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In this study water samples were investigated for the presence of heavy metals and pesticide resistance in Escherichia coli (E. coli) collected from district Jhal Magsi. Identification of E. coli was carried out via Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) assays. Heavy metals and pesticide resistance were conducted by the Kirby-Bauer disk diffusion method. E. coli was confirmed by using uidA (623 bp) and usp (515 bp) genes primer. A relatively high resistance rate was observed for Cd and DDT (2, 4 D) with 100% at the concentration of 1600 µl/mL. Samples showed the resistance pattern for Cr with 55% and sensitivity was 45% at 800 µl/mL. Resistance and sensitive percentage of Pb, Co were observed 61, 63, and 39, 37% at 400 µl/mL. Cyanazine resistance and the sensitive percentage were 51 and 49% at 800 µg/mL. For Chlorpyrifos and Carbofuran, 54 and 65% resistance and sensitivity 46 and 35% were measured at a lower range of 400 µl/mL. Excessive use of heavy metals and pesticide pollution in standing water near agriculture fields contributed to accelerating the abundance of multi-pollutant-resistant E. coli in water that could be useful in the bioremediation of pesticides and heavy metals., (© 2024. The Author(s) under exclusive licence to Sociedade Brasileira de Microbiologia.)

During adolescence, empathy and prosocial behavior contribute to the establishment of positive interpersonal relationships and social connections, promoting holistic development in youth. A substantial amount of research has provided compelling evidence that there is a relationship between peer relationships and empathy and prosocial behavior. Empathy, as a key mediating factor, links the influence of peers with prosocial behavior in adolescents, yet there is currently a lack of robust meta-analytic evidence regarding this mediating role. This study employed a two-stage structural equation modeling approach to synthesize existing research on peer influence, empathy, and prosocial behavior during adolescence. Systematic searches were conducted across three databases (PubMed, Web of Science, and PsycINFO), identifying a total of 49 studies, with a systematic assessment of study quality. The results indicated that empathy plays a mediating role between peer influence and prosocial behavior. Positive peer influence is positively correlated with empathy and prosocial behavior, while negative peer influence is negatively correlated with empathy and prosocial behavior, and empathy is positively correlated with prosocial behavior. This meta-analysis demonstrates that during adolescence, empathy mediates the connection between peer influence and prosocial behavior, representing a potential process that can explain the relationship between peer influence and prosocial behavior., (© 2024. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature.)

A flow injection (FI) methodology using the acidic potassium permanganate (KMnO 4 )-rhodamine-B (Rh-B) reaction with chemiluminescence (CL) detection was established to determine acetochlor and cartap-HCl pesticides in freshwater samples. Experimental parameters were optimized, and Chelex-100 cationic exchanger mini column and solid-phase extraction (SPE) were used as phase separation techniques. Linear calibration curves were observed for the standard solutions of acetochlor and cartap-HCl over the ranges 0.005-2.0 mg L -1 [y = 1155.8x + 57.551, R 2  = 0.9999 (n = 8)] and 0.005-1.0 mg L -1 [y = 979.76x + 14.491, R 2  = 0.9998 (n = 8)] with LODs and LOQs of 7.5 × 10 -4 and 8.0 × 10 -4  mg L -1 (3σ blank) and 2.5 × 10 -3 and 2.7 × 10 -3  mg L -1 (10σ blank), respectively, with an injection throughput of 140 h -1 . These methods were used to estimate acetochlor and cartap-HCl with or without the SPE procedure, respectively, in spiked freshwater samples. Results obtained were not significantly different at a 95% confidence level to those of other reported methods. Recoveries for acetochlor and cartap-HCl were obtained over the ranges 93-112% (RSD = 1.9-3.6%) and 98-109% (RSD = 1.7-3.8%), respectively. The most probable CL reaction mechanism was explored., (© 2023 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

A novel flow injection-chemiluminescence (FI-CL) approach is proposed for the assay of pioglitazone hydrochloride (PG-HCl) based on its enhancing influence on the tris(2,2'-bipyridyl)ruthenium(II)-silver(III) complex (Ru(bipy) 3 2+ -DPA) CL system in sulfuric acid medium. The possible CL reaction mechanism is discussed with CL and ultraviolet (UV) spectra. The optimum experimental conditions were found as: Ru(bipy) 3 2+ , 5.0 × 10 -5  M; sulfuric acid, 1.0 × 10 -3  M; diperiodatoargentate(III) (DPA), 1.0 × 10 -4  M; potassium hydroxide, 1.0 × 10 -3  M; flow rate 4.0 ml min -1 for each flow stream and sample loop volume, 180 μl. The CL intensity of PG-HCl was linear in the range of 1.0 × 10 -3 to 5.0 mg L -1 (R 2  = 0.9998, n = 10) with limit of detection [LOD, signal-to-noise ratio (S/N) = 3] of 2.2 × 10 -4  mg L -1 , limit of quantification (LOQ, S/N = 10) of 6.7 × 10 -4  mg L -1 , relative standard deviation (RSD) of 1.0 to 3.3% and sampling rate of 106 h -1 . The methodology was satisfactorily used to quantify PG-HCl in pharmaceutical tablets with recoveries ranging from 93.17 to 102.77 and RSD from 1.9 to 2.8%., (© 2022 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

