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الملخص: أهداف البحث: تناولت هذه الدراسة التحقيق في العلاقة بين ثلاثة متغيرات جينية: آر اس 4671393 و آر اس 1427407 و آر اس 11886868 تقع داخل جين ''بي سي ال 11 أ'' ومتغير واحد آر اس 9399137 في جين ''اتش بي اس 1 ال-ام واي بي''، وارتباطهم المحتمل بمرض الثلاسيميا لدى المرضى من سكان البنجاب، باكستان. طريقة البحث: تم استقطاب مجموعة مكونة من 600 مشارك من مستشفيات مختلفة في البنجاب، باكستان. وقد ضمت المجموعة 300 مريض بالثلاسيميا و300 من الضوابط الأصحاء المطابقين في العمر والجنس. وتم استخراج الحمض النووي من عينات الدم الكاملة لجميع المشاركين. وتم تضخيم مناطق الحمض النووي المحددة التي تحتوي على أربعة متغيرات وراثية ذات أهمية باستخدام تفاعل البوليميراز المتسلسل. النتائج: تشير الترددات الجينية تعدد أشكال النوكليوتيد المفردة لـ آر اس 4671393 من جين ''بي سي ال 11 أ'' إلى أن النمط الجيني المتغاير (أ ج) لـ تعدد أشكال النوكليوتيد المفردة كان مرتبطا بشكل كبير بزيادة خطر الإصابة بالثلاسيميا بمقدار الضعف تقريبا مقارنة بالمجموعة المرجعية. كما أكد الجمع بين جميع الأنماط الجينية في نموذج مشترك وجود ارتباط كبير بزيادة خطر الإصابة بالثلاسيميا. وعلى غرار آر اس 4671393، أظهر النمط الجيني المتغاير(س ت) لـ آر اس 11886868 أيضا ارتباطا كبيرا بزيادة خطر الإصابة بالثلاسيميا بمقدار الضعف تقريبا. كشف تحليل كلا النمطين الجينيين معا عن ارتباط طفيف مع زيادة بمقدار ضعف واحد في خطر الإصابة بالثلاسيميا للأفراد الذين يحملون أي أليل متغير من آر اس 11886868. أظهرت حالات التوزيع الأليلي لـ آر اس 1427407 للجين ''بي سي ال 11 أ'' أن النمط الجيني المتغاير (ت ج) لـ آر اس 1427407 أظهر ارتباطا مهما بزيادة في خطر الإصابة بالثلاسيميا بمقدار الضعف تقريبا مقارنة بالمجموعة المرجعية. أكد الجمع بين جميع الأنماط الجينية في نموذج مشترك وجود ارتباط مهم بين وجود أي أليل متغير لـ آر اس 1427407 وزيادة في خطر الإصابة بالثلاسيميا بمقدار الضعف. أظهرت ترددات التوزيع الجيني المتغاير (ت س) لـ آر اس 9399137 لجين ''اتش بي اس 1 ال-ام واي بي'' مشابهة لـ آر اس 1427407، أظهر النمط الجيني المتغاير (س ت) لـ آر اس 9399137 ارتباطا مهما للغاية بزيادة في خطر الإصابة بالثلاسيميا بمقدار الضعف تقريبا. أظهر تحليل كلا النمطين الجينيين معا وجود ارتباط كبير مع زيادة خطر الإصابة بالثلاسيميا بمقدار ضعف واحد للأفراد الذين يحملون أي متغير من أليل آر اس 9399137. Abstract: Objectives: This study investigated the associations of the rs4671393, rs1427407, and rs11886868 genetic variants of the BCL11A gene and the rs9399137 variant of the HBS1L-MYB gene with thalassemia in patients from the population of Punjab, Pakistan. Methods: A cohort of 600 participants, comprising 300 patients with thalassemia and 300 age- and sex-matched healthy controls, was recruited from various hospitals in Punjab, Pakistan. DNA was extracted from whole blood samples from all participants. Specific DNA regions containing four genetic variants of interest were amplified with polymerase chain reaction. Results: The genotypic frequencies of the rs4671393 SNP of BCL11A indicated that the heterozygous (AG) genotype of this SNP was significantly associated with a nearly two-fold increased thalassemia risk, with respect to the control group (OR = 1.77; 95% CI = 1.77–2.80; p = 0.01). Combining all genotypes into a joint model further confirmed their significant association with thalassemia risk. Similarly to the findings for rs4671393, the heterozygous (CT) genotype of rs11886868 exhibited a significant association with thalassemia risk (approximately two-fold increased risk. Analysis of both genotypes together revealed a marginally significant association (one-fold increased risk) with thalassemia in individuals carrying any variant allele of rs11886868. The allelic distribution of the rs1427407 SNP of BCL11A indicated that the heterozygous (GT) genotype of this SNP was significantly associated with thalassemia (approximately two-fold increased risk, with respect to the control group). Combining all genotypes into a joint model confirmed a significant association between the presence of any variant allele of rs1427407 and thalassemia (two-fold increased risk). The genotypic distribution frequencies of the heterozygous (CT) genotype for the rs9399137 SNP of HBS1L-MYB was similar to that of rs1427407, and exhibited a highly significant association with thalassemia risk (nearly two-fold increased risk). Analysis of both genotypes together revealed a significant association with thalassemia risk (one-fold increase) for individuals carrying any variant allele of rs9399137. Conclusion: BCL11A and HBS1L-MYB polymorphisms were significantly associated with increased thalassemia risk.

