Optimal mass transport kinetic modeling for head and neck DCE-MRI: Initial analysis.

Purpose: Current state-of-the-art models for estimating the pharmacokinetic parameters do not account for intervoxel movement of the contrast agent (CA). We introduce an optimal mass transport (OMT) formulation that naturally handles intervoxel CA movement and distinguishes between advective and diffusive flows.

Method: Ten patients with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) were enrolled in the study between June 2014 and October 2015 and underwent DCE MRI imaging prior to beginning treatment.

Epidemiology of respiratory infections among adults in Qatar (2012-2017).

Background: Limited data is available about the etiology of influenza like illnesses (ILIs) in Qatar.

Objectives: This study aimed at providing preliminary estimates of influenza and other respiratory infections circulating among adults in Qatar.

Methods: We retrospectively collected data of about 44,000 patients who visited Hamad General Hospital clinics, sentinel sites, and all primary healthcare centers in Qatar between 2012 and 2017.

Leptin as a predictor of anthropometric cutoff points for obesity.

This study was conducted to find the association between leptin and adiposity indices. Secondly, to identify optimal threshold of various anthropometric indices for obesity, as assessed by 75th percentile of leptin levels, within a clinic sample of non-diabetic and diabetic Pakistani adults. Fasting serum leptin levels were compared with anthropometric markers of obesity in 164 diabetic and non-diabetic subjects (90 male, 74 female), aged 35 to 65 years.

GlymphVIS: Visualizing Glymphatic Transport Pathways Using Regularized Optimal Transport.

The glymphatic system (GS) is a transit passage that facil-itates brain metabolic waste removal and its dysfunction has been asso-ciated with neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's disease. The GS has been studied by acquiring temporal contrast enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) sequences of a rodent brain, and tracking the cerebrospinal fluid injected contrast agent as it flows through the GS. We present here a novel visualization framework, GlymphVIS, which uses regularized optimal transport (OT) to study the flow behavior between time points at which the images are taken.

A genomic analysis of Mycobacterium immunogenum strain CD11_6 and its potential role in the activation of T cells against Mycobacterium tuberculosis.

Background: Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) is an etiological agent of tuberculosis (TB). Tuberculosis is a mounting problem worldwide. The only available vaccine BCG protects the childhood but not adulthood form of TB.

Effect of time dependent viscosity and radiation efficacy on a non-Newtonian fluid flow.

In the present article we have studied the radiation effects on the flow of a viscoelastic fluid flow past a spongy plate by considering the viscosity as variable. In order to explore the variable viscosity effects, law of conservation of mass, momentum and energy are flourished. The shooting method is adapted to accomplish the numerical solution of governing equations.

Numerical simulation of oscillatory oblique stagnation point flow of a magneto micropolar nanofluid.

The particular inquiry is made to envision the characteristics of magneto-hydrodynamic oscillatory oblique stagnation point flow of micropolar nanofluid. The applied magnetic field is assumed parallel towards isolating streamline. A relative investigation is executed for copper and alumina nanoparticles while seeing water type base fluid.

Community acquired Sphingomonas paucimobilis in a child - A rare case.

Sphingomonas paucimobilis is a rare organism that usually infects immunocompromised patients and is known to cause nosocomial infections from mild to severe pathogenicity. Recently a few community acquired infections have been identified in relatively healthy adult patients with diabetes and alcoholics. We report a case of a 10 years old previously healthy child who presented with fever for a month and was found to have a positive blood cu lt ure for Sphi ngomon as pauc imobil is.

Determinants of Vitamin D deficiency in asymptomatic healthy young medical students.

Objective: The study aimed to determine vitamin D status and frequency of its determinants related to diet, clothing, lifestyle and exposure to sunlight among young healthy medical students living in Karachi, Pakistan.

Methods: This cross sectional study included responses gathered on questionnaire from medical students of Karachi Medical &Dental College from 4 of August 2017 till 30 April 2018. All the participants were healthy young adult's year of age who gave written informed consent to participate in the study.

A lipidated bi-epitope vaccine comprising of MHC-I and MHC-II binder peptides elicits protective CD4 T cell and CD8 T cell immunity against Mycobacterium tuberculosis.

Background: The clinical trials conducted at Chingleput India suggest that BCG fails to protect against tuberculosis (TB) in TB-endemic population. Recent studies advocate that non-tuberculous mycobacteria and latent Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) infection interferes in the antigen processing and presentation of BCG in inducing protective immunity against Mtb. Thereby, indicating that any vaccine that require extensive antigen processing may not be efficacious in TB-endemic zones.

Maternal depression: A major risk factor for psychosocial wellbeing among preschoolers.

This study aims to determine the prevalence of behavioural problems among preschoolers and their association with maternal depression. A cross-sectional study was carried out in three districts of Sindh province of Pakistan. Mothers were interviewed by using a structured questionnaire during household survey.

FeatureLego: Volume Exploration Using Exhaustive Clustering of Super-Voxels.

We present a volume exploration framework, FeatureLego, that uses a novel voxel clustering approach for efficient selection of semantic features. We partition the input volume into a set of compact super-voxels that represent the finest selection granularity. We then perform an exhaustive clustering of these super-voxels using a graph-based clustering method.

Preliminary study on phosphate solubilizing strain Q3 and sp. strain Q6 for improving cotton growth under alkaline conditions.

Background: Low phosphorus availability limits crop production in alkaline calcareous soils in semi-arid regions including Pakistan. Phosphate solubilizing bacteria may improve crop growth on alkaline calcareous soils due to their ability to enhance P availability.

