INTRODUCTION TO CHINA PAKISTAN ECONOMIC CORRIDOR AND ITS IMPORTANCE FOR PAKISTAN

The China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) consist of various projects related to energy, telecommunication, and highways linking Gwadar Port to China thus creating a shorter route. This route has strategic importance as it provide cost effective way of exporting Chinese products to the world market and reducing transportation cost on oil imported from Middle East to China. The CPEC project is beneficial for Pakistan as it has potential to reduce country’s energy shortage, boost economic growth, create jobs and reduce poverty. The challenges to the project include security issues, political will, and foreign interference. It is recommended that government of Pakistan include key stakeholders such as local people, communities, Chinese government, and neighboring countries in the process in order to better overcome these challenges

COMPARISON OF PERCEPTIONS IN TERMS OF FUNCTIONS AND FAMILY SUPPORT AMONG NORMAL INDIVIDUALS AND PATIENTS OF SCHIZOPHRENIA

Objective: To investigate the differences in perception between schizophrenic patients and their normal siblings in terms of functionality and family support. Design: A cross-sectional study. Place and duration of the study: In the Psychiatry Department, Mayo hospital Lahore for one year duration from July 2016 to July 2017. Subjects and methods: 300 normal siblings and 300 patients were included in the study. A semi-structured interview and multidimensional, Family Support Scale and Family Functioning Scale were used to check the variations. The data was analyzed statistically. Findings: Expression, organization, family sociability, conflicts, idealization and democracy were the most important factors for family functioning (p <0.0004). Major variations were observed in the general family function perception and family support (p = 0.0002). Conclusions: We believe if family and family functions of family members are taken differently by patients than family dynamics should be deepened in the treatment of schizophrenia. Key words: Schizophrenia, Expression

Essential oil and leaves from Lantana camara significantly ameliorate different cancer cell lines by suppressing the NF-κB pathway

The anticancer and anti-inflammatory activities of wild-sage (Lantana camara) leaves essential oil were evaluated against various human cell lines. In this regard, steam hydro-distillation technique was used for oil extraction. Chemical characterization of L. camara essential oil (LCEO) was done by GC-MS, and forty one chemical components (98.69%) were detected in leaves of LCEO. The major constituents were caryophyllene oxide (19.63%), caryophyllene (6.68%), β-phellandrene (6.48%), humulene epoxide II (5.68%), spathulenol (4.17%), α-pinene (3.27%), eucalyptol (3.09%), α-cyclocitral (2.89%), β-pinene (2.38%), and nerolidol II (2.33%). Moreover, the antioxidant and antimicrobial potential of LCEO were also examined. LCEO also showed good anti-inflammatory activity. Interestingly, it was found that the L. camara essential oil was active against a set of microbial strains along with promising antioxidant activity. The MTT assay showed that LCEO possessed good anticancer potential against U-266, A-549, HCT-116, SCC-4, MiaPaCa 2, and KBM-5 cancer cell lines. In these cell lines, it was depicted that the LCEO blocked the tumor cell proliferation via NF-κB pathway suppression. The promising and potent bioactivities of LCEO support the candidature of these essential oils as an anticancer agent

Pregnancy and neonatal outcomes of COVID-19: The PAN-COVID study

Objective To assess perinatal outcomes for pregnancies affected by suspected or confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection. Methods Prospective, web-based registry. Pregnant women were invited to participate if they had suspected or confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection between 1st January 2020 and 31st March 2021 to assess the impact of infection on maternal and perinatal outcomes including miscarriage, stillbirth, fetal growth restriction, pre-term birth and transmission to the infant. Results Between April 2020 and March 2021, the study recruited 8239 participants who had suspected or confirmed SARs-CoV-2 infection episodes in pregnancy between January 2020 and March 2021. Maternal death affected 14/8197 (0.2%) participants, 176/8187 (2.2%) of participants required ventilatory support. Pre-eclampsia affected 389/8189 (4.8%) participants, eclampsia was reported in 40/ 8024 (0.5%) of all participants. Stillbirth affected 35/8187 (0.4 %) participants. In participants delivering within 2 weeks of delivery 21/2686 (0.8 %) were affected by stillbirth compared with 8/4596 (0.2 %) delivering ≥ 2 weeks after infection (95 % CI 0.3–1.0). SGA affected 744/7696 (9.3 %) of livebirths, FGR affected 360/8175 (4.4 %) of all pregnancies. Pre-term birth occurred in 922/8066 (11.5%), the majority of these were indicated pre-term births, 220/7987 (2.8%) participants experienced spontaneous pre-term births. Early neonatal deaths affected 11/8050 livebirths. Of all neonates, 80/7993 (1.0%) tested positive for SARS-CoV-2. Conclusions Infection was associated with indicated pre-term birth, most commonly for fetal compromise. The overall proportions of women affected by SGA and FGR were not higher than expected, however there was the proportion affected by stillbirth in participants delivering within 2 weeks of infection was significantly higher than those delivering ≥ 2 weeks after infection. We suggest that clinicians’ threshold for delivery should be low if there are concerns with fetal movements or fetal heart rate monitoring in the time around infection

