Conversion of Waste Marble Powder into a Binding Material

In the marble industry, a lot of marble is wasted in the form of odd blocks of various sizes and slurry consisting of water and micro-fine particles. The slurry on drying converts into powder. Both slurry and powder have adverse effects on the environment. This research is focused on the gainful utilization of waste marble powder (WMP) by converting it into a valuable binding material. For this purpose, WMP and clay were collected, and their physical and chemical properties were determined. A mix of WMP and clay was prepared and burnt at a temperature around 1300 oC. The burnt mix was ground to powder form to get marble cement (MC). The MC was then used in mortar. The compressive and flexural strengths of mortar cubes and prisms were determined. Apart from this, X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis, thermo-gravimetric analysis (TGA) and scanning electron microscopic (SEM) analysis were also carried out. The chemical composition showed that the MC has 52.5% di-calcium silicate (C2S) and 3.5% tri-calcium silicate (C3S).The  compressive strength of MC mortar after 28 days curing is 6.03 MPa, which is higher than M1 mortar of building code of Pakistan (5 MPa). The compressive strength of MC mortar after one year is 20.67 MPa, which is only 17% less than OPC mortar

Op2Vec: An Opcode Embedding Technique and Dataset Design for End-to-End Detection of Android Malware

Android is one of the leading operating systems for smart phones in terms of market share and usage. Unfortunately, it is also an appealing target for attackers to compromise its security through malicious applications. To tackle this issue, domain experts and researchers are trying different techniques to stop such attacks. All the attempts of securing Android platform are somewhat successful. However, existing detection techniques have severe shortcomings, including the cumbersome process of feature engineering. Designing representative features require expert domain knowledge. There is a need for minimizing human experts' intervention by circumventing handcrafted feature engineering. Deep learning could be exploited by extracting deep features automatically. Previous work has shown that operational codes (opcodes) of executables provide key information to be used with deep learning models for detection process of malicious applications. The only challenge is to feed opcodes information to deep learning models. Existing techniques use one-hot encoding to tackle the challenge. However, the one-hot encoding scheme has severe limitations. In this paper, we introduce; (1) a novel technique for opcodes embedding, which we name Op2Vec, (2) based on the learned Op2Vec we have developed a dataset for end-to-end detection of android malware. Introducing the end-to-end Android malware detection technique avoids expert-intensive handcrafted features extraction, and ensures automation. Some of the recent deep learning-based techniques showed significantly improved results when tested with the proposed approach and achieved an average detection accuracy of 97.47%, precision of 0.976 and F1 score of 0.979

Effect of Zinc on Serum Testosterone Level in Albino Rats

Objective: To study the effect of zinc on serum testosterone levels in Albino rats. Material and Methods: This study was conducted in the Department of Pharmacology and Therapeutics BMSI JPMC Karachi. In this study 60 albino rats were divided into four groups, 15 rats in each group. Group one was control group (normal diet was given to this group), group two was given indomethacin, group three was given zinc and group four was given combination of Zinc and indomethacin. All the drugs were given for 12 weeks. Serum testosterone level was checked at the end of study and finally data was analyzed statistically using SPSS version 18. Results: In group 2, serum testosterone level (3.12±0.63) was low as compared with control (6.26±0.15). In group 3, mean testosterone was high (6.97±0.63) when it was compared with control (6.26±0.15). In group 4, mean testosterone was low (5.15±0.73) but not significant when compared with control (6.26±0.15). Conclusion: Zinc has a protective role on testes and it increases testosterone and fertility.&nbsp

Association of Clinicopathological features of Cholecystitis with Helicobacter Pylori Infection in Gall bladders

