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Food dyes with a diverse set of colorants stimulate appetite and enhance aesthetic charm of food on table but at the same time these dyes contaminate the aquatic and biological ecosystems due to their cytotoxic and carcinogenic potentials. Herein, we report magnetite catalyzed removal of sunset yellow dye from water through catalytic degradation and ozonation. The magnetite catalyst revealed about 83% catalytic degradation and 92% catalytic ozonation performance toward sunset yellow dye at 100 and 25 min, respectively. Furthermore, the persulphate/magnetite/O3 hybrid system revealed superior performance compared to the persulphate/magnetite under identical conditions. Kinetic studies revealed that the dye degradation data followed second-order kinetics, suggesting that the dye removal process is physicochemical in nature. This study further demonstrates that the persulfate/magnetite/O3 hybrid system can efficiently decompose sunset yellow dye in aqueous solution compared to the Fenton's reagent and simple catalytic decomposition processes which is attributed to its unique structural features. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Carrot (Daucus carota L.) is a nutrient-rich vegetable that is widely cultivated and consumed in Pakistan in both raw and processed form. Data on the proximate composition and natural occurrence of aflatoxins (AFs) in carrots and marketed carrot products is lacking in Pakistan and the risk exposure of AF has not been characterised before. Thus, the current study was designed to know the frequently consumed carrot products with per capita consumption, and risk assessment of AF through these products in various regions of South Punjab Pakistan. A survey was conducted with 125 respondents and appeared that raw carrot, fresh carrot juice, gajrella and pickle are the most frequently consumed marketed carrot products with per capita consumption i.e. 62.5, 46.6, 16.2 and 14.5 gday-1, respectively. Proximate analysis revealed that carrot root and processed carrot products contained 9.65–98.2% moisture, 0.23–0.60% ash, 6.2–14.1% carbohydrates, 0.31–0.80% protein, 0.40–3.7% fat and 1.4–4.20% fibre. AF analysis revealed that 36.67% of samples were contaminated with TAF. Thirty-five (35%) percent of samples were tainted with aflatoxin B1, and 13.33% of samples were contaminated with aflatoxin B2. All the samples of carrot root, fresh carrot juice and gajrella contained TAF levels less than the maximum limit (ML) (2 ppb) assigned by the European Union (EU). However, the entire AFB1 positive samples of carrot pickle contained AFB1 levels of more than 2 ppb exceeding the ML. Furthermore, daily dietary exposure of TAFs ranged from 0.11 to 1.27 ng/kg of body weight per day which relatively exceeds the permissible limit of 1 ng/kg of body weight per day as defined by the Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives. This is the first prevalence and risk assessment report of AF in marketed processed carrot products in Pakistan. These baseline data are an initial step in the effort to deal with this significant food safety issue and the establishment of legislation for AF in marketed products is needed in Pakistan. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bacterial canker disease caused by Clavibacter michiganensis is a substantial threat to the cultivation of tomatoes, leading to considerable economic losses and global food insecurity. Infection is characterized by white raised lesions on leaves, stem, and fruits with yellow to tan patches between veins, and marginal necrosis. Several agrochemical substances have been reported in previous studies to manage this disease but these were not ecofriendly. Thus present study was designed to control the bacterial canker disease in tomato using green fabricated silver nanoparticles (AgNps). Nanosilver particles (AgNPs) were synthesized utilizing Moringa oleifera leaf extract as a reducing and stabilizing agent. Synthesized AgNPs were characterized using UV–visible spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), energy-dispersive X-ray (EDX), and Fourier transform infrared spectrometry (FTIR). FTIR showed presence of bioactive compounds in green fabricated AgNPs and UV-visible spectroscopy confirmed the surface plasmon resonance (SPR) band in the range of 350 nm to 355 nm. SEM showed the rectangular segments fused together, and XRD confirmed the crystalline nature of the synthesized AgNPs. The presence of metallic silver ions was confirmed by an EDX detector. Different concentrations (10, 20, 30, and 40 ppm) of the green fabricated AgNPs were exogenously applied on tomato before applying an inoculum of Clavibacter michigensis to record the bacterial canker disease incidence at different day intervals. The optimal concentration of AgNPs was found to be 30 µg/mg that exhibited the most favorable impact on morphological (shoot length, root length, plant fresh and dry weights, root fresh and dry weights) and physiological parameters (chlorophyll contents, membrane stability index, and relative water content) as well as biochemical parameters (proline, total soluble sugar and catalase activity). These findings indicated a noteworthy reduction in biotic stress through the increase of both enzymatic and non-enzymatic activities by the green fabricated AgNPs. This study marks a first biocompatible approach in assessing the potential of green fabricated AgNPs in enhancing the well-being of tomato plants that affected with bacterial canker and establishing an effective management strategy against Clavibacter michiganensis. This is the first study suggests that low concentration of green fabricated nanosilvers (AgNPs) from leaf extract of Moringa oleifera against Clavibacter michiganensis is a promisingly efficient and eco-friendly alternative approach for management of bacterial canker disease in tomato crop. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Semiconductor photocatalysis has recently emerged as a promising method for microbial inactivation. So far, quantum dots have generally been investigated as antibacterial suspension. Instead, here we demonstrate a InP/ZnS quantum dot nanoassembly film against both Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacteria. For effective operation in the solid phase, a thin layer of ZnS shell was grown on InP QD and the native long-chain ligand of stearic acid was replaced with sulfide that led to a high quantum yield of superoxide generation as 4.9%. QDs are assembled onto solid surfaces through sequential dip coating of positively charged poly-(diallyldimethylammonium chloride) and negatively charged QDs. These QD nanoassemblies demonstrate growth inhibition against Escherichia coli and multidrug-resistant Staphylococcus aureus under illumination. Interestingly, such an approach can be directly applied to irregular surfaces, as well. This study unveils the potential of the nanoengineering of QDs for antibacterial coatings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study is motivated by the apparent shortage of DevOps practices being used in global software development. DevOps is an attractive option for software development companies due to its benefits such as bridging the gap between development and operations teams, efficient software development within budget and time, reduced errors, improved product quality, faster failure identification, and faster development and deployment