Skin delivery of 5-fluorouracil via ethosomes using microwave as skin permeation enhancement technique / Nauman Rahim Khan

This project focused on formulation and investigation of interplay effects of ethosomes, ethanol and microwave for enhanced skin drug retention with minimal systemic absorption. The microwave was used to modify the skin barrier properties to enhance ethosomes and/or drug penetration/and drug retention which is detrimental to treat local malignant melanoma and to enhance patient compliance. Ethosomes are known to fuse with skin to enable local drug retention. Pre-treatment of skin with microwave and applying liquified medicine is deemed to “cement” the skin thereby raising skin drug deposition. 5-fluorouracil loaded ethosomes were prepared and subjected physicochemical characterization. The molecular characteristics of untreated, microwave and/or ethosomes and/or ethanol-treated skins were examined by ATR-FTIR and raman spectroscopy, DSC and SEM techniques. The skin drug retention was promoted using larger ethosomes with negative zeta potentials that repelled anionic lipids of skin and hindered vesicle and/or anionic drug penetration into deep layers. Due to low ethanol, they were less able to fluidize the lipid and defluidize the protein domains at epidermis to enlarge aqueous pores for drug permeation. Pre-treatment of skin by 2450 MHz microwave for 2.5 min further increased skin drug penetration and retention of E5 ethosomes and provided lower drug permeation than cases treated for 1.15 min and 5 min. Pre-treating skin with microwave fluidized lipid and defluidized protein domains of skin that promoted transdermal drug penetration

Foraging Pattern, Functional and Numerical Response of Coccinella Septempunctata (L.) Feeding on Myzus Persicae (Sulzer.)

The prey searching pattern, fimctional and numerical response of Coccinella septempunctata (L.), common ladybird beetle. feeding on Myzus persicae (Sulzer). green peach aphid, were studied to evaluate predation potential. Impact of some potential abotic (viz, temperature) and biotic (viz prey size, prey distribution, predations hunger level and physical heterogeneity among host plant species) factors on the above parameters were studied in the laboratory and semi-field conditions. Both larvae and adult of C. septempunctata selected from single stock culture were found to detect their prey by physical contact. Their initial search was random which subsequently become prey-oriented. The prey search path indicated three distinct phases of search. viz "extensive search", initially "intensive search" on encountering the prey, and "post-intensive search" following ingestion of a prey. The intensity of search rate significantly increased following first prey intake stimulus. Predators, hunger level also influenced search pattern. Both prey size and prey densities influenced prey consumption of the predator. The rate of successful encounter and ultimate consumption also depended on the age/stages of the predator. The fourth instar larvae were found more voracious among larval stages consuming about 69-75 aphidsll2 hours. Interestingly, adult females always consumed more aphids than the male counterpart average being 78.5 aphidsl12 hours. The interaction among prey density, prey size and predator'S age were all significant (P<O.OI) having profound impact on each other. Functional response curves ranged from linear to sigmoid and increase polynomial. Temperature variation had affected all the components viz. instantaneous attack rate (a'), prey handling time (Tn). given up time etc. of prey searching capacity of the predator. The lower threshold temperature where the predators start feeding was 10°C and with initial increase in ambient temperature the predation rate increased upto a level beyond which the intensity of predation gradually diminished and at the upper threshold (38'C) the predators evantua1ly stopped feeding. The foraging activity took place within the range of 10-40'C, and maximum was between 20'23'C (predicted) and 23-25'C (observed)

