Genotoxic damage in cultured human peripheral blood lymphocytes of oral contraceptive users

Synthetic progestins and estrogens have been reported to be toxic in various experimental models. Their prolonged use has been reported to induce cancer in humans. In the present study the effects of oral contraceptives were studied among users using chromosomal aberrations, sister chromatid exchanges and DNA damage as a parameter, in cultured human peripheral blood lymphocytes. The study was performed on 25 women (users) and 25 age match controls. No significant difference was observed in chromosomal aberrations and DNA damage. A significant increase was observed in sister chromatid exchanges (SCEs) Cell among users. The results obtained and the risk of oral contraceptives (OCs) genotoxicity have been discussed.Keywords: Oral contraceptives; Chromosomal aberrations; DNA damage; Sister chromatid exchanges; Human lymphocyte

Pharmacists and telemedicine: an innovative model fulfilling Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

The lack of access to safe medicines and quality healthcare services in peri-urban and rural areas is a major challenge driving a health system to innovate new models of care. This commentary will discuss the implementation and impact of the “Guddi baji” tele-pharmacy model, a project piloted by doctHERs, one of Pakistan’s leading telemedicine organizations. This innovative model has described the reintegration of women into the workforce by leveraging technology to improve the level of primary health care services and contributes to safe medication practice in a remote area. Our intervention proposed the deployment of technology-enabled, female frontline health workers known as the Guddi baji (meaning The Good Sister) in a rural village. They serve as an “access point to health care” that is linked to a remotely located health care professional; a licensed doctor or a pharmacist within this model

A study of random laser modes in disordered photonic crystals

We studied lasing modes in a disordered photonic crystal. The scaling of the lasing threshold with the system size depends on the strength of disorder. For sufficiently large size, the minimum of the lasing threshold occurs at some finite value of disorder strength. The highest random cavity quality factor was comparable to that of an intentionally introduced single defect. At the minimum, the lasing threshold showed a super-exponential decrease with the size of the system. We explain it through a migration of the lasing mode frequencies toward the photonic bandgap center, where the localization length takes the minimum value. Random lasers with exponentially low thresholds are predicted.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figure

Comparative flower transcriptome network analysis reveals DEGs involved in chickpea reproductive success during salinity

Salinity is increasingly becoming a significant problem for the most important yet intrinsically salt-sensitive grain legume chickpea. Chickpea is extremely sensitive to salinity during the reproductive phase. Therefore, it is essential to understand the molecular mechanisms by comparing the transcriptomic dynamics between the two contrasting genotypes in response to salt stress. Chickpea exhibits considerable genetic variation amongst improved cultivars, which show better yields in saline conditions but still need to be enhanced for sustainable crop production. Based on previous extensive multi-location physiological screening, two identified genotypes, JG11 (salt-tolerant) and ICCV2 (salt-sensitive), were subjected to salt stress to evaluate their phenological and transcriptional responses. RNA-Sequencing is a revolutionary tool that allows for comprehensive transcriptome profiling to identify genes and alleles associated with stress tolerance and sensitivity. After the first flowering, the whole flower from stress-tolerant and sensitive genotypes was collected. A total of ~300 million RNA-Seq reads were sequenced, resulting in 2022 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in response to salt stress. Genes involved in flowering time such as FLOWERING LOCUS T (FT) and pollen development such as ABORTED MICROSPORES (AMS), rho-GTPase, and pollen-receptor kinase were significantly differentially regulated, suggesting their role in salt tolerance. In addition to this, we identify a suite of essential genes such as MYB proteins, MADS-box, and chloride ion channel genes, which are crucial regulators of transcriptional responses to salinity tolerance. The gene set enrichment analysis and functional annotation of these genes in flower development suggest that they can be potential candidates for chickpea crop improvement for salt tolerance

Super-reflection of light from a random amplifying medium with disorder in the complex refractive index : Statistics of fluctuations

The probability distribution of the reflection coefficient for light reflected from a one-dimensional random amplifying medium with {\it cross-correlated} spatial disorder in the real and the imaginary parts of the refractive index is derived using the method of invariant imbedding. The statistics of fluctuations have been obtained for both the correlated telegraph noise and the Gaussian white-noise models for the disorder. In both cases, an enhanced backscattering (super-reflection with reflection coefficient greater than unity) results because of coherent feedback due to Anderson localization and coherent amplification in the medium. The results show that the effect of randomness in the imaginary part of the refractive index on localization and super-reflection is qualitatively different.Comment: RevTex 6 pages, 3 figures in ps file

Towards the Formalization of Fractional Calculus in Higher-Order Logic

Fractional calculus is a generalization of classical theories of integration and differentiation to arbitrary order (i.e., real or complex numbers). In the last two decades, this new mathematical modeling approach has been widely used to analyze a wide class of physical systems in various fields of science and engineering. In this paper, we describe an ongoing project which aims at formalizing the basic theories of fractional calculus in the HOL Light theorem prover. Mainly, we present the motivation and application of such formalization efforts, a roadmap to achieve our goals, current status of the project and future milestones.Comment: 9 page

DETERMINATION OF DIVERSE ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTION LEVEL FROM SELECTED AREAS OF RAWALPINDI, PAKISTAN

Anthropogenic contaminants arising from both stationary (power plants, industries and residential heating) and mobile sources (road traffic) can harm ambient air quality in urban areas. Depending upon their physical state, these pollutants are classified as liquid and vapor phases and are subsequently transported to the Earth’s surface through dry and wet deposition. After the deposition of these pollutants onto the surface of earth various health effects caused by these pollutants occurred like cardiovascular diseases and hypertension. In this study four different locations/sites were selected from the Rawalpindi city depending upon the population, traffic rush and industries to examine the noise level, concentration of carbon dioxide and heavy metals. Air sampler was used for the collection of air sample to analyze the heavy metal concentration, Quest electronic sound meter for measuring sound level and SIBATA for CO2 measurement. The study findings revealed that noise level was higher at all selected locations as described by WHO limit (70 dB) being highest at Industrial area due to heavy machinery and lowest at green area. Concentration of all four heavy metals were high as compared with the prescribed limits. CO2 level reaches up to 300 ppm because of coal consumption during the winter season. The threshold values of all these selected parameters well above the prescribed limits defined by the authorities so to combat with this situation we should move towards more energy efficient fuels, proper maintenance of vehicles and machineries, traffic management and installation of noise barriers in industries as well as installation of catalytic convertors in vehicles to stop further air pollution