| 1. |
- Aziz, Maria, et al.
(författare)
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Efficient Removal of Lead and Chromium From Aqueous Media Using Selenium Based Nanocomposite Supported by Orange Peel
- 2022
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Ingår i: Frontiers in Environmental Science. - : Frontiers Media S.A.. - 2296-665X. ; 10
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- This study presents the synthesis of activated orange peel, derived from bio-waste (orange peel) and its doping with selenium nano-particles to enhance the adsorption capacity. The synthesized nanocomposite orange peel/Selenium (OP/Se) was applied as adsorbents for the removal of Lead (Pb) and Chromium (Cr) from synthetic waste water as an economical water cleaning technology. Orange peel/Selenium nanocomposite was characterized by X-Ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) and Scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Scanning electron microscopy results showed the porous structure of OP/Se nanocomposite and distinct peaks observed in XRD and FTIR spectra depicted the successful synthesis of nanocomposite. Batch experiments were conducted to figure out the effect of different parameters on adsorption of Pb and Cr by using Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy. The maximum adsorption capacity of 99.9% was achieved for both lead and chromium at acidic pH. While at temperature of 60°C the maximum adsorption of 98.3 and 95.9% was found for Pb and Cr respectively. Furthermore the experimental data was examined with Pseudo-first order, first-order and Pseudo-second order kinetic model, as well as Morris Intraparticle diffusion model where the pseudo second order was best fitted which indicated the chemisorption mechanism in adsorption process. The adsorption process followed the Langmuir isotherm model verified that OP/Se nanocomposite was found to be favorable for the process of adsorption. The adsorption thermodynamics indicate that adsorption of heavy metals ions is spontaneous (ΔG° < 0) and the adsorption increases with increase in temperature which means that reaction was endothermic in nature. This study revealed that the synthesized bio-activated nanocomposite was an efficient adsorbent material for the removal of heavy metals from waste water.
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| 2. |
- Micah, Angela E., et al.
(författare)
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Tracking development assistance for health and for COVID-19 : a review of development assistance, government, out-of-pocket, and other private spending on health for 204 countries and territories, 1990-2050
- 2021
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Ingår i: The Lancet. - : Elsevier. - 0140-6736 .- 1474-547X. ; 398:10308, s. 1317-1343
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Forskningsöversikt (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background The rapid spread of COVID-19 renewed the focus on how health systems across the globe are financed, especially during public health emergencies. Development assistance is an important source of health financing in many low-income countries, yet little is known about how much of this funding was disbursed for COVID-19. We aimed to put development assistance for health for COVID-19 in the context of broader trends in global health financing, and to estimate total health spending from 1995 to 2050 and development assistance for COVID-19 in 2020. Methods We estimated domestic health spending and development assistance for health to generate total health-sector spending estimates for 204 countries and territories. We leveraged data from the WHO Global Health Expenditure Database to produce estimates of domestic health spending. To generate estimates for development assistance for health, we relied on project-level disbursement data from the major international development agencies' online databases and annual financial statements and reports for information on income sources. To adjust our estimates for 2020 to include disbursements related to COVID-19, we extracted project data on commitments and disbursements from a broader set of databases (because not all of the data sources used to estimate the historical series extend to 2020), including the UN Office of Humanitarian Assistance Financial Tracking Service and the International Aid Transparency Initiative. We reported all the historic and future spending estimates in inflation-adjusted 2020 US$, 2020 US$ per capita, purchasing-power parity-adjusted US$ per capita, and as a proportion of gross domestic product. We used various models to generate future health spending to 2050. Findings In 2019, health spending globally reached $8. 8 trillion (95% uncertainty interval [UI] 8.7-8.8) or $1132 (1119-1143) per person. Spending on health varied within and across income groups and geographical regions. Of this total, $40.4 billion (0.5%, 95% UI 0.5-0.5) was development assistance for health provided to low-income and middle-income countries, which made up 24.6% (UI 24.0-25.1) of total spending in low-income countries. We estimate that $54.8 billion in development assistance for health was disbursed in 2020. Of this, $13.7 billion was targeted toward the COVID-19 health response. $12.3 billion was newly committed and $1.4 billion was repurposed from existing health projects. $3.1 billion (22.4%) of the funds focused on country-level coordination and $2.4 billion (17.9%) was for supply chain and logistics. Only $714.4 million (7.7%) of COVID-19 development assistance for health went to Latin America, despite this region reporting 34.3% of total recorded COVID-19 deaths in low-income or middle-income countries in 2020. Spending on health is expected to rise to $1519 (1448-1591) per person in 2050, although spending across countries is expected to remain varied. Interpretation Global health spending is expected to continue to grow, but remain unequally distributed between countries. We estimate that development organisations substantially increased the amount of development assistance for health provided in 2020. Continued efforts are needed to raise sufficient resources to mitigate the pandemic for the most vulnerable, and to help curtail the pandemic for all. Copyright (C) 2021 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd.
