Survival Analysis of Dialysis Patients Under Parametric and Non-Parametric Approaches

Dialysis is a recommended way of treatment for end stage kidney diseases and it provides a life saving procedure. Transplantation can also be useful source but it is restricted by financial limitations especially in developing countries like Pakistan. Censoring is an important part of the survival data which causes insensitivity to the usual procedures of analysis. A little work has been done in literature regarding the estimated survival time of dialysis patients in Pakistan. So, this study has estimated the median survival time of male/females patients separately by parametric and non-parametric approaches. Moreover, comparison of survival time to patients (50 years) was also compared. Frequently, in modeling the survival data, most of the time we have no prior information about the theoretical distribution of survival time is available, that’s why, and non-parametric methods are commonly used. The significance of this study is the fitting of probability distribution of real life time data of dialysis patients which is not done before. It is very laborious job to fit an appropriate distribution of the data. We find that the probability distribution of our real life time data is weibull distribution. Finding suggested that the Kaplan-Meier method and weibull model based on Anderson-Darling test provided a very close estimate of the survival function in both genders and age groups. On the average survival time in males is relatively high but not statistically different from females

Pathology-Based Tumour Registry Analysis of Cases of Female Genital Tract Malignancies

Objective: To study the frequency and distribution of Female genital tract (FGT) malignancies through data recouped from the tumour registry of Armed Forces Institute of Pathology, Rawalpindi Pakistan. Study Design: Retrospective longitudinal study. Place and Duration of Study: Histopathology Department, Armed Force Institute of Pathology, Rawalpindi Pakistan, from 2009-2018 Methodology: A total of 1586 cases of malignant tumours of FGT were retrieved from the AFIP tumour registry, and data were analyzed in terms of the age of the patients' site of the tumour. It was also compared with regional and international data. Results: Thirty-seven thousand seven hundred ninety-three malignant cases were reported at AFIP from 2009-2018, out of which 1586(4.19%) were of the female genital tract. Ovarian malignancies were most frequent among FGT tumours,637(40.1%), followed by uterine tumours 519(32.6%). Carcinoma of the cervix was found in 237 cases (15%). Vulva and vaginal cases were seen in only 7.7% patients. The FGTs ranked fourth among the top ten commonest tumours in females. Conclusion: The most common malignancy of the female genital tract was ovarian cancer. Endometrial carcinoma was the second most frequent gynaecological malignancy, followed by cervical carcinoma. Ovarian malignancies were in fourth position among the top ten commonest female tumours in the current analysis as well, as in the previous analysis from AFIP

Effects of water extracts of apple and pomegranate peel on the quality of orange squash

<p><em>Punica granatum</em> (pomegranate) and Malus domestica (apple) are rich source of bioactive compounds i.e. phenolics components, anthocyanins and tannins that can be potential preservative agents. The aim of the present research plan was to evaluate the quality characteristics of orange squash after addition of aqueous extracts of apple and pomegranate peels. For this purpose aqueous extracts of pomegranate and apple peels were added in orange squash and then the final product was examined for physiochemical and sensory attributes during storage. Results of current study demonstrated that physico-chemical parameters of orange squash significantly changed with the storage period in all the treatments in such a way that total soluble solids (°Brix) were gradually decreased but the acidity increased. Sensory examination result of orange squash revealed that color, flavor and taste were decreased with the passage of time in all the treatments but preservative and 100% apple peel extract were upto acceptable level. Whereas 50% preservative and 50% pomegranate extract and 100% pomegranate extract were highly rejected.</p

Green Synthesis of Nickel Oxide Nanoparticles using Populus ciliata Leaves Extract and their Potential Antibacterial Applications

Green synthesis of nanoparticles has received a lot of attention from scientists globally because it is eco-friendly, relatively rapid, and a cost-effective&nbsp; method. This work presents a method for the green synthesis of nickel oxide nanoparticles (NiO-NPs) using leaf extracts of Populus ciliata as a reducing&nbsp; and stabilising agent. The synthesised NiO-NPs were characterised by ultravioletvisible spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, powder&nbsp; X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, and transmission electron microscopy. It was found that the synthesised NiO-NPs shapes varied, were&nbsp; highly crystalline, and had a face-centred cubic geometry. The calculated crystallite size of the synthesised nanoparticles was 44 nm. Moreover, the&nbsp; antibacterial activity of the synthesised NiO-NPs was also conducted against Gram-positive bacteria (Bacillus subtilis, Bacillus licheniformis) and Gram-&nbsp; negative bacteria (Escherichia coli and Klebsiella pneumoniae). Bacillus subtillus showed a maximum inhibition zone of 28.1±1.6 mm, whereas Klebsiella&nbsp; pneumonia showed a minimum inhibition zone of 9.2±0.5 mm. It was also found that the antibacterial activity increased with an increase in the&nbsp; concentration of NiO-NPs

Comparison of efficacy of Moxifloxacin and Ceftriaxone in acute exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

Objective: The aim was to compare the efficacy of Moxifloxacin and Ceftriaxone in acute exacerbation of the chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Methodology: This randomized trial was conducted in the Pulmonology Department, PIMS, Islamabad between August 2018 to February 2019. Ethical approval was granted by the hospital ethics committee and patients were enrolled after written informed consent. Patients were screened from the OPD department and before randomization their sputum was collected over a 24-h period in strong sterile plastic (60 mL) bottle at room temperature. They were randomized equally into two treatment groups using a lottery method. Group A received Moxifloxacin 400 mg orally once daily for five days and group B received Ceftriaxone 1 g (IV infusion) once daily for five days. All the measurements (dyspnea grading, sputum volume, and character) were taken after 5 days of antibiotics therapy. &nbsp;Results: The mean age was 60.79 ± 13.34 years in Moxifloxacin and 59.86 ± 12.72 years in the Ceftriaxone group. In Moxifloxacin group, there were 49(68.06%) male and 23(31.94%) females and in the Ceftriaxone group, there were 49(68%) males and 23(31.94%) female cases. In Moxifloxacin a total of 68(94.4%) cases recovered while 4 (5.6%) cases did not achieve efficacy whereas in the Ceftriaxone group 54 (75.0%) cases achieved efficacy and 18 (25.0%) were therapy failures. The efficacy of the oral Moxifloxacin group was significantly better than the oral Ceftriaxone group (p-value, &lt; 0.05). Conclusion: The efficacy of Moxifloxacin was better than Ceftriaxone in acute exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

