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Abstract The integration of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) techniques into computational science has ushered in a new era of innovation and efficiency in various fields, with particular significance in computational fluid dynamics (CFD). Several methods based on AI and Machine Learning (ML) have been standardized in many fields of computational science, including computational fluid dynamics (CFD). This study aims to couple CFD with artificial neural networks (ANNs) to predict the fluid forces that arise when a flowing fluid interacts with obstacles installed in the flow domain. The momentum equation elucidating the flow has been simulated by adopting the finite element method (FEM) for a range of rheological and kinematic conditions. Hydrodynamic forces, including pressure drop between the back and front of the obstacle, surface drag, and lift variations, are measured on the outer surface of the cylinder via CFD simulations. This data has subsequently been fed into a Feed-Forward Back (FFB) propagation neural network for the prediction of such forces with completely unknown data. For all cases, higher predictivity is achieved for the drag coefficient (CD) and lift coefficient (CL) since the mean square error (MSE) is within ± 2% and the coefficient of determination (R) is approximately 99% for all the cases. The influence of pertinent parameters like the power law index (n) and Reynolds number (Re) on velocity, pressure, and drag and lift coefficients is also presented for limited cases. Moreover, a significant reduction in computing time has been noticed while applying hybrid CFD-ANN approach as compared with CFD simulations only.

Abstract The impact of baffles on a convective heat transfer of a non-Newtonian fluid is experimentally studied within a square cavity. The non-Newtonian fluid is pumped into the cavity through the inlet and subsequently departs from the cavity via the outlet. Given the inherent non-linearity of the model, a numerical technique has been selected as the method for obtaining the outcomes. Primarily, the governing equations within the two-dimensional domain have been discretized using the finite element method. For approximating velocity and pressure, we have employed the reliable $${\mathbb{P}}_{2}$$ P 2 – $${\mathbb{P}}_{1}$$ P 1 finite element pair, while for temperature, we have opted for the quadratic basis. To enhance convergence speed and accuracy, we employ the powerful multigrid approach. This study investigates how key parameters like Richardson number (Ri), Reynolds number (Re), and baffle gap $${{\text{b}}}_{{\text{g}}}$$ b g influence heat transfer within a cavity comprising a non-Newtonian fluid. The baffle gap ( $${b}_{g}$$ b g ) has been systematically altered within the range of 0.2–0.6, and for this research, three distinct power law indices have been selected namely: 0.5, 1.0, and 1.5. The primary outcomes of the investigation are illustrated through velocity profiles, streamlines, and isotherm visualizations. Furthermore, the study includes the computation of the $${Nu}_{avg}$$ Nu avg (average Nusselt number) across a range of parameter values. As the Richardson number (Ri) increases, $${Nu}_{avg}$$ Nu avg also rises, indicating that an increase in Ri results in augmented average heat transfer. Making the space between the baffles wider makes heat flow more intense. This, in turn, heats up more fluid within the cavity.

Viewed in the social context, academic writing is considered a site where both writers and readers are engaged in an interactive mode of presentation and evaluation of information. Male and female writers may differently exemplify the interactive mode of presenting and evaluating information through meta-discourse markers. The current research paper aims to explore the role of gender in the use of hedges and boosters in research dissertations of Pakistani M.Phil graduates particularly concerning disciplinary variation. For this purpose, the taxonomy Hyland’s (2005) meta-discourse markers are used to identify the lists of hedges and boosters. A corpus consisting of one hundred research dissertations representing humanities, social sciences and sciences is developed, and further tagged with Antconc 3.3.4 to find out the frequencies and instances of hedges and boosters in male and female academic writing. The results reveal that overall hedges have been found as the more preferred meta-discourse markers than boosters in the academic discourse of Pakistani MPhil graduates. Females are more inclined towards the use of hedges, whereas, males are prone to the use of boosters in the presentation of academic discourse. The study has pedagogical implications for the writing practices of both students as well as supervisors.

Abstract COVID-19 pandemic has increased social media engagement globally. This study examined the correlation between social media use and physical/mental health among university students, considering gender and academic year. Out of 146 responses, 119 were analyzed after excluding participants with pre-existing psychological conditions. Results showed a significant correlation between social media use and mental health for all participants (correlation coefficient = 0.30, p

The cultivation of summer vegetables in open-air nutrient film technique (NFT) hydroponics is limited due to the elevated nutrient solution temperature (NST). In this regard, non-electric evaporative-cooling techniques were explored to maintain NST in open-air NFT hydroponics. Four cooling setups were employed by wrapping polyvinyl chloride (PVC) grow pipes with one and two layers of either wet or dry jute fabrics and attaching them with coiled aluminum pipe buried inside a) wet sand-filled brick tunnels (Cooling Setup I), b) two inverted and vertically stacked earthen pots (Cooling Setup II), c) two inverted and vertically stacked earthen pots externally wrapped with wet jute fabric (Wrapped Cooling Setup II), and d) an earthen pitcher wrapped with wet jute fabric (Cooling Setup III). Wrapping grow pipes with two layers of wet jute fabric reduced NST by 5°C as compared to exposed (naked) grow pipes. The double-layer jute fabric-wrapped grow pipes produced 182% more reduction in NST in comparison to single layer-wrapped grow pipes. Additionally, the installation of Wrapped Cooling Setup II and Cooling Setup III outperformed Cooling Setup I and Cooling Setup II through NST reduction of approximately 4°C in comparison to control. Interestingly, Cooling Setup III showed its effectiveness through NST reductions of 193%, 88%, and 23% during 11 a.m.–12 p.m. as compared to Cooling Setup I, Cooling Setup II, and Wrapped Cooling Setup II, respectively. In contrast, Wrapped Cooling Setup II caused NST reductions of 168%, 191%, and 18% during 2–3 p.m. in comparison to Cooling Setup I, Cooling Setup II, and Cooling Setup III, respectively. Thus, the double-layer jute fabric-wrapped grow pipes linked with Wrapped Cooling Setup II can ensure summer vegetable cultivation in open-air NFT hydroponics as indicated by the survival of five out of 12 vegetable plants till harvest by maintaining NST between 26°C and 28°C.