Global and local road traffic injury epidemiology in children and adolescents

Background: Every year around the globe, more than 800,000 children and adolescents under the age of 20 die due to injuries from any cause. Globally, low-and middle-income countries bear a disproportionate 95% of the burden of all childhood injury mortality. There is a paucity of data on all injuries in children and road traffic injuries by type of road users among adolescents particularly from low and middle-income countries. The aim of this thesis is to increase the knowledge on the epidemiology of injuries in children 1-4 years and road traffic injuries in adolescents 10-19 years by type of road users in high-income, upper and lower- middle-income and low-income countries with a focus in Pakistan. Methods: The studies I and II have an ecological study design and used the database by global burden of disease study for the year 2010 and 1990-2019 respectively. The setting for the studies III and IV is Karachi, city of a lower-middle-income country, Pakistan. The study III is a survey of adolescents about their independent mobility and road traffic injuries and the data for study IV are motorcycle injuries from hospitals. Results: The highest injury rate was 94 per 100,000 in low-income countries of Sub-Saharan Africa and the lowest injury rate was 6 per 100,000 in the high-income countries of Eastern Europe/Central Asia (Study I). The reduction in mortality rates of adolescents’ road traffic injuries is more prominent in high-income countries than any other income level from 1990 to 2019. For instance, the mortality reduction in pedestrians 15-19 years in HICs was IRR 0.94 (95% CI 0.90 to 0.98) (Study II). Adolescents who had parental permission to cross main roads alone (adjusted odds ratio 1.39; 95% confidence interval 1.04 to 1.86) and who participated in one or more activities outside the home alone on the previous weekend (adjusted odds ratio 2.61; 95% confidence interval 1.42 to 5.13) had higher odds of road traffic injuries (Study III). Motorcyclists aged 13-17 years (adjusted odds ratio 1.25; 95% confidence interval 1.11, 1.42) and 18-19 years (adjusted odds ratio 1.26; 95% confidence interval 1.10, 1.43) had higher odds of severe injury compared to aged 20-24 years (Study IV). Conclusions: Child injury mortality is unevenly distributed across income level, to the detriment of low-income countries. There are decreasing trends in mortality for all types of road users in adolescents from 1990 to 2019 at all income levels but high-income countries have a larger decrease in mortality rates for all types of road users as compared with any other income level. Adolescents in Karachi who were allowed to cross main roads alone and who had weekend activities on their own were associated with road traffic injuries. In addition, adolescents aged 13-17 and 18-19 years were associated with higher odds of severe road traffic injuries compared to motorcyclists aged 20-24 years in Karachi, Pakistan

Smart Antennas and Intelligent Sensors Based Systems: Enabling Technologies and Applications

open access articleThe growing communication and computing capabilities in the devices enlarge the connected world and improve the human life comfort level. The evolution of intelligent sensor networks and smart antennas has led to the development of smart devices and systems for real-time monitoring of various environments. The demand of smart antennas and intelligent sensors significantly increases when dealing with multiuser communication system that needs to be adaptive, especially in unknown adverse environment [1–3]. The smart antennas based arrays are capable of steering the main beam in any desired direction while placing nulls in the unwanted directions. Intelligent sensor networks integration with smart antennas will provide algorithms and interesting application to collect various data of environment to make intelligent decisions [4, 5]. The aim of this special issue is to provide an inclusive vision on the current research in the area of intelligent sensors and smart antenna based systems for enabling various applications and technologies. We cordially invite some researchers to contribute papers that discuss the issues arising in intelligent sensors and smart antenna based system. Hence, this special issue offers the state-of-the-art research in this field

Release of salicylic acid from lanolin alcohol-ethyl cellulose films

In the present study lanolin alcohol films were investigated as potential drug delivery systems for the controlled release of salicylic acid. A series of experiments were conducted in vitro to study the release of salicylic acid from these films. The effect of changes in film composition and stirrer speed on drug release were examined. Seven film compositions with varying proportions of lanolin alcohol and ethyl cellulose were prepared over the ethyl cellulose concentrations of 0-30% w/w, while keeping the drug concentration at 2.5% w/w. The release data obtained in this study were examined by the Q vs 1/2 relationship and the first-order relationship. This was done to probe deeper into the underlying mechanism of drug release. Upon examination of the release data by the Q vs 1/2 treatment, it was observed that the correlation coefficients were quite high and lag times were only slightly negative in agreement with the observed initial release data. In contrast, the first-order treatment of data showed somewhat lower correlation coefficients and very high negative lag times. These data strongly suggest that the unidirectional release of salicylic acid from the lanolin alcoholethyl cellulose films follows Higuchi\u27s diffusion-controlled granular matrix model. The release rate constant showed an initial increase with inclusion of ethyl cellulose followed by a sharp decline as the ethyl cellulose concentration was further increased reaching a minimum value at about 15-20 percent of ethyl cellulose. Further increases in the concentration of ethyl cellulose increased the rate of drug release with a tendency to level off at about 30 percent ethyl cellulose concentration. The effect of stirring rate on the release rate constant showed that the rates of release of salicylic acid increased with increases in the stirring rate

