Frequency of Helicobacter Pylori Infections and Its Associated Risk Factors in Patients Attending Tertiary Care Hospital of Bhakkar, Pakistan

Background: Helicobacter Pylori  is a gram-negative bacteria that is the main cause of chronic gastritis and plays a significant role in peptic ulcers, gastric carcinoma, and gastric lymphoma. The prevalence of H. pylori cases is 75-90% worldwide. The objective of the study was to determine the frequency of H. pylori and its associated risk factors in the Bhakkar district.Methods: A total of 102 participants with problems in the gastrointestinal tract were taken from June 2021 to May 2022. Stool antigen was performed to confirm H. pylori infection. A complete blood count (CBC) was also performed on the blood sample. Results: The current study showed that a total of 102 samples were collected in this study. It was concluded that out of 102 participants, 63 (61.8%) were H. pylori positive and 39 (38.2%) were H. pylori-negative participants. Females were more infected with H. pylori 38 (60.3%) as compared to males 25 (39.7). The frequency of factors such as smoking (52% vs 51%), weekly consumption of junk food (52.4% vs 43.6%), fizzy drinks (33.3% vs 23.1%) and drinking of unfiltered water (54% vs 53%) was more in H. pylori-infected group compared with the uninfected group but difference was not statistically significant with odds ratio less than 1.Conclusion: The current study concluded that female genders, ethnicities, and history of stomach infection are risk factors for H. pylori. Exposure to Smoking, unfiltered drinking water, fizzy drinks, and Junk food is more in the affected group than in the unaffected group.

Conversion of Phaseolus vulgaris into chemically functionalized biocomposites for efficient methylene blue removal: kinetics, isothermal, and thermodynamics analysis

Herein, green beans “Phaseolus vulgaris” have been successfully converted into polypyrrole-modified and polyethylene glycol-based magnetic nanocomposites for efficient removal of methylene blue (MB) dye removal from wastewater. The physicochemical properties including morphologies and functionalities were also examined. Comparative analysis of all designed nanocomposites toward MB dye removal demonstrated that under optimized batch adsorption experimental conditions (pH 9, dosage 0.05 g, contact time 90 min, and initial MB concentration 50 mg L−1 at 28 °C) the Ppy/BB magnetic nanocomposites exhibited excellent removal efficacy with values of 47.09 mg g−1 and 97.96%. Isothermal and kinetic dynamic analysis revealed that the best-fit models were the Freundlich isothermal model and the Pseudo-2nd-order model with R2 > 0.991 and R2 > 0.999, respectively. The synthesized nanocomposites demonstrated a high affinity for the adsorption of dyes in the context of the present analysis, and this innovative class of biomass-derived materials can be employed for the eco-friendly remediation of polluted water containing MB toxic dye. © 2023 The Royal Society of Chemistry.FALS

Government’s Income Support and Women Empowerment: Regional Estimates of a Lower Middle-Income Economy

Investment in women is the smart thing to do. Pakistan has to meet SDGs till 2030, among which the 5th goal is empowering women and gender equality. We have to find the correlates that affects the empowerment of a woman to empower them. For this purpose, the current study was designed. A large sample of 12339 married women aged between 15 to 49 years was taken from PDHS 2017-18. The status of women empowerment was evaluated by formulating an index (ranged from score 0 to 10) by taking the 8 dimensions of women empowerment namely, woman’s decision making autonomy, digital inclusion, educational status, employment status, ownership of house, self-esteem, consent in choosing husband and her inclusion in financial sectors. The extent of women empowerment is observed at urban and rural areas. For analysis, ordered logistic regression technique was applied by using SPSS-23. It was concluded that as compared to women of urban areas, the women belonged to rural areas were less empowered. The disaggregated analyses showed that the determining factors of women empowerment were affecting in similar way in both urban and rural areas, except that of BISP which was increasing women empowerment in rural areas but not in the urban areas

Comparing the Early Stage Carbon Sequestration Rates and Effects on Soil Physico-Chemical Properties after Two Years of Planting Agroforestry Trees

Farm friendly and fast growing trees are the sustainable, cheaper and efficient source of carbon sequestration and carbon stock, however, their carbon sequestration potential vary among tree species depending upon several factors. This study was conducted to determine the carbon sequestration potential and carbon storage difference among different tree species at early stage. Second objective of this study was to observe the effects of trees on the physico-chemical properties of soils. Seedlings of fifteen widely planted farm trees species were planted under same set of climatic and soil conditions. Employing tree biomass after two year of planting (2014-2016), carbon stocks and carbon sequestration rates were calculated. Soil samples were collected under each tree species at two depths: 0-15cm and 16-30 cm, to determine the physico-chemical properties of soils such as pH, EC, N, P, K, C and organic matter (O.M.). It was found that Populus deltoides contained the highest carbon stocks (7.21 ± 1.31 kg C) and sequestered the CO2 at the highest rate of 13.21 ± 0.84 kg C/year as compared to all other fourteen tree species. O.M. (%) and Carbon (mg/kg) were also the highest in the soils under P. deltoides (2.29 ± 0.42 and 3.8 ± 0.2 respectively) as compared to and all other tree species. Nitrogen contents (%) were found the maximum in the soils under D. sissoo (0.063 ± 0.04) > Acacia nilotica (0.058 ± 0.008) and Albizia lebbeck (similar to Acacia nilotica). Such information enhances our capacity to better predict the carbon sequestration potential and carbon stock in different trees

Mixed Exponentially Weighted Moving Average—Moving Average Control Chart with Application to Combined Cycle Power Plant

