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Fulltext Religious tourism and mass religious gatherings - The potential link in the spread of COVID-19. Current perspective and future implications

Mubarak N, Zin CS

Travel Med Infect Dis, 2020 06 09;36:101786.
PMID: 32531422 DOI: 10.1016/j.tmaid.2020.101786
Relationship between organizational dehumanization and nurses' deviant behaviors: A moderated mediation model

Sarwar A, Khan J, Muhammad L, Mubarak N, Jaafar M

J Nurs Manag, 2021 Jan 04.
PMID: 33394539 DOI: 10.1111/jonm.13241

AIM(S): This paper investigated the impact of organisational dehumanization on nurses' deviant behaviours in the Pakistani health sector directly and indirectly through job stress. The study also examined the moderation role of occupational self-efficacy on the relationship between organisational dehumanization and job stress.
BACKGROUND: While the attitudinal outcomes of organisational dehumanization have been a focus of research, its behavioural outcomes are a relatively ignored research area.
METHOD: Data were collected from 295 nurses working in hospitals across Pakistan via self-administered questionnaires with two measurement points to test the direct and indirect effects of organisational dehumanization.
RESULTS: The hypothesized relationships were tested with SPSS 25 and the Process Macro Model 7. The results showed that organisational dehumanization increased deviant behaviours among nurses directly and indirectly via job stress. Moreover, occupational self-efficacy plays moderation role and weakens the relationship between organisational dehumanization and job stress.
CONCLUSION: This study contributes to the existing literature by concentrating on predictors that trigger deviant behaviour among nurses. It also assessed the mediating impact of job stress, an essential endeavour for researchers and practitioners.
IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING MANAGEMENT: The study outcomes can help the health sector improve their strategies to address organisational dehumanization and deviant behaviour among nurses.
Fulltext A snapshot of the global policies and practices of medicine use reviews by community pharmacist in chronic diseases: A narrative review

Mubarak N, Raja SA, Khan TM, Zin CS

J Pak Med Assoc, 2021 Mar;71(3):950-965.
PMID: 34057955 DOI: 10.47391/JPMA.058

Medicine use review is a tool to improve medication adherence and safety. Current narrative review was planned to explore global policies and practices of medicine use review by community pharmacists in chronic diseases and its impact and way forward for low- and middle-income countries. Key words, such as ″medicine use review″, ″medication therapy management″ and ″community pharmacy″ were used for search on PubMed and CINAHL databases for articles published from 2004 to 2019. Medicine use review has opened an avenue of ongoing collaboration between community pharmacists and general practitioners. High-income countries have witnessed a gradual yet cautious adoption of these services through effective policy shift. In terms of practices and impact, the situation in high-income countries was promising where on an average ″type-II″ medicine use review was widely in practice and had improved clinical, humanistic and economic outcomes in chronic disease. However, in low- and middle-income countries, a paucity of effective policies was noted. Nevertheless, an emergent recognition of the potential of community pharmacists to contribute to the management of chronic diseases was evident.
Fulltext A systematic review and meta-analysis of the impact of collaborative practice between community pharmacist and general practitioner on asthma management

Mubarak N, Hatah E, Khan TM, Zin CS

J Asthma Allergy, 2019;12:109-153.
PMID: 31213852 DOI: 10.2147/JAA.S202183

Objective: This systematic review aims to investigate the impact of collaborative practice between community pharmacist (CP) and general practitioner (GP) in asthma management. Methods: A systematic search was performed across 10 databases (PubMed, Medline/Ovid, CINAHL, Scopus, Web of Science, Cochrane central register of controlled trials, PsycARTICLES®, Science Direct, Education Resource Information Centre, PRO-Quest), and grey literature using selected MeSH and key words, such as "community pharmacist", "general practitioner", and "medicine use review". The risk of bias of the included studies was assessed by Cochrane risk of bias tool. All studies reporting any of the clinical, humanistic, and economical outcomes using collaborative practice between CPs and GPs in management of asthma, such as CPs conducting medications reviews, patient referrals or providing education and counseling, were included. Results: A total of 23 studies (six RCTs, four C-RCT, three controlled interventions, seven pre-post, and three case control) were included. In total, 11/14 outcomes were concluded in favor of CP-GP collaborative interventions with different magnitude of effect size. Outcomes, such as asthma severity, asthma control, asthma symptoms, PEFR, SABA usage, hospital visit, adherence, and quality of life (QoL) (Asthma Quality-of-Life Questionnaire [AQLQ]; Living with Asthma Questionnaire [LWAQ]) demonstrated a small effect size (d≥0.2), while inhalation technique, ED visit, and asthma knowledge witnessed medium effect sizes (ES) (d≥0.5). In addition to that, inhalation technique yielded large ES (d≥0.8) in RCTs subgroup analysis. However, three outcomes, FEV, corticosteroids usage, and preventer-to-reliever ratio, did not hold significant ES (d<0.2) and, thus, remain inconclusive. The collaboration was shown to be value for money in the economic studies in narrative synthesis, however, the limited number of studies hinder pooling of data in meta-analysis. Conclusion: The findings from this review established a comprehensive evidence base in support of the positive impact of collaborative practice between CP and GP in the management of asthma.
What Makes People Hide Knowledge? Influence of Passive Leadership and Creative Self-Efficacy

