Publications by authors named "Hussain F"

The first-principles approach has been used while employing the Perdew-Burke-Ernzerhof exchange-correlation functional of generalized gradient approximation (PBE-GGA) along with the Hubbard parameter to study the structural, optoelectronic, mechanical and magnetic properties of titanium-based MAX materials TiAC (A = P, As, Cd) for the first time. As there is no band gap found between the valence and conduction bands in the considered materials, these compounds belong to the conductor family of materials. A mechanical analysis carried out at pressures of 0 GPa to 20 GPa and the calculated elastic constants reveal the stability of these materials.

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Microbial exopolysaccharides (EPS) have gained high scientific concern due to their exceptional physicochemical features and high industrial applicability. Owing to their biotechnological importance, the present study was designed to screen and isolate the EPS-producing Bacillus strains based on their growth potential on specific media and colony morphologies. The bacterial isolates Bacillus subtilis Bs1-01, Bacillus licheniformis Bl1-02, and Bacillus brevis Bb1-04 showed excellent EPS production due to their shortened lag phase and abundant biomass production.

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Conventional conductive homopolymers such as polypyrrole and poly-3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene (PEDOT) have poor mechanical properties, for the solution to this problem, we tried to construct hybrid composites with higher electrical properties coupled with high mechanical strength. For this purpose, Kevlar fibrous waste, conductive carbon particles, and epoxy were used to make the conductive composites. Kevlar waste was used to accomplish the need for economics and to enhance the mechanical properties.

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Article Synopsis
  • PFAS, particularly perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), are contaminating drinking water globally, prompting research into effective removal methods.
  • Meso-structured hafnium oxide (MHO) was synthesized and tested for its ability to adsorb PFOA, with experiments conducted at different pH levels to analyze how pH affects adsorption capacity.
  • Results showed that the adsorption capacity of PFOA was significantly higher at a lower pH (20.9 mg/g at pH 2.3) due to stronger electrostatic interactions, and after adsorption, MHO could be regenerated through calcination, minimizing waste.
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The prevalence of diabetes mellitus is persistently increasing globally creating a serious public health affliction. Diabetes mellitus is categorized into two major types designated as type I and Type II. Type I diabetes mellitus is characterized by complete lack of secretion of insulin, while Type II diabetes mellitus is the resistance of peripheral tissues to the action of insulin and inadequate compensatory secretion of insulin.

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Background: Studies comparing the severity of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) bronchiolitis to other viruses are inconclusive. Our study aimed to compare the severity of bronchiolitis according to the virus.

Methods: Data were collected from 1152 infants under one year of age admitted to Children's hospital for Wales, over the winter months of 2014-2020.

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This study aims at reporting the indigenous knowledge of the medicinal flora from the inhabitants of surroundings of the World's largest artificial planted forest "Changa Manga", Pakistan. Data were collected by direct interviews and group meetings from 81 inhabitants including 32 local healers having information regarding the use of indigenous medicinal plants over a period of one year. Different statistical tools were applied to analyze the data including Frequency citation (FC), Relative frequency citation (RFC), Use Value, Factor of informants consensus and fidelity level.

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Background: The coronavirus (COVID-19) is a novel pandemic and recently we do not have enough knowledge about the virus behaviour and key performance indicators (KPIs) to assess the mortality risk forecast. However, using a lot of complex and expensive biomarkers could be impossible for many low budget hospitals. Timely identification of the risk of mortality of COVID-19 patients (RMCPs) is essential to improve hospitals' management systems and resource allocation standards.

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The conventional dosage forms (tablets, capsules) of ibuprofen have less potential in the suppression of pain and inflammation due to their slow dissolution rates and lower bioavailability. The aim of this study was to fabricate fibrous solid dispersion of ibuprofen for improved dissolution rate and quick therapeutic action. Drug-loaded microfibers were fabricated using centrifugal melt spinning (CMS) technique from the physical mixture of sucrose, ibuprofen and a hydrophilic polymer, PVP.

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Antimicrobial resistance has been posing an alarming threat to the treatment of infectious diseases over the years. Ineffectiveness of the currently available synthetic and semisynthetic antibiotics has led the researchers to discover new molecules with potent antimicrobial activities. To overcome the emerging antimicrobial resistance, new antimicrobial compounds from natural sources might be appropriate.

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This is a case report of a 39-year-old patient, G5P1031, with monochorionic diamniotic twins at 30 weeks and 1 day of gestation, who developed mirror syndrome without twin-to-twin transfusion syndrome (TTTS) with a unique presentation of maternal and neonatal hyponatremia. Coinciding with severe hyponatremia were maternal symptoms of edema, nausea and vomiting, hypoalbuminemia, elevated uric acid, as well as fetal selective growth restriction, polyhydramnios, umbilical artery absent end diastolic flow and prolonged bradycardia of twin B. Given the poor status of twin B and the risks to twin A, the patient underwent emergent cesarean delivery.