Statistical process control (SPC) consists of various tools for effective monitoring of the production processes and services to ensure their stable and satisfactory performance. A control chart is an important tool of SPC for detecting the process shifts that may undermine the quality of the products or services. In the literature, a mixed exponentially weighted moving average–moving average (EWMA–MA) control chart for monitoring the process location is proposed to enhance the overall shift detection ability of the EWMA control chart. It is noted that the moving averages terms were considered as independent irrespective of their order. Consequently, the covariance terms are ignored while deriving the variance expression of the monitoring statistic. However, the successive moving averages of span w might not be independent since each term includes w − 1 preceding samples’ information. In this study, the variance expression of the mixed EWMA-MA charting statistic is derived by considering the dependency among the sequential moving averages. The control limits of the mixed EWMA-MA control chart are revised and the run-length profile is studied by using Monte Carlo simulations. The performance of the mixed EWMA-MA chart is compared with the existing counterparts and its robustness under various process distributions is studied. In the end, a real-life example is provided to demonstrate its application by using the data from a combined cycle power plant

Mixed Exponentially Weighted Moving Average—Moving Average Control Chart with Application to Combined Cycle Power Plant

Statistical process control (SPC) consists of various tools for effective monitoring of the production processes and services to ensure their stable and satisfactory performance. A control chart is an important tool of SPC for detecting the process shifts that may undermine the quality of the products or services. In the literature, a mixed exponentially weighted moving average–moving average (EWMA–MA) control chart for monitoring the process location is proposed to enhance the overall shift detection ability of the EWMA control chart. It is noted that the moving averages terms were considered as independent irrespective of their order. Consequently, the covariance terms are ignored while deriving the variance expression of the monitoring statistic. However, the successive moving averages of span w might not be independent since each term includes w − 1 preceding samples’ information. In this study, the variance expression of the mixed EWMA-MA charting statistic is derived by considering the dependency among the sequential moving averages. The control limits of the mixed EWMA-MA control chart are revised and the run-length profile is studied by using Monte Carlo simulations. The performance of the mixed EWMA-MA chart is compared with the existing counterparts and its robustness under various process distributions is studied. In the end, a real-life example is provided to demonstrate its application by using the data from a combined cycle power plant

Complete Versus Partial Excision of an Infected Mesh Following Abdominal Wall Hernia Repair: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND To evaluate comparative outcomes of complete and partial excision of infected mesh following abdominal wall hernia repair. METHODS A systematic search of electronic databases, including MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL, and CENTRAL, and bibliographic reference lists with application of a combination of free text and controlled vocabulary search adapted to thesaurus headings, search operators and limits was conducted. Surgical site infection chronic sinus formation, recurrent hernia, and need for reoperation were the evaluated outcome measures. RESULTS Six comparative observational studies were identified, reporting a total of 317 patients of whom 193 underwent complete mesh excision and the remaining 123 patients underwent partial mesh excision for an infected mesh following abdominal wall hernia repair. The complete mesh excision was associated with significantly lower rates of SSIs (OR: .36; 95% CI, .16-.81, = .01), chronic sinus formation (OR: .11; 95% CI, .02-.71, = .02), and reoperation (OR: .10; 95% CI, .03-.33, = .0001) compared to the partial mesh excision. There was no significant difference in hernia recurrence rate (OR: 3.96.16, 95% CI .62-25.44, = .15) between two groups. The between-study heterogeneity was moderate in all the analyses. CONCLUSIONS Complete mesh excision may be associated with lower SSI, chronic sinus formation and need for reoperation when compared to the partial mesh excision in an infected mesh event. However, the available evidence has failed to report the outcomes with respect to the main confounding factors which, together with other important outcomes such as fistula formation, should be considered by future high quality research

Extraction and Evaluation of the Antimicrobial Activity of Polyphenols from Banana Peels Employing Different Extraction Techniques

Polyphenols are natural antioxidants and play a vital role in inhibiting oxidative stress induced by the body’s free radicals. Banana peels are a significant agro-industrial waste. This waste could be utilized to extract polyphenols to process various functional foods and nutraceuticals. An investigation was executed to extract polyphenols from banana peel using the sonication and maceration techniques. Three different polar solvents, methanol, ethanol and acetone, were used at four different concentrations: 25%, 50%, 75% and 100%. Yield (%), Total Polyphenolic Content (TPC), Total Flavonoid Content (TFC) and 1,1-diphenyl-2-picryl-hydrazyl (DPPH) Radical Scavenging assays were performed. The results from the current study articulate that extraction by sonication yields a higher quantity of polyphenols than the maceration technique. The study also concludes that ethanol leads to better extraction than other solvents used in this study

Extraction and Evaluation of the Antimicrobial Activity of Polyphenols from Banana Peels Employing Different Extraction Techniques

Polyphenols are natural antioxidants and play a vital role in inhibiting oxidative stress induced by the body’s free radicals. Banana peels are a significant agro-industrial waste. This waste could be utilized to extract polyphenols to process various functional foods and nutraceuticals. An investigation was executed to extract polyphenols from banana peel using the sonication and maceration techniques. Three different polar solvents, methanol, ethanol and acetone, were used at four different concentrations: 25%, 50%, 75% and 100%. Yield (%), Total Polyphenolic Content (TPC), Total Flavonoid Content (TFC) and 1,1-diphenyl-2-picryl-hydrazyl (DPPH) Radical Scavenging assays were performed. The results from the current study articulate that extraction by sonication yields a higher quantity of polyphenols than the maceration technique. The study also concludes that ethanol leads to better extraction than other solvents used in this study