Mubarak N, Osmadi A, Khan J, Mahdiyar A, Riaz A

Front Psychol, 2021;12:740880.
PMID: 34690895 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2021.740880

Although numerous studies have been conducted in the field of knowledge sharing with a focus given to its importance, very little attention has been given to knowledge hiding practices. A very few studies have been found to make an attempt to figure out its impact and antecedents. Likewise, the negative role of passive leadership in the project management literature has not been evidenced enough despite its existence in project-based organizations. Both knowledge hiding and passive leadership are the highly neglected areas in the project management literature. Therefore, this study not only attempts to investigate the influence of passive leadership on knowledge hiding but also aims to explore the role of creative self-efficacy between them. IT project organizations were chosen to collect data because of their high failure rate due to an insufficient knowledge transfer. The findings of this study revealed that the neglected passive leadership greatly influences the knowledge hiding practices among individuals. However, according to the results, knowledge hiding practices are found to reduce the presence of creative self-efficacy. Thus, the antecedents of knowledge hiding should be considered to create an innovative and successful business environment. The results are highly significant not only for the field of project management but also for other practitioners.
Fulltext Impact of public health education on undue fear of COVID-19 among nurses: The mediating role of psychological capital

Mubarak N, Safdar S, Faiz S, Khan J, Jaafar M

Int J Ment Health Nurs, 2021 Apr;30(2):544-552.
PMID: 33230850 DOI: 10.1111/inm.12819

This study looked into the mechanism through which health education can reduce the fear of being infected with COVID-19 because health education helps individuals to improve their knowledge and attitudes towards a disease. The spread of COVID-19 has escalated the level of fear among public and nurses. Nevertheless, the mechanism that contributes to minimize the fear towards this pandemic remains unexplored. A cross-sectional survey was adopted to test the relationships among public health education, psychological capital, and fear of COVID-19. In total, 243 responses were obtained via online survey from nurses. The results revealed that public health education can reduce one's fear of COVID-19. Psychological capital emerged as a strong explanatory mechanism for the phenomenon. Drawing on spillover theory, public health education seems to reduce fear of COVID-19 with the mediating role of psychological capital. Limitations and future directions are at the end of this paper. The study outcomes revealed that organizations should focus on educating nursing staff to overcome fear of COVID-19. One way to induce positivity among nursing staff is by holding trainings.
Utilization of palm oil sludge through pyrolysis for bio-oil and bio-char production

Thangalazhy-Gopakumar S, Al-Nadheri WM, Jegarajan D, Sahu JN, Mubarak NM, Nizamuddin S

Bioresour Technol, 2015 Feb;178:65-9.
PMID: 25278112 DOI: 10.1016/j.biortech.2014.09.068

In this study, pyrolysis technique was utilized for converting palm oil sludge to value added materials: bio-oil (liquid fuel) and bio-char (soil amendment). The bio-oil yield obtained was 27.4±1.7 wt.% having a heating value of 22.2±3.7 MJ/kg and a negligible ash content of 0.23±0.01 wt.%. The pH of bio-oil was in alkaline region. The bio-char yielded 49.9±0.3 wt.%, which was further investigated for sorption efficiency by adsorbing metal (Cd(2+) ions) from water. The removal efficiency of Cd(2+) was 89.4±2%, which was almost similar to the removal efficiency of a commercial activated carbon. The adsorption isotherm was well described by Langmuir model. Therefore, pyrolysis is proved as an efficient tool for palm oil sludge management, where the waste was converted into valuable products.
Magnetic biochar derived from waste palm kernel shell for biodiesel production via sulfonation

Quah RV, Tan YH, Mubarak NM, Kansedo J, Khalid M, Abdullah EC, et al.

