Publications by authors named "Munir T"

Empirical studies worldwide show that warming has variable effects on plant litter decomposition, leaving the overall impact of climate change on decomposition uncertain. We conducted a meta-analysis of 109 experimental warming studies across seven continents, using natural and standardised plant material, to assess the overarching effect of warming on litter decomposition and identify potential moderating factors. We determined that at least 5.

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Immunosuppressive therapy (IST) using horse antithymocyte globulin (h-ATG) combined with cyclosporine (CsA) and eltrombopag is the standard care for aplastic anemia (AA) in patients without a suitable matched donor. However, in many countries, h-ATG use has been discontinued, leaving rabbit ATG (r-ATG), which has a lower response rates and poorer survival, as the only alternative. In previous studies, alemtuzumab (ALZ), a humanized monoclonal antibody targeting CD52, combined with CsA resulted in an adequate ORR in AA patients.

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Treatment of CLL has changed remarkably in the last decade and novel agents are the standard therapy in various jurisdictions. However, the biology of CLL still plays an important part in the treatment choice and disease outcomes. In this post chemo-immunotherapy era for CLL, number of biological factors have lost their clinical significance and most patients will benefit from continuous or time-limited therapy.

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JCO SEQUOIA (ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT03336333) is a phase III, randomized, open-label trial that compared the oral Bruton tyrosine kinase inhibitor zanubrutinib to bendamustine plus rituximab (BR) in treatment-naïve patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia/small lymphocytic lymphoma (CLL/SLL). The initial prespecified analysis (median follow-up, 26.

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Monkeypox (mpox) is a rare viral disease that can cause severe illness in humans, with outbreaks occurring primarily in central and western Africa. Well-coordinated and synchronized efforts are necessary to understand the factors involved in disease transmission and develop effective health interventions. The aim of this study is to assess the relationship between climate factors and daily mpox cases, as well as to identify the most suitable predictive model for transmission.

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The therapeutic paradigm for patients suffering from chronic lymphocytic leukaemia continues to rapidly evolve. Fixed duration therapies continue to develop using novel-novel non-chemotherapeutic combinations. B-cell lymphoma 2 (BCL2) inhibitors in combination with either anti-CD20 antibody or Bruton tyrosine kinase inhibitors are able to achieve deep responses.

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Article Synopsis
  • Bruton tyrosine kinase inhibitors (BTKi) have significantly improved treatment for B-cell malignancies, but many patients stop using them due to side effects, with cardiac issues being the most common reason for discontinuation.* -
  • The BRUIN study tested pirtobrutinib, a new non-covalent BTKi, on 127 patients who were intolerant to previous BTKi treatments, finding that many experienced fewer or no cardiac issues while showing a high overall response rate.* -
  • Results indicated pirtobrutinib had a median time on treatment of 15.3 months, with notable side effects like fatigue and neutropenia; overall, it proved to be a safe and effective alternative for
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Background: In hospital cardiac arrest is associated with poor survival despite basic and advanced life support measures. This study aimed to identify the clinical characteristics and outcomes of cardiac arrests occurring during in-hospital admission to the tertiary care center in Pakistan.

Method: A retrospective, cross-sectional study at Aga Khan University Hospital from 2021 to 2023 analyzed 230 cardiac arrest cases.

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  • - The study investigated copper, aluminum, and nickel-doped ZnS nanoparticles (NPs) for their antibacterial and anticancer properties, synthesizing them using a co-precipitation method and confirming their structure through various analyses.
  • - Characterizations like XRD and SEM showed that doping reduced the crystallite size and resulted in slightly irregular and agglomerated morphologies, while EDX and FTIR analyses confirmed the presence and behavior of dopants within the ZnS NPs.
  • - The antibacterial tests indicated significant inhibition against E.coli and B.cereus, with maximum inhibition zones of 9-23 mm and 12-27 mm, respectively, and also demonstrated notable anticancer effects against the HepG2 liver cancer
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The current research is related to the synthesis of different concentrations (0, 3, and 7 wt %) Zn doped TiO-NPs by using the coprecipitation method. The rutile, anatase crystal structure appeared on different diffracted peaks in TiO-NPs, and the crystallite size (12 to 24 nm) was calculated by using XRD analysis. The spherical, irregular, porous grain-like surface morphology was observed by SEM analysis, and the identification of different functional modes such as hydroxyl, -C-O, -C-O-C, and Ti-O-Ti attached on the surface of the spectrum was examined via FTIR analysis.