At present, low tensile mechanical properties and a high carbon footprint are considered the chief drawbacks of plain cement concrete (PCC). At the same time, the combination of supplementary cementitious material (SCM) and reinforcement of fiber filaments is an innovative and eco-friendly approach to overcome the tensile and environmental drawbacks of plain cement concrete (PCC). The combined and individual effect of fly ash (FA) and Alkali resistance glass fiber (ARGF) with several contents on the mechanical characteristics of M20 grade plain cement concrete was investigated in this study. A total of 20 concrete mix proportions were prepared with numerous contents of FA (i.e., 0, 10, 20, 30 and 40%) and ARGF (i.e., 0, 0.5, 1 and 1.5%). The curing of these concrete specimens was carried out for 7 and 28 days. For the analysis of concrete mechanical characteristics, the following flexural, split tensile, and compressive strength tests were applied to these casted specimens. The outcomes reveal that the mechanical properties increase with the addition of fibers and decrease at 30 and 40% replacement of cement with fly ash. Replacement of cement at higher percentages (i.e., 30 and 40) negatively affects the mechanical properties of concrete. On the other hand, the addition of fibers positively enhanced the flexural and tensile strength of concrete mixes with and without FA in contrast to compressive strength. In the end, it was concluded that the combined addition of these two materials enhances the strength and toughness of plain cement concrete, supportive of the application of an eco-friendly circular economy. The relationship among the mechanical properties of fiber-reinforced concrete was successfully generated at each percentage of fly ash. The R-square for general relationships varied from (0.48-0.90) to (0.68-0.96) for each percentage of FA fiber reinforced concrete. Additionally, the accumulation of fibers effectively boosts the mechanical properties of all concrete mixes.

Medicinal plants have great importance to the consumer health, as beside beneficial compounds, plants can accumulate essential and nonessential metals from soil and surrounding environments, leading to consumer health risks. Assuming this, the present study is aimed at evaluating the elemental composition and daily dose standardization based on essential and nonessential trace element presence in of bark, leaves, and roots of Berberis baluchistanica Ahrendt, a common medicinal plant used as a folk medicine in the region. Atomic absorption and flame emission spectroscopy were performed to analyze the presence of essential and nonessential elements manganese (Mn), copper (Cu), lead (Pb), nickel (Ni), iron (Fe), sodium (Na), and potassium (K). Among the essential elements, K was present at high concentrations in the bark (8926.98 ± 0.32  μ g/g), leaves (7922.77 ± 0.42  μ g/g), and roots (6668.5 ± 0.96  μ g/g) of the plant. The estimated concentration of Na was higher in leaves (1782.56 ± 0.13  μ g/g), followed by roots (1089.5 ± 0.71  μ g/g) and bark (572.8 ± 0.62  μ g/g). The Fe concentration varied in the range of 394.7 ± 0.3  μ g/g in bark, 1298.3 ± 0.54  μ g/g in leaves, and 1208.9 ± 0.7  μ g/g in roots. The trace transition element Mn was highest in leaves (42.7 ± 0.99  μ g/g), followed by roots (33.5 ± 0.94  μ g/g) and bark (22 ± 1  μ g/g). The Cu concentration was low, ranging from 20.1 ± 0.63 to 22.67 ± 0.7  μ g/g in leaves, bark, and roots. The obtained concentration of nonessential element Pb was relatively lower than the permissible range (10 mgL-1) established by the World Health Organization. The elemental concentrations in all parts were within the set limits for provisional tolerable daily maximum intake (PTDMI) and provisional tolerable weekly intake (PTWI), and the hazard quotient index (HQ) was below 1 for all toxic metals. The micro and macroelemental distribution and the overall medicinal potential of any medicinal plant can be correlated for dose risk estimation, which will be useful in providing knowledge regarding the contraindication associated with folk medicines. In the present study, based on the elemental composition, it was calculated that the daily safe dose for Berberis baluchistanica is approximately 2-5 g/day of raw powder for an adult, which must not be exceeded to this safe range., Competing Interests: On behalf of all authors, the corresponding author states that there is no conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2022 Zareen Gul et al.)