Adaptation and validation of substance use risk profile scale (SURP) for Pakistani population

Objective: To adapt, validate and establish psychometric property of the Substance Use Risk Profile scale for Pakistani population. Method: The cross-sectional study was conducted from May to September 2021 in Lahore, Pakistan, and comprised clinical and non-clinical adult patients following the International Test Commission guidelines for the adaptation and validation of the Substance Use Risk Profile scale. A The scale’s factor structure, internal consistency, content validity, face validity and convergent validity were exained. Confirmatory factor analysis, reliability analysis, and data analysis were done using SPSS 25. Results: Of the 485 subjects, 243(50.1%) were non-clinical and 242(49.9%) were clinical subjects. The overall mean age was 4.68+/-2.3 years (range: 19-58 years). The scale had adequate internal consistency, criterion validity, and construct validity with Cronbach’s alphas ranging 0.71-0.95. Conclusion: The Substance Use Risk Profile was found to be a beneficial tool to be employed in research realted to substance use disorder in Pakistan. Key Words: Adaptation, Substance use risk profile scale, Personality, Substance use disorder, Psychometric properties, Confirmatory factor analysis

Improving Accuracy of River Flow Forecasting Using LSSVR with Gravitational Search Algorithm

River flow prediction is essential in many applications of water resources planning and management. In this paper, the accuracy of multivariate adaptive regression splines (MARS), model 5 regression tree (M5RT), and conventional multiple linear regression (CMLR) is compared with a hybrid least square support vector regression-gravitational search algorithm (HLGSA) in predicting monthly river flows. In the first part of the study, all three regression methods were compared with each other in predicting river flows of each basin. It was found that the HLGSA method performed better than the MARS, M5RT, and CMLR in river flow prediction. The effect of log transformation on prediction accuracy of the regression methods was also examined in the second part of the study. Log transformation of the river flow data significantly increased the prediction accuracy of all regression methods. It was also found that log HLGSA (LHLSGA) performed better than the other regression methods. In the third part of the study, the accuracy of the LHLGSA and HLGSA methods was examined in river flow estimation using nearby river flow data. On the basis of results of all applications, it was found that LHLGSA and HLGSA could be successfully used in prediction and estimation of river flow

Synthesis of Bio-Based Non-Fluorinated Oil and Water Repellent Finishes for Cotton Fabric by Using Palmitic Acid, Succinic Acid, and Maleic Acid

Oil and water repellency is very important for certain textile end products. Traditional durable oil and water repellents contain fluorine or formaldehyde-based substances. These substances have a long-term negative impact on the human health and natural environmental, and therefore, they are being banned. To address this problem, scientists are continuously working on the development of new sustainable alternatives. In this regard, present paper reports the results of the successful development, optimization, and application of two ecofriendly oil and water repellents for cotton fabrics. In case of the first oil and water repellent development, present research polymerizes the bio-based palmitic acid with formaldehyde-free bio-succinic acid. While in the second oil and water repellent, this research polymerizes the bio-based palmitic acid with formaldehyde-free maleic acid. The developed polymers provided comparable or better performance properties with reference to the C6-based commercial fluorocarbon. In addition, the proposed polymers were successfully characterized using X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis, FTIR analysis, H-NMR spectroscopy, energy dispersive X-Ray (EDX) analysis, and SEM analysis)

Functional outcomes of poor ergonomic posture in university workers

Background and Objectives: Work-related musculoskeletal disorders are increasing due to poor posture adaptation. Increasing the use of technologies in the office settings is one of the main reasons behind muscle and soft tissue strains. The objective of the study was to determine the pattern of posture-related musculoskeletal pain in office workers.Methods: This observational study was conducted from 15th May, to 25th June, 2021. Data were collected by convenient sampling. The Nordic Musculoskeletal questionnaire on body postural habits was filled by 150 office workers from different universities of Lahore. Statistical Package for the Social Sciences software version 25 was used for statistical analysis.Results: There were 79 (52.7%) male and 71 (43.7%) female participants, with a mean age of 35.7 &plusmn; 5.14 years. Majority (51.3%) of the subjects reported sitting tilted forward, while a few used backrests and footrests for support. Prolonged crossed legs and twisted spine posture were also adopted by many subjects. Neck, lower back, and shoulder were the most affected regions, with increased musculoskeletal pain reported over the last 12 months. Due to recurrent pain in the neck, shoulder, and upper back, difficulty in carrying out routine jobs, housework, and hobbies was reported by 38.7%, 34.7%, and 30% of the subjects, respectively.Conclusion: Failure to adopt a good ergonomic approach leads to frequent musculoskeletal pain and difficulty in carrying out routine office and household work.</p