Assessment of Heavy Metals in Fodder Crops Leaves Being Raised with Hudiara Drain Water (Punjab-Pakistan)

The present study was designed with the objectives to assess heavy metals' concentration in Hudiara drain water and investigation of the concentration of heavy metals in different fodder crops grown with this drain water and the determination of heavy metals in milk of cattles grazing these contaminated fodder crops. A survey was conducted and ten different sites were selected along Hudiara drain after entering Lahore. Five water samples and three samples of crops from a each site. The samples were processed, stored and then analyzed for heavy metals like Lead, Cadmium, Chromium, Nickel, Zinc, Iron, Copper and manganese. Lead pollution was not found, whereas, Cadmium, Chromium and Nickel contamination was shown in Hudiara drain water. Similarly, Zinc pollution was not found in Hudiara drain water regarding irrigation and Iron, Copper and Manganese contamination was present in Water samples. Most of the fodder crops samples were contaminated with all heavy metals having levels of heavy metals above the Recommended Concentrations. It is noted that Pb+2 of Hudiara drain and irrigated Pb+2 of fodder crop were in positive correlation and negative correlation between Pb+2 and Cr+2, Ni+2, Cu+2. There is positive correlation between Cd+2 and Cr+2, Fe+2 and also negative correlation between Cd+2 and Pb+2, Cd+2, Ni+2, Zn+2, Cu+2, Mn+2 of fodder crop irrigated with Hudiara drain

Characteristics of chicken slaughterhouse wastewater

The chicken slaughterhouse wastewater is a class of wastewater, which is heavily polluted with organic matters including proteins, blood residues, fats and lard. Therefore, the direct discharged of untreated chicken slaughterhouse wastewater into the environment is associated with the occurrence of eutrophication phenomenon. In the present study, the characteristics of chicken slaughterhouse wastewater were investigated to ascertain the role of these wastes in the adverse effect on the environment and natural water system. The parameter tested included biological oxygen demand (BOD), chemical oxygen demand (COD), total suspended solid (TSS), total nitrogen (TN), total organic carbon (TOC), orthophosphate (PO4 3-), temperature and pH. The results revealed available high concentrations of BOD (1,341 - 1,821 ± 242.7 mg L1 ), COD (3,154.19 - 7,719.3 ± 2,282.69 mg L-1), TSS (377.67 - 5,462 ± 2,696.1 mg L-1) which have exceeded the EQA1974 standard limits for disposal of wastewater into the environment. The concentrations of TN (162.6 -563.8 ± 215 mg L-1) and PO4 3- (7.047 - 17.111 ± 4.25 mg L-1) were within the range required for microalgae growth which confirm their role in the occurrence of eutrophication phenomenon. It can be concluded that the direct discharge of chicken slaughterhouse wastewater contributes negatively on the environmental biodiversity and thus they should be subjected for an effective treated before the final disposal

Supervised Learning Based Classification of Cardiovascular Diseases

Detecting cardiovascular disease (CVD) in the early stage is a difficult and crucial process. The objective of this study is to test the capability of machine learning (ML) methods for accurately diagnosing the CVD outcomes. For this study, the efficiency and effectiveness of four well renowned ML classifiers, i.e., support vector machine (SVM), logistics regression (LR), naive Bayes (NB), and decision tree (J48), are measured in terms of precision, sensitivity, specificity, accuracy, Matthews correlation coefficient (MCC), correctly and incorrectly classified instances, and model building time. These ML classifiers are applied on publically available CVD dataset. In accordance with the measured result, J48 performs better than its competitor classifiers, providing significant assistance to the cardiologists

Board demographic, structural diversity, and eco-innovation: International evidence

Research question/issue: We examine whether and how board diversity, measured by demographics (i.e., board gender, cultural diversity, tenure, social capital, expertise, and age) and structural diversity (i.e., board independence, size, board seat accumulation-chair, board compensation, and board meeting frequency), influence corporate eco-innovation. Research findings/insights: Utilizing a global sample of publicly listed companies for the period 2004–2019, we find that a one-standard deviation increase in demographic and structural diversity translates into 4.66% and 7.11% higher corporate eco-innovation, respectively. Furthermore, we discover that demographic and structural diversity promotes eco-innovation by offsetting the negative effects of political risk. In an additional analysis, we find evidence that, in the absence of greater external monitoring (institutional investors and analyst following), organizations benefit more from the monitoring role of board diversity. Theoretical/academic implications: By adopting the concept of “bundling the governance mechanisms,” our study adds to the ongoing discourse about the function of board diversity in addressing corporate climate footprints by offering original evidence that board diversity heterogeneity—demographic and structural diversity—matters for corporate eco-innovation. Practitioner/policy implications: Given the increasing pressure on companies to manage their environmental impacts and carbon footprints, our paper has significant ramifications for those involved in promoting eco-innovative business practices, such as policymakers, regulators, and practitioners