of new modifications. Global software development (GSD) grows extensively due to its various benefits like cost effectiveness, access to large multi-skilled workforces, reduced time to market, etc. GSD quickly becomes the norm, although it is structurally different from local Software Engineering development. DevOps becomes more challenging in GSD, due to the socio-cultural, geographically and temporal boundaries. For management DevOps activities in software organizations, frameworks, like RMDevOps, have been developed, however, this framework is insufficient in providing detailed information about the DevOps practices in GSD context. Using systematic literature review (SLR) approach, the mentioned research gap has been tried to fill in this study, by identifying the key factors and their practices that could positively impact the DevOps methods in GSD context. Total 13 success factors are identified finally by conducting SLR that could assist vendor organizations in the selection of DevOps in the GSD environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the growing cyber-infrastructure of smart grids, the threat of cyber-attacks has intensified, posing an increased risk of compromised communication links. Of particular concern is the false data injection (FDI) attack, which has emerged as a highly dangerous cyber-attack targeting smart grids. This paper addresses the limitations of the variable dummy value model proposed in the authors previous work and presents a novel defense methodology called the nonlinear function-based variable dummy value model for the AC power flow network. The proposed model is evaluated using the IEEE 14-bus test system, demonstrating its effectiveness in detecting FDI attacks. It has been shown that previous detection techniques are unable to detect FDI attacks, whereas the proposed method is shown to be successful in the detection of such attacks, guaranteeing the security of the smart grid's measurement infrastructure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To find the frequency of precocious puberty in children and to compare the clinical and laboratory parameters of central & peripheral precocious puberty. Study Design: Cross-sectional study. Setting: Karachi's National Institute of Child Health's Paediatric & endocrinology Division. Period: December 2016 and 2021. Material & Methods: All patients with precocious puberty will be taken from files through non-probability convenience sampling method. Data was analyzed on SPSS version 22.0. Results: Total 65 patients were included. The mean age was 6+3.35years. Precocious puberty was classified as peripheral precocious puberty in 38 (58.4%), central precocious puberty in 20 (30.76%), premature thelarche in 5(7.69%) and premature1pubarche in 2 (3.07%). In the peripheral precocious1puberty group, CAH was found in 22(78.5%), out of which 2 patients were of rare mutation of CAH presenting with peripheral precocious puberty (DAX mutation and 11 B hydroxylase mutation, adenocarcinoma was observed in 2(7.14%) followed by Mu-cane-Albright syndrome was in 4(14.28%) and van wykgrumbach syndrome in 10 patients. Central precocious puberty was found in 20 patients hypothalamic harmartoma in 4(20%), craniopharyngioma 3(15%), hypothalamic astrocytoma 1(5.0%), genetically proven neurofibromatosis in 1(5.0%) patient and hydrocephalus 1(5.0%) and in 10(50%) patients no cause was found. Conclusion: The conclusion of the study that Peripheral precocious puberty was more common than central precocious puberty. The common cause of peripheral precocious puberty was CAH, while central precocious puberty was idiopathic. Children with central precocious puberty had greater height SDS, weight SDS, FSH, and LH levels compared to children who had peripheral precocious puberty. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this research, we propose an energy-management scheme for domestic users, which uses the load-shifting strategy of demand-side management (DSM). The research demonstrates that the energy sector's circular debt problem from the viewpoint of a developing country can be solved by incorporating DSM. Circular debt is a chain reaction that arises when the balance between cost and energy supply collapses. Circular debt is an ongoing problem in Pakistan, where economic crises are continuously posing a threat to the energy sector. DSM is envisioned to address these concerns in a dynamic way thoroughly: introducing DSM can minimize circular debt, increase grid reliability, and smooth the supply–demand operation. Circular debt is directly linked with the subsidy offered by the government of Pakistan. As the cost of energy utilized by consumers increases, the subsidy also increases due to the direct link between the two entities. Therefore, the subsidy can be controlled by energy-consumption management with the adoption of DSM. This study addresses that by incorporating optimized cost solutions, circular debt can be regulated to improve the economy of the energy sector. A genetic algorithm is used as an optimization tool to manage demand and generate an optimal schedule under a dynamic electricity pricing signal. To support the utility, a solar system is used as a secondary energy source. Finally, the results show a curtailment in the payable costs at both the consumer and government ends, thus reducing the circular debt in the bigger picture. The reduction is 18% without and 41% with renewable energy support. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Wheat stripe rust disease (WRD) is extremely detrimental to wheat crop health, and it severely affects the crop yield, increasing the risk of food insecurity. Manual inspection by trained personnel is carried out to inspect the disease spread and extent of damage to wheat fields. However, this is quite inefficient, time-consuming, and laborious, owing to the large area of wheat plantations. Artificial intelligence (AI) and deep learning (DL) offer efficient and accurate solutions to such real-world problems. By analyzing large amounts of data, AI algorithms can identify patterns that are difficult for humans to detect, enabling early disease detection and prevention. However, deep learning models are data-driven, and scarcity of data related to specific crop diseases is one major hindrance in developing models. To overcome this limitation, in this work, we introduce an annotated real-world semantic segmentation dataset named the NUST Wheat Rust Disease (NWRD) dataset. Multileaf images from wheat fields under various illumination conditions with complex backgrounds were collected, preprocessed, and manually annotated to construct a segmentation dataset specific to wheat stripe rust disease. Classification of WRD into different types and categories is a task that has been solved in the literature; however, semantic segmentation of wheat crops to identify the specific areas of plants and leaves affected by the disease remains a challenge. For this reason, in this work, we target semantic segmentation of WRD to estimate the extent of disease spread in wheat fields. Sections of fields where the disease is prevalent need to be segmented to ensure that the sick plants are quarantined and remedial actions are taken. This will consequently limit the use of harmful fungicides only on the targeted disease area instead of the majority of wheat fields, promoting environmentally friendly and sustainable farming solutions. Owing to the complexity of the proposed NWRD segmentation dataset, in our experiments, promising results were obtained using the UNet semantic segmentation model and the proposed adaptive patching with feedback (APF) technique, which produced a precision of 0.506, recall of 0.624, and F1 score of 0.557 for the rust class. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Demand side management (DSM) is beneficial for the reduction in energy consumption during peak hours. DSM in large-scale buildings modifies the load profile of these extensive consumers, playing a significant role in reducing the peak load. This research work uses genetic algorithm (GA) to optimize the load curve of a large-scale building with industrial loads. The objectives are to mitigate the energy cost and peak to average ratio (PAR). An optimal schedule is generated for the industrial user based on controllable loads. The consumers are motivated to shift their loads to off-peak hours according to the provided schedule to reduce the peak load and cost of energy. Furthermore, DSM becomes more effective by integration with the renewable energy source distributed generator (DG). Cost reduction becomes more prominent because of load sharing between utility and renewable energy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Zirconium silicate (ZrSiO4) is widely used commercially as an opacifying agent in the ceramic tile industry. But due to the high price of ZrSiO4, its alternatives are being discovered. In this research, a novel approach of replacing zirconium silicate with talc [Mg3Si4O10 (OH)2] in ceramic floor tile glaze has been investigated to make the glaze cost effective. Zirconium silicate is gradually replaced by six different weight percentages of talc in glaze compositions. All the prepared compositions were fired in a roller kiln under industrial conditions. After firing, all the samples were collected from the kiln exit and were subjected to various quality check tests like water absorption, bending strength, chemical test, thermal expansion and shrinkage. The color index for the fired samples is measured by CIELEB color space, and it is concluded that better opacity can be achieved by totally replacing zirconium silicate with talc. Resistance of the fired sample tiles to the chemicals attack is also studied, and no significant changes are observed on the surface of the sample tiles. The surface morphology of all the glazed sample tiles is analyzed by SEM and EDX. At the end, both opacifying agents, i.e., zirconium silicate and talc are economically analyzed, and it is concluded that the replacing of zirconium silicate with talc can reduce the cost of opacifier by 82%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Substance use is a major public health concern and its consequences can destroy someone's life. This study aimed to explore the legal and social consequences of substance use in Bangladesh. We conducted a nationwide descriptive cross-sectional study among relapse cases of substance use from January to December 2018. We visited 138 drug rehabilitation centers countrywide and were able to recruit 939 relapse cases, from where 28 cases were excluded due to incomplete data. Finally, data from 911 cases were analyzed. The majority (89.3%) of the study participants were 19-45 years old. Most commonly used drugs were amphetamine (76.1%), cannabis (75.0%), alcohol (54.3%), cough sirup (54.2%), heroin (47.0%) and sleeping pills (21.6%). Almost half (49.5%) of the substance users were arrested for drug use and among arrested cases, 52.1% were sent to jail. About 75% of the substance users experienced a lack of family interaction, 70% experienced destroyed family relationships, and 71.4% faced social stigma. Our study also found 60% of the participants were bullied, 50% were deprived or unwilling to have social interactions. Moreover, 13.8% of the participants left home, while 8% got divorced. Our data represented the significant impact of substance use on the legal aspect and social life of individuals. However, with a multi-dimensional treatment, rehabilitation, and social intervention approach, it is not impossible to overcome. Therefore, we believe it is imperative to focus on social awareness and to create a robust platform for health promotion and improve quality of life. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To determine the status of malnutrition and growth failure in cyanotic and acyanotic congenital heart diseases with and without pulmonary hypertension. Study Design: Cross sectional study. Place and Duration of Study: Department of Pediatric Cardiology, National Institute of Cardiovascular Diseases, Tando Muhammad Khan, Pakistan, from Jan 2020 to Oct 2021. Methodology: A total of 250 children, with echocardiography confirmed congenital heart disease, of both genders and aged below 5 years were included. All cases were divided into 4 groups, these being, acyanotic congenital heart disease with PH, acyanotic congenital heart disease without pulmonary hypertension, cyanotic congenital heart disease with pulmonary hypertension and cyanotic Congenital heart disease without pulmonary hypertension. Gender, age, body weight, height, area of residence and malnutrition status were determined in all cases and compared in between study groups. Results: There were 41(16.4%) patients with acyanotic PH, 115(46.0%) acyanotic without PH, 34(13.6%) cyanotic with pulmonary hypertension and 60(24.0%) cyanotic without pulmonary hypertension among a total of 250 cases. Significant differences were noted in terms of age, weight, and height among different study groups (p<0.001). Nutritional status as normal was noted in 51(20.4%) cases, mild malnutrition in 50(20.0%), moderate malnutrition in 65(26.0%) and 84(33.6%) with severe malnutrition. Children having cyanotic congenital heart disease and pulmonary hypertension were also found to have failure to thrive (p=0.009). Conclusion: Malnutrition and growth failure were found to be very prevalent among children with CHDs under the age of 5 years. Malnutrition was significantly more pronounced among children having cyanotic CHDs with PH. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To determine the outcome of early and late-onset Fontan operation in patients with univentricular heart repair. Study Design: Quasi-experimental study. Place and Duration of the Study: Department of Paediatric Cardiology, National Institute of Cardiovascular Diseases, Karachi Pakistan, from Jan 2019 to Dec 2021. Methodology: During the study period, 121 patients of both genders, up to any age, with functionally univentricular hearts and who planned to undergo Fontan procedures were included. All cases were divided into two groups, Group-A had patients who underwent extra-cardiac Fontan at age ≤6 years, while Group B had patients who underwent extra-cardiac Fontan at age >6 years. Pre-procedure diagnosis, demographic, anatomic and hemodynamic characteristics, post-Fontan procedure morbidity and mortality were noted. Results: As per inclusion/exclusion criteria, 121 cases underwent Fontan surgery during the study period. There were 61(50.4%) male patients. Overall, the mean age was 7.02±4.6 years. Seventy-six 76(61.2%) cases were in Group-A and 45(38.8%) in Group-B. Mortality (within 30 days post-surgery) was reported in 11(9.1%) patients. Except for the mean duration of chest tube drainage ((0.010), there was no difference in terms of post-Fontan surgery outcomes between both study groups (p>0.05). Conclusion: The age of the patients at the time of the Fontan procedure did not affect the outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lumpy skin disease (LSD) is a notifiable vector-borne disease of cattle that has the potential to cross international borders. Skin nodule swabs, skin scrapings and tissue samples ( I n i = 31) were collected from clinical cases in cattle for laboratory-based molecular confirmation of the LSDV. The origins and spread of LSD to Pakistan are unknown; however, it is possible that the disease was introduced by livestock movement across international borders or may be due to vector movement from neighbouring countries (Sprygin et al., [8]). [Extracted from the article]