The Amudarya River (ADR) is the largest source of freshwater in Central Asia providing livelihood to millions of people by extracting water for agriculture. However, the over-exploitation has created some critical environmental issues. For example, almost no water for the delta and the Aral Sea, which was once the 4th largest lake in the world. The present study focused on the assessment of environmental flow requirements (E-flows) in the basin. However, the main challenges in the accomplishment were the unavailability of natural streamflow, which is necessary for E-flow assessment, and sparse and limited hydroclimatic data. A hydrologic model was configured to simulate naturalized streamflow using the meteorological data from the Climate Research Unit. Four hydrological methods (i.e., Tennant, low flow index (7Q10), flow duration curve analysis (Q90, and Q95), and flow duration curve shifting (FDCS)) and all-method mean were applied to estimate E-flows at 34 sites on all tributaries of the ADR. According to FDCS, 7Q10, Q90, and Q95, E-flows should be 46%, 37%, 30%, and 25% of naturalized mean annual flow (NMAF), respectively, and on average, it should be 35% of NMAF, assessed by the all-methods mean. For low-flow (October–March) and high-flow (April–September) months, E-flows were determined to be 20–30% and 40–98% of NMAF, respectively. E-flow evaluation with the current environmental conditions showed very serious concerns because no sites met the environmental flow requirements below Kerki. This study will be guidelines to improve the riverine ecosystem and for future sustainable development in the region.

In this computational study, the tribological characteristics of the flow of a visco-plastic fluid around a pair of cylinders in a channel are thoroughly analyzed. To numerically solve the governing equations, this investigation makes use of the Galerkin's Finite Element Method (FEM) in conjunction with Newton's and PARDISO solvers. The stable finite element pair (P2/P1) has been selected for the space discretization purpose. The impacts of several physically important parameters on the flow characteristics are investigated in depth, including the spacing ratio (GP), the power law index (n), the Bingham number (Bn), and the Reynolds number (Re). When using different gap spacing ratios (GP), the drag coefficient (CD) and lift coefficient CL were found to be strongly dependent on GP. The pressure, velocity, and viscosity profiles are plotted for varying n and Bn. In addition, the velocity behavior is observed along y-direction in a channel through line graphs. Code validation is done as special case when Bn=0andn=1. It has been observed that the gap between the obstacles can influence the overall flow pattern and subsequently the drag and lift forces.

This study aims to identify Saudi English as a Foreign Language (EFL) students' perspectives towards using the English language in their studies. The study explores students self-confident and its association with students' actual performance in English course in their different academic programs. A multimodal methodology was used to fulfill the research purpose and answer the research questions. A 25-item survey questionnaire and final examination grades were used to collect data. Two hundred forty-one students agreed to participate in the study. They completed the questionnaire and agreed to release their final grades to be a part of the collected data. The data were coded and analyzed by SPSS software. The findings indicated a significant difference in students' performance in English courses between participants' academic programs on the one hand. Students' self-confidence in their English language skills, on the other hand, was not significantly different between participants' academic programs. Data analysis also revealed no correlational relationship between students' self-confidence level and their language skills and their performance. The study raises more questions about other vital factors such as course instructors' views of the materials, faculty members of the target department, family belief in the usefulness of the program, protentional employers. These views and beliefs shape the student's preparation process and therefore, should be explored further.

Saudi Vision 2030 is a plan to steer the country towards prosperity through diversified economy, better government services and conducive environment for all to thrive. The study of wordlists, keyword lists, collocation analyses, identification of core issues on the basis of lexical fields and their reflection in 2018 English newspapers in Saudi Arabia qualifies the corpus-assisted present study for Critical Discourse Analysis. The corpora of 4.3 million words and 2.0 million words from the English Newspapers in Saudi Arabia published in 2013 and 2018 respectively have been compiled for the study. Saudi Vision 2030 has been treated as a specialized corpus to get frequency lists and collocations. The analyses identified the extraordinary use of second person plural pronoun 'we' 'our', modal auxiliary 'will' etc.; such explorations paved the way for entry into more qualitative investigations. On the basis keyword lists, key issues have been identified in all three corpora. Some key issues including the largest lexical field in newspaper corpora viz. 'Security' has been found missing in the said vision. The present study aims to bring forth a fresh insight into Saudi Vision 2030 and to advocate the corpus-assisted methodology for critical discourse analysis.

Objective: To determine the diagnostic accuracy of lung ultrasound (LUS) in the diagnosis of pneumonia in children using chest x-ray as the gold standard. Study Design: Comparative cross-sectional study. Place and Duration of Study: Department of Radiology, Combined Military Hospital, Sialkot Pakistan, from Feb to Aug 2021 Methodology: All patients underwent clinical examination, chest radiograph (anterior-posterior view), lung ultrasound and blood sample analysis in the first 24 hours after admission. A pre-specified hospital radiologist carried out a lung ultrasound. The examination was performed with the patient sitting upright or supine. The presence of pneumonia on x-ray and USG were recorded. Sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, negative predictive value and accuracy of lung ultrasound in the diagnosis of pneumonia by taking chest x-ray as the gold standard was calculated in all the study participants. Results: In this study, 262 patients with clinical features of pneumonia were enrolled. The mean age of the study participants was 3.27±2.344 years. Sensitivity (Se), specificity (Sp), positive predictive value (PPV), negative predictive value (NPV), accuracy and frequency of lung ultrasonography (US) vs chest radiography (CR) in diagnosing pneumonia was 95.28%, 87.5%, 99.59%, 36.84%, 95.04% and 96.95% respectively. Conclusion: Lung ultrasound emerged as a sensitive diagnostic tool to diagnose pneumonia in children. Sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, and negative predictive value all favoured the use of this modality to diagnose pneumonia in paediatric patients.

