• Advances in concrete construction
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• v.13 no.1
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• pp.71-81
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• 2022

Aluminosilicate materials as precursors are heterogenous in nature, consisting of inert and partially reactive portion, and have varying proportions depending upon source materials. It is essential to assess the reactivity of precursor prior to synthesize geopolymers. Moreover, reactivity may act as decisive factor for setting molar concentration of NaOH, curing temperature and setting proportion of different precursors. In this experimental work, the reactivities of two precursors, low calcium (fly ash (FA)) and high calcium (ground granulated blast furnace slag (GGBS)), were assessed through the dissolution of aluminosilicate at (i) three molar concentrations (8, 12, and 16 M) of NaOH solution, (ii) 6 to 24 h dissolution time, and (iii) 20-100℃. Based on paratermeters influencing the reactivity, different proportions of ternary binders (two precursors and ordinary cement) were activated by the combined NaOH and Na2SiO3 solutions with two alkaline activators to precursor ratios, to synthesize the geopolymer. Reactivity results revealed that GGBS was 20-30% more reactive than FA at 20℃, at all three molar concentrations, but its reactivity decreased by 32-46% with increasing temperature due to the high calcium content. Setting time of geopolymer paste was reduced by adding GGBS due to its fast reactivity. Both GGBS and cement promoted the formation of all types of gels (i.e., C-S-H, C-A-S-H, and N-A-S-H). As a result, it was found that a specified mixing proportion could be used to improve the compressive strength over 30 MPa at both the ambient and hot curing conditions.

• Korean Journal of Clinical Laboratory Science
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• v.54 no.3
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• pp.173-178
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• 2022

The majority of the children experience milder coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) symptoms. Children represent a significant source of community transmission. Children under 18 years of age account for an estimated 4.8% of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infections globally. However, no conclusive statements pertaining to the multi-fold aspects of the virus in children could be drawn due to the lower prevalence of pediatric cases. The present study was conducted to identify the indirect impact of SARS-CoV-2 infections on developing herd immunity among children in the age group 3 to 18 years by investigating their antibody levels. In the study, 240 children aged 3~18 years were recruited by the Department of Pediatrics, Government Medical College and Hospital, Amritsar, India, and quantification of the antibodies was performed at the Viral Research and Diagnostic Laboratory (VRDL), Government Medical College (GMC), Amritsar, India. Out of the 240 serum samples, 197 (82.08%) showed seropositivity, while 43 (17.92%) were seronegative. When stratified, it was observed that in the age group 3~6 years, 22.33% of children were found to have anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies while in the age groups 7~10 years, 11~14 years, and 15~18 years, respectively, 37.06%, 30.46%, and 10.15% were seropositive. Although there was seroconversion among children which was useful for predicting the next wave, no differences in seropositivity were observed between adults and children.

• Korean Chemical Engineering Research
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• v.61 no.4
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• pp.591-597
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• 2023

Pakistan depends heavily on imports for its fuel requirements. In this experiment, catalytic pyrolysis of a blend of feedstock's consisting of date seed, wheat straw, and corn cob was conducted in a fixed bed reactor to produce oil that can be used as an alternative fuel. The main focus was to emphasize the outcome of important variables on the produced oil. The effects of operating conditions on the yield of bio-oil were studied by changing temperature (350-500 ℃), heating rate (10, 15, 20 ℃/min), and particle size (1, 2, 3 mm). Moreover, ZnO was used as a catalyst in the process. First, the thermal degradation of the feedstock was investigated by TGA and DTG analysis at 10 ℃/min of different particle sizes of 1, 2, and 3mm from a temperature range of 0 to 1000 ℃. The optimum temperature was found to be 450 ℃ for maximum degradation, and the oil yield was indicated to be around 37%. It was deduced from the experiment that the maximum production of bio-oil was 32.21% at a temperature of 450 ℃, a particle size of 1mm, and a heating rate of 15 ℃/min. When using the catalyst under the same operating conditions, the bio-oil production increased to 41.05%. The heating value of the produced oil was 22 MJ/kg compared to low-quality biodiesel oil, which could be used as a fuel.

