Publications by authors named "Mahmood K"

Smart farming is a hot research area for experts globally to fulfill the soaring demand for food. Automated approaches, based on convolutional neural networks (CNN), for crop disease identification, weed classification, and monitoring have substantially helped increase crop yields. Plant diseases and pests are posing a significant danger to the health of plants, thus causing a reduction in crop production.

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Background: Organic fertilizers are safer and more eco-friendly than chemical fertilizers; hence, organic fertilizers can be used to support sustainable farming. The effects of PGPRs are manifold in agriculture, especially in monoculture crops, where the soil needs to be modified to increase germination, yield, and disease resistance. The objective of this study was to assess the effects of PGPRs combined with fertilizer on the yield and productivity of canola.

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Background: Colorectal cancers (CRCs) from people with biallelic germline likely pathogenic/pathogenic variants in MUTYH or NTHL1 exhibit specific single base substitution (SBS) mutational signatures, namely combined SBS18 and SBS36 (SBS18+SBS36), and SBS30, respectively. The aim was to determine if adenomas from biallelic cases demonstrated these mutational signatures at diagnostic levels.

Methods: Whole-exome sequencing of FFPE tissue and matched blood-derived DNA was performed on 9 adenomas and 15 CRCs from 13 biallelic MUTYH cases, on 7 adenomas and 2 CRCs from 5 biallelic NTHL1 cases and on 27 adenomas and 26 CRCs from 46 non-hereditary (sporadic) participants.

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Article Synopsis
  • The study introduces a highly efficient TiO meta-atom-based near-infrared disordered metalens inspired by bird's eye hyperuniform distribution, analyzed using the finite-difference time-domain method.
  • The disordered metalens demonstrates a remarkable focusing efficiency of 84.39% at 820 nm, showing it can produce images similarly to traditional ordered structures.
  • The findings suggest potential applications in advanced imaging, sensing, and spectroscopic technologies, including lidar, medical devices, and holography, due to comparable optical properties with periodic metalens structures across a wavelength range of 770 to 970 nm.
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Background: The opioid crisis continues to be a public health concern worldwide due to the high rates of misuse and associated mortality. Opioid dispensing competencies are critical for pharmacy graduates to promote the rational use of opioids.

Purpose: To evaluate the opioids dispensing competencies among the final year Pharm-D students in Punjab, Pakistan.

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Dengue fever is a vector-borne, acute, febrile, and self-limiting systemic viral infection that affects tropical and subtropical regions, including Pakistan. Karachi has a significant burden of Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus due to suitable breeding sites, weather, and rapid and unplanned urbanization of squatter areas. The country has limited surveillance studies on circulating serotypes of the dengue virus and the patient's clinical features evolving over temporal changes.

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Plant stress reduction research has advanced significantly with the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) techniques, such as machine learning and deep learning. This is a significant step toward sustainable agriculture. Innovative insights into the physiological responses of plants mostly crops to drought stress have been revealed through the use of complex algorithms like gradient boosting, support vector machines (SVM), recurrent neural network (RNN), and long short-term memory (LSTM), combined with a thorough examination of the TYRKC and RBR-E3 domains in stress-associated signaling proteins across a range of crop species.

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Objective: Laparoscopic repair of vesicovaginal fistula (VVF) is gaining popularity day by day, but we have limited literature on it. This study is to evaluate the safety, feasibility, and outcomes of laparoscopic VVF repair in a tertiary care center in Eastern India.

Subjects And Methods: This study is a single-center retrospective study in which 11 patients of supratrigonal VVF were evaluated who underwent laparoscopic repair.

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The lack of local availability for drugs in the colon can be addressed by preparing a self-microemulsifying drug delivery system (SMEDDS) of curcumin (Cur) which is ultimately used for the treatment of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). From preformulation studies, Lauroglycol FCC (oil), Tween 80 (surfactant), Transcutol HP (co-surfactant), and Avicel (solid carrier) were selected for the preparation of blank liquid and solid Cur-loaded SMEDDSs (S-Cur-SMEDDSs). Z-average size (12.

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In heart failure, sympathetic overdrive is evidenced by norepinephrine spillover, receptor level changes, etc. Beta-blockers continue to be the cornerstone of treatment in patients with chronic heart failure due to their ability to counteract sympathetic overdrive. Extensive clinical research has demonstrated that long-term beta-blocker treatment with metoprolol succinate, carvedilol, or bisoprolol enhances left ventricular function and reverses left ventricular remodeling, decreases hospitalization risk, and increases survival.

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Premarital screening programs are essential for identifying and providing counseling to couples at risk of transmitting genetic diseases or sexually transmitted infections. Despite their importance, university students' awareness and knowledge of premarital screening programs remain inadequate. This study aimed to evaluate the knowledge, perceptions, and attitudes of university students in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq regarding premarital screening programs.

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Background Access to pediatric rheumatology (PR) is limited in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, with only three trained pediatric rheumatologists in Abu Dhabi. However, the limited access and current levels of PR care in the Abu Dhabi workforce have not yet been formally assessed. The objective of this study was to evaluate the confidence in the delivery of PR patient care and the need for a structured PR training program among pediatricians.

