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Breast cancer (BC) is one of the primary causes of death among females worldwide. It can affect a woman at any age after puberty, but the risk of developing the disease increases with age. An early diagnosis and the implementation of an appropriate therapeutic strategy are the two most essential aspects in assuring a favorable prognosis for patients diagnosed with any cancer. There has been significant development in cancer immunotherapy over the past few years. It is among the most effective approaches to fighting cancer and boosts the immune system. In the preclinical setting, immunotherapy using checkpoint blockade antibodies and antigen receptor T cells has shown promising results in BC. Despite this, developing safe and effective immunotherapy against breast cancer is challenging because several novel antigens are poorly immunogenic. Regrettably, conventional immunotherapy confronts further obstacles, such as its inability to trigger the anti-tumor response sufficiently. Most tumors have low immunogenicity due to their origin in healthy cells, making it difficult for the immune system to recognize them as foreign invaders. Additionally, the clinical use of immunotherapy for BC has experienced significant drawbacks, including poor immune responses due to insufficient antigen delivery to the immune cells and uncontrolled immune system regulation, which can promote autoimmunity and nonspecific inflammation. To address these challenges, nanomaterial-based immunotherapy has recently emerged as a potent tool against BC. Scientists have been enthralled by the potential of nanomaterial in BC immunotherapy for decades due to its significant benefits over traditional immunotherapy. Over the past few decades, there has been a considerable increase in the research and application of nanomaterial-based antigens/adjuvants in BC immunotherapy. This review focuses on current advances in BC immunotherapy strategies by focusing on recent breakthroughs in nano immunotherapy.

In the present work, a lead-free perovskite solar cell was designed using methylammonium tin iodide (CH3NH3SnI3), poly-3- hexylthiophene and titanium dioxide (TiO2) as absorber layer, hole transport layer and electron transport layer respectively. Perovskite solar cells have made impressive strides recently, and their performance has significantly improved. A fundamental n–i–p planar heterojunction structure of photovoltaic cells was designed and simulated with solar cell capacitance simulation software (Scaps-1D). In this study, different parameters such as thickness, acceptor density, temperature and defect density were varied to improve the device performance. Optimum values of different parameters were used to attain good results for the photovoltaic device such as power convergence efficiency (PCE), V OC, fill factor and J SC of 27.54%, 1.0216 V, 86.56% and 31.14 mA/cm2, respectively. The acceptor density was varied from 1 × 10−12 to 1 × 10−20 cm−3 for the proposed device structure. The PCE of this device structure increased when different charge transport materials were used. This simulation study showed that the proposed cell structure could be used to construct a photovoltaic cell with a higher efficiency.

Herein, we report the synthesis, characterization, and gas sensing properties of zinc oxide (ZnO) nanoflowers grown by facile simple solution process. The synthesized ZnO nanoflowers were examined by various techniques to explore their structural, morphological, optical, compositional and gas sensing properties. The details morphological and structural characterizations revealed that the synthesized material possessed flower-shaped morphologies in the nanoscale range with a wurtzite hexagonal crystal structure of ZnO. The high-intense peaks of the synthesized ZnO nanoflowers confirmed high crystallinity. Furthermore, the synthesized ZnO nanoflowers were used as an electrode material to fabricate a facile and low-cost gas sensor to detect hydrogen sulphide (H2S). At an ideal working temperature of 150 °C, the ZnO nanoflowers electrode-based gas sensor displayed remarkable selectivity, good response (48 s), and recovery (97 s) time. Moreover, the fabricated gas sensor exhibited a maximum gas response of 139 (Rg/Ra) towards 50 ppm hydrogen sulphide gas at 150 °C. The unique performance of the ZnO nanoflowers-based gas sensor was attributed to the large surface area of the ZnO nanoflowers, which enabled the fabricated sensor to be a contender for the detection of H2S gas among the wide variety of reported sensors.

In this research work, we have synthesized amorphous Se85Te6Bi9 Chalcogenide Glasses (ChGs) using Melt Quenching Technique. The glassy nature of the synthesized specimen was confirmed by the DSC thermogram plotted at the heating rate of 20 K/min. The nano-thin films of such synthesized samples at two disparate working pressures (1 torr and 3 torr) of ambient argon gas were made using the Physical Vapour Condensation Technique on the ultrasonically cleaned glass substrates. During the synthesis process of nano-thin films substrate temperature (77 K) was kept constant using liquid nitrogen and the thickness of prepared thin films was 40 nm. The morphological analysis of the prepared nanochalcogenide thin films using FESEM confirmed the nanochalcogenide particle size ranges from 20–80 nm. More aggregation and reduction in particle size on the substrates were observed with an increase in working pressure for Se85Te6Bi9 nano-thin films. HRXRD pattern confirmed the amorphous nature of the synthesized nano-thin films. Based on UV-Visible spectroscopy, the optical parameters such as optical absorption coefficients, optical direct band gaps and extinction coefficients were measured for synthesized Se85Te6Bi9 nanochalcogenide thin films. The value of absorption coefficients and extinction coefficients increases with the increase of ambient argon pressure, whereas the value of the optical direct band gap increases with increasing working pressure due to the quantum size effect and dominance of coulombic interactions. The estimated value of optical direct band gaps are 1.37 eV and 1.47 eV at 1 Torr and 3 Torr respectively making our synthesized nano-thin films a preeminent candidate for solar cell applications and other photonic devices.

