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The study examines the influence of staff training on university productivity through the job satisfaction of academic and administrative staff in ISO 9001-certified universities in Pakistan, utilizing a quantitative research approach. Data were gathered through online surveys using purposive sampling from academic and administrative staff, with analysis performed using SmartPLS-4. The results indicate that staff training significantly influences both job satisfaction and university productivity, with job satisfaction serving as a significant mediator. This research contributes to scholarly discourse by validating Organizational Learning Theory in ISO 9001-certified universities, highlighting the enhancement of productivity and job satisfaction through ISO 9001-aligned staff training. It also underscores the influence of QMS on employee attitudes and university productivity, highlighting the significance of ISO 9001 implementation, specifically through staff training, in university operations. Practical implications include recommendations for policymakers, administrators, and quality managers to prioritize ISO 9001-focused training to boost productivity and certification success, foster a culture of continuous learning, and improve educational quality and organizational outcomes. However, limitations such as the study’s cross-sectional design, purposive sampling, and focus on specific universities in Pakistan may limit generalizability. Future research should explore novel approaches to understanding factors influencing job satisfaction among academic and administrative staff to enhance productivity in ISO 9001-certified universities worldwide.

Brain glucose-sensing neurons detect glucose fluctuations and prevent severe hypoglycemia, but mechanisms mediating functions of these glucose-sensing neurons are unclear. Here we report that estrogen receptor-α (ERα)-expressing neurons in the ventrolateral subdivision of the ventromedial hypothalamic nucleus (vlVMH) can sense glucose fluctuations, being glucose-inhibited neurons (GI-ERα vlVMH ) or glucose-excited neurons (GE-ERα vlVMH ). Hypoglycemia activates GI-ERα vlVMH neurons via the anoctamin 4 channel, and inhibits GE-ERα vlVMH neurons through opening the ATP-sensitive potassium channel. Further, we show that GI-ERα vlVMH neurons preferentially project to the medioposterior arcuate nucleus of the hypothalamus (mpARH) and GE-ERα vlVMH neurons preferentially project to the dorsal Raphe nuclei (DRN). Activation of ERα vlVMH to mpARH circuit and inhibition of ERα vlVMH to DRN circuit both increase blood glucose. Thus, our results indicate that ERα vlVMH neurons detect glucose fluctuations and prevent severe hypoglycemia in mice. Glucose-sensing neurons are found in the ventromedial hypothalamic nucleus (VMH). Here the authors identify the role of estrogen receptor-α expressing neurons in the ventrolateral subdivision of the VMH in sensing hypoglycemia.

In the present article, we investigate the dual slip effect namely the velocity slip and thermal slip conditions on MHD flow past a thin needle. The entropy generation for the incompressible fluids that’s water and acetone that flowing above the thin needle is discussed. The energy dissipating term and the magnetic effect is included in the axial direction. The leading partial differential equations are transformed to ODE by an appropriate similarity transformation and solved using a numerical technique that is the Quasilinearization method. The terms for the rate of entropy generation, the Bejan number, and the irreversibility distribution ratio are discussed. Each dimensionless number is shown with velocity slip and also with the magnetic parameter is presented in graphical form. In the result, we conclude that the entropy generation rate is increasing with the increase in thermal slip parameter also some increasing effect is found as the size of the needle increases

Ciprofol, a newer entrant with similarities to propofol, has shown promise with a potentially improved safety profile, making it an attractive alternative for induction of general anesthesia. This meta-analysis aimed to assess the safety and efficacy of ciprofol compared with propofol during general anesthesia induction. A comprehensive literature search was conducted using PubMed, Clinical Trial.gov, and Cochrane Library databases from inception to July 2023 to identify relevant studies. All statistical analyses were conducted using R statistical software version 4.1.2. Thirteen Randomized Controlled Trials (RCTs) encompassing a total of 1998 participants, were included in our analysis. The pooled analysis indicated that Ciprofol was associated with a notably lower incidence of pain upon injection [RR: 0.15; 95% CI: 0.10 to 0.23; I^2 = 43%, p < 0.0000001] and was non-inferior to propofol in terms of anesthesia success rate [RR: 1.00; 95% CI: 0.99 to 1.01; I^2 = 0%; p = 0.43]. In terms of safety, the incidence of hypotension was significantly lower in the ciprofol group [RR:0.82; 95% CI:0.68 to 0.98; I^2 = 48%; p = 0.03]. However, no statistically significant differences were found for postoperative hypertension, bradycardia, or tachycardia. In conclusion, Ciprofol is not inferior to Propofol in terms of its effectiveness in general anesthesia. Ciprofol emerges as a valuable alternative sedative with fewer side effects, especially reduced injection pain, when compared to Propofol. Propofol, frequently utilized as an anesthetic, provides swift onset and quick recovery. However, it has drawbacks such as a narrow effective dosage range and a high occurrence of adverse effects, particularly pain upon injection. Ciprofol, a more recent drug with propofol-like properties, has demonstrated promise and may have an improved safety profile, making it a compelling alternative for inducing general anesthesia. This meta-analysis compared the safety and effectiveness of Ciprofol with Propofol for general anesthesia induction in a range of medical procedures, encompassing thirteen Randomized Controlled Trials (RCTs) and 1998 individuals. The pooled analysis indicated that Ciprofol was associated with a notably lower incidence of pain upon injection [RR: 0.15; 95% CI: 0.10 to 0.23; I^2 = 43%, p < 0.0000001] and was non-inferior to propofol in terms of anesthesia success rate [RR: 1.00; 95% CI: 0.99 to 1.01; I^2 = 0%; p = 0.43]. In terms of safety, the incidence of hypotension was significantly lower in the ciprofol group [RR:0.82; 95% CI:0.68 to 0.98; I^2 = 48%; p = 0.03]. However, no statistically significant differences were found for hypertension, bradycardia, or tachycardia. In conclusion, ciprofol is equally effective at inducing and maintaining general anesthesia as propofol. When compared to propofol, ciprofol is a better alternative sedative for operations including fiberoptic bronchoscopy, gynecological procedures, gastrointestinal endoscopic procedures, and elective surgeries because it has less adverse effects, most notably less painful injections. •Our meta-analysis found that Ciprofol was associated with a significantly lower incidence of injection-related pain compared to Propofol.•Ciprofol also demonstrated a lower risk of hypotension during general anesthesia induction when compared to Propofol, indicating improved safety.•However, there were no statistically significant differences between Ciprofol and Propofol in terms of hypertension, bradycardia, or tachycardia events during induction, suggesting a comparable cardiovascular safety profile.