• Asian Journal for Public Opinion Research
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• v.12 no.1
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• pp.53-74
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• 2024

The proliferation of health misinformation gained momentum amidst the outbreak of the novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). People stuck in their homes, without work pressure, regardless of health concerns towards personal, family, or peer groups, consistently demanded information. People became engaged with misinformation while attempting to find health information content. This study used the content analysis method and analyzed 1,154 misinformation stories from four prominent signatories of the International Fact-Checking Network during the pandemic. The study finds the five main categories of misinformation related to the COVID-19 pandemic. These are 1) the severity of the virus, 2) cure, prevention, and treatment, 3) myths and rumors about vaccines, 4) health authorities' guidelines, and 5) personal and social impacts. Various sub-categories supported the content characteristics of these categories. The study also analyzed the emotional valence of health misinformation. It was found that misinformation containing negative sentiments got higher engagement during the pandemic. Positive and neutral sentiment misinformation has less reach. Surprise, fear, and anger/aggressive emotions highly affected people during the pandemic; in general, people and social media users warning people to safeguard themselves from COVID-19 and creating a confusing state were found as the primary motivation behind the propagation of misinformation. The present study offers valuable perspectives on the mechanisms underlying the spread of health-related misinformation amidst the COVID-19 outbreak. It highlights the significance of discerning the accuracy of information and the feelings it conveys in minimizing the adverse effects on the well-being of public health.

• Annals of Hepato-Biliary-Pancreatic Surgery
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• v.27 no.3
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• pp.277-286
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• 2023

Backgrounds/Aims: To study histopathological changes in gall bladder mucosa in cholelithiasis patients, and analyse their relation to the number and size of gallstones. These findings were evaluated in the context of age distribution of the study population. Methods: One hundred cases of cholecystectomy were part of the study, which was conducted in collaboration with the pathology department. The time period of the study was January 2020 to June 2021. Results: Maximum cases had multiple stones (69.0%), while one third cases (31.0%) had solitary stones. While initial univariate analysis showed age (odds ratio [OR], 6.882; p = 0.043), gallstone number (OR, 9.1; p = 0.050), gallstone size (OR, 17.111; p = 0.013), and duration of symptom (OR, 34.125; p = 0.001) to be significant risk factors associated with gallbladder carcinoma, multivariate analysis found none of these variables to be significant. However, conditional multivariate analysis for the duration of symptom (p = 0.008; OR, 21.118) yielded significant p-value. With histopathological diagnoses, 5% of cases had gallbladder cancer. Conclusions: This study shed light on the rising incidence of cholelithiasis in the young population and the high rate of gallbladder carcinoma in Punjab, India. Although gall stone characteristics (size, number) and patient age appeared to be significant risk factors when their individual relation with gallbladder carcinoma was studied, multivariate analysis, could not prove that. Conditional multivariate analysis showed the duration of symptom to be the only significant risk factor associated with gallbladder carcinoma. Further research with larger sample size is needed to study the rising incidence of gallbladder carcinoma, and the risk factors associated with it.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.19 no.5
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• pp.705-712
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• 2006

Influences of urea treated corncobs (UTC) ensiled with or without different additives on ruminal characteristics, in situ digestion kinetics, nutrient digestibility and nitrogen metabolism were examined in a $5{\times}5$ Latin square design using five ruminally cannulated buffalo bulls. Five iso-caloric and iso-nitrogenous diets were formulated to contain 30% dry matter (DM) from concentrate and 70% DM from 5% UTC ensiled without any additive (U) or with 5% enzose (EN), 5% acidified molasses (AM), 5% non-acidified molasses (NM) and 5% acidified water (AW), respectively. These diets were fed to buffalo bulls at 1.5% of their body weight daily. Ruminal $NH_3$-N concentration at 3 hours (h) post feeding was significantly higher in bulls fed U, NM and AW diets, however, at 6, 9 and 12 h post feeding it was significantly higher in bulls fed EN and AM diets. Ruminal total volatile fatty acids (VFA) and acetate concentrations were significantly higher with EM and AM diets compared with other diets at 3, 6, 9 and 12 h post feeding. Ruminal pH at 6 and 9 h post feeding was higher with EN and AM diets; however; it was notably lower with these diets at 3 h post feeding. Total ruminal bacterial and cellulolytic bacterial counts were higher in bulls fed EN and AM diets than in those fed the other diets. In situ ruminal DM and NDF degradabilities and total tract digestibilities were significantly higher with UTC ensiled with enzose and acidified molasses than those ensiled without any additive or other additives. Nitrogen balance was significantly higher in bulls fed EN and AM diets than those fed U, AW and NM diets. The UTC ensiled with enzose or acidified molasses resulted in better digestibility and N utilization than those ensiled without any additive, with non-acidified molasses and acidified water in buffaloes.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.16 no.17
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• pp.7523-7527
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• 2015