Waste Manag, 2020 Dec;118:626-636.
PMID: 33011540 DOI: 10.1016/j.wasman.2020.09.016

Due to its environment-friendly and replenishable characteristics, biodiesel has the potential to substitute fossil fuels as an alternative source of energy. Although biodiesel has many benefits to offer, manufacturing biodiesel on an industrial scale is uneconomical as a high cost of feedstock is required. A novel sulfonated and magnetic catalyst synthesised from a palm kernel shell (PMB-SO3H) was first introduced in this study for methyl ester or biodiesel production to reduce capital costs. The wasted palm kernel shell (PKS) biochar impregnated with ferrite Fe3O4 was synthesised with concentrated sulphuric acid through the sulfonation process. The SEM, EDX, FTIR, VSM and TGA characterization of the catalysts were presented. Then, the optimisation of biodiesel synthesis was catalysed by PMB-SO3H via the Response Surface Methodology (RSM). It was found that the maximum biodiesel yield of 90.2% was achieved under these optimum operating conditions: 65 °C, 102 min, methanol to oil ratio of 13:1 and the catalyst loading of 3.66 wt%. Overall, PMB-SO3H demonstrated acceptable catalysing capability on its first cycle, which subsequently showed a reduction of the reusability performance after 4 cycles. An important practical implication is that PMB-SO3H can be established as a promising heterogeneous catalyst by incorporating an iron layer which can substantially improve the catalyst separation performance in biodiesel production.
Fulltext Graphene/PVA buckypaper for strain sensing application

Mehmood A, Mubarak NM, Khalid M, Jagadish P, Walvekar R, Abdullah EC

Sci Rep, 2020 11 18;10(1):20106.
PMID: 33208815 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-020-77139-2

Strain sensors in the form of buckypaper (BP) infiltrated with various polymers are considered a viable option for strain sensor applications such as structural health monitoring and human motion detection. Graphene has outstanding properties in terms of strength, heat and current conduction, optics, and many more. However, graphene in the form of BP has not been considered earlier for strain sensing applications. In this work, graphene-based BP infiltrated with polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) was synthesized by vacuum filtration technique and polymer intercalation. First, Graphene oxide (GO) was prepared via treatment with sulphuric acid and nitric acid. Whereas, to obtain high-quality BP, GO was sonicated in ethanol for 20 min with sonication intensity of 60%. FTIR studies confirmed the oxygenated groups on the surface of GO while the dispersion characteristics were validated using zeta potential analysis. The nanocomposite was synthesized by varying BP and PVA concentrations. Mechanical and electrical properties were measured using a computerized tensile testing machine, two probe method, and hall effect, respectively. The electrical conducting properties of the nanocomposites decreased with increasing PVA content; likewise, electron mobility also decreased while electrical resistance increased. The optimization study reports the highest mechanical properties such as tensile strength, Young's Modulus, and elongation at break of 200.55 MPa, 6.59 GPa, and 6.79%, respectively. Finally, electrochemical testing in a strain range of ε ~ 4% also testifies superior strain sensing properties of 60 wt% graphene BP/PVA with a demonstration of repeatability, accuracy, and preciseness for five loading and unloading cycles with a gauge factor of 1.33. Thus, results prove the usefulness of the nanocomposite for commercial and industrial applications.
Fulltext Biodegradable carboxymethyl cellulose based material for sustainable packaging application

Yaradoddi JS, Banapurmath NR, Ganachari SV, Soudagar MEM, Mubarak NM, Hallad S, et al.

Sci Rep, 2020 12 15;10(1):21960.
PMID: 33319818 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-020-78912-z

