Bilateral retractile testis: A possible risk factor for male infertility

Healthy youth is an asset and strength for economic and social growth of any society. Developmental changes during puberty of youngsters need proper guidance to avoid future physical, physiological and psychological ailments. Bilateral Retractile Testis (BRT) is a health problem if remains unnoticed till adolescence can lead to tribulations. BRT may affect testicular parenchyma and spermatogenesis. Cremasteric muscles (muscles attached with testes) pull the testes up into groin so it randomly moves up and down and do not reside in its natural pouch always. It has been a controversial issue in male infertility as retraction may affect infertility. Objective: To estimate the prevalence of male infertility among patients with Bilateral Retractile Testis. Methodology: A total of 200 male patients were enrolled after the power calculation, with different reproductive health problems between the age of 18 - 40 years during the year 2016 at Reproductive health clinic Jinnah Post Graduate Medical Center (JPMC), Karachi. 25 male patients were reported with infertility and BRT. The data was collected using self-developed questionnaire including outdoor patients’ physical check-up, manual testicular examination as size and shape were done. Patient height, weight, blood pressure, their lifestyle, and dressing regarding wearing tight jeans habits were asked. Semen analysis was carried out showing abnormality in sperm count, motility or morphology and entered and analysed in the SPSS version 10. Means and percentages were calculated. Result: Out of 200 male infertile patients, a total of 25 (12.5%) patients with a diagnosis of BRT were found in the sample with the mean age of 29 years. Moreover, it was identified that those having BRT also have low motility of the sperms. Based on the results it was concluded that BRT is a possible cause of male infertility in Pakistani population. Conclusion: BRT is a possible risk factor to affect sperm motility and low sperm motility can lead to male infertility. The study estimates the prevalence of 12.5% among our sampled men

Prevalence of Self-Medication of Psychoactive Stimulants and Antidepressants among Undergraduate Pharmacy Students in Twelve Pakistani Cities

Purpose: To evaluate the prevalence of self-medication of psychoactive stimulants and antidepressants among pharmacy students of Pakistan.Methods: A cross-sectional survey on self-medication of psychoactive stimulants and antidepressants among pharmacy students was conducted with a structured and validated questionnaire distributed to a total of 2981 final year undergraduate pharmacy students in 12 major Pakistani cities (Karachi, Lahore, Islamabad, Rawalpindi, Sargodha, Dera Ismail Khan, Abbottabad, Bahawalpur, Hyderabad, Faisalabad, Multan and Peshawar) of Pakistan. Out of this, 2516 (718 male and 1798 female) students completed and returned the questionnaire.Results: Prevalence of self-medication of psychoactive stimulants was 1.31 (1.13 – 1.75 for 95% CI) and antidepressants was 8.34 (8.03 – 8.85 for 95% CI). A majority of the students (63 %) identified academic competition as a driving force for indulging in self-medication of psychoactive stimulants while nearly all the students (96 %)admitted using antidepressants to obtain relief from the pressure of studies (p < 0.05).Conclusion: Pakistani pharmacy students, despite being aware of the hazards of psychoactive stimulants, indulge in self-medication. Prevalence of self-medication with antidepressants is very high among the students due to the pressure of studies. Primarily, academic competition is the major driving force for the use of psychoactive stimulants.Keywords: Self-medication, Psychoactive stimulants, Antidepressants, Pharmacy students, Academicpressur

Reconnoitering the role of long-noncoding rnas in hypertrophic cardiomyopathy: A descriptive review

Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) is the most common form of hereditary cardiomy-opathy. It is characterized by an unexplained non-dilated hypertrophy of the left ventricle with a conserved or elevated ejection fraction. It is a genetically heterogeneous disease largely caused by variants of genes encoding for cardiac sarcomere proteins, including MYH7, MYBPC3, ACTC1, TPM1, MYL2, MYL3, TNNI3, and TNNT23. Preclinical evidence indicates that the enhanced calcium sensitivity of the myofilaments plays a key role in the pathophysiology of HCM. Notably, this is not always a direct consequence of sarcomeric variations but may also result from secondary mutation-driven alterations. Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) are a large class of transcripts ≥200 nucleotides in length that do not encode proteins. Compared to coding mRNAs, most lncRNAs are not as well-annotated and their functions are greatly unexplored. Nevertheless, increasing evidence shows that lncRNAs are involved in a variety of biological processes and diseases including HCM. Accumulating evidence has indicated that lncRNAs are dysregulated in HCM, and closely related to sarcomere construction, calcium channeling and homeostasis of mitochondria. In this review, we have summarized the known regulatory and functional roles of lncRNAs in HCM

