Inflammation the Kingpin of Chronic Diseases Naturopathy as an alternative source of treatment: An updated overview

Inflammation involves a sequence of events which can be categorized under three phases viz. acute transient phase, delayed sub-acute phase and chronic proliferate phase. Inflammatory mediators develop due to enhanced vascular permeability and leads to local edema. It is followed by the migration of leukocytes and phagocytes from blood to vascular tissues which is the second phase, in the third phase, tissue degradation is followed by fibrosis. There is a powerful link between chronic diseases and chronic inflammatory disorders. Chronic low-level inflammation contributes to the pathogenesis of these several diseases like Heart disease, Cancer, Chronic lower respiratory disease, Stroke, Alzheimer’s, Diabetes, and Nephritis. The harmful side effects of synthetic drugs are numerous and there stands up the need of herbal drugs which are cost effective and free from side-effects. Several traditional ayurvedic phytomedicines have been used in the treatment of inflammatory disorders like Ocimum sanctum, Hypericum peroratum, Boswellic serrata, Ficus racemosa etc. which act as natural anti-inflammatory agents that can help in reducing the complications associated with chronic diseases. Key Words: Inflammation, Chronic-low level inflammation, Cancer, Diabetes, Phytomedicine

A review on phytochemical and ethnopharmacological studies of Ajuga Bracteosa Wall. Ex Benth.

Herbal medicines as the major remedy in traditional system of medicine have been used in medical practices since antiquity. The plants of genus Ajuga are evergreen, clump-forming rhizomatous perennial or annual herbaceous flowering species, with Ajuga being one of the 266 genera of the family Lamiaceae. There are at least 301 species of the genus Ajuga with many variations. Ajugabracteosa Wall. ex Benth (A. bracteosa) is an important medicinal plant of Himalaya regions. Medicinal potential is due to presence of of various pharmacologically active compounds such as neo-clerodane diterpenoids, flavonol glycosides, iridoid glycosides, ergosterol-5,8- endoperoxide and phytoecdysones. The aim of this review article was to gather information about A. bracteosa which is currently scattered in form of various publications. This review article tried to attract the attention from people for therapeutic potential of A. bracteosa. The present review comprises upto date information of,traditional uses, botanical aspects, active ingredients and pharmacological activities such as antitumor, antimicrobial, antimalarial, anti-inflammatory, cardiotonic activity, antiarthritic activity, antioxidant activity . A large variety of compounds have so far been isolated from Ajuga bracteosa. Keywords:  Ajuga bracteosa, Herbal medicines, pharmacological activities

Phytopharmacological review of Bunium persicum (Boiss)B. fedtsch.

Bunium persicum(BOISS)B.Fedtsch belonging to family Apiaceae is native to the region of the limited zones of the West Asia, Kherman and grows to the areas of North Khorasan and Kheraman, East of the Zagros range to Bandar Abbaas and south area of the Albroz range in Iran. It is also found in North western parts of Himalayas. Bunium persicum is found growing naturally in sub-alpine and alpine habitats of North Western Himalayas. It is a perennial herb, dwarf 30cm to tall 80cm and its flowers are small, white in color. Keywords: Bunium persicum, Apiaceae, North-Western Himalayas, Perrenial Her

Phytomedicines as potent alternative Anti-microbial naturopathic treatment in Chronic Communicable diseases: A Review

Communicable Diseases are caused by various opportunistic pathogenic micro-organisms that pose a serious health threat to the health of human beings. The contagious diseases are spread by various pathogenic micro-organisms like bacteria, viruses, fungi, bacteria or Protozoa through various mediums like air, blood, feces or through other blood fluids etc. Malaria, Respiratory disorders, fever, Measles, athletes foot, rabies are some common examples of these diseases. Allopathic management of these diseases by synthetic drugs pose serious health threats like multi-drug resistance. Phytomedicines are considered the safest alternative sources of treatment to overcome the multi-drug resistance as the important phytoconstituents present in phytomedicines like alkaloids, flavonoids, phenols are known since time immemorial for their alleviation in chronic diseases like Cancer, Diabetes etc

