A staggering rise of HIV cases in Pakistan

In the last decade,Pakistan has experienced multidemics of HIV in key populations,namely:injecting drug users,male sex with male,female sex workers,transgender sex workers,and transgenders.According to recent reports,in Pakistan,210000 people with HIV accounts for less than 0.2%of the general population.

Metric Identification of Vertices in Polygonal Cacti

The distance between two vertices u and v in a connected graph G is the number of edges lying in a shortest path(geodesic)between them.A vertex x of G performs the metric identification for a pair(u,v)of vertices in G if and only if the equality between the distances of u and v with x implies that u=v(That is,the distance between u and x is different from the distance between v and x).The minimum number of vertices performing the metric identification for every pair of vertices in G defines themetric dimension of G.In this paper,we performthemetric identification of vertices in two types of polygonal cacti:chain polygonal cactus and star polygonal cactus.

PoIR: A Node Selection Mechanism in Reputation-Based Blockchain Consensus Using Bidirectional LSTM Regression Model

This research presents a reputation-based blockchain consensus mechanism called Proof of Intelligent Reputation(PoIR)as an alternative to traditional Proof of Work(PoW).PoIR addresses the limitations of existing reputationbased consensus mechanisms by proposing a more decentralized and fair node selection process.The proposed PoIR consensus combines Bidirectional Long Short-Term Memory(BiLSTM)with the Network Entity Reputation Database(NERD)to generate reputation scores for network entities and select authoritative nodes.NERD records network entity profiles based on various sources,i.e.,Warden,Blacklists,DShield,AlienVault Open Threat Exchange(OTX),and MISP(Malware Information Sharing Platform).It summarizes these profile records into a reputation score value.The PoIR consensus mechanism utilizes these reputation scores to select authoritative nodes.The evaluation demonstrates that PoIR exhibits higher centralization resistance than PoS and PoW.Authoritative nodes were selected fairly during the 1000-block proposal round,ensuring a more decentralized blockchain ecosystem.In contrast,malicious nodes successfully monopolized 58%and 32%of transaction processes in PoS and PoW,respectively,but failed to do so in PoIR.The findings also indicate that PoIR offers efficient transaction times of 12 s,outperforms reputation-based consensus such as PoW,and is comparable to reputation-based consensus such as PoS.Furthermore,the model evaluation shows that BiLSTM outperforms other Recurrent Neural Network models,i.e.,BiGRU(Bidirectional Gated Recurrent Unit),UniLSTM(Unidirectional Long Short-Term Memory),and UniGRU(Unidirectional Gated Recurrent Unit)with 0.022 Root Mean Squared Error(RMSE).This study concludes that the PoIR consensus mechanism is more resistant to centralization than PoS and PoW.Integrating BiLSTM and NERD enhances the fairness and efficiency of blockchain applications.

A computational simulation study for techno-economic comparison of conventional and stripping gas methods for natural gas dehydration

In the present work,the conventional natural gas dehydration method(CDM)and stripping gas method(SGM)are technically and economically analyzed,utilizing Aspen HYSYS and Aspen Process Economic Analyzer(APEA),respectively.To optimize the CDM and SGM,the sensitivities of the water content of dry gas,reboiler duty and raw material loss are analyzed against solvent rate and stripping gas rate.The optimized processes are set to achieve a targeted value of water content in dry gas and analyzed at optimized point.The analysis shows that SGM gives 46%lower TEG feed rate,42%lower reboiler duty and 99.97%pure regenerated TEG.Moreover,economic analysis reveals that SGM has 38%lower annual operating cost compared to CDM.According to results,from both technical and economic point of view,SGM is more feasible for natural gas dehydration compared to CDM.

