Omphalocoele, ten years experience at a tertiary care hospital

Omphalocoele is a rare congenital anterior abdominal wall defect. We present 12 cases of Omphalocoele seen in our hospital. Further, we have discussed the clinical presentation, antenatal diagnosis, associated abnormalities and final outcome of the cases

Influence of Natural Zeolite and Mineral additive on Bacterial Self-healing Concrete: A Review

With time, the development of micro-cracks in concrete is a frequently reported problem in the structures due to the ingress of harmful substances, leading to the degradation of its quality and strength, which ultimately declines the construction. The present work is a review paper based on enhancing the self-healing property of concrete by inducing different bacteria alone or incorporating different mineral additives. It has been seen that various rehabilitated methodologies are in queue to surmount concrete’s weaknesses and to increase its strength and durability. The latest methodology includes using non-pathogenic microbes in concrete as Microbial induced Calcium Carbonate Precipitation (MICCP). The property of precipitating calcium carbonate (CaCO3) crystals by their metabolic activities helps repair the cracks in harsh conditions and improve their strength. Ureolytic bacteria like Bacillus pasteurii/Sporosarcina pasteurii, Bacillus subtilis, Bacillus megaterium, etc., have a specific property by which they can excite urea when integrated with a calcium source and help in sealing the cracks by CaCO3 precipitation. Different studies have observed that specimens having a bacterial concentration of 105-107 cells/ml with Natural Zeolite (NZ) replacement (10%) represents better interaction of the microstructure of concrete because of the formation of calcium silicate hydrate (CSH) gel. Further, the reduction in CH bond with reduced pore space has also been observed. NZ alone enhances micro-structural property, but it shows CaCo3 precipitation and more densification of microstructure under bacterial combination. XRD also confirms an increase in the calcite composition when the bacterial concentration of 105-107 cells/ml is used. The overall properties of standard and high-strength bacterial concrete (105-107 cells/ml) with 10% Natural Zeolite replacement can provide a better option for the future of sustained and strong concrete. Doi: 10.28991/CEJ-2022-08-05-015 Full Text: PD

Formulation and stability of topical water in oil emulsion containing corn silk extract

Purpose: To formulate the water in oil (W/O) emulsion of corn silk (CS) extract and to evaluate its stability at various storage conditions.Methods: Ethanol CS extract was prepared using maceration (cold) technique. A 4 % CS emulsion was prepared using varying concentrations of liquid paraffin, ABIL EM90 and water. The formulations were kept at 25 oC for 28 days and to screen out the less stable formulations. The remaining formulations were further stressed at 40 oC to choose the most stable formulation. The optimized formulation was evaluated for physical characteristics including phase separation, rheology and mean droplet size. The physical stability of the formulation was evaluated by monitoring these parameters over a period of 12 weeks at 8, 25, 40 and 40 oC, and 75 % RH.Results: The chosen formulation showed good resistance to phase separation on centrifugation under all storage conditions. Rheological behavior followed non-Newtonian pseudoplastic pattern at various storage conditions. Mean droplet size of freshly prepared formulation was 2.98 ± 1.32 μm and did not show significant (p < 0.05) changes at normal storage conditions (8 and 25 oC).Conclusion: The findings indicate that the developed CS extract W/O emulsion is stable and therefore may be suitable for topical use on skin as an antioxidant preparation.Keywords: Corn silk, Emulsion, Nonionic surfactant, Rheology, Flow index, Droplet size, Non-Newtonian pseudoplasti

Frequency and clinical variants of specific dermatoses in third trimester of pregnancy: a study from a tertiary care centre

OBJECTIVE: To determine the frequency of patients with dermatoses in the third trimester of pregnancy and to identify various clinical types of dermatoses in the third trimester. METHODS: The study was carried out at the Department of Dermatology and the Department of Gynaecology & Obstetrics, PNS Shifa Hospital, Karachi, from January 2 to July 1, 2008. Two hundred pregnant women in their third trimester were included in the study. The diagnosis was based on history, clinical examination and relevant investigations. Patients with physiological dermatoses and dermatoses which flare up during pregnancy were excluded. A comprehensive pro-forma was used to evaluate different dermatoses. Skin biopsy for histopathology was also done where necessary. RESULTS: The age of the study population ranged from 17 to 36 years (mean = 27.3 +/- 4.86). Five (2.5%) patients had prurigo of pregnancy, 4 (2%) had dermatoses associated with Intrahepatic Cholestasis of Pregnancy (ICP), 3 (1.5%) patients had polymorphic eruption of pregnancy, and 1 (0.5%) patient had pruritic folliculitis of pregnancy. No case of pemphigoidgestationis was observed. CONCLUSION: In the study, 6.5% patients presented with specific dermatoses. Prurigo of pregnancy was the commonest condition. Polymorphic eruption of pregnancy was more common in primigravida, while dermatoses with intrahepatic cholestasis was seen more often in multigravida

