Generalized Exponentiated Moment Exponential Distribution

Moment distributions have a vital role in mathematics and statistics, in particular in probability theory, in the perspective research related to ecology, reliability, biomedical field, econometrics, survey sampling and in life-testing. Hasnain (2013) developed an exponentiated moment exponential (EME) distribution and discussed some of its important properties. In the present work, we propose a generalization of EME distribution which we call it generalized EME (GEME) distribution and develop various properties of the distribution. We also present characterizations of the distribution in terms of conditional expectation as well as based on hazard function of the GEME random variable

Growth of Albizia lebbeck (L.) Benth. (Mimosaceae) in Polluted Soils of Landhi and Korangi Industrial Areas of Karachi, Pakistan

Growth of Albizia lebbeck was observed in the polluted soils from towel, garment, rubber and ply board factories in the vicinity of Landhi and Korangi industrial areas of Karachi. Growth of A. lebbeck was reduced in most of the industrial area soils as compared to the control soil from Karachi University campus. The rubber factory soil reduced all the growth parameters as compared to the control soil. Percentage of soil pollutants (total soluble salts and available sulfate) in all of the industrial area soils was higher than in the control area soil. Percentage of coarse sand, calcium carbonate, total soluble salts, available sulfate, and chromium was higher in soil of rubber factory then in the control area soil whereas percentage of water holding capacity, organic matter and zinc was lower in soil from rubber factory than in the control area soil. This showed that the soil of industrial areas of Landhi and Korangi particularly from rubber factory and ply board factory was contaminated by the pollutants in the area and drastically affected the plant growth. The findings of this research could be helpful in monitoring and controlling the pollutant levels in soils of the industrial areas. Such information could also be useful for landscaping and urban planning

Antipsychotic prescription patterns and treatment costs of schizophrenia in northwestern Pakistan: A one-year observational study

Purpose: To evaluate the antipsychotic drugs most commonly prescribed for schizophrenia patients in Peshawar, Pakistan and to analyze the treatment costs associated with these drugs.Methods: One hundred patients diagnosed with schizophrenia were recruited from outpatient psychiatry departments in Peshawar, Pakistan and followed for one year. Demographic data were collected for each patient at the beginning of the study. A questionnaire was used to collect antipsychotic prescription information at 4, 8 and 12 months. The cost of antipsychotics was obtained from PharmaGuide, Pakistan. The cost associated with antipsychotic drug use was statistically analyzed using post hoc tests.Results: Of the patients who completed this study, 68.1 % were prescribed second-generation antipsychotic (SGA) drugs, 6.9 % first-generation antipsychotic (FGA) drugs, and 25.0 % a combination of SGAs and FGAs. Furthermore, 40.3 % of the patients who completed the study received antipsychotic monotherapy and 34.7 % antipsychotic polytherapy. In monotherapy, risperidone was the most commonly prescribed antipsychotic drug, used by 44.8 % of patients while in polytherapy, risperidone plus olanzapine was the most commonly prescribed combination, used by 32 % of patients. Switching of antipsychotic drugs was observed in 25 % of patients. The mean annual cost of antipsychotic therapy was US$79.90 (8079 Pakistani rupees). Risperidone treatment cost was US$60.30 (PakRs 6095), constituting 52 % of the total monotherapy cost. The cost of SGAs was significantly higher than the cost of FGAs (p < 0.05).Conclusion: The results provide policymakers with appropriate information necessary for managing pharmacotherapy plans for the treatment of schizophrenia.Keywords: Schizophrenia, Prescribing pattern, Antipsychotics, Cost analysis, Pharmacotherap

NO2 Gas Sensing Properties of Carbon Films Fabricated by Arc Discharge Methane Decomposition Technique

In this work, a set of experiments has been conducted using arc discharge Methane decomposition attempting to obtain carbonaceous materials (C-strands) formed between graphite electrodes. The current-voltage (I-V) characteristics of the fabricated C-strands have been investigated in the presence and absence of two different gases, NO2 and CO2. The results reveal that the current passing through the carbon films increases when the concentrations of gases are increased from 200 to 800 ppm. This phenomenon is a result of conductance changes and can be employed in sensing applications such as gas sensors