The main goal of the present work was to develop a value-added product of biodegradable material for sustainable packaging. The use of agriculture waste-derived carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) mainly is to reduce the cost involved in the development of the film, at present commercially available CMS is costly. The main focus of the research is to translate the agricultural waste-derived CMC to useful biodegradable polymer suitable for packaging material. During this process CMC was extracted from the agricultural waste mainly sugar cane bagasse and the blends were prepared using CMC (waste derived), gelatin, agar and varied concentrations of glycerol; 1.5% (sample A), 2% (sample B), and 2.5% (sample C) was added. Thus, the film derived from the sample C (gelatin + CMC + agar) with 2.0% glycerol as a plasticizer exhibited excellent properties than other samples A and B. The physiochemical properties of each developed biodegradable plastics (sample A, B, C) were characterized using Fourier Transform Infra-Red (FTIR) spectroscopy and Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC), Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). The swelling test, solubility in different solvents, oil permeability coefficient, water permeability (WP), mechanical strength of the produced material was claimed to be a good material for packaging and meanwhile its biodegradability (soil burial method) indicated their environmental compatibility nature and commercial properties. The reflected work is a novel approach, and which is vital in the conversion of organic waste to value-added product development. There is also another way to utilize commercial CMC in preparation of polymeric blends for the packaging material, which can save considerable time involved in the recovery of CMC from sugarcane bagasse.
Fulltext Immobilization of Peroxidase on Functionalized MWCNTs-Buckypaper/Polyvinyl alcohol Nanocomposite Membrane

Jun LY, Mubarak NM, Yon LS, Bing CH, Khalid M, Jagadish P, et al.

Sci Rep, 2019 02 18;9(1):2215.
PMID: 30778111 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-019-39621-4

Surface modified Multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) Buckypaper/Polyvinyl Alcohol (BP/PVA) composite membrane was synthesized and utilized as support material for immobilization of Jicama peroxidase (JP). JP was successfully immobilized on the BP/PVA membrane via covalent bonding by using glutaraldehyde. The immobilization efficiency was optimized using response surface methodology (RSM) with the face-centered central composite design (FCCCD) model. The optimum enzyme immobilization efficiency was achieved at pH 6, with initial enzyme loading of 0.13 U/mL and immobilization time of 130 min. The results of BP/PVA membrane showed excellent performance in immobilization of JP with high enzyme loading of 217 mg/g and immobilization efficiency of 81.74%. The immobilized system exhibited significantly improved operational stability under various parameters, such as pH, temperature, thermal and storage stabilities when compared with free enzyme. The effective binding of peroxidase on the surface of the BP/PVA membrane was evaluated and confirmed by Field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) coupled with Energy Dispersive X-Ray Spectroscopy (EDX), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and Thermogravimetric Analysis (TGA). This work reports the characterization results and performances of the surface modified BP/PVA membrane for peroxidase immobilization. The superior properties of JP-immobilized BP/PVA membrane make it promising new-generation nanomaterials for industrial applications.
Fulltext HIV outbreak of Ratodero, Pakistan requires urgent concrete measures to avoid future outbreaks

Mubarak N, Hussain I, Raja SA, Khan TM, Zin CS

J Pak Med Assoc, 2020 Aug;70(8):1475-1476.
PMID: 32794514 DOI: 10.5455/JPMA.57221
Fulltext Consensus among healthcare stakeholders on a collaborative medication therapy management model for chronic diseases in Malaysia; A Delphi study

Mubarak N, Hatah E, Aris MAM, Shafie AA, Zin CS

PLoS One, 2019;14(5):e0216563.
PMID: 31075110 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0216563

BACKGROUND: The general problem is lack of inter-professional collaboration and the way private primary care responds to manage chronic diseases in Malaysia. Absence of prescription review, inadequate patient education, the highest percentage of prescribing errors and half of the chronic disease patients are nonadherent. Medicines are the most common and life long used interventions in chronic diseases. Hence, the need to manage medicine in chronic diseases becomes obligatory. As both general practitioner and community pharmacist can dispense medications, this has resulted in a business rivalry. There is a need to build consensus among various healthcare stakeholders for a collaborative medication therapy management model (CMTM) where community pharmacist has an active role in chronic care.
METHOD: This study utilized modified e-Delphi method to build consensus. A validated e-Delphi survey was administered to a purposive sample of 29 experts. Consensus was pre-defined to be the point where >85% of the experts fall in either agree or strongly agree category for each statement. The inter-expert agreement was computed in both rounds using Intra-class correlation coefficient and Kendall's W. Delphi operates in an iterative fashion till there comes stability in responses. At the end of each round, experts were provided aggregate response, their own response and choice to change their response in the light of aggregate response.
RESULTS: Response rate was 70.73% and 100% in 1st and 2nd round, respectively. Consensus was achieved on 119/132 statements which mainly referred to the need, structural and regulatory aspects of CMTM model in Malaysia. However, there were some flashpoints on dispensing separation and means to finance this model. Stability in response of experts was achieved after 2nd round; hence, no next round was executed.
CONCLUSION: Overall, the study findings witnessed the expert panel's support for the CMTM model. Study helped to sketch CMTM model and facilitated development of some recommendations to the authorities which may help to formulate a policy to bring CPs under a working relationship with GPs. Hence, this study should be taken as a call for redefining of the roles of CPs and GPs in Malaysia.
Fulltext Synthesis of polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) infiltrated MWCNTs buckypaper for strain sensing application

