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Excessive lead (Pb) in industrial dust increases serious concerns about its potential impact on human health and environment. Urban trees, as a green and cost-effective alternative, are now considered an eco-sustainable tool used to monitor and mitigate this environmental pollution. The present study investigated the effect of dust particles and lead deposition on plant functioning and micromorphology of two common roadside plants, Eucalyptus camaldulensis and Conocarpus lancifolius, in an industrial city, Faisalabad, Pakistan. Tree leaf samples were collected from 20 sites varying in dust exposure intensity. These samples were analyzed for antioxidant enzymes such as superoxidase dismutase (SOD), peroxidases (POD), and catalases (CAT), as well as for proline and protein contents. An increased leave of reactive oxygen species and proline contents in response to increasing dust load and lead tissue lead concentrations across the tested locations suggested the sensitivity of plants to urban dust. This study suggested that C. lancifolius leaves accumulated relatively higher dust particles and lead contents than E. camaldulensis. However, this excessive dust deposition and lead uptake inhibited carbon and protein synthesis in E. camaldulensis and C. lancifolius, as evidenced by relatively lower leaf photosynthesis and protein contents. We also found that the concentration of CAT (4.90 nmol min–1 g–1 protein), SOD (38.42 U mg–1 protein), and POD (2.64 µmol min–1 g–1 protein) were higher in E. camaldulensis. The results provide experimental support for the hypothesis that genetically rich populations are better adapted to changing conditions and suggest that C. lancifolius is less sensitive to dust load and lead uptake in terms of growth reduction. Regarding lead uptake and dust removal, C. lancifolius performed better as compared to E. camaldulensis. The above findings are helpful in the quantification of services, assessing the diversity, and identification of eco-friendly trees in urban areas. Furthermore, this study will be helpful for the formulation of future tree-planting policies in urban areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Middle Eastern dilemma is the corollary of the power vacuum after the Iraq invasion. ‘Replacement of authority’ does not necessarily conform to the objective of democracy and hope. Invade, overthrow, install and roll-back, a Machiavellian scheme, does not serve the goals of democracy. A major power in a hurry disturbs equilibrium. Replacing one autocrat with another will not do any good for the society at hand and the region into consideration. All the regional actors would try to adjust to the changes in equilibrium. As a result, organizations like ISIS exploit the slip-ups of provisional governments and get the backing of other actors, whose interests are at stake. The regional actors, operating in the environment of security dilemma join the conflict to extract as much as possible to keep regional balance in order. History replicates this phenomenon time and again. Middle East (Iraq and Syria) is the contemporary example of this phenomenon. This paper will try to understand the ongoing conflict in the Middle East from the perspective of regional politics operating under the environment of security dilemma, and major powers’ politics operating under the basic logic that regional influence enhance the capabilities of major powers that contribute to state’s hierarchical position internationally, which therefore, makes it difficult to create common grounds for peace process.

The purpose of this study was to prepare cellulose fibers decorated with titanium dioxide, and then incorporate them into the formulation of dental adhesive composites. The influence of this filler on the mechanical, chemical, and biological characteristics of the composites was examined. Different proportions of the filler were mixed with the monomers and then the prepared materials were analyzed through chemical, mechanical, and microscopic characterization. Biocompatibility tests were performed using fibroblast cell lines. Mechanical characterization included the hardness test, the biaxial flexural strength (BFS) test, and the shear bond strength test (SBT). The fillers were found biocompatible, as suggested by the Alamar blue assay, while the mechanical properties of the composites increased with higher filler content. The experimental composite presented good mechanical and biological properties, and thus, it can be used as a dental adhesive material. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To see the pattern of bone involvement in metastatic breast carcinoma. To study the distribution of bone metastasis, central skeleton vs. peripheral skeleton, in metastatic breast carcinoma. Study Design: Retrospective study. Setting: Department of Surgery, Nishtar Medical University, Multan, in accordance with Breast Clinic MINAR. Period: March, 2021 to August, 2022. Material & Methods: The study was done in breast clinic MINAR, Multan. It was retrospective, non-randomized and single institution based study. The female patients who presented with breast carcinoma from March 2021 to August 2022, aged 25 to 70 years were scrutinized. Among these, the patients with metastatic breast carcinoma having metastasis in bones, confirmed on bone scan, were included in the study. 