Fragile Future: Youth Insecurities and Their Relations with Police in Afghanistan and Pakistan

Youth are the backbone of any nation, and they are decisive in its development or destruction. A considerable portion of the population in both Afghanistan and Pakistan consists of youth. This paper discusses the impacts of unemployment, poverty, drug abuse, corruption, conflicts, and extremism on the experiences of young people in these countries. Vulnerabilities can become risk factors that, in turn, can increase the likelihood of youth being involved with the police. Although vulnerability and insecurity are common to both young women and men, girls and young women face additional challenges that increase their vulnerability to insecurities, such as gender-based violence. This article details how livelihood and personal insecurities are closely intertwined and further considers how these insecurities involve the police in one way or another. It argues that local community-oriented police initiatives and civil society organisation contributions can increase cooperation between youth and law enforcement agencies in addressing these challenges in a collaborative and trustful manner

Vitamin B6 and homocysteine levels in carbamazepine treated epilepsy of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa

Objectives: The study focused on the plasma levels of vitamin B6 and homocysteine in different genotypes of MTHFR (C677T, A1298C) and GABRG2 (C588T, C315T) genes in carbamazepine resistant epilepsy in the population of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.Methodology: Patients who were possible candidates for carbamazepine therapy were followed for six months for their seizure control. Plasma levels of vitamin B6 and homocysteine were determined using immunoassay based techniques at baseline and after six months. MTHFR (C677T, A1298C) and GABRG2 (C588T, C315T) genes were genotyped using restriction fragment length polymorphisms. Seizure control during therapy was recorded on a standardized proforma.Results: Low vitamin B6 levels and hyperhomocysteinemia were found in 61.7% of resistant patients (n=34). Resistant patients had the following frequencies of variant genotypes (677CT=38.1% and 677TT=24.4%; 1298AC=42.2% and 1298CC=26.1%; 588CT= 47.6% and 315TT= 33.3%) of MTHFR (C677T and A1298C) and GABRG2 (C588T and C315T) genes. A significant decline in vitamin B6 (P<0.0001) and hyperhomocysteinemia were found in variant genotypes of MTHFR (C677T, A1298C) and GABRG2 (C588T, C315T) genes.Conclusion: Following six months of carbamazepine of therapy in heterozygous variant genotypes of MTHFR (677CT and 1298AC) and GABRG2 (588CT and 315CT) genes, we observed a significant fall in vitamin B6 levels and hyperhomocysteinemia.Keywords: Carbamazepine, epileptics, homocysteine, seizure control, RFLP, vitamin B

Alleviation of Boron Stress through Plant Derived Smoke Extracts in Sorghum bicolor

Boron is an essential micronutrient necessary for plant growth at optimum concentration. However, at high concentrations boron affects plant growth and is toxic to cells. Aqueous extract of plant-derived smoke has been used as a growth regulator for the last two decades to improve seed germination and seedling vigor. It has been established that plant-derived smoke possesses some compounds that act like plant growth hormones. The present research was the first comprehensive attempt to investigate the alleviation of boron stress with plant-derived smoke aqueous extract on Sorghum (Sorghum bicolor) seed. Smoke extracts of five plants, i.e. Cymbopogon jwarancusa, Eucalyptus camaldulensis, Peganum harmala, Datura alba and Melia azedarach each with six dilutions (Concentrated, 1:100, 1:200, 1:300, 1:400 and 1:500) were used. While boron solutions at concentrations of 5, 10, 15, 20 and 25 ppm were used for stress. Among the dilutions of smoke, 1:500 of E. camaldulensis significantly increased germination percentage, root and shoot length, number of secondary roots and fresh weight of root and shoot while, boron stress reduced growth of Sorghum. It was observed that combined effect of boron solution and E. camaldulensis smoke extract overcome inhibition and significantly improved plant growth. Present research work investigated that the smoke solution has the potential to alleviate boron toxicity by reducing the uptake of boron by maintaining integrity of plant cell wall. The present investigation suggested that plant derived smoke has the potential to alleviate boron stress and can be used to overcome yield losses caused by boron stress to plants

Vitamin B6 and homocysteine levels in carbamazepine treated epilepsy of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

Objectives: The study focused on the plasma levels of vitamin B6 and homocysteine in different genotypes of MTHFR (C677T, A1298C) and GABRG2 (C588T, C315T) genes in carbamazepine resistant epilepsy in the population of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Methodology: Patients who were possible candidates for carbamazepine therapy were followed for six months for their seizure control. Plasma levels of vitamin B6 and homocysteine were determined using immunoassay based techniques at baseline and after six months. MTHFR (C677T, A1298C) and GABRG2 (C588T, C315T) genes were genotyped using restriction fragment length polymorphisms. Seizure control during therapy was recorded on a standardized proforma. Results: Low vitamin B6 levels and hyperhomocysteinemia were found in 61.7% of resistant patients (n=34). Resistant patients had the following frequencies of variant genotypes (677CT=38.1% and 677TT=24.4%; 1298AC=42.2% and 1298CC=26.1%; 588CT= 47.6% and 315TT= 33.3%) of MTHFR (C677T and A1298C) and GABRG2 (C588T and C315T) genes. A significant decline in vitamin B6 (P<0.0001) and hyperhomocysteinemia were found in variant genotypes of MTHFR (C677T, A1298C) and GABRG2 (C588T, C315T) genes. Conclusion: Following six months of carbamazepine of therapy in heterozygous variant genotypes of MTHFR (677CT and 1298AC) and GABRG2 (588CT and 315CT) genes, we observed a significant fall in vitamin B6 levels and hyperhomocysteinemia

