Hydrophobicity — A Green Technique for Enhancing Corrosion Resistance of Alloys

The corrosion phenomenon is as old as the age of the planet. The cost of corrosion has risen alarmingly with industrial progress and it is estimated to be around 300 billion dollars or 3 to 4.5% of the GNP of developed nations. Thousands of alloys have been developed to control corrosion, which is a major consideration in the development of new ferrous and non-ferrous alloys. Several corrosion control techniques such as inhibitor treatment, coatings, cathodic protection, alloying additions, and designing for corrosion protection have been developed to combat corrosion. Despite their merits, techniques such as inhibition treatment and coatings are limited by their adverse effect on the environment because of their volatile organic components. Due to an increasingly alarming carbon footprint, there is a growing global concern to keep the environment clean. Hence, a great need exists to replace the current control methods by eco-friendly methods. The potential of the green technology of hydrophobicity has therefore been exploited to control corrosion by fabricating hydrophobic surfaces on alloys and these surfaces have shown highly promising results. This technology offers a novel method to control corrosion of metals, alloys, polymers and composites

Mechanism of Corrosion and Erosion Resistance of Plasma‐ Sprayed Nanostructured Coatings

There has been a dramatic increase in recent years in a demand for tough, wear‐resistant, abrasion, erosion, and corrosion‐resistant coatings for petroleum, chemical, aerospace industry, and processes encountering harsh environments such as paper and pulp equipment (the ball valve for high‐pressure leaching). Whereas sufficient information on mechanical properties, such as abrasion, wear, and fatigue, has been gathered over the years, work on the resistance of these coatings to erosion and corrosion is seriously lacking. In the work reported, it has been shown that nanostructured TiO2 coatings offer superior physical and mechanical properties compared to conventional TiO2 coatings. Three different types of plasma‐sprayed titanium dioxide coated samples on mild steel substrate were employed for investigation. The feedstocks used were Sulzer Metco nanopowders designated as AE 9340, AE 9342, and AE 9309. Powder 9340 was a precursor. The corrosion resistance of nanostructured TiO2 coating was dictated largely by surface structure and morphology. The distribution and geometry of splat lamellae, contents of unmelted nanoparticles, and magnitude of porosity are the important factors that affect corrosion resistance. TiO2 showed excellent resistance to corrosion in 3% NaCl. The maximum corrosion rate was observed to be 4 mils per year as shown by polarization potential and weight loss studies. The erosion‐corrosion resistance of the plasma‐sprayed nanostructured titanium dioxide coatings depends largely upon the characteristics of feed powder and its reconstitution. Dense, uniform, and evenly dispersed nanostructured constituents provide a high coating integrity, which offers high resistance to erosion‐corrosion. A mechanism of erosion‐corrosion is explained in the chapter with a schematic diagram. The findings show that the nanostructured TiO2 coatings offer superior resistance to corrosion, erosion, and environmental degradation

Prevalence of Neural tube defects at PUMHS Hospital.

Introduction: Spina bifida, anencephaly, and encephalocele are neural tube defects (NTD) and result from failure of closure of the neural tube between 21and 28 days following conception. Encephaloceles are possibly post-closure defects. NTDs are an important cause of mortality and morbidity globally. NTD encompasses about one-tenth of the burden of all congenital conditions and make up the third largest congenital burden after congenital heart disease and Down’s syndrome. In low income countries, NTDs may account for 29% of neonatal deaths in observable birth defects Objective: To know the prevalence of neural tube defects at PUMHS Benazirabad.. Methodology: All pregnant ladies when diagnosed to have fetus with neural tube defect through ultrasound examination were counselled for termination of pregnancy. Data collected through proforma with details of demography, gynecological history, and type of neural tube defect evaluated by senior gynecologist and neonatologist. NTDs were defined as cases of anencephaly, spina bifida, encephalocele and meningocele among infants of any gestational age. Results: A total of 7152 deliveries took place in the obstetrics department of PUMHS Hospital from January 2018 to September 2019. 38 (thirty-eight) pregnancies were terminated at different gestational ages, diagnosed as cases of neural tube defects, making a prevalence of 5.313 per 1000 births. Among the NT defects, 22/38 (57.89%) were anencephaly and 12/38 (31.57%) were spina bifida with hydrocephalus. Conclusion: The most common neural tube defect is anencephaly followed by spina bifida with hydrocephalus. Overall prevalence of NTD is comparable published literature from South East Asia.   Keywords: Neural tube defects, Anencephaly, Spina bifida, Hydrocephalus. &nbsp