Methods: Twenty rhizobacterial isolates (Q1-Q20) were isolated from rhizosphere of cotton and characterized for their growth promoting attributes .

LMap: Shape-Preserving Local Mappings for Biomedical Visualization.

Visualization of medical organs and biological structures is a challenging task because of their complex geometry and the resultant occlusions. Global spherical and planar mapping techniques simplify the complex geometry and resolve the occlusions to aid in visualization. However, while resolving the occlusions these techniques do not preserve the geometric context, making them less suitable for mission-critical biomedical visualization tasks.

Rotating flow of Ag-CuO/HO hybrid nanofluid with radiation and partial slip boundary effects.

The main object of the present paper is to examine and compare the improvement of flow and heat transfer characteristics between a rotating nanofluid and a newly discovered hybrid nanofluid in the presence of velocity slip and thermal slip. The influence of thermal radiation is also included in the present study. The system after applying the similarity transformations is solved numerically by using the bvp-4c scheme.

Epidemiology, Pathogenesis, and Control of a Tick-Borne Disease- Kyasanur Forest Disease: Current Status and Future Directions.

In South Asia, tick transmits Kyasanur Forest Disease Virus (KFDV), a flavivirus that causes severe hemorrhagic fever with neurological manifestations such as mental disturbances, severe headache, tremors, and vision deficits in infected human beings with a fatality rate of 3-10%. The disease was first reported in March 1957 from Kyasanur forest of Karnataka (India) from sick and dying monkeys. Since then, between 400 and 500 humans cases per year have been recorded; monkeys and small mammals are common hosts of this virus.

Analysis of ferrite nanoparticles in the flow of ferromagnetic nanofluid.

Theoretical analysis has been carried out to establish the heat transport phenomenon of six different ferromagnetic MnZnFe2O4-C2H6O2 (manganese zinc ferrite-ethylene glycol), NiZnFe2O4-C2H6O2 (Nickel zinc ferrite-ethylene glycol), Fe2O4-C2H6O2 (magnetite ferrite-ethylene glycol), NiZnFe2O4-H2O (Nickel zinc ferrite-water), MnZnFe2O4-H2O (manganese zinc ferrite-water), and Fe2O4-H2O (magnetite ferrite-water) nanofluids containing manganese zinc ferrite, Nickel zinc ferrite, and magnetite ferrite nanoparticles dispersed in a base fluid of ethylene glycol and water mixture. The performance of convective heat transfer is elevated in boundary layer flow region via nanoparticles. Magnetic dipole in presence of ferrites nanoparticles plays a vital role in controlling the thermal and momentum boundary layers.

Potential treatment of atopic dermatitis: tolerability and safety of cream containing nanoparticles loaded with hydrocortisone and hydroxytyrosol in human subjects.

Hydrocortisone (HC), topical glucocorticoid along with hydroxytyrosol (HT), and anti-microbial- and anti-oxidant-loaded chitosan nanoparticles (CSNPs) were prepared in large scale and analyzed for their adverse effects on healthy human skin followed by repeated applications. Ten subjects were randomized to receive test (HC-HT CSNPs) and vehicle samples (aqueous (AQ) cream). They were applied on the arms for 28 days, and transepidermal water loss (TEWL), erythema intensity, and irritation score were measured.

Current Trends of Antimicrobial Susceptibility of Typhoidal Salmonellae Isolated at Tertiary Care Hospital.

Objective: To determine the current trend of antimicrobial susceptibility of typhoidal Salmonellae.

Study Design: Descriptive cross-sectional study.

Place And Duration Of Study: The study was carried out in the Department of Microbiology, PNS Shifa Hospital, Karachi, from January 2014 to December 2015.

Nickel phytoextraction through bacterial inoculation in Raphanus sativus.

A pot experiment was conducted to evaluate the potential of two plant growth promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) viz. Bacillus sp. CIK-516 and Stenotrophomonas sp.

A lipidated peptide of Mycobacterium tuberculosis resuscitates the protective efficacy of BCG vaccine by evoking memory T cell immunity.

Background: The current BCG vaccine induces only short-term protection against Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb), suggesting its failure to generate long-lasting memory T cells. Previously, we have demonstrated that a self-adjuvanting peptide of Mtb (L91), successfully generated enduring memory Th1 cells. Consequently, we investigated if L91 was able to recuperate BCG potency in perpetuating the generation of memory T cells and protection against Mtb infected mice.

Prevalence and characteristics of resistant hypertensive patients in an Asian population.

Background: Resistant hypertension is a well-recognized clinical challenge yet there are no reported data on its prevalence in Pakistan. These patients are subjected to a higher risk of developing hypertensive complications. The objective of our study was to evaluate the prevalence and determinants of resistant hypertension in an Asian cohort of hypertensive patients.

Comparison of Knowledge, Attitudes, and Practices of Educated and Uneducated Adults Regarding Human Immunodeficiency Virus in Karachi, Pakistan.

Background: Despite the high prevalence of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) in Pakistan, no prior work has been done to specifically highlight the importance of education as a social vaccine against HIV. Therefore, our study focuses on differences in knowledge and practices regarding HIV and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) among educated and uneducated adults.

Methodology: A cross-sectional study was carried out in which data was collected from all over Karachi.

Caerulomycin A suppresses the differentiation of naïve T cells and alleviates the symptoms of experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis.

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a highly detrimental autoimmune disease of the central nervous system. There is no cure for it but the treatment typically focuses on subsiding severity and recurrence of the disease. Experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE) is an animal model of MS.