The purpose of this study is to simulate thermal flows via quasi-Newtonian modeling by employing Finite Element Methods (FEM), as well as Newton Multigrid Solvers (NMS). A heated rotating cylinder is exposed to an inflowing fluid stream in a channel to facilitate the thermal energy transfer in the fluid. The NMS may be more easily parallelized as a result of an excessive number of degrees of freedom. The discretization of a dimensionless system of partial differential equations that are to be solved over an extensive computational domain is accomplished by using the higher-order stable finite element pair. Temporal discretization is performed using a 2nd order Crank-Nicolson scheme. By applying the Newton method, the discretized nonlinear system of algebraic equations is transformed into a linear form. To compute the linearized subproblems that arise from each nonlinear sweep, a geometric multigrid approach has been put in place. The whole framework has been implemented in an open-source finite element software Featflow. It has been deduced that in a clockwise rotation of the cylinder, more fluid will move from above the cylinder, and when it is rotated in an anticlockwise direction, more fluid will move from bottom side of the cylinder. In addition to this, there is a correlation between an increase in the rotational parameter ω and a reduction in both the lift coefficient CL and drag coefficient CD. The benchmark values of CD and CL fits very well with the available data for certain special cases of this study.

Objective: To determine the diagnostic accuracy of Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) compared to arthroscopy in detecting anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) tears. Study Design: Cross-section study. Place and Duration of Study: Combined Military Hospital, Kharian Pakistan, from Jan 2020 to Jan 2021. Methodology: Adult patients of either gender coming to the Radiology Department for an MRI knee joint followed by arthroscopy were included in the study after the institutional ethical review committee approved the study. A consultant with experience in musculoskeletal imaging reviewed the MRI images. An experienced orthopaedic surgeon performed arthroscopy. Findings of MRI and arthroscopy were noted. The diagnostic features of MRI, including sensitivity, specificity, negative predictive values (NPV), positive predictive values (PPV) and diagnostic accuracy were calculated. Results: The study included 200 patients aged between 21-68 years, a mean age of 40.89±11.49 years. Magnetic resonance imaging had a sensitivity of 93.20%, specificity of 76.31%, positive predictive value (PPV) of 94.37%, negative predictive value(NPV) of 72.5% and diagnostic accuracy of 90%. Conclusion: Magnetic resonance imaging is an efficient imaging investigation for diagnosing ACL tears.

The present study contains examination on partial differential equations narrating heat transfer aspects in magnetized staggered cavity manifested with wavy insulated baffles. The nanoparticles namely Aluminium oxide are suspended in the flow regime within staggered enclosure having purely viscous fluid. The flow is modelled mathematically in terms of partial differential equations and the finite element is used to discretized the flow differential equations. The effects of several parameters such as Hartmann number $ \left(0\le Ha\le 100\right) $, Volume fraction $ \left(0.00\le \phi \le 0.08\right), $ Rayleigh number $ \left({10}^{3}\le Ra\le {10}^{5}\right), $ and angle of inclinaton $ \left({0}^{o}\le \gamma \le {60}^{o}\right) $ on the thermal flow and distribution of nanomaterials for natural convection are inspected. It is calculated how much Ha will affect velocities and isotherms wit h $ Ra = {10}^{4} $ and $ \phi = 0.02 $. With Ha = 20 and $ \phi $ = 0.02, the effect of Ra on velocity and isotherms is also estimated. The average Bejan number and average Nusselt number against Hartmann number are investigated. When the walls move in an opposite direction, line graphs of velocity distribution are created for both the u and v components. The presence of Hartmann number leads to increase in Bejan number while, opposite behavior can be observed in case of average Nusselt number. When the volume fraction is large, the velocity increases significantly. The flow strength is greater when the Rayleigh number is smaller. On the other hand, as Ra drops, or when $ Ra = {10}^{4} $, flow strength drops.

The prime motive of this disquisition is to scrutinize simultaneous aspects of external forcing mechanism and internal volumetric forces on non-Newtonian liquid filled in square enclosure. Inertially driven upper lid is assumed by providing constant magnitude of slip velocity whereas thermal equilibrium is disturbed by assuming uniform temperature at lower boundary and by keeping rest of walls as cold. To enhance thermal diffusion transport with in the flow domain cold as well as adiabatic temperature situation is provided. In view of velocity constraints all the extremities at no-slip except the upper wall which is moving with ULid. Formulation is attained in dimensional form initially and afterwards variables are used to convert constructed differential system into dimensionless representation. A numerical solution of leading formulation is sought through Galerkin finite element discretization. Momentum and temperature equations are interpolated by quadratic polynomials whereas pressure distribution is approximated by linear interpolating function. Domain discretized version is evaluated in view of triangular and rectangular elements. Newton’s scheme is employed to resolve the non-linearly discretized system and a matrix factorization based non-linear solver renowned as PARADISO is used. Validation of results is ascertained by forming agreement with existing studies. In addition, grid independence test is also performed to show credibility of performed computations. Stream lines and isothermal contours patterns are portrayed to evaluate variation in flow distributions. Kinetic energy and local heat flux for uniform and non-uniform heating situations are also divulged in graphical and tabular formats. Increase in Reynold number produces decrease in kinetic energy of fluid. Enhancement in Grashof number causes enrichment of thermal buoyancy forces due to which Nusselt number uplifts. Clock wise rotations increase against upsurge in magnitude of Reynold number which is evidenced form stream lines. Squeezing of secondary vortex against Prandtl number arises due to dominance of viscous forces.