Abstract The present study deals with the production of cellulase-free endoxylanase by Aspergillus niger ISL-9 using wheat bran as a solid substrate. Endoxylanase was produced under a solid-state fermentation. Various growth parameters were optimized for the improved production of the enzyme. The Substrate level of 15 g was optimized as it provided the fungus with balanced aeration and nutrition. Among the six moisture contents investigated, Moisture Content 5 (MC5) was optimized (g/l: malt extract, 10; (NH4)2HPO4, 2.5; urea, 1.0) and 10 mL of MC5 was found to give the highest production of endoxylanase. The pH and time of incubation were optimized to 6.2 and 48 h respectively. The Inoculum size of 2 mL (1.4 × 106 spores/mL) gave the maximum enzyme production. After optimization of these growth parameters, a significantly high endoxylanase activity of 21.87 U/g was achieved. Very negligible Carboxymethylcellulase (CMCase) activity was observed indicating the production of cellulase-free endoxylanase. The notable finding is that the endoxylanase activity was increased by 1.4-fold under optimized conditions (p ≤ 0.05). The overall comparison of kinetic parameters for enhanced production of endoxylanase by A. niger ISL-9 under Solid State Fermentation (SSF) was also studied. Different kinetic variables which included specific growth rate, product yield coefficients, volumetric rates and specific rates were observed at 48, 72 and 96 h incubation time and were compared for MC1 and MC5. Among the kinetic parameters, the most significant result was obtained with volumetric rate constant for product formation (Qp) that was found to be optimum (1.89 U/h) at 72 h incubation period and a high value of Qp i.e.1.68 U/h was also observed at 48 h incubation period. Thus, the study demonstrates a cost-effective and environmentally sustainable process for xylanase production and exhibits scope towards successful industrial applications.

In the current study, parietin was extracted aerobically from lichen and quantified using parietin activity tests. Different parameters were optimized to extract parietin, viz. suspending 1.5 g biomass of lichen in 15 mL methanol and incubating it for 45 min at 37 °C. Parietin-mediated AgNPs were synthesized by 30-minute procurement period with 3 mL of AgNO3 (3 mM) solution. Visual observations and ultraviolet–visible (UV–Vis) spectra demonstrated that the Ag precursor’s treatment changed the color of fresh methanolic extract to greenish-brown. Fourier transfer infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy was used to identify lichen secondary metabolites. The effective synthesis of Xa-AgNPs was further validated by X-ray diffraction patterns and scanning electron microscopy. The free parietin extract and synthesized nanoparticles (Xa-AgNPs) were evaluated for antimicrobial activity against selected bacterial isolates; S. aureus, B. subtilis (gram-positive), E. coli, Pseudomonas sp. (gram-negative) by agar well diffusion method. The results indicated that free parietin extract and synthesized nanoparticles (Xa-AgNPs) have potential antimicrobial activity against selected gram-positive and gram-negative bacterial isolates. The current results exhibited that Xa-AgNPs are potent bactericidal agents and should be considered a promising candidate to combat bacterial infections.

