Efficient free radical scavenging activity of Ginkgo biloba, Stevia rebaudiana and Parthenium hysterophorous leaves through DPPH (2, 2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl)

Free radical scavenging activity of three important plants Ginkgo biloba, Stevia rebaudiana and Parthenium hysterophorous was carried out to evaluate and explore new potential sources of natural antioxidants. For this purpose the leaves of the three plants were processed. In these experiments the order of the antioxidant activity was, maximum activity shown by methanolic extract of Ginkgo biloba followed by Parthenium hysterophorous and Stevia rebaudiana. Furthermore the ethanolic extract of Ginkgo biloba also showed maximum antioxidant activity seconded by Stevia rebaudiana and Parthenium hysterophorous.Keywords: Ginkgo biloba, Stevia rebaudiana and Parthenium hysterophorous, DPPH, radical scavenging activit

Identification, Characterization, and Palynology of High-Valued Medicinal Plants

High-valued medicinal plants Achillea millefolium, Acorus calamus, Arnebia nobilis, Fumaria indica, Gymnema sylvestre, Origanum vulgare, Paeonia emodi, Peganum harmala, Psoralea corylifolia, Rauwolfia serpentina, and Vetiveria zizanioides were identified with the help of taxonomical markers and investigated for characterization and palynological studies. These parameters are used to analyze their quality, safety, and standardization for their safe use. Botanical description and crude drug description is intended for their quality assurance at the time of collection, commerce stages, manufacturing, and production. For this purpose the detailed morphology was studied and compared with the Flora of Pakistan and other available literatures. Here we reported the pollen grain morphology of Origanum vulgare, Paeonia emodi, Psoralea corylifolia, and Rauwolfia serpentina for the first time. Similarly the crude drug study of Gymnema sylvestre (leaf), Origanum vulgare (aerial parts), Paeonia emodi (tubers), and Peganum harmala (seeds) was also carried out for the first time

Knowledge acquisition and product development capability magnify competitive advantage : insight into higher education institutions of Pakistan

With the emergence of a knowledge-based economy, knowledge has become an integral factor in providing a competitive advantage for organizations including higher education institutions. The objective of this study is to empirically examine the mediating effect of product development capability (PDC) in the relationship between knowledge acquisition (KA) and competitive advantage (CA) in public higher education institutions (PHEIs) of Pakistan. Data were collected through a self-administered questionnaire. A total of one hundred questionnaires were distributed through random sampling technique to vice-chancellors of PHEIs eliciting eighty-six respondents or a response rate of eighty-six percent. Data were analysed by using PLS through a structural equation modelling approach. The findings revealed significant positive effect of KA and PDC on CA. Additionally, KA also produced a significant positive effect on PDA. Further, PDA was shown to mediate the relationship between KA and CA. The current research provides more specific direction on how practitioners can strategically gain CA through KA and PDC within context of PHEIs of Pakistan

PHYSIO-CHEMICAL EVALUATION AND BIOLOGICAL ACTIVITY OF AJUGA BRACTEOSA WALL. AND VIOLA ODOROTO LINN

Background: Ajuga bracteosa and Viola odorata are frequently used by the native people of Swat-Pakistan for the curing of fever, malaria, cough, urinary and stomach disorders with slightly different practice of usage like raw powdered, extracts, decoction etc. Methods and Materials: Disc Diffusion Method was used for determination of antimicrobial activities of both plants. Nutrient Agar Media was used for the culturing and growth of all microbial strains. Vitamin C and minerals contents were determined by standard method of AOAC. Na and K were analyzed by using flame photometric technique. Micro minerals i.e. “Ni, Cr, Fe, Cu, Zn, Mn, Ca, Pb, and Mg” were determined by Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometer (AAS). Total Soluble Solid (TSS) was determined by using abbe refractometer and pH was determined by using pH meter. Results: The present study demonstrates that both plants exhibited antibacterial activities against P. aeruginos, E. coli, S. typhi, B. subtilis and S. aureus. The examined plants showed zone of inhibition for aqueous fraction (50.90, 45.90 %) against P. aeruginosa; for EtOAc fraction (41.37, 57.62%) against C. Albicans and for hexane fraction (25.86, 40.57%) against K. pneumoniae, respectively. Total of 14 different minerals (Na, K, P, Ca, Mg, Fe, Zn, Mn, Co, Cr, Ni, Cu, Pb, Cd) were determined and it was also observed that both the examined plants contained significant level of these analyzed minerals. The subject plants contained highest level of magnesium (295.75, 145.85 mg 100-1g) and calcium (212.49, 44.00 mg 100-1g) and potassium (152.6, 437.45 mg 100-1g) while moderate level P, Zn, Na and lower amount of Cd, Ni, Mn and Cu using Atomic Absorption, Flame Photometry and spectrophotometric techniques. V. odorata was found to contain a higher amount of vitamin C (64.05±12.37mg 100-1g) as compared to A. bracteosa (45.45 ± 7.29 mg 100-1 g). Conclusion: Findings of this study can persuade researchers for future comprehensive phytochemical study of these plants using state of art techniques and instruments, which include not only isolation of secondary metabolites from these plants but biological evaluation of isolated compounds both in vivo and in vitr

An Unbiased Lipid Phenotyping Approach To Study the Genetic Determinants of Lipids and Their Association with Coronary Heart Disease Risk Factors.