Effect of Strenuous Exercise on Various Blood Parameters in Polo Horses at High Altitude (3,734 M)

Horses require heaps of energy in order to perform well. Proper care and management should therefore be provided to the racehorses so as to keep they perform at their optimum. The experiment used for normal horses. The blood samples were collected in the morning before subjecting the horses to polo match/ strenuous exercise and immediately after the physical activity. Various blood tests such as the complete blood count, lipid, protein tests were done. Significant elevations in the white blood cells (WBC), hemoglobin (Hb) and some serological parameters in the blood polo horses were recorded after exercise. This study confirmed the findings of exercise on different blood parameters which can be possibly used as an index of fitness in horses

NECK PAIN AMONG STUDENTS AND ITS ASSOCIATION WITH SMART PHONE AND LAPTOP USAGE

Introduction: In the modern era of advancement and technology, use of smart phones and laptops is common. Literature suggests that these digital devices have many negative effects on the health of humans. One of the most common adverse effects associated with prolonged use of mobile and laptop is neck pain. Material & Methods: A cross sectional study was carried out at Khyber Medical University (KMU) from July 2019 to December 2019. A total of 206 undergraduate physical therapy students having age 18 to 25 years participated in the study. For data collection, smart phone & laptop usage and neck pain questionnaire was used. For data analysis, SPSS version 20 was used. Results: The mean age of the subjects was 21.15 ±1.89 years. The prevalence of neck pain was 82.5% (n=170). Neck pain was significantly associated (P-value0.05) with different positions (standing/sitting/lying) in which students use smart phones for majority of the time, however, it had significant association (P-value< 0.05) with use of laptops in sitting position for majority of the time. Conclusion: The prevalence of neck pain is high in students who used smart phones and laptops for long hours

Effect of Gamma Irradiation on Yeild and Yeild Contributing Traits in Hybrids of Sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.)

The seeds of two hybrids FSS64 and SF0049 of sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.) were irradiated with different doses of gamma irradiation i.e., 10, 15, 20, 25 Krad from the source of cobalt Co60 at Nuclear institute for food and agriculture (NIFA), Peshawar. The irradiated seeds were sown in the research area of the department of Botany, Shaheed Benazir Bhutto University, Sheringal, Dir-Upper during the crop season of 2016. It was noted that a negative correlation was established in doses of 10, 15, 20, 25 Krad versus number of parameters like number of leaves, number of seeds per head and fresh seed weight. With the gradual increase in doses, decreases in mean values for the mentioned parameters were observed. Significant reductions in the mean values were observed for mentioned parameters in both the hybrids FSS64 and SF0049 of sunflower and consistently retardation was recorded with the increasing doses. Direct relationship occurred in the mean values of days taken to germination and maturity while on the other hand means values significantly raised with the rising of doses thus the duration of the mentioned parameters is increased. It was also concluded that rising of doses caused restraining in the mean values of all the parameters, which clarified that both hybrids were sensitive to high doses of gamma irradiation. Furthermore, there were also recovered a few Mutant genotypes in FSS64 hybrid at 15 Krad due to genetic variability with proliferation of two capitula with single peduncle on the main shoot. Differences in the mean square values through analysis of variance with respect to different doses of irradiation for all the parameters were highly significant, while due to the hybrids effect of the number of leaves was non-significant. Moreover, non-significant results were achieved in the mean square values due to the relations between hybrids and doses for days to maturity and the number of leaves

Efficient and reusable iron-zinc oxide catalyst for oxidative desulfurization of model fuel

In this study, Fe-ZnO catalyst synthesized via modified sol–gel technique with different Fe doping ratio (2, 3, and 5) wt% was explored for oxidative desulfurization (ODS) of model fuel. The sol-gel technique was adopted without the use of surfactants. The catalysts were characterized by several means of characterization techniques (TGA, XRD, FTIR, N2- physisorption, XPS, FESEM-EDX and NH3-TPD). The characterization results clearly showed that sol-gel technique is a suitable method to synthesize highly crystalline metal oxide materials with smaller particle size, higher surface area and tunable acidic properties. The ODS reaction conditions and Fe metal loading were found to influence the dibenzothiophene (DBT) removal efficiency. The catalytic ODS data showed that Fe-ZnO with 5 wt% of Fe catalyst is capable in total removal of DBT within shorter reaction time under mild reaction conditions in the presence of H2O2 as an oxidant. The catalyst is reusable for six consecutive cycles of reaction without regeneration steps and the characteristic of spent catalyst was confirmed with XRD and FTIR analysis. The close catalytic cycle involving H2O2 as an oxidant was shown through proposed mechanistic pathway

Oxygenation et degradation du polymere, decoloration du sensibilisateur lors de la photooxygenation du polybutadiene-1,4 cis sensibilisee par les colorants

SIGLECNRS T Bordereau / INIST-CNRS - Institut de l'Information Scientifique et TechniqueFRFranc