ABSTRACT Objective: To assess whether there is any difference in the genetic association between Class II division 1 (div. 1) and division 2 (div. 2) malocclusions using PAX9 (rs8004560) gene single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP). Material and Methods: Sixty patients from the Orthodontics department of Subharti Dental College and Hospital (Meerut, India) were divided into two groups: Group 1 (Class II div. 1 malocclusion) and Group 2 (Class II div. 2 malocclusion). Then, 3 mL of blood was collected from each participant. DNA extraction was done, and Sanger Sequencing was performed from extracted DNA samples. Results: A statistically significant difference was found in the distribution of alleles among Class II div. 1 and Class II div. 2 malocclusions. The homozygous GG allele was the most prevalent among Class II div. 1 patients (76.7%), while the heterozygous AG allele was the most prevalent among Class II div. 2 patients (53.5%). Since GG was the most prevalent allele, it was used as a reference, and AA/AG were compared with GG to confirm the association. The results showed that individuals with the AG genotype seemed to be more susceptible to the development of skeletal Class II div. 2 malocclusion. Conclusion: The homozygous GG allele was the most prevalent among Class II div. 1 patients, while the heterozygous AG allele was the most prevalent among Class II div. 2 patients, suggesting that there could be a difference between the genetic association of both malocclusions.

Background: SARS-CoV-2 infection presentation in children is usually milder than in adults but can be severe and fatal as well. Data on the pediatric population regarding severity and clinical presentation are still limited, and there is a need to have a better understanding of clinical features, severity, and laboratory parameters. Aims and Objective: To document clinical and laboratory characteristics and outcomes of children with SARS-CoV-2 in a low-middle-income country and to evaluate clinicodemographic factors and biochemical markers associated with severity and mortality. Materials and Methods: A hospital-based cross-sectional study was conducted among 112 COVID-19-positive children at a designated Level-3 center in North India. Clinical characteristics, laboratory parameters, and severity of COVID-19 cases as well as factors associated with the severity of the disease, were analyzed by descriptive statistics and a Chi-square test. Results: The adolescent age group (age 12-18 years) was affected most (64.3%). Male patients accounted for 56.3% of total cases. Fever was the most common symptom (41.1%) followed by cough. Presenting complaints were highest from the respiratory system (32.1%) followed by the gastrointestinal (8.9%) and the neurological system (7.1%). Majority of patients had mild disease (87%) while 13% had the moderate-severe disease. Spo2 < 95% (P = 0.00001), neutrophilia (P < 0.000001), lymphopenia (P < 0.000001), elevated values of C-reactive protein (P < 0.00001), Interleukin-6 (P = 0.002), D- dimer (P = 0.00014) and respiratory symptoms as presenting complaints (P < 0.000001) were found to be significantly associated with severity of disease. Conclusion: The male and adolescent age group was affected most. Presenting complaints were highest from the respiratory system. Unusual presentation may have gastrointestinal or neurological presentation. Most children with COVID-19 had mild disease. Moderate to severe disease was not uncommon. Factors including neutrophilia, lymphopenia, elevated lab values of C-reactive protein, D-dimer, and interleukin-6 had a significant association with the severity of the disease. These biomarkers can help predict the severity of the disease.

The current research was planned to evaluate the ameliorative role of juglanin (Jug) against polyethylene microplastics (PEMP) prompted testicular impairments. 48 rats were allocated in 4 groups: control, PEMP exposed, Jug + PEMP co-administrated and Jug supplemented group. The activities of antioxidant enzyme, inflammatory markers level, hormonal level, the expressions of steroidogenic enzymes, pro-apoptotic and anti-apoptotic protein were assessed after the 56 days of the trial. PEMP intoxication significantly disturbed Nrf-2/Keap-1 pathway and the biochemical profile of rats. However, the administration of Jug markedly increased Nrf-2 and anti-oxidant enzymes expressions, besides decreased the Keap-1 expression. Jug administration also increased Catalase (CAT), super oxide dismutase (SOD) glutathione reductase (GPx), glutathione peroxidase (GSR) and Hemeoxygenase-1 (HO-1) activities. On the other hand, the levels of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and malondialdehyde (MDA) were decreased following Jug administration. Moreover, Jug administration decreased the levels of inflammatory markers. Additionally, Jug administration increased luteinizing hormone (LH), testosterone, follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) levels and steroidogenic enzymes expression including 17β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase (17β-HSD), steroidogenic acute regulatory protein (StAR) and 3β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase (3β-HSD) expressions. Jug administration decreased Caspase-3 and Bax expressions, while increasing Bcl-2 expression. Therefore, the current findings suggested that Jug can remarkably alleviate PEMP induced testicular damage due to its therapeutical potentials.