Bahasa Arab merupakan bahasa Al-Qur’an dan Hadits. kewajiban mempelajarinya bagi setiap umat muslim agar dapat memahami Al-Quran dan Hadits secara baik dan benar. Tetapi, bahasa Arab kini kurang diminati karena kesukarannya yang tinggi dan membutuhkan waktu yang lama untuk mempelajarinya. Seperti yang terjadi pada masyarakat Desa Sidomulyo, Kelurahan Tumbang Tahai, Kota palangka Raya. Keterbatasan SDM juga menjadi kendala tambahan dalam mempelajari bahasa Arab. Pengabdian ini bertujuan memberikan pendampingan dalam pembelajaran bahasa Arab tingkat dasar kepada anak-anak di Desa Sidomulyo, Kelurahan Tumbang Tahai, Kota palangka Raya untuk menumbuhkan minat dan memberikan pemahaman pentingnya mempelajari bahasa Arab. Pendampingan ini dilakukan dengan membentuk sebuah program pembelajaran bahasa Arab yang dinamakan basic Arabic Club. Metode yang digunakan pada pengabdian ini adalah dengan metode service learning. Dari hasil pendampingan yang dilakukan selama tiga minggu melalui program basic Arabic club Nampak adanya peningkatan minat dan pengetahuan basic bahasa Arab terhadap peserta didik. Peserta didik dapat menghafal dan mengaplikasikan kosa kata bahasa Arab, memahami beberapa materi dasar Nahwu dan Shorof, dapat menulis Arab dengan baik dan memiliki peningkatan minat Seperti keinginan mereka untuk masuk pesantren guna mendalami bahasa Arab.

A novel electrochemical aptasensor modified with the nanocomposite of porous carbon nanospheres and Au urchins as the signal amplification and immobility platforms for aptamer was successfully constructed for ultrasensitive and selective determination of streptomycin. The streptomycin aptamer was fixed on the surface of the nanocomposite via the strong Au–S bond between Au urchins and aptamer. The target binding-induced conformational change of aptamer resulted in signal attenuation, which was expressed as “ΔI = IBSA − Istreptomycin.” Based on the synergic signal amplification platform, the as-prepared aptamer-based sensor showed a wider linearity to streptomycin from 0.01 to 350 ng/mL with a low detection limit of 5.0 pg/mL under the optimized condition. Finally, the aptasensor was operated in milk and honey to detect streptomycin. This study has provided a facile way to develop highly sensitive, effective and efficient aptamer-based electrochemical sensors for the detection of antibiotics at very low concentration.

Herein, a microwave-assisted approach for the synthesis of manganese (II) (Mn2+)-doped bismuth ferrite (BMFO) nanoparticles is presented. Various techniques were used to examine the structure, morphology and electrical characteristics of the as-synthesized BMFO nanoparticles. X-ray diffraction and Raman analysis revealed a rhombohedral distorted perovskite structure with space group R3c. The crystallite size of BMFO was found to be 18.77 nm. Scanning electron microscopy studies of the BMFO nanoparticles showed the highly agglomerated nature of the particles. The ultraviolet diffuse reflectance spectrum of BMFO revealed a bandgap of 1.56 eV, which was smaller than the bandgap of pure bismuth ferrite (2.41 eV). The methyl orange (MO) dye degradation behavior of the synthesized BMFO was examined for a dye sample solution in the presence of solar radiation. After 120 min, irradiation resulted in 81.08% photodegradation of the MO dye. Kinetic studies demonstrated a pseudo-first-order rate mechanism for the photodegradation of the MO dye. The corresponding coefficient of determination R 2 and t 1/2 were 0.92864 and 63.0 min, respectively. Finally, a methodology for the degradation of MO dye using BMFO is proposed.

Herein, we report the facile hydrothermal synthesis and characterizations of ZnO nanorods assembled microflowers and their efficient sensing application for the detection of formalydehyde gas. The synthesized ZnO microflowers were examined by several techniques. The scanning electron microscopy (SEM) was employed to evaluate the surface morphology, X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis for the crystal structure while the Fourier transformation infrared (FTIR), and Raman-scattering spectroscopy were employed to understand the functional groups in the synthesized material. The optical properties were evaluated by UV-visible spectroscopy Furthermore, the synthesized ZnO microflowers were used as a functional material to fabricate formaldehyde gas sensor which exhibited a high gas response of 113.36 (Rg/Ra) towards 50 ppm formaldehyde gas at 200 °C. The observed response and recovery times for the fabricated sensor were ∼65 s and ∼117 s, respectively. Finally, the enhancement of gas-sensing performance and mechanism were thoroughly discussed. This work revealed that simply prepared ZnO nanostructures can be used to fabricate high-performance gas sensors.

More than 5 million people require medical attention due to burn-related injuries annually. Significant research has been carried out in recent decades to develop approaches to improve the healing of burn wounds. The focus has also been on the development of natural product-based therapeutic remedies for the treatment of burn wounds. This has been done primarily due to multimodal mechanisms exhibited by some promising bioactive molecules of natural origin. Hesperetin is one such molecule that possesses strong anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties. It is mainly obtained from citrus species. The goal of the current study was to assess how well chitosan gel that contains hesperetin may cure burn wounds. The advantage of using chitosan gel is that it could form a depot at the site and provide a protective therapeutic covering over burn wounds. In the present study, hesperetin-containing chitosan gel was prepared and evaluated for percentage hesperetin content, extrudability, spreadability, and rheological behavior. The preclinical wound healing activity was evaluated using an experimental burn wound model in Wistar rats. The results of the animal experiment showed early and better healing of burn wounds in animals treated with hesperetin-containing chitosan gel. There was 92.79% healing after 14 days of application of hesperetin-containing chitosan gel compared to 69.49% healing observed in the control group. Further, the histopathological evaluation suggested no inflammatory cell infiltration, normal epidermal growth, and normal collagen bundle arrangement in these animals. Overall the results provide proof of concept to establish the wound healing potential of hesperetin-containing chitosan gel against burn wounds.