Role of Modern Technologies in Tissue Engineering

Nanotechnology is a rapidly developing field with numerous applications spread in different fields, especially medicine. It plays a role in tissue engineering, tissue regeneration, drug delivery, and regenerative medicine. The present brief review summarizes the role of nanotechnology in tissue engineering and tissue regeneration. The CRISPR/Cas9 system in tissue engineering is playing an important role, as CRISPR is a revolutionary genome-editing technology that is being used for tissue engineering where it emphasizes to address tissue architecture formation, immune response circumvention, cell differentiation, and disease model development. Moreover, the development and research expenses for tissue engineering and regenerative medicine are too high and there is a need for making these systems cost-effective. Thus, the advanced approach of applications of nanotechnology to regenerative medicine and CRISPR will definitely revolutionize the basis of treatment, prevention, and diagnosis of various diseases

Bi li COVID-19 mogla biti hemoglobinopatija?

The world is struggling to deal with the corona pandemic. Effective therapies are still awaited due to the lack of understanding of the pathophysiological mechanism of the disease. Bearing recent research and clinical observations in mind, the authors propose a novel physiological mechanism of COVID-19 and explain development of COVID-19 related acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) secondary to COVID-19 related hemoglobinopathy. It is a consistent observation that the radiological picture of COVID-19 related ARDS bears more resemblance to high altitude pulmonary edema (HAPE) than typical ARDS. There has been great controversy regarding this proposed similarity. The main argument from those objecting to this comparison is that the etiology is hypoxia in case of HAPE and inflammation in COVID-19 related ARDS. We propose that considering the recent bioinformatics prediction models, COVID-19 might first infect red blood cells via CD147 and cause hemoglobin damage. The resulting hypoxemia may cause pulmonary hypoxic vasoconstriction leading to HAPE-like lung lesions. The now introduced alveolar hypoxia further exaggerates hemoglobinopathy hypoxemia leading to a vicious cycle. In this review, the authors recommend laboratory experiments to prove these hypotheses. The proposed physiological mechanism has significant therapeutic implications. If proven, the authors suggest the use of exchange transfusion as adjunct therapy and development of anti-CD147 drugs.Cijeli svijet se bori kako bi svladao pandemiju koronavirusa. Patofiziološki mehanizam ove bolesti i dalje je nepoznat, što znači da se učinkoviti lijekovi tek očekuju. Vodeći računa o novijim istraživanjima i kliničkim zapažanjima, autori predlažu novi fiziološki mehanizam bolesti COVID-19 i objašnjavaju razvoj sindroma akutnog respiracijskog distresa (ARDS) nakon hemoglobinopatije povezane s COVID-19. Dosljedno se bilježi da radiološka slika hemoglobinopatije povezane s COVID-19 ima više sličnosti s visinskim plućnim edemom (HAPE) negoli s tipičnim ARDS. Ova sličnost izaziva velika proturječja. Glavni argument onih koji se protive ovoj usporedbi jest da je etiologija kod HAPE hipoksija, a kod ARDS povezanog s COVID-19 je to upala. Mi pretpostavljamo da bi, uzimajući u obzir novije bioinformatičke modele predviđanja, COVID-19 mogao najprije zaraziti eritrocite putem CD147 i uzrokovati oštećenje hemoglobina. Tako nastala hipoksemija može uzrokovati plućnu hipoksičnu vazokonstrikciju, što onda dovodi do oštećenja pluća sličnih HAPE. Tako uvedena alveolarna hipoksija dalje pogoršava hipoksemiju hemoglobinopatije i stvara se začarani krug. U ovom pregledu autori preporučuju laboratorijske eksperimente kako bi se dokazale ove hipoteze. Predloženi fiziološki mehanizam ima značajne terapijske implikacije. Ako se dokaže, autori predlažu primjenu izmjenske transfuzije kao dopunske terapije i razvoj lijekova protiv CD147

Aplikasi berbagai jenis bahan organik terhadap pertumbuhan dan hasil tanaman mentimun (Cucumis sativus L.)

