Results of Endoscopic Septostomy in Isolated Lateral Ventricular Hydrocephalus

Objective:  To determine the success of endoscopic septostomy in the management of isolated lateral ventricular hydrocephalus. Material and Methods:  A retrospective analysis of data was done and records of all patients who underwent endoscopic septostomy for isolated lateral ventricular hydrocephalus due to any cause for the last 4 years, December 2017 to December 2021 at Punjab Institute of Neurosciences, Lahore. Radiological and clinical outcomes and complications were recorded. A total of 60 cases were reviewed. Results:  Out of 60 patients, 95% were in the age group of 3 – 25 years and 5% were in the age group of 26 – 71 years. There was 54% male whereas 46% were female. Septostomy was successful in relieving hydrocephalus in 75% of cases. Conclusion:  Endoscopic septostomy is an effective procedure for the management of isolated lateral ventricles. Keywords:  Septostomy, Hydrocephalus, Isolated Lateral Ventricles

Comparison of Essential Oil Yield, Chemical Composition and Biological Activities of Eucalyptus camaldulensis Leaf: Conventional Distillation versus Emerging Superheated Steam Distillation

Eucalyptus essential oil (EO) has significance economically since it is used in the medicinal and fragrance industries. The main objective of this study was to investigate the differences in yield, composition, antioxidant capacity, and antibacterial effectiveness of the EO extracted from Eucalyptus camaldulensis leaves. To achieve this, three distinct extraction techniques, namely steam distillation (SD), hydro distillation (HD), and superheated steam distillation (SHSD), were utilized to isolate the EO. The study aimed to analyze and compare these parameters among the three extraction methods. Based on the findings from the experiments, it has been found that using SHSD resulted in a higher EO yield than conventional techniques, and this SHSD produced a greater amount of EO in a shorter time. The EOs extracted using all three techniques have 1,8 cineole as the main constituent, according to gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) analysis results. All of the EOs demonstrated significant antioxidant capacities when tested in vitro using a variety of antioxidant assays. The EOs extracted through HD showed greater antibacterial activity among the other extraction processes, as evaluated by agar well diffusion and resazurin microtitre-plate assays. In conclusion, SHSD is more efficient for extracting EOs and antioxidant activity than traditional HD and SD

China-Pakistan Economic Corridor: News Framing in Political, Strategic, and Economic Perspectives in Print Media of Pakistan

The treatment, image, and issues related to CPEC become significant when this venture is considered a game-changer for the Pakistani economy. This study analyzes the CPEC coverage in Pakistan's highly circulated English newspaper, Daily Dawn, and The News. The quantitative content analysis technique is employed for this study from April 2015 to December 2019. This study aims to explore how news contents of selected newspapers portray the image of CPEC and the treatment of selected newspapers toward this project. The theoretical foundation of this study work under the Grunig models of Public Relations. The findings of this study reveal that both newspapers portray a positive image of CPEC. The primary focus of the news content of selected newspapers is information regarding the economic and political aspects of this project, while inadequate significance is given to strategic, social, and legal aspects. Moreover, from Grunig’s models' perspective, major public relations practices worked under the public information and press agent mode

The role of digital financial inclusion in promoting entrepreneurship in China: A provincial perspective

This study examines the impact of DFI on entrepreneurship in China and across its regions (i.e., rural and urban) using province-level panel data from 2011 to 2019. Digital financial inclusion (DFI) serves as a catalyst for entrepreneurship by giving access to financial services. Entrepreneurs, both in urban centers and rural areas, gain fair and equitable platforms by unlocking opportunities for growth and innovation through the use of technology. We employed fixed effect Driscoll-Kraay standard errors (FE-DKSE) and feasible generalized least squares (FGLS) techniques for empirical analysis. The findings showed that there is an N-shaped relationship between the DFI and entrepreneurship in China and across its regions (i.e., rural and urban). Our estimates are robust and insensitive to the inclusion of other control variables such as economic growth, urbanization and trade openness. Economic growth and trade openness have a positive and significant impact on entrepreneurship, and a negative relationship between urbanization and entrepreneurship. The policy insinuation is that the government needs to actively expedite the growth of DFI and establish a favorable external environment for entrepreneurship. To enhance the attainment of entrepreneurial targets, it is essential to adapt DFI policies according to regions

Post Thrombolytic St-Segment Resolution Outcome in Acute Myocardial Infarction Patients