In the present article, a highly angular sensitive surface plasmon resonance sensor has been studied for early detection of skin cancer cell. The device’s basic design is based on the Kretschmann configuration, which uses an angular interrogation technique. The surface plasmon resonance biosensor has a high potential for detecting skin cancer cells. The variation of refractive index has been taken 1.35–1.38 for basal cell cancer (skin cancer). The proposed device has been stacked with multilayers having silver metal, CaF2 prism, Al2O3, and Bi2Te3 layers. In this article detection accuracy, angular sensitivity, the distribution of electric field intensity and figure of merit as performance parameters have been reported. The optimized value of angular sensitivity is 257.33°RIU−1. Similarly, some other performance parameters like detection accuracy, penetration depth, quality factor and distribution of electric field intensity have also been evaluated and the values are 0.3143 deg−1, 80.8883 RIU−1, 4.82×105 V/m and 112 nm respectively. The numerical simulation has been evaluated by COMSOL multiphysics and MATLAB software. The proposed biosensor may have been used in biological and chemical sensor applications.

In recent years, the advancement of solar cell technology is increased by leaps and bounds and it is also used to achieve a solution for the worldwide huge need for generation of energy and electricity. The colloidal quantum dot (CQD) offers a size-tuned bandgap and materials processing compatibility with a range of substrates. QDSC (Quantum dot solar cell) have advantages such as low cost, high efficiency, and replaces bulky material (Cadmium Selenide, Lead Selenide etc over traditional solar cell. “Despite these advantages, it lags due to carrier recombination in the Quasi-Neutral Region (QNR). The performance of the solar cell greatly depends on the electron transport layer (ETL) and hole transport layer (HTL). To investigate the feasibility of a highperformance device, a comparative investigation of the PbS-EDT and Spiro-OMeTAD hole transport layers has been done. For this, we have varied the various parameters upon which performance of solar cells is dependent in order to maximise the performance. All simulations study has been performed using SCAPS-1D simulator. The overall maximum optimized performance of the photovoltaic solar cell of 16.29% is obtained using TiO2 and PbS-TBAI(tetrabutylammonium iodide) as a ETL and absorber layer respectively. Our research demonstrates that an efficient quantum dot solar cell could be fabricated experimentally using the optimal device structure.

The opportunity to learn (OTL) is one of the important aspects of achieving the goal of the learning process. There have been three dimensions of OTL: instructional time (IT), content covered during instruction (CC), and quality of instruction (QI) mentioned in the literature and used as a framework in this article. This study aims to reveal the gap in math ability between madrasah and non-madrasah students in Indonesia and the contribution of the three OTL aspects toward math scores. This study employed a cross-sectional survey approach with self-report instruments. The data were obtained from a survey of participants in the New Students National Selection for Madrasah Aliyah Negeri (Islamic High-school managed by the ministry of religious affairs) in 2021. There were 8,258 participants, consisting of 4,842 students from madrasah and 3,416 from non-madrasah. This study used multilevel structural equation modeling (SEM) to analyze the data. The findings show that (a) there is a gap in math ability score between madrasah and non-madrasah students which is -27, with a mean math ability score of madrasah students being lower than non- madrasah students, and (b) the time invested in learning significantly affects the occurrence of gaps in math ability scores, while the scope of the materials and the quality of learning do not affect the occurrence of the gap in math ability scores. These findings suggest that it is important for the Ministry of Religious Affairs to consider the addition of mathematical lesson duration in madrasah while restructuring the allocation for Islamic lessons.

There are currently no specific rules and regulation on what the limit for the bacterial concentration at nurseries and day care centres. Being exposed to bioaerosols have become a health concern to the public especially children. This is because they spend most of their childhood in nurseries, day care centres and schools. Statistical analysis is done by Cochrane Software Review Manager 5.4. Based on the statistical analysis, the result of the included studies shows that the concentration of bacteria at nurseries and day care centres are significant. In recent studies, the values for indoor concentration ranged from the 510 CFU/m-3 until 52560 CFU/m-3. The most common types of bacteria that were found in the studies are Staphylococcus, Micrococcus, Bacillus, and Pseudomonas. In general, the studies noted that the bacteria were mostly non-pathogenic and do not pose an immediate danger to the children’s health. However, children who are immunodeficient are at a risk of infection and catching a disease and possibly serious health effects.

An extremely sensitive surface plasmon resonance (SPR) based biosensor has been simulated in the present study using an angular interrogation technique. The large surface area of the graphene layer facilitates biomolecule absorption. The SPR biosensor is proposed in a five-layer Kretschmann configuration with a ferromagnetic material and a silver layer. The proposed SPR biosensor’s sensitivity has been significantly raised in comparison to traditional film-based SPR biosensors. By refining the proposed structure to include a ferromagnetic materials nickel and monolayer of graphene with thicknesses of 15 nm and 0.34 nm and a silver layer of 45 nm, respectively, it is possible to increase sensitivity to 266°/RIU. Furthermore, the proposed SPR sensor design has a very small FWHM, a high detection accuracy (DA), and a high-quality factor (QF). Monolayer of graphene with a fixed mono-layer Nickle configuration were found to have the highest sensitivity of 266°/RIU. Additionally, it should be noted that the proposed SPR biosensor exhibits superior performance compared to SPR sensor parameters previously recorded.