Wheat yellow/stripe rust pathogen Puccinia striiformis is highly diverse and recombinant in the north of Pakistan in the Himalayan region. However, little is known about the role of this diversity in disease epidemics in areas where wheat yellow rust is an important disease in both irrigated and rain-fed wheat (i.e., in the plains of Pakistan). We explored the population diversity in P. striiformis during the rust epidemics of 2013 in the major wheat-growing regions of Pakistan (the Himalayan region, central Khyber Pakhtunkhwa [KP], southern KP, central and northern Punjab). Disease severities among commonly grown cultivars ranged from 5% to 100%. Microsatellite genotyping with 16 simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers revealed a high diversity among 266 isolates collected during the season, with the Simpson diversity index (Simpson 1949) ranging from 0.870 (Himalayan) to 0.955 (southern KP). The recombination signature was stronger in the Himalayan population and central KP compared with wheat-growing regions of Punjab and southern KP. The overall diversity was higher in Pakistan relative to the clonal populations present in Europe, Australia, and the Americas. Analyses of population subdivision revealed no clear evidence of spatial structure for samples from Pakistan, with a maximum fixation index (F ST ) value of only 0.10. The lack of clear population subdivision could be attributed to migration of pathogen. In turn, the high diversity of P. striiformis in Pakistan represents a potential threat to wheat production in the region and worldwide, as a possible source to found clonal populations in diverse wheat-growing areas.

Objective: To determine the factors associated with participation of Pakistani female students in organised sports at a university in a rural setting in Pakistan., Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted during March and April 2017 at the Peoples University of Medical & Health Sciences for Women, Nawabshah in the Sindh province of Pakistan, and comprised undergraduate female students who got injured during the "Sports Week" organized at the university and visited the on-site physiotherapy camp. Data collection tools included physical activity and leisure motivation scale, sport motivation scale, and athlete fear avoidance questionnaire. SPSS v20 was used for data analysis., Results: Of the 403 students participating in the Sports Week, sports injuries were reported by 127(31.51%) students. Regular physical activity was reported by only 28(22%) participants. Overuse was the most common cause of sports injuries 67(52.8%). Ankle was the main affected site 31(24.4%). The most common injury types were cramps 59(46.5%) and sprains 58(45.7%). Use of improper technique was observed in 61(48%) students. The most common intrinsic motives were 'enjoyment', with a mean value of 21.3±2.71, and 'to know' 21.71±5.2. The most common extrinsic motives were 'physical condition', with a mean value of 21.51±2.81, and 'identified regulation' 21.74±5.6., Conclusions: Prevalence of sports injuries in female university students was high. The students should be trained about the proper way of sports participation.

Objective: To assess and compare the perceptions of the educational environment between physiotherapy and pharmacy students in a public-sector medical university., Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted at the Peoples University of Medical and Health Sciences for Women, Nawabshah, Pakistan, and comprised undergraduate physiotherapy and pharmacy students. The Dundee Ready Educational Environment Measure questionnaire was used to assess the perceptions of students about their educational environment. Global and subscale scores were computed and compared between the respondents. P<0.05 was considered statistically significant., Results: Of the 300 questionnaires, 281(93.66%) were returned duly filled in. The overall mean global score was 127.2±16.0. For physiotherapy students, the mean global score was 124.9±14.0 while it was 131.7±18.9 for pharmacy students (p=0.16). The domain scores were comparable for both specialties (p>0.05). There was no significance difference in the global and domain scores for preclinical and clinical years in the students (p>0.05). However, in the physiotherapy students, the global and domain scores for Dundee Ready Educational Environment Measure were significantly lower in clinical than preclinical students (p<0.05) except for students' social self-perception (p>0.05)., Conclusions: Students were overall positive about their educational environment.

Background: There is a considerably high prevalence of depression in post myocardial infarction (MI) patients. This study was designed with an aim to detect depression in patients with acute MI admitted to the CCU at Ayub Teaching Hospital Abbottabad.., Methods: This descriptive crosssectional study enrolled 246 male and female patients with acute MI. The patients were interviewed on the 3rd day of admission and their answers were marked according to the HADS-D scale., Results: With a cut-off score of 11, the frequency of depression in study participants was 27.24% (n=67). No statistically significant association was found between the age and sex of patients and depression., Conclusions: Depression is fairly common following acute MI and the management plans should include a consultation with psychiatric for individualized management of depression in post myocardial infarction patients..