Detection of bacterial load in drinking water samples by 16s rRNA ribotyping and RAPD analysis

Background: Safe and healthy drinking water is inaccessible to more than 20% of the world population. Among some major risks to safety of potable water, contamination with pathogenic microorganisms is the most alarming and harmful Therefore, it is needed to develop and implement fast and accurate methods for the detection of bacterial contamination in water. Methods: Biological analysis of drinking water samples obtained from nine different collection points of Lahore city was carried out and total of six different bacterial strains were isolated. Biochemical characterization was done under standard laboratory conditions. Molecular identification of these isolates was done by using random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) analysis. Results: The drinking water sample collected from Punjab University showed highest bacterial count 1066/0.5 ml of drinking water while residential area of University of the Punjab contained least number of bacterial counts i.e., 38/0.5 ml of drinking water. Amplification patterns of isolates SZ1, SZ3, SZ4 and SZ6 obtained by RAPD were found similar to genus Bacillus. While, SZ2 and SZ5 had unique amplification patterns identical to Bacillus megaterium. All the six bacterial strains were tested for the presence of protease, lipase, cellulase, and amylase. Strain SZ2 gave positive result for all of them except amylase.Conclusion: Tube well water of Punjab University area of Lahore is safe for drinking purpose except admin block tube. It is recommended to monitor the bacteriological load of drinking water at regular intervals in order to control water borne bacterial diseases

The traditional medicine and phytoconstituents from natural products for liver disease: A review

To combat a variety of liver ailments medicinal plants may serve as a vital source because of presence of pharmacologically active phytoconstituents. It is very interesting to note that there is no drug available in the modem system of medicine for treating hepatic disorders; only certain herbal preparations are available to treat this quite vulnerable disease. A large number of plants with hepatoprotective activity are present but only handful of herbs have such scientific support. Herbal medicines have been used to alleviate liver disorders for many centuries and have currently become a favorable therapy for pathological liver disease. Keywords: Liver disease, Herb, Hepatoprotective activit

Floating Oral In-Situ Gel: A Review

The drugs having a narrow absorption window in the gastrointestinal tract (GIT) when administered by oral route are often limited by poor bioavailability due to incomplete drug release and short residence time at the site of absorption. Novel drug delivery systems in the form of gastroretentive systems such as floating systems, mucoadhesive, high-density, expandable have been developed as they provide controlled delivery of drugs with prolonged gastric residence time. Liquid orals are more prone to low bioavailability because they are eliminated quickly from the stomach since they are subjected to faster transit from the stomach/ duodenum. The problems of immediate release and short gastrointestinal residence of liquids are eliminated by formulating as oral in situ gels as they provide the best means to overcome these problems The in situ gel dosage form is a liquid before administration and after it comes in contact with gastric contents due to one or more mechanisms gets converted to gel which floats on gastric contents. This achieves increased residence as well as sustained release. This approach is useful for systemic as well as local effect of drugs administered. This review gives a brief idea about floating oral in-situ gel formation and research done by various scientists on a number of drugs and polymers. Keywords: Floating drug delivery, gastric retention time, In-situ gel

Public exposure from I-131 hospitalized isolated patients in NIMRA Jamshoro Pakistan