In the present work, a simple, cost effective, and biofriendly methodology was reported to prepare ZnO nanorods used as the photoanode materials for the dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) in combination with coffee extract as a dye and carbon as a counter electrode made by candle flame. The prepared nanostructures were well characterized by XRD, Raman, FESEM, and TEM measurements. The XRD, Raman and TEM results confirmed that the ZnO nanorods were crystallized in the hexagonal phase and possessed single phase nature. Morphological studies performed by FESEM and TEM analyses showed that the ZnO have rods like morphology which were uniform and dense. The length and diameter of the prepared nanorods were ~45 nm and ~1 μm, respectively. The results showed that the ZnO nanorods electrode exhibited a power conversion efficiency (PCE) of DSSCs with a maximum value of 0.54% having a Voc and Jsc of ~0.272 V, and 7.4 mA/cm2, respectively. Significantly, this technique could be used for a large scale production using existing economical, biosafe, and highly effective DSSCs fabrication technique. Development of new-DSSCs (with coffee as natural dye and carbon from candle as counter electrode) using ZnO nanorods open up the way for a diversity of applications.

This study investigates unique and specific properties of the lanthanum based zinc molybdate nanocomposite material. The lanthanum zinc molybdate nanocomposite material was synthesized using a simple and low cost “co-precipitation” method. The synthesized nano materials had structural, vibrational and morphological properties, determined by X-ray diffraction, fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy and field emission scanning electron microscopy. The synthesized nanomaterial was characterised using a range of techniques. X-ray diffraction was used to determine a particle size of 65.7 nm of the disc shaped hexagonal particle. Further characterisation was done using UV-visible spectroscopy and band gap energy analysis. The band gap value was found to be 3.58 eV. The nanocomposite also exhibited antibacterial activity against bacterial strains of Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus. In the presence of light and air, nanoparticles of lanthanum zinc molybdate nanocomposite were found to inhibit the growth of Escherichia coli due to generation of singlet oxygen and hydrogen oxide radical. However, the same was not observed for S. aureus. Photocatalytic property of lanthanum zinc molybdate nanocomposite was determined using an aqueous solution of methylene blue dye. lanthanum zinc molybdate nanocomposite showed photo-degradation due to the formation of singlet oxygen and hydrogen oxide radical. Complete decolourization of blue colour of the of methylene blue solution at 6 pH was attained, using 40.0 mg lanthanum zinc molybdate nanocomposite, with a constant time interval. With time, the activity of lanthanum zinc molybdate nanocomposite was also found to decrease due to the formation of a hydrogen oxide layer on the surface of the nano material. This could be washed off with ethanol and distilled water. After drying, the catalytic nano particle could be reused for another reaction.

In this work, a facile low temperature solution route was reported for the preparation of monodisperse Fe3O4 nanoparticles and their reduced graphene oxide (RGO) based nanocomposites and used as anticancer agents. X-ray diffraction spectroscopy XRD and Raman studies revealed the high crystalline nature of the Fe3O4 nanoparticles and the presence of characteristic peaks of RGO in Fe3O4/RGO nanocomposites. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) micrographs showed the morphology of the RGO nanosheets decorated by Fe3O4 nanoparticles with sizes ranging from 10–15 nm. High resolution (HR)-TEM study revealed the formation of Fe3O4/RGO nanocomposites with the interplanar spacing corresponding to the (311) plane of Fe3O4. The anti-cancer properties of Fe3O4/RGO nanocomposites against A549 cells were investigated using MTT, NRU assay, morphology of cells, and ROS generation analyses and compared with the pure Fe3O4 nanoparticles. In comparison between both the pure Fe3O4 and Fe3O4/RGO nanocomposites, more damage to the A549 cells resulted from the nanocomposites at a similar concentration of 100 μg/ml. The cell viability test showed that 36% cell viability was observed at a concentration of 100 μg/ml for Fe3O4/RGO nanocomposites. Additionally, the percentage of ROS generation for Fe3O4/RGO nanocomposites was higher than that of Fe3O4 at a concentration of 100 μg/ml. These results suggested that the as-synthesized nanocomposites might be a potential candidate for future anticancer agents.

Recently, Dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) have very attracted a huge deal of industries and academics owing to its number of properties including cost-effectiveness, and practically high power energy conversion efficiency. However, there is always a need to develop new research technologies to increase solar cells efficiency based on oxide heterojunctions. In this work, a fast, environment friendly and economic route were used to prepare TiO2, and their nanocomposites containing reduced graphene oxide (RGO), and carbon nanotubes (CNTs) for the fabrication of DSSCs device onto ITO substrates. The prepared nanostructures were well characterized by X-Ray diffraction (XRD), FESEM, TEM, and Raman measurements. XRD analysis confirmed that TiO2 nanoparticles were crystalline with tetragonal phase. Morphological studies performed by FESEM and TEM images showed that the TiO2 possessed spherical morphology which were uniform and densely covered on the surface of the RGO nanosheets. The DSSCs were fabricated using prepared TiO2 nanoparticles and nanocomposites with RGO and CNTs as working electrode. The results revealed that the DSSCs fabricated using nanocomposites showed enhanced performance as compared with the pure samples without RGO. In particular, the TiO2/CNTs (0.5 wt%) nanocomposites electrode exhibited highest power conversion efficiency (PCE) of DSSCs with a maximum value of 0.679% compared to 0.269% of DSSC with pure TiO2, and 0.472% of DSSC with TiO2/RGO. This method would provide a pathway to produce a low-cost technological process to develop high efficiency DSSCs.

