Cytomorphological changes of oral mucosal cells among smokeless tobacco users in low and middle-income country settings: new findings from Pakistan.

Background: Chronic tobacco use, in any form, induces significant cellular alterations in the oral mucosa. This study investigates four distinct cytomorphological changes in oral mucosal cells among smokeless tobacco users, examining their association across different genders and age groups.

Materials And Methods: This cross-sectional study involved collecting mucosal samples from smokeless tobacco (naswar/snuff) users through consecutive sampling.

A comprehensive review on advanced trends in treatment technologies for removal of Bisphenol A from aquatic media.

Toxic environmental pollutants are considered to be posed a major threat to human and aquatic systems. The fast advancement of the petrochemical and chemical industries has woken up rising worries concerning the pollution of water by contaminants including phenolic Bisphenol A (BPA), an endocrine-disrupting chemical (EDC). The intermediate BPA used in synthesis of certain plastics, polycarbonate polymers, polysulfone, and epoxy resins of various polyesters.

Retrospective analysis of hip arthroplasty in patients younger than 50 years in a single center.

Objective: To report on causes and treatment options of hip arthroplasty in younger population in a single center.

Methods: Data was accessed retrospectively from hospital information system (HIS) and charts were reviewed. All patients younger than 50 years, who had hip arthroplasty for any indication during January 2020 to July 2023 time period at Lady Reading Hospital, Peshawar, were included in this study.

Two-Dimensional ABS (A and B = Zr, Hf, and Ti) as Promising Anode for Li and Na-Ion Batteries.

Metal ion intercalation into van der Waals gaps of layered materials is vital for large-scale electrochemical energy storage. Transition-metal sulfides, ABS (where A and B represent Zr, Hf, and Ti as monolayers as anodes), are examined as lithium and sodium ion storage. Our study reveals that these monolayers offer exceptional performance for ion storage.

A comprehensive review of portable syringe systems using micropipette-based extraction techniques for metal analysis.

The release of harmful compounds, particularly dangerous metal ions, into the environment has drawn deep concern from the scientific community. Therefore, it has become common in research to evaluate and quantify the harmful concentrations in the presence of these metal ions in several real samples (food, water, and biological samples). To increase sensitivity and lessen the impact of the matrix, sample pretreatment is a helpful strategy to implement before analysis.

Antimicrobial Susceptibility of Commensal from Pig Fecal Samples and Enhanced Sensitivity for Direct Detection of the Gene by Nested PCR.

The commensal in the gut of pigs is a major reservoir of antimicrobial resistance and can result in possible transmission to humans through the food chain. Direct detection of from fecal samples is challenging and can be used as a bioindicator of antimicrobial resistance. This study aimed to compare the antimicrobial susceptibility profiles in commensal from antibiotic- and nonantibiotic-using pig farms and developed the direct detection of ESBL genes in pig fecal samples using nested PCR (nPCR) and multiplex PCR (mPCR) techniques.

Polarization insensitive non-interleaved frequency multiplexed dual-band Terahertz coding metasurface for independent control of reflected waves.

Independent control of electromagnetic (EM) waves by metasurfaces for multiple tasks are highly desired and is the recent hot topic of research. In this work we contribute a polarization insensitive frequency multiplexed 2-bit coding metasurface to control the Terahertz (THz) waves in the two operating bands independently. In this regard, as a first step a cascaded meta-atom composed of square rings and/or square metallic patches separated by two polyimide substrates is designed and optimized that provides sixteen independent distinct discrete phases in the reflection geometry.

Photodynamic therapy in management of cutaneous leishmaniasis: A systematic review.

This systematic review evaluated the efficacy and safety of photodynamic therapy (PDT) in the management of cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL). The electronic search for identification of relevant studies, adhered to the PICOS (Population, Intervention, Comparator, Outcomes and Study type) framework, was conducted through PubMed, Google scholar, Dimensions, X-mol, and Semantic Scholar till December 2023. All types of studies reporting PDT in the management of CL with no language restriction were included.

Navigating the Diagnostic Maze: A Case Report of Immunoglobulin G4-Related Disease.

Immunoglobulin G4-related disease (IgG4-RD) is a systemic fibroinflammatory condition characterized by significant infiltration of immunoglobulin G4 (IgG4)-positive plasma cells within affected tissues, with or without elevated serum IgG4 levels. The prevalence of IgG4-RD remains largely undetermined due to diagnostic challenges, as the condition is frequently unrecognized or misdiagnosed. This report describes a case of a 63-year-old man who was ultimately diagnosed with this rare condition after an extensive two-year period of elusive symptoms.

Applications of different types of heat pipes in solar desalinations: A comprehensive review.

Desalination processes are energy consuming and it is required to apply clean energy sources for supplying them to prevent environmental issues. Solar energy is one of the attractive clean energy sources for desalination. In solar thermal desalination systems, different thermal components could be used for heat transfer purpose.

Enhanced As-COF nanochannels as a high-capacity anode for K and Ca-ion batteries.