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Background and aim AI is revolutionizing medical education by offering innovative tools and simulations that augment traditional teaching methods. This study explored the perceptions and expectations of medical students in the Kurdistan region, Iraq, regarding AI integration in medical education. Methods A cross-sectional online survey collected data from 224 medical students over four months.

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Article Synopsis
  • Approximately million tons of eggshell waste are generated each year, creating management challenges due to odor and microbes.
  • Despite these challenges, eggshells can be repurposed for various applications, including metal and ceramic composites, biodiesel production, and as adsorbents for wastewater treatment.
  • The review emphasizes both the difficulties and the potential uses of eggshells in the food industry, highlighting their value as a source of calcium and fertilizer.
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Background: Cystic echinococcosis mainly affects the liver and lungs, in which the larvae from the microvascular wall in the liver pass to the lungs and then to the blood circulation and settle in any tissue or organ.

Objectives: The objective of this study was to report the unusual location of hydatid cysts in infected patients in Sulaimaniyah City, Iraq.

Patients And Methods: This retrospective case series study enrolled 13 patients.

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Article Synopsis
  • - Pathogenic variants in the APC gene are responsible for familial adenomatous polyposis, the most common hereditary gastrointestinal polyposis syndrome, prompting the development of specific classification criteria to aid in variant interpretation.
  • - The study involved applying these APC-specific criteria to assess over 10,000 unique APC variants from databases like ClinVar and LOVD, leading to a significant reclassification of variants of uncertain significance (VUSs), with many being reassessed as (likely) benign or (likely) pathogenic.
  • - The results showed that using these tailored criteria effectively reduced VUSs by 37%, highlighted the potential for systematic variant classification in large datasets, and established a model that could benefit future genetic variant interpretation efforts in
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The baroreflex system is involved in modulating several physiological functions of the cardiovascular system and can modulate cardiac output, blood pressure, and cardiac electrophysiology directly and indirectly. In addition, it is involved in regulating neurohormonal pathways involved in the cardiovascular function, such as the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system and vasopressin release. Baroreflex dysfunction is characterized by sympathetic overactivation and parasympathetic withdrawal and is associated with several cardiovascular diseases, such as hypertension, heart failure, and coronary artery disease.

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Climate change poses significant challenges to urban environments affecting both flood risks and stormwater pollutant loadings. However, studies on variations in stormwater runoff quantity and quality in cold regions, which are highly sensitive to climate change, are notably limited. Integrating climatic, hydrologic, and hydraulic modelling, the study assesses the potential impacts of climate change on stormwater runoff volume and pollutant dynamics in a Canadian urban watershed (Calgary).

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Background: Few studies focus upon patient-reported outcomes in endodontics.

Aim: To determine whether full pulpotomy offers a less painful, improved health-related quality of life (HRQoL) compared with root canal treatment (RCT) in cases of irreversible pulpitis (IP) in the 7 days after the treatment.

Methodology: One hundred sixty-eight participants presenting with symptoms of IP were randomized to either pulpotomy (n = 86) or RCT (n = 82).

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Article Synopsis
  • * Current guidelines recommend early combination therapy using four drug classes, especially ARNI, which significantly reduces morbidity and mortality in patients with heart failure with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF).
  • * A national consensus by Indian cardiology experts emphasizes that ARNI should be initiated early in HFrEF patients, including those hospitalized, and can also benefit patients with preserved and mildly reduced ejection fractions.
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  • The genetic factors contributing to stroke risk in South Asians remain largely unstudied, with a recent study examining 75,000 Pakistanis using exome-wide sequencing.
  • A specific genetic variant, NOTCH3 p.Arg1231Cys, was found to be more common in South Asians (0.58%) compared to Western Europeans (0.019%) and was significantly linked to hemorrhagic and overall stroke risk.
  • This variant accounts for about 2.0% of hemorrhagic strokes and 1.1% of all strokes in South Asians, emphasizing the importance of including diverse populations in genetic research for better understanding and treatment of stroke.
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Background: Left ventricular assist device (LVAD) outflow graft obstruction can result in severe clinical deterioration. Underlying mechanisms may vary depending on the location. Outflow graft tamponade due to external compression can be under recognized.

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In this manuscript, we have investigated the dielectric and antibacterial potential of hydrothermally synthesized ZnMnO nanoparticles. The synthesized nanoparticles were annealed at various temperatures ranging from 450 to 650 °C with a step of 50 °C to modulate the structural, vibrational, dielectric, and antibacterial properties. XRD data confirmed the hexagonal structure of the synthesized samples and crystalline size was decreased to 4.

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Continuous use of oral NSAIDs can damage mucosal membrane, which results in decreased bioavailability and non-compliance with the therapy. But the use of sustained release drug delivery systems might offer a solution. Objective was to synthesize mucoadhesive SR microspheres by using different combinations of pectin (PEC) and its thiolated derivative (T-PEC3100) for improved loxoprofen (LS) permeation.

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