Mosaic Analysis of Precursors of Nerve, Bone and Vasculature in Caudal Body and Fin of Zebrafish

This project focuses on the specific developmental origin and formation of pre-osteoblasts, vascular cells and sensory neurons in the caudal region and tail of zebrafish. Our objective is to generate genetically marked clones using transposon microinjections and to analyze fluorescent protein markers in deep body and tail cell populations. If clones are shared between the fin and deep body it is suggestive that these cells share a common progenitor cell. Zebrafish fins can serve as a model for human organogenesis because conserved genes and cell types are found in human limbs

5 Years Mortality of Severe Traumatic Brain Injury during the Establishment of Closed System Neurocritical Care Unit in a Resource Constrained Developing Country

Background & Objectives: Severe traumatic brain injury is one of the leading causes of mortality and morbidity.Efficient management of severe traumatic brain injury demands a specialty driven focused intensive care. We developed our model of closed ICU driven by Neurosurgical Neurointensivist and the corollary to thiscommitment is a TBI patient centered Neurocritical care with the capacity and capability to deal with most of the neurological illnesses.Materials & Methods: A prospective study was conducted to find out the impact of the establishment of closed system of neurocritical care on 5 year mortality of severe TBI. Total 1288 patients met the inclusion criteria, which were enrolled. Tabulation was done for gender, age range, Glasgow outcome scale and mortality.Results: It was observed that mortality reduced from 47% to 35% over a span of five years. The most common age range was 30-40 years, which is the most productive group of any population. Bed sore incidence is always on rise in any ICU. After the implementation of SOPs based management and increase in nursing staff theincidence of bedsore also showed a detrimental pattern from 35 % to 19%.Conclusion: Neurocritical care unit is proven to be an integral part of any neurosurgical unit and this closed system of NCC unit provide best SOP based care with significant reduction in mortality of patients with STBI

Assessment of solar photovoltaic water pumping of WASA tube wells for irrigation in Quetta Valley aquifer.

This paper investigates the impact of tube wells on the discharge and water table of the Quetta Valley aquifer and conducts a financial analysis of the solar photovoltaic water pumping system (SPVWP) in comparison with a typical pumping system for the Water and Sanitation Agency of Quetta’s (WASA) tube wells. Quetta Valley is dependent on groundwater as surface resources are on decline and unpredictable. The population of this city has exponentially increased from 0.26 million in 1975 to 2.2 million in 2017 which has put a lot of pressure on the groundwater aquifer by installing more than 500 large capacity tube wells by WASA and Public Health Engineering (PHE) departments in addition to thousands of low‐capacity private tube wells. The unprece-dented running of these wells has resulted in drying of the historical Karez system, agricultural activities, and the sharp increase in power tariffs. There are 423 tube wells in operation installed by WASA in addition to PHE, Irrigation and Military Engineering Services (MES), which covers 60% of the city’s water demand. The results will be beneficial for organizations and positively impact the operation of these wells to meet public water demand. For the two zones, i.e., Zarghoon and Chiltan in Quetta Valley, recommendations are given for improved water management

Diabetes conversation map - A novel tool for diabetes management self-efficacy among type 2 diabetes patients in Pakistan: A randomized controlled trial

Background: This study aimed to measure the effect of diabetes education using the novel method of diabetes conversation map (DCM) as compared to routine counselling (RC) on diabetes management self-efficacy (DMSE) among patients living with type 2 diabetes in Karachi, Pakistan.Methods: A parallel arm randomized controlled trial among patients with type 2 diabetes aged 30-60 years, with HbA1c \u3e 7%, diagnosed for at least 5 yrs., was conducted at the national institute of diabetes and endocrinology in Karachi, Pakistan. A total 123 type 2 diabetes patients were randomized into DCM (n = 62) or RC (n = 61). Four weekly diabetes control sessions of 40 min each using the DCM or RC was provided. DMSE was measured using a validated Urdu language DMSE tool at baseline and after three months of the randomization. Change in DMSE and HbA1c levels within groups (pre-post) and between the groups after 3 months of enrollment was compared.Results: Baseline characteristics except HbA1c were similar between the two arms. After 3 months of enrollment, there was no change in the DMSE score in the RC arm however, significant increase in DMSE score was noted in the DCM arm (P = \u3c 0.001). The average difference (95% confidence interval) in DMSE score between the DCM and RC arm was 33.7(27.3, 40.0; p = \u3c 0.001) after 3 months of the enrollment. Difference in HbA1c within groups was not significant.Conclusions: DCM significantly improved DMSE among type 2 diabetes patients in a developing country setting like Pakistan. Healthcare workers caring for type 2 diabetes patients need to be trained on DCM to effectively utilize this novel tool for educating diabetes patients.Trial registration: This trial was prospectively registered. ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT03747471. Date of registration: Nov 20. 2018

Modeling Viscosity and Density of Ethanol-Diesel-Biodiesel Ternary Blends for Sustainable Environment

Rapid depletion in fossil fuels, inflation in petroleum prices, and rising energy demand have forced towards alternative transport fuels. Among these alternative fuels, diesel-ethanol and diesel-biodiesel blends gain the most attention due to their quality characteristics and environmentally friendly nature. The viscosity and density of these biodiesel blends are slightly higher than diesel, which is a significant barrier to the commercialization of biodiesel. In this study, the density and viscosity of 30 different ternary biodiesel blends was investigated at 15 °С and 40 °С, respectively. Different density and viscosity models were developed and tested on biodiesel blends soured from different feedstock’s including palm, coconut, soybean, mustard, and calophyllum oils. The prognostic ability and precisions of these developed models was assessed statistically using Absolute Percentage Error (APE) and Mean Absolute Percentage Error (MAPE). The MAPE of 0.045% and 0.085% for density model and 1.85%, 1.41%, 3.48% and 2.27%, 1.85%, 3.50% for viscosity models were obtained on % volume and % mass basis. These developed correlations are useful for ternary biodiesel blends where alcohols are the part of biodiesel blends. The modeled values of densities and viscosities of ternary blends were significantly comparable with the measured densities and viscosities, which are feasible to avoid the harm of vehicles’ operability

Pseudomonas Diversity Within Urban Freshwaters

Freshwater lakes are home to bacterial communities with 1000s of interdependent species. Numerous high-throughput 16S rRNA gene sequence surveys have provided insight into the microbial taxa found within these waters. Prior surveys of Lake Michigan waters have identified bacterial species common to freshwater lakes as well as species likely introduced from the urban environment. We cultured bacterial isolates from samples taken from the Chicago nearshore waters of Lake Michigan in an effort to look more closely at the genetic diversity of species found there within. The most abundant genus detected was Pseudomonas, whose presence in freshwaters is often attributed to storm water or runoff. Whole genome sequencing was conducted for 15 Lake Michigan Pseudomonas strains, representative of eight species and three isolates that could not be resolved with named species. These genomes were examined specifically for genes encoding functionality which may be advantageous in their urban environment. Antibiotic resistance, amidst other known virulence factors and defense mechanisms, were identified in the genome annotations and verified in the lab. We also tested the Lake Michigan Pseudomonas strains for siderophore production and resistance to the heavy metals mercury and copper. As the study presented here shows, a variety of pseudomonads have inhabited the urban coastal waters of Lake Michigan