Selective conversion of N_(2) to NH_(3) on highly dispersed RuO_(2) using amphiphilic ionic liquid-anchored fibrous carbon structure

Ammonia (NH_(3)) plays a key role in the agricultural fertilizer and commodity chemical industries and is useful for exploring hydrogen storage carriers.The electrochemical nitrogen reduction reaction (NRR) is receiving attention as an environmentally sustainable NH_(3) synthesis replacement for the traditional Haber–Bosch process owing to its near ambient reaction conditions (<100℃ and 1 atm).However,its NH_(3) yield and faradaic efficiency are extremely low because of the sluggish kinetics of N≡N bond dissociation and the hindrance from competitive hydrogen evolution.To overcome these challenges,we herein introduce a dual-functionalized ionic liquid (1-(4-hydroxybutyl)-3-methylimidazolium hydroxide[HOBIM]OH) for a highly dispersed ruthenium oxide electrocatalyst to achieve a biased NRR.The observed uniform distribution of RuO_(2) on the carbon fiber and increase in the surface area for N_(2) adsorption by limiting proton access can be attributed to the presence of imidazolium ions.Moreover,extensive N_(2) adsorption contributes to enhanced NRR selectivity with an NH_(3) yield of 3.0×10^(-10)mol cm^(-2)s^(-1)(91.8μg h^(-1)mg^(-1)) and a faradaic efficiency of 2.2%at-0.20 V_(RHE).We expect our observations to provide new insights into the design of effective electrode structures for electrochemical NH;synthesis.

Impact of temperature on yield and related traits in cotton genotypes

Cotton growth and development is influenced by various uncontrollable environmental conditions. Temperature variations in the field can be created by planting at different dates. The objective of the present study was to evaluate the effect of planting dates and thermal temperatures（growing degree days） on yield of 4 cotton genotypes, viz., CIM-598, CIM-599, CIM-602 and Ali Akbar-703. Plants were subjected to 6 planting dates during 2013 and 2014 in a trial conducted in randomized complete block design with four replications. For boll number, boll weight and seed cotton yield, cotton genotypes exhibited significant differences, CIM-599 produced the highest seed cotton yield of 2 062 kg ha^（–1） on account of maximum boll number and boll weight. The highest seed cotton yield was recorded in planting dates from 15 th April to 1st May whereas early and delayed planting reduced the yield due to less accumulation of heat units. Regression analysis revealed that increase of one unit（15 days） from early to optimum date（15th March to 15 th April） increased yield by 93.58 kg ha^–1. Delay in planting also decreased the seed cotton yield with the same ratio. Thus it is concluded that cotton must be sown from 15 th April to 1st May to have good productivity in this kind of environment.

Evaluation of different formulations of IGRs against Aedes albopictus and Culex quinquefasciatus(Diptera:Culicidae)

Objective: To test the relative efficacy of pyriproxyfen and methoprene on mortality,deformity, inhibition and emergence to adult stages of Culex quinquefasciatus and Aedes albopictus.Methods: Serial dilutions(0.01–0.05 mg/L) of methoprene, pyriproxyfen 0.5 water dispersible granules(WDG) and pyriproxyfen 1.0 WDG were used to assess mortality and inhibition of 3rd instar larvae of Aedes albopictus and Culex quinquefasciatus. Each concentration and control was replicated four times in completely randomized design.Data on larval mortality, growth inhibition, deformities and adult's emergence was recorded weekly. On the basis of best comparative performance, the efficacy of pyriproxyfen 1.0 WDG at 0.1 g/m3 was also tested in the field by collecting treated water samples monthly for 1–6 months after field application. Twenty five 3rd instar larvae of Aedes and Culex spp. of the same cohorts were used for bioassays and compared with larvae in control cups containing 1 L of untreated tap water.Results: Results revealed variations in fatality of different insect growth regulators(IGRs) to the 3rd instar larvae of Culex and Aedes mosquitoes. Among the IGRs, pyriproxyfen 1.0 WDG was found best that exhibited significantly high emergence inhibition against Culex and Aedes spp. Based on the results, the IGRs were classified in terms of the tested parameters in order of pyriproxyfen 1.0 WDG > pyriproxyfen 0.5WDG > methoprene. In case of field studies, pyriproxyfen 1.0 WDG, pool data of the entire target treated sites showed minimum adult emergence from water sampled of habitats treated with 0.1 g/m3 of pyriproxyfen 1.0 WDG.Conclusions: It is thus concluded that IGRs can be utilized as environment friendly control measures for Culex and Aedes spp. of mosquitoes on small and large scale. This will reduce the use of conventional insecticides by the public health authorities and help in reducing selection pressure of insecticides.