Yee MJ, Mubarak NM, Khalid M, Abdullah EC, Jagadish P

Sci Rep, 2018 Nov 23;8(1):17295.
PMID: 30470825 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-018-35638-3

Buckypaper (BP)/polymer composites are viewed as a viable option to improve the strain transfer across the buckypaper strain sensor by means of providing better interfacial bonding between the polymer and carbon nanotubes (CNTs). Multiwall carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) BP/polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) composites were fabricated by a sequence of vacuum filtration and polymer intercalation technique. The optimized conditions for achieving a uniform and stable dispersion of MWCNTs were found to be using ethanol as a dispersion medium, 54 μm ultrasonic amplitude and 40 min sonication time. FTIR analysis and SEM spectra further confirmed the introduction of oxygenated groups (-COOH) on the surface of MWCNTs BP and the complete infiltration of PVA into the porous MWCNTs network. At MWCNTs content of 65 wt. %, the tensile strength, Young's modulus and elongation-at-break of PVA-infiltrated MWCNTs BP achieved a maximum value of 156.28 MPa, 4.02 GPa and 5.85%, improved by 189%, 443% and 166% respectively, as compared to the MWCNTs BP. Electrical characterization performed using both two-point probe method and Hall effect measurement showed that BP/PVA composites exhibited reduced electrical conductivity. From the electromechanical characterization, the BP/PVA composites showed improved sensitivity with a gauge factor of about 1.89-2.92. The cyclic uniaxial tensile test validated the high reproducibility and hysteresis-free operation of 65-BP/PVA composite under 3 loading-unloading cycles. Characterization results confirmed that the flexible BP/PVA composite (65 wt. %) with improved mechanical and electromechanical properties is suitable for strain sensing applications in structural health monitoring and wearable technology, as an alternative choice to the fragile nature of conventional metallic strain sensors.
Fulltext Functionalized multi-walled carbon nanotubes and hydroxyapatite nanorods reinforced with polypropylene for biomedical application

Khan FSA, Mubarak NM, Khalid M, Walvekar R, Abdullah EC, Ahmad A, et al.

Sci Rep, 2021 01 12;11(1):843.
PMID: 33437011 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-020-80767-3

Modified multi-walled carbon nanotubes (f-MWCNTs) and hydroxyapatite nanorods (n-HA) were reinforced into polypropylene (PP) with the support of a melt compounding approach. Varying composition of f-MWCNTs (0.1-0.3 wt.%) and nHA (15-20 wt.%) were reinforced into PP, to obtain biocomposites of different compositions. The morphology, thermal and mechanical characteristics of PP/n-HA/f-MWCNTs were observed. Tensile studies reflected that the addition of f-MWCNTs is advantageous in improving the tensile strength of PP/n-HA nanocomposites but decreases its Young's modulus significantly. Based on the thermal study, the f-MWCNTs and n-HA were known to be adequate to enhance PP's thermal and dimensional stability. Furthermore, MTT studies proved that PP/n-HA/f-MWCNTs are biocompatible. Consequently, f-MWCNTs and n-HA reinforced into PP may be a promising nanocomposite in orthopedics industry applications such as the human subchondral bone i.e. patella and cartilage and fabricating certain light-loaded implants.
Fulltext Assessment of Adherence to the Core Elements of Hospital Antibiotic Stewardship Programs: A Survey of the Tertiary Care Hospitals in Punjab, Pakistan

Mubarak N, Khan AS, Zahid T, Ijaz UEB, Aziz MM, Khan R, et al.

