Integration of therapies in autistic children; a survey based in Karachi, Pakistan

A cross-sectional study was conducted from January to June 2016 on autistic children at the Autism Unit of Dow University of Health Sciences to compare speech therapy, occupational therapy and combination of both for rehabilitation of autistic children in the selected population. A total of 55 children with autism age range from 1-12 years of both gender and all ethnic groups were recruited. All data was analysed in IBM-SPSS version 23.0. Pearson chi-square test was used to determine association of type of therapy with the diagnosed age of child, gender, mode of delivery, history of vaccination and parent\u27s education. Educated parenthood and a normal behaviour especially by other siblings played a significant role in early detection and referral of autistic child to rehabilitation centre. Moreover, it was observed that a combination of therapies helped in enhancement of social, learning and behavioural skills required for rehabilitation of autistic children

Oxidative stress and male infertility: A cross sectional study

Objective: To compare stress markers and antioxidants in fertile and infertile males, and to explore their effects on reproductive hormones and fertility.Methods: The cross-sectional case-control study was conducted from July 2017 to July 2018 at the Islamabad Clinic Serving Infertile Couples, Islamabad, Pakistan, and comprised male subjects aged 25-55 years. Infertile subjects were the cases, while healthy fertile males acted as the controls. Stress hormones cortisol and adrenaline and antioxidants glutathione peroxidase and superoxide dismutase were measured using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Data was analysed using SPSS 22.Results: Of the 376 subjects, 241(64%) were cases and 135(36%) were controls. Median cortisol, adrenaline, superoxide dismutase and glutathione levels were significantly higher among the cases compared to te controls (p\u3c0.05). Follicle stimulating hormone and luteinizing hormone levels were higher in cases compared to the controls (p=0.05). Mean testosterone level was higher among the controls than the cases (p\u3c0.001). After adjusting for other covariates, every increase of 7 units in cortisol increased the prevalence of infertility by 3% (p=0.001). There was significant interaction between luteinizing hormone and testosterone in the final model (p\u3c0.05).Conclusion: Stress together with decrease in antioxidants was found to play a significant role in reducing the fertilising potential of male infertile subjects

Inheritance of azetidine-2-carboxylic acid resistance in Arabidopsis thaliana.

A number of hypotheses link salt tolerance in plants to proline accumulation or transport of proline. To begin to understand the genetic basis of this correlation, fifteen mutants of Arabidopsis thaliana were selected for resistance to the toxic proline analog, azetidine-2-carboxylic acid (ACA). These mutants were characterized by seedling growth and proline content on nutrient agar media in the absence and presence of ACA and NaCl. One of these ACA-resistant mutants, KG3, also showed enhanced tolerance to NaCl and was characterized by a recessive trait, transparent testa. Inheritance studies indicated that ACA resistance in KG3 was due to a single recessive gene mutation, named aca1. Genetic mapping studies were done by crossing KG3 with a morphological marker line W100 to determine the chromosomal location of ACa resistance in relation to known markers. Segregation analysis of 180 single-seed-descent F₃ families showed that aca1 was linked to marker tt3. Marker tt3 is located on chromosome V of Arabidopsis thaliana. Segregation of tt3 and aca1 did not show a 9:3:3:1 ratio, suggesting that aca1 was closely linked to tt3, located 62.1 cM from the end of chromosome V. The transparent testa phenotype of KG3 was complemented by locus tt4 also located on this chromosome. To determine the basis of enhanced NaCl tolerance in KG3, F₃ families from a cross between KG3 and Columbia pubescent wild type were tested for NaCl resistance. Families showing optimal growth after release from salt stress were scored for NaCl tolerance. Segregation analysis indicated that the salt tolerance in KG3 was due to a single recessive gene mutation called salt addicted (sad1). The sad1 phenotype appeared to have required NaCl for optimal growth. Segregation analysis of aca1 and sad1 phenotype showed that they were not linked. Molecular mapping of aca-1 was done by using a number of RFLP markers selected from all five Arabidopsis thaliana chromosomes. This study indicated that aca1 was linked with markers m331 and m435, located at positions 73.4 cM and 80.2 cM, respectively, on chromosome V on the unified map of Arabidopsis thaliana. Thus, the map location of aca1 was found to lie within 62 to 67 centimorgans on chromosome V

