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Fauziah Rabbani,1,2 Hyder Ali Khan,2 Suneel Piryani,2 Nousheen Akber Pradhan,2 Natasha Shaukat,2 Anam Shahil Feroz,2 Shagufta Perveen2 1Office of Research and Graduate Studies, The Aga Khan University, Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan; 2Department of Community Health Sciences, The Aga Khan University, Karachi, Sindh, PakistanCorrespondence: Fauziah RabbaniOffice of Research and Graduate Studies, The Aga Khan University, Stadium Road, P.O Box 3500, Karachi, 74800, Sindh, PakistanEmail fauziah.rabbani@aku.eduPurpose: Diarrhea and pneumonia greatly contribute to high childhood mortality in Pakistan. Frontline community health workers or the Lady Health Workers (LHWs) provide care at the doorstep of over 60% of Pakistan’s rural residents. Difficult terrain, lack of supplies, and inadequate supervision put these LHWs at an added disadvantage in the timely diagnosis and delivery of known treatment options to community caregivers (CCGs). This study aims to assess whether a supportive supervision intervention through Lady Health Supervisors (LHSs) using enhanced mentorship and written feedback cards have the potential to improve case management of childhood diarrhea and pneumonia.Study Setting and Design: This perception-based qualitative inquiry nested within the Nigraan Plus trial included LHSs, LHWs, and CCGs as the participants. Twenty-two in-depth interviews (IDIs) and 16 focus group discussions (FGDs) were conducted before a supportive supervision intervention in 2017, and 10 FGDs were conducted in 2019 once the intervention concluded. Data were analyzed using manual content analysis.Results: The perceived ability of LHWs and LHSs to describe the danger signs of diarrhea and pneumonia, classify dehydration and relate respiratory rate to the severity of pneumonia improved over time. Appropriate prescription of zinc in diarrhea and antibiotics in pneumonia was noted. Furthermore, CCGs’ trust in LHWs increased following the intervention, and they reported a growing inclination to contact LHWs as their first point of care. LHWs in the intervention arm were more satisfied with their job due to frequent supervisory visits and continuous feedback by LHSs.Conclusion: Despite geographic, social, and economic inequities, supportive supervision has the potential to improve knowledge, practice, and skills of frontline health workers related to CCM of childhood diarrhea and pneumonia in disadvantaged rural communities. Additionally, the trust of CCGs in the health workers’ ability to manage such cases is also enhanced.Keywords: community health workers, community caregivers, community case management, childhood diarrhea and pneumonia, supportive supervision, Pakistan

Numerical simulation of flow around a triangular cylinder placed both in left and right position at Reynolds number Re = 80–200 is presented in this study. The single relaxation time lattice Boltzmann method is used. The results are obtained in terms of vorticity contour visualization, drag and lift coefficients, and force statistics. Regular vortex shedding is observed for both cases, but the vortices generated for a triangular cylinder placed in the right position move toward the top downstream position as the range of Reynolds number increases due to effect of pressure (effect of thrust). The drag coefficient is constant, and lift coefficient is containing negative values from Re = 80–150 for that case, but negative Cdmean values are not observed for a triangular cylinder placed in the left position. In that case, it is due to the reason that the effect of thrust diminishes. The maximum value of Cdmean is obtained at Re = 200, that is, 1.5006 for the left triangular cylinder, but the value of the mean drag coefficient for the right triangular cylinder is zero throughout the cases for Re = 80–200. No fluid forces are produced for right triangular case. The Strouhal number (St) values increased by increasing the Reynolds number, i.e., Re = 80–200, for the right triangular cylinder, and it has a mixed trend for the left triangular cylinder. In literature, a lot of work has been found on rectangular and square cylinders, but triangular cylinder has not been studied much. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reducing tobacco usage has been identified as an urgent national health priority, being the leading cause of preventable death and disability in Australia. The Incentive to Quit (I2Q) pilot aims to reduce the harms associated with smoking and vaping by training health professionals on delivering brief smoking cessation advice, and providing eligible smokers/vapers with financial incentives, use of the Quitline counselling service, and pocket-sized resources with content tailored to help support quit attempts at different stages of the participant's journey. A qualitative evaluation of the I2Q intervention will be undertaken throughout the program period via one-on-one interviews with a subset of health professionals and participants (smokers/vapers) of the I2Q program, along with key community stakeholders, to identify how the service can be improved. Interviews of approximately 45–60 minutes will be conducted either face-to-face or via telecommunication, and a moderator guide will be used to direct the interview. Interview transcripts will be coded through both inductive and deductive thematic analyses by two independent coders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A pot study was performed to evaluate the influence of methionine (0, 25 and 50 mg L-1) as foliar spray on maize (Zea mays L.) varieties named as DTC (hybrid) and Malika under salt (90 mM NaCl) stress. Seeds of both maize varieties were sown in plastic pots under completely randomized design. Two-week-old maize plants were subjected to two levels of salt stress i.e., 0 and 90 mM (NaCl) in full strength Hoagland's nutrient solution. Foliar application of different methionine levels (0, 25 and 50 mg L-1) was applied to four-week-old maize plants. A three way analysis of variance (ANOVA) of data of 