Simulating Cotton Growth and Productivity Using AquaCrop Model under Deficit Irrigation in a Semi-Arid Climate

AquaCrop is a water-driven model that simulates the effect of environment and management on crop production under deficit irrigation. The model was calibrated and validated using three databases and four irrigation treatments (i.e., 100%ET, 80%ET, 70%ET, and 50%ET). Model performance was evaluated by simulating canopy cover (CC), biomass accumulation, and water productivity (WP). Statistics of root mean square error (RMSE) and Willmott’s index of agreement (d) showed that model predictions are suitable for non-stressed and moderate stressed conditions. The results showed that the simulated biomass and yield were consistent with the measured values with a coefficient of determination (R2) of 0.976 and 0.950, respectively. RMSE and d-index values for canopy cover (CC) were 2.67% to 4.47% and 0.991% to 0.998% and for biomass were 0.088 to 0.666 ton/ha and 0.991 to 0.999 ton/ha, respectively. Prediction of simulated and measured biomass and final yield was acceptable with deviation ˂10%. The overall value of R2 for WP in terms of yield was 0.943. Treatment with 80% ET consumed 20% less water than the treatment with 100%ET and resulted in high WP in terms of yield (0.6 kg/m3) and biomass (1.74 kg/m3), respectively. The deviations were in the range of −2% to 11% in yield and −2% to 4% in biomass. It was concluded that AquaCrop is a useful tool in predicting the productivity of cotton under different irrigation scenarios

Systematic study of incomplete fusion reactions: Role of various entrance channel parameters

263-266The evaporation residues, populated through complete and incomplete fusion processes in the reaction of 18O+ 165Ho, have been analyzed via excitation function measurements at projectile energies ≈ 4-7 MeV/nucleon. The cross-sections measured experimentally have been compared with the predictions of the compound nucleus model code PACE-4 calculations which only considers complete fusion (CF) reaction cross-sections. The experimental cross-section of the reaction residues populated through xn and pxn channels matches well with the theoretical model code PACE-4 predictions. On the other hand, α-emitting channels show an enhancement in the measured cross-section over PACE-4 calculations which reveals the occurrence of incomplete fusion (ICF) at the studied energy range. The relative percentage of incomplete fusion has been calculated from the experimental data and its dependence on various entrance channel parameters like projectile energy, mass-asymmetry, α-Q value and Coulomb factor (ZPZT) has been studied. The strength of incomplete fusion function obtained in the 18O+ 165Ho interaction has been compared with the previously studied systems. Results of the present study indicate that 18O (two neutron excess) projectile shows more incomplete fusion contribution as compared to 12C,13C and 16O projectiles due to its relatively small negative α-Q value

APPLICATION OF TAGUCHI METHOD AND ANOVA IN OPTIMIZATION OF CUTTING PARAMETERS FOR MATERIAL REMOVAL RATE AND SURFACE ROUGHNESS IN TURNING OPERATION

ABSTRACT The intend of this research work is to employ Taguchi method and Analysis of Variance to find out the influences of cutting parameters such as spindle speed, depth of cut and feed on material removal rate and surface roughness for their optimization. The experimental results obtained were analyzed to find out the most significant factor effecting MRR and surface roughness. Spindle speed was found to be the most significant parameter influencing material removal rate followed by feed and depth of cut in turning of mild steel (0.18% C). Feed rate was found to be the most influencing parameter in case of surface roughness

Modifiers of the effect of maternal multiple micronutrient supplementation on stillbirth, birth outcomes, and infant mortality: a meta-analysis of individual patient data from 17 randomised trials in low-income and middle-income countries

