Emerging Risk Factors for Impaired Lung Function in Chemical Industry Workers of Faisalabad

Objective: To determine the impact, obesity and age on the lung functions determined by PEFR of healthy workers of chemical industries. Methodology:  This was a cross sectional study performed at private medical college of Faisalabad. Three days medical camp was arranged during 2nd to 4th  September 2020 after taking approval from institutional ethical committee. All relevant information including age, residence and history about chemical exposure were recorded in a structured proforma. Obesity was determined on basis of BMI grading. BMI was calculated from estimated Height and weight   PEFR of each participant was determined using Wright’s Peak flow meter.  Data was analyzed by SPSS21. Results: Mean± SD age, height and weight of the studied population was 38.85 ± 12.1, 170.07  ±12.0   and 78.12 ±12.7. lowest PEFR value was found in subjects with age range 61 to 70 years as compred to youger subjects . The mean PEFR value were significantly different  with respect to various age catagoeies with  p value= 0.000 Highest mean PEFR values were found in  taller subjects having height ≥ 180 cm and lowest values were found in subjects with height 150-159 cm,  the difference in means was statisticaly significant with p value= 0.05. Morbid  obese subjects showing comparatively  lower PEFR values in morbid obese  with significant p value =0.002. . PEFR was found to be negatively associated with age ( p- value= 0.000*)  and BMI( p value =0.001*). Our results also showed weak positive association of PEFR with height, however this relation was not found to be statistically significant (p value= 0.081). Conclusion: Peak expiratory flow rate is negatively associated with increasing BMI and age, reflecting that elderly and obese subjects are more prone to have affected lung function due to exposure to chemical

Emerging Risk Factors for Impaired Lung Function in Chemical Industry Workers of Faisalabad

Objective: To determine the impact, obesity and age on the lung functions determined by PEFR of healthy workers of chemical industries. Methodology:  This was a cross sectional study performed at private medical college of Faisalabad. Three days medical camp was arranged during 2nd to 4th  September 2020 after taking approval from institutional ethical committee. All relevant information including age, residence and history about chemical exposure were recorded in a structured proforma. Obesity was determined on basis of BMI grading. BMI was calculated from estimated Height and weight   PEFR of each participant was determined using Wright’s Peak flow meter.  Data was analyzed by SPSS21. Results: Mean± SD age, height and weight of the studied population was 38.85 ± 12.1, 170.07  ±12.0   and 78.12 ±12.7. lowest PEFR value was found in subjects with age range 61 to 70 years as compred to youger subjects . The mean PEFR value were significantly different  with respect to various age catagoeies with  p value= 0.000 Highest mean PEFR values were found in  taller subjects having height ≥ 180 cm and lowest values were found in subjects with height 150-159 cm,  the difference in means was statisticaly significant with p value= 0.05. Morbid  obese subjects showing comparatively  lower PEFR values in morbid obese  with significant p value =0.002. . PEFR was found to be negatively associated with age ( p- value= 0.000*)  and BMI( p value =0.001*). Our results also showed weak positive association of PEFR with height, however this relation was not found to be statistically significant (p value= 0.081). Conclusion: Peak expiratory flow rate is negatively associated with increasing BMI and age, reflecting that elderly and obese subjects are more prone to have affected lung function due to exposure to chemical

Using of Chroococcus SP. to Treat Polluted Water with Cadmium & Nickel

Chroococcus sp. was exposed to different concentrations 0.3, 0.5, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7 ppm, from cadmium and nickel. The results revealed that the ability of the alga to remove cadmium and nickel was increased with the increase of the metal concentration which the alga exposed to them and this case does not record before. This may relate to mechanisms of adsorption and removal which not understood perfectly till now according to many researches that concerned with this field of studies. It was noticed that the removal percentage of cadmium reaches to 77.66 & 76% in the two higher concentrations 6 & 7 ppm, which exposed to the alga till the last day (twelve days) from the experiment, but same percentage (77.66 & 76%) was recorded on the eighth day of the experiment to remove nickel and decrease to 12.5 & 28% on the last day of the experiment for the above two concentrations

Evaluation of Antioxidant and Antimicrobial Potential of Two Endangered Plant Species Atropa belladonna and Matricaria chamomilla

Background: Plants are the natural source of antioxidants as well as antimicrobial compounds that has great potentials in pharmaceuticalindustry. In the present study, two medicinal plants Atropa belladonna and Matricaria chamomilla were collected from Northern areas ofPakistan.Materials and Methods: The extracts of the collected plants were obtained by microwave assisted extraction (MAE) with changing parameters, power level and time; methanol and ethanol were solvents used during  extraction. The extracts of plants were tested against different bacterialstrains.Results: It was observed that ethanolic extracts of Atropa belladonna has more significant antimicrobial activity against S.aureus than E.coli. Inparallel, methanolic extract of Matricaria chamomilla showed greater significant antibacterial activity against S.aureus when compared withE.coli. In comparison, ethanolic extracts of Matricaria chamomilla has shown more significant results against S. aureus than E.coli (p.0.05).Both plants had no antibacterial activity against S.typhi. The free radical scavenging activity observed by DPPH assay, indicate that both plantshave antioxidant activity at all levels of concentrations in solvent tested during the present work. However, methanolic extracts had greaterantioxidant activity when compared with ethanolic extracts.Conclusion: Present study is thus helpful in highlighting present potentials for antioxidant and antimicrobial properties in the selected plants.Key words: Antimicrobial, antioxidant, Atropa belladonna, Matricaria chamomill

