchards of different ages. Critical parameters were monitored, and strict plant inspections were carried out during the experimentation period. Plant samples were tested for morphology and chemical composition. It was found that more vigorous olive trees significantly decreased the growth, leaf chlorophyll content, nutrient uptake, and yield of the intercropped vegetables. Maximum shading from the 30-year-old olive orchard severely reduced plant growth and yield. The extent to which growth is limited by intercropping or shade intensity may vary with the genetic makeup of different crops. The results showed that plants grown under optimal light conditions exhibited greater plant height, spread, and stem diameter, attributed to the stimulation of cellular expansion and cell division under adequate sunlight, which increases photosynthetic efficiency. Cabbage and kohlrabi were identified as the most viable crops under the experimental conditions

The Agroforestry Potential and Analysis of Growth and Yield of different Vegetables Grown Under Olive Orchard to Mitigate Climate Change Effects

Olive is a drought-tolerant plant, making it suitable for cultivation in various dry regions of Pakistan. By applying the principles and regulations of agroforestry, we can increase crop yields, thereby creating a self-sustained farming ecosystem. Agroforestry is a technique that integrates the production of trees, vegetation, and livestock on the same land to achieve financial, environmental, ecological, and cultural benefits. A field experiment was conducted on six winter vegetables—cabbage, Chinese cabbage, kohlrabi, leafy green lettuce, leafy red lettuce, and broccoli—grown under three olive orchards of different ages (10, 20, and 30 years) with varying shading capacities at the Horticultural Research Institute, National Agricultural Research Center, Islamabad. The study focused on intercropping vegetables within olive orchards of different ages. Critical parameters were monitored, and strict plant inspections were carried out during the experimentation period. Plant samples were tested for morphology and chemical composition. It was found that more vigorous olive trees significantly decreased the growth, leaf chlorophyll content, nutrient uptake, and yield of the intercropped vegetables. Maximum shading from the 30-year-old olive orchard severely reduced plant growth and yield. The extent to which growth is limited by intercropping or shade intensity may vary with the genetic makeup of different crops. The results showed that plants grown under optimal light conditions exhibited greater plant height, spread, and stem diameter, attributed to the stimulation of cellular expansion and cell division under adequate sunlight, which increases photosynthetic efficiency. Cabbage and kohlrabi were identified as the most viable crops under the experimental conditions