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The COVID-19 pandemic has great effects for economies internationally. This study studies the interconnection between COVID-19 metrics and Pakistan's premier stock exchange, the Karachi Stock Exchange (KSE) with the object of identifying the most effective machine learning (ML) model for predicting KSE developments in the pandemic. Our investigation periods the peak COVID-19 period from March 1, 2020, to November 26, 2021, applying data from both the KSE 100 index and COVID-19 associated variables.

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  • Richter transformation is a serious form of aggressive lymphoma found in about 10% of chronic lymphocytic leukemia patients, with no approved treatments and a grim outlook.
  • Pirtobrutinib, showing good results for patients with B-cell malignancies who have relapsed or are resistant to conventional therapies, is being studied for its safety and effectiveness in treating Richter transformation.
  • The study included 82 adult patients who received pirtobrutinib daily, tracking overall response rates and safety, with results indicating the drug was well tolerated and active in this difficult subset of cancer patients.
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The amount of free ions, ion pairs, and higher aggregate of the possible species present in a solution during the gold(I)-catalyzed alkoxylation of unsaturated hydrocarbon, i.e., ISIP (inner sphere ion pair) [(NHC)AuX] and OSIP (outer sphere ion pairs) [(NHC)Au(TME)X] [NHC 1,3-bis(2,6-di-isopropylphenyl)-imidazol-2-ylidene; TME = tetramethylethylene (2,3-bis methyl-butene); X = Cl, BF, OTf; and OTs BArF (ArF = 3,5-(CF)CH)], has been determined.

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Objective: To assess if limiting elective surgeries during specific pandemic phases significantly affected COVID-19 incidence among operating room (OR) staff.

Study Design: Retrospective cohort study. Place and Duration of the Study: Operation Theatre (OT), The Aga Khan University Hospital, Karachi, Pakistan, from May 2020 to 2021.

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  • Pirtobrutinib is a new reversible drug that targets Bruton tyrosine kinase, showing effective results in treating B-cell malignancies with low patient dropout and dose reduction rates.
  • A study from the BRUIN trial evaluated the safety of pirtobrutinib in patients who were treated for 12 months or more, revealing common side effects like fatigue and diarrhea, with most adverse events occurring in the first year of treatment.
  • Overall, the findings suggest that pirtobrutinib has a favorable safety profile for long-term use, with no new significant toxicity concerns reported.
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Perioperative fluid administration plays an essential role in head and neck cancer free flap surgery. The impact of intraoperative fluid administration on postoperative complications in head and neck cancer free flap surgery remains ill-defined. All adult patients who underwent a free flap surgery for head and neck cancer between January 2014 and December 2018 were included in the study.

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Arctic and alpine tundra ecosystems are large reservoirs of organic carbon. Climate warming may stimulate ecosystem respiration and release carbon into the atmosphere. The magnitude and persistency of this stimulation and the environmental mechanisms that drive its variation remain uncertain.

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Background: South Asian region contributes 59 % to the global mortality due to burns. However, we find a paucity of literature on the outcomes of burns from low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). South Asian Burn Registry (SABR) is a facility-based burns registry that collected data on in-patient burn care.

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Background: Anal cancers are uncommon neoplasms that make up to <1% of all tumours globally. Concurrent chemoradiation remains the standard of care treatment for patients who present with non-metastatic anal squamous cell carcinomas (ASCCs).

Methods: We aimed to evaluate the response rate and 2-year survival outcome of the definitive chemoradiation approach in patients with non-metastatic ASCCs of our population.

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Pegcetacoplan significantly improves outcomes for patients with paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria (PNH) experiencing extravascular hemolysis (EVH) on eculizumab, leading to approval in 2021/2022 (USA/Europe). We report the first collaborative real-world evidence on pegcetacoplan use in UK and France. A total of 48 patients were either currently receiving or previously received pegcetacoplan (2019-2023).

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Background: Central line-associated bloodstream infections (CLABSIs) pose a significant risk to critically ill patients, particularly in intensive care units (ICU), and are a significant cause of hospital-acquired infections. We investigated whether implementation of a multifaceted intervention was associated with reduced incidence of CLABSIs.

Methods: This was a prospective cohort study over nine years.

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This research is based on the analysis of Monkeypox transmission, from may 7, 2022 to October 11, 2022, in 30 most affected countries around the globe. The most affected countries are selected through the cut point of at least 100 reported confirmed cases of infected persons over the aforementioned time span. We novely argue the exhibition of distributional similarities between the viral flow and well known power law in context of this neglected zoonotic disease.

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