Objective: To find the changing radiological pattern of COVID-19 on HRCT chest in vaccinated patients. Study Design: Observational, cross-sectional study. Place and Duration of Study: Combined Military Hospital, Sialkot Pakistan, from Jan to Feb 2022. Methodology: All patients referred for High-resolution computed tomography (HRCT) chest were included. All participants underwent HRCT chest after recording the demographic data. Computed tomography (CT) images were reviewed by an experienced radiologist for pulmonary involvement and determining the computed tomography severity score, which ranged from 0-40 points. Results: A total of 90 patients were included in the study. The mean age was 35.8±13.2 years. The number of partially vaccinated, fully vaccinated patients, and those with booster doses were 10(11.1%), 62(68.9%) and 18(20%), respectively. Patients with normal or non-specific findings on HRCT were 74(82.2%), and those with findings suggestive of COVID-19 pneumonitis were 16 (17.8%). The mean CT severity score among positive cases was 4.69±8.01, while the most frequent pulmonary finding was ground glass opacities found in 11(68.8%) cases. Conclusion: Vaccination reduces the frequency and severity of pulmonary involvement in cases with breakthrough COVID-19 though the presentation of the disease and pattern of the pulmonary involvement does not show much change.

Abstract The reliability of the usage of a splitter plate (passive control device) downstream of the obstacle, in suppressing the fluid forces on a circular obstacle of diameter $$D = 0.1\;\;{\text{m}}$$ D = 0.1 m is studied in this paper. The first parameter of the current study is the attachment of a splitter plate of various lengths $$(L_{i} )$$ ( L i ) with the obstacle, whereas the gap separation $$(G_{i} )$$ ( G i ) between the splitter plate and the obstacle, is used as a second parameter. The control elements of the first and second parameters are varied from $$0.1$$ 0.1 to $$0.3$$ 0.3 . For the attached splitter plates of lengths $$0.2$$ 0.2 and $$0.3$$ 0.3 , the oscillatory behavior of transient flow at $$Re = 100$$ R e = 100 is successfully controlled. For the gap separation, $$0.1$$ 0.1 and $$0.2$$ 0.2 similar results are obtained. However, it is observed that a splitter plate of too short length and a plate located at the inappropriate gap from the obstacle, are worthless. A computational strategy based on the finite element method is utilized due to the complicated representative equations. For a clear physical depiction of the problem, velocity and pressure plots have been provided. Drag and lift coefficients the hydrodynamic benchmark values are also evaluated in a graphical representation surrounding the obstacle’s peripheral surface as well as the splitter plate. In a conclusion, a splitter plate can function to control fluid forces whether it is attached or detached, based on plate length and gap separation between obstacle and plate, respectively.

Objective: To determine the severity of High-Resolution Computed Tomography Chest findings of COVID-19 patients having co-morbid in comparison to those without co-morbid. Study Design: Comparative cross sectional study. Place and Duration of the Study: Radiology Department Combined Military Hospital, Multan Pakistan, from Mar to Sep 2020. Methodology: Data was collected through the medical record system of positive COVID-19 tests. Patients were divided into patients with no co-morbidities and others having co-morbidities. Two radiologists interpreted High-Resolution Computed Tomography chests independently to assess the disease severity in these two Groups. Co-morbidities included diabetes mellitus, hypertension, chronic renal disease, heart disease, Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease and liver diseases. Results: A total of 200 patients were included. Out of 121 male patients, 85 had co-morbidities (71 had moderate to severe lung involvement; 14 had mild lung involvement); while 36 had no co-morbidities (5 had moderate to severe lung involvement; 31 had mild lung involvement). Out of 79 female patients, 47 had co-morbidities (15 had moderate to severe lung involvement; 32 had mild lung involvement); while 32 had no co-morbidities (3 had moderate to severe lung involvement; 29 had mild lung involvement). Conclusion: The severity of lung involvement was remarkably higher in patients with associated co-morbidities compared to no co-morbidities. Older age male patients having co-morbidities pose a risk factor for the severity of disease progression as compared to younger age female patients having no co-morbidities

Objective: To ascertain the positive predictive value (PPV) of magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) in diagnosing neoplastic intracranial masses by taking histopathology as a benchmark. Study Design: Cross-sectional study. Place and Duration of Study: Combined Military Hospital, Rawalpindi Pakistan, from Jan 2019 to Jun 2021. Methodology: After approval from the Ethical Review Committee, 64 patients with neoplastic intracranial mass lesions on MRI were incorporated into the study. Patients with a history of brain surgery done previously, breastfeeding females, claustrophobia, already diagnosed type of tumour, and contraindication to MRI were excluded. MR Spectroscopy was performed, and findings were correlated with histopathology. Results: Of 64 patients, 39(60.94%) were males, and 25(39.06%) were females. Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy (MRS) supported the diagnosis of neoplastic brain lesions in all 64 patients. Histopathology confirmed malignant brain lesions in 59 cases, whereas 05 cases had benign lesions. PPV of MRS in the diagnosis of neoplastic brain lesions was 92.19%. Conclusion: This study concluded that MRS is a non-invasive option having a very good PPV in determining neoplastic brain lesions.

Objective: To assess the diagnostic accuracy of Magnetic resonance cholangiopancreatography (MRCP) in the detection of Choledocholith, taking post-operative findings as the gold standard. Study Design: Cross-sectional validation study Place and Duration of Study: Combined Military Hospital, Kharian Pakistan, from Jan 2020 to Jan 2021. Methodology: Patients presenting with sonographic evidence of choledocholithiasis without any contraindications for magnetic resonance imaging were subjected to MRCP after informed consent. The patients who underwent surgery were followed up, and their per-operative findings were compared with the radiological findings of MRCP. Results: A total of 87 patients were included in the study. The mean age of patients was 37.04±10.49 years (range of 22-65 years). The sensitivity for MRCP was 95%, specificity was 73.33%, positive predictive value (PPV) was 93.44%, and negative predictive value was 78.57%. The diagnostic accuracy for MRCP was found to be 90.66%. Conclusion: The study shows that magnetic resonance cholangio-pancreatography is an effective imaging modality in diagnosing choledocholithiasis.

