Practice of standard Cross Infection Protocol in Private Dental Clinics of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan: A cross-sectional study

Background: Infection control, which is considered to be the backbone of dentistry, has become a particularly essential piece of dental training because both the dentists and patients are at an expanded danger of cross-contamination. Dental clinical settings represent a high organic hazard of spreading a wide scope of microorganisms. The objective of this study is to gather information of different dentists regarding their practice of standard cross infection protocols and how can they improve the same in their private practices. Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted in dental clinics of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, KPK from January 2020 to July 2020 by distributing a questionnaire among dentists. It was a pre-designed questionnaire that was circulated in Google forms through Whatsapp and emails. The questionnaire was divided into 2 sections. Data was compiled and statistical tests were applied using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences SPSS® ver.23.0 Results: Regarding cross infection control measures, maximum dentists seem to have knowledge of cross infection control techniques. A significant difference was found (p= 0.05) between male & female dentists in disposing dental waste from clinical set up properly. A significant difference was also found between male & female dentists about rubber dam isolation (p=0.02). Conclusion: The result of this study showed that practice of dentists in KPK is not up to standard protocols of cross infection control. In this way, the need of great importance is to authorize and execute better proportions of infection control to improve dental practice in KPK. Key words: Infection control, Dental practice, Sterilizatio

The Impact of Financial Sector Development on Agricultural Growth: Empirical Evidence from Pakistan

The paper examines the impact of financial sector development on agricultural growth in Pakistan. A Cobb-Douglas production function was used with two proxies for financial sector development, i.e. broad money M3 as proportion of GDP and agricultural loan disbursement. The study utilized annual data for the period 1981-2015. A VAR model was applied to explore the relationship between the performance of agricultural sector and improvement in financial services in the country. The results of the Johansen co integration test and VECM model reveals a significant positive relationship between agricultural growth and capital formation, farm credit disbursement and liquid liability in the financial sector. The relationship with rural labor force was mixed which may be attributed to the over employment of labor in the agricultural sector. The study is unique as it uses farm credit disbursement as an important dimension of financial services. The study recommends that for improving agricultural productivity, financial services have to be made more efficient.Keywords: Financial Sector Development, Agricultural Growth, Farm Credit Disbursement

Hybrid-Microgrid Planning, Sizing and Optimization for an Industrial Demand in Pakistan

Industrial sector is of great significance for the economic growth of every country. The energy crisis in Pakistan has become the prime stumbling block in the economic development of the country. There are many industrial processes that need uninterrupted supply; even a trivial outage can cost millions of dollars. The main cause of "load shedding" in Pakistan is that it produces a major portion of its energy from fossil fuels, whose price and demand is constantly increasing. Most of the customers at industrial and commercial level use Diesel Generator (DiG) as a reliable alternative source of electrical power when grid supply is unavailable. The use of DiG during loading shedding hours would increase the Cost of Energy (COE) per kWh and also enhance environmental emissions. Pakistan has a wide range of renewable power sources like bioenergy, wind, solar, hydel, geothermal etc. The distinct emphasis on the implementation of an industrial microgrid in Faisalabad, Pakistan has been specified in this paper. The prospective benefits of the microgrid fall into three major kinds: cost reduction, fuel saving, and improved environmental emissions. The optimized objective of this work is to maximize these benefits. Moreover while designing the hybrid microgrid system it encounters many design challenges like sizing of the components, system feasibility, COE, system reliability etc. This study contributes to the ongoing studies about hybrid microgrid system and draws attention to the optimal design and sizing considering several techno-economic factors including Net Present Cost (NPC), COE, supply reliability, capacity shortage constraint, battery state of charge (SOC), dispatch strategy, PV power generation and PV array tracking systems. Different cases are studied; microgrid sizing, techno-economic exploration, sensitivity analysis and environmental effects are addressed using (Hybrid Optimization Model for Electric Renewables) HOMER. The results show that COE and environmental emissions have been significantly reduced for the proposed system

