Comparison of Tramadol and Pethidine for the treatment of shivering during spinal anesthesia

Objectives: The aim of the study is to compare the effectiveness of tramadol vs pethidine for treatment of shivering occurring after spinal anesthesia. Study Design: Double blind comparative study. Place and duration of study: Department of anesthesiology and pain medicine, Combined Military Hospital Malir Cantt Karachi from 1st September to 31st December 2017. Methodology: 70 patients were selected following non-random convenient sampling and were divided into Group A and B. Group A received 0.25mg/kg tramadol while Group B received 0.35mg/kg pethidine. Time to complete control of shivering was noted. Nausea and vomiting were also evaluated by using a four-point scale (Table1). Results: Shivering was successfully controlled in 91.4% and 85.7% respectively in group A and B; success rates were not statistically different (p=0.23). Average time between injection tramadol to complete control of shivering in successfully treated Group A patients was 210±63 seconds (range of 100 to 310 seconds) and for pethidine average time was 174±52 seconds (range of 90 to 258 seconds). Pethidine showed a shorter time to control shivering which was statistically significant (p=0.09) but in real time amounted to an average of 0.6 minutes (Figure 2). Nausea and vomiting were more frequent (14.3% vs 8.6%) in group B as compared to Group A and this was statistically significant (p=0.03). Conclusion: Tramadol was found to be as effective as pethidine in controlling shivering with fewer side effects in spinal anesthesi

Lyapunov-Schmidt reduction in the study of periodic travelling wave solutions of nonlinear dispersive long wave equation

This article studies the bifurcation of periodic travelling wave solutions of nonlinear dispersive long wave equation by using Lyapunov-Schmidt reduction. We determined the conditions for the existence of regular solutions for the reduced equation corresponding to the main problem, also we found the linear approximation of the solutions of the main problem.Publisher's Versio

Evaluation of mineral, proximate compositions and anti-oxidant activities of some wild edible vegetables of District Kurram Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan

This study was conducted to determine the mineral contents and some nutritional properties of five local wild vegetable; Allium griffithianum Boiss, Buglossoides arvensis (L.) I.M.Johnst., Caralluma tuberculata (N.E.Br.) D. C. H. Plowes, Chaerophyllum reflexum Aitch, and Stellaria media (L.) Vill., from district Kurram KP, Pakistan which are associated with folk knowledge in the region. This research is the first scientific report on the nutritional composition of the above mentioned species. Among five wild species, the Buglossoides arvensis had the highest carbohydrates content (71.99 ± 0.5%) and high lipid contents (4.8 ± 0.2%). Besides that, it has the highest total energy (349.024 kcal/100 g). Stellaria media was found to have the maximum ash (22.77 ± 0.1%) and lipids (4.87 ± 0.06%). Chaerophyllum reflexum showed the highest protein content (10.5 ±0.4%) and high total energy (332.68 ± 0.3 kcal/100 g). Mineral analysis showed that the local wild vegetables contained considerable amount of minerals; Calcium (2.20 ± 0.5-1506 ± 0.06 µg/g), Potassium (3.018 ± 1.7-1272.06 ± 0.005 µg/g), Phosphorous (2.98 ± 0.01-180.01 ± 0.1 µg/g), Chromium (0.98 ± 0.6-42.9 ± 0.5 µg/g), Cobalt (0.18 ±0.005-7.7 ± 0.2 µg/g), Sodium (0.78 ± 0.5-205.53 ± 0.4 µg/g) and Copper (5.5 ± 0.4-35.06 ± 0.7 µg/g). These data suggest that wild plants from district Kurram could be useful for nutrition or other applications. For instance, Caralluma tuberculata contains the highest number of mineral elements, which has been traditionally used as an anti-diabetic, blood purifier and for weight loss

THE EFFECTS OF DEMUTUALIZATION ON EXPANSION OF STOCK MARKET GROWTH: EVIDENCES FROM INDIAN STOCK MARKET AND LESSON FOR PAKISTAN STOCK EXCHANGE (PSX)