Interference and estimation of economic threshold level of Alternanthera philoxeroides in maize (Zea mays L.)

Knowledge of economic threshold of emerging invasive weed Alternanthera philoxeroides (alligatorweed) is important to implement timely, efficientand economical weed control method for profitable maize production. Two-year field study consisting  fivedensity levels of A. philoxeroides viz. 0, 1, 2, 4 and 8 plants m-2 was conducted  to estimate the maize grain yield losses at different density levels and to determine  economic threshold level (ETL) of A. philoxeroides . Maximum weed dry biomass (44.28 g m-2), N (9.02 kg ha-1), P (7.91-6.86 kg ha-1) and K (7.99 kg ha-1) were observed at 8 plants m-2 A. philoxeroides density. The same weed density caused highest reduction maize plant height, number of grains per cob, 100 grain weight, grain weight per cob and biological yield of maize. Higher A. philoxeroides density also caused up to 62% reduction in maize grain yield and 21% reduction in grain protein contents as compared to weed free. ETL of A. philoxeroides was estimated to be 0.47 plants m-2, if this weed controlled chemically. Based on current finings complete control of this weed using chemical weed control is suggested to tackle yield losses in grain maize

Sequence and phylogenetic analysis of virulent Newcastle disease virus isolates from Pakistan during 2009–2013 reveals circulation of new sub genotype

AbstractDespite observing the standard bio-security measures at commercial poultry farms and extensive use of Newcastle disease vaccines, a new genotype VII-f of Newcastle disease virus (NDV) got introduced in Pakistan during 2011. In this regard 300 ND outbreaks recorded so far have resulted into huge losses of approximately USD 200 million during 2011–2013. A total of 33 NDV isolates recovered during 2009–2013 throughout Pakistan were characterized biologically and phylogenetically. The phylogenetic analysis revealed a new velogenic sub genotype VII-f circulating in commercial and domestic poultry along with the earlier reported sub genotype VII-b. Partial sequencing of Fusion gene revealed two types of cleavage site motifs; lentogenic 112GRQGRL117 and velogenic 112RRQKRF117 along with some point mutations indicative of genetic diversity. We report here a new sub genotype of virulent NDV circulating in commercial and backyard poultry in Pakistan and provide evidence for the possible genetic diversity which may be causing new NDV out breaks

Phytochemical investigation and antioxidant activities of tamarind (Tamarindus indica L.)

Tamarind (Tamarindus indica) is a common worldwide medicinal plant. Due to high medical importance, tamarind seed and pulp fraction and sub fractions were compared. The present study was aimed to investigate the phytochemical investigation and antioxidant activities of different extracts of tamarind by demonstrating different extraction methods and then selection of best and less time taking method. Biological activities including 2, 2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) showed maximum inhibition for seed (74.09±0.76) as compare to pulp (72.09±0.43) at 300 μg/ml for butanol fraction, 2, 2'-azino-Bis-3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid (ABTS) showed maximum inhibition for seed (79.19±0.36) as compare to pulp (75.69±0.23) at 300 μg/ml for butanol. Metal chelation showed maximum inhibition for seed (81.39±0.70) as compare to pulp (77.49±0.93) at 300 μg/ml for butanol fraction, whereas lipid-peroxidation of thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) inhibition showed maximum value for seed at 120 μg/ml as compare to pulp with FeSo4 for butanol fraction and with single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP), TBARS inhibition showed maximum values for seed at 120 μg/ml as compare to pulp for butanol faction. The total antioxidant activity phosphomolybdenum assay was performed, which showed maximum values for seed at 120 μg/ml as compare to seed for butanol fraction. Total phenolic contents of seed for butanol fraction were 1.83 ± 0.31 mg/g for seed and 2 .83 ± 0.44 mg/g for pulp. Similarly, high amount of flavonoid content for seed was 1.31 ± 0.09 mg/g was given for dichloromethane and for pulp it was given as 1.91 ± 0.96 mg/g for butanol fraction. The results suggested that the extract of T. indica is potential source of the phytochemical investigation and antioxidant activity and utilized in diseases arising from oxidative stress in near future by using ultra-sonication method which is precise and time-consuming method