Background: Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) have been associated with gastritis, but its presence in other parts of the gastrointestinal system has not been studied much. Few previous studies have identified “H. pylori” in gallbladder and found its association in causing cholecystitis and gallstones, but there is limited data showing a significant association in Pakistan. This study was designed to identify H. pylori microorganism in cholecystitis patients and find its association with the morphological changes seen in the affected gall bladders. Material and Methods: All patients with acute and chronic cholecystitis admitted in Akbar Niazi Teaching Hospital (ANTH) between the ages of 18 and 80 years from January 2017 till March 2019, who underwent cholecystectomy, were included in the study. Gall bladder specimens were sent to Pathology department, ANTH after surgery and were analyzed for the presence of H pylori bacteria using Hematoxylin and Eosin and Giemsa staining. Signs of inflammation, hyperplasia, metaplasia, mucosal atrophy or erosion, lymphoid infiltration, fibrosis, cholesterolosis or any other morphological changes were also noted. Association of H. pylori with cholecystitis and other morphological changes were assessed by Chi Square analysis. P value less than 0.05 was considered statistically significant.Results: Chronic cholecystitis was present in 91% cases and acute cholecystitis in 9%. Other histological findings were Hyperplasia (10%), Metaplasia (15%), Fibrosis (79%), Cholesterolosis (19%) and ulcerations (36%). H pylori was found in 17% of gall bladders and all the cases were of chronic cholecystitis, with 11.7% males and 88% females. Gallstones were present in 76.4% cases and were more common in 41-60 years’ age group (64.7%). Other histological findings seen in H. pylori positive cases were; Hyperplasia in 11.7% cases, Metaplasia in 17.6%, Fibrosis in 94.1%, cholesterolosis in 23.5% and ulcerations in 17.6% cases. Association of H. pylori with gender, cholecystitis, gall stones, histological features and age distribution was non-significant.Conclusion: Although H. pylori infection has been found in cases of chronic cholecystitis and gall stone formation, its association with cholecystitis and other morphological changes could not be proved. Hence, it is uncertain whether H. pylori eradication in patients with gastritis can prevent cholecystitis or gall stones formation

Clinicopathologic features and prognostic grouping of gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GISTs) in Pakistani patients: An institutional perspective

Objectives: Gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GISTs) are rare tumors of gastrointestinal tract, prognosis of which largely depends upon histopathologic characteristics of resection specimens, which were not widely studied in our population. Therefore we aimed to evaluate the histopathologic characteristics of GISTs in our population and their prognostic grouping according to college of American pathologist’s guidelines. Results: Mean age of patients was 53.4 years (18–71 years). 92% of cases were of primary GISTs and stomach was the most common site (57.7%). 75% of cases were of spindle cell morphology and 53.8% belonged to high risk prognostic group. Comparison of stomach and intestinal GISTs showed that intestinal GISTs were found to be of high grade (70%) and of high risk prognostic group (75 and 80%) compared to stomach GISTs (43% were of high risk prognostic group), however this fnding was not statistically signifcant. GISTs are infrequent gastrointestinal tumors but early diagnosis and identifcation of adverse histological features are key to successful treatment. We found a large majority of GISTs to be located in stomach, however intestinal GISTs were found more likely to be associated with adverse prognostic parameters. However more large scale studies are warranted to establish this fnding

Rice yield penalty and quality deterioration is associated with failure of nitrogen uptake from regreening to panicle initiation stage under salinity

In recent years, the development and utilization of saline land for rice cultivation have effectively expanded grain productivity. Rice is a salt-sensitive crop, and the increasing salinity problem threatens rice yield and quality. Therefore, we conducted open field experiments to study the effect of salinity on different growth stages of rice. Irrigating saline treatment was conducted at three different growth stages: irrigating saline from the regreening stage to the panicle initiation stage (S1), irrigating saline from the panicle initiation stage to the flowering stage (S2), and irrigating saline from the flowering stage to the maturity stage (S3). Each treatment period lasted for about 30 days. At the same time, irrigating saline water from the regreening stage to the maturity stage (S4) treatment was added in 2022 to explore the performance of salt stress during the whole growth period of rice. Based on the treatment of these different saline irrigation growth periods, three saline concentrations were incorporated, including salinity 0‰ (T1), 3‰ (T2), and 6‰ (T3) concentrations. No irrigating saline during the whole growth period was also used as a control (CK). The results indicated that rice grain yield and quality were most sensitive to saline treatment during S1 among the three stress periods. At the S1 stage, salinity mainly reduced the nitrogen uptake, resulting in stunted plant growth, reducing tillering, yield, and yield components, and deteriorating the rice quality. Compared to the control, IEN (grain yield over the total amount of N uptake in plants at maturity) was more sensitive at the S1 stage than S2 and S3 stages under salinity. Furthermore, the findings of our study suggest that under salinity, rice growth is not only directly affected by the higher sodium (Na+) content in plants, but the higher concentration of Na+ reduced the ability of plants to uptake nitrogen. Thus, more attention should be paid to the field management of the S1 stage, the most sensitive stage during rice cultivation in salinized areas. It is necessary to avoid salt damage to rice during this period and ensure irrigation with precious freshwater resources