The composition of microbial communities and the functioning of ecosystems are greatly influenced by the nutrient inputs. Despite this fact, our knowledge regarding the impact of phosphorus (P) inputs on soil P availability and microbial community structures in subtropical acidic soils remains limited. We hypothesized that diverse P inputs, incubation temperatures, and soil types could significantly alter soil P availability and microbial communities. To address this gap, we conducted a laboratory incubation experiment, investigating the effects of biochar and inorganic P amendments on soil available P, soil pH, acid phosphatase enzymes, and bacterial abundance. We employed two different incubation temperatures (15 °C and 25 °C) using acidic paddy soil and red soil from the subtropical Southern China region. Our results indicate a notable increase in soil pH, reaching 37% and 39% at 15 °C and 40% and 40.6% at 25 °C, respectively, following the application of biochar and inorganic P amendments in paddy soil. In the case of red soil, we observed pH increases of 41% and 43% at 15 °C and 44% and 45% at 25 °C after the application of biochar and inorganic P amendment, respectively. The addition of inorganic P amendment resulted in the highest available P contents in paddy soil, reaching 111.47 mg/kg at 15 °C and 100.17 mg/kg at 25 °C, respectively. However, Proteobacteria decreased after inorganic P addition, which showed that P might not be the only limiting nutrient for various bacterial communities. Bacterial diversity and richness indices were found to be higher after biochar application in both soils. Gemmatimonadetes, Acidobacteria, and Actinobacteria were found to be strongly influenced by incubation temperatures, whereas most of the top abundant bacterial phyla, such as Gemmatimonadetes, Actinobacteria, Chloroflexi, Acidobacteria, Planctomycetes, Firmicutes, Patescibacteria, and Bacteroidetes, were highly dependent on soil type. At the genus level, various important P solubilizing genera (Pseudomonas, Bradyrhizobium, Streptomyces jietaisiensis, Massilia) significantly increased after biochar and inorganic P addition in both soils. The correlation analysis proved that P-solubilizing genera were significantly associated with changes in soil pH, as well as soil available P after biochar and inorganic P addition. Conclusively, in a short-term incubation experiment, inorganic P amendment greatly increased the soil pH and available phosphorus contents compared to biochar and control treatments; however, the microbial community was observed to be strongly associated with biochar application, soil type, and incubation temperature.

Objective: To determine the frequency of anatomical variation of olfactory fossa among the adult Pakistani population by Keros classification on computed tomography (CT) of paranasal sinuses. Study Design: Cross-sectional study Place and Duration of Study: Department of Radiology, Combined Military Hospital, Rawalpindi Pakistan, from May 2019 to Mar 2020. Methodology: A total of 65 patients of either gender were included. Patients with previous trauma or surgery of the skull base or paranasal sinuses, malignant diseases of the sinuses and congenital anomalies were excluded. All the included patients in the study underwent CT paranasal sinuses. Measurements of the olfactory fossae followed by grouping as per Kero’s classification were done, and CT findings were recorded. Results: The patients included in the study ranged from 18 to 65 years, with a mean age of 33.09±10.86 years and 72.3% of patients 18 to 40 years of age. Of 65 patients, 36(55.4%) were males, and 29(44.6%) were females. The mean CT depth of the olfactory fossa was 6.34 ±4.03mm. Type-I olfactory fossa by Keros classification was found in 17(26.2%), Type-II in 35(53.8%) and Type-III in 13(20%) of patients. Conclusion: This study concluded that Keros Type-II is the most common anatomical variation of olfactory fossa among the adult Pakistani population on CT of paranasal sinuses with an intermsediate risk of intracranial complications during endoscopic sinus surgery involving this region.

In this paper, an extensive analysis of heat and mass transfer characteristics of a Casson fluid flow past a cylinder in a wavy channel has been performed. Due to the non-availability of analytical solution the model represented by coupled non-linear partial differential equations has been simulated by implementing higher-order Finite Element Method (FEM). For the approximation of velocity, temperature, and concentration profiles, a finite element space involving the cubic polynomial (P3) is selected whereas the pressure estimation is accomplished through a space of quadratic polynomial (P2). Such a choice gives rise to 10° of freedom for each of the velocity components, temperature, and concentration profile while 6° of freedom for the pressure. The Newton's method is used to linearize the systems of equations. The linearized inner system of equations are solved with a direct solver PARDISO. Computational results are demonstrated in the form of velocity, isotherms, isoconcentrations, and for several quantities of interest including the drag and lift coefficients. It has been observed that both drag and lift coefficients show a decreasing trend with Magnetic parater M. In addition, for all values of Bn, the drag coefficient has a linear growth profile as a result of fluid forces dominating at higher values of Bn. Furthermore, the concentration is high in the center of the channel and has a decreasing trend as we move towards the walls.

Pseudomonas aeruginosa (P. aeruginosa) is frequently associated with infections with high mortality rates. The intrinsically high resistance to many antibiotics and multidrug resistance in the hospital setting is considered to be among the reasons for high pathogenicity of P. aeruginosa. In this study, a total of 200 wound and burn swabs were collected from patients. The collected specimens were examined for P. aeruginosa through biochemical and antibacterial sensitivity tests performed in the Microbiology Laboratory in College of Medicine, University of Kirkuk, Kirkuk, Iraq. The polymerase chain reaction was then used to detect mexA, mexB, mexR, and oprD genes. In total, 31 isolates of P. aeruginosa were collected from 200 patients with wounds and burns. Most cases were isolated from 23 (74.19%) and 8 (25.80%) wound and burn swabs, respectively. Antibiotic sensitivity was tested on all isolates against 17 antimicrobial agents. The obtained results revealed a high resistance rate to gentamicin, trimethoprim, amikacin, and amoxicillin, and a low resistance rate was observed to ceftazidime, tobramycin, levofloxacin, cotrimoxazole, ciprofloxacin, and aztreonam. Regarding antibiotic resistance, mexB, mexR, and oprD genes were observed in three isolates, in which mexB and mexR were detected in two isolates, and only one isolate carried mexA gene.