Antibiotics (Basel), 2021 Jul 24;10(8).
PMID: 34438956 DOI: 10.3390/antibiotics10080906

Background: To restrain antibiotic resistance, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), United States of America, urges all hospital settings to implement the Core Elements of Hospital Antibiotic Stewardship Programs (CEHASP). However, the concept of hospital-based antibiotic stewardship programs is relatively new in Low- and Middle-Income Countries. Aim: To appraise the adherence of the tertiary care hospitals to seven CEHASPs. Design and Setting: A cross-sectional study in the tertiary care hospitals in Punjab, Pakistan. Method: CEHASP assessment tool, (a checklist) was used to collect data from the eligible hospitals based on purposive sampling. The check list had 19 statements to cover seven CEHASPs: Hospital Leadership Commitment, Accountability, Pharmacy Expertise, Action (Implement Interventions to Improve Antibiotic Use), Tracking Antibiotic Use and Outcomes, Reporting Antibiotic Use and Outcomes, and Education. For each statement, a response of "YES", "NO" or "Under Process" constituted a score of 2, 0 and 1, respectively, where the higher the scores the better the adherence. Categorical variables were described through descriptive statistics, while independent t-test computed group differences. Result: A total of 68 hospitals (n = 33 public, n = 35 private) participated with a response rate of 79.1%. No hospital demonstrated "Perfect" adherence. Roughly half private (48.6%) and more than half public (54.5%) sector hospitals were "Poor" in adherence. Based on the mean score, there was no significant difference between the private and the public hospitals in terms of comparison of individual core elements. The two most neglected core elements emerged as top priority area were: Reporting Antibiotic Use and Outcomes and Tracking Antibiotic Use and Outcomes.Conclusion: The current response of Pakistan to implement hospital-based antibiotic stewardship programs is inadequate. This study points out significant gaps of practice both in public and private tertiary care hospitals. A majority of the core elements of antibiotic stewardship are either absent or "Under Process". The deficiency/priority areas mentioned require immediate attention of the concerned stakeholders in Pakistan.
Modelling of methylene blue adsorption using peroxidase immobilized functionalized Buckypaper/polyvinyl alcohol membrane via ant colony optimization

Jun LY, Karri RR, Mubarak NM, Yon LS, Bing CH, Khalid M, et al.

Environ Pollut, 2020 Apr;259:113940.
PMID: 31931415 DOI: 10.1016/j.envpol.2020.113940

Jicama peroxidase (JP) was covalently immobilized onto functionalized multi-walled carbon nanotube (MWCNT) Buckypaper/Polyvinyl alcohol (BP/PVA) membrane and employed for degradation of methylene blue dye. The parameters of the isotherm and kinetic models are estimating using ant colony optimization (ACO), which do not meddle the non-linearity form of the respective models. The proposed inverse modelling through ACO optimization was implemented, and the parameters were evaluated to minimize the non-linear error functions. The adsorption of MB dye onto JP-immobilized BP/PVA membrane follows Freundlich isotherm model (R2 = 0.99) and the pseudo 1st order or 2nd kinetic model (R2 = 0.980 & 0.968 respectively). The model predictions from the parameters estimated by ACO resulted values close the experimental values, thus inferring that this approach captured the inherent characteristics of MB adsorption. Moreover, the thermodynamic studies indicated that the adsorption was favourable, spontaneous, and exothermic in nature. The comprehensive structural analyses have confirmed the successful binding of peroxidase onto BP/PVA membrane, as well as the effective MB dye removal using immobilized JP membrane. Compared to BP/PVA membrane, the reusability test revealed that JP-immobilized BP/PVA membrane has better dye removal performances as it can retain 64% of its dye removal efficiency even after eight consecutive cycles. Therefore, the experimental results along with modelling results demonstrated that JP-immobilized BP/PVA membrane is expected to bring notable impacts for the development of effective green and sustainable wastewater treatment technologies.
Modeling and optimization by particle swarm embedded neural network for adsorption of methylene blue by jicama peroxidase immobilized on buckypaper/polyvinyl alcohol membrane

Jun LY, Karri RR, Yon LS, Mubarak NM, Bing CH, Mohammad K, et al.

Environ Res, 2020 04;183:109158.
PMID: 32044575 DOI: 10.1016/j.envres.2020.109158