With the rapid growth of smartphone technology, it is now commonplace to upload & download videos as part of digital social networking. More incidents are being recorded on video than ever before, so the information on them is more valuable than ever. In this paper, we give a full review of how to get information from video content & find fakes. In this context, we look at different modern methods for detecting video fakes, computer vision & (ML) methods like (DL). We also discuss recurring resource, legal, alsotechnical issues, as well as the challenging of applying Deep learning for the task, such as the theory underpinning DL, CV, restricted, datasets, real-time processing, ML, employed with IoT-based devices. This survey also lists common video forensics analysis & investigation products. In this survey weexamine video content information extraction & counterfeit detection in detail, which, as far as we know, has not been done before.

Background: Globally, hypertension is one of the five major causes of death and has been identified as a serious public health issue. Hypertension therapy depends on patients' education, attitude, and awareness. The amount of public knowledge affects health policy. Still, there is lack of awareness about hypertension among the general population. Objectives: This research was conducted to assess the prevalence and awareness of hypertension (HTN) in the Bahawalpur region. Methodology: A descriptive Cross-sectional study was performed among the general population in Bahawalpur with a self-structured questionnaire from March to June 2017. The questionnaire consisted of 35-questions, covering sociodemographic characteristics, disease awareness, disease management and prevention. Convenience sampling method was used. Descriptive and inferential statistics were applied using the IBM SPSS version 20. Results: This survey had 420 respondents in total, for a response rate of nearly 88%. Participants' average age was 26.04 years and their standard deviation was 9.605 years. The majority of participants were female (49.1%). Only three individuals achieved a score of 20 and the mean score was 13.90 ± 2.803 out of 20. Mann-Whitney and Kruskal-Wallis Males considerably outperformed females in the U-test for hypertension awareness (p>0.05). Additionally, living in an urban area, having better education, and having a higher socioeconomic level were all strongly linked to greater awareness of hypertension. Conclusion: These results showed urgent need for healthcare practitioners to pay attention to hypertension awareness campaigns. to reduce the anticipated prevalence of hypertension, researchers and policymakers must take necessary action.

Background: The discipline of otorhinolaryngology specialty is a very promising field all over the globe. This field is equipped with modified lifestyle as compared to general surgery field. However, otolaryngology is a flexible, promising and important field but still its trend is decreasing all over the world across the undergraduate’s professionals. Aim: To determine the frequency of otolaryngology specialty choice being taken by 4th year MBBS students. Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted in otorhinolaryngology department of Islamabad Medical and Dental College, Islamabad from January to December 2020. The answers were obtained through the Likert scale-5 having the following components, as strongly agree, agree, not sure, disagree, strongly disagree. Results: A 100 undergraduate students participated in this survey. All students were of 4th year MBBS. 20% students were agreed and 40% not sure about the question regarding taking up otorhinolaryngology as a career choice and 15% strongly agreed for this. Conclusion: The study concluded that the graduates are not sure whether they want to choose otorhinolaryngology as their final career choice. We suggest that it should be one of the compulsory rotations during the internship. Keywords: Otorhinolaryngology; Specialty; Undergraduate medical education; Postgraduate; Career choice.

Formaldehyde (HCHO) sensing plays a critical role for indoor environment monitoring in smart home systems. Inspired by the unique hierarchical structure of cactus, we have prepared a ZnO/ANS-rGO composite for room-temperature (RT) HCHO sensing, through assembling hollow cactus-like ZnO nanorods with 5-aminonaphthalene-1-sulfonic acid (ANS)-modified graphene nanosheets in a facile and template-free manner. Interestingly, it was found that the ZnO morphology could be simply tuned from flower clusters to hollow cactus-like nanostructures, along with the increase of the reaction time during the assembly process. The ZnO/ANS-rGO-based sensors exhibited superior RT HCHO-sensing performance with an ultrahigh response (68%, 5 ppm), good repeatability, long-term stability, and an outstanding practical limit of detection (LOD: 0.25 ppm) toward HCHO, which is the lowest practical LOD reported so far. Furthermore, for the first time, a 30 m

Background: Chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS) is an inflammatory disorder of the nose and paranasal sinuses lasting for 12 weeks or longer. Aim: To explore the prevalence of allergic rhinitis and common allergens in chronic rhinosinusitis patients. Methods: The study was conducted in Department of ENT at Dr. Akbar Niazi Teaching Hospital Islamabad from April 2021 to March 2022. On the basis of inclusion criterion, one hundred patients of CRS included in this study. All patients met the diagnostic criteria for CRS through, history, nasoendoscopic examination, and radiological findings. Allergic rhinitis was diagnosed on the basis of skin prick test (SPT). All patients who were operated for CRS were excluded from the study. Results: Male and female ratio was almost equal with slight male predominance. The incidence of polypoidal CRS and non-polypoidal CRS was 52 (52%) and 48 (48%) respectively. Almost two third of polypoidal CRS patients suffered from severe disease based on Nasoendoscopic examination and radiological findings (CT-Scan). The commonest presenting symptoms were nasal discharge and nasal blockage effecting around 92% and 91% patients respectively. Skin prick test (SPT) showed 73% patients were suffering from allergic rhinitis with pet dander being the most common allergen. Conclusion: Chronic Rhinosinusitis is a common disease and majority of patients develop CRS secondary to allergic reaction. Early diagnosis of allergic rhinitis with identification of specific allergens and its management can help in prevention of CRS. Keywords: Allergic rhinitis (AR), Chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS), Sinunasal Polyposis, non-allergic rhinitis, Skin prick test (SPT)