The decision to transform an exchange’s governance andownership structure is influenced by globalized market trend whichallows exchanges to gain from the benefits of internationalizationand integration. This article examines the impact ofdemutualization on stock market indicators. Bombay StockExchange and National Stock Exchange of India were taken asstatistical frame. Wilcoxon sign rank test, Pair sample T-test, andMANOVA were used as statistical techniques. Pre-Post researchdesign was used and data (4 years before and 4years after thedemutualization) were collected from the website of the worldfederation of the exchanges. The result of Wilcoxon sign rank testand Pair sample T-test indicates significant differences in stockindex, market capitalization, value of share trading and the numberof listed companies before and after the demutualization of Indianstock exchanges. Likewise, the results of MANOVA elucidatessignificant influence of demutualization on stock market indicators,and conclude that demutualization leveraged Indian stockexchanges to a great extant

Allelopathic inhibition of germination, seedling growth and cell division of selected plant species by Calotropis procera (Ait.) Ait.

Calotropis procera (Ait.) Ait. is perennial medicinal obnoxious shrub growing in Pakistan up to 1500 m altitude. Hot and water aqueous extracts from leaves and young stems of C. procera were used against Pennisetum glaucum (Linn.) R. Br., Setaria italica (Linn.) P. Beauv., Brassica campestris Linn. and Lactuca sativa L. under laboratory condition. It was seen that germination, seedling growth, fresh and dry biomass reduced in concentration dependent manner. It was observed that the allelopathic effects depended upon the tested species, growth parameter measured, soaking duration and concentration of the donor plant material. The C. procera litter incorporated into the growth medium inhibited the test species used. The C. procera extracts from leaves were more inhibitory than stem extracts. The tendency of inhibition was radical growth > germination > plumule growth suggesting radicle growth to be a better measure of allelopathy. Leaf extracts significantly reduced division and size of cells. It is suggested that aqueous extract from C. procera can be further assessed against microbes and weed under laboratory and field condition

An Alternate Account on the Ethical Implications of Autonomous Vehicles

Given the widespread popularity of Autonomous Vehicles (AVs), researchers have been exploring the ethical implications of AVs. Researchers believe that empirical experiments can provide insights into human characterization of ethically sound machine behavior. Previous research indicates that humans generally endorse utilitarian AVs, however, this paper explores an alternative account on the discourse of ethical decision-making in AVs. We refrain from favoring consequentialism or non-consequential ethical theories, and argue that human moral decision-making is pragmatic, or in other words, ethically and rationally bounded. We hold the perspective that our moral preferences shift based on various externalities and biases. To further this concept, we conduct two Amazon Mechanical Turk studies to investigate factors, such as, the \u27degree of harm\u27, and \u27level of affection\u27, which influence people\u27s moral decision-making. Our experimental findings seem to suggest that human moral judgements cannot be wholly deontological or utilitarian. We discovered that as the degree of harm decreased, people became less utilitarian (more deontological), and as the level of affection increased, people became less utilitarian (more deontological). These findings offer evidence on the ethical variations in human decision-making processes and refutes the view that aim to advocate application of a specific moral framework based on empirical evidence. The findings also offer useful insights for policymakers to explore the overall public perception on the ethical implications of AV

Searching Peace or Deepening Instability in Afghanistan: An Assessment of the US-Taliban Peace Talks