11-week-old plants of maize plants showed that salt stress considerably reduced the growth, chlorophyll, relative water content (%), free amino acids and flavonoid contents, whereas improved membrane permeability (%), total leaf area per plant, glycine betaine (GB), total soluble proteins, free proline, anthocyanin and ascorbic acid contents of both maize varieties. Maize var. Malka was greater in fresh weight of root, total chlorophyll and total soluble protein contents, while DTC (hybrid) excelled in anthocyanin, total soluble sugars and flavonoid contents. Methionine as foliar application significantly improved dry shoot weight, fresh root weight, GB, total soluble protein, ascorbic acid and anthocyanin contents of two maize varieties under salinity stress. Of the varying methionine levels, 50 mg L-1 proved better in decreasing the adverse influence of NaCl stress on both varieties [DTC (hybrid) and Malika] of maize. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rice (Oryza sattva L.) production, all over the world, is affected by salinity stress. A major quantitative trait locus (QTL), qSY-3, linked to rice straw yield was identified in our previous study. Nearest marker to this QTL was RM473D located on rice chromosome 3. Present study was designed to validate this QTL. A representative panel of twenty four rice varieties was used in this study. Panel consisted of salt-susceptible, as well as, salt-tolerant varieties. Panel was cultivated under saline, as well as, nonnal conditions and traits related to morphology, phenology, and grain yield were scored. Genotyping of the panel was done with 111 polymorphic simple sequence repeats (SSR) markers. Genotypic data were analyzed by STRUCTURE software to identify subpopulations in the panel and TASSEL software for marker-trait association assessment. Marker RM473D was found associated with eight traits including straw yield per plant (SY). Probability (P) and phenotypic variance explained (7U) values for these associations ranged from 0.0001-0.0427 and 23.39%-54.86%. respectively. It appeared that qSY-3 is a major locus controlling morphology and grain-yield in rice. In future, this locus can be exploited through marker-assisted breeding approach for the development of rice cultivars with good yield potential under salt stress conditions. Our study demonstrated potential of association mapping approach in validating previously identified QTLs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chloroplast development involves the coordinated expression of both plastids- and nuclear-encoded genes in higher plants. However, the underlying mechanism still remains largely unknown. In this study, we isolated and characterized an Arabidopsis mutant with an albino lethality phenotype named RNA processing 8 (rp8). Genetic complementation analysis demonstrated that the gene AT4G37920 (RP8) was responsible for the mutated phenotype. The RP8 gene was strongly expressed in photosynthetic tissues at both transcription and translation protein levels. The RP8 protein is localized in the chloroplast and associated with the thylakoid. Disruption of the RP8 gene led to a defect in the accumulation of the rpoA mature transcript, which reduced the level of the RpoA protein, and affected the transcription of PEP-dependent genes. The abundance of the chloroplast rRNA, including 23S, 16S, 4.5S, and 5S rRNA, were reduced in the rp8 mutant, respectively, and the amounts of chloroplast ribosome proteins, such as, PRPS1(uS1c), PRPS5(uS5c), PRPL2 (uL2c), and PRPL4 (uL4c), were substantially decreased in the rp8 mutant, which indicated that knockout of RP8 seriously affected chloroplast translational machinery. Accordingly, the accumulation of photosynthetic proteins was seriously reduced. Taken together, these results indicate that the RP8 protein plays an important regulatory role in the rpoA transcript processing, which is required for the expression of chloroplast genes and chloroplast development in Arabidopsis.

Objective: To evaluate role of probiotics in human physiology, metabolism, health, immunity and GI disorders. It is important for gastroenterologists to improve their understanding of the mechanisms of probiotics and the evidence that support their use in clinical practice. Data Sources: A medline search (1948-December 2014) was conducted using GI diseases and probiotics as terms for identifying pertinent studies. Search limits included English language. Additional information was obtained from bibliographies. Data Selection And Data Extraction: The information provided is based on review of primary literature from randomized controlled trials (RCTs), meta-analyses, expert consensus panel recommendations and society-based practice recommendations. References are provided for more reading and figure summarizes key information about their mechanism of action. Data Synthesis: The need for objective, evidence-based guidance on the role of probiotics is becoming increasingly important as public awareness grows. This consensus is intended as a practical reference to help physicians make appropriate, evidence-based recommendations to patients who might benefit from probiotic treatment. Overall, the randomised, placebo-controlled trials included in this article support, with a high evidence level, the therapeutic effects of probiotic agents for several disorders including antibiotic or Clostridium difficile-associated diarrhea, irritable bowel syndrome, and the inflammatory bowel diseases. Although probiotic research is a rapidly evolving field, there are sufficient data to justify a trial of probiotics for treatment or prevention of some of these conditions. However, the capacity of probiotics to modify disease symptoms is likely to be modest and varies among probiotic strains and not all probiotics are right for all diseases. The goal of this review is to provide clinicians with an overview of the rationale and data which support or refute the role of probiotics for treating commonly encountered gastrointestinal disorders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]