Pengunaan bahan organik memiliki peranan penting untuk memperbaiki sifat fisik, biologi, maupun kimia tanah yang akan mempengaruhi pertumbuhan tanaman mentimun. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mengkaji dan mengungkap pengaruh aplikasi beberapa jenis bahan organik terhadap pertumbuhan dan hasil tanaman mentimun. Penelitian ini menggunakan metode pot yang disusun menggunakan Rancangan Acak Kelompok Lengkap (RKLT) dengan faktor tunggal. Jenis bahan organik digunakan sebagai faktor dalam penelitian ini yang terdiri atas kontrol - tanpa bahan organik, kompos jerami padi, kompos sekam bakar, kompos seresah daun, dan kompos kotoran sapi. Aplikasi masing-masing jenis bahan organik menggunakan dosis yang sama yakni 3 ton/ha. Pengulangan yang digunakan pada penelitian ini yaitu sebanyak empat kali dengan sampel pada masing-masing perlakuan sebanyak lima tanaman. Berdasarkan hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa aplikasi bahan organik menyebabkan tanaman mengalami pertumbuhan panjang dan jumlah daun pada setiap minggunya. Lebih lanjut, aplikasi bahan organik juga berpengaruh nyata terhadap panjang akar saat 2 MST dan bobot buah per tanaman. Aplikasi kompos jerami padi dan kompos kotoran sapi menghasilkan akar terpanjang saat tanaman berumur 2 MST dan bobot buah per tanaman tertinggi, sedangkan kontrol dan aplikasi kompos seresah daun menghasilkan akar terpendek saat 2 MST dan bobot buah per tanaman terendah

Frequency of Myocardial Infarction in Type 2 Diabetic Patients with Peripheral Arterial Disease

Objective:  This study aimed at determining the frequency of MI in diabetic Pakistani patients with PAD in a Pakistani tertiary care hospital. Methodology: A cross-sectional study carried out at Diabetes Research Centre, Nishtar Hospital Multan for six months from July 10, 2018 to January 09, 2019. The study was approved from the institutional ethics committee. As per study inclusion/exclusion criteria, the patients suffering from DM with PAD were enrolled, after signing the study informed consent. Each patient underwent electrocardiogram (ECG) recording under PI supervision. Patients having pathological Q waves (0.04 seconds wide and 2 mm deep) in two relevant leads were labeled as having myocardial infarction. Results: A total of 290 patients (men: 56.2% and women: 43.8%) were included in the study. Mean age of the patients was 51.29 ± 8.54 years with age range of 40-85 years. There were 71 (24%) smokers and 219 (76%) non-smoker patients. Fifty percent of the total patients were obese. Mean duration of diabetes was 7.39 ± 0.36 years whereas mean duration of peripheral arterial disease was 1.604 ± 0.005 years. The frequency of MI among diabetic patients with PAD was 14.8%. Conclusion: Prevalence of 14.8% MI in the present study alarms to diagnose and treat diabetes and PAD patients at earlier stage

The Relationship between Ethical Leadership and Whistle-Blowing: The Moderating Effects of Job Security and Affective Commitment

The present study examines the positive impact of ethical leadership on whistleblowing. The study further investigates the role of job security and affective commitment as moderators on the relationship between ethical leadership and whistleblowing. This study examined the fundamental moderating mechanism, which is unique because no such mechanism has been investigated in previous research. A cross-sectional representative sample of 285 Federal Government employees from various Ministries/Divisions and the Benazir Income Support Programme, a corporate body and a renowned social safety net under the Federal Government of Pakistan, was collected. Of the 285 questionnaires, only 241 were deemed useable and were analyzed. A statistical analysis was carried out through correlation, descriptive, and moderated regression analysis. The results supported the first three hypotheses that ethical leadership and whistleblowing had a positive relationship. Furthermore, job security moderated the positive relationship between ethical leadership and whistleblowing, such that the relationship is stronger for employees with high job security and weaker for employees with low job security. Affective commitment also moderated the relationship directly meaning that the relationship is stronger when the affective commitment is strong and weaker when it is weak. Discussion, implications, limitations, and future directions have been suggested in accordance with the results of the study

The method of shariah-compliance gold investment : conceptual research / Muhammad Arif Azhan Abdul Malik

Gold investment is one of the tremendous investment because investing in gold grant the society more than just economic in terms of monetary worth, people are more intense on possessing gold as it is treasured as a display and storage of culture and greed. In Malaysia there are Islamic banks that carry out shariah-compliant gold investments. This study examines the shariah-compliant gold investment in Islamic concepts. Data and information obtained through documentation method are then analyzed using inductive and deductive methods with gold transaction theory according to an Islamic economic perspective. The study wil elaborate about the elements that needed to be comply in the investment for acquiring the name of shariah-compliance investment. The result shows that almost all implementation of Islamic banking gold investment products are in compliance with shariah. The methods that are been use in the gold investment the gold transaction (al-sarf) and debt (qard)