Former US president Richard Nixon had very aptly remarked that one cannot seek peace with the enemy at any cost who is out to seek victory at any cost. Making peace is the acme of skill and the job of the true statesman. The US was not willing to make a negotiated peace settlement with the Taliban nor were the Taliban ready to come the negotiating table with the US-installed Kabul government in the first few years following the fall of the Taliban regime. Peace talks between the US and the Taliban thus took a long way and both sides who wanted to twist each other’s arms. Sanity, however, prevailed and the peace parleys started afresh. The regional powers also welcomed the peace and it is hoped that peace would lead to the amelioration of the hapless Afghans on one hand the arrival of stability in the region on the other. But the US unilateraldecision to cancel the peace deal at the nick of time took the world in surprise and brought forth the harsh realities of realpolitik. However, peace process was again resumed and signaled the message that the US is determined to leave Afghanistan. The question here is not of the US decision to withdraw from Afghanistan but the way the US is withdrawing from the country and the situation that would follow in the post US withdrawal environment. The element of precipitousness on the part of the US is mind boggling and this issue has been highlighted in this paper. The US decision to withdraw from a highly volatile zone of war inconclusively may deepen instability in the region that may foil all the efforts of searching peace instead. This has happened in Afghanistan time andagain in the past as well and the same may be repeated once again. If that happened, it will lead to strengthening the belief that we learn from history that we do not learn from history. This hypothesis has been dilated upon in this paper

Exercising ethnobiological resilience in turbulent times and places: in memoriam Sayed Hussain (1998–2023)

On May 4, 2023, four schoolteachers and four drivers, including the young ethnobotanist Sayed Hussain, lost their lives at their school, massacred by religious extremists in the village of Teri Mangal, Kurram District, NW Pakistan, near the Pakistani-Afghan border. Ethnobiologists working in this area believe in the power of education and community-centered rural development as prominent tools for bringing about decent sustainable livelihoods in the near future and ultimately fostering social cohesion, tolerance, and peace. Ethnobiology was expressly conceived and designed to play a pivotal role in celebrating the richness of diversity of both indigenous and minority groups and especially to stop their oppression and discrimination, building the conditions for providing them true agency in their inalienable right to shape a decent future for their children. Field ethnobiologists in Kurram feel the palpable social tension, the fears local people confront daily and even sometimes the reluctance of a few community members to discuss and share their folk knowledge, while at other times, the burden of accessing militarily controlled areas and territories affected by landmines made their field research unfeasible. Nevertheless, ethnobiologists conducting field studies and navigating through these major difficulties exercise their daily resilience daily and believe in the power of the continuous dialogue between local knowledge holders and scholars

Lukas Schlogl and Andy Sumner, Disrupted Development and the Future of Inequality in the Age of Automation.

Disrupted Development and the Future of Inequality in the Age of Automation scrutinise the impact of automation in both the developed and developing countries. This emerging trend of automation has taken over the globe terming it as ‘robot reserve army’ affecting the economy with premature de-industrialisation. This book, unlike other books in the domain, notably by Girasa (2020), Goldfarb et. al., (2019), and Bernhardt and Thomason (2018), focuses on the most recent trend in mushroom growth of automation that result in national inequality, besides proposing the ways how to tackle this social strain in terms of public policy. The authors have introduced the book quoting a World Bank report (2016) that automation has contrived almost two-thirds of the developing countries' current labour force. Likewise, they have also quoted several international agencies global reports on employment prospects towards weakening the labour force. The majority of the reports focus on high-income growth countries, neglecting the developing countries whose progress remains understudied. The book sets in motion with contemporary economic development in the developing world, discussing the three economic theories: (neo-)Classical and neoSchumpeterian school. According to the first two (classical and neo-classical) schools; market equilibrium is determined through supply and demand where manufacturing sectors are portrayed as inconsequential. In contrast to this, neoSchumpeterian school of thought explains; how the market is self-regulating, where manufacturing sectors do matter. These thoughts, according to Rodrik (2016), could be the turning points for developing countries, provided technological capacity as of developed nations. Further, the book presents that the absorptive capacity of labour in poor countries is low that hinders the transfer of labour towards high productivity sectors. Likewise, excess natural resources’ export is also portrayed as negatively impacting the structural transformation, limiting the labour force. These issues, are found to be factors limiting the economic growth rate in the underdeveloped regions like, Latin America, studies like McMillan and Rodrick (2011)