COVID-19 pandemic restrictions limited all social activities to curtail the spread of the virus. The foremost and most prime sector among those affected were schools, colleges, and universities. The education system of entire nations had shifted to online education during this time. Many shortcomings of Learning Management Systems (LMSs) were detected to support education in an online mode that spawned the research in Artificial Intelligence (AI) based tools that are being developed by the research community to improve the effectiveness of LMSs. This paper presents a detailed survey of the different enhancements to LMSs, which are led by key advances in the area of AI to enhance the real-time and non-real-time user experience. The AI-based enhancements proposed to the LMSs start from the Application layer and Presentation layer in the form of flipped classroom models for the efficient learning environment and appropriately designed UI/UX for efficient utilization of LMS utilities and resources, including AI-based chatbots. Session layer enhancements are also required, such as AI-based online proctoring and user authentication using Biometrics. These extend to the Transport layer to support real-time and rate adaptive encrypted video transmission for user security/privacy and satisfactory working of AI-algorithms. It also needs the support of the Networking layer for IP-based geolocation features, the Virtual Private Network (VPN) feature, and the support of Software-Defined Networks (SDN) for optimum Quality of Service (QoS). Finally, in addition to these, non-real-time user experience is enhanced by other AI-based enhancements such as Plagiarism detection algorithms and Data Analytics.

The estrogen receptor-α (ERα) is a critical transcription factor that regulates epithelial cell proliferation and ductal morphogenesis during postnatal mammary gland development. Tissue recombination and transplantation studies using the first generation of ERα knockout (ERKO) mice suggested that this steroid hormone receptor is required in the mammary stroma that subsequently exerts its effect on the epithelium through additional paracrine signaling events. A more detailed analysis revealed that ERKO mice produce a truncated ERα protein with detectable transactivation activity, and it is likely that this functional ERα variant has masked the biological significance of this steroid receptor in the mammary epithelium. In this article, we describe the generation a Cre-lox-based conditional knockout of the ERα gene to study the biological function of this steroid receptor in the epithelial compartment at defined stages of mammary gland development. The mouse mammary tumor virus (MMTV)-Cre-mediated, epithelial-specific ablation of exon 3 of the ERα gene in virgin mice severely impaired ductal elongation and side branching. The conditional knockout resulted in ablation of the ERα protein, and the progesterone receptor (PR), whose expression is under the control of ERα, was largely absent. The whey acidic protein (WAP)-Cre-mediated deletion of ERα during successive gestation cycles resulted in a loss of ductal side-branching and lobuloalveolar structures, ductal dilation, and decreased proliferation of alveolar progenitors. These abnormalities compromised milk production and led to malnourishment of the offspring by the second lactation. These observations suggest that ERα expression in the mammary epithelium is essential for normal ductal morphogenesis during puberty and alveologenesis during pregnancy and lactation.

Obesity is a global epidemic that has been increasing in prevalence. The only treatment method for durable weight loss is bariatric surgery. The aim of this study was to observe trends in usage and outcomes of bariatric operations used in the United States from 2008 to 2012. Analysis was performed on bariatric surgery admissions from 2008 to 2012 based off of the Nationwide Inpatient Sample database. Data were selected from using International Classification of Disease, 9th Revision codes correlating to bariatric procedures for the purpose of obesity. Annual estimates and trends were reviewed for patient demographics, procedure type, patient outcomes, and length of stay (LOS). A total of 598,756 bariatric procedures were examined. Laparoscopic gastric bypass was the most commonly used surgical method in 2008 (58.2%). A decreasing trend in its use, and the use of laparoscopic gastric banding (LGB), was equipoised with increasing use of laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy (LSG). Use of LSG accounted for 8.2% of procedures in 2011 and 39.6% in 2012. LGB and LSG had the lowest rates of complications, in-hospital morbidity and mortality, and the shortest LOS whereas open bypass and duodenal switch had the highest rates of complications, in-hospital morbidity and mortality, and longest LOSs. Overall rates of venous thromboembolism increased from .08% in 2008 to .215% in 2012. Respiratory complications decreased from 6.1% to 3.9%. There were no observed trends in rates of renal complications, visceral injury, bleeding, and infections. In-hospital morbidity decreased, whereas mortality rates were stable at .1%. The utilization of bariatric procedures has reached a plateau in the United States. Changes in the composition of procedural types suggest that LSG has become a popular alternative to gastric bypass and LGB. •Bariatric surgery has shown a plateau from year 2008 to 2012 in the United States.•Laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy is the fastest rising procedure.•Laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy has the lowest number of complications.