Asymmetric impact of technological innovation, foreign direct investment and agricultural production on environmental degradation: evidence from Pakistan.

The present study analyzes the asymmetric effects of technical innovation, foreign direct investment, and agriculture productivity on Pakistan's environmental degradation from 1990 to 2020. A non-linear autoregressive model (NARDL) has been used for the analysis. The asymmetric effects have been computed for both the long and short run.

The impact of economic growth, tourism, natural resources, technological innovation on carbon dioxide emission: evidence from BRICS countries.

The main objective of this manuscript was to investigate the relationships among economic development, tourism, the use of natural resources, technical advancement, and carbon dioxide emissions in the BRICS group of nations. Data from the panel was gathered from 1995 to 2018. Modern methodology tools including the CS-ARDL tests, Westerlund cointegration tests, and panel data unit root tests have been used in this study.

An analysis of machine learning risk factors and risk parity portfolio optimization.

Many academics and experts focus on portfolio optimization and risk budgeting as a topic of study. Streamlining a portfolio using machine learning methods and elements is examined, as well as a strategy for portfolio expansion that relies on the decay of a portfolio's risk into risk factor commitments. There is a more vulnerable relationship between commonly used trademarked portfolios and neural organizations based on variables than famous dimensionality decrease strategies, as we have found.

Does Globalization Cause Greenhouse Gas Emissions in Pakistan? A Promise to Enlighten the Value of Environmental Quality.

Global environmental issues such as environmental degradation, climate change, and global warming have posed a threat to the global economy, including Pakistan. The primary source of these problems is greenhouse gas emissions. These emissions are the result of human activity.

Efficacy of feed improvement in livestock farming to offset climate variations in Punjab, Pakistan: silage as an example.

Globally, climate change is an alarming threat to the livestock industry. Such changes in the climate can also adversely affect the returns of livestock farmers in Pakistan. Improvement in the production process could decrease the risk of losses.

Frailty phenotypes and mortality after lung transplantation: A prospective cohort study.

Frailty is associated with increased mortality among lung transplant candidates. We sought to determine the association between frailty, as measured by the Short Physical Performance Battery (SPPB), and mortality after lung transplantation. In a multicenter prospective cohort study of adults who underwent lung transplantation, preoperative frailty was assessed with the SPPB (n = 318) and, in a secondary analysis, the Fried Frailty Phenotype (FFP; n = 299).

Use of Lung Allografts From Donation After Cardiac Death Donors: A Single-Center Experience.

Background: Lung transplantation remains the only treatment for end-stage lung disease. Availability of suitable lungs does not parallel this growing trend. Centers using donation after cardiac death (DCD) donor lungs report comparable outcomes with those from brain-dead donors.

Donor lung assessment using selective pulmonary vein gases.

Objectives: Standard donor lung assessment relies on imaging, challenge gases and subjective interpretation of bronchoscopic findings, palpation and visual assessment. Central gases may not accurately represent true quality of the lungs. We report our experience using selective pulmonary vein gases to corroborate the subjective judgement.

Donors with a prior history of cardiac surgery are a viable source of lung allografts.

Objectives: End-stage lung disease continues to rise despite the lack of suitable lung donors, limiting the numbers of lung transplants performed each year. Expanded donor criteria, use of donation after cardiac death donors and the advent of ex vivo lung perfusion have resulted only in a slight increase in donor lung utilization. Organ donors with prior cardiac surgery (DPCS) present risks and technical challenges; however, they may be a potential source of suitable lung allografts with an experienced procurement surgeon.

Unusual Case of Coexisting Renal Malignancies: Mucinous Tubular and Spindle Cell Carcinoma Kidney With Sarcomatoid Dedifferentiation.

Mucinous tubular and spindle cell carcinoma (MTSCC) is a recent entity introduced in the World Health Organization 2004 Classification. It is a tumour of low malignant potential. MTSCC is a subtype of renal cell carcinoma (RCC), which is characterized by a polymorphous histology, wherein the spindled epithelial cell is an inherent carcinomatous component.

Short Stature and Access to Lung Transplantation in the United States. A Cohort Study.

Rationale: Anecdotally, short lung transplant candidates suffer from long waiting times and higher rates of death on the waiting list compared with taller candidates.

Objectives: To examine the relationship between lung transplant candidate height and waiting list outcomes.