Most of the approximately 90,000 cases of Breast Cancer (BC) documented annually in Pakistan are not diagnosed properly because of lack of suitable markers. We performed serum proteome expression profiling of BC and benign breast disease (BBD) patients with the aim to identify biomarkers that can be helpful for diagnosis and prognosis of the disease. Sera of patients were analyzed by one-dimensional SDS polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (PAGE). Differentially expressed proteins were subjected to identification through LC-MS/MS analysis. In majority of the BC cases some acute phase proteins (APP) and some complement system components (C3 and C8) containing fractions were up-regulated with the exception of transthyretin (TTR) which was predominantly (68.75%) down-regulated (n = 33/48) in the sera of these patients. Varying expression patterns were observed in BBD patients and healthy controls. These differentially expressed proteins have the potential to serve as diagnostic biomarkers for BC as well as benign breast diseases.

A flow injection chemiluminescence method is described for the determination of subnanomolar concentrations of vanadium in environmental water samples. The procedure is based on the oxidation of luminol in the presence of dissolved oxygen catalyzed by vanadium(IV). Vanadium(V) reduction and preconcentration of vanadium(IV) was carried out using in-line silver reductor and 8-hydroxyquinoline chelating columns at pH 3.15, respectively. The calibration graph for vanadium(IV) was linear in the concentration range of 0.025-10 µg/L with relative standard deviation in the range of 0.4-5.58%. The detection limit (3s blank) was 3.8 × 10(-3) µg/L without preconcentration; when the vanadium(IV) was preconcentrated with an 8-HQ column for 1 min (2.0 mL of sample loaded), the detection limit of 5.1 × 10(-4) µg/L was achieved. One analytical cycle can be completed in 2.0 min. The analysis of certified reference materials (CASS-4, NASS-5 and SLRS-4) by the proposed method showed good agreement with the certified values. The method was successfully applied to the determination of total dissolved vanadium in environmental water samples., (Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.)

A detailed investigation into the performance of two flow injection-chemiluminescence (FI-CL) manifolds (with and without a preconcentration column) for the determination of sub-nanomolar dissolved iron (Fe(II)+Fe(III)), following the reduction of Fe(III) by sulphite, in seawater is described. Kinetic experiments were conducted to examine the efficiency of reduction of inorganic Fe(III) with sulphite under different conditions and a rigorous study of the potential interference caused by other transition metals present in seawater was conducted. Using 100microM concentrations of sulphite a reduction time of 4h was sufficient to quantitatively reduce Fe(III) in seawater. Under optimal conditions, cobalt(II) and vanadium(IV)/(III) were the major positive interferences and strategies for their removal are reported. Specifically, cobalt(II) was masked by the addition of dimethylglyoxime to the luminol solution and vanadium(IV) was removed by passing the sample through an 8-hydroxyquinoline column in a low pH carrier stream. Manganese(II) also interfered by suppression of the CL response but this was not significant at typical open ocean concentrations.

Objective: To describe the outcome of cases with subacromial impingement syndrome managed with arthroscopic subacromial decompression., Study Design: Quasi-experimental study., Place and Duration of Study: Section of Orthopaedics, Department of Surgery, The Aga Khan University Hospital, Karachi from April 2005 to March 2006., Methodology: Thirty patients with impingement syndrome who underwent arthroscopic subacromial decompression after failed conservative treatment were included. The Constant and Murley shoulder scoring system was used for the clinical assessment of pain and function pre-operatively and 1, 6 and 24 weeks postoperatively., Results: The postoperatively significant improvement was observed in the Constant and Murley scores in all the patients (by mean 40 points, p < 0.01), which was progressive over six months. Lower scores were noted in patients over 40 years of age, with advanced stage of impingement and partial tears of the rotator cuff., Conclusion: Arthroscopic subacromial decompression was effective in reducing pain and improving function in the studied patients with subacromial impingement syndrome.

Objective: To study the cause and clinical presentation along with clinical course (cooperative and postoperative) of retained abdominal sponge., Design: Observational case series., Place and Duration of Study: Surgical Department, Bahawal Victoria Hospital, Bahawalpur, from April 1, 2000 to August 31, 2002., Materials and Methods: The study included 12 patients. All the patients, who presented to surgical department during the stated period with retained abdominal sponge postoperatively, were included in the study. Retained abdominal foreign bodies, other than the surgical sponge, were excluded., Results: A total of 12 patients presented with retained abdominal sponge. Out of these, 33.33% were males and 66.66% females. Modes of presentation were intestinal obstruction, 58.33%, discharging sinus, 41.67%, intraabdominal abscess, 16.67%, peritonitis, 16.67% and mass abdomen, 8.33%. One death followed despite provision of due care., Conclusion: Retained surgical sponge is a potentially lethal condition and all preventive measures should be taken to avoid this condition.