Direct infusion high-resolution mass spectrometry (DIHRMS) is a novel, high-throughput approach to rapidly and accurately profile hundreds of lipids in human serum without prior chromatography, facilitating in-depth lipid phenotyping for large epidemiological studies to reveal the detailed associations of individual lipids with coronary heart disease (CHD) risk factors. Intact lipid profiling by DIHRMS was performed on 5662 serum samples from healthy participants in the Pakistan Risk of Myocardial Infarction Study (PROMIS). We developed a novel semi-targeted peak-picking algorithm to detect mass-to-charge ratios in positive and negative ionization modes. We analyzed lipid partial correlations, assessed the association of lipid principal components with established CHD risk factors and genetic variants, and examined differences between lipids for a common genetic polymorphism. The DIHRMS method provided information on 360 lipids (including fatty acyls, glycerolipids, glycerophospholipids, sphingolipids, and sterol lipids), with a median coefficient of variation of 11.6% (range: 5.4-51.9). The lipids were highly correlated and exhibited a range of associations with clinical chemistry biomarkers and lifestyle factors. This platform can provide many novel insights into the effects of physiology and lifestyle on lipid metabolism, genetic determinants of lipids, and the relationship between individual lipids and CHD risk factors

Genome-wide analysis of blood lipid metabolites in over 5000 South Asians reveals biological insights at cardiometabolic disease loci.

Funder: PfizerFunder: NovartisFunder: National Institute for Health ResearchFunder: MerckBackgroundGenetic, lifestyle, and environmental factors can lead to perturbations in circulating lipid levels and increase the risk of cardiovascular and metabolic diseases. However, how changes in individual lipid species contribute to disease risk is often unclear. Moreover, little is known about the role of lipids on cardiovascular disease in Pakistan, a population historically underrepresented in cardiovascular studies.MethodsWe characterised the genetic architecture of the human blood lipidome in 5662 hospital controls from the Pakistan Risk of Myocardial Infarction Study (PROMIS) and 13,814 healthy British blood donors from the INTERVAL study. We applied a candidate causal gene prioritisation tool to link the genetic variants associated with each lipid to the most likely causal genes, and Gaussian Graphical Modelling network analysis to identify and illustrate relationships between lipids and genetic loci.ResultsWe identified 253 genetic associations with 181 lipids measured using direct infusion high-resolution mass spectrometry in PROMIS, and 502 genetic associations with 244 lipids in INTERVAL. Our analyses revealed new biological insights at genetic loci associated with cardiometabolic diseases, including novel lipid associations at the LPL, MBOAT7, LIPC, APOE-C1-C2-C4, SGPP1, and SPTLC3 loci.ConclusionsOur findings, generated using a distinctive lipidomics platform in an understudied South Asian population, strengthen and expand the knowledge base of the genetic determinants of lipids and their association with cardiometabolic disease-related loci

Are Medical Students Information Literate? investigation of skills through a cross sectional survey

Abstract Introduction: Information literacy (IL) has great importance for medical students to make them capable of organizing and using critically accurate information from reliable sources. As the medical profession demands critical and lifelong learners due to its serious and sensitive nature, this study aims to examine the IL skills of undergraduate MBBS students of Shaikh Zayed Medical Complex (SZMC), Lahore, Pakistan. Methods: A contextual structured questionnaire, based on IL standards of Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL) for higher education, was adapted to collect data. From total population of 466 enrolled students, through convenient sampling, 211 medical students enrolled in five years of MBBS program were approached for this purpose. Results: Findings revealed that majority of the respondents were found capable of determining the nature and extent of required information, were able to analyze and evaluate information and its sources alongside the understanding with ethical and legal use and communication of information produced. However, it was found that respondents scored low in the abilities of using ICTs, locating digital information by formulating advance queries, using reference management tools and information creation and presentation. Implication: The results highlight the importance of information literacy for medical profession, the current medical education curriculum and syllabi should be revised and integrated with advance IL instructions to produce future medical professionals as life-long learners. The findings also pointed out extensive role of medical library professionals, faculty and medical universities to develop updated and targeted IL instruction programs and training sessions

Accuracy of cranial ultrasound in the diagnosis of hydrocephalus in children under 6 months of age keeping CT scan as a gold standard

Introduction: CT and MRI modalities are considered a gold standard for the diagnosis of hydrocephalus. The more readily available and cheap options like sonography are being sought out for the diagnosis of this entity. Objectives: To determine the accuracy of cranial ultrasonography in the diagnosis of hydrocephalus keeping CT scan as a gold standard. Study design: Cross-sectional study Place and duration of study: Department of Pediatrics, Combined Military Hospital, Rawalpindi, from 01-01-2017 to 30-06-2017 Materials and Methods: A total of 121 children with a clinical diagnosis of hydrocephalus were selected and subjected to ultrasound of the head. Subsequently, a CT scan of the head was done and both modalities were compared. The diagnostic accuracy of the ultrasound was determined to keep CT findings as to the gold standard. Results: The mean age was 51.36 ± 34.01 days. The male gender was dominant as 81 (66.9%) patients were males. Ultrasonography of the head detected 93 (76.9%) patients with hydrocephalus while CT scan detected 90 (74.4%). Sensitivity, specificity, PPV, NPV and accuracy of USG to diagnosed hydrocephalus were 88.9%, 58.1%, 86.0%, 64.3% and 80.99% respectively Conclusion: Ultrasonography of head is a valuable screening tool for the diagnosis of hydrocephalus