Purpose/ Background: To treat the cancerous tissues the unsealed radioisotopes are being in clinical practice since 7 decades. From these unsealed sources, I-131 is the choice of treatment for the treating thyroid cancers. Orally administered I-131 patients are to be kept isolated in hospital for some period until captured activity in the body reaches to national and international limits for the avoidance of unacceptably high radiation exposures to patients' family members and the general public to keep ALARA (as low as reasonably achievable) principal in mind. The main rationale of this study was to calculate the exposure/dose of the general public. Material and Methods: This work presents the exposure rate and dose to the general public in the corridor and the non-radioactive patients admitted in adjacent room from I-131 administered isolated patients treated at NIMRA (Nuclear Institute of Medicine and Radiotherapy) Jamshoro Pakistan. In this study exposure from 23 thyroid cancer patients treated with different activities of I-131 (50 to 200 mCi) from January 2011 to December 2012 were included. Results: The average exposure rate in the corridor was about 5.17 µSv/hr (2.14 µSv/hr to 8.15 µSv/hr) and the cumulative dose to nonradioactive patients residing in an adjacent room was 0.647 mSv (0.192 mSv to 1.664 mSv). Conclusion: This study concludes that the exposure rate to the general public especially the admitted non-radioactive patient in the adjacent room is almost within the limits of 1 mSv as specified in national and international standards.-----------------------------------------Cite this article as: Memon SA, Laghari NA, Qureshi ST, Ahmad A, Khan AA, Hussain MM. Public exposure from I-131 hospitalized isolated patients in NIMRA Jamshoro Pakistan. Int J Cancer Ther Oncol 2014; 2(2):020214. DOI: 10.14319/ijcto.0202.1

A nationwide study of adults admitted to hospital with diabetic ketoacidosis or hyperosmolar hyperglycaemic state and COVID‐19

AimsTo investigate characteristics of people hospitalized with coronavirus-disease-2019 (COVID-19) and diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) or hyperosmolar hyperglycaemic state (HHS), and to identify risk factors for mortality and intensive care admission.Materials and methodsRetrospective cohort study with anonymized data from the Association of British Clinical Diabetologists nationwide audit of hospital admissions with COVID-19 and diabetes, from start of pandemic to November 2021. The primary outcome was inpatient mortality. DKA and HHS were adjudicated against national criteria. Age-adjusted odds ratios were calculated using logistic regression.ResultsIn total, 85 confirmed DKA cases, and 20 HHS, occurred among 4073 people (211 type 1 diabetes, 3748 type 2 diabetes, 114 unknown type) hospitalized with COVID-19. Mean (SD) age was 60 (18.2) years in DKA and 74 (11.8) years in HHS (p < .001). A higher proportion of patients with HHS than with DKA were of non-White ethnicity (71.4% vs 39.0% p = .038). Mortality in DKA was 36.8% (n = 57) and 3.8% (n = 26) in type 2 and type 1 diabetes respectively. Among people with type 2 diabetes and DKA, mortality was lower in insulin users compared with non-users [21.4% vs. 52.2%; age-adjusted odds ratio 0.13 (95% CI 0.03-0.60)]. Crude mortality was lower in DKA than HHS (25.9% vs. 65.0%, p = .001) and in statin users versus non-users (36.4% vs. 100%; p = .035) but these were not statistically significant after age adjustment.ConclusionsHospitalization with COVID-19 and adjudicated DKA is four times more common than HHS but both associate with substantial mortality. There is a strong association of previous insulin therapy with survival in type 2 diabetes-associated DKA

Mismatch between Students’ Learning Objectives and Learning Outcomes: A Case Study of English as a Subject

In educational settings, the alignment of learning objectives with actual learning outcomes is a critical concern. The significance of this study is to explore the discrepancies between the desired learning objectives and the actually achieved learning outcomes in a particular English educational subject in Pakistani educational institutions. A thorough study was carried out to analyse the importance of coordinating learning objectives with sociocultural influences, instructional strategies, and assessment methods. The research utilizes a mixed method case study. The qualitative collection of data involves classroom observations and semi-structured interviews. Then to develop a holistic understanding, quantitative surveys are collected from teachers and students. The study population is composed of educators and students from conveniently selective educational institutions. The research explores to determine the root causes by analyzing the perceptions, practices, and experiences. The outcomes of the research are to improve the efficacy of learning objectives by refining educational approaches and stimulating more coherent and fruitful learning outcomes in the English educational context