Soil urease inhibition slows down the urea hydrolysis and prolongs nitrogen (N) stay in soil, resulting in an increased N uptake by plants. Apart from several chemical urease inhibitors, the urease inhibition potential of plant extracts is rarely reported. In our previous study, the soil urease inhibition by Vachellia nilotica leaf extract was reported; however, its role in relation to growth and yield of wheat (Triticum aestivum) under pot and field conditions remains unknown. The acetonic extracts of 10, 20, and 50 g Vachellia nilotica leaves were given code names viz. Vn.Fl-10, Vn.Fl-20 and Vn.Fl-50, respectively, and coated on 100 g of urea individually. The enhancements of growth (total number of tillers, number of productive tillers, number of spikelets per spike, number of grains per spike, and 1000-grains weight) and yield (biological yield, straw yield, and grain yield) parameters of wheat by Vn.Fl-20 and Vn.Fl-50 coated urea treatments were compared with uncoated urea in a pot experiment. The experiment indicated that the Vachellia nilotica extract coatings were effective at improving N persistence in soil, as reflected by increased grain and straw N concentrations as well as uptakes. The reproduction of the aforementioned results, at the half and full recommended dose of urea under field conditions, reconfirmed the effectiveness of Vachellia nillotica coatings. Moreover, the Vn.Fl-20 and Vn.Fl-50 coated urea, at the half as well as full recommended dose under field conditions, proved equally effective in terms of higher biological, straw, and grain yield, and grain N uptake. The increments in the total number of tillers, number of productive tillers, 1000-grain weight, biological yield, straw yield, grain yield, grain N concentration, grain N-, and straw N uptake along with nitrogen use efficiency (NUE) components, i.e. nitrogen partial factor productivity (NPFP), nitrogen agronomic efficiency (NAE), partial nitrogen balance (PNB), and nitrogen recovery efficiency (NRE) of wheat highlighted the superiority of Vn.Fl-20 coating over the hydroquinone (Hq) coating on urea at the full recommended dose under field conditions. Given the findings of this study, Vachellia nilotica leaf extract coating (Vn.Fl-20) can be used as a natural urease inhibitor to reduce urea hydrolysis and enhance wheat productivity.

The current study addresses the features of entropy generation and thermal flows regarding magnetized hybrid nanofluid in the presence of a cylinder in a closed hexagonal domain. The hexagonal cavity comprises two heated horizontal walls, and two are insulated while the other walls are cold. The whole system has been modeled as coupled non-linear partial differential equations. Also, normalized the governing coupled equation by utilizing a proper pair of variables and are computed with a finite element approach. For the approximation of velocity profiles, a finite element space involving the quadratic polynomial (P2) is selected whereas the pressure and temperature estimation is accomplished through a space of linear polynomial (P1). An analogy is handed with published findings at confining instance. The degree of freedom and grid convergence test is considered for the kinetic energy (KE) and Bejan number (Be). The study reveals a major role in enhancing the heat transfer rate due to hybrid nano-particles. The results show that the increase of magnetic field effect considers the reduction of the heat transfer because the conduction motion occupies the motion of the fluid flow. When the Hartmann number is increased, the magnetic entropy is raised, too. For intensified the Hartmann numbers, the highest ratio of heat transfer occurs for the case of the hybrid nanoparticles, and then MgO-water, followed by the Ag-water. The nature of thermal flow parameters has been scrutinized.

The current manifestation is utilized to explicate the inspiration of combined convection flows in a cavity with a square cylinder placed at the center of the cavity having coordinates (0.5, 0.5). To be more specific, right- and left-sided vertical walls are kept cold, and the lower wall is to be heated in uniform and non-uniform manners, while the upper horizontal wall is moved with a constant velocity ULid and is thermally adiabatic. The obstacle is treated as cold as well as thermally adiabatic, and the no-slip velocity boundary conditions are specified at its surface. For the purpose of computing the velocity profile and temperature, a space including the quadratic polynomials (P2) is chosen; however, the pressure has been approximated using a linear ( P1 ) finite element space of functions. The Newton technique is used to perform the computations needed to solve the discrete systems of non-linear algebraic equations. The non-linear iterations are terminated at residual below 10–6, whereas the inner core linear solver is based on Gaussian elimination with special reordering of unknowns. To show the consistency of the implemented numerical technique, the parametric study is designed based on the most relevant non-dimensional parameters, namely, the Grashof number Gr ranging from 102 to 105, the Hartmann number Ha changing from 0 to 50, and the Reynolds number Re varying from 10 to 200. Computations in the forms of velocity streamlines and isotherm contour profiles are adorned. In addition, the production of temperature disparities is associated with an increase in Nuavg as Re increases. In contrast, a diminishing aptitude in kinetic energy is observed due to the creation of Lorentz forces.

Hydrodynamic forces are crucial in engineering applications; therefore, various research initiatives have been conducted to limit them. In this research, a passive control technique to investigate the fluid forces acting on a circular cylinder in a laminar flow regime is studied. The reliability of the usage of a splitter plate (passive control device) downstream of the obstacle in suppressing the fluid forces on a circular obstacle of diameter D=0.1 is presented. The first parameter of the current study is the attachment of splitter plates of various lengths (Li)with the obstacle, whereas the gap separation (Gi) between the splitter plate and the obstacle is used as a second parameter. The control element of the first and second parameters are varied from 0.1 to 0.3. For the attached splitter plates of lengths 0.2 and 0.3, the oscillatory behavior of transient flow at Re=100 is successfully controlled. For the gap separations 0.1 and 0.2, the suppression of vortex shedding is also observed. However, it is observed that a splitter plate of too short length and a plate located at an inappropriate gap from an obstacle are worthless. Moreover, the present study is extended for power-law fluid in the same domain, and maximum drag reduction is achieved using the same strategy as for Newtonian fluid. The finite element method is utilized as a computational strategy for complicated nonlinear governing equations. For a clear physical depiction of the problem, velocity and pressure plots have been provided. It is concluded that the presence of a splitter plate has suppressed the vortex shedding and the flow regime turns out to be steady, as is evident from the nonoscillatory drag and lift coefficients.