COMPARISON OF URINE JET VELOCITY IN VARIOUS GRADES OF HYDRONEPHROSIS IN THE CASE OF URETERIC OBSTRUCTION BY REAL-TIME

Introduction: Hydronephrosis is a common complication of the kidney that is caused by obstruction to kidney ureters and bladder. The renal pelvis and pelvicalyceal system of the kidney become dilated. The obstruction may either be in the upper or lower urinary tract. Upper urinary tract obstruction includes ureteropelvic junction obstruction, renal stone, tumours, and vesicoureteric junction obstruction while lower tract includes benign prostatic hyperplasia, prostate tumours posterior urethral valves. Material & Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted at the Department of Radiology Lady Reading Hospital Peshawar, Pakistan. The study duration was 9 months (September 2020 and May 2021). A total of 120 participants were presented with a history of flank and are suspicious for renal stone causing hydronephrosis. 30 patients were taken as control with no renal disease while 90 were cases having renal disease. Grading of hydronephrosis and Urine jet velocity was recorded by using real-time and spectral doppler ultrasound. Results: A total of 120 participants were included in this study. The mean jet velocity in the normal individuals was recorded as 50.37 ± 6.4 cm/s, however, in patients with mild, moderate, and severe hydronephrosis the mean jet velocity was recorded as 14.23 ± 10.47 cm/s, 7.32± 8.14 cm/s and, 1.5 ± 3.98 cm/s respectively. Conclusion: Urine jet velocity is a good indicator of ureteric obstruction in a patient with various grades of hydronephrosis. The velocity of the urine jet reduced significantly with increasing the severity of hydronephrosis

Self-perceived health among school going adolescents in Pakistan: influence of individual, parental and life style factors?

BACKGROUND: Adolescents are at substantial risk of acquiring behaviors which might influence their health status. This study was aimed to assess the proportion of school going adolescents (both males and females) with poor self-perceived health and its associated factors. METHODOLOGY: A cross-sectional study was conducted in three major cities of Pakistan i.e. Karachi, Lahore and Quetta. From each city, six (6) secondary schools were randomly selected (3 public and 3 private). Pre-tested, self-administered questionnaire was distributed to students. Binary logistic regression analysis was conducted to determine independent factors associated with poor self-perceived health. RESULTS: Approximately 29% adolescents (119/414) reported poor self-perceived health. Individual and parental factors significantly associated with poor self-perceived health were being male (AOR = 1.75, 95% CI: 1.09 - 2.79), living in extended family (AOR = 2.65, 95% CI: 1.66 - 4.22), unskilled employment of father (AOR = 2.17, 95% CI: 1.35 - 3.48), lack of parental-child communication (AOR = 1.74, 95% CI: 1.03 - 2.91) and unfair treatment by parents (AOR = 1.80, 95% CI: 1.09 - 2.96). Life style factors such as use of smokeless tobacco (AOR = 2.14, 95% CI: 1.26 - 3.96) and unhealthy diet (AOR = 3.60, 95% CI: 1.76 - 7.33) were associated with poor self-perceived health. CONCLUSION: Better employment opportunities for father, parental counseling and increase awareness for adolescents about healthy diet are recommended to improve adolescent self-perceived health in Pakistan

Preventable lifestyle risk factors for non-communicable diseases in the Pakistan Adolescents Schools Study 1 (PASS-1).

Objectives: The rising burden of preventable risk factors for non-communicable diseases (NCDs) among adolescents is a major public health challenge worldwide. We identified the preventable risk factors for NCDs in adolescents. Methods: In a school-based study, pre-tested structured questionnaires were completed by 414 adolescents (14 to 17 years) at six schools in three cities in Pakistan. The chi-squared test and adjusted odds ratio (aOR) with 95% confidence interval (CI) were calculated in a multinomial logistic regression analysis. Results: Over 80% of the adolescents had unhealthy diets, and 54% were physically inactive. Most adolescents were exposed to passive smoking, and 14% were also current smokers. More than one-third of participants chewed betel nut, and one-quarter used oral tobacco. More girls were physically inactive (OR, 4.07; 95% CI, 2.69 to 6.17), whereas a greater proportion of boys were current smokers (OR, 2.17; 95% CI, 1.19 to 3.91), exposed to passive smoking (OR, 2.57; 95% CI, 1.72 to 3.83), and using betel nut (OR, 2.03; 95% CI, 1.34 to 3.06). Only 3.1% of the participants were without any preventable lifestyle risk factor for NCDs, and over 80% had ≥2 factors. Co-existence of risk factors was independently associated with fathers being blue-collar workers (aOR, 3.57; 95% CI, 1.07 to 11.92) and parents not treating their child fairly (aOR, 5.05; 95% CI, 1.29 to 19.78). Conclusions: Most of the adolescents studied had preventable risk factors for NCDs. These results warrant comprehensive and integrated interventions to prevent lifestyle risk factors, and parents are front-line stakeholders

Enhanced biocidal activity of Au nanoparticles synthesized in one pot using 2, 4-dihydroxybenzene carbodithioic acid as a reducing and stabilizing agent