Photocatalytic degradation of organic dyes and biological potentials of biogenic zinc oxide nanoparticles synthesized using the polar extract of Cyperus scariosus R.Br. (Cyperaceae)

In this study, the polar root extract of Cyperus scariosus R.Br. was used for the biogenic synthesis of ZnO NPs. The results of this study show that ZnO NPs have a spherical structure with an average size of 85.4 nm. The synthesized catalysts were tested for their photocatalytic activity by degrading methyl orange and methylene blue under sunlight. Improved degradation efficiencies of 79.44% and 84.92% were achieved within 120 min. ZnO NPs exhibited strong antibacterial activity against both Gram-positive Listeria monocytogenes (18 mm) and Staphylococcus epidermidis (20 mm) and Gram-negative strains of Escherichia coli (16 mm) and Bordetella bronchiseptica (14 mm), as shown by the inhibition zones, which were comparable to the positive control (ceftriaxone) but larger than the plant root extract. ZnO NPs showed high antioxidant activity, as a ferric-reducing antioxidant power assay value of 66.29 µg (AAE µg·mL−1) and a DPPH value of 57.44 µg (AAE µg·mL−1) were obtained at a concentration of 500 µL, which was higher than those of the C. scariosus root extract. Quantification of the total phenolic and flavonoid content yielded values of 57.63 µg (GAE µg·mL−1) and 70.59 µg (QCE µg·mL−1), respectively. At a concentration of 500 μL (1 mg·mL−1), the tested nanoparticles (NPs) showed a greater anti-inflammatory effect (84.12%) compared to the root extract of C. scariosus (34.39%). Overall, our findings highlight the versatile properties of green synthesized ZnO NPs and demonstrate their potential for environmental remediation and antimicrobial formulations, as well as promising candidates for further investigation in biomedical fields such as drug delivery and therapy

Mapping local patterns of childhood overweight and wasting in low- and middle-income countries between 2000 and 2017

A double burden of malnutrition occurs when individuals, household members or communities experience both undernutrition and overweight. Here, we show geospatial estimates of overweight and wasting prevalence among children under 5 years of age in 105 low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) from 2000 to 2017 and aggregate these to policy-relevant administrative units. Wasting decreased overall across LMICs between 2000 and 2017, from 8.4% (62.3 (55.1–70.8) million) to 6.4% (58.3 (47.6–70.7) million), but is predicted to remain above the World Health Organization’s Global Nutrition Target of <5% in over half of LMICs by 2025. Prevalence of overweight increased from 5.2% (30 (22.8–38.5) million) in 2000 to 6.0% (55.5 (44.8–67.9) million) children aged under 5 years in 2017. Areas most affected by double burden of malnutrition were located in Indonesia, Thailand, southeastern China, Botswana, Cameroon and central Nigeria. Our estimates provide a new perspective to researchers, policy makers and public health agencies in their efforts to address this global childhood syndemic

Mapping geographical inequalities in access to drinking water and sanitation facilities in low-income and middle-income countries, 2000-17