In this article, the thermal flow effects of inclined magnetohydrodynamics ferrofluid filled in a wavy cavity are studied by adopting the finite element method (FEM). The non-dimensional governing equations and model for different parameters are evaluated. The system of non-linear algebraic equations is computed by adopting the Newton method. A space involving quadratic polynomials (ℙ2) has been selected to compute for the velocity profile, while the pressure and temperature profiles are approximated by linear (ℙ1) finite element space of functions. The discrete systems of non-linear algebraic equations are computed by utilizing the Newton method. The vertical walls are considered cold, whereas the bottom wavy surface is considered hot and the top wavy surface is insulated. The effect of the pertinent parameters, like Ra=105, volume fraction (0.00≤ϕ≤0.06), inclination angle (0∘≤γ≤90∘), and amplitude of the wavy surface (0.02≤AR≤0.08) is investigated. Computational results are addressed as streamlines out, isotherms, and proper graphs for substantial amounts of interest. Increasing Hartmann number (Ha) leads to an increase in Bejan number (Be), while opposite behavior can be observed in the case of viscous, magnetic, and thermal irreversibility, that is, curves are decreased by increasing Ha. Under the influence of an inclined magnetic field, the mathematical structuring of the problem is manifested by continuity, momentum, and energy equations. These equations are solved by using the finite element method computation. The graphs of velocity and isotherm are compared to the relevant parameters. To predict the flow characteristics at different locations, cross-sectional lines representing the velocity field in the horizontal and vertical directions are also drawn. Magnetization’s impact on flow control, heat transfer, and various irreversibilities are also discussed. The Nuavg progressively declined with the enhancement in the amplitude of the wavy surface AR.

Honey bee queen serves as a colony's centre hub, producing eggs and releasing pheromones to keep a colony together. Artificial insemination in Apis mellifera, trending research these days, is a consistent method for controlling mating in honey bees. Quality queen production is essential to maintaining a healthy bee colony. A review of comparative studies on superior quality honey bee (A. mellifera) queens production through nontraditional techniques and various factors affecting the instrumental insemination process has been compiled in this article. Several factors like; rearing conditions, stress, inseminator’s skills, food availability, mating age of queen, queen banking, temperature, sperms stored in the spermatheca, sperms quality and quantity, semen handling and storage, CO2 and nitrogen treatments, pheromones affect the performance of instrumentally inseminated queens. Moreover, different data collection showed that different methods used for queen treatment which have a significant effect on the performance of the queen. This review suggested that artificially inseminated queens could be more productive if experiments were done with proper attention and precision.

This manuscript explores the flow features of the Modified Cross Model in a channel with symmetric trapezoidal cavities in the presence of a circular obstacle. The non-dimensional governing equations and model for different parameters are evaluated via a Galerkin Finite Element Method The system of non-linear algebraic equations is computed by adopting the Newton method. A space involving the quadratic polynomials (P2) has been selected to compute for the velocity profile while the pressure profile is approximated by a linear (P1) finite element space of functions. Simulations are performed for a wide range of physical parameters such as modified parameter (from 0.0 to 0.5), power-law index (from 0.5 to 1.5), relaxation parameter (from 1 to 3), and Reynolds number (from 10 to 40). For the case of a modified parameter (b) and relaxation parameter (λ), it is observed that the drag coefficient (CD) shows an increasing trend while the lift coefficient (CL) is changing sign at lower values of (λ), and then becomes positive at λ=3.

Artificial queen rearing has changed the beekeeping business in contrast to natural queen replacement, as it provides a newly mated queen into a bee colony, reduces the time between eggs not being laid, and increases the production of young bees in a colony. This study was conducted to investigate the larval acceptance rate grafted in queen cups made from different materials and to find out whether the various materials used for queen cups were suitable for the acceptance of grafted larvae in cell builder colonies. The evaluated materials included fresh bee wax (T1), old bee wax (T2), uncapping bee wax (T3), pure paraffin (T4), 50% paraffin + 50% old bee wax (T5), and brown plastic queen cups (T6) as a control. Results indicated that T3 was the material that most increased the larval acceptance (5.2 ± 0.37), followed by T4 (2.4 ± 0.5), T2 (2.2 ± 0.58), T5 (1.8 ± 0.37), T1 (1.6 ± 0.4), and minimum larval acceptance was in the T6 (1.0 ± 0.4) respectively during the spring season of the year 2020–2021. Similar findings were reported of larval acceptance rate during the spring season of 2021–2022. In addition, the wax material that least affected larval acceptance was the fresh comb bee wax. However, all materials used were coupled with a more larval acceptance rate than the control treatment during both spring seasons of 2020–2021 and 2021–2022. The larval acceptance rate was statistically significant in T3 as a compared to other queen cell cup materials during the both spring seasons (p = 0.001). These findings imply that using different types of bee wax for preparing queen cell cups during larvae grafting, particularly uncapping bee wax, may stimulate and promote grafted larvae acceptance during the queen rearing process.

In this work, we analyze the characteristics of periodic flows in non-isothermal viscous fluid over a heated block in the presence of thermal plates at Reynolds number (Re=100). The unsteady, incompressible Navier–Stokes (NS) equations with suitable initial and boundary data in 2D are executed by the finite element technique using a highly refined hybrid mesh. The temporal discretization is performed by an implicit stable backward differencing in time and a stable choice of finite elements from the finite element library for spatial discretization. The discrete nonlinear system arising from this discretization is linearized by Newton’s method and then solved through a direct linear solver PARDISO. For this forced convective study, the range of dimensionless parameters, namely, the Prandtl number (Pr) and power law index (n), are varied from 1 to 10 and 0.6 to 1.4 with a low Grashof number varying as (1≤Gr≤10) to produce a forced convection regime, respectively. For the authentication, we have compared our results with the literature at a similar configuration. After simulation, the results accomplished in the velocity profile, pressure, isotherm contours, drag and lift coefficients (trajectory motion), average Nusselt number (Nuavg), etc. are considered. For convergence of solution at low shear rate (n1), it converges to a single value. Furthermore, the drag (CD) and lift (CL) coefficients are more pronounced for shear-thinning cases (n1).