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Vaginal microbiota composition affects many facets of reproductive health. Lactobacillus iners-dominated microbial communities are associated with poorer outcomes, including higher risk of bacterial vaginosis (BV), compared with vaginal microbiota rich in L. crispatus.

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Objective: To determine the trend of resistance to antimicrobials in Streptococcus pneumoniae infections, and the impact of new Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute guidelines on 1211 among meningeal isolates.

Methods: The descriptive observational retrospective study was conducted at the Aga Khan University Hospital laboratory in Karachi, and comprised Streptococcus pneumoniae isolation and antimicrobial susceptibility data over a period of 24 years, from 1993 to 2016, which was compared in terms of pre-2008 and post-2008 data, which was analysed using SPSS 19.

Results: Of the 7415 non-duplicate isolates identified, 4700(63.

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Strain NCCP-691 was isolated from a soil sample collected from an arid soil in Karak, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. Phenotypically, the cells were Gram-stain-negative, aerobic and motile rods. The organism was able to grow between 20-40 °C (optimum at 30-37 °C), at pH 5.

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A new gadolinium(III)-pyridine-2,5-dicarboxylic acid (Gd-2,5-Hpdc)-based three-dimensional coordination polymer, namely, poly[dimethylazanium [bis(μ-pyridine-2,5-dicarboxylato)gadolinium(III)]], {[(CH)NH][Gd(CHNO)]}, CP-1, has been synthesized via a typical solvothermal method. The as-synthesized material was characterized in the solid state using single-crystal X-ray diffraction, powder X-ray diffraction, thermogravimetric analysis and FT-IR spectroscopy. During the synthesis of CP-1, the in situ dimethylformamide (DMF) promotes the formation of a dimeric unit and these act as secondary building blocks in the assembly of a three-dimensional anionic {[Gd(pdc)]} framework.

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Herbal medicines are gaining popularity worldwide for human healthcare because of their therapeutic potential. However, adulteration and use of unauthentic raw herbals as substitutes have become a major issue for the local communities and industry for reasons of safety and efficacy. Therefore, the authentication of medicinal plants before their use in herbal medicines is a need of time.

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Microbial communities are shaped by viral predators. Yet, resolving which viruses (phages) and bacteria are interacting is a major challenge in the context of natural levels of microbial diversity. Thus, fundamental features of how phage-bacteria interactions are structured and evolve in the wild remain poorly resolved.

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Research by our group and others have demonstrated the feasibility of using mobile phone derived metadata to model mood and cognition. Given the effects of age and mood on cognitive performance, it was hypothesized that using such data a model could be built to predict chronological age and that differences between predicted age and actual age could be a marker of pathology. These data were collected via the ongoing BiAffect study.

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A series of substituted benzimidazole derivatives were synthesized by reacting -phenylenediamine with various aromatic aldehydes or glycolic acid using various inexpensive reagents in aqueous media. Synthesized compounds were characterized and elucidated by IR, H NMR, ESI-MS spectra. Resultant compounds were screened for antimicrobial, cytotoxic, antioxidant, lipid peroxidation and cholinesterase inhibitory activities analgesic and anti-inflammatory, and anti-acetylcholinesterase and anti-butyrylcholinesterase activities.

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Doctors are clinicians and are trained in clinical work. Many non-clinical qualities, apart from the ability to examine and treat, matter a lot in their professional success. Traditionally, knowing the book well or mastering the content of the curriculum was considered enough to succeed in a medical career, but recent recognition of having good communication skills in a physician has changed the medical curricula the world over.

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Parkinson's disease (PD) is a progressive condition that affects both the central nervous system and other body parts that are controlled by the nervous system. PD is characterized by brain dopaminergic neurons loss and, at present, there are only symptomatic treatments available to alleviate the effects of the disease. With extensive research, new insights have led to defining PD as a multi-system disorder with immune dysfunction playing a dominant part in the disease pathogenesis as well as its progression.

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Background: c-Myc has become significantly involved in aggressive B-cell non Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL), but little is known about its importance in T and NK cell NHL (TNKcNHLs) in association with prognostic factors. The study is to investigate the significance of c-Myc expression with clinicopathological features of TNKcNHLs patients.

Methodology: A cross-sectional study of 32 archived tissue blocks of TNKcNHLs were immunohistochemically stained with c-Myc.

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