Ethnic meat products of Kashmiri wazwan: a review

Wazwan, the Kashmiri cuisine, is a unique and inseparable component of Kashmiri culture. It comprises from seven to 36 dishes of mutton or beef, chicken, fruits, and vegetables. The important ethnic meat products of wazwan include kabab, tabak maaz, aab gosh, rogan josh, nate-yakhni, rista, and goshtaba. The ethnic meat products of Kashmiri wazwan are popular because of their appealing flavor, texture, and palatability characteristics. However, traditional knowledge of these ethnic meat products in other aspects is not carefully documented. As the demand for ethnic/heritage meat products is ever-growing because of rapid urbanization and industrialization, substantial efforts need to be made to meet such increasing requirements. In addition, because of their popularity, there is a vast potential to introduce them at the national level and promote their export. This review aims to describe processing, quality characteristics, underlying problems, and approaches for the development of some important ethnic meat products of Kashmiri wazwan

59. Urinary tract infection in children after cardiac surgery: Incidence, risk factors and outcome

Urinary tract infection (UTI) can prolong hospitalization, and increase morbidity. Catheter associated UTI (CAUTI) is a major cause of UTI. The aim of this study is to determine the incidence, risk factors, etiology and outcome of UTI in postoperative cardiac children. Methods: This is retrospective cohort study. All post-operative patients admitted to PCICU during 2012 were included. Patients were divided into: group (1) Patients who developed and group (2) patients who did not develop UTI. The two groups were compared for demographic and other variable predictors for UTI. Results: 413 post-cardiac surgical children were included. Group 1 had 29 patients (7%) all had CAUTI. Foley catheter utilization ratio was 44%. CAUTI density rate was 18 per 1000 catheter days. Logistic regression analysis demonstrated that risk factors for developing UTI were: duration of Foley (P < 0.002), associated syndrome (P = 0.01) and prolonged PCICU and hospital stay (P < 0.05). Gram-negative were responsible for 63% and Candida for (24%) of the CAUTI. ESBL caused 30% and MDRO caused 10% of our patients CAUTI. Conclusions: Foley catheter duration, presence of syndrome and prolonged PCICU and hospital stay were the main risk factors for CAUTI in postoperative pediatric cardiac patients. Resistant Gram-negative were the main cause for BSI with one third of CAUTI cases caused by MDRO or ESBL organisms. The cases with CAUTI were generally sicker and with more morbidity. The study will establish a baseline clinical indicator for monitoring quality improvement and the future measures to minimize CAUTI incidence, and its co-morbidity

Development of a context specific accreditation assessment tool for affirming quality midwifery education in Bangladesh

OBJECTIVE: using the International Confederation of Midwives (ICM) Global Standards for Midwifery Education as a conceptual framework, the aim of this study was to explore and describe important 'must haves' for inclusion in a context-specific accreditation assessment tool in Bangladesh. DESIGN: A questionnaire study was conducted using a Likert rating scale and 111 closed-response single items on adherence to accreditation-related statements, ending with an open-ended question. The ICM Global Standards guided data collection, deductive content analysis and description of the quantitative results. SETTING: twenty-five public institutes/colleges (out of 38 in Bangladesh), covering seven out of eight geographical divisions in the country. PARTICIPANTS: one hundred and twenty-three nursing educators teaching the 3-year diploma midwifery education programme. FINDINGS: this study provides insight into the development of a context-specific accreditation assessment tool for Bangladesh. Important components to be included in this accreditation tool are presented under the following categories and domains: 'organization and administration', 'midwifery faculty', 'student body', 'curriculum content', 'resources, facilities and services' and 'assessment strategies'. The identified components were a prerequisite to ensure that midwifery students achieve the intended learning outcomes of the midwifery curriculum, and hence contribute to a strong midwifery workforce. The components further ensure well-prepared teachers and a standardized curriculum supported at policy level to enable effective deployment of professional midwives in the existing health system. KEY CONCLUSIONS: as part of developing an accreditation assessment tool, it is imperative to build ownership and capacity when translating the ICM Global Standards for Midwifery Education into the national context. IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE: this initiative can be used as lessons learned from Bangladesh to develop a context-specific accreditation assessment tool in line with national priorities, supporting the development of national policies

Controlled Evaluation of Bactec Peds Plus/F and Bactec Lytic/10 Anaerobic/F Media for Isolation of Salmonella enterica Serovars Typhi and Paratyphi A from Blood▿

We compared anaerobic lytic (AL) and pediatric aerobic resin-containing (Peds Plus/F) blood culture media for the isolation of Salmonella enterica serotype Typhi or Paratyphi A from children. The yields from AL and Peds Plus/F media were the same with equal volumes of blood, but recovery was faster from AL medium than Peds Plus/F medium (10.7 and 16.4 h, respectively) (P < 0.001)