Information technology and cost efficiency in Malaysian banking industry

It is argued that information technology can increase cost efficiency of banks by offering opportunities to substitute across inputs into production – for example, to substitute computer technology and information networks for labor. Hence, the transition to a knowledge-based financial sector would lead to banks becoming more competitive, more cost effective and better able in managing risks. As such, those banks that failed to make this transition are less able to compete as they lack the capability to innovate and face higher delivery costs. The main objectives of this paper are to determine the impact of IT on banking efficiency and its economies of scale using a sample of Malaysian banks. To achieve these objectives, stochastic cost frontier method is employed to estimate bank efficiency and panel data approach were used to examine the impact of IT on bank efficiency. The results indicate that the impact of IT on bank efficiency increases with increase in bank size, hence further supporting the process of bank mergers that are currently undertaken in the Malaysian banking industry

Foreign Aid, Domestic Savings and Economic Growth (Pakistan: 1960 to 1988)

One of the core tenets of foreign aid theory, particularly as encapsulated in the two-gap model, is that the insertion of foreign resources via free grants, loans, direct investment etc., into a developing economy sets in motion a causal chain of positive influences in the following broad mannerl: aid' ~ increase in investible resources ~ increase in domestic investment ~ more rapid rate of economic growth. Spirited and specific challenges to this approach came from many critics, supported greatly by a number of broad theoreticaF and empirical analyses. For a large part of the latter, the available evidence pointed to a negative relationship between aid and domestic savings. The evidence was largely based on crosssectional data, 'showing that, there was, in addition, reason to suggest a negative relationship between aid and economic growth. 3 The aim of this study is to provide some quantitative evidence on the relationship between foreign aid, domestic savings and economic growth for Pakistan. The analysis is carried out in three parts. Part one contains the methodology and the description of the data. Part two explores the correlation between aid and several other explanatory variables with Pakistan's savings rate, while part three attempts to analyse and explain the regression findings in terms of the effect of aid on economic growth

Effect of Leverage on Stock Returns and Systematic Risk: Evidence from Pakistani Industries

This paper evaluates the effect of leverage on stock returns and systematic risk in the corporate sector of Pakistan. It determines the relationship between leverage and systematic risk. Data was collected from eight industries such as; Cotton, Engineering, Chemicals, Sugar and Allied, Cement, Fuel and Energy, and transport and Communications. High leverage was experienced which leaded to high level of systematic risk and volatility in the stock prices

current state of poison control centers in Pakistan and the need for capacity building.

Background: Chemical exposure is a major health problem globally. Poison control centers (PCCs) play a leading role both in developed and developing countries in the prevention and control of poisonous chemical exposures. In this study, we aimed to assess the current state of PCCs in Pakistan and highlight capacity building needs in these centers. Methods: A cross-sectional survey of the two registered PCCs was done during August – December 2011. Necessary services of the PCCs were evaluated and the data were recorded on a predesigned checklist. Results: Both PCCs are affiliated to a tertiary care hospital. Clinical services to poisoned patients were available 24 hours a day / 7 days a week. Information on common local products was available to poison center staff. Both centers were involved in undergraduate and post graduate teaching. Telephone poison information service was not available in either of centers. There was a limited capacity for qualitative and analytical toxicology. Common antidotes were available. There were limited surveillance activities to capture toxic risks existing in the community and also a deficiency was observed in chemical disaster planning. Conclusion: PCCs in Pakistan need capacity building for specialized training in toxicology, toxicovigilance, chemical disaster planning, analytical laboratory tests and telephone service for consultation in poisoning cases

Trends of acute poisoning: 22 years experience from a tertiary care hospital in Karachi, Pakistan.

Objective: To determine the trends of acute poisoning in terms of frequency, nature of poisoning agent, clinical presentation and its outcome. Methods: The retrospective study was conducted at the Aga Khan University Hospital, Karachi, and comprised data of patients who presented with poisoning between January 1989 and December 2010.The patients were randomly selected , and demographic, chemical information, clinical feature, treatment and outcome were analysed using SPSS 16. Results: Of the total hospital admissions during the period, 3,189(0.3%) were cases of poisoning. Of them, medical records of 705(22%) cases were reviewed; 462(65.5%) adult and 243(34.5%) paediatric cases below 16 years of age. The overall median age was 21 years (interquartile range: 4-32 years)Moreover, 544(87%) were critical at the time of presentation. In 647(92%) cases, the poisoning occurred at home. Psychiatric drugs were found involved in 205(29%) cases, followed by prescription drugs 172(24.4%), pesticides 108(15.3%), hydrocarbons 71(10%), analgesics 59(8.7%), household toxins 59(8.7%), alcohol and drug abuse 21(2.97%) and others 47(6.67%). Conclusion: Poisoning was a serious cause of morbidity in children and young adults. Medications were the leading cause and home was the most common place of incident