Conventional management of stem rot disease of potato, caused by Neocosmospora rubicola, through fungicide application is an environmentally unfavorable practice that calls for an alternative biocontrol approach. Plant growth-promoting bacteria (PGPB) are known to not only promote plant growth but also control diseases caused by various fungi. The study was designed to evaluate the potential of three strains of PGPB and synthetic fertilizer to manage stem rot of potatoes. In the first experiment, PGPB strains Azotobacter chroococcum, Azospirillum lipoferum, and Pseudomonas putida and their combinations were evaluated on PDA medium against N. rubicola using the dual culture technique. All three bacterial strains were found effective in reducing the radial growth of the fungus maximum up to 91%. In the second experiment, in the presence of half and full recommended doses of fertilizer nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P), the potato growing medium was inoculated with N. rubicola alone, and with combinations of N. rubicola and PGPB strains (bacterial formulation; BF). N. rubicola increased stem and tuber rot, and decreased tuber weight by 11% compared to the control. On the other hand, sole inoculation with BF significantly increased tuber weight. In addition, a combined inoculation of N. rubicola and BF, or N. rubicola inoculation a week prior to BF inoculation did not affect tuber weight compared to control. However, inoculation of BF a week prior to N. rubicola, controlled rot symptoms and increased tuber weight by 32%. An increase in P application favored the PGPB strains in controlling rot in tubers. The interaction effect of fertilizer N with the inoculation combinations was non-significant; however, the main impact of N was to increase rot in tubers and decrease in potato stems. Hence a prerequisite application of PGPB formulation proved to be an effective tool against N. rubicola infestation in potatoes.

This numerical study is about the steady incompressible non-Newtonian fluid flow in a channel with static obstacles. The flow field is governed by the Generalized Navier-Stokes equations incorporating the constitutive relation of power-law fluids. Three cases are considered: 1) circular obstacle (C1), 2) semicircular obstacle (C2), and 3) both circular and semicircular obstacles. A range of values of the power-law index 0.3≤n≤1.7 are considered at Re=20 to check the impact of shear-thinning and shear-thickening viscosity on the drag and lift coefficients. The correlation between drag and lift coefficients is calculated against the power-law index. The simulated results of velocity and pressure are investigated at different sections of the channel. Benchmark results of drag and lift for the Newtonian fluid are reproduced as a special case. A strong positive correlation is observed between drag and lift coefficients in the case of a single obstacle, while in the case of dual obstacles and inverse correlation, drag and lift coefficients have been found.

The present study is concerned with the numerical simulations of Ostwald-de Waele fluid flow in a wavy trapezoidal cavity in the presence of a heated cylinder situated at the center of the cavity. The work consists in characterizing the mixed convection as a function of the intensity of heat flow. The flow behaviour and temperature distribution in a cavity are the main focus of this study. The lower wall of the cavity is fixed and heated while the wavy surface is insulated and moves with a constant speed. The sloping walls are kept cold and are subject to zero no-slip conditions for velocity components. The whole setup is modeled as a set of coupled partial differential equations and is solved by the Finite Element Method. For pressure and velocity approximations, we use the stable finite element pair P2−P1, while for temperature approximation we use the space of linear polynomial as P1. The ranges of the parameters involved in the study are the Ostwald-de Wale index (0.5≤n≤1.5), Prandlt number (1≤Pr≤10), Grashof number (100≤Gr≤1000), the number of undulation (0≤λ≤4), and the non-dimensional amplitude of the wavy surface (0.02≤A≤0.06). The major findings of the study are shown using velocity profile, streamlines, and isotherms. Moreover, the kinetic energy and average (Nuavg) Nusselt number is determined for various values of the parameters involved.

Abstract Background Diabetes mellitus is a chronic disease characterized by hyperglycemia that may occur due to genetic, environmental or lifestyle factors. Natural remedies have been used to treat diabetes since long and many antidiabetic compounds of varied efficacies have been isolated from medicinal plants. Rhazya stricta has been used for decades for the treatment of diabetes mellitus and associated ailments. Considering the folkloric use of R. stricta against diabetes, it was aimed to investigate the effectiveness of its root extracts against diabetes through in vitro assays and in vivo studies using animal model along with phytochemical profiling through GCMS. Methods Various fractions of Rhazya stricta obtained through column chromatography were evaluated for a variety of assays including α-glucosidase, Dipeptidyl peptidase-IV (DPP-IV), β-secretase and Glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) secretion studies. For the in vivo studies the alloxan-induced diabetic mice were treated with root extracts and blood glucose levels, HbA1C, and other biochemical markers along with the histological study of the liver were done. The phytochemical identification was performed using an Agilent 7890B GC coupled to a 7010 Triple Quadrupole (MS/MS) system. GraphPad Prism software version 5.01 was used for statistical analysis. Results Majority of the extract fractions showed excellent results against diabetes by inhibiting enzymes DPP-IV (Up to 61%) and β-secretase (Up to 83%) with IC50s 979 μg/ml and 169 μg/ml respectively with increase in the GLP1 secretion. The results of in vivo studies indicated a marked reduction in blood glucose and HbA1c levels along with positive effects on other parameters like lipid profile, liver functions and renal functions of extract-treated mice as compared to control. The histological examination of the liver demonstrated hepatoprotective effects against diabetes led changes and various classes of phytochemicals were also identified through GCMS in different fractions. Conclusion The results revealed strong antidiabetic activity of R. stricta root with the potential to protect body organs against diabetic changes. Moreover, a variety of phytochemicals has also been identified through GCMS that might be responsible for the antidiabetic potential of Rhazya stricta root. Graphical abstract