Effect of Tris(bipyridyl)iron(III) Complex on the Polymerization of Styrene

189-19

Tuberculosis diagnosis and treatment practices of private physicians in Karachi, Pakistan

In a densely populated urban area of Karachi, Pakistan, a questionnaire survey was made of the knowledge and practices of 120 private general practitioners about the diagnosis and treatment of tuberculosis (TB). The majority knew that cough, fever and weight loss were the main symptoms of TB, but less than half knew that blood in sputum, poor appetite and chest pain were associated with the disease. Only 58.3% of physicians used sputum microscopy for diagnosing TB and 35.0% used it as a follow-up test. Only 41.7% treated TB patients themselves, the remaining referring their patients to specialists. Around 73.3% of the doctors were aware of the 4 first-line anti-TB drugs. Efforts to improve the knowledge of private practitioners, and strategies to enhance public-private collaboration forTB control in urban areas are urgently required

Osmopriming combined with Boron-Tolerant Bacteria (Bacillus sp. MN54) improved the productivity of Desi Chickpea under rainfed and irrigated conditions

Chickpeas are rich source of protein and predominantly grown in boron (B)-deficient sandy-loam soils in Pakistan. Boron-tolerant bacteria (BTB) could tolerate higher B levels in soil and increase B availability to the plants. Field trials were conducted under irrigated (district Layyah) and rainfed (district Chakwal) conditions to evaluate the interactive effects of pre-optimized B application methods and BTB (Bacillus sp. MN54) on the nodule’s population, grain quality, productivity, and grain-B concentration in desi chickpea during 2019–2020 and 2020–2021. Boron was applied as soil application (1 kg B ha−1), foliar application (0.025% B), osmopriming (0.001% B), and seed coating (1.5 g B kg−1 seed) with or without BTB inoculation. Untreated seeds receiving no B through any of the methods were regarded as control. The individual and interactive effects (up to three-way interaction of location × BTB inoculation × B application methods) of year, location, B application methods and BTB inoculation significantly altered the growth and yield-related traits of desi chickpea. The four-way interaction of year × location × BTB inoculation × B application methods was non-significant for all recorded growth and yield-related traits. Regarding individual effects, the higher values of growth and yield-related traits were noted for 2020–2021, rainfed location, BTB inoculation and B application through seed priming. Similarly, in two-way interactions 2020–2021 with rainfed location and BTB inoculation, rainfed location with BTB inoculation and osmopriming and osmopriming with BTB inoculation recorded higher values of the growth and yield-related traits. Osmopriming combined with BTB inoculation significantly improved dry matter accumulation and leaf area index in both locations. Boron application through all the methods significantly improved grain quality, yield grain B concentration. The highest grain and biological yields, and nodules’ population were recorded with osmopriming followed by soil application of B combined with BTB inoculation. The highest plant B concentration (75.05%) was recorded with foliar application of B followed by osmopriming (68.73%) combined with BTB inoculation. Moreover, the highest economic returns (USD 2068.5 ha−1) and benefit–cost ratio (3.7%) were recorded with osmopriming + BTB inoculation in 2020–2021 under rainfed conditions. Overall, B application through osmopriming and soil application combined with BTB inoculation could be used to increase productivity and profitability of desi chickpea, whereas foliar application is a better method to enhance grain and plant B concentration

A WiFi-based Reliable Network Architecture for Rural Regions

WiFi is being considered as an attractive option in providing low cost Internet connectivity to rural areas, and thereby reducing Digital Divide with urban areas. Most of the WiFi-based Long Distance network architectures extend Internet to rural regions through a single gateway node which is connected to high speed Internet. If the gateway node fails in such single gateway-based rural networks, the entire network gets collapsed. In this paper, we propose a reliable and low-cost WiFi based rural network architecture using multi-gateway concept. The proposed network architecture also allows load balancing among the available gateways. In such multi-gateway architecture, the network recovers from gateway failure and reestablishes the ongoing communication within 2-4 seconds time. The simulation results in NS-2 validate the claims of the paperKeywords—Digital Divide, WiFi, WiFi based Long Distance Network

Forth Replacement Crossing – Scotland, UK

AbstractThe Forth Replacement Crossing will be built across the Firth of Forth in Scotland to maintain and enhance a vital transport link. The wide estuary will be crossed by a cable stayed bridge with 3 towers and a pair of 650 m main spans. In the centre of each main span the stay cables will overlap to stabilise the central tower, a unique design feature for a bridge of this scale. The scheme design of the crossing has been carried out by the Jacobs Arup joint venture in accordance with the Eurocodes and project specific design criteria. The structure will provide a fitting 21st century icon, to stand alongside the existing cantilever rail bridge from the 19th century and road suspension bridge from the 20th century, both Grade A listed bridges

Serum Complement C3 and C4 Levels in Relation to Diagnosis of Lupus Nephritis

Purpose: The main objective of this study was to measure serum complement C3 and C4 concentrations in patients of lupus nephritis to see if these simple measurements would give useful information to the clinician managing such patients.Method: A total of 52 samples were obtained from SLE patients, 17 suffering from lupus nephritis. All patients met the revised 1997 American College of Rheumatology criteria for SLE. Serum C3 and C4 concentrations were measured with single gel radioimmunodiffusion technique. Results: In lupus nephritis, C3 and C4 are generally correlated. Both C3 and C4 levels were decreased but C4 concentrations were more often and more profoundly depressed than C3 concentration. Conclusion: All patients of lupus nephritis with low C3 or C4 concentrations should have serial measurements performed and selected patients will need a full complement profile, including measurement of alternate pathway components and total hemolytic pathway. Keywords: Systemic lupus erythematosus, Auto antibodies, Lupus nephritis, C3 and C4Tropical Journal of Pharmaceutical Research Vol. 7(4) 2008: pp. 1117-112

Mathematical modelling of two-fluid electro-osmotic peristaltic pumping of an Ellis fluid in an axisymmetric tube

This article explores analytically the dynamics of two-fluid electro-osmotic peristaltic flow through a cylindrical tube. The rheology of the fluid in the central core (inner region or core region) is captured through the Ellis equation. The region adjacent to the wall (outer region or peripheral region) is occupied by a Newtonian fluid. The equations governing the flow in each region are modeled by using the appropriate suppositions of long wavelength and low Reynolds number. Closed form expressions for stream function corresponding to each region are obtained and utilized to determine the axial pressure gradient and the interface between the inner and the outer regions. The pumping characteristics, trapping and reflux phenomena are investigated in detail with reference to the Ellis model parameters and the electro-kinetic slip velocity. The present model also generalizes earlier studies from the literature which can be retrieved as special cases. The analysis shows that pressure drop at zero volumetric flow rate is elevated with increasing occlusion parameter. Trapping and reflux phenomena are mitigated with increasing electro-osmotic slip and shear-thinning effects. At larger value of the occlusion parameter an increase in the power-law index reduces the magnitude of the pressure drop. Increasing Ellis rheological parameter reduces the pressure drop over the entire range of occlusion parameters for the case when the peripheral region fluid viscosity exceeds that of the core region fluid. The results obtained may be applicable in the modulation of peristaltic pumping in the efficient operation of various industrial and biomedical devices