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| 3. |
- Nawaz, Sadia, et al.
(författare)
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Report of a recurrent mutation in ARS (component B) gene with severe Mal de Meleda in a large consanguineous Pakistani family
- 2011
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Ingår i: Pakistan journal of medical sciences print. - 1682-024X .- 1681-715X. ; 27:3, s. 686-689
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Objective: To characterize the disease causing mutation in a large consanguineous Pakistani family with severe Mat de Meleda (MDM) or keratosis palmoplantaris transgrediens, a rare autosomal recessive skin disorder. Methodology: Single nucleotide polymorphism (SNPs) genotyping was performed using the Gene Chip Mapping 250K array (Affymetrix). Homozygosity mapping and sorting of genomic regions were performed with dedicated software called AutoSNPa. Selected regions were further investigated by genotyping with microsatellite markers derived from known and novel pOlymorphic repeats. Two-point LOD score calculation was performed by using the MLINK of Fast link computer package. All three coding exons of ARS (component B) gene were amplified by PCR and sequenced. Conclusion: Sequencing of all the coding exons of ARS (component B) gene in the affected individuals revealed a recurrent missense mutation in exon 3 at base pair 256 from Guanine to Alanine (256G>A) and as a result the amino acid Glycine is replaced by Arginine at position 86 (G86R). This finding will facilitate control of affected MDM births in the Pakistani families.
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| 4. |
- Raykova, Doroteya, et al.
(författare)
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Autosomal Recessive Transmission of a Rare KRT74 Variant Causes Hair and Nail Ectodermal Dysplasia : Allelism with Dominant Woolly Hair/Hypotrichosis
- 2014
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Ingår i: PLOS ONE. - : Public Library of Science (PLoS). - 1932-6203. ; 9:4, s. e93607-
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Pure hair and nail ectodermal dysplasia (PHNED) comprises a heterogeneous group of rare heritable disorders characterized by brittle hair, hypotrichosis, onychodystrophy and micronychia. Autosomal recessive (AR) PHNED has previously been associated with mutations in either KRT85 or HOXC13 on chromosome 12p11.1-q14.3. We investigated a consanguineous Pakistani family with AR PHNED linked to the keratin gene cluster on 12p11.1 but without detectable mutations in KRT85 and HOXC13. Whole exome sequencing of affected individuals revealed homozygosity for a rare c.821T> C variant (p.Phe274Ser) in the KRT74 gene that segregates AR PHNED in the family. The transition alters the highly conserved Phe274 residue in the coil 1B domain required for long-range dimerization of keratins, suggesting that the mutation compromises the stability of intermediate filaments. Immunohistochemical (IHC) analyses confirmed a strong keratin-74 expression in the nail matrix, the nail bed and the hyponychium of mouse distal digits, as well as in normal human hair follicles. Furthermore, hair follicles and epidermis of an affected family member stained negative for Keratin-74 suggesting a loss of function mechanism mediated by the Phe274Ser substitution. Our observations show for the first time that homozygosity for a KRT74 missense variant may be associated with AR PHNED. Heterozygous KRT74 mutations have previously been associated with autosomal dominant woolly hair/ hypotrichosis simplex (ADWH). Thus, our findings expand the phenotypic spectrum associated with KRT74 mutations and imply that a subtype of AR PHNED is allelic with ADWH.
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| 5. |
- Tanveer, M. K., et al.
(författare)
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Prevalence and chemo-therapeutical investigations of gastrointestinal nematodes in domestic pigeons in Lahore, Pakistan
- 2011
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Ingår i: Tropical Biomedicine. - 0127-5720. ; 28:1, s. 102-110
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The prevalence of gastrointestinal nematodes was studied in 143 (80 male and 63 female) domestic pigeons. Faecal samples were collected to determine the gastrointestinal nematodes of domestic pigeons through qualitative and quantitative faecal examinations. A total of 48 (male 33 and 25 female) naturally infected domestic pigeons were divided into G(1) (albendzdole) and G(2) (fenbendazole) treatment-groups along with one control group (C). The overall prevalence of gastrointestinal nematodes was 40.5% (58/143) in domestic pigeons. Likewise, the prevalence of gastrointestinal nematodes in males and females was found 41.3% (33/58) and 39.7% (25/58) respectively. The overall prevalence of Capillaria obsignata and Ascaridia columbae was found to be 67.2% and 32.8%, respectively. The prevalence of C. obsignata and A. columbae in males was 72.7% (24/33) and 27.8% (9/33) and in females was 60% (15/25) and 40% (10/25), respectively. There was no significant sex related difference seen in the prevalence of C. obsignata (p>0.56) and A. columbae (p>0.40) in domestic pigeons, respectively. The overall efficacy of albendazole and fenbendazole was calculated to be 66% and 71%. A remarkable significant difference (p<0.05) was observed in eggs per gram before and after treatment in both G(1) and G(2) treated-groups. The efficacy of fenbendazole was found to be more significant (p<0.02) than albendazole.
