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One of the challenges in deep learning involves discovering the optimal architecture for a specific task. This is effectively tackled through Neural Architecture Search (NAS). Neural Architecture Search encompasses three prominent approaches—reinforcement learning, evolutionary algorithms, and gradient descent—that have demonstrated noteworthy potential in identifying good candidate architectures. However, approaches based on reinforcement learning and evolutionary algorithms often necessitate extensive computational resources, requiring hundreds of GPU days or more. Therefore, we confine this work to a gradient-based approach due to its lower computational resource demands. Our objective encompasses identifying the optimal gradient-based NAS method and pinpointing opportunities for future enhancements. To achieve this, a comprehensive evaluation of the use of four major Gradient descent-based architecture search methods for discovering the best neural architecture for image classification tasks is provided. An overview of these gradient-based methods, i.e., DARTS, PDARTS, Fair DARTS and Att-DARTS, is presented. A theoretical comparison, based on search spaces, continuous relaxation strategy and bi-level optimization, for deriving the best neural architecture is then provided. The strong and weak features of these methods are also listed. Experimental results for comparing the error rate and computational cost of these gradient-based methods are analyzed. These experiments involved using bench marking datasets CIFAR-10, CIFAR-100 and ImageNet. The results show that PDARTS is better and faster among the examined methods, making it a potent candidate for automating Neural Architecture Search. By effectively conducting a comparative analysis, our research provides valuable insights and future research directions to address the criticism and gaps in the literature.

India is a diverse country. The Constitution of India has made secular education mandatory for the state. This provision of the Constitution means that any curriculum designed for schools run by the state must uphold secular ethics. The inclusion of culture education in school curricula poses some very important questions. How do we select what goes into the curriculum? How do we ascertain whether it remains inclusive of all member cultures? How do we determine the preparedness and cultural sensitivity of teachers? Most importantly, how do we address the intertwined relationship between culture and religion? This paper is a critique of the CABE Committee report that recommends the inclusion of culture education in school curricula. This critique regards the recommendations of the report through the twin lenses of established pedagogical practices and the existing socio-political scenario.

There is a growing global interest in hospital-based antibiotic stewardship programs (ASPs). Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends clinicians and facilities in outpatient department (OPD) to adhere to a set of stewardship activities called the Core Elements of Outpatient Antibiotic Stewardship (CEOAS). CEOAS includes 4 core elements for OPD facilities and clinicians each, ie, commitment, action, tracking and reporting, and education and expertise. The aim of this study was to evaluate the adherence of OPDs in tertiary care hospitals to CEOAS. A cross-sectional study in the hospitals in Punjab, Pakistan. Study was reported as per STROBE guidelines. Data were collected from hospitals based on purposive sampling on the CEOAS framwork. On a summative scale, positive response to each core element worthed a score and higher the score better the adherence. Descriptive statistics was used for categorical variables while independent -test computed group differences. Fifty-three tertiary care hospitals (n=22 public, n=31 private) participated (response rate=86.9%). No hospital reported \"perfect\" adherence. Overall, facilities and clinicians in OPDs were moderately adherent. Subgroup analysis indicated that hospitals in public and private were poorly (4.9) and moderately (6.0) adherent to CEOAS respectively, however, private clinicians scored significantly higher in action, and tracking and reporting. Tracking and reporting of antibiotics and education of patients and clinicians emerged as top deficiency areas in facilities and clinicians respectively. Significant gaps exist in the adherence to CEOAS. The deficiency areas highlighted in the study should be given priority in future policy shift.

Researchers’ proclaim that visuals and hands-on are effective for teaching Science, but in India Science teaching at elementary level remains in realm of conventional lecturing mode, as they usually introduce a redesigned curriculum and are met with bureaucratic inertia and paucity of resources. This study assesses the efficacy of integrating visuals and hands-on within an existing curriculum. Three intact groups were selected using non probability sampling technique. Groups were equated on mental ability and previous knowledge using Raven’s progressive matrices (RSPM) and through self-constructed pre-test on concept attainment of science (TOCAOS) and processes of science (TOPOS). Instructional packages were formulated for each teaching strategy (conventional, visual, and hands-on). Post-tests on TOCAOS and TOPOS were administered after forty lessons were completed. Although all three strategies were found to be effective, hands-on learning facilitated attainment of Science concepts and acquisition of Science processes skills the most. The study demonstrates that “hands on” activities can be integrated suitably in to an existing Science curriculum. Activity sheets based on visual literacy strategies enabled children to concretize abstract concepts. Eco-friendly and user-friendly visuals used during the study are now being employed by pre-service teachers during their internships.

There is a growing global interest in formulating such policies and strategic plans that help devise collaborative working models for community pharmacists (CPs) and general practitioners (GPs) in primary care settings. To conceptualize a stakeholder-driven framework to improve collaboration between CPs and GPs in Malaysian primary care to effectively manage medicines in chronic diseases. A qualitative study that involved individual semi-structured interviews of the leadership of various associations, guilds, and societies representing CPs, GPs, and Nurses in Malaysia. This study collected and reported data in accordance with the guidelines of the Consolidated Criteria for Reporting of Qualitative Studies. Key informants were recruited based on purposive (expert) sampling. Interviews were transcribed verbatim and data were coded based on the principles of thematic analysis in NVivo. A total of 12 interviews (5 CPs, 5 GPs, and 2 nurses) were conducted. Five themes emerged: Theme 1 highlighted a comparison of community pharmacy practice in Malaysia and developed countries; Theme 2 involved current practices in Malaysian primary care; Theme 3 encompassed the advantages of CP-GP collaboration in chronic diseases; Theme 4 highlighted the barriers which impede collaboration in Malaysian primary care; and Theme 5 delineated the way forward for CP-GP collaboration in Malaysia. The actionable insights obtained from the Malaysian stakeholders offered an outline of a framework to enhance collaboration between CPs and GPs in primary care. Generally, stakeholders were interested in CP-GP collaboration in primary care and identified many positive roles performed by CPs, including prescription review, adherence support, and patient education. The framework of the way forward includes: separation of CP and GP roles through a holistic revision of relevant legislation to grant an active role to CPs in chronic care; definition of protocols for collaborative practices; incentivization of both stakeholders (CPs and GPs); and design and implementation of an effective regulatory mechanism whereby the Malaysian Ministry of Health may take a leading role.