ANTIBACTERIAL AND ANTIOXIDANT POTENTIAL OF STEM BARK EXTRACT OF BOMBAX CEIBA COLLECTED LOCALLY FROM SOUTH PUNJAB AREA OF PAKISTAN

Background: Ethnic medication systems have been used extensively by humans since their origin. Now a day, in the developing countries these systems are being used due to their effectiveness and affordability. Especially inhabitants of rural areas still rely on these systems as first line of treatment against diseased conditions. Till now, majority of medicines is derived from the natural origin particularly plants owing to their little side effects and cost effectiveness. Materials and Methods: In the present work, we evaluated antibacterial and antioxidant activity of methanolic extract of Bombax ceiba stem bark. Total phenolic and flavonoid contents were also assessed in the extract. The antioxidant capacity was determined by DPPH, Nitric Oxide scavenging and reducing power activity. For antibacterial activity, Gram-negative (Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Salmonella typhi) and Gram-positive bacteria (Bacillus subtilis, Staphylococcus aureus) were used. Results: Phenolic content was 133.21±1.56 μg GAE/mg of extract while Flavonoid content was 997.93±2.14 μg QE/mg. Plant extract demonstrated strong antiradical activity with EC50 18.78 ± 0.69 and 23.62 ± 1.99μg/ml for Nitric Oxide and DPPH assay respectively while EC50 in case of reducing power activity was 139.4 ± 0.98μg/ml. Plant extract displayed inhibitory effect against microbial growth with S. typhi as the most resistant strain and Staphylococcus aureus the most sensitive one. Conclusion: This study revealed that Bombax ceiba of local origin has broad spectrum antibacterial activity and it can also provide defense against oxidative stress

Effects of Emblica Officinalis Extract Cream on Human Skin Trans-epidermal Water Loss Measured with Non Invasive Probe

The purpose of this study was to assess hydroalcoholic Emblica officinalis fruit extract cream on human skin trans-epidermal water loss (TEWL). Ten male volunteers were examined in this study. Measurements were made on cheeks. Creams with different concentrations of ABIL® EM 90 and liquid paraffin containing 3% hydroalcoholic Emblica officinalis fruit extract were developed and tested for stability studies for a period of 28 days. Selected cream and its base were further assessed in different conditions at 8 °C (in refrigerator), 25 °C (in incubator), 40 °C (in incubator) and 40 °C (in incubator) with 75% relative humidity (RH) for color, odor, thickness, grittiness liquefaction, phase separation, and pH at different time intervals. Trans-epidermal water loss (TEWL) was monitored every week by non-invasive bio-instrument Tewameter MPA 5. All measurements were made statistically by ANOVA and t-paired test. Significant decrease on skin TEWL was produced. Keywords: Hydroalcoholic Emblica officinalis fruit extract, Facial cream, Biophysical paramete

Toxicity, Antioxidant Activity, and Phytochemicals of Basil (Ocimum basilicum L.) Leaves Cultivated in Southern Punjab, Pakistan

Basil (Ocimum basilicum L.) is one of the most common aromatic herbs, a rich source of bioactive compounds, and is used extensively to add aroma and flavor to food. The leaves, both in fresh and dried form, are used as a culinary ingredient in different cultures. O. basilicum is also famous for its therapeutic potential and preservation effects. The present study investigated the cytotoxicity of basil at three different growth stages (GS), i.e., GS-1 (58 days of growth), GS-2 (69 days of growth), and GS-3 (93 days of growth) using the brine shrimp lethality assay. The results revealed that cytotoxicity was influenced by GS and the concentration of extracts. Aqueous extracts of basil at a concentration of 10 to 1000 µg/mL did not show notable toxicity. The lowest mortality rate, i.e., 8.9%, was recorded for GS-2 at the highest tested dose of basil extracts. The mortality rate at GS-1, GS-2, and GS-3 was found to be 26.7 ± 3.34%, 8.91 ± 0.10%, and 16.7 ± 0.34%, respectively, at 1000 µg/mL. GS-2 basil powder with the lowest toxicological risk was extracted with different solvents, viz., n-hexane, dichloromethane, ethanol, and water. The highest concentration of plant secondary metabolites including total phenolic acid, flavonoids, and tannin content was observed in ethanol extracts. Ethanol extracts also exhibited the highest antioxidant activity in DPPH, FRAP and H2O2 assays. LC-ESI-MS/MS analysis presented ethanol extracts of basil as a promising source of known health-promoting and therapeutic compounds such as rosmarinic acid, ellagic acid, catechin, liquiritigenin, and umbelliferone. The results suggest basil, a culinary ingredient, as a potential source of bioactive compounds which may offer an array of health promoting and therapeutic properties