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| 6. |
- Afzal, Wasif, et al.
(författare)
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On using grey literature and google scholar in systematic literature reviews in software engineering
- 2020
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Ingår i: IEEE Access. - United States. - 2169-3536. ; 8, s. 36226-36243
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- © 2013 IEEE. Context: The inclusion of grey literature (GL) is important to remove publication bias while gathering available evidence regarding a certain topic. The number of systematic literature reviews (SLRs) in Software Engineering (SE) is increasing but we do not know about the extent of GL usage in these SLRs. Moreover, Google Scholar is rapidly becoming a search engine of choice for many researchers but the extent to which it can find the primary studies is not known. Objective: This tertiary study is an attempt to i) measure the usage of GL in SLRs in SE. Furthermore this study proposes strategies for categorizing GL and a quality checklist to use for GL in future SLRs; ii) explore if it is feasible to use only Google Scholar for finding scholarly articles for academic research. Method: We have conducted a systematic mapping study to measure the extent of GL usage in SE SLRs as well as to measure the feasibility of finding primary studies using Google Scholar. Results and conclusions: a) Grey Literature: 76.09% SLRs (105 out of 138) in SE have included one or more GL studies as primary studies. Among total primary studies across all SLRs (6307), 582 are classified as GL, making the frequency of GL citing as 9.23%. The intensity of GL use indicate that each SLR contains 5 primary studies on average (total intensity of GL use being 5.54). The ranking of GL tells us that conference papers are the most used form 43.3% followed by technical reports 28.52%. Universities, research institutes, labs and scientific societies together make up 67.7% of GL used, indicating that these are useful sources for searching GL. We additionally propose strategies for categorizing GL and criteria for evaluating GL quality, which can become a basis for more detailed guidelines for including GL in future SLRs. b) Google Scholar Results: The results show that Google Scholar was able to retrieve 96% of primary studies of these SLRs. Most of the primary studies that were not found using Google Scholar were from grey sources.
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| 7. |
- Axfors, Cathrine, et al.
(författare)
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Mortality outcomes with hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine in COVID-19 from an international collaborative meta-analysis of randomized trials
- 2021
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Ingår i: Nature Communications. - : Springer Nature. - 2041-1723. ; 12:1
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Substantial COVID-19 research investment has been allocated to randomized clinical trials (RCTs) on hydroxychloroquine/chloroquine, which currently face recruitment challenges or early discontinuation. We aim to estimate the effects of hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine on survival in COVID-19 from all currently available RCT evidence, published and unpublished. We present a rapid meta-analysis of ongoing, completed, or discontinued RCTs on hydroxychloroquine or chloroquine treatment for any COVID-19 patients (protocol: https://osf.io/QESV4/). We systematically identified unpublished RCTs (ClinicalTrials.gov, WHO International Clinical Trials Registry Platform, Cochrane COVID-registry up to June 11, 2020), and published RCTs (PubMed, medRxiv and bioRxiv up to October 16, 2020). All-cause mortality has been extracted (publications/preprints) or requested from investigators and combined in random-effects meta-analyses, calculating odds ratios (ORs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs), separately for hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine. Prespecified subgroup analyses include patient setting, diagnostic confirmation, control type, and publication status. Sixty-three trials were potentially eligible. We included 14 unpublished trials (1308 patients) and 14 publications/preprints (9011 patients). Results for hydroxychloroquine are dominated by RECOVERY and WHO SOLIDARITY, two highly pragmatic trials, which employed relatively high doses and included 4716 and 1853 patients, respectively (67% of the total sample size). The combined OR on all-cause mortality for hydroxychloroquine is 1.11 (95% CI: 1.02, 1.20; I-2=0%; 26 trials; 10,012 patients) and for chloroquine 1.77 (95%CI: 0.15, 21.13, I-2=0%; 4 trials; 307 patients). We identified no subgroup effects. We found that treatment with hydroxychloroquine is associated with increased mortality in COVID-19 patients, and there is no benefit of chloroquine. Findings have unclear generalizability to outpatients, children, pregnant women, and people with comorbidities. Hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine have been investigated as a potential treatment for Covid-19 in several clinical trials. Here the authors report a meta-analysis of published and unpublished trials, and show that treatment with hydroxychloroquine for patients with Covid-19 was associated with increased mortality, and there was no benefit from chloroquine.