Background: Pediatric acute lymphoblastic leukemia (pALL) patients at King Abdulaziz Medical City represent a pure Saudi Arabian population. ETV6-RUNX1 positive pALL patients have good prognosis as compared to ETV6-RUNX1 negative counterparts. Therefore, frequencies of these two patient groups have a huge consideration in treatment strategies of pALL in a given population. Different geographical locations have been reported to have different frequencies of ETV6-RUNX1 ranging from 10% in Southeast Asia to 30% in Australia. Aim: Therefore, the objective of this study was to establish the ETV6-RUNX1 status of Saudi Arabian pALL patients and its association with clinical parameters and early remission. Materials and Methods: Clinical parameters and ETV6-RUNX1 status (using FISH technique) of pALL patients attending the Pediatric Oncology Clinic, King Abdulaziz Medical City, Riyadh from 2006 to 2011 were studied. Comparisons between ETV6-RUNX1 positive and negative groups were accomplished using chi-square test or Fisher's exact test. All statistical analyses were performed using SAS version 9.2 (SAS Institute, Inc., Cary, NC). Results: Out of 54 patients, 33 were male and 21 were females (ratio 1.57:1). B- and T-cell lineages were found in 47 (87%) and 7 (13%) patients respectively. Only 5 (9.3%) patients were ETV6-RUNX1 positive while 49(80.7%) were ETV6-RUNX1 negative. All ETV6-RUNX1 patients (100%) were of B-cell lineage and 80% (4/5) were in the 3-7 year age group. None of the ETV6-RUNX11 patients had ${\geq}5%$ blasts (no remission) at day 14 as compared with 9% in the ETV6-RUNX1 negative group (Figure 1). Conclusions: Frequency of ETV6-RUNX1 positive patients (less than 10%) in our pALL patients is much lower than reported for most European countries, North America, Australia and Japan while it is in accordance with ETV6-RUNX1 frequencies from Egypt (11.6%), Pakistan (10%), Spain (2%) and India (5-7%). This shows ethnic differences in genetics of pALL as well as higher frequencies of ETV6-RUNX1 positive pALL mostly in more industrialized countries, probably due to some industrial pollutants or westernized lifestyle.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.13 no.10
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• pp.5257-5261
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• 2012

Background: High incidence of breast cancer and its fatal effect has reached an alarming stage across the globe, including the third world countries. Many factors have been reported to be associated with the development of breast cancer but detailed structural and functional information is missing. CA 15-3 is one of the known potential tumor marker of breast cancer; however little is known about structure and functional site of this protein. Present study aims to investigate the functional role of CA 15-3 in breast cancer, especially in development and metastasis. Material and Methods: Hundred female breast cancer patients confirmed by histopathological reports were included in the study. Their physiological characters were recorded in a performa. Enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) technique was used to estimate serum CA 15-3 level. Immunohistochemistry was done for estrogen (ER), progesterone (PR) and Her2/neu receptors expression. Results: The study revealed the details of physiological characteristics of female breast cancer. Mean age was $37.72{\pm}5.99$ and $55.05{\pm}7.28$ years and serum CA 15-3 (MUC1) level was $60.47{\pm}8.59$ and $63.17{\pm}4.58$ U/ml in pre and post-menopause respectively, and both groups of women had sedentary life style. Their receptor status especially of progesterone, estrogen and HER-2/neu were positive in 50% of premenopausal women and 65% of postmenopausal women. Conclusion: There are multiple physiological factors promoting breast cancer. High serum CA 15-3 level and hormonal imbalance of ER, PR and Her2/neu appears to be the main cause of breast cancer. It may be possible that the functional sites of these proteins may be altered which may increase the chances of metastasis in breast cancer.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• v.11 no.1
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• pp.118-124
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• 2020