Background: Micronutrient deficiencies are common among women in low-income and middle-income countries. Data from randomised trials suggest that maternal multiple micronutrient supplementation decreases the risk of low birthweight and potentially improves other infant health outcomes. However, heterogeneity across studies suggests influence from effect modifiers. We aimed to identify individual-level modifiers of the effect of multiple micronutrient supplements on stillbirth, birth outcomes, and infant mortality in low-income and middle-income countries.Methods: This two-stage meta-analysis of individual patient included data from 17 randomised controlled trials done in 14 low-income and middle-income countries, which compared multiple micronutrient supplements containing iron-folic acid versus iron-folic acid alone in 112 953 pregnant women. We generated study-specific estimates and pooled subgroup estimates using fixed-effects models and assessed heterogeneity between subgroups with the χ2 test for heterogeneity. We did sensitivity analyses using random-effects models, stratifying by iron-folic acid dose, and exploring individual study effect.Findings: Multiple micronutrient supplements containing iron-folic acid provided significantly greater reductions in neonatal mortality for female neonates compared with male neonates than did iron-folic acid supplementation alone (RR 0·85, 95% CI 0·75–0·96 vs 1·06, 0·95–1·17; p value for interaction 0·007). Multiple micronutrient supplements resulted in greater reductions in low birthweight (RR 0·81, 95% CI 0·74–0·89; p value for interaction 0·049), small-for-gestational-age births (0·92, 0·87–0·97; p=0·03), and 6-month mortality (0·71, 0·60–0·86; p=0·04) in anaemic pregnant women (haemoglobin \u3c110g/L) as compared with non-anaemic pregnant women. Multiple micronutrient supplements also had a greater effect on preterm births among underweight pregnant women (BMI \u3c18·5 kg/m2; RR 0·84, 95% CI 0·78–0·91; p=0·01). Initiation of multiple micronutrient supplements before 20 weeks gestation provided greater reductions in preterm birth (RR 0·89, 95% CI 0·85–0·93; p=0·03). Generally, the survival and birth outcome effects of multiple micronutrient supplementation were greater with high adherence (≥95%) to supplementation. Multiple micronutrient supplements did not significantly increase the risk of stillbirth or neonatal, 6-month, or infant mortality, neither overall or in any of the 26 examined subgroups.Interpretation: Antenatal multiple micronutrient supplements improved survival for female neonates and provided greater birth-outcome benefits for infants born to undernourished and anaemic pregnant women. Early initiation in pregnancy and high adherence to multiple micronutrient supplements also provided greater overall benefits. Studies should now aim to elucidate the mechanisms accounting for differences in the effect of antenatal multiple micronutrient supplements on infant health by maternal nutrition status and sex.Funding: None

Systematic study of incomplete fusion reactions: Role of various entrance channel parameters

The evaporation residues, populated through complete and incomplete fusion processes in the reaction of 18O+ 165Ho, have been analyzed via excitation function measurements at projectile energies ≈ 4-7 MeV/nucleon. The cross-sections measured experimentally have been compared with the predictions of the compound nucleus model code PACE-4 calculations which only considers complete fusion (CF) reaction cross-sections. The experimental cross-section of the reaction residues populated through xn and pxn channels matches well with the theoretical model code PACE-4 predictions. On the other hand, α-emitting channels show an enhancement in the measured cross-section over PACE-4 calculations which reveals the occurrence of incomplete fusion (ICF) at the studied energy range. The relative percentage of incomplete fusion has been calculated from the experimental data and its dependence on various entrance channel parameters like projectile energy, mass-asymmetry, α-Q value and Coulomb factor (ZPZT) has been studied. The strength of incomplete fusion function obtained in the 18O+ 165Ho interaction has been compared with the previously studied systems. Results of the present study indicate that 18O (two neutron excess) projectile shows more incomplete fusion contribution as compared to 12C,13C and 16O projectiles due to its relatively small negative α-Q value

Biochemical and Functional Characterization of Mouse Mammary Tumor Virus Full-Length Pr77Gag Expressed in Prokaryotic and Eukaryotic Cells

The mouse mammary tumor virus (MMTV) Pr77Gag polypeptide is an essential retroviral structural protein without which infectious viral particles cannot be formed. This process requires specific recognition and packaging of dimerized genomic RNA (gRNA) by Gag during virus assembly. Most of the previous work on retroviral assembly has used either the nucleocapsid portion of Gag, or other truncated Gag derivatives—not the natural substrate for virus assembly. In order to understand the molecular mechanism of MMTV gRNA packaging process, we expressed and purified full-length recombinant Pr77Gag-His6-tag fusion protein from soluble fractions of bacterial cultures. We show that the purified Pr77Gag-His6-tag protein retained the ability to assemble virus-like particles (VLPs) in vitro with morphologically similar immature intracellular particles. The recombinant proteins (with and without His6-tag) could both be expressed in prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells and had the ability to form VLPs in vivo. Most importantly, the recombinant Pr77Gag-His6-tag fusion proteins capable of making VLPs in eukaryotic cells were competent for packaging sub-genomic MMTV RNAs. The successful expression and purification of a biologically active, full-length MMTV Pr77Gag should lay down the foundation towards performing RNA–protein interaction(s), especially for structure-function studies and towards understanding molecular intricacies during MMTV gRNA packaging and assembly processes