Patients' and healthcare professionals' perspectives on a community-based intervention for schizophrenia in Pakistan: A focus group study.

To explore the perceptions and experiences of schizophrenia from patients, their care givers, health care providers, spiritual and traditional healers to develop a community-based intervention for improving treatment adherence for people with schizophrenia in Pakistan. This qualitative study involved four focus group discussions (FGD) with a total of 26 participants: patients and carers (n = 5), primary care staff (n = 7), medical technicians (n = 8) and traditional and spiritual healers (n = 6). The participants were selected using purposive sampling method. FGDs were audio-recorded and transcribed. A thematic analysis was applied to the data set. The themes identified were (i) Schizophrenia is not merely a biomedical problem: participants believed that poverty and an inferiority complex resulting from social disparity caused schizophrenia and contributed to non-adherence to medications; (ii) Spiritual healing goes hand in hand with the medical treatment: participants regarded spiritual and traditional treatment methods as an inherent part of schizophrenia patients' well-being and rehabilitation; (iii) Services for mental illness: mental health is not covered under primary health in a basic health unit: participants believed that the lack of services, training and necessary medication in primary care are major issues for treating schizophrenia in community; (iv) Barriers to community-based interventions: primary care staff believed that multiple pressures on staff, lack of incentives, non-availability of medication and lack of formal referral pathways resulted in disintegration of dealing with schizophrenia patients in primary care facilities. The study has identified a number of barriers and facilitators to developing and delivering a psychosocial intervention to support people living with schizophrenia in Pakistan. In particular, the importance of involving spiritual and traditional healers was highlighted by our diverse group of stakeholders

Supervised treatment in outpatients for schizophrenia plus (STOPS+): protocol for a cluster randomised trial of a community-based intervention to improve treatment adherence and reduce the treatment gap for schizophrenia in Pakistan

Introduction There is a significant treatment gap, with only a few community-based services for people with schizophrenia in low-income and middle-income countries. Poor treatment adherence in schizophrenia is associated with poorer health outcomes, suicide attempts and death. We previously reported the effectiveness of supervised treatment in outpatients for schizophrenia (STOPS) for improving treatment adherence in patients with schizophrenia. However, STOPS was evaluated in a tertiary care setting with no primary care involvement, limiting its generalisability to the wider at-risk population. We aim to evaluate the effectiveness of STOPS+ in scaling up the primary care treatment of schizophrenia to a real-world setting. Methods and analysis The effectiveness of the STOPS+ intervention in improving the level of functioning and medication adherence in patients with schizophrenia in Pakistan will be evaluated using a cluster randomised controlled trial design. We aim to recruit 526 participants from 24 primary healthcare centres randomly allocated in 1:1 ratio to STOPS+ intervention and enhanced treatment as usual arms. Participants will be followed-up for 12 months postrecruitment. The sample size is estimated for two outcomes (1) the primary clinical outcome is level of functioning, measured using the Global Assessment of Functioning scale and (2) the primary process outcome is adherence to treatment regimen measured using a validated measure. An intention-to-treat approach will be used for the primary analysis. Ethics and dissemination Ethical approval has been obtained from Keele University Ethical Review Panel (ref: MH-190017) and Khyber Medical University Ethical Review Board (ref: DIR-KMU-EB/ST/000648). The results of the STOPS+ trial will be reported in peer-reviewed journals and academic conferences and disseminated to local stakeholders and policymakers