It is understood that drugs regardless of their order of administration can exhibit drug interactions. Established on the fact that treatment of hypertension may last for decades and prolong usage of multiple drug regimen may induce substantial pathophysiological changes. Hence, This study was designed to evaluate the possible synergistic toxic effects of anti-hypertensive (carvedilol), and anti-inflammatory drug (celecoxib) alone and in combinations. Well-established MTT assay, Single Cell Gel Electrophoresis (SCGE) and Ames assay were employed to evaluate the toxicity at cellular level. Results from MTT assay on Vero cell line revealed that drug combinations have more pronounced anti-proliferative activity with combine IC50 value of 13.7:47.8 µg/mL. Likewise, exposure of peripheral blood mononuclear cells with drug combinations revealed significant (P<0.05) DNA damage (Class 3) in a dose dependent manner at concentrations ≥ 0.78: 2.34 µg/mL. However, carvedilol and celecoxib were non mutagenic against either mutant strain (TA 100 and TA 98) and combinations have also shown mild to moderate mutagenic potential. Nevertheless, upon addition of metabolic activation enzyme, concentration <12.5:37.5 µg/plate exhibited significant (P<0.05) mutagenicity against both tester strains. In conclusion, this study provides additional genotoxicity and mutagenicity data that could be used in considering options for formulating regimens with reduced mutagenic potential.

A complicated neurological disease known as autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is typified by issues with social interaction, communication, and repetitive behavior. The neural protective mechanisms in ASD are thought to be influenced by genetic variables, including the expression of neurotrophic genes such as glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF). The aim was to examine the relationship between neuronal protection and cognitive functioning by crosslinking GDNF gene expression and serum levels in individuals with relation to Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) scores in ASD patients. After getting study approval and informed consent of patients, this case-control study experimental study was conducted for six months between July 2023 and December 2023. The blood samples (5 ml each) were drawn from the study population (n = 140), including 100 ASD patients with a disease course of 30 months based on patients' reports data and 40 healthy controls from four major clinical and hospital settings in Lahore, Karachi, and Bahawalpur from Pakistan. The analytical procedures included nucleic acid extraction, primer design and optimization, and GDNF-targeted real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction expression analysis. To measure cognitive and behavioral deficits, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay-based serum GDNF levels (pg/ml) and MMSE scores were compared, concluding the neuronal protection potential of GDNF. In patients with ASD, lower serum levels of GDNF (9.371 ± 2.388 pg/ml) were linked to more severe behavioral and cognitive deficits confirmed by MMSE scores (13.6 ± 3.5) of ASD patients in comparison with the control group (27.1 ± 2.1). Healthy individuals showed higher relative gene fold expression (11.71) compared to the ASD patients (5.51). There is a notable decrease in GDNF gene expression in people with ASD, which raises the possibility that GDNF is important for both cognitive performance and neuronal protection in these people. GDNF may be a useful biomarker for identifying ASD and comprehending its molecular causes, opening the door for focused treatment approaches.

The emergence of multi-drug resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MDR-SA) has significantly abated the sensitivity to antibiotics, causing uncertainty in the effectiveness of antibiotics to combat multi-drug resistant Staphylococcus aureus. Therefore, new therapeutic options are in demand for adequate management of patients presented with multi-drug resistant Staphylococcus aureus. Scientists worldwide are working on the secondary metabolites of the medicinal plants, such as essential oils as potential antimicrobial agent/s with minimum resistance as an alternative to conventional medicine. This review summarized the evidence on the efficacy of essential oils against a range of bacterial strains which were considered resistant to many antibiotics.

Several reactive oxygen species (ROS) are continuously produced in plants as byproducts of many metabolic reactions, such as photosynthesis, photorespiration and respiration. Depending on the nature of the ROS species, some are highly toxic and rapidly detoxified by various cellular enzymatic and nonenzymatic mechanisms. Oxidative stress occurs when there is a serious imbalance between the production of ROS and antioxidative defence. ROS participate in signal transduction, but also modify cellular components and cause damage. ROS is highly reactive molecules and can oxidize all types of cellular components. Various enzymes involved in ROS-scavenging have been manipulated and over expressed or down regulated. An overview of the literature is presented in terms of primary antioxidant free radical scavenging and redox signaling in plant cells. Special attention is given to ROS and ROS-anioxidant interaction as a metabolic interface for different types of signals derived from metabolisms and from the changing environment.

Pakistani fiction has many shades and hues -- from the fiery non-conformity of Saadat Hasan Manto to the wondrous quietism of a later Ashfaq Ahmed. Manto writes about sections of society who have lived on the margins and comes down heavily on the sanctimonious response of those posturing from a high moral ground. His writings often landed him in trouble for being too stark and explicit.