Aim: To determine the audiometric findings, prevalence of age related hearing loss and association of hearing loss with gender in patients of 60 years and above. Setting and duration of study: This study was conducted in the Department of ENT at Shifa Foundation Community Health Centre (SFCHC), Shifa International hospital, Islamabad, over a period of 5 years from September 2014 to September 2019. Methods: A total of 149 patients were included in the study. All the patients were subjected to audiometry after taking informed written consent. Information regarding the past medical history of all participants regarding ear and hearing disorders and risk factors was taken and recorded. All this information along with demographic information was recorded. Results: The mean age of the participants was 70.72 ± 7.09 years. Most 46 (30.9%) of the patients were between 60 to 65 years old. The proportion of male participants 76 (51%) was slightly higher. In our study sample, 142 (95.3%) of the participants had high-frequency hearing loss, and 129 (86.6%) participants had low-frequency hearing loss. Mostly 62 (41.6%) participants had sloping curve. Most 125 (83.9%) participants were diagnosed with both types of hearing loss. Among male patients flat curve showed a significant (P-value < 0.05) relationship with age and in female patients, flat curve and neither flat curve nor sloping curve showed significant (P-value < 0.05) association with different age brackets. Conclusion: High-frequency hearing loss was the most common type of hearing loss among older patients. Majority of the patients were diagnosed with both types of hearing loss. High-frequency hearing loss was found to be significantly associated with different age brackets. Keywords: Hearing loss, Audiometric findings, High Frequency Hearing Loss

This work presents a unidirectional, co-circularly polarized (CP), printed antenna with highly decoupled or isolated transmit (Tx) and receive (Rx) ports for 2.4 GHz in-band full duplex (IBFD) applications. The presented antenna topology is based on four similar and sequentially rotated trimmed patches with right hand circular polarized (RHCP) characteristics. The symmetrical placement of two Tx patches with respect to both Rx elements results in equal levels of self interference (SI) which was suppressed through balanced excitation of Tx mode. This mechanism results in effective suppression of SI at each Rx patch. The residual SI is suppressed further through a second balanced feeding network deployed at Rxport of proposed antenna topology. The employed balanced feeding networks provide superior performance of ≤ 0.5 dB and 6° magnitude and phase imbalances respectively between the two balanced output ports over the bandwidth of interest. The measured results for prototype of presented antenna achieve -10 dB bandwidth of better than 100 MHz for both Tx and Rxports. The measured interport coupling for validation model ≤ −70 dB across the entire bandwidth of 100 MHz. As per best of authors’ knowledge, the presented antenna is the first one to report such reduced levels of interport coupling over the whole impedance bandwidth of planar antenna with unidirectional radiation patterns and co-RHCP characteristics for both Tx and Rx modes across the overlapped bandwidth.

In this work, we report hybrid NiCo2S4@Ni(OH)2 electrode materials on Ni foam by a multi-step hydrothermal approach. The mass capacitance of the prepared sample shows an excellent cycling stability after 10 000 cycles of charge/discharge tests.

We prepare several Ni1−xCoxMoO4·nH2O nanostructures through facile hydrothermal strategies. The obtained electrode materials delivered a specific capacitance of 1390 F g−1 at 1 A g−1. The as-assembled device shows an energy density of 72.45 W h kg−1 at a power density of 2688.8 W kg−1.

Herein, we report a facile synthesis of cauliflower-shaped ZnO structures through a hydrothermal method for efficient gas sensing applications. The ZnO structures were characterized by field emission scanning electron microscopy associated with energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS), X-ray diffraction and Raman spectroscopy. XRD analysis revealed hexagonal wurtzite phase of ZnO crystals with excellent crystallinity and mean particle size of 45.50 nm. FESEM analysis showed cauliflower-like morphology composed of a large number of hexagonal nanorods. Cauliflower-shaped ZnO structures were used to device resistive sensor devices for NO2, NH3 and H2S gases. Gas responses for NH3 and H2S gases were not impressive even at high operating temperatures ranging from 200–450 °C. In contrast, for NO2 gas the responses were efficiently high even at very low operating temperatures. A maximum gas response of 431.36 was observed at very low operating temperature of 50 °C.

The fabrication and characterization of nanorod-shaped Al-doped ZnO nanostructures are described in this paper. The hexagonal wurtzite phase of ZnO was confirmed by XRD investigation, with efficient doping of Aluminum ions in the ZnO crystal. The length and diameter of the high density produced doped ZnO nanorods were shown to be heterogeneous using FESEM analysis. EDS, FTIR, and Raman spectroscopy examinations validated purity, composition, and vibrational characteristics. Even at very low analyte concentrations, the constructed Al-doped ZnO nanorods modified silver electrode (AgE) displayed exceptional electron mediating characteristics towards phenylhydrazine. The sensitivity, linear dynamic concentration range (LDR) and limit of detection (LOD) were found to be 64.77 μAmM−1cm−2, 0.313–2.5 mM, and 0.313 mM, respectively. As a result of the research described, Al-doped ZnO nanorods appear to be promising candidates for building efficient and repeatable electrochemical sensors in the future.