OBJECTIVE: To compare the effects of Pilates exercise versus muscle energy technique (MET) along with Kinesio Taping (KT) in non-specific low back pain (LBP). METHODS: This randomized controlled clinical trial was conducted from March 22 to September 14, 2022, at Chaudhry Muhammad Akram Research and Teaching Hospital, Johar Medicare Complex in Johar Town, Lahore, and Mayo Hospital and Jinnah Hospital in Lahore, Pakistan. Study involved 42 non-specific LBP patients randomly assigned to group A (MET with KT) and group B (Pilates exercise with KT) over eight weeks after interventions. Pain, disability index, and range of motion (ROM) were assessed at baseline, 2 weeks, and 8 weeks. Sessions were held twice a week, lasting 30-40 minutes each. RESULTS: Among 42 participants, 14 (33.3%) were male, and 28 (66.7%) were female, aged 18-40 years. Group B showed greater pain reduction than Group A (p

Background: Paraquat (PQ) is a herbicide that is used globally in the agriculture sector to eradicate unwanted weeds, however it also induces significant damages in various organs of the body such as testes. Tectochrysin (TEC) is an important flavonoid that shows versatile therapeutic potentials. Currently, there is no established antidote to cure PQ-induced testicular toxicity. Objective: The present study was conducted to evaluate the ameliorative effects of TEC against PQ prompted testicular damage. Methods: Sprague-Dawley rats (n = 48) were used to conduct the trial. Rats were allocated in to 4 groups i.e., Control, PQ administrated group (5 mgkg−1), PQ + TEC co-administrated group (5 mgkg−1 + 2.5 mgkg−1) and TEC only administrated group (2.5 mgkg−1). The trial was conducted for 8 weeks. The activity of anti-oxidants and the levels of MDA and ROS were determined by spectrophotometric method. Steroidogenic enzymes as well as apoptotic markers expressions were evaluated by qRT-PCR. The level of hormones and inflammatory indices was quantified by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Results: PQ exposure markedly (P

Background & Objective: This study aims to compare and examine the distinctive perspectives of dental trainees and distinguished faculty members toward the significance of oral biology subject for dentistry, clinical training, and dental education. Methodology: A prevalidated questionnaire consisting of two sections was distributed through Google Forms and handouts to dental interns and faculty members of basic and clinical departments of different dental institutes and hospitals oh Punjab. The data was collected and statistically analyzed using IBM-SPSS version 25. The chi-square test was applied to check the significance of questions regarding perception of oral biology. A p-value of less than 0.05 was considered as the threshold for statistical significance. Results: Both groups perceived high relevance of oral biology towards dentistry with slightly more relevance reported by dental interns regarding the importance of oral biology for dental education and clinical training. Regarding the data collected from clinical dental departments Oral surgery department showed the highest relevance of oral biology with dentistry whereas the Orthodontic department considered oral biology most relevant for future clinical training and practice. Conclusions: Dental faculty and interns emphasized the importance of oral biology as a discipline for dentistry, but interns reported substantial application for relevance related to future clinical training and practice.