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| 8. |
- Azhar, Aysha, et al.
(författare)
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A novel mutation in Lysophosphatidic Acid Receptor 6 gene in autosomal recessive hypotrichosis and evidence for a founder effect
- 2012
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Ingår i: EJD. European journal of dermatology. - : John Libbey Eurotext. - 1167-1122 .- 1952-4013. ; 22:4, s. 464-466
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Mutations in the lysophosphatidic acid receptor 6 (LPAR6) gene cause localized autosomal recessive hypotrichosis. We report six consanguineous families from Pakistan with segregating hypotrichosis localized to the scalp. Genetic investigation using polymorphic microsatellite markers revealed homozygosity spanning the LAH3 locus on chromosome 13 in affected individuals of all six families. Sequence analysis of the LPAR6 gene showed a novel insertion resulting in a frameshift and a premature termination (p.I194FfsX11) in affected members of one family. In the remaining five families we identified a previously described missense mutation (p.G146R) in a homozygous state in affected members. The closest flanking polymorphic marker showed an identical allele size in the five families segregating with the p. G146R mutation, supporting a single origin of this variation. These findings extend the spectrum of known LPAR6 mutations and suggest a founder effect of the p. G146R mutation in the Pakistani population.
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| 9. |
- Azhar, Muhammad Rizwan, et al.
(författare)
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Electrodeposited Metal Organic Framework toward Excellent Hydrogen Sensing in an Ionic Liquid
- 2020
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Ingår i: ACS APPLIED NANO MATERIALS. - : American Chemical Society (ACS). - 2574-0970. ; 3:5, s. 4376-4385
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The synthesis of thin films of metal organic frame-works (MOFs) is a rapidly growing area owing to the use of these highly functional nanomaterials for various applications. In this study, a thin layer of a typical MOF, copper benzene tricarboxylate (HKUST-1), was synthesized by electrodeposition on a glassy carbon (GC) electrode using a potential-step chronoamperometric technique at room temperature. Various characterization techniques including Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) were used to verify the successful deposition of the MOF film and its structure. The electrodeposited MOF crystals showed cuboctahedral morphology with macropores. The MOF modified electrode was applied for hydrogen gas sensing in a room-temperature ionic liquid (RTIL) for the first time. A 4-fold increase in current was observed compared to a precious metal, that is, platinum, and the electrode exhibited a significant catalytic activity compared to the bare GC electrode, making it a very promising low cost material for hydrogen gas sensing.
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| 10. |
- Azhar, Muhammad Waqar, 1986, et al.
(författare)
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Approx-RM: Reducing Energy on Heterogeneous Multicore processors under Accuracy and Timing Constraints
- 2023
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Ingår i: Transactions on Architecture and Code Optimization. - 1544-3973 .- 1544-3566. ; 20:3
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Reducing energy consumption while providing performance and quality guarantees is crucial for computing systems ranging from battery-powered embedded systems to data centers. This paper considers approximate iterative applications executing on heterogeneous multi-core platforms under user-specified performance and quality targets. We note that allowing a slight yet bounded relaxation in solution quality can considerably reduce the required iteration count and thereby can save significant amounts of energy. To this end, this paper proposes Approx-RM, a resource management scheme that reduces energy expenditure while guaranteeing a specified performance as well as accuracy target. Approx-RMpredicts the number of iterations required to meet the relaxed accuracy target at run-time. The time saved generates execution-time slack, which allows Approx-RM to allocate fewer resources on a heterogeneous multi-core platform in terms of DVFS, core type, and core count to save energy while meeting the performance target. Approx-RMcontributes with lightweight methods for predicting the iteration count needed to meet the accuracy target and the resources needed to meet the performance target. Approx-RM uses the aforementioned predictions to allocate just enoughresources to comply with quality of service constraints to save energy. Our evaluation shows energy savings of 31.6%, on average, compared to Race-to-idle when the accuracy is only relaxed by 1%. Approx-RM incurs timing and energy overheads of less than 0.1%.
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