The outbreak of dengue during the COVID-19 pandemic in Pakistan:The emergence of overlapping crises

COVID-19 pandemic has become a serious public health crisis for developed and developing countries around the world.As of February 17,2022,over 420 million cases including 5.8 million deaths have been reported across the globe[1].The first case of COVID-19 in Pakistan was detected on February 26,2020;since then,the toll of confirmed COVID-19 cases reached 1491423 including 29877 deaths as of February 17,2022[1].

A looming twindemic of COVID-19 and dengue on post-flood scenario in the developing countries

Pakistan has recently faced a disastrous and lethal flooding across the country,affecting 33 million people and 1400 healthcare facilities,putting further strain on the nation's fragile healthcare system.The country faces widespread infectious diseases including dengue and COVID-19[1].To date,SARS-CoV-2 has caused about 6.53 million deaths and spread globally,infecting about 612 million people.Throughout the developing world,infection rate is particularly high in Pakistan,causing 30606 deaths so far[2].As of September 2022,healthcare authorities claimed a continued rise in dengue cases due to heavy flood in the country.Till date,a total of 14173 dengue cases have been reported,and the highest number of cases was documented in Sindh province(5203),followed by Khyber Pakhtunkhwa(4538),Punjab(3101),and Islamabad with 1331[3].

TGA-DSC: A Screening Tool for the Evaluation of Hydrocracking Catalyst Performance

DSC-TGA was used for screening of commercially available and synthesized catalyst for the degradation of polypropylene (PP). In this study, all the runs were performed with 50% load of the catalyst and the results were compared with those of PP + 50% pure silica having no catalytic activity. The degradation behavior of PP using catalyst Zeolyst-713 exhibited much higher degradation activity among the other catalysts used in this study. Moreover, it contributed to lowering of initial stage temperature showing a shape-selective effect. DSC-TGA tools such as Ton, Tmax, T99%, activation energy, enthalpy change in the process and coke content were used for screening. It was concluded that the pore construction and unique acid properties of the Zeolyst-713 as well as proper reaction temperatures were significant influential factors to fully exert this effect. In this work, kinetics of catalytic thermogravimetric degradation of PP used for domestic purposes was investigated using Alumino-silicate catalyst. Zeolyst-713 was observed to lower activation energy and enhances degradation activity in comparison with thermal degradation without a catalyst.

Catalytic Reduction of Coomassie Brilliant Blue R-250 by Silver Nanomagnetic Clusters

The research work represents the synthesis of silver nanoparticles(AgNPs)coated on magnetic iron oxide nanoparticles by chemical reduction and co-precipitation method,respectively.AgNPs were coated on magnetic ironoxide nanoparticles to form Ag@Fe3O4.AgNPs were characterized by UV-Visible spectroscopy.The magnetic nanoparticles(MNPs)and magnetic nanoclusters(MNC)were characterized by Fourier transform infra red(FTIR)spectroscopy.Bulk density,moisture content and ash content were also determined.These MNCs were used for the reduction of 4-nitrophenol(4-NP)and coomassie Brilliant Blue R-250(CBBR-250).The parameters such as effect of time,catalyst dosage,concentration of sodium borohydride and concentration of 4-NP and dye were studied.It was found that the catalytic reduction of 4-NP and dye were in 20 minutes by MNCs.Kinetic analysis shows that the pseudo-first-order was found to be linear.It revealed that the use of these MNCs can be considered as a reliable method for the catalytic reduction studies.

Composite insulators and their aging: An overview

The aging (biological deterioration) is a major problem of composite insulators now-a-days. The main thing in aging is to predict how, when and with what speed it occurs and under what conditions it can lead to failure and what overall average expected life of a composite insulator is. For this a lot of researches have been done. This review summarizes the methods of artificial field testing (aging), natural testing, standards the developed for aging, techniques of analysis, results achieved until now about various parameters from various locations, handling guidelines and a conclusion on what is further needed.