Covalent organic frameworks can be used for next-generation rechargeable metal-ion batteries due to their controllable spatial and chemical architectures and plentiful elemental reserves. In this study, the arsenic-based covalent organic framework (As-COF) is designed by employing the geometrical symmetry of a semiconducting phosphazene-based covalent organic framework that uses -phenylenediamine as a linker and hexachorocyclotriphosphazene as an As-containing monomer in a -like spatial configuration. The As-COF with engineered nanochannels demonstrates exceptional anodic behavior for potassium (K) and calcium (Ca) ion batteries.

ChestCovidNet: An Effective DL-based Approach for COVID-19, Lung Opacity, and Pneumonia Detection Using Chest Radiographs Images.

Currently used lung disease screening tools are expensive in terms of money and time. Therefore, chest radiograph images (CRIs) are employed for prompt and accurate COVID-19 identification. Recently, many researchers have applied Deep learning (DL) based models to detect COVID-19 automatically.

Healthcare workers safety in the COVID-19 era: the impact of pre-pandemic personal protective equipment (PPE) training in Pakistan.

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has revealed vulnerabilities in healthcare systems worldwide, emphasizing the importance of healthcare worker safety through adequate utilization of personal protective equipment (PPE). This study aims to assess the impact of pre-pandemic PPE training on the practices and other associated factors among frontline healthcare workers during the COVID-19 pandemic in Pakistan and provide insights into the implications of such training programs for future initiatives.

Methods: A cross-sectional study from May 9th to June 5th, 2020 was conducted among the frontline healthcare workers against COVID-19 in Pakistan, utilizing an online structured questionnaire shared via WhatsApp and Facebook by using purposive sampling.

An effective approach for plant leaf diseases classification based on a novel DeepPlantNet deep learning model.

Introduction: Recently, plant disease detection and diagnosis procedures have become a primary agricultural concern. Early detection of plant diseases enables farmers to take preventative action, stopping the disease's transmission to other plant sections. Plant diseases are a severe hazard to food safety, but because the essential infrastructure is missing in various places around the globe, quick disease diagnosis is still difficult.

Mechanistic Study on Steric Activity Interplay of Olefin/Polar Monomers for Industrially Selective Late Transition Metal Catalytic Reactions.

A significant issue in developing metal-catalyzed plastic polymer materials is obtaining distinctive catalytic characteristics to compete with current plastics in industrial commodities. We performed first-principle DFT calculations on the key insertion steps for industrially important monomers, vinyl fluoride (VF) and 3,3,3-trifluoropropene (TFP), to explain how the ligand substitution patterns affect the complex's polymerization behaviors. Our results indicate that the favorable 2,1-insertion of TFP is caused by less deformation in the catalyst moiety of the complexes in contrast to the 1,2-insertion mode.

Assessment of renal function and prevalence of acute kidney injury following coronary artery bypass graft surgery and associated risk factors: A retrospective cohort study at a tertiary care hospital in Islamabad, Pakistan.

Acute kidney injury (AKI) is a sudden decline in renal function after cardiac surgery. It is characterized by a significant reduction in glomerular filtration rate, alterations in serum creatinine (S.Cr) levels, and urine output.

Entropy production with the flow of nanomaterials through the permeable stretched surface with heterogeneous-homogenous chemical reaction.

In various thermodynamic procedures and the optimisation of thermal manipulation, nanofluids flowing through porous media represent an emerging perspective. The main objective of this study, from the perspective of thermal applications, was the investigation of the flow of nanofluid over a horizontal stretched surface embedded in a porous medium. The effects of the chemical reactions on the surface, magnetic field, and thermal radiations were invoked in the mathematical formulation.

Outreach Vector Control Worker's Knowledge, Attitude and Practices Towards Mosquito Control and Associated Diseases.

Background: Mosquito Control Programs are articulated to control Mosquito Borne Diseases and success of such programs depends on the activities of field workers, and their adherence to the standard operating procedures (SOP's) is governed by their knowledge, attitudes, and practices (KAP). Present study was intended to assess the KAP of mosquito control workers of Pakistan to get an exact depiction of prevailing situation.

Methods: A cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted in March-April 2020.

A novel DeepMaskNet model for face mask detection and masked facial recognition.

Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has significantly affected the daily life activities of people globally. To prevent the spread of COVID-19, the World Health Organization has recommended the people to wear face mask in public places. Manual inspection of people for wearing face masks in public places is a challenging task.

Tunable metalensing based on plasmonic resonators embedded on thermosresponsive hydrogel.

Metalenses of adjustable power and ultrathin flat zoom lens system have emerged as a promising and key photonic device for integrated optics and advanced reconfigurable optical systems. Nevertheless, realizing an active metasurface retaining lensing functionality in the visible frequency regime has not been fully explored to design reconfigurable optical devices. Here, we present a focal tunable metalens and intensity tunable metalens in the visible frequency regime through the control of the hydrophilic and hydrophobic behavior of freestanding thermoresponsive hydrogel.