90 cases were collected in this research. The tumours which primarily arise from bone, lymphoid tumours, soft tissue tumours and bone marrow tumours and bone metastasis due to malignancies arising from other visceral organs were excluded. All the data was entered and analyzed using computer programme SPSS version 25.0. Results: The highest range of patients were between ages of 46-65 years. 87.8% were married, 2.2% were unmarried and 10% were divorced or widow. 43.3% were from rural area and 56.7% were from urban area. 93.3% previously had not any history of breast carcinoma. Only 6.7% had family history of breast carcinoma. 64.4% had menarche during the age of 12 to 14 years. And 42.2% had menopause between 50 to 55 years. While in all these cases 46.7% were those who had no menopause at all when they presented with metastatic breast carcinoma. Among these 13.3% had solitary bone metastasis and 86.7% had metastasis to multiple bones. 46.7% had central or axial skeletal involvement, 13.3% had peripheral skeletal involvement and 40% had both, including central and peripheral skeleton. Conclusion: This study has shown that among all the patients there were 46.7% patients had central skeletal involvement and 13.3% had peripheral skeleton involvement and 40% had both. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nitrogen (N), the building block of plant proteins and enzymes, is an essential macronutrient for plant functions. A field experiment was conducted to investigate the impact of different N application rates (28, 57, 85, 114, 142, 171, and 200 kg ha−1 ) on the performance of spring wheat (cv. Ujala-2016) during the 2017–2018 and 2018– 2019 growing seasons. A control without N application was kept for comparison. Two years mean data showed optimum seed yield (5,461.3 kg ha−1 ) for N-application at 142 kg ha−1 whereas application of lower and higher rates of N did not result in significant and economically higher seed yield. A higher seed yield was obtained in the 2017–2018 (5,595 kg ha−1 ) than in the 2018–2019 (5,328 kg ha−1 ) growing seasons under an N application of 142 kg ha−1. It was attributed to the greater number of growing degree days in the first (1,942.35°C days) than in the second year (1,813.75°C). Higher rates of N (171 and 200 kg ha−1 ) than 142 kg ha−1 produced more number of tillers (i.e., 948,300 and 666,650 ha−1, respectively). However, this increase did not contribute in achieving higher yields. Application of 142, 171, and 200 kg ha−1 resulted in 14.15%, 15.0% and 15.35% grain protein concentrations in comparison to 13.15% with the application of 114 kg ha−1 . It is concluded that the application of N at 142 kg ha−1 could be beneficial for attaining higher grain yields and protein concentrations of wheat cultivar Ujala-2016. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The increasing concentration of potentially toxic elements (PTEs) in agricultural soils has greatly disturbed the quality and productivity of soils. In this study, we investigated the uptake and distribution of cadmium (Cd), lead (Pb), and nickel (Ni) by two Brassica cultivars (Khanpur raya and Sandal canola) grown on soil irrigated with metal-contaminated water. Distilled water was spiked with salts to prepare irrigation water with various levels of metals (Ni application at 90, Cd at 20, Pb at 500, Ni + Pb at 20 + 500, Ni + Cd at 90 + 20, Cd + Pb at 20 + 500, and Ni + Cd + Pb at 90 + 20 + 500 mg L−1). These treatments were compared with water without the addition of any salt. The results indicated that compared to the control treatment, increasing metal concentrations decreased the shoot weight (44.25%, 29.03%), root length (33.33%, 12.74%), and shoot length (19.73%, 11.06%) in Khanpur raya and Sandal canola, respectively. Compared to the control treatment, irrigation with contaminated water decreased the photosynthesis rate (98.42%, 99.34%), chlorophyll content (18.27%, 13.73%), respiration rate (7.97%, 6.47%), and transpiration rate (9.90%, 33.33%) in both varieties, respectively. Notably, the concentrations of Ni (0.01 and 0.003), Cd (0.01 and 0.012), and Pb (0.03 and 0.05%) in the seeds were increased, as well as in Khanpur raya and Sandal canola, respectively, compared to the controls. Furthermore, the PTE accumulation in different components was recorded, with the order of soil > root > shoot > seed. It was observed that brassica cultivars differed significantly in their response to the growth and accumulation of PTEs in edible parts. It was concluded that Khanpur raya did not exhibit a decline in growth due to PTEs in irrigation water and prevented the translocation of PTEs towards edible parts compared to Sandal canola and thus can be safely grown in soils receiving PTE-contaminated water. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]