Background: Universal access to safe drinking water and sanitation facilities is an essential human right, recognised in the Sustainable Development Goals as crucial for preventing disease and improving human wellbeing. Comprehensive, high-resolution estimates are important to inform progress towards achieving this goal. We aimed to produce high-resolution geospatial estimates of access to drinking water and sanitation facilities. Methods: We used a Bayesian geostatistical model and data from 600 sources across more than 88 low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs) to estimate access to drinking water and sanitation facilities on continuous continent-wide surfaces from 2000 to 2017, and aggregated results to policy-relevant administrative units. We estimated mutually exclusive and collectively exhaustive subcategories of facilities for drinking water (piped water on or off premises, other improved facilities, unimproved, and surface water) and sanitation facilities (septic or sewer sanitation, other improved, unimproved, and open defecation) with use of ordinal regression. We also estimated the number of diarrhoeal deaths in children younger than 5 years attributed to unsafe facilities and estimated deaths that were averted by increased access to safe facilities in 2017, and analysed geographical inequality in access within LMICs. Findings: Across LMICs, access to both piped water and improved water overall increased between 2000 and 2017, with progress varying spatially. For piped water, the safest water facility type, access increased from 40·0% (95% uncertainty interval [UI] 39·4–40·7) to 50·3% (50·0–50·5), but was lowest in sub-Saharan Africa, where access to piped water was mostly concentrated in urban centres. Access to both sewer or septic sanitation and improved sanitation overall also increased across all LMICs during the study period. For sewer or septic sanitation, access was 46·3% (95% UI 46·1–46·5) in 2017, compared with 28·7% (28·5–29·0) in 2000. Although some units improved access to the safest drinking water or sanitation facilities since 2000, a large absolute number of people continued to not have access in several units with high access to such facilities (>80%) in 2017. More than 253 000 people did not have access to sewer or septic sanitation facilities in the city of Harare, Zimbabwe, despite 88·6% (95% UI 87·2–89·7) access overall. Many units were able to transition from the least safe facilities in 2000 to safe facilities by 2017; for units in which populations primarily practised open defecation in 2000, 686 (95% UI 664–711) of the 1830 (1797–1863) units transitioned to the use of improved sanitation. Geographical disparities in access to improved water across units decreased in 76·1% (95% UI 71·6–80·7) of countries from 2000 to 2017, and in 53·9% (50·6–59·6) of countries for access to improved sanitation, but remained evident subnationally in most countries in 2017. Interpretation: Our estimates, combined with geospatial trends in diarrhoeal burden, identify where efforts to increase access to safe drinking water and sanitation facilities are most needed. By highlighting areas with successful approaches or in need of targeted interventions, our estimates can enable precision public health to effectively progress towards universal access to safe water and sanitation

Adolescent transport and unintentional injuries: a systematic analysis using the Global Burden of Disease Study 2019

Background: Globally, transport and unintentional injuries persist as leading preventable causes of mortality and morbidity for adolescents. We sought to report comprehensive trends in injury-related mortality and morbidity for adolescents aged 10–24 years during the past three decades. Methods: Using the Global Burden of Disease, Injuries, and Risk Factors 2019 Study, we analysed mortality and disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs) attributed to transport and unintentional injuries for adolescents in 204 countries. Burden is reported in absolute numbers and age-standardised rates per 100 000 population by sex, age group (10–14, 15–19, and 20–24 years), and sociodemographic index (SDI) with 95% uncertainty intervals (UIs). We report percentage changes in deaths and DALYs between 1990 and 2019. Findings: In 2019, 369 061 deaths (of which 214 337 [58%] were transport related) and 31·1 million DALYs (of which 16·2 million [52%] were transport related) among adolescents aged 10–24 years were caused by transport and unintentional injuries combined. If compared with other causes, transport and unintentional injuries combined accounted for 25% of deaths and 14% of DALYs in 2019, and showed little improvement from 1990 when such injuries accounted for 26% of adolescent deaths and 17% of adolescent DALYs. Throughout adolescence, transport and unintentional injury fatality rates increased by age group. The unintentional injury burden was higher among males than females for all injury types, except for injuries related to fire, heat, and hot substances, or to adverse effects of medical treatment. From 1990 to 2019, global mortality rates declined by 34·4% (from 17·5 to 11·5 per 100 000) for transport injuries, and by 47·7% (from 15·9 to 8·3 per 100 000) for unintentional injuries. However, in low-SDI nations the absolute number of deaths increased (by 80·5% to 42 774 for transport injuries and by 39·4% to 31 961 for unintentional injuries). In the high-SDI quintile in 2010–19, the rate per 100 000 of transport injury DALYs was reduced by 16·7%, from 838 in 2010 to 699 in 2019. This was a substantially slower pace of reduction compared with the 48·5% reduction between 1990 and 2010, from 1626 per 100 000 in 1990 to 838 per 100 000 in 2010. Between 2010 and 2019, the rate of unintentional injury DALYs per 100 000 also remained largely unchanged in high-SDI countries (555 in 2010 vs 554 in 2019; 0·2% reduction). The number and rate of adolescent deaths and DALYs owing to environmental heat and cold exposure increased for the high-SDI quintile during 2010–19. Interpretation: As other causes of mortality are addressed, inadequate progress in reducing transport and unintentional injury mortality as a proportion of adolescent deaths becomes apparent. The relative shift in the burden of injury from high-SDI countries to low and low–middle-SDI countries necessitates focused action, including global donor, government, and industry investment in injury prevention. The persisting burden of DALYs related to transport and unintentional injuries indicates a need to prioritise innovative measures for the primary prevention of adolescent injury. Funding: Bill &amp; Melinda Gates Foundation