ASSESSING THE INCLINATION OF UNDERGRADUATE’S JHANG STUDENT TO THE PHYSICAL ACTIVITIES AND SPORTS

Objectives: Assessing the Inclination of undergraduate’s Jhang student to thePhysical Activities and sports. In instructive organizations requirement toinspire the scholars to join in physical events and sports. Physical education,health and sports science is an important part of schooling. Persons are fullystrain, depressive and nervousness during lifecycle. So, people need to regulartake part in physical events and sports. Method: A simple questionnairesurvey method had applied and used a random sampling technique to collectthe study information of 200 subjects from selected four institutesundergraduate’s Jhang student. The variables of the study were physicalactivities as esthetic practices, societal skills and healthiness & wellbeing hasrich perception in the inclination of undergraduate’s student study. Results:The results of consistency were found for healthiness & wellbeing 0.828,social knowledge 0.817 and an Esthetic experience 0.712. The total overall200 subject Cronbach’s alpha significance was 0.831 of both genders.Conclusion: The overall inclination to the selected variables was important.Undergraduate’s student was cognizant of the profits of physical activities andsports, healthiness and wellbeing for their esthetic practice to remainwellbeing in life

A Comparative Evaluation Of Premedication With Flurbiprofen And Prednisolone On Post Endodontic Pain In Teeth With Symptomatic Irreversible Pulpitis: A Randomized Clinical Trial

Background: Root canal treatment is an endodontic procedure that encompasses cleaning & shaping i.e. preparation of root canals followed by obturation of the prepared canals. Pain is a very common sensation that occurs few hours after root canal treatment (RCT). Objective: To evaluate and compare the efficacy of premedication with flurbiprofen and prednisolone on post-endodontic pain in teeth with symptomatic irreversible pulpitis. Materials and Methods: It is a randomized control trial study conducted in the department of Operative Dentistry & Endodontics, Sardar Begum Dental College, & Hospital Peshawar. Patients were randomly allocated into two groups i.e. A and B using coin flip technique. Thirty minutes before starting the endodontic therapy, single pretreatment dose of Flurbiprofen (100mg) was given to patients in Group A and Prednisolone (30mg) to patients in Group B. Patients’ pain intensity experience was measured using the visual analog scale (VAS) after root canal treatment. They were instructed to complete a pain diary at specific intervals (i.e. at 6, 12 and 24 hours after the commencement of treatment) in order to determine efficacy in both groups. Results: As per efficacy in both groups, in Group A, 44 (55%) showed effective results whereas in Group B, only 20 (25%) patients showed effective results. Conclusion: Single pretreatment dose of flurbiprofen has a more sustained effect in reducing post-endodontic pain as compared to prednisolone

Chromium toxicity in plants: consequences on growth, chromosomal behavior and mineral nutrient status

Chromium (Cr) is a heavy metal of commercial importance; thus, significant amounts are released in wastewaters. The mobility and distribution of metals in the environment is related not only to their concentration but also to their availability in the environment. Most chromium (Cr) exists in oxidation states ranging from 0 to VI in soils but the most stable and common forms are Cr(0), Cr(III), and Cr(VI) species. Cr can have positive and negative effects on health, according to the dose, exposure time, and its oxidation state. Its behavior in soil, its soil-plant transfer and accumulation in different plant parts vary with its chemical form, plant type and soil physicochemical properties. Soil microbial community plays a key role in governing Cr speciation and behavior in soil. A number of factors have been identified to influence Cr toxicity on activated sludge, such as, pH, biomass concentration, presence of organic substances or other heavy metals, acclimation process, exposure time, etc. Inside plants, Cr provokes numerous deleterious effects to several physiological, morphological, and biochemical processes. Cr induces phytotoxicity by interfering plant growth, nutrient uptake and photosynthesis, inducing enhanced generation of reactive oxygen species, causing lipid peroxidation and altering the antioxidant activities. The present review describes the consequences of Cr toxicity on plants, including morphological, physiological and ultrastructural changes. This review also provides the basic concepts of Cr translocation and interaction with other essential macro-and microelements. Moreover, based on the available literature and current research scenario, this review suggests some possible management and remediation strategies to alleviate Cr toxicity and contamination in soil. It also provides valuable knowledge for further studies towards enhancement of soil phytoremediation and crops improvement. Therefore, there is a dire need to monitor biogeochemical behavior of Cr in soil-plant system