Antioxidant Effect of Ocimum basilicum Essential Oil and Its Effect on Cooking Qualities of Supplemented Chicken Nuggets

A commonly observed chicken meat issue is its lipid oxidation that leads to deterioration of its organoleptic and nutritional properties and its further-processed products. Basil (Ocimum basilicum L.) is one of the traditional culinary herbs exhibiting food preservation properties. The current study investigated the essential oil composition, antioxidant activity and in vitro cytotoxic capacity of the essential oil of basil indigenous to Pakistan. GC–MS analysis of the essential oil revealed the presence of 59 compounds that constituted 98.6% of the essential oil. O. basilicum essential oil (OB-EO) exhibited excellent antioxidant activity, i.e., IC50 5.92 ± 0.15 µg/mL as assayed by the DPPH assay, 23.4 ± 0.02 µmoL Fe/g by FRAP, and 14.6 ± 0.59% inhibition by H2O2. The brine shrimp lethality assay identified an average mortality of ~18% with OB-EO at 10–1000 µg/mL, while that of the same concentration range of the standard drug (etoposide) was 72%. OB-EO was found to be non-toxic to HeLa and PC-3 cell lines. TBARS contents were significantly decreased with increase of OB-EO in chicken nuggets. The lowest TBARS contents were recorded in nuggets supplemented with 0.3% OB-EO, whereas the highest overall acceptability score was marked to the treatments carrying 0.2% OB-EO. The results suggest OB-EO as a promising carrier of bioactive compounds with a broad range of food preservation properties, and which has a sensory acceptability threshold level for chicken nuggets falling between 0.2-0.3% supplementation. Future research must investigate the antibacterial impact of OB-EO on meat products preserved with natural rather than synthetic preservatives

Rehabilitation of Acute and Chronic Ankle Sprain for Male Cricketers through Mixedbag (Hydrotherapy and Land-Based) Exercises

Ninety-five amateur cricketers of age, 15-35 years with confirmed acute or chronic ankle sprain, selected from four different cities of the Punjab, Pakistan were evaluated through Star Excursion Balance Test (SEBT), Single Leg Balance test (SLB) and subject to a set of progressively increasing exercises on ground and in water as well known as MixedBag rehab exercises which consisted of Hydro, Isometric, Isotonic and proprioception protocols. Another group of same level cricketer (n = 40) served as control. Comparisons of pre and post-exercise values showed significant increase (p \u3c 0.001) in Lateral direction reach and Posteromedial direction while the rest of the six directions showed non-significant results. MixedBag Rehab Group showed an overall improvement of 14.3 % and 9.2 % with an increase (cm) of 9.6 and 6.3 for the non-injured and injured leg respectively. However, the range of improvement in percentage for all eight directions lies between 5.5-6.3 and 7.7-11.8 for the non-injured and injured leg, respectively. Similarly, the difference between pre and post-exercise difference of two positions of non-injured leg and injured leg in seconds were 2.9, 12.1 and 4.1, 27.7. The results indicated that MixedBag exercises improved isometric and isotonic muscular strength, proprioception and stability that ultimately helped to recover, regaining strength and reinstall proprioception. After completing the MixedBag Rehab plan, the subjects were followed for four months to check the recurrence and it was found that the recurrence of Control Injured Group and MixedBag Rehab Group was 17.5 % and 7.5 %, respectively

Heterocyclic Aromatic Amines in Meat: Formation, Isolation, Risk Assessment, and Inhibitory Effect of Plant Extracts

: Heterocyclic aromatic amines (HAAs) are potent carcinogenic compounds induced by the Maillard reaction in well-done cooked meats. Free amino acids, protein, creatinine, reducing sugars and nucleosides are major precursors involved in the production of polar and non-polar HAAs. The variety and yield of HAAs are linked with various factors such as meat type, heating time and temperature, cooking method and equipment, fresh meat storage time, raw material and additives, precursor's presence, water activity, and pH level. For the isolation and identification of HAAs, advanced chromatography and spectroscopy techniques have been employed. These potent mutagens are the etiology of several types of human cancers at the ng/g level and are 100- to 2000-fold stronger than that of aflatoxins and benzopyrene, respectively. This review summarizes previous studies on the formation and types of potent mutagenic and/or carcinogenic HAAs in cooked meats. Furthermore, occurrence, risk assessment, and factors affecting HAA formation are discussed in detail. Additionally, sample extraction procedure and quantification techniques to determine these compounds are analyzed and described. Finally, an overview is presented on the promising strategy to mitigate the risk of HAAs by natural compounds and the effect of plant extracts containing antioxidants to reduce or inhibit the formation of these carcinogenic substances in cooked meats