Background: The poultry industry in Pakistan has flourished since the 1960s; however, there are scarce data regarding the impact of occupational exposure on the pulmonary health of farm workers in terms of years working in the industry. The objective of the present study was to assess the effect of poultry environment on the health of occupationally exposed poultry farmers in countries of warm climatic regions, such as Pakistan. This study will also show the effect of exposure to poultry facilities on the health of poultry farmers in the context of low-income countries with a relatively inadequate occupational exposure risk management. Materials and methods: The lung function capacity of 79 poultry workers was measured using a spirometer. Along with spirometry, a structured questionnaire was also administrated to obtain information about age, height, weight, smokers/nonsmokers, years of working experience, and pulmonary health of farm workers. The workers who were directly involved in the care and handling of birds in these intensive facilities were considered and divided into four groups based on their years of working experience: Group I (3-10 months), Group II (1-5 years), Group III (6-10 years), and Group IV (more than 11 years). The forced vital capacity (FVC), forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1) and the FEV1/FVC ratio were considered to identify lung function abnormalities. Statistical analysis was carried out using independent sample t test, Chi-square test, Pearson's correlation, and linear regression. Results: Based on the performed spirometry, 68 (86 %) of workers were found normal and healthy, whereas 11 (14 %) had a mild obstruction. Of the 11 workers with mild obstruction, the highest number with respect to the total was in Group IV (more than 11 years of working experience) followed by Group III and Group II. Most of the workers were found healthy, which seems to be because of the healthy survivor effect. For the independent sample t test, a significant difference was noticed between healthy and nonhealthy farmers, whereas Chi-square test showed a significant association with height, drugs, and working experience. Linear regression that was stratified by respiratory symptoms showed for workers with symptoms, regression models for all spirometric parameters (FVC, FEV1, and FEV1/FVC) have better predictive power or R square value than those of workers without symptoms. Conclusion: These findings suggest that lung function capacity was directly related to years of working experience. With increasing number of working years, symptoms of various respiratory problems enhanced in the poultry workers. It should be noted that most of the poultry workers were healthy and young, the rationale being that there is a high turnover rate in this profession. The mobility in this job and our finding of 86% of the healthy workers in the present study also proposed healthy worker survivor effect.

• Proceedings of the Korea Water Resources Association Conference
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• 2019.05a
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• pp.185-185
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• 2019

Sustaining future wheat production is challenged by anthropogenically forced climate warming and drying led by increased concentration of greenhouse gases all around the globe. Warming stresses, originating from the elevated $CO_2$ concentration, are continuously reported to have negative impacts on wheat growth and yield. Yet, elevated $CO_2$ concentration, despite being disparagingly blamed for promoting warming, is also associated with a phenomenon called $CO_2$ enrichment; in which wheat yield can improve due to the enhanced photosynthesis rates and less water loss through transpiration. The conflicting nature of climate warming and $CO_2$ enrichment and their interplay can have specific implications under different environments. It is established form the field and simulation studies that the two contrasting phenomena would act severely in their own respect under arid and semi-arid environments. Wheat is a dietary staple for masses in Pakistan. The country's wheat production system is under constant stress to produce more from irrigated agricultural lands, primarily lying under arid to semi-arid environments, to meet the rapidly growing domestic needs. This work comprehensively examines the warming impacts over wheat yield and water productivity (WP), with and without the inclusion of $CO_2$ enrichment, under semi-arid environment of Punjab which is the largest agricultural province of Pakistan. Future wheat yields and WPs were simulated by FAO developed AquaCrop model v 5.0. The model was run using the bias-correction climate change projections up to 2080 under two representative concentration pathways (RCP) scenarios: 4.5 and 8.5. Wheat yield and WPs decreased without considering the $CO_2$ enrichment effects owing to the elevated irrigation demands and accelerated evapotranspiration rates. The results suggested that $CO_2$ enrichment could help maintain the current yield and WPs levels during the 2030s (2021-2050); however, it might not withhold the negative climate warming impacts during the 2060s (2051-2080). Furthermore, 10 - 20 day backward shift in sowing dates could also help ease the constraints imposed by climate warming over wheat yields and WPs. Although, $CO_2$ enrichment showed promises to counteract the adverse climate warming impacts but the interactions between climate warming and $CO_2$ concentrations were quite uncertain and required further examination.