Optimizing the Air Conditioning Layouts of an Indoor Built Environment:Towards the Energy and Environmental Benefits of a Clean Room

Reducing energy consumption in buildings has received intensified research impetus since the introduction of the decarbonization goals set in the Paris agreement. Many domestic and specialized applications require clean rooms (indoor built environments) for safe and clean operation. Energy efficiency in clean room spaces depends on maintaining livable or required conditions such as temperature, humidity, and particle concentration with minimal use of energy and new carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. In the literature, parameters such as temperature, relative humidity, particle concentrations, and CO2 emissions are not able to be properly controlled in clean room systems. The designed system in the literature involves high energy consumption and high economic costs. All these factors add novelty to this research, which was a significant research gap in previous studies. This clean room is directly linked to environmental parameters such as ambient temperature, relative humidity, etc. The clean room is also related directly to the building and infrastructure in such a way that there are certain regulatory requirements for designing a clean room. For designing and constructing the controlled environment in a clean room, the English (EN) documents, ISO 9000, and various other standards allow for clean rooms for different types of products. In this research, the designed control configurations properly control the system. Additionally, this system is energy efficient, with positive environmental aspects regarding CO2 emissions. Three control configurations were designed in this research, option A, option B, and option C, and three parameters are controlled in the study. These parameters are room temperature, relative humidity, and CO2 emissions (outside the room). CO2 emissions are controlled outside the room (in the environment). In the last research phase, a comparative analysis of these three control configurations was performed to find an energy-efficient system with fewer CO2 emissions. Control configuration B (option B) provides reliable results regarding an energy-efficient system and fewer CO2 emissions emitted to the environment. In this study, an optimized configuration for the air conditioning system was developed for a clean room (volume 185.6 m3) with a required temperature of 23 °C, relative humidity of 40%, and a particle size of less than 0.3 μm. Three different design configurations were analyzed using TRNSYS simulation software. The minimization of energy use and CO2 emissions were the objective functions. Energy loads were calculated for each of the configurations by varying the fixed air change per hour and the minimum outdoor air flow rate. The results of a whole year simulation run for control configurations A, B, and show that, on the one hand, the ambient weather conditions of temperature and relative humidity (RH) is varied throughout year and, on the other hand, the clean room temperature was maintain at exactly 23 °C, which is the required set point temperature, for all the three configurations (A, B, and C). Furthermore, the clean room relative humidity was maintained at 36% for configuration A, below the 40% which was the set point for clean room relative humidity, and at 40% for configurations B and C. Configuration B exhibited the minimum energy use (7300 kWh), at a fixed air change per hour value of 20 and a minimum outdoor air flow rate of 150 L/s, with the least amount of CO2 emissions, offering an overall 25% improvement over configurations A and C

Effect of biochar modified with magnetite nanoparticles and HNO\u3csub\u3e3\u3c/sub\u3e for efficient removal of Cr(VI) from contaminated water: A batch and column scale study

