Radiative decays of B mesons at LHCb

This thesis is dedicated to the study of radiative decays of B mesons at LHCb. At quark level, such decays are a b-sy transition and take place via a penguin loop and are sensitive to virtual contribution of New Physics, which can be indicated by an increase in the decay rates. These decays also offer the possibility to test the V-A structure of the Standard Model coupling in the processes mediated by loop penguin diagrams. In the decay Bs-ǿy, New Physics contribution can be probed by measuring the polarization of the photon in this decay. Systematic effects in the proper time reconstruction of the Bs in Bs-ǿy can bias the photon polarization measurement in this decay, which will reduce the sensitivity on the relevant New Physics parameter. The author studied those effects and developed ideas to calibrate them using Bd-K *y and Bs-J/ψǿ decays as control channels. These studies are mostly Monte Carlo based, due to a relatively small data set from the 2010 running. However, some studies and cross checks have indeed been performed with data. The author developed the trigger and stripping (another level of skimming the data, after the trigger) selections for Bs-ǿy and Bd-K*y decays, and made a major contribution to the selection of the first significant sample of Bd-K *y from the 2010 data set of LHCb

THE UNDERUSE OF SPIROMETERY IN ROUTINE MEDICAL PRACTICE FOR DIAGNOSIS AND MANAGEMENT OF CHRONIC OBSTRUCTIVE PULMONARY DISEASE (COPD) PATIENTS IN KARACHI, PAKISTAN

Introduction: Spirometry is important in the diagnosis and management of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), yet it is a common clinical observation that it is underused though the extent is unclear. This survey aims to examine the use of spirometry in the diagnosis and management of COPD patients in districts of, Karachi. Material and Methods: It is a cross-sectional survey involving four clinic settings: hospital-based respiratory specialist clinic, hospital-based mixed medical specialist clinic, general outpatient clinic (primary care), and tuberculosis and chest clinic. Thirty physician-diagnosed COPD patients were randomly selected from each of the four clinic groups. All of them had a forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV1) to forced vital capacity (FVC) ratio less than 0.70 and had been followed up at the participating clinic for at least 6 months for COPD treatment. Results: Of the 120 COPD patients, there were 111 males and mean post-bronchodilator FEV1 was 46.2% predicted. Only 22 patients (18.3%) had spirometry done during diagnostic workup, and 64 patients (53.3%) had spirometry done ever. Conclusion: We conclude that spirometry is underused in general but especially by non-respiratory physicians and family physicians in the management of COPD patients. More effort at educating the medical community is urgently needed. KEYWORDS: Pulmonary function tests; Specialist; Forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV1); Forced vital capacity (FVC)

THE UNDERUSE OF SPIROMETERY IN ROUTINE MEDICAL PRACTICE FOR DIAGNOSIS AND MANAGEMENT OF CHRONIC OBSTRUCTIVE PULMONARY DISEASE (COPD) PATIENTS IN KARACHI, PAKISTAN

Introduction: Spirometry is important in the diagnosis and management of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), yet it is a common clinical observation that it is underused though the extent is unclear. This survey aims to examine the use of spirometry in the diagnosis and management of COPD patients in districts of, Karachi. Material and Methods: It is a cross-sectional survey involving four clinic settings: hospital-based respiratory specialist clinic, hospital-based mixed medical specialist clinic, general outpatient clinic (primary care), and tuberculosis and chest clinic. Thirty physician-diagnosed COPD patients were randomly selected from each of the four clinic groups. All of them had a forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV1) to forced vital capacity (FVC) ratio less than 0.70 and had been followed up at the participating clinic for at least 6 months for COPD treatment. Results: Of the 120 COPD patients, there were 111 males and mean post-bronchodilator FEV1 was 46.2% predicted. Only 22 patients (18.3%) had spirometry done during diagnostic workup, and 64 patients (53.3%) had spirometry done ever. Conclusion: We conclude that spirometry is underused in general but especially by non-respiratory physicians and family physicians in the management of COPD patients. More effort at educating the medical community is urgently needed. KEYWORDS: Pulmonary function tests; Specialist; Forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV1); Forced vital capacity (FVC)

