Publications by authors named "Iqbal K"

Extreme-cum-median ranked set sampling has been developed to address the problem of heterogeneity and outliers / extreme values. Double ranked set sampling has been suggested to obtain more reliable samples using the concept of degree of distinguishability. Dealing with heterogeneous and non-normal populations seems to be an area with a dearth of research.

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Firefighters need personal protection equipment and protective clothing to be safe and protected when responding to fire incidents. At present, firefighters' suits are developed by using inherently thermal-resistant fibers but pose serious problems related to comfort. In the present research, multilayered fire-fighting fabrics were developed with different fiber blends.

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Background: Central serous chorioretinopathy (CSC) is a significant cause of vision loss in men aged 20 to 60, characterized by serous detachment of the neurosensory retina from the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE). This study aims to assess the frequency of CSC among patients at a tertiary care center in Pakistan, offering insights into its epidemiology and management within this setting.

Methodology: A retrospective observational study was conducted at the ophthalmology department of a tertiary care center from January 2019 to December 2023.

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Background: A wide variety of vitreoretinal diseases have been majorly treated by the use of pars plana vitrectomy (PPV) as the most commonly practiced treatment option. Despite the fact that it is the most feasible treatment modality, the probability of corneal endothelial cell damage following the treatment remains a matter of great concern. The study aims to inquire about the aftermath of PPV on endothelial cell density (ECD) and spans a time period of six months after the surgery has been performed.

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  • TFAP2C is a crucial transcription factor in the development of trophoblast cells and hemochorial placentation, particularly in rats, which have a placentation process similar to humans.
  • Research using genome editing showed that completely removing TFAP2C led to prenatal death, while reducing its levels resulted in less invasion of trophoblast cells into the uterus.
  • Conditional mutagenesis revealed that targeted disruption of TFAP2C in invasive trophoblast cells hindered their invasion capacity and affected growth, indicating its important role in both early and later stages of placental development.
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Background: Mutations in the X-linked CDKL5 gene underlie a severe epileptic encephalopathy, CDKL5 deficiency disorder (CDD), characterized by gross motor impairment, autistic features and intellectual disability. Absence of Cdkl5 negatively impacts neuronal proliferation, survival, and maturation in in vitro and in vivo models, resulting in behavioral deficits in the Cdkl5 KO mouse. While there is no targeted therapy for CDD, several studies showed that treatments enabling an increase in brain BDNF levels give rise to structural and behavioral improvements in Cdkl5 KO mice.

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  • The study focused on how psycho-trauma and perceived social support affect coping strategies in young adults aged 18-28 in Pakistan and Afghanistan, investigating various demographic factors like gender and education.
  • Data was collected from 352 participants using standardized questionnaires, revealing significant negative correlations between psycho-trauma and both perceived social support and problem-focused coping strategies.
  • Gender differences were noted, with men favoring problem-focused coping and women leaning towards emotion-focused coping, while various demographic factors influenced coping mechanisms.
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Transcription factor AP-2 gamma ( ) has been identified as a key regulator of the trophoblast cell lineage and hemochorial placentation. The rat possesses deep placentation characterized by extensive intrauterine trophoblast cell invasion, which resembles human placentation. expressed in multiple trophoblast cell lineages, including invasive trophoblast cells situated within the uterine-placental interface of the rat placentation site.

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  • Colorectal cancer (CRC) shows a complicated hereditary pattern, with an emphasis on rare genetic variants that could significantly affect CRC susceptibility, particularly in high-risk populations like those in the Middle East.
  • A study involving 146 high-risk CRC patients and 1395 healthy controls sought to find rare genetic variants, revealing that specific inactivating variants had a strong link to high-risk CRC, notably showing a 60-fold increased risk for carriers.
  • The findings suggest that several new genetic variants may influence CRC risks and highlight the need for further large-scale studies to validate these associations and improve genetic counseling for high-risk individuals and their families.
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: Since thoracic endovascular aortic repair (TEVAR) and endovascular aneurysm repair (EVAR) are increasingly utilized, examining their outcomes and safety in real-world scenarios is crucial. This study investigated the management and outcomes of TEVAR and EVAR as alternatives to traditional open surgical repair for managing aortic pathologies. : This was a retrospective cohort study.

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Trophoblast stem (TS) cells have the unique capacity to differentiate into specialized cell types, including extravillous trophoblast (EVT) cells. EVT cells invade into and transform the uterus where they act to remodel the vasculature facilitating the redirection of maternal nutrients to the developing fetus. Disruptions in EVT cell development and function are at the core of pregnancy-related disease.

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Automatic polarity prediction is a challenging assessment issue. Even though polarity assessment is a critical topic with many existing applications, it is probably not an easy challenge and faces several difficulties in natural language processing (NLP). Public polling data can give useful information, and polarity assessment or classification of comments on Twitter and Facebook may be an effective approach for gaining a better understanding of user sentiments.