Doxorubicin (DOX) is an anticancer agent that is generally used to treat wide range of malignancies. Gossypetin (GTIN) is a well-known bioflavonoid that shows multiple therapeutical potentials. The experiment aimed to elucidate the nephroprotective impact of GTIN against renal damage caused by DOX. 24 Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats were separated into 4 groups: Control, DOX (3 mg/kg i.p.), DOX + GTIN (3 mg/kg i.p. + 30 mg/kg by oral gavage), and GTIN (30 mg/kg. orally) for the evaluation of renal markers, apoptotic markers, antioxidant and inflammatory profile. The outcomes of the experiment apprised that DOX exposure induced a pronounced decrease in enzymatic activities of antioxidants including glutathione peroxidase (GPx), superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione reductase (GSR), catalase (CAT), glutathione-S-transferase (GST) as well as glutathione (GSH) accompanied by an increment in reactive oxygen species (ROS) as well as malondialdehyde (MDA) levels. Likewise, DOX intoxication promoted escalation in the urea, kidney injury molecule-1 (KIM-1), creatinine, as well as neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin (NGAL) level, on the other hand instigating a remarkable decline in creatinine clearance level. DOX induction brought a considerable escalation in interleukin-6 (IL-6), tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), interleukin-1β (IL-1β), nuclear factor kappa-B (NF-κB) as well as cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2). In addition, DOX administration depicted a considerable raised in Caspase-9, Bax as well as Caspase-3 levels, while lowered Bcl-2 level. DOX treatment also prompted histomorphological impairment. GTIN + DOX co-treatment ameliorated all the above-stated damages in the kidneys. In conclusion, GTIN can effectively mitigate the renal impairments induced by DOX-prompted nephrotoxicity.

Abstract Background Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is an ongoing pandemic which has emerged as a new challenge for the medical sciences. Severity of COVID-19 is mostly determined with overexpressed proinflammatory cytokines eventually leading to endothelial dysfunction causing vital organ injury, especially in the lungs. It has been postulated that various genetic mutations might be associated with an increased risk of disease severity in COVID-19. This study was thus carried out to determine the association of rs1800896 and rs1800872 genetic polymorphism in IL-10 gene in determining COVID-19 severity. Methods The study included 160 RT-PCR confirmed COVID-19 patients with mild (n = 85) and severe (n = 75) conditions. All subjects were genotyped for Interleukin-10 (rs1800896 and rs1800872) gene polymorphisms using PCR–RFLP technique followed by statistical analysis. Results This study found a significant gender and age-based discrepancy in COVID-19 severity with 1.85-and 3.81-fold increased risk of COVID-19 in males of mild and severe groups as compared to females (p = 0.046 and p

Stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) is a choice of treatment for pituitary adenomas (PA), particularly for residual or recurrent disease, apart from surgery. It has a progression free survival and endocrine remission rate comparable to surgery, with fewer side effects, making it an ideal tool for dealing with PA. In this review, we have discussed the role of SRS for primary as well as post-operative residual/ recurrent PA, and have assessed its safety and outcomes. Keywords: Pituitary adenoma, Stereotactic Radiosurgery, SRS, Gamma Knife Radiosurgery.

Image inhomogeneity often occurs in real-world images and may present considerable difficulties during image segmentation. Therefore, this paper presents a new approach for the segmentation of inhomogeneous images. The proposed hybrid active contour model is formulated by combining the statistical information of both the local and global region-based energy fitting models. The inclusion of the local region-based energy fitting model assists in extracting the inhomogeneous intensity regions, whereas the curve evolution over the homogeneous regions is accelerated by including the global region-based model in the proposed method. Both the local and global region-based energy functions in the proposed model drag contours toward the accurate object boundaries with precision. Each of the local and global region-based parts are parameterized with weight coefficients, based on image complexity, to modulate two parts. The proposed hybrid model is strongly capable of detecting region of interests (ROIs) in the presence of complex object boundaries and noise, as its local region-based part comprises bias field. Moreover, the proposed method includes a new bias field (NBF) initialization and eliminates the dependence over the initial contour position. Experimental results on synthetic and real-world images, produced by the proposed model, and comparative analysis with previous state-of-the-art methods confirm its superior performance in terms of both time efficiency and segmentation accuracy.

The most fatal and frequent cancer amongst women is breast cancer. Mammography provides timely detection of lumps and masses in breast tissue, but effective diagnosis requires accurately identifying malignant tumor boundaries, which remains challenging, particularly for images with inhomogeneous regions. Therefore, we propose an active contour method based on a reformed combined local and global fitted function to address breast tumor segmentation. This combined function is strengthened by a proposed average energy driving function to capture obscure boundaries for regions of interest more precisely from inhomogeneous images. Including a p-Laplace term eliminates reinitialization requirements and suppresses false contours in the segmentation. Bias field signal, which causes image homogeneity corruption, is estimated by bias field initialization to ensure independence from the initial contour position. Local and global fitted models are incorporated by introducing bias fields within them. The proposed method was tested on the MIAS MiniMammographic Database, with quantitative analysis to calculate its accuracy, effectiveness, and efficiency. Experimentation confirmed the proposed method provided superior results compared with previous state-of-the-art methods.