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to look at the asymmetric effect of oil production on environmental degradation in OPEC member countries from 1970–2019. Design/methodology/approach The authors build a nonlinear panel ARDL–PMG model using the Shin et al. (2014) nonlinear autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) approach in panel form to assess both the short- and long-run impact of positive and negative oil production movements on CO2 emissions. Findings The result demonstrates that the variables are cointegrated. According to the linear long run coefficients, oil production, FDI inflows and economic growth both have a positive and significant relationship with CO2 emissions, implying that they deteriorate environmental quality in OPEC countries, while renewable energy has a negative relationship with CO2, implying that increasing renewable energy improves environmental quality. The asymmetric findings prove that positive and negative shocks of oil production exert a positive effect on carbon emissions in short run and long run. Research limitations/implications To begin with, the empirical assessments do not include all OPEC member nations; researchers are advised to resolve this constraint by looking at the economies of other OPEC members. Albeit the lack of data for other energy sources may serve as another constraint of this research, future research is expected to broaden the current framework via other energy sources such as nuclear, electricity, biomass, solar as well as wind. Originality/value The research adds to the body of knowledge as many of the prevailing studies in the literature failed to look at the asymmetric effect of oil production on the quality of environment. This is another gap in the literature that the current study is set out to fill. This study adds oil production as an explanatory variable and helps to extend the existing literature for OPEC countries, which could propose a solution to deal with ensuing environmental issues.

This study investigated the effect of active learning technique on self-concept and academic achievement in geometry among junior secondary school students in Bosso local government, Niger State, Nigeria. The study adopted a pre-test, post-test quasi-experimental design. The study used 135 students in junior secondary school III (JSS III). The experimental group consisted of 67 while control group consisted of 68 students. The researcher adopted and validated two instruments. These include: students self-concept toward geometry (SSTG), likert-type scales with reliability coefficient of 0.5, geometry Achievement test (GAT), and five items theory question with reliability coefficient of 0.5. The experimental period lasted for four weeks during which the control group was taught using discussion method while the experimental group was taught using active learning technique. Four research questions were answered and their corresponding four research hypotheses were tested. The research questions were answered using mean and standard deviation. Hypothesis testing was done using inferential statistic of t-test for equality of means of independent sample, Mann-Whitney U test at p≤0.05, level of significance. There was a significance difference between the post-test mean scores of experimental and control group in favour of the experimental group. There was no significance difference in self-concepts of the subjects in the experimental group. It is recommended that active learning technique should be used in teaching mathematics.

It is critical to design bifunctional nonprecious electrocatalysts with low costs and high efficiency for hydrogen production. Conventional electrocatalysts, on the other hand, frequently exhibit s...

Low-cost and high-performance UV photodetector (PD) based on anatase titanium dioxide (TiO2) and nitrogen-doped graphene quantum dots (N-GQDs) bilayer heterojunction were fabricated on a commercial SiO2/Si substrate by drop-casting the N-GQDs solution on the surface of anatase TiO2 thin film, which was initially prepared by thermally oxidizing a DC-sputtered titanium (Ti) film in air. The anatase TiO2 and N-GQDs films were characterized with several techniques in order to study their structure and morphology properties. XRD, XPS, and AFM revealed that the phase of the as-sputtered Ti film transformed to a highly crystalline pure anatase TiO2 film when thermally oxidized at 600 °C in air. In addition, TEM, HRTEM, and FTIR revealed that the N-GQDs are highly crystalline and narrowly distributed in size. Furthermore, the optical and UV light harvesting properties of photodetectors based on pure anatase TiO2 film (without N-GQDs) and anatase TiO2 (with N-GQDs) were investigated. The photoresponsivity of the hybrid photodetector based on anatase TiO2/N-GQDs heterojunction has been enhanced by almost 2.5 times in magnitude than that of the photodetector based on pure anatase TiO2 film. This result was validated by elucidated energy band alignment between the anatase TiO2 and N-GQDs films, which resulted in a higher absorption rate, and an efficient transport mechanism in the hybrid junction-based photodetector than that of the pure TiO2-based photodetector.

This paper reports the photoluminescence and nonlinear optical (NLO) properties of Ce2O3–TiO2 nanocomposites synthesized via sol–gel process with different concentrations of cerium. The physical characterization studies by means of XRD indicated for the successful incorporation of Ce into the lattice of TiO2, while the UV-visible spectra for an absorption edge shift of TiO2 to the higher wavelength side following the Ce addition, and FESEM analysis for the morphology and particles sizes of the synthesized materials. On testing of the photoluminescence properties recorded through time-resolved fluorescence (TCSPC) technique, a decrease in the intensity of TiO2 with that of increased Ce concentration was observed and is due to an escalation in the number of oxygen vacancies. Further, the observation NLO properties for Ce2O3–TiO2 was done by a Z-scan technique of 5ns continuous wave (cw) laser at 532 nm, where the involvement of active mechanisms in the nonlinear refraction and nonlinear absorption are due to the saturable absorption (SA) and nonlinear thermal effects.