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Background: Coagulopathy and thromboembolic events are associated with poor outcomes in coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients. There is conflicting evidence on the effects of chronic anticoagulation on mortality and severity of COVID-19 disease.

Aim: To summarize the body of evidence on the effects of pre-hospital anticoagulation on outcomes in COVID-19 patients.

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In the contemporary era of information technology, copious amounts of data are ubiquitous, generated across various sectors on a daily basis. Analyzing every unit of data is impractical due to constraints such as limited resources in terms of time, labor, and cost. In such scenarios, survey sampling becomes a recommended approach for extracting information about population parameters.

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Introduction: Mycobacterium tuberculosis is the main cause of tuberculosis in humans, accounting for numerous illnesses and thousands of fatalities globally. Data regarding the association of various risk factors and TB in livestock farmers in Pakistan is scarce.

Methodology: A retrospective matched case-control study of TB cases was performed in Lahore, Pakistan to investigate the potential risk factors that lead to the development of TB in Pakistani livestock farmers.

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Advancements in sensor technology have brought a revolution in data generation. Therefore, the study variable and several linearly related auxiliary variables are recorded due to cost-effectiveness and ease of recording. These auxiliary variables are commonly observed as quantitative and qualitative (attributes) variables and are jointly used to estimate the study variable's population mean using a mixture estimator.

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  • Oral bacterial infections pose significant health risks, especially for diabetic patients, and the rise of antimicrobial resistance is a major concern in treating these infections.
  • In a study, researchers explored the effectiveness of combining fluoroquinolone antibiotics (like ciprofloxacin and levofloxacin) with omeprazole, a proton pump inhibitor, which showed enhanced antibacterial activity against identified strains.
  • The combination treatment was found to significantly reduce the minimum inhibitory concentration and effectively eliminate biofilms, with a notable bactericidal effect over a 24-hour period, suggesting it could be a promising strategy for treating oral bacterial infections.
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Background: The primary interface between mother and fetus, the placenta, serves two critical functions: extraction of nutrients from the maternal compartment and facilitation of nutrient delivery to the developing fetus. This delivery system also serves as a barrier to environmental exposures. The aryl hydrocarbon receptor () is an important component of the barrier.

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Objectives: Psoriasis is a chronic inflammatory, T-lymphocyte immune-mediated skin disease. In this study, skin-permeating nanolipid carriers (NLCs) of Methotrexate (MTX) and Baicalin (BL) were formulated. This further gave formulation of nano-lipid encapsulated carriers for dual-drug delivery of the hydrophilic and hydrophobic drugs through the liposomal gel.

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Background And Objectives: Considering the absence of integrated vascular surgery residency programs in Saudi Arabia, and the need for planning training pathways, we aim to identify how many medical students are interested in vascular surgery, and the factors affecting students' opinions on pursuing vascular surgery.

Materials And Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted using an online questionnaire that was distributed to medical students nationwide via social media and email. Data were collected from 13 February 2022 to 1 March 2022.

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Quintuplet pregnancies are associated with significant perinatal morbidity and mortality. The spontaneous quintuplets are a rare occurrence, and the survival is extremely rare. The first quintuplets known to survive infancy to adulthood were the Dionne Quintuplets, born in 1934.

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Human trophoblast stem () cells are an informative in vitro model for the generation and testing of biologically meaningful hypotheses. The goal of this project was to derive patient-specific TS cell lines from clinically available chorionic villus sampling biopsies. Cell outgrowths were captured from human chorionic villus tissue specimens cultured in modified human TS cell medium.

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Purpose: Quality assurance for stereotactic body radiation treatment requires that isocentric verification be ensured during gantry rotation at various angles. This study examined statistical parameters on Winston-Lutz tests to distinguish the deviation of angles from isocenter during gantry rotation using machine learning.

Method: The Varian TrueBeam linac was aligned with the marked lines on the Ruby phantom.

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The cultivation of forage crops on wastewater-irrigated soils, while common in many developing countries, poses significant risks due to heavy metal pollution, particularly Lead (Pb) and Nickel (Ni). This practice, aimed at addressing water scarcity challenges and providing affordable irrigation, was investigated for its ecological and human health implications across three diverse sites (site A, site B, and site C). Our study unveiled increases in Pb concentrations in contaminated soil, cultivated with Sesbania bispinosa showing the highest Pb accumulation.

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Introduction: The main objective of the study was to estimate the burden of occupational tuberculosis infection in high-risk occupational workers and to identify risk factors associated with the prevalence of Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex (MTBC).

Methodology: An analytical cross-sectional study was conducted among high-risk occupational workers including veterinarians, abattoir workers, animal handlers, livestock farmers, and microbiology laboratory workers. Sputum samples were collected from 100 participants and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests were done to diagnose tuberculosis (TB) infection.

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