© 2020 Elsevier Ltd Chromium (Cr) poses serious consequences on human and animal health due to its potential carcinogenicity. The present study aims at preparing a novel biochar derived from Chenopodium quinoa crop residues (QBC), its activation with magnetite nanoparticles (QBC/MNPs) and strong acid HNO3 (QBC/Acid) to evaluate their batch and column scale potential to remove Cr (VI) from polluted water. The QBC, QBC/MNPs and QBC/Acid were characterized with SEM, FTIR, EDX, XRD as well as point of zero charge (PZC) to get an insight into their adsorption mechanism. The impact of different process parameters including dose of the adsorbent (1–4 g/L), contact time (0–180 min), initial concentration of Cr (25–200 mg/L) as well as solution pH (2–8) was evaluated on the Cr (VI) removal from contaminated water. The results revealed that QBC/MNPs proved more effective (73.35–93.62-%) for the Cr (VI) removal with 77.35 mg/g adsorption capacity as compared with QBC/Acid (55.85–79.8%) and QBC (48.85–75.28-%) when Cr concentration was changed from 200 to 25 mg/L. The isothermal experimental results follow the Freundlich adsorption model rather than Langmuir, Temkin and Dubinin-Radushkevich adsorption isotherm models. While kinetic adsorption results were well demonstrated by pseudo second order kinetic model. Column scale experiments conducted at steady state exhibited excellent retention of Cr (VI) by QBC, QBC/MNPs and QBC/Acid at 50 and 100 mg Cr/L. The results showed that this novel biochar (QBC) and its modified forms (QBC/Acid and QBC/MNPs) are applicable with excellent reusability and stability under acidic conditions for the practical treatment of Cr (VI) contaminated water

Convalescent plasma in patients admitted to hospital with COVID-19 (RECOVERY): a randomised controlled, open-label, platform trial

SummaryBackground Azithromycin has been proposed as a treatment for COVID-19 on the basis of its immunomodulatoryactions. We aimed to evaluate the safety and efficacy of azithromycin in patients admitted to hospital with COVID-19.Methods In this randomised, controlled, open-label, adaptive platform trial (Randomised Evaluation of COVID-19Therapy [RECOVERY]), several possible treatments were compared with usual care in patients admitted to hospitalwith COVID-19 in the UK. The trial is underway at 176 hospitals in the UK. Eligible and consenting patients wererandomly allocated to either usual standard of care alone or usual standard of care plus azithromycin 500 mg once perday by mouth or intravenously for 10 days or until discharge (or allocation to one of the other RECOVERY treatmentgroups). Patients were assigned via web-based simple (unstratified) randomisation with allocation concealment andwere twice as likely to be randomly assigned to usual care than to any of the active treatment groups. Participants andlocal study staff were not masked to the allocated treatment, but all others involved in the trial were masked to theoutcome data during the trial. The primary outcome was 28-day all-cause mortality, assessed in the intention-to-treatpopulation. The trial is registered with ISRCTN, 50189673, and ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT04381936.Findings Between April 7 and Nov 27, 2020, of 16 442 patients enrolled in the RECOVERY trial, 9433 (57%) wereeligible and 7763 were included in the assessment of azithromycin. The mean age of these study participants was65·3 years (SD 15·7) and approximately a third were women (2944 [38%] of 7763). 2582 patients were randomlyallocated to receive azithromycin and 5181 patients were randomly allocated to usual care alone. Overall,561 (22%) patients allocated to azithromycin and 1162 (22%) patients allocated to usual care died within 28 days(rate ratio 0·97, 95% CI 0·87–1·07; p=0·50). No significant difference was seen in duration of hospital stay (median10 days [IQR 5 to >28] vs 11 days [5 to >28]) or the proportion of patients discharged from hospital alive within 28 days(rate ratio 1·04, 95% CI 0·98–1·10; p=0·19). Among those not on invasive mechanical ventilation at baseline, nosignificant difference was seen in the proportion meeting the composite endpoint of invasive mechanical ventilationor death (risk ratio 0·95, 95% CI 0·87–1·03; p=0·24).Interpretation In patients admitted to hospital with COVID-19, azithromycin did not improve survival or otherprespecified clinical outcomes. Azithromycin use in patients admitted to hospital with COVID-19 should be restrictedto patients in whom there is a clear antimicrobial indication