Herein, we report a facile hydrothermal synthesis of MnO2 nanoparticles anchored multi walled carbon nanotubes (MnO2@MWCNTs) as potential anode materials for lithium-ion (Li-ion) batteries. The prepared MnO2@MWCNTs were characterized by several techniques which confirmed the formation of MnO2 nanoparticles anchored MWCNTs. The X-ray diffraction and Raman-scattering analyses of the prepared material further revealed the effective synthesis of MnO2@MWCNTs. The fabricated Li-ion battery based on MnO2@MWCNTs exhibited a reversible capacity of ~823 mAhg−1 at a current density of 100 mAg−1 for the first cycle, and delivered a capacity of ~421 mAhg−1 for the 60 cycles. The coulombic efficiency was found to be ~100% which showed excellent reversible charge–discharge behavior. The outstanding performance of the MnO2@MWCNTs anode for the Li-ion battery can be attributed to the distinctive morphology of the MnO2 nanoparticles anchored MWCNTs that facilitated the fast transport of lithium ions and electrons and accommodated a broad volume change during the cycles of charge/discharge.

Background: Acute pharyngitis is the inflammation of the mucous membrane of oropharynx which is caused by various infectious organisms like bacteria, viruses and fungi. The other less common seen causes include allergies and gastro-esophageal reflux disease. Aim: To look for range of microorganisms involved in causing acute pharyngitis on throat swab specimens. Methods: After getting consent all the pharyngitis patients attending ENT Department at Akbar Niazi Teaching Hospital (ANTH), Islamabad from January to June 2017 were included in the study. From total of 100 patients throat swabs were obtained by established aseptic method and were sent for culture. The organisms involved were recognized by biochemical tests & their propensity to antimicrobial agents was established by established methods. Data was entered and analyzed by using SPSS v.21. Results: Out of 100 specimens’ microorganisms were identified in 25 specimens while 75 specimens had no growth. Streptococcus pyogenes was the frequently seen organism 9(90%), while the list was followed by Staphylococcus aureus 14(56%) and Candida albicans 3(12%). In 40% single pathogen was identified with Streptococcus pyogenes in 9 samples (90%) and Staphylococcus aureus in 1(10%), whereas 60% of the culture reports were that of the mix infection. Conclusion: The study concluded that streptococcus pyogenes and staphylococcus aureus were responsible for majority of single organism infections, while candida albicans together with these bacteria were isolated from mixed infections. Keywords: Pharyngitis; Streptococcus pyogenes; Throat; Microorganisms.

Co-doped ZnO nano-agglomerates were synthesized by a facile solution process. Several characterization techniques revealed the successful doping of the ZnO by Co ions. FESEM results showed the agglomeration of the Co-doped ZnO nanoparticles to form large-sized nano-agglomerates. The diameters of the spherical nanoparticles and the agglomerates were not found to be uniform. The diameters of the nano-agglomerates ranged from ~25 nm–120 nm. XRD spectrum confirmed the Wurtzite hexagonal phase of ZnO in Co-doped ZnO nanoagglomerates. The average particle size for Co-doped ZnO nano-agglomerates was 20.68 nm. The sensing parameters were examined by using Co-doped ZnO nano-agglomerates modified gold electrode through cyclic voltammetric and amperometric analysis. The sensitivity of 70.73 μAmM−1cm−2 and very low-detection limit of 0.2 μM was observed for H2O2. The corresponding linear dynamic concentration range was 0.2–1633 μM. The excellent sensing activities of the Co-doped ZnO nano-agglomerates for H2O2 were attributed to the improved intrinsic electric properties and increased inner defects density, particularly near the interface region.

Herein, we report a successful synthesis of supramolecularly assembled polyaniline/silver oxide/graphene oxide composite (PANI/Ag2O/GO) for enhanced NO2 gas sensing application. The PANI/Ag2O/GO composite was synthesized by facile stirring followed by an ultrasonication process. The prepared material was characterized by different techniques such as x-ray diffraction, field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy and Raman-scattering spectroscopy. The detailed analysis revealed that the average crystallite sizes of PANI/Ag2O and PANI/Ag2O/GO composites were found to be 37.37 nm and 41.55 nm, respectively. FESEM and TEM analysis showed coral-like rough-surfaced and extensively agglomerated morphology for PANI and ultrathin flexible sheet-like morphology for GO. Ag2O nanoparticles with diameters 20–30 nm were well incorporated in the GO sheets and PANI matrix in the case of PANI/Ag2O/GO composites. The synthesized materials were used to make resistive sensor devices that had a high response to NO2 gas. The fabricated sensors were examined at various temperatures to obtain the optimal sensing temperature. The fabricated NO2 gas sensor device based on PANI/Ag2O/GO composite exhibited a highest sensitivity of 5.85 for 25 ppm at an optimized temperature (100 °C) as compared to the pure PANI (2.5) and PANI/Ag2O composite (3.25). Further, the fabricated sensor device based on PANI/Ag2O/GO composite was also examined at different NO2 gas concentrations.

Microbial Electrolysis Cells (MECs) are one of the bioreactors that have been used to produce bio-hydrogen by biological methods. The objective of this comprehensive review is to study the effects of MEC configuration (single-chamber and double-chamber), electrode materials (anode and cathode), substrates (sodium acetate, glucose, glycerol, domestic wastewater and industrial wastewater), pH, temperature, applied voltage and nanomaterials at maximum bio-hydrogen production rates (Bio-HPR). The obtained results were summarized based on the use of nanomaterials as electrodes, substrates, pH, temperature, applied voltage, Bio-HPR, columbic efficiency (CE) and cathode bio-hydrogen recovery (C Bio-HR). At the end of this review, future challenges for improving bio-hydrogen production in the MEC are also discussed.