Resolvability in Circulant Graphs

A set W of the vertices of a connected graph G is called a resolving set for G if for every two distinct vertices u, v E V（G） there is a vertex w E W such that d（u, w） ≠ d（v, w）. A resolving set of minimum cardinality is called a metric basis for G and the number of vertices in a metric basis is called the metric dimension of G, denoted by dim（G）. For a vertex u of G and a subset S of V（G）, the distance between u and S is the number minses d（u,s）. A k-partition II = {$1,$2,..., Sk} of V（G） is called a resolving partition if for every two distinct vertices u, v E V（G） there is a set Si in H such that d（u, Si） ≠ d（v, Si）. The minimum k for which there is a resolving k-partition of V（G） is called the partition dimension of G, denoted by pd（G）. The circulant graph is a graph with vertex set Zn, an additive group of integers modulo n, and two vertices labeled i and j adjacent if and only if i - j （rood n） E C, where C C Zn has the property that C = -C and 0 ￠ C. The circulant graph is denoted by Xn,△ where A = ｜C｜. In this paper, we study the metric dimension of a family of circulant graphs Xn,3 with connection set C = {1, 3, n - 1} and prove that dim（Xn,3） is independent of choice of n by showing that dim（Xn,a） = {3 for all n ≡0 （mod 4）,4 for all n≡2 （mod4）.We also study the partition dimension of a family of circulant graphs Xm,4 with connection set C = {±1, ±2} and prove that pd（Xn,4） is independent of choice of n and show that pd（X5,4） = 5 and pd（Xn,a） ={ 3 for all odd n≥9,4 for all even n≥6 and n=7.

Genomic Epidemiology of SARS-CoV-2 in Pakistan

COVID-19 has swept globally and Pakistan is no exception.To investigate the initial introductions and transmissions of the SARS-CoV-2 in Pakistan,we performed the largest genomic epidemiology study of COVID-19 in Pakistan and generated 150 complete SARS-CoV-2 genome sequences from samples collected from March 16 to June 1,2020.We identified a total of 347 mutated positions,31 of which were over-represented in Pakistan.Meanwhile,we found over 1000 intra-host single-nucleotide variants(iSNVs).Several of them occurred concurrently,indicating possible interactions among them or coevolution.Some of the high-frequency iSNVs in Pakistan were not observed in the global population,suggesting strong purifying selections.The genomic epidemiology revealed five distinctive spreading clusters.The largest cluster consisted of 74 viruses which were derived from different geographic locations of Pakistan and formed a deep hierarchical structure,indicating an extensive and persistent nation-wide transmission of the virus that was probably attributed to a signature mutation(G8371T in ORF1ab)of this cluster.Furthermore,28 putative international introductions were identified,several of which are consistent with the epidemiological investigations.In all,this study has inferred the possible pathways of introductions and transmissions of SARS-CoV-2 in Pakistan,which could aid ongoing and future viral surveillance and COVID-19 control.

On the Constant Metric Dimension of Generalized Petersen Graphs P(n,4)

In this paper, we consider the family of generalized Petersen graphs P（n,4）. We prove that the metric dimension of P（n, 4） is 3 when n = 0 （mod 4）, and is 4 when n = 4k ＋ 3 （k is even）.For n = 1,2 （mod 4） and n = 4k ＋ 3 （k is odd）, we prove that the metric dimension of P（n,4） is bounded above by 4. This shows that each graph of the family of generalized Petersen graphs P（n, 4） has constant metric dimension.

Footprints of SARS-CoV-2 genome diversity in Pakistan,2020–2021

The rapid spread of SARS-Co V-2 has significantly impacted the worldwide health system.The SARS-Co V-2 currently bears a remarkably low genetic diversity even though it carries one of the largest RNA genomes among viruses(Rausch et al.,2020).However,the coronaviruses harbor the capability of undergoing recombination at a high rate which can lead to the emergence of novel viral derivatives(Rausch et al.,2020;Gribble et al.,2021).