Polymorphism of HLA-DR and HLA-DQ in rheumatoid arthritis patients and clinical response to methotrexate--a hospital-based study

Objective: To investigate the frequency and distribution of DRB1 and DQB1 alleles in Patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and analyze the relationship between clinical response to methotrexate (MTX) and the HLA-DR and HLA-DQ genotypes in these patients.Methods: In this case-control study, the HLA-DRB1 and HLA-DQB1 polymorphism in 91 RA patients and 91 healthy controls was done using polymerase chain reaction and sequence specific primers.Results: There was no statistical difference in frequencies of HLA-DRB1*03, DRB1*04, DRB1*07, DRB1*10, DRB1*11, DRB1*12, DRB1*13, DRB1*14, DRB1*15 and DRB1*16 genotypes between patients and controls. However, DRB1*01 was found to be significantly more common (p=0.015) in RA patients compared to controls. HLA-DRB1*15 was more common in patients (43.5%) compared to controls (30.8%) but results were not significant. HLA-DRB1*08 and DRB1*09 were present in negligible number in patients as well as controls while HLA-DRB1*12 was conspicuously absent in controls. Similarly, DQB1*06 was also significantly more common (p = 0.01) among the patients compared to healthy control subjects, while there was no statistical difference in the frequencies of DQB1*02, DQB1*03, DQB1*04 and DQB1*05 among the cases and the controls. RA susceptibility in most patients appeared to be associated with the HLA-DRB1*01/DQB1 *06 genotype. Regarding association between HLA-DR or HLA-DQ genotype and clinical response to methotrexate (MTX), the data showed that with the exception of HLA-DRB1*03, there appears to be no association between the particular subtypes of HLA-DR and HLA-DQ. HLA-DRB1*03 was significantly-more common among non-responders to MTX alluding to the possibility that another genes responsible for MTX metabolism, might be in linkage disequilibrium with HLA-DRB1*03 in the Pakistani population, thereby making such individuals non-responsive to MTX-therapy.Conclusion: RA susceptibility in most Pakistani patients is associated with the HLA-DRB1*01/DQB1*06 genotype. HLA-DRB1*03 was found to be significantly more common among non-responders to MTX treatment suggesting that Pakistani patients with this genotype are less likely to benefit from MTX

Fabrication of Microbicidal Silver Nanoparticles: Green Synthesis and Implications in the Containment of Bacterial Biofilm on Orthodontal Appliances

Among various metal-based nanoparticles, silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) manifest superior inhibitory effects against several microorganisms. In fact, the AgNP-based treatment has been reported to inhibit both sensitive and resistant isolates of bacteria and other disease-causing microbes with equal propensity. Keeping this fact into consideration, we executed bio-mediated synthesis of AgNPs employing extract of flower and various other parts (such as bud and leaf) of the Hibiscus rosa-sinensis plant. The physicochemical characterization of as-synthesized AgNPs was executed employing transmission electron microscopy (TEM), dynamic light scattering (DLS), zeta potential, Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, and UV-Vis spectroscopy, etc. The as-synthesized AgNPs demonstrated strong antimicrobial activity against both Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria with equal propensity. The as-synthesized AgNPs successfully inhibited Streptococcus mutans (S. mutans), one of the main causative bacteria responsible for dental caries. Considering the fact that orthodontic appliances facilitate infliction of the oral cavity with a range of microbes including S. mutans, we determined the growth inhibitory and anti-adherence activities of AgNPs on orthodontic appliances. We performed microbiological assays employing AgNPs adsorbed onto the surface of nickel–titanium (Ni-Ti) orthodontic wires. A topographic analysis of the decontaminated Ni-Ti orthodontic wires was performed by scanning electron microscopy. In addition to antimicrobial and anti-biofilm activities against oral S. mutans, the as-fabricated AgNPs demonstrated significant inhibitory and anti-biofilm properties against other biofilm-forming bacteria such as Escherichia coli and Listeria monocytogenes

Impact of Exposure of Chemical Fumes on Blood Pressure and Peak Expiratory Flow Rate in Industrial Workers of Faisalabad

Objectives: 1. To determine the impact of duration of exposure to industrial chemical fumes on Peak Expiratory Flow Rate (PEFR) and blood pressure of the industrial workers. 2. To find out the association between changes in blood pressure and PEFR due to exposure to industrial chemical fumes in these subjects. Methods: This cross-sectional study was performed at Aziz Fatimah Medical and Dental College, Faisalabad. The study participants were 151 males working in the chemical industries. The study was approved by institutional ethical committee and informed consent was taken from the participants. Free camp was arranged for three days in September 2020 in the industrial area of Faisalabad. Thorough history of exposure to chemicals was taken using structured proforma. PEFR values were recorded using Wrights handheld peak flow meter. Blood pressure was taken by auscultatory method using mercury sphygmomanometer. Data was analyzed using SPSS version 22. Results: Systolic and diastolic blood pressures were significantly raised with increase in duration of exposure.  PEFR levels were significantly declined with increase in duration of exposure to chemicals. Significant negative association was noted between diastolic blood pressure and PEFR (p value = 0.003). Negative correlation was observed between PEFR and systolic Blood pressure, however it was not statistically significant (p value = 0.92). Conclusions: PEFR decreased while Systolic and diastolic blood pressures increased significantly with increase in the duration of exposure to chemicals. There was a significant negative correlation between PEFR and diastolic blood pressure while there was no association between PEFR and systolic blood pressure