We report the initial characterization of the gastrointestinal tract (gut) and oral microbiota (bacteria) in 32 urban Pakistani adults. Study participants were between ages 18 and 40, had body mass index between 18 and 25 Kg/m2, and were students or early-career professionals. These individuals donated a total of 61 samples (32 gut and 29 oral) that were subjected to 16S ribosomal RNA (rRNA) gene sequencing. Microbiome composition of Pakistani individuals was compared against the uBiome database of selected individuals who self-reported to be in excellent health. We observed strong gender-based differences in the gut microbiome of Pakistani individuals, a skewness toward Firmicutes, and unusually high levels of Proteobacteria in the Pakistani men. These observations may indicate microbiota dysbiosis, though 16S data alone can neither establish cause nor effect to human health. Albeit conducted on a smaller scale, our report provides a first snapshot about the composition and diversity of gut and oral microbiota communities in Pakistani individuals.

Parametric modelling and optimisation play an important role in choosing the best or optimal cutting conditions and parameters during machining to achieve the desirable results. However, analysis of optimisation of minimum quantity lubrication–assisted milling process has not been addressed in detail. Minimum quantity lubrication method is very effective for cost reduction and promotes green machining. Hence, this article focuses on minimum quantity lubrication–assisted milling machining parameters on AISI 1045 material surface roughness and power consumption. A novel low-cost power measurement system is developed to measure the power consumption. A predictive mathematical model is developed for surface roughness and power consumption. The effects of minimum quantity lubrication and machining parameters are examined to determine the optimum conditions with minimum surface roughness and minimum power consumption. Empirical models are developed to predict surface roughness and power of machine tool effectively and accurately using response surface methodology and multi-objective optimisation genetic algorithm. Comparison of results obtained from response surface methodology and multi-objective optimisation genetic algorithm depict that both measured and predicted values have a close agreement. This model could be helpful to select the best combination of end-milling machining parameters to save power consumption and time, consequently, increasing both productivity and profitability.

Herein, we report the quantum chemical results based on density functional theory for the polarizability (α) and first hyperpolarizability (β) values of diacetylene-functionalized organic molecules (DFOM) containing an electron acceptor (A) unit in the form of nitro group and electron donor (D) unit in the form of amino group. Six DFOM 1−6 have been designed by structural tailoring of the synthesized chromophore 4,4′-(buta-1,3-diyne-1,4-diyl) dianiline (R) and the influence of the D and A moieties on α and β was explored. Ground state geometries, HOMO-LUMO energies, and natural bond orbital (NBO) analysis of all DFOM (R and 1−6) were explored through B3LYP level of DFT and 6-31G(d,p) basis set. The polarizability (α), first hyperpolarizability (β) values were computed using B3LYP (gas phase), CAM-B3LYP (gas phase), CAM-B3LYP (solvent DMSO) methods and 6-31G(d,p) basis set combination. UV-Visible analysis was performed at CAM-B3LYP/6-31G(d,p) level of theory. Results illustrated that much reduced energy gap in the range of 2.212−2.809 eV was observed in designed DFOM 1−6 as compared to parent molecule R (4.405 eV). Designed DFOM (except for 2 and 4) were found red shifted compared to parent molecule R. An absorption at longer wavelength was observed for 6 with 371.46 nm. NBO analysis confirmed the involvement of extended conjugation and as well as charge transfer character towards the promising NLO response and red shift of molecules under study. Overall, compound 6 displayed large <α> and βtot, computed to be 333.40 (a.u.) (B3LYP gas), 302.38 (a.u.) (CAM-B3LYP gas), 380.46 (a.u.) (CAM-B3LYP solvent) and 24708.79 (a.u.), 11841.93 (a.u.), 25053.32 (a.u.) measured from B3LYP (gas), CAM-B3LYP (gas) and CAM-B3LYP (DMSO) methods respectively. This investigation provides a theoretical framework for conversion of centrosymmetric molecules into non-centrosymmetric architectures to discover NLO candidates for modern hi-tech applications.