Methods: We conducted a retrospective cohort study of 13,346 adults placed on the lung transplant waiting list in the United States between 2005 and 2011.

Frailty Phenotypes, Disability, and Outcomes in Adult Candidates for Lung Transplantation.

Rationale: Frailty is associated with morbidity and mortality in abdominal organ transplantation but has not been examined in lung transplantation.

Objectives: To examine the construct and predictive validity of frailty phenotypes in lung transplant candidates.

Methods: In a multicenter prospective cohort, we measured frailty with the Fried Frailty Phenotype (FFP) and Short Physical Performance Battery (SPPB).

MSC therapy attenuates obliterative bronchiolitis after murine bone marrow transplant.

Rationale: Obliterative bronchiolitis (OB) is a significant cause of morbidity and mortality after lung transplant and hematopoietic cell transplant. Mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) have been shown to possess immunomodulatory properties in chronic inflammatory disease.

Objective: Administration of MSCs was evaluated for the ability to ameliorate OB in mice using our established allogeneic bone marrow transplant (BMT) model.

Immunosuppression in lung transplantation.

Lung transplantation can be a life-saving procedure for those with end-stage lung diseases. Unfortunately, long term graft and patient survival are limited by both acute and chronic allograft rejection, with a median survival of just over 6 years. Immunosuppressive regimens are employed to reduce the rate of rejection, and while protocols vary from center to center, conventional maintenance therapy consists of triple drug therapy with a calcineurin inhibitor (cyclosporine or tacrolimus), antiproliferative agents [azathioprine (AZA), mycophenolate, sirolimus (srl), everolimus (evl)], and corticosteroids (CS).

Calpain 1 knockdown improves tissue sparing and functional outcomes after spinal cord injury in rats.

To evaluate the hypothesis that calpain 1 knockdown would reduce pathological damage and functional deficits after spinal cord injury (SCI), we developed lentiviral vectors encoding calpain 1 shRNA and eGFP as a reporter (LV-CAPN1 shRNA). The ability of LV-CAPN1 shRNA to knockdown calpain 1 was confirmed in rat NRK cells using Northern and Western blot analysis. To investigate the effects on spinal cord injury, LV-CAPN1shRNA or LV-mismatch control shRNA (LV-control shRNA) were administered by convection enhanced diffusion at spinal cord level T10 in Long-Evans female rats (200-250 g) 1 week before contusion SCI, 180 kdyn force, or sham surgery at the same thoracic level.

Horizontal ladder task-specific re-training in adult rats with contusive thoracic spinal cord injury.

Purpose: Using the horizontal ladder task, we examined some issues that need to be resolved before task-specific rehabilitative training can be employed clinically for the frequent contusive spinal cord injury (SCI). We hypothesized that improving recovery in task performance after contusive thoracic SCI requires frequent re-training and initiating the re-training early during spontaneous recovery.

Methods: Contusive SCI was produced at the adult female Sprague Dawley rat T10 vertebra.

Involvement of ERK2 in traumatic spinal cord injury.

Activation of extracellular signal-regulated protein kinase 1/2 (ERK1/2) are implicated in the pathophysiology of spinal cord injury (SCI). However, the specific functions of individual ERK isoforms in neurodegeneration are largely unknown. We investigated the hypothesis that ERK2 activation may contribute to pathological and functional deficits following SCI and that ERK2 knockdown using RNA interference may provide a novel therapeutic strategy for SCI.

Experience with immune monitoring in lung transplant recipients: correlation of low immune function with infection.

Background: Lung transplants, in particular, have the highest rate of infections among solid organ transplant recipients. However, there is no existing objective measure to predict the development of infections. We report the correlation between Cylex ImmuKnow (ng/mL ATP) values and various infectious syndromes in a large prospective cohort of lung transplant recipients.

Successful outcome of human metapneumovirus (hMPV) pneumonia in a lung transplant recipient treated with intravenous ribavirin.

Human metapneumovirus (hMPV) has recently been shown to be a prominent cause of respiratory infections in immunocompromised hosts, and is associated with high morbidity and mortality. We report a case of hMPV pneumonia in a lung transplant recipient presenting with respiratory failure and sepsis syndrome. hMPV was diagnosed by polymerase chain reaction, and treated with intravenous ribavirin with a successful outcome.