Jicama peroxidase (JP) immobilized functionalized Buckypaper/Polyvinyl alcohol (BP/PVA) membrane was synthesized and evaluated as a promising nanobiocomposite membrane for methylene blue (MB) dye removal from aqueous solution. The effects of independent process variables, including pH, agitation speed, initial concentration of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), and contact time on dye removal efficiency were investigated systematically. Both Response Surface Methodology (RSM) and Artificial Neural Network coupled with Particle Swarm Optimization (ANN-PSO) approaches were used for predicting the optimum process parameters to achieve maximum MB dye removal efficiency. The best optimal topology for PSO embedded ANN architecture was found to be 4-6-1. This optimized network provided higher R2 values for randomized training, testing and validation data sets, which are 0.944, 0.931 and 0.946 respectively, thus confirming the efficacy of the ANN-PSO model. Compared to RSM, results confirmed that the hybrid ANN-PSO shows superior modeling capability for prediction of MB dye removal. The maximum MB dye removal efficiency of 99.5% was achieved at pH-5.77, 179 rpm, ratio of H2O2/MB dye of 73.2:1, within 229 min. Thus, this work demonstrated that JP-immobilized BP/PVA membrane is a promising and feasible alternative for treating industrial effluent.
Fulltext How Are We Educating Future Physicians and Pharmacists in Pakistan? A Survey of the Medical and Pharmacy Student's Perception on Learning and Preparedness to Assume Future Roles in Antibiotic Use and Resistance

Mubarak N, Arif S, Irshad M, Aqeel RM, Khalid A, Ijaz UEB, et al.

Antibiotics (Basel), 2021 Oct 03;10(10).
PMID: 34680785 DOI: 10.3390/antibiotics10101204

BACKGROUND: Medical and pharmacy students are future healthcare professionals who will be on the forefront in dealing with antibiotics in hospitals or community settings. Whether the current medical and pharmacy education in Pakistan prepares students to take future roles in antibiotic use remains an under-researched area.
AIM: This study aims to compare medical and pharmacy students' perceived preparedness, learning practices and usefulness of the education and training on antibiotic use and resistance imparted during undergraduate studies in Pakistan.
DESIGN AND SETTING: It was amulti-centre cross-sectional survey of medical and pharmacy colleges in Punjab, Pakistan.
METHOD: A self-administered questionnaire was used to collect data from final year medical and pharmacy students. Descriptive statistics were used for categorical variables while independent t-test and One-way ANOVA computed group differences.
RESULT: Nine hundred forty-eight respondents (526 medical and 422 pharmacy students) completed the survey from 26 medical and 19 pharmacy colleges. Majority (76.1%) of the pharmacy students had not completed a clinical rotation in infectious diseases. The top three most often used sources of learning antibiotic use and resistance were the same among the medical and the pharmacy students; included textbooks, Wikipedia, and smart phone apps. Overall self-perceived preparedness scores showed no significant difference between pharmacy and medical students. The least prepared areas by medical and pharmacy students included transition from intravenous to oral antibiotics and interpretation of antibiograms. Both medical and pharmacy students found problem solving sessions attended by a small group of students to be the most useful (very useful) teaching methodology to learn antibiotic use and resistance.
CONCLUSIONS: Differences exist between medical and pharmacy students in educational resources used, topics covered during undergraduate degree. To curb the growing antibiotic misuse and resistance, the concerned authorities should undertake targeted educational reforms to ensure that future physicians and pharmacists can play a pivotal role in rationalizing the use of antibiotics.
Fulltext Synthesis and characterization of polylactide/rice husk hydrochar composite

Nizamuddin S, Jadhav A, Qureshi SS, Baloch HA, Siddiqui MTH, Mubarak NM, et al.

Sci Rep, 2019 Apr 01;9(1):5445.
PMID: 30931991 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-019-41960-1

Polymer composites are fabricated by incorporating fillers into a polymer matrix. The intent for addition of fillers is to improve the physical, mechanical, chemical and rheological properties of the composite. This study reports on a unique polymer composite using hydrochar, synthesised by microwave-assisted hydrothermal carbonization of rice husk, as filler in polylactide matrix. The polylactide/hydrochar composites were fabricated by incorporating hydrochar in polylactide at 5%, 10%, 15% and 20 wt% by melt processing in a Haake rheomix at 170 °C. Both the neat polylactide and polylactide/hydrochar composite were characterized for mechanical, structural, thermal and rheological properties. The tensile modulus of polylactide/hydrochar composites was improved from 2.63 GPa (neat polylactide) to 3.16 GPa, 3.33 GPa, 3.54 GPa, and 4.24 GPa after blending with hydrochar at 5%, 10%, 15%, and 20%, respectively. Further, the incorporation of hydrochar had little effect on storage modulus (G') and loss modulus (G″). The findings of this study reported that addition of hydrochar improves some characteristics of polylactide composites suggesting the potential of hydrochar as filler for polymer/hydrochar composites.

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