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One of the key challenges in robotics is the motion planning problem. This paper presents a local trajectory planning and obstacle avoidance strategy based on a novel sampling-based path-finding algorithm designed for autonomous vehicles navigating complex environments. Although sampling-based algorithms have been extensively employed for motion planning, they have notable limitations, such as sluggish convergence rate, significant search time volatility, a vast, dense sample space, and unsmooth search routes. To overcome the limitations, including slow convergence, high computational complexity, and unnecessary search while sampling the whole space, we have proposed the RE-RRT* (Robust and Efficient RRT*) algorithm. This algorithm adapts a new sampling-based path-finding algorithm based on sampling along the displacement from the initial point to the goal point. The sample space is constrained during each stage of the random tree's growth, reducing the number of redundant searches. The RE-RRT* algorithm can converge to a shorter path with fewer iterations. Furthermore, the Choose Parent and Rewire processes are used by RE-RRT* to improve the path in succeeding cycles continuously. Extensive experiments under diverse obstacle settings are performed to validate the effectiveness of the proposed approach. The results demonstrate that the proposed approach outperforms existing methods in terms of computational time, sampling space efficiency, speed, and stability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: SARS-CoV-2 infection presentation in children is usually milder than in adults but can be severe and fatal as well. Data on the pediatric population regarding severity and clinical presentation are still limited, and there is a need to have a better understanding of clinical features, severity, and laboratory parameters. Aims and Objective: To document clinical and laboratory characteristics and outcomes of children with SARS-CoV-2 in a low-middle-income country and to evaluate clinicodemographic factors and biochemical markers associated with severity and mortality. Materials and Methods: A hospital-based cross-sectional study was conducted among 112 COVID-19-positive children at a designated Level-3 center in North India. Clinical characteristics, laboratory parameters, and severity of COVID-19 cases as well as factors associated with the severity of the disease, were analyzed by descriptive statistics and a Chi-square test. Results: The adolescent age group (age 12-18 years) was affected most (64.3%). Male patients accounted for 56.3% of total cases. Fever was the most common symptom (41.1%) followed by cough. Presenting complaints were highest from the respiratory system (32.1%) followed by the gastrointestinal (8.9%) and the neurological system (7.1%). Majority of patients had mild disease (87%) while 13% had the moderate-severe disease. Spo2 < 95% (P = 0.00001), neutrophilia (P < 0.000001), lymphopenia (P < 0.000001), elevated values of C-reactive protein (P < 0.00001), Interleukin-6 (P = 0.002), D-dimer (P = 0.00014) and respiratory symptoms as presenting complaints (P < 0.000001) were found to be significantly associated with severity of disease. Conclusion: The male and adolescent age group was affected most. Presenting complaints were highest from the respiratory system. Unusual presentation may have gastrointestinal or neurological presentation. Most children with COVID-19 had mild disease. Moderate to severe disease was not uncommon. Factors including neutrophilia, lymphopenia, elevated lab values of C-reactive protein, D-dimer, and interleukin-6 had a significant association with the severity of the disease. These biomarkers can help predict the severity of the disease. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Maintaining healthy soil is essential for sustainable agriculture practices. A comprehensive study was conducted on 46 soil samples from the Chiniot district, analyzing various physical and chemical properties such as pH, Electrical Conductivity, Total Dissolved Solids, Sieve Analysis, Alkalinity, Total Hardness, Carbonates, Chloride, Calcium, and Magnesium. Geographic Information System (GIS) employing the Inverse Distance Weighting (IDW) technique was utilized for mapping. The majority of the soil samples were identified as loamy sandy and sandy loamy. Elevated alkalinity was observed across the area, with TDS values ranging from 25 to 450 mg/L, and EC varying from 10 to 300μS. Regions such as Chenab Nagar, Hast Khiwa, and Kanvanwala exhibited higher levels of hardness, carbonates, chlorides, calcium, and magnesium. Hydro-chemical facies comparison using diamond and piper diagrams revealed that the predominant compounds were Magnesium bicarbonate types (58%), where alkalis exceeded alkaline earths (100%). The prevalent cation type was Magnesium (100%), and the anion distribution showed no dominant type (52%), with an equal distribution of sulfate and bicarbonate types (48%), and none of sulfate and chlorides. These findings provide valuable insights for agriculturists, aiding in the selection of crops suitable for specific soil types. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]