Background The conjugation of gold nanoparticles with biocides such as natural products, oligosaccharides, DNA, proteins has attracted great attention of scientists recently. Gold NPs covered with biologically important molecules showed significant enhancement in biological activity in comparison with the activity of the free biocides. However, these reports are not very systematic and do not allow to draw definitive conclusions. We therefore embarked in a systematic study related to the synthesis and characterization of biocidal activities of Au nanoparticles conjugated to a wide variety of synthetic and natural biomolecules. In this specific report, we investigated the activity of a synthetic biocide, 2-4, Dihydroxybenzene carbodithioic acid (DHT). Results Au nanoparticles (NP) with a mean size of about 20 nm were synthesized and functionalized in one pot with the help of biocide 2,4-Dihydroxybenzene carbodithioic acid (DHT) to reduce HAuCl4 in aqueous solution. Conjugation of DHT with gold was confirmed by FT-IR and the amount of DHT conjugated to the Au nanoparticles was found to be 7% by weight by measuring the concentration of DHT in the supernatant after centrifugation of the Au NPs. To ascertain the potential for in vivo applications, the stability of the suspensions was investigated as a function of pH, temperature and salt concentration. Antibacterial, antifungal, insecticidal and cytotoxic activities of the Au-DHT conjugates were compared with those of pure DHT and of commercially available biocides. In all cases, the biocidal activity of the Au-DHT conjugates was comparable to that of commercial products and of DHT. Conclusions Since the DHT concentration in the Au-DHT conjugates was only about 7%, our results indicate that conjugation to the Au NPs boosts the biocidal activity of DHT by about 14 times. The suspensions were found to be stable for several days at temperatures of up to 100°C, salt concentrations up to 4 mol/L and a pH range of 2-13

COMPARISON OF HIGH-RESOLUTION SONOGRAPHY AND COLOUR DOPPLER FLOW IMAGING IN PATIENTS PRESENTING WITH ACUTE SCROTUM

Introduction: One of the most common urological emergency conditions is acute scrotum. Scrotal pain is commonly seen in early adults in the emergency departments with an association of different pathologies. The aim of this study was to determine the comparison of high-resolution sonography and colour Doppler flow imaging in patients presenting with acute scrotum. Material & Methods: A descriptive study was conducted at the Department of Radiology, Lady Reading Hospital, Peshawar, Pakistan. This study enrolled a purposive sample of emergency department patients presenting with acute scrotal pain. The pattern of blood flow, peak systolic velocity, resistive index, pulsatility index, mean and standard deviation were calculated for the continuous variables. Descriptive analyses were performed to investigate the distribution of data. Results: A total of 72 patients were enrolled in our study. The mean age of patients was recorded 36.33±11.66 years. The most common scrotal pathologies that associated with scrotal pain was hydrocele 31(38.8%), followed by varicocele 22(27.5%), testicular torsion 9(11.3%), cyst 8(10.0%), epididymo-orchitis 7(8.8%), pyocele 6(7.5%), orchitis 4(5.0%), increase scrotal wall thickness 3(3.8%), undescended testis 3(3.8%), inguinoscrotal hernia 1(1.3%), testicular atrophy 1(1.3%), rete testis 1(1.3%), hemangioma 1(1.3%), hematoma 1(1.3%), scrotal mass 1(1.3%), testicular microlithiasis 1(1.3%), and normal scrotal sonography 4(5.0%) of cases respectively. Conclusion: High-resolution ultrasonography along with colour and power Doppler should be used as 1st line imaging modality in patients presenting with acute scrotal pain

Study protocol: asymptomatic intracranial atherosclerotic disease in pakistanis.

Background : Intracranial atherosclerotic disease (ICAD) is the most frequent subtype of ischemic stroke globally. It is important to describe the determinants of early ICAD as a strategy to prevent strokes from clinically evident and progressive ICAD. Our objective is to report the determinants of asymptomatic ICAD by linking the presence or absence of ICAD on magnetic resonance angiogram (MRA) with detailed risk assessment in asymptomatic adults. Methods : This is an observational cross-sectional analytical study. We plan to recruit 200 adult participants from the radiology departments of two tertiary care centers of Karachi, Pakistan. The participants will first be screened for the absence of stroke symptoms via the Questionnaire for Verifying Stroke Free Status (QVSFS). QVSFS negative will be participants will be eligible. After written informed consent, participants will undergo detailed medical, sociodemographic, lifestyle, and anthropometric evaluation by a detailed interview. They will, in addition, undergo MRA to study the presence, degree, and distribution of asymptomatic ICAD. All MRA scans will be reviewed centrally by vascular neurologists blinded to clinical information. These images would be reviewed on DICOM Viewer 3.0 used for calculating the degree of stenosis using Warfarin–Aspirin Symptomatic Intracranial Disease (WASID) study defined criteria employing electronic calipers. A sample size of 200 will achieve 80% power for detecting a minimum difference of 20% in the prevalence of exposure factors (medical and lifestyle) between asymptomatic ICAD positive and ICAD negative persons. This study will generate regional data on risks for ICAD development and prevention in a high-risk susceptible population