Purpose: Anastomotic leak is a feared complication of rectal cancer surgery. A diverting stoma is believed to act as a safety mechanism against this undesirable outcome. This meta-analysis aimed to examine the role of loop ileostomy in the prevention of this complication. Methods: The Medline, Embase and Cochrane databases were searched for randomized controlled trials (RCTs) comparing anastomotic complications after rectal cancer surgery in the presence or absence of diverting ileostomy. The need for reoperation and postoperative complications were also analysed. The length of hospital stay, intraoperative blood loss and operating time were analysed as secondary endpoints. Results: A significantly higher number of anastomotic leaks was detected in patients with no diverting ileostomies than in those with diversion (odds ratio (OR) 0.292 and 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.177–0.481), and more patients required reoperations in this group (OR 0.219 and 95% CI 0.114–0.422). The rate of complications other than anastomotic leak was significantly higher in patients with diverting ileostomies than in those without (OR 3.337 and 95% CI of 1.570–7.093). The operating time was longer in the ileostomy group than in the no ileostomy group (P 0.001), but no significant differences in the intraoperative blood loss or postoperative hospital stay length were observed between the two groups(P 0.199 and 0.191 respectively). Conclusion: A lower leak rate in the presence of diverting ileostomy is supported by relatively weak evidence. While mitigating the consequences of leakage, diverting ileostomies lead to numerous other complications. High-quality RCTs are needed before routine ileostomy diversions can be recommended after rectal cancer surgery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Undernutrition is strongly associated with poverty - levels of undernutrition are higher in poor countries than in better-off countries. Social protection especially cash transfer is increasingly recognized as an important strategy to accelerate progress in improving maternal and child nutrition. A critical method to improve nutrition knowledge and influence feeding practices is through behaviour change communication intervention. The Shonjibon Cash and Counselling study aims to assess the effectiveness of unconditional cash transfers combined with a mobile application on nutrition counselling and direct counselling through mobile phone in reducing the prevalence of stunting in children at 18 months.Method: The study is a longitudinal cluster randomised controlled trial, with two parallel groups, and cluster assignment by groups of villages. The cohort of mother-child dyads will be followed-up over the intervention period of approximately 24 months, starting from recruitment to 18 months of the child's age. The study will take place in north-central Bangladesh. The primary trial outcome will be the percentage of stunted children at 18 m as measured in follow up assessments starting from birth. The secondary trial outcomes will include differences between treatment arms in (1) Mean birthweight, percentage with low birthweight and small for gestational age (2) Mean child length-for age, weight for age and weight-for-length Z scores (3) Prevalence of child wasting (4) Percentage of women exclusively breastfeeding and mean duration of exclusive breastfeeding (5) Percentage of children consuming > 4 food groups (6) Mean child intake of energy, protein, carbohydrate, fat and micronutrients (7) Percentage of women at risk of inadequate nutrient intakes in all three trimesters (8) Maternal weight gain (9) Household food security (10) Number of events for child suffering from diarrhoea, acute respiratory illness and fever (11) Average costs of mobile phone BCC and cash transfer, and benefit-cost ratio for primary and secondary outcomes.Discussion: The proposed trial will provide high-level evidence of the efficacy and cost-effectiveness of mobile phone nutrition behavior change communication, combined with unconditional cash transfers in reducing child undernutrition in rural Bangladesh.Trial Registration: The study has been registered in the Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry ( ACTRN12618001975280 ). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Thromboprophylaxis is routinely used with lenalidomide-based regimens in multiple myeloma because of a substantial risk of venous thromboembolism (VTE). However, little is known about the incidence of VTE with contemporary lenalidomide-based regimens. The objective of the current study was to estimate the incidence of VTE despite thromboprophylaxis with currently used lenalidomide-based regimens in patients with myeloma.Methods: The Ovid MEDLINE, Embase, and Cochrane databases were queried from study inception to January 2019 for keywords to cover the following concepts: "lenalidomide," "venous thromboembolism," and "multiple myeloma." Phase 1, 2, and 3 clinical trials evaluating lenalidomide-based regimens with thromboprophylaxis were included. The pooled incidence rate of VTE was estimated using a random-effects model.Results: The search generated 1372 citations, with 51 clinical trials and 9069 patients included for analysis. The most common thromboprophylaxis agents were aspirin, low-molecular-weight heparin or warfarin, administered either per risk-stratification or at investigators' discretion. The pooled incidence of VTE in trials of patients who had newly diagnosed and relapsed/refractory myeloma was 6.2% (95% CI, 5.4%-7.1%) over median treatment durations ranging from 2 to 34 cycles, which translated into 1.2 VTE events per 100 patient-cycles (95% CI, 0.9-1.7 VTE events per 100 patient-cycles). Among contemporary regimens, the risk of VTE was low with combined lenalidomide and low-dose dexamethasone (0.2 [95% CI, 0.1-0.6] events/100 patient-cycles) and lenalidomide maintenance (0.0 [95% CI, 0.0-0.7] events per 100 patient-cycles). VTE risk was higher with combined lenalidomide and low-dose dexamethasone plus proteasome inhibitors (1.3 [95% CI, 0.7-2.3] events per 100 patient-cycles).Conclusions: Despite adequate thromboprophylaxis, lenalidomide-based regimens have a substantial risk of VTE in controlled clinical trial settings. Further studies are needed on new thromboprophylaxis strategies with regimens that have a high VTE risk. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Adsorption of dibenzothiophene (DBT) from model oil was investigated using composites of pure activated charcoal and pure bentonite clay. DBT adsorption was carried out in batch mode experiments at laboratory scale, where the developed composite materials showed a synergistic effect in removal of DBT from the model oil in terms of improved surface acidity of the pure activated charcoal and mesoporous structure of the pure bentonite clay. Thermodynamics, kinetics, and optimization of various adsorption parameters were investigated. Kinetic analyses proved that DBT adsorption followed pseudo‐second‐order kinetics. To study the thermodynamics of the adsorption, different isotherm adsorption models were applied. The Langmuir isotherm best fitted to the adsorption data. Various thermodynamic parameters were evaluated, including Gibbs free energy, entropy, and enthalpy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: In this paper, we aim to assess insurance demand across selected Asian and OECD countries during the period of the global financial crisis. Design/methodology/approach: We collected data from 55 emerging Asian and OECD countries during the period of the global financial crisis. Our methodology relies on panel regressions. Separate models are run for the Asia/OECD economies and a follow-up distinction between high/low-income regions is also made. Findings: We find that global financial crisis affects negatively the general insurance demand particularly in high-income region. Higher dependency ratio in Asia tends to decrease insurance demand, whereas education in case of Asia positively influences insurance demand indicating that higher literacy rate can be helpful to capture the potential customers. Our results further reveal that life insurance is an important driver for insurance demand in OECD countries, whereas general insurance demand is higher in the Asian economies. Research limitations/implications: A limitation of this study is that data sets employed do not differentiate between different life and general insurance products. Practical implications: This study is helpful for regulators, policymakers and insurance providers to evaluate, assess and monitor insurance demand in relevant countries. Originality/value: This is one of the pioneering studies that have assessed insurance demand among emerging Asian and OECD countries during the period of the global financial crisis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This is the first study of wild mushrooms collected from Kharan district of Balochistan, Pakistan during 2017- 18. Extensive survey was conducted throughout the district to find out wild mushrooms growing at different places. Five species of edible mushrooms were found growing at different sites during spring and summer seasons, belonging to Basidiomycota, class Agaricomycetes species are Agaricus bitorquis, A. bisporus, Coprinus comatus, C. sterquilinus Order Agaricales (Family Agaricaceae) while Coprinellus micaceus belongs to family Psathyrellaceae. These were analyzed for their proximate and mineral composition. The moisture content ranged between 88.8%-91.1%, highest moisture content was recorded in A. bitorquis. The ash content was recorded ranged between 9.9%-11.2%, highest ash content was found in C. micaceus. The high amount of Proteins ranged between 16%-32% was recorded from all 05 species. Maximum protein content (32 %) was found in C. sterquilinus and minimum was in C. micaceus. Lipids ranged between 18% - 28% in all species. A. bitorquis had maximum 28% amount of lipids. The highest fat content (2.0%) was recorded from C. sterquilinus. Low fat content was found in all mushrooms as compare to proteins and Lipids. All mushrooms analyzed were found to be rich in proteins, lipids and minerals thus making these an excellent healthy food. The highest concentration of Ca (7.4%) and K (15.1%) was found in A. bisporus, while highest Mg (7.2%) was in A. bitorquis. Zn, Mn and Se were Present in negligible amounts however these were found in permissible limits for human consumption. Statistical analysis indicated that protein, fat and moisture contents were significantly high at P≤ 0.05 level, while the lipid was found to be non-significant. However Ca, K and Mg were also significantly high at the P≤ 0.05 level. The mushrooms analyzed, showed higher nutritional value which was comparable to the artificially made food supplement. Ensure high protein diet' and other proteins supplements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study comprises experimental investigation on heat transfer and hydrodynamic characteristics of TiO2 nanofluid as coolant in wavy channel heat sinks having three different channel configurations. The performance of TiO2 nanofluids having concentrations of 0.006, 0.008, 0.01 and 0.012 vol% is compared with that of distilled water under laminar regime at heating powers of 25 W, 35 W and 45 W. Results indicated that for all heat sinks, nanofluids showed better heat transfer characteristics than distilled water. With an increase in heating power, TiO2 nanofluid thermal performance was decreased. Using 0.012% TiO2 nanofluids, minimum wall base temperature and maximum enhancement in Nusselt number are noted as 33.85 °C and 40.57%, respectively, for heat sink with wavelength of 5 mm and amplitude of 0.5 mm corresponding to Reynolds number of 894 at heating power of 25 W. Pumping power requirement is function of flow rate and pressure drop, and its maximum value of 0.0284 W is associated with heat sink with minimum wavelength. Moreover, variation in wavelength of channel is found to have dominating effect on heat transfer performance of heat sink as compared to the width of channel. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Overall water splitting is a promising way to alleviate the energy crisis by producing renewable and clean hydrogen fuel. The development of highly efficient, low cost, and stable electrocatalysts is of great importance for the large‐scale application of overall water splitting. Herein, we report an effective and facile strategy to prepare non‐noble nickel‐iron (NiFe) alloy nanoparticles (NPs) decorated on oxidized carbon cloth (OCC) as a bifunctional electrocatalyst for overall water splitting. The homogeneous dispersion of small‐sized NPs achieved by anchoring the metal species to oxygen‐containing groups on the OCC support, together with the 3D conductive nature of the scaffold, ensures optimal exposure of active metal sites and also results in high electrical conductivity. As a result, our electrocatalyst affords superior oxygen evolution reaction activity with a low overpotential of 281 mV at 10 mA cm−2 and is also stable for up to around 17 h in an alkaline electrolyte; the catalyst also demonstrates a high efficiency for overall water splitting. Our strategy has, therefore, great potential for practical energy conversion applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Compelled by environmental and economic reasons and facilitated by modern technological advancements, the share of hybrid energy systems (HES) is increasing at modern smart house (SH) level. This work proposes an intelligent hybrid energy management system (IHEMS) for an SH connected to a power network that allows a bidirectional power flow. The SH has electrical and thermal power loops, and its main components include renewable energy from wind and photovoltaics, electric vehicle (EV), battery energy storage system, a fuel cell which serves as a micro-combined heat and power system, and a boiler. The proposed IHEMS models the components of the SH, defines their constraints, and develops an optimization model based on the real coded genetic algorithm. The key features of the developed IHEMS are highlighted under six simulation cases considering different configurations of the SH components. Moreover, the standard EV charging techniques are compared, and it is observed that the charging method which is flexible in timing and power injection to the EV is best suited for the economic operation of the SH. The simulation results reveal that the proposed IHEMS minimizes the 24-hour operational cost of the SH by optimally scheduling the energy resources and loads. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Acute presentation of gall stone disease is a common emergency. Resource limitation often results in unnecessary long waiting times and repeat hospital admissions. The aim of this study was to investigate if funding a dedicated hot gall bladder list is justified. Methods: Patients with acute gall stone related complications between 1st January 2016 and 31st December 2017 were studied. Outcome measures included the number of acute admissions, length of hospital stay (LOS), approximate cost per patient. The length of stay was identified as a critical outcome measure. Results: Fourteen hundred and ninety-five (11%) out of 14189 acute surgical admissions were related to gall stone complications. These included acute cholecystitis 576 (39%), biliary colic 485 (32%), pancreatitis 405 (27%) and jaundice 34 (2%). Twelve hundred and twenty-two patients accounted for 1461 admissions. 182 (15%) patients had recurrent admissions (35%) and on average stayed 11.2 days in the hospital compared to 5.8 days for that of single presentation. The cost of emergency LC (£2053) was less than half of elective LC following single emergency admission (£5661) and less than one third of Elective LC following recurrent admissions (£7453). A trust can save £1,891,784 per year by achieving 80% target. The savings can be used to fund a dedicated hot gall bladder list, releasing hospital beds and additional benefit of reducing the workforce days lost to sickness in general. Conclusion: Emergency LC is cost effective and savings made for such a service is sufficient to fund a dedicated hot gall bladder list. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Communities are the result of species interactions for the resources. Plant species compete for the resources above and below the soil and ameliorate the environment for neighboring species. In this way superior competitors eliminate the inferior competitive species and affect the phytodiversity of an area. As a result those species sustain which are acclimatized to the prevailing environment. Hence, considering the relative influence of species interactions and an environment on the diversity, we expected variations in the diversity of plant species along the edaphic gradients. We investigated eastern, western and northern sites in the semi-arid area of District Bannu, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan, to identify the plant species diversity and its relation with the variation in the selected edaphic variables. We analyzed the soil samples of the three sites for the micro and macro-elements. We used quadrate method to collect the quantitative data of the plant species. Shanoon's diversity index and similarities among the sites of the plant species was used to analyze the correlation between the diversity and the edaphic variables. Higher importance value index for tree species was computed as compared to shrubs and herbs. We have observed less diversity among the three sites in which western and northern sites have more similarities. We did not find a relationship in the edaphic variables for the macro-elements. However, few micro-elements have shown strong correlation with the diversity. We argue that less diversity may be the result of environmental filtering and anthropogenic activities prevailing in the area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, a multiagent clustering-based distributed approach for the optimal planning of wind-distributed generators (DGs) and switched capacitor banks (SCBs) is proposed. First, electrical distance matrices for the power systems are constructed. Additionally, a constrained optimization problem, which includes several indices and a few constraints, for the optimal clustering of distribution networks is formulated and solved. After obtaining optimal clusters, agents are assigned to the clusters, and a second multiobjective optimization problem (MOOP) for the distributed planning of wind DGs and SCBs is formulated and assigned to a head agent. The number of objective functions in the MOOP is equal to the number of agents. The objective function of an agent consists of three indices: annual energy losses, investment costs, and voltage enhancement. Moreover, a deep neural network architecture is designed, and four independent networks are trained with six years of wind speed data for the seasonal wind speed forecasting. Two IEEE unbalanced test feeders, one with 37 nodes and the other with 123 nodes, and eight test cases are considered for simulations. The results show that losses and costs are optimized, and the voltage unbalance of the system is reduced. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Porous crystalline materials such as covalent organic frameworks (COFs) have gained tremendous popularity in multidisciplinary areas of science and technology. In this study, for the first time, we report a covalent triazine-based framework (CTF-1) as an efficient adsorbent for the removal of Cd2+ from aqueous solutions. CTF-1 offered excellent stability under extreme conditions for the effective removal of cadmium cations (Cd2+) from aqueous solutions. CTF-1 was first synthesized through an ionothermal method and then characterized by XRD, SEM, TEM and BET surface area measurements to confirm its highly crystalline and microporous nature. Batch adsorption experiments were systematically conducted under a wide range of pH, metal ions concentration, adsorbent dosage and contact time to investigate kinetics, thermodynamics and adsorption properties of CTF-1 towards Cd2+ ions removal. The pseudo-second-order model showed good fitting to experimental data, whereas Langmuir and D–R isotherms confirmed the chemical nature of the adsorption. Similarly, thermodynamic parameters indicated the adsorption to be spontaneous and endothermic. Furthermore, our simulation results showed that CTF-1 possess uniform distribution of negative charge along the framework, making it an ideal candidate for the adsorption of cations together with the high stability in both acidic and basic pH. The strategies adopted in this study will open a new avenue to design novel nanoporous functional materials for next generation adsorbents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Photocatalytic conversion of CO2 using ZnO semiconductor is an effective, simple, economical and attractive way of combating energy problems resulting from anthropogenic emissions of CO2 i.e. greenhouse gases to the atmosphere. This article focuses on current advances in CO2 photoreduction by hydrothermal method. The fundamental photocatalytic CO2 reduction system by photocatalysts especially ZnO has been explicated. The synthetic protocol of ZnO and its growth mechanism in alkaline solution is elaborated with specific illustration of defect chemistry and its influence on CO2 reduction activity and selectivity. Conclusively, brief challenges of its current state and future prospects were also discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The increasing penetration