Survival Analysis of Dialysis Patients under Parametric and Non-Parametric approaches

Dialysis is a recommended way of treatment for end stage kidney diseases and it provides a life saving procedure. Transplantation can also be useful source but it is restricted by financial limitations especially in developing countries like Pakistan. Censoring is an important part of the survival data which causes insensitivity to the usual procedures of analysis. A little work has been done in literature regarding the estimated survival time of dialysis patients in Pakistan. So, this study has estimated the median survival time of male/females patients separately by parametric and non-parametric approaches. Moreover, comparison of survival time to patients (&lt;=50 years and &gt;50 years) was also compared. Frequently, in modeling the survival data, most of the time we have no prior information about the theoretical distribution of survival time is available, that’s why, and non-parametric methods are commonly used. The significance of this study is the fitting of probability distribution of real life time data of dialysis patients which is not done before. It is very laborious job to fit an appropriate distribution of the data. We find that the probability distribution of our real life time data is weibull distribution. Finding suggested that the Kaplan-Meier method and weibull model based on Anderson-Darling test provided a very close estimate of the survival function in both genders and age groups. On the average survival time in males is relatively high but not statistically different from females

Role of Ki-67 in the Grading of Mucoepidermoid Carcinomas

Background: To determine the expression of Ki-67 in mucoepidermoid carcinoma (MEC) and to correlate with histological grades.Methods: In this descriptive study, histopathological grading of mucoepidermoid carcinomas was done on the basis of grading system of Auclair et al. Points were assigned on the basis of five histopathological features( intracystic component, neural invasion, necrosis, mitosis and anaplasia).After grading of the tumor , immunohistochemical marker Ki-67 was applied. For Ki-67 expression, the scoring system of Lyzogubov et al was followed . The chi-square test was used to compare histological grade with expression of immune marker Ki-67. P value &lt; 0.001 was considered statistically significant.Results: Out of 30 cases, majority( 70%) were males, with male to female ratio of 1:0.43.The range in age of the patient was 17 to 88 years and mean age was 44.27 years. Parotid gland was the most common site. Thirteen (43%) were low grade cases, 10 (33%) were high grade cases and 7 (23%) were intermediate grade cases of MEC. The Ki-67 % expression in low grade MEC varied between 0-10% with mean expression of 2.85%. While the expression in intermediate grade was 5-40% with a mean of 25% and the Ki-67 % expression in high grade was 30-75% with a mean of 61.5%.This highlighted increasing Ki-67 expression with worsening grade of the tumour.Conclusions: Expression of Ki-67 is high in high grade cases of MEC while it is negative or less positive in low grade cases of MEC. Correlation between grades of MEC and expression of Ki-67 is statistically significant. It can be used as a prognostic marker for MEC along with other prognostic and clinicopathological parameters

Effects of water extracts of apple and pomegranate peel on the quality of orange squash

Punica granatum (pomegranate) and Malus domestica (apple) are rich source of bioactive compounds i.e. phenolics components, anthocyanins and tannins that can be potential preservative agents. The aim of the present research plan was to evaluate the quality characteristics of orange squash after addition of aqueous extracts of apple and pomegranate peels. For this purpose aqueous extracts of pomegranate and apple peels were added in orange squash and then the final product was examined for physiochemical and sensory attributes during storage. Results of current study demonstrated that physico-chemical parameters of orange squash significantly changed with the storage period in all the treatments in such a way that total soluble solids (°Brix) were gradually decreased but the acidity increased. Sensory examination result of orange squash revealed that color, flavor and taste were decreased with the passage of time in all the treatments but preservative and 100% apple peel extract were upto acceptable level. Whereas 50% preservative and 50% pomegranate extract and 100% pomegranate extract were highly rejected

Gram Negative Extended Spectrum Beta-Lactamase Producing Bacteria Prevalence in Jouf Region Tertiary Care Hospital, Saudi Arabia

Extended Spectrum beta lactamase producing pathogens are reported in many clinical samples and pose an emerging threat health. To find the prevalence of ESBL producing Enterobactriacea pathogens isolated from inpatients (Medical and Surgical Wards; Hospital stay > 72 h) admitted to Prince, Mutib, Hospital Sakaka, Jouf. A total of 1043 Enterobactriacea were isolated during April 2015 to October 2016 study period. Vitek -2 compact (biomeriux Leon, France) was used for identification and antimicrobial sensitivity (AST) test. A Total of 115/1043 (11.02%) ESBL producing pathogens were isolated from urine 15.07% (n=242), sputum 13.6 % (n=220), wound 10.8% (n=287) and blood 5.4 % (n=294). Klebsiella pneumonia is most dominant followed by E coli and Proteus miribilis. Cephamycins and carbapenems were found most effective (100% sensitivity) against the pathogens isolated. The aminoglycosides, beta lactams and Fluroquinolnes class of antibiotics, microorganisms have gained the resistance of 20%, 22.7%, 40-70% respectively. The infection control measures should be taken seriously and making of effective use of antibiotics is need of hour