The SARS-CoV-2 Pandemic a Global Emergency: The Journey from Bats to Humans

Bats are considered as the reservoirs of coronaviruses (CoVs) which resulted in severe disease outbreaks in humans. Zoonotic coronaviruses responsible for Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) and Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS), were originated from bats and remain highly pathogenic to humans during the last two decades. Recently, an acute respiratory disease outbreak which spread in Wuhan, China was caused by a novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) also known as 2019-nCoV, received worldwide attention. The World Health Organization (WHO) officially declared the COVID-19 epidemic caused by SARS-CoV-2 as a public health emergency. The emergence of SARS-CoV-2 has been considered as the third highly pathogenic epidemic of the 21st century. The SARS-CoV-2 belongs to β-coronavirus group with highly identical genome to bat coronavirus RaTG13, assuming bat as the natural host. According to WHO as of December 21, 2020, approximately 75,479,471 persons were infected with 16,86,267 deaths in 222 countries. Whereas the in Pakistan according to WHO as of December 21, 2020, around 4 57,288 persons were infected with 9, 330 death reported in the country. Keywords: SARS-CoV-2; 2019-nCoV; Bats; Human; Epidemic; Pandemic DOI: 10.7176/FSQM/105-07 Publication date: February 28th 202

Application of Pretreatments on Banana Slices for Improving Drying Characteristics

The banana slices were subjected to pretreatment solutions for improving drying, physico-chemical and sensory characteristics.  The pretreatments were applied with four different solutions including ascorbic acid, lemon juice, sodium chloride and honey. The banana slices were cut into 5 mm and 7 mm in size, about 120 g banana slice samples were dip in each pretreatment solution for ten min. The banana slice samples were dehydrated in dehydration chamber and dried at temperatures of 60 °C for 12 to 16 hrs. Each sample was observed for physico chemical characteristics such as pH, TSS, vitamin C, total sugar and ash % and sensory analysis of their color, aroma, taste, texture and overall acceptability were observed. The results obtained showed that the banana slices treated with ascorbic acid and honey solution has the highest value of vitamin C. The results obtained for sensory analysis showed the significant difference in aroma, taste, texture and overall acceptability scores recorded for the samples pretreated with honey solutions for ten min. It is concluded from the present study that pretreatment solutions have important role in determining the final quality characteristics of dried banana slices and it has great potential application in food industries. Keywords: Banana; slices; pretreatment; ascorbic acid, honey, drying characteristics; sensory evaluation. DOI: 10.7176/FSQM/103-06 Publication date: December 31st 202

Drug-Eluting Bead, Irinotecan (DEBIRI) Therapy for Refractory Colorectal Liver Metastasis:A Systematic Review

Colorectal cancer and related mortality present a profound challenge in its management, even in this modern age. Even today, colorectal cancer-related deaths rank third in the world. Despite having multiple lines of chemotherapy, combined with radiotherapy and chemoembolization techniques, after or before surgical resection, the five-year survival rate is approximately 20%. Drug-eluting bead, irinotecan (DEBIRI) is a new technique that involves embolization of the feeding vessels to the tumour and delivering irinotecan for its chemotherapeutic effects. A significant amount of literature compares DEBIRI as an adjunct to various lines of chemotherapy. However, so far, not much data are available on DEBIRI as a singular treatment for those patients who have had multiple chemotherapies and still progressing and are not fit for liver resection. In this systematic review, we aim to highlight and bring together the results of those studies that focused on this specific patient group. A systematic search of the literature involving three large databases (published between January 2017 and July 2022), excluding languages other than English, was conducted to identify articles documenting patients who had disease progression despite chemotherapy and were not fit for surgical resection. The level of evidence and the quality check were assessed by two independent reviewers, and consensus with the senior author resolved disagreements. Out of seven studies that met the final criteria, we found a pooled cohort of 302 patients. The mean age of the patients was 61.2 years, ranging from 40.7 to 84 years. The most commonly used DEBIRI beads were M1 (70-150 um) and M2 (100-300 um), but two studies reported the use of 40 um as well. The total number of DEBIRI treatments performed in our pooled cohort was 904. The majority of the studies reported only G1/G2 toxicities among the patients, with maximal toxicity of G4 in a few selected patients. The median overall survival in our pooled cohort was 19.52 months. The median progression-free survival in our data was 5.76 months. Our systematic review concludes that DEBIRI is undoubtedly a useful treatment modality with an acceptable toxicity profile. This treatment offers a good overall survival benefit for refractory colorectal liver metastasis.</p