of electric vehicles (EVs) in the distribution grid has established them as a prospective resource for ancillary services. These services require adequate control strategies for prompt and efficient operation. In this study, an energy management scheme (EMS) has been proposed to employ an off-board EV smart charger to support the grid during short-term variance of renewables and reactive load onset. The scheme operates by calculating power references for the charger instantaneously. The EMS incorporates a proportional power division methodology, proposed to allocate power references to the individual EVs connected to the charger DC-bus. This methodology considers the state-of-charge and battery sizes of the EVs, and it can aggregate energy from various types of EVs. The proposed scheme is compared with another power allocation method, and the entire EMS is tested under the scenarios of power mismatch and voltage sag/swell events. The results show that the proposed scheme achieves the goal of the aggregation of EVs at the charger level to support the grid. The EMS also fulfills the objectives of voltage regulation and four-quadrant operation of the smart charger. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The lifespan of a battery in battery energy storage systems (BESSs) is affected by various factors such as the operating temperature of the battery, depth of discharge, and magnitudes of the charging/discharging currents supplied to or drawn from the battery. In this study, the optimal location and size of a BESS are found for voltage regulation in a distribution system while increasing the lifespan of the battery. Various factors that affect the lifespan of a battery are considered and modelled. The problem is formulated as a multi-objective optimisation problem with two-objective functions. The first objective function calculates the energy losses in the system, whereas the second objective function represents the total investment cost of the distributed generator (DG) and BESS installations. Wind and solar DGs with uncertainties in their output powers are also considered with the BESSs. An elitist non-dominated sorting genetic algorithm-II with a utopian point method is used to solve the optimisation problem. Furthermore, an IEEE 906 bus European low-voltage test feeder and eight test cases are considered for this study. The results show reduced losses and cost, improvement in the voltage profile, and extended lifespan of the batteries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The lifespan of a battery in battery energy storage systems (BESSs) is affected by various factors such as the operating temperature of the battery, depth of discharge, and magnitudes of the charging/discharging currents supplied to or drawn from the battery. In this study, the optimal location and size of a BESS are found for voltage regulation in a distribution system while increasing the lifespan of the battery. Various factors that affect the lifespan of a battery are considered and modelled. The problem is formulated as a multi‐objective optimisation problem with two‐objective functions. The first objective function calculates the energy losses in the system, whereas the second objective function represents the total investment cost of the distributed generator (DG) and BESS installations. Wind and solar DGs with uncertainties in their output powers are also considered with the BESSs. An elitist non‐dominated sorting genetic algorithm‐II with a utopian point method is used to solve the optimisation problem. Furthermore, an IEEE 906 bus European low‐voltage test feeder and eight test cases are considered for this study. The results show reduced losses and cost, improvement in the voltage profile, and extended lifespan of the batteries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tissue, organ and organoid cultures provide suitable models for developmental studies, but our understanding of how the organs are assembled at the single-cell level still remains unclear. We describe here a novel fixed z-direction (FiZD) culture setup that permits high-resolution confocal imaging of organoids and embryonic tissues. In a FiZD culture a permeable membrane compresses the tissues onto a glass coverslip and the spacers adjust the thickness, enabling the tissue to grow for up to 12 days. Thus, the kidney rudiment and the organoids can adjust to the limited z-directional space and yet advance the process of kidney morphogenesis, enabling long-term time-lapse and high-resolution confocal imaging. As the data quality achieved was sufficient for computer-assisted cell segmentation and analysis, the method can be used for studying morphogenesis ex vivo at the level of the single constituent cells of a complex mammalian organogenesis model system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The contamination of agriculture soils with heavy metals is increasing due to both natural and anthropogenic activities. This has resulted in lowering the yield and quality of agriculture crops. The aim of the present investigation was to determine the effect ofMoringa oleifera(M. oleifera) aqueous leaf extract (MALE) on growth and Hg phytoextraction potential of maize cv. Azam under mercuric chloride (HgCl2)-induced stress. Soil was contaminated with different concentrations of HgCl2(1 and 0.5 mg/kg). The MALE was applied at 5% and 2.5% as seed soaking prior to sowing of seeds in the pots. TheM. oleiferaleaf was a good source of macronutrients (Na, K, Ca and Mg) and micronutrients (Fe, Zn, Mn, Co and Ni) as well as natural phenolics. The induced HgCl2stress significantly reduced seed germination (%), shoot dry weight, root dry weight, chlorophyll content and carotenoids content. The HgCl2-induced stress was associated with accumulation of phenolics and Hg in roots. The accumulation of Hg in roots was significantly correlated with phenolics content (r = .8007,p = .000). The exogenous application of MALE significantly ameliorated adverse effects of HgCl2stress on maize plants. The accumulation of Hg in roots was significantly increased by MALE. It is inferred from findings of the present investigation that MALE served as bioregulator and can be applied to reduce adverse effects of HgCl2on maize. Moreover, MALE can enhance the Hg phytoremediation potential of maize. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Energy storage systems (ESSs) are essential in future power systems because they can improve power usage efficiency. In this paper, a novel coordinated control algorithm is proposed for distributed battery ESSs (BESSs). The neighboring BESSs of a simulation system are grouped and controlled by a main control center. The main control center sends charging or discharging operation signals to each BESS. The primary objective of the proposed coordinated control scheme is to mitigate voltage and frequency deviations. In order to verify the proposed algorithm, the BESSs are connected to a distribution system of the Korea Electric Power Corporation. The results are compared with those obtained using uncoordinated control scheme with on-load tap changer considering aspects of power quality (voltage and frequency variation). The simulation results show that the voltage and frequency deviations are reduced with the proposed coordinated control algorithm. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Background: The composition of the matrix molecules is important in in vitro cell culture experiments of e.g. human cancer invasion and vessel formation. Currently, the mouse Engelbreth-Holm-Swarm (EHS) sarcoma-derived products, such as Matrigel®, are the most commonly used tumor microenvironment (TME) mimicking matrices for experimental studies. However, since Matrigel® is non-human in origin, its molecular composition does not accurately simulate human TME. We have previously described a solid 3D organotypic myoma disc invasion assay, which is derived from human uterus benign leiomyoma tumor. Here, we describe the preparation and analyses of a processed, gelatinous leiomyoma matrix, named Myogel.Methods: A total protein extract, Myogel, was formulated from myoma. The protein contents of Myogel were characterized and its composition and properties compared with a commercial mouse Matrigel®. Myogel was tested and compared to Matrigel® in human cell adhesion, migration, invasion, colony formation, spheroid culture and vessel formation experiments, as well as in a 3D hanging drop video image analysis.Results: We demonstrated that only 34% of Myogel's molecular content was similar to Matrigel®. All test results showed that Myogel was comparable with Matrigel®, and when mixed with low-melting agarose (Myogel-LMA) it was superior to Matrigel® in in vitro Transwell® invasion and capillary formation assays.Conclusions: In conclusion, we have developed a novel Myogel TME matrix, which is recommended for in vitro human cell culture experiments since it closely mimics the human tumor microenvironment of solid cancers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Relative density of weeds, found in different fields of cereal crops (wheat, rice and maize) and sugarcane (a cash crop) of District Bannu was determined by using the Oosting scale method during 2013. In this research work, a total of 135 weeds belonging to 37 families were collected, identified botanically, preserved and documented. Results showed that 20 species belonged to Asteraceae which comprised 54% of the whole collected weeds followed by 19 species of Poaceae (51%), eight species each of Solanaceae, Amaranthaceae and Boraginaceae (21%). Seven species were recorded each from Papilionaceae, Euphorbiaceae and Brassicaceae (18.9%), five species from Polygonaceae and Malvaceae (13.5%), four from Chenopodiaceae and three from Plantaginaceae which were 10.8 and 8%, respectively. About 5.4% contribution was made by Asclepiadaceae, Convolvulacea, Caryophyllaceae, Cucurbitaceae, Genetaceae, Apiaceae, and Verbenaceae with two species each. The remaining seventeen families (Aizoaceae, Cyperaceae etc.) were represented by 2.7% with only one species each. There were seven weeds found in all of the above mentioned crops which were Cirsium arvense, Convolvulus arvensis, Conyza bonariensis, Cynodon dactylon, Cyperus rotundus, Parthenium hysterophorus, and Sonchus aspera. According to the Oosting Scale, the very abundant weeds in sugarcane fields were Leptochloa panicea, Enneapogon avrnuceus, E. alba, E. crus-galli and C. dactylon; while abundant weeds were S. halepense, P. hysterophorus, C. rotundus, C. arvense, Carduus argentatus, and A. viridis. Wheat, rice and maize fields were dominated by C. dactylon, C. rotundus, Asphodelus tenuifolius, Astragalus hamosus, C. arvensis, and E. helioscopia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present investigation was carried out during March 2012 to evaluate morphological and anatomical characteristics of selected plants. Investigations were made on Taxonomical classification of seven prevalent species found in different fields of District Bannu. These plants are Physalis angulata L., Polygonum barbatum L., Portulaca oleracea L., Rannunculus muricatus L., Solanum surattense (Burn.) F., Sonchus asper L. and Xanthium stramurium L. Proper identification and Taxonomy is made through their transactions of root and stem along with photomicrograph of the species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study of morphology and anatomy of seven most common weed species infesting agricultural and non-agricultural lands of rainfed area of Bannu region were investigated during 2012. The study included Datura metel L., Euphorbia hirta L., Fagonia cretica L., Heliotropium europaeum L., Parthenium hysterophorus L., Solanum surattense Burm f. and Withania somnifera (L.) Dunal. It was found that most of the investigated species had well developed vascular bundles both in root and stem systems which clarified their adaptation in the severe rain-fed conditions of Bannu, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Pakistan. Due to the special morphological and anatomical features, the capacity of rapid absorption of water along with minerals from the soil may be facilitated to compensate the rapid water loss, and thus can also be regarded as common xerophytes. So far as the interaction of these species is concerned within the prevailing environment of Bannu region, their morphological, anatomical and histological characteristics are suitable for their successful growth in rain-fed condition of the region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study was carried out during March 2012 to evaluate morphological and anatomical characteristics of some selected plants. Investigations were made on Taxonomical classification of eight prevalent species found in the fields of District Bannu. These plants were Abutilon indicum (L.) Sweet., Chenopodium polyspermum L., Citrullus colocynthesis L., Dichanthium annulatum Stapf., Eclipta alba (L.) Hassk. Euphorbia oblongata L., Heliotropium europium L., Oxalis corniculata L., and Parthenium hysterophorus L. Proper identification and taxonomic classification was made through the transactions of the roots and stems along with photomicrograph of the species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Identification of weeds is a prerequisite for an effective weed management strategy in an area. In a preliminary study in this regard, ninety three species of 82 genera belonging to 34 families were identified as weeds of wheat fields of FR Bannu. The surveys were conducted during 2009-10 in district Bannu. Out of the 34 weed families, there were four monocot families (having 13 genera & 14 species) and 30 families were dicots (including 69 genera & 79 species). The most important family in terms of abundance and most number of species infesting wheat crop was Asteraceae with 13 genera and 15 species; followed by Poaceae (10 genera & 11 species), Papilionaceae (7 genera & 7 species), Boraginaceae (4 genera & 6 species), Brassicacaeae (6 genera & 6 species), Amaranthaceae (3 genera & 4 species), Polygonaceae (3 genera & 4 species), Solanaceae (4 genera & 4 species), Euphorbiaceae (1 genus & 3 species), Zygophyllaceae (3 genera & 3 species), Apiaceae (2 genera & 3 species), Caryophyllaceae (2 genera & 2 species), Chenopodiaceae (2 genera & 2 species), Convolvulaceae (1 genus & 2 species), Cucurbitaceae (2 genera & 2 species), Plantaginaceae (1 genus & 2 species). The rest of the families were represented by only one species each. According to the oosting scale, Cynodon dactylon was the most abundant weed species in wheat fields followed by Asphodelus tenuifolius, Astragalus hamosus, Convolvulus arvensis, Euphorbia oblongata, Euphorbia helioscopia, Psammogeton biternatum, Silene vulgaris and Trigonella corniculata which were reported as significantly reducing wheat yields in the locality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]