OBJECTIVES: The main objective of this study was to assess post thrombolytic resolution of ST-segment and its outcome in patients with acute myocardial infarction. METHODOLOGY: This Prospective Comparative Study was carried out at the Cardiology Unit of Ayub Teaching Hospital, Abbottabad. All patients irrespective of gender and age with ST-Segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI), having no immediate access to angioplasty and thrombolysed with streptokinase, were included in this study. ECG was taken at the beginning and 90 minutes after the administration of streptokinase. Based on ST-segment resolution on ECG taken at 90 minutes these patients were classified into group A and B. Group A included patients with ST-segment resolution while group B showed no resolution of ST-segment after streptokinase administration. These patients were followed during their hospital stay for complications such as arrhythmias, cardiogenic shock, acquired ventricular septal defects (VSD) aneurysm and death. RESULTS: Among 115 patients, 94 were male and 21 female. Group A included 102 (89%) patients and group B included 13 (11%). In group A, only 1 (0.98 %) patient developed complications and in group B, 13 patients (100%) developed complications. Arrhythmias were the most common complication among MI patients in group A while cardiogenic shock was the commonest complication in group B. CONCLUSION: ST-segment resolution is a practical and applicable indicator of successful thrombolysis and has a significant correlation with clinical outcome in acute myocardial patients after thrombolysis with streptokinase

A DuPont Analysis on Insurance Sector of South Asian Region

This research is to examine that most of the time investors do not prefer to highly profitable companies. We investigate the DuPont equation on insurance sector of South Asian region. Through DuPont analysis we see which types of companies are most fruitful for investor. We are using two method of ranking, first one is base on profit (Net income) and second one is base on DuPont equation. After that we see impact of independent variables (Return on asset & financial leverage) on dependent variable (return on equity) by regression analysis. The result shows that the ranking according to DuPont method are more reliable for investors as compare to profit (net income). The finding of this paper is that investor should work on effort method as judge against to effect method

BIOLOGICAL IMPORTANCE OF MICROBES IN AGRICULTURE, FOOD AND PHARMACEUTICAL INDUSTRY: A REVIEW

Biotechnology is the most prominent and rapidly growing segment of the biological sciences that is making its diversified application in sustainable agriculture. Biofertilizers, biopesticides, bioherbicides, bioinsecticides, and many of the other fungal based and viral based insecticides, obtained using microorganisms, are some of the outcomes of biotechnology playing a key role in sustainable agriculture. Many of other important food products are also obtained by microbial fermentation. Different microbes are added to get the desired effect of food at the specific stages of food production process. Pharmaceutical microbiology includes the manufacturing of different pharmaceutical and medicinal products. This review article has a wide overview of microbes mainly used in agriculture, food industries, and pharmaceutical industries

Impact of Climate Warming on Cotton Growth and Yields in China and Pakistan: A Regional Perspective

Year to year change in weather poses serious threats to agriculture globally, especially in developing countries. Global climate models simulate an increase in global temperature between 2.9 to 5.5 degrees C till 2060, and crop production is highly vulnerable to climate warming trends. Extreme temperature causes a significant reduction in crop yields by negatively regulating the crop phenology. Therefore, to evaluate warming impact on cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) production and management practices, we quantified agrometeorological data of 30 years by applying multiple crop modelling tools to compute the expected rise in temperature, impact of crop phenology, yield loss, provision of agrometeorology-services, agronomic technologies, and adaptation to climate-smart agriculture. Model projections of 15 agrometeorology stations showed that the growing duration of the sowing-boll opening and sowing-harvesting stages was reduced by 2.30 to 5.66 days decade(-1) and 4.23 days decade(-1), respectively, in Pakistan. Temperature rise in China also advanced the planting dates, sowing emergence, 3-5 leaves, budding anthesis, full-bloom, cleft-boll, boll-opening, and boll-opening filling by 24.4, 26.2, 24.8, 23.3, 22.6, 15.8, 14.6, 5.4, 2.9, and 8.0 days. Furthermore, present findings exhibited that the warming effect of sowing-harvest time was observed 2.16 days premature, and delayed for 8.2, 2.4, and 5.3 days in the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s in China. APSIM-cotton quantification revealed that the sowing, emergence, flowering, and maturity stages were negatively correlated with temperature -2.03, -1.93, -1.09, and -0.42 days degrees C-1 on average, respectively. This study also provided insight into the adaptation of smart and better cotton by improving agrotechnological services