Three rapid, simple, reproducible and sensitive spectrophotometric methods (A, B and C) are described for the determination of two organophosphorus pesticides, (malathion and dimethoate) in formulations and vegetable samples. The methods A and B involve the addition of an excess of Ce 4+ into sulphuric acid medium and the determination of the unreacted oxidant by decreasing the red color of chromotrope 2R (C2R) at a suitable λ max = 528 nm for method A, or a decrease in the orange pink color of rhodamine 6G (Rh6G) at a suitable λ max = = 525 nm. The method C is based on the oxidation of malathion or dimethoate with the slight excess of N-bromosuccinimide (NBS) and the determination of unreacted oxidant by reacting it with amaranth dye (AM) in hydrochloric acid medium at a suitable λ max = 520 nm. A regression analysis of Beer-Lambert plots showed a good correlation in the concentration range of 0.1-4.2 μg mL −1 . The apparent molar absorptivity, Sandell sensitivity, the detection and quantification limits were calculated. For more accurate analysis, Ringbom optimum concentration ranges are 0.25-4.0 μg mL −1 . The developed methods were successfully applied to the determination of malathion, and dimethoate in their formulations and environmental vegetable samples.

T omato (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill.) is self-pollinated, cosmopolitan crop mainly grown in tropical and sub-tropical regions of the world (Tahir et al., 2012;Kumar et al., 2017). Tomato is a rich source of minerals, vitamins, sugars, essential amino acids, vitamin A, B, C, iron and phosphorus, it also contains Lycopene which is an antioxidant used to decrease the risk neurodegenerative diseases (Mahla et al., 2017).

Objectives: To explore the risk factors, pathogens and outcomes of severe community-acquired pneumonia (SCAP) in patients with respiratory failure. Methods: A prospective observational study was conducted at Northwest General Hospital & Research Centre, Peshawar, Pakistan from February 2016 to October 2018. All patients with Community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) who fulfilled the inclusion criteria were recorded consecutively. Diagnosis of SCAP was made following the criteria established by the IDSA/ATS in the consensus guidelines on the management of CAP in adults published in 2007. In-hospital mortality was the main outcome. Results: The final analysis comprised a total of 100 patients with SCAP. The mean age was 60.0±18.01 years, and 54.0% were female patients. Afghani patients represented 22.0% of the total patients. The most common comorbidity associated with SCAP was hypertension (42.0%). The most commonly isolated etiological agents were Acinetobacter baumannii, followed by extended-spectrum beta-lactamase (ESBL)-producing Escherichia coli. In-hospital mortality was 45%. On multivariate analysis, factors associated with in-hospital mortality were age (OR 1.054; 95%Cl 1.01-1.10; p=0.021), presence of two or more complications (OR 4.51; 95%Cl 1.18-17.28; p=0.028), septic shock (OR 6.44; 95%Cl 1.55-26.803; p=0.010), length of mechanical ventilation (OR 1.17; 95%Cl 1.01-1.40; p=0.043), and paO2 (OR 4.51; 95%Cl 1.18-17.28; p=0.004). Conclusion: A high mortality rate was observed in our study. Age, presence of two or more complications, septic shock, length of mechanical ventilation, and low paO2 were identified to be independent predictors of mortality for patients with SCAP. doi: https://doi.org/10.12669/pjms.38.4.5312 How to cite this:Rahat-Ullah A, Masood A, Amin S, Ali I. Predictive factors and outcomes of severe community acquired pneumonia in patients with respiratory failure. Pak J Med Sci. 2022;38(4):---------. doi: https://doi.org/10.12669/pjms.38.4.5312 This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.